Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Shuttle May Land at Backup Landing Spot; Charleston Memorial Service Honors Fallen Firefighters; Teen's Legs Severed in Amusement Ride Accident; Woman Branded in Face for Reporting Beating
Aired June 22, 2007 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CO-HOST: And I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Kyra Phillips
NASA says no-go to the first attempt of the day to land the Shuttle Atlantis. Miles O'Brien will be joining us live with the details on Plan B.
LEMON: And South Carolina honors nine heroes. The emotion and memories at a fitting tribute for their lost firefighters.
KEILAR: Plus, a horrific thrill ride accident in Kentucky.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Oh, it's getting to be a habit. Waved off again. Atlantis astronauts keep circling the earth, waiting for the go-ahead to come home. And at this point, Miles O'Brien, do they really care where they land, as long as it's a safe place?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Terra firma would be their preference. Yes, Don.
LEMON: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And as a matter of fact, a safe landing is the preference. It's always nice to be a little closer to home. Florida still isn't home, you've got to remember, though. They all live in Houston. So whether it's Edwards or Kennedy Space Center, they don't care so much.
You and I should care, because I've been saying -- yesterday I told you it's a million dollars every time the shuttle lands at the Edwards Air Force Base. We recrunched the numbers. It's actually $1.7 million now. And it's a big Bill. And so NASA tries to avoid it, and it also is a hit to their schedule. They've got to put a bunch of people on a plane here, send them out to California, put the shuttle up on the 747 and bring it back here to Florida.
A lot of pictures now. What you're looking at is Edwards Air Force Base. That is a specially modified Gulf Stream jet, a G2, flown by commander and astronaut Scott Altman. They call him Scooter. And you can call him Scooter to his face, believe it or not, even though he's 6'6".
And he is going to be practicing what they call dives. The approaches are called dives because they're so steep. At Edwards to make sure that the weather at the backup landing site is going to be fine for the space shuttle.
Let's back up and show you the weather picture here and tell you why they're so interested in California now. Take a look at this picture of the cloud cover here at the Kennedy Space Center. Low clouds, those puffy cumulus clouds building up throughout the day.
There's the radar picture, give you a sense of it, as well. Starting to get some little echoes and returns of rain showers. And basically, right now we've got a no-go situation here for both cloud cover and for the potential and current existence of rain showers inside that 30-mile disk around the shuttle landing facility.
So that brings us back to Edwards. Take a look at the Edwards radar, first of all, where we just saw that jet about to taxi out to do some practice approaches or dives. Clear as a bell out there. It is the high desert of California.
And as you see the shuttle landing strip there, the radar there is as clear as it can be. There's a long runway there, 15,000 feet, just as long as it is here.
And so what we're looking at right now is a decision probably coming up in the next 45, 50 minutes as to which location to go. They can decide to come either to California or to Florida. A California landing would be at 3:49 p.m. A Florida landing would be at 3:55. In other words six minutes separating the two locations. That gives you an idea of the speed we're talking about, Don.
LEMON: All right. Miles O'Brien. And you can call that guy Scooter to his face. I won't do that, especially at 6'6". Thank you so much for that report.
And we're going to check in with our Rob Marciano in just a bit and tell us about why the weather is such a factor in this landing -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Nine caskets, thousands of mourners. The people of Charleston, South Carolina, packed a 9,000-seat arena today to mourn the nine firefighters who lost their lives in Monday's tragic furniture store blaze.
And CNN's Heidi Collins is there. Let's go live now to her.
A very difficult day for the people there, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: A very difficult day. But I think, Brianna, an entirely necessary day, not only for the families of each one of these firefighters, because they will have their own private ceremonies, as well, but also for the people of Charleston and for the fellow firefighters. This was a very emotional day. We heard "Taps" played. We heard the last alarm, the last bell. We heard that ring. We heard "Amazing Grace". And we heard some wonderful words of comfort from the mayor of this city, Charleston's city, Mayor Joe Riley. And he joins me now.
Mr. Mayor, lovely to have you with us. A lot of people are commenting as they walk by you on our set here and saying thank you and telling you how beautiful it was and how quickly it came together. When we think about it, this tragedy only happened three days ago.
MAYOR JOSEPH RILEY, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: We knew it was so important. This is heartbreaking for the whole community. And our grieving process, which is a continuing one, really required everyone to get together, the nine families and our firefighters and then the citizens of the community here and obviously those rifted to their television screens just to grieve together and to get our sorrow out and our love and admiration for the courage of these heroic people. It was very important.
