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No Signs of Life from Miners; Suspect Pleads Not Guilty to Newark Killings; Three Miners Killed in Indiana Accident; Stress Can Lead to Gum Disease; GOP Candidates Stump at Iowa State Fair; Big Turnout Expected in Sierra Leone Election; Endeavour Docks at International Space Station
Aired August 10, 2007 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing that would be worse than trapped in a mine right now, so far as I'm concerned, would be to be waiting as a family member.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: They have one another, their faith, even the governor of Utah, but the trapped miners' families still don't have what they want the most: signs of life.
T.J. HOLMES, CO-HOST: Also, high above earth, the high-stakes ballet that you are taking a live picture of. Staying in the same place right now. Space Shuttle Endeavour bending over backwards for you today. It's a rendezvous with the International Space Station.
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes in again today for Don Lemon. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
No rest for the weary. And we are weary here in Hotlanta. Heat wave continues to grip much of the nation. A live picture here of Atlanta, Georgia, where the temperature just hit 98 degrees. That is a new record.
Temperatures expected to climb to 100.
Yesterday 30 cities broke records. Many more will do so today. Well, relief. Any of that in sight?
CNN's Bonnie Schneider is going to be along in just a bit with that for us.
PHILLIPS: Well, no contact yet, but they're not giving up. Rescue crews in Utah are holding out hope that six trapped miners are still alive, even though a tiny microphone down a.m. 1,800-foot hole has picked up nothing but silence.
CNN's John Zarrella joins us now from Emery County, Utah.
What is the latest that they're saying about the rescue effort, John?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I think the way to paint the picture now, following this latest news conference that just broke up, is that it seems as if they were a little bit more subdued this afternoon. Not losing hope by any stretch of the imagination, but what they've run into now is a slight problem. It's concerning them.
That original hole that they bored in and reached about midnight when they put the microphone down inside there and did not hear any sounds of life, which is not necessarily an issue. They also dropped into that hole some equipment so that they can do the testing of the air, take air samples.
Well, they originally got air samples well within the readings that would sustain human life, around 20.5 percent. Well, then about an hour later they began to take air samples, and the readings dropped precipitously down to about 7 percent, which is nowhere near enough to sustain life.
What they think now is that this drill bit that they dropped in there, may at some point have shifted, and that they may not have actually hit the cavity where the miners are. They're not sure, but they explained at this press conference a while ago why or how that this drill bit might have shifted.
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RICHARD STICKLER, MSHA, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF LABOR: What causes the bore hole to drift? Well, as you're going down through the strata you're going through different layers of material. And also the geology is not consistent. And that plus the pressure of pushing down will cause the drill steel to want to bend.
The advantage of the 2 1/2 inch hole was it was fast. The disadvantage is it's not as accurate. We can't steer it; we don't have good control over it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: So now what they're going to do is they've withdrawn the microphone, and what they are doing is they're going to put down what they call a survey instrument so that their engineers, when they put they put this survey instrument in there, can take a look at the parameters, the diameter, the configuration of where exactly they are with this hole. And see if, in fact, they are in a sealed room is what they called it, or in actually the cavity that they think the miners are in.
The other thing is that 8 5/8 drill hole that they're going to bring down, and put a camera in, they say, that is highly -- they can direct that better, much better. It's a much more sophisticated piece of equipment.
And they are more confident that they will hit the cavity where they believe the miners are with this next drill hole, the larger one, which will put a camera in. And it can look at 360 degrees in all directions to see if the miners are in there and to see if there are any signs of life -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We'll be checking in with you all throughout the day. John Zarrella, thanks so much.
HOLMES: We want to bring this to you now, information we get about another possible mine accident, this time in Indiana. Specifically, we're talking Princeton, Indiana, where there are reports by a local affiliate that there has been a mine accident.
We do not know the details just yet, how many miners might be there, might be injured, might be trapped. We don't know that situation just yet.
But again, this is in Princeton, Indiana. CNN can confirm now, I'm being told, that in fact in this mine accident there have been three fatalities. Of course, we have been keeping an eye on the situation in Utah, that mine accident, trying to rescue those miners, possibly. But now word of another mining accident that has happened here in the U.S., in Princeton, Indiana.
There's been an accident and CNN can confirm that there have been three deaths in that accident. Don't know all of the details and circumstances around this accident and what happened there, but we are working to get those details where we can report and can confirm that three deaths and that mining accident. We will work those details. Much more to come on that.
Stay here with us. We'll bring it to you as soon as we have it.
Meanwhile, we'll turn to another story that's making a lot of headlines in New Jersey.
