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More Cancellations and Delays at O'Hare and Midway; St. Louis Police Officer Shot; Fresh Fighting on Turkish Border; Violent Protests Rock Hong Kong; Threat of ISIS "Lone Wolves"; Volcano Erupts, Dozens Feared Dead

Aired September 28, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, things are happening here that are normal and it is a typical travel day here on Sunday, but that is not the case for Chicago. If you are looking at midway international or O'Hare international, you are looking at more than 600 flights that are cancelled with delays between 30 and 40 minutes. The good news in all of that, though, it is significantly better from what we saw at the height of the problem during that alleged sabotage to the control tower on Friday.

We saw more than 2,000 flights delayed or cancelled with the passengers waiting hours just to hear some pretty bad news. But today here in Atlanta, things are getting better. Things are slowly progressing as well in Chicago and around the country as well, Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And so Nick, what is the time line for trying to get that air traffic control center in Chicago back to normal?

VALENCIA: You know, when we asked the FAA earlier, they said patience, you know, it could take a while for that to get back to normal, and they are progressing though, and they did send out a statement overnight, I reported that here. They are saying quote "after inspecting the damaged equipment at the Chicago en route see center, the FAA has decided to completely replace the central communications network in a different part of the same building to restore the system as quickly as possible."

Now, Fred, whether that means days or whether that means weeks, we just don't know. But they are saying they are making steady progress in getting all flights back in order. You know, that tower that was struck on Friday, just outside of Chicago, very critical to keeping flights on time across the country. So, it is not just Chicago that felt the impact. And still, today, as you mentioned thousands of passengers still feeling the effects, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Valencia, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

All right. So, if you are one of those people stuck in the airport or you know someone who is, we have some travel advice for you now. Travel expert Mark Murphy is joining us now from Morristown, New Jersey, via Skype. So Mark, good to see you. So even if you are not going the Chicago,

will more people be impacted by way of their connections, maybe even some international flights?

MARK MURPHY, TRAVEL EXPERT: Yes, all of the above. The challenge you have when one airport goes down, all of those flights are going to be ending up somewhere picking people up and dropping them off. And you are going to be possibly be affected.

The best thing to do is to check where the flight is originating out of. See if it is going into the Chicago market. If not, you may be OK. For the most part, you are OK if you are outside of Chicago, but right now in Chicago, still a mess at both O'Hare and midway.

WHITFIELD: And say you one of the people impacted, your flight is canceled or you have to stay overnight somewhere, will there rebates or refunds from the airlines because of a situation like this?

MURPHY: I am very nicely shake my head, no. The airlines are not going to pay for anything. They are going to help you to the get on your way, they are going waive change fees or not going whack you with the fare differences in some cases, but they have no obligation to compensate you whatsoever, because it is completely outside of their control.

It is unfortunate, but the way it is. And sometimes we travel, these things happens. So, that is why travel insurance is a good option for people. And leave in a few days early for things like a cruise departure or a tour departure so you don't miss it.

WHITFIELD: So the FAA is saying it could take weeks, you know, to make the fixes because of the complications that comes with getting the right part. So, how do you see in the next few weeks people's travel plans being impacted or even the price of ticket sales?

MURPHY: Well, I think what is going to happen is people, obviously, going o hold back. Obviously, it turn no Chicago market if they don't have to travel or not going to travel. That is pretty much going to be the effect. It is going to be dramatically hit the airlines that operate heavily out of O'Hare. You know, it is going to hit United in a big way financially.

So, from that stand point, I think you are going to see the demand drop a little bit. You are going to see the demand drop a little bit. You are going to see the slow roll out of flights because they are getting flights out. they just can't get as many in to that hugely busy airport as it normally do. So that is going to slow that down.

It I am a business traveler, I'm figuring our other options. I'm driving to different airports. I'm thinking, you know, how to get on the way and do my job.

WHITFIELD: All right. Mark Murphy, thank you so much.

MURPHY: Thanks for having me. WHITFIELD: All right, now to Ferguson, Missouri where a police

officer was shot in the arm little overnight. And in a separate incident, just three hours later, an off-duty St. Louis police officer was shot at, but not hit. Multiple suspects are still at large at this hour at Ferguson. May we remind you, here is the town that is still on edge since an unarmed black teenager was shot and killed last month by a while police officer.

