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American Morning
Growing Outrage: Anger Over Reports of Problems With Minneapolis Bridge; 9/11 Recommendations: President Bush to Sign Bill Today; Amazing Tale of Survival
Aired August 03, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, right now we're going to talk about some of the things that you can't miss, some of the stories coming up in just a couple of minutes. One of them is this new breast feeding study. New mothers are breast feeding their babies more and more, but are they giving it up too soon? And also, a lot of pressure on moms to breast feed over formula -- John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. You know, there has been all of this publicity about the benefits of that, that maybe it can increase intelligence. So the jury is still out about that. But certainly it does seem to make kids healthier.
It seems to be sinking in. More and more people doing it. But as you said, some people may not be doing it long enough -- Kiran.
CHETRY: That's right. And there is a big push in New York hospitals to encourage breast feeding, including making a change to the swag bag that new moms get. So Elizabeth Cohen is going to break it all down for us.
The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice over): Outrage in Minneapolis. Were warning signs overlooked a year before the deadly bridge collapse?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We found no evidence of additional cracking and we consider the bridge fit for service.
ROBERTS: The difficult new search for the missing. Meet the young mother who made it out alive.
Total recall. The threat exposed in millions of toys.
AUTOMATED VOICE: I'm so glad you called.
ROBERTS: Trouble on the line for one of the world's biggest toy makers on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And good morning and welcome back to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING, live from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and New York.
I'm John Roberts. It's Friday, August the 3rd. Thanks again for being with us.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry here in New York.
A lot of big events we'll be watching today. In Minneapolis this morning, 8:00 Eastern Time, we are expecting a news conference at the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, and we could learn more about the search for victims of the bridge collapse, those who are still missing.
First Lady Laura Bush will also be visiting today. She's expected to see the site of the bridge collapse. And President Bush will be making a live statement. We also expect him to be traveling to Minneapolis tomorrow.
In the meantime, just to get you up to date on the latest with that story, officials now confirming the identifies of four of the people who died in the bridge collapse. Again, the number of confirmed dead is at four. They're Sherry Lou Engebretsen, also Julia Blackhawk, Artemio Trinidad-Mena, and Patrick Holmes.
And again, John, the search will still continue, though. There are eight people that are still missing. The bright spot is that number was significantly reduced. Yesterday we thought it could be between 20 to 30 people still missing, and then they got confirmation from some of the hospitals that, indeed, more injured people were taken to area hospitals in Minneapolis.
ROBERTS: Yes. A small bit of good news amidst all of the destruction here in downtown Minneapolis.
Of course, a lot of questions are being asked as to how did this happen? And was this bridge in dire need of some sort of rehabilitation, repair or even outright replacement?
Franklin Hines is a resident engineer with FIGG Bridge Inspection.
You were actually down there on the scene, Franklin, on Wednesday night. What was your sense of what you had seen laid out in front of you there that night?
FRANKLIN HINES, FIGG ENGINEERING GROUP: Well, obviously, total destruction. I approached the south span and reported to the command post there at Chief Lindel (ph), and basically availed myself to him to do whatever I could as far as assisting the rescue guys and what -- you know, where they could go and what they could do safely without, you know, something else falling onto it. So it was a big mess, and there is a fire still going on at the south end.
ROBERTS: I know that you don't want to speculate on what the initial cause of the collapse was, but I'm wondering, and many people are wondering the question, we've seen some bridge collapses before with just a section of the bridge. Any idea why this whole bridge came down?
HINES: I really can't speculate. I didn't see it fall down. I'm not familiar with the bridge. I can't really say.
ROBERTS: And there was news this morning that the Minnesota Department of Transportation did have some concerns about stress fractures on this bridge. There was even talk about retrofitting it.
If you have a bridge that does have stress fractures, what kind of retrofitting can you do to try to make it sound?
HINES: Well, I'm sorry. I can't help you there. My experience is with concrete bridges, and this is a steel truss. I'm really not qualified to answer that question.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, Franklin Hines, from FIGG Bridge Inspection, thanks for being with us. Appreciate it.
HINES: You're welcome.
CHETRY: Thanks, John.
Well, President Bush is going to be heading there to Minneapolis tomorrow. But today, his focus is homeland security, signing the recommendations from the 9/11 Commission into law and also meeting with his top homeland security advisers. Now, that bill that will be signed into law calls for increased port security, also some changes to the way that federal funds to fight terrorism are handed out.
Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, is in Washington.
And Jeanne, the president is also pushing hard for some other legislation today as well.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Right. The president will sign that 9/11 law in the Oval Office this morning at 10:15, but there is this other legislation very much on his mind.
The administration has been pushing extraordinarily hard for reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before Congress leaves Washington for its summer break. Negotiations went deep into the night last night, and at the unusual hour of 11:35, the director of National Intelligence issued a statement emphasizing what he called the urgent need to reform the current law, to allow monitoring of foreign communications if they pass through the United States.
Mike McConnell said quite simply the current law does not allow us to be effective. The president is meeting with his counter-terror team this morning after he signs the 9/11 law, and you can bet he will talk about FISA if an agreement hasn't been reached by then -- Kiran.
