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CNN Live Saturday

Escaped Inmate Ralph Phillips Arrested; Three Killed in Kirkuk Blast; Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch; "The Path to 9/11" Controversy Continues; Afghanistan Landmine Removal by Roots of Peace; NASA Press Conference; President Bush Makes Plans to Commemorate 9/11; How To Get What You Pay For

Aired September 09, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: This developing story, the fifth time was the charm for Atlantis. NASA launched the space shuttle just under an hour ago. The launch was pushed back several times because of weather and technical problems a live report from the Kennedy Space Center straight ahead and we're also awaiting a NASA briefing in just about 15 minutes. We'll take that live as it happens.
An American officer missing in Kyrgyzstan since Tuesday has been found alive. Air Force Major Jill Metzger is in stable condition and moved out of the country. Metzger was last seen out shopping on Tuesday. The military is now investigating.

Roadside bombs hit a police convoy in Iraq. The explosions earlier today took place in the city of Kirkuk; at least three people were killed in the blast. Local police say Iraqi military officials were among at least 13 wounded.

The manhunt for Ralph Phillips is over. The fugitive was arrested last night in Pennsylvania. Phillips was wanted for a jailbreak and is suspected of shooting three New York state troopers. Phillips faced a judge this morning on a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

President Bush is using his weekend radio address to remind people that America still faces determined enemies five years after the 9/11 attacks. The president also called a previously secret CIA program to detain terrorism suspects invaluable in preventing another attack on the U.S.

We update the top stories every 15 minutes on CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Your next update is coming up at 12:15 Eastern.

Straight ahead this hour, ABC television has touched off a political storm with a movie about the events leading up to 9/11.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just want people to tell the truth, you know, and not to pretend it's something it's not.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: To explain why those trying to turn fields of landmines into fields of play. Your pennies can help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: Bonnie Garcia, I apologized to her. She got offend, but I mean, we and her we joke about all this many, many times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Why is Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger apologizing? Later on CNN, you'll hear what he had to say that has so many people upset.

WHITFIELD: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

Atlantis is on its way. It took two weeks and several scheduled launches, but six astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station.]Technology correspondent, Daniel Sieberg is live at the Kennedy Space Center were where he watched the blastoff firsthand.

It's been a couple of week, many launches because -- or launch delays because of weather and technical problems. I know NASA has to be thrilled now.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Fred. And you know, with any sort of a shuttle launch, first you see it, then you hear, it then you feel it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, three main engines up and burning -- two, one and liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis opening a new chapter in the completion of the International Space Station for the...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIEBERG: That was at about 11:15 this morning, the scheduled liftoff time, everything going according to plan, the weather cooperating here at Kennedy Space Center. Shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Launch Pad 39B, it made a slight turn it rolled as it heads up towards the International Space Station where it will rendezvous very early Monday morning.

We watched as the two solid rocket boosters that provide the thrust separated on the outside about two minutes in, on the outside of the external fuel tank. We also watched during the main engine cutoff, which is when the large orange external fuel tank separates from the belly of the shuttle itself that where it's containing the super cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

That is a very key point, that's about 8-1/2 minutes. That is the point when the shuttle is basically making its way into orbit. And it is now in orbit itself. It is closing in on about an hour after the launch. As I say, on its way to the International Space Station, after a couple of weeks after lot of delay, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And it wasn't easy because of the many delays, was there pressure on NASA to even really reconsider whether today would have been a good day to do this?

SIEBERG: Well, this was the end of their launch window. To use a sports analogy, NASA was out of time-outs. They would have had to pick it up several weeks from now at the earliest. So, they were working through a lot of technical things and some weather things over the last couple of weeks. It started with a lightning strike on the launch pad, 39B, that was a couple of weeks ago.

After that it was Tropical Storm Ernesto they had to deal with, at one point, they were wheeling the shuttle off the launch pad, then had to wheel it back. They also had to deal with a fuel cell problem that popped up earlier this week, that ended up not being an issue today. Also, these engine cut-off sensors located at the bottom of the hydrogen tank were also, one of them was a problem, but neither of those came up today. The weather cooperated here.

