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CNN Live Saturday

Two Miners Found Dead After Fire; President Bush Touts Economy; Whale Trapped in River Thames Dies;

Aired January 21, 2006 - 18:00   ET

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

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: It's finally safe enough for investigators to get inside the Sago mine in West Virginia. A dozen miners died there three weeks ago in a deadly explosion. At the half hour, an update on the accident's only survivor.
Just gave you the headlines. Now this is our top story. Another coal mine accident ends in tragedy. A little more than an hour ago we learned rescuers had found the bodies of two West Virginia miners. The two had been missing since Thursday evening when an underground conveyor belt caught fire. More now on this tragic news. We're going to join CNN's Chris Huntington in Melville, West Virginia. Chris, so sad.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, it is indeed so sad. It's the news, of course, that everybody feared. Didn't want to have to confront. But frankly in the end, it's what we are now dealing with. Don Bragg, 33 years old. And Ellery "Elvis" Hatfield, 47 years old. Perished in the Aracoma mine as a result of the fire that started there Thursday afternoon. They were found together by rescuers. Sometime after 1:00 p.m. this afternoon. That's the last time we heard from officials before the announcement that they had been found.

So sometime mid afternoon, Bragg and Hatfield found together, not far from the fire. Apparently somewhere equidistant between the fire and an area where the other miners who managed to escape were all last known to be assembling. We had spoken with one of those miners who escaped, said when they realized they didn't have the other two with them, they went back and tried to find them. This on the day of the fire.

We also saw him shortly before the news was officially announced here at about 4:00 p.m. And he confirmed to us, although unofficially, indeed Bragg and Hatfield had been found. These are fathers. These are husbands. Don Bragg, 33, has two children. Elvis Hatfield has four children. We could see just the immense sadness and anguish on the faces of family and friends as they left the church not far from here, about 500 yards from where we're stationed. That's when we first got news that, indeed, these two men had perished.

If there's anything that can come positive out of the Sago mine disaster and out of what has happened here in Melville, it could be a push for greater mine safety that is going to happen and led by Governor Joe Manchin here of West Virginia. He was reserved but steely, and you can tell that he is boiling inside at these kinds of tragedies. And he's outlined several initiatives that he's going to push for, including this one that he'll describe for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR JOE MANCHIN, WEST VIRGINIA: I believe that there's not one person that works in a mine that should ever, ever pass away or perish because of a lack of oxygen or suffocation or asphyxiation. That should never happen in today's world and today's technology. We'll introduce legislation that will mandate that we have reserve oxygen stations and supplies within the mines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: Now, in addition to mandating reserve oxygen in the mines, Manchin is also calling for electronic tracking of miners underground and rapid response teams. Keep in mind that in the Sago incident, it took something close to 12 hours for rescue teams even to get in there, albeit because of tough conditions. Similarly here, rescue teams very much on site, but still couldn't get into the mine for several hours to begin looking for Hatfield and Bragg. Also here today, joining the governor were members of the congressional delegation of West Virginia, including long-time Senator Jay Rockefeller who put it quite simply that he is angry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER, (R) WV: When people get mad, they're more likely to do something. And I think when I go back to Congress on Tuesday to meet with the governor, what's happened at Sago and what's happened here, there are going to be a lot of mad people. These are human beings. And when you see them go through what they go through, you're never the same. You have helped America understand that. And I think we're going to see change. We have to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: So Carol, while Governor Manchin and Senator Rockefeller and other representatives here in West Virginia push for change, the communities here in Melville and also at Sago are trying to heal after a couple of weeks of just unspeakable tragedy. Carol?

LIN: Chris, thank you. Joining me now on the telephone is Bruce Dial, he is a former inspector with the mine safety and health administration. Bruce, good to have you. And for our audience just tuning in, I just want to get your thoughts on these proposals. How likely is it that an oxygen supply, a rapid response team, and other changes will be implemented soon enough to save more lives?

BRUCE DIAL, MINE SAFETY EXPERT (on phone): Well, I think with the -- all of the coverage that the mine disasters are getting, it will be easier to get them through Congress and get them mandated. It's still going to take awhile, like to decide what type of oxygen systems. They don't want to just put oxygen tanks down there because that could be a hazard in itself. They'll have to decide what type of tracking system that can be used safely so it doesn't cause an explosion in itself. So it will take awhile. But I think they will go through a little faster, as long as people continue to watch the situation. LIN: Congressman Rahall from West Wirginia said when there has been change, it has been written with the blood of miners. That it takes this kind of tragedy, now two tragedies, to make that kind of change. Why is that? Why isn't there basic safety standards you would expect when men and women go 200 to 2,000 feet down into the earth's surface?

