Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Security Breach at Charlotte Airport; Newark Killings Developments; Microphone Reaches Area Where Miners are Trapped

Aired August 10, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning again, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed. I'm Tony Harris.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Heidi Collins is on assignment. Developments keep coming in to the CNN NEWSROOM this Friday, August 10th and here's what's on the rundown.

Moments ago a not guilty plea. One suspect in the Newark execution-style triple killings in court this morning.

HARRIS: Searchers snake a microphone into a mine pit in Utah. No sound from the six men trapped in the collapse.

WHITFIELD: Investors can't shake the credit crunch blues. Stocks stumble again. Global sell-off in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And at the top of this hour, let's see if we can make more sense of what's going on in Charlotte, North Carolina this morning. A security breach that began at about 7:55 a.m. Eastern Time this morning has caused all kinds of problems at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. A man circumvented security at a concourse. Kathleen Koch is following the story for us from our D.C. Bureau. Kathleen, good morning to you.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. I got off a phone with Sterling Payne, a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration and she said that as of 10:30 they had completely finished their search of the Charlotte airport and they were not able to find this individual. What they're doing is studying the security tapes, the cameras, to see how this person apparently circumvented security, where they may have gone.

They searched roughly seven flights on the ground bullet there were 15 that took off before they were able to search them that this person may have boarded. 13 U.S. Airways flights and I'll take off where they were going to La Guardia Baltimore, Washington International Airport, Bradley Airport in Connecticut, Dallas Fort Worth, Jacksonville, Memphis, Indianapolis, Orlando, Los Angeles, Boston, San Diego and Philadelphia. There's one American Airlines flights to St. Louis and then one United Airlines flight to Reagan National.

What will happen is when these flights land those people will go through screening again. Which is obviously something you normally don't do when you land just to be sure. They still don't know who exactly this individual was. Don't have a very good description of him. They're going to keep looking. Obviously, Tony, out of an abundance of caution.

HARRIS: A couple questions come to mind here. The folks with the TSA have any idea how this could have happened? And this whole idea of checking it sounds like it would be a lengthy process, perhaps matching ticketed passengers to their I.D.

KOCH: Well first of all, Tony again, they don't know how this happened and that's why they're going to look at the tape. One of the TSA screeners noticed this.

As to screening these people when they land, I believe it will be more than an identity match. I think they may actually put these people when they say screening generally going through the magnetometers, screening their luggage again. Instead of being free to go on to their destination or connecting flight you'll have unhappy passengers having to go back through the security line.

HARRIS: Long delays.

KOCH: Yes.

HARRIS: Kathleen Koch, for us following the story out of Charlotte, Kathleen, thank you.

News just in to CNN. A short time ago a news conference held on immigration and the Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff, you see the press conference still going on right now, along with Commerce Secretary Gutierrez holding this news conference to announce to everyone that the comprehensive immigration reform that the administration has been looking for is still very much a domestic agenda item for this president. The secretary's announcing plans for stepping up enforcement of immigration laws by raising fines and speeding up deployment of border agents. 370 additional miles of fencing. 300 miles of vehicle barriers. And 105 camera and radar towers. The administration is saying it will also work to ensure that 1700, putting a number on it now, more border patrol agents and an additional UAVs will be added in 2009. So this is a news conference that is going on right now. We'll listen, monitor and bring you more details as we get them here in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: In the meantime, new developments in the Newark execution-style killings. Less than an hour ago, word that suspect Jose Carranza has entered a not guilty plea.

Senior correspondent, Allan Chernoff, joins us live from Newark. What more was said, if anything, from Carranza in court?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Not a tremendous amount, Fredricka. He actually spoke very, very softly in Spanish. So it was all through an interpreter. He did appear in an orange jump suit, handcuffed and when read the charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery and weapons possessions he did plead not guilty. Mr. Carranza is being held on $1 million bail. His attorney also did concede to the judge that Mr. Carranza is an illegal immigrant here from Peru. By the way, he is also charged in separate crimes with assault and also with child sexual abuse. The prosecutor tells me that he is charged with abusing the children of a girlfriend. He is supposed to appear in court on Monday for those separate charges.

