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FBI Arrests Hundreds in Child Prostitution Ring; Mississippi River Expected to Crest; Gas Price Reduction Possible

Aired June 25, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: FBI round-up, hundreds of people under arrest across the U.S. for their alleged part in child prostitution, the undercover video of those arrests expected soon.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And workplace violence, a disgruntled employee goes home and comes back firing.

PHILLIPS: And $2 gas in just 30 days? Is it possible? Just hear who's saying yes. Hello everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips live in New York.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

We'll have those stories and much, much more on a very busy news day. Plus we're waiting a decision from the feds right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Important news for your bottom line. All eyes are watching for the Fed's next move on interest rates. It's going to happen in the next few minutes. We're going to bring that to you live. That decision could impact the market. Our Susan Lisovicz live at the New York Stock Exchange.

Susan, you and I have talked about this. The feds possibly raising rates, but how can they do it in the state of our economy right now?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's the quandary that the Fed is in, Kyra, and that's why the expectation is that the Fed will do nothing because we have a slowing economy and an inflation that is heating up. Obviously, this decision affects your money.

The Fed has been trying to juice the economy by making money cheaper, lowering interest rates aggressively since September. Wall Street expects the Fed to do nothing this time around, but we expect policy makers to say something about inflation which has risen sharply since the Fed started cutting rates. We'll have the decision and the Fed statement, the market reaction in less than 15 minutes -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. See you then. Thanks Susan.

LEMON: Imagine gas prices at $2 a gallon by the end of next month. $2 a gallon? Remember those days? Some experts say it's actually possible if Congress can crack down on oil speculators. CNN's Brianna Keilar explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Speculation, it's a dirty word to some on Capitol Hill. Many Democrats and Republicans worry it's driving up the price of oil and gasoline. One oil analyst says Congress stepping in is the key to cheaper gas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're saying, if we adopt these regulatory changes, we can almost cut the retail price of gas in half in a relatively short period of time?

MICHAEL MASTERS, OIL ANALYST: My estimation would be within 30 days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Within 30 days of the president signing the bill?

MASTERS: Yes sir.

KEILAR: Here's how speculation works. Investors, many of them public pension funds, buy oil futures to sell later at a profit. It's all done on paper. They never physically acquire any oil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your pension fund manager may be using your retirement money to drive up the price of oil.

KEILAR: It's perfectly legal, and with oil prices on the rise, it's a sure way to make money. But Republicans and Democrats call some of it excessive.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN, (I) CONNECTICUT: Speculators are moving enormous amounts of money into commodities markets for the obvious purpose of making more money. But in so doing, they are artificially inflating the price of food and fuel futures and causing real financial suffering for millions and millions of people and businesses.

KEILAR: Among the proposals, making transactions more transparent. So regulators can tell whether speculators are gaming the system. Banning hedge funds and pension funds from investing in the oil market. And slowing the speculation spiral by increasing the down payment investors must make on a contract. Right now they pony up just 5 or 7 percent. Compare that to the 50 percent down required to purchase stocks.

(on camera): But some experts tell Congress making changes could do more harm than good. They say it will shift oil trading to even less regulated areas, perhaps overseas, driving up oil prices even higher out of the reach of U.S. regulators.

Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Growing fear in Zimbabwe, just hours ahead of a disputed presidential election. Hundreds of people are seeking refuge at the South African embassy in the Zimbabwe capital. They apparently fear attacks by supporters of President Robert Mugabe, the only remaining candidate. CNN's David McKenzie joins us now from his listening post there in Johannesburg. David, we just heard 300 people now seeking refuge at the South African embassy in Zimbabwe. Can you confirm that?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we can confirm that, Kyra. We spoke to the foreign ministry here in South Africa. They said that the ambassador of South Africa to Zimbabwe is currently in negotiations with 300 supporters of the MDC, the opposition. They say those supporters have been camped on the lawn of the South African embassy since late this afternoon, fearing attacks from the party of President Mugabe, saying they won't leave. They're in negotiations right now. It's just another step in this increasingly difficult crisis where ordinary Zimbabweans really, Kyra, that are hurting the most.

PHILLIPS: David, I had a chance yesterday to talk with the former secretary of state Madeleine Albright. I said, what is the answer? What does the U.S. need to do? She said, it's not the U.S., but it's other African leaders that have to crack down and put pressure on Mugabe. Is that going to happen? Do you see that happening when this man is such a threat to so many people, including its neighbors?

