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Plane Crash Kills Poland's President; Replacing Supreme Court Justice; Southern Republican Leaders Conference

Aired April 10, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

RICHARD LUI, CNN ANCHOR: We continue to push that story forward. It is noon in the East, 9:00 a.m. in the West, and here the headlines in the CNN NEWSROOM for Saturday, April the 10. World leaders send condolences to Poland, a nation that is now in mourning. The president and first lady and other senior government figures are killed in a plane crash in western Russia.

And chaos in the heart of Bangkok. Thai police open fire on red- shirted anti-government protestors. Several people reportedly have already been killed, including a journalist. Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This journey has ended. And now the healing will start.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LUI: Four West Virginia families get the worst possible news from the governor. Searchers found the bodies of those missing miners it appears all perished in Monday's methane gas blast. We're covering all these stories, this hour.

But first to the tragedy in Russia. The plane carrying Poland's president and first lady crashed in western Russia carrying the Poland president crashed in heavy fog early this morning, about eight hours ago. It happened in western Russian, 97 people were onboard the plane, Poland's version of Air Force One.

Now, no one survived. President Lech Kaczynski was leading a delegation to Russia of the seventh anniversary of the massacre of Poland's prisoner of war. Now, Poland's parliament speaker is now acting president of a nation in mourning. Leaders from around the world leaders are offering their sympathies and their support, as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES DMITRY MEDVEDEV, RUSSIA (through translator): On behalf of the Russian people, I extend the deepest and sincerest of condolences to the people of Poland and to the loved ones and relatives of those deceased. On Monday, April 12, Russia will have a national mourning day.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LUI: President Barack Obama called the deaths, "Devastating to Poland, to the United States and to the world," and he said that President Kaczynski was a "distinguished statesman who played a key role in the solidarity movement, and he was widely admired in the United States as a leader dedicated to advancing freedom and human dignity."

OK, we are learning more about the plane that was involved in this crash and what was taking place as the pilots were attempting to land the plane with Poland's president inside.

CNN's Richard Quest is in London, has been following this story for us, and the question is how this happened, what happened? What are you hearing -- Richard.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is an extraordinary series of events that appear to have taken place, and we're only now getting a glimpse as to what did actually take place, and there's still a lot of speculation, Richard.

Let's just look first of all at the aircraft that we're talking about. It is a Tupolev Tu-154, a Soviet aircraft, thousands of them were built, about 205 of them are still flying, and this one was one of the versions that was sold to the polish air force to be used by the polish president. They had talked about replacing this plane, but, of course, with a (INAUDIBLE), but that has not happened because of financial problems.

The plane was about 20 years old, had just undergone a major refit of avionics, of engines, all sorts of things, back in December. Now, that's the aircraft that we know that they were flying on today. However, what we also know is that as the plane was coming into land at Smolensk Airport in the western part of Russia, the plane was below the glide path, and according to air traffic control, was coming in too fast, had a very fast vertical decent. The pilot was warned about that and was advised to either abort the landing and then to divert to another airport.

What we do not know and has not been confirmed is why the pilot did not accept that advice. Now, pilots, as you may know, Richard, they are absolutely in control of their command of their aircraft. They can take the advice of air traffic controllers or they cannot. But we do not know whether there was any response from the cockpit, and if there was, what that was or why he continued this clearly lethal approach in this very bad weather.

LUI: So, Richard, this Tupolov 154, does it have the avionics so it can land automatically, or as you're saying, would it be completely underneath the control of the pilot and that's the only option here?

QUEST: (INAUDIBLE) we just don't know at this point. We don't know for a variety of reasons. Firstly, we don't know what might have been retrofitted onto this particular aircraft. It's a fair bet that what we do know that Smolensk Airport in Russia does not have a (INAUDIBLE) instrument landing system, so the landing system that would have enabled a full auto landing even if that would have been available on the aircraft, we believe, can't confirm this, but what I'm told is that particular airport does not have that capacity. And as you can understand, getting details about this airport, they're actually -- here's another thing for you that's swirling out there.

There are actually two airports in Smolensk, one in the north of the city and one in the south of the city. And the action was, of course, was at the main air port, where the military base, but also, both of those airports have exactly the same orientation of runways with one being just about a kilometer further in than the other. So there are all sorts of rumors going about on this particular thing.

LUI: About perhaps confusion is one of them, I guess, is what you're saying.

