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Astronauts to Repair Shuttle Tomorrow; Bush Signs CAFTA; Aid Distribution Uneven in Niger; Hurricane Season Estimates Upped

Aired August 02, 2005 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Killed in combat, six U.S. Marines die in a fire fight with insurgents near Haditha. Another Marine from the same division is killed by a suicide car bomber. Those deaths bring to 1,806 the number of U.S. forces who have died since that war in Iraq began.
A deadly collision in Raleigh, North Carolina. An Amtrak train smashes into a dump truck on the tracks. The truck driver was killed. There are also reports a passenger was in that truck, too. At least now we have confirmed that two people have died when those train cars derailed. None of Amtrak's 220 passengers -- actually that's incorrect. We're getting word that two of the passengers -- is that right -- are confirmed dead now? All right. I can confirm two dead. One is the truck driver. One is a passenger. Sorry.

Duct tape and Velcro, a thin blade and nerves of steel. It all goes well those components as they come together high above Earth, roughly 13 hours from now and smooth return of space shuttle's Discovery next Monday.

CNN's John Zarrella has a front row seat in mission control in Houston. He's going to tell us all about it.

Hi, John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

They've got hacksaws and they've got forceps and scissors and, boy, these are -- this mission has turned out to be a real Mr. Fix-it mission for the astronaut team.

And they are go for tomorrow's EVA, during which they will go ahead and remove, or attempt to remove, two gap fillers and the gap fillers are just what they -- the name implies. They fill the gaps between the shuttle's thermal tiles on the underbelly of the vehicle on Discovery.

Now, they have spent days, in fact four days, testing different methods. And you can there in mission control here they are testing the different methods they could use at which would work the best and they arrived for Steve Robinson, astronaut Steve Robinson, on a method where he will actually go down there with his gloved hand reach down and grab these gap fillers and try to remove them.

If that does not work, removing the gap fillers, then they will try with forceps. And if that doesn't work then they will go in with a hacksaw and just hack these gap fillers off so they will then have a smooth surface on the bottom of the vehicle.

They want that smooth surface so that no heating is built up behind those gap fillers on re-entry, which could damage tiles behind where those gap fillers are.

Now beyond what they can do there, if, for some reason all of that failed, they could use some test materials, which they brought up on the shuttle, and they tested over last weekend different methods for repairing the shuttle in space. And they were asked at a press conference today if that was possible to get some of that testing material to use and use that in a worst case scenario.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL HILL, FLIGHT DIRECTOR: If for some unforeseen reason we actually make some gouge that's worse than we expect, worse than we demonstrated in the lab, then we have the option of bringing Steve back to a place where he can get that Emittance Wash Applicator and go back out and apply it.

And there are other options if we really had a bad day. We could go out on another EVA, but the things that would require that are well outside what we expect Steve to be doing on the bottom of the vehicle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: They really don't expect to have to go to that extent. They think this should be a simply relatively simple procedure. And the reason they want to do this is because they don't want heat to build up behind where those gap fillers are. That's why they don't want to leave it as is. They want a smooth surface for re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. John Zarrella, thanks so much.

Well, for much more on the shuttle mission, you can go onto our web site at CNN.com. We've got images of Discovery in space, as well as in depth information about the mission and Discovery's crew.

President Bush today hailed the shuttlenauts as risk takers for the sake of exploration. But on his last day of work before a month- long Texas holiday, the president's focus also extended to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, plus the Dominican Republic.

CNN's Bob Franken connects the dots from his vantage point there at the White House.

Hi, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The dots are connected, Kyra, by CAFTA. Now doesn't that sound like the name of a soft drink?

PHILLIPS: Kind of like Fresca.

FRANKEN: That's right. But this is much easier to swallow for the president. The Central American Free Trade Agreement. Very hard fought battle in Congress. Just two votes the final margin of victory in the House of Representatives last week. Very, very close, as these things usually are.

So the president got together today for a signing ceremony with the ambassadors of the affected six countries and some of the congressional supporters to end his period in Washington before the August recess on a high note.

He did the signing; he is now going to -- in about an hour he's going to be leaving the White House, heading to Crawford, Texas, for his vacation, his August there in the wilds of Crawford -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Bob Franken, thank you so much. A little 101 CAFTA, not a soft drink. Let's make that clear. Bob Franken from the White House thank you.

