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American Morning
Northeast Drenched; Setback at Utah Mine
Aired August 08, 2007 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Breaking news. Extreme weather. Powerful storms slam the Northeast, flooding and tornado fears around New York City.
Collapsing hope. The earth moves and the underground rescue stops for six trapped coal miners.
ROBERT MURRAY, MURRAY ENERGY: Earthquake, earthquake, earthquake.
And this was caused by an earthquake!
ROBERTS: But are the cave-ins caused by nature or by the mining itself? Questions and answers on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And good morning. Welcome back. Thanks for being with us. It's Wednesday, the 8th of August. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
A nasty rainstorm. A line of thunderstorms moving through, slamming the New York City metropolitan area. We also have a deadly heat wave in the South. Rob Marciano is following today's extreme weather.
And, Rob, there we have a look right now of the Hudson River. Rain everywhere, and flash flooding warnings in effect for the next 30 minutes.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Kiran. Mostly residual flooding from those heavy storms that moved through the New York City area about an hour ago. And because of all that rainfall that came in a short period of time, people, obviously, having some big-time problems. Most of the heaviest weather now is on the eastern half of Long Island.
The North Shore still getting a little piece of the action. Islip heading towards Bridgehampton, Westhampton, and out towards Amagansett and Montauk eventually. But a lot of this is splitting and shifting down to the south. The rotation that we saw in this storm earlier that prompted a tornado warning has since been allowed to expire, that rotation has weakened. But flash flood warnings in effect for a good chunk of the New York metropolitan area until 8:30. Mostly, not because of what is happening now, but what happened an hour ago, we had rainfall estimates on the Doppler, anywhere from two-and-a-half to three inches of rainfall in less than an hour.
And when you are talking about three to four inches of rainfall rates per hour, John, that is some heavy weather. I don't care what kind of drainage system you have. And obviously the ones in New York City are not good enough. You are going to have flooding in basements, in elevator shafts, just about everywhere on the streets. And it will be a while before that water goes down. So definitely a tough commute for New Yorkers.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Elevator shafts right here at the Time Warner Center, no doubt, causing a lot of problems. Rob, thanks very much.
And to the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah right now, and a rescue on hold this morning. The mine's owner says they are back to square one and that shifting ground wiped out all the progress that they have made so far. They are going to keep drilling to drop down air, cameras and radios to the miners who haven't been heard from since the collapse early on Monday. Dan Simon is monitoring all of the latest developments near Huntington, Utah, for us this morning.
Dan, this can't be good news for the families who are just hoping against hope that they can get those miners out.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's terrible news, John. This is really a significant setback. The owner of the mining company, Robert Murray, took to the microphones last night. He now says it's going to take at least one week to rescue these miners if, in fact, they are still alive.
But there are essentially two timetables here. Seven days to reach the miners by the ground. But in terms of the drill, there's a drill going down 1,500 feet. That's going to determine if, in fact, the miners are still alive. That's going to take two or three days. So two timetables. But there is still some disagreement in terms of what caused the collapse.
You've heard Mr. Murray say defiantly that an earthquake caused the collapse but the scientific community is all but saying that the collapse is what triggered the seismic activity. So still some disagreements there.
In terms of what is going to happen today, two operations happening. Here on the ground, the rescuers are building what amounts to a tunnel. That is what is going to take seven days. They are using wood beams and steel beams to reinforce that area. They have to dig in quite a ways, if, in fact, these miners are alive because they have to extract them. And also, of course, the drill which has to go down 1,500 feet of solid coal.
John, back to you.
ROBERTS: Dan, let's come back to this idea of whether it was an earthquake that caused this collapse or whether the collapse registered as an earthquake. And what Bob Murray was saying about after-shocks and seismic and tectonic activity being responsible for halting the rescue efforts.
We talked to a seismologist from the University of Utah earlier today who said they haven't had any after-shocks. So what is going on here with this fellow, Murray?
SIMON: Well, you know, he is saying that based upon 50 years of experience, this is what leads him to believe that it was an earthquake. Not quite sure what data he is using, how he can reconcile and how he can disagree with all of these experts. But, you know, we have to defer to the experts and, at this point, it's still up in the air. But as I said, they are all but saying that the collapse is what triggered the seismic activity. But I think we can say that still more investigation needs to be done on that.
ROBERTS: All right. Dan Simon for us live outside of the Crandall Canyon mine. Dan, thanks very much.
CHETRY: Well, police in Belgium this morning say that DNA taken from a straw in a soda bottle did not match that of missing 4-year-old Madeleine McCann. They took the sample after a woman said she was 100 percent sure that she saw Madeleine, who vanished from a hotel room in Portugal back in May. Again though, no DNA match. Our own Dr. Gupta is also a certified crime scene examiner. He joins us from Atlanta.
