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Two Hits in War on Drugs; Troops Prepare for New Mission in Iraq; Fighting for Food and Water; Upping the Ante in Detriot Schools
Aired August 31, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR And hello again, everyone, I'm Tony Harris. Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen. Here are some of the people behind today's top stories.
Hurricane Earl, churning toward the Atlantic.
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UNIDENTIFIED CNN IREPORTER: There's a roaring -- there's quite a bit of damaged trees down.
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HARRIS: We are tracking the storm for you.
Alleged kingpin captured -- an American-born man accused of moving tons of cocaine from Mexico into the United States now behind bars.
And you're online right now, we are, too. Josh Levs is following what's hot -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, the mother of Neda -- that's, as you know, the 26-year-old woman who was famously killed in protest last year in Tehran -- she's now appealing to The Hague for help prosecuting the killer. We have all the details for you at CNN.com.
HARRIS: OK, Josh.
Let's get started with our lead story, a two-pronged hit in the war on drugs. A man described by authorities as one of the most ruthless drug traffickers in Mexico is captured. And more U.S. troops take up positions on the border.
Let's focus first on the alleged kingpin. Let's bring in our Senior Latin-American affairs editor, Rafael Romo. He is on the story for us.
First of all, Rafael, tell us who this alleged kingpin is and what we know about him.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN-AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Tony, this is a major, major victory for the Mexican government because he has connections with two very powerful Mexican drug cartels. Back in 2001, he was linked to the Sinaloa drug cartel. Later, he broke away, along with several drug lords of that organization, and joined the Arturo Beltran Leyva drug cartel. Both of these cartels are charged with smuggling large amounts of cocaine into the United States.
Mexican officials were saying this morning that as much as one ton per month was being smuggled, and he was the man responsible. He's known as one of the most ruthless drug lords in Mexico.
HARRIS: OK. Obviously wanted on both sides of the border.
What is he wanted for here in the United States?
ROMO: There is a case out of Atlanta, a federal case, where he was charged with bringing cocaine into the United States at about 100 kilos per week. Again, this is only one case. There are also cases in Texas and in other parts of the country.
And what's important to notice is that he was born in Laredo, Texas, so he's an American citizen. So we're not really talking about an extradition here as much as probably a deportation from Mexico.
HARRIS: Right. Villarreal is his last name, correct?
ROMO: Valdez Villarreal, yes. He uses both last names.
HARRIS: Yes. Why is he called "La Barbie"?
ROMO: That's one of the most interesting things about this drug lord. He is called that because he has a fair complex and blue eyes, and so when he started out in the criminal underworld, some of his associates started calling him "La Barbie." And the name stuck, and that's the way he is known today.
HARRIS: OK. And Rafael, we reported this last hour. Any more information on this attack on a bar in Cancun? I know there are some deaths associated with it.
ROMO: Very, very disturbing case out of Cancun which a lot of people know, one of the most popular destinations in Mexico.
At about 1:00 this morning, there was an attack with Molotov cocktails into a bar. About an hour ago I spoke with the attorney general of that state, the state of Quintana Roo, and he tells me that eight people died, half of them because of the severe burns and the other half because of asphyxia.
Now, apparently, the attack was perpetrated by drug cartels. Nobody really knows at this point which one it was. But a scene of terror and chaos there in Cancun. Now, the attorney general was telling me that it did not happen in the areas that normally would normally be frequented by international tourists.
HARRIS: One of the known tourist areas? OK.
ROMO: But in any case, it is Cancun, and it gets thousands and thousands of international visitors every year.
HARRIS: Well, our understanding is that it took place just outside of the area, about three miles outside of those more known, more visited tourist areas. And for a lot of folks who visit Cancun, that's too close.
ROMO: It is too close.
HARRIS: Much too close.
ROMO: It's a 20-minute taxi ride.
HARRIS: Yes. Exactly.
All right. Rafael, good to see you. Thank you, sir.
Let's do this -- let's expand this discussion a bit for where the U.S. stands in the war on drugs.
For that, let's turn to Josh Levs.
And Josh, how much success are authorities having in tracking down other kingpins like Valdez?
