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Flood Just Short of Record in Findlay, Ohio; Minnesota Governor Asks for Speeded Up Disaster Recovery; Three Found Dead at Florida Residence; Report Provides Grim Assessment of Iraq; Growing Number of Unnecessary C-Sections; Obama in South Carolina
Aired August 23, 2007 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Misery across the Midwest. More rain, more flooding from Iowa to Ohio. This is Findlay, Ohio, where boats and canoes are replacing cars. The streets, waist deep in water. It's the worst flooding there in almost a century.
Across the region, at least 26 people have died. Thousands of people have lost everything they own.
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips from the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Don Lemon is on assignment, and you're live in CNN NEWSROOM.
We don't want to waste any time. We want to get right to Findlay and our reporter Dan Bumpus with our affiliate, WTOL.
Dan, what's happening there?
DAN BUMPUS, WTOL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, there is some good news. Where I'm standing right now, if I would have here as of yesterday, the water levels would have been up to my waist. Clearly, the water is receding back into the Blanchard River here in Findlay, but there's a long way to go.
If you look down here past me, it almost looks like we're looking at a river it. Looks like I'm standing in the edges of a river. But now, unfortunately, the river itself is actually about three or four blocks to my south here. So you can see just how far this water is even still.
But boy, maybe 24 hours ago at this time, the water was probably 100 yards, even, to my north. So there is some progress being made here, but it is slow and very steady progress.
The river actually hitting, cresting yesterday at about 18.46 feet. The record, incidentally, Kyra, was set back in March 13 of 1913. The highest this river has ever been, and that was 18.5. So we're talking about a very slight amount here which kept Findlay from hitting that record. Probably good news, but a slight amount didn't make much difference to the folks here.
About 170 people, residents here, had to spend the night in a shelter. They have been displaced, because water not only affected the downtown area, but it is also affecting numerous homes here in the area. About 250 people actually had to be evacuated by various crews, because they just couldn't get out of their homes in time. The water came up so fast. They were basically trapped in their homes.
Now, we've learned that Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff is on his way here to Findlay. In fact, he's going to be here at about 1:30 or 2 p.m., landing at Findlay's airport, along with the FEMA director. Those folks are doing a tour of not only Findlay and Hancock County but this entire northwest Ohio region.
And then they're going to reconvene at about 3 p.m. at Findlay High School. They're going to be meeting with the media. They're going to be talking about exactly what they need to do next to help Findlay, Hancock County and these nine places -- nine counties across Ohio that have been declared states of emergency by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And we actually -- are probably going to talk to your governor coming up in the next couple of hours. So stay tuned. We'll check in with you, Dan, and also the head of your state. Thanks so much.
And also federal emergency management teams already on the ground in Minnesota. The governor there, the governor actually is urging President Bush to speed up a disaster declaration.
CNN's Keith Oppenheim joins us from the scene of that devastation in Brownsville.
Keith, tell us about it.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the hillside, Kyra, where all the mud came down. As we walk over here, and you can see what that mudslide did.
It took the home of the Partingtons. Sharon and Lynn Partington live here, and their house got moved a good 150 feet or so, knocked off its foundations.
The amazing thing, Kyra, is that Sharon and her grandson, Austin, were inside this home as it tumbled down the hillside, and they did not get seriously hurt. In fact, her husband, Lynn, came from the neighbors when he heard it happen, and he rescued and got them out. That's the good news for them, obviously.
The bad news is that their insurance apparently does not cover mudslides, so they just don't know what to do.
And you were mentioning that FEMA teams are out in the region right now. Well, for folks who either don't have insurance, don't have flood insurance or not the right kind, getting state and federal aid may be critical at this point.
I kept a little bit more of a distance from their house during this live shot, Kyra, because there's bulldozing equipment on the opposite side, and the whole house is really starting to shift as they're doing their work here. So I don't think it's going to, you know, topple on me, but I -- we have to be a little careful, because this house is once again on the move. That's how precarious it is.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll follow up, too, with FEMA and the families that are being affected and how soon they're going to be able to get money to try and rebuild.
Keith Oppenheim there in Minnesota, thank you so much.
Chad, so we're seeing effects from Ohio to Minnesota, other parts of the country, as well. Still a lot of downpours taking place. When are they going to stop?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's not. Because we've got a stalled front, and these storms are firing right along the front. Over 60 counties here in dark green behind me. Every one with some type of flood warning going on right now.