And there is maybe a little bit more to this story. I was reading another report that said that perhaps it was the man that this woman claimed she saw with Madeleine that was drinking out of the straw? Because she is claiming that she is still 100 percent sure it was the little girl. So what is going on with the investigation now?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, these can be difficult investigations sometimes. And sort of an interesting story, as you said, a woman saw a girl, thought she was Madeleine. This woman had the presence of mind to actually grab the straw and the bottle after the girl and the man that she was with left and actually had it analyzed and tried to compare to see if the DNA actually matched Madeleine's.
They were waiting for some time, convinced that it would actually come back positive. It came back negative. And it looks like the DNA actually appears to be that of a man. And this is where the investigation can get a little bit difficult. Really that ends up being sort of a dead-end because you can't get more information from that if the DNA doesn't match.
It doesn't tell you anything. It doesn't tell you whether Madeleine is still alive, which it would have, if it came back positive. It just doesn't give you any more additional information at this point, either good news or bad news -- Kiran. CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE) are also talking about possibly being able to test a blood spot that they found on a wall? Tell us more about that.
GUPTA: Yes. This is really interesting as well. When you sort of analyze a crime scene, there are things that may jump out at you later on that weren't immediately apparent. And you can actually do tests to determine whether there is any blood or any traces of blood in this case in a hotel room.
And in this case, there were some smatterings of blood, apparently, that were present. You can actually take some of that blood. And I've seen this actually take place, this whole process at the Miami-Dade Crime Laboratory down in Florida. They actually take some of the blood, they re-hydrate it, give it a little bit more turgor. Then they can analyze that and compare it again to Madeleine's DNA to see if the blood actually matches hers.
Now you can look for her own DNA in several different sources, even if she used to use a hairbrush or a toothbrush, something like that, you can get DNA from that. If you don't have any DNA, for some reason, just simply can't find any, they would test her parents or other living relatives to find out if in fact there is a close enough match here to make that blood more conclusively hers.
CHETRY: So these are vital pieces to the puzzle, but still don't seem to answer a lot of the questions about where she may be or what ultimately may have happened to her. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you.
GUPTA: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Also new this morning, details are emerging from state bridge inspectors in Minnesota who warned for nearly a decade that the Interstate 35W Bridge was so compromised by cracks and rust that it should be replaced. A Minnesota Department of Transportation camera captured dramatic pictures of the bridge seconds after it collapsed. This morning's Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that inspectors urged the state to replace bolts in a specific area of the bridge in every report they made since the year 2000.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrived in Iran this morning. He is asking the Iranians to help stop the violence in Iraq. Iran's Shiite leaders are sympathetic to al-Maliki, but he is facing a crisis at home. Nearly all of the Sunni members of his cabinet have quit or are boycotting. And Washington is pressuring him to make political progress.
CHETRY: Well, it turns out security cameras were not working at the school yard in Newark, New Jersey, where three college students were shot and killed execution style. Police are relying on their only witness, the sole survivor of that attack Natasha Aeriel, for any leads. She was shot in the face but survived.
Newark's mayor, Cory Booker, spoke last night to CNN's Rick Sanchez about ways that he hopes to curb the violence that has claimed 60 lives in his city so far this year. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR CORY BOOKER, NEWARK: Again, we are going to hold everyone accountable, we are going to find the people that are responsible for this. We are going to stop this crime and this violence in our city.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is this going to make you change anything?
BOOKRE: You adapt strategies. You always do. Anything that I'm seeing, and this is the great thing about this city, is that people now are pulling together in ways that they never have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, the mayor has been under a lot of criticism, especially from the teachers union as well as others saying that they're not doing enough to curb the violence in the city that has claimed so many lives. It's a story we've been following all year here on AMERICAN MORNING. In fact, I went to Newark a few months ago to talk with both people from the mayor's office as well as those with the school district because the teachers union put up these controversial billboards "Help Wanted: Stop the Killings."
In fact, coming up a little later in the show, we're going to be talking behind -- to the man behind that campaign, Joe Del Grosso, he is the teachers union president, about what solutions there possibly are on the horizon for what has been going on in this murder rate in Newark.
There is a new investigation saying that seafood from China is still making it into the U.S. without being screened. The Associated Press found at least a million pounds of pond-raised seafood like shrimp, catfish and eel made it into restaurants. That is despite an FDA order to hold every shipment until it passed a lab test. So far no illnesses have been reported.
The Space Shuttle Endeavour is set to launch. It is scheduled for 6:36 Eastern time tonight. NASA says there is an 80 percent chance the weather will hold up for that launch. On the seven-member crew, former teacher Barbara Morgan, she trained for the doomed Challenger flight and she will be seated in the same spot where fellow teacher Christa McAuliffe sat 21 years ago.
Also new this morning, a money-saving prediction. The government expecting gas prices to keep dropping. By Christmas, a gallon of regular could go for an average $2.64 a gallon. That would be about 60 cents cheaper than what we have been paying in May thanks to more gas being produced. Gas is averaging about $2.81 a gallon now.