QUEST: Well, I'm just -- no, forgive me. I'm literally just lobbing that one into the ether for you because that's what people are talking about. Because something -- presidential flights are unique in that they are extremely well coordinated. I don't care whether it's Air Force One, the plane carrying the pope, the queen of England or the polish president. People are watching where that plane is and how it is performing. That flight does not happen by accident. And so questions will certainly want to be asked. Why didn't the pilots respond if they knew they were in the wrong place? What did they do? That, of course, will all be up to the investigation. At the moment, the only thing the Russians are telling us is that warnings were given, the plane was too low, and tragedy followed.

LUI: And we want to remind people that are watching this story, right at this moment, as you're describing as some of the considerations here, Richard, it is only nine hours since this plane went down, and more information is certainly coming in to us and we'll be tapping in to Richard Quest.

QUEST: And the Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin, the former president of the country, he has actually been appointed by President Medvedev of Russia to lead the commission of inquiry into this. Prime Minister Putin is on his way to the region now and, of course, will be leading that investigation. Events concerning presidential flights are few and far between these days. When they happen, they're looked at very carefully.

LUI: That's it with a fine-tooth comb. Richard Quest of London on top of that story for us again, going over some of the considerations, key considerations, of course, as we try to confirm some of the details that are coming in. Richard Quest, thank you. We'll be stopping in with you a little bit later. And of course, stay with us here on CNN, we will continue to follow this story to dig into the understanding of how this may have happened and what will be happening going forward to get the pieces of information to come up with the reasoning.

Blood on the streets of Bangkok. Thai police opened fire on anti-government protestors, reports indicating several people have been killed, including a journalist for the Reuters News Agency. The protestors who are known as the Red Shirts have been on the streets for weeks and they're demanding that the prime minister dissolve the parliament and call new elections. Now, these Red Shirts support a former prime minister who is removed in a 2006 coup.

Replacing Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court could spark a nasty political battle. Republicans are promising what one senator calls a "whale of a fight" here if President Obama picks someone the GOP considers too liberal. Now, Stevens announced yesterday that he is retiring when the high court wraps up its work for the summer. With me right now, our legal expert, we've got Avery Friedman. He is a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland, Ohio.

Hey Avery.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTY: Hey Richard.

LUI: And Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor, as well.

Richard, good morning to you or afternoon.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTY: Hey, Richard, how are you?

LUI: Let's start out with Justice Stevens and what may be happening going forward as we go though the confirmation process, the nomination process. And one of the questions that has been lobbed out there so far is will the nominee from president Obama follow the model of Justice Sotomayor? Avery, go for it.

FRIEDMAN: All right, actually I've got real strong feelings about this one, Richard. Actually, for the model of Sotomayor, it was a model that President Obama created. There was no such model before, and I think this is a president who understands legacy and that really is what's going to happen. To be honest with you, Richard, I don't even think it's a close call. When you look at all the three front- runners, one is almost 60, one is late 50s, there is one in her 40s, and I think Elena Kagan clearly has to be the front-runner if the president is looking for legacy, she's the pick.

LUI: Richard, are we going to see a federal appeals court judge, a former court judge in this nomination process, most likely?

HERMAN: Yes, there will be in the process; however, I agree with Avery, the front-runner at this point in time is the current solicitor general who President Obama solicited to be his solicitor general. She's a brilliant legal jurist, I think she's the front-runner for it, but there's no question about it, Richard, President Obama is going to use his powers as president to put in or try to put in a liberal- minded justice just as President Bush took the opportunity to put in conservatives like Justice Alito and Chief Justice Roberts. It's the president's, the sitting president's prerogative. President Bush has every right to do it, and while the Republicans will claim it's the end of the world, it's not the end of the world. This will keep the balance on the bench, and that's how it's going to proceed. It will be a long, hot summer, though.

LUI: Not much change in terms of the balance, right now. Long, hot summer, you're right. It will be quite a discussion on the battle, perhaps.

Avery, you brought up this in a discussion we were having before, street cred. What does that have to do with the president might be going through right now in his decision making process?

FRIEDMAN: Well, street cred is sort of that reality check. Sotomayor had it because she's the only, a lot of people don't know this, the only sitting justice that was a federal trial judge. In other words, out in the street, knowing the way people think. The great thing about Kagan that she is something the Supreme Court needs, a consensus builder. When she was a dean at the Harvard Law School, Richard, she dealt with a fractious faculty right wing, left wing, and she was able to get things done and everyone knows that. Obviously, the two other candidates or front-runners are brilliant, but on the issue of street creds, no one can touch Kagan, she is absolutely untouchable.

