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Rick's List
Last U.S. Combat Brigade Leaves Iraq; Sarah Palin Supports Dr. Laura; Plane Delayed in San Francisco Due to Phoned-In Hijacking Threat
Aired August 19, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: I want you to know that we're going to be all over, just like we were last night, the combat troops that are leaving Iraq and arriving in the United States. There are some unbelievable, heartwarming pictures and video that we're going to be sharing with you in just a little bit.
But I want to top the LIST tonight with something that I think is as remarkable as just about any feat we have ever seen this here. This is a rescue that I want you to watch as we drill down on it. This is one of the steepest canyons that make up the landscape near Hoodsport. This is northwestern Washington State.
You see that bridge right there? Yes, that's a helicopter underneath the bridge. Imagine the type of intestinal fortitude you need to fly a helicopter under a bridge where you only have feet on each sides of your rotor to make a rescue of a teenage girl who is very messed up at the bottom of the Skokomish River.
I mean, this is a tight squeeze. About 15 feet separates the entire area rotor to rotor, side of the canyon. Flying under that bridge is something that Navy co-pilot Lieutenant Brandon Sheets had never done before.
The surroundings, in fact, were so tight the wash from the rotors caused the safety basket to start spinning as it was coming up. In fact, show that again. Put that video back up if you possibly could, Rog. I want to take a look at that thing, because you actually get an idea.
All right, there's the chopper. Watch. He goes under the bridge right there as people are looking on and on just marveling. There wasn't enough clearance to go forward, so to get out -- now, I never even knew that choppers could do this -- he had to back the helicopter out.
It's a Black Hawk, as you can see there. In fact, watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty amazing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're so appreciative of everybody who rallied to pull this one off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's amazing. And you know who's joining us right now?
Well, first of all, I should let you know, the guy you just heard, that's the victim's grandfather. The teen is hospitalized in serious condition, the one who was rescued with injuries. She had injuries to her pelvis, her hips, spleen, ribs.
The pilot of the helicopter says his crew is the one that deserves all the credit. So, let's do this. Let's take you to Seattle, Washington, now.
We want to Navy Lieutenant Brandon Sheets, along with Petty Officer Richmond Roy. He's the guy who brought the girl up.
Thanks, guys, for being with us.
I got to tell you, job well done. That is amazing what you were able to pull off. Have you -- let me start with you, Captain. The idea that you could take a helicopter and fly it under a bridge where there's so little room on the outside, how long did you think about that before you decided to do it?
LT. BRANDON SHEETS, U.S. NAVY: Sir, once we arrived on scene, the entire crew planned and just took in all the obstacles to make sure we had a good plan. We collectively agreed that we could safely do it. So we probably surveyed the scene for about 15 -- 12 to 13 minutes.
SANCHEZ: Now, how much room was there on the sides where the rotors were?
SHEETS: We had 15 feet each side, sir.
SANCHEZ: And is that -- have you -- I'm not quite sure how to ask this question. What's the limit that you would not go into in a situation like this?
SHEETS: Well, sir, we have a limit of 10 feet for training, 10 to 15 feet for training. So that's pretty much our limit, sir.
SANCHEZ: So, in other words if a big gust of wind came and knocked you around a little bit, you have got to worry about how close you're getting to those edges. And you also have to worry about what's above, right? Because you're under a bridge and below you is the canyon floor.
SHEETS: Yes, sir.
Co-pilot Scott Zinner (ph) did a great job holding steady on the controls. And we look at all the variables before we go in and put the crew at risk in that situation. We look at the winds, look at our power margins, and just make sure that the canyon is not giving us too much rotor washback, too much turbulence. SANCHEZ: Petty Officer Roy, is that you -- when we see the basket coming up and it looks like it's spinning around and around, is that you on there with the rescue victim?
PETTY OFFICER RICHMOND ROY, U.S. NAVY: Yes, sir, that was me.
SANCHEZ: Why is it spinning so much and what do you do in that situation, besides the obvious, which would be to just hold on?
ROY: Well, the rotor wash blowing down in the funnel shape of the canyon actually creates like a bit of a centrifuge that causes us to spin like that.
And the litter actually just acts kind of like a kite almost, which makes the spin even a little bit worse. So, we're taught to handle that by using our hands actually to try and catch the wind and deflect ourselves a little bit to try and steady out the spin a little bit. But, in that situation, that was about as steady as I could get it.
SANCHEZ: I will tell you, that's amazing to watch. And I'm sure folks at home are sitting there going, how do these guys do that?
Now, let me ask you about the victim. Was she conscious? Were you talking to her? And what is she doing while she's up there spinning around with you?
ROY: She was conscious when I reached her on scene. And she was talking to me. I told her exactly what was going to happen and then I just told her that we would get her up safely and that I would be with her the whole time.
