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Trapped Underground; Duke Report; Freed By DNA; Hurricane Season; Lessons Learned; Hurricane 101

Aired May 02, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Were the miners properly trained? How did the false news spread that all of the men were still alive? Dozens of witnesses are testifying. The victims' families, West Virginia's governor, lawmakers and safety regulators are all expected to speak. In a heartbreaking letter to victims' families last week, the sole survivor, Randall McCloy, Jr., said some of the crew's air pack his failed.
Right now in Australia, two gold miners are fighting for their lives. The men had been trapped for more than a week. And as they wait for rescuer, they're keeping their spirits up. Here's reporter Chris Reason. He's with Australia's Channel 7 Network.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS REASON, AUSTRALIA'S CHANNEL 7 NETWORK: It's the first look inside the subterranean city that sprawls beneath Beaconsfield. The video was made for miners and their families and shows life a kilometer below ground. A glimpse of the conditions the trapped miners are enduring, cramped, filthy, dark and an uncomfortable 30 degrees. Add to that they're trapped in a caged safety platform like this one, only smaller. There was some relief today, though. News they'd worked open a door, providing an extra square meter of cavity space to crawl into.

BILL SHORTEN, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS' UNION: There's a little bit of room to move but they're not out there doing calisthenics.

REASON: They've also been given tapolin (ph) sheets to keep dry, fresh clothes, glow sticks for light, more food, bedding and magazines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe there were appropriate types of magazines.

REASON: And their request for weekend papers, proof they've kept their sense of humor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the reason he wanted to see today's paper was because he's going to look for another job.

REASON: Those creature comforts will be vital. The pair have been told the 48-hour drilling process to rescue them is still yet to start. The raised bora (ph) drill they'll use, like this one, needs a concrete base to be laid before the operation can begin. It's a wait not only unbearable for Todd Russell and Brant Webb, residents say the tension's exhausting. That the local Uniting Church, around the clock prayers. There are vigils outside the mine's main gates.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted God to give them strength, to guide them, to lead them and I know he will.

REASON: And a continual stream of well-wishers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel sad because they -- they got trapped down there and some of my -- and my dad's friends down there because he used to work there.

REASON: Binny Shea has known Todd's family 30 years and knows he'll make it through.

BINNY SHEA, FAMILY FRIEND: Yes, yes. It's watching flag football.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you describe him?

SHEA: Tough. That why he'll come out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And now we're on to Durham, North Carolina, where they're saying, well, maybe they're drunken jocks, but not racist sex fiends. Those are the findings in a report on Duke University's lacrosse team. The review concludes the team should be allowed to return to the field next year. The alleged rape of an African-American dancer at a lacrosse team party triggered that inquiry. CNN's Jason Carroll joins me from Durham, North Carolina.

Jason, let's talk about these findings and these plans. First, the university says lacrosse will go on, but with what and with whom? There's no coach. And have some of the players transferred or looked into transferring to other schools?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely right, Daryn.

Very interesting to see what's going to happen with this team now. Remember, these are recommendations coming from both of these committees. And, as you say, they don't have a coach. Mike Pressler, several weeks ago, resigned in the wake of this scandal. And so it's going to be interesting to see how the team proceeds from this point on.

One of the points that the committee made is that if the team does come back and, again, they're recommending that the team should be able to resume play next season. They said that there should be some sort of a code of conduct that the team has to adhere to and they also say that the university administrators have to be really strict in terms of how they enforce that code.

KAGAN: And there was a lot of talk about alcohol and use of alcohol in the past with this team.

CARROLL: Absolutely. As you know, with this particular team, 15 members of the team have minor offenses in the past for things like under-aged drinking, public urination, things of this nature. The committee looked at that. They actually went back, though, five years. Looking at the lacrosse team members from five years. Interviewing some former players, students, et cetera, in terms of putting together their findings. And basically they found that there was way too much drinking going on. And for the administratives who knew about it, they just simply weren't doing enough to stop it.

KAGAN: Today is election day in Durham?

