Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

A Survivor's Message; Contact With BTK?' '90-Second Pop'

Aired February 04, 2005 - 07:30   ET

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

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


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING, a little bit of a rainy commute for folks this morning here in New York City.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I would say.

O'BRIEN: We're about to meet a man who wrote what he thought were his dying words in his own blood. His family is very grateful, though, that those words were not his last. We're going to be joined by him and his wife as well, just ahead.

HEMMER: What a nice story there, too. Also, there may be new word from the BTK killer. This comes from the middle part of the country. And BTK stands for "bind, torture and kill." It refers to a series of unsolved murders in Kansas dating back about 30 years. We'll talk to a reporter out there, KAKE anchorman Larry Hatteberg. He'll tell us what's written on that postcard, not the first postcard that station has received. So, the mystery continues, and we'll try and figure some things out here in a moment on that.

O'BRIEN: Other stories making news this morning. Let's get right to the headlines with Carol Costello.

Good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News."

President Bush is in the second day of a five-state swing to promote his Social Security plan. The president starts this morning in Nebraska, then heads to Arkansas and Florida. Each of those states has a Democratic senator who Republicans say may be willing to support the president's agenda.

The country's first Hispanic attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, is starting his first full day on the job. Gonzales was sworn in yesterday by Vice President Dick Cheney in a private ceremony at the White House. He had been confirmed in a 60-36 Senate vote just hours earlier. The no-votes were cast by some Democrats who say his legal advice opened the door to abuse of terror detainees.

Pope John Paul II's health is improving. The Vatican says the pope spent a peaceful third night and his now feeding himself regularly. Sources say the 84-year-old pontiff will deliver his regular Sunday address this weekend from a hospital window.

And that Marine Corps general who said it's fun to shoot people has been told to choose his words more carefully. Lieutenant General James Mattis made the comment Tuesday at a San Diego forum on war strategies. A commandant of the Marine Corps has since said he admonished Mattis for the remarks. He also said the comments reflect the unfortunate and harsh realities of war.

Back to you guys.

O'BRIEN: All right, Carol, thanks a lot.

Well, his story touched even the toughest veterans of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Last week, a train collision in Glendale, California, claimed 11 lives, injured hundreds of people. Forty-four- year-old John Phipps was stuck in the horrific wreckage. In those desperate moments he left a message that he thought would be his last, written to his wife and his kids, written in his own blood.

John Phipps joins us this morning, his wife, Leslie, by his side. They're in Los Angeles.

It's nice to you both. Thanks for coming in to talk to us.

John, tell me, why did you take the train that day? I know you usually drive, right?

LESLIE PHIPPS, HUSBAND SURVIVED TRAIN CRASH: Can you hear her? She's talking to you.

JOHN PHIPPS, TRAIN CRASH SURVIVOR: I can't hear a thing.

O'BRIEN: You know what, John? Let me see if we can fix your audio. And then while you're doing that, it seems like Leslie might be able to hear me. So, I'll throw that question to Leslie while we try to fix John's audio.

Leslie, doesn't your husband normally drive into work? Why did he take the train that day?

L. PHIPPS: He usually commutes on the train since he got his job in Burbank. It's quite a distance from our home.

O'BRIEN: You know what, Leslie? I'm going to stop you there, because I'm having trouble hearing you, too. So, obviously we are being failed by technology this morning. We're going to come back to you, though. We have a really remarkable story. We'll come back to them in just a moment -- Bill.

HEMMER: That's a busy fire house there, too, early in the morning as well.

An update now on the crash of that corporate jet in New Jersey. NTSB investigators say there is no sign of ice on the wings Wednesday morning. The pilots aborted takeoff at the last minute at Teterboro Airport just 12 miles from midtown Manhattan. The plane then skidded off the runway, slammed into the side of a clothing warehouse. All 11 passengers and crew on board survived.

Two vehicles, though, were struck as the plane careened across a busy roadway. A passenger in one of the cars is still in critical condition today. And a passenger in the other car cannot believe he's alive, and that would be an understatement based on what we've heard so far.

Investigators plan to interview the pilot today, and maybe the co-pilot as soon as possible, still recovering. And both men remain hospitalized, listed in fair condition.

Again, we have said it for two days now, extraordinary and unbelievable that people survived that incident Wednesday morning -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: No question. Amazing as well that lots of people were able to survive that train collision last week in Glendale, California. It claimed 11 lives, hundreds of people, as we mentioned just a moment ago, were injured in that crash.

One of those is John Phipps. He survived, and he was able to with his own blood write a message to his wife and children. It looks like we've solved, I'm hoping, our audio problems, John. So, let's try to see if we can chat with you once again.

I was asking why you would take the train that day, because, of course, usually you drive, right?

J. PHIPPS: I've been commuting for about a year. My truck is pretty old. It doesn't make the 60-mile round trip very much anymore.

O'BRIEN: What do you remember, John, about that day?

J. PHIPPS: It started out a typical day. I got on the train. I was going to work. It was really early in the morning. So, rather than read, I just started to doze off, which was pretty common. I don't remember the impact or anything. I remember waking up flat on my back and looking at the sky. That's not a good thing when you're riding a train.

