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Car on Tracks Leads to Derailment, Nine Deaths; Weather May Have Caused Deadly Marine Helicopter Crash; Bush: Simply Holding Elections in Iraq Equals Success; Rice Confirmed
Aired January 26, 2005 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: The numbers are in and they aren't pretty. The shocking odds that if you are overweight, your child will be. Details coming up.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. It's Thursday, January 26. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
O'BRIEN: Two crowded commuter trains, a car on the tracks, a parked locomotive, they're scattered like toys after multiple rush hour wrecks and derailments in the L.A. suburb of Glendale. And nine people are thought to be dead.
We get the latest from CNN's Ted Rowlands, who's there at the scene -- Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, they are still going through the train cars at this hour, actively pulling out those that are have been deceased, and they are assessing the situation, as well. They're looking into the investigation.
What we know at this point is that just shortly after 6 a.m. local time here, a Metrolink commuter train hit an automobile in a train crossing area. That caused the derailment of one Metrolink train. It hit, did that train, another Metrolink train, and then one or both of those crashed into a Union Pacific train, which was parked on an adjacent track here in Glendale, which is a suburb of Los Angeles in southern California.
The ramifications of it, nine dead. More than 100 people have been injured in this incident. They are still looking into the exact cause of it and as to what led that driver to park on the -- on the track there. But they say, they are still looking into, as well, the entire situation.
Here's the latest that we got from a briefing about an hour ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF WILLIAM BAMATTRE, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: At this time, we're looking at approximately, again, I caution, nine fatalities that are at the site. Nine fatalities that we're looking at. There will be information given to you afterwards about where families, relatives, can go for information.
Again, recognize that this was a commuter train, two commuter trains involved. It's going to be very difficult getting an accurate count of who was on the train and identifying both the injured.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: And right now, one of the major problems is loved ones trying to get a hold of people that they believe may have been on the train. Some people are in hospitals, others have gone to a community center here in Glendale and officials are trying to reunite people at this hour. And they're still looking into the investigation.
One source here at scene says that the individual in the car, parked at the cross to commit suicide had second thoughts and jumped out. We haven't confirmed that, but that's according to a battalion chief with the Los Angeles Fire Department, telling CNN that within the last hour.
Nine dead and more than 100 injured. And they're still tending to the injured at this hour -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: So Ted, that potential suicide motive in all here, that's coming out fairly recently now. Was the person intending to die inside the vehicle, is that your understanding at this point?
ROWLANDS: Presumably, the individual came to commit suicide by parking his car in front of an oncoming train. According to a battalion chief with the Los Angeles Fire Department, they believe that the individual had second thoughts and jumped out of his vehicle. They do have the identity of that person.
What led this person to choose this as a way to do it, who knows? And they have not confirmed that, but this is something they're looking into as a cause of this derailment.
But obviously, a horrific set of circumstances and a horrific scene here following this derailment.
O'BRIEN: Ted Rowlands in Glendale, thank you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Bad weather, pilot error, equipment failure or hostile fire? Whatever the cause, the effects of this morning's crash of a U.S. Super Stallion helicopter in western Iraq are grimly apparent, and for the Iraq war to date, unprecedented.
Thirty-one dead Marines, contributing to the deadliest single day for U.S. forces since the invasion 22 months ago. We get the latest on the crash and the aftermath from CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, indeed, a tragic day in Iraq, as so many days are for so many American families troops serving in that war zone.
But senior U.S. military officials are letting it be known very quietly that the initial indications -- now the investigation continues -- but the initial indications are weather, indeed, may have been the major factor in this incident.
Officials telling CNN that, when rescue teams got to the crash site in the far west of Iraq, it was foggy there. You see some video now that was taken in that general area. But when they got to that rescue scene in the hours in which it was still dark, there was fog in the area.
General John Abizaid just finishing some remarks on Capitol Hill also saying, quote, "Weather was bad in the region."
There is no indication at this point that there was any hostile fire involved, although, of course, the investigation does continue.
Now, this helicopter, this model of Marine Corps helicopter, is one of the workhorses of the fleet, as we have been saying all day. If you travel anywhere in a war zone, anywhere on the front lines, you are going to find yourself in a 53. It carries personnel, supplies, equipment. In one configuration, it is capable of carrying 55 troops.
