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Rescue Efforts Wiped Out by Dangerous Conditions; Barry Bonds Breaks Hank Aaron's Record

Aired August 08, 2007 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning again, everyone. You are with CNN, you are informed. I'm Tony Harris.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Heidi Collins who is on assignment.

Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM, this Wednesday, the 8th of August. Here is what's on the rundown.

Dangerous conditions put the search for Utah miners on hold. We are going there live in a few minutes because a city councilwoman from the mining town, herself the mother of a miner, will be joining us.

HARRIS: New York metro slammed by sudden storms, fierce winds, flash flooding. The morning commute chaotic.

WHITFIELD: Bonds, Barry Bonds, king of the home run. This hour a baseball writer and your e-mails in THE NEWSROOM.

The Utah mine rescue on hold. President Bush weighs in and an official update due next hour. CNN's Dan Simon following the developments right now near Huntington.

Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, a significant setback for rescuers.

Last night Robert Murray, the owner of the mining company took to the microphone and said it's going to take at least seven days to rescue these miners if they are still alive. We'll talk a little bit about why that is in just a second. But first, obviously, this is devastating news for the families.

We spoke to a woman from the Red Cross who has been in contact with them. Take a look.

TRACEY KIEST, AMERICAN RED CROSS: You can see the stress on their faces. It's a very stressful time. Each minute feels like an hour. But they are being informed and they're taking it in stride, doing the best they can to get by.

SIMON: OK. So why seven days? Mr. Murray says that there have been some aftershocks in the mine. Remember, this is a guy who said that the collapse was caused by an earthquake, but as you probably have been hearing, much of the scientific community out there is saying that the seismic activity they saw was a result of the cave in itself. Still some disagreement on that. Hope to hear a little bit more about that in a news conference coming up 10:00 a.m. local time.

But in terms of what is happening today, basically there are two operations taking place. There is the drill that's going down vertically. It needs to go 1,500 feet into the coal mine. Ultimately, what they want is a two-inch hole. And that hole, if they can see in, will enable rescuers or at least allow them to see if, in fact, the miners are still alive.

And here on the ground, rescuers are building what amounts essentially to a tunnel. And that is basically why it's going to take seven days. They really have to go in there. They are going to bring in wooden and steel beams and try to support that area. So if the miners are alive, they have a passageway to get them out.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dan Simon, thanks so much. We can only hope for the best.

Tony.

HARRIS: Well, Julie Jones is the mother of a mine worker and a member of the Huntington Utah City Council. She was initially told her son was in the mine. He is safe and helping rescuers. She is with us now from Huntington.

Julie, I can't imagine. It's one thing to think on your own and wonder once you get this news, where is my son, is he in the mine? And it's another thing to be told that he is there. Talk us through the range of emotions you went through when you first received the news.

JULIE JONES, HUNTINGTON, UTAH CITY COUNCIL: Well, when I first received the news, it was from my son's wife. And she called and had said that Elam was in the mine and that there had been a cave in.

HARRIS: And what do you think? What are your reactions?

JONES: With her as his wife, they've only been married about a year and a half. I just said, OK, come on over. We'll get things started. We'll make some phone calls. And we'll deal with this. I mean I couldn't break down until hours later. I had to be strong for my daughter-in-law.

HARRIS: Julie, what is your son's name again?

JONES: It's Elam.

HARRIS: Elam. OK. You mentioned it before. I just didn't hear it before. I just wanted to be clear on it.

So OK. Now you get through that process where you are starting -- you are going to be strong. And you are going to be strong for the rest of your family. And then when do you get the news that he's OK?

JONES: About three hours later. HARRIS: Why did it take so long?

JONES: You know because they needed to deal and I totally understand this. They needed to deal with the situation at hand. And they needed to take care of those immediate cares of the people, the miners that are out there.

HARRIS: What does this say about your son that is now part of the rescue effort? What does this say about him?

