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Tornado Hits Scout Camp; Terror Suspects' Rights; Midwest Flooding: High Waters Soak Wisconsin Farms; New York Fast Food Chains Required to List Calories in Restaurants; The Rights of Detainees in Guantanamo Bay Taken to the Supreme Court

Aired June 12, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. And weather is the major news story this morning.

Deadly tornadoes rip across the Midwest. Iowa and Kansas hit hard. Here is what we know right now as we look at this new video coming in from the Boy Scout ranch we have been talking about all morning long.

One storm slammed into The Little Sioux Scout Ranch in Iowa, killing four people, injuring 48 others. We began getting these first pictures from inside the camp the morning after. And Boy Scout officials say the four victims were teenagers, ages 13 and 14.

Tornadoes also touched down in Kansas, killing at least two people there. Dozens of homes in Chapman were destroyed. Storms also damaged several buildings at Kansas State University in Manhattan.

Let's get the very latest now on the Boy Scout camp flattened by the tornado. Sean Callebs is on the phone from Little Sioux, Iowa, with the very latest.

Sean, as we were watching some of those pictures coming in, the first pictures actually to come out the morning after this thing hit, really unbelievable. You see the tents completely flattened, the buildings, the cars flipped over.

Tell us what you know at this point.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think that we finally have a real visual of what people have been talking about now for the better part of 12, 15 hours. We know that that tornado, that funnel cloud that hammered that area, excuse me, was extremely powerful.

We heard from the scouts themselves that basically, the only solid structures on the sprawling 1,800-acre campsite were simply splintered. And now we can see that. We can see just how graphic it is.

There are bricks there in the distance. Perhaps those are some of ones that came from the fireplace that did so much damage to the teenagers who came here for a week of fun and a week of education. We also had a chance to speak with one scout. He was actually outside of the wooden structure when the tornado hit. And it's really an amazing story of survival, as he jumped into a ditch to do everything he could to take care of himself.

Listen to what he has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS WHITE, BOY SCOUT LEADER: I laid in the ditch and the tornado went right over the top of me. And then I ran back to this other shelter where there were like 50 other kids and made sure they were all right. And I got a hold of a walkie-talkie and I was able to radio the camp doctor, and I asked him what I needed to do.

So I -- so he said, just come up, get a first-aid kit, and then go up to the north valley, because there's lots of people hurt. And that's what I did. I just booked it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Well, I had a chance to speak with Thomas' father. And a very, very sobering evening for Mr. White.

He made the drive the second he heard just how bad the devastation was. Wanted to be reunited with his son. Then he spent an agonizing number of hours waiting near the campsite, Heidi, to hear the latest information, and he finally got a call from his son, who did finally make his way out.

They were reunited. That's certainly one of the happy stories of the day. But Mr. White is concerned about his son. He said he saw a lot of teenagers who were severely injured. And that's not the kind of thing that you are going to forget easily -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, certainly. And what a night for that family in particular. The father, a physician's assistant, the other brother a medic. And this son that they were so concerned about, doing his darnedest to help out anyone he could around him.

So we certainly appreciate the report.

Sean Callebs for us on the phone from Little Sioux, Iowa.

Thank you, Sean.

We are hearing frightening accounts of the Iowa tornado and amazing stories of heroism from the Boy Scouts who survived the storm. Here's just a few of their eyewitness accounts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was getting knocked around. I had dirt flying everywhere. I had rain soaking me. And it was just -- and it was just a massive swirling thing. Until the tornado passed, it was just howling wind. You couldn't hear nothing. You were getting pelted with dirt, rain, rocks, flying debris, pieces of the shelter that were twirling around. It was pretty bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like a pounding sensation on your back. It wasn't like blowing around. It was just going straight on and not stopping.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone came in and told us there was a tornado. Told us to get underneath the tables. The walls were starting to cave in and blowing around. The chimney collapsed. I didn't really know what to do except hunker down and hope for the best.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember I grabbed a kid by the neck, threw him in a shelter, closed the door, told everybody to get on their hands and knees and protect their heads. That could have easily been me, you know, because I was up for the last two years in that valley. It's just weird how stuff like this works out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were going to play a movie for us, but the scout master opened the door and he told us to all be quiet, and then he told us to just to get under the tables. And so we all got under the tables. Eight seconds, the tornado passed. That was like the longest eight seconds I have ever had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: You just can't imagine the sheer terror that those young kids were feeling. No matter how prepared they are and no matter how far along in their scout lives they are, it had to have been incredibly frightening.

