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Airplane Has Engine Problems, Lands at Dulles Airport; White House Victory with Iraq War Funding Bill; More Soldiers Needed on the Ground in Iraq; Whale Rescue Continues; Making History in Birmingham

Aired May 25, 2007 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: ...pilot and we want to ask you general, you know your expertise, given -- we're talking about a flight that was bound for Beijing, shortly after takeoff with some engine problems and now trying to dump fuel as it makes its way back to a planned emergency landing, about what is taking place? All right, sorry general, I'm going to have to bypass you for a second. Let's go to Kathleen Koch who is in Washington, who has some new information as well. Kathleen?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the new information is that the plane is safely on the ground. The 747 that was flying with just three of its four engines landed just a couple minutes ago at Dulles Airport, this from Jeff Kovik, who is a spokesman for United Airlines. He said there were 330 passengers on board, everyone is safe. Not sure how many crew were on board, but that flight had taken off around 12:35 this afternoon, and that is indeed when it experienced the problem with the engine.

We still don't know, did it ingest a bird? Was it having a mechanical problem and did the pilot then switch off the engine, but obviously with 80,000-plus gallons of fuel, they wanted to dump that fuel, but this plane must have very, very powerful fuel pumps, dumped that heavy load of fuel very quickly, and now the aircraft is safely on the ground.

Pilots, Fredricka for United and all airlines train all the time for just this kind of scenario, what to do when you lose one of your engines, how to proceed, how to get back on the ground safely. Certainly if you're flying all the way to Beijing, China, you don't want to do it on three engines, so you turn around and come back. And that's what this pilot did.

WHITFIELD: All right, well so glad that it's looking like a good outcome. Everyone's safe and on the ground there. Kathleen Koch, thanks so much from Washington. Again, I was about to toss to General Don Shepard, military expert, who we usually call upon for military operations, but he's also a former commercial pilot. So general, given what we know now, how tense of moments were these for the pilots on board this 747?

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Not really tense at all most likely.

WHITFIELD: Really? SHEPPERD: Yeah, this is something that pilots train for all the time. When you go through your simulator training, they fail your most critical engine, which is an outboard engine, and they will fail it (INAUDIBLE) heavy weight on takeoff. So sometimes you practice again and again as you go through training, you're tested for it on check rides and that type of thing.

A couple of things to explain here is when you take off for a long flight like Beijing, obviously you have a lot of fuel on board. You have a maximum landing weight of each aircraft based upon the tires and the landing struts themselves, so you'll have to burn off fuel to that maximum landing weight to make a safe landing with the three engines.

So that's why this plane circled for 20 or 30 minutes to dump all of that fuel and stayed in the vicinity of the aircraft there. But again, this is something that people train for in these cockpits all the time. I've been in a 747 cockpit. I've never been checked out in it, but I've been in the cockpits many times. This is something fairly routine.

Now we did hear something about flame and I want to make a point that there's a difference between a fire and a flame. A flame, as Miles O'Brien explained, can be caused by a compressor stall, which is a disruption of the airflow through the engine. And you can see a big fireball come out. That's not a fire, it's just a fireball, fuel igniting behind the aircraft. If an engine is on fire, of course that's of major concern, because that can do structural damage, cause explosions, etcetera.

But in this case, it sounds like there was an engine problem, the pilot probably shut the engine down, burned off fuel to a safe landing -- made a safe landing exactly the way you train to do, exactly the way it came out, happy ending.

WHITFIELD: Wow, well that is terrific. General Don Shepperd, thanks so much. Either way, whether it will be flames or a fire, it would make my heart stop as a passenger, but we're glad in the end this United flight 897, a 747 on its way from Washington Dulles Airport to Beijing had to make an emergency landing, and successfully was able to do that after this engine failure with all -- more than 300 passengers on board, also landing safely as well.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Can you imagine that passenger sitting next to the window, next to that engine and to see that happen?

WHITFIELD: To see a flame?

HOLMES: It sounds like everything worked out. We've been following this for the last several minutes or so. It looks like it has been taken care of, but we still want to get the particulars. If you are just tuning in to us, but we want to get them all again from our Kathleen Koch, has been following this story. So, please, once again, take us through what happened here Kathleen.

KOCH: Basically we found out not long after this plane took off from Dulles Airport bound for Beijing China at 12:35 today, and this again, it's a very large aircraft. It's a 747, with 330 passengers on board, United Airlines flight 897. And for some reason they lost one of the four engines on the 747. We don't know if it ingested a bird, we don't know if it developed a mechanical problem and the pilot decided to switch it off.

