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Mutilated Iraqi Boy Undergoes Reconstructive Surgery; Delaware State Shooting Over Turf?; Maliki to Tell U.N. Baghdad Improving; Congress Taking Action in the Jena 6 Case; Mychal Bell Still in Custody; Close Encounter with Shark; Monkey Business on London Streets; Teenager Becomes Millionaire with Internet Business
Aired September 22, 2007 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to go down there and put a bullet in each one of those little black kids who they've acquitted or they've let off on these convictions for beating this white child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Up next in CNN NEWSROOM, the FBI investigates a possible racist backlash against supporters of the Jena 6.
Also, tears and hope, the pain of surgery, the cost of eventually leading a normal life, an update on a young Iraqi boy you helped bring in the United States.
Plus, our top story. Was it a turf battle that sparked a campus shooting on Delaware State University? The latest on what authorities are saying.
And good afternoon, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Investigators say they are seeking a third student in connection with the shooting at Delaware State. Two students initially labeled persons of interest have both been questioned and released. Late this afternoon, the school's president seemed to reference a possible turf battle and word of campus pointing to ongoing student rivalries. CNN's Kathleen Koch joins us. We'll go over (INAUDIBLE) the very latest.
Kathleen, good to see you. Sort through this for us, if you would. What came out of today's news conference with the school's president and the chief of campus police?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, first of all, the most important information is that there has not been an arrest in the case, that the gunman is still at large. Now the Delaware State University Police Chief James Overton did give what details they still believe to be true of the gunman, that he is a Delaware State University student, he is a male.
They believe he is no longer on campus. Now the police chief wouldn't say whether or not they know his name, only that they wouldn't release any further information. The university president, Allen Sessoms, says that they are "pretty sure" the individual is not a danger to the community, that this was an isolated incident.
And while the police chief said there had been some inconsistencies in the stories that they're getting from eyewitnesses, that by and large, all the students have been cooperating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JAMES OVERTON, DELAWARE STATE UNIV. POLICE: We had two persons of interest, those persons were interviewed and released. They did provide information to us that is very useful. It has led us to more witnesses that we are seeking now and one other person of interest who we hope will shed some light on this investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: Now though there are rumors, as you mentioned, that there may have been this turf battle under way between students from two different regions of the campus, the police chief says that their investigation does not lead them to believe that that's the case. In fact, they can't even determine whether or not the two 17-year-old victims from the Washington, D.C., area, Shalita Middleton and Nathaniel Pugh, even knew each other or whether or not they knew the gunman.
Now Middleton, just to update, is still hospitalized in serious condition with two gunshot wounds to the abdomen. Pugh, who was shot in the foot, is in stable condition. Tony, the very good news is that hey are opening the campus tomorrow and they say classes will resume as normal on Monday morning.
HARRIS: That is good news. Kathleen Koch for us. Kathleen, good to see you, thank you.
(INAUDIBLE) news now, a missing Chicago woman's car has been found in nearby Hammond, Indiana, 28-year-old Nailah Franklin was last heard from Tuesday when she sent text messages to family and friends. This morning divers searched a pond near where the car was found but turned up no trace of her. Police don't yet know if it is related, but Franklin filed a report last week alleging threats and harassment by an acquaintance. She had not sought an order of protection.
In Denver, the search for a missing 3-year-old girl has turned into a murder investigation. Police had issued an Amber Alert for Niveah Gallegos yesterday, but later cancelled it. They now believe the girl was killed and her body dumped in a Denver neighborhood. Police arrested a registered sex offender on an investigation of murder charge. They also arrested the girl's mother on investigation of accessory to murder. The search for the little girl's body continues.
A divided government, nightmare security issues and an increasingly unpopular war, all issues Iraq's prime minister is being forced to face today at the United Nations. Nouri al-Maliki is holding talks at the U.N. with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ahead of next week's U.N. General Assembly. Joining us live from the U.N. is CNN's Jim Acosta. Jim, good to see you.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony. Good afternoon. That's right, yes. The Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki is here to make the pitch that the security situation in Baghdad is improving, and the goal of all of that is to say to the international community, to say to the United Nations that we want to see a greater presence in Iraq.
