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Massive Attack in Pakistan; China's Tainted Milk; Tackling Truancy; Fed up with FEMA

Aired September 21, 2008 - 18:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No cars, Shell, Shell done for the day, no prices on their signs either.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: You can see that. It is running on empty. Drivers striking out at gas stations in the south. Also, Washington races to pass massive financial rescue plan. A plan, their immediate action is needed. Will it be taken before things get much worse?

And a quiet neighborhood shaken, a helicopter falls right from the sky and rips through a suburban home. Time now for the news.

Everyone has been doing a lot of talking about gas prices lately. I know I have and you have as well, as well as the presidential candidates. But what about when the pumps run dry and there is no gas to buy? That is what is happening this weekend across several states this weekend, mostly in the south. Gas stations completely out across parts of Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. Is it spreading? That is the question. It is not clear how widespread the problem is. But, we are getting a lot of firsthand reports from our local affiliates to our i-Reporters to our own employees right here at CNN. Now as the work week begins tomorrow and drivers hit the road in Georgia and Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina among others, it is clear that what started as a minor inconvenience is now a very serious problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been to three gas stations so far this morning and all three have zero gas. And it is getting frustrating to be honest with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Metro Atlanta drivers have some of the longest commutes here in America. Our i-Reporter Scott Trent drove by more than 30 gas stations this morning looking for gas in Atlanta's northern suburbs and he didn't have much luck at all. Scott Trent joins us now by telephone. Thank you, sir, for joining us. So you started to notice that you couldn't get gas at more stations and then you just took your camera out and started shooting?

SCOTT TRENT, I-REPORTER (on phone): Yes, sir. It started about a week ago. We were noticing the long lines at gas stations. And then I was riding around yesterday in my area and I noticed station after station after station out of gas. So I grabbed my camera this morning around lunch time and then just went driving around and I couldn't believe it. I saw maybe two gas stations in my area in South County and North Fulton that had gas and those gas stations had long lines. But most were out, and it's amazing.

LEMON: What were people saying? I know that the long lines you talked about. What were people saying in line? What was their reaction?

TRENT: Well I spoke with one - I believe was the owner of the gas station and he said he received a shipment yesterday morning and it was a limited shipment and it was gone in an hour. It was gone in an hour. It's like they're holding back on the shipments. They're not holding back on the shipments. I don't know what is going on but we need more oil supply in this country.

LEMON: It appears that people are getting really upset and really frustrated by all of this, Scott. Because as the guy said before from our report there, that he said he went to three gas stations. None of them had gas and people are getting frustrated. Did you witness that?

TRENT: Yes, sir. I saw people getting irritated in line, cutting in line in front of other people.

LEMON: All right, Scott Trent is one of our i-Reporters. Scott, we appreciate you doing this and we get many of our really good stories from our i-Reporters who are out there. We have been getting e-mails about all of this, this so-called gas shortage and so we wanted to get that on the air for you. So we want to know what is causing all of this? How long are we looking at? Is this going to spread to you around the country?

Well, Colonial Pipeline transports gas and other petroleum products from the Gulf Coast to a dozen different states. Steve Baker is their spokesman. He joins us now by telephone. So I have to ask you this, what is causing this?

STEVE BAKER, SPOKESMAN, COLONIAL PIPELINE (on phone): Actually, this is directly caused by the hurricane, Gustav and Ike. Remember that Gustav hit about September 1st and knocked out some of the refineries in Louisiana and THEN Ike followed a week, 10 days later and knocked out refineries in the Houston area. So the Colonial Pipeline, most of which is underground is ready to go but we are having trouble getting the supply that we need.

LEMON: OK, so also -- trouble getting the supply, Baytown which is Exxon's refinery in Texas hit very hard by the hurricane, by Ike. And before that, the refinery in Baton Rouge was hit by Gustav. It took them a long time to get back online. Is that affecting your supply?

BAKER: It is. Actually, what we have been doing since the hurricanes both hit is we have been tapping the reserves, the stock piles of the fuels that were made before the hurricanes hit and we have been delivering those. And that causes us to operate at a reduced rate, less than we are capable of. So that is part of the problems that we have faced and are trying to overcome.

LEMON: So we're hearing that it's mostly in the south, but also up the Eastern Seaboard as well. Do you know if this is regional or if it is danger of spreading across the country? Is the rest of the country at risk?