At this point, though, the critical thing that they have to look at is any of this, falling foam that may have come off that massive external fuel tank, they will be looking to see if any debris or foam came off. They will be assessing the video, the images, looking very carefully over the next several hours to see what has happened or even over the next several days.

Of course you'll remember after "Columbia" in 2003, that was a major problem, critical problem for "Columbia" when it pierced that heat shield. In the next 10 to 15 minutes or so, there will be a NASA briefing. CNN we'll bring that to you live.

We are expecting the NASA managers there. It's more of a post- launch briefing, a lot of congratulatory stuff going on. They will talk about what happens during the launch. But throughout the day today we'll be watching to see some of these images come back of this falling foam -- Fred

WHITFIELD: All right, Dan Sieberg, thanks so much. I know you'll be joining us for that briefing, as well.

SIEBERG: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Other news, a manhunt for a dangerous fugitive covering two states and involving hundreds of police officers. It came to a peaceful end last night. Ralph Phillips, accused of shooting three troopers and killing one, gave up without a fight.

Allan Chernoff is live with the latest on the capture and Phillips' first court appearance -- Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. Well the manhunt lasted for five months all because Ralph "Buck" Phillips escaped from the Erie County Jail. This morning, he actually faced the criminal charge for fleeing in the U.S. courthouse right behind me, and guess what, federal prosecutors actually dropped that charge.

Well this, No. 1, a reflection of just how serious this whole series of events became. And also No. 2, it's merely a legal strategy because what the feds are doing is that they are clearing the decks for more serious state charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY FLINN, U.S. ATTORNEY: We dismissed those federal charges specifically to the fugitive apprehension which will allow the New York State Police to proceed with the transporting of Ralph Phillips to Chemung County where he is wanted under a state warrant, and specifically an indictment for attempted murder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: Mr. Phillips is actually accused of shooting and wounding one police officer in Chemung County, New York. That officer wounded, he's back on the force now. Mr. Phillips is also the prime suspect in the shooting of two other officers, one of whom died last weekend, so some very, very serious state charges pending against Mr. Phillips -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Allan Chernoff, thanks so much.

All right, the weather picture is always dicey on the weekend it seems these days. Let's check in with Bonnie Schneider for a lock at what's happening out there -- Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right, Bonnie, thanks so much.

Other stories making news "Across America" this morning. In southern California, wildfires blazing through the Los Padres National Forest. Nearly 1,000 firefighters there are trying to knock down the fire which has burned through more than 13,000 acres. The fire, which started on Monday, is about 40 miles north of Los Angeles.

Still in California, not -- a not guilty plea from a coach caught on tape. Youth football coach, Corey Petero is accused of sparking a brawl after rushing onto the field and tackling a 13-year-old boy there on an opposing team. Petero pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor child abuse charge.

Rocky Balboa's making one more trip to the Philadelphia's Museum of Art. Actor Sylvester Stallone in Philly on Friday for the dedication of a statue of his character. The statue it made its first appearance in "Rocky III," but had been in storage the last few years.

Is it a rewrite of history? A movie about the events leading up to 9/11 has a lot of well-known political figures very upset. How will ABC network executives react to that?

And turning the horrors of war into hope for the future. We'll tell you how you can turn minefields into soccer fields and farmland, plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

The gut reaction of lay people in addressing this issue is that the system is crazy. They can't understand why a pilot is limited to eight hours, a trucker is limited to 11 hours, but a doctor is permitted to work 30 hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And even with new rules are patients at risk from overworked hospital interns?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here's some of the most popular stories on CNN.com, a private funeral will take place for Steve Irwin some time in the next few days. The world-renowned "Crocodile Hunter" died Monday after a stingray attack. Irwin's manager says a public memorial is planned.

And there's a report that 10 journalists in South Florida were paid by the U.S. government to make broadcasts aimed at undercutting Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The "Miami Herald" writes that government documents show one journalist got almost $175,000 since 2001.

And no word if rapper 50 Cent's latest problem with the law will end up on one of his albums. New York police stopped Curtis Jackson yesterday; the artist faces charges of making an safe lane change, driving with an expired license, and driving without insurance.

Well, what did the government do or not do to protect the nation before the 9/11 attacks? According to some critics an ABC-TV movie won't answer that question truthfully. Our Brian Todd looks at what's causing the controversy over "The Path to 9/11."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Officials at ABC are not tipping their hand on any revisions being made in their controversial mini series "The Path to 9/11."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not safe yet.

