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Judge Rules on Gay in the Military Ban; Alleged Fort Hood Shooter Appears in Court; Chilean Government Will Control Signal Broadcast of Miner Extraction; Fear of Second Toxic Spill in Hungary; Countdown to Mine Rescue

Aired October 12, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Want to remind you we will get another political update in half-an-hour. And you can always get the latest news. Hop online at CNNPolitics.com or on Twitter. The Twitter handle is @PoliticalTicker.

And with that, here we go, top of the hour. I want to welcome the women, the men watching us right now on American Forces Network all around the world. We're going to hit you fast this hour. See if you can keep up with me. Let's go.

We are just now getting details from a federal courthouse in California where a judge today ordered that the U.S. military stop enforcing the so-called don't ask, don't tell policy regarding openly gay men and women. So, that means any investigation or possibly tending disciplinary action against a service member against the policy now on hold.

This is the same judge, mind you, who ruled last month that don't ask, don't tell violated military members' 5th Amendment. The government is expected to appeal. Of course, we're watching for developments on that today.

To Fort Hood, Texas, now, where the Army psychiatrist accused of gunning down those 13 people there last November, he showed up in a courtroom, but briefly. The hearing for Nidal Hasan didn't last too long. It's been delayed for tomorrow. That is when the investigating officer in charge will consider the defense request to move the hearing to next month. The hearing will decide if Hasan is court- martialed. Hasan was shot and paralyzed during that shooting rampage.

And listen to what an NPR reporter saw at that hearing today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WADE GOODWYN, NPR: Well, when they wheeled him out, he has to kind of go over a little ramp they have made to get out of the back room into the courtroom. And he grabs on to the sides of his wheelchair when they are moving him. And he's wearing a knit -- he's wearing fatigues and a knit camp that is pulled down over his ears. Because he's paralyzed, he can't regulate his core body temperature, so he gets cold a lot. And he is strapped -- his legs are strapped into the wheelchair to keep him from falling out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Moving to this breaking story we have brought you. This is on that investigation of a man's disappearance from a South Texas lake. We have gruesome news. A Mexican investigator involved is dead, decapitated. His head was delivered to the Mexican military in a suitcase. That's according to a Texas lawmaker.

Also, some authorities in Mexico say they are pursuing not just one, but two brothers in this case. We told you about this yesterday. But other officials say they don't know anything about that.

Tiffany Hartley, that's the man's wife, told police her husband, David, was shot and killed while they were out and about on a lake, which, by the way, straddles the U.S.-Mexican border. And last night, she spoke to our Anderson Cooper about making this trip back to the lake to honor her husband.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIFFANY HARTLEY, WIDOW: It was hard because I just replayed the whole entire day from the time I left my house to the time that we got there, to the time that we -- I came home. That whole day was just a remembrance of what happened.

And I wanted to honor David and leave flowers for him, especially his favorite color. But still, it didn't -- it brought some peace but at the same time it didn't bring closure because I don't have him. He's not here with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Tiffany Hartley is also being told the divers still out there searching for her husband's body.

Now the Ukraine, where at least at least 42 people died when this bus and train collided. It happened at a train crossing. Investigators say it looks like the bus driver ignored those warning lights, crossed the tracks, even though the train was coming. Ukraine's president says tomorrow will be a day of mourning for those victims.

And a young Afghan woman, here she is, horribly disfigured by her husband now showing the world a brand-new face. Beautiful. This was 19-year-old Bibi Aisha's husband, who cut off her nose and her ears. He did it under the orders of the Taliban. Hard to imagine how she felt. But I'm going to let her tell you. You are going to hear her voice -- actually the voice of our reporter, Atia Abawi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ATIA ABAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (translating): "When they cut off my nose and ears, I passed out," Aisha says. "In the middle of the night, it felt like there was cold water in my nose. I opened my eyes and I couldn't even see because of all of the blood."

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: So, right now, the U.S. military and a women's group helped save her. And in the picture we showed you earlier, she's wearing her new -- that's a prosthetic nose. She will now have reconstructive surgery here in the U.S.