CHETRY: And also some changes for air travelers that we could be seeing tomorrow. What about those, Jeanne?
MESERVE: That's right. The Transportation Security Administration is going to lift the ban on bringing most cigarette lighters on board airplanes. TSA says looking for them in carry-on bags is taking too much screener time. Some members of Congress are asking, hey, why are you doing this at the same time you're telling us we're in a period of increased threat? But the TSA responds that lifting the ban will let screeners look for more serious things, like explosives -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Jeanne, thank you.
Also new this morning, a look at some of the other stories the AMERICAN MORNING is working on.
Rob Marciano has been watching extreme weather for us, including some extreme heat that is going to be making its way to the Midwestern part of the country.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Also, one of the America's biggest home lenders shuts its doors today.
Our Ali Velshi was following that for us.
Now, this is the company that really was the one that started the big slide on Wall Street we saw last week.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Or at least the most recent slide we saw was triggered by American Home Mortgage, which couldn't pay some of its own lenders because of some defaults on mortgages that it issues to people.
Now, American Home Mortgage is key because most of its home loans weren't made to people with risky credit histories. They're actually made to people with pretty good credit histories who had taken adjustable rate mortgages. And when those rates adjusted to a higher interest rate, the folks who had taken the mortgages couldn't afford to pay them back.
Well, that has hit this company so hard that it's now announced it's laying off about 7,000 people and shutting its doors. It's going to likely seek bankruptcy protection. And there have been at least half a dozen similar companies in the last six months that have done that in the United States. We already know of a few others that are at risk.
What does this mean to you? It means that your mortgage rates, even your fixed mortgage rates, even if you have good credit, the rates could go a little bit higher. Your lending terms could get a little bit tighter. So it's not good news for borrowers. You already knew that if you're a borrower, but this is now seeping its way up to people, even with good credit.
We'll continue to follow the story, obviously, because it's a very big one affecting the U.S. economy -- Kiran.
CHETRY: It sure is, Ali. Thanks. We'll check in with you a little bit later.
In the meantime, some concern this morning that mothers may be giving up on breast feeding much too soon.
Our Elizabeth Cohen is following this for us from Atlanta.
What I have here, Elizabeth, is the new swag bag that you get, at least if you give birth in the New York City hospital system. This used to contain things like Similac. And now, because of the push for breast feeding, instead we're seeing shirts like "I Eat at Mom's," as they really try to get mothers to breast feed instead of formula feed.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. That's quite an initiative.
They are saying this practice of giving away free formula and then telling mothers they ought to be breast feeding just doesn't make sense. It's a contradiction.
I know when I was in the hospital giving birth, it sort of confused me. Why are you saying breast feeding is so great and then you're giving me all this free formula?
Anyhow, some of this is in response to some CDC statistics that say that women do indeed try to breast feed at the hospital. About 75 percent of them initiate it, but then you look three months later, only one-third of moms are still exclusively breast feeding. And then you look six months later, and only 11 percent of moms are exclusively breast feeding.
So, those three months and six-month rates are not what pediatricians want to see -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, it's difficult. You know, we're going to talk with you a little bit later, as well, Elizabeth, about some of the resources out there, because it's not easy for all women to do that. And there has been some criticism that perhaps there's too much pressure on new moms.
So we're going to talk to you, Elizabeth, about that.
Meanwhile, John, you're going to be talking to a very lucky woman coming up.
ROBERTS: I am. The sun coming up here in Minneapolis.
If you take a look at some of the pictures that we got from this, there's one picture that really kind of sticks out here. You see a red car underneath a pickup truck. That car belongs to a woman who we're going to talk to. It's one of the most memorable images of this disaster.
Meet her and her little daughter coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Now I want to introduce you to somebody who was truly lucky to be alive this morning. Melissa Hughes was driving on the bridge at the exact moment that it gave way. Before we talk to her, take a look at this incredible picture.
That's Melissa and her baby girl Olivia. And in the background is Melissa's red Ford Escort that she managed to get out of.
Olivia luckily wasn't in the car when the bridge collapsed. She was united with her mother just after it all happened. And you can imagine, she's very lucky that she wasn't in the back of that car, because that's a half-ton pickup truck that came down on the back of that Ford Escort.
But Melissa and Olivia, who's here this morning, join me now.
What are your memories from that time? I mean, you know, the pictures are just so incredible, and the picture of your car with that pickup truck on the back of it, I can't imagine what it was like.
MELISSA HUGHES, SURVIVED BRIDGE COLLAPSE: Yes. My first feeling was seeing things in the air that aren't supposed to be in the air -- a construction barrel, a person. The cars kind of seemed all off kilter, and then a free-fall feeling.
That happened twice. Then I felt -- I heard a smash as my back window getting blown out. I had no idea that there was a truck on top of me at that time until I got out.
ROBERTS: So you got a sense that something was terribly wrong the moment before your brain actually registered that you were in the middle of a catastrophe?