In fact, let's go ahead and bring in the mother of one of those Boy Scouts who survived this awful tornado. She is on the phone with us from Omaha this morning, Leigh Emas.

Leigh, tell us a little bit about what your boy witnessed and what he's going through.

LEIGH EMAS, MOTHER OF BOY SCOUT SURVIVOR: Right now, we were reunited with him. What we heard is that he called me with a cell phone from a friend of his who was also all right about 20 minutes after it hit.

COLLINS: What did he tell you? What were his words?

EMAS: He was in the building that imploded.

COLLINS: You're kidding?

EMAS: No, no. He was in there. And as you can see from the video, that the building he was in was completely destroyed.

And he did see the red truck fly over the building and land on the other side. The tent that you see right there was house.

COLLINS: Wow. So you are able to see what we're showing right now, and you can tell us that, yes, indeed, that was the building. Are we looking at the fireplace there, the destruction of the fireplace and the rubble that came down, unfortunately and tragically, and took the lives of those kids?

EMAS: Yes.

COLLINS: He was in that building?

EMAS: Yes, he was.

COLLINS: How old is your boy?

EMAS: He's 14 years old.

COLLINS: Are you worried about him?

EMAS: He is fine. He's sleeping.

Of course we were really, really worried about him. And we were very lucky that he called us and that we -- and of course, we wanted to go. But with the tornadoes in Omaha, we -- it wasn't safe because there were tornadoes everywhere.

COLLINS: Well, I can imagine as a parent you wanted to pack up your stuff and get in the car and just drive there.

EMAS: Yes, pretty much. And the other thing that we knew is that we knew that he was in really good hands. And one of the kids that was injured, he talked to him and made sure he was OK, and called and let us know that the one that -- one of the kids that was airlifted to Sioux City was coherent, that he was helping get the rubble away from all of the other kids. And he pretty much came out with barely a scratch.

COLLINS: Wow. I bet you feel incredibly lucky and blessed that that is the case.

Take me back a little further, if you would, Leigh, to when you first heard the tornado was in the area and you knew that your young son was likely in harm's way.

EMAS: I was watching the TV downstairs and what -- when we saw the storm chaser get tossed in the middle of the tornado...

COLLINS: Really?

EMAS: ... I took a chance and went upstairs and did a MapQuest. And I plotted where the tornado was with the storm chasers, and realized how close it was to where he was. And I just had a really bad feeling. And 20 minutes later, Hal called me and said that he was fine.

COLLINS: How did you get through those 20 minutes? EMAS: It was not fun. I was incredibly worried. And I was just praying that he was OK and that all of his friends were all right.

COLLINS: Yes, it's a devastating story. We are certainly happy for you and your family, and your young Boy Scout there.

EMAS: And my heart goes out to every one of those scouts that lost their lives. And Hal did know one of them. And he was in one of the -- and our hearts go out to him.

COLLINS: I'm sure they very much appreciate that. It's going to be a very long time, I'm sure, before they are able to come to terms with all of this.

Again, looking at some of the video, exclusive video to us, as we talk with Leigh Emas, the mother of one of the scouts who was inside that building that you actually can no longer see because nothing is left but rubble. That is where the fireplace was that took the lives of the four Boy Scouts at Little Sioux Scout ranch in Iowa.

Leigh, thanks so much for your story. Our hearts go out to you as well and your young boy.

Kansas also pounded by powerful and deadly tornadoes. We are getting this new video just in from the scene there. Want to share it with you as fast as we can.

Emergency officials say one person was killed in Soldier, Kansas. That's about 50 miles north of Topeka. Another person killed in the town of Chapman.

The storm also destroyed dozens of homes in Chapman, as you can see here. Look at that. Authorities are going house to house now searching for possible victims.