George Clooney, Wolf was just talking about this, he wants you to know about Sudan. He's headed to the White House. He's talking about a possible political division in the Sudan that he and others believe may lead to more civil war in the troubled nation.

Here's what he said, actually, moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: -- been enslaved and have been sold and have been raped and slaughtered for generations. And they earned the right to vote for their freedom. In 2005, they earned that right. And they believe they have that right come January 9.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And talk about a waste of perfectly good toilet paper here. What you're looking at Robert Rizzo's house. Name ring a bell? That's because he's the former city manager of Bell, California. He was the guy who was making about $800,000 a year running the town when most of the other folks were making a whole heck of a lot less.

He made bail last week, facing dozens of corruption charges, but it looks like someone already served him some justice.

All right, let the debates begin. Here we go, three weeks until election midterms here, candidates squaring off and telling voters who they are cut -- and why they're cut out for the job. We're going to break that all down for you ahead.

And it doesn't get much more dramatic than this. Man, the clock is ticking on this story here. We're all over it, rescue crews getting ready to pull up the first of the 33 trapped miners in Chile. Live pictures, as we are counting down. Folks, this could happen, we could have a freed miner by the end of the night tonight. That's what the ministry of mining is hoping. We're all over this story. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Wow. The countdown is on. I know you're excited about this, like I know those families down there in Chile here.

Really, it's been the ultimate reality show. And the episode we have all been waiting for is hours away. I'm talking about this rescue of these 33 miners who have been stuck in this cave in Chile a half a mile underground.

There is a flurry of activity at the mine where these men are trapped. And we of course have been counting down the days just as you have. They have been down there for 68 days. And throughout that entire time, we have watched them set up really their own society underground. They have this whole hierarchy. It's very organized as it appears through some of these videos we have seen.

But we have also watched their loved ones who have been 2,000 feet above in this makeshift tent city. They have called it Camp Esperanza, Camp Hope. Hope has never been higher than right now.

The rescue operation is set to begin in about three-and-a-half- hours. And here's some of this some of the videos we have been seeing and showing you over the course of the last two months, really. They have been singing and chanting.

And we are hoping to hear some singing and chanting here in the next couple of hours. We have live pictures here from the scene there in Chile. Imagine, just the media presence globally there, everyone waiting for this moment.

We have all kinds of questions for our correspondent, Karl Penhaul. We're going to talk to him about this whole process right after the break. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Well, at first, when this whole Chilean mine disaster story broke, we were hearing these guys may not be able to get out until Christmas. And that timeline has moved up and moved up and moved up. And now we're hearing we could have at least one freed miner by the end of tonight.

We're all waiting and watching, as is our correspondent there in Chile, Karl Penhaul, who is with me on the phone.

And, Karl, just bring me up to speed in terms of this timeline. Is it changing? I know it's been very fluid. Are we still hearing possibly by the end of tonight?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): It has been very fluid.

Right now, we know that President Sebastian Pinera is here, which is a good sign, because he throughout this crisis has said that he wants to be on site to hug each and every one of those miners as they are pulled out of the rescue shaft. He is now here.

We know that the cement has dried on the platform where the pulley is going to be parked. And so all systems really are go. The mines minister, Laurence Golborne, still says that he hopes to have the first miner back on the surface by midnight, and so far everything seems to be going according to that plan, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Karl, what are you hearing as far as this vow of silence, that these miners all huddled a half a mile underground are saying, nope, we're not going to talk about this?

PENHAUL: I had heard whispers of that kind of thing over the last few weeks that I have been here. But, today, one of the family members showed me a letter that she had received in the last few hours from her miner brother.

And, in that letter, it said quite clearly, in response to a request for a media interview, that please tell them, no, that is a negative. We will not do an interview. There will be no exclusives either. He said, that is because all 33 of us have taken a vow of silence. He said we -- in that letter, he said, we will never talk about what's gone on down in this mine.

He didn't spell out the reasons for that. He didn't spell out whether it was because certain unsavory things had gone on down in that mine that they simply thought were better forgotten, or whether because it might be some kind of a backlash against the media, because, at certain points, I know both the families and the miners themselves thought this whole tragedy was being treated a little bit like reality TV. And they certainly have said in the past that they don't want to be treated like zoo animals in any shape or form for the amusement of the national audience, the national media. Something which I don't fully believe has been happening, but certainly from their viewpoint, half a mile underground, a little difficult to get the full picture.

