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Steve Fossett Missing; Republicans Prepare For Presidential Debate

Aired September 04, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A boy gets out of his wheelchair to save his dad from fire. Eight-year-old Gregory Bridwell has cerebral palsy. But that was no handicap when it came to heroism. The Kentucky boy was watching TV when the set exploded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGORY BRIDWELL, 8 YEARS OLD: It was like this, big old smoke. And then I ran outside to get my grandpa. And then I saved my dad's life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Gregory can't walk. So he crawled to his grandfather. Grandfather then rushed back in the house and got Gregory's dad out just in time.

Next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

The winds are down, but the danger still sky high from Hurricane Felix. In its prime, it made history. Now it is just making trouble for Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Steve Fossett made the whole world his playground. Today, a big chunk of Nevada is being scoured for the billionaire adventurer and multi-world-record holder.

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

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

LEMON: He's a billionaire, he's adventurer, and he's missing.

Happening right now, an all-out search in western Nevada for Steve Fossett, last seen taking off in a light plane yesterday. Now, searchers are poring over radar data and combing hundreds of miles of rugged terrain and high winds.

Fossett took off from a private airstrip called Flying M Ranch about 30 miles south of Yerington, Nevada. Now, he holds many world flight records and was the first to fly solo around the world in a balloon. Steve Fossett is 63 years old.

PHILLIPS: CNN's Miles O'Brien, himself a pilot, has been following the developing story. And we got a chance to talk with him early on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CHIEF TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT: This all comes from the Civil Air Patrol there in Smith Valley, that part of Nevada.

It happened last night. He took off actually noon yesterday in a Bellanca Super Decathlon. That is an aerobatically capable airplane. We're told he was not wearing a parachute, as is the mandated FAA regulation for anyone doing acrobatics in an airplane.

According to the Civil Air Patrol, Steve Fossett does not like doing acrobatics. He had four to five hours of fuel in that Super Decathlon plane.

This ranch, the Flying M Ranch, owned by Barron Hilton, is 30 miles southeast of Yerington, Nevada, about 120 miles southeast of Reno. A very extensive search began at 6:00 p.m. local time yesterday, six aircraft from the Nevada Civil Air Patrol, helicopters from the naval air station at Fallon, Nevada, the Nevada Air National Guard chopper, California Highway Patrol helicopters.

As we say, no sign of him so far in that area. But took off from that private airstrip there on that ranch. And the search is under way for Steve Fossett, who holds numerous, numerous records in balloons, hot air balloons, and of course aircraft, most recently flying around the world twice, setting a distance in speed record in a single-engine jet designed by the aviation legend Burt Rutan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: It was actually a friend that called in and said that Steve Fossett was missing. CNN will keep following this story and bring you any new developments as we get them.

And we're also waiting for a news conference on that search, 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. We will keep following the story, bring you any new developments as they happen.

LEMON: Once a fearsome Category 5, Hurricane Felix is losing steam. It is now a Category 2 storm, with winds around 100 miles an hour.

The worry now, torrential rains and the potential for deadly mudslides. So far, no reports of any deaths, though rescuers in Nicaragua are trying to track down two boats with 35 fishermen who put out to sea ahead of the storm.

CNN correspondent Susan Candiotti, Harris Whitbeck, and Karl Penhaul are on the move across the hurricane zone.

Harris is with rescuers and aid workers in La Ceiba, Honduras. They're waiting to hear where they are needed most.

Tell us the very latest right now, Harris. HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, right now, it's calm here.

But just an hour or so ago we were being slammed by some really heavy rain, and that rain is only just some of the outer bands of this system as it makes its way into the Honduran interior. As it does so, it is bringing heavy rain, which is a matter of concern for the authorities. They say that that rain could bring mudslides and flooding to the very, very mountainous area of central Honduras.

The capital of the country, Tegucigalpa, is prone to mudslides and flooding. It was there that many people lost their lives when Hurricane Mitch stalled over Honduras nearly 10 years ago, and caused 10,000 deaths all over Honduras, Nicaragua and parts of Guatemala.