Now in addition to Mr. Carranza who is 28 years old, a 15-year- old juvenile also has been charged in this triple homicide. And the prosecutor told me that he actually did have a closed-court appearance yesterday. The police say they are continuing this investigation and in fact, they are seeking out three additional suspects.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so Allan, any explanation to why they're narrowing it down to three more suspects? Does that mean in some way the 15-year-old or even Mr. Carranza are talking?

CHERNOFF: Well, apparently from talking to neighbors and friends of Mr. Carranza as the police were doing their investigation, that led them to the 15-year-old and other evidence, apparently is leading them to the other three individuals. Of course, this investigation is continuing. But the police director told me yesterday he believes that they are very close to understanding everything behind this crime, to basically wrapping up the initial portion of their investigation.

Once they have all the suspects, though, the investigation will be ongoing as they try to produce further evidence for the prosecution.

WHITFIELD: And so police -- are police indicating they believe in anyway this might be some ring-related or gang-related set of circumstances as to why they're casting such a net of what could be up to five suspects?

CHERNOFF: A very good question. And one that, frankly, everyone here in Newark has been asking. The police have continued to insist that so far, they see no gang connection. They believe that this was a robbery, perhaps a robbery that went terribly wrong.

But it is reported in one of the newspapers today that as the police were questioning the 15-year-old, they did learn that he apparently has been a little bit involved with one gang. So there certainly remains the possibility that there was some gang relationship to all of this. Newark tragically does have a horrible history of many gangs involved here. Many gangs involved in the very high murder rate. That this city does suffer. So far this year, 60 murders. That's a pretty high number for a city of 240,000 people.

WHITFIELD: So devastating. Allan Chernoff, thank you so much.

Let's take a look at the numbers here. Down 120 but you know what, just within the past 30 minutes that's more uplifting. We were seeing 189, around that number.

HARRIS: That's an improvement. WHITFIELD: This after yesterday's rumbling of a plummet. The second worst for the Dow this year alone. Some calling it kind of the credit crunch.

HARRIS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Others kind of blaming the whole housing market and sub prime loans and banks. Mal-defaulting on many of these loans. We'll get more from Susan Lisovicz who's keeping a close watch on the numbers from Wall Street.

HARRIS: Deep inside the Utah mine, the silence is deafening, drill crews reached their target but so far a microphone captures no sounds of life.

CNN's John Zarrella on the scene near Huntington. John, good to see you.

Is that microphone still down in the hole? Is there still monitoring going on?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the microphone is still down there. And what they decided to do is they actually left the bore hole with the drill completely in there. They wanted to make sure, if they pulled it out that the hole might cover up again. So they left everything down in there. The microphone is still down there and still on.

In the meantime, while they did not hear anything doesn't necessarily mean bad news. The miners might not have been in this particular cavity. They might not know the microphone is there and they might be too far away to pick sounds up from them. The other thing is they're also drilling the 8 5/8 inch hole into the cavity and they will drop a camera down in there. They should have that done around midnight tonight optimistically. That camera will look 360 degrees all directions and give them a much better idea if they can spot any signs of life down there.

I want to give the viewers a quick look of what they are dealing with. Take a look behind me here. You can see those mountains in the distance, right there behind me, in there are the mines. That's where the mine is. That's what they had to drill down through to get those two drills, to get the two holes drilled into that cavity. It's an immense, difficult job.

While that's going on, parallel to all this activity, they're actually in that horizontal shaft that collapsed and trapped the miners. Other rescue search teams are in there pulling out the debris from all the coal that collapsed, blocking that shaft.

You have all of these things going on at the same time. That last effort to physically get people in there to that cavity to pull out the miners if they are alive, that's only going to take four to five days. Say only. That's a terribly long time to be trapped underground after you've been in there for three or four days but that's better news than the original estimate of another seven days they first thought. So Tony, a little bit of optimism, certainly not the kind they would have hoped for if they would have heard some sounds early this morning. But they still believe there's a chance.

HARRIS: John, the rescuers, folks who are doing the drilling, are they flying blind a little bit? We understand they reached the cavity but without the camera down there and I understand that's going to take a while, do they have any idea of the dimensions in this cavity that they're hoping to find these men?

ZARRELLA: No, not really. Because part of the problem is, we had the aftershocks and then there were aftershocks a couple of days later. They're not even sure if other portions of the mine have collapsed and partitioned off sections of this cavity. So they may not be in the right portion of the cavity where the miners are trapped, which would be the worst-case scenario. No Tony, to answer your question, they're not sure of the dimensions of this cavity.

