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9 Firefighters Killed Battling Charleston, South Carolina, Blaze; Focus on Relief From North Texas Storms; Child Pornography Ring Busted

Aired June 19, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a moment now. Want to take you to the press conference that we have been waiting for.

At the microphone there you see Rae Wooten. She is the Charleston County coroner. Going to give us a little bit more information about the nine firefighters who were killed last night.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And she's expected to speak in a little bit, Heidi, here. Also, others expected to speak.

And you know we just heard a short time ago the National Firefighters Association asking that at 7:00 p.m. Eastern tonight a moment of silence be held for these nine firefighters killed. The worst -- this is the biggest number of firefighters killed since 9/11 in all of this.

So, again, we are waiting for this presence conference to start. And as soon as it starts, we're going to -- we're going to get you there.

RAE WOOTEN, CHARLESTON COUNTY CORONER: I want to first thank all of you for coming here today as we remember the firefighters who died so tragically yesterday.

I am Rae Wooten. I'm the Charleston County coroner. And I wanted to take this opportunity to remember these very brave men who serve our community on so many levels.

I do at this time want to give you their names. And recognizing that we do not have all the information that I know that you all are interested in, but I would like at this time to release the name of the nine firefighters who were recovered from the tragic fire yesterday.

The first name I'm going to give you is William Billy Hutchinson (ph). He is a captain with the fire department with 30 years of service.

Next is Captain Mike Binky (ph). He is also a captain with 29 years of service.

Lewis Mulkey (ph) is a captain also with 11 and a half years of service. Engineer Mark Kelsey (ph) has 12 and a half years of service.

Engineer Bradford or Brad Beatty (ph) has nine years of service.

Michael French, assistant engineer, one and a half years of service.

Firefighter James Earl Draton (ph), 32 years of service.

Brandon Thompson (ph), firefighter, four years of service.

And Melvin Champagne (ph), a firefighter with two years of service.

I know that you've all been watching this terrible tragedy unfold, and I just want to take this brief moment to say how touched I have been by the graciousness of all of their families, and how they've reached out to each other and have been so very -- even in their grief, so very kind and caring as we've worked to recover these victims and to investigate their deaths.

I would like to let Mayor Riley have a few words at this time, and then we will proceed to let Chief Thomas.

MAYOR JOE RILEY, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: Thank you very much, Coroner Wooten.

And I want to thank the coroner for her great service last night, in the early hours of this morning, great professional assistance to Chief Thomas and our fire department and our community.

As the reality of this tragedy begins to affect us all, the families of these dear, courageous, heroic firefighters, and every citizen of our community who is grieving, everyone I have spoken with today, the messages to my office, the offers of condolence, the financial contributions, it is -- it is a reminder of how brave acts touch the lives of everyone, and it's what a firefighter is prepared to do. It's what the men and women who put on the badge, they are in a profession where they go to danger. They don't flee from it.

They go into burning buildings engulfed with horrific flames and smoke. They go to save lives, to extinguish the fire, to protect our neighborhood and our community.

All of that was happening in our community last night by all of the firefighters who were fighting this fire, and obviously with the last full measure of courage and devotion given by the nine firefighters who perished in this tragic fire. It is clear that the hearts of everyone in this community and around the country, because we're getting from around the country -- the fact is that every community has firefighters, and every citizen knows intuitively that these brave, usually very quite and humble people, are ready at the drop of a hat to seek danger and to go in to protect them.

So this has touched the people of our country. We -- in response to the outpouring, and know that we wanted to, we have created the City of Charleston Firemen's Fund for people who wish to make contributions to go to the families of these brave people. The City of Charleston Retirement Fund, Box 304, Charleston, South Carolina, 29402, or you can take a check to any branch of Bank of America in the United States of America made out to that, and it will be sent to this fund.

We will be working with the members of these families, not just today and tomorrow, but in the weeks and months and years ahead. These people will never be forgotten.

This time yesterday they were firefighters. This time today they are heroic, historic figures in our city, and they will never be forgotten.

Last night, these acts of courage by the men who we lost and the men and women fighting that fire were a reflection of their leader, Chief Rusty Thomas. Chief Thomas, who leads our fire department which has a class one rating, which is the best you can have in America -- only 36 fire departments have a rating like that -- Chief Thomas has been in a firefighter in our department since he was 18 years old.

It's what he wanted to do. It's what his daddy did. It's what his brother did.