As you said, rescue workers and government officials are waiting for conditions to get a little bit better before they go out to the areas that were most affected or where the hurricane had its initial path as it made landfall. And that way they will be able to assess what sort of needs the people might have.

Last night they were say that some 14,000 Miskito Indians near the border with Nicaragua had not been evacuated because the government ran out of fuel for the boats that were being used for the evacuation.

We have also heard from neighboring Nicaragua, which is where Hurricane Felix actually made landfall, that there are several people there who might be missing. The two boats that you mentioned apparently 35 people, at least 35 people on those boats have not been heard from since they took to the seas to try to get out of the path of the hurricane -- Don.

LEMON: Harris Whitbeck, thank you for that report.

And, of course, our Chad Myers in the Weather Center tracking all it, we are going to check in with him in just a little bit.

Of course, when weather becomes 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. Go to CNN.com and click on I-Report or type ireport at CNN.com right into your cell phone and share your photos or video.

PHILLIPS: Well, an independent look at the situation in Iraq shows only small progress on key benchmarks. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is getting a frank assessment from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Our Brianna Keilar is in Washington with the latest.

Brianna, bring us up to date.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, this report shows that the Iraqi government has failed to meet 11 of 18 benchmarks. And, according to David Walker, the head of the GAO, who is testifying before Congress right now, it is the political goals where the Iraqi government is significantly lagging. Now, it also shows this report that Iraq partially met four benchmarks. It fully met three benchmarks. And those are setting up committees to support the Baghdad security plan, establishing joint security stations in Baghdad neighborhoods and ensuring the rights of minority political parties in the Iraqi legislature, assuring that those rights are protected.

Congressman mandated this report to show whether the 18 benchmarks they drafted were met or unmet. So, the controversy over here, over this revolves around the partially met benchmarks.

Let me take you back to last week. The draft of this report was leaked to the media and Walker said it was leaked by a member of the Bush administration. At that time, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid raised the concern of Democrats that judgments would be softened before the final version was released.

Here's how Walker to a question about whether the GAO was pressured by the Bush administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID WALKER, COMPTROLLER GENERAL, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE: When they leaked that, they also noted they were going the try to convince us to change some of our ratings. As you can see, the only thing we really did was, we went to a partially met on a couple, one of which I had made the judgment, frankly, you know, independently of their comments, the other of which they provided additional us information that we did not have previously which caused us to change our judgments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That leak of this report draft last week was accompanied by a tremendous amount of pushback from the White House as well as the Pentagon and the State Department. They called the report unfair because it didn't indicate if progress was made, only if a benchmark was met or unmet.

So now as Democrats say this is fresh evidence that the Bush administration needs to pull troops out of Iraq, the White House is emphasizing that there's progress towards a great number of the benchmarks -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Brianna Keilar, we will be following up on this, and of course one week away from General David Petraeus' report as well. We will be following it all.

LEMON: Labor is day is over. Most members of Congress are back on the Hill. And presidential candidates are running harder than ever. Several are in New Hampshire, where the Republicans square off tomorrow in a debate, with one glaring exception.

Our Candy Crowley joins us from the Granite State. Candy, this week is kickoff week. Give us the national landscape of this race, would you?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what is interesting is that the Democratic race at least has been pretty stagnant over the summer months. Hillary Clinton holds a pretty commanding, pretty consistent lead in the national polls.

Now, if you are John Edwards or Barack Obama, particularly John Edwards, he's looking to some of those early primary states, in particular Iowa. And there the three of them, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, are in a virtual tie.

So, what happens if you concentrate on these states and what those who are not in first place at this point in the polls sort of count on is that they can go to New Hampshire, perhaps win there, and begin to take away some of that sense of, oh, it is inevitable that the front-runner is going to win.

So, John Edwards is concentrating on the early states. Barack Obama thinks that his problem, the reason he has not moved in the polls that much is that people think he's sort of hopped on to the scene two years ago. They think he's too inexperienced. So he is going to spend much of the fall laying out what he's done prior to his coming to the national scene.

So, while you have to look at Hillary Clinton as the person to beat on the Democratic side, it is far from over. We should also mention that both Barack Obama and John Edwards have the kind of money they need to compete. So it is going to be a really interesting fall on the Democratic side.

