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Rescue Imminent for Trapped Miners; Anti-Gay Hate Crimes in NY; NRA Supports Both Parties

Aired October 09, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Jubilation in Chile where a rescue drill brings a flood of hope to 33 miners trapped under ground. We'll have more on that developing story in just a moment.

But first, here are some other stories making headlines right now. Police in New York arrest seven alleged gang members in a series of brutal anti-gay hate crimes.

The clock is ticking on the midterm elections. Now just 24 days away. We'll have the day's political developments. And the holiday shopping outlook is looking a bit brighter for people who are looking for a job. Retailers say they plan to hire a lot more seasonal workers.

There's plenty to celebrate in Chile right now. Earlier today a rescue tunnel finally reached 33 trapped miners. But the dangerous part of this rescue mission is far from over. CNN's Karl Penhaul is at the mine site right now. And Karl, we had that moment already today where they reached the men, they reached the rescue tunnel, what needs to be done before they can actually be lifted to the surface?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, just to bring you up to date, Randi, I don't know if you just heard, (INAUDIBLE) we saw two Chilean police vehicles and a Chilean ambulance just screaming around this curve in the dirt road here and heading off down the hill towards the direction of the main city, which is about 45 minutes drive away.

We don't know what has happened there. We don't know if that is a genuine emergency or whether it's part of a practice drill. But we just heard an ambulance head down the hill there. Maybe something has happened with one of the rescue workers. We don't know yet. Too early to tell but if we get more information, then I'll get back to you straight away.

But in terms of what has to happen now, certainly with the breakthrough today, we saw the joy from the families, absolutely fabulous to see. But of course, this only signifies the start of the final countdown. What is happening now, over my shoulder there, where the drill rigs are, the vase (ph) that the drill hammers are attached to, they have to be drown out of the rescue shaft now. That will take about six or eight hours, just to get the bars and the drill hammer back out until they got a clean hole.

Once they've got a clean hole, the engineers will put a camera down there and check that the rescue (INAUDIBLE) drill a series of small holes around the base of the rescue shaft and with about four pounds of dynamite, they're going to have to blow and widen a little bit that rescue shaft just in the bottom to create what rescuers have explained to me is an inverted cone. And that will just make sure that when the rescue cage, known as the Phoenix capsule, is dropped down the rescue shaft, once it gets to the bottom there, it can kind of swing freely so that the miners can then be loaded aboard.

The other thing that may or may not have to happen is encasing. A series of steel tubes that may have to be put down that rescue shaft to protect it, to make it solid. Again, to prevent any possibility of rock falls. But what we understand talking to some of the engineers and also a mining consultant close to this operation is that probably only the first 100 yards of the shaft will have to be encased that. And that could be done within a space of about 10 hours. Add thing to the other and according to the government health minister here, he says that the first miner could be extracted as early as Tuesday. Randi.

KAYE: All right. Karl Penhaul for us, thank you very much. Appreciate your time.

Today's joyful exuberance has been a long time coming, we should say. The miners have been trapped underground for 65 days. On August 5th, the main ramp of the San Jose mine collapsed, trapping 33 miners, half a mile underground. No one knew if they were alive or dead. Later that month, on August 22nd, rescuers lowered probe 2,300 feet down into that mine. The miners tied a note to it saying they're alive. Their families, of course, were overjoyed.

And then on September 17th, the plan B bore hole reached the miners. It was one of three shafts that the Chilean government is drilling but it was only 12 inches wide and needed to be widened to accommodate the rest of the capsule. Then earlier this month, on October 1st, officials revised their own rescue timeline. Instead of November, they announced that the miners could be reached earlier, possibly by mid October. And that estimate appears, of course, to be right on the money. The first of the miners could be brought out next week.

More than two months underground can take a mental and emotional toll on anyone even an experiences miner. In about 25 minutes we'll hear from some mental health experts about what behavioral changes the families of the miners can expect when they are finally rescued.

A frightening mass overdose in a small down in the great northwest, that's home to Central Washington University. Police in (INAUDIBLE), Washington say a party left more than a dozen university students and other teenagers with drug and alcohol overdoses. Police were first called to help an assault victim and one possible overdose victim. Witnesses say they made a bizarre discovery there. A dozen people, of course, were taken to the hospital. The town is about 90 miles east of Seattle.

