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CNN Live Today
New Round of Storms Marching Across Midwest Last Night Dousing Already-Flooded Areas With More Moisture
Aired May 25, 2004 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: 10:30 in the East and 7:30 on the West Coast. A new round of storms marching across the Midwest last night dousing already-flooded areas with more moisture. Keith Oppenheim is up to his calves in water in Gurnee, Illinois. That is where residents have been watching the water rise even more. Keith, good morning.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. Really the mid-shin level, if will you.
I'm actually going to get down and show you how the water is flowing here because really what happens in a flood like this is water just tries to find a place to go. And in this case it has left the main area where the river is and it moves out in this case over Illinois Route 132. And then finds its way in a strong flow back to where the river will flow in this case southward.
And if you look in the background, you can see how a number of businesses are affected. There's a Dairy Queen back there, a community park. And all of this is well under water now.
This water is making its way downstream to another community, Des Plains. And they're worried that it's going to cause a lot of problems there in about two days from now.
But here in Gurnee, I have an opportunity to talk to a guy who is dealing with problems right now. This is Commander Jay Patrick of the Village of Gurnee Police Department. Give us a sense, Commander Patrick, of what it's going to be like here during the next day as you come to the point where the floods start to crest.
COMMANDER JAY PATRICK, VILLAGE OF GURNEE POLICE DEPT.: Well, right now we've got about 20 homes and 20 businesses in the -- what is called the village center that are affected by the flood waters right now, due to sandbagging efforts around a school that's being affected right now. So far they've been able to save that school.
We're kind of in a containment mode at this point. The river has slowed somewhat which is good news for us. And the heavy rains that were predicted from last night went to the south of us, which was also good news.
So we're hoping for the best and that the river isn't going to rise a whole lot more than it already has. And we're just trying to keep it at bay. OPPENHEIM: Yes. So bad news is relative that the rains were not as bad as they were last night.
And I'll just mention that while the schools are closed here, four schools are closed here, Commander Patrick mentioned to me that he had just finished his academy training back in 1986 when they had another bad flood.
And get this, Daryn. There was $100 million damage back then. People are concerned about the dollar damage this time around too. There may be an application for a federal disaster funds or from the state as well.
So there's a lot of nervousness about the damage that's already been caused. And it may cause as the waters move downstream. Back to you.
KAGAN: And be you'll tracking it for us from Gurnee, Illinois. Keith Oppenheim.
We're expecting any minute the daily briefing from Baghdad to begin. The Coalition Provisional Authority, Dan Senor, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt coming to the podium. When they do begin with the latest briefing, we will go live to Baghdad.
Meanwhile, the fight for Iraq is actually being waged in Najaf today to the south. It might also be echoing through much of Islam. One of the most sacred shrines of Shi'a Islam has been damaged. And angry Iraqis say it was caused by the fighting of coalition forces and militia fighters. Jane Arraf is in Najaf. She joins us via videophone -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Daryn, damage to the Imam Ali shine, as U.S. forces say, it wasn't them. U.S. military officials hear in Najaf say that there was no fighting involving coalition forces near that mosque last night or today. Nor did they fire anything that would have caused the damage apparent in that picture.
Now there were fights going on between suspected Mahdi militia members, that militia loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the U.S. Those were centered around the Iraqi police station and this base, this Army base, in Najaf which came under intense mortar fire.
Also Rocket-Propelled Grenades fired at U.S. tanks that entered Kufa, Muqtada al-Sadr's stronghold. And the U.S. military says it went to areas around a mosque in the north of Kufa. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to get rid of Mahdi militia members who had come back to that area -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And we'll have more with Jane Arraf in the hour. Right now we see the briefing beginning in Baghdad. Coalition Provisional Authority Spokesman Dan Senor. Let's listen in.
(INTERRUPTED BY LIVE EVENT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Paying your bills by check or online? Which is safer from identity theft? The answer might surprise you.
Of course a lot of Americans are concerned about providing personal banking information online. But if you follow the right steps, the Internet can actually be a shelter from identity theft. James Van Dyke from Javelin Strategy and Research is here with tips to make that case. James, good morning. Thanks for being here with us.
JAMES VAN DYKE, JAVELIN STRATEGY AND RESEARCH: Thanks for having me.
KAGAN: Your top tip, if you're looking to avoid identity theft, throw away the paper and go online. How do you make that claim?
