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Alaska Plane Crash; Gates End Culture of Endless Money
Aired August 10, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's a story so bizarre and so unsettling that it has many people in small towns looking twice at strangers on the street. A knife-wielding man may be leaving a trail of victims across three states now.
The epicenter of the attacks, Flint, Michigan; five people stabbed to death, another ten victims injured, all of them apparently chosen randomly. They just happened to cross the path of one man. And even more chilling, that one man may have also struck hundreds of miles away in two other states.
Let's get the latest now. CNN's Jason Carroll has been tracking the information for us. He joins us from New York -- hey Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I think you said it best. This is a story that really has people on edge in several towns. Investigators are calling these crimes of opportunity saying they believe the suspect is, quote, "very desperate and very dangerous". Police in Flint say they now think 15 attacks there are linked, 5 of them deadly. He's stocky, unshaven and muscular.
He's about six feet tall, 180 lbs.. There's a sketch that you see of him there. As you can see, he usually wears a baseball cap. Police say in some cases, the man first lured his victims closer to his car in the early morning hours by asking for directions or help. Most of the victims are African-American, so police think that race could be a possible motive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LEYTON, PROSECUTOR, GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN: The evidence suggests that we've had now 16 incidents here and 14 of the 16 individuals who have been attacked are African-Americans. Flint, where most of these crimes have occurred, is a predominantly African- American community.
In Leesburg, you have three stabbings, two of the individuals were African-American, and one was Hispanic, Latino, was my understanding. It's also my understanding that Leesburg is a predominantly white community. So the evidence would suggest that. But we don't know what's in the mind of the assailant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Again, the attacks started on May 24th in Flint, and the most recent in Michigan was August 2nd, and by the next day the stabbings in Virginia had started, possibly leading up to the one in Ohio on Saturday. We heard from a woman who talked about how her nephew was attacked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRISCILLA VANSICKLE, VICTIM'S AUNT: He said they just started stabbing him and stabbing him and stabbing him. He's still in the hospital. He's not doing good at all. He's a serial killer, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: And Kyra, authorities were able to link the crimes after interviewing all of the victims. They gave similar descriptions of the attacker and the vehicle he drove, which is described as a dark green, early '90s Chevy Blazer. We're also being told, Kyra, that investigators have received some 175 tips. That has definitely helped them develop some leads, and they seem to be confident that they're going to be able to catch this guy. Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We'll definitely stay on the story as well. Jason Carroll, thanks so much.
New developments, new outrage from Bell, California, where inflated salaries for public officials there have sparked anger nationwide. Median household income hovering right around 30 grand but the salary of the former city manager, $800,000. Add benefits, that number shoots up to 1.5 million.
Now the state attorney general's office is issuing a new round of subpoenas, forcing nine current and former Bell officials to give depositions and hand over tax returns. And if that weren't enough, the L.A. county sheriff's department reportedly found a meth lab on property belonging to the mayor of Bell.
The mayor says he has no ties to the suspects. They're just renters in a home that he owns. Well, you better believe that people are mad as hell over these eye-popping salaries. You saw a video right there, the protests that happened for days on end.
Kirk Hawkins from KCBS has been following this story for us. So what are the latest developments, Kirk, and is there going to be any accountability for these guys?
KIRK HAWKINS, REPORTER, KCBS: Well, Kyra, it has been a very busy day, very busy night, in fact. Last night there was a very raucous meeting at Maywood City Hall. That's a city that is very close to Bell. In fact, they outsourced all of their government activities and all of their government work to the city of Bell and because of that, a lot of the residents in Maywood are outraged because as you mentioned we learned over the weekend that Rizzo, the former city manager made close to $1.5 million when you took into account the roughly 20 weeks of sick and vacation time that he got and not to mentioned his assistant made more than $800,000 when you took all of her benefits into account and even the police chief made more than $770,000. So there was plenty of outrage at that meeting last night, and they're looking to take on their own services. After all, Maywood was a city that was known across the country for basically outsourcing all of their government work.
To top that off, we have the updates from the L.A. county district attorney's office. They are now also subpoenaing the records of several public officials from Bell, previous and current officials, a total of nine of them. They're looking at their personal finance records, the same kind of thing that the attorney general of California, Jerry Brown, is looking into.
He is trying to find out not only real estate records but gifts and also landownership. They're looking into all of this as part of their probe of what's going on in Bell. Now, to top that off as part of the investigation, they're looking into voter fraud. The possibility that some city officials in Bell forced some residents to fill out absentee ballots in favor of them.
So they put up this voter fraud hotline. They're hoping residents will call if they have information. You may remember over the past few weeks as we've been talking about this, we've heard a lot about Rizzo and the city officials basically defending him, saying he did a very exemplary job for the city. Well, it turns out that he applied for a roughly $35 million grant, a $35 million loan of sorts that they were trying to buy some railroad property and rent it out and make some income.