LUI: Richard, is that important?

HERMAN: Well, it's important, Richard, but it's also important she step into the shoes of Justice Stevens, that's more important at this point in time, and her views on pro-choice and pro-gays rights are absolutely going to be at the forefront of the nomination process.

LUI: All right, Richard, Avery, we've got to run right now, but we're going to be stopping back with you in about 15 minutes. We've got a lot of cases and stories to touch on this hour here on CNN. So guys, I'll talk to you in a little bit.

FRIEDMAN: See you shortly.

LUI: If you're a coal miner, you might be doing a lot of soul- searching after this week's disaster in West Virginia. Should you stick with your job or find something different? We'll find what some miners are saying about that now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: Like Phoenix rising from the ashes, the grand old party may be witnessing a resurgence, at least that's what party faithful are saying at this year's Southern Republican Leaders Conference now underway in New Orleans, our guy right there, CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser is watching that.

And Paul, we cannot help but talk about the embattled Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele. He is speaking today, a lot of people looking to see what he might be doing, because the question is, is his job safe and can he give a speech that will turn that criticism around?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIR: Yeah, a lot of attention today and the spotlight is definitely going to be on Michael Steele a couple of hours from now, right here. The event is going to get underway about 45 minutes, Richard. You're right, for the last couple of weeks, Michael Steele has really been in the firing line, he's under pressure, under criticism for how he's running the committee, for some questionable expenditures by the committee, including one at a risque nightclub in Los Angeles.

But, the only people who can fire Michael Steele from his current job as chairman are those 168 committee members. Our political producer, Peter Hambe (ph) doing the math here, looking very unlikely that that is going to happen, so I would assume his job is going to be safe, but again, a lot of attention on his speech today -- Richard.

LUI: All right, yeah, so his job appears to be safe. You know, an hour ago, you were standing in that room pretty much alone, the cameraman and your producer, perhaps. But now you've got a lot of people behind you. What's going to be happening for the rest of the day?

STEINHAUSER: Yeah, besides Michael Steele, the real big attention here at this conference is going to be these possible GOP White House hopefuls, some of the men and women who maybe want to run for the next presidential nomination for their party. We're going to see a bunch of them speaking here today. And remember, it was yesterday that Sarah Palin, the former Alaskan governor, spoke here. She really lit up this crowd. She was taking a lot of digs for the Obama administration both for what they're doing domestically and with their international policy. All this ends tonight, Richard they're going to release the results of a presidential straw poll, we'll be watching. Busy day, here -- Richard.

LUI: Hey Paul, how good is an indication of that straw poll looking at past ones?

STEINHAUSER: You know, sometimes it's dead spot on. Back in 1998 at this convention, they picked George W. Bush he won the straw poll. Obviously he went on to win the party's nomination and the presidency. Four years ago at this conference, it was held in Tennessee, and then Senate Leader Bill Frisk we won the straw poll, but Richard, he didn't even make it to the starting gate in the race for the White House.

LUI: All right, we'll have everybody watching, including you, Paul Steinhauser, there in New Orleans for us. We'll be stopping again later at that location. Thanks so much.

Risky business in the classroom. A Wisconsin prosecutor says he can jail teachers who teach sex ed, but can he? Our legal guys will sort it out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: I want to get you an update on our top stories right now. First off, a fiery plane crash early this morning in western Russia. It claims the life of Poland's president, the first lady and a delegation of high ranking polish officials. At least 97 people were onboard and they died at the failed landing attempt at the fog- shrouded airport. We're watching the details coming out of the western parts of Russia and we'll have more on this developing story in just about 10 minutes, so stick around for that.

And then there's stark reality that is hitting home in the hills of southern West Virginia. The near week long search for four missing miners is over, their bodies found overnight. Officials say the men never reached a refuge chamber as they had hoped in the Upper Big Branch mine earlier this week. The discovery makes Monday's accident the deadliest mine disaster in the United States since 1972.

Be careful what you wish for, a New Jersey teacher's union is under fire after an internal memo is leaked regarding the state's new governor, Chris Christie. The memo ends with a prayer asking god to take Christie, noting the recent deaths of Patrick Swayze, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson. Now, the union says it was just a joke. The memo comes as the governor considers deep cuts to the state's education system.

