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Yucatan Peninsula Weathers Hurricane Dean; Space Shuttle Lands Safety Despite Damage; Hurricanes Leave Health Risks Behind

Aired August 21, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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


KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: A hurricane of historic proportions, Dean will go down as the first Category 5 hurricane to hit land in 15 years.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: And it is not done yet. It's fading over the Yucatan, but eyeing the Bay of Campeche and the second Mexican landfall.

Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

This was just moments ago. Hurricane Dean brought home the shuttle a day early. They were concerned about conditions, but the good news is it broke through. This is the lander of Endeavour jut moments ago in Florida.

We're going to go live to our Miles O'Brien at Kennedy Space Center in just a few minutes.

Of course, the drama out in outer space had some concern for NASA officials. Positive part: home safely and also an historic moment for the first teacher turned astronaut that landed safely. We're going to talk all about that with Miles coming up.

LEMON: We're also going to talk more now about Hurricane Dean. The center of Hurricane Dean hit just south of some of Mexico's most popular tourist spots, and CNN's Jason Carroll rode it out in Cancun.

What's it like after the storm now, Jason?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Looking pretty good at this point, Don, and thankful that the worst part of the storm tracked south of where we were in Cancun.

Riding it out last night was a lot of heavy wind, a lot of heavy rain. Bands coming through every hour or so. At this point, the only remnant of that is the high surf, which continues to eat away at the shoreline here. A lot of folks who stayed behind coming out to look at the waves battering at the -- battering at the shore here.

Some 20,000 tourists stayed, did not heed evacuation orders, stayed in shelters. Most of those shelters were hotels that were retro fitted and in some cases rebuilt after Hurricane Wilma swept through here and caused a great deal of damage back in 2005.

A lot of people that we talked to that are out here, basically saying that things fared pretty well here in Cancun. There are no official reports of any major damage, and, in fact, Don, we had an opportunity to survey the area twice. Did not see any signs of major damage. So at least in terms of how Cancun fared, it fared pretty well in terms of dealing with Hurricane Dean -- Don.

LEMON: CNN's Jason Carroll, Cancun, thank you so much for that report.

PHILLIPS: And our meteorologist Rob Marciano is smack in the middle of the Mayan Rivera when Dean roared ashore. Here is what it looks like in light of day from his vantage point right there in Puerto Aventuras.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Earlier today, Hurricane Dean made landfall as a Category 5 over 100 miles south of the Mayan Rivera. But the damage it did here is substantial. Not so much in wind, not so much in rain, but in the storm surge and the surf pounding this rocky shoreline, peppered with hotels up and down.

Still, an angry sea behind me. A normally tranquil, crystal clear beautiful Caribbean, today turned turbulent, a cross between the north shore of Hawaii and class six rapids, just tearing up this coastline.

Damage done both to the south and right at this hotel property. No doubt, this is not the only one seeing substantial damage today.

The good news: the sky is brightening a little bit. The surf is subsiding somewhat. We'll have to wait and see what kind of damage Hurricane Dean brought this part of the Yucatan.

Rob Marciano, CNN, Puerto Aventuras, Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Rob, Jason and the rest of the team out in the field. But meteorologist Jacqui Jeras manning everything at home, tracking Dean's every move. She's in the hurricane headquarters with the very latest -- Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Don, it's about 60 miles east-southeast now of Campeche. And so this is a pretty populated town here, and those folks are feeling the impacts and are probably experiencing tropical storm force sustained winds with gusts beyond 74 miles per hour. And those hurricane conditions could be pulling in here in the next couple of hours as condition starts to go downhill a little bit.

There you can see, just barely can still identify the center of the circulation. But you know, it's filled in, so you don't really see that eye very well defined anymore, and certainly not compared to what it was when it was a Category 5 there with winds of 160 miles per hour.

But Category 2 winds can cause some damage. Roof damage, windows can get blown out. A lot of damage to trees and shrubbery. So this is still a problem here across Mexico.

It's moving west, and we're thinking about three hours from now or so. It should be pulling off the Yucatan Peninsula.

Here you can see the forecast winds of what we're expecting over the next couple of days. You can see a lot of that red back into the Bay of Campeche, because as it gets back over open waters, that's the fuel. That's the energy that hurricanes need to ramp back up.

And these water temperatures very, very warm here, about 85, 86 degrees, so even though we'll probably emerge off the coast as maybe a borderline, Category 1, Category 2 storm, we'll probably ramp back up to maybe a Category 3.

