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Heat Wave Continues Across U.S.; Drilling to Reach Trapped Miners

Aired August 09, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everybody I'm Rob Marciano in today for Don Lemon at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

At the top of the hour we're talking about the heat, a big concern, but right now severe weather is really topping the news. Bobby -- Bonnie Schneider, rather, in the CNN Weather Center with a tornado warning right now -- Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. We are tracking tornadic activity just north of Pittsburgh. And we're getting reports on our Doppler radar that this storm may be affecting the downtown Pittsburgh area right now.

Let's take a closer look. You can see the tornado warning. This is Northern Allegheny County. And as we zoom into the region, you can see the heavy rain indicated by Doppler radar. And one of the factors that we've been watching is rotation, winds going different directions at different levels of the atmosphere.

Right now here are some of the regions that are going to be affected by this storm. The warning expires 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. It does include Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, and Westmoreland. And that's just north of Pittsburgh but pretty close. So Pittsburgh definitely be on the lookout for severe weather.

Here is where the rotation was detected on Doppler radar just to the north of the area. And as you see, the storm has been moving to the southeast. It's actually moving quite rapidly. We've had reports of it moving about 25 miles per hour. And you can see the people affected in the line of the storm in the immediate region is 217,000 so that's quite a large number. Allegheny County, of course, highly populated, just north of Pittsburgh, we're getting reports of severe weather. And a tornado warning does continue straight until about 3:30.

We're watching severe weather further off to the west into parts of Ohio and Kentucky. These are severe thunderstorm warnings that are in effect. We actually had a tornado warning for this part of Ohio earlier but that has expired.

So right now we're tracking the severe weather in Pennsylvania. And you have to remember this has a lot to do with the heat we've been talking about all day here on CNN. Temperatures are climbing. The heat index is soaring. And we do have some cooler air that's riding in along a stationary front. So the region is ripe for severe weather not just right now but straight through the afternoon.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right, Bonnie, thanks so much.

Well, there's still a lot of work to do but it could be a matter of hours before we learn the fate of those six miners trapped in a Utah coal mine. Two drills are boring down from the surface. And the smaller of the two is within a few hundred feet of the site of Monday's collapse. If it all goes as planned, rescuers will drop cameras and communication devices in the 2 1/2 inch hole to see whether those miners are alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB MURRAY, PRES. & CEO, MURRAY ENERGY: These bore holes hopefully will access them in six hours, and the larger bore hole tomorrow. And through those bore holes we will provide communications, ventilation, sustenance, anything they need to keep them alive indefinitely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the miners are thought to be about 3.5 miles from the mine's entrance. And if they are alive, an actual rescue is still days away.

MARCIANO: What is it actually like deep in those mines? Well, CNN's Gary Tuchman is the only network reporter to venture deep within the Crandall Canyon Coal Mine where rescue teams are digging, grinding, and drilling as fast as they can. Here is his firsthand look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We entered the Crandall Canyon Mine through the same tunnel the six trapped workers went through, a three-mile journey in a small truck that would take about a half hour in utter darkness.

MURRAY: Right there is where the rescue effort is going on.

TUCHMAN: This is as far as we could go. This is where the mine had collapsed. The six trapped miners are believed to be tantalizingly close. But with tons of coal separating them from us, this was an unusual opportunity to see how much work rescue workers still have.

(on camera): Frankly, it's very eerie standing here knowing that 2,000 feet behind me and maybe less are the six trapped miners. It's cold. It's dark. It's foreboding. A claustrophobic could never cut it here. There's a steady wind blowing. The ceilings are low. We're 30 minutes away from the nearest exit. In normal times, it's very stressful but right now there's a lot of tension. Nevertheless, the workers here, the rescue workers, the people who normally work in the mine, are calm because they have a job to do.

(voice-over): And take a look at what happens to our camera shot while we're in the mine. We hear a boom that shakes the mine and startled the workers and especially us. The owner says it's another seismic event, one more and we evacuate.

MURRAY: When the coal breaks away from the rib and just kind of lays there we call that sluffage (ph).

TUCHMAN: But there are no more. We see other damage to the mine walls caused by the initial collapse. But it's the feverish work to rescue six men dead or alive that stays in our minds.

MURRAY: This rubble could extend -- well, we know it goes 300 feet because we were up there. But it may go another 100 feet and stop. And we can just walk up to the men or they may be right there.

TUCHMAN: Wishful thinking perhaps but it's keeping these rescue workers going.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, earlier I had a chance to speak with Gary Tuchman about actually going into the mine and he told me about all the dangers involved.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: They said you're taking a risk by going in. We've had this seismic activity. We've had additional collapses but that's something we contend with in the business.

