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Hurricane Felix Lashes Central America; President Bush & Iraq's Shadow; Coast Guard News Conference on Small Plane Crash in Lake Erie

Aired September 04, 2007 - 10:59   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. You're informed.
I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is back tomorrow.

Meanwhile, developments are coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on Tuesday, the 4th of September.

Here's what's on the rundown.

Felix, now the second Category 5 hurricane to hit land this season. Central America lashed with wind and rain this hour.

And crank it up. Southern California's baking under a heat wave today. The power supply wilting.

Lake Erie plane crash. Rescuers search for a father and son. A Coast Guard briefing live this hour, in the NEWSROOM.

Our top story this morning along the central America coastline, a head-on collision with a fearsome hurricane. Right now, Felix is moving inland after battering the shore along Nicaragua's border with Honduras.

The storm made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane. It is now a Category 3.

CNN has reporters across the hurricane zone.

We begin now with Harris Whitbeck. He is in La Ceiba, Honduras.

Harris, last hour we checked in with you and it had just begun to rain. Right?

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Heidi. And as you can see, the sun is out now, which shows just how lucky the La Ceiba area has been.

Residents of La Ceiba had been preparing for the worst and the Honduran government had actually planned on using La Ceiba as a staging area for reconnaissance teams to go into the areas that was hardest hit once the storm passed.

The storm is now a Category 3. It has been downgraded, and I understand it will continue to weaken as it goes into the central part of Honduras. We received reports from Nicaragua that indicate they had quite a ride this morning. Very, very intense winds and rain as that storm passed through there.

The AP's reporting that there are some fishermen missing in that area, Mosquito fishermen in that area. And we also spoke to the Nicaraguan minister of health who spent the storm holed up in a hospital there with about 50 people. She said that the people were absolutely terrified, they could hear roofs being ripped off of houses, roofs actually being ripped off of two public schools that were being used as shelters.

So, now as the storm continues to leave this area and continues to weaken, those reconnaissance missions that I mentioned earlier will begin. We understand the U.S. military, which has a base in Honduras, is waiting for an official request from the Honduran government or from the Nicaraguan government, or even from the Guatemalan government, if necessary, to launch their own reconnaissance missions to see how the U.S. military might help in logistics, getting people out if they have to get out, or getting aid, food, medicine, whatever into some of these areas, especially along the border, along Honduras and Nicaragua, which are extremely isolated. Most of the people there, when they went to leave that area or are going to that area, have to do so by either air or sea because there are really no passable roads that go into that part of -- kind of like the top of the hump of the Central American Isthmus -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, very difficult to get to.

All right. CNN's Harris Whitbeck for us this morning.

Thanks, Harris.

Want to check in now with Rob Marciano at the hurricane headquarters and our weather center here at CNN to get the very latest on this.

OK, so it was a Category 5, it has now downgraded to a Category 3. We expected that to happen.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Sure.

COLLINS: But then there is another hurricane that you are watching starting to develop.

MARCIANO: And actually, it strengthened. So we've got almost one, you know, weakening and giving some strength to another. It's not happening. You know, more of a metaphorical thing.

All right. Let's go over the current numbers of Felix.

Cat 3 storm right now, winds 120, gusting to 160. It is located about 40 miles west-northwest of where it made landfall. So it's pretty much right there. And you can see the forecast track from the National Hurricane Center. The strength of this is not so much important on this track, as is the amount of rainfall which we expect to see here --10, 15, maybe more than 20 inches of rain. A tremendous amount of moisture with these tropical systems. Because they are such big heat engines, they can carry much more moisture than your generic rainstorm up here in the lower 48.

So, you couple that with the mountains that are just peppered right in through here, and all that moisture slamming up against the mountains, that's why we're concerned about seeing rainfall. That could trigger mudslides and those, as history has proven to us, can certainly become deadly.

All right. We move the map to the west, and now we're looking at this particular storm which is Henriette. And you can see just in there now, just in the last couple of frames, that has now developed an eye.

It has strengthened from 75 miles an hour in maximum sustained winds to 85 miles an hour. Still a Category 1 storm, but it is a stronger Category 1 storm and it is heading north-northwesterly right now and will be hitting Cabo San Lucas here in the next few hours.

