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Your World Today
California Fires: Authorities Arrest Five Arson Suspects; Madeleine McCann's Parents Release Suspect Sketch; Turkey Launches Strikes Into Northern Iraq Today
Aired October 26, 2007 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Only memories remain. California evacuees return home, some find ash and rubble where their houses once stood.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Your pictures, your stories. The best of dramatic images of the southern California fires captured by our viewers.
MANN: A search for answers. Parents of a missing toddler release a sketch of a man they believe may have abducted Madeleine.
MCEDWARDS: And the hype, the hoopla. A sporting event something a little alien to British life is invading London.
MANN: It is 9:00 a.m. in southern California, noon at CNN Center in Atlanta.
Hello and welcome to our report seen around the globe.
I'm Jonathan Mann.
MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards.
From London to Los Angeles, where you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
And we begin with pain and progress in southern California.
MANN: With the fierce Santa Ana winds fading and temperatures turning mild, crews have been able to contain more than half of the state's deadly fires.
MCEDWARDS: And evacuees are starting to stream back home. The San Diego stadium that once held 11,000 evacuees will be empty tomorrow.
MANN: Welcome news, but the scope of the devastation is staggering. The fires have incinerated more than 1,600 homes, thousands more remain at risk, mostly in fire-ravaged San Diego County.
Across the region, the blazes have blackened almost 500,000 acres or nearly 200,000 hectares, and the fires have directly caused at least seven deaths. Another seven people died during or after evacuations. MCEDWARDS: Meanwhile, authorities have arrested five suspected fire-starters. Now, officials say arson caused the Santiago Fire in Orange County that slashed through some 260,000 acres -- that's 10,000 hectares. Now, there is a $250,000 reward for information here.
John Zarrella has the latest on these investigations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The fire started here Sunday, where the Santiago and Silverado canyons meet. The burn- out land is now marked by crime scene tape. Federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents spent today at the scene looking for more evidence.
This, they say, is one of the two places where the Santiago Canyon fire was set. And there's no question, investigators say, it was arson.
Orange County officials fire who got to the scene on Sunday first say that within minutes it had spread miles.
CHIEF CHIP PRATHER, ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY: The person or persons who did this either are exceptionally lucky or they have some knowledge about where you might want to do the most damage when you set a fire.
ZARRELLA: The investigation is just in its initial stage. No arrests have been made, no search warrants issued, and investigators won't say what evidence they have collected. Many residents who live here spend their time at the bottom of the canyon road waiting. They want only two things, to be allowed home and to get their hands on whoever did this.
MIKE THOMPSON, RESIDENT: I can't believe that anybody would actually do something like that to people they don't even know. If you want my true feelings, I would like to have 15 minutes with the guy alone.
ZARRELLA: Others like John Cunningham (ph) are so angry, they don't even want to talk about it.
(on camera): And how do you feel, just knowing now that somebody did this on purpose?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not even prepared to go there right now. So, bigger concerns right now. The family's safe. I believe the house is OK, and I believe that the professionals are on it.
ZARRELLA: The Santiago Canyon fire has burned at least 25,000 acres, forced thousands from their homes. And, as difficult as it may be to comprehend, this may not be the only one of the California fires caused by arson.
So far, charges have been filed against at least five people suspected of arson. Wednesday one man was arrested in Los Angeles County after police say witnesses said they saw him lighting a fire on a hillside in the West Hills. That same day another man was arrested in San Bernardino County after police say he was spotted squatting on the side of the road setting a fire. A third man was arrested on charges of setting a fire, although police aren't saying where and when it allegedly happened.
Also, San Diego County officials say that a juvenile and another man were arrested after they were seen starting a fire that was quickly extinguished before it did damage to nearby buildings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: John Zarrella is now live for us in the city of Orange.
And John, what have they learned from these people arrested? Have they been able to make any links yet?
ZARRELLA: No, at this point, there have -- they have not established any links between what these five individuals were caught doing, and the major fires in this area. But what authorities are telling me this morning is that because of that reward that's now $250,000 for the Santiago Canyon Fire, that they're really starting to get a lot more tips coming in. And that's the hope.
