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Severe Weather in California; Getting Ready for the New Hampshire Primary; Kenyan President Wants to Talk to Opposition Leader

Aired January 05, 2008 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


VOICE OF DENNY BERRY, TRAPPED FERNLEY RESIDENT: -- I went back and took a gander at it, I decided it was unsafe to cross. And that's where I stopped.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Have you seen that steadily rise, the waters?

BERRY: No, it's not rising, it's flowing across.

HOLMES: It's flowing across. Have you had issue, I don't know how long you've been in that area, but has this been an issue, is it something that's happened out in this area before?

BERRY: I've only lived here for two years, but I'm not familiar with any flooding. Usually it's the Truckee River that floods. This is the Truckee Canal, it usually floods farther north in Reno Sparks.

HOLMES: Did we lose him there?

BERRY: No, I'm still here.

HOLMES: OK, sorry there. We couldn't hear you there for just a second. Tell me again, we're going to wrap it up and let you go here in a second. Also, the weather out in that area, has it been raining pretty heavily on you out there?

BERRY: It rained last night extremely heavily. In Reno Sparks they got as much as an inch and a half, that's about a quarter of annual rainfall. So it rained heavily, then it snowed on top of that. It was a lot of rain.

HOLMES: Denny Berry, we can't thank you enough. This is the situation of once again where when things happen, some of the first folks that get on the scene that help us tell the story are our i- Reporters. Sir, we appreciate you again, Denny Berry, out in that area.

These are the pictures coming to us courtesy of that i-Reporter showing us what's happening after this Truckee Canal in western Nevada broke this morning and now it's flooding this area, potentially 4,000 people are stuck there as you just heard from Denny Berry. He is dry right now, but still he couldn't get out of the area if he had to.

I also want to let folks know that CNN crews are headed to the scene, trying to get there as well to help tell this story. But we understand evacuations and rescues are taking place right now.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, let's talk to some of the officials working this emergency. Trooper Chuck Allen is with the Nevada Department of Public Safety, he joins me on the phone. If you would Trooper Allen, give me an update on where this water is and how many people are trapped.

VOICE OF CHUCK ALLEN, NEVADA DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Well, it's -- the canal is a section of water, if you will, that tees off the Truckee River and it feeds water to the agriculture communities of both Fernley and Fallon.

This canal is approximately 150 feet wide, it's approximately eight feet deep and about a 30-foot section of that levy, if you will, ruptured about (INAUDIBLE) this morning and has affected upwards of 800 homes with approximately three feet of standing water, potentially affecting 3500 Fernley, Nevada residents, who are in the process of being redirected and taken by bus over to the local high school, which has been established as a shelter.

NGUYEN: OK, so that we understand this a little bit more, it's affecting about 800 homes that have some three feet of water inside of them at this hour. Do you expect that to grow or has all the water gone out of this particular area of the canal?

ALLEN: Well, some of the water officials have already identified some areas where we can reduce the water flow, if you will. We're also in the process of bringing in some very large dozers in an effort to solidify the breach that happened earlier this morning.

NGUYEN: So that we understand this situation, too, how cold is it there right now?

ALLEN: Well, temperatures are fairly cold, I mean we're looking at temperatures in the freezing mark. We just received a lot of snow overnight, probably about four to six inches of snow in the Fernley area. You couple that with cold water, I mean folks have just woken up to a terrible event.

NGUYEN: Exactly and that was my point. I mean you're talking about freezing temperatures and now you have all of this standing water, some three feet high at least inside of 800 homes. There were reports Trooper Allen that some people were on their rooftops waiting to be rescued. Is that true?

ALLEN: Well, that may be true. I haven't actually made it to the core of the problem this morning, but there are a number of assets attached to this call, including two helicopters from the Fallon Naval Air Station who have assisted with aerial airlifts as needed. We've got 10 school buses that are all chained up and have been transporting people since this has happened and a number of search and rescue teams are on foot, on ATVs and working very diligently to get folks that are displaced to a safer location.

NGUYEN: Again, the levee has broken with the Truckee Canal that runs in the western Nevada portion of that, some 800 homes have at least three feet of standing water in it. That affects about 3500 residents and I know that you're working very hard to try to get people to safety. Trooper Chuck Allen with the Nevada Department of Public Safety, thank you for your time today.

ALLEN: Thank you.

