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tv   Andrea Mitchell Reports  MSNBC  October 13, 2010 1:00pm-2:00pm EDT

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world watches. liveoverage as the rescues continue this hour. will someone rescue from the midterm election and madness? debates on both coasts. >> you know better than that, jerry. >> winners an losers and previews of tonight's debate action. and the first lady stepping out. michelle obama makes the first campaign stop since her husband's election trying to save a democratic senate seat in wisconsin. we'll be live this hour. pressured out of her job after three years there. controversial d.c. school chancellor resigns. george clooney's crusade. george clooney joining us. plus condoleezza rice has eyewitness to historic
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transformations to the deep south. now new author with us today to talk about a moving personal history. the interview's straight ahead. and today, i'm andrea mitchell live in new york. we begin with the events in chile. 33 miners were trapped below for ground for more than two months. it is the longest any miners trapped and survived. 17 emerged safely. 16 are still awaiting rescue. nbc's kerry sanders is live in copiapo, chile, as he has been all night. kerry, you have been extraordinary. the emotion, the excitement that you have conveyed is the best window for us to experience it. tell us now what is happening. >> reporter: well, we have -- you just noted passed the halfway point which is significant. now there are 17 up, 16 down below. at this rate, which started out at about an hour and 15 or so for each of them to get up, we
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are now picking up the tempo and they're coming up in less than an hour as the fenix, the escape capsule, makes its way down there and another miner comes up. we are waiting for esteban rojos. he is 44 years old and waiting up topside is a woman he's been with for 25 years and in this experience they have lived together before but they were never officially married. and they decided when he gets topside, they're going to the church and they're making it official. they're going to get married. so there have been obviously life-changing moments here. families topside here have been giddy with excitement as those miners are brought to the surface and it started shortly after midnight local time and if they're able to complete it today, which they're now under the impression that they might get it done before midnight today, that means that all these miners will have been underground for an astonishing
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70 days. it's a remarkable, remarkable achievement that these people have been rescued. they survived. and are now making their way to the surface, andrea. >> kerry, it is extraordinary. we'll be watching and updating. thank you for your amazing coverage. you and natalie morales. was it a game changer in california? the day after the debate, why did jerry brown remain so defia defiant? he apologized but only grudgingly after the audience boo'd the initial response when asked about brown's campaign aide slurring competitive meg wh whitman. >> somebody in your campaign remained to miss whitman as a whore. we have heard no outrage from you. have you been in charge of the investigation of your campaign to find out who was responsible
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for using that phrase? >> i don't agree with that comparison, number one. number two, this is a five-week-old private conversation picked up on a cell phone with a garb led transmission. >> the fact that you are defending your campaign for a slur and, you know, a personal attack on me i think it's -- >> it is not a -- >> not befitting of california and the office you're running for. >> msnbc contributor managing, editor of post politics preponderate come and fix blog, chris, it was an obvious question that was going to come up. >> yeah. >> he was not -- he could not have been surprised by that. why couldn't he say i'm sorry it happened and talk about the substan substance? there's enough big economic issues at california. what happened there? >> i have an unwritten set of rules in politics. never disagree with tom brokaw. >> that's my rule, too. >> number two, number two, don't do the i apologize if anyone was
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offended or anything like that. just apologize and move on because if you don't and that's what jerry brown hasn't done over the last few days, you extend the story. he made this another day of talking about it. and i just don't think that that's what he wants. remember, this does potentially -- this isn't just a salacious thing. it could have real impact. who's the battleground in california? women. meg whitman made a hard pish for them. typically democratic voters. that's why california is normally a democratic state. meg whitman is making a hard push for them saying the background, my life, i better understand your issues than jerry brown. jerry brown is giving meg whitman a club by which to beat him politically. it is inexplicable you you wouldn't saying i'm not sure who said it. i'm ultimately responsible and i'm sorry. let's move on and talk about the
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economy and other issues. >> speaking about the economy and other issues, they did mix it up over that. this is the core of meg whitman's campaign, been there and done that. he challenged her on that. >> i've been in the kitchen. i have taken the heat. i know what it is to say yes and no. she's been in the bleachers looking from the internet company at what's happening in government. >> my track record is creating jobs. my business is creating jobs. your business is politics. you've been doing this for 40 years. >> so, it was the final debate. how does brown now recover and where do you see this campaign going? this is a very close race. >> he has the benefit of the fact running in california. i always say if you're a democrat running in california you start out about 47%. i don't think it was his best performance. for everything that we talked about. but jerry brown, this is a guy who's been successful in elected office many times in california. not as much nationally.