That's the only way they say they're really going to be able to solve that fire, the Santiago Canyon Fires, if they get some reliable tips, some good information that leads them to make arrests. Otherwise, it's usually very, very difficult to unravel these arson fires -- Colleen.
MCEDWARDS: All right.
John Zarrella, we'll leave it there.
Thanks a lot, John.
I want to bring some news just in right here on CNN, because it relates to the tension between Turkey and Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.
CNN Turk is telling us that Turkey's deputy prime minister has confirmed that the Turkish air force is right now, as we speak, conducting raids on PKK, the rebel positions, and that this is happening in northern Iraq. This would be the kind of incursion that Turkey has been threatening to carry out. Just a few days ago, passing a motion in parliament to allow an incursion to take place.
We are told they are bombing raids, air strikes, so maybe a preliminary type of move. But Turkey's deputy prime minister is confirming to CNN that the Turkish air force is conducting bombing raids, we are told, on the PKK rebel position in northern Iraq.
We will get more information on this, of course, and as soon as we get it we will bring it to you right here on CNN.
Now, though, more on the fires in southern California.
Jonathan has that.
MANN: There are so many stories coming out of the chaos in southern California. Amazing stories of survival and lives completely altered by what's happened this week.
And no one tells them better than you do, our I-Reporters, in images captured envy quickly, on cell phones and home video cameras. They're stories with your pictures told in your own words.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks really weird. I feel like I'm in some kind of like weird, freakish, you know, movie or something.
ERIC WINCHESTER, I-REPORTER: When I actually left the cafeteria, there were several helicopters in the sky. The smoke was pretty overwhelming. It was pretty thick, and it was -- had almost this orangish tinge to it. It was certainly an incredible experience.
JAMES FABIN, I-REPORTER: I was actually on my way to the gym and I saw this huge billowing cloud of dark smoke coming up not too far from me. The fire was fairly young, even though from the video you can see it's really large. The wind is just blowing against me really, really strong.
SPENCER SCRANTON, I-REPORTER: I had never seen anything like this before in my life. I mean, it's absolutely incredible. It's a little scary and it's a little bit startling.
JOHN DOWDY, I-REPORTER I'm looking out where the Pacific Ocean usually is and all I see is a line of smoke. And so all around us is completely black, and so it covers everything. And I took a picture this morning, and it looked like snow was falling, but it was actually the -- just all the ash falling.
BRENDA WALKER, I-REPORTER: I actually called my daughter and said, "You need to look out your window. The fire is at your street."
That was my son-in-law, Bill Lowery (ph), and he was fighting the flames that came right up to the wood deck. Him and three other guys actually put that fire out on that hill to keep from getting that neighbor's wood deck. It was awesome.
DOUG ABERG, I-REPORTER: We didn't have really any warning at all. We saw the black clouds coming and the orange plumes. And once we saw the fire come over the ridge, we knew it was time to run.
ROBERT BREIT, I-REPORTER: Our community was pretty rapidly surrounded by the fire and flames. The fire department did a great job. They showed up with about 500 or 600 firefighters. The wild lands around us completely were engulfed, and 40, 50-foot flames. They probably saved about 1,000 houses last night.
FRANK ARMSTRONG, I-REPORTER: I decided to stay in the area just in case I needed to get more belongings and things like that. So I had to have my camera on me. And just started shooting and going to different areas and locations around the city that I knew would have good vantage points to document the dramatic events that were taking place.
BILLIE SCHLOTTE, I-REPORTER: We have good times and we have bad times. And I went to the crisis center and I got some help. I was able to talk to a nurse and then a doctor. So there's just an outpour of help.
We were able to get some video footage of the flames coming on our Sony Handycam and of our belongings and our home before it went up. We got confirmation on Monday morning that our home was lost in the fires.
We've lost everything.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MANN: One of the things we try to do with the I-reports you send us is tell the story behind them, the story of the I-Reporters, the experience they had and want to share.
Take the Schlotte family who lost everything. We caught up with them again when they went back to where they live.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHLOTTE: It burnt everything. Oh, my god. This use to be our car.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was your car?