Here's the forecast track from the National Hurricane Center with those winds at 85 miles an hour. It's possible it gets to a Category 2 status, but that's not the official forecast.

So, Cabo San Lucas, the southern tip of the Baja, Heidi, will be enduring a hurricane, a full-on -- at least a Category 1 hurricane here in the next few hours. And we'll bring that landfall to you live as it happens here in the CNN NEWSROOM, likely after lunch time.

COLLINS: Both sides of Mexico there, man, getting hammered.

All right, Rob. We know you're watching it. Thank you.

MARCIANO: OK.

COLLINS: When weather becomes the news, count on CNN to bring it to you first. If you see severe weather happening in your area, send us an I-Report, if you would. Go to CNN.com and click on "I-Report" or type ireport@CNN.com right into your cell phone. You could share your photos or video with us that way.

A search is under way now in Lake Erie. The missing, a father and his 9-year-old son. Their plane crashed into the water after taking off from Kelleys Island, Ohio.

One man actually saw the crash and rode out to the wreckage. He saved the man's 7-year-old son who was also aboard the flight. The plane crashed last night about half-mile from shore.

A Coast Guard briefing is scheduled to begin at any time now. You see the microphones there.

We are watching this for you. We'll bring it to you live once it begins.

Keeping cool in a heat wave almost impossible right now for thousands of people in southern California. But forecasters say relief may be in sight.

Triple-digit temperatures causing big problems from Los Angeles to San Diego. Power outages have left thousands of people without air conditioning. The situation in San Diego is so severe, a power emergency is now in place. Authorities are preparing for potential rolling blackouts as demand for electricity surges.

A pair of deadly bombings shaking Pakistan this morning. At least 21 people killed, 74 wounded in the blast in Rawalpindi. That's just south of the capital, Islamabad. And it is the headquarters of Pakistan's military.

The first explosion destroyed a bus that was carrying government workers. And the second killed people in a commercial district. No groups have claimed responsibility.

A key Taliban commander reported killed this morning in Afghanistan. Afghan police say 16 militants died in a firefight with coalition forces in the eastern Ghazni province. Most of them -- among them, a man believed to be one of the masterminds behind the July kidnappings of those 23 South Korean aid workers.

And President Bush, the long shadow of Iraq. Right now he is in Australia for trade talks, but the distant war sparks anger and tests alliances. You see some live pictures here.

CNN White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano is in Sydney.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Less than two weeks before he delivers a crucial Iraq report to Congress, President Bush hinted at a possible future troop drawdown.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker tell me if the kind of success we're now seeing continues, it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces.

QUIJANO: But later, the president was more cautious, saying no decision had been made.

Even before the president's surprise visit, Iraq was already overshadowing his trip to the annual meeting of Asian and Pacific leaders in Sydney, Australia, this week.

LEE HAMILTON, FMR. 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: I think we are coming into a very important chapter, a new chapter in the Iraq debate, beginning with General Petraeus' report.

QUIJANO: To ensure he's in Washington ahead of congressional testimony on Iraq by lieutenant General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the president will leave the conference a day early. But he will have a chance to strengthen ties with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, one of his staunchest war on terror allies.

MICHAEL GREEN, FMR. ASIAN AFFAIRS ADVISER: Howard stood with the president very closely on Iraq. John Howard was in Washington on 9/11. So they were really working together based on this common experience.

QUIJANO: Yet, the president could lose the ally he calls a man of steel. With Australia's upcoming election, polls show the prime minister lagging behind opposition party candidate Kevin Rudd. Rudd says he won't back down on his party's call for a phased withdraw of Australian combat forces from Iraq.

President Bush also plans to meet with him.

GREEN: He may end up being prime minister, so it's absolutely appropriate for the president to spend time talking to him, as many American leaders have with labor leaders over the decades.

QUIJANO: But 9/11 commissioner Lee Hamilton says Iraq has limited the president's clout on the world stage.

HAMILTON: Well, I think there's no doubt at all that it has hurt it profoundly.

QUIJANO (on camera): Even as the president focuses much of his attention on Iraq and the war on terror, experts suggest in 50 years, China and Asia will be the center of international power. Because of that, they say this administration and others must spend more time today managing relationships with Asian nations in order to prepare for that power shift down the road.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, Sydney, Australia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Still ahead, a family's memorial in the hills of Arizona. One young girl dead, her sister on the slow road to recovery this morning.

