Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
U.S. Military Searching for Missing Soldiers; Firefighters Battle Florida Blazes; George Bush Announces Energy Plans
Aired May 14, 2007 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, U.S. FORCES IN IRAQ: We are doing everything we can to locate our soldiers, who did nothing but come here to serve our country and to help the Iraqi people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: A solemn promise in defiance of a chilling threat from al Qaeda in Iraq.
BETTY NGUYEN, CO-HOST: If you want your soldiers safe, well, then the terror group warns call off the search. We're going to tell you much more on that story.
Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen in for Kyra Phillips today at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
First, an ambush, then a claim, now a warning. The Iraqi terror group that says it captured three American soldiers is telling the U.S. military to stop searching for them. But thousands of other troops are under very different orders: never leave a fallen comrade.
Let's go straight to Baghdad now and CNN's Arwa Damon.
Arwa, we're hearing the U.S. military thinks al Qaeda-linked militants are behind this. What can you tell us about that?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don. And in fact, that is not entirely surprising, given that this area, otherwise known as the Triangle of Death, is also a known al Qaeda stronghold.
But earlier, Major General William Caldwell coming out and saying that the military now believes that their men were in the hands of extremists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CALDWELL: We still have three missing American soldiers. Their duty status is classified as whereabouts unknown. At this time we believe they were abducted by terrorists belonging to al Qaeda or an affiliated group. And this assessment is based on highly credible intelligence information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: Major Caldwell also said that the U.S. military was receiving a number of tips from local residents that were helping carrying out targeted operations. This search now includes some 4,000 U.S. soldiers backed up by Iraqi soldiers, the U.S. military pretty much using all means at its disposal to find its missing men.
Today, like he did in an earlier press statement, General Caldwell also reemphasizing one of the main tenets of the soldiers' creed, and that is not to leave a man behind.
There was, however, a disturbing statement posted by the Islamic State of Iraq directed right at U.S. forces here, saying that they needed to call off the search for their soldiers. It says that "if you want your soldiers' safety do not search for them," following with, "and we know that you would rather have your entire Army perish than have one crusader in captivity." This is an illustration of the foe that the U.S. military is up against right now, Don.
LEMON: CNN's Arwa Damon in Baghdad. Thank you, Arwa.
NGUYEN: Well, President Bush is keeping tabs on this search, and CNN's Suzanne Malveaux just got out of a White House briefing. She joins us now.
Suzanne, the administration, what is it saying about this publicly?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, they're being very, very cautious about this. As long as this massive search continues for these U.S. soldiers, they don't want to say anything or do anything that would jeopardize that.
I pressed Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, whether or not they either believe they were missing or kidnapped. They would not even go that far. As long as they are still missing, they are still out there. They are pulling back. They are not saying whether or not it's al Qaeda or an affiliated group.
Betty, it is interesting, however, that the administration has been emphasizing that al Qaeda has taken on a much greater role, has become much more dangerous in the region in the last couple of months -- Betty.
NGUYEN: On a bit of a different front, the U.S. is getting ready for talks with Iran about the situation in Iraq. What can you tell us about that?
MALVEAUX: It's certainly going to happen in the next couple of weeks. Our own U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crawford, is go to be in Baghdad in a couple weeks, meeting with the Iranian counterpart.
Betty, it's very significant here for a number of reasons. Obviously, Iran, labeled a member of the axis of evil, has not had diplomatic relations since 1979, as you know, the Iran hostage crisis. The reason why this is happening is the Bush administration, this administration really needs Iran in order to make Iraq work. There's been a lot of pressure from Middle East allies -- Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, all of them Sunni dominated -- very concerned about Iraq being -- or Iran, rather, gaining dominance, being Shiite dominated.
And then, of course, there's the other idea. This is all about political reconciliation. You hear about this all the time. The United States needs the influence of Iran and its Shia to help break up these kind of Shiite militia that are actually in Iraq.
But Vice President Cheney over the weekend still insisting that this is not going to be talks, one-on-one talks regarding its nuclear program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll stand with our friends in opposing extremism and strategic threat. We'll disrupt attacks on our own forces. And we'll stand with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating this region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So Betty, of course, a very stern and blunt warning to the Iranian government. The vice president as part of his Middle East trip aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, issuing that warning. It's really part of a two-part strategy here to be aggressive on one hand and the other say "Look, we need you when it comes to the situation in Iraq" -- Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us today. Thank you, Suzanne.