So, she was pretty much just laying there holding on for the ride on the way up.
SANCHEZ: What about that moment on the way up? And, by the way, how long did that take from where the water -- from where she was to actually getting into the helicopter? How long does that take, all that spinning, crazy motion we're looking at?
ROY: Just the hoist itself takes merely just a couple minutes. The entire evolution from when I actually got down to the water, over to the patient and by the time we got her back in the helicopter, it took a total of about 10 minutes.
SANCHEZ: That's amazing.
And why did you guys choose to do this? At what point do you say, she's in such bad shape -- as I just read to our viewers all the things that were wrong with her. And obviously it's very serious. At what point do you say, look, we have got to go in, we have got to save her life and this is the only thing we can do, this is the only technique that we can use? At what point do you make that decision? Who makes that decision?
Because I know that there's a possibility that they could have just said, you know what? Let's the helicopter go. This is too tricky. Let's just let the guys work their way down there and see if they can lift her out.
SHEETS: Sir, we have to decide if it's worth putting the crew at risk. And from what we knew, she had multiple injuries, hypothermia getting worse.
SANCHEZ: Right.
SHEETS: So, we knew, once we arrived on scene, we were going to -- if we could do it safely, we would.
And we have a good feeling and I have a -- I had a great confidence in our maintenance personnel working day to day on that helicopter making sure it was fine-tuned. So that gives us a good feeling going into it.
Knowing that and knowing the training that we have been given, we go ahead and go through the operational risk management steps and go ahead and make the call. The group collectively made the call that, yes, we want to go ahead and take the risk.
SANCHEZ: Job well done, I will tell you.
Navy Lieutenant Brandon Sheets, along with Petty Officer Richmond Roy, hey, thanks so much, fellows, for taking us through this story.
When we looked at this video today, we said to ourselves we have got to find these guys. I just want to know how it is that you're able to do something like this, because what we're looking at in that video is something you usually only see in, you know, 007 movies, et cetera, et cetera, if you catch my drift. But here you guys actually went out there, you executed it, and you saved a life.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Go ahead.
SHEETS: Sir, I mentioned our maintenance personnel. Also got to mention, there was a lot of volunteers on the ground, like 60 personnel on the ground. Mason County Fire District, Mason County Sheriff, a lot of people coming together to make this happen.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
SHEETS: So, you know, we're thankful to God that everybody was able to come together and do a solid job.
SANCHEZ: You know what? You're a good guy to want to give everybody else so much credit. And that's very nice of you. But, still, you were the guys on the helicopter who actually made that happen and you deserve a lot of credit yourself.
God bless both of you. Appreciate your time. Thanks for being with us.
Now take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never felt so much relief in my whole life. Like, I think I'm going to go home and just start sobbing, like just happy. And, you know, every night it's like you dream of this moment for the last 11 months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Dreaming of this moment. What do you think she's talking about? Look, folks, there are so many touching stories like this one. Thousands of U.S. soldiers are now making their way back home out of Iraq. And we have been bringing you this since last night for a full hour.
The story out of Iraq at this point is not political. It is personal. You are going to hear, you're going to see some of the heartwarming reunions that are going be taking place all over this great land of ours.
Also, we're going to be waiting the arrival of hundreds of troops at Fort Benning. We're going to bring it to you live as families see their loved ones for the very first time in months. So hang tight. This is -- as they say, this is going to be good.
This is RICK'S LIST. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: On our military list today -- first of all, welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
The last of the U.S. combat brigades leaving Iraq. Last night and today mark a symbolic turn in a war effort that began more than seven years ago. We want to make clear to you that there are still some 6,000 combat troops that are in Iraq, and they're going to be there until September 1.
And Operation Iraqi Freedom officially doesn't end until then as well. What's significant is that we're now seeing, not secretively, but openly, the combat troops that are leaving Iraq as we were able to be among the first top talk to you about it last night.
Now, here are some of the pictures late last night as some of these troops actually crossed from Iraq into Kuwait. Let's watch this.
This is one of the many homecomings now. That's what this is right here. Watch this. This is one of the many homecomings today. This is from Washington State.
Let's do a little nat sound up. We got any nat sound on this here, Rog? There's nothing at all under there? There's a little bit. We have got more of this, folks. So, relax. We're going to be showing a lot of this to you as we go through, and letting you just kind of see and feel, because sometimes -- sometimes this makes all of us feel good to see these people and imagine how they must be feeling after all these tours.
This thing is going to be unfolding over the next couple of weeks. We have got correspondents that are in Fort Lewis. That's in Washington. Fort Benning, of course, that is in Georgia. And on the ground in Kuwait and Baghdad.