And the flooding that happened over Ohio was kind of a freak event where one storm ran on top of another. And between Columbus and Toledo, right there by Findlay, there was between six and ten inches of rain that came down all at one time.
I'll take to you Google Earth now. We'll show you a little bit more about how this all happened. A very small area. Believe me, the entire state of Ohio is not under water. But this one little basin here. And then from Findlay to Ottawa now, because the water is running downhill. We do know that eventually this bubble that was over Findlay will leave Findlay.
The water is going down now, but that will eventually even run into the Maumee River, and that bubble may make its way all the way up even Toledo through Grand Rapids. There's the Maumee right there, and the Maumee -- I've been up there. I've been down the Maumee in a boat. But there is Toledo right there.
The other river that we know is flooding is near Tiffin. It's Heidelberg College. This is the Sandusky River. It snakes its way all the way up through Sandusky County and also into Lake Erie.
So it's a small event. It's just an event that happened all at one time. The water came down, and well, obviously, it had to run off, because you can't get ten inches to soak in.
So here's what's going on now. This front is not moving. We are firing more storms along the same areas that we had them yesterday. And these storms, they don't look bad right now. But in the afternoon, they're going to fire up, and they're going to be even heavier than they are now, because well, the heat of the day gets things going, and that heat -- the storms use that heat to be its energy.
So everywhere that you see yellow -- and this is kind of amazing. Look at the square miles worth of yellow. That's two inches of rain or more in the next 48 hours. And there are many areas here in red, and that red is six inches of rain or more. Today, the fronts have lined up. Not moving. Heavy rain right along the same area. And I'll delay it to tomorrow. Maybe it shifts to the east. Fifty, 60 miles, but that's not going to make a difference. We're going to see more flooding again tonight -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll keep talking throughout the day. Chad, thanks so much.
MYERS: You're welcome.
PHILLIPS: From severe weather now back into the newsroom. Fredricka Whitfield working details on a developing story out of Orlando.
What is it, Fred?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A grizzly find in Orlando, in Orange County. The bodies of three men found at a residence on Hickory Oak Boulevard.
Apparently, a friend of at least one of those individuals called police saying, "I haven't seen my friend in a while." Police went to that residence and, lo and behold, found the three bodies. It is believed that they had been there t least two or three days that they have been dead at that residence.
On the phone with me now with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, the public information officer, Jeff Williamson.
Perhaps Mr. Williamson, you can kind of fill in the blanks. Did I get most of that right, that a friend had called, alerted to you this residence? And that's how you made the discovery?
JEFF WILLIAMSON, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: That's exactly right. At about 9:13 this morning, she called from North Carolina, saying that her friend, who was the homeowner of that home on Hickory Oak Boulevard, she hasn't heard from him in quite some time. So she wanted to go by and check it out.
We spent some road deputies. The road deputies walked around the house, found an entryway inside. They went inside, and as you said, three males were found inside, all three deceased.
WHITFIELD: Any signs of forced entry?
WILLIAMSON: No signs of forced entry right now. We're working it as a homicide, but we are not excluding the fact that it's possible a murder-suicide. We're looking at every single angle. Right now we are working it as a homicide.
There were some dogs found inside, but they are OK. And you're right. They were likely dead two or three days.
WHITFIELD: And I understand that there were some dogs on the scene there in the house along with those bodies? WILLIAMSON: That's correct. There were two dogs inside. Our animal detectives have come by, and they have taken the dogs. Apparently, they're in good shape. You know, hungry and thirsty and all that, but...
WHITFIELD: Unharmed.
WILLIAMSON: ... unharmed. Exactly.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thereby, I guess, eliminating the suspicion of whether an intruder had carried out these crimes?
WILLIAMSON: Yes, right now, Fredricka, we really aren't even looking for a suspect. But we're working every angle, homicide and otherwise, but there was foul play, obviously. But we are checking out every angle, including the fact that it's possibly a murder- suicide.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jeff Williamson, thanks so much for that information from Orange County there.
WILLIAMSON: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Kyra, we'll going to continue to keep tabs on this really gruesome discovery taking place there in the Orlando area and get back with you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Fred. Thanks so much.
Well, a lack of security, political failures, fear and deprivation. Is the Iraqi government capable of dealing with it all? Well, a new assessment by U.S. intelligence doesn't offer much reason for optimism right now.
Let's bring in CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
Barbara, what does the assessment show?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it is pretty grim. It raises some very serious questions about whether or not Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki really can make the political progress in Iraq for long-term success.