But in any case, loaded down with 80,000-plus gallons of fuel for this long flight to China, there is no way that they could immediately turn around and land on the ground. You've heard several people mention that you don't want to land heavy. When a plane lands fully loaded with fuel, it is going to land faster, it's going to need a longer runway, it's going to stress the brakes, and also it will leave you with a lot of fuel to burn if you had some sort of crash.

So they want to dump it. They dumped a lot of it and they got on the ground safely. According to United Airlines spokesman Jeff Kovik, landing about five or 10 minutes ago safely at Dulles Airport.

HOLMES: All right, that is good to hear and we appreciate that, again, Kathleen. What was the number again on how many were on the plane? I think we had a number ...

WHITFIELD: Three hundred thirty was the number you gave me earlier Kathleen?

KOCH: 330 passengers, United was not able to tell us how many crew. But in any case, 330 very relieved passengers.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, no kidding. And I don't know if United is being that forthright with you, but these passengers would possibly board some other flight or would their travel plans have to be canceled at least for today, postponed for another day, do you have any idea?

KOCH: I guess it will certainly depend upon the availability of another aircraft that large to take on all these passengers. United wasn't able to give us that level of detail. But obviously they said again, this is the kind of emergency that their pilots train for every day, so while it may make all of us, the traveling public nervous and get our hearts beating quickly, their pilots can handle this sort of thing. That's why they're so well-trained.

HOLMES: All right, and a live picture we're looking at here, the first picture we have seen, not the greatest right now, the signal a little nasty, but we'll stick with it and hopefully it will clear up. But that appears to be the plane, we can only assume that is the one, but WJLA providing this live picture for us of that United Flight with those 300 plus passengers and minus one of their four engines. Had to come back, I'm sure they were looking forward to making that trip to Beijing, a long flight but certainly better safe than sorry, didn't want to try it with three engines.

But it appears to be creeping along like many other flights do, just as they land and taxiing down that runway. So this is the first picture we have seen. Yes, United there on the side, but we can assume this is the flight we're talking about, flight 897 headed from Washington to Beijing, today had to turn around when one engine went out. We were talking to Jacqui Jeras, she was tracking it for us and we first heard the number 4,000 feet. That sounded kind of low to us, then it went to 3,000 and then we hear it landed, so maybe that's what it was doing -- it was doing just that.

WHITFIELD: There's a method to that madness.

HOLMES: Yeah, the altitude was going down because it was landing. So it appears it has landed and by all accounts this was not -- forgive me, but not that big of a deal. They train for this, they know how to handle it with three engines. No emergency situation on board, everybody was probably calm and told what was going on, the pilots know how to handle a situation like this and that looks as normal as any other flight we have ever seen land at an airport.

WHITFIELD: And we really were comforted by General Don Shepperd who said for a commercially trained pilot, as he is as well, this isn't a real big deal. They train for this, they know exactly what to do. There was a real method to why they had to fly that 20 minutes or so to burn off that fuel, so that the weight of that plane was far less than it was for takeoff, because that's what they're prepared to do, these 747s and other aircraft as well. They want to land much lighter than they take off on and that's why they had to dump that 80,000-plus gallons of fuel that they had on board for this flight that would be more than a dozen hours to Beijing.

HOLMES: And for lay people like us, and certainly a passenger on a plane, you have four engines, somebody tells you, you now have three, you're going to freak out a little bit. But to a pilot who trains for this and who does this and understands and knows these planes, we are getting this from everybody, our Miles and the general, this is what they train for, this is what they know to do and would not have necessarily just absolutely alarmed the pilots.

They know how to handle this and again, this looks normal. They didn't have to stop, like we see some flights make emergency landings and they're met by emergency crews and emergency vehicles, but this one seems to be just taxiing next to the terminal, as always.

Kathleen Koch still working information for us, got some new stuff.

KOCH: Well actually just an observation as you look at the tighter shot we're getting now. Those engines, you certainly don't see any signs of any outward damage to them. You don't see any signs of any flame. Again, when I spoke with Dulles Airport operations shortly after this was reported, they said that they had seen no flames whatsoever coming out of any of the engines.

So again, perhaps this was a bird that was ingested, or if it was a mechanical failure or again a bird ingestion, a pilot can simply flip a switch in the cockpit and shut off that engine to prevent anything again, if there is some sort of spark or flame from continuing. And again, the engines look pretty sound to me. Again, from our vantage point here. HOLMES: All right, Kathleen Koch, thank you so much for working this story for us and giving us those details that we so desperately needed on this story. So certainly it looks like even a normal landing, if you would.

WHITFIELD: Normal in an abnormal kind of setting.

HOLMES: In an abnormal kind of way.

