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American Morning
14 Troops Killed; U.S. Storms And Flooding; Back On The Street; Credit Layoffs; Living In Fear
Aired August 22, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. Black Hawk down. Fourteen U.S. troops killed overnight in a helicopter crash in Iraq.
Water world. Residents are rescued from rooftops as floods rise in the Midwest. A new round of extreme weather threatening to make things worse today.
And Hurricane Dean set to make a second landfall. New pictures of the damage left behind. And a new look directly into the eye of the storm on this AMERICAN MORNING.
We're talking about Dean yet again today, but on the other side of the Yucatan Peninsula. Good morning. It's Wednesday, August 22nd. I'm Kiran Chetry.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rick Sanchez, sitting in for John. We're going to see a lot of action today. A lot of different video. Not just weather video coming in from south of the border, as we were showing you yesterday, although we're not done with Dean yet, as you said. But also a lot of pics coming in from the Midwest. You're going to be amazed when you see this.
CHETRY: Yes, horrible flooding, but some incredible rescues. And we're going to be speaking with the rescuers and people who were plucked from the rooftops yesterday.
But we begin with breaking news from Iraq this morning. We've got reports just within the last couple of hours about the crash of an American Black Hawk helicopter and the deaths of 14 U.S. troops. The U.S. military says that the chopper went down on a night operation in northern Iraq. CNN's Dan Rivers is live in Baghdad with details for us this morning.
Dan.
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can't hear.
CHETRY: Dan, we hear you. Are you able to hear us?
RIVERS: OK, I can hear you now.
CHETRY: Dan, what's the latest on this news of this Black Hawk helicopter crash?
RIVERS: Well, what we know at the moment is the Black Hawk came down during a night mission. It was flying with another aircraft that's normally fly in pairs normally. We're told that there were 14 servicemen on board, 10 passengers and four crew. So fairly heavily packed out this aircraft.
It came down near Tikrit. We don't know what the cause is at the moment. The military are only saying that initial indications are that there was no hostile fire involved. That this may have been some sort of mechanical fault. This would be the 67th helicopter to come down since the invasion in 2003. And of those, 36 have been shot down. So a large proportion of the helicopters that have been lost here in Iraq have been due to other incidents other than hostile fire.
CHETRY: All right. Dan, thank you. We'll check in with you a little bit later.
Meantime, President Bush will be talking about the war today in Kansas City. The White House says that he plans to use Vietnam's legacy to defend the Iraq War in a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention. He's expected to talk about how millions of Vietnamese civilians suffered after the U.S. left. And he's also expected to cite a quote from Osama bin Laden and make the argument that withdrawing from Vietnam 30 years ago emboldened today's terrorists.
Rick.
SANCHEZ: Want to go to the big wall now to show you some of the things that we're going to be sharing with you throughout the day. Obviously the weather is still going to be a big story today. As you wake up, we're going to be watching this for you. And not just down in Mexico, as we were showing you yesterday, but across the Midwest.
Some of the pictures that we're going to show you are going to be coming in from Ohio. Remember, we were following Oklahoma. You saw the flooding there. Then we went to Minnesota throughout parts of yesterday. Well today it's going to be Ohio.
Twenty-two people have been killed in several states. And what one official is calling the worst flooding he's seen in three decades. Thousands of homes have been damaged in Minnesota. And damages there have been topping $33 million in parts of Wisconsin. As a matter of fact, take a look at some of the pictures that we've been showing you throughout the course of the morning and we're going to continue to get them.
Now what's really ironic about this -- let me make sure I don't cover you up. There's the man, Reynolds Wolf. What's really ironic about this, Reynolds, is the fact that we're covering a category five hurricane in Mexico. My understanding, nobody died there, although obviously the hurricane's not done with Mexico yet. And yet we cover a tropical depression/tropical storm in the United States and we're getting all this disaster in the Midwest. How do you reconcile that?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The biggest reason, if you're looking for reasons as to why this happens, the number one killer that we have in terms of any weather related activity has got to be due to flooding. It happens so many times you'll find that so many of these deaths have occurred because people were driving their cars through roads that were covered by water. They didn't think the water was that deep. They try to drive through and the cars are picked up, swept away and then people get caught in these vehicles, which, of course, become death traps.
That may be an issue in the Ohio Valley this morning. Take a look at what we have on radar. The rain continues to fall. At this point, as we go to our radar, you'll see some of the strongest storms right near the Columbus area, near the state capital. A little bit farther to the north on 75, south of Findlay and south of Toledo we're seeing some development there as well.
What's interesting to note, Rick, is many of these showers and storms are forming over the same area again. We have heard of this as the training effect. And as -- just like cars on the freight train that go over the same stretch of track, that water begins to piles up, the ground gets saturated, it doesn't have time to absorb into the earth and that's where you have that flooding.
We're also seeing some in Chicago this morning. The Dan Ryan Expressway, it's going to be a very wet commute for you there. Northward to Milwaukee, back up to Sheboygan. Even Green Bay getting in on the action.
Now if you're tuning in say from Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo, Michigan, it's dry for you for the time being. But you can see that intense line of storms is developing just out to the west. I would imagine that would be moving through your neighborhoods easily within in the next half hour to an hour.
