Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Wildfires Strike Both Coasts; Virginia Tech Holds Commencement Ceremonies; President Bush Honors Military Spouses; Iraq Spending Bill Vote; Small Plane Crashes in Sharonville, Ohio; Life Lessons
Aired May 11, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ...times here in the East Room of the White House that the Joint Chiefs have come to pay tribute. I really can't. We have met before. We meet quite often, as a matter of fact, but never in a setting where we're paying tribute to people such as yourself.
Before I begin with our military leadership, I do want to thank Pete Geren, acting secretary of the Army, hopefully, permanent secretary of the Army, as soon as the Senate moves his nomination.
Pete, thank you for coming.
But, at any rate, I do want to introduce General Pete Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife, Lynne, Admiral Mike Mullen, chief of naval operations, and his wife, Deborah, General Jim Conway, commandant of the United States Marine Corps, and his wife, Annette, General George Casey, chief of staff of the United States Army, and his wife, Sheila.
We appreciate you all coming.
I'm also proud that Mary Jo Meyers, the wife of General Richard Meyers, retired, United States Air Force, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, is with us.
And I appreciate Suzy Nicholson -- Suzanne Nicholson, wife of Secretary Jim Nicholson, who is the secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Thank you all for joining us. You honor us with your presence.
(APPLAUSE)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, very simply, the president honoring military spouses, those who serve our country.
Back in 2002, the president made note of that in his address to the union -- State of the Union address, saying that we should honor those who -- who -- the spouses of those who go off and fight for the country, because they suffer most, doubly, having to stay at home and raise kids, and then not being able to be with their spouse.
We are going to continue to monitor this ceremony. It's proclamation day at the White House. We're going to follow it right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And we want to take you live now to Virginia Tech University, a pretty incredible moment to watch right here. And we are going to take it live throughout the next hour, as you may remember that massacre that killed those students there on that campus.
Well, today, graduation ceremonies are taking place. And one of the most special moments is that those who lost their lives will all receive honorary degrees. Families are there of those students. We spoke with the student council -- the student body president earlier today, and he said that, actually, the mood has been extremely strong.
Everybody's spirit has been very positive. You can see the smiles. You can see everybody.
Don, you remember when we graduated college. That was...
LEMON: I can't remember back that far.
PHILLIPS: Oh, come on.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: But, you know, you were waving to everybody in the crowd, and you had your messages on the top of your caps.
And that is what you're seeing at Virginia Tech, a totally different feel from just a few weeks ago. And now, when it begins, we will take it live, and just give you a little piece of that, I guess you could say, a switch in spirit since that massacre that happened there at that university campus.
LEMON: It's a memorial, sort of a commemoration, in itself.
And, Kyra, you were watching -- the whole world was watching -- in Baghdad.
PHILLIPS: Sure. I was watching from Baghdad.
LEMON: And we were watching here.
PHILLIPS: You were here in the United States.
I mean, this is quite a different feel. I mean, this looks like any ordinary graduation ceremony.
LEMON: Yes.
PHILLIPS: But it's not. There's a lot more involved here today, specifically honoring those students that died. They will all receive a degree today.
LEMON: Absolutely.
We're going to move on now, because we have lots of news to cover here today, including this story.
We're talking about the fires from the East Coast to the West Coast. The U.S. is burning, burning at its edges, from swampy northern Florida, to the islands off Southern California. The weather is dry. It's warm. It is windy.
And, of course, that is spelling trouble for the firefighters trying to get those blazes under control, bigger troubles for hundreds of families fleeing, and fearing their homes may go up in flames.
And we have live crews stationed as close as possible, as close as they -- possible, so that they can remain safe in all of this.
Let's head straight now to Catalina Island, 30 miles off the Southern California coast. About 4,000 acres have gone up there. It is -- they're up in smoke. And all this has happened since yesterday.
CNN's Ted Rowlands is there for us -- Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, the winds have picked up here in the last few minutes. And so has the activity in the air.
Firefighters in helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft are battling this blaze head on. And they had a real window, and they still have a window, of opportunity, because winds are much lower than they were yesterday, when they were in excess of 20 miles an hour. And the humidity is up. So, the net result is that the fire has laid down, and they are exploiting that opportunity to attack it by air and by land.