SCHLOTTE: It's gone.
You're not going to believe this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: Our hearts go out to the Schlotte family. We thank them. We thank all of our I-report contributors, and we remind everyone, in California and elsewhere, to be careful.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MANN: Welcome back.
A story we are following closely, there is emergency diplomacy going on between Turkey and Iraq, but Turkish warplanes are speaking louder. Right now, the Turkish deputy prime minister tells CNN that Turkish warplanes have been carrying out bombing raids across the border in northern Iraq against positions of the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, the insurgent movement that has been bedeviling Turkey for 30 years now.
The Turks have made clear in recent days, following terrible attacks against their soldiers, that they want the Iraqis to put an end to PKK violence. If not, they have been threatening to launch a ground assault into northern Iraq.
We do not have any indication that that is under way, but the Turkish government is now confirming to CNN that air attacks are under way in northern Iraq, even as diplomats meet in Ankara to try to head off something even worse. It is a situation that we, and, of course, the people on the ground in Baghdad and in Washington are watching closely -- Colleen.
MCEDWARDS: Well, let's turn to some other news now. And we'll keep an eye on that, of course.
But the parents of a missing British girl have now released an artist's rendering of the man who they believe may have kidnapped their daughter in Portugal.
MANN: The sketch is based on information apparently from a family friend who said he saw the man walking with a pajama-clad child in his arms the night that Madeleine McCann went missing.
MCEDWARDS: Paul Davies reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL DAVIES, REPORTER, ITV NEWS (voice over): There are no facial features to identify the suspect. As leads go, it's surely not the greatest. But this artist's impression of the man the McCanns believe may have abducted their daughter is on the front pages today.
It has come not from the Portuguese police, but from the McCanns' own publicity campaign. The latest example of a parallel investigation Kate and Gerry McCann feel they have been forced to pursue.
Earlier this week in Spain, they launched a new phone line, another McCann initiative.
KATE MCCANN, MOTHER OF MADELEINE MCCANN: She's out there, and I want her back.
DAVIES: It's almost six months since Madeleine disappeared. The Portuguese police haven't found her, but her parents cling to their belief that she's still alive.
MCCANN: I think she's probably in someone's house, don't know why. And I suppose it's a feeling, but I feel as Madeleine's mommy, I feel in my heart really that she's there. And I don't -- I don't believe Madeleine has been taken away from us permanently.
DAVIES: They have traveled thousands of miles in their search for answers, enlisted the help of the famous and the holy. But this stage of their campaign, borne as it is out of desperation, sees them walking a legal tight rope. Their own investigators cannot operate in Portugal, and they themselves remain official suspects in Madeleine's disappearance. Paul Davies, ITV News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MANN: It's a terrible story. We have been following it for months now, but we can't let go any more than those parents can let go.
MCEDWARDS: That's right. The parents still suspects as well, named now in this case.
MANN: Can you imagine?
MCEDWARDS: No.
MANN: Looking elsewhere, soaking up the spoils that come along with a World Cup.
MCEDWARDS: Still ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, rain is not going to stop this parade. No way. South Africa's Springboks return home, and this is a hero's welcome.
MANN: Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Increasingly, I have become so worried about the tensions that have become so inflamed between our part of the world and to the West.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: Breaking down barriers. The queen of Jordan challenges young people to step outside their comfort zones.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes, but first a check on the stories making headlines right here in the United States.
Genarlow Wilson set to be released from prison. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year- old girl. He was 17 at the time.
Well, this morning, Georgia's highest court ordered his release, calling the sentence cruel and unusual punishment. Wilson's attorney spoke live on CNN earlier about what it will take to get Wilson out of jail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
B.J. BERNSTEIN, GENARLOW WILSON'S ATTORNEY: The Supreme Court is requiring that the judge issue another order which Judge Wilson, the judge who ruled correctly that Genarlow should be released, that's coming out any moment now. That order will be sent to the Attorney General's Office and the Department of Corrections. Once that order is at the Department of Corrections in Atlanta, then they will be able to start the process of releasing Genarlow Wilson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Wilson was sent to jail under a now-amended Georgia law that required a mandatory 10-year sentence without parole.
