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Senate Considers Subpoenas; Terrorist Confession?; Missing Boy Search; Flash Flood Survival; Deep Concern; Chlorine Leak; Gerri's Top Tips
Aired March 15, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM with us this morning and stay informed. Here's what's on the rundown.
The attorney general under fire. Were federal prosecutors fired for political gain? This hour, Congress considering subpoenas for the White House to answer that question.
COLLINS: Confessions of a serial terrorists. The Pentagon says Khalid Shaikh Mohammed admitting his 9/11 mastermind role.
HARRIS: Swift water rescue. Survival measured in inches and minutes. Keeping your cool and your head above water.
It's Thursday, March 15th. You are in the NEWSROOM.
And at the top this hour, eight federal prosecutors fired. Their former boss may be also facing unemployment this hour. The Senate Judiciary Committee takes up the case of Alberto Gonzales. Did the attorney general fire the prosecutors because of politics? Lawmakers want answers and are threatening White House subpoenas. And divisions are no longer along party lines. CNN correctional correspondent Dana Bash on Capitol Hill for us now.
Dana, good morning to you.
Are we expecting any real fireworks from this hearing?
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we're going to see in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Tony, is an attempt by the Democratic chairman, Patrick Leahy, to get authorization to subpoena officials at the White House, including the president's top political advisor, Karl Rove. Now what he is going to try to get again is just authorization to do it. Essentially to say that he wants to have it in his back pocket if Karl Rove and other current and former Bush officials refuse to come to Congress and talk to them about these fired federal prosecutors voluntarily.
It is unclear and perhaps unintended that these White House officials are actually going to come to Congress. Why? Because historically President Bush, and frankly other presidents, have been very reluctant to let their aides, aides who are not confirmed by the Senate, to come and talk to Congress. They oftentimes claim executive privilege.
But this time, Tony, Democrats and Republicans here on Capitol Hill, especially those who lead the Senate and House Judiciary Committee, are saying, you know what, this time it's not going to fly. We want some kind of discussion, testimony, under oath, whether it's a deposition or even public testimony from these White House officials on just what exactly happened with these firings.
HARRIS: OK. So, Dana, the question than becomes, how likely is Chairman Leahy to get this authorization, this authority to subpoena?
BASH: Very good question. This week, this morning, we think it's probably unlikely. Why? Not to get too much into the weeds of the process here, but any one senator on the committee can say, you know what, I want to hold this over for a week. It is expected, at least on the Democrat side, that a Republican is likely to do that. To say, let's just hold on and not go to far here. Let's wait to see what happens.
Because while this is happening, there are also negotiations going on with the Democrats and Republicans on these committees and the White House. The White House counsel, Fred Fielding, was here on Capitol Hill talking about the possibility of these White House officials coming to testify. He was given a deadline of Friday to give an answer. So they're also talking about that on this side.
HARRIS: Yes. And as we can see to the right of the screen there, the hearing just about to get underway there for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Dana Bash for us on Capitol Hill.
Dana, thank you.
BASH: Thank you.
COLLINS: Confessions of a serial terrorist. According to the Pentagon, the alleged 9/11 mastermind admits he was responsible for that attack and much more. According to transcripts, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed claims he was involved in dozens of terrorist plots. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr tracking this story for us this morning.
Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed appeared for the first time before a closed door military panel last week in Guantanamo Bay. Now we have at least an edited version of the transcript of what he said. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed saying that he was involved in the 9/11 attacks, in his words, "from a to z." But then he went on and claimed responsibility for either the planning or execution or financing of perhaps as many as 30 additional potential attacks.
Some of the ones he mentioned include the 1993 World Trade Center attack, the shoe bomber, Richard Reid, airline plot. That was a failed plot, of course. Potential assassination attempts against former President Clinton and the late Pope John Paul II. And even plans, at least plans, for attacks in California, Chicago, and New York.
But, Heidi, over the next several hours we expect another development in this story. One of the elements that was not released in the transcript just yet was Khalid Shaikh Mohammed's admission, which had been somewhat known, of his involvement in the killing of "The Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl several years ago. Now apparently his language before the hearing, before this military panel, was very graphic and very specific about the killing of Danny Pearl. So the Pentagon last night wanted, of course, to take the time to inform the Pearl family directly first of what Khalid Shaikh Mohammed had to say about Mr. Pearl's murder and they will -- now that they've informed the family, they tell us that they expect to put that language out to the public in the next couple of hours. We'll keep everyone posted, of course.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Wow. Barbara, how will that change things for -- and actually I should back up for a minute because we're not even sure at this point whether or not Muhammed will be tried for war crimes by a military commission.
