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Goleta Fire 50 Percent Contained; Girl with Rare Disease Looks to China for Help; Iraqi Prime Minister in Favor of Setting up Schedule for Troop Withdrawal
Aired July 08, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning again, everyone. You're informed with CNN.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on Tuesday, the 8th of July.
Here's what's on the rundown.
New video, triple-digit heat fueling a smoky wildfire today. Thousands more Californians may be forced out of their homes.
HARRIS: Iraq's leader calling for a timetable for U.S. troops to leave his country. Live to Baghdad.
COLLINS: They're 11 and 12 years old and say sex is a normal part of their relationship. A jaw-dropping survey parents must see -- in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And at the top this hour, new fire warnings and immediate evacuations in California. Those evacuations under way right now in a couple of communities in Butte County.
Firefighters called in to rescue residents trapped by a shifting wildfire pushed by what officials are calling substantial winds. Have to get to Rob on that in just a minute. Thousands of homes are threatened, as many as 5,000 people may be forced to get out.
There are 330 active fires in the state right now, the most destructive are in Big Sur and Goleta. In Big Sur, crews are beefing up the fire lines there. Cooler temperatures had been helping the firefighting effort, but warmer temperatures could start to turn the tide again. Some homeowners are expected to be allowed to return home later today.
That fire is now 18 percent contained. Compare that to the Gap fire in Santa Barbara County, near Goleta. That fire is now 35 percent contained.
The fire there is burning through brush in the mountains. Some residents are being warned to be ready to go at a moment's notice. Firefighters making progress where they can. CNN's Kara Finnstrom is live in Goleta, California, this morning.
And Kara, if you would, give us the latest.
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, last hour we talked about how quickly these containment numbers have been changing, and they just changed again, gone from 35 percent to 50 percent. That is a huge increase.
It gives you some indication of the progress that these firefighters feel that they've been able to make over the last couple of days. But, Tony, they stress they are not letting their guard down because that hot weather, as you mentioned just a few moments ago, hot, dry weather is on the way. And they feel that could fuel these fires further.
Taking a look behind me, you can see that we are at the incident command post right now. This is where a lot of the coordinating of all those ground and air attacks takes place.
Right now a lot of their effort is being focused towards the northwest. The good news -- this is where the fire is burning, and the good news here is that this is an area away from neighborhoods. But what makes it difficult for firefighters is that it's very rugged terrain.
We've got some video that we want to show you of our crews hiking in. They had to go in for miles into the canyon after these firefighters, and they were there actually as a flare-up took place, and then the crushing water drop that came, you know, just shortly there afterwards. And our crews actually there got a little drenched, a little wet themselves.
But what this does is it gives you an idea of the impact that these water drops are having. They -- also there, a little bit later on, as a DC-10 came overhead and just unloaded fire retardant all over that hillside to try and help make sure that there are no more flare- ups there.
Earlier in the day we spoke with some of the crews that are around these neighborhoods trying to make sure that the fire doesn't creep back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT BERTOLINA, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: We're not letting our guard down, and we have constant patrols and people going back and forth to make sure that all the smoke is distinguished so these folks are safe here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FINNSTROM: Now, at this point, Tony, most of those mandatory evacuations have been lifted, another good indicator that around the neighborhoods, anyway, firefighters are feeling pretty confident.
HARRIS: Boy, that's a bit of good news, 50 percent containment in Goleta. I can't imagine the cost of fighting the fires there.
Kara Finnstrom for us in Goleta, California, this morning.
Kara, good to see you. Thank you.
And you know, firefighting resources, as you can imagine, being stretched thin. That includes firefighters themselves.
Right now there are more than 20,000 people helping fight the fires. They have committed more than 1,400 fire engines and 97 helicopters. That doesn't include some of the aircraft sent in from other states.
Forty homes have been destroyed in the fires. Firefighters are trying to save the 7,600 more that are threatened. And there you have it, the California fire story at the moment.
COLLINS: Some good news on another weather story we're following. Hurricane Bertha losing strength.
A new update just moments ago downgraded the storm to a Category 2 hurricane. Bertha is shifting north and is not expected to come close to the East Coast. But Bertha should probably be regarded as something to think about, especially when you're talking about preparations.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is talking a little bit more about that. Excuse me. Sorry. It's John Zarrella.