Last night, it was a much different scene here in Catalina, where the flames were literally coming down the hillside towards the city of Avalon. People were leaving their homes, grabbing what they could, gathering their pets, families just standing on the beach, looking up at their homes.
There are about 3,000 permanent residents here in Avalon. And, on the weekends, it swells to about 10,000. Most of the tourists left overnight. A ferry service ran constantly to get over 3,000 people off the island. Those people wanted to leave. Residents wanted to stay. The local hotels let them stay for free. A lot of them just hung down here and watched and hoped.
And, luckily, Mother Nature cooperated, stopping the fire just before the homes, just before the city. And, now, because the U.S. military has helped out with hovercrafts, actually bringing large equipment from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and firefighters, in excess of 300 overnight, they're in a great position to fight this. And that is exactly what they're doing.
And that's exactly what they will do for the rest of the day. Conditions are still dry. The wind has picked up, less than 10 percent contained, a lot of work to go here but, for now, structures not considered in danger. That may change, of course, depending on Mother Nature -- Don. LEMON: CNN's Ted Rowlands, on top of it for us, thank you.
PHILLIPS: Visibility nil -- thick smoke is covering northern Florida like a (INAUDIBLE) blanket today.
An enormous brushfire is spreading south from Georgia and threatening everything in its way.
CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is in Lake City, Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Firefighters are describing conditions here as the worst they have ever seen. The fire has doubled in size in the last 24 hours. The winds have been picking up this afternoon. The humidity has been dropping, as the temperature has been rising.
More than 600 families have been evacuated from their homes. The town of Taylor has been evacuated as well. All of those people live to the north of Interstate 10, where the fire still remains.
However, it's inching closer and spreading towards the south and to the west. And they're concerned that, if it does reach the interstate, it could jump it and come right here into the town of Lake City. Lake City residents are already being advised to stay inside because the air quality is so poor. You can see the visibility all around me is extremely limited.
And that poor visibility has also prevented any aerial assaults on this fire today. No helicopters and no air tankers have been able to get up to help provide any relief.
Now, firefighters have all over the state are here in -- helping to fight with this effort. In fact, the street behind me, just a few hours ago, was filled with more than 50 tanker trucks ready to go out and help. You can see, they have all pulled out to help relieve the crews there. But, behind me, there are still some bulldozers. And these may need to be sent out to help stop and set some of the fire lines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, that's our Jacqui Jeras reporting.
Thank you, Jacqui, for that.
We move on now to a terror plot. It's in the advanced stages against U.S. targets in Germany -- that report today from a senior U.S. official.
And CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has all the details for us.
Jeanne, what do you know? JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, one senior federal official characterized the threat information as very real. Other sources call it credible.
But, according to officials, it has been evolving for several months. Sources say the intelligence shows it involved attacks by what are being called Islamic extremists on U.S. military and diplomatic facilities in Germany. But intelligence officials say it was not specific as to target or timing.
The threat information was taken seriously enough that, three weeks ago, the State Department announced an increase in security at U.S. diplomatic and consulate facilities in Germany. And, although U.S. forces in Germany have engaged in force protection exercises as a result of this information, the force protection level at U.S. military facilities has not been increased, an indication that no threat is imminent.
The Department of Homeland Security emphasizes that there is no credible intelligence to suggest any imminent threat to the homeland. So, officials are taking all this information seriously, and say prudent steps have been taken, but there does appear to be any undue sense of alarm -- back to you.
LEMON: All right, CNN's Jeanne Meserve -- thank you, Jeanne.
PHILLIPS: And our Berlin bureau chief, Frederik Pleitgen, is following this story from that end. He joins us now live from Germany with an update -- Fred.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN BERLIN BUREAU CHIEF: Kyra, Jeanne is absolutely right with what she is saying.
American officials here are telling us exactly the same thing. I just got off the phone with the American Embassy in Berlin. They say that their security levels have been up for about the past two weeks, as they have seen a rise in a possible terror threat here in Germany.
Now, what we have been seeing -- we have been seeing this up close. We have been seeing the American Embassy tighten its security. We have been seeing more security guards in front of the American Embassy.