JONES: You know, it's just not about him; it's about all the coal miners involved up there. They want to get their cameras out. They want to get them out. They want to do whatever they can to make them come home.

HARRIS: How is your community?

JONES: The community is really pulling together. You had mentioned I'm with the Huntington City Council. I probably got eight phone calls this morning from just citizens in the area saying, what can I do? What can I do?

HARRIS: And what are you telling them? How can they help at this point?

JONES: The city council is coordinating all the meals for the families, breakfast, lunch and dinner. And so we take down their name. We've got today's taken care of. We'll be here tomorrow for them. We take down their name and their phone number and we give them a call if we need to.

HARRIS: This is probably unfair, but how do you think this is all going to work out? I know you hope for the best, but are you prepared for the worst?

JONES: You know what? We don't even think about that right now. We have to expect the best. We have to keep our faith strong. We have to keep each other strong. We want the best for these families and for the community. We expect those miners to come home safe.

HARRIS: All right. Julie, thanks for your time this morning. We appreciate it.

JONES: Thank you.

HARRIS: OK. Julie Jones with us this morning from Emery County.

And authorities in Utah are planning a news conference next hour to update all of us on the trapped miners. See it here live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

In the meantime, don't forget, you can see much more on the trapped miners at CNN.com. Tearful video, some amazing pictures, I- reports and a lot more. See it all at one address, CNN.com.

WHITFIELD: The three murders execution-style out of Newark, New Jersey, well there are new developments. Allan Chernoff is on the phone with us with more with more.

Allan, what's the latest?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. The press secretary for Mayor Booker of Newark has confirmed that the police here identified one suspect in that triple homicide, the horrific killings that occurred Saturday night.

Another source close to the investigation tells us the police now are working to apprehend that individual. Police have been getting some excellent help from the sole survivor of the attack, Natasha Aerial who is in a hospital. Her condition has been improving. She has been cooperating with the police.

Her brother and two friends were killed Saturday night execution style in the yard behind an elementary school on the west side of Newark.

Also, a press conference is being scheduled now for 12:30 this afternoon Eastern Time where details will be announced in yet another murder that occurred over this weekend just hours after the triple homicide. The mayor and the police director will be speaking at that 12:30 press conference.

WHITFIELD: So Allan, is there a feeling that this triple homicide is in any way connected to this other murder that you speak of?

CHERNOFF: As far as we know, it is not connected at all. The thinking of that other murder, the fourth one that occurred early Sunday morning, was that it was a retribution killing and had absolutely no relationship whatsoever.

But of course, there will be the press conference; there will be the opportunity to ask further questions about the triple homicide.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right. So more to be learned during this 12:30 Eastern Time press conference involving the Newark Mayor Cory Booker, as well as the police director there.

And Allan, thanks for keeping us updated. Of course, we'll continue to check in with you as new information becomes available.

Now let's talk about bad weather and flight delays, flooded rail and subway lines. Right now parts of New York and New Jersey dealing with the aftermath of torrential rain and strong storms from this morning. Some areas were under tornado and flood warnings, as well. Severe weather many New Yorkers off guard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was sleeping; my car alarm was going off. And it notified me through my key chain. When I came out to see what was going on, I saw a mass of just leaves turning. It was just dark, like a dark mass. And I was afraid. And I saw the tree come down. I ran back inside. You can hear the wind, it sounded like a freight train coming through at full speed. I was just like; I would never think that this would happen here in New York, in Brooklyn at that. Kansas maybe, but not here.

HARRIS: Not in Kansas. And this killer heat wave gripping more than a dozen states, temperatures from the plains to the east coast are headed toward the century mark again today. Right now at least three deaths are blamed on the heat. Two of them in Arkansas and one in Oklahoma. If you live in the danger zone, and it is a pretty wide, extensive danger zone, officials say the best thing you can do is stay indoors. You may be there for a while though. In parts of the south and Midwest, it may be days before there is any relief, Fred.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. We are in it for the long haul. Well traditionally Jacqui, August is usually the hottest month for most of the country. So but it seems like it's being poured on really thick this go round.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Remembering victims now of the Minnesota bridge collapse. As the sun rose this morning, flags were flying at half- staff at the capitol. The governor asking people across the state to do the same. Last night in Minneapolis, crowds observed a moment of silence at 6:05. That's the exact hour that the 35 west bridge fell into the river a week ago actually on this day. Church bells also rang.