Well, it turns out that now, it doesn't look like that they're going to be able to pay that back. $35 million is more than twice the budget in this small city that, as you mentioned, is very tiny when it comes to an area close to Los Angeles that has millions and millions of people.
PHILLIPS: You know, Kirk, have we heard from any of these guys, city manager, the police chief, any of these guys that were abusing their power and taking in these big paychecks? Because from the last time we talked, they were just simply M.I.A.?
HAWKINS: That's true. They are M.I.A., and we have tried to reach out to them several times, and either they are not answering their doors or they're not answering their phone calls and they're really not showing up to any of these public meetings although they technically still have, some of them are still working and have their contracts in effect until the end of the month and possibly even into September. So they really are not letting us hold them accountable and it's really difficult to track them down.
PHILLIPS: Well, we're counting on you to stay on the story for us. Kirk Hawkins, we definitely want to see them be held accountable. Thanks, Kirk.
In the middle of two wars, Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that wants to redo the Pentagon budget.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERT GATES, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: The culture of endless money that has taken hold must be replaced by a culture of savings and restraint. Toward this end, I'm directing that any new proposal or initiative, large or small, be it policy, program or ceremony come with a cost estimate.
That price tag will help us determine whether what we are gaining or hope to gain is really worth the cost either in dollar terms or in the diversion of limited manpower and resources from other missions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And let's go ahead and break down the proposal for you that Gates is talking about. He wants to actually close the Joint Force Command in Norfolk, Virginia, which means 2,800 military and civilian workers would lose their jobs. Another proposal, freezing the number of generals, admirals and senior civilian officials, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Also being considered, eliminating some of the 65 military boards and commissions and reducing funding for service support contractors.
Got some breaking news to tell you about right now. We had gotten word earlier today of a possible plane crash in Alaska, and this is what we're getting now. Apparently from Reuters, a wire service, reporting that former Republican U.S. Senator Ted Stevens was aboard this plane that crashed in Alaska. It was not immediately clear, however, whether he survived.
This is a congressional source that is talking to Reuters right now. Reuters also reporting that half of those aboard that plane were killed in the crash. A doctor is apparently on the scene. Rescuers, we are also getting word or having trouble reaching that site because of bad weather. As you may remember, Ted Stevens lost his re-election bid back in 2008 after he was convicted on corruption charges.
That case was later thrown out because of prosecutor's misconduct but you remember, this was the man that Sarah Palin stood up against and used as an example of how she wanted to change government, and as you well know, she later became the governor of Alaska.
But right now word coming to us that this plane crash in Alaska, Reuters reporting that former Republican U.S. Senator Ted Stevens was aboard that plane that crashed. It's not immediately clear whether he has survived or not. Half of those aboard the plane were killed in that crash.
Apparently there's a doctor on the scene. We are getting word that there could be some survivors. Eight people aboard that plane. We're following that for you and will bring you more information as we get it.
A storm so powerful that it ripped the face off a mountain and it sent it tumbling down burying a town.
The latest on the massive mudslides in China. A glimmer of hope from the debris (INAUDIBLE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Following the breaking news for you out of Alaska, we were telling you about this plane crash near Dillingham, Alaska. It happened overnight, and apparently there are some survivors, the NTSB reporting five of the nine people on board have died. The NTSB has launched investigators to head that way, and we have not confirmed this yet, but Reuters Wire Service is saying that former Republican U.S. Senator Ted Stevens was aboard that plane that crashed in Alaska. Not reporting whether he survived or not, but that is one person that we are getting word of may possibly be on board that plane.
Once again, though, survivors and fatalities, according to the NTSB, five of the nine on board have died and rescuers there on the scene trying to find those survivors in Dillingham, Alaska, apparently bad weather not helping with the rescue effort right now.
We'll stay on top of the story and bring you as much information as possible. Once again, you're seeing pictures there of former Republican Senator Ted Stevens. You might remember he lost his re- election bid back in 2008 after he was convicted on corruption charges but then later that case was thrown out because of misconduct among the prosecutors in that case.
It was Sarah Palin that used the example of his government style that eventually led her to winning that governorship there in the state of Alaska.
Let's scan our morning passport. Hope amid the devastating flood that wrecked north, northwestern China. Today the rescuers actually pulled a man who was buried alive for three days under a massive mud slide that smashed his home. He's somewhat lucky. China's state run media is now updating the death toll to more than 700 people killed, more than 1,400 remain missing.
CNN's Emily Chang is there witnessing that rescue and more. We are there with more on the massive excavation project that's now under way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the first sign of life after hours of searching.
(ON CAMERA): There's a lot of commotion going on here right now. These are PLA and militia members. They believe they have found someone alive inside. So they sent a team in to check it out.