TODD: But ABC is certainly not safe from fallout as a former president and his top aides launch a multi pronged attack.

CLINTON: I just want people to tell the truth. You know, and not to pretend it's something it's not.

TODD: One proposed scene that's gotten Bill Clinton and his former aides upset is at the very least being reviewed, according to 9/11 Commission chairman Tom Kean, a consultant on the film, and CNN contributor, Howard Kurtz who spoke to his own sources.

HOWARD KURTZ, CNN'S RELIABLE SOURCES: I am told that ABC is going to change, for example, a very explosive scene involving a former national security advisor Sandy Berger, supposedly putting a red light up when CIA people in Afghanistan were be about to capture Osama bin Laden.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're ready to load the pack a repeat, do we have clearance to load the package?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand by.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our officers are in place sir, they're in danger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand that, Patricia, but I don't have that authority.

TODD: An incident that never happened according to Berger and the 9/11 Commission. Berger, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Clinton's own office have written letters to Kean and Disney president, Robert Iger calling on them not to broadcast the film.

SAMUEL BERGER, FMR. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: My impression is that this is a misleading film to the core. And it seems to me the only appropriate thing at this point is for ABC to withdraw the series.

TODD: ABC has given no indications that it's considering canceling the $40 million movie, but the network it is also dealing with fallout among the film's cast.

Actor Harvey Keitel says the film should be fixed before it's released.

HARVEY KEITEL, ACTOR, "THE PATH TO 9/11": I had questions about certain events, material I was given in "The Path to 9/11" that I did raise questions about, yes. I have some conflicts there. You can't put these together, compress them, and then distort the reality.

TODD: Contacted by CNN, an ABC official had no immediate response to Keitel's comments an the network is sticking to it previous statement that the film is "a dramatization," "the editing process is not yet complete" and "criticisms of film specifics are premature and irresponsible."

On the political front, ABC is accused of a heavy slant against Democrats. Tom Kean, a Republican and the only 9/11 Commission member consulted for the film was sent a letter from Clinton's office saying, "Your defense of the outright lies in this film is destroying the bipartisan aura of the 9/11 Commission.

Kean's response...

KEAN: A lot of people who are talking now haven't seen it. I haven't even seen the final cut. They're going to find something where they learn more about the hijackers, more about the plot...

TODD (on camera): Media observers say all this criticism and buzz over the movie will very likely generate huge ratings on ABC on Sunday and Monday night, if the network can work around a scheduled address in President Bush in primetime on Monday.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And this just in, a new development in the shuttle Atlantis. Our Daniel Sieberg is at the Kennedy Space Center with more -- Dan.

SIEBERG: Hi, Fred. That's right. The shuttle Atlantis lifted off here a little over an hour ago, from where we were sitting, a picture perfect launch, everything going according to plan. What NASA officials and engineers are going to be looking for right now are any pieces of foam or debris that came off during the liftoff.

Of course, remember this was a critical concern after the "Columbia" 2003. What we're seeing right now is some video of what we believe to be some pieces of foam that have come off that massive external fuel tank, you can just see it right there in the highlighted circle, that external fuel tank is coated in this foam in order to keep ice from building up, to keep it insulated, it contains that super cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

The concern, of course, being that any of these pieces foam could strike the orbiter, could strike the shuttle during the first 135 seconds or little over two minutes is the critical time. Now, this camera provides us a pretty good view of what we're seeing here, but NASA has got other cameras, other imaging devices, and scanners including cameras used by the crew onboard.

Also once they dock with the International Space Station, they will do a further review of the belly of the tiling that is protecting the heat shield of the shuttle. So we'll be watching to see what they announce throughout the day today here and there will actually be a briefing here shortly. We're not sure if we'll hear anything about that. This particular piece of foam that came off four minutes after launch.

Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right and when that briefing takes place, we'll be able to bring that live. Dan Sieberg, thanks so much.

Well, find out how many children in Afghanistan may be getting help from those paying tribute to the victims in this country of 9/11.

