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American Morning
'Security Watch': Red Alert; Boy Recovers From Shark Attack; Thrill Ride Dangers
Aired June 30, 2005 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
How are the hiccups? OK?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I've been in this business a fairly long time.
M. O'BRIEN: You've never had hiccups, right?
S. O'BRIEN: I have never sneezed on the air. I've never had the hiccups, except today.
M. O'BRIEN: So, this is a broadcast first.
S. O'BRIEN: But thanks for highlighting it for me, Miles, because, you know, that makes it so much easier to get through it.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Appreciate that.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm just making you twist in the wind here.
We're going to talk to the family of that 16-year-old boy attacked this week by a shark in Florida, that actually the tale after he was bitten is amazing.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, it is.
M. O'BRIEN: It really is.
S. O'BRIEN: And talk about for such a horrible event, some good fortune they had on the beach.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: We're going to talk to his mom and his dad and his brother as well, his older brother, who helped save his life. They say they owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the strangers who helped save Craig, their son. We're going to talk to the brother, too. He's going to tell us exactly what happened in the water.
M. O'BRIEN: A series of the right people in the right places for him.
S. O'BRIEN: I mean, three nurses, a pediatrician, an EMT, all on the beach, vacationing.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Really.
M. O'BRIEN: It could have been an entirely different story.
Carol Costello is here with the rest of the news this morning.
Good morning -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News."
A U.S. search team has now secured the crash site of a downed helicopter in Afghanistan. It's been two days since the Chinook helicopter, similar to the one shown here, crashed in a rugged region near the Pakistan border. All 17 crewmembers on board are feared dead.
A California jury is recommending the death penalty for a man convicted of killing his nine children. The prosecutors called Marcus Wesson a master manipulator, whose sexual and emotional exploitation of his children led to their shooting deaths. Wesson had fathered some of the victims with his own daughters and nieces. Formal sentencing is set for next month.
The second confirmed case of mad cow disease in the United States is being traced back to Texas. The Department of Agriculture says the 12-year-old cow was born and raised in Texas. But USDA officials stress the cow never entered the pet or the human food system. Other animals in the diseased cow's herd have been quarantined.
Canada's health minister says his country will no longer be a -- quote -- "cheap drugstore for the United States." He said Canada would ban the bulk of export prescription drugs when their supplies are low at home. Drug prices in Canada are typically 40 percent less. In the meantime, some U.S. lawmakers are trying to make it easier to buy prescription drugs from Canada. Four related bills are now pending in Congress. So, it's not over yet.
S. O'BRIEN: No, not at all. Lots of pressure, though. You know, the difference in price, that variable in the prices is what is going to push people to start in on that.
M. O'BRIEN: People go for a bargain wherever they can find it, right?
S. O'BRIEN: Right.
M. O'BRIEN: A CNN "Security Watch" this morning. The pilot who caused the White House to go on red alert has been questioned by Homeland Security officials this morning. A private plane flying in restricted airspace set off emergency procedures at the White House and the Capitol Wednesday evening.
Congressmen, senators and tourists were hustled out of the Capitol Building, although this time it seemed a lot more orderly, less panicked evident. And the president was briefly taken to a secure location. But this latest incident ended quickly.
Jeanne Meserve is live now in Washington with some details.
Jeanne, that evacuation, first of all, looked a lot better than the last go-round when that little Cessna back in May flew very close to the White House.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Miles.
It is doubtful that an evacuation under these circumstances could ever be called routine, but authorities do say this was one was calmer, in part because the order to leave was made in the evening after many people had already left the Capitol complex.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice over): They were voting in the House of Representatives when the order came to evacuate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The House will stay in emergency recess subject to call of the chair.
MESERVE: The Senate, too, was mid-vote when members got word of the intrusion into Washington's airspace.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand by for further instructions from the U.S. Capitol Police.
MESERVE: People in congressional office buildings also were told to get out. And they did.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just keep moving into the park.