By all accounts, on this roster, on this mission, 31 troops, 30 Marines, one Navy corpsman.
The helicopter has been really, as we say, one of the workhorses, a long record of service in the U.S. military. It flew in Somalia. It flew throughout the Balkans, flies today around Afghanistan and Iraq. By all indications, this was a weather-related failure at this point, but the investigation continues -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon. Thank you.
Well, the Super Stallion crash hits very close to home at California's Camp Pendleton. CNN's Miguel Marquez is there with more -- Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, no matter what brought down that chopper, it is going to be a heartbreaking day here at Camp Pendleton. I talked to a public information officer here a short time ago, and he said that the 1st Marine Division is here, as well as the 3rd Marine Air Wing, the air wing that that CH-53 Stallion helicopter was part of. All of the Marines most likely are from here at Pendleton.
And he said, right now what they're trying to focus on is notifications, notifications to the families, of knocking on the doors and that hard job of telling families they have lost loved ones in Iraq.
He said that he was up most of last night making calls and it was -- it never gets easy for him. He says it felt like being punched in the heart. And these are -- these are tough guys. This was a lieutenant colonel I was talking to. And he said that, you know, it was a very difficult day for him, and he can only imagine what the families are going through here today. There is a lot of press here. And it's -- I can tell you that there will probably be a lot more stories coming out here in the days ahead.
They hope to have most of those -- most of those families notified in 24 hours. And then they would release the names to the public -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. As you get more information, we'll check in with you. Miguel Marquez there, live from Camp Pendleton, thanks -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: The cost is high, but the cause is vital. So contends President Bush, who you may have seen this morning, fielding questions from reporters on Iraq, Social Security, cabinet nominations, even race relations. It was the first news conference of Mr. Bush's second term.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux tells us all about it -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, that news conference lasted about 48 minutes or so. The president offered his condolences to the victims and the families of those Marines killed in that helicopter crash earlier today in Iraq. But he did not dwell on it. He did not focus on it. Rather, he turned looking forward to Iraq's elections in about four days.
Also, of course, in his mission to bring democracy around the world, to end tyranny around the globe, the president making the case here, clear part of the White House strategy to argue that the very existence, the mere existence of Iraq elections defines success.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The fact that they're voting in itself is successful. Again, this is a long process. It is a process that will begin to write a constitution, and then elect a permanent assembly. And this process will take place over this next year. It's a -- it is a grand moment for those who believe in freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: President Bush also, of course, trying to convince the naysayers that his domestic agenda is also a realistic one. He focused on the centerpiece of that agenda, that being Social Security, reforming it. He says that, of course it faces bankruptcy in the future and that he wants to create these private investment accounts.
But the president did not use the same kind of language we've heard from before. Before he's described this as a crisis. He moderated his language a bit, saying that it was a problem and he did acknowledge at least to moderate Republicans, those who really do not believe that this is necessarily going to work, that, of course, this is a politically sensitive issue, calling it the third rail and perhaps even political death for those who face trying to amend Social Security.
But the president still expressing some optimism. He believes his can get it through Congress. But of course, you have to realize, Miles, that this is a very narrow window that the president is working with, perhaps six months to a year that he can really try to push for it, his agenda. That is why we are seeing the president act so aggressively just within the first week of this new administration -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Yes. I guess it's worth remembering, Suzanne, he's not running for re-election, but an awful lot of folks on Capitol Hill are.
MALVEAUX: Well, absolutely. And that's what they're concerned about. Do they actually invest the kind of political capital the president talks about that he has earned when they are actually facing reelection? Is it worth it to begin with when they say, look, this is a crisis or perhaps not a crisis, a problem, that we're not even going to deal with until at least a dozen years in the future.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux, with that report at the White House, thank you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: The White House isn't wasting time getting Condoleezza Rice up and running at the State Department. After her lopsided confirmation vote late this morning in the Senate, she's due to be sworn in tonight and report for work first thing tomorrow.
CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel is watching and waiting.
Hi, Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Well, about a week later than originally expected, State Department employees have been told to be in the lobby of the State Department tomorrow morning, bright and early, to welcome their new boss, Condoleezza Rice.