CNN's Sara Sidner is joining us right now from Ferguson. So Sara, you know, Ferguson police say there is no connection to the protest over Brown's death in the shootings. But what is the community are saying in how old this is unfolding and the why?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look. I think the community are, in many ways, is nervous about what happened. Because of these shootings back on August the 9th, really, there have been tensions that have been here. Sometimes, there just simmering and sometimes they explode.

Right now, they are in that sort of simmering mode. But everybody feel that in every time something happens here that involve the police, even in this case where police officer himself was shot, there is a sense that there is going to be some sort of a reaction.

And I want to give you some idea about the mistrust that has gone on here and that has existed in this community for some time log before Michael Brown was shot and killed, the unarmed black teenager shot and killed by the white officer, Darren Wilson.

There is that mistrust have grown at this community says to enormous proportions. Let (INAUDIBLE), let you listen to Captain Ron Johnson with the Missouri highway patrol who has helped take over the investigation and has been here trying to calm crowd.

Here's what he said to the people who were gathered outside after the shooting happened here last night, and listen to what the crowds are saying back to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you are to say, sir?

CAPT. RON JOHNSON, MISSOURI HIGHWAY PATROL: What I have to say that we have a police officer that has been shot. A police office has been shot tonight. That is what is happening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

JOHNSON: A police officer has been shot tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who else?

JOHNSON: That is the only person who got shot tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, right.

JOHNSON: OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And come on, the police told me something else.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has anyone been arrested, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, sir --

JOHNSON: Not yet.

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNSON: I am going to ask you to leave and I am only going to ask you one time.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you don't have to ask, because these are our streets, and these isn't your streets, but they are our streets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is going to cause a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: So you can hear there that the crowds don't believe a word that is being said from authorities' mouths. There is a huge amount of distrust. And I want to tell you, Fredricka, we talked to a family member of several police officers. There are family that has been involved with a police department one way or another, and they said they are scared. They are terrified that the police officers are going to be targeted.

Now, when it comes to these two separate cases, one here in Ferguson where a police officer was shot, and one in St. Louis near the airport that was a drive by shooting essentially on i-70, they are not related according to the authorities and not related to the situation that has unfolded here in Ferguson since August 9th -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So, all of this taking place, I don't know if it is representative of the kind of frustration that people are feeling in Ferguson, but what are the residents expressing to you, you know, many weeks now after Michael Brown was gunned down whether there was any hope for a better relationship between the residents and, you know, Ferguson police particularly. But has anything change in terms of the dynamic of that relationship since that shooting?

SIDNER: The answer is yes, but most people here believe that it has not changed for the better necessarily. Like I was saying earlier, this huge gulf of mistrust between the police and some members of the community here in Ferguson, but also there are tensions rising between the residents here in Ferguson. And that is one of the things that really stuck out to me today in talking to several different people, some African-American, some Caucasians, they really talked about the fact that they felt this town has changed forever, and not necessarily at this point for the better.

The biggest concern right now is what is going to happen whether or not there is going to be an indictment. People are preparing for that, according to this one resident, as if there's a hurricane coming. Worried that there is going to be a huge outcry, depending on what the outcome of the grand jury's decision is. And there are preparations going on where people are talking about potentially moving away or at least getting away for some time because they are worried about an explosion just in case depending on exactly what the grand jury decides, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sara Sidner, thanks so much, in Ferguson, Missouri.

So before any of this latest violence erupted, we're talking about President Barack Obama talking about the root of the unrest in Missouri. That has gripped Ferguson since the Michael Brown killing.

The president spoke last night at the congressional black caucus foundation dinner to an audience that included Brown's parents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The anger, the emotion that followed his death awaken our nation once again to the reality that people in this room have long understood, which is in too many communities around the country a gulf of mistrust exists between local residents and law enforcement. Too many young men of color feel targeted by law enforcement, guilty of walking while black, driving while black, judged by stereotypes that fuel fear and resentment and hopelessness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Obama also said that attorney general Erich Holder spent time with the residents and police in Ferguson and that the department of justice has indicated that their civil rights investigation into Brown's death is ongoing.

All right overseas, Kurdish forces have now pushed back ISIS along Turkey's board we are Syria. We'll go live to the area where CNN's cameras are watching the battle live with ISIS fighters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Syria, fresh fighting erupts along the border with Turkey. And that's where Kurdish forces have been battling with ISIS militants for control of several towns there.