MESERVE: The White House briefly went to red alert, its highest level.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, guys, you've got to move back.
MESERVE: President Bush was whisked from his residence to a safer location. And though the Secret Service says the incident never reached the threshold for evacuation, tourists were shooed away from the area.
Fighter jets and other aircraft were scrambled. They intercepted the King Air 300 and escorted it to a Winchester, Virginia, airport, where the pilot was questioned by law enforcement.
The Capitol was reopened 30 minutes after it was emptied.
The U.S. Capitol Police say this plane did not come as close as the one that triggered an evacuation on May 11. In that instance, the president was bike riding 16 miles away and was not notified until after the incident was over. And D.C. officials were furious that they were not more promptly informed.
The Capitol Police decision to evacuate in May was dissected. A spokesman defended Wednesday's evacuation, saying, we have to act off the information we are getting at the time, which was that the aircraft was not deviating from course and was approaching downtown D.C.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Authorities say the pilot, who worked for the Sand Ridge Color Corporation of Social Circle, Georgia, told authorities that he veered into the restricted airspace to avoid bad weather. And this morning, authorities say he was released after being questioned -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. Thank you, Jeanne Meserve -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: In Florida now, that 16-year-old boy remains hospitalized after the shark attack forced doctors to amputate his leg. Craig Hutto was fishing about 60 feet from shore on Monday when he was bitten. His older brother fought off the shark as he pulled Craig to the shore. Craig was airlifted to the hospital. Craig's condition was upgraded from critical to stable on Wednesday.
Craig's parents, Roger and Lou Ann Hutto, join us from Panama City in Florida. That's where Craig is recovering. Craig's brother, Brian, who was with Craig when he was attacked, joins us from their hometown in Lebanon, Tennessee.
It's nice to see all of you. Thanks for talking with us.
Let's begin with you, Mr. and Mrs. Hutto. The doctors sounded the other day very happy with the progress that he's making. Is he aware and awake?
LOU ANN HUTTO, MOTHER OF SHARK VICTIM: Yes. He -- I guess on Tuesday morning after they -- after they did the initial cleaning of his hands, they came back and brought -- took out the air tube. And he's been talking ever since. And he wants to talk about it. He's aware of what's happening, and he's looking toward the future.
S. O'BRIEN: Is he asking lots of questions? Does he know what happened? Or does this sort of -- his mind come to grasp exactly what happened? Or is he asking questions because he needs to be filled in on what happened?
ROGER HUTTO, FATHER OF SHARK VICTIM: No. I think he actually, he has a pretty vivid memory of what happened and understands what's happened to him and how it happened. And so, he's well aware of that. And I think probably that's where he has shown most of his courage is these initial first days trying to accept what's happened and try to deal with that. S. O'BRIEN: He sounds like such an incredibly tough kid. And another tough kid is your son, Brian, who is the one who was in the water with Craig who -- there he is. Brian, you are getting lots of credit for saving your brother, because from accounts that I read you were hitting the shark and really just punching the shark to get him off of your brother. Do you feel like a hero? Did you think about your own safety at the time? What was going through your mind?
BRIAN HUTTO, BROTHER OF SHARK VICTIM: As far as feeling like a hero, I guess I'm just -- I'm his older brother, and that was my job to try and take care of him. And what I was thinking, just get to the beach as quickly as possible. And that's what we tried to do.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, that was some really quick thinking. There were so many people on the beach that day. Mr. and Mrs. Hutto, you know, there was a nurse, an experienced trauma nurse who was there, two other nurses, a firefighter, a pediatrician, all on the beach there who were able to help Craig, which is really incredibly amazing when you think about it. It could have been a lot worse had they not been there. I'm sure you think about that, too. Is there anything you'd like to say to all of those folks who pitched in and, I think it's fair to say, saved your son's life?
R. HUTTO: When Brian got him to shore with the help of actually the husband of one of the other nurses helped us get him to shore, if it hadn't been for him and those nurses, we wouldn't -- I don't think we would be sitting here today at all.
