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White House Campus Fire; Missing Family: Dad, Three Kids Not Seen for Days; Oregon Ready for More Floods

Aired December 19, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody.

I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on this Wednesday, December 19th.

Here is what's on the rundown now.

Fire breaks out at an office building next door to the White House. What caused it?

HARRIS: A family on a hunt for a Christmas tree. They're missing in deep snow this morning.

Live with searchers this hour.

COLLINS: Emergency surgery on a warship. The Navy saves a sick teenager. The rescuers and the young woman coming up live right here in the NEWSROOM.

Developing this hour, fire next door to the White House. The flames are out now, but crews remain at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

CNN's Kathleen Koch has been following the story all morning long for us.

Kathleen, what's the latest now?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, the latest that we have is, indeed, from the Secret Service, and that is that the fire has been extinguished. It is out.

Members of the Secret Service right now, they're on the third floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House, surveying the damage, seeing just what has happened to this massive historic structure.

Now, just to recap, this happened, started about 9:30 this morning, is when this fire broke out. And this was in an office adjacent to Vice President Dick Cheney's ceremonial office in this building.

He does have his own office in the West Wing, so he wasn't using that office at the time. But apparently -- we don't know for certain, but sources say the fire may have broken out in an electrical closet.

Well, some 18 fire engines responded, a couple of them on the east side of the building. Most of them on 17th Street, to the west side of the building. And all of the hundreds of employees who are the White House staff working in that building were evacuated, evacuated safely, and CNN had a chance to talk to one of them about her experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How scary was it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You really just don't have time to think. You just move, and it's more scary now that I'm out here and think about it in retrospect, obviously, but, you know, when something is going on, you just react and you just move.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was there an alarm or people yelling, "Get out, get out"?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Our building is alarmed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you a bit relieved now knowing that it's not -- we tend to think the worst in this situation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right, yes. I'm very relieved that it's not associated with anything else. From what I understand, it's something caused by an electrical fire, or we have a lot of renovations going on in our building, so I'm sure...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that the first thing you think of, is it's the worst case scenario?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's not the first thing I thought of. I just saw smoke and my reaction was just to get out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about the evacuation...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just basically exited through the stairs. You obviously don't want to use the elevators, and you just go the opposite direction of the smoke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what about...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you scared?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was a bit nervous when I saw the smoke, and I just -- you know, I just tried to get out as fast as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KOCH: Now, a spokesman for the Washington, D.C., Fire Department, Alan Etter (ph), does tell CNN that at least one person was injured. He was a marine who was breaking out a window on the fifth floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and injured his hand, but he was treated on the scene. Now, right now, most of the employees in this building are either in the new executive office building seeking shelter in the West Wing, or they have simply gone home.

Again, this is a very historic building. It took some 17 years to build, from 1871 to 1888, but thank goodness it's also a very, very sturdy building. Four-foot thick granite walls made of slate, the areas around the windows are cast iron. So, at this point, at least from the exterior, it looks like it has survived this fire quite well -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Kathleen Koch standing right next to the building. Had to take her out of the White House gaggle to get over this and cover this for us.

So thanks for being speedy on that. Kathleen Koch, thanks so much.

KOCH: You bet.

We are also inviting you to send us our pictures if you might have them. And also want to share this one for you. I-Reporter Andrew Leyden, he works in a building across the street from the White House. He shot this with his cell phone camera.

So keep your I-Report pictures coming, if you would.

HARRIS: And also this hour, a desperate search in a storm. Heavy snow in northern California making it tougher to find a father and his three children. They went out Sunday to cut down a Christmas tree. They haven't been seen since.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA SAMS, MOTHER OF MISSING KIDS: Fred called the pastor at our church and asked for a Christmas tree stand, and so they were assuming that they were going to come before they got the tree, but they never showed up. So they just assumed that they didn't make it, and that was the last anybody heard of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Oh, boy. Nearly 60 searchers are looking for the family this morning. Their pickup truck was found Monday night.

