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Gabrielle Hits North Carolina's Coast; Two Stories of Survival
Aired September 09, 2007 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Gabrielle shows its strength as it lashes North Carolina's coast. We take you live to the outer banks, but who else is in its path?
Two amazing stories of survival tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know how long he had been laying there. I just -- I can't believe that he lived.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A college student missing for a week finally turns up, but where has he been? Was this mangled car his home the entire time?
And trapped on the tracks in a Lexus. It just wouldn't go. The driver, an elderly woman, rescued just seconds from certain death. We talk to this young guardian angel tonight.
He was on the front lines in New York on September 11th, and he also helped during Katrina. But police say he is no professional.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've seen him dressed up in all the garb.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: But he wasn't a real firefighter. An impostor. How he fooled everyone for six years.
And hate-filled attacks against Jews taped to a rock soundtrack. But guess what? These are Jews who hate Jews. Living in the holy land sounds like an oxymoron. It's a special report from CNN.
And he may be the Sundance kid, but he says the earth is getting too hot. Actor Robert Redford joins us live. Movie, politics, and his take on global warming. You're in the NEWSROOM.
And hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris in tonight for Rick Sanchez. The weather is the news. It's no hurricane, but it's no wimpy little storm either. Look and listen.
What do you think? This is tropical storm Gabrielle right on time, ramming the North Carolina coast, bending trees and dumping rain, and dampening the weekend for coastal Carolinians.
OK, let's not mess around with this here. Jacqui Jeras is holding down the CNN Severe Weather Center tonight with a track on this storm and its intensity. Hi, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Tony. Yes, it's emerging back over open water, believe it or not, way up here. But this storm has been very lopsided all day long. All the showers and thunderstorms have been well to the south of the center. And that has been real bad news for people around the Cape Lookout area, over towards Atlantic beach and into Morehead City. They have been hammered all afternoon long with strong winds, heavy rain, and the rough surf.
The rainfall totals have been quite impressive. These numbers, as of about 7:00 Eastern Time, 5.5 inches of rain. It's all been very concentrated right into this area. In fact, Doppler radar estimating as much as 6, 6.5 inches overall. And it's not done yet.
The showers and thunderstorms are still coming in offshore. There you can see. But the whole system itself is moving on up to the north.
Now a little farther to the north, speaking of which, you know, you were thinking, hey, where's the rain? Where's this storm? But your winds have been incredible. And in fact, over here, Cape Hatteras, look at that. Winds right now about 28 miles per hour sustained. And gusts have been calm over the last four plus hours around 40 to 52 miles an hour. It's been kind of a sandstorm, so to speak, in this area.
Those winds should be dying down now as we head towards the overnight hours. And the storm will continue to pull off to the north and to the East. It'll be back over the open waters. But we think it will be weakening as it's going to get caught up with the cold front. So another couple of hours here to go yet, Tony. And then Gabrielle will be history.
TONY HARRIS: Hey, Jacqui, did it perform about as you expected?
JERAS: Yes, pretty close. You know, we thought it was going to stay tropical storm status...
HARRIS: Yes.
JERAS: ...and not become a hurricane. It's been a little bit more time hitting a very specific place.
HARRIS: Sure. JERAS: You know, it wasn't as widespread where we saw the rain as we were initially expecting. So I would say that's been the only thing that maybe threw some people off a little bit is that the north side of the storm didn't see a whole heck of a lot. And everybody on the south -- everybody there got it bad.
HARRIS: Yes. OK, Jacqui, stay with us for just a moment as we bring in our red jacket crews now to tell the story on the Barrier Islands. CNN's Rusty Dornin is in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. CNN's John Zarrella a bit south of her in Atlantic beach.
John, let's start with you. What are you getting out there?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony, I'm dry. It stopped raining finally here.
HARRIS: Very good. Very good.
ZARRELLA: And I tell you, though, Jacqui's absolutely right. We got pounded here from about 3:00 in the afternoon until about 8:00 this evening. Just steady, heavy rain and wind. You can see behind me the sea oats there blowing in the breeze now. It's died down, but for several hours, it was rain. It was wind. We had lightning. We had thunder here.