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three unsuccessful presidential runs but successful in california. i don't know that we doubt him but i don't think that was the performance his campaign wanted last night and i thought meg whitman was fresher and on point as she had more of the quotable lines coming out of it which is always important. >> now she can take the tape from the debate, turn it around. she's got, you know, however many more millions of dollars and spent more than $120 million already on commercials. thanks so much, chris. >> yep. in washington today, school kons lar michelle rhee announced she is stepping down at the end of the month. this is not unexpected after reaching a new majority decision with vincent gray and campaigned against him in the democratic primary. >> we have agreed together that the best way to keep the reforms going is for this reformer to step aside. the thought of not being in this role anymore is heartbreaking. to put it mildly. but i do know that it is the
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right thing for the school system and the right thing most importantly for the children of d.c. >> joel klein is chancellor of the new york city public school system and a long-time mentor of michelle rhee's. is this the right thing for the children of d.c.? >> i think she was the right thing for the school children of d.c. she was getting results. i lived in d.c. for a quarter of a century so i'm familiar with the schools there. she was getting results. she was changing the system, focusing on the right things. unfortunately, it was impossible to continue and i think they want to look forward. i give vince gray credit, the presumed new mayor to choose an interim -- >> what do we know about her? >> first of all, she was with michelle at the new teacher project. she really is a committed reformer and a tough, tough woman and she worked hand in glove with michelle over the last three-plus years in d.c. so i think we have to look forward. we want to say, geez, too bad
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but the kids in d.c. entitled to a fair shake and best thing the mayor -- presumed mayor-elect gray can do is make sure he has somebody when's a xhilted reformer and will do the tough things including closing the schools that need to be closed and terminate teachers that need to be terminated and support teachers doing incredible work. >> what's the signal sent with teachers' union pouring $1 million into a small, local, mayoral race? the outcome is gray with the support elected and now michelle rhee leaves. does this say to henderson, no independent she might be and vincent gray, the teachers are in the driver's seat. the union i should say. not the teachers in general. >> it's an important distinction. for the kids in d.c. what michelle was doing was really
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incredible and important and so, you know, unfortunately, a million dollars for a local election is almost unheard of and the mess and is the following. i think the message is sent to major gray which is, we want to continue on this path. we may want to have some changes in this or that and the best thing to do is -- establish himself as a political independent, somebody who's willing not to listen to all of the moneyed interests but to listen to the people and ultimately the kids in d.c. and to go forward with a committed, aggressive, committed reformer. i have calls from friends of mine last night saying oh my gosh and this and that and my own sense is to look forward, come behind somebody strong and committed. >> a quick question. she has lots of offers. michelle told us in an interview, she wants the try to help foster a national movement. is there a role for her? is there a way to do this across state lines and make it a broader movement?
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>> i think so. first of all, michelle's got so many offers. she is the most employable person i know. i hope she engages at the national level. i think we need a new national dialogue. you know, i said nbc when they did education nation did a real service for the country. but i don't want it to be a two-day or three-day. we need to transform education. america's future, the competitive future depends on that and as much voice michelle can give that, the better the country will be. >> and you here in new york city, joe klein, thank you very much. >> thank you. george clooney trying to avert another war. first lady michelle obama on the campaign trail today in wisconsin. can she help where her husband's star power cannot? live coverage from chile continues. rescuers moving at a much faster pace. the rescue may be wrapped up by late tonight.