I will tell you, Kyra, as I said in the piece; it was the owner who contended this was seismic activity. We have talked to the U.S. Geological Survey and the Geological Survey said there have been 11 incidents of seismic activity, which they believe is caused by the collapse itself. They say they don't have a record of seismic activity when we were in there. They said it could have been so small that it doesn't register. But I will tell you whether it's official seismic activity or not that mine shook. We heard like a concussion and for a few seconds it was quite scary.

PHILLIPS: So what's your sense, Gary, now that you've been in there, you've actually seen the area where they believe the trapped miners may be not far from, what's your sense? I mean, do you think they're going to be able to get to that area in six hours, which is what Bob Murray is saying?

TUCHMAN: Well, they're going to be able to get that drill down six hours, and that will give them the indication, if the drill gets to the right place, if these men are alive or not. The drill will open up a small hole in the top of the mine and they'll be able to put a camera, a microphone down there, some water, food. And if they're exactly where they think they are, they'll be able to hear that they're alive. And then they can, according to Bob Murray, take their time getting to them. And it will take some time.

What we showed in that story, the drilling they're doing with these huge blades to get the coal and the debris and the rock away, that will take at least a week and maybe more.

But Bob Murray is telling us if they're alive and then can get water and food down there, they can survive indefinitely. And psychologically that's an important thing because they're trained, these men, to know if they're trapped, no one will ever stop looking for them. But you can imagine the mind games that are being played. It's so dark down there, Kyra and it's cold and it's windy. And I think no matter how much training you get, it's human nature to think maybe they've forgotten about us. They think we're dead. They'll never come. What a nightmare, Kyra.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We're going to hear more from Gary Tuchman and what it was like to be inside that mine on Anderson Cooper "360" 10:00 p.m. Eastern tonight.

MARCIANO: The market getting whacked here. Over 300 down is the Dow. Susan Lisovicz live at the New York Stock Exchange.

What is going on Susan?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have a pronounced sell-off and it's coming in the final hour of trading. It's been pretty rough day all along but it's getting worse now that we're in the final hour of trading.

And really it's something we've been talking about for a long time and the fear is how wide and how deep is this mortgage meltdown going to go. And the shock came early this morning coming from France. Its biggest bank, BNP Paribas saying it was going to freeze three of its funds with exposure to the U.S. sub-prime mortgage market. That really just underscored the concerns because it's outside of the U.S., it's a blue chip bank, very well-known, and the losses are not only contained within the U.S. We talk a lot of times a lot about this global marketplace, and that's what you're seeing, that we just don't know where it's going to end.

In fact, the European Central Bank pretty much did an unprecedented move, pumping all this liquidity, $130 billion in overnight funds to these money market funds to ease concerns about access to credit, a credit crunch. And this all really started with, you know, a few years ago we had fast, cheap money. A lot of people bought a lot of big things, namely homes. Some people shouldn't have. Some companies shouldn't have been loaning them. Customers are defaulting or making late payments. Other companies, smaller companies are going out of business and even big businesses are getting hurt. And that's what you're seeing, and that's really playing out in the marketplace today, Rob. These are big losses. It's coming after the best three-day gain for the Dow Industrials in three years -- no, in actually four years. So it's volatility. And this market turns on a dime very fast, electronic marketplaces worldwide, and you're seeing the damage. You're seeing more blood on the Street today.

Back to you.

MARCIANO: What's even more alarming, Susan, is that the biggest swings it seems in the past couple weeks have been in the last 30 or 40 minutes of trading, and we're just getting to that now. Any feel for if we're going to recover at all or if we're going to accelerate to selling?

LISOVICZ: Anybody's guess because, you know, we've seen -- you know, we had five back-to-back triple digit moves, Rob, and they were in both directions. And since Memorial Day we've had about two dozen triple digit moves in both directions. Part of that is the reflection of just the high levels that we're at. Look at it, 13,366. A 100-point move doesn't even as much as it used to, but 300 points is more than 2 percent. And you're seeing this kind -- you're seeing these kind of big moves on a daily basis. These kind of moves on a daily basis is telling you that there's a lot of concern out there.

But the bottom line is that the three major averages are still up solidly for the year. So keep that in mind.

MARCIANO: Fifty minutes left in trading. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. We'll be back with you in a little bit. Thanks so much.

LISOVICZ: I'll be holding your hand.