DIAL: Every regulation that I know of has had at least one fatality occurred. Because of the lack of the regulation. That seems like in the industry, that's just one of the things that has to take place before enough people are willing to pass the regulation.

LIN: So how optimistic are you that there's going to be change, say, in the next year, two years three years?

DIAL: I think there will be change within the next, say, two years.

LIN: Bruce, that would be good news for these families who certainly don't want to believe that their loved ones died in vain. Bruce Dial, thank you.

Well, there's word today the Bush administration plans to review mine safety and procedures and equipment. The Associated Press is now reporting that the federal agency overseeing mine safety is reviewing several proposals. The ideas include better oxygen packs for miners and ways to assist mine rescue teams.

Across Iraq, insurgent attacks kill five and wound 20. The roadside blasts hit a convoy assigned to Iraq's president. Though he wasn't there, but five of his bodyguards were hurt.

And the fight over Iraq's government continues as well. Sunni Arabs say they'll join talks on a new government of national unity, but they're also going to appeal the results of December's election. The vote gives the largest share of the 275 seats in parliament to the Shiites, with smaller blocs going to the Kurds. And then the Sunnis.

Now there's still no word on American journalist Jill Carroll. The 28-year-old freelancer for the "Christian Science Monitor" was kidnapped off a Baghdad street on January 7th. Michael Holmes reports from Baghdad on the latest efforts to win her release.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is now four days since the tape of Jill Carroll was aired on the al Jazeera television network. More than two weeks since she was kidnapped after trying to get an interview with the senior Sunni politician. Today, new word on Jill Carroll's fate but we are told there has been plenty of activity in Baghdad with talks between various groups going on. Religious and political. Also more calls for Jill Carroll to be released.

The latest from the Council on American Islamic Relations, a delegation specifically flying here to Baghdad. A spokesman saying releasing Carroll would show to the world that Muslims are a caring people. Now the Iraqi Justice Ministry is reiterating its position that the release of six Iraqi women held by the U.S. on suspicion. Insurgent-related activity should go ahead. Now the U.S. says, it is going through normal procedures related to processing those women's cases.

But nothing's going to be done as a result of the kidnapper's demands that all Iraqi prisoners held by the U.S. be freed. Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: We're going to be talking about coping when a loved one is held hostage. Tonight, the ex-wife and the daughter of one-time hostage Roy Hallums talks about what they went through and their efforts to help others. That's going to be on our primetime show at 10:00 Eastern right here on CNN SATURDAY NIGHT.

In the meantime, it was a sad day in London. Crews worked feverishly to get a whale out of the Thames River and back into the over. But even their best efforts couldn't save the stressed animal. CNN's Jim Boulden explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the sun rose over the river Thames Saturday, the bottlenose whale could be seen splashing on its own. Nearly 24 hours after it was first seen passing London's famous landmarks. Dog joggers and dog walkers strained to get a glimpse of the first whale to be seen in the Thames in living memory.

(on camera): It's been an hour and a half since day break and the rescue team has arrived by boat. We're told that there's a veterinarian on board and he's to make an assessment of how injured the whale is.

(voice-over): Then the strong tide pushed the exhausted whale further away from the open sea. So at low tide, just after midday, a rescue team entered the chilly Thames to better assess the whale's medical condition. After two hours, they decided the whale was in good enough health to attempt a trip back towards the sea. Onlookers cheered as the whale, weighing several tons, was hoisted onto a barge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope he survives. I hope they put it back into the North Sea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's quite sad though as well. You have to come. It draws you up here. But it's quite sad, really. I just hope there's a happy ending to it.

BOULDEN: Despite optimism, experts warned all along that whales are prone to stress and this whale was injured, confused and had already tried to beach itself. As night fell, word came from the boat, the whale's health had deteriorated greatly. Four hours into the journey, the desperate race against time failed. The whale died aboard the barge.

RAY DAVIS, GEORGIA AQUARIUM: There's a large mortality associated in any stranding event. This animal, this particular species, is known to travel just in small groups. One to four animals in a group at a time. It's also a deep diving whale. Feeds on squid and other animals that are fairly deep in the water. So this was a stressful situation.

