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CNN Sunday Morning
New Video of Pakistan Terror Bombing Released; Olmert Resigns; Mbeki to Step Down
Aired September 21, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: A family is looking for answers, after their soldier son is killed in Iraq, and a fellow soldier is the suspect.
RICHARD LUI, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Dramatic new video released in just the last 90 minutes of the truck loaded with explosives that detonated outside a Marriott hotel in Pakistan with deadly consequences. From the CNN center in Atlanta, bringing you news from around the world this day, I'm Richard Lui in for T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen. It is Sunday, September 21 and thanks for joining us. So, let's get right to it because we want to begin with this deadly bombing in Pakistan. So, let's go straight to CNN's Reza Sayah at the scene.
Reza, we've got new video that is really providing some interesting details about this attack, it's video that shows the truck pulling up right before the bomb explodes. Talk to me about what it's providing in the form of information to investigators.
REZA SAYAH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, these are some dramatic pictures, Betty. This video released a couple of hours ago showing the massive suicide truck bomb that killed 50 people and destroyed the Islamabad Marriott hotel in the federal capital Saturday night. The video taken from surveillance cameras at the hotel, the nighttime video shows a truck, a dump truck pull up to the gate, the steel gates of the Marriott on Saturday night, and basically the video corroborates what police had told us less than 24 hours ago.
Let's walk you through the video. The video shows is a white truck pull up to the steel gate and according to what police told us last night, the driver of this truck tried to talk his way into the Marriott. The guards said no, and that's when the video shows a small fire in what appears to be the engine block of the truck. The fire then spreads to the back of the truck, and in the meantime, you see what appears to be confusion among the security guards there.
A lot of armed security guards surrounding that steel gate every night at the Islamabad Marriott, and when they see this truck apparently bump into the steel gate and the fire, there's some confusion. You see some of them run up to the truck and run back. You see one security guard come up with a fire extinguisher and try to put out the fire. He didn't succeed, and he runs back, and then moments later, the video doesn't show this, but the explosion takes place. We did get an explanation of why the video does not show the explosion, they say the surveillance cameras were connected to the electricity system, Betty, and when the explosion took place, obviously the electricity went out.
NGUYEN: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Fifty-seven people killed in that explosion. 230 injured. And if we can re-rack this video to when the truck is on fire. Reza, I'm not a security expert. This is not the right video, the one we showed at the beginning where you see the people congregating, security guards congregating to the left. I am no security expert Reza, but it would appear to me if a truck is sitting there on fire and you are security guards manning that gate, you would be getting people away from there. You would, in fact, be running away from the fire.
SAYAH: No question about it. You would think that, but from what appears in the video, there was some confusion. There didn't appear to be a cohesive approach to what was a crisis situation before anything happened. It was certainly too late. But the government officials are defending the security practices. They continue to say that this truck did not penetrate the steel gate, but this explosion -- the explosives in this truck were large enough that it didn't matter. Even though it didn't penetrate that steel gate, this explosion large enough to destroy the Islamabad Marriott, an inferno engulfed it, swallowed it up, gutted it out and of course, you have more than 50 people killed -- Betty.
NGUYEN: It's a devastating situation and obviously this video will be scrutinized as investigators comb through it and try to figure out exactly who is behind this. At this point, no one claimed responsibility. Reza Sayah joining us live this morning. Reza, we do appreciate your information. Thank you -- Richard.
LUI: Thanks Betty. Israel's embattled prime minister makes it official, Ehud Olmert announcing his intention to step down at a cabinet meeting a few hours ago. He is expected to submit a letter of resignation to President Shimon Peres later today. Olmert is being investigated over some financial dealings before he became prime minister. Denies any wrongdoing.
Now, you might remember, Olmert took over as prime minister after a 2006 stroke left then premier, Ariel Sharon in a coma. Now, Olmert founded the Kadima Party in 2005 with Sharon, he was Jerusalem's mayor and held several cabinet posts. And in July he announced his intent to resign after his party elected a new chairman.
In South Africa, we take you, President Thabo Mbeki there, preparing to address the nation, today, after announcing he is stepping down, yesterday. He's also holding an emergency cabinet meeting, right now. The African National Congress had called on Mbeki to resign. The troubles come amid the lengthy power struggle with ANC leader, Jacob Zuma.
Now, Mbeki joined the ANC when he was 14. In 1999 he became the second democratically elected president of the country, hand-picked to build on the legacy of Nelson Mandela. You may remember, Thabo Mbeki was heavily criticized in 2000 when he publicly denied that HIV causes AIDS and blamed the disease on poverty and racism.
