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The Pope as Patient; People Rescued 38 Days After Tsunami; Teterboro Jet Crash

Aired February 02, 2005 - 14:00   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, CNN ANCHOR: A decision made inside this beginning will affect what you pay to borrow money. It's set to be revealed in just a few moments. We'll bring it to you when it happens.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Pope John Paul II right now in a hospital in Rome. We'll have the latest on the spiritual leader's fragile health.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jason Carroll live in Teterboro, New Jersey, where investigators are on the scene trying to determine what caused a small plane crash. I'll have an update coming up.

PHILLIPS: Social Security, the war in Iraq and the president's agenda. What you need to be listening for tonight in the State of the Union Address.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM begins right now.

KAGAN: Once again, the eyes of the world, the hearts and prayers of a billion Catholics are fixed on Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic, where Pope John Paul II is being treated for a respiratory infection following the onset of flu. Hospitalization was sudden, but the patient is said to have stabilized. And the Vatican insists there's no cause for alarm.

We get the latest from CNN's Jim Bittermann in Rome.

What's the deal, Jim?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, in fact, the latest we have here is from Girolamo Sirchia, who is the Italian health minister. He visited the hospital a few hours ago. And when he came out, here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. GIROLAMO SIRCHIA, ITALIAN HEALTH MINISTER (through translator): He is improving. The doctors are optimistic. The medical bulletin that has been released is absolutely truthful.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BITTERMANN: Now, it's not absolutely clear whether or not Sirchia actually saw the pope. He did talk to the doctors, apparently, from what he had to say.

Others who expected to see the pope were at a candlelight mass this evening. There had been -- it had been planned weeks ago. The pope was supposed to appear. It's one of the events that was canceled today because of the pope's illness.

That kind of optimistic tone about the pope's health is what we've been hearing all day long from the Vatican. The Vatican spokesman saying that there's nothing to be alarmed about.

Yet there must have been something awfully alarming about less than 24 hours ago at the Vatican, because the pope was rushed from the Vatican, despite the fact that there's quite good medical facilities in the Vatican. Was rushed from the Vatican to the Gemelli hospital, where he's been treated all day long, first for muscle spasms in his throat, which apparently block his breathing -- and that may have caused most of the alarm. And also, secondly, for some kind of a respiratory infection.

Now, that can also be quite serious, especially with someone with Parkinson's because Parkinson's affects the muscles in the chest area and throat area. So a respiratory infection can really complicate things. So I think they're watching it very carefully at the moment, though they're saying the pope's condition is stable -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: As we follow the pope's condition, I'm assuming this has triggered some conversation about a possible replacement.

BITTERMANN: Well, it's too early for that. I think that here in Rome people really do respect the fact that the pope is still alive and he is hanging in there. And there's nothing to indicate, in fact, that he won't come out of the hospital two days from now and go right back into the Vatican.

So I think it's really too early for that kind of speculation. People will begin to speculate, I think, when -- if, for instance, his health turns to -- turns very seriously, it worsens very seriously in the next few days. It's possible. And I think one of the things that they're really worried about is pneumonia, the possibility that this respiratory infection could turn into pneumonia -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jim Bittermann live from Rome. Thank you -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. It's an amazing story. As a matter of fact, it's being described as a miracle, an act of god that they are alive.

"They," we are referring to, are nine people found on a remote island in the Indian Ocean. It's now, what, 38 days since that tsunami rolled through the Indian Ocean, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths. They were discovered by some Indian authorities.

CNN's Satinder Bindra joins us now on the line with more from New Delhi -- Satinder.

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, this is an absolutely amazing story. A police source and inspector on the Indian island chain of Andaman and Nicobar has just confirmed to me that this morning he set out -- he set out on a mission to see if they could find some survivors. And he says when the party reached a place called Great Nicobar, they found one dead body, and then they started advancing towards a forest.

That's when this officer tells me they found nine people, five men, two children, and two women. They all appeared very hungry. They all appeared very weak and emaciated.

And then they rushed down towards this police party. They started to cry. They hugged their rescuers. And these people are obviously very hungry that survived several days -- in fact, 38 days in this forests. They lived on wild boar and mainly coconuts.