HUGHES: Yes. Correct. I still had a flash of the bridge collapsing out in California go through my head, and then thought, no, that can't be what is happening here.
ROBERTS: The recent collapse up there in Oakland, California, or where, Loma Prieta back in '89?
HUGHES: Yes. I think the recent one was probably in my head.
ROBERTS: So how far did you fall? Do you know?
HUGHES: I think it was three stories. But it was total from where the bridge was to where it landed.
ROBERTS: And that wasn't the end of it for you, right? It kept going from there?
HUGHES: Correct. Because then I stood on my brakes. It felt like I was sliding. I could see the minivan in front of me sliding towards me, and then I had that loud smash.
ROBERTS: And the smash was that half-ton pickup truck coming down on the back of your vehicle. If that had have been just a couple of feet more, it could have crushed the passenger compartment. HUGHES: Right. Inches probably would have made a difference.
ROBERTS: You know, we talked to Greg Babino yesterday who was in a pickup truck that went down face first. And he said all he could think about when he was going through this disaster was his baby who was about to be born a month from now, and would the baby grow up to have a father? Would he be killed in it?
What were you thinking about? What went through your mind as you were going through all of that?
HUGHES: Actually, as it happened, it was just so not real that it was just, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh. It wasn't until I was safe and on the ground that I just needed my husband to bring the baby to me.
ROBERTS: Olivia was the first thing that you wanted to see after that?
HUGHES: Yes.
ROBERTS: I mean, you've got to be so thankful that she was not in the back seat of the car.
HUGHES: Oh. Yes, it's amazing that, you know, I was not with her.
ROBERTS: You know, we've talked to some people like Gary yesterday, who, after the crash, went out and helped people. Did you notice a lot of that as well?
HUGHES: Yes, yes. It was a civilian who came to help me out, and those people there, actually employees at a building, that was right next to our...
ROBERTS: What did they do?
HUGHES: They came and, you know, helped people out of their car. They had us all gather in their parking lot, made sure everybody was OK, you know, and determined who needed immediate attention, things like that.
ROBERTS: When you took a look at the destruction around you, I mean, could you even get your head around what had just happened?
HUGHES: No. From our vantage point, we couldn't see past the train. I don't know if you've seen the photos of where the train is, but we couldn't see past that. So we had no idea how severe it was. We knew that it had to have gone over the river just because that was logical, but had no idea.
ROBERTS: But that whole episode on Wednesday night showed you -- we were driving across one of the bridges over here last night, and I got about three-quarters away across it before I said, wait a minute, we're driving over a bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. You just never think that something like that could happen. Is it forever going to change you, or do you think you'll eventually get used to the idea?
HUGHES: I can't imagine that I'll be the same person I was before it happened. I mean, it's huge. It's so big.
ROBERTS: Just a real life-changing event?
HUGHES: Yes.
ROBERTS: Well, we're glad you're here, and we're really glad that she was not in the back seat.
Thanks very much for coming in. It's so good to see you.
HUGHES: Thank you much.
ROBERTS: Appreciate it.
And this is one little sweetheart here. I mean, how many babies are going to be fast asleep like that through a television interview?
Because Kiran, as you know, every time you go on TV, they wake up and they start screaming, right?
CHETRY: Yes, exactly. I hope that's not indicative of the rest of our viewers this morning. But she is very, very cute, to say the least.
Thanks, John.
Well, every new mom hears it over and over and over again -- you've got to breast feed, it's the best thing to do for your child. A new study shows that fewer moms are doing it. Let's just say fewer moms are trying it and keeping up with it. Why?
We're going to get into that coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Some new trouble this morning for Alaska senator Ted Stevens. It tops our "Quick Hits" now.
His dealings with a wealthy contractor are already under scrutiny. Well, now investigators say that a Senate aide who handled Stevens' personal bills failed to report payments to her from the senator, which means that both of them could be in a violation of ethics rules.
John Edwards attacking Hillary Clinton for taking donations from News Corp executives and the FOX News Channel. Edwards says that FOX "demonizes the Democrats" and called on other candidates to return any donations they've received.
There's a new poll of Iowa voters that's out, and it shows a near three-way tie among the Democrats for president from Iowa voters. Barack Obama slightly in the lead with 27 percent. Almost neck and neck with Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. All of them within the margin of error, so it really is a dead heat.
That poll comes from ABC News and "The Washington Post".
A federal health study says that more new moms are trying breast feeding, but many of them are giving it up too soon.
Elizabeth Cohen is in Atlanta with details on that for us, on this study that shows people are willing to give it a shot, but that doesn't last for very long.
Hi, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Hi. Willing to give it a shot really in many ways, experts say, doesn't mean a whole lot. In other words, women are in the hospital, oftentimes a lactation counselor or nurse will come in and say, let's try it. You put the baby to the breast, that counts as giving it a shot.
Of course, what really is important is, do women keep up with it? And what these statistics from the CDC show is that at three months, only one-third of moms are exclusively breast feeding, and at six months, only 11 percent are exclusively breast feeding. Those numbers, according to pediatricians, are much too low -- Kiran.