An illegal immigrant from Peru has pleaded not guilty now in the execution-style killings of three college students there in Newark, New Jersey. And our correspondent -- senior correspondent Allan Chernoff joins us with more from this morning's arraignment.
Hello to you, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, T.J.
Jose Carranza stepped into the courtroom right behind me wearing an orange jump suit, wearing handcuffs, and he spoke very quietly in Spanish. Through an interpreter he confirmed that he is pleading not guilty to the charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery as well as weapons possession.
Now, his lawyer did confirm, as you said, that he is an illegal immigrant from Peru. He's being held on $1 million bail in this triple homicide, the killing of three college students in a school yard right behind an elementary school here in Newark.
I've also received the indictments, two indictments in separate cases against Mr. Carranza. And let me tell you, one of these is absolutely sickening. He is charged with repeatedly raping a girl when she was 4, 5, and 6 years old. This, an indictment that was handed up just last month.
He is also charged in an aggravated assault case against four men. So, he's facing lots of charges. He's actually going to be back in this courthouse on Monday for hearings on those two separate cases.
Now, let's move on to the other suspect, the other person charged in this case, a 15-year-old juvenile. He actually did appear in court yesterday at a closed hearing. He pled not guilty to the same murder and attempted murder charges, as well as the robbery charges.
The police confirm the investigation is continuing, and they are in pursuit of three additional suspects -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Allan Chernoff, and a disturbing story. We've got more disturbing details to tell us about there. Allan Chernoff for us in New Jersey. Thank you so much, Allan.
PHILLIPS: More now on that deadly accident at the Gibson County coal mine in Princeton, Indiana. On the phone with us right now, Detective Mike Hurt with the Princeton Police Department.
Detective Hurt, can you tell us what happened?
DETECTIVE MIKE HURT, PRINCETON, INDIANA POLICE: At this point it's still under investigation. All we know right now is three fatalities are confirmed, and we're trying to figure a way to retrieve the bodies.
PHILLIPS: Are there -- were there -- how many miners were in the coal mine when this happened?
HURT: We're not sure at this point.
PHILLIPS: Could there be other deaths?
HURT: Not that I'm aware of. I don't think so.
PHILLIPS: OK. Was there an explosion? Can you tell us what exactly happened at the mine?
HURT: Not sure right now. I don't think there was an explosion.
PHILLIPS: Do you know -- did it cave in?
HURT: No, ma'am.
PHILLIPS: Can you tell us what caused the fatalities?
HURT: Not at this time.
PHILLIPS: OK. Does it look like this is something that might have happened, a cause of nature or something that went wrong because of human error?
HURT: We're not sure if it was an equipment problem or what at this point. We're still working on it.
PHILLIPS: OK. When did you get the call? Did this just happen or have you -- has it been...
HURT: Just happened at 11 -- 1 a.m. Central Time.
PHILLIPS: OK, 11 a.m. Central.
And were these miners just on their regular shift inside the mine when this happened? And you're not sure if it was an explosion or something else. Are you able -- let me ask you this. Are there rescue teams trying to get to these bodies right now? And how did you confirm that there are three fatalities?
HURT: At this point there are people trying to retrieve the bodies. And we know there was no explosion.
PHILLIPS: OK. So now it's no explosion, and you've got rescue workers. Are they having to dig?
HURT: Not that I'm aware of.
PHILLIPS: Are you able to -- are you in touch with someone there at the scene? Or how are you getting your information? I understand you're a public information officer, is that right, Detective?
HURT: Yes, ma'am.
PHILLIPS: OK. Are you talking with someone there on the scene?
HURT: Yes. But I've been on the phone with news crews for the last 45 minutes, so I haven't been in contact with any -- to get any of the latest developments.
PHILLIPS: OK. So right now you can confirm three fatalities at the Gibson County Coal Mine. There was no explosion. You're not quite sure if it was an equipment problem.
Do -- are they -- and tell me about these rescue efforts, how they're trying to get to the fatalities and how they confirmed that there are three people dead. Are they at the bodies? How do they know that there are three fatalities?
HURT: Ma'am, I'm not sure at this time. I just can confirm that there are three fatalities at this point.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll continue to follow. Detective Mike Hurt there with the Princeton, Indiana, Police Department. Just getting word now of an accident, some type of accident there at the Gibson coal mine.
We're told that it was not an explosion. We're still trying to find out if it was an equipment problem or what exactly happened. But we're told three are dead. They don't believe there are any other fatalities. We'll follow that for you and let you know as much as we can as we get it. HOLMES: Bonnie Schneider standing by for us over in the weather center with -- using the maps back there to help us all understand and see exactly where this is, Princeton, Indiana, here this coal mine is. The Gibson County coal mine.
