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Keeping Track of Hurricane Dean; Midwest Flooding From Tropical Storm; Leona Helmsley Dead at 87

Aired August 20, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You're with CNN and you're informed.
I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on Monday, August 20th.

Here's what's on the rundown.

Destination, Mexico. Hurricane Dean cutting a deadly path across the Caribbean. In Jamaica this morning, crews now getting ready to start the cleanup.

Incredible rescue scenes out of Oklahoma to the leftovers as Tropical Storm Erin saturates the plains.

And a plane erupts into a fireball on the tarmac. The amazing part, everybody gets out alive.

Dodging disaster -- in the NEWSROOM.

Hurricane Dean on a deadly rampage through the Caribbean. The remnants of Tropical Storm Erin causing deadly floods in the U.S.

Extensive live coverage of both severe weather systems this hour in the NEWSROOM. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is keeping track of what's happening right now. He's in the CNN severe weather center with the very latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

Reynolds, what's this?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Heidi, take a look at this thing. This is just a giant walking the Earth with huge, huge footsteps.

Already bringing some heavy surf conditions to parts of the Caymans, and, of course, some strong winds, some heavy rainfall. Now it's surging towards the Yucatan Peninsula.

And the latest we have from the National Hurricane Center shows the storm is still at a Category 4 status at this time. However, it is expected to strength ton a Category 5 as it rolls its way into the Gulf of Mexico and continues to march on to the Yucatan.

Now, expected to make landfall as we get to around, I'd say, about 6:00 in the morning on Tuesday and then should weaken to a Category 3. Before it gets to that point, however, it should reach Category 5 status.

Then, it's going to cross the Yucatan, back into the Bay of Campeche. It will have weakened considerably because it will be away from its primary source. That being the warm water. But then it should cover considerable back to Category 2 status as we get to Wednesday, with winds of 110 miles per hour.

Now, when we mention Category 5 status, that sounds kind of like a vacuous statement. And what exactly does that mean? Well, to give you a better idea of what a Category 5 storm can do, take a look at some of this.

It's going to have winds that will be in excess of 155 miles per hour, storm surge greater than 18 feet. That means residences, industrial buildings can be destroyed. All trees and signs blown down. Mass evacuations on the ground from anywhere, say, form five to 10 miles of the shoreline may be a requirement.

Now, keep in mind, when you factor in the Yucatan Peninsula, Heidi, we're not talking about Jamaica, where you have some of the peaks that are over 7,000 feet. The Yucatan is a relatively flat, flat land mass, kind of like a giant pool table, if you will. So, this storm is going to be able to cross right easily in that beautiful field that you have, just the flat grouped. That wind is going to obviously cause all kinds of damage with not much standing in its way.

We're going to keep a very sharp eye on this. And again, early tomorrow morning is when this storm is expected to make landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Back to you.

COLLINS: OK. Just real quickly, Reynolds, it's still Category 4, but obviously, as we've been talking about, could go up to Category 5.

WOLF: Oh, very possible, yes. We could get a statement coming in that would tell us the storm has reached that strength. It has nothing in its way, nothing. No barrier whatsoever. Very little wind loft, very warm water.

It is ripe for strengthening, and that could happen. We're talking within a couple of hours.

COLLINS: All right. Very good. We know you're watching it very closely.

Reynolds Wolf, thank you.

Want to get to Jamaica now, where Hurricane Dean punched the island's southern coast.

And CNN's Susan Candiotti is on the phone now from Montego Bay.

Susan, good morning to you.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

This is the day to clean up and mop up and to find out exactly how much damage was done to the island. It seems that most of the destruction would be concentrated in the area of Kingston.

We know that they experienced landslides in St. Andrew Parish. That's where the capital city is located, within rural areas. And we're still waiting to get official word on how bad those landslides were.

Other than that, we are hearing a lot about wind damage in the capital city area. Roofs blown off, that kind of thing. And throughout the island, naturally you have the usual trees down and some lines down. However, they've tried to limit damage to the power grid by turning off the electricity across the island before the storm hit, and also turning off some water systems in certain areas.

