Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Earthquake Intensifies Tense Border Situation; On the Fast Track

Aired October 10, 2005 - 13:30   ET

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

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A devastating quake, a precarious border. Synchronicity that could make an already difficult security situation even worse.

CNN's Ryan Chilcote has just returned from the volatile war zone between Afghanistan and Pakistan. He joins us to talk about the problems beyond rescue and relief efforts for civilians.

I mean, let's talk about this border. Maybe we should go back to Operation Mountain Lion...

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure.

PHILLIPS: ... where you really got a sense for the insurgency and the battle and the special forces and everything happening along this border.

CHILCOTE: Sure. I've actually been to the border twice in both 2002 and just last year. It's an enormous border. It's 1,500 miles long and I think the most important thing to say about it is that it's not a border in the sense that you and I think of borders. There's actually nothing for the vast majority of that border that marks it as such.

The only people really that recognize the border, quite frankly, are soldiers from the U.S. military who are operating in that area. They're under specific instructions about how close they're allowed to get to the border and how they're supposed to behave around that border.

But the people that live in that area -- it's a very tribal area -- most of them don't recognize the border. They have relatives on both sides of it, and they move around quite freely. There's a couple dozen what they call border -- you know, checkpoints alongside of it. But for the most part, if you were to go to look at that border, you would not recognize it as such. It's just a very mountainous, remote area, and doesn't look like a border.

PHILLIPS: There's a lot of special forces, though, lined up along that border that we don't know. Of course, we don't want to give away the exact location. But there is a lot of security in place at this border because of the fear of insurgency going back and forth, right? And also, the talk of Osama bin Laden being somewhere not far off from that border area.

CHILCOTE: Absolutely right. You got special forces there, you also have conventional forces from the 2nd and 500th Airborne based out of Italy and that area. You have several fire bases. You also have a lot of reconnaissance assets up in the air, watching basically that border, looking for what's taking -- you know, looking for movement across the border. That's on the west side of the border, on the Afghan side of the border.

There may be some U.S. assets on the Pakistan border -- the Pakistan side, about which we know less. But on the Pakistani side of it, you've got about 80,000, according to the Pakistani government, 80,000 troops. So they're there to try and monitor this very vast border. Remember, 1,500 miles. But even, you know, the United States southern border, a lot of people say it's very difficult to monitor. And so you can imagine what it's like for a country like Afghanistan with that really remote terrain.

PHILLIPS: Well, what are your military sources telling you now? Because there's this earthquake. It's a massive distraction for everybody. And now U.S. forces are coming over to help and all these other forces. Does it create sort of a -- I don't know, an opportunity for terrorists right now or insurgents?

CHILCOTE: That's a good question. The U.S. military would say no, it creates an opportunity for increased partnership with the Pakistani government. They're always looking to be friends with the Pakistani government, the Pakistani military, to try and build that alliance, so that while the U.S. is pursuing terrorists in Afghanistan, the Pakistani government is doing its part inside of Pakistan to do the same.

So they see this as the U.S. military. And I was just talking to a bunch of them there. They see this as real opportunity to increase cooperation and to show the Pakistani people, the Pakistani military, that they're not only to kill terrorists, but they're also there to help the people of the area.

That's why they've just sent in the first U.S. military assistance into Afghanistan, a flight from Bagram, the main airbase, the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan. Just took off a couple hours ago for Islamabad. It was a flight earlier in the day.

So at this point, you've got eight CH-47 U.S. military helicopters. They're like flying buses, if you will, in Islamabad. They're supposed to start flying missions tomorrow morning. And you've got C-17s. Really, the U.S. is just starting to set up its operation.

But they don't see this as something that would take away from the war on terror in Afghanistan. They see this as something that adds to it. Some people say taking away helicopters from the troops in Afghanistan at a time when the insurgency is really raging, just before we're getting into the winter, is only going to hamper their ability to go after terrorists in that country. The U.S. military concedes that, obviously, they can't run as many operations as they would like exactly when they would like because they have that many less helicopters. But they say it's not a big deal.

PHILLIPS: Ryan Chilcote. You going back over there, by the way?

CHILCOTE: I hope to. Always hope to go there.

PHILLIPS: All right, well we're looking for those follow-up pieces, Ryan.

CHILCOTE: Thanks a lot.

PHILLIPS: Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Well, if you wanted the latest, of course, on the quake relief and recovery 24/7, head first to CNN.com. Besides the news, you'll find links to the Web sites of three dozen aid groups and charities, from Americares to World Visions.