Man, the Dominguez children ages 18, 14, and 12.

Let's getting the latest on the search. Sergeant Steve Rowe is on the phone. He is with the Paradise, California, police.

Steve, thanks for your time this morning. SGT. STEVE ROWE, PARADISE, CALIFORNIA, POLICE: Good morning.

HARRIS: Give us an update. Where are you -- 60 searchers. What's the approach today?

ROWE: Actually, they did search throughout the night here. They did have to pull back about 1:00 due to weather conditions in the morning, but they're resuming the search this morning. They have more than 80 people out there now. The weather has eased up a bit and there's low clouds out there, so they're hoping to get more searching in.

HARRIS: Well, how bad is it? I mean, how difficult is it to actually execute a search like this in these conditions? I mean, how far can you see in front of you, for example?

ROWE: The conditions are pretty -- were pretty bad. Visibility was very low, plus the terrain is very steep and hilly in that particular area, heavily wooded. So it's been a very difficult search for the people that have been out there.

HARRIS: You talk about the terrain. So we talk about ledges, cliffs, elevation changes, all of the above?

ROWE: That's correct.

HARRIS: Oh, boy. Any luck with cell phone pings?

ROWE: No. That area is remote, and cell phones aren't working out in that area.

HARRIS: Oh boy. What's the best you can hope for here? I know you're not going to give up, but what do you need here? What kind of a break do you need? Is that it, you need a break?

ROWE: Well, we just need to find them.

HARRIS: Yes.

ROWE: We're out still looking. We don't know exactly what direction they went in or where they exactly went. So they're doing grid searches right now, but most of it has to be on foot due to the terrain. They do have a cat and snowmobiles and cargo out there, as well as canines, but they're still doing a lot of it by foot.

HARRIS: Wow. Wow. It sounds so difficult what you're attempting to do here. But the best. We're wishing for success obviously.

Steve Rowe with us on the phone.

Steve, appreciate your time. Thank you for the update.

ROWE: Thank you.

HARRIS: OK. COLLINS: Probably a good idea now to talk a little more about that weather situation in northern California.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Well, Oregon residents have been watching the skies closely these days after one round of rain and flooding. You know, they are worried about round two.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is in Beaverton.

Chris, good to see you. How are folks there coping?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, you know over the past few days we have been driving from Portland to the Oregon coast and back again, following these storms as they made their way through the state. Right now the temperature has dropped, we're getting some occasional wind gusts. And the rain is coming down fairly steadily. But even a small storm is just bad news for the folks in one town that we went to.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice over): An early December storm flooded hundreds of homes in Vernonia, Oregon. For too many residents, it wasn't the first time and won't be the last.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Always worried, always wondering.

LAWRENCE: Now more rain is falling, and everyone's bracing for the worst.

SUSAN JENKINS, FLOOD VICTIM: I don't think we were ready for this. It wasn't even in anybody's mind that it would happen.

LAWRENCE: Susan Jenkins says the water that flooded her home would be bad enough by itself.

JENKINS: It's the mud that comes with it. It's terrible. Just sludge.

LAWRENCE (on camera): All in your house.

JENKINS: All in my basement. Three feet of it.

LAWRENCE (voice over): The town's clinic is operating out of tents after the building took on four feet of water. Some of the schools have been shut down and plans are under way to move them to higher ground. Some community leaders want to go even further and relocate the entire town of 2,000 people, but other residents say a move isn't feasible in a valley like this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got 300 houses out here that are flood-prone, and there just isn't enough high ground around here to do that and start all the infrastructure again. LAWRENCE: This round of rain isn't expected to be as fierce as the last storms that pounded the Pacific Northwest, but any significant rain could be enough to sink this battered town.

(on camera): Do you just live with that fear.

JENKINS: If you want to live in Vernonia, yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Yes, the town is considering a few different options, including damming the creek that runs right along the back of a lot of those homes, but whatever they choose, you can pretty much bet that it's going to take some help from the federal government to pay for it.