Another check of our top stories, right here in 20 minutes.

OK, right back to our legal eagles as we talk to our friends, Richard and Avery, and today, Avery Friedman, just remind people, in case they're just joining us, he's a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland, Ohio, Richard, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor.

So let's move on from Justice Stevens retiring. I want to start with this, it's the NAACP suing Wells Fargo for unfair lending practices. They decide to end the suit here. But interesting here, Richard, they will now allow, Wells Fargo, they will now allow the NAACP to overlook their landing -- their lending practices, here. How common is this?

HERMAN: I think that's pretty common, Richard, I don't think that's anything special. I think that's basically public knowledge, and I don't think the NAACP really is getting much out of this. I don't think they had a very strong case, here. They sent a message they are continuing their litigation against several other financial institutions, but they deemed fit to resolve this one, in which they claim is a palatable settlement?

LUI: Well, what does review mean or overlook, here, Avery? And is it really practical? Any teeth to it?

FRIEDMAN: No, it's all air. Look, here's the deal. The deal was they brought the suit based on lending by zip code. And the only way you can find out if discrimination is happening is if you check people's creditworthiness. In other words, Richard, nobody cares where you live, they care whether or not you pay your bills. So, the fact that this case is resolved, I think Wells Fargo and the NAACP got together, they came up with some nice language. Their actually reviewing nothing other than public documents, the NAACP was smart to get out of it. It was going nowhere, nowhere.

LUI: Yeah, and they were saying wells Fargo as well as some other financial institutions had given subprime rates to black applicants...

FRIEDMAN: That's what they alleged.

LUI: That's what they're alleging -- and lower rates to white applicants, just to give a background. That is what they are claiming.

FRIEDMAN: But you got to prove it, Richard, not allege it.

LUI: Right, so will we see it, because there are 14 other financial institutions involved in this. Will we expect to see the very same thing to happen in the end?

FRIEDMAN: Oh, it really depends. I mean, this involves a lot of discovery. I've actually prosecuted federal cases like this. It is time-consuming, cumbersome, you got to dig up the information. Wells Fargo didn't go anywhere, let's see what happens with the other cases.

LUI: Hey Richard, let's move on to this...

I'm sorry, go ahead.

HERMAN: I'm sorry. In essence, what they allege was that white applicants were being treated differently than black applicants, and that was a discrimination, for the exact same credit.

LUI: OK, right. Thanks for underlining that. Right. Let's stick with that, Richard -- stick with you, Richard. Let's go to Joyce versus Dennis Pines golf course. We're talking about a champion amateur golfer Elaine Joyce who was barred from a men's tournament in 2007 despite her being a long-term member in this. So, fill that in for us, Richard.

HERMAN: Well, basically, this club, a public golf course getting public funds, decided to enact certain rules that on weakened they would have -- for 12 weekends they would have 10 all-men tournaments and two all-women tournaments. She brought this as a discrimination claim, it went up to the court, and the court gave an opportunity for the club to give them any type of rational basis for this determination. The court found they did not buy that basis; however, Richard, and now it goes to the issue of damages. And on this, the case will be revealed as one of those, I'm going to send a message litigation here. There was only one weekend that she sought to play, she never sought to play in any men's tournaments, she's going to get nominal, if any, damages here.

FRIEDMAN: Oh, come on.

LUI: When you say nominal to minimal, what do you mean here, Richard?

HERMAN: $100.

LUI: Avery, you disagree?

FRIEDMAN: Yeah, absolutely. Look, I am so impressed with Elaine Joyce. I think the men involved who tried to block her didn't like the fact she had two female names. And the federal district judge, by the way, had no difficulty in ruling against the club. I think it's a significant case, because under the civil rights laws, Richard, in addition to damages, they have to pay all the legal fees, so the longer it goes on, the more the club pays. This matter should get resolved, and for some reason defense has taken a hard line. All it's doing to do is cost the bad guys a lot more money.

LUI: Richard, isn't it separate but equal, though? They did have same-sex tournaments there.

AVERY: Did you say separate but equal, Richard?

LUI: Yeah, that's what they're claiming, yes. Richard, you don't agree.

FRIEDMAN: What do you say to that?

LUI: Richard what do you say to that?

