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CNN NEWSROOM

Miner Rescue Begins; Fleeing Floods for Unknown Future; HeadStart Associates Accused of Falsifying Income to Let In Ineligible Families; Teachers Discuss Options for Improving Education; Newcomers Win Big in Emmys; Student Views; Most Expensive Public School in U.S.; Mom's Touch Brings Baby to Life

Aired August 30, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. Thanks so much.

Good morning, everybody.

Fixing our schools. We're spending all week looking at the crisis in our nation's classrooms. What works, what doesn't and what new approaches we need to consider.

You won't believe this story. A heartbroken couple cradles their dying baby to say good-bye, but something remarkable happens. A twitch, a blink, and what some people are calling a miracle.

Helping wounded veterans one swing at a time. Some of the nation's top golfers are helping to raise money and awareness for the next battle. Starting life all over again.

It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out west. I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

But we begin with Hurricane Earl. It could strike the East Coast over Labor Day weekend. Forecasters say that Earl could intensify by midweek. Right now it's a category 2 storm nearing Puerto Rico and expected to dump plenty of rain in the Caribbean.

We're also getting our first images of that storm. I-reporter Francois (INAUDIBLE) shot this video on the nearby island of St. Martin.

Hurricane warnings now in effect for St. Martin and both the British and U.S. Virgin Islands. Let's get the latest on Earl storm track. Meteorologist Rob Marciano following it for us.

Rob, what can you tell us?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Kyra. Well, listen, this thing has strengthened overnight and it continues to do so. Right now we have winds of 110 miles an hour.

This looks to be a little bit on the old side. Let's get this one. Hundred and 10-mile-an-hour wind so it's almost a category 3 storm. And it's very close to St. Martins. It's battering places like St. Martins and St. Thomas, even some of the outer bands are getting into Puerto Rico now.

And the U.S. and British Virgin Islands will be getting -- pounded with this in the way of a very strong hurricane force winds if not wind gusts. It is not losing its strength. You can see it -- if anything over the past few hours, it has kind of organized itself pretty nicely.

As far as what the forecast track is for this thing from the National Hurricane Center. All right. Pay attention. We go to category 3 and 4 status. It should become a major hurricane. There's really nothing that's going to stop it from doing that here over the next 48 hours.

And then it makes that northerly turn. It's going to be a lot further west than Danielle was. And now the cone of uncertainty, meaning the margin of error in day four and five, which would be Thursday and Friday, brings it very close to the Carolina coastline and then the eastern shores of New England.

Potentially, a direct strike, but right it's too far along to tell just that. Know that if you live in these places, certainly make the mental checklist and maybe prepare to act as far as protecting life and property if this thing gets a little bit closer the next couple of days -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Rob. Thanks.

The hurricane season has also added another element of uncertainty to the BP oil disaster the Gulf of Mexico. Today crews will begin efforts to permanently shut down that well. It's been three weeks since crews temporarily plugged the pipeline with mud and cement.

Today's procedure has been pushed back by the storms and delayed further by pieces of broken pipe that were stuck inside the blowout preventer.

And it's a human drama that is both gut-wrenching and inspiring. Thirty-three men trapped nearly a half mile underground. They've been entombed there for more than three weeks and are months away from being rescued. Today that effort begins with a massive drilling operation.

Over the weekend crews in Chile delivered clothing and letters to the men through the narrow bore hole. They even installed a phone line but each relative only had about 20 seconds to speak to their loved one below.

One miner made the most of it to discuss future wedding plans. Right now it's impossible to set a date. Rescue experts say the drilling shaft to the miners will take two to four months.

Well, the men are linked to the surface with what is being called an umbilical cord and it could indeed be the lifeline to see them through the agonizing weight.

CNN's Karl Penhaul is watching today's operations in Chile. And I think the story that moved us the most, Karl, was this gentleman who actually wanted to give his wife a wedding day and ceremony as soon as he got out of that mine.

I know we're having a hard time connecting with Karl. We'll try and fix that. Meanwhile, let's take a look at his piece.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jessica and Esteban have been together 25 years, have three children and two grandchildren, but they never got married in church.

Now in this dingy cabin -- the miners are calling it Refuge 33 -- Esteban has had time to think. In a letter to Jessica, he proposed they have a full Catholic wedding.

