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CNN Sunday Morning

Russia's Defense Minister Thanks U.S., Britain, Japan for Playing Part in Sub Rescue; Two U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq

Aired August 07, 2005 - 09:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A look now at our top stories. All seven crew members aboard a Russian mini sub are alive and relatively well thanks to foreign rescuers. The submarine was brought to the surface just over eight hours ago after being trapped in debris since Thursday.
Russia's defense minister thanked the U.S., Britain and Japan for instantly coming to Russia's aid.

Two U.S. soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb went off near their vehicle in Samarra. Three more troops were injured in that explosion. The deaths bring the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq to 1,827.

A new poll finds more people than ever disapprove of the way President Bush is doing his job. According to the latest "Newsweek" poll 61 percent of those surveys said they disapproved of the way President Bush is handling the war in Iraq. The (Newsweek" poll put the president's general approval rating at 42 percent, a career low.

It is August 7, 2005. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. From the CNN Center in Atlanta I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Betty Nguyen.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for starting your day with us. Coming up this hour the descent of Discovery. Here NASA's prognosis for tomorrow's scheduled landing.

And dangerous dogs, what should be outlawed the behavior or the breed? We'll get both sides of that story. And remembering the Fighting 48th, the Georgia National Guard unit suffered heavy casualties in Iraq in the past two weeks. This morning we take a closer look at some of the lives lost.

WHITFIELD: Up first this hour, they were trapped deep in the sea but are now on land safe and sound. All seven crew members aboard that Russian mini submarine are said to be relatively in good condition. Overnight the submarine was freed from debris that pinned it to the ocean floor for 76 hours. CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has the latest.

Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Fredricka. Well, it awfully nice to have some good news to report from this place in the Pentagon for a change. All seven of those Russian sailors now at the surface getting some medical attention after they were indeed freed from the mini submarine in which they'd been trapped under the Pacific since last Thursday.

These are extraordinary pictures. You see that submersible here. It was cut here by a British Royal Navy underwater robotics vehicle that went down underneath, took a look around with its cameras and controlled from a Russian Navy shit above by a British Royal Navy crew. They were able to cut this mini sub loose from the netting that it had become caught on. So it was the British Royal Navy that was able to use its equipment freeing the seven Russian sailors then who boarded a Russian navel vessel and came back to port much, much to the elation, of course, of their countrymen.

But this was an international effort. The British Royal Navy. Two U.S. Navy divers and a U.S. Navy doctor were also onboard that Russian shit with the British as the Rescue mission unfolded.

The U.S. Navy team had landed on that Russian landfield just behind the British. The British were unloading their gear already, so the two Navy divers, the Navy doctor they got right alongside the British. They went out there to lend a hand.

Now today the Russian navy is expressing its thanks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADMIRAL VICTOR FEDOROV, CMDR RUSSIAN PACIFIC FLEET (via translator): I would like to stress that the help of the Royal Navy of Great Britain was crucial in this rescue operation. We admire their experience, highest professionalism and technical capability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And in Hawaii overnight the commander of the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet, Admiral Gary Roughead issuing his statement saying, quote, "The close teamwork and global coordination between our navies to rescue these sailors in such a short time is a testimony to the spirit and determination of our nations."

Now the Russians are expected to speak in the next several hours again about the rescue of their sailors and certainly there's every expectation that there will be discussions inside the Russian government, the Russian navy and the minister of defense about this entire affair looking at whether there needs to be any changes in the Russian Navy. The U.S. often saying behind the scenes the Russian navy is in desperate is in desperate need of modernization and more modern equipment. So they certainly are likely to be looking at their own rescue capabilities.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon..

Tony. HARRIS: Fred, this in to CNN, just in, Israel's finance minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has resigned from his post. That happened today in protest of next week's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank. That resignation to take effect in the next 48 hours. Netanyahu submitted a letter of resignation during the weekly cabinet meeting.

Once again, Israel's finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resigned his post in protest of next week's withdraw from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank. We will, of course, be following this story throughout the day here at CNN.