Now, that's not the only big story. Obviously we're going to take you south of the border where we have, of course, Dean. And Dean continues to rumble its way through -- past the Yucatan Peninsula into the Bay of Campeche. Right now Dean is a category one storm. It is a weak one with winds right at 80 miles per hour, expected to make landfall around 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday with winds of 90 miles an hour near the state of Tuxpan. That's north of Veracruz and south of Tampico.
That's the latest for you, Rick. Let's send it back to you in New York.
SANCHEZ: You're going to be a busy guy this morning. I have a feeling I'm going to be checking in with you an awful lot . . .
WOLF: It never stops.
SANCHEZ: With what's going on south of the border and also -- by the way, look at the pictures. This is one of the rescues, rooftop rescues that we're following. We're going to be talking to some of those folks. And that's the reason that they're being rescued over there, as you look at the waters in some area. They're having to bring in heavy equipment to try and just take the mud and the water out.
Kiran, back over to you. CHETRY: All right, thanks, Rick.
Well, it made landfall as the strongest hurricane seen in the Atlantic since Andrew hit back in 1992. And Hurricane Dean is not done yet. The storm is winding up for a second landfall off mainland Mexico, as we speak. Now just a category one hurricane.
When Dean hit the Yucatan Peninsula during our show yesterday, it missed several popular resort areas like Cancun and Cozumel. But it did hit villages to the south, which suffered the most damage. There are reports that Dean's 165 mile an hour winds collapsed hundreds of homes in those areas.
There's some news about China's mining accident. New this morning, China saying that it was a natural disaster that caused the flood into a mine that has trapped 181 workers underground for nearly a week now. A local mine company is under fire this morning for failing to anticipate the flood threat after heavy rains weakened a nearby dike. There are new questions being raised about the decision to send the men in after other mines in the area had been shut down.
And the owner of the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah says that mining work should resume. That it's safe to do so. Bob Murray saying that and outraged family members of six miners still trapped are asking, how can it be safe to keep mining but not safe to keep digging for their loved ones. The rescue has been on hold since the collapse killed three rescuers last week.
Rick.
SANCHEZ: Senator Barack Obama's campaign is taking issue with how reports describe comments that his wife Michelle made on the campaign trail in Iowa. This is one of those he said, she said -- or in this case maybe it's a she said, she said. Here's what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, BARACK OBAMA'S WIFE: One of the most important things that we need to know about the next president of the United States is, is he somebody that shares our values? Is he somebody that respects family? Is a good, decent person? So our view is that if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: If you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House. Think about those words. Some are saying this morning it sounded like Michelle Obama was taking a shot at Senator Hillary Clinton. It is a reach? Is it fair? Senator Obama says his wife's words had nothing to do with that. She was emphasizing the importance of family and that's it in context.
It does, though, seem like candidate's wives are making a lot of news these days. More often, in fact, in some cases than their husbands. Take the case of Elizabeth Edwards. In fact, we'll take the case of Elizabeth Edwards. We're going to be looking into that with some experts at 8:00 Eastern.
Arizona and Michigan are both lobbying to move up the pecking order in the presidential primaries. Arizona is joining 20 or so states that are set to vote on super duper Tuesday. That's February 5th now, as opposed to just super Tuesday. Michigan wants to move its primary up as early as January 15th we hear.
Also this news today. Nearly two dozen gas stations in California are now suing Shell, Chevron and Saudi Refinery. They are accusing the oil companies of fixing prices for 23,000 franchise owners across the country. The suit says that the wholesale price was raised by 20 to 40 cents a gallon in nearly every state from 1999 to 2001. The oil companies are not commenting, at least not yet, on this suit.
Well, can MTV find a way to topple Apple? The cable network has announced that it's teaming up with digital media company Real Networks. The two are going to begin heavily pushing music downloads service that they hope is going to somehow compete with Apple's powerhouse trinity of the iTunes and the iPod and the iPhone. Good luck. The new service is going to be integrated with Verizon's V Cast cellular.
Time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents to see what other stories they're going to be following this morning.
Kiran, what you got?
CHETRY: That's right. It's a story we've been following for a few weeks now. A self-confessed pedophile taking pictures of little girls, posting them on the web, showing up at places he knows little girls will be. Well, parents and neighbors were outraged and so concerned that they got a restraining order against him. Well, that didn't work and now he is back on the street. CNN's Alina Cho has the store of Jack McClelland, from the newsroom, and this latest ruling by a judge in -- or latest ruling rather from an L.A. county courtroom that has many people outraged today.
Hi, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, including a lot of parents, Kiran.
You may remember that we last told you about this disturbing story just a week ago. Police had arrested 45-year-old Jack McClelland for hanging around an UCLA day care center. Well just yesterday he was released from jail on a technicality. This, of course, is a big blow to parents' groups. Take a listen to some of his comments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK MCCLELLAND: It's pretty much in my head now that I am more attracted to girls than women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now, at the time of his arrest, McClelland was charged with violating a restraining order, making it illegal to be within 10 yards of any child in California. But herein lies the problem. The judge failed to schedule an additional hearing that could have extended that restraining order. It was invalid in the court's eyes and therefore prosecutors dropped the case.