CNN will have the first interview with Genarlow Wilson and his family. Stay tuned to CNN this afternoon for any developments in the case.
Also, CNN plans coverage of National Blackout Day. What is it and when is it? I talked to syndicated radio host Warren Ballentine about it and his efforts to expose injustice.
That story is ahead. Join us at 1:00 p.m. Eastern in the "CNN NEWSROOM".
In southern California, conquering the beast. Most of the state's 23 wildfires are now contained. Evacuees are streaming back home, and crews made a lot of progress yesterday as dreaded Santa Ana winds faded and temperatures turned mild.
The tolls, however, well, it is staggering -- 14 deaths, 765 square miles burned, more than 1,600 homes lost. Now investigators turn their attention to the cause of the fires. So far, five people have been arrested. Fire officials say arson is to blame for the Santiago Fire, which burned some 26,000 acres.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: A search for answers and a warning for parents after another suspected staph infection death. It's believed 12-year-old Omar Rivera died of a drug-resistant form of the bacteria. Health officials are at the seventh grader's school today. They say there's no reason to believe other children or school employees are at risk.
The disease is blamed for the death of a 17-year-old Virginia high school student. He died earlier this month.
The CDC has found more than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly staph infections each year.
Time to check your kids' toy boxes, another recall to tell you about. Mattel is pulling 30,000 Go Diego Go! toy boats. The reason, excessive levels of lead in the paint. Those boats sold nationwide. Also being recalled, jewelry sold as Beary Cute, Expressions and Sassy & Chic, and children's toy gardening tools sold at JoAnn stores. The toys, the jewelry, all with the "Made in China" label.
YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break.
I'm Don Lemon. I will see the you at the top of the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MANN: Welcome back to our viewers joining us from more than 200 and territories around the world, including the United States. We're glad to have you with us.
MCEDWARDS: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Colleen McEdwards.
MANN: And I'm Jonathan Man. Here are some of the top stories we're following this hour.
We're getting word in of Turkish air strikes in northern Iraq now. Turkey's deputy prime minister telling our sister network, CNN Turkey (ph), a short while ago that the strikes are under way. This, after Iraqi officials visited Ankara to persuade Turkish officials not to conduct an all-out, cross-border ground assault. Iraq is worried about Turkey's reaction to Kurdistan Workers' Party rebels who have conducted attacks against Turkey from inside northern Iraq.
MCEDWARDS: Authorities in Orange County, California, say one of the wildfires that devastated that region was deliberately set, and they are looking for whoever may be responsible. A $250,000 reward has been established for information leading to an arrest. Five suspected arsonists in three other counties are already in custody.
MANN: And 14 of the fires are now 100 percent contained, nine others are still active but forecasters are saying that the Santa Ana winds, the winds that fueled the blazes initially are set to make a comeback, Sunday night. Although, they're saying the winds will not be as strong as earlier in the week.
MCEDWARDS: Well, it takes more than thousands of firefighters on the ground to battle these massive blazes, of course.
MANN: Think about all the pictures we saw of planes, air support, helicopters and those massive container planes dropping water and fire retardant. Kyra Phillips went along for a ride with members of the National Guard.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Start looking for Woodson Mountain, which is the one that has all the repeaters on it. It's one of the priorities on the fire.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Cal. Fire Battalion Chief Scott Watson knows what it takes to fight fires -- a battle plan.
SCOTT WATSON, CAL. FIRE BATTALION CHIEF: I don't know, immediately try to roll over and request permission to come on in to the Lake Poway area.
PHILLIPS: It takes soldiers like Lieutenant Colonel Myles Williams and Lieutenant Michael Fish to execute it. These Blackhawk helicopters have a weapon that every firefighter wants -- a bucket, fully loaded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Advise on initial contact.
PHILLIPS: We're airborne and over the fire lines, with the California National Guard.
(On camera): These Blackhawk buckets hold about 670 gallons of water and right now they're scooping the water out of Lake Poway, and within two hours, they'll make about 20 drops on the Harris and Witch fires right here in San Diego.
