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Valerie Plame Wilson Appears on Capitol Hill; John McCain Hits the Road; Plane Crashes at Florida Air Show; Rev. Al Sharpton Speaks Out on the Death of a Groom in New York City; St. Patrick's Day Celebrations
Aired March 16, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry, in for Kyra Phillips.
Fifty shots fired, a young man killed just hours before his wedding -- the grand jury says it has decided now whether or not to indict officers accused in that shooting. We're going to have the latest in a live report.
LEMON: Plus: Valerie Plame Wilson speaks, and Washington listens -- right now, a hearing still under way about that leak that changed her life, and, she says, jeopardizes the lives of others.
We're on top of it, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Top of the hour.
Happening right now: a developing story coming out of Florida.
Am I correct with that, T.J.? What do you have?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you got it right there, Don, Florida, in particular the Florida Keys, Key Largo, specifically, where three divers are dead, after a recreational dive they were taking off Key Largo.
What you're seeing here is the shipwreck here, which is a popular spot off Key Largo. It's called the Spiegel Grove. What it is, is a decommissioned -- the USS Spiegel Grove -- a decommissioned Navy ship that was sunk off the coast there to actually create an artificial reef. Well, many people go there for recreation and go through it.
It's a popular dive spot. Well, what happened here -- and, again, three divers are dead. You're seeing just some file video here of -- of that shipwreck and some of the divers, and whatnot, because it's really a recreational spot.
These four divers actually went down on a recreational dive. All four of these divers were -- are said to be very experienced divers. Now, apparently, something went horribly wrong, because, according to police there, three of the divers went in to check out the shipwreck. One of them stayed at the -- at the entrance of the shipwreck. Well, the one who stayed at the entrance had to come up a short time later, because he began to run out of air in his tank. Well, after that, two other divers from another boat went down to check on the other three. They found one in distress, brought him up. He made it to a hospital, but was pronounced dead at that hospital. The other two divers never made it up.
Later, when a rescue team came down, they did find the other remaining two divers who were deep inside that shipwreck dead -- so, again, three divers dead. Four had gone down on that initial -- initial dive. And something apparently went wrong with one of them. He was able to make it out, but the other three died in the shipwreck.
Their identities have not been -- been released just yet. But, again, it was a recreational dive. By all accounts, these were very experienced divers who had gone down to check out this shipwreck, again, a very popular spot off Key Largo.
But we're keeping an eye on this story, but just a sad, sad story. I'm sure more details to come, but it does seem, Don, that something certainly went terribly wrong with these experienced guys.
LEMON: All right, T.J., thank you so much for that.
CHETRY: And, just a short time ago, we got word that a grand jury in New York has reached a decision in the case of a young groom killed in a hail of police bullets on his wedding day.
There is a catch, though. We don't exactly know what that decision was.
Senior correspondent Allan Chernoff joins us live from New York with more details.
Hi, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.
In fact, just a few moments ago, members of the grand jury actually left the building. So, they have now concluded their deliberations, as you said. They are all finished. And the district attorney here in Queens, Richard Brown, plans to make a formal announcement of everything Monday morning, 11:00 a.m. Eastern time.
So, that's when we will have full details of exactly what has transpired, what the grand jury has decided.
Now, let's try to figure out perhaps what that decision is. The district attorney's office had indicated to us earlier that, if the grand jury made a decision not to hand up any indictments whatsoever, then there might be a press conference held this afternoon.
As I said, the press conference will be held Monday morning. That is leading to some speculation -- and again, it is, at this point, only speculation -- that the grand jury has decided to hand up at least some indictments against some of the police officers. Now, there were five police officers involved in that incident back in November -- 50 bullets fired at the car containing Sean Bell and two of his friends. Sean Bell, the groom who was killed by that hail of bullets, he was to have been married that very same day, later in the day.
CHETRY: Yes. And -- and, Allan, we are going to get back to you in just a second.
We have to quickly go to the White House, where Tony Snow, the press secretary, is holding a briefing.
Allan, we will join you again in a few minutes.
Let's listen to Tony Snow.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
QUESTION: I mean, the way that you answer questions, it seems like you would want to answer this question.
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: No, because it gets into the position of trying to read people's motivations. You know, I mean, I don't want to do that.
But, on the other hand, certainly, what happened is entirely appropriate, in terms of removing people who serve at the pleasure of the president. Each and every one of the seven had fulfilled their terms as U.S. attorneys. At that point, you have a holdover provision. And it was decided to find replacements.
QUESTION: How much confidence does the president have that Attorney General Gonzales is going to be able to move beyond this controversy and retain his job?
SNOW: Well, he continues on his job. I mean, I -- I don't -- I don't quite understand how to -- the notion is that, somehow, everything stops because you guys are on a story.
There are more than 100,000 attorneys working for the U.S. Department of Justice, doing a lot of important business, including corruption investigations, very good record on that, more than 1,000 prosecutions per year out of the Department of Justice, in some cases, approaching 1,500.
So, the point here is that the Department of Justice, it's a big, important department and continues to function. But we understand there's a certain amount of controversy here.
On the other hand, make no mistake about the basics, people serving at the pleasure of the president, and that it's entirely proper to do replacements.