LEVS: Some. I mean, there are people out there who have compared this to an incredibly serious version of wack-a-mole. Right? That there are some who get captured, but all of a sudden, there are new ones that pop up. And when you have these massive organizations with layers and strategies underneath them to keep going if someone does disappear, it's not enough, clearly, to break through.
Let me show you. I'm going to talk you through some of the people who have been captured or killed and some who are still wanted.
The U.S. offering up to $5 million for some of these people who are still out there. I'm also going to remind you as we go into this, it's all allegations that we're working with here.
Some of the major drug traffickers that authorities talk about -- this is the U.S. State Department -- they talk about Aurelio Cano- Flores. Now, one of the leaders, they believe, to be of the Gulf Cartel, which is a cartel that we hear about a lot. Officials believe that he -- actually, one of his roles was helping coordinate bringing some drugs into the United States. He was captured last year.
Let's go to Jose Gerardo Alvarez-Vasquez with the ABL Organization. And this is a group that is in part blamed for rising violence in Mexico, including kidnappings, tortures, murders. He was arrested this year -- months ago, actually in Mexico, just back in April.
One more I want to show you, because there are some who they say were actually killed.
This is Jorge Orlando Rodriguez-Acero with this group, the North Valley Cartel. Now, he was killed by rival gang members, officials say, earlier this year.
So those are a few examples of some that were not out there anymore. But take a look at this, just a few of the wanted. And it's a mega list. I'm just going to show you some examples here, Tony.
Edgardo Levya-Escandon, this is with the Arellano-Felix Organization. And it goes by AFO.
He's indicted in the southern district of California for unlawfully possessing large quantities of ammunition. There's a reward for him, up to $2 million, leading to his arrest and/or conviction.
Over here, Samuel Flores-Borrego with the Gulf Cartel. It's actually even more there, a reward for him, up to $5 million leading to info for his arrest and/or conviction.
One more I'll show you here, Antonio Ezequiel-Cardenas-Guillen, again, also with the Gulf Cartel. Again, $5 million in that reward.
And I want to -- before we go, I want to show you this map here, because it's an interactive map that shows you how it's affecting your city here in the United States.
HARRIS: Bring it home, yes.
LEVS: It's put together by the folks at CNN.com. By the way, this is the State Department list I was just showing you. The right has lots of Xs through the faces. These are people who have either been captured or killed. The left, all these people over here, still wanted, and millions offered for them.
Over here is that map. And let's see if you can -- can we take the camera and kind of zoom pretty far in here?
Wherever you look here, what you can see is these little dots all over the country, these tiny little white dots, and the red. Everywhere you see a dot, that is the presence of a major drug cartel in your city in the United States.
So you think it's just happening in Mexico, it's not. It's impacting us all over the country more and more -- Tony.
HARRIS: Well, that brings it home vividly. All right, Josh. Appreciate it. Thank you.
LEVS: You got it. Sure.
HARRIS: The U.S. is beefing up patrols along the border with Mexico. More than 30 National Guard troops have started their deployment. Hundreds more are due to arrive over the next two months as part of President Obama's border security initiative. The force is expected to reach 532 by the end of October. Some on the Mexican side of the border question the move, but law enforcement officials on the U.S. side welcome the additional troops.
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SHERIFF TONY ESTRADA, SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, ARIZONA: This is good, definitely. That's good news. The numbers could be better, but for now I think it's all right.
They're welcome. They'll do a good job. They'll help a lot. They'll make things safer.
DAVID ALEJANDRO, MEXICAN NATIONAL: I think it's wrong, because I don't think it's so necessary because, well, the violence is in Mexico, it's in Mexico, not in the USA.
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HARRIS: Operation Iraqi Freedom ends today. It is being replaced by Operation New Dawn. Almost 50,000 U.S. troops staying in Iraq for that mission. And for them, the war is still on.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is with some of the troops in Baghdad.
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CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Loaded down in Kevlar on the same dusty roads, don't tell these soldiers that combat troops are gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a misnomer. It sounds like, that, you know, we all went home. But really, we're all still here.
LAWRENCE: Or in the words of Staff Sergeant Adam Steffens --
STAFF SGT. ADAM STEFFENS, 3RD BRIGADE, 4TH ID: These are the same guys that rolled in here in 2003 that just unleashed the fury.
