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Child Shot in Florida School; Baby Noor's Surgery Successful; Trash Fire Blazes in New Orleans; Helicopter Crashes in Iraq, 2 Dead; Bush Meets New German Leader

Aired January 13, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Now a developing story. A student has been shot at a Florida middle school. That shooting took place at the Milwee Middle School in Longwood, Florida, just outside Orlando. The Seminole County Sheriff's Department says one of its deputies shot a suicidal eighth grader who had carried a gun to school in a backpack.
Let's get straight now to Joe Oliver, with CNN affiliated WESH.

Joe, what do you know?

JOE OLIVER, WESH CORRESPONDENT: Well, things have quieted down here in Milwee Middle School, a population of 1,100 students here. All of those students have gone home either by bus or their parents picked them up. If they walked home, they were allowed to walk home.

At about 9:30 this morning the sheriff's officials say a 15-year- old boy, an eighth grader, confronted another student on campus in a classroom, and he had a gun. They say that the gunman took the other student hostage briefly and then told him to get into a closet and started wandering around.

A school resource officer, a form of campus police, called the sheriff's department and they went into a code red and put the school in lock-down. About that time, deputies arrived and started following the students around campus. And they cornered him in a bathroom and began negotiating with him.

At that time the student indicated that he wanted to die or kill himself. It didn't matter which. Officials say he pointed the gun to his neck at one time, as well. They continued trying to talk to him to try to get him to put down the gun. And then he raised the gun in a threatening manner, and the sheriff's deputy opened fire and shot the student.

Right now we don't know the exact condition of the student, only that he is critical. He was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center. No other student was harmed in this incident. And right now the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating, because it involved a law enforcement officer in the shooting.

Again, all of the students, the rest of the students have left campus. We've just seen a number of the teachers leave campus, as well. And the investigators are still on the scene -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That's reporter Joe Oliver. Thanks, Joe. The weather doesn't match the calendar in parts of the Deep South. Spring-like thunderstorms and the threat of tornadoes are popping up in southeast Mississippi, southern Alabama and northwest Florida. Live pictures right now. We get the very latest from CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen and Chad Myers. They're both in our weather center.

Guys, what do we know?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Thanks, guys. And Chad, yes, we felt the thunder right here in the studio. Yes, it woke us all up. If we were not already, we are now. Thanks, guys. We'll continue to talk with you about that.

Let's go straight to the newsroom. Tony Harris working a developing story.

Good news, Tony, to baby Noor?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Smiling, smiling. Good news, Kyra. Good to see you.

We're just getting word that baby Noor, that precious 3-month-old baby girl from Iraq, has been released from an Atlanta area hospital after undergoing life saving surgery.

Doctor Roger Hudgins is the pediatric neurosurgeon of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. He is on the line with us.

And Doctor, good to talk to you. I have to ask you did baby Noor come through this delicate procedure about as well as you had hoped?

DR. ROGER HUDGINS, PEDIATRIC NEUROSURGEON: Oh, she did very well. The surgery was done a little bit faster than we thought. We got everything closed over as well as I think it could be done. And she did beautifully in the first few post operative days. So we're very pleased with how she is doing.

HARRIS: Doctor, tell us a little bit about the details of this surgery, what exactly you had to do?

HUDGINS: Well, the first thing we had to do was find the spinal cord. And that's actually what took the longest because skin had grown up over the top of this. So we spent a lot of time under the microscope separating the spinal cord from the skin. We were able to do that successfully. Put it back down where it belonged. And then closed multiple layers over the top of it.

HARRIS: Is there some concern about fluid building up on her brain?

HUDGINS: There is. She does have more fluid within her brain than is normal. But the good news so far is that this has not been progressive and that we have not seen signs of increased pressure in the head. Those are the things that would make us have to move on to another surgery to decompress that.

HARRIS: But you want her in the area, obviously? You want to keep her close?

HUDGINS: Oh, yes. Yes. We do, and we've gotten a couple of C.T. scans after her surgery. They have shown stability. And when I see her back next week we're going to repeat that scan again.

HARRIS: Dr. Hudgins, what's her prognosis long term?

HUDGINS: I think that her prognosis is excellent as far as her ability to develop normally and cognitively. Her prognosis as far as movement in the lower extremities is not good, and more likely than not she is going to be in a wheelchair.