HARRIS: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

All right. Chris Lawrence for us in Beaverton, Oregon.

Chris, thank you.

COLLINS: Want to get you to some sound that we had come into us just a short time ago. This is Fred Wilson. He's a survivor of the Westroads Mall shooting in Omaha, Nebraska.

This happened, as you I'm sure remember, on December 5th. Let's go ahead and listen. He was in very bad shape when he was initially brought to the hospital. Had lost virtually all of his blood. Had no blood pressure. And now a survivor.

Let's listen for just a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED WILSON, MALL SHOOTING SURVIVOR: But I was lying is there on the carpet bleeding, and I knew I was bleeding. And I had fallen on my right arm, and I knew things were not good with this right arm. And I think maybe I would have liked to have dislodged it so that I could have gone elsewhere and moved, but that was not possible. And I believe it was a good thing that I was lying on the arm.

I never -- I kept thinking I don't feel ill. I thought perhaps I should be feeling ill. I didn't feel like I was dying, how that feels.

I did begin to perspire a bit as I stayed on the carpet, and, of course, the shooting ceased, but the sirens inside the store continued. And so there was an eeriness about all that was being heard, and again the sounds of the other individuals in the department.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What were you hearing from them?

WILSON: They needed help. They needed help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fred, before the paramedics came, did you see Robert Hawkins? Did you know what was happening?

WILSON: I saw the young man walking in the direction of customer service, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you see the gun?

WILSON: That doesn't -- it doesn't stay with me vividly that I saw the gun, and yet I think I did. I think I was aware it was not a small -- a small gun.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you were laying on the floor, did you realize what had happened? Could you wrap your brain around what was going on?

WILSON: Oh, yes, yes. I must definitely could.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What were you thinking?

WILSON: Well, I was just hoping that there would be help soon. That was the main -- the main desire on my part, that someone would come to help us.

The store is big. The store is very big, and we were just in like one room of a very big building, and I just wanted people to know that we were still back there and needed assistance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You lost...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Sixty-one-year-old Fred Wilson, a survivor now of that horrible shooting back on December 5th in Omaha, Nebraska, the Westroads Mall, where nine people, including the gunman, were killed.

Boy, unbelievable sound there, saying that he was lying on the floor. He could not move, but he was very keenly aware of what had happened and what was going on around him.

Once again, 61-year-old Fred Wilson, a survivor now.

The New Hampshire primary now just 20 days away, and we have new numbers to tell you about this morning.

A new CNN/WMUR poll shows Senator Hillary Clinton leading her Democratic competitors, 38 percent choosing Clinton. Barack Obama, who just got the Boston Globe's endorsement over the weekend, in second place now with 26 percent.

To the Republican side, the poll shows Mitt Romney still out front with 34 percent. John McCain, who has been gathering endorsements left and right, is second with 22 percent. Rudy Giuliani, 16 percent. And Mike Huckabee, 10 percent.

Senior political analyst Bill Schneider is in Manchester, New Hampshire, now for us this morning.

Hey, Bill, it looks like Clinton and Romney are apparently doing pretty well now. Numbers have sort of been all over the map.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right. They are doing well, and I think there's a reason for it. All this fall, right through from October right through December, we're seeing more and more focus on pocketbook issues by the voters.

We see this month by month in the New Hampshire poll, more people citing the economy. And in the Democrats' case, healthcare as their primary concern. That is an issue.

Both of those issues are issues on which Hillary Clinton is given very high ratings. She's seen as the best able to handle Iraq and terrorism as well, but not by the same margins.

And on the Republican side, Mitt Romney is also rated very strongly for managing the economy. He was a business executive. He has a strong management record. So there is a new focus on bread and butter issues in this campaign, and that's been happening for the last few months.

COLLINS: Yes, Bill, I wonder, when we look at these numbers, we always have that question, all right, well, how is that going to translate when these voters actually get to the polls? How convicted are New Hampshire voters into their choices?

SCHNEIDER: How -- I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you.

COLLINS: How convicted are the New Hampshire voters with their choices?

