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CNN Saturday Morning News

More News on the Utah Mine Collapse; Election Day in Sierra Leone; Possible Terror Threat Has Police Taking Action; How Safe Are America's Beaches' Water?

Aired August 11, 2007 - 09:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to everybody from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm T.J. Holmes. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING, August 11th. Another hot day across the country for many.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Brianna Keilar in for Betty Nguyen. New developments this morning out of Utah where rescue efforts continue for six trapped miners.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB MURRAY, PRES. & CEO, MURRAY ENERGY: The activity is at a very fast pace. The progress is way too slow for me. And I think for anyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: A long night brings new challenges for this mine operator, but he and many others are not giving up.

HOLMES: Also, road blocks and checkpoints in the heart of the big apple. New information this morning about a possible terror threat that has police taking action.

KEILAR: And its Election Day in Sierra Leone, and our Betty Nguyen is in the middle of this chaos. We'll talk to her coming up.

Plus ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have poor water quality in all areas of the bay and our river system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Plenty of people still vacationing along America's beaches, but how safe is that water? We're going to be getting into all that stuff coming up this morning.

But we're going to start with the update on the breaking news this morning out of Utah. We're getting new pictures, actually, from the president of the mining company where six miners are trapped. These are from inside the mine where crews are digging horizontally to try and reach the six trapped miners. However, the major development that we got this morning is that a second larger drill has, in fact, broken through vertically into the cavity where the men are believed to be trapped. And at any time crews are going to lower a camera into that hole looking for the miners, and that might be our first chance to get some kind of definitive word, some real answers about the fate of these six trapped miners.

CNN's John Zarrella following this unfolding story for us here this morning. He's joining us live from the mine site near Huntington. Good morning to you again. Give us the update, please.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J. That's exactly right. The hope is that within the next couple of hours, as they lower the camera into that cavity, where they believe the six miners are trapped, that they will be able to see them. The problem is that this camera only has a range of about 100 feet. Although it can see in all directions, but it's very possible this cavity is much larger than that, perhaps 1,000 feet long and 80 feet wide.

Now, about two hours ago, Bob Murray, the mine operator, mine president, came out here and briefed us on the developments and the fact that they had broken through into that cavity. But he also talked about the progress they're making in the main shaft, which is where the collapse took place nearly a week ago now and how they have gone in about 650 feet. They've probably got about 1,000 feet left. And he discussed the fact of what he saw in there and just how difficult the process it is to dig out all that debris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB MURRAY, PRES. & CEO, MURRAY ENERGY: We have advanced 650 feet from where the damage from the earthquake started in the direction of the men. And we encountered our first piece of machinery that they would use near the face of the mine. It was a cable sled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: It's very likely that it's going to take them probably another four to five days to actually get to the miners with the rescue crews. They had originally said maybe seven days. Then they dropped that estimate yesterday to four or five days. But based on what Bob Murray was saying this morning, it appears that that length of time may still be four or five days considering the slow going.

No word yet, T.J., on what the atmosphere is down there, whether there's enough oxygen in that main cavity to support human life. They haven't gotten any of those readings, or they certainly haven't passed on the information here to us at the site -- T.J.

HOLMES: John, again, what -- it's been a tough wait for a lot of folks in this rescue effort. What is our wait time now? This is a major development that now they have broken through on that second larger hole to that cavity so they can drop a camera down. What is our wait time now before we actually get that camera down there and can see what it can see? ZARRELLA: Two hours ago, when Bob Murray came out, he said that within a couple of hours they should be able to remove the drill bit from down that shaft, that hole that they've cut, lower the camera in. And he said it would be a couple, maybe three hours before they could get the camera down there and physically operating. How soon we'll get some word from them hopefully later on in the next briefing, which is about noon Eastern, maybe a little before that we'll be able to get some definitive word on at least if they have the camera down there.

And perhaps whether they have been able to see anything with that camera, which also has with it audio capabilities. My understanding at one point was that it was going to have a two-way audio capability. Haven't had an update on that yet to see if that is still the case -- T.J.

HOLMES: John Zarrella on the scene for us there near that mine rescue effort. John, thank you so much once again this morning.

ZARRELLA: My pleasure.

KEILAR: Also at this time, we are learning more about possible safety concerns at the Utah mine before this collapse happened.