LAWRENCE: Sergeant John Roberts is on his third tour. Lieutenant Colonel John DiGianbatista (ph) deployed to Diyala, Baqubah and Baghdad. Third Brigade 4th ID is on its fourth deployment here. Some of the soldiers conducting New Dawn's non-combat mission are some of the most battle-hardened troops in the Army.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, there were times and places when, you know, you'd had streets run red with blood.
LAWRENCE (on camera): So it's better, much better. But the sergeant told me he'll never be able to totally let his guard down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The IED threat is always there.
LAWRENCE: Buried in the ground, camouflaged as trash. And if enough insurgents get together, the sergeant says they'll even try a complex direct attack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want to mount up on us. They want to get squirrelly and go toe-to-toe for a while. It's rare. Most of those guys are already dead so it doesn't really happen too much. But it's something that we've got to be careful of.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Even before "New Dawn's" official beginning, American and Iraqi troops have been living together on bases like Kumsa (ph). Their new advise and assist mission means U.S. troops are still in convoys, still on patrols, but following the Iraqis, not leading them.
FIRST LT. WILL SWEARINGE, U.S. ARMY: We're there but we're watching and we're teaching, we're coaching. We're kind of prodding them on to the right decisions.
LAWRENCE (on camera): So here's how it would work -- Iraqi troops go in for a raid, they ask the Americans for helicopter air support. There would be a team of two to three American Humvees on the ground helping to coordinate that air support, maybe even giving the Iraqi commander real-time video through a remote terminal so that he can see exactly where his troops are in relation to the air support.
Another area that the Americans really want to help the Iraqis improve in is when they go after those high-value targets. Right now, the Iraqis are getting their man maybe 20 percent of the time. The Americans want to raise that success rate to about 70 percent.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: From a peak of more than 170,000 U.S. troops at the height of the surge, to less than 50,000 today, Ali Velshi tracks more than seven years of war in Iraq by the numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you might think of this as a U.S. war or a U.S. and British war. The fact is, the war in Iraq was an international effort.
More than 60 countries took part in it -- 60 to 70 countries. Some sent troops, some sent material. Some of those countries have started drawing it down. Now, the U.S. and the U.K. were by far the biggest participants in the war in Iraq, the U.S. by far the single biggest.
Let's talk about U.S. troops in Iraq.
When this thing started in 2003, the initial invasion involved 94,000 troops, and that quickly moved up to 149,000 at the peak of the invasion. But then that was drawn down in 2003 to 124,000 troops. But the situation, the security situation on the ground, didn't improve dramatically, so you can see between 2003 and 2005, gradual increases in the number of troops in Iraq.
By 2008, a decision was made for a troop surge, to put more troops in. There were 132,000 troops on the ground, U.S. troops, at the time that that decision was made, peaking at 170,000 troops in 2007.
The surge then ended and the Obama administration decided on a drawdown of troops, and you can see how that works. In 2009, troops left the cities, there were 132,000 troops left in Iraq. And you can see all the way down to now, with the end of combat operations in Iraq, 50,000 troops remaining there, eventually going down to zero, or at least that's the administration's intent.
Now, a lot of U.S. troops lost their lives in Iraq, starting with the first year of the war in 2003. Four hundred and eighty-six people died that year. But that death toll, take a look at this, continued higher and higher and higher until now, where the total death toll is about 4,420.
Now, there's another picture I want to show you that will give you a more full picture of what's going on. It's not just troops who were killed, it was troops who are injured -- 31,911 U.S. troops were injured in this war so far. Almost 18,000 have returned to duty, 14,000 have not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: As for the number of Iraqi civilians killed during the war, the Web site iraqbodycount.org reports more than 106,000 deaths. Now, according to the Web site, the numbers are not estimates, but actual documented deaths from the war and the violence.
President Obama will address the nation on Iraq tonight from the Oval Office. Join CNN for live coverage of the speech at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, followed by our breakdown of the president's remarks and reports from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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(NEWSBREAK)
HARRIS: Flooding in Pakistan has claimed more than 1,600 lives. At least 17 million Pakistanis are affected. Many of the survivors now have to steal, beg or fight for food and water.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta joined them on the elusive search for aid.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ever wonder what desperation looks like? This is it.