LEMON: We are back to the White House shortly. In about 10, 15 minutes, the president is expected to make a speech today regarding his 20 in 10 plan, that plan to reduce our nation's addiction, as he calls it -- quote, "addiction" to oil. He made that statement in the State of the Union in January, State of the Union address.
At that briefing that Suzanne was at just a short time ago, they asked White House secretary -- White House spokesman Tony Snow about the speech, why the president was doing it today. And he answered that question. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The thing behind doing it today is we're ready. I mean, it's really pretty much that simple.
The Supreme Court in Massachusetts versus the EPA, had some things to say about the EPA and its role in dealing with tailpipe emissions under the Clean Air Act.
And so there has been an interagency process underway, thinking about what the ramifications are. The ramifications are that you can use regulatory means to go ahead and pursue some of the goals where there have been outlined in that Supreme Court opinion. And at the same time also, it provides a way of advancing the goals within the context not only of CAFE but also the 20 in 10.
If you're looking for a political calculation or some -- some extraneous factor that prompted the timing, there is none. It's -- basically it's ripe, and therefore that's why we're doing it today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Again that event expected to happen live. It will happen from the Rose Garden. Several officials that have anything to do with energy will be there, including Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters.
Mary Peters will join us today in the CNN NEWSROOM in the 3 p.m. Eastern hour. We're going to bring this event live to you at 1:25.
NGUYEN: Right now, we want to tell you about this. A U.S. soldier was shot and killed in Pakistan today, either during or after a meeting with American, Afghan and Pakistani forces.
That meeting follows a recent spate of mortar attacks between Pakistanis and Afghans, U.S. allies in the war on terror. And Afghan general says the shooter was a Pakistani soldier. Pakistan says he was a militant. A Pakistan spokesperson says four American soldiers and four Pakistani troops are wounded.
LEMON: And Betty, imagine this. We've been talking about it all morning, a frightening end to an Alaskan cruise. Two hundred and forty-eight passengers ordered to life boats in the middle of the night after their ship, the Empress of the North, hit some rocks.
It was taking on water and beginning to list when dozens of volunteer boats and state ferries rushed to the area known as Icy Strait about 15 miles southwest of Juneau.
Now by mid-morning all of the passengers were safe on board other vessels and headed for Juneau. Here's how one fishing boat captain described that rescue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLAKE PAINTER, CAPTAIN, EVENING STAR: It's about 1:30 this morning. We were just finishing up a halibut trip, coming into the inside waters, and we heard them issue a mayday, and they were only five miles from where we were. So we buzzed over there as quick as we could, got on the scene.
They were laying over pretty heavy to one side. We came alongside. They put 33 passengers on us.
About that time another fishing boat showed up. They put a few guys on them. An hour or so later more people started coming to the scene, and we kind of spread the passengers out amongst everybody and got everybody off the boat safe. Everybody is really fortunate that they only breached a certain part of the ship because this water is, you know, frigid cold. If it would have went down the people, there's no survival suits. All they have is life jackets. And I wouldn't expect anybody to live more than a minute or two in this water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.
PAINTER: It was really fortunate that the weather was nice, we were on scene, a couple other boats tended (ph), they were on scene. So everything worked together in their favor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Lucky, I'd say. Some of the crew is still aboard the crippled ship, which is en route to Juneau under its own power and under Coast Guard escort.
This is the second time in two years the Empress of the North has run aground. Last March it was in the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington state.
NGUYEN: Well, it is a critical day on the wildfire front. Almost 250 fires have burned almost half a million acres in Georgia and Florida. Hundreds of people are out of their homes, and many more could be out of their homes, as well. And it all depends on which way the winds blow.
What's the latest word now from Lake City, Florida? Well, CNN's John Zarrella joins us live.
The question is, any progress today, John?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, it's all about the weather, and much of today for firefighters out there is going to be to see how their fire lines hold.
They've done all they could, they say, to build these fire lines. They widened out fire lines that were already existing, and they made new fire lines over the last couple of days.
They've got about 150 miles to the west and south out there behind me. That's Interstate 10, and beyond that about 6 to 10 miles, where the fires are.