(voice-over): This 52-year-old man survives after being trapped for 2 1/2 days. But there's little celebration - everywhere else it's utter despair. The landslide pour you had through this town in seconds, leaving behind mud and rock several stories high. Buildings destroyed. Families broken.
It sounded like a giant gust of wind this man says. All I could do was run. But an untold number could not. (on camera): These people are digging for a family of eight. They have been digging for three days. They say that this is the second floor and this is the third floor.
(voice-over): Nearby, the Yong family stands on the mound of earth that smothered their two story home. Their two young sons and parents were inside.
WANG XIUOING, LANDSLIDE SURVIVOR (through translator): My sons are buried here. What is there to feel?
(on camera): This is part of what's making the rescue operation so difficult. This is thick, heavy sludge. You can't walk through it. You can't drive through it. So people are literally using shovels, picks and their bare hands to dig out these victims.
(voice-over): Floodwaters cut through the disaster site in every direction. Even when rescuers do find a body, it takes hours to get it out. The dead lined the streets and a makeshift morgue. There's a danger of disease spreading, heat stroke and a lack of clean water, but the digging goes on.
Hours later, there's still no sign of the family of eight and no giving up, either.
Emily Chang, CNN, (INAUDIBLE), China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, as bad as it is in China, the situation is growing more dire in neighboring Pakistan where torrential rains and flooding have created disaster and humanitarian crisis of enormous magnitude, considered by some of the worst in the nation's history. Much of Pakistan's Sindh province thoroughly under water.
More than 1,200 Pakistanis are confirmed dead. A number that could quickly rise. As hunger sets in, the United States is airlifting hundreds of thousands of ready to eat meals. The U.N. humanitarian official estimates that seven million Pakistanis need food right now.
And hunger is still a huge concern in earthquake ravaged Haiti, where former President George Bush is set to make a return trip. If you'll recall, how he and former President Bill Clinton are quarterbacking a relief fund. We were also told that President Bush plans on talking one on one with everyday Haitians to get a better idea of the conditions and issues you're still facing, nearly six months after the disaster.
Our Rob Marciano is checking the heat across the nation, today. Well, some areas though, pretty darn cold. It's extreme on both sides, right?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, typically when you get one extreme, you get the other. We have cool on the West Coast and hot on the East Coast and the central part of the country but that has been really the story, at least the heat has been, for a good couple of weeks.
But we're going to start to see that pattern change here, I think, over the next few days and certainly into the weekend, in the beginning next week.
To the north though, we got thunderstorms that have in some spots become pretty strong, certainly yesterday. We had a lot of downpours in parts of Iowa. They've had tremendous amount of flooding. Iowa since June, parts of Iowa since June 1st have seen over two feet of rainfall, tremendous amount of rainfall across parts of the Corn country, and this band of thunderstorms begin to move towards Minneapolis and Chicago.
These aren't terribly strong at the moment, but certainly something we'll keep an eye on as we go throughout the day because this is the area that's going to pop, I think later on in the afternoon. The showers now moving through the tri-state area of New York, Jersey, and Connecticut, beginning to role out to see. And as that happens, the skies will clear. The sun will bake down on maybe some wet pavement and really start to instigate some issues as far as humidity and heat and we have heat advisories out for New York and Philadelphia, for temperatures that will at least feel like they are up and over 100 degrees.
So, warmer than that if you are in the sun or you're near in any sort of concrete building, made of brick, and maybe radiating a lit bit. Our heat advisories and warnings have been extended also across the central part of the country, which has really been the big story now about a week and a half.
These are dangerous levels of heat. When you talk about heat index that are up and over 105, 110, even in some cases 120 degrees. That can take a toll on the body. And certainly those who are frail or infirmed, they're going to be at most at risk. Just take a look at your neighbors and take care of them especially if they're elderly.
St. Louis really under the bull's eye here. The advisories go almost as far north as Wisconsin to as far south as parts of the Gulf of Mexico. Speaking of, here's what's shaking down there. This Red Box indicates that we have a high probability of this disturbance turning into a - well, maybe a tropical depression or even tropical storm.
The National Hurricane Center has ordered an investigation to this via recon, hurricane hunter aircraft. They're going to check it out. And some of our computer models, we just don't know how strong it's going to get because it hasn't really started as a surface low. This kind of morphing from a larger scale low to a more tropical one.
But nonetheless, our computer models want to take it anywhere in this area over the next couple of days and we're just hoping that it doesn't develop into something, to have any sort of significant strength. Right now, if looks like if it is doing that, it is going to be slow to do it. 103 is the expected high temperature in Dallas, 100 degrees in Kansas City, 97 degrees in Washington, D.C., and Kyra talked about the extremes. 58 degrees in San Francisco and 76 degrees in Los Angeles. Coastal California has seen temperatures that were reminiscent of spring or fall or in some cases winter, as opposed to what's going on east the (INAUDIBLE). Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Is this when we have a discussion on global warming.