(on camera): Now the police are coming in to basically break up this demonstration. So what happened here was locals basically set up a roadblock right over here. As soon as an aid truck would come in, they would basically storm that aid truck and try and steal as many supplies as they could.
(voice-over): They're desperate and they are quick to tell you about it. It wasn't so much anger as it was bitter frustration and hopelessness. Thousands of displaced people feeling forgotten and ignored.
(on camera): Here's how it's supposed to work. A much more organized camp, for example, a family over here, they have mats, they have tents that can withstand a lot of the rain that's coming. If you look inside this tent over here, you see water jugs, you see cooking oil, even cooking utensils.
(voice-over): The problem is you won't find many camps like this one. Most look like this: thousands of families, low on tents, low on food, thick with desperation.
(on camera): One of the really difficult situations here is that there's no mechanism of distributing the aid. It is just awful to think about. As people describe it to us, they say it is just really embarrassing to be treated like animals.
Where is all the aid going? We see trucks with aid in it but it doesn't seem to be getting to people who need it the most.
(voice-over): So we followed this aid truck in the distance, the first sign of hope these people felt in weeks. But what was about to happen was outrageous. First, government rangers with big sticks organized. Women and children here, men over there. All of them waiting in the hot sun.
(on camera): This is hard to believe. These people have been waiting now for some time for food. Women and children over here, men over here. The truck was there with aid in it. Pulled in to the gas station, and now they're just leaving.
(voice-over): There was no explanation for this. But more importantly, all these people still hungry, still thirsty.
(on camera): This is incredibly heart breaking. People are waiting quite a while for the truck, thinking they're going to get aid. They've received nothing.
(voice-over): Commander Faisal Shah has the impossible task of trying to feed 20 million people.
(on camera): Have you been out to some of these camps outside of here and talked to some of the people? Have you actually heard from them? Because I hear what you're saying but when I talk to them I hear something entirely else.
CMDR. FAISAL SHAH, PAKISTAN NAVY MARINE CORPS: People are desperate, but there are also people who have been very well prepared. I believe most of them are being fed regularly.
GUPTA (voice-over): But I saw a different story in the dozen refugee camps I visited. There is no regular meals here. Desperation mounts.
(on camera): There it's going on again. People just basically just going in, trying to get whatever they can get. I just want to give you a quick idea what have can happen to some of the most precious commodities needed when something like this happens. There was just a riot out here. Needed medicines, antibiotics ended up on the ground shattered, literally.
(voice-over): Desperation has its consequences. And in this case, no one benefited.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
The U.S. may be winding down its presence in Iraq, but for Iraqis, life goes on, and for some that means fashion and culture. Our Kyra Phillips shares stories of those she met during her time in Iraq.
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HARRIS: President Obama speaks to the nation tonight about the Iraq War. This afternoon, the president visits U.S. troops at Fort Bliss, Texas, as he marks the end of combat operations in Iraq.
Our Kyra Phillips did four stints in Iraq during the war, and her reporting was terrific. She brought us the real stories of how ordinary people were doing extraordinary things, despite the violence around them.
In this report, she shows us how culture and fashion survives war and threats.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraq's Osman (ph) period, the Abbasid era, and modern-day Baghdad. This is no ordinary fashion show. It's a catwalk of culture.
"Our fashion shows represent the old glamour with folklore and history. Our beauty shows in the details of the dresses. You can see the art, the culture, the history and the calligraphy."
"Iraqi history is represented through our dresses. They're unique and amazing."
PHILLIPS: But this Baghdad beauty comes with a tremendous risk. For models like this 24-year-old Huda Faieq, every stroke of makeup, every dress she dons, death threats are a part of this wardrobe.
"We get so many letters threatening us saying, 'This is your last day.' There are many Islamists here and Islamic groups who want to destroy us. They look at our success as a failure to them."
PHILLIPS: Ironically, that wasn't the case under Saddam Hussein. He loved beautiful things, and under him, what passed for Iraqi couture flourished.
Now the Iraqi fashion scene is struggling to return. May Joseph is director of Iraq's House of Fashion.
