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Mine Owner Pledges to Retrieve Trapped Miners; Navy, FBI Divers Join Recovery Efforts at Bridge Collapse; Police Look for Witnesses to Newark Murders
Aired August 07, 2007 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT MURRAY, PRESIDENT/CEO, MURRAY ENERGY CORPORATION: If the miners survived the concussion of the earthquake and the shocks in the mines, and the damage to the mine, we'll rescue them alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: A big "if" in Utah, where rescue teams and heavy equipment are moving heaven and earth, mostly earth, to get to six trapped coal miners.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Crews hope to reach the site of yesterday's collapse by Friday if all goes according to plan. And so far, it has not.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We'll have the latest from Crandall Canyon coal mine in just a moment. But first the heat.
From the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic seaboard, it's brutal, even for August. Factor in the humidity, in many places smog, it's a danger to life and health. Raleigh, North Carolina, could hit 100 degrees today. Memphis could top out at 98. We're going to sweat the details all afternoon right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: And now back to our top story. Three days, it seems like an eternity, at a collapsed coal mine in Central Utah. But that's how long it could take to reach six trapped miners, and that is being optimistic.
Let's go straight to Emery County, Utah, and CNN's Dan Simon.
What's the latest, Dan?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Don.
I think we just watched one of the more spirited and combative news conferences we've really seen in some time.
Robert Murray, the owner of this mining company, took to the microphones just a short time ago. Again, very combative. He was ranting against some of the media coverage. He was very defensive about his company's record and what may have ultimately led to this collapse.
We'll talk a little more about that in a second. But first, where things stand. And it's not very good news.
Mr. Murray said that his rescuers have only progressed about 300 feet from where they have started. Best case scenario, we're looking at a minimum of three days before the rescuers reach these miners.
On the plus front, we have 134 rescuers actively trying to find the miners. They are working in various shifts around the clock. Mr. Murray also said that he has brought in 30 pieces of equipment, including a drilling rig off a helicopter.
Let's listen now to some of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: Well, our efforts have been exhaustive and have involved everything humanly possible to access these trapped miners. They have been disappointingly too slow, too slow.
We're focused at remaining at the Crandall Canyon site until these miners are recovered, dead or alive. As I've said before, if the percussion and the shocks of the earthquake did not kill them, we have a very good chance of getting them out alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: And that brings us to what caused the collapse. Mr. Murray very adamant that an earthquake caused the collapse in the mine. This is a point of contention. Seismologists tend to think that the seismic activity they saw was a result of the collapse.
Mr. Murray, by adamantly saying that it was an earthquake, he's really trying to deflect any possible blame that may come his way. Really, still undecided in terms of what caused this collapse.
In terms of where we are now, Don, I don't think we really have a better sense as to how these climbers (sic) are doing or ultimately when -- when the crews will get to them.
LEMON: And, also, listening to his press conference, you're right. He's very -- most -- one of the most unusual press conferences I've seen.
But even listening, I wasn't sure about the amount of oxygen, Dan, that these men apparently have down there. Yesterday, they said maybe 48 hours. And then today it seems like the gentleman said it may be more oxygen than that. Can you clarify for us?
SIMON: Yes. You know, this is sort of a confusing point. We have been led to believe that the area where these miners are, it's porous, in the sense that oxygen gets in through -- through the coal mine.
But we're also being led to believe that there are certain -- there's apparatus down there for the miners to breathe. And Mr. Murray said that that apparatus allows them basically one hour.
So in other words, if the oxygen level is thin, what they can do is put on those masks and breathe some of the oxygen, and they can also breathe in the air that's coming in from the outside. So a bit confusing on that point, Don.
LEMON: Yes, yes. So that's really probably going to make all the difference, that and water. Thank you very much for your report, Dan.
PHILLIPS: And as you know, we've been following the missing miners story out of Huntington, Utah. Rescue workers right now trying to find those six miners they have not heard from at this point.
It's a developing story as we continue to get more information. We've heard that progress is too slow. It could take at least three days to try and find them.