And Category 3 is what we consider a major hurricane. A three, four, or five. So we need to prepare as if this is going to be a major hurricane, making landfall again. Probably late in the morning tomorrow or early afternoon.

And the rain will be the biggest concern outside much that wind pack, about five to ten inches, locally heavier amounts, up to 20 inches. Flooding, mudslides, landslides will be the big problems we're going to be facing. And this area here is much more populated than where it hit over the Yucatan.

Back to you.

LEMON: All right. Sounds like a mess. Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much for that.

If you want to impact your world and help the victims of Hurricane Dean, log on to CNN.com/impact. We can help connect you to the relief programs in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Plane gear touchdown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: It's probably one of the coolest live events to watch. A safe landing after a shortened mission. Space shuttle Endeavour's back on solid ground now, landing in Florida just minutes ago.

CNN space correspondent Miles O'Brien at Kennedy Space Center right now.

Miles, a lot of people sort of holding their breath, relieved that it broke through and landed safely.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra. It is -- I would agree with you on the live event. It's kind of a fun thing to watch, because it's always interesting to see somebody landing a $2 billion glider in a cross wind, knowing they only have one shot at it. These are the best pilots in the world, but you still kind of want to make sure everything goes well.

As former shuttle commander Eileen Collins pointed out, as we were brining the Shuttle Endeavour in a half hour ago, there's a moat on either side filled with alligators on this runway. You want to be on the center line. There's really no margin for error there.

And this is the view that the crew had as they came down to Runway 15 here at the Kennedy Space Center.

And the key, the real worry for a lot of us was that gash in the aft underbelly of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Happened right after launch as some foam fell off that external fuel tank, struck it, left a 3 1/2-inch gash which went right down to the felt which covers the aluminum skin.

The engineers knew about it, obviously, because they took some photos, all part of the post-Columbia routine. There you see it.

And they actually damaged tiles identically on the ground, put them in a blast furnace they call an arc jet. They did computer models; they went over and over it. And they decided that the temperatures would only reach 340 degrees, which is 10 degrees below the 350-degree limit that they put on that skin.

Now, aluminum doesn't melt until 1,200 degrees, so you can see, there's margin in there.

There you see what happened right after launch, that foam falling off there.

The big issue now is what are they going to do about that foam? It's obviously a bigger concern than they thought. They're working on redesigning the tank anyway to get rid of some of these brackets where the foam fell off -- fell off, replacing the foam covered brackets with titanium brackets which obviously wouldn't have foam on them and thus would reduce the risk.

So we don't know yet if it's going to cause a delay in the next launch. October 23 is when it is slated. Probably not. But maybe subsequent launches, depending on how the fix goes.

In the meantime, the crew is still on board the Space Shuttle Endeavour. They're still in the process of -- they've got their suits off. They're getting ready to come off.

And the first thing they'll do as they get on the ground, is I'm sure they're going to take a look at that gouge and see exactly how it looks. And we'll get a sense of just exactly how much damage is evident there.

This was a successful mission. Aside from the focus on that gouge, they accomplished all their tasks, flying 5.25 million miles. The 22nd mission to build the International Space Station, putting on an important piece of a truss.

But, of course, it will be remembered as the teacher in space mission. Barbara Morgan, who was the understudy to Christa McAuliffe 22 years ago. Finally getting the opportunity to fly, finally delivering the lessons from space that Christa McAuliffe had hoped to deliver. Of course, she was on board the Space Shuttle Challenger in January of 1986 when it exploded.

There you see Christa (sic) in space. She had a great experience, by all accounts, delivered several lessons involving kids to and from the space shuttle. A real thrill for the kids to ask questions of her as she had those opportunities to sort of -- to teach from space.

Talk about a cool -- she gets the cool teacher award, don't you think, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Now, that -- that is a class I would like to wake up for the first day back and see what she has to say. I wonder what she's going to bring back for show-and-tell?

O'BRIEN: Oh, my God. Good show-and-tell stuff, there's no question. She's got -- she's got the lock on that stuff. Yes. She -- and she -- you know, she spent years speaking to students before this flight. Afterward, think of the stories she's going to have to tell.

PHILLIPS: Yes. She never lost sight of that dream. Incredible role model for her students. Miles O'Brien, thanks so much.

LEMON: Dean moves on, but the danger isn't gone with the wind. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on health and safety concerns inside the hurricane zone.

PHILLIPS: Plus families lash out at Utah mine owners deciding it's too dangerous to keep digging their mission.

LEMON: And she was shot right into the spotlight. How did shy Di turn into the people's princess?