And really, the hope is that the winds don't pick up as much as they thought they would. It's been a little bit gusty here today. And maybe the humidity stays up a little bit, and that would be a real good thing. Now, that would also be helpful to the firefighters.
Now, you can see behind me here all of these fire trucks. And they're lined up, and what they do is they go in, and they do structure protection. And I guess it's a good thing that they're still sitting here, which means that there's not a whole heck of a lot that's in danger. But they're from all over the state of Florida, these trucks that have assembled here. Some groups have already gone in. These guys are sitting here, waiting on standby. There's trucks.
A lot of these trucks here from South Florida, down in our neck of the woods, from Broward County, from places like the city of Plantation and Tamarack. And they said they're getting ready to start moving now in the next few minutes back up to a forward command post area. And when they get to that forward command post area, then they'll be assigned to whatever duties that they need to take when they get out there.
Now, there was a news conference this morning, and of course, they sounded pretty optimistic how things were going at that time. But between now and 4 p.m. is the worst time of the day. This is when you get the ground heating, you get the hottest temperatures, you get the highest winds. These next three or four hours are going to be critical to see how the day goes.
They did have some really good news, and I guess it was kind of a Mother's Day story, you could say, that took place out there in the woods. On Saturday, late on Saturday, they found a mother bear at the base of a tree, and up 65 feet in the top of one of the tallest pine trees out there, her bear cub.
Well, they managed to tranquilize the mother, and then they got in a bucket truck, got up into the tree and tranquilized the cub, waited for the cub to fall asleep. He fell out of the tree, landed in a tarp that they'd set up on the bottom, down at the base of the tree. And mom and baby cub are said to be doing pretty good today.
Those maternal instincts, Betty, that mom protecting her cub out there.
NGUYEN: You know, we talk about people being out of their homes, but you got to think about, I mean, animals are suffering, as well. And we're talking half a million acres that have burned. That is huge.
ZARRELLA: Yes. An awful lot of land. Just this fire alone has burned over 100,000 acres. And in the entire state of Florida more than 200,000 acres have burned. More than 218 fires are still active in Florida in 57 of the state's 67 counties. A lot of fire out there, Betty.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. Well, hopefully, between now and 4 p.m., maybe some good news will come your way. Thank you, John. We'll talk to you shortly.
The wild fires are making an impression on tourists. While the beach forecast called for a clear and sunny day, it appeared a bit hazy Friday when I-Reporter Steve Woo was testing his new camera. Check that out.
He and his family left Toronto, seeking fun in the sun in the Tampa-St. Pete area. Hmm. Got a lot of clouds out there. And here's what they wound up with on that day, a smoky beach.
Now, keep in mind, the fires are about 155 miles to the north.
LEMON: And in northeast Minnesota near the Canadian border a wildfire has grown to 93 square miles. More than 130 homes and cabins have burned. Hundreds of others are deserted while their owners just watch and wait.
So far no one's been hurt in all this. That's the good news.
The fire has closed the upper half of the Gunflint Trail. And firefighters say they have about a fifth of that fire contained.
Finally, off the California coast, firefighters are saying farewell to Catalina Island. I'm sure they're happy to leave there. The fire that threatened the main town of Avalon last week is mostly under control.
Besides their own hard work, firefighters credit the weather. Temperatures down, winds down, humidity up.
NGUYEN: Hey, they could use that in Florida about now.
LEMON: Oh, yes.
NGUYEN: Well, we want to talk about this, too, because the saying is leave no soldier behind. As thousands of U.S. troops search for three of their own in Iraq, General David Grange will take us inside a military rescue mission. That is ahead here in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: And remember duck and cover? Well, this was definitely not that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're downstairs, and they tell us to get under the table, as we have a Code Red.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Now parents are seeing red, too. The fallout from a teacher's prank coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: And we are standing by for a live event from the White House Rose Garden today. President Bush wants to talk about his energy plan and the search for alternative fuels. And we are going to bring that to you live when it happens.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is 17 -- getting close to 18 after the hour. Here are three of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Three missing U.S. soldiers believed to be in enemy hands in Iraq. The U.S. military thinks al Qaeda-linked terrorists captured them after a deadly weekend ambush of their unit south of Baghdad. A militant group claiming to have them -- have them is now warning U.S. forces to stop searching.