BAKER: I don't know. I know the Colonial Pipeline starts in the Houston, Pasadena area. It goes across the south through Atlanta, up the East Coast and terminates in Linden, New Jersey, the New York harbor. That is the market that we are aware of and I'm most knowledgeable about.

LEMON: Well, you said - I was reading some of your comments. You said that you are really concerned about this. And it doesn't look good. We don't want to overemphasize anything or sensationalize anything. But you yourself said that it doesn't look good and you're concerned about it.

LEMON: Well any time a driver pulls up to a gas station and can't get gas, it is a concern. I think that this is going to work itself out. The Department of Energy analysts that we talk to give it days, a week, maybe a little bit longer just to get the ripples out. But we are seeing more product available and we are able to maintain our rates even though they are not exactly what we'd like them to be. But I think this thing is beginning to work itself through.

LEMON: Well we certainly hope so. Steve Baker, who is a spokesperson for Colonial Pipeline. We appreciate you joining us here today in the CNN NEWSROOM and helping us get behind this story.

Are you having trouble filling up your tank? Is your local station, your gas station, out of gas? Make sure you send us an i-Report. Send us your pictures or your video. It is easy. Just log on to ireport.com and then follow the instructions there.

OK, so imagine this. A family of five in their suburb Wisconsin home on a quiet Sunday morning. Now look at this. Incredible damage caused by a helicopter hitting the back of their house and then exiting out of the front door. A local fire department says it is a miracle no one in this house was hurt. Two people aboard the chopper unfortunately they were killed. A neighbor describes what he heard and what he saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARRY STIELOW, CHOPPER CRASH WITNESS: I was sound asleep and I heard the engine, heard it was in trouble. We have a couple of hospitals right here so we are used to flight for life helicopters coming in low which have woken us up before. So that was no surprise. But this time the engine didn't sound right and then seconds later, there was just a pretty loud bang.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Amazing story there. OK, we're going to get a live report for you from the scene in just a little bit. We'll have that coming up for you tonight in this broadcast.

Meantime in Columbia, South Carolina, a new prognosis for two rock musicians burned in the fiery crash of that Learjet late Friday. CNN's Nicole Lapin explains how they escaped seemingly certain death while four others perished.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICOLE LAPIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Side by side at a huge outdoor concert on Friday night in Columbia, South Carolina, DJ AM on the right, former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker on the left. Hours later, the Learjet that was supposed to take them back to Los Angeles crashed through an embankment shortly after take off, exploding into flames. DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein and Barker survived by jumping out of the fiery plane, according to Web site TMZ.com.

DR. FRED MULLINS, JOSEPH STILL BURN CENTER: Since both Barker and Goldstein are in good overall health and didn't suffer any major injuries during the accident as far as crush injuries, we anticipate a full recovery.

LAPIN: Goldstein, who was once engaged to TV reality star Nicole Richie, is recovering from burns to his arm and head. Barker, who is also known for his role in the reality show "Meet the Barkers" suffered burns to his torso and lower body.

DEBBIE HERSMAN, NTSB: There was a serious post crash fire so we are not certain whether or not there is usable information on the cockpit voice recorder.

LAPIN: The four other people died at the crash site including two pilots from California, 31-year-old Sarah Lemmon and 52-year-old James Bland along with Travis' assistant, 29-year-old Chris Baker and 25- year-old bodyguard Charles Still. But his mom wants people to remember her son's softer side.

CHARLES STILL, DECEASED BODYGUARD: Good night mom. Good night dad. I love you.

LAPIN: This is a teddy bear with a voice message he recorded for her.

THELMA STILL, CRASH VICTIM'S MOTHER: I just had hope that if anybody survived it would have been my baby.

LAPIN: Tributes for the well wishers for the families of those who didn't survive and the fans of the two musicians popped up online almost immediately. Nicole Lapin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, we want to update you now on a story we first broke last night here on CNN. Six children from a religious compound in Arkansas are now in temporary custody of state child welfare officials. Last night, state and federal authorities raided the property of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. They are investigating allegations of child porn. Even as the raid was under way, we spoke with Tony Alamo by phone from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY ALAMO, TONY ALAMO CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES (on phone): What they did is they railroaded me on that one charge, the IRS. They have charged me with 100 different things including trying to kidnap a federal judge, Boris Arnold. And I won that case. The whole jury knew I was not guilty. But they let a lot of people out of prison to testify falsely against me so that they could railroad me into prison on the IRS charge. I just figured well, the lord said these things would happen to us. And they are. They have been going on ever since I was born again of the spirit 44 years ago.