MARCIANO: Yes.
PHILLIPS: And how it's affecting the entire planet?
MARCIANO: We need a little more time for that.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: OK.
PHILLIPS: Well, you turn to the doctor for medical expertise, right? But aren't you the expert when it comes to your own body? CNN's Elizabeth Cohen shares a personal story that could teach all of us a lesson.
Checking the big board right now. Dow industrials down 102 points. Be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: To update you on that plane crash out of Alaska. The NTSB reporting possibly five of the nine people on board died. We're talking about a plane that crashed near Dillingham, Alaska. One of the individuals, we're still trying to confirm if indeed was on that plane, Reuters Wire Service is reporting that former Republican U.S. Senator Ted Stevens was aboard that plane that crashed in Alaska. Not clear whether he survived or not. We are being told there are survivors, possibly up to four survivors. There are doctors on the scene. The NTSB has sent investigators. We'll let you know more as soon as we get it.
Let's check our other top stories right now. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announcing big cuts in the Pentagon's budget. That could cost thousands of jobs. Even before Gates finished his announcement, some lawmakers in Capitol Hill were already criticizing it. Defense officials say that the cuts are needed to be able to maintain military strength and fund its needs to modernize.
Think you're having a bad day at work. Well, a Jetblue flight attendant became upset with passengers and let loose. Witnesses say Steven Slater cursed them out on the P.A. system, grabbed some beer off the serving cart and deployed the emergency slide and made a grand exit. It happened at JFK Airport and Slater now faces a series of criminal charges.
If you spot this man, stay out of his way and call the police. They say he carried out a series of random knife attacks in and around Flint, Michigan. Five people died and another 10 were injured. And if that wasn't horrific enough, he may be linked to similar stabbings in Ohio and Virginia.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: An update now to that plane crash in Alaska. You know, we had been telling you that Reuters Wire Service was reporting that former Republican Senator Ted Stevens was aboard that plane that crashed in Dillingham, Alaska. Now we're getting word also on board that plane, former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe. The NTSB is saying that possibly five people have been killed in that plane crash, that there are survivors possibly as well.
But right now, we are getting word that possibly former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe was on that plane as well, along with former Republican Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska. We'll keep updating you as we get this information.
Patients in the U.S. schedule more than 900 million doctors visits in each year but the average person's face time with the doctor is only about 13 minutes. Now, how can you be sure that you're getting the best care at every appointment?
A new book releasing today, "The Empowered Patient" has some answers. You may know the author. She's our very own senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen and she's sharing some inspiration behind that series.
Actually, something that happened right there at home with her mom and it changed everybody's life and actually led Elizabeth to putting this book together. Elizabeth, great to see you. I saw this piece yesterday and I said, we have got to talk more about what inspired you to write this book.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know, Kyra, I've never really talked about it before about why I started the "Empowered Patient" column three years ago or why I wrote this book. But it has to do with my mom and the surgery that she was forced to have, that she ended up having to have, really could have been prevented.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (voice-over): My mother, Sheila Schwartz, is a firecracker. Mother of four, grandmother of 11, wife, lawyer and social worker. She's been active and healthy her whole life. But around the time she turned 60, something changed. She began feeling achy and dizzy. Her blood pressure went up and she was so tired. My mother says her family doctor told her "don't worry about it."
(on camera): They told you, "look lady, if you just stop working so hard, your blood pressure will come down."
SHEILA SCHWARTZ, ELIZABETH COHEN'S MOTHER: (INAUDIBLE) you're busy.
COHEN: So they kind of patted you on your head and said -
SCHWARTZ: Go home. Calm down.
COHEN (voice-over): My mother didn't question her doctor.
(On camera): Were you an empowered patient?
SCHWARTZ: No.
COHEN: No.
SCHWARTZ: No. I was unempowered in this process. I was an empowered mother. I was an empowered social worker. I was an empowered teacher. I was not an empowered patient.
COHEN: Did you just trust the doctors?
SCHWARTZ: That's what I was brought up to do.
COHEN: A good girl from the 50s.
SCHWARTZ: 40s.
COHEN: From the 40s.
(voice-over): Then one day, my mother flew in to visit me in Atlanta. I could tell she felt awful.
(on camera): And you remember what we did while you were there.
SCHWARTZ: You called your physician who came in on a Saturday and saw me.
COHEN: And he had a theory you had what's going in your adrenal glands.
SCHWARTZ: Adrenal adenomas.
COHEN: And those are growths on the adrenal gland.
SCHWARTZ: That was affecting my kidney functions.
COHEN: It was like this a-ha moment.
SCHWARTZ: That's right.
COHEN: Now, it makes sense.
SCHWARTZ: Now, it makes sense.