Meanwhile, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates conducted airstrikes on ISIS targets in that area and hit an ISIS compound near the town of Kobani.

CNN's Phil Black has spent the day on the boarder right close to the area of thick fighting. He is joining me right now on the phone.

So Phil, night has fallen there. What is happening?

PHIL BLACK, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, Fred, what we saw today was very intense fighting. Just to the east of that city you mentioned, Kobani. That is the key goal of the ISIS fighters, and they're closing in from every possible direction. The south, west, and east where we were.

What we saw were those ISIS fighters really pounding the local fighters that are trying to resist them. It's pretty obvious the ISIS fighters had much bigger, more capable, more powerful weapons, and those local fighters, Kurds, were trying to defend their homeland. They're really up against it. And so, from looking at it, it now appears that ISIS is very close to this city, Kobani, inside the city officials are telling us that without more help from the international coalition, more effective airstrikes, they fear that ISIS could reach the city. And they fear very much what could happen to the civilian population in the event that that happens, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Now, earlier you speak of the kind of fighting that was taking place, and you were actually taping a piece when this moment happened. A large mortar round going off. Let's take a look at that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: And it is now, as I said, only a few kilometers from where we are standing now, and it would seem that once they get beyond -- a large round there detonating behind me. Once they move past this point here --

(CHEERING)

BLACK: It's gone down very well with this local crowd. To be fair, they have no idea, no way of really knowing who is scoring the hits on the other side, but clearly this crowd clearly believes that that was a hit for the Kurdish fighters who they have been standing here cheering for through the afternoon. Now, the reason why this battle is going on behind me matters so much because it is so close to Kobani. It is just a few kilometers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Phil, you explain here. They didn't really know, you know, what was happening or who was responsible for that round, but since that shot, have you learned anything more about whether their cheering was, you know, directed in the right place?

BLACK: It's hard to tell, Fred, because we are standing back some distance. A couple of miles probably from the border itself. It's simply unsafe to get any closer than that. And indeed, the service military wouldn't let us get any closer than that.

Trying to observe the fighting that is taking place at that distance across the border in a built-up little village where what we can see on the outskirts of the town are these big ISIS artillery weapons firing into this built-up area, and then smoke from the impact. And, of course, the loud booms as well. There's also constants small arms fire. Really, this was a very fierce intense fight. And it shows that ISIS as its best, really to within striking distance of Kobani. And remember, it's (INAUDIBLE) that has triggered hundreds of

thousands of people fleeing that area desperate to get across the border into Turkey over the last week. A new humanitarian crisis for this region. And based upon what we saw today, the ISIS momentum is pretty significant, and you have to think that it's possible that they will reach their goal if not tomorrow, then perhaps within the next few days.

WHITFIELD: And then talk to me about the effectiveness of the U.S. airstrikes if there's any way of measuring that as yet.

BLACK: Well, we know that they have struck a building and some ISIS- controlled vehicles and the building that they were using. But that strike took place further from where ISIS had its best to today, further away.

So what that tells us is that it certainly hasn't stopped the ISIS advance. If it has slowed it down, it is perhaps only slightly. And what we're hearing from the Kurdish fighters that are going up against these guys is that it hasn't had any meaningful effects. Certainly not enough to save them. Not enough to stop this ISIS advance and then looking for help on that sort of scale. That's what they want to see. Something that will stop ISIS in its tracks and prevent them from reaching their goal, that city of Kobani.

WHITFIELD: And then, Phil, as you say, you know, ISIS still seems to be on its way within striking distance of Kobani. But is there any way of telling whether that is the final destination given it's so close to the Turkey border? Is there any plan or any way of knowing whether ISIS is planning to cross that border into Turkey?

BLACK: You would have to say, Fred, they just don't have the capability to do that. But Turkish military has built in -- built a dug in really, heavily fortified all along that border there. A very strong military presence.

It would seem based upon their movements so far that they are converging through this northern region of Syria towards that major city that I have been describing, Kobani. If that happens, that will have consequences for Turkey. There's no doubt because of what it means and that even more the Turkish border will now be shared with ISIS-controlled territory. And that does not make for a secured surface certainly.

And today, we have the strongest statement yet from the Turkish president suggesting that Turkey must play some role in this international coalition that is currently taking the fight directly to ISIS, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Phil Black, thank you so much. As we say, we will check back with you.