A series of brutal anti-gay crimes is shaking New York. Police say the attacks started after members of a street gang in the Bronx found out that an aspiring member was gay. One of the victims was hit with a chain and sodomized with a baseball bat. CNN's Susan Candiotti is in our New York bureau with the very latest. SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: New Yorkers are stunned about what's being called a vile and disgusting hate crime. Some say the worst in recent memory.

Door-to-door politicians and community leaders took to the streets of a Bronx neighborhood today looking for help, help to find at least two other suspects. So far seven people ranging in age from 17 to 23 are under arrest. On Friday, New York Police disclosed the gruesome details. A gang called Latin king gunys found out a 17-year-old new recruit, allegedly was having sex with an older man. So police say nine gang members separately lured both of them to an apartment, beat them and sexually assaulted them. Commissioner Ray Kelly talks about the first attack victim, and then the other.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE: He was thrown into a wall, made to strip naked, hit in the head with a beer can, cut with a box cutter and sodomized with the wooden handle of a plunger.

He was forced to strip to his underwear and then tied to a chair opposite from the teenager. The teenager, at the direction of his assailants, hit the older male several times in the face and burned him with cigarettes. The assailants also hit the man with their fist and the chair - chain and sodomized him with a small baseball bat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now at today's rally in the Bronx, we spoke with New York Governor David Paterson. He said the recent suicide of an outed gay Rutgers University student and New York's alleged hate crimes are in his words appalling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. DAVID PATERSON, NEW YORK: It just means that the tenor of hatred and bigotry seems to be rising, right now, as it often does in the midst of a recession and economic downturn and people's angers are formenting themselves in the wrong direction. They're being formented at other people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: And New York City council speaker Catherine Quinn applauded the bravery of the victim, she says for coming forward. She said if they had not done so, Randi, then probably they would not have been able to help find the people responsible for this crime. Back to you.

KAYE: Certainly. All right. Susan Candiotti for us. Thank you, Susan.

The independent swing vote in 2008, they swung to the left. But maybe not this year. We'll climb aboard the CNN Election Express to bring you all the answers, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: There are now just 24 days until the midterm elections. The economy is still issue number one, the voters, especially in states with heated races like Nevada, California and Pennsylvania. CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is aboard the CNN Election Express in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania today. Good to see you, Paul.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Randi, a lot of heated races here in Pennsylvania. That's why we've brought the express bus up here. You've got a battle for the governorship here. It's controlled by the Democrats. Republicans think they can win that back. Same thing with the Senate seat that's up for grabs. The Republicans think they can win that seat back.

And there are about four to six House seats that the Republicans think they can recapture here in Pennsylvania. If they take back Congress, one of the places they're going to do it is right here in Pennsylvania. As you mentioned, the economy, the top issue among Pennsylvania voters. You know, the unemployment level here is 9.2 percent, which is slightly lower than the national average of 9.6 percent, but that is small comfort to people looking for full-time work. We spoke to a number of those people. Take a listen to what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL ULER, LIKELY VOTER: I'm concerned about jobs and the economy as opposed to breaks for big business and tax breaks for big business and the corporate - I guess I'm more concerned about the little guy, yes, me. And I'm unemployed myself and I am temping but I'm looking for full-time work.

SHARIE UBANK, LIKELY VOTER: The economy. Really the economy and the job losses and it doesn't - even though we're out of the recession, it doesn't seem to be turning around. So I would say the economy is the number one topic for everyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: No surprise at all, Randi. And it's been issue number one for Americans for over three years now. It still is, and will be that way on November 2nd. Randi.

KAYE: And Paul, which way are ever important independent voters leaning this election? What have you been able to find out there?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, they're so crucial. In 2006 when the Democrats won back Congress and in 2008 when Barack Obama won the White House, independents, they swung for the Democrats. This year, it doesn't appear that way. Take a look at this - our brand new CNN opinion research corporation national survey.

Among likely independent voters, we asked would you vote for the generic Democrat or Republican in your district? You can see by a 2-1 margin they are going for the Republicans. That is troubling news for the Democrats as they try to hold on to control of Congress. Randi. KAYE: Absolutely. All right. Paul, keep those polls coming for us. All right?