He has been the chief of the fire department for 20 years. His leadership ability was always obvious, but never more so than last night.

With the tragic events unfolding, the courage and the heroism that he exhibited was felt by every person there. He is -- I have said many times -- the best fire chief in America, and he is the best person anyone could hope to meet. And the men and women of our department will follow him anywhere. They always have, and they always will.

And we all reach out to Chief Thomas and to his family, because this is our family, and we're all in this together, and we all are going to be in this together -- together as the family of this community, behind the loved ones of those who without flinching gave their lives to protect the citizens of our community.

And I'm very pleased to present our wonderful chief, Rusty Thomas.

CHIEF RUSSELL THOMAS, CHARLESTON FIRE DEPT.: Thanks, Mayor.

Let me start off by saying and thanking all the members of the City of Charleston Fire Department.

You guys are heroes. You guys and girls are heroes.

You know, I look at this list last night and early this morning. We lost over 100 years of service to the City of Charleston Fire Department on this paper, over 100 years of dedicated service. To the families, you gave them to us. And we protected them as much as we could.

They did exactly what they were trained to do. I can't say enough for these nine guys. These nine guys were my friends. I lost nine of my best friends.

But to my people in the department, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you for coming out last night and today. We've got a long road ahead of us, but we're going to stand tall.

The City of Charleston Fire Department has always stood tall, and we're going to stand tall now for years to come with the families. And we will never forget, just like 9/11, we will never forget these nine firefighters who lost their lives last night doing what they love to do, fight fire.

Over 100 years of service to the City of Charleston Fire Department with nine people. Anywhere in the country, I don't think you'll go and find nine people in the department our size that has this many years of service to the city of Charleston and to the citizens of Charleston.

The citizens poured out from Charleston last night from all over. I have gotten calls from all over the United States today wanting to come, to help. And we appreciate the calls.

But I'm going to say, guys, please, all -- everybody who is a member of my fire department, everybody, thanks for the outpouring and thanks for the help last night. And thanks for the support that we continue to give to the citizens every day -- Rae.

WOOTEN: Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Chief.

We'll now take a few questions, knowing that we will again brief you further later this afternoon.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

WOOTEN: They will be made available to you.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

THOMAS: They were found not in the same room. No, sir.

QUESTION: Just spread out throughout the building?

THOMAS: That's correct, sir.

QUESTION: Can Chief Thomas give a sense of the sequence of events that led to them being there and what happened prior to the collapse of the roof?

THOMAS: I can't right now. I can't. QUESTION: Chief, can you tell us how far apart the officers were when they were found? Were they across a wide swath (ph) of the building?

THOMAS: I'd be only guessing, and I don't want to guess right now. I really -- I don't. I really don't.

RILEY: I think if I just -- you know, this fire will be thoroughly investigated, the department, with ATF and with SLED. And it's so important that we -- that all of us wait and get the exact information, rather than -- and being there, make some assumptions or guesses that may not be exactly correct.

QUESTION: Chief, the furniture store was an older building. It did not have sprinklers. Would sprinklers -- how could that have impacted the rescue? Could it have made it better?

THOMAS: The sprinkler system inside the building would have probably slowed the fire down.

QUESTION: Do you think it would have saved lives?

QUESTION: Chief...

WOOTEN: I would step in and repeat what the mayor has said, that we're very early in this investigation. There is a lot of work going on as we speak, both with SLED and ATF, as well as local jurisdictions. And so I would -- I ask that we be a little patient waiting for some of the answers to come back, that they might be accurate rather than our speculation.

QUESTION: What is the official cause of death for the nine firefighters?

WOOTEN: At this -- at this time, we are currently in the process of completing autopsies on the victims, and that information will be available I hope at some time tomorrow. As you can imagine, this has been a tremendous challenge, and we don't want to leave any stone unturned because these brave men, as the chief said, deserve all the information that can be gleaned about their tragic deaths. And we certainly don't want to mis-serve their families by jumping to any conclusions.

So when we have that information available, it will be shared.

LEMON: And Heidi, as we're sitting here watching and listening to the fire chief there, Rusty Thomas, and I didn't think he was going -- going to make it through.

His quote, of course, he said, you know, "You gave them to us," talking to the families. "You gave them to us, and we protected them as best we could." He said, "I lost nine of my best friends in this fire."

