Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Texas Braces for Storm; Bombings in Iraq Have Fingerprints of al Qaeda; Mine Rescue Effort
Aired August 15, 2007 - 08:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live on Wednesday, August, 15th.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Will this blob become Erin? A gathering storm targeting Texas. One of three systems on our radar.
HARRIS: A former NBA ref in court this hour. Sources telling CNN he will plead guilty to betting on games.
COLLINS: And, have you hugged your portfolio today? Sagging stocks could drag the Dow below 13,000 today. Opening bell 30 minutes away -- in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Let's call it a triple play this morning. Three tropical weather systems churning in the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico this hour. Relief in Hawaii as Tropical Storm Flossie moves away, but in the Caribbean, something to worry about, Tropical Storm Dean. Texans along the coast keeping watch on a tropical depression there in the Gulf.
A live report just ahead, but first, meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the CNN hurricane center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Boy, Texas taking notice of that tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico.
CNN's Keith Oppenheim on the scene now in Corpus Christi for us this morning.
Hey there, Keith. How are things looking to you today so far?
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not too bad just yet, Heidi.
I'm at the base of the seawall here at the marina in Corpus Christi and I'm going to walk up the steps of the seawall. And as I do, you can just sort of see the view behind me, which at this point looks great.
It is warming up today. You wouldn't really know that there is a storm coming. But as Jacqui was explaining, tropical depression number five should start to give us some rain by later today, and if, indeed, this storm does evolve into Tropical Storm Erin by tomorrow, then we'll start to feel the effects of that.
But whether this is a depression or a tropical storm, it's really not expected to be a wind event, but much more of a rain event. And that's exactly why Texas governor Rick Perry has ordered the National Guard and some of its rescue swimmer teams to get ready. And we're going to hear from one of the guys who's doing just that. His name is Corey Rickerson, and he's talking about what they're doing to get ready for tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COREY RICKERSON, TEXAS TASK FORCE ONE: We've got food, water, we've got shelters. We've got showers, beds, everything that we need right here in order to go to a remote location and be self-sufficient as a unit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: Just a view of the sky as we come back here. And, you know, just to underscore what Jacqui was talking about, we are expecting to have average rain accumulations, Heidi, around the three to five inches rain here in Corpus Christi and along the coast. But there could be some spots where the rain accumulation gets up to like eight inches, so that's obviously, you know, a place where flooding is going to be...
COLLINS: Oh, sure.
OPPENHEIM: ... a great concern as we get into this thing.
Back to you.
COLLINS: All right, Keith. It does look lovely there right now, but, oh, how quickly things can change.
We appreciate it. We'll check back with you later. Thanks, Keith.
HARRIS: And we are keeping an eye on a federal court in Brooklyn this hour. We have word that former NBA referee Tim Donaghy is pleading guilty in a gambling scandal. He is due to appear before a judge right now.
Donaghy is accused of betting on games, even those he officiated. He worked more than 100 regular and post-season games during the past two years.
CNN's Allan Chernoff is inside the courtroom, and he will join us live coming up in just a bit here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Al Qaeda in Iraq the U.S. military's prime suspect in a string of suicide bombings. Hundreds killed and wounded in Iraq's Kurdish north.
Live now to CNN's Dan Rivers in Baghdad.
And Dan, so now we are seeing more attacks in the north?
DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a depressing day today in Iraq. This multiple truck suicide bombing, there are conflicting reports about exactly what happened.
The Ministry of the Interior telling us three suicide truck bombs were driven into two different towns in the west/northwest of Iraq. We're being told that 200 people at least have been killed in this devastating attack, 300 people are wounded, and those figures likely to go up.
They're combing through the rubble of two towns, Sinja (ph) and Ba'aj (ph). Both of them about 70 miles west of Mosul.
One official said that the scene is like a small nuclear bomb has gone off in these two places. There's talk of dozens of houses having been completely flattened during these suicide attacks last night. They happened about 8:00 p.m., when a lot of people were sitting out after the heat of the day talking to one another.
