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Search For Utah Miners Continues; Suicide Truck Bombings Kill Hundreds in Iraq

Aired August 15, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

STICKLER: ...took two or three hours to make those repairs.
QUESTION: How -- the progress, the actual progress in from the starting point, where is it at now?

STICKLER: Let me...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (OFF-MIKE)

STICKLER: Did you hear that answer? Seventy hundred and 80 feet?

QUESTION: When might the video camera go in? Today?

STICKLER: As soon as we get the drill string pulled out of the hole, we will follow that up with putting the video camera in.

QUESTION: You're meeting with the families today. You usually meet in the afternoon. You had two mornings meetings. Was it because you had new information? Did they request another meeting with you? Or how did that come about?

MURRAY: Well, we had -- we wanted to have the first meeting because it was scheduled and planned and people were there. And we gave them all the information we knew at that time. That meeting started at 8:30 a.m.

But we knew that in the next few hours, we were going to be getting additional information. We told the families that. We told them as soon as we knew that the hole drilled in and any information we had to share with them that we would come back down and do that. And that's what we did.

QUESTION: What time did it go through?

(CROSSTALK)

MURRAY: Ten fifteen this morning is when we holed into the coal mine.

STICKLER: Ten Ten, 10:15.

QUESTION: Mr. Murray, you have said that some of your managers are tired, so you're bringing in new ones. What about the actual workers who are doing the digging? They must be tired as well. Any thoughts on bringing new workers in? MURRAY: Actually, they have already been from the beginning, ma'am, working on alternate shifts.

We have four crews of men working round the clock, and everyone is getting plenty of rest who are the actual workers. The people that are the tiredest right now are we managers. And they have been on site managing now for nine straight days. And we haven't been off the mountain.

And so we have just brought in some backup support there. We have had plenty of workers, ma'am. There have been -- there's about 200 involved in the rescue process right now. And at any one time there's about 50 to 60 underground. So, they are getting plenty of time off and time to rest.

Thank you for asking.

QUESTION: Mr. Murray, can you address any safety improvements your company has made to the mine over the past year or so?

MURRAY: I wouldn't know how to answer that question. We run safe mines.

This mine has had a very good safety record. The mining conditions have been excellent. And so I don't think that question would apply to our situation. It's been -- I have owned the mine since August 9 of 2006. And we have exhausted every effort to operate as a productive mine, and this mine has been.

QUESTION: Mr. Murray, you said that you won't wait for the steel casing. You will go ahead and...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: I'm sorry. Mr. Stickler said that. You will go ahead and try to bring the camera down. Do you have a -- I know you don't like predictions -- but an approximately time know how long it will take for that camera to go down?

MURRAY: As soon as possible.

QUESTION: Mr. Murray, do you -- I mean, are we talking hours, a day?

MURRAY: Hours.

QUESTION: Will you do another briefing this afternoon (OFF-MIKE) the results?

MURRAY: We have promised you from the time of the earthquake -- I was here in two hours and a half meeting with you folks nine days ago. And I have told you all along that as soon as we have developments, we will keep you informed after we tell the families. That's the condition on it. I think you can understand that and respect that. We keep the families informed first and we will keep you informed of any developments. QUESTION: If you don't find any sign of the miners, what will you do next? Start on the fourth hole?

MURRAY: That's correct, ma'am. We have already surveyed the hole in and we're starting on it. That's correct.

QUESTION: Is the (INAUDIBLE) built to that hole?

MURRAY: Yes.

QUESTION: Do you mean the drilling is starting on the fourth now?

MURRAY: Sir?

QUESTION: Do you mean the drilling has started on the fourth?

MURRAY: No. We're still on the number three hole, as Mr. Stickler said, removing the casing from that hole and working with that hole, the microphone and so forth, to see what we what we pick up.

You know, I told you yesterday the drilling is by trial and error. And we had the hole picked yesterday in conjunction with the federal Mine and Safety and Health Administration as to where we were going to locate this fourth hole, and to do the engineering and have it ready to put the hole in as soon as we're done on hole number three.

There have been developments that will probably have us relocate that fourth hole. But there's nothing to report on that at this time.

QUESTION: But, Bob, you're trying to survey a huge area with tiny drill holes. Is a long shot?

MURRAY: No, I wouldn't say it's a long shot. We have tried to predict where we think the miners went based on their mining knowledge and ours. And it's not a long shot.

QUESTION: You're not going to see more them than 30 feet away from the drill hole. That's the distance of the camera's...

