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Chilling Reminders of September 11th; Tourist Boat Disaster; French Job Fight

Aired March 31, 2006 - 14:01   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Chilling reminders of September 11th, the voices of 911 operators trying to stay calm in the face of unspeakable horror. On the other end, people trapped in the burning twin towers. These calls kept under wraps until today. Some of the victims' families are speaking out.
Let's go to CNN's Mary Snow in New York.

And Mary, what's coming out on these tapes?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, these are more than eight hours of tapes. And we're getting insight into the confusion on the morning of September 11th. We're getting exchange from police and fire operators.

In this tape we're about to play you'll hear lapses of silence. That is the victims' voices that have been taken out. The city has not released them.

But here is the kind of exchanges we've been hearing.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're calling from inside the World Trade Center?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. This person is on the 105 floor, he said he couldn't breathe and there were 60 other employees with him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, man.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: FD was notified. Yes, it's terrible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any other news about that -- like anything later?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, nothing later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are they still standing, the World Trade Center?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Someone said they collapsed. I don't know. But someone came in here and told us the building had collapsed. I don't know.

(END AUDIO CLIP) SNOW: As you can imagine, operators getting inundated with calls. A lot of confusion on the -- some of these tapes you hear over and over again operators telling callers to sit tight. In some cases, to open windows, which were impossible to do. Also, to stay near the floor, try to put towels underneath the doorways, and keep telling them that help was on the way.

HARRIS: And Mary, how about reaction from families?

SNOW: We've just been hearing from some of the nine families who went to court to get these tapes released. They joined "The New York Times" in a lawsuit.

They are disappointed. They wanted all of the audiotapes to be released, including the victims' voices on this.

They were represented by Norman Siegel, and he says that he wanted and fought for these tapes to be released, because he feels there are lessons to be learned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORMAN SIEGEL, 9/11 FAMILIES' ATTORNEY: What is at stake here is the fundamental right, the fundamental right of citizens to be informed about their government. An open democratic society should opt for openness and access to historical records and should always, always reject secrecy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: And Norman Siegel saying today, among others things, that the emergency responders could learn from these tapes if, god forbid, there have been -- there is another terrorist attack. He also says that he is going to press ahead to go back to court again to try to get the full audio recordings released.

HARRIS: And Mary, how about response? Any kind of response from city officials, fire, police? Maybe even the mayor?

SNOW: Well, the mayor has not yet responded today or made a comment today about these audiotapes. We did hear from the New York City police commissioner saying that the release of these tapes reminds everyone about the -- what the he called remarkable performance of the 911 operators. He says, "They displayed professionalism and compassion under the most trying of circumstances, often staying on the line with anguished callers until the very end."

The city has said that it does not want to release the callers who called in to the 911 system out of a few concerns. One, privacy. Also, the pain that it would cause to hear these voices once again.

Also, they cited the fears of sensationalism by the media in the use of these audio recordings. Those were all arguments in court to try to not have these tapes released.

HARRIS: CNN's Mary Snow for us in New York. Mary, appreciate it. Thank you.

SNOW: Sure.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Wind and fire a destructive combination in Kansas. First, the storms blue through. High winds, including at least one tornado, hit the Hutchinson area in south- central Kansas. Farm buildings and several cars were damaged.

Now, if that wasn't enough, then a series of prairie fires forced evacuations over a 21-square-mile area and caused propane tanks to explode. You see it there. The flames scorched 5,000 acres and five homes.

Officials think the fires may have been caused by lightning strikes or downed power lines.

Well, Iowa also is cleaning up today after a wild night of high wind, heavy rain and some say tornadoes. Winds as strong as 80 miles an hour damaged mobile homes and blew several trucks off the highway. They also downed utility lines, leaving more than a thousand -- or 2,000 homes and businesses in the dark.

HARRIS: Betty, dozens dead in the Persian Gulf as a dinner cruise ends in tragedy. There's no official explanation, but many people there have suspicions.

CNN's Michael Holmes reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Witnesses say the boat looked overcrowded. Even its owner saying it was designed for 100 passengers but carried more than that, as many as 137.

According to media reports, the captain was also reportedly reluctant to set off with so many on board. Why he then did remains unclear.

TARUQ AK GASSAB, BAHRAIN INTERIOR MINISTRY: The captain is still under investigation, as the rest of the -- of the whole accident.