About 5,000 people, we are told, did seek shelter to get away from their homes and ride out the storm in these shelters. We presume that some of those people might be making their way home at this time.

In Montego Bay, we can report to you that the roads, for the most part, appear to be clear. There is a lot of foot traffic, as well as cars driving about to take a look around.

It's a sunny day here. And in some parts of Montego Bay we're seeing construction work going on and things returning to normal. But officially, a curfew remains in effect across the island.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Susan Candiotti coming to us live this morning from Montego Bay.

Susan, thanks for that.

In the hurricane zone. Stay with CNN throughout the day and night. We have correspondents positioned in the path of the storm to bring you live, comprehensive coverage. Of course we'll stay on top of that for you.

But want to get to this now in the Midwest. They're cleaning up right now from flooding caused by the leftovers of Tropical Storm Erin. A news conference is getting under way this hour. I believe it is in progress as we speak.

Our Susan Roesgen is joining us now live from Kingfisher, Oklahoma.

Susan, emergency crews been very busy out rescuing people.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: Very busy out rescuing people, and now a lot of people very busy cleaning up.

Heidi, where I'm standing, the water would have been last night waist high. It comes from a creek that's about a quarter mile away. And now, today, the homeowners, like people in this home behind me here, are washing down the sidewalk. I went inside where they're tearing down the carpet, at the same time that local officials are now holding this news conference to talk about the damage, to talk about the evacuations, the flooding, the wind damage, all from a tropical storm that just wasn't ready to stop.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN (voice over): They say no man is an island, but standing on a rooftop, surrounded by water, this man was.

By Sunday afternoon, the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin were headed out of Oklahoma, but the water just seemed to keep coming. And coming. And coming.

In the small town of Kingfisher, heavy rains caused the creek to rise 25 feet. The town got nine inches of rain in just a few hours.

In Oklahoma City itself, helicopters rushed in to rescue people, often having to hover inches above the choppy waters. Not easy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh. Oh, no. That's exactly what I did not want to see.

ROESGEN: Seconds after being plucked to safety, this woman fell right back in. They got her the second time around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were trying to give her the best -- you know, trying to get her to hold on the best that she could. You know, she was really tired at the time and she had just kind of given out on the -- let her arms go.

ROESGEN: Another man managed to pull himself on to the chopper's skid, but his pants almost didn't make it. Other people depended on boats to save them from rooftops.

Even crews going out on jet skis. Some rescue and relief workers couldn't get where they needed to because the roads were impassable.

A.J. CLEMENS, RED CROSS: Highway 66 is flooded. There's a lake about a mile wide, a mile east of 81. And I-40 is shut down. We just can't get there to help the people that are in need.

ROESGEN: And one more problem. At the peak of the storm, about 25,000 people lost power. It's still too early to estimate just how much damage has been done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: And Heidi, we've been talking about the mess here. Let me show you the Oklahoma red mud.

This is what people are sweeping out of their homes. This is what has destroyed carpets.

I saw about six inches of this in the house behind me. It's a terrible mess. But I've also seen friends and neighbors come up and bring ice chests full of cold drinks. I saw somebody come up with a check and say, "We want to be a blessing to you. We know that it's not that much money, but please take it." The owner was, you know, overjoyed and overwhelmed.

So, people are helping people out here in Kingfisher, Oklahoma -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. And you know what? I'm familiar with that red mud. It's like clay, and it really does complicate things, and certainly when we're talking about the cleanup of the area. It's going to be a tough nut to crack.

We certainly appreciate your report.

Susan Roesgen for us, coming out of Oklahoma today.

Thanks, Susan.

When weather does become the news, count on CNN to bring it to you first. And if you see severe weather happening in your area, send us an I-Report. Just go to CNN.com and click on "I-Report," or type ireport@cnn.com into your cell phone and share your photos or video with us.