By the way, I need to switch gears right now, because I was just told in my ear as I was finishing that sentence by one of my producers in the control room that there's breaking news. This is coming to us out of San Francisco. Let me put my glasses on, because I was just handed a statement by the TSA.
An alleged threat has been made via phone against American Airlines Flight 24. It was going San Francisco to JFK before takeoff.
I understand Jeanne Meserve is standing by for us now.
Jeanne, if you're up and ready to go, I know a lot of this is preliminary, but go ahead and let's you and I have a conversation about what we know. What's going on here?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Oh. Well, Rick, this, as you said, is American Airlines Flight 24, was scheduled to be flying from San Francisco to JFK. As you can see, it's still on the ground. According to the TSA, a bomb threat was phoned in and they have followed what is frankly standard operating procedure in situations like this.
They have taken this plane to a remote part of the airport. They will be rescreening all the passengers on board. They will be doing a search of the aircraft to make sure that, in fact, there's nothing to this telephone bomb threat. But they have to go through the paces every time something like this happens. You're seeing it play out right in front of you.
SANCHEZ: So, the passengers remain on board, though, while they do this sweep, as you describe?
MESERVE: Well, they are -- I can't see from this picture whether they have taken off or not. My expectation would be in a situation like this, they would take them off of the aircraft. They would take off all of their carry-on baggage. They would -- and they would go over all of that probably with explosive-detecting dogs to see if the dogs get any hits whatsoever.
SANCHEZ: So, this is just part of the procedure. I mean, it could be some -- I hate to use such language, but this could be anything from some yahoo who decided that he thought he would be funny and pull something like this to someone with maybe more nefarious intentions, whether actually pulling it off or not, right? They just have to respond to be on the safe side. MESERVE: That's right. That's right. Every time they get a threat like that, they have to take it seriously. They have to go through the actual practical steps of searching to see if there is any explosive material at all on that aircraft. It is something that they do unfortunately on a fairly regular basis. We're watching them go through it here.
SANCHEZ: All right. Jeanne Meserve following that for us.
We're obviously going to continue to follow this. As a matter of fact, we have got passengers now. You know what we do here. We're often are able to make news because we are as tied to social media as any other newscast, at least at the network level, and we have got some sweets that are coming in now, folks tweeting me, or tweets that we're intercepting.
Have you got that one up there, fellows? Go ahead. Thank you.
Californiabeat: "I am on the American Airlines plane in San Francisco. There is no hostage situation. Security threat, but inside the plane, it is calm."
That is Campbell McKellar. And Campbell appears to be answering the question that I just had just moments ago for Jeanne Meserve. She seems to be indicating -- at least that's what I read this. Don't you read it that way, Chad? That she's still on the plane and they're doing that sweep, but the passengers are still on there, right?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Sure, of course. And we're kind of taking this at her honesty.
SANCHEZ: Of course.
MYERS: Of course, right.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: And so it is. And so this plane has now been delayed about an hour already on the ground. In some spots, I have been noticing about 105 minutes. But there were already delays at the airport anyway.
And so here what I'm noticing is that we don't have any activity around that plane. That's curious to me.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: They have put the plane out in the middle of nowhere. This is what Jeanne Meserve says they do.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: But we don't have any equipment there? We don't have any stairs there? We don't have buses taking people away, whether this has just completely already been abandoned? I don't know. It's a little bit eerie to see nothing around it. SANCHEZ: We want to thank KGO that is supplying us with that picture, by the way.
We just saw a smaller plane just cross in front of it there. Are you familiar? I'm not familiar with the airport...
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Airport is open. Planes are flying out. There's a 15- minute departure delay. But airplanes are leaving. I just saw another American Airlines plane just leave.
SANCHEZ: And there's another one. So, yes, there's another runway in front of it. It looks like they have put the plane probably at one of the most remote parts of the airport itself.
And I'm not -- you know, we're not sure yet, and Jeanne, I don't know if you're still with us -- we're not sure yet. You know, we had this conversation about what Jeanne took us through, which is the procedure. They're going to go through. They're going to sweep the plane. They're going to make sure everything is OK before I imagine they fly it again.
But has that been done? Is that in the process of being done? I don't know.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Yes, we didn't have this picture early enough to see any prior activity. We just -- all we see is the plane out there in the penalty box.
SANCHEZ: You know, the tweet that we just got from the person who sent that tweet, which we call a tweap, by the way -- T-W-E-A-P -- if she's still watching us aboard the airplane and can let us know the answers to those questions, if the sweep has -- put that tweet back up, would you?
Hey, Andreas, put that tweet back up.
MYERS: A lot of times, that -- what we see -- the TV on the plane doesn't work, actually.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Say it again. I'm sorry?