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can a tragedy be averted in sudan? george clooney rereturned from another visits of the country trying to use the star power to pressure the white house and others into action. time is running out as they prepare for a vote. clooney initialled more action in an important meeting with the president and along with enough projects, john pendergast joins us today. thanks for bringing attention to this. george, first, let me ask you, did you get a good response from the white house? they issued a statement yesterday some might find disappointing saying it's up to the people of sudan and the region. isn't it up to the united states to lead the world, and to be much stronger and proactive in their policy? >> well, i sort of walked away from that meeting with a very different response. you know, we felt that, you
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know, for the last couple of years or last three or four years since the agreement, the peace agreement in 2005, that there's been some lack of intensity on focusing on what was going -- what was coming. it seems now for the last couple of months and in particular when we met with president obama that he's very focused and very determined to try and broker peace. and yes, in the united states should do everything in its power as should the rest of the -- it should also be able to bring in the rest of the international community and we walked away feeling actually -- feeling much better about the fact that the president is personally involved in it. >> that's encouraging because the written statement was rather ambiguous. john, let me ask you about what you have seen over the last couple of years. some say nicklas cristoff among others say there's more carrots offered than sticks.
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>> the key to peace in sudan, i think, in addition to this surge that the united states and other countries are making to try to resolve the conflict before the referendum occurs on january 9th, the key is a package of both incentives and pressures. if the pseudonees powers go down the path of peace, there should be significant benefits encolluding normalization with the united states and dealing with darfur and seeing peace in sudan, they should get the package they hope for. however, if the regime or southerners plunge the country back to war there needs to be significant consequences. that's been missing. we heard yesterday and we've seen over the last couple of months that the united states is putting that package together. we don't know if it's strong enough. we're encouraging it be as robust as possible and be multi-lateralized so the
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europeans and others are fully on board with an approach to try to drive the parties to peace. >> george, in this trip where you visited, you and the others in the group and our own ann curry, what have you seen that's changed? is there anything that encourages you about the future of this devastated region? >> well, first of all, you know, it is although it's not a -- the government isn't necessarily ready yet, it's infinitely further along than it was when i was in 2006 in the south sudan. i'm encouraged by the hope of these people. they have been -- they have spent generations being killed and tortured and they believe this is the chance at freedom and they're going to vote for independent. there's no question about that. the question will be how the north handles it. that will end up being how the international community puts
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pressure on the north and means, listen. that means china. that means perhaps egypt. and they have -- this isn't the old days. this isn't even five years ago. you know, the chinese have reasons not to have their oil lines interrupted by war so this is appealing to hun taryn issues but actual economic issues in china. >> you think that, george, you think that we can make it so much an interest of self interest financially to get in the line and to put pressure on bah sheer and the others in the north to not take these dreadful actions? >> listen. i think that in general economic actions seem to be very effective and they have been certainly effective before. i mean, listen. this is not something new. we were a big part of brokering a peace agreement in 2005. we know how to do this without -- without having to continue a war. this is our chance to do one and
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stop one beforehand and we have a very good chance at doing it. it's complicated and hard and it's a lot of work. but, you know, it's worth the chance. it's worth trying. >> indeed. and thank you for bringing all of your passion and activism and the focus to it. you're getting people to pay attention. we thank you both so much. >> thank you. up next, first lady michelle obama on the campaign trail for the first time this year. can she save the senate for democrats? 17 miners are now out. 16 to go. the chilean mining minister updating saying that the capsule's door is getting stuck after being hit. it doesn't open or close easily but it is still working fine and will proceed and now five rescuers underground. live coverage continuing here. stay with us. on a day-to-day basis. natural gas is cleaner burning than most fossil fuels and it's vital to our energy needs. increasingly we're finding gas in hard to reach areas,
