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Tornadoes Strike Mississippi; Date for Cardinal Conclave Set; Kurd Selected to Serve as Iraqi President

Aired April 06, 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: Tornadoes strike. A developing story out of Mississippi, where people are injured, homes are destroyed. We're covering this story as it unfolds.
CAROL LIN, CO-HOST: And live picture from the Vatican where so far almost two million people have paid their respects to Pope John Paul II. This hour, an American seminary student who trained with the pope talks about what the future holds for his church.

PHILLIPS: Lost and found. This food delivery man delivers the goods, but then disappears for days. You'll never guess where they finally found him.

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

LIN: And I'm Carol Lin, in for Miles O'Brien. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Springtime in the south, warm breezes, green grass, and unfortunately, inevitably, tornadoes. Take a look at this. This is Rankin County, Mississippi, where at least six people are hurt and numerous buildings shattered by one of 16 tornadoes that ripped through the state this morning. The governor has already declared a state of emergency.

And now we're going to get the latest from CNN meteorologist Orelon Sidney, standing by in the CNN Weather Center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: Thanks very much, Orelon.

Joining me on the telephone now is Roe Grubbs. He's the mayor of Brandon, Mississippi.

Mr. Mayor, are you there?

ROE GRUBBS, MAYOR, BRANDON, MISSISSIPPI: Yes, ma'am.

LIN: Can you give us an idea of what you're looking at right now on the ground?

GRUBBS: Basically, we've had some old growth trees that have been hurt, you know, uprooted. We've had some houses damaged, you know, a little bit north of us. But right here in the city of Brandon, we've had some home damage, but mostly we've been blessed. The city of Brandon is designated as a storm rated community by the National Weather service. Our spotters were out. We were able to turn our warnings on. Everybody will heed the warnings, took shelter. So we basically had no injuries whatsoever. So...

LIN: That is good news. How much warning did people have?

GRUBBS: This morning we were able to give everybody about 20 minutes. Now, some of the rural areas, I'm not real sure. Some of the damage you're probably looking at now is in the rural areas.

But it was kind of one of these things where we had a high school under construction. The contractors heard the sirens. They all took shelter. And it blew over their construction trailers and things like that and did some damage that way. So we were blessed with the fact that nobody got hurt.

LIN: Nobody got hurt. That is traffic news. Is it mostly agricultural, elderly? What sort of profile?

GRUBBS: The area that it went through was just a -- just a residential area with large lots, I'd say, acre lots, and that type thing. We had one -- one trailer close to us that was totally flipped over, that had someone in it. But we sent some people to her and she's OK.

We -- here in the city, we've reported no -- no injuries whatsoever. We had some people shaken up a little bit.

LIN: You bet.

GRUBBS: Because they basically said, you know, we could hear the roar and the shaking and the moving. But other than that we were blessed and everybody's OK.

LIN: The roaring and the shaking, what is that like? What does that sound like?

GRUBBS: Well, we had something couple years ago, and I was one of those right in the rain (ph), and I was basically sitting right on the edge of it. And it's kind of like -- if you kind of like ever took a roller coaster ride and, you know it shakes and it rattles and you hear a bunch of noise going. That's basically what it does. And you're kind of a little bit scared; your adrenaline is going.

I talked to a friend of mine that was affected today. And he -- he said that he had his wife covered up. And he could hear it, feel the house shaking. And he said it kind of startled him a little bit. But it lasted about ten seconds and it was gone. So...

LIN: Wow. All right. Mayor Grubbs, you guys hang tight, because more bad weather apparently is on its way. But it's good to know that so far the folks in your community are safe and they got enough warning. Twenty minutes, it's not a lot of time, but certainly enough. That may have saved lives today, Kyra.

GRUBBS: Exactly, and I appreciate you all. We've got some good guys working for us.

LIN: All right, Mayor Grubbs, thank you.

PHILLIPS: This just in to CNN. Carol, we were talking about this earlier on today, that the shuttle Discovery was supposed to head to the launch pad today. We were actually preparing to tell you about a vision that was inching just a bit closer to reality today when Discovery was supposed to leave its hangar for an eight-hour, four- mile journey to the launch pad at Kennedy Space center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. You'll remember that thousands of people have spent the past two years working to make this shuttle a safer vehicle, since the loss of the Columbia in 2003.

Now we are getting word that the Discovery has a crack in its external tank, and they have to evaluate and see if they can fix it, or they're going to have to take it back to the vehicle assembly building.

Tough time for NASA right now, when we were talking about a great return for space. Now we are being told that the rollout to the launch pad will not take place. Shuttle "Discovery going back to be evaluated for repairs. It's being called a minor problem, so they may roll out once that repair is finished. Once again, NASA saying a tiny crack in the external tank of the Discovery. We're going to continue to follow this story throughout the day.