This is a National Intelligence Estimate, a classified report that went to Capitol Hill and the president, the intelligence community's best assessment, best thinking about the current situation in Iraq and what they see coming down the road.
Unclassified version will be made available to the public later this afternoon. But we do have a look at some of it already. So let's take a look at the bottom line here.
Starting on the security side, what this report says is there's some measurable, but uneven, if you will, progress on the security front. Attacks are down in some areas, but certainly Iran and Syria still are meddling and Iraq's security forces, still, unable to really take on the job themselves.
One of the other points it makes: the Iraqi government, it says, will become possibly more precarious over the next 6 to 12 months. Shia groups, Prime Minister al-Maliki is a Shia. Shia groups are unsatisfied. They're beginning to splinter away. Unclear he will be able to maintain his base of support.
And what does this mean overall? Increased danger of destabilization, as countries in the region like Iran and Syria look at what is going on inside Iraq. They are positioning themselves for the possibility of the Maliki government falling, and positioning themselves for the day that they believe U.S. troops will leave Iraq.
So all of this a fairly grim outlook right now, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And what does this mean for U.S. troops' buildup in Iraq?
STARR: Well, that's what everybody is waiting for, of course. Because you know, certainly Congress wants to see some quick action on reducing troop levels.
By all accounts, General David Petraeus next month will recommend that the surge comes to its natural end. They don't have enough troops to keep it up much past next spring.
So there will be that type of drawdown of U.S. troops, we believe, that down to those pre-surge levels, back to about 130,000. But with this kind of assessment, whether they can draw down any further certainly remains an open question -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thanks so much.
STARR: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead, would you let a bunch of TV producers take your kid into the desert for 40 days? Forty sets of parents did. But now reality is setting in for CBS over "Kid Nation".
Plus, the trouble with c-sections. Many women who have them don't need them. Why? We'll explain.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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PHILLIPS: Well, the company that sent the market into a tailspin last week is getting a $2 billion vote of confidence. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us who's lending Countrywide a hand.
We were on this for a number of days, wondering what was going to happen. SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, this was one of the reasons why the market was especially spooky on Thursday. Bank of America is stepping up big time, investing $2 billion in Countrywide Financial. The move aimed at restoring investor and creditor confidence in the nation's largest mortgage lender.
Last week, things got especially shaky after Merrill Lynch warned Countrywide could face bankruptcy in a worst-case scenario. Then the company was forced to tap an $11.5 billion line of credit after it couldn't sell short-term debt, a major source of financing for the company.
Countrywide shares are rallying on today's news. Right now they're up about 3.5 percent. They were up about 10 percent at the open. It helped the market early on, but now stocks are in the red.
Checking the numbers, the Dow right now is down 44 points, about a third of a percent lower. The NASDAQ is down about two-thirds of a percent -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, the fact that Countrywide needed this money shows the mortgage industry is still in a bit of trouble?
LISOVICZ: No question about it. This is the company that's too big to fail, really. I mean, it's -- about one in seven mortgages come from this company, Kyra. That was what Bank of America said in its statement when it said it was taking a stake in the company.
And the company's CEO today said in an interview that the housing situation certainly isn't getting any better. Nearly every day we hear about another round of layoffs related to mortgages gone wrong and the like.
According to a tally by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, combined with recent company announcements, mortgage lenders have shed more than 40,000 jobs this year, including more than 18,000 this month alone.
The most recent example, Lehman Brothers late yesterday said it would close its sub prime business, eliminating 1,200 jobs. Early yesterday, we told you that Accredited Home Lenders slashed 1,600 jobs. And unfortunately, analysts say it's not over yet.
In the next hour of NEWSROOM, I'll tell you how a cutback in auto production is being blamed on the housing recession. So the fallout continues.
Kyra, we'll talk about that in the next hour. Back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. See you in a little bit, Susan.
Right now it's 1:17 Eastern Time. And here are some other stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Rivers are still rising in the Midwest after a deadly series of storms. More than 1,000 people have been flooded out of their homes now in Ohio.
And a grand jury indicts former Canton, Ohio, police officer Bobby Cutts for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn child. He could face the death penalty.
A U.S. National Intelligence Estimate raises doubts about Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and says Iraqi political leaders remain unable to govern effectively.
Straight ahead, sometimes they're needed, but too often they're not. The pros and cons of c-sections and what to know before you get to the delivery room. That's coming up.
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PHILLIPS: Well, one in three pregnant women have c-sections, often for no medical reason at all. Many moms and doctors ask why have a baby at 2 a.m. when you can just have it at 2 in the afternoon? But is that really a good idea?
CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, live with us from New York to answer those questions for us.
Hi, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Kyra, the c-section rate is going up, up, up. And nobody sees any signs of stopping -- stopping. And many of the experts I talked to said that they think that up to half of all c-sections are actually unnecessary.
Well, why does this happen? Part of it is money. Doctors and hospitals make more money off of c-sections.
Part of it is fear of litigation. If something looks like it's going even vaguely wrong with a vaginal birth, to avoid a lawsuit, doctors often will just run to do a c-section.
Now, some people call this the perfect storm that women are -- many women are just sort of headed for a c-section, no matter what. And I have a column up on CNN.com/health right now that talks about how you can avoid a c-section if that's important to you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Share some of those tips with us.
COHEN: Sure. The first tip is -- and this one I thought, even though I've had four children, I thought this one was very interesting and sort of surprising. Labor at home in early labor. Don't go to the hospital less than three centimeters dilated. Go get checked, but then go home.
When you're in the hospital, they're going to hook you up with a monitor. They might try to give you Potosin. They might give you epidurals. That will slow things down. If you're induced -- and that's the second one, don't ask to be induced. If you're induced, that increases the chances that you could end up with a c-section.
And also, ask about c-section rates when you're shopping for a doctor and a hospital before you get pregnant, or when you just find out you're pregnant. Ask them what are your c-section rates and compare.
PHILLIPS: All right. You talk about doctors and hospitals being to blame, but aren't women to blame, as well?
COHEN: Yes. The doctors I talked to said to some extent the reason for these rising c-section rates has to do with moms. Moms are older than they used to be. If you're older, you're more likely to end up with a c-section.
Moms are also heavier, and the same holds true for heavy women.
Also, doctors say that a small number, but a number -- they're still there -- of women will come to them and say, "Doc, I want a c- section. I'm not interested in doing labor. I want a c-section."
And all the experts we talked to said really not a good idea. You've got to recover from the surgery. Your baby's probably not going to do as well. But a lot of times when women ask for c- sections, they get them.
PHILLIPS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, live from New York. Thanks, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: and Elizabeth has more on how to avoid unnecessary c- sections in her "Empowered Patient" feature she just mentioned. We talked a little bit about it. You can go to CNN.com/health and read more.
Well, gastric bypass surgery not only helps you lose weight; it may help you live longer, too. According to two new studies in the "New England Journal of Medicine", obese people who opt for surgery are less likely to die of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer seven to ten years out than people who stick to less drastic ways to slim down.
Experts say those results may cause insurers to rethink who qualifies for that procedure.
Well, straight ahead, a promise from the co-owner of the collapsed Utah coal mine: it will not reopen for business.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB MURRAY, CEO, MURRAY ENERGY: This has been a deadly, evil mountain that is still alive, and I will never go back in to what used to be the Crandall Canyon mine. Never!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The trapped miners have one last chance for rescue. That's straight ahead, in the NEWSROOM.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: We're on the campaign trail today with Senator Barack Obama. I'm Don Lemon live in Dillon, South Carolina. As a matter of fact, it is the home of the Dillon Wildcats. You can see the media getting ready here.
And we're about to do a security sweep, getting ready for the senator, the guy who's running for president. A live report coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live in the CNN headquarters in Atlanta.
It's rightly known as one of the riskiest jobs around, but coal mining is safer in some places than others. What kind of record does Bob Murray have at Crandall Canyon and the other mines he owns. David Mattingly investigates.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A sixth and most likely final bore hole will be drilled to check for any signs of life at the Crandall canyon coal mine in Utah. The mine's co-owner, Bob Murray, has strongly defended his safety record, but just what do the records show? CNN's David Mattingly did some digging.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One thing is clear about mine owner Robert Murray. He is not afraid of a fight. When confronted about reports of a poor safety record at his mines in Ohio, just listen to what Murray told Senator Barbara Boxer.
MURRAY: I don't care, and I'm going to respond to that. You are flat out wrong.
SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: Fine, fine.
MURRAY: That information came from your friends at the United Mine Workers and the unions. It is not fair. Today, my safety record at my coal mines -- and I take it to bed with me every night. And I resent you bringing this in.
BOXER: Right.
MURRAY: Because my employees are important to me, and I take their safety to bed every night. My safety record today is one of the best in the coal industry anywhere.
