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Report: Airplanes Not Receiving Thorough Safety Checks; Are Childhood Vaccines Linked to Autism?; McCain Girding Up for Fall Elections; Bush Marks Fifth Anniversary of Department of Homeland Security; NYPD Commissioner Answers Questions on Times Square Blast

Aired March 06, 2008 - 13:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Airline travel, childhood vacations -- or vaccinations, I should say -- or casting a ballot for president. Whether we think about it or not, each is a matter of trust.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Can we trust the airplanes undergo all the safety inspections they're supposed to? But today we actually know many haven't.

LEMON: We trust the vaccines our children are given routinely won't somehow wreck their mental development. But today we have new reasons to wonder about that.

KEILAR: And we trust when we vote in a presidential primary that our votes will mean something. But today millions of voters in Florida and Michigan are very much afraid that theirs won't.

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters here in Atlanta. We're following three major stories today that touch on matters of death and trust.

KEILAR: Yes, I'm Brianna Keilar in today for Kyra Phillips. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: And we have got some startling news today about your safety in the air. Documents gathered by a House committee shows dozens of commercial airliners that should have been inspected for cracks or rudder problems, well, they weren't; nor were they grounded until these checks were done.

CNN's investigative unit has been looking at this. And here with us now is correspondent Drew Griffin.

Drew, this is very disturbing information.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very disturbing to a lot of people who fly Southwest Airlines, Don. This is the major carrier of the -- of the low-brand carriers. They fly more passengers than anybody else.

But what we've learned is that 117 of Southwest's Boeing 737s, in 2006, and/or in part of 2007, were flying in the air beyond deadlines for mandatory inspections. The planes, according to our sources at the FAA, and in Congress, said these planes should have been grounded, they weren't. And what's worse, according to these documents, again prepared by FAA and safety inspectors, for Congress, and obtained exclusively by CNN, is that the FAA managers knew the planes were flying beyond these mandatory inspections, and did not ground them, did nothing to stop them. That has at least one member of Congress outraged about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES OBERSTAR (D), MINNESOTA: This is the most serious lapse in aviation safety at the FAA that I've seen in 23 years. It reflects an attitude of complacency at the highest levels of FAA management.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: The FAA inspections became mandatory for the 737 after incidents that were fatal. Two of them involved crashes, and both of those crashes on the rudder system made it mandatory for these rudders to be routinely checked. Seventy of the Southwest planes were not checked for those rudders in a timely fashion and beyond the mandatory inspection limit.

The other has to do with the actual fuselage or skin of the plane. That became a mandatory inspection way back in 1988 when an Aloha Airlines plane literally peeled off its top in mid-flight, taking one of the flight attendants with it. That when the Southwest planes -- and there were 47 of them flying beyond the mandatory inspection, when they were finally tested, the inspectors found six of those airlines had significant cracks in them. This is a serious issue.

Southwest says that they thought they had dealt with this, they self-reported to the FAA, and they thought the matter was closed. The FAA's only response has been to the "Wall Street Journal," which was that they believed that they have addressed all these safety concerns.

But again these congressional investigators say this matter is far from closed. They're planning on having a hearing.

LEMON: And just looking at some of the information that you put out about this story, you said one of the people you interviewed said that they've not only threatened the safety of Southwest passengers but they may have also broken the law?

GRIFFIN: That is according to Congressman Oberstar himself. He is planning to hold major hearings on this to find out if, indeed, not only Southwest, but if an FAA manager allowed these planes to fly with flying passengers beyond these safety checks, that's a big deal, Don.

LEMON: Yes.

GRIFFIN: That is a really big deal.

LEMON: That is a big deal. And if they broke the law, then we'll see what happens with that. We're going to have continuing coverage throughout the day. Drew is -- will possibly join us again. And then "AC 360" tonight, you're going to be reporting on this and have more details about this subject.

GRIFFIN: Right. Right.

LEMON: Thank you, Drew.

KEILAR: One day your child is happy and healthy. The next he or she is in a world of their own and you can't get in. The heartbreaking diagnosis: autism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY POLING, HANNAH'S MOTHER: I wanted to know why my -- my daughter, who had been completely normal until getting nine vaccines in one day, was suddenly no longer there. No longer verbal, no longer responding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: When this happened to Hannah Poling, her parents filed suit, alleging that a preservative in childhood vaccines caused her to develop autism-like symptoms.

