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Atlanta Apartment Complex Ablaze; Families of Crash Victims Share Loss; Commuters Stranded by New York Transit Strike; Heated Debate Raised by Secret Wiretaps, Patriot Act

Aired December 20, 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: From CNN's world headquarters here in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's the stories that we're working on for you right now.
What caused this fiery plane crash in Miami? A live briefing from investigators expected within an hour or so.

And pounding the pavement, a transit strike turns millions of New Yorkers into pedestrians. A live briefing from Mayor Bloomberg on the commuter conundrum expected in an hour.

Intelligent design versus evolution. A federal judge makes a ruling affecting the classroom.

All that and more straight ahead. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

We get straight to Tony Harris, working a story. Huge fire going on here in Atlanta, right?

TONY HARRIS, ANCHOR: That's right, Kyra. Good to see you.

We're following that huge apartment fire in DeKalb County, Georgia. Let's put some pictures up for you so you can take a look at it for yourself. Our thanks to our affiliate here in the Atlanta area, WSB, for these pictures, these aerial pictures of the fire in DeKalb County.

Buford Highway in the metro Atlanta area. The Villa Apartment complex, on fire, as you can see. Burning for the most part out of control right now. And Kyra, we have seen -- pardon me -- firefighters in and out of individual units. Don't know exactly how many units we are talking about here in this apartment complex.

But this fire, getting fuel, as you can imagine, from a number of possible sources. Perhaps a gas line, certainly Christmas trees. So if the situation in Burgeonfield, New Jersey, about a week or so ago, can provide us any guidance, it is going to take awhile, as we split the screen here, the picture, so that you can see it. Pictures from both perspectives here, both aerial shots here of firefighters with these hoses going to work on this fire.

The situation in Burgeonfield, New Jersey, about a week ago that I was just mentioning, if that is instructive at all for us, as we watch this fire and this situation, DeKalb County, it is going to take awhile for firefighters to get this under control.

No word yet, Kyra, of evacuations. We certainly hope that everyone was able to get out OK. We will continue to watch this situation and bring you additional information and updates, particularly on how many people were able to get out and if there were any injuries connected to this huge fire in DeKalb County -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Sounds good. Thanks so much, Tony.

HARRIS: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, search and recovery off the port of Miami, one day after a 58-year-old sea plane broke apart and crashed into the ocean. Investigators hope to bring up the wreckage, the cockpit voice recorder and, most urgently of all, the body of the 20th and last known victim.

The cause of yesterday's disaster occurring moments after the Chalks Ocean Airways plane took off for the Bahamas is a mystery. The FBI is on the case, but a spokeswoman tells CNN there are no planes the fair weather crash was anything but accidentally. As such, the NTSB is taking charge and taking nothing for granted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ROSENKER, ACTING CHAIRMAN, NTSB: You never know what you're going to find. Clearly, some of the video that we've seen so far on TV, we'd like a copy of that. Coast Guard has provided some security video to us. We're looking at that. There will be some enhancements of that video. Combine that with witness statements, we begin to get a picture of what happened.

Of course, we need to also look very, very carefully. Most of the answers will come, clearly, from the equipment itself, from the aircraft.

CAPT. JAMES MAES, U.S. COAST GUARD: We've got divers down looking at the -- at the wreck area, wreckage area. We're trying to map that, trying to get it photographed for the investigation. Once we get a determination as to whether or not it is a navigation hazard, and whether or not the navigation will be affected by the transit of cruise ships, we'll make the determination to open the port up for -- the port remains closed even for recreational vehicles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And we expect another briefing in the next hour. We'll bring it to you live once it begins.

At least 11 of the 20 people on board the Bahamas-bound seaplane lived on an island of Bimini, a slip of land a little more than half as long as Manhattan with a full-time population of 1,600.

One resident told a reporter, "Everybody lost somebody. Most of us are related." One man was related to all 11 Bimini residents who died. His story now from reporter Rosh Lowe of CNN affiliate WSVN in Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEONARD STUART, CRASH VICTIMS' RELATIVE: In this photo, you can see Salome Rowl (ph), one of the victims that was on the plane, and her sister, Genevieve Ellis. This is the family photo of Genevieve Ellis.

ROSH LOWE, WSVN CORRESPONDENT: How are you so strong right now?

STUART: Well, my nickname is Brave. But I'm holding up right now just for the family, just to be here, to guide them along the way, you know. I've been through tragedies and stuff. But I think I'm a little strong at this stage. I'll probably break down later as we nearer to the funeral time.