HOLMES: The vessel was on a dinner cruise and carried many foreigners. Among them, according to the Bahrain Interior Ministry, Britons, South Africans, Filipinos, Indians, Irish and Germans.

Rescue operations continued for hours, the partly submerged dow clearly visible. The dead were taken to a temporary morgue, survivors to the hospitals. Several passengers still unaccounted for.

DR. NABEEL AL-ANSARI, BAHRAIN MINISTER OF HEALTH: We have received 33 patients in the hospital and we're the only hospital that received the casualties. We did not need to move anybody there.

Out of these 33, 31 were sent home. They were stable. They were shocked, of course -- psychological trauma. And we had a treem of psychiatrists and psychologists assessing them at that time.

HOLMES: The boat sank only a mile or so from the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. At least one U.S. ship, a helicopter and several divers were involved in the rescue operations.

Many of the victims worked for the consortium Nass, Murray and Roberts, who chartered the boat for a celebratory cruise after completing a key phase of a major construction project. An official investigation is under way.

Michael Holmes, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Rumblings in Iran. Villages reduced to rubble. It happened overnight when three strong earthquakes jolted the western part of that country. It's not clear how many dozens of people are dead. The injured are said to number in the hundreds.

From Mexico, President Bush makes an offer of humanitarian aid. No word whether Tehran will accept.

Nukes are nukes, Iran says, and oil is oil. Iran's foreign minister says his country "will respect our obligations in energy and won't use oil as leverage against the West." The U.S. and Europe are pushing Iran to scale down or open up its nuclear facilities to prove it's not building bombs. Iran is OPEC's second highest oil producer.

NGUYEN: French President Jacque Chirac is trying to turn down the heat on a political firestorm. He says he will sign a new controversial new labor law but try to reduce the probationary period for younger workers and make employers give a reason if they let those workers go.

CNN's Jim Bittermann is standing by in Paris.

Jim, are Chirac's concessions going to be enough to stop the protests?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Boy, Betty, that's the big question here in France tonight. It's really difficult to say at this moment.

We've seen in the last -- just in the last hour since his speech a number of students gather at the big Place de la Bastille, the Bastille place -- square, rather, on the east side of Paris. And we've talked to a few of them. Basically, they're saying that they expected this out of Chirac and they're looking forward towards a day of protest that was already preplanned, even before this speech, a protest scheduled for next Tuesday, when unions and the students will join forces in the streets, perhaps trying to get more than the one million protesters who were out last Tuesday.

Now, one of the things that we'll have to be watching all weekend long here is what kind of role the unions play here and if they are going to stick with it -- particularly the moderate unions -- if they are going to stick with this protest or whether they're going to accept the olive branch that's been handed to them by Jacques Chirac.

Essentially, he went about half way. He didn't withdraw the law, but he's watered it down now in such a way that some of the moderate unions may, in fact, come out in favor of it, or at least say they're not against it.

And the other thing that he's done, he's made a direct appeal to the French people, saying, look, we've got to do something here, the worst thing would be to do nothing -- Betty.

NGUYEN: So, do you think that's why you're not seeing as many protesters out there in the street? That maybe this is kind of a compromise from Chirac?

BITTERMANN: Well, it's definitely a compromise. The question is whether they'll buy it. And I think what a lot of people want to do is just sort of look at it for a moment and just digest it entirely.

I don't think we'll see throughout the weekend here various people, depending on how radical they are, saying various things about whether they want to continue this protest. But clearly, Chirac is gambling that this compromise is going to be enough to bring people off the streets.

Today, for instance, there were a number of protests, demonstrations throughout the country in which highways were blocked and railway were blocked, railway tracks were blocked. So that's something that cannot go on if the country is going to continue to function, and especially there's going to have to be some weakening of this protest next Tuesday or Chirac is going to lose his gamble -- Betty.

NGUYEN: We'll be watching. Jim Bittermann in Paris for us.

Jim, thank you -- Tony.

HARRIS: A one-time warlord and president, now an accused war criminal. Charles Taylor is set to make his first court appearance in Sierra Leone on Monday. He was brought there Wednesday after he was caught trying to leave Nigeria, his home in exile. The former Liberian leader faces 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged role in spreading war across western Africa.