Let's go ahead now and bring in our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

And Sanjay, a special court has decided that Hannah's family deserves compensation, that they deserve monetary compensation. But what about this connection between vaccines and autism?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. That's sort of at the heart of this.

And to be fair, the language they use is this was a "concession." They conceded this case, as opposed to making a ruling, for example, saying that vaccines do cause autism. They're not saying that, necessarily. They're sort of conceding this case. I think an important point, for more of a legal standpoint.

I think it's an interesting case. You have a girl who, at 18 months old at the time, receives all these shots. Two days later, within 48 hours, she starts to develop high fevers, inconsolable crying. Within months, she starts to regress in terms of walking, in terms of speaking, and is subsequently diagnosed with symptoms of autism spectrum disorder.

There's about 5,000 cases right now in front of this vaccines court. This is one of them. And the court has said, "You know what? There's enough here to sort of say we will -- we'll pay some of the money, pay a claim conceding the case."

Now one thing that's important to point out, Brianna, is that this girl subsequently, as they -- as they cared for her, they found that she had the gene for a mitochondrial disorder. Mitochondria are these things within cells that sort of provide all the energy. And the question -- the reason they brought this up was, it was a question, could the vaccine somehow have worsened that condition and led to these symptoms of autism spectrum?

KEILAR: You said there are thousands of other suits, families who, at least to those families, appear to be in similar situations. So what does this mean for them?

GUPTA: Well, you know, I think right now it doesn't mean anything for them. I don't think that people will say, "Look, this is going to be a definitive case. It's going to set the landmark for all the rest of the cases."

Some people will say, "Look, this little girl was different, because she had the gene for this mitochondrial problem." And again, we've talked to folks at the Department of Health, and they're saying, again, this in no way says that -- that vaccines definitively cause autism.

KEILAR: So are there anything you -- are there any different things you can look into to see if a child should receive a vaccine? For instance, you said that this girl had a gene for mitochondrial disorder.

GUPTA: Right.

KEILAR: Can you check for that?

GUPTA: You know, you can. You can do genetic testing on all children before you give them vaccines. There's a couple of problems with that. First of all, it would be a lot of testing, No. 1.

No. 2 is, we still don't know exactly what it is that we're testing for. We're not sure that there's an actual link here. We're not sure there's a link with other genetic disorders. So you know, if a child is completely healthy but carries the gene for something, does that automatically exclude them from receiving vaccinations? I think most doctors will say no and will point to the idea that vaccines still, you know, prevent a lot of diseases. So you know, let's not jump the gun here.

But, you know, her father came out, who's a neurologist, and said, "I think that this is an important case, a landmark case," because he thinks it may pave the road for a lot of other cases.

KEILAR: And you have so many families who suspect that vaccinations have played a role. So certainly at the very least this is going to add a lot of fuel to the fire there.

GUPTA: Yes, you know, and I think it's worth pointing out that she is nine-years-old now. So when she received these vaccines, it was 7.5 years ago when thimerosol, the substance that you mentioned, the mercury preservative, was still in vaccines. It is not in most childhood vaccines today. So that is something to think about, as well. Although no one is saying for sure thimerosol causes autism either.

KEILAR: All right. Still questions, of course. Chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much.

GUPTA: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: Appreciate it.

GUPTA: Sure.

KEILAR: And CNN's Larry King is going to bring you an exclusive interview with the family of this injured child. Don't miss "LARRY KING LIVE." It's tonight at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.

CNN is also committed to bringing you special programming leading up to World Autism Day. That is April 2. And CNN will report on the latest medical insights, information on treatments and intervention and useful information and family services for those who are living with autism. Again that's coming up on April 2.

LEMON: They are still sorting out the Texas caucuses. Michigan and Florida are still trying to make their voices heard. One thing is for sure: the Democratic presidential race is far from over.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are turning their attention to Wyoming and Mississippi and making plans for the big prize of Pennsylvania. The presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, is back on the trail, preaching unity and girding for the showdown in November.

The presumptive Republican nominee has the luxury of time to unify his party and prepare for his Democratic opponent. John McCain is on the road down south today, first in Florida, now in Atlanta.