HARRIS: Flight control, check, simulated landing, check, ready for reentry definitely check. Astronauts onboard the space shuttle Discovery are definitely checking everything out as they make their way back to Earth. They're expected to land early tomorrow in Florida. CNN's John Zarrella is at the Kennedy Space Center in Houston with the very latest.

Good morning, John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. That's right. I'm sure they're ready to come home and they have -- all the bags are packed. They're getting ready for another sleep opportunity coming up about 1:30 -- about 12:30 eastern time they'll go down for their nap. When they get up it will be time to start the preparations for the return to Earth.

Now there are only two opportunities tomorrow morning for landing. Both are at the Kennedy Space Center. One on orbit 201, the second on orbit 202. Both are at the Kennedy Space Center. The first at about 4:47 a.m. eastern time. The second would e 90 minutes later. It takes an hour and a half, just an hour and a half for the vehicle to make its way all the way around the earth.

If for some reason weather perhaps doesn't cooperate there is a chance of some showers in the morning at the Cape even at that hour. If it doesn't cooperate then Tuesday they could land either at the Kennedy Space or either of the two landing sites including Edwards Air Force Base.

Tony.

HARRIS: John, take a moment here and sort of recap this mission for us. Take a moment and tell us what this mission accomplished.

ZARRELLA: Well, this was really what NASA called an experimental flight, a test mission, testing out the reconfigured external tank. And of course we know that there are issues there now that they have to deal with with the foam insulation coming off the tank narrowly missing Discovery.

They performed three space walks, terrific space walks, in their estimations. One where they tested out new materials and procedures for future astronauts who might perhaps have to repaid damaged thermal tiles in space. That went very well by all accounts. They replaced a gyroscope on the international space station and of course, they pulled out gap fillers which could have been dangerous on reentry. So three successful space walks, transferred lots of supplies, much needed supplies to the international space station. So they accomplished about everything and even more than they intended to do.

Tony.

HARRIS: CNN's John Zarrella. John, we appreciate it. Thank you.

And of course you can watch the shuttle Discovery's return to earth live on CNN starting tomorrow at 4 a.m. CNN's "DAYBREAK" with Carol Costello will bring it to you. Again, that's a 4 a.m. Eastern.

And here is our e-mail question this morning. If you were given the chance would you fly aboard a NASA shuttle? What do you think? Would you? We are at weekends@cnn.com. We'll be reading your replies throughout the program.

WHITFIELD: And now to the latest on the crash of a Tunisian airliner in the Mediterranean. It happened in the southeast portion of Italy yesterday. Of the 38 passengers and crew onboard at least 23 survived the crash, 13 people are known dead and the search continues for two others.

Now the survivors are describing their horror speaking on how they swam for their lives when the plane went down. Many rescued passengers talked of holding on to large pieces of fuselage to help float in the water. All passengers on the flight were Italian. Officials are now looking into exactly what caused that crash.

An update on Tuesday's crash of an Air France jetliner in Toronto. Investigators now say passengers used only four of the planes eight doors to exit burning aircraft and two of the emergency slides failed. Fire may have blocked access to some of the exits, still all 309 people onboard survived.

The federal agency that overseas air safety says you may be surprised to hear such stories of survival are actually the nor. According to the National Transportation Safety Board there were 568 air crashes between 1983 and 2000. Of those, 95 percent of the people onboard survived. Of some 26 notable high profile crashes there was a 50 percent survival rate.

HARRIS: In Iraq the death toll inches up yet again. Two U.S. troops have been killed this weekend near Samarra in the insurgent hot bed of the Sunni triangle. Let's get the latest from the capital and CNN's Aneesh Raman.

Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN. CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, good morning. Those two U.S. soldiers and three others -- two U.S. soldiers killed, three others wounded yesterday after a roadside bomb detonated alongside their vehicle north of the capital in the town of Samarra. It is as you say, part of the Sunni triangle an area of sustained insurgent activity in Iraq.

It brings, Tony, to 30 the number of U.S. military personnel killed here since Monday. A sign of how dangerous some of these areas remain and how difficult some of these operations are both for the U.S. military and especially for the Iraqi forces as they try to suffocate and isolate the enemy. Every time they push against it seems more foreign fighters flow across those borders and into Iraq with better weapons and more sophisticated bombs.