So despite these days of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition, ISIS fighters do seem to be as aggressive as ever. You can hear it in the explanation from Phil. So, is there any impact from the airstrike from another point of view? Let's bring in CNN military analyst colonel Rick Francona from New

York.

So you heard Phil's report there, pretty remarkable. ISIS digging in its heels. Turkish military on the border, perhaps, if ISIS were to cross the border, they are going to be up against a pretty strong military.

From all that you heard from Phil's reporting, as well as ISIS continuing to intensify its fight against the Kurds, what do you take away as perhaps one of the most important things about this military strategy thus far?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. I don't hold much hope out for Kobani. I think it will probably fall. There is no way you can put enough air in there to be effective because you have too many people in close proximity.

The airstrikes that they're doing up there are further back, as Phil said. And they're going after known positions where -- where ISIS is concentrated. But when you get up to the front line, where the fighting is going on, where the Kurds would like to have some support, you cannot put ordinance on those targets unless you have someone controlling those strikes. That means someone on the ground either a special forces person an air force controlled party or a Kurd that's trained to do this. But we have none of that right now. So the airpower is not going to be able to be brought to bare right on the frontlines where you need it the most. That's the drawback here.

So I don't hold out much hope for Kobani. ISIS has them out gunned and out manned so it looks pretty bad. Now, on the Turkish side, I don't see ISIS going into Turkey. That would be a big mistake on their part. The Turks have a serious military. Way more powerful than ISIS. That would be a big mistake. I think they're just going to solidify that border and consolidate their games across that line.

WHITFIELD: Then how significant is it if Kobani would, indeed, fall to ISIS?

FRANCONA: Well, it gives them complete control of that border area, and that's what they want. They have portions of it already, and then you can see what their strategy is. They want to control the entire border. They regard that as the current border of their state until such time as they want to move any further. I think their goals against Turkey would be way, way down the road. I think they're trying to consolidate their positions inside Syria.

WHITFIELD: Is there any way of tracking, you know, the movement once Kobani. Then where?

FRANCONA: Well, I think they will just keep spreading out east and west until they control it all. Kobani is a big one. They already control the border post to the east of that. So they will continue to move west. And eventually, they'll want to take Aleppo and all of that northern part of Syria. And that's what they've wanted to do all along. And they're just on a momentum. They're on a roll. Whereas in Iraq,

the air has been able to stop them because you have ground forces there that can move and try to consolidate those gains. We do not have that in Syria.

WHITFIELD: So the, how does the U.S. or even coalition forces use this kind of information to its advantage? Kobani moving east, moving west, also potentially. What does that mean for airstrikes if that is the way in which, you know, the U.S. and coalition forces are able to attack or try to get ISIS to retreat in any way in Syria right now?

FRANCONA: right. As long as you can tell who ISIS -- which groups are ISIS and which are not, then you can go ahead and strike them. But you want some distance between the warring parties. Once they get -- once we call a troop in contact, you really have to have eyes on the target if you're going to call that in. Otherwise, you risk causing a lot of friendly casualties, and that's something we don't want.

So the answer here is somewhere down the road. And it is just not -- I know that's probably not satisfactory to the Kurds up there. But until we get somebody on the ground to control these airstrikes, we are not going to be able to put effective close air support. We may be able to do it in Iraq, but Syria is a different story.

WHITFIELD: Very different strategies for Iraq versus Syria. And different approaches as it pertains to the U.S. and even of the coalition. Are you concern at all that it will be difficult to try to keep an eye on both simultaneously? Will one measure, will one strategy, I guess, suffer because all eyes are on the other?

FRANCONA: Right. No. I think there is enough assets. And with more nations signing up to provide more aircraft and more support, I think we've got enough air assets in place. We can certainly monitor what's going on in Syria with all the manned and unmanned reconnaissance assets. It's just on what can you do about it?

In Iraq it's a different story. So there's two pieces to this one puzzle. One is that the Iraq's side which -- I think we have got a much better handle on because we got people on the ground.

Syria is a real problem set. And we haven't figure out how we are going to handle that. The free Syrian army, the moderate Syrian rebels that we are going to train, that's still far down the road. But we have an immediate crisis there right now.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, thanks so much for your expertise. Appreciate it.