QUESTION: And Attorney General Gonzales also was, you know, nominated by the president. Is there any talk at all that perhaps he won't be able to continue doing the job, given what's happened? SNOW: No, but -- no.
QUESTION: Tony, you used the word -- terms "remove" and "replace." The critics are saying "fire." Is there a distinction to -- in your mind?
SNOW: I don't know. I mean, you know, I think they're all different ways of describing the same thing.
QUESTION: But, also, in the Sampson e-mail, he talked about how at change of administrations -- he used the word "fired." He talked about, at the beginning of Clinton, at the beginning of the president's father's term.
Is there -- is there a distinction in making a change after a four-year term or in the...
(CROSSTALK)
SNOW: I don't -- I don't know that -- you know, there are any number of reasons to -- I mean, you can make distinctions. But the fact is, the general principle you serve at the pleasure of the president, you know, at any juncture, there can be a decision to put somebody else in the position.
On the other hand, if you take a look at what Kyle Sampson is talking about -- I have got the memo up here -- you know what? Let me -- I just want to read through.
It said, "President -- in 43 -- in 2001, many -- many Clinton- appointed U.S. attorneys were fired."
I don't know. I just...
QUESTION: Some of whom were in the midst of a four-year term.
SNOW: Right. Right.
QUESTION: Yes.
SNOW: But many of whom had completed -- what's interesting is that it appears, based on at least what we have seen in e-mails, that there is some sensitivity in terms of letting everybody complete the four-year term who had been appointed by this president.
QUESTION: Tony, is it the president's intention, then, to keep Attorney General Gonzales in his current position for the remainder of the Bush administration?
SNOW: You're asking me what's going to happen for the next two years, Cheryl (ph). I'm not going to -- I'm just not going to answer.
QUESTION: How about for the next two weeks?
SNOW: He intends to keep him in the position. QUESTION: And, also, it's my understanding that, in the past, aides to presidents have testified on Capitol Hill. Dan Bartlett said earlier this week that it is highly unlikely that Karl Rove would testify.
Why is that? Why does the president...
SNOW: I'm not going to get -- you're absolutely right. There have been some cases. In some administrations , they have. And, in others, they have not.
(CROSSTALK)
SNOW: What you're asking me to do is to lift the veil on ongoing legal deliberations. I'm really not going to do it.
There are conversations going on right now between the White House and leaders on Capitol Hill. And we have made it clear we want to get them the information they need. And we have always said it has to be consistent with presidential prerogatives.
But, at this juncture, I think it's premature for me to try to make characterizations, including comparisons to previous administrations, about how we proceed.
QUESTION: Excuse me if this has been asked and answered, but when do you expect to have a decision on that, and also on any documents that Congress is requesting? When?
SNOW: The answer to both of those is, I don't know.
Helen (ph)?
QUESTION: What was the gist of the so-called (OFF-MIKE) on Iran and...
SNOW: Well, I'm leaving it at that. I mean, it's important to try to make sure -- I'm sorry -- on the Palestinians? Well, the -- the Saudis, like -- let me put it this way. The president made clear, once again, his commitment to a Palestinian state that can live side by side in peace with Israel. And he thanked the king...
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: ... democratic election...
(CROSSTALK)
SNOW: And he -- well, no, that -- he has accepted the democratic election. But, on the other hand, he is not going to acknowledge a government that will not follow through the quartet. We're not going to deal directly, in terms of negotiations, with a government...
CHETRY: All right. We have been listening to a little bit of the White House press briefing -- White House press secretary Tony Snow answering some more questions regarding the controversy surrounding the dismissal of eight, even though he keeps saying seven...
LEMON: Yes.
CHETRY: ... but eight U.S. attorneys. Those are the pictures right now and the names of the eight U.S. attorneys that were let go -- amid some questions about whether it was performance related or political in nature -- so, again, some more questions there being asked of the White House reporters.
And we will find out more from that press briefing in just a few minutes.
LEMON: We will follow that developing story, and also this one.
Flight canceled? You're flying standby? Try later? Well, what too many air travelers are hearing today, as a major winter storm takes hold over the entire Northeast -- hundreds of flights were canceled by the first snowflakes even fell. And you can count on more being grounded once it begins to sleet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He goes: I'm going to put you on standby for an earlier flight.
And I said: Why not my 7:00 flight?
And he goes: because you're going to go standby on earlier.
And I said: Why?
And he said: Because it's been canceled.
You know, there was no indication whatsoever beforehand that the flight had been canceled. It showed on time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You a little worried?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. Hell, yeah, I'm worried.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to go home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We woke up this morning, and looked out of the window, saw the snow coming down, and was wondering if our flight would be canceled or not, but, so far, so good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You got lucky.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, we're looking forward to getting home. I think we got lucky.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right, so, if you want to know how things are folks some folks, we just received an update on that woman flying standby. She's trying to get home to Dallas. She was able to get a flight to -- get this -- Detroit, where she has a six-hour layover.
CHETRY: Ugh. Better to just stay home.
LEMON: That is a good word.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: That is a good word: ugh.
CHETRY: Better to just stay home at that point.
LEMON: Yes, just stay home and try to work it out.
CHETRY: Or stay at work.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: All right. You can.
