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O.J. Simpson Robbery Suspect; Phoenix Warehouses Fires; Indiana Plastics Plant Blaze; Jena-Six Case Reversal; Madeleine McCann Ad Campaign; Air Race Championship Show Death; Iraq War Demonstrations; Bush's "Return on Success Strategy"; Auto Workers Union Talks; Big Auto Recalls; "That's a Family" Film; Norfolk Naval Shipyard Fire
Aired September 15, 2007 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: It is Saturday September 15 and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Good morning everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes. Straight ahead this hour:
NGUYEN: O.J. Simpson suspected in a Las Vegas casino break-in and our Ted Rowlands talks to Simpson. We're going talk to him live about what O.J. said.
HOLMES: Also, missing Madeleine. The parents of Madeleine McCann renew efforts this morning to find their missing daughter and shift suspicion away from themselves.
NGUYEN: Plus, from the streets of Baghdad to a playground in Los Angeles, there's new hope for a little boy from Iraq. And I'm going to talk with the doctor who is set to perform life changing surgery.
HOLMES: But up first, O.J. Simpson. Yes, we're talking O.J. again and he's under suspicion again and once again he's proclaiming his innocence. This time the former football star under investigation an alleged armed robbery in Las Vegas. Here is how the alleged victim described the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALFRED BEARDSLEY, ALLEGED VICTIM: I was directed at gunpoint to pack the items up in the condition they were brought in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right, CNN's Ted Rowlands is there live for us now.
Ted, you spoke to O.J. Simpson. Don't know if you were able to hear. We spoke to attorney Avery Friedman, a little earlier, last hour, and he actually said if he was the prosecutor the first thing he would do is call you as a witness because of what O.J. Simpson has apparently told you over the phone. So tell us what did O.J. tell you?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically O.J. said that he, yes, he went up to this hotel room. He had set this thing up at the Palace Station Hotel, behind us here, it's an off the strip hotel.
He said that he got a wind that some of his personal effects were being sold. So he got a buddy to pose as a buyer and him and some friends, he says, went up to this hotel room where there was going to be this exchange and surprised the people that were selling the merchandise. He says he knew these guys who were selling the merchandise, he worked with them before over the years. And he said that he walked in, yeah, he yelled at them because he was disappointed, got what was his and he left. He said there were no guns involved, there was nobody was roughed up, he simply took back what was stolen from him years ago.
He says back when he was living in Rockingham in Los Angeles, that after the trial, things were stolen out of his house and a lot of his personal possession were gone. He says that he went in there looking for photographs of him as a child, photographs of Nicole and his family. Things that he thought were going to be there and he said clearly there were no guns, he didn't need to use a gun. Why would he need a gun? He's O.J. Simpson, he knew these guys, it was just a matter of getting what was his.
The other side of the story is much different. The alleged victims say, yeah, they were there to sell some stuff. They didn't think O.J. would come into the room, but indeed that's what happened. They say that he and four men burst into the room, the door was open, they just came in and two of them had gun, they were pointing the guns in their face. And then they took the stuff. Here's part of what the alleged victim said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE FROMONG, MEMORABILIA SELLER: I mean it was just like a home invasion. You know? They came in quick, they came in fast and people moved into where they should be. I mean...
ROWLANDS: And O.J. was there?
FROMONG: And O.J. and the last person coming in was O.J., yelling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Now in Las Vegas police are doing is interviewing all the parties involved. They're try to identify the men were with O.J. Simpson, they've talked to Simpson on two occasions so far. The first time just sort of an initial contact. They say that he's cooperative, but in their second meeting, according to a police source. O.J. asked for an attorney. And so they are expecting another meeting with Simpson while he has an attorney.
Simpson is in town, in Las Vegas for wedding. He told me over the phone that he plans to stay here as long as it takes to iron this thing out. He says he has nothing to hide and it is being blown out of proportion because he's O.J. -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Ted Rowlands on the story for us in Las Vegas. Ted, thank you so much for this.
And this incident comes the same week that the O.J. Simpson book went on sale. The Goldman family actually has the rights to release that book and renamed it "If I Did It -- Confessions of a Killer," adding that last part. Right now the book is No. 1 on Amazon.com's best seller list. Last night on LARRY KING LIVE, Nicole Brown Simpson's sister, Denise, talked about the new accusations against O.J. Simpson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENISE BROWN, NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON'S SISTER: If there was a gun involved or something like that. Wouldn't it be ironic that he can get away with murdering two people, but yet he might be put into jail for burglary because there was a gun involved? I mean crazier things have happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And our legal experts will weigh in on this case a little later again today in the CNN legal briefs with civil rights Avery Friedman and Criminal defense attorney Richard Herman, that's at 2:00 Eastern, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: Well, there's a major reversal in the racially charged case known as the Jena-Six. A state appeals court in Louisiana throws out Mychal Bell's conviction. He is one of six Black teenagers accused of beating a White schoolmate in the town of Jena. Mychal bell was 16 and the time of that fight and a judge ruled the teen should not have been tried as an adult.