"Please keep praying that we get out of this alive. And when I do get out, we will buy you a dress and get married. Good-bye, Esteban Rojas."

Jessica, of course, said yes.

"I read what he had to say and it made me shout with happiness," she said.

On Sunday, families had the first chance to speak one-on-one to their loved ones. It was the Mines Minister Lawrence Laurence Golborne himself who dropped the phone line into the ground.

(on camera): This is what rescue workers are calling the umbilical cord. This is how they are keeping the miners trapped 700 meters and 2200 feet underground alive.

(voice-over): A metal cylinder dubbed the chariot pigeon takes down food, water, clothes, letters and now a phone line. Each relative had only about 20 seconds to speak.

"I was the last one to speak so I just grabbed the phone and didn't want to let go," she said.

But in those few brief seconds, Esteban and Jessica found time to make some marriage plans. It's a love that's half a mile deep that stretches in the desert above to the very bowels of the earth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: Now I think this is the amazing thing, Kyra. We have on the one hand a very technical complex mining operation to drill a hole about shoulder width wide enough to pull those men back to the surface, but against that backdrop we have some tremendous human stories -- human stories of endurance.

We have also the persistence and the perseverance of the families who have stood here for more than three weeks at the site of the mine refusing to give up hope for their loved ones. And then, of course, we have this tale of how love is blossoming anew whilst this anxiety and whilst this ordeal goes on -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We're going to follow the ordeal right there with you. Karl Penhaul, thanks so much.

Thousands and thousands of people are desperate for medicine and food. And now more than a million people have to pack and leave the catastrophic flooding in Pakistan.

Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is there covering the disaster. He joins us now live from Karachi -- Sanjay?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kyra, the amount of water that's actually still flooding many parts of Pakistan, and especially now in the southern part of Pakistan, is really just hard to believe.

I was skeptical myself when I heard the entire towns would be flooded literally overnight. Something we had to see with our own eyes. And I think more important for the people who are in that area or who live in that area, how exactly you get aid to them and what exactly their lives are going to be like for the foreseeable future.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (on camera): Here's how it works. You see police vehicles like this actually coming through the streets telling people to leave. They say that this particular area in this town of Bala will be under water in the next several hours certainly by tomorrow.

People are listening. This town would normally be bustling. Thousands of people milling around with shops open, but none of that is happening now.

But most people are actually leaving like this, by foot in the hot sun walking for kilometers with no real idea of where exactly they're going or what they're going to find there.

It is easy to see why they are leaving. We are literally surrounded by water and they are worried that that water is just going to get higher and higher. So they're fleeing the floods with the things, their priority, the thing they value the most, their livestock, and are just starting to walk.

This is where so many of them ended up. They were just walking for kilometers and kilometers down that hot road looking for high land, anything that could protect them from the floodwaters.

And look at what their lives are like now. I mean thousands of people, literally they have this little barrier here. It is so hot outside, anything to try and keep themselves cool, but this is the new normal life for lots of folks over here. This family, for example --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GUPTA: So about 15 miles -- 15 kilometers they're saying. And look, any small children? They walked here again in this very hot weather. Very, very difficult. He's telling me they really haven't received any kind of help at all.

They are saying they really have no food at all. All they have this bag of sugar here which they use to make tea.

This is how it is. This is what's happening here in the middle of this evacuation. There's also been no water here, they tell me, for three days. In fact, a woman died in this area from dehydration just last night.

There's no question that relief is slow coming here. But even as we're filming today at the camp, the Pakistani Army helicopter comes over and drops parcels of food.

But this is just one camp. There are thousands of camps like this. There are more than 20 million people displaced. A fifth of this country is under water.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: So many people, obviously, there, Kyra, waiting for any kind of help. And it's a -- it's tough to imagine what their lives are like now and also just -- you know, when it's going to get any better here.

You know, that particular area, Kyra, where you saw us doing some of that filming, it was dry as a result -- when we were filming yesterday. I'll show you some video now of that exact same area. We're in a boat now walking through water. I don't know if you are looking at that, Kyra, but that's the exact same area.

Ten to 15 feet deep in some places. The amount of water, the amount of flooding is just enormous. They say the Indus River, which is the big river going through this area, is 40 times its normal size. And the water comes fast, it comes furious, Kyra, and people are just -- they're forced to flee with hardly anything and no relief for them in sight.

