good evening. this is it. we are back in the lower ninth ward tonight, the one iconic post katrina new orleans neighborhood people have heard about all over the world. the old neighborhood was all still here in place five years ago tonight. that's because katrina was still offshore in the gulf, bearing down, but still at least two days out. the flood wall behind us is new. when the old one failed, this neighborhood got blown to pieces, washed away. it became, as we said, an icon for the damage and the suffering. we'll see how the lower ninth ward is faring in just a moment. we want to begin tonight with the economy. we got more evidence today that it slowed to an absolute crawl this spring. gross domestic product, the broadest measure there is was revised sharply lower for the three months that ended in june to a very weak 1.6%. and look at this stat just out from the government today. the birthrate in this country fell to its lowest level in 100 years last year as the bad economy kept people from adding to or starting up a family. nbc's john yang starts us off tonight from chicago. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. tfrs a day of startling numbers, numbers on the economy and the ways it's affecting our lives. among the towering peaks of wyoming at a fed conference, a sobering assessment from fed chairman ben bernanke. economic growth is too slow and unemployment too high, but he said the fed is ready to act to keep the nation from slipping back into recession. >> the concern right now for the fed is that the labor market has been disappointing, and that means income is not going to be as high as expected. >> reporter: consumer spending is key for small businessman like chuck swartz. he owns two party supply stores where sales continue on a downward slope. >> we have been in a downturn since 2008. i don't know how much longer we can go through that. we have cut our expenses so that i think we can survive. >> reporter: so far this year, schwartz has closed one store, laid off five workers and cut the pay and hours of the 25 workers who remain including the operations manager, jan cook. she said it's made her future feel less secure. >> i try not to worry, but i worry. i'm getting older. >> reporter: there is a steep decline in the birthrate. today the government said in 2009 it was the lowest in a century. >> there is a long line of research that economic conditions and birth rates are linked. the great depression had low birth rates. >> reporter: stephanie scott and her husband say they would like to start a family but don't think they can do it financially. >> we stopped making plans. when the time is right and we feel we have enough cushion and enough savings then we'll take the next step. >> reporter: analysts say another reason for the declining birthrate is low immigration which is also due to the slow economy. brian? >> john yang starting us off in chicago tonight. john, thanks. on wall street, the chairman of the fed, ben bernanke gave ainsuran assurances that he stands ready to do more to help the economy. that seemed to cheer investors. the dow was up almost 165 points. while we are here in new orleans, we're keeping a close eye on the atlantic ocean tonight. three systems in all. the new storms, including danielle, may be posing a new threat to some parts of the east coast before they are all done. jim cantore is with us again tonight with more. three of them out there. >> and more to come. you should see what's lined up across africa. let's talk about these. it's danielle, a strong category four at 135 miles per hour. that continues to pull to the north-northwest. what we think is going to happen is it's going to produce a huge amount of waves. those waves are going to arrive on the east coast for the weekend. then it will hook off to the east. needless to say, kerry sanders can't stay on the titanic expediti expedition. tropical storm watch is posted for parts of the leeward islands. impacts will be monday. then fiona is the question. some of the computer models now, brian, have this thing sitting off the carolina coast just in time for the labor day weekend. >> so at least beach erosion, riptides on the east coast. thanks. now to our coverage of this region five years after katrina. some people have said katrina was the best thing to happen to education here in new orleans. what they mean by that is this -- it gave them an excuse to come in here and start fresh to rebuild a crumbled and troubled system. our own thanh truong was a reporter in new orleans during katrina. he is back with us now on this trip for a look at this issue. good evening. >> reporter: new orleans public schools underwent huge changes after the storm. the state seized control of the system that was considered failing. those changes have revolutionized education for students here. >> there was a lot of commotion in the hallways. >> reporter: courtney darby is a forward-thinking 5th grader. >> i want to be an ob/gyn. >> reporter: why? >> i love children. >> reporter: she attends andrew wilson elementary. the school suffered more than eight feet of flooding during hurricane katrina. five years later, it's a different place. >> before the storm we were below the 25th percentile. they are now above the 50th percentile headed toward the 70th percentile. >> reporter: before katrina, nearly 65% of the public schools in new orleans were considered academically unacceptable. the school district was bankrupt and the president was being investigated for taking bribes. she was later convicted. another distraction for a school system already struggling. >> it was clearly broken pre-katrina. i think there was hopelessness like we would never be able to change the system. >> reporter: scott cowen designed the major education reforms after katrina. >> the big change was to decentralize authority for the operations from the school down to the school level. >> reporter: connie yayton came out of retirement. what's the most satisfying? >> being here with the children. >> reporter: a reform to restructure new orleans' education. instead of a school board, principals are the heads of charter schools. they control the budget, set agendas and hire and