And Manhattan, Kansas, also hit hard. Classes have been canceled today at Kansas State University. Dozens of buildings on the campus there were damaged, and cars tossed around.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The war on terror and a pivotal ruling for foreign suspects held in U.S. custody abroad. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling this morning, a suspected terrorist can challenge their detention. It is considered a major blow to the Bush administration. The ruling could affect almost 300 prisoners being held by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba.

So, what does the ruling really mean? Let's go ahead and take a closer look now with CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena.

Kelli, this pretty much changes everything.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, not exactly, Heidi. I mean, the justices did definitely hand the Bush administration its third defeat over its treatment of prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay.

In very simple terms, the justices ruled that those detainees do have rights under the Constitution to challenge their detention, and also the system that has been set up for trying them. And they can do that in U.S. civilian courts, even though they are not being held on U.S. soil. But what's more, the court also said that the procedures that are in police for labeling detainees, enemy combatants, is inadequate.

Now, this ruling, Heidi, was really close, it was very contentious. Listen to some of these quotes.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was running from the majority, said, "The laws and the Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times. Liberty and security can be reconciled, and in our system reconciled within the framework of the law."

But Justice Antonin Scalia shot back, saying today's decision "... warps the Constitution." He warns that the "... nation will live to regret what the court has done today."

Heidi, you should know, Democratic lawmakers are already weighing in, praising this decision, saying that they hope that it leads to the closure of Guantanamo Bay. We have not heard yet from the White House. We have no reaction yet.

But as you said, there are almost 270 men being held in that detention center. Most of them without charges. The U.S. says it does plan to try as many as 80 of them in war crimes tribunals. It's an already complicated process, but it's destined to become even more complicated.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, I guess what I meant by saying that this changes everything is, you know, if it's the third time -- I mean, I guess, why is this any different than the other two rulings? Are we going to see a change here, or is this going to get mired in maybe some politics?

ARENA: Well, you know, a military judge already delayed one of the hearings, the first trial that was scheduled at Guantanamo Bay, waiting for this ruling. And so you could have a rush of appeals by the detainees saying, look, you know, we have been classified as enemy combatants, we do not agree with that, and take that out of the military system into the civilian courts.

It's unclear what, if any, impact this will have on the trials that are expected to go forward. As you know, there were just five high-value detainees who were arraigned at Guantanamo Bay. Very unclear what -- if those detainees, if those defense lawyers have a problem with the way that their clients have been classified.

If they have a problem with the way that this military tribunal is going forward, then, yes, they will appeal. They will contest that in a civilian court. And so you add a whole other layer to what's going on here.

COLLINS: All right. Well, we appreciate the breakdown very much.

CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena.

Kelli, thanks.

ARENA: You're welcome, Heidi.

COLLINS: Water, water everywhere. And our Susan Roesgen is right in the middle of it.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, and it is still coming down, Heidi. This is all that's left of acres and acres of soybeans. And the farmers' misery now could be ours when they try to harvest what's left.

We'll have that and more coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Too much water in the Midwest. And now there's more.

Up to five inches of rain fell overnight in west/central Iowa. Now there are new fears of rivers rising over their banks and swamping cities.

Meanwhile, starting today, commercial shipping is banned along the upper Mississippi River in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. The river expected to be closed two weeks. One Iowa-based barge line estimates his company will lose about $40,000 a day because of the shutdown.

Well, the bloated waters in the Midwest are plaguing farm-rich areas of Wisconsin.

CNN's Susan Roesgen is on a soggy looking farm in East Bristol, Wisconsin. That's just outside Madison.

Susan, what do you have there?

ROESGEN: I have, Heidi, soybean plants. If these were rice plants, we would be all right. Rice grows under water. But soybean obviously does not.

The woman who owns this farm has 50 acres of soybeans. That's what she planted. Heidi, she thinks she has got maybe two or three acres at most left that can be salvaged.

