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Rescue Efforts Continue for Trapped Miners; Jack Abramoff Makes Plea Deal

Aired January 03, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's the stories that we're working on for you right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRI GOFF, MINER'S RELATIVE: He's a good friend, and he don't deserve this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Family and friends of trapped miners wait and pray for 13 of their loved ones still 260 feet underground. We're live from West Virginia where rescue efforts are under way. This hour, we're going to talk with a volunteer accompanying families during the agonizing wait. That's straight ahead.

CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

The passage of time, the absence of air, the depth, distance and darkness all work against the desperate attempts by rescuers to save 13 coal miners trapped for more than 30 hours in the Sago mine in the heart of West Virginia.

Nobody's giving up. But the mining company president admits that he was very discouraged by the carbon monoxide tests carried out after teams drilled a six-inch hole some 260 feet straight down, where experts believe the men may have been barricaded. A camera saw no signs of men or damage from yesterday's morning explosion. The test showed CO levels more than three times the maximum livable level of 400 parts per million. But the work and the worry continues.

CNN's Kimberly Osias is watching everything -- Kimberly.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

Well, I'll tell you, it is slow and tedious work right now. There are two rescue teams of about five men. They also usually have a federal investigator going along with them, somebody from a federal agency, as well.

They are holding onto any kind of hope right now. They have been able to make some extra headway going down deeper than they did this morning by about 1,000 feet to about 10,200 feet down.

Now, just where these miners are, anywhere between 10,000 and 13,000 feet. Remember, we have not heard any kind of word, any kind of sign, of these men, these 13 trapped men, for 30-plus hours. But despite that, the president of this company, International Coal Group, is holding out hope, holding on to any vestige that these men are still alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN HATFIELD, PRESIDENT & CEO, INTERNATIONAL COAL GROUP: The families, much like the people that are working in the command center, are clinging to every hope of survival.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OSIAS: Now, they are drilling right now in the second area. They had a drill this morning in the first area. That has been completed. They are looking in a second area and a third area that will begin at about 2 p.m.

And just to give you an idea in proximity to where they are going. If you think about the letter "e," lob off the top of it. Or maybe another image to hold on to is an "f," an upside down, flipped over "f." Now these men are believed to be in the lower part of that, that lower left area. That is where they are going to drill at about 2 p.m. This is the best guess that they can do, hoping to get some kind of signal, some kind of hope, that they are alive.

Now, talking about these families, they are truly a band of brothers. These folks have been mining for decades. So they have a ton of experience behind them. I spoke to one friend earlier and he said, you know, it is an incredibly tough time for him. He is just holding onto hope and they are praying altogether down at the church just a short ways from here. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOFF: I want him to come out. He's a good friend. He don't deserve this. All of them are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OSIAS: Now that is the best friend of Terry Holmes. He is the fire boss. That is what the title is. He actually goes down first, sort of the front line, to check the levels of gas down in the mine. And, you know, they have known each other for a long, long time.

And he said, you know, if he could go down and be there with these men and actually do the search, he would. It's very frustrating. But it is a very technical search. They are actually licensed individuals. But everybody is just watching and waiting at this point, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: A question about the family members. We started hearing from some of them yesterday and through the night, Kimberly. This morning, some pretty riveting interviews on the radio, as well as television. Also, a lot of family members coming forward, talking about the condition of that mine, the safety record, the levels of gas. One really strong interview from a wife saying, "My husband knew it was dangerous. He didn't want to go into that mine."

Now I'm being told we don't have such easy access to family members. Can you tell me that situation is? Are family members maybe getting a little too emotional or are they talking truth and there's a lot to be uncovered here?

OSIAS: Well, Kyra, I actually hear a couple questions there. Let me take the first part or maybe the latter part of your question, about access to family members.

I was down there really all morning, and they do have sort of a safe haven, if you will, the Baptist church, whereby they are not really attacked by the media or pestered and they're able to pray. The governor was down there, Governor Manchin, earlier this morning, spending as much time as he could.

Now this is a man that it hits very close to home with. I mean, he lost his own uncle back in 1968.

So they need sort of a break. But we have made some connections through the night, of course, with these family members. And they sort of give us a sense of what is going on and the pulse in there.

Now, the first part of your question was about these safety concerns. And certainly there were citations, a number of citations, against this company. This company actually took over. It used to be known as the Anchor Group. Now, the International Coal Group took over, I believe, in November or March. I'm not really sure, Kyra. But, still, relatively new and they're implementing their protocols and their procedures, they tell me.