ROBERTS: Coming up to 10 minutes after the hour. Virgin America takes off on its maiden voyage today. The upstart airline's inaugural flight leaves New York's Kennedy Airport later this morning. Later may be the operative word with the problems there. Ali Velshi is here with Virgin's inaugural flight.
Pretty interesting to see what had been a trans-Atlantic airline, at least, to Americans, now actually operating domestically.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They are leaving -- one flight is leaving JFK, as you mentioned, we hope. JFK was shut down because of the tornado warning going through Queens earlier today. But one plane leaves JFK, one plane leaves L.A., they land in San Francisco theoretically at the same time. The inaugural voyages of Virgin Atlantic.
You're looking -- Virgin America. You're looking at what the cabin of that plane is supposed to look like. The idea behind this airline is low fares. They are cutting fares. The question is whether or not those fares are going to last. For the moment the amenities inside is that you can order a meal to your seat. There's an in-flight self-serve mini bar. You can chat or text with other people. You can look at where you are on a map and zoom in and calculate the distance to where you are. It's a lot of novelties, John.
Unclear whether Americans really make their flying choices based on anything other than cost. But there's some fancy flying to be had, at least for the initial period. It's unclear whether it's going to become more expensive or not, but it is one more competitor in a market that we're seeing some pretty high prices in because travel is at its highest in a long time.
We were just reporting yesterday, John, that July was sort of the most full month for Delta in its history and one of the most full months on most airlines, about 90 percent occupancy. So, you know, the extra seats will probably be helpful for a lot of people.
ROBERTS: Yes. Well, there you go. And if you can get a half- decent deal on some of their inaugural flights, why not? Give it try. All right, Ali Velshi, thanks very much.
CHETRY: Now to our terror watch, and what is being done to protect us from the next attack. Today Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff will be meeting with state officials from across the country and they will discussing this more secure uniform drivers license, the so-called Real ID, and questions about if they are worth the cost and the hassle. Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is in our Washington bureau.
This is going to be a tough sell for Chertoff. Why are so many states opposed?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, a whole lot of reasons, one of them being money. Secretary Chertoff expected to say that for security reasons the country needs this program. But in Q&A there may be a push-back from these legislators who estimate the states will have to pay about $11 billion to implement this program over five years. A lot of money.
The law goes into effect next May and requires that all 245 million licenses and IDs in the country be reissued. Everybody with a license or an ID will have to go in person to the DMV with new identification documentation. States will then have to verify that those documents are genuine and they are unhappy about it. So far 17 states have enacted laws opposing it, so there could be some fireworks today -- Kiran.
CHETRY: You know, and the other thing, I mean, we have seen the debacle with the passports. I mean, they change the rules on travel requiring more people to get IDs and we saw the backlog. I'm trying to imagine 245 million people all needing to get licenses. Everyone waiting possibly until the last minute and what that would do to your local DMV.
MESERVE: Well, exactly because a lot of states have gone to Internet renewals and so forth. They are not going to be able to do that anymore. They say they are going to have to really beef up their personnel, either get new office space in some instances, to take in all of these people.
And I spoke to a state legislator yesterday from Texas. She said in her state there are so many people with licenses and IDs that even if they worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week, she doesn't think they would be able to handle this and meet the requirements of the law.
CHETRY: All right. Well, thanks, Jeanne, for that.
MESERVE: You bet.
ROBERTS: An update for you now. Threatening letters that were sent to Goldman Sachs tops your quick hits. The original letters in mailed in June said: "Goldman Sachs, hundreds will die, we are inside, you cannot stop us." Now the FBI is investigating a new letter that says the previous messages were: "Conceived and mailed out by three misguided teenagers."
North and South Korea announced this morning that their leaders will meet this month. It will be their first meeting in seven years and just the second time that the leaders have met since the Korean War end ended back in 1953. The two sides have never signed a formal peace agreement. North Korea shut down its nuclear reactor at Pyongyang last month.
Coming up, a closer look at the outspoken president of the mine in Utah where six men remain trapped. He's making news for some of the things that he said. We're going to show you next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. The Utah mine disaster has put Bob Murray, the boss of the Crandall Canyon Mine, in the media spotlight. AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho is taking a closer at the CEO, the company, and its track record, something that he has been vigorously defending as we have seen in the media.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is right. Some have called him outspoken, some have called him flamboyant, Kiran. You know, Bob Murray has a lot at stake here and he is well aware of it. His company, Murray Energy, is one of the largest mine operators in the country. He likes to be called "Honest Bob," and as many of you saw yesterday, Murray is not afraid to speak his mind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): Bob Murray is often called the king of coal. At a news conference Tuesday, when everyone wanted information about the fate of six trapped miners, Murray began by talking business.
MURRAY: We produce a product that is essential to the standard of living of every American.
