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American Morning
Governor Manchin Holds News Conference About the Mine Explosion
Aired April 06, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
GOV. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: They have to put a casing in there, pipe casing. And they go down drill through solid again. Hit the next so the casing starts out big, and as they slip other casings down through as they're drilling, you're following me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do. That's why you bend it out.
MANCHIN: Then that's where you have a solid -- you have a solid, solid hole coming out going in. And that's why the time -- huh?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
MANCHIN: The drilling rig? You've probably seen them on, you know, on television or something. The rigs are pretty much not gas. That's oil rigs, the water rigs. They're all different types but Jimmy was telling me that probably started out maybe with a 12-inch hole and when you get clear to the bottom it will be six to eight inches, depending on how many casings they have to put in.
I think that's the total depth they're working on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor, you mentioned that the miners --
MANCHIN: There was two of them from that mine. That was two of the miners they took to the hospital. One guy was telling me that he was -- that one was located, he was kind of set in a daze and --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
MANCHIN: The rescue person who was going back in saw the one coming out. Then he saw the other gentleman further back in setting kind of in a daze. And then the rest of the people on the man trip and they found the head (ph). And one of the men on the band trip, he had a pulse and he was the one who passed away at the hospital. It was one of the three. Two survived and one of those -- and there were six more on the man trip that did not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
MANCHIN: I can describe what they explained to us. And basically the damage was is that, you know, you have rails that most of your equipment and most of your cars and shuttles and man trips run on. And when there's a blast that's so strong, that it kind of bends and twists and makes them look like a pretzel. And you wonder what type of force would do that. That tells you how horrific this was.
There's water that goes back and all different things that takes you on this machinery. They can tell by the way the things have twisted and moved pretty much, they'll be able to pinpoint what happened. It's just like any, I guess after, whether it be an airplane crash or something, you repair it, you piece it together. But this has been pretty rough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where was the (INAUDIBLE) miners made it out? Where were they?
MANCHIN: They were -- I mean, they were finishing their shift so they're coming out of the mine. I'm sure that one miner was telling me, the one that came out, which was actually the brother, the brother and the father of the three family members. And he was saying as he was coming out he was taking his shirt off, that the force blew his shirt over him. So that's a good way away from the blast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor, is there anything that (INAUDIBLE) who are watching this and who are listening (INAUDIBLE) something.
MANCHIN: Right now, it's going to be -- it's going to be a long day down at the center where we have the families. The Red Cross is the best. Red Cross, as you know, they are right there. Anything you would do, I would say.
You can see the space that we have. We had you all set up here and we have the family and then we have the commander in the mine. People coming down would not be advisable to try to come down or sight see, please don't do that. But if they want to help, they should help through the local Red Cross. The help we'll give you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And pray.
MANCHIN: Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the families that are in office or where are they actually at?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Training center.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Training center.
MANCHIN: Yes. It's a large building and they're all in there. They can set that up. They have the food and everything right there for them. So the families are all together.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
MANCHIN: In West Virginia, our clergy is our grief counselors. We have, you know, these are tough people and they do it all. And it's just, you know, really -- it's just, I don't know how to explain it. I really can't explain it. It's just something so different. The people were just -- they're solid and they're coming together and they understand the depths of this. But --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
MANCHIN: The family members, I told the family members and I said -- I know that there's no use for me to tell you this, if you can go home and get some rest. And I know they won't. If you need a change or clothes or whatever, it's going to be a long day and we're not going to have a lot of information now until we get the first hole through to know what conditions we're dealing with and then knowing if the rescue teams can go in and how quickly. So you're looking at what -- what's that? Maybe 12 plus hours from now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, one in Beckley (ph), one in Charleston.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
MANCHIN: No one has briefed me yet. Not that I know of. The only debriefing that's going on, and the way that the four miners were identified is with the local rescuers who knew them. A lot of and people say how come you haven't identified the other 14. There was a total of 18 unidentified. You've identified four, why not the other 14? We had rescuers from all different parts of the state who might not have known them. So if they saw them they wouldn't know them. And again, being in a rescue operation, and so we had to explain to the family that that's how their loved ones were identified by friends and people who worked with them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twelve hours, is that until you can really (INAUDIBLE).
MANCHIN: I think to get down through just the drilling process, I knew we were hoping it would be quicker than that. But they're telling me what they have to go and how they have to go through in the casings that will be needed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But once the air is clear and the rescue (INAUDIBLE).
MANCHIN: That's very quick.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They advanced through the mines previously. Yes.
MANCHIN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They'll advance back into the mines, the areas that they know are safe for the fresh air. They'll continue to move forward and reestablish that fresh air base to make sure they're safe, continue to monitor the levels inside the mine. And that this is a methodical process and at times you have one team will leap frog another team. So this will continue on until they get back to the area where they were and then continue to explore areas they've not explored yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) to be able to find all four miners.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What.