It really sounds like a really devastating scene. We're being told that there are appeals for blood donors at hospitals, that the U.S. military forces are ferrying the injured to hospitals in Kurdish areas.
And the interesting thing is that this attack seems to have been against a small sect in this area of northern Iraq, the Yazidi sect. There's only about half a million of them in Iraq, and it seems from what the Ministry of the Interior are telling us, that this is an al Qaeda-planned spectacular attack against this small minority religion that has now left hundreds of people dead.
HARRIS: Boy, so you do the work of sealing off Baghdad and Anbar province and they simply move to other areas. So, Dan, let's talk about one of those other areas. The U.S. military says it is ramping up operations in Diyala province.
What do we know about that?
RIVERS: There's a massive operation going on in the Diyala River Valley. We're being told 10,000 U.S. troops are involved, along with 6,000 Iraqi troops.
They're trying to push al Qaeda elements and extremist militia elements out of those areas. There are assaults going on, night aerial assaults going on with troops landing in helicopters and pushing up that river valley, trying to deny terrain to the extremists. But as you say, you know, this is happening on one side of the country, and then on the other side of the country, we have got these devastating truck bombs. It feels almost like they're moving the problem simply from one area to another.
HARRIS: Yes.
CNN's Dan Rivers for us in Baghdad.
Dan, appreciate it. Thank you.
COLLINS: And word this morning from the U.S. military, a deadly helicopter crash in Iraq does not appear to be the result of an attack. A Chinook helicopter like one that we'll be seeing here shortly crashed yesterday near an air base in Anbar province. Five U.S. service members died. Officials say the chopper was on a routine post-maintenance check flight.
Turning up the heat on Iran, the Bush administration now considering whether to name part or all of Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group. That word from a senior State Department official.
That official says the move is about three-fourths done, but details are still being worked out. The Bush administration claims Iranian agents linked to the Revolutionary Guard are training and giving weapons to insurgents battling U.S. troops in Iraq. Iran denies that.
HARRIS: So, if you have kids or you know any, you'll want to know what to do today after that massive toy recall. Mattel's Web site says the company wants parents to know about the recall as soon as possible and they want parents to return the toys to them.
The recall involves more than nine million toys. That is massive. Some seven million of those are Polly Pocket dolls and accessories. Those items made between 2003 and 2006 contain small magnets that come off. A potential danger for little ones.
The other big concern, toys tainted with lead paint. All of the recalled toys were made in China.
Toys are just part of the story. If you want to know it all, head to our Web site. That's where you can find our special report, "Made in China". Go to CNN.com/madeinchina. Answers to your questions, in-depth reports, you'll find it all there.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Zarrella.
Just ahead, pictures from inside the Crandall Canyon Mine you will want to see.
HARRIS: And still to come, colon cancer linked to what you eat. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta live. A new study you'll want to see before your next meal.
COLLINS: And a taxing question. How to get people to dump bottled water? Some cities want you to drink it from the tap. How they plan to get you to do it. HARRIS: A playground catches fire, seemingly all by itself. It is caught by a security camera.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lot of things that they've said that could never happen, and through video we have seen it happen. So argue with the video.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wood chips and summer heat, a combustible combination.
The story in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Crews working around the clock to reach those trapped miners in Utah. They hope to have that third hole drilled by the end of the day.
Live now to John Zarrella.
Hey, John, if you checked out on the story over the last couple of days, has it moved significantly?
ZARRELLA: Well, it's moved significantly from the standpoint that drilling has gone very, very well for that third hole. Yesterday, in mid-afternoon, they were already at 585 feet. So they should be by now very close to reaching that 1,400-foot level so that they can penetrate into that cavity at the far end of the mine where they hope and pray that these miners may be held up, waiting for the rescue teams to get there.
Of course, speaking of the rescue teams, the mine company released video yesterday, fascinating video yesterday taken underground of that effort to reach the miners and the hustling miners, the teams that are down there. A hundred and thirty-four miners working around the clock to free these six trapped miners, and the work shows the extensive efforts that have been taken to shore up the inside of the mine, everything from chain-link fences, to water jacks, to steel cables. Everything to reinforce the roof of the mine and the sides of the mines.
