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Tapes of 9/11 Emergency Responders Released; Escaped Convict, Wife Challenge Extradition; Transit Threat Level to Decrease

Aired August 12, 2005 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: September 11, new tapes released. The rush to the rescue when the Twin Towers were struck. You'll see them.
Convicted in the deaths of three civil rights workers, but now, a judge says to Edgar Ray Killen, "You can leave prison."

Going up? Paying too much for gas prices? I think we all are. We've got the "CNN Fact Check" on who pays more.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

And this just coming in to CNN. According to the Department of Homeland Security, we are being told that the threat level could be lowered from orange to yellow. And this is with regard to the nation's mass transit systems only. We're being told that this is probably going to happen after rush hour. We're following that story for you right now.

Once again, the threat level being lowered from orange to yellow with regard to the nation's mass transit systems. We'll keep you updated.

Three years, 11 months and one day after September 11, 2001, you may think you've heard everything there is to hear about Ground Zero, the Twin Towers and the first responders who died by the thousands, saving thousands of others, but you haven't. Not yet.

Today, by court order, the New York Fire Department is releasing more than 15 hours of radio transmissions and 12,000 pages of transcribed recollections from the firefighters who converged on the World Trade Center that morning.

CNN's Mary Snow is taking it all in -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, what you see here is 23 CDs. And this is what contains the transmissions from firefighters on September 11. These CDs do not include victims calling from within the World Trade Center.

The fire department was ordered to release these by a court order. Now, 945 minutes of these tapes have been released.

We got these tapes about two hours ago. We have a team of producers listening to them now. But we have been able to go through some of the first transmissions when the first tower was struck. And, you hear bursts of activity on these radio calls and then, lapses silence. And there is a call going out for a 10-60, which indicates a major emergency response. Let's listen to them.

There will be various recordings from firefighters coming out. Also, oral histories of some 1,200 firefighters who gave their recounts. One of them, we're reading now, one firefighter saying, "it reminded me of 'The Ten Commandments' when the green clouds came down on the street. The black cloud was coming down faster than the building." That was when the first tower collapsed.

Now let's take a listen to what -- some of these audio transcripts that have come in.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A plane just crashed into an upper floor of the World Trade Center. Transmit a second alarm and start relocating companies into the area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The World Trade Center tower No. 1 is on fire. The whole outside of the building. It was just a huge explosion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Send every available ambulance, everything you've got to World Trade Center now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a number of floaters on fire. They look like the plane was aiming towards the building. Transmit a third alarm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It appears an airplane crashed into the World Trade Center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looked like it was intentional. Send more units. Going into the box. It could be a terrorist act.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roll every available ambulance you got to this position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Now, the city at first did not want to release these tapes. The "New York Times" had sought to have them released, and then families of firefighters also joined in that legal battle. These families saying that, one, they wanted more details of what happened to their loved ones. Other questions that had been raised about 9/11 and the communications systems within the fire department. Some wanted to hear these tapes to see if improvements could be made in the future.

We're listening to these tapes over the next several hours. And, the fire department, I should point out, Kyra, released a statement today, saying that it is the department's hope that the release of these records will not cause their members and their families any additional pain or anguish. Certainly a very painful day, though, as these memories are relived.

PHILLIPS: Mary, it just gives you chills listening to it, even hearing the firefighters say, "This could be a terror attack."

You talk about the response from the firefighters, even talking with some of the family members and survivors. What kind of overall -- I mean, what else will this be used for? I mean, besides all of us hearing it and getting the chills and being remembered of that -- that horrible day, what else will this be used for?

SNOW: Some family members say they wanted to listen to these tapes to try to get any details to find out what happened to their loved ones. Some say they have no idea where their loved ones were on that day inside those towers or outside the towers.

Also, there's some who want to listen to the tapes to see if there could be improvements in the communications. That was something that would -- had been cited as criticism. So those are some of the things that are going to be looked at to see what could be improved on in a -- in another emergency that may come in the future.

PHILLIPS: All right. Mary Snow live from New York, thank you so much.

Well, one sat, one stood. One was quiet, one was talking, defiant, even profane. Both stand charged with first degree murder in the Tennessee shootout that led to their desperate flight to Ohio, and today both George and Jennifer Lynn Hyatte refused to go back voluntarily.

If you've been watching CNN, you saw the former fugitives live in a Columbus courtroom for two identical, yet very different extradition hearings.

CNN's Alina Cho has the details now -- Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, you said it, certainly. Lots of drama in the courtroom today, and it's fitting when you think about it, when you consider the journey that the couple has taken to get to this point. But essentially, this is what happened today.

