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McCain Speaks to Supporters in Ohio; 12-Year-Old Girl Saves Siblings from Fire; MLK Jr.s' Chauffeur Writes Memoir
Aired February 25, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: In flight outrage, a woman pleads, don't let me die, but she does. Now, her cousin claims the cabin crew and their equipment failed her.
Dug yourself deep in debt? Our personal finance editor can help you climb out of that hole.
And he's back. Ralph Nader running for president. Are Democrats running scared?
It's Monday, February 25th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
The field of presidential candidates a little more crowded this morning. Consumer crusader, Ralph Nader, making another bid for the White House, this time as an Independent. Many Democrats still see Nader as a spoiler, who cost Al Gore the election in 2000. More on his latest run in just a moment.
Meanwhile, Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama start the week fresh off a squabble over the North American Free Trade Agreement. Each accuses the other of supporting it at one time. Many of the Ohio voters they're trying to reach say NAFTA cost the state jobs. Obama is campaigning in Ohio today.
So is John McCain. He's close, but not over the top yet in his bid for the Republican nomination. Hillary Clinton is in Washington to deliver what's described as a major foreign policy speech. That will happen in -- two hours from now.
Overseas now. It's been called the most dangerous place in the world. Today, a reminder of Pakistan's volatility. A suicide bomber struck near the nation's military headquarters in Rawalpindi. Military officials say the army's top-ranking medical officer is among the eight dead.
The government blames militants operating near the Afghanistan border. Pakistan is a U.S. ally armed with nuclear weapons and targeted by terrorists. Less than two months ago, opposition leader and former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, was killed in a suicide bomb attack.
An explosion rocks an Israeli army firing range wounding three people. Two of them were seriously hurt. The blast happened in a coastal town just south of Tel Aviv. So far, no word on the cause of that blast. An American Airlines passenger begs for help. She couldn't breathe, and pleaded with the flight attendants, "don't let me die." But Carine Decir did die. Her cousin says she was twice refused oxygen and then medical equipment failed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To my darling, please, don't let me die. Go ask some oxygen for me. Please, baby. I love you, baby, I love you. Don't let me die. I can't breathe, I can't breathe. Please, please. And I start yelling in the plane, somebody help me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Decir's cousin said oxygen tanks were empty and the defibrillator did not work. Doctors and nurses onboard tried but could not save the woman. American Airlines has not commented on the equipment, but a statement from a company spokeswoman says flight attendants are, "professionals and trained in assisting passengers in medical emergencies. I have no doubt that they did everything in their power to try to help this passenger."
Decir was on a flight from Haiti to New York on Friday. A medical examiner says Decir had a bad heart and died of natural causes.
A high note of diplomacy. Not since the Korean War has North Korea welcomed such a large cultural group from the United States. Today's guest of honor, the New York Philharmonic. But some say it's the communist country that may be changing its tune. CNN's Alina Cho is joining us now this morning from Pyongyang.
Alina, good morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, from Pyongyang, Heidi. It is quite snowy here. It is frigidly cold. We've been on the ground for several hours now. I was actually on the flight with the New York Philharmonic today and I can tell you, I do not think it is an understatement to call this trip historic.
It is by any measure -- remember, it is the first time that an American orchestra has been invited to play here. It is the largest American delegation to travel to North Korea since the end of the Korean War. And tomorrow, when the New York Philharmonic performs here in Pyongyang, there will be symbolism everywhere.
Just imagine, the U.S. national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner, will be played here before a North Korean crowd, in the very country that President Bush once called part of the axis of evil. Now, nobody here believes that this one concert will end the nuclear problems, but they do believe that it will serve as a proverbial crack in the door of diplomacy, this cultural exchange.
Now, -- eight of the 105 orchestra members are Korean-American. And some of them told me that this concert, for them, has special significance. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE KIM, NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC: I'm just in awe. I think it's cool. I don't know how to sum it up. Yes, I'm happy to be here.
ZARIN MEHTA, N.Y. PHILHARMONIC PRES. & DIRECTOR: My one great hope -- I have to think about it. I have a (INAUDIBLE) feeling about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now, tomorrow night, the concert will be shown live around the world. Incredibly, including right here in Pyongyang. That is unprecedented. Logistically, as you might imagine, this has been quite a production. Just think about this. The New York Philharmonic will be performing on North Korean chairs. But that's about it. Everything else has been flown in, down to the music stands.
