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Globe Trekking: Strong as Solid Rock; New Zealand Earthquake; Virtual Learning in Reel Town; Earl Weakens to Cat 1 Storm; BP Oil Disaster Costs Rising; Unemployment Rate Hits 9.6%; Expensive Public School Raises Concerns

Aired September 03, 2010 - 13:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Let's get going. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ali Velshi in New York City -- Doctor.

ALI VELSHI, HOST: Have a fantastic weekend, Tony. Thanks so much.

I'm Ali Velshi, as Tony said. Here's what's on the rundown. America's unemployment rate ticks higher. But the number of new hires beats economists' expectations, with private-sector gains offsetting government job losses.

They're calling it California's Taj Mahal. And hands-down, it is the most expensive public school ever built, a price tag of over half a billion dollars. Is there a better way to spend that money?

And a CNN colleague and Aerosmith fanatic gets the surprise of his life at his 100th concert. We'll join him backstage and find out if he's worthy.

CNN is your hurricane headquarters. We are bringing you the latest on Hurricane Earl. It is now weakened into a Category 1 storm. Top winds about 85 miles per hour. It's now moving up the East Coast after lashing coastal North Carolina with high winds and 35-foot waves.

And this is what you're looking at right now. This is new video that we've just got in. This is in the barrier islands of North Carolina. Governor Bev Perdue of North Carolina says her state dodged the worst of the storm, dodged a bullet is what she said to us this morning. No lives lost and what seems to be only minimal damage. Obviously, as you can see from here, some flooding. The main road leading in and out of much of the Outer Banks was flooded for at least a of couple miles because of a reverse storm surge.

Now, while the threat is over in North Carolina, they are boarding up in New York, especially on Long Island, the eastern tip of it. Officials in East Hampton and other parts of Long Island are warning beach-goers that waves could reach as high as ten feet. So they say it is best to stay away from the water until the storm passes.

In Massachusetts, people are also getting prepared as Earl approaches. While it's expected to remain off shore, it could still bring heavy rain, heavy high winds and coastal flooding. Forecasters have reduced the hurricane warning area for parts of the state.

Our coverage of Hurricane Earl continues with Brianna Keilar, live in Ocean City, Maryland. Reynolds Wolf is in our storm center in Atlanta. He's tracking the latest on the storm.

Let's start with you, Brianna. You are at Ocean City. We have been watching and talking to you since early this morning. I'm -- there you are. There is Brianna. What's the situation now? It looks like it's calmed down. There was some heavy winds earlier today. What's the situation?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, things have been kind of ebbing and flowing in terms of wind and rain. But actually, the worst is yet to come, as we understand. We're still awaiting tropical-storm-strength winds.

But what's interesting about Ocean City, Maryland -- and I'm here along the famous boardwalk here -- is that they haven't evacuated. Things are not being boarded up. There have been orders for people to really secure patio furniture and that kind of thing.

But actually, I spoke with the director of emergency services here, and he said, "You know, I think that this is really the best- case scenario." They are feeling lucky, even though we're still awaiting some of the worst stuff here that they think they're kind of off the hook as far as anything really bad happening.

Now, just take a look, though. I mean, obviously, people are out on the boardwalk. You know, they're taking a walk, trying to get in a little fun before the stuff really starts to happen.

But just take a look at the surf. Because what has changed here in the last hour as the tide is starting to come in. And the water is expected to be a couple feet above what it normally would be, Ali. This is really dangerous surf. And long-term, this is the big issue, rip currents.

There's hardly anyone on the beach. The actual sand is not closed. But the real concern here, swimmers, surfers, they are not allowed out in the ocean. A couple of them have actually tried to go in, and lifeguards have cited at least one surfer who went in the ocean, because at this point there's an order for everyone to stay out of it, Ali.

VELSHI: Brianne, we will continue to watch the situation along the coast. Thanks very much. Brianna Keilar in Ocean City, Maryland.

Let's go over to Reynolds now in the weather center to see what is going on with the storm.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the latest we have, Ali, is we've seen just an amazing transformation just over the last 12 to 24 to 36 hours. I mean, you'll remember just yesterday at this time, this storm was a major hurricane, a Category 4 at this point. It is now a Category 1 storm. Winds are at 85 miles per hour, gusts at 105. It is continuing to march its way to the north, where Brianna was live just moments ago.