(on camera): You were an electrical engineer. Why did you want to become a fashion director?
MAY JOSEPH, DIRECTOR, IRAQ'S HOUSE OF FASHION: Because I'm a lady.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): And a strong lady at that. This is Iraq's only fashion house. It was bombed, burned and looted during the war. Now, thanks to May and her staff, it's back.
(on camera): So you just open up the history books and pick a story.
JOSEPH: Pick a story.
PHILLIPS: Pick some history and design a show.
JOSEPH: And design a show.
PHILLIPS: Why do it that way?
JOSEPH: This is the easiest way to transfer our civilization to the world.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Not only showcasing the art of Iraqi dress, but artifacts.
JOSEPH: It is made of special type of stones which is expensive stone in this color.
PHILLIPS (on camera): And was this the Babylonian times?
JOSEPH: No, this is Sumerian.
PHILLIPS: Sumerian.
JOSEPH: (INAUDIBLE)
PHILLIPS: Wow.
(voice-over): These designers, artists, embroiderers and dressmakers are conserving ancient Iraqi culture.
(on camera): Oh wow.
JOSEPH: This is the symbols of the evil eyes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is clothes (ph) in the south Iraq, or in Kuwait and --
PHILLIPS: So it's south Iraq here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
JOSEPH: This is the evil eye dress. PHILLIPS: So if you wear this dress, you ward off all evil?
JOSEPH: We hope so.
PHILLIPS: So tell me how it feels to watch your models.
JOSEPH: This is a feeling of, let them live again.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Iraqi models, like Huda Fayak.
HUDA FAIEQ, IRAQI MODEL (via translator): It's the inspiration inside of me. When I don't see these dresses on the runway, I feel as if part of me is missing. This runway completes my personality. I find myself on this stage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Kyra Phillips joining me now.
PHILLIPS: I realize -- I realize why you wanted me to bring this piece back. It's all coming back to me. Because Tony appreciates a beautiful woman. That is why you wanted me to bring this piece back.
HARRIS: You - well, yes. And beyond that, you just did some -- just amazing. You found Iraqis in the midst of all the violence and all the -- you found Iraqi lives. Can you update us on the lives of some of the women you featured in this piece?
PHILLIPS: Well, it's interesting. They're still doing the fashion shows, the factory is still up and running. But still, every single day they risk their lives, doing what they want to do. And that -- we talk about -- yes, they're amazing.
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
PHILLIPS: This is Iraqi culture. And it's so -- every dress represents a different time period. And it just shows you, like, what an amazing country this is. And you wouldn't know it when you go over there and you see this war-torn country, and especially when you're here in the United States and all you see are the results of bombs and the killing and troops on the ground.
But this type of life exists in Iraq. And that's the stories we wanted to tell. And those are the people that are going to be suffering the most. Those people -- the people that want to go to school, the people that want to go to work, they want to have, you know, some semblance of a normal life. And, you know, they're all fearful that when troops go, they're not going to be able to do these types of things that they were able to start doing --
HARRIS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: -- once the war was in a different level.
HARRIS: You visited -- this is the other piece that I remember, so vividly. I remember the young kid counting, right? It was a school --
PHILLIPS: Murtada. The school for the blind. Yes, I think Sonya said we have some video of that.
HARRIS: Can we see that?
PHILLIPS: This little boy, oh my gosh. And we have an update, too. I don't know what video it is that you guys -- there we go! That's Murtada. And he was so precious. We're laughing, because he was so excited -- maybe we can listen. Let's listen for a minute.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MURTADA: 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: I will never forget this!
PHILLIPS: I asked him to do a mic check, and I'm thinking, okay, he's going to say one, two, three. and he was so excited to tell me that he learned how to count in English, and he kept going and going and going. And then he couldn't wait to tell me about the Braille. He was learning English in Braille and also Arabic in Braille.
Anyway, he has now -- this is exciting. He has now graduated school, and is now working in a shop with his dad in Baghdad. Yes, he's doing great. But this was also a young kid. He was such an overachiever.
HARRIS: 15, 16, 17!
PHILLIPS: And now he's counting the dollars as he's making money in his shop with his father. Yes. And that school is still up and running, as well.