Our Dana Bash is traveling with John McCain, and she joins us now live.

Hi, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there Don.

That's right, we're in your backyard today. And John McCain will be very soon, as well. And as you said, what he is primarily doing right now is trying to raise as much money as possible. McCain campaign, as they transition towards the general election, know that they have a lot of ground to make up with regard to getting campaign cash. So that's really primarily how he's spending his time. He had a fund-raiser in Florida yesterday. He has another one here in Atlanta today.

But he is also very much trying to plan and map out the strategy for the fall. And you said that in some ways it is definitely good that he has the benefit of time to try to figure out the best message and the best structure against whichever Democratic candidate he has -- he has to oppose for the fall campaign. And he also has time to unify the party behind him. But the other thing is today is actually very rare, because he pretty much has the campaign trail to himself. That is not going to happen very often. And one of the things that Senator McCain today even admitted to that's going to be a bit challenge, is staying in the narrative, staying in the storyline when you still have this clash of the titans on the Democratic side, where Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are still going at it and will be for quite some time, with anybody's guess who wins on that side. So it is going to be interesting to see Senator McCain try to stay in the headlines.

Here's how he is going to do it, we're told. He is going to, first of all, later this month have a tour of what they're calling a biography tour, really try to re-introduce himself to the American people, to the voters, remind them who he is, his service in the military, his time as a prisoner of war during Vietnam, go to places that might really help to illustrate that.

He's also going to give a series of policy speeches on some of the major issues. And also, he's going to traveling abroad, Don. That's going to happen, probably, later this month in order to try to bolster up that national security experience he thinks is really going to help him in the fall.

LEMON: CNN's Dana Bash right here in Atlanta. Drop by, Dana, if you can, and say hello.

BASH: OK.

LEMON: We'd love to see you.

Well, two days after the so-called Texas two-step, the vote counting is under way again. Sixty-seven delegates are at stake for the post-primary caucuses, but final results are not expected until tomorrow at the earliest.

With 41 percent of the precincts counted, here's where things stand right now. Barack Obama has 56 percent, and Hillary Clinton has 44 percent. As you probably know, Clinton won the Texas primary, with 51 percent to Obama's 48 percent.

KEILAR: Let's go now to President Bush. He is making remarks on the fifth anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's clear to me, and I know it is clear to you, the enemy remains active, deadly in its intent, and in the face of this danger the United States must never let down its guard.

I thank Tom Ridge for being the first secretary of Department of Homeland Security. Good to see you again. Let me welcome members of my cabinet who have joined us, leadership team at the department. Appreciate the fact that a fine United States Senator and a great patriot has joined us today, Senator Joe Lieberman. Appreciate the members of the diplomat corps who have joined us. I appreciate the former DHS employees who are here. I appreciate all the current DHS employees for serving our country. And I want you to thank your families for the sacrifices you're making. I want to thank -- and I appreciate the homeland security partners from across the country who have joined us for this fifth anniversary.

The events of September the 11th, 2001, demonstrated the threat of a new era. I say "new," because we found that oceans which separated us from separate -- different continents no longer separate us from danger. We saw the cruelty of the terrorists and extremists, and we glimpsed the future they intend for us. In other words, there was some serious lessons on September the 11th that it's important for all Americans to remember.

Two years ago Osama bin Laden warned the American people, quote, "Operations are under preparation, and you will see them on your own ground once they are finished." All of us, particularly those charged with protecting the American people, need to take the words of this enemy very seriously. And I know you do.

At this moment somewhere in the world, the terrorists are planning an attack on us. I know that's an inconvenient thought for some of you, but it is the truth, and the people in this hall understand that truth. We have no greater responsibility, no greater charge than to stop our enemies and to protect our fellow citizens, protect the American people. We are on the offense against the terrorists around the world. It is better to defeat them over there than to face them here in the United States.

Since the enemy attacked us, since they declared war, since we responded, we've captured or killed hundreds of al Qaeda leaders and operatives in more than two dozen countries. With our allies we removed dangerous regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan that have harbored terrorists and threatened our people. Our men and women in uniform, those in the United States military, are helping people of those countries fight the terrorists and build free societies and secure the peace for their children and ours. We owe our military a debt of gratitude, and we owe them something more: we owe them all the tools necessary to do the job we expect of them.