About an hour ago, after days of heated debate, the U.S. Senate did confirm Rice by an overwhelming vote of 85-13. Nevertheless, when compared with votes on previous secretaries of state over the years, there were a record number of votes logged against the Rice nomination, most of them, not surprisingly, Senate Democrats who criticize Rice as the chief architect of the Bush administration's policies on Iraq.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada spoke out today against criticism leveled against Democrats in recent days, for expressing what he suggested is their constitutional right to question candidates nominated by the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: Can anyone say that four hours of debate dealing with Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state of the United States, is too much? The American people all take longer to buy a car than what we've debated Condoleezza Rice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Reid, by the way, did end up supporting the Rice nomination. And only a handful of Democrats hammered away at Rice during hearings before the foreign relations committee at first and then during debate by the full Senate yesterday.
The intensity of the debate was a bit of a surprise to some. The White House and some Republicans like Senate majority leader Bill Frist chalked it up to what they called obvious partisan politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: Partisanship has its time and place. But we are, at this point in time, a nation at war. We need the strength of all of our resources to fight and win. And I'm disappointed that others on the other side of the aisle have taken this moment to wage a partisan campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Losing no time, the White House has already announced Secretary of State Rice's first diplomatic mission. She's expected to travel early next month ahead of President Bush to Europe to make the rounds of capitals there. And she also plans to travel to Israel and to the Palestinian territories to meet with leaders there to discuss a top Bush administration goal, getting Israeli/Palestinian peace talks back on track -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Andrea Koppel, thanks so much.
And the new secretary's many admirers include the former ambassador, longtime statesman, lifelong Democrat Andrew Young. He'll be our guest a little later this hour to give us his take on Rice's qualities and her new responsibilities.
Well, straight ahead, it's the deadliest day for U.S. forces since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. A report up next from Baghdad with more on the casualties.
Plus, insurgents taking aim at polling centers just days ahead of Iraqi elections.
And later, a bad call at an accident scene sends a victim to the morgue instead of the E.R.
Something else to blame on Mom. Well a new study suggests your weight problems may be linked to her own battle of the bulge.
Now, first, we want to take you straight to California in Glendale with more on that train derailment.
CHIEF RANDY ADAMS, GLENDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT: ... Metrolink trail incident actually resulted in 10 fatalities so far. And we have well over 100 individuals that have been injured.
The investigation has also revealed that there is no terrorism or terrorist act involved at all in this incident. So I want to make that very clear.
What we do -- what we have been able to determine is that we now have a homicide investigation under way. And that has actually turned into a homicide investigation from the standpoint that this whole incident was started by a deranged individual that was suicidal, who took his vehicle and apparently maneuvered it into an area on the tracks, really not intended for vehicles, got the vehicle stuck on the tracks.
I think was intent at that time of taking his own life but changed his mind prior to the train actually striking his vehicle, exited the vehicle, and stood by as the southbound Metrolink train struck his vehicle, causing the train to derail and strike the northbound train.
Obviously -- obviously, that has resulted in a number of casualties here at the scene, and we have an ongoing investigation. The injured were transported to 15 different hospitals, and we have teams of detectives out actually interviewing all of the occupants of the train, all of those that were injured, and any additional witnesses to this incident.
The suspect is in custody; ultimately, will be charged with homicide. And we should be able to release shortly his name to you. But I don't have that available right at this particular moment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have the age on the suspect?
ADAMS: I'll give all of that information to you, hopefully here into the end of this press conference.
At this time I would like to introduce the mayor of Glendale, Bob Yousefian, to make a few comments -- Mayor.
PHILLIPS: Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams addressing reporters with regard to the two crowded commuter trains, the car on the tracks and a parked locomotive creating what you're seeing now via our affiliate KCAL there in Glendale, California.
Latest information coming from that police chief, now 10 reported deaths, well over 100 injuries. And now a homicide investigation under way.
Evidently, the car that was on the tracks, according to the chief, was driven by a man, a deranged suicidal individual, he calls him, who maneuvered his car on to the tracks, changed his mind at some point that he didn't want to commit suicide, according to the chief, while that car caused this accident.
And now that suspect is in custody. The homicide investigation is under way. The chief saying, ultimately that suspect most likely will be charged with homicide. We'll have more right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Once again a quick update. Live pictures from Glendale, California, via our affiliate, KCAL, there in the area.
