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Rescue Effort to Find Trapped Miners Continues; Recall Issued For Chinese Toys; Is Obama Black Enough?

Aired August 14, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: We have a developing story here in the CNN NEWSROOM: a helicopter crash in Anbar Province. We understand a number of U.S. soldiers are involved in this.
T.J. Holmes, what do you have?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The word is we're just getting that yes, in fact five more U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq, this time five soldiers that were aboard a helicopter. This is the area you are seeing here was in Anbar Province, Camp Fallujah, Iraq, where a Chinook helicopter went down, killing five U.S. soldiers, according to the U.S. military.

Now, this was not brought down, according to military officials, by hostile fire, or this helicopter also was no involved in any kind of hostile action at all at the time. Rather, it was routine post- maintenance-check flight.

So, we can only assume they were checking this helicopter out after it had gone through some kind of maintenance. but a routine post-maintenance-check flight is what it is described as and this helicopter went down, killing all five service members on board.

Actually, I shouldn't say all five, because we're not sure, not clear how many were on board. But five we know have been killed, but again not in a hostile incident. We don't know exactly what the issue was or what kind of maintenance the helicopter had gone through or what were the circumstances surrounding it going down, but five U.S. service members killed in a routine post-maintenance-check flight of a Chinook helicopter in al Anbar Province in Iraq -- Don.

LEMON: All right. T.J., thank you very much for that. We will continue to follow that story in the NEWSROOM, as well as in "THE SITUATION ROOM" following this broadcast. Thanks, T.J., again.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And we just learned a short time ago that Mary Winkler is no longer in custody. Her attorney tells CNN that she's back in McMinnville, Tennessee, and eager to get back to work. You will remember that earlier this year, Mary Winkler was convicted of killing her preacher husband after what she described as years of abuse.

She's been undergoing treatment at a mental health facility the past two months. And although Winkler was sentenced to three years in prison, the judge ordered to serve just 67 days, giving her credit for time served awaiting trial and having no previous criminal record. She still continues to wage a legal battle to win custody of her three girls.

She also faces a $2 million civil suit that was filed by the parents of her slain husband. You remember, when she took the stand, quite emotional, she talked about her husband, Matthew Winkler, the preacher, and described basically a hellish 10-year marriage where he had struck her, screamed at her, criticized her, blamed her for things going wrong, and forcing her to submit to sex acts that made her uncomfortable while watching pornography.

We are going to follow what happens with Mary Winkler and that case to get her kids back.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

PHILLIPS: Well, slow and painstaking, laborious, that's how mining officials in Utah describe the rescue effort eight days after the Crandall Canyon mine collapsed and trapped six miners.

Today, mining company president Bob Murray showed us why.

Let's get straight to Emery County, Utah, and CNN's Brian Todd -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, that was pretty dramatic video that Mr. Murray showed us just a short time ago.

Just moments ago, he told me that the most frustrating part of this is the actual digging that the rescue teams are doing in the main shaft to try to get to these miners. That's way too slow, he says.

And to illustrate that and to show the families what they're going through, he did play this tape that you just mentioned. We are going to show you some of that. It shows these people, these miners, digging into the main mine shaft. But they have to reinforce just about every inch of it with what he called water jacks. These are huge jacks that hold up the roof and the sides of the mine.

Here is Mr. Murray narrating that tape as he talks about how they set up these water jacks every couple of feet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB MURRAY, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MURRAY ENERGY: See the jack moving up now against the roof. Now, once they get the jack secured against the roof, they seal it by taking this hammer device and building a seal in. It's now at 1,100 pounds. (INAUDIBLE) Then they bleed the water pressure off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: That's just to shore up the ceiling and the walls of this mine shaft before they can even dig a couple more feet.

Here's where this whole thing stands now. That effort that he showed us on the tape, that is the digging into the main mine shaft. They're about 700 feet in to where they believe these miners are trapped, but that's only about a third of the way in to where they believe these men are.

On the second track of this rescue effort, the digging, the drilling of holes from the top of the mountain. A third hole is being drilled right now. That's about 700 feet down, according to officials. And that's only about halfway to a chamber where they believe these men might have retreated for air if they survived this collapse -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Brian Todd, thanks so much.

And coming up in just a few minutes, my interview with Bob Murray, mining company president. He told us and showed us why rescue efforts are taking so long. You will get to hear from him firsthand.