MATTINGLY: Robert Murray bought the Crandall Canyon mine only a year ago, and until the accident, it was one of his safest mines. But "Keeping Them Honest", we checked government records, and found they list Murray as the head of 19 mining operations in five states. Only seven are active underground mines, and four of them have injury rates above the national average.
At the Galatia Mine in southern Illinois, the rate of injuries has exceeded the national average every year since Murray bought the mine in 1998. The rate of injuries was almost cut in half from 2003 to 2006, but the mine has also racked up over 3,400 citations in the last two and a half years, 968 so far this year, with nearly a quarter considered "significant and substantial."
ELLEN SMITH, MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH NEWS: You wonder how that many violations can build up in that little amount of time. Now you have to remember, he's challenging a lot of those citations. But when you look, he's also paid a lot in fines.
MATTINGLY: He paid almost $700,000 in fines from 2005 and 2006. So far this year, Galatia has been hit with 31 major citations, each exceeding $10,000. That's more violations than any other mine in the country and second in total fines.
And Galatia wasn't Murray's first big problem. In 2003, managers at his mining company in Kentucky were found guilty of violating safety standards and attempting to cover it up. The company was ordered to pay a $306,000 fine.
Requests for comments from officials at Murray Energy were not answered. CNN asked Murray of safety records of his other underground mines at a news conference Monday. Murray said he would only talk about Crandall Canyon.
BOB MURRAY, CEO, MURRAY ENERGY: The safety record at this mine is almost outstanding. It's much better than the national average.
MATTINGLY: But as the tragedy at Crandall Canyon shows, even better than average mines can involve serious risk.
David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Bob Murray's plan to close the Crandall Canyon Mine has sparked talk of permanent memorial to the miners. On our cnn.com Quick Vote we asked if the site should become a memorial if the miners are not found alive? Sixty-four percent said yes, 36 percent said no.
Well, misery across the Midwest. More rain, more flooding from Iowa to Ohio. This is Findlay, Ohio, where boats and canoes are replacing cars. The streets waist deep in water. And it's the worst flooding there in almost a century. Now across the region, at least 26 people have died, thousands of people have lost everything they own.
Chad Myers, when are those downpours going to stop? CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, Kyra, they're going to stop when this front ends up moving. And that's not today and that's not tomorrow. Now the front kind of slides east about 50 miles, but these storms are firing and sliding east as well. The one we had over Ohio was a train -- a was a train wreck -- but a train is one storm that follows another that follows another. And almost 10 inches of rain fell in the northern, northwestern Ohio area right through there, right near Findlay.
Looking at the lightning strikes on the map right now. These are the live lightening strikes. A little bit of activity through western New York and also through about the quad cities. New watch box does include Chicago for the potential for severe weather for today.
Here's how it all shapes up now. Got this line of kind of a bow echo. See how it almost looks like a bow itself, trying to form, move toward Chicago later on today. That will slow down the airport for sure.
You're not going to get that much rain and that many thunderstorms that high. Some of these storms this week, Kiran, have been 65,000 feet high. I'm not sure I've ever seen them so high. And coming down with hail. Some of the hail yesterday reported out of South Dakota was six inches in diameter. Six inches. That's bigger than a softball. That's almost a cantaloupe.
Everywhere you see yellow on this map, that's two inches of rain or more in the next 48 hours. Like you need more. But it's not going to stop because the front is not going to stop either. The front is just -- well, the front isn't going to go. The front is going to be right along here.
And because it's blue, red, blue, red, blue, red, that's a stationary front. And, I don't know, you go to the gym and you get a stationary bicycle, it doesn't go anywhere either. A stationary front doesn't move when you get the front to fire the storms in the same place. Now we had Kansas, Nebraska, also into Iowa, and even into Chicago land in the mix up to Milwaukee, Kenosha. Really areas right through here. Especially urban areas, Kyra, where there's a lot of concrete. Concrete doesn't absorb any water. I'm expecting some flooding in those big cities later on today and tomorrow.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll keep tracking it.
Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: Sure.
PHILLIPS: Well, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is in the deep south today, hoping to move the needle in an early primary state. The Illinois senator has an event this hour at a school in Dillon, South Carolina, before moving on to the town of Conway, then on to Tallahassee, Florida. Our latest polling suggests that South Carolina, with its influential block of African-American voters, is leaning heavily toward Hillary Clinton. Our Don Lemon is tagging along with Obama's campaign, plans to speak with the candidate later in the next hour or so. He joins us now live from the school where he's going to be visiting.
And, Don, this is a low-income school where he's trying to make a point about what he wants to do for education, right?