We just heard from Chief Randy Adams, Glendale police chief, updating us now, at 10 deaths reported in this accident, well over 100 injuries and a homicide investigation under way.
Apparently, the cause of this accident, a man attempting suicide, his car on the tracks, and it caused the derailment of this Metrolink train. An investigation is under way. The suspect is in custody. We'll continue to bring more information as we get it -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: News across America now.
A dangerous day on the roads. A school bus packed with elementary school students overturned near Tampa, Florida, this morning. One child airlifted to the hospital, eight others injured, including the bus driver. No word on the cause of that crash.
Another dramatic crash, this one in Maryland. A tractor-trailer flipped over a guardrail on Interstate 95, landing upside down in a ravine, as you see there. The driver was injured. Rescue workers lifted the victim to safety in a basket. No word on the extent of the driver's injuries, however.
Possible words from a killer. A television station in Wichita, Kansas, has received a postcard, reportedly from the notorious BTK serial killer. The postcard directed the station to a cereal box leaning against a traffic sign. No word on what the potential clue means or whether it is, in fact, linked to eight unsolved killings dating back to the '70s and '80s.
And talk about too close for comfort. This is a bizarre encounter with nature.
An Ohio couple, needless to say, a little bit shocked when a full grown eight-point buck crashed through the window of their living room. And that's not all. The 300-pound animal attacked the homeowner, who is counting his blessings today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was coming right here. And if he would touch me here, it's a second and I will be dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Oh, dear. Eighty-four-year-old Alfred Tibor very much alive today. His wife called the ambulance and police when the deer wouldn't leave the house.
The police came. The story does not end well for the deer. As you might imagine, no explanation as to what caused the animal to behave that way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next, on LIVE FROM...
STEVE GREEN, CAR ACCIDENT VICTIM'S BROTHER: Just seeing your brother laying there with a sheet over your body and come to find out that he was still alive a little bit, and he's breathing, that's serious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Paramedics put a man into a body bag, while he's still alive.
Later on LIVE FROM, football legend Joe Theismann in the house, talking about the Super Bowl, today's hot quarterbacks and other more personal guy stuff.
And tomorrow, still hot after all these years, here's to you, Mrs. Morgan Fairchild, starring as sexy Mrs. Robinson on the road. She's not afraid to show some skin or mingle with us right here on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Talk about your worse nightmare: a North Carolina man in a car accident, declared dead at the scene. It wasn't until hours later, in the morgue, when somebody realized he was very much alive.
Gloria Lopez from our CNN affiliate, WRAL, with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA LOPEZ, WRAL REPORTER (voice-over): How to describe what happened at the 401 and 39 split in Franklin County depends on who you ask.
LARRY WILLIAMS, FRIEND: A miracle. You know, I guess it -- the car wreck must have knocked him out, and he came back.
GREEN: It's so much mixed emotion inside. And I feel relieved, angry, praise God, everything.
LOPEZ: The red markings on the road show where 29-year-old Larry Donnell (ph) Green was hit by a car.
WILLIAMS: I passed by. He was laying up in the road and he was balled up and had a sheet over top of him. I was still here. He lay there for two hours.
LOPEZ: And according to those on the scene, he was dead. But when Donnell (ph) arrived at the morgue in a body bag, he was breathing.
GREEN: Just seeing your brother laying there with a sheet over your body and come to find out that he was still alive a little bit, and he's breathing, that's serious.
LOPEZ: The news has the small Ingleside (ph) community buzzing in disbelief.
ABDUL ALI, STORE OWNER: I usually seen him every day come to the store right here. He's still living, so praise God for him. He be doing all right, come back and see me.
LOPEZ: But with Donnell (ph) on life support at Duke Hospital, the family worries they will have to endure the news, not once, but twice.
GREEN: We're making funeral arrangements. Family that came by, everybody thought he had passed away.
LOPEZ: Gloria Lopez, WRAL News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Thanks to Gloria to that. Larry Green remains in critical condition at Duke University Medical Center. Several EMS workers had been suspend, pending an investigation on this -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. On a lighter note, go ahead, Joe. Give me the Heisman. Give it to me.
JOE THEISMANN, FORMER PRO FOOTBALL PLAYER: The Heisman?
PHILLIPS: There it is.