And so far that has been very difficult, that has been a tough road because of the very volatile security situation, the ongoing violence that we saw just days ago in that big shootout that happened in Baghdad involving Blackwater security guards.
But the prime minister has met with Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, along with chief diplomats from 20 other nations and the U.N. secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. They're holding a closed door meeting at this hour. This is a photo opportunity from that meeting earlier this afternoon.
And the prime minister making the pitch all day today that the security situation in his capital is improving.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOURI AL-MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The security situation, as you know, started to improve, and Baghdad today is not Baghdad yesterday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And that comment there that Baghdad today is not Baghdad yesterday is in part a statement designed at that piece of video that you saw just before that piece of sound, showing the U.N. secretary general, Ban Ki-moon in Baghdad earlier this year back in March. He was in the Green Zone when mortar rounds were being fired into those areas where these officials were meeting.
And the secretary general was basically hitting the deck there almost when he heard that sound. So the prime minister has a tall order here. He has got to convince people that the security situation in his capital is improving enough to get a greater international presence there, and this is a tough sell -- Tony.
HARRIS: And I was just about to ask you that question, Jim. How tough an audience is he likely to face this week?
ACOSTA: It's going to be a tough audience. On top of having to compete with those images of violence in Baghdad, he also has to compete with the fact that he's kind of sharing the stage this week with a man by the name of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president is coming to town, as we've all been hearing these last several days, and that has stirred up such a firestorm of controversy that in many ways, Ahmadinejad will be sucking up all the oxygen here at the United Nations and making it even more difficult for al-Maliki to bend people's ears here. He needs to hear from the chief diplomats as to what their concerns are, and he's making this pitch which is going to be difficult with Ahmadinejad in the same room.
HARRIS: What a week ahead. Jim Acosta for us at the United Nations. Jim, appreciate it, thank you.
ACOSTA: You bet.
HARRIS: President Bush is reportedly planning to ask Congress to approve an Iraq War spending measure that is much, much bigger than expected. The Los Angeles Times quoting Pentagon officials saying the request will total nearly $200 billion, that is $47 billion more than the administration had projected earlier this year. The money would fund the war through 2008. The paper says troop increases and new battlefield gear are the reason for the beefed up budget. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is scheduled to unveil the spending request at a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
The Gulf Coast breathing a sigh of relief today after a storm that appeared to be a real threat sort of petered out. Residents prepared for the worst yesterday and the governors of Louisiana and Mississippi declared states of emergency as the tropical depression churned out in the Gulf, but forecasters downgraded the threat when the storm came ashore on the Florida Panhandle last night. The system weakened as it moved west and now dumping rain on Alabama.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Coming up in CNN NEWSROOM, something hungry out there. We'll tell you what ravenous creature took a bite out of someone's surfboard.
A brave Iraqi boy heads into the operating room. A big week for the boy our viewers know very well. His name is Youssif.
And a possible racist backlash to the civil rights march in Jena, Louisiana. Now on the case, the FBI. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And welcome back everyone to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris. Mychal Bell of the so-called Jena 6 remains in jail today. His fate still far from certain, despite a court decision to vacate the teen's conviction in a racially-charged beating in Louisiana. Two days after a peaceful march in support of Bell and his co-defendants, disturbing signs are emerging of a possible racial backlash.
The story from CNN's David Mattingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Web site proudly displays a swastika on its home page. Inside, one posting reveals the addresses of the Jena 6, saying: "In case anyone wants to deliver justice." The site is edited by a White supremacist whose own words can be heard in this streaming audio.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to go down there and put a bullet in each one of those little black kids who they have acquitted or they've let off on these convictions for beating this White child.
MATTINGLY: Asked if he brought any harm to the Jena 6 with his postings, the editor told CNN: "I don't know that doing justice can be considered doing harm."
Just 24 hours after a massive violence-free rally in the Louisiana town of Jena, the FBI is looking into a racist backlash, seemingly menacing acts online and on the streets.
Forty-five minutes south of Jena, two teens were caught on tape in this exclusive CNN I-Report in Alexandria. They had nooses tied to the back of their pickup and driving past crowds of people who had attended the marches and rallies.