Now, the family says, look, they certainly knew about them. I think there were over 200 violations. And they were concerned. They were concerned, in particular, the family, about the roof collapsing in. And they were also concerned about the appropriate ventilation. Now, those are two factors that are at play here.

Now, when I asked the president about those safety violations directly, he tells me, look, it is nothing out of the ordinary. It takes time to get these things changed, and there was nothing against ENSHA (ph) that was cause to shut this mine down.

PHILLIPS: All right. Kimberly Osias, thanks so much. We'll continue to check in with you, of course, throughout the next couple of hours.

Those trapped miners include a 20-something husband and father who digs coal so his wife can stay home with the kids. A colleague has worked in the mine since the first term of Richard Nixon. Another is planning to retire later this year. Besides their work and their hopes for a life after coal mining, all the men have families whose burdens and hearts grow heavier with each passing hour. Here's CNN's Daryn Kagan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It's a horrific ordeal for family members of the miners. Rescue and mine officials are giving them periodic updates on their loved ones. But it's a nerve-wracking wait.

LORETTA ABLES, FIANCE OF TRAPPED MINER: It's really hard. It's a big burden on me. I don't -- I won't eat or nothing until he's out. If he's breathing, he's digging, trying to get out. I know he is. I hope he is.

AMBER HELMS, DAUGHTER OF TRAPPED MINER: I knew once I answered the phone, that's what it was.

JUDY SHACKELSFORD, SISTER OF TRAPPED MINER: I'm hoping he's strong, you know, so he's like we are. I'm hoping he's not hurt too bad.

A. HELMS: He is just -- he's an unbelievable person. I know -- I have the utmost faith that he will pull through.

KAGAN: The families are understandably down. But they're holding out hope that their loved ones will be OK. The one certainty that they're clinging to, their competence and the training and determination of the rescue team and the miners.

NICK HELMS, SON OF TRAPPED MINER: He's been in the mines for 34 years, working on his 35th. He will be 51 in February. You know, he's -- he's had some close calls before. He's a big strong man, and I'm sure he's doing everything he can to help everyone down there.

A. HELMS: They stick together, all of them, no matter if you're from West Virginia or Pennsylvania. They all know what -- they all know what you have to go through.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, even though it's not the safest profession, there are still more than 100,000 coal miners in the United States. Modern standards and practices have dramatically improved the safety record at the 2,000 coal mines operating in America. Here's the facts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN (voice-over): There were 22 coal mining related fatalities in 2005. That's the lowest number for any year on record. Ten years before in 1995 there were 47 fatalities at America's coal mines.

But if you look back further there were three massive coal mine disasters in the early 20th Century that each left hundreds dead. The worst of these was an explosion at the Monongah coal mine in West Virginia in 1907. Three hundred and sixty-two people were killed. While the mining industry in the U.S. has made great strides in improving safety, the number of fatalities in China's mines is staggering. More than 6,000 workers died in mining accidents in China in 2004. At least 4,000 were killed in the first nine months of 2005.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Rescue teams, miners' friends and families, government and company officials all are working and waiting, and hoping and praying at the Sago mine.

And V-2 is on the job as well. It can't hope or pray, but this Tennessee-built robot is a whiz at probing mine disaster sites that are too dangerous for humans. It's obviously an all-terrain vehicle. But its makers say it can even climb stairs.

It's also armed with several TV cameras capable of beaming back pictures to the surface. It's about 50 inches tall and weighs more than is 1200 pounds. Its motors are said to be explosion proof, but the weight may be a problem at the moment.

As you have heard from the mine company president, V-2 is bogged down with some 9,000 feet into the Sago shaft and two human teams have passed it by.

Ahead on LIVE FROM in our 3 p.m. hour, we'll have a live show and tell so you can see exactly how this type of robot is working.

Well, it's not a hurricane or earthquake, but the mine ordeal in Tallmansville is every inch a crisis for all involved. So the Red Cross is there.

Norman Green is a Red Cross volunteer and native West Virginian. He joins me via videophone from the scene.

Norman, thanks for being with us. Tell us how the families are holding up and what you're doing to help comfort them right now.

NORMAN GREEN, RED CROSS: The families are -- I would say a guarded optimistic at this point.

Things have been very frustrating, because the information is getting back to them from the company officials, but actually, the wait is just trying everybody. Every minute seems like an hour to these people, and it's just becoming so unbearable at some points. You just find them off in the corners crying with their family.

