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American Morning
Furniture Store Fire; Deadly Floods; Isaac Newton Papers; Circumcisions Declining; Million Mile Cat; Minding Your Business
Aired June 19, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. A Charleston store goes up in a tornado of flames. Reports just in of nine firefighters killed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE RILEY, MAYOR OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: It's the greatest fire tragedy in memory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: We're live from the scene on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And welcome. Thanks for being with us on this Tuesday, June 19th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
Tragic news still unfolding this morning out of Charleston, South Carolina. The situation down there very terrible today.
CHETRY: Yes. And we're getting more updates on it. There you take a look at the flames. It's a huge fire in a furniture warehouse called the Sofa Super Store. It started last night. And we've just learned in the last half hour that at least nine firefighters are now confirmed killed. Alina Cho has been on the phone with the fire department in Charleston today following the latest developments for us and she brings us an update this morning.
Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran.
We've literally just gotten off the phone with local officials there and they are calling this Charleston's worst tragedy in many, many years. In fact, Charleston Fire and Rescue tells CNN that the death toll currently stands at nine but it could still go higher. It's just simply to early to tell at this point.
Now the majority, if not all of the victims, are believed to be firefighters. It is possible there were civilians in the building. And by that we mean workers of the furniture store and warehouse.
Now rescuers say there was a complete roof collapse in the back area, in the warehouse, and that's where all of the bodies were recovered. And we are told there was no sprinkler system there.
Now Charleston's mayor said the news all around is tragic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE RILEY, MAYOR OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: I know I speak for every citizen in Charleston and the low country and people around the country because we all depend upon our brave firefighters. They make our community safe. They put on their badge and risk their lives every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Now we understand this fire started about 6:30 p.m. yesterday. And are they still fighting it actively right now?
CHO: Yes. I mean you're talking 12 hours later. You know, rescuers are dealing, in fact, Kiran, with two problems. They're still trying to fight the fire. It is still smoldering this morning. And they may be searching for those still unaccounted for. We really can't get a straight answer on whether there are still people missing. But hopefully we will learn more about that later on in the morning.
Now the fire broke out at around 7:00 last night, as you mentioned. And because furniture is highly combustible, it only made matters worse. Of course, we're still learning more about this this morning. The mayor of Charleston, Kiran, will be holding a news conference at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Of course, we will be listening to that and we will be updating you throughout the morning.
CHETRY: You know, the other reason why it's probably hard to get a count of how many are still inside, possibly, is because they had firefighters coming from all different areas of the region trying to help out with this blaze.
CHO: That's absolutely right. And they're still on the scene this morning trying to fight the fire more than 12 hours later. And still no word on a cause. They won't talk about that, as you know, in these types of situations. They want to complete the investigation before they talk about a cause and they don't want to speculate. But you can bet that reporters will be asking the mayor about that at 7:00 Eastern Time and we'll be watching.
CHETRY: Just such an unimaginable tragedy. Nine firefighters, at least as of right now, confirmed killed in this fire.
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: Alina, we'll check back in with you. Thanks.
CHO: All right.
ROBERTS: And we're going to keep following this story for you this morning, bring you the latest developments here on AMERICAN MORNING. But there is also breaking news out of Iraq this morning. U.S. troops are in a massive operation targeting al Qaeda. The Pentagon just released the first pictures from Operation Arrowhead Ripper, as it's called. Twenty-two insurgents killed so far. Ten thousand troops are trying to clear militants from Baquba, north of Baghdad.
The Pentagon also released video from a gun ship battle on Friday. The gun ship chased down and then fired on men believed to be carrying weapons and it hits the building that they were in. Four suspected insurgents were killed in the attack and four wounded. At the end of the battle, you can see people coming out of the building waving the white flag of surrender. The Defense Department would not tell us where this battle took place.
"The Washington Post" is reporting this morning on a memo sent from U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Crocker reportedly raised concerns about the embassy staff in Baghdad saying, "we cannot do the nation's most important work if we do not have the department's best people." The Baghdad embassy is at the center of a bureaucratic battle between Crocker and members of Congress skeptical about the missions increasing costs.
And a chilling new videotape appears to show a graduation ceremony for suicide bombers at a al Qaeda/Taliban training camp. ABC News first broadcast the video last night. It was reportedly shot earlier this month by a Pakistani journalist who was invited to attend. On the tape, suicide bombers are addressed by Taliban military commander Mansoor Dadullah, and sent off to missions in Germany, Canada, Great Britain, and the United States.
CHETRY: People in north Texas waking up to a mess and mourning lives lost today. Hundreds are out of their homes right now after devastating storms. The National Weather Service says rain fell at a rate of an inch every 15 minutes in some places Monday. There are reports that at least five people were killed when rivers overflowed, sweeping mobile homes, cars and lives away. Meteorologist Rob Marciano is right in the heart of the flood zone and we are going to be checking in with him in just a moment.