The quest for the American dream sometimes leads to a nightmare. It's a problem that extends far beyond the U.S.-Mexico border. Illegal immigrants in Chinatown coming up on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: I'll try to do this right now, Tony.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." A classic line from a classic movie could also apply to the real Chinatown and the plight and illegal immigrants. If they dare complain about deplorable living or working conditions, they could be kicked out of the country.

CNN's Randi Kaye reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is the lower east side of Manhattan. But it feels like another country.

As we make our way through Chinatown's crowed streets, Peter Kwong, a professor of Asian studies at Hunter College, gives us the real story on illegal immigrants who came here in search of a dream.

PROF. PETER KWONG, HUNTER COLLEGE: They're willing to, you know, work hard, but this is a very, very bad kind of exploitation. And they don't deserve that.

KAYE (on camera): Hard to know exactly how many illegal immigrants are living here in Chinatown simply because it's tough to keep track. Most are smuggled in by plane, very few by ship. But no matter how they get here, they do so without being detected.

(voice over): This man, who calls himself Mr. Chung (ph), tells us he's been living here illegally for two years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We don't have legal status. We're always afraid of being catched (sic). Always worry about police coming, checking our identities.

KAYE: He paid a pilot $60,000 to smuggle him in. Many illegal who aren't students apply for student visas to get access to the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I love China. I want to be in the United States free in this country. That's why I'm willing to pay that much money.

KWONG: One of the problems in this community is that they're illegal, they don't speak English. They have no normal skills, marketable skills.

KAYE (on camera): So they take advantage of them.

KWONG: Take advantage of them.

KAYE: They pay them nothing.

KWONG: Pay them nothing.

KAYE (voice over): Still, $3.75 an hour is far better than the 10 cents an hour they'd earn at home. At this employment agency, Mr. Chung (ph) and countless other illegals search for work posted on paper slips, then wait.

KWONG: Employers will give a call to this office saying, you know, "I need three dishwashers. Could you send me?" KAYE: Oftentimes, the working conditions are deplorable. Inside this unmarked building we find a sweat shop. Men and women, mostly illegal, according to our guide, sewing clothes. They are caged in. The stench is stifling.

KWONG: These people really work -- literally work from 7:00 until 8:00 or 9:00 in the evening.

KAYE (on camera): And do they get any insurance or anything like that for a job like this?

KWONG: No.

KAYE: Nothing, right?

KWONG: Nothing. If you get injured, that's your tough luck.

KAYE (voice over): And after a long day's work, they don't have much to go home to.

KWONG: Six people living in the same room. They may share a bathroom, as well as a kitchen. Even more desperate, some of the people will share beds, rotating beds.

KAYE (on camera): If the immigration bill passes, will life change for these people?

KWONG: In some degrees, because if you're citizens, you could go to complain openly. And hopefully, they will be addressed. But right now, you can't, because if you complain, you might get yourself deported.

KAYE (voice over): So the illegals choose to remain invisible, trading dignity to avoid deportation.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Have you heard this story yet? A former FBI agent suspected of mob ties is free on $1 million bond. Art Lindly DeVeccio (ph) pleaded not guilty yesterday to selling information to a New York mobster who was supposed to be slipping information to him.

DeVeccio's (ph) info allegedly led to four deaths. Prosecutors call it one of the worst cases of law enforcement corruption in U.S. history. His attorney says DeVeccio (ph) was and always be a man of the law and points out he was cleared in earlier investigations. DeVeccio (ph) retired in 1996, two years after the mobster known as the "Grim Reaper" died in prison.

NGUYEN: A slug or not a slug? That is the question. And Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney apparently isn't not ready to answer it.

McKinney didn't show for a news conference, the one that she scheduled today, reportedly to address Wednesday's run-in with a Capitol Hill cop who failed to recognize her at a security checkpoint.

Now, things have since turned partisan, of course, a Republicans and Democrats snipe about who is to blame here. Well, Capitol cops are required -- let me stress that, required -- to know the faces of representatives and senators.

So, compare an official congressional photo on the left to a picture snapped last month and judge for yourself. Look like the same woman?

McKinney is scheduled to join us live tomorrow. She's going to be talking about all of this...

HARRIS: Oh.

NGUYEN: ... for "CNN SATURDAY MORNING," the crew, Tony and myself. So be sure to tune in for all of that.

HARRIS: Yours is a great picture. Mine is all jacked up and sideways.

NGUYEN: But we change our looks.

HARRIS: Is that what it is?

NGUYEN: I mean, not -- not that picture.

HARRIS: Well, look at that.