We are seeing a little bit of dry air that's actually moving into the western half of the storm. With that dry air coming through, that really tests the integrity and power of the storm. It is going to continue to weaken as it chugs northward.

What's interesting, though, as you mentioned earlier, Ali, about the idea of heavy winds or heavy winds and they had big waves actually affecting parts of Long Island. That is really going to be an issue around 3:00 this afternoon. That's high tide for that part of Long Island.

And what we're going to be seeing, of course, is some of that wind spinning counterclockwise around the center of circulation that's going to cause that water to pile up. So you might see a little bit of coastal flooding.

But still, as I mentioned, the farther north it goes, the more it's going to weaken. And the key reason why is because it's moving into an area of much cooler water, so it's away from its primary power source, that warm ocean water.

As it chugs to the north, latest forecast we have from the National Hurricane Center expects that, at least, according to the forecast, going to about 80 miles per hour with gusts up to 100 by 8 p.m. on Friday.

Now, just possibly skimming parts of Cape Cod, as we get into the overnight hours, and then by tomorrow morning, 8 a.m., it's moving into the bay, well to the northeast, and away from the coast of Maine.

So we are going to be seeing this thing continue to weaken a bit but still causing some problems out in the open water.

And one thing, Ali, that we have to hammer home to people is that, even though the storm is going to be moving out, we still have another disturbance out here. We're watching Fiona. That is a tropical storm, and with Tropical Storm Fiona and with this storm, what we can anticipate up and down the coast all the way from Maine and back to Florida, rip currents.

VELSHI: What happened to -- what happened to Gaston?

WOLF: For now, we are seeing that storm begin to actually fizzle out. It is just a system that we're watching. It's no longer a tropical storm; it is no longer a tropical depression. But there are a few computer models that show it possibly strengthening once again in several days. So...

VELSHI: I was -- I wanted to do all of our coverage with a French accent.

WOLF: And why wouldn't you? I mean, that's always an exciting thing to happen. VELSHI: It is always. Listen, you showed that storm going up to the Bay of Fundi (ph). What happens then? Does it peter out by the time it gets to them or are they in for something?

WOLF: Once it moves into the Canadian Maritimes, it's going to be moving into an area where it's going to be fairly cold in terms of the water.

At the same time, you've got the Jet Stream, you've got the upper-level winds that's going to carry it off, and then it goes off into history. We're very fortunate with this. It could have been much worse. Had it made landfall somewhere on the Outer Banks, even though it would have been a glancing storm like some of the storms, like the one you were in, Gustav, just two years ago, it could have been very bad. We could have seen millions without power. We could have seen a lot of lives lost. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

VELSHI: All right, Reynolds. Thanks for your great coverage. We'll keep track of it as it continues to move up the East Coast.

Listen, yesterday when a fire broke out on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, a lot of people feared the worst. We'll have an update on exactly what went wrong.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: All right. Coming after the BP disaster, it was a startling report. A fire broke out yesterday at an oil and gas platform into the Gulf of Mexico about 200 miles west of the BP disaster, about 80 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. Today, there is reassuring news.

The fire is out. All 13 workers who were on the platform have been rescued, and there is no evidence of any oil leak. Mariner Energy, which owns the platform, says automatic shutoff equipment worked properly, stopping the flow of oil and gas.

That, of course, is in stark contrast to what happened to BP's Deepwater Horizon rig last April. In that case, BP's blowout preventer failed, causing a massive oil spill. Coincidentally, workers are removing that faulty BP blow out preventer today, as part of a process of permanently sealing that well.

That's been an expensive venture. BP says that it has spent $8 billion on the Gulf oil disaster so far. Josh Levs has been looking into how that money has been spent.

What a staggering number, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and the truth is, in the end, it can keep going up from here. There are more expenses ahead, and we'll be hearing about that as time goes by.

Let's take a look at what they're saying today. When they announced what their costs have been so far is this figure you're seeing here, Ali, $8 billion in total. Now I want everyone to understand what that's comprised of, where that money has gone.