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

LEMON: A singer there singing "Endless Love". You're looking at a live picture from Huntington Canyon, Utah. And the services right now you're looking at are underway. They are for Dale Ray Black. He is one of three rescuers killed last week while searching for six missing coal miners. Black would have turned 49 on Friday.

His fate is a big reason no more rescuers will be sent underground for now.

But the families, they are not giving up hope. They're hoping another bore hole will turn up some sign of life. More on that in our 2 p.m. Eastern hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Here are some other stories at 1:14 Eastern Time that we're working on from the CNN NEWSROOM.

Touchdown. Just last hour, Space Shuttle Endeavour landed safely at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. NASA shortened the mission by one day because of potential threats of Hurricane Dean.

And speaking of Dean, it's now been downgraded to a Category 2 storm as it races across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. It made landfall as a Category 5. Dean not expected to threaten the U.S.

And you might want to check your dog's bowl. Wal-Mart has stopped selling two brands of dog treats made in China, but it stopped just short of announcing a recall. Some customers say their dogs got sick, and there's a report of at least one dog dying.

LEMON: Doctors, rescue crews, relief workers. After Dean passes, their work is only starting. Health risks, both short term and long term, are definitely in the forecast. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are many different health concerns that are going to sort of crop up over the next several hours and days.

This is an area of the world that has dealt with these sorts of hurricanes before, more specifically Wilma. And that's important for a couple of reasons.

One is that the hospitals are designed to be able to take care of the types of injuries that might be associated with hurricanes.

And also the shelters that we've been talking so much about. The hundreds of shelters in that area of the country, as well, have actually withstood previous hurricanes, and that's how they'd become to be designated as shelters.

Now, in the immediate term, there's obviously concerns about near drownings. There's concerns about possible electrocution. And there's concerns about traumatic injuries.

A couple of things about that. They actually turned the power off to many of the lines so that you don't actually have the combination of electricity from those lines and water. A very important point.

In the shorter term, you obviously have concerns about dehydration, exposure to elements, people just simply being left out of their homes. That's obviously of concern, as well.

But there are several relief organizations sort of positioned either in Belize or in north of this particular area in Mexico, actually designed to go in with tents and tarps and all sorts of relief supplies to try and take care of that.

Also, drinking water. I've heard a lot about the fact that flooding might actually contaminate the drinking water supply. Something as simple as chlorine tablets could actually make help -- help the drinking water become more drinkable, if it's been contaminated.

In the longer term, and this is where it gets concerning, is that you have, for example, the Mexican army at the level of DN-3, which means that they are in position to take care of natural disasters. That might mean rebuilding roads, reestablishing communication, but also providing things like tetanus shots. People stepping on rusty nails.

All of this will unfold over the next several hours and several days: getting people out of the shelters, back into their homes, making sure the road and communication systems are up. The relief organizations are going to come in and help. So this would all -- this will all take place, and we'll certainly keep you posted as it develops.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

And we'll be keeping a close eye on relief efforts. And if these pictures are any indication, they'll be badly needed. Kids in Mexico seeking shelter anywhere they can, even in caves. We'll talk to a Red Cross spokesman at the half hour as our coverage of Hurricane Dean continues right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Now, remember how high gas prices shot after Katrina? Could Dean do the same thing? The threat of oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: When a hurricane heads for water, oil workers head for shore. That's happening in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Dean quickly approaches.

We're back with our continuing coverage of the storm, which has prompted the shutdown of some major oil rigs. What's affected, and what will Dean do to your gas prices?

Let's check in now with CNN's Jacqui Jeras, and she has someone joining her to help us out with this question -- Jacqui.

JERAS: Yes, hey, Don. Yes, we usually talk about the impact of a hurricane just over land and how it affects people, but very rarely do we worry about what a hurricane can do when it's over open water.

About three hours from now we're expecting the center of this Category 2 storm to be moving back over open water. And that's an area we're a little concerned about, and meteorologist Dave Hennen is now joining us, normally working behind the scenes. Made him dress up in a nice suit to join us here for today.

And Dave, tell us about some of the oil rigs and platforms that are out there and why we're worried about it.

DAVE HENNEN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we're going to take a look at our Google Earth here momentarily.

When you think about this storm going into the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico, you're thinking that this is probably not going to hit anything, right? But not necessarily the case.

In fact, this hurricane, Dean, heading right into the Mexican biggest oil facility. We're talking about a small city almost. Fourteen thousand workers have been evacuated.

