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Drag Racing Stunt Kills 6, Injures Several in Tennessee; Pregnant & Missing
Aired June 18, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Heidi Collins.
Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live on Monday morning. It is June 18th and here's what's on the rundown.
Four inches of rain in just one hour. Here's the result: dozens of homes under water in Fort Worth, Texas. Rescuers scrambling to reach the stranded.
HARRIS: Police in Tennessee talking live this morning about a horrifying car show crash. Six people killed when a drag racer plows into spectators.
COLLINS: A young mother vanishes, leaving her toddler behind and home alone. She could give birth to her second child any time now.
Missing in Ohio in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Unfolding this hour, breaking news from Texas. Families forced to the roofs of their homes overnight as flashfloods slam into two mobile home parks north of Dallas-Fort Worth.
Cynthia Vega of affiliate WFAA has more from Haltom City.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CYNTHIA VEGA, REPORTER, WFAA: I can tell you this -- it has been a very frantic, frightening night, for what we're now hearing, hundreds of people living in this mobile home park that goes -- abuts a creek just behind me. And as a result of the floodwaters that moved in so quickly here this morning overnight, you can see what's happened behind me, just some of the damage.
It sent cars literally toppling into one another. There are pets missing this morning. Even worse, there are people missing this morning. We now have been told from authorities there is a 4-year-old girl that was swept away in that creek, and also a 3-year-old girl still reported missing at this hour.
Let's take a look from a little earlier. And you can see the overhead video of the aerial video that we have, these rescues that have been going on all morning long. Massive searches for any sign of people who have been stranded in those waters or who may be.
We still don't have accurate numbers of how many people may be affected, but I can tell you the 3-year-old little girl story is especially heart-wrenching. Apparently, she and her mother were rescued by one of the rescue boats out there in the creek this morning, only for that boat to overturn. And that 3-year-old girl swept away. The search for her still continues at this time.
And again, what happened here earlier this morning, middle of the night, basically these floodwaters came in, moving up beyond the tops of these mobile homes, sending people scrambling on to their roofs for up to an hour screaming for help. We've heard from countless stories of all these people here affected. So much still to be pieced together, but that is the very latest.
Reporting live for CNN in Haltom City, I'm Cynthia Vega.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And we are hearing from our affiliate WFAA in Dallas that unfortunately the missing 4-year-old girl has been found dead. Again, that is according to our affiliate, WFAA.
COLLINS: Want to go ahead and get over to Chad Myers now, who has been watching all of this go on this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: We want to take a moment to speak with Keith Wells. He is the assistant emergency management coordinator in Fort Worth. He is joining us by telephone.
Keith, thanks for being with us. I know this is a very busy time for you.
Tell us the latest, if you could, about the missing children. We have actually heard reports, as we just mentioned, that a body was found of the 4-year-old girl.
Could you begin there and update us?
KEITH WELLS, ASST. EMERGENCY MGMT. COORDINATOR: At this point, I can't confirm that. We do have obviously search and rescue in the area, helicopters and swift water rescue teams. But at this point I can't confirm any reports.
COLLINS: Could you confirm any reports of missing people at this point?
WELLS: There were reports of several people missing. I haven't been in contact with the people at the scene in the last few minutes.
COLLINS: OK.
WELLS: As you can imagine, overnight in the darkness, you receive many reports of people missing. And we're responding to each and every one of those as best we can.
COLLINS: Well, I can only imagine. And that was certainly part of the problem with a storm like this that moved so quickly and came in the middle of the night.
What have people been able to tell you about their experiences?
WELLS: It was -- it was -- the water came up very quickly. It's obviously a very dangerous and harrowing situation.
We had a number of reports of people doing what people do in a disaster, helping each other with their immediate needs. Haltom City Fire and Rescue, Fort Worth Fire and Rescue and the state are all on the scene and have been for several hours working to rescue people and save the lives in the situation.
COLLINS: Yes. And as we speak to you, we are looking at some of the video that was taken, some of the aerials from above. Just absolutely unbelievable.
It almost looks like, Keith, it was a tornado. I mean, the amount of debris and the way that it's strewn about, the power is just -- is very evident from the pictures we have seen.
WELLS: Right. And water is a very powerful force. Typically in this part of the state, we have flash flooding. The water will come up very, very quickly and then recede very, very quickly, and cause the type of damage that you are seeing now.