L. HUTTO: And we got to meet Karen and Holly, and we haven't met the third nurse yet, and Karen's husband. They -- we wanted them to go on with us. As we said, you're heroes, and they said, no, you know, that's their job. You know, they were just thankful that they were able to do -- that they were there. And we just -- we told them we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them, and we just can't thank them enough.
S. O'BRIEN: I wonder how you do say thank you to somebody who saved your kid's life. I mean, I don't know that there are words to do that. But Karen Jones, that nurse you're talking about, from reports I read, she took her hand and basically held it on Craig's leg to just stop the bleeding to the point where her hand went numb she was holding it so hard. She said she actually feels ashamed, because her first instinct was to tell her husband not to run in. She was worried about his safety.
L. HUTTO: She did. She said last night, she said, I grabbed his shirt and said, don't go, don't go. And she -- you know, but he felt -- you know, he laughed. He said, I thought the shark was gone. He said, I don't know if I would have done it if I had really known he was still there. But it's so strange how things happen. Karen used to work in ICU with Dr. Somers (ph), our surgeon, back in another state. And it's so weird how everything happens. And Holly lives -- her brother lives 10 miles from us in Lebanon, Tennessee. He lives in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. So it's really weird.
S. O'BRIEN: Right. In a way, it's a really small world all coming together to save your son. Well, we're glad to hear that Craig is doing well. We're glad to hear that he's holding up nicely. Mr. and Mrs. Hutto, thank you. Brian, as well, thanks for talking with us this morning. We appreciate it.
L. HUTTO: Thank you.
R. HUTTO: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: A Massachusetts grand jury has charged the supervisor of a carnival ride with manslaughter after the death of a rider last year. Such tragedies have prompted calls for federal oversight of amusement ride safety.
And as CNN's Dan Lothian reports, many states have little or no regulation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Andrew Fohlin was 37 years old when the accident happened last September.
SYLVIA FOHLIN, VICTIM'S SISTER: Just a whole range of emotions, yes. And anger was part of it.
LOTHIAN: Fohlin was on a carnival ride, the Sizzler, in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Authorities say one side of the seat gave way, tossing him to his death.
FOHLIN: Nobody expects to lose their life or a limb doing that. There's a presumption, I think, on most people's part that this is a safe activity.
LOTHIAN: On this mission space ride at Walt Disney World in Orlando, a 4-year-old boy passed out and died this earlier month. An investigation is under way, but has shown no signs of trauma.
(on camera): From large theme parks to local church carnivals, some 300 million people buckle up for a thrill each year. But who is making sure the ride is safe? The answer depends on the park's location, size and mobility.
REP. ED MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: The reality is that there may be no state regulation, and there definitely is no federal regulation at all.
LOTHIAN: The rules seem as complex as a twisted gravity-defying ride. For example, nine states don't regulate rides at all. Two more rely on private inspections. The rest have varying degrees of regulations.
And while the Federal Consumer Products Safety Commission does oversee mobile carnival rides and small amusement park rides, it has no authority over large theme parks like Disney World, where the 4- year-old died. Congressman Ed Markey says they are exempted by a 1982 loophole approved by U.S. lawmakers.
MARKEY: Which prohibits the federal government from regulating amusement parks.
LOTHIAN: The industry says there's a good reason for that.
BETH ROBERTSON, AMUSEMENT PARKS ATTRACTIONS ASSOCIATION: The exceptionally safe record of the industry clearly demonstrates that federal oversight is not necessary.
LOTHIAN: Amusement park officials say there are strong independent industry standards, and that based on the hundreds of millions of people who go on rides each year, there is virtually no safer form of recreation.
ROBERTSON: We feel that the state and local level is the most appropriate place to have regulation.