Four temperature controlled trucks rolled across the DMZ to transport the instruments. Even the theater has been outfitted with a special orchestra shell to maximize the sound. And remember, Heidi, all of this is being done without the knowledge of whether the man known as the dear leader, Kim Jong-Il, will be in attendance. Members of the New York Philharmonic tell me that we won't know any of that, or have confirmation of that, until the first note the played tomorrow night -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, it will be interesting to see if he's there or not. Because, it probably wouldn't be happening unless he said that it could happen. So, I imagine, just guessing, that he may be in that audience. Looking forward to it so very much. Thanks a lot.
Alina Cho coming to us live from Pyongyang this morning.
Surf's up, and, boy, are the warnings out. Yes, you don't want to ride that wave. This was off of San Francisco yesterday. Today, high surf warnings are posted along the southern California coast. Forecasters say waves up to 28 feet could last through Tuesday. People are being told to stay out of the ocean.
And also, fire dangers in Texas to look at. The Western third of the state is under a red flag warning now, due to high winds. The same was true over the weekend when this huge grass fire broke out in a town of Snyder.
Boy if you could just take that water in San Francisco, put it on the fires in Texas, we would be all set.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Isn't that the way it always seems to want to work, but we can't usually do that that way.
COLLINS: Yes, I know.
MARCIANO: Got a big old mess, that same storm bringing those big waves. That was amazing video. Yes, don't go in the water there. But the same storm that brought that nasty weather is now heading into the plains. We're starting to see the moisture from it pushing through Illinois now. And that's going to get into Chicago.
Here's the center of the storm, now strengthening a piece of energy that will be driving across the Ohio River Valley, seeing some thunderstorms wind up just north of Omaha as well. And this will begin to pull in some colder air. And when it does that, we're looking at some winter storm warnings from Chicago backward toward Cedar Rapids. And probably will be extended into Detroit and eventually across the northeast as we have a forecast that does include a significant amount of snow.
All right. What are we seeing out ahead of this thing? Well, already some travel delays, Houston, La Guardia, Chicago -- still stuck at 1:45. That's the average. Aspen delays are on the increase, but that's not a bad place to be stuck. Winter storm, here you go, six to eight inches of snow across the Great Lakes -- lower Great Lakes. And notice that we don't have much snow painted on the map across the I-95 corridor.
So your big snow seems to have been last weekend, unless that track shifts south. Right now we're pretty confident that's not going to happen. Slight risk for severe thunderstorms tonight across parts of the Gulf Coast. And we'll finish off where we started with the threat for seeing some severe or extreme fire danger across western Texas.
The big easy, New Orleans, some fog this morning. You'll be warm and humid. Thunderstorms coming your way tonight. So get what you need to get done during the daylight hours. Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: Yes, some good advice there. All right, Rob, thanks so much.
MARCIANO: You got it.
COLLINS: Spoiler alert. Ralph Nader announcing another run for president. Can he be a factor this time around?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Drowning in debt? CNN's Gerri Willis has the lifeline. She will be with us with her top tips in a just couple minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: An unarmed man shot to death by police on his wedding day. Today, those three policemen go on trial. The undercover officers were investigating reports of drugs and prostitution outside of a New York nightclub in November of 2006. They confronted 23-year- old Sean Bell and two friends as they sat in a car.
The officers fired nearly 50 bullets when the car lurched forward. They said they believed Bell and his friends were going for a gun. No weapon was found. The case has sparked protests and debate.
Students at Northern Illinois University are back in class for the first time since the campus shooting. Last night, more than 12,000 people honored the five killed by Steven Kazmierczak. Five bouquets were placed on the stage and there was a special tribute with a request.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We also ask that at this time you turn on your flashlights to show the world that our light will not be extinguished by the darkness that enveloped this campus on February 14th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: After the ceremony, Senator Barack Obama talked with the family of at least one of those victims. This morning, there is extra security at the school. The counseling center has extended hours and hundreds of volunteer counselors are stationed around campus for students if they need to talk.
Well you know it and you probably feel it, too. Gas prices are up again. According to the latest Lundberg Survey, pump prices jumped almost 16 cents a gallon over the past two weeks. The national average for a gallon of self-serve, regular, now $3.10. That's about 75 cents more than this time last year.
Flying with biofuel. A successful test, but there's still a long way to go.
CNN's Owen Thomas has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OWEN THOMAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is the biofuel partly powering this Boeing 747 the future of aviation or an environmentally damaging publicity stunt? The jet had one of its engines connected to a biofuel tank providing 20 percent of the power. Remember this day, says Virgin's boss.