On the Republican side, of course, Fred Thompson about to get into this race, and that really change the dynamic -- Don.

LEMON: OK, so John McCain is there, Candy. And I'm just getting this information in and perhaps you know more about this. Today at a high school, he had an interesting exchange with a student.

Let's -- we have the thing. Let's take a listen and then we will talk about it.

CROWLEY: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you plan to do about LGBT and (INAUDIBLE) the working class?

MCCAIN: I don't...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) bisexual and transgendered.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I had not heard that phrase before. That authenticates your comment, sir.

(LAUGHTER)

MCCAIN: I believe that every American should -- has God-given rights, and I think that those rights are guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America. I also believe that discrimination in any form is unacceptable in America today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Candy, you heard that. Of course, you know, gay marriage last time big issue. Gay and lesbian rights, of course, this time, I want to get your take. Is it going to be a big issue? Especially Mark Foley. You have got Larry Craig and all of this. Talk to us about that exchange.

CROWLEY: Well, you know, what was probably most interesting is that John McCain didn't recognize the letters of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community. And that is what sort of startled I think this young man, because it sort of is something fairly common used in that community.

Look, the Republicans never believe that they can get a large portion of the gay vote. So, they all have very consistent positions on this and that is that they are opposed to gay marriage, some of them opposed to gay civil unions. But all of them say they are for civil rights for gays. On the Democratic side, a little bit different. You have a couple that are pro-gay marriage. Most of them don't go that far and say they are for civil unions.

LEMON: Yes. So, yesterday was the unofficial official start. So, it is really starting to heat up, Candy.

CROWLEY: It absolutely is.

And it is going to be interesting this week for the Republicans. As you noted, they have a debate tomorrow night. At the same time they are having their debate, Fred Thompson is going to be on the "Jay Leno" show, a little bit of counterprogramming there. And within the next couple of hours after that debate, Thompson via Webcast will get into the '08 race.

So, he shakes things up. This is a guy that, if we look at it right now and try to parse it, is someone who will go after the conservative vote, which, at this point, is sort of Mitt Romney's, although Giuliani, who is the front-runner in national polls, does have his share of the conservative vote.

So Thompson gets in. Does he live up to the expectations? Does he, in fact, take votes away from Mitt Romney or Rudy Giuliani? So it is about to perk up on the Republican side.

LEMON: If you want to know anything about politics, just ask Candy Crowley. She can tell you everything you need to know, part of the best political team on television.

Candy, thank you.

CROWLEY: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: And you can see all the day's politics, the news, at any time, day or night, at CNN.com/ticker. We are constantly updating it for you with the latest from the candidates right on the campaign trail.

PHILLIPS: Coming up, the architect and the vice president. How did Karl Rove feel about Bush's choice of Dick Cheney? A new book on the Bush presidency, and we are going to tell you what it says -- straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Southern California, the warm air and sunshine it is famous for have gotten out of hand. It is uncool, unbearable. And it certainly is unhealthy -- the story still ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: And it can't be the uniform. Maybe it is the benefits. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, we are going to ask Britain's first female Beefeater why she signed up for a job that used to be men only.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A search continuing right now for world record holder Steve Fossett. All types of assets up in the air trying to find the missing adventurer.

He became well known of course for his trip solo non-stop non- refueled flight of the world in 67 hours in the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer. Sir Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, came forward just recently, had this quote: "Steve is a tough old boot. I suspect he's waiting by his plane right now for someone to pick him up. The ranch he took off from covers a huge area. And Steve has had far tougher challenges to overcome in the past. Based on his track record, I feel confident that we get some good news soon" -- 4:00 p.m. news conference expected. We will take it live when it happens.

LEMON: Of course, that is a developing here in the CNN.

The weather, as well.

Chad Myers, Hurricane Felix may be slowing down, but you say that's not necessarily good news. Why is that?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, because if this thing slows down like Mitch did back in 1998...

LEMON: Stall, yes.

MYERS: ... it stalls and then all of a sudden it just rains in the same places now for hours and hours and hours. And in Mitch's case, it was a week.

