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Canceled for Inspections: American Airlines Scrubs 200 Flights; Iraq War: Next Steps; Clinton on Obama's Pastor; Obama Back From R&R

Aired March 26, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Heidi, who is on maternity leave today.

Well, developments, they keep coming in to the CNN NEWSROOM on Wednesday, the 26th of March. And here's what's on the rundown.

Two hundred flights suddenly canceled for safety reasons. American Airlines stranding thousands of passengers.

HARRIS: U.S. and Iraqi troops battling militants in Basra. President Bush briefed on Iraq at the Pentagon this hour.

KEILAR: Hillary Clinton firing up new talk about Barack Obama's longtime minister. The preacher problem -- in the NEWSROOM.

American Airlines' flight cancellations. CNN was the first to break the story this morning, and we've learned that American Airlines is canceling 200 flights today to perform some key inspections. This is about 10 percent of the carrier's schedule.

And CNN Special Investigations Unit correspondent Drew Griffin is on this story.

You've got all the details.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And really, this is kind of good news. It's a fallout from the Southwest Airlines developments of a couple of weeks ago, when that airline was fined $10 million by the FAA. What Southwest was doing was basically caught flying planes that were outside the mandatory safety requirements for inspection. So, what happened was the FAA said, hey, we need all of our supervisors and all of our airlines to go out and re-inspect all of these things they call the airworthiness directives to make sure that these planes' inspections are basically up to snuff.

American Airlines looked at their MD-80s, looked at the inspection schedule, and decided they needed to re-inspect these MD- 80s basically for a wiring configuration that is in the wheel well. They're currently going through that.

They tell me this could roll into tomorrow, as this takes a while to do, to actually pull an aircraft out of service, open up the wheel well, go in there and check. But they are inspecting them and putting them back in service as soon as they can.

KEILAR: So, what is the concern with this wiring in the wheel well?

GRIFFIN: Well, the airworthiness directives requires certain parameters for how these wires are placed. They have to be -- I mean, technically speaking, they have to be an inch a part in this sleeve that rolls over the hydraulics.

KEILAR: But if they're not, is there danger?

GRIFFIN: Well, then they have to make an adjustment. Nobody is saying that there is a danger to this.

Obviously, the airworthiness directive was issued for a reason by the FAA. Usually it involves something that has happened the in the past on an airline when they are up for re-inspections. But right now, this is just precautionary, we're told, by American.

KEILAR: OK.

GRIFFIN: They're saying this is actually not an inspection, but a re-inspection of the inspection that already took place. So, the way it's been characterized to me is they just want to double-check these aircraft to make sure that they are living up to that airworthiness directive.

KEILAR: And, of course, anyone flying is comfortable with that, double-checking. We like double-checking.

GRIFFIN: Unless your flight was canceled.

KEILAR: Sure. Sure.

GRIFFIN: But, again, those cancellations should start rolling back as they're getting more of these aircraft in service.

KEILAR: OK. That's good to know.

Drew Griffin, thanks very much.

GRIFFIN: Thank you.

HARRIS: And developments unfolding this morning in a surge of violence in Iraq. The prime minister tells Shiite militants in oil- rich Basra to surrender their weapons within 72 hours. This is the second day of clashes between Iraqis and U.S. security forces and fighters aligned with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. But the U.S. military says forces are targeting armed criminals, not members of al- Sadr's Mehdi army.

The fighting has killed 40 to 50 people in Basra. Another 18 have died in clashes in Baghdad. The violence threatens to unravel a cease-fire put in place by al-Sadr seven months ago. President Bush discussing the future of U.S. forces in Iraq. He arrived at the Pentagon last hour for a meeting with military brass.

Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now.

Barbara, good morning.

A good deal to cover here. What are the military chiefs likely to be telling the president this morning?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Tony against the backdrop of this violence that we've seen for the last couple of days, this is a long planned meeting the president has with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Very important. He is coming across the Potomac River here to meet with them in the tank, the secure briefing room here in the Pentagon, not calling them to the White House to a more formal setting. He's going to sit down with them, is sitting down with them for about two hours, to talk about the next steps.

What the chiefs are talking about is what they want to see happen next in Iraq with troop levels. They are going to tell the president they're on board with this notion of a pause in July when the last of the surge brigades coming home. Take a pause, take a deep breath, see how the security situation is really sorting out. But then they want to see some very continuous assessments in Iraq so that when it can be decided more troops should come home, it can happen very rapidly.