STARR: Right. Heidi, it's a really complicated military process. But basically this hear that took place was to determine if technically Khalid Shaikh Mohammed would be classified as an enemy combatant.
COLLINS: Right.
STARR: Once that determination is made, a number of things then come into play. But the ultimate issue here is that now President Bush could possibly order him to stand trial for his alleged crimes.
Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Barbara Starr on top of this story for us from the Pentagon today.
Barbara, thank you.
HARRIS: New developments this morning in the case of a missing six-year-old in south Georgia. While searchers return to the woods this morning, Glynn County police say they found evidence in a mobile home owned by some of the four suspects. Nikki Preede of affiliate WJXT joins us now from the scene near Brunswick, Georgia.
And, Nikki, good morning to you.
What do we know about this new evidence?
NIKKI PREEDE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that about 3:30 yesterday afternoon that police found three shovels. And they actually found those shovels several miles away from where Christopher Barrios, the six-year-old that's missing, was actually last seen last Thursday. However, police say that this home actually belongs to one of the suspects that they do have in custody.
They recovered these shovels around 3:30 yesterday. It's at that point, police say, that they obtained a warrant for another home. The home where these suspects are currently living. It's a mobile home less than a half a mile from where Christopher was last seen.
They executed that warrant last night. They found a couple more pieces of evidence. Officer will not tell us exactly what they found in that mobile home, only that it was things they felt that they overlooked when they were first in the home last Friday.
So now they have quite a bit of evidence in place. How it will pan out in this case, we're not really sure at this time. But we do know that those shovels, obviously, key pieces of evidence.
Tony.
HARRIS: Nikki, a couple of questions. Do we have a confession in this case yet?
PREEDE: No, we do not have a confession in this case yet as such. I mean, the police have not said as much as that, that anyone's come out and said, yes, you know, I have caused harm to this child. However, what we do hear, two of the suspects that are currently in jail have led police, according to officers, have led them to an area. It's a pond and also a wooded area where they claim that Christopher's body is located.
But over the past 48 hours, officers have taken these suspects out of jail, taken them to this area, to several areas in fact, where they claim that Christopher's body will be found. And so far they have found nothing. And we're talking about 100 officers covering a search area here. So police are still listening to what these suspects have to say and they are back in this area again focusing more on a pond.
HARRIS: Are police indicating to you that they believe that these suspects are leading them on a wild goose chase at this point?
PREEDE: Well, you know, the suspects, three of them, there are four in custody right now. Three of them are charged with giving police false information. And the way this has played out over the last four days since these suspects have been in custody, it's at this point and this morning that the police chief here in Glynn County is telling us that it's not so much that he thinks that they are lying to him.
It's more like this. He thinks that these two individuals that are claiming that they know where Christopher's body is located are taking them to certain areas where they may believe Christopher is. But the problem is, and this comes from the police chief, he says that all of these wooded areas look alike. And say if someone was out there at night, they may not be able to find that site the next morning.
And again, that is a quote from the chief, certainly kind of disheartening in this case. But a lot of folks are still holding out hope that Christopher may still be alive.
HARRIS: The other point is, this is their neighborhood.
Nikki Preede for us.
Nikki, appreciate it. Thank you.
COLLINS: Flash floods. A big danger during storms, of course, and potentially deadly if help doesn't arrive fast. That's where swift river rescue teams come in. Here's a first-hand look now at their life or death missions from our Chris Lawrence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): A man and his wife stranded in central Texas as flood waters rush over their car. A firefighter reaches out and comes so close to saving them. We stop the picture here because they lose their grip. The couple touched their rescuer but couldn't hold on. Rescuers were able to save the wife, but her 80-year-old husband was killed. His body swept downstream by raging flood waters.
SGT. HARRY SMITH, MULTNOMAH COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: That's heartbreaking to watch because, you know, I just -- you know, I feel for the -- you know, the guy and his family but I also feel for that rescuer.
LAWRENCE: Sergeant Harry Smith is dive team leader in Multnomah County, Oregon. He knows how quickly things can fall apart in a flood.
SMITH: They're not safe until they're out of the water.
LAWRENCE: Like this incident in Los Angeles. A firefighter was rescuing a mother and her baby when their raft flipped over, tossing all three back into the (INAUDIBLE) water. It forced another crew to come save them.
Just last summer, a boy in New Mexico was nearly overwhelmed by a flash flood. He could barely keep his head above water as rescue teams tried to pull him out.
Dive teams practice so they can handle these problems. We followed Sergeant Smith through a simulated rescue in Portland.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help me, help me, I'm being swept away.