LEMON: OK, I've got to ask you, Mr. Alamo, have you spoken to investigators at all?

ALAMO: I talked to people. They didn't even ask to talk to me.

LEMON: You have not been interviewed by investigators?

ALAMO: No. They have been interviewing a lot of the little girls over there and their mothers and everything and they are coming up with nothing. N-o-t-h-i-n-g. And they never will come up with anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, you just heard Alamo referring to a case involving a federal judge. This video that you are looking at is from 1991. It shows him being taken into custody in Tampa, Florida on those charges he was talking about. We'll have more on the controversial evangelist and his long history of legal troubles. That's tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. It is a complicated and interesting story. You don't want to miss it.

Meantime, Congress now working overtime to come up with a multibillion financial bail out. But now some Democrats are asking for more. Also the deadly truck bomb attack on a Marriott hotel in Pakistan caught on tape. You won't believe how many bombs were in that truck.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: They are using frightening language about what is at stake but they're trying to calm the markets as well. Everyone from the Treasury secretary to key members of Congress agrees the planned $700 billion rescue is a must do this week and sooner rather than later. What's left to decide though are some tricky details. CNN's Kate Bolduan is on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With an eye toward Monday's open of the financial markets, Sunday Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pressed for immediate action on the administration's historic bailout plan. HENRY PAULSON, TREASURY SECRETARY: What I'm saying is we need this to be clean and quick and we need to get it in place. The biggest help we can give the American people is to stabilize our financial system right now.

BOLDUAN: Sensing the urgency of the financial crisis, congressional leaders pledge bipartisan agreement.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), MINORITY LEADER: This could be the most serious financial crisis the world has ever dealt with. And this is not time for people to be playing games.

BOLDUAN: Democrats don't dispute that but say taxpayers should have some protection because they're taking on the hefty burden of a potential $700 billion price tag.

SEN. CHRIS DODD (D), CONNECTIOUT: We make a huge mistake if we just basically write a check for $700 billion and turn it over before demanding accountability, addressing homeownership and raising major concerns about taxpayer exposure.

BOLDUAN: Other possible additions, limiting executive compensation or a second stimulus package. But Secretary Paulson said the priority must remain emergency help the financial markets to avert further crisis.

PAULSON: What we're doing right now is first stabilizing the market. That is only part of it. Once we stabilize the market, we need to ask ourselves how did we get here and what do we do about it so we don't get here again?

BOLDUAN: Treasury and congressional staffers and lawmakers have been in talks this weekend. The big question, no matter what final form this plan takes, will it work? Now Secretary Paulson says it must and lawmakers aim for final passage by the end of the week. Kate Bolduan, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well the nation's financial crisis remains a hot topic for the presidential candidates. Barack Obama today sounded a populist note outlining what he would like to see in the rescue package Congress is considering.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: First, there must be no blank check when American taxpayers are on the hook for this much money. Second, taxpayers shouldn't be spending a dime to reward CEOs on Wall Street while they are going out the door. Third, taxpayers should be protected and should be able to recoup some of this investment. Fourth, this plan has to help home owners stay in their homes.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Barack Obama's rival John McCain has called for some changes that are actually similar to what Obama is saying. But at an appearance on Friday, McCain said Obama remains short on details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've all watched the crisis on Wall Street this week and I'd like to just say a few words about that for just a moment. Last Friday, I proposed a plan for comprehensive reform for the broken institutions that allowed this crisis to become a grave threat to our economy. At the center of the plan is the principle we must keep people in their homes, safeguard the life savings of all Americans by protecting our financial system and capital markets. Senator Obama has declined to put forth a plan of his own. At a time of crisis when leadership is needed, Senator Obama has simply not provided it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: One more note for you on the race for the White House. It is going to be a very interesting week because this is debate week. The first showdown between John McCain and Barack Obama is this coming Friday. It's at 9 Eastern, 9 p.m. Eastern. Make sure you join the best political team on television for your front row seat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIED MALE: The tough economic reality for one stay at home mom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything has gone up from like milk to diapers to gas our electric bill. I needed to go back to work and I didn't necessarily want to but it's almost like we didn't have a choice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And she's not alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We want to show you some incredible video. Take a look at this. It is just amazing damage caused by a helicopter hitting the back of a house. That's right. I said a helicopter. It exited right out the front door. It happened this morning in Kenosha, Wisconsin. And Jay Olstad of Milwaukee affiliate WTMJ joins us now live for an update. I don't know if I have ever seen a helicopter hit a house.

