British Airways Plane Catches Fire on Runway; Clerk Who Denied Same-Sex Licenses Freed From Jail; Hillary Clinton Apologizes on Private E-mail
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Despite the smoke and flames, the passengers on board this plane that caught fire in Las Vegas escaped with only minor injuries.</s>ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, as the world's migrant crisis deepens, another nation offers to shelter more refugees.</s>ASHER: And a county clerk at the center of the same-sex marriage debate in the United States is greeted by a huge crowd after her release from jail.</s>BARNETT: Lots to get to today. Hello. And welcome to our viewers here in the states and all around the world. We are your anchor team for the next two hours. I'm Errol Barnett.</s>ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. Glad to be with you. This is CNN NEWSROOM. OK. I want to begin in the United States with passengers who are leaving Las Vegas aboard British Airways Flight 2276 are no doubt feeling especially lucky right now.</s>BARNETT: Yes, this was frightening.</s>ASHER: Absolutely. The Boeing 777 was about to take off for London when, there you have it, a fire broke out in the aircraft's left engine and within just minutes, just minutes, all 170 passengers and crew members had evacuated the burning plane.</s>ROSEMARY VASSILIADIS, DIRECTOR OF AVIATION, MCCARRAN AIRPORT: The pilots quickly aborted the takeoff. Clark County Fire Department responders from McCarran International Airport station 13 were notified of a potential engine fire at 4:13. At 4:14, firefighters were at the aircraft dousing the fire and evacuating with the passengers.</s>BARNETT: So this all unfolded very quickly. Fire officials say at least 14 people were hurt. Most of those injuries are minor. Our Dan Simon spoke with one passenger.</s>JAY JENNINGS, FLIGHT 2276 PASSENGER: We were just getting speed to take off. And we saw a big thud. I opened up the cover of my window and saw flames on the engine. And we suddenly stopped. We sat still for about a minute, just waiting to hear what to do and then we just heard the captain say this is an emergency, evacuate.</s>DAN SIMON, CNN ANCHOR: How scary was it?</s>JENNINGS: It was pretty scary. Yes. Like, I mean, yes, it was just shocking more than anything. I don't think anyone was too hurt. Otherwise, I don't know. But yes, it was pretty scary stuff.</s>ASHER: Our Dan Simon who actually interviewed that passenger is joining us live now on the phone from Las Vegas. So, Dan, before we begin, I just want to pull up on the screen an image of the plane on fire so we can see exactly what we're talking about. So this is the plane moments after it caught fire. You can see black smoke billowing in the air. Of course if you look very closely you can actually see the left engine is where the flames started. So, Dan, it is remarkable to me when you see just how dramatic this fire was that only 14 people were injured. How is that possible?</s>SIMON: Well, this was a quick reaction by the pilot and the crew. Obviously they knew right away that there was something wrong and they quickly deployed those chutes, those emergency chutes. You know, we happen to be in Las Vegas working on another story and once we realized this was a potentially serious situation, we raced over to the airport. And I have to tell you, it was kind of surreal for a while. We were just hanging out in the international terminal and all of a sudden we saw lots of ambulances show up. This is about an hour after this all happened. So we figured that, you know, mostly everybody had been evacuated at that point. But no, they were still assessing people and lots of passengers were coming out. Thankfully these were minor injuries, but from what we understand when people are going down those emergency chutes, some had, you know, some friction injuries, basically going down. They may have, you know, burned their elbows and such. So the paramedics were tending to them. Everybody seemed to be in relatively good spirits, although we did see one passenger who seemed to, you know, be in emotional distress. This is somebody who actually had some smoke inhalation and she just looked she was, you know, really torn up. And you can imagine, you know, looking at that video, how frightening that must have been. You know, we saw some other video of passengers literally, you know, running for their lives. You know, going down those chutes and just running away from the aircraft -- Zain.</s>ASHER: Absolutely frightening. And before we continue, I understand from my producers that we have some new video. So if we could play that for our viewers. OK. You can actually see in the corner there, that was the plane engulfed in flames there and I believe that was a fire truck heading towards it. And I believe, I'm not entirely sure but this could passengers leaving the aircraft, fleeing the aircraft. So, Dan, in terms of the investigation, OK, we know that the left engine, that's where the fire started. Do we know what caused the fire and what is next in terms of this investigation?