MARCIANO: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, the economy, the Mid East and the state of America's bridges all on the agenda today as President Bush held his first full news conference in almost a month. CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano is traveling with the president in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Elaine, what did he say?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra. Well, President Bush arrived for a -- first of all just a short time ago in Kennebunkport here. He's going to be attending a family wedding this weekend. He's also going to be meeting with the new president of France, Nicholas Sarkozy.

But before he left Washington, as you mentioned, the president continued a tradition really of having a pre-August break news conference. The president covering a number of topics, as you mentioned as well, including what to make of Iraq's prime minister, Nahri al-Maliki, meeting with Iran's president. President Bush today said that he is confident Prime Minister Maliki shares his view of Iran as a destabilizing force in the region. But the president also said if the prime minister does, in fact, have a different view, he plans to have some words with him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now if the signal is that Iran is constructive, I will have to have a heart-to- heart with my friend the prime minister because I don't believe they are constructive. I don't think he in his heart of heart thinks they're constructive either.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now the United States of course has accused Iran of supplying deadly explosives to fighters in Iraq, explosives that have killed American forces. This meeting between Prime Minister Maliki and Iran's president comes a few days after another U.S. ally, the president of Afghanistan, called Iran a -- quote, unquote -- "helper" in the region.

Now the bottom line is that those are statements and images frankly that make U.S. allies in the Gulf Region very nervous about Iran's growing influence there. They also raise questions about the United States throwing its support behind leaders that take such a different view and may appear to be taking a different view of Iran than President Bush takes -- Kyra.

PHILLLIPS: All right Elaine Quijano in Kennebunkport, Maine, thanks so much.

And maybe he had nowhere to go but up. Our latest CNN Opinion Research Corporation Poll suggests that President Bush's popularity is actually bouncing back a little bit. Thirty-six percent of those questioned earlier this week approve of the way the president is handling his job, 61 percent disapprove. That approval rating is four points higher than in June. The president's ratings have been in the low to mid 30's all year.

MARCIANO: Well, did a design flaw cause the Minneapolis bridge collapse? There's a possible clue to that tragedy and what it may mean for other bridges you drive over. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Three college students murdered, today, two suspects in custody. We're on the case straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

MARCIANO: And a family's hope turns to frustration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How frustrated is your family right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're -- on a scale from 1 to 10, it's a 20. It's pretty bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: The family of a missing miner speaking out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Sixty minutes after the hour. Here are three of the stories we are working on in the CNN NEWSROOM: the race against time at Utah's Crandall Canyon Coal Mine. Rescue teams are drilling two bore holes to the area where six miners may be trapped and hope to complete at least one of those holes today.

Another day of scorching temperatures in much of the country has volunteers going door-to-door to check on the elderly. It has power companies trying to cope with record demand.

And police in Newark, New Jersey, are holding two suspects in connection with Saturday's execution-style killing of three college students.

PHILLIPS: And just a short time ago, we got a chance to hear from Utah's governor, Jon Huntsman. He's been following the continual search -- or the rescue efforts rather to get those six miners out of that mine in his state. He held a bit of an impromptu news conference and had this to say to reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JON HUNTSMAN, UTAH: Everyone today is one and I say that. It doesn't matter what language you speak, what your point of origin is, today we are one. Today we're all Utahans. We're all miners. We're all members of the same family hoping and praying that there is a successful outcome. There is no...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) families in Mexico back to Mexico?

HUNTSMAN: We're obviously hopeful that their loved ones will be found alive. That's all that anyone is hoping and praying for at this point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And the body of a sixth victim has been recovered from the Minneapolis bridge collapse. It's the first body found in a week. At least seven people are still considered missing now. And meanwhile the National Transportation Safety Board says investigators have found a potential design flaw in the steel plates that tie the bridge's steel beams together. The feds are urging states to re- inspect bridges in light of that finding. They're also urging states to take note of the extra stress that can come from bridge improvement projects.

MARCIANO: Well, the hotter it gets, the more records are broken. And in one popular tourist destination, the heat index is off the charts. Take a look who's trying to stay cool in Charleston, South Carolina. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Reynolds Wolf coming to you from Waterfront Park in Charleston, South Carolina, where high temperatures today are expected to get into the mid to upper 90s. And when you pile on the heat index, it's going to feel like it's anywhere from 117, maybe even as high as 120. And this is how people are beating the heat. They're getting into fountains, having a great time. We've had a lot of kids out here, also some moms and dads have been battling the heat in this water.

Then as you make your way over here to the park, you've got some folks that are enjoying the shade. And what a day to get away from the sun and enjoy the shade and enjoy the breeze.