And, of course, all of that has slowed the progress of those rescue workers because of the precautions to protect the rescue workers themselves. But Bob Murray, the owner of the mining company, says now that the pace is really picking up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB MURRAY, CEO, MURRAY ENERGY CORP.: We're in a third of the way, 700 feet out of 2,000. We have been -- since we got mobilized and got it going, maybe seven days.
We are going about twice as fast as we were. So if we're in a third of the way in seven days, but going twice as fast, then another five to seven days we ought to be there. Now, that's just a mathematical calculation but we may encounter conditions underground, sir, that would make that longer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Now, of course, once this third hole is drilled, they will drop a camera down inside there in hopes they can see these miners. If they don't, there are plans for a fourth hole which would be somewhere right in between the first and second hole and the third hole, in the middle of this cavity, and they say if they drill that hole, as well, and they don't find anything, Tony, that at that point, they're pretty much out of options -- Tony.
HARRIS: Whoa. OK. My thought would be you just keep drilling holes until you find them.
John Zarrella for us in Utah.
John, appreciate it. Thank you.
If you're looking for a way to make a difference for the miners' families, you can impact your world by logging on to CNN.com/impact to learn how you can become part of the solution. We posted information about the Crandall Canyon family support fund. Impacting your world now just a click away at CNN.com/impact.
COLLINS: Diet danger. If it's fatty and sugary, it tastes good, but it's bad for people who have had colon cancer.
Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here now to tell us more about this.
So, what are we learning? I mean, I guess it's not shocking to me that anything that tastes good seems to be bad.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I know. You know, and we've known for a long time, the western diet, which is our diet, which is high in fat and high in sugar, gives you a higher chance of getting colon cancer. That's something that's been known for sometime.
What's new here is it also gives you a higher chance, about 3.5 times higher chance, of having a recurrence of colon cancer, as well. And that is new information there.
When you talk about the western diet, you are talking about lots of red meat, five to seven servings a week. You're talking about sugary desserts, one to two of those a day. And you're talking about refined grains, as opposed to whole grains.
This is what a lot of people in the western world eat. We know, again, that it's linked with colon cancer, and now the recurrence of colon cancer, as well.
COLLINS: Wow. So these are people who are in remission, they have possibly had surgery or they've been through chemotherapy, and then they have a poor diet, so it actually vaults them back into having cancer?
GUPTA: Yes. That is exactly right.
You know, people sort of fall in one of two patterns after they have had a brush with cancer. They either become a completely different person and watch everything that they eat and become very good about it, or they say, well, I have had cancer, lightning's not going to strike twice, so I can do what I want to do. The message here is, you can't, because 3.5 times more likely to develop a recurrence and possibly die from that recurrence is a significant increase in your risk.
You've really got to watch your diet, even after the surgery or the chemotherapy that you mentioned.
COLLINS: Well, what is it that's so awful on the colon when you're talking about red meat and sugary foods?
GUPTA: You know, that's a very good question, and I don't know that people know for sure the answer to that. We have looked into that.
One of the prevailing theories is that when you eat a diet such as the western diet, you actually release a lot more insulin, a type of hormone in the body, and this insulin we know could potentially be sort of a fuel for colon cancer. So, what may have otherwise been an inconsequential tumor or no tumor at all, could suddenly develop as a result of this increase in insulin levels, and that could be a possible cause.
We don't know for sure what the mechanism is, but there does appear to be a pretty strong association.
COLLINS: It sounds like it.
So, all right, what is the best diet then for people who want to obviously steer clear of colon cancer?
GUPTA: Well, you know, there's a few things, and I think maybe people could sort of guess to the fact that you probably want to limit your red meat. And, you know, I want to give specifics here, so maybe one to two times a week, really no more than that.
As far as grains, though, really try and pick whole grains when you're picking out your bread or other grains instead of refined grains. And cut down on the sweets. The sweets seem to be one of the biggest culprits.