No love on this boat. All 248 passengers had to evacuate their cruise ship, which ran aground off the Alaskan coast. The Empress of the North is damaged but now heading to port. The same ship slammed into a sand bar last year. Everyone appears to be OK.
Lawyers have spent years battling over his detention, his rights, and his alleged crimes. Now opening arguments have started in Miami and terror suspect Jose Padilla's trial. Prosecutors say the U.S. citizen helped to send money and weapons to terrorists around the world.
NGUYEN: Well, one of the most expensive and least successful mergers in auto industry history is headed for a breakup. Oh, yes. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with the details of this one.
This is big news, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. It kind of reminds me of those -- one of those Hollywood weddings, you know. So much hype, so much hoopla, so many promises made.
NGUYEN: And then...
LISOVICZ: And then yes, it's an expensive divorce.
Some folks are calling this a car wreck. I mean, given all of the promises that were made ten years ago. Daimler-Chrysler agreeing to sell its money losing Chrysler unit.
Private equity group Cerberus Capital Management plans to buy an 80 percent stake in Chrysler, which will now be called Chrysler Holding. It's paying $7.4 billion and taking on billions of dollars in pension and retiree health care costs. Once the deal goes through and Chrysler's additional losses are totaled, Daimler may actually end up paying millions to unload the company.
In 1998, Daimler Benz bought Chrysler for $37 billion. So think of the fraction what it's selling for. Ali Velshi was calling it a fire sale earlier today.
Cerberus chairman John Snow, the former treasury secretary, says that a private Chrysler would better be able to focus on making higher quality cars at lower costs. The company desperately needs to do those things to return to profitability. Chrysler lost $1.5 billion last year alone -- Betty.
NGUYEN: That's a lot of alimony in this divorce settlement, I'll tell you. Let me ask you this, though. What does it mean for Chrysler employees?
LISOVICZ: That is a good question because Chrysler, Betty, is already in the process of cutting 13,000 jobs. Some analysts say Cerberus could be even more aggressive in cutting labor costs.
But in a surprise move, the president of the United Auto Workers union actually expressed support for the deal. The UAW had previously indicated it did not want Chrysler to go private. Chrysler's CEO said in a statement that no new job cuts are planned in connection with the deal announced today.
But the proof in the pudding may actually come this summer, Betty, because some very important contract talks with the UAW take place, so we should know if, in fact, it is all hunky dory.
(STOCK REPORT)
LISOVICZ: And return to sender. You'll be seeing that on your mail unless you remembered that today is the day for a postage hike. I'll tell you about the nickel and diming at the post office in the next hour of NEWSROOM.
In the meantime, Betty and Don, back to you.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Susan.
LEMON: All right. Let's get to the White House now. The president is about to speak on energy.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you all for coming. Good afternoon.
I just finished a meeting with the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, secretaries of transportation and agriculture, and the deputy secretary of energy. Thank you all for being here. We discussed one of the most serious challenges facing our country: our nation's addiction to oil and its harmful impact on our environment.
The problem is particularly acute in the transportation sector. Oil is the primary component of gasoline and diesel, and cars and trucks that run on these fuels emit air pollution and greenhouse gases.
Our dependence on oil creates a risk for our economy, because a supply disruption anywhere in the world could drive up American gas prices to even more painful levels.
Our dependence on oil creates a threat to America's national security, because it leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes and to terrorists who could attack oil infrastructure.
For all these reasons America has a clear national interest in reducing our dependence on oil.
The past six years my administration has provided more than $12 billion for research into alternative sources of energy. And I'd like to thank the Congress for its cooperation in appropriating these moneys. We now have reached a pivotal moment where advances in technology are creating new ways to improve energy security, strengthen national security, and protect the environment.
To help achieve all these priorities, I set an ambitious goal in my State of the Union: to cut America's gasoline usage by 20 percent over the next ten years. I call this goal 20 in 10, and I have sent to Congress a proposal that would meet it in two steps.
First, this proposal would set a mandatory fuel standard that requires 35 billion gallons of renewable and other alternative fuels by 2017. That's nearly five times the current target.
Second, the proposal would continue our efforts to increase fuel efficiency. My administration has twice increased fuel economy standards for light trucks.