RICHARD BRANSON, PRESIDENT VIRGIN ATLANTIC: So today marks a biofuel breakthrough for the whole airline industry.
THOMAS: Don't be so sure, say friends of the Earth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think it is a bit of a gimmick and -- and more than that, it's a distraction from the real solutions to climate change.
THOMAS: This is a babason (ph) nut, which, with the coconut oil, makes up the biofuel on the flight. Branson, though, is keen to stress this is just the start. In three or four years' time, biofuel from algae could be the most efficient fuel of the future. He told CNN, only a couple years ago, no one believed it would be possible to power a jet on biofuel. BRANSON: With global warming, I'm afraid happening so quickly, we've all got to use all our technical prowess and all of our best minds to try to come up with technological breakthroughs like we've seen today. And today actually is an historic day, I think, where people will look back on it in 10, 20 years time and remember today as being the big breakthrough, the big start of this new revolution.
THOMAS: Virgin says this is the first jet in the world to fly on renewable fuel. No passengers on board, but technical advisers are there to analyze the jet's performance. Environmental campaigners, however, believe carbon saving some biofuels are at best negligible, and biofuel crops compete with food production.
KENNETH RICHTER, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH: A lot more research needs to be done into how much emissions these biofuels actually save. And, at the moment, the majority of biofuels actually have a very bad impact and they do little to combat change.
THOMAS: The jet successfully completed its journey and proved that biofuels can help power an aircraft. It will take many more years of research before this new fuel will be commercially available and accepted as the way forward.
Owen Thomas, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The Academy Awards, those coveted golden statues handed out to some new names making their Oscar dreams come true. CNN's Kareen Wynter is in Los Angeles the morning after.
Good morning to you there, Kareen.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, heidi. And I have to say, Heidi, the night belongs to "No Country For Old Men." It went into the night with eight nominations, actually tying with "There Will Be Blood." And it won four awards, took home four statues. And you can see the Coen brothers there, a big night for them. The first siblings to win for best director Joel and Ethan Coen. The last time, by the way, that a duo won was for "Westside Story." So the Coen brothers, huge night for them. They won best picture, best director and adapted screenplay.
Daniel Day-Lewis, it was also his night. He won in the best actor category. This wasn't too much of a surprise and that's because he cleaned up all award season, Heidi. He won for the Screen Actors Guild. He won the Golden Globe. So again, a big night for him, his second Oscar. He, of course, played the ruthless oil man in "There Will Be Blood."
And Marion Cotillard. Need we say more? The French beauty, look at her. Dazzling dazzling. She won best actress. Her amazing portrayal in "La Vie En Rose," of Edith Piaf. Her first nomination, also you can see the excitement all over her face, her first win.
She gave an emotional acceptance speech saying, "You've rocked my life." And this was cute, Heidi, also adding that, "It's true there are angels in the city," referring to Los Angeles.
And you know, the night wouldn't be complete without those supporting actors, actresses who were nominated. So let's take a listen, Tilda Swinton for "Michael Clayton" and of course, the Spaniard, Javier Bardem who played the villain in "No Country For Old Men."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAVIER BARDEM, BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: My mother said to me I'm going to try to take a plane and get there on time. Make sure that somebody helps me through immigration. And that's the only concern my mother had.
TILDA SWINTON, BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Dude, Hollywood is built on Europeans. I mean, that's, you know, go back, look. I mean, that's what Hollywood is, you know. But -- and I'm just really sad that I couldn't give a speech in Gallic, but I would have -- if I could I would have, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I thought she was hysterical. I really liked her.
WYNTER: She's so funny. I've interviewed her before on the red carpet and she has such a sense of humor.
COLLINS: Yes, she's hilarious. So, were there any big surprises, big upsets last night?
WYNTER: Well, since we're on the topic of Miss Tilda Swinton, I believe that that was definitely, definitely a surprise.
COLLINS: It was to her.
WYNTER: Absolutely. You could see it all over her face. When they called her name, she was just -- like, are you talking to me? OK. I'm heading up on the stage. And, the critics were saying that maybe it would have gone to Ruby Dee or Amy Ryan.
Ruby Dee, of course, won the Screen Actors' Guild. But again, this is what the Oscars are all about. You see her walking up on stage to accept her big award. Another surprise, Heidi, is Marion Cotillard. Amazing portrayal again, but all award season it's been going to Julie Christie in terms of acknowledgements and so it was nice to see Marion come out the big winner. So, there you have it.
