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CNN Saturday Morning News

Rescue Effort Under Way in Russia; Shuttle Discovery, International Space Station Go Separate Ways

Aired August 06, 2005 - 10:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The Shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station have gone their separate ways. Discovery should be back on Earth in less than 48 hours. A live report from the Johnson Space Center is straight ahead.
About 200 tons of food should begin arriving soon in Niger to feed tens of thousand of starving children. The emergency aid, part of a relief package funded by the U.S., will be aboard two jumbo jets leaving from France.

And in New Mexico, no injuries from this crash of a sheriff's department helicopter last night. Two people were on board, but walked away. The chopper went down in a backyard near an Albuquerque golf course. No word on what caused the accident.

It is August 6th, 2005. From the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris and this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Betty Nguyen. Thanks for starting your day with us. Coming up this hour: Four nations mount a rescue effort at sea, with time and air running out, for seven Russian submariners.

And a nation divided: More casualty in Iraq. More questions about the mission.

And, talk to CNN's Bob Franken in Washington, about everything from a controversial recess appointment, to the CIA leak investigation. Send your questions to Weekends@CNN.com.

And now, more on that rescue effort under way in Russia. Right now a mini-submarine with seven onboard is trapped more than 600 feet deep in the Pacific Ocean. The U.S., British and Japanese navies are rushing in to help the Russian sailors.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is live at the Pentagon with the latest. And now, an actual schedule as to when they're going to try and carry out this rescue mission?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, apparently now the Russian news agency Interfax, is saying that this mission will begin at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. That does mesh with some time frames I've just been given by the U.S. Navy, because it now appears that the process of loading all this equipment -- U.S. and British rescue equipment on to ships, getting it to the location will take much longer. Now, what you're seeing there is something called a Super Scorpio. Those are the two -- the U.S. Navy is sending two of those to the location, but first on the scene, is a British version called the Scorpio 45. They're unmanned submarines and right now in the port, on Russia's eastern coast, is the British Scorpio and a team of U.S. Navy divers.

But the U.S. Navy says it's going to take another one to two hours to get that Scorpio loaded on to a Russian ship and then, perhaps, another three or four hours for it to get to that actual location in the Berezovaya Bay, where the Russian sailors are trapped some 625 feet below the surface.

Now, not far behind the British Scorpio are, again, the two U.S. Scorpios. They are just about an hour behind. They're still being off-loaded from the aircraft and on to trucks -- flatbed trucks, to make the half-hour drive to the port. So, they will be getting there as soon as they can. But now, 4:00 p.m. does sound like the rough start time -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. And let's talk about the time line. What kind of time does this crew really have realistically for their survival while this effort is under way?

KOCH: Well, also apparently the Interfax News Agency in Russia is now saying that Russian officials believe that these sailors in the trapped mini-sub have enough air to survive until 9:00 a.m. Eastern time tomorrow morning.

That does corroborate what a Russian official had said yesterday, that again, "they have the air to last through Sunday." So, the hope is that now all these assets -- British, U.S., Japanese ships are on their way. They won't get there until Monday, so that would likely be too late. The hope is that some of these assets can get there in time to save these men.

WHITFIELD: All right. And Kathleen, what about the mission itself? Here is the mini-submarine built really for four -- a capacity of four. Instead there are seven sailors on board. What were they doing?

KOCH: well, as best we can tell from what the Russians are saying, they deployed on some kind of combat training exercise, though it's really unclear as to why they crammed all the men into this vessel. Now, what you're seeing there are some suits that have left from actually New Orleans. That's file tape from Andrews Air Force Base. Those are special Navy suits that are also on the ground now on the east coast of Russia.

They are deep-sea-diving suits that you can go down to 1200 feet in and those are also going to be used if these robotic Scorpios don't work. And then, also there's a deep drone that is headed that way from Andrews Air Force Base; left last night.

That's going the last military asset to arrive on location and that goes down 8,000 feet. Clearly, far deeper than the 625 feet where these sailors are trapped, but they're sending it along just in case.

WHITFIELD: Wow, that's incredible. Kathleen Koch, thanks so much.

KOCH: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Tony?

HARRIS: Well, the crew of the shuttle Discovery is spending the day a shutter bug, snapping pictures of the international space station. Discovery disconnected from the space station nearly seven hours ago. CNN's John Zarrella is at the Johnson Space Center in Houston with the latest. And John, we have animation that's really kind of cool, that shows us the planned re-entry path for the shuttle. Why don't you talk us through this?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is a little bit different this time around, where they will be flying over. Actually, after they make that deorbit burn and they're coming down and through the atmosphere at 25 -- Mach 25 roughly, to hit the Earth's atmosphere.