Newly released, another dramatic video moments after the collapse. Look at that. It shows some drivers actually trying to get off the bridge making u-turns once they realized a good part of the bridge simply disappeared in that rising cloud of dust.

Eight people are still missing. Navy divers are using sophisticated sonar to scan the wreckage in the Mississippi River. City, state and federal officials are now talking about a new wider bridge already, one they hope will open by the end of next year. Hard to believe.

HARRIS: That is fast work.

Still ahead in THE CNN NEWSROOM this morning, Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron well full extension on that. He got every bit of that. We will talk with a baseball writer from "USA Today." The record. The reaction.

WHITFIELD: Lots of both.

Also, heat and humidity, lots of both on that end, too. Unfortunately, this is a deadly combination. We'll find out from Dr. Sanjay Gupta what you can do to keep from getting sick if you have to venture outside in this heat wave.

HARRIS: Grading the so-called surge. The military says progress is being made, but, oh, yes, there is a but ...

WHITFIELD: And getting ready for a pretty big trip. Shuttle Endeavor lifts off tonight. And we are talking to our space guy Miles O'Brien in THE NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Every year in the United States, intense summer heat kills dozens of people. As the mercury climbs, as it will and is right now, so does the risk of heat-related illnesses.

Earlier in THE NEWSROOM, CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, talked about heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses.

What is heat stroke and how serious a consideration is that when you are out there in these conditions?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here's three things to sort of keep in mind. There's heat cramps. There's heat exhaustion. There's heat stroke. Heat stroke is far and away the worst. There are some symptoms of heat stroke in particular that you can look at. One of the ones you should really pay attention is to the one where it says that says your skin gets red, it gets hot and it stays dry. The reason that it stays dry part means you stopped sweating. It goes back to what we were saying earlier. Your body's cooling mechanism has just shut down. All of a sudden your body's temperature can rise exponentially. You can go to 106 degrees internally even within about 20 to 30 minutes. So heatstroke is obviously the most serious.

Some of the symptoms can be quite vague. You can have headache. You can feel a little bit tired and you can think it's just been a long day when it's directly attributable to the heat and you need to do something about it.

WHITFIELD: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta, I'm going to guess the most vulnerable are the very young and the very old. What do they, in particular, do to try to beat the heat?

GUPTA: The young and the old, and I also people who may not ever had heart problems but are at risk of heart disease and lung disease. They also need to be a little bit careful. There are some obvious answers. Obviously, try to get out of the heat. Try to get inside to air conditioning and try and get as much fluid as possible as well. Electric fans are not the best bet. They just circulate the hot air more on you. A fan alone will probably not do the trick. Get inside public libraries, malls, anything, if you don't have air conditioning in your house. That might be a good option for people as well.

HARRIS: Sanjay, let me ask you this though. I love the heat. Fred does, as well. But there are times when I have not been aware of the symptoms until it felt to me it was, whoa, almost too late. Sometimes this actually sneaks up on you, doesn't it?

GUPTA: Yes. You are absolutely right. And they can happen quickly. Especially if you're in a car or something like that. The temperature can go up and you can develop the symptoms very quickly, as well.

You know, you've got to keep hydrated, even if you think you are not thirsty during the day. Don't overdo it, but make sure you drink a couple of glasses of water every couple of hours, for sure.

But also as you may know, I don't really necessarily advocate sports drinks in a lot of situations, but you do end up losing a lot of your salt and your ions, as well. Get food that has salt in it or even a sports drink may also be a good option so you never start developing symptoms or they don't creep up on you suddenly.