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presidential election and expected to speak in a few minutes. glen trush is senior white house reporter for politico. let's talk about the first lady and the importance of her as a secret weapon here. >> the people on the political office in the white house were really trying to get her out on the road for quite a number of months and she was sort of a reluctant road ware warrior. they feel she can make a difference between break become is not necessarily wanted or the image is too hard or impossible. >> she's going to frame her message, her campaign pitch in a very personal way, we're told, as a mom. talking about her kids. is that her way of kind of straddling between the political side which she doesn't favor so much and the mom side? >> it is. and i think it's also within her own personal comfort zone. i think there is a sense that in 2008, she got sort of more political as the campaign went
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on. as you recall, she felt really burned making the comment about her husband's candidacy being the first time she was proud of being an american. i'm paraphrasing there. that really sort of turned her off to getting into the political stuff but there's a sense as she is out there on the road she'll warm up to the task. >> that was taken so completely out of context early in the primary process and hurt her and she is the most popular figure in the administration male or female and she's obviously someone they're going to want to have out there in the closing two and a half to three weeks. >> her and hillary clinton have the highest approval ratings. roughly 20 points higher than president obama's mid-20s. so really, she is a terrific surrogate. her and joe biden turning out to be money in the bank for the democrats. >> you see women power. get with the program here,
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glenn. thank you very much. thank you for joining us. still ahead, former secretary of sas condoleezza ric rice, what she told us. 17 of the trapped miners breathing fresh air. the operation is not detanned. live coverage continues here on msnbc. here's the truth: at allstate, you can personalize your car insurance policy to fit your life. choose your deductible, how you pay, your coverage, including features like accident forgiveness and the safe driving bonus check. no cookie-cutter policies at allstate. let the good hands give you the protection that fits you... at a great price. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. why go one more round ? you don't need a rematch, but a rethink.
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she's been america's top diplomat, accomplished pianist and a controversial national security adviser for george w. bush but today condoleezza rice is an author of a deeply personal memoir. i sat down with her earlier. it's great to see you again. you have a wonderful book "extraordinary ordinary people." what do you want people to understand about growing up black in the deep south as you go through the civil rights
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revolution? >> i'd like people to understand what it means to have parents that give you unconditional love. i think that will resonate with many people. parents who were ordinary people, schoolteacher, high school guidance counselor and minister but who understood the limitless power of education to transform lives. and despite the fact that the horizons of birmingham could have been limited, my parents had me conceived if i didn't have a hamburger at the wolworth's i could be president of the united states if i wanted to be and that's an extraordinary, american story of high expectations and ambitions for your children. >> it gave you confidence when a june high school or high school counselor tried to prevent you from being college bound and shut you off, as you a knew you were better and perhaps you didn't test well but that you had the ability and you just persevered. >> i did. and that high school guidance
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counselor who thought that i didn't do very well on the psat and wasn't college material, it never occurred to me to internalize that. in fact, i went home and told my parents and they were mortified and wanted to go to the school and i said, no, no, no. i'm already taken care of that. so i do worry about kids who don't have that kind of foundation, who don't have the parent who will say, no, you're better than that. that's what we have to make sure all children have. >> race in america is still an enormous dividing line. we have seen wit the tea party and in other ways in this campaign. what about being black in the deep south? the violence, the threats. how do you survive that in your family? your family had saved money, they sacrificed, they gave you opportunities but in some ways you were no different than the less advantaged kids surrounded by the threat of violence. >> yes. and the threat of violence was, of course, most acute in 1962,