SCHNEIDER: Oh. A lot of the voters say they can still make up their minds. Over 40 percent. Over 40 percent.

This campaign has gone on for almost a year here in New Hampshire. Maybe they haven't seen enough of the candidates, God help them. But the fact is, about 40 percent of the voters say they haven't really made up their minds.

Only about one in four Democrats has firmly -- no, one in four Republicans says he or she has firmly made up their minds. And in the case of the Democrats, fewer than one in three. So there's a lot of closing to do before this sale is made.

COLLINS: Yes, no question about that. All right.

Bill Schneider, thank you for that.

SCHNEIDER: OK.

HARRIS: Rescue on the high seas. The U.S. Navy with an assist and a save.

We will talk live with members of that heroic emergency crew, plus the grateful girl they helped.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Emergency on the high seas. The U.S. Navy jumping into action and grabbing an ill teenager off the deck of a cruise ship.

They brought her to the USS Ronald Reagan for emergency surgery. Fourteen-year-old Laura Montero had a ruptured appendix. Quite a way to get her first up-close look at an aircraft carrier, don't you think?

The ship is now docked in San Diego, and Laura is on the phone from the hospital.

Laura, can you hear me OK?

LAURA MONTERO, RESCUED FROM CRUISE: Yes.

COLLINS: All right. We'll get to you in just a moment, sweetie.

The rescue crew also joining us today. The pilot, Lieutenant Commander Gregory Leland, Lieutenant -- if you could raise your hand for us, we're going to go around the room here quickly -- co-pilot Lieutenant Earl Crawford (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Raise your hand, Earl (ph).

COLLINS: Raise your hand, Earl (ph).

COLLINS: Chief Petty Officer Matthew Schick (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Raise your hand, Chief.

COLLINS: Petty Officer Second Class Aaron McCullough-Sanden (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: M16 (ph), hand up.

COLLINS: Also, the medic petty officer first class, Scott Hentschel.

Good morning to all of you and thanks so much for being with us.

We want to start with Laura though, because we want to hear a little bit more about what was happening to her in this very scary ordeal.

Laura, when did you start feeling sick?

MONTERO: On Thursday night.

COLLINS: Thursday night. How long had you been on the ship? Was it several days that you had been there, or was it very soon after you had got on board?

MONTERO: It was when -- how many days have I been on the ship?

COLLINS: Well I guess...

MONTERO: About five days.

COLLINS: About five days. OK, because we should let everyone know, at least what we have learned here, is that when you have an appendicitis or an attack like this, it can come on really, really quickly. So I just wanted to make sure that people knew you didn't get on board feeling awful.

OK.

What do you remember about the rescue? And we should let you know that we are looking at video of these fine gentlemen taking you off that cruise ship and aboard the USS Ronald Reagan.

What do you remember?

MONTERO: I remember getting hoisted up into the helicopter.

COLLINS: Because why? Was that freightening?

MONTERO: No, not really.

COLLINS: No?

MONTERO: It was actually kind of fun.

COLLINS: It was fun. Well, I mean, you must have felt pretty lousy though, is that right?

MONTERO: Yes.

COLLINS: Lieutenant Commander Leland, Petty Officer Hentschel, when did you find out about this mission which you were about to go and try to do?

LT. COMMANDER GREGORY LELAND, U.S. NAVY: Well, ma'am, we heard about it the night before around 21:00.

COLLINS: What did you think? I mean, had you had any special training for emergency appendectomy cargo lift?

LELAND: No formal medical training, ma'am, but we train to this mission literally every flight. A portion of every flight goes to training to this mission. So we were ready, and thankfully the USS Ronald Reagan was able to close the difference and the CAG14 (ph) guys responded, and our maintenance department had the aircraft ready to go.

COLLINS: OK. I've got to tell you, I know a little something about getting on and off an aircraft carrier, and I am willing to bet there wasn't a lot of training for going down on a cruise ship, right?