Now, it all started under that tree right there. Used by Whites only at Jena High School. Last year, several Black students sat under the tree and the next day nooses hung from it. The tree has since been chopped down. Mychal Bell's attorney, now trying to get him out of jail and back in school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB NOEL, MYCHAL BELL'S ATTY: We're happy right now, but tomorrow is another day. We are prepared for any contingency that may arise in this case. The first step that was to get the conviction reversed. Now we have other hurdles that we have to go through in his particular case.
NGUYEN: CNN's crews are now in Jena to get reaction to the overturpd conviction and we're going to have a live report from CNN's Keith Oppenheim next hour as well as a special report tonight at 10:00 Eastern.
HOLMES: Also here, are Kate and Gerry McCann's launching a new ad campaign today, still hoping to find their missing daughter, Madeleine. CNN's Emily Chang joins us now live from the McCann's' hometown in England. How much of this is aimed at, I guess, saving their reputation, how much is really aimed at finding their daughter now, are people saying now? EMILY CHANG, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, today an announcement coming out of Glasgow from John McCann, Gerry McCann's brother, that the family is revving up its search for Madeleine, saying this ad campaign will be running in newspapers and billboards across Portugal and Spain to remind everyone to remind the world that Madeleine is still missing. And it's estimated to cost up to $160,000.
This money, of course, coming from the Find Madeleine Fund that has raised over $2 million in the last four months since she disappeared. This, of course, coming after days of what seems to be growing speculation in the press about how Madeleine disappeared.
Today's headlines reading, here in the "Daily Express," Madeleine body thrown into the sea. And this is just one of many tabloid reports. She's on the cover of almost all of the British tabloids today.
Kate and Gerry McCann saying they don't want to comment saying speculation fearing it will only lead to more speculation. They are simply focusing on the investigation and with this new ad campaign, focusing on finding Madeleine. They have always insisted they believe she is alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN MCCANN, GERRY MCCANN'S BROTHER: The reaction from them, and from the rest of the family is -- we're amazes at some of the things that have been printed. And what really worries us is that things start off in Portugal with no accreditation to an official source and end up being reported here as if they are the truth. Now, we want the truth. But we'd like people to say, we got it from an official source who says this...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Emily Changing reporting, is having difficulties with getting her to hear us there. But, our Emily Chang we do appreciate that report again from Glasgow and the new developments there or actually from England and the new reports there about Madeleine McCann's story. We're going to have a lot more on the disappearance of Maddy McCann, Monday night from our Anderson Cooper, we'll have a report for us on a special edition of "AC-360."
NGUYEN: Turning to weather now, Humberto is out of here finally. Time now clean-up. Leftovers from the surprise hurricane that left scattered damage in central Alabama. The storm prompted tornado warnings in the state. Heavy rains fell as far north as the mid- Atlantic and look at some of the damage. Humberto hit the Texas coast Thursday with 85 mile-an-hour winds, thousands may be without electricity into the middle of next week and the storm grew into a hurricane in just 18 hours. A rather rare feat. Experts say Humberto's damage will run less than a half billion dollars in Texas.
HOLMES: All right, our Reynolds Wolf keeping an eye on all things weather related for us. He's standing by in our Weather Center. Are really done with Humberto? All of it gone? All remnants -- done, out of here?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Humberto is done. But, you know, to lock at the positive aspects as this storm, it did bring some rainfall to places in Alabama that were just desperate for it. Sure, they didn't need the tornadoes, but they did get the rain and they're certainly happy about that.
Got some other good news regarding the tropics. Ingrid, or what is left of it, has been downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression. Winds at this time only 35 miles-an-hour, sustained. Some gusts have been stronger up to 45. But we can expect this storm to weaken even more with sustained winds of 35 miles-an-hour into Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, even Wednesday. That's the latest path that we have from the National Hurricane Center. And the storm, at this time, does not pose any threat to land which is a very, very good thing.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: And you know, Reynolds, that's why you're my boy. You always throw in a little sports in the weather report.
WOLF: Yeah, just a little extra.
NGUYEN: Sports fans out there love you, Reynolds.
WOLF: Do what we can.
HOLMES: Big game, Notre Dame-Michigan big deal today, Betty.
NGUYEN: As I've heard.
HOLMES: Thanks, Reynolds. We'll explain it to her later to you.
WOLF: Anytime, man.