PHILLIPS: Where have they been getting some of the most basic supplies then?

GUPTA: Well, you know, some of it is by air lift. As you saw there the helicopter is coming in. Some of it is these big tractors that can sort of navigate through the water. But -- you know, there is this -- the problem, though. You know, aids is not always getting to people who need it the most.

If it comes to a particular camp, for example, Kyra, people scramble for it. As a results, children, elderly people, people who are sick, they're not going to get it. The people who need it the most.

But more than that as well is this idea that aid may be going, you know, sort of sporadically to various camps. There may be some favoritism that's being played here. That's -- that's just something that we're investigating right now. We're in the middle of this and hopefully we're going to have some answers for you on that particular issue for you tomorrow as well.

PHILLIPS: Sanjay, thanks.

Billions of your tax dollars pay for pre-K for kids from poor families, but now the government says some parents and workers are bilking the system.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is over income.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. So what do I need to do on the application then?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean you don't have to put an income on there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, I'm not supposed to say that --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We've got the surveillance video and the accusations of fraud at HeadStart.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Fix our schools. Those three words will drive much of what you see on CNN this week, because as America's children return to school, CNN has a mission.

We've 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're getting right now.

But before we talk answers, let's take a closer look at the problem. The education crisis is an issue that starts right down the street at schools in the hearts of communities nationwide. Seven thousand high-schoolers drop out every day. That's one dropout every 26 seconds. Dropouts are more likely to end up in prison and more likely to be unemployed.

And where we used to excel in education, we're fighting to keep pace with the international community. On the latest global standardized tests, American teens placed 17th out of 30 nations in science, and 24th in math.

So, consider this a call to action. Let's do something about it.

Reaching children at an early age is critical to their economic success. It's a big reason why the federal government is spending $9 billion this year on Head Start, a program to educate young, low- income children. Despite that money, thousands of poor families are stuck on the waiting list. It's not just the recession that's keeping qualified families out of the program. Government investigators say some Head Start workers are committing fraud. Here's Don Lemon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAMONT BUTLER, FATHER: Yay for the baby!

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lamont Butler tried to enroll his three-year-old, Somaya (ph) in Head Start.

BUTLER: You can do it. Keep going.

LEMON (voice-over): Unemployed for more than a year, his family qualifies for the free federal pre-K program for the poor, but they've been on the waiting list for a year. Since he has to stay home with his daughter, he can't work.

BUTLER: I had opportunities lined up, and when it never happened, I was really bummed out.

LEMON (on camera): Thousands of qualified applicants, like Lamont Butler and his daughter, might be on the waiting list a whole lot longer if not for a whistle blower who called into the government accountability office here in Washington

GREG KUNTZ, GAO INVESTIGATOR: Taxpayers are being ripped off.

LEMON (voice-over): Greg Kuntz at the Government Accountability Office got that whistle blower call.

KUNTZ: We had first of all, the allegations we received on our hotline. The management was pressuring employees to adjust incomes from applicants.

LEMON (voice-over): In other words, the whistle blower was complaining that Head Start workers were deliberately letting families into the poverty family they knew made too much money to be eligible.

So Kuntz sent his staff with a hidden camera to test Head Start's enrollment practices. The GAO distorted these images, since it's an ongoing investigation. But listen to what happens when they try to enroll a child who isn't poor enough to qualify. A Head Start worker deliberately encourages an unqualified parent to lie on their application.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is over income.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. So what do I need to do on the application then?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean you don't have to put an income on there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, I'm not supposed to say that --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now you see it. Now you don't.

LEMON (on camera): On this videotape, what does it show?

KUNTZ: It shows individuals working with our bogus parents to help them commit fraud.

LEMON (voice-over): In fact, the GAO says at 8 of the 15 centers it randomly checked, workers deliberately admitted children whose parents made too much money. On this video, a Head Start worker makes this tester family document disappear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are these OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, we're fine. I just picked out an income. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who won, Grandma or me?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Grandma, she had the lower income.

(LAUGHTER)

KUNTZ: You wanted to go in and say you're unemployed, you can get benefits even if you were making $100,000 because they weren't validating anything.