I'm so sorry, John.
You have some great ideas -- you'll answer to anything, right -- on what people should be doing by way of preparations. Some great stuff there. Tell us what you have.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ed has a lot of good stories he could tell us, too, about preparations, but no question about it. But, you know, quite clearly, this is a good wakeup call.
No doubt about it, it's time to get ready if you haven't already. Bertha is out there, you can see it, see how powerful these things can get very quickly.
We bought about $239 worth of supplies this morning, everything from extension cords to tarps to emergency, you know, first-aid kits, flashlights. Just some basic things that you need. Of course, you need food and water.
But, you know, one thing over the last couple of years, a lot of people went out and bought generators. Well, you'd think it's real easy to use, but if you don't use them right, they can be dangerous.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice over): Generators range from a few hundreds dollars to many thousands. They come in sizes to meet whatever your need, from a few thousand watts to run fans, lights, TVs and refrigerators, up to the big boys.
JOE DARGAVAGE, HONDA POWERHOUSE: You do bump up to the $11,000 and $15,000 when you really want to run your entire house.
ZARRELLA: Joe Dargavage is with Honda Powerhouse.
DARGAVAGE: So many people bought generators last year in a rush and didn't necessarily get a full description on safety and how to run them.
ZARRELLA: Right out of the box, here are two key safety items: use heavy-duty extension cords, 10 or 12 gauge; keep your generators outdoors, away from windows.
DARGAVAGE: This generator right now puts out 10 times more carbon monoxide than one vehicle. The first thing you want to do is always going to make sure that you have plenty of fuel.
ZARRELLA (on camera): Right.
DARGAVAGE: OK? And that the fuel is good and new.
You're also going to check your oil level. And we talked about always having plenty of oil on hand. So check your oil level, and you want to check our oil level about every day and a half when you're running this thing as well.
All you're going to have to do on this model is you pull the choke out, the electric start. You turn the switch and it starts right up.
ZARRELLA (voice over): Only now, after you have started the generator, do you plug in your extension cords.
DARGAVAGE: You start with your largest amount of power first and let it get up to speed. If you're going to start with your refrigerator, you would plug in the cord that's running the refrigerator and let the generator -- and you're going to feel the load on the generator. And let it even itself out before you plug in your next cord for lights or your fans, and so on.
ZARRELLA: So you don't try to power more than your generator can handle, it should come with a reference guide to tell you how many watts each appliance needs to start it and run it. Generators may not provide all the comforts of home, but they sure beat living in the dark.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: You know, and again, one of the critical things is the size of the extension cord -- 10, 12 gauge, 14 gauge. You get that 16 gauge, it's not heavy enough, you can end up with a fire.
This stuff isn't cheap. This is $99, but you don't need the 10 gauge. And you know, after Hurricane Wilma, I had plenty of fuel, Heidi, for my generator. But what I forgot about was, you've got to replace the oil pretty regularly.
And I found myself running all over town looking for oil because I didn't have enough oil. And not running the generator without the gas and the oil. So another good tip, make sure you've got both.
COLLINS: A lot of people actually doing that -- a lot of people actually running around for oil for different reasons today. But a very good point.
ZARRELLA: Yes, indeed.
COLLINS: A lot of things that people don't think about.
Thank you so much, Ed, Fred, John. We are glad you're there. John Zarrella.
ZARRELLA: Going to wear a name tag.
(LAUGHTER)
COLLINS: My favorite correspondent.
Thank you so much.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Well, Iraq's prime minister says he is in favor of a short-term agreement with the United states setting up a schedule. Setting up a schedule for a troop withdrawal.
What to make of this?
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen joins us from Baghdad.
And Frederik, what is the prime minister saying here? Is he in one breath saying the job is about done for U.S. forces in Iraq?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't think that he's saying that the job is about done for U.S. forces in Iraq. I think what the Iraqi prime minister is really trying to do is, on the one hand, he's trying to take pressure off himself. And on the other hand, he's trying to put pressure on Washington.