Now McClelland, as many people know, has talked openly about his fascination for little girls or LGs as he calls them. But he has never been convicted of child molestation. What's gotten him so much attention was that he took pictures of young girls and posted them on his website, which is now defunct, along with information about the best places to watch these little girls.
Now McClelland has maintained he's protected under free speech. He's already been forced out of Washington state. He's living out of his car now. And he's due back in court in California on Friday. This time, Kiran, to fight another restraining order north of Los Angeles in Santa Clarita. But for now he is a free man.
Kiran.
CHETRY: So are there any other options? We're actually going to talk to the lawyer who initiated the ball rolling on that first restraining today on the show and see what they're planning next, because I know that they want to do everything they can to try to keep him off the streets.
CHO: They do.
CHETRY: Alina, thank you.
Well the nation's credit crunch has claimed another victim. Ali Velshi has been following that for us this morning.
Good morning, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.
The nation's sixteenth largest independent mortgage lender is going out of business. First Magnus has laid off 6,000 people. Its left with 60 staff members now. They operate in 50 states.
This notice is on their website. It says, "First Magnus is no longer funding any mortgages in light of the collapse of the secondary mortgage market. First Magnus will not fund any future loans and is not accepting any mortgage loan applications." There's a note on there for employees looking for HR information.
That brings to the number of people laid off in the mortgage industry in the last three business days 8,640. We've got First Magnus, Countrywide, Capital One at its GreenPoint division, and Bear Stearns. These layoffs are coming a little more quickly than expected. This month in the financial industry as a whole we've seen almost 21,000 layoffs. This year almost 90,000 layoffs. So it is a busy month and it continues to get busier when it comes to housing. We'll keep you posted on this as the morning continues.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Ali, doesn't sound good. Thank you.
Rick.
SANCHEZ: Hey, imagine drug testing an entire city and trying to do so all at once. That's what tops our "Quick Hits" right now. Researchers at Oregon State University say that it takes a teaspoon of city waste water to find out if drugs are rampant wherever it is that you live. And from that they say that they were able to get a good snapshot of what people were using in ten different cities. And they might be able to do it again.
Now the Pentagon is also saying this morning that it's going to close down a controversial database. The stored information on peaceful Iraq War protesters. Key word peaceful. The protesters files were purged in 2005 when the practice became public, but the database, known as Talon, remained open.
Well, is the world becoming more dangerous for the United States? What more than 100 foreign policy experts are saying today. It's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Here's your wake-up shot. This is going on right now. Some dramatic pictures this morning. This is California. It's just outside Los Angeles. Helicopters and hundreds of firefighters are battling a wildfire apparently set off when a souped up Mustang ran off the road. Eighty acres or so have burned so far. We're going to be keeping an eye on this this morning. Any information we'll pass on to you right away. So far, by the way, the good news is no injuries, no homes destroyed.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well now to our terror watch and questions about whether the world is becoming more dangerous for Americans abroad and here at home. Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is in our Washington bureau with the results of a new study.
Hi, Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.
It is difficult not to read the results of this survey as a repudiation of the war on terror, according to the groups who conducted it, "Foreign Policy" magazine and the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. They polled more than 100 of the country's top foreign policy experts, both Republican and Democrat, with this result. Ninety-one percent of them say the world is becoming a more dangerous place for Americans and the United States. Only 2 percent say it is safer. That's an increase of 10 percent from polling six months ago.
And when asked if the United States is winning the war on terror, 84 percent said no. Only 6 percent said yes. The main reason for the pessimism, according to the survey, events on the ground in Iraq. The majority of the experts oppose an immediate pullout but did favor a draw down of U.S. forces.
Kiran.
CHETRY: So did they talk about where they believe the next hot spot is when it comes to the war on terror?
MESERVE: Yes, they did. One question asked was this -- which country is most likely to become the next al Qaeda stronghold? The top answer of the experts was Pakistan. And when asked which countries are most likely to transfer nuclear technology to terrorists in the next three to five years, the answer again was Pakistan. But there was no consensus among these experts on what to do about it, highlighting the policy dilemma facing the U.S. government.
Kiran.
CHETRY: It's also interesting that Iran wasn't on there with a lot of the talk on the nuclear standoff with Iran.
MESERVE: That's right. Number two in that part of the poll was North Korea.
CHETRY: Wow. Jeanne Meserve, thank you.
MESERVE: You bet.
SANCHEZ: Here's another important story to share with you. A medical emergency at former President Bush's vacation getaway. That's going to top our "Quick Hits." A spokesperson for former First Lady Barbara Bush is saying that paramedics were called to their home in Kennebunkport, Maine, for a house guest who suddenly became ill. President George W. was notified even though his mom and his dad were both OK.
A small, private funeral service is going to be held today for real estate legend Leona Helmsley. She's going to be buried next to her husband in a $1.5 million mausoleum in Westchester County, New York. The so-called queen of mean ran the empire of Manhattan Hotels and went to prison for tax fraud. She died Monday. She was 87 years old.
CNN, of course, you hurricane headquarters. And we're going to update the path of the storm where and when it hits land. This thing has been flying through parts of Mexico at a pretty good clip. Now it's a lot smaller but it could cause even more damage as you've seen what happened with Erin in the United States. When it was a hurricane, it didn't do a lot of damage, but when it became a tropical storm and tropical depression it did. That's what we're going to be watching for over the next hour. Stay with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
There was a real deal at the pump, topping your "Quick Hits" now, at least in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Gas for 29 cents a gallon? Well, the clerk made a mistake in the pricing. It ended up costing the station $700 in the five hours it took before they noticed the mistake. Well, the manager now says he'll use the customer's credit card information to charge them the difference. So if you paid in cash, hey, you got a break.