HARRIS: Yes. Do you think you'll go back?
PHILLIPS: Oh, I would love to go back. I told you, some of the best times of my life over there, and these people are so inspiring and so full of love and life.
HARRIS: You did -- four different stints. And you found real Iraqis and brought those stories back --
PHILLIPS: They're an amazing people.
HARRIS: Yes, yes. Kyra, good stuff. Appreciate it.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, glad we could reprieve some of that.
PHILLIPS: The beautiful Iraqi women, just for you.
HARRIS: Thank you, Kyra. And one more reminder. President Obama delivers a major speech on Iraq from the Oval Office tonight. He will discuss the end of the U.S. combat mission. And you can see the president's speech live on CNN beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.
When have you seen kids get this excited about math, right? A visit to Detroit's Math Corps where complex computations are a team challenge.
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HARRIS: Our schools. We have sent teams across the country to document the education crisis in America. Detroit's public schools rank among the worst. Logging some of the lowest national test scores, but there are some bright spots, like camp that is getting students really excited about math problems. So excited, they cheer.
Really? CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow is live in New York for us. Poppy, really? Kids who get so excited about math they cheer? I got to see this.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: We're not exaggerating at all. I mean, you see some of the kids right there.
This is an extraordinary story, just seeing these kids, that are really sort of the exception to the rule in Detroit. Because by many standards, as you know, Tony, the Detroit public school system is failing the children of Detroit. That's what a lot of the experts say. I have seen it myself; they have massive debt, they have mounting dropouts.
But there is some change happening in Detroit, thanks to these two teachers that we'll tell you about that are determined to change the lives of their students. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW (voice-over): Detroit may be trying to reinvent itself but when it comes to educating its children, the word "struggle" only begins to describe the situation.
PROF. LEONARD BOEHM, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, MATH CORPS: Almost every kid has to walk through a metal detector just to walk to school.
GERALD MARTIN, STUDENT TEACHER, MATH CORPS: One of my students said he and his friends mentally prepare themselves for what to do if someone puts a gun in your face.
HARLOW: Only 58 percent of Detroit Public School students graduate from high school and the school system right now is battling a $259 million budget deficit.
BOEHM: Let's start it off.
HARLOW: But as desperate as the situation may be, two Wayne State University professors have found success inspiring Detroit kids... Of all places, a math camp.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Remember, you want to play mathematics up here, you keep it simple. OK.
HARLOW: In 1991, with just a few kids at first, professors Leonard Boehm and Steve Khan started Math Corps, a free six-week program for youngsters grades 7 and up.
What's different? Complex and often scary math problems are transformed into team challenges. The curriculum creates an environment where supporting others is central to learning.
LASHONTE LUKE-OWENS, STUDENT, MATH CORPS: We have a support system. We support people like this. And, like, when they get it right, we agree so it makes them feel happy when they turn around and they see all of these people agreeing with them.
HARLOW: Math Corps now accepts 500 students per year. They come from different backgrounds with different abilities. Not only to learn, but also to teach.
PROFESSOR STEVE KHAN, DIRECTOR, MATH CORPS: Kids teaching kids works unbelievably well because it's not kids teaching kids. It's kids caring about kids.
HARLOW: And the proof is in the numbers. Ninety percent of students who complete Math Corps graduate from high school, and 80 percent go on to college.
PROFESSOR LEONARD BOEHM, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, MATH CORPS: The fact that you have them on a college environment at a young age -- sorry. I'm going to lose it. That plants that seed in them. You are worth something. You're worth 100 points.
KHAN: We believe we can not just change the school system, but change, you know, the city in a fundamental way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: And Tony, that is their goal. Not just change Detroit schools, change the city. One of the girls you saw in the piece, Lashonte said to me, I really think we can turn Detroit around through even just a small program like this.
And you know, there is great evidence that there is hope for these students. And when I asked the math teachers, I said "Why math?" and they said, "Well, that's just because we know how to teach math. What we're really teaching here are three main things. We're teaching courage, we're teaching integrity and we're teaching compassion. And then we're showing our students how to teach that to their fellow students."