We didn't get the shot! Joe Theismann in the house. We're going to be talking some serious stuff and some Super Bowl stuff. There it is. There it is.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired January 26, 2005 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: The numbers are in and they aren't pretty. The shocking odds that if you are overweight, your child will be. Details coming up.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. It's Thursday, January 26. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
O'BRIEN: Two crowded commuter trains, a car on the tracks, a parked locomotive, they're scattered like toys after multiple rush hour wrecks and derailments in the L.A. suburb of Glendale. And nine people are thought to be dead.
We get the latest from CNN's Ted Rowlands, who's there at the scene -- Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, they are still going through the train cars at this hour, actively pulling out those that are have been deceased, and they are assessing the situation, as well. They're looking into the investigation.
What we know at this point is that just shortly after 6 a.m. local time here, a Metrolink commuter train hit an automobile in a train crossing area. That caused the derailment of one Metrolink train. It hit, did that train, another Metrolink train, and then one or both of those crashed into a Union Pacific train, which was parked on an adjacent track here in Glendale, which is a suburb of Los Angeles in southern California.
The ramifications of it, nine dead. More than 100 people have been injured in this incident. They are still looking into the exact cause of it and as to what led that driver to park on the -- on the track there. But they say, they are still looking into, as well, the entire situation.
Here's the latest that we got from a briefing about an hour ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF WILLIAM BAMATTRE, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: At this time, we're looking at approximately, again, I caution, nine fatalities that are at the site. Nine fatalities that we're looking at. There will be information given to you afterwards about where families, relatives, can go for information.
Again, recognize that this was a commuter train, two commuter trains involved. It's going to be very difficult getting an accurate count of who was on the train and identifying both the injured.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: And right now, one of the major problems is loved ones trying to get a hold of people that they believe may have been on the train. Some people are in hospitals, others have gone to a community center here in Glendale and officials are trying to reunite people at this hour. And they're still looking into the investigation.
One source here at scene says that the individual in the car, parked at the cross to commit suicide had second thoughts and jumped out. We haven't confirmed that, but that's according to a battalion chief with the Los Angeles Fire Department, telling CNN that within the last hour.
Nine dead and more than 100 injured. And they're still tending to the injured at this hour -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: So Ted, that potential suicide motive in all here, that's coming out fairly recently now. Was the person intending to die inside the vehicle, is that your understanding at this point?
ROWLANDS: Presumably, the individual came to commit suicide by parking his car in front of an oncoming train. According to a battalion chief with the Los Angeles Fire Department, they believe that the individual had second thoughts and jumped out of his vehicle. They do have the identity of that person.
What led this person to choose this as a way to do it, who knows? And they have not confirmed that, but this is something they're looking into as a cause of this derailment.
But obviously, a horrific set of circumstances and a horrific scene here following this derailment.
O'BRIEN: Ted Rowlands in Glendale, thank you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Bad weather, pilot error, equipment failure or hostile fire? Whatever the cause, the effects of this morning's crash of a U.S. Super Stallion helicopter in western Iraq are grimly apparent, and for the Iraq war to date, unprecedented.
Thirty-one dead Marines, contributing to the deadliest single day for U.S. forces since the invasion 22 months ago. We get the latest on the crash and the aftermath from CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, indeed, a tragic day in Iraq, as so many days are for so many American families troops serving in that war zone.
But senior U.S. military officials are letting it be known very quietly that the initial indications -- now the investigation continues -- but the initial indications are weather, indeed, may have been the major factor in this incident.
Officials telling CNN that, when rescue teams got to the crash site in the far west of Iraq, it was foggy there. You see some video now that was taken in that general area. But when they got to that rescue scene in the hours in which it was still dark, there was fog in the area.
General John Abizaid just finishing some remarks on Capitol Hill also saying, quote, "Weather was bad in the region."
There is no indication at this point that there was any hostile fire involved, although, of course, the investigation does continue.
Now, this helicopter, this model of Marine Corps helicopter, is one of the workhorses of the fleet, as we have been saying all day. If you travel anywhere in a war zone, anywhere on the front lines, you are going to find yourself in a 53. It carries personnel, supplies, equipment. In one configuration, it is capable of carrying 55 troops.
By all accounts, on this roster, on this mission, 31 troops, 30 Marines, one Navy corpsman.