COLLINS: Good. Yes, I enjoyed it last night. I don't usually like those shows but I really had a good time watching it.
WYNTER: It was fun. It was fun.
COLLINS: All right, Kareen. Thank you.
WYNTER: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: A big sister to admire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNICE DORRIS, ESCAPED FIRE: She told me to jump off, don't be scared. Everything is going to be all right and stuff. So I jumped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Saved from a burning home. A 12-year-old now hailed as a hero.
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COLLINS: Taking a look at the big board now -- 10:23 Eastern time. There you have it, to the positive about 43 points there. Resting at 12,421. Nasdaq, looks like it's up about ten as well. I think I saw that right. We will continue to follow these numbers for you. Going to talk with Susan Lisovicz a little bit more about gas prices. Everybody is always interested in what they're doing. Coming up a little bit later.
Your debt isn't just wreaking havoc on your wallet or budget, it's actually probably making you sick. In today's Top Tips, Gerri Willis is right here in the flesh --
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hello, hello.
COLLINS: -- To tell us a little bit more about what we can do to start feeling better.
What's the first thing you do?
WILLIS: Well, I've got to tell you, this debt is totally out of control. Let's talk for a minute about what people are facing out there. We talk about foreclosures in the mortgage industry and people getting behind on their mortgage, but it's worse than that. Credit card delinquencies are rising. Auto delinquencies are at their highest levels in ten years. And guess what? Even utility companies are saying that people are getting behind on their payments. So the problems are extreme.
COLLINS: All right. So, what's the first thing that you can do, though? I mean, it is making people sick.
WILLIS: Absolutely. Well, you know, there are a couple of interesting studies out there about just how sick people are because of their debt. Seventy-eight percent of us are saying, hey, my debt is making me so nervous that I can't sleep at night, whether I'm worried about paying my mortgage, or paying my car loan. And in an American Psychological Association study it says that the No. 1 issue -- No. 1 for people out there, the biggest stressor is debt.
So you can see that people are really struggling with this. And if you're look for a way out of the box, if you're really worried about the debt, the first thing to do is to get your highest cost debt under control. And for most people, that's got to be the credit card. I mean, realize that the interest rate that you're paying on your credit card is probably 15 percent, maybe even higher. So that's a place to go first.
Start reducing your debt there. Roll it over into low-cost or no-cost credit card. You can find plenty of those, probably offered in your mailbox.
COLLINS: Yes, in fact we talked about that before. You really can just call another company and say, hey, I'm going to take all my debt and put it on your card if your interest rate is lower.
WILLIS: That's right. And negotiate for a better rate. Absolutely, a great idea. We're going to have these kinds of strategies all week long as we talk about your financial security watch out there. We'll be talking at noon to 1:00 every day answering your live questions about money. We'll be talking about your job, we'll be talking about your investments, we'll be talking about your home, your mortgage, everything in short that matters to your wallet --
COLLINS: Wow.
WILLIS: -- To your pocketbook. And please call in. We want to hear the questions.
COLLINS: Yes, this is going to be a very special week. A lot of people with a ton of questions out there. With regard to this debt, though, that we're talking about now, because as you just said, a lot of people are dealing with this.
Is there a phone number you can call? Can you get online and find some help to walk you through the process?
WILLIS: Absolutely. There are lots of places to go for help. Today, you can call us at 866-792-3399. If you're looking for a credit counselor, go to nfcc.org. It's a great place to go to get financial advice. If you just can't get your money issues together, if they're out of control for you, it's a great place to go. And if you have questions, again, it's 866-792-3399. We want to hear from you. Give us a call.
COLLINS: All right and I know that we're making that graphic as we speak. So I'm going to spit it out just one more time. Call in, everybody, because it's going to be a great show. She's really going to be answering a lot of questions -- 866-792-3399. That will be coming up at noon today and all week long.
WILLIS: That's right. We're here for you.
COLLINS: Appreciate it, Gerri. Thank you.
And just a quick reminder, if you missed a tip or a Web site, just make sure you go to CNNmoney.com/toptips. There you can find all of Gerri's tips and a whole lot more. Thank you, Gerri.
Quickly want to take you to Rocky River, Ohio. This is Senator John McCain talking to several supporters there, people who may have questions. This is sort of a town hall event, we're told. So we're going to be checking in with all of the candidates as they move towards that March 4th primary, which is the next event that everyone is going to keep their eye on. Let's go ahead and just listen in for a moment to Senator John McCain.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... All Americans need to have their taxes reduced. And I think we need to, especially in challenging economic times, save more of your money for you to spend and not send it to Washington to spend for you. Now, we also need -- I just want to mention several others things. And you know when you mention them they're not that exciting and they don't fire you up. But we have to take a series of steps.