Now, all these people, all nine of them, are expected to pull through. None of them have any serious health problems. And the police officer who found them, the inspector who was leading this party, describes this as a miracle. All the people at the moment are in a place called Campbell Bay (ph), and they're receiving medical attention -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Satinder, amazing story. Now, I know with the widespread damage that we're talking about in the wake of the tsunami, they couldn't have checked every last island. But is it possible that there are many other little pockets like this out there, given the extent of the damage and the number of islands in the Indian Ocean?

BINDRA: Right. Absolutely, Miles. This island chain alone has several hundred islands. And this is going to give great hope. This is going to give great hope to the police, and this is obviously being treated all across this island chain as great news.

Thousands of people were killed on this island chain alone. Several hundred were missing. But now at least some of those missing, nine of them, have been found. And what it will do is it will certainly encourage the police to go out and search even more.

I was talking to the police officer, as I mentioned. He said the seas were really rough this morning. The seas were several meters high, he said. The waves were really high.

But these police officers risked their lives. And today, at least for several hundreds of millions of Indian people, at least, these police officers are heroes. This is absolutely an amazing story any which way you look at it.

O'BRIEN: Well, they're heroes, but also the people, the nine of them that were able to endure and survive are heroes in my book, too, for getting through this all. Satinder Bindra in New Delhi. Please keep us posted if you have anymore details to share with us. We'll get you on right away, of course.

All right. Let's move on. A little closer to home here.

That failed takeoff at Teterboro, New Jersey, just outside of Manhattan, heavy damage, lots of injuries. But no deaths in the wake of this morning's accident involving a corporate jet, a six-lane highway and a large, fortunately mostly unoccupied warehouse.

CNN's Jason Carroll live now from the scene -- Jason.

CARROLL: And Miles, just a short while ago we heard from an NTSB, National Transportation Safety Board, spokeswoman who came out and gave us a brief sort of look at what they're going to be looking at as they're out here. The rescue operation is complete. Everyone has been accounted for.

If you take a look, you can still see there are plenty of emergency crews that are out here, along with investigators who at this point are trying to determine exactly what happened. When you look at exactly what happened here, look at the outcome of this crash. It's -- it's truly remarkable that at this point there are no fatalities.

Want to give you a quick review, Miles, of exactly what happened out here at Teterboro Airport this morning. 7:23 this morning, that's when that twin-engine jet traveling, trying to take -- trying to go to takeoff crashed, skidded down the runway through a fence, across Route 46, which is a highway out here, crashed into the Strawberry's clothing warehouse that you see there, burst into flames.

As it crossed Route 46, the highway out of here, it did clip two cars. Two people inside those cars were injured. Again, as we said, a member from the NTSB team that is out here spoke to us just a few moments ago about their investigation. Here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE HERSMAN, NTSB: We were notified this morning a little after 8:00 a.m. about an accident that occurred here in Teterboro, New Jersey. We have immediately dispatched approximately 16 members of the NTSB's investigative team.

We're going to be looking at a number of issues, at operations, at survival factors, at human factors, at systems, at aircraft structures. And we'll be looking at the engines and all of the equipment on the airplane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: You just heard her there, all of the different factors that the NTSB team members will be looking at as they're out here. More about that plane. There were 11 people on board that CL-600.

That corporate mid-sized jet actually has a capacity to seat 13. There were eight passengers on board, three crew members. We also, Miles, have some updated numbers for you from the hospital.

Nineteen people in total taken to area hospitals. The most severely injured, one was a man who was in his car on Route 46. He has -- he's in critical condition with head injuries.

The other is the co-pilot of the jet. The co-pilot has a broken leg. He is in serious condition at this point. The hospital also treated three bystanders who were on the ground, as well as the eight passengers.

NTSB will be out here interviewing a number of people. But, of course, the most crucial interviews will come from the pilots themselves -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Jason Carroll, Teterboro, New Jersey. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: The U.S. Coast Guard is taking new measures to protect cruise ships, merchant ships and other vessels from underwater attacks at U.S. ports. The underwater port security system being unveiled today in San Pedro, California, has been under development for more than two years. The Coast Guard will use trained divers, underwater sonar, robotic cameras and other technology to inspect holes in piers and detect divers who shouldn't be there.