HOLMES: One of the folks out there as well in this area but also would be one that would be covering this story, is a producer with KRNV, affiliate out there who actually lives near this area. Don't know how badly she would be affected right now, but Mariana Hicks is on the line with us as well.

Mariana, give us an idea of your situation. Are you pretty much in this mess, or are you being affected by this flooding at all? If that's not the case, then tell us what you have been able to gather there on the ground as far as news gathering.

MARIANA HICKS, KRNV RENO NEWS PRODUCER: Well, as for being affected, I am actually five or six blocks north of where this canal did break. I have not been affected at all. Everything is fine in my neighborhood, which is -- just makes me feel a lot better.

What I do know is that the command center is being set up at the fire department here, there are state agencies coming in as well as additional counties. I heard that you said there could be about 3500 evacuees. That's what I've heard as well. I hear that they are also being evacuated via school buses and through helicopters.

As for these folks, you know Fernley is a farm town, there are people with lots of horses and pets, those animals are being evacuated as well and they're taking -- they're being taken to a city parks building on the other side of town. As for injuries, I haven't heard of any injuries so far. What I have heard from sheriff's deputies here is that, correct, there is about three to four feet of standing water. That's one man that I spoke to said he saw a car floating.

HOLMES: Oh, my goodness. Well, Mariana, tell me about the levee itself. You said you are just five or six blocks away from where the levee actually broke in the Truckee Canal. Is there always a potential for this? Do people know this is a danger? Help us who are not that familiar with that area, don't live in that area or around there, has this happened before, even?

HICKS: You know, to my knowledge, it hasn't. I've been living out here for about three years. You know, of course, they explained to me our flood potential. They told me that I had zero flood potential at all. They told me that my area would never see flooding. So to know that there's actually flooding going on in the area because of a break it's a little unnerving. You expect to have -- if they tell you you're not going to have any flood problems and then you do, it's a little unnerving. This is actually quite a shock to me.

HOLMES: Mariana Hicks who is on the line for us there, who has a home in the area and also has a personal stake in what's going on but also a producer at KRNV, affiliate out there, who has a stake in covering the story as well, we appreciate you giving us some time and some input to what's happening with this story out there. Mariana, we appreciate you.

HICKS: Thank you.

NGUYEN: So, to help us understand this story, we want to bring in CNN's Brad Huffines who joins us from the severe weather center. Brad, you know, as I'm looking at this. You just have to imagine it's very early in the morning there, just now what, 8:00 in the morning. You've got this cold water flooding your house. It's about, I don't know, freezing outside and now you wake up and your home is full of three feet of water.

BRAD HUFFINE, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well as we're showing you this picture, let me draw the canal on this map right here. This is basically what we're talking about. There's the canal that you're looking at right there. That's, of course, in these desert communities, they build these canals to collect any of the rainwater that washes down off the hills.

Of course, when it rains, the rain water washes down off the hills, they collect this water and use it in the city. Because of that leave right there that has broken, again, we don't know exactly where along this line the levee has broken -- because of that, this water is rushing into the populated areas of the southern sections of Fernley.

That's why we're seeing these mass evacuations, because you can tell how many homes there are in this entire area, and, again, this is a large population. The town population is about 8500. We've heard reports that they're evacuating up to 4,000 people. That means that that's about half of the town's population possibly being evacuated right now. That's in Fernley, that's all south of I-80 right there.

So that's the scene right there. That's all caused by the rain showers that were there yesterday. About an inch and a quarter of rain. To places in the south or in the east, an inch and a quarter may not sound like that much rain, but just to let you know Reno, Nevada, not far away, Reno Airport set a rainfall record for the day at 1.9 inches. So 1.25 is considered a very, very heavy rain across some of these desert communities.

Again, here's Reno on the map, here's I-80. Fernley sits right around here. That's why the flash flood warning has been issued by the National Weather Service. Again, not because the rainfall is still occurring, as we had mentioned earlier and as we had been told earlier, of course, the rain fell yesterday. Then some parts of town have three to four inches of snow. So it's because of that accumulation of water that has come off the hills into that canal that levee break somewhere along the canal has caused this problem.

Meanwhile, we are still seeing a winter weather storm warning as Far East as Fernley here right along I-80 out of Reno. So more snow is possible moving out of the mountains from Reno off to the east as this storm continues to track from west to east. All of these counties right here around Reno from South Lake Tahoe to Portola to Truckee, all seeing more snow falling right now. As we mentioned earlier as well, I-80 closed from Applegate which is right around Colfax right here all the way to the Nevada state line. This part of I-80 is closed, basically more misery for those of who have suffered lots of misery already.

