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A Mining Mother's Agony; United Flight Scare; U.S.-Russia Nuke Deal; Virginia Governor Under Fire; Who Pays Taxes; Rescue Crew Enter Mine; Three Students Face Arraignment in High School Suicide Case; An "A" in any Language

Aired April 08, 2010 - 08:00   ET

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

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Thanks for being with us on this AMERICAN MORNING on this Thursday. It's April 8th.

I'm Kiran Chetry in New York. John Roberts is in West Virginia this morning. First, we'll get you (ph) caught up on your top stories that we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.

First, it wasn't a terrorist incident but a midair misunderstanding. That's what authorities are saying now after a diplomat from Qatar wouldn't face any charges after sneaking a cigarette on board a United Airline flight and then triggering a massive security response.

Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve is following developments for us this morning.

A significant step towards President Obama's dream of disarmament. This morning, he and his Russian counterpart signed a nuclear treaty. The deal slashes the number of nuclear weapons by about a third. In a moment, we'll be live in Prague.

Also, rescue teams are working their way down the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, West Virginia, right now. They're hoping to find four missing miners more than 1,000 feet down. Twenty-five workers were killed in Monday's explosion. Rescue crews were not able to head down until 4:55 a.m. Eastern Time, once it was determined that the deadly gases were sufficiently ventilated from that mine.

And we head to John Roberts right now, who is live for us from the Upper Big Branch coal mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia, this morning.

Hey, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Kiran.

And we expect to get an update in about a half an hour from Governor Joe Manchin from the progress that they're making deep underground.

I got to tell you, I met a pretty extraordinary person yesterday. Her name is Pam Napper. She is the mother, the aunt and the sister of miners who were killed in Monday's tragic accident. Three members of her family were lost. And, boy, does she have a tale to tell about the whole thing.

A couple things happened to her son in the week before the mine accident when he was sent home early because of bad ventilation in the mine. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he did know that it worried him. And he also had something of a premonition about what might lie ahead on Easter Sunday when he went to visit his mom in Ohio. We'll talk to Pam about that.

But, first, we ask Pam about her trepidation and about having her son go in to the mines. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: What were your feelings when he came to you and said, "Mom, I want to be a miner"?

PAM NAPPER, SON KILLED IN MINING DISASTER: Honestly, at first, I said no. I didn't want him to come because I -- my brothers were there. My brothers have been hurt several times in the mines. And I begged him not to. But he said, please, mom. I said, that's OK, you're 25. I have to let you go. I have to let you make your own decisions in life.

And so, I gave my brother my blessing. My brother had to have blessings from me first before he would hire him. And I gave him my blessings. He came home that weekend and --

ROBERTS: At Easter?

NAPPER: At Easter. And he wanted to come home, be with his family. And he went to church with us. And he kind of fought things in church. He actually got up and left church and came back in. And they called, wanted us to bow our heads, whoever needed Jesus in their life, raise their arms, and he did.

And for some reason, they called an altar call which they don't do that on the days. And Josh just jumped out of there and went and got saved -- and really, really got saved. He grabbed my hand, and he says, mom, I love you. I said, I love you too, Josh. I'll always love you.

And I told him, I said, don't let loose of God. He said, oh, mom, I'm not. I'm going to hold on to God like I've never held unto him before.

And then when he went home, he left (ph) and went home, he left Jennifer a letter.

ROBERTS: Jennifer?

NAPPER: His girlfriend. And Jenna.

ROBERTS: That's his daughter?

NAPPER: Yes. And I can't tell you everything in it. I can't remember. It was his lone writing, in his little handwriting. And he said, if anything happens to me, I'll be looking down from heaven at you all. I love you.

Take care of my baby. Tell her that daddy loves her. She's beautiful. She's funny. And just take care of my baby girl.

And said, Jennifer, I love you.

ROBERTS: Did he have a sense about things?

NAPPER: I really feel that he did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: It's just amazing that the day before the mine accident, he would write a letter like that and do what he did at church. And you might wonder how she copes with the loss of three family members, her son Josh, her nephew Cory, her brother Timmy. She has a very, very, very strong faith, Kiran, which gets her through it.