LEMON (voice-over): The GAO investigation found more than one child in Texas whose parents made more than $110,000. Nothing in Head Start's rules require centers to keep parents' proof their income. There's no verification system to make sure the right families are getting in.

LEMON (on camera): Do you believe the system is set up to fail?

KUNTZ: Yes, I believe that the system is very open to fraud.

LEMON: Did you see the tapes?

YVETTE SANCHEZ-FUENTES, HEAD START DIRECTOR: We have seen the tapes.

LEMON (voice-over): Yvette Sanchez-Fuentes is Head Start's national director.

LEMON (on camera): What did you think?

SANCHEZ-FUENTES: We know that what went on in the tapes engaged in some fraudulent behavior.

LEMON: When you see a worker making something, one parent's income disappear, saying "Now you see it, now you don't," you can imagine what the taxpayers at home are saying when they see those tapes.

SANCHEZ-FUENTES: I think that what's important to note is that those are individuals within those programs. And at the administration level, we need to make sure that every staff person really understands that these slots are for eligible low-income, vulnerable families.

LEMON (voice-over): Lamont Butler hopes for his daughter's sake, his family will be one of them.

BUTLER: Hopefully this year when she's enrolled in this school, I'll be working again.

LEMON: Don Lemon, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: So let's talk more about fixing our schools. We're going to be tackling that question and looking at solutions all week long. And we want to be a part of the conversation -- want you to be a part of the conversation. Digital producer Derek Dodge, here to tell us how we can all chime in. Derek?

DEREK DODGE, CNN DIGITAL PRODUCER: Hi, Kyra. Well, here's a question that is sure to turn a few heads this morning. What if students went to school all year long? That idea is coming from one Wisconsin teacher who thinks it could be a way to improve student grades and fix our nation's schools.

Stephanie Chen of cnn.com talked with some award-winning teachers who are offering their advice. It's a great read. It's right here on the cnn.com main page this morning. So we encourage you to all go and take a look.

Here's the story. It's a great read, like I said. Almost all the teachers warned, though, that there is no quick fix. Some say schools should invest more in quality teachers and technology. Others encourage better teacher cooperation such as conferences or online programs. And one science teacher suggests less emphasis on student testing, more on overall performance.

Now we want to know, what do you think? How do we fix our schools? We want you to go to the Sound Off section at the bottom of Stephanie's story and put in your ideas. We're going to take your ideas and visualize them in a really cool way, so we can see who said what and what ideas are out there. We're going to do that later on this morning. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. We'll follow it. Thanks, Derek.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan is boarding a bus and heading out to his back-to-school tour, and CNN cameras are going along for the ride as he makes his way to Springfield, Massachusetts. Look for live reports from the bus tour coming up later today right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Aside from the glitz, glamor and fashions, it was all about the newcomers at this year's Emmy Awards. One fresh face after the next making their way to the stage to claim their gold statue. Our Brooke Anderson was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the Emmy goes to "Modern Family."

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: The Emmys are sometimes accused of going stale, but this time around the results were modernized.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're so happy that you have let us into your families.

ANDERSON: "Modern Family" led a parade of first-time winners at the ceremony, earning Best Comedy over "Glee," another newcomer to the category. The ABC sitcom won half a dozen Emmys altogether, including one for supporter actor, Eric Stonestreet.

ERIC STONESTREET, EMMY WINNER: This is really incredible.

TOM SELLECK, EMMY PRESENTER: "Mad Men."

ANDERSON: There was no modernizing on the drama side. Emmy voters looked back to the '60s again, awarding best drama to the retro series "Mad Men" for the third year in a row.

ANDERSON (on camera): This is what it is all about at the Emmys Winning one of these things, although the actual award is slightly smaller. But check out those prongs. It's been called the most dangerous trophy in entertainment.

JANE LYNCH, EMMY WINNER: This is rather dangerous, but it's solid gold.

JIM PARSONS, EMMY WINNER: It is not dulled. I mean, it's really not. These are very sharp. Threatening.

ANDERSON (voice-over): "The Big Bang Theory's" Jim Parsons joined the array of fresh-faced winners. His came for Best Actor in a Comedy. "Glee's" Jane Lynch won her first Emmy, too, for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. The openly gay actress acknowledged her family from the stage. LYNCH: I love you, my wife Laura, and my little girl Hayden.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Emmy host Jimmy Fallon kept the audience entertained with a variety of musical numbers.