On the phone with us now. Governor Jon Huntsman, obviously, highly involved in the rescue effort to get to these six miners. He's joining us now by phone.
Governor, Bob Murray, as you know, the man that owns the company in charge of this mine, is insisting that an earthquake triggered this cave-in. What is your take at this point?
GOV. JON HUNTSMAN, UTAH: Well, I think that one thing is for sure, and that is, Kyra, we're all going to know the answer to that in the next few days when the seismologists and experts fully analyze the data.
It's less important right now than the well-being of the families, who have deep concerns, obviously, about their loved ones. We're concerned about the community here in Huntington, a small mining town and by extension, Price, Utah, and all of those who feel somehow tied into this -- this tragedy.
That's where our efforts have to be, along with the professionals and the experts who were deploying the very best technology that is available and the very best equipment under the oversight of the Mining Safety and Health Administration, which is tasked to oversee these kinds of operations.
I'm confident that everything that can be done is now being done. But first and foremost, we must do everything we can to keep that very important word hope alive.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk -- absolutely. And let's talk about those miners. Because the question is how much air do they have? Or do we know if they would be OK without oxygen at this point? And do they have enough water? Bob Murray came forward and insisted that they had enough air and enough water to last possibly a couple of weeks, so can you confirm that, that they do have enough down there to survive if, indeed, they are alive?
HUNTSMAN: What the experts, the Mining Safety and Health Administration people, are saying is that the air quality is survivable. It's reasonably good. It is methane free, which obviously is very, very important.
So if the miners survived that initial quake or disruption, whatever it was, the chances are very good that it is a survivable environment in which they're now located. And that's why there is a premium being placed upon the time necessary to get through these impenetrable walls, at least at this point and on to the cavern where they're located.
But the environment where they're located apparently is survivable at this point.
PHILLIPS: And I know that you don't want to necessarily focus on the cause right now, but, rather, the rescue. But you know once we find out if they are dead or alive -- and, of course, the hope is that they are alive and you can get them out of there -- you are going to have to address the cause.
And that's the next step in this, because there could be possible lawsuits if, indeed, it's the fault of the company that owns this mine.
So are you looking into and paying attention to, as well as the rescue, if, indeed, it was an earthquake that triggered this or something that happened within that mine caused those seismographs to make it look like there was an earthquake?
HUNTSMAN: All of the information will be collected. There will be a full investigation. In fact, momentarily, we have the director of the Mining Health and Safety Administration arriving here from Washington. I suspect that they will lead the investigation. We'll have all of the information we need on which to base any decisions or conclusions from this point.
PHILLIPS: Governor Jon Huntsman, Utah, thank you so much for your time. We are all praying for those miners.
HUNTSMAN: As are we. Thank you for your support.
PHILLIPS: Thank you.
LEMON: And we move now to another American tragedy. FBI and Navy divers, all now part of the recovery efforts in the Minneapolis bridge collapse. Considered the best in the business, the Navy divers have joined the search for eight people who are still missing.
Our Susan Roesgen is in Minneapolis.
And Susan, we understand at the top of the hour there's going to be a news conference from the sheriff's department.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're right, Don. There's going to be a news conference from the sheriff's department closer to where the divers are actually getting into the water. I've just come from the latest news conference with some other agencies involved. And I have some new information on this now.
It turns out that the FBI divers and the Navy divers were so eager, Don, to get into the river and start this search, that they actually got into the water at 2 a.m. this morning.
They brought with them three semi-trailers full of equipment. We're talking underwater torches, underwater saws, everything that these guys will need to get in and cut through the heaviest debris and possibly, Don, possibly start retrieving some bodies as early as this afternoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. MIKE MARTIN, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: They are actively working to get in there and recover any victims that we can find or any evidence that we can find.
At the same time, the NTSB is working with them to ensure that we're not cutting into anything that might be of evidentiary value and that we're also keeping in mind how we dismantle the bridge down there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Now, they're calling it a surgical debris removal. The divers are being very careful, as you heard there from the police captain, not to disturb any potential evidence that might help the National Transportation Safety Board investigators who are here also working.
