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American Morning
Latin America Tour for Bush; Bronx Fire Tragedy; Plane Crash Survivors
Aired March 08, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A deadly and horrifying fire rips through a home overnight. Firefighters catch children being tossed from the windows. But at least eight young kids are among the dead.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: War divide. Democrats push again today to get the U.S. out of Iraq, while the top commander this morning says more troops are needed into the next year.
S. O'BRIEN: Safety lessons. Ranchers are passing on to farmers what they've learned to keep meat and produce safe to eat.
We're live this morning from London and Indonesia, from Washington, D.C., and New York on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning. Welcome, everybody. It's Thursday, March 8th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us.
We begin this morning in Iraq where the new general in charge says there is no military solution to the violence and no end in sight for the U.S. occupation. Early this morning, General David Petraeus facing off with reporters in Baghdad for the first time since he assumed command there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS: Putting Iraq above personal and sectarian agendas will be critical as Iraqi leaders and the Iraqi people grapple with some very tough issues in the months ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr watching from the Pentagon.
Barbara, General Petraeus is already asking for additional troops, support troops for the combat troops headed in there in the build-up. What's that all about?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, good morning.
General Petraeus has now asked for an additional 2,000 military police. That request has been granted by Defense Secretary Gates. Military police because they believe with this security crackdown, they will be picking up an awful lot more prisoners and detainees. But underneath all of this, a much deeper issue emerging now, Miles. Military commanders are planning for the possibility that these extra troops, this so-called surge of more than 20,000, will be in Iraq through much of 2008. They have to start planning now because they have to start identifying units that will go to Iraq in order to keep those troop levels up.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Barbara, he says there's no military solution to the violence, and then, of course, he's endorsing this troop buildup, adding to it. Seems to be a contradiction there.
STARR: Well, General Petraeus, like many commanders, has a longstanding view that political and economic progress by the Iraq government is going to be absolutely key. The violence will not come down until the people of Iraq feel secure and feel that their government is in charge. That's the view of top U.S. commanders.
They say that there are some very small signs right now that in some places the violence is coming down. Shia on Sunni killings. But, of course, we have seen some spectacularly violent suicide car bombs in the last several days. So it is still a very mixed picture.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you.
Also in Washington this morning, Democrats will unveil a new plan to bring the troops home by the fall of next year and possibly earlier. The Democrats say their timetable for withdraw is linked to a series of goals for the struggling Iraqi government. If that government meets the benchmarks, U.S. troops could come home even sooner.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: President Bush leaves for a week-long visit to five countries in Latin America. He's going to depart in just a couple of hours. And he's looking to highlight the U.S.'s plans to fight poverty and disease. The president sat down with Juan Carlos Lopez of CNN En Espanol.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The first leg of the trop will take President Bush to Sao Paulo, Brazil, will he will meet with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to talk about ethanol and then talk about poverty in the region. President Bush has said that he wants to coincidence Latin America that he hasn't neglected the region during the last six years. And he wants American taxpayers to get credit for all the aid they sent to the region.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American taxpayer has been very genius about providing aid in our neighborhood. And most of that aid is social justice money. In other words, it's money for education and health. And yet we don't get much credit for it. And I want the taxpayers, I want the American people to get credit for their generosity in Central and South America.
LOPEZ: President Bush will then head to Uruguay, Columbia, Guatemala and Mexico on a six-day trip. The longest visit a U.S. president has made to Latin America.
Juan Carlos Lopez, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: AMERICAN MORNING's going to be coming to you live from Mexico for the president's visit on Tuesday. Immigration, of course, sure to be a big topic of conversation between President Bush and the Mexican President Calderon. I'll be in Mexico taking a hard look at that issue and examining why so many people are so desperate to come across the border into the U.S. That's on Tuesday on AMERICAN MORNING.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: In Phoenix this morning, a former Navy sailor is behind bars, charged with spying and helping plot terror attacks on U.S. war ships. Thirty-one-year-old Hassan Abujihaad, also known as Paul Hall, accused of funneling classified information to terrorists while he was in the Navy in 2000 and 2001.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBORAH MCCARLEY, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: He provided details of the battle group's transition or battle group's movements from one place to another as they engaged in missions concerning al Qaeda and as they were enforcing sanctions against the Taliban.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Two men on the receiving end of the information are under arrest in London. Prosecutors want to try to try them in the U.S.