NGUYEN: Well, a noted evangelist compound in Arkansas has been raided and it's part of a two-year investigation into the possible physical or sexual abuse of children. The evangelist, Tony Alamo. About 100 agents raided the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries in Fouke, Arkansas. Now, no arrest warrants have been issued, but authorities say they interviewed several children and those interviews are expected to resume today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM BROWN, FBI: The state investigation is aimed at allegations that children living at the Alamo facilities may have been sexually and physically abused. The federal investigation is based on possible violations of the Mann Act, which is title 18, section 24, 23.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My heart goes out to the kids and the women, and the women are adults, they can choose for themselves who they want to be, but those kids are innocent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Alamo, who turned 74 yesterday, denies anyone has been abused at the 10 to 15-acre compound. Now critics though regard his ministry as a cult. In fact, Alamo has faced legal action before. He was convicted in the early '90s of tax-related charges and last night he spoke with CNN about that and yesterday's raid in Arkansas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY ALAMO, EVANGELIST: What they did is railroaded me on the one charge. IRS charged me with 100 different things including trying to kidnap a federal judge, Boris Arnold, and I won that case. The whole jury knew I was not guilty. But, they let a lot of people out of prison to testify falsely against me so that they could railroad me into prison on the IRS charge, and I just figured, well, you know, the Lord said these things would happen to us, and they are. They've been going on ever since I've been born again of the spirit 44 years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, I got to ask you, Mr. Alamo, have you spoken to investigators at all?
ALAMO: I've talked to people, they didn't even ask to talk to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have not been interviewed by investigators?
ALAMO: No, because they they've been interviewing a lot of the little girls over there and their mothers and everything, and they're coming up with nothing, n-o-t-h-I-n-g and they never will come one anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: It's not known just how many children live at the Alamo Christian Ministry site.
LUI: "Issue No. 1," the United States money crisis. We're keeping an eye on Congress this weekend for you. Lawmakers are working on the government's massive plan to rescue the nation's financial institutions.
Just a short while ago Treasury secretary Henry Paulson told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the nation's credit markets are still very fragile. Investors are looking to Monday's opening bell on the heels of last week's near meltdown. It began on Monday, when investment firm Lehman Brothers went bust, and Merrill Lynch sought shelter in Bank of America. The Dow plunged 500 points.
Then, insurance giant AIG tripped, and an $85 billion rescue plan was not enough to stem a tide of panic on Wall Street. By Thursday, word got around that the feds were working on a rescue plan and global markets soared. Paulson announced it on Friday and sent markets even higher, announcing that plan.
Well, are you feeling a little nervous, not sure what this plan means? We'll get advice on how to protect your personal portfolio. Knight Kiplinger, the editor of "The Kiplinger Letter," will join us in about 20 minutes on that.
NGUYEN: Let's turn to politics now, because there are several afternoon events today. John McCain will speak at the National Guard convention in Baltimore, Maryland, while Barack Obama holds a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Now, McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, will speak at a rally in Lady Lake, Florida, and Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, takes a day off after campaigning yesterday in Virginia.
So, just what are the candidates saying about plans for handling the financial crisis? For that we turn to CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, he joins us from Washington with more on this.
So, what are they saying? I know earlier, the started pointing fingers at each other, are they coming up with some real solutions on their own?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: They're doing a little bit of both, Betty. You know, both candidates are out there applauding the administration and congressional leaders for working in a bipartisan way to try to solve this problem, but they're both a little cautious when it comes to the plan itself. Neither of them is actually praising the plan directly.
Barack Obama, yesterday on the campaign trail in Florida, twice in two different events talked about how this plan, whatever the final solution is, needs to help not just Wall Street, but average Americans dealing with tough economic times. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have to make sure that whatever plan our government comes up with works not just for Wall Street, but for Main Street. We have to make sure it helps folks cope with rising prices, and sparks job creation, and helps homeowners stay in their homes. That's the kind of help folks need right now.
We have to make sure that any plan we come up with is temporary and restores tough oversight and accountability on Wall Street. We've got to have regulations in place that make sure that people are doing the right thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: McCain is pushing what he calls an early prevention plan to prevent such a financial crisis from happening again. He wasn't on the campaign trail yesterday, but he was -- he put out his own statement and here's what he had to say:
"I encourage all parties to consider the principles and the proposals that I laid out Friday in my Mortgage and Financial Institutions (MFI) trust plan -- an approach that would proactively resolve troubled financial institutions, enforce discipline on management and shareholders and minimize the burden on the taxpayer."
So, he's been pushing that plan for about two days now and hopes that congressional leaders, as well, will take a listen and maybe act on it.