And straight ahead, a live update on how President Bush is marking the fifth year anniversary of a national tragedy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: As we remember our losses on September 11, volunteers will be raising money to help children in Afghanistan. A country caught in the war on terror. Roots of Peace will be collecting pennies to pay for the removal of landmines and the funding of education. Heidi Kuhn is the organization's founder. And Mir Hamidullah Akhgar is a Manhattanville College student. He's from an Afghan village that was demined with funds from this very program. Both are join us from New York.

Good to see both of you.

HEIDI KUHN, FOUNDER, ROOTS OF PEACH: Very nice. Thank you so much for inviting us.

WHITFIELD: Well Heidi, let me begin with you and how this program works. You've already collected millions of pennies in other occasions to help demine many villages in Afghanistan. How are you able to do that?

KUHN: Well, we started this just five years ago and the atrocities of September 11 affected everyone. Over 80 million people from various countries were affected when those towers went down and we thought of the phoenix rising and bringing forth pennies for peace.

We started with two cents, with my daughter who was only 18 years old, and collected over 10 million pennies to remove landmines and put schools and soccer fields in Afghanistan.

We thought when we started this, also an "ABC News" anchor, Cheryl Jennings that if we raised two cents, it would make a difference and unbeknownst to us, we raised 10 million pennies. And last year, I had the opportunity to join my daughter, holding her hand as a teenager as I walked through Afghanistan and we saw the eyes of the children, the joy that they had that all children deserve to play and to have fair play on a former mine fields when they can kick a ball and not worry about losing a limb, then we are able to truly create roots of peace on earth.

WHITFIELD: So you talked to a lot of these young people there who were able to tell you they weren't able to have fun, do anything except for worry about stepping on a landmine until your project and others came around?

KUHN: Yes. Yes, well, it just -- it creates a lethal harvest for farmers and families and innocent people who are suffering the aftermath of war. So, if you imagine a field -- you don't know where the landmines are, the fear of the presence of a landmine prevents the cultivation of anything, it creates a lethal harvest for generations to come. So if we create mutual goals and fair play by converting minefields into soccer fields then we have the opportunity to teach global citizens that peace begins from the ground up, not the top down.

WHITFIELD: All right. And Heidi let me bring in Mir, because you know firsthand what it is to be siphoned off from this kind of freedom because of landmines, you had them in your village in Afghanistan. This program came along, removed many of the landmines and now here you are coming full circle to help collect more pennies to get this project going. MIR HAMIDULLAH AKHGAR, VILLAGE DE-MINED BY FUNDS: Well, this is just amazing. What she's doing (INAUDIBLE) and I'm glad I met her and I'm working with her because imagine a field being in mines and then you convert them to soccer fields, it's just -- you can't even imagine it.

And the best thing is that she's work in where I am from, in my homeland, and that's a beautiful city. You should see it. Green, gardens everywhere, pomegranates, a lot of fruit. It is sad to see them in mines and all the remains of war and stuff.

So now is the time to (INAUDIBLE) the country and to change that, so when you want to change, it's the best thing is to change them in a better way and the way that youth can use them and that makes them active and that's the best thing that she's doing and she makes -- she paves the way for youth generation to think about peace, about love, about uniting, and working together, which is soccer.

WHITFIELD: Well, Mir Hamidullah Akhgar and Heidi Kuhn, thanks so much for being with us, it sounds as though, Heidi, your project is helping to provide a great gift, particularly on this fifth year mark of the 9/11. It's an event, a day in which you are trying to collect millions more pennies and we'd love to talk with you again to find out just how much more pennies you were able to collect on Monday.

KUHN: And we hope people will go to our Web site, www.rootsofpeace.org, it's very easy to click in and join our penny campaign from sea to shining sea.

Thanks to both of you.

OK, go ahead, Mir.

AKHGAR: Welcome. Oh yeah, sure, with the penny campaign on the East Coast at Manhattanville. Just don't forget to go to wwww.manhattanville.edu and you'll see about the diverse school that is school that brought me here and we're doing the penny collection. Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: Well that's fantastic. Thanks so much, Mir and Heidi, thanks for your time.

Well, tonight, know your enemy. Get a look at the man who brought terror to America, watch "In the Footsteps of bin Laden," a CNN PRESENTS investigations seen by more than 10 million people. Encore presentations tonight and tomorrow night at 7:00 eastern.