CHETRY: Don't go anywhere.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Go ahead. Yes, stay right here.
What a wallop. We can call it a winter wallop. It looks like spring will have to wait, just like a whole bunch of people are waiting, Reynolds Wolf.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes. And you said a six- hour layover in Detroit?
LEMON: Uh-huh.
WOLF: Detroit's awfully lovely this time of year.
LEMON: Time of year, it's just great.
WOLF: Yes.
LEMON: Wouldn't you just love to hang out?
WOLF: It's -- it's a lovely spot, quite festive, to say the very least.
LEMON: Yes.
WOLF: Hey, New York is going to be lovely, too. If you don't mind the snow, that's great. If you have to get around the stuff or else if you are out at La Guardia or maybe even JFK, it is going to be headache city for you. Here's why.
We have got this big system that continues to march its way to the Northeast. We have had delays like you wouldn't believe in places like not just the Northeast, but also spots affected like Fort Lauderdale, 30-minute departure delay there, in Phoenix also a 30- minute wait, but a ground delay up to three hours in Newark.
And, again, we're going to be seeing these more delays pile up, more cancellations, all because of this nor'easter. Not only are we getting scattered snow showers in New York, but very heavy snowfall in places like Patterson, back over to Yonkers, even into White Plains, where snowfall rates -- snow falling anywhere from one to two inches of -- of icy precipitation an hour.
I mean, this is just really heavy stuff that's coming down. But what we're going to see into the late afternoon, into the evening and overnight hours is a transformation from snow to sleet, and then, by tomorrow morning, looking at the potential of some rain beginning to form.
That's good news for people on Long Island, and also up in Boston, where you're going to see much of that precipitation switch over to rain. So, the snow that's going to pile up, possibly anywhere from six to eight inches of snow, will actually melt by morning and midday tomorrow.
However, places a little bit farther off to the west, say, in the -- up -- up the Hudson River, say, like out at West Point, maybe even near the Tappan Zee Bridge, snowfall there could be really heavy. In fact, some places could get up to a foot of snowfall.
Also, in spots, like, say, Springfield, Massachusetts, easily up to 17 to 18 inches of snow there. And, in higher elevations in the Berkshires, it is going to be snow biz for you as well.
So, again, if you happen to be out at the airports, please be patient. It is not the fault of the people at the gate or the people at the ticket counter. They're doing the best they can. Here's who you need to be angry at: old Mother Nature.
Let's send it back to you at the news desk.
LEMON: It's not your fault either, Reynolds, is it?
WOLF: Absolutely not.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: All right. Just checking. You said not anybody else's fault.
WOLF: That's right.
LEMON: We just wanted to make sure...
WOLF: That's right.
LEMON: ... that you were left out of that equation as well.
WOLF: You got it, man. LEMON: You just report the news.
Thank you so much...
WOLF: You bet.
LEMON: ... Reynolds.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Can't blame the messenger.
LEMON: Yes.
CHETRY: Not even the weather messenger.
LEMON: Yes.
CHETRY: Well, from covert to overt -- Valerie Plame Wilson went public today. The woman at the center of the CIA leak investigation appeared on Capitol Hill, not mincing word, accusing the White House and the State Department of blowing her cover for political motives.
CNN's Brianna Keilar joins us live with more on that appearance today.
Hi, Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.
Several people testifying here on Capitol Hill today, but, of course, Valerie Plame was the star witness.
Here's how she described the first moments after finding out that she had been outed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIE PLAME WILSON, FORMER EMPLOYEE AT THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY: I found out very early in the morning, when my husband came in and dropped the newspaper on the bed and said, "He did it."
And I quickly turned and read the article, and I felt like I had been hit in the gut. I -- it was over in an instant. And I immediately thought of my family's safety, the agents, the networks that I had worked with. And everything goes through your mind in an instant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: When Plame-Wilson's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, said "He did it," Plame-Wilson later clarified there that he was talking about Robert Novak.
And she also tried to clear up the debate over whether or not she was covert. Some people have said, look, it wasn't really that big of a deal, because she wasn't covert. But Plame-Wilson said, in fact, she was, and that, recently, in the run-up to the Iraq war, she had been overseas on secret missions, gathering intelligence -- Kiran.
CHETRY: And what did she say about the trip to Niger that her husband, Joe Wilson, took?
KEILAR: That's right. Valerie Plame Wilson responded to what she saw as the attempt of senior White House officials to discredit her husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, outspoken critic of the Bush administration's prewar claim that Iraq tried to buy yellow cake uranium from Niger.
He went to Niger, didn't find a basis for it. And she said that she, you know, pretty much saw this as the -- as senior White House officials saying, you know, what does this guy know? He just went on this fact-finding mission for the CIA because his wife had him go.
Here's how she responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. STEPHEN LYNCH (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I want to ask you now, under oath, did you make the decision to send Ambassador Wilson to Niger?
PLAME-WILSON: No. I did not recommend him. I did not suggest him. There was no nepotism involved. I didn't have the authority.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Plame-Wilson actually said she was rather ambivalent about him going, that, when she thought about being at home at night reading bedtime stories to the Wilsons' 2-year-old twins while Joe Wilson was over in Niger, she really wasn't keen on that idea -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Brianna Keilar, thank you.