Hello there to you, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, T.J.
We're looking at Google Earth right now. And one of the unique features we can do is actually show you where earthquake or seismic activity has occurred either in the past hour, the past day or the past week.
And looking to the south you can see right here in the boot heel of Missouri there was some seismic activity down here in southeastern Missouri, and that was in the past week.
Here is Princeton, Indiana. And you can see as we zoom into this on Google Earth we have no reports of any seismic activity in this lower section of Indiana. And we're zooming into the region. You can see this is south of Indianapolis. And right now that's the latest that we have from here.
If we take you back on Google Earth we can go to Utah to show you some areas that we did get reports of seismic activity in the past week, as you know due to the mine accident there.
We were evaluating whether or not there was seismic activity. And you can see some of the areas here that are highlighted by the dots here as we zoom to the region. Shows some of the seismic activity that was reported into that area. This picture is kind of pixillating as we go through. But then you can see a better idea looking at Utah now.
So, so far no reports of any seismic activity in Indiana. We'll keep monitoring this for you here in the CNN weather center -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. Bonnie Schneider, appreciate it.
Well, a volatile day on Wall Street, a ripple effect of the worst of credit cards. And at this hour the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 70 points. It tumbled early on more than 200 points. And for the second day in a row.
The Federal Reserve is trying to calm fears, pumping billions of dollars into the banking system and promising more, if needed.
Also today, reports that federal investigators are combing through the records of major Wall Street banks to determine their exposure to home loan defaults.
Now, a giant back flip in space. The Shuttle Endeavour turns belly up as it approaches the International Space Station. Live pictures right now as NASA engineers back in Houston want to look for damage from foam fragments that came off the fuel tank during liftoff. So the space station's crew is taking pictures now. Endeavour's crew took their own pictures yesterday; a little help from a robotic arm.
Docking is scheduled for later this hour, and our space guru, Miles O'Brien, will join us live for that.
We continue to follow that mine accident in Princeton, Indiana. Three dead. Not quite sure if there are any other fatalities at this point. We're working as much information as we can on that investigation. We'll bring it to you.
HOLMES: Also, did some people see the Virginia Tech gunman go through the motions a couple of days before the killing? That's coming up next in the NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: And a monster truck with monster problems. The damage straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HOLMES: Also, hope in the world's second poorest country. After a decade of atrocities, the people vote. And our Betty Nguyen is there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): With no hands to vote, Jakar (ph) shows us how he used his toes to cast his ballot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The long road ahead for Sierra Leone, live from Africa, ahead here in the NEWSROOM.
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HOLMES: All right. About 1:15 here at the CNN NEWSROOM. One story that we are keeping an eye on. It's out of Princeton, Indiana, where there has been a mine accident. And officials are confirming that there have been three deaths in this mine accident.
Very few details coming out right now. We don't know exactly what caused these deaths, if there was some kind of explosion, some kind of a collapse. We don't know if they were trapped at some point, don't know if there are any other possible miners who were there and possibly any other fatalities.
But initially we do know that there in Princeton, Indiana, three fatalities after some kind of a mine accident. Our Bonnie Schneider keeping an eye on the maps and the location, giving us more about exactly where Princeton, Indiana is. She joins us again.
Hello there, Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Hi, T.J.
Well, here is Indianapolis right in the center of Indiana. And if you look to the south you'll find Princeton, Indiana. And about two miles to the northwest is the Gibson County mine.
We're zooming in on our Google Earth so you can get a better idea of the location, right in through here. There it is right over there.
And one of the features we're also tracking is whether or not there was any seismic activity in terms of an earthquake or even a minor earthquake in the region. And looking at this region right now, according to our legend, there has not been any seismic activity, according to the USGS, in the past hour, past day or past week. We were able to indicate that, because it comes in real time as it occurs.
Now, this is an idea of where the mine is. You can actually see it here zooming into Google Earth, this dark area here, this dark square, two miles from Princeton.
And as we open up the scope now you can see we don't have any reports of seismic activity in the region, as well. If we slide back further we have, of course, the seismic activity reported in Utah, but looking right now at Indiana, so far we don't have reports of that right now.
But just to give you an idea, this is in southern Indiana, south of Indianapolis and about two miles from the city of Princeton, Indiana -- T.J.
HOLMES: Bonnie Schneider, thank you so much for that.
Also, other things we're keeping an eye on here in the NEWSROOM, the accident in Utah, of course. Rescue workers there drilling a second bore hole toward an area where six coal miners may be trapped. Some microphones dropped into the first hole revealed no evidence of activity. But officials say that's no reason to give up hope.