HERMAN: What I say to that is that the justices found they absolutely can have these types of tournaments. That's not the problem. Every now and then having an all men's tournament on a Saturday, or an all women's tournament on a Sunday, that's not the problem. All they want is some sort of rationale explanation for it and here the club could not give that, and that's why it failed.

FRIEDMAN: Separate but equal has never been the law of the land in America in the 20th, 21st century, anyhow.

LUI: Avery, we've got to move on to this last one we've got to squeeze this in. Sex education teacher could face some criminal charges because of teaching students how to do things such as put on condoms. The D.A. in this Wisconsin county disagrees. Avery, where will this end up?

FRIEDMAN: And I'll bet my colleague agrees with me. It's going nowhere. We have an ideological prosecutor; Mr. Southworth in Wisconsin doesn't like the law, trying to scare teachers. No teacher is going to be indicted for child endangerment. It's absolutely ridiculous.

LUI: Richard, what do you think?

HERMAN: Yeah, they may be indicted, but this guy is eating too much cheese up there in Wisconsin.

FRIEDMAN: That's right.

HERMAN: There's a statute that allows the schools to give sex education. The schools can decide whether they want to give it. The parents then can have their children opt out of these courses. What the prosecutor is saying is just because they're teaching sex ed, that's an endorsement of underage sex, if he wants a prosecution endangering the welfare of minors. That's ridiculous. This guy's nuts.

LUI: And that's what he's saying. So, if push comes to shove here, Richard, what's going to happen?

HERMAN: What's going to happen is he potentially -- if his power goes unfettered like Nifong down there in North Carolina, he could probably get an indictment against these people or charge them with some sort of misdemeanor, but it's not going anywhere.

FRIEDMAN: No conviction.

LUI: All right, Avery, Richard thank you both. They're going to be back, by the way, our legal team, in about another 15 minutes. We've got more for you, so stick around for Richard and Avery, looking for that conversation, guys, in just a little bit.

FRIEDMAN: See you shortly.

LUI: All right, moving on to this, the West Virginia coal mine disaster leads to a lot of soul searching. Some wonder if it's time to think about another line of work.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is on his way to Western Russia. He's leading the investigation into the deadly plane crash there this morning. A crash that killed the Poland's president and the first lady and 95 other people. They were traveling on Poland's equivalent of Air Force I.

Investigators say the pilots were trying to land in heavy fog at the time, and we're hearing that air traffic controllers had advised them to abort the landing and head for another airport. President Obama calls the death of President Lech Kaczynski a devastating loss for Poland and the world.

Now in addition to the president and his wife, the crash killed a number of high-ranking officials as well in the Polish government, and following that is our Josh Levs.

Josh, what can you tell us about the number of people that were there and the other high-ranking officials?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really significant authorities within the Polish government and within Polish life, and obviously, right now, you know people in Poland feeling a lot of shock and all over the world. People in shock and in mourning over the loss of so many lives and that we have some video that has been coming to us from our affiliate, WJLA.

Just one example of what's going on. This is the Polish Consulate I believe here in the United States, and what we're seeing here is that people have been turning out to that building today. As I was looking earlier at what's been going on, more and more places around the world, you're seeing people turn out to embassies, to consulates, and in some cases to community centers wherever there are Polish.

People of Polish background coming together to mourn this really widespread loss inside the country today. Obviously a lot of lives and there's the human toll. There are also the roles that they played that will now need to be filled in some ways. We have talked a lot about the President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria Kaczynska. There were others, too, that I want to let you know were on there. We have a list for you. If we can go that, I'll just show you some of the really significant authorities there that we're seeing.

One of them, Ryszard Kaczorowski, was the last president in exile of Poland. Poland just had a government in exile through the communist era, which ended 20 years. He was the last president of that. The National Security Office head, Aleksander Szczyglo, the head of the Army Chief of Staff, General Franciszek Gagor, and a couple of more to tell you about.

National Remembrance Institute, the head of that was on this plane as well, Janusz Kurtyka. Civil Rights Commissioner Janusz Kochanowski and one more that you're seeing there, this is an Army Chaplain, Bishop Tadeusz Ploski.

Just some of the major officials inside Poland, very well known, playing major roles in addition to so many others who were on there. So, Richard, as we take a look at the devastation and the loss of life inside Poland in this crash. You are seeing a lot of people that people are familiar with, that people know and people all over the world mourning right now.