CHO: His company, Murray Energy, owns and operates the Utah mine that collapsed early Monday.
MURRAY: Let me tell you something else! This is the first major accident I've ever had in one of my coal mines!
CHO: Not true. In 1997 one miner died following an accident at the very same mine. Since 2004, the Labor Department has cited his Utah mine 324 times, 107 of the violations serious. But relative to similar mines, the government says the company has a better than average safety record. Still, Murray Energy's citations were the subject of recent criticism on Capitol Hill.
SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALFORNIA: ... hear about you and the -- have the biggest fines against you of any other miner in Ohio.
MURRAY: Madam Chairman, I'm going to respond to that. You are flat out wrong.
CHO: The outspoken CEO has also argued for less government regulation, even though many scientists say coal emissions cause global warming. Murray calls it "global goofiness" and says energy saving measures will bankrupt the blue collar workforce.
MURRAY: Every bill that has been introduced to address it is going to destroy manufacturing jobs in America.
CHO: He is even more clear on what he believes caused this most recent accident.
MURRAY: It was a natural disaster! An earthquake!
CHO: Some seismologists beg to differ, saying the collapse simply registered as an earthquake. Either way, the fate of six miners hangs in the balance and Murray appears matter of fact about their chances.
MURRAY: I don't know whether these miners are alive or dead. Only the lord knows that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: That certainly is a moment a lot of people won't forget. Now since the last major mine disaster, the Sago Mine explosion last year, which killed 12 miners, both the state of West Virginia, where it happened, and the federal government enacted new safety regulations, including requiring miners to have extra air supplies and wireless communications devices. Murray called this response a knee- jerk reaction.
And, Kiran, the truth is, as all of us know all too well over the years, mining is a very, very dangerous industry and some argue that no amount of safety regulations that are in place would save the miners from a catastrophe like an explosion or a collapse.
CHETRY: Very dangerous. Also very vital to our economy. But one of the things people are pointing out today is it seems like a few of the things that Mr. Murray has been so insistent upon have been called in dispute, the seismologists talking about whether or not there was an earthquake, but also the question about whether or not indeed they were retreat mining, which is considered much more dangerous.
CHO: That's right. And what is interesting, Kiran, is that he remains adamant in his beliefs and his convictions. As that seismologist you talked to earlier in the program pointed out, I don't doubt his sincerity but the truth is he is not a seismologist. He wouldn't know if an earthquake caused the collapse or if it was the other way around. And it seems that many seismologists have said that the collapse was the actual so-called earthquake.
Listen, CEOs are very strong-willed people, many of them, and I think you're witnessing one here.
CHETRY: He also talked about that being the reason that the rescue effort was shut down. And the seismologist we had said, there hasn't been any seismic activity significant enough. So a lot of questions this morning. Alina, thank you -- John.
ROBERTS: Coming up to 21 minutes after the hour. A trip to South Africa's Kruger National Park lands on YouTube. The remarkable video that one tourist shot while on safari next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, it has been quite a dramatic morning here in the New York metropolitan area. A line of thunderstorms that have been passing through the area into the early morning and continuing now, causing a lot of problems, including some power outages, some flooded roadways, and some tornado and flash flood warnings that have since expired.
ROBERTS: On the right hand side of your screen you are looking at a live picture of JFK Airport. There was a ground hold operation in effect there. All of the flights in and out were suspended. That has since been lifted but now, but now according to the FAA, there are a lot of delays going into JFK, as much as an hour and increasing.
Also coming out of the Washington National, most likely toward New York, where the severe weather just rolled through, there are ground holds in effect there as well. Departing traffic being held for an hour or more. LaGuardia still showing that things are working all right, but you know, you just never know. Because you can spill a cup of water in there and shut down the runways for a couple of hours.
CHETRY: You know, we have an I-Report from one of our senior producers here, Brian Bell. This is outside of his home on Long Island City, just over the East River. And he is showing a situation out there that looks messy and, in fact, does it look like there are some emergency crews out there? I know there was some flash flooding, Con Edison was reporting some power outages.
And boy, if that is not enough, the National Weather Service has another advisory for the afternoon for the New York metropolitan area, saying watch out, heat advisory in effect. They are going to climb up to 101 muggy degrees this afternoon. So if you make it through the rain, be prepared to swelter nonetheless this afternoon.
ROBERTS: And of course, when temperatures get that high, the atmosphere gets so volatile, we could see more storms coming through as well. So a day to be watching out for weather today, a day to make sure that you're inside in a cool place as well, and not just here in New York but all up and down the East Coast. In fact, the entire eastern section of the country.
Coming up to 26 minutes after the hour now, a safari smackdown. Some amazing video you have got to see here capturing animals in a battle for survival.