Also, a suspect has been arraigned on three murder counts stemming from the execution style deaths of three students in Newark, New Jersey. Twenty-eight-year-old Jose Carranza declared he is not guilty.
Also, more 100-degree temperatures today in parts of the plains and the South as a record-breaking heat wave continues for a fifth day.
PHILLIPS: Well, here's a heads-up for employers. The federal government is preparing a mass mailing to try to root out illegal laborers.
Under a plan announced today, the Department of Homeland Security is examining Social Security roles to try to pinpoint workers lacking proper documentation.
Now, starting next month employers will start receiving "no match" letters when workers' records don't check out. Those cases must be resolved within 90 days or the worker fired.
The government says the only employers who need to be worried are the ones breaking the law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: The person who does their best in good faith has nothing to fear from this. This should be welcome to them, because we're giving them clear guidance on safe harbor.
But the person who -- and we've seen this in cases -- systematically goes out to provide phony documentation or to tell people how they can lie on their records in order to have, you know, work here when they're out of status, that's the person who does have to fear vigorous enforcement on the criminal side.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: That provision announced today as part of a package being billed as push against illegal immigration in the absence of formal immigration reform. For more on this story, tune in to "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" at 6 Eastern.
HOLMES: Almost four months later, new details coming out in the Virginia Tech shooting case. Witnesses have told authorities they saw a suspicious-looking man in Norris Hall two days before that massacre.
Was it the gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, on a practice run? Well, police are not quite sure yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUPT. STEVEN FLAHERTY, VIRGINIA STATE POLICE: I may point out that -- that we don't know for sure that it was Cho. If I'm correct, the information was that it was a male student with a hood pulled down, and of course, then the doors were discovered or reported to have been chained at some point in time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Of course, two days later on April 16, Cho chained the doors shut at Norris Hall, killed 30 people before killing himself.
The fall semester begins at Virginia Tech August 20.
Meanwhile, in the tiny town of Laceyville, Pennsylvania, yellow tape there represents a mystery that's left a lot of people numb. The town's former fire chief, his wife and their 36-year-old son all found dead inside the home.
Police say this was not a murder-suicide. Each family member had been shot in the head with a shotgun.
Autopsies are scheduled today. Joseph Colegrove had been with the fire department 40 years. His wife drove a school bus for two decades. Everybody in Laceyville knew them.
PHILLIPS: A walk in the woods turns into a nightmare. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had to stay there till it was dead, because if I let go of it, it would have chased after them or bit me, or -- so I strangled it to death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A mother does what she has to do. Her story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange, where the bulls are trying to make a stand after the second worst point loss of the year for the Dow. The numbers and the damage report next.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: More on that mine accident now in Princeton, Indiana. We can tell you that we are getting more information from police and, apparently, there was an air shaft that was under construction at this mine in southern Indiana. Something went wrong with that construction project, and that is what caused the three fatalities.
Not quite sure if they, indeed, are miners or construction workers. But we're just getting more information about this. We don't know if there are any -- any other injuries at this time.
We just know that we are able, as we get more information through our desk and through the Associated Press, that there are three people that have been killed at the site of this Gibson County coal mine.
An air shaft was under construction in that mine, and something went wrong. And now there are three deaths. We're trying to figure out what exactly happened, where exactly that air shaft was. And who these three individuals were, if they were construction workers or actual miners. As soon as we get that information, we'll let you know.
HOLMES: A day after the Dow posted its second biggest loss of the year, no bounce back to tell you about.
Susan Lisovicz joins us from the New York Stock Exchange.
And Susan, when the script says that you are joining us with a damage report, that cannot be a good thing.
LISOVICZ: Yes, you're not seeing the bandages that are all over my body, T.J.
You know -- you know how when people talk about the weather, you know, what extreme weather, which we've been covering, sometimes they'll say wait an hour and it will change. Well, here, waiting an hour is an eternity. We have seen whip saw trading. We have seen volatility that a lot of people say they've never seen before. And that is something that we've seen today, as well.
In the first few minutes of trading losses of more than 200 points for the Dow. Then the market erased it all, only to drop again even more.
In an effort to calm the markets, the Federal Reserve and central banks from Japan to Europe have been pumping hundreds of billions of dollars of cash into their banking systems over two days.
And while the market is well off its lows, it's still selling off. The Dow Industrials right now down 49 points, at 13,222. The NASDAQ is down 7 points, so about a third of a percent. And the S&P 500 is down just half of one percent.