And these firefighters (ph) were so beloved, telling stories about each man and getting people to laugh. That's an important part of emotional sorrow recovery, too, is to smile again and laugh again and know that, you know, that life will go on. We have to make life go on.
It was very helpful, and an amazing group of people put this together very quickly.
COLLINS: I think it was really important for you, as well, when you were at the podium, to talk about what the firefighters do and why they do it, going into the face of danger on a daily basis for people they don't know. It's something that I think a lot of us really take for granted.
RILEY: Well, it's so easy to take things for granted. And firefighters may be near the top of the list. But these, as I say so often, every time they put on a badge, they know that that day they may be required to go into a burning building and risk their life and give their life. They know that. It's part of their training. It's part of their instinct.
They're usually very humble and very soft spoken people of amazing courage. And I wanted to reaffirm that: the cause of a firefighter and what it represents. They're absolutely amazing.
COLLINS: And as we look at the screen now, we see the faces of the nine firefighters who were lost on Monday night. When you look at those faces, Mr. Mayor, I know that you had an opportunity to speak with Rudy Giuliani and shared some experiences, shared some moments in talking about the loss from New York City and now the loss of your city.
RILEY: Well, I did. It's -- the scale of things that are different, but we lost 4 percent of our firefighters Monday night in a couple of minutes or so. And New York lost 3 percent of their force. So the, you know, comparative very substantial impact within the family of the fire department, they're quite similar and very tragic.
COLLINS: How will you move forward? I think you were absolutely on the mark when you said that the fire chief, Fire Chief Rusty Thomas, did such an excellent job with making people laugh. It was the first time we had heard any of the family members or colleagues begin laughing. It was priceless.
RILEY: Well, we will keep moving forward. We all have work to do. We will be working closely with the nine families. We have a great system set up. We're going to be giving them personal service benefits.
We're going to have counseling available for all of our firefighters. They lost comrades in battle. We're going to be very alert to the needs of our people.
And then we're going to do what those nine men expect us to do, and that is move on and carry forward and fight fires and lead this city and never forget them, but keep charging forward. That's -- that's our responsibility to them.
COLLINS: Well, I know that you have to, unfortunately, be on your way to one of the first funerals. You'll be attending all nine of the funerals personally yourself.
RILEY: I will.
COLLINS: And I'm sure that the city of Charleston is glad to have you, Mr. Mayor.
RILEY: Thank you so much.
COLLINS: Thank you for sitting with us.
RILEY: You bet.
COLLINS: Brianna, back to you.
KEILAR: Heidi Collins live for us from Charleston. Thanks also to Mayor Joe Riley for taking time out to talk with us. A very difficult day there in Charleston -- Don.
LEMON: Certainly is.
Screams of horror mistaken for screams of excitement on an amusement park ride in Kentucky. A 13-year-old girl's feet were severed.
Ben Jackey from our affiliate WLKY in Louisville has the very latest for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It feels like you're free falling from something, and then you just automatically get stopped. BEN JACKEY, WLKY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But witnesses say the Superman Tower of Power turned into a tower of terror for one teen in an instant. Just after the ride reached its 177-foot ascent, something went wrong as the ride it dropped at more than 50 miles an hour.
CHRIS WILLIAMS, WITNESS: I was seeing the cable break loose as it got to the top on the right-hand side.
TREVA SMITH, WITNESS: And then as it was coming on down, it snapped again. And then the people on the ride just came and hit the ground.
WILLIAMS: As the wire came down, the wire swung left, hit the -- struck the young lady on the backside of my children.
JACKEY: Chris Williams' daughter Amber says she was sitting on the other side because she gave her seat up to the 13-year-old. Williams rushed towards the ride to find his daughter.
As Treva Smith raced to find members of her group, she made a gruesome discovery.
SMITH: When I got up there, the lady, she was just sitting there, and she didn't have no legs. She didn't have no legs at all. And she was just there, just calm, probably in shock from everything.
JACKEY: Smith says she saw no blood, and the girl wasn't crying. But the same couldn't be said for some who witnessed the incident on the ride formerly known as Hellevator.
WILLIAMS: My son is over there tripping out, man. You want to come to the park and feel safe. You know? We've got season passes. Now my kids are -- had to -- you know, we're not coming back for sure.