So where is the best public rest room in America? That would be Cincinnati. A place called Jungle Jim's, to be exact. The place has a bathroom that looks like a port-a-potty and apparently that was enough to beat out 250 other restrooms across America.
How about this one. We're talking about a real port-a-potty now. Imagine losing a ring, your wedding ring, into the toilet of a port-a- potty.
SANCHEZ: No!
CHETRY: A man in Ohio took off the ring to wash his hands. How many times do you wash your hands in a port-a-potty? I'm just trying to get out as quickly as you possibly can. Anyway, well it fell in and his wife was very angry but luckily from the port-a-potty company . . .
SANCHEZ: Well, she didn't have to go get it.
CHETRY: The port-a-potty company fished it out. Would you want that back?
SANCHEZ: No.
CHETRY: Me either.
SANCHEZ: Well, no. I mean, I just wouldn't want the job of fishing it out. That's what I definitely wouldn't want. Can you imagine?
CHETRY: No, I try not to. Especially it's breakfast time. So sorry about that.
SANCHEZ: All right.
CHETRY: Well, here's a story coming up that you can't miss. You may remember this one as well. Beyonce. She's known for giving incredible concerts. Giving it her all. Well she . . .
SANCHEZ: And falling down.
CHETRY: Well, she did here. Let's take a look real quick. This is one of her concerts. It was captured on video phone. She took a head -- I mean she really went head over heels.
SANCHEZ: Yes, she fell down.
CHETRY: Tumbled to the ground.
SANCHEZ: And it happens. This is what I don't get. What is that? What is that?
CHETRY: That's her dance.
SANCHEZ: I mean if you just -- yes, no, but if you just fell down and that's got to be painful. Wouldn't you get up and just kind of react and go, oh, my goodness, am I OK. But then she does this with the hair thing. What is that?
CHETRY: Yes, but she just kept moving. She kept going. Rocking it out.
SANCHEZ: Have you ever done anything like that?
CHETRY: No. Neither.
SANCHEZ: Because you'd look very good during that. I think you'd be very, you know, that's a good look for you.
CHETRY: You don't want to see my dance, Rick.
Lola, though, went one-on-one with Beyonce. She talks about the fall, plus, you know, her love life with Jay-z. And she has a new perfume.
SANCHEZ: Having a tough time getting over this. You know, just the -- OK. And is this the first time she talks since she had that incident?
CHETRY: One of the first times. She talks to our Lola. So it should be interesting to see what she has to say about it.
SANCHEZ: I can't wait to hear what she has to say. I'm sure she was a good sport about it. I mean this can happen to anybody.
CHETRY: Yes. But, unfortunately, they had the video camera and they taped it all.
Those stories when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
SANCHEZ: Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: That's the White House. And we're going to be giving you different shots throughout the day of different things. So, there you go. As my foot gets stuck in your purse. Never had that happen before.
CHETRY: The hazards of sitting too close to your co-anchor. SANCHEZ: You were pulling it up and I was wondering, why does my leg keep going up.
CHETRY: I was looking for a pen, but, you know, that bag's way too big to worry about it.
SANCHEZ: Did you get it?
CHETRY: Yes, I got one now. Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Did you get it there, Beyonce? At least you didn't fall down.
It's Wednesday, August 22nd. I'm Rick Sanchez, filling in for John.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Thanks so much for being with us today.
We're going to have a little bit more later on Beyonce's famous spill. And also the latest on what the president is up to today. He's giving a big speech today.
But first, new this morning, flooding. We're talking about enormous flooding taking place across the Midwest. The plains states. So far 22 people killed. Muddy water by the foot filling the streets in Ohio. Crews actually brought in bulldozers to try to dig out the mess. Search teams also found the body of one storm victim that was four miles from his overturned car near a creek in Minnesota.
We also have an i-Report this morning from someone who sent this in South Dakota. That's hail on the ground, by the way. These was sent in by Megan Semple (ph). Dontae (ph), South Dakota.
SANCHEZ: That's either big hail or a very small foot.
CHETRY: You know they always say softball size hail. This time it's true. Megan says the hail broke windows, skylights. Look at the size of that. She reports plenty of other damage to homes and cars in the area. And all of that -- hey, there it is.
SANCHEZ: A softball.
CHETRY: And the hail is bigger. It follows some weekend storms that brought heavy rain and flooding. It actually forced the governor of South Dakota to declare a state of emergency.
SANCHEZ: By they way, that's a fallacy. There's nothing soft about a softballs, if you've ever been hit by one.
CHETRY: Or hail. The damage to cars, not fun.
Well, in just a few hours, Virginia Tech will release its internal review of the April 16th shootings that killed 33 people on campus. The report, which was ordered by the university's president, will review the school's security and communications systems and also its counseling services. Governor Tim Kaine appointed a separate panel to investigate the handlings of the shootings and that report is expected out next week.