So they talk about the response efforts. They talk about the containment efforts. Containment is everything I kept showing you every day with -- they were down there, basically, trying to stop it. The static kill, the cement, the junk shot, everything they were trying, all those costs are in there.

Also, it includes the costs of the relief wells that they've been working, drilling, as you know, keep part of that whole system, and grants and claims. So all of that together, when they look at what they've had to spend so far, $8 billion.

But I want everyone to keep something in mind. Profits alone in 2009 for BP were at $14 billion. So certainly, this is a company that is used to working with giant sums of money, and even with that $8 billion spent so far, it does not eclipse. The profits alone, not just general operating expenses, the profits alone, 2009, of $14 billion.

Also, keep in mind the way a lot of this is structured, remember they put aside -- and Ali, you know this well -- about $20 billion into an escrow account. And BP continues to provide updates on that.

But as I said, as we look at what the costs of this disaster are for BP, even though we have been seeing, you know, some -- a lot of progress and a lot of really good news in that area, there also are a lot of expenses ahead for years, including what could ultimately be litigation, and a Ali, they can expect some litigation. Ultimately, how many billions of BP will be spending as a result of this, still we don't know.

VELSHI: All right. It -- we knew it was going to be a lot of money. Good to keep an eye on it. Josh, thanks very much. Josh Levs in Atlanta.

Millions of Americans are out of work. These are tough times. What exactly is the government doing about it? You're going to hear directly from the labor secretary herself when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: All right. Unemployment rate. That's the number that comes out today. We got new jobs numbers out for August. The unemployment rate inched up 9.6 percent. It went up to 9.6 percent. I want you to ignore that number, just get it out. I said it, because on the news and I have to say it. This is what is important. Those are job gains and losses since the beginning of this recession going back to December of 2007. OK?

So that little green blip on the left of your screen is the summer of 2007. The recession started that month. We gained jobs then. Look what happened. January, all the way down. See the bottom of that thing? That's January of 2009; 740,000 jobs were lost in one month. That's the bottom.

Then we start moving up. All the way through 2009. End of 2009 -- I think that was November, we had some job gains. December we lost again.

And then we get into this year, 2010. Green. Green, green, green, green. Everything is going well. This recession is ending. Now all of a sudden look at the three at the end. June, July and August. Down. We have lost jobs for three months. But look at that, go in tighter on that. Look at those three. There's a trend there. It's going up. So fewer jobs in July than in June were lost. Fewer jobs in August.

August is the last blip. That was last month; 54,000 jobs were lost. I think that's good news. Why? Because really, 121,000 government jobs were lost in August. But the private sector, private companies, added 67,000 jobs.

Let me break it down, the unemployment rate. Let me break it down by demographics. The unemployment rate across the country is 9.6 percent. That's nationally.

Now, on the left, men, they have a slightly higher unemployment rate, 9.8 percent. Because they are concentrated in the jobs that we have lost the most of: manufacturing and construction.

Women, check that out. The unemployment rate is 8 percent for women. It's all up, but it's 8 percent, because women are concentrated in a lot of the jobs that we have increased, like health care and education.

Look at that last one, 26.3 percent. You know what that group is? That is teenagers. Teenagers are 26.3 percent. Not a good thing to be a teenager looking for a job right now.

Let's break it down by race. Whites enjoy an 8.7 percent unemployment rate. That is lower than the national average of 9.6 percent. African-Americans, 16.3 percent; Hispanics, 12 percent. The arrows on the right, by the way, just tell you whether they've gone up or down since the last time it was reported. Asians employ -- enjoy a lower than average unemployment rate of 7.2 percent.

OK, I talked with the U.S. secretary of labor, Hilda Solis, about fixing unemployment. Here's what she told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Listen, you've got a job; you've got a great job. I have mused, though, lately that, if there were a reality show called "The Worst Job in America," you might be a contestant on it, to be the labor secretary with such persistently high unemployment and jobs being lost. Tell me what -- what troubles you about these jobs pictures that we keep on seeing.

HILDA SOLIS, U.S. SECRETARY OF LABOR: Well, what we're seeing is actually we've been able to add private sector jobs. If you remember, when the president took over in the administration, we were losing well over 740,000 jobs.