Now, this thing isn't slowing down that much. But I think I see a slight wobble to the left at the very last few frames. It doesn't look like it is making as much headway on up toward the north and toward the northwest, I guess would be west-northwest, as what first was happening when it came onshore.

I think it is kind of easy to see that little wobble. Now, that could be because there is a mountain range in the way here. But we will see. There's still going to be enormous amount of rainfall from Tegucigalpa all the way back and father into Guatemala and into Mexico, as this area of rain, even if it's just tropical rain, slides that way.

Obviously, we are still getting winds to about 100 miles per hour with the storm, too. So, there still is that going on. This was and still is called the Mosquito Coast, a very loosely populated, very remote area of Nicaragua.

It can hit anything, I guess. It was a Category 5 hurricane. This is two Category 5 hurricanes now that we have had, never happened before, that really have hit basically wildlife refugees, although, obviously, people still were living here and people were still in the way, not like major cities and major resorts and tens of thousands or millions of people.

Now, that said, there are millions or at least a little bit more than a million in that Tegucigalpa. That area there, if it starts to flood, could really be in some trouble if the storm doesn't keep moving.

Another storm, this is Henriette, Cabo San Lucas, one of my favorite towns, right there. That storm is moving a little bit farther to the east. And the eye of the storm of this Henriette is a little bit farther to the right of Cabo itself. So, you have got San Jose del Cabo there, which is on the east side of that town.

Now, what we are worried about in the U.S. is maybe flooding happening later in the week. But here is the radar out of Los Cabos. Right there at the point is where the resorts really are. And San Jose del Cabo through here, and that's where most of the rain is happening. Most of the people really live right in through here. And those arroyos could be flooding even already this morning -- Don.

LEMON: Oh, boy. We certainly wish them well, Chad, and, of course, stay out of danger.

MYERS: Absolutely.

LEMON: But send us your I-Reports.

Chad Myers, thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Rescue on a rising river. Several boaters saved from a fast moving current in Hull, Massachusetts. It happened over the weekend. The kayakers were nearly swept down a culvert under a bridge. Rescue teams came quickly. One firefighter got in the water to lift a boater out. Everyone made it out safely.

LEMON: Thank goodness. A Louisiana town ripped apart in a dispute that started over a tree. Now six young men could be jailed for decades. We will hear from one of the Jena six defendants next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Historically, it hasn't worked out well for some women who have gone to the Tower of London. But Moira Cameron asked to be sent. And she got her wish.

After more than 500 years of precedent, Cameron is the first woman permitted to wear this snappy little ensemble and bear the title of Yeomen Warder, more commonly called a Beefeater.

I asked her why this job caught her fancy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOIRA CAMERON, FIRST FEMALE BEEFEATER: Last year, a magazine that is called the "Soldier" magazine over here in the U.K., and there was a massive ad there from Historic Royal Palaces, who look after the Tower of London. And they said, it is not just a job for the boys. So, I thought, well, that's an invitation, so why not take it?

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: There you go. Outstanding. So, you took the challenge. And it has been more than 500 years and a woman has never been appointed as a Beefeater. Did it make you nervous? Were you -- what made you up to the challenge?

(CROSSTALK)

CAMERON: Well, I think serving in military, which is still very much a male-dominated environment, it's -- and I have always been a bit of a tomboy as well. So, I don't really think about the gender issue too much.

I just went for it. I have now been working at the tower for two months. Obviously, this is not in uniform. I was working in a suit. But the boys have been fantastic. They have been so welcoming. And I did have my reservations. But they were completely unfounded.

PHILLIPS: I love how you say the boys and not the men. That's very interesting.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Cameron's job description involves 21 separate duties that includes guarding the crown jewels. We will hear more from her later in the hour.

LEMON: She didn't -- did she have to -- they said they eat the meat or whatever? Did (INAUDIBLE) ever figure out if that was true or not? She doesn't have to eat the meat?

PHILLIPS: Well, the myth -- well, the legend goes that the Beefeaters used to taste the food to make sure it was OK for the king.

LEMON: Right.

PHILLIPS: She still thinks that's a legend. But they have for years guarded the prisoners in the Tower of London and also the crown jewels. And she is going to tell me what her favorite crown jewel is coming up in the other part of that interview.