And the best we can do right now is just, you know, give them a hug, tell them everything's OK, we're right here with them. And we're getting the news to them 10 minutes before the media's getting it to them. So it gives them a sense of security that we're doing something for them.

PHILLIPS: Norman, do you have crisis counselors on the scene?

GREEN: Yes. There are a number of mental health people that are here to help out during this scene. And they've been really instrumental in what's going on, helping them to deal, the children to deal. I saw a minister walking around with a child this morning, just walking through what was going on with his father down in the mine.

PHILLIPS: Tell us about the church behind you, Norman, and how it's become a spiritual haven for the family members. And you mentioned the minister walking with the child. Are there services on a regular basis or prayer time being offered to the family members?

GREEN: The church is really a gathering point for this whole community at this point. The church that we have created a safe haven through the state police and through the Red Cross in that the press isn't allowed past the gates you see behind us, I think.

And what was happening is that we created a safety zone for the family where they can release their emotions, they can release their frustrations. The governor has been in there talking with them. And they're being quite frank about some of the questions they're asking.

And this is just -- it's just really helping the families deal with it. Because a lot of them really don't want to come out here and have to deal with reality at the moment. There are some prayers going on. A lot of people are sleeping now at this point because they have been awake for a long time into this -- into this crisis.

PHILLIPS: I can just imagine. Now, you're from this area. How many times have you been through this, Norman?

GREEN: I have never been through a mining disaster. I just came back from Hurricane Wilma down in Florida and before that we worked at Camp Dawson up with Camp Virginia.

PHILLIPS: So what was this like for you, someone who deals with disasters all the time? Now this has happened in your hometown, a place where you've grown up.

GREEN: And in some ways it's been like the hurricanes have been, nothing but a training exercise for us, getting into this one.

We walked in here yesterday, and we started setting up things just like we normally do for any other Red Cross organization. And it's nice to have a core group of people that now have the skills and ability to put something like this together, make it run smoothly. And to give -- to make this all come together. It's just great. What a great team to work with.

PHILLIPS: Norman, is there anything that you and the Red Cross needs right now that can help those in this community?

GREEN: Just a lot of patience and a lot of prayer. I know everyone wants to come down here and see what's going on. The flood of people down here has been a mess. And we've really had to put it on hold.

I see the governor put -- given a school holiday today for all the kids. So they're all home. And contributions have been flowing in quite a bit. I don't know at this time what their needs are. We haven't any in the Red Cross right at the moment. But we will continue to put out any information that we can on help and what we need going forth.

PHILLIPS: You can guarantee there are a lot of prayers coming your way. Norman green with the Red Cross, thanks, Norman.

Rescue efforts still under way, tremendous efforts, to save 13 trapped miners. Our live coverage continues, and we expect another live briefing from the scene this afternoon.

The news keeps coming. We keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: There's a major development in the massive government investigation of influence pedaling involving members of Congress. Sources tell CNN that a key figure in the case, embattled former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, will plead guilty to federal charges.

Congressional correspondent Ed Henry on Capitol Hill with the latest. Let's talk about the deal first, Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. In fact, that deal was just cut moments ago in the courthouse behind me. You'll remember this is the same courthouse where the Monica Lewinsky scandal played out, also where the investigation of the CIA leak case most recently, has been playing out, now involving the Jack Abramoff scandal, that plea deal.

Let me first tell you, though, exactly what Jack Abramoff said. It was behind closed doors. Inside that room, he told the judge, quote, "Words can never express my sorrow and profound regret. Nor can they express my sadness and regret for my conduct. I ask for forgiveness and redemption from Almighty."

Jack Abramoff known as a very religious man, an orthodox Jew. That adds to the complexity of this man who wielded so much influence in Washington. Very religious, but also now admitting that, in fact, he broke the law repeatedly.

The plea deal that you asked about, pleading guilty to three counts: conspiracy to commit bribery, tax evasion and mail fraud. Now expected to get less jail time in exchange for talking about his dealings with various members of Congress, who are very nervous, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You make the point, Ed, a lot of friends in high places. I'm guessing there could be a lot of careers on the line and are there -- what other names are out there?

HENRY: First of all, first of all, powerful Republican Congressman Bob May is mentioned here as representative No. 1. We've heard that before in a previous plea deal with Michael Scanlon, Abramoff's business partner. Bob May very much under the microscope here. Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Republican senator Conrad Burns. There have been some top Democrats like Senator Byron Dorgan. They're not in this plea deal but there are names that have been out there as part of this investigation as to whether or not there was any improper conduct.