MANCHIN: What they know and what we've been briefed is one of the miners that are missing was on the long wall (ph) section. Three of the miners that are missing was working in a section, OK, mine section, not on the face with the long wall. So three were together in one area and one is missing from the long wall.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How far apart --
MANCHIN: How far apart is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It could be as much as 2,000 feet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those miners (INAUDIBLE)
MANCHIN: As a shift, there's a couple of things that go on during the shift change. Long loggers have shut down, so that person -- he'll hot seat and work right through until someone jumps in and takes over. They can't shut that down.
That's the one that they're missing was probably on that section there. And then the others who were just shifting in waiting for their foreman to come give them their duties. And that's where the three are missing of the lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
MANCHIN: Yes, they would have been mined. Getting it prepared to move the long wall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready to (INAUDIBLE)
MANCHIN: Well, you know how they cut in to prepare for the long wall -- and you know, I don't know how far -- I don't know exactly if this was to move this one or just getting prepared. They'll work ahead of it as you know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know where the ignition walls at this point.
MANCHIN: A lot of speculation but no one knows until they get back in there. The direction of the blast will tell them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where would the chamber be?
MANCHIN: The chamber is very close to where that's --- where the long wall. Chambers -- there's always a chamber right up by the long wall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't know that.
MANCHIN: That's the hope. That's the miracle and the hope and the prayers. This is a tough one, you know. And I think the families, we've talked about it. But there's a shred of hope. But still, I hope for a miracle. I never thought that we'd find -- before. You know (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor, you gave some descriptions earlier about that someone along the (INAUDIBLE) was coming out. Some of the miners who were coming out said, where those the men who were all injured on the (INAUDIBLE) or these are ones that were further --
MANCHIN: These are ones that were finishing their shift up. And when they heard something or knew something happened, they went back in as far as they could. And they knew there was an explosion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the two who were injured on the man trip --
MANCHIN: Right. They got them out and one was in a little worst shape than the other but they're still as the congressman said, they're in what -- Beckley and --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beckley and Charleston, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And one of those was the brother --- but two of those were brothers and one of those --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ones in the hospital were not family --
MANCHIN: Not related at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MANCHIN: The one brother that was coming out had only been working for a short period of time. He just got changed in the shift. They were all together. He just got changed from that shift. And he just went on day shift. There'll be a time you'll be able to talk to him probably yourself but, he was coming out. His son, his nephew and his older brother were going in for the new shift. And that's the three --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His son incidentally and his older brother, all three of them.
MANCHIN: He has his son, his sister's brother, his sister's son, and his older brother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they were all going on?
MANCHIN: They were just getting on. They were all together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two generations?
MANCHIN: Two generations, yes. The two young men were like 20 and 22. And the uncle was 49.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) MANCHIN: I don't. I do not. I just know those three.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And those three that were identified?
MANCHIN: They have been.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have been?
MANCHIN: They were three of the last four. So the last four of those were three that were identified. The family has been told now. The rest of the family will gather them all together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) uncle.
MANCHIN: I don't know. I don't know.
We have one more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember a PSA going out here in West Virginia, they talked about mine explosions in the winter. I kind of recall something about methane builds up more in winter months? Is that true?
MANCHIN: Yes. Atmospheric pressure. Barometer goes down, atmospheric pressure, air is heavier. Winter is heavier than summer. Air summer is lighter. So basically we've always kind of cringe getting through the Januarys and Februarys of the year. And ventilation and everything has got to be right on spot if you will. And that's always been --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the methane would actually sink down --
MANCHIN: Well, methane, methane -- it's harder to vent. It will be harder to vent. It's a little heavier. Yes. This makes it much more challenging during that period. That's why this one here catches us because it's been more -- and we don't have low atmospheric pressures that we have.
With that, I'll come back down. I'm going to go back up to the command center and we'll go up there and we'll figure out what's going on so we make sure that we're as accurate as we can be. We briefed you. We briefed the family the same as we briefed you. So we go there first. We'll talk to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are they asking questions?
MANCHIN: Yes, they are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you're not going to tell us any names?
MANCHIN: I think that -- I would assume that the families at a proper time will tell the companies and they'll make sure everyone has been notified before that happens.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just to clarify, the gentleman who is in the hospital is related to the uncle of the two -- MANCHIN: No, no, no.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not.
MANCHIN: The people in the hospital, the two people in the hospital are not connected in any way shape or form, except they all work in the same place. Yes. The gentleman that's related to the three is very well and just taking care of his mother and family members. The reason I know that, I just talked to the mother right before that. Then I had to go tell them. That's how I knew that. OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
MANCHIN: Thank you all.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: We just heard from the West Virginia governor, Joe Manchin.
Welcome to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. It's Tuesday, April 6th, I'm Kiran Chetry in New York. John Roberts is in West Virginia.
And you've just been listening to the news conference from Marsh Fork, West Virginia, not far from the site of a tragic mine incident that's claimed the lives of at least 25 workers.