CHETRY: So what is the consensus? I mean, is there really no dispute now that babies who are breast fed end up being healthier than those that get formula?
COHEN: There is no dispute. This is something that everyone, even the people who make formula, agree on. Breast milk is best.
It helps keep your child healthier. They are less likely to get ear infections, upper respiratory infections, SIDS. One study says it even helps keep your child slim so they won't become obese later in life. There is no question that breast milk is best.
CHETRY: You know, and, I mean, just on -- you know, on a personal note, I did it. It did it for more than six months because that's what the recommendation was.
It is not easy. It's actually one of the most time-consuming and difficult things that I've ever undertaken. And I think a lot of people feel that way.
Are there resources to help people who run into trouble?
COHEN: You know, it really can be very tough. I mean, some women definitely find it easier than others.
There are lactation counselors in many hospitals who can help, and you can certainly have them come to your house, which costs money. There are also -- people sometimes forget that there are sort of mom support groups who can also help, and that's free. And also, there are just your friends, I think, sometimes, are really the best -- best lactation counselors you can find.
Mothers who have friends of yours who have breast fed successfully, get them to come to your house and get them to help you. That's often sometimes the best way. But there is no question that breast feeding is often much harder than women think it's going to be.
CHETRY: That's right. And Elizabeth, it's interesting, because there's a controversial thing that's taking place here in New York, at least. The city hospitals that used to give out these swag bags, as you can see this one here, full of formula. Well, now there's a push to not do that anymore, and, in fact, none of the city hospitals are.
Instead, they're giving out things like a little T-shirt that says, "I eat at mom's," as well as some other things like the diapers for the children. But no longer do they give out these Similac or Enfamil samples like we had seen before. And it is raising, I guess, a little bit of controversy of saying, are we turning into a nanny state, are we pushing things that may not work for every person?
COHEN: Right. Well, the World Health Organization has been asking for hospitals to do that for years and years. They said, look, it doesn't make any sense. We're encouraging moms to breast feed, and then we send them home with all this free formula. What kind of message are we sending?
Now, these hospitals in New York, they're not, you know, telling women what they absolutely have to do. They're just saying, look, we're not going to give you free stuff if really what we want you to be doing is breast feeding.
So it's kind of more of a message than a directive. A message saying we really want you to breast feed, and we know that if you get home and you have all this free formula just sitting there, you're going to be very tempted to use it.
CHETRY: Well, Elizabeth Cohen, everyone is trying to do the best they can for their kids.
COHEN: That's right.
CHETRY: I guess at the end of the day, you've just got to love them. You've got to love them and do your best.
COHEN: That is the most important thing. However you feed them, you've got to love them.
CHETRY: Thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
CHETRY: Well, here's a look at some of the other stories coming up later on that you can't miss. We're going to be introducing you to a little girl who had to go in for surgery after eating an apple.
That's right, she ate an apple, and it wasn't the fruit that got her into trouble, John, but the tiny little sticker. I mean, we see these all of the time. This ended up touching off a two-year battle for her health. It had her parents terrified.
We're going to meet her mother and the little girl coming up.
ROBERTS: Yes. It had medical science baffled for a long, long time as well.
We're also going to meet the man, Mark Rosenker, who is the new chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. He is the man who is going to be charged with investigating how this bridge here came down.
Meet him coming up. Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: There we are, a live picture from KARE in Minneapolis this morning. As you can see, some of the debris. This is -- or that was right before we lost the shot from the helicopters. And you can still see the debris, the cracks in the bridge, and some of the vehicles that are still there as this recovery operation continues this morning.
And thanks for being with us once again. It's Friday, August 3rd.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: And from Minneapolis, Minnesota, I'm John Roberts.
CNN has just confirmed that the death toll in this bridge collapse has gone up again. It now stands at five. Another body was found yesterday.
So here is what we have. So far, we have got five people dead. There were eight missing as of about 6:00 p.m. Central Time last night. Don't know if this reduces by one the number of people missing or if this was an additional death. And when we heard about the number of people missing yesterday, this death had already been accounted for, because Sheriff Rich Stanek (ph) had told us at a press conference yesterday, look, we're not officially confirming any number of dead right now, but all we can tell you is that eight people are still missing.
The recovery effort to get what other bodies may still be in the water here in the Mississippi will resume probably in about an hour's time from now. And all of this comes today as a report in the "Minneapolis Star Tribune" suggests that the Minnesota Department of Transportation knew that there were problems with this bridge, problems that may have required some sort of retrofit because of stress fractures in the bridge.
We're going to be talking about that this morning with the governor of Minnesota, as well as the head of the National Transportation Safety Board. And we should be hearing from the dive teams, the recovery teams, just a little bit later on, probably in about an hour's time, when Sheriff Rick Stanek (ph) will be holding a press conference, update us on the status of the recovery effort -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right.
And also this morning, we're getting a look at a -- a high-tech look at how that bridge fell. There is a newly released computer animation showing the span over the Mississippi River. There you see 64 feet in the air. That's the one that likely fell first, plunging that 64 feet into the water below. And then it just took several seconds for the others to then buckle and crumble around it. Those are the sections we saw falling on to the banks of the river.