Alexandria resident and I-Report contributor Casanova Love couldn't believe his eyes.
(on camera): Do you think the chance was there that somebody could have gotten hurt?
CASANOVA LOVE, I-REPORTER: Possibly. Possibly. You never know. It's 50/50. It's a 50/50 chance.
MATTINGLY: It happened right here on Main Street. A large crowd had gathered at this bus station after the rally, people wanting to catch a bus and go home that night. That's when someone in the crowd noticed a pickup truck driving by with the nooses attached. There was a police officer on duty right here. He was alerted. And that truck was stopped in just a matter of blocks.
(voice-over): Another exclusive I-Report shows the police taking one of the two into custody, 18-year-old Jeremiah Munsen was booked on misdemeanor charges of inciting a riot, driving while intoxicated and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He's out on bail.
His 16-year-old companion remains in juvenile custody, accused of underage drinking and a probation violation. In the arrest report, the teen tells police he has a KKK tattoo and his parents were active in the Klan. Alexandria police say there is no indication any group was involved.
(on camera): Was it a prank?
CHIEF DAREN COUTEE, ALEXANDRIA, LA., POLICE DEPT: Obviously more of a prank than anything else. We think so anyway. But during this kind of atmosphere, of course, pranks like that don't go over very well.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): The crowd applauded as police took them away. Officers found an unloaded rifle and brass knuckles in the car. But investigators do not believe the two suspects intended to use them. Police and the mayor say felony charges are being explored, as well as charges of hate crimes.
David Mattingly, CNN, Alexandria, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And this is great. I want to remind you once again tonight on CNN, a special "Judgment in Jena," an encore presentation of the wonderful work done by the "CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT" and our very own Kyra Phillips. We want to invite you again to join Kyra, this is at 7:00 Eastern, 4:00 Pacific, all sides of the story explored tonight. "Judgment in Jena" right here on CNN.
And still to come in the NEWSROOM, he us a college dropout but educated enough to help save a nation awash in malnutrition and parasites. We will introduce you to the latest "CNN Hero."
And so many of you wanted to help Youssif when you learned of his plight. The latest on the young Iraqi child badly burned by insurgents. It will make you smile, and probably cry, too. Just ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Imagine declaring that you will eradicate a disease plaguing 2 billion people worldwide. That's what our "CNN Hero" has done, 25-year-old Aaron Jackson has dedicated his life to some of the world's poorest and neediest, orphan children suffering from various debilitating worms and in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AARON JACKSON, "MEDICAL MARVEL": Haiti is the most water-poor country in the world. It's probably the most environmentally destroyed country in the world.
In Haiti, people get their water sometimes from puddles, streams. I've seen kids playing in sewage and also drinking from the same water.
Haiti not having proper sanitation, a lot of people are infected with intestinal parasites.
When you see a child with an extended belly, that's intestinal worms. The average worms eats up to about 20 percent of a child's nutritional intake a day.
This is the difference between life and death in a lot of situations.
My name is Aaron Jackson and it's my goal to de-worm the entire world.
I grew up in Destin, Florida, playing golf every day of my life. I decided to travel and when I traveled, it really opened my eyes to what the world was really like. In Haiti, we have four orphanages, an intestinal parasite program and also medical clinics.
When we show up to a community to de-worm, we educate the people on ways to prevent to get worms again.
Washing the vegetables, cooking the meat a little longer, wearing shoes when you go outside are ways to help prevent catching the worms.
When we first go into an orphanage and we de-worm them, the children look very zombie-like, no livelihood in their face.
And that's the scary thing, because you have to tell kids that tonight, the worms will be leaving your body in some shape or form. And then after we de-worm, they come back to life. Literally within weeks you can see that they're playing again and smiling.
For a pack of cigarettes, you can de-worm 250 children, a whole school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aaron is a great person and I'm so blessed to know him and work together with him. Investing in children is investing in a country and that really makes things different in the future.