Now, both candidates, though, Betty, while they're pushing their own plans, they're also attacking each other, there's a lot of rhetoric, they're both putting the blame game over this financial crisis.
NGUYEN: Well, you know, this race is just so tight and you've got the attacks, people trying to sort out who is telling the truth, which fact is correct and is it the whole truth, but at the same time, there's a debate coming up and that's going to be key in this election, because a lot of people still have not decided.
STEINHAUSER: Oh, a lot. One in 10 Americans, if you look at our averages, about one in 10 Americans is still undecided. You've got the three presidential and one vice presidential debate. They all kick off this Friday and I think the debates could really help those people who are still undecided make up their minds.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. All right, we'll be waiting to that are and watching very closely when they square off head-to-head in that debate. Paul Steinhauser joining us live today, thank you, Paul.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
LUI: All right, you can hear more from the candidates on CNN's BALLOT BOWL, extended excerpts from the campaign trail. The candidates unfiltered for you in their own words, BALLOT BOWL starting at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, today, only on CNN.
A week after Ike, yet word today on when some evacuees can come home, what will they come home to? We'll have a live report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Look at that. Accident on the water, there it goes, watch it, boom. Whoa, hydroplane racing boat is nearly reduced to splinters in this accident. The driver of that boat was practicing for a racing competition this weekend in San Diego, when he obviously lost control, and then you see Mr. Maddock crash. Amazingly, though, despite all that you see just really tearing apart, ripping apart in the open waters there, the driver, he walked away with just some scratches. He estimates he's going about 180 miles-per-hour when that happened. So, that's a lucky man, today.
You know, in Columbia, South Carolina, federal investigators they have recovered the cockpit voice recorder from a fiery plane crash that killed four people and injured two celebrities. Adam Goldstein, better known as DJ AM, you see him there on the left and former Blink 182 drummer, Travis Barker on the right, both of them remain in critical condition, today.
Officials say they aren't sure how much information they'll be able to recover from the voice box because of damage from the crash. Investigators are also talking to air traffic controllers and eyewitnesses.
LUI: Evacuees from Galveston getting word they'll be allowed back in on Wednesday; however, Officials warn they'll be returning to a mess. It's been more than one week since Hurricane Ike and some people are getting an idea how long it will take to rebuild, as well. If they are allowed to build and can do that. Ed Lavandera is there with more.
Hey, Ed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARLOS ORTEGA, HOMEOWNER: The amount of force that it takes to make this happen is pretty unbelievable.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Carlos Ortega's home used to be on the second row of houses on this Galveston Island beach. Hurricane Ike gave him an ocean front view.
ORTEGA: That road that was there tumbled on to what is now what used to be a bedroom and a garage.
LAVANDERA: As tens of thousands of residents along the Texas gulf coast return to see their destroyed homes, Texas land commissioner, Jerry Patterson, says as many as 500 homes might not be rebuilt on the water's edge because of a 50-year-old state law.
JAMES PATTERSON, TEXAS LAND COMMISSIONER: Under Texas law, if the beach naturally grows in front of your house, you gain title to that land. Under Texas law, if the beach erodes, and in some cases goes underneath your house or behind it, you lose title to that land. But we won't be able to make that final determination until the beach has had a chance to recover.
LAVANDERA: Ortega wants state officials to get out of the way and let people rebuilt as they see fit.
ORTEGA: It would be a huge uproar on this community if the state or the city decided these houses can't be rebuilt and folks can't come in here and clean up our messes. And there would be just a huge outcry of anger and frustration.
LAVANDERA: Hurricane Ike eroded away the old beach lines. And since no one knows where the new beach lines will eventually emerge, state officials say it will take at least a year to determine who will be allowed to rebuild permanently.
PATTERSON: If we made a determination now and said that your house is now on the public beach, a year later, after four seasons have lapsed and the beaches have recovered like it will do to some extent, we may have told someone that they've got a house or structure on public land when in fact a year from now it's not.
LAVANDERA: From Carlos Ortega's front porch, the beach is now about 100 feet closer than before Hurricane Ike. And he never wanted to be this close to the edge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: All right, Ed Lavandera joins us now live there in Galveston.
Ed, when we take a look at the difficulty of understanding even where that coastline is, what sort of repairs are residents thinking of doing? What would they like to do?
LAVANDERA: Well, I think a lot of people would like to rebuild, but imagine just how much work needs to be done. You know, let's show you real quick, to give you -- it's hard to get a sense of what Carlos Ortega's house used to look like. We can show you a before picture, and essentially, there was a grassy lawn in front of the picture, it was all completely wiped away, and now the problem is, is that so many homes so close to the water, we don't know where the shoreline's going to end up now.