NGUYEN: Brad, you have a winter warning and now you have a levee broken and some homes are filled with three feet of standing water. It is not the kind of morning a lot of folks want to wake up to.

HUFFINE: And it's icy cold water as well.

NGUYEN: Exactly. Freezing out there in many areas. OK, thank you Brad.

HOLMES: We're going to turn now, we've of course talked to somebody this morning who is trapped in that area, we've talked to a producer who lives out in that area as well. Now we actually are going to talk to somebody who has been rescued from the area already. Bill Sanchez on the line with us here.

Bill Sanchez, thank you for being with us. Tell us what your circumstance was that required you to be rescued.

VOICE OF BILL SANCHEZ, FERNLEY, NEVADA RESIDENT: Well, we're here -- we were here. We were woken up by a phone call this morning from a friend of ours, and they told us that the levee had broke. We were getting ready to -- we were getting all of our stuff together, and just when we were getting our stuff together, they knocked on our door and said you guys have to evacuate. So we got our dogs and what we could get out and we got out.

HOLMES: Did you actually get out before the water got so bad? You were informed early about the levee break and got out before it got too bad. Am I hearing that right?

SANCHEZ: No, you're not hearing that correctly. Water was coming in -- our street was flooded, water to the edge of our driveway and rising quickly.

HOLMES: How high was it when you actually got out of there?

SANCHEZ: I would say about three feet of water.

HOLMES: Oh, it got really high, up to three feet then, ok.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. There were some cars there that the water is up to the doors. The firemen are standing in the middle of the street with water up to their knees. So, yeah.

HOLMES: Tell me, it sounds certainly like a relief that you got out of there. How are you doing right about now after what you've been through this morning? How are you feeling?

SANCHEZ: I'm a little bit nervous. I had to leave my cats there. Hopefully they'll get up on the bed or up on the dresser, out of the way. Had to leave my bird there, but I got my dogs out. So it's just been -- it's a little bit frustrating, a little bit nerve racking.

HOLMES: Tell me where are you now and where do you plan on being I guess until the waters recede and you're able to go back home.

SANCHEZ: We came over to a friend's home, Mike and Debbie Williams. They're giving us protection here at their house.

HOLMES: Nice to have friends like that right about now. Tell me also, have you always known or had in the back of your mind worries at all about the levees breaking out there? Have you ever been through this before, have you ever had a problem with flooding in this area before?

SANCHEZ: No. I have never had that concern nor was I even aware that I should have been concerned about that, to be honest with you.

HOLMES: Tell me, there was talk this morning, we've been talking here this morning, my co-anchor brought up the fact that it's cold. Certainly that's cold water rushing in with the cold temperatures. How bad is the weather? How does it feel out there, pretty cold right now? And did you actually feel some of that floodwater? Was it freezing?

SANCHEZ: The water is very cold, of course, yes. Actually, if you look outside, it looks like it's a beautiful day outside. It's clear and sunny. So just what we got last night has really affected us. We had a really bad storm yesterday, you know.

HOLMES: What are your concerns as well for your neighbors? Do you know if all of them were able to get out about the same time you did or some of them do you think maybe didn't get out in time? We've been talking this morning about reports that some people are stuck on their rooftops waiting to be rescued. Did you see any of that as well?

SANCHEZ: I didn't see any of that. I noticed a lot of neighbors getting their stuff together, getting out. There were people still there in their homes looking out their windows, but everyone around us was pretty much scrambling to get out of the area. I know there's a different area behind us that where the flooding happened initially and we saw a lot of helicopters and I don't know if it's the coast guard or the navy working with those people trying to get them out.

HOLMES: Sir, forgive me if I missed this earlier, but did you actually drive out? You said the water was rising. Were you able to still drive, or how did you get out?

SANCHEZ: We did drive out, yes. We have a four-wheel drive vehicle and we were able to drive out.

HOLMES: At this point, certainly a lot of people around without four-wheel drives and with the waters rising, driving through there was not a possibility, would you say for some of them?

SANCHEZ: Not for some of them. We also own a Corvette, we had to leave it there in the garage because we wouldn't be able to get it out. The water was too high.

