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Shooting Victim Speaks to Press; Cheney Addresses Wyoming Lawmakers; Rescuers Work to Save Workers Dangling from Bridge; Airlines Lose Thousands of Bags a Day, Report Says

Aired February 17, 2006 - 12:59   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... memorial. I'd like to again, introduce Dr. David Blanchard, who's the medical director of our emergency department, and a face you haven't seen but has been providing Mr. Whittington with his care, Dr. Scott ...

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We're listening into the news conference that just started there in Corpus Christi, Texas. You see the hospital administrator here. We've seen him quite a bit in the past couple of days, along with the doctors of Charles Whittington, the friend of Dick Cheney who was shot during that hunting accident. We're going to hear directly from the doctors now. He should be released possibly today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... momentarily you will hear form him. Because he is a recovery phase still and is not 100 back to his full energy level, although you'd never know it, we're going to ask that he not field any questions from you today at all.

PETER BANKO, CHRISTUS SPOHN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: With that, I'll introduce the individual you've been wanting to see all week, Mr. Harry Whittington.

HARRY WHITTINGTON, SHOOTING VICTIM: How are y'all? Good afternoon. All of you media have been very patient in waiting for me to make my appearance here. I hope you understand I'm sorry I've delayed you, but I know your role is to get the news out to the public. I compliment you on what you've done. I've read and seen many of your reports, and I know your job isn't easy.

I regret that I couldn't have been here earlier. So, you can see what a lucky person I am.

For many years, my family have been friends of the Armstrongs down in Kennedy County. We have visited them for over 25 years and have had some wonderful trips and visits and pleasant memories that we cherish forever. However, this past weekend encompassed all of us in a cloud of misfortune and sadness that is not easy to explain, especially to those who are not familiar with the great sport of quail hunting.

We all assume certain risks in whatever we do, whatever activities we pursue. And regardless of how experienced, careful and dedicated we are, accidents do and will happen. And that's what happened last Friday.

I am very grateful and want to thank all of the people who have remembered me in their prayers and the kindness that I have -- that you have extended to my family, who's been here this week.

My family and I are deeply sorry for all that Vice President Cheney and his family have had to go through this past week. We send our love and respects to them as they deal with situations that are much more serious than what we've had this week. And we hope that he will continue to come to Texas and seek the relaxation that he deserves.

I also thank all of you for understanding, to the best you can, that medical attention is very important to someone my age, and you haven't failed to give my age.

Finally, I want to say there's simply not adequate words to express my gratitude and appreciation to the very talented physicians, medical staff, nurses of this great Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital system here in Corpus Christi and in Kingsville. They've given me exceptional treatment, care and compassion, for which I am very grateful. They are truly remarkable servants to God, and I am extremely blessed for all they've done. Thank you. Thank you.

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Seems like Mr. Whittington got a little choked up there towards the end of his speech to reporters, for the first time since he's been treated there at that Corpus Christi hospital, making jokes about his age, making the point that it's very important that a 78-year-old continues to receive good health care, not take any risks in a situation like this.

He said he was deeply sorry for what Cheney and his family had to go through. Pretty humble speech there, considering what happened to him. He was still concerned about the Cheney family. And the fact that he also made the point that Dick Cheney obviously has more serious issues that he needs to deal with and shouldn't be bogged down by this.

Pretty humble speech quickly there to the press. But it looks like right now Mr. Whittington in good spirits, in good health and will be heading home today after receiving treatment there in Corpus Christi.

Now we're also live in Wyoming, where outside a deep winter freeze has set in. Inside, we expect a warm reception for the vice president when he speaks to home state lawmakers.

CNN's Chris Lawrence also standing by and hopefully staying warm. He is in Cheyenne.

And Chris, you probably heard what Mr. Whittington had to say. I think a lot of people wondering, as the vice president makes his speech in his hometown if, indeed, he will mention his friend, Harry Whittington, and the release from the hospital today.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know, Kyra, that he will definitely focus his speech on Wyoming, talking to the Wyoming state legislature in the building behind me.

But we expect that he will talk about Mr. Whittington and he will talk about the shooting. We may get some more insight into what the vice president has been feeling or thinking the last few days, or he may just reiterate what said Wednesday, that he accepts complete responsibility and that it was one of the worst days of his life.

Now, there have been some who criticized Vice President Cheney for taking four days to somewhat take responsibility for the shooting and there are other people who said that the media totally blew this issue out of proportion.

But here today, he is among friends. This is his home state. He interned in this very building about 40 years ago, got his political start here. And he will be speaking to friends here at the Wyoming state legislature -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Any idea when he's expected to step up to the mic?

LAWRENCE: Should be any minute now. He arrived here at the building just about ten minutes ago. And so he should start speaking any minute now.