Look at the shot here this morning, and it's a house like that over there in the distance that you can see, blueish house that's kind of leaning to the side there, well the ocean is essentially underneath the house there. A house like that is now in jeopardy, because according to that state law here in Texas, as that beach line moves, you have to be a certain distance away from the beach line, so a house like that with the ocean underneath it is now essentially on state property and whether or not a home like that will be allowed to be rebuilt is still very much up in the air and that's why officials say it will take a year to let everything settle back here to normal, what the new beach line will be like and then they'll allow people to rebuild permanently.
LUI: It's just still just so hard to understand the fact that that coastline, they don't know where that's at. Let me ask you another question here, when we talk about this, Ed. The question is really that three phase plan and how residents are reacting to that. They just want to get back in.
LAVANDERA: Right, I think originally, up until yesterday, they had been told it would be at least a week to 10 days before they would be allowed to return home, with the announcement yesterday moving it up to Wednesday, we would imagine that people would at least welcome that. Of course, waiting another three or four days to get back in here will be a long wait. There had been a sense of growing anger and frustration of people not being allowed to return home. They desperately want to get in here.
LUI: All right, Ed Lavandera in Galveston, thank you so much.
So, there are ways you can help Ike storm victims. Find out at CNN.com's "Impact Your World" page. You'll find links to organizations offering assistance. Again, that is CNN.com/impact.
NGUYEN: Richard, in these tough economic times many of you are tightening your belt, so what are you giving up? We'll take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LUI: A U.S. soldier dies in Iraq, but not from combat.
NGUYEN: So, what happened on that deadly day in Baghdad? Well, the soldier's family says military isn't providing many answers. CNN's Brook Baldwin has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAXINE MATHIS, SOLDIER'S STEPMOTHER: My little boy. He was one in a million.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Losing a child in a war would make any parent weep, but for this Florida family, learning their son died not by enemy fire, but at the hands of an American soldier, seems incomprehensible.
MATHIS: I wish it was just over. I want it to be over. That's all I want.
BALDWIN: Darryl and Maxine Mathis's son, 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Darris Dawson was shot last Sunday a long with another U.S. soldier at a base south of Baghdad. Since that afternoon, these Pensacola parents say they haven't heard much from the military. The suspect, a fellow soldier, the motive, unknown, and they don't understand why they haven't learned more.
DARRYL MATHIS, SOLDIER'S FATHER: Something is amiss there, and we don't know what it is. They're holding something back.
BALDWIN: The U.S. Military did release this statement in reference to the incident, "A U.S. soldier is in custody in connection with the shooting death. He is being held in custody pending review by a military magistrate. The incident continues under investigation."
That is not enough for this grieving family. Instead, they're stuck, searching for information anywhere they can find it.
D MATHIS: We have a lot of different stories about what happened. So, we don't know what to believe at this point.
BALDWIN: All this couple wants now is answers.
D MATHIS: ...the pain, the stomach, just quivering all day, can't think, can't do much of nothing.
BALDWIN: Anything to explain how their son could have died this way.
Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Pensacola, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: Are you feeling a little nervous after this rough week in the financial world?
NGUYEN: Well, we do have some much need advice on keeping your cool and also protecting your money, which is most important in these times, all of that just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Hello everybody, happy Sunday morning, welcome back, I'm Betty Nguyen.
LUI: And I'm Richard Lui in for T.J. Holmes, he is off today.
New video out of Pakistan, this morning, shows a truck carrying a bomb right up to the gates of a hotel in Islamabad.
NGUYEN: Yeah, check this out, the truck rammed the gate, caught fire and then just minutes later exploded. At least 57 people were killed and as many as 230 others injured. So far, though, there are no claims of responsibility.
LUI: And a noted evangelist compound in Arkansas has been raided. It's part of a two-year investigation into the possible physical or sexual abuse of children. The evangelist, Tony Alamo, agents there raided the Tony Alamo Christian Ministry in Fouke, Arkansas, there, so again, (INAUDIBLE) out of Arkansas.
"Issue No. 1," America's money crisis. Lawmakers, this weekend, are working on the government's massive plan to bail out the nation's financial institutions. Treasury Secretary Paulson this morning said passage needs to be "clean and quick."
Investors are looking to Monday's opening bell on the heels of last week's near meltdown. Now, this began on Monday, when investment firm Lehman Brothers went bust, and Merrill Lynch sought shelter in Bank of America. The Dow then plunged 500 points. Then, insurance giant AIG tripped and an $85 billion rescue plan, evidently not enough to stem a tide of panic on Wall Street.