Meanwhile over here at the Italian ice little cart, people are enjoying this as well. What better way to battle the heat than with a little bit of Italian ice.

But it's not only the people that have had a difficult time with the heat here in Charleston, South Carolina. I mean you'll remember that tourism is a big industry here in this city. You got a lot of people that go visit the Citadel. They visit Ft. Sumter. And there are many people that like carriage rides around the city. Well, those carriages, of course, are pulled by horses, and they do have a tough time pulling all that weight, moving up those hot streets, the cobblestone surfaces, the asphalt and the payment. It's very difficult for them. They do whatever they can to make sure the horses stay hydrated, they stay in good shape, and more importantly that they stay safe. And if those temperatures get above 98 degrees, they stop it all. They bring the horses off. They get them some more cool water. They give them cool conditions to stay in until that heat passes.

And speaking of the heat, it is expected to last throughout the rest of this week. However, as we get into the weekend, we're expecting a frontal boundary to come through, a chance of scattered showers, and thankfully much cooler temperatures.

In Charleston, Reynolds Wolf, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: Well, we certainly hope you're staying cool in this heat wave. Did you hear that story about the 9-year-old who saved his trucker dad? Well, we're going to talk to them. Stay tuned for that. That's ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LISOVICZ: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange where we are in the final hour of another volatile day of trading. The Dow dropped 300 points this hour. It's coming back just slightly. More details on today's big sell-off next.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Well, this just in and it's according to the "Associated Press." We were able to confirm that a sixth body has been recovered from the site of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Now the "AP" reporting a seventh body has been discovered there in the Mississippi where the bridge collapsed in Minneapolis.

As you know, the Coast Guard and the Navy have all been out there with their assets searching for bodies, trying to recover the belongings of those lives lost when the bridge collapsed a week ago, now getting the report that two bodies today have been recovered from the water. Hopefully, that'll be able to put a bit of closure for the families that have been agonizing over trying to discover where their loved ones have been. Two more bodies recovered, still six unaccounted for.

MARCIANO: I want to get another check on the markets. It's been a down day big time for the Dow at one point down 300 but a bit of a recovery.

Hi, Susan.

LISOVICZ: Hi, Rob. Well, you know, a bit of a recovery. The Dow is still down 2 percent, at its low down 317 points. And we are in the final hour of trading when the market, as we have witnessed all too frequently, is capable of whipsaw moves.

We have any number of factors that can be blamed for the sell-off we're seeing today. Just one day after the best three-day point gain for the Dow in more than four years. The biggest bank in France freezing three of its funds with exposure to U.S. sub-prime mortgages. And what that really did was send a shudder down Wall Street because the big concern for months has been how big, how deep is this problem. Is it just some predatory lenders who are going out of business? Is it just some individuals who really shouldn't have been taking out these risky loans? What we're seeing is that even big blue chip institutions are getting hit by this and that's why the market is selling off. We have a lot of examples of that but BNP Paribas freezing three of its assets was really the big player.

We saw Europe sell off very sharply. And you see it happening on Wall Street. And we still have 35 minutes of trading left to go. We'll see if the bulls can make a stand, but it's been a pretty decisive sell-off all day, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right, Susan Lisovicz. Thank you, Susan. We'll check back with you obviously before the markets close.

PHILLIPS: Well, a family's hope turns to frustration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How frustrated is your family right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're -- on a scale from 1 to 10, it's a 20. It's pretty bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The family of a missing miner speaking out. We'll bring it to you next.

MARCIANO: And the Feds want to take over screening of airline passenger lists. Coming up, the latest proposal to improve the plan to keep terrorists off our planes.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Veronica De La Cruz at the dot-come desk. If you are headed outdoors today, grab your camera and send us some pictures and show us just how you are beating the heat. We're going to share some of your i-Reports next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: I'm Kyra Phillips live in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

We are following, of course, the latest information coming out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Coast Guard and Navy teams are continuing to work through the Mississippi River. We have just -- we confirmed actually one body that was pulled out of the Mississippi within the past hour and a half.

Now the "AP" coming forward and saying a second body has been recovered today. That makes a total of seven bodies recovered in the water there in the Mississippi River where the bridge collapsed nearly a week ago. Those efforts still going forward as a number of bodies are still unaccounted for. Hopefully, this will bring some sort of peace of mind to those that have been waiting to hear if indeed it's their loved one that has been recovered.