KENNETH LAY, PARKGOER: Every park, I mean -- one in a million maybe something happens. But I have no fear.
JACKEY: Six Flags wouldn't comment on camera. A spokesperson released a statement saying the ride malfunctioned. Kentucky Kingdom isn't confirming a cable severed the girls' legs, but they say they remain in contact with the family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We pray for the young lady and hope she's OK.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: ... Jackey, reporting from our affiliate, WLKY. The ride will be closed indefinitely. And so far, there's been no word on the girl's condition.
KEILAR: A mother shares her suspicions and vows to find her missing daughter.
About 250 volunteers are back at it today, scouring open fields, neighborhoods and also shopping centers in Canton, Ohio, for any sign of Jessie Davis.
Davis is almost 9 months pregnant, and she vanished nine days ago. About 1,800 volunteers helped search for her yesterday, but heavy rain hampered their efforts.
And for the first time, Davis' mother, Patricia Porter, says she considers the baby's father a suspect. Bobby Cutts maintains he had nothing to do with Davis's disappearance.
LEMON: Miami police hope a new witness might help lead them to a missing woman. Twenty-two-year-old Stepha Henry disappeared more than three weeks ago. She's a New Yorker who was in Miami for a little vacation before her law school entrance exam.
NBC-6 in Miami reports that a man has told police he saw Henry leaving a nightclub with two other women. Detectives are also looking at a video from the club that shows Henry with several other people.
KEILAR: Where will it land? We've got our eyes on the weather from coast to coast as the Shuttle Atlantis crew looks for a place to put her down.
LEMON: And a question for you. Drive much? How does 35 miles a gallon sound? Sounds pretty good to me. But we'll tell you what else is in that energy Bill that the Senate passed last night as it moves on to the House.
KEILAR: And ignoring the rules or removing them? We'll tell you about the vice president's office, classified documents and the National Archives.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is 15 past the hour. Here are three of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Thousands of mourners packed an arena today for a memorial to nine Charleston, South Carolina, firefighters. The nine men died Monday in the deadliest U.S. firefighting disaster since 9/11.
Bad weather has again delayed the landing of the Atlantis Space Shuttle. There will be four more chances today for landings in Florida or California. We're keeping an eye on that for you.
And NBC denies a report that it's paying a million bucks to get an interview with Paris Hilton. The celebrity socialite is to be released from jail next week.
KEILAR: Could we start getting more miles to the gallon? An energy Bill passed by the Senate would raise mileage standards for cars and trucks for the first time in 20 years.
Senators approved the Bill by a vote of 65-27, and under the measure automakers would have to meet a fleet-wide mileage standard of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. That includes small trucks and SUVs.
The current standard is 27 1/2 miles per gallon for cars and 22.2 for SUVs.
Democrats also pushed for higher taxes on the oil industry, but Republicans successfully blocked that effort.
LEMON: A hospital emergency in California, not for patients but for the hospital itself.
The California Department of Health Services says it's taking steps to revoke the license for the troubled Martin Luther king Jr. Harbor Hospital. It has been plagued by claims of substandard care.
The move, if successful, could eventually force the public hospital to close. But the director of the county's health agency says the hospital is taking corrective action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. BRUCE CHERNOF, L.A. COUNTYHEALTH SERVICES: It entails fundamental changes in how the emergency room operates, changing the staffing model, putting in place new systems and simplifying other processes to really address the specific concerns raised by CMS.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Just last month, a woman died after arriving, untreated, on the floor of the emergency room lobby for 45 minutes. That put the hospital under renewed scrutiny.
KEILAR: It sounds like something out of the book "The Scarlet Letter" or maybe a mafia movie. A woman kidnapped and the hot branding iron used to put the word "snitch" on her face.
Tess Rafols from CNN affiliate KTVK in Phoenix has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TESS RAFOLS, KTVK CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This apartment, police call it the site of a brutal crime. Neighbors say they always heard screaming, fighting, even cries for help coming from inside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I always heard yelling and screaming and, "You did this," "you did that," and "leave me alone," "what did I do?"
RAFOLS: Police say this is where a 38-year-old woman was kidnapped, beaten and branded with a hot iron, the word "snitch" scorched into her cheek, then blind-folded, driven and dropped in this nearby neighborhood.