(CROSSTALK)

MURRAY: The camera under the right circumstance could see 300 feet. But I just can't speculate about that, sir. I don't know. We're not going to stop. We're going to keep drilling until we find these miners. We're going to keep driving to them until we find these miners and exhaust every possible effort that could be exhausted. I can assure you of that, sir.

QUESTION: What about the weather here? Is that going to hamper the efforts from above?

MURRAY: No. The weather won't bother us at all.

QUESTION: Were you at all discouraged that there was no response from the tapping on the drill?

QUESTION: I have been disappointed with every hole that we have sent down and there was no tapping right along, of course.

And, as I meet with these families, we have always concluded the meetings with a prayer. Now we're starting them with a prayer at my request and ending them with a prayer. Of course I have these feelings. And I share their feelings. It's disappointing that we haven't found them alive yet, but there's every hope. It's disappointing at the lack of progress underground, but we are making it. And we're exhausting every effort to get to them as fast as we can.

QUESTION: Have you changed any safety procedures at the other mines that you're operating (OFF-MIKE)

MURRAY: No, doesn't apply, no, no, not at all.

QUESTION: When you talk about the fourth hole, where exactly is that going to be, and what are the (INAUDIBLE) of that hole if you don't find (OFF-MIKE)

MURRAY: Ma'am, if I could refrain from answering that question right now. We had it located at a place called Crosscut 123 and had it engineered yesterday. That was in agreement with the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

There have been some developments -- maybe they're significant; maybe they're not -- that are going to have us relocate that fourth hole. And that's really all I want to say about it.

QUESTION: Do you think it is possible you might reach the miners through the tunnel before you get the fourth hole drilled?

MURRAY: No, we will have the fourth hole down. But we will get to the miners before we get some hole down. We're not going to stop drilling.

QUESTION: You can't tell us (INAUDIBLE) developments (INAUDIBLE)

MURRAY: No, I cannot.

QUESTION: What (INAUDIBLE)

MURRAY: Same type of hole.

I believe now that we should conclude the press conference. I will ask that you respect Mr. Bodie Allred's privacy. You asked me to bring down one of the men that's very much involved in the effort, and I did that.

And I will share with you and America all developments that we can as we go. Those videos and those still pictures we gave you yesterday are as applicable today as they were yesterday. And they're right on the scene and depict everything that we're doing.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. We will keep you informed.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: That was Bob Murray, who's the president and CEO of the Murray Energy corporation, the co-owner of the Crandall Canyon mine.

In case you are just joining us, lots to come from this press conference, and probably the most emotional press conference we have had. Here's what they're telling us. They have gotten about 90 feet further inside of this hole than -- they advanced 90 feet since yesterday. There was a bit of a setback. They had a seismic shift, they said, they call a bump.

And then 15 percent oxygen, they say, inside of that mine, low carbon monoxide levels. But they did tell us they are pumping 9,000 cubic feet of fresh air into the location. They said that they tried to lower a microphone in there. Didn't get it quite in because there was a bend in the drill bit there. And they're also expecting to lower another camera that could possibly see about 300 feet into the mine.

And then they are going to do a fourth hole in there as well. Tapped on the drill, bad news. Didn't hear anything. You heard the owner say, every time they do that and they don't hear from anyone, it's very sad news.

Here's the emotional moment, though. Bodie Allred, whose cousin Kerry Allred is inside that mine, here's a quote from him.

He says: "Those men, they know damn well that we're doing everything we can do to get to them. There is no doubt about it." That's a quote from him. And we certainly wish him well.

Here are the six men who are missing inside of that mine, Manuel Sanchez, Brandon Phillips, Luis Hernandez, Carlos Payan, Don Erickson, and Kerry Allred.

We will continue to update this very sad story that America as well as the world is following here right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. More after a quick break -- back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A string of suicide truck bombings that have killed possibly up to 800-plus people in northern Iraq, it's being called a trademark al Qaeda event. We're trying to get more information.

Dan Rivers live out of Baghdad now to tell us.

Dan, what you make of these numbers? Are you able to confirm?

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're not able to confirm at the moment. There are lots of conflicting reports of how many people have died in these multiple truck bombings, conflicting reports also of what actually happened.

What seems to have happened is that several trucks drove into two towns, Yazidi towns, a minority sect here in Iraq, right over in the west near the Syrian border. One report we have had from Dr. Khafar Mohammed (ph) at Sinja (ph) Hospital, he said that 500 people were confirmed dead and that 350 were wounded.