Also today, Heidi, the president also responding to this, saying... COLLINS: Yes, we just heard a moment ago from Tony Snow, who characterizes the statement by the president as follows: "Laura and I mourn the devastating loss of some of America's bravest. Our prayers are with the families and friends of nine firefighters from Charleston, South Carolina, who selflessly gave their own lives to protect their community. These firefighters were true heroes who demonstrated great skill and courage. Their unwavering commitment to their neighbors and to the city of Charleston is an inspiration to all Americans."

And as we listen to the words from Charleston City fire chief Rusty Thomas, he also said they lost over 100 years of service when you put together all of the experience that those nine firefighters had.

LEMON: Yes, it is definitely a sad day there, a sad day around the country and the entire world. Lots of folks will be praying for those firefighters.

And our Brianna Keilar is outside the scene of that furniture store now.

And Brianna, I believe you have the chaplain with you there today.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don.

I'm here with Chaplain Rob Dewey.

You have been talking with a lot of the family members and also the firefighters. And I know you didn't hear it, but a short while ago we heard Mayor Riley say that, you know, this is what a firefighter is prepared to do. They go towards the danger, they don't flee from it. But obviously when you look at the years of service from these firefighters, you know a lot of families are left behind.

How are they -- how are they dealing with this?

ROB DEWEY, CHARLESTON FIRE DEPT. CHAPLAIN: This has been a tremendously difficult, obviously, on our community and also on the families that have lost these loved ones. And, you know, some of them have children and spouses, and it just has torn apart our department. But then again, we've got great leadership within our agency and within the mayor's office, and we're going to come back strong.

KEILAR: The banding together, is that what they're doing?

DEWEY: We are. It's a banding together, and we're doing some grieving. We're doing some crying.

KEILAR: And you said the families initially were very concerned about recovering the bodies. Obviously, the bodies have been recovered. Now they're very concerned about the burials.

Take us through this. I mean, this is a community that is dealing with burials for nine firefighters. DEWEY: It's almost overwhelming, but we're looking for some outside resources that have -- that are assisting us to help with this. And last night, thankfully, all nine firefighters were found before daylight, and they brought them out just like you saw in 9/11, through a passageway, and with full military honors.

KEILAR: Now, it's been a long time since a firefighter died in the line of duty in this department, but I know that you don't just work with this department. You work with regional offices of federal agencies. You worked through 9/11 and through Katrina as a chaplain, and you said to me earlier that this kind of reminds you of that.

Why is that?

DEWEY: Well, it's overwhelming is why it reminds me. When I was deployed to Katrina and also 9/11, the devastation that was felt and the hurt...

KEILAR: And how are you hanging in there? Because I know this is a lot obviously for you to absorb. You're talking to these people you know and you care so much about.

DEWEY: There again, we reach out and let people hug on us. And we had seven other --seven other chaplains here last night, and we just ask the rest of the United States to keep us in their thoughts and prayers. And to send their cards to support us.

KEILAR: And we know they're definitely doing that, that you all are in their thoughts and prayers. And I know this is so difficult. We really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us today.

Chaplain Rob Dewey, working with the fire department here.

Back to you guys in Atlanta.

LEMON: All right. Brianna Keilar, thank you so much for that.

We saw the video earlier of the firefighters' bodies being brought out, and, of course, they were being saluted. And as the chaplain mentioned, full military honors in all of this.

COLLINS: Yes. They really do run things very similarly to the military when you are a firefighter. We spoke earlier today with the Atlanta fire chief who told us a little bit about it. It's almost like a fraternity.

LEMON: Absolutely.

COLLINS: I mean, they live together, they eat together. They really know each other's families very, very well. So the emotions here are very raw, as we saw Charleston City Fire Chief Rusty Thomas continue to wipe his eyes. I'm sure that will be something that you'll see many days to come.

LEMON: We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Boy, they are mopping up in north Texas. One day after disastrous flash flooding, people are trying to come to grips with all they have lost.

At least five people are dead, two of them children. Another five are still missing. Among them, a 2-year-old girl.

And hundreds of families are now homeless. American Red Cross workers are on the scene helping where they can.

Anita Foster talked with CNN's Rob Marciano about how survivors are coping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANITA FOSTER, RED CROSS SPOKESWOMAN: People have had a very traumatic experience. And that's understandable.

They were on their rooftops, water just racing at them. Many of them children trying to make decisions on how to survive within seconds.

You had to make these snap decisions whether you live or whether you don't. And so people were pretty traumatized yesterday.