Tony.

HARRIS: Aneesh give us a sense -- we have to say, with this level of success, that the insurgency seems to be experiencing -- right at the moment, what is this telling us about the adaptability of the insurgency? What about commanding control aspects of their operation?

RAMAN: Well, it tells us a lot in terms of the current state. The Pentagon last week saying that the enemy remains incredibly lethal, incredibly adaptive. The area where last week we saw some 20 U.S. Marines killed in Haditha, part of the Al Anbar province where operations Quick Strike, which launched on Wednesday is still going on, that is though to be the heart of the insurgency.

It is where a number of operations have been concentrated for quite sometime, given how much U.S. military presence and Iraqi presence is there and how much they've been trying both to push back against the insurgents but secure that Syrian, Iraqi border.

The fact that we saw the attacks that we did last week shows that the insurgents do remain capable, do remain increasingly sophisticated. That Wednesday attack, Tony, that killed some 14 U.S. Marines that improvised explosive device was massive, a sign of what kind of bombs are coming across that border and still being used against our troops in an area where we've been now for quite some time.

Tony.

HARRIS: Aneesh Raman in Baghdad for us. Aneesh, thank you. We appreciate it.

Well, the surge of violence in Iraq is shattering President Bush on his month long vacation at his Texas ranch. After his arrival three days ago Mr. Bush said that the U.S. troops killed in Iraq died for a noble cause. A "Newsweek" poll suggest a doubting public would ask how President Bush is handling the situation in Iraq. Sixty one percent of Americans say they disapprove. About a third, 34 percent are supporting the president.

About 50 protesters carried that same complaint to within a few miles of President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. The mother of one soldier killed in Iraq is demanding answers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CINDY SHEEHAN, GOLD STAR FAMILIES FOR PEACE: I want to ask the president why did he kill my son. What did my son die for? Last week he said my son died in a noble cause, and I want to ask him what that noble cause is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Her 24 year old son, Casey, was killed in Sadr City in April of last year. Cindy Sheehan says she'll remain camped near the Bush ranch for the entire month.

WHITFIELD: And by now you've heard about the Ohio community devastated by last week's causalities in Iraq, but that wasn't the only one. The 48th Brigade out of Georgia was also hit very hard. Ahead this morning I'll speak to a journalist who has been following those troops on the front line.

HARRIS: But coming up next, dangerous or just misunderstood, will banning big dogs stop a series of attacks? Well, that depends on who you ask

WHITFIELD: And you're waking up to the wet weather across the mid Atlantic and southeast. Will the showers affect the shuttle landing tomorrow, and will it affect your afternoon.

Good morning, Baltimore. We'll have your forecast coming up straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK).

WHITFIELD: Well, perhaps you're just waking up now. Here's a check of our top stories this Sunday morning. The shuttle Discovery is almost on its way home. It's set to land in Florida around 4:47 a.m. Monday morning. NASA says the shuttle is in great shape and expects a safe landing.

A British foreign terror suspect has been deported from Zambia to face charges in Britain. Haroon Rashid Aswat let today -- early this morning. British officials suspect he either facilitated or recruited bombers for the July 7th terrorist attacks in London.

And Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens stopped short of calling for a total death penalty ban, but he did come close. Speaking to the American Bar Association Stevens said the death penalty is fraught with disturbing and serious flaws.

HARRIS: Dangerous, disturbing even deadly, we're talking about dogs who have recently attacked people at times without provocation. Unfortunately, it has happened again. This time in California. Here's CNN's Dan Simon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the 150 pound rottweiler authorities say attacked and killed a 16 month old baby girl just outside of Los Angeles.

SGT. TOM LORENZ, GLENDALE POLICE DEPT.: I understand the child was mauled over her entire body with severe head and facial trauma.

SIMON: The baby was announced dead a short time later at the Verdugo (ph) Hills hospital, but the dog's ferocious attack isn't clear. The rottweiler belongs to the baby's grandparents. Her mother had gone to their house to check on the dog while they were out of town. Investigators say the animal snatched the infant right out of her mother's arms and dragged her several feet.