To this now, a strong earthquake hit a short time ago off the Philippines. The 6.5 magnitude quake was located about 150 miles east of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. There is no word on casualties or damage as of yet, but when we get an update, we of course will bring it straight to you.

Want to go back to Oklahoma here just for a moment. We've been telling you about a press conference that was to begin about 11:00 or so. This is coming to us from our affiliate KWTV, in Kingfisher, Oklahoma.

Several different emergency management officials standing by right now. This is Steve Richards, actually. He is the mayor. So let's listen in for just a moment on the very latest.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

STEVE RICHARDS, INTERIM MAYOR, KINGFISHER, OKLAHOMA: And making sure that we keep everything safe by watching those. And at night we were lighting it up, too, to try to help out.

QUESTION: They said 15 businesses are effected by flooding. Do you have an estimate on how many homes?

RICHARDS: I'm thinking -- Steve, did that fold (ph) back to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Around 35 in the city limits of Kingfisher. And we're estimating about 100 outside of the city.

RICHARDS: So we're talking about 135 homes in the city of Kingfisher and county.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A question here.

QUESTION: You guys have had some problems with flooding over the years. How much more can you guys take? And long term, are you guys looking for any kind of way to properly solve the flooding problems here?

RICHARDS: You know, for years we've tried to use different types of techniques to help the water flow better and not have such a flooding problem. At this point, we hadn't really gotten together and discussed it.

This is probably one of the worst floods I believe we've seen since, like, 1965. So this kind of took us a little bit more than normal because it got more of a commercial area that we weren't aware of. Water came up a lot higher.

We're always going to try to create a better way to stop the water if we can. But at this point, we have just -- we've tried a lot of things and it hasn't worked. We're just sitting in a location where a lot of creeks come together.

QUESTION: Any reports of people missing?

RICHARDS: Not at this point, I believe. No.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

RICHARDS: Just one. In the big (ph) county area.

QUESTION: If you could, just take us back to yesterday, when all of a sudden the rain was coming and a flashflood came suddenly (INAUDIBLE).

RICHARDS: Well, first of all, it came a lot quicker than what we're used to. The storm coming in made a lot of change. And the public -- you know, we're aware -- everybody know pretty well what to do in our local area. And getting the entities involved statewide to come to us takes a little bit more time, of course. And they had other incidents that were happening, like Watonga and different places.

As for the city of Kingfisher, our response is to do exactly what we've normally done in a flood situation. This just came a lot quicker and it made it harder for us to get to those areas and remove those people. And then we had to do boats and rescues.

And on the rescue attempts, I'll tell you what, I appreciate the volunteer efforts of the air boats, things like that, that were brought in. I'll tell you what, those air boats made a lot of difference. They made our rescue a lot simpler.

And we did rescue. I don't know how many people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 125.

RICHARDS: About 125 people were rescued by air boats. And most of those -- and air boats was the best way to get to them. So we definitely thank all the outer entities involved, all of our local entities. They've done a great job.

COLLINS: There you have it, Kingfisher's mayor, Steve Richards, saying over and over again that, boy, this thing just came way faster than they expected, saying it's the worst flooding in their area since 1965. Just weren't quite prepared for it. They really tried everything that they can by way of drainage and getting everything out of the area and nothing has worked.

You probably also heard him say 125 rescues by air boat. And as you're seeing, several rescues by helicopter as well.

A tough situation there.

Meanwhile, we are hearing more this morning that arraignments could come together in the brutal schoolyard killings of three students in New Jersey. Newark police say they have a sixth suspect, an 18-year-old arrested yesterday morning.

On Saturday, federal authorities arrested 24-year-old Rodolfo Godinez and his 15-year-old half brother. Both were caught in the Washington, D.C., area. Three other suspects, Jose Carranza, and two juveniles were already in custody. Now, all of them face three counts of murder and other charges stemming from the August 4th killings.

Back to class at Virginia Tech. Students try to focus on the future, but memories of that awful April day stay with them.