LAWRENCE: In real life, people aren't so calm. Rescuers have been kicked and punched, their respirators ripped out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you all right, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I am now.
LT. JASON GATES, MULTNOMAH COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: If you aren't being swept down by the current, stay put. Stay where you're at. Don't try to fight against it. Don't try to rescue yourself. Wait for rescue.
LAWRENCE: If somebody is caught in a situation like that, why can't they just ride out the current?
SMITH: Unless you are an expertly-trained swift water swimmer, you're going to be hard pressed to come out of that in one piece.
LAWRENCE: Smith says even the professionals need a helmet, vest and padding. And no one's safe until everyone's out of the water.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Portland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And as we bring in our Chad Myers.
Chad, those flash flooding situation are so dangerous. At the moment, you realize that you could be in danger, boy, it might be too late to really do anything to help yourself.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Bunches of bananas, millions of dollars. And, oh, yes, the war on terror. Confused? We'll tell you all about it in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Claims of sexual abuse in juvenile prisons. State officials accused of knowing about it and doing nothing. The story in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Shaky or secure? Some Americans changing their feelings about the economy. Results of a new CNN poll in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Speeding on this stretch of highway? There's no limit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now we're doing 230 kilometers an hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: About 140, 150 miles per hour? But this fun on the Autobahn may soon be curved. The story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: I want to just give you a quick live shot here of the Senate Judiciary Committee considering some subpoenas in all of this case that is going on with the attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, and the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys. Wondering if they might be able to get those subpoenas for Karl Rove and Harriet Miers and try to learn more about the involvement and the possible planning for those eight dismissals. Patrick Leahy there. We will continue to follow this and bring you anything if it should develop.
HARRIS: Big rig, big problems in southern California. It happened in West Covina. This truck slammed into the center divider of the San Bernardino Freeway this morning. Fuel was spilled, closing all but one lane in both directions. No word on when the freeway will be up to speed again. The driver surfed minor injuries.
COLLINS: Missing sub, missing sailors. That was the case for a few tense hours before the real picture surfaced. Details on deep concerns now from CNN's Jamie McIntyre.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The USS San Juan is a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine. Its mission, to "run silent, run deep." But that silence became a source of deep concern at the highest levels when a series of events seemed to indicate the submarine was in trouble in seas as deep as 1,000 feet, just a few hundred miles off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida.
The submarine, along with two others, was part of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise strike group, which was conducting pre- deployment exercises. After 7:00 p.m., a surface ship spotted what appeared to be a red submarine distress flare floating in the water. The two other submarines were quickly located, either because they were near the surface or had checked in. But there's no way to contact a submerged submarine. And when after 9:00 the San Juan missed a scheduled check-in, a full-scale search was launched.
By 3:30 a.m., fearing the worst, a sub sunk message was sent alerting the Pentagon and the White House a submarine was probably lost at sea. And the Navy began the process of notifying families of the 110 sailors on board. But at 5:30 a.m., the San Juan checked in at what it thought was its scheduled check-in time. By then, the Navy had already put out a worldwide alert to call for international rescue teams in case there had been an accident.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: All right. Let's get an update on that hazardous material situation in Frederick, Maryland. Fredricka Whitfield standing by in the newsroom for us.
Fred, good morning.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Tony.
Well, this is a chlorine spill taking place near a water treatment facility and Frederick, Maryland. And while they still haven't figured out exactly how this spill occurred, officials are now urging people who live in a half mile radius of this plant, which is on Gas House Pike and Plant Road there in Frederick, Maryland, to keep their doors and their windows shut. There are no evacuations that have been put into place.
A couple of roads near the plant have been closed, presumably so that hazmat officials can have access to the spill and so that they can have some sort of containment of the area. But no evacuations have been ordered. Instead, people who live in a half mile radius of the plant, the Frederick Waste Water Treatment Plant, are asked to keep their doors closed, their windows closed as well.
HARRIS: OK, Fred, appreciate it. Thank you.
COLLINS: Coming up next, what's it like to live in a war zone? What do you do on a Friday night? What do your parents think of you living there in Iraq for four years? Don't miss CNN's Arwa Damon coming up next here in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And let's check in with personal finance editor Gerri Willis.
Gerri, will you help us, if we're homeowners, sort of get through this tricky mine field of difficult financial news in the last couple of weeks?