RICKY WHITMAN, PASADENA HUMANE SOCIETY: During the attack on the baby it bit the mother as well.

SIMON: The rottweiler is under quarantine at the Pasadena Humane Society. The child's mother and grandmother too upset to talk about the attack.

(on camera): Here in California where it seems almost everyone has a dog the tragedy has fueled the lightening rod debate on whether certain breeds more prone to violence should be outlined.

(voice-over): Images like this feed an often angry debate. Miami has banned pit bulls, so has Denver. State law prevents cities in California from targeting specific breeds, but in San Francisco where a 12 year old boy was killed in June by a pit bull the mayor made his feelings known.

MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM, SAN FRANCISCO: I think it's time that we get serious about pit bulls in this city. We get serious about pit bulls in this state. We get serious about pit bulls across the United States of America.

SIMON: Some believe it's time to get serious about rottweilers too, but Jill Kessler, who rescues and trains the breed. says banning isn't the solution.

JILL KESSLER, ROTTWEILER RESCUE: It does not change the percentage of bites and fatalities.

SIMON: A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control suggest that laws targeting dog behavior are more effective in insuring public safety than outlawing breeds. But when a dog like this kills a human being the statistics are often lost in the demand for action. As for this rottweiler's future he will most likely be put to death.

Dan Simon, for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: There we go, yet another brawl. This time it was on the greens of a football stadium. The tussle on the grid iron, but with helmets and pads it really wasn't much of a rumble between New York's two football teams. The Jets and Giants mixed it up, but not for long during a practice. That was practice people and they were taking it that seriously. They started to brawl. All that happening in Albany. Go figure.

Well, the search for a missing Colorado boy continues today. The four year old was driving an all terrain vehicle when he vanished Friday night, four. Authorities say the boy took off on the ATV while his mom was inside her home, 150 people divers and helicopters searched a section of the South Plot (ph) River. They found only a shoe and a fender from the ATV.

And the search for a missing Boy Scout in Utah has officially ended. Twelve year old Garrett Bardsley has been missing nearly a year in the rugged mountains east of Salt Lake City. A massive search was suspended after winter weather set in. The boy's father said they wouldn't search again.

And developing news out of the Middle East. We'll fill you in next when we go global.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Now let's go to our international desk, which is keeping an eye on other stories making news around the world.

HARRIS: That's right. A major development in Israel. There's been a high profile resignation from the government of Ariel Sharon. For the details let's go to CNN's Anand Naidoo.

Anand.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right a good morning from me. That's right, Tony. Israeli finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resigned. For the details let's go to CNN's Paula Hancocks in Jerusalem.

Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Anand. Well, CNN political sources say that it was during the weekly cabinet meeting that Israeli finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu tendered his resignation. Now this cabinet meeting was a weekly cabinet meeting, but it was the capital meeting where they were going to vote on the disengagement, the pull out of settlers from Gaza and parts of the West Bank.

They were voting on one part of that just a quarter of those settlements. That I've just heard has just pass 17 for, five against. But Benjamin Netanyahu saying that he cannot be part of the government that is going to go through with this disengagement when they are getting nothing back in return.

We are expecting a press conference from Benjamin Netanyahu. We'll find out exactly his reasons in about half an hours time. The former prime minister, he was a former foreign minister and up until just about 10 minutes ago he was the finance minister under Sharon's government as well. Anand.

NAIDOO: Paula, is this resignation likely to affect that pull out plan in any way?

HANCOCKS: It won't affect it at all we're being told by senior political sources within Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister's office. They say it will go ahead as planned. This disengagement will not be prevented, it will not be delayed in any way by this move by Netanyahu and also they say that Sharon still has a parliamentary majority, so it wouldn't effect him in the slightest. Now he has been in the past Netanyahu seen as one of the biggest political rivals to Ariel Sharon and it has been expected that he could challenge him for the leadership ahead of elections next year as well.

Anand.

NAIDOO: Thanks, Paul. Paula Hancocks there in Jerusalem.