LEMON: Will they or won't they be charged? A grand jury has a decision on those five New York City police officers allegedly involved in a shooting that killed a groom on his wedding day. So, why aren't we hearing that decision, what it is, yet? We're keeping watch right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
CHETRY: No pigtails, no guitar, but John McCain still channeling Willie Nelson -- ahead in the NEWSROOM, he's on the road again. So, can he ride it all the way to the White House?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, Senator John McCain is back on the bus. He's trying to regain the momentum in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Eight years after his Straight Talk Express first cruised the primary states, McCain has pulled his bus out of the garage and into Iowa.
And CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joins us from Cedar Falls.
Hi there, candy.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran.
As John McCain traveled through the Iowa countryside aboard the Straight Talk Express, there were a lot of similarities to his 2000 campaign, but, in the end, 2008 is going to be about differences.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Hey.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello. Morning.
MCCAIN: Good morning. How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning.
MCCAIN: How you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're good.
MCCAIN: Good.
CROWLEY (voice over): In need of a little something to power up his campaign, John McCain brought the Straight Talk Express out of mothballs and took off across Iowa, talking, talking, talking.
MCCAIN: Deja vu all over again.
CROWLEY: The bus was the symbol of his 2000 campaign. It carried the iconoclast, the no-holds-barred, independent-thinking Westerner who almost beat George W. Bush.
But the maverick McCain has spent the last few years going mainstream, courting the party faithful, making up with evangelicals he once dissed, picking up Bush staffers, Bush fund-raisers, and Bush supporters. For some McCainiacs, it has taken off the glow.
MCCAIN: I'm the same guy that I always was. And my position are always the same. I mean, I can't help it if people want to -- you know, it's a free country. They can say what they say, but I haven't changed.
(APPLAUSE)
CROWLEY: The war also hurts McCain's bid. The Arizona senator is so hawkish, it often seems to be his war as much as the president's. But McCain greets it head on, bringing it up before they do.
MCCAIN: I am convinced that, if we lose this war -- this conflict and leave, they will follow us home. They will follow us home. CROWLEY: McCain tosses off any notion that his campaign has lost the magic. Though Rudy Giuliani has enjoyed a double-digit lead for months, McCain says this is only spring training, and he is on his game.
MCCAIN: We are doing fine. I think that we have the kind of base of support we didn't have in 2000, politically and financially. We're working away one day at a time.
And now we're back in the most enjoyable part. And that's the riding around on the bus, talking to jerks like you, and having town hall meetings.
CROWLEY: Some things haven't changed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: "Jerks like you" -- that's real nice, Candy.
Well, you know, they call it the Straight Talk Express. Sometimes, though, his straight talk gets him in a little bit of trouble.
CROWLEY: Well, we had a -- a town hall meeting here today, and John McCain was taking some questions.
One of them was about a man who was having trouble in a child custody suit, wanted to see more of his children. And McCain was explaining why it was a bad idea for the federal government to get involved in something like that. And he used the term, that's a tar baby. This has been a word that has set off fireworks when several other people have used it.
Mitt Romney used it about a year ago talking about the Big Dig in Chicago. Tony Snow used it in one of his first press briefings. It set off a firestorm, because a lot of people see that as a racist term.
McCain -- later, I asked him about the use of it.
And he said, "I hope anybody -- nobody took it wrong," but it -- but he shouldn't have used the word and he was wrong to do so.
So, he took care of it very quickly.
CHETRY: All right. And he still is trailing Giuliani in -- in some of those polls, including the CNN poll that -- that has come out.
How does he hope to shrink that?
CROWLEY: Well, you know, he is -- what they say is -- you heard that spring training remark. They use that a lot. And they say: Listen, we have a game plan. We are on it. We were, about this time, going to bring out the Straight Talk Express. We're beginning our town hall meetings. We have it mapped out for the next year.
They claim to not be concerned about Giuliani's double-digit leads. However, I can pretty much guarantee you this isn't where they thought they would be about a year ago.
CHETRY: Yes. All right, Candy Crowley back on the bus.
Hope you guys have some fun along the way. Thanks so much for joining us.
CROWLEY: Thanks.
CHETRY: Of course, all the day's political news is available any time, day or night. Just log on to CNN.com/ticker. And our political editors will update the latest political headlines throughout the campaign season.
LEMON: All right, let's get back to our developing story here in New York City.
A grand jury decision has been made in the case of a young groom killed in a hail of police gunfire on his wedding day. Grand jurors were in their third day of deliberations, deciding whether the five officers involved should face criminal charges.
The DA says a decision won't be announced until Monday.
Here to talk about all of today's developments in the case, B.J. Bernstein. She's our legal analyst here at CNN.
And she will give us more right after this break.
CNN NEWSROOM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Here to talk about today's developments in case of Sean Bell in New York City, criminal defense attorney B.J. Bernstein.
B.J., what does this all mean? We're hearing about that they have reached a decision, this grand jury. But we don't know what's inside. And we won't know until Monday.
B.J. BERNSTEIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: We won't know until Monday. And it could mean a number of things, so I don't want to guess the wrong way.
But it could mean that all of five officers have been indicted, perhaps a combination of officers...
LEMON: Right.