LELAND: Well, not particularly a cruise ship, but we do train to go to other types of ships. So the training transferred quite easily.

COLLINS: Yes, I think a lot of people were probably a little bit surprised about the fact that there really isn't much room on the deck of a cruise ship to actually land the helicopter. So you did have to use that basket. That, I'm sure, is where your training came very well into play.

LELAND: Yes, ma'am, and in particular, Petty Officer Hentschel has done this mission quite a few times in the mountains of Nevada and California, so that played a huge role in this mission going off without a hitch.

COLLINS: How did all of you keep her calm?

PETTY OFC. 1ST CLASS SCOTT HENTSCHEL, U.S. NAVY: I'm sorry, could you say that again?

COLLINS: How did you keep her calm?

Basically I just reassured her. Whenever I got on board we went and talked to the doctor and her and just made her as comfortable as possible. So...

COLLINS: What were you telling her, we're going to put you into this basket, we're going to hoist it up into a helicopter over the sea, and then everything is going to be OK?

HENTSCHEL: As hard it might be to kind of make someone comfortable ahead of time telling them that, that's pretty much it. Just told her step by step what we're going to do and just reassured her to the best of my ability.

COLLINS: Laura, if you can still hear me, how did you feel once you were on board the USS Ronald Reagan? Were you aware that that was where you were going to be getting your treatment and hopefully they were going to make you feel a whole lot better?

MONTERO: Yes.

COLLINS: What did it feel like to be on an aircraft carrier?

MONTERO: I didn't really get to see it fully, but it was kind of cool.

COLLINS: Remind us where you are right now. You are still in the hospital.

MONTERO: Yes. I'm at Children's Hospital in Balboa.

COLLINS: OK. I do have to wonder...

MONTERO: San Diego -- sorry.

COLLINS: San Diego.

I have to wonder if you think you might ever get back to the USS Ronald Reagan to maybe get a look around annd not have to be on a gurney?

MONTERO: Can you repeat that? COLLINS: Actually, I'll ask the guys.

Do you guys think that maybe she could get another invitation where she is able to get around and maybe see some of the USS Ronald Reagan?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, ma'am. Absolutely. She would be welcome any time.

COLLINS: Do you have guys have anything you'd like to say to Laura, or vice versa? I know we have you connected here, so it might be an opportunity to chat for just a moment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to know if she got her school report done yet.

COLLINS: Oh.

Laura, were you worried about a school report?

MONTERO: Well, I haven't gotten it done yet.

COLLINS: Uh-oh. What's it on? Could it possibly be -- the topic changed to this event that happened to you?

MONTERO: Well, my school report is supposed to be on what I did for my Christmas vacation.

COLLINS: I'm detecting a new topic. Absolutely.

Anything that you want to say to these great guys that are sitting with us here today?

MONTERO: I want to say thank you and hi everyone.

Hi, Scott.

HENTSCHEL: Hi, Laura.

COLLINS: Oh.

You guys, it's an excellent story. So glad that you are with the finest military in the world and have the training that you had to make this all go as smoothly as it did. What a great story.

Appreciate it, all of you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am. Thank you.

COLLINS: I'm not going to say thanks to every one of you, but please know that I'm sure Laura and her family thanks you deeply and greatly. Thanks again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. HARRIS: Man, how cool is that? Pretty dog gone cool.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, left for dead, later found to be alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went into the room and I held her hand, and her hand was still warm. I thought, oh, my gosh, there's still hope. There's still hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: But all hope is gone for this college senior. Her grieving family needs answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody -- 11:30 Eastern time. I'm Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: I'm Tony Harris. Welcome back everyone to the CNN NEWSROOM. A young woman in a bad car accident. Paramedics think she's dead. Later, she's found to be alive. But it's too late, she dies of her injuries. How could it happen? Jessie Degollado of affiliate KSAT reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN CORDAWAY, ERICA SMITH'S GREAT-UNCLE: I went into the room, and I held her hand, and her hand was still warm. I thought, oh, my gosh, there's still hope. There's still hope.