But hey, it could have been worse, T.J. The Dow was down 213 points at its low, so it's come back quite a bit.
HOLMES: Could have been worse. We'll take that from you, Susan. All right.
We see a lot of times, when things happen like this, you got bargain hunters out there looking to catch a deal. Are we not seeing that? Is that happening? Or why is that not happening right now?
LISOVICZ: Well, it's -- you know, we are seeing an attempted rally; just can't hold it. And I think one of the reasons why, is that there's still a lot of bad news out in the marketplace. Fresh bad news.
The latest round coming from two of the nation's biggest lenders. Countrywide Financial and Washington Mutual both warning that the sub prime mortgage market will hit their earnings.
And regulators are taking notice, too. "The Wall Street Journal" reports that the SEC is checking the books of top Wall Street brokerages and banks, this to make sure that they aren't hiding losses related to the sub prime meltdown.
In the next hour of NEWSROOM I'll explain how the Fed's move to give banks more cash could help you get a loan. That's good news. Right, T.J.?
HOLMES: Yes, we'll end on some good news then. All right.
LISOVICZ: Back to you.
HOLMES: Susan, thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Don Lemon. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. PHILLIPS: Lonely, depressed, stressed? You might lose more than just your smile. In news from medicine, a new study linking emotional health to dental health.
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen talked about it with our Fredricka Whitfield earlier, right here in the NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dentists said they started noticing that their patients, when they were going through a divorce or when they were depressed, their teeth suffered, or actually, more specifically their gums suffered. And they said, "Hey, what's going on here?" So they studied it.
And they did find in several studies that, yes, when people are depressed or stressed out or lonely, that they have more periodontal disease, meaning their gums get more inflamed and infected.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Why? Is it as simple as like the grinding, you know, when you're sleeping and you're just stressed out and you're, you know, clenching or something?
COHEN: That is probably a small part of it. And there are probably other things that you do when you're stressed out or depressed that you don't even necessarily think about.
For example, some people when they're stressed, they take up smoking. Terrible for your gums. Or sometimes when you're feeling depressed, you don't take care of yourself. You don't go to the dentist as much as you should.
But some of it has to do with stress hormones. There is a stress hormone called cortisol that goes up when you're stressed, and when that goes up, your body's ability to fight infection and inflammation goes down.
WHITFIELD: Wow. So I thought the whole periodontal disease is usually associated with flossing, not good flossing, that kind of thing. So it really is more (ph).
COHEN: Well, that's actually part of it, too. I mean, sure, that's part of it, too. But also what's going on in your head and in your life has something to do with it.
WHITFIELD: All right. So if you're stressed out this morning and you're now worrying about your teeth, you know, what can you do, you know, to keep your dental health in check?
COHEN: Right. To keep your dental health in check -- keep your mental health in check...
WHITFIELD: Keep your stress level down, OK?
COHEN: ... in order to keep your dental health in check. So first of all, take care of your teeth, obviously, brush and floss. And also, as we've learned today, take care of your mental health.
Now, some people might be thinking how do I even know if I have periodontal disease?
WHITFIELD: Right.
COHEN: Maybe I do. So we have a couple things that you can look for. If you find that your gums are bleeding while you brush, that is not OK. That is a sign of possible periodontal disease.
Also, gum recession. In other words, you look at your teeth and they seem longer.
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.
COHEN: Longer is not better. Yes, bad, bad.
Also if you have loose or shifting teeth. Another sign you might have gum disease.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And research has also linked periodontal disease to heart disease, another reason to keep those stress levels down.
HOLMES: We want to try to get more information now on that mine accident we saw in Indiana; Princeton, Indiana, where we understand that there have been three deaths associated with some kind of a construction of an air shaft there. We're trying to get more info, trying to get information now from a reporter for the "Princeton Daily Clarion" newspaper there. Jondi Schmitt on the line with us.
And Jondi, thanks for being here. What have you been able to put together that has happened in this mine?
JONDI SCHMITT, REPORTER, "PRINCETON DAILY CLARION": Well, from what I've seen since I got here, I don't think -- I don't know how many people may be involved in the accident, but I can tell you that it does not look like there are survivors. They did send away the ambulances and turned away the air-evacs.
Right now there's a lot of miners on the property that arrived in the last 15, 20 minutes and are suiting up. Looks like maybe they're going to be going down. But the officials are being pretty tight- lipped about everything at this point.
HOLMES: And Jondi, do we know at all if these were, in fact, miners? Or we understand this is a construction area, also. Were these workers? Do we know that yet?