WILLIS: You bet. You know, everybody's talking about the mortgage meltdown playing out on Wall Street. We'll tell you what you need to know if you plan on buying or selling a house this spring.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Checking the numbers for you now at 10:25 Eastern Time. Dow Jones Industrial average up about 20. Resting there, as you see, 12,153. We know the Nasdaq's up about three. S&P 500 up about three as well. So it's good news to have those plus signs after what happened a couple days ago and all of this sub-prime mortgage crisis. We'll talk more about that as the show continues.
HARRIS: Let's talk about it now. Spring, when a young man's fancy turns to finance? Huh? For home buyer, it's the season for shopping for a mortgage. Here with some tips for you.
Gerri, what is this?
WILLIS: Young men and young women. Both of them.
HARRIS: There you go. You know, come on here.
All right, Gerri, great to see you.
Let me ask you something. How have the problems in the sub-prime mortgage area sort of changed the dynamic, changed the landscape in the mortgage business?
WILLIS: It's a whole new world this spring. You know, this is going to be usually the biggest time of year for buying and selling, but a number of sub-prime mortgage lenders are in trouble. As a result, lending standards are tightening. If you have less than enviable credit, it's going to be harder to qualify for a mortgage. You may be paying higher rates on your loan and you may have to put more money down.
Look, even if you have decent credit or even good credit this spring, you may face paying interest rates in terms that you didn't think you'd have to. That's because lenders are being more cautious with all borrowers. But if you're new to this sub-prime, that just means that you don't have as good a credit as other people going out and getting mortgage loans.
HARRIS: What are we talking about, a FICO score of what, over 700 you're probably in prime, somewhere below, in the 600, you may be a little dicey here?
WILLIS: Exactly. Because, you know, because lending standards are going to be more strict, you've got to know your credit history before you even call a mortgage lender. Before this mortgage meltdown, some lenders may have considered you risky if your credit score was below 620. Some of them handing out loans at 600. But now they're going to require a higher credit score of 630, 650. You've got to go out and prove your credit score as much as you can before you apply for that mortgage.
HARRIS: Comparison shop?
WILLIS: Yes. Don't wait until the last minute to search your mortgage options. Get offers from at least three lenders so you can compare terms. Start out by checking with major banks and lenders you already know. And then investigate the recommendations of friends and family.
HARRIS: Is this a good opportunity to really negotiate, to barter, to go back and forth on price?
WILLIS: Well, you know, I've been talking about the bad news, that the mortgage market is having its problems. But if you're buying this spring, you have the power. Look, you can negotiate your home price because the housing market is weak. Sellers in many markets are desperate to sell. Buyers are few and far between in many markets.
Have your real estate agent come up with a price per square foot by evaluating the houses on the market in the area you want to buy. Now those houses should be similar to the one you're looking to buy in size, number of bedrooms and baths, other major features. This gives you a rule of thumb so you know what you should be paying for your house.
HARRIS: Yes, that really works out great if you're a first-time buyer, first time in the market. If you've got to sell your home first before you move to another one, you could be in a little bit of a catch 22 here.
WILLIS: Tough. It's going to be tough. You're going to have to do the best job possible to make your house look as attractive as possible and then it's all about pricing it right. And in this market, some people are going to have to lower their expectations.
Tony.
HARRIS: So, Gerri, talk to us about the big "Open House" show coming up this weekend.
WILLIS: 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning, join us. We're going to break down this sub-prime lending mess, tell you how it affects your wallet. And we'll tell you the best ways to avoid a tax audit. Something everybody wants to do. And keeping your home safe. How to avoid a break-in.
HARRIS: Outstanding. CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis with us this morning.
Gerri, great to see you. Have a great day.
WILLIS: Thank you, Tony.
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: The nation's top prosecutor and the latest trial for Alberto Gonzales. Should he keep his job as attorney general? The drama moves to Capitol Hill. This morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee is taking up the matter. Were eight U.S. attorneys fired because of partisan politics? Democrats could subpoena two top Bush aides, chief political strategist Karl Rove and former White House counsel Harriet Miers. This unlikely according to our correspondent, Dana Bash. However, a Republican has joined the Democrats now calling for Gonzales ouster. Senator John Sununu says President Bush should fire his long-time him.
HARRIS: New developments this morning in the search for a missing boy in Georgia. CNN affiliate WJXT reporting police have found evidence in a mobile home where some of the suspects lived. Police are not saying what that evidence is. But yesterday they found three shovels. Police have been searching a field where they say suspects told them the boy was buried. So far they found nothing. Six-year-old Christopher Barrios Jr. reported missing a week ago today. The four people in custody include a convicted sex offender, his parents and a friend.