Then by Thursday, word got around that the feds were working on a rescue plan and global markets soared. Paulson announced it on Friday and sent markets even higher.
All right, so how do you keep your financial cool when the markets slip into panic mode? Knight Kiplinger is editor of "The Kiplinger Letter" and kiplinger.com.
Knight, let's start with this, it was said by Jim Cramer on CNBC, that the entire Western financial system, checkbooks, ATMs, annuities, everything was on the table last week. Was it that serious for us all?
KNIGHT KIPLINGER, THE KIPLINGER LETTER: It is indeed, Richard. We'll never know how bad it might have gotten, had the government not instituted this massive intervention in financial markets. But, let's assume that the intervention was necessary, and it has, indeed, quelled a global financial panic.
LUI: OK, so the question might be -- and you put this right on your front page of kiplinger.com -- "Will it be this Easy?" Just talked about that program, the $700 billion plan that came out from the Treasury secretary. Will it be this easy?
KIPLINGER: Let's be very candid about what this intervention can and cannot accomplish. It has already quelled a panic. It will provide lubrication to a credit mechanism that it seized up around the world. It will probably avert a genuine classic recession, several quarters of contracting output in the U.S. economy.
What is will probably not do is spur strong economic growth next year. That's a much bigger picture. The purchasing power of consumers and business has been severely impaired and that's a fundamental situation that's not going to be changed by this intervention, probably no real recession, but sluggish growth, barely one percent growth on average through 2009.
LUI: So, it is impaired, that makes it more difficult when we take a look at the one million to two million homes that are still at risk of going into foreclosure. This current plan here, Knight, does not appear to address the future possible foreclosures, does it?
KIPLINGER: That is still open to some question. A lot of people are saying if we're going to help Wall Street in this way, how are we also going to help Main Street? One possibility is that banks will be in power to renegotiate a lot of mortgages that are teetering on the edge to prevent more mortgages from going into foreclosure. This is one of the big issues that Congress and the administration will be hashing out over the next couple of days.
LUI: Knight, you're a young man, a lot of our viewers have been around, though, and have seen the S&L crisis in the '80s. What did we not learn from then that we have not taken forward?
KIPLINGER: I think we failed to learn that when a world is awash in easy credit, the government is encouraging people to take excessive risks. There were excessive risks taken in the late '80s and early '90s in commercial real estate, we built more office space and retail space than there was demand for. We did the same thing over the last five or six years with easy, cheap credit being given to unqualified borrowers to buy homes and condos.
Remember, many of these foreclosures are foreclosures on speculative purchases. Speculators in Florida, Nevada, Arizona, bought and flipped condos like it was a parlor game. That is over, that is toast and good riddance to it.
LUI: All right, Knight Kiplinger thank you for stopping by, the editor to of "The Kiplinger Letter" and kiplinger.com. Appreciate it.
KIPLINGER: Thank you.
NGUYEN: So, many people out there are feeling the squeeze on the pocketbooks amid these rising prices for just the basics and we asked to you tell us what are you giving up in the financial times? Well, CNN's Josh Levs joins with us your iReports.
And yesterday we heard people giving up their pets, their homes, the cars. I'm kind of afraid to ask today what they're giving up.
JOSH LEVS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah I know, we got some more surprising answers, this is really interesting. What I did was I pieced through some of the many iReports we've been getting. Let's just go straight to this first one we have right here.
This comes to us from a single mom in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who's going to go by Kathleen. She tells us her family is giving up cable and allowances and meals out, movies, credit cards, renters insurance and she says that's not all. It's seriously changed their lifestyle. She says they're grateful to even have a home which they're renting.
Let's go to the next one now, someone said giving up the American dream, this is from Dustin Holmes who opened a coffee franchise back in 2004, when things looked like they were going to be pretty good. Since then has had to shutdown owning his own store.
Let's go to the next one now, Michael Bannett, who says what he's giving up. He's a realtor there in North Carolina, he's giving up most everything, eating out, new clothes, even name brand groceries. I know, it's getting depressing, but there might be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Let's look at another one. Catherine Konrad from San Diego, she tells us that she and her husband have this 2-year-old, beautiful 2- year-old boy there. She says they're leaving for her mom's house in Arizona, they can't live on their own anymore in San Diego, it's gotten way too tough, they need to move in with her mom back in Arizona.
Now, there's one I showed you yesterday, I'm going to go back to it now, just because it is so cute, it's a great one. This is Amanda Scott who says between having an actual baby and the house and all of the payments they couldn't keep their dogs anymore, which is tough.