LOWE (voice-over): His nick-name is Brave, a pillar of strength through the most difficult times. These are the toughest times he has ever faced. Leonard Stewart was related to 11 of the 20 people on board the seaplane that crashed off Government Cut on Monday.

(on camera) You were related to 11 people on board that...

STEWART: Eleven people that was on board that flight. I was related to them. And I know all of them personally.

LOWE: How are you going to be able to move on now?

STEWART: Just with the help of God and the help of people that's been calling from all over the United States.

LOWE (on camera): Monday night, family members arriving at the Miami Beach Police Department in stunned disbelief.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "The plane crashed and Mommy was on that flight. Come get me."

I said, "What did you say?"

LOWE: Tuesday morning, at this hotel in Miami Beach, the tragedy slowly sinks in. Family members gather, consoling each other through the worst of pain.

STEWART: I love them with all my heart.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: The bulk of the fuselage of the Truman Air (ph) seaplane sits under 35 feet of water at the mouth of the narrow channel leading to and from one of the nation's busiest ports.

The port of Miami calls itself the cargo gateway of the Americas, pumping an estimated $12 billion a year into the local economy and supporting almost 100,000 jobs. It's also the self-proclaimed cruise capital of the world, home port to five separate lines, handling 3.5 million passengers in 2004. We know of three cruise ships that were scheduled to set sail yesterday but can't until that channel reopens.

Triggering gridlock, headaches for millions of commuters today, New York transit workers are on strike. Subways and buses are shut down across the Big Apple, forcing more than seven million people to find other ways to get around.

This is what many of them had to do, walk. Braving the bitter cold during the morning rush hour, too. More on that in just a second. But first, let's get to Chris Huntington in New York for the latest on the strike.

Chris, I'm curious, how did you get to work and how early did you leave?

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I left home -- I live in Brooklyn, if you're familiar with the area, across the East River. Left at about 4 a.m. this morning, Kyra. There was a ban put in place beginning at 5 a.m., extending to 11 a.m., on all bridges and tunnels into Manhattan, pretty much, saying that you could not drive in unless you had four occupants in the car.

So I made sure to get in ahead of that ban at 5 a.m. And I had plenty of company. There were a lot of folks driving in very, very early into the city. You mentioned some seven million commuters make use of the subway system and buses here in New York City. Indeed, they had to find alternative methods. We caught up with one gent whose solution simply was to delay his normal commuting time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAY DAWSON, COMMUTER: Normally, I'd come in during rush hour, go to Brooklyn first, and then into the city here to see my customers. But I'm not making it to Brooklyn today. It's the N train.

HUNTINGTON: No subways. You're not going to bother to try to get over there?

DAWSON: I'm not going to bother. There's taxis, but the people that were in Brooklyn told me it was a tough time to get a taxi from Flatbush Avenue.

HUNTINGTON: So you also plan to get out of here early today?

DAWSON: Yes. I'll be leaving before the rush hour is over, and back to my computer.

HUNTINGTON: What are you going to do tomorrow?

DAWSON: Tomorrow, I'm going to probably do the same thing. I'm going to let it go as long as I can. Eventually, I'll have to get into the office in Brooklyn. And I'm not exactly sure how that will work. I guess I'll have to break down and take a cab.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: Now, Kyra, one day is a novelty and maybe a cause of some impatience. Two, three, four days, get into a week or two and you're really going to see some tops blow around here -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Any idea how much this is going to cost the city? A lot of us were talking about this morning, and just thinking of how many people, how many companies this is going to affect.

HUNTINGTON: Well, there are estimates all over the map. And the estimate from the city -- now keep in mind, the city authorities are on one side of the equation, and it perhaps feeds into their position to, you know, give you some dramatic numbers.

But according to the city accounting office, the city controller's office, this could cost about $400 million a day in lost revenue to businesses, in lost tax receipts to the city, and in outlays for extra police and services necessary to come up with contingency plans for travel and security around the city. So very, very costly.

As far as what it could potentially cost, the transit workers, the transit authority is seeking penalties of initially $25,000 a day on each and every transit worker who is striking, and then that fine doubles every day. So $25,000, $50,000, $100,000, this on people who make an average of $47,000 a year. So you're talking about serious money and penalties and serious costs to the city and businesses, if this goes on for any period of time.

PHILLIPS: And you wonder the number of people that will not even be able to pay those fines. How long do you think this could last?