VAN DYKE: It's interesting. There is so much confusion around identity fraud which is a $47 billion annual crime according to the FTC. People think the more they stay off the Internet, the more safe they are, when in fact, if I'm a criminal, and I want to commit identity theft, in order to later commit identity fraud, I'll go after the piece of paper, because it's the easiest think to get ahold of.
KAGAN: Also on your list, second tip, monitor your accounts regularly. I thought, well, that's a no-brainer. But you say you should be doing this every week.
VAN DYKE: You should. Once somebody gets ahold of your personal information, as I said, one of the easiest ways, low-tech ways is through a piece of paper in a trash can or a mailbox or just laying around on a desk.
Once somebody gets ahold of your private information, it's like a foot race to see how much crime they can commit in your name before you discover it. That's why we say particularly for your financial accounts, credit card, bank and possibly brokerage, check those weekly. The only way you can really do that is through online access.
KAGAN: By doing that, you're not just picking anybody. You want to have safety in mind when you pick your providers.
VAN DYKE: That's right. Choose a provider that you've been with for a long time, that has extended hours of customer service, a no- questions asked guarantee, that if any fraud does occur they'll back you up and not hold you accountable. Make sure they have an easy to use site where you can get a lot of statements at one single location.
KAGAN: In practicing safe computer practices, some of the exact tips you make are very interesting, including when you're looking at your e-mail in terms of trusted parties and when you're done with your computer, what should do you with that.
VAN DYKE: You want to make sure you discard all the private information that you may have had on your computer. Some of the ways that information is stored is if you store passwords, is like address book entries, for example, delete all of those. Go back and flush out old Internet history that tracks where you've gone to. And any other records you've got that has private information.
The best way to think about this is look at the information or think about the information that you're asked for. If you've ever forgot an password or changed an address. What is the customer service agent ask for? They ask for Social Security numbers, mother's maiden names, that kind of thing. That's the information you're trying to get rid of.
KAGAN: Very good tips. They're tips that might seem like a hassle but a lot easier to do on this end than when you're the victim of identity theft and cleaning that.
Thanks for joining us. Safe travels through the Internet and through your credit. Appreciate it.
Let's see how safe things look on wall street today. Checking the Big Board, the Dow in positive territory. Market has been open close to an hour and a half. The Dow up 21 points. Nasdaq also in positive territory, up two points.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 25, 2004 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: 10:30 in the East and 7:30 on the West Coast. A new round of storms marching across the Midwest last night dousing already-flooded areas with more moisture. Keith Oppenheim is up to his calves in water in Gurnee, Illinois. That is where residents have been watching the water rise even more. Keith, good morning.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. Really the mid-shin level, if will you.
I'm actually going to get down and show you how the water is flowing here because really what happens in a flood like this is water just tries to find a place to go. And in this case it has left the main area where the river is and it moves out in this case over Illinois Route 132. And then finds its way in a strong flow back to where the river will flow in this case southward.
And if you look in the background, you can see how a number of businesses are affected. There's a Dairy Queen back there, a community park. And all of this is well under water now.
This water is making its way downstream to another community, Des Plains. And they're worried that it's going to cause a lot of problems there in about two days from now.
But here in Gurnee, I have an opportunity to talk to a guy who is dealing with problems right now. This is Commander Jay Patrick of the Village of Gurnee Police Department. Give us a sense, Commander Patrick, of what it's going to be like here during the next day as you come to the point where the floods start to crest.
COMMANDER JAY PATRICK, VILLAGE OF GURNEE POLICE DEPT.: Well, right now we've got about 20 homes and 20 businesses in the -- what is called the village center that are affected by the flood waters right now, due to sandbagging efforts around a school that's being affected right now. So far they've been able to save that school.
We're kind of in a containment mode at this point. The river has slowed somewhat which is good news for us. And the heavy rains that were predicted from last night went to the south of us, which was also good news.
So we're hoping for the best and that the river isn't going to rise a whole lot more than it already has. And we're just trying to keep it at bay. OPPENHEIM: Yes. So bad news is relative that the rains were not as bad as they were last night.
And I'll just mention that while the schools are closed here, four schools are closed here, Commander Patrick mentioned to me that he had just finished his academy training back in 1986 when they had another bad flood.
And get this, Daryn. There was $100 million damage back then. People are concerned about the dollar damage this time around too. There may be an application for a federal disaster funds or from the state as well.
So there's a lot of nervousness about the damage that's already been caused. And it may cause as the waters move downstream. Back to you.