Some good things that we saw, though, were the sound of chainsaws, we saw machinery starting to move about. These are signs of people recovering and beginning to rebuild. It just will not be a short process.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And how do things stand emotionally today? What is the plan of attack from the American Red Cross with your shelters?

FOSTER: We're going to bring out another team of crisis counselors that volunteer with us, because people are obviously emotionally distraught. We can talk about this disaster in numbers, more than 430 homes. But the real story is told in the people affected.

We lost children in this disaster, people of all ages. So those that are not only clearing away debris and trying to figure out what to do are also grieving the loss of someone that they love. That's a pretty tough situation for anyone to bear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: That certainly is the truth.

If you would like to help, though, the Red Cross relief effort, you can just go online at www.redcross.org, or you can call 1-800- REDCROSS. That's 1-800-733-2767.

LEMON: OK. So unless you're a hybrid owner, driving 50 or 60 miles on a gallon of gas is just wishful thinking. Well, it could be a scooter.

COLLINS: Yes.

LEMON: Maybe.

But now Google wants to do even better, and it's putting it's its money where it's mouth is.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

COLLINS: He used the name of God to create a world of child brutality. Inside a global pedophile ring just busted by police.

You will not believe the enormity of this story. We'll tell you all about it coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins.

It is an incredibly dangerous job, and we're all incredibly grateful they're there to do it.

LEMON: But how do firefighters deal with the kind of loss every one of them is feeling today? We'll talk with a veteran fire chief about that, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is the bottom of the hour, and of course, we're talking about that tragic loss of firefighters today. They live to help others, but all too often, they sacrifice their own lives in the process.

Our top story today, nine firefighters killed when they rushed into a burning furniture warehouse store in Charleston, South Carolina. A coroner has identified all nine of the fallen firefighters. They were all from the city of Charleston's Fire Department.

This is the worst loss of U.S. firefighters in the line of duty since 9/11. That's according to the Web site firehouse.com. The cause of the blaze is still being investigated, and there's no initial indication of arson.

Also, President Bush has issued a statement, calling the firefighters true heroes who selflessly gave their lives.

The fury of the flames, the thickness of the smoke all captured by our i-Reporters. Take a look at these pictures submitted by Jaime Bunker in Charleston. People in the nearby neighborhood watch, they're stunned, as the warehouse fire burns. The blaze sent an enormous -- look at that -- plume of smoke -- looks like thick black smoke -- right into the air there. Now, if you'd like to submit i- Reports, just log on to CNN.com/ireport. Firefighters across the nation are feeling the loss in their hearts and being tragically reminded just how dangerous their jobs are. We'll talk to a long-time firefighter who's also one of the nation's top advocates for firefighter safety. That's straight ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: It was a chat room of child brutality, with tens of thousands of horrifying images of sexual abuse traded. The global pedophile ring has been busted.

CNN's Diana Magnay shows us how police did it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Son of God was the online name this man used to host an Internet chat room devoted to child pornography. According to British police, 27-year-old Britain Timothy Cox (ph) pleaded guilty to nine counts of possessing and distributing indecent images. He's now facing an indefinite jail term. Police say Cox's computer had more than 75,000 pictures and videos of children suffering every conceivable form of sexual abuse.

JIM GAMBLE, CHILD EXPLOITATION ONLINE PROTECTION CTR.: Very often, you'll see queues of people waiting to download those images, in some cases up to 70 people, waiting to download what is an abusive image of a child, that's a child being raped or brutalized by an adult, a child being photographed in horrific circumstances.

MAGNAY: It was intelligence from Canadian authorities via a worldwide group of child protection agencies, the Virtual Global Task Force, which led British police to Cox. After arresting him in September last year, officers from as far away as Canada, Australia, and the U.K. then infiltrated a Web site he operated called "Kids, the Light of Our Lives," to build up evidence on other offenders.

JULIAN SHER, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: For the first time, police across the world are doing exactly what the predators are doing, they're using the tools of the Internet and turning it against them. They're working 24/7. The Internet is global, but they're infiltrating now inside the chat rooms.

MAGNAY: Sophisticated tracking techniques which the task force highlights in a video as a warning to other would-be pedophiles that they will be found out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like to look at pictures of my friends or even better, meet them in the flesh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Think you know who you're talking to? Think again.