Both George and Jennifer Hyatte, yes indeed, did decide to fight extradition back to Tennessee on charges of first degree murder. But they arrived at that decision in quite different ways. Initially, George Hyatte decided to waive extradition, but after conferring with his lawyer, he changed his mind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

GEORGE HYATTE, ESCAPED CONVICT: Just do whatever my wife did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do not want to waive extradition?

G. HYATTE: Whatever my wife did, that's what I'm going to do. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He does not wish to waive at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: What this means is that the state of Tennessee now has 30 days to issue an arrest warrant and deliver that warrant to the governor of Ohio here.

As you saw, George Hyatte, visibly distraught in the courtroom today. His wife, Jennifer, also appeared in court today in a separate hearing. She looked visibly different, as you can see. The hair quite a bit shorter and quite a bit darker.

The burden of proof, we should mention, is also now on the state of Tennessee. The state must prove that the Hyattes, who you saw in court today, the very same Hyattes who are being sought in the murder of a corrections officer during that dramatic escape earlier this week in Tennessee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... happened?

JOHN SPROAT, JENNIFER HYATTE'S ATTORNEY: Well, she is obviously concerned about the severity of these charges. She's innocent until proven guilty of every element of the offense.

I know nothing about the underlying case. I've been appointed to represent her in the extradition proceeding. The matter of guilt or innocence is for a jury eventually in Tennessee.

She was expecting today that -- that we would challenge the extradition. And that she understood that I was going to be asking for a bond on her behalf and she was aware of the fact that, in all likelihood, there would either be no bond or a high bond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Bond was denied for both George and Jennifer Hyatte. And this is a couple clearly determined to be together, and they will be, so to speak. Both will remain in the Franklin County jail until their next scheduled court appearance, which will be right here in this county in this city of Columbus -- that's a federal courthouse -- on September 8 at 9 a.m. -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Alina Cho, thank you so much.

And CNN has confirmed now the Homeland Security Department has decided to lower the terror threat level with regard to the nation's mass transit systems.

Our Jeanne Meserve, working that story for us right now, brings us details -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, you'll remember on July 7 in the wake of the London bombings, Secretary Michael Chertoff took the threat level just for transit up to orange. We have now gotten an announcement from Secretary Chertoff that it is going to come down tonight from orange, which is high, down to yellow, which is elevated.

However, Secretary Chertoff in his statement talks about how in the weeks since July 7, the department has been working with transit systems all across the country to try to improve their security, tailoring what can be done to each individual system. And so, he says, because of the increase in long term measures, it is now possible to lower the official level down from orange to yellow.

Secretary Chertoff was asked about this on "THE SITUATION ROOM" earlier this week. Here's how he explained it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: One of the things I want to explain is that yellow, itself has changed over time. The degree of preparedness and our ability to react has gotten much better under yellow in 2005 than it was under yellow in 2004. As we raise the baseline of preparedness, it may turn out to be that we can go to orange less often or come down from orange earlier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: According to the statement from Secretary Chertoff, this will be done in a graduated fashion across the country. It's going to happen at 8 p.m. local time, but what means when it's 8 p.m. on the East Coast, the level will come down, for the East Coast Cities, New York and Washington. Only when it's 8 p.m. on the West Coast will it come down for transit sections there.

Also, the Coast Guard had increased its threat level for large passenger ferries. That also is going to be brought down so it's all on yellow all across the country, an indication that what they perceived as a threat after July 7 has now diminished to a certain degree.

You will remember this is the first time that the threat level had ever been raised where they did not have specific threat information on which to base it.

Back to you, Kyra.

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

Well, it's back to work for B.A., British Airways, at London's Heathrow Airport, site of a wildcat walkout and stranded passengers. It will still take hours and hours to resolve. Not exactly what B.A. ticket holders from L.A. to Liechtenstein wanted to hear. This is La Guardia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've gotten almost no help here. No information. There's no information desk. No signs. Nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's only one person helping and the only thing she's saying is, "Move back, move back."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been away for seven months and this is not how I wanted it to turn out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, CNN's Richard Quest checks in from Heathrow what's essentially a food fight with global repercussions. He's right in the middle of it.

Hi, Richard.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra. Yes, good morning to you from London's Heathrow Airport.

We know that this evening, British Airways hopes to fly 31 flights. It will be a combination of short haul and long haul services. That will leave from Heathrow, but none of them will be to the United States, because obviously, by the time it gets to 8 p.m. in the London, it will be too late for their arrival times either on the East or the West Coast of the U.S.