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And you said trying to move the needle when it comes to the campaign. Actually, he's trying to move the needle also when it comes to talk and action when it comes to education.
We're in Dillon, South Carolina. And the reason the senator chose this school, obviously, because South Carolina's very important when it comes to primary states and what have you. But it's also important because schools here, sadly, some of them were dubbed -- this the J.V. Martin Middle School where we are now in Dillon -- dubbed the corridor of shame because of some of the neglect in the schools. We're going to talk to the superintendent about that in just a little bit.
But when I got here, Kyra, I asked the teachers and the people in the community, what do they want to hear from Senator Barack Obama. This is -- you know, obviously they said, we don't want this to be a photo-op. I said what can he do for you? How can he help you? What would you like to hear from him? Obviously they talked about merit pay, which is a big issue when it comes to teachers. And also they talked about No Child Left Behind. Very interesting comments. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAROLD WILSON, TEACHER: I think the main concern everybody has is, is he really sincere about helping people in this area? You know, obviously we certainly hope it's not a photo-op. But we want -- we need some help in certain ways. We have dedicated people that are working here in these districts. And we love the kids. We're doing everything we can for the kids. I don't think anybody's doing any more than we are.
AUDREY HUNT, MATH COACH: And the No Child Left Behind is kind of, you know, just taking some of the fun out of education. I mean, we -- I think we survived without all of the tests. And, of course, we used to take tests, and we didn't look at them and it determine whether I passed my grade or not. Now it's a lot of pressure. From day one we're teaching, you've got to be ready for the test. You've got to be ready for the test.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So when the senator gets here, he's going to tour the school a little bit and we're going to walk around with him. But he's also going to do a focus group, Kyra, with the teachers here to find out their needs. And speaking to these teachers, they've got some very pointed and candid questions for the senator. They said, you know what, they're tired of lip service. Everyone in the campaigns, this campaign and the campaign before, before that, everybody's talking about education and giving lip service. But in the past few years, the educational system in the country has sadly not improved or improved very little.
I want to bring in now Ray Rogers, who is the superintendent of the Dillon school district here. And, you know, I mentioned that corridor of shame thing talking to some of the teachers here and they said, they want to focus on the positive and not necessarily that. What do you want to talk to the senator about whether he gets here?
RAY ROGERS, SUPT., DILLON, SOUTH CAROLINA, SCHOOL DISTRICT: Well, you know, we look forward to him coming through. But, you know, facilities is something that can be handled with money. The intangible. Certain things as curriculum, test scores, those kind of things, what we need to help us get where we need to be. Those are the kind of things that we look for him to expand on.
LEMON: To expand on, yes.
ROGERS: Give us some kind of idea. It's like you said a minute ago, we've had candidates to come through. But the bottom line is, what will be different for the less fortunate students, the low, socioeconomic areas that we have in our country? What's going to be different? What do you bring to the table that we have not seen, that we have not heard? What do you think your campaign can do for these kids and for these parents and these teachers?
LEMON: Well, we certainly will be asking him that, and I'm sure you will as well.
Thank you, Ray Rogers, for allowing us into the school and for joining us today.
ROGERS: All right. Thank you.
LEMON: So there you have it. They're sick of lip service. And again, very tough questions for the senator. And just as -- I want to mention, Kyra, the senator has been sort of priding himself on the campaign on talking to people about real issues and about talking to them without media there. He's going to do a barber shop tour today. They're giving announcements for the school here, telling the students that they've got to move on to a different class.
But he's going to talk to folks in a barber shop. Very candid conversation. We hope to get in on that and bring it to you here in the CNN NEWSROOM. But we're going to be following, traveling with the senator throughout the day and we're going to update you. Hopefully we'll have that interview for you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
So we'll check back with you.
PHILLIPS: Sounds good. And I think probably the most candid conversations take place in the classroom. Growing up with teachers, I know my parents have always asked the tough questions of their political leaders. And then, of course, the barber shop. Every time that you and I talked about -- yes the conversations you've gotten into in the barber shop.
LEMON: If you wanted a straight conversation, you go to the barber shop. And also, again, we talked about this lip service. You know, everybody talks about this. The kids are the future. We say that all the time. And if we're really going to make a difference, we've got to start in the classroom with the kids.
PHILLIPS: All right. Look forward to your one-on-one with Barack Obama. Don Lemon, thank you so much.