CHETRY: There you see the cape buffalo, a tourist on a safari in South Africa's Kruger National Park taped this, called the "Battle at Kruger. It has gotten 8 million hits since it was posted on YouTube. There you see a pride of lions running after a buffalo and they capture the baby, they grab that little baby buffalo and knock him into the water.
ROBERTS: And look at this. The lions are trying to fight to get the buffalo out, but then along comes a crocodile who says, I want a piece of that. Look at this, here we go, and so the lions are now in a tug of war with the crocodile to get the baby buffalo out. The lion is just it about to tuck in for a nice dinner and, uh-oh, the herd is back.
CHETRY: Yes, the herd comes back, in fact, goring one of the lioness, throwing her into the air, there you see it right now. They decide, you know what, we are going to come back and get that baby. You think it's all over for the baby, but no. In fact, after surrounding the pride and especially those two lionesses right there, they retreat, run away, chased by some of the buffalo and then there you see the baby.
ROBERTS: Yes. The baby is out, the baby is OK. Apparently it was the bleating of the baby after the lions dragged it back there to dine on that attracted the herd to come back.
CHETRY: You're saying bleating, not bleeding, right?
ROBERTS: No, bleating. Yes, bleating, it was crying. Brought the herd back. You know, typically the water buffalo would just run away, but this time they came back and they said, we're going to show you who is the boss of this neighborhood. And this time around the cape buffalo won.
CHETRY: This could be really sequel to "Lion King" one, two or three. You know, because, I mean, how often does it end that way? Also, the guy who captured this video, he does some safaris there. And he said he went back through the area for the next couple of days to see if there was either a buffalo carcass or the telltale signs of the vultures. And none, so he says he is believing the baby survived that.
ROBERTS: Hey, coming up in our next hour, stories that you can't take a miss -- that you can't miss. Life-saving tips. Five simple things that could save a hundred thousand lives each and every year.
CHETRY: Yes, Sanjay Gupta is going to tell us about it. When you think about it, it seems so easy. It's a couple of things that you can do. Something as simple as, remember to take a certain medication, a certain every over-the-counter medication could mean thousands of lives saved. So we are going to talk more about that when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: This is a live picture outside of our building. This is Columbus Circle. And the line of people that you see there, this is not something we usually see. We're hearing reports this morning that possibly the subway system, there's several subway lines right outside of Columbus Circle, here at 59th and Broadway.
It looks like they are shut down. We are hearing that most subway lines are experiencing some sort of delay or diversion as well as the suburban rail lines like Metro North to Grand Central, some of them are shut down this morning, because of that rain and flooding.
ROBERTS: It's making the morning commute a real nightmare here. Try grabbing a cab in New York City on a day like today. It's going to be a little bit tough. We're following all of this for you. There's a live shot at JFK. They did have a ground hold in effect there. Apparently they have resumed operations but delays, an hour, and getting longer.
Also delays at LaGuardia and delays at Newark and delays at Washington, because of all the shuttle flights coming up here to New York City, that this line of thunderstorms that rolled through began at 5:00 a.m. this morning. Just leaving a real mess behind it. One that is going to take a few hours to get straightened out and get people back in shape.
Apparently you can't get to LaGuardia because the roads are flooded!
CHETRY: They say there is flooding on the roads leading there, traffic delays. Some of those hour-long delays at the airports were from earlier storms. So hopefully we're not going to see that domino effect, but we likely may, at the airports.
ROBERTS: Let's not forget, too, what happened about three weeks ago in the wake of a very similar thunderstorm, that steam pipe on Lexington Avenue blew up, when it was believed that some water might encroached into the area of the steam pipe and caused condensation and caused it to blow. So Con Ed will watch out for that today in New York City as well today.
CHETRY: As well as some power outages. Let's check in with Rob Marciano. How long we're going to expect this line of rainstorms to be moving through this area and where it's headed after this.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Troubling news out of Iraq this morning. And uptick in the number of U.S. troops attacked with what are being called explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs. They're deadly weapons the U.S. believes are coming from Iran. CNN's Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon working this story for us.
What are the newest details, Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, good morning to you.
In fact, a U.S. commander confirming the details, which first appeared in "The New York Times" this morning. That the number of attacks reached an all-time high in July, EFP attacks against U.S. troops.
As you say, these are explosively formed projectiles. These very deadly armor penetrating bombs, that when they go off, tragically kill multiple troops at a time in most cases. An all-time high in July. Some 99 attacks by these Iranian-made weapons in Iraq and they accounted for about one-third of U.S. troop deaths in July. Commanders tell us this is one of the latest indicators of what they believe is Iran's continuing involvement in sending weapons and money into Iraq.
Look -- we have some video for you that was just released by the U.S. military. Another example, they say, of Iranian-backed involvement in the insurgency in Iraq. These are mortars, rockets that the U.S. seized in a raid in Iraq. They say they found a number of 107 millimeter rockets. Those are Iranian made rockets, they believe were used against U.S. troops in an attack.