ELTON JOHN (singing): Good-bye "24."

ANDERSON (voice-over): And he made a sly illusion to Conan O'Brien's firing as host of "The Tonight Show."

FALLON: NBC asking the host of late night to come to Los Angeles to host a different show. What could possibly go wrong?

ANDERSON (voice-over): Presenter Ricky Gervais made a crack about an absent star.

RICKY GERVAIS, EMMY PRESENTER: Mel Gibson, come on. No, come on. I'm not going to have a go at you. He's been through a lot. Not as much of the Jews, to be fair.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, everybody!

ANDERSON: The late summer party set the stage for the new fall season, which begins in just a few weeks. Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Up next, a mother's touch helps save a preemie's life. The baby boy had no vital signs. The doctor gave up hope, but delivery room video shows the newborn starting to stir, then opening his eyes, and you'll get the rest of the story in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The opening bell just rang on Wall Street and stocks are off to a lower open. Investors mulling over some big corporate deals along with the latest figures on personal income and spending released about an hour ago. Both showed modest increases in July. The economy continues to dominate activity on Wall Street. We're going to get a slew of reports this week, including the monthly jobs figures on Friday. It looks like the Dow Industrial is down 25 points right now.

All right. Let's go across the country. We start on the West Coast in Visalia, California, where police are trying to learn why a man killed a Mormon church leader. Bishop Clay Center was shot at Visalia's church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Police later killed that gunman.

Next stop, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 35 miles south of Nashville, where police suspect arson in a fire at a Mosque building site. That fire destroyed an earth mover and damaged three other vehicles. Several opponents staged a last month at the mosque staged a protest last month. Local police are being helped by the FBI and the ATF. And we wrap up the nation's capital where retired pitcher Roger Clemens is due in court today. He faces six felony charges, including perjury, obstruction of Congress, and making false statements. The charges stem from Clemens' 2008 testimony before a House committee looking into the use of steroids in pro sports. His arraignment is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll follow it.

Well, honoring the nation's warriors who are wounded or killed fighting for our country. If you watch this newscast on a regular basis, you know that's a mission that's near and dear to our hearts. Many others also recognize the need, including some of the best golfers in the world.

The program is called Birdies for the Brave and CNN's John Roberts actually spoke to one of the star supporters.

And what a great guy, Phil Mickelson.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": Well, he grew up in the same town as you did, played the same golf course as you so how could you turn out anything but (INAUDIBLE), right?

PHILLIPS: But I never inherited his swing, though. Obviously we had different pros.

ROBERTS: The way he got his swing is a great story, too, mirroring his father.

But more importantly, and to your point, Phil has been doing this since 2003, his Birdies for the Brave charity. He's got a couple of charities, six charities in total, one of them Special Operations Warrior Foundation; college scholarships for the children of service members who have died either in battle or died by suicide; Homes for the Troops, in which he provides troops for wounded warriors who couldn't otherwise get housing.

But he got together with this fellow named Jeff Combs, who was a single amputee, lost his left arm in Iraq last year, hitting balls off the deck of the USS Intrepid. Jeff, you can see him off there in the background, did pretty well. Phil did a little bit better, of course. He's got a little bit more experience.

I talked to both Phil and Jeff about the program and about what it was like to come back from that injury. And Phil said that he's had a lot to do with these amputees, the wounded warriors, coming back from Iraq, and he finds them just so darn impressive.

Let's listen to what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MICKELSON, PGA GOLFER, "BIRDIES FOR THE BRAVE": What's interesting to me is how inspirational these people are because they come back with such a positive outlook on life and still wanting to help and serve their country. There's no negativity. JEFF COMBS, IRAQ WAR VETERAN/PURPLE HEART WINNER: I never had one bad day since losing my arm. I don't cry about it because that's not going to bring it back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: He's always been such an inspiration to so many people, and wounded warriors especially. I know when you guys are on the deck of the carrier, he's left-handed, right, and he couldn't find a driver for a lefty.

So tell us what he did?

ROBERTS: He was hitting a wedge, and somebody said, Phil, did you bring a driver, we want the see you drive one out there into the river. He said, no I didn't. But somebody said, here's a right- handed driver because Phil is famous for flipping over left-handed clubs and hitting them right-handed.