fire teachers. >> there hasn't been a single year since the storm where student achievement has not increased. the number of failing schools has dramatically decreased by about a third. >> i get homework every night. i do the homework every night with my mom. >> reporter: if you don't? >> there is no don't. >> reporter: the future of new orleans, one lesson at a time. more than 60% of the city's public school students now attend a charter school. new orleans received a $1.8 billion federal grant to build more. >> front page of today's paper. good news out of bad. thanh truong on education in new orleans. then there's health care in this region. like most places, like most big cities it was pretty badly broken before katrina. it fell apart after katrina and now there are big changes in how people are getting basic care for themselves. our chief medical reporter dr. nancy snyderman is with us. >> reporter: before katrina rolled through there were 39 hospitals in the area. 24 remain today. as the area rebuilds, some people believe less is, in fact, more. >> nice to see you. >> reporter: isaac walter was born at charity hospital 64 years ago and got a lifetime of health care within its walls. >> it was a long wait once you got there. it was crowded, crowded, crowded. >> reporter: already overwhelmed by new orleans' poorest, charity was overwhelmed when the levees broke and overnight the largest safety net for the uninsured was out of business. >> my family was sick. we had nowhere to go. >> reporter: katrina forced the medical community to transform its health care system. from the large hospital walk-in care to many smaller neighborhood centers. a network of 87 independent primary care clinics funded with federal, state and private money. >> about one in five people in our city is using a neighborhood-based health care site for primary care and not using the emergency room. >> reporter: community outreach is critical to the plan. 16 mobile units like this one offer preventative care for anyone who can't get to a doctor. it doesn't mean hospital care is a thing of the past. interim lsu public hospital has 260 beds. doctors here see almost 300 patients a day and the numbers are growing. >> the more we build and the more capacity we make available, we fill it up because there is such a demand for our services. >> reporter: part of the rebuilding process is also learning from lessons of the past. >> it was complete and total darkness. >> reporter: in the days after the storm slammed into the city, dr. anna poe stayed behind to tend to patients. she was later arrested for euthanizing patients but a grand jury refused to indict her. >> i would never, ever, ever abandon a patient -- mine or anybody else's. i couldn't do it. >> reporter: that ordeal prompted her to work on legislation to protect doctors and nurses as good samaritans during the next crisis. it's a step. >> we have gaps in hospital-based care particularly in parts of town like new orleans east. all things considered, we are moving in the right direction. >> reporter: the state pledged $30 million in funding to keep these community centers open. the hope that this might be a paradigm shift to get access for all people in louisiana. people don't need a building. they need a doctor. >> doesn't take much to bring the memories back. we'll have much more from new orleans later in the broadcast. first, we're going to get to some of the day's other news including the heart-wrenching video of the miners trapped under ground waiting months to be rescued. later, brad pitt. around here, a lot of neighbors know him as the guy responsible for their new home. i'm a random windstorm. 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[ female announcer ] why wait? ask about toviaz today. back now from the ninth ward in new orleans. far from here in chile, we are getting a fascinating look at what life is like for those 33 miners trapped way under ground, living together in a small space while waiting to be rescued. a risky process that could take months. crews above ground sent a tiny camera down through the bore hole and as our own tom costello reports, the miners sent it back with images of what life is like for them down there. >> reporter: chanting and singing deep inside the hot, humid mine, the 33 miners appear shirtless, unshaven, dirty and 20 pounds lighter after three weeks under ground. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> reporter: hello to my family, my daughter, this miner says. another says, even though the conditions aren't good, we're okay, because we know we're going to get out of here. we now know the area the miners are living in is much larger than a refuge chamber. the men can move through open sections of the mine big enough to hold several trucks, though ventilation is not always good. some areas of the mine have been set aside for exercise, a clinic and because sanitation is critical, a remote section is the latrine. a table set aside to play cards and dominoes. above ground, rescuers send down clean water, food and oxygen while family members hold vigil. >> i love my dad. >> reporter: telemundo's angie sandoval is there. >> they are happy but concerned because some of the men appear very thin. >> translator: if god gave us the patience and strength when we didn't know they were alive, now there is even more reason to be strong. >> reporter: the men are still joking at times about how badly each of them smells. they have established rules and schedules knowing full well their physical and mental health will be put to the test over the coming months. tom costello, nbc news, washington. >> up next as we continue, some of the day's other headlines including a frightening moment on board a 747, and a new young star facing a very tough call. we're back in a moment from new orleans. nighttime nasal congestion meant, i couldn't breathe right. i couldn't sleep right. next day it took forever to get going. night after night, i sat up. sprayed up. took a shower... or took a pill. then i tried drug-free breathe right. and instantly, i breathed better! i slept better. i felt...better. thank you, breathe right! 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