HOLMES: All right, well back to this not. Fire crews mopping up hot spots in Richmond, Indiana this morning after this heck of a blaze, here. Fire raced through a plastics plant sending up a choking cloud of noxious black smoke. People 15 miles away could see it. Still, only a handful of evacuations were needed, that's because gusty winds helped disperse those fumes.
Also, wooden pallets the fuel in Phoenix. Flames quickly spread to two warehouses and several semi tractor trailers parked at a loading dock. Crews did keep fire from about a third of the building. It full with swimming pool chemicals. Firefighters remain onsite this morning using backhoes to clear up some of that debris.
NGUYEN: Well, we do want to report a third death at an air race in Reno, Nevada. Two planes clipped wings, killing one pilot and injuring the other. Two earlier crashes this week left two other fliers dead. Now, 18 fatalities in the 44-year history of the Air Race Championship Show, it's like a car race, only in the sky. HOLMES: Well, the president and his top general in Iraq are talking about reducing the number of U.S. troops there. We'll get a reality check on pulling troops out. That's just ahead.
NGUYEN: Also, a video design for the classroom that some say is teaching the wrong lesson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Abby...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Let's get you now to the battle over Iraq on the streets of Washington. Demonstrators for and against the war making their voices heard today. The Support Our Troops Rally is underway right now at the National Mall and next hour, many of those participants will line the road as anti-war marchers call for troops to come home. That demonstration will be led by Cindy Sheehan, Ralph Nader and the group of Iraq Veterans against the War.
HOLMES: And President Bush doing some rallying of his own today. He's taking to the airwaves to rally support for his so-called "Return on Success Strategy" and that strategy, with success, he says U.S. troops will come home.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The success of a free Iraq is critical to the security of the United States. If we were to be driven out of Iraq, extremists of all strains would be emboldened, al Qaeda could find new recruits in new sanctuaries and a fail Iraq could increase the likelihood we our troops would have to return and confront terrorists even more entrench and even more deadly. By contrast, a free Iraq will deny al Qaeda a safe haven. It will counter the destructive ambitions of Iran and it will serve as a partner in the fight against terrorism.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HOLMES: Many Democrats say President Bush's plan for bringing some U.S. troops home from Iraq is a little bit little too late.
NGUYEN: Yeah, but by CNN's calculations, the president plans to withdraw about 2,100 or 21,500 troops, that is by July and that's the count, but is that something we can actually count on? And CNN's Josh Levs joins us now with the latest on that.
JOSH LEVS, CNN REALITY CHECK: Right, and we can't. And this is important and I'm glad we're talking about this today. Because what happens a lot of the time is we hear a number, we start repeating it a lot and we start to think, oh that's "the" plan. There will definitely be that many troops that come home. And it's not like that. Keep in mind, these are expectation, they are not guarantees. Now, the president said that General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will speak to Congress again this Spring.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: At that time, they will provide a fresh assessment of the situation in Iraq and of the troop levels and resource we need to meet our national security objectives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: All right so, it's out there in the future to decide what will happen. And what I want to do now is show you some reporting that we've had over the years about troop levels in Iraq based on what military officials were telling us at the time. Here's one from June of last year.
We reported that according to military sources the U.S. commanding general in Iraq, George Casey was, "...mulling a cut that would gradually reduce, at most...the equivalent of as many as two brigades...an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 troops."
OK, so last year, they were talking about troop reduction. Let's go back another year to 2005. "The military reduce the number of military troops in Iraq after next week's parliamentary elections..." but some of those troops were slated to come home even earlier.
One more thing here, let's all the way back to 2003, the year the war began. All right? "Pentagon officials say the rotation plan will actually reduce the number of troops in Iraq from 130,000 to close to 100,000." The number of troops -- we said at the top, the number of troops that would actually be sent would depend on security in Iraq.
So, what I'm showing you here is that throughout the entire war, we have always had times where military officials say this is how many thousands of troops will be withdrawn from Iraq in the coming months or next year, we've heard that a lot and then it doesn't end up playing out that way.
Now July is still pretty far away. A lot could happen by then, but we just can't know this early if it will really be 21,500 troops come home next year.
NGUYEN: OK, but say it is -- say it is that 21,500 troops. Would that get the U.S. to pre-surge levels in Iraq?
LEVS: No. Which is also really important. Because a lot of people think that what this is about, this withdrawal is getting back to the pre-surge levels, and actually it's not. Our folks at the Pentagon crunched the numbers here. Here's the basic idea.