Good morning, John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Kiran. It's the second time this morning that we've heard from Governor Manchin. He has been spending all morning with the families just a short distance away from here. And this whole situation really has resonance for him because a number of years ago he lost his uncle in a mining accident. So he really knows what those families are going through. And it's a big change too from the Sago mining disaster when they was no liaison between the company and the families and they were just kind of wondering around not knowing what to do, not knowing who to talk to.
There is a plan in place now. They're all gathered together in a single area. You heard the governor say that the son of one of miners who was killed in the Sago mining disaster was there, came there immediately to help comfort the families and so.
There's going to be a lot of waiting, though, because it's going to be a number of hours before they can make any progress. We'll get to that in just a second, Kyra, and tell you what they're planning for rest the day. Right now back to you.
CHETRY: All right, well, just to get people updated if they're just joining us this morning and learning about this story.
It happened in a small, close-knit coal mining community just south of Charleston, West Virginia, and that's where they're saying many prayers this morning. Certainly no one slept last night in Mount Coal. They lost 25 of their own yesterday in the deadliest mine explosion in this country in 26 years. Four other workers are missing at this hour. And as we were just updated, they are still trapped more than 1,000 feet beneath the earth's surface.
And right now it is still too dangerous to try to resume rescue efforts. The search has been suspended. They say it's going to start up again after they're able to bore some holes to allow some of the toxic gases actually be ventilated out of the mine.
And we're also finding out more this morning about the company that owns this mine, the Upper Big Branch mine, Massey Energy, which has a history of safety problems.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NICK J. RAHALL (D), WEST VIRGINIA: It's unfortunate that every mine safety law we have on the books today has been written with the blood of our coalminers.
KEVIN STRICKLIN, U.S. MINE SAFETY & HEALTH ADMINISTRATION: I think it's a dire situation, but I do think it's a rescue operation and it will be that way until we confirm that these four additional people are not living.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right, and so again holding out hope still this morning that the four still believed trapped in that mine are alive, John.
ROBERTS: And unfortunately, Kiran, it's a very thin hope. Earlier this morning about 2:00 we heard from Kevin Stricklin who was with the Mine Safety and Health Administration who said, you know, we're holding out hope. But he said, I have to admit it does look bleak right now. It does look like a dire situation.
Governor Joe Manchin, when he came to speak with us a couple of hours ago, said the situation looks bleak, but they are praying for a miracle.
To tell you where we are right now, as you mentioned, 25 miners have been confirmed dead. The rescue teams went deep inside the mine until about 2:30 in the morning. They found another five bodies there. Kept on pushing through until they got to an area of the mine where the methane concentrations were just so high that they couldn't safely progress any further.
So they were ordered to withdraw from the mine. You know these rescue teams are such that they go in there with such determination, that they probably would have pressed through but the commanders at the top said no, you've got to get out of the mine.
And said what the plan is now, they believe that there were still four people trapped in that mine. One person may be in an area along a section called the long wall, which you heard the governor talking about.
It's an area where they do long wall mining and then there may be three others trapped in what's called the development area. And those people may be as far as 1,000 to 2,000 feet apart.
But they know the GPS coordinates of where they are. So at the moment they are cutting a path to that area where they can start to drill a bore hole down. You heard the governor talking about that in some detail. And the plan then is to try to vent out all of the methane so that the rescue crews can go back in.
It's going to take at least 12 hours, though, the families were told, before they have any news. So this is -- it's a painstaking process. They've got an awful lot of rock and coal that they have to cut through until they can get in there and get some of that methane out.
Again though, they are warning the families that the situation probably is pretty bleak right now.
A lot of questions being raised by all of this because this mine, the Upper Big Branch mine owned by Massey Energy Company and Performance Coal, has been the focus of a number of safety violations, 122 of them this year, 53 in the month of March alone.
And some of those safety violations having to deal with ventilation. Earlier this morning when the governor dropped by the Marsh Fork Elementary School here, I asked him about the company's safety record and those violations. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Governor, certainly in the process, spending a lot of time with the family, I'm wondering, sir, you had questions the number of safety violations against this company. A good number of them dealing with ventilation. You have this huge buildup of methane gas leading to what you described as this tremendous explosion.
Tell me what questions you would have.
GOV. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: Questions you would have and what I would have you and you would have also is basically you have the federal and the state both doing inspections. And they had to be within tolerance or, you know, you shut them down.
So if they were -- I mean I don't know if it was on the brink of being out of tolerance or if it was just some -- you know I can't speak to specifics. But I can tell you, sure, it concerns me. And we're going to find out. And again, it takes -- you know horrible tragedies before changes come. It's just wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So in addition to the question of whether are those remaining four miners are they still alive, is how did this massive amount of methane gas -- and it is believed at this point to have been a methane gas explosion -- build up?