And last night, there was a prayer vigil near her son's home, and where she has a lot of friends, just about an hour away from here. And hundreds of people who showed up and just showed her so much love she said really helped to ease the pain. But you wonder how anything could ever ease the amount of pain that not only she but so many other people in this valley are feeling today.

CHETRY: Yes. It's unimaginable for most of us and just of the fact that she's able to talk to you about it so eloquently and put her words to it the way she did. I mean, she's certainly a strong woman. And hopefully, she will get the support she needs over the coming weeks after this tragedy and beyond.

John, we're going to check in with you again.

We're going to other top stories.

A diplomat from Qatar has a lot of explaining to do after some pretty undiplomatic behavior on board a United Airlines flight, according to witnesses. Flight 663 was headed from Washington, D.C. to Denver last night where authorities say after trying to light a cigarette in the lavatory, this diplomat made what one official called an unfortunate remark about setting fire to his shoes.

Jeanne Meserve joins us on the phone from Denver International Airport.

Jeanne, do we know more about who this person is this morning?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): We do. We have a name. His name is Mohammed Al-Madadi. He is a diplomat at the embassy of Qatar in Washington. And he is still in custody of law enforcement as they decide whether or not to bring any charges against him.

He was a first class passenger on this flight which was on route from Reagan National in Washington to Denver. And passengers tell us that he got up and went back and forth to the restrooms several times. At one juncture, he went in and he stayed for quite a while and when he came back, he smelled of smoke.

At that point, air marshals broke cover and began questioning. And that is when, we're told, he made the unfortunate remark which alluded to his shoes and sparked concern that they might be dealing with another Richard Reid, another shoe bomber. That's put the security apparatus into high gear. Two F-16s were scrambled and escorted the flight here to Denver. It was then whisked to a secure area of the airports as officials dealt with the situation.

The passengers on board have high praise for the crew and the air marshal.

Here's how they described what happened on the flight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID WISENTEINER, PASSENGER: There was no Steven Seagal B.S. (ph). I mean, these guys talked to him. He sat down. He was completely compliant with them.

And then at the very end, I mean, you could tell that there is a fellow -- one of the air marshals was explaining, it was like, what was going to happen next. And so, then the Denver P.D. came on. The air marshal got away. The Denver P.D. cuffed him and, they had the shoes and bags.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: No explosives were found on that aircraft. It took four or five hour, though, to clear all the passengers. Authorities want to question all of them.

President Obama was briefed on the situation last evening, as if this was unfolding. And the secretary of homeland security, Janet Napolitano, the latest trip to Spain this morning in order to get more briefings.

Back to you.

CHETRY: And, Jeanne, any reaction out of Qatar this morning?

MESERVE: Yes, the ambassador from Qatar did issue a statement. Let me read that to you.

He said, "We expect the necessity of special security precautions involving air travel, but this diplomat was traveling to Denver on official embassy business on my instructions and he certainly was not engaged in any threatening activity. And the fact will reveal that this was a mistake, and we urge all concerned parties to avoid reckless judgments or speculation" -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Jeanne Meserve for us this morning from Denver International Airport -- thank you.

Well, President Obama has sealed the deal a year after pledging to rid the world of nuclear weapons. This morning, a major step toward that. The president and his Russian counterpart signing a new arms treaty that calls for both nations to reduce their nuclear warheads by a third.

Our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is traveling with the president.

And, Ed, you were this morning as we watched that signing ceremony live. What's happening now?

ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Kiran.

That's right. I mean, basically, President Obama is now going behind closed doors with his Russian counterpart. He has a series of more meetings today. But the focus, obviously, on this new START treaty, you mentioned the president was here a year ago this week in Prague, laying out his vision for a nuclear-free world. That in part helped him win the Nobel Peace Prize. A lot of critics at the time suggesting he didn't deserve it because he did not have a lot of foreign policy accomplishments.

This step forward, the White House believes shows clearly that it's a big victory for the president. One of his senior advisories telling me that it only happened because of his direct personal involvement, some 10 phone calls, five one-on-one meetings with the Russian president to seal this deal.