COLLINS: Any indication -- we had also heard some reports from our affiliate there in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of a possible broken levee.
Have you heard anything about that?
WELLS: I have not heard those reports.
COLLINS: OK. And finally, what is available for people in the area by way of assistance?
WELLS: The Red Cross has set up a shelter in that area. If anyone has needs, they should contact Haltom City or Fort Worth, whichever city they live in, and ask for assistance. And we can direct them to that shelter. The Red Cross is there to provide the immediate care that they're always so good at providing for people.
COLLINS: Quickly, Keith, what about the power situation?
WELLS: There are some reports of sporadic power outages which is typical after a thunderstorm. The electric company here does an excellent job of restoring problem. So we don't anticipate that being a problem.
COLLINS: OK. I hope not. It sounds like the last thing you would need in that area, of course.
Keith Wells, assistant emergency management coordinator.
Thanks for your time this morning.
And stay with CNN throughout the morning for updates on this developing weather story. Meteorologist Chad Myers will bring us any updates on watches and warnings throughout the morning.
HARRIS: Tragedy in a small town. This morning, Selmer, Tennessee, mourning the deaths of six young people at a charity car show. The horror caught on tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god. Oh my god.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Boy, the stunt is always a crowd pleaser, but this time things got off track. And now the search for answers.
CNN Sean Callebs is in Selmer.
Sean, good morning to you.
I understand this is a long-running charity event for that city. Eighteen years. Is that correct?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. It actually began back in 1990. It's a pretty interesting story how it even got started.
The organizer, his son was involved in an automobile wreck while driving a bicycle, and the organizer decided back at that time if his son would pull through, he would devote his life to raising money for children's charities. And that's what he was doing here. It's called Cars for Kids.
I want to set the scene for you a little bit here.
On busy Highway 45, people would line this road, as many as 40,000. If you just go down those yellow lines, you can see all kinds of skid marks.
Well, right in that area, those muscle cars would come through and show off a bit for the people who were gathered here. They'd spin their wheels, burn the tires, get some smoke going.
Something went horribly wrong though. I want to show you exactly what this, Tony.
If you look right in the middle here, you can see a couple of orange dots that are spray painted on the ground. Well, these were put here by investigators. The car was actually fishtailing at this point and then slammed into a utility pole.
We have another camera down there. You can see that area has become a makeshift memorial over the past 48 hours -- candles, flowers, teddy bears.
We also have that video, that home video that shows the wreck. Want to go to that one more time for a reason.
If you see -- you can see the car spinning, the tires smoking. You can hear people talking. They are just stunned about what happened.
Well, this is where that video was taken from.
We talked to Renee Jones, the person who took those pictures, earlier. She had a little bit of protection behind this guardrail.
I want to show you, however, Tony, it only goes about 10 more yards down here. Then the guardrail runs out. So all the thousands of people lining the street had virtually no protection.
We had a chance to talk with the mayor last night, Tony. He said of course in hindsight they wished they would have done things differently and had barricades up.
We do know that Tennessee state police is going to hold a news conference soon. And from all indications, they say the investigation is going to takes some time. And Tony, they do not expect criminal charges to be announced today. We don't know if criminal charges will ever be filed in this case.
HARRIS: OK. CNN -- boy, that is horrible to see. Sean Callebs for us.
Sean, thank you.
COLLINS: Nine months pregnant and missing. Right now, a search is under way for a woman who disappeared in Ohio. So far, police have only her little boy and a deepening mystery.
CNN's Jim Acosta is covering the story in Canton, Ohio.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATTY PORTER, MISSING WOMAN'S MOTHER: We don't know what's happened, and I -- I just want my daughter back.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Police in Stark County, Ohio, near Canton, are searching for 26-year-old Jesse Marie Davis (ph). The pregnant single mother who's due to give birth any day vanished last week. On Friday, her mother Jesse's (ph) 2-year-old son home alone and signs of possible foul play in her daughter's bedroom.
PORTER: Her comforter was off and her mattress was pushed over, her nightstand was knocked over, the lamp was knocked over. And somebody poured bleach all over her carpet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there is an element of foul play involved in this case. We have not had any clues of where she might be or who may be responsible for what happened to her.