HARRIS: Well, so looking forward, treatment protocols for baby Noor moving forward. What are you looking at? What is the little baby looking at?

HUDGINS: Right. First we've got to make sure that the fluid building up in the brain is not progressive. That's hydrocephalus, and that would need to be treated first.

We have already begun some treatments for her feet, which are turned in a little bit. They have been seen by Dr. Michael Bush of pediatric orthopedics. He is taking care of that. And then Dr. Andrew Kirsh (ph) is the child's urologist. And eventually the child will need a procedure to make it easier for her to void. And that's what we're looking at, at this point.

HARRIS: What a precious -- looking at these pictures of this baby. What a beautiful little baby.

HUDGINS: Isn't she a doll?

HARRIS: Wow. Wow. Just a beautiful baby.

HUDGINS: The one thing about it for me is that she was smiling before the surgery like that, and then a couple days after the surgery she was not very happy with us. But this morning before she left she had that big broad smile on her face again. It's just a delight to see.

HARRIS: And she's in the custody of her host family here in the Atlanta area?

HUDGINS: That's correct.

HARRIS: OK. Dr. Hudgins, it's great to talk to you. And thanks for that good news. It's encouraging news.

HUDGINS: My pleasure.

HARRIS: OK. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Well, Tony, of course, Dr. Hudgins is being very humble. He did this procedure, his staff did this procedure for free.

HARRIS: That's right. That's right. It's a wonderful story. You look at those pictures and you know that it's been an uplifting -- uplifting couple of weeks for everyone involved on that team. And he just sort of detailed the number of people on that team. You're right, Kyra. It's a wonderful effort. And look at that baby.

PHILLIPS: She's a cutie pie.

HARRIS: Isn't she?

PHILLIPS: We'll follow her progress. Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, in New Orleans the big challenge today is fire.

Firefighters have decided to let this massive 100 foot high pile of hurricane debris burn itself out. The blaze is located in the city's devastated lower Ninth Ward. And the huge pile includes everything from furniture to appliances.

CNN's Gulf Coast correspondent, Susan Roesgen, on the phone with us right now. And I want to talk about the weather in a minute. But Susan, you know, you and I have talked so much about this debris and how it was all going to get hauled out of New Orleans. Is this the answer? To start burning things?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, eventually that's what has to happen, Kyra. You know, we've got hundreds of thousands of tons of Katrina trash that are coming into scrap yards in the area every day. And they have to do something with it. So that's what's happening.

But apparently, this was not a fire started by any intentional purpose. It was some sort of fire that started, as you mentioned, in this mountain of trash. It's burning now deep inside this mountain of trash.

And one firefighter told me they could have had it out hours ago, but the EPA, as you mentioned, have warned them not to try to put the fire out now. Just to try to keep it contained, because there are probably hazardous chemicals in the smoke from all the insulation and wiring and vinyl in this mountain of mostly old appliances here, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I didn't realize, OK, that it was the weather that caused this fire. Forgive me, Susan. I thought it was manmade for the purpose of getting rid of this debris, which leads me to two questions.

The weather. We're experiencing it here in Atlanta. Is there concern about more situations like this right now in New Orleans? And are there enough firefighters there to even battle something like this? And possibly another one or three?

PHILLIPS: Well, actually the worst of our weather has gone on. It's probably heading your way now. The fire chief said that the rain we got this morning, really heavy rain, did not help any more than his hoses. The fire was just too hot.

But now the problem here, Kyra, is the wind. The wind is really strong out here. And the firefighters are watching to make sure that the wind doesn't shift and push this potentially hazardous smoke on top of them.

The fire chief also told me that, initially, this did really strap the resources from the New Orleans Fire Department, had a lot of guys out here last night. A very dangerous situation. Very dark, and not much water pressure to work with. But he said now they've got about 30 guys still on the scene. And they really feel that they're not doing anything here now except making sure that the fire doesn't spread.

PHILLIPS: All right. So final question. I mean, obviously, this is a department that doesn't need to be any more strapped than it already is. Just looking at what happened, do you think there will be quicker efforts to start getting more of that debris, the piles of, you know, homes that have destroyed and refrigerators that are still out in piles? Is there going to be a bigger effort to get rid of this stuff?