LIN: All right. That was a big story, given that they were trying to, you know, improve safety measures. But maybe they have. At least they caught that in time.

PHILLIPS: Good thing it's saying -- they are saying at NASA that it's minor.

LIN: Yes. All right. In the meantime, a major event tomorrow, the pope's funeral. And if you are not in line already to pay your respects to the pope, Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica, you only have three more hours to actually get there.

PHILLIPS: And with pilgrims waiting 12 hours now or longer to make their way through the swirl of humanity on Roman boulevards to the largest church in Christianity, officials are closing off the line at 10 p.m. Vatican time, 4 p.m. Eastern, just to make sure everybody gets in before the funeral begins on Friday.

And more than a million people passed through in the first 24 hours. John Paul lay in public repose. Almost two million people have come and gone by now.

And the cardinals met for a third straight day, this time reading the pope's spiritual testament, or his will, and its contents are due to be published tomorrow. Now they also set a date for the papal conclave. That's Monday April 18. That's at the end of nine days of mourning and masses following that funeral. It will last, as you know, until a new pope is chosen.

President and Mrs. Bush set out today to lead the U.S. delegation. They're being joined by former presidents Clinton and Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

CNN's Diana Muriel is in Vatican City already, or should we say still, and she joins us now with the very latest.

Hi, Diana.

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there.

Well, it's getting cooler now in Rome so the wait for these tens of thousands of people just a little less difficult than it has been during the course of the day, although we're still seeing ambulance taking people out of the crowd. These are people who are simply collapsing from exhaustion because the wait has been so long.

As you say, those who want to see -- see the pontiff laying in state and say a last farewell, they have less than three hours now to join the end of these queues. And the authorities have split up the line into a series of tails if you like, because they cannot accommodate them on any one single street. They're just so many people.

And still they come and still they wait. And the most surprising thing about it is how good natured they are. Everyone seems to be in a good mood. They've been singing hymns. They've talking with their neighbors, finding out where they came from. And everyone seems to be in a relatively good mood, given the very difficult conditions that they've had to suffer during the course of this long wait -- Kyra and Carol.

PHILLIPS: Diana Muriel, thank you so much. We'll continue to follow up with you throughout the day.

Well, it may look seedy, says the top house Republican, but it's just not true. Tom DeLay spoke to CNN after "The New York Times" reported that his wife and daughter collected more than $500,000 in vaguely specified salaries from DeLay's political action and campaign committees.

Separately, "The Washington Post" reports that DeLay took a six- day trip to Moscow in 1997, and that was sponsored by business interests who were lobbying for the Russian government.

Well, Delay tells CNN in the stories that a concentrate -- a concerted effort, rather, by the liberal media is twisting the truth. On camera, a fellow Republican says that the majority leader has nothing to fear from the rank and file.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. ROY BLUNT (R), MISSOURI: His applause-o-meter must have been off. The support for the leader is strong. I think there's a strong sense in our -- in our conference that this is where you go if you don't have any ideas on the part of the other side.

And I don't see any -- any lack -- any waning of the support for the leader. In fact, I think more and more members are feeling like that he's taking a lot of -- a lot of arrows for all of us. And so if anything, I suspect it's increasing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: DeLay was admonished three times last year by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee. Three of his associates are under indictment on state charges in Texas.

LIN: A different sort of action on Capitol Hill, as well. For a while today, the House floor belonged to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, the face of his country's Orange Revolution, a face disfigured by poison. Mr. Yushchenko addressed a joint meeting of Congress in the search of what he called trust and frankness and partnership between Ukraine and the United States. Now in particular, he wants U.S. support for Ukrainian membership in the E.U., the WTO and NATO.

Well, the Senate panel that tried to subpoena Terri Schiavo is returning to the issue of death. It is the HELP Committee. It stands for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and it's taking a less desperate, less contentious look at hospice care and legal tools and rights for the incapacitated.

Terri Schiavo was given a Catholic funeral last night in Florida, where her family had wanted to bury her. Schiavo's husband and guardian had the body cremated for interment in Pennsylvania.

PHILLIPS: It's a moment Saddam Hussein surely never expected to see, the post of Iraqi president handed to, of all people, a Kurd, Jalal Talabani. It happened in Iraq's new transitional assembly, and the former president, toppled by the war two years ago, reportedly did see it on TV in his prison cell.

We get the details now from CNN's Aneesh Raman in Baghdad.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, good afternoon.

Another critical day for Iraq. This one, laced with symbolism. As this transitional government continues to take shape.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAMAN (voice-over): A president elected in a moment of political politics. Jalal Talabani, a prominent Kurd who battled Saddam for years, whose people were brutally oppressed by the former regime, now holds the dictator's former title.