Two Americans poisoned in Moscow are back in Los Angeles and in a hospital this morning. Still a mystery how Dr. Marina Kovalevsky and her daughter, Yana, were exposed to thallium. The favorite of the KGB in the Cold War days. The women, both Soviet immigrants, travel to Russia frequently. They were there for a wedding.
S. O'BRIEN: A bizarre story, that one, isn't it.
A very terrible and deadly fire to tell you about in New York City. It happened overnight. Nine people are now dead and eight of them are children. CNN's Jim Acosta is live for us in the Bronx this morning.
Jim, good morning.
The stories of some of these rescue attempts are really quite incredible.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're extraordinary, Soledad.
It's already being called one of the worst fires in recent memory here in New York. A fast-moving fire engulfed this building that was shared by four families. And as you said, nine dead, eight children.
You can see the scene behind me. The charred remains of this building. And just to tell you just how cold it is out here, so much of the water that was sprayed on to this home is now frozen solid outside the exterior of this building. But this was a vicious fire and it moved very quickly through this building, giving the families inside very little time to escape.
Before firefighters arrived at the scene, there's some video here we should show you. Neighbors rushed to the scene, jumping over a fence to rescue the families trapped inside this three-story building. Those neighbors say one desperate mother actually threw her children out of the window, then jumped herself to try to escape the flames. Firefighters did all they could to save the children, but for so many of them, it was just too late.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lady trapped on the third floor. She started throwing the (INAUDIBLE) throw the kids out. She was hesitant at first because she couldn't see us with all the smoke. So she threw the kids out to me and me and this other gentleman (INAUDIBLE) we caught the kids and passed them over to the firemen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Relatives of the victims say nearly all of the people that lived in this building were immigrants from Mali. Firefighters say there were also 10 other people injured in this fire. Six of them are in serious condition and are now recovering in area hospitals.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, what a horrible, horrible story. Do they know yet or is just to early to tell exactly what caused this terrible fire?
ACOSTA: Well, there are some whispers at this point of perhaps an arson in this fire, but really it's too early to determine. Firefighters want to take a look at this and see what the actual cause might be. But standard operating procedure in major fires like this, they will look at arson. But right now it's just too early to tell.
S. O'BRIEN: Jim Acosta for us this morning in New York City.
Thanks, Jim.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: This morning in Florida, the man who murdered nine- year-old Jessica Lunsford is facing a possible death sentence. The jury there found John Couey guilty of kidnapping, raping and killing Jessica by burying her alive. Jessica disappeared from her bedroom in Homosassa, Florida, three years ago. Police found her body three weeks later buried within sight of her own house. Last night, Jessica's father, Mark, talked with Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK LUNSFORD, FATHER OF JESSICA LUNSFORD: There was no remorse from this man, or whatever you want to call him. I mean, no remorse at all.
LARRY KING, "LARRY KING LIVE": How do you explain that to yourself?
LUNSFORD: Welcome to the world of sexual offenders and predators. They don't care. They have no value for anything but their self.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: The jurors will begin deciding whether to recommend Couey get life without parol or a death sentence on Tuesday.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: A little more fallout this morning to tell you about for Ann Coulter. You might remember, she used a gay slur to describe the Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. The one that starts with an s. The one that Isaiah Washington went to rehab for. Anyway, today, three newspapers say so long, Ann. "The Mountain Press" in Sevierville, Tennessee, "The Oakland Press" in Michigan, the "Lancaster New Era" from Pennsylvania all deciding to stop running Coulter's syndicated column. The column is currently published in about 100 papers and is distributed by Universal Press Syndicate.
Lisa Nowak's astronaut days are now over. She was fired by NASA a little more than a month after being charged with attempting to kidnap a romantic rival. Nowak says she is not guilty. It's the first time that NASA's ever dismissed an astronaut.
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, one more night of brutal cold in the Northeast. Chad Myers will tell us how low the temperatures will go. We're going to bundle up here for that one.
Plus, I guess you could call him Mr. Lucky. A truck driver from Georgia wins a semitrailer full of cash. So what will he do with all those Benjamins?