MYERS: A lot of times, the plane doesn't show video when it's on the ground.
SANCHEZ: Right, no, I know.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Trust me. I have been at the very end of some great movies and then all of a sudden they put it up and they turn it off. But sometimes they do. Sometimes they still have the signal. And CNN obviously can be seen on a lot of the flights that American Airlines has, not all of them, by the way.
MYERS: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: A lot of the Delta flights, a lot of the American flights, United flights as well.
So, this is Campbell McKellar. And she sent us this tweet. She says that she's on the plane and we're taking her at her word, since there's nothing in this tweet that's ominous. She says she's on the plane, that there's no hostage situation. She says there's a security threat. This all fits with exactly what our reporter was telling us moments ago, Jeanne Meserve.
But she says everything is calm inside the plane. What we do know is, have they already done the sweep? Has she seen people come through sweeping the plane, as was suggested? And if she knows that, go ahead and send us another tweet and let us know what's going on, so we can report it.
All right, let's go ahead and take a break. And we will follow the situation for you. Anything happens that needs to be reported, I will turn that information around for you as fast as I possibly can.
In the meantime, guess who's taking Laura Schlessinger's side in the controversy over her race-laden rant? Up next: why Sarah Palin is telling Dr. Laura Schlessinger to -- quote -- "reload."
Jessica Yellin is in the house, and she's going to be take us through this in just a little bit. And there is Sarah Palin. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back, everyone. Jessica Yellin is in the house once again.
Good to see you.
We're going to get into this conversation about what's going on with this comment made by Sarah Palin regarding what Dr. Laura Schlessinger has said, which is really interesting.
Before we do that, let me just catch our viewers up on this situation that is going on out in San Francisco. This is a plane that's supposed to go from San Francisco to JFK. Apparently, it's stuck on the tarmac. We have been trying to give you all this information about what's actually going on out there. We think we have been in touch with some of the passengers because they are tweeting us on the air.
It's nice to know that so many people know that they can use social media and talk to us because we respond. We are connected to you. So, that's nice and we appreciate that. Now, here's the official word that we have gotten from American Airlines, and it jibes with everything else that we have reported so far, by the way. It jibes exactly with what our correspondent Jeanne Meserve said. It also jibes with what the tweet that we got on board the plane.
Here we go. This is from Tim Smith at American Airlines. I'm reading it right off my laptop here. He says: "No hostage. Security threat phoned into local police. TSA moved aircraft to a remote tarmac area." There it is. It's in a remote tarmac area. "Passengers being deplaned."
So, there you go. New information. They will take or have taken the passengers off the plane. Both passengers and the plane will be rescreened. And that's all we have, Tim Smith. Well, Tim Smith at American Airlines, we thank you for responding to us and getting that information to us so fast so we can share it with our viewers.
And I'm sure there are folks out there who may have or know somebody on that plane and they welcome that information. We will keep an eye on this for you, folks. If anything happens, we will let you know. Hopefully it's just another routine procedure.
Now to you.
Dr. Laura Schlessinger says some things that, as we know, revealed a lot about her that have cost her maybe her job. You know, this is a decision she seems to be making. Most people have stayed away from it. She went on "LARRY KING" the other day. Larry and I were talking about this. But now I understand that Sarah Palin -- Sarah Palin has thrown her hat into this ring, so to speak. What is going on?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, her tweet into the ring.
She's tweeted in support. She's getting into everything these days. She's tweeted in support of Dr. Laura Schlessinger. And I think we have them. Her first tweet says: "Dr. Laura even more powerful and effective without the shackles. So, watch out, constitutional obstructionists and be thankful for her voice, America."
SANCHEZ: Wow. And look at this one up there. Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: Oh, we missed it, but it said, "Don't retreat, reload," which has been part of her ongoing message. She got criticized for the inherent -- implied potential violence in that phrase that she says is misunderstood.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
(CROSSTALK) SANCHEZ: It says, "Steps aside because her First Amendment rights cease to exist, thanks to activists trying to silence, isn't American." Huh? Wait. "Isn't American. Not fair."
YELLIN: Silencing her isn't American, she is saying, and it's not fair.
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: Right?
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Yes. It says, "To silence isn't American." I got it. I got it. I got it.
YELLIN: So, there's all this talk she says -- twice mentions the Constitution there. And we hear people talking all the time about constitutional purity, getting back to the Constitution.
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: I thought we should look at the First Amendment, because it's just one sentence. Dr. Laura says her First Amendment rights have been abridged. Basically, it says Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, blah, blah, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.
SANCHEZ: Congress. Key word is Congress.
YELLIN: Congress, right.
Also, there's no inalienable right there to a radio talk show. I mean, what happened here...
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Well said.