They will tell the president that is vital because they are concerned about the readiness of troops. The troops are exhausted, stretched to the limit, and the chiefs will say, look, it's our job to make sure there are trained and ready troops if there's another crisis somewhere in the world. We've got to bring some troops home, get them time with their families, and then get them trained up once again.

That's going to be what they tell the president their priority is.

HARRIS: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us this morning.

Barbara, thank you.

The battle in Basra, what it means to the larger fight for Iraq and the future of U.S. forces. Our military analyst weighs in, in about 10 minutes.

KEILAR: Hillary Clinton campaigns with her daughter in the nation's capital today. She heads there after firing up new talk about Barack Obama's former pastor.

CNN's Dan Lothian reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator Hillary Clinton jumped into the controversy over Barack Obama's former pastor with both feet.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think, given all we have heard and seen, he would not have been my pastor.

LOTHIAN: Their comes a week after Obama gave his race speech, in which he condemned the words of Reverend Jeremiah Wright, but not the man. Clinton, seemingly trying to deflect attention from her recent missteps, was critical of Obama's choice when asked what she would have done.

CLINTON: We don't have a choice when it comes to our relatives. We have a choice when it comes to our pastors and the churches we attend.

LOTHIAN: The Obama campaign was quick to fire back. Spokesman Bill Burton saying, "It's disappointing to see Hillary Clinton's campaign sink to this low."

All this happened on the day Clinton was trying to backtrack on this remark about a 1996 trip to Bosnia.

CLINTON: I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but, instead, we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.

LOTHIAN: But video shot that day seemingly contradicts her version of events. No one seems to be running or ducking, and there does appear to be a ceremony. Clinton says she was sleep-deprived and misspoke.

The question is, how will this impact her credibility?

JENNY BACKUS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think it could hurt her credibility, but what I think it hurts most is her claim that she is the candidate of more experience and that she has got more foreign policy experience and commander in chief experience than Barack Obama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Let's bring in Dan Lothian. He is with the Election Express in Philadelphia.

And it just makes you wonder, Dan, why is Hillary Clinton talking about Reverend Wright now? I mean, the Clinton campaign has never addressed this before, and now it's a full week after Obama's speech on race.

LOTHIAN: That's right. And that's a question a lot of people are asking.

She did have the opportunity when this story was really heating up last week to comment. She was asked by reporters and really stayed out of the fray. The sense now is that she was really trying to distract, deflect attention away from her own problems, from these missteps that she made on the Bosnia story. That certainly is what the Obama campaign believers.

But Senator Clinton says she was essentially just responding to a question from a reporter, that she was asked how she would have dealt with that issue, and she responded to what she called a personal question.

KEILAR: All right. Dan Lothian for us there in Philadelphia.

Thank you.

HARRIS: Well, rested and relaxed after a few days of down time in the Virgin Islands, Barack Obama rallies voters at a town hall meeting in North Carolina today.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is in Greensboro.

Suzanne, great to see you. I'm curious here. What is...

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you.

HARRIS: ... Obama's focus as he gets back on the campaign trail?

MALVEAUX: Well, Tony, certainly Obama had a couple of days off, a break really from a lot of the controversies. But as you saw front and center, there's going to be a lot that he has to deal with.

What he's hoping here obviously is to move beyond the whole conflict, the controversy over his pastor, and to talk about things like the economy -- that's what we're expecting -- as well as the Iraq war and health care. A lot of people are talking about Pennsylvania, that contest being very important. But you have to look at North Carolina as well moving ahead.

This is May 6th, the primary. It's the last large state really on the calendar. It really is going to gave chance to make the case to the superdelegates, how each of these candidates do here in North Carolina.

North Carolina, people here very much concerned. There's big military community. They'll be paying very close attention to what he has to say about the Iraq war.

Also, you take a look at some of the industries that have basically disappeared here. We're talking about furniture and textiles. Those are the kinds of things that they're going to be listening for, how to create jobs, how to improve health care. Those are the kinds of things that Barack Obama is going to focus on today.

But clearly, Tony, as we saw in Dan Lothian's piece, Senator Clinton bringing up front and center this controversy over his pastor. We'll see if he actually addresses that as well.