And the news out of Jerusalem, the finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resigned. He's expected to hold a news conference in a short while. CNN will have more details on his resignation at that time.

Back to Tony and Fredricka now.

HARRIS: Anand, thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well, she's been following the 48th, the 48 Brigade that is on the front line in Iraq. Still ahead a journalist tells what it's like to be reporting on a group of troops who have taken such a heavy toll.

HARRIS: And later, countdown to touchdown. We are less than a day away from Discovery's landing. What lies ahead for the team. We're going to talk about it a little later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Seven Russian crew members are said to be in satisfactory condition just hours after being rescued from their minisub, a British remote-controlled vehicle cut the craft free from the cables and fishing net that ensnared it on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. Russia thanked the U.S. and Japan for scrambling to the rescue.

Nineteen hours and counting, the crew of the space shuttle Discovery is preparing for their return home tomorrow morning, before dawn. The astronauts completed a full examination of the craft and have even practiced landings on a laptop computer. The shuttle flight has been the first since the Columbia tragedy two and a half years ago.

In China typhoon Matsa has been downgraded to a tropical storm but only after destroying crops and dams. Thousands of people had to be evacuated from China's northeast coast earlier this morn. Thousands of homes were leveled and at least four people are confirmed dead.

WHITFIELD: The bodies of two U.S. Marines killed in Iraq last week have arrived back home in Ohio. A flag-draped coffin carrying Lance Corporal Brian Montgomery was taken to his hometown of Willoughby, he will be buried Wednesday. Montgomery's father says his son who has a-year-old son insisted on going to Iraq. He told his father, quote, "I have a job to do for my country."

A funeral was held yesterday for Lance Corporal Andre Williams. More than 300 people turned out for his service in Columbus. The 23- year-old Williams, who left behind two children, was killed Thursday in a gun battle.

In today's "Soldier's Story" more than 1800 U.S. forces have died in Iraq since the invasion of March, 2003. It has not gotten any less deadly as time goes on. The 48th Brigade of the Georgia National Guard has sustained nearly a dozen losses over the past two weeks alone. Journalist Moni Basu of the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" is embedded with the 48th. I spoke with her how this assignment differs from her previous ones to Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: You've been in Iraq before. This time around, however, did you go in into Iraq with certain expectations about the types of stories you'd be covering?

MONI BASU, "ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION": Well, yes. This is my third trip to Iraq, but it's my first time embedding with a U.S. military unit, so I came to Iraq to see the country and how it's changing through the soldiers' eyes and this is a brigade -- the 48th Brigade Combat Team, it's a Georgia National Guard unit and many of the soldiers are from towns all over Georgia and I think that most folks in Georgia have some connection to them in one way or the other if they don't have immediate family in this unit, they have a friend who has a son or daughter, husband or wife serving here. So it was important for the Atlanta paper to tell this story.

WHITFIELD: So, these memorial services often very private, not something that just anyone is attended -- is allowed to attend. You all did get a chance to observe these memorial services. Describe for me what that was like.

BASU: Well, these are military memorial services. Every time there's -- there's a service like this they have the helmets and boots and the rifles and dog tags of the fallen soldiers up on the stage along with their pictures. That's very moving.

WHITFIELD: And let's talk about what you've written about, 11 members of the 48th dying over 11 days. You write in one article, "The deaths shook the brigade to its core. After the initial shock and disbelief, after the tears and quiet time, Alpha Company soldiers were angry. Angry at an elusive enemy they could not see, fearful that in days after the tragedy, they were still going out on three- Humvee patrols, waiting for their turn to die." So many of them are feeling a significant level of defeat, weren't they? BASU: Well, yes, but I think that especially for the infantry soldier, the soldiers of this particular company who lost eight soldiers, for them it was important to be able to go out and do something they felt would somehow honor the memory of their fallen friends and for them that was going out there, to keep going what was asked of them, to keep trying to catch insurgents or to get information that would help lead to the capture of the folks or the people here who are planting the roadside bombs.

WHITFIELD: And is there confidence or is there eroding confidence about their overall mission?