HARRIS: Got you. So far the current heat wave is blamed for at least three deaths in the United States.

WHITFIELD: The Utah mine collapse, no search going on right now. Find out why this urgent mission to find six men is right now on hold.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Keeping cool. A new high tech pill can actually help athletes chill out during a heat wave. Here is CNN's Keith Oppenheimer.

KEITH OPPENHEIMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The University of Texas Longhorns are one of the nation's top football programs. Senior Drew Kelson is one of their top players, a defensive back with lightning fast feet.

DREW KELSON, UT FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE BACK: You have to come out every day and work to get better and better.

Drew is also one of the few Longhorns who have been diagnosed as having a tendency to overheat.

KELSON: I'm just a heavy sweater. And I lose a lot of fluid when I'm running.

KENNY BOYD, UT HEAD ATHLETIC TRAINER: All right. There you go. Down the hatch.

OPPENHEIMER: So before every workout, team athletic trainer Kenny Boyd gives Drew what's called the core temp ingestible pill, a capsule filled with batteries and more.

BOYD: Inside that you have a quartz crystal which is probably for the pill, that's the main thing that makes it tick.

OPPENHEIMER: Four hours after the pill passes through the stomach, it transmits data to an electronic recorder and gives Boyd a precise readout of Drew's internal body temperature. For Drew, it's a very big deal. Just 21 years old, he's known three football players who died. In each case, overheating was a factor, one a friend from high school.

KELSON: He died on the field. I mean, they tried to bring him back, ambulance on the way to the emergency room, but unfortunately, they weren't able to.

OPPENHEIMER: The University of Texas is one of a handful of college and pro teams now using the pill. Prescreening players who tend to heat fast and pulling them aside to cool down when they get too hot. The awareness stems from tragedy.

In 2001, Korey Stringer, a 335 pound offensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings, died from heat stroke during a summer practice.

Even more recent deaths that have occurred throughout the collegiate and professional community have really heightened our awareness.

OPPENHEIMER: What they learned is athletes' responses to rising internal body temperature can vary. I wanted to see for myself. That's pretty big. I took the pill. And about four hours later had my body temperature checked.

BOYD: Right now you are reading at 99.08.

OPPENHEIMER: Then went out on a track for a four-mile run.

BOYD: Keith, you got a good pace going.

OPPENHEIMER: Yes, I'm pushing it a little harder, coach.

BOYD: Let's see where you are at. Adjustable pill says 100.77. That's a little more than a temp increase from the last lap.

OPPENHEIMER: I actually do feel pretty hot.

It turns out I have a fairly good sense of my internal temperature, but that's not the case for Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Tony Hills. At 6'5" and 305 pounds, Tony heats up faster than most. In part because of a genetic predisposition which affects his internal temperature.

BOYD: You're getting close, Tony. We are going to keep watching you, OK?

OPPENHEIMER: In this workout, Tony's body temperature goes over 103 degrees. Kenny Boyd pulls him aside to cool down and drink water.

TONY HILLS, UT OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: When you are so focused on one thing, you pretty much tune everything out.

OPPENHEIMER: The problem comes when players don't know they are getting dangerously hot.

Some people will exercise, their temperatures will go up and then they'll suddenly collapse at a certain temperature and not exhibit symptoms before the collapse.

OPPENHEIMER: On this team, no one claims a temperature pill is the miracle that will prevent heat stroke, but no one doubts this high-tech way to watch high body temperatures could save a player's life.

WHITFIELD: Welcome back to THE NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Heidi Collins on assignment. HARRIS: Here we go, Fred. Are you ready?

WHITFIELD: Here we go. We talk about a lot of stuff, on air, off-air; most of it is sports related.

HARRIS: Absolutely. Barry Bond related. The new home run king. We've been reading your email reactions all morning. Keep them coming. A controversial player, a monumental record or is it? Joining me now is Tim Wendel, senior writer for "USA Today's Sports Weekly."