MCKENZIE: Well, many African leaders have actually changed their tune in the last few months, the last few weeks, Kyra. They've been strongly criticizing the Mugabe government. Today a regional troika, a security group from this region came up at the meeting saying that they should postpone this vote and wait until free and fair elections are possible. But really that's soft talk in a way for Mugabe. Analysts tell us that though he's been speaking softly, that all he understands is a big stick -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: We'll continue to follow all the developments from Zimbabwe. David McKenzie, thanks -- Don?

LEMON: Thank you, Kyra.

An agonizing wait in Winfield, Missouri, where the Mississippi River is still rising, and that's putting pressure on the only remaining earthen levee in the county. It's already so waterlogged only national guard soldiers and firefighters wearing life vests are being allowed anywhere near it to stack sandbags. Emergency workers say as little as a two inch wake from a passing boat could break that levee. It's under a lot of pressure there.

If it gives way before the river crests today, about 100 homes and businesses, a city park, and a lot of farm land will be under water. Our Karen Maginnis joins us now and that is the last thing those folks in that part of the country need. Especially when it comes to the economy, farms, we're talking money. A ripple effect.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thousands of acres threatened here. Not just in that community alone but we were looking up and down the Mississippi River, and it's not over yet. They saw additional rainfall today. Want to show you the area that we're talking about, we're most concerned about. It is the Winfield area. This is so vulnerable right now. This Winfield block area.

Over here is Winfield, as you can see. Now, if you were to go a little bit further down, then you would go down about 45 miles or so towards St. Louis area. The other area that we're especially concerned about is this Old Monroe, but this is fed by the Quiver River, as they say.

LEMON: And you know what, real quick, I hate to cut you off here, but I'm being told by the producers that we actually have someone on the phone in the area who's watching that levee very closely, Karen. I want to stay with you because I want you to help me with this interview. Andy Binder, public information officer for the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.

We've been told Mr. Binder -- first of all thank you for joining us today.

ANDY BINDER, PUBLIC INFO. OFFICER, LINCOLN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Hello Don, thank you for having me.

LEMON: We've been told that a boat with as little as a two-inch wake could actually cause that levee to go south.

BINDER: Yes, our levee right now is taking a tremendous pounding w from the Mississippi River. The earthen levee, the Pinoch (ph) levee specifically around Winfield is very fragile. There's been a lot of soaking and prolonged saturation along that levee. Any weight -- we calculate that a two-inch wake along our levee system is the difference between saving it or a catastrophic failure.

LEMON: And we're looking at the video from that, and it looks like almost flat land right there with the water right up against it. But that's actually a levee that's pretty high. Not exactly sure how tall this levee is. Still, it looks like flat land, Karen.

MAGINNIS: It certainly does. Can you tell us, Andy, are there people that have been evacuated from this area, and how many people are we talking about?

BINDER: Karen, we've had a voluntary evacuation east of highway 79 for the last 10 days. It's not a mandatory evacuation at this time. We do talk with the residents. We have about 25 people who are still saying east of highway 79, especially within the Pinoke levee system. We talk to them daily and let them know, hey, this is what's happening with the levee. If you don't plan on evacuating, we're just encouraging those residents to make arrangements to evacuate because right now our levee is just too unpredictable, and it could go at any time.

LEMON: I want to back that up real quick because I think this is interesting stuff, Karen and Andy. I don't know if you're out there and able to see this, but I'm hearing that guardsmen in the area who are watching this levee are having to wear life vests because the levee can go at any time.

BINDER: That's correct, the engineers, the army national guard, have deemed the Pinoke levee an unsafe area. So only those people plus our firefighters that are actually doing sandbagging are allowed in that area. They are required to wear life vests. Just to the south of us in St. Charles County, while the national guard was trying to bolster their levee, it breached, and it required seven national guardsmen to be rescued from the fury of the Mississippi River in St. Charles County. With that being said, we're going to take every safety precaution we can, and we're trying to work by (INAUDIBLE) this levee.

LEMON: Listen, we wish you the very best. We thank you for joining us today in the CNN NEWSROOM, Karen Maginnis and I. Andy Binder, Karen, who is a public information officer, Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. Man, unbelievable situation happening there and you're monitoring it all.