Was it strictly methane gas? Was it a combination of methane gas and coal dust? What was it that ignited it?
The governor said in the press conference -- you heard him a moment ago, Kiran -- saying that this is a very difficult time of year because the air is heavy and it's difficult to vent out that methane gas.
So a lot of questions remain and have something to do with the safety violations. Was it simply just a freak of production or maybe they hit a pocket of gas? All things that the investigation will be looking into in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
CHETRY: We also remember, John, I mean we were both covering the Sago mine disaster back in 2006 and things did look bleak there as well and then a miracle, Randal McCloy Jr. pulled out after 40 hours of being trapped in the area.
And since then they have made changes. I mean they talk about how they made changes in terms of wireless communication devices but also having those areas, those little small containers that store oxygen and store food enough to allow for anyone who actually survived an initial blast to wait it out safely before the rescuers can get in.
Did they give you any update on whether or not those were being used and whether or not the wireless communication helped in any way?
ROBERTS: They had all of that. But this happened so suddenly and on such a massive scale, according to the governor, that all of your safety precautions that were put in place after Sago mining disaster were rendered useless because the scope of this explosion was so big.
They did come across one of those rescue chambers you talked about. Some of those SCSRs, as they're called, the self-contained, self-rescuers, have been taken from their storage place, and were they taken by one or two of the minors who are still believed to be trapped, they don't know about that.
But the bottom line is they put a lot of these precautions in place, but the scope of this explosion was so great, Kiran, that it just overwhelmed all of the safety aspects of the mine.
CHETRY: All right. Well, certainly a tragic, tragic situation. Hopefully we're going to learn more about the fate of the four who are still there.
John, we'll be, of course, checking in with you throughout the morning.
Coming up at the bottom of the hour, we're going to speak to Dennis O'Dell, safety and health chief for the United Mine Workers of America. He actually testified before Congress two years ago that the feds aren't doing enough to protect miners and to prevent tragedies like this. We're going to have the latest on this, plus an update on Toyota. We're "Minding Your Business." Many, many other stories to tell you about this morning as well.
We'll take a quick break and we'll be back. It's 22 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Twenty- five minutes past the hour now.
The government is coming down hard on Toyota. It's planning to hit the car company with a record fine saying that Toyota hid sudden acceleration problems from the feds for months.
Deb Feyerick has been following the Toyota story from the very beginning and she has new developments this morning on this.
So the government saying that they're going to fine the company, what does that mean for Toyota in terms of liability when it comes to these acceleration problems?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, in terms of liability, it could be a big deal because it could set the stage for all subsequent lawsuits. Now this is the maximum fine allowed. $16.4 million. That's 16 times larger than any previous penalty.
Of course all of this stems from sticky gas pedals and Toyota's delayed response to the problem or alleged delayed response in issuing a fine.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said it was the delay that led to this stiff penalty. He said, quote, "We now have proof that Toyota failed to live up to its legal obligations and worse yet, they knowingly hid a dangerous defect for months from U.S. officials and did not take action to protect millions of drivers and their families. For those reasons, the department is seeking the maximum penalty possible under current laws."
Now the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration got hold of internal company documents that showed the Japanese automaker knew about these pedal problems four months earlier and failed to issue a recall until January of this year.
Former attorney for NHTSA told CNN there was a sense Toyota felt it had really gotten away with something.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALLAN KAM, FORMER NHTSA ATTORNEY: I would say their response was lethargic at best. And at worst, sort of jerking the agency around. They seemed to be cheering that they hadn't -- didn't have to conduct a recall, that they had in some way snookered the agency into thinking they didn't have to do anything or didn't have to do as large a recall that they did. (END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now in all Toyota issued six million recalls just here in the United States. Toyota released a statement saying only, quote, "We have already taken a number of important steps to improve our communications with regulators and customers on safety related matters as part of our strengthened overall commitment to quality assurance. These include the appointment of a new chief quality officer for North America and a greater role for the region in making safety-related decision."
Now, of course, the $16 million is really just a drop in the bucket for Toyota. They made $200 billion last year. But again, very serious issues at stake here and they are looking into this.
Toyota has two weeks to decide whether, in fact, they want to -- whether they want to fight this because if they don't, this could really -- they have 100 plus lawsuits against them. And that could really determine how this all play out.
CHETRY: Right. So that could turn out to be a greater liability for them if they agree to pay this fine and try to move on.
(CROSSTALK)
FEYERICK: They could lose billions --
CHETRY: Meanwhile, you have (INAUDIBLE) a public relations problem as well.
FEYERICK: And that's exactly --
CHETRY: I mean it's almost like admitting that they did not inform the public about these problems.
FEYERICK: Right. They contested. They look like they're being difficult. They pay it, then all of the class action people go, hey, they admitted it, that's what we're looking at right now.
CHETRY: All right, Deb Feyerick, following the story for us this morning. A major development in Toyota.