Specifically, what it will do is basically reduce the number of warheads on each side from about 2,200 to 1,500. And then, also, the launchers reduced from 1,600 to 800 on each side. The still leads both sides with large arsenals. But the president suggests that this was a step forward and also said that that we trying to iron out some other divisive issues like dealing with U.S. missile defense plan here in the Czech Republic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I made clear was that our missile defense systems were not directed at changing the strategic balance between the United States and Russia, but were, instead, directed at protecting the American people from potentially new attacks from missiles launched from third countries. We recognize, however, that Russia has a significant interest in this issue. And what we've committed to doing is to engaging in a significant discussion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: When you read between the lines of what the president was referring is how he believes a missile defense shield would be a defensive mechanism for the U.S. to defend against attacks from Iran -- significant in this broader conversation because the U.S. is now hoping that with these warm relations with Russia, they will now get Russia behind tough U.N. sanctions against Iran's nuclear ambitions. That's the big thing to watch moving forward, Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. We will be watching it.

Ed Henry for us this morning in Prague -- thanks so much.

Still ahead: Confederate History Month controversy, a Virginia governor now is apologizing for forgetting to mention that slavery led to the Civil War during that proclamation.

Eleven minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Fourteen minutes past the hour right now.

The two leading ladies of Tea Party movement are teaming up in Minnesota, taking turns bashing Democrats in Congress, as well as President Obama. Sarah Palin shared the stage at a rally with Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who was up for reelection in November, both telling the crowd to send people to Washington who will undo the president's agenda.

Well, there's some new anger aimed at Virginia's governor, Bob McDonnell, this morning. He's declared April Confederate History Month, but in his initial remarks, he didn't mention slavery. The governor has since apologized but that doesn't stop some of the controversy.

Our Kate Bolduan is tracking the story live from our D.C. bureau for us this morning.

Good morning, Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.

Well, the governor's proclamations aren't typically controversial, and, often, aren't even noticed really. But Virginia's governor, he is now apologizing for one such proclamation for something he didn't include.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN (voice-over): Virginia, known for its Civil War battlefields. Its capital, Richmond, was the capital of the Confederacy.

Now, a new battle over that legacy. Virginia Republican Governor Bob McDonnell has declared April Confederate History Month, "to understand the sacrifices of the Confederate leaders, soldier and citizens."

GOV. ROBERT MCDONNELL (R), VIRGINIA: I thought that just having people look at the history, learning from the mistakes of the history, but understanding Virginia's role in the battlefields, et cetera, would be helpful for economic development. And -- so, that's why -- that's why I signed it up.

BOLDUAN: But the governor is now apologizing for what he calls a major omission, failing to make any mention of slavery and it's amending the proclamation to include it. Civil rights advocates had accused the governor of trying to, quote, "whitewash, history."

BEN JEALOUS, PRESIDENT, NAACP: To you know not take even a second to acknowledge that the civil war, the main purpose of it, the main reason for the you know, for that fire that burned across this country was the South's refusal to let go of slavery which is a deep and abiding crime against humanity. Does suggest that he lacks surge.

BOLDUAN (on camera): For better or worse, Virginia is steeped in confederate history. Monuments like this one can be found throughout the State. Governor McDonnell in the proclamation suggested that the move was meant to boost tourism ahead of next year's 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.

(voice-over): The governor says he issued the proclamation at the request of a group Sons of Confederate Veterans. They say the outcry is politically motivating.

BRAGG BOWLIN, SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS: What governor McDonnell is trying to help do is help to educate people. And these -- the people who are complaining refuse to look at anything. They're one-sided. They need -- they're the people that need confederate history education more than anybody.

BOLDUAN (voice-over): Earlier, McDonnell gave this explanation for leaving slavery out.

MCDONNELL: Slavery was an absolute abomination on this nation. Which is vile and horrific practice that I'm delighted has wiped off the face of this country. And so I didn't mention it solely because I was trying to keep the focus on really, the war aspects of it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Now, Governor McDonnell says he's now adding language to the proclamation to include, it's saying, quote, "it is important for all Virginians to understand that the institution of slavery led to the Civil War and was an evil and inhumane practice, Kiran.

CHETRY: All right Kate Bolduan, thanks so much.