Let's show you our Google Earth right now and talk about what we're expecting. So here's Dean right now, located right there, right in the central peninsula of the Gulf of Mexico. And, of course, it is heading off towards the west at about 15 to 20 miles per hour.

And let's show you some of our computer models. What we've done is put those familiar spaghetti plots that we show you all the time on top of this. And that shows us where the storm is expected to head as we head through time.

We're looking for the storm to move out into the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico sometime later on today, and as it does so, it is going to run into the oil fields right here.

This is a facility located in the southern Gulf of Mexico, where they have pulled out basically, Jacqui -- 14,000 people work in those facilities. And when we had a couple of hurricanes like Katrina and Ivan, which moved through the Gulf of Mexico, we had 90-foot waves associated with those that did some structural damage to the oil rigs in the northern gulf.

Kind of concerned about the same thing here. The good thing is, though, this is not a Category 5 storm anymore. It is a Category 3 storm. As it moves into the water it is going to intensify, but it may not have that much time to actually do damage.

So more of a precaution, probably, to pull the 14,000 workers out there because of the strong winds that are expected. But is going to be a Category 1 or 2 storm when it moves over that huge facility in the southern Gulf of Mexico.

JERAS: Right. What about U.S. oil rigs?

HENNEN: Not affected at all. Most of those oil rigs are located, really, way up here. We're talking about in the northern Gulf of Mexico. So here's Houston up here, Lake Charles, and New Orleans. And most of the U.S. oil fields up in this area.

So pretty much unaffected. We're not expecting to see any of those same things that we see down here. You can see a big chunk of real estate. I mean, this is what we're talking about, the size of a small city, and 14,000 people actually working out on those oil platforms.

JERAS: Wow. It's great information. Thanks for joining us today, Dave.

HENNEN: No problem.

JERAS: And back to you, Don. You can see, moving towards Mexico, and it looks like Texas is going to be in the clear. We even checked out how far out those tropical storm force winds extend out and see if you need to be worried about it up here. And it doesn't look like it's going to get anywhere near that. Maybe just a little bit of rain in the Brownsville area.

LEMON: Jacqui and Dave, good information, thank you.

PHILLIPS: Let's bring in our Susan Lisovicz.

Susan, what does this mean for oil and gasoline prices? That's what we were starting to talk about yesterday, and now we're seeing the effects.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're seeing a very dramatic effect, actually, in the oil pits, Kyra. And as -- as both Jacqui and Don both -- Dave, excuse me, just so beautifully illustrated, this is a hugely important area for oil production.

Mexico, in fact, is the second largest source of oil to the U.S., crude oil to the U.S. So you'd better believe that traders have been watching it. But they are relieved at what they're seeing.

And what we're seeing for a second straight day is a big drop in oil prices. Yesterday, crude ended the day down nearly $1. Right now, it's down $2, because there were a lot of folks betting that this could be like a repeat we saw two years ago, with Katrina and Rita coming, roaring into the Gulf. And we saw tilted over platforms, in fact, that rigs that even washed into the shore.

We're not going to see anything like that. At least that's the betting so far.

Yes, the fact is, is that Hurricane Dean is still on land and is still yet to make -- to hit Campeche, but it's diminished a great deal. And so what you're seeing is a big sell-off in the crude oil market.

And that is a relief, I think, to consumers, but not to those folks who were betting that oil was going to go up sharply.

PHILLIPS: all right. So Campeche is the area that you've been focusing on?

LISOVICZ: That's exactly right. And this was something that Dave was talking about a few minutes ago, is that we dodged the bullet with the U.S. That's why oil dropped yesterday, because it looked like the U.S. refineries were going to dodge that bullet. But not Mexico.

Now we have Hurricane Dean on land. It was a hurricane Category 5, but now it's a Category 2. It may, in fact, strengthen as it hits water again, but it doesn't look like it's going to be anything like what it could have been, and that's why you're seeing crude oil sell off so dramatically today.

PHILLIPS: We'll keep tracking that. Also, a quick look at the numbers right now before we let you go, Susan.

LISOVICZ: Well, we're not seeing much of anything right now, Kyra. It's another choppy session in the market. Lots of news.

We had a summit today with the nation's top financial minds this morning. Senator Christopher Dodd meeting with Fed chief Ben Bernanke, telling him he's prepared to use all available tools if necessary to calm the market.

Separately, President Bush reiterating his view that the nation's economy is strong, says there is enough liquidity in the financial system to weather this storm.

Stocks have been bouncing in and out of the plus column all day. But not with some of these huge point swings that we suffered through last week.