ACOSTA: While investigators continue to search for those clues, friends and family have posted flyers with the hope Jesse (ph) is live alive.
JANE DAVIS, MISSING WOMAN'S SISTER: It hurts my heart because I -- I mean, you know, she is the one you look up to. She's your big sister, and she's such a strong person. And you can't imagine that anything would ever happen to her. You know, she didn't have any enemies. She didn't -- she has never done anything wrong.
ACOSTA: Police have questioned the father of Davis' son, who investigators believe is also the father of the child she is carrying. He's also a local police officer and married to another woman. But police stress neither he nor his wife are suspects.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And Jim Acosta joining us now.
Tell us, is the family saying anything about the father of the unborn baby?
ACOSTA: Heidi, right now, no. They're not making any comment except to say that this woman, Jesse Davis (ph), had no enemies. And I think what we're supposed to infer from that is that there was no bad blood between she and the father of her children, or the wife of this man who is the father of her children.
COLLINS: Jim, any indication as to where the investigation will go next?
ACOSTA: No. Police are having a press conference, they're scheduled to have a press conference at 2:00 this afternoon. They simply say they have no new leads.
After a weekend of searching, they really haven't turned up anything at this point. Now they're hoping with the national media attention that has being given to this case, at least the family hopes that will lead to some sort of breakthrough.
COLLINS: Certainly. All right.
CNN's Jim Acosta reporting live this morning from Canton, Ohio.
Jim, thanks.
HARRIS: And we want to update you now on another story we have been following here in the NEWSROOM.
Three weeks and no word. Stepha Henry's (ph) family praying for her safe return this morning. The 22-year-old New Yorker missing since Memorial Day Weekend.
Henry (ph) was visiting relatives in south Florida. She was last seen at a nightclub. Police say they've examined abandoned cars and traced signals from her cell phone, but still no new clues. Henry (ph) is an honors graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
An aunt says she wanted to be the lady Johnnie Cochran.
Stay with CNN for more on this story. In our next hour, we will talk to Stepha Henry's (ph) mother about the search for her daughter.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: The political tide changing in the Middle East. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas forms a new emergency government and gets support from the West and Israel in his fight against Hamas. This after Hamas' violent assault and takeover of Gaza.
Joining us with some insight is Steven Cook from the Counsel on Foreign Relations.
Steven, thanks for being with us.
STEVEN COOK, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Hi, Heidi.
COLLINS: Let's begin by listening to a little bit of sound, the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erakat, on the two states that do, at least for the time being, seem to be developing.
Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: I'm 52 years old, and since 1967, I have never seen a worst situation. My dream, my aspiration for independence and a Palestinian state has been set back today. I see a catastrophe. I see the separation of Gaza and the West Bank.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Do you see a separation of Gaza and the West Bank? And if so, why would it be a catastrophe?
COOK: Well, clearly, there is a separation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, given the political polarization and the triumph of Hamas on the battlefield over the course of the last couple of days.
What's problematic is primarily because, as Saeb Erakat expressed, this would contribute to the final nail in the coffin of the dream of Palestinian statehood. From the Palestinian perspective, they're in a position of negotiating only 22 percent of what their historic homeland is to carve out Gaza now, albeit very small and with very many problems, would again be undermining their dream of statehood. COLLINS: Let's talk about whether or not it would really be for this many times before actually quite dangerous to isolate Hamas. I mean, if you are Palestinian people, at least some Palestinians see Hamas as this sort of social organization that has helped them, whether it be medically or food assistance or otherwise.
Are they still offering those social services?
COOK: Well, they are. And Hamas did get 44 percent of the vote in the last Palestinian election...
COLLINS: Right.
COOK: ... which led it to control over the Palestinian Authority.
One of the things that is important to remember about Hamas, in addition to it being a terrorist organization, it has been critical in providing social services to Palestinians in need. It has been able to do that through a resources coming from charities from throughout the Middle East, support from certain Middle Eastern states like Iran and others.
It is trying to continue to function in that way. Obviously, the embargo that the United States and European Union have placed upon Hamas has made it more difficult for the Palestinians -- for Hamas to carry out these types of activities, but they have been continuing on nevertheless.
COLLINS: And now that embargo is lifted, what sort of change will that make?