Look, the negotiations about a Status of Forces Agreement for U.S. forces that would keep U.S. forces here in Iraq, they've been going on for a very, very long time. And both sides in this equation are very, very frustrated. Maliki is getting a lot of pressure from the Shia faction within his government to get tough on the U.S. government and not meet all of their demands.
Now, for the American side, of course, this is something, a timetable for withdrawing their forces, something they absolutely do not want and do not need. Now, let's just listen in to what Admiral Michael Mullen, who's currently in Iraq, had to say about all this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ADM. MICHAEL MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: We'd all like to see U.S. troops get out of here at some point in time. And -- however, I need, from a military perspective, I need the laws and the regulations and the agreements from the government of Iraq in order to continue operations beyond the 31st of December this year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: Let me just run you through a couple of points that these sides, America and Iraq, of course, still disagree on.
One of them is, should American troops be allowed to carry out operations in Iraq without telling the Iraqis beforehand? Should they be able to detain Iraqi citizens? And should contractors here in Iraq have legal immunity from Iraqi law?
On all of those matters, the Iraq government says absolutely not. And this seems to be one way for Nuri al-Maliki to say, either you're going to at least coming towards us on these demands, or otherwise we simply won't have a Status of Forces Agreement -- Tony.
HARRIS: And let's not even talk about the intelligence services over in Iraq right now and who controls those operations.
Frederik Pleitgen for us in Baghdad.
Frederik, thank you.
COLLINS: Presidential politics. The economy needs a fix. Both candidates say they'll deliver. We'll check out their plans, next.
HARRIS: And if you know what a teen or tween is, you'll want to know the dangers they're facing. Parents, there's a new survey that will make your jaw actually drop and your hearts skip a beat.
That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tweens, they're kids hovering around the ages of 11 and 14, and maybe teetering on the edge of danger.
Parents, you'll want to hear about disturbing findings released last hour in Washington. Did you know dating relationships now begin as early as age 11? That's according to the survey by Teenage Research Unlimited and supported by the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline. That survey also claims sex now considered part of a normal relationship for 11-to-14-year-olds, and tweens in these dating relationships are reporting significant levels of abusive behavior.
Let's talk to a sexuality educator who studies matters like these. Logan Levkoff is also the author of "Third Base Ain't What it Used to Be." She is joining us now from our New York bureau.
Thanks for being with us.
LOGAN LEVKOFF, SEXUALITY EDUCATOR: Thanks for having me.
COLLINS: Boy, it is a disturbing report. Dating at age 11? Some people think that's young, or is this where we are now?
LEVKOFF: Dating is definitely happening at younger ages, but that doesn't mean it's normal, nor should it be the expected. The fact is, this is where parents need to get involved.
Parents need to say, you know what? This is why I don't want you dating. They have to have an ongoing dialogue with their kids about what dating entails.
The fact is it's a very ambiguous term. Kids don't know what it means.
COLLINS: Yes.
LEVKOFF: But it's often glamorized everywhere they go. And the technology doesn't help, because they're connected with people all the time and they feel like, just because they can means they should.
COLLINS: So, when you say dating -- and it's good to sort of rationalize this term, because are we talking about go to the DQ with, you know, a bunch of kids...
LEVKOFF: Not necessarily.
COLLINS: ... or are we talking about just a boy and the girl alone going to, I don't know, a movie?
LEVKOFF: Well, it could be all of the above. The fact is, we don't know what dating means. And it's the same kind of term like "hooking up."
It could mean sex. It's not always about sex. Sometimes it's about holding hands, sometimes it's about more.
But part of the problem is, is that teens and tweens use these words all the time and make assumptions about what they're doing and their friends are doing. And if you're engaged in matters because of peer pressure, then it winds up being a bad situation.
COLLINS: Yes. Well, this study also talks about age 11, that sex is part of a "normal relationship." Do you agree with this study? I mean, how many people were surveyed, you know, all that stuff?
LEVKOFF: The survey is a very good one. My concerns are less about the numbers and more about why teens would even -- or tweens would even engage in behaviors at 11.
COLLINS: Do you think they're answering these questions truthfully?