Right now, the Dow is up just seven points, but on the plus side. The NASDAQ composite, meanwhile, is up 13 points or about a half a percent. But investors remain anxious, and they have reason to remain so.

In the next hour of NEWSROOM, I'll have the latest bad news from the battered housing market, specifically, foreclosures.

For now Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll talk to you in a little bit. Thanks, Susan.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

LEMON: Well, we've been talking about Dean. But what was Tropical Storm Erin doing? It ravaged the Midwest. And rescues are underway in Ohio this hour. A report from there is coming up.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips.

Hurricane Dean slams ashore in Mexico. And Chetumal takes the brunt of its fury.

LEMON: Well, the damage assessment, it is just beginning. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All eyes are on Dean as a one-time category five super storm churns across the Yucatan Peninsula. It's now a category two with top sustained winds at 105 miles an hour. It will cross more water and regain power before it slams the coast of Mexico a second time. We've seen damaged buildings and flooded streets, but so far we've heard no one is hurt in Mexico. CNN has reporters all over the region, including crews, and we'll be calling on them all afternoon right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

When Dean roared ashore, ancient Mayan ruins were right in its path. How did they fare? CNN's Gary Tuchman is in Tulum.

Gary.

We'll get back to Gary Tuchman in a minute. Don't have that report from him. But we'll be right back with him and continue to follow this story.

Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, the other story that we're following right now. We're getting word that Bucyrus, Ohio, has been affected tremendously by the flooding left by massive amounts of rain. It's prompted a lot of evacuations in northern Ohio. It's shut down a major interstate highway. I'm told the State Highway Patrol has closed Interstate 75. Apparently firefighters have had to use boats to get out and rescue families from the flooded homes. Even we're talking to owners of motels that have been using these areas as shelters. We're told the water is still rising. We are hoping to talk to a captain there with a local fire department, apparently who has been involved with the rescues of dozens of people in that area. We're following the conditions.

And also all over southeastern Minnesota, people are returning to a pretty watery mess. Reporter Chris Hrapsky from our Rochester affiliate KTTC is in Winona County, Minnesota, right now.

Bring us up to date on conditions there, Chris.

CHRIS HRAPSKY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're in Winona City right now, which didn't get hit that hard by the floods. A lot of the cities south and southwest of here got the most damage. Right now, behind me, you can see a little bit of flooding. It's sort of the last remains of this devastation.

But a lot of the water in towns south of here, like Rushford and Stockton, Minnesota. These are small towns. A lot of that water has moved out of the city and left a whole crust of mud there for people to clean up. There are thousands of houses that are destroyed right now and, you know, something like taking a shave or brushing your teeth or getting a change of clothes or the wedding pictures you had in the basement, it's all gone for these people. The governor did stop by yesterday and had some interesting things to say about the recovery effort. We have not seen any federal emergency aid yet, but that is expected to be coming sometime tomorrow. The Winona County officials did just have a press conference here at about 10:00 a.m. at the government center. And they were talking about the relief effort that they're setting up right now.

There are information booths set up in five different quadrants of southeast Minnesota here for people who can go for information on safety and health issues when dealing with the relief effort here. A lot of the water down here is and can be contaminated. So people are being urged to go to their doctors and get updated tetanus shots. But it's really dramatic still a few days after. Again, a lot of this water is gone, but the relief effort is just beginning.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll follow it with you. Chris Hrapsky from our Rochester affiliate KTTC there in Winona County, Minnesota.

Thanks, Chris.

LEMON: All right. Let's get back to Dean now and Chetumal, Mexico. A city of 140,000 was in the eye of the storm. Dean has weakened considerably since it hit that area early this morning, but it's still impossible to survey the damage there. CNN's Harris Whitbeck shows us why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Shortly after daybreak, Hurricane Dean started diminishing. And as the sun rose, people started venturing out to see what affect the storm had had on their communities. Behind us, a man who ventured out looking to find a way to unclog a drain in front of the building where he has his business, the street there starting to flood. The man out there for at least 20, 30 minutes trying to use a -- basically use a garden rake to unclog the street in front of his house.

And as the day goes on and as the conditions permit, the authorities will start venturing out as well to see what effects the hurricane has had, not only on Chetumal, but on the surrounding region.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, reporting from Chetumal in southern Yucatan Peninsula.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And if you want to impact your world and help the victims of Hurricane Dean, log on to cnn.com/impact and we can help connect you to the relief programs right in your region.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, orphaned by a storm and now keeping a team of rescuers very busy. We're going to have an update on Moby and just what it takes to keep a 50-pound baby happy. That's straight ahead on the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, families can move on and repair work can begin in Minneapolis. Recovery crews pulled the 13th and what's believed to be the final body from the wreckage of the I-35W bridge collapse. 45- year-old Gregory Jolstad was part of a construction crew on the bridge when it fell into the Mississippi River August 1st. President Bush will be in Minneapolis this evening to get an update on the bridge. The governor has asked the president to declare the collapse a major disaster. That could mean more federal money now.