TIM WENDEL, USA TODAY SPORTS WEEKLY: Good to see you, sir. Thanks for your time. We've been debating this thing pretty seriously all over the place.

It's a great debate right now, isn't it?

HARRIS: It is a great debate. So let's get to it. What do you think? Is this a tainted record?

WENDEL: Depends what part of the country you ask people in. Certainly the folks in San Francisco, the big party scene we saw last night that pummeled Matt Murphy, the poor soul who caught the ball. They don't believe it's tainted. I think this is a question we are only going to know ten, 20 years from now. But I know there is a good chunk of baseball fans that's rooting on somebody like an Alex Rodriguez or Albert Pujols to break this record.

HARRIS: You know what, Tim? I'm not going to let you do this. I'm not going to let you sit there with your journalist hat on. I want you to come clean. You've got a voice. You have an opinion. Is this, Tim Wendel, a tainted record?

WENDEL: Boy, you guys have been debating this during the break.

HARRIS: You are darn right.

(CROSS TALK)

WENDEL: Am I celebrating today as much as I was maybe when I stayed up to watch Hank Aaron break the record and felt all aglow the next day? No, Tony. I don't feel that way. I'm sorry.

HARRIS: Why? Really, tell me why?

WENDEL: Because I think in a way, unfortunately Barry Bonds has kind of become the scapegoat for what's become the steroids era. I think in a lot of ways baseball, I think the reaction of the commissioner kind of said it all when Bonds tied the record. They got themselves into this. They got themselves into a situation where there wasn't enough testing. I think they had too many fans call in to question the integrity of their game. I think the only thing that's going to maybe save baseball or be good for baseball is to let time go by. Barry Bonds is a great, great athlete. Unfortunately, not of his own fruition, became kind of the scapegoat of this entire era. HARRIS: Is that fair?

WENDEL: That is fair? Probably not, but in a way, you know, in a sense he broke one of the most hallowed records in sports. Until Tony where I get a little antsy about this is before Barry Bonds and the home run chase in '98 with Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, I could put together guys like, say, Roger Maris, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth in a sentence and we could talk, we could debate about the great players of all time. I think what's unfortunately happened with steroids and performance-enhancing drugs is it's kind of cast a shadow about this. And this is what made baseball different. We could compare eras. We can no longer do that now.

HARRIS: This is so good. You've taken some of the sting out of the way I wanted to go at you.

(CROSS TALK)

HARRIS: That was really good. I will say this to you.

(CROSSTALK)

WENDEL: Come on, work with me, baby.

HARRIS: That was really good. But I will say this to you, the moment -- does the discussion somewhat become muted, the controversy become a bit muted with the fact that Hank Aaron last night in that clip that was played at the stadium after the accomplishment, was as gracious as we expected him to be?

WENDEL: I think it was a amazingly gracious and was amazingly surprising. I can see baseball and I think you and I both know Hank Aaron. He's an amazing individual, and I think in the 11th hour tried to go the extra mile here, and tried to bring some symmetry and some closure to what has been a very kind of an up-and-down period. I think a lot of people in this country really wanted to applaud this accomplishment, and potentially what Hank Aaron did was try to give them that opportunity.

HARRIS: Boy, Tim, you're good. You are smooth like butter, like butter! All right, Tim, thanks for your time. Appreciate it. Good to see you.

WENDEL: Thanks, Tony. My pleasure.

HARRIS: All right, and the responses, as we've been mentioning, to our e-mail question are coming in fast and furious. Everyone's got a view on this. And we want to read a couple of them to you.

A reverend, wow.

Reverend Bob Brooks, wow, from New Martinsville, West Virginia: "I have followed Mr. Bonds' career since he thrilled us as a Pirate. What a thrill and honor to participate in this historic moment. Steroids? One doesn't 'enhance' such a gift. He is to be honored by all, including Hank." WHITFIELD: And Douglas Stewart writes, "The man has NEVER failed a drug test. He admitted to unknowingly using some steroid cream. Why is it in this country that you are convicted as guilty on an accusation?"