ROBERTS: Right now we want to get back to Charleston, South Carolina. Chad Watson is a lieutenant with Charleston Fire and Rescue. He's been on the scene of the fire since it was first called in. That was about 7:00 last night. And he joins us now by phone as we continue this coverage of breaking news in Charleston.
Lieutenant Watson, what can you tell me about where you are right now with the death toll and the number of firefighters who may still be missing?
LT. CHAD WATSON, CHARLESTON FIRE AND RESCUE: Well, good morning.
Right now, as we talk, we feel pretty sure that the last body has just been removed from the fire scene. As of right now, Charleston County Rescue has transported nine bodies from the scene to the Charleston County Coroner's Office. We feel at this time that these are the number that we're looking for that were unaccounted for that we now have.
There is the outside chance that since the business was open for business yesterday at the time the fire started, there could be others inside this structure that the firefighters just haven't found yet. But as of right now, we feel that we've got everybody out.
ROBERTS: You know, Lieutenant Watson, it's such a terrible dealt toll there. I mean I remember when there were six firefighters lost in a clothing warehouse factory at least up in Massachusetts, northern Massachusetts, and that was devastating. Nine firefighters. What is that going to do to the community down there?
WATSON: Well, I -- you know, it's interesting on a side note you say that. Just talking to some of the colleagues -- I've lived in Charleston almost two years now, been with the Fire and Rescue department here for just a little less than a year. The city of Charleston's fire chief, Rusty Thomas, is 10 years, stretches 15 years. And from what some of his close friends have been telling me this morning, is that as long as he's been chief, there has never been a fireman lost in the line of duty. Unfortunately, it looks like that that record is not going to hold after this tragedy we've had during the early morning hours and last night.
ROBERTS: How did it happen, Lieutenant Watson? How did they get trapped in the building?
WATSON: I don't have those details. Those details will have to come from the city of Charleston Fire Department itself. We do know that the majority of the bodies were located back in the warehouse area of the building. The building, from what I'm told, did not have a sprinkler system. It burned very hot, very fast, and a large section, as I look at the building this morning, collapsed from the center all the way to the back wall of the warehouse. And we're told that there were several tiers of large shelving units back there that they stored this heavy furniture on. And, of course, the fire burned so hot, so fast that those all collapsed and that's where the majority of the fatalities took place.
ROBERTS: We're just seeing some pictures here, obviously, of the remains of one of the firefighters being carried out by his colleagues and rescue workers there saluting as the body goes by.
The fact that there were no sprinklers in the warehouse. What's code down there? Should a warehouse like that have sprinklers?
WATSON: I can't answer that question for you. Again, that would be something that I have to refer you all to the city of Charleston Fire Department. But we do know the building did not have sprinklers. That, of course, did not help this scene at all.
ROBERTS: All right. Lieutenant Chad Watson from Charleston Fire and Rescue, on the phone with us.
Chad, thanks very much for the update on that.
Just repeating again, nine firefighters in the city of Charleston died in this sofa warehouse fire. It broke out about 7:00 last night. Raged much of the night. It looks like it's finally out now. Two firefighters were believed dead immediately. But that roof collapse, it appears, took the lives of seven other firefighters. Charleston Fire Rescue believes it does have all of the victims recovered now. They are continuing to comb the rubble, Kiran, because they're saying that they believe that all of the people who were inside initially are out, but it was open for business and there's the potential for other people to be inside, though they believe everybody is out now.
CHETRY: All right. We'll continue to follow the latest on the situation, the tragic situation in South Carolina.
We're going to go now, though, to flooding in Texas. Meteorologist Rob Marciano is right in the heart of the flood zone and he joins us now with more on the cleanup today and, of course, the devastation left behind.
Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, weather-related deaths while flash flooding, excluding heat, is the number one killer when it comes to weather. More than hurricanes, more than lightening, more than tornadoes, it's flash floods, because the water can rise so quickly with innocent little streams and creeks becoming just complete torrents of water.
Where I am standing right now is a bridge where this time yesterday, or yesterday afternoon, I should say, and yesterday morning, early morning, was well over water. Take a look at what's behind me. Some of the debris.
Now the water, by the way, has quickly receded into its normal banks. You can see just how low it is down there. But with the debris, you see water tanks, you see refrigerators. The reminiscent of, say, a tornado's path or the storm surge of a hurricane, all this debris, all this foliage, all these trees completely flattened and leaning in one direction and that is the flow of the river. You see two by fours, you see parts of structures, parts of barns.
In this town, a trailer park had 30 homes that were completely ripped off their foundation. That's where we saw the fatalities. The family's motor or trailer home was lifted off its foundation. It was floating down the river or floating down the creek. There's three of them in this town. The one just down the road floated down that creek and slammed into the bridge there and that's where we saw the fatalities with this storm that came through.