STEINHAUSER: You got it.

KAYE: Good to see you.

Here's an important programming note for you. Join Wolf Blitzer and the best political team on television for Wednesday night's Delaware Senate debate. Our live coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. That is right here on CNN.

Bank of America is halting foreclosures in all 50 states. At issue, questions about the validity of some foreclosure-related documents. Some banks have admitted, the person responsible for signing off on the paperwork may not have done so in the presence of a notary and they may not have fully reviewed all of the information in the documents. It's not known exactly how many loans are affected but analyst say the freeze could complicate an already chaotic housing market.

Martin Luther King Jr. once described 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning the most segregated hour in America. In many communities it's still true 40 years later. Ted Rowlands looks at one African-American church in California that is trying to change all that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sunday service at Christ our Redeemer AME Church in Orange County, California. The church started 12 years ago by Reverend Mark Whitlock. 3,000 members strong and growing. Here they practice something many other black churches do not. Integration.

REV. MARK WHITLOCK, CHRIST OUR REDEEMER AME CHURCH: It's time for us to get away from black church and white church.

The church is still the most segregated place on Sunday in the United States. Our goal is do what heaven has accomplished. Heaven is fully integrated.

ROWLANDS: African-Americans make up two percent of the population in Orange County, which makes integration here almost essential for growth. But Whitlock argues it should be happening at every church because he says unlike the past, most of the issues that blacks, whites and everybody else struggle with are the same.

WHITLOCK: We have problems with our kids, we have problems with bills, we have problems on the job.

ROWLANDS: But not everybody thinks integrating the black church is such a good idea. Michael Reel is the former managing editor of the "Baptist Voice" and co-founder of realurbannews.com.

MICHAEL REEL, REALURBANNEWS.COM: It's ours. It's the one last place in the world that we have that we can call our own. WHITLOCK: We have whites on our board. They look different than blacks, yes. They stick out a little more than blacks, yes. But that means that there's still a sense of freedom, they feel a sense of belonging.

If other churches are doing it, are they really practicing authentic Christianity?

It really is about bringing change to our community.

ROWLANDS: Ted Rowlands, CNN, Urban, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Fighting the financial crisis from the pulpit. The black church has fought for civil and human rights and now it is waging war on debt. People living beyond their means, getting stuck in mortgages they can't afford. "Almighty Debt, A Black in America Special" is coming your way Thursday, October 21st, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

They are single and loving it until a baby brings an unlikely couple together. We're going to the movies right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Here's a check of the top stories. Excitement and cheers just a few hours ago in Chile. The ordeal for 33 trapped miners may soon be over, now that the rescue shaft has reached them. In just days a especially designed capsule will bring them to the earth's surface. Right now, the rescue shaft is being widened and reinforced so that the capsule would fit.

A gunman faces six counts of attempted murder after opening fire at an elementary school yesterday in Southern California. A six-year-old girl and seven-year-old girl received minor injuries. Police say Brandon O'Rourke (ph) fired several shots at the school in Carlsbad. Witnesses say the students were grazed by bullets while they were outside at lunch. The suspect was caught by construction workers near that school.

And now another village in Hungary has been evacuated after Monday's massive toxic sludge spill. There's fear a second wave of toxic sludge may spill because a reservoir at the aluminum plant could collapse. This mud is contaminated with potentially deadly chemicals. Seven villagers have died since the first toxic spill. 100 others were hurt.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. We want to share more with you from CNN politics. Here's more from CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From my cold, dead hands! BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The iconic image of the NRA. Hollywood maverick, the late Charlton Heston brandishes a musket, a legendary portrait of the gun lobby's tight relationship with conservatives. But, huh? Harry Reid?

The Democratic Senate majority leader, shown here in a campaign video, has been endorsed by the NRA in the past. Not this year. He backed the Supreme Court nominations of Justices Sotomayor and Kagan, who the NRA believes don't support gun rights.

But the group is backing 64 Democrats running for House seat this election cycle, most of them incumbents, including several who are running for seats viewed as crucial for winning the majority in the midterms.

TOM DAVIS, FORMER REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN: They're an interest group like any other interest group. And they want to advance their interest.