This war against these extremists and radicals who would do us harm is the great ideological struggle of our time. We're in a battle with evil men. I call them evil, because if you murder the innocent to achieve a political objective, you're evil.

Those folks have beliefs. They despise freedom. They despise the right for people to worship an almighty in the way he or she sees fit. They desire to subject millions to their brutal rule. Our enemies oppose every principle of humanity and decency that we hold dear. They kill innocent men and women all the time.

The only way these terrorists can recruit operatives, the only way they can convince somebody that their dim vision of the world is worth following, is to feed on hopelessness and despair. And so our policy is to oppose this hateful ideology by offering an alternative vision, one based upon freedom and liberty. Across the world America feeds the hungry. We fight disease. We fight tyranny. We promote the blessings of a free society. Not only because it's in our national interests, national security interests, but because it's in our moral interests.

You see, by bringing the hope of freedom to these societies, we'll help peaceful people marginalize the extremists and eliminate conditions that feed radicalism. And so for the sake of our security, for the sake of the peace of our children, the United States of America will stay on the forefront of spreading freedom and liberty around the world.

As we wage the struggle abroad, we're also building the institutions we need here at home to keep our country safe. Second part of the strategy is to protect the homeland. First part is to stay on the offense, bringing people to justice where we find them, spreads (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to bring alternatives to their hateful ideology.

And the second part of the strategy, which you're integrally involved, is to protect America. And that's why I'm here to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security, because you all are on the front lines doing what the American people expect us to do, and that's protect them.

Before 9/11 there was no single department of government charged with protecting the homeland. So we undertook the most sweeping re- organization of the federal government since the start of the Cold War. We merged 22 different government organizations into a single department with a clear mission: secure America, protect the American people from future attacks.

The past five years the men and women of this department have carried out that mission with skill and determination. In ways seen and unseen, you work each day to protect our people from dangerous and determined enemies. I know how hard you work. A lot of Americans don't. And perhaps on this fifth anniversary, the message will get through that there's a lot of dedicated, decent, honorable folks working their hearts out to help the country.

The Department of Homeland Security is working to stop terrorists from infiltrating our country. On 9/11 America was attacked from within by 19 men who entered our country, hid among us, and then killed thousands. To stop this from happening, we've taken important steps to prevent dangerous people from entering America. It made our borders more secure.

We deployed new technologies for screening people entering America. We're on track to double the number of Border Patrol agents who serve our country. For those of you who wear the uniform of the Border Patrol, thank you for what you are doing.

We unified our terrorist -- terrorism databases into one central bet database. We are enhancing it with biohazard capabilities. We've improved the way we evaluate visa applicants. We made it harder to counterfeit travel documents. We want to know who is coming into our country and who's leaving our country so we (ph) take significant steps to be able to tell the American people the answer to those questions.

Secondly, the Department of Homeland Security is working to stop terrorists from smuggling biological, and chemical and nuclear weapons into our cities. The department has deployed a layered system of protections against these dangerous materials that starts from overseas, continues along our borders and extends throughout our country.

We've launched innovative problems to provide major metropolitan areas by providing early detection of biological, nuclear, or radiological attacks. We are determined to stop the world's most dangerous men from striking America with the world's most dangerous weapons.

The Department of Homeland Security's working to protect our transportation systems and other critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks. Our enemies have declared, they have made it abundantly clear that they can strike economic targets here in America, they can terrorize our people and do great harm to our economy. So in the face of this threat, the Department of Homeland Security has taken decisive action.

Since 9/11, we've worked with the private sector to develop comprehensive security plans (ph) for 17 of the nation's critical sectors, including our food and water supplies, chemical and nuclear facilities, power grids and telecommunications networks. In your operation of Neptune Shield, the men and women of the Coast Guard protecting more than 360 ports and more than 95,000 miles of coast.

LEMON: OK. We're going to get back to the president. We want to get you to New York City now and talk to the police commissioner there, Ray Kelly, who's talking about that blast this morning in Times Square. A press conference we did not expect, but he's speaking about it. We want to listen in to see if he has any new information.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

RAY KELLY, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: Those are the similarities that were the low order of explosive that was used. Again, we don't know what was used here, but we believe it was black powder used in the -- in the other two incidents.