(Voice over): It happens fast. Low-level flying, with unpredictable wind force. Constant communications with ground and air crews. Buckets fill up, and pilots make their drops, all in less than a minute.
LT. MICHAEL FISH, CALIFORNIA NATIONAL GUARD: With the radios talking as much as they are, and how many aircraft are coming into a small, confined area, normally the drop site, you really doing a mental gymnastics on who's where, what we have to do, and what we have to accomplish.
PHILLIPS (on camera): We're about 250 feet above the wildfire, and the smoke is intense. You can even smell the burning brush. But we're also seeing firsthand how these water drops are helping firefighters on the ground fight these flames.
(Voice over): These drops help slow down the fires. sometimes even extinguishing them, just one more tool in a firefighter's arsenal and one more reason to keep pilots like Lieutenant Colonel Myles Williams coming back.
(On camera): When you actually see that water drop and you know it's making it right there on the flames, does your heart start beating?
L T. COLONEL MYLES WILLIAMS, CALIFORNIA NATIONAL GUARD: It's when the ground crew says, hey, that's a good drop. Then you know, hey, we're doing the right thing. We have our right headings. And that's where we're following them. Let's keep doing it again, because you're really there for them.
PHILLIPS: Kyra Phillips, CNN, Gillespie Airfield, El Cajon, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: Well, Jordan's Queen Rania is without question a different sort of sovereign, she's young, well educated, she chairs non-governmental organizations, and she travels the world, talking about education and the rights of women and children.
I had a chance to talk to her while she was in Los Angeles. We discussed her work, the war in Iraq, and her recent visit to an L.A. high school.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEEN RANIA, JORDAN: It was a great visit for me to go to that high school because increasingly I've become so worried about the tensions that have become so inflamed between our part of the world and to the West. There's been so much mutual suspicion and mistrust, and, and anger in many cases.
And it's so important for us to try to diffuse that. What I saw at that high school is a program that teaches children and young adults to really open their minds, interact with one another, to break down some of the stereotypes they might have in their minds, and to reach out to people who are different from themselves. It was very, very inspiring for me to see that.
And, you know, my main message is that we need to bring down those -- those walls that we have erected in our minds. We need to stop becoming victims to our own narratives and to challenge ourselves and step outside our comfort zone, step outside the limited parameters of our own perceptions, and reach out to people who may look like they're different from us, but who are very much the same as we are.
MCEDWARDS: Your own country faces an immense challenge right now, the whole issue of refugees coming from Iraq, in large numbers, many of them children. How much is Jordan able to do to help deal with the real strain that this is putting on your own society?
QUEEN RANIA: You are right. This is -- it is a strain. We've had a large influx of refugees from Iraq, which has put a lot of pressure on our infrastructure, on our natural resources and our environment. We've had to accept about 50,000 students into our public schools recently.
And, you know, the thing to point out is this is not an issue for any one country to deal with. This is the responsibility of the international community. Although the conflict in Iraq is one that's much debated, much talked about, probably the most well-known conflict in the world today, the humanitarian situation for Iraqis is not given enough attention.
The fact that one in -- one in four children in Iraq under the age of five is malnourished. The schools are stretched to the limit, the infrastructure is in very poor shape. There's a water crisis there. We've heard of cases of cholera. It is very important for us to really focus our attention on these issues and to try to help Iraqis restore some stability into their lives.
You know, the people who are leaving Iraq are, you know, the doctors, scientists and civil engineers, these are the people who are Iraq's best hope for rebuilding the country. So, they need to be able to go back to their country so we can see stability and reconciliation.
MCEDWARDS: The United States has been criticized for not taking more Iraqi refugees in. I mean the numbers are minuscule in terms of the numbers who have come to the United States. Do you feel that the U.S. Should be doing more? QUEEN RANIA: I believe we should all be doing more. As I said, this is not an issue for any one country, to have to deal with. All of us have a vested interest in ensuring that there is security and stability restored in Iraq as soon as possible.