SANCHEZ: Another story that we're going to be following today, a deadly home invasion by a pair of pit bulls. This one happened in Washington state. And police are saying the dogs got into a house through one of those little doggie doors and then attacked the woman while she was in bed sound asleep.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty severely. Pretty much from head to toe she was covered in blood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is pretty sad. It really is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: She had no idea what hit her. When she woke up suddenly they were there. The homeowners in the hospital, serious condition we're told. The dogs killed her neighbor's Jack Russell Terrier as well. Police used pepper spray to finally subdue them and then took them over to the Humane Society. Wow, what a story.
CHETRY: It is. She actually tried to use a gun that she had I think in her bedside table so try to shoot them. And she actually got herself -- got them off of her and got herself to the hospital. But she's not doing well today. She's still in serious . . .
SANCHEZ: Yes, and imagine, when you're just waking up like that, it's not like you even know -- you think you're still having some kind of nightmare. A real nightmare in this case.
It could get a whole lot worse for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. This is the story that people can't stop talking about. On the CNN website, as a matter of fact, this thing has just taken off, exploded. A local prosecutor said he'll now pursue state charges in Virginia against the NFL star. Remember, he's been charged federally, and federal charges are tough to beat. That may be why he's copping a deal. Charges could include animal cruelty and dog fighting on top of the charges he already had. Both felonies punishable by up to five years in prison. Vick is expected to enter his deal on the federal charges Monday.
We're going to be talking about the time that he could face, his future, what's going to happen with him with the Atlanta Falcons? For example, do they have to pay him now? And all the money that they've paid him in the past, the bonus money, do they still have to give him that? Or do they say, look, you're not playing. We want you to pay us back now. Does that mean this guy will end up dead broke? What do you think?
Head to our web site because there's a lot of people commenting on this -- cnn.com/americanmorning -- to register your vote. We want to know what you think. Should Michael Vick be allowed to play in the NFL? Obviously, when he's done with the rap. We'll have the results for you right here, coming up -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, the latest now on Hurricane Dean. It is expected to make landfall this afternoon on Mexico's Gulf Coast. People are urged to hurry their preparations right now. Dean is a Category 1 now. Remember it made landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 5. Even though it is a 1 right now, it may get stronger by the time it makes landfall.
Mexico has shut down oil production at its major production facilities. They've evacuated thousands of workers from off-shore rig. No reports of casualties from Dean's path across the Yucatan.
SANCHEZ: Reynolds Wolf is tracking Dean's path for us. He's at the CNN Weather Center.
I'm just thinking you'll be talking about the terrain there. There's a difference between a low-lying area and an area that's prone to flash flooding. Are we looking at that today at that possibility?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, there will be that possibility today of flooding. The big danger is when this storm kicks its way into parts of central Mexico. That's when it will really start piling up. It will be a really scary situation. You look and see what happened with leftovers of Erin in parts of the central plains and Oklahoma, the back end of Missouri, the widespread flooding. It can happen again in parts of central Mexico.
Let's go south of the border and show you the storm right now. It is, as we speak, a Category 1 storm. It is not really in very good shape at this point. Obviously, it really had a lot of oomph taken out umph taken out of it, if you will, as it crossed the Yucatan Peninsula. It is a Category 1 storm right now with winds at 80 miles an hour. That storm is expected to gain a little bit of strength, possibly around 90 miles an hour as it makes landfall by the time we get to, say, about 2:00 local time, it should make landfall at Ticul (ph), which is just north of Veracruz and south of Tampico. But then it is expected to continue its march into central Mexico. That's when that water could really pile up before it pops over to the other side of Mexico and out into the Pacific.
Speaking of flooding issues, we've got those problems in parts of the Ohio valley near Columbus, and northward into Findley and Toledo. We're seeing some scattered showers, a few embedded thunderstorms.
Now, I want you to focus on the middle of the screen in Columbus. You notice showers moving to the southeast, then more development back to the northwest. That's a big issue for places in Columbus, especially low-lying areas. They've had some heavy rainfall already this morning. The second batch will continue. I would expect that to continue through much of the afternoon as well. We'll see that water pile up.
Chicago is another location where we've had heavy rainfall this morning. Not so much back in Kokomo, Indiana, and South Bend, but one wave of showers and storms moving off the southeastern part of Lake Michigan, Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo, Fort Wayne. More rain expected for you this morning.
We've got a stationary front that's just lingering across the Ohio valley. As long as that remains in place, we can expect that chance of flooding to continue for the next couple of hours, possibly through the rest of the afternoon as well. Let's send it back to you.
SANCHEZ: Reynolds, can you do me a favor?
WOLF: You bet.
SANCHEZ: Stay exactly where you are. Don't move.
WOLF: OK. I won't go anywhere.
SANCHEZ: We want your comments on this story because we're befuddled by it. The New York City girl sitting next to me -- she thinks this is fascinating.
It says August 22nd on the calendar but...
CHETRY: But we're wearing wool suits today because it feels like fall, doesn't it? Here's a look. You can't see the Statue of Liberty because of the fog. There's the base of it on Liberty Island. Right now it's 59 and cloudy. That was as high as it got yesterday. That's the Columbia University campus. Hats off to whoever is up at this hour stretching and getting ready to go to work.
SANCHEZ: They're working out. Getting ready to go for it. Tough.