QUESTION: No credit taken?

KELLY: No credit taken so far.

QUESTION: Would motive in this particular case appear to be some sort of political statement?

KELLY: We don't know. No one is speculating at this time.

QUESTION: Any description of the suspect? (UNINTELLIGIBLE) KELLY: No. Obviously we're doing a lot of work as far as other cameras are concerned. And hopefully, we'll be able to get a better picture and a more definitive description of the individual.

QUESTION: Were any people passing by? Were you able to locate those?

KELLY: Well, we're going to try. We're doing -- we're doing canvasses. And what we do in many cases, we'll go back at the same time to do a canvas. And the people who might be in the area, work at that time, that sort of thing.

QUESTION: In terms of the cameras, do you know roughly how many cameras in Times Square might shoot that? And is there anything that might give you a description or a closer up shot?

KELLY: Well, that's precisely what we're working on. We're doing a survey to identify those cameras and take a closer look. Now this will narrow down the area that we're looking at. This will be helpful in that regard to aid us in identifying cameras that are -- that are more precisely located.

It looks like the individual may have stopped on the southeast corner of 43rd Street. If that's the case, that will help us, as well.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

KELLY: No. This is a private security camera.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

KELLY: We don't know.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

KELLY: I'm sorry?

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

KELLY: We're not certain how it was detonated. We didn't find a detonator. Obviously, the bomb squad is looking at that. The individual was away from the scene when it goes off. Was it a timing mechanism, you know? We're not certain.

QUESTION: If I might follow up, is that bomb, would it appear to be more or less powerful than either of the other two?

KELLY: I think it's difficult to say. I'd rather let the experts make a determination on that. I'm told that the white smoke is an indicator of a low order explosive. In other words, the speed with which the explosion takes place is slower. And the other two events were also of a low order of magnitude.

QUESTION: Similar type of explosive?

KELLY: Possibly.

QUESTION: What's the difference between a low order and high order?

KELLY: Faster. Just faster speed. You have more -- more explosive power. More power generated by the -- by the explosive.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

KELLY: I'm not certain if we've released it or if we're in position to release it, but we did have a tape from actually -- a tape from the British consulate in 2005. It showed the individual riding on a bike somewhat erratically, and then going northbound on 3rd Avenue on the west side of the street.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

KELLY: We'll take a look at it, see if we can release it.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

KELLY: Just let me get this.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

KELLY: Yes, we'll make it available in some form. Hopefully, you'll be able to film it now. But if you need it to be released, we'll work on that. Yes.

QUESTION: Can you tell whether the bicyclist is wearing a hooded sweatshirt and whether he was carrying a backpack?

KELLY: No, we can't tell. I -- obviously, we'll make an effort to enhance that. Whether or not that can be done has to be determined by our technical people.

But we had a witness today who said he saw an individual wearing a hooded jacket. What was unusual to him, although it was cold, it wasn't cold enough to require an individual to have virtually everything covered. His whole face was pretty much covered. And he said this individual, again on a bike, you know, riding in what he described as a suspicious manner, riding very slow, was wearing a backpack.

QUESTION: This was a man? Was it clearly a male?

KELLY: An individual. It was -- we asked him that question. He said that he was fairly large. But he didn't identify him as, you know, specifically as a male.

QUESTION: Did that witness -- how soon before the blast did the witness encounter that person, and then what was that witness doing and how did they return to the scene?

KELLY: The witness was going to buy a newspaper. He walked south across the island. What he states is he sees this individual on the bicycle, acting suspiciously. He was a little bit concerned for his safety. He looked over his shoulder, saw that he was OK, and he just continued south.

And he bought a newspaper at 42nd Street and 7th Avenue. He then came back north and when he got to 43rd Street, in front of -- roughly in front of the police substation, he heard the explosion. The police officer in the substation heard it, as well. He came outside. The both of them were in the area. But neither of them saw the individual on a bicycle.

QUESTION: How soon was that before the blast that he initially saw him?

KELLY: We're not certain. We don't -- you know, we don't have the time that he passed this individual. We can speculate now, based on what we see here.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

KELLY: It's all -- the material from the other two cases are in Quantico. So we're going to send this material to Quantico as well. So I really can't give you a specific time.