And I could tell you, I just took a walk down to the beach area over here. It's pitch black out there now. But definitely some beach erosion. You can walk along a spot where all of a sudden it just drops off about 18 inches to two feet in some spots. So they definitely have had some beach erosion. Not serious, serious erosion, but enough that you can certainly tell that it's there.
And we did see a lot of ponding on the roads today as all that heavy rain was coming down all along Morehead City area and here over in the Atlantic beach. So it was definitely not a night for folks to be out on the road. Best thing for them to do -- and we did not see a lot of people out. Most people did stay indoors, which was a good thing.
Another good thing. No reports of any injuries or any serious injuries at all here. And right now, no stars are out, Tony, but it certainly is dry, finally.
HARRIS: Yes. And Jacqui, jump on in here.
JERAS: Yes, just asking John, it looks like you were out and about. We saw that street flooding. Do you think street flooding has been the biggest problem here today? Or has it been just the beach erosion really?
ZARRELLA: I don't know. It's hard to tell right now. I certainly think -- you know, the beach erosion was more than I thought it would be. Didn't think from (INAUDIBLE) a south facing beach, really didn't think we would see the kind of erosion that we've seen tonight. The street flooding over in Morehead City, you know, that localized, as you said in that area and certainly a lot of ponding. But I think at the end of the day, the beach erosion may end up to be the bigger dilemma that they have here tomorrow.
HARRIS: OK, John, hang around for just a moment here. We want to bring in Rusty Dornin, who is in Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. And Rusty, what's the view from where you are?
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John is describing a completely different kind of storm than we saw.
HARRIS: OK.
DORNIN: Because what we saw today mostly was a lot of sunshine and a lot of wind and sand. Of course, now we're just starting to get a little bit of rain. There's been a few squalls. Barely a half inch of rain.
But we've had gusts 40 to 50 miles per hour along the beaches. People were trying to go kite boarding. They were still trying to go in the water for a while there. But as I said, there was more sand blowing than any kind of rain, but beach erosion is the thing that people are most concerned about here. The waves were anywhere from 8 to 12 feet along the coast and have been. Apparently from what we understand from Jacqui, the -- most of the rain is still headed for us.
But you know, Cape Hatteras dodged a bullet, but apparently this is one of the most vulnerable cities in the U.S. They get a hurricane on average about every 2.5 years. So they didn't need a hurricane, but they did need rain. This area is about 20 inches below average for this year.
HARRIS: Wow.
DORNIN: So people were actually hoping for tropical storm Gabrielle to drop a little moisture here. Instead, it looks like they're going to only get about a half inch to an inch. It's not going to be anything like what John saw this afternoon.
HARRIS: And they could really use a little more. All right, Rusty Dornin and John Zarrella, Jacqui Jeras. That's how we do that. Nice teamwork. Thank you all very much. Appreciate it.
You know, we have been talking to i-reporter Douglas Hoff throughout the night. And he joins us by phone now from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. And he has been capturing we'll show some of these pictures to you, some great video for us throughout the evening.
Doug, good to talk to you again. How is the weather where you are right now?
DOUG HOFF: Like what everyone else has been saying, it's really calm up here in Kitty Hawk. We have seen very little rain up here. We did see some sustaining wind off the coast, which pushed some of the waves up on us, but -- which is what I sent to you. But no, it's been real quiet up here.
HARRIS: Were you expecting more of an event?
HOFF: Well, yes, earlier on when we saw the storm being formed off the coast, we certainly battened down the hatches here and thought we would see more.
HARRIS: Did you sort of -- did you go out to the convenience store there, the supermarket and sort of pick up some supplies just in case?
HOFF: Yes, well, I needed to do that anyway, but, yes, I did. Absolutely.
HARRIS: OK, so how would you and your family sort of weather the storm this evening? What have you been doing with yourself?
HOFF: Well, we've been just staying quiet inside, not venturing out at all, and just staying low.
HARRIS: Well, let me ask it a different way. Were you hoping for a bit more of an event?
HOFF: I think everybody was looking for some rain in this area as we mentioned earlier, too.
HARRIS: Yes.
HOFF: And absolutely, yes, I thought we were anticipating much more.
HARRIS: OK. Douglas Hoff has been with us throughout the evening. Douglas, good to talk to you. And we would have liked to have provided a little more rain for you, but we're happy it wasn't a more severe event there in North Carolina.