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1963. i lost a classmate of kindergarten in the 16th street baptist church bombing in birmingham and it was violent and understood the power of family and the power of community and the ability if not to shield children from those horrors to make them feel that this wasn't their problem. that racism wasn't their problem. they could overcome it. but i think it's also important to know when it's race and when it's not. we have come a long way as a country and even though race continues to be a factor in all of our lives, the hardest place now is where race and poverty come together. and that says to me that our highest priority has to be that the kids who have the least have access to an excellent education and right now, frankly, andrea, i can look at the zip code and tell whether or not you get a
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good education and that's a problem. >> now, your father did not support dr. martin luther king and non-violence protest and teaching a course in the black experience in america and one of his friends at your dinner table was one of the most -- perceived to be the most leaders of the project. how do you -- >> my father's politics were fairly complicated. he was conservative, republican. but he i think was fascinated with the whole continuum of black politics. i think in some ways because even though he linized martin luther king the man and my parents participated in the boycott of birmingham stores, my dad was not someone who would have allowed himself to be beaten and not fight back. i remember he said to my mother,
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if somebody comes after me with a billy club as the police were doing, i'm going to try to kill him and my daughter's going to be an orphan. yet, he was attracted to people who met racism not with submission but with defiance and i think that's what attracted him to some of the radical black leaders like carmichael. >> how do you feel today about newt gingrich, fellow republican, speaking of the president, what if obama is so outside our comprehension he said that only if you understand kenyan anti-colonial behavior can you begin to piece together his actions? trying to marginalize the president -- >> look. i know newt gingrich. he is a friend. that's over the top. and i think -- and i don't think very helpful. look, the fact of the matter is when you talk about our president, he is our president. but we are awfully critical of our presidents. we treat them pretty toughly and
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i don't see race in every criticism of president obama. i think that's also a mistake to assume that if people are critical it is always because of race. >> you have been political to the extent of active in support of the other candidates, meg whitman in california, for instance. what do you think of this debate, most recently, with the slur that jerry brown used and he now has apologized for it but -- >> well, finally. >> what do you think of the impact of that. >> i don't think that you say things like that even in private, maybe epts in private. >> wasn't jerry brown. it was an aide. >> whoever, whoever. we shouldn't be in the practice of using language like that. about respected and highly accomplished people or about anyone. this is a political debate. and to have a comment like that, i think, was really unfortunate and i'm glad he finally apologized. took a while.
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>> there's always talk of you in politic. can i don't you see that possibility running? >> not really. >> not really or never or maybe? >> andrea, we have been through this before. we have talked over the years of about it. i never ran for student council when i was in high school. i know what i love to do. and i was lucky enough to be the secretary of state. george schultz was right. it was the best job in government and i loved it but there are lots of ways to do public service. i'm currently really involved in k-12 education issues. i work with the boys and clubs issues on extended learning day opportunities. that's where i belong and i belong teaching at stanford university where i can open up the world to young people in the way that professors once opened it up to me. >> condoleezza rice, it's always great to see you. the memoir is extraordinary ordinary people and it is an amazing story of your childhood
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in the south and your parents and we look forward to your next book on foreign policy. >> thank you. appreciate it. nice to see you. >> great to see you. >> and you can see the entire interview on our website andrea.nbc.com. right now in chile, a truly amazing story. the 18th miner getting ready to make the way to the surface. the capsule just left the bottom of the mine. esteban rojos will be on his way to freedom and watching live momentarily as the 18th miner makes his way out of that amazingly small space. 22 inches wide. only the capsule as it comes to the surface. we'll be right back.