HARRIS: And Kevin is writing us from the site of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, New York -- "I reside in Cooperstown, New York and believe Barry should definitely be here when his career ends and should be given a heroes welcome."

WHITFIELD: And I think this is from thrasher250 -- did I get that right? -- thrasher, thrasher250 -- "Come on, Barry, you can lie to yourself but every fan will think that you deserve the accolades. It's a shame that breaking the record will forever by overshadowed by the doubt that you don't deserve it."

Well, you know what, it's sad no matter which way you look at it, this whole argument. I mean, it's said that it just can't be -- wow -- here we are, a new milestone, but instead it will be forever kind of debated, won't it?

HARRIS: Yes. So we're asking the question.

WHITFIELD: Never ending. Yes, it's sad either way.

HARRIS: Yes, what do you think? I think we still may have some time to get a couple more e-mails in, your view of the new homerun king. CNNnewsroom@cnn.com is the address. Send them on in.

WHITFIELD: The Barry Bonds debate rages on there at our Web site as well.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. I'm Miles O'Brien At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A little more than a week after that bombshell report that NASA astronauts actually were headed to the launch pad drunk, a shuttle crew gets ready to launch this afternoon. It's an exclusive interview with the shuttle commander. He's pretty mad about it. We'll explain, coming up on the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's talk about the Utah mine rescue. President Bush is offering prayers and federal money, but rescue efforts are now on hold. Mine operators say dangerous conditions brought the search to a standstill. That means crews are at least a week away from reaching the trapped miners.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB MURRAY, PRES. & CEO, MURRAY ENERGY: All the work that we have done since yesterday morning and you being here with me was wiped out by this seismic and tectonic activity underground. We are back to square one underground.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: OK, let's set the stage a little bit for you. Bob Murray, you saw him just there a moment ago. And he has scheduled another news conference scheduled for noon Eastern Time, and that is the location there in Utah, and we will of course bring you that news conference to you live as soon as it begins, right here in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: All right, meantime, Florida Endeavour on the launchpad. Lift-off, 6:36 Eastern Tonight. Onboard, a former teacher who trained as backup for Challenger crew member Christa McAuliffe. Live to our space correspondent Miles O'Brien. Always good to see you, especially at that perch there.

And who does not like a nighttime launch? I mean, it'll kind of be nighttime, right, 6:00 hour still?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Well, twilight. We'll call it twilight.

WHITFIELD: I'm not going to quibble with you.

O'BRIEN: It's going to be a beautiful sight here, assuming the weather holds, and the weather looks good right now, 80 percent chance the weather will not stand in the way of the Space Shuttle Endeavour returning to flight after a five-year hiatus. It last flew before the Columbia accident, has had a major retrofit, and we're told is in good shape to fly.

Take a look at these pictures from the launch pad here. We call these folks the ice team. The ice team is out there, because at this point the Space Shuttle Endeavour is completely fueled up, a half- million gallons of liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen. Liquid hydrogen is the coldest substance on Earth. As a result, they want to make sure no ice form once the outside. Ice makes debris. Debris makes potential hits into the hit shield.

And post-Columbia, we all know the consequences of that.

Now this is all happening, Fred, a little more an week after that bombshell report came out. NASA ordered it up to get into the whole issue of NASA's treatment of the mental health of astronauts.

Now it was a far-reaching report, and got into many issues about what flight surgeons do and do not do for the astronauts. But there was a single paragraph that stood out, and that was the issue of alcohol and flying. There were rumors, essentially, not verified, no names, dates, none of the stuff we do before we report anything. But in this report they named three instances where astronauts supposedly violated the so-called bottle-to-throttle rule, supposed to separate 12 hours between your last drink and your flight.