CARROLL: Today is primary election day. The district attorney, Michael Nifong, is up for reelection. And something interesting happened here yesterday at the Durham County Courthouse, Daryn. One of the defense attorneys actually submitted a motion to the court asking that Michael Nifong be recused from the case. He basically said that Michael Nifong is using this case for political gain to try to win reelection.

I spoke to Michael Nifong about that yesterday. He said this is just posturing on the part of the defense. He said just because a defense attorney submits something doesn't make it true. I asked him how he felt about the election, Daryn and he told me, "I feel as cool as the other side of a pillow." We'll have to see how he feels at 7:30 when the polls close.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Very southern using that kind of imagery there. Thank you. Jason Carroll live in Durham, North Carolina.

Now on to DNA. To most of us, it is a scientific curiosity. To 175 prisoners, since 1989, DNA has meant freedom. Today add another name to that list. A Pennsylvania man has gone from a life sentence to a life of freedom. Reporter Jake Ploeger of affiliate WTAE has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE PLOEGER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): When Drew Whitley walked out of jail, he said freedom is a beautiful thing. But you can't help but wonder how he feels about being wrongly imprisoned for almost two decades.

So are you bitter at all?

DREW WHITLEY, EXONERATED BY DNA: No. Difficult times I get better, not bitter. Don't get me wrong, I get a little upset at times, you know, angry, but not bitter.

PLOEGER: Crutching his mother, Hattie, Whitley talked about what it was like hoping, praying and fighting for his freedom for 18 long years. WHITLEY: It's like somebody put you in a room with a million doors and there's only one door that you can open and they blindfold you. And over the years you've got to keep on trying to find these door blindfolded and you're go over to the same door over and over.

PLOEGER: A main piece of evidence convicting Whitley in the 1988 murder of Noreen Malloy was hairs found in a stocking cap used by the killer. When DNA results came back indicating the hairs did not belong to Whitley, the Allegheny County district attorney determined he could not, without a reasonable doubt, convict Whitley at a retrial. Two months ago Channel 4 Action News spoke with the jury foreman in that 1989 murder trial. Donald Selaros (ph) says, in his opinion, the hairs used as evidence did not play a big role in jury deliberations in the first place.

If you take the hair completely out of the case, you would still convict him?

DONALD SELAROS: Yes.

PLOEGER: Despite that opinion, Drew Whitley becomes just the second Allegheny County man released from jail through DNA evidence. Thomas Doswell, in the courtroom today, was the first.

THOMAS DOSWELL, EXONERATED INMATE: The system, as we had said before, isn't perfect, but it is -- has the opportunity to be corrected. And through cases being risen like this, I'm thankful, again, that we have an opportunity to see justice being implanted here in Pennsylvania.

PLOEGER: Whitley says he's not sure what he'll do now that he's been released, but he knows he wants to spend time catching up with his mom and his son.

MARCUS BROWN, WHITLEY'S SON: Well, you know, he's been gone since I was 14. It's like, you know, Christmas. Like a little kid like Christmas, you know?

HATTIE WHITLEY, WHITLEY'S MOTHER: I'm just so happy. This date, May 1, 2006, it don't get no better than this.

WHITLEY: Keep hope alive. Don't never give up on hope. And always remember tough times don't last, tough people do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Very inspiring. That was reporter Jake Ploeger of our affiliate WTAE.

It has probably been decades since Keith Richards was of a picture of health, but the hard-living rocker is at least out of the hospital today. The Rolling Stones guitarist spent a couple of days in a New Zealand hospital. He reportedly bonked his head when he fell out of a palm tree in Fiji. No details on why he was in that tree in the first place.

Hurricane season. Watch out. Here it comes. Will lessons from storms past prepare us for this year? FEMA and Florida get ready.

And this is so not funny. Random bystanders caught off-guard by a slick laugh called happy slapping. We'll tell you the story just ahead on LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: So you live pictures of West Virginia now. These are family members who lost miners during the Sago Mine disaster. Public hearings taking place today. The hearings discussing possible causes of the deadly explosion, the mine's handling of the situation and the miss communications that occurred during the rescue efforts. Let's listen for a bit to these family members.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Changes in mine safety and update the technology. Our dad didn't deserve to die so young. Our prayers are with the miners that continue to work in this mine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next, we've asked Virginia Moore, fiancee of Terry Helms, and Amber Helms, daughter of Terry Helms, to come forward.