Together these reforms would save billions of gallons of fuel and reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, without compromising jobs or safety. The proposal at the State of the Union will improve standards for light trucks and take a similar approach to automobiles. With good legislation, we could save up to 8.5 billion gallons of gasoline per year by 2017 and further reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.
Last month the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA must take action under the Clean Air Act regarding greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. So today, I'm directing the EPA and the Department of Transportation, Energy and Agriculture, to take the first steps toward regulations that would cut gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for motor vehicles, using my 20 in 10 plan as a starting point.
Developing these regulations will require coordination across many different areas of expertise. Today I signed an executive order, directing all our agencies represented here today to work together on this proposal. I've also asked them to listen to public input, to carefully consider safety, science and available technology, and evaluate the benefits and costs before they put forth the new regulation.
This is a complicated legal and technical matter, and it's going to take time to fully resolve. Yet it is important to move forward, so I have directed members of my administration to complete the process by the end of 2008.
The steps I announce today are not a substitute for effective legislation. So, my members of my cabinet, as they begin the process toward new regulations, will work with the White House, to work with Congress, to pass the 20 in 10 bill.
When it comes to energy and the environment, the American people expect common sense, and they expect action. Policies I've laid out have got a lot of common sense to them. It makes sense to do what I proposed, and we're taking action, by taking the first steps toward rules that will make our economy stronger, our environment cleaner and our nation more secure for generations to come.
Thank you for your attention.
LEMON: All right. That's the president speaking there in the Rose Garden. Just a couple of those people who are standing next to him, just so you know who they are: the EPA administrator, Stephen Johnson; Secretary of Transportation Mary Peterson. And by the way, Mary Peters, I should say, is going to join us in the 3 p.m. hour here in the CNN NEWSROOM live.
Also the secretary of agriculture, Mike Johanns and the deputy secretary of energy, Clay Sell, all at this press conference.
What's important to take away from this, the president is instructing the EPA and also the Department of Energy and Transportation to reduce fuel consumption, come up with a plan to do that no later than the end of 2008, he says.
And he also says that legislation is the key here, working with the White House and Congress -- he will, of course -- to pass some sort of legislation, the 20-10 bill, as soon as possible. He's talking about the importance there.
Again, Mary Peters, secretary of transportation, will join us in the 3 p.m. hour here in the CNN NEWSROOM to talk about all of this.
So while we have you here, as we have just heard from the president, hopes are high for alternative fuels, but not as high as gas prices are these days. So, what's with that spike? What's with the spike in all of this? What are we really paying for gas? How do they tally it?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
LEMON: A reality check here from CNN's Josh Levs. How do they calculate it?
LEVS: Well, that's what we're going to do. We're going to break it down.
Let me just say, it's really interesting to hear the president announce this plan right now, when he really wants the steps in place right before he leaves. I mean, keep in mind, he's putting these in place before he leaves. His administration lasts through the end of 2008.
And it's fascinating to see a president want to put something in place right now, looking ahead 10 year, when he's got two years left.
Now as for these gas prices, that's what hits you immediately, not long term. We're talking immediately, right now. You go to the gas station, you see your money disappearing. Do you know where it's going?
You probably know about big oil. You might know about the people who control oil and overseas. But I bet you don't know that, when you go to the gas station, there's a lot of parties getting a chunk of that change.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS (voice-over): The prices are being steadily driven up, prompting promises of action again.
REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD), MAJORITY LEADER: I'm pleased that we have scheduled seven hearings in the House between now and Memorial Day.
LEVS: Meanwhile, where is your money going? Here's the breakdown.
Federal and state taxes take 15 to 20 cents of every dollar you spend at the pump.
Distribution and marketing takes about 5 to 15 cents. That's money for the gas station.
Next, refining, where the big oil companies make a lot of their profits. Refining takes as much as a quarter of every dollar.
These amounts vary, but what generally stays the same is the biggest percentage of all: crude oil, which takes more than 50 cents of every dollar. The price of crude oil is affected by supply and demand. And set largely by OPEC which supplies about 40 percent of oil and put as production limit on its members to keep prices at a target level.
The most prominent member is Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil producer. Oil has long been at the core of U.S.-Saudi relations.
Among the 12 countries that make up OPEC, Iran and Venezuela, whose leaders are political enemies of President Bush. OPEC has condemned terrorism. Sill some U.S. lawmakers worry what happens with the money.