LEMON: Another major toy recall dealing a serious P.R. blow to the toymaker Mattel. It's the second in less than two weeks. And it's creating safety worries for parents. More than nine million Chinese-made toys are being recalled, amid concerns about lead paint and magnets which can become dislodged.

Our Allan Chernoff has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: There are two categories of toys that are being recalled, first of all, toy that have little magnets that can come loose. And, if they do, if small children actually ingest those magnets, that can cause some serious intestinal problems. The company also worried that kids might actually inhale these little magnets.

Among the toys being recalled, Polly Pocket, Doggie Daycare, and Barbie & Tanner. Indeed, the magnet that comes loose in that toy is in the pooper scooper for Tanner, who is Barbie's doll.

Now, this apparently, according to Mattel, was a design problem. They're not blaming this on the Chinese manufacturer.

The other problem involves this toy. And this is Sarge, the jeep from the movie "Cars." It's painted with lead paint. And Mattel says that was done improperly by a subcontractor in China. So, it's recalling that toy as well, this after only two weeks ago, Mattel had recalled a whole batch of other toys made in China, manufactured with lead paint.

And, as the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission pointed out earlier today, lead paint has been outlawed here for years.

NANCY NORD, ACTING CHAIRWOMAN, CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION: There is absolutely no excuse for lead to be found in toys entering this country. It is totally unacceptable, and it needs to stop. And this agency is going to take whatever action it needs to take to address that problem aggressively.

CHERNOFF: Mattel says it has toughened its standards and is now checking every batch of paint used on toys manufactured in China.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Hurricane Flossie plowing across the Pacific, and Hawaii is on alert.

Chad, what's the latest?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The latest is, they're flying the plane around this thing now. Obviously, there is a hurricane hunter plane in this storm. So close to land, there better be one so we know exactly what to expect.

The storm still going to skirt the big island. Here's the southernmost point of the big island. It is going to be south of there. But I want to show you here, here's the -- here's the plane as it left Hawaii, flying to the south through and back into -- the yellow is the oldest -- thank you, Dave (ph) -- and then back down, back up and around, this making big circles and big squares, and I guess just angles through this storm, trying to, one, do the core punch.

And when you core punch, you actually try to get through the core -- the core is eye of the storm -- and try to find out what the highest wind gust is in that eye of the event.

And now we do know that the winds are picking up in some of the higher elevations of the big island. I just got a wind gust here up on Mount (INAUDIBLE) at about 60 miles per hour, but about 40 miles- per-hour gusts would have been sustained winds.

And I do know -- I'm actually hearing a little bit in my ear that our Reynolds Wolf is right about there.

And, Reynolds, you're now starting to pick up some of the first outer bands, some of the wind; true?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, I would say -- I would think that be a pretty fair estimation, yes. I would say winds have begun to pick up significantly, Chad. You're right on the money. Just over the last 10, 20 minutes or so, it's gotten quite dramatic here in terms of wind.

Just to give you a position, we're just to the east of Naalehu, off Highway 11 overlooking (INAUDIBLE) bay. The wind not only the only thing picking up, but right from my vantage point looking down over the bay, we can see some huge waves that are coming onshore, and crashing against the rocks, not much in terms of rainfall yet, haven't seen much rain, just maybe some sporadic activity this morning.

But I would say, within the last hour or so, we have seen next to nothing, but definitely strong wind, and no question the waves are going to continue to pound through much of the afternoon, evening and into tomorrow as well. MYERS: Well, you picture waves and you picture Panama City or you picture Tampa. And there's obviously just hotels lined up all and down the coast. That is not the case where you are. There's very little down the coast, true?

WOLF: Absolutely.

In terms of -- you just mentioned places, say, in Florida, Panama City, case in point, a great deal of population there. Here, it is sparsely populated, not a whole lot of people here. You will have a few small bedroom communities, Naalehu being the perfect example, also a few ranches, cattle ranches.

But in terms of a big population cluster, not much here on this part of the island. However, you go farther north, over on the east side, you have got Hilo. On the other side, of course, you have got Kona. And no question, winds will pick up in those locations as well.

MYERS: Well, we can hear them blowing in your microphone there, Reynolds.

