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Personal Data of Millions of Veterans Stolen; Mourning in Appalachia Over Miner Deaths; Early Release Program Has Los Angeles Criminals Out of Jail Early
Aired May 22, 2006 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And let's get straight to Betty now for an update on a developing story. Certainly the story of this hour. The personal data, Betty, on millions of veterans, stolen?
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, 26.5 million veterans, to be exact. Personal data that includes their names, their birth dates, their Social Security numbers.
Here's what happened. One of the analysts for the Veterans Affairs Department took this information home. Well, that house was then burglarized. Someone came in and stole the information. So it's out there. But the secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department says not really sure at this point if this was part of identity theft scam or if it was just a house that was burglarized, a random occurrence, ironic.
But the information is out there, and a full-scale investigation is under way. The FBI has been brought in. And as you know, the V.A. is going to have a lot of its folks on top of this, as well. To tell you about, the analyst, that person has been put on administrative leave until the outcome of this investigation.
So for those 26.5 million that are affected by this, here's what you can do. We got some phone numbers and a couple Web sites that you can contact. First of all, you can go to www.firstgov.gov. This is on the screen right now, so get out a pen and paper and take it down. Also, you can go to www.va.gov/opa. And if you don't have Internet access, you can call 1-800-FED-INFO. These phone lines are going to be manned from 8:00 a.m. til 9:00 p.m. Eastern Monday through Saturday and as long as needed.
As you know, Tony, a lot of veterans going to be very concerned about this, because no one wants their information out there. We've heard many stories like this, but 26.5 million veterans with information like your Social Security number, your date of birth and your name -- that is a lot of information out there. But the silver lining in all of this, though, is that information about their health and the different kind of medical records, that was not included. But nonetheless, I mean, no one wants their information out there.
HARRIS: Yes, you're right.
NGUYEN: So a full-scale investigation is under way. And, of course we're going to stay on top of it and provide you with any information we can to help you get the answers as to what to do next, now that it's out there.
HARRIS: And Betty, our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre is working this story, checking in with his sources, and he'll have more information for us at the top of the hour today. OK, Betty, appreciate it, thank you.
Mourning in Appalachia over the deaths of five Kentucky coal miners, and outrage over the way they died. Two miners were killed in an explosion early Saturday. Autopsies show the other three survived the blast, but then fell victim to carbon monoxide. One miner survived.
Our Sumi Das has the latest from Holmes Mill, Kentucky.
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SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The lone survivor of the Darby Mine explosion says, despite the fact that he's a third generation miner and he's worked in the mines for 16 years, that he will never set foot in the mines ever again. That according to his sister-in-law, Connie Ledford.
Paul Ledford was the only man out of six to survive this explosion which occurred early Saturday morning. He says that this is a terribly rough time for him. The mining community is very tight knit. He was very close to all of his co-workers. And he can't wait to sort of put it past him. He's going to make efforts to attend all of the funeral services for his co-workers who died as a result of the accident on Saturday.
We are also hearing more details about what happened after the explosion. According to his sister, Paul says that his oxygen lasted only about five minutes. He passed out after the explosion for about two and a half hours. And when he regained consciousness, he was so weak that he couldn't bring himself to his knees, so he crawled to find fresh air. And he says that's when rescuers came across him and found him. Although he says that he credits the good Lord with being the only reason why he is alive.
The investigation into what happened at Darby Mine is expected to begin today. State and federal investigators should enter the mine today once it is determined safe. There's been some concerns that there are pockets of methane inside the mine.
The bodies of the miners who were killed in the accident were released by the state medical examiner's office late Sunday. They will be sent to funeral homes so that families can begin making preparations for services.
Sumi Das, CNN, Holmes Mill, Kentucky.
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HARRIS: In the wake of Katrina and almost five years after 9/11, emergency workers say most of us are not prepared for disaster, and they want to change that. Here's our homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve.
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ARKADY FRIDMAN, RESIDENT: To be good health, be in ocean every day. January, February, March.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Arkady Fridman prepares before he plunges into the frigid waters of Brighton Beach. This is one of New York's most vulnerable neighborhoods if a hurricane strikes. But is Fridman preparing for that? No way.
FRIDMAN: Katrina -- New Orleans and New York is big difference.
MESERVE: Fridman is from Russia, like many people in this neighborhood. So the city's commissioner of emergency management is using Russian-language radio to preach the gospel of hurricane preparedness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if we tell you to evacuate, you should evacuate.
MESERVE: Despite outreach efforts like this, despite $532 million worth of free media for preparedness messages, despite $1.9 billion hits on the federal government's ready campaign Web site, despite September 11th, despite Katrina, some surveys show two-thirds of Americans have done nothing to prepare for natural disasters or terrorism.