LEMON: All right. All right. So, that was before. Where's the beef?

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Exactly. Way before.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: But she broke the beef ceiling, as our wonderful writer Lisa Clark (ph) put it.

LEMON: Well, good for her. Congratulations.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, an uproar in Brooklyn, as a new public schools plans to teach Arabic culture and language. Some say it smacks of radical Islam. We're going to have the latest on opening day protests -- straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.

And the namesake of that school is the subject of today's news quiz: Who is Khalil Gibran? That answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hi, everyone.

I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is a sizzling day in Southern California, with temperatures around 100 degrees. It's been that way for a week. Power companies can't keep up with the demand. At least three people, sadly, have died.

Let's go straight to KFNB reporter Rekha Muddaraj.

She's in San Diego, where a power emergency has been declared -- Rekha.

REKHA MUDDARAJ, KFMB CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Don, and good afternoon.

Well, it's day eight of the sweltering heat and humidity we've had here in San Diego. And after a holiday weekend filled with power outages, San Diego Gas & Electric is begging customers to conserve energy.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MUDDARAJ (voice-over): It's the first work day after the holiday weekend and SDG&E officials are on high alert.

CLAUDIA CARRILLO, SAN DIEGO GAS & ELECTRIC: We've had seven consecutive days of record heat and record usage. So we hope that the conservation message gets through to our customers, like it did yesterday.

CLAUDIA CARRILLO, SAN DIEGO GAS & ELECTRIC: Over the weekend, more than 80,000 people were without power at one point and crews worked around the clock to alleviate pressure on the system's power grid.

CARRILLO: When they were out there changing out transformers and that, they were dealing with 110 degree weather. But they're in long- sleeved shirts. They're wearing jeans. There's, you know, hard hats, boots. They're under extreme conditions and they're working really hard and really fast.

MUDDARAJ: SDG&E says the outages occurred because too many people were turning on their air conditioners and fans at the same time. They're now asking their 1.4 million customers to cut back on their energy usage in hopes of preventing even more blackouts.

CARRILLO: We have enough resources to meet the demand. However, it's just -- people are really hot and using things more than, you know, maybe having the thermostat lower than they're normally used to and things of that nature. And all that -- every little degree up or down, it makes an effect.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

MUDDARAJ: And since 9:00 a.m. Saturday to about 5:00 a.m. this morning, we were told by SDG&E that about 81,000 people were without power this holiday weekend.

And, Don, if you think about the 1.4 million customers that SDG&E has, 81,000 doesn't sound like a lot. But certainly a lot of people were dealing with this heat without air conditioning.

LEMON: If you're one of those 81,000, Rekha, it's a lot of people.

Thank you so much for your report.

PHILLIPS: Reading, writing, radical Islam?

New York City's first public school teaching Arabic language and culture is already sparking protests on its first day of class. Supporters say that Khalil Gibran International Academy will turn students into cultured Arabic speakers. Opponents say it'll turn out angry radicals.

Here's CNN's Richard Roth with the controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, ladies. Help me out here.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When New York City announced plans for a public school that would teach Arabic language and culture, Carmen Colon saw a great opportunity for her 11-year-old son.

CARMEN COLON, PARENT OF STUDENT: I know for a fact that any American who learns Arabic will make tons of money, whether it's translation, whether it's in the customer service area. I thought it was the best advantage I can give my son.

ROTH: But some are outraged over the school.

PAMELA HALL, "STOP THE MADRASSA": We are paying with our public dollar for a religious school -- a madrassa.

ROTH: Pamela Hall is with "Stop the Madrassa". The group believes the Khalil Gibran International Academy will impose a radical Islamist agenda in its classrooms.

HALL: The Arabic immigrant students will be isolated. Whether that materializes instantly into terrorists, that's a huge statement to make.

But are these students not assimilating and becoming part of the American fabric?

And is that potentially a problem?

We think so, yes.

DEBORAH HOWARD, KGIA DESIGN TEAM: There's no basis in fact for what they're saying.