JAY OLSTAD, CORRESPONDENT: Yes Don, pretty hair raising and miraculous when you hear the story. I'm going to step out of the way. You've got an idea of what we're talking about. The NSTB is on scene right now trying to really piece this together. What we can tell you though, two people killed, both of which were on this chopper, a pilot and a passenger. And believe it or not though, it could have been much worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very loud. So it was something coming out of the sky or something. I didn't know if it was a missile or what.

OLSTAD (voice-over): It was 5:30 this morning when neighbors heard it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounded like it was just literally right over the tops of our houses.

OLSTAD: Over her house, but right through Noel Wilson's.

NOEL WILSON, HELICOPTER CRASHED INTO HOME: I didn't know what hit us.

OLSTAD: Wilson, his wife Carla (ph) and their three children, ages two to nine, were sleeping upstairs. The parents on one side of the house, the kids on the other. That is when this helicopter crashed right down the middle of their house and outside the front door.

WILSON: We heard what sounded like thunder. A big boom. It was obvious to me something hit us. I thought it was lightning.

OLSTAD: Neighbors immediately rushed over and Carla (ph) and Noel handed down their children.

WILSON: Don't turn any lights on. Let's just get everyone together and get out of here as fast as possible.

OLSTAD: Noel's first thought was for his family, his kids. And only when he got out of his house did he realize what was going on.

WILSON: We were definitely being watched out for today. There's no question about that in my mind.

OLSTAD: And as he tells his story, he can't help but wonder why his life was spared but two others were not.

WILSON: How we walked out with not even a scratch, I don't quite grasp it myself at the moment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OLSTAD: Now the real question tonight is why this chopper was up in the first place. It was dark out, plus it was foggy. Just some of several questions these investigators are trying to piece together at this hour. We're live in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I'm Jay Olstad, now back to you.

LEMON: Jay, we appreciate your reporting. Thank you very much.

I want to bring Jacqui Jeras is now. Jacqui, I remember I said to him I don't know if I have ever seen a helicopter hit a house. But I remember in New York a couple of years back, one hit an apartment building, a news helicopter, as a matter of fact. But you are working on some trouble in the tropics.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Parents in Georgia go to jail because of something their kids don't do. We'll tell you about that.

Also, the deadly truck bomb attack on a Marriott hotel in Pakistan caught on tape. You won't believe how many bombs were in that truck.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Don Lemon.

Here are some of the stories we are following for you today here on CNN.

An incredible scene in Wisconsin, look at that. It's a helicopter crashed through the roof of this house this morning killing the two people onboard the helicopter. But a family of five inside survived unharmed.

In Arkansas, six children are in state custody as part of an abuse and child pornography investigation of Evangelist Tony Alamo. The controversial minister's compound was raided last night.

And congressional leaders they hope to pass the $700 billion financial bailout by the end of this week; maybe some news at the beginning of the week as well. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says congressional action needs to be "clean and quick."

Turning now to news overseas; all kinds of major new developments to tell you about.

To Pakistan first. We're getting our first glimpses of a massive suicide truck bombing at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. You are seeing the weapon there; you're seeing the beginning of the attack. The weapon of course was the truck.

It's bigger and deadlier than we have ever thought since this happened. At least 50 people now confirmed dead; more than 260 wounded.

Here is CNN Reza Sayah with much more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The men walking up to this burning truck don't know it but the vehicle is packed with 600 kilo grams, 1,500 pounds of explosives. Minutes later the truck explodes killing scores and destroying the Islamabad Marriott in what government officials call the worst blast in Pakistan history.

This video is the first look at the powerful truck bomb that rocked Islamabad. Hotel surveillance cameras captured the dramatic pictures moments before the explosion. The video shows a large white truck crashing into the hotel's steel gate. It is unable to get through.