CHETRY: Good job, girls. Anyway, the high yesterday was 59. That tied the record for the coldest temperature ever for the month of August in New York City. It happened once before back in 1911. The normal high is 82 degrees. So what the heck's going on?
SANCHEZ: Isn't that amazing? I'm doing one of those Jon Stewart stories today where I'm going to go out and jump out of a helicopter.
CHETRY: We should call "The Daily Show" ahead of time.
SANCHEZ: Hold on.
CHETRY: You were tasered last year.
SANCHEZ: Tasered. We went in a car that was sunk in a canal.
CHETRY: Now you're tossing yourself out of a helicopter?
SANCHEZ: All for the sake of you.
CHETRY: Hey, I didn't ask you to do any of that.
SANCHEZ: Yes, you did.
CHETRY: Don't put it on me if something happens. SANCHEZ: Reynolds Wolf, anyway, so I went out last night because I don't have clothes to do this. I had to go buy clothes late last night.
WOLF: Oh, sure.
SANCHEZ: I was walking around in shorts and a T-shirts and I was freezing.
CHETRY: Reynolds, we knew there was a point.
WOLF: I can look at this in a scientific way or look at this in a personal level.
SANCHEZ: We'll go personal. Go personal.
WOLF: I'm feeling angry because right now, in Atlanta, we are roasting. You step outside and you walk across the street and if you've got plastic or rubber on your shoes, you're stuck on the sidewalk because you're melting, it is so hot here. Meanwhile, up there, you're enjoying the nice cool weather. Bring it a little south, if you don't mind.
CHETRY: Why the heck's it happening, 59 degrees? I know there's a cool front, but for August you don't get this.
WOLF: We've got a couple things. You've got the jet stream dipping farther to the south. So you're allowing that cold air up in Canada to seep into the northeast where you're enjoying it or maybe not if you're sensitive to cold. Meanwhile, you get high pressure that's been sitting over the southeast that has been keeping us really warm, but at the same time, the high pressure over the southeast has also been keeping that storm well to the south. We're talking about Dean, away from the United States. So there's good aspects and there's bad aspects. Good aspects, you know if it's cold up there, enjoy it because I'm sure it will swing the other way before fall breaks in.
SANCHEZ: Two weeks ago when we were just sweating and sweating.
CHETRY: We're supposed to go back up to the 80s or 90s by Friday.
WOLF: At least it's not boring. It is always interesting.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, man.
CHETRY: Good way to look at it. Thanks.
SANCHEZ: Any other personal stories you have for us later, please do share.
WOLF: Got plenty of them.
CHETRY: He's a meteorologist and the weather was making him downright angry. Not afraid to admit it. Reviewing the refs tops your "Quick Hits" now. The NBA bringing in a former federal prosecutor to look at the way it hires and monitoring its referees. The move comes after reports that Tim Donegee (ph), the ref who admitted to gambling on games that he worked, was prepared to name at least 20 other refs who also broke the rules.
Number 756 is for sale. The New Yorker who caught Barry Bonds' record breaking homerun ball says that he has no choice but to sell it since he could be taxed for just having it. Sotheby's says it will hold an on-line auction between August 28th and September 15th. And experts said that it could go for $500,000.
Coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING", daring rescue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELVIN RISTER, RESCUED BY COAST GUARD: It was blowing water everywhere. Real loud. Just ferocious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Stranded in a sea of rising water with nowhere to go. The always ready Coast Guard sweeps in and plucks him to safety. The remarkable rescue is next on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: Good morning, I'm Rick Sanchez. Welcome back to "AMERICAN MORNING." Some fierce flames topping "Quick Hits" right now. Smoke erupting from a building in West Hollywood. Firefighters are on the roof just a few feet away from this inferno. The L.A. County fire inspector says they pulled at least one person, so far -- at least one person so far from this burning building. We'll be checking on this for you. Still no word on how this fire started.
Also this, lightning was responsible for this fire. It's an assisted living home in Pennsylvania. Most of the 55 independent living apartments were destroyed. Seventy people in those apartments were taken to shelters. We're also checking on this one. We understand hat this point no injuries have been reported. That doesn't mean there weren't any.
A massive fire at a strip mall in Tennessee also. This one happened outside of Knoxville. About 100 firefighters were called in to battle it. Investigators say an electrical malfunction is probably what started this thing. Kiran, to you.
CHETRY: A dramatic rescue caught on tape in Florida. A 4-year- old girl almost drowned in a sinking car. There you see the car fully submerged. Police say the little girl's mother was strapping her into a car seat when her 13-year-old son turned the key in the ignition. The vehicle was already in gear. It lunged forward into the canal. The mother and the boy got out. The little girl was trapped inside. Witnesses jumped in and pulled her out. She's OK, we're hoping. The mother was given a ticket. The little 4-year-old, yes, she was -- she is okay this morning. But wow, when you look at the car, unbelievable. Somebody just jumped in and got her out.
Deadly flooding and heroic rooftop rescues in the Midwest. Inches of rain, flooding roads, sent river banks surging in Ohio. Scenes like this played out all over the place yesterday. People had to be rescued. The Coast Guard jumping in and being able to save life after life, just in the nick of time.