HOLMES: CNN's Ted Rowlands has more on that part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Trapped miner Manuel Sanchez said he was concerned about safety inside one section of the Crandall Canyon Mine in the weeks leading up to the collapse. That's what a family member has told the local newspaper. And now a source with intimate knowledge of the conditions of the mine tell CNN that Sanchez wasn't alone, that other miners were also apprehensive about working in the area of the collapse.

The source, who won't go on camera, says the six trapped miners were working in an area called 7 belt, the deepest part of the mine, and he tells CNN that for weeks before the collapse, the floors in that part of the mine were heaving, or buckling up from intense pressure. He says supervisors knew of the problem, and the source says several miners, including Manuel Sanchez, were getting very concerned.

Why this miner would have been nervous going into that particular section?

BOB MURRAY, PRES. & CEO, and MURRAY ENERGY: No, I have no idea. I never heard that. I have no idea. It's probably a rumor, and I'm not going to respond to rumors. I can tell you that, if any of my management or any worker here had ever seen that, said that to me, I would say, yes, I was told that. Don't know a thing about that, sir, and that's the truth.

ROWLANDS: If the miners were so afraid, why didn't they complain? Several miners we've talked to in this area say complaining means you lose your job.

MURRAY: If you're getting that from the community, it's coming from other mines because we don't operate that way.

PAUL RIDDLE, FORMER MINER: Always profits before safety. That's my opinion, my feeling, and my experience.

ROWLANDS: Paul Riddle used to work in one of Bob Murray's mines. Riddle says miners who work for Murray are sometimes forced to push the envelope when it comes to safety and are afraid to speak up for fear of losing their high-paying jobs.

RIDDLE: I'm not the only one. There are many, many, many people that feel this way and are afraid to speak up.

ROWLANDS: The Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration plans to conduct an investigation into exactly what happened and the conditions at the mine leading up to the collapse. The mine's owner is confident his company will not be blamed.

MURRAY: There will be nothing in the investigation that will show that Murray Energy or Utah American or the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration did a thing wrong. It was a natural disaster.

ROWLANDS: Ted Rowlands, CNN, Huntington, Utah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And a reminder, we will bring you an interview with that mine operator Bob Murray coming up in the 10:00 a.m. Eastern hour. We'll see what he has to say about the latest rescue efforts.

HOLMES: Well people following this story sharing information on the Web this morning.

KEILAR: And Josh Levs is here with us from the dot com desk with more.

JOSH LEVS, CNN DOT COM DESK: Yes, there is a lot of really good helpful information out there. We've got a lot of resources on to this story now, both here on television and also CNN.com. Before I show you some pages, I want to show you this. We're talking to you today about a camera on its way down into the mine in search for these miners. This is the size of the hole. This is what was important.

Previously, they had drilled a substantially smaller hole. It had to be this big in order to get a camera down there that would have adequate visibility to allow them to see enough feet away from the camera to potentially find these miners.

That's what they've been doing, drilling a hole that size. So now the camera can go down the hole that size. That's what we've been waiting for, for this camera. Let me show you stuff online. First of all, keep in mind, six guys down there. These are all six individuals with families. We have some back stories for you on CNN.com. There you go. You can see who they are. You can read about them. Their families provided photos about them, told some stories about them. As you go through those pages, you'll get a sense of how long they've been with the company, what they're like. Their names are Kerry Allred, Carlos Payan, Brandon Phillips, Alonso Hernandez, Don Erikson, and Manuel Sanchez. So lets keep them in mind. It's a rescue mission. People are looking for them to be alive and well. That's what they're hoping for.

Also there is something else I want to show you from CNN.com. That's this. That map we were looking at there. It shows you exactly where the camera is going. It's very helpful because a mine can be very complicated. For the vast majority of people who have never been to one. Take a look at this page. It will show you exactly where the camera is going and where they believe the miners may be. Some helpful stuff on dot com this morning, we are following the story.

KEILAR: When it comes to the six miners, it's the families, not the mine that has identified them and told us about them.

LEVS: That is right, the families wanted us to know, so we're sharing it with you.

KEILAR: All right. Thanks, Josh. Appreciate it

Another big story unfolding this morning, word of a possible terror threat against three major American cities, this time involving radioactive material.

HOLMES: CNN's Allan Chernoff live for us in New York City with the latest. Good morning to you again, Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, T.J. This is an unverified report of an al Qaeda threat against the United States. Nonetheless, right here you see part of the response by the New York City Police Department. They have been checking vehicles for radiological material, and I can tell you, right across the street, an arrest has just been made, but I cannot tell you whether or not that has anything to do with this inspection for radiological material. The man in the light blue shirt has just had cuffs put around his hands, his wrists. Again, that may be entirely unrelated to this inspection for a potential threat against New York City.