LUI: And of course, considerations as you went through, those were the lost in that plane crashes. Who will be running the government now? Of course, the prime minister speaking out earlier is in control as well as the parliament that's now taking up the president's position.

So despite that big loss there, still obviously able to function. You were alluding there as well to how people are reacting. You had the embassy in the United States. You're also looking at responses in social media. What do you see?

LEVS: Yes, you're right on both fronts. First of all, the prime minister has a little more authority than the president does, so the government continues to function as it needs to, and someone will fill the role of president for the meantime, well, that's figured out.

As for what's going on the web, exactly. We're talking about so many people mourning all over the world. There are now Facebook pages set up specifically about this. This is an RIP, a Rest In Peace page for Kaczynski.

I just highlighted one of them. This is from a woman who is Polish herself. She posted here, all my heart and soul is with my people right now. Over at my Facebook page, I've been hearing from a lot of people as well.

And let's go to this one Tweet, if we can end on this. My heart is breaking for the Polish people. Thoughts and prayers with all affected. I have seen thousands of Tweets like this today, and we are staying in touch with you as the world mourns and expresses concern, Richard, for the people who are struggling right now in the wake of this disaster. LUI: It certainly hard to imagine the loss of a national leader like that for that country, but the response coming out in social media. Thanks a lot, Josh Levs, for sharing that with us.

West Virginia Governor Joe Mansion says we did not receive the miracle we prayed for. He delivered the news that no one wanted to hear earlier today following Monday's deadly blast at the Upper Big Branch mine. The bodies of four missing miners were discovered overnight, turning the week-long rescue effort to a recovery effort.

The four deaths raised the casualty count to 29. That makes it the worst mine disaster in the United States since the early 1970s. Mine owner Mass Energy, that company says it will conduct extensive reviews of the accident to ensure that a similar incident does not happen again.

Well, this week's down set, West Virginia's Upper Big Branch mine are presenting workers with a very hard choice for themselves, whether to go back into the mines despite of the danger. CNN's Brian Todd looks at one miner's conflicts and what draws others to the dangerous profession.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD (voice-over): Stanley Stewart was just inside the Upper Big Branch mine when the massive explosion killed several of his friends. He can easily describe the fear and panic. He'd rather talk about the guys.

STANLEY STEWART, SURVIVED MINE BLAST: I loved them dearly. I worked side by side with them for years and my heart is just so heavy with sorrow. There are no words to describe it. I'm just hollow.

TODD: He's also conflicted. A miner for 34 years, Stewart has seen everything, survived another explosion years ago at the same mine. Now, when I ask him if he can go back to work --

STEWART: I don't know if I can.

TODD: Why not?

STEWART: Just everything that happened. My buddies would be in my mind, and I just feel that it could happen again, and I would just -- I don't know that I can handle it. I've been able to handle anything that ever came my way my whole life, but this one has just got me right now.

TODD: While he struggles with how to move forward, Stanley's wife has implored him to stop.

MINDI STEWART, STANLEY'S WIFE: You know, just those few hours of not knowing was enough for me for a lifetime. The thought of him going back in there, it's beyond words.

TODD: But for the Stewarts and many others in this area, it's been a difficult balance for generations. (on camera): Constant fear of the mines and resentment toward the operators is weighed against the powerful draw of a lifestyle not available to many in this area who are outside the mining industry.

Charity Olderman is brutally honest about what it means for her and her husband, Elvis, who works in another mine.

CHARITY OLDERMAN: He never went to college, but his income is substantial enough that we live comfortably.

TODD (voice-over): In fact, many miners make six-figure salaries, but it goes way beyond paying the bills. Miners speak of an emotional pull, a sense of discovery that lures them back into these blackened tunnels, despite the peril.

It's more than an economic situation?

STEWART: Yes, sir, it's just a different type of work, and any time you mine coal, you're in a place where no other man has been before, like walking on the moon. That's the way we look at it.

TODD: Community Activist Grace Lafferty says this industry is simply ingrained in West Virginia's culture, an overwhelming pride in the bravery and hard work of humble men.

GRACE LAFFERTY, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: They'll get up tomorrow, and they'll strap their boots on, pick up their bucket and go to the mine because that's who we are.