Well, he took this right-handed driver - and you can see in the lower side of your screen there -- flipped it over and hit it left handed. Unfortunately the camera doesn't follow it all the way, but watch this action he puts on this. Right-handed driver, left-handed. He knocked it out there beautifully. Camera man thought he was going out for the target.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: Dead straight out there at 260. There were floating range balls which don't compress the same as a regular ball. Wow, he put some great action on it. Unfortunately, didn't put such good action on it during the tournament. He didn't make the cut and only had five birdies so $100 per birdie for the Birdies for the Brave -- $500 he raised this week. But he gives a lot more than that at the end of the season.

PHILLIPS: He sure does. And he's going to get a lot more birdies to donate for Birdies for the Brave. Check out that web site everybody. It really is a fantastic organization.

Thanks, John.

Well, next hour, Iraq at cross roads. The U.S. is about to formally end its combat mission and the president will mark the turning point with an address to the nation. We're going to look ahead at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Now fixing our schools. Those three words will drive much of what you see on CNN this week because as America's children return to school, CNN has a mission. We've sent reporting teams across the country to document the education crisis in America. Most importantly we're going to shine a light on success stories that can empower us to offer our children much more than they're getting right now. To get the ball rolling for us, Carl Azuz who's in a position to get a perspective of success we usually don't hear. He's the anchor of our show here at CNN called "STUDENT NEWS." It's designed for middle and high school students all over the world.

You've actually been speaking with some of America's brightest teenagers on what they think we should do to fix our schools, right?

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: It's always great to kick off on the optimistic note. And the is 11 students we spoke to, as you're going to hear in just a moment, were optimistic despite the budget cuts they've seen in their schools, despite having to do more with less.

Our first piece today focuses on what schools are doing right, in general, and generally what they think is working where they are.

Take a listen to how this went.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: What makes a school good?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The teachers, the ones that push you harder, the ones that make you stronger, and the ones that, frankly, make you study until 10:00 p.m. the minute you get home.

AZUZ: Do all of you appreciate a teacher that drives you hard? Do all you thrive in that sort of environment?

GROUP: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I would also include a caring administrative staff because I think good schools start at the top and then they work themselves down, I think.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Also, a school that pushes school spirit a lot. You know, with pep rallies and stuff. Usually if you are performing in the pep rally or you kind of get to learn about people and how they act and how they coop of interact with each other.

AZUZ: How they party?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, party hard.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would have to say the family aspect. I feel closer to my school because we have a small school set up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the class that is are offered because I know some schools don't offer some of the classes we offer and we don't have some of the classes other schools offer.

AZUZ: It's interesting to me that none of you guys are mentioning the facility itself. What's more important to you, the school or the people in it?

GROUP: The people in it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's definitely the people in it like everyone was saying. Without good teachers, without that education, what is a school? We can have the technology but if we don't have Minnesota someone to work behind it, how are we going to learn?

AZUZ: What are you schools doing right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At my school the teachers are very hands-on. They always interact with the students.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think our school is using their resources wisely because they are very limited. We share a school with actually another school so we don't have the luxury of kind of having like a bigger school with all the latest high-tech things and things like that.

AZUZ: So you are making the best of what you have?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

AZUZ: Go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First thing, I attend a double magnet school so we have offerings in the arts and science magnet, as well as in the arts magnet. So my school offers opportunities for students whether you're interested more in academics in the math and science or whether you're interesting in drawing, painting, performing arts, music.

AZUZ: What's your school doing right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like the schedule my school's in. It's in a block schedule and I like having an hour and a half class versus having a 45-minute class because you really get to get into the subject.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our county actually shrank the budget to the point where we're working on a skeleton budget and a skeleton staff. But what we're doing right I think is actually we are making the most of what we have, as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Besides a chord of optimism that I heard in my conversation with these 11 students from around the state of Georgia, a lot of their suggestions, with the exception of maybe more classes being offered, a lot of their suggestions centered on things that schools can implement. This sort of teacher/student connection they were talking about. And a lot of the pep rally-type things they talked about. They love a family community in their schools. And I think if you are going to look at a starting point for what schools can do better, maybe hearing some of the easy things they can do to enhance their experience, don't cost much, are a good way to go.