O'BRIEN: Yes, no, definitely. Probably the understatement of the year with that.

Leslie, when did you realize that your husband was actually on that train? Of course, we were all looking at these terrifying pictures.

PHIPPS: Well, I was at work, so I hadn't seen any pictures of the crash. So, I didn't have to do that, oh, was he on that train, was he not on that train, and try to get a hold of him. And fortunately for me, one of his co-workers also was on the train, and he made phone calls. So that I did know fairly early that he was on that train and he was still alive. And then the gentleman was kind enough to call back and let me know which hospital he had been transported to. O'BRIEN: John, you were pinned under the debris, and I know you were bleeding pretty profusely from your head. What was going through your mind? And what did you do next?

J. PHIPPS: It was pretty weird to be -- to realize that something serious had gone wrong with the train. I didn't know what at the time. And to be bleeding pretty freely in several places and not be able to get out because your leg is pinned. I really didn't know if I was going to get out or not.

O'BRIEN: What was going through your mind when you decided to use the blood that was coming out of your head and write what you thought was your final message to your wife and children?

J. PHIPPS: It wasn't like a conscious thought, I have to leave a last will and testament. I just happened to, you know, have a head wound that was bleeding. And I happened to just touch part of the debris in the train. And it left a mark, and I just wrote, "I love Leslie." And then there was plenty of ink left, so I wrote, "I love my kids, too."

O'BRIEN: The message, Leslie, it's pretty simple. But I know that it caused a lot of the firefighters to choke up. I mean, veterans were saying how they were touched by that simple message. The two of you have been married for 26 years. You have three kids. When you heard sort of the details of this story, Leslie, what went through your mind?

L. PHIPPS: Well, there's a lot of things, a lot of feelings that you have. First, you're surprised, and then there is just awe that it would happen at all. And even as touching as the sentiment is, it's also somewhat chilling, you know, that that could have been it. And, of course, we're all glad it wasn't.

O'BRIEN: Yes, we're glad as well. John Phipps and Leslie Phipps joining us this morning to share their story of very good news. Thanks, you guys. We appreciate it.

L. PHIPPS: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Bill.

HEMMER: They've still got a good sense of humor, too.

Twenty-two minutes now before the hour on a Friday morning. It is wet in the Northeast. Some of it is rain. The other stuff is white. Here's Chad Myers checking the weather now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: Wall Street has got a definite favorite for the game on Sunday. Andy tells us why in a moment, when he comes back "Minding Your Business." We'll get to that.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, another mysterious message thought to be a from a notorious serial killer. What's he trying to say this time? Those stories are ahead as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: A television station in Wichita, Kansas, is now saying it's received another postcard from someone claiming to be the serial killer known as BTK. It stands for "bind, torture and kill." It's linked to eight unsolved murders in the '70s and the '80s.

The killer resurfaced last May with a message to the media. And back in December, a package with a victim's driver's license was found in a park in Wichita.

In the past two weeks alone, KAKE television has received three more letters, with the last two being sent just this week, for a total of nine messages. And Larry Hatteberg is with us today. He's an anchor with KAKE television in Wichita.

Larry, good morning to you. And thanks for coming back. What was on these postcards that you could read into?

LARRY HATTEBERG, ANCHOR, KAKE TV: Well, the latest postcard that we received yesterday, Bill, was pretty direct. And we know that BTK is a viewer of our television station here. He has been for some 30 years.

And he writes, "Thank you for your quick response to No. 7 and No. 8," and he was referring to communications No. 7 and No. 8 that we received last week.

Then he gets even more personal and he says, "Thanks to your news team for their efforts," obviously in covering the story and trying to communicate with him.

And then, even more personal, by saying, "Sorry about Susan and Jeff's cold." Now, Susan and Jeff are our main anchors. And last week, they had talked about having a cold on the air. So, he's referring to that.

Then, in the rest of the postcard, he has some information for the police department. We've been asked not to release that particular part of the postcard.

So, BTK continues to directly communicate with this television station in the same way that he has now for some 30 years.

HEMMER: Let me try and pick up on the message there. Was there more instruction for police in this investigation?

HATTEBERG: There was a message there, a personal message for the police department that he wanted to make sure that the police department got. And they do have it now. We, of course, have turned the postcard over to the Wichita police department.

HEMMER: Have the police -- is there any reason not to think it's not authentic? HATTEBERG: Not at this point. This postcard is very similar to the previous postcard that we received last week. And police do believe that that's authentic. The postcard last week pointed to another location, where police found a Post Toasties box that was full of a number of items. Now, we don't know exactly what those items are, but we do believe that they relate to some previous murders that he's done.

HEMMER: Wow! And in a final word here, is it thought that he or she is enjoying this contact and communication, the attention?

HATTEBERG: Well, it's definitely a he, and we know that he loves this attention. He loves being on CNN. He loves being on the networks. He loves being able to turn on the nightly news and see people talking about him. And the good news is, as long as he's communicating and as long as he's happy, he's not killing. And we're happy about that.

HEMMER: Thanks, Larry. Keep us posted. From KAKE television there in Wichita.