One, we want interest rates to be low. We want tax cuts. We want taxes to be low. We want Americans to be able to afford their home loan mortgage. We want to be able to have the lender and the borrower sit down and we don't want to reward any speculators and we don't want to reward people who took advantage of and gamed the system.
But we also have to continue to -- working with the FHA, with the Treasury Department, with other agencies of government so that millions of people in America are not deprived of the most -- one of the most important parts of the American dream, and that is to own their own home. And I want to tell you, I will actively pursue policies which will allow people to do that. And here in the heartland, again, people are hurting, people are hurting. We know that. We know that.
But we will fix these problems, my friends, because America has never faced a challenge that we haven't been able to overcome. And all of us working together, we will -- we will be able to do that. One of the reasons why corporations and businesses are leaving America is because the corporation taxes of corporations in America is the second highest in the world. That's why they go place where those are lower. The only country in the world that has higher corporation taxes, corporate taxes, is Japan.
We need to lower those corporate tax so that we can keep businesses, families and workers in the United States of America. Now, I've got to give you a little straight talk, my friends. Some of those manufacturing jobs are not coming back, and you know that and I know it. But there is enormous opportunity, enormous opportunity in green technologies and innovation and we can attack, we can attack the problem of climate change. I hesitate to use the words global warming on a day like today -- and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, eliminate our dependence on foreign oil.
And the innovation, the technology, and the training and the education is right here in the state of Ohio and in the heartland of America. And we can develop these technologies. My friends, the greatest innovators in the world are the United States of America. We've -- green technologies can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Green technologies such as hybrid cars, such as battery automobiles, such as flexible fuel driven automobiles, such as nuclear power, such as -- I just thought I would throw that in -- nuclear power, solar, wind, tide, technology.
America is the most innovative country in the world. Look at every major technological advance that's been made. I'm willing to invest in a battery, from federal government money, in a battery that will take a car 100 to 200 miles before you have to plug it in. I'm willing to invest in pure research and development to development to develop these new green technologies which will reduce and eliminate our dependence on foreign oil.
I'm sure you saw, my friends, last week the price of a barrel of oil went over $100. That means -- that means that $400 billion a year, half our trade deficit, is now going to countries in the world, many of which do not like us, and some of that money, let's have a little straight talk, my friends, ends up in the hands of terrorists organizations. We must eliminate our dependence on foreign oil and we can do it as Americans, and we can do it. I know that we can do that.
And let me -- and let me just remind you that there are countries in the world such as this guy down in Venezuela and other countries that are not our friends. And we can't -- we can't afford to continue to rely on those sources of oil. And now, if I could say a word about nuclear power.
My friends, we've had Navy ships sail around the world with more than 60 years with nuclear power plants on them. Nuclear power is safe. The French, we always want to imitate the French. 80 percent of their electricity is generated by nuclear power.
By the way, in case you missed it, we now have a pro-American president of France, which shows if you live long enough, anything can happen in the world as you know. So -- and let me just give you the other side of the equation, too, because we have a nexus here. Of two compelling national security issues and the other, of course, is climate change, as I mentioned.
My friends, let's just suppose this, just let me put it to you this way and I won't go on a long time on it. But, suppose that those of us that think that climate change is taking place and is affecting our planet, are wrong, and there's just no such thing. We are not correct.
But we developed these technologies, wind, solar, nuclear, all -- unleash all of the technology and innovation that America is capable of, and then all we've done is give our kids a cleaner planet. That's all we've done. But suppose that we are right and do nothing? Suppose we are right and do nothing. You know --
COLLINS: All right. Just getting a little bit of the flavor of Senator John McCain in Rocky River, Ohio, sort of a town hall there talking right now about energy alternatives. If you would like to watch more of that you certainly can do it. Just go to CNN.com/live.
From music to mystery, well, a top American orchestra performs in North Korea. They may learn more about the fate of U.S. troops missing in action from the Korean War.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody -- 10:35 Eastern time. I'm Heidi Collins.
I want to give you this information that we are just hearing now in the CNN NEWSROOM with regard to the Supreme Court. They have decided they are going to hear a case pertaining to warrantless vehicle searches. Here's the deal.