MARCIANO: And we could know the fate of those missing miners in Utah in a matter of hours. The smaller of two drills being used to bore into the Crandall Canyon Coal Mine has reached a department of 1,500 feet. The miners are believed to be more than 1,800 feet down. And if the drill bit actually hits a cavity and the men are there, rescuers hope to determine whether or not they're alive. And if so, the hole can then deliver food, water, and air.

At a news briefing earlier this hour, the mine's co-owner said the drill could reach the miners in about six hours but it'll take much longer to make an actual rescue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB MURRAY, PRES. & CEO, MURRAY ENERGY: These bore holes hopefully will access them in six hours, and the larger bore hole tomorrow. And through those bore holes we will provide communications, ventilation, sustenance, anything they need to keep them alive indefinitely.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: We have reporters on the scene and we'll bring you any new developments as they happen.

PHILLIPS: Police in Newark, New Jersey are holding two people charged for the execution style killings of three college students over the weekend. Twenty-eight year-old Jose Carranza surrendered to police minutes after learning that he was wanted for murder. A 15- year-old boy was arrested late last night. Police say both suspects were identified by ballistic evidence at the scene including a fingerprint removed from a beer bottle. Officials say that more arrests may be forthcoming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA DOW, ESSEX COUNTY PROSECUTOR: We believe that others were involved in this heinous crime. We're looking for them. We ask the support and continuing cooperation of all the community out there.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The victims who were bound for Delaware State University this fall were forced against a wall and shot execution- style in a schoolyard. Authorities have said robbery appears to be the motive.

Two gunmen are on the loose after a shooting at a Vancouver restaurant. Eight people were hit when attackers sprayed a Chinese eatery in the predawn hours. Two people died in what police believe was a targeted assault. We're going to get a live update at the bottom of the hour.

MARCIANO: A rare tornado swept through Brooklyn, that brought out everybody who had a camera, a cell phone with a camera. Veronica de la Cruz here to talk about the i-Reports. You must have some good ones.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ: Well how bizarre is that first of all? A tornado in Brooklyn.

MARCIANO: It's pretty rare. It's happened before but it's been over 100 years.

DE LA CRUZ: A once in a lifetime experience. While there are so many i-Reports I wish we did have time to show them all. But we picked out some really great ones in the meantime. We want to show you this one from Patrick Urban. He sent us this image of downed trees and branches around one of Brooklyn's stately old homes. Now, take a look at this picture. You can really feel the sheer force that snapped these large branches right off this tree, Rob.

MARCIANO: And those are decades-old hardwood trees. It takes a lot to bring them down.

DE LA CRUZ: Absolutely. The photo was taken in an area around prospect park south. Now Habib Elghandour took these photos of his block at 71st and Ridge Boulevard. He describes the storm as shocking in its intensity. Look at this. Now he says he's a lucky guy. There was no damage to any of his property. But still the whole area has a lot of clean-up and repair to do. Just look at this buckled sidewalk yanked right up by the roots of a fallen tree. And we're also getting a lot of i-Reports about the heat wave on top of this. Do you think it's hot where you are in Atlanta, Rob?

MARCIANO: Yeah, it's hot, but it ain't that hot. Look at that.

DE LA CRUZ: It's not that hot. In Iraq troops in full gear coping with ultra high temperatures. This thermometer topping out at 120 degrees.

MARCIANO: I think it's off the charts, maybe higher than 120.

DE LA CRUZ: Absolutely, yeah. Take a look at this one. Hope Brooks of Greer, South Carolina sent us this photo of her puppy keeping cool. Too cute.

MARCIANO: Taking a little bath.

DE LA CRUZ: She says that he kept trying to lie in his water dish. She pulled out a roasting pan so he would have something a little bit bigger to lie in.

MARCIANO: I don't know about that, putting him in the roasting pan, I don't know what kind of single that sends.

DE LA CRUZ: Well Rob get this, maybe Hope should step up and get her dog his own pool like this one. This pooch here in Phoenix.

MARCIANO: No doubt, look at that.

DE LA CRUZ: Nick Pitarys took this photo when it was a cool 95 degrees. He says that anything under 104 is considered pleasant in his area, which I have to agree with you, Nick, because I have lived in Arizona. 95 is sure not bad. This is down in Rockwell, Florida, this is how the farm kids there beat the heat. The rope swing was built by a 70-year-old man named Bob who owns the property. The drop, right into that river is -- what do you think?

MARCIANO: it looks like a solid 20 feet.

DE LA CRUZ: That's 45 feet.

MARCIANO: Oh, come on.

DE LA CRUZ: Yeah, 45 feet.

MARCIANO: Well he's going to cool off for sure once he hits the water.