They're first going to come down over Panama, over Central America. The space shuttle will take a left turn and then come up over western Cuba and after it comes up over western Cuba, it'll actually cross the state of Florida at Ft. Myers.

And folks who want to get up very early tomorrow morning will be able to see the shuttle if it's clear skies out. They should be able to see the shuttle streaking overhead as it then moves straight due north right up over Lake Okeechobee, which sits over there in central Florida, west of West Palm Beach.

And then it will make a big turn over the Kennedy Space Center and then landing at the Kennedy Space Center at roughly -- pretty close to 4:47 a.m. Eastern time. You see there that heat of re-entry. The plasma build-up around the vehicle. The vehicle should heat up, Tony to about 2500 degrees as it's coming through the earth's atmosphere -- Tony?

HARRIS: That's why there's so much concern about those panels. That's a lot of heat. I've got to ask you: 48 hours or so before re- entry, landing, any sort of last-minute tasks that need to be taken care of?

ZARRELLA: A lot of sleep in the next couple of days, that's for sure, for the crew. They're actually getting ready for their sleep cycle in about two hours. And when they get up from that sleep cycle, of course, they finish with leaving the international space station, loading all the cargo that they're bringing back to Earth with them.

Don't forget a shuttle hasn't been up there for two-and-half years. A lot of junk that they had to remove from the international space station, bring all of that back to Earth. And then tomorrow, they'll start rehearsing with the landing team here at the Johnson Space Center on the maneuvers and the landing trajectory and the things that they'll have to do for that safe return back to Earth. But for the most part, a fairly quiet and restful next couple of days for the crew -- Tony?

HARRIS: Sounds good, John. CNN's John Zarrella. John, thank you.

And as of right now, here's what NASA says will happen early Monday morning: Discovery will begin its de-orbiting burn at 3:35 a.m. Eastern, an hour and two minutes later, at 4:37 a.m. the shuttle should be wheels down on the runway at the Kennedy Space Center. You can, of course, watch it all unfold right here live on CNN. Our coverage begins at 4:00 a.m. Eastern.

News now from across America. The reverend Jesse Jackson calls it, quote, "the beginning of the New South struggle." Right now here in Atlanta, civil rights leaders and others are readying for a march to raise awareness about the Voting Rights act of 1965. As you see these live pictures, key provisions of that act are set to expire in 2007. The Voting Rights act gave African-Americans the right to vote.

In Southern California, an Amtrak train hit a dump truck trying to cross the tracks, causing the train's first car to derail. Nineteen people hurt, three seriously. It happened yesterday in the town of Somis. The 164 passengers aboard the train were evacuated.

In the Friday bomb threat that caused an evacuation and search of a Southwest Airline's plane in Houston, officials say a passenger found a note in front of his seat claiming there was a bomb on board. Officials do not know if the note was written for that flight or an earlier one. A search of the plane turned up no explosives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOSSAM ABDALA, CAB DRIVER: When I opened the box, I closed the box right away. I couldn't believe my eyes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, of course he couldn't! He's a gem of a guy, this guy here. The cab driver is being called priceless after he returned some diamonds to their rightful owner; just gave them back. That diamond dealer left the rocks in the cab Thursday. They're worth about a million dollars. The cabbie by found them, returned them and we understand received a handsome reward -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts has been labeled a conservative based on his legal work for Republican administrations and as an appeals court judge, but new records indicate in his private legal practice, he provided free help to traditionally liberal causes like death penalty appeals and gay rights. Roberts supporters say this shows he's an open-minded person. However, skeptics say law firms are encouraged to provide pro bono aid, much of which involves liberal cases.

CNN's Bob Franken is our man at the White House. This week he's been taking a look at everything from John Bolton's to recess appointment to the war in Iraq. We asked you to e-mail us some of your questions at WEEKENDS@CNN.com. He joins us later this hour to some of the answers to your questions -- Tony?

HARRIS: In Hiroshima, Japan, hundreds of doves were released into the sky today at a peace memorial park. Thousands of people gathered there to mark the 60th anniversary of the first atomic bomb blast. The crowd also observed a moment of silence 8:15 a.m., the moment the bomb actually detonated back in 1945.

An estimated 140,000 people died either instantly or not long after the attack. Thousands more suffered burns and radiation sickness. The atomic explosion forever changed the face of the war.