HATTEBERG: My pleasure.

HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: And let's go right to the "Question of the Day" and Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, on a much lighter note, how much would you pay to have a piece of a famous person? How about 1,500 bucks for a billiard ball from Elvis Presley's pool table? A million dollars is expected to be fetched at auction for ordinary household items that belonged to Jackie Kennedy Onassis, things like mason jars and dirty oven mitts.

"USA Today" reports a boom in the celebrity auction business. Someone actually paid $3,000 for Justin Timberlake's partially-eaten toast. One fan says it's a connection to the person that no one else can have.

O'BRIEN: It was worth every dime. I have it framed.

CAFFERTY: So, the question is: Has celebrity worship gone too far? Is there something that belongs to a celebrity out there that you'd pay big bucks for?

Dawn in Nanticoke, Canada: "In a perverse sort of way, it would be interesting to have Monica Lewinsky's blue dress or one of Bill Clinton's famous cigars."

Shirley in Dunedin, Bill?

HEMMER: Dunedin.

CAFFERTY: Dunedin.

HEMMER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: "It can't go farther than the media's creation of celebrity. If y'all would stop glamorizing every moron who trips over a crack in the sidewalk, we could concentrate on the really important nobodies."

That's pretty good.

Robert in Tacoma, Washington: "I should have said, yes, people have gone too far worshiping celebs. But I'm guilty of it as a well. My wife and I love Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and would let him walk on her back to get across a puddle of water. They're just people with flaws like the rest of us, but they give us something to believe in."

Dean in New York: "Yes, celebrity worship has definitely gone too far. I think the time has come for the pendulum to swing the other way. What we need is a period of celebrity degradation where celebrities are pelted with rotten fruit every time they appear in public."

And Dan in Santa Barbara writes: "Who wouldn't pay big bucks for a lock of Jack's hair? Items are more valuable when they are a limited edition."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Oh! Scarcity.

O'BRIEN: Well.

HEMMER: You liked that.

SERWER: Scarcity.

O'BRIEN: I didn't get enough I don't think.

CAFFERTY: It's a white one.

HEMMER: Yes, thank you, Jack.

SERWER: Wow! Wow!

HEMMER: Wall Street has got a favorite this Sunday, right, Andy?

SERWER: Oh, they sure do.

HEMMER: The Super Bowl?

SERWER: Yes.

HEMMER: Yes?

SERWER: Yes. I mean, and you should too, if you care about your retirement, if you care about your portfolio, if you care about your investments, the Eagles. The Eagles. This is the Wall Street Super Bowl theory, of course. Twenty-six years ago, a sportswriter for "The New York Times," Leonard Koppa (ph), came one this thing, back-tested it. So now, we have 38 years of data. And in 30 of the 38 years, when the NFC teams win, the stock market goes up an average of 9 percent. OK? It didn't work last year, though.

CAFFERTY: I was going to say...

SERWER: It didn't work last year. It didn't work last year. It's not perfect, OK?

But you really should root for the Eagles, people. A couple of regions why I'm rooting for the Eagles. First of all, I care about my retirement, No. 1. No. 2, Bill Belichick, the coach of the Pats, is not a genius or a saint. I'm tired of reading about that.

HEMMER: Oh, come on.

SERWER: No. 3, the Eagles have character. They've got flavor. They've got T.O. and Freddie Mitchell and McNabb. The Patriots have Tom Brady. It's not very exciting. No. 4, Boston burnout. I'm tired of the Red Sox. I'm tired of the Patriots. I'm tired of Boston College's basketball team being undefeated. You have to root for the Eagles.

Adam Thomas on our production staff is going down there. He paid $2,800...

HEMMER: Really?

SERWER: ... for a ticket. It doesn't include...

HEMMER: An Eagles or Patriots fan?

SERWER: Eagles fan. It doesn't include airfare or hotel. He's staying in Orlando, which is two and a half hours away, because that's the closest place.

Adam, they must pay you an awful lot for that job.

O'BRIEN: Really.

(CROSSTALK)

CAFFERTY: Yes, but you weren't here. But we had a story of a guy in Philadelphia mortgaged his house for four grand for two tickets.

SERWER: Really?

HEMMER: The Eagles better win.

CAFFERTY: He said my credit cards were maxed out. I had to go and mortgage the house. He took out a house loan so he could go.

SERWER: They're psycho in Philadelphia over this team.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

SERWER: And I've been there and seen these people, and they're crazy. HEMMER: I'll take the Patriots. I'll give Jack seven points.

CAFFERTY: All right.

HEMMER: He's taking the Eagles. Soledad likes (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

O'BRIEN: Yes, I'm with you on this.

SERWER: All right.

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, after the last...

SERWER: Eagles versus Pats.

O'BRIEN: OK.

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: Sorry.

O'BRIEN: That's all right. That's all right. After the last Super Bowl, everybody was talking about a wardrobe malfunction of course. But this year, "The Simpsons" could be stirring up a little controversy. "90-Second Pop" is up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: When I can educate Toure on something. Do you remember that song? You don't know that song?

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: I do remember now.