We have also seen at least one American military installation here up its security, though we're not sure whether or not that has to do with any specific terrorist plot. And, as Jeanne said, the American military, in general, in this country has not exactly -- has not actually raised its threat level.
But what we're also seeing from the German authorities, we're seeing that they are very much cracking down on any sort of threat in this country.
You know we are only about two -- four weeks away from the G8 Summit, which will be taking place here in Germany. And German police are getting very, very tough on anybody whom they think might be an extremist group.
Only two days ago, we saw a massive raid against left-wing groups, where German federal prosecutors told me that they see very much a link to terrorist activity.
Now, we're not sure if that has anything to do with the threat we are receiving right now. But, certainly, this country is very much on the edge and is very much cautious and is very much worried about the Americans that are in this country -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Our Berlin bureau chief Frederik Pleitgen -- Fred, thanks so much.
LEMON: It is graduation day at Virginia Tech. Ceremonies are just getting started for postgrad students earning advanced degrees.
And you're taking a live look now at that ceremony. We're so happy for them. It's just -- it's an amazing day for them. They have gone through so much.
Commencement is just getting under way. It starts at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. That's for everyone, a little more than four hours from now. All of it takes place in the shadow of last month's campus massacre, which cost the lives of 32 students and instructors.
And live for us now from Blacksburg is CNN's Jim Acosta -- Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Don.
Yes, that's right. The commencement events are already getting started. As you mentioned, the ceremony for the graduate students, those students picking up their master's and Ph.D. level degrees are right now being honored in what will be a couple of different ceremonies happening this afternoon.
This one that is happening right now is really the warmup for the big commencement ceremony that is happening, as you mentioned, in about four-and-a-half-hours from now. That is when 3,500 graduating seniors will be picking up their degrees. And they will be surrounded by some 30,000 family members, faculty members, friends, loved ones, and so forth.
And this will be part commencement and part remembrance. One of the things they will be doing tonight is taking pictures of the victims from those tragic events of three-and-a-half weeks ago and projecting them on the big jumbo screen at the stadium behind me.
They will also be handing out posthumous degrees to the families of those slain students to honor the work that was never completed here at Virginia Tech. And, from what we can tell from talking to folks across campus these last couple of days is that there still a sense of loss here, as we heard from one graduating senior.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRICE BRADFORD, VIRGINIA TECH GRADUATING SENIOR: It's really real hard to feel accomplished or self-congratulatory right now, when you know that there should be a dozen or so other people walking across the stage with you that aren't even alive anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And the university is reminding its graduates that they still do have the option to excuse themselves from tonight's ceremonies, understanding that this will not be for everybody -- Don.
LEMON: Jim Acosta, thanks.
And, of course, we will have continuing coverage of the ceremony throughout the evening right here on CNN.
Jim, thanks again.
PHILLIPS: And, earlier, I spoke with the student body president of Virginia Tech. Hear what he says the students must do to move forward after what happened on their campus.
LEMON: A husband at war, a wife on stage -- as we honor military spouses this Friday before Mother's Day, a look at how one woman keeps The home fires burning while she takes Broadway by storm.
PHILLIPS: And, when the going gets tough, the stuff tough stay married? Ahead in the NEWSROOM: America's divorce rate hits the lowest point in a generation. What is up with that?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Sixteen past of the hour, almost 17 past, here are three of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A wildfire has burned and 4,000 acres and counting on Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California. Hundreds have cleared out of the resort town of Avalon.
A bail hearing today for six men accused in a plot to massacre soldiers at Fort Dix in New Jersey -- all six are ordered held without bond.
And one more trip to the United States for the outgoing British prime minister. Tony Blair will meet with President Bush next week at the White House.
PHILLIPS: Take you live now to the East Room of the White House, the president of the United States meeting with military spouses, the men And women behind the military. We're talking about the spouses. They're the ones that inspire so many of us, as their husbands and wives are overseas.
They, too, have a sense and duty and deep devotion to this country. The president has now proclaimed May 11, the Friday before Mother's Day, as Military Spouses Day. He will be meeting and greeting -- a quick shot there of Joint Chiefs Chair Peter Pace. You see a number of politicians there in the room.
We will follow this event.