I'll tell you what. This is the best that you're going to see for the next probably 24 hours. So, I need you to be safe, even though it's a storm that is going to miss the island, at least the eye is going to miss the island, there will certainly be effects and there will certainly be things blowing around and those things could certainly be blowing around in the air around you. So, be careful out there.

I will be waiting for your live events there, your live shots when the satellite dish gets up. We will be waiting for those. We can't wait to see those.

Thank you, buddy.

WOLF: All right, buddy. Talk to you soon. Take care.

MYERS: All right. We will.

Be safe out there.

And, you know, it's kind of funny, because, when you go out to a hurricane, guys, the weatherman, the meteorologist, is kind of the quarterback. It's like, wait, we can't be there because that building may come apart. We can't be there because those trees don't look too sturdy. We have to be here because the wind is coming that direction. Let's -- because there's nothing that way, let's stay here.

And that's what Reynolds is doing right now, trying to position him and the crew, so that they can be safe over the next few hours.

PHILLIPS: OK. I'm still trying to track the here and the there and the where and...

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: Well, it doesn't matter. You need to know which way the wind is coming from.

PHILLIPS: Just stay safe.

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: If the wind comes from that direction, and you see a house with vinyl siding on it, the vinyl siding's already flapping, you don't want to be here. You want to be around the other side.

PHILLIPS: A lot to think about.

MYERS: There you go.

PHILLIPS: And you guys always bring it to us from the scene and from here as well.

Chad, thanks a lot.

MYERS: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Well, no chance of hitting this teacher with a spitball -- straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, a lesson in technology and patience from outer space.

Also:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, WIFE OF SENATOR BARACK OBAMA: What are we saying to our children? If a man like Barack Obama isn't black enough, then who is? Who are they supposed to be? So, we have to cut that nonsense out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Oh. Michelle Obama, go. A presidential candidate's wife fired up about a question that just won't go away -- more on that straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Three fifteen Eastern time. Here are three of the stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Barbie could be a danger to your kids. Barbie dolls are among the more than nine million Chinese-made toys recalled by Mattel today. Some of the toys have small magnets that can be swallowed. Others have lead paint.

Hawaii now under a state of emergency. And that's because Hurricane Flossie is moving closer with high winds, high surf, and heavy rain. Forecasters say the Category 2 storm could brush past the islands as early as today.

And a settlement and a possible comeback. Fired radio host Don Imus has reached a settlement with CBS over his contract. No terms announced. Meantime, sources tell the Associated Press Imus is negotiating with WABC Radio in New York about getting back on the air.

LEMON: Senator Barack Obama has no problems when it comes to likability. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows him ahead in that category among Democratic presidential candidates. But the African-American senator is having trouble convincing some African-Americans of his own blackness.

I caught up with him over the weekend at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Las Vegas to talk about that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (voice-over): He is the only African-American candidate in the presidential race. And, for many African-Americans, that's still not enough.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to apologize for being a little bit late, but you guys keep on asking whether I'm black enough.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: An obvious reference to the stereotype that black people are often late.

B. OBAMA: Uh-huh. That's right.

(LAUGHTER)

B. OBAMA: So, I figured I would stroll in about 10 minutes after deadline.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: He laughs, but it's been no joke defending his blackness to black people.

B. OBAMA: In part, we're still locked in this notion that, somehow, if you appeal to white folks, then there must be something wrong.

And we're still kind of working that through.

(APPLAUSE)

B. OBAMA: And part of it has to do with fear, which is, you know what, we don't want to get too excited about the prospects here because we feel like we will be let down in the end. And I guess my attitude is, let's try. Let's see.

(APPLAUSE)

LEMON: Are you sick of answering that question?

B. OBAMA: No, no. I'm just -- I'm not sick of it. I just -- I think it's kind of silly. That's why I brought it up. I figured everybody here might have that on -- apparently, it was raised yesterday, even with Senator Clinton. So, I figured I had better go ahead and dispose of that early.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Are you black enough to sustain...

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: ... to sustain the kind of support that you got from your husband? And what makes you the better candidate over a black man in representing the issues regarding the African-American community?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: There were a couple of issues here. Obviously, Mr. Obama knew his audience, speaking very candidly to 3,000 black journalists in Las Vegas this weekend.

And also Hillary Clinton, she has to deal with this. She's married to the man that many people say is the first black American of the United States, they call Bill Clinton, who is wildly loved in the black community.