Then a small fire starts in the engine block and quickly spreads. Security personnel run back and forth. One guard tries to put out the fire but gives up. Moments later the video stops. That's when investigators say the blast knocked the camera out. The morning after countless cameras captured the aftermath; the impact of the explosion leaving behind a crater more than two stories deep and nearly 60 feet or 18 meters across. The asphalt covered street is now a massive hole in the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to the statistical data available with us for the last seven years when this thing started, this is the biggest attack, volume wise. The quantity of explosives which have been used it is bigger than the others.

SAYAH: Around the Marriott no matter what direction you look you saw some jaw dropping scenes. Here is one of them. Let's see if we can zoom in there. Those cars lined up there, they are not supposed to be sitting up on a curb. Before the blast they were sitting on the street next to the curb but the force of the blast so strong it lifted these cars up, dropped them back up on the curb.

All five floors of the Marriott were burned and destroyed.

RODOLPHO CAMACHO, HOTEL GUEST: You hear your ears and your head kind of getting a pounding.

SAYAH: Rodolpho Camacho in room 547 saw all his belongings go up in smoke. But the Colombian-born U.S. citizen was just glad he got out alive.

CAMACHO: You think you are prepared for these things and you are not really. We were lucky to find somebody that got us an exit road.

SAYAH: Dozens of others were not so lucky. Among them the Czech Ambassador to Pakistan and two active military duty U.S. citizens assigned to the U.S. embassy in Islamabad.

GHULAM PANJWANI, FOCUS HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE: Something like this has not happened in Islamabad history.

SAYAH: Ghulam Panjwani brought his search and rescue team to look for survivors on Sunday. All his crews found were more bodies.

PANJWANI: We came here to save lives. Unfortunately, we were not able to do that, but that's a regret that you always have and we'll live with that.

SAYAH: What Pakistanis will also have to live with are militants carrying out more aggressive and sophisticated attacks, willing to strike anywhere, any time.

Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Also tonight, two major power shakeups in two nations.

A new coalition government is in the works at Israel after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert formally handed in his resignation. Olmert has been plagued by allegations of corruption. Former minister Tzipi Livni is now trying to put together a new government meeting with potential coalition partners.

It is not set in stone that Livni will take over but she is the leading candidate after winning a party primary election last week.

And in South Africa, long time President Thabo Mbeki says he plans to quit. But he's not saying when he'll actually leave office. The African National Congress Party had asked Mbeki to leave before his term was up after allegations he interfered in a corruption case against political rival Jacob Zuma.

Zuma is now expected to run for the presidency. Mbeki has been in office nearly a decade after replacing Nelson Mandela.

China's tainted milk outbreak is more widespread than initially reported. The Health Ministry now reports nearly 13,000 infants and children have been sickened by milk powder suspected of being contaminated with a toxic chemical. That's more than twice the number of children than previously reported.

One suspected case has surfaced in Hong Kong, the first outside of the Mainland China. At least four deaths have been reported there.

A tough message from a Georgia school system, if your kids don't go to school you better be prepared to go to jail. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Ok. So, you know, it is back to school season. Most kids are in school by now; most of them, I should say.

But Parents, you need to listen up. You could go to jail for something your children do or don't do is probably a better way of putting it. It is happening in one Georgia county and you can better believe they're paying attention nationwide.

If your child misses school in Dekalb County, Georgia, officers come looking for you. Under Georgia law, a student is considered truant after five unexcused absences. Parents are sent a warning and if those warnings are ignored they're arrested.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT JAMES, SOLICITOR GENERAL, DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA: In Dekalb County take your children to school or you may find yourself in jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Robert James is the solicitor general for Dekalb, Georgia school office where the truancy crackdowns took place.

Thanks for joining us. Let's see, you have ten parents arrested, 49 others outstanding warrants. The question is, sir, why go to this extreme?

JAMES: Well, it is a serious problem. Last year, 2007-2008 School Year in Dekalb County there were 10,000 or more children who had 15 or more unexcused absences. We know from national statistics that particularly in Georgia that 88 percent of Georgia's inmates are high school dropouts; 84 percent people in our county jail are high school dropouts.

LEMON: Would you consider this a crisis? Is that why you went to this extreme?