HEIDI COLLIINS, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: The question in New York this morning, why did it happen? Four people dead in a shooting rampage. No motive known. Two volunteer police officers among those killed. Police say it began when a heavily-armed man walked into a Greenwich Village pizzeria last night. He shot an employee 15 times in the back and then ran, shooting two unarmed auxiliary officers who were chasing him before he was shot dead by police. Auxiliary officers are civilian volunteers who wear uniforms but do not carry weapons. One of the officers killed, Eugene Marshalik was a student at nearby New York University. The others Nicholas Todd Pekearo was a writer with a book due out soon.
HARRIS: A police officer doing her duty but this driver doesn't have time, it seems, to hang around. Watch this. We will pick up this story down the road, so to speak, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: From the trenches with U.S. troops in Iraq to the CNN NEWSROOM. Don't miss CNN's Arwa Damon coming up live with life in the war zone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's take you to Grady Memorial Hospital here in Atlanta. What a picture this is. This is Coach James Grandy, head coach of the Bluffton University baseball team. As you know, a number of members, five members of that baseball team were killed more than two weeks ago in that horrible bus crash right here in Atlanta. A bus crashed that killed seven in all including the driver and his wife. And take a look at this picture, the coach of that baseball team, Coach James Grandy being released this morning from Grady Memorial Hospital. I wish we had a microphone. I wish we could bring you his comments. OK. Let's listen in. I understand we have audio.
JAMES GRANDY, BLUFFTON U. BASEBALL COACH: Heartbroken for the players we lost and everything, but I'm also heartbroken they haven't been able to be there with the players for the past couple of weeks. But I'm excited. They'll be there to see me when I get home today.
QUESTION: Are you in communication with them?
GRANDY: Several of them, yeah. Maybe one or two of them a day will call and there will be four or five of them together.
QUESTION: How are they all doing?
GRANDY: As good as they could do. And I knew they would be because they're strong kids and they come from good families. And they know that there's a greater reason for all this to happen. And that we can handle it together.
QUESTION: We were hearing about players who were not as seriously hurt helping, comforting the players who were. Does that surprise you that you have players that in a crisis step forward and do amazingly super human things.
GRANDY: No, not at all. Our players, we're a great team. We do everything together. We look out for each other and they put each others' needs first.
QUESTION: You're their leader and they're going to look up to you obviously when you get back. What do you say to these guys?
GRANDY: I think I say to them we've got to try to play baseball and get things back to as normal as possible and then honor the memories of the guys that have passed away. But also try to honor their futures, that have been taken away from them suddenly, so that they know they didn't pass in vain and that their memories will always be with us.
QUESTION: What do you remember of the accident? GRANDY: Nothing. I remember turning the DVD player off and laying down to go to sleep. And the next thing I know I'm sitting on the median trying to figure out how we fell.
QUESTION: Coach, Saturday after the crash we talked to some of the players and they were talking about how encouraging it was to know that you were still holding on, still doing well and in the days afterwards they talked about how much inspiration they got just from seeing you and getting some encouraging words. Tell us about those conversations that you had with the players after the crash.
GRANDY: I don't remember a lot. From like the day of the crash until maybe last Thursday except for when the players would come visit. I just asked them if they were OK and, you know, to me, that's what's most important. They saw me. Obviously I wasn't in good shape. But I wanted to know how they were and knowing that they were OK and going to make it was -- strengthened me.
QUESTION: Do you remember the kind of things they said to you to keep you encouraged?
GRANDY: They told me they loved me and that they wanted me to get better. They didn't surprise me. I mean, we have good relationships with all of them. So -- but just -- they just told me that we're really not as bad off as we could be and that's the truth. We lost five players' lives. We could have lost all of our lives. And you know, we're very lucky that we are still.
QUESTION: When are you planning to get back out on the field?
GRANDY: I can't estimate that right now.
QUESTION: Do you want to get back out there right away?
GRANDY: As soon as I can, as soon as possible.
QUESTION: Will there be a future for Bluffton baseball?
GRANDY: oh, yeah. We'll play again this year for sure, I just don't know when.
QUESTION: Tell us a little bit about your anxiousness to get there and what that will be like to step on that field again the first time.
GRANDY: It will be exciting because we really haven't been on a field because it's - the weather's been so bad. But they were out practicing last two days. And for me, I just want to see all the guys together and working like they're supposed to be.
QUESTION: Tell us how your leg feels, how your foot feels. We obviously see a lot of damage. You've come a long way. Describe for us how you feel physically.