And for the rest of us losers, a small dose of consolation. We'll tell you what all that lottery money pays for. A closer look ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning right here on CNN. In New York City, the worst fire in recent memory. At least nine are dead, eight of them children, after fire tears through the row house in the Bronx.
And in Indonesia, the president ordering an investigation of safety standards after this crash in Yogyakarta yesterday. Twenty- third died after the Garuda Airlines 737 overshot a runway. The third Indonesian airliner to crash in a year and a half.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Georgia truck driver Ed Nabors has a new handle this morning. Hey, good buddy, this is mega millionaire. Yes, Nabors cashed one of those two winning tickets for the $370 million jackpot. His take after taxes is $80 million. CNN's Rusty Dornin is this morning in a store in Dalton, Georgia, where Nabors bought the winning ticket.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Georgia's big lottery winner, Ed Nabors, said he stops here just on his way to work and usually get a cup of coffee. And he decided, at the last minute on Tuesday, to buy a ticket because the winnings were so big. When he found out he was the winner, he was stunned. But he knows exactly what he wants to do with that money.
ED NABORS, LOTTERY WINNER: My daughter has wanted a house to get out of a mobile home for a long time, and I think she'll just get it.
DORNIN: Neighbors has two other children and six grandchildren. He says he knows that he wants to help a lot of people with that money. And one of the first things on his agenda is he wants to come back to this store and thank the folks who sold him the ticket.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, Dalton, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: The other winning Mega Millions lottery ticket was sold in New Jersey, and we are still waiting for the winner of that ticket to come forward.
M. O'BRIEN: So where does all the money go that we losers put into the lottery? A closer look now with AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Forget about hard work. The real American dream is winning the lottery. You pay your money and you get to dream of unheard of wealth.
ED NABORS, LOTTERY WINNER: There's a lot of things I can do.
FRANKEN: No doubt about it. He bought his ticket at a small market and gas station, one of nearly a quarter million lottery sales points in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Each state spends the money in specific ways. The winner in Georgia will be interested to know that of the $29 billion in sales since the state lottery began in 1993, 54 percent of that has gone to prizes. About 38 percent to education. The rest for overhead.
In New Jersey, home of the other winners, the take has been around $40 billion since the 1970 beginning. Forty percent of that has gone to education, as well as medical and rehabilitative institutions. Fifty-two percent has been prize payouts.
As for those multi-state ventures, Mega Millions and Powerball, each state contributes a percentage toward the jackpot and keeps the rest to pay the small winners and finance the government programs.
Nationwide there's that old criticism that they contribute to gambling addiction. Did you know that this is Problem Gambling Awareness Week?
KEITH WHYTE, NATIONAL COUNCIL ON PROBLEM GAMBLING: People have to understand the need to set a limit and stick to it.
FRANKEN: Lotteries are now firmly entranced, although some states are flirting with sell them to corporations. Our Mega Million winners could probably care less.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And hopefully it's somebody that I know.
FRANKEN: That store owner says he has plenty of merchandise he can sell the winner, but probably nothing that will match that Mega Million ticket.
Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: It's quarter past the hour. Chad Myers is at the CNN Weather Center.
Chad, what's the big story this morning?
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, some of those new dollar coins are worth a lot more than a dollar because in the mint we cannot always trust. We'll explain.
Plus, we'll meet a cattle rancher who's no stranger to the E. Coli outbreaks. His tips on how farmers can make your food safer, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Before there was E. Coli in spinach, there was E. Coli in burgers and in beef. And now ranchers are helping farmers figure out just how to help keep our food safe to eat. AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence is in Montville, New Jersey, for us this morning.
Hey, Chris, good morning.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Soledad.
You know, people don't want to think twice about their food. They just want to know it's safe. Something they couldn't do last year when an outbreak of E. Coli in spinach was making hundreds of people sick.
Now you can't fix a problem here at this stage. It's one step from your dinner table. But there are steps along the way where one industry may be able to help another.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE, (voice over): Herding calves and heifers is a lot different from growing spinach on a farm. But cattle like these may hold the key to containing all kinds of contamination. What can the leafy green industry learn from the way the beef industry had to deal with E. Coli?