And we've got a lot of people weighing in our live blogs this morning on this topic. Melon (ph) writes, "Apparently the governor lacks basic understanding of the Civil War, the Confederacy and the practice of slavery. The Confederate flag is a symbol of racism and treason. Every time I see one being displayed on a car, I'm greatly offended as an American."

The other point of view though from Pog Mahone (ph) writes, "So is CNN going to go after Bob McDonnell or are you going to try to force him out of office over this? This is day two, are you going to outlaw Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton?" Then Karl (ph) writes, "Virginia, what a bad idea honoring Confederate month, I equate this to the Nazis celebrating the Holocaust. What kind of tourism are they trying to gain?"

So there's a lot of reactions certainly to this story. We invite you to join the conversation this morning at CNN.com/amFIX. And we'll read more of your comments throughout the morning.

Meantime, coming up, you know it's tax season, of course, filing deadline April 15th, but half of households in the U.S. pay no federal income tax. So who and how? Christine Romans with some new exemptions that you may also be eligible for coming up.

Eighteen minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty one minutes past the hour right now.

Even if you've never watched one hole of golf in your life, you may find yourself taking a peak today. It's Tiger Woods return to the course. And not just any course, it's the Masters where he's a four- time champion. Tiger is expected to tee off at 1:40 this afternoon for the first time since the sex scandal that sent him first into hiding and then into rehab.

Meanwhile, Oprah is taking on primetime with plans to host a weekly evening show on her new cable network. "The Wall Street Journal" reports that the show called "OPRAH'S NEXT CHAPTER" might debut next year. The talk show host plans to change it up by interviewing guest around the world.

And right now, it's 21 minutes past the hour. Christine Romans is here, she's "Minding Your Business" this morning and we're talking taxes.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Talking taxes.

Look, a surprising number that a lot of you as you are preparing for your taxes might not know. A fascinating analysis in "USA Today" by the Associated Press that shows that 47 percent of earners pay no federal income tax at all.

Think of that, half of people who are working in this country will pay no federal income taxes. Most of them still have to file, of course, because there are all kinds of tax credits that they're trying to get -- low income tax credits, deductions. You've got things like the middle class tax cut. You've got earned income credit. You've got credits for kids, you've got lots of deductions.

So what that means, for example, a family of two adults and two children with an income of $50,000 a year could very easily pay no federal income tax. Of course, the income tax is what the government uses as the main source of revenue. This is how we pay for our country, through the income tax we pay for things like defense, transportation, the roads run, education.

Conservatives say, of course, look, these numbers, for the past three or four years, conservatives have been saying some people are not pulling their fair share. But the tax code is a way that the government tries to enforce their priorities. And that's what we're seeing a lot of different things happening here, including rebates for energy efficient windows, for cars, for homes. So a lot of different things in the tax code.

Who pays the federal income tax then, if 47 percent of people are not going to pay federal income tax. Who pays? Ten percent of earners pay 73 percent of all the federal income tax revenue. These are 10 percent earners that's mostly families making about $366,000 a year or more. The bottom 40 percent of earners actually get a refund. They file their tax form, put in all the tax credits and deductions that they have. And in the end, the money from that 10 percent that pays 73 percent of the overall tax burden is then sent a check from the government to the 40 percent of people who are getting something back.

So an interesting, fascinating little look at how the whole tax system works. But you still have to file a tax return. This doesn't mean you don't file a tax return. These aren't tax cheats. These are people who are legally not obligated to file federal income taxes. But they pay probably Social Security taxes, they pay local taxes, retail taxes, excise taxes. They are paying for taxes throughout their life and they are contributing to - to government and paying for government in that way. But this is federal income tax we're talking about.

CHETRY: There you go.

ROMANS: Interesting, right?

CHETRY: Yes, very interesting. Christine, thanks.