KAGAN: And be you'll tracking it for us from Gurnee, Illinois. Keith Oppenheim.
We're expecting any minute the daily briefing from Baghdad to begin. The Coalition Provisional Authority, Dan Senor, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt coming to the podium. When they do begin with the latest briefing, we will go live to Baghdad.
Meanwhile, the fight for Iraq is actually being waged in Najaf today to the south. It might also be echoing through much of Islam. One of the most sacred shrines of Shi'a Islam has been damaged. And angry Iraqis say it was caused by the fighting of coalition forces and militia fighters. Jane Arraf is in Najaf. She joins us via videophone -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Daryn, damage to the Imam Ali shine, as U.S. forces say, it wasn't them. U.S. military officials hear in Najaf say that there was no fighting involving coalition forces near that mosque last night or today. Nor did they fire anything that would have caused the damage apparent in that picture.
Now there were fights going on between suspected Mahdi militia members, that militia loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the U.S. Those were centered around the Iraqi police station and this base, this Army base, in Najaf which came under intense mortar fire.
Also Rocket-Propelled Grenades fired at U.S. tanks that entered Kufa, Muqtada al-Sadr's stronghold. And the U.S. military says it went to areas around a mosque in the north of Kufa. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to get rid of Mahdi militia members who had come back to that area -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And we'll have more with Jane Arraf in the hour. Right now we see the briefing beginning in Baghdad. Coalition Provisional Authority Spokesman Dan Senor. Let's listen in.
(INTERRUPTED BY LIVE EVENT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Paying your bills by check or online? Which is safer from identity theft? The answer might surprise you.
Of course a lot of Americans are concerned about providing personal banking information online. But if you follow the right steps, the Internet can actually be a shelter from identity theft. James Van Dyke from Javelin Strategy and Research is here with tips to make that case. James, good morning. Thanks for being here with us.
JAMES VAN DYKE, JAVELIN STRATEGY AND RESEARCH: Thanks for having me.
KAGAN: Your top tip, if you're looking to avoid identity theft, throw away the paper and go online. How do you make that claim?
VAN DYKE: It's interesting. There is so much confusion around identity fraud which is a $47 billion annual crime according to the FTC. People think the more they stay off the Internet, the more safe they are, when in fact, if I'm a criminal, and I want to commit identity theft, in order to later commit identity fraud, I'll go after the piece of paper, because it's the easiest think to get ahold of.
KAGAN: Also on your list, second tip, monitor your accounts regularly. I thought, well, that's a no-brainer. But you say you should be doing this every week.
VAN DYKE: You should. Once somebody gets ahold of your personal information, as I said, one of the easiest ways, low-tech ways is through a piece of paper in a trash can or a mailbox or just laying around on a desk.
Once somebody gets ahold of your private information, it's like a foot race to see how much crime they can commit in your name before you discover it. That's why we say particularly for your financial accounts, credit card, bank and possibly brokerage, check those weekly. The only way you can really do that is through online access.
KAGAN: By doing that, you're not just picking anybody. You want to have safety in mind when you pick your providers.
VAN DYKE: That's right. Choose a provider that you've been with for a long time, that has extended hours of customer service, a no- questions asked guarantee, that if any fraud does occur they'll back you up and not hold you accountable. Make sure they have an easy to use site where you can get a lot of statements at one single location.
KAGAN: In practicing safe computer practices, some of the exact tips you make are very interesting, including when you're looking at your e-mail in terms of trusted parties and when you're done with your computer, what should do you with that.
VAN DYKE: You want to make sure you discard all the private information that you may have had on your computer. Some of the ways that information is stored is if you store passwords, is like address book entries, for example, delete all of those. Go back and flush out old Internet history that tracks where you've gone to. And any other records you've got that has private information.
The best way to think about this is look at the information or think about the information that you're asked for. If you've ever forgot an password or changed an address. What is the customer service agent ask for? They ask for Social Security numbers, mother's maiden names, that kind of thing. That's the information you're trying to get rid of.
KAGAN: Very good tips. They're tips that might seem like a hassle but a lot easier to do on this end than when you're the victim of identity theft and cleaning that.
Thanks for joining us. Safe travels through the Internet and through your credit. Appreciate it.
Let's see how safe things look on wall street today. Checking the Big Board, the Dow in positive territory. Market has been open close to an hour and a half. The Dow up 21 points. Nasdaq also in positive territory, up two points.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