FEYERICK: Yes.
CHETRY: Thanks so much.
FEYERICK: Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, we want to now get to the business of selling the nation's health care. The law is now passed. But in Florida, one of the top House Democrats who would led the charge to pass reform is now back home in her district and getting an earful from her constituents.
Our Jim Acosta is live in Fort Lauderdale this morning.
We're talking about Debbie Wasserman Shultz, right? JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kiran. And this one got a little rowdy last night. You know, over this congressional spring break, many House Democrats are going back to their districts to talk to their constituents about this new law.
Some are holding town hall meetings like the one we saw last night to correct misconceptions as they see it about issues like Medicare, whether people's taxes are going to go up.
And as far as we can tell at this town hall meeting here in Fort Lauderdale last night, the debate over health care reform could continue right into the fall elections.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Don't tell these protesters outside this congressional town hall meeting in Florida the debate over health care reform is over.
(On camera): Are you a little nervous about this?
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SHULTZ (D), FLORIDA: No. I'm not nervous.
ACOSTA (voice-over): That's despite threats Democrat Debbie Wasserman Shultz says she received in the days after health care reform became law.
I believe we've received a couple of threats that we had to turn over to the police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's for democracy.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Unlike rowdy town halls around the country before the vote, tea partiers this time around didn't have the best seats in the House. Instead, it was reform supporters who had staked out the front rows, ready to give the congresswoman a warm welcome.
(APPLAUSE)
ACOSTA: When the local fire marshal declared the event hit its capacity, hundreds of protesters were left outside the event to sound off.
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D), FLORIDA: That's what we need to make sure this remains -- a civil and civic forum.
ACOSTA: So, the congresswoman's staff drew constituent's names from a box. Sometimes, the questions were straight down the middle.
FRANCES KEIPER, FLORIDA VOTER: Why so many people think the new health care law is going to raise their taxes?
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: That's not the case. We -- for the vast majority of Americans, they will actually see an improvement in their health care. Their costs will go down.
ACOSTA: Other questioners got down right testy.
SUSAN JOHANNESMANN, FLORIDA VOTER: I want you to explain to me and defend the dirty deals, the back room deals on this health care --
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: You ask your question and I'm happy, OK. No, I've heard your question and I'm going to answer it. So if you can sit down, I'd be glad to answer your question.
ACOSTA: And as the night dragged on -- the volume only went up, both inside --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are not welcome to disrupt this meeting.
ACOSTA: -- and out, especially when one man was tossed out of the event by police.
(BOOS)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And we should point out all of that happened in what is pretty much a safe Democratic district. Debbie Wasserman Schultz won this race back in 2008 with 78 percent of the vote. This time around, it may not be that easy for the congresswoman. That decisive win in 2008 may not be scaring away any challengers.
So far, she's up to eight Republican opponents all vying for the Republican nomination to face her in the fall, and they're hoping health care reform will be their ticket to victory -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Very, very interesting. She was ready and willing to debate it, and to try to, you know, get some information out in to the people that wanted to hear it. But it will be interesting to see what happens -- Jim Acosta for us this morning, thanks.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
ROBERTS: And the breaking news out of West Virginia this morning, in Raleigh County, as we continue to follow the aftermath of the Upper Big Branch mining disaster.
I'm John Roberts, outside of the Marsh Fork Elementary School where Governor Manchin just gave a press conference a few minutes ago and is expected to come out and speak with us in just a couple of minutes, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. And he is going to hopefully give us an update on that situation and we'll go back out there as soon as we hear from him.
Meanwhile, other stories, including the latest this morning on whether or not there was a history of violations. Massey Energy owns the Upper Big Branch Mine. It's the nation's fourth largest coal mining company and it's no stranger to safety problems.
Back on February 21st, federal safety and health officials cited Massey because walls were cracking and even collapsing at the facility. And less than a month later, the mine was cited three times in two weeks for ventilation and air quality problems. In the past year alone, Massey Energy has been fined $382,000 by the Feds, mostly for these air ventilation and equipment violations at Upper Big Branch.
And, you know, it's interesting, John, because in the wake of the Sago Mine disaster, people had asked about the effectiveness of these fines and there was some talk at the time, especially in West Virginia, about whether there would be changes to the way that things were conducted, that if there's a history of violations, it's simply shut down until it's taken care of.
ROBERTS: Well, we heard the governor say just a little while ago if, you know, levels of certain gases within the mine are out of tolerance, they will shut the mine down. But they didn't seem to be any attempt to shut this mine down because of the violations that it had against it. And there were dozens of them this year as well, 122.
Let's get the union perspective on all of this. We should tell you that the Upper Big Branch mine is not a union mine.
Dennis O'Dell is the head of the United Mine Workers of America. Dennis, he's in Washington this morning.
Good to have you with us, Dennis.
