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Romney Ventures Into Pennsylvania; World Leaders Meet On Syria; New Search For Jimmy Hoffa; Here Comes Carmageddon II; The GOP Akin Problem; Syria Crisis Is Getting Worse; Chemical Weapons Movement Detected; 19 Killed In Nepal Plane Crash; Suspected Anti-Muslim Filmmaker Arrested; Major Banks Hit With Big Cyber Attacks; Apple CEO: "We Fell Short" On Maps App; Educating Girls In Afghanistan; Study: U.S. Water Bills Are Soaring; Death Row Inmate: My Victim Abused Me

Aired September 28, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, how are you? Have a great weekend.

MALVEAUX: You too.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much.

Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in today for Brooke Baldwin.

I know you all want to know about what happened today in the search for Jimmy Hoffa. We actually have some news on that.

And you've seen your food bills, your gas prices, all of that go up. Well, what's up with the water bill these days? In some places charges have tripled. We've got all that and more. But first, to politics.

Mitt Romney is venturing out of the swing states today. Romney, this hour, is trying to pluck Pennsylvania from the grasp of President Obama with just 39 days until the election. Pennsylvania is one of the states that's leaning toward Obama, but not decisively so. CNN's Jim Acosta joining us right now from outside Philadelphia.

So, Jim, we've been seeing Romney confine his campaign to the nine swing states. Why is he taking a shot at a state that has been leaning Obama?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, I mean it did catch a lot of people off guard today to hear Mitt Romney not only at a fundraiser earlier this morning, but at an event that just wrapped up here at a Valley Forge Military Academy outside of Philadelphia. He said twice today that he's going to win the state of Philadelphia -- or, excuse me, the state of Pennsylvania. And this state has not traditionally, in the last several months, been lumped in with the other swing states out there that both President Obama and Mitt Romney are really sort of neck and neck in. And we've seen a lot of those swing states in recent days sort of moving away from Mitt Romney.

You saw in the latest battleground polls in Ohio and Florida where President Obama sort of increased his lead over Mitt Romney. But just a few moments ago, here at this military academy, Romney said very confidently that he's going to win this state. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've got a little secret here, and that is that the Obama campaign thinks that Pennsylvania is in their pocket. They don't need to worry about it. And you're right and they're wrong. We're going to win Pennsylvania. We're going to take the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, just to get away from some of the horse race news going on today, one of the other things that Mitt Romney talked about at this event was, he went back to this line of attack on President Obama, referring back to the president's comments to "60 Minutes" when he described recent developments in the Middle East as bumps in the road. Romney went on to say that he doesn't consider what's happening in Syria as bumps in the road, what happened recently in Libya as bumps in the road. And he also talked about the nuclear situation in Iran. Worries about Iran developing a nuclear weapon as a bump in the road.

And, Fredricka, that was a clear signal that Mitt Romney is, you know, courting Jewish American voters who are concerned about Israeli security. And just a few moments ago, we can report, our Rachel Streitfeld, our political producer, is very close to Mitt Romney right now as part of the press pool, and she said that the Romney campaign has confirmed that Mitt Romney just wrapped up a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That was done while Romney was sitting on a tarmac at a Philadelphia Airport. This comes shortly after the president had his own phone call with Prime Minister Netanyahu. And all of this follows that very dramatic performance at the United Nations yesterday when we saw the prime minister drawing that red line on that cartoon sketch, if you will, of a bomb, symbolizing an Iranian nuclear weapon. So not only some horse race news out here, but also Mitt Romney going after the president on national security.

WHITFIELD: And, Jim, do you know, between the Obama/Netanyahu phone call, who called whom?

ACOSTA: That's -- I don't know. I don't know the answer to that, Fredricka. I don't have that information as to who called who there. We do know that the White House released a photograph, or is about to release a photograph, of the president on the phone with Prime Minister Netanyahu. We're also working to get some of that same kind of photograph of Mitt Romney. We -- all we have at this point is some video of Mitt Romney on the tarmac talking to the Israeli prime minister.

But it just goes to show you, you know, how critically important this issue is of Israeli security to a lot of voters in this country. Down in Boca Raton, Florida, earlier this afternoon, Vice President Joe Biden was talking to a crowd down there. And he said to that crowd, he said he wasn't planning on talking about Israel today, but he said President Obama has been a stronger ally of Israel's than any other president he served with in eight years. That in the words of the vice president. So that is also a big headline out on the campaign trail today.