WHITFIELD: On an abnormal kind of day. But we're glad everything worked out. Good, we're going to continue to watch the developments there because still a lot of questions that need to be answered.

And we're also watching developments not far away from Dulles International Airport, but there at the White House, live pictures right now. The president getting some of what he wanted with this $100 billion war spending bill approved by Congress. Our Elaine Quijano is at the White House, will give us more details on the reaction from the White House about where to go from here. We'll be right back with more in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: $120 billion mostly for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, minus deadlines and time lines, but adding some unrelated spending if it vows to be signed by the president. CNN's Elaine Quijano is watching the White House and joins us with more on this. Elaine?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you Fredricka. Well despite that hard-fought victory over Democrats who had been pushing for timelines for U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq, President Bush today praised bipartisan efforts, and in particular he noted that the two top Democrats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, kept a pledge to get him a war funding bill by Memorial Day. The president just a short time ago talking to reporters, also saying that the bill would send a strong message to the Iraqis themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: This effort shows what can happen when people work together. We set a good bill that didn't have timetables or tell the military how to do its job, but also sent a clear signal to the Iraqis that there's expectations here in America, expectations that we expect about how to move forward. I look forward to continuing to work with the prime minister and his government in meeting those expectations.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: President Bush made those comments at the National Naval Medical Center in suburban Washington, where earlier today he awarded five purple hearts and visited with wounded troops. The president saying that it was an honor to be their commander in chief. Now, Fredricka, as for the signing of this war funding bill, aides say it will be a low-key event, that there won't be any kind of public signing ceremony, because they of course are anticipating another tough fight on this issue come fall. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much. Elaine Quijano at the White House.

Meantime, not far away from the White House on Capitol Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who voted against the bill, hopes that it's nevertheless a precursor to bringing troops home from Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) HOUSE SPEAKER: Yesterday Congress took a new small step in the direction of accountability that the Americans have demanded in the war in Iraq. I would have hoped for more, but it does represent a change in direction. We are going to bring an end to this war and we have to take the steps necessary to do them. Some of them will be more unifying in terms of the vote that is there, but all of us have that goal that at the end of the day, the American people are very wise on this, and their wisdom will be reflected in the actions of Congress in a bipartisan way.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president is expected to sign the $120 billion spending measure today privately, with no fanfare.

HOLMES: Two weeks ago tomorrow, two American soldiers were attacked south of Baghdad. They haven't been seen or heard from sense. 25-year-old specialist Alex Jimenez and 19-year-old Private Byron Fouty. Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops have been working around the clock, combing the countryside, initially three soldiers were missing, but the body of one turned up this week in the Euphrates River. Private Fouty's family now still struggling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON DIBLER, PVT. BYRON FOUTY'S STEPFATHER: After learning of his deployment we anticipated his calls every day. I recall one in March, a conversation we had that Byron said it's a good thing we are here, because we are doing good things. The last time I spoke with him was on his 19th birthday. In that conversation, he was considering requesting an assignment as a medic, knowing that he would be helping people as he saw others doing in Iraq.

In closing, I want to thank everyone for all their prayers and their heartfelt support. I can't tell you the anguish that my daughter and my family feels every moment. I can't take a breath without thinking about him. I also want to thank the community for everything they contributed to forming my stepson into the man he is today, and we want him home.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Here now a recent photo of Private Byron Fouty, this was taken in Iraq. I'm not sure how long ago this picture was taken, and also a picture here of Specialist Alex Jimenez., he's the one there on the left side of the screen. Neither man has been seen since May 12th that is when an insurgent ambush killed four U.S. soldiers in their unit plus an Iraqi translator.

Meanwhile, he's back. Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr appearing in Iraq today for the first time in four months. He's believed to have laid low in Iran since the U.S. launched its security crackdown in Baghdad. In his sermon, al Sadr demanded the withdrawal of U.S. troops. He also criticized the Iraqi government and called on Sunnis to join him in resisting the U.S.

WHITFIELD: Well she didn't just study history, she made it, too. Find out what a Birmingham student did to earn her place in the history books, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: While Coke may still be the pause that refreshes, the world's biggest beverage company is betting that something other than cola is the real thing when it comes to growth. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us all about what they have in mind. So what is it?

SUSAN LISOVICZ: Oh Fred, it's water, it's expensive water with lots of extras.

WHITFIELD: Oh brother, I was waiting for something exotic?

LISOVICZ: You've seen it coming for years. If you've shopped anywhere and you're buying beverages, you've seen how rapidly this niche has grown. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola says it will pay more than $4 billion to buy water and energy drink maker Glaso. That name probably doesn't ring a bell, but a lot of its products might.