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deepwater oil drilling is lifted. some say the ban was lifted because of political pressure of louisiana senator landrieu. she says that she will not lift the hold on the president's proposed budget director until she sees where the moratorium is actually lifted. the lead prosecutors in 49 states are launching a joint investigation to see if mortgage companies broke the law foreclosing on thousands of homeowners. the allegation, the bank employees processed foreclosure forms without ever reading them. the amazing story of survival is still unfolding in chile right now. 17 miners have been rescued so far. esteban rojas will be the 18th. on his way up in the capsule as we speak. with more on the effort, we're joined by bruce dial, a former mine inspector who spent more than two decades at the federal mine safety administration. thank you very much. first of all, talk to me about
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the technical challenge that has been accomplished here. this international effort to bring 17 men out of that mine a half mile deep. >> well, i think that's going to be the one thing that comes out of this that's going to be good for the mining industry is they've shown how they could use technology from other agencies, other industries, other countries and put it all together and pull off a miraculous job like this. >> how difficult was it given the s-curves i saw kerry sanders describing last night in the middle of the night, the fact it was not a straight shot? they had to make the turns and the miners themselves had to in this tiny space endure coming up with the spinning of the cage. >> yes. that's a technique that they can use by using the hammer-type
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drill bit to put more pressure on one side or the other and turn one way or the other. that was necessary, i guess, to get the heading and get the hole down to the section where they were down inside of the opening. >> one question that comes to mind is whether the mining industry itself in the united states as well as around the world, whether they anticipate the potential charges. do they practice for this? are they prepared for this? what would you say the state of preparation is for this kind of unexpected disaster? >> they try to prepare for it. they try to train the miners what to do if there's an explosion or a cave-in or something but this -- this particular case has gone far beyond that. the miners were never trained to endure being underground for that long, to endure being under
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there for 17 days without being found. there's not much of that type of training or preparation done. >> what about the basics of food and water? we know how after the fact how they rationed themselves with a little teaspoon a day for each of the miners. should there be better preparations and safe rooms at various locations? better stocked for these kinds of disasters? >> in the united states they r. they're required to have the rescue units in coal mines and they are -- they can hold 15 people. they have food, water, medicine. things like that. that are located throughout the mine. and during a disaster, if a miner gets to those, they get what they need to survive for a period of time. >> and at this stage, we know that there was some problem with the door of the cage. but they -- presumably and
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moments from now we'll see mr. esteban rojas coming out, how would you expect the rest of the rescue to proceed with the remaining miners? >> that cage is taking a beating every time it goes down. it twists and turns and rubs up against the rock. it should hold up the rest of the way but if it doesn't, they have a spare that they can replace it with to bring the rest of them out. >> so they're not out of the woods yet? >> no. they still have a long way to go. to get the rest of the miners out and then the rescue workers after that. so, they're going to -- probably taking it easy to make sure they don't do anymore damage to the cage when possible. >> now, in addition to the fatigue of the materials, what about the human factor here because these -- this team has been working round the clock and they have to be tired as well as the men who are down below
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helping prepare the miners to go up in the cage. >> definitely. they started bringing the miners out midnight last night and preparation before that. but i believe they've sent more rescue workers down to the bottom now to help out the ones on the bottom to give them a break. they're going over 12 years and they're probably tired and when you get tired, you make mistakes so sending relief down there. >> now, we know that this is unprecedented. they have never been able to engineer anything like this and never had to. how will this rewrite the books for the way mine sifty and mine rescues are handled in the future? >> well, hopefully, they'll learn a lesson that there is things throughout to do. they went to different industries, for example. the drilling industry, the drill bit they used was from an oil well drill.
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they used to nasa to help prepare the miners to make the cage for the miners to come out in. make it as safe as possible for them. different countries did different things. they used a special wire rope for the cage from germany. so they hopefully they have learned to not just stay within their self and what they have always done but venture out in new technologies. >> i wanted to ask you about the emotional impact on the men. physical, we have seen how extraordinarily healthy they appear to be. may be over effects. here he comes. let's take a look at the picture. this is esteban rajos. while trapped in the mine, he sent a proposal to his long love to renew their vows. so we are seeing extraordinary things and this is the 18th
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miner being brought to the surface. and what we're seeing is the amazing survival, physical and emotional. what about the long-term emotional effects? >> definitely going to be some. they have not prepared for it and hopefully there will be people there to help them get through this. they'll have to go through several stages. >> here he comes. here comes the cage. as you continue joining us with and we also expect within a few minutes to be hearing from the president. like everyone else around the world. the news coverage that kelly and natalie morales describing overnight, crews there from pyongyang. here he is. esteban rajos free from the cage. just rescued from the mine and we know that he had proposed a renewal of vows to his long love