And it's getting a lot of recognition. President Clinton mentioned it last year at the Global Initiative. So, it's getting recognition. But I'll tell you, Tony, the one sticking point, they're having a hard time getting any funding. Yet to be paid by the Detroit public schools for the summer's program so if they run out of funding, they're not going to be able to spread this across the city and across the country like they want to, Tony.
HARRIS: Well, we can do our part. That's a terrific piece. That's terrific work going on there in Detroit.
Look, I know you've got it at CNNmoney.com, but we're going to put it on our blog page, as well so that folks can see it. And I'll put it on the Facebook page, as well.
Good stuff, Poppy. Appreciate it. Thank you.
HARLOW: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: We want to hear from you. What do you think makes a good teacher? Maybe you can answer that question by pointing out to us who your favorite teacher was. Is. Maybe you had a great teacher right now.
Send us a comment on Facebook, Twitter, iReport or just go to our blog page, CNN.com/tony. We will have some of your comments in just a couple minutes.
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HARRIS: And checking top stories now.
Police in Cancun, Mexico are looking for eight men they say threw Molotov cocktails into a bar early this morning. Eight people, all employees, were killed. The bar is about three miles from Cancun's tourist area.
President Obama is now in Texas to visit troops at Fort Bliss. Then it's back to Washington for a primetime address of the nation of the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq. Catch his address here on CNN at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.
And Hurricane Earl heads back into the open Atlantic after battering the Caribbean. The powerful Category 4 storm could brush the East Coast of the U.S. this weekend. Residents from North Carolina to Maine are being warned to keep a close eye on this one.
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HARRIS: We have been asking you to take part in our conversation on fixing our schools and CNN digital producer Derek Dodge is standing by.
And, Derek, what's the homework assignment?
DEREK DODGE, CNN DIGITAL PRODUCER: Hey, Tony. Homework, that's not a fun word. No one likes that word.
HARRIS: Yes.
DODGE: In fact, I can tell you no one likes that word because you see right here, homework, that's a very small word. The bigger words you're seeing, like experience, passionate. That's the question we asked people -- what makes a great teacher. Cnn.com/ireport. Send us your ideas and your thoughts on what makes a great teacher. And we're going to put them in this word cloud so we can see exactly who's saying what.
HARRIS: That makes sense to me. All right, Derek, appreciate it. Thank you.
Dogs giving merengue dancers across the world a serious run for their money. Are we making this up? Is this legit?
And looking at Hurricane Earl from above? We will show you "What's Hot" on the Internet when we come back. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: Hey, Josh, are you loaded up here? Is this ready to go?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, you've done a lot of cool things, you know, on your (INAUDIBLE) --
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes.
LEVS: But you've never tweeted from the International Space Station.
HARRIS: Oh, now, that's cool.
LEVS: Incredibly, few people have ever done such a thing.
HARRIS: Can't top that.
LEVS: Take a look at this.
HARRIS: All right.
LEVS: This is American astronaut Doug Wheelock has been posting pictures on Twitter, including --
HARRIS: Now, that's cool.
LEVS: Eye of the storm shots. So just follow him on Twitter.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: It's kind of amazing what keeps popping up, you know. You know, it used to be there were all these levels, like before you could get a photo (INAUDIBLE).
HARRIS: I can endorse this use of Twitter, right? All that over sharing, I can't endorse that. LEVS: OK. Well, that's something.
Meanwhile, we've got another hot story for you online today. The wait is over. The suspense is over. I know you can relax now.
HARRIS: OK.
LEVS: We now know who will be in the next cast of "Dancing with the Stars."
HARRIS: Oh, all right, now this is a good list. I'm always excited to see this. All right, we've got determination (ph).
LEVS: Yes, we've got a little video here, too.
HARRIS: OK. And video?
LEVS: Yes, we've got a little -- some people to tell you about. Let me tell you who is making the list this year, because I know you've been asking about this.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: Brandy, Jennifer Gray, Margaret Cho, Audrina Patridge from "The Hills." Florence Henderson.
HARRIS: Florence Henderson.
LEVS: Now the most important thing about Florence Henderson, as you know, she's called me sweetheart.
HARRIS: That's a Palin child. Isn't that a Palin child?