FRANCONA: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Violent protests now in Hong Kong. Live pictures right now. Certainly the pictures demonstrate how many people have converged, but we'll explain in what way violence is being measured and why. WHITFIELD: Dozens of people in Hong Kong are injured after anti-

government protests turned violent. What started as a peaceful demonstration was forced by police, as you see right there. Earlier this is what happened to CNN's Ivan Watson who was in the middle of the protest there.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

WHITFIELD: All right. You can see right there Ivan Watson putting on his gas mask, as you see teargas or something, being hurled at the crowds there, and he is caught right in the middle of it.

Ivan Watson joining me now. It looks certainly quieter there, but you still have an awful lot of people. First off, what is the protest all about, and why did it take that ugly turn?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this entire protest movement here, and you hear you have thousands of people who basically paralyzed downtown Hong Kong, Frederica, and blocked the main highway, the main artery through this financial hub.

The crowd has been chanting "we want free elections," "we want universal suffrage." The crocks of this protest is against rules that have been set up by the ruling communist party in Mainland, China that would effectively let the government in Beijing nominate, vet candidates for elections in 2017 for the highest officials here in Hong Kong. And people here worry that this means that their days are relative freedom in comparison to Mainland, China are coming to an end. And they have come out and vowed to fight back effectively.

And the remarkable thing that we have seen from the Hong Kong security forces is unlike on Mainland, China, , they have not used draconian force. They have not been beating and flogging these young demonstrators. They have been standing side-by-side next to them, though within the last half hour some of the riot police did throw some tear gas here that got the crowd riled up.

But certainly this is a very different kind of protest movement from what you have seen not very far away in mainland China, and it underscores how different Hong Kong is, this former British colony, from the rest of China.

And the real fear that many of the demonstrators are expressing, they're afraid, as the central government tries to impose more and more of its authority on this port city, that Hong Kong could become like many other Chinese cities living under a much more authoritarian system of government, and that's what these -- most of them kids, 18, 19, 20 years old, don't want.

WHITFIELD: So long people in Hong Kong, they are celebrating a sort of independence and a level of freedom that mainland China has not been able to enjoy. Ivan Watson, thank you so much for that. We'll check back with you.

All right, how worried should we be about lone wolves on American soil? Still to come, CNN's Candy Crowley talks with the deputy national security advisor and then later Candy pulls double duty. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here's a look at the top stories making news right now.

Murder and assault charges are expected to be filed tomorrow against Alton Alexander Nolan, the suspect in a gruesome killing near Oklahoma City. Police say Nolan beheaded a co-worker and wounded another before being shot by a company executive.

The attack happened just after Nolan had been fired. The FBI is investigating after co-workers told authorities Nolan tried to convert them to Islam. The suspect remains hospitalized, but police interviewed him yesterday when he regained consciousness.

And the community of Charlottesville, Virginia, is ramping up efforts to find UVA student, Hannah Graham. She vanished more than two weeks ago. Emergency dispatch operators are working extra hours to help field incoming tips.

Meanwhile, Jesse Matthews, a prime suspect in the case is being held in isolation in a Virginia jail. He is charged with abduction with the intent to defile.

Thousands of people from across the country are still to make their way home after more delays and cancelations at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway Airports. About 600 flights canceled -- were canceled again today.

Airlines have been scrambling since Friday after a worker allegedly tried to destroy the FAA's Chicago Control Center with fire. Repairs could take weeks.

Now to the growing concerns over the threat of lone wolf terror attacks on U.S. soil. Are they justified? How are Americans supposed to respond to the potential threat?

CNN's chief political correspondent, Candy Crowley, asks Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken about that on "STATE OF THE UNION" today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY BLINKEN, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: It's important for people to be vigilant, to have a heightened awareness and to be able to communicate with law enforcement if they see anything suspicious. That's a critical tool in making sure we can prevent and protect ourselves.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": It occurred to me this weekend. I was out of town, and someone when they heard this bulletin said, OK, so this week we have a guy leaping over the White House fence. The most secure building one would hope in the United States of America. Makes it all the way inside the White House, and then they're telling us, be careful, lone wolfs might want to slit your throat or blow up. It just seems like there is no real way and no real hopeful advice that's being given to the public.