HOLMES: Bill Sanchez, sir, we appreciate you sharing the story of your ordeal today and what you have been going through out there. Glad you got out and hope the dog and the cats and the bird and everything else you have at home and your neighbors as well, everybody is all right when you get back home. Thank you for sharing your story with us.

SANCHEZ: Thank you, T.J.

NGUYEN: All right, so we're following this levee breaking there along the Truckee Canal in Nevada. If you go a little bit farther to the west, they also have their problems with the rain and mudslides. In fact, we want to take you live to CNN's Kara Finnstrom.

Kara, I understand that you have a water rescue to show us.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do. Water is a big concern all across southern California here. As a matter of fact, behind us you can see some of this dirty rainwater rushing down out of the Malibu hillside in what is normally a dry creek bed. Flash flood warnings in affect all across Southern California right now.

We want to show you some video that we're getting in from an area known as Chino, that's just about 15 miles to the east of here, a swift water rescue under way. Authorities there tell us that a man and a woman were driving in a car down to the street when they came to an area that was washed out. They say the woman got on the phone with them and was seeking help when they lost contact with her. They have been able to find the man. They say he was clinging to a tree. He's now in an area hospital. We don't know his condition. And right now they are still out there searching for that woman.

Again, that's a swift water rescue under way in Chino, which is about 15 miles from here. Back here live in Malibu, you can see the evidence here of the fires that recently ravaged so many areas here in southern California. This is a big concern as well as another band of rain heads this way.

Scientists with the US Geological Survey say that the fires that destroyed so much above the ground also destroyed some of that root system underneath so they are very concerned about these burn areas being more vulnerable to major landslides.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN CANNON, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Sandbags and measures to that point can work for very small events, but given the forecast for rainfall for this weekend and what our modeling is showing us is that a sandbagged wall would not be very effective.

LUCY JONES, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Minivans get picked up, cars get picked up and carried with this. They can travel up to 35 miles an hour. So they are one of the most deadly phenomenon that we have seen in southern California.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

FINNSTROM: All the emergency officials we spoke with say they are not issuing evacuation orders lightly because these root systems will actually take two to five years to grow back. That means there will be the threat of mudslides every time we see heavy rains like this. But down in Orange County they deem the risk to be great enough as they've already issued mandatory evacuations for about 3,000 people down there, and they say they are keeping a close watch, especially on all of these burn areas in Southern California today -- Betty?

NGUYEN: You have mandatory evacuations out in California, you have it in Truckee, Nevada, because of a levee breaking. There are a lot of problems out west and we're staying on top of all of it. Thank you Kara.

So, if you want to be president of the United States, New Hampshire is the place to be this weekend. We're going to have the latest on who is courting granite state voters. That is just ahead.

HOLMES: Also, a little later, what impact will the war in Iraq have on voters choices?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Here is the latest on the breaking news that we have been following this morning. A levee has broken along the Truckee Canal in western Nevada. We spoke with a trooper there with the Nevada Department of Public Safety and he says a 150-foot-wide portion of that levee has broken. Its eight feet deep and it has pretty much spread into some 800 homes, some of them in fact have three feet of standing water at this hour. They are trying desperately to evacuate some 3,500 residents from this area. Two helicopters are doing parts of that rescue as well as 10 school buses that are being used to transport some of the residents.

But again, a levee along the Truckee Canal in western Nevada has broken and it is causing flooding in many homes, 800 to be exact, that have at least three feet of standing water, some 3,500 people are being evacuated at this hour. As soon as we get more information on this we'll bring it straight to you.

HOLMES: We will turn to politics now. You are certainly in the right place for politics and the best political team on TV. Following the history making scene in YouTube debates, ABC and our New Hampshire affiliate WMUR are teaming with the social networking Web site Facebook for a forum. Democrats and Republicans hold separate debates in New Hampshire tonight. Republicans are first, then 90 minutes later the Democrats will take the stage.

NGUYEN: Democrats are covering New Hampshire today like a January snow. That's one way to put it. One campaign trying to fuel momentum from Iowa, another re-energizing and re-tooling. CNN's Dan Lothian is in Manchester this morning and he joins us live. A lot of strategies are being changed and tweaked at this hour, Dan.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's true because you know it's such a critical state here. We saw what happened in Iowa and for Hillary Clinton after coming in third place there, she really is looking to rebound here in New Hampshire. Part of her strategy then is to sort of tweak her focus, her message. She had not been, like Barack Obama in Iowa, reaching out to young people, at least in her message.