TODD: A sentiment heard all over this area from people who are very anxious over the faith of miners, heartbroken but who also say they simply could not lose this industry. Brian Todd, CNN, Whitesville, West Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: This just in to CNN Breaking News. We have heard that the flight recorders have been found in that Tupolev 154 that went down. This is the destruction after that you see on the screen here. They were able to find the recorders. This is according to Russian officials.

Now what they are saying in addition to that as they wait for the processing of information from those recorders, that they will now consider this, that, quote, "The trajectory of the flight, which this Russian official had traced twice today, he's saying that it indicates there was a deviation from the runway not only in terms of altitude, up and down, but also a deviation of left to right, of width of no less than 450 feet. He says 150 meters, about 450 feet.

Whether that deviation is left, right, forward or back, that has not been determined as of yet, according to this statement coming from Russian officials. But, again, they have just stated that they have found those flight recorders. So key because you have all the technical information, it also has the voice recorder in there, it will also perhaps have the information of what was said inside the cockpit from the pilots along with the conversations that preceded the crash with air traffic control.

What we have been hearing so far in reports is that air traffic control had instructed the pilot to go around again, but that the pilot did not listen. You can see in these pictures here that this is in the middle of a fairly well-forested area. Now how close this is actually to the landing strip, we do not know, but close.

And again, the information that we're getting in from Russian officials, those key flight recorders have been found. They will now be sent off to be processed and now they will determine why this plane -- we're also just learning it was an altitude off as well as off by about 450 feet left or right, forward or back of where that runway is. That just in to us here at CNN. Of course, we'll have all the latest for you on this story for you, coming up.

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Now to a shocking charge. This is about a Texas father that allegedly showed porn to his 8-year-old and 9-year-old daughters. This case in Texas, we turn to our legal guys again, Avery Friedman as well as Richard Herman.

Read the headline, Richard and you go, could this be possible and if this is true, how did this happen?

RICHARD HERMAN, LAW PROFESSOR: You know, Richard in Texas, showing harmful material to an underage is a crime, however there is a parental exception if a parent does it. So here, the prosecutor was so uphold at the allegations, he brought a prosecution under endangerment of a minor, claiming that the father called his 8-year- old and 9-year-old daughters over on a custody visitation weekend, showed them his computer and showed them some sort of pornography on the computer.

LUI: Right.

HERMAN: The father says, yes, I did it, but I was educating my children. Educational intent is a defense. This is a fractured marriage, these children, 8 and 9, have been in therapy and are in therapy, it's a tragic situation all around.

LUI: It is, it is, and Avery, this defense that Richard was articulating to us, strong one or pretty weak?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, LAW PROFESSOR: It's knuckle headed. I mean, I understand the theory of the defense, but what the facts are here with Mr. Buckner who's the defendant is so outrageous. That there is no jury in Lubbock that is ever going to buy the defense that a brain- numbing approach to sex education is showing an 8-and 9-year-old porn on the computer? It is really a terrible situation. The good news is that the children are in therapy, but you know what, this father has to pay the price of his misbehavior.

LUI: So a lot of outrage that you're expressing there. Richard, where are you going to go with that?

HERMAN: Yes, the problem is the foundation of the claim relies on the words of 8- and 9-year-old children. That's the problem, Avery, and that's the problem the prosecution is going to be faced with here.

LUI: There's also complexity of the indecency law, isn't there?

FRIEDMAN: There are multitude of issues, but again, I think you're going to be able to trust these young girls about what happened. I think the message has to be if you're prosecuting it, you've got to move forward. We understand those issues, but you know what, this guy has to be held accountable for what's going to be a lifetime of consequences for these young ones.

LUI: Richard, you got a quick one before going on to the next one?

HERMAN: Yes, innocent until proven guilty.

LUI: This is Catherine Zeta Jones, she wants leniency for her stepson, celebrity justice. What is this case?

HERMAN: I'm sure she does, Richard, but you know, what happens in courts across the nation is that drug offenders, convicted drug offenders get sentenced. Repeat convicted drug offenders get longer sentences.

LUI: Right.

HERMAN: And here we have a celebrity. So his grandfather is Kirk Douglas, and Catherine Zeta Jones is related, his father's wife now and they're all giving this impassion pleas to the court. This person, this Cameron Douglas must be sentenced to the same sentences that people similarly situated get for crimes like this, Richard. They are not entitled to the benefit just because they come from privileged families and privileged backgrounds.