And one more now, this comes to us from Michelle Wallace who says that her husband who used to drive the truck to work, but gas became so expensive it would have been $600 a month, so now he lives near work during the week, and can only come home on the weekends.
Let me zoom in on the board quickly, because there's someone who has a different take on this. And I want show you this one right here. The picture is kind of blurry, but this comes to us from Jonathan Gorman who says actually he's doing pretty well right now because he's taking advantage of all the deals that he's finding in this market. He has saved for years, and he's happy to actually have those deals right now, but obviously doesn't wish anything bad on anyone.
OK, maybe that's a little depressing in its own way. If you have your own things that you're losing during this economy you want to share your story, go to ireport.com, you can send us your photos, your videos, your story.
So Betty, you can see them. And what we really liked about doing this is brining it down to the immediacy. We hear all of these billions and billions, but when it translates down to one person, you on your family, what are you actually losing?
NGUYEN: What does it mean to your pets, obviously I guess a trip somewhere else, unfortunately. Such a sad story, but you know, these are difficult times. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: You got it, thank.
LUI: All right, just in to us here at CNN, an update. DJ Adam Goldstein and former Blink 182's drummer, Travis Barker, as you remember yesterday, in a plane crash. DJ AM on the left, Travis Barker on the right, they still remain in critical, but stable condition on Sunday.
Now, what we just learned in the last 15 minutes is that the burn doctor there at the center says full recovery is expected for those two musicians in the plane crash that killed four people there in Columbia. The two musicians are being treated at the Joseph Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia.
Federal investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the fiery jet crash that occurred late Friday. One crash witness there said he saw Barker and Goldstein trying to extinguish the flames on their own bodies by ripping off their clothing. Investigators are also obtaining recordings of conversations between controllers in the tower and the jet's two-person crew that said national transportation -- that's what we heard from the NTSB and Betty, just great news to hear they have a full recovery, there.
NGUYEN: Absolutely, because yesterday we learned that Goldstein was taken by helicopter to the hospital, the burn center, there, so that was an indication of how extensive his burns were, but sounds like they'll both be A-OK, they will receive a full recovery and that's the latest update we have on that crash.
NGUYEN: All right, in the meantime, folks not a happy story for some. You might want to get out those crying towels.
LUI: Yeah, if you're a New York Yanks fan, we're sorry to say you might need them tonight as they mark the end of an era.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: How fitting. Goodbye, Yankee Stadium. The famous ballpark closing today in New York. So much history has been made there: Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra. The list of stuff, endless. Earlier though, I sat down with Bill "Moose" Skowron, former Yankees first baseman to hear some of his fondest memories.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
You were a first baseman and you played nine seasons with the Yankee's, In fact you went to four World Series championships. When you think about this stadium and all the memories there, what are you going to remember the most?
BILL "MOOSE" SKOWRON, FMR NY YANKEE: I'm going to remember the first day I played at Yankee Stadium against the Philadelphia athletics. I hit a homerun and a triple, and Hank Bauer hit a homerun and Joe McDoogle (ph) hit a homerun. We won 3-0.
Then I'll remember Yankee Stadium when Roger Maris hit his 61st homerun, and the other one is Don Larson's perfect game, when I was sitting on the bench watching a World Series game that Don Larson pitched a perfect game. Those are -- the only thing that I like to remember is taking back from Yankee Stadium, the old Yankee stadium, was to try and get back my World Series uniform, 1955-56.
NGUYEN: What happened to it?
SKOWRON: I was very fortunate.
Oh, years ago, we never kept that stuff. We put it -- after we took a shower, the clubhouse guy Pete Chee (ph) would pick up the uniforms and I guess they'd clean them and they'd send them to the minor leagues
NGUYEN: Oh, goodness. Well, hopefully it's not on eBay somewhere right about now. But, I bet if it is, it's pretty valuable. Hey, so with the new stadium...
SKOWRON: And this...
NGUYEN: Uh-huh?
SKOWRON: This picture the greatest ballplayer I played with and against, Mickey mantle.
NGUYEN: Oh, no doubt. SKOWRON: I miss him very much. He's passed away 1995. Roger Maris died in 1985, and brings back a lot of memories seeing these guys, because they were great professional ballplayers.
NGUYEN: Boy, you are their keeper of a lot of historic memories, and when you look at this new stadium, what do you think about it? I mean is it fitting?
SKOWRON: I would say so. It's right next -- I walked across the street from the new Yankee stadium to the old one, and I'll tell you, it's going to be a beautiful ballpark. All the amenities in that park, we saw the clubhouse, the training room, the whirlpool, everything. It's beautiful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Beautiful, but really, can it replace the house that Ruth built?
LUI: It's going to be tough.