PHILLIPS: And I'm being told he's going to hold on to his home in Jackson Hole after the speech here, Chris. And you mentioned, this is his hometown. This is where he got involved in politics. He interned right there in the building behind you. This is also where he was a member of Congress and also where he met his wife.

LAWRENCE: Yes, that's right. He grew up in Casper, Wyoming. You know, he got his political start right here in Cheyenne.

And like you said, this is a brief stop. Just a few hours here. He'll meet with some of the state Republicans after his speech here in a private meeting. And then he will fly on to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

So what we hear from him today may be the last we hear about this shooting for at least until at least next week, until he returns from this brief vacation in Jackson Hole.

PHILLIPS: All right. Chris Lawrence, as soon as he steps into the room and begins that speech, we will take it live. We'll talk with you more about the vice president, see if he mentions anything about his friend, Harry Whittington, who has now been released from the hospital.

We just heard from him in good spirits, even joking around about the fact that he hopes the president is able to focus on more serious issues besides his health at this moment.

Let's go straight to Tony Harris in the news room. He's working another developing story for us at this hour. Tony, what do you have?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Kyra.

Pulling all these pieces together for you. Let's take a look at these dramatic pictures out of St. Louis, Missouri, our affiliate there, KMOV, providing the pictures for us.

And this is a look at the J.B. Bridge over the Mississippi River. We have three construction workers -- this is the story here. Three construction workers were actually working on painting the underside of that bridge. And there was some kind of an accident that left all three of the men dangling from the bridge over the Mississippi River.

We understand two of the workers have been rescued, but if the camera shot widens out a little bit, you'll see that there is at least one other person who is still dangling under that bridge.

All kinds of fire and rescue personnel on the scene right now, trying to make that rescue happen. But we can tell you that two of the workers who were painting the underside of that bridge have been rescued. A third person is still dangling under that bridge as rescue teams try to rescue that worker. We will keep you posted on the situation.

Once again, this is the J.B. Bridge over the Mississippi River. This is in St. Louis, Missouri. Thanks to our affiliate, KSDK -- is that what I see up there now? -- providing the pictures. Also, pictures were provided by KMOV.

Kyra, we will keep an eye on this and bring you the latest. There it is. There it is, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

HARRIS: There's the picture from just a few moments ago. Not live pictures, but from just a few moments ago, of the worker signaling that he is OK for now, dangling under the J.B. Bridge, St. Louis, Missouri.

We will keep an eye on this. More to come, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Tony, you know, we see these sort of images, you know, of the window washers. Right?

HARRIS: That's right.

PHILLIPS: And how they get -- the scaffolding falls. I don't think -- I mean...

HARRIS: We haven't seen this for awhile.

PHILLIPS: I have never seen anything like this, a bridge painter. And you know, those systems, how they're locked up, are pretty solid and pretty strong.

HARRIS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: But that's a hairy situation to be in.

HARRIS: Hey, Kyra, take a look at that. That looks like a live picture of where the last guy was dangling. And we didn't see him on the end of that rope. And we're hoping that means that he's been rescued safely. But once again, that's still information that I've got to shore up for you.

PHILLIPS: So we don't know if he detached or...

HARRIS: Yes, we don't know that. WE don't know that.

PHILLIPS: OK. Wow! All right, we'll monitor it. We've got two pictures, actually, from two of our affiliates there, KSOX and also...

HARRIS: Keep your fingers crossed for good news on that.

PHILLIPS: Yes. We will. We'll keep checking in. Tony, thank you so much.

HARRIS: OK, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to take a quick break. We're still waiting for the vice president to step up to the podium in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he's making a speech there in his hometown, a place where he got started in politics, also where he met his wife, Lynn Cheney. As soon as he beings his speech, we'll take it live.

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PHILLIPS: Live pictures from Cheyenne, Wyoming, where we're waiting for the vice president to step up to the podium. He's planning on giving a speech there in his hometown, the same place he went to school, high school all the way through college, even became a congressman there in Wyoming in 1979 to 1989.

As soon as he steps up to the podium -- actually, looks like Lynn Cheney just entered the room. As everyone stands up, it is possible that the vice president will be coming in now to start his speech. It looks like the introductions are getting ready to take place.

Of course, we want to see if the vice president mentions anything about his friend, Harry Whittington, the man that he was hunting with last week, the man, of course, that he accidentally shot.

As we wait for the vice president to enter the room, let's take a listen to Harry Whittington. He just spoke moments ago as he gets ready to be released from the hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITTINGTON: However, this past weekend encompassed all of us in a cloud of misfortune and sadness that is not easy to explain, especially to those who are not familiar with the great sport of quail hunting.