They have agreed to decide when police, without a warrant, can search the vehicle of a person who is under arrest. This pertains to a case where a man by the name of Rodney Joseph Gant (ph) was handcuffed and seated in the back of a patrol car and under police supervision, when the Tucson, Arizona, police department officers -- from the police department searched his car.
There was quite a division among the Arizona Supreme Court. They ruled the search actually violated the Fourth Amendment. So, now the state asking the U.S. high court to overturn that ruling, and yes in deed, the Supreme Court has decided they will hear that case. Again, regarding warrantless vehicle searches. We'll keep our eye on that one for you.
Meanwhile, North Korea welcoming the New York Philharmonic today. It is largest group of Americans there since the Korean War. From that conflict, a new diplomatic milestone. CNN has learned of a new one agreement that could solve the mystery of the U.S. servicemen who vanished a half century ago. CNN Pentagon Correspondent, Barbara Starr working her sources for this story.
Barbara, good morning to you.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Heidi. Well, you know as the New York philharmonic has arrived in the North Korean capital it is an extraordinary picture, an extraordinary moment in half a century of very cold tensions between the two countries.
And people are watching this very closely, but perhaps no one more closely than the family members of 8,000 U.S. servicemen who remain unaccounted for from that conflict of the Korean War. And there is new information about what might be happening with the search for those men.
CNN has learned that later this week China and the United States will sign an agreement, and finally China will open its military archives to the U.S. to search for any information about those men, those 8,000 servicemen. Why China?
Well, when you look at a map we have to show you, China ran many of these POW camps in North Korea during the war, camps in which Americans were held and Americans died in captivity. This is the place that the U.S. wants to search all the Chinese military records about these camps, to see what it can find out about what happened to the Americans that perished in what is now North Korea.
Of course, the Pentagon has been searching for these people for years. There's been about 33 different sites in North Korea that have already been searched by the U.S. military. But all of that was cut off in 2005 over the dispute about what else, but the nuclear power program in North Korea.
The U.S. said we're not going to pay any more money to come back into North Korea until there is real progress on the six-party talks. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, of course is one of the few Americans that has continued to go into North Korea and has brought out remains of missing servicemen. Some very emotional pictures from one of his very last missions into North Korea.
But what's happening now, Heidi, is they hope this will begin to open the door once again looking through Chinese military records about what happened to 8,000 men who are unaccounted for from that war. Heidi?
COLLINS: Boy, it's just amazing, this story has so many different angles to it. We are going to be watching it very closely over the time that the Philharmonic is there in North Korea. CNN's Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr. Thank you, Barbara.
STARR: Thank you.
COLLINS: Deadly tactics, target police in Iraq. A disabled man in a wheelchair blows himself up. A top police commander and two other members of the force are killed. The news come as Iraqi police and joint forces step up security for thousands of religious pilgrims. They are the latest target of insurgents.
Today three Shiite Muslims were killed in south eastern Baghdad over the weekend. A suicide bomber killed at least 45 Iraqis, and injured 68 others. They were all Shia Muslims traveling for a Holy Day celebrations.
Back here at home, she's young, but she's brave. A quick- thinking girl saves her siblings from a devastating house fire. Alex Fee of affiliate KSDK has the story now from East St. Louis, Illinois.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERNICE DORRIS, ESCAPED FIRE: On fire, blaze, smoke coming out.
ALEX FEE: Eight-year-old Bernice Dorris was asleep inside her family's home early Saturday along with her siblings, 3-year-old Bernard, 4-year-old Bianca, 7-year-old Bernicia, 9-year-old Deveontae, their big sister, 12-year-old Derrionna and their parents.
Who was upstairs?
DERRIONNA ADAMS, RESCUED BROTHER AND SISTER: Me, Deveontae, and Bernice.
FEE: Bernice smelled spoke and awakened Derrionna. ADAMS: It was a fire on the steps and black smoke was coming upstairs. So we couldn't see nothing, so I kicked the window and busted it and we got out the window.
FEE: So Derrionna, Bernice and Deveontae found themselves on the roof of a burning house in the middle of night.
BERNICE DORRIS, ESCAPED FIRE: I was scared because I'm afraid of heights.
FEE: So what made you jump?
DORRIS: I didn't have any choice. Just stay in and burn up or just jump off.
FEE: What was your big sister telling you?
DORRIS: She told me to jump off, don't be scared, everything was going to be all right. And so I jumped.
FEE: So who jumped first?
ADAMS: My little sister.
FEE: Yes.