So we have two things going on at the same time. We've got the FBI focused on body retrieval, those eight missing people, and the investigators still trying to find the cause of this collapse.
And I have to tell you, Don, that at that news conference, the police captain said, "Look, even we are not told by those investigators what they're learning," that the NTSB is playing the cards very close to the vest, won't even tell any of the other agencies here what they're finding, or where the search is leading to what might have caused this collapse.
But we will stay on top of it, and we will be monitoring the sheriff's department press briefing that's coming up in just about an hour here.
LEMON: Two p.m. Eastern, 1 Central. Susan Roesgen on the scene of that horrific accident. Thank you, Susan.
PHILLIPS: Stifling, oppressive, unbearable. Any way you say it, it's dangerously hot. Temperatures are nearing or topping 100 degrees from Wichita to Washington and all across the south.
Many places, including Little Rock, Arkansas, are making sure that those who venture outside have something cool to drink. And you can bet that those who have to be outdoors are taking their own precautions, including a lot more breaks in the shade.
Excessive heat warnings and watches are in effect for many cities, including Raleigh, North Carolina.
And our own Chad Myers can tell us it's not just the heat; it's also the humidity.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Basically stay in the ac.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Brutal summer so far and it's staying that way the next couple of days, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, we thought the heat was knocking out your mic. But as soon as you moved, we were good to go, so thanks, Chad. We'll keep checking in. Thanks, Chad Myers.
LEMON: A survivor of a triple killing in New Jersey could be the cops' best chance at catching the killer. The violent crime has shocked the city and has some people wanting to chase the mayor out of city hall. That story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: Plus, justice gives way to emotion in an Ohio courtroom. We're going to tell you the story behind the pictures.
LEMON: And later, you know those videos you play for your baby, the ones that are supposed to help them learn? Guess what, they might have a very different affect than they're supposed to.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: One-eighteen Eastern Time and here are three of the stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
At least three days, that's how long it could take rescuers to reach six trapped coal miners in the collapsed mine in central Utah. The men haven't been heard from since they were trapped or worse early yesterday morning.
One hundred and sixty-two thousand American troops are in Iraq today. That's the most since the start of the war. The Pentagon says the spike is due to the overlap as troops rotate in and out.
And it's not warm, it's not balmy, it's dangerously hot. Temps could reach the triple digits in much of the eastern half of the country. Humidity makes it feel even worse.
LEMON: Three college students cut down by mystery gunmen. A fourth shot in the face and left for dead. The city of Newark, New Jersey, is up in arms over the weekend shootings, and police have few clues to work with.
CNN's Allan Chernoff following the case for us and joins us live now with the very latest -- Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, police and the head prosecutor in Essex County, New Jersey, are asking for the public's help in tracking down whoever killed three college students execution style with shots to the back of the head.
The brutal murder happened Saturday night in Newark as the friends were simply hanging out in a schoolyard. A fourth victim survived, 19-year-old Natasha Aeriel. She was shot in the face and is in stable condition.
From her hospital bed, she has been able to provide some detail to the police, though she remains heavily medicated. There is now a $52,000 reward for information that could solve this crime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA DOW, ESSEX COUNTY PROSECUTOR: We are doing everything possible to follow all leads. We ask the community to come forward and give us help if they know of any about leads.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: Dow says there were people who heard calls, heard shots, perhaps even some people who saw people running from the scene of the crime. But will they come forward?
The issue of witness intimidation has been a huge problem in Newark, where authorities have been struggling to make the streets safer and struggling to find citizens who will cooperate and testify.
In this case, police say they don't believe the students had any connection with gangs that have been brutalizing the city, but they're not ruling that out as a possibility.
Their thinking is the students were being robbed and tried to resist. Some victims did have knife wounds, and there was broken jewelry found at the scene.