We all assume certain risks in whatever we do, whatever activities we pursue. And regardless of how experienced, careful and dedicated we are, accidents do and will happen. And that's what happened last Friday. My family and I are deeply sorry for all that Vice President Cheney and his family have had to go through this past week. We send our love and respect to them as they deal with situations that are much more serious than what we've had this week. And we hope that he will continue to come to Texas and seek the relaxation that he deserves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Harry Whittington, probably a darn good lawyer there in Austin, Texas, but will probably go down in history as the man that Vice President Dick Cheney shot. He just got released from the hospital today, made a quick statement to reporters.

And now we are waiting for the vice president to speak. You see a live picture there of his wife, already in the audience, the vice president getting ready to speak in his hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming, a place where he came with his family at the age of 13.

He actually went to high school there. He was senior class president. In 1965, he became a Senate aide.

Our Chris Lawrence is actually out in front of the building where he actually was an aide. He actually graduated from the University of Wyoming, getting his bachelor's in political science, also his master's degree.

He was a U.S. congressman there in Wyoming from 1979 to 1989. It's also the place where he met his wife, Lynn Cheney, whom you're looking at now, and eventually married her.

Live pictures via one of the affiliates there. This is airing live on PBS. Let's listen in as the vice president gets ready to get introduced here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dick Cheney has represented Wyoming for many, many years in very many capacities. He has served several presidents in various capacities, but he has never forgotten Wyoming. He continues to serve now, as we like to refer to him, as our third U.S. senator. Obviously, that's because he's president of the Senate.

We are very, very proud, and it is with great pride that I ask you to join me in welcoming, again, one of my constituents, the vice president of the United States, Mr. Dick Cheney, and his wife, Lynn. Please join me.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you all. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I may -- if I may, Mr. Vice President, it's come to my attention that -- a little announcement here. Six weeks ago in December 2005, the University of Wyoming received a gift of approximately $2.7 million from a trust established by Lynn and Dick Cheney. We would like to thank you for that, marvelous friends of the university in the state of Wyoming. Mr. Vice President, we thank you. CHENEY: Thank you. Well, thank you very much.

Mr. President, thank you for the kind words, Governor Freudenthal, members of the House and Senate, constitutional officers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. I want to thank you for that welcome home. It's a wonderful experience to be greeted with such warmth by the leaders of our great state. It's especially true when you've had a very long week. Thankfully, Harry Whittington is on the mend and doing very well.

I see many friends in the chamber this morning along with some newer members of the House and Senate that I haven't yet had a chance to meet. It's a pleasure to be in your company today, and all the Wyoming legislature. I bring good wishes from our president, George W. Bush.

And Lynn and I are pleased to have the university as the recipient of a gift from the trust we set up in 2001 just before I became vice president. The University of Wyoming has played a very important role in our lives. It provided me with a first-class education at a price I could afford, thanks to the generous support of the university by the people of Wyoming and the Wyoming state legislature.

The first years of our marriage were spent at Laramie in student housing while Lynn taught in the English department and I was a graduate student. And this was our way of saying thank you and of making certain that future generations have the same opportunities that we've enjoyed.

It's always a pleasure to visit Cheyenne, to be in a historic capital building, a capitol that is, of course, the city's prime landmark. There's another very prominent building downtown, the old Union Pacific Railroad depot, and it's been part of the skyline since the Nineteenth Century, and we're delighted the Secretary of the interior this week designated that building as a national historic landmark.

It's been four years since I last visited the state capital and more than four decades since the first time I stepped foot into this chamber back in 1965. Walter Fallon (ph) was in the speaker's chair. Now Randall Luthi is in the speaker's chair. He was my intern in 1982.

Andy McMaster was the president of the senate; Cliff Hansen was our governor. And I was getting my first tastes of politics as a legislative intern.

I remember it as an important and a demanding job. You had to know every legislator, be there when they needed you and remember how they wanted their coffee.

It was a very different time in those days. There was no legislative staff to speak of. One attorney, as I recall, that served both chambers, and a few secretaries and just two interns, one for each chamber. I was the senate intern and also a first year graduate student at the University of Wyoming. In addition, I was a newlywed. So you can bet I drove home to Laramie every night.

Those 40 days in 1965 constituted the entire session of the Wyoming 38th legislature. And for me, the experience was one of life's turning points. Not only did it teach me a great deal about the legislative process, but it also sparked a fascination in the business of government that stayed with me for a lifetime.

And while you can learn a lot in any legislative setting, I'm glad to have worked right here. Because we're a state with a small population, and because we're a western state, we've held close to the ideal of the citizen legislator.

PHILLIPS: Vice President Dick Cheney addressing the Wyoming legislature there at a joint session. It's his home town. It's where he went to school. It's where he met his wife. It's where he got his political start. He actually even mentioned his intern, who now sits in the speaker's chair right behind him.