SGT. CHUCK TRAPANI, MESA, ARIZONA, POLICE DEPARTMENT: I have been in law enforcement for close to 20 years. I mean, been homicides, ag assaults. But I've never seen anybody brand another person, especially in the facial area. RAFOLS: According to police, this is how it happened. This couple looked for their victim for a year. She called police to report him beating her. Her kids were taken away.
Last week these men lured the victim to the apartment, probably promising drugs. And they call the couple now accused of enacting the revenge.
TRAPANI: The suspects basically take chunks of her hair off her head. Her face is branded with the word "snitch." Apparently they brought a branding iron with the word "snitch" on it, and they had a propane torch that they heated the branding iron up and then they applied to the victim's face.
RAFOLS: Neighbors didn't know anything like that was going on next door, but they're glad it won't happen again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Let's get to the news room now. We have some developing news. T.J. Holmes working a story.
What do you have for us, T.J.?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We're going back to that -- that love triangle, I guess we can call it, within NASA, the story having to do with Lisa Nowack, who is now facing some charges of attacking a fellow astronaut. You remember this all had to do with a love triangle.
Well, a deposition has now been given in this case of Lisa Nowack, and it was given by Colleen Shipman, who was the other woman supposedly in this love triangle.
And what you're seeing here now is Shipman and actually the man, the astronaut, Bill Oefelein. I believe I'm saying his name correctly. If I'm not, please somebody correct me.
But they arrived today to give that deposition. She was giving the deposition, but they arrived, being described as going in arm in arm, showing up together, appearing to be, at least, a couple.
Again, just to give you a background. And everybody will remember this story. Just all you have to say is diaper in this story, really. Lisa Nowack reportedly drove quite a distance, from Texas to Florida, really going to challenge who she thought was a romantic rival, who was Shipman, also involved possibly with a relationship with Bill Oefelein.
There you are, the pictures. You certainly remember the faces in this case. So a very strange case.
Met up with Shipman at the airport. She's now being charged with attacking Shipman and trying to kidnap Shipman. But the case is still ongoing. And right now Colleen Shipman, the other woman in this supposed love triangle, got to give a deposition today and kind of threw some people off by showing up today with the -- with that astronaut, Bill Oefelein, and showing up together.
Don't know, of course, exactly what was said in that deposition, but this case is ongoing. Just giving you an update. The latest we've got is that, yes, two of the three in that love triangle appear to have shown up together today for a deposition.
So we're on top of it, trying to get some more details. Don, we get some, we'll bring it to you.
LEMON: And the story continues. And I think you're right, Oefelein.
HOLMES: That's right? All right. Just making sure.
LEMON: Thank you, T.J.
Iran denying a reported uranium claim. What did its interior minister say or didn't say about a uranium stockpile? We'll try to sort it all out for you, ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, the most trusted name in news. Now back to the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: Let's get right to T.J. Holmes now. He is monitoring some breaking news coming out of Wisconsin. What do you have, T.J.?
HOLMES: We are going to Eau Claire, specifically, in Wisconsin. These are the pictures that are coming in to us. A terrible fire, and it's at the worst of all places, really, you could imagine. This is at a chemical plant.
This is a chemical plant that -- a chemical recycling plant, specifically, where a fire broke out. But then after this fire, explosions started going off left and right, some shooting fireballs. They're being described as shooting some 300 feet into the air.
Now, reportedly nobody has been injured, no deaths or anything like that to report so far in this -- in this fire. But something that did happen here. They actually had to pull the fire department back, pull back the firefighters because, after the fire started -- and you got a chemical plant here. They're not sure exactly what kind of chemicals they're dealing with, and it just started shooting off fireballs and explosions left and right. So firefighters need to get out of there and let this fire burn itself out.
You can see pretty extensive damage and widespread even, as well. We're trying to keep an eye on this, trying to find out exactly what kind of chemicals possibly are there. There are evacuations that we know of that are taking place. They're just prescribed as cautionary now.
But this is another story we're keeping an eye on here in the NEWSROOM. Get back to you when we get more details on it, Brianna.
KEILAR: All right. Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: All right.
LEMON: Well, if you go by the numbers, there's no question the nation's housing market is in a slump. You can say it's a deep slump. But a new survey shows many Americans simply aren't accepting that.
Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange with surprising results on that.
Hi, Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.
People just, I guess, they don't want to hear what we're all seeing here, you know.
LEMON: Yes.