JACKSON: Well, me and the children, we've become like family, you know? They call me Papa Jackson. These kids are my kids.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Go to cnn.com/heroes to see more of Aaron Jackson in the streets of Port-au-Prince visiting one of his orphanages. And while you're there, you can also nominate a hero of your own. Remember, you have until September 30th, that's it, to get your nominations in. Selected winners will be honored during a special live global broadcast on December 6th hosted by our own Anderson Cooper.
His story has touched the hearts of millions, now Youssif's medical odyssey has begun. The little Iraqi boy cruelly burned and disfigured will need many operations to help repair his face. It was the generosity of CNN viewers like you that helped bring Youssif to the United States. But going in for his first surgery this week was a huge hurdle for everyone involved.
CNN's Arwa Damon was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A father's last touch. A mother's final hug. And little Youssif is taken away, his cries piercing his parents' hearts. The petrified 5-year-old's wails echoed down the hospital hallway.
"Mommy, mommy," he shrieked, fighting the doctors. Finally, he went to sleep.
DR. PETER GROSSMAN, GROSSMAN BURN CENTER: And right now, we've got great exposure. So I'm really happy.
DAMON: And Dr. Peter Grossman and his team went to work. This is the first and main operation to try and restore what a vicious attack in Baghdad took from an innocent child. The doctors injected steroids into his swollen scars to flatten and soften them.
GROSSMAN: We want to go slow -- controlling the bleeding.
Are you done next door?
DAMON: Tissue expanders, balloon-like modules, were placed in his neck and right cheek.
GROSSMAN: Right underneath where I am over here, as you get into the side of the neck, that's where you can get into trouble if you go too deep. That's where your carotid vessels are.
DAMON: But everything went smoothly. The expanders will be fully inflated over the next three months to create good skin that will then be stretched over the scar tissue. The doctors also removed the scars running along his nose, covering them with temporary cadaver skin. Three-and-a-half hours later, Youssif's ordeal was over.
Dr. Grossman had warned the family that Youssif would be looking worse before he started to look better. But nothing could have prepared his young parents for this.
Youssif starts to stir.
"My darling, my darling, I am here. Sleep, rest," Zaineb whispers, fighting back tears. "I am next to you, Youssif. I am with you. No one will hurt you," Youssif's father says, struggling to keep his voice from cracking.
Trying to stay strong, holding on to the dream that one day, their child's agony will end.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Boy, oh, boy. Arwa Damon and CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta were there in the operating room, and they will continue to follow the story of Youssif's surgery. Thousands of people have responded to his story through CNN's "Impact Your World" initiative. If you're looking for a way to make a difference for Youssif, you can, just log on to cnn.com/impact and click on "Iraq Burn Victim."
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, I was there this week in Jena, Louisiana, and I will tell you what it was like to be in the middle of all of that.
A top secret spy plane finally in from the cold. The CIA shows off the successor so the famed U-2.
Also ahead, "Bonds away." The home run champ is going, going gone from the San Francisco Giants.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TONY HARRIS, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Congress is taking action in the Jena 6 case. The House Judiciary Committee will hold hearings reviewing why a Louisiana prosecutor filed tough criminal charges against six black teens accused of beating a white classmate.
Defendant Mychal Bell remains behind bars even though his conviction was thrown out.
Racial tension at the school escalated when white teenagers strung nooses from a tree.
A teenager in nearby Alexandria, Louisiana, is facing charges after allegedly driving by Jena 6 protesters with nooses in his truck. One of our I-reporters shot the video of the truck. Jeremiah Munson is charged of inciting to riot, driving while intoxicated. An under- aged passenger also arrested.
Students and faculty at a high school in Hyde Point, North Carolina, say they found nooses hanging from that a tree at their school. Police are investigating.
The Jena 6 case is the most contemporary example of the nation's racial divide. And it is eliciting plenty of e-mail.
I tell you what, Veronica de la Cruz, from our dot-com desk, do we do still call it that?
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: We do call it the dot-com. It has. And it's nice to see you.
HARRIS: Great to see you
CRUZ: Way too long.
HARRIS: The point, we try make the "NEWSROOM" shows as interactive as we possibly can. My goodness, you have been inundated -- cnn.com, inundated with e-mails about the rally and the march in Jena Thursday.