SCHMITT: They have not confirmed anything at this point, but this is a construction site where they were constructing an air shaft. So you know, it would be -- you could probably assume that they are workers as opposed to miners.
HOLMES: And you said the miners appear to actually be going back in to work?
SCHMITT: There's -- there's probably about 30, 35 guys back there right now that are suiting up with the hard hats and suits. And looks like being briefed about something. I can't really tell a lot because they're pretty -- they're about 125 yards away from where I am right now.
HOLMES: Also, are they confident, officials, that there is no one else affected by this, no other injuries or no one else in there, that these three fatalities were the only three affected by this?
SCHMITT: At this point they haven't said either way if they're confident about that or not. They've just told me that there had been an accident and that they are investigating it through families before they're giving official statements.
HOLMES: And can you tell us anything about this actual construction area? Was it almost complete? Has it been going for a while? A lot of people normally working on it? I guess, how much can you tell us about this construction site?
SCHMITT: Well, actually, I'm new to the area myself. I -- it's been here for a while. I know that much. It's not a real big, as far as the parking lot and where workers would park, so it's probably a fairly small staff.
But as far as exactly how long it's been here or how close it is to completion I'm not real sure, because I've only been in the area for about a month.
HOLMES: And again, three -- I want to make sure, three fatalities. No other injuries that we know of, but the three fatalities are the only three affected by this construction accident?
SCHMITT: I've been -- three fatalities confirmed. I don't know anything about if there's more people involved or not.
HOLMES: All right. Our Jondi -- our Jondi Schmitt, rather, from the "Princeton Daily Clarion" newspaper. We appreciate you giving us some time and some more details about what's happening there. Thank you so much, Jondi.
PHILLIPS: Mixed signals on the fate of six trapped Utah miners. One bore hole is completed. Another one is almost there. We'll have the latest, coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HOLMES: Also, pieces of a murder puzzle coming together in Newark, New Jersey. The latest on the murder case that has shocked a city that thought it had seen it all. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm Bill Schneider in Des Moines at the Iowa state fair. What's going on here? Corn dogs and politics. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Quick update out of Princeton, Indiana. We're reporting three people dead in an accident that happened at the Gibson County coal mine.
Apparently, it was a construction accident. They were working on an air shaft there at the face of the mine. They were not inside the mine. And that's when the three individuals were killed.
Not quite sure if they were construction workers or miners. We believe that miners have gone back into that mine, business as usual. But at the same time, some type of construction accident caused the death of three individuals while working on an air shaft. We're following that.
And also we're following the rescue effort in Utah. Workers say that they're making good progress drilling a second hole into the caved-in coal mine where six miners may be trapped.
The first hole was finished late yesterday, allowing crews to lower a microphone and a steel tube to sample the air. The microphone failed to pick up any signs of activity, and officials say it's possible the hole was drilled right into the wrong chamber.
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RICHARD STICKLER, MSHA, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF LABOR: Now, there's no -- no reason to lose hope. There are certainly possibilities that these miners are still alive, because we don't know for sure where this bore hole drilled in. We're trying to confirm that. We don't know a lot of things about the underground environment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The location of the second hole is expected to be more precise. It's also wider than the first, big enough to lower a camera, food and water, and it should be completed tonight.
HOLMES: A not guilty plea in a triple homicide that shocked the city of Newark, New Jersey. Jose Carranza and a Spanish interpreter went before a judge this morning. Carranza is charged with robbing and killing three college students last weekend.
Carranza's lawyer confirms his client is an illegal immigrant from Peru. Carranza turned himself in to Newark's mayor yesterday. He's being held on $1 million bond.
A 15-year-old who's also charged in the case pleaded not guilty yesterday. The prosecutor wants to try the teen as an adult.
The police say they're looking for more than three suspects now.
The race has tightened a bit, but Rudy Giuliani still leads the pack of GOP presidential hopefuls. Our new CNN/Opinion Research poll shows the former New York mayor at 29 percent. That's down slightly from June. His strongest opponent is somebody who's not even ostensibly (ph) in the race.
CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider is in the key early caucus state, and he is pimping an Iowa State Fair cap.
Looks like you're having a good time at the fair, Bill. How you doing?
BILL SCHNEIDER: What's not to like? Corn dogs and deep-fried candy bars. Don't tell Dr. Gupta.
We've also got Republicans here today. We've got Republicans. Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, is the celebrity chef at the Pork Producers Pavilion.
Also, Mike Huckabee, Tommy Thompson, Sam Brownback, Tin Tancredo, Duncan Hunter. And get this -- big name -- Newt Gingrich is here signing books. It's the place to be for Republicans, because tomorrow is the Republican straw poll nearby in Ames, Iowa.