COOK: Well, it may not make much of the difference. The embargo is lifted on part of the European Union and the United Nations. They will be delivering aid directly to Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas.
Now, the problem is, is that they want that aid to just go to the areas that he controls. I cannot see how a Palestinian leader would continue to allow the 1.4 million residents of Gaza continue to suffer under an embargo.
COLLINS: All right.
Steven Cook, so sorry to cut it short. A lot of breaking news here today we must continue to follow. Appreciate your insights.
Steven Cook, Council on Foreign Relations.
COOK: Thank you.
COLLINS: Thanks.
HARRIS: And still to come, playing with politics using gaming technology to raise awareness about social issues -- ahead in the NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The bottom of the hour.
You are back in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Good morning, everyone.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.
Among our top stories this hour, a dangerous severe weather situation in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Overnight, torrential rains brought flash flooding. Two mobile parks in Haltom City overrun. Some families forced to the roofs of their homes to escape the high water.
And now, the body of a four year old girl found this morning near one of the mobile home parks. Haltom City had between four and five inches of rain just within one hour. There are reports of some areas getting more water than that. And flooding also forced the closing of parts of Interstate 35 at the Oklahoma/Texas border.
HARRIS: And Chad Myers is following the situation for us of where the system is moving next -- good morning, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Just small, little cells, guys.
Good morning.
And they just didn't move very much. And inches and inches of rain fell at torrential rates in the middle of the night. People couldn't see the water coming up. And, you know, it's trouble. And that's why you need one of those NOAA weather radios, because the alarm would go off. You know would there's flash flooding in your county.
Now, I get a lot of people complaining about those old radios that went off for every county. They don't do that anymore. You program what you want to hear in your radio. And that's the most important thing to a lot of people. If you were along the stream, you would certainly have flash flood warnings alarm you in the middle of the night -- and tornado warnings, obviously, of course.
But the storm really has moved away now. The rain is done from where it was raining so hard and so heavily. But a lot of damage is already done and around Gainesville and Sherman, still raining in some spots here. But that little white dot, Sherman. This is Sherman, Texas. There's the Red River. There's Oklahoma. That's 10 inches of rain -- 10 inches of rain with the storm from overnight and into the weekend.
So it's hard to get away from that kind of rainfall. It's going to run off at some point in time.
(WEATHER REPORT) HARRIS: Eighteen years without a problem. Now, tragedy. This morning the search for answers in Selmer, Tennessee. Six young people were killed during a drag racing stunt at a charity car show. More than a dozen others were hurt. The scene caught on tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god. Oh my god.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The stunt a crowd pleaser at the annual event.
What went wrong?
Witnesses trying to help with that question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "AMERICAN MORNING")
KYLEY JONES, WITNESS: What I saw was the car careening into the crowd after something going wrong. And it was completely horrific -- bodies being thrown everywhere, pieces of the car, the pole -- no telling what else being thrown. It wasn't a very nice sight to see at all. And I thought as soon as that car took off and when didn't let off where the founder of Cars For Kids told him to shut off, I knew something was going to go wrong right then.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: All of the victims who died in the crash were young people in their teens and 20s. We are waiting to find out what investigators are saying about the crash. Live coverage of the Tennessee Highway Patrol news conference 10:30 Eastern this morning, right here in THE NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Concern in Canton, Ohio -- a woman missing. Jessie Davis is nine months pregnant. She has not been seen in days. Her mother says she went to check on her Friday and found Davis' 2-year- old son home alone. A police officer says there is foul play involved in the case.
According to authorities, a Canton police officer is the father of the 2-year-old and probably the father of the baby Davis is carrying. That officer is married to another woman. Police stress that neither the officer nor his wife are suspects.
And another missing person's case we're following. Her family says she plans to be a lawyer. Now this woman may be at the center of a real life crime drama. We'll speak with her mother coming up.
New developments in the Palestinian crisis, as well. President Mahmoud Abbas getting support from the West and Israel this morning in his fight against Hamas.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is joining us now from Jerusalem -- Ben, good morning to you.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Heidi.
It looks like several millions of dollars in aid and unfrozen tax revenues are going to be going in the direction of the new Palestinian government, led by Mahmoud Abbas out of the West Bank.
The European Union is going to resume direct aid to the Palestinians. It looks like the Americans are going to follow suit. And Israel will be unfreezing as many as $600 million in those frozen tax revenues.