Glaso, also known as Energy Brands, makes the vitamin water, fruit water, smart water and vitamin energy drinks. The deal will give a big boost to Coke's portfolio of non carbonated beverages. With soft drinks sales slowing as Americans get more health-conscious, Coke is betting the market for these so-called enhanced waters and energy drinks will continue to grow over the next few years. Coke already owns the Dasani water brand and Minutemaid Orange Juice. So it's just expanding its non-carbonated line. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Glaceau, ooh la-la. OK, I see the health benefits there.

LISOVICZ: It's a New York company.

WHITFIELD: Oh OK, well, what should I say instead.

LISOVICZ: Despite that exotic name.

WHITFIELD: OK, forget the ooh la, la. Well, health I get with the water and cola, or at least the cola company. But health in McDonald's? I don't get. LISOVICZ: Well you know, McDonald's has been under pressure for years, Fred. There was that lawsuit, that landmark lawsuit that failed, but people actually suing McDonald's for obesity. So Mickey D's it's finally ditching transfats. The world's biggest fast food chain says it plans to stop using frying oil with artery-clogging transfats in all of its U.S. restaurants within a year.

McDonald's has been testing a healthier oil in about 3,500 locations. Transfat oils use hydrogen to make food taste better and extend their shelf life. But they've been widely criticized for contributing to higher cholesterol and heart attacks. McDonald's joining a host of other companies kicking the transfat habit including Wendy's, Starbucks, and Yum Brands which owns Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC. And in New York City, of course, all restaurants will have to stop using transfats by next year. And an important note Fredricka, McDonald's says the taste of its famous French fries should not change.

WHITFIELD: It better not because I count on those fries. I should say get outta here. That's very New York. Shut up! Right Susan?

LISOVICZ: What are you talking about?

WHITFIELD: OK, that's what I'm saying.

LISOVICZ: I hear you loud and clear. Shares of McDonalds slightly lower. Coke shares gaining more than one percent. Stocks overall broadly higher, volume light ahead of this three-day holiday weekend. It's beautiful weather here in New York. A lot of people cleared out early, I think.

The markets are closed Monday, of course, for Memorial Day. Checking the numbers, the Dow's up a third of a percent, the NASDAQ is up two thirds of a percent though. Hopefully that rally will last as we go toward the final hour of trading. In the next hour of NEWSROOM, I'll explain why you'll soon be able to test drive a Toyota at some GM dealerships. Think about that. Fred and T.J., back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, love it. Thanks so much.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

HOLMES: Coming up here we're going to be talking about concerns about the troops in the fight for Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, our platoon leader and company commander would say hey we're in demand, we can't do all these missions. We do not have enough personnel. And you're frustrated, because no one is listening.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Lessons not learned in Iraq, a CNN exclusive, that is straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And try, try again. At this hour the Coast Guard is on whale patrol again, trying to prod two wayward whales toward the sea. Coming up in the NEWSROOM, we'll tell you what method they are trying now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Again updating you on the developing story we've been watching here in the CNN NEWSROOM. That picture there you're seeing video of United flight number 897 headed from Dulles to Beijing, had to turn around back in Dulles because one of the four engines on that plane apparently had some issues. Apparently they were down to three engines. However, the flight, the crew, everybody well-equipped to handle a situation like this, where there are just three engines. This plane can certainly function, but they had to turn around, didn't want to take the chance of making up to a 15-hour flight all the way to Beijing on three engines.

So they did the safe thing, had to circle around for a little bit. Dumped or burned off the little fuels so they could make a safe landing. If you didn't know any better, you would think it landed and it was just a normal flight like any other. I believe we're back to a live picture here of it parked at the terminal. Actually not a live picture but this is that flight after it did get to the terminal. Video you're seeing here. But again, all accounts, all 300-plus passengers on there, just fine.

No -- again, it seems strange to say that no major issue with an engine going out, but just that. It was handled just fine. We are efforting (ph) possible interviews with some of the folks on that flight some passengers. To see possibly what it was like on there, it may have been uneventful, but still we want to hear from them. But we're keeping an eye on that, and will bring it to you when and if we get it.

WHITFIELD: Alright. Well, T.J., the furious search for a pair of U.S. soldiers south of Baghdad, well it is almost two weeks solid now. With no contact and no clues. But search team did uncover something of value today, weapons caches, 14 of them. Almost two tons of explosives, hidden in barrels and hidden in a swampy area near Usifia (ph). We don't know yet whether any of that is actually linked to the ambush that left four U.S. troops and a translator dead. The body of a fifth troop was found this week in a river. The U.S. military is holding 22 people for questioning today.