BRUCE HAFENFELD, CATTLE RANCHER: Well, I think that there's a lot to be learned from what we went through with the E. Coli issue.
LAWRENCE: California cattle rancher Bruce Hafenfeld remembers the really bad days. By 1999, E. Coli was making 70 Americans sick each year. About 60 of them were dying.
CHRIS WALDROP, FOOD POLICY INSTITUTE DIRECTOR: So much emphasis was put on beef that, you know, the mid to late '90s, the other food industries haven't quite looked at it as rigorously as they needed to.
LAWRENCE: Like beef, spinach has a middle step between farm and fork. The processing phase, where factories bring in produce from dozens of farms.
HAFENFELD: They wash it in these big tubs. You get one contaminated head goes into the tub, it contaminates it all.
LAWRENCE: The beef industry figured out you can't sterilize everything, but it established choke points where contaminated products can be cut out of the food chain.
HAFENFELD: I think that's where you need to attack those kind of issues.
LAWRENCE: The director of the Food Policy Institute says ranchers made a big decision to work together on safety. Individual companies pooled resources and invested in new technology.
WALDROP: The produce sector, I think they're going to look at those exact same things and they need to put forth the exact same effort.
LAWRENCE: It costs millions, but Bruce says the effort pays off on the retail end.
HAFENFELD: Consumer confidence is everything.
LAWRENCE: And to bolster that confidence, some farmers feel it's vital to pass on what they've learned.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: And experts at the Food Policy Institute says there needs to be a whole lot more coordinated research to examine exactly what's going on, on the farms and what is going on in the packaging of produce to find out where the holes are.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. But you're exactly right. By the time it's at the stage where you are, it's just to late.
LAWRENCE: To late.
S. O'BRIEN: Chris Lawrence for us this morning.
Thank you, Chris. Appreciate it.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, it seemed like it was the coin collector's version of the famous inverted Jenny airmail stamp. Some of the new George Washington dollar coins are in circulation without the inscription "In God We Trust." Now when the word got out, those coins hit eBay. One of them sold for $600. But it turns out 50,000 might have been cast and so the value has dropped significantly. They're still going for about $40 to $60, though. Most of them have been found in the Philly area. So if you're watching from that area, check your change this morning before you go buy your coffee. You might have something more than a buck there.
S. O'BRIEN: I have two of those dollars and don't you think . . .
M. O'BRIEN: Did you check them out?
S. O'BRIEN: You know what, I had given them to my daughters and I was like, give them back to mommy. Mommy needs them back. But, no, nothing. I've got nothing.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, that's one way to get rich. Ali Velshi has some other thoughts for you this morning. It's 22 minutes past the hour. Actually, a lot of economic news coming out today. And you're going to make it interesting for us.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I'm going to make it interesting, starting with this. This is the Beige Book. It's a boring name for something that's actually a very interesting read. Let me tell you about this. The Beige Book comes out eight times a year in between Fed meetings. It's basically a snapshot of current economic conditions and it's written in antidote, as opposed to that raw, economic jargon. It is specific to regions of the country.
Now let's take a look. The Fed is concerned with how fast the economy is growing. If the economy is getting to hot, you get inflation. If it's to cold, you could get a reception. Now here's how the country divides up.
The regions in green are seeing some growth. The West, the Northwest, most of the Midwest, the entire East, with the exception of New England. The part in the Southwest there, I guess it's kind of an orangey/peachy color, those are the areas seeing economic slowdown. New England and a big swath of the Southwest.
Now the Fed considers the information in the Beige Book when it makes its decisions in interest rates. They're meeting next on March 21st. Investors are betting that the Feds are going to leave interest rates unchanged at 5.25 percent. For those of you with adjustable loan mortgages that are tied to the prime rate, the prime rate is expected to stay at 8.25 percent. It's always 3 percent higher than the Fed rate.
We're also looking at a strong open for markets this morning. So we'll be following that closely and lots more through the course of the morning.
M. O'BRIEN: You brought color to beige. Thank you very much.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Ali.
Top stories of the morning are coming up next. The war over the war is heating up. The Pentagon wants to send even more troops into Iraq. Democrats say they want a timetable to bring those troops home. The latest is up next.