There you see it once again. The middle section, span over the water, likely giving way first and then in just a couple of seconds after that, you see the domino effect and you see the crumbling taking place along the banks.
The actual collapse played out in front of a nearby security camera. You see it once again. It does look very similar to the computer model we just showed you.
This is the video you saw first, and exclusively, here on AMERICAN MORNING yesterday. Investigators now want to have that to take a look at. They're going to be taking a very close look at the video in hopes of pinpointing what went so tragically wrong there.
Bridge inspections for all bridges, like the one that collapsed, are starting immediately nationwide. That is coming from the Federal Highway Administration in a letter to all state transportation departments.
There are many that are speaking out this morning and many leaders of various states, across the country, who are saying that this is going to start in earnest. That this bridge collapse in Minneapolis was certainly a wake-up call.
Also this morning, we're reliving the horror of the bridge collapse of through voice of one terrified 10-year-old girl. Her name is Kaleigh Swift. And she was one of the dozens of kids that were at a day camp, coming home from a field trip, when their school bus nearly plunged off the buckling bridge.
These were some of the pictures that we saw that really took our breath away. The school bus just precariously tipped against a guardrail. She called her mom just minutes after the accident, and the family is now letting us hear the panicked call. Let's listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
KALEIGH SWIFT, PASSENGER ON SCHOOL BUS: Momma, the bridge broke when we were crossing it. And everybody -- everybody's scared and crying. Are you there, Momma? Momma...are you there?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CHETRY: There were eight staff members on board that bus as well. And they did everything they could to get the kids out safely. Thanks in no small part to one in particular, Jeremy Hernandez, a camp counselor credited for thinking quick and getting everyone out in a hurry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY HERNANDEZ, HELPED KIDS OFF BUS: I looked over at the river and then my heart started beating fast. And I just jumped over the seats and I opened the back of the door. And I kicked the coolers out and then I turned around and trying to throw kids off the bus. And all of the kids were lining up on the bridge right there by the bus.
I could feel the bridge just shaking. And I'm trying to tell them you got to get off the bridge, you got to get off the bridge. And people running up to the bridge, hand them to me. And I'm handing kids over to the guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So some quick thinking on his part. As well as the help of many bystanders, who risked their own personal safety to make sure those children were safely off that bridge. A lot of fears that more cars could either come crashing down, or that section could give way even more. In all, 14 people on the bus were hurt. One of the staffers was very seriously hurt. But everyone survived -- John.
ROBERTS: Of all of those who survived the Minneapolis bridge collapse, one man's story is especially harrowing. Marcello Cruz's (ph) van came to a stop on a sharp incline, but didn't fall into the water because he had the presence of mind to slam it into the center wall at the very last second. Once it was there, though, he couldn't get out because he's a paraplegic. CNN's Gary Tuchman talked to him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): So, if you would of gotten out of your van, down the ramp, where the road was pointing, you would of ended up in the river?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Eventually, Cruz says a group of rescuers pulled him to safety, but in the meantime he says he was forced to sit by helplessly and watch those who fell into the river. He couldn't do anything about it.
This morning we are getting to know one of the rescuers involved in this tragedy. Her name is Shannon Hanson. She's a fire department captain. And you've probably have seen these pictures of her, racing through the treacherous waters of the Mississippi, trying to help victims of the bridge collapse.
I got a chance to meet Shannon and hear her incredible story. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. SHANNON HANSON, FIRE DEPARTMENT: You don't really want to just focus on the task at hand, just on the rescue, or on the one person, or how many cars you have. You have to look at the whole scene. I had to look at where the structure is hanging over the people, how many people we have down there, how many initial rescuers had gone in there to help people out, but are no longer part of the rescue work. And, now, if the bridge comes down more, are those people additional casualties?
ROBERTS: So, you jumped right in. You put a life vest on. I thought you had a wet suit on, because the pictures were form a little ways away. But you just went in with your uniform, and didn't have a mask on, you tied a rope to yourself?
HANSON: I am -- professional firefighters are trained to do it. It's kind of -- that world is our office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You know, that is the quality of the people who are working for -- not just the fire department here but the police force, the sheriff's department, as well. As they try to help out people in the initial aftermath of the bridge collapse. And now, as they risk their lives combing through the wreckage in the waters here in the Mississippi River, with that bridge so unstable.
Death really kind of lies at every turn for them here. They've got to be very careful that those are the people, Kiran, who are out there doing the job.
CHETRY: Very true. All right, John, thanks so much.
We have some other headlines this morning. Four people feared dead after a helicopter crash in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. This crash sparked a fast-growing wildfire that's kept rescue crews from being able to get close enough to the site. It's not clear what the helicopter was doing in the area. It is believed to have come from Seattle, about 70 miles away.
In Oakland, California, police now say that the murder of a newspaper editor was likely a planned hit. Chauncey Bailey worked at "The Oakland Post". On Thursday he was walking to work when a hooded gunman approached him in a parking lot, opened fire, and killed him, according to witnesses. Coworkers say they can't think of any recent stories Bailey did that would of made him a target.