So, our Suzanne Malveaux, our White House correspondent, who is also anchoring "THE SITUATION ROOM" today, asked her, was she black enough to deal with black issues?

So, he thinks it's, you know, a silly question. Hillary Clinton's albatross is, you voted for the war. Why did you vote for the war? Barack Obama's is, are you sure you're black enough?

And you know why people say that. It's not because, do you speak jive or that kind of thing.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Let's be honest. You know what I mean? You know, do Ebonics.

It's because he spent most of his formative years outside of the U.S. He has a white mother. He has a father who is from Kenya. So, there are people who say he's not traditionally African-American. Where you draw the line, I don't know.

PHILLIPS: Do we talk about the whole being-late thing?

LEMON: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Because now I'm wondering. You're late to the morning meeting a couple times a week. Do we need to talk about this?

LEMON: Shh. I'm on the phone.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Yes. You're working it. You're working it, just like Barack Obama.

LEMON: But we can't say what we call it.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: That's right. All right. That was pretty funny, though.

But his wife...

LEMON: Yes.

PHILLIPS: ... Michelle Obama, she's taking issue with this. She started -- she brought this up, right?

LEMON: Michelle Obama, yes, she did.

Let's -- she brought it up this weekend. Let's take a listen. Can we roll that back? Because I want you to hear, what she says about this particular issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. OBAMA: What are we saying to our children? If a man like Barack Obama isn't black enough, then who is? Who are they supposed to be? So, we have to cut that nonsense out, because it is not helping our children.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That this is the Michelle Obama that I know from Chicago, from seeing her, and when he was running as senator, very strong woman. And he will tell you, you know, she wears the pants in the family.

But, again, they think it's a very silly question. Obviously, he's married to an African-American woman. And they feel obviously that he's black enough.

PHILLIPS: You know, there's been so much talk about how ridiculous bringing up that question is. Yet, it keeps coming up.

LEMON: It keeps coming up. And one reason I did -- you know, spoke to some of his staff members, and I said, you know what? I have to ask him about this today. And they said, why, Don? I said because it's a question that keeps coming up. And, in some circles, it's believed that he's not taking that question seriously.

And so I think, by him addressing that, I thought, this weekend, the way he addressed it at this convention, I thought it was fantastic and that it was over. But then Mrs. Obama of course saying the same thing. But I thought that, you know, he took the question seriously. He talked about how ridiculous it was. And I thought he sort of set the record straight, and it was over. But, apparently, it has legs. So, we shall see.

PHILLIPS: Now it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

LEMON: Yes.

PHILLIPS: All right. So, you had a good time at the Journalists Association?

LEMON: Yes, I worked, but also I had some fun as well.

PHILLIPS: Good celebration.

LEMON: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Good. That's great.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead, no chance of hitting this teacher with a spitball -- straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, a lesson in technology and patience from outer space.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, no chance of hitting this teacher with a spitball -- straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, a lesson in technology, patience, and all that from outer space.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: I'm Kyra Phillips live at CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: I'm Don Lemon.

It is a lesson she waited more than 20 years to teach in a classroom like no other.

PHILLIPS: Our Miles O'Brien talks with Barbara Morgan aboard the Shuttle Endeavour.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: But first up, Hurricane Flossie is plowing across the Pacific and Hawaii is on alert. The storm could leave quite an impression on the Big Island.

CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is keeping watch.

He is in a town there that I won't dare to try to even say the name -- is it Naalehu, Reynolds?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, Naalehu.

LEMON: No. Naalehu.

WOLF: But very good.

LEMON: Naalehu. I tried.

WOLF: That's right.

Well, we're just a little bit -- we're a little bit east of that spot. We're actually about two hours south of Hilo at this point. We're near the southernmost point of the island.

Let me give you a look around. We've got this one building that has been -- they're well prepared. In fact, look at all the buildings. The building -- this building has got all of the windows that have been boarded up, certainly ready for the strong winds that have been really kicking in, really, over the last hour.

Right now we're in a little bit of calm. But about 45 minutes ago, it was beginning to roar up.

We're also seeing very little rain at this time. We are expecting the showers to kick up. They've been kind of intermittent. In fact, we had some rain earlier this morning that was heavier, but the rain -- the heaviest rain is still about, oh, a few hours away, to say the very least.