LOTHIAN: Andrew Fohlin died in a state that has regulations; regulations that are now tighter, thanks in part to the efforts of his sister and her lawyer. They also endorse Congressman Markey's recent bill, giving the federal government oversight of all amusement parks.
LEO BOYLE, LAWYER: With the right regulations in place, the sanction for not being safe is you go out of business.
LOTHIAN: Working to strengthen the safety net, even as the industry remains convinced its current system is on the right track.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Now, CNN has been unable to reach the company that owned the ride on which Andrew Fohlin died. But earlier this month, a grand jury decided it should not be indicted in connection with Mr. Fohlin's death -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: It's 43 minutes past the hour. It's time to take a look at the weather for the morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Have you heard the story about these fishermen in Thailand? They caught what is believed to be one of the world's largest -- or maybe the world's largest freshwater fish. Look at this thing.
M. O'BRIEN: Whoa!
S. O'BRIEN: This is...
M. O'BRIEN: You should see the one that got away, by the way.
S. O'BRIEN: Stop it. This is a 646 -- 646-pound catfish. It is almost 9 feet long. It is the size essentially of a grizzly bear. They caught it last month in a remote village in northern Thailand. They were hoping to sell it to some environmental group, which then could release it to spawn, but it died. And so, it was eaten. M. O'BRIEN: So, there will be no spawning. Well, you should have seen the size of the hushpuppies they had with that. Holy cow, they were like boulders, man. I'm telling you.
S. O'BRIEN: That's unbelievable. Come on. What's the size of a normal catfish? Like, 30 pounds?
M. O'BRIEN: Not 600 pounds. That's a freak of nature.
S. O'BRIEN: It was 646 pounds.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
S. O'BRIEN: They caught a bear.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Wow! How did they get it in? There's too many questions. There's too many questions I have on my mind this morning. How did they pull that in?
S. O'BRIEN: I'll follow up on that story.
M. O'BRIEN: We need more. We want more information.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, flight attendants for one of the nation's largest airlines say they may begin walking off the job, just in time for the holiday weekend. Isn't that nice to hear? Andy is "Minding Your Business" on that one.
S. O'BRIEN: And then, money back at the movies, what Hollywood is willing to do to get folks back into theater. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back. Just ahead of a big travel weekend, a strike threat looms over a major U.S. airline. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Which airline?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: United. This really could wreak some havoc at O'Hare or anywhere that United flies. The flight attendants at United Airlines are threatening random walkouts if the company turns over its pension plan to the federal pension benefit entity that's going to be taking over the pensions, because the flight attendants have yet to agree with the airline. They are still threatening to do this. They just have a few hours left to try to settle things out here.
Obviously, this weekend, Soledad, is a very busy one. And if the flight attendants walk out, the planes can't fly, because there's federal rules that there have to be flight attendants there.
S. O'BRIEN: You've got to have a certain number.
SERWER: On the other hand, I mean, this is a game of brinksmanship, because if they don't get on and fly, the airline will be shut down. I really feel like this is just a lot of rhetoric by the flight attendants at this point. But it could be...
S. O'BRIEN: The big issue is this pension story, because, of course, this is a story that you did a while back now...
SERWER: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: ... where they really lose, what, 40 percent, 50 percent, of the value of their pension?
SERWER: Yes, that's true. But I really don't see what choice the flight attendants have. Either they accept it or they lose their jobs and the airline close down. This is according to the papers out of Chicago.
According to the papers out of Detroit, another labor story we're looking at this morning, Visteon, the giant auto parts company, is telling its employees basically, forget it, you're going to have to pay for your own health care in retirement, which is another just striking example of the crisis in health care and retirees that we're seeing.
S. O'BRIEN: I think you're right. I think something is going to have to be done about it eventually, because you just can't have so many of these stories...
SERWER: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: ... about people saying there needs to be some kind of...
SERWER: Right, and more of a global solution.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I think so. All right, Andy, thanks.
SERWER: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Soledad.