FRIEDMAN: More than that, this isn't, you know, the O.J. case, this is the United States District Court there in Richard's backyard, Richard Berman, an experienced tough federal district court judge. There are guidelines, Richard, that are used here and so whether it's Catherine Zeta Jones or Jim Carey, it doesn't really matter, the judge is going to look at the guidelines. I think we may be looking at as much as 10 years. I think it's very, very serious.

HERMAN: But the point is there is this discretion. I'm sorry, Richard, there is discretion by the judges, and his status and his wealth should not be a factor in determining the ultimate sentence.

LUI: So you're both are saying it's not going to work. Guys, we've got to go. Thank you for the discussions today on this Saturday noon hour. A lot to talk about for Stevens down to the celebrity justice. You guys are making your money today. Keeping you busy.

FRIEDMAN: Take care, Richard. HERMAN: Our prayers to all the West Virginia miners, their families and friends.

FRIEDMAN: And the people of Poland.

LUI: Absolutely right. Thank you both. Have a good weekend.

An international adoption turns into an international incident when the family sends the boy packing.

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A Tennessee family is stirring international outrage this weekend. An adopted Russian boy was put on a plane and sent back to Moscow. The mother says the boy is violent and mentally unstable and Russian adoption officials his condition. Here's CNN Randi Kaye.

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RANDI KAYE: Seven year old, Justin Hanson's grandmother says he was excited about his trip back to Moscow. The adopted Russian orphan apparently had no idea he was being returned forever, no longer wanted by his new family.

Justin's grandmother, Nancy Hanson, told CNN she put him on a flight to Moscow this week to save her family. She claimed the boy was violent and psychotic and had a hit list of people he wanted to hurt. His adoptive mother was number one on the list, she said. He wanted to, quote, "kill her for the house."

But instead of calling the adoption agency, which arranged to bring the boy to the U.S., he was packed up and shipped off, returned like an unwanted purchase, with no word to authorities in the U.S. or Russia.

SHERIFF RANDALL BOYCE, BEDFORD COUNTY, TENNESSEE: I can't imagine why she wouldn't send him back to Washington to that adoption agency.

KAYE: Nancy's daughter, Tory Hanson, adopted Justin last September, but she signed over her parental rights to Nancy, she says, because of the7-year-old's violent tendencies. But at their home on Monday, April 5, the boy's grandmother said she found him in his room trying to start papers on fire. She told us she was afraid he was going to burn the house down and kill everyone in it. Two days later, she packed his bags.

KAYE (on camera): Keeping them honest, we wondered how someone could just discard a child they adopted. Nancy insists she didn't abandon the child. She says she found a lawyer online who advised her Justin was a Russian citizen and the adoption could be reversed. So she says she followed his instructions on how to return the child.

She booked a flight she says from Washington, D.C. to Moscow and put him on the plane alone. When he arrived at the Moscow Airport, Justin was met by a driver Nancy had also found online. Nancy said the driver, who she called Arthur, had, quote, "safe references." At Nancy's request, the driver took Justin to Russia's Child Protection Ministry, and that set off an international investigation.

(voice-over): Justin had with him a letter Nancy said she prepared for Russian officials, explaining they wanted the adoption rights removed since, she said, an orphanage doctor told them he's healthy.

PAVEL ASTAKHOV, RUSSIAN OMBUDSMAN: All examination showed the boy to be completely healthy, physically and mentally, so nobody withheld anything from her. It's a lie. When asked how the mother treated him, he burst into tears and said she used to pull his hair.

KAYE: The Russian ministry is now threatening to cut off all U.S.-Russian adoptions, and the State Department is trying to figure out how the child managed to be sent to Russia.

P.J. CROWLEY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: They're U.S. citizens. They're Russian citizens. We share responsibility to ensure their welfare.

KAYE: Justin turns eight next week. Another birthday in an orphanage. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LUI: Everything from filing taxes to clipping coupons coming up in the CNN Newsroom for you. Personal finance questions and answers, CNN's Josh Levs gets the advice of a money expert for you. Send your questions via cnn.com, Facebook or Twitter then join us in two hours to hear those answers.

Stay with CNN throughout the day for the latest breaking news, including what is happening with the plane that went down in Western Russia. CNN's IOU USA solutions. Special starts next, we're taking a look at the U.S. debt. You can join us in the debate on Twitter, tweet your thoughts to askcnnbiz.

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