MAGNAY: In this investigation alone, police have identified more than 700 suspects worldwide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone will be knocking on your door before you know it. MAGNAY (on camera): Police say they've managed to rescue 31 children as a result of this operation, many of them babies, not more than a few months old. Now, the challenge lies in rebuilding those children's very damaged lives.

Diana Magnay, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Joining us now, one of the officers who infiltrated this online network of pedophiles, Sergeant Paul Krawczyk of the Toronto Police.

Sergeant, thank you so much for being here. It's just absolutely unbelievable watching that story that we just broadcast. Tell us a little bit about how you became involved in this case.

SGT. PAUL KRAWCZYK, TORONTO POLICE: It all started back, basically in November of 2005. I received a call from a friend and colleague, about a four-hour flight from here, but across Canada, who was involved in an investigation and he said, I can't sleep at night. I think you need to take a look at something. And that's basically how it all began, and found out about the chat room and went from there.

COLLINS: Wow. I know that you're a father of two young children yourself. What did you first think when you were looking at these images?

KRAWCZYK: Well, I mean, it's something we have to do on a daily basis. You have to get by it. I mean, if you let it affect you terribly every day, you know, I wouldn't be able to function. So, you have to get past ...

COLLINS: But this was different, wasn't it? This was worse, this was live, streaming video of these abuses.

KRAWCZYK: Yes. I mean, I can't say I experienced that before, and it was heart-stopping and difficult, but, you know what? Capturing the guys was very rewarding and I mean that was the goal in this, and you just -- waiting, especially in the live abuse case, it was -- it was a matter of an hour and a half before we got there. It was difficult, but the end result was good.

COLLINS: I can't imagine the questions that still exist in this long investigation. Where the kids came from? Were they missing children, kidnapped children, held against their will? Any of those answered yet?

KRAWCZYK: I can't speak specifically for every single case, but I do know that in the vast majority of these type of cases, it is someone known to the family that is abusing the children. So, and I know that to be the case in most of these. So, parents have to keep that in their mind, that usually it's someone known to the family.

COLLINS: Absolutely, excellent point. Seven hundred suspects worldwide, 31 kids rescued though. Some of the ages, very, very young. What happens next by way of punishment for those who were involved?

KRAWCZYK: Well, I mean, that's going to vary by country. Mr. Cox, who was running this room and who was arrested recently in the U.K. there, he's got an indefinite sentence, which means he won't be released until they believe he's not a threat.

I know in the United States, people have received up to life sentences in regards to this chat room. However, here in Canada, not so good. So, it all depends on where they're being sentenced, and whether they were actually abusing a child.

COLLINS: Yes, in Canada -- in Canada, just possibly weeks where they could be incarcerated.

KRAWCZYK: Yes, I mean, it can literally be as little as 14 days. And one of these people involved in this chat room who wasn't abusing a child, but was an administrator of this chat room, received three- and-a-half years. And that was the longest sentence we've had for one count of distribution here in Canada ever, which is -- we're happy about, but compared to the rest of the world, it's a little behind.

COLLINS: You know, I have to wonder too, just this way that we use the Internet so much on a daily basis, I don't know too many people who don't use it, did it surprise you at all that a site like this was up and running for as long as it was and you didn't hear reports of it coming in, I guess, just from the general public?

KRAWCZYK: Yes, you know, that does amaze me, and we talked about that during this investigation, that not one person comes forward. But people are afraid sometimes I find, that they come across something like this, and they're afraid that we're going to suspect them. What they have to know is if they truly came upon it by accident, evidence will show that, and we want them to come forward because we need to find out this information.

COLLINS: All right, you say that very well.

KRAWCZYK: The only reason we found out this information was because we had arrested someone and they told us, so.

COLLINS: Really? Well, that was very, very lucky.

Quickly want you to tell us how you infiltrated the group. I mean, I imagine you had to become one of them.

KRAWCZYK: Yes, that's exactly what we had to do, and to be honest, we knew them better than they knew themselves because we spent so long. I mean, this was the only investigation I worked from November of 2005 all the way 'til January of 2007. I knew them better than anybody, and that really helped.

So, I was able to gain their trust by simply knowing the history and knowing everyone involved and that really helped. COLLINS: It must have been tough work I imagine, but so glad that you did it. We'll continue to follow this story and appreciate your time here today. Sergeant Paul Krawczyk from Toronto today. Thanks, Sergeant.

KRAWCZYK: Thank you, thank you.