LEVS: That is Bristol Palin, who is --
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: Yes, Bristol Palin. There was a lot of rumors about her. Michael Bolton. Michael Bolton, one of your favorite singers of all time.
HARRIS: Get out of here.
LEVS: Michael Bolton's doing it this year.
HARRIS: OK.
LEVS: Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, although, you're apparently you're not supposed to actually pronounce "The Situation."
HARRIS: You know what it is?
LEVS: You know, "The Jersey Shore" guy with --
HARRIS: Oh, oh, oh my.
LEVS: David Hasselhoff. OK, it hasn't even started yet and I'm already rooting for the Hoff.
HARRIS: Is that Rick Fox, the basketball (ph) (INAUDIBLE)?
LEVS: Kurt Warner, Kyle Massey, Rick Fox. Yes, that's the mega list right there.
HARRIS: So there's the list. Are we out of time?
LEVS: And then we're going to end on this. If you bacon dance, check out this canine's action. Check out the dog dance thing. Doggie see, doggy dance.
HARRIS: Oh, come on.
LEVS: This dog can do the merengue. It's the new hot pet online. Look at that.
HARRIS: Look at this.
LEVS: Got some moves. We'll be right back in the NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: Engineers in Chile have started drilling an escape route for 33 miners trapped underground for more than three weeks now. Boring through more than 2,300 feet of rock will take months. Our Gary Tuchman gives us a feel for what it would be like to be trapped in a mine.
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GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What would it be like to be trapped in a mine after an accident? We went to find out in what was a gold and silver mine west of Denver, now used by the Colorado School of Mines for training.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Being trapped alive is the ultimate nightmare, but it's something that all miners must train for. With the help of the mining experts here, we're about to do a very realistic simulation.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): There has been an explosion in our mine. Smoke is billowing. We need to find the refuge chamber, a safe room. All U.S. mines are supposed to have. We're led by Bob Ferriter, one of the country's top mine safety experts.
TUCHMAN (on camera): I can't see a thing.
BOB FERRITER, MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH EXPERT: I know. It's very difficult. It's a pretty big, smoky fire. Could be tires on an (INAUDIBLE) or something.
TUCHMAN: You guys coming? Everyone back there?
FERRITER: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, I got the rear.
TUCHMAN: OK.
FERRITER: Put your hand up against the rib (ph). That will direct you where you're going. That will help you find your way. The smoke is getting pretty tight (ph).
Not too much farther. We're almost there. OK. Here we are. Here's the refuge chamber. Everybody in. I'll be the last one. One, two, three, four, five, and I'll be the last one. OK, we're coming in.
OK, Gary, if you bolt down that door. Clint, if you'd get some duct tape there and wrap around that, OK.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Mines are supposed to have phones that work during emergencies.
FERRITER: OK, mine office, we've got a lot of thick smoke down here and I heard an explosion. I'm not sure what happened. But I've got myself and five other people in the refuge chamber.
OK. Any injuries?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
FERRITER: Any twisted ankles? Any cut fingers, broken bones?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
FERRITER: OK. Everybody's good.
TUCHMAN: Without fresh air, we may only have five or six hours to live.
FERRITER: Now that we do have the compressor going on, you can just barely hear it in the background, we could sit in here longer because that is compressed air that's being fed into this chamber, and that will give us fresh air for as long as the compressor's on. So we could probably stay in here several days.
TUCHMAN: One of the people in the chamber with us is a University of Denver psychologist, who had explained to us beforehand that the miners in Chile are going through uncharted psychological territory. But --
KIM GORGENS, PSYCHOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER: The communication with the -- with their families, with the ground team, is going to keep their psychological functioning buoyed.
TUCHMAN: When we were done in the mine, I asked her this.
TUCHMAN (on camera): What do you think would happen to you if you were stuck in here for days? GORGENS: Ah, boy, this is freakish. When you're thinking about how many cubic tons of rock are between you and the sunlight, it would -- I would unravel inside of a few minutes.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): As we walk out of the mine, we think about the miners in Chile, who are safe for now, but have to think about a rescue not in terms of minutes, hours or days, but in weeks or months.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Idaho Springs, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: I'm feeling claustrophobic just watching the piece.
Got to go. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ali Velshi.