HARRIS: John Zarrella for us. John, I appreciate it. Thank you.

And just another reminder for you, the mine's operator, Bob Murray, due to hold a news conference. We will carry it for you live, noon Eastern. That's 9:00 Pacific, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well the mining company is not releasing the miners' names but families and friends have confirmed some of the identities. They are Brandon Phillips, reportedly a new employee. And the three men you see here. Veteran miner Manuel Sanchez, Kerry Allred and Carlos Payan. According to local reports, the other two men are Don Erickson and Luis Hernandez.

WHITFIELD: Holding on to each other and holding out hope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing that would be worse than being trapped in a mine right now so far as I'm concerned would be to be waiting as a family member.

WHITFIELD: It's an agonizing wait for the families of the six missing miners.

HARRIS: Also a community in mourning. Two suspects in custody. Authorities searching for more. We'll talk to a prosecutor in the Newark execution-style killings.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Betty Nguyen live in Sierra Leone where the people here will be voting in tomorrow's presidential election. Many have lost their arms in this country's bloody civil war and they will be voting with their toes. We'll show you how, coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And tell-tale teeth, can heart break make your gums bleed? Elizabeth Cohen makes the connection in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Good morning again, everyone. Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

Monster truck, monster problems, a driving demonstration goes wildly off course. The story in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A country scarred by war, its people raped, maimed and killed. Now Sierra Leone voters casting battles for a better life. Betty Nguyen reports from the West African nation.

NGUYEN: Sierra Leone is a picturesque place where West Africa meets the Atlantic Ocean. It's home to more than five million people, many of whom are still trying to dig themselves out of poverty. Here in the nation's capital, children spend their days searching through piles of trash just as the pigs do. Those lucky enough to find scrap metal will only earn a penny per pound. Ranked the second poorest country in the world by the United Nations, the scars from a decade of civil war are still visible. Jakar (ph) had his arms hacked off by rebels in 1999.

JAKAR (ph): Said to him, said to them, don't get my house, I'm your brother. They said, no, I'm not your brother.

NGUYEN: Amputees are a reminder that about a million people were murdered, maimed or raped in a political game of power and intimidation.

Much of the world knows of these atrocities from the Oscar- winning movie "Blood Diamond." What you don't see in the movie is how the amputees refused to let the rebels rob them of their political voice once the war ended in 2002. With no hands to vote, Jakar (ph) shows us how he used his toes to cast his ballot.

With a new set of arms and a new presidential election on Saturday, he can't wait to vote the old-fashioned way.

In fact, the enthusiasm surrounding the election has spread like fever, creating an excitement that borders on euphoria.

Unlike the election in 2002, which came on the heels of a bloody civil war, the fear that once ruled the streets of Freetown has now been replaced by people, political parties, more reminiscent of a carnival. Call it what you want, it is true that democracy is slowing taking root.

Opposition party supporters stopped traffic and brought businesses to a virtual standstill as thousands filled the streets, chanting and sing. While they look to the future, Stephen Rapp is focused on the past. He's the Prosecutor for a U.N. War Crimes Tribunal. It's his job to go after those who bear the greatest responsibility for the war and the horrors they inflicted. And former Liberian leader Charles Taylor is the top prize. He's currently on trial at the Hague.

STEPHEN RAPP, SPECIAL COURT FOR SIERRA LEONE: But justice is a key part of all of this. If you don't have the rule of law, if you have a situation where people can come in and kidnap your daughter and make her a sex slave, chop off your son's arms, rape your wife, destroy everything you've built, you can't develop a future. And that's what happened in this country. And until you have a rule of law which we're I think helping establish with these judgments, this country can't go forward. And that's why I think this process is so important.

NGUYEN: And justice is certainly what the people of Sierra Leone deserve after suffering for so long. But for now, they'll have to find peace of mind, knowing that political change is on the horizon and the choice is theirs to make.

HARRIS: And Betty Nguyen own joins us from Freetown, Sierra Leone. Betty, great to see you. The power of the vote, fascinating, the idea of people voting with their toes. Tell us more about that process.