ROESGEN: Well, I don't know, Kyra. You know, again, we have so much of it. You know, you hear figures like something that could fill the Superdome 18 times with as much trash as we've had from Katrina. And you just have lots of different scrap yards in the area working 24/7, trying to move this stuff, crush this stuff, incinerate this stuff. You're right. We've got to do something with it, and I'm not sure how quickly it can all be removed.

PHILLIPS: Susan Roesgen, we'll stay in touch. Thanks, Susan.

ROESGEN: You bet.

PHILLIPS: In Iraq, a U.S. Army helicopter on combat patrol crashed north of Baghdad today, killing the two pilots on board. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, has more on this story.

What's the latest on this incident, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, two Army pilots indeed were killed today when their Army OH-58-2 Kiowa Warrior helicopter did crash near Mosul north of Baghdad.

Now, military officials say there are some indicators that the helicopter did come under hostile fire from the ground and that caused the crash, but they haven't made a final determination yet. The incident remains under investigation.

You see that type of helicopter here. This is a helicopter that conducts reconnaissance missions, locates targets for other forces on the ground -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Pretty bad week for helo accidents. There was another one with a Black Hawk?

STARR: Indeed, a Black Hawk helicopter earlier this week also crashed, eight soldiers killed, four civilians on that helicopter also killed. That incident remains under investigation. It also happened in northern Iraq near the town of Tal Afar. There was bad weather at the time, but officials say they have not yet been able to determine whether it was, indeed, hostile fire or bad weather that brought that Black Hawk down, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr live from the Pentagon. Thanks, Barbara.

Well, a busy afternoon. We're going to continue to monitor developments in Iraq and the severe weather in the southeast. The news keeps coming. We're going to keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... enemy that wants to do harm to the American people and others who like freedom. An enemy there that lurks and we've got to share information and share intelligence and work carefully to protect our peoples.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN's Elaine Quijano is at the White House.

Elaine, Bush and Merkel side by side, but are they eye to eye on Iran?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are and, in fact, this really was a boost to the U.S.'s position on Iran, Kyra. Chancellor Merkel herself had some strong words for Iran, saying that she would not be intimidated by a country like Iran.

And that really underscores that it's not just the United States that views Iran as a possible threat, that perhaps the world community needs to come together because of concerns that Iran might be moving towards developing a nuclear weapon really shows that the United States is not alone in that concern.

PHILLIPS: All right. I thought we were going to a little sound there. I apologize, Elaine. Let's about any progress possibly made toward common ground on Guantanamo Bay and the disagreement that's taken place between them on that.

QUIJANO: Well, Kyra, both sides basically agreed to disagree on that issue. Angela Merkel has made clear she thinks the United States should close that facility in the long run. She's concerned, of course, about the treatment of detainees there.

At the same time, though, President Bush just as resolved, saying that he believes it's a critical component of the war on terror that it's a crucial facility to have. And so both sides essentially pushing this issue further down the road, not coming to any kind of a resolution -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So hitting on the political subject matter, what about personally? Did they make a connection?

QUIJANO: It appears that they did. When you saw them side by side together, not only did they have some warm words for each other, also positive body language.

But the president noting that he was particularly touched by the fact that Angela Merkel has grown up in what was communist East Germany. And he said he was moved about hearing about that. The president, of course, has made it a priority to promote democracy in the world.

But the two leaders also seem to connect on a political note, as well. President Bush even joking at one point, saying that they have one thing in common: they both didn't exactly landslide their way into office -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Elaine Quijano, live from the White House. Thanks so much.

Well, most of us consider career changes at one time or another. And we hear about friends making them all the time. But the story of one man's jump to a totally different and potentially very dangerous job caught our eye.

After spending seven years as a correspondent in China for "The Wall Street Journal," Matt Pottinger joined the Marines. He's in our Washington studio to answer the obvious question of why?

And I'll tell you what, I've seen pictures of you out in the field with the glasses, the T-shirt, the jeans. You've cleaned up, my friend.

MATT POTTINGER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Yes, but it was a big career change. And I -- to answer your question why, I mean, it was really a desire to participate in world events at a really key point in America's history rather than just observing them.

PHILLIPS: So Matt, let me ask you about. I mean, why did you become a journalist? Was it with the same intention of OK, I'm going to go out there. I'm going to write great stories, learn about the world, change the world, like so many journalists want to do?