MAGINNIS: It looks like that river is not going to crest again -- this is a secondary crest -- until we go into Saturday. Now it's going to be 37.5 feet. Right now it's at 37 feet.

LEMON: Great.

Other breaking news, Karen, to report. We want to throw it back to Kyra -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: The feds have been cutting interest rates aggressively since September. We're getting word now, that Susan Lisovicz, are they doing it again?

LISOVICZ: They are not, and it shows that the Fed has been in a very difficult position because you can make the argument that the economy has worsened and so has inflation. The Fed doing nothing, keeping the federal funds rate as expected, steady at 2 percent. That is the overnight rate that banks charge each other, and that is the benchmark for the prime rate, by will stand at 5 percent.

And that affects so many of our consumer and commercial loans. We do have a statement from the Fed that said that the overall economic activity continues to expand, and that it does expect -- it does expect inflation to moderate. But that is later this year. I don't know if Allan Chernoff can weigh in, but I know he's been certainly listening in as well to what we've been seeing from the Federal Reserve.

Allan, are you there?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Susan. No surprise at all. The Federal Reserve is in a situation here where they are trying to let their lower interest rate give the economy a little bit of a boost. The inclination in the market's thinking is that the Fed's next step is likely to be a rate increase. In fact, in September, the market now is betting that the Fed will raise rates. A lot of people also thinking there's at least a 50 percent possibility of an increase at the next meeting in August. But that would be to fight inflation. So the fed is really a very -- they're on the balance here. It's a very narrow balance that they've got. They need to spur the economy, but they also need to make sure inflation doesn't get out of control. That's why we see them not doing anything just yet. Susan?

LISOVICZ: Allan it's interesting because there is a dissenting vote. Often times when we saw Alan Greenspan and company making decisions, this would be a unanimous decision. With this campaign of interest rate cuts, we've seen a series of decisions where there have been votes against it. That is the case. One of the policy makers actually wanted to raise interest rates despite the slowing economy, despite the fact -- just today, we got new home sales declining. American Express saying that credit conditions are deteriorating beyond our expectation. There are some folks who say we really need to raise interest rates to choke off inflation that is hurting everyone.

CHERNOFF: Yes. And, Susan, in the statement the Federal Reserve is saying -- and this is the open market committee of the Fed, which is the policy making committee. The committee is saying here that upside risks to inflation and inflation expectations have increased. That's the signal that the Fed indeed is worried about all these rising prices we're paying for gasoline, for food.

It's all adding to the rate of inflation, and so that's the indication that down the road they are probably looking to start raising interest rates. As you know, they've lowered them dramatically from 5.25 percent to 2 percent. That's for the overnight bank lending rate. This in itself doesn't have a huge impact on the individual consumer, but it does affect the banks that do in turn lend to all of us.

LISOVICZ: When you think about what's happened just since the last rate decision, this is why this decision is so difficult. Consumer confidence dropping to a 16-year low. Home prices dropping 15 percent. Foreclosures hitting record highs. These are all signs that the economy is in distress. But at the same time, inflation has been heating up as well with record high oil prices, and that is something the root has trickled down to just about everything, whether it's food prices, transportation prices, other commodities, everyday things that we consume.

And, again, it is a very difficult decision, obviously, for policy makers to decide. It's not a good place to be when the economy is decelerating and inflation is accelerating.

PHILLIPS: All right, Susan Lisovicz and Allan Chernoff, thank you both so much. Right there, the Federal Reserve leaving key interest rates unchanged. We will follow that.

Also at the risk of dropping out or being taken out by crime, we're going to talk with one of the men behind a Chicago school trying to help urban teens turn their lives around. It's part of today's "Black in America" conversation in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Let's talk some politics now. Leading our political ticker, John McCain's energy fix. The Republican presidential nominee to be is in Las Vegas, where his Democratic opponent shared his views on energy yesterday. McCain says America's need for foreign oil is just plain dangerous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Energy security is a vital question because it concerns America's most fundamental interests, and above all, the safety of our citizens from the violence of the world. All diplomacy cannot conceal a blunt reality. When we buy foreign oil, we are enriching some of our worst enemies. And in the Middle East, Venezuela and elsewhere, these regimes know how to use the power that well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Today Barack Obama is back home in Chicago where he plans to take questions from reporters later this afternoon. See it live in "The Situation Room" right here on CNN starting at 4:00 p.m. eastern.