COHEN: It turns out my mother all this time had been seriously ill. If it had been caught earlier, a pretty simple treatment would fix the problem but instead it's come to this. She needed a kidney transplant. My mom's life depended on the success of this surgery.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Goodbye, darling. Take care.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COHEN: Now, thank goodness I am so happy to say that eight months after her kidney transplant, my mother is doing great. And thanks to her cousin, who donated the kidney.
Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Wow. And you learned a lot through this experience and through your mom on many levels, right?
COHEN: Oh, absolutely! What I learned is that sometimes, you have to be a bad patient. And what I mean by that is, if my mother had said to her doctor, "What do you mean I just need to calm down? Like, what kind of an answer is that?", she would have annoyed him. But she also might have found out sooner that she had kidney disease. And so sometimes, you have to annoy your doctor. It's okay. It is okay not to be liked if it is all in the effort to get the best healthcare possible.
PHILLIPS: Well, it's a fantastic story of -- of learning and figuring out the process, and we really are our best advocate.
And one more time, Elizabeth is out with her book. Hey, what's the best way to get your book, by the way?
COHEN: Amazon.com. Read my books.
PHILLIPS: There you go. All right, we're going to send you there. And there it is, "Empowered Patient" by Elizabeth Cohen. It's a fantastic resource.
Elizabeth, thanks.
COHEN: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: A college professor says he was discriminated against because he's not gay. Now, he's out of a job and speaking out. We're getting both sides of the story after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Getting more information on that breaking news out of Alaska. This is what we can tell you. A plane has crashed near Dillingham, Alaska. We're told nine people on board. Two of those passengers, through Reuters wire service and osko -- also, information coming through our desk here at CNN. Former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe was on that plane, in addition to former Republican U.S. senator Ted Stevens.
Apparently, there are survivors, but we can't seem to get confirmation whether Stevens and/or O'Keefe are still alive. We are working this story right now; we will bring you more information as we continue to get it in here to CNN.
Discriminated against for being straight. A former college professor says that it happened to him, and he says he was fired for complaining about it. Csaba Marosan has followed a complaint -- or filed a complaint, rather -- with New York's Human Rights division, claiming his bosses at Trocaire College in Buffalo gave preferential treatment to a clique of gay faculty members dubbed "the merry men."
And the Civil Rights division says, quote, "The record reveals evidence which supports (Marosan's) allegations that he was treated differently, denied promotions and ultimately terminated based on his sex, age, national origin, and sexual orientation." End quote.
But the two-year Catholic college denies those allegations, saying that Marosan was let go because he wasn't qualified.
Joining us now from Buffalo, we do have the former professor, Csaba Marosan. And James Grasso, who is representing Trocaire College.
Mr. Marosan, let's go ahead and start with you. You say you were hired by Trocaire in 2002. What happened within the eight years you taught there that led you to complain?
CSABA MAROSAN, FORMER PROFESSOR AT TROCAIRE COLLEGE: Good morning. Well, first of all, I was hired in 2002 as a full-time faculty professor, and I went through four more interview process. And I was hired by the president, Dr. Paul Hurley, Jr., who at that time and even today is a consultant and working for (INAUDIBLE) Association on Accreditation. And he was quite aware of my medical degree. (INAUDIBLE) and I have told prior to that two years as an adjunct, and I was delighted to interview for the full-time position.
I was extremely well liked by the students. As I understand that there are petition of over 500 signatures by the students. And so -- all my evaluations was outstanding. So, suddenly, since Reverend Robert Mock received the position as an association -- I'm sorry -- the associate academic dean -- I have noticed that he makes preferential treatments. I was brought -- it was brought to my attention by my fellow colleagues that I am being ousted and ostracized in many cases. I was denied promotions. And my expertise, although was used, (INAUDIBLE) Trocaire College is preparing to open in the fall bachelor's in science and radiology. For that accreditation, I had to write all the new curriculums, which was accredited --
PHILLIPS: OK --
MAROSAN: So, how could an unqualified person -- yes, I'm sorry.
PHILLIPS: No, it's OK. So, Mr. Marosan, I want to understand. It sounds like you are qualified, you passed the qualifications, you were hired here. You were teaching for eight years. Why, all of a sudden, eight years into the job, are you filing a complaint that you've been shoved out because you're straight? Explain that to me.
MAROSAN: Well, suddenly, I was left out of meetings since Reverend Robert Mock orchestrated -- he has -- I have evidence that at least one of the students was coerced to make false allegations with human resource director. And so forth. It was just -- there was a point where there was no one to talk to at the college, so I went to the human rights division. I put in the formal complaint, and there was a year-and-a-half of investigation for both sides to present evidence. So --
PHILLIPS: Did -- did these -- did Father Robert Mock, who you mentioned, the dean of academic affairs for non-nursing students and other members of the faculty say, you're straight. You're not welcome here?
MAROSAN: Oh, they would never say that face-to-face. But your actions --
PHILLIPS: So, why do you feel, then, you were let go because -- or forced out because you are straight?