Well what does the future hold for the U.S. economy? Right now, we're drowning in debt as we know? But how can we change course in the economic climate. CNN's is going to be taking an independent look at issues and weigh the answers. Join us, it's a two-hour special, Christine is hosting it, too, IO USA, it's this Saturday, 1:00 p.m. Eastern, and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern

And still ahead, three more girls to be arraigned in the Massachusetts bullying case today. We're going to be talking to a family friend of the late Phoebe Prince, coming up, 25 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Twenty seven minutes past the hour right now. We're looking at our "Top Stories" this morning. President Obama is in Prague. Earlier this morning, we brought you the live signing ceremony. He and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signing a new arms treaty, calling for both nations to reduce their nuclear warheads by about a third. The treaty still needs to be approved by the U.S. Senate.

No terrorist incident, just a misunderstanding, Mohammed Al Madadi, a diplomat from Cutter is no expected to face charges after disturbance on board a United Airlines flight. He tried to sneak a cigarette in the lavatory, and made a remark about setting his shoes on fire which sparked a bomb scare. Cutter's U.S. Ambassador says Al Madadi pose no threat and calls the incident a mistake.

And rescue teams have been working their way down to the upper big branch mine in Cole West Virginia for three and half hours now. They're hoping to find four missing miners more than 1,000 feet down. Although acknowledging that the chances are slim, 25 workers were killed in Monday's explosion. Rusty Cruz were not able to head down until little bit before 5:00 Eastern this morning. once it was determined the deadly gases were successfully ventilated from the mine.

Now let's head to John Roberts who is joining us live from the upper big branch mine in Raleigh County West Virginia, this morning.

Hey, John.

ROBERTS: Good morning, Kiran.

We're expecting Governor Joe Manchin to arrive any moment now for his 8:30 Eastern briefing. They're going to be doing these briefings every couple hours now that the rescue has kicked back into high gear.

Just before 5:00, four rescue teams, a total of 32 people, went down in that mine, they probably now having been there for some three and half hours are very close to the area, along what's called the long wall mining section, where they believe that one miner was located.

There were a number of miners who were working that area. We know that there were nine. They only found the bodies of eight. So there's one missing. And they believe that person is in that long wall section.

And there's another what's called development section where they go in and they cut the rest to be able to start long wall mining again. There were three people who were over there. That area is as many as -- to get to the very end of it, 2,000 feet from the long wall section, so it may take them some time to get back in there. And some of the things they'll be looking for -- and tragically, they're going past, again, the bodies of some of the 14 miners who have been located so far and still remain in the mine, as they make their way deeper into the mine.

One of the first things they'll be looking for, to see if any of the so called refuge chambers have been deployed. It's sort of like a big inflatable raft, if you will, sitting about three feet high. It's got enough water and food to last a number of miners for four days. So if they can't see one of those deployed immediately, then it reduces the chances that anybody will be left alive. And also, as the governor was telling us a little while ago, when they get into that area, if they find that it's too dangerous because of concentrations of toxic gases like methane and carbon dioxide to go any further, they'll put up a screen and then they'll start to recover some of the bodies, the 14 bodies that they do know are in there.

They're very concerned. The families are worried about the fate of their loved ones. I talked to Pam Napper, the mother who lost her son Joshua, her nephew Corey, and her brother Timmy. She said "All I want to do is be able to hold him one more time." So they're very anxious to get receipt mains of their loved ones out.

It looks like the governor is not here yet, probably some developments in the mine. Kiran, the second he shows up, we'll get back to you and let you know.

CHETRY: Thanks so much, John.

In the meantime, the case of the bullying situation that took place in Massachusetts -- three more girls to be arraigned today. We're also going to be talking to a family pressure of the late Phoebe Prince.

It's 31 minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

Three more Massachusetts teens will be arraigned today on charges related to the bullying death of Phoebe Prince. Three others pleaded not guilty on Tuesday. And this community has been consumed by controversy after since details about Phoebe Prince's suicide came to light.

Joining me now from Chicopee, Massachusetts, is Luke Gelinas, whose son sat next no Phoebe in French class.

Thanks for being here this morning, Luke.

LUKE GELINAS, PARENT OF SOUTH HADLEY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Thank you, Kiran.

CHETRY: First, I know you've been in contact with the family. How are they holding up in the light of all that has happened, the loss of their daughter and now charges against some of her classmates?

GELINAS: I've had limited contact with the family. Their spokesman, Darby O'Brian, has been keeping people updated. I can't even imagine how they're feeling. This has turned into some kind of macabre circus, and it never had to be this way.