Meantime, Obama's widened his lead in the poll of polls. He leads McCain by eight percentage points in the latest average of five nationwide surveys of registered voters. Last week's gap was six points, also in Obama's favor. Twelve percent say they haven't made up their minds. For Hillary Clinton, the numbers that matter most aren't polls, but they are dollars. Her failed campaign is more than $20 million in debt, and now Obama's trying to help. He's asking his top donors to chip in or raise cash on Clinton's behalf. Tomorrow he and Clinton will ask her money people to do the same for him. And Friday, as you've heard, the two will campaign together for the first time.

Check out our political ticker for all the latest campaign news. Just log on to cnnpolitics.com, your source for all things politics.

PHILLIPS: A crackdown in Saudi Arabia. An anti-terror sweep nets guns, money, documents, and seven hundred arrests. We've got more on the target and the suspects. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Skyrocketing gas prices are affecting everyone in this country. Congress is again looking for answers. They're holding hearings on Capitol Hill today. Lawmakers are examining global energy issues. Also ways to end or limit excessive speculation believed to be partly fueling the price hike. So if they do act, could we see cheaper gas in a month?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FADEL GHEIT, OPPENHEIMER & CO.: (INAUDIBLE) in 50 to 60 days I think we could see much lower gas prices. I think, if the government tightened regulation -- I'm not saying that we do not need speculation. We need speculation that is sufficient to keep the liquidity in the market. But when speculation overtakes the physical market, then the government has to do something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: But an energy analyst says that finding a fix may not be that simple.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DANIEL YERGIN, CHMN., CAMBRIDGE ENERGY RESEARCH ASSOC.: We really are in an oil shock, and you've all addressed how painful it is for consumers and businesses. The specter of stagflation is once again in front of us. Low growth, a high inflation. We've discussed how oil prices have gone up. In such circumstances, this tendency is to try and find a single explanation. For something this big, there is not a single explanation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So what can be done, if anything, to bring down gas prices? Brian O'Keefe, senior editor of "Fortune" magazine joins me here to talk about it. As we're listening to both those guys, you're thinking, yes, right, Fadel. And then the second guy comes up, and you said, OK, I kind of agree with him. All right, these hearings, there's been what, 40-plus hearings and nothing ever happens.

BRIAN O'KEEFE, SENIOR EDITOR, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Right, well it's an election year, and I think Congress is looking for a good way to get on TV and address an issue that's hitting everybody in their pocketbook.

PHILLIPS: So let's try and make everybody feel better. It's typical political way. Could these hearings make things worse?

O'KEEFE: Potentially they could. I wouldn't underestimate the ability of Congress to get into an area they don't fully understand and enact a policy that would be counterproductive.

PHILLIPS: Is it fair to point the finger at the speculators?

O'KEEFE: Well I think that for pointing a finger at speculators, we're looking for a boogieman. We want to blame, have an easy fix and blame everything on some shadowy figures, and speculators and hedge fund managers. I think that's way too simple. Maybe they have something to do with the price, but I'd look more at the overall supply and demand picture.

PHILLIPS: But if you did regulate oil futures trading and you reined in the speculators, it sort of makes sense that, OK, that probably would cut gas prices and oil prices. Or is that just too easy of an answer?

O'KEEFE: I think that anything that seems like a really easy quick fix for something as complicated and as vast as the world oil market is probably too good to be true. It might have an effect, you know.

PHILLIPS: And you say look at the larger picture, supply and demand. What about this talk about Saudi Arabia increasing oil production? Is that just another sort of political move? Sounds good, but, nope, that's not the answer either. O'KEEFE: I think the Saudis are aware of their public image. I think you saw that they announced that they're going to increase production a little bit. A lot of people are skeptical about how much they can increase production, and it didn't do much to affect oil prices.

PHILLIPS: So are we all sort of sitting back thinking, OK, what is John McCain going to say, what's Barack Obama going to say that's really going to make sense. I have faith that yes, that's the way gas prices are going to go down, and that's what would be the clincher in this election. Is this the agenda item that everybody's waiting for a solid answer?

O'KEEFE: I think that certainly everybody's looking at that because all of a sudden the price, it costs $100 or more to fill up your SUV. You want an answer. I don't think you're going to maybe get a clear answer that really makes sense in the next five months. I'm hoping we'll have more of a dialogue between Congress and the next president, and they'll start thinking about a real energy plan to address this stuff.