The helicopter has been really, as we say, one of the workhorses, a long record of service in the U.S. military. It flew in Somalia. It flew throughout the Balkans, flies today around Afghanistan and Iraq. By all indications, this was a weather-related failure at this point, but the investigation continues -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon. Thank you.
Well, the Super Stallion crash hits very close to home at California's Camp Pendleton. CNN's Miguel Marquez is there with more -- Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, no matter what brought down that chopper, it is going to be a heartbreaking day here at Camp Pendleton. I talked to a public information officer here a short time ago, and he said that the 1st Marine Division is here, as well as the 3rd Marine Air Wing, the air wing that that CH-53 Stallion helicopter was part of. All of the Marines most likely are from here at Pendleton.
And he said, right now what they're trying to focus on is notifications, notifications to the families, of knocking on the doors and that hard job of telling families they have lost loved ones in Iraq.
He said that he was up most of last night making calls and it was -- it never gets easy for him. He says it felt like being punched in the heart. And these are -- these are tough guys. This was a lieutenant colonel I was talking to. And he said that, you know, it was a very difficult day for him, and he can only imagine what the families are going through here today. There is a lot of press here. And it's -- I can tell you that there will probably be a lot more stories coming out here in the days ahead.
They hope to have most of those -- most of those families notified in 24 hours. And then they would release the names to the public -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. As you get more information, we'll check in with you. Miguel Marquez there, live from Camp Pendleton, thanks -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: The cost is high, but the cause is vital. So contends President Bush, who you may have seen this morning, fielding questions from reporters on Iraq, Social Security, cabinet nominations, even race relations. It was the first news conference of Mr. Bush's second term.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux tells us all about it -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, that news conference lasted about 48 minutes or so. The president offered his condolences to the victims and the families of those Marines killed in that helicopter crash earlier today in Iraq. But he did not dwell on it. He did not focus on it. Rather, he turned looking forward to Iraq's elections in about four days.
Also, of course, in his mission to bring democracy around the world, to end tyranny around the globe, the president making the case here, clear part of the White House strategy to argue that the very existence, the mere existence of Iraq elections defines success.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The fact that they're voting in itself is successful. Again, this is a long process. It is a process that will begin to write a constitution, and then elect a permanent assembly. And this process will take place over this next year. It's a -- it is a grand moment for those who believe in freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: President Bush also, of course, trying to convince the naysayers that his domestic agenda is also a realistic one. He focused on the centerpiece of that agenda, that being Social Security, reforming it. He says that, of course it faces bankruptcy in the future and that he wants to create these private investment accounts.
But the president did not use the same kind of language we've heard from before. Before he's described this as a crisis. He moderated his language a bit, saying that it was a problem and he did acknowledge at least to moderate Republicans, those who really do not believe that this is necessarily going to work, that, of course, this is a politically sensitive issue, calling it the third rail and perhaps even political death for those who face trying to amend Social Security.
But the president still expressing some optimism. He believes his can get it through Congress. But of course, you have to realize, Miles, that this is a very narrow window that the president is working with, perhaps six months to a year that he can really try to push for it, his agenda. That is why we are seeing the president act so aggressively just within the first week of this new administration -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Yes. I guess it's worth remembering, Suzanne, he's not running for re-election, but an awful lot of folks on Capitol Hill are.
MALVEAUX: Well, absolutely. And that's what they're concerned about. Do they actually invest the kind of political capital the president talks about that he has earned when they are actually facing reelection? Is it worth it to begin with when they say, look, this is a crisis or perhaps not a crisis, a problem, that we're not even going to deal with until at least a dozen years in the future.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux, with that report at the White House, thank you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: The White House isn't wasting time getting Condoleezza Rice up and running at the State Department. After her lopsided confirmation vote late this morning in the Senate, she's due to be sworn in tonight and report for work first thing tomorrow.
CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel is watching and waiting.
Hi, Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Well, about a week later than originally expected, State Department employees have been told to be in the lobby of the State Department tomorrow morning, bright and early, to welcome their new boss, Condoleezza Rice.