As part of this, what's called the "surge," 30,000 troops were sent in. President Bush is talking about pulling out 21,500, so he's still got more than 8,000 troops who would be left there. Those troops are the combat support troops. So, they're talking about pulling out all the combat troops? But what happens to the 8,000 combat support troops who were sent as part of the so-called surge, we have no idea. So even based on what we have heard, Betty, from the president and from military officials is that the number would still be higher than it was before the surge.
NGUYEN: All right, thank you for that, Josh. We appreciate it.
LEVS: You bet.
HOLMES: Josh, thank you.
Meanwhile, General Motors and the Auto Workers Union will keep talking today. Contract talks are in overtime. Workers were set to strikes last night. They held off and parties kept bargaining past the strike deadline. The main issue in this year's talks, GM, as well as Ford and Chrysler want the union to take over retirees' health care, it's costing the struggling companies $90 billion a year.
Also, other car news to tell you about. Two big recalls, here. Chrysler bringing back around 300,000 vehicles to fix a brake problem. Some drivers say their brakes sometimes seem to hesitate when they try to stop their vehicle, not a problem you want to have. That problem linked to the computer that controls the anti-lock braking system. There are the models there in front of you, 2006 and 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokees, as well as, Jeep Commanders. Also, the '07 Jeep Wranglers and the '07 Dodge Nitros.
Honda meanwhile recalling 2006 and 2007 Civics. It needs to fix a seal. If that seal breaks, well the Civic's wheels could fall off while you're on the road. Also not a problem you want to have.
NGUYEN: Exactly.
Well families, they aren't simply mom, dad and kids anymore. In fact, the census bureau says one in five families nowadays is a traditional nuclear family. When a South Jersey school district tried to make that point in a classroom, some parents went ballistic. Here's our Mary Snow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the film one school district in New Jersey doesn't want their kids to see.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Abby and I'm nine years old. And this is my mom, her name is Betty and this is my other mom, her name is Kim.
SNOW: the film, from Women's Education Media, is called "That's a Family." It aims to teach diversity, but made for some heated reactions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't watch crap on (INAUDIBLE) TV because it's crap. SNOW: It all started last December when a third grade class was shown "That's a Family." Along with kids of mixed race, adoption and parts who are divorced, the film features children talking their gay parents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's cool to have two gay dads because they brought us into a home and they adopted us and they love us.
SNOW: The school district formed a special committee of parents, teachers and others who reviewed it and recommended the film. Instead of being shown to third graders, it could be moved to the fourth and parents could opt not to have their children see it, but the school district voted to ban it. Some opponents argued it wasn't age appropriate, others protested the film itself.
REBECCA NUGENT, PARENT OPPOSED TO SHOWING FILM: It's too political and getting into sexuality issues that aren't necessary to teach children to be kind, respectful and to get along with different people.
STEVEN GOLDSTEIN, CHMN GARDEN STATE EQUALITY: Listen, there's such homophobia on the part of some of these parents, it's disgraceful. Never in my life have I seen parents so afraid and so vicious toward gay people.
SNOW: The gay rights group, Garden State Equality, plans to file a lawsuit to get the film reinstated in the Evesham Township public school district.
The film's creator, an academy award winner, who's also the board member of a gay and lesbian film festival, says it's been shown in hundreds of districts around the country. She says this is the first ban of its kind.
(on camera): As for the Evesham Township school district, a spokeswoman defended the film, but school officials declined our interview request. They said they'll look for alternative ways to meet state mandates to teach third graders about diversity and families.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We do want to bring you a bit of breaking news. We're getting word out of Norfolk, Virginia, right now, where the Navy's oldest shipyard, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, right now, that at least one ship there is on fire. The USS Leyte Gulf on fire. We do have fire crews that we know of on the scene, here. And Bruce Evans, a battalion chief with the Norfolk fires rescue, on the scene.
Sir, if you can, tell us how big this fire is and what exactly is on fire.
CHIEF BRUCE EVANS, NORFOLK FIRE AND RESCUE: Well, about 9:29 we responded for a fire on board the USS Leyte Gulf. The fire is out. It was a very small fire located two levels below the main deck. Military and civilian fire crews extinguished the fire.
HOLMES: Have any idea how that fire started, sir?
EVANS: No, right now, it's still under investigation. We've got a team of investigators, military and civilian that'll be going onboard the ship to try to determine that. We do have five civilian contractors that were injured as a result. They've been transported to a local hospital for treatment.
HOLMES: Do you know about the severity of those injuries?
EVANS: No, I'm unable to comment on the severity or the extent of the injuries. I do want to say at this point, we have no reason, no evidence or any suspicion that there's any type of terrorist related activity. It appears to be just an isolated fire onboard a ship.
HOLMES: And on board, what area, I guess, what is around that area of the ship? I guess what section of the ship? What's in area where the fire was happening?