That is something that we've heard on her campaign stops here in New Hampshire, yesterday and both today reaching out to a younger audience, trying to gain some support there. She's also trying to take some shots at Obama, her competitor, essentially setting the scene that she is the most experienced candidate, that she is the best to take on Republicans, and that she's the one who could get the job done on day one as president of the United States.

Here's what she had to say this morning at a rally here in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a war to end in Iraq, we have a war to resolve in Afghanistan, we've got 47 million uninsured Americans. We have an economy that is faltering and I don't know what the economists are going to say, but I think it's slipping into a recession.

We've got to take action now. We've got an energy crisis with $100 a barrel oil that is contributing to the economic challenges we face. Then we've got to be absolutely committed to repairing the damage that has been done by the Bush administration around the world and here at home. So there's a lot to be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Barack Obama realizing that he will get a lot of heat after winning in Iowa, here in New Hampshire talking to his enthusiastic crowds today, is sort of setting them up and telling them, listen, you will hear a lot of information out there. You will hear a lot of criticism about me as a candidate, that I am not experienced, that I am not the person who is capable to stand up to Republicans, that I'm not the person who is capable of running this country.

Essentially he's telling his audience, his supporters and anyone out there who is still undecided, don't listen to that. Discount that. I do have the experience. I am capable of running this country. He's also tapping in again to the undecided voters. They make up a big block of voters here in New Hampshire, 44 percent of registered voters are undecided. So it's a key block that he's trying to win over in order to pull off what he did in Iowa.

Back to you.

NGUYEN: Dan Lothian joining us live. Thank you, Dan.

HOLMES: Let's turn to the Republicans now and the Iowa champion, Mike Huckabee out campaigning today with Chuck Norris. Huckabee and Norris, pretty good buddies now, Norris has endorsed him. They had a little fun with that earlier in the campaign.

But Huckabee hopes his tax overhaul plan connects with New Hampshire voters. They're known for a fierce independence streak and a distaste for taxes. The Huckabee campaign comes into New Hampshire short on time and money and without the strong evangelical base that they did find and which helped them be successful in Iowa. Mitt Romney is hoping to rebound in New Hampshire but John McCain coming on strong.

Our Mary Snow covering Romney's campaign and she is part, of course, of the best political team on television.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): All three of the leading Republican candidates will be out on the campaign trail in New Hampshire trying to make their case to voters here.

Mike Huckabee is trying to embrace the theme of change to build on his momentum in Iowa. Mitt Romney is dismissing that victory, saying it was based on evangelicals and he is trying to portray himself as the candidate of change, trying to say that Senator John McCain, his main rival here, is a Washington insider.

McCain has been fighting back, playing up his experience and also portraying Romney's attacks on him as desperate. All of these candidates will have a chance to distinguish themselves as they face two debates here in New Hampshire this weekend.

Mary Snow, CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Wyoming Republicans are holding their presidential caucuses today, but is anybody paying a lick of attention to it? David Letterman cracked that there's Wyoming for those who find the pace of Iowa just a little too hectic. 12 of Wyoming's 14 Republican delegates will be determined today. Only four candidates though have visited the state.

CNN's Ballot Bowl is back. Yep, we are doing it again this afternoon and it's all about the candidates in their own words. Our ballot bowl kicks off at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

HOLMES: They'll have the latest on the search for a missing hiker in north Georgia. That story just ahead for you.

NGUYEN: And we'll get a live report on new developments in the case next here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We do have new developments coming to you this morning in the case of a missing hiker in the mountains of north Georgia. Today police are questioning a man they say is in fact a person of interest in the disappearance of 24-year-old Meredith Emerson. Reggie Aqui joins us now from Blood Mountain in the mountains of north Georgia. I know you talked to family members earlier, folks certainly concerned. But person of interest, that certainly is of interest to a lot of folks. What does this guy possibly know?

REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. Major developments. First let me just give you some background so you understand what this all means. It was New Year's Day when Meredith arrived here. She came here with her dog and her friends and family members tell me she loved this place. She loved to explore, to go hiking here. Sometimes she ran here with a friend.

But she didn't come with a friend, just her dog on that day and witnesses who were here say they saw her run into a man and his dog. They saw her several times with this man, actually. After that, a mystery.