NGUYEN: Tony, it is truly remarkable to see people so passionate about voting in this election that they'd go to those means. There is another option this time around. They are letting people who are double amputees bring along a family member or friend who can actually make that mark for them. I will tell you, that Sierra Leone is one of the only countries in the world that election workers have been given a guidebook that says if the index finger is not there, you move on to the next finger and if the right hand is gone, you move on to the left hand. Truly remarkable.

HARRIS: I'm wondering how voter turnout might be impacted by that monsoon behind you.

NGUYEN: This rain has been going all day long. Hopefully it won't affect voter turnout tomorrow. Let me tell you this, 2.6 million people are registered to vote in this election. That's about 90 percent of the eligible population. That is amazing. They are out in the streets, they are wanting to vote and passionate about voting and they want political change and they're going to do it rain or shine.

HARRIS: Give folks a chance, a choice of freedom and they say yes. Betty Nguyen.

NGUYEN: They take it.

NGUYEN: From Freetown, Sierra Leone. Great to see you. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Also new this morning, a scare at Charlotte's airport. A man dodges security and may have made it on to a plane. We follow this developing story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Stressed? Your teeth may lose their luster in today's "DAILY DOSE," a new study linking emotional health to dental health. Earlier this morning I asked medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen all about it. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Dentists said they started noticing that their patients when going through a divorce or when they were depressed their teeth suffered or more specifically their gums. They said what's going on here? They studied and they did find in several studies that, yes, when people are depressed, stressed out or lonely that they have more periodontal disease meaning their gums get more inflamed or infected.

WHITFIELD: Why?

COHEN: There are probably other things you do when you're stressed out or depressed that you don't think about. Some people when they're stressed take up smoking. Terrible for your gums. Sometimes when you're feeling depressed you don't take care of yourself. Some of it has to do with stress hormones. There's a stress hormone called cortisol. It goes up when you're stressed and when that goes up your body's ability to fight infection and inflammation goes down.

WHITFIELD: I thought the whole periodontal disease was associated with flossing, not flossing, that sort of thing.

That's part of it, too. Also what's going on in your head and your life has something to do with it. You're stressed out this morning and worrying about your teeth, what can you do to keep your dental health in check?

To keep your mental health in check in order to keep your dental health in check. Brush and floss, obviously. Also, as we learned today, take care of your mental health. Some people may be thinking how do I even know if I have periodontal disease? So we have a couple of things you can look for. If your gums are bleeding when you brush, that is not okay. And gum recession. Your teeth seem longer. Bad, bad. Also if you have loose or shifting teeth, another sign you might have gum disease.

WHITFIELD: Research has also linked periodontal disease to heart disease. Another reason to keep those stress levels down.

HARRIS: The heat is on and outdoor activity is off. Definitely off. Triple digit temps. Keeping a lot of us indoors.

Just past the bottom of the hour. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. Getaway day Friday, I'm Tony Harris.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

A not guilty plea from a suspect in the execution-style killings in Newark. Jose Carranza was arraigned this morning, he is being held on $1 million bond. His attorney confirms that Carranza is an illegal immigrant from Peru. He turned himself in to Newark Mayor Cory Booker yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CORY BOOKER, MAYOR NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: Immediately I turned around and turned to a detective who put the individual in handcuffs, we then walked up and took him into the homicide offices. I had absolutely nothing to say to this individual.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A 15-year-old is also in custody in the killing that shocked the city. Three college students gunned down in a school yard. A fourth person was also shot. She survived and is helping in the investigation.

HARRIS: A security scare this morning at a North Carolina airport. Authorities say a man bypassed security screening at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Just minutes ago we learned the airport has now cleared after at least seven planes were searched. So far, no sign of the man. About 10 flights took off before they could be searched. Those passengers could be questioned when they step off the planes.

WHITFIELD: The latest on the mine rescue efforts in Utah. Still no sign of life hours after drilling crews break through. Just before midnight they reached the chamber where the six miners are believed to be trapped. The mine's co-owner says that may not mean anything, the men may simply be hunkered down somewhere else. He said some good news did emerge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB MURRAY, PRES. & CEO, MURRAY ENERGY: Two good things have happened. One, our engineers hit right on target off of this steep mountainside to where we wanted them to go. Number two, the atmosphere in the mine is perfect to sustain human life, 20.5 percent oxygen, no methane and a moderate amount of carbon dioxide. That means if they're alive, they're going to stay alive in that atmosphere.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Crews are still drilling a wider hole that's expected to break into the mine late tonight or early tomorrow.