In the last eight months, we've seen, on an average, about 90,000 private sector jobs added. And this report that just came out changes a bit. We go up a bit. But I would say that it's steady. I think the path that we're on is very good. You see increases in manufacturing and in construction for the first time in a while. About 19,000 more jobs added. But also in health care, that continues to grow.

So I see in different parts of the private-sector economy that there is -- there is some increase occurring. But certainly not as fast and as strong as we would like to see it. That's why we need to have tax reform so we can help small businesses, so more lending can be made available through community banks to small business owners.

VELSHI: Let me ask you this. I want to go back in time. Now, a lot of people go back in time to determine who's to blame for this economy and this mess. I want to take a different route. I want to take you back in time to when you were a member of Congress and one who was particularly close to labor and to working people.

How -- what do you say to them? Because 40 percent of the labor force has been out of work for six months or longer. And while -- what you are saying about tax cuts and about goosing small business and allowing them to get the loans that they need to get is important, there's sort of an urgency growing out there that's leading to a dissatisfaction about the end of this economy. So I'm almost looking to speak to -- to Congresswomen Solis at least for a moment and say, what are you -- what do you tell working people out there who say through no fault of their own, they continue to be out of work?

SOLIS: Well, you know, I recall when I was a House member, long before the recession was really tagged as a recession in the area that I represented in East Los Angeles, Southern California, we had unemployment rates as high 9 percent. So for people in those communities, they've been suffering long before the recession was actually called.

And I would hope that that previous administration would have moved quicker so we wouldn't have had to come out of the ditch, and we're finally coming out of that ditch. It's slower, because this is a very hard recession.

But I think that the tools that we've been able to implement and the fact that we were able to get recovery dollars to help provide a safety net for unemployed people, especially dislocated worker, that's what I'm in charge of, unemployment insurance, but also equally looking at investments in green technology and training programs. We've given well over $750,000 -- $50 million -- $750 million in green renewable energy training, and also health care and I.T. and broadband.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: More of my conversation with the labor secretary can be seen along with a very extensive discussion on jobs -- how to get one, what's going on with this economy and rookie investor mistakes -- Saturday, 1 p.m. Eastern, Sunday, 3 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. If you don't watch it all the time, this is the week to watch it. We get deep into how this job situation is going to get fixed.

Listen, a low-income area gets a long-awaited new school. But the huge cost of the building has some people upset. They're saying the money could have been used to save teacher jobs. We'll take a look at this controversial attempt to fix our schools when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Fix our schools, three words which have driven much of our coverage this week. We have sent reporting teams across the country to document the education crisis in America. Most importantly, we'll shine a light on success stories that can empower us to offer our children so much more than they are getting now.

A new school in Los Angeles is stirring up controversy. It's in one of the poorest areas of the city. But massive school -- the massive school cost half a billion dollars -- more than half a billion dollars to build. Look at that price tag. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez takes us on a tour of the nation's most expensive public school.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is one of the poorest inner-city neighborhoods in Los Angeles, where dilapidated, severely overcrowded schools forced kids to be bussed far away. A community that fought for new schools for nearly two decades. Finally, they got it.

(on camera) This brand-new high school in the heart of Los Angeles is being called the Taj Mahal of public schools. It has fine- art murals, a luxurious auditorium, classrooms that have wireless Internet access. Even a flat-screen TV embedded in the sidewalk. All these gee-whiz factors is actually stirring up controversy in the community. Why?

(voice-over) Because, it cost more than a half million to build, making Robert F. Kennedy School the nation's most expensive K-12 school ever.

CRISSINA JOHNSON, PARENT: In light of all the cutbacks and teachers being terminated, I was just in shock. I couldn't believe it.

GUTIERREZ: Crissina Johnson is a parent from another part of the city, who's upset that so much money was spent on one school, while so many other schools are falling apart.

GUILLERMINA LOPEZ, PARENT: It's worth it for the education of the students. It's not a loss of money.

GUTIERREZ: Guillermina Lopez was part of the parent group that spent 17 years fighting for the school. She says poor students also deserve a great school.

JAMES SOHN, DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES, LAUSD: It has audio/visual equipment, smart boards, Internet access through wi-fi as well as through fiber optic.