NGUYEN: I'm just talking about women in general. We change our hairstyles, we change our looks. Sometimes our pictures don't look the same.

HARRIS: So you're saying it's tough for the Capitol police sometimes to keep up?

NGUYEN: I don't know. Judge for yourself with that picture. Does she look the same to you?

HARRIS: Yes. Well, we'll take it up with her tomorrow.

NGUYEN: We'll take it up with her. Yes.

HARRIS: There's a change, that's for sure.

NGUYEN: A little bit of a change. We'll see. We'll see what she has to say about it.

HARRIS: Tomorrow morning. She's going to be with us tomorrow morning?

NGUYEN: Right here.

HARRIS: Beautiful.

NGUYEN: Well, it turns out dictators can't dictate everything. Forget about making the trains run on time.

HARRIS: Joseph Stalin couldn't even make Russia's clocks run on time.

Coming up on LIVE FROM, tales of saving daylight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Ah, the power of prayer gets a smack down by science. A new study shows that when strangers prayed for heart surgery patients, there was no measurable effect on recovery.

Christian volunteers were given the first name and the last initial of actual patients, some of whom knew they were being prayed for. Others didn't. Still, others were told strangers might pray for them.

One unexpected result, the patients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications.

NGUYEN: Really?

HARRIS: Yes. And maybe because it made them worry they were really in bad shape. The researchers are quick to say their study was not meant to address whether god exists or answers prayers.

NGUYEN: Interesting.

HARRIS: There you go.

NGUYEN: OK. We've always been told that wearing sunscreen will protect us from harmful UV rays, right? Well, a new study -- actually, a new lawsuit is challenging that claim.

J.J. Ramberg is live from the New York Stock Exchange with that story.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Taking a shot at bird flu. Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has just announced clinical trials of a new vaccine. Now, one group of volunteers gets a vaccine that mixes the active ingredient with a traditional additive to boost the body's immune response. Another group gets a vaccine made with a new additive that reduces the amount of active ingredient needed to treat each dose.

Now, using less active ingredients means more total doses. That is a key step in the race to beat a possible pandemic.

HARRIS: It's almost time to fiddle with your clocks again.

NGUYEN: Why is that so funny?

HARRIS: Well, we're going to see some -- yes, there you go. There you go. That's the whole notion of fiddling. And you've got to do it.

Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 Sunday morning, and for the first time the whole state of Indiana -- wow -- will finally play along. Before, 77 of Indiana's 92 counties stayed on standard time year round. Still, not everyone thinks the semi-annual ritual is a good idea.

Michael Downing is the author of "Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time." He joins us from Boston.

Michael, good to talk to you.

MICHAEL DOWNING, AUTHOR, "SPRING FORWARD": Happy to be with you.

HARRIS: Well, what's the deal with Indiana? Remind us why part of the state was playing along and the other part of the state wasn't playing along. And what was it, the Eastern part of the state that was and the Western part that wasn't?

DOWNING: They had parts that were and parts that wasn't. And we don't know what they were doing until now. Here is what happened. Indiana was one of the 12 states with two time zones. And once we did that, springing forward didn't solve the problem of bringing the clocks together. The only point of having clocks is uniformity and predictability. So, Indiana has long suffered with a division problem, but they're going to try springing ahead with the rest of us and see what it yields for them.

HARRIS: OK, what is it likely to yield? More time to play.

DOWNING: That's the ticket. We've been trying to squeeze some energy savings out of our clocks for about 100 years and we haven't yet got a drop of oil. But what we do get is a tremendous boon to sports and recreation and the retail industry. We give Americans an extra hour of sunlight in the evening rather than the morning. They will absolutely go out to the mall and the ballpark.

HARRIS: OK. Let me -- I read something here. This is what, the 100th anniversary of the original British daylight saving law. Tell us what the British parliament was responding to all those years ago.

DOWNING: Well, here is what they were hoping to do. You take an hour of morning sunlight that they had noticed people slept through during the long summer days, because it came so early, let's say 4:00 in the morning. Give it to people -- if you give them that hour in the evening, they hoped citizens would turn on their lights later and save electricity for the war effort. World War I was underway and Germany had adopted daylight saving. That's when Britain decides they're going to spring their clocks forward, and that's when America gets in the act too.

HARRIS: Hey, Michael, what is this character, William Willett? What does he have to do with all of this?