HOFF: Yes, absolutely. We are, too.
HARRIS: Yes.
HOFF: I went through Hugo quite a few years ago down in Charlotte. And I'm glad we had no devastation here like that.
HARRIS: All right, Douglas. Take care of yourself and your family this evening. Thank you.
HOFF: Take care.
HARRIS: OK, to other news now. He pleaded guilty, then said he did nothing wrong. He said he intended to resign but then no, not so fast. Tonight, lawyers for Idaho Senator Larry Craig say their next step tomorrow is to ask that the guilty plea be taken back. Can they do that? Sure. Will it do any good? Our senior legal analyst says probably not.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: The chances are good that it will see the light of day. The chances that Craig will succeed in getting a court to let him withdraw the guilty plea are remote. The standard is a very tough one in Minnesota, as it is in most states. So the odds of him winning and the odds of him winning by September 30th, when he said he wanted to have the situation resolved are extremely unlikely.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Senator Craig has had few supporters since his arrest. But one senior Senate Republican spoke to CNN's Wolf Blitzer today with a reminder that Senator Larry Craig, guilty or not, is a citizen first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R), PENNSYLVANIA: It was foolish of him to enter the plea. It was equally foolish of him not to consult with an attorney, but here you have a guilty plea to disorderly conduct. And bear in mind, that is not moral turpitude. And just disorderly conduct is not a major offense.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think he should still stay in the Senate and fight this?
SPECTER: I do. I think that Senator Craig is entitled to the same rights as any other person. No more or no less.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A source tells CNN that Larry Craig's lawyers plan to argue that the senator suffered what they call a "manifest injustice" at the hands of the officer who arrested him in that airport men's room.
This next story out of Chicago is a see it to believe it kind of thing. Let me show you what a miracle looks like here. This was a brand new Lexus. Now it is nothing more than scrap metal. An elderly woman, can you believe it, was inside. The car would not move. Meanwhile, not one, but two trains are coming right at her. And that's when a 17-year-old and his friends came to the rescue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She finally unlocked the door. And we opened it and we unclipped her seat belt and pulled her to safety. And about, I guess my friends are saying, five, six seconds later, the train just crushed the car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And we're told the woman is OK. I asked if he had an "S" on his chest because he's a Superman tonight. He said he doesn't. We would be telling a much different story if that young man had not stepped in the way he did.
Speaking of amazing stories, a kid from Maryland goes missing. His family is worried sick. A week later, he is found climbing his way out of a ditch, broken, bruised and disoriented. CNN's Kathleen Koch picks up the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A deep ravine just a stone's throw from a major highway. That's where police found the overturned car where missing 18-year old Bowie State University student Julian McCormick had been trapped for a week.
He was last seen September 1st on his way to pick up his girlfriend. Finally, McCormick managed to free himself, telling family he crawled through a creek bed, under a bridge, and up an embankment to a road where Saturday, two women spotted him.
LEIGH ANN HESS, PASSERBY: I ran up to him and I said, are you OK? What happened? And he said I got in a car accident. I said, hold on. You're going to be OK. We're going to have an ambulance come. And I ran up and I flagged my mom. Yes, get them to come, get them to come, get them to come.
KOCH: The disoriented teenager asked what day it was.
HESS: He did have a movie ticket in his pocket or something. He gave one of the observers that said this was the last thing he had remembered seeing.
KOCH: The date on the ticket, September 1st. Police responded immediately.
ROXANNE BROWN-ANKEY, LT., U.S. PARK POLICE: They found a young gentleman suffering from cuts, abrasions, some burns, dehydration.
KOCH: McCormick's aunt says he told his family he survived by dipping his shoe into the creek and eating what fish he could catch while he worked to tear the seat belt. Police confirm it was evident from the crash scene McCormick had been trapped in the car for days. The teenager is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
PEGGY MCCORMICK, JULIAN'S MOTHER: He says, I love you, mom. I love you, mom. I was so scared.
KOCH: Worried friends had created a Facebook page and were headed to a Saturday night vigil for McCormick when they got the news.
EMILY SPRINGER, FRIEND: At first, I kind of thought it was a joke. But then, you know, she said he was OK. So I came over here as fast as I could.