So it will be interesting to see that if they do emerge whether in fact that pact of silence holds, whether they explain the reasons why they made that pact of silence, and whether they maybe they just head on home and prefer and forget that this whole sorry incident ever occurred -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: I know many, many journalists and photographers all around the world including yourself are there and everyone wants that story. And I think what's fascinating and I think this is done on behalf of the Mining Ministry, is once these 33 men are extracted out of this mine, they are essentially putting up a shield so these men will not come over to those cameras and put those microphones on.

They're very much still being protected, are they not?

PENHAUL: They certainly are. There's an official Chilean government signal that is being put out showing the rescue and extraction process because the media themselves are kept on a hillside platform about 300 yards from the extraction point. That means that the government cameras are the only ones that are having a close-up view of the extraction. And that there has been some kind of barricade thrown up there so that we can't see the moment that the phoenix capsule comes up.

We are relying on the government to get those pictures, but our understanding is that if any of these miners come out in less than good shape, that they've been made nauseous by the ride up on the capsule, if they've been made panicked by the ride on the capsule or if they're staggering around because of the effects of sunlight after months in complete darkness, that then those pictures will not be transmitted. It's likely they will be edited in some shape or form. Though the government itself, of course, says that these miners and their families also do need a level of privacy.

BALDWIN: Sure, and you mentioned the families. It's my understanding with the lay of the land that the families are all in these tents as part of Camp Hope and you, as a reporter, cannot just walk into this tent city.

I imagine, though, that some of them have been trickling out and you've had conversations with these family members and if you can, talk to me about how they're feeling. I imagine excited, but also anxious because let's not -- you know, let's underscore the fact that this is also incredibly dangerous.

PENHAUL: Yes. Yes, it just depends which family. Some are camped out in the same area where the media are, some are behind the barricades that the media has no access too.

But certainly talking to those families now, they say to me that they're feeling a whole range of emotions at the same time. Some say they're feeling happy, nervous and stressed all at the same time to the point that they really don't know what kind of name to put on that emotion, which is not surprising, I mean, this rescue effort has gone into unchartered territory in all shapes and forms.

One lady who we have become well acquainted with over the last several weeks as well said to me, well, you know, I finally caved in and called a friend down in town and asked her to bring me some tablets up, because she said I need something to calm my nerves. She said I can't go on like this, I won't be in any state to greet my husband when he comes down unless I can calm down somewhat -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: And finally, Karl, and then I'll let you go, but just, you know, with your reporter hat on here, I know you're based in Colombia, you've covered stories around the world, how does this compare? I mean, the media spotlight honing in here at the Atacama Desert in Chile, how does it compare to you?

PENHAUL: Yes, I think it's very different for us from any kind of story that I've covered before, whether it's been -- whether that's been conflicts, social conflicts or even disasters. I think this story, on a level that I haven't seen before, the TV viewers internationally want to interact with this story. They feel that after two months or more of this crisis that they have got to know many of these families personally. That they have got to have known the miners personally.

And in many senses, they are not viewing this as a reality TV show. More than that, viewers to me seem that they want to put themselves in the miners' shoes or at least in the shoes of their families to figure out how actually it must feel to wait for 2.5 months when you know that your closest and dearest may have been buried alive underground.

For instance, just to name one story, there is a lady that regularly e-mails me from Texas. And she says that every night she goes down to her local church and they're plaguing her priest to light 33 candles every night. That is something she's done for the last 2.5 months because she said, I cannot do anything else. So please tell those families, this is what I do every night.

BALDWIN: Yes, everyone is thinking --

(CROSSTALK)

PENHAUL: -- of the people who want to interact.

BALDWIN: Right, everyone is thinking about these families and these miners. And Karl Penhaul, my hat is off to you. You've been an excellent reporter through this whole thing. And again, we're watching, we're waiting, it could be hours from now. Karl, we'll see you back up on the TV as soon as that happens.

Karl Penhaul for us, thank you.