More on the mine shaft tragedy.

The 411 on ATVs. Kids love to ride them, but parents worry. Are all-terrain vehicles safe with kids behind the wheel?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Congress is back in session. We'll tell you about the first in a series of reports in Iraq.

That's ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Athletes on the field and at risk. Questions about heart health. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with the answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Quickly want to get you to this news conference that we have been telling you is coming our way from Kelleys Island, Ohio. The U.S. Coast Guard addressing the situation that's happened there overnight of a small plane crash into Lake Erie.

Let's go ahead and listen in. I believe this is Captain Patrick Brennan (ph) of the U.S. Coast Guard.

CHIEF ROBERT LANIER, U.S. COAST GUARD: Good morning.

First, I'd like to express my deepest sympathies on behalf of the Coast Guard and all the agencies that have been involved in the search and rescue effort to the families of those still missing. Because this incident involves a plane crash, neither the Coast Guard nor any of the other agencies involved in the search know the cause of the crash. I ask you refrain from asking any questions relating to the cause.

Last night, at approximately 9:10 p.m., a small plane taking off from Kelleys Island went down in Lake Erie just east of the island. The plane was flown by a 46-year-old man, and on board the aircraft were his 9 and 7-year-old sons.

Miraculously, the 7-year-old boy survived the crash and was rescued by a person from Kelleys Island who heard the boy's calls for help and responded in a row boat. Unfortunately, we've been unable to locate the other two occupants of the aircraft at this time.

We're in close contact with the next of kin. However, neither the Coast Guard, Erie County, nor the Ohio State Highway Patrol are releasing the names of those on board the aircraft.

Immediately after reports of the crash were received by the Coast Guard and other agencies, folks from the Coast Guard station Marblehead, a helicopter from Coast Guard air station Detroit, vessels from Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, Clinton (ph) Bay Police, Huron Fire Department, Lakeside Fire Department, Sandusky Police Department, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ketoba (ph) Fire Department and Lake Erie Towing converged on the scene of the crash and began to search to locate survivors. Also dispatched to the area was the Coast Guard cutter Bristol Bay which is serving as on-scene commander.

Additionally last night, divers from Huron Fire Department, Lakeside Fire Department, Sandusky Fire Department and the Ketoba (ph) Fire Department began an underwater search. Those search efforts by those agencies terminated about 2:30 last night, the underwater search.

Search efforts continued throughout the night by the Coast Guard and continue again today. On scene, the Coast Guard is currently searching with a helicopter, the cutter Bristol Bay, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is searching with an underwater site scan unit, sonar unit, provided by Lucas County aboard the Coast Guard vessel in an attempt to locate the aircraft. Divers from the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, Huron Fire Department and Sandusky Fire Department are on scene diving as well. The Coast Guard, along with our other search and rescue partners, plan to continue its search throughout the day and we will re-evaluate the search effort at the end of the day.

At this time, I'd be happy to take any questions you may have.

QUESTION: What can you tell us -- the 7-year-old apparently heard his father after this tragedy in the water. Did he see him? He heard him yelling? What can you tell us about that?

LANIER: I don't have any firm information on that. Deliberations between the child and the family and so forth is not something I'm prepared to talk about at this time.

We still have not located the father and the other -- and the 9- year-old son on board the aircraft. So we're still continuing to search for those two persons.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

LANIER: As far as I know, there's been an aircraft wheel that's been recovered and some other small items probably from aboard the aircraft and so forth. And we're continuing right now -- we're continuing to search for the fuselage and other large portions of the aircraft.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

LANIER: I'm not sure at this time where the plane was heading.

Does anybody know what the destination of the aircraft was?

We can find that out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My understanding is they were just on a pleasure trip up from down around Lima, Ohio, coming up to the island, and were heading back to Lima.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

LANIER: Yes, we do not want pleasure boaters to go out near the site of the debris. There is debris out there. We have -- our vessels are out there currently searching as well.

So we ask that persons don't go out there. But if they do see, of course, anything in the water, notify the Coast Guard and Channel 16.