BASU: That's hard to tell, I've only been here for two weeks and I don't think it's very fair to judge the soldiers by the events of the last two weeks. Obviously, they were very -- they were in mourning, they were grieving, they were angry, there were a lot of emotions that came out in the last two weeks. But I do think that some of them are frustrated. That they go out and they are fighting an unconventional war. They are very well trained, they are very well equipped to fight a conventional war, but this is an insurgency where you can't see the economy and that has been a very -- that's been very frustrating for a lot of them.

WHITFIELD: "Atlanta Journal-Constriction" reporter, Moni Basu, thanks so much. Along with the images from photojournalist Bita Honarvar, thanks so much to both of you for sharing these thoughts with us and be safe there while you're with the 48th Brigade.

BASU: Thanks for having us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: So, who were these men? They were living ordinary lives until they were called to extraordinary duty. We spent this some time this week finding out more about these 11 citizen soldiers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS (voice-over): Staff Sergeant Charles Warren was from Suwannee, Georgia, he died in the latest attack involve the 48th on August 3rd. Warren was a nurse at Children's Health Care of Atlanta. The 36-year-old was married and a father of two. He saw a video of his daughter's birth six weeks ago.

Sergeant Huey Lewis Ganey from Folkston, Georgia also died in the August 3 attack. The former Marine was 29 years old, married and had one daughter.

Sergeant 1st Class Victor Anderson was from Ellaville, Georgia. He died on the convoy attack on July 30th. Anderson was married and a father of two. The 39-year-old was a deputy with the Sumter County Sheriff's department.

Sergeant David Jones died in the same attack. He was from Augusta, Georgia. The 45-year-old had big plans for the future. He wanted to become a college history professor. His civilian job was a jailer with the Richmond County Sheriff's Department.

Specialist Jonathan Haggin was from Kingsland, Georgia. The former Marine served a tour in Iraq in 2003. The 26-year-old was working as a security guard at Kings Bay Naval Submarine base. He was reconciling with his ex-wife, she is expecting their second child.

Specialist Ronnie "Rod" Shelley from Valdosta, Georgia was the 4th and final soldier killed in the convoy attack July 30. He was 34 years old, married and the father of three. Shelley had all his upper teeth pulled and replaced with dentures so he would be fit for duty in Iraq.

Specialist Jacques "Gus" Brunson was from Americus, Georgia, he died July 24. Brunson was 30-years-old, he was a prison guard in civilian life. On his last birthday he asked his family to send toys for Iraqi children.

Staff sergeant Carl Fuller died in the same attack; he was from Covington, Georgia. The 44-year-old was a DeKalb County police officer and recently remet his grown daughter for the first time since she was three years old.

Sergeant James Kinlow was the third of four men who died July 24 when a roadside bomb exploded. Kinlow was 35, a truck driver who married his high school sweetheart.

Sergeant John Frank Thomas was from Valdosta. He was the fourth and final soldier killed in the July 24 attack. Thomas was married. The 33-year-old former Marine was considering a career in forestry after his tour in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Checking our top stories this Sunday morning. Iran says its ability to enrich uranium is not up for negotiation. The country has been in talks with European leaders about the nuclear program. Talks broke down next week. Iran says its nuclear development is just for electricity, not to make weapons.

At least two people are still missing after a turbo-prop jet made a crash landing into the sea off Sicily. Thirteen people have been confirmed dead in the wreck, 23 passengers and crew members were rescued.

And in Florida, campers there make a gruesome discovery. They find the burned body of a girl inside an old refrigerator. She was a 17-year-old who's been missing, an honor student, last seen alive July 21 when she went to the movies with two friends. Police say a teenager and a 23-year-old man have been -- have confessed, rather, to the killing.

HARRIS: This time tomorrow the shuttle Discovery should be parked at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew readjusting to Terra Firma. I chatted with the crew for a couple of minutes earlier this morning about the conclusion of their mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Commander Collins, are you ready to come home?

EILEEN COLLINS, DISCOVERY COMMANDER: Oh, I think it's time for us to come home, but I'm having a great time up here. The earth is absolutely beautiful. We're having a great time with the crew. We're really having the space experience of a lifetime, for me. We've done a little bit of everything on this flight. I'm so happy to have done it, but it's time to come home and keep working on getting the shuttle better and ready to fly in the future and time to see our families again.