BLINKEN: OK. Look, I think it is a comprehensive effort across the entire government and, indeed, is necessary involving the American public, but, again, this is just to make sure that people have heightened awareness. No credible active plot. It's very important, as we take action around the world, including in Iraq and Syria, that people are aware and focused.

CROWLEY: And does it -- moving to the region now and what's going there, airstrikes now along the Turkish-Syrian border, it does seem that very often when any kind of western power in the Middle East takes on some kind of military operation that it creates enemies as well as destroys other enemies. Isn't that what those bulletins are about? Are we making things more dangerous on the streets by doing this or safer?

BLINKEN: Candy, we have to get ahead of this problem. ISIL presents an immediate threat to people in the region, including to Americans in the region, and it's been very clear that over time if left unchecked it will present a threat here at home and to our partners in Europe.

So we need to get ahead much it. An ounce of prevention is better than an ounce of cure. But keep in mind, we are doing this in a very different way than in the past. We are not sending in hundreds of thousands of American troops. We're not spending trillions of American dollars.

What we are doing is empowering local actors with some of the new things like airpower, intelligence, training, equipping, advising, assisting, and we're not falling into the al Qaeda trap of sending tens of thousands of Americans in where they get bogged down, tied down, and bled, which is exactly what al Qaeda wants.

We're being smart about this. This is a sustainable way to get at the terrorists, and it's also a more effective way.

CROWLEY: Then are you at the same time buying into what was the Bush belief that you -- President Bush's belief that we go get them before they come get us.

BLINKEN: But look at who was doing it. We took action in Syria this week with five Arab nations flying with us. We have a coalition now of more than 50 countries from all around the world including in the region. This is not America against ISIL. This is the international community against a threat that is posed in the first and foremost to countries in the region but represents a threat to everyone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Dozens buried alive after a volcano erupts in Japan, and now scientists are warning it could actually explode again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Open court travelled to Boca Raton for a rare up close look at the Evert's Tennis Academy. The operation is a family affair. It's co-owned by Chris and her brother, John. John focuses on the technical side, while Chris mentors the players.

CHRIS EVERT, WINNER OF 18 GRAND SLAM TITLES: It's important in tennis now, it's a power game, to go for winners, but maybe not at the expense of making too many unforced errors.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Many players live at the academy full- time. When they aren't on the court or doing fitness drills, they are inside this classroom.

EVERT: Every kid that is in our program gets an education and every high school student that's graduated from the Evert Academy has gone to college.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: If there's one thing Chris ever hopes young players learn from her career, it's best summed up in an article about her, which she remembers to this day.

EVERT: The first line stays in my mind. It was, you know, she's not the fastest, she doesn't hit the hardest, she's not the strongest, so why am I number one? That always left a big impact in my brain because I think I was very proud of that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Japan, four bodies have been retrieved from that volcano eruption. At least 31 people are now presumed dead. Dozens more may be trapped or buried underneath the ash. A rescue and recovery operation is underway at Mount Ontake right now, but officials have no idea exactly how many people are missing or where they might be.

CNN's Will Ripley has the story from the base of the volcano.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One by one, they are carried off the mountain. More than 30 people with no pulse, in a state of cardiac arrest, all of them near the summit when the mountain erupted.

Home video shows a giant plume of gas and ash surrounding and blinding these hikers in seconds. Security cameras captured Mount Ontake rumbling to life Saturday. Its first major eruption in 35 years.

More than 200 climbers came to Japan's second highest volcano for the peak of autumn viewing. So many people were near the summit, says this hiker. Everyone were running, but some were hurt and couldn't move. The volcano's rising plume is disrupting air travel. Volcanic ash is raining down hundreds of rescuers below. They face danger from nearly continuous seismic activity and the looming threat of another big eruption possible in the coming days.

Please help us says (inaudible) Tokoro, his son and his girlfriend reached the summit just minutes before noon Saturday, just when Ontake blew its top. Both are still missing. Now Tokoro sits on the floor this evacuation center waiting.

All I can do is beg for your help to get us information, he says. Please. As each hour passes, desperation grows. Families are waiting for word on their loved ones who were dangerously close to a sweeping volcano that suddenly woke up. Will Ripley, CNN, Mount Ontake, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Next, we look at a new web site that offers cash and companionship. The world of sugar daddies and sugar babies next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Tonight a new CNN program premiering, and it just might have you talking. It's called "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING." And her first episode is about a new online dating service for sugar daddies and sugar babies. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA LING, CNN HOST, "THIS IS LIFE": A surprising amount of Americans are hungry for an old fashioned kind of love where men financially support women in exchange for companionship. And one man is capitalizing on that desire. Seeking Arrangement founder, Brandon Wade.