LEVKOFF: I think that they are answering them truthfully. I think part of the problem is that we as parents feel like we are incapable of having a healthy dialogue about sexuality. We want to teach them all the facts, including the good ones, but we're afraid of sending a message that if we talk to you about these things, it's OK to do it. And the fact is, that's not true.
The more we talk to our kids about how to make good decisions about sex, how we model healthy relationships in our home, and how to teach our kids how to evaluate what a healthy relationship is, not just a romantic one, but a friendship, too, then the better off our kids will be now, as well as in the future.
COLLINS: Yes. And then you have to wonder, you know, how much parents really know about what their children are doing on these dates, how much is really divulged. But you mention a healthy relationship. And there's another part of this study that is truly upsetting, and that is the abusive behavior that could be going on in these young relationships.
LEVKOFF: Oftentimes there is abusive behavior, and it's not just physical abuse we're talking about. We're talking about emotional abuse, unequal relationships, one where one person has power, one person doesn't. One person makes the other person feel badly about themselves, their bodies, their friends, their family.
And those kinds of relationships set us up for the rest of our lives. So, for parents, what we should be looking for is, even within our kids' regular friendships, who are our children? How do they -- do they stick up for themselves, do they have a voice, do they own their feelings, or are they being smothered by those around them? And if they are, then we need to start talking to our kids about how to feel good about ourselves, how to feel empowered, and how to take a stand.
COLLINS: Yes. Well, it's certainly something to be watching as close as you possibly can. Grill those kids when they get home. I know they love that.
LEVKOFF: Well, we have to. It's our job.
COLLINS: Yes. It is.
Logan Levkoff, we certainly do appreciate your time today, coming to us from New York. Thanks again.
LEVKOFF: Thanks.
HARRIS: Well, chasing the tainted tomatoes. Salmonella gives farmers fits, with plenty of finger-pointing to go around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So where do you stand on this one? Has the salmonella scare kept you from buying tomatoes? If so, you're not alone. And for tomato farmers, business is rotten.
CNN's John Zarrella has a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ZARRELLA (voice-over): You can't help but think of the campy movie, "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes." Only no one thinks it's funny. Here, row after row of them, thousands of tomatoes rot on the vine.
Jimmy Shaffer's won't be picked because the FDA, Food & Drug Administration, concluded Florida tomatoes are the leading suspect in the nationwide outbreak of salmonella.
JIMMY SHAFFER, ISLAND TOMATO GROWERS: I mean, this was a bumper crop. This was a lot of tomatoes.
ZARRELLA: But this is not Florida. This is South Carolina. And because everyone is a little hazy on which ones, if any, are unsafe to eat, he is suffering, too.
SHAFFER: Instead of the people in charge at the FDA saying South Carolina is starting with new tomatoes that weren't involved, they just kind of threw everybody under a big blanket and let everybody fight for themselves.
ZARRELLA: Before the salmonella outbreak, Shaffer says tomatoes were going for about $16 a box, now, six bucks. Not enough to break even. Farmers are furious.
Shaffer is considering suing the government for compensation. As for those killer tomatoes in Florida, well, Florida farmers insist their tomatoes were never the source.
BOB SPENCER, WEST COAST TOMATOES: If the glove doesn't fit, it doesn't fit.
ZARRELLA: Farmer Bob Spencer says it was defamation. He charges the FDA singled out Florida tomatoes before there was any concrete evidence they caused the salmonella outbreak.
SPENCER: Ten weeks after this supposed outbreak occurred, they have yet to find one tainted tomato.
ZARRELLA: And that's after testing nearly 2,000 tomatoes. The FDA is now expanding its search for the source to include ingredients in salsa, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, onions. But the agency is not clearing tomatoes. Some experts on food-borne illnesses say the FDA and the CDC had no choice but to move quickly.
BILL MARLER, FOOD SAFETY ATTORNEY: Had they continued to wait and wait and wait until the data was perfect, we then would be, you know, criticizing them for letting, you know, ill people stack up.
ZARRELLA (on camera): The tomato scare has had a ripple effect, from the farmer to the vegetable stand. The owner of this stand is carrying 50 percent fewer tomatoes than he normally would.
(voice-over): Some people still buy them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'd give up just about anything before I would my tomatoes.