Meantime, another part of the world, authorities say in the aluminum plant is responsible for all that toxic red mud that's filling some of the streets in Hungary. But could this happen anywhere in the world? That's a question we have. One group says yes, unless one thing happens. What is that? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It is one of the worst toxic spills in the history of central Europe and it's on the verge of getting worse. So far, at least eight people are dead, 120 hurt. Last week's toxic spill from this aluminum plant in Hungary has flooded three towns and reached the mighty Danube River.

But now we're learning the crews are outside of this plant where the main wall of the reservoir could collapse at any time. More than 1,000 workers frantically racing against the clock here to build the three emergency dams. In this thing, 110 million gallons more of the toxic sludge. The second wave could be up to 70 percent the size of the initial spill.

And we have been on the ground. We have been showing you all it's the devastation really since last Monday, but now we have a different look of the damage.

Take a look at this. This is from NASA. This is an image from its EO-1 satellite. So what you're looking at is West Budapest. See all the red stuff? That's the sludge. The aluminum plant and the failing wall of the waste reservoir there, that's on the right.

So here's the wider view. There we go. You see how the red sludge kind of flows for miles and miles? And you kind of tell it goes from town to town.

Well Diana Magnay, she is there with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Emergency services say that an emergency dam that they are building to try and prevent a second flood of toxic mud is nearly complete.

Right now, there is a crack in the wall of the reservoir about half a meter high and 20 meters wide, and authorities say that they don't know when it may collapse, that wall may collapse, but they expect it to happen at some point. So that is why work on this emergency dam is so fast and so furious.

There are 500,000 cubic meters of toxic mud still encased in that reservoir which, if the wall does break, might be unleashed again and a second flow on this village.

On Monday, also, an eighth body was discovered. The person -- there was seven already counted amongst the dead, an eighth body was found today bringing the death toll to eight.

The chief executive of the aluminum company MAL whose reservoir it was that leaked the initial toxic spill has been arrested, part of the ongoing criminal investigation into who was responsible for this spill. He's currently in police custody and is being questioned.

And the prime minister added today that he will be taking MAL under state control in a temporary basis in order to safeguard the 1,100 jobs here in this region dependent on that company for work.

Diana Magnay, CNN, Devecser, Hungary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Greenpeace and other environmentalists say this spill exposed shocking safety lapses and warned this could happen elsewhere. They point to thousands of toxic hot spots throughout the developing countries in Europe, Asia, South and South America.

Meantime -- think about this one -- should states legalize marijuana? I'll be talking to one former law enforcement guy who says it will bring crime levels down. Legalize it, crime levels down. That's ahead.

Also, look at who's standing by. These two -- several guys. Mark Preston, Paul Steinhauser. Brand new information just in from the world of politics. We'll get to them. CNN's Political Ticker is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Twenty-one days now, we're counting to election day. And while President Obama still personally popular, does his popularity help his fellow Democrats? Mark Preston, Paul Steinhauser, two guys with "The Best Political Team on TV" -- there they are -- at the CNN political desk.

Gentleman, good to see you. What do you have?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Brooke, you're absolutely right. You know, Americans actually like President Obama. You know there's a lot of talk about them being very upset with how he's doing in the White House and his favorability rating with regards to his job performance really is about in the 40s. They really do like him, though. According to a new CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll shows that 59 percent of Americans believe he has the personal qualities that a president should have.

The problem is, is when we ask this question, do you agree with Obama on issues that matter to you, only 42 percent said yes. Now, while that might bruise his ego a little bit, who it really hurts Congressional Democrats who are on the ballot, and in 21 days voters head to the polls. President Obama has two years to repair his image, congressional Democrats don't.

Paul, what do you got?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, let's talk about that, Mark, congressional Democrats. Let's talk about the battle for the House.

Brooke, as you know, 39 is the magic number for the Republicans, that's a gain they need to reclaim the chamber.

I got something brand new for you. It's not, in fact, even on the Ticker yet. So, you get it first. The Democrats, the Democratic Campaign Congressional Committee -- the D-trip is pooling their resources. Not going to put more ads up in Pennsylvania's third congressional district. That's in the northwest part of the state. Kathy Dahlkemper is the congresswoman there. A freshmen. They say they're still going to support her, help with get out the vote efforts. But they're going to stop with their ads buys there. They did the same thing yesterday in Ohio's first congressional district.