These administrators had control of the situation in the beginning, and they chose not to act. They're chose not to act now beforehand, and they're choosing not to act now. They're not serving the best interest of our children, their serving their own selfish interests. And we would like them to do the respectable thing and step aside.

CHETRY: So, let's get back to, first of all, what they could have done. South Hadley Superintendent Gus Sayer who has spoken to our Alina Cho as well as others say school officials only learned of the bullying of Phoebe in the last week before her death.

They also go on to say that they deeply regret no one came forward and reported that this bullying was taking place. The principal does not take these matters lightly and he would have act swiftly if he knew about these events. Is he lying?

GELINAS: There's preposterous. We have information from students and teachers that this has been going on for months. The D.A.'s statement was quite clear. Her message came out. It said straightforward that this had been known right from the beginning.

And then they turned around and started taking shots at the district attorney and the hardworking police officers who worked tirelessly on a very difficult case. And it is absolutely abominable the way they have handled this.

All they had to do is confront the media, be forthright with their information, which they're still not being forthright with, and none of this would have occurred.

CHETRY: You said parents did have their own complaints. Your own son was bullied. Did you bring concerns and complaints to the school? And how was it handled?

GELINAS: This problem, Kiran, in our town and probably many other towns across our country and many other countries has been going on for quite some time, a long time. I don't think you can talk to any parent that hasn't had some kind of experience with it that their complaints were largely placated and dismissed.

That was the outrage that we saw at the first school meeting after that poor girl's death. Some 50 to 75 parents lined up for three hours and expressed their concerns had been placated and dismissed. That was met with sneers, rolling eyes, chuckles, whispering in the ears. And that's what really started to escalate this.

CHETRY: So when you told them that your son was being bullied, how did they react?

GELINAS: Well, again, it's always been handled -- we have a 21st century problem that's being dealt with a 19th century mindset. The old mindset is that bullying needs to be mediated. We want to bring the kidding together. It's just so outdated. As Barbara Colaroso has said over and over again, it needs to be stopped.

In the case of Phoebe Prince, we're using the wrong word here. This is this not bullying, this is absolutely torment. It was torture. And when you led a child go the extra inch, they'll take the extra mile. From the extra mile, they'll go even further and further.

As a parent, just as an example, if I give my kids a curfew for 11:00 at night and they come home at 11:15, the next night it will 12:00, then 1:00 and 2:00, then I'll be getting a call from the police. That's not anyone else's fault but mine.

And those administrators are the parents of our children when they are at school. They knew it was going on. They did nothing to stop it. So these kids that are on trial now, they were allowed to this. They kept going further and further.

CHETRY: These kids on trial now, are they guilty of this? Should they be facing the charges that they're facing?

GELINAS: Of course. They did a horrible, horrible, bad thing, and justice needs to be served. But that's up to the courts, now. All I'm saying is it was preventable.

CHETRY: I know. You're putting a lot of blame in the lap of the administration. What about the parents of these kids? Do they have any idea about what's going on? Did they talk to the kids about what's going on?

GELINAS: I can only speak to a couple of the families that I've had the privilege over the years of meeting and knowing. And I know that if those parents got a phone call when they were supposed to way back in November, this would not have happened with their kids. They would have done something about it.

But they did not get that phone call. And it was allowed to escalate and continue and get further and further down the line.

CHETRY: So do you think that if the parents would have known about this, Phoebe Prince would still be alive today?

GELINAS: All I can -- like I said, I can only speak for maybe a couple of the families that I've known. I don't know these other families. I don't know what goes on in their houses.

All I know that we all, America, Ireland, the world, we need to be examples to our kids. And what we're around the dinner table, we have to be careful what we're saying about other people's children and other people. We have to be an example.

CHETRY: Luke Gelinas for us this morning, family friend of Phoebe Prince's family. Thanks for being with us and sharing your point of view.

GELINAS: Thank you, Kiran.

CHETRY: It's 40 minutes past the hour. Rob Marciano is going to be along with more on some storms that are heading our way. First we had record highs, now it's snow in some parts of the country, rain. Rob's going to update us coming up.

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to Most News in the Morning.