Four inches per hour is how much rain was falling at one particular time. Water, just a foot of water, can put 60 pounds of force on any one particular spot. It only takes two feet of water to move an entire car. So the force behind these flash floods, Kiran, is certainly tough to fathom. But when you see the damage that we have seen here this morning, it's certainly -- well, you see the force of mother nature once again, that's for sure.
CHETRY: Rob Marciano in Gainesville, Texas, for us. Thanks. ROBERTS: It's coming up to 11 minutes after the hour and more on our top story. At least nine firefighters are dead after a fire broke out at a furniture warehouse in Charleston, South Carolina. Sara DeMarco of our affiliate WCIV is live at the scene of the fire. Apparently we had her. We lost her. We're going to get her back as soon as we possibly can and continue to follow this breaking news.
This was at a furniture store. The Sofa Warehouse in Charleston. It broke out about 7:00 last night. People described it as a 30-foot tornado of flame ripping through that building.
A number of firefighters were inside looking for people who were potentially trapped inside. That's when the roof of the building collapsed from about the center section all the way to the back and nine firefighters trapped inside at that point and we have confirmed now with Charleston Fire Rescue that nine bodies of firefighters have been brought out. They believe that accounts for all of the missing firefighters. They're still looking for other people who may potentially be trapped inside.
CHETRY: And they were just trying to use all the help they could get within their community. Apparently the car dealership next door, they're running hoses, they're bringing towels over. There were a lot of people from the region, firefighters from all over, trying to get in there and help out as well. As we just heard a few minutes ago from Lieutenant Chad Watson with the Charleston Fire Rescue, he said there were no sprinkler system in furniture warehouse, of all places.
ROBERTS: Right.
CHETRY: We'll continue to follow the latest on that.
Meanwhile, there were no passports and a lot of anger, topping our "Quick Hits" now. People with ruined travel plans complaining to their senators. More people need passports now because of a change in rules from Homeland Security and they require passports to get back into the U.S. from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. That used to not be the case. Fifty-six senators are up in arms about the backlog. And at a committee hearing today, State Department officials will be asked why they were not prepared for the summer vacation rush.
Well, one day after Father's Day, Tiger Woods is now a daddy. Sam Alexis was born early Monday morning just hours after Tiger finished second in the U.S. Open.
And we're staying on top of a developing story. At least nine firefighters now confirmed killed after a furniture store, the roof collapsed there while they were fighting the fire. It's still going on right now and they believe that there could be the possibility that more may be missing. We're going to have more from the scene in Charleston, South Carolina, in just a few moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Sixteen minutes now after the hour. And you're looking at pictures from Charleston, South Carolina. The body of a firefighter being brought out. And you can see all of the rescue workers, police, other fire department and just some bystanders saluting the body as it goes by. That firefighter, one of nine that died in this massive fire overnight in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Sofa Warehouse. All of them trapped inside when the roof of the building collapsed.
According to a lieutenant with Charleston Fire and Rescue, who we talked to just a little while ago, there were no sprinklers inside that warehouse. No sprinklers, despite the fact that most articles of furniture are extremely flammable. It's just a terrible, terrible tragedy there. It's the worst tragedy ever to befall the Charleston Fire Department. Sara DeMarco of our affiliate WCIV is live at the scene of the fire.
And, Sara, what can you tell us from your position on the ground there this morning?
SARA DEMARCO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, we actually watched those bodies be pulled from the scene this morning. A very difficult moment to watch. And then we saw the firefighters stand in their salute position for some time. I saw them salute two bodies as they were brought out. And we have heard -- we've heard throughout the night that nine were trapped inside.
All of those who were missing, presumed dead and who have, we believe, been removed at this point, are all from the same agency. There are more than 12 agencies that responded out here last night. But all of those who were unaccounted from came from the Charleston City Fire Department. The chief there has never lost a man under his watch. Obviously, it's a very difficult situation for him now.
If you take a look back here behind me, it's the first really morning look you're getting to see at just how devastating this fire was. You can just see the building absolutely torn apart. We've heard no sprinklers inside. And, obviously, with it being a Sofa Super Store, extremely flammable material inside, as well, and this fire just burned very quickly. It was very hot.
These firefighters, we're told by witness, just simply went in without any hesitation. One witness told me that she saw maybe 15 go out and very few come out. At that point, I think that's when we heard Fire Chief Rusty Thomas, the Charleston City Fire Department, tell everyone to get out at that point. Obviously, not everyone able to do that.
So just a devastating scene. At this point I just saw the coroner also come on scene. The bodies have been transported to the medical university here for I.D. We're expecting more information coming up at 7:00 this morning. So we should know more at that point or at that point. But, for now, as Mayor Riley said, he's been mayor here for many years, the most devastating scene he's ever seen and such a tragedy to hit here at home in Charleston.