YELLIN: ... is she says there was a threat maybe some of her sponsors might pull out. That's how our country works.
SANCHEZ: Yes, exactly.
YELLIN: You know?
SANCHEZ: Everyone has a right to say anything, but everyone has to expect that for whatever they say, they could be criticized.
YELLIN: Right. And...
SANCHEZ: And that has nothing the hell to do with the First Amendment or the Constitution. It means you could say something I disagree with and I may say something you disagree with, and that's the way the world works. YELLIN: And unless I'm put in jail for saying it, I still have my free speech rights.
SANCHEZ: Yes. So, this whole First Amendment thing sometimes does get a little crazy on both sides.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Now, I understand that Palin is also responding -- Palin came out with the whole mamma grizzly thing first, which, by the way, to her credit, was very well done.
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: Effective, powerful. It gripped the nation.
SANCHEZ: But now there's a response to it. And now there's a response to the response.
So, take us through that, if you would.
YELLIN: Well, first, do we have the video? So, Emily's List is this pro-choice Democratic organization that got angry that Sarah Palin says she speaks for the women of America, and so they put out this ad, which...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Here it is, yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a therapist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm an elementary schoolteacher.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a nurse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm an administrative assistant.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm an entertainment lawyer, but I'm also a mama grizzly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sarah Palin recently released a video speaking on behalf of mamma grizzlies. Well, Sarah Palin...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't speak for us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In her video, she mentioned that mamma grizzlies attack when their cubs are threatened. Sure. Yes, I attack when my cubs are threatened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But want to know what threatens me? My daughter not having the right to choose.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: Wow. There you go, baby.
So I imagine Sarah Palin is now responding to the mamma grizzlies.
YELLIN: Oh, yes. So her Facebook page was updated saying -- quote -- "First, ladies, it's hard to take a critic seriously when they lecture you wearing a bear suit."
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: But she goes on to say that Piper and Trig are looking for Halloween costumes, so she would like to know where they got the outfits.
SANCHEZ: They are pretty good costumes.
YELLIN: It's funny. So, nice of her to have a sense of humor about it.
SANCHEZ: Well, in a world making sure you get attention, both sides have done well on this one.
YELLIN: That's right. I think you're right. And humor is great in politics. We need more of it.
But here's where she went very serious. In a tweet, she posted this message. She said: "Who hijacked the term feminist? A cackle of rads" -- radicals -- "who want to crucify other women with whom they disagree on a singular issue." She is meaning abortion rights.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
YELLIN: "And it's ironic."
So, she's saying that EMILY's List is hijacking feminists. EMILY's List hit back, saying, uh-uh-uh, "You might have watched the video, but your allies are not listening to women."
So, they're in the tussle.
SANCHEZ: There you go.
Good stuff. Thanks for bringing that to our attention. See you in the next hour.
YELLIN: You bet.
SANCHEZ: Take a look at this, folks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's never OK to use that word or any other derogatory word that -- that a whole race -- it's just a very hateful word.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Do you know who that is right there, the one who was just talking? That was the woman who called in to Dr. Laura Schlessinger. The caller at the center of the firestorm speaks out for the very first time on this issue. She says that Schlessinger's words were not a mistake. She says, no, I don't accept her apology, in essence.
That's ahead right here on the LIST.
Also, we're awaiting the arrivals of American troops in Washington State. We're live on the ground and we're going to be taking you through this in just a little bit.
Stay right there. This is RICK'S LIST. As it happens, the reunions, it's...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: ... made the Iraq war a story about people. It was a personal story. It was a real story about a real person who's now going to be able to see her husband.
And you started to understand, just from hearing the emotion in her voice, the actual sacrifices that she and so many other Americans have made over the last eight, nine years. Oh, and guess what? We're going to see that again tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: I've been showing you this plane on a remote part of the tarmac out in San Francisco. Let me show you this once again. Let's look at the plane. I told you what the airline said, and I told you what our reporting was on this, which is that they received some kind of a threat. The threat was phoned in.
This here is -- do we see buses here now? OK, look. I don't see any buses there. Do you see buses on that shot? Let's do this, let's go to Campbell. Let's go to -- OK, I do see a bus there now. OK, those are busses. Thanks, guys. I couldn't tell on my monitor.
So busses have just come up. We have a passenger who's tweeting us as we speak. And you know what we're going to try to do -- we're going to try get her on the phone when she gets off. Some of our folks watching this now, Stephanie or Eric, you can see if you can make contact.
Let's go ahead and show you her tweet. Go ahead. Split the screen if you can. This is Campbell. She originally told us about whether it was calm inside the plane. She sent us another tweet. Remember I asked her to send us another tweet.
She says now, "We are de-boarding the plane two by two in 15 minutes when they bring some police in board. No other word. This is actually a bit scary," she says from inside the plane.