WHITFIELD: Sure.

ACOSTA: Both sides trying to show whose -- who would be the bigger ally of Israel at this point.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, fascinating stuff. Thanks so much, Jim Acosta. Appreciate that.

And, don't forget, you want to catch that first presidential debate, Denver, Colorado, Romney versus Obama. That's next Wednesday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time right here on CNN.

The fourth day of the United Nations General Assembly and a side group is taking on arguably the bloodiest and most brutal problem in the world today -- Syria. The conflict there has reportedly killed more than 30,000 people since March of last year. More than two-thirds were civilians. This is YouTube video out of Aleppo, the city of Aleppo. Today, the German foreign minister made a plea before the assembly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUIDO WESTERWELLE, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Such suffering renders us speechless. But it also impels us to act. To this very day, the Security Council has failed to live up to its responsibility for people in Syria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Germany is part of a special U.N. meeting at this hour known as the Friends of Syria. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also there with about 20 other world leaders.

Let's turn to CNN's senior United Nations correspondent Richard Roth.

So, Richard, before we get to Syria, I want to get the latest on that phone call involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. You know yesterday he urged that a red line, an ultimatum, be given to Iran to stop the nuclear program in Iran. We've learned that he and President Obama have spoken. Do you know the answer of whom called whom?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: No, but it was already prior arranged, so I don't think it's really that significant. I mean yesterday Netanyahu was talking about red lines. Today it's a phone line. And the statement released by the White House following this phone call that you are seeing, they said the two leaders discussed a range of security issues and the president reaffirmed his and our country's unshakable commitment to Israel's security. The two leaders said they were in full agreement about preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Of course, yesterday, Netanyahu used a crude map drawing to indicate the fuse that's been lit on the potential nuclear bomb that Iran is working towards that the Israeli leader thinks is potentially on the brink of being ready next summer.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, now, let's talk about this so-called Friends of Syria. The group involved here, who constitutes that group and what are they hoping to accomplish?

ROTH: Whether it's Bosnia crisis or other issues, there's a core group that are usually established, mostly by western nations. This one, the Friends of Syria. And the goal of this session, following up on a meeting in Tunis and elsewhere earlier in the year, give more money, give more assistance, try to keep the momentum towards how do they get Assad out of office in Syria and be ready for the day when there is some sort of transition. So the U.S. committing 45 new million dollars in additional aid, mostly humanitarian in aid to the opposition in Syria. This brings the U.S. total to $130 million.

But, still, they can do all the talking they want. They know that they don't have a hard core plan agreement on how do you force political transition in Syria where 30,000 some have been killed.

WHITFIELD: All right, now let's talk about Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas yesterday asking for an upgrade to Palestine's status. What exactly is meant by that?

ROTH: Well, Abbas said that the Palestinians are still ready to talk. As we know, the negotiations have disappeared from the table at the moment and they remain frustrated and angry and they are hoping to use the U.N.'s system to try to put pressure on Israel and the United States. They are saying that we want to be as close to a U.N. member independent state as possible. And that means an upgrade to an observer nonmember status. Potentially more inclusion in U.N. organizations, including criminal court systems, areas where they could potentially sue against Israel, so to speak, on issues such as occupied territories and any what they call are terrorist acts against the Palestinians.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard Roth at the U.N., thanks so much.

All right, we've got a lot more to cover in the next two hours, including a Michigan driveway, a theory, a legendary mystery about a notorious crime figure. Do we know yet what happened to Jimmy Hoffa?

And here we go again. L.A. drivers are bracing for carmageddon part two, opening soon near Hollywood.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A business owner and a UPS driver are among four people killed by a gunman who opened fire yesterday at a sign company in a quiet Minneapolis neighborhood. The gunman wounded four more people before killing himself. He's identified as a former employee of the shop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEATHER BUCKINGHAM, FORMER ACCENT SIGNAGE EMPLOYEE: The one that was doing the shooting was a quiet, kept to himself kind of guy. Kind of odd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Police are not commenting on a motive. The co-workers tell CNN affiliate KARE that the man was fired just hours before that shooting.