JESSIE DEGOLLADO, KSAT REPORTER: Instead, the family of the Texas State University student, seen on her MySpace web page, were told by her physicians...

CORDAWAY: That there was no hope. So the family decided to disconnect the machines and let her go.

DEGOLLADO: Yet they are haunted by the sight of the yellow sheet that covered her. A medical examiner, not paramedics, discovered she was still alive.

CORDAWAY: That doesn't make sense, does it? What are paramedics for? That's their job, to find out is there a life in this body or not?

DR. DONALD GORDON, EMS MEDICAL DIRECTOR: You do that by taking a pulse and counting respirations. Hasn't changed much in 200 years.

DEGOLLADO: The fire department's medical director will find out if that was done as part of an intense two to three month review, apart from the fire chief's investigation.

GORDON: All timings, all conversations, all activities. DEGOLLADO: After 20 years of training paramedics, who respond to 135,000 incidents a year, Gordon says two or three times a year, patients can suddenly respond, even when there was no pulse earlier.

GORDON: Then I get a radio call back, hey, doc, we got a pulse. Now, I can't explain that to you, but you asked me if it happens. It happens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, San Antonio's fire chief says disciplinary action against the technicians involved is unlikely. Smith had been left unattended in the wreckage for more than two hours in near freezing temperatures.

COLLINS: Coast to coast man hunt still going on for those two New Jersey prison escapees. Otis Blunt and Jose Espinosa made a movie-style escape on Saturday. Think, "Shawshank Redemption." Investigators say the men used improvised tools to remove cinder blocks and create a hole in the jails outer wall. Police urge everyone to be on the lookout. Both men are considered dangerous. An $8,000 reward is being offered for information leading to their capture.

HARRIS: "Time Magazine" names its person of the year. It is Russian President Vladimir Putin. The magazine praises the controversial leader for stabilizing "a country that was in chaos." It also blasts his crackdown of free speech and civil liberties. Others considered for the honor, Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore and J.K. Rowling.

Which one is it, Rolling or Rowling?

COLLINS: Rowling.

HARRIS: I get confused. Yes, I hear it all over the place. The author of the Harry Potter books, lets go with that. The magazine, by the way, is owned by Time Warner, CNN's parent company.

COLLINS: Tied down, drenched in gasoline, and set on fire. Now she meets the man who refused to let her die.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The battle over the budget wraps up today in the House, and President Bush expects a victory. Democrats are in retreat on war funding. The Senate passed a spending bill that includes $70 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It comes without the timeline that Democrats wanted for bringing troops home from Iraq. The measure now goes back to the House for approval in its revised form. The overall budget, more than half a trillion dollars.

HARRIS: And following up on a story we brought you as breaking news yesterday. A bridge accident in Ohio. You remember this? I bet you do, look at these pictures. A cargo container truck with its boom arm up, slammed into a bridge over a highway. The driver was killed and the crash ruptured a natural gasline. Some people living in the area were temporarily evacuated. One side of the highway, a major North-South route, has reopened. The other side could remain closed for weeks.

COLLINS: Her husband poured gas on her and set her on fire. Now, meet the amazing woman as she meets the man who refused to let her die.

Bill Capo of affiliate WWL has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL CAPO, WWL REPORTER: She's only 37, but her body carries the scars of a terrible fire, so appearing on television was not easy. In fact, going anywhere is tough.

HIEN DINHGENSCHOR, BURN VICTIM: Every time I go into public, some people stare at me. I don't feel comfortable, but I understand it.

CAPO: All Hien would like is for people to see passed the scars, look in her eyes, and see the vibrant, joyous woman she truly is.

DINHGENSCHOR: I don't want people to do anything for me. I don't want people coming to give me gifts or anything. Give me a smile. Just smile, please.

CAPO: Hien almost died nearly five years ago when her husband tied her to a chair, wrapped a blanket around her, doused it with gasoline, and set her on fire.

DINHGENSCHOR: Opened my eyes, I saw the fire in front of me, but I closed my eyes back.