What they're doing, they're moving their resources, maybe to races where they think they can have a better chance of winning. It's a real chess game. We're going to keep our eyes on every move. Mark, back to you.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Brooke, you're talking about ads. You know, there's been a lot of talk about outside influence, outside groups spending money to try to influence midterm elections.

Well, let me give you this number. $53 million has been spent by outside groups on television ads in the last 60 days. Most of that money has been spent by organizations to help Republicans. Only about $7 million has been spent that would help Democrats.

But what's really eye popping about this and really astounding is that 89 percent, Brooke, of all those ads have been negative ads. So, what does this mean? It means that the outside groups can be negative, they can be disruptive. They allow the candidate to be a more positive message.

I got to tell you these numbers are from, Evan Tracy, our good friend over at Campaign Media Analysis Group. The real ad guru. He really comes up with that one word, disruptive. And that's exactly what these groups do.

BALDWIN: Wow. $53 million to be mean -- disruptive, I guess, is the word you said. Gentlemen, Paul and Mark, we thank you. By the way, you can get another political update next hour. You can always hop online, get the latest Political Ticker there. CNNpolitics.com. Hop on Twitter @political ticker. With that, take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The machine that it's going to be transmitted live to the surface in order to see every miner's face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Every miner's face. We could be seeing that in a matter of hours. Lots of questions. Who comes up first? Which miner has to be the guy who stays down there and is the last to come up? We'll find out, as I said, in hours from now. We are live from Chile, all over this. That's ahead.

Also, would making marijuana legal actually help take a bite out of crime? That's the topic of discussion with my next guest who says, yes, it would. The issue is on the ballot in four states. That conversation is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Twenty-one days. Just a reminder for you again - until midterm elections.

And here's a big story we're covering for you this week. Marijuana is on the ballot in four states. So, we're making a special focus of this this week. And here's a proposition for you. This is what some are proposing. Legalize pot because it will bring down crime levels. That is what my guest says here.

Hans Van Duijn is a retired Dutch police union president. He is on the board of LEAP. That is an acronym for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. So, Hans, I appreciate you Skyping with me from far, far away here. And let's just first get to this. You say legalize marijuana to bring crime levels down. Please explain.

HANS VAN DUIJN, LAW ENFORCEMENT AGAINST PROHIBITION: Hello, Brooke. Good afternoon.

Yes, it's quite clear. We have for decades now prohibition with the love of crime. And we can see in countries it's a bit of deep criminalization that crime is going down. You can see it in Portugal, and you can see that in those countries or more. Like, let's say wise handling the situation of drugs. Switzerland is another example where crime is going down.

So, I think that in California where Prop 19 is proposed now, it's very wise to do so. It will profit not only, you can, say will be to taxpayers because those in the country have to pay -- have to pay for marijuana tax as well. But it will also increase position -- the safety position of all inhabitants of California. So, it's very wise to do so. BALDWIN: And Hans, you bring up Prop 18 (sic), which essentially would legalize people buying for recreational uses an ounce of marijuana in the state of California. And a couple of former police chiefs who are in favor of Prop 19 because they simply think that, you know, drug-related crime is basically a huge burden -- enforcing this is a huge burden on law enforcement and if it -- you know, if it becomes legal in their state, they will be able to force their attention on pressing crimes. Do you see it that way?

VAN DUIJN: Yes, I can agree with that vision. You have always less police officers for everything that's to be done in the country. So, if you can let go chasing marijuana, you can do a lot of other things that are very important for the people in the country. Instead of chasing some people who are smoking with or without legalization.

So, it's better to legalize, to control this, test it, and use your resources from the police and other institutions for better things.

BALDWIN: But can you also understand on the flip side, and I've read a couple of different editorials where they talked to former members of the DEA, for example, on the federal level who say, no, you shouldn't legalize it. Because essentially is this message, not just to people within the United States, criminals, but also, for example, to Mexican drug cartels that the U.S. is soft on -- soft on the anti- drug message.