PHILLIPS: All right, a real energy plan. So if you were to sit down, say, with John McCain and Barack Obama, how would you advise them? Would you switch up their speeches? Would you switch up what they're saying about gas prices and the price of oil? What would you -- knowing what you know, what would you say to each one of them? Nonpartisan.

O'KEEFE: Well, I think that -- you know, I think that the idea of investing in all kinds of different alternative fuels as well as pushing for conservation. I mean, the things that probably will have a big effect. Conservation could actually have a big effect on energy. It's not going to solve all of our problems. No one likes to talk about that. It's much easier to say bad speculators, bad rich hedge fund managers are pushing up the price at the pump for you, the regular person.

PHILLIPS: We waste too much, that's what you're saying?

O'KEEFE: That's one of our problems, yes.

PHILLIPS: That's one issue. Final thoughts as we monitor these hearings, and of course we look forward to the presidential election. Anything you can say to give us any peace of mind about gas prices? It's just not going to happen in 30 days no matter how you look at it, right?

O'KEEFE: I'm not sure I can offer a lot of peace of mind. I actually think that the price of oil is probably due to correct a little bit. It might go down from here. Long term, unless things change, I'm not that bullish about it.

PHILLIPS: All right, Brian O'Keefe, thank you so much.

O'KEEFE: Sure

PHILLIPS: All right -- Don?

LEMON: Breaking stereotypes and making the grade. This is really an amazing story. A Chicago public school succeeds where so many used to fail. We'll show you and tell you how they are defying the odds.

But first, paving over a pollution problem in Chicago. Most of the city's alleys are just slabs of concrete or asphalt. And when storm water runs off of them that contributes to the pollution of Lake Michigan. The city is installing a solution pavement that's full of air.

CNN's Miles O'Brien has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Chicago, even the darkest alleys are turning green. Resurfaced with some concrete and asphalt that leaks like a sieve on purpose.

BRIAN LUTEY, V.P. OZINGO GREEN BUILDING: It's made with the same material as regular concrete, but it's got 20 percent voids.

O'BRIEN: The voids are there to avoid a big problem. Chicago is the ultimate alley town, 1,900 miles of them, the largest network in the world. And the older ones were not designed to allow storm water to naturally percolate into the ground. The new concrete does.

LUTEY: It filters through the material, and microbes and fungus grow in here, and it becomes a biosystem that actually eats the oil and grease that drip off the cars or comes from the asphalt.

O'BRIEN: Older alleys leak polluted rainwater to storm drains. They get overwhelmed, and the dirty water goes straight back into Lake Michigan. Not so with green alleys.

LUTEY: It gets the water back in the ground. Gets it there clean. So it gets the water into the ground where wells get recharged, Lake Michigan gets recharged, and we're not overpowering the sewer systems with all this storm water runoff.

O'BRIEN: So far, they have greened 34 Chicago alleys. Thirty- six more are on the way. And one more thing. These lighter colored alleys reflect a lot more light, making the city a little cooler, and the alleys not so dark after all.

Miles O'Brien, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

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

2:33 Eastern time. Here's some of the stories we're working on for you right now.

The Supreme Court rules out the death penalty for child rapists. In a 5-4 decision, the court says only murderers should be executed.

A search is under way near Fresno, California, for nine teenage hikers and two adults. They've been missing in the Sierra Madre Mountains since Saturday.

The Mississippi River is expected to crest later today at Winfield, Missouri, 45 miles northwest of St. Louis. Soldiers and firefighters are stacking sandbags in hopes of shoring up a levee protecting 100 homes.

LEMON: This next story is sure to put a smile on your face. We're going to talk about going to school or going to jail. Far too many African-American males wind up behind bars. We've all seen the numbers. But on Chicago's South Side, a charter school designed specifically for young black men -- it offers a better option.

CNN's Susan Roesgen reports on our continuing "Black in America" series.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: We believe in ourselves. We believe in each other. We believe in Urban Prep. We believe.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're chanting "We Believe," but who are they?

D'ANGELO GARDNER, URBAN PREP ACADEMY STUDENT: I had a real bad attitude towards like everybody. I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to do work. It was just hard. And I didn't want to be here.