Reporting live in Charleston, South Carolina, I'm Sara DeMarco.
I'll send it back to you, John. ROBERTS: Yes. You know, Sara, I first met Joe Riley back in 1989 during Hurricane Hugo. These firefighters, obviously, went inside this building because it was open at the time. They were searching for people who might have been trapped inside by the fire. Do you know if firefighters and rescuers are pretty confident that they got any of the employees or customers who were in the building at that time out?
DEMARCO: John, they are confident. Mayor Riley told us last night, and he had another fire chief by his side, that they believed all those employees and customers that were inside the sofa store at the time had gotten out alive and safely and that the firefighters were in there just simply trying to battle the blaze and contain it, but it just got out of hand before they could even really get in and try to get a handle on it.
I mean when our first photographer arrived on scene, most of the building was still there. I mean it wasn't -- it was, you know, a blaze, but not anything like what you're seeing behind me now. So it just grew so quickly, I don't think they had any idea it would turn into this in such a few minutes, really.
ROBERTS: Lieutenant Chad Watson with Charleston Fire Rescue told us that there were no sprinklers inside the building. Do you know if that is a fact and do you know what code is there in Charleston? Should there be sprinklers inside a warehouse like that?
DEMARCO: I can't confirm that there were no sprinklers. I've not been told that yet. The officials here are being very quiet at this point I think until that 7:00 preser we're awaiting.
Code, I believe, they should be in there. I mean with most buildings that's what we hear. Again, we haven't asked about the smoke detectors yet either.
But we also haven't heard just how it started. Of course, that's under investigation, but often, you know, you hear from maybe the customers who were inside or the employees, they might have seen something. We just haven't been able to get those answers answered yet. But I'm sure we will get some answers here later in the day or, obviously, as this investigation unfolds.
ROBERTS: All right, Sara DeMarco from our affiliate WCIV there in Charleston.
Sara, thanks very much for that perspective from on the ground there.
As Sara said, we are awaiting a press conference at 7:00. We expect Charleston Mayor Joe Riley to be speaking at that. We'll be monitoring that situation. We'll bring you the very latest as it unfolds here.
CHETRY: Twenty minutes past the hour right now and Chad Myers has been keeping an eye on the forecast for us. We saw Rob Marciano out there in Gainesville. It's unbelievable to hear one inch every 15 minutes and hopefully today will be a much dryer day for folks in Texas.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Countdown to a homecoming. That tops your "Quick Hits" now. In just a few hours, the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis will be heading home. The Atlantis is expected to undock from the space station at 10:42 a.m. Eastern. That means the landing would be 1:54 p.m. on Thursday. That is if the weather at the landing site there at Kennedy is good.
And the search continues this morning for a passenger missing from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. The man was last seen on a balcony in his room yesterday morning. He was traveling with his family. Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas was headed to San Juan from Miami before turning around after this man was lost overboard.
And turning now to the million mile feline and how this cat got hooked on road trips and why he's on our most popular list on cnn.com. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-five minutes after the hour.
Sir Isaac Newton not only discovered gravity, he also predicted, among other things, the apocalypse. For that and other stories from our website, we bring in Veronica De La Cruz.
Good morning to you.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.
ROBERTS: Welcome up here to New York. Good to see you.
DE LA CRUZ: Nice to see you. Thanks so much for having me.
ROBERTS: So Newton wrote not only about science, but religion as well. We're just discovering this.
DE LA CRUZ: That's right. And one of our top stories, like you were just saying, coming from Jerusalem, where rare papers from scientist Isaac Newton are going on display. In the papers Newton shows a religious side, using the book of Daniel to predict the apocalypse, which he says will come no earlier than 2060.
Now the papers were written in the 1700s and bought by a Jewish scholar in the 1930s. John, they've never been displayed to the general public until now. So this definitely will be a treat.
And I've got another interesting story for you this morning.
ROBERTS: But, first of all, though, no apocalypse until at least 2060. So we've got some time. DE LA CRUZ: Yes, we have some time. You're right about that.
All right. Another story this morning. The rate of circumcisions declining in the U.S. Now that -- there you go, morning television.
ROBERTS: Yes. You just kind of just eased right into that.
DE LA CRUZ: That's according to a study by the National Health and Social Life survey, which says only about 57 percent of baby boys born in 2004 had that surgery. Now that compares to almost 90 percent in the 1960s. Just in case you're wondering, circumcision is uncommon in a lot of other countries. And some say an influx of immigrants to the United States has led to that decline.
All right. Moving on.
ROBERTS: I've been holding my breath for the last minute here.