HARRIS: Stephen Robinson, rate the mission, how difficult has it been. How taxing has the work been?

STEPHEN ROBINSON, DISCOVERY FLIGHT ENGINEER: We were assigned this mission just a little bit over four years ago, if you can believe that and these 13 days have gone by just so quickly and there's been a lot of challenges associated with the mission, but it's been very rewarding challenges, the kind of thing that you really hope is at the end of a long road and very gratifying.

HARRIS: Commanders Collins, tell us what you do now to get ready for re-entry and landing.

COLLINS: We're going to spend the rest of the day today -- we're going to -- stowing the cabin, basically putting up the seats and getting our communications and our suits ready, the orange suits that we wear, the pressure suits, get all those ready for entry, pretty much just thinking about what we'll be doing tomorrow.

HARRIS: James Kelly, what does re-entry feel like?

JAMES KELLY, DISCOVERY PILOT: It kind of feels that at points it's like a runaway train. You're up here going really fast but you don't really feel it as much above the earth, once we start reentering the atmosphere you start seeing the plasma go by the windows, it's rough inside. As we get closer and closer to landing we're doing more and more operations and really have to keep track of things at a relatively fast pace down all the way down to the ground.

HARRIS: It has been wonderful to talk to you, it has been wonderful to follow the mission. Have a safe re-entry and landing

COLLINS: Thanks it was great to talk to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: As we speak, the space shuttle Discovery is making its descent from the International Space Station. The crew has completed flight control checks and NASA says Discovery is ship shape for the return to earth. And the weather forecast looks good for the predawn landing, so how will it go? Former NASA administrator, Lori Garver is live in the Washington bureau.

Lori, Good to see you this, morning. LORI GARVER, FMR. NASA ADMINISTRATOR: Good morning. Good to see you, Tony.

HARRIS: Well, how do you prepare for this re-entry and landing? Now my vision of this, Lori, is that you're tying everything off with bungee cords to make sure nothing's flying around, but I know it's more sophisticated than that, so talk us through it.

GARVER: Well, the space shuttle was build to come home as a spaceship, really the first one the world has ever seen. And so everything has a place. It is stowed, as the commander there, Eileen Collins, just said, they even take out the seats and re -- they're attached to the floor, of course. They're going to be getting on those orange jump suits that they only wear for launch and landing and everything, including themselves, is tied down as they get ready for this runaway train ride home.

HARRIS: Something more sophisticated than bungee cords and seat belts I hope.

GARVER: There is a lot of Velcro.

HARRIS: A lot of Velcro, see that's something I did not know. All right now, we heard a great description of re-entry from Pilot James Kelly. You take a shot at it. Describe re-entry.

GARVER: Well, the run away train is something a lot of them have said before. I have heard astronauts describe it as extremely loud. You are shaking and you do see the plasma going around the vehicle out the windows, especially if you're upstairs. If you're downstairs you have no view and you're just rattling and ready to come home. You're also adjusting, for the first time, to the gravity environment, these folks after their 11 days in space.

HARRIS: I have to ask you, when is the crew the most anxious? Is it the moment right before you hit the atmosphere, this moment of entry interface? How's that? That was pretty good, wasn't it?

GARVER: "Entry interface" would be precise. I think the time they go through the atmosphere is probably the most crucial, until they get through and re-establish communications. Of course, this vehicle is the most inspected vehicle in space of any in our 45-year history of human spaceflight. So I think these folks feel pretty good about their return home.

HARRIS: How do you feel about it? You know, a lot of folks I'd talk to are a little anxious about this? Are you anxious about re- entry and landing?

GARVER: Those of us in the space program know the risks and have been anxious for every launch and landing, I think, of the space shuttle. It may be something that this time because the public has a more interest, the crew has, but you've heard this crew talk about it. They're a little discouraged with the negative talk about the foam because they know this mission has been a success, from their perspective, the orbiter itself has performed well and they've done exiting things and I don't think that they themselves are more nervous than they would be normally.