It comes after weeks of political wrangling and days after the assembly elected its speaker. Finally, visible signs of real progress towards the formation of a transitional government. Also elected, Sunni Ghazi al-Yawer and Shia Adel Abdel Mahdi as deputy president. The three men, the presidency counsel, will, within days, name a prime minister and his cabinet.

These people have freely elected you in our first free elections in our dear Iraq.

PRESIDENT JALAL TALABANI, IRAQ (through translator): I will acknowledge your trust and the trust of the Iraqi people who have freely elected you in the first free elections in our dear Iraq.

RAMAN: Talabani's rise to president is a monumental achievement for Iraq, but also for the country's Kurds, who now hold vested influence. And from the man likely to become the prime minister, words of action.

IBRAHIM AL-JAAFARI, UNITED IRAQI ALLIANCE (through translator): We will work to create progress that is actually felt by the citizen so that he can feel with the passage of time both services and prepare this country for the elections in 2006.

RAMAN: There is much to be done. The national assembly has just over four months to draft a constitution, and the executive branch will soon take over those day to day affairs, managing huge unemployment, sustained insurgent violence and a need for basic services by many Iraqis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAMAN: Now, Kyra, we expect Talabani to be sworn in tomorrow afternoon local time, and sources in the government say the entire transitional government could be in place as early as the end of next week.

PHILLIPS: Aneesh, you told us that Saddam Hussein watched this all go down in his cell, via television. Is he allowed to make a statement? Did he make a statement? Do we know what his reaction was?

RAMAN: None that we've heard. We've made inquiries. Nothing has been said in terms of what Saddam saw. He wasn't forced to watch. The television was made available in his cell. He could have easily closed his eyes.

But clearly, this was a moment for the Iraqi government to feel confidence in this moment, in what is now a permanent future of democracy. No word yet on what is just political poetry for Saddam to see this man take his former position.

PHILLIPS: Sure, considering history, it's quite a victory for the Kurds. Aneesh Raman, thank you so much.

The death toll has gone up in Afghanistan, where a coalition helicopter crashed today during severe weather. At least 16 of the 18 aboard the CH-47 Chinook are now reported dead. The chopper was one of two Chinooks headed back to Bagram Air Base after a routine mission when it crashed in near Ghazni, while the other Chinook landed safely in Bagram. Two other people on board that chopper that crashed are still missing.

LIN: Today, Vatican City isn't the only tiny European nation mourning a longtime ruler. Prince Rainier of Monaco died early this morning after years in fragile health, like the pope, followed by a recent decline and hospitalization. He was 81 years old.

Rainier came to power in 1949, making him the longest reigning monarch in Europe. He couldn't take credit for Monaco's idyllic geography or weather, but he did boost its business credentials and he amped up the glitz and the glamour with his 1956 marriage to Grace Kelly.

Now at the U.N. today, Kofi Annan remembered Rainier as dearly loved by his people and deeply respected by his peers. His successor is his 47-year-old son, Prince Albert, at least until he does not produce an heir and then it gets passed on to Caroline's sons.

PHILLIPS: Also straight ahead, we're going to talk about within this hour in Los Angeles. Friends and family are gathering to say good-bye to Johnnie Cochran.

LIN: Family, friends, and some of his famous clients will be there, including Michael Jackson. This tape of him arriving came in to CNN just moments ago. We'll have more straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

PHILLIPS: He was the last class of American seminarians to learn from Pope John Paul II. Just ahead, we're going to talk with a seminarian about to begin his priesthood. We'll talk to him about the lessons that he'll take to his parish.

LIN: Also, special delivery. A food delivery man gets stuck, literally, while out on a call. The big mystery, why did it take three days to find him? His amazing story, straight ahead.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: All right. We've got some fresh pictures just in. Johnnie Cochran is being laid to rest out in Los Angeles. And Michael Jackson himself is arriving at the funeral to pay his respects to the well known legal mind. Michael Jackson, on trial himself right now on child molestation charges.

And several other noted names, too, arriving today. Jesse Jackson, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who just interviewed Michael Jackson on his radio show and was involved in the Terri Schiavo stories, in her latter days, arrived at the funeral, as well.

And Reverend Al Sharpton, also arriving to pay his respects to Johnnie Cochran.

It is a who's who of courtroom headlines out there. I think Johnnie Cochran would appreciate the attendance.

PHILLIPS: And now to a story that could only happen in New York City, or perhaps a Woody Allen movie. A Chinese food delivery man drops off a load of fried rice and curry shrimp at a high-rise in the Bronx. Well, despite a massive search, he isn't seen again for 3 1/2 days.