And I was talking just the other day with shuttle Commander Scott Kelly who called me to the crew quarters here. He is angry about this whole thing, because it's not substantiated. And he said wait a minute, think about it for a second. We launch at the end of our crew day. Do the math. Listen to what he has to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT KELLY, ENDEAVOUR COMMANDER: You wake up 11 hours prior to launch. You see the doctor. You have to check with a flight surgeon. You've got these suit techs that are in your face getting you suited up. You have these cameras all over that would, you would think they would see something, somebody would notice something. There are people all over the place. Not to mention the fact that we;re actually are professionals and we wouldn't do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So in essence, Scott Kelly is saying, Fred, you have to be swilling beer at breakfast to break the rules. Highly unlikely that would ever happen. Now, let's talk briefly about Barbara Morgan, the way began this whole conversation. Twenty-two years ago she was the understudy to Christa McAuliffe, an elementary school teacher from Idaho. She trained beside her side by side, was here that terrible day in January of '86 when we lost Challenger. Never really lost the spark. Stayed within the NASA fold, and eventually was invited back in 1998 to become a full-fledged mission specialist who happens to be a teacher.

So this is a real -- kind of puts a bookend on a sad piece of NASA history, the Challenger loss. We'll be thinking about that crew today, and I think we'll all be cheering on Barbara Morgan as she does her flight. She's got a lot of other duties, but she will be teaching kids from space.

WHITFIELD: Wow, that's so fantastic. And what an inspiration. Of course we're all wishing Barbara Morgan and everyone else, the rest of the flight crew, the best of a launch.

All right, miles, thanks so much.

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. You're welcome.

HARRIS: And still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM. rooting out insurgents said to be linked to Iran -- a new operation in Baghdad's Sadr City.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The search efforts for the six miners in Utah suspended for about a week because of continued seismic activity. You're looking at a live-shot location right now, because we're expecting any moment now to hear from the mine company owner, Bob Murray. You'll remember hearing him yesterday. Well, he will be making an encore appearance today with hopefully some new information about the ongoing efforts there, the search efforts for the six miners. We'll be carrying that live for you when it happens, out of Utah -- Tony.

HARRIS: Baghdad's Sadr City, the scene of some intense action today. The military said a U.S.-led raid and air strike killed about 30 suspected insurgents. The military says the operation targeted militants accused of smuggling weapons and fighters from Iran. Casualty figures from Iraq's interior ministry differ a bit, says at least 11 people were killed.

Meantime, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrived in Tehran. He is there for security talks.

The battle in Iraq, troop levels now at their highest, but some fear political failures could unravel gains on the ground.

Here's CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 10 to 12 individuals.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Pentagon wants you to see this -- Apache helicopters chasing down and killing Iraqi insurgents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are clear to engage, over.

STARR: Reporter: But on the ground, nothing is simple. The surge has temporarily reached its highest level, about 162,000 troops. Some units will come back to the U.S. shortly. In the north and west, violence is down. Fewer U.S. troops are dying, but hundreds of Iraqis lose their lives each month.

And just weeks before General David Petraeus is scheduled to make his assessment, commanders have a growing concern -- local improvements won't last without political progress by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

MAJ. GEN. BENJAMIN MIXON, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL DIV. NORTH: We are getting more cooperation from the tribes so everything is moving forward, but without that final action at the political level, it may hamper us and could prevent us from achieving victory.

STARR: In the north, General Mixon signed controversial agreements with local Sunni tribal leaders. Some worry the Sunnis could still turn against the U.S. and civil war could rage. But the risk maybe unavoidable. The U.S. is out of options.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: I don't think there really is an alternative, but there is the big looming question -- how do you sustain that cooperation?