The father of one of the victims is pleading with fellow parents to help stop the killings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES HARVEY, VICTIM'S FATHER: It's on you guys. It's on the parents of the city of Newark or whoever you are in the world. It's on the parents. When you raise your kids up, you teach them right from wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHERNOFF: Indeed, Newark has been suffering from an epidemic of killings. Just a few hours after the three students were killed, yet another person was murdered in Newark, early Sunday morning, making it 60 people who have been killed in New Jersey's biggest city, Don, so far this year.
LEMON: Yes. Allan Chernoff, thank you very much for that. We're going to continue to follow this developing story. We'll talk to the police chief of Newark at the bottom of the hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: 2007, Crandall Canyon Utah. But in 2002, the scene was the Quecreek Mine in Pennsylvania. No victims, only survivors. We're going to talk to one of them, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
And guess what? He stills works there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: On Wall Street, there's little doubt the Fed will leave interest rates alone at today's meeting. But some are starting to wonder whether it should be wakeup time for the central bank.
Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us what the Fed has to consider.
Is it a wakeup time, Susan?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's an art, not a science what the Fed has to balance. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes, because you have to balance growth versus inflation, and there are concerns on both fronts, Don.
Things are different, frankly, in the, you know, two months since Ben Bernanke and company last met. It is almost certain, as you said, that the Fed will leave its benchmark interest rate at 5.25 percent for the ninth straight meeting, for a year now.
But the question is when a rate cut might come. Some on Wall Street think the time should be soon. All those concerns about the sub prime housing market, American Home Mortgage going out of business yesterday. Those hedge funds that have become virtually worthless, consumer credit tightening.
These caused the stock market to be extremely volatile lately. The big worry is that problems in the mortgage market might not be isolated to risky loans. A rate cut could help prevent or alleviate an economic slump -- Don.
LEMON: All those concerns, Susan, as well. But you know, inflation, that's a big worry for the Fed.
LISOVICZ: That's right. It's the predominant concern. It's public enemy No. 1. And earlier, we got more fuel for the fire on that front. We got a report on productivity, showing labor costs rose more than expected in the second quarter. Plus, last week I don't think any of us will forget crude oil hit an all-time high, near $78 a barrel. Well, the price is actually near $79 a barrel. Although prices have fallen back a bit since then.
Food prices have also been on the rise. The Fed is likely to be watching closely to make sure those increases don't spill over to other decisions, other products, rather.
The decision and the statement are less than an hour away, and we'll be talking about it at 2:15 Eastern.
(STOCK REPORT)
LISOVICZ: In NEWSROOM's next hour, I'll be joined by Ali Velshi to bring the details of the Fed's decision to you. That's 2:15 Eastern Time right here on CNN. We'll have a big gab fest about all things economy. Isn't that exciting?
LEMON: Good old Ali Velshi. Where do I remember him from?
LISOVICZ: From the morning, "AMERICAN MORNING".
LEMON: Oh, that's right. Ali Velshi. No, I'm just messing with you.
LISOVICZ: I know he's kind of a movie star, but you know, he does work here. Does good work here.
LEMON: No, no, I'm just joking around. All right, Susan, we look forward to seeing you guys.
LISOVICZ: OK.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, three friends killed execution style in Newark. Police are hoping a reward will crack the case. We're going to speak to the chief for the latest, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. Six trapped miners, five different ways to get to them.
PHILLIPS: We're following the rescue efforts in Utah. Right now you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Not in minutes, not in hours. Rescuers in Utah are counting the time it will take to reach six trapped miners in days. The head of the mining company says progress at Utah's Crandall Canyon Coal Mine has been too slow. Still, he says it will take at least three more days to find the miners, and that's only -- that's only if everything goes right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB MURRAY, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MURRAY ENGINEERING CORP.: So the Lord has determined already whether they are dead or alive from the percussion of the earthquake, but it's my job to get to them as quickly as possible and find out, and I will not leave this mine until there has been a rescue, dead or alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A cave in trapped the miners yesterday morning. They are believed to be more than three miles back from the entrance. About 1,500 feet underground.