DOWNING: He's the first man that actually proposes the idea of the clock change. Now, Ben Franklin, who almost invented everything, had had the idea for daylight saving when he was in Paris 150 years earlier in 1780. He noticed that people were sleeping through dawn, sunrises, as wel. He suggested to the French that to get over this lazy habit, the French should be awakened by canons every morning. It didn't go over well. But Willett was the one who looked up at dawn in London and proposed the clock change, which became daylight saving.

HARRIS: OK, so we spring forward now to 2005 and the 2005 Energy Policy Act. It is billed as an energy conservation bill. Will it conserve energy for us?

DOWNING: The answer is no.

HARRIS: No?

DOWNING: It will not conserve energy. We've tried this before several times. We can't save oil. Congress says we're going to save 100,000 barrels of oil a day with daylight saving. There are two problems with this. One is America no longer produces domestic electricity with oil. The second problem is really something the petroleum industry has known for almost 75 years. When Americans go out to the ballpark and the mall, we don't walk. We get in our cars and we consume more gasoline.

But here is what it will do. The last time we had a one-month extension of daylight saving in this country, the golf told Congress it was worth $200 to $400 million a year that extra month.

HARRIS: Oh. So what are some of the...

DOWNING: The barbecue...

HARRIS: No, go ahead, what were you saying about barbecues? I love that.

DOWNING: I was going to say, it's not just golf and sports. The barbecue industry actually said that one month was worth $150 million a year, just in barbecue grill sales.

HARRIS: And give us a couple of the kind of oddball, quirky stories attached to Daylight Saving Time.

DOWNING: Well, the whole world has been confused with daylight saving for 100 years, none more so than the Russians. In 1930 -- you got that right -- Joseph Stalin, who liked to control everything, decided he was going to put the entire Soviet Union on daylight saving in 1930. So they all spring forward their clocks in April. Unfortunately, in October of that year, Stalin forgot to tell the Russians to turn their clocks back. I'm not making this up. Sixty- six years, there were -- every clock in the Soviet Union ran ahead of its time by an hour and no one in the world noticed it.

HARRIS: Oh, boy. All right, we spring forward again this Saturday night, Sunday morning. Michael Downing, we appreciate your time. Thanks for talking to us.

DOWNING: Thank you. NGUYEN: Well, Tony, they are chilling reminders of September 11. The voices of 911 operators trying to stay calm in the face of unspeakable horror. A CD of those calls, 130 calls to be exact, were released today by the City of New York. On the other end, people trapped in the burning Twin Towers. Now, these calls were kept under wraps until today. And some of the victims' families are speaking out.

Sally Regenhard, mother of a firefighter, Christian Regenhard, who died on 9/11, joins us now from New York to talk about this.

Sally, we appreciate your time. I know that this obviously is an emotional time for you. But you actually fought to get these tapes released. Tell us why. .

Can you hear us, Sally?

SALLY REGENHARD, MOTHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: Yes, I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?

NGUYEN: Yes, I sure can. I understand that you fought to get these tapes released. Tell us why.

REGENHARD: Yes, I did. Well, I joined with nine other family members with "The New York Times" to have these tapes released, because we do not know the true story of what happened in those buildings on 9/11. I don't know why my son and 343 firefighters and the rest of the innocent civilians met a brutal and needless death in those buildings. We really need to know the deadly mistakes that the system allowed to happen on 9/11 so that we can protect people in the future.

NGUYEN: So, what is the true story? I know you've heard these tapes. What is it in those tapes that tells you exactly what happened and the mistakes that were made?

REGENHARD: Well, I have to tell you that today we only heard half of the truth. We only heard one side, the operators' side responding. We did not know what the people were saying, what they were asking for, what they were encountering. What I did learn is that the entire 911 system was totally overwhelmed. The 911 operators and the FDNY dispatchers did a wonderful job. They tried to calm the people.

People were calling in, in desperation, wanting to know what happened, what they should do, where they should go. And these operators did a wonderful job, as did the emergency responders. But there was a total breakdown in communication. It was impossible to tell people what to do. It was impossible to tell them what was happening. And really, because of this, we had so much needless death on 9/11.

NGUYEN: Sally, 130 telephone calls, about 28 victims identified in those calls. Do you know if your son was one of those who called in to 911? REGENHARD: Apparently, he was not in one of these calls that we listened to today. However, there's still a possibility that his voice or some reference to him may be in the FDNY tapes, which we obtained last August. So, that is an ongoing process for my organization, the Skyscraper Safety Campaign and academic institutions who are studying these tapes and trying to find more information.