QUESTION: How deep is it? Was the weather bad?

COLLINS: All right. We have been listening in here now to the Coast Guard's Robert Lanier. I thought we were going to be hearing from Captain Patrick Brennan (ph), but instead, Robert Lanier has been giving us all the information today on what happened in Kelleys Island, Ohio, and that is a small plane crashed into Lake Erie. Initially, there was a pretty miraculous rescue of a 7-year-old boy. Someone living on Kelleys Island saw the plane go down and rode out in a boat to save that small boy. Unfortunately, that boy's father and his brother, a 9-year-old boy, are still missing, as you heard the Coast Guard's Robert Lanier say.

There are now helicopters and cutter boats, divers out looking for these two people. The names not being released yet. They have spoken with the next of kin but are not releasing those names as of yet. They continue to find debris and are looking for larger pieces of that plane as well.

We'll continue to follow that story for you, bring you any new information that we may get in here at CNN.

Right now want to get to T.J. Holmes in the newsroom with a different story that is developing.

Are you talking about this happening or whatever you want to call it in San Diego here?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: San Diego, yes. Kind of a rowdy holiday weekend there on the beach, if you will. But this is the video.

Yes, you can see that was one of many confrontations there. But at least 16 people were arrested, according to police, after what turned into a pretty massive brawl on Pacific Beach yesterday around 5:00 local time.

The lifeguards had to call in police after they saw a fight in the large crowd, but then when police showed up, things got a little rowdier. People started throwing cans and bottles at the police officers. They had to call in reinforcements and it ended up being about 70 police officers in riot gear to try to calm down this crowd of about 500 people that they say turned into an all-out brawl.

Not exactly sure why it started in the first place or what -- what sparked the whole thing. But the fight got going, city councilmen actually showed up. And this has been a city councilman there who has been talking about the restrictions or the lack of restrictions on alcohol on the beaches. So now he is vowing to reexamine whether or not there needs to be some kind of restrictions on alcohol use or maybe just a ban on beaches there in San Diego, a ban on alcohol use, because he thinks, he certainly believes that alcohol played a role in this whole melee.

No reports of injuries or serious injuries to anyone. And certainly no injuries to the police officers as well. But the Labor Day holiday didn't exactly wrap up the way it should have for a lot of folks there in San Diego -- Heidi.

COLLINS: No. And you know what? They're hot there, too. Very, very hot, and they don't have air conditioning. And people are probably going to the beach and trying to stay cool that way and have a couple of brewskies at the same time. All right, T.J. Holmes, thank you.

HOLMES: Brewskies, sounds good. All right. See you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Still ahead now, politics and the battlefield, what's working in Iraq, what's not. A key report to a Senate committee.

More on that after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Congress back to work after a summer break. Turning up the heat on the Iraq debate. A Senate committee hears a report on the war's progress today.

Want to go live to CNN's Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill for us this morning.

Brianna, good morning to you.

Tell us about what's going to be happening today.

KEILAR: Heidi, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is going to be hearing testimony today from David Walker, the head of the Government Accountability Office. This is the independent office that is putting out one of the reports on Iraq. And you may recall much of this report was leaked last week.

"The Washington Post" reporting that it's going to paint a very grim picture of progress in Iraq, that the Iraqi government has only satisfied three of 18 benchmarks put forth by Congress. And in all, Congress is going to be hearing testimony on three different reports over the next week and a half, and that also includes that report from General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, a much-awaited report.

Just to give you a sense of the landscape of this Iraq debate here on Capitol Hill, Republicans at this point really seizing on military successes in Iraq, successes from President Bush's surges, but -- from the surge, rather, but Democrats, while they are conceding, some of them, that there has been military progress from the surge, they point out that political reconciliation has not followed. And because of that, they say that, therefore, the surge was a failure -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Brianna, any sense of a compromise though to bring maybe some of the Republicans over to the Democrats' side? Is that a crazy question?

KEILAR: It's not a crazy question. It is certainly one that people are asking.