ELAM: Slumping sales, falling prices, a glut of homes on the market across the country. Yet homeowners are still upbeat about their own nests.
Now according to a survey done by the Boston Consulting Group, a majority of Americans believe they could sell their home for more now than a year ago. And nearly two-thirds believe real estate is a good or excellent investment.
This comes despite recent reports on the housing market which paint a really different picture here. We've been hearing about record numbers of foreclosures, rising mortgage rates and falling home prices. And a report out earlier this week showed new home construction fell more than 2 percent in May, and existing home sales in April fell to their slowest pace in nearly four years.
We will get May's existing home sales numbers on Monday to give us more of an idea there. But yes, as you see, what people are thinking and what's out there are not the same.
LEMON: Stephanie, do you know what today is?
ELAM: What is today?
LEMON: Today is the happiest day of the year. You know, that's -- I'm serious. So if it's the happiest day of the year, and they don't...
ELAM: Why is it the happiest day of the year?
LEMON: Because yesterday was the longest day of the year, and we got the most sunshine. And studies have been done that most people are happy today. Don't ask me why.
ELAM: OK.
LEMON: So give us some good news, could you please? Everything you said was bad news.
ELAM: Yes, well, it stormed here on part of our sunny ending of the day yesterday. So I feel like I need to make up for that here.
All right. So according to the same group that did the survey, tough times in the housing market are not forcing consumers to be more stingy. So that's good. More than two-thirds said that the current housing climate had no effect on their spending.
And by the way, mortgage rates managed to tick slightly lower over the past week. Freddie Mac says its 30-year fixed is now 6.69 percent after posting its biggest spike in four years the week before.
(STOCK REPORT)
ELAM: And it's been the most talked about stock debut since Google, but it almost didn't happen. I'll explain in the next hour of NEWSROOM. Until then, back to you, Don.
LEMON: You have me wondering what that is, most talked about since Google. I'm going to try to figure it out.
ELAM: You figure it out. We'll talk about it.
LEMON: I'll figure it out and we'll talk about it. All right. Thank you, Stephanie. We'll see you in a little bit.
ELAM: Sounds good.
KEILAR: Well, Shuttle Atlantis trying to land today. So far, no luck. So let's go to Rob Marciano. He is monitoring the weather.
What can you tell us, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, same problem exists today that we saw yesterday, Brianna. Basically, an old system that just is hanging around parts of northern and central -- really right over the Kennedy Space Center.
Here's the computer forecast model for this afternoon right through 4 p.m. And sure enough, the blue blotches mean that the rain showers and thunderstorms in and around this part of Florida are in the forecast.
You go down towards Miami, and they're not really there. So kind of bad luck as far as KSC is concerned. But as Miles has been pointing out, there are alternate sites.
Right now, we are seeing some shower activity verifying on the radar from that forecast. Most of it is south, but it is within this 30-mile cone or 30-mile circle where they need clear skies, they don't need any rainfall. So that's the -- that's the problem there.
Eighty-six degrees. Winds aren't that big of an issue: 9 miles an hour. Visibility is good, 10 miles an hour. This is Edwards -- Edwards Air Force Base in California. Desert. That's why it looks so bright. There's not a whole lot of vegetation. Of course, you don't have the ocean.
No clouds, no rain. That's good. And right now, no wind. Visibility of 60 miles. So we are a go here at Edwards Air Force Base.
They'll try this, looks likes, at 3:49 will be the Edwards Air Force Base landing, Kennedy Space Center at 3:54. As Miles has been pointing out, the optimum spot is to land them in Florida, but although do differently, is maybe just make a left turn and head into California. And then they made (ph) another couple shots at Edwards.
But it looks like, if I had a guess, it would happen sometime around the 4:00 hour, either in Florida or over in California.
Daytime heat, check it out. Ninety-seven degrees in Memphis, a beautiful 77 in New York and 75 degrees in Chicago. First full day of summer, and it certainly feels like it in some parts of the world.
Brianna, back to you.
KEILAR: All right, thanks Rob, and we'll be keeping our fingers crossed, hoping they can land very soon.
All right, now let's take a quick look at a White House briefing that's going on. Deputy White House Press Secretary Dana Perrino is actually talking about Vice President Cheney, a new controversy that's popped up surrounding his office and classified documents, and we'll tell you what she said right after the break.