DE LA CRUZ: All right. Finally I've got a great story for you. A kitty on the road logging more than a million miles. Now, it all started when a truck driving husband and wife team picked up a pretty kitty a few years ago. We're going to see him in just a second. His name is Bubba. Now that's Wayne right there. Bubba goes everywhere with Wayne and Kathy Wiedman, who, I said, are truck drivers. In case you're wondering, Bubba travels very carefully perched on the dashboard. And there's Bubba right there for you.
ROBERTS: Excellent.
DE LA CRUZ: And, of course, you can check out all those stories online at cnn.com.
ROBERTS: Terrific.
Veronica De La Cruz, thanks for that. And again, good to see you up here. You'll be with us all week, correct?
DE LA CRUZ: Yes.
ROBERTS: All right. Looking forward to it.
CHETRY: Thanks.
Twenty-seven past the hour. Bubba looks a little demonic, doesn't he, Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can't follow this. I've got business news. A little cat that travels around the world and a decline in circumcisions.
CHETRY: That's right.
VELSHI: I can offer you something.
CHETRY: You got nothing. VELSHI: I got not much.
Let me give you what I do have. There's a lot of news out there, Kiran, that could influence the value of your stocks today. First off, oil prices neared $70 a barrel in New York. That's the highest they've been since last September. That's after a Nigerian oil union said that they'll walk off the job tomorrow. There are continued refinery problems here in the U.S. So the price of gasoline could actually increase after dropping nearly 20 cents in the last month.
Now America's home builders are sad. A report from the National Home Builders Association shows that sentiment among U.S. home builders has slid to its lowest level in more than 16 years. Those tighter mortgage practices and rising mortgage rates are to blame for that. In a couple of hours we'll get some information on the housing market. We've got housing starts, which tell us how many building projects got underway, and building permits, which tell us how many projects are on the books for the coming months.
Now the world's biggest mining group, VHP, is considering making a bid for Canadian aluminum producer Alcan. Alcan's dance card is quickly filling up. Alcoa made an almost $30 billion hostile bid for Alcan a few months ago. If you hold Alcoa stock, you'll notice its at a six-year high.
And finally, Yahoo!'s CEO Terry Semel has been turfed. Yahoo!'s been stuck in the mud while Google can't seems to stop growing and coming up with new ideas. Terry Semel was under a lot of pressure from investors. He took about $1 in salary last year, although his total compensation package was about $70 million. Not bad for a guy who's in some trouble with his investors.
CHETRY: $70 million and one.
VELSHI: And one. (INAUDIBLE) one.
CHETRY: Ali Velshi, thanks.
VELSHI: See ya.
CHETRY: John.
ROBERTS: A $1.5 million fine tops our "Quick Hits" now. The cruise line whose ship sank off of the coast of Greece two months ago has to pay that fine for polluting the Aegean Sea. Nearly 1,600 passengers were rescued from the sinking ship. Two people are missing and presumed dead.
And a YMCA director is resigning over complaints that she took middle school kids on a tour of a Planned Parenthood office. The Manchester, New Hampshire, school district says, from now on, after school programs will list the itinerary of field trips so parents can approve or disapprove of the trip.
At least nine people, several of them firefighters, died in a fire at a furniture warehouse. Witnesses describe the fire as a tornado of flames. We'll update you on that story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Hello and welcome back. It is Tuesday, June 19th.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us.
Stories "On Our Radar" this morning.
In addition to the terrible fire in Charleston, South Carolina, overnight, we're following some breaking news out of Iraq.
Ten thousand U.S. and Iraqi troops in a major air and ground assault on al Qaeda networks in Diyala province. The Pentagon just released pictures from the first -- of the first pictures, at least, from what's called Operation Arrowhead Ripper.
We're going to go live to Baghdad coming up in just a couple of minutes to tell you a little bit more about this.
CHETRY: And also, on the campaign trail, Senator John McCain speaking at the Merchant Marine graduation. This was in Kings Point, New York. And the class gave him a very practical and modern gift to the 70-year-old senator, an engraved iPod, and it was filled up for him already with naval and maritime theme songs.
We'll see if he'll use it.
ROBERTS: I'm sure he will.
CHETRY: You think?
ROBERTS: A little inspiration here and there. Why not?
CHETRY: All right.
Well, we begin with breaking news at a furniture store in a warehouse in Charleston, South Carolina, where the reports that we've gotten from the scene say that at least nine people are dead. They are all believed to be firefighters with the same company, believed to be firefighters within the Charleston City Fire Department.
We spoke to Lieutenant Chad Watson of the Charleston Fire Department at the top of the hour. He described the devastating scene that his fellow firefighters encountered inside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. CHAD WATSON, CHARLESTON FIRE AND RESCUE.: We do know that the majority of the bodies were located back in the warehouse area of the building. The building, from what I'm told, did not have a sprinkler system. It burned very hot, very fast. And a large section, as I look at the building this morning, collapsed from the center, all the way to the back wall of the warehouse. And we're told that there were several tiers of large shelving units back there that they stored this heavy furniture on. And of course, the fire burned so hot, so fast, that those all collapsed, and that's where the majority of the fatalities...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Yes, just a little over an hour after the first flames reported, the roof collapsed. What you were just seeing was video of a salute taking place by the rescue teams as they were bringing out two of the bodies of their fellow firefighters. Rescue teams say they don't think anyone else is inside.