EVANS: I haven't been able to ascertain that information, yet. It doesn't appear that it was in any -- you know, evidence is looking like it was in a berthing area, which is typical of like a bedroom setting where sailors would sleep.
HOLMES: And do you know, how many people were onboard the ship at the time? Was it, I guess, fully staffed? A the lot of people on that ship?
EVANS: Well the ship is in the yard for a standard modernization overhaul. It came in May, it's been in about four months, on a daily average there's about 350 civilian, government and military personnel onboard the ship. All personnel have been accounted for. And the only injuries we have are the five that I spoke about earlier.
HOLMES: All right, and again I want to make sure that this fire was absolutely exclusive to this ship it did not spread anywhere else, it was not a part of any other fire or anything else happening at the shipyard at the time.
EVANS: That's correct. It was a relatively small fire, controlled in about 15 minutes.
HOLMES: All right, who got that call in, sir? Who placed that call for you all to be brought out? It wasn't a small enough fire to be handled, I'm sure, by extinguishers and things on that ship that are equipped to handle small fires?
EVANS: That's correct. As soon as the personnel onboard saw the fire, 911 was called. They began operations. We came in and supplanted those operations and assisted and through a coordinated effort quickly extinguished the fire.
HOLMES: All right, what else can you tell us about this ship? I guess, you said something about it was here for some kind of a modernization upgrade. Do you know anything about this ship? How much it's been used, I guess its latest missions or anything else?
EVANS: No, I don't really have that information. The only thing I can tell you, it is a guided missile cruiser, is the type of ship, and like I said, it was in for a standard modernization overhaul and it's been in the yard here at the (INAUDIBLE) since May.
HOLMES: Since May. All right, well, Bruce Evans, battalion chief there at Norfolk fire/rescue. Sir, we appreciate your time and giving us and our viewers an update on just about exactly what was happening there at the naval shipyard. Sir, thank you for your time.
EVANS: All right, thank you.
NGUYEN: And we do have a little bit more information about his ship. What we know, it was launched in 1986, June 20, to be exact. And it was commissioned on September 26, 1987. It got its name, the Leyte Gulf, from that place in the Pacific where the two battles between the American fleet and Japanese fleet were fought.
And T.J. you'd asked a little bit about the service the ship was participating in. I can tell you this, back in 1991, it served in the Arabian Gulf in support of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm where she launched Tomahawk cruise missiles against Iraq. And that was just one of many of the different places that this ship has been to in servicing the Navy. And just to let you know a little bit more about the crew, there are 33 officers, 27 chief petty officers and approximately 324 enlisted men and women onboard, which really coincides with what we heard from Bruce Evans that there's about 350 people on that ship. And, but only five civilian contractors were injured in this fire. As soon as we get more information on that, of course, we'll bring that straight to you. But at this point, that fire is out. And they're right now just investigating as to what caused it.
HOLMES: All right.
NGUYEN: OK. So how far would you go -- in another story here -- to save your career? Later, the story of a top chief (sic) who is betting his life to save his ability to taste.
HOLMES: Also, one of the NFL's top coaches, ready to talk about anything but videotapes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And happening right now, we just got word and got an update from the battalion chief about what's happening at the Norfolk naval shipyard. The USS Leyte Gulf, a fire aboard that ship that has injured five civilian contractors. This ship now parked at the Norfolk Shipyard. There are five injuries to civilian contractors. Don't know the extent of those injuries, don't exactly know how that fire started. But it's described as a small fire. Described that that fire is now out and everybody on that ship is now accounted for. No word of any sabotage, any arson, and certainly no terrorism as the battalion chief put it. But we're keeping an eye on that story. As we get more details, we'll certainly pass them along to you. Also, another story we've been talking about. A lot of people are talking about this morning, O.J. Simpson is under investigation again. The football legend and former murder suspect now accused in an alleged armed robbery in Las Vegas. Two sports memorabilia dealers say O.J. Simpson and others came into their room and took several items. Simpson says he was trying to recover things he believed were stolen from him.
Also, the family of missing British girl Madeleine McCann launching a massive new advertising campaign. The child vanished in Portugal more than four months ago. Her parents have been named suspects. They say they want to keep the search for her a public priority.
NGUYEN: An Iraqi boy disfigured by war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Youssif is reluctant, possibly haunted by the pain he suffered in Baghdad's hospital, but the little man was brave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: And Youssif is in American on the long road to healing. We have much more on this coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Now you may recall our report on Iraqi boy who was attacked and burned in Baghdad. Well he arrived this week in the states for treatment and CNN's Arwa Damon has been following the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON (voice-over): For Youssif and his family, this was not just a journey from Iraq to America. In the words of his father, it was a journey from death to life. It's like a dream, not reality, his mother Zanib (ph) says glimpsing America for the first time. Pinch me. It's strange. Am I really coming to America?