BOULDEN: The barge then headed back toward London where the body of this gentle giant will be examined in an effort to discover why it made its extraordinary journey to London in the first place. Jim Boulden, CNN, on the River Thames.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, a woman whose mother has been missing since Hurricane Katrina makes a dramatic outburst and gets a private meeting with the governor.

And trying to oust a Supreme Court justice. Not from his seat on the high court, but from his own home. The motive behind this next plot next. Plus this.

Talk about being in the right place at the right time. An amazing rescue caught on tape. You don't want to miss this story.

You're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: President Bush offered a preview of his State of the Union speech during today's weekly radio address. He talked about energy and healthcare costs and the overall economy. Now, his comments come a day after Wall Street stumbled sending the Dow industrials into negative territory for the first time this year. For the record, the Dow closed down Friday more than 213 points almost two percent. The NASDAQ dropped more than 54 points. For more, let's join CNN's White House correspondent Elaine Quijano. Elaine?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening to you, Carol.

All this month, President Bush has been outlining his agenda for 2006. Well, today in his weekly radio address the president turned his attention to the economy, which he said is strong. Earlier this week, the president essentially delivered the same message at a small business in Northern Virginia. Mr. Bush believes small businesses play a pivotal role in creating jobs and growing the economy. Today he also said that tax cuts are essential and repeated a familiar call to Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: To keep our economy growing and our small business sector strong we need to ensure that you keep more of what you earn. So Congress needs to make the tax cuts permanent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, Democrats say that the president's economic policies don't do enough to address the needs of middle class families. They point to high energy costs as one example. In the meantime, President Bush who spent this weekend at Camp David and is still there tonight insists that energy independence is a main priority for his administration. Look for the president to tout the economy once again when he delivers the State of the Union address on January 31st. While aides say it's early to start previewing specifics it's very likely we'll also hear the president talk about Iraq and ongoing efforts to rebuild the Gulf Coast region.

Carol?

LIN: Elaine, next week, the White House is launching a new push to defend its domestic surveillance program. Can you tell us what that's going to be about?

QUIJANO: That's exactly right, on Wednesday, in fact, President Bush will travel to the headquarters of the National Security Agency to essentially defend his administration's use of the controversial domestic surveillance program. And this is really timed, Carol, to come ahead of the February 6th congressional hearings on this very issue. There has been a great deal of criticism, questioning the legality of the program. President Bush and the White House are going to be launching this push. It won't just be the president, it will also be some top administration officials including the attorney general Alberto Gonzales speaking out about this next week. Carol?

LIN: Full schedule. Elaine Quijano, thank you very much.

Now here's the news across America. Thousands of anti-abortion activists are assembling in Washington for Monday's annual March for Life. Some events started today, including a prayer vigil outside a Planned Parenthood office. And start spreading the news. Getting around the Big Apple could get tough again. New York City transit workers have rejected their new three-year contract. Last month, a three-day strike crippled the city's transit system.

And opponents of a Supreme Court decision want Justice David Souter evicted from his New Hampshire home. Last year the court said a city could seize homeowners' property for economic development. So Souter sided with the majority. Now a group unhappy with the ruling wants his house seized and turned into a hotel.

And a St. Louis man pulled from a burning car is recuperating in a hospital today. A photographer with CNN affiliate KTVI was one of the people who dragged Corey Abernathy to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIN (voice-over): Responding to car fires is just part of the job for KTVI photographer Bobby Hughes. So when this car flipped, crashed into a building, and caught on fire, he was there within minutes.

BOBBY HUGHES, PHOTOGRAPHER/RESCUER: First thing I saw was the vehicle on fire against a building. And I saw several people standing outside. And of course I thought everybody had gotten out of the vehicle. And a lady said, no, there's somebody still inside.

LIN: Still shooting, Hughes set about saving a life.

HUGHES: And then I saw the man's head pop up from a passenger window. And he collapsed and fell outside the vehicle. So I ran around, didn't even realize I had my camera still rolling, and noticed he was on fire.

LIN: Helped by other witnesses, Hughes managed to drag the driver, Corey Abernathy, 20 feet from the car and put out the flames that threatened his life. Abernathy's brothers are very grateful.