Another report was that 850 in total have been wounded and killed. Those reports haven't been confirmed by the American authorities. Nineveh security authorities are telling us 260 people have been confirmed dead. So, lots of different bits of information. It's a very remote place. It's difficult to get information out there.

There is a vehicle curfew in place at the moment, so it's difficult for reporters to get in there to confirm those numbers ourselves. But certainly one thing is clear. You have got to take one look at those pictures and realize those truck bombs were massive. They're talking of two tons of TNT being used. It looks like the aftermath of an earthquake, rather than a terrorist attack.

PHILLIPS: All right, Dan Rivers, we're going continue to follow up with you out of Baghdad.

And also we want to get to the Pentagon talking about chaos and the terror and hundreds of people dead and hurt. It's in northern Iraq, as you heard from Dan there, right there on the Syrian border. And it's the scene of just a horrific attack against civilians most of whom belong to one Dan was saying, minority ethnic group.

And that's got U.S. generals using some terms that we have not heard used about Iraq since the war started.

Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is with me now to give us a little bit more detail.

Barbara, what have you been able to found out?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, one of the reasons the death toll continues to rise, of course, is the size of these massive explosions. U.S. officials saying their information is several dozen buildings in these areas have collapsed. They're only just beginning to work with the Iraqis in this remote area to go through the rubble and try to recover people.

These massive bombs caused so much damage not just because of the blast, but also typically because of the overpressure from these bombs as the blast waves move through an area.

Earlier today, we spoke to Major General Benjamin Mixon, the top U.S. commander in northern Iraq. And his language about all of this was just as strong as it could be. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENERAL BENJAMIN MIXON, U.S. REGION COMMANDER IN IRAQ: This is an act of ethnic cleansing, if you will., almost genocide, when you consider the fact of the target they attacked and the fact that these Yazidis are really out in a very remote part of Nineveh Province, where there is very little security and really no security required up until this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Calling it genocide, plain and simple, against this religious minority sect in northwestern Iraq. General Mixon also told us that there is now information that death notices, death letters had been circulated through these villages in the days before the attack warning the people that there would be bombs, warning them that there were attacks, and to get out of their homes and villages, ethnic cleansing in every brutal sense of the word -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, in a time where military commanders have come forward saying they're actually making a great push against al Qaeda and they're working with tribal leaders, you go to these villages now in northern Iraq and obviously al Qaeda having a tremendous impact. So, what are commanders saying about this particular part of Iraq and fighting al Qaeda?

STARR: You know, they are saying quite openly that this area perhaps had been very vulnerable. Hadn't needed a lot of security in the past because it was so remote, so there were not a great number of U.S. troops anywhere close by. And Iraqi security forces had been in the region, but had been moving around from village to village. They didn't think they needed security up here.

And obviously the insurgents found a hole, if you will, of vulnerability in this region. It had been relatively peaceful and the insurgents now certainly have changed all of that -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon, thanks.

LEMON: Ford recalls millions of cars, trucks, and SUVs earlier this month. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, our Drew Griffin has more on the investigation that ignited this controversy.

Plus, storm on the horizon, and it's aiming right for Texas. The latest on Erin from our hurricane headquarters -- straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We are keeping watch on a pair of tropical storms. Dean is spinning in the Caribbean and could become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season by the end of the week. And Tropical Storm Erin is churning in the Gulf of Mexico and bearing down on Texas. Rescue teams already have been ordered to Corpus Christi ahead of what's expected to be a monster rainmaker.

More on this now. Chad Myers, what's up?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's going to be a rainmaker. We could see three to five inches. And that's three to five inches on top of some ground that's been so saturated over the past couple of months. There's no place to but that rainfall. And then if this keeps going into the hill country, San Antonio, Austin and west there, that's where the flooding really could occur because, well, we showed you pictures of like 22 inches in one day there west of San Antonio.

So, here's the storm. The good news is it's already in the Gulf of Mexico. It's already close to land. It doesn't have a lot of room to run. If this was a bigger storm farther away, it may have a day, day-and-a-half to get bigger. It would certainly be a hurricane. That's not going to happen because the land is going to get in the way. As soon as the storm gets over land, it loses its energy source, which is the Gulf of Mexico.

This is the gas tank. As soon as it runs out of the gas tank, then the gas goes down, and the storm dies out. So by tomorrow morning, a 50-mile-an-hour storm coming onshore just south of Corpus Christi.

Now, for most mariners and people down there, that's just a blow. That's all they call that. That's just a little bit of a gust. But other than that, though, we do suspect that some folks are probably kind of scurrying, getting some last-minute supplies just in case.