VIRGINIA MOORE, FIANCEE OF TERRY HELMS: Hi, I'm Virginia Moore.

Mine's not quite as long as what Peggy's was, but it all means the same and it gets to the point.

I'm Terry Helms' fiancee. We was to be married this summer. He was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Our love for each other was the strongest that you could ever imagine and ever feel. It was almost like being saved. Accepting Jesus into your life. It's the wonderfulest feeling and that's what our love felt like to each other.

See, without Terry, there is half of my heart gone because he made it whole. And without him here today, I'm sure all the family members that there's a great piece that will never, ever be filled again in their hearts. Since he is gone, we are here to ask you all for answers and hope that we may get some closure to this.

AMBER HELMS, DAUGHTER OF TERRY HELMS: My name is Amber Helms. And my father, of course, was Terry Michael Helms. He's also survived by a son, Nicholas Michael Helms, who couldn't make it today, Virginia Moore, his fiancee, his brother John Helms and his sister Judy Helms. Excuse me.

My dad, in my eyes, was perfect. He was a fantastic role model, a devoted father, a loving companion and a reliable friend. To me, Terry Michael Helms was not just a father, he was that fantastic role model to me. He was a man who would stop in the middle of a rainy day to help someone change a tire, a man who would help even if he didn't have the time because he would just simply make the time.

My father taught me that I could do anything. And I mean anything. I remember one incident when I was mowing the leaves and they kind of caught fire and he ran to me, got me off and he stopped it and, of course, I didn't want to get back on, but he made me. He made me overcome my fears and he made me believe that I can do anything. And even if it was scary, I could do anything and that's why I'm here today because he made me believe in myself.

He that was devoted father to me. He was always there for me and my brother. He wouldn't miss anything unless he had to work, of course. And many times he would come straight from work to my track or cross country or basketball games even if all he saw was me crossing the finish line or the last couple seconds of each ball game, but oftentimes he made it for the beginning.

One (INAUDIBLE) I didn't think he was going to make it to the race and half way through I heard him yelling. All the rush that gave me, I think I came in first, at least in my eyes, because I wanted to do good for him. So no matter what it was, no matter what death (ph) time of night or morning hour, he was always there.

He was that loving companion to me. Through college I was single and oftentimes would call him up and I was crying and lonely and he would make sure that I would know that everything would be okay. He would assure me that everything would work out. But last summer I spent at home with him I decided that so long as I lived near him I could be single my whole life because that's the kind of relationship we had. But shortly after I found the love of my life, who he highly approved of, so it was great.

So Terry was just one of those men that anybody could just love. I recently had dinner with a friend who I used to play basketball with and track and she made the comment that described him as the big teddy bear in the crowd. And she was definitely right. And he wasn't just a father to me. He wasn't just a father to my brother. He was a father to many of my friends. His nickname was Dad Helms on my basketball team and he definitely was like a dad to all of them.

And he was that reliable friend to me. And this could be the most important part of our relationship and that was our friendship. We could talk about really anything. And he didn't look at me as just his daughter, but he looked at me as a good friend that need some good advice. If I needed an outfit for school, he would go and help me pick it out. And I must say, he had some very good taste. And if I needed some ideas for a project, he came up with the best ideas. And if there was anything I was unsure about with my actions, he was the first one that I called because he knew me the best. He was my best friend.

This is the man that I no longer have. I'm not sure anybody could understand how lonely I often feel. I'm so well at masking it. I can't ask his opinion on anything and I can't even find out what his favorite singer is now or his favorite cartoon, because we watched a lot of those. Most importantly, I can't talk to him and get a response because, believe me, I talked to him every day.

Terry Michael Helms is why I'm here today. I hope that being here today and tomorrow I can have several questions answered, such as that morning did he call out? Who answered his call? And what was actually written in the books that we can't find? The fire boss books that we haven't found.

And lastly, I would like to thank everybody who is here today, everybody that is here, for trying to help the families further understand what happened that terrible day of January 2, 2006, that took our loved ones' life. Thank you.