EARL ABERNATHY, BURN VICTIM'S BROTHER: The cameraman who pulled him out, how he just happened to be there I don't know. But I'm thanking him and thanking God at the same time.

TERRY ABERNATHY, BURN VICTIM'S BROTHER: That car burned from the front. If it had burned from the back it would have exploded.

LIN: Abernathy is listed in good condition with a broken leg and burns. Sounds like a once in a lifetime story, right? Well, this isn't the first time Hughes has helped save a life.

HUGHES: This happened to me just a couple of years ago. In that instance, I did set my camera down. It was a little bit more physical activity. I actually had to break a window and crawl in the vehicle and pull the lady out.

LIN: But Bobby Hughes is modest about his rescue efforts.

HUGHES: I've been shooting news so long, the camera is part of my body now. My first thought was to get the guy away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Sometimes the human body can demonstrate a remarkable ability to come back after a devastating injury. Coming up, Randy McCloy is continuing recovery and the ways the body can fix itself.

And we're going to go on the front lines and follow a mission of mercy to help Iraqi kids in desperate need of care they can't get in their war-torn home. When CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Every week we like to bring you the more personal stories from the front lines. And today we're going to tell you about the story of some Iraqi children who were whisked away from the front lines to get urgent medical care they couldn't get at home. Soledad O'Brien has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a cold December night, four children arrive at New York City's JFK Airport. They're smiling but very sick. All these children need open-heart surgery to save their lives. The kind of medical help that's virtually impossible to get in their native Iraq. Helping them is Marikay Satryano, she's an army reserve staff sergeant and sort of a commander for this mission, dubbed "Operation Iraqi Hearts."

SSG MARIKAY SATRYANO, U.S. ARMY RESERVES: They came to us in Baghdad. They made their way there. It's not always easy but through word of mouth, through other soldiers, people can find their way to the Iraqi assistance center. And then they send their information to me. And then it's my job to go out and try to match these resources. Such as with the gift of life.

O'BRIEN: Four small children, reams of red tape, and a trip through Iraqi insurgent territory to get from their homes in Iraq to a plane in Amman, Jordan, and finally to Montefiore Children's Hospital in New York City. The Rotary Club's Gift of Life International is helping foot the bill. Montefiore hospital and the Rachel Cooper Foundation are picking up the tab as well. Dr. Samuel Weinstein of Montefiore is volunteering his services.

DR. SAMUEL WEINSTEIN, MONTEFIORE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very happy to take care of this child.

O'BRIEN: There's 12-year-old Ashjan (ph), born with a hole in her heart. Doctors say she could die of congestive heart failure before adulthood. She was strip searched for five hours at the Iraqi- Jordanian border. And Sivar (ph), the little six-year-old with the infectious toothless grin, also has a hole in his heart and obstruction of blood going to his lungs. It makes him looking at a little bit blue and so tired he'll often crouch down to catch his breath. Assad is 14 years old with a heart defect so severe, he looks much younger. It's stunted his growth and prevented him from attending school for the past three years.

And Wisam (ph), age 11, the most seriously ill, so sick he suffered seizures on the plane. Doctors weren't sure he'd survive the trip. Dr. Weinstein is cautious about all their outcomes.

WEINSTEIN: Malformations of both valves within his heart.

O'BRIEN: Seventy-two hours after arriving in the United States the children are prepped for surgery. Three days, four surgeries, all complex. Sivar's operation requires reconstruction of his heart. Ever-smiling, he's rolled into surgery. For his father, it's difficult.

Three hours into surgery -- Sivar suffers a cardiac arrest. Doctors need to use paddles to jump start his heart. The operation is a success.

WEINSTEIN: Everything looks great. He's already pink.

I think when you meet the fathers and the children, you realize, no matter what's going on around the world, we're all pretty much the same. The fathers have the same needs and wants for their children. The kids have the same wants and desires as our children. I think if we could see each other closer up like this, it would help with a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's breathing on his own.

WEINSTEIN: Two weeks after surgery, that saves their lives, the joy is obvious as the children leave the hospital.

WSIM RABEA, HEART PATIENT (through translator): I used to have too much pain in my chest. I felt heaviness. My heart, very heavy. Now I'm very comfortable, thank God.

O'BRIEN: And within three weeks of surgery, the children, once deathly ill are being treated to the big apple circus in New York City. There, a universal language is spoken -- laughter.