LEMON: A U.S. envoy makes a surprise visit to Pyongyang. He calls his talks very useful. Ahead we'll hear what he has to say about the standoff over North Korea's nuclear program, and look at how his visit could change the dynamics of the dispute.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar in for Kyra Phillips. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Let's take a look now at some live pictures. This is Deputy White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, and she is giving the White House briefing, talking about a new controversy that has popped up surrounding Vice President Dick Cheney and his office and some classified documents. We're going to tell you shortly what she said -- Don.
LEMON: And, Brianna, just some background. For years Vice President Cheney's office has refused to comply with an executive order signed by President Bush. That orders governs a handling of classified material. Now the vice president is accused of carrying that defiance one step forward.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The vice president's office is keeping a secret. The secret is over how many secrets it keeps.
An order by President Bush requires Cheney's office to tell the National Archives how many documents it classifies or declassifies each year. For years, the vice president's office has refused.
Now Cheney's solution to the dispute, just abolish the office asking for the records. That according to Congressman Henry Waxman, who heads the congressional committee investigating the matter. He warned Cheney in a letter that his actions could be downright criminal, saying, "I question both the legality and wisdom of your actions."
For Cheney's part, his camp would neither confirm or deny whether they sought to abolish the National Archives Office seeking the vice president's records. But they did respond to Waxman's accusations, saying, "We are confident that we are conducting the office properly under the law."
That executive order Mr. Bush signed in 2003 required all agencies and any other entity within the executive branch to report its records for classifying top-secret documents. But according to Waxman, the vice president's office is now claiming it is not an entity within the executive branch.
Sound cut and dry? Not exactly.
If abolishing the National Archives Office doesn't work, Cheney's office has another tactic. They say as vice president, Cheney also serves as the president of the Senate, which means he's in the unique position of straddling the executive and legislative branches.
STEVEN AFTERGOOD, FED. OF AMERICAN SCIENTISTS: It's transparently silly. If it were true, then we would have to rewrite all of the textbooks that we all grew up with. It's obvious that the vice president's office is part of the executive branch, and to claim otherwise is preposterous.
MALVEAUX: Those textbooks say the U.S. Constitution establishes the office of vice president under executive branch, Article II Section I.
(on camera): What is also interesting is that the Bush administration has made the case numerous times for keeping information secret, citing executive privilege and executive power. So it seems inconsistent that the vice president's office is now saying that he's in a unique position. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Just a few moments ago, White House reporter, veteran reporter, Helen Thomas, got into an exchange with Deputy White House Press Secretary Dana Perino.
Here's what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA PERINO, DEP. WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: All of the president's documents and all the vice president's documents are safeguarded. They are held. They are held in archives as part of the Presidential Records Act. And all of those rules and regulations are followed. This small section regarding just the reporting requirements to this group, that's out of the National Archives is different.
HELEN THOMAS, REPORTER: Why? He's a public servant paid by us. He's accountable.
PERINO: And all of the laws and regulations regarding classified materials are being complied with, and that's what you as a taxpayer should expect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Dana Perino responding to Helen Thomas.
New complaints today about Iran's alleged role in the violence plaguing Iraq. This time the complaints are coming from the No. 2 U.S. commander inside Iraq. Lieutenant General Odierno, also talked about what would have to happen before U.S. troops could start withdrawing.
Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us with an update on that --- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Don.
Lieutenant Ray Odierno, the number two commander in Iraq, spoke with Pentagon reporters at length earlier today about the situation there. He said that the security crackdown, the operations with the increased numbers of U.S. troops, seem to be working in several areas of the country, that they are having some success. He said it was too early to absolutely predict, but he hoped that it might be possible now to recommend a troop draw-down by spring if -- and it's a big if -- if the Iraqi forces can really move in and assure security in some of these areas around Baghdad, out to the west. and along the Iranian border.
And it is the Iranians that remain, as you say, one of the big uncertainties. General Odierno saying it is in the last three months now they are seeing the Iranians step up their meddling inside Iraq.
Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. GEN. RAYMOND ODIERNO, CMDR., MULTI-NATIONAL FORCES: What I have seen, though, is a steady increase in support to Shia extremists. I think they are trying to surge their support to Shia extremists. We've seen an increase flow of training to mortar teams and rocket teams. We've seen an increase in some flow of weapons and munitions into Iraq. We're working very hard to cut those lines every day from Iran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: All of that, Don, what the U.S. now believes Iran has been up to in the last three months. Again, increasing its meddling inside Iraq.