Well, as the five-year anniversary of 9/11 unfolds, President Bush has a major role to play. Elaine Quijano is at the White House with more on that.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Bush is getting ready to deliver a primetime Oval Office address on Monday marking the somber anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Today we got a bit of a preview and I'll have details coming up -- Fredricka.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We want to take you straight to NASA where a briefing is taking place. While it looked like a picture perfect launch of Atlantis this morning, now they're talking about how they're looking for foam or debris that may have caused -- may have come off the mass external fuel tank.

MICHAEL GRIFFIN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: And not everything in the count leading up to this day was easy. And in between, we had to dodge tropical storms and lightning strikes and things like that, but we got here and it was just a flawless day and I'm proud to have any part of it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Mike. Again, I would like to echo your comments to the Kennedy team and the folks around the country that put the hardware together that got us into orbit. The team did an awesome job. It wasn't easy getting here. They hung together through a lot of adverse circumstances and they just were a real tribute to the professionalism that's going to take us forward into assembly.

We now kind of handoff to the space station team and the on-orbit team on the shuttle side, and they've got a very busy mission in front of them with the EVAs and the activity on orbit as we return to assembly. That will be an extremely challenging flight, the remainder of Atlantis' flight here.

The teams are prepared, they're ready to execute, and they're ready to go. I think they're excited and ready and kind of have that deer in the headlight look as they see all this assembly stuff coming forward, and they're ready to go do their job. So, again, it's a great tribute to the Kennedy team today, and thanks for all the work they've done today.

LEROY CAIN, NASA: Well, it is great to be here. And any day we launch a space shuttle is a great day, in my opinion. The team just did a fabulous job today. I will tell you that I was looking for trying to make some notes about what I might talk to you about when I came over today, but I told Mike I brought my console notes but it's kind of on console, go for launch, launch, Miko, and there's not a whole lot else in between there.

And so I would like to say, though, that I'm here representing the mission management team and I'm privileged to be able to chair that group of folks in this particular phase of the mission. And it's just an outstanding group of individuals who represent an even larger outstanding world-class team, in my estimation.

And so we had a very clean walk-through the countdown today as we watched Mike and his team do all the work. We really didn't have significant issues to work as a mission management team.

And after we're finished here, I'll go back over to the firing room and we will release the mission management team to go back to their home centers, and I will hand over the baton to John Shannon and he'll chair the on-orbit portion. And I'll be very happy and proud to do that so it's good to be here today -- Mike.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, Thanks. I'm here representing Team Atlantis, a great set of folks that have been working on the ship for almost 1,300 days in one state of preparation for flight or another. And they finally got their reward today. It just feels really good. There were literally tears in the firing room. They felt excellent to reward them with this launch today.

We also get to represent the payload processing folks here at the Kennedy Space Center who had the P3/P4 truss here for over six years so they're awfully glad to have their piece of hardware in orbit now, too.

The countdown itself went extremely smoothly, which probably shouldn't be surprising, considering how many times we tried it. And so I normally report on problems, but it was just really, really clean today.

We were trying to find stuff to talk about and couldn't. It was just a great countdown, the teams were rewarded, it's a great Saturday afternoon in Florida and for this space shuttle program and station program. Thanks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We can go to questions now. Please wait for the microphone to come around and state your name and affiliation. Let's try to limit questions to one please, at least in the first round, so we can give everybody a chance. And we'll try to get all your questions in during the press conference so we can get these gentlemen back to work. And so we now can start with back here in the middle, please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Richard Luskin (ph) from The "Gazette (ph) of London." The shuttle went into or behind cloud fairly quickly after the launch. Will that hinder any of the camera views from anywhere? Does it make it harder to get a clear view from all the cameras you have on the shuttle?

CAIN: I'll take that one. It was a cloudy view depending on where you were standing or viewing from as a spectator, but we have so many views that it really is not going to hinder us. And we have on- board capability as well. So we have plenty of looks at the vehicle going uphill and we don't have any concerns in that regard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK next? Right, Bob. Sorry. Second row.

TOM COSTELLO, NBC NEWS: Hi, Tom Costello with NBC News. Do you -- I know it's early and we'll ask you this in four or five hours, but thus far, do you see anything in that is of any concern in terms of debris shedding? .