And President Bush heads south of the border. But is his Latin American tour a little to little to late. Does Hugo Chavez already have an unbeatable hand?
And following a miracle on the runway. We ask the question, how do you survive a plane crash?
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. It's Thursday, March 8th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: We are watching a terrible, terrible story for you this morning. At least eight young children are dead after a house fire in New York City.
M. O'BRIEN: Also this morning, Democrats unveiling a new plan to get American troops out of Iraq. We also have word from the new top commander in Baghdad.
S. O'BRIEN: And President Bush flies to South America today. Some people are saying that this trip is a way to get back at the man who called him "the devil." That will be the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. We'll talk about that.
M. O'BRIEN: We'll also show you the high tech teacher that could help you survive a plane crash.
We begin in Iraq. General David Petraeus , facing off with reporters in Baghdad for the first time since he assumed command. CNN's Michael Ware was at the news conference.
Michael, what was your impression?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, General David Petraeus, who only arrived in Iraq one month ago, and is the top military commander overseeing this war, and the man charged with fulfilling the controversial surge strategy to reclaim the capital here in Baghdad, really had nothing much to reveal that was new. Either in terms of strategy or in terms of timetables for troop levels.
He did say that, you know, obviously, the focal point was the Baghdad security plan. He said its early days. So far it's progressing well. But the signs are not clear enough to make any long-term predictions.
He said that American troops, the surge reinforcements, are not yet in place. Won't be at least until June. And indicated clearly that they will be here for some time.
He also indicated that it's not just the metropolis that will be targeted, but also the insurgent's support bases around the capital. What was also interesting, however, was some of the things that the general did not say. Particularly, there was no direct criticism or focus on the Shia militias, particularly that of rebel anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whom rumor says is engaging in a potential political deal with the Iraqi government.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, you mentioned a political deal. The general said it is politics that will provide some sort of solution in Iraq. And yet he is four square behind the troop buildup there and offers no real end in sight for people looking for U.S. troops to come home. It seems as if there's a contradiction inherent there.
WARE: Well, there is no end in sight for U.S. troops coming home, certainly anytime soon. I mean, no matter which way you play out the scenario here in Iraq, I mean, Iraq is at such a point, it's such a mess, that everyone from President Bush to General Petraeus calls this situation dire. Now, they don't call it hopeless, but it's certainly akin to a disaster.
Now, the way out will not be military. It will be political. And what we saw is General Petraeus perhaps hinting at that.
One of the greatest problems in the capital has been the Mehdi militia and its death squads. Well, we didn't hear General Petraeus mention the name "Mehdi militia." And when it did come up, he was very careful to say it's only the extremists among them who were the problem, not the militias themselves.
M. O'BRIEN: Michael Ware in Baghdad.
Thank you.
In Washington this morning, Democrats will unveil a new plan to bring the troops home by the fall of next year, maybe earlier. The Democrats say their timetable for withdrawal is linked to a series of goals for the struggling Iraqi government. If the government meets the benchmarks, U.S. troops could come home even sooner, according to that plan -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: President Bush leaves for a weeklong trip to Latin America. It's going to happen in the next couple of hours. He'll be talking about poverty and also trying to challenge some assumptions that the United States has been neglecting its neighbors to the south.
White House Correspondent Ed Henry has a preview for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the 2000 campaign, George W. Bush vowed to use his experience as Texas governor to make neighboring Latin America a top priority.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Should I become the president, I will look south not as an afterthought, but as a fundamental commitment to my presidency.
HENRY: Seven years later, that promise has become yet another casualty of the Iraq war. Now the president, looking for legacy items, is trying to make up for lost time with a seven-day swing through South and Central America.
BUSH: The fact is that tens of millions of our brothers and sisters to the south have seen little improvement in their daily lives. And this has led some to question the value of democracy.
HENRY: Fuel for the anti-American Venezuela strongman Hugo Chavez, whose education and health programs have won the hearts and minds of the impoverished in his nation as American development programs have lagged. Chavez has formed a close alliance with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and armed with massive oil revenue, wants to spread his brand of socialism.
The White House insists this is not an anti-Chavez tour, but the itinerary suggests otherwise, with stops in five democracies wringing Venezuela.