You know, it's such a tragedy, 25 miners dead, four of them still missing. We're hearing from officials that the outlook is bleak here, praying for America. We all remember in the Sago mining disaster here in West Virginia where Randal McCloy was pulled alive when 12 other miners were found dead.
What do you -- what do you thinking about all of this this morning?
DENNIS O'DELL, SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMIN., UMWA: You know, first of all, you know, it's a sad day for all miners in America and on behalf of the United Mine Workers of America, President Cecil Roberts and Secretary Treasury Dan Kane, we offer our prayers and condolences to those family members who have lost loved ones in this tragic incident.
I had a chance to review the citations and violations that were written at that mine last night to try to get an overview, of some kind of thought to what was going on. It troubled me to see some of the citations that I looked at. I know there was some talk earlier about citations being issued to coal mines that it would bring them more in check. But there seems to be this -- if you look at their history, a lot of their citations have been contested.
One of the new provisions under the MINER Act is that these citations that are written, the company has found a way to contest these and tie them up so that they don't -- they are not placed on a pattern of violations. If they are put on a pattern of violations, they would put them towards a closure. That has some concerns with us at this point.
ROBERTS: We should probably mention, too, Dennis, that citations can really run the gamut between something very serious like a buildup of toxic gases and proper ventilation to something as simple as tools not being properly put away, correct?
O'DELL: Yes, that's true. That's true. And you can tell, you look at -- if you look at the citations that were issued, of course, the higher the dollar amount, the more serious that those citations are. And that shows the severity of them. They need to wear something (INAUDIBLE) issue to that coal mine. So -- I'm sorry.
ROBERTS: Dennis, I was just going to say that, you know, we talked about all of changes that were put in place after the Sago mining disaster here in West Virginia in which 12 miners were killed. But the governor told us earlier this morning that the scope of this blast, the massive nature of this blast rendered ineffective any of the safety precautions that were put in place in terms of how the company would respond, how rescue teams would respond, the type of emergency equipment that was in the mine should an accident happen.
O'DELL: Yes. It looks like from the reports that we've received the same thing, that the destruction underground was so devastating that those tools were put in place didn't withstand those explosions. I understand that the shelters were still in place but the miners weren't able to reach the shelters. We saw that some of those expert self-rescuers that were put in place were picked up. I think, based on what I've heard so far and what people have told me, it sounds like the explosion happened so quickly that they weren't able to react as quickly as they need to be being in the area.
ROBERTS: Right. And, you know, Dennis, you gave congressional testimony in the wake of the Sago mining disaster. And you said that the Mine Safety and Health Administration wasn't doing enough to protect miners. There were almost this too cozy environment between the administration and mining operators. Has that changed at all since Sago?
O'DELL: Yes, sir, it has changed. We're on a different administration right now. We have a more -- the agency seems to be enforcing the regulations at a stronger pace, it's picked up. And up until now, you know, this has been the safest year we've had since they've tracked fatalities in the mining industry, up until this occurred at the Massey mine, we had two fails. So, we thought we were doing really good.
This -- of course, this happened and we have to look -- you know, when the investigation opens up, look and see what happened that caused this explosion to take place.
ROBERTS: Right. Dennis O'Dell of the United Mine Workers of America -- Dennis, it's great to be with you. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.
We do need to go directly from Dennis here to Governor Joe Manchin. He's coming in.
Governor, I know the time is tight. Thank you so much for being with us.
You spent all morning with the families of these miners, 25 of them tragically perished in that accident yesterday, another four missing. How are families holding up?
GOV. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: Families are very, very strong, very resilient and their faith in God, and faith in each other. And the families pulled together. I've always said this about West Virginia, you know, the best people in the world. And they come together as one family and all working together helping each other through.
ROBERTS: And we mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating, you have personal experience in dealing with this.
MANCHIN: Yes.
ROBERTS: Tell us your story.
MANCHIN: 1968, the horrific Farmington mine explosion, 78 miners died. My uncle was one of them, John. I had classmates I went school with. It's very personal and it's very -- you know, it's a very close knit community -- these coal mining communities that we grow up in.
And I know what they're going through and I believe that talking to them, listening to them, we're doing everything humanly possible. But they know the challenges and risks are involved. And they're just -- these are tough people. And I had one lady, you know, she lost her -- she lost her son and she lost two grandsons and they were all found together. And I had to tell her.
ROBERTS: That was -- that was the three that were lost in this tragedy?
MANCHIN: That's the most I know in one family that, you know, you'll have a lot of father/sons or uncles/nephews trying to get good jobs and help each other.
ROBERTS: You know, as we were driving up Coal River Road here, up to this area this morning, driving through all of, you know, the winding road and driving through all of these small little towns, it's kind of like every 30 feet, there's another coal mining town. And you wonder, you know, the bread winner of the family, the father is out there working in the mines, sometimes the sons are out there, as you mentioned, working in the mines. And mining accident takes the life of the person, it's got to be utterly devastating because coal is the economy here.