KAGAN: Spoken so well. Listening to the family members. The daughter of Terry Helms, one of the miners who died in the Sago Mines disaster. Hearings taking place today in Buckhannon, West Virginia. Besides family members, they will be hearing from officials, including the governor, Joe Manchin, of West Virginia. We'll continue to monitor those hearings and bring you highlights as we go on. It will be difficult to top that daughter's emotional testimony and questions.

We are getting closer to hurricane season. Are you ready? We look at that just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The countdown is on. The Atlantic hurricane season is about a month away. Predictions pointing to another active year. Hurricane forecaster Dr. William Gray and his team believe there will be 17 named storm, nine of them hurricanes. Five of those will go on to become major hurricanes. Will our coast lines be ready? The answer may lie at FEMA headquarters. CNN's Jeanne Meserve has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWD: I will swear to defend the Constitution of the United States.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This is the new blood, new hires FEMA hopes will resuscitate the agency.

MIKE HALL, FEMA DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES: If we're going to be better tomorrow than we are today, it all begins with people.

MESERVE: FEMA's people, or more precisely a lack of them, were blamed in part for the agency's bumbling, stumbling response to Katrina. Government reports said a brain drain in the years prior to the storm had left FEMA unprepared. Mike Austin, a 20-year FEMA employee, was one of those who exited. Now he spends his days doing pen and ink drawings.

MIKE AUSTIN, RETIRED FEMA EMPLOYEE: We all want to feel like we're part of a winning team. We want to feel like that what we did, who we were, what we were, was important and appreciated.

MESERVE: But Austin didn't. He says politicized leadership, budget cuts and organizational reshuffling drove him and others away. The barrage of bad publicity since Katrina has further sapped morale, some insiders say, and the exodus of experienced personnel continues. LEO BOSNER, FEMA UNION PRESIDENT: People no are either on the way out or a lot of them wishing they had a way out, to be honest with you.

MESERVE: Just last week, at least two high-ranking veteran employees left the agency. Although after a long search a FEMA director has been nominated, many top positions are still open. There is no permanent director of operations or director of response or director of recovery. There are no permanent directors in half of FEMA's 10 regions. Not surprisingly, FEMA is now on a hiring binge.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We're on a path now to get about 95 percent of the vacancies filled in the department by June 1.

MESERVE: As of right now, about 85 percent of permanent full- time positions are filled.

HALL: For every position that we've got advertisement, we're getting hundreds of applications. And so I think that we're building a very dynamic workforce.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And Jeanne Meserve joins us now from our Washington, D.C. bureau.

Jeanne, so the personnel challenges seem huge. What else is FEMA facing within weeks of hurricane season beginning?

MESERVE: Well there are a whole number of things that they have to address and management says they're trying to address. They want a better logistics systems so they can move things like ice to where it needs to be quickly, more efficiently. That was one of the real short comings in Katrina.

They're trying to harden communications equipment. We saw what difficulty there was with that. They're trying to develop teams to go out and give quicker situational awareness so people back at headquarters know what they're dealing with. On all of those fronts, FEMA trying to press forward even as it tries to staff up and get the people it needs to do the job.

KAGAN: We will be watching it. Jeanne Meserve in Washington D.C. Jeanne, thank you.

MESERVE: You bet.

KAGAN: While looking back, some things went right and a bunch didn't. Florida's disaster experts prepare for the new hurricane season by looking back at the old one. Craig Fugate is director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management. He's in Tallahassee this morning.

Craig, good morning.

CRAIG FUGATE, DIRECTOR, FLORIDA DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Good morning.

KAGAN: Want to look back and use Katrina. And I know Katrina wasn't the big mack daddy storm for Florida. But using that as an example, I want to go down a list of things and see some of the adjustments that perhaps your state has made as we look forward.

Starting with evacuations. What have you learned about how you need to make those go better?

FUGATE: Well, in Florida, we've been evacuating probably more people than you've seen in many of these storms, including Katrina, for some time. But I think what Katrina pointed out is, you've really got to focus in on people that don't have transportation, your disabled population and your frail elderly. And you have to build a plan around their needs and be able to meet them when you are facing an evacuation.