JAMES: I don't know that it is crisis level yet. But we don't want it to get there. I would consider it to be a serious problem in our county as in most counties.

LEMON: I was a student. I don't have kids but I have nieces and nephews or nieces. Kids can be unruly. You think they are going to school. They are not going; they can do all sorts of things. Why should a parent go to jail if, you know, for something they may not know their kids are going?

JAMES: We have several chances built in. We have a counseling mechanism built in and when it is a child's fault there is juvenile court option. However, when parents refuse to show up and they refuse to take a summons serious, we have to show them that we mean serious business.

LEMON: Ok, so this has only been what, about a week? You started last week?

JAMES: We started last week, that's correct.

LEMON: And ten parents arrested already; 49 others with warrants. And then there is a makeup. You can come in and talk and try to state your case. Can you gauge now if it is working or not? If you had results?

JAMES: Anecdotally people have called and people have said that they think that it is working. But we really won't know for a couple of months now, perhaps even a year.

LEMON: Robert James, solicitor general for Dekalb County. And they are paying attention across the country.

Thank you very much for joining us.

JAMES: Thank you for having me.

LEMON: We want to also tell you that when student do attend school what is the best way to help them learn? Some believe the solution is teaching them according to their sex.

Kathleen Koch reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A seventh grade language arts class at Woodbridge Middle School and a seventh grade math class. The boys and girls are being taught not just separately but differently. The boys don't have to sit in desks. Reviews become relay races. MEAGAN KENNEDY, LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER: They had a blast and they wanted to be the one that had to run down with the answer.

What it does is makes them pay attention more and they have to be involved in the actual learning.

JOEY SANTIAGO, 7TH GRADE STUDENT: It is easier to learn because we all mostly like the same stuff so when teachers will teach us and throw balls we'd catch it and usually get a little energized.

KOCH: Girls work more in groups in less stressful non-competitive settings.

The new approach to single sex classes springs from Leonard Sax's controversial book "Why Gender Matters." It maintains boys and girls brains are different so most will benefit by being taught apart.

Boys in particular says Sax suffer in traditional classroom settings.

LEONARD SAX, AUTHOR, "WHY GENDER MATTERS": What happens is these boys in particular tune out. They are not paying attention. They need schools who understand that what is best for a 6-year-old girl is not what is best for a 6-year-old boy.

KOCH: There is no definitive research on the merits of single gender education. The Department of Education says it can provide some benefits to some students under certain circumstances.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Girls on the other hand have more success in a calmer atmosphere.

KOCH: The ACLU is suing the Education Department to stop such programs.

EMILY MARTIN, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: I think that that is a real concern that we spend a long time in this country fighting against the notion that schools should treat boys and girls differently.

KOCH: Still even parents with some misgivings believe that classes are becoming the wave of the future.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So much focus was on it, I just kind of felt like I didn't want my daughter to be left out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I liked it more because I could concentrate and not be annoyed by boys.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Woodbridge, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: In the dark in Houston, thousands still are. And if you can't log on, you can't help. We'll explain that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Hurricane Ike is long gone but it left around a million reminders of its impact. That is how many homes and businesses were without power in Texas this weekend. Part of the problem - massive amounts of debris. There is so much of it, it is hindering efforts to quickly restore power and getting it cleared up is a top concern for Governor Rick Perry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY, TEXAS: My concern is going to be debris removal. Because I said if I don't get the debris removed I can't get our electrical power back in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And then there is FEMA. Not everyone is happy with how they managed this latest weather emergency.

Here is CNN's, Susan Roesgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN: Walk into Erica Chambers' Houston apartment you'll notice two things, no lights and an awful smell from wet and moldy walls. Erica and her two daughters can't stay here so this is where they wound up. Erica is one of thousands here with no way to apply for FEMA-paid housing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you already done your initial application?

ROESGEN: People who've lost everything don't have the money to pay for a motel room up front and to apply for FEMA's help they have to have access to computer to apply online or a working phone to call FEMA. These people didn't have either.

REP. NICK LAMPSON (D) TEXAS: It needs to be lean and mean and it needs to be able to go out get its work done and get its work done quickly.

ROESGEN: Texas Congressman Nick Lampson is so fed up with FEMA he got permission from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring 200 computers and 200 phones owned by the House of Representatives to Houston. So far more than 5,000 people have used them to apply for FEMA help.

