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July 4th Shooting over Noisy Fireworks; Vegas Forecast to Hit 116; Anglican Priest had Tipoff to Foiled London Attacks
Aired July 05, 2007 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning again, everyone. You're with CNN, you're informed. I'm Tony Harris.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, I'm Melissa Long, in today for Heidi Collins. And developments keep coming into the NEWSROOM on this fifth day of July. It is a Thursday. Here is what is on the rundown for you today.
Everyone in the pool, dangerous heat blanketing the western part of the U.S. Thermometers heading past 120 degrees in some spots today?
HARRIS: Jittery London rattled by a subway derailment, dozens trapped by the Tube accident.
LONG: And Fourth of July revelry ends up a crime scene. Three people shot to death over noisy fireworks. You are in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Well, this story is hard to believe. A dispute over noisy fireworks leaves three people dead and several others wounded in Cleveland. A firefighter in custody today.
Joy Benedict of CNN affiliate WEWS in Cleveland has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOY BENEDICT, WEWS REPORTER: The incident itself happened right here on the law of this green home, where you can see signs have already been placed in remembrance of these young people who lost their lives. Now what neighbors are telling us is the young man, this is his father's home, Jake Fikner (ph), he's a college student, he was home for the Fourth of July, invited over all of the buddies that he grew up with, and they were shooting off fireworks, just a group of friends enjoying and celebrating the holiday.
And that's when neighbors tell us, the neighbor to the right, the one in the beige house came outside and just opened fire. And in the process, he killed Jake. He killed two of his friends and he also wounded two more young people. Now one of the mothers of those young people that was injured tells me the gunman actually pointed the gun at her son's girlfriend and he says that's when her son Donnie (ph) jumped in front of her.
He was actually hit in the elbow. It was a bullet that went through his arm and then also did end up hitting his girlfriend in the hand. But thankfully both of them were treated and released from the hospital. They are going to be OK. And it was actually Donnie who brought these signs up here in remembrance of Jake and a way to pay respect to his family.
As we said, what's even more disturbing to this community is that the accused gunman, the person that police have in customer, is a Cleveland city firefighter, 35 years old. A father himself, moved into the community about three years ago. And it's unclear ha his motive may have been, if he was the shooter. However, neighbors tell me that he was upset about the noise from the fireworks, that his young kids were sleeping, and he wanted it all to stop.
But this community is now having to deal with the fact that three young people who grew up here, they didn't make it home this morning because they were shot and killed while enjoying the Fourth of July.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Cleveland police are expected to hold a news conference on the firework shooting this hour. And we will keep you updated.
LONG: Summertime sizzle and storms as well. If the Fourth of July unofficially kicks off summer, I guess you could say it took about five seconds to get to the dog days. Dangerous heat is sweeping the Southwest. People are facing a real scorcher today. Temperatures are expected to climb well into the triple digits. And then in the southern Plains, people are cleaning up from flooding. And there may be more rain on the way.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: What Rob is saying here is that this is hot, even for a desert. CNN's Chris Lawrence filed this report from Las Vegas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You knew this was going to be an extremely dangerous day when at 7:00 in the morning our thermometers were already reading over 91 degrees. The all-time record in Las Vegas is 117 degrees and the forecast for today, 116. That's why officials have issued an extreme heat warning for parts of Nevada and there is definitely a danger of heat exhaustion.
Now that's when you start to sweat profusely. You get very tired, almost disoriented. And that can lead to the even more serious heat stroke. Nationwide, about 175 people a year die from heat- related causes. And doctors are urging people to drink water, wear long-sleeved, light-colored clothing and most especially to avoid...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once get over 105, you can really -- starting to feel it.
LAWRENCE: We saw some residents out playing tennis in the morning and at the Palms Casino Resort, sitting outside in the sun at high noon. A lot of them were slapping on sunscreen, guzzling a lot of water, some of them even going for a swim, trying to keep cool any way they can. And they'd better, because there is only a mild break expected by this weekend.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: And while we have the soaring temperatures there, we have that system that has stalled over the central part of the country and just keeps dumping more and more rain.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: A child in critical condition this morning, a mother and two children killed. It happened during a Fourth of July barbecue. A van plunged in a pond. Police in Bridgeport, Connecticut, say Michelle McIntosh had gotten out of the minivan. She noticed it was rolling away and managed to jump back in the van just before it sank. The woman was killed along with two children. She was the mother of at least one of those youngsters. Authorities are trying to determine what started the vehicle to start rolling in the first place.