One thing that's been very interesting is look over my shoulder right down to the bay. That wind that has been driving in from the southeast has been pushing so much of that water right up against the shore, up against those rocks. And every now and then, you'll just see a monstrous wave that will just come on shore and splash over the rocks. Pretty interesting, to say the least. And even that is expected to become more intense as we make our way through the afternoon hours and into the evening here on the island.

Now, although there are many people on this island that are prepared -- in fact, a little bit farther off toward the west, we've seen people that have had windows taped up.

The house that you see behind me, not so much. Not so much in terms of being prepared. The owners of this particular home happen to be in California at the time and you don't see any -- really, any precautions. They have the flowers, a lot of the plants that went out are just sitting out there in their containers. Those need to be brought inside. The windows haven't been taped up just yet.

And they're actually trying to get here from California in time for the storm. I don't think they're going to make it, as we're going to see these conditions continue to deteriorate through the afternoon and evening hours.

We're going to be here for the duration, as the storm passes to our south, anywhere from 60 to 100 miles just south of his island. But still, we should see plenty of activity, no question. LEMON: Reynolds, you're there. Get to work. Come on, help them out.

WOLF: Oh, yes. Yes, we do what we can. You know, we're going to go get some masking tape, go get some -- get some plastic and take care of this for them.

LEMON: No.

WOLF: We'll go through the whole drill.

LEMON: No, just kidding.

A very serious question.

Hey, Reynolds, don't go anywhere, because I want to bring in Chad Myers, who's -- you know he's chomping at the bit to get in there...

WOLF: Sure.

LEMON: ...because all of the weather guys want to be on the big story and when it concerns this -- Chad, go ahead.

What do you have to ask Reynolds?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, I was just wondering, because I saw on that shot, Reynolds, as you panned down toward the ocean, was that where the old...

WOLF: Oh, back toward the ocean, OK.

MYERS: Is that where the windmills used to be?

Did -- can you...

WOLF: You know, Chad, a good question. The windmills are actually on the southernmost tip. That's a little bit farther to our southwest point from our current location. We did go by the windmills this morning.

Curiously enough, they don't seem to be in operation. They weren't moving at all. A lot of them seem rusted. They just seem very barren.

MYERS: They're pretty old.

WOLF: Not a lot of -- but not a lot of activity there.

Here, the big evidence that we're seeing in terms of the wind on these particular shores right here would have to be just those big waves.

What's interesting, too, is you notice that there's almost a concave shape with the shoreline on the southern point of this island. So as that water continues to push its way -- as it's pushed toward the island, it does tend to mount up on those coral reefs and, of course, on those rocks. And it is -- it's really an amazing thing to see.

Chad, how far out do you think it is going to be until we start seeing that rain begin to pick up?

MYERS: Oh, Reynolds, I'm kind of peeking over here at the radar. I think it's at least another 60 miles, making waves at about maybe 15 miles per hour. So at least four to six hours before you really get into the core of the hurricane. And I know you don't have a satellite feed there to see it, but the eye of the storm is well to your south. But to the north is where all the convection is.

So you're actually going to get into a lot of rain and a lot of wind, even though you're not going to see the eye. So batten down the hatches and get ready for a long night.

WOLF: So the center of the storm, is what you're saying, is just to our south?

From our vantage point it would be just to our southeast?

MYERS: Well, yes. And it looks like this is a big storm and it's about to just smack the Big Island. But, in fact, most of what you see up here on top is just convection. It's just (INAUDIBLE) activity where the 100 per hour winds are well on down to the south, way down here on that southernmost point of the blob that our viewers are looking at.

Reynolds, take care.

We'll back with you in a few minutes -- guys, back to you.

WOLF: All right, Chad.

Talk to you soon.

LEMON: All right, Reynolds Wolf, Chad Myers, thanks to both of you.

PHILLIPS: We're getting new video from inside that collapsed Utah coal mine where six miners have been trapped for eight days now. Also, a new glimpse of how slow and difficult the rescue effort is.

This afternoon, mining company CEO Bob Murray showed us his latest trip inside Crandall Canyon Mine, where rescuers are working to clear debris from the main passage.

Meantime, crews are drilling a third vertical hole into the mine, hoping to make contact with the trapped men.