GUTIERREZ: James Sohn with the Los Angeles Unified School District gave us a tour of the campus.

SOHN: You're standing inside of our high-school gymnasium. It is a competition gymnasium of approximately 10,000 square feet.

You're looking at a full competition pool that we designed to be available for the community to use after hours and after schools and on the weekends.

GUTIERREZ: Robert F. Kennedy School sits on 23 acres on the site of the Ambassador Hotel, where the former president's brother was assassinated in 1968. It's actually several schools in one: elementary, middle cool and high school. Student capacity here is 4,200.

The school has a state-of-the-art library, a designer staff lounge and an auditorium that pays tribute to the legendary hotel.

JOHNSON: And then you look on the other side of town or even around the corner, and schools are falling apart. Teachers are being laid off. They don't have enough computers or equipment in their classes.

GUTIERREZ: Crissina Johnson pointed out the differences at Westchester High, where her daughter, Zion, will go to school. The auditorium, athletic fields, the gymnasium, and the teachers' lounge. Johnson says the school is in desperate need of repair, and says the schools' Web site doesn't even work.

But the L.A. School District says it wants parents to understand the money wasn't taken from one school to give to another.

SOHN: The district is unapologetic about the fact that we can spend the right amount of money to build a wonderful school for our students.

GUTIERREZ: The district says the money came from a bond measure passed by voters that earmarked funds for this school alone. But at a time when the district is laying off teachers saying it's out of money, a half-billion-dollar campus is a tough sell.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: OK. A quick break, and we are your hurricane headquarters. We're going to tell you what is going on with Earl and what you've got to do if you've got plans to go to someplace in that hurricane's path this Labor Day weekend. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Hey, I want to go to our weather center, Reynolds Wolf, who's been fairly preoccupied with Earl right now. He's got another story on his hands: a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in New Zealand. What do you know about this?

(WEATHER REPORT)

VELSHI: Hurricanes are one thing to worry about. That's by the way, one thing those Chilean miners don't have to worry about. And they -- well, we're going to tell you what's going on with them when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: OK, it's "Globe Trekking" time, that takes us once more to Chile. But I want to first go to -- are we going to Chile? All right, let me tell you what's going on in Chile, where the 33 gold and copper miners have been trapped almost half a mile underground, hard to believe, it's 29 days. They were down there about 17 days before even sort of knew that there was something we could do about this.

Chile's minister of health tells CNN the men are as strong as solid rock, thanks in large part to a four-inch tube that carries food, water, clothing, you name it, from the surface down to their chamber dubbed "Refuge 33."

This week, for the second time, rescuers cents down a video camera and let the miners send messages to the outside world. As we head into the Labor Day Weekend, I want you to hear very hard workers who won't be relaxing with family, may not see daylight for months, but they're not letting a cave-in defeat them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Greetings to Mr. Minister.

Mr. Minister, this is the seminar room. Here we have this office for messages coming from above and messages that go down below. And here we have a complete inventory of everything that's coming in.

We are happy. Very happy to have water. Food is being consumed according to the plan they have upstairs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm going to explain the whole situation a little bit.

They sent us a set of blueprints from upstairs, so that we could start planning, describing the structure we're going to have at this time. We are grateful to all the workers who are upstairs going through tremendous sacrifice, and I know that the problem is a major one.

There's going to be very hard work. We're more calm, and with the video that you sent us, everything upstairs is exactly the way we imagined it, and we hope and thank you and we hope we can contribute.

I also want to thank everyone who has been worrying about us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We are very happy. We can't tell you how happy we are. Now my co-workers want to say bye.

Thank you, Mr. President.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: We are now more than three days into the drilling on a shaft that is wide enough to lift out a human being. So far, they have drilled through 130 feet of rock ,that leaves more than 2,000 feet to go.

All right, we are covering breaking news now of an earthquake in New Zealand. Reynolds has been following that and has more information for us.

Reynolds, what is it looking like now?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Originally, when the details first came out, we thought it happened right on the ocean floor. That's not the case. If you happen look at this, they're looking toward the southern hemisphere, you've got Australia here to give you your bearings, then of course, you've got the fault line that cuts right across parts of New Zealand.