COLLINS: So hard.
GUPTA: I know. I know. It's hard for me. It's hard for you. It's hard for Tony.
COLLINS: I've been off sugar for three weeks, and I'm just doing, like, this overall apology to everyone in my life, because I'm not very nice.
HARRIS: Because you're a real crank right now. You're a crank. The world should know you're a real crank right now.
COLLINS: You have been gone. You've been gone. You have no idea.
HARRIS: Well, there's a reason for that.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: OK?
COLLINS: There you have it.
GUPTA: A little bit of sugar maybe, OK?
HARRIS: A little bit. Have a little cola drink, why don't you?
COLLINS: OK. Thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thanks, guys.
HARRIS: To the hand.
Still to come in the CNN NEWSROOM, convicted of killing her preacher husband, she is now free just two months after being sentenced. How Mary Winkler got out.
COLLINS: Also, President Bush calls him an enemy combatant. His lawyers say he's a scholar, not a terrorist. Today, jurors deciding the fate of Jose Padilla.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Ali Velshi in New York, "Minding Your Business".
Watch out for falling stocks. Ten minutes to go before the open of the New York Stock Exchange. It's not looking great.
I'll tell you what it looks like when we come back in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: He was once accused of plotting to detonate a dirty bomb, but that's not what Jose Padilla is on trial for. Jurors in Miami this morning weighing terrorism charges against him and two co- defendants.
Prosecutors say they were part of an al Qaeda cell providing support for Islamic terrorists overseas. Key government evidence, a so-called Mujahideen data form. Federal prosecutors say Padilla filed it -- or filled it out, pardon me, to attend an al Qaeda training camp in 2000. Padilla's lawyer says he didn't fill it out and he didn't train as a terrorist.
Padilla is one of the first people President Bush classified as an enemy combatant in the war on terror.
HARRIS: The Dow down 200 points on Tuesday, while global stocks tumble overnight. The markets could be headed for another rocky ride at today's open.
Ali Velshi is here "Minding Your Business".
Ali, what do you expect today? And is this starting to impact my 401(k), my mutual funds? Is it hitting me, me, me? It is all about me, you know.
VELSHI: I was just reading a report, a survey of fund managers, mutual fund managers around the world, and a lot of them still think that because the market has been beaten down the way it has, there are buying opportunities. In other words, the view isn't that this is a stop on the way down.
It doesn't mean that it doesn't go lower from here, but there are mutual fund managers, some of whom are saying, I'm going to sit out and do what I can until -- you know, until we know what's going on. But some are saying, let's buy.
Let's see how this Dow has done for the last little while.
In the last month, it has had five days where it's dropped more than 200 points.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: The Dow is now almost a thousand points below its high, which was 14,000. We closed yesterday at 13,028.
We have had 600 points in losses in the last four days alone, but again, keep in mind, we have a Dow that's around 13,000. But we are looking at futures that are lower this morning. Last check I think was 49 points lower, so there's a good chance we could open up this market, you know, and get down below 13,000.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: Whether that makes people think that they should get into the market or not, because we were -- that's what people were talking about. When it was 14,000 and it started going down, people said, I'm going to wait until 13,000.
HARRIS: Yes. Or cash out a little bit and get a little liquid...
VELSHI: Right.
HARRIS: ... and sort of sit on the sidelines and see where things go here.
But let me ask you about the inflation numbers. You know, the price of our goods...
VELSHI: Right.
HARRIS: ... stabilizing, going up, going down? Where are we with inflation?
VELSHI: Well, inflation is always up a little bit. I mean, if inflation were three percent a year on average, that would be OK. So you never want zero inflation.
HARRIS: Got you.
VELSHI: So, the inflation for the numbers -- the inflation numbers for July came in exactly where economists thought they would come in, and that's good news.
HARRIS: That's good news, yes.
VELSHI: Because when inflation is under control, the Fed can consider lowering interest rates and maybe helping us out a little bit, but if inflation is high, the Fed cutting interest rates would make loans cheaper, which would make us all buy more things, which would cause demand, which would cause inflation.