MCCORMICK: Julian is well. He is still having medical treatment. We are just so happy.
KOCH: His family says McCormick should be released from the hospital in a few days.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, he is an icon of the silver screen. This weekend, actor Robert Redford is trying to use his fame to slow global warming. Coming up in 20 minutes, an exclusive interview with him on movies, politics and the environment.
Neo-Nazi youth beating up Jews. Look at this. That's bad enough, but what really puts -- wow, what really puts this story over the top is where it is happening. Israel. That story coming up in the NEWSROOM.
But next, Democratic presidential candidates in Espanol. They are reaching out to Latino voters in a debate tonight, but two candidates weren't too happy with the rules. A live report coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: He was on the front lines in New York on September 11th. And he also helped during Katrina, but police say he is no professional.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've seen him all dressed up in all the garb.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: But he wasn't a real firefighter. An impostor. How he fooled everyone for six years.
And hate-filled attacks against Jews taped to a rock soundtrack. But guess what? These are Jews who hate Jews. Living in the holy land sounds like an oxymoron. It's a special report from CNN.
And he may be the Sundance kid, but he says the earth is getting too hot. Actor Robert Redford joins us live. Movies, politics, and his take on global warming. You're in the NEWSROOM.
A first of its kind in the political arena. And that alone says something. Democrats vying to be president lined up in Miami tonight to debate the issues. The questions all posed and broadcast in Spanish, targeting Hispanic voters. That's never happened before. But was anything else new? Or was this the same old, same old in a different language?
Let's go to CNN's Juan Carlos Lopez, standing by at the University of Miami. Juan Carlos, good to see you this evening. Was there any news tonight?
JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we heard them talk about all the issues that candidates have been talking about -- the war in Iraq. We heard them talk about education, about health.
But immigration reform, as you said earlier today, was the central issue at the beginning of the debate. They addressed the issue that many Hispanics have, the perception that the immigration debate and the debate on illegal immigration is more an anti-Hispanic debate. And they also said the seven candidates who came, Senator Joe Biden wasn't able to show up because he was in Iraq last week and was preparing for sessions this week in Congress. They all promise to work on immigration reform the first year of their government if they were elected. And they also talked about a fence in the border with Mexico. That's very controversial. And this is what Senator Hillary Clinton said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I do favor much more border patrolling and much more technology on both of our borders. And in certain areas, even a physical barrier because I think we've got to secure our borders. That has to be part of comprehensive immigration reform.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOPEZ: Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico was more critical of that law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL RICHARDSON, GOV., NEW MEXICO: This wall is a horrendous example of Washington misguided policy. Congress only funded half of the wall. And in addition to that, if you're going to build a 12-foot wall, you know what's going to happen? A lot of 13-foot ladders. This is a terrible symbol of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOPEZ: He also spoke about the mortgage crisis and about a proposal that they would consider turning Spanish or converting Spanish into the second official language of the U.S., something that is probably going to be very controversial, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, yes, I would say. Juan Carlos, Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd actually speak Spanish fluently. Did they get an opportunity to use their Spanish tonight?
LOPEZ: Well, yes and no. The rules they agreed to had been that all candidates would speak in English. Only the anchors who conducted the debate would speak in Spanish. But Governor Richardson asked if he could answer a question about bilingual education in Spanish. He was told he couldn't. So he complained. He was upset. He said it wasn't fair that the only Hispanic among the candidates wasn't allowed to speak in Spanish. And he said the English-only rule was not fair.
HARRIS: Juan Carlos Lopez for us in Miami. Juan Carlos, good to see you. Thank you.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, his movies made him a star, but Robert Redford has serious things on his mind this weekend at Sundance. We sit down for an exclusive interview just ten minutes from now.
She's in Congress. He's in Congress. Love blossoms on Capitol Hill. But are they in the same party? That's ahead in dog bone politics. And he's the man whose opinion everyone has been waiting on. General David Petraeus prepares to brief Congress on Iraq. Tonight, a preview of what you can expect from him tomorrow. That is coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Monday morning on Capitol Hill. Just a few hours from now, the top U.S. commander in Iraq sits down before a joint session of the House. That commander, Army General David Petraeus. It's the first of two days scheduled before lawmakers who want his report on security in Iraq, political progress in Iraq, and the flow of U.S. troops into and out of Iraq. And as you know, CNN is all over his testimony with reaction from House and Senate members ready to pick that report apart. Keep it on CNN all day tomorrow.
