Strong Storms Hit Texas Causing Damage; Australian Miners Trapped Underground for 12 Days; 2nd Autopsy In Boot Camp Death Says Teen Died from Suffocation, Not Natural Causes
LIN: All right. Let's get a quick check with what's popular with surfers at cnn.com. An accident at a high rise construction site today killed three workers in South Florida. They were pouring concrete on the 27th floor when a crane collapsed. And it looks like something you might see on mars and for good reason. Students are testing an experimental space suit for the use on mars in the desolate Badlands region of North Dakota. Right back here on earth, a theoretical physicist has put science to work in the quest for soccer goals. He studied 50 years of memorable games to determine the area that's hardest for goalies to cover. His conclusion, aim for the top corners. You can check out all of these stories and more on cnn.com. Look at that tornado, people.</s>LIN: Wow, look at that. Shell shocked in Texas. A possible tornado tore through the state yesterday. But that wasn't the worst of it. Brutal winds and huge hail caused major damage. More now from CNN's Fredricka Whitfield.</s>FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Making a bee line through east Texas Friday, the National Weather Service counted 17 reports of funnel clouds. Storm chasers recorded this one near Klondike. Oh, it's beautiful.</s>WHITFIELD: While there are no reports of serious damage or injuries from tornadoes, straight line winds are being blamed for ripping roofs off homes and businesses, overturning trucks and trailers, snapping power lines and toppling trees. This Coca-Cola plant in Waco may have been the hardest hit. Along with the twisters and high winds came hail stones, shattering glass, even denting metal. In Seminole, Texas, hail stones ranged from quarter size to golf ball size. Lubbock's hail was sizable, too. And in the parts of Texas hardest hit by the storms, the clean-up will also be significant. Fredericka Whitfield, CNN, Atlanta.</s>LIN: We want to take you now to Australia, where rescuers are inching closer to two trapped miners. Shanon Cook has been monitoring that story and joins us now with more details. Shanon what's going on right now?</s>COOK: Hey Carol. Well they were hoping that the two miners trapped underground would have been able to see the sunrise this morning. But for rescuers getting to them is taking much longer than expected. It's currently about 8:15 a.m. local time there. Now the two men have spent 12 nights underground, 12 nights in a collapsed mine in Beaconsfield, Tasmania. Now rescue workers are madly digging through the last 10 feet of a rescue tunnel but they're finding that last slab of solid rock separating them from the miners to be extremely challenging to cut through. It could take them a few more hours to break through. Now the two trapped men are Brant Webb and Todd Russell. They became trapped April 25th after an earthquake caused rocks to fall in the mine. One of their colleagues was actually killed. The two men are trapped nearly half a mile underground and they're sheltered in a tiny little cage that's hemmed in by rocks and rubble. You can see an animation of that there. Now rescue workers were able to drill a tiny hole to get food and water to the miners and some other supplies. And they dug a rescue tunnel, which is where they're still digging now. And Carol the rescue workers are having to use hand tools to dig through that final 10 feet of solid rock because they had to abandon using drilling equipment for fear it would cause vibrations and perhaps more of the mine to collapse.</s>LIN: Yeah, but we're hearing stories about how these guys are able to communicate and talk with the rescuers. And they're making jokes about getting fast food and what they want to do when they get rescued.</s>COOK: Yeah they're quite upbeat. One of them actually wants to skip by McDonald's on the way to the hospital when they get out or Mackeys as they call it in Australia, to pick up some fast food. They're very upbeat, they're in very, very high spirits, which is pretty amazing considering the confined space they're in. They also have an iPod. The rescue workers were able to put one through this little tube that they made. So they are able to listen to some music.</s>LIN: That's got to be a relief. 12 days in a mine. Thanks very much Shanon. We're going to be watching this throughout the night and as soon as that rescue happens, we are going to bring it to you. In the meantime, one side is calling for justice. The other is afraid of a witch hunt. Two very different reactions after a second autopsy on a Florida boy who died at a state boot camp. The new examination found that Martin Anderson was suffocated by camp guards. The first autopsy said he had died of natural causes. CNN's Susan Candiotti reports.</s>SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This time, Martin Anderson's death is being blamed on guards at the boot camp forcing smelling salts up his nose. In a written statement, a second medical examiner appointed by the governor to investigate, calls Anderson's death suffocation due to the actions of the guards. The teenager's family claimed vindication and accused the original medical examiner of wrongdoing.</s>GINA JONES, ANDERSON'S MOTHER: So the truth is out now. My baby was murdered in a boot camp and he tried to cover it up.</s>CANDIOTTI: The teen collapsed in January during an exercise drill on his first day at the Panama City boot camp. Anderson's family immediately raised questions. So did Florida lawmakers, calling the guards' actions abuse. The boy's body was exhumed. The governor got involved. And so did the Justice Department. Investigating whether excessive force was used. Governor Bush said, "I am disturbed by the findings and consider the actions of the Bay County Boot Camp guards deplorable." The second medical examiner asked NASA to enhance the video for his review. This is a less clear copy released after CNN and "The Miami Herald" sued the state of Florida to obtain it. Here Anderson's head appears to be pulled back, his mouth covered, while guards put ammonia capsules up the teenager's nostrils. The second medical examiner says that cut off the 14-year-old's oxygen. A boot camp incident report obtained by CNN says the capsules were used five times. The same report calls the repeated blows control techniques to make recruits comply with orders. The latest autopsy agrees with the first, that the pounding was not fatal. The blows left several bruises but he was not beaten to death. Both autopsies also agree that Anderson had sickle cell trait. But the original medical examiner continues to insist Anderson did not suffocate. Dr. Charles Siebert says there was no increase in carbon dioxide levels, a key basis for suffocation.</s>DR. CHARLES SIEBERT, BAY COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: My findings are backed up by science and I'm comfortable with my findings and I'm going to stand by them.</s>CANDIOTTI: Dr. Siebert found the teenager died of natural causes when physical stress prompted his cells to change form and hemorrhage. Siebert denies any cover-up. One of the guards' lawyers called the investigation a witch hunt.</s>WAYLON GRAHAM, ATTORNEY FOR LT. CHARLES HELMS: It's pretty apparent to me that the governor is bending over backwards to please the vocal crowd that's fussing. And I'm very concerned about the governor putting pressure on all of these individuals to reach a result that would please the victim's family.</s>CANDIOTTI: The same lawyer claims the nurse told the guards the boy was just faking his stress and told them to use smelling salts. A criminal investigation is still going on. Some guards predict they will be charged. If so, a trial could be a battle of the coroners. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.</s>LIN: Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. Up next, forget gas. How about grease to fill your tank? Believe it or not, it can be done. Also ahead, keeping an eye on your child's online activities. It means you'll need to learn a new language. Well I've got an expert and she's going to get you a primer on leetspeak. And later this hour, the story of a young soldier killed in Iraq made all the more tragic by a secret he kept from his mother.