President Bush's nominee for Homeland Security secretary has been facing tough questions from Senate Democrats. Judge Michael Chertoff's confirmation hearings have adjourned for the day. And CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is following them -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Michael Chertoff told the committee, "You can't live in liberty without security. And you wouldn't want to live in security without liberty," saying he'd try to balance the two. But some senators questioned whether he had in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

As a Justice Department official, Chertoff oversaw the detention of over 700 men on immigration charges. He said it seemed like a reasonable plan under the circumstances, but acknowledged it had not always been executed perfectly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY NOMINEE: Mistreatment of detainees in detention facilities is wholly unacceptable. It's always been unacceptable.

Again, I understand it was an emotional time. But training has to be in place so people understand that you don't give into emotions. People are being detained not to be mistreated or punished, but simply as part of the legal process to allow an investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Chertoff was also questioned about his role in formulating a 2002 Justice Department memo that defined "torture," and whether he had given the CIA the OK to use certain coercive interrogation techniques.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHERTOFF: I'm sure a number of techniques were -- were mentioned to me. It's sometimes difficult now, in retrospect, to know what I was told at the time versus what I've now read in the copious discussion in the press. But I can tell you that whatever was mentioned to me at the time, my answer was exactly the same.

I am not in a position to evaluate a set of facts based on a hypothetical circumstance. I will tell you, if you are dealing with something that makes you nervous, you'd better make sure that you are doing the right thing. And you'd better check it out, and that means doing honest and diligent examination of what you're doing, and not merely putting your head in the sand or turning a blind eye.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Over more than three hours of questioning, the senators peppered Chertoff with inquiries about everything from grant funding to cyber security. The committee expected to vote Monday and send it on to the full Senate, where Chertoff is expected to win confirmation -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Jeanne Meserve, thank you so much.

And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

O'BRIEN: Money makes the world go round. And in moments, a big decision affecting your money will be announced. Live pictures of the New York Stock Exchange.

The Big Board, up about 41 points. A little bit of optimism reigning there right now. Wall Street expected to react when the Federal Reserve announces its decision on interest rates.

Of course, all that stuff is kind of baked in, and it's always hard to figure all that out. But anyway, well, we have experts to help us with that.

And then later on LIVE FROM, the hostage hoax. A picture posted on a terrorist Web site turns up the anxiety until it turns out to be not even close to the real thing, an action figure.

And later on LIVE FROM, is he the ultimate football fan, or is he just nuts? A man puts his house on the line to see the big game.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: All right. If you listen very carefully, you can hear it.

PHILLIPS: Ding, ding.

O'BRIEN: It's the sound of inflation, the economy pumping up. And the Federal Reserve is not very happy about this. So what do they do? They end the interest rate fund. Susan Lisovicz is here to tell us about how rates are going up and what that's going to mean to us, if you're thinking about a mortgage or -- it's probably not going to affect credit cards because they're already way up there anyway, right?

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, it was a frightening image posted on an Islamic militant Web site.

O'BRIEN: It sent the Pentagon searching for answers. We were searching for some answers as well here in (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We didn't show it to you yesterday because we thought it looked a little weird.

It was purported to be a soldier captured after a firefight. It turned out to be an action figure. A little Photo Shop action. We'll have details on all of this straight ahead.

PHILLIPS: You know what our writer said?

O'BRIEN: What?

PHILLIPS: Barbie negotiated his release.

All right. And later on LIVE FROM, he's the real thing. We're going face to face with Punxsutawney Phil and get his winter forecast.

O'BRIEN: Go Barbie.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Action figure anxieties. The U.S. military breathing a bit easier today after scrambling yesterday to account for all troops in Iraq. Militants claimed they had a U.S. soldier at gunpoint. Now it turns out the so-called hostage was a toy soldier, not a real one. Barbara Starr explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This Islamic Web site posted the statement claiming insurgents captured a U.S. soldier named John Adam after a firefight and were planning to behead him. This photograph accompanied the statement, a photograph CNN never aired because it could not confirm a U.S. soldier was missing. Now, it appears it was a hoax.

An action figure toy called Special Ops Cody, with a uniform of doll clothes and toy guns. The manufacturer says it looks like a toy made for the U.S. military exchange stores.

LIAM CUSACK, DRAGON MODELS USA: When we looked at it, we noticed that it looked, you know -- it beared a striking resemblance to an action figure that we had produced about a year and a half ago, around a year ago, I guess. We still don't want to come out and say that it is, you know, 100 percent for sure our action figure, but I mean it does bear, you know, like I said, a striking resemblance to an action figure that we did make.