Roger Clark of our Manhattan affiliate, New York 1, picks up that tale.

But first, these pictures just in. Once again, Johnnie Cochran's funeral. O.J. Simpson arriving. Talk about a cast of interesting people, Carol. That gives us the Reverend Al Sharpton. That gives us O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson. I hear Sean Combs is also supposed to arrive.

LIN: Now we're getting the quick tape turn-around there, via our affiliate, KABC, of O.J. Simpson arriving to the funeral of Johnnie Cochran. Of course, you will remember Johnnie Cochran was O.J. Simpson's attorney, the one that led him to freedom.

If the glove doesn't fit -- you must acquit.

PHILLIPS: You must acquit.

Now back to that story I was telling you about.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROGER CLARK, REPORTER, NEW YORK 1 (voice-over): Ming Kuang Chen left the Montefiore Hospital Tuesday afternoon after quite an ordeal. He says he was stuck in an elevator for nearly 3 1/2 days without food or water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wants to thank everyone, spend time look for him in the past four days.

CLARK: The 35-year-old Chen, who doesn't speak much English, was reported missing Friday night after not returning from a Chinese food delivery to Tracey Towers, a massive apartment complex.

His bicycle was found outside, and there were fears he had been mugged or worst for the money he was carrying. Police searched the building over the weekend, but didn't find him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's tired. He sleeps in the elevator.

CLARK: Chen was finally able to alert building workers he was struck through an emergency intercom. With the help of the fire department and a mechanic, the elevator was brought down to the lobby and firefighters found Chen inside.

PETER CHADWICK, FDNY LADDER COMPANY 27: For a guy who was there for three days, he didn't look too bad to me. But he was a little wobbly when he was walking. And I have no idea, you know, how he felt because we weren't able to communicate with him. CLARK (on camera): When he arrived at the hospital, the emergency room doctor says that Chen was somewhat disheveled, looked very tired and was suffering from mild to moderate dehydration.

DR. BABAK TOOSI, MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER: Felt dizzy, light- headed, had some headache, he felt weak. I believe at some point he almost passed out, but he actually never lost consciousness in the elevator.

CLARK: While Chen was able to leave the hospital Tuesday afternoon, there are still questions lingering about the incident. Building management says while the elevator's mechanism was jammed, the emergency intercom was working.

However, it's recorded as being pushed only once since Friday night, and that was at 4:10 Tuesday morning. Chen says he screamed for help but would not say why he didn't try the intercom sooner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's really tired today. He didn't talk too much.

CLARK: There was speculation that Chen did not use the intercom sooner because he didn't want to draw attention himself. Police say his family told them he's in the country illegally, and that in turn has councilman John Liu accusing the NYPD of violating a Bloomberg administration policy not to reveal anyone's immigration status, out of concern that federal authorities might take action.

As for Chen, he may sue building management, since tenants say the elevators there are often broken.

In the Bronx, Roger Clark, New York 1.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, filling up your tank and draining your wallet. What you need to know about rising gas prices and lowering your bill.

Later on LIVE FROM, the pope's secret plans, about to be revealed. How he literally wrote the book on what should happen after his death.

And tomorrow on LIVE FROM, should cell phone users just hang it up on airplanes? A new survey on whether you should be able to make in flight calls. Never plunge again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: New developments now coming in to us here at CNN. And this is according to the Associated Press, as we continue to work the story. We are being told white supremacist Matthew Hale has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. We're being told that in a bit of a rambling, sometimes wild type of argument in the middle of federal court today, Matthew Hale at his sentencing hearing represented himself, continued to say that he was innocent, that no crime had been committed despite, his conviction for soliciting the murder of a federal judge.

You'll remember that federal judge was Joan Humphrey Lefkow. And it was just a couple months ago that we were reporting the ongoing story about Lefkow's mother and husband being found shot dead in their home.

And, of course, all eyes turned to Matthew Hale in prison, who is already serving time, awaiting his sentencing for his conviction of soliciting to murder that judge. Well, it turned out that he was cleared of that. So it's a totally separate case. But just to give you a little background how we've been covering this story just recently.

But now we are getting word, for the initial solicitation of the murder of that judge, a judge deciding today that Hale will be sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Why 40 years? Because they are saying that, in addition to that solicitation, that prosecutors agree that terrorism was involved. The judge agreed with prosecutors that terrorism was involved, therefore, 40 years.

Bit of a confusing story, but I hope that I laid it out there in somewhat of a way that made sense. We'll continue to follow that.

LIN: And we've had a lot of news this morning and, frankly, top of the line for a lot of ordinary, everyday Americans is the price of gasoline. And it doesn't appear, though, that fuel economy is at least one of the major concerns, at least not yet, even as gas is going for more than two bucks a gallon.