The problem, of course, is that there are 1.5 million Palestinians now living under Hamas rule in Gaza who may not get any of that money. This is part of an American-led attempt to show that there are benefits to cooperating with the United States and Israel on the current situation, and that those who do not cooperate, like Hamas in Gaza, will probably be getting nothing -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Ben, we understand President Bush did call Mr. Abbas this morning.
Can you tell us anything about that conversation?
WEDEMAN: Apparently Mr. Abbas told President Bush that he is ready and willing, in fact, to resume the peace process with Israel, a peace process that has been effectively dead in the water now for several years -- basically since the beginning of 2001, which was the last time there were substantive talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. So that's one bright light.
But there's a good deal of uncertainty whether they can actually move this peace process forward with the current political crisis between the two main Palestinian factions -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, certainly.
All right, Ben Wedeman live for us this morning.
Ben, thank you.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HARRIS: Ali Velshi is in this morning for Susan Lisovicz, following the headlines for us in THE NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Flash floods in the Fort Worth area and dramatic rescues after high waters swamp homes and cars. Details on this breaking story ahead in THE NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: The site of a bloody rampage reopened -- Virginia Tech coming back from tragedy. Details in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: We continue to follow this breaking news story for you coming out of the Fort Worth/Dallas area. Boy, oh, boy, all kinds of rain overnight qualifies as flash flooding in the area. A very dangerous severe weather situation.
Chad Myers is watching it for us throughout the morning. But the latest news, CNN has now confirmed that the body of a 4-year-old was found in the Haltom City area, swept away by those incredibly fast moving waters. Very, very strong as you can see by the damage that we're showing you now on the screen.
We have also learned some of the families in the area force odd the roofs of their homes, trying to get help from rescue crews that were in the area. About four to five inches of rain apparently fell within just one hour. So you can understand how quickly things changed and became very desperate in this area. We'll continue to follow this story for you.
HARRIS: It is the world's largest, I mean, largest air show, where the world's commercial aircraft makers come to show off new plans and chalk up more sales. But this year's Paris Air Show is about the transatlantic rivalry between Boeing and Airbus.
Ali Velshi here with us, very near the floor of the New York Stock Exchange -- good to see you, Ali.
Good Monday to you.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And to you.
HARRIS: What's happening with the competition?
Tell us about this show...
VELSHI: Well...
HARRIS: Set that scene for us, if you would.
VELSHI: It's, as you said, the world's biggest air show. It's on Le Bourget Airfield just outside of Paris. It's the place where deals are made. I mean it's not like you go there and you say, oh, I like the plane. I'll buy a bunch of them.
But the deals are closed there. So we're going to hear announcements all day. But one of the early ones was the sale of more than 22 of Airbus' A350 aircraft to US Airways. Now, this is a big deal because...
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: ... The A350 is a -- what you call a long range midsized plane. Depending on the configuration, 275 to about 350 people, two aisles, a very popular plane. And it is competing head to head, Tony, with Boeing's Dreamliner, which -- I think the first one is going to be out next May. But Boeing has sold more than 500 of the Dreamliners. Airbus -- this is the Dreamliner now you're looking at.
Airbus has only -- they haven't sold nearly as many of these 350s. So they're hoping to get about 150 orders by the end of -- by the end of this week at the air show.
HARRIS: And, Ali, initially wasn't sort of Boeing in the lead here in this competition for this aircraft?
VELSHI: Yes. And it looks like it's, you know, it's all about these midrange...
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: ... Midsized planes. Where Airbus, of course, is leading, is in that a A380, which was flown for the first time at the Paris Air Show in 2005.
Now, as you know, Tony, we have been reporting on the fact that this thing has been a bit of a disaster for Airbus. They're hoping to close more deals. And just this morning, we heard this morning the biggest climate of those A380s, Emirates Airlines, has bought another 10 of them bringing up -- by the way, that's me, Tony, at...
HARRIS: Was that you?
Oh, there you are.
OK.
VELSHI: I was in the first -- first flight from the United States of the A380, checking out the aircraft.
HARRIS: Oh, great. Great.
But let me ask you something. Is there money in this sector?
Obviously there is. I understand, what, commercial aircraft, this whole industry is expected to be profitable.