It's really not just about whether my son is on. Although, we would dearly like to know that. It's also trying to learn from what mistakes happened, trying to learn about what is the behavior of people in an emergency. What are some principles of safe evacuation, enhanced communication? There is so much that we can learn.

You know, on 9/11, the city of New York had no plan for emergencies. The Port Authority had no plan for emergencies. So, these people were really betrayed. It never should have happened the way it did. The number of people should have been able to get out. And yet the -- purportedly, the greatest city in the world was left with a collapse of emergency management, emergency preparedness and communications.

That is the true story that has to come out. Because if we don't learn from the deadly mistakes of the past, we're going to be condemned to repeat those mistakes in the future.

NGUYEN: Well, let me ask you this, sally. We're only hearing what's being released today, the dispatcher's end of that conversation. You're hearing long beeps in the victims that are calling in. And the attorney for the September 11th families, Norman Siegel today said, quote: "Not having caller's voices takes the guts out of the tapes."

REGENHARD: Yes.

NGUYEN: At the same time, do you understand how some families -- this is so difficult for them? This opens a wound that is truly so deep, and they're trying to heal from it and all this does is bring back those memories.

REGENHARD: Well, I certainly realize it's difficult for them. It's difficult for every mother who has lost a child, for every person who has lost a spouse or a sibling. Nothing could be worse than knowing that your loved one died a needless and brutal death on 9/11, and that something that could help people in the future -- you know, people have to realize that they have other family members who may be faced with the same type of disaster in the future. And we need to learn from that. We want these tapes released, even if it is in a confidential manner.

My organization, the Skyscraper Safety Campaign and 9/11 Parents and Families of Firefighters and World Trade Centers Victims, is making a public appeal. If there's any one of those 28 people who would be willing to contact me or my attorney, Norman Siegel, that we could talk to them about the tape, we would keep their confidentiality. But we have to learn what were the people asking for? What were the people told? What could have they been told that would have saved their life? And we have to have the evidence of the total disconnect between what was happening outside of the building and what was happening inside of the building.

We have to have the country and the world know that the firefighters who valiantly tried to save peoples' lives, it was impossible for them because they had no radio communication. They did a wonderful job.

NGUYEN: There's a lot of chaos. We're well aware of all that. It sounds like what you want this to be is a learning tool. But let me ask you. If, indeed, your son did make a phone call in and you do hear that tape, what is that going to do for you? What is that going to answer for you?

REGENHARD: Certainly depending on what was on there, it would be part of the true history of 9/11, not a sanitized version painted with the brush of political correctness.

If I were fortunate enough to have a tape of my son, no matter what it would have been, I would immediately hand it over to the experts, like the experts on my panel. I have evacuation specialists, firefighting experts, fire, science and emergency management experts. We need to teach this in college.

One of my professors is teaching a course on 9/11 and the emergency response. How in the world are we going to learn to improve the system if we don't even know how the system failed the people in the buildings that day?

NGUYEN: Sally Regenhard, mother of a firefighter lost on 9/11. We appreciate your time in speaking with us today. Thank you.

REGENHARD: Thank you very much.

NGUYEN: There's more LIVE FROM straight ahead, so don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Straight to the news room now and our Carol Lin is following another student protest. Carol, this time in San Diego?

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it is. About 1,300 kids from middle schools and high schools. We've been watching as they've been marching around the Coronado Bridge and also in an area called Chicano Park.

About 1,300 kids. So far, a half a dozen at least have been arrested, Tony. And also demonstrations out in Bakersfield, they're protesting the proposed plans before Congress right now to wither limit immigration or design a guest-worker plan and also to beef up the border. But this is the fifth straight day that students have been walking out of class. And from what I'm gathering, they're getting the message over MySpace.com to organize.

HARRIS: Oh, is that how that's happening?

LIN: Yes, I had no idea. But they've got this communication thing, and in fact I logged on to MySpace.com and was reading some of the blogs about it.

But up in Los Angeles, Tony, even though we're watching these kids down here, up in Los Angeles, very little activity. And I have a great quote from the spokeswoman for the L.A. Unified School District. She said, "Maybe they're all pooped, kind of tired."

HARRIS: You would think so, yes.