CAIN: I'll take that one, too. Talking with the folks before I came over here, the earliest indication we have of any event in the way of shedding debris going uphill was after four minutes mission lapse time. I believe it was four minutes seven seconds, and there were no events of note before that. Now I would caution you only that this is extremely preliminary, but so far, we didn't see anything in the region of highest concern, if you will. And the things that folks did see in the very, very preliminary look was well into the ascent phase where we really don't have debris concerns per se.

COSTELLO: Can I just ask to explain why? Because it's not any longer in the gravitational pull that is the concern -- is that right -- when you're four minutes into flight?

CAIN: Well, essentially, yes. There's no dynamic pressure. There's no way for the debris to create a critical impact for us, if you will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And to have a threat, there has to be a relative velocity between the debris and orbiter and if there's no -- little to no wind, if you will, then there's no way for the debris to pick up a significant velocity relative to the orbiter and it doesn't matter anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, let's go to Seth, please.

SETH BORENSTEIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Seth Borenstein, Associated Press. I guess for Leroy, it sounds like you have another ice issue with the flash evaporator that happens so often. Is this of any concern? I mean, can you go through what you're hearing and if there's any workaround or just not bother?

CAIN: Yes, you probably heard as Atlantis was going uphill, there was an issue with the flash evaporator system, the FES, and initially they selected over to a different heater string, and after that, then they cycled the FES and after cycling it, then it began to work normally.

I talked to the folks back in mission control before I came over, and the FES is operating nominally. We believe what happened is due to some rain, we've had some water, precipitation get into the ducting, and that's not an uncommon thing. We've seen it happen before, so we don't believe it's going to be of issue for the mission.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Let's go back along the wall here to Todd, please.

TODD HALVORSON, "FLORIDA TODAY": Todd Halvorson of "Florida Today" for Bill Gerstemeyer. It's been a long hiatus in assembly, and I'm wondering how you feel about being on the precipice of getting back to the station and resuming assembly and whether you can characterize for us the challenges and difficulties you anticipate in the years going forward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess I would just state it this way, I'm really excited about getting back to assembly. I go over to the SSPF and I see all that hardware that's ready to go flying and I talk to all the folks that are over there, processing the hardware and getting it ready to go flying. And they are excited and they are ready to go put this hardware together. I can also tell you the EVA team that's going to go work this on orbit, the two EVA teams, they are really ready to go do these tasks. They have trained a lot in the pools. They are excited about doing this. The mission control teams, both the shuttle and the station teams, are really ready. There's a lot of ground commanding that has to occur in concert with the EVA and they are excited and they're ready to go do their activities.

So you train, you spend all your time, you get ready, and now you finally get to go execute what you've dedicated your life to and there is nothing better than the feeling of getting to execute what you've really dedicated your life to and that's what these folks are starting to feel.

And today, we've had Robbie Ashley come to the LCC and they recognized him as part of the truss processing team and I think that was especially appropriate that not only had it been awhile for Atlantis to fly, but there's been a lot of space station hardware that's also ready to fly.

I'll also tell you our partners were pretty excited. I got four or five e-mails ...

WHITFIELD: This is the post-launch briefing that NASA is holding, just about an hour after Atlantis has now launched into space. Despite the fact that cameras did show that there was some sort of foam or debris that may are come off the mass external fuel tank, still officials there are calling this a flawless day. They're quite excited about what they believe to be good results from this launch taking place less than hour ago.

Our Dan Sieberg is at the Kennedy Space Center. You've been listening in on this briefing. They really seem to be downplaying any potential dangers from this debris or at least this one camera shot of foam or debris that may have fallen off.

SIEBERG: That's right, Fred, and as well they should.

Let me put this into some context for people. During the initial stage of liftoff, there is a critical 135 second period, a little over two minutes. As the shuttle is lifting off, the pieces of debris or foam that could come off, the forces of gravity and thrust are really at work on any pieces that might come off during that time.

After the shuttle and the solid rocket boosters and external fuel tank get passed that two-minute period, the solid rocket boosters separate, the shuttle continues to go up with that external fuel tank, but the forces of gravity are less at work. Essentially, it gets into microgravity.