In Florida, a veteran high school teacher is arrested in his classroom, charged with trying to hire a hit man to kill another teacher. Police say James Pepe called a friend and asked him to kill his former co-worker. The man called police, who then set up a sting operation, which led to Pepe's arrest. He allegedly offered $2,000 for the hit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was some rumors going around about him, and he attributed those rumors to our victim in this case. He, in his mind, attributed his problems to the victim in this case. And he felt the only way to solve that issue was to kill him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Fifty-five year old Pepe is charged with solicitation of first degree murder. He has been teaching for 28 years.

Fifty students were taken to hospitals after a school bus collided with a car this morning in Louisville, Kentucky. The bus rolled over on its side after it collided with a car carrying three high school students. There were 47 middle school students on the bus. None of the injuries are considered life threatening.

It has been 37 years since former Teamsters Union leader Jimmy Hoffa disappeared. Well, today, the decades long search for his remains led to the driveway of a house in suburban Detroit. CNN's Susan Candiotti is outside the shed where police did a little digging today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yet another chapter in one of America's longest running mysteries, what happened to the remains of Jimmy Hoffa? Well, today here in Roseville, Michigan, police took about an hour to carefully remove soil samples from beneath a shed in a driveway at a house where, back in 1975, a tipster now says that he thinks that he saw what could have been a body buried inside that shed in the ground. So police took soil samples. They dug about six feet under to remove them. And those soil samples will now be analyzed. Now, the FBI is pretty skeptical about this information and so, quite frankly, is the police chief here. But he says, hey, we have to check this out.

CHIEF JAMES BERLIN, ROSEVILLE, MICHIGAN, POLICE: I don't think it's Mr. Hoffa. It would be great if it was, because I'd love to bring closure to his family and the thousands of teamsters that idolized this man and just to southeastern Michigan. This is kind of like an open wound that just keeps -- won't go away.

TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASST. DIRECTOR: There's been a lot of earth moved looking for the remains of Jimmy Hoffa. All negative so far.

CANDIOTTI: Two samples were removed from the ground. And police say they look kind of murky because of all the ground water. But those samples are now going to a lab at Michigan State University. And they expect to know sometime Monday whether there are human remains buried beneath that driveway. If there are, then there will be a larger excavation.

Of course, they've had tips like this before that have not panned out. So now the question is, will police crack this case or will it remain an unsolved mystery?

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Roseville, Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Susan. Keep us posted on that.

We're learning a little bit more today about how the investigation into the Colorado theater shooting is unfolding. New documents released a few hours ago detail how police in Aurora, Colorado, handled the notebook that suspect James Holmes mailed to his psychiatrist days before the shooting. According to those documents, police first x-rayed the package containing the notebook. Then a bomb squad technician wearing a special suit removed the notebook from the wrapping. The documents have been heavily redacted, but they state that an Aurora detective fanned through the notebook before it was turned over to evidence and sealed. Also in the documents, Holmes had threatened his psychiatrist and those threats were reported to University of Colorado Police before the shooting. Holmes is accused of opening fire during that midnight screening of the new "Batman" movie on July 20th in Aurora. Twelve people were killed. Another 58 were wounded.

Straight ahead, a warning for drivers in Los Angeles. This weekend, it is carmageddon II. The sequel. A major freeway stretch in L.A. closing again. So the big question, will drivers stay home like they did the last time?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, anyone who commutes in a city of any size at all knows the headaches of traffic tie-ups. So last year, when the country's second largest city of Los Angeles decided to add a car pool lane to a much used freeway and announced that a 10-mile stretch of that freeway would be closed over a weekend, well, that weekend was dubbed carmageddon. Of course that was before the freeway actually was shut down, the name that is, because when it did shut down, well, take a look at the video, nothing really happened. No tie-ups. In other words, no carmageddon.

But this weekend, as it approaches, L.A. drivers are being warned, once again, of a highway of doom. Will they listen? Will it happen? Let's bring in CNN's Casey Wian.

All right, so this time around, how is it different? This is the 405 this time, right?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. Same freeway. Over my left shoulder, you can see the 405 freeway. It is, according to Los Angeles transportation officials, the busiest freeway in the United States. Over a typical weekend, a half a million cars will pass through this relatively narrow pass leading from the San Fernando Valley to Los Angeles.