ROTH: Deborah Howard and Reyad Farraj, both parents of Brooklyn public school students, worked on the design team for the Academy and say it is not a religious school.

HOWARD: In terms of the curriculum, if it's a New York City public school, it has to go by New York City standards.

I'm Jewish. I would never be a part of a school that would in any way, you know, be involved with Islamic fundamentalists.

ROTH: Much of the criticism was directed at the school's Arab- American founding principal, Debbie Almontaser. Two local papers reported claims she had ties to Islamic extremist organizations. The controversy reached a fever pitch when Almontaser was quoted defending the use of the word "intifada" on a T-shirt. She said in Arabic it simply means "shaking off."

Soon after, Almontaser resigned, and the city replaced her with a Jewish principal who doesn't speak Arabic.

REYAD FARRAJ, KGIA DESIGN TEAM: To be attacked so viciously has been unbelievably unfair and quite sad.

ROTH: The verbal attacks caused Colon to pull her son out of the school.

COLON: The people who are so against this school who, for me, seemed more like the terrorists by terrorizing the community and making us feel that it's unsafe for our children to be there. They're the ones who are terrorizing us, not the school, not the principal and not the administration.

ROTH: Richard Roth, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, you just heard from school opponent Pamela Hall in Richard's piece.

She had a lot more to say when I had a chance to ask her some tough questions earlier on.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

HALL: We still do not know what the curricula is. It has not been released. We do not have the textbooks. We do not know what has been created. It is a false statement to say that they have to simply abide by some kind of public school regulations.

And the latest document released by the Department of Education is that they cannot find the curricula. They opened that school today, 7:30 this morning. They're teaching the children something and they will not tell us what.

PHILLIPS: We will tell you what, because Garth Harries, who works for the school system, talked about the curriculum this morning on CNN.

Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARTH HARRIES, NYC DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION: It's a core sixth grade curriculum that these kids are starting with, which is the basics -- math, English, history, science. And the kids are also going to be learning Arabic, which is an incredibly exciting and unique opportunity for these kids.

Religion plays absolutely no part in this school. This is a public school. It wouldn't play a part in any of our schools. As a themed school focused on a language, it's like so many other. We have 70 dual language programs around the city. And those are programs that, frankly, give our kids a leg up. They give them a language. They're inclusive and they let them learn about the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, there you have it. There's your answer.

HALL: No.

PHILLIPS: Do you feel good about the school now?

HALL: No, that is not an answer. Garth Harries is being quite dishonest with you. He himself, the Department of Education, they have known that they are not releasing the curricula, and they have not released it. That's why we have to go to court next week. They have told us they cannot find the curricula and it will take them at least a month to find it.

PHILLIPS: But he just laid out this is exactly like the seven other schools that are themed schools in the city that will teach a foreign language, teach a culture, in addition to have a typical sixth grade curricula just like he described, like in all the other schools.

HALL: No. These schools are independent. Almontaser and Salzberg together have created this curricula. Bloomberg set the program up that way. They independently create and buy the textbooks, and it is not a set curricula. And that is why they are, by law, required to reveal it.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the school will teach only sixth graders at first, then add a grade each year. It hopes to eventually have as many as 600 students in grades six through 12.

Well, before the break we asked you this news quiz about the namesake of that new school in New York -- who is Khalil Gibran?

The answer -- he was born in Lebanon. He was a Christian poet and philosopher, and he wrote that famous piece, "The Prophet".

LEMON: An update now on a story we've been telling you about here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Adventurer Steve Fossett missing since yesterday.

On the phone with us now is April Conway.

She's with the Nevada National Guard.

What is the latest?

We hear he did not file a plight plan and also that a friend reported him missing after he did not come back. APRIL CONWAY, NEVADA NATIONAL GUARD: We believe that to be true, Don.

What we do know is that he departed about 30 miles east of Yerington, Nevada about 9:00 a.m. Monday, planning to return by noon in order to depart the state.

The formal search was initiated Monday about 6:00 p.m. Pacific time and was continued again this morning 7:00 a.m.

LEMON: Now, what about a tracking device or some sort of thing, a GPS, which can record where he is?

Any word on any such a device?