Then last night this -- take a look at this video that we have of the man police now are questioning. They say he's a person of interest. They are not calling him a suspect. He hasn't been charged with anything. His name is Gary Michael Hilton. For a couple of days now, police have been putting his picture out there, asking anyone if they know him to call and let him know that police want to question him.

But so far there was no response until late last night. We're told that a couple of people called 911 and they said that they saw a man that matched Gary Hilton's description. When police got there, there he was. He was actually at a convenience store at a gas station in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Police took him down. They are questioning him now. Again, he's not a suspect, officially, just a person of interest. We don't know what that questioning has yielded just yet.

One other important thing they found -- they found Meredith Emerson's dog, a black Labrador, but that dog was not with the man that they questioned last night. In fact, he wasn't in this park where I am today. He was 50 miles away. They found him at a supermarket. He was inside. Authorities took him to a vet and that's when the vet identified the dog as belonging to Meredith Emerson through a chip implanted in him.

I talked earlier today to Meredith Emerson's roommate and here's what she had to say regarding all of this new information.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE KARRENBAUER, MISSING HIKER'S ROOMMATE: That's all we have, is to remain hopeful and something we've held onto for this whole investigation is that her middle name is hope, which is kind of ironic. Everything happens for a reason, and that actually does give us a little bit of hope, something to hold onto.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AQUI: T.J., those family members are still here today as are rescuers and searchers who are in the area combing. We're told that this is now a 24-hour operation folks spent all night trying to look for Meredith.

HOLMES: All right, Reggie Aqui for us there, Blood Mountain, Georgia. Reggie, we appreciate you today.

NGUYEN: While most of us are listening to what the candidates say, the real story may be what is going on behind them. We'll take a look at that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: About 11:35 here in the east. Here's what's happening now across this country. Mountains of snow in Sierra, Nevada this weekend. Before it's over, maybe 10 feet. Meanwhile, in western Nevada, a canal levee has broken and hundreds of homes have three feet of standing water. Evacuations are under way right now. That's one of the pictures from our i-Reporters, been helping us out, tell this story today.

Also, to politics now, three days to go. Iowa's losers are scrambling to be New Hampshire's winners come Tuesday. Candidates from both parties holding debates tonight.

Also -- no charges but Georgia police are questioning Gary Hilton about a missing hiker. That hiker, Meredith Emerson vanished on a mountain trail New Year's Day. Witnesses put Hilton with Emerson that day.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: We want to get a better look at the situation with the levee breaking there in Truckee, Nevada. Here are pictures that have been sent to the affiliate there, KTVN. You can see, as we were talking a little bit earlier with officials T.J., they were saying that some 800 homes had at least three feet of standing water in them. This is a vivid description in picture form of what they're talking about. Folks waking up this morning seeing water rushing into their house as that levee broke.

HOLMES: We've been talking about it this morning, hearing about it, hearing about people on their rooftops having to be rescued. But that picture we just showed -- here is another one by the way. But you can see there in the distance several homes with water.

Again, the report it was up to three feet of water in hundreds of homes. This has been the best illustration of it. We've seen several other pictures but this is telling the story and sending the story home like none of these other pictures really have. But this is what the folks are dealing with out there in Nevada. Just a mess. Several thousand even we're told that might have to be evacuated or rescued.

NGUYEN: 3,500 residents. You spoke with a guy a little bit earlier, T.J., who actually made it out safely, but he said his neighborhood looked like a lake. Didn't he say water was up to the car doors? HOLMES: Up to the car doors. He said they were one of the lucky ones because they had a four by four, they were able to get out. Other neighbors he said, he doesn't know how they got out, or if they got out because not everybody's car was able to do that.

NGUYEN: Make it through that water.

HOLMES: Even they left a corvette behind. Of course, corvettes not built to be going through that stuff. So people with normal cars, not 4 x 4s were not able to get out. He was one of the lucky ones. But we don't know how many people -- haven't seen any pictures yet. We've been talking about it but people on rooftops having to be rescued. That cold water, you brought up that point earlier, about the cold water.

NGUYEN: Yes, because it is freezing. They've had quite a storm there, especially yesterday. We spoke with Reynolds Wolf a little bit earlier. You saw the pictures. The snow was still coming down so you've got freezing temperatures outside and now you have water inside your home. That's what they're dealing with, some 3,500 people being evacuated. We'll stay on top of that story.