Now to Guatemala and the grief from Hurricane Stan. Mudslides arising from that storm's furious rains and floods are believed to have killed more than 1,000 people, burying entire communities under 15 feet of sludge. This town is being declared a cemetery, as the mayor confesses, "We don't even know where to dig anymore for bodies." More than 100 other deaths are being reported in El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Mexico.

Well, disaster averted or just a false alarm? Law enforcement officials are still investigating alleged threats to the New York subway system that reportedly surfaced in Iraq. In the meantime, police commissioner Ray Kelly says that he's keeping officers on alerts, but also tells commuters to go ahead and take the train. That advice echoed by New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was unfazed by criticism he should have waited before sounding a warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: I think the subways are safe. Who knows what's going to happen overseas? They continue their investigation. The best thing for us would be if it turns out that there is not any threat this time. But we're always going to have this, and I think one of the things people have got to understand, that whether it is this threat or tomorrow or the next day, we are the natural place for people who are threatened by our freedoms to come to attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, shifting gears. If you really want to look and feel great, maybe it's time to work out like a racecar driver. Hey, they're athletes, too. Get the scoop on fast track fitness from a rising star at NASCAR. He's going to join us live right here on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hey, they're athletes, too. Get the scoop on fasttrack fitness from a rising star of NASCAR. He's going to join us live right here on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Nothing like that sound to get NASCAR fans wound up, and there's plenty of fans out there, including lots of kids. But some youngsters aren't content just to sit in the stands.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta says they're already on the NASCAR fasttrack, well before they'd be allowed behind the wheel of a family car.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You wouldn't expect someone who takes the bus to school to attract attention from one of the top teams in NASCAR, but 15-year-old Marc Davis has done just that.

The soft-spoken sophomore high school has been recruited as a driver by Roush Racing, whose stable includes NASCAR stars Mark Martin and Carl Edwards.

Roush became interested in Davis after he won two national championships in two different divisions in 2003. And the racing team is now giving Davis a car and other assistance. Davis' goal is nothing less than to drive in NASCAR when he turns 18. That's a minimum age for a NASCAR driver.

MARC DAVIS, 15-YR. OLD RACECAR DRIVER: My dream is to win the Daytona 500 in 2008 and 2009.

GUPTA: Davis isn't the only teenager recruited by a NASCAR team.

Fifteen-year-old Chase Austin from Kansas is in a driver development program at Hendric Motorsports which includes former NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon and 15-year-old Joey Lagano has signed on Joe Gibbs Racing, home to former NASCAR champs Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte.

Dr. Robert Cantu was a neurosurgeon and an expert on the medicine of motorsports. He says raw talent can be spotted young.

DR. ROBERT CANTU, NEUROSURGEON: You need sight. You need concentration. You need good hand-eye coordination. These are things that can be spotted at a very early age.

GUPTA: Sports psychologist Jack Stark says experience is the key.

JAC STARK, SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST: You have to have what we call a lot of seat time. Some of these kids have been in a 100 and 200, 300 races. They start off in carts and then they get up to bigger cars.

GUPTA: That is what Marc Davis had done. Davis won the first race he entered and has kept on winning, perhaps showing that he has nature and nurture on his side. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, from Jane Fonda to Carmen Electra, from boot camp calisthenics to palates, there are more workouts than you can shake a weighted stick at. But I bet you, you never thought that NASCAR drivers needed much in the way of physical conditioning to sit behind the wheel. Well, wrong you are accelerator breath. And NASCAR driver Carl Edwards is here with the proof.

Can we call your regimen to get the lead out, get in front, win in the race, get the lead out, workout? There you.

CARL EDWARDS, NASCAR DRIVER: Yes, I try really hard. I think Mark Martin, he exemplified this on Sunday. The guy's in the twilight of his career. He goes out there and puts a really good run together and wins a race, and he's the guy initiated the physical conditioning part of NASCAR, you know.

PHILLIPS: Well, talk about doing well, and we're going to talk about your background in a minute, but the reason we got connected to you is because I hear you're a bit of a workout freak. And when Dr. Sanjay Gupta put together this special, you were the prime example of what it takes to be a fit driver.

EDWARDS: Yes, Dr. Gupta is hilarious. We had a good time, did a little mountain biking, did a little weightlifting.

PHILLIPS: How'd he hold up? Be honest.

EDWARDS: You know, I'm sure that they edited it well. That's all I can say.

But no, I mean, I just try to be the best I can be. You win and lose these races by the slimmest of margins, and I figure I'm not willing to give up a thousandth of a second a lap, and if the power steering goes out or if it's a real hot day, I think it pays off to be a little bit fit.