CONWAY: I don't have any information on whether he may or may not have had anything like that on board.

LEMON: Tell us about the rescue efforts, as far as the National Guard is concerned.

CONWAY: The National Guard was notified early this morning and has launched two aircraft. About 8:00 a.m. today, we launched an 058 Kiowa helicopter. It's equipped with a flare system and is used extensively in search and rescue in Nevada, especially the northern Nevada areas. And then about an hour ago, we also launched a C-130 Hercules aircraft. It is equipped with a Scath View (ph) camera system, as well. It's also used extensively in search and rescue in Northern Nevada.

LEMON: Yes. And there is...

(STATIC)

LEMON: sorry. A break up on your phone there.

Are you still there?

CONWAY: Yes, I am.

LEMON: OK.

There's also an imagery analysis on board, correct?

Tell us about what that person is doing and how this equipment works, how it might aid in the search.

CONWAY: The Scath View (ph) system is used an awful lot in search and rescue and other types of operations. A camera pod is actually mounted to the bottom of the aircraft. It can -- it's got daytime video. It can shoot infrared video. And then an imagery analyst is based right on board and can take that video, tell what exactly it is they're looking at and relay that down to folks on the ground.

We've used it during Hurricane Katrina. It's been used during wildfires here in Northern Nevada and it's a very capable system. LEMON: I'm certain I know the answer to this, but I'm sure would it have helped if he had filed a flight plan.

Is it -- is it usual for pilots to do this when they're traveling on this their own like this, not follow a flight plan?

CONWAY: I can't speak for what private aviators do. I have no knowledge of that.

LEMON: OK. And I'm sure you're hopeful at this. It hasn't been that long that he has been missing.

CONWAY: It hasn't been that long, no. Everybody is hopeful. I mean it's been very warm during the days here in Northern Nevada. We are the most mountainous state in the United States and there are an awful lot of places to look.

LEMON: OK.

April Conway.

We certainly learned a lot of information, especially when it comes to the imagery analysis person on board and also the equipment there.

Update us if you get any information on Steve Fossett.

And, again, thank you very much for coming on.

CONWAY: Thank you.

LEMON: And, again, we want to tell you, at the top of the hour, 4:00 p.m. Eastern, there's going to be an update on Steve Fossett, who's been missing since yesterday. That should happen live for you in THE SITUATION ROOM if we do get that for you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, the architect and the vice president -- how did Karl Rove feel about George Bush's choice of Dick Cheney?

There's a new book on the Bush presidency. We're going to tell you what it says straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: In this new school year, imagine someone making this offer to your first grader -- graduate from high school and I'll pay for your college education.

That pledge is being made in Oakland, California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ORAL LEE BROWN, CNN HERO: 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.

(BEGIN GRAPHIC)

36 percent of public school students in Oakland, California never make it to graduation.

(END GRAPHIC)

BROWN: An education can get you everything you want. You can go wherever you want to go. It's the way out of the ghettos, bottom line.

YOLANDA PEEK, FORMER SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: She says, 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 says that she was going to pay their college tuitions.

BROWN: How many are going to college?

And at the time, I was making, I think, $45,000, $46,000 a year. So I committed $10,000 to the kids.

I grew up in Mississippi. I lived off of $2 a day. That's what we got -- $2 a day for picking cotton.

And so I really feel that I was blessed from God. And 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 Ms. 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.

And I would say, you know what? These kids are just like any other kid. The only thing is that they don't have the love and they don't have the support.

(BEGIN GRAPHIC)

19 of the 23 original students were sent to college.

Oral Lee Brown's program continues today.

(END GRAPHIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They called me yesterday and told me that I was accepted.

BROWN: 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: All right, Oral Lee.

And there's a lot more about Oral Lee Brown and her foundation on our Web site, CNN.com/heroes. And you can also nominate a hero of your own. You've got until September 30th to get your nominations in. Selected winners will be honored during a special live global broadcast on December 6th -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Well, right now it's 3:4 8 Eastern time.

Here are some other stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

An all out search going on right now for missing adventurer Steve Fossett. He was last seen yesterday taking off in a plane from a private air strip in Western Nevada. The 63-year-old Fossett holds a number of world flight records. Stay tuned for a live news conference, 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, right here on CNN.