LONG: Now international news, and the raw nerves in Great Britain. London police say an accident, again an accident, not terrorism, caused today's subway derailment. Really welcome news after the failed car bomb attacks. And it's not the only encouraging development today. CNN's Karl Penhaul is outside of Scotland Yard.
Karl, I understand that one religious leader believes he received a hint about the recent terror plot?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. That somewhat curious twist in this investigation into the car bomb plots in Britain. In fact, a British Anglican cleric who is normally based in Baghdad, Canon Andrew White, said that in April he attended a peace conference -- an Iraqi peace conference in neighboring Jordan.
Now invited to that peace conference were a number of Iraqi Sunnis, clerics, some of the people linked possibly to the insurgency and such like. And in the course of conversations there, Canon White talked to a man who had flown in from Syria to Jordan, an Iraqi Sunni, and believes that he received a hint about what was going to happen here in London. This is what had he to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW WHITE, ANGLICAN PRIEST: During the meeting with him, I experienced an ongoing litany of how he was going to kill British and American people. It was really quite terrible. In fact, I said, in my update, I've seen the devil today. And it was during that meeting that he said to me "those who cure you will kill you."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PENHAUL: Now, Canon White says he that didn't pass that specific phrase on, "those who cure you will kill you," he says he didn't pass that specific phrase on to either British or U.S. intelligence operatives, easy, one might say, to reinterpret that phrase in hindsight. But in the light of the events in Britain, what the U.S. and British intelligence authorities have said is that they believe that the man who made this phrase was linked to al Qaeda. So obviously this element now part of the investigation -- Melissa.
LONG: Huge development, absolutely. Karl, let me also ask you about the scare this morning, again, just an accident on the Underground. Are the trains up and running now with the subway system in London?
PENHAUL: They are up and running. It was in fact one of the London subway trains on the central line that derailed around rush hour here in London. But authorities have clearly said that this was an accident, they believe that it was something on the line, possibly even a roll of plastic sheeting that caused the front carriages of the train to derail. Eleven people were injured. A number of people were trapped underground for over two hours, but all clear now -- Melissa.
LONG: Must have been frightening for them, to be trapped though, that's for sure. Karl Penhaul, live from outside of Scotland Yard. Karl, thank you.
HARRIS: A major fire finally under control this morning. This was the scene on the French Riviera. The blaze ripped through 2,500 acres of brush and trees near a resort town. One home was destroyed and campsites evacuated. About 700 firefighters worked through the night to get an upper hand on the fire. Officials say the blaze spread from a car on Wednesday. No ward on why the car was on fire.
LONG: You're excited that, the trip is coming up, right? But you're still waiting for the passport. You're not alone. Government workers are struggling to ease the massive backlog.
HARRIS: Open borders. One community at the center of security concerns now considering a very low-tech way to stop cross-border traffic.
LONG: And a flag controversy put to rest at last. We're going to show you how a new law will help communities honor fallen service members.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris. Al Gore's only son, busted, booked and out on bail. He's facing drug charges. We'll check into the alarming use and abuse of prescription drugs among young people.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Holiday fireworks gone awry. One woman dead in Michigan. At least two dozen people injured in numerous other states. An explosion at this fireworks tent north of Tampa, Florida, lit up the night sky. No word of any injuries there. But there is a report on of an arrest on arson charges. In Washington, three workers were hurt after fireworks left over from the spectacular National Mall display exploded. And in Omaha, Nebraska, this 5-year-old girl was critically burned when fireworks hit her during a Fourth of July block party.
LONG: Summertime and children frolicking in the pool. But the water doesn't have to be deep to be deadly. Case in point, a near fatal accident that could provide a life-saving lesson for you or your family. The details from the reporter Scott Seroka of our CNN Minneapolis affiliate KARE.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT TAYLOR, ABIGAIL'S FATHER: She said, mommy, am I going to be on the news?
SCOTT SEROKA, KARE REPORTER (voice-over): Six-year-old Abigail Taylor survived a horrific pool accident. And she told her mom, she wants to be on the news.