I had a chance to talk to Murray earlier in THE NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB MURRAY, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MURRAY ENERGY CORPORATION: We've had numerous experts and consultants in the government and universities look at the plan that we implemented last Monday morning and they all believe that we've been on the same -- the best rescue plan underground. And all of that support that you saw in the tape, ma'am, is to protect the rescue workers.

PHILLIPS: OK. So, basically, they are creating a safety net around them as they dig through.

Am I understanding it correctly, trying to put it in simple terms?

MURRAY: Precisely so, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: OK. And you think that they're...

MURRAY: They...

PHILLIPS: You think you're 1,200 feet from the miners at this point, is that correct?

MURRAY: Yes. Our progress underground, Kyra, has gone extremely slow, very disappointing. Very disappointing and very frustrating. We have only moved about 700 feet underground. We have actually been driven back twice. We have advanced about 650 feet only to have aftershocks bring that -- those rips -- those outbursts back in on us. And we lost that twice and had to go back to square one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, if the third hole fails to make contact, officials say that they plan to drill a fourth.

LEMON: What is a dream decades in the making, today, Endeavour astronaut and teacher Barbara Morgan will do what the late Christine McAuliffe hoped to do -- talk with students from space.

Meantime, NASA is evaluating its options for that worrisome gash on Endeavour's protective tiles.

Our Miles O'Brien, who is our space expert, he joins us now.

He spoke with the teacher turned astronaut just a short time ago -- hi, Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don.

Yes, engineers are very busy in Houston right now trying to figure out if the shuttle crew should try to repair the belly of the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Meanwhile, this is the realization of a dream more than 20-years- old, as in about an hour-and-a-half, the lesson that Christa McAuliffe of the Challenger crew would have given will be delivered by Barbara Morgan.

I talked with her and a couple of her crewmates just a little while ago. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: It's good to have you here with us.

We're joined by the birthday girl, Tracy Caldwell, Barbara Morgan and Commander Scott Kelly in the Destiny laboratory.

Good to have you with us.

Barbara, let's start with you.

What was it like during that launch, particularly at that moment when they said: "Go at throttle up?"

Did you have thoughts about Christa and the Challenger crew?

And have you thought about them a lot during your mission so far?

BARBARA MORGAN, ENDEAVOUR ASTRONAUT: Well, you know, I've thought about Christa and the Challenger crew just about every days since 20, 20 plus years ago. And so it's really nothing extra special, other than we know that -- I hope they know that they are here with us in our hearts.

And as far as that "Go at throttle up," it's hang on, because here we go.

O'BRIEN: You mentioned early on in the mission that the first day or so, you felt like no matter which way you looked, you felt like you were upside down. That must have been a bit of a surprise.

Any other surprises stand out in your mind about the -- after 22 years, finally being in space?

MORGAN: I think probably the biggest surprise is how easy it is for things to just disappear in space. No matter where you put them, no matter how much Velcro is on, no matter how many times you tie it down or how no matter how many bags you put it in, somehow it just seems to just float away.

O'BRIEN: Let's shift gears here for a little bit, Tracy.

If there is a call for a repair on that tile, it's likely you'll be the person commanding the 100-foot long robotic arm with its extension.

Do you feel pretty confident about that?

I assume that will be a relatively tense moment. I know you've trained, but nevertheless.

TRACY CALDWELL, ENDEAVOUR ASTRONAUT: Whether it's me or Barb, we're both very well trained. We've a great team on the ground, both flight controllers and trainers. And we've spent quite a long time learning how to fly this thing and for contingencies just like this. So we feel confident in ourselves and our skills and also our team on the ground, who is looking out for us. They're the ones developing the procedures and the positions for the arm. And as a team, I think we can handle just about any position we need to go to to get this done.

O'BRIEN: All right, Scott Kelly, if you were to vote on it today, would you say let's go ahead and repair it or do you have no strong feelings either way?

SCOTT KELLY, ENDEAVOUR COMMANDER: I don't have a whole lot of the data. We've been -- the ground did send us some information. My understanding, it's more of a reuse issue of the orbiter. If the data indicates that we need to do the repair or, you know, damage the orbiter to where it can't be used again, then I would vote to repair it.

But I think the jury is out on that right now.

O'BRIEN: All right.

Can I ask you before we get away, could you do a group somersault for us, please?