(on camera): What's in the bag? Can I see? I've never seen a smile so big and so beautiful.

(voice-over): Big changes for the children physically. And for Ashjon (ph), a new name.

(on camera): Is it true that she's changing her name? I understand it means sadness and she's changing it to joy, is that right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He says, by the will of God they will go ahead and change her name. Because it does mean sadness.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): These children will leave this country after putting their faith in the hands of complete strangers. Strangers who saved their lives. And while the reality of what they may face when they go back to Iraq is always present, for this night, they're just kids having fun. Soledad O'Brien, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: In West Virginia tonight, there's more heartache from the latest coal mine accident. We're going to have the latest reaction after two miners are found dead. But there could be some good news in the case of a survivor from the earlier mine accident. An update on Randy McCloy.

And, is there any way to protect yourself from the flu without loading up on medications? That is ahead today. CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Here's what's happening right now in the news. The bodies of two missing miners have been recovered in a West Virginia coal mine. The men were found dead today. And close to the area where a fire broke out Thursday.

The kidnapped son of a former Iraqi official says he'll be killed unless Iraqi security forces stop cooperating with the U.S. military. He appeared in a video broadcasted on Arab television today.

Ivo Morales is just hours away from becoming Bolivia's new president. The former leader of the country's cocoa leaf farmers participated in a pre-inauguration ceremony in La Paz today. Morales, often critical of the Bush administration, will be formerly sworn in tomorrow.

You missed your chance to buy this Revolutionary War painting of George Washington. It was sold today by Christies for more than $21 million.

Returning now to our top story, tragedy inside another West Virginia coal mine. Two miners trapped inside a mine in Melville, West Virginia, have been found dead. Now searchers found the bodies near the spot where a fire broke out in the mine two days ago. West Virginia's governor is vowing change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOE MANCHIN, WEST VIRGINIA: This has got to stop and it's going to stop. We're going to change. We have investigations going on at Sago, where we lost 12 of our brave miners. Now here at Aracoma, we lost two of our brave miners. We have 14 families that are changed forever, 14 families.

If I have anything to do with it if I am able, with every breath in my body, to make the changes that need to be made to make sure no family ever goes through what we've been going through, to make sure that every brave miner, every brave worker in this state knows that we're going to do everything to make sure they're in the safest conditions humanly possible.

Monday, I will introduce in the state of West Virginia three pieces of legislation. I will introduce one that's going to be a rapid response. There's no way that we should not, and I repeat, should not be able to be responding as quickly as possible.

God forbid something happens to me health-wise, I can get an ambulance fairly quickly. But something happens in a mine in an industrial accident, it doesn't seem to work under the same urgency. And that's going to stop. It's going to stop in West Virginia. We will have rapid response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Today's tragic news comes less than three weeks after the deaths of 12 miners at Sago, West Virginia's mine. A sole survivor of that disaster though is showing signs of progress. But Randall McCloy, Jr., is still in a coma and it's still too early to tell how he's going to do in the long run.

CNN's Chris Huntington has more on his chances for recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON: Randy McCloy is recovering more quickly, more completely than his doctors could have ever expected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With great hope, we announce that Randy is awakening from his coma. He is opening his eyes. He has purposeful movements. He responds to his family in slight ways. He moves all extremities. We consider him probably best described in a light coma.

HUNTINGTON: McCloy can track objects and people around the room with his eyes. He can suck on an ice cube, a sign he may soon be ready for something closer to a normal meal instead of the feeding tube through his stomach wall.

McCloy has been out of intensive care since Monday. Breathing on his own for several days. His doctors won't predict whether he will fully recover, but they are sure now that Randy McCloy's rebound from the more than 40 hours of severe trauma and carbon monoxide poisoning he suffered in the mine is unprecedented.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:: In every measure, this is one of the most or the longest survivor from that sort of environment that we know of.

HUNTINGTON: McCloy's doctors say his recovery, even his survival, are beyond what they can explain medically.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It may start with a miracle. Maybe that's the best way to describe it. I am completely speculating but perhaps he was -- he had more oxygen available to him than those who succumbed. I can't explain why or how. But that would be a logical explanation for why he did better.

HUNTINGTON: In the week after the disaster, Randy's father told the Associated Press that he believes the other trapped miners shared their emergency oxygen with his son because he had young children. McCloy Senior said he had no facts to base that on, just his knowledge that miners treat each other like brothers.