MAROSAN: Well, how is it that people are hired or -- without qualification, even as far as ever taking a course or -- in their education to teach that particular course at the college with -- what I'm saying is, unqualified people who are replacing -- just because you are a young man and belonging to the "Merryman" clique that -- that -- Reverend Robert Mock called his young men, as they are "Merrymen."
PHILLIPS: So, Mr. Grasso, let me get you to respond here. What is your reaction to these allegations and this clique, this so-called -- referred to as the "Merrymen"? And these allegations that the professor was forced out or forced to complain because he's heterosexual?
JAMES GRASSO, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING TROCAIRE COLLEGE: Well, first, Kyra, I want to thank you for having me on the show so I can explain the college's position.
The college denies all of his allegations, and the fact of the matter is, there just really isn't any proof to that. We talk about the Division of Human Rights' investigation, but really, it wasn't a year-and-a-half investigation. It was maybe a couple of days. The Division of Human Rights is 10 minutes from the college, yet they never came out to the college to interview anybody. And they did investigations over the phone because of budget cuts. So, it really was a poor and incomplete investigation, and they didn't get all of the facts.
And as far as Dr. Marosan's qualifications, it's true. He did get good reviews, he did an excellent job, and the college has never said that he didn't have the ability and knowledge to teach the courses he was teaching. But what happened was, in 2009, the Middle States Association, which is the college's accrediting association, did a review for reaccrediting the college. And one of the deficiencies they noted was Dr. Marosan does not possess -- according to them, their requirements -- the minimum degree to teach the courses he was teaching, which is a masters degree.
So, although he has a medical degree from Hungary, he's not licensed in the United States. Middle States, the accrediting agency, said he doesn't possess the minimum qualifications to be teaching the courses he was. So, to meet that deficiency and to make sure that Trocaire is --
PHILLIPS: But he's been -- but he's been in the job for eight years, and he's got a number of good reviews. I mean, even if you go to this Web site, RateMyProfessor.com, a popular site among college students, they say he's a great teacher, he's interesting, he loved what he teaches, he's really helpful. And this is all pre-complaint.
GRASSO: Sure. There's no doubt about it. He was a good teacher, he was well-liked by the students. But as I say, it -- what we have is Middle States coming in, our accrediting agency, saying "you have a deficiency here in your faculty." And our accreditation relies on meeting the Middle States' requirements.
So, as good as Dr. Marosan was and as much as the college and the faculty and the students liked him, the fact is, he just did not possess the necessary requirements that Middle States says was necessary. So --
PHILLIPS: Well, gentlemen -- I have to apologize. I wanted to make sure you each had your fair shake here, but I can -- I can promise you both we will continue to follow this case.
Csaba Marosan and also James Grasso, we've got to get to some breaking news. So -- but we will stay on top of this complaint. See how this develops. Gentlemen, thank you so much.
But I've got to bring viewers up to date on a breaking news story that we've been following now. We're getting more information about that plane crash near Dillingham, Alaska. We told you there were nine people aboard that plane. Possibly five people have been killed, which does mean there could be survivors right now. But two people, two names that have surfaced as passengers on that plane: former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe and also former Republican U.S. senator Ted Stevens.
Let's go ahead to John Zarrella. John, I'm assuming you're in Miami. Yes, you are.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You were on the NASA beat. Still are on the NASA beat. You know or knew, we cannot confirm whether he has died or not, Sean O'Keefe, the former NASA administrator. What are your sources telling you? What can you tell us.
ZARRELLA: Well, Kyra, I spoke this morning with folks at NASA, who are , like many people, just waiting now, to find out what exactly happened. They could not confirm for me at the time whether Sean O'Keefe was on the plane. They were certainly very concerned. They said they had certainly been hearing those reports that he was on the plane. And what they were waiting for mostly now was to find out whether he was one of those who perished or one of those who survived, Kyra.
And, you know, they were certainly very, very distraught, those folks that I talked to who knew him. He served as administrator from 2001 to 2005, during the Bush years. And it was a very troubling time for NASA, as you know. The space station was $5 billion over budget. He was a budget guy that was brought in to try and rein it in, to try and fix NASA's problem -- budgetary problems.
And then of course, right in the middle of that, in February 2003, the Columbia accident. And he shepherded into NASA back through that to bring the shuttle program back up to speed, to get the vehicles flying again, to get the shuttles more safely flying.
And also, to change NASA's direction. It was the start of moving away from the shuttle, starting to retire the shuttle fleet, thinking in that direction.
And then in 2005 he finally went ahead and he resigned. And he moved into private practice. He taught for a while. And most recently he was the CEO of a -- of a major defense and aerospace contractor, the North American division here. And that apparently has been -- was his last position until this terrible plane crash -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, John. So -- stay with me here for a minute. I'm going to try and bring folks up to date as much as possible. And Rob Marciano is going to join us in a minute to talk about the bad weather in that area.