VAN DUIJN: Well, everybody forgets then that you have crime and criminalization. Because it's forbidden. If you legalize it, it's out of crime. There's no one at a crime scene who can make money from something that is not -- that is not illegal. So, if you control this and test it and control the quality as well, it's better for the health of the consumers and you will lose the crime.

BALDWIN: How about this, though? I'm curious. And it's an area you know very well. Let's take Amsterdam. You know, a lot of people go to Amsterdam and a lot of people perhaps think erroneously think it's just this free for all, you can walk into a coffee shop and smoke a bunch of pot.

A, if you can dispel that, explain what the situation is in Amsterdam. And then, also given the fact that it is legal if you're above 18, how is crime there?

VAN DUIJN: It's not legal in the Netherlands to use marijuana. That's a misunderstanding. Everybody call names to the Netherlands, to Amsterdam particularly, and say it's Sodom and Gomorrah. That's a false situation. It's not legal in the Netherlands, but on the other hand, if you are a consumer and you buy no more than five grams, you will not be prosecuted. That's the difference.

It's still illegal, you still doing something that's no good. You can buy it in a coffee shop if you have your identity with you. You can buy five grams with no prosecution.

And in the Netherlands, also in Amsterdam, that is the lower rate of using marijuana than in the United States. In the Netherlands last year, it was five percent of everybody above the age of 18. And in the United States, the average was six percent. So, I think those figures are talking for themselves --

BALDWIN: But what about -- I understand that fewer people, maybe the numbers are less in the Netherlands. But in terms of crime, I was reading that right now in Amsterdam, specifically, they're working on retooling laws, shutting down marijuana dispensaries to tackle the nuisance associated with them and managed crime risk more effectively.

Do you see that as one in the same or do you see marijuana and crime as totally separate issues?

VAN DUIJN: No, no. Crime and marijuana and heroin and cocaine, but especially also marijuana belongs to each other because the profits we mentioned now, you can sell it as a -- you can buy it as a consumer. But the coffee shop owner is not allowed to buy it in its store. So, you can ask where does the marijuana come from? It must come -- it must enter the shop behind the back door illegally.

So, a lot of crime -- that is the funny rule in the Netherlands. A lot of crime will made by silly politicians who says in the one hand you can buy it as a consumer, without prosecution. On the other hand, they say it's forbidden to get it in to the shop.

Now we have built more or less a right-wing government. It will start in a few days. And they said we will make it more difficult for coffee shops to exist. The restraining rules. Perhaps a lot of coffee shops will have to close down. That means more illegal trades, more illegal buy and selling. More crime. And I think that's the wrong way to deal with this --

BALDWIN: Got it. Hans - Hans -- Hans Van Duijn, it's an interesting perspective to think about marijuana and the Netherlands and the potential for it being legalized here and the thought that maybe legalizing could will decrease crime. It's an interesting perspective, and I thank you for coming on and Skyping with us.

Meantime, a live news conference happening right now. The president there making the start of the rescue operation for those 33 miners. They have been trapped for 68 days. More than 2,000 feet below the ground. This is the president, Sebastian Pinera. He's saying tonight, the world watches, not the a tragedy that could have been, but a celebration. His words. We're going to take you live. We'll go back to Chile in just a couple of moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I tell you what, we have just about arrived at that magical moment we're waiting for to see the first of those 33 miners reaching freedom half a mile above ground there in Chile. A number of my colleagues are down there, are watching.

The president of Chile, Sebastian Pinera, he's speaking, so that's a good sign. This whole thing is imminent.

I want to go to my colleague Gary Tuchman, who is now also on the ground there in Chile, in the midst of this incredible story.

And Gary, just if you can, set the scene for me. And what in the world is the atmosphere like right now?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, we are now at a vantage point we haven't been allowed to be at until now. This is the scene right behind me, the yellow arches over my left shoulder on your right is where the men will come up. It actually looks like a sewer cap that they'll come out of.

And we know more about the timing right now. According to a top police official here in Chile who we just talked to a short time ago, in about one hour and 15 minutes, at about 6:00 Eastern Time, it's expected that a paramedic and a mine rescuer will go down 2,300 feet in to the mine.