ZARRELLA: But not enough people. Losses in Florida alone may top $100 million, and it could take years, farmers say, to grow back their industry.
John Zarrella, CNN, Palmetto, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And to get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. There you will find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. The address, CNN.com/health.
A little girl's big journey. A 5-year-old with a fatal disease is going halfway around the world for experimental treatment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: It's the economy. You know it, and the presidential candidates know it. Both of them are pitching their plans today.
Senator John McCain began right here on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact is that there is a whole lot of economists, including Nobel laureates, that agree with my plan. We're going to restrain spending, we're going to have the economy grow again, and increase revenues.
It's not -- it's not -- the problem is that spending got completely out of control. We grew government by some 40 percent since The Great Society. Spending got out of control. We restrain spending, we can keep people's taxes low, we create jobs, 700,000 new jobs by building new nuclear plants, 20,000 new jobs by coal gasification, so that we have clean coal technologies, new automotive technologies. And we'll balance the budget.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: McCain's plan is to balance the budget in four years. This afternoon he will court Latinos at the League of United Latin American Citizens' convention.
COLLINS: Strong words this morning from Democrat Barack Obama on the war in Iraq. He's here in Georgia hosting a town hall meeting outside Atlanta. Obama testing the waters in a state that's been solidly Republican in the last three presidential elections.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I hear John McCain saying we can't surrender, we can't wave the white flag, nobody's talking about surrender. We're talking about common sense. We cannot be there forever. We can't be there for 50 years. We can't afford it. Our military families can't bear that burden.
We've got to get more troops into Afghanistan. I am going to bring this war to an end. So don't be confused. I will bring the Iraq war to a close when I'm president of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Obama will be in Washington later today to address the convention of Latino American voters.
Check out our Political Ticker for all the latest political news, just logon to CNNPolitics.com, your source for all things political.
HARRIS: The funeral today for Republican Senator Jesse Helms. Vice President Dick Cheney and a delegation of U.S. senators are expected to attend the services in North Carolina. Helms served five terms in the U.S. Senate. He was 86.
COLLINS: The pulse of the economy from Wall Street to your corner gas station. Let's begin at the New York Stock Exchange now with a check of the big board. Markets are expected to start the day deep in the red. A live look there. Dow Jones Industrial Average is up about 30 points or so.
Earlier today, oil futures dropped to their lowest levels in two weeks, that's after yesterday's plunge of nearly $4 a barrel. Debt worries still deepen over the health of U.S. mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, they have to raise additional cash now to weather the housing crisis.
A new CNN Opinion Research poll shows three out of four Americans believe we are now in a recession. And gas holds steady at yesterday's record high. A startling measure though to give you each day Americans pay $1 billion more for gas than they did just five years ago.
The economy, it's "ISSUE #" and we'll bring you all the latest financial news weekdays at noon Eastern. Its information you need on the mortgage meltdown, the credit crunch and more. "ISSUE #1" at noon Eastern.
HARRIS: Urgent evacuations this morning in Northern California. Shifting winds pushing one fire to the edge of several communities in Butte County near the town of Paradise. Firefighters went in to rescue people trapped by the fires, as many as 5,000 people could be evacuated. The fire near Paradise, California is only one of the hot spots. The most destructive fires are in Big Sur and Goleta.
Some good news about Goleta. The Goleta Fire is now 50 percent contained, up from 35 percent. Cooler temperatures had been helping firefighting efforts but warmer weather could turn the tide once again.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: You know a strong but pretty much harmless earthquake near Japan to tell you about this morning. The epicenter of the magnitude 6.2 quake was about 35 miles northeast of Okinawa out in the Philippines Sea. There have been no reports of any damage, no tsunami warnings were issued.
COLLINS: Pointing the finger at Pakistan. An Afghan government official tying yesterday's suicide car bombing to the Pakistani intelligence service. The bombing outside the Indian embassy killed more than 40 people. No immediate comment from the Pakistani government to that charge. Pakistan has previously denied links to similar attacks in Afghanistan. Pakistan's intelligence service once had strong ties with the Taliban.
HARRIS: Different in a different land. A disabled Iraqi boy and his mother leave home for help, but some problems follow them.