WHITFIELD: U.S. and Iraqi forces have mounted operation "Quick Strike." The offensive is to root out insurgents in western Iraq. Anbar Province is the center of the insurgency and a major avenue for foreign infiltrators. U.S. air strikes pounded three Iraqi cities in the Euphrates River Valley northwest of Baghdad.

About 1,000 U.S. Marines and Iraqi troops are manning the offensive there. The first day of the operation, Wednesday, saw 14 U.S. Marines killed in a single powerful roadside bombing.

A community crushed and a nation torn after a significant loss of American life this week. Questions about the Iraq war linger. Up next this morning, I'll speak with two writers from the Ohio community that was hit so hard.

Plus, Iran says "no way." The pressure's on for Iranians to stop their nuclear program, but so far, it is not working.

I'm Jacqui Jeras in the CNN Weather Center. Some wet weather across the Ohio Valley and Southeast. Will it affect your travel plans? I'll let you know, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Checking our top stories in case you're just waking up with us. News just coming in to CNN this morning: Crews from the U.S. and Britain are in Russia and are heading out to help a Russian submarine. The mini-sub got trapped more than 600 feet down into the Pacific Ocean. With seven sailors on board, the operation to rescue the sailors is slated to start around 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act. The act ensured that all Americans have a right to vote. Certain provisions in the act are set to expire in 2007.

A public memorial service is planned today in Hamburg, New York for Hunter Kelly. He is the son of Hall-of-Fame Buffalo-Bills quarterback Jim Kelly. The 8-year-old boy died yesterday of respiratory failure. He was born with a fatal nervous system disorder.

WHITFIELD: When it comes to losses in the war in Iraq, the state of Ohio is taking a particularly hard hit. A total of 29 troops have died this week as offensive action against insurgents heats up in western Iraq's Anbar province.

Fourteen of the dead this week are Marine Reservists from Ohio. The military now faces the task of manning funerals with full honors within a few days of each other. Yesterday's hundreds attended a prayer vigil in Cleveland for the fallen Marines.

Joining me now with reaction from Ohio is Dick Feagler, a columnist with the "Cleveland Plain Dealer" and Kevin O'Brien, the a chief editorial writer for the paper.

Good to see both of you.

Dick, let me begin with you. People in Ohio have sacrificed an awful lot. Is there a way to overall describe the emotions? Is it pain? Is it anger? Is it resolve? Is it all of that?

DICK FEAGLER, "CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER": Well, we got a one-two punch here because six Marines died early in the week.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

FEAGLER: A couple of days off from that kind of tragedy, and then 14 more. So it was a one-two punch, and we were shocked, we were devastated by it. The problems you have with reserve units, of course, because they're not like regular Army units. If a Reserve unit takes a heavy hit, a lot of the people are going to be from the scene area, because that's the way the Reserves work, and that's what happened to us here. I think we were shocked by it, and now we're in deep grief.

WHITFIELD: And it's a remarkable number, too, because the number of just 40 percent of the troops serving in Iraq happen to be Reservists. We're talking about part-time military personnel.

So, Kevin, as you've been reporting this story, have you been getting a sense from the people there, given that this is very much a military community, whether they've been in full support of this war, full support of the fact that so many of the troops are Reservists, are National Guardsmen?

KEVIN O'BRIEN, "CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER": I'm not sure this is that much of a military community, actually. I think that's part of the shock that's going on here right now. It's basically a civilian community, and these are citizen soldiers off in Iraq doing what their commander in chief has ordered them to do. I think it's impossible to gauge the mood of the area right now. I think what Dick said before is correct, people are just in shock. I think the other emotions will probably follow on that. Some people will get angry and some people will be sad, and you know, that's the way these things always play out.

WHITFIELD: Have people been fairly forth right about their oh emotions?

FEAGLER: I think they are. I mean, to answer the question you asked, really, this community as is the country, is sharply divided over this war.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

FEAGLER: But the problem you've got if you happen to be against it, and I happen to be against it, is you don't want to imply by that they're against these troops. These are our citizen people. These are our neighbors over there. In an unprecedented mean, because they've gone in larger numbers than I think they ever have before, except maybe after World War II and they're taking equipment with them that's inferior and they're having problems. And these emotions run through this community, too.

WHITFIELD: Well, Dick, you talk about this nation being sharply divided about the war. And most recently, we've been seeing a number of polls about the approval rating of President Bush. This most recent one from the Associated Press saying his approval rating is down to 38 percent. Is there a way of gauging among your readership whether their feelings parallel this national look from the Associated Press?