HARRIS: That's a good perspective. What's next for the crew after touchdown and landing? Is there an extensive debriefing process that takes place?

GARVER: The landing is very quickly finished. They shut down the orbiter and within an hour, oftentimes they'll be coming down the stairs ready to greet friends and family and NASA family there to greet them. It is not something like the liftoff where you have them in quarantine. They come down immediately -- I've had friend comes down the stairs into my arms, astronauts an hour from space. You go walk under the vehicle and the heat from the tires of the shuttle is still emanating, so it's an exciting thing, a landing.

HARRIS: And that's the picture we want to see. We want to see that picture of the astronauts coming down the stairs and family embracing them. That's the picture we want to see tomorrow.

GARVER: You're going to see that picture in less than 24 hour, my guess.

HARRIS: Boy, that's exciting. Lori, we appreciate it. Thank you for your time.

GARVER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: That's going to be so exciting. Well, Jacqui Jeras has the weather forecast straight ahead and don't worry, we haven't forgotten more your e-mails on this morning's question, here's the question: Given the chance, would you fly aboard a NASA shuttle? Especially after hearing that very detailed description of what it feels like out there. Some of your answers when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All morning we've been asking you this question, asking you whether you would jump at the chance, if you had an opportunity, to fly a NASA shuttle?

HARRIS: Good thoughts (INAUDIBLE), right?

WHITFIELD: Yeah, people are very excited about the whole notion.

HARRIS: Well, this from Darrell from Nova Scotia, he writes, "When do I leave? Bags are packed! I believe to go up and look back at our pale, blue dot would be an experience of a lifetime. What they really should do is jam all of the world leaders on there and take them up to have a look at our fragile little planet and maybe then -- maybe then some perspectives might change. Got my bags packed, call now!!"

WHITFIELD: Darrell's very comprehensive on his thoughts.

HARRIS: I love it.

WHITFIELD: James puts it in more simple terms: "What time is blast off?"

HARRIS: What time?

WHITFIELD: I'm there. Count me in, he says.

HARRIS: Ready-to-go. We want to thank you all for your e-mails.

WHITFIELD: All right, well that's been a lot of fun.

HARRIS: Yeah, that has been good fun for us this morning and we've got a window of opportunity here. We were just talking a moment ago about whether or not the shuttle has landed at night and I think the official word that it has on several occasions.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right.

HARRIS: So no issue there and it looks like the weather's going to be fine for the landing.

JERAS: It should be yeah, chance of showers and thunderstorms are mostly offshore, though, so cross your fingers. I'd say, you know, 20 percent chance of a shower or thunderstorm or weather affecting it. But actually, at nighttime it's better because the winds are calmer, less chance of thunderstorms. The later in the day you get you get that daytime heating in Florida.

HARRIS: That's right.

JERAS: And you get your land breeze and the sea breeze and it gets all fired up across the state.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

JERAS: Yeah, that's what they're going to see for today as well.

(WEATHER REPORT)

JERAS: And can you believe it, a lot of kids are going back to school. Ouch.

HARRIS: That's right, we got a couple of weeks here.

WHITFIELD: That was a short summer.

JERAS: It was.

WHITFIELD: For them.

HARRIS: That's right, we get another week here in Georgia, and then a lot of folks, it's right after Labor Day. Correct?

JERAS: Yeah. Most -- well that's how we did it when I was a kid. It was always after Labor Day.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Sorry kids. Dang, short summer.

JERAS: Hey, it's been fun.

HARRIS: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: It's nice to be with you guys this weekend.

HARRIS: I was on my best behavior.

JERAS: Tried.

WHITFIELD: You were good.

HARRIS: And thanks for watching this morning. Stay tuned for "On the Story."

WHITFIELD: And Tony and Betty and Jacqui, maybe, next weekend?

JERAS: Um, next weekend I'm leaving.

WHITFIELD: Same place, same channel?

HARRIS: Oh, OK.

WHITFIELD: Probably right. Well, at least you and Betty.

HARRIS: We'll see you then.

WHITFIELD: All right.

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