LAMPSON: The apartment is uninhabitable and she cannot get a claim number. We can do better and we must.

ROESGEN: In response FEMA tells CNN that the agency has had 300 employees helping people in shelters sign up for assistance. And while the agency appreciates the congressman's help, FEMA's first priority was the life saving supply of food, water and medical aid.

Erica Chambers agrees that those things were essential right away, but without some place to live she is afraid many people's misery will last much longer. ERICA CHAMBERS: I think if it was Katrina when we didn't have a good understanding. We didn't know how to handle these disasters, these mass problems. But Katrina should have been a lesson learned.

ROESGEN: Now she feels at least the wheels are in motion.

Right now these people are just grateful to have a way to reach the outside world, a way to ask somebody for help.

Susan Roesgen, CNN, Houston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: So they are still cleaning up there.

But folks in Haiti and all along the Tropics, they have just been hammered and hammered and hammered. And now something else is brewing.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Believe it or not, if we had nothing developed for the whole entire rest of the season, which goes through November 30th, by the way, so we've still got a long way to go. We've had ten named storms so far which is just one shy of average. So we're near average so far. We're expecting above normal.

Unfortunately, we could still see additional activity going on. So if you look at the map over here, over my shoulder, you see a little something, something over there. Unfortunately, just south of Puerto Rico and we could see some development here.

The hurricane hunters actually flew into it today, Don, to see if we have a tropical depression. It's not forming a complete close center, so it's not completely circulating, so it's not technically a TD just yet, but we think that's probably going to happen in the next few days.

LEMON: Ok, you know what? You're getting a lot of information from Jacqui, because she's a stay-at-home mom so she's sort of our soccer mom who we go to.

JERAS: I work, I'm here.

LEMON: We're doing the stay-at-home mom thing but you're not. But you're home sometimes.

JERAS: I am.

LEMON: You're mostly an at-work mom, especially during big storms and what have you. But it's really been tough. I want to talk to you about that a little bit later. Right after this story.

It's been some tough economic times and some stay-at-home moms are going back to work, or at least trying to, Jacqui.

Take a look at this from CNN's Kate Bolduan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Working at Maryland hospital is how Anne Calladonato spends most of her days.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, doctor. Hi. Good.

BOLDUAN: But here at home is where she used to work and where she'd like to be now.

ANNE CALLADONATO, WORKING MOM: Everything's gone up, from like milk to diapers to gas, our electric bill. So I needed to go back to work and I didn't necessarily want to. But it was almost like we didn't have a choice.

MR. CALLADONATO: We laid out the bills and said, our options aren't many here.

BOLDUAN: This stay at home mom of two turned working mom after three years away. Calladonato says she had to because the household income dropped by more than $60,000 virtually overnight.

A. CALLADONATO: My husband's job was alleviated two weeks before my second child was born. It was great that he found a position quickly, but it was a significantly lower salary.

BOLDUAN: The Calladonato's aren't alone. The latest Labor Department numbers show that unemployment rates spiked to just over 6 percent in August, an increase for the eighth straight month.

SILVIA ANN HEWLITT, CENTER FOR WORK-LIFE POLICY: What you're looking at these days is all kinds of working mothers who are perhaps going from part-time work to full-time work, or perhaps taking on a kind of moonlighting job at night or at the weekend. And that is extremely hard on families.

BOLDUAN: Experts say stay-at-home moms trying to reenter the workforce face an extra challenge. The longer they've been out, the less they make when they jump back in.

HEWLITT: The reality is that it's often hard to get back in. For instance, if you're a college grad, you actually lose about 37 percent of your earning power if you take three years out.

BOLDUAN: That's the case for the Calladonatos. Anne is making less now than she used to, but she's keeping it in perspective.

A. CALLADONATO: I mean, life changes, you know, you just have to accept it and you have to try to make the best of it.

BOLDUAN: Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: So as Jacqui and I are watching, you can definitely relate, because the women in your immediate peer group who were stay-at-home moms are some of them who were at work and have lost their jobs that you've been talking to.

JERAS: Yes, I know. Two people that have lost their jobs. I know one gal who's a flight attendant and she took the voluntary furlough because she thought she was going to get laid off. So at least she had the benefit and so she's staying at home watching her kids instead of working. So at least she has the benefits.