We're live in Blacksburg.

And those who knew her called her cold and calculating, the queen of mean. Billionaire hotel magnet Leona Helmsley dies of heart failure.

A plane lands, and then this. Passengers escape a furious fireball. Would you believe no serious injuries?

We'll tell you about that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A story we first learned of just a couple of hours ago. Leona Helmsley has died at the age of 87.

Gary Tuchman looks back on Helmsley's life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was her fourth marriage, but by all accounts, Leona Helmsley had never been happier than when she married Harry Helmsley. She had built up a successful real estate career in her own right, but when she married Harry, they were one of the most powerful and wealthy couples in the world.

LEONA HELMSLEY: He's a great romancer and he's brilliant. And he's good-looking. And he's rich. I've got everything with him.

TUCHMAN: Leona and Harry Helmsley were most well known for their hotels and for Leona's inclusion in advertisements as the self- appointed hotel queen. The author of a book on the Helmsleys says the couple had it all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a very successful marriage. And as a team, they worked well.

TUCHMAN: But things went downhill. The Helmsleys ere indicted for not paying their taxes. And while Harry did not have to face charges because of his health, Leona did.

HELMSLEY: I am not going to jail. I've done nothing wrong. I have done nothing wrong. I'm innocent. My only crime is that I'm Leona Helmsley.

TUCHMAN: Newspaper headlines blared that she once told a maid, "Only the little people pay taxes." Something she always denied she said.

HELMSLEY: We paid $344 million in taxes. Of course I didn't say it.

TUCHMAN: The U.S. Supreme Court turned down an appeal for Helmsley. And after a federal judge ordered her to serve a four-year prison sentence, Leona Helmsley collapsed and was rushed to the hospital where she was treated for heart irregularity and hypertension. Only a month later, she was off to jail.

The author of the Helmsley book believes that Leona forgot about the priorities of life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not here just to make money and we're not here just to accumulate power. And that's the way she acted. And that then becomes her -- the legacy is the perils of it.

TUCHMAN: For Leona Helmsley, a woman with a brilliant business mind, the downfall was painful. But to most observers, it was also preventable.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Students back in class at Virginia Tech this morning, four months after a massacre.

CNN's Brianna Keilar is in Blacksburg this morning.

Brianna, before we talk about students coming back to school, we need to probably talk about this situation that happened over the weekend.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This is another blow to the Virginia Tech community. Several people in an off-campus apartment building here in Blacksburg were sent to the hospital suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. Now, at this point, five of them, all female Virginia Tech students, are either in serious or critical condition at the University of Virginia and Duke Medical Center.

And really, the shame of this, Heidi, is that someone with the Blacksburg police tells us it all really comes down to a really inexpensive valve on a hot water heater that was malfunctioning. So that's really what it boils down to here.

And it is an understatement to say this has really been a very difficult year for this community, both Virginia Tech and for Blacksburg. It was a year ago when the campus was evacuated after an inmate escaped custody and killed a security guard, as well as a sheriff's deputy.

And then, April 16th, the unimaginable when senior gunman Seung- Hui Cho actually went on this shooting rampage, which, of course, was the big headline back in April, killing 32 members of the faculty and students here at Virginia Tech before taking his own life.

So, so much that this community has gone through. But when you talk with students, overwhelmingly they tell you they are starting this new year with this amazing sense of optimism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't wait, yes. I can't wait to get back in the swing of things. I mean, and that's the whole thing about it every day, but, I mean, I'm ready to get my life back going and whatnot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I think it's good to get away. And being with everybody back home has really helped.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just a great atmosphere here. I mean, I wouldn't want to go to college anywhere else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And that's really the sense here now, as it was back in April, this -- that it's time too move forward. It's really amazing to talk with so many students, but overwhelmingly, they are very optimistic. And also, that optimism really showing in the numbers as well, because school officials here tell us they are expecting, once all the numbers settle out in a couple weeks, that this will have been a record number of freshman in this class this year -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, that's certainly good news.