TAYLOR: I should be on the news. And she said, why, honey? And she said, because I -- we need to tell people what happened to me so that none of this -- so this doesn't happen to anybody else.
SEROKA: Abigail was stuck on a powerful force, a pool drain at the kiddy pool at the Minneapolis Golf Club. The drain created a suction on Abby's bottom. Doctors say it pulled her small intestines out of her body through her bottom.
TAYLOR: It is a medical miracle that she even survived.
SEROKA: Somehow, Abby pulled herself off that drain. She took two steps and collapsed. Doctors spent hours in the operating room before they came out.
TAYLOR: And I immediately fell to my knees because my initial reaction was that she hadn't survived.
SEROKA: But she did survive. Life without her small intestine will be difficult.
TAYLOR: Basically be on an TV. That's how she'll receive all of her nutrients. Due to the fact that her small intestines are gone, she can't process food.
SEROKA: At this point, lawyers begin to ask the question why. How did this happen?
TAYLOR: There was a problem with the cover.
SEROKA: The Taylor's lawyer believes a missing drain cover may be to blame.
TAYLOR: It was loose. It had come loose. It had been replaced. There were screws missing.
SEROKA: The club's manager says to the best of his knowledge there wasn't anything wrong with the pool. Scott Taylor was amazed to hear this has happened before at different pools. Scott's goal and Abby's goal, to make sure it doesn't happen again. They want parents and pool owners to be aware of this potential deadly possibility.
TAYLOR: Whatever happens from this point forward, the fact that she's still with us is amazing. I don't know any other way to say that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: That story from our affiliate in Minneapolis. And you want to know about little Abby, of course, she will remain in the hospital for at least a couple of more weeks.
HARRIS: Honoring America's war dead. A new law gives state governors the power to lower U.S. flags at federal building.
CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDET (voice-over): Like many laws, the new regulation governing the lowering of flags to half staff was inspired by someone seeing a wrong and trying to right it. Officially it's called the Army Specialist Joseph P. Micks Federal Flag Code Amendment, named for a Michigan soldier killed in Iraq last summer whose family's experience spurred their congressman to action.
REP. BART STUPAK (D), MICHIGAN: Joe came from Rapid River, a very small community. His funeral was in another community nearby. They would leave the family and go to this other community for the funeral. And one flag at a federal post office was up, the other one was down, one was up, one is down. This building over here, Forest Service (ph), up, down. And everyone is saying, what's going on? We all know this. Why can't we honor this?
MCINTYRE: What was going is that technically, the state governor did not have the authority to order flags lowered at federal buildings. Stupak wrote the White House asking for an executive order to fix the problem. But getting no response he pushed a bill through Congress. President Bush signed it into law Friday.
STUPAK: We have so many of these young men and women, unfortunately, who losing their lives in Iraq. And the least we should be able to do is just honor the wishes of the state to honor that family, that one day and lower our flag to half-staff.
MCINTYRE: Congressman Stupak's next crusade is a law requiring the U.S. military to fly the bodies of fallen troops to the airport closest to their homes. Again, inspired by the ordeal of a family who had to drive hundreds of miles through a snowstorm to pick up their son's body.
STUPAK: Have them drive three, four hours to see the remains of their son put in a hearse. And you can follow the hearse back to your hometown? That doesn't make sense.
MCINTYRE: As with the flag-lowering legislation, Stupak argues it's the very least that should be done for someone who has given a life in service to the country.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Gunfire and explosions outside a besieged Pakistani mosque. The deadlines for surrender come and go.
HARRIS: Too hot or too much rain? Welcome to summer. Extreme weather that could turn dangerous. What you need to know in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning to you again. The son of the former Vice President, Al Gore, is out on bond this morning. Al Gore III accused of driving his Prius 100 miles an hour on the freeway in San Diego. Sheriff's deputies say they found marijuana and prescription drugs in the car. Gore has been charged with felony drug possession. Earlier I spoke with CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen about an alarming increase in prescription drug abuse, especially among young people.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Parents really need to realize that nowadays the drugs of choice are often prescription drugs. That's what the kids are doing these days. And a lot of kids think, oh, well they must be relatively safe. I mean, a doctor prescribes them and they come in a bottle. Well, of course, they can be deadly if used the wrong way.