LEMON: Now to Michael Vick and his plea agreement. It may be a done deal. Well, we'll know on Monday when he returns to federal court in Richmond, Virginia. But his future in football, well, it is not. Here's CNN's Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): From star athlete to convicted felon. His lawyer says Michael Vick will plead guilty next Monday to federal conspiracy charges. He said the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback made the decision after "consulting with his family" and takes "full responsibility for his action." The deal may surprise some, but not CNN's Jeffrey Toobin.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Michael Vick had essentially no choice but to make this deal because he was looking at a trial with all of his co-defendants testifying against him and a virtual certainty that he'd be convicted.

COOPER: At next weeks hearing, Vick could admit to running an illegal dog fighting operation where bets were waged on brutal battles. According to the government, animals deemed unfit for competition were killed. Some were shot to death, others strangled or drowned. At least one was electrocuted.

The charges carried a maximum five-year prison sentence. Sources tell CNN, prosecutors offered Vick 18 to 34 months behind bars, though his lawyers had hoped to cut the jail time to less than one year. His lawyer also said Vick "wishes to apologize again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter."

Of course, Vick also will suffer. Suspended since the indictment, the 27-year-old is one of the highest paid professional athletes in the nation, in the middle of a $130 million contract. While the plea would send Vick to prison, it may not cost him his job.

TOOBIN: My sense is Vick's lawyers would not have cut a deal that guaranteed an end to his football career. The sad truth is that Michael Vick is more hated for abusing dogs than other athletes are for abusing their wives.

Anderson Cooper, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Well, the effects of Hurricane Dean are being felt all the way to Canada now. Politically that is. Mexican President Felipe Calderon is cutting short a summit that includes President Bush and his Canadian counterpart. He wants to head down to the hurricane ravaged Yucatan Peninsula as soon as possible. And for his part, Mr. Bush says the U.S. is willing to give a hand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I express my country's concerns for the citizens whose lives will be affected by Hurricane Dean. I respect the fact that President Calderon has decided to get back to Mexico as quickly as possible, in a safe way. I want you to know that U.S. agencies are in close touch with the proper Mexican authorities. And if you so desire help, we stand ready to help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The leaders met in Canada for a two-day summit, partly aimed at boosting trade.

LEMON: The FBI wants your help in identify two men who have been riding ferries in Washington state. A number of passengers and employees reported the men were acting suspiciously, taking pictures of boat parts and examining the ferry's layout. They were spotted on several different routes over several weeks. A ferry worker managed to get these pictures of the men. If you know who or where they are, the FBI wants to hear about it.

And stay tuned to CNN night and day for the most reliable news about your security.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, another day, another scare involving a product from China. Wal-Mart takes action after dog owners say tainted treats sickened their pets. We'll have details straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Her nickname, Shy Di. Well, it was well earned. But as a rookie royal, Princess Diana found her voice thanks to a little help from a childhood friend. A revealing story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Reaction coming into the CNN NEWSROOM from teammates of Michael Vick. Of course, yesterday it was reported that Michael Vick accepted a plea deal in this dog fighting case. Warrick Dunn, a runningback, one of his teammates there at training camp in Flowery Branch, responding just moments ago. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARRICK DUNN, ATLANTA FALCONS: It's tough. I mean, it's a fragile subject, situation, and to have someone of that caliber be associated with that, I mean, that's the troubling part. But I'm sure people are trying to make statements at the same time, make a point, and I think they have made their point. And Mike, he has to deal with it. And we just have to support him from afar. But at the same time as a team, we have to move on and move forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was Warrick Dunn, runningback of the Atlanta Falcons at training camp in Flowery Branch, of course responding to the charges against Vick and he is accepting a plea deal.

Coming up tomorrow in the CNN NEWSROOM, we're going to talk with someone about those dogs involved in this. Can they be retrained? And the question for people involved and prosecutors, do they have to be euthanized? We'll talk to a training expert tomorrow in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: And pictures just in of Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon. He's getting ready to leave Canada now, heading back to Mexico to assess the damage from Hurricane Dean. We just got this video in just a few minutes ago. You can see the president of Mexico there in the chopper. The air crew taking him out.