Dog bone politics now and a great example of how an actor, even an actor turned candidate, can be upstaged. Republican Fred Thompson took the plunge this week. And as you know, he joined the presidential race. And as you can see, his three-year-old daughter Hayden made her presence known as well. How cute is that?
This was Friday in Sioux City, Iowa. She was sitting with her mom Jerry and proved that even when dad's speaking, it is sometimes hard to stay still. Yes.
Capitol Hill is probably better known for rancor than romance. But California Congresswoman Mary Bono has found a future husband right there in the U.S. House. Bono was married to the late singer turned congressman Sonny Bono. Now Mary Bono, as you know, was married to the late singer turned Congressman Sonny Bono.
Now Mary Bono's chief of staff says she is engaged to Florida's Connie Mack, a fellow Republican who represents a Florida district. They have been dating, we're told, for two years now. No word on the wedding plans.
And in case you missed it, we have to tell you about Congressman James Sensenbrenner. He won $1,000 last week in the District of Columbia lottery. And just last spring, he won another grand in the Wisconsin lottery. Not bad, huh? Well, get this. Back in 1997, he won $250,000 in the D.C. lottery. And this is a guy who recently reported a net worth of more than $11 million. Some guys truly have all the luck.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM this evening -- hate crimes are horrible no matter where they occur. But what to make of this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say it is a bizarre case, the first of its kind. A home-grown neo-Nazi gang in the Jewish state of Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Nazis in the holy land. That special report is coming up just 15 minutes from now.
But next, the Sundance kid takes aim at global warming. Our exclusive interview with Robert Redford.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We know Robert Redford as the Sundance Kid, a Legal Eagle, Bob Woodward and All the President's Men. But this actor has spent much of his life as a political and environmental activist. He joins us tonight from the Sundance Summit, an event he is co- hosting to help fight global warming.
Good to talk to you, sir. Thank you for your time this evening.
ROBERT REDFORD, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: Thank you. I am right now just very anxious as to whether I can keep this plug in my ear for this conversation.
HARRIS: We are going to be patient with the process.
REDFORD: So if my face goes blank, you'll excuse me.
HARRIS: We'll be patient with the process if you'll be patient with us. But thanks you for your time tonight. We really appreciate having you here with us. I have to ask you, we understand this is the third year of this conference. What do you think that you are accomplishing with these city leaders and state leaders?
REDFORD: Well, I can tell you what we intend to accomplish, which is basically an extension of what we've already accomplished from the first conference which was two years ago. The idea behind this -- let me tell you how I -- if you're interested...
HARRIS: Sure.
REDFORD: How I got involved in this in the first place. About 23 years ago, I was at a conference with an organization that I had started on the environment in Denver -- at the Jewish hospital in Denver. And we were talking about clean air in Western states. And suddenly there was a lunch presentation by two scientists from the Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder.
And it was on climate change centering on global warming. And it shocked everyone because what they were saying was that we were in a process of a slow meltdown on a part of our environment.
Well, it was such a shock, and that nobody knew about it. And then that led to me inviting the Soviet Academy of Sciences to Sundance along with our scientific community in 1989 because the two polluting countries at that time were the United States and the Soviet Union.
So having the two scientific communities come together to discuss this issue seemed to me like a good thing because I thought it would get traction. So in 1989, we had this conference. In fact, they did. We had the Soviet Academy of -- the head of their space program, Raul Sakadayev (ph), Carl Sagan headed up our scientific community. And they both agreed at that time that this was an issue that was already overdue in 1989 and had to be addressed immediately. Otherwise, we were going to see things like Kilimanjaro's melting, ice caps melting.
And it was going to affect not only climate change but our lives as individuals. So, anyway, it didn't get any traction because that was premature. Those were the days when they were still being denied as an issue. And the power of politics at that time to support that denial was so strong that we were never able to get any traction.
So now it's almost 20 years later, and I decided that probably going at the top was a waste of time, particularly with this administration...
HARRIS: That's what I was going to ask, if that was the case.