MCEDWARDS: Your Majesty, I would like to ask you about Iran because the U.S. is just announcing more sanctions against Iran, increasingly the U.S. government is pointing to Iran as a real threat in the region. How do you feel about that? Do you think Iran is as big a threat as the United States government is making it out to be?
QUEEN RANIA: Well, I think when it comes to nuclear issue it is important to have absolute transparency and clarity. And Iran needs to abide by international regulations regarding this issue. It needs to open its facilities for inspection by international regulatory bodies. That is a very important issue.
Now, it is also equally important to realize that this is not a confrontation between Iran and the United States -- or it shouldn't be. If there is a threat, then this threat is -- a will affect the international community, so therefore this issue needs to remain on the negotiating table, the international negotiating table. And the international community must come together with a unified stance in order to deal with this issue.
And we must not exhaust all the diplomatic avenues. We have to try as much as possible to -- to pursue diplomatic avenues before we think of any military intervention, which can further destabilize our region, and come at a tremendous humanitarian costs to people in Iran, and the entire region.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: She's certainly one of those people trying to foster harmony and understanding between peoples. And other people who are trying to do that could take some lessons as well from one Arab Jewish school in Jerusalem.
MANN: It's a pretty special place where students may not always see eye to eye but they learn to listen and try to understand each other.
MCEDWARDS: Ben Wedeman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Classes in Arabic and Hebrew. The students an equal number of Arabs and Jews. They are talking about the assassination 12 years ago of the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, with their Arab and Jewish teachers. Confused? Well, listen carefully and take notes because there's a lot to learn about Jerusalem's Max Rain Hand-In-Hand School for Bilingual Education.
With more than 400 students in grades one through nine, this is a school where everything is turned on its head. Enemies become friends. Familiarity melts contempt. ALA KHATIB, CO-PRINCIPAL, HAND-IN-HAND SCHOOL: We believe that the problem in Israel, that the two sides live so close to each other, but they don't know anything about each other.
WEDEMAN: Ala Khatib, and Arab, and Dalia Paretz, a Jew are the school's co-principals. They admit they don't see eye to eye on everything but are proud of what they've created.
DALIA PERETZ, CO-PRINCIPAL, HAND IN HAND SCHOOL: The children develop a new kind of thinking, even. We see that our children are more creative, they are more critical about their reality. They see outside. And we hope to create here model for different partnership, different mutual life between Arabs and Jews in Israel.
WEDEMAN: There are four other Hand-In-Hand Schools in Israel, public institutions partially financed by international and private donors. Elsewhere in Israel, Jews and Arabs generally go to separate schools. What holds this one together is an unswerving emphasis on respect.
YAFFA SHIRA GROSSBERG, SECOND GRADE TEACHER: We never encourage or even try to convince somebody to agree. We don't want to wrap up the package and tie a string and say, but here we're all friends.
Here, we certainly are friends, and friends don't always agree, and we're not even asking people to agree, but we do ask that you listen. You just need to hear the concerns, the expressions, the love, the grief, the fear of the other.
"What makes this school stand out is that we are two peoples living together with three religions," says this third grade teacher Arij Halabi. "We try to understand everyone's beliefs, opinions and what makes each one special."
Eighth graders Jamie Einstein, on the left, and Muataz Ersheid, on the right have been best friends since first grade. In their class, boys sit with boys and girls sit with girls. Ethnic differences have faded into the background.
MUATAZ ERSHEID, STUDENT, HAND IN HAND SCHOOL: I'm a swimmer, so I swim with the Jewish people, all of them are Jewish people. And there used to be, with Jewish people only, they didn't speak with Arabs at all before I came. So it was a little like different for them. But we are like -- we're now like brothers because we need each other every day.
WEDEMAN: Outside, some Israelis have protested the mixed nature of the school, but today what is the exception, students here hope some day will be the norm.
JAMIE EINSTEIN, STUDENT, HAND IN HAND SCHOOL: When I'm an adult, I'll still have Arab friends and maybe we can try to change something that maybe most of the schools will have Arabs in it. It won't be all schools only Arabs and only Jews because I think all the schools should be Arabs and Jews together. WEDEMAN: It's a concept that will take time on, but Muataz's and Jamie's parents are convinced they've done the right thing. There's now a waiting list to get into the school.