The trapped miners' families are clinging to hope and one another as they wait for news. But that news is slow in coming. Here is CNN's Gary Tuchman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So far, rescuers haven't been able to contact the miners. They don't know if they are alive. But if they are, Crandall Canyon Mine executives say the miners have enough air and water to last several days. At the time of the accident, the men were practicing what's known as retreat mining. With this method, miners divide an area into a grid like pattern and then by working backward they remove coal pillars before it caves in. Retreat mining is common in the U.S. Experts say it is also dangerous.
Near the scene, families of the miners gather. Utah's governor is hopeful they will be found alive.
GOV. JON HUNTSMAN, UTAH: Our thoughts and prayer are with the six individuals and their families. Everything that can be done is being done, of course, that will continue and our thoughts and prayers obviously will be ongoing until this is wrapped up.
TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Price, Utah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Heating up from Wichita to Jacksonville and up the East Coast. Temperatures are nearing or topping 100 degrees and health experts urge everyone just take it easy and find a cool place to ride out the heat wave. CNN's Keith Oppenheim is in St. Louis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're at a construction site in St. Louis where 650 workers are braving the heat, finishing up a project called the Lumiere Place (ph) Casino and Resort. And if you look at my portable thermometer right here, it is is reading about 95 degrees. It is going to go up to a good 100 degrees with a heat index so it will feel like 110.
What's it like to work in conditions like that? Well, the general manager of Lumiere Place Casino and Resort, Todd George is with me. And Todd, give me a sense of what do these guys do to cool down?
TODD GEORGE, LUMIERE PLACE GENERAL MANAGER: It all starts with the education and training process. These guys know what to look for when it comes to heat exhaustion and it's really that buddy system, watching each other's back. Recognizing these symptoms.
OPPENHEIM: So they monitor themselves more than being on some sort of break schedule?
GEORGE: Correct. We have a flexible schedule. Where we have cooling stations set up inside the project as well as plenty of water stations inside and out.
OPPENHEIM: Yeah. And a lot of these guys, thanks Todd, are outside I should point out. Some are inside. A concern in the city is specifically for the elderly and the needy. That's why this afternoon the mayor of St. Louis as well as utility officials are going to be talking about a big donation, 1,400 water bottles, as well as 50 air conditioners, as well as fans to the needy and elderly. Folks who sometimes don't have access to air conditioning in these awful conditions. Keith Oppenheim, CNN, St. Louis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: If you think it's hot here, you don't want to be in Iraq. Temperature soar well above 100 every day, all summer long. CNN's Dan Rivers has been pretty much suffering through it and you have been working on a number of stories, Dan. And I'm just wondering if a majority of them are inside or outside.
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thankfully, most of them so far have been inside. But it has been ludicrously hot here over the last few days. Today, the high was about 113, and that's considered quite a cool day in Baghdad. Regularly, temperatures get up much higher than that. We have colleagues embedded with the military today. They say in the sun it was 130 degrees.
And you've got to bear in mind that when are you with the soldiers out there, they are carrying about 80 pounds of weight around with them. One of the units that my colleagues were with, there were 16 guys in that patrol. Four of those guys collapsed from heat exhaustion. They had to have IV drips put in their arm to get them dehydrated again. So it's intensely hot when you walk out.
And the other thing to bear in mind is that the Iraqi people here, most of them don't have regular electricity supplies. Most of them don't have generators. They are surviving in these heats without any air conditioning at all. A lot of them forced to sleep on the roof at night because it's so hot. At the moment, in the middle of the night here, and it's still about 85 degrees and that's at night. So it's pretty uncomfortable conditions.
PHILLIPS: And Dan, it's a pretty precious commodity to get a generator there, right? I remember there were times they would be hundreds lined up on the streets, hundreds of them, and they would be gone because everybody was standing by to buy one to get some sort of air. And I can't even imagine those that can't afford a generator, what are they doing? And specifically those in the camps?
RIVERS: It's just miserable conditions for them, it really is. My colleague, Arwa Damon was reporting earlier this week about the queues just to get a block of ice. That's how basic things have got here. Never mind generators or trying to get some electricity. People are just buying blocks of ice and taking them back home just to cool down some water so they've got some cold water.