So the young Mr. Gore was found with Valium, according to the police, Valium, Xanax, Vicodin and Adderall. Let's look at how popular these drugs are with young people today. There was a survey that looked at college students.
The percent of college students abusing drugs like Xanax and Valium went up 450 percent. Those are tranquilizers, and up 343 percent for opioids like Vicodin and OxyContin, and up 93 percent for stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin. And actually I was talking to some young people and they said they thought that 93 percent number was way too low. That Adderall is the drug of choice
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Now former Vice President Al Gore is Larry's guest tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE." Hope you will watch it at 9:00 Eastern on CNN. And to get your daily does of health news online, go to our Web site, cnn.com. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library. Information on diet and fitness. Again, cnn.com/health.
HARRIS: Deepening crisis in Pakistan. Hundreds of radical students holed up inside a mosque. CNN's Andrew Stevens has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the predawn hours in Pakistan's capital Thursday, troops were moving in, strengthening positions around the besieged Red Mosque, then this.
(EXPLOSION)
STEVENS: Explosions echoed around the darkened city, set off by the military. A warning to up to 1,000 radicals in the mosque to surrender, followed by verbal warnings from loud speakers. Just a few hours earlier, the head cleric at the mosque, Maulana Abdul Aziz had been arrested, trying to flee under cover of darkness, disguised under a full-length woman's black burqa. He was caught when a female police officer tried to search him as he left the mosque.
The full extent of the military presence became apparent with daylight. Soldiers and armored vehicles patrolled the streets and set up road blocks around the building in downtown Islamabad. Several deadlines for the radicals to surrender have passed as the military weighs its options.
The standoff is now in its third day after a gun battle on Tuesday left at least 16 dead. About 1,100 people have already given up, those inside include hundreds of women, according to Aziz.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): If they get out quietly, they should go or they can surrender if they want to.
STEVENS: Islamic extremists at the Red Mosque, also known as the Lal Masjid, have been defying the government for months. They want to establish fundamental or Sharia law in Pakistan's capital city.
MARVIN WEINBAUM, FMR. U.S. STATE DEPT. ANALYST: This is part of a larger process of Talibanization which had -- up until this time, had been pretty much confined to the border areas although spreading. This represents a leap over to the capital itself. And it's something which has challenged the credibility, the authority of this military government.
STEVENS: Their defiance provides yet another problem for Pakistan's secular military chief, General Pervez Musharraf, who is already under intense pressure over his dismissal of the country's top judge and the growing insurgency in Pakistan's border regions with Afghanistan.
Andrew Stevens, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: A mom feverishly chasing her minivan as it rolls into a pond. She and her two children drown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It went down very fast. But -- terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOMG: We'll have more on this Fourth of July tragedy in Connecticut.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning, Tony.
HARRIS: Melissa, good to see you. Coming up on the half hour -- or are we already there? Yes, the half hour.
LONG: We're there exactly, precisely 11:30 in the morning. How high do you think the temperatures are going to go today?
HARRIS: You know, the latest bet in Las Vegas, very high, maybe 116.
LONG: The record there is apparently 117 degrees, Tony, and it could get close to that, as you just said. Officials are urging people throughout the state of Nevada to stay inside as much as possible, wear light clothing, drink lot, a lot of water. State cooling centers are being opened in California and utility companies are asking people please conserve the power.
So let's find out just how high that mercury will climb today in Las Vegas. A live picture there from the Las Vegas strip.
Rob Marciano standing by in the CNN weather center, keeping an eye on the weather in Vegas and all around the country.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Well, a fireworks celebration turns deadly and a firefighter is in custody. Police say three people were shot and killed in Cleveland early today. Others were wounded in an apparent dispute over noisy fireworks. Thirty-five-year-old Terrence Huff Jr. (ph) was arrested, he is a Cleveland firefighter. Cleveland police holding a news conference this hour on the case. And we invite you to stay with CNN for the latest details on this story.
LONG: Also want to keep you up to date on developing information this morning. We're just getting word from our affiliate KING Television, K-I-N-G Television Seattle, that a carrier, Southwest Airlines plane has had to land with reports of smoke or possibly even fire on board. The flight en route from Salt Lake City to Seattle.