</s>SIMON: We know that a go-team from Washington, D.C. from the National Transportation Safety Board is on its way to Las Vegas where they'll start, you know, looking at how this occurred. We don't know how or why this fire started. What we do know, from talking with one of the passengers, is just as the plane was beginning to pick up speed, that left engine caught fire. He said it was something like a thud and then he looked out his window and saw that engine on fire. So it's really going to be up to the authorities to examine how this happened. Of course any time you have a mishap with an aircraft, they will interview passengers, they'll talk to the crew, they'll look at maintenance records. Just pretty much anything you can think of.</s>ASHER: And so clearly a mystery in terms of the investigation, in terms of what caused that fire. But how soon -- I know that 14 people were injured. But in terms of the passengers who are OK, how soon will they be able to re-board another flight to London?</s>SIMON: Well, from what we understand, British Airways put the passengers up in a hotel this evening in Las Vegas. They did not hop on another plane tonight. From what we understand, arrangements are being made to get them on another plane tomorrow. As far as those 14 people are concerned, I don't know precisely when they will be going home. As we know, these are minor injuries. So perhaps they have already been released from the hospital. I would imagine that it was, you know, precautionary in a way to take them by ambulance to take them to area hospitals just to be on the safe side. But, you know, I would imagine that most of those passengers will be heading home tomorrow, Zain.</s>ASHER: At least the good news is that the response during this emergency was so rapid. Obviously everybody was able to evacuate very quickly within minutes and of course as Dan was just saying 14 people injured. Only minor injuries. Thankfully. OK, Dan Simon, thank you so much. We appreciate that.</s>BARNETT: And in other aviation news, an internal investigation prompted by an ongoing federal investigation has led to the ouster of the CEO and two other top executives at United Airlines. Now in a statement on Tuesday, the company announced the chairman and CEO Jeff Smisek has stepped down.</s>ASHER: The U.S. government has been examining United's dealing with former chief of the Port Authority in New York and New Jersey, including adding a flight convenient to a home he owns in South Carolina. United says it is cooperating with the government's investigations.</s>BARNETT: Now surely you've heard the name Kim Davis bouncing around social media in these past days.</s>ASHER: Who hasn't? Unless you've been living under a rock.</s>BARNETT: Surely. Well, if you don't know, this county clerk in the U.S. state of Kentucky is now a free woman some five days after she was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.</s>ASHER: And our Martin Savidge has more on the woman who finds herself at the crossroads of a very changing society.</s>MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a stage fit for a presidential candidate, but it was embattled Rowan County clerk, Kim Davis, who stole the show, fresh out of jail and welcomed by cheers from hundreds of supporters.</s>KIM DAVIS, ROWAN COUNTY CLERK: I just want to give God the glory. And people of Rowan, you are a strong people.</s>SAVIDGE: Davis went to jail for contempt of court after refusing to authorize all marriage licenses following the June Supreme Court decision on gay marriage. She said she was religiously opposed to having her name appear on a document for same-sex couples. She spent five days behind bars while support from Christian conservatives grew.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Bible trumps man's law.</s>SAVIDGE: The effort to free her drew two Republican candidates to her jail cell, Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz. This despite the fact that Davis is a Democrat. But even before they arrived, the judge that sent her to jail suddenly freed her on one very big condition, that she shall not interfere in any way with the efforts of her deputy clerks who are issuing marriage licenses. Some of them to same-sex couples. Davis' attorney says she hasn't changed her position on same-sex marriage and hinted another legal showdown could be brewing.</s>MAT STAVER, ATTORNEY, LIBERTY COUNSEL, REPRESENTING KIM DAVIS: She will do her job good, she'll serve the people as they want her to serve, and she was elected, and she'll also be loyal to God and she's not going to violate her conscience.</s>SAVIDGE: To many, the small-town Kentucky clerk has become a hero of her faith.</s>MIKE HUCKABEE, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I feel like she has shown more courage than most any politician I know and most every pastor I know, because she has not only said something, she has been willing to put her life as risk.</s>SAVIDGE: But as Davis goes home after spending nearly a week in jail, many of her followers and her detractors wonder how long that freedom will last. Martin Savidge, CNN, Grayson, Kentucky.</s>BARNETT: Our CNN political commentator Ryan Lizza joins us from D.C. to talk about this. Ryan, great to have you. Kim Davis has become an icon these past 24 hours. Two evangelicals, who have been staunchly opposed to gay marriage but we should explain the Supreme Court, the highest law in the land here in the States, has settled this issue legally and elected officials have to follow the law. So what is it really that Mrs. Davis represents?