CRUZ: Thousands of e-mails and one of our highest days of traffic ever.
HARRIS: Do we have a microphone on Veronica? All right, why don't we do it? Let's roll on. Let's get the microphone situation worked out and come back and we'll talk to Veronica in a moment.
Still to come in "CNN NEWSROOM," hanging ten on a popular Florida beach, it almost caused one surfer her life. Her incredible story of a close encounter with a huge shark.
And monkey business on the stage streets of London. Why are so many gorillas in the midst?
The story straight ahead, along with Veronica properly miked in the "NEWSROOM"
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: How did we do? Okay?
CRUZ: You can hear me? That's the question.
HARRIS: I can hear you.
CRUZ: All right. We're back in business.
HARRIS: We have an opportunity -- we're back in business. And we know that you have been inundated at cnn.com from folks who have all kinds of thoughts on the criminal justice system, on Jena, Louisiana, Thursday, boy. And you brought some of the e-mails to us.
CRUZ: We're going to read some of them. Thousands of e-mails and one of our highest days for traffic at cnn.com was all those people logging on to watch the rallies in Washington, also in Jena.
HARRIS: A huge commitment from the network and a proud day for us.
CRUZ: Yes. I know that you took a visit to Jena. We'll get to that in a second.
Let's look at the e-mails. Lots of passionate responses to our e-mail question whether a noose represents a prank or a hate crime.
Michael B. says: "This is not like flying a flag or wearing the wrong gang colors. It is a deliberate act of hate and intimidation and should be a hate crime.
From 16-year-old Ramona in Maryland: "Is a gun a prank, is a knife a prank? How is a noose supposed to be a prank? If it was just a prank, who are they expecting to laugh? I don't think anyone is laughing at this so-called prank. This is more so a hate crime because there is nothing funny at all about a noose, just as there is nothing funny about a gun or a knife.
Another one from David Holman at Purdue University who says: "I believe the incidents of the two minors hanging nooses from the back of their truck was a prank. A prank motivated by racism. To not charge them with a hate crime would be reinforcing their behavior."
Jessica in Georgia: "It is no different than brandishing a weapon in public. Nooses were used to murder thousands of innocent people and that is exactly what they represent, murder!"
And this final one from David Evans in Washington, who says: "The nooses hanging from that redneck's truck are a constitutionally protected form of free speech. It would be a dangerous precedent to prosecute this emotional and socially backward buffoon for it. But brass knuckles they found in the truck are another matter. If it is illegal to have them, they the person should be prosecuted for it.
A lot of people fired up on the issue. You can send us an e-mail to weekends@CNN.com.
And Tony Harris actually spent the day in Jena -- spent three days in Jena.
HARRIS: Why are you talking about me like I'm not sitting next to you?
CRUZ: Tony spent the day in Jena. Let's check in with him, Charlie.
You were there for three days and I wanted to ask you how did you find out about this story first of all?
HARRIS: I got to tell you, all of the credit goes to Susan Roesgen out of our Gulf Coast bureau. She and her producer just working that area stumbled upon the story at the time, days before the actual trial and maybe just before the jury was going to come back with a verdict on Mychal Bell. And sort of flagged it for all of us.
And it took us about the blink of an eye to realize this was a story we needed to report in the area, we were able to get the story in house, get Susan up on it. And we sort of -- we stayed on initially a good length of time initially and other news happened are we went away and came back.
CRUZ: Obviously a lot of people happy that CNN.com decided to cover this story.
HARRIS: Yeah.
CRUZ: What did you see that maybe the TV cameras didn't see?
HARRIS: I didn't see much more than what you were able to see from your vantage point in all honesty. It was in a confined space. There were a couple of opportunities for me to get into the crowd.
CRUZ: Yeah, 20,000 people was there any violence?
HARRIS: Here's an amazing thing. The thing that really warmed my heart the next day was to pick up the town. I can't think of the name of the local newspaper, town hall, town news something.
CRUZ: The newspaper.
HARRIS: The local newspaper in that town and see the banner headline was, "Protest Peaceful." The protest was peaceful. And that warmed my heart. There was all kinds of concerns in that community that this would get out of hand but not a window was broken, not a lawn was transformed, not a car was set on fire.