Greeted at the airport by the Children's Burn Foundation and taken to the apartment they're providing, the family clearly overwhelmed. From the bullets of Baghdad to this? Youssif and his sister forgot the exhaustion of their 24-hour journey and had the adults in stitches with their antics.
The next morning when Keely Quinn, program director for the Children's Burn Foundation arrived at the apartment, it seemed the fun had never ended. And new adventures amid more laughter began. There is so much here that Zanib says she had only seen in the movies, manicured lawns, sparkling pools and of course, the playground. Youssif scampered up and down the slides, being a boy again, while his parents discussed more serious issues, like programs the foundation has to help burn victims cope. KEELY QUINN, CHILDREN'S BURN FOUNDATION: The kids that come to our camp, one of the things that they've said is that it helps them feel normal. They didn't know that other kids had burn injuries. They didn't know that other kids had scars or surgeries.
DAMON: Scars this man, Dr. Peter Grossman is going to try to erase. Youssif is reluctant, perhaps haunted by the pain he suffered in Baghdad's hospitals. But the little man was brave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yousiff, can you open your mouth for me? OK.
Dr. Grossman estimates that Yousiff is going to need at least eight to 10 surgeries over the course of at least six to nine months, warning the family that Yousiff might not ever be 100 percent normal. His mother says, she just wants her son's smile back, a smile that today almost broke through the scars.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And just looking at that, you can see how Youssif's story has broke the hearts of people around the world. Among those who offered to help him, Dr. Peter Grossman who we just saw in Arwa Damon's report. Youssif's first surgery could take place as early as next week and Dr. Grossman of the Grossman Burn Center is live for us now in Los Angeles to tell us what lies ahead. I want to thank you for joining us and thank you for what you're doing to help Youssif.
DR. PETER GROSSMAN, GROSSMAN BURN CENTER: It's my pleasure, Betty. Thank you for having me.
NGUYEN: Let's talk about the surgery because a lot of things that need to be done. How complicated is it?
GROSSMAN: It's a series of potentially complex operations. There's a lot to be done, none of this can be done in one setting. But these are procedures that are done relatively routinely for these unfortunate patients who do have these severe injuries to the face and other parts of their bodies as well.
NGUYEN: We're looking possibility the first of many surgeries to take place this coming week. What are the first things that you're going really be concentrating on?
GROSSMAN: One thing I really want to start with is to try to release some of the tightness around his mouth, to be able to give him some function as well as to improve his cosmetic appearance. And so we're going to be starting to start the process of stretching out his healthy skin, so that we can eventually take away some of the burned scar tissue around his face.
NGUYEN: How many surgeries do you expect he'll need to undergo?
GROSSMAN: It's hard to say exactly. But looking at him right now, I would have to say somewhere between eight and 12 operations over the next eight to 12 months.
NGUYEN: Really? All of this has to be a little frightening for a boy who is just 5-years-old and has been through so much. We saw in that piece when you first met with him, he turned his face and put it in his father's leg as though he was scared by it all. How is he doing? Is he warming up a little bit more?
GROSSMAN: You know, right now, it's very tough time for him. He's in this foreign land where the language is different, the culture is different. All of sudden, he's seeing doctors who aren't necessarily to him, the beacon of trust.
He really has had a bad experience so far because of the pain involved in his earlier treatments. So it's our job to try to develop some trust in him and some confidence in him. And hopefully he'll start to realize that we're here to help and not hurt him. But it's going to take some time.
NGUYEN: Let me ask you this -- have you dealt with similar burn cases?
GROSMAN: We have dealt with significant burn injuries throughout the United States. We've had similar disfigurements as well as from areas throughout the world like Indonesia and Afghanistan, where they don't have access to burn care.
And that's really what our focus needs to be is how can we provide the same quality of care that we have here in the United States to other areas of the world so we don't have to bring them here, that they can all receive care in other parts of the world. And that's what our goal is, too, not just to take care of the kids here but to take care of kids and adults throughout the world.
NGUYEN: Very quickly, you're actually doing that, right? Because aren't you opening a burn center in Dubai?
GROSSMAN: We're actually trying to open a burn center in Kabul and we're trying to work on funding and setting up a burn center in Afghanistan where they really need burn care and anywhere else in the world where we can find the resources.
The Grossman Burn Foundation is trying to be involved in that process. It's a tough process because there's a lot of political ins and outs that we have to go through and obviously funding and obviously the safety of the practitioners who are out there to be able to provide care for the individuals who need it.