(ASTRONAUTS DO A SOMERSAULT)

O'BRIEN: Excellent work.

Thank you all three.

That was some very...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) is watch the rest of us to make sure we did it right.

O'BRIEN: Some very interesting formation flying.

Thank you, all three.

Enjoy the rest of your mission. We've enjoyed watching it so far.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

O'BRIEN: She might need a little more work on the somersaults there, Don.

Let's -- let's talk a little bit more seriously about this gouge. I want to just point this out very quickly to you.

There's some -- NASA has some 3-D imagery of it now. And essentially what they're -- their concern is that it is pretty deep. It goes right down to the felt liner, the felt or Nomex liner on top of the aluminum skin.

And, basically, I think they're leaning in the directions of a repair, if they can come up with a relatively simple plan for doing that. They'd just as soon put some -- probably put some glue-like substance in there, kind of a caulking type material that hugs up and is heat resistant, just so that when they come back, there isn't any damage to that aluminum.

But to be very clear, even if they went home as it is, it would not lead to a Columbia-style catastrophic conclusion. It just might cause them some maintenance problems in the hangar -- Don.

LEMON: Yes, we certainly hope not, Miles.

And we're running out of time, but can you do a somersault for us?

O'BRIEN: No. No, I won't even try.

LEMON: All right.

Later on I'll take you up on it.

O'BRIEN: All right.

LEMON: Thank you very much, Miles.

And you can watch the Endeavour crew aboard the International Space Station today live right from our own desktop -- your own desktop -- mine, too, if I want to watch it. See it all at CNN.com/video.

PHILLIPS: Well, a kiss is just a kiss, maybe in "Casablanca." But in New York City, people still remember a 62-year-old smooch. Pucker up.

The NEWSROOM will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, today's CNN Hero takes us to Haiti, the first black independent nation in the world. Decades of poverty, violence and political instability have turned it into the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Bobby Duval is working to turn lives of impoverished children away from despair and toward hope by giving them a purpose.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT DUVAL, CNN HERO: In the main center for the last two years, the background music that we had while the kids were playing were gunshots -- machine gunshots.

Some of these kids have witnessed the worst atrocities. They live in the mud and no running water.

(BEGIN GRAPHIC)

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. 80 percent of Haitians live below the poverty line.

200,000 AIDS orphans.

One in eight children will die before the age of five.

(END GRAPHIC)

DUVAL: No electricity. No garbage pickup. No food. Nothing.

My name is Robert Duval. I am the founder of the training center they call L'Athletique d'Haiti, Athletes of Haiti.

This is the women's team.

The kids never miss practice and they're disciplined enough to keep focused on something positive.

And I left this country very young. And I came back, I had a shock.

What happened to my country, you know?

(BEGIN GRAPHIC)

Dictators "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc" Duvalier ruled Haiti from 1957-1986.

They have been accused of rampant corruption. Political killings and arbitrary detentions.

(END GRAPHIC)

DUVAL: I started asking questions and I was thrown in jail. When I came out, I was down to 90 pounds. That means skin and bones. That just turned my life around.

This hill could be a dumping ground.

Now, it's basically an after school program.

One of the driving forces that has made our program so successful is that one plate of food we give them a day. Because sometimes if those kids don't get that, they just won't get a plate of food.

We have soccer, track, basketball, table tennis and we have karate now.

A hero is a kid who accepts to uplift himself in the most adverse conditions, maintains the course and really does succeed in changing his life.

(BEGIN GRAPHIC)

Bobby's program serves approximately 1,300 kids a day through sports, food and educational programs. DUVAL: I feel that youth is important because the youth is the future.

What I do is a drop in the bucket. A kid -- he may have the most immense talent, but if you don't nourish it, he'll never know what he could have become.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: There's a lot more about Bobby Duval and his work to improve Haiti's future on our Web site, CNN.com/heroes.

You can also nominate a hero you know for special recognition later this year.

LEMON: Wrestling with a mystery, Florida authorities are asking what caused the death of pro-wrestler Brian "Crush" Adams?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Upstate New York's "Bike Path Killer" will apparently spend the rest of his life in prison. Forty-nine-year-old Altemio Sanchez was sentenced this morning and got 75 years to life. He pleaded guilty to killing three women in the Buffalo area and admitted to more than a dozen rapes over the past 25 years.