PHILLIPS: So you're one of these weightlifters that eats little meals 12 times a day and probably drives all the women crazy because they can't have a regular dinner date with you.

EDWARDS: Yes, I'm that guy, and I used to always make fun of those people. I thought, man, this is -- I'm never going to be that guy, but now that's me. I try to do the best I can, and I -- the meal thing is easy. I just eat all the time.

PHILLIPS: And your pit crew, what do they call it, the granola tray? They always have to -- even when you come in for a pit stop, they're feeding you?

EDWARDS: Yes, I just got to watch the preview of the special. Everybody will see it on Sunday. But they built me a little tray for granola, and I don't think any of them know how I get the granola in my mouth. It's kind of a...

PHILLIPS: How do you do it?

EDWARDS: Well, you have to pull the helmet way down to try to -- the other drivers -- I throw the wrappers out of the window, you know...

PHILLIPS: You litter?

EDWARDS: But they clean up afterwards. They have a track sweeper.

PHILLIPS: Carl?

EDWARDS: I swear, I've seen it. And the other drivers -- as long as they don't get on the radiator, I think they're all right with it, but they the must think, what's going on with it.

PHILLIPS: Yes, the next thing you know you're going to have all these granola wrappers on the loser's car. They'll be chasing after you.

Well, let's go back. I mean, you are quite the perfectionist, I mean, whether it's your health or it's what you do. You always knew what you wanted to do. Your dad built you a go cart. It's that typical NASCAR story. Well, I started with the go-cart, like Kenny Schrader. You're related to him.

EDWARDS: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: It's that same thing. But he didn't crash his go cart; you did when you first rode, didn't you?

EDWARDS: Well, Kenny will probably tell he didn't crash his go cart, but crashes are a big part of this business. I did. I got a great start. I had a lot of folks behind me. We didn't have a lot of money, but had a lot of folks that let me borrow things from them, and just kind of begged, borrowed and stole my way up into the ranks of NASCAR.

PHILLIPS: But didn't your mom and dad truly empty out their savings account to buy you your first car?

EDWARDS: They sure did. We took a big gamble. We bought a Yusak (ph) Silver Crown car, and it was really hard on the family. And I was telling my mom, I was, like, I swear this will work. I swear we can do it. And Schrader even told me, he said, no, you're going to ruin your family. Your parents are going to be broke.

PHILLIPS: Go to school.

EDWARDS: Yes, and he said, be a dentist or something, and it's working out. And it just goes to show you, it's an awesome sport, where anyone can have an opportunity to do well. You just have to give it 100 percent. PHILLIPS: Now of course, you became famous for your back flip. How many times did it take to master this? And did you ever get nervous you might, you know, drop?

EDWARDS: Yes, I haven't fallen on television yet and hurt myself, But I've definitely fallen before. But it's just a cool way to show the fans how excited I was to win.

I saw that photo there and I didn't realize it was that high.

PHILLIPS: You got some serious air.

EDWARDS: But I don't know, it's fun. It's just, I like to have a good time. I go out there and try to do the best I can. And if at the end of a race, I feel like doing a back flip, that's what I do, you know. I just try to enjoy it.

PHILLIPS: Now is it true that your mom had business cards made up. and it said, I'm a great driver, hire me?

EDWARDS: Yes, it said that, "If you're looking for a driver, you're looking for me."

PHILLIPS: Right.

EDWARDS: I realized, I thought, you know what, there's so many race car drivers owners there, and all I need is for one of them just to agree to let me drive the racecar. And I tried going from trailer to trailer at the local racetracks, and that didn't work very well. So I thought, you know what, we'll make some business cards, and we did it, passed out probably 2,000 or 3,000 of them, and I still have people at this day come up to me at the racetrack at the NASCAR events and say, hey, I've got this card that you gave me in Indianapolis six, seven years ago, and...

PHILLIPS: Did you get any serious calls?

EDWARDS: I get a lot now from that card.

PHILLIPS: I bet.

EDWARDS: But no, I didn't. I got a lot of calls from other drivers. But I think what it did is just made people aware that that's what I wanted do, and that's a big part of any sort of venture or business, is jut letting people know exactly what you want.

PHILLIPS: Now you had a 31 on your ACT. You were in the gifted program, I understand, and you said, I'm going to be a race car driver.

EDWARDS: Yes, that didn't go over so well with a lot of people, but I didn't plan on going to college, and then the state of Missouri has an awesome program where if you score a certain program on your ACT, you get a scholarship for in-state. So I went to college here at the University of Missouri, and I'm very grateful for that experience. I think it taught me a lot about how to get information and things like that, so I would highly recommend it.