PEGGY CONLON, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AD COUNCIL: People put up a lot of emotional roadblocks. They will say, it's never going to happen to me. Or if something catastrophic happens, it's outside of my ability to prepare for everything.
MESERVE: Because first responders are likely to be overwhelmed in a catastrophe, officials say Americans must prepare to take care of themselves.
GEORGE FORESMAN, UNDERSECRETARY FOR PREPAREDNESS: Until the citizens are ready, this nation is not going to be safe and secure.
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: Buckle up. Buckle up for safety. Always buckle up.
MESERVE: It took 20 years for the public to absorb the message to buckling seat belts. Twenty years is to long, officials say, to make preparedness the norm. The Ad Council has done extensive research, hoping to motivate people without scaring them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The farther we get away from 9/11, the less relevant a terrorism-focused message is.
MESERVE: Its latest public service spots target those most likely to respond. Parents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If the phone doesn't work, how will I tell you I'm there?
MESERVE: Different images and themes are used to reach the Spanish speaking audience. But critics say that government preparedness campaigns give conflicting advice, are underfunded and are just not urgent enough.
DR. IRWIN REDLENER, NATIONAL CENTER FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: People keep talking about this as, you know, wake-up calls of 9/11 and Katrina. They're really more like snooze alarms. You know, we get alerted and aroused and very intense for a little while and then we sort of drift back off.
MESERVE: This family is pulling together vital supplies, a show and tell for the ready Web site. Ultimately, officials say, each and every citizen must take responsibility to do things like this, to get ready or else.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Brighton Beach, New York.
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HARRIS: Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
A new twist and a new suspect in the Natalee Holloway case. Eighteen-year-old Guido Wever is being held in the Netherlands and being interviewed by Dutch authorities. His attorneys say he'll fight return to Aruba, where Holloway disappeared a year ago and where Wever was working at a casino. He is suspected of assisting in Holloway's death, though no body has ever been found. A source tells CNN Wever knows Joran van der Sloot, one of the young men Holloway was with the night she vanished.
Quick, who won this year's Preakness? It was Bernadini. But if you didn't notice, you're not alone. Coming up on LIVE FROM, unbridled concern over Barbaro and the tough road ahead.
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HARRIS: You know, a lot of people are going to jail these days. I'm talking more than 1,000 a week for an entire year. The Federal Bureau of Prisons says 56,000 people went to prison or jail between the middle of 2005 and the middle of 2005, boosting the inmate population to 2.2 million. That's one inmate for every 136 U.S. residents.
It is the largest increase in inmates since 1997. One researcher says most people behind bars, 62 percent are awaiting trial. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. What if the time is next to nothing? That's the case in Los Angeles, where a crowded jail and court order have left the sheriff feeling like he's the one in handcuffs. CNN's Kareen Wynter has the story.
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KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is Friday afternoon in Los Angeles, California and at the county jail, it is time to hit the streets. Inmates like Rudy Shane count on getting an early ticket out.
RUDY SHANE, RELEASED INMATE: The judge, they give us more time just to be more harder on us.
WYNTER: Shane was sentenced to one week for a drug parole violation. He still got out early.
WYNTER (on camera): You describe it as a slap on the wrist.
SHANE: Slap on the wrist. Time ain't nothing for us. We are already thinking criminal thoughts when we get out. I see people that come back in for murder after a couple of hours.
WYNTER (voice-over): L.A. County sheriff Lee Baca says his jails have become meaningless in stopping crimes. Too many criminals not enough cells.
SHERIFF LEE BACA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: We have a criminal justice system that is severely broken.
WYNTER: The county's early release program for low level fenders began nearly 20 years ago, a stopgap measure to ease overcrowding. But today roughly 40,000 of the county's inmates are released early each year. That's 10 percent of the jail population. The remaining 90 percent are state prison transfers and those awaiting trial.
BACA: I've basically been handcuffed from doing the things I know is most important and that's keeping people in jail.
WYNTER: The sheriff says the crunch began in 2002, when a multi- million dollar budget deficit forced jail closures, jamming existing facilities beyond capacity wasn't an option. A federal court ruling in 1988 stopped the common practice of allowing inmates to sleep in hallways, on floors, wherever they could find room.
BACA: If there were no court order, I would have everybody in the jail serving full sentences.
WYNTER: What started as a temporary fix became a troubled tactic. Put some offenders back on the streets early to free up space.
ROCKY DELGADILLO, LOS ANGELES CITY ATTY: Makes our job harder to keep the streets safe.
WYNTER: L.A. city attorney Rocky Delgadillo fears shaving sentences will boost crimes.
(on camera): So these inmates are figuring out a way to beat the system?