As we talk more about the sacrifice of American troops overseas, it's often matched only by the families that they leave behind. Janine LaManna is a mother, a Broadway performer, and the wife of Army Captain Michael McDermott, now serving in Iraq. She actually performed at that ceremony where you just saw the president of the United States with other family members.
And Kiran Chetry of CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" got to tell her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Art imitated life...
(MUSIC)
CHETRY: ... when actress Janine LaManna stepped into the role of Janet Van De Graaff in "The Drowsy Chaperone" a Broadway show.
(MUSIC)
JANINE LAMANNA, ACTRESS & MILITARY SPOUSE: She is an actress who is leaving show business to get married. And she is grappling with whether she wants to stay with show business or become a housewife.
CHETRY: Two years ago, LaManna met and fell in love with Captain Michael McDermott of the 82nd Airborne. LaManna decided to put her career on hold and move to Fort Bragg to be with her new husband.
LAMANNA: And how does the cow go?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boo.
LAMANNA: Yes, boo.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Thirteen-month-old Mia is the latest edition to the family. But she hasn't really had the chance to get to know her mother.
When Mia was 4 months old, Captain McDermott was deployed to Iraq.
(on camera): What has it been like for your fairly young marriage to have this separation and a new baby?
LAMANNA: I know, yes. I miss sharing all of her experiences with him. It's -- that's the sad -- saddest part about it.
CHETRY (voice-over): Captain McDermott has missed a lot of Mia's firsts.
LAMANNA: There's your new tooth coming in.
CHETRY: First teeth, first steps.
UNIDENTIFIED MALES AND FEMALES (singing): Happy birthday, dear Mia.
CHETRY: First birthday.
(on camera): How are you making memories for Mia, so that she remembers her daddy?
LAMANNA: She basically listens to him on the phone. She will really listen to his voice. So, we're trying to do that, and photo albums. It's really all you can do.
Who is that? Who is that?
CHETRY: What does he say about having to give that up, and having to miss out on his baby's life?
LAMANNA: It's his duty. And he's extremely dedicated to it.
Yay. That's what we do.
CHETRY: You need to clap for mommy when she sings and dances.
(voice-over): Her singing and dancing has meant a return to New York and the job she does best.
(MUSIC)
LAMANNA: With the deployments, it's been easy to come back and forth and continue doing what I do. And he is so supportive of what I do, that it makes it easy for me to do that. He says, "I have to get home, so I can see it."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: That was "AMERICAN MORNING"'s Kiran Chetry. What a beautiful family there.
When the going get tough, well, the tough stay married. Ahead in the NEWSROOM: America's divorce rate hits the lowest point in a generation. What's up with that?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, divorce just isn't what it used to be.
The U.S. divorce rate has been declining steadily since its peak in 1981. And now it's at its lowest level since 1970. It's dropped from 5.3 divorces per 1,000 people to 3.6. Why? Experts have a number of theories. Among them, more people are living together without marrying, and people are waiting longer to get married.
LEMON: Absolutely. (LAUGHTER)
LEMON: The mother of all holidays -- stop laughing at me -- just two days away, and our Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us why some companies are in crunch mode today.
It's not flower delivery, is it?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: That is one of the big reasons that your mother was one of the very happy recipients, with those beautiful orchids, Don.
LEMON: Got it early. Got it early. Yes, she sent me an e-mail.
LISOVICZ: FedEx says it will make 25 times more domestic flower deliveries today than on an average day because of Mother's Day; 100,000, I believe, bouquets tomorrow is what it expects to deliver, just one of the many ways we show our appreciation and love for our mothers.
All told, consumers plan to spend nearly than $60 billion on Mother's Day gifts this year -- that according to the National Retail Federation. The average shopper will spent about $140. That's up 14 percent from last year.
So, what will people be spending the most money on?
I put that to you, Don and Kyra. Take a guess.
LEMON: What do you think? What do you think, Kyra? What are people spending the most on for Mother's Day? It's either...
PHILLIPS: It's always flowers, right?
LEMON: ... flowers, jewelry, dinner, or clothes. I have to say flowers.
PHILLIPS: Yes. I would guess that, too.
LISOVICZ: And you would be wrong.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: Well, that is the most...
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: ... that is the most popular choice, think about the most crowded day of the year to go to a restaurant. It's Mother's Day.