STARR: But the military had to take it all very seriously, poring over the photograph, wondering about the uniform. The ammo best did not look like anything in U.S. military inventory. One senior officer saying, "We didn't know for sure. We had to start counting heads in Iraq to see if anybody was missing."

The Pentagon was not amused. They remind everyone that this is Army Specialist Keith Matthew Maupin, a U.S. Army soldier missing in Iraq since he was captured last year. His fate very much unknown.

(on camera): Officials say this photo could have been from insurgents or someone who hacked into a Web site. They don't really know. But any time a U.S. military person is reported captured, U.S. officials say they will pursue the matter.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: Other news "Across America" now.

An eye in the sky watching his every move. A South Carolina teen on trial for killing his grandparents will be released on bail today. Christopher Pittman's lawyers continue to argue that his judgment was clouded by the antidepressant drug Zoloft. While on bail, Pittman will wear a monitoring device which tracks him by satellite.

Top bid on a pregnant belly. eBay user Golden Palace Casino will pay mom to be Amber Rainy (ph) more than $4,000 to use her as advertising space until she delivers in late March. The South Carolina woman plans to keep her tummy exposed at malls and other public places to make good on the deal. Rainy (ph) says that she got the idea when she read about a man auctioning off ad space on his forehead.

Well, it's Jacksonville, Florida, or bust. A Pennsylvania man so desperate to go to the Super Bowl, he's mortgaging his house. The married father of six and die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan says it's his boyhood dream. And his wife, believe it or not, supports him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a dream of his. And that's priceless. So I'm willing to put up the house, I guess.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's cheap money. It's -- you know, I got in a real good rate. And I just figured, you know, this only comes once in a lifetime sometimes, and I didn't want to miss it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Somebody please send that man tickets. By the way, when he gets back, he promised to take his wife on a cruise. That is if she's still there, along with the six kids.

O'BRIEN: I wonder if they're doing it hoping that somebody will say, oh, god, give him some tickets.

PHILLIPS: Oh, please.

O'BRIEN: Anyway, ahead, a father and son connection. That's the best of times and the worst of times for one Marine corporal's family.

PHILLIPS: We're going to go back live to Rome also to talk about the pope and who might succeed him one day.

O'BRIEN: And it's Punxsutawney Phil's big day. Will there be six more weeks of winter? We'll have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired February 2, 2005 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A decision made inside this beginning will affect what you pay to borrow money. It's set to be revealed in just a few moments. We'll bring it to you when it happens.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Pope John Paul II right now in a hospital in Rome. We'll have the latest on the spiritual leader's fragile health.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jason Carroll live in Teterboro, New Jersey, where investigators are on the scene trying to determine what caused a small plane crash. I'll have an update coming up.

PHILLIPS: Social Security, the war in Iraq and the president's agenda. What you need to be listening for tonight in the State of the Union Address.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM begins right now.

KAGAN: Once again, the eyes of the world, the hearts and prayers of a billion Catholics are fixed on Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic, where Pope John Paul II is being treated for a respiratory infection following the onset of flu. Hospitalization was sudden, but the patient is said to have stabilized. And the Vatican insists there's no cause for alarm.

We get the latest from CNN's Jim Bittermann in Rome.

What's the deal, Jim?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, in fact, the latest we have here is from Girolamo Sirchia, who is the Italian health minister. He visited the hospital a few hours ago. And when he came out, here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. GIROLAMO SIRCHIA, ITALIAN HEALTH MINISTER (through translator): He is improving. The doctors are optimistic. The medical bulletin that has been released is absolutely truthful.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BITTERMANN: Now, it's not absolutely clear whether or not Sirchia actually saw the pope. He did talk to the doctors, apparently, from what he had to say.

Others who expected to see the pope were at a candlelight mass this evening. There had been -- it had been planned weeks ago. The pope was supposed to appear. It's one of the events that was canceled today because of the pope's illness.

That kind of optimistic tone about the pope's health is what we've been hearing all day long from the Vatican. The Vatican spokesman saying that there's nothing to be alarmed about.

Yet there must have been something awfully alarming about less than 24 hours ago at the Vatican, because the pope was rushed from the Vatican, despite the fact that there's quite good medical facilities in the Vatican. Was rushed from the Vatican to the Gemelli hospital, where he's been treated all day long, first for muscle spasms in his throat, which apparently block his breathing -- and that may have caused most of the alarm. And also, secondly, for some kind of a respiratory infection.