O'BRIEN: It hearkens us back to the wardrobe malfunction. That's Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake doing their thing Super Bowl Sunday last year.

TOURE: We'll never let it go.

O'BRIEN: And we certainly won't today. Here we go again revisiting it. It's "90-Second Pop" for a Friday. Here to play this morning, Toure is CNN's pop culture correspondent. Jessica Shaw joins us from "Entertainment Weekly." B.J. Sigesmund is staff editor for "Us Weekly."

Good morning. Nice to see you, guys.

B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.

JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: After the game, "The Simpsons" is going to have -- is going to be on, on Fox, with a controversial episode. Is it really truly controversial?

SIGESMUND: I think it is controversial, Soledad. I saw it last night. And it really goes very far. It's not particularly funny, but it has a very ironic point of view.

O'BRIEN: What's going far about it?

SIGESMUND: It satirizes not just the nipple-gate incident, but really the country's reaction to it last year, as well as all of the fervor around "The Passion of the Christ." A couple things happen in the episode.

First, Ned Flanders, who is their deeply religious neighbor, gets so disgusted by entertainment on television that he decides to make his own movie about the Cain and Abel story. And he casts his own sons in a very violent story. And this is maybe the most violent image you will ever see animated in prime time. I was stunned by it in the way that you were stunned by "The Passion of the Christ."

SHAW: Oh, no. I thought it was pretty funny. I thought Homer...

(CROSSTALK)

SHAW: Homer gets tapped to do the halftime show. It's brilliant. He wants to send a crocodile up to space, but it gets messed up. I think it's great. You know, I think Fox is also debuting "American Dad" right after "The Simpsons," which I think they might be hoping that their viewers are a tad drunk, because "American Dad" is also quite controversial. And there's a Karl Rove-esque character. There's a CIA agent, you know, tracking terrorist activity.

SIGESMUND: Well, I just...

O'BRIEN: Let's move on to our next topic, because we've got to run though stuff today.

SIGESMUND: All right.

O'BRIEN: OK. For those of us who are not necessarily going to be watching the Super Bowl...

SHAW: A.K. the two of us.

O'BRIEN: Exactly.

TOURE: Yes.

O'BRIEN: And some other girls I know and some other folks, too, actually. Not everybody watches the Super Bowl. What else is there to watch?

SHAW: You know, there's not much. Counter-programming a/k/a television for women. It's not such a great selection. There's, like, a "Charmed" marathon." Agent Cody Banks" is showing. You know, these...

TOURE: A repeat of "Desperate Housewives."

SHAW: That's the thing. ESPN has ice skating and jump rope.

TOURE: Jump rope! How insulting!

SIGESMUND: Every network seemed to throw in the towel this year. I mean, there is not really one good option outside of Fox.

TOURE: It's a great game for once, my god! You get up there, root for the black quarterback or the most humble dynasty we've ever seen. There's so much to watch.

O'BRIEN: That's true. All right, I want to talk finally about Lindsay Lohan. Boy, this girl has got some trouble. I mean, what a mess. You know, she's moved from the celebrity where you think, like, just a freakish celebrity, to being I actually feel sorry for the young woman. She's only 18 years old.

TOURE: Well, you should, because she's suffering under the rein of the hater of the week this week, who is her dad, Michael Lohan, who has been arrested, arraigned and jailed in the past. And now he's suing for alimony from his wife to get half of what she gets from Lindsay each year.

O'BRIEN: Because he's...

TOURE: And he's hoping for like 36 million a year.

O'BRIEN: Because the mom is Lindsay's manager.

SHAW: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Which means if Lindsay makes 40 grand...

TOURE: Right.

O'BRIEN: ... she makes...

SHAW: Forty million.

TOURE: Forty million.

O'BRIEN: I'm sorry. Whoa!

SHAW: Forty grand for waking in the morning?

O'BRIEN: Forty grand...

TOURE: Notice that he's got the same lawyer as Joey Buttafuoco, right?

SHAW: Yes.

TOURE: Which suggests perhaps the same history, the same future in the loser hall of fame!

SIGESMUND: Can I just say, the saddest part of this whole thing is that her career -- and she's not a bad actress -- is being absolutely eclipsed by all of these problems with her dad and her incessant partying and the media's covering of her incessant partying.

SHAW: Right.

O'BRIEN: It should be the best time in her life.

SIGESMUND: Right.

O'BRIEN: I tell you, she's moved seriously into, like, the little bit of pathetic category.

SIGESMUND: That's how people know her.

TOURE: Whoa, whoa, whoa. If you're going to be big, you're going to have drama in your life. That's all she's adding is drama in her life.

SHAW: The thing is...

TOURE: When the next movie comes out and she is so easy to look at, it will do boffo (ph) business as usual.

SHAW: I don't know.

O'BRIEN: Plus, you've got to have something to write about in your book, you know, whether it's 5 years, 10 years down the road. You see? I'm right. No one is saying a word because I'm right. You guys, as always, we're out of time. Thank you very much.

Let's go back to Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad, thanks.

A break here. Top stories in a moment. And President Bush on the road again today pushing Social Security reform. What's the biggest hurdle he faces? It might not be just the Democrats. We'll have a look at that as we continue on a Friday morning after this.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.