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Aired April 6, 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: Tornadoes strike. A developing story out of Mississippi, where people are injured, homes are destroyed. We're covering this story as it unfolds.
CAROL LIN, CO-HOST: And live picture from the Vatican where so far almost two million people have paid their respects to Pope John Paul II. This hour, an American seminary student who trained with the pope talks about what the future holds for his church.

PHILLIPS: Lost and found. This food delivery man delivers the goods, but then disappears for days. You'll never guess where they finally found him.

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

LIN: And I'm Carol Lin, in for Miles O'Brien. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Springtime in the south, warm breezes, green grass, and unfortunately, inevitably, tornadoes. Take a look at this. This is Rankin County, Mississippi, where at least six people are hurt and numerous buildings shattered by one of 16 tornadoes that ripped through the state this morning. The governor has already declared a state of emergency.

And now we're going to get the latest from CNN meteorologist Orelon Sidney, standing by in the CNN Weather Center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: Thanks very much, Orelon.

Joining me on the telephone now is Roe Grubbs. He's the mayor of Brandon, Mississippi.

Mr. Mayor, are you there?

ROE GRUBBS, MAYOR, BRANDON, MISSISSIPPI: Yes, ma'am.

LIN: Can you give us an idea of what you're looking at right now on the ground?

GRUBBS: Basically, we've had some old growth trees that have been hurt, you know, uprooted. We've had some houses damaged, you know, a little bit north of us. But right here in the city of Brandon, we've had some home damage, but mostly we've been blessed. The city of Brandon is designated as a storm rated community by the National Weather service. Our spotters were out. We were able to turn our warnings on. Everybody will heed the warnings, took shelter. So we basically had no injuries whatsoever. So...

LIN: That is good news. How much warning did people have?

GRUBBS: This morning we were able to give everybody about 20 minutes. Now, some of the rural areas, I'm not real sure. Some of the damage you're probably looking at now is in the rural areas.

But it was kind of one of these things where we had a high school under construction. The contractors heard the sirens. They all took shelter. And it blew over their construction trailers and things like that and did some damage that way. So we were blessed with the fact that nobody got hurt.

LIN: Nobody got hurt. That is traffic news. Is it mostly agricultural, elderly? What sort of profile?

GRUBBS: The area that it went through was just a -- just a residential area with large lots, I'd say, acre lots, and that type thing. We had one -- one trailer close to us that was totally flipped over, that had someone in it. But we sent some people to her and she's OK.

We -- here in the city, we've reported no -- no injuries whatsoever. We had some people shaken up a little bit.

LIN: You bet.

GRUBBS: Because they basically said, you know, we could hear the roar and the shaking and the moving. But other than that we were blessed and everybody's OK.

LIN: The roaring and the shaking, what is that like? What does that sound like?

GRUBBS: Well, we had something couple years ago, and I was one of those right in the rain (ph), and I was basically sitting right on the edge of it. And it's kind of like -- if you kind of like ever took a roller coaster ride and, you know it shakes and it rattles and you hear a bunch of noise going. That's basically what it does. And you're kind of a little bit scared; your adrenaline is going.

I talked to a friend of mine that was affected today. And he -- he said that he had his wife covered up. And he could hear it, feel the house shaking. And he said it kind of startled him a little bit. But it lasted about ten seconds and it was gone. So...

LIN: Wow. All right. Mayor Grubbs, you guys hang tight, because more bad weather apparently is on its way. But it's good to know that so far the folks in your community are safe and they got enough warning. Twenty minutes, it's not a lot of time, but certainly enough. That may have saved lives today, Kyra.

GRUBBS: Exactly, and I appreciate you all. We've got some good guys working for us.

LIN: All right, Mayor Grubbs, thank you.

PHILLIPS: This just in to CNN. Carol, we were talking about this earlier on today, that the shuttle Discovery was supposed to head to the launch pad today. We were actually preparing to tell you about a vision that was inching just a bit closer to reality today when Discovery was supposed to leave its hangar for an eight-hour, four- mile journey to the launch pad at Kennedy Space center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. You'll remember that thousands of people have spent the past two years working to make this shuttle a safer vehicle, since the loss of the Columbia in 2003.

Now we are getting word that the Discovery has a crack in its external tank, and they have to evaluate and see if they can fix it, or they're going to have to take it back to the vehicle assembly building.

Tough time for NASA right now, when we were talking about a great return for space. Now we are being told that the rollout to the launch pad will not take place. Shuttle "Discovery going back to be evaluated for repairs. It's being called a minor problem, so they may roll out once that repair is finished. Once again, NASA saying a tiny crack in the external tank of the Discovery. We're going to continue to follow this story throughout the day.