HARRIS: So what's on your radar today? What are you watching?
VELSHI: Well, we are going to see now where this market opens up to start with. We have seen -- we have a couple of things going on.
We got that inflation number, so we're OK with that. But Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock of Countrywide Financial, the largest mortgage lender in the country...
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: ... to a sell. So it's telling its clients, sell the stock. So we want to see if there's more pressure in the mortgage industry today. We saw those Asian markets and European markets have a rough day.
And we're watching oil, because Shell has announced that it has started evacuating some people from the Gulf of Mexico...
HARRIS: Here we go again.
VELSHI: ... in preparation for the storm. And you know, as you know, a storm doesn't have to hit and it doesn't have to be a hurricane, if it looks like it could be potentially dangerous. There are tens of thousands of people who work offshore in the Gulf of Mexico...
HARRIS: Absolutely.
VELSHI: ... and they need to be evacuated if it gets more serious.
So those are the things we're looking at.
HARRIS: There he is, "Minding Your Business," Ali Velshi this morning.
Ali, good to see you. Thanks.
VELSHI: You too.
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody, once again.
I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.
Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Hawaii dodging a hurricane. Flossie downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm. It actually lost strength as it sideswiped the big island.
Before it weakened, Flossie threatened the island with powerful winds, flooding rain and pounding surf. A state of emergency was put in place and schools and businesses shut down. The state has been -- not been hit by a hurricane in almost 15 years.
Jacqui Jeras is with us now to update us on the situation.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And just as a reminder, when weather becomes the news, count on CNN to bring it to you first. And if you see severe weather happening in your area, send us an I-Report. Be careful doing it, of course. But to CNN.com and click on I-Report or type I-Report at cnn.com into your cell phone and share your photos or video.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And still to come in THE NEWSROOM this morning, a referee accused of betting on games now set to admit it in federal court. We are following the action.
COLLINS: Also, toy shoppers searching for the magic words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD ROTH, SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Where is it from?
Canada.
Oh, no, made in China. Hmm. Which means -- which means we'll have to discuss it with mom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Mattel's latest recall -- what it means for toy shoppers and toy stores.
And a story of survival from the streets of Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPEC. DESMOND CACCIOTTI, U.S. MILITARY: She was found about two or three weeks ago under some scrap metal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The baby Fatima and the U.S. soldiers who saved her.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, we are keeping an eye on federal court in Brooklyn this hour. We have word that former NBA referee Tim Dongahy is pleading guilty on a gambling scandal. He is due to appear before a judge right now. Donaghy is accused of betting on games, even those he officiated. He worked more than 100 regular and post-season games -- we're talking about the play-offs here, when everything is on the line -- during the past last two years.
CNN's Allan Chernoff inside the courtroom.
He will be joining us live coming up in a bit right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Combing through the carnage, rescuers in northern Iraq still searching for victims. At least 200 people killed, 300 wounded in massive suicide bombings. The attackers driving fuel tankers targeted the Yazidi sect. That's an ancient Kurdish minority group. The U.S. military says it's too soon to say who's responsible, but Al Qaeda is the prime suspect.
And word this morning from the U.S. military -- a deadly helicopter crash in Iraq does not appear to be the result of an attack. A Chinook helicopter like this one crashed yesterday near an air base in Anbar Province. Five U.S. service members died. Officials say the chopper was on a routine post-maintenance check flight.
Orphaned by violence, unofficially adopted by U.S. soldiers -- a baby girl found in the wreckage of war.
CNN's Arwa Damon has her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She's nine months old, but Fatima has already been through more than most people see in a lifetime.
CACCIOTTI: Well, she was found about -- I think two or three weeks ago under some scrap metal. One of her siblings actually found her and came to (INAUDIBLE) and says, "Hey, can you take my sister? She needs help very badly. She's very sick."
DAMON: Found in the searing summer heat in Baghdad. Fatima's mother and uncle had just been killed by a death squad, probably because they were Sunnis. Her 7-year-old brother stopped a passing patrol and she was brought to a U.S. combat support hospital.