GRANDY: Oh, this looks worse than it feels. It's amazing. You look at it, it looks medieval. But it really doesn't hurt that bad. My face probably hurts the most, my face and my jaw. But I feel pretty good. I really do. I've gotten -- since like last Thursday, like I said, I don't remember much until Thursday. Since then, each day I've gotten better, I've been able to get a little bit more rest. The nurses and the aides inside have been just phenomenal taking care of me and making sure I'm comfortable and my family as well.
QUESTION: Can you describe your injuries? What exactly --
GRANDY: I'll just let the doctors do that.
QUESTION: Coach, what has gotten you through this? It's been demanding physically and emotionally.
GRANDY: I would probably say faith and my team and my family. I don't know in any order but I know that God brings us to situations that only we can handle. And so obviously he thought that our team can handle this. And sometimes I think that's a bad thing, but my family has been huge. My wife, Jessica, has been with me every minute of the day and pictures of my daughter and my dog, Howie. Just knowing that there's been so many people in the Atlanta area and even the country that I don't even know that have sent letters and cards and T-shirts and hats and encouragement and just to know that there are so many people out there that don't know me but they care that I'm OK. And that's probably been the biggest thing.
QUESTION: You've already got a team. Does this make them even more of a team?
GRANDY: I suppose if you want to say that. But we were pretty close to begin with. In some way, we'll make this -- we'll have to find a way to turn this into a positive. It's only going to make us better for the future, years to come.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) Nightmares, things like that?
GRANDY: I don't know. I was never really a good sleeper anyway, but I've been a little anxious.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) Kyle King one of your players said recently he wondered why he survived (INAUDIBLE).
GRANDY: You know, I wonder why I survived, too. I mean, I was in the front seat, right behind the bus drivers. I don't know. God has a reason. And there's a reason why we all -- those of us that survived, there's a reason. There's a reason for those that didn't survive as well. We'll never know that answer. We'll never know until we ourselves pass away.
QUESTION: Will (INAUDIBLE) it be good for you as a team to get back out there on the field and start playing again?
GRANDY: It's going to be great. It's going to be great. For me just to be with the guys. We worked so hard on just enjoying our time together and making sure that, you know, baseball is important and we want to get better at baseball, but -- and as far as college goes, it's just a part of what they do. They go to class. They got to have a good social life. So when we get together as a team that first time, it will be a good time. We'll joke. We'll laugh and probably cry.
QUESTION: Have you been getting a lot of calls from the players?
GRANDY: Yeah.
QUESTION: How hard has it been knowing in Bluffton the memorial service and how the team has come together and you're here in Atlanta and not part of that team, the grieving process?
GRANDY: It's been really hard, really hard. As their coach I want to be there for them and show them that I'm OK and that I want to help them through the process. That's probably been the hardest part, knowing that I haven't been able to really talk to the families of the players that passed away or be at the memorial services to help with the team. That's the hardest part for me.
QUESTION: How has this been on your wife, the fact that (INAUDIBLE) the man she loves is lying there. Is she around? (INAUDIBLE)
GRANDY: She's around. I don't know if she'll talk or not. She's tough. She's a tough young lady. She doesn't really like hospitals to begin with, but she has been fabulous, just fabulous for me.
QUESTION: You have a very upbeat attitude about this. I imagine it's not always that way.
GRANDY: I don't know probably not. I can't lie to you. I've cried. I've cried every day at most. And it's -- it's hard. I wouldn't wish it upon anybody else, I know that.
QUESTION: Now you just try to take this and make something --
GRANDY : Yeah, we've got to make something great out of it. That's the thing we've got to do, find a way to honor the passing of the players and reward their futures. They really don't have any. We've got to show them that -- they still are a part of our program in a lot of ways.
QUESTION: What's the first thing you want to do when you get home?
GRANDY: I want to see my daughter. I want to pet my dog. That will be good enough for right now.
QUESTION: When you finally get that jaw unwired, for people who have never had their jaw wired, have you been eating, what do you want to eat?
GRANDY: Well, I'm a big guy. I like to eat. I've been eating nine protein shakes a day, some beef broth. I've kind of avoided that since the first day. It's not very fun, but it is what it is.
QUESTION: When you get those wires cut and chow down on, what is it going to be?
GRANDY: Doctor (INAUDIBLE) tell me it has to be mashed potatoes and cottage cheese because I still won't be able to open my mouth very far. So (INAUDIBLE) mashed potatoes and then...
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)
GRANDY: Yes ma'am.
QUESTION: Have you lost -- despite the good nutrition have you lost a lot of weight?
GRANDY: I don't know. I haven't weighed myself. I'm sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's going to be wired for one more month. He basically broke all the bones in his face. Dr. Mullins (ph) and I put them all back together.