The newscaster who had an affair with the mayor of Los Angeles has now been suspended for two months. Telemundo saying Mirthala Salinas violated conflict of interest policies. Salinas reported on the stories about the mayor's breakup with his wife.
The major recall this week from toy maker's Mattel and Fisher Price may have you wondering about the toys in your house right now. In fact, there's growing concern this morning about how China is linked to this recall. Joining me now from Philadelphia to talk about how to keep your kids safe, Chris Byrne, toy industry analyst and founder of Toyguy.com.
Chris, thanks for being with us and good morning.
CHRIS BYRNE, TOYGUY.COM: Good morning. Nice to be with you.
CHETRY: This recall includes 83 different types of toys. I even went looking around my house. We found one. I'm looking down the list on Mattel.com and there is a couple more. This affects about a million actual toys. How significant do you think this is, Chris?
BYRNE: Well, it's really significant. The good news is that, though, there are a million involved. Fisher-Price able to contain two-thirds of them in their pipeline so only about 330,000 made it to the market. Still a serious concern. The largest concern is what does this mean for the toy industry overall, as sort of standards seem not to be able to be met, and we're having more recalls.
CHETRY: And the thing that just really surprised a lot of us, why are they making toys with lead paint when we know lead is bad for kids?
BYRNE: I don't have an answer to that. I know that on some level people are trying to cut costs everywhere, and somewhere, the standards fell apart and the monitoring and the oversight. But there is no decent answer for it.
CHETRY: The other thing a lot of moms that have been interviewed about this says, it seems like every toy comes from China because when we're checking that is what we see on the backs of all our toys. They're actually right. Because in fact, roughly 80 percent of our toys do come from a country that has been under fire for many problems in food, and other products, that we buy. So how can parents be sure that their toys are safe?
BYRNE: I think one of the ways is to understand that even though this is a very serious thing for Fisher-Price, it is an anomaly. They have 77 years of history. They're a strong brand. This was a subcontractor, but that doesn't make mom feel a little bit better.
What you can do is use common sense. You know? Understand that even though there is no acceptable limit for this, that it takes a lot for a child to be at risk for ingesting the paint. It would have to come off the toy. What you need to do is use common sense and check your toys. Make sure there are no signs of wear. Make sure there aren't chips on them. And if there are take them away because you never want to expose your kids to that. That's what you should do normally with your toys, making sure that they're not at risk of breaking.
CHETRY: Yes, that's a good point. And also just keeping on top of these recalls. Mattel.com you can go on there and check. I think they have not only the serial numbers but actually the picture of the toy, so you can see if any of those happen to be in your kids play room. Chris Byrne, as always, great to see you. Thanks for being with us this morning.
BYRNE: Thank you.
CHETRY: John.
ROBERTS: The question that everyone wants answered here in Minneapolis, what made the bridge collapse? Were warning signs overlooked? And could more have been done? We're going to be talking to the head of the National Transportation Safety Board and the governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty. Both of who -- he at least is facing new fire today. The head of the NTSB, at the center of this investigation as to why that bridge came down.
Plus, those little stickers on your fruits can be annoying, but can they be dangerous as well? It was for one little girl. She's live in the studio with her amazing story ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Now to one of the stories that seems just impossible. For more than a year, six-year-old Josie Dressendorfer suffered from a very uncomfortable, chronic cough. Doctors were not able to figure out what caused it. After X-rays and after long, long time back and forth trying to figure out what was making her ill, they decided to perform surgery. And they found the culprit.
Apparently little Josie had inhaled a produce sticker, like the one you see right here, on just any apple or pear, banana, whatever it maybe. This is what she inhaled. This actually, if you can see it, is what they ended up having to remove from her lung.
And Josie and her mom, Sarah, are in our studios this morning to talk with us.
Of all the things you worry about, you know, happening to your child, who would think that this little sticker would cause so many problems?
SARAH DRESSENDORFER, JOSIE'S MOTHER: It was the most bizarre, just surprising thing that a little sticker would cause all of the coughing, and all of the sickness. It was just amazing that that's what caused it.
CHETRY: So she was eating an apple?
S. DRESSENDORFER: She was eating an apple. We can't pinpoint the day or the time. But she loves apples. And so she eats them all the time. She, obviously, I don't know if she coughed, or she was playing, or just inhaled that little sticker, it went straight into her lung.
CHETRY: We see it here.
Josie, when did you start feeling sick after you may have eaten the apple? JOSIE DRESSENDORFER, HAD FRUIT STICKER IN LUNG: Ah.
S. DRESSENDORFER: Like a couple of years after that, Josie?
CHETRY: Yeah? You were sick for a long time, huh? And you had to go to the doctor a lot?
J. DRESSENDORFER: Uh-huh.
CHETRY: And were you scared when you found out that you had to have surgery?
J. DRESSENDORFER: No.
CHETRY: You weren't?
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: She is so adorable, by the way.