Our Keith Oppenheim is there in Corpus Christi.

Keith, what do you know?

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're seeing some of the boats doing some of that scurrying right now. If you take a look behind me, you can see that this is the marina just along the seawall here in Corpus Christi.

And there are plenty of boats that are taking safe harbor here at the dock. That's just because, in a couple of hours, perhaps, we're going to see the first rain bands of Tropical Storm Erin making their way here. And another reason for precaution is, we are getting reports of average accumulations of rain between three to five inches and maybe eight inches or so in some spots.

That's why Texas Governor Rick Perry ordered some swim rescue teams from the National Guard to come to the coast and practice if they have to rescue some folks because of flooding.

And one of those guys getting ready is Corey Rickerson. He gave us an idea of what he's doing to get prepared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COREY RICKERSON, TEXAS TASK FORCE ONE: We have got food, water. We have got shelters. We have 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: As we look out on to the Gulf of Mexico, Chad, about 75 miles in that direction is where Shell Oil has one of its rigs, the Padre Island rig. And we're told by the company that there have been a couple of rigs that they have taken some of their workers off because of this oncoming storm. So, that's another precaution.

But right now, you know, Chad, if you weren't paying attention to forecasts, you wouldn't really know there's a big, bad thing out there coming this way. But it is. And it's not far away -- back to you.

MYERS: Yes, that's the odd part. And that's why so many ships have crashed on reefs over the hundreds of years that there was maritime guidance out here across parts of the Gulf.

And I know you can't see this, Keith, but the storm, the first wave, the first arm or outer band is literally only about 30 miles from you. So, I would recommend going to find that rain gear. You are going to need it before the next live shot.

OPPENHEIM: It's not far away. Let me assure you.

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: Don, back to you, buddy.

LEMON: Yes, that's why they call it the calm before the storm, right, Chad?

MYERS: There you go.

LEMON: Yes. All right. Thank you, sir. We will check back to both of you.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

LEMON: Do "Made in China" labels have you worried? Well, you're not alone. But can you really avoid buying China's products? Can you do it? Ahead in the NEWSROOM, one family's year-long experiment in going China-free.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips.

Nine days of digging and still no sign of six missing miners in Utah.

LEMON: As the hours wear on, emotions are starting to wear thin. But rescuers staunchly refuse to give up hope.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Still optimistic. We heard just minutes ago from rescue crews at Utah's Crandall Canyon mine, where six miners have been trapped for nine-plus days. Mining company president Bob Murray says he's hopeful the miners will be found alive. And mine safety manager Bodie Allred, who has a cousin trapped inside, expressed a lot more than hope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BODIE ALLRED, SAFETY DIRECTOR: But they k. They know damn well that we're doing what we can do to get to them and we're going to get there. There's no doubt about it. This effort ain't all in the face. This effort starts from the surface. It starts from downtown all the way up here. All this effort goes right in a chain line. You ain't going to drop the end of this effort and expect to get anything done.

Them men are needed just as much in that area, in that face area, as they are on the outside of this. And that's where they're at and they're doing a hell of a job. There ain't none of these guys that ain't willing to do everything they can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to CNN's Brian Todd in Emery County, Utah -- Brian, that's the first time that we heard from the man in charge of safety, the one that looks each miner in the eyes before they go to work.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. And he was very emotional, as you saw.

One very interesting thing about Mr. Allred's statements at this news conference is that he was asked about the safety at the mine and the rescue operations specifically, and the fact that some 12 miners who were involved in the rescue operation have requested assignment elsewhere, apparently because of concerns for their safety.

Now, just as Mr. Allred was getting ready to answer that, he started to say that, yes, some people have come to him, Robert Murray, the CEO of Murray Energy Corporation, interrupted him and said, look, no one has said his mine is unsafe right now.

So you're getting a little bit of contrast there and maybe they're trying to get on the same page regarding the actual safety of the rescue operation.

But a couple of developments that we have to report right now. And the number one pressing development right now is that that third drill hole that they wanted to drill down to where -- to a chamber where the miners might have retreated to for air has reached the chamber. But in the attempt to lower a microphone down into that drill hole and into that chamber, the microphone got caught. There's apparently a bend in the hole somewhere and there might be another snag. But the microphone stopped about 20 feet short of that chamber. They heard no sounds, obviously. There was no tapping on the drill as it got to that chamber. And they're raising the microphone up.