LEMON: New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly talking about the blast that happened this morning. Also referring to two other blasts that happened in times past.

Want to get to our Deborah Feyerick, who has been covering this story for us. She joins us now from New York. He's talking about two separate incidents, one at a consulate -- I believe two of of them at a consulate.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. That was a couple of years ago.

But let me talk about the incident just today. If you've ever been to Times Square then you know exactly where this blast took place. It was at the military recruiting station just in the middle there at crossroads where millions come to see the ball drop every New Year's Eve. It's just outside the ABC studios.

Well, police are now searching for a suspect, as you heard, that they believe was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and riding a bicycle near the recruiting station at around 3:45 this morning. That's when this explosion, this blast, woke people in the area. Tourists staying in nearby hotels saying they heard and felt this blast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE ALLEN, TOURIST: I'm on the 23rd floor, and I literally shook as well. So it's a big bang.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now no one was injured and the damages to that building were actually not that serious. A shattered door. The New York City police commissioner said that the blast was caused by what appeared to be this crude and very simple device. And he gave a good description of what it looked like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY: It was a low-order explosive in an ammunition box similar to this. Although we believe the box was slightly larger. What we're doing now of course is examining locations where boxes such as this can be obtained. They are readily available in Army-Navy stores.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now this particular site has been the site of several anti-war protests since the beginning of the Iraq War. Police shutdown that entire area as dozens of investigators combed the scene for evidence, the evidence going to be sent to Quantico. The mayor said this morning that New Yorkers simply won't be intimidated by this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MYR. MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: Whoever the coward was that committed this disgraceful act on our city will be found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: The blast prompted the Pentagon to send alert notices to more than 1,600 Army recruiting stations across the country, making them aware that this had happened -- Don.

LEMON: And, Deb, as we mentioned at the beginning of this, we heard him mention the other incidents they believe that this is connected to in any way to similar explosives or explosions that took place in New York in October and also one in 2005.

FEYERICK: Yes. That's what they are looking at right now. The one in October was at the Mexican consulate. Again, man on a bicycle, but in that case two explosive devices were thrown over a fence, and then detonated, again, at a time when there weren't very many people around. More making a statement as opposed designed to injure anyone.

The other blast was back in 2005, and that targeted a British consulate. Police at the time were seeing whether in fact these two incidents may have been determined. Obviously there is a particular pattern here, but they haven't made any links so far. But of course this third incident is one they will look at to see whether in fact it is connected. Again, man on a bicycle, driving in a way that attracted the attention of surveillance cameras that were in the area -- Don.

LEMON: Yes, it appears to be similar. Not sure if it is. Our Deborah Feyerick, we appreciate that. Thank you.

KEILAR: Growing up blind in the middle of a war zone but seeing hope for the future. As our Kyra Phillips discovered, some of these students you are about to meet, well, they are real characters. She's back in the NEWSROOM live from Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Living in a war zone like Baghdad is tough enough for adults, but what if you're young and you're blind?

Our own Kyra Phillips on special assignment from Iraq visited the only school for these children in all of Baghdad. And, Kyra, I know you have a soft spot in your heart for kids. That's putting it lightly. I can only imagine the impression these kids made on you.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: I wanted to take home the whole classroom, believe me, Brianna. You know me well. And the teacher of this one specific class, Ammar Ali told, he me that when he was growing up, his parents didn't want him to use a walking cane because it made him look old and that it was going to handcuff him. There just wasn't an understanding for the blind culture and for education at that time, so he decided that's it, I'm going to school, I'm going to come back, I'm going to make a difference, war or not.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): As his delicate hands move across the braille, seven-year-old Saad (ph) learns how to read. This is the Al Noor Institute, Baghdad's only school for the blind. Its resources are scarce, but its impact is tremendous.

Ammar Ali was born blind. He graduated from here 11 years ago, got a bachelor's degree in English at Baghdad University and came back.

(on camera): How does that make you feel? I mean, you were a student here and now you teach here?

AMMAR ALI, TEACHER: Oh, it's -- it's kind of feeling that cannot be described. Really, really, it's a kind of happiness that cannot be described.

PHILLIPS: Are you share that happiness with these children?