It's then expected around 7:00 Eastern Time, one hour and fifteen minutes from now, in and around that time, it's been emphasized to us, that the first miner is expected to be pulled up. We're told that each miner will take about 16 or 17 minutes to come up.

It can go faster, the contraption that they're using, the capsule. It can go four times faster in case of an emergency. And we presume it will go four times faster when they bring it down to get each miner.

But this whole process could continue to 24 to 36 hours. But either way, it promises to be exhilarating.

We've never had a situation like this in the history of mining, in the history of the world, where so many men have been underground for so long. And it's expected -- we hope so, but it's expected that it will be a happy ending for each and every one of them.

Brooke, back to you.

BALDWIN: Right. We heard the words from the president, saying he hopes this will be a celebration, and certainly nothing shy of that.

Gary, you mentioned the process, and that's kind of fascinating to me, the fact that they'll be going in. You have this rescue mine operator and also a paramedic.

And so, if you can, just elaborate further on the process. These two men go down, one miner comes up. And explain the process from there. Is it 33 miners all in a row, or is sort of back and forth?

TUCHMAN: What they'll be doing, it will be one at a time. The capsule is just big enough for one person. The person will be put on the capsule. They'll have an oxygen mask on their face. They'll have communications within the capsule.

The capsule will then take 16 to 17 minutes to come above ground. Keep in mind, these guys, Brooke, have been in the dark now since August 5th, for almost 10 weeks. So, therefore, when they see the light, it will be dark out most likely by the time they come up. It will be 8:00 local time, which is 7:00 Eastern Time. We're an hour in front of Eastern Time.

It's dark here around 7:45. And I think there's a method to that madness. They don't want them to have such bright light when they come up.

But that will be a problem when they see light for the first time. So what they'll do is they'll come above ground. They will then go into a building that's right to your right. It's a white and red building that is a temporary hospital facility just to check on their health.

Their families will be waiting. We'll have families who will actually eyeball this right to the right, also in some white tents that have been set up. And then they will all meet in another building that's about 500 yards in this direction, and that's where they'll have their reunions before each and every one of the 33 miners -- it's mandatory -- will be flown to a real hospital which is about an hour drive, about a five-minute helicopter ride.

So there'll be a helicopter here shuttling each and every miner to that hospital just to make sure they're OK.

BALDWIN: Oh, wow. We are watching, we are waiting, we are crossing our fingers with you, Gary Tuchman. We will of course -- CNN is there. We have multiple teams down there, and we will bring you that moment we're all waiting for live from Chile.

Again, he mentioned 6:00 Eastern, they go down. Hopefully we see the beginning of that extraction process and freedom at 7:00 Eastern Time.

Coming up next, Wolf Blitzer tells us what's ahead in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. Back to Chile.

Rescuers here are busy, busy. We could be hours away from seeing those 33 miners reach freedom, coming up through the rocks half a mile. We expect this rescue team to be lowered into the mines starting in about -- well, Gary Tuchman said starting at 6:00 Eastern.

Chile's mining minister says the first miner could be out by the end of today. Here's hoping they'll have more than one. They'll be pulled to the surface one at a time through this skinny tube. But before we go to our demo, if we can, do we have that picture of all the members of the media, this media circus, the pictures down there?

I don't know if this is the government feed. So we can't show it to you now. It's incredible.

Hundreds and hundreds of members of the media from all over the world, Chad Myers. I mean, I've covered major national stories and other mining accidents that did not have the same happy ending as this story. But, I mean, the scores of media, this has everyone's attention right now.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it does now. But we've been down there the whole time.

BALDWIN: We've been down there the whole time.

MYERS: Which makes me very proud to realize that our men and women have been down there, 14 people on the ground down there. And then now Gary is just on the ground as well, so that makes 15, if not more, that he was traveling through.

There you go.

BALDWIN: Here we go. This is the picture I'm talking about.

All of these people obviously are being kept in one specific area. People from all around the world want to capture that magical moment, the celebration, as President Sebastian Pinera put it, as these men being extracted.