The mayor of Charleston spoke overnight, calling the fire the greatest tragedy in recent memory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JOSEPH P. RILEY, CHARLESTON: They went into this raging fire to put it out to protect the neighborhood, to bring it under control, and it's a reminder of the nature of their amazingly heroic and grave profession.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That's right. Witnesses say the firefighters ran into that roaring flame building without any hesitation. They saw 15 go in, according to one of the reports from the scene, and very few come back out. As we know, the building collapsed within just an hour of the first flames.
Mayor Riley is going to be holding a press conference coming up in just about 25 minutes. We're going to speaking with him live shortly after that as well here on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: There's also breaking news out of Iraq this morning -- a massive U.S. operation targeting al Qaeda. The Pentagon just released the first pictures from what's called Operation Arrowhead Ripper. Ten thousand troops are trying to clear militants from Baquba, north of Baghdad. New reports say U.S. troops found torture implements like handcuffs, swords and electrical cables inside militant safe houses.
"New York Times" correspondent Damien Cave reported on this today, along with his colleague, Michael R. Gordon. He joins us now live from Baghdad.
Damien, this, as you said in your article, represents a far more aggressive strategy by the U.S. military in Diyala province, does it not?
DAMIEN CAVE, "NEW YORK TIMES": Right. This is an operation that intends to go into places that the military has not been, places where there are known to be entrenched insurgents and where they expect to see a lot of fighting.
The other thing that they're really trying to do here is go into multiple places at once. It's not just Baquba; it's several areas all around Baghdad. This is the focus of the effort to both secure Baghdad and secure the country, as commanders have realized that you can't do one without the other.
ROBERTS: You know, much of the focus has been on the city of Baghdad in this so-called surge with General Petraeus trying to get control of some of Baghdad's neighborhoods.
What has been the effect of that so-called surge on places like Diyala and Baquba?
CAVE: Well, the results of that attention to Baghdad and other places like Anbar has pushed many insurgent fighters into places like Diyala, where they feel that they can have more control. There are entire neighborhoods in Baquba that have been completely organized and controlled by al Qaeda, who have killed residents, who have blown up houses, who have flown flags, you know, only a few miles from where Americans are patrolling, showing that they control these areas.
So, this is an area where it has become a stronghold for them, as they have been pushed out of places like Baghdad. At the same time, it's also a base of operations for some of these groups, American commanders believe, so that this is the place, for example, where car bombs that end up in Baghdad may be built.
ROBERTS: Right. You know, as we have seen throughout this war, Damien, as we're seeing in Baghdad, it's almost like a huge countrywide came of Whac-a-Mole. You put down the insurgents in one area, they pop up in another.
Is there any hope that this could actually defeat the insurgency in Diyala, or will it just put it down for it to emerge somewhere else?
CAVE: I mean, at this point, it's still very early to tell. Even controlling Diyala would be a huge success. It's been the worst area in Iraq for a while now. Supplanting Anbar is the deadliest for both Iraqis and Americans.
That said, the violence does have a history of just moving to other places. And even today, less than an hour ago, what appeared to be a massive car bomb exploded less than a mile from where I'm standing, shaking this building and lots of others around it.
So, it's really hard to tell if this will have a lasting impact. We'll have to wait and see for a few months, at least.
ROBERTS: I guess you have to make every effort.
Damien Cave of "The New York Times" joining us this morning from Baghdad.
Good article this morning by the way, Damien. Thanks for joining us.
CHETRY: Your "Quick Hits" now.
Military commanders in Iraq are rejecting a recommendation from Army mental health experts to try to relieve combat stress. What they were hoping for is troops getting a one-month break for every three months in the combat zone. Commanders, though, instead are going to be giving troops two to three days inside of heavily-fortified bases after about eight days in the field.
And naked statues causing quite a headache for police in London. There's one of them.
An artist put replicas of his own naked body on top of 31 buildings. Well, people have now been flooded with calls from people thinking the statues are real and they're people about to commit suicide.
President Bush will be meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in just a few hours as tensions rise in the Middle East. Palestinian territories now in split control. What that means for the region and the broader war on terror, next.
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ROBERTS: Forty-three minutes after the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING, the most news -- look at that.
CHETRY: Easy for you to say.
ROBERTS: It's a rental mouth.
The most news in the morning is on CNN.
Your "Quick Hits" begin in north Texas this morning.
The heavy rain and flash floods are over, but they've taken lives with them. At least five people are now confirmed dead. You're looking at the latest video from the flood zone.