ALI: Yes. yes, I feel myself with them.

My mother is Mrs. Brown.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: My mother is Mrs. Brown.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): And these kids feel themselves in Ammar.

I think 11-year-old Murtada is next. He tells me he wants to graduate college, too, and become a translator.

If you have any doubts, well, just listen to his mike check before our interview.

MURTADA: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26. (APPLAUSE)

PHILLIPS: Murtada may have been born blind, but to him, his gifts are quite clear.

(on camera): Why are you so special?

"God gives me things and takes things away," Murtada tells me. "Even though I'm blind, God gave me cleverness. The lowest grade I've ever received is 85. And thanks be to God I succeed every semester."

These students have quite a courseload. They're learning braille, Arabic and English. As for history, they're living it.

(on camera): How do these kids imagine the war through sound?

ALI: Imagining things by sound, they also can feel the things as they hear it.

PHILLIPS: So how do they feel the war? How does it make them feel?

ALI: The blind people, from the very beginning, they have a great deal of difficulties, so the war adds a problem upon their problems.

PHILLIPS: So how are you helping them not only deal with being blind, but also being blind in a war zone?

ALI: I put all my experiences at their hand. I always tell them about how to behave well, how to be normal people.

PHILLIPS: And they love you.

ALI: Yes. As I love them all.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): And because of that love, all these kids see is possibility.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now Brianna, unfortunately this school is right in the middle of a heavily armed neighborhood, militia-controlled. So, we got -- we had some security concerns and had to leave after just being there for 40 minutes.

I really wanted to show you the music class. It's very important for the kids, sound and vibration and right now in particular the vibration because it helps them with stress relief. But considering their talents and how they are so in tune to sound, a lot of them turn out to be musicians. So, the school really encourages that as well.

KEILAR: Well, 40 minutes or not, those were some amazing kids that you did get to show us. We really appreciate your story, CNN NEWSROOM's very own Kyra Phillips live for us from Baghdad. LEMON: And from the young to older, 107-years-old, as a matter of fact last month. He is the oldest living, as the president called him, dough boy from World War I. And he is being honored today by a ceremony that's headed by Bob Gates there. We're talking about Frank Buckles. And that's his picture there. The president called him a dough boy. He's the last living dough boy from World War I, and he's being honored today. This is a portrait ceremony happening at the Pentagon.

Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: ...that they enjoyed on this earth. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, a portrait of Mr. Frank Buckles.

(APPLAUSE)

LEMON: So, you saw that picture there and you saw Robert Gates and also Corporal Buckles. This is a beautiful picture, as you can see, this portrait taken by David DeJohn (ph), he spirited the portrait -- these portraits by World War I vets.

And just to give you a little bit of background about Corporal Buckles, he's the last known surviving American-born veteran of World War I. He enlisted in the army in April of 1917, right as the United States became involved in that war, World War I. He was stationed in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, and served in the army.

And Buckles is talking. Why don't we listen back in.

FRANK BUCKLES, WWI VETERAN: ...an honor to be here to represent the veterans of World War I. I thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

LEMON: So, Corporal Buckles saying a few words there. But it is indeed an honor, you know, for me to even talk about him and think about what he has done for this country and what he has served. He turned 107-years-old last year, Brianna. And he's looking pretty good, I have to say, for 107-years-old. And that's a beautiful portrait, portrait again by portrait photographer David DeJohn.

CNN NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK, should I or shouldn't I? Millions of menopausal women are wondering what to do about hormone replacement therapy. Study after study has linked it to health problems. And sorting it all out for us and helping us to become more "Empowered Patients," our very own medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: And you know, there was another study this week. I know you're not a menopausal woman, so maybe you didn't pay much attention ...

LEMON: Really? How do you know for sure?

COHEN: ...I'm headed -- I ...

(LAUGHTER)

COHEN: I see that 5:00 shadow.

LEMON: Yes.

COHEN: You're a pretty pathetic menopausal woman if you are one. But you know, I'm headed in that direction, as are all of us gals. And this new study coming out, it's yet more evidence and some women feel confused. Nobody says don't take the hormones absolutely, but no one says absolutely do take them. So, what are women to do?