DE LA CRUZ: Don't forget if you have a photo or some video that you would like to share with us, you can always log on to cnn.com. Just click on that i-Report logo. So when is it all going to end, the heat wave?

MARCIANO: What, the heat or the -- that tornado footage looked like not only there was a tornado but an earthquake that rocked through Brooklyn. That was crazy stuff. To have even a tornado was rare, but that was a pretty strong one to roll through Brooklyn.

DE LA CRUZ: But the important thing is, our i-Reporters on the scene.

MARCIANO: Absolutely and we appreciate them, when the weather becomes the news, I'm going to turn to CNN and cnn.com for the latest information there. Thanks, Veronica.

DE LA CRUZ: Of course.

PHILLIPS: Big sky filled with smoke, hundreds of firefighters are battling about a dozen major wildfires across Montana. This one (INAUDIBLE) is burning less than two miles from the resort town of Seeley Lake. Around 1500 families live there. About half of them have evacuated. With calmer winds fire crews are hoping to gain some ground today but say it could be next month before this fire is out.

MARCIANO: Ok, well, we've been teasing you about this story about the 9-year-old boy who saved his trucker dad, but I promise it's happened. There they are. That looks like our Portland affiliate as a matter of fact. A hero, we're going to talk to him live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: What do you think of those matching crew cuts? Is that just classic?

MARCIANO: Looking good boys.

PHILLIPS: That's right, little Matty, get your fingers out of your mouth young man.

All right, what makes someone a hero? All this year CNN is answering that question by introducing you to some incredible people who are making a difference in the communities where they live and in case of today's CNN hero around the world, we want you to meet a man from Rwanda who is fighting to protect the global population of the severely threatened mountain gorilla. Today's CNN hero, Eugene Rutagarama.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

When you approach a group of gorillas, the first feeling that you are approaching is (INAUDIBLE) the human being. In this region we have been able to bring conservationists from the free government together to sign an agreement to protect this mountain of gorillas. Having rangers to cover the park with their patrols means that we keep the poaching at the very lowest level, but the poaching is still there. My name is Eugene Rutagarama, my work is to protect mountain gorillas in their habitat. When I came back from Burundi, Rwanda was devastated by the genocide. You would see the bodies of dead people, thousands of people. The whole country had to resume from scratch. My attention went to the national park. If these parks were not protected, it means that we'd have lost the mountain gorillas, which is the hobby for many tourists, who bring foreign currency to this country which helps to conserve this park. Gorillas can't really do much if a human being has decided to decimate or to kill the gorillas. They needed to be defended. They need to be protected by human beings.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: A rare and historic gun found after being stolen. Fredricka Whitfield on the breaking news desk. How old is this puppy?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well it's a bizarre story because we're talking about something that was stolen in the 1940's during the German occupation of Paris. This rifle right here, which is called a carbine, was stolen from the French museum of the army, been missing all these years. The museum had been trying to locate it. around the world, and then somehow this gun, which was made for Napoleon's (INAUDIBLE) nephew, Napoleon III, ended up in the hands of a gun collector in San Antonio. Now, the buyer says he didn't know it was stolen at the time of the purchase, but then after discovering that it was a stolen gun, tried to sell it on the internet. And so that raised the eyebrows of the FBI which then said wait a minute, you have stolen property here and now they're looking into whether to charge that gun collector of violating any international laws by trying to pass off what was stolen property as opposed to trying to return it to the rightful owner of the French museum of the army in Paris. Rob?

MARCIANO: Now everybody knows you have to do illegal gun sales in the back of some parking lot somewhere, you can't be posting them on the internet like that.

WHITFIELD: That's definitely one way of getting caught, isn't it?

MARCIANO: Fascinating nonetheless, thanks Fredricka.

PHILLIPS: All right, so we want you to sit down and take a listen to this story. Here's what happened. A trucker passes out while driving his basically huge semi with a big load of lumber. The only other person in the cab is his 9-year-old son. It's a story that could have had a tragic ending, but thanks to the heroic actions of Matty Lovo, Jr., both he and his dad are able to talk about it and they join us live from Portland, Oregon. Great to see you both. Dad, let's start with you, tell us what you remember.

MATT LOVO, TRUCKER SAVED BY SON: The last thing I remember was talking to my wife. I said good-bye, hung up the phone, and the next thing I was sitting on the sidewalk with paramedics and officers around me.

PHILLIPS: Ok, so you hang up the phone with your wife, you're driving your truck with all the lumber behind. Matty, you're sitting right next to your dad. He passes out. Tell me what you did.