Don't forget, there are still Democrats running. They're going to be here next week. John Edwards, Barack Obama will do a bus tour in Iowa. The Democratic debate on ABC News will be next weekend.
So, all the candidates make time for the Iowa State Fair.
HOLMES: They're there for the fair, Bill. Giuliani, according to our new poll, still out front. Now, what does this tell us, that the guy who is in a close -- pretty close second right now with him is not even an official candidate?
BILL SCHNEIDER: Well, yes, that's right. Giuliani is running first in our national poll. Fred Thompson second. John McCain third. And stop right there. Those are the three top Republican candidates nationwide, and not one of them is competing in the Iowa straw poll.
The fourth place candidate in our national poll, Mitt Romney, is the favorite to win that straw poll. And he's hoping that a big victory in the straw poll will give him some national name recognition, some publicity, badly needed, to give him a boost in the national poll of Republicans, because a lot of Republicans around the country have not heard of Mitt Romney.
None of the other candidates is in double-digits.
HOLMES: Bill, does he have a choice, really, but to win this thing? If you've got Giuliani out, Fred Thompson out and McCain not even competing in this thing, if Romney doesn't come out on top, how detrimental could that be for him in the weeks and months ahead?
BILL SCHNEIDER: He is expected to win. It would be a bad defeat if he does not. The only question is how big a win? Will it be a big enough win so that the political observers will say, "Wow, look at that," and it will give him a big story in the Sunday newspapers? There's also a contest for second place. Three other Republicans, Mike Huckabee, Tommy Thompson and Sam Brownback, have been campaigning hard in the straw poll, and they're going to compete for whoever comes in second.
If one of those, the two of them who don't come in second will be under some pressure, I think, to reconsider their campaigns. And then we could be looking for a surprise.
There are candidates who are not participating, Giuliani, McCain. Fred Thompson is not even in the race yet, but they're on the ballot. They could get some support. If they have a strong showing, that will be impressive, as well.
Ron Paul, a libertarian, has a very active following on the Internet. They could show up and vote for him. And also Tom Tancredo has a lot of support on the immigration issue. So there could be a surprise in the straw poll tomorrow.
HOLMES: All right. Even if it doesn't go well for them, at least they get the corn dogs and the fried Twinkies and all that stuff out of it.
Bill Schneider for us. And please bring me back a hat, Bill. Thank you so much.
BILL SCHNEIDER: Sure.
HOLMES: All right. And you can see all the day's political news any time, day and night, CNN.com/ticker. We're constantly updating it for you with the latest from the campaign trail.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider. We are tracking extreme weather, extreme heat from Kansas all the way to the Carolinas. Four cities have already shattered records for today. Find out where they are, ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen, live in Sierra Leone, where the people here will be voting in an historic presidential election tomorrow.
But what's truly remarkable is how thousands who had their hands cut off in this country's bloody civil war will be voting with their toes. That's ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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PHILLIPS: Well, civil war, crushing poverty, blood diamonds. Recent history hasn't been kind to Sierra Leone. But tomorrow could be a turning point as the West African nation holds a presidential election.
CNN's Betty Nguyen is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NGUYEN (voice-over): Sierra Leone is 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. Alhaji Jarka had his arms hacked off by rebels in 1999.
ALHAJI JARKA, AMPUTEE: I said to him -- to them, I said, "Don't cut off my hands. Don't amputate my hands. I am 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 movie "Blood Diamond". But what you don't see in the movie is how these amputees refused to let the rebels rob them of their political voice once the war ended in 2002.
With no hands to vote, Jarka shows us how he used his toes to cast his ballot.
JARKA: Maybe I will write my "X."
NGUYEN: But 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.
(on camera) 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 peaceful political parties, more reminiscent of a carnival.
But call it what you want, it is proof that democracy is slowly taking root.
(voice-over) Opposition party supporters stopped traffic and brought businesses to a virtual standstill as thousands filled the streets dancing and singing.
While they look to the future, Stephen Rapp is focused on the past. He's the prosecutor for the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal. It is 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 this. I mean, 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, you know, rape your wife, destroy everything you've built, you can't -- you can't develop a future. That's what happened in this country.
And until you have a rule of law, which we're, I think, helping to 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Betty Nguyen joins us now live from the capitol city of Freetown.
Betty, a big day tomorrow. They're voting. As you pointed out, a number of amputees voting with their toes. It's pretty amazing to hear stories like that.
Tell us about how the process is going to work.
NGUYEN: It is truly remarkable, Kyra. Folks are going to be coming, and double amputees, just as you saw, using their toes to vote.