REP. ED MARKEY (D) MASSACHUSETTS: The money which is then spent is used by many of these countries to finance the terrorism.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: It's a mammoth sum of money we're talking about. I looked into the total amount of gasoline that Americans use in a given year and get this. Each year, we use about 140 billion gallons of gasoline. So, what you can see Don here, is that when you look at that breakdown, It's basically that a lot of the gas stations might not make that much money because they have to take their little chunk out of distribution and marketing and they, like us, are dependent on the price of crude oil.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: The president calls it, you said, that's a lot of gallons of gas, but he calls it an oil addiction. He is talking 2010 what he wants in 10 years, really in two years with this legislation before he leaves office. Let's look at the past. What has he done so far when it's come to reducing the consumption?
LEVS: One of the big things he talks about is renewable energy, so that's a good place to go. Let's look at renewable energy. It's also good to stop and think about what that term means because it's one of those terms that gets thrown around a lot. Basically, when you use oil, when you use the gasoline, it's gone. It doesn't replenish, it doesn't go in the environment and become oil again. The talk is about renewable sources of energy, things you can use in your car that would ultimately replenish through natural causes and the environment. Now President Bush has talked a lot about that but each year since 2001, the amount of money he put into it has stayed the same guys, $1.2 billion in the Federal budget.
LEMON: Maybe there'll be more.
LEVS: Maybe now.
LEMON: We'll see, Josh Levs, thank you for that. In case you were wondering, gas prices are still at a record high. AAA calculates the average price of self-serve unleaded at $3.07 a gallon. Everyone is here went hmm.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: That's the average.
LEMON: I'll be riding my bike now. A Lundberg survey reported the same price a week ago. AAA says this is the third year in a row gas prices have surged past $3, including equipment troubles and maintenance at U.S. refineries and a supply drop of 15 percent since February.
NGUYEN: We'll leave no soldier behind. As thousands of troops search for three of their own in Iraq, General David Grange takes us inside a military rescue mission. That is ahead in the NEWSROOM.
But first, as we go to break, let's take a look at the big board today. The stock market there up 35. That's not bad for a Monday morning. We'll keep a watch of it. You're watching CNN, the most trust name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: They got in harm's way and now they might be in enemy hands. Four thousands U.S. soldiers are searching for of their three comrades. The U.S. military believes they were captured by al Qaeda- linked terrorists. It happened over the weekend. Meantime, an Iraqi militant group claims it has them and is warning the Americans to stop searching. For the U.S. military the search continues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ: I cannot promise you that these efforts will produce the results we all are praying for. But what I can promise you, the American people, particularly the families of these missing men, is that we are doing everything we can to find these brave and courageous soldiers. Everyone who wears this uniform in combat understands and lives by the soldiers' creed and one of its key tenets is, I will never leave a fallen comrade. We live by that creed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Let's bring in our military analyst, retired Brigadier General David Grange. First question that everyone wants to know, what are the chances of finding these people?
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: The chances are tough. It is tough, I mean, I don't think you should sugar coat it at all. It's hard, it's a big area of operation, hide people easily anywhere you want. They may be dead, they may be alive. They could in fact be evading, hiding somewhere. You don't know. But you have to put forth every effort possible and there's always a slim chance and that's why you continue the effort.
LEMON: They're saying not to look for these three soldiers, warning the American government and the military not to look for these soldiers. But tell us, we do have people looking for them and the U.S. has people looking for them, some 4,000 soldiers, General Grange?
GRANGE: Well, to tell the U.S. not to look for these soldiers, it's kind ever ridiculous. I mean if in fact they are captive, I mean, they are still in the enemy's hands. You have to continue to look for them. I think that the enemy in this case doesn't like the pressure in this area of that many soldiers going around. What you're going to do is you're going to make contact with other enemy insurgents through this effort. You're going to find other things out. That's what the enemy doesn't want to happen.
LEMON: I never have seen Major General William Caldwell so emotional today. He in his speech when talking about the capture of these soldiers and what they were doing and promising not to leave a comrade behind, he got as emotional as I've seen him. Take a look and we'll talk about it.
OK. So that's a different one. We don't have that for you. But again, the emotion here, general, when you lose someone, what might these folks on the ground be going for or going through I should say at this point?