Aired February 4, 2005 - 07:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING, a little bit of a rainy commute for folks this morning here in New York City.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I would say.

O'BRIEN: We're about to meet a man who wrote what he thought were his dying words in his own blood. His family is very grateful, though, that those words were not his last. We're going to be joined by him and his wife as well, just ahead.

HEMMER: What a nice story there, too. Also, there may be new word from the BTK killer. This comes from the middle part of the country. And BTK stands for "bind, torture and kill." It refers to a series of unsolved murders in Kansas dating back about 30 years. We'll talk to a reporter out there, KAKE anchorman Larry Hatteberg. He'll tell us what's written on that postcard, not the first postcard that station has received. So, the mystery continues, and we'll try and figure some things out here in a moment on that.

O'BRIEN: Other stories making news this morning. Let's get right to the headlines with Carol Costello.

Good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News."

President Bush is in the second day of a five-state swing to promote his Social Security plan. The president starts this morning in Nebraska, then heads to Arkansas and Florida. Each of those states has a Democratic senator who Republicans say may be willing to support the president's agenda.

The country's first Hispanic attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, is starting his first full day on the job. Gonzales was sworn in yesterday by Vice President Dick Cheney in a private ceremony at the White House. He had been confirmed in a 60-36 Senate vote just hours earlier. The no-votes were cast by some Democrats who say his legal advice opened the door to abuse of terror detainees.

Pope John Paul II's health is improving. The Vatican says the pope spent a peaceful third night and his now feeding himself regularly. Sources say the 84-year-old pontiff will deliver his regular Sunday address this weekend from a hospital window.

And that Marine Corps general who said it's fun to shoot people has been told to choose his words more carefully. Lieutenant General James Mattis made the comment Tuesday at a San Diego forum on war strategies. A commandant of the Marine Corps has since said he admonished Mattis for the remarks. He also said the comments reflect the unfortunate and harsh realities of war.

Back to you guys.

O'BRIEN: All right, Carol, thanks a lot.

Well, his story touched even the toughest veterans of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Last week, a train collision in Glendale, California, claimed 11 lives, injured hundreds of people. Forty-four- year-old John Phipps was stuck in the horrific wreckage. In those desperate moments he left a message that he thought would be his last, written to his wife and his kids, written in his own blood.

John Phipps joins us this morning, his wife, Leslie, by his side. They're in Los Angeles.

It's nice to you both. Thanks for coming in to talk to us.

John, tell me, why did you take the train that day? I know you usually drive, right?

LESLIE PHIPPS, HUSBAND SURVIVED TRAIN CRASH: Can you hear her? She's talking to you.

JOHN PHIPPS, TRAIN CRASH SURVIVOR: I can't hear a thing.

O'BRIEN: You know what, John? Let me see if we can fix your audio. And then while you're doing that, it seems like Leslie might be able to hear me. So, I'll throw that question to Leslie while we try to fix John's audio.

Leslie, doesn't your husband normally drive into work? Why did he take the train that day?

L. PHIPPS: He usually commutes on the train since he got his job in Burbank. It's quite a distance from our home.

O'BRIEN: You know what, Leslie? I'm going to stop you there, because I'm having trouble hearing you, too. So, obviously we are being failed by technology this morning. We're going to come back to you, though. We have a really remarkable story. We'll come back to them in just a moment -- Bill.

HEMMER: That's a busy fire house there, too, early in the morning as well.

An update now on the crash of that corporate jet in New Jersey. NTSB investigators say there is no sign of ice on the wings Wednesday morning. The pilots aborted takeoff at the last minute at Teterboro Airport just 12 miles from midtown Manhattan. The plane then skidded off the runway, slammed into the side of a clothing warehouse. All 11 passengers and crew on board survived.

Two vehicles, though, were struck as the plane careened across a busy roadway. A passenger in one of the cars is still in critical condition today. And a passenger in the other car cannot believe he's alive, and that would be an understatement based on what we've heard so far.

Investigators plan to interview the pilot today, and maybe the co-pilot as soon as possible, still recovering. And both men remain hospitalized, listed in fair condition.

Again, we have said it for two days now, extraordinary and unbelievable that people survived that incident Wednesday morning -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: No question. Amazing as well that lots of people were able to survive that train collision last week in Glendale, California. It claimed 11 lives, hundreds of people, as we mentioned just a moment ago, were injured in that crash.

One of those is John Phipps. He survived, and he was able to with his own blood write a message to his wife and children. It looks like we've solved, I'm hoping, our audio problems, John. So, let's try to see if we can chat with you once again.

I was asking why you would take the train that day, because, of course, usually you drive, right?

J. PHIPPS: I've been commuting for about a year. My truck is pretty old. It doesn't make the 60-mile round trip very much anymore.

O'BRIEN: What do you remember, John, about that day?

J. PHIPPS: It started out a typical day. I got on the train. I was going to work. It was really early in the morning. So, rather than read, I just started to doze off, which was pretty common. I don't remember the impact or anything. I remember waking up flat on my back and looking at the sky. That's not a good thing when you're riding a train.