A shot in New York City, Columbus Circle this morning where it's partly cloudy, 69 degrees right now. A little bit later it's going to be 80 with some storms tonight. So that would be a 12-degree drop from yesterday's high. A lot of changes and warmth giving way to, I guess, storms.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: For those who have been watching we told you we're going to bring you an update from a news conference in West Virginia at 8:30 Eastern Time. There's a live look right now. They've actually moved it back to 9:45 Eastern Time.

Here's a quick update, though. The rescue teams have been working their way down the Upper Big Branch Mine for three and a half hours. They're hoping to find the four miners still missing and possibly trapped more than 1,000 feet down right now. They have 25 workers who've just been killed.

They have 32 rescue workers on their way in right now to try to see what they kind find here. And it was about 5:00 o'clock this morning that they got the ok to head in there after the deadly gases were pumped out of the mine.

Again, that news conference moved back to 9:45 a.m. Eastern time, we'll bring it to you then.

Meantime, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, in your health news a new test may be able to predict whether or not a smoker will get lung cancer.

Forty-five minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: Forty-nine minutes past the hour right now. It's time for your "AM House Call", stories about your health this morning. The Food and Drug Administration wants to be clear that the popular fat- melting lipo dissolve injunctions have not been proven safe or effective. The agency sent warning letters out to half a dozen spas across the country giving them two weeks to prove that they are no longer marketing the injections as a safe alternative to liposuction.

Well, a new test may help single out smokers most at risk for developing lung cancer. A research published in the "Journal of Science Translational Medicine" shows that a test measures a specific genetic change inside the wind pipe that not only helps identify smokers who need monitoring, but scientists say that could also lead to reversing the disease's progress before it becomes full blown. Lung cancer killed nearly 160,000 Americans last year alone.

Well, New York City has always been a melting pot. Now one very unique school in the big apple is proving that language doesn't have to be a barrier to learning.

Soledad O'Brien is here now to show us the stunning results and quite a transformation for some of these students.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. You know obviously in New York City all people speak a range of languages: there is Urdu, there is Creole, there is Russian, there is -- the list goes on and on. But if your kid who is not fluent in English but speaks one of those other languages and you have to go to school, it can be a real struggle.

So I'm going to introduce you this morning to a school where the students struggle with English but they are wildly successful. That's because their teachers say that foreign language is a real plus. Take a look.

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O'BRIEN (voice-over): Alfredo Duque barely spoke any English when he arrived from Mexico three years ago. And college in the United States seemed like a far off impossible dream. Alfredo attends Newcomers Public High School in New York City, where 1,000 recently arrived immigrant students come from over 40 countries and enter with little to no English.

(on camera): How have the last three years been, if you could describe them? Chaotic, fun, overwhelming?

ALFREDO DUQUE, SENIOR STUDENT: Yes, at the beginning it was like overwhelming. It was so hard to adapt to the culture -- to the culture, to the -- everything; to the food, to -- everything, the system -- the school system.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): But Alfredo adapted --

ORLANDO SARMIENTO, PRINCIPAL NEWCOMER HIGH SCHOOL: We vote to the Constitution and said yes --

O'BRIEN: As do most of the others. While New York City has a graduation rate of nearly 45 percent for English language learners, Newcomers graduates 90 percent of its seniors and nearly all of them go to college.

(on camera): How are you successful? Because I think for a lot of people to be poor, to be an immigrant, and to be an English language learner for a student is three strikes against.

SARMIENTO: We can look at that that way, but we could also see that there is -- plenty of opportunity. Being proficient in two languages is not just a plus; I think it's that it's a key to success. Most people are not bilingual.

O'BRIEN: You always see the glass as half full, never half empty.

(voice-over): The glass half full because the school picks teachers who mix in extra language help.

SARMIENTO: And by the way what does this word mean paradox? O'BRIEN: And the kids are encouraged to get involved, really involved.

Alfredo juggles student government, volleyball and seven classes; his average, a solid "A". He's even learning to play the sax. Getting students to juggle lots of responsibility is Blanca Izaguirre's job. She's a college counselor at Newcomers.