TODD: Former GOP congressman Tom Davis was once chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the party's arm that pushes House campaigns. Why is it in the NRA's interest to push incumbent Democrats this year?

DAVIS: Well, incumbent Democrats have stood with the NRA on a lot of very tough votes, and you have to reward people that are voting for you or they're not going to vote for you in the future.

TODD: It was a group of House Democrats who got the Obama administration to back away from reinstituting a ban on assault weapons.

(on camera): Despite their traditional linkage with the Republican party, officials here at the NRA insists to us they are not a partisan organization. One official said if you're a candidate and you're sincere about fighting for the second amendment, the right to bear arms, you'll get the NRA's support. But he also said flat out, if you don't, we'll go after you.

(voice-over): And if two have earned the same rating, the NRA favors the incumbent even if it's a Democrat.

(on camera): If you're a democrat, does the NRA's backing kind of inoculate you in criticism?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Look, Republicans are going to go out and try to label all these Democrats, Nancy Pelosi's Democrats. If you have the NRA's backing, you can say I'm not a Nancy Pelosi Democrat, I'm a Democrat that represents you.

TODD (voice-over): The NRA brings considerable financial backing when it endorses. An NRA official told me they'll spend $15 to $20 million this election cycle. But Tom Davis says it's not the money the NRA brings that's so crucial, it's the fact that they have people in virtually every district in the country who can pound the beat in favor of or against any candidate. Brian Todd, CNN, Fairfax, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Well, there are some big names on the big screen this weekend. Joanna Langfield with the movieminute.com joins us from New York with today's movie reviews. And Joanna, good to see you.

JOANNA LANGFIELD, MOVIEMINUTE.COM: You too, Randi. Thank you.

KAYE: Glad to have you with us. Let's start with the comedy "Life As We Know It." Here's a clip with Josh Duhamel and Katherine Heigl. We'll talk about it right after this.

LANGFIELD: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know what I'm doing (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just take the tabs off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't do that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's "Slumdog Millionaire" in there.

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She had like two pieces of macaroni.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Give me the wipes. Another one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hurry up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. Get it out of (INAUDIBLE)

It's like a poop suit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't leave me in here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: That's a great clip. Here's the plot. An up and coming caterer and a promising network sports director, who, after one date, I guess they determined that they dislike each other but then they have to find a way to live together raise their god daughter after being named as her guardian. Did I get that right?

LANGFIELD: Yes, isn't that the stuff of a romantic comedy.

KAYE: Oh, absolutely.

LANGFIELD: You know, the parents get killed. It's adorable, isn't it?

KAYE: You've seen it. Have you given it a grade?

LANGFIELD: Yes, you just saw it, too. It's all poo-poo.

KAYE: That's it?

LANGFIELD: I'm telling you. You know, after the parents get killed, what else is there? Everybody is adorable, though. And that's really all that matters in this movie is that everybody is adorable and they're sweet and they wore their (INAUDIBLE) hat and they do the same story we've seen a million times before. I found it frankly annoying. Sorry.

KAYE: OK. Is there a grade you want to share with us, just annoying?

LANGFIELD: Oh, you want a grade. The actors do the best they can. Josh Duhamel is very cute, Katherine Heigl is adorable. I love the baby. We'll give it a D.

KAYE: OK. All right. We leave that one at that.

LANGFIELD: Charitable, right?

KAYE: Very charitable apparently considering your description. Let's talk about the "Secretariat." Suspense, a very inspirational film. John Malkovich plays the trainer here. It's the life story of a housewife with very little knowledge of horse racing who fosters one of the greatest race horses of all time. "Secretariat," we know won the Triple Crown in 1973.

LANGFIELD: Right.

KAYE: What did you think of this one?

LANGFIELD: You know what, it doesn't matter if you know about the winning of the Triple Crown or not, because you sit there and you watch the movie and you still find yourself applauding while those races are going on. They do them very well.

Diane Lane actually plays the woman who winds up just with this terrible situation. Her family is not in good shape. Both in health wise and certainly financially. And she literally bets the farm on this horse, who winds up to be the fabled "Secretariat." So it's very inspirational, and it's not a great movie, but it's a feel-good movie and it does what it sets out to do. You've got to give it props for that. If you're talking grades, I'll give it a B.