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as part of the emotional process, you can see -- the strn the face of the loved ones as they await esteban rojas being released from the cage. here he is. relief. palpable excitement and relief. and yet another one of these heroes crossing himself and praying. it's very emotional for everyone seeing it, not only those there. just look at that. and they are embraced. and as we watch these pictures, the president is speaking. let's go to the white house. >> the world's attention. and this rescue is a tribute not only to the determination of the
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rescue workers and the chilean government, but also the unity and resolve of the chilean people who have inspired the world. and i want to express the hopes of the american people that the minors who are still trapped underground will be returned home safely as soon as possible. let me also commend so many people of good will, not only in chile, but also from the united states and around the world who are lending a hand in this rescue effort, from the nasa team that helped design to escape vehicle to american companies that manufactured and delivered parts of the rescue drill to the american engineer who flew in from afghanistan to operate the drill. last night, the whole world watched the scene as the first man was lifted out from under more than 2,000 feet of rock. and then embraced by his young son and family. and the tears they shed after so much time apart expressed not only their own relief, but only their own joy, but the joy of
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people everywhere. it was a thrilling moment. we're hopeful that there -- those celebrations duplicate themselves throughout the rest of today. behind me, i've got the moen family, edward, kathleen and sarah. >> and as you heard the president expressing what all of us feel, the excitement, the thrill, the relief, the exhilaration. esteban rojas, the 18th miner. and now being taken to the triage center where he will be checked by the medical teams. looking physically well. you saw him kneel, cross himself, embrace his love to be reunited with family and friends and the whole rescue team. bruce, we were talking as mr. rojas was coming up in the cage about the emotional impact. you know, how do they assess that? what about the post-traumatic
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stress of this incident? >> there will definitely be stress on them. the stress of coming up through this small opening. and now they're going to go through the stress of trying to return back to normal and dealing with the media and all of the publicity that's going to come with it. then they have to go back and they have to decide, do i want to go back into this mine or do i want to try to make my living some other way? so they have a lot of problems ahead of them as well as behind them. and hopefully there will be people there to help them to get through that. >> we know that it is a good living there in the desert in chile, but what do we -- what was the experience of the pennsylvania miners? did they go back into the mines? was there a mixed response? do you know? >> if i remember right, there was a mixed response. most of them didn't go back. they were in a condition where it wasn't a cave-in, but water
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had inundated the mine. >> right. >> and so -- but i think some of them did go back to work in the mines at a later date. >> here we see that -- an extraordinarily international response. the president spoke to that. you were speaking of the fact that nasa technology, technology from the oil-drilling business, this will lead to a reengineering of emergency rescues in the future. >> i think so, very much so. and i think it will get the technologies even to go farther in this field. >> do you think that there should be a revisiting of mine regulations? after the pennsylvania experience, there were some efforts to change the regulations. has enough been done for those who work in the united states? >> well, there's a lot of regulations. they'll enforce those regulations. they've upped them every time we have a disaster.
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they up the regulations some. but the big problem is not the regulations, but the adhering to the regulations. they try to enforce them, but they're not there all the time. the mining companying, the miners themselves, they have to enforce those laws on themselves. and if they're taking shortcuts, that's when eventually they're going to have another disaster. >> bruce, we thank you for being with us during this hour and during this exciting moment. esteban rojas, free. the 18th miner. that does it for us for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." tomorrow on the show, d.c. public schools chancellor michelle re. i bet you can guess, of course, we're keeping our eyes on the rescue mission in chile. we just watched the 18th minor, esteban rojas, brought to the surface. the entire world is watching this. more than half of those 33
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miners have been brought to safety. we are keeping an eye on it. and there's been a major shake-up in the efforts to reform the education system. michelle re, the head of the d.c. public school system, is resigning. what happens next? plus -- kids getting bullied at school. an interesting character has entered the conversation. he's a mixed martial arts fighter. he says he wants to do something about it. it does not involve violence. he'll join me live. just cook with campbell's. our soups contain surprising ingredients like a splash of sauterne wine, a drizzle of fresh cream, or a sprinkle of lower sodium sea salt. we put great ingredients in our soups, to help you put meals on the table, that put smiles on the faces of the ones you love. campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ ♪
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right now, live pictures from copiapo, chile. the first miner was rescued 15 hours ago. a billion people across the world are said to be watching this real-life drama play out. nearly every hour we have watched a miner pulled to the surface. we could be minutes away from another live rescue. our team of reporters on