In the distance you can see a bridge. And this side of that bridge will be demolished over the weekend and rebuilt over the next 12 months. The south side of the bridge was demolished last time. So that's going to close this freeway from 7:00 local time tonight until it's hoped 5:00 a.m. Monday morning.

What happened last year, as you mentioned, is people stayed away from this area and there weren't any traffic problems. Also, the construction process went a lot faster than they anticipated. So the freeway was actually able to reopen early and there were no problems.

What officials are worried about this time is that people are going to be complacent because of last year's experience. They also say that they have about 30 percent more work to get done this time, so they may not get it done as early as they did.

Now, California transportation officials have had lighted signs throughout southern California, as far as 50 miles away on freeways that don't even directly connect to the 405, warning people to stay away, warning people not to drive in this area because there's really no other way to get through here. We're going to have to see if they heed those warnings over the weekend, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And what's the time frame?

WIAN: Time frame, 7:00 tonight, local time -- the sort of end of the Friday commute -- until 5:00 a.m. Monday morning.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

WIAN: They have got to get -- they'll have a 10 mile stretch of the freeway shut down so people are just going to have to stay away during that stretch. WHITFIELD: All right, once again, it might provoke a few staycations. People are just going to stay in their familiar territory, their neighborhoods.

Casey Wian, thanks so much.

All right, turning back to politics now. Just 39 days before the presidential election. Both candidates trying to convince voters they're the best choice for the job. So why is one campaign lowering expectations on how their guy will do in the first presidential debate next week?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Todd Akin is stirring things up, calling his opponent, Claire McCaskill, unlady-like. Akin is the GOP's Missouri Senate candidate. The one who recently stirred a tempest by suggesting that what he called legitimate rape cannot lead to pregnancy. One month later, top Republicans seem to be divided as to whether to back Akin or write off hopes for winning that Missouri seat. CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser with us now from Washington.

So, Paul, where is this going?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, this is a really interesting story because at one time, Fred, this was a seat the Republicans really thought they could win back and, you know, hopefully winning back Missouri would mean winning back control of the Senate.

But the question now is, with Akin staying in there, the six-term congressman from Missouri, will national Republicans, they're backing him but will they give him any money? Up until now the answer was probably no. yesterday a thought that maybe, maybe they would give him some money. Here's what John Cornyn, Senator Cornyn of Texas. He is the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Said, "we have no plans," he said, "to support Akin." He was talking about financially. "I just think that this is not a winnable race."

Now, Fred, I was talking to some Republican sources and they were saying, here, listen, we're not backing Claire McCaskill at all here. You know, we would love it if Akin won, but they think that they have only a certain amount of money they can spend. They think it's better spent in other races where they think they may have a better shot at winning back a seat.

McCaskill, the Democrat, listen, she is not -- she is definitely picking up and getting more aggressive against Akin. Take a listen to her new TV commercial playing in Missouri.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, POLITICAL AD (voice-over): And on August 19th, Todd Akin said, only some rapes are legitimate. What will he say next?

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: I'm Claire McCaskill and I approve this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: You know, for a month, Claire McCaskill did not say anything about those comments. Now you can see, it's in one of her new TV ads.

Fred.

WHITFIELD: And so, Paul, this seat is really pivotal. It could potentially make the difference between who controls the Senate or not, right?

STEINHAUSER: Exactly. And this is such a good story. You know, we're always talking about the race for the White House. And, sure, that gets the top billing. That's the marquee race. But the battle for the Senate is crucial as well.

Let's look at the big picture here in the battle for the Senate. Where does it stand right now? Fifty-three Democrats, 47 Republicans in the chamber. But look at the bottom there, the Democrats are defending 23 of the 33 seats up for grabs in November. So definitely, you know, it's some challenges for them to keep control.