LIN: But these kids down in San Diego, you know, reports on the ground as we look at these pictures from KGTV, that these kids are flashing gang signs.

HARRIS: Oh, boy.

LIN: But they are saying we're not criminals. But still, they're trying to have their say. But they are blocking traffic. And the highway patrol has had to go out and at least block one entrance to the Coronado Bridge.

HARRIS: And at least right now, has it been a peaceful protest?

LIN: Yes. I think the half a dozen arrests haven't been for anything all too serious. But so far, pretty peaceful. But again, fifth straight day.

HARRIS: Yes, boy, it's organized, and with a purpose. OK, Carol, appreciate it, thank you.

LIN: Sure.

NGUYEN: Switch gears right now. Most office poll brackets mostly are in shambles. I know mine is. I'm pretty much dead last in ours, right Tony? You can back me up on that. I think I'm ahead of you.

But as we go into the final weekend of March Madness, which this year extends into April, the NCAA basketball tournament started with 65 teams, all but four have gone home.

Florida takes on No. 11 seed George Mason, the surprise of the tournament. That's tomorrow night in Minneapolis. As soon as that game ends, UCLA and LSU, big baby, will battle for the other spot in Monday night's championship game.

Well making it to the final four is a huge accomplishment for any school. But when you are the flagship school for Louisiana, you carry an extra burden. And your victories take on extra significance. CNN's Larry Smith reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It is called Louisiana State University. That means any win by LSU's Tigers usually brings smiles across the entire state. But since Hurricane Katrina hit, smiles have been tough to come by in Louisiana.

CHRISTY BRASHIER, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: It means a lot. I mean, our state has been through a bunch. I mean, to see that the men and the women both get to the final four is awesome.

SMITH: Seven months after Katrina, Baton Rouge is still housing New Orleans residents temporarily, but they are Tigers fans permanently, especially after seeing both LSU women's and men's basketball teams advance to the Final Four.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three seconds left. Tucker, let him shoot it. He does, it's no good. Tigers are going to the Final Four!

JOHN BRADY, LSU BASKETBALL COACH: What we're doing has given them some pride, an escape, motivation. Whatever we're doing, we have helped those that have been in a difficult situation. And we're humbled by that.

DARREL MITCHELL, LSU SENIOR GUARD: If we can give them two hours, three hours out of the day to get their minds off all of that and they can watch us be successful, you know, I think it's a good thing for them.

SMITH: Although none of the Tigers players are from New Orleans, they all witnessed the tragedy Katrina wrought firsthand. For eight days in September, their home court was turned into a hospital. The players delivered supplies and set up shelters. Star center Glen Davis held an I.V. bag during an emergency surgery.

GLEN DAVIS, LSU FORWARD: I've seen a lot of things from victims, patients, hospital patients, surgeons performing surgery on a patient. You know, it was a lot of things that you would never forget.

BRADY: Our players did whatever they needed to do to help in a critical situation. And I think, that all of that, affected all of them in a way that made them closer.

SMITH: The Tigers have just one senior on their squad. But no team has had their type of experience. That allows them the wisdom to know there is nothing final about the Final Four, not when you've seen what they have.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We didn't realize how much we meant to the state until we got this far, but over here, that's just an added bonus, like Coach Brady said, to win it for them also.

SMITH: Larry Smith, CNN, Indianapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: We just love that big baby. We just do.

Straight ahead, entertainment news with A.J. Hammer of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT."

A.J., what are you working on, doctor?

A.J. HAMMER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, I'm going have the latest on supermodel Naomi Campbell's less than model behavior. And three gorgeous slightly older gals who definitel still got it. That's all coming up, when CNN LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: It's a shame. Such a shame.

HARRIS: Yes, yes. Caught red handed with another woman. Too bad that scarlet letter thing went out with knee britches. What to do, what to do, what to do. Roll that videotape, Scotty (ph). All right. Here we go. Now we're talking. But can you believe this display of public humiliation was this guy's idea?

NGUYEN: His idea?

HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes. "Joey," in quotes, hit the streets after his girlfriend hit the bricks. It happened when she found online photos of Joey kanoodling with another woman. That was three days ago. What does it read? Joey tells us he spotted his ex driving by this morning. Guess what she did? Betty, she kept going.