LEMON: It is 39 past the hour. Here are three of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Just minutes ago, a South Carolina coroner announced the names of nine firefighters killed in a Charleston warehouse blaze. We'll bring you their names and remember their sacrifice, coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

President Bush will announce a major change in his inner circle this hour. Administration sources tell CNN that White House Budget Chief Rob Portman is resigning. Former Iowa Congressman Jim Nussle is replacing him.

Also, was your vacation ruined because you didn't get your passport in time, Heidi?

COLLINS: Not yet.

LEMON: OK, well, it happened to a lot of folks. Congress wants to know why it happened. Within minutes, a Senate panel looks into the passport backlog at the State Department, which has been flooded with applications since new rules went into effect.

COLLINS: A common animal, an uncommon attack. Wow. We tell you all about it, the pictures, too. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, a deadly encounter with a black bear in Utah.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A tragic attack at a campsite in the Utah wilderness. A black bear dragged an 11-year-old boy from the tent he shared with his 6-year-old brother, his mother and his stepfather. That happened on Sunday. The boy's body was found about 400 yards from that campsite. The attack happened in American Fort Canyon, outside of Salt Lake City. Authorities tracked down the bear and they killed it. Officials say it is the first fatal black bear attack on a person in Utah.

COLLINS: Some bank bandits wear masks and some apparently wear their hair in a pony tail. FBI agents are looking for a woman they call the pony tail bandit. These pictures show her hitting a bank in Austin, Texas. Agents say she also held up banks in California and Washington state. She wore a baseball cap with her hair pulled through the back every time. Authorities consider her armed and dangerous.

LEMON: Well, you may remember him as the weepy Florida judge from the Anna Nicole Smith case. Larry Seidlin is stepping down from the bench. In a letter to Governor Charlie Cris (ph), Seidlin said he would resign effective, July 31st. In February he ruled on where Smith would be buried once famously saying, that her body was, "It belongs to me now." According to tmz.com there's some buzz that he may be seeking his own TV court show. We kind of knew that was coming.

COLLINS: Shocking.

LEMON: Yes.

COLLINS: Disgraced and disbarred, now stripped of his badge and the keys to his office. We're talking about Durham, North Carolina, District Attorney, Mike Nifong. A judge suspended Nifong with pay after learning he planned to stay in office for another month. A disciplinary panel ended Nifong's 30-year legal career Saturday for grave ethics violations in his prosecution of three Duke lacrosse players falsely accused of rape.

The North Carolina legislature is set to take up a bill today to allow the governor to immediately remove Nifong from office. That bill is expected to pass.

LEMON: Headed for home at last. Coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM, details on the return trip for the shuttle Atlantis. Hi Sibila.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi, I'm Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. Well, actress Keri Russell is celebrating a first and more dreams come true for dream girl Jennifer Hudson. That and more when NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, well, they're letting some new people into the club. Our Entertainment Correspondent, Sibila Vargas joins us now from Los Angeles with more on that. All I have to say Sibila, is that I'd like to thank the academy for -- oh, they're not nominating me.

VARGAS: Well, you know what? You'll get your invitation some other time.

LEMON: I'm sure.

VARGAS: Well, some Hollywood heavyweights may soon join Tinseltown's most prestigious organization. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is inviting 115 actors and some who work behind the scenes to join. Of those invited are Jennifer Aniston, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and many others. If they accept the invitation, they will become the only additions in the 2007 to the academy's roster of voting members. Voting membership in the organization has held steady at just under 6,000 members for four years. New members will also be welcomed at an invitation only reception in Beverly Hills in September. Congratulations.

And congratulations are also in order to Keri Russell. She's a new mommy. The 31-year-old gave birth to her first child, a baby boy named River Russell Deary on June 9th. Russell married Shane Deary, a contractor, back on Valentine's Day. Ironically, Russell played a married pregnant woman in her recent film, "Waitress." The mother and baby are doing well. And what has Lisa Rinna been up to lately? Do you remember her from "Dancing with the Stars?" Well, let's just say she's got a lot to do. Besides attending the recent Daytime Emmy Awards, the actress will soon be on Broadway with her husband, Harry Hamlin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA RINNA, ACTRESS: I'm in "Chicago." Opening Tuesday night, June 19th, with my husband on Broadway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: They'll star in the Tony winning revival of "Chicago," that starts tonight through July 29th at the Ambassador Theater. Don.

LEMON: I wish you could have seen Heidi when you mentioned Lisa Rinna. She did that move.

COLLINS: I hear she likes it!