And the spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that Reid has been reaching out with Republicans over the last week trying to gauge where they stand on the Iraq debate, but that so far he hasn't been able to garner any more votes on a drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq. And just keep in mind, this is a very delicate dance the Democrats are doing as they try to win over these wavering Republicans, because remember back in July, Republicans thwarted Democratic efforts to begin that drawdown. And then Democrats really running the risk of, if they bend too much in favor of Republicans, if they compromise too much, they could lose support from some staunch anti-war liberals -- Heidi.

COLLINS: CNN's Brianna Keilar for us this morning.

Brianna, thank you.

We all know exercise is good, but can rigorous workouts be deadly for some people? That's a question surrounding the death of a Spanish soccer player. He died last month, days after collapsing on the field. Doctors say it was a heart attack.

Earlier, I talked with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta about a new study on athletes and heart health.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What seems to be happening, at least according to a new study, is that athletes may have -- athletes, like anybody else, I should say, may have an underlying heart condition that is irregular heart rhythm. In most people, it's without consequence. It's really no problem.

But you add to that this adrenaline, all of the surge that athletes put their bodies through, and all of a sudden, what may have been an otherwise harmless heart rhythm can actually turn deadly. And that may have happened with Antonio Puerto, other athletes as well.

In Italy, you may not know this, but in Italy, they actually mandate that all athletes get an EKG before they start playing. And what they've noticed is that the death rate from sudden cardiac disease has gone from four in 100,000 to .4 in 100,000.

COLLINS: Wow.

GUPTA: So, it seems to make a difference, just doing these EKGs.

COLLINS: Yes. It doesn't seem like a bad idea.

GUPTA: Right.

COLLINS: But it's weird, because these athletes that we're talking about are some of the finest in the world. I mean, tip-top physical condition. It seems like they would be able to sort of bounce back.

GUPTA: Right. And we thought the exact same thing. And the question, what happens at the event? What happens at the time that this has actually occurred?

The body has just been through this amazing sort of trial. You know, they've been through an athletic event of some sort, and as a result, their body may be in what is called an oxygen-deprived state.

So, while they should be able to sort of bounce back, as you say, Heidi, from some sort of event like this, because their body has just been taxed so much, they don't have enough reserve, they don't have enough oxygen actually in their bloodstream at the time to be able to combat something like this. Again, turning what otherwise may have been a harmless or certainly not fatal event into something that can kill somebody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Health experts still recommend we get about 30 minutes of exercise most days, saying the benefits of exercise outweigh the risks.

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

Among our top stories this morning, a fearsome storm slamming into parts of Central America. Right now, Hurricane Felix is moving inland after battering the region along Nicaragua's border with Honduras. It has now dropped to a Category 3 hurricane after moving ashore as a Category 5 with winds at 160 miles an hour.

Just ahead of landfall, frantic evacuations. Thousands of tourists and residents along the Honduran coastline were moved to higher ground. Belize, Guatemala and parts of Mexico also expected to feel the storm's impact. Forecasters say the hurricane's heavy rains could produce flashfloods and mudslides all across the region.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Rob Marciano updating us now on the path and strength of this hurricane.

Hey there, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, you can't see that eye anymore. Can you? It's really filled in.

COLLINS: No.

MARCIANO: That's one of the reasons we're seeing this weakening. Obviously the moisture source, warm waters of the Caribbean, that is the fuel that continues the fire to go. Once these things hit land, they dissipate rather quickly. The problem was this storm was so strong when it came on shore, and it's been on shore now for a good three, four hours and only been knocked down a couple of categories.

We're at category 3 status right now with 120 miles an hour wind. It is packing a powerful punch, you better believe it. Now it is getting into the more mountainous areas of not only Nicaragua but Honduras as well. That will be the cause for concern in the way of rainfall which typically, when hurricanes hit this part of Central America with the mountainous terrain, mudslides are pretty much inevitable, because we are talking about rainfall amounts that could exceed 20 inches in less than a 12-hour span in some cases.

Here's the forecast from the National Hurricane Center with the latest numbers, 120 mile-an-hour sustained winds mostly to the north of the system. It's still a very small core of hurricane force winds. I'm curious to see what the damage path will be. It probably won't be all that wide. Once it gets into the mountains it will certainly be more of a rainmaker.