He was there for a two-day summit with the head of Canada and the president of the United States to discuss all types of topics, among border security, in addition to trade. He is now heading back to Mexico early to assess the damage and destruction from Hurricane Dean.

And, by the way, just got word it has been downgraded to a cat one.

Now this is hard to believe, but the last day of the month will be the tenth anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. Tonight, CNN premiers a "Special Investigations Unit" report "Growing Up Diana." Our Soledad O'Brien has a preview of how an insecure teen learned to cope with the staggering pressures of royalty.

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SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The fact that she was sort of uneducated in a lot of ways worked against her and her ability later on when she kind of need it.

JAMES COLTHURST, DIANA'S CHILDHOOD FRIEND: I think it made a big difference. I think it didn't give her some mechanisms to cope with some of the situations she was in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today we have two very special guests.

COLTHURST: And one day she just said, I've got to give this speech on Monday, what do you think?

O'BRIEN: And what did you think?

COLTHURST: I thought it was really boring.

O'BRIEN: Dull? COLTHURST: I said, well, how would it be if you had one that was a bit more you, you know, and a bit more life in it, you know. It would help the charity if it had some life in it.

O'BRIEN: And what did she think of that idea?

COLTHURST: She then said, well, you can write one, see if it's any better.

O'BRIEN: And he did. With the new speeches he first wrote for Diana, she moved from the fashion page to the front page. So for several years, after the wedding, Diana, and her old friend, secretly collaborated.

COLTHURST: Very often they'd come and they would arrive with a sort of fairly a morfus (Ph) envelope.

O'BRIEN: Colthurst still has some of those speeches. He's never shown them to anyone before now.

Can I take a look?

COLTHURST: Yes, you do.

O'BRIEN: Dearest James, I wonder what your views are? Lot of love to you both, D.

Really, this says, can you rewrite this speech for me?

COLTHURST: That's right. And that's what had to happen.

O'BRIEN: It must be clear to everyone from the media world that AIDS has raised some enormous issues, morals, spiritual and emotional, which transcend the physical disease itself.

COLTHURST: It was fine. I mean there was some good stuff in it. The other thing is, it was much to long. And I always tried to work on three to four pages was enough.

O'BRIEN: Colthurst says it took nine hours to rewrite one of her speeches. On top of that, Diana would call up to 10 times a day.

Was it wearing for you?

COLTHURST: Yes, very hard.

O'BRIEN: Exhausting.

COLTHURST: It was very because I had a, you know, I had a day job, as it were, so I'd suddenly -- the pager would go off, I'd have to find a phone, make an excuse for why I wasn't there, couldn't tell them who was calling.

O'BRIEN: It's the princess of Wales calling to get help on a speech.

COLTHURST: Well, I couldn't do that. So I just had to say, I had to answer the call. They just had to believe it was necessary.

O'BRIEN: And the secret collaboration went well. Diana became famous for her public speaking.

PRINCESS DIANA: HIV does not make people dangerous to know. So you can shake their hands and give them a hug. Heaven knows they need it. What's more, you can share their homes, their workplaces, their play grounds . . .

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Our Soledad O'Brien joins us now from New York.

Soledad, you mention in the beginning of that piece that Diana was not really well educated and she didn't excel in school. Why not?

O'BRIEN: You know, isn't that interesting? You know, and in a way, she was not book smart. I think that was pretty well -- and she would even mock herself for her lack of formal education. She failed her "o" levels a couple of times and that's sort of the basic, basic thing you need to do to pass high school.

And yet, you know, when it came to being people smart, she had that in spades. She really understood them. You hear Colthurst talking about how she basically got him to come on board as one of -- a close friend to help her create this persona that would later be known as we now know the princess of wales and the leverage she had and the ability she had giving speeches.

And her public persona was all grabbing people and kind of helping her build this persona that, frankly, the palace wasn't really helping her do. She had to do it on the sly. So in a way, what she lacked in book smart, she definitely made up for in, you know, not I.Q. but E.Q., being people smart. She was able to leverage that very well.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we watched that too, I mean, for so many years. And you actually went back to the home where Diana grew up. What did you learn about her when you traveled back to where her life began?

O'BRIEN: You know what was interesting, the park house where she grew up, it was interesting to see how just far out there it is. Really kind of in the middle of nowhere. And so when friends would describe her as a farm girl, they weren't exaggerating. Here was a young woman who grew up just running around barefoot because, of course, the house was way out in the countryside. And so she spent a lot of time just, you know, hanging out with pets and animals and running around outdoors. So that was one thing.