Any other news? We'll be communicating with her as she communicates with us. There's the plane, there's the busses that the police will escort as they take the passengers off of this plane in San Francisco that was originally going to be headed for San Francisco.
Here's now what the TSA is saying. I'm going to read you this, another e-mail that I can bring to your attention. From the Transportation Security Administration, I'm reading from my laptop. Quote, "TSA is aware of an alleged threat made by a phone against American Airlines flight 24 before takeoff. Out of an abundance of caution, out of an abundance of caution, TSA has requested the plane be moved to a remote location.
Passengers will be deplaned, interviewed, and rescreened. The aircraft then will be swept by local law enforcement."
So everything seems to add up. There's most of the information that we have reporting, that things are moving on. Hold on. OK, hold on. Here's some more. Thanks, Andreas.
We just got something else. Here we go. This is from one of our own producers following this and on the scene. A security official is now telling CNN that the phone-in threat was that there would be a hijacking. OK, here we go -- the phoned in threat that there would be a hijacking on this flight.
Originally, we had reported a bomb. So this is different. Nothing has been found yet. A TSA official says the passengers have been removed from the plane already. Is that the case? One wonders as we look at that picture.
Hey, Roger, give me that shot on the green board, if you possibly can, just so I can get a better look at it. See if what I'm reporting jives with what I'm seeing here on the bigger screen. This is from KTVU now. We thank them for that shot.
It's kind of hard to tell. They're using the telephoto lens, and you get that dissolvey effect. But it looks like one, two, three, four, at least five busses have pulled up to the plane and they are going to get the passengers off. Police are now onboard and they're taking the passengers off.
And now we're hearing the final part of this story that we didn't know before, that it wasn't a bomb threat but rather a threatening of a hijacking.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST : And we didn't have this picture before from KTVU. We had a different angle, and you couldn't tell that those buses were lined up.
SANCHEZ: The one we have lined up was KGO. So we got two pictures. There's the other one.
MYERS: And there you see four buss there behind, basically telling me that there are still people on the plane.
SANCHEZ: Yes, because otherwise you think they would have already driven away.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: And they very well may be on the busses. They may say we're going to check these passengers out on the buses out here, away from the terminal
SANCHEZ: Well, and you know what, it's a different story now, because the original report seemed to suggest that there may have been a bomb threat. A bomb is different from a hijacking situation. With a bomb, you sweep the plane and look for all traces of combustibles. With a hijack situation, you have to interview all the passengers to find out if somebody was involved in this kind of, you know, in this kind of plan.
So I imagine from a law enforcement standpoint, they're two different strategies.
MYERS: And to call in a potential hijacking is different than calling in a bomb threat, because if you're calling in a hijacking, you may be actually trying to stop the hijacking from taking place, right? So you may be a distant cousin or relative of the guy and know this is going to happen and trying to stop the event.
SANCHEZ: You're absolutely right. It's a different scenario.
We're going to stay on top of this for you, folks. We're concerned, but our job is to bring you the details, and as we get them, we're going to do just that. We've got it covered on the plane, on the ground with reports, and also by talking to both the airline and TSA folks.
We're going to be right back. Stay with us. This is "RICK'S LIST."
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SANCHEZ: I can always tell when photographers are at a distance and trying to get in tighter. You'll see the shot move. See right there? They're trying to get a little better shot now. Let's get that if we can.
Go to the other one, Roger, go to the KTVU shot if you've got it. Thanks, buddy. See the cops now? See the squad cars that have just pulled up? See a couple of cruisers there. There's another one driving up behind it, coming up to the -- to this American Airlines flight, which was originally scheduled to leave quite a while ago from San Francisco to New York, JFK.
Apparently someone has phoned in some type of hijacking threat. Now they've got all those buss there. Those buses will be used to remove the passengers or have already been removed, we're not sure. Police are going to be sweeping that as well. And I think Campbell is coming through for us once again. Boy, Campbell is just really helping us out here. She's onboard the plane and has sent us a succession of tweets. Go ahead and put that one on the green screen for me, if you could, Roger. For me here in the studio, just switch that out.
"Bad pic, but buses here at last." She sends us a twit pic. There's the twit pic she took from the plane. You can tell she is sitting by the window, took the picture, and there's the busses, proving that she is, in fact, on the plane as we had suspected.
And she's got a shot there, the vehicle that's escorting one of the security vehicle officials escorting the busses over to the plane where they will deplane the passengers, eventually take them to another location where they will be screened or rescreened. And the plane as well will be swept. All that is going on as we speak.
I'll tell you what, let's do this. Let's take that picture, squeeze it over to a corner is we possibly can, because there's another story I need to tell you about which we began telling you about last night at 8:00.