It happened for our next guest. Live from Mansfield, Ohio, Melvin Rister, a Coast Guard helicopter airlifted him to safety.
In Mount Clemens, Michigan, the man who saved him, rescue swimmer, Petty Officer Brian Doolittle.
Thanks to both of you for being with us this morning.
MELVIN RISTER, RESCUED BY COAST GUARD: Thanks.
BRIAN DOOLITTLE, COAST GUARD: Good morning.
CHETRY: Melvin, how are you doing today?
RISTER: We're good, thanks.
CHETRY: We're watching some pictures right now of the rescue. What did it feel like? Walk us through what happened.
RISTER: Basically, we were trapped on a roof. High wind and stuff. The Coast Guard actually came in with a helicopter and dropped a line and Officer Doolittle came down and strapped us up and basically pulled us up. Pulled us up to safety and few us off to Mansfield airport.
CHETRY: Officer Doolittle, what was the situation like yesterday as you had to put your training into action and save these people?
DOOLITTLE: It was a pretty good case in itself. We got a report people stuck on the roof with some flooding. So as we flew in and located them, we circled back around, came into a -- pilot brought us into a hover. Lowered me down on the cable to them. Talked to each individual to make sure none of them were injured, make sure that there were just the two of them. And hoisted them up one at a time.
CHETRY: How many of these rescues did you guys take part in yesterday?
DOOLITTLE: Just the one. Just the two individuals that we picked up.
CHETRY: Now, we know that you train for this, but what are some of the risks and hazards inherent in these types of urban environments with power lines and other things you have to worry about?
DOOLITTLE: Our normal training is working off shore with boats or picking people up out of the water. In the urban environment, the biggest hazards turn out to be power lines, trees. Just the wind in itself plays different off the buildings. So it's definitely a lot different than what we train for, but it tends to be a bit easier in the sense that a building, if we're picking someone up, is pretty steady, so not like a boat where it's rocking back and forth. So they tend to be a little bit easier, but still the same training we use for picking someone up off a boat. Just apply it to a building.
CHETRY: You're making it sound much easier than it looks. It looks harrowing and difficult.
Melvin, did you get a chance to talk to Officer Doolittle, thank him for helping you out?
RISTER: Momentarily. I would like to say thanks again. He does make it sound easier than what it was. They had a lot of debris, a lot of obstacles. They know what they're doing. I do want to say thanks again, though.
DOOLITTLE: Oh, you're welcome.
CHETRY: A very understated you're welcome. Boy, you did some great things. Eight to ten feet of water moving through town like a river.
Melvin, we're glad you're doing okay today as well as all the other people who are rescued.
Hats off to you, Officer Doolittle for your bravery and for saving those lives.
Thanks for being with us both of you.
RISTER: Thanks.
DOOLITTLE: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: It's always weird. We do this all the time. Sir, you just saved someone's life. How are you doing today? It was fine. It was basically doing my job.
CHETRY: That's where the training comes in.
SANCHEZ: You saved somebody's life. But to them, it's another day.
CHETRY: Are you doing this later? Is this the type of training you're doing?
SANCHEZ: I'm not going to give that away because there's some guys over at the Comedy channel or whatever it's called, "The Daily Show." And they're taking notes. They'll do it before I do.
CHETRY: Let's just say it is a lot harder than it looks.
SANCHEZ: Those guys do great work. I was there in Katrina as a correspondent working that story. I watched them do one after another. It's exhausting. They do fabulous, unbelievable work. Very different from what they were doing the other day in Oklahoma, by the way.
The fight to keep E. coli out of your produce tops "Quick Hits." The U.S. Department of Agriculture is contributing $5.5 million to a study of bacteria. It can cause diarrhea, kidney failure and even death. And the USDA wants to know the best way to try to keep this out of our food supply chain.
Also, is an obesity vaccine even possible? Researchers are now saying there's a common virus, one that usually causes the same respiratory and eye infections that we see in our kids, for example. It might actually cause obesity. They say the Adenovirus 36 -- that's what it's called. I never heard of that either -- it turns human stem cells into fat cells.
CHETRY (voice-over): Coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING," Beyonce one on one. The R&B diva opens up about her infamous fall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEYONCE: It's okay. I think it was good for people to see because I'm human and I bleed. Right now I have my Band-Aid still.
CHETRY: Our Lola Ogunnaike sits down with Beyonce for a candid chat about her engagement to Jay-Z, her new perfume and that "oops" moment. Ahead, on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. Most news in the morning. A group of extras injured on the set of Tom Cruise's new World War II movie are now threatening to sue the production company. The men got hurt this weekend in Germany when they fell out of a truck. Cruise wasn't involved in that filming.
Ryan Seacrest has been picked to host the Emmy Awards in September this year. Recent emcees have included Ellen Degeneres and Conan O'Brien. Seacrest is the host of the TV show -- like we need to tell you this, right -- "American Idol."
Bette Midler facing more $6,000 in fines for chopping down trees on her property in Hawaii. This from a woman who has been called the Compost Queen for her commitment to the environment. A spokes man said she intended to replace the non-native trees with native ones and didn't know she needed a permit to do something like that.
Now more on Beyonce and the famous fall, right?
CHETRY: I was going to say, I've heard the Divine Miss M. Compost Queen, never.
SANCHEZ: Like the Pig Queen.