Now, that can also be quite serious, especially with someone with Parkinson's because Parkinson's affects the muscles in the chest area and throat area. So a respiratory infection can really complicate things. So I think they're watching it very carefully at the moment, though they're saying the pope's condition is stable -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: As we follow the pope's condition, I'm assuming this has triggered some conversation about a possible replacement.

BITTERMANN: Well, it's too early for that. I think that here in Rome people really do respect the fact that the pope is still alive and he is hanging in there. And there's nothing to indicate, in fact, that he won't come out of the hospital two days from now and go right back into the Vatican.

So I think it's really too early for that kind of speculation. People will begin to speculate, I think, when -- if, for instance, his health turns to -- turns very seriously, it worsens very seriously in the next few days. It's possible. And I think one of the things that they're really worried about is pneumonia, the possibility that this respiratory infection could turn into pneumonia -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jim Bittermann live from Rome. Thank you -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. It's an amazing story. As a matter of fact, it's being described as a miracle, an act of god that they are alive.

"They," we are referring to, are nine people found on a remote island in the Indian Ocean. It's now, what, 38 days since that tsunami rolled through the Indian Ocean, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths. They were discovered by some Indian authorities.

CNN's Satinder Bindra joins us now on the line with more from New Delhi -- Satinder.

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, this is an absolutely amazing story. A police source and inspector on the Indian island chain of Andaman and Nicobar has just confirmed to me that this morning he set out -- he set out on a mission to see if they could find some survivors. And he says when the party reached a place called Great Nicobar, they found one dead body, and then they started advancing towards a forest.

That's when this officer tells me they found nine people, five men, two children, and two women. They all appeared very hungry. They all appeared very weak and emaciated.

And then they rushed down towards this police party. They started to cry. They hugged their rescuers. And these people are obviously very hungry that survived several days -- in fact, 38 days in this forests. They lived on wild boar and mainly coconuts.

Now, all these people, all nine of them, are expected to pull through. None of them have any serious health problems. And the police officer who found them, the inspector who was leading this party, describes this as a miracle. All the people at the moment are in a place called Campbell Bay (ph), and they're receiving medical attention -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Satinder, amazing story. Now, I know with the widespread damage that we're talking about in the wake of the tsunami, they couldn't have checked every last island. But is it possible that there are many other little pockets like this out there, given the extent of the damage and the number of islands in the Indian Ocean?

BINDRA: Right. Absolutely, Miles. This island chain alone has several hundred islands. And this is going to give great hope. This is going to give great hope to the police, and this is obviously being treated all across this island chain as great news.

Thousands of people were killed on this island chain alone. Several hundred were missing. But now at least some of those missing, nine of them, have been found. And what it will do is it will certainly encourage the police to go out and search even more.

I was talking to the police officer, as I mentioned. He said the seas were really rough this morning. The seas were several meters high, he said. The waves were really high.

But these police officers risked their lives. And today, at least for several hundreds of millions of Indian people, at least, these police officers are heroes. This is absolutely an amazing story any which way you look at it.

O'BRIEN: Well, they're heroes, but also the people, the nine of them that were able to endure and survive are heroes in my book, too, for getting through this all. Satinder Bindra in New Delhi. Please keep us posted if you have anymore details to share with us. We'll get you on right away, of course.

All right. Let's move on. A little closer to home here.

That failed takeoff at Teterboro, New Jersey, just outside of Manhattan, heavy damage, lots of injuries. But no deaths in the wake of this morning's accident involving a corporate jet, a six-lane highway and a large, fortunately mostly unoccupied warehouse.

CNN's Jason Carroll live now from the scene -- Jason.

CARROLL: And Miles, just a short while ago we heard from an NTSB, National Transportation Safety Board, spokeswoman who came out and gave us a brief sort of look at what they're going to be looking at as they're out here. The rescue operation is complete. Everyone has been accounted for.

If you take a look, you can still see there are plenty of emergency crews that are out here, along with investigators who at this point are trying to determine exactly what happened. When you look at exactly what happened here, look at the outcome of this crash. It's -- it's truly remarkable that at this point there are no fatalities.

Want to give you a quick review, Miles, of exactly what happened out here at Teterboro Airport this morning. 7:23 this morning, that's when that twin-engine jet traveling, trying to take -- trying to go to takeoff crashed, skidded down the runway through a fence, across Route 46, which is a highway out here, crashed into the Strawberry's clothing warehouse that you see there, burst into flames.