HUNTINGTON: That's anybody's guess. But the last time there was a transit strike in 1980 it lasted 11 days. In 1966, there was a strike that lasted 12 days.

The two sides are leagues apart. There's been some really vitriolic rhetoric tossed back and forth in the last 48 hours. This is not likely something that is going to be resolved instantly or by force. You know, the city is going to the courts, trying to get injunctions and so forth. You're going to -- you've got both sides dug in deep. This could take awhile.

PHILLIPS: Chris Huntington, we'll stay in touch with you throughout the day. Thanks, Chris.

Acrimonious labor talks and commuters out of luck. It got us here at LIVE from thinking again, what can commuters do when the transit system runs amuck?

Well, a couple of Santas got stuck walking, as well. But as you can see, they were not alone. Good thing they had those beards to protect their faces during the cold commute.

And this stylish rollerblader shows off some of her skills in New York's Times Square. That's one way to roll around the chaos.

And a number of people broke out the shoe leather, walking over the Brooklyn Bridge. We're not sure if the blur is because the cold or because those bride walkers really were moving pretty fast. And when all else fail, the old standby holds: hail a cab. But even those seemed in short supply. Today one cabby said frantic riders were pulling doors open left and right, piling three or four people, even more, inside the cabs at one time.

Most New Yorkers hoofing it today had an unpleasant chaperone, frigid temperatures we've been telling you about. The first official day of winter is tomorrow. But it feels pretty darn cold right now. Let's get the low-down from meteorologist Chad Myers.

Not an easy day, Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: What I didn't see, Kyra, was that eight-person bicycle that Jeanne Moos had on. You know, all those eight people, all peddling the same direction?

PHILLIPS: Talk about getting creative.

MYERS: There you go.

PHILLIPS: And it's a lot more comfortable than stuffing eight people in a cab. Right?

MYERS: True. And you can all breathe on each other trying to keep each other warm.

PHILLIPS: That's one thing. Those New Yorkers get creative in times like these. Chad, thanks.

MYERS: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: And we're expecting New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to speak about the transit strike. That briefing coming to us, hopefully, at the top of the hour.

The news keeps coming. We're going to keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM right after this.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Pulling out and scaling back. The U.S. plans to withdraw up to 3,000 troops from Afghanistan. That will bring the American troop count there to about 16,000. The reason for the pullback, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld cites the expansion of NATO forces in Afghanistan, which the Bush administration sees as becoming more stable. Rumsfeld predicts that the reduction will be completed by next spring.

Well, a heated debate on Capitol Hill this hour over the thorny issue of domestic spying. Vice President Cheney felt the heat thousands of miles away in Pakistan. Just before heading back to the U.S. he said President Bush had every right to authorize secret wiretaps in the U.S. after 9/11. But Democrats in the Senate aren't so sure.

Let's go straight to Capitol Hill and get the very latest from our congressional correspondent, Ed Henry. The heat is definitely on the Bush administration from the Democrats and the Republicans.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. In fact, Republicans are not so sure that this fell within U.S. law and the Constitution. Two maverick Republican, Chuck Hagel and Olympia Snowe, now signing a later with three Democrats saying they have, quote, "profound concerns" about this spying program. And they're demanding a giant inquiry immediately, in their words, by the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees to get to the bottom of all this. It's interesting. This letter also signed by Democrats Dianne Feinstein, Carl Levin and Ron Wyden.

It says in part, quote, "At no time to our knowledge did any administration representative ask the Congress to consider amending existing law to permit electronic surveillance of suspected terrorists without a warrant."

So as you mentioned, Kyra, that's what's -- that's the difficulty for the administration. It's not just Democrats, but they're now getting some Republicans in addition to Arlen Specter who had previously come out and said he wanted to see some hearings. They're getting some heat from fellow Republicans, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, The president said in his speech, "Look, Congress knew what I was doing. I was keeping everybody informed on what was happening."

But then, I've talked to a number of members of Congress, and they've said, "We never heard anything."

HENRY: That's right, and, in fact, in the last couple of days, the president has certainly given the impression and has said flat out that there were more than a dozen briefings of members of Congress in both parties. And Republicans up here have been trying to put the heat on Democrats and basically say, they were briefed. They knew about it and they basically OK'd it and did not express concerns.

But last night, two prominent Democrats, Senator Jay Rockefeller and former Senator Tom Daschle, came out and confirmed, "Yes, we were briefed in recent years," but they're claiming that they privately raised concerns about this program because they were not given the full scope of the program. They didn't get all the details. They were only told about it in a general way. And they're basically saying their concerns were not listened to.