CHETRY: Let's get to Beyonce because you're loving this one. She's one of the hottest celebrities around, bar none. Beyonce sings, dances, acts, now has her own perfume. "AMERICAN MORNING'S" Lola Ogunnaike recently sat down with Beyonce and asked her about the famous YouTube fall and if wedding bells are in her future. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: How many texts were you getting? You got the music, the clothing, the acting, now the perfume?
BEYONCE: I get so many opportunities, which is why it is so hard for me to take time off. If it is not something that I'm passionate about, I don't do it. But Armani is a brand that I always would love to be a part of because it's the ultimate glamour and class.
You don't even know. Smell it on me right now.
OGUNNAIKE: That's hot.
BEYONCE: Oh, it smells great.
OGUNNAIKE: That's hot. Now I have to ask you about the fall. It's come up. I didn't think you would be able to hop up like that, but you did. How did that happen?
BEYONCE: My adrenaline. You know, it's like an athlete. You fall and you know you have to get back up. There's no other option.
But I've fallen before, the same way, but it was pre-YouTube. So it was really amazing that it was such big news. It was actually on CNN. But I'm going to fall again, and I'm not afraid of that.
OGUNNAIKE: I have to ask you another question. What do you think it is going to be?
BEYONCE: Probably about Jay.
OGUNNAIKE: Naturally, you guys have been dating a while. Is marriage something in your future?
BEYONCE: Hopefully, yeah, one day. I'm not in a rush. I've never been in a rush because I'm young. I always said before a certain age, I don't want to get married. It will happen, naturally, when it does.
OGUNNAIKE: What's that age? When do you think Beyonce will be able to settle down?
BEYONCE: If I tell you the age, then I'll be telling you too much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: She really opened up to you, actually, because they really have kept that relationship, which has been going on for a while, pretty private. What's your sense, that it's her that wants to wait or Jay-Z?
OGUNNAIKE: I think it may be her that wants to wait. She's a young girl. She has a lot going on. Adding planning a wedding to launching a perfume. I've got the perfume here.
CHETRY: How is it, by the way?
OGUNNAIKE: It actually smells pretty good. It is Emporio Armani Diamonds.
CHETRY: She just sprayed me.
OGUNNAIKE: I feel like I work at Macy's now. What do you think, madam?
CHETRY: I love it. Thank you.
OGUNNAIKE: $69 for this bottle. She's good about talking about how that YouTube thing got up there so quickly. She knew they put it up.
CHETRY: She specifically asked them not to, but the fans got it right there.
OGUNNAIKE: She was in Florida. Took it back to New York. By the time she got off the flight people were calling her saying they'd seen the fall and asking her how she was doing. She still had a Band- Aid when I interviewed her -- Kiran.
CHETRY: She really did hurt herself. It was a miracle she was able to get back up.
I'm going to take this. Rick sometimes forgets anniversaries and birthdays. I'll help him out here. I only used one little spray. In case of an emergency.
OGUNNAIKE: Re-gifting. We love it, Rick
SANCHEZ: My wife is thanking you already. Anything else you got, honey?
Appreciate it, guys. Is her neck okay after she got up and started doing that head gyration thing?
OGUNNAIKE: Rick, you're terrible. The show must go on. You know that.
SANCHEZ: I do. I do. I have fallen a few times myself. Thanks, guys.
Fears of dirty chopsticks now. There are reports that a Beijing factory recycled more than 1 100,000 pair of old chopsticks a day. After they come out of people's mouths. And then sold them without disinfecting them. Chinese officials raided the factory and shut it down. This is just the latest in the series of food and product safety scares that came out of China. Here's something else to pass on to your kids, fear of new foods. This is called a meal phobia. Researchers have studied the twins and found the more genes kids have in common, the more likely they are to fear the same foods.
Also, an earnings preview. One builder of luxury homes is taking a hit. Ali Velshi with the numbers. That's coming up right here, on "AMERICAN MORNING." Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Two minutes before the top of the hour. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" right now.
Hi, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran. Good morning. We've got more bad news from the home builders. Toll Brothers, which is the seventh biggest home builder in the country, has reported its third quarter earnings and they are down 85 percent over the same quarter last year. Here's the interesting thing. Toll Builder isn't the biggest. It is the seventh biggest. Of course, all the six bigger have reported big losses, bigger than expected. The issue here is that Toll Brothers builds luxury houses over $700,000.
What we've seen recently in the mortgage market is that mortgages above $417,000, those are called jumbo mortgages, and are particularly expensive to get even if you have stellar credit. So this mortgage mess is hitting people across the financial and economic spectrum.
Toll Brothers reporting this loss saying that it is having a lot of trouble selling even the most expensive of houses -- Kiran.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, I've heard people actually say when they fill out these applications for mortgages, they want to know not only what they're going to make over the next year, but like 10 years from now before they're going to give you a loan. Unbelievable though, Ali.
CHETRY: Ali -- we're going to talk more with him in the next hour about that situation.
But meantime, the next hour of "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
(voice-over): Rising waters and daring rescues.
DOOLITTLE: In the urban environment, the biggest hazards have turned out to be power lines. Just the wind in itself plays different off the buildings.
CHETRY: Deadly storms swamp the Midwest with a new threat of extreme weather today.
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