Well, on to a much more serious story and one that we've been covering very intensely here on CNN, Niger, where a deceptive contradiction is definitely playing out. Market stalls full of food in a nation where food shortages have left millions of people on the brink of starvation.

Now emergency food rations are being distributed, but even that is being bound in red tape.

Our Jeff Koinange brings us the latest now from Maradi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-two-year- old Halima Mousa (ph) has walked several miles to this food distribution center in the country's south, pleading for just one thing: a little milk powder tow feed her 3-week-old daughter, Baratu (ph).

She says she hasn't been able to produce any milk since her child was born and blames it on the ongoing famine that's killed thousands and threatens millions more.

"We are suffering so much," she says. "I have been feeding my daughter with goat's milk for three weeks and look at her now. She's sick."

Little Baratu (ph) is already showing signs of severe malnutrition.

Niger officials, who are distributing locally grown millet, tell her Halima (ph) her infant can't qualify until she's at least six months old. Those are the rules. And in a country where one in three people are illiterate, few dare to question rules.

Still, Halima (ph) pleads her case. "What are we supposed to do," she asks. "Do they want my daughter to die?"

But that's exactly what happened to one of Hawa Abdu's (ph) two- month-old triplets. Six days after they were born, their mother says, there simply wasn't enough milk to go around. One died, leaving Hassama and Hussain (ph). They are now fighting for their lives against both a famine and bureaucracy.

"All we are asking for is a little milk. Please give us some milk to feed our children," she pleads.

Because they both walked from another village, neither one qualifies for food aid here. This food aid, they are told, is only for those from this village who can pay the much reduced price.

(on camera) Difficult to reach villages like this are the ones aid workers refer to as bearing the biggest brunt of the ongoing famine. Seven out of every children that come to places like this seeking relief are said to be severely malnourished.

(voice-over) From what we've seen all over Niger, it's usually men who end up getting the food. Although it's the women who do most of the work around here.

Many hungry villagers simply stand and watch as the lucky few pay for their rations of millet, the country's staple crop. The same millet is being given away for free by various aid organizations around the country. But the closest point is about 50 miles away. And few here have either the energy or strength to walk that far in a scorching African sun.

Halima's (ph) friends plead with the officials on her behalf. Her child is only three weeks old, they say, and she only has two other children.

The mother of the twins, Hawa (ph), has four other children.

Such is the complex and complicated nature of food distribution in an equally complex and complicated country. In Niger, everything boils down to family and community.

The elders finally hear the pleas. Halima (ph) can have her three scoops of millet, enough, she says, to last her entire family three days. There's no milk powder, they say.

Halima (ph) says she's grateful she at least came away with something to take home to her starving family. With tiny Baratu (ph) strapped firmly in place, she loads her millet and starts her long trek back.

As for mother of twins, Hawa (ph), she has to try her luck at the next village, some 12 miles away. She says she'll need to rest awhile before she can gather enough strength to walk.

"This famine," she tells us, "is turning what was once a country of hardworking and energetic people into a nation of beggars."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Our Jeff Koinange joins us live from Maradi now. And Jeff, I know you had a chance to get to know these families and these children very well. They've moved you beyond words. Take me back to the village of Sarkiama (ph) and tell us about this family that you profiled and the 6-year-old that just captured your heart.

KOINANGE: That's right, Kyra. Her name was Amena (ph). And the minute we walked into this homestead, if you will, she just took to me right away, grabbed my leg and literally would not let go throughout our shoot. In fact, we kept encouraging her to go and sit with her mother, stay with her mother. She would not let go. And that kind of broke my heart, in a way.

And in the end when it was getting time to leave, she was literally crying. She didn't want us to leave. And those are the stories of hope, Kyra. If you can see her, in those images, she's actually eating food with five or six of her other siblings. That's the hope, that she's smiling, Kyra, despite the misery, despite the hunger and starvation.

These images of at least these few of them smiling, that gives us a lot of hope. That will stay with me a long time.

PHILLIPS: Well, there's a beauty to that innocence, that's for sure. How do these families continue to fight? What inspires them just to keep going and wanting to survive?