Hurricane number two on the western side of Mexico. Now we have an eye developing with Hurricane Henriette. This is heading towards Cabo San Lucas. It is less than six hours away from making landfall. Already the outer bands are beginning to encroach across the certain tip of the Baja of California. 85 mile-an-hour winds now sustained. So this is a moderate category 1 hurricane and it will be doing some damage to the Baja and eventually not so much damage but likely some moisture from this storm will get into the lower 48 across the desert southwest. That's the extent of our hurricane exposure at least in the near term.

COLLINS: OK Rob. Thank you.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Roesgen in Jena, Louisiana, covering the case of six black teenagers facing years in prison. Are the charges realistic or racist? That's coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Hearings today in the case known as the Jena six. Controversial charges against African American high school students raising questions about justice in the Louisiana town. CNN's Susan Roesgen reports.

ROESGEN: Nestled in the heart of Louisiana is the small town of Jena where the town motto is "It's a nice place to call home." But not so nice for everyone.

Marcus Jones is outraged and frightened. His son, 17-year-old Mychal Bell, has been found guilty of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery, charges that could send him to prison for more than 20 years, a chain of events that all began under a tree at Jena High School.

Like the town itself, the school is mostly white, and the unwritten rule was that the tree was a meeting place for white students only. But last year several black students sat under the tree, and the next day three nooses hung from the branches. To the black community, the message was clear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was very offended. Because that's a racial slur against us.

ROESGEN: But some white residents said it was no big deal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think a couple boys made a mistake. You know, I think it's all being blown out of proportion.

ROESGEN: From there, tension between white and black students escalated. In November, a fire destroyed part of the school. Police said it was arson. Many in town suspect it was connected to the worsening race relations. Then in December, a white student, Justin Barker, was knocked unconscious and kicked as he lay on the ground. Some said Barker provoked the fight, but in an exclusive interview his parents told us Justin didn't do anything and they believe he could have been killed.

KELLI BARKER, JUSTIN BARKER'S MOTHER: Several lacerations on both sides. Both ears was kind of really damaged. Both eyes, his right eye was the worst. It had blood clots in it.

ROESGEN: These are pictures taken of Justin's face by the police department at the hospital. Justin was released the same day and attended a school ceremony that very night. A few days later, six black classmates were charged with attempted murder, Carwyn Jones, Bryant Purvis, Robert Bailey, Jr. and Theodore Shaw all face the prospect of life in prison. A fifth teenager whose name hasn't been released is charged with attempted murder as a juvenile. And in June, the sixth teenager, Mychal Bell, was found guilty of aggravated battery. It took an all-white jury just three hours to reach the verdict.

The local district attorney plans to pursue the charges against the other five boys. D.A. Reed Walters released a written statement after the incident last year saying he had never charged anyone based on who they are. But the boys' parents don't believe that any of them will get a fair trial.

CASEPTALA BAILEY, ROBERT BAILEY'S MOTHER: D.A. had come up with these outrageous charges, or whatever. He just felt that since this is the way that he has been doing things for years to the black people, this is just something that we're going to allow him to roll over us and let it happen.

ROESGEN: Another mother, Tina Jones, says the D.A. offered to drop the charges against her son if he would testify against the others. Her son refused. Do you think your son should have agreed to that plea deal?

TINA JONES, CARWYN JONES' MOTHER: No. If he didn't see who hit him, that's a risk we'll have to take.

ROESGEN: A risk that could mean life in prison.

COLLINS: Susan Roesgen is joining us now live from Jena this morning. I know you were in some hearings earlier today. Tell us what's going on in court.

ROESGEN: Well, already Heidi a couple of surprises. Carwyn Jones and Theo Shaw, 2 of the 6 students had their first arraignment. They both pleaded not guilty but the charges, Heidi, were not attempted murder, not a second-degree attempted murder and conspiracy to commit attempted murder. Instead their charges, also as Mychal Bell's charge was, were reduced to second degree aggravated battery.

Both of their lawyers told me they were surprised by that. They expected to have the students have to plead not guilty to attempted murder. But without any prior announcement, the D.A. simply changed the charges to second degree aggravated battery.

That's good news, but as you saw in that report there, Heidi, it is still a felony that carries more than 20 years in prison for a conviction. That's what Mychal Bell is facing right now.

COLLINS: His hearing is coming up a little bit later today?