PHILLIPS: I always want to give our viewers and parents and students a chance to pump up what you do. It's such a wonderful thing that is brought through CNN. I wish I had you to tune into when I was in high school and college. As a matter of fact, we did a speaking engagement together and you're like a rock star with these guys.

But explain how you are able to broadcast and really get in touch with these students and talk about issues on a daily basis.

AZUZ: I think the greatest strength of "CNN STUDENT NEWS" is we are providing the news of the day, a lot of the big stories that CNN covers, but completely commercial free. We're available on HLN Monday through Friday at 4:00 a.m. Eastern. It might be a little early for you, so a lot of folks find us at CNNstudentnews.com. Everything there is free and our show is also available as a free downloadable podcast on iTunes.

So we're viewed internationally and we get comments from students all around the world on our blog also at CNNstudentnews.com.

PHILLIPS: Well it's perfect that we have you working on this series this week.

Carl, thank you so much.

AZUZ: Thank you for having me. Appreciate it, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, L.A. builds the most expensive public school in U.S. history amid a huge budget shortfall and teacher layoffs. And it was approved by voters. We're going through the laundry list of perks to see how the $587million was spent and get your reaction whether you think it's right or not.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the most expensive public school in American history opens to Los Angeles students next month. It's outrageous because it's costing $578 million; $578 million on a complex that is involved within an entire system that's failing.

We're talking about a state with a multimillion dollar budget shortfall, thousands of teacher layoffs and a dropout rate that ranks among the worst in the nation. Officially it's called the Robert Kennedy Community Schools, but it's earned the nickname the Taj Mahal.

It's more expensive than the Beijing's "Bird's Nest", the 2008 Olympic stadium; it's pricier than the Denver Broncos home out in INVESCO Field at Mile High. So while so many L.A. schools can't even afford new books and pencils, here's what the RFK complex will hold.

A state of the art swimming pool, fine art murals, a dance studio with cushion maple floors, even a modern kitchen with a restaurant- quality pizza oven. No wonder their community is sounding off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BEN AUSTIN, BOARD OF EDUCATION: These kids are going to go to school in a -- in a Taj Mahal that is going to be run by the same people who brought us a 50 percent dropout rate --

RAMON CORTINES, L.A. UNITED SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT: I don't look at this as a school for today, I look at this as a school for the next 150 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: School officials say that this isn't an either/or situation, they say the voters approved this building and it's totally separate from the textbook and teacher budget.

We're focusing on education all week long so we want to hear your kids' school nightmare or their success stories. Head to CNN.com and join the conversation, on how we can all fix our schools.

Let's look ahead on what we're working on for the next hour here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's start with meteorologist Rob Marciano -- Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Kyra, we have a hurricane -- we've got two, actually. And this one has gained strength. Hurricane Earl on the verge of becoming a major storm and this one is going to track very close to the United States. We'll have that forecast in the next hour.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of girl power to go around these days but not in the field of engineering or science. I'll introduce you to four women who will change that perception. They're awesome. I'll have that story at the top of the hour.

PHILLIPS: All right, thanks guys.

And some school districts are swapping out summer vacations in favor of a year-round calendar but the benefits of splitting up vacation has education leaders divided. We're weighing the pros and cons of both calendars coming up next hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, a heart-broken couple in Australia cradles the body of their newborn baby. The doctor declared the little boy dead saying that he had no vital signs. But then something remarkable happened: a twitch, a blink and what some people are now calling a miracle.

Adene Cassidy (ph) from Australia's Seven Network actually has the video from the delivery room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE OGG, MOTHER: I just call him a miracle all the time. And also -- they never heard of anything like that happening before. DAVID OGG, FATHER: The other half of your mind is saying, you know, this is -- this possible. What if he survives through this? Miracles do happen.

ADENE CASSIDY, SEVEN NETWORK: This is Jamie Ogg (ph), a tiny little boy born at just 27 weeks, weighing just one kilo; a little boy who has defied all medical odds, whose survival can only be described as miracle. He should be dead. In fact, the doctor who delivered him pronounced him dead.

K. OGG: Maybe he knew how much we wanted him for a long time.

CASSIDY: How lucky do you feel now that you have him?