And once again, some of the misstatements she made about her own experience in Bosnia coming under sniper fire. We'll see if he actually weighs in and keeps that controversy going as well. Both of them very competitive now, and both of them really going after the credibility and the integrity of the other -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes, absolutely.

Suzanne Malveaux for us in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Good to see you, Suzanne. Thank you.

And John McCain in Los Angeles to talk world affairs. That's at noon Eastern. Barack Obama, again, rallying in North Carolina. Expect live coverage on CNN, your home for politics.

The nation's sputtering economy, we know you feel the effects at the gas pump and the grocery store. Well, this morning we're getting a better idea of the road ahead.

Just minutes ago, some disappointing news on energy supplies. The government report shows oil and gas inventories much lower than expected.

Now, this is all translating to more jitters on Wall Street. The markets have been struggling since the opening bell.

Right now taking a look at the Big Board, the Dow down about 125 there. Now, one reason, last hour's update on the housing crisis.

New home sales slide for the fourth straight month. The level is now at a 13-year low.

And earlier this morning, we heard about durable goods, big- ticket items like washing machines and refrigerators. Factory orders dropping again, 1.7 percent. Economists had had predicted a slight increase. Now, it's worth noting the decline comes after January's big plunge of almost 5 percent.

And keep watching CNN. Our money team has you covered, whether it's housing, jobs, debt, or savings. You can join us far a special report. It's called "ISSUE #1," the economy, all this week at noon Eastern, only on CNN.

Pencil it in. Could a new federal holiday hit your calendar?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: An explosion and a massive fire in Dubai. This happened at a fireworks warehouse.

Some really extraordinary video here to show you, a huge explosion. That plume of smoke shooting into the sky.

Unfortunately, two people were killed in this accident. No word yet on the cause. But flames spread to 81 warehouses before firefighters were able to contain the blaze. Damage at this point estimated at more than $200 million.

HARRIS: Deadly fighting in the Iraqi oil port of Basra, fresh attacks in the heart of Baghdad. The upsurge of violence has broader implications for the stability of Iraq and the future of U.S. forces.

With us from Tucson, CNN military analyst and retired Air Force Major General Don Shepperd.

Don, great to see you. It's been a while.

How would you describe the fighting that is going on right now in Basra and in those cities around, those towns and cities and neighborhoods, around Baghdad? Is this, in fact, Shiite against Shiite?

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. This is an intra-Shiite struggle, Tony. It's difficult for us to understand, but think of it as kind of a compartment.

First of all, in the area of Basra, think of this as Chicago in the 1920s -- the feds coming in, trying to push out the gangs that are controlling commerce within the city. That's what's taking place in Basra.

You have three major parties -- Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi army, fighting for control of the Basra area; you have the Badr Brigade of the SCIRI political party; and then the Fadila Party. And basically, all three of them are trying to control commerce, jobs, that type of thing, in the Basra area.

Two-thirds of the oil of Iraq comes out of Basra, and they're fighting for control. And Nuri al-Maliki is coming in and saying, wait a minute, the feds are in control. We're going to take control, we're going to put these militias down. And then the various factions, particularly from al-Sadr's Mehdi army, are basically saying, you know, we're going to fight against this because you're trying to put us down for the future of Iraq.

HARRIS: Yes. Hey, Don, what are the ramifications for Basra, those neighborhoods around Baghdad, surge implications as this fighting continues?

SHEPPERD: It's important to understand that the surge basically -- most of the U.S. forces are in the surge in Baghdad as we think of the surge. We are supporting Iraqi forces in Basra. It's mainly Iraqi forces doing this.

There's about 4,000 British troops at the airport. The U.S. is providing air support and logistics support to the Iraqi forces in Basra.

The attacks in Baghdad over the last few days have been rockets and mortars launched from Sadr City into the Green Zone. And that's what's taken place.

There is a truce that's been declared by al-Sadr that should go on for about the next six months. These are rogue elements of al- Sadr's forces breaking out in Baghdad, the Al Kut and the Hillah area. That's not what's happening in Basra, however. This is combat in Basra. HARRIS: But generally speaking, I'm wondering, how concerned are you with this uptick in fighting and intra-Shiite fighting?

SHEPPERD: Very concerned. Iraq can go wrong in so many ways.

It looked like the surge is working, violence is coming down, and now with intra-Shiite struggles going on, it can break down in many of the big population centers. Basra is the second largest city in Iraq.

HARRIS: Yes.