There is also a search underway in Lake Erie after a small plane crashed. It crashed, actually, into the water last night. A man and his 9-year-old son are still missing. A younger son was rescued.

Parts of Central America facing the threat of massive flooding right now. Hurricane Felix has weakened to a category two storm after slamming ashore in Nicaragua and it could dump more than two feet of rain.

More news in a moment.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, sometime after January 2009, President Bush may or may not write a book about his years in the White House.

LEMON: But until then, we've got "Dead Certain," a new book for which Mr. Bush and many in his inner circle sat for interviews.

CNN's Mary Snow reports that if you think you've heard it all before, you haven't.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe you're looking at the next vice president of the United States.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): But one key player in then Governor Bush's inner circle didn't agree. In "Dead Certain," author Robert Draper writes that in 2000, political adviser Karl Rove did not think that Cheney would be a good running mate, but that the president didn't care. Draper paraphrases Rove: "Selecting daddy's top foreign policy guy ran counter to message. It was worse than a safe pick. It was needy." And in a 2005 argument, Rove was shouted down for resisting Bush pick Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court. The book also claims Chief Justice John Roberts was the person who pushed for Miers' nomination. But today the Supreme Court called that account not true.

Beyond the dissent, the book details personal moments -- President Bush admitting he sheds tears in private. Draper quoting the president as saying: "I've got God's shoulder to cry on and I cry a lot. I do a lot of crying in this job. I'll bet I've shed more tears than you can count as president."

Self-pity, he says, can come with the job, but that his wife Laura reminds him that he chose to do this. Rare and candid insight which one historian suggests carries a motive.

ROBERT DALLEK, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: With his approval ratings so low, this may, in part, explain why he agreed to do this interview -- or these interviews -- and allow this journalist to produce this book so quickly.

SNOW: After the White House, President Bush wants to build what he calls a fantastic freedom institute in Dallas. But first Draper says Mr. Bush told him he needs to replenish the old coffers, noting he can make what he calls ridiculous money on the lecture circuit, saying: "I don't know what my dad gets, but it's more than $50,000, $75,000. Clinton's making a lot of money."

And on Bill Clinton, the president talks about running into his predecessor at the United Nations in September of 2006. Reflecting on that, Bush tells Draper: "Six years from now, you're not going to see me hanging out in the lobby of the U.N."

(on camera): Draper says for this book, he interviewed President Bush six times and spoke to many members of his administration, including vice president Dick Cheney and senior adviser Karl Rove.

The White House says it has no comment on the book and CNN was not able to reach recently departed adviser Rove.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LEMON: And coming up in "THE SITUATION ROOM," the author of "Dead Certain," Robert Draper, will be Wolf Blitzer's guest. That's at 5:00 Eastern.

More NEWSROOM in a moment, including the closing bell live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(AUDIO CLIP FROM ELVIS PRESLEY SONG)

PHILLIPS: What a good way to wrap up the closing bell as it's about to ring on Wall Street -- a little Elvis.

LEMON: Yes.

Susan Lisovicz, what's Elvis all about?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Elvis is all...

LEMON: (SINGING) My teddy bear.

(LAUGHTER)

LISOVICZ: Oh.

Well, Elvis has not left the building, I'm happy to report. Kyra and Don, you know, Kyra, you said you remember when could you make a pay phone call for 15 cents. I know you weren't around when "Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear" by Elvis had just come out.

PHILLIPS: Well, I had the album.

I had the album. Come on now.

LEMON: Album?

LISOVICZ: Not the same.

LEMON: You had the...

LISOVICZ: Not the same.

LEMON: She had the 78.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Come on.

LISOVICZ: Well, listen, so did something else. Fifty years ago today was E-Day -- the launch of the Edsel, which has gone down in corporate history as the greatest flop ever. Bigger than New Coke. Bigger than the Susan B. Anthony dollar. In today's dollars, Ford, during its two year production, lost about $2 billion on the Edsel.

If you get one in mint condition, you could probably sell it for about a hundred grand, but not a big hit with American consumers.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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