HARRIS: For the families of the trapped men this morning marks the fifth day of prayers and desperate hope. CNN's Ted Rowlands reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With news of their loved ones fate, possibly now just a short time away, family members of the six trapped miners spent another excruciating day waiting.

JOHN BAZA, UTAH DEPT. OF NATURAL RESOURCES: I don't think any of us can imagine the fear and the concern that those families have. As I look into their faces, it's touching to me. I think there's a great deal of worry. There's a great deal of anxiety over what all this will turn out to be.

ROWLANDS: The news, good or bad, will be delivered to the families at this local school. Throughout the day, relatives had updates from mine officials and a visit from the governor of Utah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing that would be worse than being trapped in a mine right now so far as I'm concerned would be to be waiting as a family member.

ROWLANDS: Hundreds of people joined family members at a candlelight vigil, many of them attended a special prayer service.

BISHOP JOHN C. WESTER, DIOCESE OF SALT LAKE CITY: They're very sad. I think they're very tired. They look emotionally exhausted. I think they're just -- they look very, very tired.

ROWLANDS: Ted Rowlands, CNN, Huntington, Utah.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: A sizzling heat wave, record temperatures still being set in several cities. Our weather center lists more than a dozen with record high temperatures. Among them, Columbia, South Carolina at 106. Raleigh, North Carolina, 104. The heat reaching from the Carolinas to New Orleans and into the plain states. One judge in Mississippi has banned schools in six counties from letting children take part in outdoor activities. That ban coming after at least three heat-related deaths this week.

WHITFIELD: You have to be really careful if you're doing any kind of physical activity outside. Even if you're just washing your car, be careful.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Raid in Iraq today, a helicopter makes a forced landing. Two U.S. soldiers are injured. It happened in Yusufiya, about 10 miles south of Baghdad. The U.S. military says it's unclear what caused the chopper go down. In other operations the U.S. military today reported five insurgents killed, more than 30 others detained. That from operations in central and northern Iraq over the past couple of days.

WHITFIELD: A gun battle in Jerusalem's old city this morning, at least eight people wounded. Israeli police say a Palestinian man grabbed an Israeli security guard's gun, opened fire, then ran away. Police say another security guard chased the gunman. The gunfight ended with the attacker dead. Bystanders were wounded.

HARRIS: Tires said to be unsafe, just the latest product from China considered not up to American standards. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another Chinese-made product recalled. 255,000 radial tires designed and imported by a New Jersey company. Foreign Tire Sales tells customers if you bought Westlake, Compass or YKS tires for your van, light truck or SUV between 2004 and 2006 they may not have so-called gum strips which bind the belts of the tire together.

RICHARD KUSKIN, PRESIDENT, FOREIGN TIRE SALES: We did extensive testing, the results of which our engineer concluded that the tires were not safe for the American road.

TODD: It's the latest in a dizzying series of recalls, pet food laced with melamine, a chemical used to make plastic. Toothpaste tainted with an ingredient found in antifreeze, key products on American shelves made in China. Kurt Schertle runs Tree Top Kids, a popular chain selling developmental toys. He recently had to deal with a recall of Chinese-made items.

KURT SCHERTLE, PRESIDENT, TREE TOP KIDS TOYS: The product that was recalled was Thomas and Friends, Thomas the Tank, which the company's name is RC2. They were some wooden red painted pieces that contained lead paint.

TODD: He says his business didn't take a huge hit but in the toy industry there's not much choice. We went around Schertle's store pulling toys out at random.

Here's an interesting one, it's the all-American play set, air force one and U.S. police vehicles and things like that. There you go.

TODD: China in fact produces more than 80 percent of the world's toys. Why are so many lead-painted toys, other defective products from China moving on to American shelves? Experts say the U.S. government shares only part of the responsibility.

RACHEL WEINTRAUB, CONSUMER FEDERATION OF AMERICA: The Consumer Product Safety Commission does not have pre-market jurisdiction. They only have jurisdiction over products once they come on the market. So in the pre-market universe it's up to the manufacturers, the importers, the retailers.

TODD: And sometimes those retailers catch the tainted goods, sometimes they don't.