POTTINGER: Absolutely. I mean, I still feel that way about journalism, too. I mean, I believe as deeply now as ever in the importance of the First Amendment and in the role, the media plays in making sure that we have a well informed public in America. So there's not really a conflict between my old career and my new one, but it is a big change.

PHILLIPS: Well, here's what's interesting. I just assumed you were probably over in Iraq or Afghanistan covering the war and you maybe had an issue with the way things were going and so you wanted to go to the other side, become a part of the military.

But that wasn't the case. It was actually you saw a beheading of an American which really started to make you think differently about what you were doing?

POTTINGER: That's right. I never reported in the Middle East or in Afghanistan. And there were several factors that lead to this decision.

But one of those moments was when I came across on the Web -- came across a video of Abu Musab al Zarqawi beheading an American. And that was just -- really brought home to me what real enemy we're facing. We are -- we've got enemies. We've got a tough decade ahead of us, because we are fighting a totalitarian militant movement represented by al Qaeda.

PHILLIPS: And then you went -- this was in your mind, you were starting to think about it, but then you went to cover the tsunami and you met a Marine.

POTTINGER: That's right. I met several Marines while I was covering the tsunami. And it was -- I was so impressed by their professionalism and was impressed by this institution, but the U.S. military in general. We had armadas of ships off shore that were delivering aid and water and medicine to people who had literally lost everything in the blink of an eye.

And the United States was really the only power in the world that had the ability to do that, to provide that kind of relief. And its instrument for doing that is the U.S. military.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about the reality check. So you tracked down a recruiter in Times Square, is that right?

POTTINGER: That's right.

PHILLIPS: OK.

POTTINGER: It was on board the USS Intrepid.

PHILLIPS: OK. And you -- and how old were you at the time? And how old are you now?

POTTINGER: That was a year ago. 31.

PHILLIPS: OK.

POTTINGER: I'm 32 now.

PHILLIPS: Thirty-two. So did the recruiter say to you, "Are you kidding me?"

POTTINGER: Yes, basically. Not in so many words, but he said, "You're 32. Generally we don't take people over the age of 28. And even then you've got to really perform. You've got to have great endurance. You've got to be physically up to the task." I clearly wasn't. And he sort of gave me a once over and said, you know, "Think about this."

PHILLIPS: Yes, I understand as you would be working your deadline it was Reese's peanut butter cups or Reese's Pieces that would kind of keep you going.

POTTINGER: Yes. You've been there, Kyra. Right?

PHILLIPS: Oh, I've been there. Those late nights eating anything in sight because you're so darn hungry and you want to go home.

POTTINGER: Exactly.

PHILLIPS: So OK. So you knew you would probably have an issue through the P.T. What happened when you started going through the process, was it brutal to just get in shape and get prepared to be a Marine?

POTTINGER: Yes, it was tough. It was -- but it was also fun. And, you know, this whole process, including getting up to speed physically, and also learning the craft of being a Marine has actually been deeply fulfilling.

You think of the word "duty." We have to fulfill our duty as being something that's kind of a drag, but it's not go eat your lima beans, you've got to do your duty. It's actually something that's deeply fulfilling. It's something that has made my life better. If I go back into journalism some day, I think I'll be a better journalist for having been a Marine.

PHILLIPS: Final thought: I think what amazes me about the military is just how loyal they are to each other. And as you know in the journalism business, boy, talk about that desperate search for a loyalty.

POTTINGER: Right.

PHILLIPS: Is that what you think has been the most amazing experience is just seeing?

POTTINGER: It's incredible.

PHILLIPS: OK.

POTTINGER: The camaraderie, the esprit de corps, getting to work with people my age and younger who decided that they wanted to put off careers in finance and in law and really work to help each other. And that really does -- it's what it becomes about. It becomes about the team and helping each other. That's what really motivates everyone who's in the military today.

PHILLIPS: All right, Lieutenant, I'll be looking to you for the scoop, the inside scoop, shall we say, next time something comes up.

POTTINGER: OK.

PHILLIPS: We'll follow your progress. Good luck.

POTTINGER: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Matt.

Well, are American troops serving in Iraq getting the protective body armor they need? Maybe this is something we'll ask Matt as he continues on as a Marine. We're going to discuss the issue this hour on LIVE FROM. Stay with us.

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