And look at some of the top races I'm keeping my eyes on. Montana, Democratic senator facing a very tough re-election. Wisconsin, a Democratic seat that's open. Virginia, of course another similar story, a Democratic seat that's open. And Massachusetts. This is interesting. This is where Republican Senator Scott Brown is fighting for re-election. A tough fight there. The Democrats hope they can win one back, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paul Steinhauser, always good to see you, thanks so much, from Washington.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, as world leaders gather in New York trying to figure out how to end Syria's civil war, the numbers coming out of the country show the crisis is getting far worse. (VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: YouTube video showing just how risky walking in Syria's biggest city of Aleppo can be. Anti-government groups say 122 people have been killed so far today. The death toll since March, 2011, 30,000. That figure from a Syrian human rights group. And now the United Nations is releasing this figure, 700,000. That's the number of refugees predicted to flow into other countries. The U.N.'s refugee agency is asking for more than $480 million in aid. As all of this is happening, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said today that U.S. Intelligence has detected Syria moving chemical weapons at some sites for security reasons.

A detail that could influence a decision about U.S. military intervention in Syria. Remember, this is what president Obama said about chemical weapons in Syria just last month. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A red line for us is we start saying a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus. That would change my equation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Secretary Panetta said it is believed the chemical weapons remain secured by the Syrian military.

In Nepal, a plane carrying tourists crashed today after colliding with an eagle on takeoff. All 19 people on board were killed. The plane was headed to a staging point where Mount Everest expeditions, it crashed and burst into flames just minutes after leaving Kathmandu's airport. Among the victims were seven British tourists planning to hike near Mount Everest.

The man believed to be behind that anti-Muslim film that led to violence in the Muslim world is being held without bail in a California jail now. New sketches show Nakoula Basseley Nakoula in court yesterday.

He's charged with violating probation for bank fraud conviction two years ago. Prosecutors argued Nakoula is a flight risk. But his lawyer claimed he should not go to jail for safety reasons, claiming there are a lot of Muslims in L.A. jails and Nakoula would be a target, they argue.

Up next, several major U.S. banks are the targets of a massive cyber attack. And security experts are calling it one of the biggest attacks they have ever seen.

Plus, Apple's mea culpa, the tech giant apologizes for the new maps application which caused an uproar and a lot of frustration among the users out there. What the CEO had to say next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, your bank's online defense system may have been outgunned by cyber attackers this week. Major banks like Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, all victims of denial of service attacks.

Yesterday, PNC Online Banking was also hit. It locked customers out of their personal information online. Security experts say it is the biggest cyber attack they have ever seen.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. So Alison, a lot of banks involved there. How did this happen?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, I want to point out no customer information was hacked into. There was no money taken. What instead happened here was more of these denial of service attacks. So what these essentially do, they make it really difficult to get on to these banks' web sites. So there is no actual hacking going on. So no data was stolen and the banks' actual transaction networks were not affected.

But these attacks can be really, really annoying if you want to get on your bank's web site and check your balance or pay your bills. It slows them down and many customers couldn't access them at all -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So do we know who is behind these attacks?

KOSIK: We don't. And investigators are trying to track down who is responsible. One Islamist group has claimed responsibility, but it's too soon to say whether they really did this.

But these attacks do suggest, there is a lot of preplanning involved, months in fact, which is very different from what we have seen in the past.

Bank of America, as you said, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, and PNC Bank, they all got hit one right after the next -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: My goodness, so what does it say about the vulnerability of these very big banks?

KOSIK: Well, you know, it is interesting because it is the banks that typically have some of the best defenses against cyber attacks because they get hit so frequently. But this time, you know they just were outgunned.

You know, one web security firm says the volume of traffic sent to disrupt the bank's web site was unprecedented twice the previous record for denial of service attack. What this suggests is that the cybercriminals, they may be getting a little more sophisticated -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK, let's shift gears a little bit now and talk about Apple, whole lot of people are very upset with Apple and you know, those new map apps, but now there is an apology coming from the CEO, in what form?

KOSIK: Yes, so he wrote an open letter, Tim Cook did, he wrote an open letter to customers saying he's very sorry about Apple's new maps application, you know, the one that actually replaced Google maps.

Customers, they have been really, really frustrated with how it is working or not working. In the latest version of its mobile operating system, you know, the one on the iPhone and that many older users iPhone end up upgrading to.

So in this letter, Cook says, the company fell short on its commitment to make world class products. He goes on to write we're extremely sorry for the frustration that this caused our customers and we're doing everything we can to make it better.