ROESGEN: The odds were never good for 16-year-old D'Angelo Gardner. His father died of a heroin overdose when D'Angelo was nine. And by the eighth grade, he was caught up in a gang. D'Angelo was also part of a dire demographic.

In Chicago, young black men have the highest school dropout rate. Fifty percent, half of them will drop out of high school. Only 3 percent will finish college. And that's not all.

So far this year, nearly 30 Chicago public school students have been shot to death. In impoverished neighborhoods like Englewood, guns and gangs are a part of daily life. But Urban Prep Academy is a safe haven.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you understand?

ROESGEN: This is a school for young black men, a glimmer of hope to get them off the streets and into the classroom. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Question mark.

ROESGEN: D'Angelo's mother did all she could to get him into Urban prep. It's a charter school. He and his fellow freshmen entered the school with a sixth grade reading level. Two years later, they've improved dramatically.

D'Angelo says he used to be allergic to homework, but not any more.

GARDNER: I still have to get my study habits up, but I -- I touch books now. I touch books.

TRE CHILDRESS, URBAN PREP ACADEMY TEACHER: This is actually another very, very good car.

ROESGEN: Teacher Tre Childress has been at the school since day one. He says at first, D'Angelo and his classmates did not have the skills to think critically.

CHILDRESS: They kind of just wanted to sit there and be spoon fed. Now they want to actively be engaged in discussions. They want to debate each other. And they're really, like I said, performing at a high level as far as their own cognitive abilities.

ROESGEN: And it's not just academics the students have embraced. They've also accepted their teachers as role models.

Sophomore Marlon Marshall knows he's not alone here.

MARLON MARSHALL, URBAN PREP ACADEMY SOPHOMORE: When they see I'm not working to the best of my ability, they pull me to the side or they give me extra work and say, this is the level I need you to be working on because this is where I see your ability at.

ROESGEN: As in many Chicago public schools, 90 percent of Urban Prep students come from single parent, female headed households.

CHILDRESS: It's always great when they'll say my young man was doing this and I was pulling my hair out. Now he's helping out around the house -- helping out with his little brothers and sisters. He's more responsible.

That makes you feel really good that now they're living our creed at home, and in the community. That definitely makes our chest stick out a little bit more.

ROESGEN: As D'Angelo has changed, he hopes to inspire some of his old friends.

GARDNER: I tell them straight up, like -- you have to do something else, not just hang in the neighborhood all the time. There's other things out here.

ROESGEN: And Marlon says, when you hear opportunity knocking, let it in. He refuses to be a stereotype. MARSHALL: Young black man cannot graduate from high school or go to college. Young black men are better off in jail. They fall under that statistic because they don't have a motivation or push to stop them from doing whatever the things they are doing to get them into that status.

ROESGEN: And motivation is just what they get at Urban Prep.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: We believe in ourselves. We believe in each other. We believe in Urban Prep. We believe.

ROESGEN: Susan Roesgen, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We believe.

Let's introduce you to the man that made the Chicago school happen with support from the African-American community and leaders in Chicago, and probably from all over. Tim King is the founder of Urban Prep Academy. He's joining us live from our Chicago bureau.

Hey, Tim, it's good to see you. How are you?

TIM KING, FOUNDER, URBAN PREP ACADEMY: I'm well, thanks, Don. How are you?

LEMON: I'm doing very well.

KING: Great.

LEMON: I'm really just amazed at the story and very proud of you, and very proud of D'Angelo and Marlon and everyone in that story.

Why did you do it?

KING: Well, there are several reasons -- probably three.

One, we wanted to make sure that students in the city of Chicago had educational options, educational choice. We felt it important that there be an all boys public school here in Chicago, as there's an all girls public school here.

We also felt that there was a real social justice issue here. Parents deserve the opportunity to make decisions about schools that are best for their sons. And they should have this type of option.

But probably the biggest reason was simply because the statistics that your piece there showed about the very high dropout rates for African-American youth, the very low college matriculation and graduation rates. These were things that really concerned us a great deal, and we wanted to make sure that we were part of the solution, and we thought Urban Prep might be one of those solution.

LEMON: And I know you'll agree with this, everywhere I go, every chance I get to speak to people, especially young African-Americans, I talk to them about role models and the lack of role models, especially male African-American role models. Not that they're not out there. But oftentimes our young African-American men aren't even aware of them. And also, it's not in the home.