Now, let's talk about that threat. It is actually reported on a private Israeli Web site called Debka.com. That is a counterterrorism Web site, and it does say that on Thursday there was chatter on internal al Qaeda Web sites talking about threats against the U.S.

First of all, a threat specifically against New York City and the financial capital, which is about ten blocks south of where we're standing, the Wall Street District. The report said that the threat would involve a truck filled with radiological material targeting the Wall Street area, as it said, the financial nerve center of the United States.

Now, a second threat reported on that site was against New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Let me emphasize that none of this, absolutely none of it has been verified by the Department of Homeland Security. The FBI, or by the New York City Police Department. But nonetheless, you see the New York City police here checking vehicles as they come in. They are also using handheld detectors of radiological material.

And as you can see right over here, they are stopping all trucks and inspecting them visually and also going through the content of those trucks. This is only one of the check sites here in New York City, and there also are officers in the air and in the water surrounding Manhattan. Again, just precautionary measures.

Back to you in the studio.

KEILAR: Allan Chernoff, thank you so much for your report there in New York.

HOLMES: From outrage to mourning. Funeral services begin this hour for one of the victims of the New Jersey execution-style killings. Services get under way later in the morning for the other two. All were Delaware State University students killed in an apparent robbery attempt last weekend.

Meanwhile, a third suspect, another 15-year-old boy was arrested yesterday in connection to the killings. That there you're seeing, though, is another one of the victims. Earlier in the day, another suspect, Jose Carranza, pleaded not guilty to the killings and then another 15-year-old boy pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

KEILAR: Looks like the scorching heat wave has unfortunately claimed its first victim in Tennessee. Authorities there say a 54- year-old Memphis woman was found dead in her home on Wednesday. An autopsy indicated that heat was indeed a factor, but more tests are under way. Temperatures reached 100 degrees across much of that state. Hospital officials say more than 50 people went to emergency rooms between last Friday and this past Thursday.

HOLMES: All right. We turn to our Reynolds Wolf who is in the Weather Center for us. Reynolds, most of us, you know, it's just hot. We're hot, and we complain, and so on and so forth, but this is dangerous for a lot of folks.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It really is. Have you called your parents?

HOLMES: Oh, man, I haven't.

WOLF: They're in West Memphis. Look at Memphis today, T.J. 102 is the expected high and very dangerous. That doesn't factor in the high humidity, where it's going to feel from 115 to 120 degrees in parts of Memphis, down in Mud Island or even Union Avenue. We've got 99 for a high in Dallas today. Again, that's kind of a tricky thing because that also does not include the humidity. It's going to feel like its 100s there as well, 97 in Kansas City, St. Louis very warm, Atlanta very hot with 99 degrees.

Look at what we can expect for St. Louis, not just today, but I want you to see what we can expect Sunday into Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. A lot of heat, temperatures going up in the triple digits for a couple of these days. No rain expected at all in the forecast. Not only St. Louis, but also places like Dallas, where it's warm today but going to get even warmer yet from Sunday all the way through Wednesday, high temperatures mainly into the triple digits. No break in this heat at least until the end of the next work week. We've got to be patient and take it easy.

Back to you.

HOLMES: All right. And I will check on them shortly too. I promise.

WOLF: You've to.

KEILAR: You've got to watch the little kids, you got to check on your elderly neighbors. All very important things.

WOLF: And the pets too.

HOLMES: Thanks, Reynolds.

KEILAR: And, of course, we're going to keep you up to date on the breaking news unfolding in the Utah mine rescue effort. Here's what we have for you right now. A second larger drill has punched through into the cavity where six miners are believed trapped. Any time now, workers will lower a camera into that hole in an attempt to locate the miners.

And right after this, the latest troubles for the judge who wanted millions for a pair of missing pants.

HOLMES: Also, approach with caution. A special report on the bad conditions of U.S. beaches this summer. Stay here. You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: A push for political change this morning in Sierra Leone. It's Election Day there. And one of the world's poorest countries, the crowds are turning out to let their voices be heard. Our own Betty Nguyen is there to witness the historic moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The people of Sierra Leone have turned their enthusiasm over this election into long lines. Many waiting for hours just to get a spot. And when the gates open, it was mass chaos, people running everywhere, trying to be the first in line. Many of them not even knowing which polling station to go to. So you can understand the frustration after hundreds have waited for hours just to be here. Sometimes even in the rain.