BLANCA IZAGUIRRE, NEWCOMER, COLLEGE COUNSELOR: We integrate them immediately into the school fabric, in the media team, by athletics, by virtual enterprise.

O'BRIEN: The counselor helps the kids build profiles that colleges looks for. And also navigate the scholarship process. Alfredo won a coveted PASI Scholarship (ph) that will send him all the way to Wisconsin to Lawrence University.

(on camera): Three years ago, you came to this country and you didn't speak any English. And now, you're the winner of a scholarship that will pay every dime of your tuition. That's pretty remarkable.

DUQUE: It is.

O'BRIEN: Does it feel remarkable?

DUQUE: Yes, it is, indeed. I'm like, eye I'm a PASI scholar. I wanted to show the -- all of my Newcomers friends and all of the school, that we can get it. We can show everybody else that we're able do anything we want. Just work it out.

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O'BRIEN: Half the students from Newcomers come from Latin America. A quarter come from China and approximately the rest come from Southeast Asia or Africa or Eastern Europe.

CHETRY: What a wonderful story for Alfredo.

O'BRIEN: A big range. Yes.

CHETRY: Yes, a big range and to know that he is getting his college paid for. What about other students who are academically achieving but may not get a scholarship?

O'BRIEN: Many of the students will get scholarship. They can -- they help the students to get a lot of scholarship. Remember those students, of course, can do the traditionally way that anybody tries to pay for college, which is borrow money, either officially from the government or borrow it from your parents and relatives who help pay for it.

CHETRY: And every time we see one of these schools that really seems to shine, a lot of people ask, "Why can't they do that elsewhere?" Are there any other schools like Newcomers?

O'BRIEN: They do. And actually in any city where there's a large influx of new immigrants you see schools sort of pop up like that. But often, they have programs. So the kids come in they work on their English language skills and then they send them off and transition them into other schools.

Newcomers is different because they let them stay. It's a school really full of immigrants.

CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE) Good stuff.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

CHETRY: Soledad great to see you this morning.

O'BRIEN: Thanks likewise.

CHETRY: Thank you.

Well, still ahead, we're going to check back in with John Roberts who is in the scene in West Virginia where rescue teams are entering that mine and they are now trying for the slimmest of hope that they will find these four missing miners alive.

Our special coverage from West Virginia continues next.

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JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Updating you on our top story this morning; the latest developments in the mine disaster here in West Virginia. We're now just about 66 hours from the time that the explosion went off.

And rescue workers are back down in the mine. They've been there since about 5:00 this morning. Made their way in closer and closer to the area where those four missing miners are believed to be.

We understand that they're making pretty good progress. A press conference that the governor had scheduled for a half hour ago has been postponed. That will now take place, a little more than 45 minutes from now; maybe a suggestion that they have something to tell us. That's only kind of reading the tea leaves, though.

We talked a lot about violations that this mine has had filed against it over the years. And we learned something new from talking with Pam Napper (ph) last night whose son Joshua was killed in the mine, along with Joshua's cousin, as well as Pam's brother Timmy.

We learned that a couple times in the week previous to the explosion that he would stay at home because of bad ventilation in the mine. We don't know what the bad ventilation referred to; whether it was a buildup of some sort of toxic acid or something else. But he was sent home a couple times, according to his mother, because of bad ventilation.

As the Governor Joe Manchin of West Virginia prepares to talk to us with the latest information, he's sending out a plea today to all miners in the state that if they're working in a mine where they think things are not being attended to properly from a safety perspective, please come forward. Don't be afraid to speak up.

After a tragedy like this, there's always legislation, new rules, new regulations put in place. But there is kind of an attendant fear among many miners that if they were to step up and say something that that might impact them negatively in terms of their employment.

So the governor of the state is saying come forward, they will do everything they can to protect you, but they want to have that information.

We're going to stay on this story this morning, Kiran, and we'll have the very latest for you. And again that press conference coming up in about 45 minutes' time. Right now, back to you.

CHETRY: All right. John thanks so much. You can continue the conversation on any of today's stories by going to our blog CNN.com/amFIX.

That's going to do it for us. We'll see you back here tomorrow.

Meantime, the news continues. Here's "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips. Good morning, Kyra.