LIN: All right. That was a big story, given that they were trying to, you know, improve safety measures. But maybe they have. At least they caught that in time.

PHILLIPS: Good thing it's saying -- they are saying at NASA that it's minor.

LIN: Yes. All right. In the meantime, a major event tomorrow, the pope's funeral. And if you are not in line already to pay your respects to the pope, Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica, you only have three more hours to actually get there.

PHILLIPS: And with pilgrims waiting 12 hours now or longer to make their way through the swirl of humanity on Roman boulevards to the largest church in Christianity, officials are closing off the line at 10 p.m. Vatican time, 4 p.m. Eastern, just to make sure everybody gets in before the funeral begins on Friday.

And more than a million people passed through in the first 24 hours. John Paul lay in public repose. Almost two million people have come and gone by now.

And the cardinals met for a third straight day, this time reading the pope's spiritual testament, or his will, and its contents are due to be published tomorrow. Now they also set a date for the papal conclave. That's Monday April 18. That's at the end of nine days of mourning and masses following that funeral. It will last, as you know, until a new pope is chosen.

President and Mrs. Bush set out today to lead the U.S. delegation. They're being joined by former presidents Clinton and Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

CNN's Diana Muriel is in Vatican City already, or should we say still, and she joins us now with the very latest.

Hi, Diana.

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there.

Well, it's getting cooler now in Rome so the wait for these tens of thousands of people just a little less difficult than it has been during the course of the day, although we're still seeing ambulance taking people out of the crowd. These are people who are simply collapsing from exhaustion because the wait has been so long.

As you say, those who want to see -- see the pontiff laying in state and say a last farewell, they have less than three hours now to join the end of these queues. And the authorities have split up the line into a series of tails if you like, because they cannot accommodate them on any one single street. They're just so many people.

And still they come and still they wait. And the most surprising thing about it is how good natured they are. Everyone seems to be in a good mood. They've been singing hymns. They've talking with their neighbors, finding out where they came from. And everyone seems to be in a relatively good mood, given the very difficult conditions that they've had to suffer during the course of this long wait -- Kyra and Carol.

PHILLIPS: Diana Muriel, thank you so much. We'll continue to follow up with you throughout the day.

Well, it may look seedy, says the top house Republican, but it's just not true. Tom DeLay spoke to CNN after "The New York Times" reported that his wife and daughter collected more than $500,000 in vaguely specified salaries from DeLay's political action and campaign committees.

Separately, "The Washington Post" reports that DeLay took a six- day trip to Moscow in 1997, and that was sponsored by business interests who were lobbying for the Russian government.

Well, Delay tells CNN in the stories that a concentrate -- a concerted effort, rather, by the liberal media is twisting the truth. On camera, a fellow Republican says that the majority leader has nothing to fear from the rank and file.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. ROY BLUNT (R), MISSOURI: His applause-o-meter must have been off. The support for the leader is strong. I think there's a strong sense in our -- in our conference that this is where you go if you don't have any ideas on the part of the other side.

And I don't see any -- any lack -- any waning of the support for the leader. In fact, I think more and more members are feeling like that he's taking a lot of -- a lot of arrows for all of us. And so if anything, I suspect it's increasing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: DeLay was admonished three times last year by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee. Three of his associates are under indictment on state charges in Texas.

LIN: A different sort of action on Capitol Hill, as well. For a while today, the House floor belonged to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, the face of his country's Orange Revolution, a face disfigured by poison. Mr. Yushchenko addressed a joint meeting of Congress in the search of what he called trust and frankness and partnership between Ukraine and the United States. Now in particular, he wants U.S. support for Ukrainian membership in the E.U., the WTO and NATO.

Well, the Senate panel that tried to subpoena Terri Schiavo is returning to the issue of death. It is the HELP Committee. It stands for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and it's taking a less desperate, less contentious look at hospice care and legal tools and rights for the incapacitated.

Terri Schiavo was given a Catholic funeral last night in Florida, where her family had wanted to bury her. Schiavo's husband and guardian had the body cremated for interment in Pennsylvania.

PHILLIPS: It's a moment Saddam Hussein surely never expected to see, the post of Iraqi president handed to, of all people, a Kurd, Jalal Talabani. It happened in Iraq's new transitional assembly, and the former president, toppled by the war two years ago, reportedly did see it on TV in his prison cell.

We get the details now from CNN's Aneesh Raman in Baghdad.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, good afternoon.

Another critical day for Iraq. This one, laced with symbolism. As this transitional government continues to take shape.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAMAN (voice-over): A president elected in a moment of political politics. Jalal Talabani, a prominent Kurd who battled Saddam for years, whose people were brutally oppressed by the former regime, now holds the dictator's former title.