So we're looking at flights short haul in Europe. We're looking at Melbourne, Bangkok, Sidney, Johannesburg, all pretty much eastbound heading out from Heathrow.

For the last 24 hours, Kyra, we've been talking about conditions at Heathrow for the passengers, many of whom have waited -- I was going to say a few hours, but that's an understatement. One lady's been here over 30 hours.

Let me show you actually what it's been like. Now, you'll have to bear with me, because this is an airport. A car park actually, but it's a car park that's in an airport.

And this is -- this is what it's look in inside. This is the tent where people have been spending time. Over here, we have the sort of food that people have been putting up with.

I repeat, it's been a catering dispute, Kyra. And there's plenty of airline food. And this is the sort of conditions people are having to put up with. It's been pretty grim. I think most people would agree. It's not been a pleasant experience.

And I think more than the uncomfortableness and lack of maybe toilet facilities, Kyra, it has been the lack of information. When are people actually going to get on a flight and leave?

Let's leave and come out of here, because the other thing to say, Kyra, is that people here have pretty much had it up to here with the media. There seems to be an enormous number of us reporting this. So let's (AUDIO GAP) at the moment here at Heathrow. We know flights are leaving. We just don't know when.

PHILLIPS: All right. I see the water. I see the sandwiches but B.A. is going to have to do a lot more than this, don't you agree? Free flights? Any other -- anything else being offered up to these passengers?

QUEST: Not yet. That's going to be the interesting thing. Will it be free vouchers? Will it be discounts? Will it be frequent flier miles? Yes. By any standards, this is an airline P.R. disaster. For British Airways, the third year in a row they've suffered this.

And I think that, you know, I'll go out on a limb here. I wouldn't have to go too far before I'd meet somebody here who would say it will be a long time before they'd fly British Airways again.

PHILLIPS: Richard Quest, live from Heathrow, thank you so much.

Well, another crude development on the fuel front. For the fifth day in a row, oil has a New York high in the New York market. This time, $67 a barrel. And that means gas prices coast to coast are closing in fast on $3 a gallon. In some places, they're leaving three bucks in the dust and drivers in tears, though. In gas live context, well, here's the "CNN Fact Check."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Adjusted for inflation, today's average national prices still haven't broken any records. In today's dollars, the average price per gallon of gas in 1975 would be $2.05, not so bad.

Prices peaked in 1981, when one day in March, the national average reached as high as $3.12 a gallon in today's terms. That is a record for now.

That trend eventually reversed, though. In 1998 you may recall gas prices dipped, in today's dollars, costing only about $1.22 per gallon.

Another fun comparison, U.S. prices against those overseas. If you were in the Netherlands, you'd be paying $6.48 a gallon. In Ireland, the price is $4.78. In Russia, it's actually a little cheaper, at $2.10 a gallon.

But Venezuela is apparently the place to be, for gas, at least. And this is not a typo. Gas is 12 cents per gallon.

Our final facts, to put gas prices in perspective: the cost of what other popular consumer items would be per gallon.

Evian water would be about $5.60 a gallon based on the price of a bottle. Starbucks coffee, $32 a gallon. Real maple syrup, more than $57.

If gas prices have you thinking of hitting the bottle, well, check out the price that Jack Daniel's would cost per gallon, more than $100.

And finally, one you'd probably never think of, nasal spray, $2,615 per gallon. We've got a way to go before gas costs that much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM...

SANDRA KROWSKI, ALLIE'S MOM: I'm losing my child, and she's dying in front of me.

PHILLIPS: A little girl battle against a deadly cancer and the drug that saved her. Wait until you hear why other kids with the same disease will not be able to get the life saving treatment.

Later on LIVE FROM, Senator Hillary Clinton, will Republican Jeanine Pirro unseat her? Will she run for the White House in 2008?

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm convinced in my own mind she hasn't decided on that.

PHILLIPS: Monday on LIVE FROM, the teenagers' murder that galvanized America's civil rights movement. The film maker of the untold story of Emmett Till joins us live.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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PHILLIPS: And welcome back to B Control, where all of us here on LIVE FROM live fast and fly fast. Check this out.

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PHILLIPS: Cannot get enough of that. Would you believe me if I told you I was in the backseat of one of those jets?