So, at a time when the U.S., the Iranians and the Iraqis are sitting down and talking about trying to get control of this problem, the U.S. says things are headed in a different direction. That actually the number of Iranian-backed attacks against U.S. troops an all-time high in July -- Kiran.
CHETRY: I understand they're trying to do their best with this. The commanders have said they expect Iran to be trying to ship in as many weapons as possible before September. Of course, September the all-important gauge when we take a look at whether or not the surge is working. But they also seem to be conducting operations to crack down on these insurgents. They're reporting that this morning out of Sadr City as well.
STARR: That's right. You know that Sadr City mention is extremely important. U.S. commanders say that they think there are two launch points actually in Baghdad. One of them being Sadr City where they believe Shia extremists have really set up shop and launching some of these attacks especially against U.S. troops in the green zone.
So, what is the strategy to go after these Iranian weapons? Well, what they're doing is going after the networks, after the insurgents, after the money, the funding and the organization. No plan to cross the border and go into Iran, but keep trying to stay on the Iraqi side and work away at these rat lines, if you will, of Iranian efforts coming into Iraq -- Kiran.
CHETRY: This Pentagon saying they did kill 32 suspected militants of the exact thing you're talking about, in that area with the alleged weapon smuggling.
Barbara Starr, thank you.
ROBERTS: With an Iraq progress report expected to come out in five weeks time, two senators decided to put their August recess aside and head to Baghdad to see what is happening this for themselves. Democratic Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois and Bob Casey, of Pennsylvania, joined me this morning, a little bit earlier on. And suggested from a military perspective, at least, the surge is actually working.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: The surge has troops going into areas where, for four and half years, we have not seen our military in action. And, naturally, they are routing out the Al Qaeda in those areas. That's a good thing.
But there is no evidence of the government of Iraq in these areas. There are no Iraqi policemen, no Iraqi soldiers. These are Americans.
ROBERTS: I understand all of that, but Senator Durbin, everybody in the Democratic Party is saying that the surge has failed. Senator Casey, do you agree with your colleague there are some signs of military progress here?
SEN. BOB CASEY (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Sure, there are, John. We've said from the beginning that our troops are doing their job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The troops are doing the job. Still some signs of progress. However, they say because of the lack of political progress they are sticking by their guns and their intention to bring U.S. troops home as soon as possible.
Discouraging news this morning about efforts to reach those six miners trapped in a Utah mine. Rescue efforts are on hold. The owner of the Crandall Canyon mine says shifting ground has wiped out their progress, and it's going to take at least a week to reach the miners.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB MURRAY, PRESIDENT/CEO, MURRAY ENERGY: You being here with me, was wiped out by this seismic, tectonic activity underground. We are back to square one, underground.
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ROBERTS: Bob Murray, the mine CEO, keeps on pointing to what he is says is seismic or tectonic activity, meaning earthquakes and aftershocks. And that is a fact that is disputed by geologists in the state of Utah, and seismologists who say this was a mine collapse, not an earthquake. And that those aftershocks as he calls them, are simply further collapses in the mine.
They are going to continue, though, to try to drill down toward those miners to drop down air, cameras, radios. Those miners have not been heard from since the initial collapse early Monday.
Also new this morning. Al Gore slamming the door on another try for the White House, at least for now. He told reporters in Singapore he is young enough to get back in politics, but has no plan to run for president in '08. Gore also said that he wants all of the candidates who are running to make climate change a priority.
A demand for war-torn Sudan. The U.S. says Sudan must drop its objections to non-African peacekeepers as part of a force to end the conflict in Darfur. The U.S. special envoy for Sudan says there are not enough trained soldiers on the African continent to fully staff a U.N. peacekeeping force of 26,000.
CHETRY: Well, Barry Bonds is baseball's home run king this morning even though a lot of local tabloids seem to be mocking it this morning. In fact, the number 756 in hypodermic needles on the cover of "The New York Post". But it's a record that may some say, have an asterisk attached, or at least should. He did surpass Hank Aaron's record last night hitting home run number 756. Take a look.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Bassett (ph) deals, and Bonds hits one high! It's deep! It is out of here!
ROBERTS: Out of there. The hometown fans in San Francisco cheered Bonds but he is suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs. It all came to a head back in 2003 when Bonds reportedly told a grand jury that he, quote, unknowingly used steroid creams. Last night, Bonds insisted that his new home run record is clean.
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BARRY BONDS, NEW HOME RUN RECORD HOLDER: This record is not tainted at all, at all, period. You guys can say whatever you want. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And also another lucky guy, he's sharing the spotlight with Bonds this morning. This is a 22-year-old New York Mets fan, of all people, who caught the record-breaking ball. He told reporters he is Matt Murphy from Queens. Take a close look at his shirt. There he is, a Mets fan. Just in case you didn't notice on that one he has another one on top saying New York.