BERNSTEIN: ... because, remember, some officers only fired one round.
LEMON: Mm-hmm. BERNSTEIN: And then you have the extreme of 31 rounds.
And the grand jury could have differentiated between the conduct of each individual officer.
LEMON: So, differentiated meaning, some may not get charged; others can get charged?
BERNSTEIN: Exactly.
(CROSSTALK)
BERNSTEIN: Or even the level of charge...
LEMON: Right.
BERNSTEIN: ... you know, that it was -- some of the charges could be more of a negligence-based, and the other could be much more a purposeful act on their part that would be attacked.
LEMON: When you think about it, and I think the person who fired 31 rounds, which is Detective Mike Oliver, then reloaded, so, there's -- there's something you have to consider in that.
The person who has been speaking out for the family, for the Bell family, has been the Reverend Al Sharpton. He's sort of the family spokesperson and watchdog here. He spoke just moments ago, actually, while doing his radio show, talking about why we're not hearing about this, and why we won't hear about it until Monday.
Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: I can say that, usually, if you seal something, that must mean somebody has been charged. You cannot seal a no indictment.
So, the fact they're sealing something means there's something to be sealed. Now, whether it's worth the glue it's sealed with, we don't know. But you can't seal an empty envelope. But you can give us blank pieces of paper.
So, we're going to see what happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right, B.J., we are going to talk about this later.
We have some breaking news that we have to get to, so, stand by.
CHETRY: That's right.
We're heading over to T.J. Holmes right now. He has developing details right now on a plane crash -- T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, we want to show you this.
We're just going to take a live picture that we do have. This is coming to us out of Titusville, Florida, where a plane has apparently crashed at an air show.
This is called the TICO Warbird Airshow. And this is at the Space Coast Regional Airport. Titusville is not too, too, too far from Orlando, Florida, just to give you a point of reference here of what you're seeing, of where this is.
But what you're seeing here, we're looking at these live pictures, really, as you are seeing them yourselves here. But you can make out what's happening here. You can see the -- a few members of a fire department and other emergency crews there on the scene.
But you can make out that not much is left of this wreckage, reports that this -- this plane, which was a part of this air show, took off, did a roll, and, according to one witness, just fell out of the sky -- quote -- "like a rock."
You can't make out much of what is left from this airplane that, again, was at an air show. This is a -- somewhere in the woods now, not too far from certainly the airport.
We're -- we're at the mercy of our affiliate here, WFTV, which is providing this live picture to us of what they're showing. But -- but, if you see just dead center there in the middle of your screen is what we're trying to keep an eye on, which is the wreckage of that airplane.
Again, this was the -- the air show in Titusville called the TICO Warbird Airshow -- and, again, the live picture we're showing you here. And the report is that this thing, according to eyewitness, it just fell out of the sky like a rock. It went into the woods.
We don't know how many people were on this airplane during this air show. Oftentimes, you will just have a pilot, if it is an air show, just one person.
The plane, reports out of Titusville and the air show is that it's an aero L-39 albatross, which is a high performance jet trainer aircraft. We'll try to work and get some pictures of that and also confirm that that's indeed the kind of plane that this was. But just taking a look at the pictures, you can't make out too much of the plane. You can see the front of it, maybe they're just in the front, just the front of the plane, but it looks like it certainly has been just in pieces at this point. No word right now on the fate of the pilot and anyone else who might have been on board this aircraft. Also, no indication at least right now that anyone on the ground has been injured or hurt by this plane. But again this was an air show. This happened, according to the report we're getting, just about a half hour ago. Just before 3:00 east coast time, this airplane was participating in this show called the Tyco War Board Air Show. And again live pictures there are awfully something to see. We can't really make out much of that plane at all. It looks to be such a devastating crash. Trying to work to get word on how many people might have been on board, how many people, if anybody, was able to walk away from that crash. But a horrible sight there, something we're keeping an eye on. We'll get back to you as soon as we get more details guys.
CHETRY: All right, T.J. thanks.
LEMON: Back to our other developing story, other developing story, the shooting in New York City. So you heard the Reverend Al Sharpton saying if there was not something at least he's hinting at an indictment inside that whatever he calls it, the sealed envelope. At least he is thinking there's going to be an indictment.
BERNSTEIN: And he could be right. And he was alluding to what I was just telling you that they maybe, he may personally be disappointed with the charges that are returned. He and his supporters, the lawyer for Sean Bell and their family have made it clear they want the maximum toughest charges against all the officers. And you heard Al Sharpton leave room for the fact that that may not actually be what the grand jury does. The other reason it could be for the delay on Monday, is remember once a grand jury indictment is issued, none of these officers have been arrested. They would have to be arrested and booked in.
LEMON: OK, this is important to B.J. because we have that 11th hour witness. I think 54 or 55-year-old man who went in and said he heard shots before. At least that's what we were hearing that that's what his testimony was going to be, that he heard shots before the officers fired. What does that mean in this case? They found no gun and no evidence that the suspects shot anyone in Sean Bell's party shot any guns or what have you. But this person is saying he heard gunfire. Does that then give them cause to fire upon these people?