This happened in Christchurch, which is actually the second largest city in New Zealand. This happened also at 4:35 local time, 4:35 in the morning for Saturday morning in this part of the world.

What I can tell you is that this is was a relatively shallow quake, 7.2 on the Richter scale. Shallow meaning that this took place about 10 miles below the surface.

And I can tell you, that we've already had some information that's been coming in terms of damage, some images that we're going to share with you in mere moments and the images that you're going to see, some homes in the Christchurch area. I few can pull those up in mere moments, what we're going to do is just give you an idea of what people are going to be dealing with as they wake up.

You have to remember, when something like this occurs, a big fear will be the aftershocks, what might come. So you have this one initial shaking of a 7.2, that can damage things and that puts these buildings, so many of them in a weakened state so anything that follows, any other subsequent aftershock can cause some buildings that have been slightly damaged and have them break apart.

Let's take a look at, if we can, you see some of those there -- I'm actually looking at the image of the damage there myself. What people are going to be doing as they are waking up, looking out, surveying damage. We're going to be sending more images in and sharing those with you.

Ali, I can tell you, though, that to have those earthquakes, certainly that is a big one, but to have shocks like that, to have tremors certainly not unusual in this part of the world. Certainly not unusual in the Pacific at all where they refer to this area as the ring of fire, where you have a lot of subduction (ph) zones, many places where the earth's crust tends to come together.

VELSHI: Let me ask you this. You said it's shallow, relatively shallow, 10 miles. What's the implication of a shallow earthquake versus a not shallow earthquake?

WOLF: Well, usually, your more shallow ones can cause actually cause a bit more damage. This is something that happened very quickly, it happened -- and again, the time of day you have to think about a shallow quake like this is 7.2 occurring at 7:35 in the morning, there is good and bad with that.

The good side, you don't have a whole lot of people on the road. The problem is you have a lot of people at home inside their shelters, inside their homes, inside their buildings, so that certainly is a huge, tremendous cause for concern. So let's keep our fingers crossed, we're going to get more information as it comes in. Of course, we're going to be sharing it with the world.

VELSHI: OK, well, so far, all the serious things you have covered in the last couple days have turned out to be less serious than we thought they were. So that's good. If you keep on -- you keep on doing that, then we'll be in good shape.

WOLF: Let's hope the trend continues.

VELSHI: Reynolds, thanks very much. Let's hope the trend continues.

All right, the class is in one town, the teacher is in another. How does it work out? I'm going to tell you about it after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Rural school districts often have trouble finding or affording teachers, particularly in specialized subjects. In Alabama, they think teleconferencing is the solution.

Mary Snow has this "Fix Our Schools" report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While most kids are told to power down in the classroom, these 11th graders at Reel Town High School are encouraged to log on and tune in.

DENE CARTER, HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER: Repetar por favor: Muy bien. Gracias.

CLASS: Muy bien. Gracias.

SNOW: These students will likely never meet their teacher, Dene Carter, and only know her through a video monitor. She is teaching some 65 miles away from a different high school, but if they want to learn Spanish, this virtual classroom is the only option.

CARTER: Como te llamas? UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Me llamo Cheyenne (ph).

SNOW: Cheyenne and her classmates are taking part in Alabama's Fix For Schools located in rural areas, where it's difficult to attract teachers, leaving high schools without some basic courses. To bridge the gap, the state started an experiment in 2005 with distance learning, linking classrooms online and with videoconferencing.

The program, says Alabama's Education Superintendent Joseph Morton, now stretches to all has high schools.

JOSEPH MORTON, ALABAMA EDUCATION SUPERINTENDENT: In five short years, it's become what we think an Alabama miracle, it's really leveled the playing field for so many students and so many families.

SNOW: In the past, offering Spanish was a possibility. Now, public high school students have the option of five languages that include Latin and Mandarin. Advanced placement classes were also added.

But it takes some getting used to. The bulk of the class is done online, with students sending homework to Deni Carter through audio clips and most communication is done through e-mail.

(on camera): What's it like so far?

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: It's kind of challenging, because I'm used to seeing my teacher right in front of me if I have a question. And I have to do it on internet.

SNOW: There are critics outside these programs who say that face-to-face connection is crucial. What do you say to those skeptics?