So, with the "Empowered Patient," we just got fed up with all this, we said to doctors, look, tell us, what are some good reasons to take hormones and what are some bad reasons. So, I'm going to tell you two of the good reasons. There's several more in our column online.

If you have severe hot flashes to the point where you have trouble functioning, that's a good reason to consider taking hormones. If you have severe night sweats, that's another good reason to consider taking hormones.

Now Don, women sometimes think with all of these studies that have come out, that -- showing the dangers that they should just say no and throw those hormones out the window ...

LEMON: Right.

COHEN: ...they really are helpful for certain women in certain situations.

LEMON: OK, any bad reasons for going on hormones?

COHEN: There are some bad reasons for going on hormones. In the past, women have gone on them because they thought it would make them forever young. There is even a book with that title. That is a lousy reason to go on hormones. Studies have shown that that is just -- it's not a good idea, it doesn't work and it could get you sick.

Also, if you're taking them to fight cancer or heart disease, which is -- people used to do that not so long ago, that's also a bad reason. Studies show that in fact, it can increase your risk of getting cancer or heart disease, so don't take them ... LEMON: OK.

COHEN: ...for those reasons.

LEMON: Let's say if she decides or is thinking about it, then what does she need to keep in mind?

COHEN: Right, if you're going to go on hormones, there are some things that you need to remember. First of all, you want to go on the lowest possible dose for the shortest possible time. You do not want to be staying on these forever.

And also, another hint: find the right doctor. There are some doctors that kind of occasionally do hormones. You want someone where it's a big part of their practice.

LEMON: And we talk a lot about that, finding the right doctor.

COHEN: Finding the right doctor.

LEMON: Who could give you all of this advice if you're trying this.

COHEN: Right.

LEMON: OK, thank you very much, Elizabeth Cohen.

And for more on becoming empowered regarding hormone replacement therapy, go to CNN.com/health.

KEILAR: And we want to get you to some pictures that are coming in now from New York City. This is surveillance video from early this morning. As you recall, there was a small explosion at the Times Square Recruiting Center. And this is some of the first surveillance video that we're getting a chance to see.

This is an explosion that certainly a lot of tourists who were staying in the area felt and heard this morning. They said that it was really loud. But we also heard a short time ago from New York police commissioner Ray Kelly that this -- apparently, there was some white smoke, it was an indicator of a slow-order explosive, which basically means a slower speed explosive, not as much power as maybe some other explosives.

Let's see, trying to get a look in here. You can see -- I believe the -- you can see where the arrow is being pointed over here on the right. That is right out in front, I believe, of the recruiting station. You could see in one of the frames what appeared to be a figure of a person moving, or running quickly, it appeared, moving quickly.

But this was early in the morning, not a whole lot of traffic. There, you see in a frame a person. This is being rewound right now as we look. This is coming in to us from New York. This is surveillance video, some of the first surveillance video that we're getting a chance to see of this explosion in Times Square earlier today.

You can see the arrow there pointing at a person who appears to be leaving the -- loitering around the premises. We understand the suspect was on a bicycle. It's sort of hard to make out, but it looked as if perhaps that person got on a bicycle right there and is moving into the street.

We're going to continue to follow this story. We're going to be getting some more insight about exactly what we're seeing in this surveillance video and ...

LEMON: If you -- real quickly, it says that this is from a private security camera, Brianna, and that a bicyclist is seen getting off a ten-speed bike at about 3:40 a.m. All of this is supposed to be inside -- in this video that we're looking at, but it's kind of hard to make out. Obviously, when investigators and police look at this, they are going to enhance it and may know what they're looking at.

KEILAR: And there, you see the explosion ...

LEMON: Yes, there's the explosion.

KEILAR: ...happening right there. That white smoke that we heard Ray Kelly talk about. But part of the thing that New York police department investigators doing right now, they are going through all of these surveillance cameras and they're still going through the process of locating some of them and finding if there is video of what happened this morning.

And again, this is some of the first surveillance video that we are seeing of this event in Times Square this morning.

We're going to go to break, and we'll come back with more on this in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Meet Hannah Poling, she's at the center of a court case that's giving hope to parents with an autistic child. Her story and the ruling here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Childhood vaccines and autism. A link has been rumored, investigated, debated now for decades, and today, a court case that adds new fuel to the controversy.

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