BERNSTEIN: That's going to be a good question. I have a million questions for this witness when I heard he came forward yesterday. Because, first of all, the reports had indicated that this witness actually had talked to the district attorney's office initially and then came forward with this new information only later in a second interview directly with the police department. So if they knew that, if you're asked about a shooting and you're just a bystander, don't you tell them everything? So there's going to be some issues about his credibility.
LEMON: It's going to be very interesting to see how this turns out. B.J., with all the attention going on in New York, police shootings, several in the last couple of days. So thank you so much for joining us. We'll be monitoring this story for you and bring you the latest developments. Thanks again.
CHETRY: There are a few green arrows on Wall Street in the final hour of trading, but Irish eyes are smiling any way on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, that's where Susan Lisovicz joins us right now. You have some friends with you and of course we didn't miss that you were wearing green for St. Paddy's day.
SUSAN LISOVICZ: I'm trying to do my best on this St. Patrick's Day eve on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange are not helping out stocks overall. But Diageo shares are actually up a few pennies and that's a good thing. Diageo is a name that maybe our viewers perhaps won't know firsthand, but they certainly know the brands. That's the parent company of Guinness Beer, Bailey's Irish Cream and Bushmills Irish Whiskey. The gentlemen that flank me here are executives with the company. One of them is Ivan Menezes, St. Patrick's Day has got to be Christmas, Valentine's Day, Halloween all rolled up into one for your Irish brands.
IVAN MENEZES, CEO, DIAGEO NORTH AMERICA: Well, it certainly is. We all have a bit of Irish in us and for Diageo, we are a terrific Irish company. We've got great brands in Guinness, Bailey's and Bushmills. This weekend we ask all of you to go celebrate responsibly.
LISOVICZ: OK, well that's certainly a good point. But there are a lot of people who do celebrate. An estimated 13 million pints of Guinness are raised on St. Patrick's Day worldwide. That's more than 150 pints every second. Is that true?
MENEZES: Yeah, we've got a lot of fantastic adorers of the Guinness brand around the world. It's an iconic brand, a great product. It's over 247 years old. It's crafted beautifully. And what better occasion than St. Patrick's to enjoy that perfect pint.
LISOVICZ: I can testify to the way the Irish love Guinness. I actually saw Guinness ice cream on my last visit to Ireland. There was a shocking headline this week that the Irish are drinking less beer. Is that true?
MENEZES: Well the Irish habits are changing. They're going out to the pub less often, but they indeed still have the great adoration and love for Guinness. They're drinking more at home and the younger Irish are living their lives differently.
LISOVICZ: We would be remiss without addressing the way to properly pour a Guinness. Anyone who has had one knows that it can be quite daunting with the suds. So let's turn to the man to my right that is Fergal Murray who is the Guinness Brewmaster. How do you properly pour a Guinness?
FERGAL MURRAY, GUINNESS BREWMASTER: Unfortunately we can't do it down here on the trading floor.
LISOVICZ: I know.
MURRAY: What I'd like to do is when you go to a pub, I want you to experience that Guinness pour, I want to experience that wonder of the ritual, the ceremony of a great bartender crafting that perfect pint.
LISOVICZ: But it's all in the angle, if you were at home with this bottle, it's all in the angle, is that correct?
MURRAY: Well the set up, it's the 45 degree angle, then a nice slow pour. One that settled, the cascade, the visual look, then the top up and then the impact of that visual look being sent up to the customer to give you the world's greatest beer. In the draft format like this, you can take it home. This is a bottled Guinness, this is where you give that same experience in other occasions at home where you can enjoy the wonderful flavor of Guinness. What better day to do it than the St. Patrick's weekend?
LISOVICZ: There are a lot of green ties, a lot of shamrocks sported on this trading floor. And before we go, Kiran, I just want to tell you that there is a way to actually pour a shamrock into a tap mug -- a pint of Guinness. It's actually been done and I'm going to see it for myself in a short period of time. Back to you Kiran.
CHETRY: Yeah absolutely. And they like to say Susan it's only 125 calories, whether you believe it or not. I still don't believe it.
LISOVICZ: I know, hard to believe, I know.
CHETRY: Susan thanks so much.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
CHETRY: We also want to tell people please send in your iReports for your St. Patrick's Day celebrations to cnn.com/ireports. Meantime, we're going to head over to Kathleen Koch at the White House. We're hearing word that the president's motorcade in fact involved in an accident. The president not present at the time though. Hi Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The president's limousine was not involved Kiran to be specific. What happened is the president right now, the motorcade is on its way to Camp David where the president will be spending the weekend. Instead of going by Marine One, as he normally would, because the weather here is very rainy, very wet. But apparently as the motorcade is heading north right now on I-270 in Maryland snow is coming down, the roads are getting icy. But one of the SUVs in the motorcade got into an accident. It was driving on the right shoulder, hit a patch of ice we're told, and then spun into a civilian car. So apparently no one was injured as far as we know. The pool reporter traveling with the motorcade said no ambulances had arrived. They saw the vehicles involved, the drivers, the occupants were apparently were out of the vehicles and discussing the situation. But apparently the road conditions are getting fairly dicey out there, such that the driver of this other SUV carrying some of the reporters accompanying the president decided to turn around and come back. But apparently the presidential motorcade is continuing now to Camp David. Kiran?