HOLMES: The Pentagon still adding troops to the war in Iraq, though most Americans, according to polls, want to see a firm plan for pulling troops out. Troops who have been in Iraq for a while now say both those approaches are wrong. They say there should have been many more boots on the ground a long time ago and the shortfall has cost lives.

CNN's Jason Carroll has more in a CNN exclusive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Soldiers on patrol south of Baghdad, in an area so dangerous it's called the triangle of death. The search for two missing soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, believed kidnapped after insurgents attacked their eight-man squad at their observation post. The story of what happened to them is a familiar one. Last year in the same area, another search for kidnapped soldiers from the 101st Airborne. Whose three-man observation post had been attacked, one was killed instantly. The mutilated bodies of the others were found bound together.

DAVID SHELDON, ATTORNEY: Lessons are not getting learned in this war. That's the bottom line.

CARROLL: David Sheldon and James Cope (ph), a former infantry man himself, are lawyers for a soldier in the 101st. During an investigation last year, they heard repeated complaints from soldiers about too few men on the ground in the triangle of death, an al-Qaeda stronghold.

JAMES COPE, ATTORNEY: The guys who were down there, the squad leaders, the platoon sergeants, were screaming out, "Hey, we're underhanded, we're shorthanded, there's not enough people here."

CARROLL: Audio-taped depositions, never publicly released before, show frustration within the unit that three men, that number assigned to the ill-fated mission a year ago, fell far short of what was needed.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: The personnel situation was just abysmal, there wasn't enough people ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you hear the platoon members talking about that?

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Everybody talked about that. There was never enough people to complete a mission with the amount of people that we had.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many times, if at all, did you ask for a larger force?

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Constantly. We never had enough people the whole time we were there and that was evident from day one.

CARROLL: The staff sergeant says the platoon routinely operated with too few men and felt attack was imminent.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: It's extremely dangerous. I would say that if I was an insurgent I would attack. It doesn't take a genius to realize that on a tactical side that five, seven, ten guys with superior force can be isolated. They can be attacked and they can be defeated.

CARROLL: A squad leader, whose identity we concealed because he fears repercussions, says he routinely operated with seven men for observation missions, still, he says, not nearly enough. UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: I mean our platoon leader and company commander would say, hey we're undermanned, we can't do all these missions. We do not have enough personnel. And you're frustrated because no one is listening.

CARROLL: An internal military investigation did conclude there were too few soldiers at the observation posts where last year's kidnapping occurred. And now a year later, some soldiers are saying that the military should have known that assigning eight men to patrol in the most dangerous areas is not enough. They say that number has to be at least double.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: These jackasses, they did it again, after all that BS that happened a year ago and it happens again. They didn't lean. They didn't learn.

SHELDON: This is an enemy that they look to weaknesses, and we're not responding to that. We're not learning from the lessons that we should be learning from.

CARROLL: Why not?

SHELDON: I think that there's a reticence from the -- at the command level, up the chain of command to ask for and demand more troops.

CARROLL: When asked about criticism surrounding this year's kidnapping, a spokesman from U.S. Central Command in Baghdad issued a statement, saying: The multinational force is assessing the incident and drawing conclusions at this point is speculation.

But for these two men, it's not too early to draw conclusions.

COPE: The bottom line is we don't have enough boots on the ground in Iraq. They're trying to win this war without enough troops, with enough support. Who dies but the soldiers?

CARROLL: Again and again. Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: The numbers here now, the American military death toll in Iraq, so far 3,441, and 90 of those, this month.

And this Memorial Day weekend, you can help out some soldiers and families. You can turn your frequent flyer miles into Hero Miles. Fisher House will use those to transport service men and women wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan and their families to treatment centers around the country. Pretty simple for you to do here. Just go to fisherhouse.org donate your frequent flier miles this weekend and participating airlines will match your contribution.

WHITFIELD: And as we have reported, the effort to prod two wayward whales back to toward the Pacific Ocean is again under way on the Sacramento River. The rescue effort took a day off on Thursday. Well, today a firefighting boat is getting into the mix. I'll try to find out why they think hosing the humpbacks will put them back on course. Joining us now, from Rio Vista, California, Petty Officer Allyson Conroy of the U.S. Coast Guard. And no, they're not playing those tunes for the whales. You already tried the whole music thing and sounds. That didn't work. So now what do you do?

PETTY OFCR. ALLYSON CONROY, COAST GUARD: Good afternoon. Right now marine biologists are on the water, they are on the Villao (ph) fire department boat, trying to use high pressure fire hoses to spray water into the river, near the whales. They are trying to determine if they can get a response from the whales. Depending on their response, the scientists may then incorporate this method when operation to either lure or herd the animals down the river recommence on Tuesday.