CACCIOTTI: She came to the hospital and she was diagnosed with malnutrition. She was very small for her size, only about eight pounds, less, give or take. Nowadays she's about -- about 12 pounds.
DAMON: For the hospital staff, baby Fatima is a welcome distraction from the daily violence. The head nurse was killed in a mortar attack last month.
In the words of one medic, "Fatima is a little happiness in a bad place."
(on camera): The U.S. military says it's looking for Fatima's extended family, but she just may end up joining her five brothers and sisters in an orphanage. Their lives, like thousands of other innocents, scarred by war and their future as uncertain as the future of their country.
Arwa Damon, CNN Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: So if you have kids, you know any or maybe you're about to buy for some, you want to know what to do today about that massive toy recall. Mattel's Web site says the company wants parents to know about the recall as soon as possible and they want parents to return toys to them.
The recall involves more than nine million toys. Some seven million of those are Polli Pocket Dolls and accessories. Those items, made between 2003 and 2006, contain small magnets that can come off -- a potential danger for little ones.
The other big concern -- toys tainted with lead paint.
All of the recalled toys were made in China. Millions of toys recalled. The question today -- how do you know what to keep and what toys to toss out of the toy box?
CNN's Richard Roth reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ROTH (voice-over): The siren of the toy fire engine is a symbolic warning -- buyer beware. It's another recall.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just never know what you're getting. You're, you know, you're kind of at the mercy of the toy manufacturers.
Right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
ROTH: It's increasingly difficult for customers to find the right and safest toy. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm trying to find something that's not made in China because of the possibility of lead content in the paint. But it seems to be virtually impossible to find anything in the toy selections that are not made in China.
ROTH (on camera): Where is it from?
Canada. Oh, no, made in China. Hmm.
Which means?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which means we'll have to discuss it with mom.
ROTH (voice-over): But even mommy can't make recalls stop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a little concerned about it, but I don't know. I guess there's nothing really to do about it.
ROTH: Some toy shoppers think there is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We should have more products made in this country, not outsource all the products to a place just because the labor is cheap.
ROTH: Unlike prior recalls, stationary and toy store owner Donna Schofield said she had still not been alerted by Mattel regarding which products were being recalled, learning only from the news media.
DONNA SCHOFIELD, TOY STORE OWNER: It's good that they're checking every single product now. I mean, and they have to do that legally. But it's just nerve-wracking, I think, for the parents now, and for us as buyers.
ROTH: So several of the recalled toys were still on the shelves.
SCHOFIELD: This is Polli herself.
ROTH: Polli Pocket Dolls -- seven million are being recalled, in addition to more than two million recalled in November. And Doggie Daycare. Some of the one million Playsets recalled Tuesday were still in the store. This young girl might have a right idea -- keep it simple.
Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: So toys are just a part of the story. If you want to know it all, head to our Web site. That's where you find our special report, "Made In China". Go to CNN.com/madeinchina. Answers to your questions, in-depth reports, you will find it all there.
COLLINS: A taxing question -- how to get people to dump bottled water. Some cities want you to drink from the tap. How they plan to get you to do it.
HARRIS: So how hot is it?
Check out this video -- fire on the playground. You won't believe how this one got started.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Americans pay extra taxes on everything from alcohol to cigarettes to gasoline.
But water?
CNN's Deborah Feyerick has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Americans love their bottled water, so much so, they drank more than eight billion gallons of the stuff, shelling out $11 billion in the process.
So why is Chicago thinking about slapping consumers with a tax as much as 25 cents per bottle of water?
GEORGE CARDENAS, CHICAGO CITY ALDERMAN: It's a way of maybe hitting people over the head with it and saying, hey, listen, we -- we just have to be more prudent in how we use our resources.
FEYERICK: Chicago is just the latest example of cities and consumers concerned about the environmental consequences -- everything from making and disposing of the bottles to depleting water resources by companies selling the water.