KOINANGE: Well, you know, Kyra, these are such simple people. These aren't people who wake up thinking, "How many e-mails do I have?" or "How much should I put in my 401(k)," which is not such a bad thing, in a way. But what I'm trying to say is they're such simple people. They live a simple existence.

Right now, all they want to do is survive another day. You know, gather enough food to feed their large families. Because a lot of them do have large families. And if they could just have a meal every day or every two days, they'll be more than happy. That's how simple they are. They are literally taking this a day at a time, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And Jeff, culturally they believe they're being punished for some reason, right?

KOINANGE: Yes, that's right. And you know, you've got to remember this, Kyra. This is one of the poorest nations on the planet, where the illiteracy rate is so high. So when you ask people what's going on here? Why do you think this is happening to you?

And the answer we keep getting is that they are being punished for the sins of their ancestors. This isn't something they did recently. It's something their forefathers did several decades ago. And they are paying for those things, they believe.

So what they're doing is they're enduring this pain just so that their children and their children's children don't have to endure that pain, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, with regard to the locusts, Jeff, is there any type of preventive measures that can be taken to prevent a locust invasion?

KOINANGE: As far as I know, there isn't, Kyra. With locusts what they do is invade an area, they lay their eggs. They hatch and then boom, they keep on invading and going from country to country to country.

This happened exactly this time last year. So what happens, once they lay the eggs, once the insects started invading field after field after field, aircraft started being sent in with insecticide to try to calm it down. Obviously, it was too little too late at that time. So in terms of preventing it before it happens, I don't think that's ever happened, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So, Jeff, what's next for you? What are you working on? What's the story you want to tell?

KOINANGE: I'm glad you asked that, Kyra. This great -- and there's still so much hope in this country. And today we're going to do a story for Anderson Cooper's show, "AC 360," later on.

We visited this group of Moroccan military doctors on the ground, sent by their king to come and treat people here on the ground. So there's 22 doctors, surgeons, pediatrics, internists. And they set up this mobile tent right in the middle of Maradi.

And there they're doing their work, unassumedly, quietly, not wanting any publicity or anything. They're just here to do their job because they have seen the pictures of misery and suffering, and they feel if they come and do it, maybe doctors around the world will see the images and say, "Hey, maybe we can go into Niger." There's no war. There's no fighting. These doctors are working there without any restrictions and doing great work.

This is what the Moroccans, the message they're trying to send. And this story is going to be out tonight, Kyra, and all of tomorrow.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we need to tell it. And we'll definitely run it tomorrow. Jeff Koinange, it's always a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you so much.

And our focus on the crisis continues tonight. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper is reporting live from Niger, along with Jeff Koinange there. You can watch him on "ANDERSON COOPER 360," 7 p.m. Eastern.

Well, this year's hurricane season is already a record breaker, but can it get even worse than predicted? The results of a new weather survey next.

Plus, they slashed prices to pump up sales, but did the auto makers gamble payoff? We're going to tell you when LIVE FROM returns.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: And back live here in B Control. We're talking about one of China's biggest oil companies. It's backing off of a specific bid. Susan Lisovicz, live from the New York Stock Exchange, to tell us what's going on -- Susan.

(STOCK REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Susan, thanks so much.

Well, brace yourself for a very stormy weather season. The outlook to tie a record set back in the 1930s. That's what Jacqui Jeras is telling me. She still can't believe it. Did you read the script? She's shaking her head. I thought she was mad at me. Like, no, I still can't believe this.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know. You know, we knew it was going to be bad, Kyra. But these numbers are pretty incredible. NOAA released them this morning, saying that it's going to be worse than originally thought.

They're bumping those numbers up. They are expecting to see 18 to 21 named storms. And my computer doesn't want to click them for you. Hold on a second here.

There we go. Now it's moving. We're getting it in gear. Eighteen to 21 named storms. We've already had seven of them, two of which became hurricanes. So those numbers are included in this forecast. But that brings five to seven major hurricanes, and a major hurricane is what we consider a Category 3 or greater. And that's winds of 111 to 130 miles an hour.

The names, here's a look at them. We've already made our way through Gert. Harvey would be next in line. If we hit the higher end of these forecast numbers, it's going to bring us all the way through Wilma.