NGUYEN: Well, it's a good thing she didn't veer near him. You know what? That serves him right. He needs to stand out there. He cheated on his girl and then has photos? OK, cover your tracks, guy. You really should.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: All right, plenty happening in the world of entertainment, if that wasn't entertaing -- I would pay to watch him all day. It's a world where attractive people occasionally behave, well, unattractively.

A.J. Hammer from CNN's "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" is here with the latest such case of that phenomena.

Hi, A.J.

HAMMER: Well, we're going to have to see what happens with Naomi Campbell. Maybe she'll have, as her punishment, you know...

(CROSSTALK)

NGUYEN: She says it didn't happen like they're saying it did, so.

HAMMER: Well, right now, guys, yes, it's all alleged behavior. Naomi Campbell is who we're talking about. Now on her best behavior since that alleged ugly incident yesterday. The supermodel did sort of do a little runway strut, as you're seeing here out of New York City police station, the cameras just eating it up. The famous face was released on her own recognizance after being arrested for allegedly assaulting her housekeeper with a cell phone.

Now, Cambpell's attorney was allowed to enter a not guilty plea on her behalf. And she issue issued this statement this morning. She said, quote, "The allegation that I hit or in any injured my former housekeeper is completely untrue. From the time she began working for me, about two and a half months ago, I began questioning her about items I found missing. This morning when I finally fired her for that and her erratic behavior, she screamed, 'This is going to cost you a lot of money.' Well, after some more yelling and screaming on her part, she left the house. The next thing I knew, I got a call from the police. I have no idea how she was injured." And she went on in that statemetn to say the police were just doing their job and they were completely courteous about it.

Now, she did not have to post any bail. She was able to keep her passport. The 35-year-old is due back in court on June 27th. It's a wait and see from here.

HARRIS: OK.

NGUYEN: Well, I can't believe it's been more than a quarter century since a trio of overworked and underpaid women took down their mean and nasty boss. You know what I'm talking about, "9 to 5," right?

HAMMER: I do. Yes, hard to believe it's been 25 years. And all these women, they still look terrific. In fact, last night, Jane, Lily and Dolly -- I think first names only needed here -- they sang and talked about their 1980 groundbreaking hit, "9 to 5."

(MUSIC)

HAMMER: Clearly, they are having as much fun today as they were back then with the smash film. It has been more than 25 years since the original release of this workplace comedy. Once again, it's proving that a cup of ambition and a little rat poison can give you a real career boost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE FONDA, ACTRESS: The fact that it was done in the context of a comedy makes me feel really good. You know, it could have been pretty dour, because the issues are kind of dour. And it was going to be a serious movie in the beginning.

LILY TOMLIN, ACTRESS: We had a big hit. That was really great. I mean, there were so many things that were good about it, because we've had developed a friendship that lasted. And it was fun to make the movie.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HAMMER: Three powerful women on and off screen. Now, if they don't go on tour with that little act they were working there, maybe we will see them on Broadway.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOLLY PARTON, ACTRESS/SINGER: It's really served me well through the years. It's like, I got a hit song of "9 to 5," now I'm writing the music for a Broadway musical of "9 to 5." I've got a chance to write all the music for that. That's going to hopefully be out next fall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: A hit song. That was her first number one song. Now, the big screen stars are not scheduled to be on the great white way themselves when the show makes it to Broadway, but you never know. In the meantime, there's a special DVD edition being released. Listen to this title: "9 to 5: The Sexist, Egotistical, Lying, Hypocritical Bigot Edition." It will be in stores on Tuesday.

NGUYEN: That's a mouthful. Hey, check out Dolly in that outfit. Man, she's looking great.

HAMMER: She looks terrific. She was here on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" a couple of months ago and she still has that same energy and that same joy we have always known her for. She was in her early 30s when they made the original movie "9 to 5" and she really just...

NGUYEN: She's looking 25 in that outfit, I tell you. Whoo!

HAMMER: And she'll be the first to tell you, she's had some help along the way staying with that youthful look.

Well, let me tell you what's coming up as we get into the weekend on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." We're going to be talking about black and white TV tonight, the startling difference between what black and white viewers like to watch on TV, and why that has a lot of people in Hollywood nervous right now. You can catch "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," 7:00 pm and 11:00 pm Eastern on Headline Prime.

Betty, Tony, have an excellent weekend.

NGUYEN: All right, we are going to be watching, A.J. See you then.

Well, the third hour of LIVE FROM is straight ahead, so you don't you go away.

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