They're going to put casing into the hole. They're going to lower the microphone back down into that hole if they can and also try to lower a camera back down into that hole. That's what's going on now.

In the main mine tunnel, they've gone about 90 feet, they say, since yesterday, but they did have what they call one of those mountain bumps overnight, one of those seismic shifts that are caused by the mountain settling over the mine area and some rubble kicking out and possibly a partial collapse of the tunnel.

That happened overnight. It did set them back and it damaged one of their main heavy pieces of equipment.

So -- but they have made progress in there. And they say they're about 785 feet in. That's only a little over a third of the way in to where they need to be -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Brian Todd there in Emery County, Utah. Thanks so much.

Now we want to bring in our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, to talk about some numbers that we actually got from Bob Murray with regard to the amount of fresh air that they're pumping down there into the mine. And he also mentioned 15 percent oxygen.

Can you put that into perspective for us?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. If that's what the miners are in right now, if they're in 15 percent oxygen, if that's what he was trying to say, that definitely is something. According to the experts we talked to, that is a situation that people can survive in. You can survive at 15 percent oxygen. Now, the air that I'm breathing right now is 21 percent oxygen. In mines, you're supposed to have 19.5 percent oxygen. Those are the rules.

But 15 percent oxygen, you can survive. But you can start having dizziness, blurred vision, headaches and just not feeling well.

Now, I was talking to a survival expert who has helped save people off of mountains and he said that the problem here is not so much survival, per se. It's when you're feeling like that -- blurred vision, not feeling well, headaches -- can you make good decisions? If you hear someone come to get you, can you yell to tell them where you are? If your buddy is injured, can you help take care of them if you're that oxygen deprived? That -- he said that's really the issue to think about here.

PHILLIPS: All right. And he also said that they are pumping in 9,000 cubic feet of fresh air. OK. That sounds like a lot, but you have to consider how big the area is that they're pumping that fresh air into, right?

COHEN: Right. Exactly. Where is it going? Is it going exactly where they are? Is it going far away from where they are? How large is the area where that's being pumped in? I think there are a lot of unknowns here.

PHILLIPS: OK. And what else should we pay attention to? I mean he also said there are low levels of carbon monoxide. That's good news...

COHEN: Right...

PHILLIPS: ...because that is what usually takes the lives immediately, when there's high levels of carbon monoxide.

COHEN: Right. That's good news. Low levels of carbon monoxide is good news. And also this 15 percent oxygen is -- just to kind of put it into some perspective -- one way to think about it is that hikers sometimes, at the top of a mountain, they will be living and surviving in 15 percent oxygen. They may be feeling a little woozy or having some blurred vision, but at the top of, let's say, Mount Hood out on the West Coast, that's 15 percent oxygen, approximately.

PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth Cohen. Thanks so much.

COHEN: OK. Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Well, if you're looking for a way to make a difference for the miners' families, you can impact your world by logging onto CNN.com/impact to learn how you can become a part of the solution. We've posted information about the Crandall Canyon family support fund. Impacting your world now just a click away at CNN.com/impact.

Now, Ford recalls millions of trucks, cars, SUVS earlier this month. And straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, our investigative correspondent, Drew Griffin, has more on what -- the investigation and how it ignited the controversy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Straight to the news room now. Fredricka Whitfield working details on a developing story -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this is kind of a funny developing story. Have you ever heard, Kyra, of a crafty alligator?

PHILLIPS: A crafty alligator?

WHITFIELD: A crafty alligator.

PHILLIPS: No. I've just heard of a pretty scary alligator.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

PHILLIPS: That's all I know.

WHITFIELD: Well, this one actually has a name, as well. His name is Reggie, out of Los Angeles at the zoo there. And apparently Reggie went missing early this morning. And, as you can imagine, folks there went into a panic, meaning the zookeepers and everybody else, searching for this alligator.

And, come to find out, this alligator did his best Spider Man imitation by scaling a wall in his exhibit. Then, hours later, they actually came across Reggie, found him. Apparently he was at a loading dock, causing no problems there. He just, I guess, wanted a little change of scenery.

There you're seeing just some file pictures of him, usually in his confines there. He shares his exhibit with no one because Reggie is that special. He's seven-and-a-half feet long, 114 pounds.

But folks who were at the L.A. Zoo today can still enjoy the six other American alligators, because Reggie right now is being punished. He's in quarantine right now. They can take in the sights of the six alligators (INAUDIBLE).

PHILLIPS: You know what, Fred?

WHITFIELD: What?