CAPO: New Orleans paramedic Charlie Brown was the first on the scene to help her. And she told him that her husband had burned her.

CHARLIE BROWN, PARAMEDIC: She said he thought I was seeing another man. And he set me on fire.

CAPO: And her next words further stunned the 23 year veteran paramedic.

DINHGENSCHOR: I told him that, please, let me die. And he still hold my hand and he say, no, baby, I am not going to let you die. And his eyes look at me so tenderly.

BROWN: I was holding her hand. It was the only thing I could do to comfort her because everything else was burned. And I just continued to talk to her and she told me that she wanted to be a nurse, and I said you're going to be a nurse. I said, you just don't give up.

CAPO: Hien had not seen Charlie since that terrible morning, until this meeting and she was so anxious.

DINHGENSCHOR: That you?

BROWN: It's me. How are you? It's so good to see you.

CAPO: And she held his hand as he had held hers that terrible morning.

DINHGENSCHOR: I just remember you hold my hand.

CAPO: Hien lost her right arm, but has nearly completed the Del Gato (ph) college courses needed to become an occupational therapy assistant so she can help others.

DINHGENSCHOR: I often hope that looking at me, I'm still walking around. We have to say good-bye. I see you next time.

BROWN: I was going to say see you later ...

DINHGENSCHOR: Yes.

BROWN: ...because I'm going to definitely keep up with you and I will be at the graduation.

DINHGENSCHOR: Yes, you have to be there.

CAPO: Medical teams at hospitals across Louisiana worked to save Hien's life and nurse her back to health. But it was the tall, quiet paramedic who gave her a new will to live. And when she told him to keep on helping others, it was his best Christmas present.

DINHGENSCHOR: I just want to be like you, help people. You are my hero.

BROWN: Oh, thank you.

DINHGENSCHOR: Yes.

BROWN: You're going to be fine.

DINHGENSCHOR: Thank you so much. True friend.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The woman faces more surgery next week. In fact, she says she's had so many operations, she's lost count. Her husband is in prison serving a 20-year sentence.

HARRIS: An African-American TV reporter slowly turning white. He's been coping with a skin disease. Now, he's telling his story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK, want to take you back now to the -- those were earlier pictures of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Wow, what a scene this morning. If you were with us here in the NEWSROOM, you watched this whole event happen, unfold right before your eyes there as the third floor of the building sustained some damage. We don't know how much damage, because of a fire in an electrical closet.

One injury, I think is the update on that, one injury, I believe a marine who was banging out a window for ventilation on the fifth floor of the building, suffered an injury to his hand, and -- just a minor injury that was taken care of at the scene.

We show you the picture now because we're expecting the president at any moment to make the short walk over from the White House over to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to take a look at the damage. And also, to thank the firefighters for their great work today, doing a terrific job at getting that fire first of all contained, out (ph) contained, and now ventilating the building.

If that happens while we're on the air, whenever it happens, we'll bring it to you right here in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: This skin disease, vitiligo, affects millions of people worldwide. One man who has it is telling his story. He's African- American TV reporter in Detroit.

Our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the man's name is Lee Thomas, as we know and the condition is called vitiligo. Really interesting, vitiligo -- think of it sort of as an autoimmune problem. It's when the body sort of recognizes these pigment-producing cells in the skin called melanocytes. It recognizes them as foreign. Somehow, thinks they don't belong and the body literally starts to attack these pigment-producing cells.

Take a look at some of these images again here. You can see the patches there, he developed whiteness. This affects people of all races, incidentally, but obviously more noticeable in people of dark skin.

Now every day, Thomas applies dark makeup to try and cover this up, which is what a lot of people do. But he's also gone public with this (ph) and written this book called "Turning White: A Memoir of Change."

Now, here's the thing. Chances are you probably know somebody who has this. About two million people are affected in the United States, tens of millions of people around the world. So, this is a relatively common thing. It is not contagious. It is not cancerous, although it has been called the white leprosy. It is something that's just simply an autoimmune problem.