That's the way it is up and down this area. We talked to another farmer who grows both soybeans and corn. He's lost a fourth of his crop. He says he's never seen it this bad. He is a fifth generation farmer, just trying to stay on the farm, keep things going, and he says the crops just can survive with all this water.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JERRY BRADLEY, FARMER: The ones under water are dead. They're gone. Anything that's under water that you see, if it's over 24 hours, is dead. It will not survive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: And the worst of it is, even if all of the rain were to stop now, and if somehow the sun would come out and all this land can be dried, it is really too late now, too close to July to try to plant the crops again, Heidi. It's just getting too close in the growing season.

So what we are seeing now is corn prices through the roof, soybean prices through the roof. And while that's good for the farmers, they have very little to harvest. So it's barely going to cover their costs, if that. And then, of course, we as consumers will pay it when we go to the grocery store in the fall.

COLLINS: Yes, no question about that.

Susan, I just wonder, maybe a ridiculous question, because you can't control Mother Nature, and when you are farmer you sometimes have these devastating times, but are there any contingency plans? Will some of them harvest a different type of crop? Is there anything they can do?

ROESGEN: Well, you know, I think they are probably thinking about it, but they have to look at the long picture. In '88, 1988 here, that farmer that you just saw had a terrible year. He lost half of his crop not to water, Heidi, but to drought.

This is something that farmers have to live with. It's like the Ten Plagues of Egypt. They have insects, they have water, they have heat.

COLLINS: Yes.

ROESGEN: It's something that the farmer has to deal with. And in this case, I think they are just hoping if they can somehow recover their costs -- but also, Heidi, there's the incredibly high price of diesel fuel, 300 percent increase in the last three years. It's diesel that runs the tractors.

COLLINS: Sure.

ROESGEN: So if this ever dries out or and they can ever get their tractors back in the field, they are paying an incredible amount for fuel. So we will pay higher prices for food.

COLLINS: Yes. Boy, it is a tough, tough industry, no doubt about that.

Appreciate it.

CNN's Susan Roesgen for us in Wisconsin today.

Now we want to take you to the West Coast, where they are fleeing the flames.

A wind-driven wildfire in California's Santa Cruz Mountains sends up to 1,500 people running for cover. Some 700 acres charred. Firefighters are looking for help today though from lighter winds.

In Butte County, several hundred homes were evacuated. A fast- moving fire there about 90 miles north of Sacramento. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declaring a state of emergency in the county.

Also, just north of Sacramento, three firefighters burned, two of them severely, battling a 65-acre grass fire there.

Killer storms in the heartland. Young Boy Scouts forced to become heroes after their camp was hit by a tornado.

We have been following this breaking news story all morning. We're going to be hearing from a survivor, and also bring you all the day's severe weather news in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: 11:30 Eastern time now. Deadly tornadoes tear across the Midwest, hitting a Boy Scout camp in Iowa and several towns in Kansas.

The twister slammed into the Little Sioux Scout Ranch as you're looking at here, killing four people and injuring 48 others. These are some of the first pictures this morning from inside of the camp from our affiliate, KETV. Boy Scout officials say the three scouts who were killed were 13 and 14 years old. Pardon me, four Boy Scouts that were killed.

Also getting new pictures this hour from tornadoes that touched down in Kansas. At least two people were killed there. Dozens of home destroyed and extensive damage in Chapman, Kansas. Storms also damaged several buildings at Kansas State University, Manhattan.

Reynolds Wolf has been following all of this alongside us today in the severe weather center.

Reynolds, what's the very latest? I know at the very beginning of the show, we were talking about what will continue to happen today by way of tornadoes.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I mean, this could happen again. We're seeing the atmosphere actually reload in terms of its instability.

We've got the Gulf of Mexico that's wide open. We're going to have a lot of moisture pulling in to parts of the Midwest, western half of the Great Lakes. We get frontal boundary that's going to come through. So, the potential still exists for these storms, especially into the late afternoon and into early evening hours.

But, taking it back -- taking a look at just what happened yesterday, we had reports of some 50 tornadoes. Stretching all the way say, from parts of Minnesota southward. We go even into Kansas, especially. We had some of that new video we've been showing along parts of the I-70 corridor. Take a look at this video. I believe we've got some racked up for you. And it's going to show you just the widespread devastation. Looks like someone took a giant wrecking ball and just moved right through this area, just toppling these homes.