But we wanted to see if he recognized the fact that his friend, Harry Whittington, was released from the hospital today. As a matter of fact, Harry Whittington spoke to reporters not long ago, a very humble speech to reporters, concerned about Dick Cheney and the fact that he's been pretty stressed out during this past week.

Dick Cheney even mentioning it's been a very long week, and he's very happy that his friend, Harry Whittington, is on the mend, doing well and going to be leaving the hospital. We'll hear more about what Harry Whittington had to say, of course, throughout the newscast.

But we want to get straight to the news room. Tony Harris once again monitoring these pretty amazing live pictures...

HARRIS: Aren't they? Yes.

PHILLIPS: My goodness -- of this bridge painter. Is he still dangling from the bridge?

HARRIS: You know, we're going to find out. We've got the Melville police chief, Jim Silvernail, on the phone with us right now.

Jim, are you there?

CHIEF JIM SILVERNAIL, MELVILLE FIRE DISTRICT: Yes, I am. And it's with the Melville fire district.

HARRIS: OK. Great to talk to you, Jim. First of all, give us all kind of an update on the situation as it stands right now.

Our initial understanding was that there were three workers who were working on the underside of this bridge doing painting on the Jefferson Barracks Bridge over the Mississippi River. But now we understand there might have been as many as four workers? SILVERNAIL: There was a total of four workers all working on the bridge. The scaffolding broke. One worker went into the water and went downstream. Now, we haven't found him yet.

The other three workers, our rescue squad and fire personnel were able to rescue them off of the scaffolding. And we got them up now on the top side. And they're in the ambulance and they're assessing them. They all three seem to be doing very well at this time.

HARRIS: OK.

SILVERNAIL: So, we don't really know if we're going to transport or not. But as of this time, they're doing well.

HARRIS: All right. So four workers in all, three are rescued. One falls into the Mississippi River and is now downstream? That's what you're telling us?

SILVERNAIL: Downstream. And we do have the St. Louis Fire Department rescue boat, along with our personnel, searching for this victim at this time.

HARRIS: What are the chances of surviving that drop? I don't know how far it is.

SILVERNAIL: I don't really know at this time. It could be very tough because of the coldness of the water, hypothermia. We're praying for the -- we're praying for the best.

HARRIS: How cold is the water?

SILVERNAIL: It's very cold. Cold enough to give you hypothermia within a couple of minutes after you get in.

HARRIS: Wow! And how long would you guess this worker has been in the water?

SILVERNAIL: Probably better than half an hour, 45 minutes.

HARRIS: Better than a half an hour, 45 minutes.

SILVERNAIL: Yes.

HARRIS: And you have boats in the water trying to make this rescue happen, correct?

SILVERNAIL: Yes. We have boats in the water as of now.

HARRIS: All right. And when did you get word of the accident?

SILVERNAIL: Well, you know, I really don't know.

HARRIS: OK.

SILVERNAIL: Probably, I'd say, probably 45 minutes ago.

HARRIS: Jim Silvernail. Jim, thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

SILVERNAIL: You're quite welcome.

HARRIS: OK.

SILVERNAIL: Bye.

HARRIS: And Kyra, there you are. That's the latest information that we have. Four workers in all. Three have been rescued. One in the water, in the Mississippi River, and rescue teams and boats are in the water trying to rescue that painter.

PHILLIPS: Wow. OK. We'll keep tabs on it. Thanks so much, Tony.

HARRIS: Sure thing.

PHILLIPS: We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

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PHILLIPS: So have you ever gotten off a plane in New York and found that your bags were sent to Kalamazoo, Michigan? If so, this won't surprise you.

The airline industry lost 10,000 bags a day last year. Susan Lisovicz -- Lisovicz has the details at the New York Stock Exchange.

As I'm reading that, I'm thinking of all of the catastrophes I've had. And now I just try to bring one bag with me on board. It makes such a difference.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really cram into those overhead bins. And you know, it was a -- more than 25 percent increase just on the lost baggage year over year, and then another 17 percent increase, Kyra, year over year on just general service for airlines. It was a tough time to be an airline passenger in 2005.

According to a recent report from the Department of Transportation, the four worst airlines in terms of lost bags all operate as feeder carriers for the major airlines, including Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Comair and Skywest. Those all operate under Delta.

American Eagle as part of American Airlines. U.S. Airways rounds out the top five.

At least some honeymooners had it easy. Hawaiian Airlines topped the list with the fewest lost baggage. Of course, probably because you just need your swimsuits.

Airtran, the now defunct Independence Air, jetBlue and ATA also had good comparatively good records.

The airlines blamed staff cuts and tighter security rules for lost luggage.

And for travelers, it wasn't all about lost bags. Passengers also paid slightly more to fly last year. The average domestic fare edged up nearly two percent, the first increase in fares since 2000.

(STOCK REPORT)

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