O'BRIEN: Well, I think that one way to gauge it is by the letters to the editor that we get at the "Plain Dealer." I think the letters have always run probably more negative than positive against -- or about the war. I think we're seeing a greater prevalence of that now than we had before. So it's tracking what the polls are saying about the nation's reaction to the situation in Iraq.

WHITFIELD: And, Kevin, you all have had a chance to really zero in on some very personal stories. You write about the parents of a 23-year-old, Edward "Auggie" Schroeder (ph), and how these parents stood under the tree that was planted at the time of the birth of their son, and then you interview a former Marine, Vickie Givens (ph), who talks about knowing firsthand about the grief because she served in this same unit. So it seems, even as painful as this is for a variety of people, there are an awful lot of folks who are willing to step forward and allow you to be part of their personal space and talk about this horrible time, a time of grief for so many.

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. I mean, people who can do that are amazing to me. I'm not sure they would be able to under similar circumstances. But, you know, you also have to look at the possibility that it's good therapy for them to be able to tell their story, tell their son's story, tell their military colleague's story, because it helps them to sort out what's happened and to move on from there.

FEAGLER: I've always said over my reporting career that if something happened to me, I wouldn't let a reporter within 100 yards of me. But the fact of the matter is, is through my reporting career I found quite often happens is that people do want to talk about this, more than you might think.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and, Dick, quickly, before I let you all go, can you talk about the evolution of the support there in Ohio? Were people at the start seemingly very supportive of the war in Iraq, and since these casualties their feelings have evolved? Are you seeing a direct correlation?

FEAGLER: I think it probably tracks pretty close to the country in general. I mean, Kevin's right, my response, Kevin happens to be in favor of the war, and I happen to be opposed to it, even though we're still buddies. But there are friends of mine, I've had to make deals with not to discuss this because the rhetoric got too heated to do it. And I think now the more we see more casualties coming in, it's naturally going to -- the support I think will end.

WHITFIELD: Dick Faegler, Kevin O'Brien, Both of "The Cleveland Plain Dealer," thanks so much, gentlemen, for being with us this Saturday morning.

FEAGLER: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: This breaking story we are following. A Tunisian airliner jet has crashed with 50 passengers onboard into the sea of Palermo in Sicily. This just crossing the wire just moments ago, according to the Ansa News Agency. And of course, as we get more information, we'll be bringing that to you, but once again, a Tunisian airliner jet crashing into the sea of Palermo in Sicily -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Now a check of other big international stories making news around the world.

WHITFIELD: The standoff over Iran's nuclear program hits new stags. For the details on that and the other stories, let's hand it over to Anand Naidoo the CNN international desk -- Anand.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, thanks. And good morning for me, yes.

Call it a standoff, a showdown or what you will, but that dispute between Europe, and the U.S. and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program is nowhere near resolution. Iran has told the Europeans, thanks, but no thanks. The Europeans said they are willing to give support for long- term civil, key word, "civil" nuclear program, as long as it does not develop nuclear weapons, but the Iranians say that is unacceptable. This latest development coming as the new Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in. He was taking a hardline, too, saying the Iranian nation cannot be intimidate.

Now to Sudan, a funeral is being held for first Vice President John Garang, who was killed last week in a helicopter crash. Garang was a former rebel leader in the south who made peace with the central government in Khartoum, and became vice president. Several days of violent clashes followed Garang's death. There were concerns the fighting would sabotage that peace dale deal, but the situation, we understand has now stabilized -- Tony.

HARRIS: Anand, has Lady Mcnamara in Ireland gotten over her shock and awe over winning all of that money.

NADIOO: That's your cousin, right, Tony?

HARRIS: That's right.

NAIDDO: Your cousin Dolores.

HARRIS: I know her so well.

NAIDOO: Well, you remember the Irish housewife who won Europe's biggest lottery jackpot ever, $142 million? Well, she's finally surfaced to pick up her check. That's her over there. That's Dolores McNamara, mother of six, from Limerick.

You'll remember of course that she dropped out of site when it was announced she won the jackpot, but there she is now with the check. A bit overwhelmed, to say the least. But her lawyer says that she's determined to keep her feet and the feet of her family on the ground. That's when she's not on cloud nine, of course.

HARRIS; Good luck with that.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks, Anand.

You've seen his report on CNN. But would you like to know even more straight from the man himself? We're talking about Bob Franken. He's going to be answering some of your questions.

HARRIS: And a little later, grapes. Good for the getting. OK, folks in California are thanking the heavens above for this year's bumper crop.

Stay with us for the juicy story.

WHITFIELD: Is that for good eating, or is that for good wine?

HARRIS: Good drinking.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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