One thing we are telling viewers during the last hour is that whenever you have a tornado warning, we always advise you to take shelter in the middle of your house. Best scenario is to get underground in a storm cellar or basement. But, if you don't have that ability, if you just get in the middle of your house, middle place away from windows. That's going to be your best bet and chances are, you're going to come through OK. You might have scrapes, you might have sprains, you might have cuts. But you should live through the event.

Certainly a scary scenario that we've had. Again, as I mentioned in parts of the central plains. And we may see it later on today as we get into the afternoon. Take a look. Here's what we have. That moisture from the Gulf, it's going to be disfrontal boundary. Best chance of the storms look like they're going to come from the western half of the Great Lakes into the Midwest, including spots like Milwaukee and Chicago. Places that also are just saturated with heavy rainfall. They don't need more. And that could be in the play for this weekend, too.

COLLINS: Boy, it is rough out there that is for sure.

Reynolds Wolf, great job. Thanks so much for sticking around this morning and watching all of this because it's a busy day as far as weather is concerned.

In fact, we're getting in new video and photos and new i-Reports throughout the morning on last night's killer tornadoes. .

In fact, our Josh Levs, is tracking that story for us online. A lot of activity online, John.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of activity. In fact, I'm going to give two new pieces of news right now.

Boy Scouts have announced two things: One, counseling. And two, a Victims' Assistance Fund. I want to get you those details right away.

Let's go straight to the web site where the Boy Scouts have been posting some information today. This is from the Mid-America Council. They're saying they appreciate the thoughts and prayers at this time. They're encouraging people, please do not call the Durham Scout Center. They are getting too many calls, as you can imagine.

Let's go farther down the page and here you go. The Mid-America Council is setting up a Victims' Assistance Fund. Donation information is going to be posted on this page, later today. Keep it here at CNN.com. As soon as it's there we will bring it to you. They're also saying that anyone who would like to talk to a grieve counselor about the tragedy and they are saying this is anyone, can call a number. And that information posted at the Mid-America Council Chapter of the Boy Scouts.

Now, as I told you Heidi, and as you know, we're following photos throughout the day as well. Every photo can give you a new perspective what people throughout the region have been dealing with.

Let me take to you one over here, really quickly. This is a man in Iowa City, who is trying to fend off his home from the rising floodwaters yesterday. I guess it's coming in a little bit dark for you there. But, he has a mark on a tree behind his home that shows what happens when it gets really too dangerous for him. But it's not just Iowa. It's also Kansas. And we're going to pull up in the control room now, a couple of photos from Kansas, brand new to us from the Associated Press. These are some really powerful images.

We're going to start with this one I believe, which will show a truck upside down on a huge pile of debris. There you go. That comes to us from Celina, Kansas. I mean look at that. You can feel the power of the storm when you look at a truck landing on top of what was once a home, that is now a giant pile of debris.

Now, let's look at the next one. Because to me, it's out of a movie. That's the Masonic temple, also there in Celina, Kansas. You can see the storm filling the sky. You can feel the crackling as you're watching that. We're keeping a close eye on Kansas. As our Reynolds Wolf told us earlier, the fact is, they were hit very hard as well. Throughout the day any images, any videos you get, send to us at CNN.com\i-Reports. We'd love to see them.

And Heidi, we'll keep bringing those to you along with the details from the boy scouts throughout the day.

COLLINS: OK, very good. Appreciate that, Josh.

Also want to get you to an event that's happening in Boston. Getting his message out, Senator John McCain, speaking right now. And we believe, possibly taking questions in a moment.

Let's go ahead and listen in for just a second here.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... employment of the years of experience that President Eisenhower has had. At one time, commanding the largest invasion force in the history of warfare. In his long years of understanding the importance of not only of bureaucracy, but also of process that led to providing the president of the United States with the options in order to make the necessary decisions. And I think that's reflected in the decisions he made during his presidency. And there were some tough decisions. One was, he said we shouldn't go to Indochina. Another was very crisis points in his presidency.