NGUYEN: Well, you're really providing care for Youssif and possibly having the little boy undergo surgery this coming week. Best of luck to you, we'll all be watching it and thinking of him as he endures eight to 10, possibly even 12 surgeries. Thank you so much, doctor, for spending some time with us.
GROSSMAN: Thanks for having me.
NGUYEN: And thousands of people including you the viewers have responded to Youssif's story through CNN's impact your world initiative. If you're looking for a way to make a difference for Youssif, you can just log on to CNN.com/Impact and click on Iraq burn victim to learn how you can become part of the solution. Impacting your world is just a click away at CNN.com/Impact. We are back in just a moment with more on breaking news, including that fire aboard a navy ship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GAVIN MCINTYRE, ECOVATIVE DESIGN, LLC: Insulators on the market are predominantly petroleum based as we're seeing our economy move towards a greener side, we know that we have to remove away from the petroleum base products.
EBEN BAYER, ECOVATIVE DESIGN, LLC: So we're focused on taking trash and adding value. So we mix in our waste stream, we mix in our insulating particles and we mix in the mushroom cells. And we mix it all together and we pour it into a mold. And we put it away for about a week and it grows up and it fills the container. And in about a week, a week and a half, we take it out and it's dried.
MCINTYRE: So we have the material tested at the National Institute of Science and Technology and we found that our material is actually comparable to the organic and synthetic insulators that are currently on the market.
BAYER: Our process is on par, about one dollar per square foot. Our cost is significantly less than other foam insulators.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We want to continue to follow this story out of Norfolk, Virginia, where that ship you're seeing there -- the USS Leyte Gulf, a fire onboard that ship that happened a short time ago. It is now, we understand. But at least five people were injured, five contractors. We don't know the severity of those injury, but this happened at the Norfolk naval shipyard. We want to get more now on this from WTKR reporter Domonique Benn, who's on the line with us. What more can you tell us about what happened on this ship?
DOMONIQUE BENN, WTKR CORRESPONDENT (on phone): T.J., from what we understand, some type of fire or explosion happened aboard the USS Leyte Gulf, which is a guided, missile cruiser.
You're looking at that ship right there on the screen. On a normal Saturday, we are told that this ship normally has 350 people on board. That would be civilian contractors, military personnels and government employees.
At about 9:30 this morning, there was some type of explosion or fire on board. Investigators are still looking into what actually happened and took place there. Norfolk fire investigators in BAE Systems safety officials are investigating. We want to make sure that people know this was not an act of terrorism. Norfolk Fire wanted to make sure people knew that. And made it clear this was no act of terrorism on this ship. It was simply an accident where five people were hurt. Those five people have been transported to a local hospital here.
From what we understand, this happened two decks down in the berthing area. Names and conditions of those people -- those people have not been released at this time. From where we were at our standpoint, where the media staging area was, you cannot see anything. You couldn't even see the ship.
Again, this happened inside of the ship. The primary activity for most of those people inside of that ship, cleaning the ship. So a lot of chemicals were involved. And from what we understand when we interviewed some of those people, they heard a big explosion. And then a lot of them saw smoke and understandably had to get out of there quickly.
HOLMES: And Domonique, real quick, do you have any idea much about the area? What's around the area and what they were doing in that area when this explosion happened?
BENN: Well we were told this ship, I believe it was launched in 1986, it was in this area, the BAE Systems area, which is right on the water there, it was in that area for a complete overhaul and that is why a lot of the repairs were being done to that area, to that ship in that berthing area.
We understand there were about 350 people on board from civilian contractors, military personnel and government with this complete overhaul. It's only been in this area for about four months, I believe. I believe it arrived in May of 2007 of this year.
HOLMES: All right. Domonique Benn, WTKR reporter on the scene for us, we do appreciate your time and information. Thank you so much.
BENN: Sure, T.J.
HOLMES: We're going to continue to keep an eye on that story, of course. Still a lot more to come here on CNN in the NEWSROOM, stay here, taking a quick break.
NGUYEN: We'll be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick is taking full responsibility for the spying scandal that has shaken his football team and the NFL. He's making it clear, he ain't got nothing else to say about it, so don't even ask. There is cheating involved. The Patriots employee who was caught videotaping signals being used by a New York Jets coach during Sunday's game. The NFL fined Belichick fined a half a million, the team fined $250,000. They could lose next year's first round draft pick. Coach Belichick tried over and over again to shift discussion to tomorrow's game.
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BILL BELICHICK, NEW ENGLANDS PATRIOTS COACH: As I stated, that it's over. And we're moving on. It's San Diego. That's what we're moving on to. We're moving on to San Diego, that's what I'm addressing. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. We're moving on. We're moving on. We're moving on. The whole situation is behind us. And we're moving on to the San Diego Chargers, I'm moving forward. I'm moving on. I'm moving forward. I'm moving on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: OK. I want you to know that that piece of tape was just 29 seconds, but he did say that we're moving on for about an hour in the press conference. It went on a long time. This is not the first time this has happened actually. The same Patriots employee caught videotaping in last week's victory over the Jets also caught during the Patriots win last season against Green Bay.