Dennis O'Dell (ph), a mining union official being briefed on the Sago investigation, tells CNN he does not know of any evidence that Randy McCloy used any of his fellow miners' emergency oxygen. But O'Dell says McCloy was found furthest from the barricade set up to block fumes, fire and debris.

And he speculates that could mean McCloy took in less carbon monoxide. Only the federal investigation into the explosion could answer that question.

McCloy has come a long way. He was found in the mine severely dehydrated with a dangerously low body temperature and a collapsed lung, nearly dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. His wife Anna has been at Randy's bedside throughout their ordeal.

ANNA MCCLOY, RANDY MCCLOY'S WIFE: He's a good dad and a good father. And a wonderful husband.

HUNTINGTON: His doctors say that they have no doubt that the presence of McCloy's wife and children is crucial to his recovery. Anna McCloy says she has no doubt that a higher power is also playing a role.

MCCLOY: Before he would go out the door I said, God loves you, and he loves me too. He'd go out the door and I would wait until the taillights were gone before I'd shut the door and lock it.

HUNTINGTON: Regardless who has a hand in McCloy's recovery, doctors say it will most likely be measured in weeks and months and not days. Chris Huntington, CNN, Morgantown, West Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: One doctor has said Randy McCloy may be the longest-known survivor of carbon monoxide poisoning. For more on his remarkable recovery and the challenges that lie ahead, I am joined by Dr. Byron Milton. He's an assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine at Emory University. Good to have you, Doctor Milton.

McCloy's doctors are saying, this could be a miracle. He was in that mine for 40 hours that was saturated with carbon monoxide poisoning. Do you have any explanation how he could now breathe on his own, he's responding in small ways to his family? What's going on?

DR. SAMUEL BYRON MILTON: First of all, I agree with the doctors that he probably was -- had access to some more oxygen compared to the other miners that had succumbed. But the brain is great in sometimes recovering. We are learning new things every day about how the brain does recover, how the brain has potential of learning new functions and taking over functions that other parts of the brain that have lost.

LIN: When it's poisoned as it was, then how -- what does it do to recover? What organically happens?

MILTON: In this incident which was a carbon monoxide poisoning, typically your brain is devoid of oxygen. And becomes what we call hypoxic. At that time when the brain is devoid of oxygen the brain actually swells. Swelling of the brain devoids the brain of more oxygen and blood flow. There's a cascade of events that occurs that makes it very difficult for the brain to get oxygen.

LIN: What does it do for itself, then?

MILTON: Well, a lot of different things happen mechanically with vaso constriction, vaso dilitation. In his case, immediate treatment with 100 percent oxygen to help displace the carbon monoxide.

LIN: Why would it work for him and not for the other miners?

MILTON: As the doctor speculated, we really don't know. A common sequelae (ph) of carbon monoxide poisoning is coma. He may have had access to more oxygen than the other miners that were in the same area that he was in.

LIN: So the fact that there's activity in his brain stem, that he is responding to people, he may be eating foods --

MILTON: He has more brain stem in his cerebrum as opposed to his brain stem. It sounds like he's starting to respond and communicate.

LIN: He knows that they're there?

MILTON: It's hard to tell but the doctors feel, yes, he is responding to family members. He's becoming more aware of his environment. Those are things that happen as someone recovers from coma. LIN: Have you ever come across one of your patients in an unexplained sort of way of, my God, you shouldn't be here, yet you are?

MILTON: I've been very fortunate to work at Emory, running the brain injury unit there. And working with a great staff of therapists and -

LIN: Give me a miracle. Have you witnessed one?

MILTON: Luckily, I do. I do see remarkable recoveries. We had an Emory nurse whose daughter was on a rehab unit. She's making excellent recovery. Other children who have been involved in terrible motor vehicle accidents who I really, to be honest, have little hope of recovery and they're walking, talking, and it's just amazing. But I have to give the credit all to the rehabilitation team at Emory.

LIN: And we do. But for people who may be going through something even similar to Randall McCloy, or anybody who's gone through a hard time, it's wonderful to know there's always hope.

MILTON: Yes, there is. The brain is an amazing organ.

LIN: Thanks very much, Dr. Milton, good to have you.