As it crossed Route 46, the highway out of here, it did clip two cars. Two people inside those cars were injured. Again, as we said, a member from the NTSB team that is out here spoke to us just a few moments ago about their investigation. Here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE HERSMAN, NTSB: We were notified this morning a little after 8:00 a.m. about an accident that occurred here in Teterboro, New Jersey. We have immediately dispatched approximately 16 members of the NTSB's investigative team.

We're going to be looking at a number of issues, at operations, at survival factors, at human factors, at systems, at aircraft structures. And we'll be looking at the engines and all of the equipment on the airplane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: You just heard her there, all of the different factors that the NTSB team members will be looking at as they're out here. More about that plane. There were 11 people on board that CL-600.

That corporate mid-sized jet actually has a capacity to seat 13. There were eight passengers on board, three crew members. We also, Miles, have some updated numbers for you from the hospital.

Nineteen people in total taken to area hospitals. The most severely injured, one was a man who was in his car on Route 46. He has -- he's in critical condition with head injuries.

The other is the co-pilot of the jet. The co-pilot has a broken leg. He is in serious condition at this point. The hospital also treated three bystanders who were on the ground, as well as the eight passengers.

NTSB will be out here interviewing a number of people. But, of course, the most crucial interviews will come from the pilots themselves -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Jason Carroll, Teterboro, New Jersey. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: The U.S. Coast Guard is taking new measures to protect cruise ships, merchant ships and other vessels from underwater attacks at U.S. ports. The underwater port security system being unveiled today in San Pedro, California, has been under development for more than two years. The Coast Guard will use trained divers, underwater sonar, robotic cameras and other technology to inspect holes in piers and detect divers who shouldn't be there.

President Bush's nominee for Homeland Security secretary has been facing tough questions from Senate Democrats. Judge Michael Chertoff's confirmation hearings have adjourned for the day. And CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is following them -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Michael Chertoff told the committee, "You can't live in liberty without security. And you wouldn't want to live in security without liberty," saying he'd try to balance the two. But some senators questioned whether he had in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

As a Justice Department official, Chertoff oversaw the detention of over 700 men on immigration charges. He said it seemed like a reasonable plan under the circumstances, but acknowledged it had not always been executed perfectly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY NOMINEE: Mistreatment of detainees in detention facilities is wholly unacceptable. It's always been unacceptable.

Again, I understand it was an emotional time. But training has to be in place so people understand that you don't give into emotions. People are being detained not to be mistreated or punished, but simply as part of the legal process to allow an investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Chertoff was also questioned about his role in formulating a 2002 Justice Department memo that defined "torture," and whether he had given the CIA the OK to use certain coercive interrogation techniques.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHERTOFF: I'm sure a number of techniques were -- were mentioned to me. It's sometimes difficult now, in retrospect, to know what I was told at the time versus what I've now read in the copious discussion in the press. But I can tell you that whatever was mentioned to me at the time, my answer was exactly the same.

I am not in a position to evaluate a set of facts based on a hypothetical circumstance. I will tell you, if you are dealing with something that makes you nervous, you'd better make sure that you are doing the right thing. And you'd better check it out, and that means doing honest and diligent examination of what you're doing, and not merely putting your head in the sand or turning a blind eye.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Over more than three hours of questioning, the senators peppered Chertoff with inquiries about everything from grant funding to cyber security. The committee expected to vote Monday and send it on to the full Senate, where Chertoff is expected to win confirmation -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Jeanne Meserve, thank you so much.

And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

O'BRIEN: Money makes the world go round. And in moments, a big decision affecting your money will be announced. Live pictures of the New York Stock Exchange.

The Big Board, up about 41 points. A little bit of optimism reigning there right now. Wall Street expected to react when the Federal Reserve announces its decision on interest rates.

Of course, all that stuff is kind of baked in, and it's always hard to figure all that out. But anyway, well, we have experts to help us with that.

And then later on LIVE FROM, the hostage hoax. A picture posted on a terrorist Web site turns up the anxiety until it turns out to be not even close to the real thing, an action figure.

And later on LIVE FROM, is he the ultimate football fan, or is he just nuts? A man puts his house on the line to see the big game.

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O'BRIEN: All right. If you listen very carefully, you can hear it.

PHILLIPS: Ding, ding.