TAMMY EINSTEIN, PARENT: It's a very natural thing. Once you are in it, it just happens. It's that first step of daring to say I'm going to try this new, unusual, what might seem strange to other people thing. But once you are in it, you are in it.
NEHAD ERSHAID, PARENT: I believe that when both nations, Jews and Arabs, start to believe that they are equal, that they have equal opportunities, that this land, this territory is giving chances to all of them. It would be very easy to have peace.
WEDEMAN: And that's a lesson Arabs and Jews would do well to learn.
(On camera): The American author Mark Twain once wrote, "I've never let my schooling interfere with my education," which is a good point. But in the case of this school, they'll probably be getting a very good education even if they don't always hit the books. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MANN: That's a nice story. Special, special place.
MCEDWARDS: Yes.
MANN: We're going to tell you a different kind of story about cultures meeting on the sports field.
MCEDWARDS: Uh-huh. Coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know what this is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this a rugby ball?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No? It's a melon?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCEDWARDS: It's a mystery, of course, but for some around the world, but the National Football League wants to change that. The NFL tackles an opportunity abroad. Stay with CNN.
MANN: Did she just call it a melon?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MCEDWARDS: America's biggest sport is crossing the pond. This weekend, the National Football League is to hold its first regular season game outside North America.
MANN: I don't know if people call it the pond.
MCEDWARDS: Yee-ha.
MANN: But can American football score a touchdown with regular sports fans outside the U.S.? Phil Black has a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Something a little alien to British life is invading London. The National Football League is coming, and with it all the hype surrounding America's biggest sport. Like giant robots, and cheerleaders. They're here to promote the NFL's first regular season match outside of North America.
The Miami Dolphins meet the New York Giants at Wembley Stadium Sunday. It's a 90,000 seat sellout.
KEN LIVINGSTONE, LONDON MAYOR: We had requested for a million tickets. We could fill Wembley 11 times over this game. That's what the American football league wants. They want to build a fan base here.
BLACK: A fan base in London and beyond. The NFL is going global, planning one or two games overseas every year. It's not just to keep American ex-pats happy.
ALISTAIR KIRKWOOD, NFL UNITED KINGDOM: You will find on Sunday 90,000 people with a lot of different accents, around about 85 percent will be British.
BLACK: The NFL says its mission is to make America's obsession the world's passion.
(On camera): But in this part of the world, people are already very passionate about other ball sports like Rugby Union and Rugby League and, of course, soccer. Can there possibly be enough room left in their hearts for American football, as well?
(Voice over): Sports writer Nick Szczepanik thinks so, but admits it could be hard to win over some sports fans.
NICK SZCZEPANIK, SPORTS WRITER, "THE TIMES": There are people who say, oh, you know, the NFL, they're all sissies, they wear padding, not like rugby players who are happy to go out and break their collar bones, and not even talk about it.
BLACK (voice over): And a quick poll shows the British market might need an education campaign.
(On camera): Do you know what this is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It a rugby ball?
BLACK: No. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No? A melon?
BLACK: Have you ever seen one of these before?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not one in -- physically, like that, but on the television perhaps, yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: National Football League, that's some sort of ball game. Soccer, American football.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this a ball? National Football League. OK, no, I didn't know what it was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: American football.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, it's from America. But it's very similar to rugby.
BLACK (voice over): Maybe fewer people will think so after Sunday's game. Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MANN: I like the woman went -- ah.
MCEDWARDS: Ah, of course.
TERRY BADDOO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: She was French. She wasn't English.
MANN: I didn't think she was French.
MCEDWARDS: I think she was kind of German, actually.
(CROSS TALK)
BADDOO: She wasn't from London, maybe?
(CROSS TALK)
MCEDWARDS: She lived in London. She lived there.
MANN: Harry Baddoo, you think that wasn't a scientific sampling? Is that what you're trying to say, of British public opinion?
MCEDWARDS: Let's get your opinion. Is this a one-off? Or is this the long haul?