Now, Apple says the more people use the app, the better it will get. Meantime, while Apple is trying to make the tweaks, what he is suggesting is that you can download other map applications like Map Quest, and, yes, even Google maps, which Apple maps replaced so its biggest rival, which is really ironic -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: That's funny stuff. All right, thanks so much. Alison Kosik, appreciate that.

"CNN Heroes" every day people doing extraordinary things like Razia Jan. See how she's educating young girls in the war torn region of Afghanistan next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Afghanistan, women typically don't have much of a place in society and Islamic extremists often use violence to keep girls from getting an education. One woman is braving all of that to educate girls at a free school near Kabul. And she is this week's "CNN Hero."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAZIA JAN, CHAMPIONING CHILDREN: In Afghanistan, most of the girls have no voice. They are used as property of a family. The picture is very grim. My name is Razia Jan and I'm the founder of a girl's school in Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Razia Jan believes so much in her cause, she returned to Afghanistan after living in the U.S. for 38 years. She joins us now by phone from Kabul.

So, Razia, first congratulations being the "Top Ten Heroes," you know, when you opened up the school back in 2008, most of the girls couldn't even write their name. What has happened in the last four years?

JAN (via telephone): It is really a great pleasure first of all and honor to be one of the heroes among the really elite people. And my work is when we started this school like you mentioned that the girls couldn't write their name and none of them had opportunity, I think, ever, to go to a school in their villages.

And when I built the school in 2008, they really couldn't write their name. And now this is the fifth year. And the girls, I mean, it is amazing. And it is such a joy to see them that they can read, they can write, and they're working on their future.

And they have -- they are learning really three languages, which is Pashtun, Dari and English, which is really -- it would help them as they grow older and my dream is for them to continue their education and continue giving them the best education that is possible under the circumstances, and to keep them safe, really. That's my goal.

WHITFIELD: And it hasn't been easy for them, it hasn't been easy for you. Give me an idea what some of the obstacles, the roadblocks, what have they been?

JAN: Well, you know, it is just -- it is, you know, as I said before and I am repeating is that, you know, a woman really -- they don't have any rights and they are not only, you know, dominated by their father, but then the brother and uncle and grandfather.

So it is not one person, you know, giving them permission to go to school, but you have to go through, you know, a lot of obstacles to bring them to school. And the thinking of men there in the villages were that, you know, the men should -- the boys should have education, not the girls.

The place of girls is at home and shouldn't come to school. It was a great struggle and uphill battle actually in the beginning to allow their children, girls to come to school and give them an opportunity.

And when I started the school, we started with 108 students. And none of them really knew how to write their name or anything. But now we have about 300, close to 350 girls that come to school and every year, at least 60, 70 girls that I can really manage to increase.

In kindergarten I have the girls. So my goal is to really make it possible for these girls to get educated and help them, to get the very basic rights and when to say no and how to -- the community to really treat them and --

WHITFIELD: It looks like you're doing -- it looks like you're doing exactly that. Razia Jan, thanks so much and, again, congratulations for making it to the "Top Ten CNN Heroes."

The top ten have been revealed for 2012. And you can now vote for the choice that you would like to become the hero of the year. Go to cnnheroes.com. This is one time when you can vote early and vote often.

Water rates across the nation are on the rise. We'll show you the cities that are paying the most and find out what's behind that skyrocketing water bill so many are facing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Your water bill may be soaking up more and more of your hard earned money. Just pouring yourself a glass of water from your home faucet could be pricey.

A "USA Today" study tracked water rates for 12 years. In Atlanta, rates jumped 233 percent. Let's bring in the study's author, Kevin McCoy. So Kevin, what is the deal? Why is this happening?

KEVIN MCCOY, REPORTER, "USA TODAY": Hi, Fredricka. Thanks for having me here. There are a lot of reasons for it. One is that there is infrastructure costs for water, utilities and water -- municipality water agencies around the country where they have to upgrade their pipes, their reservoirs, treatment systems.

That adds a lot of debt to the system and that gets passed on to the people who are getting the water. There are also things like extra security, they have to be around water plants and the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001, that's a big issue.

You've got higher costs for electricity and chemicals for treating water. And you've got pension costs for the people that work in the systems that deliver the water. That all adds up.

WHITFIELD: OK, a host of reasons. So now where are we seeing cities being hardest hit?