QUESTION: Excuse me. I think we need to raise this for one second. I'm sorry. We want to hear what you're saying.
QUESTION: Baseball is entertaining. Baseball is your life. For most of us, it's a pleasure. What you went through is life and death. Put into perspective in terms of the players involved in playing the game and what they got -- what happens now and put it in perspective that the importance in life. You've lived through an experience that seven people did not. What's your perspective on life now as opposed to what it was before the accident?
GRANDY: Well, you always appreciate and never take anything for granted. I guess that's probably just been hit harder to me because my first -- just to give you an example. My first drink of water was a week after the accident. It was literally a drop of water through this mess I have in my mouth. That was the best drop of water I've ever had in my life. And I think, you know, we talk with our players about enjoying the game, you know. Some games are bigger than others and mean more as far as (INAUDIBLE) standings and everything else, but if they don't have any fun, then why are they doing it. And I think, you know, as far as life and death goes, baseball isn't life or death but it's just a part of our life. So we have to honor it and when you're out there on the field, that's what it's about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good luck. Thank you.
HARRIS: I can't imagine what this scene must be like, what it means to the folks at Bluffton University in Ohio, to see their baseball coach James Grandy, being released from Grady Memorial Hospital this morning after some serious, serious injuries. He, of course, was involved in that horrific bus accident here in Atlanta on March 2nd, broke all bones in his face, obviously all kinds of jaw injuries there and an injury to his right leg. I think you saw it just a moment ago. And it's in some sort of a brace that he described as being medieval. That crash injured 35 who were aboard that bus.
What inspirational words. We will play baseball again. We are going to try to play baseball. We are going to play again this year. As we take a look at some of the pictures you know about the accident on March 2nd, but as we reported yesterday, all kinds of repairs going on right now. New improved, bigger signs to the HOV lanes, the high occupancy vehicle lanes, to those left exit ramps. It was a left exit ramp that was involved in this accident. But great words of inspiration from the coach this morning, coach James Grandy, as he's being released from Grady Memorial Hospital after he suffered serious injuries in that crash that killed five members of his team, the driver and the driver's wife of that bus, the bus accident on March 2nd. We will continue to follow developments in this story and maybe get that wonderful reunion when it happens in Ohio at some point soon here. We will have it of course for you here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Coming up next, what do you do on a Friday night? What's it like to go to work every day? What do your parents think of you living in a war zone for four years as a young American woman? Don't miss CNN's Arwa Damon coming up live with life in Iraq.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: As we've been telling you, the Senate Judiciary Committee has been meeting this morning as the chairman Patrick Leahy has sought to get authorization from the committee to subpoena White House officials for testimony on the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. Now, we understand just moments ago news into CNN that the chairman has in fact been given that authorization, that authorization to issue subpoenas. So perhaps we will see former White House counsel Harriet Miers and even Karl Rove brought before the Senate Judiciary Committee to answer questions. That news just in to CNN, that the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Patrick Leahy has been given the authorization to issue subpoenas to White House personnel to answer questions about the firing of eight U.S. Federal prosecutors. We will continue to follow this story and bring you the latest developments as we get them here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Suicide, car bombings in Baghdad. These pictures just in to CNN now shows smoke rising over the center of the city. Police say three people were killed in one attack near a checkpoint. Just a half hour later two others were killed in a blast in an Iraqi army checkpoint in western Baghdad. Also, the U.S. military reporting five more U.S. troops killed in Iraq in separate instances in Diyala (ph) and Anbar provinces. Four of the dead were soldiers, the fifth a Marine.
You know her from covering the front lines of the Iraq war. CNN's Arwa Damon with a difficult and dangerous job of bringing you the news from Baghdad and beyond. Now she is with us live right here in the NEWSROOM. Nice to see you on U.S. soil. Thanks for being here.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's good to be back. Thanks.
COLLINS: I think people have a lot of questions for those of you who do the job of war correspondent about everyday life. We hear very little about what you might do on a Friday night, what you do to entertain yourselves and how you feel safe. Tell me about it.
DAMON: In terms of Friday night or not, there really is no such thing as a concept of a Friday night. The war doesn't stop for the weekend. In fact, it doesn't stop for anything. Friday ends up being a night just like any other. The way the security situation is right now in Iraq, there is nothing really to do for fun. There was a time I remember back in 2003 before the war, even right after, where you could go to restaurants. You could go and eat fish next to the river and actually have a semblance of a normal life. We don't have that now.
COLLINS: How long ago was that?