PHILLIPS: Drew Griffin and I used to work in Los Angeles. He's sitting next to me because we're going to talk about this Ford recall. And he said, that's the zoo where all those chimps escaped from.

WHITFIELD: Yes, well, this time it was an alligator.

PHILLIPS: (LAUGHTER).

Great. A few chimps, a few alligators. What's next?

WHITFIELD: Yes, they've got to work on a few things there, you know? Just to...

PHILLIPS: Exactly. I know. What other animals are there?

WHITFIELD: Yes, clamp down.

PHILLIPS: (LAUGHTER).

Yes, thanks. All right, we'll keep tracking it. Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right.

PHILLIPS: Well, now to why Drew is really here, not to talk about the L.A. Zoo. But This week, Ford began recalling 3.6 million vehicles -- none of them made in China -- so it can replace a cruise control switch. Now, the part has been blamed for some fires in some models. But the company says that this latest round of recalls is strictly to allay customer concerns.

Now, CNN investigative correspondent Drew Griffin has been on the story from the very beginning and it just kind of seems like a domino effect.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This is actually the end of the total recall, which is now 10 million vehicles because of this one tiny $20 part that literally erupts into flames, whether or not the car is on.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Two years ago, CNN began airing a series of investigative reports on Ford cars and trucks suddenly erupting in flames.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My house is on fire. Please.

GRIFFIN: Our reports exposed what turned out to be a tiny electrical switch in the cruise control system that could burst into flame even hours after the car was turned off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's the part.

GRIFFIN: Ford had been recalling the parts in some cars and trucks back in 1999. But as we reported two years ago, as many as 3.7 million Ford cars and trucks were still on the road with similar cruise control switches inside -- none under the recall.

Earlier this month, a dramatic announcement from Ford -- every single car and truck it built with the switch is being recalled -- 3.6 million more vehicles on the road will need to have their cruise control wiring replaced or repaired.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: So why are they doing it now?

GRIFFIN: You know, that's a very, very good question. They have known about this switch for a long time. They know that all of these vehicles now under recall had the switch or had the powered at all times mechanism that was causing the fire.

What Ford told us is, in part, we are to blame, that our reports scared or frightened their Ford owners and so they're just going to go ahead and replace them.

But they also say that they can't guarantee the durability of these parts ongoing as they begin to age.

That's not quite the entire story and we're going to tell you that entire story tonight on "A.C. 360," as we've been keeping them honest.

PHILLIPS: Oh. There's the tease. Yes, you have. But if you own a Ford, what do you do?

GRIFFIN: Well, you can either wait for the letter you're going to get from Ford that tells you, yes, you, indeed, have this part and you need to bring it into a Ford dealership and get it replaced. If you don't want to wait until then, we're going to have it up on our Web site very soon of what the cars are and trucks are that are involved. And even motor homes are involved in this. And you can check and see if you have that part.

And then just go to your dealer and they should know by now that you have to have this part replaced.

PHILLIPS: Great. Drew, thanks.

GRIFFIN: Sure. PHILLIPS: And, again, to find out if your vehicle is on the recall list, you can just log onto Ford.com. Then you type in "recall" right into the search field.

Meanwhile, you can tune in tonight, "A.C. 360," 10:00 Eastern. As you heard from Drew, you'll have the rest of his special investigation and the report on the recalls.

LEMON: An expanded domestic use for American spy satellites starting in October. Homeland Security officials confirmed to CNN that satellites may be used to keep an eye on the nation's borders and to aid law enforcement. Officials insist the satellites won't be used for surveillance of communications, but some civil rights advocates have expressed concern about possible abuse.

Satellites have been used in the past to monitor some major U.S. events, such as Hurricane Katrina, the Winter Olympics and major sporting events.

Do "made in China" labels have you worried? You're not alone. But can you really avoid buying China's products? Ahead in the NEWSROOM, one family's year long experiment to go China-free.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, frustration to anger to radicalism -- a new report warns that more and more young Muslims in the U.S. may be on that path. It's from the New York Police Department and it warns of a growing homegrown terror threat.

Let's get straight to New York and CNN's Deb Feyerick -- hey, Deb.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Kyra.

What we can tell you is that the New York Police Department looked at a dozen plots in six countries. What they found is that these so-called homegrown jihadis are younger and getting radicalized much more quickly.

What that means, police say, is that it might be harder for authorities to prevent or interrupt the type of radicalization that could lead to potential homegrown attacks.

Now, federal agencies specify they had nothing to do with the report, but New York's police commissioner, Ray Kelly, calls this a framework to begin thinking about the threat.