VARGAS: You want to be on "Dancing with the Stars?"

LEMON: She wants to more than you know!

COLLINS: Oh, that's what -- if I had a moment to kick right now, do a high kick, for you, Sibila, I would.

LEMON: Go ahead.

VARGAS: Can you do it? Are you really good at it?

LEMON: Let me see.

COLLINS: No, I can't, I have a skirt on.

LEMON: Go ahead.

VARGAS: He triple dared you.

COLLINS: Yes, well.

LEMON: So, Heidi wants to know about Lisa Rinna, because she's got a whole lot going on, right ?

VARGAS: Oh, she does. She doing the red carpet duties for the TV Guide channel for certain award shows there. So with kids, a husband, a Broadway play, and hosting duties, she's quite a busy bee.

Well, let's shift gears because tonight on "Showbiz Tonight," we have a great line-up, loaded with questions. Is Britney Spears setting herself up for disaster? Will Lindsay Lohan's rehab work this time and are celeb rehab centers effective? Well, we'll have a reality check with the tough questions on TV's most provocative entertainment news show, "Showbiz Tonight." Eleven p.m. Eastern and Pacific. Back to you guys.

LEMON: You have to say that again, TV's most provocative ...

COLLINS: Provocative!

LEMON: And Heidi says it won't happen because her husband can't dance.

COLLINS: No, not my husband, Lisa Rinna's husband.

LEMON: Oh, I thought you were talking about your husband! On national TV, I just busted out on your husband, I'm sorry.

COLLINS: He'll be calling you later.

LEMON: Thank you, Sibila, we will be watching.

COLLINS: Nice to see you, Sibila.

In the meantime, we are covering something for you here at CNN. Developing news out of Washington. The White House Budget Chief Rob Portman resigning after just more than a year on the job. Live pictures now, of the president's announcement. An event underway at the White House from the Roosevelt Room. Sources have told CNN that Portman might be planning a run for Ohio governor in 2010. Former House Budget Chairman Jim Nussle will replace Portman.

Do we want to listen in here, guys? No, we're going to continue to monitor this story for you now. Once again, former representative, Jim Nussle expected to be Portman's replacement. We will continue to follow it for you.

LEMON: Absolutely. I think the way some people drive is a sin. Well, apparently the Pope agrees. Exit the highway to hell and steer a more saintly path with Benedict's road rules. Stop laughing, Heidi, that's ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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LEMON: Send your cards and letters to the producers, not me. AC/DC! The reason we played that music, "Highway to Hell," the Pope wants you to avoid road rage. It's kind of funny but its serious. Cars are such a big part of modern life, the Vatican, get this, has issued a ten commandments of driving. It calls for motorists to exercise a heavenly host of Christian values. Bear with me. It's quite a long list, but lets hope we get through it.

One is, you shall not kill. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents. That's absolutely true.

Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination and an occasion of sin. Charitability, convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so. Support the families of accident victims and bring guilty motorists and their victims together at the appropriate time so they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party. Feel responsible towards others.

COLLINS: OK.

LEMON: There you go. You got it.

COLLINS: Homeward bound. Astronauts aboard the shuttle Atlantis say so long to their space station colleagues after a longer than expected visit. It was extended two days to deal with a slight shuttle repair and a few computer melt downs. As they left, astronauts got a spectacular view, though, of their latest construction project. A pair of new solar wings that are helping to power the space station, they also exchanged crew members.

Astronaut Clay Anderson was left being and Sonita Williams is headed home after more than six months in space. Again, the shuttle Atlantis is set to return to earth Thursday afternoon just before 2:00 eastern, I'm sure Miles O'Brien will be helping us out with that.

LEMON: Oh, yes.

COLLINS: You can see it right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: And talk about feeling lonely, can you imagine being left behind in space?

COLLINS: Just like I'm going to leave you on this set?

LEMON: Yes, you're going to leave me! I know you want to be on "Dancing with the Stars" and do a high kick. I'm going to kick you out of here, get on out. No, thank you. Our maiden voyage was fantastic and I enjoyed working with you.

COLLINS: Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

LEMON: Enjoy your family, mom's in town.

COLLINS: Thank you. Have a great rest of the day, everybody.

LEMON: Alright, Heidi Collins we will see you in a bit. The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Kyra Phillips is off today.

We now know their names and that they gave more than 100 years of service. Nine men from the city of Charleston fire department who ...

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