CRUZ: Obviously all of these people were there, thinking the same thought but I wanted to ask you quickly, we're running out of time. Were there people who thought that perhaps we were overreacting covering the story.
HARRIS: Oh, yes. CRUZ: Or maybe thinking an opposing view?
HARRIS: If it's your community, you wouldn't necessarily like the idea of oh, 15,000, 20,000 people descending upon your town and media camp villages springing up all over your town and folks knocking on your door and asking you questions about sensitive social issues. So yeah, I think there were a number of people in that town who decided they had enough early on.
CRUZ: What's going to stay with you?
HARRIS: I think thoughts that perhaps for many people this was for them a pilgrimage and symbol of perhaps the dawning of a new civil rights movement era. I think those kinds of thoughts will stay with me.
And I think the idea that 20,000 -- look, I'm an African-American man, you can you can tell that quickly, can't you? The idea that 20,000 black folks can come together and do it in peace, when there is such a sentiment out there, and we hear it all the time, that we can't get together and do something, organize in peace. We will always have that day in Jena to point to. So I think those are the kind of thoughts that will stick with me.
CRUZ: Tony did you a wonderful job. I'm glad you were able to be there. And I'm so glad that you were able to give us a debrief.
HARRIS: I was just happy to be there.
CRUZ: It's nice to get a reporter's notebook.
HARRIS: Good to see you.
CRUZ: It's nice to see you. Thanks for having me today.
HARRIS: I know you came in too do this, so I appreciate it.
Another quick programming note if I could here, want to remind you again to tune in for an encore presentation of the tremendous work done by the CNN Special Investigation Unit, and this special tonight," Judgment in Jena." Again, it airs tonight. Kyra Phillips anchors, hosts the program at 7:00 eastern right here on CNN.
Still to come in the "NEWSROOM" this evening, "Spy vs Spy."
During the Cold War, the U.S. used a variety of methods to spy on the Soviet Union. One of the most expensive and technologically advanced was a secret spy plane called the A-12. Until now, few have seen the A-12 or even known of its existence.
CNN's Fredricka Whitfield has more on the plane that came in from the cold.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a state-of-the-art spy plane that flew faster and higher and took crisper pictures than any of its predecessors. The A-12, one of just nine in existence, has a new perch on the grounds of the CIA.
GEN MICHAEL HAYDEN, CIA DIRECTOR: This agency is indeed proud to welcome this bird back home to its nest.
WHITFIELD: The A-12 was supposed to succeed the U-2 supply plane, flying missions deep into the Soviet Union. Its development grew more urgent in 1960, when Soviet air defenses shot down Francis Gary Powers' U-2. The CIA needed a plane that could fly fast and high enough to elude missiles.
78-year-old Ken Collins was one of 11 pilots chosen to fly the new top secret aircraft.
KEN COLLINS, FORMER A-12 PILOT: You walked in there and saw that black, beautiful machine and just amazing. It was brae breathtaking.
WHITFIELD: But building the plane proved difficult, requiring innovative designs and technology to withstand the extreme heat and excessive speeds.
HAYDEN: The risks assumed by the brave men who actually piloted the A-12 can't be overstated.
WHITFIELD: Five of the 15 planes crashed. Two pilots were killed. Collins experienced serious technical problems during a test flight.
COLLINS: It hitched up and went flat and sit, spin. And I punched it downward.
WHITFIELD: Collins ejected before the plane crashed in the Utah desert. By the time the plane was ready Soviet air defenses were so good that the A-12 was too vulnerable to attack.
But the Vietnam War provided a new opportunity. The military need intelligence on North Vietnamese air defenses and economic targets. North Vietnamese defenses were no match for the A-12.
COLLINS: We were tracked and they fired missiles at us, at 85,000 feet and 2,200 miles an hour they didn't have a chance.
WHITFIELD: The A-12 flew its last three missions over North Korea helping to locate the "USS Pueblo" which the North Koreans seized in 1968.
Nearly 40 years later Collins still misses the A-12.
COLLINS: Fantastic airplane. Still is. Unfortunately, it's not flying now.