A live report from Gainesville, Texas, is coming up for us at the top of the hour.
A search for two young kids and their father in Maryland. Police say the father picked up his kids from their mother's house on Saturday, then called a relative saying that he was going to kill himself and the children. Police say all three were spotted Sunday in western Maryland.
And the so-called first lady of Cuba is dead. Cuba state TV announced overnight that Vilma Espin, the wife of Raul Castro, died at the age of 77 after a prolonged illness. Raul Castro is leading Cuba while his brother Fidel recovers from surgery.
CHETRY: President Bush will be meeting with Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in just a few hours. Now, it's a prescheduled meeting, but there's even more to talk about now. It's even more pressing with the Palestinian territories split and the ongoing violence there.
Hamas in charge of Gaza, while the emergency Palestinian government of Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah party hangs on to the West Bank. And Israel right in the middle of it all.
Daniel Levy served as a special adviser under former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak. He was the lead Israeli drafter of the 2003 Geneva peace initiative, an unofficial peace proposal that was aimed at resolving the conflict. He joins me now from our Washington bureau.
Daniel, thanks for being with us.
DANIEL LEVY, SR. FELLOW, NEW AMERICA FOUND.: Thank you.
CHETRY: And in just a few hours from now, you're going to be seeing Ehud Olmert meeting with President Bush. What might Mr. Olmert be hoping to hear from our president?
LEVY: Well, I think both leaders, as you suggested, Kiran, will focus on the Palestinian issue. Both Prime Minister Olmert and President Bush are looking for ways back to a peace process. That's to be commended. They're not giving into despair.
It still is about realizing a two-state solution, not three states, not no state with two governments. Helping conditions on the West Bank, releasing moneys is important.
I think the weakness in the approach that we may see coming out of Washington today is that it's still framed around forcing Hamas out of power. That hasn't succeeded. It's likely to continue to fail, and somehow they're probably going to have to be brought inside a process if we really want security.
CHETRY: All right. You brought up a lot of good things, so let's tackle them.
You said not a three-state solution, a two-state solution, but at the same time you said we can't ignore Hamas. So how do you resolve that, when Hamas refuses to even acknowledge the existence of Israel and has called for its destruction?
LEVY: Well, Hamas is clearly a problematic actor on the stage, but Hamas is now a permanent factor in Palestinian politics. We're not going back to a single party structure on Palestine.
Hamas have made statements suggesting that they recognize '67, that they recognize the reality of Israel. Several of their leaders have said this. They haven't said the kind of things the international community wants them to say.
The question is, can we push them out or can we bring them in?
The first thing has been tried. It hasn't succeeded. The other options hasn't. So, I do think that while working with President Abbas and his new government one shouldn't lose sight of the need to bring others in, maybe not now, maybe indirectly allow the Europeans to engage first, but somewhere down the line, and it will have to be quite soon, any stability will be predicated on Hamas being inside the proverbial tent, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Let me ask you about the money situation that you brought up as well. I mean, the United States has given millions to the Fatah government. There's been now a call to lift any type of embargo on any monies and give more, yet they've been mired in corruption.
The reason Hamas has gained a lot of popularity is because they're providing essential services for people, something that Fatah has not been able to do.
LEVY: It's true that one of the main reasons that Fatah was voted out of power in January of 2006 was the sense of ineffective governance, corrupt governance. To bring Fatah back, Fatah will have to undergo reforms.
Hamas was popular because of its social services. But also -- and this is very important to remember -- because Fatah did not deliver on its key promise of delivering a Palestinian state. And here is the question for Israeli and American leaders: If this is a priority, to have a two-state solution -- and you were talking earlier about Iraq and the president has listened to the Iraq Study Group, and they said that Israel and Palestine and resolving that conflict is a priority -- if it's a priority, then one has to get seriously engaged in peacemaking.
We haven't had any peace talks for six and a half years. If you want to move this forward, you really have to get engaged in a concerted, consistent, ongoing way, not dip your toe in and then pull it out again. And that hasn't helped anyone.
CHETRY: OK.
LEVY: It's not helped moderates in Israel or in the Palestinian territories. Today we need to broaden the definition of who we're going to work with, but we need to be very clear, it's a priority and it requires consistent American engagement.
CHETRY: Well, it's going to happen today in just a couple of hours, when our president meets with Israeli prime minister.
Daniel Levy, thanks for being with us.
LEVY: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Forty-eight minutes after the hour.
First candy cigarettes, then the real thing -- topping our "Quick Hits" now.
New research from the University of Rochester says 22 percent of smokers played with candy cigarettes when they were children. Only 14 percent of smokers never ate candy cigarettes.