CHETRY: So at least it seems at this point that it's not a terribly serious accident. The president's car, as you said, not involved. We'll get more from you a little later, Kathleen Koch, thanks so much.
We're going to take a quick break, CNN NEWSROOM will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: In today's fit nation report when most of us need food, we just take it for granted that we can head to the grocery store to pick up our favorites. That's not always the case though for everyone. There's a new study showing that people in poorer neighborhoods are often stranded in the middle of what's being called a food desert. Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Tisha Temple needs to feed her family, she spends $6 on the bus ride there, another $10 to take a cab back from her nearest grocery store, which is a 45-minute journey.
TISHA TEMPLE: Where there's a car lot at right now, it was a grocery store called Wade's and that was the big grocery store out here for us until they closed down. Other than that we had nothing.
GUPTA: Welcome to what experts call the food desert, where there is little help for residents who may want to buy healthy food but can't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, sir, that's nine, eight, nine, ten, ten it's 20. Thank you, have a good day.
GUPTA: Vegetables come in cans sold at corner convenience stores. Meat is one of the fast food varieties and the only fruit is what's in jars sold at liquor stores. Researcher Mary Gallagher measured the distance to every single grocery store and fast food store in Chicago. The results were shocking.
MARY GALLAGHER, RESEARCHER: What we found is that over 500,000 Chicagoans live in what we call a food desert, areas with no or distant grocery stores. But ironically nearby fast food options.
GUTPA: Researchers speculate the reason supermarket chains aren't in these so-called deserts is they don't see these areas as moneymakers. And the study found food deserts aren't just an inconvenience, they have dire health consequences.
GALLAGHER: Areas that have no or distant grocery stores but nearby fast food have a much greater likelihood of their residents suffering from diet related diseases, like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke.
GUPTA: The study sparked city leaders' interests. The Chicago City Council says it will try to find ways to encourage grocery stores to move in.
GALLAGHER: The bottom line is you can't choose healthy food if you don't have access to it.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We have some news just in now to the CNN NEWSROOM regarding the shooting of Sean Bell, the groom who was to be married and was shot in a hail of gunfire, 50 different bullets. We got word according to the "Associated Press" that the grand jury has indicted at least one of those five officers in that shooting. The lawyer for the officer, Officer Mark Cooper, is saying, quote, he's been indicted. He's been asked to surrender on Monday. Now Mark Cooper is one of the officers who actually fired the least amount of bullets. He fired four times. Mark Cooper is black, two of the other officers were black and two others were white. There's one who fired 31 shots. We're not sure at this point whether or not he has been indicted. But again the lawyer for one officer, Mark Cooper, is saying that his client has indeed been indicted by this Queens grand jury. Here to help break it down for us and provide some analysis Jeff Toobin, our legal analyst in New York. Jeff, hi there, the Queens D.A. wanted to wait. It looks like though the lawyer for this officer is coming forward now saying, yeah, my client is indicted.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah, the Queens D.A. and the New York City Police Department and the New York City mayor's office had a plan to roll out this verdict -- not verdict -- the announcement of whether there would be charges. It looks like, as most things happen in the news and especially New York, the news is getting out faster than people expected. But frankly, I don't think that's going to matter all that much. This city is a calm place for the most part. It's a mature population. I don't think there's going to be any kind of public disturbance of one kind or another. Also, the fact is there's basically a snowstorm going on now, not the time for a lot of people being outside protesting. And I just think it's not going to be that big a deal as a public event.
CHETRY: No, but in terms of the legal ramifications, if the officer who fired, according to the testimony, five shots is going to be facing an indictment, according to the "Associated Press," what does that mean for the other officers, one of whom fired 31 and one who testified that he fired 11 rounds?
TOOBIN: Well, you can't make a mechanical judgment of number of shots fired equals likelihood of being indicted. This grand jury has been working for a long time with the Queens D.A., Richard Brown, meticulously trying to reconstruct what happened. So what time someone fired may be as significant as the number of times they fired. Where each officer was standing, what information was available to him at the time. All those judgments go into it. So yes, on the surface this does seem more bullets fired, more likelihood of indictment, but it is actually a little more complicated than that.
CHETRY: No, understandable. We are also just getting word from the "Associated Press," now a second officer at least a lawyer for a second police officer is saying that his client, too, has been indicted. This according to the "Associated Press." So we might hear more as the afternoon goes on, as least some of these lawyers for their clients want to come forward and just get this out today.
TOOBIN: These cases are so emotionally, politically and legally fraught. Back in the late '90s we had the Amadou Diallo case, whereas an African immigrant who was shot in the Bronx, 41 shots. Bruce Springsteen had a song about it called "41 shots." Those officers were indicted. The trial was moved up to Albany. A change of venue, because there was so much publicity and then all of the officers were acquitted. So it's worth remembering that what's happening today is just the filing of charges. The cops are innocent until proven guilty. And the most analogous case here in New York, the cops were acquitted. I don't know what's going to happen in this trial, but there's a long way to go.
CHETRY: Yeah, it will be interesting to see. This also comes amid the backdrop of two volunteer police officers in New York shot and killed by a suspect in a week where three other officers were injured to varying degrees because of suspects. So it has been a difficult time in the city.