KAYE: OK. (INAUDIBLE) with a horse.

You know, that looked like some good stuff there.

LANGFIELD: I think so. It's exciting. KAYE: Oh, yes.

Let's talk about "Stone." This is a suspense. It has Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton. Let's take a look at the clip and we'll talk a little bit about what you thought of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you get to walk around free and I don't?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wasn't convicted of a crime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never did anything bad, never did anybody no wrong? Had to be forgiven for nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never broke the law.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What, you never got a speeding ticket? You never backed somebody up in a bar fight, in Vietnam, you never killed some kid? Now, come on, man! Come on! How long do you keep judging a person for one bad thing they done?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: That's some good drama. Here we go with a plot. A convicted arsonist looks to manipulate a parole officer into a plan to secure his parole by placing his beautiful wife in the lawman's path. Now, I don't know, but to me, you got Robert De Niro and Edward Norton, I haven't seen it yet -

LANGFIELD: Exactly.

KAYE: But that's a pretty good combination there.

LANGFIELD: It's a fabulous combination. The script, not so much. But just to see these two guys go at it, which they do in that scene that we just saw. Edward Norton is great, and De Niro is very, very solid in it. There's good acting and Mila Jovovich , who plays the wife that you talked about, she's very good, too. It's the best thing I've seen her do.

I just thought the script was the same thing all over again. And unfortunately it doesn't do these three good actors their justice.

KAYE: Yes, there's something though about Edward Norton behind bars. Whenever you see him behind bars, in prison, jail with that attitude, it's still fun to watch.

LANGFIELD: And those corn rows, don't forget the corn rows. Very important.

KAYE: All right. Joanna, thank you. We'll get to the movies.

LANGFIELD: Thank you.

KAYE: (INAUDIBLE) we think of all these. Thanks so much. They have survived months under ground, but what happens when Chile's trapped miners reach the surface? We're going to talk to the experts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Joy and relief in Chile today. The drill that's been boring a hole after a mile down to 33 trapped miners broke through to that mine. Emergency crews are expected to brace the sides of the tunnel that will serve as the rescue shaft over the next couple of days. We could see the first of the miners brought to the surface next week. Chile's president chose the moment to reflect on the rescue operation and the support of his country's people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN PINERA, PRESIDENT OF CHILE (through translator): What started on August 5th, like a possible tragedy, with the help of God, is ending as a true blessing. The miners, their families, the rescue workers, the government, and all the Chileans have shown unity, strength of faith, of hope, that is recognized and admired by the whole world. This shows that when Chileans unite for great causes, regardless how grand or ambitious they may seem, we are always able to reach our goals and conquer the highest peaks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: With today's milestone reached in the rescue effort, many are looking forward to what will happen when the men are brought up. Each will undergo a series of medical checks. Earlier I spoke Emory University Doctor Kim Manning about the medical problems these miners might face.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. KIM MANNING, EMORY UNIVERSITY: I think the first thing to do is think about the scenario we're talking about here. We're talking about a mine that's in one of the driest deserts in the world, 2,300 feet below ground. And in a space, like you said, is the size of a dorm room. So there's a lot of confinement there and with that you can't move very well, you can't see very well. Then there is on top of that, infection, dehydration, and quite a few things that will have a big impact. There's no running water there. They're actually all using one little small corridor as the latrine.

If you think about what could happen with infection, that's a huge possible medical complication. If there is an infection that is fecal contamination, for example, some kind of diarrheal illness, it could be a catastrophe. It would quickly spread amongst all 33 of the miners. And most of those illnesses that are carried in the feces they lead to diarrhea, which could lead to more dehydration.

KAYE: Right.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: Last hour, I spoke with West Point Behavior Science Expert Colonel Tom Kolditz about the emotional toll this experience may have on the miners.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. TOM KOLDITZ, U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY, WEST POINT: The process of reintegration that we would anticipate that these minors will undergo will have many parallels between that and soldiers.

KAYE: I know I have talked to some soldiers that have come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, and all of a sudden they're tasked with taking out the garbage, and things like that. I mean, after what these guys have been through, everything else I would imagine is going to seem pretty trivial to them.