BADDOO: I don't necessarily think this is a one-off. I think there's a lucrative market for the NFL and they are following the lead of the NBA and the NHL, and Major League Baseball and expanding
Of course, there's a huge market out there, but I just think the NBA is successful because basketball is played around the world. Not at the NBA level. But there's a point of reference. In Britain, nobody plays NFL. People do follow it on TV. Now, not when I used to live there, but nowadays. They did try it in the early '90s to have a modicum of success. But it fell. So there's a niche market out there, undoubtedly. But I can't see it catching on really big-time like they want it to.
That said, have talked about the Super Bowl going there at some stage in the future. I can see that because the Super Bowl is more than a sporting event. It's an occasion. It's a spectacle. That could be played anywhere in the world. I'm sure the fans wouldn't like it, the American fans wouldn't like it, but it could be.
NFL long-term in Britain? I don't think so. More than a little novelty.
MCEDWARDS: Terry Baddoo, you heard it here.
MANN: He has spoken.
MCEDWARDS: Thank you, terry.
MANN: Coming up, you're leading the race for the White House.
MCEDWARDS: Yes, you have just raised $1.5 million for your presidential campaign.
MANN: And Elvis Costello is singing happy birthday -- mournfully.
MCEDWARDS: Yes, it's a bit morose. Hillary Clinton has the happiest, coolest 60th birthday ever, on Earth.
MANN: Truth be told, it wasn't even really her birthday.
MCEDWARDS: We will explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MCEDWARDS: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY.
In the 2000 presidential campaign, everybody was talking about Republican candidate John McCain.
MANN: They're still talking about him, but this time around the talk is a little less complimentary.
MCEDWARDS: It certainly is. Bill Schneider talks about the Arizona senator's attempts to turn his campaign around by going back to the future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice over): John McCain 2008 is a very candidate than John McCain 2000. In 2000 McCain appealed to voters across party lines. Now he's angered Democrats and Independents because of his support for the war in Iraq. He's angered Republicans because of his support for immigration reform, and campaign finance reform. This summer, his campaign had a near-death experience when it almost ran out of money. He needs to bring back the McCain of 2000, starting with the image that first brought him national prominence, service and sacrifice.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In case you missed it, a few days ago, Senator Clinton tried to spend $1 million on the Woodstock Concert Museum. Now, my friends, I wasn't there. I'm sure it was a cultural and pharmaceutical event.
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: I was -- I was tied up at the time. But the fact is -- the fact is --
(APPLAUSE, LAUGHTER, CHEERING)
SCHNEIDER: The line worked so well his campaign has turned it into a commercial set to run in New Hampshire beginning Thursday night.
MCCAIN: Now, my friends, I wasn't there. I'm sure it was a cultural and pharmaceutical event. I was -- I was tied up at the time.
SCHNEIDER: On Friday, McCain is participating in an event in Iowa commemorating the 40th anniversary of the day he was shot down over Hanoi and captured. McCain is hoping to turn things around using what might be called the Aretha Franklin method.
MCCAIN: I don't think you can fool the American people. I think you -- the first thing you need is their respect. And I intend to earn their respect.
SCHNEIDER (on camera): It's quite a formula for winning over conservatives. Highlight your service, and at the same time attack Hillary Clinton and the '60s counterculture. Maybe that will win McCain some R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: He's got the music in his soul.
MANN: It's R&B, Bill. That's right.
(LAUGHTER)
MCEDWARDS: Well, it is Hillary Clinton's 60 birthday today, and last night stars and supporters turned out to celebrate the senator, and, of course, the Democratic presidential candidate. They got the music going, too.
SINGER: Happy birthday to you --
MANN: This is Elvis Costello, the British rocker, channeling Marilyn Monroe singing to JFK many years ago. You have to really -- Colleen figured it out. Because we couldn't make heads or tails of it. You can't really see him, but Billy Crystal was there as well -- and Bill.
MCEDWARDS: Yes, of course, Bill Clinton. Senator Clinton thanking supporters, and saying she was humbled at the prospect of becoming the nation's first female president.
That is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
MANN: I'm John Mann. Thanks for joining us.
MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards.
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