SHEPPERD: Baghdad, of course. And so this is break down in so many ways, it can affect security across Iraq, it can affect the confidence of the people in the central government, which the U.S. is trying to build so it can get out. So, this is a very complex thing, and it can go wrong for the U.S. in many ways.

HARRIS: Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has given 72 hours, his ultimatum of 72 hours, for the criminal elements -- the bad guys, the gangs, the militia members -- to put down their arms in Basra, as we jump around a little bit here. What happens, do you think, realistically? Are we talking about a Falluja-style attack in Basra if these gangs, these elements, don't put down their weapons?

SHEPPERD: Yes. Not a Falluja-style attack, but I think you're going to see significant combat in a very highly-populated area of Basra. And you're going to see a lot of innocent civilians killed as the militias war against Iraqi security forces.

This is going to be ugly for the people of Basra, and it's going to be a black eye against the central government, if you will, of al- Maliki. The people of Basra are sure not going to identify with that central government, which is the key to the future of Iraq.

The people have confidence in Iraqi security forces, Iraqi police, and the Iraqi central government. Peace can reign. But if it doesn't happen, peace isn't going to reign. So this is an important fight.

HARRIS: Hey, what do you think of the news over the last couple of days yesterday about these fuses mistakenly being sent to Taiwan? We had you on, boy, it feels like a couple of months ago, when we had the story of the bomber flying with warheads, nuclear warheads in the United States. I wonder how this story of the fuses compares to that. Is one gaffe bigger than the other?

SHEPPERD: Well, I think the nuclear weapons is much bigger than the fuses...

HARRIS: Absolutely.

SHEPPERD: ... although the fuses -- you don't want American technology being spread inappropriately across. There are laws that define this.

This was obviously a bad mistake, if you will. There are also rogue elements out there that try to get American technology spread everywhere. But clearly, the control of the nuclear weapons was much more serious, Tony.

HARRIS: OK. General Don Shepperd.

Don, great to see you. Thanks for your time.

SHEPPERD: Good to see you.

KEILAR: The U.S. now says an Egyptian was killed in an incident near the Suez Canal on Monday. A U.S. Navy-contracted ship fired warning shots at an approaching motorboat. That boat had ignored warnings to turn away.

Now, the U.S. Embassy now says a warning shot did kill an Egyptian on the boat. The U.S. previously had said no one had died.

U.S. Navy-contracted cargo ships follow the same rules of engagement as American warships, and the Navy has been cautious since the 2000 attack on the USS Cole. That attack, as you may recall, killed 17 sailors.

HARRIS: Boy, an awkward question, a direct response. Chelsea Clinton on the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM this morning, falling home prices. The ripple effect hits struggling communities.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM, and I'm Brianna Keilar in for Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

In a breaking story first reported this morning on CNN, American Airlines is canceling 200 flights today to perform key inspections. The flights make up about 10 percent of the carrier's schedule. American says the inspections have to do with FAA questions about wiring on the MD-80 aircraft. The airline has said it has not grounded any of the planes. It ordered the flight cancellations to allow time for the inspections. The FAA order was part of an investigation that started after a CNN investigation. This network reported possible safety issue aboard planes flown by Southwest Airlines.

KEILAR: Falling home prices hit hard, and it's not only real estate that's suffering.

CNN's Kitty Pilgrim takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 20 cities in this country home prices are down more than 10 percent over the past year. And Standard and Poor says prices are likely to fall another 20 to 30 percent from the peak prices.

Miami, down 19 percent; Phoenix, down 18 percent; San Diego, down 16 percent; Los Angeles, down 16 percent; Detroit, down 15 percent; Minneapolis, down 10 percent; Cleveland, down eight percent; Chicago down seven percent; Atlanta, down nearly five percent.

DAVID BLITZER, STANDARD AND POOR'S: We're now down for 19 straight months. And the declines are as deep as any we've seen in more than two decades. There's no sign in the data at this point that we've hit the bottom yet.

PILGRIM: Local communities are starting to feel the fall-off in tax revenues from foreclosures and declining prices. And it's not just real estate. Layoffs in construction and housing-related industries such as furniture and home goods, retail sales, means people are no longer drawing wages and salaries, which means tax revenues decline.

The six hardest-hit states are Arizona, Nevada, California, Michigan, Florida, and Ohio. And because of declining tax revenues, states are putting freezes on capital investments, highways, schools and cutting other services.