COLLINS: Well, as you can see, we lost the signal there for Senator John McCain. He is speaking in Boston and getting ready to take some questions. Wanted to keep our finger on the political pulse today as well as we continue and follow all of these weather stories that are out there.

In fact, be sure to check out the political ticker for all the latest political news. You can log on to CNNpolitics.com. Your source for all things political.

We'll try and keep an eye on that monitor for you, for Senator McCain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: More on the Iowa tornado that we've been talking about all morning long.

Thomas White is an 18-year-old Eagle Scout from Blair, Nebraska. When the tornado roared into that Iowa scout camp, White dove into a ditch. Earlier this morning he described surviving the tornado with CNN's John Roberts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS WHITE, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I laid in the ditch and the tornado went over the top of me. And then I ran back to this other shelter where there were like 50 other kids and made sure they were all right. And I got a hold of a walkie-talkie and I was able to radio the camp doctor and I asked them what I needed to do. So I -- so he said come on and get a first aid kit and then go up to the North Valley because there's lots of people hurt. And that's what I did. I just booked it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Many of those young scouts in the hospital this morning with injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to major head trauma.

Medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is joining us now.

So Elizabeth, talk a little bit about how they are treating the injured. We were talking about 48 people, some have been released. But obviously, some are still needing treatment.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. 48 people and about half have been released, Heidi. So that's definitely good news.

COLLINS: Sure.

COHEN: A variety -- several different area hospitals are handling, as you said, a wide range of injuries. Everything from minor things to head trauma to somebody has a fractured pelvis, skull fracture, dislocated hip, a fractured vertebrae. It's -- you know, these are obviously very difficult, difficult things to treat.

And another Boy Scout talks to CNN earlier about what they did when the tornado struck, what they did to minimize those injuries. And you know, the Boy Scouts did what they were trained to do. They tried to get people out of the way. They took -- there were bricks on top of some people and they took the bricks off of those people. One of the Boy Scouts said when the tornado hit, it was just eight seconds but it was the longest eight seconds of his life.

COLLINS: Yes. You can only imagine what that's like. In fact, you know, you really just can't imagine it until you go through something like this. And I think a lot of people may forget, certainly if they haven't experienced something similar to this, that it's not the tornado that gets you or the wind that gets you. And Reynolds and I were talking about this. It's the debris. I mean, you've got to watch out for anything that can be flying through the air and you're going to suffer these kinds of injuries.

COHEN: Right, absolutely, absolutely. And it's interesting. One of people in the hospital right now, they're keeping this person just because they are disoriented, they're not sure where they are. They are confused. So there may not even be like obvious physical damage that you can see. But, you get hit in the head with flying debris and it could lead -- you don't know what can happen.

COLLINS: Post traumatic stress disorder? Something like that?

COHEN: Or it could be hit in the head and maybe there's some kind of...

COLLINS: Concussion.

COHEN: Yes, something like that.

COLLINS: Wow.

COHEN: But yes, it's a wide variety of injuries.

COLLINS: OK, well I know that you're keeping an eye on that for us. Going to give us any updates as far as those injuries are concerned as we go on here today.

COHEN: That's right.

COLLINS: All right. Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. Thanks, Elizabeth.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: More on today's Supreme Court ruling on prisoner at Guantanamo Bay. Coming up next, right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Some legal scholars are calling it one of the most important rulings to come from the Supreme Court since September 11. It's about whether foreign prisoners held by the U.S. at a detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have a right to challenge their detention before Federal judges.

Here now, CNN senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At issue whether foreign prisoners held in Guantanamo, some for as long as five years, are entitled to a fundamental right guaranteed to every American. Habeas Corpus. The right to petition for relief against unlawful detention.

Charles Swift is a former military attorney who vigorously defended a Yemeni man accused being Osama bin Laden's bodyguard and driver.

CHARLES SWIFT, FMR. MILITARY DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They want to look their accusers in the face, They want to be able to say this is what I did. They want to have an opportunity to exonerate themselves.

MCINTYRE: But, the Bush administration argues that the more than 300 detainees held in Guantanamo, are enemy combatants whose rights are adequately protected by the Military Commissions Act passed by Congress last year.