Most striking, he says, is that these self-proclaimed jihadis, which comprise a very small percentage of all Muslims in the U.S. and elsewhere, are, on the whole, largely average.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: The most important thing that you think -- what -- when you read this report, what was the most important thing that really gripped you?

COMM. RAYMOND KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE: Well, I think the unremarkable nature of the individuals. They are truly ordinary citizens. They don't stand out because they're impoverished. They don't stand out because they are particularly radical in their in their youth, that they are -- you know, they are very ordinary people that somehow become radicalized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now, the police commissioner studied the case of New Jersey's Fort Dix 6, who planned to attack U.S. military personnel. One was a grocery clerk, another a taxi driver, another delivered pizza.

The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee says that they're disappointed by the report and feel that it really stereotypes entire communities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOREEM SHORA, AMERICAN-ARAB ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE: The average Arab-American is going to be, first and foremost, disappointed -- disappointed in the leadership in NYPD and the language and the rhetoric that they engaged in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now, I asked the police commissioner about this, whether this stereotypes or profiles.

He said it's a case study of a dozen incidents involving 100 accused terrorists and that these really are what all those cases had in common. Again, that they're younger and that they're being radicalized much more quickly -- in some cases, a matter of weeks, as happened in the London bombings.

And police say they do not plan to change their strategies here in New York, but at least understanding how quickly this radicalization is happening will lead them, at least possibly, to disrupt some of the homegrown threats as they occur, or at least be aware that this is the new pattern -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Deb Feyerick live from New York. Thanks, Deb.

LEMON: Two hundred miles straight up, two spacewalkers from the Shuttle Endeavour are outside the International Space Station this hour. We saw live pictures about two hours ago. They're working on an array of solar panels. It is a scheduled spacewalk. NASA officials haven't yet announced if another will be needed to repair the gouge in shuttle's belly.

Well, this one is stranger than fiction, but it is fact. An extraordinary speeding star seen in this picture just released by NASA. It is named Mira. That's after the Latin word for wonderful.

It appears as a small white dot in the bulge-shaped structure at the right.

(LAUGHTER)

What are you doing? Are you singing Mira or something?

PHILLIPS: No.

LEMON: What's special about it? NASA says Mira is leaving an enormous trail of seeds for a new solar system. That's pretty cool. It has reached enough material over the past 30,000 years to seed at least 3,000 Earth-sized planets. Astronomers have dubbed Mira the Johnny Appleseed of the cosmos.

How do they know all of that? That's why they're space people.

The closing bell -- a wrap of all the action on Wall Street straight ahead.

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LEMON: Well, you can better believe damage control is now the name of the game at Mattel, both on Wall Street and Main Street, USA, after two worldwide recalls in two weeks. The toy giant has taken out full page ads in the "New York Times" and "Wall Street Journal" and its CEO has taped an online message to parents.

Both recalls targeted toys in China and centered on lead paint and magnet risks.

Now, Mattel says it's stepped up monitoring of its Chinese manufacturers, but company chief Robert Eckert acknowledges: "We could have additional issues."

To find out which toys have been recalled, you can log onto CNN.com. We've got pictures, lists, links and an in-depth feature on the "made in China" issue.

Now, take a look around your house to see where your toys, clothes and other stuff are made. Chances are you'll be shocked how much of it comes from China.

That's what spurred one family's year long embargo on all things Chinese. And it sparked a book, too: "A Year Without Made In China".

Author and mom, Sara Bongiorni, is with us to talk about the experience.

And she is in my home town of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Glad you could join us.

SARA BONGIORNI, AUTHOR, "A YEAR WITHOUT MADE IN CHINA": Thanks.

LEMON: Hanging out at our affiliate, WAFB, on Government Street, right?

BONGIORNI: Thanks for having me.

LEMON: Oh, thanks for joining us.

So listen, one year without products made in China had to be tough for you. Was it?

BONGIORNI: It was a long year. It was really an eye-opener to see just what array of products come from China.

It's not just toys and electronics. It's everything from high-end clothing to, increasingly, furniture and gadgets and appliances of all kinds. So it was a long year. We felt every one of those 365 days.

LEMON: OK. I don't want to call you out here on national television...

BONGIORNI: Right.

LEMON: But you said you did relent a little bit, because this was tough on your kids.

BONGIORNI: This...

LEMON: I mean because they wanted certain toys and you're, you know, they were made in China. You couldn't do it for them.