RAY SCHEPPACH, NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION: You're already seeing budget cuts take place and we're probably going to see a lot more. So, we expect now to have 35 to 40 states have shortfalls and have to make significant reductions really over the next 18 months.

PILGRIM: The National Governors Association says most states will try to make their budgets stretch without raising taxes.

Kitty Pilgrim, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: An awkward moment on the campaign trail for Chelsea Clinton. A college student wanted to know if the Monica Lewinsky scandal had damaged her mother's reputation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHELSEA CLINTON, SEN. HILLARY CLINTON'S DAUGHTER: Wow. You're the first person actually that's ever asked me that question in the, I don't know, maybe 70 college campuses that I've now been to. And I do not think that's any of your business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. Wow. Straightforward, to the point, none of your business. The crowd actually cheered Clinton's response, then she went on to answer one final campaign question. CNNpolitics.com is your source for everything political from the candidates' movements to the latest delegate count. Get all that and more at CNNpolitics.com.

KEILAR: A new national holiday? Well, maybe one day. Organizers want to honor labor and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez, and Christine Chavez is his granddaughter. She's joining us now from Los Angeles.

Christine, thanks for being with us.

CHRISTINE CHAVEZ, GRANDDAUGHTER OF CESAR CHAVEZ: Thank you for inviting me.

KEILAR: And there's been talk for years about a national holiday. More than a dozen states have a holiday acknowledging your grandfather, but you have an announcement today. What is it?

CHAVEZ: Yes. You know, this year marks the anniversary, the 40th anniversary of my grandfather's first public fast. It was a fast that he conducted for 25 days to protest the use of violence. And there were so many people back then that were inspired by my grandfather's work, and so there is now a national movement to make my grandfather's birthday, March 31st, a national day of public service. And so, what's so wonderful about this movement is that it's completely being driven by community members, so...

KEILAR: But really the announcement, Christine, right, is that the family, your family, is throwing its weight behind this movement today, right?

CHAVEZ: Yes. Yes. That's correct. We will join several community members and ask -- we're going to circulate petitions on my grandfather's birthday, March 31st, asking Congress to make Cesar Chavez Day a national day of service. We will join them, and we fully support their efforts as well.

KEILAR: So, talk to us about your grandfather. I'm from California. I know the student center at my university was named for your grandfather. But what do you want for him to be remembered for?

CHAVEZ: You know, I think what really -- what I'd like to say, what really put my grandfather on the map was his -- you know, the attention that he brought to, you know, to the American farm worker. You know, he brought to the American public what it takes for farm workers, you know, farm workers who bring food to our tables every day; he brought that plight and those working conditions to people all across the United States.

So it's our hope that when people are asking who's Cesar Chavez, maybe somebody out in Missouri or somebody out in New York City who has not heard of Cesar Chavez, they'll know he was somebody that fought for the rights of farm workers, people who put food on our tables every day.

And I think another strong -- one of my grandfather's other strong values was that he was completely involved in his community, and he wanted other people to be involved in giving back to their communities. So I think one of the best ways that we honor him is by, you know, having a national day of service in his memory.

KEILAR: That's right. And he's remembered for leading massive protests against pesticide use that could harm the health of farm workers, also against unsafe tools that were harmful to farm workers, just a couple of things that people will remember him for.

But you mentioned community service, how important that was for him. Why is that -- just tell us about that element of this push.

CHAVEZ: Well, I think more than anything, it's -- anytime we can give, especially young people, an opportunity to give back to their communities, we should be encouraging them to do that. So, that's one of the main things that we want to emphasize, that it's not a day off per se, but it's a day for people to come together where they will go into their communities, and whatever -- you know, each community has a different need, so whatever their need is, they can come together and work on that issue as a community.

KEILAR: All right. Christine Chavez, your grandfather, of course, an amazing man. Thanks so much for joining us today to talk about him. Appreciate it.

CHAVEZ: Thank you.

HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM -- give kid $40,000, and you'll never see it -- oh, no. A checkbook and a credit card. And what do you get? Appreciation for mom and dad. Budget assignment in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A daring heist, and if you can believe it, this car thief stole a ride while police watched. This amazing story ahead.