We've seen shots of people just smearing the ice over their faces. They walk home with it trying to cool off.
And your heart really goes out to the kids as well. They are really suffering trying to sleep on these rooftops. And it's incredibly dangerous as well to sleep on rooftops because of the explosions and bullets and things flying around. But the conditions really are really miserable and it's only set to get worse here, August is the hottest month and we're just into that, the temperatures are just going up every day.
PHILLIPS: Dan Rivers, we'll keep following your work. Thanks so much. And tell us how you are beating the heat this week with a CNN I-Report. You can send one straight from your cell phone. Just shoot a picture, video and then e-mail it directly to ireport@cnn.com. You can even add your own commentary. And for more information, just go to cnn.com/ireport.
LEMON: We talked about the heat there. There are more U.S. troops in Iraq right now than ever before. The Pentagon says about 162,000 are in the war zone. That is more than the previous peak of 161,000 during the 2005 Iraqi elections.
Now the Pentagon says troops are rotating in and out of country, causing some overlap. As troops transition out, the number is expected to drop to the upper 150,000 range. Troop levels have risen since February when extra forces went in to secure Baghdad.
The U.S. Navy and sonar, inseparable, right? Well, not in Southern California. A federal judge issued a temporary injunction barring the use of high-powered sonar for upcoming Navy training exercises. And an environmental group had sued claiming sonar hurts whales and other creatures, mainly by confusing them and making them beach themselves. The Navy plans to appeal saying sonar is needed to do its job and hasn't seen any evidence of sea creatures being harmed.
PHILLIPS: The baby want to learn some new words? Well, tell mom and dad to turn off those educational videos. The word right here is irony. That story is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, you want your baby to have the biggest vocabulary on the block? Turn off the TV and start talking. That's the gist of a new study. Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to tell us all about it.
So no more baby videos?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, maybe. But people buy them thinking, wow, it says Baby Einstein on the cover. Maybe if I put my baby in front of this, my kid will be so smart, just like Albert Einstein.
Well, this new study by the University of Washington says hold on a second, this is a Baby Einstein video, that videos like Baby Einstein, there is also Brainy Baby and other brands, they actually don't -- they don't increase your child's intelligence if you measure intelligence by language development. In fact, what they found was that kids' language development scores went down when they watched DVDs.
Let's compare it a little bit. They found that when you read to your kid every day, the language scores go up seven points. When you do DVD viewing like Baby Einstein for one hour a day, scores go down 17 points. That's a big dip. Well, the makers of Baby Einstein say their intention is actually not to educate, it is just to entertain and engage.
PHILLIPS: So it is the video that actually lowered the scores? Because that makes sense. I would think that one on one communication is way more beneficial than a video.
COHEN: Exactly. It's a combination. It's what you are doing and what you are not doing.
PHILLIPS: OK.
COHEN: Researchers say there is a possibility that these videos, they are not real language heavy. You just saw it. It was a giraffe or zebra or whatever it was painting something. There is not a lot of language in these videos and they are talking about babies ages eight to 16. That's such a crucial time for language development.
But the authors also posed the question if your child is parked in front of this video even just an hour a day, what are they not doing? They are not talking to mom and dad or they're not talking to their caregivers. And that's how babies learn. It's cheap, it's easy, talk to them. No one markets that. But just talk to them.
PHILLIPS: Right. Spend time with your child, not use the TV as a babysitter. A lot of people do that, a lot of people don't. What about older children, do videos have a different effect on them?
COHEN: It was interesting. When they looked at children older than 16 months, they found that it didn't hurt the babies, it didn't help them either, it was kind of a wash. So older babies, sort of toddler age or preschoolers, it didn't really seem to matter very much.
PHILLIPS: Videos weren't around when we were growing up. We were outside playing. COHEN: We are relatively intelligent.
PHILLIPS: We did OK. All right. Elizabeth, thank you.
COHEN: OK. Thanks.