REDFORD: Well, this administration, I don't think, needs a lot of discussion. It's pretty transparently awful on the environment. So therefore, it's pretty clear that not only are they supportive of issues to help our environment, but they want to go against them, because I think they are living in a day long gone by.
But -- so forget about them. Where are you going to find the solutions? Where are you going to find the action and the traction? Well, it's going to come from the grassroots. And that involves mayors and governors, people that are closer to the citizenry, people that are closer to the American public, and know what the real problems are, and, therefore, are more in touch with what the solutions can be. So...
HARRIS: OK.
REDFORD: ... that's why I decided to bring mayors to Sundance to have a discussion to find out if we can bring all the mayors on board to push up from the grassroots and push Congress and eventually leadership when it comes around into taking action on a federal level. So that has been the intention.
HARRIS: So how are you actually helping these mayors? I mean, what are you giving them in terms of tools, information, funding or helping them identify funding sources that will get this work done? How are you helping them?
REDFORD: Well, aside from the good food and a nice environment to be in, what we're doing is using the -- you know, let's face it, the first year we had mayors, a lot of mayors that came from different communities. And these are not just major cities. These are communities all over the United States. There were a lot of them that were not believers. There were a lot of them that were just ignorant about the issue itself. But there were enough mayors like Mayor Daley of Chicago who -- and Mayor Nickels of Seattle who were actually doing things already and they could demonstrate the results.
Such as, by creating new industries that come from new technologies, you are going to create new jobs. And therefore, you are going to affect the economy. So what has happened, the turning point, I think, has come not from films or lectures or literature about how bad things are. We've had that. America doesn't do well with doom and gloom. We've had that. We get that.
Now what? Well, now what is what I think is the exciting part, which is the optimistic part, which is that we can now do something ourselves as individuals that can change the course of things.
HARRIS: That is so great. That's where I wanted to take this.
REDFORD: It's great. It's optimistic.
HARRIS: Right.
REDFORD: Yes. That to me is the most exciting part of it. So let's move to the next part by bringing -- because Sundance, as a place, is very committed to art obviously because of the film festival and the film labs and so forth and my own life. Bringing art into the picture to help tell the story is another issue. So we bring artists to the table to help the mayors tell the story about what they are doing.
Now that's going to work its way up to the top. You can already see, I think, that Congress -- I mean, Congress, despite its being constipated for so long on this issue, is beginning to turn because they're getting pressure from the voters, the public. And that's because of what the mayors are telling them.
So I think there's a great movement coming from the grassroots, which is probably more democratic than what we have right now anyway. So I'm pretty excited about this. And there are changes that are occurring and they are very, very positive. I'm really -- I'm just sorry so much time was lost in the interim.
HARRIS: Have you really given up on trying to reach this administration? Eighteen or so months left with this president. Have you really given up on trying to have a dialogue with him? Have you ever had a dialogue with the president?
REDFORD: Oh, yes -- no, no, no, forget it. It's not worth it. It's a waste of time because I think this administration is so retarded in its views and arrogantly so that they aren't interested. As a matter of fact, the more you try to reason with them, as we can see, I mean, this is not new news. As we can see, the more you bring reason to the table, the more they create -- the more they seem to enjoy denying it or pushing it away.
So no, forget about them. It's going to be who comes next, and it's going to be stopping this president and his administration from doing any more damage than they've already done.
HARRIS: Boy, I sure would love to see the day when the two of you -- you and the president, actually had a real dialogue. But I guess it's not going to happen. I guess it's...
REDFORD: It would be a very short conversation, I would tell you that much. HARRIS: OK. Robert Redford, it is great to see you. Thank you for your time this evening.
(CROSSTALK)
REDFORD: Thank you very much, thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Our pleasure.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM this evening, neo-Nazis aren't unheard of in many Eastern European countries. But look...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Brutal attacks caught on tape. Eight young men accused of a beating so cruel, so violent, it will leave you speechless. But here's what makes this story like no other. The gang is supposedly a group of Nazi sympathizers carrying out hate crimes in the Jewish state of Israel.