MATTHEW LOVO, JR., SAVED FATHER: Well, I jumped over on his seat, and then I thought he was faking it. I was telling him stuff and I thought he was faking it, and he wasn't. But -- so I said help out the window. We hit a telephone pole, and then I said help on the radio, and I turned off the key, I moved to the sidewalk and then a guy jumped in and put the brake on.

PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. Let me get this -- oh go ahead, dad.

MATT LOVO: He forgot the part that right as we were coming into the telephone pole, that's when he turned the wheel of the truck, which isn't easy to do, and at that time we were heading on the wrong side of the road, the whole truck was, and he got everything back on the correct side of the road, and then received instructions to shut the key off and got the truck slowed down enough to where another gentleman was able to jump up on the truck and get the truck stopped.

PHILLILPS: Oh, my gosh. Matty, have you ever driven a car or a truck before? Has dad ever let you take the steering wheel ever?

MATT LOVO, JR: No.

PHILLIPS: So how did you know what to do? You saw that you were going into a telephone pole, dad was passed out. How did you know how to steer?

MATT LOVO, JR: I just pay attention to what he does.

PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. Now, you actually got on the radio, right, Matty? And what did you say on the radio and who told you what to do?

MATT LOVO JR: Well, another truck driver was talking to my dad, but he was actually passed out, and so he said turn the key off. So I turned the key off and then I said help on the radio, and then that's when the guy jumped in.

PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. And then Matty, did you realize what had happened to your dad or did you just immediately know -- I mean, how did you know to do what you did? Was it just instinct?

MATT LOVO JR: Yeah.

PHILLIPS: Wow. And, dad, had you ever taught your son in case of an emergency what to do? Were you amazed at what he did? Does this surprise you?

MATT LOVO: Well, it can't surprise me as far as -- he's very smart. He works on the truck with me, so, you know, he knows about starting it and shutting it off. You know, he just watches everything I do really well, so I can't say it surprises me, but it's truly amazing, and everybody owes a lot to him, and I couldn't be prouder of him.

PHILLIPS: So, Matty, do you consider yourself a hero?

MATT LOVO, JR: Yeah.

PHILLIPS: Yeah? And so now that you're a hero, what's next? What are you going to do?

MATT LOVO JR: I don't know. MATT LOVO: He keeps telling me he thinks he needs his PlayStation 3 now for a reward.

PHILLIPS: Well you know what, I think he does need that PlayStation 3. Now Matty, once the paramedics were able to come and take care of your dad and everything was ok, how did you celebrate?

MATT LOVO, JR.: I don't know.

PHILLIPS: I thought you had pizza?

MATT LOVO JR: Huh?

PHILLIPS: You had a big pizza dinner, that's what I thought.

MATT LOVO JR: Oh, yeah.

PHILLIPS: And what did your mom say to you when you told your mom what happened? What did she do?

MATT LOVO JR: Well, she was crying, and she was really sad.

PHILLIPS: What about your grandma?

MATT LOVO JR: She was sad, but she was scared. Oh, she said thank you for saving my son.

PHILLIPS: Oh. So, Matty, do you -- have you said to your dad anything since this happened? I mean, do you look at him differently? Do you feel differently? Do you worry maybe a little bit more? Do you think you have to protect him?

MATT LOVO JR: Yeah.

MATT LOVO: I feel good with that protection.

PHILLIPS: I can just imagine. He's your guardian angel.

MATT LOVO: Without a doubt.

PHILLIPS: So Dad, how does that take your relationship to the next level? Do you look at your son differently now? I mean he's not just a little 9-year-old boy. He acted like quite a man.

MATT LOVO: Well I can't imagine our relationship needing to go to another level. We do everything together, you know. As you mentioned our haircuts, we play video games together. We do recreation together, and he goes to work with me. I mean, we're about as close as a father and son could be and that showed with his quick response.

PHILLIPS: It sure does, and it shows that you were number one and he had to do something, and I know you're going through testing now to find out why you had a seizure, and we'd like to follow up. I know you're not driving until you do figure out what's going on, but we sure wish you the best, Matt, and hope that you'll keep us updated on your condition. Will you do that?

MATT LOVO: We certainly will. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Ok. And Matty, you let us know if you don't get that PlayStation 3, ok?

MATT LOVO, JR: Ok.

PHILLIPS: Ok. And will you take care of your dad?

MATT LOVO JR: Yeah.

PHILLIPS: Do you promise?

MATT LOVO JR: Yeah.