But, again, in Florida, we've been dealing with this for some time. I think what Katrina pointed out is, people need to have a plan. You need to heed those evacuation orders, leave early and we need to focus in our most venerable populations to make sure they have the transportation and the shelters to go to.

KAGAN: The pictures we're looking at right now I think deal with contra flow. And we saw that work not so well in Rita as people were trying to get away from coastal Texas. What do you know about contra flow in Florida that works?

FUGATE: Well, we've been working on contra flow or reverse lanes, what most people would call it, since after Hurricane Floyd. And not only have we developed the plans, we've actually exercised the plans. We're fortunate that none of our storms in the last, you know, couple of years have required it. But it's something we practice and we're able to do.

But I think the big thing in Florida is most people need to understand, you only have to go tens of miles to get away from storm surge threat. We do not evacuate based upon wind unless you're in a mobile home or RV park. So for most Floridians it's merely moving in tens of miles, not traveling hundreds of miles. But we are prepared to reverse land operations if necessary to support local counties.

KAGAN: So you move those people that have to stay somewhere. That means you need temporary shelters.

FUGATE: Well, again, we've been working on reducing Florida shelter deficit with Governor Bush now. And initially after Hurricane Andrew found many that many of our shelters weren't going to be very good in high-wind events and we've cut that deficit way down. And again, in Florida, we've been dealing with these threats for some time. We've invested a lot of funds for the state and retrofitting schools as shelters as also, as Governor Bush directed after the 2004 hurricane season, to significantly approved our operations and our special needs shelters.

Again, the Florida legislature has been supporting that. This year, again, Governor Bush has asked for some very specific funding for our special needs shelters to ensure that not only can we meet the needs of them, but we can also make sure they're in a safe environment and also a cool environment by installing generators to make sure the air-conditioning system will operate.

KAGAN: In Katrina a big problems was first responders, people getting where they need to get to help and who's in charge. You've worked out some of that in Florida?

FUGATE: Well, we've been doing it since Hurricane Andrew. You know, the lessons we learned, and, in fact, the parallels between what happened in Andrew and what we saw again in Katrina were very eerie. In fact, some of the reports are very eerie. We work as a team in Florida from our local officials to our state and our federal partners. And in Hurricane Katrina, we actually sent over 6,000 responders from the state of Florida to Mississippi to help them conduct everything from search and rescue, as well as support their local emergency managers in those trying first weeks as they were digging out from the storm.

KAGAN: And, finally, temporary housing. And that, I mean, not where you go during the storm, but here we are almost a year out, getting close to a year out from Katrina, and some people still aren't able to get back to their regular homes. So making adjustments for where people can live long term.

FUGATE: It's a real challenge for us in Florida. We have over 5,200 families still in temporary housing in 2004 and then last year. Governor Bush has asked the Florida legislature for additional funding for affordable housing to move people back out long term. But I'm afraid that our plans in going in to meeting the immediate shelter needs in the public schools works, but the intermediate to longer term housing is still a challenge both for local, state and our federal partners.

KAGAN: Craig Fugate, we wish you well this season.

FUGATE: Thank you.

KAGAN: In fact, I'm going to wish you the most boring hurricane season of your life. How's that sound?

FUGATE: I just wish that all our Floridians and everybody in the Gulf Coast area has a plan and gets ready for this hurricane season. That's how you can make it more successful for everybody.

KAGAN: Individual responsibility. There you go.

FUGATE: Yes, ma'am.

KAGAN: Craig, thank you.

Here's an individual who knows all about that, Jacqui Jeras, giving us a little Hurricane 101.

Jacqui, good morning. JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Good morning.

Yes, Craig, and the state of Florida getting ready for the hurricanes, as should everybody in the Gulf Coast states. And CNN, your hurricane headquarters, wants to be a part of that helping you to prepare for what is expected to be again another very active hurricane season. Thirty days away, June 1, that's when hurricane season begins and each and every day here at CNN we're going to be brining you Hurricane 101 facts and preparation tips to help you get ready.

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