It comes after weeks of political wrangling and days after the assembly elected its speaker. Finally, visible signs of real progress towards the formation of a transitional government. Also elected, Sunni Ghazi al-Yawer and Shia Adel Abdel Mahdi as deputy president. The three men, the presidency counsel, will, within days, name a prime minister and his cabinet.

These people have freely elected you in our first free elections in our dear Iraq.

PRESIDENT JALAL TALABANI, IRAQ (through translator): I will acknowledge your trust and the trust of the Iraqi people who have freely elected you in the first free elections in our dear Iraq.

RAMAN: Talabani's rise to president is a monumental achievement for Iraq, but also for the country's Kurds, who now hold vested influence. And from the man likely to become the prime minister, words of action.

IBRAHIM AL-JAAFARI, UNITED IRAQI ALLIANCE (through translator): We will work to create progress that is actually felt by the citizen so that he can feel with the passage of time both services and prepare this country for the elections in 2006.

RAMAN: There is much to be done. The national assembly has just over four months to draft a constitution, and the executive branch will soon take over those day to day affairs, managing huge unemployment, sustained insurgent violence and a need for basic services by many Iraqis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAMAN: Now, Kyra, we expect Talabani to be sworn in tomorrow afternoon local time, and sources in the government say the entire transitional government could be in place as early as the end of next week.

PHILLIPS: Aneesh, you told us that Saddam Hussein watched this all go down in his cell, via television. Is he allowed to make a statement? Did he make a statement? Do we know what his reaction was?

RAMAN: None that we've heard. We've made inquiries. Nothing has been said in terms of what Saddam saw. He wasn't forced to watch. The television was made available in his cell. He could have easily closed his eyes.

But clearly, this was a moment for the Iraqi government to feel confidence in this moment, in what is now a permanent future of democracy. No word yet on what is just political poetry for Saddam to see this man take his former position.

PHILLIPS: Sure, considering history, it's quite a victory for the Kurds. Aneesh Raman, thank you so much.

The death toll has gone up in Afghanistan, where a coalition helicopter crashed today during severe weather. At least 16 of the 18 aboard the CH-47 Chinook are now reported dead. The chopper was one of two Chinooks headed back to Bagram Air Base after a routine mission when it crashed in near Ghazni, while the other Chinook landed safely in Bagram. Two other people on board that chopper that crashed are still missing.

LIN: Today, Vatican City isn't the only tiny European nation mourning a longtime ruler. Prince Rainier of Monaco died early this morning after years in fragile health, like the pope, followed by a recent decline and hospitalization. He was 81 years old.

Rainier came to power in 1949, making him the longest reigning monarch in Europe. He couldn't take credit for Monaco's idyllic geography or weather, but he did boost its business credentials and he amped up the glitz and the glamour with his 1956 marriage to Grace Kelly.

Now at the U.N. today, Kofi Annan remembered Rainier as dearly loved by his people and deeply respected by his peers. His successor is his 47-year-old son, Prince Albert, at least until he does not produce an heir and then it gets passed on to Caroline's sons.

PHILLIPS: Also straight ahead, we're going to talk about within this hour in Los Angeles. Friends and family are gathering to say good-bye to Johnnie Cochran.

LIN: Family, friends, and some of his famous clients will be there, including Michael Jackson. This tape of him arriving came in to CNN just moments ago. We'll have more straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

PHILLIPS: He was the last class of American seminarians to learn from Pope John Paul II. Just ahead, we're going to talk with a seminarian about to begin his priesthood. We'll talk to him about the lessons that he'll take to his parish.

LIN: Also, special delivery. A food delivery man gets stuck, literally, while out on a call. The big mystery, why did it take three days to find him? His amazing story, straight ahead.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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LIN: All right. We've got some fresh pictures just in. Johnnie Cochran is being laid to rest out in Los Angeles. And Michael Jackson himself is arriving at the funeral to pay his respects to the well known legal mind. Michael Jackson, on trial himself right now on child molestation charges.

And several other noted names, too, arriving today. Jesse Jackson, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who just interviewed Michael Jackson on his radio show and was involved in the Terri Schiavo stories, in her latter days, arrived at the funeral, as well.

And Reverend Al Sharpton, also arriving to pay his respects to Johnnie Cochran.

It is a who's who of courtroom headlines out there. I think Johnnie Cochran would appreciate the attendance.

PHILLIPS: And now to a story that could only happen in New York City, or perhaps a Woody Allen movie. A Chinese food delivery man drops off a load of fried rice and curry shrimp at a high-rise in the Bronx. Well, despite a massive search, he isn't seen again for 3 1/2 days.

Roger Clark of our Manhattan affiliate, New York 1, picks up that tale.