(on camera): Why did you start Seeking Arrangements.

BRANDON WADE, FOUNDER, SEEKING ARRANGEMENT: I was having so much difficulty with dating life. I would try to normal dating web sites and I realized it was really difficult for me to stand out. And that's when I remember something that my mom told me when I was growing up being the nerdy boy that I was, she said study hard focus on school and someday when you are successful you can use really your success and generosity to turn your dating game around.

LING: So you started Seeking Arrangement because you were having difficulty with your dating life?

WADE: That's absolutely right.

LING: And Brandon, you are a very nice, smart guy. Isn't that enough?

WADE: Apparently not. On most dating sites, unfortunately, there is no way for your intellect or perhaps your success to shine through. LING (voice-over): Brandon set out to change that. In 2006, he launched Seeking Arrangement. Today it is the most successful in a crop of sugar dating domains. The site also throws parties where babies and daddies can mingle and wear a mask if they want to go incognito.

(on camera): Is there a typical profile on Seeking Arrangement?

WADE: The average sugar baby is 27, typically has a college degree or is going to college. The average guy is 40 years old. He makes $250,000 or more every single year.

LING: What percentage of sugar daddies are married.

WADE: Roughly 40 percent married.

LING: They are essentially trying to find mistresses.

WADE: I would say so. They are looking for a relationship elsewhere to spice up their life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, I talked with Lisa Ling and asked her about the people who use this new type of online dating service and their willingness to talk so openly about their preferences.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LING: Well, you know, this is a recent phenomenon. Not so much moneyed older men seeking out younger women, but these web sites that are facilitating these relationships, and they are advertising at colleges around the country, and it's interesting.

What I love about this series is that when you hear these topics, you're probably -- you probably have a preconceived idea about what the people are like and what the intentions are behind this kind of activity, but once you meet the men and the young women, my hope is that you might be provoked to think a little bit differently.

I mean, in the case of these young women, a couple of them said to me, which really surprised me because I hadn't thought about this perspective before, that we are the first generation that has been told consistently that we are never going to make as much money as our parents and that job prospects out there are so dismal.

So this is a way for us to reduce our workload. A couple of them had been working three jobs and really unable to focus on their studies, and they said by being a sugar baby we are able to have our tuition paid for, among other things, and we're able to focus better on our studies.

So, you know, is that justification for it? Not necessarily, but it was a perspective that I had never heard before.

WHITFIELD: Well, yes. So you got young women who are saying I'm kind of giving up on my dream. I may not be able to ever attain the kind of financial success that I want to, so instead I will attach myself to someone who has -- who can provide for me what it is I want. Simple as that.

LING: Well, you know, the young women that I spent time with, they are still very ambitious and despite the negative press, they haven't been dissuaded about wanting to pursue their dreams. They just right now are looking in many cases to these sugar daddies to help them to become mentors and to possibly pay for their tuition.

But the ones that I spoke to and this is why the phenomenon is a little different now. The women I talked to still have every intention of becoming that CEO one day or have their own business.

It's just right now in this period in their lives they're struggling with having to pay for college and being able to spend time on their studies and so they seem to have found a way to help them in that process.

WHITFIELD: Did any of them reveal whether their parents know? Do their parents regret having spent all that money on college or assisting in that or having great aspirations for their kids and then come to find out these young ladies are throwing that away?

LING: It's a great question. If their parents didn't know, they will know very soon. I think these young women have talked to their parents in advance of this episode airing, but it was really important for them to kind of convey their intentions because they are very stigmatized.

And there's a perception that there are sexual expectations in every relationship that is, you know, constructed, and that is not necessarily always the case. I mean, what they say on the web site is what you should do in advance of even meeting the other person is negotiate the terms. Figure out what you want out of this relationship and figure out, you know, what you aren't willing to give.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Yes. Pretty amazing. Explore this world on the premier episode of "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING." It airs tonight at 10:00 Eastern and Pacific.

All right, coming up at the top of the hour, violent weather tears a section of a roof right off a major airport where flights are still delayed because of the damage.

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