VELSHI: Yes, it's growing, really growing. In fact, this year will profitable for the aircraft industry. It hasn't been for the last couple of years. Even with fuel prices, it looks like this is a growing industry.
These big planes, by the way, are relatively more fuel-efficient than the old planes. And, remember, with the growth in air travel, we don't have a growth in airports. We don't have a growth in slots. So these big, big planes are becoming fashionable again, to try and move as many people as you can on one plane getting into one landing slot and one gate. Not fantastic for us travelers, because that just means a lot of lineups. But that's the trend.
HARRIS: Well, there he is.
Good to see you, minding your business this morning.
VELSHI: And you.
HARRIS: Ali Velshi.
Ali, thanks.
VELSHI: OK.
COLLINS: A Tennessee charity event ends in tragedy.
Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh. Oh my god! Oh my god!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: An out of control race car slams into spectators. We hear from authorities live this morning in THE NEWSROOM.
And culture shock -- an English town is getting the first mosque in a former church. What the locals are saying about it coming up in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, once you get that new gadget that's due out next week -- we won't mention the name, because it'll feel like a commercial...
COLLINS: Right.
HARRIS: ... You can download the pod cast. See, that's the thing. The pod cast is about getting you the news when you want it the way you want it, whether it's on that new gadget that's due out next week or on your iPod. OK?
COLLINS: Did you get it for Father's Day?
HARRIS: No, I did not.
So what we do is we pod cast for you. You're out at camps with your kids -- tennis camp, swim camp -- and you decide you want an update on the news. All you do is just sort of go to cnn.com, download the pod cast and there you go.
COLLINS: Just don't drop anything in the water.
HARRIS: Exactly. 24/7 right there. It's available to you. Download it today on your iPod.
COLLINS: A big remodeling for a house of worship. A big change for an entire town.
CNN's Paula Newton explains.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite eight centuries of history and change, Clitheroe Castle still presides over a small town that from its church spires to rolling hills is English to the core. But soon, this cross will come down, challenging the very notion of what that means.
SHERAZ ARSHAD, MOSQUE CAMPAIGNER: It was a battle on all fronts, really, you know, between the wider community, people in authority.
ARSHAD: This wall will come down.
NEWTON: Sheraz Arshad and Farouk Hussain led a difficult cause and a painful debate here, trying to turn this old, abandoned Methodist Church in this northern English town of 14,000 into a mosque for its 300 Muslims.
ARSHAD: I think there is this sort of entrenched resistance to you having a mosque. And that was very sort of difficult to come to terms with for us, I think, having been, as I say, born and raised here, thinking that this is our home, we're accepted.
NEWTON: Acceptance has been tough to come from. Muslims lived here for more than 40 years without a mosque. Locals just wouldn't give it their blessing.
MOHAMMED SARFRAZ, CLITHEROE RESIDENT: They treat it as a threat for some reason, because they don't know anything about it. The same way you hear an the media about, you know, religion and Muslims and all this terrorism.
NEWTON: So home remained the house of worship until now, when even local church leaders started supporting the mosque.
PHILIP DEARDEN, ST. MARY MAGDALENE CHURCH: It's all part and parcel of sharing in each other's history and differences. And that seems to be the godly thing to do.
NEWTON: It may be godly, but some residents here say it just isn't English.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just not right for Clitheroe, I think. That's basically the top and bottom of it.
NEWTON: But for others, the issue is simple.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't believe anyone should not have the right to worship in their hometown.
NEWTON: Some here say political correctness hijacked the debate. The issue so sensitive...
(on camera): What do you think of it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not prepared to say.
NEWTON: You're not prepared to say?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. NEWTON: All of this underscores a new reality in Britain -- fewer churchgoing Christians while mosques are filling up. This place still evokes dramatic symbolism even though it hasn't been a church in many years.
(on camera): There's no denying the look and feel of this place on the inside. It was a factory for decades. Still, the Muslim community here understands the sensitivity of trying to convert a church into a mosque.
FAROUK HUSSAIN, MOSQUE CAMPAIGNER: We will sit down around the table and discuss with them constructively how we can move things forward. You know, we don't regard people as being out and out racists, you know? There are people out there perhaps who have misunderstood.