Well, straight ahead, disaster strikes just outside your door. How do you get out alive and protect your home? What you need to know right here from the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, a deadline today in the Michael Vick dog fighting case. Anyone claiming to own dogs seized from cages in Vick's backyard has until 5:00 p.m. to do so. Animal rights groups say that the ownership of the dogs isn't in question and they don't expect people coming forward, but the groups are backing federal prosecutors in seeking euthanasia for the 35 pit bulls in the name of compassion and public safety. Vick is expected to plead guilty Monday to federal dog fighting conspiracy charges.
Now it's burned more land than all of New York's five burrows combined, but firefighters in southern California are making progress. They say that they have got the wildfire racing through Los Padres National Forest more than 80 percent surrounded. It's blackened more than 225,000 acres so far, making it the second biggest fire in modern California history. It's been burning since July 4th. Firefighters hope to have it fully contained in another couple weeks.
Well, sizzling in the deep south still. Temperatures again are climbing toward 100 degrees and no rain to speak of in sight. The month-long heat is blamed for at least 50 deaths from Missouri to the Carolinas. And in Tennessee, some schools are in session only half a day. In Ohio, where there's no such thing as heat days, some school districts are closing schools and using snow days instead.
Well, record flooding from Iowa to Ohio is being blamed for at least 26 deaths. Three of them at this intersection in Madison, Wisconsin. Lightning hit a utility pole there yesterday causing a live wire to fall into the flooded road. A woman and child about to board a bus were electrocuted. A passenger who got off a bus to help them was also killed.
And this is all that's left of one home in Brownsville, Minnesota. It was ripped off its foundation by a mudslide triggered by the heavy rains. Inside at the time, a woman and her nine-year-old grandson. Her husband dug them out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARON PARTINGTON, RESCUED FROM MUDSLIDE: There was no warning for this, except that our neighbor called and said they had a slide that was worse than the past that hit the back of their house. And so that gave us an idea that things were bad. But we never dreamt it was anything like this. LYNN PARTINGTON, SAVED FAMILY FROM MUDSLIDE: It was like an avalanche of rock, trees and debris from -- well, from the top of the hill all the way down. And it just blew the sides of the house out and the roof dropped to the ground. And looking at the house, you would wonder if anybody could possibly live, and -- or survive. But they did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, that's the one bright spot for the Partingtons, who have since learned that their homeowner's insurance does not cover mudslides.
Well, how fast could you get out of your house if you didn't know, you know, when you were coming back or whether there would be anything to come back to. CNN's Greg Hunter reports no one can predict disaster, but there are ways to prepare.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This crazy weather across the country has really proven that anywhere, any time, you could be faced with a disaster. So how do you shut your house down in a hurry? Well, I'll show.
Earthquakes in Hawaii and Peru. Parts of Ohio under water. Tornadoes ripping through the Midwest. A category five hurricane slams into Mexico. All have one thing in common -- people needed to evacuate and shut down their homes fast.
GLENN DERENE, SR. EDITOR, POPULAR MECHANICS: Storms are more unpredictable and can be stronger. And since you never know exactly what's coming to you, you just have to be prepared.
HUNTER: Popular Mechanics Glenn Derene shows us how best to protect your property.
DERENE: I think we're going to start with one of the ones that's the most dangerous.
HUNTER: A gas leak could be explosive. Knowing where and how to shut your gas off is key. But practicing shutting your gas line off is not advised because it can throw off your meter.
DERENE: It's a quarter turn valve. It doesn't need to -- it's not like a water valve. You don't need to keep twisting. It's just one pull down and you're done.
HUNTER: Gas is first. What's next?
DERENE: Power.
HUNTER: In an evacuation, Derene suggests shutting off breakers one by one, so as not to damage appliances. But if you need to do it in a hurry, just flip the main breaker.
DERENE: If there's standing water in the basement when you come back, you want to make sure there's no live power going into it.
HUNTER: Last item to shut down? Your water.
DERENE: You just want to make sure that your own water supply doesn't flood your house. There's also external contamination in the main water supply outside, if you have city water, could come in and contaminate your own house.
HUNTER: After you shut down your house, you need to grab your ready bag. What's in it? It should be water, nature bars or energy bars, your drugs, your first aid kit, obvious reasons, documents, cash, a phone card. They always work. Land lines most always work. Cell phones don't always work. A flashlight. One of my favorite things is an LED flashlight. The batteries last a long time. They're a little more expensive, but the batteries last a long time.
How about this? A blanket or a sleeping bag. It just rolls right up. It's about two or three ounces. And last but not least, one of these crank radios. Not only does it, you know, get NOAA and have an alarm, but it can also charge your cell phone. For a complete list of what you need in your ready bag or your trunk, log on to cnn.com.