Here's CNN's Cal Perry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 8-year-old Mustafa plays in downtown Damascus. A moment only possible because his mother Wafa understood the importance of giving her autistic son the chance at a better life.
WAFA AL NUAIMI, IRAQI REFUGEE: It's my destiny when I have this child that I'm going to -- oh, and to cry, oh, my God. No, no, no, I will fight for him.
PERRY: She first tried to take him and her two other children to Jordan.
NUAIMI: My husband says -- to prevent us from entering the country five years, they look for me. I say, that is not a reason. When I heard this, it's really a shock.
PERRY: So Syria would become a new home for Wafa and her children. Her husband remains in Baghdad working as a doctor to support his family. In Syria, Wafa now has the resources to better help her son. Mustafa sees a specialist who helps him learn simple things that will make a huge difference later in life. From getting dressed to preparing drinks, Mustafa is learning how to become independent.
Of course, there are difficulties. Two days ago at the pool, Mustafa became uncomfortable as he was surrounded by other children. So on this day Mustafa wants nothing to do with the water. Wafa needs help, too. Like many other refugees, the memories of war have stuck with her. With the help of an NGO that works with women who have been traumatized through group exercises twice a week, she is building back her confidence and learning how to relax again.
But Wafa does not just come here for herself. Like almost everything else in her life, she takes what she's learned and tries to use it to help Mustafa. She tells me she's grateful to Syria but worries she's taking advantage of the hospitality.
NUAIMI: We are not -- right? (INAUDIBLE), education, health, anything. We share the citizens in anything. It's not our right.
PERRY: Wafa knows all too well she's just one of a million refugees in Syria and she's not the only one who has to care for a disabled child.
NUAIMI: They lose everything in Iraq brings, country, home, and came here without nothing. So this circumstance (INAUDIBLE) and leave their disabled children. It was the conditions that were so hard for them.
PERRY: Hard for Wafa, too. Struggling to build a home away from home.
Cal Perry, CNN, Damascus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: A little girl's big journey. A 5-year-old with a fatal disease is going halfway around the world for experimental treatment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Iran -- President Bush once called it part of the axis of evil. It's also become a valued customer of U.S. goods. Did you know that? In fact, U.S. exports to Iran grew more than tenfold during President Bush's years in office.
According to the "Associated Press," the main export during the Bush administration? $158 million worth of cigarettes. Other products include brassieres, cosmetics, and bull semen. That's right, bull semen. According to the "Associated Press," exports included parts for an aircraft carrier even though Iran isn't believed to own one.
COLLINS: Thousands of new job cuts are being announced today, and they're hitting several different sectors. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with details on all of this.
Hate to hear that more people are losing their jobs.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not just in the U.S., Heidi. Industrial giant Siemens is cutting nearly 17,000 jobs around the globe or about 4 percent of its workforce. Siemens makes light bulbs, medical equipment and trains. Mortgage lender IndyMac is cutting nearly 4,000 jobs, that's about half of its workforce. AirTran is cutting nearly 500 pilots and flight attendants. The carrier is also offering buyouts to some workers. Bankrupt carrier Frontier Airlines is cutting more than 450 jobs. That's quite a procession of job cuts, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, no question. Very wide range of companies to. Do the reasons, though, seem to vary?
LISOVICZ: It all really comes down to oil prices and the slowing economy. It's not just, as I mentioned a U.S. problem because Siemens is based in Germany. It blames the slowdown on the global economy precipitated of course by the U.S. Lender IndyMac stopped making new loans amid the mortgage meltdown. It tried to raise capital, but was unsuccessful. AirTran says more cuts may be coming.
High fuel prices of course have decimated the airline industry. But today crude prices are down more than $5, adds to yesterday's nearly $4 drop. And for the moment, for the moment, that's giving stocks a slight boost despite lingering credit concerns. The Dow right now up 27 points or about a quarter percent. The NASDAQ is up about a third of a percent. IndyMac shares are down 47 percent, trading at just 37 cents. It's in danger of being delisted from the NYSE at that level -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Wow! And the airlines story, you know that's an interesting one. They were in deep trouble before oil prices got so high.
LISOVICZ: Well, they weathered the 9/11 crisis and then with the slowing economy, less business, and then high fuel prices a major expense it's really been a tough decade for the airline industry.