There could be a natural way to prevent ewe you coming down with the flu this year. We'll have details on that approach straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Survivors of Hurricane Katrina are scattered in cities across the nation. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco is meeting with them to ask them how to best rebuild their community. But it is a very emotional time for many of these families who are still searching for answers.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. They call it Louisiana Recovery Planning Day. It took place today here in Atlanta, Georgia. Thirty-one different locations, though, in addition to Atlanta, Louisiana, Texas, and Tennessee, had hurricane victims coming out to offer suggestions about the rebuilding of their neighborhoods and their lives.

The governor of Louisiana showed up at one of the locations here in Atlanta to listen. Hundreds of Louisianians who have moved to Georgia attended. Many just to have their say to Governor Kathleen Blanco.

Much of the day was emotional. I talked to one woman whose 82- year-old mother is missing. Ethel Herbert was in a hospital bed at the Superdome when she left with medical personnel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DENISE HERBERT, MOTHER MISSING FROM KATRINA: They took a hospital mattress and put it on this truck with them. And they took her around to the Superdome.

TUCHMAN: How does it make you feel?

HERBERT: I'm very angry. Because guess what? Everybody in America got a mamma, where is mine? That's what I want most, where is my mama? I'm angry with the world. Running around here talking about what they want to do with New Orleans, well, what about these 3,000 some people missing, and one of them is my mom.

I'm sick of these people. I'm really sick of these people. You can save whales, you can save all these animals but you can't save all these people. And I'm tired. And I want the governor, I want the mayor and I want the president, I want all three of them to come before her six children and tell us where she is. We didn't leave her in the house. We left her in the hands of what they call the world's finest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: As the hush continued in the hotel ballroom, Governor Blanco took my seat from me and talked to Denise Herbert. The governor called her secretary of health and hospitals on the telephone and she told him to get on the case.

LIN: What could they do, how can her mother just disappear?

TUCHMAN: No one thinks there's going to be a positive outcome here. That's what the sad part of the story is.

LIN: Wouldn't some remains have surfaced somewhere?

TUCHMAN: She couldn't talk. They took her away. She got lost in the shuffle. We don't know and there's a lot of stories like that.

LIN: We appreciate your coverage of the Gulf Coast region, thank you.

We thought we'd pick a timely topic for our "Health Watch" segment, the flu season. For a lot of people that means getting a shot or even taking some medicine. But there are other ways to stay healthy. Dr. Laurie Steelsmith is the author of "Natural Choices for Women's Health."

She's here to tell us how to fight colds and flu the natural way. Good to have you.

The natural way. I'm afraid I'm the first person to reach into my medicine cabinet for something in a dark bottle that I bought at the drugstore. What are you suggesting people can do to let's say ward off flus and colds?

DR. LAURIE STEELSMITH, "NATURAL CHOICES FOR WOMEN'S HEALTH": One of the best things they can do to ward off a flu and cold is to help harness cortisol (ph), it's our stress hormone. When we're under too much stress we suppress our immunity. It's important that we decrease that cortisol. We can do that through a variety of ways. One of which is to make sure that we eat regular meals, lots of protein, complex carbohydrates, make sure we keep that sugar as low as possible because sugar is definitely an immune suppressant. We also want to make sure that we exercise regularly. That also helps bring down our cortisol levels.

LIN: Are there other things we can do? Eventually we're going to get sick, right? What are the things we should do then?

STEELSMITH: There are a number of things we can do did we get sick. One of the recommendations I give to my patients and something I've also used myself an ancient Chinese mushroom called Raishi (ph) mushrooms, it was called the mushroom of immortality in Ancient China. It actually helps increase our natural killer cells, and our natural killer cells are what help us fight infection.

LIN: I hear about blueberries. Other fruits but blueberries in particular.

STEELSMITH: Blueberries are the flavinoides which can also help protect our mucous membranes, help to protect our capillaries. Again, when we're eating fruits and vegetables, they're chock full of nutrients that help fight infection as well.

LIN: Fighting infection, is it better than treating some of the symptoms? Like again, going to the drugstore and getting a tablet or a liquid?

STEELSMITH: Without a doubt, prevention is the best cure. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure. We definitely want to do everything we can to try to prevent infection before it starts.

LIN: I don't want to mention the product by name. But there are these tablets, fizzy tablets you can buy at drugstores. And the claim is if you get on an airplane, the claim is drink this liquid, when you get off the airplane, do this three times a day, it will prevent colds. When you look at the ingredients it's made of vitamins and some herbs. You kind of -- but people swear by this stuff.