(On camera): An official at the Chinese embassy wouldn't comment on the tire recall but he did say his government attaches great importance to the issue of product safety and has taken tough measures recently. This official also cautions against blowing this all out of proportion. He says 99 percent of Chinese export are up to safety standards. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN LISOVICZ: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange, where a bounce back rally just doesn't seem to be in the cards. Even after the Dow's second worst point loss of the year. The numbers and the complete damage report, next. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: We're seeing a global market sell-off today that began in Asia, extended through Europe and is playing out painfully on Wall Street. We're also seeing global intervention by central banks to avert a crisis of confidence. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with more on these details. Might this strategy work?

LISOVICZ: Well, that's the hope long term. Right now I wouldn't say so as you see the big board beside me, Fred. There's still a lot of fear in the air and translates into a triple digit sell-off. But central banks from Japan to Europe to right here in the U.S. have injected nearly $300 billion of cash into their banking systems. This is the first time the banks have worked in tandem like this since right after the September 11th attacks. What they're doing is providing liquidity, the ability for banks to make loans to each other and to customers big and small. Just as an importantly it's an effort to reassure investors who are increasingly concerned about a credit crunch. Credit whether it's for buying a car or a company is the gasoline that fuels the economy. The Federal Reserve in a statement today said it was taking action to "facilitate the orderly functioning of financial markets." The fed, you may recall, acknowledged earlier this week that credit conditions have tightened. Given all the bad news that's come out since then, the betting on Wall Street is now that policymakers will cut interest rates when it meets next month, if not sooner. It's gotten that bad.

WHITFIELD: Well the market is still selling off.

LISOVICZ: That's right. At first the central bank's move did seem to help to alleviate some of the selling. We did see that in the futures that they had come down somewhat when we had heard about these moves. But there's more bad news in the marketplace, at a time when we have plenty. At the moment the Dow is off its lows, it was down more than 200 points earlier. It's down about 150 now or 1 percent. The NASDAQ meanwhile is down 26 points, also 1 percent. The bad news comes from two of the nation's biggest lenders. Countrywide Financial and Washington Mutual, both warning that the collapsing sub-prime mortgage market will impact their earnings. "The Wall Street Journal" now reports that securities regulators are checking the books at top Wall Street brokerage firms and banks, this to make sure they aren't hiding losses related to the meltdown. You know Fred, there was a time, not this summer, but there was a time when Fridays in the summer were slow and even lonely affairs.

WHITFIELD: Yes, breathing heavy right into the weekend.

LISOVICZ: I long for those days.

WHITFIELD: I know. Who knows how much longer this ride is going to last.

LISOVICZ: This bumpy ride and it happens and you know we're all going to ride it out together.

WHITFIELD: All right, sounds good. Thanks so much, Susan.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome, Fred. WHITFIELD: Tony?

HARRIS: The United Nations Security Council expanding its plans for Iraq. The council voting this morning to have its people in Iraq, quoting here, "Advise, support and assist." Areas where the U.N. thinks it can help resolving disputed boundaries and encouraging discussions on national reconciliation, also planning a census. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. calls it an important new phase for the U.N. in Iraq.

WHITFIELD: We're going to find out what else is happening in the world today. Jim Clancy is there at his post for "YOUR WORLD TODAY," coming up at the noon eastern hour. Jim?

JIM CLANCY: Hello, Fredricka, hello Tony. Well you know, interestingly we're going to be looking at Iraq as well. They are among the most valued friends any U.S. soldier can have in Iraq. We're going to tell you about their life of fear and uncertainty. Iraqi interpreters in focus. We'll have a report from Baghdad.

Plus, murder and outrage. The United Nations dispatches investigators to probe the senseless killing of lowland gorillas, among the most treasured of a dwindling species in the Congo.

Plus, what a view. We're going to bring you the latest from orbit as the crew of the space shuttle "Endeavour" moves toward the international space station. They had to do a check of the shuttle itself. We'll give you the results of that too. All that and much more coming up at the top of the hour, "YOUR WORLD TODAY" on CNN International.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Jim. We'll be watching.