GRANGE: I don't want to put out a situation where the enemy relishes in this, in this feeling that the Americans have, but losing a soldier as a captive is probably more emotional than actually losing people in a fight where you have people die. Losing someone, it's still the same kind of emotion, but in this case it's like OK, I got to get him. I got to get him. So all this effort goes after those that are missing, those that may be captured. It's a -- I should never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy. It's something that soldiers live by. It's the most powerful thing that you experience as a commander.
LEMON: Does it matter who, no matter who the abductor might be, whether it's al Qaeda who has said that they claim responsibility for it, do the tactics change depending on the group who's saying they're responsible for it? GRANGE: No. Obviously we're not going to get into tactics, but from the regular conventional ground force soldier all the way up to the most highly trained hostage rescue forces, I can assure you are involved in this effort, and having had soldiers captured before myself and I remember I was a division commander, 15,000 troops and we had three captured in Macedonia and the priority, the first thing that you thought about every waking moment that you commanded was these three soldiers that are taken prisoner so it's overwhelming. And the effort to find them will be overwhelming. When they say in the interviews, General Caldwell and others, that all effort will be used to find these guys, you can best believe it.
LEMON: OK. We certainly hope they are found and we thank you for joining us today, retired Brigadier General David Grange, thanks so much.
NGUYEN: She lost her legs in Afghanistan but a U.S. soldier and mother of two never lost her resolve. CNN's Barbara Starr has her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Army Specialist Sue Downes had just returned from R&R.
SUE DOWNES: I was in Afghanistan November 28 of '06 I was on patrol, we were in the mountains and we ran over two anti-tank mines. I was a gunner.
STARR: This 27-year-old was trapped under an armored Humvee.
DOWNES: They said I started screaming you know, for them to get the Humvee off of me because I had the shield on me.
STARR: The mother of two small children lost both her legs. On this day specialist Downs is overcoming the setback. Like many amputees, she has had follow on surgery. There are painful efforts to try to bend her knee so she can put on prosthetics and walk. She is determined to walk.
DOWNES: The bottom of my leg hurts like the bottom of the stump hurts right there where I told you yesterday.
STARR: She readily acknowledges all of the challenges ahead.
DOWNES: I mean, it's been tough, mentally, you know, more mentally than physically.
STARR: So does Sue Downes, who like so many badly injured troops, is now so determined to recover, think of herself as a hero?
DOWNES: I was just doing my job. I think we all are heroes. I think we all deserve, you know, that title. We're going over there, putting our lives out there. We're getting injured for the people here, so I think we deserve that title.
STARR: Barbara Starr, CNN, Walter Reed army medical center.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Remember duck and cover? This was definitely not that
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DALTON BROWN: We were downstairs and they tell us to get under the tables, we have a code red.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Now parents are seeing red, too. The fallout from a teacher's prank coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hybrid cars, fluorescent bulbs, as more and more of us make an effort to live green, some of us are dying green too. I'm talking environmentally friendly burials. CNN's Greg Hunter takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a stroll through Ramsey Creek nature preserve, Sharon Perry and her son Jim Nichols reconnect with nature.
JIM NICHOLS, CHRIS'S BROTHER: Everything's blooming.
HUNTER: ...inspect, flora and fauna.
SHARON PERRY: I wonder what this one is.
HUNTER: And examines spider webs. Ramsey Creek is also a cemetery where Chris Nichols, a son and brother, is buried. Before dying of cancer three years ago at age 28, Chris told his family he wanted a natural or green burial at Ramsey Creek. No embalming, fancy casket or burial vault.
NICHOLS: It was a little kooky at first, and now I couldn't imagine a better option for my brother. He was a nature lover, I guess is the best way to put it, anything having to do with nature in its natural state.
HUNTER: Kimberly and Billy Campbell run Ramsey Creek's 76 acre preserve in South Carolina. Their goal, to conserve land and provide the right setting for families that deal with grief.
BILLY CAMPBELL, RAMSEY CREEK PRESERVE: When they leave after a service they'll say this is the way I want it. This is -- I love this place, this is really great. Families come back.
HUNTER: Ramsey Creek is one of a half dozen such burial grounds across the nation. The Campbell's are also helping build another preserve in Atlanta. In his book "Grave Matters," author Mark Harris says people are beginning to return to the old-fashioned values, thrift and simplicity of earlier American funerals.