And now, with you, Chad, we have built this capsule, a mock of the Phoenix, if you will.

MYERS: Yes. And not to be a bucket of cold water, but these men are still down there.

BALDWIN: They are still down there. And it's incredibly dangerous.

MYERS: OK? They're still -- the cables have to hold, the cables have to go around a number of turns because the bit didn't go all the way down straight. There's a lot of things that still could go wrong. But I'm not thinking we're not going to get one after the other after the other.

This is the capsule that we had built. It's just built to size. OK? It's not metal.

BALDWIN: Give me a refresher course, dimensions.

MYERS: The entire dimension of the borehole is 28 inches around. So the borehole is larger than this, which you obviously would expect.

BALDWIN: Right. MYERS: The real mock-up of this, the real Phoenix -- actually, there are three that are built -- there are wheels here, here, here, here, and here. So, as this rolls up, kind of a rougher surface, which is just a borehole, this will slide up and go up to the top a little bit smoother.

Those wheels will also stop it from spinning around, because not only would you be in the dark, but then you'd be spinning and not knowing if you're going east, west, north, or south. And then here you go. They will close this.

This will be a mesh -- kind of a wire mesh, so not plastic. But this just gives you an idea.

I can get in here pretty well. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than being down in a mine. They now believe that every single miner will be able to get into this without any -- what were thought about some medical issues -- of getting them in this thing.

One thing we also learned about on some blogs, people were talking about the bends. Could they be down there so long that the nitrogen in their bodies would come out of their bodies in tiny little bubbles kind of like a scuba diver would be underground for a very long time?

And let me tell you, we worked, like, three hours on these calculations when we talked to divers. And it doesn't appear that there's enough of a differential from where they are now to where they will be later to make a difference. If they were underground like they are now, the pressure is not as big. If they're under water, the pressure is significantly more. If they were under 2,000 feet of water --

BALDWIN: Sure. Kind of apples and oranges.

MYERS: -- there would never be a chance that they could depressurize without literally all the bubbles coming out of their system. So we don't think the bends will be a problem with this.

BALDWIN: We do know a couple of things. They've been on a liquid diet the past little bit. We know they've been working with a trainer. They've been working out somehow down there in this teeny, tiny quarter for about an hour a day to try to lose weight.

Some of these guys lost 20, 30 pounds. They'll be able to fit in this thing.

MYERS: It's 90 degrees down there.

BALDWIN: Ninety degrees down there.

MYERS: You expect a cool mine, right? You go to a Pennsylvania anthracite mine, it's 55. Or go to Penn's Cave. It's 55, 60 degrees. It's cold all summer long.

BALDWIN: This gold and copper mine is hot. MYERS: Different. Different. It's farther down. It's closer down -- closer to what we would consider, like, magma, I guess, almost under the surface.

So, yes, it's cool for a while as you walk down the mine, or as they did when they were going in or out. But then it warms up as they get deeper and deeper and deeper.

BALDWIN: Sixteen to 17 minutes is what Gary Tuchman was saying it will take to go from half a mile underground through the rock. At least it won't be twisting and turning as we initially thought, finally being extracted and coming out.

MYERS: It will be jerky.

BALDWIN: Oh, certainly.

MYERS: I mean, this is not a perfect bore like you would take a good, beautiful wood bit and go through a two-by-four. It's going to be moving around, because the rocks wouldn't allow the bit to go straight all the time.

BALDWIN: Certainly. This is not a perfect operation.

MYERS: No.

BALDWIN: This has never been done before. I think it's work underscoring, this is incredibly dangerous. And as we're all hoping for that big, magical moment when all 33 men are out, I think you make an excellent point, that it's still very much -- so watch, wait, cross the fingers.

Hope these guys get out of there OK. They're sending down that rescuer and that paramedic to help facilitate the process.

We will be watching, we will be waiting.

Chad Myers, thank you.

MYERS: The first guy out is going to be monumental. The last guy out is going to be the win.

BALDWIN: Hey, I think they're all winners if we can get all 33 guys out of here.

And on that note, we're watching, waiting on the story, as is Wolf Blitzer.

So I send it up to you, sir, "THE SITUATION ROOM."