NGUYEN: Not only baseball history, but just American history, there. T.J. and I were there for the first papal visit. You also had to know the Billy Graham crusade there, boxing championship. I mean, the list goes on. So, it's going to be sorely missed.
LUI: Big shoes to fill, right?
NGUYEN: Absolutely. I wonder how the weather will be tonight's game, the last one. Karen Maginnis, 8:00 p.m. against the Orioles, I believe.
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's going to be lovely. There's nothing going on there right now. We've got a live picture, tower cam, as you look out on Central Park. Let's go ahead and take a look at this. A little bit of haze in the sky, but that's just about it. We'll expect a mostly sunny afternoon and the temperature is going to come close to that 80-degree mark.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: All right, Karen.
LUI: It's warming out there. Really warm.
NGUYEN: Yeah, it is. Hopefully, like you said the weather should be OK for tonight's game. Maybe the Yankees will pull off a win, tonight. They need it, the last one in the stadium. That's what I'm hoping for, at least.
LUI: 8:15 tonight.
NGUYEN: Well, people will be watching this as well, tonight, the Emmys tonight, they get a dose of real life.
LUI: Five reality show hosts will emcee the ceremony, tonight. But, will it be enough to boost slumping ratings?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: This just in to CNN, looking at live pictures right now, the neighborhood where a helicopter has just crashed into a house in Kenosha, Wisconsin, killing two people in the helicopter. We have tape that you can actually see the house where it crashed. There is a big gaping hole in parts of it, it's panning over right now. There you go, look at that, it's amazing that the five people inside the home were not injured, because this happened at 5:30 Local Time, there in Wisconsin, so apparently folks were at home, perhaps asleep when this occurred.
We're also being told there was some fog reported in the area at the time, but it's not if it played a role at all in this crash. Obviously, the FAA will investigate. But, again, a helicopter has crashed into a house in southeast Wisconsin killing two people in the helicopter.
LUI: Children are often the innocent victims of war. We take you "To the Top," now, to meet an American woman who is helping injured children in war to find hope again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (voice over): Elissa Montanti's mission began when she saw a letter from a boy in Bosnia who was badly injured in a landmine explosion during the war. Kenan Malkic was 11 years old when he lost his arms and one leg.
ELISSA MONTANTI, FOUNDER, GLOBAL MEDICAL RELIEF FUND: I read the letter, I saw the picture and my whole life changed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Montanti bought him and his mother to the U.S.
MONTANTI: They lived with me for four months and Kenan received prosthetics, two arms and a leg and a new life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She didn't stop there.
MONTANTI: I started to bring children. At first we stayed in my home, and then it evolved.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Montanti founded the non-profit Global Medical Relief Fund, it provides prosthetics to children injured in wars or natural disaster, like the recent earthquake in China. Places like the Shriner's Children's Hospital in Philadelphia have donated medical care and funding from private donors allows patients to come back every couple years to fit their growing bodies with more prosthetics. Montanti's helped more than 70 children since Kenan Malkic's first touched her heart in 1996. He's all grown up now and is helping Montanti.
MONTANTI: In a lot of ways the charity has become much, much more than prosthetics. You're giving back a child their youth and their dignity that has been so unfairly taken away from them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, now, it's time to check in with Howard Kurtz in Washington to see what's ahead on CNN's RELIABLE SOURCES.
Hello, Howard.
HOWARD KURTZ, RELIABLE SOURCES: Good morning, Betty. Coming up, as the media scrambled to cover the biggest federal bailout in American history, why didn't journalist play up the warning signs that were building for years? And are they holding the presidential candidates accountable in this campaign?
Sarah Palin meets Sean Hannity and doesn't exactly get grilled, but why is her refusal to cooperate in the Trooper Gate Probe not getting more media attention?
And meet an unusual group of media critics, five former secretaries of states that aren't happy with this year's campaign coverage. That and more ahead on RELIABLE SOURCES.
NGUYEN: Looking forward to it, Howard.
KURTZ: Thank you.
LUI: So, Betty, it's going to be a historic night in Hollywood.
NGUYEN: Oh, yeah, and our Kareen Wynter reports at the Emmy awards waking up to reality, she'll explain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN SEACREST, AMERICAN IDOL: This is "American Idol."
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This year the Emmys are getting a reality check.
MICHAEL SCHNEIDER, TV EDITOR, VARIETY: The Emmy's are sort of catching up to what the rest of America's been watching for a really long time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a new category for this year's Emmys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Outstanding host for a reality competition program.