S. DRESSENDORFER: She is very soft-spoken and sweet. She's a sweet girl.
CHETRY: What was her illness like? I mean, how did you know what was wrong with her?
S. DRESSENDORFER: It was just non-stop coughing. All night long, all day long. The medications that we would give her; we started giving her asthma medications thinking maybe that would help. The cough persisted. It kept coming back. It was a cough that you could just tell she was gasping for air. She just wasn't getting any air into her lungs.
CHETRY: Finally, they did an X-ray and we have a picture of the X-ray. They were able to locate. They probably didn't know at the time what it was but on the right-hand side of the screen about halfway up where her lungs are you can see this sticker?
S. DRESSENDORFER: It was definitely -- I think basically what you're seeing is maybe the part of the lung that it shows that the air wasn't getting into the lung. I think it maybe shows a little bit of lung damage. I'm not sure that the sticker could actually be seen. We didn't really know what it was in there. Like you said, the doctors were very surprised.
CHETRY: They just said to you, we're going to have to operate on your little girl?
S. DRESSENDORFER: They did, they did. After a long -- we kept going to different doctors trying to see what was wrong. And, finally, they just said we really need to go in and see what that sound is. It was a really curious sound when she would breathe.
CHETRY: So they got it out?
S. DRESSENDORFER: They got it out. They went in with a scope and found it and immediately took it out.
CHETRY: She was instantaneously better?
S. DRESSENDORFER: She was, she was! I didn't know how bad she felt. And then when they removed it, her energy level came back, and she's smiling and having fun and just a lot happier. So playing a lot more with her brothers, that's for sure.
CHETRY: Are you still going to eat apples?
J. DRESSENDORFER: Yes.
CHETRY: What are you going to do this time?
J. DRESSENDORFER: Take off the sticker!
CHETRY: Good girl. You're going to take off the sticker. She is so adorable. I see she got into our makeup. She has some lip gloss on.
S. DRESSENDORFER: She loves lip gloss, definitely.
CHETRY: It was so nice meeting you, sweetheart. I'm glad you're feeling better and sorry you had to go through that. No term damage? No long-lasting effects they say?
S. DRESSENDORFER: We'll see in another week. The doctor will be able to go in and see what effects she will have. But hopefully she will be ready to play soccer and swim, and be very healthy.
CHETRY: Well, all's well that ends well. It was so nice meeting both of you. Sarah Dressendorfer and little Josie, thanks for being with us today.
S. DRESSENDORFER: You're welcome. Thank you.
CHETRY: John.
ROBERTS: One of the big questions and the big news here this morning, Kiran, is did the State of Minnesota know that there were problems with this I-35 bridge? Problems that might be in need of repair?
We'll talk about that and where the investigation is going into exactly how this bridge collapsed with the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. He's coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us on this special edition.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A team of close to two dozen federal safety investigators is here in Minneapolis trying to determine piece by piece what made the I-35 bridge come crashing down on Wednesday. Mark Rosenker is the chairman of the NTSB. He's heading up the investigation. We're fortunate to have him with us this morning.
Thanks very much for being here. MARK ROSENKER, CHAIRMAN, NTSB: All right.
ROBERTS: I know it's a busy day for you. How is the investigate going so far?
ROSENKER: We're pleased with the progress so far. We've only been here 24 hours and we found two very important pieces that, in fact, are going to help us move the investigation.
ROBERTS: What are the pieces?
ROSENKER: Well, the videotape that we got from the Minneapolis Police Department yesterday. Quite helpful for us. And also very interesting computer modeling program, which is of the bridge itself. It was done by a person who was actually getting his Ph.D. in engineering.
And, as a result, did the finite analysis of this particular bridge. We'll be able to use this to actually, in the computer model, take parts of the bridge apart, a girder here, a particular element, a plate, and then watch how the actual bridge collapses. And see when it matches the pattern that we have on the video. Then we can begin to focus in on those parts.
ROBERTS: We're hearing suspicions this morning that it was that central span over the Mississippi River, that 395-foot long span that was the first to let go. Is that what you're hearing as well and finding?
ROSENKER: We've seen the video back for frame by frame analysis. It is much too early to understand where, in fact, began. The video will be helping us. And clearly that computer modeling program is going to aid us a great deal.
ROBERTS: Another question being asked this morning, is -- you know, we've seen bridge collapses before, but it's typically a section of the bridge that comes down and not the whole bridge. Do you have any idea why that happened?
ROSENKER: In this case there was no redundancy built into the origin design. So, as a result of that, when you do lose a piece of the bridge, a girder, all of the loads will collapse.
ROBERTS: Big story this morning in "The Minneapolis Star- Tribune", that the Minnesota Department of Transportation was aware of some structural problems with this bridge, stress fractures. The concerns were great enough they thought about retrofitting the bridge with steel plates on it. Concerns though, that drilling the number of holes in the bridge's trusses, to put the plates on may have actually weakened it. What are you hearing from the state about what they knew about this bridge?