LEMON: Oh.
LISOVICZ: Free moms up from cooking.
PHILLIPS: Lunch or brunch.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: So...
LEMON: Yes.
LISOVICZ: And that can really be pricey. Two-thirds of people say they would treat mom to a special dinner or brunch at her favorite restaurant, projected spending there, more than $3 billion, $2.3 billion spent on flowers, a little more than $2 billion on bling, clothes and accessories also on the list, as well a nice day of pampering at the spa and salon.
LEMON: Now, Susan, I don't understand that, because, when you go see mom, you want mom's home cooking. I would rather my mom cook for me on Mother's Day than go out. She can get a break any old time.
LISOVICZ: You...
PHILLIPS: OK. That is so selfish.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: That's just not right.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: That's just not right, don.
LEMON: My mom is a great cook. I don't get to see her so much.
Cook for me, mom. Cook for me.
LISOVICZ: So, you sent her the orchids in advance, so that, when you go to visit her -- I get it -- that she will cook for you.
LEMON: You got it, absolutely.
(CROSSTALK)
LISOVICZ: Put some meat on those bones, Don Lemon.
Well, we have got a meaty day on Wall Street. I will tell you that, a report ahead of the open showing wholesale inflation coming in tamer than expected last month, fueling a nice rally on the final day of the week, and a nice rebound from that big sell-off we saw yesterday.
Checking the numbers, the Dow Jones industrials are up 84 points, or two-thirds-of-a-percent. The Nasdaq is up almost 1 percent -- more on the markets' end-of-the-week comeback in about 30 minutes.
Until then, Kyra and Don, good son and daughter that you are, have mom already covered.
LEMON: Yes, we certainly do.
Susan Lisovicz, we will check back with you for the closing bell.
LISOVICZ: See you at the closing bell.
LEMON: All right. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Susan.
Well, cap check, gown check. State of mind? That is an extra consideration for this year's graduating class at Virginia Tech.
Ahead in the NEWSROOM, we are going to hear from the student body president.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: Sorry about that.
And I'm Don Lemon.
Same story, different states. Wildfires are raging in California, Florida, Georgia, and now Minnesota.
PHILLIPS: Is there any hope of rain? We're going to check the weekend forecast.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Let's get straight to T.J. Holmes, working details on a gas leak in San Francisco.
T.J., what do you know?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: A gas leak that local affiliates say is all clear now, but I understand about 30 people did get sick after PG&E, a crew out there for the gas company, was working, hit a gas line. Gas started leaking out, and then at St. Luke's Hospital -- they have a couple of outpatient facilities close to it -- well, a couple of folks started smelling this stuff.
Up to 30 had to be treated, got sick. Nothing too serious. A little nausea, a little vomiting, a little dizziness. But it was serious enough for them.
They got sick enough that they had to -- a few of them had to be taken to the hospital. But about 30 people got sick.
Again, just an old gas line that got hit here. Just keeping an eye on that situation out there, but the local affiliate is reporting that, in fact, this situation has been taken care of. The gas leak has been taken care of. And the all-clear has been given.
So that is some good news -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, T.J. Thanks.
LEMON: Benchmarks are one thing, but President Bush says he won't accept the Iraq war installment plan that passed the House last night. Any sign of compromise on the horizon? That's the question.
Let's ask our Elaine Quijano. She's standing by for us at the White House.
Hello, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Don.
Well, you know, the president just wrapped up a short time ago in the East Room, as we saw an event commemorating Military Spouse Day. The president took time to honor, in particular, six military spouses for their volunteer work.
Now, the event today comes, of course, as the debate over Iraq and over war funding continues. The president just back from delivering a commencement address today in Pennsylvania, made no mention of that debate. But, of course, the president, yesterday, in fact, during a visit to the Pentagon, did vow to veto the measure being pushed by House Democrats for a two-stage war-funding bill. The president thinks that idea just is not workable.
Now, at the same time, the president did open the door to the idea of having benchmarks in a war-funding bill. The president, of course, has embraced benchmarks for months now, so it's not necessarily a surprise.
But, Don, certainly the president saying here that he will, in fact, look at these benchmarks as one possible area of compromise. The president, for the first time, explicitly talking about these benchmarks in the context of war-funding legislation -- Don.