I think more than anything what I've noticed is that people are altering their lifestyles a little bit and doing things like stay- cations instead of going to the beach and things like that.

LEMON: And thinking about what activities they will actually enroll their children in because all of that stuff for soccer and whatever you have --

JERAS: It costs a lot of money.

LEMON: A lot of money.

JERAS: And a lot of gas, too.

LEMON: And you said you're going to find out at Funco. What is -- and I have no idea what Funco is.

JERAS: We've got Funco on Thursdays. You guys know what I'm talking about.

LEMON: Oh my gosh. It's like Yahtzee or something.

JERAS: We'll find out what they're saying.

LEMON: All right, thank you. We're going to be paying close attention, I should say, to the Emmys. I love that show, "Mad Men."

JERAS: Oh, yes.

LEMON: I hope it wins. Reality check; reality stars taking over the show. We'll get a real live report coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We want to show you some of this weekend's best videos. Take a look at number one; it's the annual march of the penguins. The arctic birds have begun arriving on the coasts of southern Argentina. They breed there for the next several months.

All right, on to the next one. If you don't like snakes, look away from your television. This is a ten-foot boa contributor found loose in Vero beach, Florida. They're concerned it could eat animals or small children. Probably got too big for the owner to feed.

This boat crash that we showed you yesterday was one of the most amazing that we have ever seen; 180 miles an hour and fortunately the driver of this, only minor injuries.

We want to get you now to Hollywood. It is a big night for the small screen and our Kareen Wynter is on the red carpet in Los Angeles. That carpet you're standing on will soon be overrun with celebs, and you're one yourself. Who have you seen? Anyone so far?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can't even begin to tell you. Vanessa Williams is to my right. I just spoke with Tony Shalhoub.

Don, it's just electric here. We're going to be getting a dose of reality tonight. That's because some of your favorite reality TV show hosts aren't just going to be hosting this event, but they are also up for a big nomination. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN SEACREST, HOST, "AMERICAN IDOL": This is "American Idol."

WYNTER: This year the Emmys are getting a reality check.

MICHAEL SCHNEIDER, TV EDITOR, VARIETY: The Emmys are sort of catching up to what the rest of American has been watching for a really long time.

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, ACTOR: This is a new category for this year's Emmys; outstanding host for a reality or reality competition program.

WYNTER: Along with the new reality-based category, the Television Academy has tapped the five nominated hosts: "American Idol's" Ryan Seacrest; "Dancing with the Stars'" Tom Bergeron; "Survivor's" Jeff Probst; "Project Runway's" Heidi Klum; and "Deal or No Deal's" Howie Mandel to share the Emmy stage as co-hosts of the ABC broadcast.

Are you nervous?

HOWIE MANDEL, HOST, "DEAL OR NO DEAL": Am I nervous? No. No, Because there's five of us.

WYNTER: Mandel, who picked up the first individual Emmy nomination of his career says that reality shows and competitions are breaking new ground within the television community.

MANDEL: I think it's very big with the viewers. You know, reality TV. I feel like the rapper of television. You know, when rap music came to the Grammys. You know, or to the music scene, you heard all the rap artists go, finally, we're getting recognized. This is like the rap of television broadcasting.

WYNTER: Last year's Emmy broadcast brought in a disappointing 13.1 million viewers. But Variety's Michael Schneider says that attracting a larger audience to this year's show may not be simple reality.

SCHNEIDER: It's tough. I mean, this is a year where the most nominated shows on the Emmys are shows that people barely watch. People don't watch "Mad Men", people don't really watch "30 Rock." It's going to be tough once again to get people to watch the Emmys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WYNTER: Don, quickly, I got a chance to speak with Jeff Probst, the host of "Survivor." And he told me, "Kareen, it's like we still haven't even decided on material." All the co-hosts are battling out on what to stay and how to address the crowd. So we're going to be rocking and rolling with it and hopefully it will turn out great. So even better, right.

LEMON: Even better.

I just saw Steve Carrell behind you.

WYNTER: I know.

LEMON: And I've got my fingers crossed for "Mad Men" and also for "The Closer."

Thank you Kareen Wynter. Have a good time.

WYNTER: Bye, Don.

LEMON: All right. We go now to "Lou Dobbs Tonight." Make sure you join us at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.