NEWTON: Misunderstood, they say, because they want their neighbors to ease into this and get comfortable with it.
(on camera): What's going to happen down at this level?
SARFRAZ: Well, down here we're going to have the main prayer hole (ph).
NEWTON (voice-over): The main fear seems to be that the mosque will be the tipping point that will turn Clitheroe from a solidly English town to an Asian one. Those building this mosque know there's no hiding from the sentiment if their house of worship is ever to find a home here.
Paula Newton, CNN, Clitheroe, England.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: Attacks in Afghanistan kill dozens, seven of them children killed in a coalition air strike. Fallout in THE NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Playing with politics using gaming technology to raise awareness about social issues. We'll tell you all about it ahead, in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: This morning, remembering a tragedy, but trying to heal. Today, Virginia Tech reopened the building where a gunman went on a bloody rampage. Norris Hall, closed since the April massacre, will never again be used for classrooms. Instead, offices and laboratories will fill the space.
Seung-Hui Cho killed 30 people in Norris Hall before killing himself.
HARRIS: Understanding how elections work through videogames.
Reporter Kara Finnstrom shows us one university's program that combines fun with learning. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It begins dark and foreboding. But don't expect shooting rampages, bank heists or alien zapping. Your mission in this video game -- craftily manipulate district lines and score a skewed victory for your party. Get ready to gerrymander.
CHRIS SWAIN, COMPUTER GAME DESIGNER: We believe that redistricting is sort of a dark corner of our democracy and we thought if we let people play with it themselves, they could understand it better.
FINNSTROM: Chris Swain teaches students to make video games at the University of Southern California and helped develop this ReDistricting game. In the real capital, reform groups and a coalition of bipartisan lawmakers pushing for redistricting reform hope it will raise awareness.
REP. JOHN TANNER (D), TENNESSEE:
TANNER: It's an issue that doesn't command a lot of attention. I know that. But it is critically important to the workings of our government.
FINNSTROM: Representative John Tanner says the redistricting system, which, for the most part, gives the power to draw lines to state legislatures, is broken.
SWAIN: If you click...
FINNSTROM: When I tried to redraw the lines...
SWAIN: You made both of them dull.
FINNSTROM: That's not good.
(voice-over): I found I couldn't keep my party boss, Congress, the citizens' groups and the courts all happy. And once I ultimately did get a map that passed, it only left me with more questions.
(on camera): If you get your map passed at each of the levels, then you are winning the game?
SWAIN: You are winning the game. But you might -- some people say they won but they felt that they only won by being partisan. And they think that's not fair. And then they have this realization -- oh, that's how it really works.
FINNSTROM (voice-over): The redistricting game is on the edge of what the school sees as a new generation of socially conscious and educational video game.
SWAIN: We think this is the most powerful communications medium, but in a nascent form. And we -- so this school is trying to build the next generation of thinkers for that. FINNSTROM: Thinkers like Mike Stein, who just worked on a video game about the genocide in Darfur.
MIKE STEIN, STUDENT: As someone who wants to be a game designer, I'm not solving cancer. I was really happy to see something where I could do good work to help change peoples' perceptions.
FINNSTROM: The idea?
Get young hands on issues that for many would usually pass as just blips on the screen.
Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: The space shuttle astronauts ready to pack up and go. But they will have to wait for one more critical test, set to take place shortly. They're making sure the International Space Station's computers are good to go. The computers are back online after going down last week.
The Shuttle Atlantis has kept the station pointed in the right direction ever since that computer failure. If things go well, the shuttle astronauts will go ahead with plans to undock tomorrow and be home by Thursday.
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody.
I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.
Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Here's what's on the rundown for you.
Flash floods in Texas -- torrential downpours overrun trailer parks outside Fort Worth. One little girl loses her life. Dozens of people lose their homes.
COLLINS: A muscle car stunt careens out of control. Six spectators killed when a dragster slams into the crowd. This hour, police update us live on their investigation.
HARRIS: Missing in Miami -- a young honor graduate vanishes after a night on the town. This hour, we will talk with Steph Henry's mother.
It is Monday, June 18th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Unfolding this hour, tragedy in Texas. A dangerous storm bring torrential rains to the Dallas/Fort Worth area overnight. Two mobile home parks in Haltom City overrun. Some families forced to the roofs of their homes to escape the high water.
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