LEMON: Kind of. That's because the kids, they just zone out in front of the videos.
COHEN: When you watch them, they're just vacant.
LEMON: Absolutely. That's what happens. All right.
Well, a hold up at a convenience store. Let's talk about that. Watch what one little girl does. She jumps over the counter and goes after the bad guy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said, hey, come back here. I was thinking I'm going to catch him, I'm going to get that little feller.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Standing up to a robber. Sticking up for her mom and the cashier, we have that for you straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
Also, his son murdered, a distraught father loses it in court. You'll see more of the courtroom meltdown straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Ten before the hour. We're awaiting a press conference from the Hennepin County sheriff, Rich Stanek in Minneapolis to update us on the situation happening there, when it comes to the bridge collapse. If you look at the left of your screen, folks have been coming there all day, throughout the event as it happened just sort of to take pictures and get as close as possible. There is a parallel bridge that runs across this, the one that did not collapse, and you can see many more spectators every day standing on that bridge looking at the recovery efforts from the divers and investigators as well. Awaiting a press conference at the top of the hour. Should start in about ten minutes. We'll bring it to you right here on CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: Guarded by a prison special ops team, two men charged in a horrific home invasion were arraigned this morning in Connecticut. A mom and her two daughters were killed in the attack last month. Her husband was badly beaten and left to die in their burning home but managed to escape. Joshua Komozievsky (ph) and Stephen Hayes (ph) did not enter pleas today, the parolees are being held on $15 million bond and charged with felony murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, arson and several other crimes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get off me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The father of a murdered Ohio man read a victim impact statement in court and then tried to make a real impact on the killer. Mike Sweat lunged at defendant Antonio Clifford (ph) yesterday. He took a swing and tried to choke Clifford before police pulled him off. Clifford had just pleaded guilty to killing Sweat's son, Joshua, in a drug deal turned robbery.
PHILLIPS: Drunk airline passengers? Nothing new there. But a drunk flight attendant? Twenty-six-year-old Sarah Mills pleaded not guilty yesterday in charges of public intoxication and making terroristic threats. She allegedly downed some whiskey onboard on Atlanta's (ph) Southeast Airlines plane and told the captain you're dead as she was hustled off.
Sunday flight in Lexington, Kentucky to Atlanta had to be cancelled because there weren't enough crew members.
LEMON: A little girl, a big chase. Taking on the robber who took aim at her mom. The story, you have to see it from Justin Quesinberry with North Carolina affiliate station WFMY.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUSTIN QUESINBERRY, WFMY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Regular customers drop in from time to time at this convenience store near Highway 29. But a familiar face turned an ordinary night to one Alisha won't forget any time soon.
ALISHA, CHASED ROBBERY SUSPECT: I was standing mommy and this guy came in here, and he started pushing buttons on mommy's cash register.
QUESINBERRY: Her mom is a cashier. She says she's seen the man before. But this time his shirt was covering his face. She said she thought he was joking around, but realized he was serious when he came around the corner.
ALISHA: I was pushing on it, telling him to back away like back away, man, like that I didn't want him to hurt mommy.
QUESINBERRY: After he got the money, he came back around to the front of the counter.
ALISHA: He got three packs of Newports, and he ran out the door, and I run behind him and mommy was calling the popo.
QUESINBERRY: Alisha is just seven years old.
ALISHA: I said hey, come back here.
QUESINBERRY: But she must have felt seven feet tall.
ALISHA: I was thinking I'm going to catch him, I'm going to get that little feller.
QUESINBERRY: She chased the robber out of the store.
ALISHA: I was trying to catch him to make him slow down. He pointed the gun at me, and I fell down on the ground because I thought it would go above my head.
QUESINBERRY: At that moment.
ALISHA: He was doing like this ...
QUESINBERRY: She was finally scared.
ALISHA: I started crying and i had my polka dot blanky with me. That's my security blanket.
QUESINBERRY: He got away. Now here sadness turns to anger.
ALISHA: He should be locked you the by the gills and towed to the police.