COLLINS: Yes, no question about it. All right, CNN's Susan Lisovicz.
Thank you, Susan.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
HARRIS: Images from a lavish regime now dusty but still pretty impressive. Iraqi police discovered five fancy cars, three vintage classics and a couple of Rolls-Royces once belonging to Saddam Hussein's son. A group had stolen them actually and apparently planned to smuggle the cars out of the country. Police were tipped off to the cars' secret location buried beneath an orchard. No word yet on what will happen to the cars.
COLLINS: When violence is a way of life in your town, how scary can speed be?
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen runs with the Baghdad hot rodders.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): On any given day, Baghdad traffic is dangerous, dense, and dull. But there are those who dare to be different. Meet Baghdad speed freaks. And their pimped-up rides. This man says his TransAm is so fast he needs help from above.
(on camera): I see you have the Koran up here. Why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It protects the car.
PLEITGEN: To protect the car. Because you drive so fast?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I drive very fast. PLEITGEN (voice-over): And then he lets me get behind the wheel. You really can feel the muscle of the car as you drive it down here. I think I might have to turn around somewhere. I think we're going back towards the checkpoint.
Hi, how are you doing? Everything OK? All right.
They love the car.
And how about this 2005 Mustang or the 1988 Nissan? Car customizing was illegal under Saddam Hussein. Now that they have the freedom, the hot-rodder says they are just getting started. Ali Jafaar's body shop is the place to go for slick designs.
ALI JAFAAR, BODY SHOP OWNER: The strangest designs are drawings of girls on the sides of the cars, Ali Jafaar says. It is in black and white. Right now we can't do it in any other way.
PLEITGEN: Customized stickers are pretty much as flashy as it gets these days, but Ali Jafaar says that car pimpers will catch on fast. Only a year ago, driving cars like these would have been impossible in Baghdad and even today it's dangerous. With car jackers and armed militias still on the roads. This man says his Nissan is almost holy to him, a way to remember a friend killed in Baghdad's violence who shared his passion for automobiles.
MUSTAFA DHIYAA, HOT-RODDER: My friend died in a car bomb explosion Mustafa says, and we always talked about this car so much. I really would have wanted him to see this car and ride with me.
PLEITGEN: Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Baghdad.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Busted. As store detectives move in, the suspected shoplifter runs carrying precious cargo.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Flight for survival. A 5-year-old girl with a fatal disease leaves for China today. Her family, putting their faith in an experimental treatment.
Reporter Rebecca Rector of affiliate WHAS has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIRANDA GORNAFLO, MOTHER: We're going to fly directly to Beijing this time. We're not messing around with layovers.
REBECCA RECTOR, WHAS REPORTER (voice-over): Two weeks ago Miranda Gornaflo and her daughter Hailey were supposed to be in China. But airline officials said the 5-year-old was too sick to fly. It took them a week and four stops to get them back home.
M. GORNAFLO: She is doing so much better. And we know she'll make the flight ok.
RECTOR: With the help of Congressman John (INAUDIBLE), the two are trying again driving to Chicago, then a direct flight to Beijing.
M. GORNAFLO: We've got United officials that are going to meet us there at a special door for us and they're going to walk us through everything and help us make sure everything goes smoothly and make sure we get on that plane.
RECTOR: Hailey has battens disease, a fatal condition that can only be treated with stem cells. Legal in China. This is what they'll take with them.
M. GORNAFLO: The bag that got lost that is worth thousands of dollars because it has all of her food in it, a two-month supply.
RECTOR: Essential medical supplies for Hailey.
M. GORNAFLO: She'll get one of each of these three or four times a day.
RECTOR: Hailey and her mother will be in a Beijing hospital for seven weeks. Her three year old brother Carter also has battens.
M. GORNAFLO: They're getting two different treatments. Hailey's getting the more controversial stem cells, the embryonic, which unfortunately are better for treating their type of disease.
RECTOR: On August 12th Carter will go to China as well to a hospital in (INAUDIBLE).
M. GORNAFLO: Because he's too young so I had to make other arrangements for him and that was when we found Xendau(ph) and Carter's getting umbilical cord stem cells.