DAVID RIVKIN, FMR. JUSTICE DEPT. LAWYER: Frankly, the detainees under MCA, have more due process than any captured enemy combatant, lawful or unlawful, ever had, in any war in human history, including anywhere in which the United States was a party.

MCINTYRE: But attorneys bringing the case before the Supreme Court argue military officials, not independent judges, are deciding the fate of the detainees in a process that does not allow prisoners to have lawyers or present their own evidence. The defendants in the case are an Algerian arrested in Bosnia, in 2001 and a Kuwaiti citizen captured in Pakistan, in 2002.

EDWARD LAZARUS, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW EXPERT: You think that's going to trouble a number of the justices, particularly with respect, to the ones from Bosnia. Where the Bosnian government conducted an investigation and decided these people were not implicated in the alleged attempt to bomb the U.S. embassy over there.

MCINTYRE: The Constitution says a Writ of Habeas Corpus may be suspended only in cases of rebellion or invasion. It's a high standard.

CHARLES SWIFT, EMORY UNIV. SCHOOL OF LAW: But it is a greater threat than the Nazis? This is a greater threat than the Civil War to our union and our freedom? That's difficult for me to swallow.

MCINTYRE: Jamie McIntyre, CNN, at the Supreme Court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Family dog doubles as a lifeguard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He went into the shallow end and swam to the deep end. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: German Shepard -- well, we'll show you the whole story in a minute. German Shepherd keeps his shepherding instincts, even in the water.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Living longer. For the first time a baby born in the U.S. can expect to celebrate its 78th birthday and then some. Health officials say flu and pneumonia death rates dropped in 2006. The latest data also showed declines in cancer, heart disease, diabetes and accidents death rates. Still, there are longer life expectancies in about 30 other countries. The longest, Japan, 83 years.

Fast food lovers in New York are getting added value with those super-sized orders. The calorie count.

CNN's Richard Roth, reports.

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RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What's new on the menu at fast food restaurants in New York City? Calories and they're everywhere. The city has now given chain restaurants an order. Put up calorie counts on menu boards for customers.

THOMAS FRIEDEN, NYC HEALTH COMMISSIONER: The food that people get in chain restaurants has lots of calories. Many more calories than people realize.

ROTH: Some chains such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, have complied.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice to know the calories that are involved.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it definitely affects what you order when you can see like what you're putting into your body.

ROTH: Some guests have no time for food for thought.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be honest with you, I think it is ridiculous, the calorie count. Because I don't really look at calories. I just -- if I want to eat fast food, I'll go eat it.

ROTH: Chipotle puts up a range of calories for it's choices, because of different ingredients.

RON DIAMOND, CHIPOTLE MANAGER: There's been no impact on our business. As far as we're concerned it's business as usual.

ROTH: Subway also has calorie counts. Jessica Chamberlin (ph) is glad see them.

CHAMBERLIN: Absolutely. It makes it much easier to adhere to the Weight Watchers program or you know, any diet. ROTH: But franchise owners of McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts are largely ignoring the directive.

CHUCK HUNT, N.Y. STATE RESTAURANT ASSN.: There's a much more intelligent way to address obesity as a problem. And it really should start in the home.

ROTH: The city disagrees and will start fining restaurants next month if they don't post the calories.

(on camera): How many are in that iced coffee?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To be honest, I really don't want to know.

ROTH (voice-over): Richard Roth, CNN, New York.

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COLLINS: Yes, I don't want to know either.

But listen to this story. He's untrained and still determined to be a good lifeguard.

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Harley, the German Shepherd, you see him there, he's actually earned a reputation as a life-saver. Even when that life isn't in danger. When family or friends jump into the pool's deep end, Harley swims down to get them, gently grabs their wrist and brings them back to the shallow end.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He loves the kids. You know, he's very protective of the family. So, he's got the instinct that you mentioned, the herding instinct, to gather us up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Aww. Hopefully it's gentle. So, what does the family do when they want to swim without Harley's help? Well, them throw him some bones on the other side of the pool.

CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now.

ISSUE #1 starts right now.