NGUYEN: Well get this, we are moving on now, because we're turning to Alina Cho who's in today. She's going to be on the NEWSROOM a little bit later.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, we're moving on, Betty.
We're watching the situation on the USS Leyte Gulf, still trying to sort out whether it was a fire or an explosion. We're also watching the O.J. Simpson story very, very closely. Our own Ted Rowlands spoke to him. We're going to have Ted at the top of the hour. Also presidential politics, two front-runners are actually going after each other already. Rudy and Hillary, the mudslinging is on. We're going to sort that out with Bill Schneider in the next couple of minutes.
Also you have to hear this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFFICER: Do you want to try me? Do you want to try me young boy? Do you want to try me tonight, young boy?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Yeah that would be a motorist's worst nightmare, getting pulled over and having a police officer go ballistic. But this time, guess what? The driver had his very own video camera rolling the whole time. We're calling it vigilante justice in reverse. We'll have those stories and a lot more coming up at the top of the hour.
NGUYEN: Yes, that conversation got even more heated. I saw just a little clip of that, can't wait to see the rest of that on the show. Wild, stay tuned for that.
HOLMES: I thought it was O.J. yelling for his stuff back. NGUYEN: Oh, T.J., phone's ringing now. You're in trouble. Thank you, Alina.
Well a top chef battles tongue cancer fighting for his life and the ability to taste his own food.
HOLMES: Where is he finding inspiration? Find out just ahead here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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GERRI WILLIS, CNN ANCHOR: Save time and money during the December rush. Plan for the holidays now. Set up a holiday budget based on last year's expenses. That way, you won't feel the pinch when shopping season rolls around. Or start shopping now. Shopping months ahead of time will allow you to make the most of sales and regular season prices. And be sure to pick the right plastic. If you're going to be using a credit card for your holiday purchases, be sure to choose wisely. Choose a card with a low interest rate and take care of any credit card debt you have right now rather than during the holiday frenzy when your monthly expenses will typically rise. I'm Gerri Willis and that's your tip of the day. For more ideas, strategies and tips to save you money and protect your house, watch "OPEN HOUSE" every Saturday, 9:30 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: The tragic irony of a cancer patient, a chef in danger of losing his sense of taste.
HOLMES: In the prime of his life and his profession. CNN's Keith Oppenheim has this iron will chef's story.
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KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Grant Achatz is carefully snipping cedar leave, the aromatic cover of a new dish that I was the first to try.
GRANT ACHATZ, CHEF: The idea is the mushrooms that are on top of the beef are mingling with the flavors of the cedar.
OPPENHEIM: That's really fantastic.
ACHATZ: Good.
OPPENHEIM: Achatz is the head chef at Alinea, a Chicago restaurant ranked No. 1. in the nation last year by "Gourmet" magazine. Just 33-years-old, he's become famous for menus that blend exotic tastes and textures.
ACHATZ: Everything I see, everything I hear, everything I touch, I really approve. OPPENHEIM: But his talent and his life could be in jeopardy. Achatz has stage four cancer. It began with pain on his tongue. First it didn't seem like a big deal.
ACHATZ: Then it got really bad.
OPPENHEIM: Like how bad?
ACHATZ: Well to the point that it was affecting my speech to a great degree and I was not being able to eat solid foods. It became a big problem.
OPPENHEIM: The cancer spread to more than half his tongue. Most doctors recommended surgery to survive, at the cost of potentially losing his pallet.
DR. EVERETT VOKES, ONCOLOGIST: There would have been maybe some taste, but really a major compromise in how he would have been able to taste, talk and swallow.
OPPENHEIM: At the University of Chicago, Dr. Everett Vokes prescribed a different plan, first reduce the tumor with chemotherapy and radiation, then consider surgery if cancer remains. For Grant Achatz, saving his tongue seemed like the only course.
ACHATZ: You're dealing with your tongue, your palate.
OPPENHEIM: Which were you more worried about, your career or your life?
ACHATZ: Career, easily. Yeah. Because like I said before, I never thought I was going to die.
OPPENHEIM: The truth is Grant Achatz doesn't know if he'll beat this cancer, but so far it hasn't taken his sense of humor.
ACHATZ: I mean, look around, half my staff has shaved heads, so I'm going to fit right in.
(LAUGHTER)
OPPENHEIM: And it hasn't slowed his determination to be one of the world's top chefs.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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