O'BRIEN: Yes, no, definitely. Probably the understatement of the year with that.

Leslie, when did you realize that your husband was actually on that train? Of course, we were all looking at these terrifying pictures.

PHIPPS: Well, I was at work, so I hadn't seen any pictures of the crash. So, I didn't have to do that, oh, was he on that train, was he not on that train, and try to get a hold of him. And fortunately for me, one of his co-workers also was on the train, and he made phone calls. So that I did know fairly early that he was on that train and he was still alive. And then the gentleman was kind enough to call back and let me know which hospital he had been transported to. O'BRIEN: John, you were pinned under the debris, and I know you were bleeding pretty profusely from your head. What was going through your mind? And what did you do next?

J. PHIPPS: It was pretty weird to be -- to realize that something serious had gone wrong with the train. I didn't know what at the time. And to be bleeding pretty freely in several places and not be able to get out because your leg is pinned. I really didn't know if I was going to get out or not.

O'BRIEN: What was going through your mind when you decided to use the blood that was coming out of your head and write what you thought was your final message to your wife and children?

J. PHIPPS: It wasn't like a conscious thought, I have to leave a last will and testament. I just happened to, you know, have a head wound that was bleeding. And I happened to just touch part of the debris in the train. And it left a mark, and I just wrote, "I love Leslie." And then there was plenty of ink left, so I wrote, "I love my kids, too."

O'BRIEN: The message, Leslie, it's pretty simple. But I know that it caused a lot of the firefighters to choke up. I mean, veterans were saying how they were touched by that simple message. The two of you have been married for 26 years. You have three kids. When you heard sort of the details of this story, Leslie, what went through your mind?

L. PHIPPS: Well, there's a lot of things, a lot of feelings that you have. First, you're surprised, and then there is just awe that it would happen at all. And even as touching as the sentiment is, it's also somewhat chilling, you know, that that could have been it. And, of course, we're all glad it wasn't.

O'BRIEN: Yes, we're glad as well. John Phipps and Leslie Phipps joining us this morning to share their story of very good news. Thanks, you guys. We appreciate it.

L. PHIPPS: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Bill.

HEMMER: They've still got a good sense of humor, too.

Twenty-two minutes now before the hour on a Friday morning. It is wet in the Northeast. Some of it is rain. The other stuff is white. Here's Chad Myers checking the weather now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: Wall Street has got a definite favorite for the game on Sunday. Andy tells us why in a moment, when he comes back "Minding Your Business." We'll get to that.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, another mysterious message thought to be a from a notorious serial killer. What's he trying to say this time? Those stories are ahead as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: A television station in Wichita, Kansas, is now saying it's received another postcard from someone claiming to be the serial killer known as BTK. It stands for "bind, torture and kill." It's linked to eight unsolved murders in the '70s and the '80s.

The killer resurfaced last May with a message to the media. And back in December, a package with a victim's driver's license was found in a park in Wichita.

In the past two weeks alone, KAKE television has received three more letters, with the last two being sent just this week, for a total of nine messages. And Larry Hatteberg is with us today. He's an anchor with KAKE television in Wichita.

Larry, good morning to you. And thanks for coming back. What was on these postcards that you could read into?

LARRY HATTEBERG, ANCHOR, KAKE TV: Well, the latest postcard that we received yesterday, Bill, was pretty direct. And we know that BTK is a viewer of our television station here. He has been for some 30 years.

And he writes, "Thank you for your quick response to No. 7 and No. 8," and he was referring to communications No. 7 and No. 8 that we received last week.

Then he gets even more personal and he says, "Thanks to your news team for their efforts," obviously in covering the story and trying to communicate with him.

And then, even more personal, by saying, "Sorry about Susan and Jeff's cold." Now, Susan and Jeff are our main anchors. And last week, they had talked about having a cold on the air. So, he's referring to that.

Then, in the rest of the postcard, he has some information for the police department. We've been asked not to release that particular part of the postcard.

So, BTK continues to directly communicate with this television station in the same way that he has now for some 30 years.

HEMMER: Let me try and pick up on the message there. Was there more instruction for police in this investigation?

HATTEBERG: There was a message there, a personal message for the police department that he wanted to make sure that the police department got. And they do have it now. We, of course, have turned the postcard over to the Wichita police department.

HEMMER: Have the police -- is there any reason not to think it's not authentic? HATTEBERG: Not at this point. This postcard is very similar to the previous postcard that we received last week. And police do believe that that's authentic. The postcard last week pointed to another location, where police found a Post Toasties box that was full of a number of items. Now, we don't know exactly what those items are, but we do believe that they relate to some previous murders that he's done.

HEMMER: Wow! And in a final word here, is it thought that he or she is enjoying this contact and communication, the attention?

HATTEBERG: Well, it's definitely a he, and we know that he loves this attention. He loves being on CNN. He loves being on the networks. He loves being able to turn on the nightly news and see people talking about him. And the good news is, as long as he's communicating and as long as he's happy, he's not killing. And we're happy about that.

HEMMER: Thanks, Larry. Keep us posted. From KAKE television there in Wichita.

HATTEBERG: My pleasure.

HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: And let's go right to the "Question of the Day" and Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, on a much lighter note, how much would you pay to have a piece of a famous person? How about 1,500 bucks for a billiard ball from Elvis Presley's pool table? A million dollars is expected to be fetched at auction for ordinary household items that belonged to Jackie Kennedy Onassis, things like mason jars and dirty oven mitts.

"USA Today" reports a boom in the celebrity auction business. Someone actually paid $3,000 for Justin Timberlake's partially-eaten toast. One fan says it's a connection to the person that no one else can have.

O'BRIEN: It was worth every dime. I have it framed.

CAFFERTY: So, the question is: Has celebrity worship gone too far? Is there something that belongs to a celebrity out there that you'd pay big bucks for?

Dawn in Nanticoke, Canada: "In a perverse sort of way, it would be interesting to have Monica Lewinsky's blue dress or one of Bill Clinton's famous cigars."

Shirley in Dunedin, Bill?

HEMMER: Dunedin.

CAFFERTY: Dunedin.

HEMMER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: "It can't go farther than the media's creation of celebrity. If y'all would stop glamorizing every moron who trips over a crack in the sidewalk, we could concentrate on the really important nobodies."

That's pretty good.

Robert in Tacoma, Washington: "I should have said, yes, people have gone too far worshiping celebs. But I'm guilty of it as a well. My wife and I love Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and would let him walk on her back to get across a puddle of water. They're just people with flaws like the rest of us, but they give us something to believe in."

Dean in New York: "Yes, celebrity worship has definitely gone too far. I think the time has come for the pendulum to swing the other way. What we need is a period of celebrity degradation where celebrities are pelted with rotten fruit every time they appear in public."

And Dan in Santa Barbara writes: "Who wouldn't pay big bucks for a lock of Jack's hair? Items are more valuable when they are a limited edition."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Oh! Scarcity.

O'BRIEN: Well.

HEMMER: You liked that.

SERWER: Scarcity.

O'BRIEN: I didn't get enough I don't think.

CAFFERTY: It's a white one.

HEMMER: Yes, thank you, Jack.

SERWER: Wow! Wow!

HEMMER: Wall Street has got a favorite this Sunday, right, Andy?

SERWER: Oh, they sure do.

HEMMER: The Super Bowl?

SERWER: Yes.

HEMMER: Yes?

SERWER: Yes. I mean, and you should too, if you care about your retirement, if you care about your portfolio, if you care about your investments, the Eagles. The Eagles. This is the Wall Street Super Bowl theory, of course. Twenty-six years ago, a sportswriter for "The New York Times," Leonard Koppa (ph), came one this thing, back-tested it. So now, we have 38 years of data. And in 30 of the 38 years, when the NFC teams win, the stock market goes up an average of 9 percent. OK? It didn't work last year, though.

CAFFERTY: I was going to say...

SERWER: It didn't work last year. It didn't work last year. It's not perfect, OK?

But you really should root for the Eagles, people. A couple of regions why I'm rooting for the Eagles. First of all, I care about my retirement, No. 1. No. 2, Bill Belichick, the coach of the Pats, is not a genius or a saint. I'm tired of reading about that.

HEMMER: Oh, come on.

SERWER: No. 3, the Eagles have character. They've got flavor. They've got T.O. and Freddie Mitchell and McNabb. The Patriots have Tom Brady. It's not very exciting. No. 4, Boston burnout. I'm tired of the Red Sox. I'm tired of the Patriots. I'm tired of Boston College's basketball team being undefeated. You have to root for the Eagles.

Adam Thomas on our production staff is going down there. He paid $2,800...

HEMMER: Really?

SERWER: ... for a ticket. It doesn't include...

HEMMER: An Eagles or Patriots fan?

SERWER: Eagles fan. It doesn't include airfare or hotel. He's staying in Orlando, which is two and a half hours away, because that's the closest place.

Adam, they must pay you an awful lot for that job.

O'BRIEN: Really.

(CROSSTALK)

CAFFERTY: Yes, but you weren't here. But we had a story of a guy in Philadelphia mortgaged his house for four grand for two tickets.

SERWER: Really?

HEMMER: The Eagles better win.

CAFFERTY: He said my credit cards were maxed out. I had to go and mortgage the house. He took out a house loan so he could go.

SERWER: They're psycho in Philadelphia over this team.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

SERWER: And I've been there and seen these people, and they're crazy. HEMMER: I'll take the Patriots. I'll give Jack seven points.

CAFFERTY: All right.

HEMMER: He's taking the Eagles. Soledad likes (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

O'BRIEN: Yes, I'm with you on this.

SERWER: All right.

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, after the last...

SERWER: Eagles versus Pats.

O'BRIEN: OK.

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: Sorry.

O'BRIEN: That's all right. That's all right. After the last Super Bowl, everybody was talking about a wardrobe malfunction of course. But this year, "The Simpsons" could be stirring up a little controversy. "90-Second Pop" is up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: When I can educate Toure on something. Do you remember that song? You don't know that song?

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: I do remember now.

O'BRIEN: It hearkens us back to the wardrobe malfunction. That's Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake doing their thing Super Bowl Sunday last year.