RECTOR: Too young for the same treatment as Hailey, his condition much less advanced.
M. GORNAFLO: Carter still looks like a typical child. So they won't run into all the problems that Hailey and I had to encounter.
RECTOR: Not everyone agrees with the Gornaflo's decision to seek out such a controversial treatment, but that hasn't discouraged them one bit.
NEIL GORNAFLO, FATHER: We're as pro-life as they are. We love our children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Tough story. Hailey can no longer walk or talk and its been weeks since she's smiled. Her mom says if they can just see her sweet smile again it would all be worth it.
HARRIS: He had a pretty bad headache. Now he knows why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The blunt part of the pen actually hit me first and it hit me right next to the nose and it came back and traveled all the way to the back of my head. And it ended up back here and it stopped by hitting the back of my skull.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: There's the x-ray. A metal migraine in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Not your typical family outing to Wal-Mart. Police say the man in this tape was trying to steal from an Ohio Wal-Mart with a 2-year-old child. Chased by security, he slid across the concrete floor never losing his grip on the child. He escaped but was picked up two days later. He is now facing theft and child endangerment charges.
HARRIS: A guy takes a metal spike to the head. That's got to leave a mark. He doesn't even realize it.
Nicole Vandeputte has the story. She is with affiliate KOAA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICOLE VANDEPUTTE, KOAA REPORTER (voice-over): Chris Clear's unbelievable story starts in April.
DAWN CLEAR, SON HAD METAL PIN IN BRAIN: It's changed his life because of what happened to him.
VANDEPUTTE: As a volunteer firefighter in Penrose, his free time was spent saving lives until the accident. He was helping a friend move a rotor tiller when something snapped.
CHRIS CLEAR, HAD METAL PIN IN BRAIN: At first it just felt like a rock hitting me in the face. It didn't feel like anything actually went into my head. Just like a rock hit me.
D. CLEAR: He said, do you think, you know, that it's bad? And I said, yes, it looks bad. I said I think your nose is broke.
VANDEPUTTE: Chris went to St. Thomas Moore Hospital in Canyon City. He said he had unbearable pain in his neck. So that's where the first x-ray focused.
D. CLEAR: They just sent him home said it was a cervical sprain.
VANDEPUTTE: But the pain got worse.
C. CLEAR: It hurt real bad to turn my head either direction or lean it back or lean it forward. If I looked down it hurt really bad or if I leaned back real far, it made the pain worse.
D. CLEAR: If he went forward, then the pin would come forward. If he would lay down, then the pin would sink back down.
VANDEPUTTE: That's right, a large metal spike from the rotor tiller was lodged in his brain. It was that, not a rock that hit him.
C. CLEAR: The blunt part of the pin actually hit me first and it hit me right next to the nose and it came back and traveled all the way to the back of my head. And it ended up back here, it stopped by hitting the back of my skull.
VANDEPUTTE: Twenty-four hours after the spike pierced his brain another x-ray and a second trip to the hospital finally found it.
D. CLEAR: He said you need to sit down. And he said, Chris has a metal pin in his brain. My knees buckled and I just hit the floor.
VANDEPUTTE: An ambulance rushed Chris and his mom Dawn to a Denver hospital.
D. CLEAR: Death was the number one, which that we knew going into it that he would not come out of the surgery. And then, of course, the ones after that paralysis, mobility, speech.
VANDEPUTTE: Luckily that pin just missed several major arteries. And after nine hours of surgery.
D. CLEAR: It was like we were in a movie when that double door opened up. And there the doctor was holding this pin, you know, like this.
VANDEPUTTE: Two months later Chris is working again as a volunteer and training to be an EMT.
D. CLEAR: That's the second miracle.
VANDEPUTTE: He says he feels fine. There's not even a scar. Just the pin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Boy, Chris Clear says when you touch the spot where the spike went in, his two front teeth go numb.
COLLINS: That's not right. Just not right.
Coming up here momentarily, Senator John McCain -- he will be speaking to LULAC in Washington, D.C., the League of United Latin American Citizens. "ISSUE #1" will take that live for you when it happens.
Meanwhile, CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now.
HARRIS: And "ISSUE #1" starts right now.