How to treat it? Well, it can be very difficult to treat. Treatments really focus on a couple of things, either repigmentation, adding the pigment back, or depigmentation, taking the pigment away. With repigmentation, they typically give a medication such as Soralin (ph), and then add UV light and that somehow causes a reaction in this medication to try and repigment the skin, but again, doesn't always work. Michael Jackson is somebody that people often think of when they think of vitiligo. That's what he says he had that turned his skin white ultimately from -- as you can see some of the images there from dark to white.

It can be very devastating psychologically as well. A lot of support groups around this, and Lee Thomas talks about that quite a bit as well.

Back to you for now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: For more on this story and vitiligo, you can log on to our Web site, CNN.com/health.

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" coming up at the top of the hour, about 13 minutes away from now. Jim Clancy standing by with a preview.

Jim, good morning.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Tony and to Heidi as well. Join Colleen McEdwards and me as we go right around the world, give you a survey of international stories at the top of the hour.

"Time" magazine has a man of the year, who is it? Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. We are going to talk with "Time's" managing editor to find out why they picked him. We'll also talk with the Kremlin to see if there's a reaction.

Also, U.S. elections, a major shift up in New Hampshire's primary polls. Who are the winners? Bill Schneider's going to join us with a little analysis on what's going on up there.

And is he the most eligible bachelor in Europe, on the planet? We're talking about the French president. We're going to tell you why some people say they've seen him smiling these days, and Tony, we're going to tell you who she is. Join me at the top of the hour

HARRIS: Yes, yes. She's a singer? I'm not going to, I'm not going to ...

(CROSSTALK)

CLANCY: No, no.

HARRIS: She's a stunner, that's for sure.

All right, Jim, thank you, appreciate it.

Let's get to business news now. The latest foreclosure numbers show some encouraging signs. Is it just a blip on the radar or a sign the housing troubles may have reached their peak? And there she is -- Stephanie Elam live from the New York Stock Exchange this morning with details.

Stephanie, what are we to make of these numbers here?

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: The United States tipping off Turkey about rebels inside Iraq. Officially it didn't happen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Hey, look at this scene. Washington, D.C., right now. You see vice President Dick Cheney there a bit in the background. A firefighter in the foreground.

But just a moment ago, and I'm sure we'll see him again, the president thanking firefighters, 17 trucks, just a bunch of firefighters involved in working this fire this morning.

And here is the scene just moments ago. The president taking pictures with the firefighters, thanking the firefighters. The vice president there as well for their terrific work. You have to say it, terrific work this morning in getting that fire under control at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building this morning. It started about anywhere from 9:15 to 9:30. On the third floor there is some kind of electrical closet. One person injured, and the building evacuated, and the president there thanking the firefighters and spending some time with them.

COLLINS: Yes. The two of them, president and vice president, were together actually apparently when this all went down earlier today. So nice of them to go out there and shake some hands with the gentlemen who worked very hard to get it under control.

HARRIS: Very nice.

COLLINS: All right, want to get you to this now, 20 days to the first primary. A new CNN poll out of New Hampshire. Who's rising? Who's sinking? And who's stuck in the middle?

"YOUR WORLD TODAY" coming up at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: She's young, she's the kid sister of pop star Britney Spears, and she has a hit show for tweenaged girls, and, oh yes, she's also pregnant.

HARRIS: What?

COLLINS: Sixteen-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears tells "OK" magazine she is 12 weeks along. She says her longtime boyfriend is the baby's father. As for her young fans, Spears says she's advises against premarital sex. It's not clear how the pregnancy will affect her popular Nickelodeon series, "Zoey 101."

HARRIS: A close encounter with the Red Planet. Looks like a white dot of light here, though. That's Mars, just left of center in the photo, not only -- well, I guess it's about 55 million miles from Earth right now. It pops around, oh, about every 26 months, but you won't see Mars this close again until 2016 -- nice.

COLLINS: CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now.

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. Have a great day, everybody.

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