TOURE: We'll never let it go.

O'BRIEN: And we certainly won't today. Here we go again revisiting it. It's "90-Second Pop" for a Friday. Here to play this morning, Toure is CNN's pop culture correspondent. Jessica Shaw joins us from "Entertainment Weekly." B.J. Sigesmund is staff editor for "Us Weekly."

Good morning. Nice to see you, guys.

B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.

JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: After the game, "The Simpsons" is going to have -- is going to be on, on Fox, with a controversial episode. Is it really truly controversial?

SIGESMUND: I think it is controversial, Soledad. I saw it last night. And it really goes very far. It's not particularly funny, but it has a very ironic point of view.

O'BRIEN: What's going far about it?

SIGESMUND: It satirizes not just the nipple-gate incident, but really the country's reaction to it last year, as well as all of the fervor around "The Passion of the Christ." A couple things happen in the episode.

First, Ned Flanders, who is their deeply religious neighbor, gets so disgusted by entertainment on television that he decides to make his own movie about the Cain and Abel story. And he casts his own sons in a very violent story. And this is maybe the most violent image you will ever see animated in prime time. I was stunned by it in the way that you were stunned by "The Passion of the Christ."

SHAW: Oh, no. I thought it was pretty funny. I thought Homer...

(CROSSTALK)

SHAW: Homer gets tapped to do the halftime show. It's brilliant. He wants to send a crocodile up to space, but it gets messed up. I think it's great. You know, I think Fox is also debuting "American Dad" right after "The Simpsons," which I think they might be hoping that their viewers are a tad drunk, because "American Dad" is also quite controversial. And there's a Karl Rove-esque character. There's a CIA agent, you know, tracking terrorist activity.

SIGESMUND: Well, I just...

O'BRIEN: Let's move on to our next topic, because we've got to run though stuff today.

SIGESMUND: All right.

O'BRIEN: OK. For those of us who are not necessarily going to be watching the Super Bowl...

SHAW: A.K. the two of us.

O'BRIEN: Exactly.

TOURE: Yes.

O'BRIEN: And some other girls I know and some other folks, too, actually. Not everybody watches the Super Bowl. What else is there to watch?

SHAW: You know, there's not much. Counter-programming a/k/a television for women. It's not such a great selection. There's, like, a "Charmed" marathon." Agent Cody Banks" is showing. You know, these...

TOURE: A repeat of "Desperate Housewives."

SHAW: That's the thing. ESPN has ice skating and jump rope.

TOURE: Jump rope! How insulting!

SIGESMUND: Every network seemed to throw in the towel this year. I mean, there is not really one good option outside of Fox.

TOURE: It's a great game for once, my god! You get up there, root for the black quarterback or the most humble dynasty we've ever seen. There's so much to watch.

O'BRIEN: That's true. All right, I want to talk finally about Lindsay Lohan. Boy, this girl has got some trouble. I mean, what a mess. You know, she's moved from the celebrity where you think, like, just a freakish celebrity, to being I actually feel sorry for the young woman. She's only 18 years old.

TOURE: Well, you should, because she's suffering under the rein of the hater of the week this week, who is her dad, Michael Lohan, who has been arrested, arraigned and jailed in the past. And now he's suing for alimony from his wife to get half of what she gets from Lindsay each year.

O'BRIEN: Because he's...

TOURE: And he's hoping for like 36 million a year.

O'BRIEN: Because the mom is Lindsay's manager.

SHAW: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Which means if Lindsay makes 40 grand...

TOURE: Right.

O'BRIEN: ... she makes...

SHAW: Forty million.

TOURE: Forty million.

O'BRIEN: I'm sorry. Whoa!

SHAW: Forty grand for waking in the morning?

O'BRIEN: Forty grand...

TOURE: Notice that he's got the same lawyer as Joey Buttafuoco, right?

SHAW: Yes.

TOURE: Which suggests perhaps the same history, the same future in the loser hall of fame!

SIGESMUND: Can I just say, the saddest part of this whole thing is that her career -- and she's not a bad actress -- is being absolutely eclipsed by all of these problems with her dad and her incessant partying and the media's covering of her incessant partying.

SHAW: Right.

O'BRIEN: It should be the best time in her life.

SIGESMUND: Right.

O'BRIEN: I tell you, she's moved seriously into, like, the little bit of pathetic category.

SIGESMUND: That's how people know her.

TOURE: Whoa, whoa, whoa. If you're going to be big, you're going to have drama in your life. That's all she's adding is drama in her life.

SHAW: The thing is...

TOURE: When the next movie comes out and she is so easy to look at, it will do boffo (ph) business as usual.

SHAW: I don't know.

O'BRIEN: Plus, you've got to have something to write about in your book, you know, whether it's 5 years, 10 years down the road. You see? I'm right. No one is saying a word because I'm right. You guys, as always, we're out of time. Thank you very much.

Let's go back to Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad, thanks.

A break here. Top stories in a moment. And President Bush on the road again today pushing Social Security reform. What's the biggest hurdle he faces? It might not be just the Democrats. We'll have a look at that as we continue on a Friday morning after this.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.