Again, just landing according to our affiliate KING Television in Seattle. Again, smoke on the aircraft, very elementary information at this time. As we get more information on that flight, when we get the flight number and more information from Southwest Airlines, we'll bring it to you here this morning.
And also, an update for you on a story out of Cincinnati we told you about last hour. You're looking at the aftermath of a crash this morning on I-75 northbound in Cincinnati. According to our affiliate there, WLWT, a truck ran into a bridge abutment on the ramp from I-75 northbound to the westbound of Interstate 74. It happened just after 9:00 a.m., so just as the morning rush hour was dying down.
Now, this is a truck that was carrying watermelon, now strewn across the grassy knoll there and the highway as well. No immediate reports of injuries. However, we can tell you that again, according to our affiliate, WLWT, the Hamilton County's coroner's office has reported to that scene.
And do keep in mind, if you happen to be in that geographic area, that ramp could be closed for several hours.
Also want to bring you some live pictures from Seattle. We have -- let me correct that, tape to show you of that Southwest Airlines plane touching down there in Seattle, at the airport. This is from our affiliate KING Television.
Again, the initial report from our affiliate that there's some sort of smoke, possibly fire on board. Very basic information to share with you. Wanted to share the new video, give you the basic information as we get more from Southwest Airlines, from our affiliate KING Television. We'll bring it to you here this morning on CNN -- Tony.
HARRIS: And this, Melissa, a child in critical condition this morning, a mother and two children killed. It happened during a Fourth of July barbecue. A van plunged into a pond. Police in Bridgeport, Connecticut say Michelle McIntosh (ph) had gotten out of the minivan, she noticed it was rolling away and managed to jump back into the van just before it sank.
The woman was killed along with two children. She was the mother of at least one of those youngsters. Authorities are trying to determine what caused the vehicle to start rolling in the first place.
LONG: Passport delays causing problems for summer-time travellers. And now, some State Department workers have a new assignment to help ease the backlog.
CNN's Sean Callebs reports from New Orleans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New Orleans is rolling out the welcome mat. A couple of hundred employees of the U.S. State Department are being told they must work here at a passport processing office in New Orleans or one in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The reason, there's a huge backlog of citizens waiting for their passports.
You see, back in 2004, the U.S. approved a law that said by 2007, all U.S. citizens must have a valid passport if they're going to travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean or Bermuda. So, so many people applied to meet these new regulations. The State Department is simply overwhelmed.
To give you an example, last year, the U.S. approved about 12 million passports. Already this year, in July, the U.S. has approved 10.3 million and could approve as many as 18 million. A couple of hundred employees doesn't sound like a lot, but in the last several years, the State Department has hired 2,500 new workers to cope with this expected onslaught of passport applications. And they hope -- they hope the summer months will slow down, and they will be able to catch up.
Sean Callebs, CNN, in New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Easy come, easy go between the U.S. and Canada.
CNN's Gary Tuchman travels to a community at the center of a border controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Drive down this quiet village street in Quebec, Canada, and without passing the border gate or border guard, you'll be in the United States. There are three residential streets here in Derby Line, Vermont where the international frontier is unguarded.
Canadian cars drive into the United States, U.S. cars drive into Canada. Signs warn all who've done that to go to nearby, sometimes crowded border checkpoints. But despite video cameras up high, many drivers do not.
Border apprehensions in this small community, many for drug violations continue to climb. Forty-four people were captured in 200. Halfway through this year, the number has already reached 32. But with an unknown number of people not being caught and Interstate 91 providing a quick nearby getaway into the U.S., authorities are considering toughening things up.
Border officers from both countries told an audience of Americans and Canadians that it may be time for the first time since the roads were built to block route (ph) traffic. But it's not a particularly popular idea in this area that considers itself one unified community.
One of the town officials in Derby Line, Vermont is Buzz Roy.
(on camera): Do you think though, that closing up the streets makes the United States a little bit safer?
BUZZ ROY, OVERSEES DERBY LINE, VERMONT: No, maybe a little bit safer but not appreciably safer and not for the distress it'll cause the villages.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Blocking the roads would create longer trips for residents to go between countries.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not going to like it.