DELGADILLO: For some of them, as I said, it is the cost of doing business. WYNTER (voice-over): Darryl Jared (ph) was a homeless man, living in the alleys of Los Angeles. He was murdered in 2004 by an inmate who was released early. Derek's mother Gladys says she often wonders about the murder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they had kept him in for his time he wouldn't be out there. Darryl would still be alive.
WYNTER: It is Rudy Shane's third release from jail. He can't wait to get home to his three year old daughter Brianna. If he has to come back, he says it is easy time. Kareen Wynter, CNN, Los Angeles.
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HARRIS: Still ahead a 7-year-old follows some of histories hardened criminals for a swim for the record books from Alcatraz island to San Francisco. LIVE FROM catches the wave right after this.
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DR. DEAN RICHARDSON, VETERINARY SURGEON: It's still far too soon to say that he's going to make it. This is a very, very serious injury. Every day that goes by is important, but the reality is that it takes months before you know if a case like this is going to survive.
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HARRIS: Many thought Barbaro was bound for the Triple Crown, but a triple break ended that quest. Now success is being measured by moment for the Pennsylvania thoroughbred that could have been a contender for the record books. CNN's Carol Costello has more.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barbaro, Barbaro! I believe he's been called out.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just seconds into Saturday's Preakness, disaster strikes. Barbaro's Triple Crown dream suddenly over.
DEAN RICHARDSON, OPERATED ON BARBARO: This is a very, very serious injury. It's about as bad as could be.
COSTELLO: The Kentucky Derby winner broke three bones in his right hind leg. One of the bones shattered in more than 20 pieces. Any one of the fractures alone doctors consider catastrophic.
RICHARDSON: The most horse that suffered this severe injury typically put down on the racetrack.
COSTELLO: The grisly site stunned the crowd of more than 118,000 at the Pimlico Race Track in Baltimore. Barbaro was taken to the University of Pennsylvania's Veterinary Hospital for surgery to repair his leg and save his life. The team of doctors spent more than five hours operating on Barbaro.
RICHARDSON: At this very moment, he's extremely comfortable on the leg. He practically jogged back to his stall. He pulled us back to his stalls.
MICHAEL MATZ, BARBARO'S TRAINER: From the last time I saw him until seeing him now was a big relief to see. They did an excellent job. And I can't praise Dean and his team and his staff of what they've done. I mean, it's just -- it's just amazing to see him walk like that. And the first thing he went in and started eating hay. So they did a terrific job.
COSTELLO: But despite the good news, doctors say Barbaro's recovery is still uncertain.
RICHARDSON: This is just the absolute first step in any type of case like this. I mean, getting the horse up is a big step, but it is not the last step, by any means.
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COSTELLO: And you can see more reports from Carol Costello on "AMERICAN MORNING." Start your morning on the right foot. Join Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien on "AMERICAN MORNING," 6:00 a.m. Eastern.
Your average 7-year-old looks at water as an opportunity for a squirt gun or a cannonball, not for setting records, not for setting records swimming across the frigid, choppy waters of the San Francisco Bay. But Braxton Bilbrey, well, he ain't your average 7-year-old. He dived in at Alcatraz Island, aimed himself at San Francisco's Aquatic Park and covered the 1.25 miles in a little more than an hour.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Braxton, how you feeling, buddy?
BRAXTON BILBREY, SWAM ACROSS SAN FRANCISCO BAY: Good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good. What was the hardest part for you?
BILBREY: The swim, probably.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're in the water, so we're going to move a little bit up the shore. Can you turn this way so our viewers can see your face and tell us what you think now that you've made it?
BILBREY: What?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think about the fact that you made it, you set the world record?
BILBREY: Well, I think it is pretty cool.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You think it's pretty cool. Dad, how did he do out there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did great. He did great. He swam all the way in and just looked so strong. He did so awesome. So proud of him.
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HARRIS: Look at these cameras. We're asking him all these questions, huh? The swim, of course, the swim was the hard part! The man of the hour. In the next hour of LIVE FROM, Braxton Bilbrey joins me to talk about his new record. Be sure to stick around for that.
Inter-league, inter-city baseball. The beleaguered Chicago Cubs against the world champion White Sox over the weekend, a close play at the plate; then, well, see for yourself. A.J. Pierzynski of the Sox barrels through Cubs catcher Michael Barrett. The -- oh, did you see that? Did you see that? Barrett stakes umbrage at being run over. Watch it again. We can't show it to you enough. The bench is clear after that. Here, come get the left hand, too, while you're at it. All right, there was a little baseball. This is Pierzynski. This is the guy who was slugged. What's all that? There was a little baseball play. The White Sox ended up winning. No word yet on suspensions or fines from the dust-up.
Politics can mean power, prestige and pain. Watch this. Did you hear the sound? This is outrageous conduct. There's more. Schoolyard tactics on the campaign trail after the break. Here, come here, get in. Come here and take one.
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