</s>RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think the first thing to say is it might -- maybe it's surprising how little resistance of this kind there has actually been since the Supreme Court decided this. I think a lot of people predicted there would be a lot of more resistance. But there are small patches in very conservative places in the United States where people are arguing that their religion makes it impossible for them to follow this law. Now as the judge pointed out in Kentucky, that's not legal. She's an elected official. She has to do this. The Supreme Court has already settled this issue. And so, you know, I think you're going to see isolated cases like this until people -- until people move on. But to a certain segment of very religious Americans, this does resonate what she's doing.</s>BARNETT: And the fact that you call it isolated is kind of the key aspect here. You have one of the Republican candidates, Governor Mike Huckabee, he emceed the event and he said, quote, "I'm not willing to spend the next years in tyranny under people who think they can take our freedom and conscience away." I mean, the U.S. Constitution makes it clear the government isn't to endorse any religion and to be frank, Christians are overwhelmingly represented in government anyway. So what is this tyranny that they speak of exactly?</s>LIZZA: Yes. And there's a little bit of a sense of victimization among some white evangelicals in the United States that they are now a persecuted minority, which to be frank is not really the case. And I -- look, once you get a presidential campaign going and you get American politics involved in these issues and in the Republican Party, in the early states that matter in our nominating process, evangelical conservatives represent a larger than typical percentage of the electorate. Specifically in a state like Iowa. So there is incentive for people like Mike Huckabee to go down and associate themselves with this case. And that's what you're seeing here. You're seeing politicians exploiting this issue in Kentucky to boost their credentials among Iowa religious conservatives.</s>BARNETT: And maybe because it happened so quickly, this, you know, Kim Davis in a way got to make this statement but the fact remains she and others still have to follow the law.</s>LIZZA: That's right.</s>BARNETT: Ryan Lizza, our CNN political commentator, great to get your insight today. Joining us from</s>D.C. LIZZA: My pleasure.</s>ASHER: And staying in the United States, she is saying she's sorry. For the first time U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is publicly apologizing for using a private e-mail server when she was secretary of state.</s>BARNETT: Now as Brianna Keilar reports, Clinton's mea culpa comes as her popularity among voters shrinks.</s>BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hillary Clinton's numbers are taken a dive, down 10 points nationwide as she tries to turn a corner. Tonight for the first time, she directly apologized for her use of a private e-mail server while secretary of state. Telling ABC News --</s>HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That was a mistake. I'm sorry about that. I take responsibility.</s>KEILAR: According to the "New York Times," aides are crafting a strategy for her to show more spontaneity, heart and humor.</s>CLINTON: I do kind of know what Donald is going through. And if anyone one wonders if mine is real, here's the answer. The hair is real. The color isn't.</s>KEILAR: What President Obama's former adviser David Axelrod is poking fun at the reboot, tweeting a report, "read more like 'The Onion'. Her detailed plan to show more authenticity and spontaneity, just do it." In Iowa this weekend Clinton tried to shore up her shrinking lead in the polls.</s>CLINTON: I believe I've got the vision, the policies, the skill, the tenacity and the determination to get us back on the right track.</s>KEILAR: Her loss is Joe Biden's gain. New poll numbers out today show a swell of support for the vice president. He's up 10 points since last month and he's still deciding whether to get in the race. Dodging questions about a possible run.</s>JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, I talked to my wife about that. I've got to talk to my wife about that.</s>KEILAR: Nationwide, Biden is running neck and neck in the polls with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders who is beating Clinton in a new poll of New Hampshire primary voters.</s>BERNIE SANDERS (D), DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: And don't tell anybody. I think they are getting nervous.</s>KEILAR (on camera): But while this summer has been all about the Sanders surge, it really is the Biden bump that's dominating headlines right now going into the fall. Talking to Clinton campaign sources they say they're not too worried. They think that if Biden were to enter the race he would see his poll numbers dip under the harsh spotlight of the campaign trail. Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.</s>BARNETT: Now Australia's prime minister ups his country's commitment to the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. Coming up next, what he's offering and how it will impact Europe's migrant crisis.</s>ASHER: Also ahead, a new name is lighting up late-night television in the U.S. And politics may never be the same again.