ROSENKER: What we've gotten so far is the actual reports from the bridge inspection program that, in fact, it's supposed to occur every two years. We have the past three inspections going from 2000 and 2007. We are also going to be asking for the decade before to find out --
ROBERTS: Any clues in those yet?
ROSENKER: No clues yet, because we've gotten them. These are very complex reports and we want to go line-by-line, and understand what they found. See where, in fact, they matched the standards themselves, if they weren't up to the standards, we will understand significantly more, but these, as I say, John, are complex investigations.
ROBERTS: Right.
ROSENKER: It will take us time.
ROBERTS: Mark, after the crash of TWA 800 we saw NTSB literally reconstruct the aircraft. I don't imagine you can could do that with a bridge. So how do you investigate that?
ROSENKER: We will actually be doing some reconstruction. Some of the aspects, some of the parts that we're looking for, we'll in fact, actually take them just a little bit down river, and begin to lay them out and try to match up where, in fact, we may see some fracture, and try it understand why that fracture occurred.
ROBERTS: A lot of work ahead for you and you were saying before we came on, could take a year or more.
ROSENKER: Clearly.
ROBERTS: For you to do it. Mark Rosenker, from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Thanks very much. Good work you folks are doing.
ROSENKER: Appreciate that.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: Thanks, John.
Well, one of the most beloved brands in America, in crisis this morning. A huge toy recall, raising concerns for parents, as well as Fisher-Price and the parent company Mattel. What the lessons are for other companies who may do business with China. Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business", up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Four minutes to the top of the hour right now. Ali Velshi is here "Minding Your Business". We're talking about this toy recall. This is one of the, I guess, 1 million different products from Fisher-Price. Most of them Sesame Street, or Dora The Explorer, that are being recalled because of lead paint.
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: I heard your discussion earlier. This is a tough one to get to the bottom of because 80 percent of our toys, toys that are bought in the United States come from China, but 80 percent of the Wal-Mart's shelves come from China. The majority of the world's toys are made in China.
And the issue is who is responsibility is it to figure out what standards they live up to? This is a company, Mattel has long been revered for its standards in this sort of matter. And that was sort of the one you're supposed to live up to. Mattel had a trusted relationship with the company that was manufacturing these toys in China, so they felt there were no problems.
Then an internal investigation showed there were. Now, this brings up the whole issue of who is checking? We've cut back on that sort of inspection in the United States. So you'd think that this is inspected, but they're not. They are put together at the source and it's said to be safe for children under the age of three because, as you know, they will likely put things in their mouth that they're not supposed to. If you're not licking this thing, it doesn't tend be a problem, but we can't govern that with little kids.
CHETRY: Stop pretending this is your phone, Ali.
VELSHI: That's right.
CHETRY: I got it out of your office.
VELSHI: I mean, this is happening, these are all of these --.
(TOY PHONE RINGS)
TOY: Have you seen Burt?
VELSHI: Perhaps I shouldn't have been touching that.
We're going to talk about this obviously, a lot here. We're also talking about on the weekend on "Your Money" -- which is Saturday and Sunday afternoons -- to try to get some sense. As you know, it's hard to get to the bottom of what exactly you, as a parent, are supposed to do about this. Do you stop buying toys?
Can you decide that you're going to buy your toys only from American sources, and known sources? Not really. The demand for cheap toys in America has caused this to happen. You have outsourced to cheaper manufacturing locations. That, in itself, may not be a terrible thing, but who is checking to see that it's all right? That answer still eludes us.
CHETRY: It does. If parents, by the way, want to find out more about what toys are recalled, you can check out Mattel.com. They have pictures, as well as serial numbers.
VELSHI: And the lot numbers. Yes, so that will be useful. Because it's not every type of every toy, but you can actually pick it up and check it. And see which one it is, and that would be useful.
CHETRY: Ali Velshi, thank you.
VELSHI: I'm taking my toy.
CHETRY: Take your toy. And take your phone and get out of here, till the next hour. Thanks so much.
Also coming up, John, a can't miss story for anyone who uses a credit card. You get reward points, but which ones actually offer the best rewards? Everything from cash back to your free airline and hotel stays.
ROBERTS: Yeah. And how can you cash those in, and who offers the best reward plan for actually getting something out of it. We'll be looking at that.
Also, this idea this morning that's out in "The Minneapolis Star- Tribune", that the Minnesota Department of Transportation knew about some serious problems with this bridge. And wasn't quite sure what to do about it -- and why. We'll be talking with the governor of Minnesota coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS (voice over): New questions. Fresh outrage. Were obvious signs of trouble overlooked before the tragic collapse in Minneapolis?
The complicated new search for the missing.
MARK ROSENKER, CHAIRMAN, NTSB: These are very complex reports and we want to go line-by-line and understand exactly what they found.
ROBERTS: The unforgettable images. Lives lost. Those saved.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As it happened, it was just so not real, that it was just oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh.
ROBERTS: And the heroes that disaster revealed, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Good morning to you from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Welcome back to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts. It is Friday, the 3rd of August.
Good morning, Kiran.
CHETRY: Good morning. Good to see you, John.
You know we begin another difficult day in the Twin Cities.
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