This is a milestone of a day, and that's why it's on "The List." Late last night, the U.S. combat brigade team left Iraq. This is what it looked like at the Iraq board we are Kuwait. Long lines, see them right there, of U.S. military combat troops inside. They cross over the border, symbolically out of the Iraq war.
After more than seven long years, I want to take you minute by minute and try and savor the next couple of moments as they happen. In fact, let's put up some pics and some sound here, Roger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That was just a couple of hours ago, by the way, as some troops were reunited with family and friends. After a long war and a long flight, we can now finally say welcome home to the troops as they start making their way here.
CNN's Casey Wian is there. Casey is good enough to join us, and he's been talking to some of the folks getting off these planes. Brook Baldwin is going to be joining us as well from Fort Benning in Georgia. We're going to be talking to both of them.
Let me start with Casey. Casey, what's it been like? What you have been seeing and hearing? How many smiles and how many hugs?
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, 350 soldiers returned to this joint base earlier this morning about three and a half hours ago. And you saw some multiple of that in terms of family members and friends who were there greeting them at the gymnasium on base. We are now at the home of one of the soldiers who was reunited with his family today. And he is chaplain -- and you'll excuse me if I mess up the name. It's a little tough -- Folonga Tupuola (ph). He's here with his family, his nine-year-old son.
Now, this was the chaplain's first tour of combat duty in Iraq. He joined the army sort of late in life. And tell me what the tour was like for you.
CHAPLAIN FOLONGA TUPUOLA, FOURTH STRYKER BRIGADE: It was a very challenging experience for me. However, being a chaplain and all. I have a total dependency on god that he can protect us and keep us safe from harm's way and grant me the compassion and love to protect and take care of the soldiers.
WIAN: What was it like seeing your wife and son after being away for a year?
TUPUOLA: I have never been this far away from my wife or nine- year-old. And it's gotten me stronger and closer to my wife and my family. It's just a great feeling.
WIAN: What was like for you to have him gone for so long?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was stressful at times, but I just depended on the lord to give me the strength to get over this deployment. But I am so thankful that he is home.
WIAN: And what was it like having dad gone and what's it like having him home?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he came back, I was so happy he was here.
WIAN: What did you miss the most when he was gone?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His laugh and him wrestling with me.
(LAUGHTER)
WIAN: Chaplain, tell me about the mission of a chaplain in a place like Iraq that is so dangerous, and the troops are under so much stress on a daily basis. Tell me what the mission was like for you.
TUPUOLA: My calling as a chaplain in the army is basically to keep our soldiers spiritually fit. And at times when they need some comforting and some compassion and love, the chaplain has all those godly characteristics.
WIAN: And what was some of the issues they're facing there? Fear of being in combat? Fear of being away from family? Marital issues? What are the biggest challenges that you face as a chaplain?
TUPUOLA: I experienced my relationship with infantry soldiers, it's definitely not the fear of combat. That's what they're called to do. They were sworn in to do that. It's the separation and being away from their families. The primary trend was the marital issues.
WIAN: Got you. We're out of time. We have a little bit of breaking news we've got to go back to. I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to us.
TUPUOLA: I do want to do this. This is our tradition.
WIAN: Thank you. Appreciate that. Rick, I got a warm greeting from these folks who are happy to be here. And I'm happy to be part of it.
SANCHEZ: Look, I don't know. Standard issue change from time to time. But I want to know when the army switched over to that lei that he's got around his neck, and what the hell is that?
(LAUGHTER)
WIAN: Well, it's a symbolic lei. Tell us a little bit about that.
TUPUOLA: My wife is better at that.
WIAN: Tell us about the lei.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, this? This lei was made by my grandmother. It was made with love, and she made it because she's so handy, crafty. And she said it symbolized a lei, it's never ending. So that was her love for the person that she makes the lei for her. Her love is never ending for them.
And the money is to show how much we value him.
SANCHEZ: Interesting. Wow.
WIAN: There you go, Rick. Clearly, these soldiers have a lot of love for their country and the mission they were accomplishing in Iraq. And they're just happy to be home with their families safe and sound.
SANCHEZ: Great guys, we appreciate your time. Great story, and welcome back. Welcome back
All right, going back now to this story that we've been telling you out of San Francisco, we're really keeping an eye on this because it's a situation that seems to be growing in import.
There's the plane. For those of you joining us now, the plane was supposed to leave San Francisco and go to New York, JFK. Someone phoned in some kind of hijacking threat. So they took the plane off the area where all the other planes are, put it in a remote part of the tarmac. And now they are bringing the police in and getting the passengers off.
One of the passengers, by the way, has been giving us all the information we need to know on this story. She's on there and sharing her experiences with us. She's Campbell McKellar.