WHITFIELD: So, Ms. Conroy, if marine biologists already believe that these whales are distressed and they are traumatized because they're lost, why do they feel like resorting to these fire hoses, spraying the water near the whales -- not necessarily onto the whales, right?

CONROY: Correct, not on the whales.

WHITFIELD: Why do they feel that this will help?

CONROY: They think maybe the -- by producing bubbles, the bubbles might attract the whales, and therefore they can lead them to go down river or if they can maybe push them from behind, just a little bit. Kind of urge them down the river. So it's an experiment. It's been done once in Hawaii with great white sharks, so we're hoping maybe it will help convince the whales to swim south.

WHITFIELD: So how concerned are the marine biologists about the welfare of these animals? Because we know that they are injured, they have some propeller injuries, right? And there's also been talk of trying to administer antibiotics to these whales. Is that being ruled out, or is that a real possibility?

CONROY: The antibiotics, actually an unprecedented administration to free-ranging whales. They don't know what they can administer or how much, they can administer, so they're looking into this. That's something they are looking into right now, and it hasn't been a yea or nay just yet.

WHITFIELD: Are you seeing any kind of distress signals, or are the marine biologists that you are interacting with talking about any new distress signals that these whales are showing?

CONROY: You know, I'm not really sure about that. I can't talk about the distress, what their actions are. They're flipping around, and as for is that -- excuse me. Are those behavioral patterns a sign of distress? There's so little research done on humpback whales, especially humpback whales in freshwater, they're not absolutely certain that these are signs of distress yet.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then I understand there is an effort to try to get the public involved. We know a lot of folks have come out to watch to see these humpback whales, but the effort goes even further than that, trying to solicit some kind of suggestions or help from the general public on what do they think should be done? What are some of the options that should be explored? So I understand you have an e- mail address sacramento.whales@noaa.gov where people can send their ideas and thoughts. Are you already getting some response from people?

CONROY: We have gotten a tremendous response from the public. I also wanted to let you know there's a telephone number that has been set up for the public. They can call in and leave their suggestions, and that is area code 916-869-4661. And some of the suggestions the public has come up with -- or, one of them was to build a tunnel under the river and have the whales swim all the way to the ocean with a -- in a tunnel, which is not something we're going to be able to do.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it sounds a little tricky.

CONROY: They wanted -- I think it would take a long time to do. Another suggestion is to pump saltwater in front of the whales to kind of attract their smell, for them to be -- to attract the saltwater, but the thing is that we don't want to bring saltwater into a freshwater environment because that could hurt ...

WHITFIELD: Because you have other marine life, right.

CONROY: Right, exactly.

WHITFIELD: Well, at this point, it sounds like no idea is a bad idea, so while you're receiving those ideas at sacramento.whales@noaa.gov, Petty Officer Allyson Conroy of the U.S. Coast Guard, we also appreciate your time, and hope that something comes to surface to help these whales find their way back out to the Pacific Ocean.

CONROY: Yes, thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, we appreciate your time -- T.J.

CONROY: Have a great day.

HOLMES: All right, got a young lady to tell you about who didn't just study history in school. She made some history while she was there. You will find out what a Birmingham student did to earn her place -- there she is just giggling. She's in the history books now, and she's with her friend. One of those two, the history maker, we'll explain in just a second. Say hello ladies, you can wave to us, say hi.

All right, we'll see you on the other side of the break. Stick around, folks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, in its 107-year history, Birmingham's A.H. Parker High School has graduated a Tony-winning actress, a pro-football hall of famer, a state Supreme Court justice, but until this week, Parker High had never graduated a white student.

Let me now introduce you to a white student who just graduated and made history. Crystal Wadsworth made history, she earned her diploma from Parker High, she joins us now from Birmingham along with her best friend, Katrina Abrams, also just graduated.

Ladies, congratulations on your graduation. Good to see you, and Crystal, tell me, this historically black school, what do you feel about making history as a white student at this black school?

CRYSTAL WADSWORTH, FIRST WHITE GRADUATE, PARKER HIGH SCHOOL: I feel like I just graduated high school. It feels like all eyes are on me when they should be on my whole class. You know, I'm not the only one who accomplished anything, I think we should all be recognized, but I understand the significance, though. It feels good.

HOLMES: Now, is that strange to you, because most high school students are young, you're 17, 18-years-old and whatnot, and you're just going to high school, but for everybody else on the outside looking in, they're taking this as something else. Has that been strange, trying to deal with the people wanting to do interviews? Here we've got you on CNN, now.

WADSWORTH: Yes, it has. I've had people ask me for autographs, pictures, hugs, some of everything. So, yes, it's a little weird.