So the video that we're looking at that we can show you that shows this, what appears to be perhaps a piece of foam or debris came off after the four-minute mark. Now, that is well after, well outside the point of concern for NASA, meaning that even if it was to hit the orbiter because of the time period, it would not pose a serious threat. Falling foam is not unexpected for NASA. This happens on almost every, if not every, launch. The concern is when it happens, how big the piece is, and where it hits. So we have to be very careful with this video when we're talking about what could possibly have happened. And since we know it's outside that four minute period, then there is an extremely good chance that this means absolutely nothing in terms of safety to the vehicle, to the shuttle and to the crew itself.

So we have to be very clear about that when we're looking at this video. There will be analyzing this video, plenty of other cameras on the ground, also on the orbiter from the crew and from the International Space Station. They'll be getting a very close look before they ever clear the crew to come back to earth -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dan Sieberg, thanks so much from the Kennedy Space Center.

Well, just two days away from the five-year anniversary of 9/11. You're going to a live update when we come right back from the White House on the president's plans.

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WHITFIELD: President Bush is focusing on the September 11 attacks today. Let's go straight to the White House with correspondent Elaine Quijano on the president's plan.

QUIJANO: Hello to you, Fredricka.

Well, in two days, President Bush will deliver a primetime Oval Office address to the nation, marking the somber anniversary -- the fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Now, already today we got a little bit of a preview during the president's radio address. And as we've seen him do this past week, the president today once again tried to urge Congress to hand him a legislative victory and pass a measure dealing with military trials for high-level terror suspects.

Now, on Wednesday for the first time, of course, we heard the president acknowledge the existence of secret CIA prisons overseas. He said that detainees had been transferred from there to Guantanamo. In his address today, the president defended the CIA's program.

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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This program has been invaluable to the security of America and its allies and helped us identify and capture men who our intelligence community believes were key architects of the September the 11th attacks.

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QUIJANO: Now the president today also strongly defended his policy in Iraq which he sees an a central front in the war on terrorism. Mr. Bush continues to argue that Iraq, he believes, security for Americans and success in Iraq are inextricably linked. Democrats though, for their part, as this, of course, is an election year, congressional midterms just two months away -- Democrats are hoping to make the case with the American people that the president and the Republicans who support him have mismanaged the larger terrorism fight.

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REP. SHERROD BROWN (D), OHIO: This anniversary of 9/11, we must refocus our efforts on the war on terror by ending our open-ended commitment in Iraq and by redirecting our efforts to destroy al Qaeda. Democrats will fight for this goal even as the president and his congressional Republicans stubbornly insist on staying a failed course.

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QUIJANO: Now, emotions running high just two days, of course, before that fifth anniversary on Monday, the White House is being very careful not to appear as though it is politicizing the attacks. Monday, the president is going to visit all three 9/11 sites. Monday night, he'll deliver that primetime address.

White House spokesman Tony Snow says that the president's speech will not be a political one. It will not contain calls to action for Congress. He says, instead, it will really be a reflection of what September 11th has meant, not only to the president but to the country, and what the president sees as how, in fact, the nation can come together to move forward from the attacks -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Elaine, back to Guantanamo, at least two high- ranking senators are making their way to Guantanamo. Why? What's their mission?

QUIJANO: Well, that's right. In fact, we just learned this today. In fact, the two top Republicans in the Senate, Senator Bill Frist and Senator Mitch McConnell, are going to Guantanamo because say they want to see first-hand the facilities that are holding these detainees in the war on terror.

Now it comes at a time when Senator Frist is trying to push through President Bush's proposed legislation on military trials for these detainees, but one provision has been a sticking point, even among some Republicans, some moderates in the Senate, that provision being something that would bar, in fact, detainees from seeing classified evidence against them.

The moderate Republicans who include Senators John Warner, John McCain, Lindsey Graham feel, in fact, that is a provision that needs to be changed. They're not comfortable with it. One of their concerns is that, in fact, Americans might be subject to this same measure.

So the White House, for its part, saying it feels it can work with the senators to come up with legislation that can does, in fact, appeal to everyone, but right now, a sticking point, Senators Frist and McConnell heading down to Guantanamo tomorrow to take a first-hand look at the detainee situation themselves -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Elaine Quijano, thanks so much, from the White House.

When we come back, Tony Blair in Israel, why?