First, it's Brazil, where the president hopes to ink an ethanol deal to ease America's energy crisis, but also to weaken the influence of Chavez's oil reserves. In Uruguay, Mr. Bush wants to set up a free trade deal. Then on to Colombia to highlight the battle against narcoterrorists. More trade talk in Guatemala and Mexico, as well as the thorny issue of immigration reform.
The president's overriding message to those in poverty, the U.S. feels your pain.
BUSH: The trip really is to remind people that we care. I do worry about the fact that some say, well, the United States hasn't paid enough attention to us.
MICHAEL SHIFTER, V.P., INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE: Bush is in a very weak position. His political capital is depleted. There's a lot more mistrust in the region. And so he's got his work cut out for him.
HENRY: Is it too little, too late?
Ed Henry, CNN, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: AMERICAN MORNING is going to be coming to you live from Mexico for the president's visit on Tuesday. Immigration, of course, is sure to be a big topic of conversation between the two presidents, Bush and Calderon.
I'll be in Mexico taking a hard look at the issue, examining why so many people there are so desperate to come across the U.S. border. That's on Tuesday right here on AMERICAN MORNING -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: In New York City this morning, fire investigators are at the scene of the deadliest fire in recent memory in the city. At least nine dead, eight of them young children, dying in the Bronx overnight.
Jim Acosta is there with the latest -- Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Miles.
This building behind me doesn't really tell the story as effectively as what happened here earlier this morning and last night. You can see the charred remains of this three-story building here, but really, this was a fast-moving fire that roared through this building very quickly, engulfing the homes that were inside. This building was shared by four immigrant families, and they really had very little time to react.
Before firefighters arrived at the scene, neighbors rushed to aid the families trapped inside this building. Those neighbors say one desperate mother actually threw her children out of the window, then jumped herself to try and escape the flames. Firefighters did all they could to save the children, rendering aid and rushing these children to area hospitals. But for many of them, it was just too late.
Relatives of the victims here say most of the families that lived here were immigrants from Mali. Ten other people were injured in this fire. Six of them are now serious and recovering in area hospitals.
Firefighters don't know at this point whether or not this was an arson, but standard operating procedure in a fire this serious, where this many people have died, they will certainly look into it -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Jim Acosta in the Bronx.
Thank you -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: In Phoenix this morning, a former Navy sailor is behind bars. He's charged with spying and helping plot terror attacks on U.S. warships.
He is 31 years old. His name is Hassan Abu Jihad (ph). He's also known as Paul R. Hall (ph), and he's accused of funneling classified information to terrorists while he was in the Navy in 2000 and 2001.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBORAH MCCARLEY, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: He provided details of a battle group's transition or battle group's movements from one place to another as they engaged in missions concerning al Qaeda and as they were enforcing sanctions against the Taliban.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Two men on the receiving end of the information allegedly are now under arrest in London, and prosecutors would like to try them, they say, in the United States.
The latest now on that poisoning out of the Russia. Two American women are back in L.A., and they're in a hospital this morning. It's still a mystery, though, how Marina Kovalevsky (ph) and her daughter Yanna (ph) were exposed to thallium. Believe it or not, that was a favorite of the KGB back in the Cold War days. The women, both Soviet immigrants, travel to Russia frequently and were there for a wedding.
M. O'BRIEN: This morning in Indonesia, experts are trying to identify the dead in that plane crash in Yogyakarta yesterday. At least 22 died when the plane landed fast and long and slid off the runway and erupted in flames. Amazingly, dozens lived to tell the tale.
CNN's Dan Rivers spoke with some of the survivors. He joins us now live from Yogyakarta -- Dan.
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, you join me in front of what remains of GA Flight 200. Today, Indonesian and Australian officials have been photographing the wreckage behind me. You can probably just make out the engine, one of the engines that was on the plane. Trying to get through and pick up some clues. The black box flight recorder has now been recovered, and you can probably hear behind me the plane that is flying that vital piece of evidence to Australia for analysis.
And this all comes, as you say -- today, I've been talking to some of the passengers who survived and hearing their compelling survival stories.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIVERS (voice over): Looking at the ferocity of the fire, it is amazing anyone could have survived this crash. But they did. Two- thirds of the 140 passengers and crew made it out alive, some running away from the burning wreckage with barely a scratch. Others badly injured and burnt, carried away on stretchers.