DAMON: That was about 2003, 2004 even some parts of it. Iraq today, Baghdad today, nobody can really go out after dark. Iraqis even they spend all day at home trying to keep themselves safe from the violence. And they, too, don't even have the opportunity to go out at night, to go out to restaurants. Many of them are talking to me telling me about a time when Baghdad had bars and clubs and if you wanted to, you could do that. It was very normal, especially when you compare it to what they're dealing with right now.
COLLINS: Do you have a lot of Iraqi friends?
DAMON: I used to have more. A lot of them have left the country. A lot of them -- it's just very difficult to try to keep up I guess what you would call a normal friendship. You can't really call someone up and say, hey, come on over, let's grab a cup of coffee. It doesn't really work like that. Everything is a process. Everything is a measure of risk versus reward. And even Iraqis find it very difficult to get together amongst themselves. You can't go to the corner coffee shop and hang out with your friends anymore. They haven't been able to do that for years.
COLLINS: So when you come back here, you know, we've told people before you've been there for four years. You learned Arabic at birth. Your mother is Syrian.
DAMON: Yes.
COLLINS: What is it like when you come here and you run out for that cup of coffee or you run to a restaurant and you're not constantly having to look behind you or front of you or both sides.
DAMON: It's very surreal. It takes a few days to get used to it where you stop checking the vehicles to see if perhaps maybe they're lower than they should be because they're packed with explosives. You're not checking piles of trash, not that you really see trash on the streets all that often. But you're not checking for wires, you're not scanning the rooftops. But at the same time knowing that I can leave and having the ability to leave also brings a certain measure of guilt because I know that I have that opportunity, but so many of the people that I interact with every day, the people whose story we cover, the Iraqis and the U.S. soldiers don't have the option of leaving. And that at times does bring with it a measure of guilt because you know, even though I might be leaving, the violence is still going on, that body count is still just rising.
COLLINS: We've been doing quite a bit here on this show about women's history month. And you as a female over there in Iraq, do you have a good concept or a good understanding of what life is like for Iraqi women and what their feelings are about this war and about democracy?
DAMON: Well, this is what's interesting. Life, in fact, for most Iraqi women is actually becoming more conservative. They're more restricted today than they were under Saddam Hussein. Under Saddam Hussein Iraq was a fairly secular society. If you wanted to wear a headscarf, you wore a headscarf. If you didn't, you didn't. Women could drive. Today, more and more women are covering up. To go out in western clothing.
COLLINS: But they weren't voting. They had nothing before the fall of -- excuse me, after the fall of Saddam Hussein, yes?
DAMON: And the notion of voting and democracy, that did not really exist. But when you talk to a lot of people, they will say look at the price that we have been paying right now for this democracy. And they call it a so-called democracy for the most part. And it has been an incredibly unbelievable heavy price. These images that we're looking at right now, those are from 2004, I think 2005 even. Today a lot of those women that you see without a headscarf on would not be able to go into the streets dressed like that. They wouldn't feel safe going to the streets dressed like that. Stores that carry western clothing for women are also a target. Many of them say that they can't go to the market on their own. They have to take a male relative with them. And in that sense, you know, they might be able to vote. They might be able hypothetically speaking to speak, but can they really in the streets voice their opinions in the why that Iraq exists today. They'll tell you no.
COLLINS: I imagine your parents must worry about you like crazy.
DAMON: They do. They do. My mother, I have to call her pretty much every day. If I don't call her she'll call the bureau and, you know, let out her frustration at me on whoever it is who picks up the phone.
COLLINS: Where's Arwa?
DAMON: Exactly. Why aren't you calling me back? Why aren't you calling me every day? My father is gray. Both of my parents are incredibly supportive but as you can imagine, very, very worried.
COLLINS: Quickly before we let you go, just your thoughts on the latest, the new security plan for Iraq. I know that you've been embedded before. We talked to you as you were able to come up and changes that you have seen since this new plan was put in place.
DAMON: There have been, you know, there's been a noticeable decrease in the number of bodies that are turning up in Baghdad. But it really is too soon to tell how it is all going to play out. If there's one thing we have learned in Iraq over the last four years, that the only thing predictable about Iraq is the fact that it is entirely unpredictable. The insurgency has a say in when, where and how to attack. There are many people that now believe they are simply waiting to see how the plan folds out on the streets of Baghdad and then they will launch their own counter attack.
COLLINS: CNN's Arwa Damon here next to us instead of in Iraq today. We appreciate it Arwa.
DAMON: Thank you.
COLLINS: Thanks a lot.
HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM this morning, confessions of a serial terrorist. The Pentagon says the suspected 9/11 mastermind admits he was behind the attacks and that's not all, a laundry list of terror in the NEWSROOM.
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