CARTER: Face-to-face connection with students is very crucial to learning, but at the same time, we are moving into an era where, you know, these kids may be going to jobs and they are -- they work out of their homes, and they have a boss that they never see.

SNOW (voice-over): And some sometimes say it's helping them get ready for college.

The state education's boss says the proof is in the numbers with the graduation rates rising.

MORTON: What a change that makes for the future of this state. We graduate about 42,000 kids a year, and if we can increase that to where we can graduate 48,000 or 50,000 a year, like we should be, that's -- that's 8,000 lives a year we have changed.

SNOW: And the challenge now, he says, is keeping up with demand.

Mary Snow, CNN, Reel Town, Alabama.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VELSHI: All right. Five years after Hurricane Katrina. The northern Gulf Coast has passed from death and destruction, through fear and frustration, to recovery. And it is not over yet. After a break, I will talk with a former esteemed colleague who lived that story professionally, and very, very personally.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: A few days ago, the nation marked the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's merciless attack on the Gulf. And while no journalist who covered it will ever forget it, some took it personally and still do.

I'm thinking of my former CNN colleague, who grew up in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and reported for us for you on the utter devastation of her beloved hometown, Bay St. Louis. Her name is Kathleen Koch. She writes about her experiences in the new book, "Rising From Katrina." Kathleen joins me from CNN's center in Atlanta.

I was planning on being there with you, but plans changed, Kathleen. First of all, congratulations on getting this book out, not because you have written a book, but because from the moment you stepped in there as a reporter covering that story, it was different. This was personal for you. Your childhood home was destroyed.

KATHLEEN KOCH, AUTHOR/FORMER CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was, Ali. And that's why I had to write this book, because this was a story that really no one else was telling.

I have to give CNN a lot of credit. We're one of the few networks that focused on the fact that Mississippi was the real ground zero of Hurricane Katrina. That while the levees broke in New Orleans, it was Mississippi that was hit with the 30-plus-foot storm surge, with the sustained 125-mile-an-hour winds, gusts of 145, hopscotching tornadoes. And that just destroyed the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the first half mile, for the entire 80-mile length of the coast. So, it was a story that was important to tell because it's been so forgotten.

VELSHI: Let's -- I want to just play for our viewers -- this is you walking through your school. Let's just listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: I never thought I'd see the day when my high school was a shelter. But this is the perfect place. It's the perfect thing to turn into a shelter. The building is standing. It's just my high school. This is incredible, how high the water came up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Kathleen, how did you -- tell me about the transformation from you as reporter on a story that was so close to you into being able to be the narrator of a story about it. I mean, you couldn't be objective. Once you got on to that story, there was no turning back. KOCH: No, you couldn't be objective, Ali. I tried to be honest. That's what I've done with all my reporting on Katrina because it was so personal. And therefore, I couldn't pretend that I was just completely disinvolved.

And we did what we could when we were there to help people, but a lot of folks never saw that on camera. That was something that we did when we were done with our jobs. And most people at CNN don't know what we did behind the scenes.

And that was very important to me because I felt like this was something personal that I wanted to do to help the people of my town. But I didn't want to feel like I was using them. We did what we could to help people. And again, the book is part of helping them still to this day.

VELSHI: Yes. So, five years later, so much of what had gone wrong has been rebuilt. What still - what wounds are still open?

KOCH: A couple of things. A lot of the businesses up and down the beach still haven't built back. A lot of the homeowners still haven't rebuilt their homes because the insurance is still so very expensive. If you build back your home, you may find your homeowner's insurance is more than your mortgage.

Another thing that's hurtful is anyone who feeds the national misperception that Hurricane Katrina only hit New Orleans. And that's what happened when the president only went to New Orleans on Sunday, on the anniversary. I had friends in Mississippi who just had to shut off the TV. They couldn't watch anymore or else they would throw something at the camera - I mean, at the screen, because they were just so angry because they feel so forgotten.

And acknowledgment, Ali, is such a part of the healing process. People around the country not feeling sorry for the people of Mississippi -- they don't want anyone's pity -- they want acknowledgment for how far they've come, that they have built back. We're about 50 percent of the way there. We're about 80 percent of the population in my hometown of Bay St. Louis. Eighty percent in the county, Hancock County, but we've got a ways to go.