WHITEFIELD (on camera): This is about the highlight of your career?
COLLINS: It was the highlight of my career. WHITFIELD (voice-over): Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK, we're only starting autumn. Out west it looks a lot like winter.
Oh, Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, there are a lot of skiers happy about this, Tony. That's all I have to say. Snow in the Sierras and Montana could see heavy snow tonight. We'll have more details and tell you where the western storm is going. Your forecast is coming up.
HARRIS: Also ahead, the seven-year itch. A German politician wants married couples to be able to scratch it, legally. We'll explain. You're in the "NEWSROOM."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's call it divine intervention or an angel on her shoulder. A Florida surfer says somebody up there was watching over her when, without warning, a shark attacked.
Jason Allen with WFTV brings us the surfer's tale from Flagler Beach.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON ALLEN, REPORTER, WFTV: She is smiling about it now, the fact that her head fits neatly in the space where a shark's jaw bit down. But for several moments Sunday morning, Jess Riley was staring down death.
JESSICA RILEY, SHARK ATTACK SURVIVOR: The whole "Jaws" effect, where you see the eyeballs, they turn white. And then the teeth were like crooked. I had so many thoughts running through my head, but it was just like -- it was crazy.
ALLEN: She was lying on her board when something told her to raise her hand out of the water.
RILEY: As soon as I raised it out, like this thing just comes up and just chomps right on. I didn't know what was going through -- I was like, oh, my gosh, I lost an arm. My leg is bitten off. I didn't know what was going on.
ALLEN: After the shark took her board apart, it grabbed her leash and pulled her under the water, but it didn't take her. And she knows how close it was.
RILEY: Definitely someone was over there telling me to put my arm out of the water.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: Man! Again that was Jason Allen reporting from our Florida affiliate WFTV.
Here is a novel idea for the matrimonially challenged. A German lawmaker is proposing a time limit on marriage, a cure for the seven- year itch.
ITN's Rags Martel has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAGS MARTEL, REPORTER, ITN: The till death do us part, until now, the essential vow of a marriage. What happens when the honeymoon is over? A German politician has come up with a radical solution.
GABRIELE PAULI, GERMAN POLITICIAN (through translation): I propose the marriages to expire after seven years. That means in future, people would enter marriages on a time limited basis and actively say yes to an extension.
MARTEL: Gabriele Pauli believes the seven-year limit would avoid financial and emotional heart ache in Germany. It would help lower the country's divorce rate.
But surprisingly, her proposal shocked many church leaders. But her idea does have some support here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seven years, it sounds about right to me. It's a turning point after seven years.
MARTEL (on camera): Shouldn't love be forever?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, but it's hard in these days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I think the old institutions are the best. Why shouldn't we have a good marriage and work at it?
MARTEL (voice-over): Ms. Pauli's suggestion probably comes from experience. Her second marriage ended in divorce last February. It lasted seven years.
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HARRIS: Wait a minute, call in the attorneys.
Jacqui Jeras join me on this one. Okay? Seven years.
JERAS: I wouldn't be married anymore.
HARRIS: How about seven years with an option for a second seven years, maybe with, right, a first refusal? Call in the attorneys maybe.
JERAS: Yeah.
HARRIS: What do you think? JERAS: I promise to love and honor you for seven years, that's all. That's all we got.
HARRIS: There you go. Maybe I wouldn't be married either.
JERAS: Ridiculous.
HARRIS: Yeah, it really is. Good to see you, Jacqui. I knew you got snow out West, which is making skiers happy.
JERAS: Not quite enough to ski, but getting them excited, right? It's just around the corner.
(WEATHER REPORT)
JERAS: Tony?
HARRIS: In our "Fit Nation" segment today, a snack many people think -- well, absolutely love, we're talking about Twinkies here. Would they still taste as great if you knew what they were made of? Oh, boy.
CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a closer look inside the Twinkie.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With over 500 million sold every year, chances are pretty good you've tasted a Twinkie. Have you ever wondered what's in one?
We asked Christopher Kimball, host of America's Test Kitchen to deconstruct the Twinkie.
CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL, HOST, "AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN": The Twinkie is one of the finest examples of modern engineering. Here's why. It started out in 1930 as a basic sponge cake with the basic ingredients -- milk, butter, eggs, et cetera. And they filled it with cream. And it lasted maybe a couple of days, three days in the market. Hence the problem. How do you create something that's going to be shelf stable, not going to change over time?
GUPTA: To do that, Hostess replaced egg yolks with lecithin.
KIMBALL: It's an emulsifier, like egg yolk, which means it takes lots of disparate ingredients and sort of lets them blend together.
GUPTA: Cellulose gum replaces fat.
KIMBALL: It brings in moisture, holds in moisture and gives you the feeling you get in your mouth from fat.
GUPTA: Artificial colors take the place of natural.
KIMBALL: Those colors come from the petro chemical industry, from benzene and other chemicals, which, in quantity, is actually poisonous but in a small quantity, as used here, the FDA has approved.
GUPTA: In response, Interstate Bakeries, the maker of Hostess products, says, "The core ingredients have been the same for decades -- flour, sugar, water -- adding that deconstructing the Twinkie is like trying to deconstruct the universe. Some people look at the sky and think it's beautiful. Others try to count the stars."
Urban legend would have you believe a Twinkie can last for years. Hostess says just 25 days.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
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HARRIS: Okay. Still to come in "CNN NEWSROOM," we'd like you to meet one of the youngest members of the Millionaires Club. Boy, the high school dropout, turned dot-com mogul, now employees her mom. Her story straight ahead in the "NEWSROOM."
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HARRIS: Nice, nice, dateline London. Let's go to the video. Gorillas gone wild. Okay. Well they're not real gorillas. They're blokes in costumes running the streets for a charity event. Most people ran four miles dressed in gorilla suits, raising money to save the last 700 mountain gorillas living in the wild. It was hard work running in the fake fur, clashes along the way. That's why at the finish line the gorilla gets a gold medal and well-earned banana.
Finally -- attention, Ali Velshi -- we want to you meet a team making millions on the web. Ashley Quarrels cashing in on the passion to help girls pretty much their space on MySpace. Details from Peggy Agar from affiliate WXYZ.
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PETTY AGAR, REPORTER, WXYZ: Ashley Quarrels has been playing on the computer since she was 9. When she left high school and spent more time on the internet her mom wasn't upset. Instead she went to work for her daughter.
ASHLEY QUARRELS, COMPUTER MOGUL: It is hard and she helps me a lot but at the end of the day she tells me when to clean my room.
AGAR: 17-year-old Ashley started to making MySpace pages for her friends on the website whateverlife.com. More than 250,000 teenage girls visit her site each day. It's free to them. Ashley has become a multimillionaire from the ads companies place on the site.
QUARRELS: It's all free. I don't feel like charging for people to express themselves and be creative. I love doing what I do. I love giving out graphics and designs for the teens, my friends who work with me, they love doing it too.
AGAR (on camera): Ashley doesn't drive so she didn't spend her money on the car but she did buy this house. QUARRELS: I have a lot of computers, six or seven of them and I do buy a lot of things for the business.
AGAR (voice-over): Next week, Ashley goes to New York to appear on "The View." After that, whateverlife will start branching out.
QUARRELS: You can have your MySpace background. You can have it on your cell phone. So we have all cell phone graphics.
AGAR: Ashley's turned down multimillion-dollar offers to sell whateverlife.com because she likes creating from her own basement.
In Southgate, Peggy Agar, Channel 7 Action News.
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HARRIS: And there is still more ahead on CNN.
Up next, on "Lou Dobbs This Week," the Bush administration's plan to build a high-tech virtual fence along our border with Mexico is in trouble.
Then at 7:00 eastern, "CNN SIU: Judgment in Jena," an encore presentation. Kyra Phillips gets to the heart of a crisis within a small southern time. Justice in black and white.
That is followed by "CNN SIU: Feed Up," America's Killer Diet." Make no beef about it, America's too fat. Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates our calorie overload.
I will be back in 30 minutes with a news update. Until then, I'm Tony Harris. "Lou Dobbs this Week" starts right now.
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