TUCHMAN: But the idea of beefing up this border goes hand-in- hand with terrorism concerns. Canada was the starting point for a high-profile terrorist plot in 1999 when Ahmed Ressam was caught by border guards entering Washington state. He was convicted in a plot to blow up Los Angeles International Airport.
(on camera): So what is the main recommendation of law enforcement officials for closing off these streets? The concept is not high-tech or elaborate. The idea, in the middle of the roads, place flower planters.
(voice-over): Vermont citizen Rich Hodio was at the meeting.
RICH HODIO, VERMONT CITIZEN: A number of people chuckled. They thought it was really drole, or whatever.
TUCHMAN: The idea will be further discussed later this month. In the meantime, on two of the three unpatrolled streets, it's unclear where the border even is, which leads to accidental crossings.
Diane Roleaux lives on the Canada side of one of the streets.
(on camera): It's hard to tell what country you're in on this street, isn't it?
DIANE ROLEAUX, CANADIAN CITIZEN: Yes.
TUCHMAN: I mean, can we be 100 percent sure if we're in the United States or Canada right now?
ROLEAUX: No, you would have to see probably the maps.
TUCHMAN: And how long have you lived here?
ROLEAUX: Twenty-seven years.
TUCHMAN: You're not exactly sure?
ROLEAUX: Yes, I know, I'm living here for 27 years. That I'm sure of.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): She can't be sure, though, that her street will remain untouched. In the name of national security, those flower planters could be coming soon.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, on the Vermont/Quebec border.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And new momentum today in a push to free a young Georgia man convicted ...
Gary Tuchman, CNN, on the Vermont/Quebec border.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: A new momentum in a push to free a young Georgia man convicted in a teenage sex case. Many of you may be following the Genarlow Wilson Case. He is serving a 10-year sentence for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17. Today civil rights veteran Joseph Lowery and the Reverend Al Sharpton will lead a vigil at the Douglas (ph) County Georgia courthouse. They're calling for his release. Wilson was scheduled for a bond hearing today, but a judge canceled it, saying the 21-year-old is ineligible for bond while he appeals his sentence.
LONG: Tony, thank you.
If anybody is just turning on the television, I want to make sure they're up to date on a developing story this morning. Some pictures from KING television, our affiliate in Seattle, of the tarmac of emergency personnel they're rushing to the scene to try to figure out if there's a problem onboard this Southwest Airlines plane.
Our affiliate KING television is telling us that there are reports of smoke, or even fire onboard. Now this plane was on route from Salt Lake City to Seattle. There you see fire personnel dressed in their protective gear, trying to surmise exactly what has taken place on this plane. We have very little information about the passengers or the flight itself. It's a couple of hour flight from Salt Lake City to Seattle. Southwest Airlines, a popular carrier, especially on the West Coast.
So as we get more information, we'll bring it to you this morning on CNN.
And still to come in the NEWSROOM, a key player in Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign slapped with a lawsuit, accused of eavesdropping in a business dispute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
LONG: We've been telling you about this developing news story this morning of a plane landing in Seattle, possibly smoke onboard.
Let's get the latest from Kathleen Koch. She's live joining us from Washington -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's this information from the Federal Aviation Administration, this was Southwest flight 2981, a Boeing 737, on its way from Salt Lake City to Seattle. The pilots declared an emergency because they got an indication in the cockpit of a potential fire in the cargo hold.
Now, according to the FAA, they manually discharged fire suppressant bottles into the cargo hold, but there was no smoke. However, once they did that, the warning light did go out.
Now the plane landed safely and all this occurring just before 11:00 a.m. Eastern, just before 8:00 a.m. Pacific. All the passengers have deplaned safely. And the FAA is sending an aviation safety inspector to check out the plane right now to see what caused that.
LONG: All right, well, good to know that all the passengers have been able to get to their final destination here. It looks like as we're looking at the fire personnel going through the cargo, they may have some suitcases and bags that have that fire suppressant on them.
KOCH: Certainly that's a possibility. And I'm sure, obviously, in a case like this, the airline will be taking care of any damage that occurred to that luggage. But luckily the plane and the passengers are safe and sound.
LONG: Good to know. Kathleen Koch, thanks so much for the information on Southwest. 2981, That was the flight.
HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" coming up in about 15 minutes at the top of the hour right here on CNN. Colleen McEdwards standing by with a preview.