And I think you provide these young men with male role models in this school. And that's very important.

KING: I can't tell you how important that is. It's something that we are very, very intentional about.

We've got a great faculty and staff at the school. They're all very positive role models, male and female. But one of the things that we try really hard to do is bring folks into the school, business leaders, civic leaders, education leaders, who come and talk to the young men and really inspire them. Folks like Spike Lee came out and talked to the students. It's important for students to be able to see that people that look like them can have this level of achievement and accomplishment.

LEMON: And you were looking to do this -- I'm sure you're getting calls from people all over wondering, how the heck did you do this, and can we incorporate it into our school system, or replicate it, as well?

If they want to do it, should they contact you? How do they get in touch with you?

KING: Yes, absolutely.

We're very interested in replicating Urban Prep. As a matter of fact, we're in the process right now of trying to open two additional campuses in Chicago because we're so oversubscribed -- 600 applications for 150 spots in the freshman class for next year. So we want to make sure that we give as many people opportunity as possible. And we're definitely open to talking to folks across the country and have been. And anyone who wants to reach us or learn more about the school can go to www.urbanprep.org and find out more information about us and what we're up to.

LEMON: Before I let you go, I've been reading about the young men there, and this just enormous sense of pride that they have, how they help each other out and they bring extra neck ties and all these sorts of things. Tell me about that.

KING: Well, a big part of what we do every day is we start in community, and our students recite the school creed. Part of which you saw there on the piece. And, an element of that creed says we are our brother's keepers. We want to make sure that our students understand that they have a responsibility not just to themselves, but to each other and to the wider community.

The first thing they say is they're college bound, and then they end up saying that they are their brother's keepers, and that they believe. These are important elements that they recite every day, and it really becomes a part of them. D'Angelo and Marlon Marshall, who were in the piece, they're actually studying this summer at Georgetown University, having a great time and are fine examples of what can happen if you give a young man opportunities, if you challenge them, and if you hold them to very high expectations.

LEMON: Tim King, very simply, thank you.

KING: My pleasure. Thank you.

LEMON: Do you have questions about the issues facing black America? Here's your chance to get answers from some of the most influential names. Go to ireport.com/thedream and just ask your questions away. And of course your questions will be part of the CNN/"Essence" magazine special event, "Reclaiming the Dream." It's July 19th right here on CNN.

Then, make sure you join us for CNN presents, "Black in America." It's a six-hour television event. It airs July 23rd and 24th only on CNN. You can see a preview at CNN.com/blackinAmerica.

PHILLIPS: So what type of moves should the president of the United States take with regard to Zimbabwe? He's talking about that with the National (AUDIO GAP). He's talking specifically about Zimbabwe.

Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... Bring voices for peace and freedom. We've had a really good discussion. We've talked about the U.N. Security Council role for Darfur and Burma. We talked a little bit about Iran and how the United Nations Security Council is sending a focused message that the world really offers Iran a better way forward than isolation, if they will voluntarily suspend their enrichment programs.

And then we talked about Zimbabwe. Friday's elections -- appear to be a sham. You can't have free elections if a candidate is not allowed to campaign freely and his supporters aren't allowed to campaign without fear of intimidation. Yet the Mugabe government has been intimidating the people on the ground in Zimbabwe. This is an incredibly sad development.

I hope that the E.U. -- A.U. will, at their meeting this weekend, continue to highlight the illegitimacy of the elections, continue to remind the world that this election is not free and it's not fair.

I want to thank very much the leaders in the region, those who have stepped up and spoke clearly. Appreciate them doing their -- taking their responsibility seriously. And I want to thank the members here around the table of the United Nations Security Council for your strong presidential statement. It is a powerful statement for fairness and decency and human dignity. And I suspect you'll still be dealing with this issue. And as you do, I hope you continue to speak with the same clarity that you spoke with last Monday.

People of Zimbabwe deserve better than what they're receiving now. People there want to express themselves at the ballot box. Yet the Mugabe government refused to allow them to do so. This is not just, and it is wrong.

Thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, nothing new and no shocking developments. Just the President of the United States there with the National Security Council mentioning Iran, Darfur, and then what's happening in Zimbabwe. That the elections there, as the president said, are a sham.