MARK HARRIS, ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALIST: This is not something that's new and it's something that's bizarre but I think it's something that speaks to people because they're familiar with the concept.
HUNTER: Although its woods and plants appear to grow naturally, all the graves at Ramsey Creek are precisely mapped and marked.
CAMPBELL: This is ground surveyed and entered into a GIS mapping system.
HUNTER: More than 80 people are buried here, 300 more have reserved spots for the future, among them the Nichols family who say visiting Chris's grave is a positive experience.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We feel that there is a sense of living in this place.
NICHOLS: It's really a stroll through the woods that just happens to be a cemetery.
HUNTER: Greg Hunter, CNN, Westminster, South Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Do you remember duck and cover? This definitely not that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DALTON BROWN: We're downstairs and they tell us to get under the table, we have a code red.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Parents are seeing red, too, the fallout from a teacher's prank. That is coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: When school kids play pranks, they go to the principal's office. When an assistant principal pull a prank he goes before bigwigs on the school board. That's what's going to happen in Tennessee. The prank that the assistant principal and other teachers pulled on a sixth grade class during a field trip might just cost them their jobs. Catharyn Campbell from our Nashville affiliate WSMV explains what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CATHARYN CAMPBELL, WSMV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a big trip for the sixth grade class from Scales elementary, a week-long stay at Fall Creek Falls (ph) state park. But on the last night, students say a teacher told them a gunman was on the loose in the park. They say Assistant Principal Don Bartch even told them to get low and take cover.
SHAY NAYLOR, 6TH GRADE STUDENT: Him and Assistant Principal Mr. Bartch sat down and we were looking out the window and there was a van there and it had the lights flickering on and off and the horn beeping.
CAMPBELL: Shay Naylor said someone then started banging on the windows. She says finally, teachers admitted it was a prank. Naylor says her classmates had mixed reaction.
NAYLOR: About 20 of them were crying. There were seven more laughing about it.
CAMPBELL: Lon Nuell, school board member for 11 years, says the trip is a tradition and teachers have been known to pull pranks.
LON NUELL, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER: Ghost stories are standard and you scare the kids out of their wits.
CAMPELL: But with school shootings an all too common occurrence, he says this situation crossed the line.
NUELL: This was, you know, very unfortunate timing. If the timing would ever be good to do this sort of thing, this was not it.
CAMPBELL: But school board members feel they have only heard one side of the story. Now they are interested in what teachers have to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's some differences in stories. So first of all, that has to be resolved to figure out what really happened.
CAMPBELL: Board members tell me the director of schools is scheduled to meet with the assistant principal and the teachers. They say disciplinary action could range anywhere from a written reprimand to losing their jobs. I'm Catharyn Campbell for CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: So what are parents saying about this so called ghost story? The mother of one student on that trip told our John Roberts that there was nothing funny about this prank. Here's what she said on CNN's "American Morning."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDY COLE, DALTON'S MOTHER: Absolutely. You know, I'm holding their news release in my hand and the very first thing they said is you know, a typical camp fire prank. And it's just appalling that they would even classify this as such a thing because there's nothing typical about what they did to our children. The kids were under tables crying and praying to God and begging for their lives thinking that they were going to die and that they were never going to see their families again. JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A ghost story is one thing, I mean, everybody told ghost stories around the camp fire. But this sort of thing, this hits a little too close to home.
COLE: Absolutely, you know, especially considering what happened at Virginia Tech, you know, all the kids knew about that. These kids had been away from home for four days at this point. They trusted these people. We trusted these people. And you know, they're calling this an educational drill and you know, saying that it was a planned thing. If this was a planned thing, they should have told us about it. We had parent meetings about this trip. They could have told the parents that they were planning on having some sort of code red drill for these kids. They could have got the parents' permission. We were told nothing about any such thing taking place while the kids were up there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That interview from CNN's "American Morning."
Winds are expected to kick up in north Florida, another tough day for fire crews. We'll have a live report straight ahead here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So he's been dancing, a little singing, "American Idol," Now he's conducting a big orchestra. Looks easy sir, right for him. President Bush took a turn yesterday leading a 400-piece orchestra in "Stars and Stripes Forever." The occasion was the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the settlement in Virginia.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