And if you're a dependent of that person who's working in the mine, what do you do?
MANCHIN: Let me just say that, basically, the people in West Virginia understand what they have done and hard work they've done to make this nation great. They provided the energy that was dependable, reliable and affordable. They have done that. We built the greatest nation on earth.
They have such a pride in what they do. Some of the people don't realize -- it's a job to maybe some people, but not here in West Virginia. This is a way of life.
And now, with that, we're doing all we can. We're doing a better much, much job from the environmental end of it. But most importantly, the safety end of it. This was, John, just a horrific explosion -- horrific explosion. And I don't know how, you know, you shield against that.
We have our shelters in place for oxygen life for 96 hours. We have rapid response. We have the cache of personal rescuers.
ROBERTS: You got the communications in place.
MANCHIN: Everything. But when you have this type of horrific explosion, it destroys all of that.
ROBERTS: But, Governor, here's the big question -- how did the methane or A combination of methane and coal dust build up to the point that you could have a massive explosion like this? This is a company that has been cited numerous times for problems with its ventilation plan. Did something go wrong with that that allowed for a sudden increase in the amount of gas?
MANCHIN: We will find out. I'll tell you that, we will find out. And we will do whatever it takes, but we're going to find out.
You know, you have both the federal investigators, which is MSHA, and you have the state. I can't and I'm not blaming anybody. I'm going to wait until I see the facts, just like we did before with Sago and Aracoma, and we moved immediately.
And it's just horrible that you have to have a horrific disaster such as this. But we're making changes. We're trying to stay ahead of that curve. We're doing everything we can. I've just got to see what the facts are.
ROBERTS: Now, obviously, in a situation like this, the families are distraught. They're just learning that their loved one may be trapped in the mine or may have perished in the mine. They're going to run the gamut of emotions.
But what was it like between the family members and CEO of the mine? Because in accidents past, there has been a sense that the mine company is looking after its bottom line and not so much after the miners -- was there any of that this time around?
MANCHIN: I wasn't there. I just -- I was transiting getting back as quick as I could. So, I wasn't there. But those are very, very tough, difficult situations.
The most horrible thing that I've involved with right now that I haven't in other explosions with my own family, not knowing that we have 18 people that we -- that we have still there. Fourteen we know that have perished. Four, there's a shred of hope and might be a shred and we still believe in that miracle, and our prayers and the strength of our prayers. With that, all 18 don't know are -- is one of theirs maybe one of the four.
ROBERTS: Yes.
MANCHIN: That little miracle.
So, you can imagine the anxiety and I'm just hoping the Good Lord gives me the words to give them some comfort. I'm -- you know, we're working against long odds here and I've told them that. I don't -- you know, I don't want to give them any false hopes.
ROBERTS: Governor, I know you want to get back with the families.
MANCHIN: Thank you.
ROBERTS: The entire nation is praying for --
(CROSSTALK)
MANCHIN: Prayers is what we need.
ROBERTS: Thank you so much, Governor. Appreciate it.
We'll continue our coverage here from Raleigh County, West Virginia, in this ongoing disaster with the mine and four miners who remain trapped and the 25 who have sadly died and the efforts to try to clear up that mine so the rescue teams can get back in deep inside that mine. The miners who are lost, they're about 6,000 to 8,000 feet length ways at least in that mine, about 1,200 to 1,400 feet down.
So, Kiran, it's going to be a long day here for the families. A long day here for the rescue crews and for the people who are trying to get that mine cleared out so that the crews can get back in inside.
CHETRY: The sad situation. Kevin Strickland from the federal Mine Safe and Health Administration said that they're doing all they can, that I'm just trying to be honest with everybody and say the situation does look dire.
So, holding out hope -- a shred of hope -- that they will be able to get the other four. Bu as John just mentioned, the rescue efforts suspended right now as they try to make sure that it is safe and that the air is not too toxic for the rescuers who try to get in there and save the four still trapped.
We're going to continue to follow this story all morning. And we also have much more to come, including the White House getting set to announce some big changes to how and when it would use nuclear weapons. We're getting a live report on that coming up.
Fifteen minutes to the top of hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back ton the Most News in the Morning. Forty- seven minutes past the hour right hour. In just a few hours, President Obama will unveil a sweeping change in U.S. strategy in terms of dealing with nuclear weapons. The new policy will limit the possible use of America's nuclear arsenal.
Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House with details on this nuclear shift. Good morning, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. You know, as candidate Obama during the campaign, he had said that he was going to rid the world of nuclear weapons. A lot of people didn't really believe him at that time. They didn't really take it very seriously, but as the president, he is making some concrete steps towards that goal.
It is a controversial plan, Kiran. It is going to be announced at the Pentagon later this afternoon, but a senior defense official briefing reporters yesterday said, look, there were a lot of debates that went into this because it is so controversial, a lot of questions about whether or not this is going to compromise national security.