Here's her last tweet. "Lots of police guys outside now. You all can probably can see better from TV. Hopefully it's a hoax. No update from captain." So there you go, Campbell McKellar bringing us the information as we often do here on "RICK'S LIST," using social media to bring you news.
Back to traditional media we go to now, because I understand Dan Simon is standing by, and he's got an update on what's going on out there. And Dan, you're not by yourself, right? Augie is with you as well?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Augie is at a different location. I'm here at the international terminal. We're under the impression there's going to be a news conference relatively soon. I'm not sure the passengers have actually deplaned at this point, Rick.
AUGIE MARTIN, CNN PRODUCER (via telephone): I can add a little something to that. We're on the northeastern part of the airfield here. We have a good vantage point of the plane, one right and one left.
SANCHEZ: Is this Dan?
MARTIN: We're looking through the long lens. We can see they have five busses that have been brought up to the plane. They have passengers or what appear to be passengers. They have people coming down the rear stairs right now. But we're looking through a long telephoto lens.
SANCHEZ: Augie, that's you talking to us now, right?
MARTIN: That's correct.
SANCHEZ: And you can actually eyeball the plane from where you're at.
MARTIN: We can. We're at a fair distance from it but we're at a remote part of the airfield.
SANCHEZ: Here's what's going on on the plane. We've got another tweet from Campbell. She says "It looks like the cops are coming on soon. No one is being allowed to stand up. Will let you know if something happens onboard with the police."
So Augie and Dan, it sounds like she's telling us -- it's funny. The police have been there for quite some time now. But it looks like they're standing by and figuring out how they're going to go onboard the plane.
MARTIN: It's possible the people coming down the back stairs were not passengers. It could have been law enforcement personnel or somebody else. There was a group of people that came down the back stairs a moment ago. SANCHEZ: Well, and, you know, hey, look, there's a lot of passengers on the plane too. It is possible. Campbell has been doing a great job keeping us up to date, but it is possible they may have deplaned passengers in another part of the plane also that she's not aware of, also.
Dan, let's bring you into this. Tell us what you've got, man.
SIMON: I was just going to say. As she's been reporting about this, it appears that this is a phoned in threat and nothing more. We don't have anything to believe that this was a legitimate threat at this point. We know that there's going to be a news conference here on the international terminal hopefully in the next few minutes. A number of us are waiting for airport officials to brief us. But nothing credible that this was a legitimate threat.
SANCHEZ: Interesting, interesting.
MARTIN: I can tell you. I might be able to add, Rick, that now we see people ascending the stairs at the front of the plane. If my eyes do not deceive me, I am still able to see people moving around in the cockpit. So there's definitely activity out there. Unfortunately I'm not able to see what you guys are seeing from our affiliate, so I'm not sure if you're seeing this at a better vantage point than I am, but there is certainly a fair amount of activity at the front of the plane.
SANCHEZ: Let me back this up just so everybody knows. We're talking to my colleagues Dan Simon and Augie Martin. They're both trying to assess the situation in San Francisco where an American Airlines plane that was supposed to leave -- here's another picture.
We're going to get a picture from onboard the plane now. This is from Campbell once again. She's sending us a tweet from inside the plane. This is a twit pic.
Passengers have been told not to stand up and stay in their seats and wait. This drama has been unfolding for some time as they wait for the police to come onboard. The police will then -- I imagine there's got to be some screening of the passengers.
Back to the original story, again, for those of you joining us, the plane was supposed to go to JFK airport in New York. Instead there was a phone call made threatening some type of hostage situation. So they took the plane from the general area, put it on the remote part of the airport, and there they've begun this procedure now that's going to involve deplaning the passengers and checking out the plane.
Both of those things, we understand, are about to happen or are just now happening. We might be real close to that. We see police and squad cars and cruisers coming up next to the plane. We've got these two different shots from two of our affiliates there as we're watching this, and we've got a passenger on board who's tweeting this information as it happens, as the news break, which we're obviously very grateful to her for. And here she goes again. Here's Campbell with another tweet inside the plane. "We're going off six at a time and bringing our bags with us. Everyone very ready to get off. Forward door, deplane only." So forward door deplane, they're coming out the front. Augie, does that jive with what you're seeing now?
MARTIN: It does. I see people deplaning, or they appear to be passengers. I see people deplaning as we speak. I should add, too, it appears that the operations of the airport, the rest of the airport, appear to be relatively unaffected. They're still arrivals and departure ongoing at a various constant clip.
SANCHEZ: Chad was show us that earlier. He said airport operations are being affected at all. The airport's not closed. Everything is working otherwise. They're taking care of this situation. As they do, we're going to follow it for you. We have got lots of sources on it, and we will be right back.
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