Trendy restaurants such as Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, now only serve tap water.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), NEW YORK: Our aqua is terrific.
FEYERICK: The mayors of New York, San Francisco and other cities say they won't buy any more bottled water. They praise the quality of city tap, as does Chicago Alderman Cardenas.
CARDENAS: It's a great tasting water. Just people don't realize that.
FEYERICK: But would his constituents stay with bottled water even if it were taxed?
Our sample in Chicago was all but unanimous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I would.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd be bigger bottles so I wouldn't have to hurt the environment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd still buy it, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the convenience. FEYERICK: The bottled water industry says there's plenty of room for bottled and tap water.
As for Alderman Cardenas' taxing idea...
JOSEPH DOSS, INTERNATIONAL BOTTLED WATER ASSOCIATION: Bottled water is a safe, healthy, refreshing beverage that consumers use to stay hydrated and any action, such as this tax, that would discourage consumers from drinking a healthy beverage are just not in the public interest.
FEYERICK (on camera): And corporate America is taking note. One company says it plans to market a reusable beverage container. Another company is planning on coming out with a lightweight version of the bottle, which would use 30 percent less plastic.
Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: Spontaneous combustion on the playground?
Take a look at these pictures. It took just minutes for a Texas elementary school playground to go up in flames. And it appears that a typical playground safeguard was a big factor. Fire officials say decomposing wood chips were ignited by the sun. No kids were on the playground at the time. The school district is now replacing wood chips on the playgrounds with -- listen to this -- gravel. Oh, great -- gravel fight.
COLLINS: The slow pace of digging to those six trapped miners in Utah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are here right now at the furthest point that we have driven toward the trapped miners, a distance of about 700 feet from where we started.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Boy, that's slow, isn't it?
We'll take you inside the mine rescue efforts.
HARRIS: Also, a referee accused of betting on games now set to admit it in federal court. We are following the action.
COLLINS: And it was the attack of September 11th -- 1857. And this time, Americans fired on Americans. A controversial new movie ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Free. Mary Winkler is free two months after being convicted in the shotgun killing of her husband. The Tennessee woman released from a mental health facility yesterday. Winkler was sentenced to three years for manslaughter, but she got credit for time served before the trial. She'll serve the rest of her time on probation. Winkler still faces a custody fight for her three children and a civil suit filed by her-in-laws.
Prosecutors had portrayed Matthew Winkler as a good husband, but defense attorneys argued he abused his wife.
HARRIS: Crews working around the clock to reach those trapped miners in Utah. These new images of what's called a continuous miner machine. The slow-moving process of shoveling coal into the cart part of efforts to clear rubble that's blocking the tunnel entrance to the miners.
The coal mine's operator says drilling on a third hole will probably be done tonight. As soon as that's done, crews will drop a camera down that hole to look for any signs of the miners. They've been trapped for more than a week now. If that doesn't work, the mine operator plans to drill a fourth hole.
COLLINS: The mine rescue operation now in its second week now -- six men trapped underground.
One question -- are they alive?
CNN's Brian Todd reports on chances of survival.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rescue miners dig furiously as their boss narrates.
ROBERT MURRAY, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MURRAY ENERGY CORPORATION: You seen the jack?
It's moving up now against the roof. Now, once they get the jack against the roof, they seal it.
TODD: In a video his crew shot from the mine, Robert Murray shows how slow and dangerous this work is.
MURRAY: And you are here right now, right at the furthest point that we have driven towards the trapped miners, a distance of about 700 feet from where we started.
TODD: Seven hundred feet in, just over a third of the distance to the area underground where the six missing miners were believed to be when the cave-in struck nearly nine days ago.
Since then, there have been no signs of life. But all hope is not lost. Other miners have survived longer underground, according to the U.S. Mine Rescue Association.
Spring 2006: Two miners last two weeks in an Australian mine before being rescued.
November 2005: A Chinese miner is rescued after 11 days. He tells journalists he drank his own urine.
LEE MCELPRANG, FORMER MINER: Nobody knows what these guys went through.