Take a listen to Senate Democratic whip Dick Durbin and what he had to say today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: So whenever the administration's caught in a situation where the intelligence is flawed or controversial, whether it was the invasion of Iraq or this spying on American citizens, the first line of defense is, "Well, the Democrats were in on this; they knew all about it." And that's just not true.

Whether we're talking about the intelligence leading up to the invasion of Iraq or this particular program, I can tell you as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, we were not briefed on this. I didn't know this was going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Very interesting, just in the last hour, the Republican intelligence committee chairman up here, Pat Roberts in the Senate, has come out and fired back at Jay Rockefeller, the top Democrat on that committee, and saying, in fact, he never heard these concerns raised by Jay Rockefeller, in fact, insisting in a memo to the media, Pat Roberts says that as recently as two weeks in a private briefing with Vice President Cheney, Jay Rockefeller expressed continued support for this spying program.

Senator Roberts adding that there are a lot of different tools for senators to use to push back against the administration, and saying, quote, "Feigning helplessness is not one of those tools." Those clearly are some fighting words, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: While there is some fighting words going on about domestic spying, at the same time, a contentious debate with regard to the Patriot Act.

HENRY: That's right. And there again, the president firing away at Senate Democrats up here, saying that their filibuster of the Patriot Act's renewal, 16 key provisions of that law, is hampering -- will hamper the war on terror when they expire at the end of the month.

And the Democrats firing back with two key points. One, they point out that four Republican senators joined that filibuster. And No. 2, the Democrats point out that they've been calling for a three- month extension of those 16 provisions, so they do not want it to expire. They say the president is playing politics here.

The problem for Democrats, though, is that their leader, Senator Harry Reid, just last week boasted publicly about the fact that he, quote, "killed the Patriot Act." So instead of this line the Democrats are now using, that they want to, quote, "extend it, not end it," you had the Senate Democratic leader saying he killed the Patriot Act.

Take a listen to what Republican Senator Judd Gregg said about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JUDD GREGG (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: Methinks he doth protest too much. The corpse lies on their side of the aisle. They are the ones who have killed the Patriot Act. If they do not agree to vote it, which is sitting at the desk, which has gone through the committee process, which has been amended, which has been brought forward, and which has a majority of the Senate in favor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: So when you cut through the rhetoric on both sides, the bottom line is that they're at a loggerheads. And while they're pointing fingers about who's to blame, there is going to entire at the end of the month, and a lot of people on both sides of the aisle saying the country could be a lot less safe for it, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We'll be talking a lot about it. Ed Henry, live on the Hill. Thanks so much, Ed.

Starting Thursday, air travelers can relax a bit when packing their bags. The Transportation Security Administration will allow passengers to take small scissors and some other sharp objects on board planes. But it's a controversial decision, one that's opposed by some lawmakers and flight attendants.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, however, calls it a carefully considered move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We are constantly retooling and re-evaluating the measures that we put into place. Because we want to make sure we're not overprotecting, just as we want to make sure we're not under protecting. If we can lighten up, we're going to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The ban on scissors and other sharp objects on board planes began four years ago after the attacks on September 11.

Still ahead on LIVE FROM, a new book aims to answer some basic questions about God. The author of that book joins us today to answer your questions, as well. Big questions, big answers, later on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Christmas spirit abounds. People all around Brockton, Massachusetts, are sending their baseball cards to a reluctant hero. Listen to this.

Thirteen-year-old John Gallagher doesn't like to talk about it very much. But over the weekend, he carried his grandmother out of their burning apartment, saving her life and making headlines locally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people would have just protected themselves, run out of the place. Why didn't you just run?

JOHN GALLAGHER, TEEN HERO: Because she's my grandmother. And I love her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Yes, we couldn't understand much of that teenage mumbling either. Just the part about "I love her." So now Grandma's safe and sound. But John's cherished baseball card collection is lost to the inferno.

Cards are just cards, no big deal, right? Wrong. These particular baseball cards were a gift from his father just before he died. Now a gift of a year's worth of cards from a sports show vendor and donations of cards from his new admirers will hopefully always remind mumbling John Gallagher of his dad, his grandmother, and power of love. Merry Christmas, John.

Well, we all know energy prices have been sky high over the past few months. And now a lawsuit is claiming two oil companies are keeping prices high on purpose.

Susan Lisovicz live at the New York Stock Exchange with more on that. What is up with that, Susan?

(STOCK REPORT)

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