HARRIS: The second deadly crane accident in 10 days to tell you about. Investigators today want to know what went wrong. This time, it happened in Florida. Part of a construction crane broke off and plunged 30 stories, slamming into this house. Two people were killed, five other people hurt. The house was actually serving as an office for construction workers who were building a condo next door. Less than two weeks ago, you may recall, a crane accident in New York killed seven people.

KEILAR: Celebrity chef Paul Prudhomme keeps serving up food, Cajun style, of course. Now, this is despite being grazed in the arm by a falling bullet. This happened yesterday morning. Basically, he was setting up his cooking tent at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He felt a sting, he shook his sleeve and then a bullet fell to the ground. Can you believe that? It's amazing.

Prudhomme did not need medical attention. He was at the course to cook for the players, the caddies and the guests. And cook he did, throughout the afternoon despite his slight wound. HARRIS: Singer Emilio Navaira, a terrible bus accident leaves him with a traumatic brain injury. Doctors in Texas have lowered his body temperature, trying desperately to save his life.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in New York for us today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is still controversial, but this idea of lowering the body temperature, some of the risks of it and the reasons it's controversial, it can cause cardiac arrhythmias, it can cause blood clotting problems. And these are all things that you worry about after a trauma.

But the whole idea here, Tony, is to try and put the brain to sleep for a little while, put it to sleep while it tries to repair itself. You want to keep the swelling down. They actually put this vest that sort of goes over the chest, over the thighs and circulates this cool fluid through the skin, and that lowers the body temperature to about 91.5.

Take a look at what it hopefully does -- reduces swelling in the brain, prevents cells from dying. Tony, it's a critical period within those ...

HARRIS: Yes.

GUPTA: ...first few hours after the injury.

HARRIS: Yes.

GUPTA: You want to keep those cells alive and let them repair themselves. And also, you have several different active centers around the brain. You want to make sure they're communicating one with the other. Hypothermia seems to help there as well.

Tony, as you know, you and I have talked about this ...

HARRIS: Yes.

GUPTA: ...it is still controversial. You remember Kevin Everett ...

HARRIS: That's right, that's right.

GUPTA: ...football player, he had a spinal cord injury. That spinal cord -- he is walking today, terrific news. It's -- he had hypothermia therapy as well. It's unclear how much the hypothermia actually helped him, but this is something that's starting to be done more and more for the reasons that I told you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And doctors say the next 24 to 48 hours are critical for Emilio Navaira. And to get your daily dose of health news online, logon to our Web site. There, you will find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet (ph), fitness. The address: CNN.com/health.

KEILAR: Issue No. 1 around the country, it's the economy. And perhaps nowhere is that more true than in Ohio. The latest evidence comes from the number of people who are collecting food stamps in the state. Susan Liscovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with details on this.

Hi, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, just getting my ...

KEILAR: We're having some mic issues, but I'm going to stall for a second while we let Susan take her place.

LISOVICZ: There we go.

HARRIS: There we go.

KEILAR: Down 126. Oh my, is that Susan Liscovicz?

LISOVICZ: Hello.

KEILAR: Hello.

HARRIS: Hi, Susan.

LISOVICZ: Sorry.

KEILAR: That's OK.

LISOVICZ: It's not only pictures, it's sound. I try to remind myself that occasionally, Brianna and Tony. Good morning to you.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

HARRIS: And some pictures into the CNN NEWSROOM we want to show you now of a fire at a high school, South Side High School here in the Atlanta area, we understand has been evacuated. Boy, need a better shot than that. There we go. You can see some of the smoke pouring out of that door there. Firefighters obviously on the scene. The school, we understand, has been evacuated. A big campus high school here in Atlanta, South Side High School.

No reports of any injuries among students, faculty, or firefighters at this time. And no real idea as of yet as to what might have caused this fire. But these pictures just into the CNN NEWSROOM. The fire starting on the second floor of that high school.

We'll keep an eye on the situation and bring you an update as soon as we get some additional information.

KEILAR: Hoax or horror? A baby offered up for drug money on Craigslist. We are getting new information from police. We'll have details ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: New details on a developing story in northern India. Rescue efforts have resumed, or rescuers have resumed their attempts to free a 2-year-old girl from a well. Vandana fell into this uncovered hole yesterday while playing, and rescuers have gotten oxygen and food to girl. They're also lowering a camera.

They say she is breathing and crying, but she was stuck 45 feet below the surface. She had slipped two more feet. Rescuers are digging another hole and a connecting tunnel to try to reach this little girl. We're going to keep you posted on this story.