The Blue Angels, known for their daring aerobatics. Remember the man that put together the very first team, retired Navy Captain Roy "Butch" Voris, died earlier this week at the age of 86. A World War II ace, Voris was hand picked by Admiral Chester Nimitz right after the war to organize a precision flying team. Its mission: to boost Navy morale and recruiting and guess what? Butch's legacy lives on, because that team is still hot and boosting morale every season.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, one, ignition. And liftoff of the Atlas 5 rocket with MRO, surveying for the deepest insights into the mysterious evolution of Mars.

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PHILLIPS: Are you wondering what MRO is? That's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, now headed for the red planet. NASA predicts it will take about seven months to get there, and it will spend about four years collecting data.

And in today's "House Cue," doctor -- "House Call," rather, Dr. Sanjay Gupta continues his weeklong look at the war against cancer. For some patients, experimental drugs offer a lot of hope. Well, for some drugs that show promise never make it to the full production, we're being told, highlighting the conflict between patients and the drive for profits.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alexandra is the only child of Sandra and Ed Krowski. While on vacation, she suddenly blurts out, "My back hurts."

KROWSKI: You have that little voice saying, something's wrong.

GUPTA: For weeks, doctors think otherwise. They point to a new tricycle or a playground injury as the probable cause of the pain. Suddenly, little Allie can't walk.

KROWSKI: She was telling the doctors, "My legs are stuck." She had no movement from her waist down. She was completely paralyzed. It was just a horrible situation where you're -- I said to my husband that I'm losing my child and she's dying in front of me.

GUPTA: An emergency MRI reveals a tumor on Allie's spine. She has a rare, often fatal, cancer, called Ewing Sarcoma (ph).

KROWSKI: I made the decision to get her to Houston immediately. We chartered a Lear jet. We put it on our card. It was $12,654. It was the best $12,654 I ever spent.

GUPTA: Sandra, Allie's mom, also battles cancer. She knew her daughter's life depended on experimental medicine.

KROWSKI: Allie's physician, Dr. Cynthia Herzog (ph), came in and told me that there was a clinical trial for Allie's type of cancer. I said, "I don't need to think about it. I've already thought about it. And you can bring me the papers and I'll sign right now."

GUPTA: Weeks of very aggressive therapy and radiation had left Allie weak, nearly dead. Then, she began a yearlong treatment with Inther (ph), an experimental drug. After six months, a change.

KROWSKI: I knew that it was working. I just had that feeling. Once she started the trial, like, she just seemed to -- I could see, you know, in her face, she was getting more energetic.

GUPTA: Now, almost 6, Allie is cancer free but must be monitored carefully.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just hold your breath. Do not breathe and do not move.

GUPTA: Inther (ph), the drug that apparently saved her life, is still available as part of Dr. Kleinerman's ongoing clinical trial. But after that, it disappears.

(on camera) So there was a drug out there that, as far as you could tell, seemed to be working?

EUGENIE KLEINERMAN, CHIEF, PEDIATRIC DIVISION: Correct.

GUPTA: And then you got a phone call saying that they weren't going to manufacture the drug anymore?

KLEINERMAN: Correct. Basically, I was getting the message that our marketing people had done research and were never going to be able to recoup our research and development costs, and it doesn't matter who we're going to help or who weren't not going to help. The marketing people have made the decision that we're not putting anymore resources in this.

GUPTA: And the outcome?

KLEINERMAN: The outcome is we still have only a certain amount of drugs.

GUPTA (voice-over): Just enough to treat 60 kids, or about one third of the kids that get this Ewing's Sarcoma (ph) each year.

(on camera) This isn't the kind of story people want to hear. If a drug works, why wouldn't they make more of it?

KLEINERMAN: Because sarcomas are a very rare tumor. And you have to understand that drug companies, pharmaceutical companies, have to report to their stockholders, and they're interested in their financials. And this will never be a money maker.

GUPTA: This really does keep you up, doesn't it?

KLEINERMAN: Oh, yes. Of course.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And don't miss Dr. Sanjay Gupta's special report "CNN PRESENTS: TAMING THE BEAST, INSIDE THE WAR ON CANCER." That's this Sunday, 8 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.

Straight ahead, he was convicted and sentenced in the deaths of three civil rights workers. We're looking at a live shot right now from Mississippi. Edgar Ray Killen may be set free. Details on that straight ahead.

Will Senator Clinton stay in the mix for '06, or is she going to wait for more in 2008?

Ahead on LIVE FROM, more on the Republican who wants to unseat Clinton and what her husband tells CNN about a possible run for the White House.

And are you one of these beautiful people? A new web site that lets you know whether you're hot or not. ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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