Number two, she was very much in the shadow of the queen's property. The house was rented from the queen and so the princes would come over and swim in her pool and so she grew up having as her play mates the royal highnesses. And then, on top of it all, we really got to see that her family, both her mother and father, who had some severe problems as a couple and ended up in a horrible divorce, but both very much celebrated normalcy. They wanted their kids, who were aristocrats, to play with the other kids in town. So her friends were local kids. She always got along with regular people. And it was something we definitely saw as we traced her life as she was growing up.

PHILLIPS: Wow. And that's how she raised her boys.

O'BRIEN: Yes, you see that today, don't you?

PHILLIPS: Definitely. And they talk about it.

Soledad, thanks.

O'BRIEN: A pleasure.

PHILLIPS: Well, "Growing Up Diana" premiers tonight at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN. It will be followed by "God's Jewish Warriors." The first installment of Christiane Amanpour's series on religious militants.

LEMON: Animal lover alert. Grab a hankie. You're going to need it for this story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got my dog. I got my dog.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Oh, a triumph of human dogedness (ph) and the canine spirit. You don't want to miss that, coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're following two severe weather stories here. One, Hurricane Dean. You see there on the left still barreling, although it has been downgraded just moments ago to a category one. Of course, Hurricane Dean hit the Yucatan Peninsula as a category five hurricane and really caused some damage there. That's to the left of your screen.

On the right, man, you're are looking at the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin. Certainly had a lot of water, packed a lot of water with it and caused some major flooding. We're going to talk about some high-water rescues in Ohio this hour.

And more on both of those stories coming up in just a little bit in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Meet Moby. There's Moby. He's just a baby. And rescuers are trying to keep him from becoming Tropical Storm Erin's next casualty. The dwarf sperm whale and his mom washed up on a Texas beach last week as Erin pummeled Galveston. Well, mom wouldn't let Moby nurse and, well, she later died. Now the baby's in rehab, feeding from a tube. It's rare to see whales get stranded on the Texas coast, on the Gulf Coast, especially a mother and a half. PHILLIPS: Well, a new worry now for pet owners. Wal-Mart quietly pulled two Chinese made dog treats from store shelves in July after customers complained that they made their pets ill. A Pennsylvania woman says that her Chihuahua died of an infection caused by toxic bacteria. The treats are now being tested. Customers can return the treats sold under the name Chicken Jerky, made by Shanghai Bestro Trading, and Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co., to Wal-Mart for a refund. Or you can call 1-800-Wal-Mart for more information.

Well, man's best friend trapped underground. A frantic search and days of digging led to a pretty tearful and happy reunion. Reporter Bill Murray of CNN affiliate WSAZ brings us the story now from Wayne County, West Virginia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got my dog! I got my dog!

BILL MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): What a day. Listen carefully and you'll hear a grown man cry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got my dog!

MURRAY: Tears of triumph over tragedy, finding his buried dog alive.

MARY THOMPSON, DOG'S OWNER: I can't believe it.

MURRAY: This is a story of sheer perseverance. It could have had a completely different ending. The threat of a cave-in after heavy rain was very real. A danger not only to the trapped dog, but its owner, who had been digging for days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's that way 10 feet.

MURRAY: The work of a backhoe inching dangerously close. It's giant iron claw cable of ribbing the animal in half.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hang in there, buddy. Oh!

MURRAY: A whole large enough to swallow this ladder hole and everyone and everything in it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was the thing we had to whisper a little prayer for last night, because these dogs get to be just like part of the family, you know.

THOMPSON: Mommy got you. Mommy got you.

MURRAY: But after four days of searching and two days of digging, Alex was free. For 14 years, part of the Thompson (ph) family.

THOMPSON: She'll love to see you.

I mean he's older than some of my grandchildren.

Come on sweet heart. We gotcha. We gotcha baby.

MURRAY: Alex was taken to the vet. He arrived on a stretch.

THOMPSON: It's a miracle.

MURRAY: Let's return back to those first few seconds of sheer joy and you'll see once again tears of faith, a cry of relief and the true belief in miracles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got my dog! I got my dog!.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, here's the lesson learned. Alex's owner says that he learned a hard lesson about the need for a cap on a drain pipe. He believes the dog crawled inside to escape the heat. The vet says that Alex was having a tough time with his left rear leg. He's on painkillers and antibiotics and is also recovering from pressure sores.

The next hour of NEWSROOM starts right now.

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