Also, the war in Iraq. Does it still make a difference for voters?

HOLMES: We'll take a look at how the war may be impacting the presidential race.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: One of the most important issues facing the next president -- what to do about the war in Iraq. The new front-runners have vastly different opinions on this issue.

CNN's senior pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to Iraq, there is a clear difference between the newly emerged front-runners. A vote for Senator Barack Obama would be a vote for a phased withdrawal. A gradual pullout of a brigade or two a month over 16 months.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll be a president who finally brings an end to this war in Iraq and brings our troops home.

MCINTYRE: On the other hand, a vote for Mike Huckabee, the Republican Iowa caucus winner, would be a vote for General Petraeus' strategy of cautiously reducing troop levels only as security improves. On his official Web site, Huckabee spells it out. "Withdrawal would have serious strategic consequences for us and horrific humanitarian consequences for the Iraqis." Huckabee and Obama also are on opposite sides of the surge. Huckabee supported the strategy from the start. MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Republicans want to win the war in Iraq. The Democrats just want to get out. That's the big difference on Iraq.

MCINTYRE: While Obama denounced the surge strategy on the senate floor as soon as it was announced.

OBAMA: Too many lives have been lost. Too many billions of dollars have been spent, for us to trust the president on another tired and failed policy.

MCINTYRE: There is another clear split between the two Iowa winners -- Barack Obama opposed the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, while Mike Huckabee was generally supportive.

(On camera): Pundits seem to agree that the message out of the Iowa caucuses is that Americans want change. When it comes to Iraq, Barack Obama seems to offer more change than Mike Huckabee. But the question is, with Iraq finally showing signs of stability after five years of brutal fighting, how much change is actually needed?

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And a reminder here, you can hear more from the candidates all day long. Just click on cnnpolitics.com to hear speeches streaming live of today's campaign events. Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton among the first out there today. Plus, you can tune in to CNN today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern for CNN's Ballot Bowl, where you get to see all the candidates.

NGUYEN: There is something else on the radar, is Kenya's president ready to reach out to his opponents? We're going to get a live report from that troubled nation next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Kenya possibly pulling back from the brink after a week of violence, the president now says he is ready to form a national unity government. Our Paula Newton joins us live from Nairobi. She's been speaking with an opposition leader there. Paula, I guess the big question here is, what does this mean, this unity government?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is really hard to assess that at this point. By him saying that though, by the president of Kenya actually coming out and saying, look, we are ready to have a national unity government, that is a breakthrough here and it's a significant breakthrough. It is a gesture and at this point it's incredibly short of details, which is why we have to wait I'm sure a few more days to see what it all means.

This happened after a meeting he had with U.S. assistant secretary of state Jindai(ph) Frazier. After the two sat down, the government agreed to put out the statement saying it would negotiate a government of national unity. The problem is, they didn't name the opposition or the opposition leader, and that is where everyone is trying to find a way out of this. They have to come to an accommodation with him. The problem is, they're both at an impasse. They both want to be president.

When we spoke to Mr. Odinga earlier, when he had heard the news, he wasn't exactly being all that conciliatory just yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: The government is now saying that they are willing to talk to you about a national unity government. That would mean you stepping down from the position you had several days ago. You first said that you wanted the president to resign. Do you still stick by that, or will you accept a national unity government?

RAILA ODINGA, OPPOSITION LEADER: I am not negotiating at this press conference. That is just a breaking news -- I don't know whether it's true or not. So my position has not changed. I've said we want to -- a negotiated settlement. I put opposition on the table. Let the government put their position on the negotiation table. Then we will negotiate.

NEWTON: So you may still ask the president to step down first before you ...

ODINGA: That is our starting point. Our starting point is that Kibaki is there illegal. (INAUDIBLE) come to the negotiation table as the president. We want to talk with him on the basis of his old mandate. Then we find a settlement to this problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: We want to talk. That's very significant, Betty, even if they still have not find a way out of this. Getting to the negotiating table is a huge step forward -- Betty?

NGUYEN: Absolutely. Paula Newton joining us live from Nairobi today, thank you.

HOLMES: You know, look, we don't even know how to act up here.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Wow.

NGUYEN: Tony's in the house.

HOLMES: Tony's here.

HARRIS: You know I'm here to mediate because there were some issues between the two of you a little earlier. Is that something we want to discuss now or is it something we want to take off the air, offline?