K. OGG: Very lucky, very lucky, that we have both of them.

CASSIDY: The 25th of March this year was both the best and worst day of Kate and David Ogg's life, the day they eagerly awaited twins Jamie and his baby sister Emily were born.

OGG: We've been three days of labor, and then all of a sudden I was there and I was just waiting to be able -- and I knew I wouldn't be able to hold them because they were so small.

And the joy that we all held when they told us it was a little boy. Oh, I wanted to turn cartwheels.

CASSIDY: But within minutes, the family's joy turned to sorrow when they learned Baby Jamie was struggling to breathe. For 20 minutes, a team of doctors tried desperately to resuscitate him, but Jamie just didn't respond.

K. OGG: He turned to look at me while his hands were still on the bed, and he said, have you chosen a name for your son. And we said his name is going to be Jamie, and he turned around, he was already wrapped up and he said he lost him. He said, Jamie didn't make it. We've lost him. And I just -- my mouth fell open.

D. OGG: I was devastated. That's probably the best way to describe it. It was quite a shock for both of us.

K. OGG: it was the worst feeling I've ever felt.

CASSIDY: Overwhelmed with grief, Kate and David were given Jamie for a cuddle; to hold and say good-bye to the son they believed it was dead. It's normal practice, but what happened was far, far from normal.

K. OGG: I unwrapped him from his blanket and he was very limp. It feels like he's going to drop, his little arms and legs were falling down away from his body and I arranged him on my chest with his head over my mouth.

CASSIDY: Although Jamie had no visible signs of life, he was occasionally gasping for air, a reflex the doctor had told the new parents to suspect. So with the support of a midwife and Kate's mother Diana Oxley (ph), the couple did everything they could to soothe Jamie in his last minutes.

K. OGG: And almost as soon as the last person left the room, he startled which was the first move when I held his arms and legs. He started gasping normal, regularly; I'm like, oh, my god, what's going on. And then a short time later, he opened his eyes.

DIANA OXLEY, KATE OGG'S MOTHER: when I came back in, she said, mom, something's not right. He's still alive. And he put his little finger out and grabbed a hand.

CASSIDY: It's hard to imagine the sort of turmoil David and Kate must have been feeling. Were Jamie's actions real or were they just struggling to let go? Unbelievably, this went on for two hours. They did call for their doctor twice. Both times he sent the midwife back telling them Jamie's actions were just natural reflexes. There was no possible way he could still be alive.

K. OGG: I remember looking at you at one stage and saying, what if he lives, and we were both giggling like kids. He might live; like we could be the luckiest people ever.

CASSIDY: This video taken by a midwife clearly shows Jamie's movements, but, still, there were doubts. So in one last ditch attempt, Kate gave Baby Jamie some breast milk on her finger. To her amazement, he took it. The doctor returned.

K. OGG: He took him and laid him down on the bed and he told the nurse to get him a stethoscope and put it in on and he listened and he just kept shaking his head and moving it around, "I don't believe it. I don't believe it."

OXLEY: I saw the look on Katie's face and it was -- you could not get the smile off her face. It was just incredible. She looked beautiful. She looked absolutely beautiful.

DR. JOHN DARCY: In this little person's body, this little person's capacity to survive those two hours was amazing. It was and could seem to be a miracle. We must wait now, though, and see what happens as the months pass.

CASSIDY: Studies have shown the incredible benefits of skin to skin contact or kangaroo care as it's known, even proving a simple cuddle may act as a natural painkiller. But medical expert, Dr. John Darcy, says most premature babies need immediate medical intervention, so this is a highly unusual case.

DARCY: Isn't it interesting that the body, the mother's warmth, the effort that she had up to that period of time was passing through to the child? That's pretty amazing. I can't explain it. But maybe it's part and parcel of how that child survived the two hours.

CASSIDY: It is hard to explain how this medical miracle happened and we did try to talk to the doctors involved, but they ignored our repeated attempts.

Just the same way they ignored Kate and her pleas that little Jamie had come back to life.

D. OGG: Luckily, I have a very smart, very strong wife, who instinctively did what she did. If she hadn't done that, I believe that Jamie probably wouldn't be here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well a Sydney's southwest area health service says the staff at the Liverpool hospital is very happy for the Ogg family. A spokesperson said that very premature babies are extremely vulnerable and it's not always known why some babies survive in difficult circumstances while others do not.