WYNTER: Along with the new reality-based category, the television academy has tapped the five nominated hosts: "American idol's" Ryan Seacrest, "Dancing with the Stars'" Tom Bergeron, "Survivor's" Jeff Probst, "Project Runway's" Heidi Klum, and "Deal or No Deal" Howie Mandel to share the Emmy stage as co-hosts of the ABC broadcast.
(on camera): Are you nervous?
HOWIE MANDEL, DEAL OR NO DEAL: I'm I nervous? No, because, you know, there's five of us.
WYNTER (voice over): Mandel, who picked up the first individual Emmy nomination of his career, says that reality shows and competitions are breaking new ground within the television community.
MANDEL: I think it's very big with the viewers, you know, reality TV. I feel like the rapper of television. You know, when rap music came to the Grammy's, you know, or to the music scene you heard the rap artists going, you know, finally, we're getting recognized. So, this is like the rap of television broadcasts.
WYNTER: Last year's Emmy broadcast brought in a disappointing 13.1 million viewers, but variety's Michael Schneider says that attracting a larger audience to this year's show may not be simple reality.
SCHNEIDER: It's tough. I mean, this is a year where the most, the most nominated shows on the Emmys are shows that people barely watch, people don't watch "Mad Men," people don't really watch "30 Rock," so, it's going to be tough, once again, to get people to watch the Emmys.
WYNTER: Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: All right, you know, this has been a problem that has been around since dog became pets, right, Betty?
NGUYEN: We're talking about dogs doing their business in your yard. Well now, science is coming to the rescue. Josh Levs will join us with the latest on that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: OK, so, it's not quite the human genome project, but it might feel just as important to some of you.
LUI: That's right, Josh Levs is here to talk about something -- dog DNA, huh?
LEVS: Yes, you know, at the end of the hour we like to find some of the lighter side stories.
NGUYEN: Or the crappier side of it.
LEVS: She said it. I'm glad you.
NGUYEN: We're talking about doggy pooh, folks.
LEVS: Betty can get away with it.
LUI: Break it open, Betty. LEVS: We have some video of dogs. Here's the basic idea, there's this town in Israel that came up with something clever, they're calling on all dog owners to come in and register their dogs and get their dog's DNA tested so if any droppings are found anywhere in the town where they shouldn't be, they can be DNA tested and then you can find who's responsible and then they can find the owners responsible and then they're talking about maybe making it mandatory. That comes to us from the "Reuters News Agency," So, what do you guys think, that catch on here?
NGUYEN: Yeah, that's a pretty good idea. People are tired of people that up, if it's not your dog, you don't want it in your yard, right?
LUI: I'd hate to have the special duty, that's all. I wouldn't want it. I just wouldn't want it.
LEVS: ...come up with this...
NGUYEN: It's a DNA test, not a smell test. Thank goodness. All right, thank you, guys.
Coming up on RELIABLE SOURCES, presidential politics: are journalists being tough enough on the candidates?
LUI: Then later on LATE EDITION at 11:00, America's financial crisis -- what do the candidates think about a bailout? Our Wolf Blitzer sits down with economic advisors for senators John McCain and Barack Obama. That's all coming up this morning.
But first, a check of today's top stories.
NGUYEN: And we have a bit of breaking news in our top stories today, that being a helicopter that crashed into a home in Kenosha, Washington. I have on the phone with me, right now, Gary Stielow, who actually lives across the street from the house where the helicopter crashed.
Gary, what did you see, because we understand two people were killed in this accident?
GARY STIELOW, LIVE BY CRASH SITE: Right, it was the two passengers -- the occupants of the helicopter. About 5:30 this morning everybody was basically sleeping and I heard a very loud airplane engine noise that was obviously having trouble and within a few seconds after that, a big boom.
NGUYEN: You know, Garry, I'm looking at the video right now, and usually when you think of a helicopter crashing into a house, it would maybe take off part of the roof or something like that, but the damage seems to be right through the front door. Is this where it came in?
STIELOW: No, that's where it came out. The other side of the house, which you can't see, the back side of the roof, there's two holes. There's like a wedge -- a small wedge right on the tip of the roof and then next to that there's a ground hole about five feet or so across.
NGUYEN: Very quickly, have you spoken with the family who was asleep at the time? I understand a mother, a father and three kids.
STIELOW: Right, mother, a father and three children No, I don't know them personally and everything. It was you know, pitch (AUDIO GAP) and with fire...
NGUYEN: But they made it out OK?
STIELOW: Right, they all made it out OK.
NGUYEN: All right, Gary Stielow, I wish we had more time, but that's it for now. But, thank you for your information. Again, a helicopter has crashed into a home in southeast Wisconsin killing two people inside that helicopter. We'll have much more.