But if you're just tuning in, that's John Zarrella joining us from Miami. He's working this story for us. But apparently a plane crashed late into the night last night near Dillingham, Alaska. And we're told that there could possibly still be survivors as reports that there are doctors on the scene.
We're having a really hard time getting information due to where this plane crashed and a lack of resources to get us the information straight from the scene. But we can tell you as news is starting to develop, various congressional sources calling in, also sources within NASA, as you just heard from John Zarrella, that possibly two of the passengers that were on that plane were former Republican U.S. Ted Stevens, also former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe.
We still cannot confirm whether they, for sure, were on that plane. These are sources calling into us. We don't know if they are dead or alive if indeed they were on that aircraft.
The NTSB has said that -- initially on its Web site that five of the nine passengers on board had died and they were launching a go- team to get there as soon as possible.
We're trying to work information here. We're getting it little by little. It looks like the weather in the area at the time of that crash which was -- 7:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time, was not good.
Rob Marciano, what have you been able to find via Google Earth on the conditions right now.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well --
PHILLIPS: If indeed they're trying to, you know, find these people that are still alive.
MARCIANO: This area is very remote. It's -- at least where the crash was. There was a municipal airport close to the crash site assuming where they were trying to land. By Alaskan standard, the weather wasn't horrifying, of course, in the summer. Weather there is typically a lot better than in the wintertime.
But there -- there was an area of low pressure, a storm basically. A very, very weak storm that was kind of standard over the area, not moving very much. So for several hours, you had basically inkling of (INAUDIBLE) of some rain, some wind, and worse, visibility.
The fog over will really the issue there. And when you're talking about the Bering Sea, and the northern part of the Pacific here, the visibility can drop here in a hurry especially later in the evening and earlier in the morning.
Of course this time of day -- this time of year, they have daylight almost around the fog here. So presumably visibility was OK as far as the amount of daylight but the fog was the issue and visibility was hampered there.
Not only before the time it went down or they lost contact, but the rescue efforts after. So that's what they're struggling against here. Remote area and visibility, very, very poor both at the mid and lower levels where they're trying to search for this aircraft and get better handle of what's going on.
Anchorage back over here and Dillingham is back in through here so -- and in between there's -- you know, Alaska's pretty rugged terrain and very, very remote spots. This is north of the Illusions or the capes and some -- as they like to say, and visibility is the main issue.
So we don't expect that to clear dramatically throughout the day today, Kyra, but anytime that fog lifts it will be a great help to the rescue efforts happening right now.
PHILLIPS: Got it, Rob. Thanks so much. Stay with us. Let us know if you find out anything else.
MARCIANO: Will do.
PHILLIPS: If that changes.
And apparently the Air Force 11th Rescue Coordination Center, which is manned by the Alaska National Guard, was contacted by Dillingham Flight Service after someone spotted this downed aircraft.
Barbara Starr, as you know, is our Pentagon correspondent.
Barbara, what can you tell us about this rescue coordination center and are they actively involved right now in trying to find survivors?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we have been told, Kyra, in fact is -- in the recent hours a commercial helicopter has dropped off a medical team at the site. That coming from a U.S. government official. So there is, by all accounts, a medical team on site.
We do not know the status. These reports are circulating that there may be a small number of survivors from the eight or nine people that were onboard this aircraft.
At this point the Alaska National Guard is basically functioning as a liaison if you will in this very remote area, gathering information, talking to people. There is no active duty U.S. military involvement in this.
But I have to tell you, the word about Sean O'Keefe as well as Senator Stevens circulating in the Pentagon hallways this morning, Sean O'Keefe is very much someone who was known here in the Pentagon when he served here as Navy secretary, as comptroller before he went over to NASA.
Very well liked, very remembered during his years of service here for his organizational skills. I think a lot of people will tell you that that was the reason he was selected to go over to NASA at a very troubled time.
So people watching the news develop, gathering what information they can at this point because of the remoteness of the area and the distance. Very sketchy details, but by all accounts, a commercial private medical team now on site rendering aid and seeing what they can do -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK, Barbara, keep working your sources for us. Appreciate it. Because that helps us tremendously, Barbara, because we're told that possibly there could be up to four survivors in this crash. And so we'd like to be able to bring that information, if indeed true, directly to our viewers that are watching for more information on this plane crash.
If you're just tuning in, this is what we know up to this point. That a plane crashed near Dillingham, Alaska. It happened last night and possibly, we are being told, there could be up to four survivors. We're not -- if you want to know where Dillingham is, it's about -- actually where the plane went down.
It's about 17 miles north of Dillingham. You can see here on the map and this is where Rob Marciano has been following the weather conditions for us. Not good weather at all. And Rob was even saying, if indeed that medical team is on the ground, trying to treat these survivors, look for survivors, trying to respond to this plane crash, this is a very remote area and this would be very difficult for a medical team such as the one Barbara mentioned came in via air, in a helicopter.