HOLMES: We have to take it offline.

NGUYEN: Offline.

HARRIS: Is that what we want to do?

NGUYEN: Yeah. That's the way we roll around here.

HARRIS: Well, good to see you both. How are you, Betty, T.J.?

HOLMES: Kind sir.

HARRIS: Good to see you.

HOLMES: You too this morning.

HARRIS: Have you guys been talking about the Ballot Bowl?

NGUYEN: Absolutely. Are you officiating that?

HARRIS: Well, in a matter of speaking. Two until about 6:00 this afternoon, Eastern Time, Ballot Bowl kicks off. What we're doing is really extensive coverage of all the campaigns and the campaign events throughout the day. So we've got our team parachuting supplies, re-enforcements into New Hampshire.

John King is leading our coverage and I'm going to be here providing whatever support is necessary in whatever way necessary to the team. That's happening this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. Join us for that.

But also, at noon, just a couple of minutes at the top of the hour, we are going to take you to the pink prison Van Zandt County, Texas. With all things Texas, we turn to Betty. Canton, I guess, is the county seat there. We're going to take you to the pink prison. The only thing you really need to know at this point about this story is that the prisoners are not happy with the new units.

NGUYEN: You don't think?

HARRIS: Not happy with the new units.

NGUYEN: But isn't that part of the punishment?

HARRIS: There you go.

HOLMES: Who cares?

HARRIS: Do we really care? So that's coming up at noon. Be with us this afternoon for the ballot bowl as well. A lot of coverage of politics 2008 coming up for you in the NEWSROOM. Good to see you.

HOLMES: I was waiting to see the BCS championship game, that bowl game. I've got another bowl game to watch with Tony.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: Thanks for talking politics in this one this time around. All right, looking forward to it. Thank you Tony.

HOLMES: Appreciate that, thank you. NGUYEN: To keep a close eye on presidential campaigns, sometimes you have to see what's going on behind the scenes. This is where it gets good.

HOLMES: This is where it gets good. Jeanne Moos, all you have to say is Jeanne Moos pretty much and you know you have something good coming. She has the story behind the story, literally.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We all know political candidates try to orchestrate everything that takes place ...

NGUYEN: Everything has to be perfect.

HOLMES: Yes, everything has to be just right at these campaign events.

NGUYEN: But they can't control what is going on right behind their backs. Oh, my. CNN's Jeanne Moos shows us some examples.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A lot goes on behind the candidates' back, and not all of it is good. For some, politics is a yawn.

HILLARY CLINTON: No. We can do better because we did better.

MOOS: They yawn when they're young, they yawn when they're old. Sometimes they manage to squeeze in a yawn ...

JOHN EDWARDS: Then I spent three years out running the Olympic Games.

MOOS: Just in the nick of time, avoiding detection. And sometimes they graduate from yawning to sleeping.

CLINTON: Today is the day ...

MOOS: Seems to be the end of this little girl's day. It's easy to find your eye wandering to the human backdrop, drawn to oddball sights like the guy in the twitching cowboy hat.

CLINTON: 47 million uninsured Americans. Millions more ...

MOOS: Did we just imagine that? It's normal for supporters to serve as strategically placed props, wearing your sign on your head defeats the purpose, even if it shades your eyes from the bright lights.

Who could forget perhaps the most riveting background distraction ever. The kid Letterman made famous for upstaging the leader of the free world. A close second to that kid was Rudy Giuliani's son as Rudy was being sworn in as New York's mayor, son Andrew blew kisses and joined in the oath. Sometimes what happens behind their backs does capture the candidates' attention. For instance, when someone fell behind Barack Obama Wednesday.

OBAMA: Whoops, everybody OK? OK.

MOOS: Then there was the guy who seemed to tune out Mitt Romney by putting in his earphones and zoning out. And you know how you can get really absorbed in a book? It looked like it might have been a Harry Potter book to us. Definitely wasn't Obama's "Audacity of Hope." This wasn't just a page-turner it was a sleeve-chewer.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: There's some crazy things going on behind us.

NGUYEN: It makes you wonder what happens behind our backs, especially when this guy is walking by.

HARRIS: Well, there are things to do. You guys, good show today.

NGUYEN: Thank you, we had a good time.

HARRIS: Good stuff. We're going to pick up on your coverage of the levee break.

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