HARRIS: And this story, a baby for sale, money needed for drugs. That was the claim of a Craigslist posting in Oregon. And police now say it's apparently a hoax. We told you about the story earlier. Police said they were taking it seriously until they could disprove it. Now they are apparently satisfied that it was a sick practical joke. Police are now working with Craigslist to find the clown who posted the ad.

KEILAR: A bold bandit, not a very smart one, steeling some wheels right in front of police. Take a look.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For instance, the if I were driving an unmarked car, I still have my badge, I still have my I.D., I still have my police equipment with me. That's going to be every office officer. Watch out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: It happened in Arizona. A wild ride here, but no surprise, right? This guy didn't get very far. Police had the man a short time later. And as you can imagine, he is now facing some pretty serious charges.

HARRIS: I think. So it's not so easy for mom and dad to make a budget, boy. Fifth-graders at a Massachusetts school get the early money lessons. Reporter Jackie Brousseau of WWLP has our story.

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JACKIE BROUSSEAU, WWLP Reporter: Fifth-graders at Stony Hill Elementary School in Wilbraham are being taught how to budget their money using real-life scenarios. Each student chooses a profession, dresses the part, and learns how to allocate a $40,000 a year salary, paying for everything from a mortgage, to a car payment, to groceries.

Eleven-year-old Elizabeth Juddicki (ph) chose to be a fashion designer and can't belief how much everyday necessities cost.

ELIZABETH JUDDICKI, STUDENT: Health. I always thought that your insurance would pay for it, but sometimes you have to pay for it.

The goal of the pilot program taught by Country Bank is to encourage kids to think about their future.

JODIE GERULAITIS: They're not going to be having bad credit reports. They're learning the consequences now.

BROUSSEAU: The program not only teaches students how to budget, but it also teaches them how to write out a check and how to open a real-life savings account. Some of the students say it's taught them what it's like for their parents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They must have to pay a lot of bills.

JUDDICKI: If you have a lot of money, you can't spend it all in one place. You have to still pay all of your money -- all of your bills first.

BROUSSEAU: Teacher Michele Mistalski says she can tell the program is working just by looking at the shock on her students' faces when they see how much things cost. She believes it is a crucial life lesson that should be taught in every classroom.

MICHELE MISTALSKI, FIFTH-GRADE TEACHER: It's everyday math is not anything that's going to go away from their lives. It's something they're going to have to do for the rest of their lives.

BROUSSEAU: The program is so successful that modified versions of the financial lesson will soon be taught to students in every grade at Stony Hill. I'm Jackie Brousseau for 22 NEWS.

KEILAR: CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.

HARRIS: Issue # 1 is next with Gerri Willis and Ali Velshi. I'm Tony Harris.

KEILAR: I'm Brianna Keilar in for Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And we leave you with this, a group of fishermen in Bali, they are using eco-fishing to preserve underwater reefs. Here's CNN's Arwa Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the tiny village of Nest (ph), Nengah Arsan begins his morning by preparing to go fishing. It's been in his family for generations. They specialize in ornamental fish, the ones that grace many living room aquariums.

NENGAH ARSAN (through translator): When I was young, the reef was beautiful. There were lots of fish around.

DAMON: But that memory came dangerously close to being something his son would never know.

ARSAN (through translator): I became a destroyer. DAMON: Arsan, and his family used potassium cyanide to stun the fish, making them easier to catch. But about 30 percent of the fish died in the process. And it's not just about the fish. Potassium cyanide, one deadly squirt can kill two to three square kilometers of coral in about a month. In just a decade, this reef became a haunted version of its former beauty. Cipto Aji Gunawan is part of a national NGO that is trying to introduce eco-fishing.

CIPTO AJI GUNAWAN: Actually, the situation at the moment is very critical. 33 percent of fish live and depend on the reef.

DAMON: But not off the shores of Nest anymore. These days, Arsan heads out not with cyanide but with nets. It's absolutely amazing. It's hard to believe that this is the reef just six years after the men stopped using cyanide. Arsan carefully spreads his net under water.

When he sees a fish he wants it's chased into the net, and once caught, the fish are put into what's called a decompression bucket. At first, Arsan and the other fishermen didn't believe they could catch enough fish using the nets to financially survive, but they've actually tripled their income. Arwa Damon, CNN, Bali, Indonesia.

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