Greg Hunter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Once again that was Greg Hunter. And he was talking about where you can log on to cnn.com to find out more about those tips.
Well, how would you like to take a trip across the galaxy. Take a seat at your computer, grab your mouse and get ready to blast off. Destination? Space. We'll tell you how you can do it, straight ahead on the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, CBS is rejecting claims that it overworked children, several of whom were hurt taking part in a new reality series. Forty kids as young as eight were left in a desert ghost town for the upcoming series "Kid Nation." "The New York Times" reports that the contract with parents required the children to do as told 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Also it absolves the producers from liability for any emotional distress, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and pregnancy that might have occurred. In our next hour we're gong to hear what CBS has to say. We're also going to hear from a Labor Department official from the state of New Mexico where that series was shot.
Ever wanted to travel the galaxy? Well, now you can, virtually, thanks to the same people who give you a bird's eye view of your house. CNN's Phil Black shows and tells.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): First there was Google Earth. Pick a destination, say Buckingham Palace, and it takes you on a ride around the globe. Zooming in from space for a closeup aerial view of the Queen's house. Now Google has taken the same idea and turned it upside down.
ED PARSONS, GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGIST: We thought, well, we could use that same basic technology but put it in reverse and look outwards and use the imagery that the astronomy community has created and produce a really exciting new tool.
BLACK: That new tool is Google Sky. It's designed to explore what lies beyond earth, starting with the backyard view of space from anywhere on the planet. The stars and constellations as you would see them above.
PARSONS: From that point, you could then start to zoom. And as you zoom out, we'll bring in imagery that may have been produced by NASA from the space telescope, from terrestrial telescopes and show you pictures of nebula, show you pictures of distant galaxies, show you the planets as they move throughout the year.
BLACK: The images and information are all available elsewhere, but Google says this is the only way you can navigate human kind's collective knowledge of space in one location.
Scientists say this is exciting because throughout human history people have stared into space and wondered. Now they hope having all of this information available so easily in one place will inspire a new generation to look up and study what lies beyond.
DR. FRANCIS DIEGO, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: There are no limits. And when you put this in the hands of millions of people literally to the great public in a way that has never done before, has never done before, this is public outreach for science in a way that is going to be very revolutionary.
BLACK: Like Google Earth, the sky software delivers a different view of existence to your desk top, but without the same potential for voyeurism.
Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead, Christian scientists in Texas actively supporting Israel. CNN's Christiane Amanpour takes a closer look at these unique Christian warriors straight ahead with a preview of her series right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, the final installment of CNN's unprecedented six hour series, "God's Warriors," examines the power of conservative Christians in America. Many people are determined to shape the American agenda. And as you'll see, some are turning their focus to foreign policy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Welcome to Texas, where horses, cattle, and cowboy hats are a way of life. And probably not the first place you would expect to see this.
This is a night to honor Israel, Texas style. But here's where it gets even more unusual. The people sponsoring this affair are evangelical Christians. The man in charge, Pastor John Hagge, a Christian warrior for Israel.
PASTOR JOHN HAGGE: Send a message to America, send a message to the enemies of Israel, send a message to the people of Israel -- Israel, you are not alone.
I believe that the Bible, the Torah, is the truth. I believe there is the Torah way and the wrong way.
AMANPOUR: And the right way, says Hagge, is to protect and defend Israel at all costs. Hagge is a Zionist. A Christian Zionist.
HAGGE: A Christian Zionist is someone that believes that the Bible supports Israel. God begins and the foreign policy statement of Israel in Genesis 12:3 saying, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you."
AMANPOUR: You said God's foreign policy statement.
HAGGE: Yes.
AMANPOUR: God has foreign policy statements.
HAGGE: Absolutely.
AMANPOUR: And his is pro-Israel?
HAGGE: Concerning the Jewish people, that's his foreign policy statement.
AMANPOUR: Hagge's devotion to Israel began in 1978 when he first visited the Jewish state.
HAGGE: While I was praying at the Western Wall, I turned and saw a Jewish man. He had a prayer shawl, reading the Bible, rocking back and forth, and I just felt that that man is my spiritual brother.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, "God's Christian Warriors" airs tonight, 9:00 Eastern, only on CNN. And you can send Christiane Amanpour an e-mail. She's answering the i-Report's questions online right now. You can go to cnn.com, click on most popular to find the column.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
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