Here's CNN's Atika Shubert.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Brutal attacks recorded on home video and set to music. Police say it is a bizarre case, the first of its kind, a home grown neo-Nazi gang in the Jewish state of Israel. Police say they confiscated this video and other photos from suspect's homes, finding also explosives, weapons and Nazi propaganda material. Police say they have been investigating the group for more than a year.
MICKEY ROSENFELD, ISRAELI POLICE: They planned and were involved in carrying out attack against innocent people, Jewish people wearing yarmulkes, Asians, foreigners, and had strong ties with neo-Nazi cells overseas as well.
SHUBERT: Police have arrested eight alleged members of the gang, bringing them to court on Sunday. They covered their faces, but at least one remained defiant. All between the ages of 16 and 21, all Israelis, immigrants from the former Soviet Union. They came to Israel by the Law of Return, a policy that grants citizenship to any Jew that chooses to immigrate to Israel, that includes anyone who has Jewish parents or grandparents, even though they themselves may not necessarily be Jewish.
Now at least one Israeli lawmaker is demanding the suspects have their Israeli citizenship revoked. Another is threatening to change the Law of Return, allowing only Jews and not their non-Jewish kin to immigrate. But some Israelis dismiss the group as nothing more than a violent, misguided group of teens.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beating up homeless people, they're thugs. I don't take it seriously. SHUBERT: But as these pictures play across televisions nationwide, Israelis are left to wonder, how it could happen here of all places.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Well, four months ago, they left with three children. Today, they returned with two. The parents of little Madeleine McCann are back home tonight in England insisting they had nothing to do with the disappearance of their daughter. Portuguese police allowed the couple to go home after naming them suspects in the case and interrogating them separately for hours on end.
However, authorities have not filed any charges against Gerry and Kate McCann. Back here in the United States, a father wakes up to a parent's worst nightmare. He goes to check on his children. What does he find?
Keith Daniels from affiliate WBFF in Baltimore explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEITH DANIELS, WBFF REPORTER (voice-over): A bold (ph) cry. A man breaks into a home and attempts to rape a 9-year-old boy while his 6-year-old sister slept in the same bedroom.
BILL TOOHEY, BALTIMORE CO. POLICE: This man was seen in the neighborhood, the 6-year-old girl believes she saw him outside their house about two days previous. That day she called her father and said there's this man in the yard.
DANIELS: Brian Jarrell and his wife Melinda believe that same man came back to their home.
BRIAN JARRELL, FATHER: At first I thought it was a burglar. I didn't know he was there for my son.
TOOHEY: Police have charged 49-year-old Richard Marks with attempted sex offense against a minor and other charges. Investigators say he slipped through the Jarrells' unlocked backdoor at about 2:00 early Monday morning. Police say he found the children's room.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, I was just shocked. My husband was the one that discovered him. Thank God he woke up when he did.
DANIELS: Jarrells says he found Marks hiding in the children's room after smelling a chemical odor. He says Marks ran out of the house, but he caught him and held him until police arrived.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thought was, I couldn't let him go, I couldn't let him get away.
DANIELS: Later, they found two rags with a chemical smell in the children's room and the little boy lethargic and confused. Police believe the father interrupted what could have been a much more brutal attack.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Again, that was reporter Keith Daniels of Baltimore affiliate WBFF.
(WEATHER REPORT)
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I also want to mention there was an earthquake, Tony, just in the past 15 minutes in Columbia, that's in South America, of 6.8 magnitude. Very strong, no Pacific- wide tsunami is expected, but we could be seeing some damage with that. As we get those reports, of course, we'll bring them along to you.
HARRIS: Yes. If you get something new on that, let us know, Jacqui. We'll get right back to you. Appreciate it, thank you.
And coming up, you know, there are some pretty bad cooks in the world. One right here. But how many have ever been arrested for the way they prepared a hamburger? It is enough to make you say, you've got to be kidding. That story straight ahead.
But next, summer vacation is a special time for kids. We all know that. But one 12-year-old gave up his summer vacation to make a difference in the lives of others. You'll love him. Cute kid. He's our "CNN Hero." That story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So what did most 12-year-olds do with their summer? Let's figure this out. Go to camp. Play video games. How about ride around the country swabbing the mouths of strangers while registering bone marrow donors? That's what Pat Pedraja did. He is tonight's "CNN Hero."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAT PEDRAJA,"YOUNG WONDER": The doctor came in and just said, you have leukemia. And it was devastating, horrifying and scary.