But first, these pictures just in. Once again, Johnnie Cochran's funeral. O.J. Simpson arriving. Talk about a cast of interesting people, Carol. That gives us the Reverend Al Sharpton. That gives us O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson. I hear Sean Combs is also supposed to arrive.

LIN: Now we're getting the quick tape turn-around there, via our affiliate, KABC, of O.J. Simpson arriving to the funeral of Johnnie Cochran. Of course, you will remember Johnnie Cochran was O.J. Simpson's attorney, the one that led him to freedom.

If the glove doesn't fit -- you must acquit.

PHILLIPS: You must acquit.

Now back to that story I was telling you about.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROGER CLARK, REPORTER, NEW YORK 1 (voice-over): Ming Kuang Chen left the Montefiore Hospital Tuesday afternoon after quite an ordeal. He says he was stuck in an elevator for nearly 3 1/2 days without food or water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wants to thank everyone, spend time look for him in the past four days.

CLARK: The 35-year-old Chen, who doesn't speak much English, was reported missing Friday night after not returning from a Chinese food delivery to Tracey Towers, a massive apartment complex.

His bicycle was found outside, and there were fears he had been mugged or worst for the money he was carrying. Police searched the building over the weekend, but didn't find him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's tired. He sleeps in the elevator.

CLARK: Chen was finally able to alert building workers he was struck through an emergency intercom. With the help of the fire department and a mechanic, the elevator was brought down to the lobby and firefighters found Chen inside.

PETER CHADWICK, FDNY LADDER COMPANY 27: For a guy who was there for three days, he didn't look too bad to me. But he was a little wobbly when he was walking. And I have no idea, you know, how he felt because we weren't able to communicate with him. CLARK (on camera): When he arrived at the hospital, the emergency room doctor says that Chen was somewhat disheveled, looked very tired and was suffering from mild to moderate dehydration.

DR. BABAK TOOSI, MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER: Felt dizzy, light- headed, had some headache, he felt weak. I believe at some point he almost passed out, but he actually never lost consciousness in the elevator.

CLARK: While Chen was able to leave the hospital Tuesday afternoon, there are still questions lingering about the incident. Building management says while the elevator's mechanism was jammed, the emergency intercom was working.

However, it's recorded as being pushed only once since Friday night, and that was at 4:10 Tuesday morning. Chen says he screamed for help but would not say why he didn't try the intercom sooner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's really tired today. He didn't talk too much.

CLARK: There was speculation that Chen did not use the intercom sooner because he didn't want to draw attention himself. Police say his family told them he's in the country illegally, and that in turn has councilman John Liu accusing the NYPD of violating a Bloomberg administration policy not to reveal anyone's immigration status, out of concern that federal authorities might take action.

As for Chen, he may sue building management, since tenants say the elevators there are often broken.

In the Bronx, Roger Clark, New York 1.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, filling up your tank and draining your wallet. What you need to know about rising gas prices and lowering your bill.

Later on LIVE FROM, the pope's secret plans, about to be revealed. How he literally wrote the book on what should happen after his death.

And tomorrow on LIVE FROM, should cell phone users just hang it up on airplanes? A new survey on whether you should be able to make in flight calls. Never plunge again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: New developments now coming in to us here at CNN. And this is according to the Associated Press, as we continue to work the story. We are being told white supremacist Matthew Hale has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. We're being told that in a bit of a rambling, sometimes wild type of argument in the middle of federal court today, Matthew Hale at his sentencing hearing represented himself, continued to say that he was innocent, that no crime had been committed despite, his conviction for soliciting the murder of a federal judge.

You'll remember that federal judge was Joan Humphrey Lefkow. And it was just a couple months ago that we were reporting the ongoing story about Lefkow's mother and husband being found shot dead in their home.

And, of course, all eyes turned to Matthew Hale in prison, who is already serving time, awaiting his sentencing for his conviction of soliciting to murder that judge. Well, it turned out that he was cleared of that. So it's a totally separate case. But just to give you a little background how we've been covering this story just recently.

But now we are getting word, for the initial solicitation of the murder of that judge, a judge deciding today that Hale will be sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Why 40 years? Because they are saying that, in addition to that solicitation, that prosecutors agree that terrorism was involved. The judge agreed with prosecutors that terrorism was involved, therefore, 40 years.

Bit of a confusing story, but I hope that I laid it out there in somewhat of a way that made sense. We'll continue to follow that.

LIN: And we've had a lot of news this morning and, frankly, top of the line for a lot of ordinary, everyday Americans is the price of gasoline. And it doesn't appear, though, that fuel economy is at least one of the major concerns, at least not yet, even as gas is going for more than two bucks a gallon.

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