TODD: Lee McElprang mined these hills for 34 years, but not at Crandall Canyon. He says he crawled out after one collapse that killed one of his buddies and injured two others.
MCELPRANG: You've got to wait until the dust settles. You can get on your knees and run out of air. You can stand up and be in air.
TODD: When you get to the highest point you can, he says, breathe what air you can. Ration out your food. And as for the water in the mine...
MCELPRANG: Yes, that water -- that water is potable. They tell me you can go 10 days without eating, as long as you've got water to drink.
TODD (on camera): McElprang says the trapped miners should also try to find what they call bleeder tunnels that are designed to let dangerous gases escape.
Now, this is all in the event that the miners are not injured or in shell shock. Lee McElprang says there is no way to describe to outsiders just how fast these mines can cave in and how devastating that first concussion can be.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COLLINS: If you are looking for a way to make a difference for the miners' families, you can. Impact your world by logging on to CNN.com/impact to learn how you can become part of the solution.
We have posted information about the Crandall Canyon family support fund. Impacting your world now just a click away at CNN.com/impact.
HARRIS: And still ahead this morning, Flossie flounders and Hawaii dodges a bullet. On the Texas coast, no time to let down your guard. A big storm headed your way. The same story in the Caribbean. Severe weather a serious threat there, as well.
The forecast, straight ahead.
COLLINS: And about-face for Rudy Giuliani?
An immigration policy he had as New York mayor now coming under scrutiny on the campaign trail.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Immigration records a point of attack for two GOP presidential candidates.
CNN's Bill Schneider reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST:
(voice over): Mitt Romney made this charge against Rudy Giuliani...
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At the same time, Mayor Giuliani made New York City what's known as a sanctuary city, where illegal aliens were allowed to come -- and he instructed the leaders of the city not to enforce the law -- not to enforce immigration law there.
SCHNEIDER: Giuliani defends his decision as mayor of New York to continue a policy started by a predecessor to allow illegal immigrants to receive medical attention, send their children to public schools and cooperate with the police without fear of being deported.
RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you came and reported a crime, we weren't going to turn you in.
SCHNEIDER: The idea is to protect public safety first. As mayor, Giuliani was a passionate advocate of immigration, saying in 1994: "If you come here and you work hard and you happen to be in an undocumented status, you're one of the people who we want in this city. You're somebody that we want to protect."
In South Carolina Tuesday, Giuliani proposed tougher border controls and a tamper-proof I.D. card to keep out terrorists and criminals.
GIULIANI: If even one or two of them are very dangerous criminals, just one or two out of 1,000, then we've got a really serious problem.
SCHNEIDER: There's been a shift in his emphasis, you might say.
Why?
Two reasons -- 9/11, which highlighted the need to protect public safety; and John McCain, whose support for comprehensive immigration reform cost him dearly in polls of Republicans.
Meanwhile, the Giuliani campaign accuses Romney of running away from his own past, asking: "Why should the American people believe Governor Romney has the right kind of executive experience for America when he claims he was powerless to take action against three sanctuary cities in Massachusetts who refused to enforce illegal immigration laws?"
Romney's campaign says the governor took action against those cities by deputizing state troopers to enforce immigration laws.
Those kinds of things can happen when the former mayor of New York and the former governor of Massachusetts, two very liberal places, run for the Republican nomination. When a reporter asked the current mayor about Romney's charge that New York is a sanctuary city, he replied...
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), NEW YORK: Boyd (ph), let them come.
SCHNEIDER (on camera): Michael Bloomberg is not a Republican anymore and if he runs for president, he may have some explaining to do.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody.
I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.
Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Here's what's on the rundown.
His job kept him on the court. Right now he's in court. Sources tell CNN a former NBA referee pleading guilty to betting on games.
COLLINS: This looks like fuel for what may soon be Tropical Storm Erin, one of three systems we're tracking this hour.
HARRIS: Dow jitters again today. The stock index slips below 13,000. Well, at least we're wild here this Wednesday, August 15th.
A little droopy.
We're off now.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