Yanadi Frimulio (ph) tells me how his hands and legs were badly scolded when he brushed against the red-hot fuselage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I jumped awkwardly and my hand touched the side of the plane. But it was so hot, I fell to the ground when it was burning (INAUDIBLE) fuel. My body started burning. Luckily, I was wearing a leather jacket.
RIVERS: But Nonook Sufitri (ph) was barely injured, just the odd bruise and scratch. She says, "When I tried to escape from the plane, I fell down and people were trampling me, but someone helped me up and I jumped out of the emergency door." But Nonook (ph) wasn't just jumping for her own life. She's 10 weeks pregnant.
She says, "When I was about to jump from the plane, I was worried about my baby, but I had no choice."
The pictures of the crash reinforce just how lucky she was. She simply walked away from the wreckage, got a taxi to take her to the hospital, where doctors confirmed her baby is fine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIVERS: Amazing story that Nonook (ph) recounted to me there, 10 weeks pregnant and somehow managed to get out of that burning plane that's behind me and get herself to hospital, having to just jump in a taxi to get to hospital herself.
Other incredible stories as well of one Australian airport officer who went back to try and help his colleague and help others get out of the plane. Quite remarkable stories that have emerged from this disaster -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Amazing tales.
Dan Rivers in Yogyakarta.
Thank you very much. More on this incredible survivor story a little bit later.
We're going to take you to a place that can teacher people how to survive a plane crash. It is advice that could save your life. So stay tuned. It's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
The most news in the morning is right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning right here on CNN.
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, how to survive a plane crash. Greg Hunter is on the case -- Greg.
GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Miles.
This looks like a travel trailer, like in an earthquake. But inside, it's simulating an airplane in travel and what it feels like for a crash landing.
I'll show you how it works when we come back here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: We'll catch you up now on some news from the campaign trail this morning.
There are some new signs that Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel is going to join the race for the Republican nomination. He has scheduled a news conference on Monday to announce his plans. Hagel, of course, has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's plan to add more troops to Iraq.
South Carolina showdown between Democrat Barack Obama and supporters of his chief party rival, Hillary Clinton. Obama had a speech planned to the Black Caucus next month, but it was almost derailed by two senators, state senators who wanted Senator Clinton to speak instead. Well, those two senators finally relented and Obama's appearance was unanimously approved.
John Edwards says he's not concerned about all the attention that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are getting right now. He told reporters in Texas on Wednesday he feels "a long way from left out," reminding everyone that we are still more than 18 months away from the 2008 election.
Eighteen months away, that's a long time.
Of course, all the day's political news is available any time day or night at CNN.com/ticker -- Miles. M. O'BRIEN: Chances are you won't ever have to use the advice you're about to get. But if you fly, you really should listen up, because this next story might one day save your life.
Greg Hunter live now at an air safety training facility with word on how you can increase your chances of living to tell the tale as those people in Indonesia did.
Greg, good morning.
HUNTER: Hey, good morning, Miles.
Well, this is the FACTS emergency procedures simulator. It teaches people how to handle a plane in trouble. And you can see outside it looks like a normal trailer.
It's kind of moving around. That's because inside it's simulating the plane is in trouble. So when we come in here, you can see the plane's having big trouble.
If you look up here, hey, there's even a cockpit. No pilots. But that's not why this plane is in trouble. It's just to show how people should react in a plane and how the flight attendant will get people out of the plane.
And just to give you a taste of how this works and what it can do, take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLAIN STANLEY, FACTS: The first scenario is going to be a decompression scenario.
HUNTER (voice over): Blain Stanley shows people how to survive an aircraft emergency. He does it with a mobile emergency simulator, mostly for crews from corporate jets from this small control room.
STANLEY: Any in-flight fire, lavatory fire, cockpit fire, galley fire, engine fire dumping smoke into the cabin, ditching, decompression, medical emergencies, anything.
HUNTER: Stanley uses these levers to make the simulator roll and vibrate...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brace. Hold tight. Brace.
HUNTER: ... like a real aircraft in trouble. One scenario, a decompressing plane making an emergency landing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Put your masks on, quick!