QUESINBERRY: She hopes far away from here, her mom and this store.
ALISHA: I don't want him to come back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Alisha!
PHILLIPS: My mama called the popo and I had the polka dot security blanket. That is just classic.
LEMON: That is classic. But police say she was brave, right, but you shouldn't chase a man with a gun. The popo say that you shouldn't chase a man with a gun.
PHILLIPS: Not a good idea. Thank goodness he didn't use the weapon, but boy, does she has some chutzpah. That's great. Mom raised her right. Great story.
Well, we are awaiting a live news conference as I was saying just a few minutes ago, out of Minneapolis on the bridge collapse. We are told that a Navy dive team has been called to help recover a number of those missing bodies. It's been really tough for those rescuers to see through that water. The clarity is just nearly impossible. Fifteen divers we're told and a command team brought in to help look for those eight remaining bodies. We're going to bring that news conference to you live as soon as it happens.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Right there on that podium on the Mississippi River, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the Hennepin County sheriff will hold a press conference in just a few minutes to talk about the recovery efforts, a Navy dive team. We'll get the very latest from there as soon as the press conference starts.
PHILLIPS: Well, the Minnesota bridge collapse took their mother's life. What the future holds now for two young boys coping with the disaster straight ahead in the NEWSROOM. First, the search for a cause in Minneapolis. Investigators are poring over the wreckage of the I-35 W bridge. While we wait for the news conference to begin, CNN's Ed Lavendera has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's like an autopsy. Investigators examining every portion of the I-35 W bridge looking for what triggered its collapse. But a conclusive answer could take a year and a half.
MARK ROSENKER, NTSB CHAIRMAN: During our time on scene we have taken a look at a lot of debris and, unfortunately, we have not come up with an answer. We're not going to come up with an answer overnight.
LAVANDERA: Crews are about to start hauling away large chunks of debris. The NTSB says it will reassemble portions of the bridge in a field down river. A technique often used in plane crash investigations.
DICK STEHLY, CIVIL ENGINEER: The troubling part here is you don't know why it collapsed and the systems that are supposed to protect us didn't work.
LAVANDERA: Civil engineer Dick Stehly has spent recent days poring over the bridge's inspection records. There are reports some construction workers felt the bridge wobble, and federal investigators say the south edge of the bridge shifted 80 feet to the east when it fell. Stehly says unbalanced weight on a bridge that was already showing signs of cracking and wearing down could help explain the collapse.
STEHLY: Investigators are probably worried about how the loads would be distributed in this truss that spans the river. You know, this bridge wasn't fully loaded. It's eight lanes, four of them were closed because they were doing construction, so they were only using four for traffic. The other four were being repaired.
LAVANDERA: Teams of Navy and FBI divers joined the search for missing victims. They brought a small unmanned submarine to navigate the wreckage.
STEHLY: We believe that a good possibility that there are additional vehicles under the tons and tons and tons of debris and rebar that is now spanning across the river.
LAVANDERA: Divers can't reach these spots until heavy machinery moves the massive pieces of interstate. Until then, families of the missing can only sit and wait. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Minneapolis.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: The family of one of the victims of the bridge collapse, Julia Blackhawk, is now speaking publicly. Blackhawk's two young sons have been staying with their paternal grandmother in Massachusetts while she went back to school in Minnesota. After the collapse, the grandmother Valerie Redanz was stuck with a difficult task, telling the 12 year old and the eight-year-old boys their mother is not coming home, but the family is now struggling to cope.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAARO BLACKHAWK, VICTIM'S SON: She meant a lot to me. I just wish she wasn't at that bridge at that certain amount of time. But it's hard.
VALERIE REDANZ, GRANDMOTHER OF VICTIM'S SONS: My grandson says to me, there are people that don't have - that have mothers that are not as good to them as my mother has been to me and why did God take my mother when she loved me and she was good to me and she took care of me. I don't know the answers to those questions and I am looking for God to tell me, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Redanz is now the boys' legal guardian and has plans to adopt them.
The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
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