ADAMS: And then my brother and then I jumped.
FEE: Deveontae fractured his ankle in the fall. He remains hospitalized with burns to his arms.
ADAMS: My little brother tried to go in looking for my little sister, this one. And -- when he went in, that's how he got burned and then we jumped off the roof.
FEE: What happened when you hit the ground?
DORRIS: Nothing. I hit my toe but I was OK.
FEE (on-camera): The Doris' rent to home. And while the American Red Cross is providing them a place to stay in the short term, Thelma Doris (ph) says they do not have renters insurance. And wait till you hear how Derrionna responded when I asked her just how she knew what to do.
(voice-over): How did you know what to do?
ADAMS: Because of how our mama raised us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The mayor of East St. Louis is calling the two kids heroes. The city is expected to honor them in the coming days. Good for them.
His favorite singers and more, things you may not have known about Martin Luther King, Jr. One-on-one with his chauffeur, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: You know those record-high crude oil prices we told you about last week? Well, it doesn't take long to trickle down to us at the gas pumps. Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange this morning with details.
Hey there, Susan. I guess -- no surprise.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. There's always a cause and effect when you see those kind of spikes in oil prices. Oil right now, by the way, is up just six cents. That's the good news. The bad news is it's really close to $99 a barrel. So it's very close to the all-time highs we saw just a week ago.
And of course, the trickle-down at the pump is something that we've already seen. The national average for a gallon of regular is now $3.10, up 16 cents just in the past two weeks of 75 cents from a year ago. The survey author, Trilby Lundberg, says prices could rise even further heading into the spring driving season. In the winter you typically see a little bit of a break because we don't see as many people on the roads. But we may not get that reprieve given what we have seen in the crude pits -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Probably not. Well -- tough news, too, at a time when consumers are, seemingly, already hurting.
LISOVICZ: Well that's the vicious cycle. If you're paying more for something that you have to have, you might curb your spending elsewhere. And we have seen that. We get daily evidence of that. Imagine if you're a home improvement retailer like, say, Lowe's. You think people are spending as much on their homes? Do you think people are buying new homes? That kind of thing -- well Lowe's, for its quarterly earnings, Heidi, saw its earnings drop 33 percent.
The company expects tough times to continue. The CEO says the next several quarters will be challenging on many fronts. Well, that's not entirely unexpected. Lowe's shares are up three percent because, again, they've gotten beaten up over the last year. We also got existing home sales, in the top of the hour, they fell .4 percent January alone.
It was actually a little bit better than expected. And guess what? Last week we had gains, two weeks we've had gains now. Very modest gains. And we have nice rallies an hour and change into the session. A lot of hope that bond insurers will see some help there.
And back with one of the catalysts to Friday's turn around rally. Citigroup is under a little bit of pressure. One analyst predicting more write downs for that financial giant. But the Dow is rallying despite it, its up 73 points. The Nasdaq is up 14 points.
Want to end on this one interesting story, Heidi. Last week we were talking about a ski junket. Ski junket -- not unusual. They are unusual if it's from Countrywide Financial, the company that was this close to bankruptcy was supposed to wine a few dozen bankers next week. Kobe beef, caviar, the Ritz Carlton --
COLLINS: Yes, I remember.
LISOVICZ: Yes, they got a lot of bad press.
COLLINS: No.
LISOVICZ: And "The New York Times" now says that -- that trip is off.
COLLINS: Really?
LISOVICZ: In light of recent events, trip is canceled. No So, no kobe for you.
COLLINS: Yes, well I wasn't going anyway. So, I'll just take the gifts --
LISOVICZ: Or me.
COLLINS: All right, Susan, thanks so much. We'll talk a little later.
LISOVICZ: See you in the next hour.
COLLINS: Great, thank you.
Well, we all know the movie, "Driving Miss Daisy." Now, let's talk about driving the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. King's former chauffeur is writing his memoirs and he's talking about the fun side of the slain civil rights leader, the man and family he knew.
CNN's Fredricka Whitfield reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know most of their names and faces. The men who marched in the civil rights movement alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There were others, mostly in the shadows, sometimes literally in the driver's seat.
TOM HOUCK, REV. KING'S FMR. DRIVER: I'm Tom Houck and I was Martin Luther King Jr.'s driver.
WHITFIELD: You probably do not recognize him. But part of his story will sound familiar.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying to drive you to the store.
HOUCK: Well, I'm not Hoke of that Hoke, I'm Tom Houck.