About an hour ago, after days of heated debate, the U.S. Senate did confirm Rice by an overwhelming vote of 85-13. Nevertheless, when compared with votes on previous secretaries of state over the years, there were a record number of votes logged against the Rice nomination, most of them, not surprisingly, Senate Democrats who criticize Rice as the chief architect of the Bush administration's policies on Iraq.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada spoke out today against criticism leveled against Democrats in recent days, for expressing what he suggested is their constitutional right to question candidates nominated by the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: Can anyone say that four hours of debate dealing with Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state of the United States, is too much? The American people all take longer to buy a car than what we've debated Condoleezza Rice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Reid, by the way, did end up supporting the Rice nomination. And only a handful of Democrats hammered away at Rice during hearings before the foreign relations committee at first and then during debate by the full Senate yesterday.
The intensity of the debate was a bit of a surprise to some. The White House and some Republicans like Senate majority leader Bill Frist chalked it up to what they called obvious partisan politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: Partisanship has its time and place. But we are, at this point in time, a nation at war. We need the strength of all of our resources to fight and win. And I'm disappointed that others on the other side of the aisle have taken this moment to wage a partisan campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Losing no time, the White House has already announced Secretary of State Rice's first diplomatic mission. She's expected to travel early next month ahead of President Bush to Europe to make the rounds of capitals there. And she also plans to travel to Israel and to the Palestinian territories to meet with leaders there to discuss a top Bush administration goal, getting Israeli/Palestinian peace talks back on track -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Andrea Koppel, thanks so much.
And the new secretary's many admirers include the former ambassador, longtime statesman, lifelong Democrat Andrew Young. He'll be our guest a little later this hour to give us his take on Rice's qualities and her new responsibilities.
Well, straight ahead, it's the deadliest day for U.S. forces since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. A report up next from Baghdad with more on the casualties.
Plus, insurgents taking aim at polling centers just days ahead of Iraqi elections.
And later, a bad call at an accident scene sends a victim to the morgue instead of the E.R.
Something else to blame on Mom. Well a new study suggests your weight problems may be linked to her own battle of the bulge.
Now, first, we want to take you straight to California in Glendale with more on that train derailment.
CHIEF RANDY ADAMS, GLENDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT: ... Metrolink trail incident actually resulted in 10 fatalities so far. And we have well over 100 individuals that have been injured.
The investigation has also revealed that there is no terrorism or terrorist act involved at all in this incident. So I want to make that very clear.
What we do -- what we have been able to determine is that we now have a homicide investigation under way. And that has actually turned into a homicide investigation from the standpoint that this whole incident was started by a deranged individual that was suicidal, who took his vehicle and apparently maneuvered it into an area on the tracks, really not intended for vehicles, got the vehicle stuck on the tracks.
I think was intent at that time of taking his own life but changed his mind prior to the train actually striking his vehicle, exited the vehicle, and stood by as the southbound Metrolink train struck his vehicle, causing the train to derail and strike the northbound train.
Obviously -- obviously, that has resulted in a number of casualties here at the scene, and we have an ongoing investigation. The injured were transported to 15 different hospitals, and we have teams of detectives out actually interviewing all of the occupants of the train, all of those that were injured, and any additional witnesses to this incident.
The suspect is in custody; ultimately, will be charged with homicide. And we should be able to release shortly his name to you. But I don't have that available right at this particular moment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have the age on the suspect?
ADAMS: I'll give all of that information to you, hopefully here into the end of this press conference.
At this time I would like to introduce the mayor of Glendale, Bob Yousefian, to make a few comments -- Mayor.
PHILLIPS: Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams addressing reporters with regard to the two crowded commuter trains, the car on the tracks and a parked locomotive creating what you're seeing now via our affiliate KCAL there in Glendale, California.
Latest information coming from that police chief, now 10 reported deaths, well over 100 injuries. And now a homicide investigation under way.
Evidently, the car that was on the tracks, according to the chief, was driven by a man, a deranged suicidal individual, he calls him, who maneuvered his car on to the tracks, changed his mind at some point that he didn't want to commit suicide, according to the chief, while that car caused this accident.
And now that suspect is in custody. The homicide investigation is under way. The chief saying, ultimately that suspect most likely will be charged with homicide. We'll have more right after a quick break.
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PHILLIPS: Once again a quick update. Live pictures from Glendale, California, via our affiliate, KCAL, there in the area.
We just heard from Chief Randy Adams, Glendale police chief, updating us now, at 10 deaths reported in this accident, well over 100 injuries and a homicide investigation under way.