All I knew about cancer was that both my grandparents had died from it.
Well, I was in the hospital and I was watching the TV. And a Hispanic girl died because she couldn't find a marrow transplant match.
You're most likely to find a match within your own ethnicity.
PEDRAJA: I'm half Hispanic and I decided to change it because it could affect me, too. I said, mom, I want to do something. Well, let's have a bone marrow drive. And she said, what? And I said, yes, we're going to have a drive for these bone marrow donors. And then it turned into Driving for Donors.
Hi. My name is Pat Pedraja. I am 12-years-old. And I'm trying to sign people up for the National Marrow Registry. It's our responsibility as a human being to watch out for someone else.
Driving for Donors is a 30-city national marrow drive. We sold advertisement spots on the bus on the head and raised close to $100,000.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What Patrick is doing is something that it comes from inside him. It's something that's very personal to his heart.
My sister died of leukemia because she could not find a match within the Brazilian community; in 70 percent of the cases, you do not find a match with your brother or sister and you have to find a match in the National Registry.
PEDRAJA: If you sign up to the registry, it's just a cheek swab. And then you know that you could be the one to save a kid's life.
And you are going to be on the registry until your 61st birthday, which is a really long time away. This is your card. If you ever move or anything, just call it. And this is -- you are now a number.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
PEDRAJA: I don't need a bone marrow transplant myself. I'm in remission and I feel fine, but I still have cancer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a 12-year-old, he's showing that each one of us can do so much to save other people's lives.
PEDRAJA: People don't know that it's such a big issue and that people are dying each day, and I want to change that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And you can go to cnn.com/heroes to check out Pat Pedraja living on the road during his incredible cross-country tour. And while you are there, you can also nominate a hero of your own. Get those nominations in by September 30th. Selected winners will be honored during a special live global broadcast on December 6th, hosted by our own Anderson Cooper.
And still to come tonight, he showed up to help at the World Trade Center and was there after Hurricane Katrina. But police say this firefighter is an impostor. You've got to be kidding, right? That story coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Stuff in the break is pretty funny sometimes. The long arm of the law gives new meaning to the term food police. This one surely will make you say, you've got to be kidding. In Georgia, a McDonald's employee lands in jail for a night. Her crime, putting too much salt on a police officer's hamburger. He says it made him sick enough to go to the hospital. She says it was an accident. But now she's feeling a little queasy, too, because she has been charged with reckless conduct. That means a court date.
In California, looks like a fireman, acts like a fireman, definitely answers calls like a fireman, Hurricane Katrina, World Trade Center on September 11th, California wildfires, guess what, yes. Prosecutors say he's an impostor, a fake fireman. We're told 44-year- old James Campbell lost his EMT license years ago after being convicted of a couple of burglaries and credit card theft.
Let's see. Running around the country visiting disaster after disaster, costly. Allegedly using stolen firefighting equipment, criminal. The story, yes, priceless.
And just to time for the Jewish holidays, not one, but two lifetime front row seats at a South Beach synagogue in Florida. They can be yours for a mere $1.8 million. That's the starting bid on eBay. No takers so far. And the auction ends tomorrow.
Look, don't call it a comeback, tonight Britney Spears is opening the VMAs with her new single "Gimme More." We asked a few celebrity if they think she can do it again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's going on with Britney, is she coming?
ALLI SIMS, SPEARS COUSIN & ASST.: It's a surprise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Britney is a very, very, very talented young lady. She's going to do amazing.
WAYNE BRADY, COMEDIAN: Oh my God! I cannot wait, girl! I was so sad when there was a picture of her and the kids in the car and I was like, what? But now I'm like, OK.
RACHEL SMITH, MISS USA 2007: I am just as eagerly anticipating her comeback as is everyone else.
BRADY: No, no. I think she's going to be good. She's ready.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When people look at you like, hmm, that's motivation to you to do better.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So many surprises, I don't even really know what is going on.
CISCO ADLER, MUSICIAN: Britney is going to do all right.
BRADY: Good luck, Britney. Good luck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: All right. That's it. I'm Tony Harris in for Rick Sanchez. Stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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