General Odierno also addressed this controversial question about whether the U.S. military is sending arms to Sunni insurgents who are trying to fight al Qaeda now, whether it is in fact arming extremists who may have in the past fought against the U.S. General Odierno said he's looked into it and, no, they are not arming them with the exception of one case where they gave a small amount of weapons to some people that were protecting a mayor in Iraq. But, no, they are not arming them.
They are, however, working with these Sunni extremists to try and get them to switch sides and fight with the Iraqi forces -- Don.
LEMON: CNN's Barbara Starr. Thanks as always, Barbara.
STARR: Sure.
KEILAR: Well, NASA's looking for a break in the clouds. The "Atlantis" astronauts are trying to head home.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't wait to get back and feel the air on my face and a sea breeze. I'm looking forward to hopefully going to the beach and taking a walk with my husband and my dog.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Four more chances. Will they get down to earth today?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The Food and Drug Administration could get new power to monitor the side effects of drugs already on the market. A congressional committee has voted unanimously to give the FDA authority to order new studies of side effects or to order additional warnings on drug labels.
The bill is a response to complaints that the FDA was slow to act in recent years when drugs like Vioxx, a popular arthritis pill, were shown to have serious side effects. Full house is expected to consider the legislation next month.
KEILAR: And a spoonful of cinnamon, not sugar, may help your blood sugar stay down. A Swedish study says adding some cinnamon to a sweet treat may temper the blood sugar surge that follows, and it may help keep cholesterol in check.
LEMON: At today's memorial service for Charleston's fallen firefighters, CNN's Heidi Collins interviewed former firefighter Matt Thomson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: I want to take a moment to bring in Matt Thomson. He is a former firefighter with the Charleston City Fire Department.
And, Matt, I know that you knew six of these men that were killed on Monday night. When you got the news about this, your heart must have just sunk.
MATT THOMSON, FORMER CHARLESTON FIREFIGHTER: It did. It's -- it's -- it's very cliche, but you -- I lost six family members.
COLLINS: Yes, how did you learn about it?
THOMPSON: I got a phone call from another firefighter in another city. Obviously, the firefighters here were pretty busy, and he knew that nine firefighters were missing, didn't have a complete list. So, I got in touch with some people here to get some more information.
COLLINS: And then you got a look at that list, and you knew that six of your buddies were ...
THOMSON: I knew six of them. And it was -- it was really tough.
COLLINS: I can only imagine.
When you're here today and you attend an event like this, where really, the country comes out and pays tribute and pays respect to your friends and to your profession, your former profession, how does something like that make you feel? Does it help?
THOMSON: It does. It really means a lot to us. This is how firefighters attend funerals. They really -- they don't do anything halfway and they certainly don't do a funeral halfway. They come from all over the country, all over the world. We went up -- some Charleston firefighters went to New York after 9/11. We attended 15 funerals in four days. It was ...
COLLINS: Does it ever get any easier?
THOMSON: No, it doesn't. You know it's always a possibility, but you never expect it. And these guys, they went to work Monday morning and they didn't come home Tuesday.
COLLINS: You know, it's amazing that you say that, because we had an opportunity to go by the scene of the fire last night. And that's exactly what one of the gentlemen there told me. He had gone in and he had tried to help. He was also a fellow firefighter, Charleston City. And he said every day when we go to work, we don't know if we're coming home, but we go anyway.
THOMSON: Sure, sure. And it's -- we see people on -- usually their worst day, and it's an opportunity for us to go and make their day a little bit better. We help them out any way we can.
COLLINS: So what now? How does this fire department, this company -- how do they get back on their feet? I spoke with one fire chief from another city, who told me, you know what, right now, they are paralyzed.
THOMSON: They are. They -- I think the reality of what has happened has not set in yet with most of them. Truthfully, they get up and they go to work tomorrow morning and they get on the truck and they answer the alarm. And that's therapy for them. They're with each other and they've got the support network that's being offered.
COLLINS: And that always comes from their brothers and sisters in this fraternity of firefighters.
THOMSON: It does, it does.
COLLINS: Well Matt, we certainly appreciate your time here today. Matt Thomson, a former firefighter here with Charleston City Fire Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: That was CNN's Heidi Collins. We'll have more on the firefighter memorial service throughout the day. CNN's Heidi Collins will join us live from South Carolina in just a few minutes.