O'BRIEN: It's the sound of inflation, the economy pumping up. And the Federal Reserve is not very happy about this. So what do they do? They end the interest rate fund. Susan Lisovicz is here to tell us about how rates are going up and what that's going to mean to us, if you're thinking about a mortgage or -- it's probably not going to affect credit cards because they're already way up there anyway, right?

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PHILLIPS: Well, it was a frightening image posted on an Islamic militant Web site.

O'BRIEN: It sent the Pentagon searching for answers. We were searching for some answers as well here in (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We didn't show it to you yesterday because we thought it looked a little weird.

It was purported to be a soldier captured after a firefight. It turned out to be an action figure. A little Photo Shop action. We'll have details on all of this straight ahead.

PHILLIPS: You know what our writer said?

O'BRIEN: What?

PHILLIPS: Barbie negotiated his release.

All right. And later on LIVE FROM, he's the real thing. We're going face to face with Punxsutawney Phil and get his winter forecast.

O'BRIEN: Go Barbie.

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O'BRIEN: Action figure anxieties. The U.S. military breathing a bit easier today after scrambling yesterday to account for all troops in Iraq. Militants claimed they had a U.S. soldier at gunpoint. Now it turns out the so-called hostage was a toy soldier, not a real one. Barbara Starr explains.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This Islamic Web site posted the statement claiming insurgents captured a U.S. soldier named John Adam after a firefight and were planning to behead him. This photograph accompanied the statement, a photograph CNN never aired because it could not confirm a U.S. soldier was missing. Now, it appears it was a hoax.

An action figure toy called Special Ops Cody, with a uniform of doll clothes and toy guns. The manufacturer says it looks like a toy made for the U.S. military exchange stores.

LIAM CUSACK, DRAGON MODELS USA: When we looked at it, we noticed that it looked, you know -- it beared a striking resemblance to an action figure that we had produced about a year and a half ago, around a year ago, I guess. We still don't want to come out and say that it is, you know, 100 percent for sure our action figure, but I mean it does bear, you know, like I said, a striking resemblance to an action figure that we did make.

STARR: But the military had to take it all very seriously, poring over the photograph, wondering about the uniform. The ammo best did not look like anything in U.S. military inventory. One senior officer saying, "We didn't know for sure. We had to start counting heads in Iraq to see if anybody was missing."

The Pentagon was not amused. They remind everyone that this is Army Specialist Keith Matthew Maupin, a U.S. Army soldier missing in Iraq since he was captured last year. His fate very much unknown.

(on camera): Officials say this photo could have been from insurgents or someone who hacked into a Web site. They don't really know. But any time a U.S. military person is reported captured, U.S. officials say they will pursue the matter.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: Other news "Across America" now.

An eye in the sky watching his every move. A South Carolina teen on trial for killing his grandparents will be released on bail today. Christopher Pittman's lawyers continue to argue that his judgment was clouded by the antidepressant drug Zoloft. While on bail, Pittman will wear a monitoring device which tracks him by satellite.

Top bid on a pregnant belly. eBay user Golden Palace Casino will pay mom to be Amber Rainy (ph) more than $4,000 to use her as advertising space until she delivers in late March. The South Carolina woman plans to keep her tummy exposed at malls and other public places to make good on the deal. Rainy (ph) says that she got the idea when she read about a man auctioning off ad space on his forehead.

Well, it's Jacksonville, Florida, or bust. A Pennsylvania man so desperate to go to the Super Bowl, he's mortgaging his house. The married father of six and die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan says it's his boyhood dream. And his wife, believe it or not, supports him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a dream of his. And that's priceless. So I'm willing to put up the house, I guess.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's cheap money. It's -- you know, I got in a real good rate. And I just figured, you know, this only comes once in a lifetime sometimes, and I didn't want to miss it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Somebody please send that man tickets. By the way, when he gets back, he promised to take his wife on a cruise. That is if she's still there, along with the six kids.

O'BRIEN: I wonder if they're doing it hoping that somebody will say, oh, god, give him some tickets.

PHILLIPS: Oh, please.

O'BRIEN: Anyway, ahead, a father and son connection. That's the best of times and the worst of times for one Marine corporal's family.

PHILLIPS: We're going to go back live to Rome also to talk about the pope and who might succeed him one day.

O'BRIEN: And it's Punxsutawney Phil's big day. Will there be six more weeks of winter? We'll have details.

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