LEMON: So what exactly are the Democrats saying about the benchmarks?
QUIJANO: Well, you know, they welcome the idea that the president is open to benchmarks. At the same time, they think, Democratic leaders believe, that any benchmarks must have teeth.
We heard House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a statement saying that benchmarks without any kind of consequences, without any kind of enforcement, would basically be meaningless. So the question now, will the president accept the notion of benchmarks tied to consequences, or does he see that as conditions? Something that he's, of course, explicitly rejected in the past.
Well, the president dodged that question yesterday, and a senior administration official, Don, when pressed about that, would only say today, well, that's a good question for Josh Bolten, the chief of staff, who is negotiating on Capitol Hill right now.
LEMON: CNN's Elaine Quijano at the White House.
Thank you, Elaine.
PHILLIPS: From the East Coast to the West Coast, the U.S. is burning at the edges. From swampy northern Florida, to the islands off southern California, the weather is dry, warm, windy, and that spells trouble for the firefighters trying to get these blazes under control. Bigger trouble for hundreds of families fleeing and fearing for their homes.
LEMON: We're watching the coast today for any signs of relief, but other parts of the country, well, they have problems, too, all their own.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: We want to get now to the breaking news desk. T.J. Holmes working on a developing story.
T.J., I think it's a plane crash. Did it crash on the interstate?
HOLMES: At least a road here. Looking at this live picture. Go ahead and take this up and let you all take a peak at it as well. Don't know if it's still a live picture, but -- well, it is a live picture here.
Sharonville, Ohio, is what it is. And again, we're at the mercy of this helicopter camera here, where this plane has crashed. But if at some point we get that camera to go back down the direction, what you can see, this airplane just scattered and not much left of it in the middle of this road.
This is in the area of Reed Hartman and Kemper Road. Kemper Road is, I believe, possibly the one we're looking at here. But there it is.
Officials don't have word or haven't given us word just yet about exactly what type of plane it was, and also how many people might have been on board that plane. But again, this is in the area of Sharonville, Ohio, where a plane has crashed. This is near a highway, near I-257, where I believe parts now -- witnesses are reporting parts of the plane have been found just pretty much scattered about in several areas, including on that highway, westbound I-75 to Kemper road.
The crash here, we haven't been able to make much out of the scene here. Again, at the mercy of the helicopter and our affiliate here taking these pictures. But the area is said to be a residential area, a neighborhood here, so we expect to see, when this picture does zoom out and possibly some homes and whatnot around. But the plane ended up right in the middle of the road there, and just such a mess and in such pieces, you can't really make out how big of a plane it was. You can't really tell really from a lot of these pictures that those are the remnants of a plane there. But, in fact, yes, a plane has gone down, has crashed there in Sharonville, Ohio. Trying to work to get word of how many people were possibly on board. Possibly, it looks -- appears that it probably was a small plane, so it probably couldn't carry that many passengers, but we're working to go get that information for sure.
We're checking it. And when we get more details we will bring those to you guys.
LEMON: Yes, you mentioned it was a neighborhood. I'm being told by our producers it's a suburb, T.J., of Cincinnati.
And I would imagine it is a small plane. A bigger plane, you would probably see a little bit more debris.
If you get more information, please get back to us on that. Thank you.
HOLMES: Sure thing, Don.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, cap check, gown check. State of mind? Well, that's an extra consideration for this year's graduating class at Virginia Tech .
Straight ahead from the NEWSROOM, we're going to hear from the student body president.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Coming of age in the 1940s, women weren't expected to start careers. In today's "Life Lessons," we profile Barbara Pritzkat. Not only did she find a career she loves, she's still at it at age 81.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA PRITZKAT, ARCHAEOLOGIST: I was almost the only girl in (INAUDIBLE) at UCLA. And that was life and that was the way it was. And fun, I suppose, but I never analyzed it.
It was very satisfying to graduate. It's not the uniqueness of you, but the fact that you set a goal and accomplish it.
I knew that this was -- this was excitement. This was what I wanted to do, to have part of my life. And that -- which I certainly do with archaeology.
When you're excavating a city, you're looking for walls. You're looking for streets. You're looking for houses. The job is exciting.