Murphy was at last night's game killing time, he says, with his friends before heading off on a trip to Australia. You may want to delay that trip, though, because the ball is supposedly worth about $300,000 to $500,000. Those are some of the estimates of people who look into those type of things, but do it now before he hits another one. Get it on eBay.
ROBERTS: And as our Ali Velshi was pointing out, with the allegations of steroid use swirling around Bonds, find a buyer now, just in case that asterisk comes very big on that home run record.
CHETRY: Some "Quick Hits" now, in a link between to devastating medical conditions. British researchers are saying that the same protein that damages the brains of Alzheimer's patients plays also plays a role in glaucoma. A big cause of blindness. They say it doesn't mean that everyone with Alzheimer's will develop glaucoma, or vice versa. Scientists hope that the findings will lead to better treatments for both diseases.
And a U.S. appeals court has ruled that people suffering from terminal diseases do not have constitutional right to experimental drugs, even if the treatment could save or prolong their lives. The suit sought access to drugs that had won preliminary approval by the FDA but were still years away from being available.
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CHETRY (voice over): Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING road rage outrage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, I got shot with a BB gun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've had somebody throw a socket at me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had to close the road down just because of the road rage.
CHETRY: We take you to a stretch of highway where some angry commuters actually attacked construction crews. It became so bad the state shut down the highway. A case of extreme road rage next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Scientists say they've discovered the universe's largest known planet. "Quick Hits" now. The giant ball of hydrogen, 20 times bigger than earth. It orbits a star in the constellation Hercules, some 1400 light years away.
Well, going to the beach could be dangerous. It's not sharks. It's not the water or it's not the rip currents or anything like that, but the water, itself, that poses a threat. A new study finding that beaches were closed a record number of days last year due to contamination in the water. Swimming in contaminated water can cause stomach aches -- that is a euphemism -- and skin rashes, among other things.
ROBERTS: It's 46 minutes after the hour.
A slow driver, or a driver who cuts you off, we've almost all felt road rage start to well up inside us at one time or another. But on one stretch of California highway, 138, north of Los Angeles, drivers are so fed up they've taken it to a new level turning their rage on road construction crews.
AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence is live for us in San Bernardino County this morning.
Just how bad is it getting there, Chris?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's chaos up to a point, John. So many people were getting killed on this road. They started calling this highway Blood Alley. So officials knew that drivers could be a danger to each other, but nobody expected them to become such a menace to the construction crews that are working here.
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LAWRENCE (voice over): You're rushing to work, or back home from the office. There it is. Construction! Blocking your way! Holding you up! Some commuters are so angry they're attacking the construction crews.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've actually had somebody throw a socket at me. And actually hit my car.
LAWRENCE: You think that's bad? One worker was pelted with a burrito and this woman was shot with a BB gun!
MICHELLE HULTQUIST, HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION WORKER: I have no idea what is wrong with people. I have no idea. There was nothing I did to aggravate it.
LAWRENCE: Just her job. Michelle Hultquist is a flagger, directing traffic along a California highway partially closed for repairs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a couple of cars here waiting.
LAWRENCE: Highway 138 connects two areas outside Los Angeles, where the population has exploded. So have some drivers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I've been called names I never even knew existed.
LAWRENCE: This highway had nearly 3,000 collisions in the years leading up to construction. The project was designed to make it safer. It didn't account for road rage.
JEFF PEREZ, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: Gentleman came up to the closure and disobeyed the flagman at the entrance, and ended up running over one of the workers on scene.
LAWRENCE: It got so bad, state officials said forget it, no more open lanes, no more escorts through construction.
HULTQUIST: They want to get through real bad, so we had to close the road down just because of the road rage.
LAWRENCE: So now commuters have to drive another half hour around the construction.
WAYNE MCKORNINDALE, MOTORIST: Totally sucks right now! I have to go through a long detour, I guess.
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LAWRENCE: Now there have been no incidents around the highway since Cal Tran shut it down, but it seems to be a lot more frustrating than even that initial hassle that the commuters had to put up with -- John.
ROBERTS: Chris Lawrence for us this morning outside of San Bernardino, California. Thank you very much. Appreciate it, Chris.
CHETRY: Well, CNN "Newsroom" is just minutes away and Tony Harris is at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Kiran, good morning to you! Good morning, everyone.
On the "Newsroom" run down this morning. Search teams starting over in Utah today. Tremors halt efforts to reach six trapped miners.
Newark police report it close to IDing a suspect in the execution-style killings of three young people. We ask a Newark City councilman about the disturbing case live next hour.
Barry Bonds, new home run champ. How do you feel about him breaking Hank Aaron's home run record? E-mail us. Right now. I'm not kidding you. CNNnewsroom@cnn.com. You're in the "Newsroom". Top of the hour right here on CNN.
Kira, back to you.
CHETRY: Tony, thanks.
HARRIS: Sure thing.