Apparently, the cause of this accident, a man attempting suicide, his car on the tracks, and it caused the derailment of this Metrolink train. An investigation is under way. The suspect is in custody. We'll continue to bring more information as we get it -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: News across America now.
A dangerous day on the roads. A school bus packed with elementary school students overturned near Tampa, Florida, this morning. One child airlifted to the hospital, eight others injured, including the bus driver. No word on the cause of that crash.
Another dramatic crash, this one in Maryland. A tractor-trailer flipped over a guardrail on Interstate 95, landing upside down in a ravine, as you see there. The driver was injured. Rescue workers lifted the victim to safety in a basket. No word on the extent of the driver's injuries, however.
Possible words from a killer. A television station in Wichita, Kansas, has received a postcard, reportedly from the notorious BTK serial killer. The postcard directed the station to a cereal box leaning against a traffic sign. No word on what the potential clue means or whether it is, in fact, linked to eight unsolved killings dating back to the '70s and '80s.
And talk about too close for comfort. This is a bizarre encounter with nature.
An Ohio couple, needless to say, a little bit shocked when a full grown eight-point buck crashed through the window of their living room. And that's not all. The 300-pound animal attacked the homeowner, who is counting his blessings today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was coming right here. And if he would touch me here, it's a second and I will be dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Oh, dear. Eighty-four-year-old Alfred Tibor very much alive today. His wife called the ambulance and police when the deer wouldn't leave the house.
The police came. The story does not end well for the deer. As you might imagine, no explanation as to what caused the animal to behave that way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next, on LIVE FROM...
STEVE GREEN, CAR ACCIDENT VICTIM'S BROTHER: Just seeing your brother laying there with a sheet over your body and come to find out that he was still alive a little bit, and he's breathing, that's serious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Paramedics put a man into a body bag, while he's still alive.
Later on LIVE FROM, football legend Joe Theismann in the house, talking about the Super Bowl, today's hot quarterbacks and other more personal guy stuff.
And tomorrow, still hot after all these years, here's to you, Mrs. Morgan Fairchild, starring as sexy Mrs. Robinson on the road. She's not afraid to show some skin or mingle with us right here on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Talk about your worse nightmare: a North Carolina man in a car accident, declared dead at the scene. It wasn't until hours later, in the morgue, when somebody realized he was very much alive.
Gloria Lopez from our CNN affiliate, WRAL, with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA LOPEZ, WRAL REPORTER (voice-over): How to describe what happened at the 401 and 39 split in Franklin County depends on who you ask.
LARRY WILLIAMS, FRIEND: A miracle. You know, I guess it -- the car wreck must have knocked him out, and he came back.
GREEN: It's so much mixed emotion inside. And I feel relieved, angry, praise God, everything.
LOPEZ: The red markings on the road show where 29-year-old Larry Donnell (ph) Green was hit by a car.
WILLIAMS: I passed by. He was laying up in the road and he was balled up and had a sheet over top of him. I was still here. He lay there for two hours.
LOPEZ: And according to those on the scene, he was dead. But when Donnell (ph) arrived at the morgue in a body bag, he was breathing.
GREEN: Just seeing your brother laying there with a sheet over your body and come to find out that he was still alive a little bit, and he's breathing, that's serious.
LOPEZ: The news has the small Ingleside (ph) community buzzing in disbelief.
ABDUL ALI, STORE OWNER: I usually seen him every day come to the store right here. He's still living, so praise God for him. He be doing all right, come back and see me.
LOPEZ: But with Donnell (ph) on life support at Duke Hospital, the family worries they will have to endure the news, not once, but twice.
GREEN: We're making funeral arrangements. Family that came by, everybody thought he had passed away.
LOPEZ: Gloria Lopez, WRAL News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Thanks to Gloria to that. Larry Green remains in critical condition at Duke University Medical Center. Several EMS workers had been suspend, pending an investigation on this -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. On a lighter note, go ahead, Joe. Give me the Heisman. Give it to me.
JOE THEISMANN, FORMER PRO FOOTBALL PLAYER: The Heisman?
PHILLIPS: There it is.
We didn't get the shot! Joe Theismann in the house. We're going to be talking some serious stuff and some Super Bowl stuff. There it is. There it is.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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