KOLDITZ: Well, it could. The process of their reintegration and moving forward into the bright futures that they have will take some time. But over time they'll make that adjustment. I have a great deal of optimism for these 33 people coming out of the mine.

KAYE: And it is not just about these minors, it is also about their families. What can their families do today, or in the next few days, to start preparing for their homecoming?

KOLDITZ: There are several things. First of all, their families are the best source of information about how the miners went into the mine. Often in traumatic and difficult experiences how you go in will help determine how you come out. So I would think the families would be a tremendous source of information for psychologists and others about who among the miners might be challenged more by this, who may have gone in already feeling stress, already dealing with some kind of tragedy or difficulty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And CNN's Jacqui Jeras has been keeping a very close eye on this today. We're talking about the rescue operation. I know you've really looked at the challenges that some of these rescue and emergency crews will face in getting these guys up top.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we have a way to go. We're talking two to eight days, probably, before the first miner comes out through that capsule. And there are going to be some things they're going to have to do in order to prepare that bore hole. It's not like when you take a drill and you drill a hole through a piece of wood. And it comes out perfectly smooth and perfectly straight down, OK? This is solid rock that they are drilling through here. And so you can imagine that this doesn't go straight down, there are lots of curves and lots of bumps within here. So if they tried to put a capsule out through this, this 28-inch hole, and just the capsule, it would bump. And they would be worried it would bump up against the side of this wall and perhaps lodge off a rock or a piece of that wall and it could get stuck.

So they're looking at this hole. And they are inspecting it right now and trying to determine how much casing they might need. So it is more like it has a nice little sleeve for to smoothly descend through that area. So if they only had to do a little bit, they say the first 100 yards is what's critical. If they do that 100 yards, maybe it's going to be two days before we get these guys out there. But if they have to put that casing through the entire 2,000 plus feet, that is half a mile down, that's going to take a little longer.

Let's talk about some of the other things, that we're looking at, this capsule. Let's talk about that and show you this. This is only 21 inches around, only one person can fit in here at a time and it's going to be a tight squeeze for them as well. Let's put this in motion and it will show you some of the things that are going to be in this capsule with them-with this rescue plan, they call it the Phoenix, by the way. Right, like the fiery bird that comes out of the ashes.

Oxygen supply is going to be there, communication equipment is going to be there, and the escape hatch is going to be there. Some of these guys, I want to show you, are bigger guys, a lot of them have lost a lot of weight. And it is actually a good thing that they have lost some of this weight, Randi. Because otherwise they wouldn't be able to fit through this capsule. This is all the bigger it is. So we put this together.

KAYE: Nice props.

JERAS: There we go.

KAYE: So that is about the size of that they're going to be going up in.

JERAS: Yes, it fits me but it is close. It is a snug fit. They've also been preparing them by doing exercises to make sure they're physically fit.

KAYE: I saw that aerobics each day.

JERAS: And they're actually running down there, as well. The other thing that they're doing is you know, they take that drill all the way down, what happens to all the rock and all the water they're drilling through? It goes down, right? So there's all kinds of rubble. There is all kinds of dust down in the mine with them right now. And they're actually shoveling and working to clear that out of there.

KAYE: It is amazing. They really seem like they have thought of everything. Fingers crossed that this goes off without a hitch.

JERAS: That is what everyone is hoping.

KAYE: Because they certainly seem to have thought of a lot. Jacqui, thank you.

JERAS: OK.

KAYE: CNN has been looking at the impact of bullying in our schools all this week. For some children, the torment begins as early as kindergarten. In some cases it has led some young people to contemplate suicide. CNN iReporters, victims, and former bullies themselves, share their stories with our Josh Levs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm going to start off with an interesting one. This sis David Goldthorpe of Astoria, Oregon. He says as a father, he is learning this starts as early as kindergarten. His daughter has been coming home with stories about what's happening to her classmates.

DAVID GOLDTHORPE, ASOTRIA, OREGON: One instance involved a good friend of hers having his pants pulled down by another student. And another student, a friend of hers, was pushed down the slide and then laughed at while he was on the ground crying. It shocked me, but I was told that these things happen already at age five.