But there is a new plan in place, as well. They're allowing people an option, if they want to bring in a family member or friend so they can actually vote for them, that is something that they can do.
So the process is moving forward. But I want to show you something. Sierra Leone is probably one of the only countries where election workers are given a guide like this that says in it exactly how they are supposed to allow people who have had their arms amputated to vote.
It says in detail that, if the index finger on the right hand is missing, then you go to the next finger and so on and so forth. If the right hand is missing, then you move on to the left hand.
It is truly remarkable that these people are passionate about making their voice count and they are passionate about going to the polls tomorrow.
PHILLIPS: So what do you think? Do you expect there to be a high turnout?
NGUYEN: There is definitely going to be a high turnout. Well, hopefully, if this weather can stop for a minute so that they can get to the polls.
And the reason why I say that is because 2.6 million people have registered to vote. That is 90 percent of the eligible population. So many people, as you saw in the piece, came out. They're celebrating. They want to have their voices heard. And I can bet, come rain or shine, they will be there at the polls tomorrow -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So will you. Betty Nguyen live from Sierra Leone. Thanks so much.
HOLMES: Coming up, a monster truck got some monster problems. The damage that all of this caused as it dips over to an area it is not supposed to be in. We'll be telling you about this and showing you more of these dramatic pictures, ahead in the NEWSROOM.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we'll show you some dramatic pictures from space. That's the International Space Station, and that is what the Endeavour commander, Scott Kelly is aiming for now. The docking just a few minutes away.
We'll tell you about the back flip in space, give you some idea if they found anything wrong with the heat shield of Endeavour. That's coming up on the NEWSROOM.
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HOLMES: The Shuttle Endeavour has been doing back flips in space. Not necessarily because the crew is excited or the pilot went a little crazy, but they're about to reach the International Space Station here, coming up. It's about to dock, actually.
Our space correspondent, Miles O'Brien, always doing back flips around space shuttle mission time, joining us now from Washington.
What's going on up there?
O'BRIEN: T.J., I'm not going to do any gymnastics for you, but these guys can it. Take a look at these guys. That's Fyodor Yurchikhin. That's Clay Anderson. That's Oleg Kotov. The three- member crew of the International Space Station, about to get some visitors at long last. They'll be coming through the door right at the end there of the Destiny module.
The International Space Station, Endeavour now about 40 feet apart. The docking should happen any minute now.
There you see the view of the space station from the space shuttle. I take that back. It's the other way around. As you see the shuttle come into view there, that's right. It was -- the lights were blinding me. That's the lights from the space shuttle.
The commander, Scott Kelly, is up looking through that window right there -- the aft flight deck they call it -- flying. And his goal is to get this docking adapter to meet its exact similar opposite at the International Space Station. Now just a little while ago, about an hour ago, they did the customary back flip on approach to the International Space Station, not to show off flying skills -- by the way, we sped this up a little bit. It takes about ten minutes to do this.
But so the space station crew can get a bunch of pictures, using telefoto lenses, 400 millimeter and 800 millimeter, to ensure that everything is ship shape there, particularly on the nose cone areas and on the heat shield portion of the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
This is something they did after Columbia, when the heat shield was breached, and of course, we lost Columbia and her crew.
Those pictures are fed down as we speak. We'll keep you posted on what's going on with that.
Of course, the headline of this mission is Barbara Morgan, the teacher turned astronaut in space, looking good up there as you can see. She's in the left part of your screen there. There she is. She had a few words that she fed down to planet Earth just yesterday. Listen up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA MORGAN, ASTRONAUT/TEACHER: When you first get into orbit, it takes a little getting used to. And all of yesterday, even though I kept my head upright so it looked like a normal ceiling, and a normal floor and normal walls, I felt like I was upside down the whole time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: And I have that feeling myself every now and then, T.J., but I'm not in space.
HOLMES: Of course you do and your partner here, Kyra, is..
O'BRIEN: She knows about it.
HOLMES: She can certainly attest to that, yes.
OK. We'll be checking back in with you. Miles, always a pleasure. Thank you, sir.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, the heat is on. We're not just talking about Miles. We're talking about outdoor activity. Triple-digit temps keep a lot of us indoors.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Lavandera, near the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah. Search efforts for the trapped miners continue. We'll have the latest coming up.
HOLMES: Also, a 5-year-old boy attacked in the woods.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just kept biting it and just holding on, and it looked like it was gnawing on his leg.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: What (sic) a mother to do when nature goes wild? Well, she goes mom on nature. Hear her tell her tale, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
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