MCCOY: Well, there are three cities that had big -- very big jumps in the data analysis that we had. One of them is Atlanta, where you are, that has gone up, as you said, over 200 percent. That's a big deal.

There it is part of it is the infrastructure costs that has been a big issue. It is also a big issue in San Francisco, which is one of the other places that saw a very big jump. They're in the midst of a five-year plan where they're expanding and hardening their infrastructure system, putting in new pipes and what not.

It is much more difficult there because their system stretches many, many miles around the bay area and crosses a number of seismic faults. So to make that system, you know, able to withstand earthquakes, it is a lot of work and it is expensive.

WHITFIELD: OK, Wilmington, North Carolina, Philadelphia, Portland, Oregon, also on the list. So is there anything that can be done to try to lower these rising rates?

MCCOY: Well, you can try -- you can try to save water by cutting back a little bit. But you may end up hurting yourself, actually. What happens is if you cut back, the water agencies have budgeted a certain amount of income that they expect to get. You take less water, they get less income. As a result, the rates go a little bit higher.

WHITFIELD: My goodness, gosh, all right, Catch-22 all the way around. Kevin McCoy, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

MCCOY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, just days before his scheduled execution, a Pennsylvania man is off death row for now. We're on the case as a convicted killer gets word his death sentence will be reconsidered.

Plus, paying football players for big hits. We're not talking about professional football. This case involves children.

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WHITFIELD: Just five days until his execution and a Pennsylvania man is off death row for now. A judge in Philadelphia ruled today that Terrence Williams, a convicted killer, will get a new sentencing phase to his trial to see what punishment he should receive for beating a man with a tire iron when he was a teenager.

Why the second chance? Because when Williams received the death penalty back in 1986, jurors never knew the murder victim allegedly sexually abused him.

CNN's Jason Carroll has been covering the hearing. So, Jason, the judge in her ruling had very strong words for the prosecutors.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No question about that. This is a real blow for the prosecution and Common Appeals Court Judge Theresa Samina did not mince words. She said the prosecutor on the original case, Andrea Foulkes, took measures to win, suppressed evidence, and presented jurors an incomplete and misleading portrayal of the victim.

The victim was 56-year-old Amos Norwood, a jury found Terrence Williams guilty of brutally murdering him. Prosecutors called the case back then a case of robbery. Williams' attorney said there was a lot more to it.

They said Norwood had been sexually abusing Williams and other teenage boys and they say Foulkes knew about the allegations and suppressed evidence back in 1986.

I want you now to listen to what Folks had to say about that when I caught up with her just last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREA FOULKES, WILLIAMS' TRIAL PROSECUTOR: I didn't suppress evidence at all, never have, and I will never suppress evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Well, within the past hour, the Philadelphia district attorney held a press conference where he said Judge Samina is basically making the villain out to be the victim. He also said if Williams was a victim of abuse, he had the power to say something about it during the trial, and he didn't.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH WILLIAMS, PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The well deserved death sentence imposed by a jury on a vicious double murderer has been unjustly overturned by Philadelphia judge 28 years after the crimes. And I have directed my assistants to file an immediate appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: So Judge Sarmina told the court today there was a reasonable probability the original verdict outcome could have been different had the evidence not been suppressed.

She ordered not only a stay of execution, Fredricka, but a new penalty phase, that essentially means both sides will now reargue the case in front of a jury, which will then set a new sentence. But as you heard right there, the Philadelphia district attorney plans to appeal the judge's decision.

WHITFIELD: Well, interesting enough, Jason, the original prosecutor testified she did not have a scintilla of evidence that Norwood was abusing Williams. Clearly the judge did not find her credible? Is that what's at issue?

CARROLL: Clearly, yes, absolutely, Fredricka, she did not. I mean, you are absolutely right when Andrea Foulkes took the stand, she said that had she found something to help her move her in that direction, she would have.

And she would have turned that evidence over. But then the judge pointed out, she took out notes. These were notes from years ago, they were Foulkes' own notes, which clearly showed she did have evidence suggesting that Williams was involved in this inappropriate relationship with Amos Norwood.

And not only that, Fredricka, but another woman had come forward and said that Norwood had sexually abused her son as well. That information not turned over to the defense during that time.

WHITFIELD: All right, fascinating case. Jason Carroll, thanks so much.