Still to come, desperate for an audience. How far will Hollywood go to get you to take in a movie? Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, compared to last year, weekend box office receipts have been down for the last 18 consecutive weekends. It's the longest stretch since Hollywood began keeping track.
So now, theater owners are desperately trying to lure moviegoers back, out of their living rooms, away from their DVDs, their huge plasma screens, their surround sound, and all of the other things that go along with being at home, including watching it in your underwear. Senior editor B.J. Sigesmund from "Us Weekly," not to be confused with that other thing, "U.S. Weekly," which does not exist except in my mind, joins us.
Good to see you, B.J.
B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Thank you, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about "Cinderella Man" first. This is not unprecedented. I think there was another movie where this occurred.
SIGESMUND: Right.
M. O'BRIEN: A money-back guarantee. That's a novel thought, because you could walk out, love the movie, and say, hey, I want my money back, and they'd give it to you, right?
SIGESMUND: Exactly. That's why it's a gamble for AMC Theaters. But, yes, they have said that this weekend you can go to see "Cinderella Man," which has been out for five weekends now. And if you don't like it, you can get your money back. This is part of the idea of drawing viewers back to movie theaters and away from their DVD players.
And, yes, this is a gimmick that they have tried a couple times in the past, both very anecdotally. Ten years ago, there was a movie called "Miracle on 34 Street" that, you know, you could get your money back for it if you didn't like it. And, of course, they found that people were showing up late and then demanding their money back, or people who couldn't even afford to go in the first place were asking them for their money back.
And then you have to go back another five years to "Mystic Pizza," that kind of small movie that launched Julia Roberts' career.
So, you know, there isn't a huge precedence for this kind of thing, but it's an effort to not get people to see contract "Cinderella Man" as much as get them into the theater to see trailers for other movies that are coming out this summer and later this fall, just to get them excited about the movie-going experience again.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Lots going on here. It's expensive to go. You've got a great alternative at home. Most people have -- or many people have home theaters these days. And, let's face it, there's a lot of stinkers out there.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: I mean, which -- is it all of the above?
SIGESMUND: It's kind of all of the above. I mean, I don't think that there are so many more stinkers these days than there were two or three years ago. The most important fact to realize, Miles, is that from 2003 to 2004, DVD purchases and rentals went up 30 percent. That's astonishing. At the same time, ticket purchases in theaters peaked in 2002, and ever since then fewer people have been buying tickets.
This was the year, though, that Hollywood really noticed it, though, because the revenues peaked last year, and this year they are down 6 percent, as we've been talking about every week. They are down 18 weeks in a row now. Probably it's going to be 19 weeks after the end of this July 4th weekend.
M. O'BRIEN: So, the theater owners are not doing so well, but Hollywood in general is still making a lot of money off of those DVDs, right?
SIGESMUND: Yes. Well, the movie-going -- yes. The movie business and DVD business is huge. I mean, the DVD business and the home entertainment business is where -- what to get into right now. And, you know, movie-going is still -- it's still bringing in $1.5 billion a year.
But, you know, they are noticing this change, and they are trying to fight it. You know, for two people to go to the movies these days, when you get in sodas and all of that it's like 30 bucks for a family of four. It might be $40 or $50, not to mention a baby sitter. When the alternative is...
M. O'BRIEN: And don't forget the Milk Duds at four bucks a box, right?
SIGESMUND: Right. But when the alternative is buying a DVD for 30 bucks, and you can keep the darn thing, and DVDs come out so quickly. A movie like "Miss Congeniality 2," which was so high- profile, came out March 24, and then on DVD -- it was on DVD three months later on June 21. You might as well just kick back and wait a few months, and then you can own it and watch it in the comfort of your own home.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. The theaters are going to have to come up with something else. I don't know what it will be. B.J. Sigesmund, "US Weekly," thanks for dropping by. Appreciate it.
SIGESMUND: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, if you're drinking diet soda to cut some calories, would you believe you might actually gain weight? We've got a surprising new study ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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