But we just want -- you know, give us an "atta, boy." Give us some credit for how far we've come.

VELSHI: Yes. I remember very clearly you walking through your school, which had become a shelter. I also remember clearly -- of all the memories -- and I was down there during Katrina. Of all the memories I will hold, the one of you walking through your childhood home is very poignant, and I want our viewers to see this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: This was the living room over here. My brother's room was back here. A place we grew up and where we had so many wonderful years is gone. I'm going to bring a brick back for each member of the family. Seven, OK, one for each. Bricks and memories. Good memories.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: That is a matter of recent history to some of us. But one of the biggest events we've ever witnessed in this country and the history through your eyes is really important because you've written it as the journalist that you are. But I wanted our viewers to see that it's not an outside enterprise. This is something by somebody who's been very close to it.

Kathleen, I'm sorry I couldn't have been there with you. But I'm glass you've written this book. And I hope everybody gets a chance to read it.

KOCH: Thanks for having me on, Ali. I appreciate it.

VELSHI: Kathleen Koch. My pleasure. She's a former colleague of mine and the author of "Rising from Katrina," and it's available now.

All right. You know Aerosmith, still rocking after all these years. Aerosmith is back on tour. They are thrilling audiences across the country, including someone I know very well. I'm taking you backstage at Aerosmith when we come back.

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VELSHI: For those of you who are watching in your office, or some of you only sort of watching - OK, just stop what you're doing and pay attention for a second.

When you talk about the greatest rock 'n' roll bands of all time, Aerosmith has got to be near the top of that list. This is a band that's been thrilling audiences around the world for 40 years. You remember the hits. "Dream On." "Sweet Emotion." "Walk This Way." Then came the MTV years with "Love in an Elevator," "Dude Looks Like a Lady." And "Walk This Way" another time.

To put their popularity in numeric form form, 64 million albums told in the United States alone. They've got a lot of fans. One of their biggest fans is a guy named Jay Conroy. Jay Conroy's not just a guy. He works for us here in New York. And full disclosure here, he's a friend of mine.

Jay went to his first Aerosmith show when he was just a kid. Now, four decades later and 99 shows later, Jay went again, and we went along for the ride.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI (voice-over): Jay Conroy is a known quantity at CNN. He's a set manager on the network shows that produced out of New York. His long, wavy hair, T-shirt and jeans mark him as a devotee of Aerosmith. In his words, the greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time. (MUSIC PLAYING)

JAY CONROY, CNN FLOOR MANAGER: All these guys were completely just raised on Aerosmith. There's home movies we're watching of them, and in the background, there's Aerosmith playing. It's like we're out there playing ball and stuff, and it's all nice and real family- oriented and the grass is green. But in the background, you hear Aerosmith playing.

VELSHI: So, when Jay told us he was taking his family to see his 100th show, we decided to arrange a little surprise for him.

CONROY: Oh, my God! I can't believe I'm standing here talking to Aerosmith!

STEVEN TYLER, LEAD SINGER OF AEROSMITH: You know what? It could have happened way before this.

CONROY: And you guys are so just, like, down to earth.

(CROSSTALK)

CONROY: Yeah, in 1976, right? How are you? Good to see you. Joe.

1976. I've got most of the tickets right here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa!

CONROY: First time I went to see you guys, in the Garden, '76. I paid $5.50.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God! Wow!

VELSHI: Yep. With a little help from us, Jay got to meet his favorite rock 'n' roll band backstage.

TYLER: Wow! I love it when this happens.

CONROY: This will be something I will never forget. And the fact that my kids were in on this, beautiful.

VELSHI: So, he can be forgiven if he thinks that gives him the right to tell them what songs they should play.

CONROY: When you do "Saddle" in the middle of the set, it throws me off. It should be an opener.

(CROSSTALK)

TYLER: No, but, I like your opinion. Someone's got so many opinions.

I like this. Front of our set is done.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

VELSHI: But the band listened to Jay and opened with the song "Back in the Saddle." And gave him the night of his life.

Rock on, Jay!

(END VIDEOTAPE)