LEVS: Age five. Well, here is someone else. Colin Wynn of West Palm Beach, Florida, described his experience with bullying as he 's been growing up.

COLIN WYNN, WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: In elementary school, they would call me Chinese boy. And for some reason in middle school, they would call me a terrorist.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How were you bullied physically?

WYNN: Well, I was sitting on my bus in middle school, and they punched me in my private area. And they were throwing stuff on the back of the bus and they hit me in the head with a glass bottle and I got minor head trauma.

LEVS: He says he was confused. He didn't even know who these kids were that were bullying him.

Here is something else. A group of students at a middle school in Brian, Ohio got together and talked about how they have bullied other kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody has bullied someone at some point in time, whether it's shoving someone into a locker or calling somebody a name. So yes, I have bullied someone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I bullied someone just walking through the hallways, stepping on people's heels. I've seen kids drop people's books down.

LEVS: We have time for one more. This is something a little different here. Jason Dinant, who is one of our frequent iReporters, points to the recent suicides of young gay students. And he says that he once considered suicide and that he has a message for others out there who are having those thoughts.

JASON DINANT, IREPORTER: Something went off in my head and said, the pain of me committing suicide would be so much worse than what I thought the pain of me being gay would be. I just want to share that message, that in my experience, my family was extremely accepting.

LEVS: We encourage you to share your thoughts, your stories, your videos, your photos whatever you got, at iReport.com. I also want you all to know that we have links at Facebook and Twitter. JoshLevsCNN, I've provided you as a list of websites as resources for kids, teens and parents. Also teach you to look out for warnings signs that your kid might be bullied. Or that you kid might be a bully. Those pages have now become conversation pages where a lot of people around the country, you're weighing in. You are saying which sites work out well for you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Tonight, a special town hall features a provocative conversation around what needs to be done to stop bullying and protect your children. An "AC 360" special report you cannot miss. "Bullying, No Escape." That's tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

We all know that diet and exercise can help you lose weight. There's another way that may be easier. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will talk about that and more.

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KAYE: Checking top stories for you now. A joyful day in Chile where a rescue tunnel has finally reached 33 trapped miners. Now the dangerous work of getting the men out of the mine and to the surface is under way. Rescue workers and the families of the trapped miners cheered when the drills broke through the final section of earth to the mine. It's expected to take a couple of days before they can bring the miners up to the surface.

North Korea is celebrating 65 years since the founding of the country's Communist Workers Party. Celebrations include a massive military parade. That's tomorrow. North Korean officials may declare the historic handover of power from ailing leader Kim Jong-Il to his son, an heir apparent, Kim Jong-Un, during the three-day celebration.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is trying to stop people from using food stamps to buy soda pop. He and New York Governor David Patterson are asking the USDA to give them permission to exclude sugar-sweetened beverages from food stamp eligibility in New York for two years. They want to measure its impact on obesity rates.

Time now for a look at medical news, earlier this week, Fredricka Whitfield talked with Chief Medical Correspondent Doctor Sanjay Gupta about several topics, including a promising new treatment for a type of brain cancer.

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: When we think of cancer, we think of chemo, radiation, but there's a new therapy being developed to fight brain cancer that is totally different. Chief Medical Correspondent Doctor Sanjay Gupta is with me now. So, fighting brain cancer with a person's immune system. Sounds pretty fascinating but at the same time, how does it work?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is interesting. We're talking about probably the deadliest form of brain cancer, certainly. Called glioblastoma, about 10,000 cases a year. This is a type of cancer that when you get it, you're basically told 12 to 14 months to live. And those numbers haven't budged.

The way it works is they found a particular protein on the surface of the cancer that's unique to that cancer. It's not present in any normal cells in the body. The reason that's important is if you find something unique, it becomes a target. It becomes a target for all kinds of medicines. In this case, using the body's immune system to treat the cancer as a foreign body, teaching the body, say, fight that. Look for that protein, if you find it, kill it. That is essentially what this therapy is all about. And this is becoming more and more common, this sort of harvesting of the body's immune system.

WHITFIELD: Then therapy to me says, this may be prolongs your situation, but you're not talking about a cure, fixes. You said therapy.