When Marty and I were first married in 1950, for some reason, we became these health food fanatics. And we raised our children that way. And, of course, Marty and I are both very physical. And I go to the gym -- I bicycle to the gym several times a week. I am, fortunately, in very good health. And that is a secret of success. People who have pain or lack energy cannot do the things I do.
You are the person you are. And you don't think of yourself as old. At 81 you're supposed to have some sort of philosophy about your purpose in life.
You really are the same person you've always been. A little wiser, hopefully, you know? You're not going to make the same mistakes, but you are the same person.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: New information on a plane crash in Ohio. T.J. Holmes has it.
What do you have?
HOLMES: At least one dead now is the word we're getting from our affiliate out there. WCPO is the affiliate there.
Again, this is right outside of Cincinnati, Sharonville. This is the picture we were showing you a short time ago of a small plane crash. Now word from our affiliate that they have confirmed at least one person was killed in this small plane crash.
Now, something else that our affiliate there, WCPO, is reporting is that investigators are looking into the possibility that this was not a single aircraft incident, that another aircraft could of possibly been involved in this small crash, and that, apparently, this plane, came down already pretty much in pieces.
Again, this is being reported, again, from WCPO, our affiliate. That information coming from them, and also the information that one person has died. Again, this is in Sharonville, Ohio.
We haven't been able to tell really from the pictures here, but apparently a residential area. A neighborhood where this plane has come down and landed there in the middle of the road.
It appears to be a small -- a small plane, judging by the size of just the wreckage there and the debris. And as you can see there, it is pretty much in pieces there. But again, the word from our affiliate is that at least one person has died in this plane crash.
We'll get more details and bring those to you when we get them, guys.
LEMON: You said something about another plane? Like, maybe midair or something?
HOLMES: Again, this is coming to us from WCPO, our affiliate. But they are reporting right now that investigators are looking into the possibility that this involved another aircraft, because this plane apparently came down already in pretty good pieces.
Again, that from WCPO, our affiliate there -- Don.
LEMON: All right. At this point, though, they're checking.
All right. Thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: Well, at this hour, students receiving advanced degrees are being honored at Virginia Tech. This evening, some 3,500 members of the undergraduate class of 2007 will file into Lane Stadium for ceremonies tempered by loss.
Earlier, we spoke with the Virginia Tech student body president. He said the shadow of last month's massacre will hover over the day's events, but it's not going to dominate it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Adeel, it's great to see you. How are you feeling and what's the mood on campus today?
ADEEL KHAN, STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT: The mood is celebratory one. We're trying to honor the students who have accomplished probably the biggest achievement in their lives, while also trying to remember those students that we've lost.
It's a really delicate balance, but it looks like the university is handling it really well so far. There's parents lined up at the memorials outside. And the students are in lunches and ceremonies for pre-graduation awards.
PHILLIPS: Well, this is a big day for you and your family as well, right? Your big brother is graduating?
KHAN: My big brother is graduating. We're very, very proud of him. He actually just received a distinguished business award from the business school here, so we're very proud of him.
PHILLIPS: Well, I can see that you're going to move into the same, I guess you could say, position of being distinguished as you move on to be student body president. You've got a lot on your plate, a lot to deal with.
How is this going to affect your role as student body president, what happened, and moving forward?
KHAN: One thing that we have already planned for doing for the next year is providing many events for students to come together and lean on each other, and remember the incident, but also just be there for one another, because we realize -- we came to a realization that counseling only helps so much. Really, the counseling between students is probably the best for them because we've all gone through this together, and we're all going to be there together. So we're going to try to provide as many outlets for students to get together and be there for one another.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And the school plans to issue class rings and diplomas to the families of the 27 murdered students. Five instructors were also killed in the April 16th rampage.
LEMON: Well, you've heard the saying "finders, keepers." Well, not for this lady. She found five grand stuffed in the pocket of donated PJs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god. I was shocked. A big shock. Because I thought I we'll never find that big amount of money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Talk about goodwill. Find out what she did with the money straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: T.J. Holmes working more information on that Ohio plane crash.
What did you find out, T.J.?