Forecasters are saying that with the warm ocean temperatures and also with the lack of strong winds in the Atlantic, it's making conditions very, very ripe. And we're in one of these cycles, as we call them, that lasts about 20 or 30 years, on an upward trend of a very, very busy hurricane season.

Twenty-one is the record number of storms recorded, and that happened in 1933. And so, if we hit the 21 we're going to at least be tying that.

The only hope that we have right now is that we're in a quiet little lull, so that is some good news. Things look pretty good right now across parts of the Atlantic. But we haven't reached peak yet. Peak comes in early to mid-September -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And you showed us the list of names. What, there's like 25 on there?

JERAS: Twenty-one.

PHILLIPS: Goodness. All right, Jacqui, thank you so much.

JERAS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Coming up, they are common cold medicines that anyone can buy over the counter. Big names like Sudafed. That's right. It' about to change in the state of Oregon, though. We're going to sell you why drugs like Sudafed could soon require a prescription.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Oregon is taking drastic action to fight methamphetamine abuse. It is poised to become the first state to require a doctor's prescription for certain cold medicines, such as Sudafed and Claritin-D. That's because these drugs contain pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in meth.

The bill may be a step in the right direction in that meth fight. But as Nicole Doll from CNN affiliate KGW explains, it's far from perfect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICOLE DOLL, KGW CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With a few keystrokes, we found dozens of web sites hawking pseudoephedrine products at bargain prices. And even if Oregon does make pseudoephedrine prescription only, conceivably, it could still be shipped right to your door. That's because there's no language in the bill that addresses online sales.

Gary Schnabel is the director of the Oregon State Board of Pharmacy.

GARY SCHNABEL, OREGON STATE BOARD OF PHARMACY: In general, a lot of the online procurement is beyond our ability. It's really not beyond our authority, I guess. It's beyond our ability, because a lot of these places are not licensed in Oregon. You know, our small agency can't chase down some of these.

DOLL: Then there's the question of Oregon's border states. If Governor Kulongoski signs the bill, Oregon would be the first state to make such a bold move in the fight against the meth epidemic. But couldn't someone simply cross the border to buy it?

SCHNABEL: For example, if you -- a person lived in Ontario and went over to Boise. They are subject to Idaho limits and purchasing. But they -- if they brought it back into Oregon, it would still be legal.

DOLL: As for criticism that the legislation is an inconvenience, especially for low income and uninsured consumers, lawmakers and pharmacists say there are already alternatives to pseudoephedrine on the market. Phenylephrine, for example, is found in Sudafed PE. It's a decongestant that can't be used to make meth. And other cold medicine manufacturers are reformulating their products, as well. GARY BALO, PHARMACIST: It seemed like they're picking up the pace quicker all the time, and hopefully, you know, they can address this issue before it comes into the cold and cough season, which will be coming around the corner here pretty soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, that wraps up this Tuesday edition of LIVE FROM. Now here's Ed Henry with a preview of what's ahead on "INSIDE POLITICS."

Hi, Ed.

ED HENRY, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Hi, Kyra.

The president puts his pen to a trade treaty, finishing up some last minute business before heading off to the ranch. Coming up, we'll take a look at Mr. Bush's victories and setbacks so far this year.

Plus call it the fall brawl. We'll spotlight the big battles ahead when Congress and the president come back to Washington in September.

All this and much more when I go "INSIDE POLITICS" in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center. "INSIDE POLITICS" is next right after a quick look of what's in the news right now.

The U.S. military say a top commander of a terror group blamed for this December attack on a U.S. military mess hall is in custody. The commander was captured along with a dozen Ansar al-Sunna members.

Seven U.S. Marines have been killed in two separate operations just north of Baghdad. Six died today near Haditha. The seventh died in a suicide blast near Hit (ph). The deaths pushed the number of American forces killed in Iraq above 1,800 now.

The Shuttle Discovery crew is preparing for a risky and extremely delicate repair mission that's never been attempted. Astronaut Steve Robinson will venture to the underside of the orbiter to remove material that could threaten Discovery during re-entry. That mission is scheduled for tomorrow.

Thanks for joining us. We'll be back tomorrow. "INSIDE POLITICS" is up next.

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