There she is. Colleen, good morning.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, guys. How are you doing?
We're going take a look at the siege at the mosque in Pakistan. It's still going on. There's talk now that women and children may be inside being used as human shields. There may be suicide bombers in there, we don't know. We're trying to find all of this out, but we're going to take a look at it. I mean, there's been a call from the head of the place to surrender. Government troops have surrounded it. But why no surrender? There's a lot more to this than meets the eye. It's a big embarrassment for Pakistan's president as well, who's a key ally of the United States.
Also, you know guys, we've had lots of news lately about export coming out of China, toothpaste, tires. How safe are they? But just imagine how bad the standards are for people who actually live there. We've got some ghastly, ghastly stuff to show you. I mean, how about lard made from sewage, or fish with all kinds of chemicals in their bodies? We'll tell you more about that.
And how's this for a gimmick? Listen to this for a minute, if we can. Uh-huh. Yes, this is Spain. And this is where some stressed- out people were invited to pick up hammers and smash down a hotel. So if you want to burn off extra steam, Tony, you know where to go.
HARRIS: I know the service was bad, but my goodness.
MCEDWARDS: We'll tell you what it's all about. It's kind of cool.
HARRIS: We'll see you at the top of the hour.
MCEDWARDS: See you later.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Putting on the sunscreen and taking off just about everything else?
HARRIS: Whoa!
LONG: The Western U.S. sweating out a heatwave, Tony. Vegas is gambling on a record high today.
HARRIS: Hi.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: What makes someone a hero? Well, today we want you to meet a woman who does all she can to bring a little home to American troops living in a war zone overseas despite an incredible loss of her own.
Dorine Kenney is our CNN Hero.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dear Dorine, thank you for the care package you sent the unit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have much over here and every little thing that you send us makes us very happy.
You say that we are your heroes, but it's people like you that are the real heroes.
DORINE KENNEY, MOTHER OF KILLED AMERICAN SOLDIER: My name is Dorine Kenney and I'm the mother of Specialist Jacob Fletcher who was a paratrooper with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Iraq.
Whenever I got a little nervous and anxious that he was there, I'd get in my car and go shopping and try to be creative and think of silly things to send him to lift his spirits.
I sent Jacob boxes sometimes twice a week. And I just never stopped sending boxes. I started a foundation in my son's memory. Our focus is to get soldiers, especially the soldiers without family support or support from home, boxes and letters of support.
I feel like I'm fulfilling something that would please my son. All of it is donated. Checks come in if all over the country. I go out and I do the shopping once we collect the money, and the volunteers come and move it over to the American Legion. We set it up on a table. And then we pack boxes of toiletries and food to support our military.
In every box we'll be putting bug spray, q-tips, toothpaste, peanut butter, and I take requests from them, whatever they want. We want to make sure they're taken care of. The next day a volunteer comes and takes it to the post office and we mail them.
I can make sure that our letters get in there. It's really kept me alive. It's given me focus. It's given me a strong purpose. I don't doubt he's there and I don't doubt that I'll see him again and I'll work hard and do what I can to make the world a better place until I do meet him again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Dorine is inspirational. If you'd like to help Dorine Kenney help the American troops, or nominate your own hero for special recognition a little later in the year, go to our website CNN.com/heroes.
HARRIS: How about this? Russia's got good reason to rejoice. Something to do with Olympic fever. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Oh, look at this.
LONG: Beautiful, you've got barbecues, red, white, and blue, music and the culmination of course, fireworks in the evening. This from Washington. Minneapolis put on quite a show as well.
HARRIS: Can we listen for just a moment? Just a moment.
(MUSIC)
HARRIS: Celebration in the states and Russia, Russia rejoicing. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Olympic Winter Games in 2014 are awarded to the city of Sochi.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: We go crazy, we go wild. And with that announcement, Russia begins preparing to host the 2014 Winter Olympic games. Sochi is a resort in the Black Sea, Russia's bid boosted by the personal intervention of the President Vladimir Putin.
LONG: CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.
HARRIS: YOUR WORLD TODAY is next with news happening across the globe and here at home. Have a great day everyone, I'm Tony Harris.
LONG: I'm Melissa Long, in for Heidi Collins. Have a great day.
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