Obama administration officials say that it's not the case. It is called the nuclear post tour review. What it does is the U.S. would halt any development of new nuclear weapons would make that commitment. It would also allow to extend the lifetime of existing nuclear warheads that is in the U.S. arsenal. At the same time here, the U.S. would commit not to use nuclear weapons against a country that doesn't have nuclear weapons. So, if that country were to attack the United States, the United States has made the commitment that it would not retaliate using nuclear weapons.
Now, there's a big exception for this, Kiran, very important and that is those countries that do have nuclear weapons or violate the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. For example, countries like Iran and North Korea, that would not apply. The administration officials also say there's some flexibility here in this policy, but clearly, Kiran, this is meant to do two things to really be a deterrent for those countries that don't have nuclear weapons. They don't want them to pursue and getting their hands on those nuclear weapons and try to isolate those countries that already do -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning. Thanks so much.
And we're going to get back to our coverage of the breaking news out of West Virginia, the tragedy in a close knit mining town. Rescue crews have suspended their search for four miners still believed trapped, because conditions inside the mine are just simply too dangerous. Twenty-five people confirmed dead after yesterday's massive explosion.
John is in Marsh Fork, West Virginia with the latest at the command center and getting updates every few minutes on what's going on. Hey, John.
ROBERTS: And here's how it went down throughout the night, Kiran. Those rescue crews went in almost immediately after the explosion, and they were working very quickly. That's when they found the additional bodies. Remember, at the very beginning, it was seven people who were known dead right off the top, and then there were another 21 who were missing. They went through the mine very quickly, and they found a lot more of those miners who were dead. They left them where they lay, and they kept pushing on deeper and deeper through the mine. They got very close to an area where they thought that these four remaining miners might be, but they were pushed back because the concentrations of methane gas were just too high.
It was dangerous to their health to move any further, though, they probably wanted to at the time. So, they were called back by the commanders. There is now an operation underway to bulldoze a path up through the hills. As you can imagine, it is difficult. There are no roads back up there, to drop a bore hole down in the GPS cord and it's where that long shaft is where they believe that those miners may be trapped and vent out all of that methane gas. That's a process that's probably going to take at least some 12 hours.
So, things will probably stay pretty much static for the time being in terms of the rescue operation, but they are hoping by the end of the day they may be able to put those crews back underground to try to find those four missing miners. If you heard the governor say things are looking bleak. It's just a thin shred of hope, but there still is hope here this morning -- Kiran.
CHETRY: So basically, it means that even in the best of circumstances, they can't restart the search until about 6:00 p.m. Eastern time tonight?
ROBERTS: That's kind of what it's sounding like at this point. Now, you know, things are very fluid here. It could happen more quickly, but the governor told us that this time of year with the air being heavy and also very moisture late (ph), it's difficult to clear out the mine, and that is an area that is so deep underground, so about 1,200 feet below ground, about 6 to 8,000 feet in from the mine entrance. So, it's going to take some time to clear it out.
CHETRY: Precise, delicate task as well. It's difficult one at that. So, we're going to continue to follow the latest. John, thanks.
Also our top stories just minutes away including praying for miracles this morning. We're going to be back in West Virginia where four miners, as John just updated, are still missing, and we're going to talk more about what conditions need to be in place for rescuers to be able to go back in.
At eight minutes past the hour, whether the biggest mine disaster in two and a half decades was an accident waiting to happen. Fifty- three violations in the past month alone for this mine. We're going to show the history of safety questions the company involved. And also hooked before high school stealing prescription drugs from their parents starting at the age of 13. It's our special series "Addicted" continuing. Those stories and much more at the top of the hour.
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CHETRY: Fifty-five minutes past the hour right now. Time to get a check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center, and in some parts of the country, you're going to need to turn on the AC a little bit early a couple months early.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's for sure. Check out some of these numbers, Kiran, this morning, 65 degrees in D.C. and 60 degrees in Boston. So, a balmy start everywhere east of the Mississippi and then some. Check out some of these record highs, Augusta, 91. Masters toasty this week, Columbia 91, Richmond, Virginia 89, and Washington D.C. and Dulles are seeing temperatures in the mid 80s. Those record high temperatures.
We'll see some more records today. The warm air is still in place across the south, banging into some cold air, so we're going to, again, see the chance for seeing severe weather across the plains and the Midwest.
A little pulse of showers and thunderstorms only across upstate New York and the Allegheny Plateau. That shouldn't be too big of a deal. More substantial weather rolling through just west of Chicago. We have a severe thunderstorm watch in effect until 9 o'clock local time. Some of these thunderstorms will contain some gusty winds and a little bit of hail.
So, we'll watch the center part of the country for some thunderstorms throughout the day today. Kiran, stay cool up there in New York.
CHETRY: I'll try. Rob, thanks so much. We're going to take a quick break. We're going to have top stories for you coming up. It's now three minutes until the top of the hour.
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