TOOBIN: It has been. One of the things Mayor Mike Bloomberg is always pointing out and I think it's true, is that New York is the safest big city in America. This spate of shootings, this spate of tragedies, we also had that terrible fire about a week ago --
CHETRY: Jeff, I have to cut you off just for a second, I'm sorry. But we are hearing now that Sean Bell's family as well as the Reverend Al Sharpton who has been a spokesperson for them are giving some comments after the news. Let's listen.
REV. AL SHARPTON, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK: -- we saw Joe who were both handcuffed at that time, who were there. But the only charge would have been that they were arrested for being shot. As the story unraveled we learned later that afternoon 50 shots were fired. No where knowing when we went whether they were armed, whether they were telling the truth. But I --
CHETRY: All right, so we just heard briefly from the Reverend Al Sharpton about this. But again our legal analyst Jeff Toobin's still with us and the news that's just out according to the "Associated Press," at least two of these officers, their attorneys speaking for them have said they have indeed been indicted and have been told to surrender on Monday, have been indicted by that Queens grand jury in the wake of this shooting.
TOOBIN: Right, these cases are very hard to investigate, they're very hard to get convictions of. Juries feel a certain instinctual sympathy for cops. They realize they have a difficult job. They don't always have time to make good decisions, but the sheer number of shots here and the tragic nature of this killing of Sean Bell, you know, on his wedding day, is something that's going to -- a jury's going to have to pay a lot of attention to too. This is going to be a very complicated, difficult trial. The cops may well ask for a change of venue as did happen with the Diallo case several years ago. So they're a long way to go in the legal resolution of this case. But certainly bad news for these officers who were indicted.
CHETRY: All right, Jeffrey Toobin, thanks so much for giving us your analysis of this situation from New York Today.
TOOBIN: OK Kiran.
LEMON: We'll be following this one throughout the day and the evening here on CNN.
He's always outspoken and today he fires off to Wolf Blitzer. More from the Donald, you won't believe what he said ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, maybe you will.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: What a busy day for everybody here in the CNN NEWSROOM, so we're going to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer now.
CHETRY: Wolf has an interview with Donald Trump coming up. So if you want a controversial opinion, of course, the Donald can provide it for you. Hey Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: He's always, always outspoken guys. He certainly was today. The Donald, he got political big time in our interview up in New York. Just listen to what he told me about the unfolding scandals that are rocking the Bush administration and it sure sounds like if he were in charge right now, he'd be telling people, you're fired.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, CHMN. & PRES., THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Look, everything in Washington has been a lie. Weapons of mass destruction, it was a total lie. It was a way of attacking Iraq, which he thought was going to be easy and it turned out to be the exact opposite of easy. He reads 60 books a year, he reads a book a week. That's -- do you think the president reads a book a week? I don't think so. He doesn't watch television. Now, one thing I know is that when I'm on television, I watch, or I try. Because you do. Your own ego says, you know, let's watch, let's see. Whether it's good or bad, you want to watch, right. He doesn't watch television. So he's on television being interviewed by you or someone else, he doesn't watch. Does anyone really believe that?
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Wait till you hear what he has to say about Condoleezza Rice, the vice president and all of the presidential candidates out there, Democratic and Republican. A lot more coming up. My one on one interview right here on "THE SITUATION ROOM" at the top of the hour. Guys, back to you.
LEMON: Oh I will be watching that one. I'm sure a lot of folks will. Thank you so much for that Wolf. Closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street, straight ahead.
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LEMON: Before we go to "THE SITUATION ROOM" we want to update the developing story about that plane crash we told you about at an air show. What do you have for us? HOLMES: Yeah Don, need to just let people know that in fact one person has died according to the FAA in that plane crash. It was at an air show in Titusville, Florida. This is the video you're seeing there. But the air show was happening today and word that the air show was actually delayed for a short time because of wind and rain in the area. Don't know how much that might have had to do with the crashing of this plane. The video you're seeing there was from the Tyco Warbird Air Show in Titusville. And this was a plane, an aero L39, a fighter plane out of Czechoslovakia. But one person died in this crash. Just the pilot the only one on board according to the FAA. But a lot more going to be looked into. Certainly weather may have played a factor there. Don?
LEMON: T.J. thank you so much for that.
CHETRY: All right meantime the closing bell getting set to ring on Wall Street and Suzanne Lisovicz, hopefully not partaking in the Guinness, just talking about it.
LEMON: Yeah and Susan before we get to that, Kiran did a great job. It was great having her here. Didn't you enjoy working with her?
LISOVICZ: Loved working with her. You may be spending more time with her because she's not getting out of Atlanta today with one of the big stories. The lousy weather. It's been rough weather on Wall Street, too. We had the mortgage meltdown at the beginning of the week. We had ugly inflation at the end of the week. Oil prices actually came down $3 a week but that did not spur the bulls. There's applause. The end of the week. Parent company of Guinness is ringing the closing bell, this pre-St. Patrick's Day session. But there's no rally on Wall Street. The Dow will close down about 160 points for the week. Kiran, travel safely, we'll see you back in New York eventually. Don have a great weekend.
LEMON: You too Susan, always a pleasure.
LISOVICZ: Likewise. Now it's time for "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.
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