KEILAR: The heroism of the South Carolina firefighters has moved so many of you, and we know that you want to help honor them, so to make a difference and impact your world, go ahead and visit our Web site CNN.com/impact. You can find information there on the memorial funds that have been set up for those nine South Carolina firefighters, for their families as well.
LEMON: And take a look at this video. You can really call this baptism by fire. A river rescue class turns into a real life drama. The amazing pictures, and find out what happened, coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: And he's being called the world's fastest man on no feet. A double amputee's quest to compete in the Olympics. That's straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: It's a rafter's worst nightmare, getting thrown in the water in the middle of treacherous rapids. That happened to this woman in Bakersfield, California. But her bad luck, there you see it turning to good luck. In an instant, she happened to float by a swift water rescue class. What luck! A student went into action, threw her a lifeline there. You saw that. She caught it of course, was pulled safely to shore right there.
LEMON: Man, oh man, imagine that.
One of the world's fastest runners may fulfill his dream of competing at the Beijing Olympics. Why is that news? Well, just take a look at this report from ITN's Martin Geisler in South Africa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN GEISLER, ITN REPORTER (voice-over): The world of athletics has never seen anything quite like Oscar Pistorius, the fastest man on no legs is giving them a headache. A double amputee, Oscar runs on carbon fiber blades, and that's the problem. The sports-governing body had ruled that these cheater feet could be an unfair advantage. They banned him from able-bodied competition.
But now, they've amended that decision, and the 21-year-old's dream of competing in next year's Olympics is back on track. Years of grueling training may not be wasted after all.
OSCAR PISTORIUS, DOUBLE AMPUTEE RUNNER: Now that they've cleared it, I mean, it makes all that worthwhile. So, you can imagine, after (ph) three-and-a-half seasons' work, you know, that's been cleared. And now we can start playing with the big boys. I think that's going to be fun.
GEISLER: A birth defect meant Oscar had his legs amputated below the knee before his first birthday. He's never walked on his own two feet, which makes his achievements all the more remarkable.
(on camera): Already this year, Oscar Pistorius has racked up times that would have won him the women's gold at 100, 200, and 400 meters at the last Olympics. He's convinced that with another 12 months training under his belt, he can put himself right up there, amongst the world's fastest men in Beijing.
(voice-over): The sports-governing body is having special tests carried out on these prosthetics, to see if they give the runner extra height, a longer stride, or a spring-loaded step.
Pistorius is adamant they provide no advantage. If he's right, you should see them and him in China next year.
PISTORIUS: The cons (ph) definitely are a lot more than any of the pros. I mean, if anything you know, there aren't any pros that we can identify as being better than an able-bodied leg. There isn't really anything that can be better than a human limb.
GEISLER: Here in South Africa, Pistorius is already big news with big sponsors. The blade runner has fame and a small fortune, but none of that will matter if he's denied his dream.
(on camera): Ultimate ambitions?
PISTORIUS: To make a final in an Olympic Games one day.
GEISLER (voice-over): And it's that kind of drive that's got him this far, in the face of the most incredible adversity.
Martin Geisler, ITN News, Pretoria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: After multiple delays, shuttle "Atlantis" astronauts really probably ready to come home at this point. Let's go now to Miles O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: Brianna, they're heading home but they're heading home not to their preferred landing site. It's going to be Edwards Air Force Base. Take a look at those clouds here at the Kennedy Space Center.
In the end, NASA couldn't get comfortable with the landing here. It was right on the edge, but the decision was made just a few moments ago and the space shuttle "Atlantis" will avoid those clouds, head instead to the Edwards Air Force Base in California. "Atlantis" will be on the ground in an hour and 52 minutes.
Take a look at pictures, live pictures on NASA TV now of the way it looks at Edwards. That's a modified Gulfstream jet that they use, flies a lot like a shuttle, that their using to check the weather and wind there. As you can see, beautiful blue skies, the winds are favorable.
And "Atlantis" will be heading there to the backup site very shortly. They'll be firing that rocket burn in about 50 -- 45 minutes, which will nudge "Atlantis" out of orbit, reducing its speed by about 300 miles an hour and beginning its plunge to earth.
And we will track it from here, but it will land several thousand miles away from where I sit -- Brianna.
KEILAR: All right, thanks, Miles. And we'll check right back in with you after the break there at Kennedy Space Center.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