Before the judge today, Sanchez said he deserved whatever sentence he got and: "I should pay for these crimes."

PHILLIPS: Most people would have to try pretty hard to get arrested twice in one day. But, for sure, Jack McClellan is not most people. The self-proclaimed pedophile was hauled in twice yesterday, once for violating a restraining order by wandering near a UCLA daycare center. The second arrest, for trespassing, and that came right after this interview with our affiliate, KTLA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY KTLA)

JACK MCCLELLAN, ADMITTED PEDOPHILE: Well, it was an honest mistake. I had been on the campus for a couple hours before that at other places. I didn't go right to that spot because I didn't -- I'm not familiar with the campus. I don't go to school there.

Honestly, I didn't know it was there. The reason I was on UCLA was because I -- I didn't think there would be virtually any minors there and I thought I could kind of blend in as a student.

QUESTION: Are you attracted to children?

MCCLELLAN: Yes, sure I am. Girls. I have admitted that many times. But I have never done anything criminal.

QUESTION: After you did -- what you did today, though, why should you be allowed to walk around freely?

MCCLELLAN: Well, that wasn't -- that wasn't my decision. That was the decision at the police department. And they just decided it wasn't that grave of a situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, McClellan is unemployed and lives in his car. For years, he ran a Web site where he posted pictures of young girls in public and described the best places to watch them.

LEMON: Mystery surrounding the death of a former pro-wrestler. Tampa police are awaiting autopsy results on 44-year-old Brian "Crush" Adams. He was found dead in his home. Police say he showed no signs of injury. They don't suspect foul play.

Adams was a former world tag team champion. His death comes less than two months after pro-wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife, son and then himself.

PHILLIPS: Well, a legend, first at shortstop, then in the broadcast booth. New York Yankees Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto died today. Rizzuto played 13 seasons for the Yanks, interrupted by a stint in the Navy during World War II.

Nicknamed "Scooter" for his quick feet, he batted lead-off and helped the team to nine World Series titles. Rizzuto later started calling games on radio and TV, spicing up the play-by-play with his trademark, "Holy cow!"

Phil Rizzuto is survived by his wife, four children and two grandchildren.

LEMON: The closing bell, a wrap up all the action on Wall Street, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Oh, everybody say it -- four newborns are getting a lot of attention in China. They're baby pandas born last night at a panda breeding center and they're pretty rare. Only 34 pandas were born in all of last year.

There are about 1,600 pandas in the wild. Another 210 have been bred in captivity. Look how tiny they are.

PHILLIPS: You just want to kiss them. It's kind of like puckering up today in New York City in the name of patriotism and peace, of course.

The Times Square Alliance organized this afternoon's "kiss-in" on the 62nd anniversary of V.J. Day.

Stop. Stop trying...

LEMON: The mass smooch replicated...

PHILLIPS: Stop trying to kiss me, Don. It ended in World War II, as you remember.

LEMON: The mass smooch replicated the famous Alfred Eisenstaedt -- did I say that right?

PHILLIPS: Eisenstaedt, yes.

LEMON: Eisenstaedt photo of a young sailor and this (INAUDIBLE) nurse. The Alliance invited couples of all ages to honor the U.S. armed forces and to celebrate "the universal ideals of peace, love and hope."

PHILLIPS: (LAUGHTER).

Susan Lisovicz, closing -- you know I love you.

LEMON: Wait, wait, wait. Didn't you interview that woman? Didn't you interview the woman in the kiss before?

PHILLIPS: I did. I -- yes.

See, Susan, I was talking about this in the morning -- the meeting this morning. The woman that was actually in that picture, Edith, I met her years ago at a photo exhibit of Alfred's photos.

LEMON: Right.

PHILLIPS: And she was there talking about that. And she -- and I asked her how it happened. She said I was just in the middle of the Square and I was in my nurse's outfit and this sailor came over to me and just smooched me.

And she goes, the next thing we knew, we were on the cover of "Life" magazine.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kyra, it doesn't take much for that to happen in Times Square on...

(LAUGHTER)

LISOVICZ: ...if you've ever...

LEMON: Wait, Susan. Especially in the old days. It's never happened to me, Susan. I don't know about you, but I've never gotten any lip in Times Square.

(LAUGHTER)

LISOVICZ: Well, OK. I think I'll leave it at that.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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