STEELSMITH: Well, you're getting a lot more fluids. Very important to stay hydrated when you're on a plane. Very important to have your Vitamin C when you're on a plane. Those are the two main ingredients. And you know, that's something that you can do yourself by drinking lots of water, making sure you're hydrated even before you get on the plane.

LIN: So it's just a trick to get you to drink more water, you think.

STEELSMITH: Oh, absolutely.

LIN: Water in and of itself can ward off disease.

STEELSMITH: What it does is it keep you mucous membranes hydrated so you're less susceptible to a virus being able to take hold and multiply.

LIN: It's a schtick. Dr. Steelsmith, we've all been educated today, thank you very much.

Just what goes into finding the right words to put in an obituary? The art of saying goodbye straight ahead.

First, here's what's coming up on CNN's "ON THE STORY."

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: We're ON THE STORY at the George Washington University in the nation's capital. Nic Robertson has the latest on the Osama bin Laden tape and the air strikes targeting al Qaeda's umber two.

Octavia Naser talks about how those stories were covered by the Arab media.

Gulf Coast Correspondent Susan Roesgen on where all the federal rebuilding aid has gone. All that's coming up all ON THE STORY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: We read an interesting obituary this week about the man who wrote obituaries for The Washington Post and it made us wonder about the art involved in writing about those who have just died. We asked Gary Nurenberg to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joe Smith was dying when he made this tape.

JOE SMITH, WASHINGTON POST: It's going to happen to me, it's going to happen to all of us.

NURENBERG: But he wasn't dead yet.

J. SMITH: What I did was write obituaries about famous people who were not dead yet, so that we would be ready. For example, the pope.

PETER SMITH, JOE SMITH'S BROTHER: He was drawn to the contradictions. And John Paul, he's a complicated person. He liked complicated people.

NURENBERG: Smith wrote pope John Paul II was, quote, "a defender of the faith who insisted that the church confront the sins of its past to prepare for the third millennium."

J.Y. Smith became the obituary editor at the "Washington Post" in 1977 and helped revolutionize obits. Readers got the facts, comfortable or not.

ADAM BERNSTEIN, WASHINGTON POST: He felt very strongly about presenting the news as it was. NURENBERG: Adam Bernstein wrote Joe Smith's obituary this week, the facts, comfortable or not, about Smith's earlier fight with alcoholism.

BERNSTEIN: It wasn't just a former editor who died, it was an editor who struggled.

P. SMITH: He would have loved it. He would have loved the candor.

ALANA BARANICK, CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER: That's my favorite. Rule number one, make sure they're dead.

NURENBERG: Alana Baranick has published a guide for obituary writers.

BARANICK: The obituary should be celebrating the life and not dwelling on the death.

CAROLYN GILBERT, INTL. ASSN. OF OBITUARISTS: People in general don't really realize how important the obituary is.

NURENBERG: Caroline Gilbert founded the International Association of Obituarists.

GILBERT: It's the ultimate short story, so it requires every aspect of good writing that would be for an epic novel.

NURENBERG: Adam Bernstein, who lives next to a cemetery, knows getting the facts is hard.

BERNSTEIN: I start from a perspective that nobody's honest with me about their relatives. And I work from there.

NURENBERG: One man's family told Baranick he was a former Ohio Supreme Court justice. The real story came from a friend.

BARANICK: He said, well, you see, about 13 years ago, he met this young lady and he wanted to impress her. And then he ended up marrying the woman and the woman said, well, he was an Ohio Supreme Court justice. She didn't doubt it.

NURENBERG: What should her obituary say?

BARANICK : She wrote stories about thousands of people she wished she had known.

NURENBERG: Joe Smith would probably have liked that line too.

Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Up next, at 7:00 eastern, the uproar over New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin's comments about hurricanes, chocolate, and God. And then at 8:00, "CNN PRESENTS: Homicide in Hollenbeck." We are going to show you how police and parents are battling the gangs that rule their neighborhood streets.

Then "LARRY KING LIVE." Larry's guest tonight, Eric Menendez, who is serving life in prison for killing his parents. His first joint interview with his wife Tammy at 9:00 eastern.

I'll be back at 10:00 with more on the urgent search for journalist Jill Carroll. We're going to talk about some of the bold moves rescuers may be taking to find her. A check of the hour's headlines then ON THE STORY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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