HOLMES: What we found out is that our affiliate, WCPO, which was saying a short time ago that, in fact, this plane crash -- it appears that investigators were looking into the possibility that this was not just a single aircraft incident. Well, in fact, now WCPO reporting that a plane and a helicopter were involved in this crash, and that both the helicopter and the plane crashed.
Again, that's according to WCPO, our affiliate there.
We saw the wreckage of the plane a short time ago. And this looks like this may be the other wreckage possibly of the helicopter.
We do know, according to our affiliate, WCPO, as well that at least one person has died. Don't know if that person was in the helicopter or possibly in that airplane.
This is a picture now, a live picture. This is in Sharonville, Ohio, outside of Cincinnati.
The word was this was in a residential area where this happened. From this picture we see here, which we believe right now -- trying hard to make out some of this wreckage because it is so mangled -- but possibly the wreckage of the helicopter here.
But we can see homes -- and you can see a home right there. It looks like this wreckage is right there in the yard of this -- of this home.
But again, it appears that a plane and a helicopter involved in this crash. They collided, and ended up both crashing. And the word from our affiliate, WCPO, is that is the case, and also that at least one person has been killed.
Certainly a developing story there. We will try to get more information on this.
And certainly stay with CNN. We will be following this story and get more details and bring it to our viewers as we get them. But, in fact, it appears, yes, two aircraft involved in this crash -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. T.J., thanks.
LEMON: Finding green in Greenville. A good heart and goodwill straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: And the closing bell and a wrap-up of action on Wall Street straight ahead. Susan Lisovicz joins us live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: In Greenville, South Carolina, the story of a good heart. Kelli Owens found a fat wad of cash while sorting clothes at Goodwill store. She could of kept it, but she didn't.
Here's Erin Hartness of CNN affiliate WYFF.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI OWENS, GOODWILL WORKER: You want to just carry that?
ERIN HARTNESS, REPORTER, WYFF (voice over): Goodwill is a place with low prices and big investment.
OWENS: Stains and holes.
HARTNESS: The kind that comes in people like Kelli Owens.
OWENS: They helped me get a real good job. They helped me get a job and stuff.
HARTNESS: Goodwill is training Kelli for a full-time retail gig (ph). Part of that training is sorting through donations.
OWENS: All day. All day.
HARTNESS: It's not unusual to find things.
OWENS: You find a little bit, you know, change here and there.
HARTNESS: But what she found Tuesday can only be described like this...
OWENS: Like, oh, my god. I was shocked.
HARTNESS: She was doing the exact same thing she does five days a week.
OWENS: I was sorting through a bin of clothes and came across some pajama bottoms. And when I picked them up and I shook them, some envelopes fell out.
HARTNESS: When she opened the envelopes, she saw this...
OWENS: A big shock, because I thought I would never find that big amount of money.
HARTNESS: More than $5,000 the single mother of three immediately took it to her manager's office.
OWENS: I couldn't keep it because it, you know, belonged to somebody else. You know? I couldn't live with myself doing that.
BILL WYLIE, CEO, GOODWILL OF UPPER SOUTH CAROLINA: And there has to be a great deal of value in that person's soul to be able to say the right thing to do is turn this in.
HARTNESS: Workers found a note with the money saying this had been saved over a period of time for a particular person and the giver hoped he or she would spend the money wisely.
OWENS: I hope maybe it will go back to the right owner who it belonged to.
WYLIE: Everything can be going bad, and all of a sudden, you hear about something like that, and it's like being able to scale Mt. Everest in about 15 minutes.
HARTNESS: Because rewards don't have to be monetary.
OWENS: I was happy all day long.
HARTNESS: Sometimes the greatest investment of all is the chance we give someone else.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Goodwill is waiting to see whether the rightful owner comes forward. If not, the cash becomes a donation. And Kelli Owens has some potential job offers. A couple of banks have called Goodwill expressing interest in her.
And we were asking each other, would you have given it back?
PHILLIPS: Look at the position that she's in.
LEMON: A single mom.
PHILLIPS: That's what's amazing. A single mom, she's working at the Goodwill. That's a true character right there.
LEMON: Yes, true. I don't know if I would of given it back at that position. I'm just saying.
PHILLIPS: Closing bell about to ring on Wall Street.
LEMON: Susan Lisovicz standing by. (STOCK MARKET REPORT)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