HOLMES: Now, day-to-day life for a white student at a huge black school, a school that's never graduated a white student, day in, day out, people might think it was strange for you, it was weird, it might have been even tough. But what was it like for you?

WADSWORTH: It was fun, I had a lot of fun. I learned some things, had some good times, some bad times. And I think just like every other high school student we had fun, slowly got through it, and we -- we made it, you know.

HOLMES: And your friend Katrina there with you, Katrina, she says there have been some good times and some bad times, I'm sure you've been with her through some of those bad times. So, have you seen her have to go through some things, some tough times, and just some -- some nasty kids sometimes because she just happens to be the -- really, the only white student in that graduating class?

KATRINA ABRAMS, CRYSTAL'S FRIEND: Well, yes, I have been there. We both went through some things together, you know, every now and then, so yes, I know how it's like to be Crystal.

HOLMES: What is -- what is it like to be Crystal? You all, tell me, what is it like to be Crystal at that school?

WADSWORTH: I'm crazy.

ABRAMS: She's crazy.

HOLMES: Crazy, all right. WADSWORTH: Probably because I try to talk to a lot of different people at one time, you know. Like on my lunch break, instead of -- I don't eat lunch.

ABRAMS: Me neither.

WADSWORTH: Yes, we just don't eat.

HOLMES: Now, would you say you have been -- over the few years, would you say you have been the target of some racism and some racist comments from some of your classmates?

WADSWORTH: I've had a few, and no more than a handful, maybe like three or four. It's not like everyone at the school is, you know, out there like that, but you know, I've had a few, and we just handled it, you know, my friends stuck by me, you know, we managed it, we got things dealt with, you know, everything went fine with it.

HOLMES: I know you had kind of a tough background, your family ended up there when you were a child, just fell on some hard times, happened to end up there, you actually had a choice, though, you could have gone to another high school, you decided to stick in and go to that school. And tell me why, and Katrina, I guess you were part of the reason as well? She made some friends at the school and didn't want to leave them?

WADSWORTH: Well, in middle school, I went to the church that helped us find a shelter where we lived for a little while, and the apartment that we moved into, they -- most of them had went to Parker. And that's how I figured out to go to Parker. I was like, you know, they went to Parker and they want me to go to Parker, I don't know of any other school, so I might as well just go to Parker, so I went to Parker, and that's how I ended up there.

HOLMES: And so you stuck it out.

All right, well, Crystal, it is an interesting story. And like you said, you're just a high school student like any other. You don't think about this stuff as much as maybe some folks who are writing articles or doing interviews tonight. But, it was high school like any other, but still, 107-year history of Parker High School, never had a white graduate, you are the first.

Congratulations to you both. Good luck to you. We know you're going into the military afterwards, and Katrina, you stuck by your friend there all those years, I know you've got plans after school, so congratulations on the graduation, and for making history as well, Crystal. Thank you all for being here.

WADSWORTH: All right, thank you.

ABRAMS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, T.J., well, I hate to follow such an uplifting school-related story to this school-related story that is the complete opposite. A very bizarre case taking place in Phoenix, Arizona, where the Sierra Vista Elementary School is on lockdown now, because a body was found in the duct work there in the cafeteria, and so you can see the pictures that we're getting from our affiliate KNXV, where students are being escorted out of the building there.

We don't know anything more about the body, the identity, how long it may have been there, but people discovered a foul smell there in the cafeteria, and after a little bit of informal police work there, before they were able to bring in authorities, they made that discovery, that very gruesome discovery of the body being found in the duct work there in the cafeteria of the Sierra Vista Elementary School, which is located at 16th Street and Southern Avenue.

And now, you're looking at live pictures of many of the school's kids who are outside that building. It's unclear whether they're going to end school for the day or if they will have to resume instruction at some other location, but now a wide view of a pretty sizable elementary school there in Phoenix, Arizona, after this very gruesome and strange discovery. More on it as we get it -- T.J.

HOLMES: Also, all you road warriors out there, of course, hitting the road, getting out of the office, maybe heading to the beach, maybe going to the park, to the wherever you may be going, but do you need to pack an umbrella when you go? We've got that Memorial Day weekend forecast ahead for you here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, this weekend, the swaggering rogues are wreaking havoc on the high seas in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." The third "Pirates" flick should mean more box office treasure, but will the franchise end with "World's End"?

Our Entertainment Correspondent Sibila Vargas has all the answers. Hello, Sibila.

SIBILA VARGAS, ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Looking into my -- I'm trying to get all the answers ...

WHITFIELD: Look into that crystal ball.

