[Tony Harris, Cnn Anchor:] And hello everyone, Tony Harris of the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Back to Don in New Orleans in just a couple of minutes, but first a check of some of today's top stories. Engineers in Chile have come up with a new plan to free 33 trapped miners in just two months, that is half in time previously estimated. They hope to begin using a new drill in the next several days. If the plan doesn't work, the miners may not be freed until the end of the year. Three Americans were killed in two separate attacks in Afghanistan today. Two of the U.S. service members died in a bombing in the southern region. A third American was killed following an insurgent attack in Eastern Afghanistan. Also today, Afghan and coalition soldiers fought off assaults on two military bases. The attackers were wearing U.S. military uniforms and the use of rocket-propelled grenades, the fighting left 20 insurgents dead. Paris Hilton is in trouble again. Hilton was released from a Las Vegas jail this morning after she was arrested on cocaine possession charges last night. Hilton was released after prosecutors determined she was not a flight risk. Last month she was briefly detained in South Africa for allegedly smoking marijuana, but the case was later dropped. An attack on a Muslim cab driver has raised fears among other New York cabbies. The driver suffered multiple stab wounds after saying he is a Muslim. CNN's Alison Kosik asked other cabbies if the attack has left them fearing the next fare because of how they look and what they believe.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Correspondent:] The life of a New York City taxi driver person, not the easiest for most of the 49,000 licensed drivers on the streets here.
[Unidentified Man:] Taxi.
[Kosik:] Especially says, Zakir Chowdhury if you're a Muslim behind the wheel.
[Zakir Chowdhury, Cab Driver:] We are scared now.
[Kosik:] Scared, because one of their own cab driver Ahmed Sharif was slashed Tuesday night by a knife-wielding passenger after saying he was Muslim. Twenty one year-old college student Michael Enright has been charged with attempted murder in what police are calling a hate crime. On Thursday, Sharif along with his wife and four children met with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Sharif believes, he could have been killed.
[Ahmed Sharif, New York Cab Driver:] He stab me right over there. If this one, he had put it here, I couldn't talk right now, I'd be dead.
[Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York:] No matter how wonderful this country is, no matter how wonderful this city is, there's always somebody that acts disgracefully. Kind of hard to understand why.
[Kosik:] New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says he doesn't see the attack as a trend.
[Commissioner Ray Kelly, New York Police:] I see it as an isolated incident. And there's nothing to indicate that, you know, that there's anything of extra concern based on this event.
[Kosik:] But Muslim cab drivers are concerned. We caught up with cab drivers and Chowdhury in the middle of their 12 hour shift at this taxi stand at LaGuardia airport. It's where cabbies come to eat, wait for passengers and on the sidewalk just around the corner from the bathroom, it's where some Muslim drivers use the space as a make shift mosque.
[Chowdhury:] Yes, we not sure, we are not secure now, we are not safe.
[Kosik:] Chowdhury says, he came to the U.S. 20 years ago from Bangladesh in search of a better life for him and his family. He says he's found it, but hopes it's not taken away because of his faith.
[Chowdhury:] We are praying for the world, for the people. We need to keep peace in the world, you know. We are not praying only for Muslim, you know, we pray for all the world people.
[Kosik:] Trying to live the American dream in safety and peace. Alison Kosik, CNN, New York.
[Harris:] I'm Tony Harris at CNN World Headquarters at Atlanta. Now, back to Don in New Orleans. Don, take it away.
[Lemon:] You should have said, I'm Tony Harris in a very dry studio back in Atlanta.
[Harris:] Man, you're getting drenched, aren't you?
[Lemon:] And there were people right behind me dancing in the rain earlier, there's a band playing. They're playing to yes, they're in celebration of our troops, they're playing here, and celebration of what they say, New Orleans is rising. We're right here, right next to Jackson Square. People are still out and about even though it's raining and of course, that's what you do in New Orleans. That's what you do in New Orleans. So, Tony, thank you. Good to see you. I'll talk to you a little bit later on. You'll going to be around though evening, right?
[Harris:] I'll be with you, Don.
[Lemon:] All right. I'll see in you a little bit.
[Harris:] OK.
[Lemon:] Up next, preparing for the next hurricane. Where will it hit? We're looking at the coastal cities most vulnerable to a hurricane, but first, two rallies, one dream. Washington, D.C., the center point for speeches today. And we're talking to a political producer who was in the middle of the crowd for you.