STARR (on camera): Everyone is waiting to see what General Petraeus tells President Bush about the surge when he comes to Washington next month. But actually, there will be five separate reports on progress in Iraq, or lack of it.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES) HARRIS: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Barry Bonds does it. Got it! Home run number 756 makes him number one all time, but he is still dogged by steroid allegations. A closer look straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: And he was swinging all right. Barry Bonds swung his way right into a new record. He's the new home run king. Take a look right there. Bonds hit number 756 last night in San Francisco, vaulting him past Hank Aaron, but his rise to the top has not come without controversy. Lots of controversy.

Here's CNN's Larry Smith.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been 3 1/2 long years since Barry Bonds appeared before a grand jury, and testified that he never knowingly used steroids. Though the investigation into BALCO, the company linked to providing steroids to athletes has ended, the legal spotlight on Bonds has not. The government is still trying to build a case against the Giant slugger for perjury.

In March 2006, two writers covering the BALCO story for "The San Francisco Chronicle" came out with a book alleging Bonds used steroids extensively, and that he knew what he was taking.

MARK FAINARU-WADA, CO-AUTHOR, "GAME OF SHADOWS": The reporting is very solid in this book. You have about six on-the-record discussions discussing Bonds' use of performance-enhancing drugs, as well as an audiotape we have of his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, discussing his use. And then we've been able to extend that to talk to other sources whose information reinforces this and helps date the use of the steroids and the performance-enhancing drugs.

SMITH: Of the five people who were convicted in the BALCO trial, Bonds' personal trainer has spent the most time in jail. But it isn't for his role at BALCO, it's for refusing to tell a grand jury what he knows about Bonds and Steroids. A grand jury sent Greg Anderson into jail in July 2006, but he was released after 15 days when its term expired.

Another grand jury was convened shortly after. And Anderson was sent back to prison last November, where he's been ever since. Some legal experts believe the government has not indicted bonds yet because they need Anderson to talk. The situation has gone on for so long, even some who believe Bonds may be guilty say enough already.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT OSTLER, "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE": I think that it's been dragged on so long, and that now, even to me, it seems kind ridiculous and kind of like a folly, because there doesn't seem to be any real payoff, and in some ways it seems kind of a vendetta sort of deal. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Bonds has never failed a drug test for steroids, and has consistently denied he ever used performance-enhancing drugs, but the allegations continue.

On HBO's "Costas Now," the chemist who created an undetectable steroid for BALCO said he's certain Bonds used the drug. Victor Conte, BALCO's founder, maintains he never gave bonds steroids. Through all this, Barry continues to play.

BARRY BONDS, 756 CAREER HOME RUNS: Everything right now is what it is. So take it on the chin and keep on moving. Smile and keep on going.

SMITH: Ultimately, it may not matter what happens with the investigation, because it seems like most people have already made up their minds about the Giants slugger, one way or the other.

Larry Smith, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: So the responses have been pouring into our email questions this morning. What do you think about Barry Bonds becoming the new home run king? Got a few for you here.

WHITFIELD:: Quite a few.

This from Tim Archer of Cape Coral, Florida, "Was there any suggestion that Aaron's record was 'tainted?' Is there any suggest that Bonds record-breaking home run is 'tainted.' Yes. His record will never the status of Hank's original numbers.

HARRIS: And Lee writes, "I knew he would break it sooner or later. But I think it is still tainted by steroids because of the one spike year to 73. All the years of hitting around 40-plus home runs and then that one years. It wasn't only him using, but probably hundreds of others."

WHITFIELD: And Mike says, "I think it is great that Barry Bonds accomplished this milestone... even if he did use steroids, he still has the TALENT to hit 756 home runs. GO BARRY!"

HARRIS: And this remark, "He did the work, he earned it and I am already used to his new title. Congratulations, Mr. Bonds -- an American Sports Hero!"

Thank you all so much for the e-mails. Made it a lot of fun this morning, it really has. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's really encouraged a lot of dialogue. Meantime, we want to show you some live pictures out of Utah, where we will be taking a presser that will take place momentarily involving the owner of that mine where the search for six miners have been temporarily suspended, temporarily meaning about a week. So when this press conference gets under way, we'll be bringing it to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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