Brianna Keilar for us in Blacksburg, Virginia this morning.

Brianna, thanks for that.

And still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, super screen. The picture 100 times sharper than anything you've ever seen. And it's for much more than watching the big game.

Plus, fire on the tarmac. An airliner goes up in flames today. Incredibly, everybody gets out safely.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Safe landing. Minutes later, plane on fire.

CNN's Kyung Lah has the frightening pictures and the story of survival.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The flight level Taiwan International Airport and landed on time at Okinawa's Naha Airport. All 157 passengers and eight crew members got out.

Soon after landing, something went terribly wrong.

According to witnesses, it was the engine on the left side of the plane that exploded. Thick, black smoke billowed from China Air Flight 120. The fire so intense, it cracked the Boeing 737 in two.

"Everyone on the flight is safe," said the airline. China Airline, Taiwan's largest passenger air carrier, has had four fatal crashes in recent years. Among them, a crash in Hong Kong in 1999. All but three of the 315 passengers and crew survived.

(on camera): The airline's fleet of 737s is now grounded. The airline promises it will fully investigate why China Air Flight 120 burst into flames, focusing for now on the lucky survivors despite their harrowing close call.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: We're tracking dean's Deadly march across the Caribbean this morning. The forecast minutes away in the CNN hurricane center.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Family members of trapped miners say, enough. It's time to search for the missing miners in a different way, they say.

I'm Keith Oppenheim at the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah. That story is coming up.

COLLINS: Rescue on the plains. One lady takes a terrifying fall from a helicopter. The second rescue attempt much smoother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This lady has probably never even flown in a helicopter, let alone ridden on the skids.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Oklahoma flooding. Incredible pictures to show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. A deadly sweep through the Caribbean. Hurricane Dean blamed for death and destruction as it keeps up a march toward Mexico.

You can hear it, too, can't you? Just hours ago the storm left parts of Jamaica bruised and battered. A tourism official in the capital called the situation there absolutely scary. A state of emergency now in place across the island. And Haiti also in the line of fire. At least two deaths reported there as the hurricane skirted that country's southern coast. But officials say the storm stayed far enough south to spare Haiti from major mudslides or floods.

Right now, on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, an uneasy calm. Cancun's possible resorts could be next on Dean's path. Tourists are already fleeing, locals stocking up on necessities.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(NEWSBREAK)

COLLINS: Anger from families of six trapped miners in Utah. They say officials have given up on their loved ones. Keith Oppenheim is in Huntington, Utah with the very latest now for us this morning.

Keith, families pretty understandably not happy and I'm sure very frustrated.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are very frustrated, Heidi. And for a couple weeks now, there has been this unflinching optimism at the mine with hopes that the rescue would eventually get to the workers. But that tone changed yesterday when a mine executive said that the miners may not be found. Now, that statement came after fell officials said underground tunnelling, which was significant in trying -- which led, rather, to the death of three workers three rescuers, cannot continue without putting more workers in jeopardy. And also the test results of a fourth bore hole indicated that oxygen levels inside the mine where they were digging were not strong enough to sustain lives.

So families of the six trapped men gathered at a church, and their spokesman, Sonny Olsen, accused the federal government and the mine operators of essentially giving up, and he said it's time to drill a hole that's large enough to lower a rescue capsule down into the mine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SONNY OLSEN, SPOKESMAN FOR MINERS' FAMILIES: We feel that MSHA, Utah American Energy, Murray Energy and the IPA have failed the six trapped miners. They failed us and our community.

(END VIDEO CLIP) OPPENHEIM: Rescue teams are drilling a fifth bore hole, but after two weeks and all that's been done, Heidi, there are no signs of life or whereabouts of these six trapped miners in the Crandall Canyon Mine -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Everybody is still hoping for good news on this. Keith Oppenheim for us in Huntington, Utah for us this morning. Keith, thanks.

Ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM now, talk about a special delivery. Parents think every new baby is a treasure, of course. But there's something really different about these little girls.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Well, my favorite story of the day, no doubt about it. Four little bundles of joy. And they are identical. The odds of that happening, one in 13 million. Quadruplets conceived without help from fertility drugs. A Canadian woman gave birth to the four little girls last week in Montana.

Earlier this morning I talked to our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen about how the babies are doing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: They expect them to recover quite nicely, and they expect no long-term consequences. That's pretty incredible when you consider -- aren't they adorable?

COLLINS: Little bows.

COHEN: Right, so that you know that they're girls.

They were born nine weeks early. They weigh between two pounds, once ounce, and two pounds, 15 ounces.

Really incredible, they were never on a ventilator, which is pretty amazing considering their size. Their names are Autumn, Brook, Calissa and Dahlia. Now, if you're awake enough this morning to really that's A, B, C, D, yes, they were named in alphabetical order in the order in which they were delivered by C-section.

COLLINS: Wow. That's serious organization already.

OK. So they weigh roughly between 2 and 3 pounds each. We know that, you know, multiple births are usually a little bit lower weight. Were the doctors happy with that?

COHEN: Right. They are usually, and they are smaller than you would expect.

A baby born nine weeks early who's just one baby, you would expect to be around three pounds, five ounces. However, to be -- to have four babies and have them between two and three pounds is really pretty amazing. Doctors must have been very pleased with this. You know, sometimes you hear, you know, more like one pound or something along those lines. So, that's really pretty good considering that they were quads. And they shared one placenta, which means they weren't getting as much nutrition as if they each had their own, or even if two had one.

COLLINS: Yes. I keep looking at the mom. I think her name is Karen (ph). She's looking -- she's going to get a crick in her neck because she keeps staring at them.

COHEN: Right. She needs to come up with a better posture.

COLLINS: Yes, yes, yes.

OK. So, also what's amazing about this is no fertility drugs. I think people -- usually with multiples, you know, it's the first thing they ask or assume.

COHEN: Right. You would assume, right. Right.

COLLINS: But no. Not in this case.

COHEN: No. It's amazing. What happened is just a fluke of nature. You have a zygote, which is a fertilized egg, and it splits once. And then you get identical twins.

And then each of those split and that's how you get identical quads. And again, one in 13 million births are like that. So this hardly ever happens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: To get your Daily Dose of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. That address is CNN.com/health.

Super screen -- the picture 100 times sharper than anything you've ever seen. And it's for much more than watching big games.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is coming up in about 10 minutes or so. Hala Gorani is here to tell us more about the program. Hi, Hala.

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Well, I hope you can join us at the top of the hour noon Eastern for YOUR WORLD TODAY. We're going to continue to track Hurricane Dean, of course, with live reports from across the area that will be affected by that weather system.

Also, we're going to take you to Tokyo with these amazing pictures that show that it really is important to listen to those flight attendants when they go over emergency-evacuation procedures. We'll tell you why miraculously no one was killed when this China Airlines flight just burst into flames. Also, we're going to be talking about the U.S. presidential candidates facing off in Iowa Sunday night, all eight Democratic contenders. We'll go to our senior political analyst Bill Schneider. Who had the upper hand, and what next for Hillary and Obama, and much, much more.

We'll take you around the world on "YOUR WORLD TODAY" top of the hour.

Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: All right, very good. Hala, we'll be watching. Thanks.

Well, it's TV that could help save lives. Scientists have developed a mega-screen and the implications are huge.

CNN's Chris Lawrence explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Picture Disney's hit movie "Cars" on a screen 23 feet long and nine feet high, 200 million pixels. The images 100 times sharper than a high-def TV. On a normal screen, zoom in, you lose the context; zoom out, you lose detail.

PROF. STEPHEN JENKS, UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE: So the intent of the Hyperwall was to show the big picture and the detail at the same time.