GUPTA: It is not a cure. When you talk about glioblastoma, again, the stats are terrible. So survival on average with this in early trials is about double. So instead of 14 months, it's closer to 26 months, some patients have lived as long as five years. But this is still early. What they've basically proven now is this can work. Now they have to figure out can it work in larger populations of people, might it work in other cancers? Another question. The reason we're want to talk about this is because when you talk about chemo and radiation, people know those things. This could be something else that is really part of that armamentarium.

WHITFIELD: That's super fantastic. Something else that caught our attention, weight and sleep. There's a real correlation here.

GUPTA: Yes, so the more you sleep, the less you -- the more weight you can lose. Maybe you're not eating as much because you're actually sleeping. Because people eat all the time when they're awake.

WHITFIELD: Taking better care of yourself. Making better choices.

GUPTA: It could have a lot to do with how you take care of yourself overall. But what they find is there is a couple hormones in the body that change if you're sleeping enough. The sort of "stop hormone" that tells you not to eat as much, actually is activated. So people who sleep better, about eight and a half hours on average, actually end up eating less, and they end up burning more of their weight as fat, as opposed to muscle. Another reason to get enough sleep.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And that's cheap too, right?

GUPTA: Get some sleep, yes.

WHITFIELD: It doesn't cost you anything. The diet plan that--

GUPTA: If you can afford to get more sleep, you should. WHITFIELD: That's right, fad diet pills, and plans.

OK, now let's talk about everyone does it, they put their laptops on their lap, hence the word. That's not a good idea and you feel the heat.

GUPTA: This may go into the file of, let's use some common sense.

WHITFIELD: Right.

GUPTA: There's something known as toasted skin syndrome and dermatologists are actually talking about this. Quite a popular story today. There was a study came out of pediatrics showing boys as young as 12 years old putting the laptop on his lap and creating sort of a burn of the skin. It is some thing called erythema.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

GUPTA: The skin became quite mottled. It is something that will go away after a while, but the advice was, look, if it's -- they generate a lot of heat. You're putting it on your lap, or you are smothering it, so it can't vent as easily. And a laptop can cause a problem to your legs, for example.

WHITFIELD: So use some sort of pad or something?

GUPTA: Yes, and they say don't use a pillow because that even reduces the venting anymore, so use a hard surface, like a tray or something, to allow the laptop to cool itself.

WHITFIELD: Wow, fascinating stuff. We just went around the world. We touched base with everything.

GUPTA: We did, didn't we? We got a lot more to do, too.

WHITFIELD: I know, I know, there's more. All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And for more of the latest medical news, check out cnn.com/health.

Star power on the campaign trail. Making appearances in an attempt to sway midterm voters. Coming up, we'll see who's stumping for whom.

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KAYE: It is now just 24 days until the midterm elections. We, of course, are keeping an eye on all the latest headlines at CNNPolitics.com. Here's what's crossing the ticker right now.

One of the stars of the hit show "Glee" is getting political this weekend. Matthew Morrison, who plays the glee club director, is hitting the campaign trail today for Ohio Democratic Senate Candidate Lee Fisher. Tomorrow, he will appear with Democratic Governor Ted Strickland. "Glee" of course, is set in Ohio.

Scott Brown is trying to help out another Northeast Republican, the Massachusetts senator is in Connecticut today to support Republican Senate hopeful Linda McMahon. In the latest CNN/TIME Opinion Research Corporation poll, McMahon was trailing Democrat Richard Blumenthal by 13 points.

Former President Bill Clinton is heading out on the campaign trail next week, he'll be in West Virginia to support Democratic Governor Joe Manchin. Manchin is in a tight battle to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Senator Robert Byrd.

For the latest political news, CNNPolitics.com is your place.

There is a major gathering of Republican heavyweights in California today. It is called the Bakersfield Business Conference. A possible 2012 presidential candidates like Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney are there. So are other big name Republicans like Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani and Dick Cheney.

I'm Randi Kaye, in for Fredricka Whitfield. Don Lemon takes over the CNN NEWSROOM right after a break.

Coming up, remembering singer and songwriter John Lennon and his legacy on his 70th birthday. Plus, what's behind a website called Ugly Schmucks. Don talks live with the site creator and one of its members. Have a great evening.

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