But it was just kind of one of those deals, I went to college until the racing started taking up too much time, and it was like, I can go back to school...

PHILLIPS: I got to choose, right?

EDWARDS: Yes, I'm going to go race right now.

So it's working out and I'm just really grateful for the experience./.

PHILLIPS: Now how do you stay grounded, because some of your friends say, gosh, even with all the money that he's making and how well he's doing, he still likes to save. It took him a while to even buy a bedroom set. He slept on the couch. He didn't care. Are you a tight wad?

EDWARDS: I'm extremely tight.

PHILLIPS: How come?

EDWARDS: Just because once -- I mean, so many racers out there right now will tell you the exact same story, racing -- you know, your success in racing is directly related to how much money you can spend on your cars and your equipment.

And what happens is, you go out there and there and -- and I started to look at a new pair of shoes. I'm like, wow, that's half a tire set. You know, and -- you know, new pants, that would get me two fit (ph) passes. It's like, you know what, I don't need shoes, pants, I don't need -- so I lived at my mom's house, I borrowed cars from my friends...

PHILLIPS: You're still living with Mom?

EDWARDS: No, no, I did. No.

PHILLIPS: Oh, OK, I had to double-check on that, Carl.

EDWARDS: I got an apartment. That'd be rough. And I just, you know, saved so much money. And now that they send me this money, it's like, I don't know if this is quite right. So I try to save it and I'm -- but I'm still -- I'm working up to spending money.

PHILLIPS: OK. Well, you're going to have to, because I understand that you have a crush on Halle Berry, is that true?

EDWARDS: No, no, I don't...

PHILLIPS: Yes. That's what I...

EDWARDS: I have a girlfriend.

PHILLIPS: Amanda Beard?

EDWARDS: Yes, yes.

PHILLIPS: She's a former Olympic swimmer. How's that going?

EDWARDS: She's the most beautiful, wonderful woman in the world. And I really like her a lot. So...

PHILLIPS: You going to get married?

EDWARDS: Am I going to get married? What is this?

PHILLIPS: Is this too much pressure?

EDWARDS: Oh, man, that's...

PHILLIPS: Well, this gets me back to Halle Berry.

EDWARDS: OK, all right. What is the deal with Halle Berry?

PHILLIPS: Well, we went out into the parking lot and look what we found. She hijacked your car.

EDWARDS: Unbelievable.

PHILLIPS: And she's told me to tell me she's waiting for you after the show and she's expecting you to spend some money on her for a nice dinner.

EDWARDS: Really?

PHILLIPS: And she won't wreck your car, she promises.

EDWARDS: All right. Well, I have to run it by Amanda. But I don't -- I'm sorry, Halle. Maybe next time.

PHILLIPS: Carl Edwards. We'll be watching you. We're a big fan.

EDWARDS: All right, thank you very much. I can't believe you put me on the spot like that.

PHILLIPS: We're known for that.

EDWARDS: All right, all right.

PHILLIPS: All right, Carl.

EDWARDS: I'll remember that.

PHILLIPS: Uh oh -- what comes -- ooh, boy.

EDWARDS: I don't know.

PHILLIPS: Let's go driving sometime. I'll take you on.

EDWARDS: OK, that's a deal.

PHILLIPS: I'm great with go-carts. All right, Carl.

Well, don't miss our upcoming primetime NASCAR special "Driven to Extremes" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. That airs this Sunday night at 10:00 right here on CNN. More LIVE FROM right after a quick pit stop.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANITA HILL: I have no personal vendetta against Clarence Thomas.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When law professor Anita Hill came forward with sexual harassment charges against a future Supreme Court justice during his Senate confirmation hearings, it shocked the nation, divided and captivated it at the same time.

HILL: I seek only to provide the committee with information which it may regard as relevant.

CLARENCE THOMAS: I've heard enough lies.

ZAHN: No matter who you believed, Hill's televised Senate testimony brought workplace sexual harassment into the forefront.

HILL: It's good to be home.

ZAHN: After it was over, Hill went back to teaching law at the University of Oklahoma, but her life would never be the same.

HILL: I had no appreciation for the fact that there would be so much attention to this issue, and that I would become a symbol of the issue.

ZAHN: Hill wrote a book about her experiences called "Speaking Truth to Power." She is now 48 years old and teaches at Brandeis University at Massachusetts. What drives her, she says, is a responsibility to her students.

HILL: They deserve a better society. That is what motivates me, and I think that I can be a part of creating that. Having given that chance, I don't want to blow it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com