BP Continues Testing New Well Cap; Bus Carrying Children From Camp Flips Over in Kansas
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Fighting over finances can wreck a relationship. This hour, we'll give you critical money tips for marriage and for divorce. And it's a supersized skateboard and an overdrive on the Internet. We'll show you why at 3:00 eastern time. Then at 4:00, salsa and guacamole -- popular restaurant favorites that could pose a serious health risk. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM as the news unfolds live this Saturday, July 17th. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We begin with this breaking news. A bus carrying kids from a Kansas church camp flipped over on interstate 35 near Wellsville. One child was airlifted to the hospital, eight others were taken in ambulance and the other children taken to Franklin County sheriff's department to be reunited with their parents. And joining us right now by phone is Franklin County Sheriff Jeff Curry. All right, sheriff, give me an idea, how did this accident happen?</s>JEFF CURRY, FRANKLIN COUNTY SHERIFF: We're not sure right now. The cause of the accident, it appears something caused the bus to lose control and veer off to the left side of the roadway, eventually rolling over on to its side.</s>WHITFIELD: The children that are to be reunited with their families, clearly they're OK, but the other kids who sustained injuries, give me an idea of the extent of their injuries.</s>CURRY: Well, I don't have a lot of information on the extent of their injuries right now. All that we do know is that one child was transported by air ambulance to a children's hospital and eight others were transported by ground ambulance. Right now we have 15 at the Franklin County sheriff's office that are quickly being reunited with their parents.</s>WHITFIELD: Was this a school bus a city or county school bus? I think I see "City" on the side of the bus that was leased out to this private group? Or was this a city or county school-related trip?</s>CURRY: Well, this was a -- it was a private group. And I'm not exactly sure who -- whether they leased the bus or not. However, it was a private group that had children at the Amazing Grace Baptist Church camp here north of Ottawa in Franklin County, and they were transporting the children back to independence, Missouri.</s>WHITFIELD: How remote was this location the scene of this accident? How difficult was it to respond to?</s>CURRY: It actually was quite easy to respond to. It was on interstate 35 between really between the city of Ottawa and the greater Kansas City metropolitan area. So getting to the accident wasn't too hard. There was a little bit of problem with vehicles that were backed up on the interstate because the bus did close off both lanes of the interstate when it rolled over on to its side. However, we were able to get out and organize that very quickly. And we didn't have any other accidents ensue because of this.</s>WHITFIELD: Excellent. Out of Kansas, Franklin County Jeff Curry, thanks so much for your time. And we wish all the best to the kids as they are to be reunited with their families. And of course we're also wishing the best for those who are injured. All right, right now, we are at hour 47 of BP's original 48-hour test, and so far, so good. But BP says the pressure tests on its ruptured oil well may be extended. David Mattingly has been following this story from the very beginning. David, what is the latest?</s>DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredericka, that 48-hour deadline is now out the window. They're going to see how this goes. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that the pressure that's building up there was not going up to what they originally thought it would. It's doing well. They're finding out this well is in good shape, no signs of any leaks so far, which is fantastic. They're continuing to do all sorts of seismic testing and other types of testing down below just to see if there's any oil seeping up or any escaping methane gas. But so far none of that has happened, everything is going well, and they're just going to keep testing this well right now to see how it performs. So far, they've built up the amount of pressure of 6,745 pounds per square inch. Now at one time they were talking about seeing if this well was going to go up to maybe 8,000 pounds per square inch. But now they've come to realize -- at least BP thinks that because this well has been spewing out so much oil for so long that it's actually become depleted somewhat and now does not have the pressure it might have had at one time. So now they're looking at the pressure to continue just creeping up a couple of pounds per square inch every hour. And they're just going to keep watching that to see where it goes. They think it might end somewhere around 6,800, which would put us out in the max out range sometime in the next couple of days. But right now they're throwing that 48-hour deadline out the window and are going to keep looking at, this keep the tests going, and keep making decisions as they go.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, David Mattingly, thanks so much from New Orleans. Appreciate that. Right here in the studio with me, CNN producer Vivian Kuo who has spent a lot of time studying this procedure, all that has been tested, tried out as it pertains to the oil leak. What's the best-case scenario that BP is hoping for here?</s>VIVIAN KUO, CNN PRODUCER: As David just explained, we're in a crucial part of the operation. There's a couple of scenarios. As you said, the best-case scenario would be that the well does have integrity and could be kept shut in. Obviously that's the best case we're looking at because no oil is flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. And conceivably, it could remain that case up until BP has the first relief well completed.</s>WHITFIELD: Worst-case scenario?</s>KUO: Well, that's not so good. Now, as David was explaining, they're trying to determine whether or not the well has any breaches in it. And if it has any leaks, it's decided the well does not have integrity, there could be a problem. They've got to open up the valves, start producing, and again the oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.</s>WHITFIELD: OK, so the relief well is something that is still being constructed, but we're close, right? Did I hear properly that they're just a matter of inches if not feet away from the final product?</s>KUO: That's exactly it. They're in a very precision part of the drilling process. It's very slow. Like you said, they're like measuring it by inches. They said they're four feet eight inches away from the well. They're more than 17,800 feet below the surface. So they're measuring these little by little, doing extensive measuring operations just to see how farther from the original well.</s>WHITFIELD: What's thetime line again?</s>KUO: The timeline, they think maybe set the final casing next week, that basically means lay some pipe, cement it, intersection end of July.</s>WHITFIELD: So everyone's hoping that's going to work. But is there kind of a plan b, c, d -- I don't know what letter we should be on right now -- if this doesn't work? If that relief well doesn't do what people are hoping it will be? Is it safe to say that there is another option out there or a plan that's already being revealed?</s>KUO: You know what, there are some other options. National Incident Commander Thad Allen has implemented these plans in place. So if the first relief well doesn't work, they've got a second relief well. So their well -- they've drilled pretty far into that process now. And if that doesn't work, they have two other contingency plans in place ready to implement.</s>WHITFIELD: Wow. Vivian Kuo, CNN producer, thanks so much, appreciate that. All right, well, a man is facing a long list of charges, including arson. Police say 48-year-old David Witso drove a car full of explosives into a bank on the south side of Chicago. Witnesses say they saw him walking away as the car exploded. Police say he used the same materials found in fireworks. The bank was closed at the time and no one was injured. But they're still trying to figure out a motive here. And officials in Hackensack, New Jersey, call it a major tragedy averted. Crews search the rubble of a partially collapsed parking garage this morning and found no victims. Three floors of the garage collapsed on top of each other. This happened just yesterday, one person was believed trapped inside a crushed car, but that car was removed this morning. And guess what -- it turned out to be empty. Marriage and money, a combination that can cause problems, especially during very tough economic times. We've got some tips for couples thinking about marriage, perhaps those are who are already married, and those who might be considering "d" word, divorce.