All of these lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats, have completely denied any wrongdoing. But the fact is, this plea deal lays out all kinds of gifts that Abramoff showered on these members of Congress. It alleges that the members in exchange then did all kinds of legislative favors. Again, that has not been prove and they've denied wrongdoing, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about how this scandal could affect congressional elections, leadership in the House. What do you think?

HENRY: That's the main event this year. As you know, the president's no longer on the ballot. It's the midterm elections this coming November. And the Democrats, Nancy Pelosi and others have been making this case they believe there's a culture of corruption in the Republican Congress, which has now been in power since 1995. Republicans, of course, reject that argument. But this is going to add more fuel to the Democratic fire that, in fact, this was a Republican super-lobbyist, mostly had contacts with high-profile Republican leaders like Tom DeLay.

But again, I want to underline there are Democrats who have been implicated here. So while Democrats are sort of feasting on this right now, they may have some of their own lawmakers pulled down by this as well, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, Ed, let's talk a little history here. You're standing outside the same courthouse, right.

HENRY: That's right.

PHILLIPS: Monica Lewinsky, CIA leak.

HENRY: That's right.

PHILLIPS: I'm just wondering: all the same news crews looking for that one shot of the certain individual coming out of the courthouse?

HENRY: That's right, the same crews. In fact, you can see right now everyone's pretty much breaking down because Jack Abramoff has actually left the courthouse. But you can see all the cameras. They're all waiting for Jack Abramoff to emerge. He would not talk to reporters.

But you're right; it's the same stakeouts. This was known -- the stake-out was known as Monica-beat, because this was where everybody was hanging out during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

It's freezing cold out today but you saw all of these camera crews, photojournalists working so hard to get these shots. Jack Abramoff kind of snuck out a side door, did not come out through this front exit. So we did not actually see him coming out, emerging here.

But yes, it's amazing how some of the names change, but it's the same scandals playing out year after year, just different names. This time it's Jack Abramoff.

PHILLIPS: And of course you reminded me of this. I'm just curious, have you been there for every scandal?

HENRY: I have not personally. I'm normally I'm at that little building across the way there, the Capitol dome. Usually Bob Franken, John King and others. But today it's me, because there's a lot -- there's a big Capitol Hill angle here.

PHILLIPS: Of course, and it's very cold too.

HENRY: True.

PHILLIPS: Ed Henry, thanks so much.

Well, they're the kind of highs and lows that firefighters really don't want to hear about. We're talking about higher temperatures, gustier winds and low humidity, the forecast for bone dry areas of the southwest. Helicopters and tankers, planes, are back in action today. Battling fires in western Texas. Nearly 60 wildfires began burning in the state since Sunday.

Oklahoma, firefighters preparing for the worst, even though fire officials say all major fires are under control. Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, fire crews there are already lending a hand.

In southeastern New Mexico, they're bracing for more fire trouble. Firefighters working to extinguish what's left of four fires that have burned more than 53,000 acres. The fires already have destroyed at least 11 homes, two buildings and several vehicles.

Wild fire crews -- will fire crews, rather, get a break in the weather any time soon? Let's check in once again with meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.

What do you think, Jacqui?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Jacqui Jeras, thank you so much.

We're going to turn to medical news now. We're talking about millions of women that take the pill to prevent pregnancy. But is it killing their sex drive? Listen to this new study. It links the oral contraceptive to a reduction in women's sexual desire.

The reason, researchers say the pill suppresses unbound testosterone, the male sex hormone that is found in small amounts in the female body. Testosterone plays a key role in sex drive, and researchers found that when some women stopped taking the pill levels of unbound testosterone remained suppressed.

Well, straight ahead, a little question for you. What do "Ben Hur," "The Lone Ranger" and the Rose Bowl have in common? The answer is galloping to victory. Fight on, straight ahead, on LIVE FROM.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: If L.A. water is so good, why aren't city walk workers drinking it? That's what some citizens are asking after learning the Los Angeles city department spent $89,000 on bottled water over the past two years.

The department that spent the most on bottled water was, you guessed it, the water department, which constantly brags about the quality of L.A. tap water.

Now water department officials contend that much of the bottled water is used in remote locations that don't have access to tap water. And that is also -- well that it also distributes bottled water at community events and during water service interruptions.

After meager gains in 2005, the stock market is starting a new trading year today. Let's see how stocks are faring in the early going. For that, of course, we go to Susan Lisovicz, who's standing by live from the New York Stock Exchange -- Susan.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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