CHETRY: Stolen Picassos recovered, topping your "Quick Hits" now. French police are holding three suspects caught with a drawing and two rolled up canvasses worth more than $60 million put together. The portrait of Picasso's daughter and one of his second wife were stolen from his granddaughter's apartment in February.
And the government is testing a weapon that delivers a powerful flash of light. When it hits the suspect in the eyes he becomes disoriented long enough for officers to subdue him. The light doesn't cause any permanent damage, but apparently it is so strong it can make you nauseous.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, some life-saving tips. Five things you should do right now, that could save your life! Doctor Sanjay Gupta explains when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
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CHETRY: Gone, but not forgotten. A New York woman says that she almost messed up big-time by selling the ashes of her husband's ex- wife. It all started when she sold a ceramic turtle at a yard sale. She says it was her husband's ex wife? OK. She says she didn't know it was really an urn in a half shell. Luckily, though, she was able to track it down at the Salvation Army. And if he buys that story, see what else she can get away with.
ROBERTS: A little puppy love on display in Florida. Firefighters climbed into a drain pipe to rescue two puppies, who had gotten stuck in there. It took them two hours to coax and fish both of them out. The pups were reunited with mom and they are both said to be doing OK.
CHETRY: Got lucky. Look at that.
ROBERTS: Didn't they though?
It's 54 minutes after the hour. Here's a quick look at what the CNN "Newsroom" is working on for the top of the hour.
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HARRIS (voice over): See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Tremors hold the search for six trapped miners in Utah.
Newly released traffic cam tape shows another view of the bridge collapsing in Minnesota.
Several deaths now blamed on the unrelenting heat wave.
Slugger Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's home run record.
And a monkey busted for flying under his owner's hat! "Newsroom" just minutes away, at the top of the hour on CNN.
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ROBERTS: Three minutes to the top of the hour. We all know that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, right? But so could an aspirin. That's according to a new study that focuses on simple things that could save hundreds of thousands of lives every year. But not enough people are doing it. Our Chief Medical Correspondent Doctor Sanjay Gupta is live now with the details.
So an aspirin a day, we've all heard that, but what are some other tips out there?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: People talk about prevention quite a bit. This whole idea you could actually find specific things and save lots of lives is something starting to become more and more a reality.
The CDC wanted to figure out what were some of the specific things. Aspirin, you're right. There are a lot of people who are at risk of heart disease, but only about half of them are actually taking an aspirin that could actually benefit from it. They estimate, again the CDC estimates, you could save about 42,000 lives just by increasing the number of people taking aspirin.
Also when it comes to smoking, only about a quarter of the people who are smokers are actually counseled by their doctors to stop, and given actual smoking cessation programs. You could save about 42,000 lives there as well, if you actually start to increase the number of people who aren't smoking, getting them into programs.
Colon cancer screening: No one likes to talk about it, but it is an important one. Increase the number of people who actually get screened for colon cancer, starting around the age of 50, save about 30,000 lives there, as well, John.
ROBERTS: This is al very simple so why isn't it happening more often? Why aren't people taking these simple preventive steps?
GUPTA: I'll tell you, there's a couple of reasons. One is that it is hard to prove a negative. What I mean by that is that people and they think they don't have to worry about it. They feel fine and prevention isn't something that enters into people's minds. People typically go to see their doctor when they're sick. And that's a culture that needs to change.
The other thing is I think the whole institution of medicine is sort of geared towards taking care of disease, as opposed towards prevention in the first place. Even if you look at what is reimbursed, it's harder to get reimbursements for preventive type care versus disease care. It's both I think, financial. I think cultural and I think it is within the hospitals themselves.
But again, the good news it's starting to change and the reason we point out some of these specific things is you can see the impact, you know, just taking an aspirin, getting your screening, stopping smoking, all of those things make a huge difference.
ROBERTS: All right, some great tips, Doctor Sanjay Gupta.
Sanjay, thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
ROBERTS: And a reminder, if you have questions for Doctor Sanjay Gupta, send them to his mailbag. Go to CNN.com/americanmorning, and drop us a e-mail. Sanjay will be answering your questions, as he does every Thursday -- when he's not in China, at least -- tomorrow morning right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: All right. You want to keep watching CNN. We're going to keep cover this weather up and down the East Coast, but particularly in the New York area. We've been having some problems with the public transportation system, flooded out. As well as all three of the major airports here, because of this heavy rain system that's been moving in.
ROBERTS: Of course, a couple of other bit stories that we're watching as well, the situation in the mine in Utah, the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, as that investigation continues.
We're going to head it off now. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We'll see you again tomorrow.
CHETRY: CNN "Newsroom" with Tony Harris and Fredricka Whitefield begins now.
HARRIS: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM I'm Tony Harris.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Fredericka Whitfield, in for Heidi Collins who is on assignment. Watch events come into the NEWSROOM, live, this August 8th.
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