Mr. Wisenheimer talks, but he won't see where he's been. For seven months, Lisa Steel's (ph) parrot was missing, and she finally got him back when someone found him and put an ad in the newspaper. But when she asks him where he was, he replies, "I'm a pretty bird. What ya doin'?"
It looks like a celebrity baby boom -- Tiger Woods, Julia Roberts, TomKat. Lola Ogunnaike will be here to fill us in.
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ROBERTS: Updating you now on our top story, a deadly fire at a furniture warehouse in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine are dead. The fire is still smoldering right now.
We're awaiting a news conference with the mayor of Charleston at the top of the hour, and we'll be speaking with him right after that here live on AMERICAN MORNING.
Hundreds of small earthquakes around Kilauea Volcano since Sunday are raising the possibility of lava eruptions. The quakes have died down now, and part of Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park is going to reopen later on today.
And a new deck of cards for Iraq. You'll recall that the Pentagon used cards, playing cards, to identify the most wanted players in Saddam Hussein's regime. The new set is being issued to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan highlighting archaeological sites with tips on how to preserve them.
CHETRY: Well, this morning, a London paper is reporting Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are working on a sequel. Baby number two, that is. And here is the picture the paper says proves it. You know, sometimes -- AMERICAN MORNING'S Lola Ogunnaike is here with more on the scoop, as well as some other new births.
But, you know, sometimes they always get you after a big meal at a restaurant or something, and they're like, a-ha, she's pregnant.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. It hasn't been confirmed yet, but when you eat, you know, you have a big meal and then next thing you know you've got a bump. We all have that bump.
CHETRY: But is it a baby or is it too much chicken parm?
OGUNNAIKE: It might have been too much pasta. Stay off the carbs.
But yes -- but we do know who has had a baby. Julia Roberts.
CHETRY: This is baby number three.
OGUNNAIKE: Baby number three. She has two twins, Phinnaeus and Hazel. And then she has got another one, Henry Daniel, 8.5 pounds, born Monday, healthy. Everyone is doing well in the Moder family. And also, Tiger Woods, another baby. Well, his first baby, actually. He had a girl -- Sam Alexis.
CHETRY: And we have no pictures yet of them.
OGUNNAIKE: We have no pictures, no. No pictures of the babies, yet, but they're both healthy, so everyone -- everyone is happy in Hollywood right now with the kids.
CHETRY: Now, it was a busy weekend for Tiger Woods, because he was playing and came in second place in the U.S. Open.
OGUNNAIKE: Second place, didn't win that, but did win having a baby. You know, a great Father's Day gift right after Father's Day. So he's doing really well with that.
Also, what I found really interesting about this whole thing, Kiran, is that these kids actually have normal names.
CHETRY: I thought that, too, because it was Phinnaeus and Hazel, and then Henry is a little bit...
OGUNNAIKE: Henry is -- it's actually a pedestrian name -- Henry. And think about it, Gwyneth Paltrow had a kid, Apple. Her son is named Moses.
Then there's Jason Lee, who's star of "My Name is Earl". His kid is named Pilot Inspektor, which I love.
CHETRY: And with a "K," too, Inspektor.
OGUNNAIKE: Exactly, Inspektor.
And then you have Toni Braxton. Her son's name is Denim.
So, yes -- and then Posh and, what's his name -- David Beckham -- what's his name -- David Beckham, the soccer player -- their child's name is Brooklyn. So...
CHETRY: Right. They claim they named him after where he was conceived.
OGUNNAIKE: Exactly.
CHETRY: When they...
(CROSSTALK)
OGUNNAIKE: Exactly. They had a good time on that Brooklyn Bridge. So...
CHETRY: They also -- their other kid's name is Romeo, so...
OGUNNAIKE: Romeo. And then there's Robert Rodriguez, who is the director of "Spy Kids" and "Grindhouse". His kids are named Rogue and Rumer (ph), and -- what's the other one that I love? This is my favorite, favorite one.
Rogue and Rumer (ph) and -- and another "R" which I can't remember right now. Maybe Random, because I can't think of it right now.
CHETRY: Maybe the next time we bump into you, coming up in the next hour.
Lola, thank you.
OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Barack Obama says that his campaign made a dumb mistake. That tops your "Quick Hits".
The Democratic presidential contender is distancing himself from a memo circulated by his campaign. It criticized Hillary Clinton's financial ties to India and her husband's pricey speech fees from Cisco, a company that has outsourced jobs to India. Obama says he told his staff that the memo was "unnecessarily caustic".
Is New York's mayor testing the presidential waters? Michael Bloomberg was in Mountain View, California on Monday for a technology forum on the Google campus. He repeated his intention to serve out his current term as mayor but refused to rule out a possible independent campaign for the White House.
And John McCain may be marching now to the tune of "Anchors Away". To thank McCain for giving the commencement address, students at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, gave him an iPod loaded up with patriotic and naval theme songs.
AMERICAN MORNING is coming right back.
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