VARGAS: I have my crystal ball, but it's not telling me anything, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Not yet.

VARGAS: Not yet, but Captain Jack Sparrow, he is back and maybe for the last time, though. Johnny Depp returns as the swashbuckling fortune hunter in the high seas adventure, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're mad.

JOHNNY DEPP, "CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW": Thank goodness for that, because if I wasn't, this would probably never work. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: The third installment of the franchise has already set one box office record since officially opening today. It's being shown in a record number of theaters, 4,362 of them, which is about 100 more than the average movie. This is a good thing, because the film nearly runs around three hours.

Now, the first two films in the saga grossed more than a billion dollars worldwide at the premiere at Disneyland this past weekend. We asked Depp if the box office booty is big enough, would he jump back on board for "Pirates" 4 or 5?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNNY DEPP, ACTOR: The opportunity to play Captain Jack, if everything is right in terms of the math, it would be great, great fun. At the same time, if it doesn't happen, I mean, he's always going to be with me, so, you know, if I want to visit him, I just visit him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The beauty of acting.

VARGAS: The beauty of acting, right? You can always take your characters home with you.

WHITFIELD: Yes, he really did kind of create that character, but I see he's still got all the rings and stuff, so.

VARGAS: Yes, and he still has that voice, too. All of a sudden, he's English, I think.

WHITFIELD: I know, kind of sultry.

All right, not so sultry, but maybe venomous? Some episodes we saw on "The View" earlier this week, what's going on with that?

VARGAS: Well, let me talk to you first about this other story that we have, which is about a galaxy far, far away. You know that little film called Star Wars when it hit theaters, remember that one?

WHITFIELD: Big one.

VARGAS: All right, well, take a look at this.

Believe it or not, Fred, that was 30 years ago when this pop phenomenon came into our lives. To celebrate the occasion, a marathon of six films are being shown in Los Angeles. Now, more than 20,000 fans are expected to attend this event. There's also going to be live entertainment, cast member appearances, and an exhibit of props and costumes and I can tell you, plenty of lifesavers.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, I was jumping ahead ...

VARGAS: Now do you want to get to that other story ...

WHITFIELD: We went back, and now, you know, I jumped ahead a little bit, so now let's talk a little bit more about "The View." Always love Star Wars, can't get enough of that, but this week couldn't get enough of "The View" either.

VARGAS: Yes, there was another war going on there, right? You saw how that got ugly, right. Well, things got a little uglier since then. Apparently, some photographs of "The View's" office were defaced. Now, ABC has confirmed it, and it says that they're investigating the matter. I got to point out that Rosie wasn't there when this happened, and just in case you don't remember the morning show blowup, here's a sample.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELISABETH HASSELBECK, "THE VIEW" CO-HOST: No, no, no, that is not -- do not -- do not call me a coward, because number one, I sit here every single day ...

ROSIE O'DONNELL, "THE VIEW" CO-HOST: So do I.

HASSELBECK: ...open my heart, and tell people exactly what I believe.

O'DONNELL: So do I, Elisabeth.

HASSELBECK: Do not call me a coward, Rosie. I do not hide.

O'DONNELL: It was cowardly.

HASSELBECK: It was not cowardly. It was honest.

O'DONNELL: It was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: Oh, no she didn't. That deserves two snaps and a twirl. It looks like they've lost that loving feeling. Now, the question, though, is will Rosie, who is supposed to exit the show mid-June, be coming back at all? So we'll have to stay tuned for that.

WHITFIELD: Oh, we will be watching after the weekend. Because we know probably after the holiday weekend, maybe she's got Monday off, but what happens Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday?

VARGAS: Yes, exactly, we're not sure if she's coming back though, but you know, obviously it's very good for the ratings, so, maybe you and T.J. should get into, you know? Or maybe you and me?

WHITFIELD: Oh no, it's all about the love here.

VARGAS: It's all about the love.

WHITFIELD: All about the love on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" too? VARGAS: Yes, let's talk about that one for tonight. We have a special edition of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" called "Rehab of the Rich and Famous." Now, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" looks at why some stars are able to beat their addictions, while others repeatedly fail. Plus, an intimate look inside some of the most expensive rehab facilities the stars go to. Are they worth the money?

You won't want to miss this special edition, TV's most provocative entertainment news show, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on Headline Prime. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, we know the rehab centers have to be fab if it's luring in the celebrities.

VARGAS: Yes, you won't believe how much money, though. You'll have to see.

WHITFIELD: We'll be watching, believe it. All right, thanks, Sibila.

T.J.?

HOLMES: All right, well, life in the fast lane, once again, a major freeway reopens ahead of schedule and under a cloud of concerns. We will explain that coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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