HUNTER: Another scenario, how to escape a plane that's crashed into the water. And you find yourself hanging upside down underwater. You must be able to unlock the seat belt, find the exit, and swim to safety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good girl.
HUNTER: And the most terrifying for passengers, fire.
Whatever the emergency situation, Stanley tells his clients, the most important thing is to stay cool and listen.
(on camera): If you don't know anything about a crash, what should a consumer do?
STANLEY: A consumer, again, needs to have situational awareness, know exactly where they are on the airplane, and above all else, listen to the crew members.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTER: Well, look back here. We're simulating a plane on fire, much like the plane crash that happened in Indonesia. The plane actually landed and the cabin started filling up with smoke.
Now, you see the flight attendant back here is going to go do her job and get these passengers out. And she's going to go ahead and open the window. Everybody's going to -- you're going to be amazed at how fast a cabin fills up with smoke.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's go! We've got to get out of here!
HUNTER: You don't have a lot of time when the smoke starts filling up. You can see this simulates what happens in an airplane. And you can see, it's just been a few seconds.
And this is the kind of thing that will happen in an airplane, the kind of thing that happened in Indonesia. This is how fast after a plane comes to a stop that smoke actually -- actually fills up the cabin. And you can see -- you can barely see me.
So, when we go, you go out the window just like here. The flight attendant is helping me out the window. And you can see it is quite the stretch for a big guy like me.
So here we go. We come out. I'm safe.
And it's just to show you how fast, how quickly things can go bad, and how fast you need to get out of an airplane. And that you have to listen -- as Blain said, have to listen to the flight attendants. They're the ones that will keep their cool and get you out -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Another reason to pass on the in-flight meal, I think.
Let me ask you this, Greg. One of the things you should do when you get on a plane is know where that exit, that emergency exit is. It could be behind you, too, and you've got to -- you should really take note of that because you might have to do it, as you say, with limited visibility. HUNTER: You know, Blain Stanley said that. He said, you know, you hear that all the time -- know where the exits are. And keep in mind, they could be behind you.
But that so important, to know where the exit is. So, if something happens, wow, the exit's right behind me. Wow, it's four seats in front of me. Because you may have to get there in a totally occluded vision. So, that's very important, yes.
And also, listen to the flight attendants.
Back to you.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. No matter how many times you heard it, it's worth listening to.
Greg Hunter, good work. Thank you -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, new numbers coming in. Is it going to be a buyer's or a seller's year in real estate? Ali Velshi will take a look as he minds your business.
Plus, we'll meet the trucker who is now on the road to riches after taking home half that record jackpot.
And go ahead and roll over. A little more shut eye could help you control your weight. We'll explain why straight ahead.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Jitters in the housing market, and some unusually frank comments by one mover and shaker in that industry.
It's 58 minutes past the hour, and Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business."
Yes, he was blunt, wasn't he?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Yes, this is the CEO of D.R. Horton, one of the country's largest home builders. At a conference here in New York, he -- we got this off of a Web conference. We got his comments.
I don't know, do we have that audio we can listen to? Because if we don't I can just -- all right. Listen to what he had to say about the housing market.
OK. We're going to read what he had to say about the housing market.
M. O'BRIEN: Do you want me to do the voice-over?
VELSHI: "I don't want to be too sophisticated here, but 2007 is going to suck."
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, that's not very sophisticated.
VELSHI: "All 12 months of the calendar year... our future is not as bright as what we would like it to be."
Now, earlier today, I was showing you the "Beige Book."
M. O'BRIEN: That's a technical term, "suck," right?
VELSHI: "Suck" is a technical term. But the good thing about the "Beige Book" is that it actually confirms what he's saying.
He says that -- it says that the housing market across the country is weak, but there are some signs of stability in some region -- some regions. The exception, by the way, is New York, which is not weakening at all.
New housing construction is slowing across the country. Down in Texas, where D.R. Horton is based, they're actually seeing cancellations of people who are purchasing homes. There's a growing inventory of new homes. Builders are scaling back on their plans to build. And in some parts of the upper Midwest, homebuilders are offering incentives to buyers.
I'll have more on that and the situation facing retailers in this country in about half an hour.
But for now, the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts now.
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