ROESGEN: That's right. And his lawyer later this afternoon is going to ask 1 of 2 things. First of all, she's going to try to get the whole conviction thrown out. If that's not possible, she's going to file a motion to have his case bumped back down to juvenile court because he was really only 16 at the time of the attacks.

COLLINS: Susan, any of these kids have prior issues with the law?

ROESGEN: Actually, at least Mychal Bell and Justin Barker, the victim. We don't know the records or probable records of the others. But we know that Mychal Bell was convicted four times for juvenile offenses before the attack at school. Justin Barker, the victim, had been arrested for bringing a gun to school. Both of their moms talk to me and both of their moms had rational explanations for both of those incidents. Mychal Bell's mother said they were minor things, it was no big deal, it wasn't his fault. Justin Barker's mother told me, yes, he brought the gun to school but it was an accident, he didn't know he had the gun in his truck.

But what I'm trying to say here I think, Heidi, is that these boys may not all be choir boys. There may be some things in their past. They may not be as innocent on all sides of prior things to this particular case. Whether or not they're guilty in this particular case is what has to be decided.

COLLINS: Absolutely. Talk a little bit about -- I know you've been following this story and sort of the dynamic of what goes on at that school and in that town. I'm assuming that the school year has started. What's going on there now this year with all of this sort of hanging over their heads?

ROESGEN: Well, a couple of things. First of all, that tree, that infamous tree, has been cut down. The school decided to cut it down before the start of the school year. They realized that it was a lightning rod in this town and they've cut it down.

The second thing is you may have seen some video of some students and parents wearing "free Jena six" t-shirts. Some students were wearing those t-shirts to class and the school just a couple of weeks ago said you can't wear those t-shirts anymore. It is causing turmoil here at the school. We haven't heard of any more actual fights at the school, but there is still obvious tension.

COLLINS: All right, CNN's Susan Roesgen for us this morning coming from Jena, Louisiana. Susan, thanks so much.

Want to give you some background, too, about Jena where all of this is happening. It is a rural town. It's about 230 miles northwest of New Orleans. It's in LaSalle parish. The business main interest is oil and gas. About 3,000 people live in Jena. Of that number, about 12% are African Americans.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at New York stock exchange where oil prices are rising and so are airfares. I'll have that story next.

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

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COLLINS: 15 minutes from now, Rosemary Church will be at the anchor desk on "YOUR WORLD TODAY."

Hi there Rosemary.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, Heidi. We are covering the globe this day and every day, of course, tracking the fury of Felix. Now that category 5 hurricane slammed ashore in Nicaragua. What's its impact and what's its projected path? We'll also have a live report, we'll check that out for you.

And New York's first Arabic language public school has some parents are on edge. Is there a hidden agenda? Some say yes. We'll take a look at that.

And a fascinating story for you on the changing face of planet earth. Whether you blame it on global warming, natural disasters or human impact, the coastlines are changing so fast that map makers can hardly keep up.

We'll have those stories and much, much more on "YOUR WORLD TODAY" here on CNN at the top of the hour. Join us then. Heidi, back to you. Flying solo again today.

COLLINS: I'm flying solo. Come on over! Rosemary, thanks. We'll be watching.

Sleeping on the floor, waiting on the tarmac, driving to another airport to catch a flight. These are just some of the themes emerging from summer air travel. You've probably experienced some of them.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with the painful details.

LISOVICZ: The summer of pain, Heidi, is the way "USA Today" put it. Not a great summer for travel by air. New reports by "USA Today" show twice as many flights were canceled this summer as last. That includes 30,000 cancellations during the key ten-week period in the 30 biggest cities during the heart of the summer travel season. Also more flights arrived at least 45 minutes late than the previous summer. Experts say bad weather and crew shortages mostly to blame. But it seems like it's getting worse rather than --

COLLINS: Yes, all-time high for capacity though, too. Right?

LISOVICZ: Correct, that's right. That was one of the ways that the airlines business corrected itself, was to reduce some of the capacity until our flights are more crowded.

COLLINS: No question about that. Meanwhile though, we have another airfare hike to announce.