BONGIORNI: You know, the toys, overwhelmingly, sold in the United States do come from China. And it was tough on our kids. And our son, he started to wise up to what he was missing out on as the year went along. And...

LEMON: So did you get him a -- did you get him -- you did relent.

BONGIORNI: We did relent.

LEMON: And you got a couple of things, didn't you?

BONGIORNI: I had -- we -- what -- what really -- the straw that broke the camel's back was -- is right here. This made it into our house just 10 months into our experiment.

So just with two months to go...

LEMON: Hold it up a little higher. What is that?

BONGIORNI: It's a purple electric Halloween pumpkin. And on a family trip to the store for Halloween decorations, he fell head over heels in love with this thing. And the way this gets its -- makes its way into our house, despite the fact that it is made in China is a crucial moment in our story in the book.

LEMON: All right, do you have -- what other things? Did you bring some other things that you remembered to...

BONGIORNI: I just brought a couple of examples of some non- Chinese things in case people are interested in what we did. One of the things...

LEMON: Show them to us.

BONGIORNI: One of the things we did was invest heavily in these. These are LEGOs. These are awfully familiar. And these are cheap, common toys that are still available in normal places. And we invested heavily in those, as I said.

LEMON: OK. The other one?

BONGIORNI: And our son was bored with LEGOs by the end of the year. And then this was an example of an expensive German doll that costs -- it did not impress our...

LEMON: Up a little higher.

BONGIORNI: A little higher.

LEMON: There you go.

BONGIORNI: It was almost $20. And she's about three inches tall and costs about $20. And that compares to like a $5 Barbie doll.

LEMON: That's a little -- yes, I was going to say, that's a little doll for 20 bucks.

BONGIORNI: Yes.

LEMON: Did you end up spending more money because it was so tough to find things that weren't made in China?

BONGIORNI: Well, I think, on the whole, for the year, it was really a wash because there were so many things that we simply could not purchase because our only option was merchandise from China. So we had to keep your money in our wallets. But...

LEMON: Are you glad you did it?

BONGIORNI: Yes. It was really interesting just to see how connected we are to the rest of the world. It was a real eye-opener.

LEMON: Would you do it again?

BONGIORNI: I don't think my skeptical husband, who I had to pull along for a good part of the year, would probably let me do it again. And I (INAUDIBLE) retarded to do it now than two years ago.

LEMON: Or either your kids, as well. I doubt they might let you do it.

BONGIORNI: I don't know. They're pretty savvy at this point. So they would not be pleased by that kind of an experiment at this point.

LEMON: I'll ask you again in a different way. Considering what's happening with what's happened with toys, as well as food products, as well as a lot of products from China, when we realize they don't have the -- quite the right restrictions on them, are you glad you did it?

BONGIORNI: Well, it was really interesting to do it. But I'll tell you what. People don't have a lot of options when it comes to toys. Most toys, for instance, come from China. So, you know, people are really in a bind because they're uneasy about safety concerns after all these recalls.

But I'll tell you what, there are some very expensive toys out there that a lot of people could not afford. And in our case, our kids like the colorful, plastic, cheap toys. And those are the toys that come from China. So they weren't even impressed by the expensive stuff that we bought. So...

LEMON: All right...

BONGIORNI: ...people are in a bind.

LEMON: OK, so, really quickly, because we're running out of time, what would you like to see done?

BONGIORNI: Well, I think there needs to be more safety testing at all levels, both -- I think labeling should be more complete and I think people would feel a lot better knowing that the government was keeping a closer eye. And more testing by the companies themselves, because consumers are really vulnerable on these issues.

LEMON: Sara, thank you so much.

And my partner here and I said you know what? We had the best time just playing in the big boxes at the moving company and the delivery people used to...

BONGIORNI: I'll have to look for some big boxes.

LEMON: Yes. They used to bring over.

BONGIORNI: Good idea.

LEMON: Yes. Simplicity. Keep it simple, right?

BONGIORNI: That's right.

LEMON: Sara Bongiorni from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Say hello to my mom if you see her anywhere around town.

BONGIORNI: I'll try.

LEMON: All right, thank you for joining us.

BONGIORNI: Thanks a lot.

LEMON: Good luck.

BONGIORNI: Thank you.

LEMON: And if you want to know which toys to remove from your child's playroom, or if you need some suggestions on how to get those favorite play things out of your kid's grasp, well, just log onto CNN.com. We've got interactive help to make this recall easier for you.

PHILLIPS: All right, the closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.

Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at what turned out to be another pretty painful trading day.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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