LAWRENCE: In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, roads were flooded and blocked by debris, maps were useless. But Hyperwall gives a detailed down-to-the-street look at the entire Gulf coast.

JENKS: So this could help first-responders figure out where to go and where the roads are impassable.

LAWRENCE: Scientists at UC Irvine are using Hyperwall to map earthquakes in South America, and study patients suffering from depression.

DR. JIM FALLON, UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE: You really see different things. Patterns come out that you wouldn't see on a small scale in that one level of resolution.

LAWRENCE: Within minutes, they're discovering genes and brain patterns that took months to find.

FALLON: This not only saves a lot of time, but it saves suffering of people.

LAWRENCE: And more good news.

JENKS: There's no reason this can't be in somebody's living room in 10 or 15 years. LAWRENCE: New technology will eliminate the edges that split up the screens. Picture an unobstructed wallpaper display that constantly changes your view. How about an aerial shot of the empire state building or, if you lives in landlocked middle America, the Statue of Liberty.

JENKS: We'll be able to make huge roles of this stuff, that you'll just be able to put on your wall and have many tens or hundreds of megapixels at home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: Dangerous Dean. The hurricane cuts a deadly path through the Caribbean. Coverage ahead at the top of the hour on "YOUR WORLD TODAY." CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

He battled a rare form of cancer. His writings inspired thousands of people. His message was simple.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILES LEVIN: I guess you have to be thankful for the time you have been given with your loved ones in your life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Remembering Miles Levin, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Billionaire hotel owner Leona Helmsley is dead. Helmsley's publicist said she died of heart failure today at her summer home in Greenwich, Connecticut. Helmsley ran her luxurious Manhattan hotels with an iron fist. She and husband Harry held a $5 billion real estate empire. A former housekeeper claimed, Helmsley once declared, quote, "Only little people pay taxes." Helmsley denied saying it. In 1989 she was convicted of tax evasion in a highly publicized trial. She spent 18 months in prison. Leona Helmsley was 87.

A life cut short by cancer. We told you his story here on CNN. He told his own story through his blogs. Miles Levin died yesterday. Carol Costello looked back at the young man whose outlook on life inspired others.

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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There were many ways to handle the sad news Miles Levin was given at the age of 16.

MILES LEVIN: I am 16. I have cancer. There's been some sort of cosmic mixup here. You've got the wrong guy.

COSTELLO: But this ordinary teenage kid from Bloomfield, Michigan saw cancer, of all things, as an enormous opportunity.

LEVIN: Before cancer I wasn't really outstanding in any way. A nice guy perhaps, but I didn't have my act together at all.

COSTELLO: He launched a blog full of wit and wisdom well beyond his years. Thousand of readers around the world responded.

(on camera): Would you say you've lived a full life, then?

LEVIN: Yes. I'm in a place now that a lot of 78-year-old men find themselves, and that it looking at their life retrospectively.

COSTELLO: His view was that life was lovely, however long or short, that it deserved to be lived with grace.

LEVIN: I've come to believe God put me on Earth to get stage- four aveolar rhadbdomyosarcoma. Why? So that I could show the world how to have stage-four aveolar rhadbdomyosarcoma, or rather how to handle what is close to the worst thing that could possibly happen to me with as much strength and grace as I could manage.

COSTELLO: Miles' form of cancer, sarcoma, attacks connective tissues, killing about 5,000 people each year. The Sarcoma Foundation gave him an award for his courage, and he videotaped this message.

LEVIN: To be able to find yourself at the center of Hell and still smile at the flames, that's a miracle, if I've ever seen one.

COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.

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The families suggest anyone wanting to honor Levin's memory may make a contribution to fight pediatric cancer. A special fund has been set up. You see the address there now. UJF-Miles Alpern Levin Fund. Post Office Box, 2030, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; zip code 48303. More on Miles Levin's life, his inspiring blog and his death tonight at 10:00 Eastern on "AC 360."

CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now. "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and right here at home. I'm Heidi Collins. Have a great day, everybody.

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