Now we've been trying to figure out who indeed was on this plane. Possibly up to nine people. Two of those people that have been identified as possible passengers, former Republican U.S. Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska and also former NASA administrator, Sean O'Keefe. John Zarrella, are you still with me?
ZARRELLA: Yes, Kyra. I'm here.
PHILLIPS: Let me -- let me ask you this. If indeed Sean O'Keefe was on that plane with Ted Stevens, do you know much about a relationship between the two? Why they would be together, what they would be working on together?
ZARRELLA: No, no. Other than the fact that -- yes, at this point in time that O'Keefe is the North American CEO of this aerospace and defense contractor, and of course from all the years, as Barbara was pointing out, that both O'Keefe and Ted Stevens were in Washington together, I'm sure a relationship developed over all those years.
You know, and as Barbara was saying, O'Keefe was someone who's certainly well respected during all his time in Washington. He was a budget guy, worked at the office of Management and Budget.
You know the times that I talked to him, he was both very pragmatic and that's certainly why he was chosen to run NASA at that difficult time, but at the same time he was certainly also very eloquent in his selection of words and in the way he'd spoke when he delivered a speech.
And -- but you knew where he stood and you knew what his job was at NASA which was to try and get this massive organization back in control and out from under this budget mess that it was in at the time.
And -- and he always spoke very straightforward to people about his priorities and about he wanted the space -- the space agency to be in and where he and former President Bush thought it should go.
And again, to answer your question, I just think over the years, they had developed this relationship from their time together in Washington.
PHILLIPS: So we have confirmed -- and I'm looking here, and John, I'm trying to keep up with all the information, but according to our CNN Wire staff, we have confirmed that Sean O'Keefe was indeed on that private aircraft.
Did you say that his company confirmed that to you?
ZARRELLA: Yes, that's correct.
PHILLIPS: OK.
ZARRELLA: His company that -- that we got it from. Correct.
PHILLIPS: Got it. OK, stay with me, John.
Barbara Starr, joining us once again from the Pentagon. Barbara just told us about this medical team that had been launched to that site to attempt to treat those that survived. What do you got, Barbara?
STARR: Well, Kyra, we also have some new developments now. Our Pentagon producer Larry Shaughnessy has just learned that three squadrons of the Alaska Air National Guard have now been called in to try and help where search, recovery, rescue, whatever it takes.
We are told that this includes both helicopters and fixed wing. But here's the problem. The weather is very bad up there by all accounts. And so -- right now they have not been able to do much.
But again, the Pentagon telling us that three squadrons of the Alaska Air National Guard being asked to see what they can do to help. Separately commercial helicopter was able, we are told, to drop off a private medical team at the site to try and render assistance to survivors.
Again, everybody looking at this situation, the possibility that -- former Senator Stevens, Sean O'Keefe and others have perished in this crash. But our sources here saying it's all something that continues to evolve.
As you can see it's just in the last few minutes we were able to learn that the Alaska Air National Guard, in fact, has been called in and will start as soon as the weather clears enough so they can fly -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. I'm getting some information. Barbara, stay with me. And repeat that to me, again, that FAA is coming out with a preliminary report saying there were eight people on board, not nine, since we were reporting -- we're reporting that nine people were aboard.
So eight people on board. Five have been reported dead and did you say any survivors? So one person has sustained injuries.
So right now we only got six people -- six people accounted for. So two unknown. OK.
So, Barbara Starr, are you still with me?
STARR: I'm still here, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. So we've got -- it looks like five dead, one survived with injuries, but still two people unaccounted for. We're talking about a lot of resources being launched out there, too. The three squadrons, as you mentioned, and also the medical team that was brought in.
Maybe we should talk about the assets those squadrons would have via helicopters and fixed wing that might be able to locate these other two passengers?
STARR: Right. Well, you know, I think if it's a very remote area, perhaps heavily wooded, mountainous, rugged, it is going to be the helicopters perhaps that would have the most slot going in right to the scene.
Now helicopters of course fly to lower altitude than fixed wing planes, so the weather will affect them more. It is possible, as we have seen in previous situations like this, they'll try and get those fixed wing planes up as fast as they can to get a look at the situation on the ground. But if they want to put people on the ground, in a remote area, it is most likely going to be by helicopter.
The International Guard, the U.S. military, but also civilian search and rescue has a remarkable capability to do all of that. We don't have a really good fix just yet on what civilian search and rescue in Alaska may be doing in this situation.
PHILLIPS: All right, got it. Barbara Starr, thanks so much. Stay with us. Let us know if you get more information. We appreciate you helping us out with us.
Also, John Zarrella, you're still with me, right?
ZARRELLA: Yes, Kyra, I'm here.