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WHITFIELD: "Going Global" right now, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is in Israel today. He and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plan to discuss Lebanon, Hezbollah, Iran and the Palestinians. But a spokesman says Mr. Blair will not deliver any detailed proposals.

Tomorrow, the British leader will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. The meetings have been scheduled with Hamas leaders there. And Blair and Olmert are planning to hold a news conference at about 2:00 Eastern time today. We plan on taking it live so stay with CNN.

Back on the job, Lebanese fishermen are finally heading out to sea, one day after Israel lifted its naval blockade. It has been two months since the fishermen were able to earn a living. Israel says the blockade was aimed at stopping Hezbollah from rearming during the war, but Lebanon saw it as a collective punishment.

And next, have you been the victim of a consumer deal gone bad? Find out how you can fight back in our "Dollars and Deals" segment.

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WHITFIELD: Well, if you'd like to hear some tips on dealing with customer service, press one. Just kidding. Just listen to our next guest. Whether you're dealing with an insurance company, auto dealer, cable provider or cell phone store, Ron Burley can help you. He's the author of "Unscrewed: The Consumers Guide to Getting What You Paid For," and he's here with some tips.

Good to see you.

RON BURLEY, AUTHOR, "UNSCREWED": Good to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: I think everybody can relate. Everyone feels like they are getting had, taken advantage of in some way especially with the service industry these days. What's going on?

BURLEY: Well, it's almost impossible to overstate the problem. It turns out that every four seconds someone in America is being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous or uncaring company, corporation or creep. Seven million people every year are failing to get what they paid for.

WHITFIELD: Why? Is that because a lot of these companies figure, you know what? You're going to want this product anyway so it doesn't matter how we treat you? BURLEY: Well, that's a big part of it, but it's also a change in the business climate. Ten years ago, service was the watch word, the customer is always right. But as the economy ...

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's gone.

BURLEY: ...with the turn of the turn of the century, companies have had to find places to cut corners and one of those was in customer service. For any of us who have called and been caught in voicemail jail, we know that often we don't even end up talking with the company that we really want to. We end up talking with a contract customer service provider in India.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, your book focuses on five principles everybody needs to keep in mind when trying to get unscrewed. For one, you say you get what you pay for. Really?

BURLEY: Well, you need to demand to get what you paid for. And the way to do that is not to scream or yell or write a letter or threaten to take a company to court because they've got better attorneys and more money.

What you really need to do is to convince the company in the old squeaky wheel fashion but in a new way for the 21st century, is that it's going to cost them more to ignore you than to pay attention to you.

WHITFIELD: OK, and that's your number two principle, it will cost more to ignore you. And then go in with a plan. I guess when you want to make a complaint or when you want to say wait a minute, this is the service that I asked for, I'm not getting it, you need to have it all spelled out.

BURLEY: Well and that's what -- in "Unscrewed: The Consumer's Guide to Getting What You Paid For," I lay out a five-step plan for the average person to be able to deal with a small retailer, a large corporation or even the government.

And when you go in with that plan -- there are 16 chapters with 16 true stories of people have done this. When you go in with that plan, 90 percent of the time, you will get what you paid for, which is quality service or replacement product or your money back.

WHITFIELD: Ron Burly, and after it all, you want to ask yourself, is it really worth it?

BURLEY: Yes, that's the thing. We don't want to be spending a whole day chasing down a $10 loss to a cell phone company. It just isn't worth your time. You have to remember that you're free time is worth more than your work time.

WHITFIELD: OK. Ron, sorry, we're out of time. But the book is on the stores shelves now, "Unscrewed: "The Consumers Guide to Getting What You Paid For," so folks, we're not trying to shaft you here on this short interview. That's just all we have for at least Saturday afternoon. BURLEY: Thank you very much, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Ron, thanks so much.

BURLEY: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: A look at the top stories in just a moment. "IN THE MONEY" is coming up next, and here is a preview.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Thanks.

Coming up on "IN THE MONEY," hope floats. We'll look at whether a new oil find means we're out of the woods.

Plus, car trouble. See if the change in management is what Ford needs to get back in gear.

And rethinking the department store. Find out what a retail war horse might look like 10 years from now. All that and more after a quick check of the headlines.

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