WHITFIELD: Tom Houck was just 18 at the time. 40 years later --
HOUCK: It still gives me goosebumps. So it -- every day I still think about it and the fact that I was able to be that close to a man that has changed the world.
WHITFIELD: And changed this Massachusetts native. At an early age, he was both a witness and a participant in the civil rights movement. Tagging along with a brother to picket Woolworths in support of those in the south doing the same thing.
HOUCK: That was my first demonstration at age 12.
WHITFIELD (on-camera): And did it feel right?
HOUCK: And -- I liked carrying that sign.
WHITFIELD (voice-over): That same year, his mother died. Houck moved south with an aunt. He left high school, lured by everything Dr. King's dream promised. In Atlanta, he joined the southern Christian Leadership Conference, the SCLC, which Dr. King founded. Then, one Sunday, King invited him over for lunch with the family.
HOUCK: Coretta had asked me if I had my driver's license and said, would you mind taking the kids to school tomorrow morning?
WHITFIELD (on-camera): This is also the start of a great relationship with the kids. What did they call you?
HOUCK: Well, Martin and Dexter called me "Uncle Tom." And it was Mrs. King -- Coretta who said, oh, don't call him Uncle Tom. I'm hoping that this new computer will translate and I'll will able -- I won't lose anything in the process.
WHITFIELD (voice-over): Tom Houck, gregarious, politically savvy and proud of his roots in the '60s, is now writing his memoir.
HOUCK: Marty and Dexter asked me to go out in the front yard and to throw the football, catching a pass.
WHITFIELD (on-camera): What are you hoping yours will reveal that others haven't?
HOUCK: The human side, the fun side to Dr. King. It -- also, about this young white boy that found his own dream through Dr. King. They enjoyed music. Dr. King would -- Dr. King used to like groups like the O-Jays, Gladys Knight and the Pips.
WHITFIELD: Which you played in the car?
HOUCK: We played it in the car, sure. We listened -- we would listen to WAOK radio in Atlanta. And, this is before FM turned on. .
WHITFIELD (voice-over): Houck hopes his book will be in stores next year in honor of Dr. King, his family, and their impact.
Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Coming in for a landing, but not where you would expect. This story now from Richard Essex, of affiliate WTHR in Indianapolis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ESSEX, WTHR REPORTER: There are some things you will most likely never see in central Indiana. A plane siting along the interstate --
BABAR SULEMAN, PILOT: Neither have I.
ESSEX: And a plane taking off from the interstate.
SULEMAN: Absolutely. The first and the last, I hope.
ESSEX: Babar Suleman had just refuelled his plane on the west side of Indianapolis for a trip to Pittsburgh. After hitting 7,000 feet and just a few minutes into his flight, the engine in his single- engine Piper Lance, died.
SULEMAN: Tried to restart, didn't work. Made the radio call to FAA, to the controllers. They were extremely helpful.
ESSEX: Suleman went through the standard emergency procedures.
SULEMAN: I thought there might other problems, so I checked -- I ran through the checklist. Did all the tests.
ESSEX: Checked the fuel, checked everything he could think of, and then some. But still, nothing.
SULEMAN: They asked me for -- what my options were.
ESSEX: Running out of altitude and options, he headed for the interstate.
SULEMAN: I stayed slightly ahead of the car for a little bit, just to give the driver an idea that I was about to touch down, because I had my wheels down.
ESSEX: Wheels down and giving drivers on the interstate something they won't soon forget, a plane coming in for an emergency landing. The pilot was forced to put his plane down on the interstate in moving traffic.
SULEMAN: And the guy in front of me, he kept looking at me.
ESSEX: Once on the ground safely, an aircraft mechanic came for a roadside inspection of the plane. And after a series of test, the plane was cleared for takeoff.
(on-camera): The interstate (ph) was shut down for a rare FAA- approved takeoff from the interstate.
(voice-over): The plane, without incident and with another pilot, flew back to Eagle Creek Airpark for another inspection.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The pilot wasn't cited for landing on the highway, but police did joke that they slapped one of the orange abandoned vehicle stickers right on his plane.
Surfs up, way, way up on the California coast, to almost three stories high. We've got the story behind it in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody. You're with CNN.
Hi there, I'm Heidi Collins.
New developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM. It is Monday, February 25th. And here is what's on the rundown: joining the race, mid-course, Ralph Nader is running for president. Will he trip up Democrats again?
And tragedy in the skies. An airline passenger dies during a flight. Her cousin claims the crew and their equipment failed her.
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