PHILLIPS: Ok, Matty and Matt Lovo, thanks for your time. What a wonderful story.

MATT LOVO: Thank you.

MARCIANO: I have a PlayStation 3, I can't figure that thing out. I might have to have him over.

PHILLIPS: Why don't you give it to Matty? Just give it to him.

MARCIANO: That's not a bad idea. I can't figure the stupid thing out. Either that or I'll fly him out to set mine up for me.

PHILLIPS: There you go.

MARCIANO: The first day of school in a new town torn apart by a twister. The view from Enterprise. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER: Temperatures in some southern cities have already warmed up to 104 degrees. I'll show you where, coming up. Plus, we're also tracking storm damage north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Severe weather ripped through this region. I'll show you exactly where the damage is and what we can expect for the rest of the afternoon. That's coming up.

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MARCIANO: The Associated Press reports a second body has been recovered today at the site of last week's bridge collapse in Minneapolis. That body, plus another body recovered earlier today, brings the confirmed death toll to seven. The victims recovered today were not immediately identified. Six other people are still missing and presumed dead.

PHILLIPS: She was a thorn in the side of President Bush. Now she will do the same thing to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In San Francisco today anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan announced that she'll run for congress as an independent against Pelosi. Sheehan used to camp outside Mr. Bush's Texas ranch to protest the Iraq war. She turned on Pelosi when the speaker rebuffed her demands to impeach the president.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: Celebrating the future. This is a weather-related story as well. A rally in Enterprise, Alabama, helps ring in the new school year, five months after a tornado ripped through the town, killing 10 people, including eight students. The high school football stadium has been repaired and is ready for the new season. The school though was destroyed and the nearby elementary school heavily damaged by that twister. What's left of those buildings is scheduled to be torn down shortly. The students will go elsewhere for class until new schools are built.

PHILLIPS: We told you earlier this week that Publix the supermarket chain, is offering a number of prescription antibiotics for free. It turns out there's a catch. Publix is asking a flat $4 charge for dozens of other medications. Customers noticed when they went to fill their prescriptions this week and were charged a lot more. Publix spokesman said that the $4 program was never actually formalized.

MARCIANO: All right, a priest arrested for indecent exposure. Apparently he was jogging. I'm not sure we have the video. I'm not sure you want to see it. Either way we're going to tell you about the story, don't go away.

PHILLIPS: And the closing bell and a wrap of action on Wall Street, coming up straight ahead. Right now Dow Industrials down about 324 points.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Space shuttle "Endeavour" back in orbit after almost five years. "Endeavour" roared off the pad last evening, on its first mission since 2002. Today the crew is performing the now routine procedure of checking for possible damage that may have happened during liftoff. Docking with the international space station is scheduled for tomorrow, and teacher turned astronaut Barbara Morgan is set to speak to a group of students from space during a mission expected to last up to two full weeks.

PHILLIPS: A guy running naked at the high school track had a ready excuse. He reportedly told police in Colorado he perspires too much to wear clothing. Wonder what he told his superiors. The reverend, Robert Whipkey, a Catholic priest, faces misdemeanor charges of indecent exposure. This run in happened in the predawn darkness of June 22nd. The archdiocese of Denver says --

MARCIANO: It's got to be awfully hot with the collar and the heat.

PHILLIPS: I'm sorry. There's so many places we could go with that. We just won't.

MARCIANO: We like our jobs and the pay is not bad.

PHILLIPS: We don't want to lose them. Closing bell is about to ring after a pretty painful day on Wall Street.

MARCIANO: Susan Lisovicz, how are you doing down there.

SUSAN LISOVICZ: Well we need some divine intervention. That's what I'm saying. I'm just glad the reverend was dressed for the mug shot.

MARCIANO: That's a good point.

PHILLIPS: No full bodies on that one.

LISOVICZ: You know we're looking at right now the second worst point loss of the year for the Dow and you know all these concerns we've been talking about that began with these risky mortgages, well it's a wider, deeper problem than had been feared. And the evidence, the stunning evidence, coming from France. The biggest bank in France, B&P Paribas saying that it was going to freeze three of its funds. Basically investors wanted to bail out big time because of their exposure to subprime loans and there are no buyers. There are lots of sellers or people trying to cash out, and that's a problem we've been seeing. A lot of concerns, playing out on Wall Street and the Dow will close with its second worst point loss of the year. Hopefully things will get better and the bulls will come back out to play tomorrow. Kyra and Rob, back to you.

MARCIANO: All right Susan, thank you for that news and we'll let you know what happens with the priest. Appreciate it.

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