Coming up, the Virginia Tech massacre. Remember that? Four months ago. What police now know and what they're still trying to uncover. A news conference this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Four months after the Virginia Tech massacre and investigators are learning new information. They're finding out from witnesses that they actually saw a suspicious male they say in the building where the 30 students and professors were killed and they also, these witnesses say, they noticed that some of the doors were chained two days prior to the shootings last April. In a press conference earlier today, state police superintendent and Virginia Tech police chief had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUPT. STEVEN FLAHERTY, VIRGINIA STATE POLICE: Our investigators combed through the evidence. They're uncovering new evidence, for example, we're still digging as the chief has already mentioned, for Cho's hard drive. That's a piece of evidence that we would love to find along with his cell phone. And possibly some other documents. So those are the sorts of things that we are really looking for at this particular point in time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this stage we still have no evidence that answers the persistent questions, why West Ambler Johnston, why room 4040 and why Emily Hilscher. We just don't know.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Those are some of the students that were shot and killed when the gunman Seung-Hui Cho then turned the gun on himself and then died. Still a lot of unanswered questions in this whole case, four months later.

HARRIS: Still to come this morning in the CNN NEWSROOM, a monster truck show takes a bad turn. Just watch. Definitely a crash course. People injured. We will fill you in.

WHITFIELD: We've been teasing this one all morning, National Geographic world championship geography bee. We have a winner and a question. A sample question from the bee. What mountain range contains Antarctica's highest peak? Brush up on your mountain peaks people. We'll have the answer a little bit later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The 15-year-old charged in the Newark killings could be tried as an adult. Authorities say they expect more arrests. Paula Dow is the Essex County prosecutor and she is live from Newark. Paula, good to talk to you, thanks for your time. I know you're awfully busy. Let me jump right to a major point of contention that you know you're going to hear a lot about over the next couple of days. We now understand that the man under arrest, 28-year-old Jose Carranza, an undocumented worker here in the country illegally. He has been through this system before. I'm wondering how he was allowed to make bail. Last month, facing 31 counts, handed up against him accusing him of raping a small girl. How is it that this man was able to make bail and be on the streets?

PAULA DOW, ESSEX COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Tony, I'm sorry. I know that's a major issue. Obviously he's now in detention. He's held on $1 million bail, indication by the court that they might review that to make it go up even higher if need be. As to the other outstanding charges, I cannot discuss the details of that at this time, I'm prohibited. I'm particularly here on initial proceedings of this case.

HARRIS: I understand. But I'm going to push a little bit on this. You know the debate that's going on in this country, you know the firestorm that this is going to set off here. Can you please at least help me understand how this man, who had been through the system, facing charges, could be out on the street now charged with this heinous crime?

DOW: I'll tell you what I can tell you about what came out in today's proceedings before Judge Casal. He indicated that the address that was previously identified for him as an incorrect one and he gave the correct one. He indicated that he is an undocumented alien and we addressed that matter. And his lawyer, who represented him today, has represented him on previous occasions. That came out. The uproar of this alien, illegal alien, having been charged with committing these horrific crimes and how he ended up being the one, among others, we believe, to have been involved in this instance, is going to have to be saved for another day.

HARRIS: If Carranza is making bail, here's the follow-up, the question, my extension, if Carranza is making bail in a city that is having the difficulty that it is having in controlling violence, homicides, who else, who else is making bail in that city and don't you have a problem there?

DOW: Let's talk about the bail issues. The governor has indicated, along with the attorney general, Ann Milgrem and Stewart Radner before her that the bail issues and how they are handled are of major concern. Most recently the legislature changed the forms, upgraded the procedures and made them tighter. The assignment judge here in Essex County has made efforts to implement those. There are now bail source hearings that can pursued and will be on documented as well as citizens, documented and undocumented individuals. We realize that that's an issue out here in our criminal justice system and efforts are being made to address it. Right now, let there be no misunderstanding, he is not out on bail at this moment and I don't anticipate him being out in any near future.

HARRIS: Yeah, absolutely, that is crystal clear. Paula Dow, we have so many more questions for you but we're flat out of time. But thanks for your time this morning. We appreciate it.

DOW: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.

HARRIS: Thanks Fred.

WHITFIELD: Thank you Tony.

HARRIS: Good morning to you.

WHITFIELD: Have a good weekend.

HARRIS: Yeah, you too.

WHITFIELD: I'll see you here, this weekend.

HARRIS: Absolutely, "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next, with news happening across the globe and here at home. I'm Tony Harris.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Have a great day.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com