We've, of course, been covering what's been happening in Zimbabwe. The regime of Robert Mugabe -- the violence that his regime has been conducting on civilians there, not allowing for free elections. And then the challenger in those elections, Tsvangirai, holed up now at the Dutch Embassy, seeking refuge there, worried about his life. And now we're getting reports that hundreds of his supporters as well fleeing Zimbabwe because they are fearing for their lives.

So we'll continue to follow what's happening in Zimbabwe. See if the U.S. does get involved at all. Meanwhile, the call is that other African leaders do something about Robert Mugabe and his human rights abuses.

Also, a boating mishap dumps three young children into the choppy waters off Miami. We've got their rescue right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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LEMON: Developing news coming out of Woburn, Massachusetts. We're awaiting the verdict for Neil Entwistle, the 29-year-old man who is accused of killing his wife and also his daughter back in 2006. We're looking at live pictures from inside that courtroom right now.

The jury has been deliberating for about 11 hours. They started yesterday, on Tuesday. And they told the judge just a few minutes ago that they had come up -- they had reached a verdict. And so we're waiting for the jury to come out.

That is 29-year-old Neil Entwistle right there, on trial. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if a jury finds him guilty of first degree murder.

Police found Rachel Entwistle, that's his wife, and their daughter in the couple's queen size bed underneath a white comforter. That was on January 22nd, a day after Neil Entwistle had flown to England. They had found his wife and baby dead in a murder/suicide. That's what Entwistle had said, that his wife had killed the child and then killed herself. But the jury is deliberating that now. Of course prosecutors saying that is indeed not the truth, that Neil Entwistle did it himself. We are awaiting the jury's verdict. As soon as that happens, we'll bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: The government's annual Energy Outlook is out. We all want to know -- what are oil prices expected to do? CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our "Energy Fix."

Hey, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey there, Kyra.

Yes, that report out today -- pretty interesting. But don't expect too much relief over the next 20 years folks. That's because demand is expected to keep on surging. It's in the International Energy Outlook which extends to the year 2030. And the government says in that report that global energy use will jump 50 percent. And the reason behind that: population growth and strong demand in developing countries.

Now as a result, prices are expected to range between $113 and $186 a barrel for oil with the odds favoring the high end of that range. Now, today oil is down sharply, right around $134 right now, following the first increase in domestic crude oil supply, Kyra, in six weeks.

PHILLIPS: So what about biofuel and renewable energy? Is that expected to make any dents at all?

HARLOW: Yes, it will make somewhat of a dent.

But right now coal is really the focus. It's the No. 1 source of energy for power generation in this country. And it's not exactly the cleanest source. With the use of coal running high, the government expects carbon dioxide emissions to surge by more than 50 percent by the year 2030.

But there is good news out there. And that is that countries around the world are working on their own energy fixes, and the U.S. is playing a big role in that effort. We're expected to account for nearly half the rise in world biofuels production. Also becoming more popular, hydroelectricity, wind and solar energy.

Now, the U.S. government expects use of renewable energy sources to increase by more than 2 percent a year. And Kyra, that doesn't sound like very much, but it's at a faster rate of increase than coal, natural gas, and nuclear. So there is an energy fix in the making. But it's not going to cure all our problems right now.

And I want to let people out there know we have a new "Energy Fix" page on our Web site on CNNMoney.com. If they're interested, they should look that up -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Poppy Harlow, thanks -- Don. LEMON: All right. We're awaiting some developing news here -- actually news from a courtroom in Woburn, Massachusetts of the fate of 29-year-old Neil Entwistle, accused of killing his wife and daughter. He fled to England after that. We'll have the latest as it develops.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A summertime outing turns into a rescue at sea. Four boaters, three of them 12 years or under, ended up in the Atlantic Ocean when their boat capsized. The U.S. Coast Guard and Miami-Dade lifeguards rushed to the waters off Haulover Inlet and pulled them out. All are OK.

PHILLIPS: Well, you know the fourth of July is near when you see mannequins and watermelons being blown to bits. But the message is worth repeating: that fireworks can maim, even kill. Consumer Products Safety commissioners say that about 9,800 people who set off fireworks last year actually ended up in the emergency room. They suggest that you check with your local and state governments to see if you're even allowed to use fireworks.

LEMON: All right. Well missing in the mountains since Saturday, 11 hikers, most of them teenagers, the search is on in the Sierra Nevada.

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