LISOVICZ: More expensive and really painful. Painful in every which way. Heidi, it will cost a bit more to fly on certain routes this fall. Southwest Airlines raising fares by $10, citing rising fuel costs, which we've been reporting. The hike is for its longer flights but shorter flights won't be immune either. The increases will just be smaller. Southwest's the nation's leading discount carrier and its low fares have pressured other carriers. Experts say Southwest may need to continue to raise fares as fuel prices increase. Several other airlines quickly matched Southwest's fare hike.

Turning to Wall Street, well we've got some nice hikes in stock prices on the first trading day of September, especially in the tech area lead by Apple and Yahoo.

Moments ago we have multiple reports of the Federal Reserve and other banking regulators are issuing special guidance now urging loan service companies to work with borrowers in danger of defaulting on their home mortgages. This of course follows President Bush's initiatives announced on Friday but today's action does not mandate any changes. The fed saying that it is very important to keep homeowners in their homes and say that among the ways that companies could work with homeowners is modifying the terms of the loan or deferring payments. But there are concerns that it is going to get worse rather than better with some of the numbers that we're seeing out of the housing sector.

Oil prices, by the way, more than 1% higher as investors keep an eye on the path of Hurricane Felix, which is now a category 5 storm in Central America. Of course, we have a long way to go before the hurricane season comes to a close. Right now the Dow industrials are up 35 points or .25%. The NASDAQ meanwhile is up 1%. We've got some gains on the first trading day of September, Heidi.

COLLINS: Gains are good! All right. Thanks so much.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Take a look at this now. She won. Thank goodness it wasn't a beauty contest. Maddy the mutt, one tiny speed demon.

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COLLINS: Remembering a young girl lost in a tragic accident, a memorial near a mine shaft in the hills of Arizona. That hole swallowed up two sisters riding an all-terrain vehicle on Saturday. 13-year-old Rikki Howard died after plunging into the 125-foot deep mine shaft. A neighbor describes the family as about as distraught as humans can be. Rikki's 10-year-old sister, Kathy Hicks, was rescued from the mine. She's hospitalized now in serious condition this morning. The girl's father was riding ahead of them but did not see them fall.

New school year. Imagine someone making this offer to your first grader. Graduate from high school and I'll pay for your college education. Oral Lee Brown is making that pledge in Oakland, California. She's today's CNN hero.

ORAL LEE BROWN: These are our kids. We should at least take them to a position in their life that they can lead their way. And they can't do it without an education. An education can get you everything you want. You can go wherever you want to go. It's the way out of the ghetto, bottom line.

YOLANDA PEEK, FORMER SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: She said give me your first graders who are really struggling and who are most needy. I want to adopt the class, and I want to follow the class until they graduate from high school. And she said that she was going to pay their college tuition.

BROWN: How many you are going on to college? At the time I was making I think $45 - $46,000, a year. I committed $10,000 to the kids. I grew up in Mississippi. I lived off $2 a day. That's what we got, $2 a day for picking cotton. So I really feel that I was blessed from god. So I cannot pay him back, but these kids are his kids. These kids -- some of them are poor like I was.

LAQUITA WHITE, FORMER STUDENT: When you have that mentor like Miss Brown, a very strong person, you can't go wrong because she's on you constantly every day, what are you doing, how are you doing?

BROWN: The world doubted us. I was told that, lady, you cannot do it. I would say, you know what? These kids are just like any other kids. The only thing that they don't have the love and the support.

You're looking at doctors and lawyers and one president of the United States. When you give a kid an education and they get it up here, nobody or nothing can take it away.

COLLINS: There is much more about Oral Lee Brown and her foundation on our website. Go to CNN.com/heroes to check it out.

First, Dean. Today Felix. Back-to-back category 5 hurricanes hit land. A rare event. Complete coverage ahead on "YOUR WORLD TODAY."

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COLLINS: I know you've been waiting for this all day so here you go. What's faster than a speeding Chihuahua? Not much. Check it out. It took two seconds, that's it, for Maddy, there she is, to grab the title of America's fastest Chihuahua. Looks like a few other breeds may have been slipping in. Maddy is a 2-year-old pup from New York. She beat 14 other mini mutts. Last year's winner, Tiger. Now knocked off the throne. Drama at the Chihuahua races.

CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from today. I'm Heidi Collins. Have a great day, everybody.

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