This is an exciting time for this country. There are seven presidential candidates, 566 people vying for 112 spots in parliament. These people want change. They want health care. They want infrastructure. They want political progress. And they've come to the polls to make that happen today. They do expect, though, for there to be a run-off in the presidential election as the winner must get 55 percent of the vote. That is not expected. But until those election results come in, the people will continue to hope for peace, to hope for change, to hope for political progress in a country that has been through so much, including a civil war.

Betty Nguyen, in Sierra Leone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And Betty will rejoin us next hour with more on the voting frenzy sweeping through Sierra Leone coming up at 10:00 Eastern.

KEILAR: If you're just joining us this morning, what we're following right now is breaking news in the Utah mine rescue effort. At any time now, we expect workers to lower a camera into the area where six miners are believed to be trapped. That follows a major development earlier this morning, a second larger drill which broke through into that cavity, and we have a lot coming up.

We're going to be updating you before every break. We know coming up in the next hours that family members are going to be visiting the site. There's going to be a press conference with mine officials, and we're also going to be turning around a one on one interview with Bob Murray, the owner of that mine. Stay with CNN for the very latest.

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When is a day at the beach not a day at the beach? A new report on beach dangers coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Seashells aren't the only thing that you'll pick up on the nation's beaches this summer.

HOLMES: New report says many beaches are nasty. Salted with human and animal waste. Gary Nurenberg, who we first thought had a good assignment when he was going to the beach. But now that you're walking around in animal and human waste, doesn't sound so good.

NURENBERG: Good morning T.J., good morning Brianna. The good news is 95 percent of American beaches meet standards and are open and safe 95 percent of the time. There's a new study from the NRDC, the Natural Resources Defense Council, which takes a look at the quality of beach water. Most recent report says the number of beach closings and beach advisory days, beaches on oceans, bays, great lakes last year, up 28 percent to a total of 25,643. Natural Resources Defense Council has a list of beach bums and beach buddies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY STONER, DIR., AND NRDC'S CLEAN WATER PROJECT: The beach bums are those that have beaches that are contaminated with excessive levels of bacteria for more than 50 percent of the tests that are taken. The beach buddies we recognize because they're taking significant steps to correct the sources of beach water contamination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NURENBERG: The Natural Resources Defense Council has sued the Environmental Protection Agency for not acting actively enough to ensure the health of America's beaches, but the EPA says the Federal government is doing a lot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN H. GRUMBLES, EPA: We have tripled the number of monitoring and public awareness programs. EPA is revising the science to improve the rapid and reliable testing for pathogens. And most importantly, as a country, we're all taking steps to prevent pollution upstream to reduce problems downstream at the beach.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NURENBERG: And he goes on to reassure the American public that 95 percent of its beaches are safe most of the time, 95 percent of the time. The NRDC has compiled a list of a high risk beaches in 19 states. There are 92 beaches in 19 states that do not meet health standards more than 25 percent of the time. Take a look at the beaches in your area, but for the most part, they say, your chances are pretty good of being safe and avoiding those things that you said I was going to be walking in.

HOLMES: All right.

KEILAR: Gary, we hope you enjoy your day at the beach. Maybe your crew will give you some hand sanitizer. That's what we hope.

HOLMES: Thanks, Gary.

Meanwhile, folks, the story we've been following all morning. We'll continue to update you on it. The breaking news out of Utah. The mine rescue effort that's happening there at any moment. We could actually get word on the fate of these miners because workers have lowered or are about to begin lowering a camera into the area where six miners are believed to be trapped.

Earlier, a second larger drill broke through into that cavity, and now they're going through the process of putting that camera down into that hole that was drilled to reach that cavity so that camera can then take a look around. And that might be the first real answers we get to exactly what happened to these miners. We will be going live to Huntington, Utah, at the top of the hour.

Also next hour, we'll have an interview with mine operator Bob Murray.

KEILAR: And right after this, has marriage really gone to the dogs, or is it just this wedding? A story from the lighter side of news. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Going to take a breather here and give you the lighter news of the day.

KEILAR: Well meet Shug and Duke of Piercefield, New York. Duke is the dog without the veil. Their wedding was complete with vows, even a cake made of dog food. And Shug demanded a prenup, any bones she had before the wedding will remain hers and hers alone.

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