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American Morning
Top Terror Arrest; Feds Close to Closing 2001 Anthrax Case; Tropical Storm Edouard Bears Down on Texas; Days of Cell Phone-Free Flying May be Numbered
Aired August 05, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: But, right now, the big weather story is Edouard. We've got Reynolds Wolf standing by in Galveston, Texas. And Jacqui Jeras tracking the storm from the CNN weather center.
Reynolds, let's begin with you in Galveston. What's the latest?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Rob, the latest we have is we've had a little bit of an increase in the wind. The rain has also picked up in intensity. We've seen not really change a little bit just over the last hour or so.
Suddenly, also we've had just over the past hour or so, a new statement from Edward Emmett. He is with the Harris Country office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDWARD EMMETT, HARRIS COUNTRY HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: We wake up this morning to a changed situation, and while most of our area is celebrating the fact that it's a tropical storm or minimal hurricane Edouard shifted to the north and east, it is still a dangerous situation for parts of our area.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: Well, for the time being, it does look like it's going to pass a little bit more to the north. But you got to remember, these storms always wobble a little bit. There's always the chance it could pass a little bit more to the south. It could make that jump, but we could see conditions get far worse here -- more rain, more wind and higher storm surge.
But thankfully with that storm urge, you've got to remember on Galveston Island unlike South Padre Island, where it was just so low, this one has been built up a bit. Since 1902, they added that sea wall. It's about 17 feet now above sea level, and that can make a world of difference.
Rob, let's send it back to you in the studio.
MARCIANO: All right, Reynolds, brace for that storm. Looks like you're getting the western part of it now as it -- looks like it's making landfall.
Let's bring in Jacqui Jeras, a CNN meteorologist in the CNN weather center.
Jacqui, this thing very close, if not on the coastline right now. What's the latest.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It's pretty much doing it right now, actually, Rob. And it's right between Sabine Pass and High Island. So, it's right in this area here making its way on the shore now.
So, the worst of the conditions are bearing down on the Texas Coast, and there you can see the time line continuing to pull it up to the west-northwest, and that's why we're starting to see this now.
Well, north of the Galveston area, some very intense rainfall. Your wind gusts are going to be picking up. We're seeing anywhere between 40, 45 miles per hour near the center of the storm, but we could see some gusts up there around 60 plus miles per hour, we think, at least for the next hour or so.
And there you can see it on radar, is that even though the center is coming in right here, the worst of the winds are coming in with these clusters of thunderstorms. So they're west of here. And there you can see Galveston Island looking at some of those stronger thunderstorms pushing into your neck of the woods here very shortly as well.
Check out some of the current wind speeds. These are sustained winds, not to mention the gusts. Beaumont at 32 miles per hour. We've got 23 miles per hour right now in Lake Charles. And even that is strong enough to throw things around a little bit. So, not a great idea to go outside if you don't have to.
The rainfall should be heavy. Three to six inches widespread. Hurricane center is saying isolated areas around ten inches. I think it's probably going to end up being just a little bit less than that.
We also have some other wicked weather going on right now across the Midwest. We've had severe thunderstorms rumble through Chicago overnight, continuing now down through parts of Indiana with a severe thunderstorm watch in effect. And this is really causing some problems at some of the airports.
We've got ground stops and delays in effect from Atlanta, Chicago, O'Hare, and midway both. And we've also been seeing some delays in the Cincinnati area until about 45 minutes past the hour there. So, things kind of kick in all across the Midwest, the nation's midsection.
Of course, don't want to neglect the heat that's still going on as well. In places like Oklahoma City and Dallas is hoping some of the cloud cover from Edouard might get up there and start to cool things down a little bit -- Rob.
MARCIANO: We're certainly hoping for some good news from Edouard. It looks like he won't become a hurricane, that's certainly good news as well. JERAS: I know.
MARCIANO: But rough weather across the Midwest, and Jacqui Jeras keeping an eye on it all. Thank you, Jacqui -- Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, breaking this morning, word of a top terror arrest. The Feds saying they arrested a female al-Qaeda operative who they have wanted for years. The Pakistani scientist accused of shooting at two FBI special agents while in Afghan custody last month, and now facing attempted murder charges.
Well, one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in the FBI's history may be over. A source tells CNN that the feds could close the 2001 anthrax case today. This comes after a top suspect committed suicide last week. The Justice Department was about to charge bioweapons researcher Bruce Ivins with capital murder charges when he killed himself.
And also new this morning, another weird twist in this case. Authorities say that Bruce Ivins was apparently obsessed with a Princeton sorority. They say it may link him to four anthrax-laced letters that were dropped off at a mailbox just off campus back in 2001.
U.S. officials say it could explain one of the biggest holes in the case. Why the anthrax letters were mailed from Princeton, New Jersey, nearly 200 miles from the lab where he worked.
Bad weather thwarting the helicopter rescue of the K2 avalanche survivor at the world's second highest peak. And what is it like to be hit with a wall of ice and actually survive. We're going to meet a climber who's been there.
Brian Todd talked to one climber.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's only second to Everest in height and experts say more technically challenging to climb. The section of K2 where about a dozen climbers died after an ice avalanche is known as the dead zone because it's so cold and there is so little oxygen that it's difficult to survive for very long.
Chris Warner has been there. He's tried to reach the summit of K2 three times and made it once. Warner says judging by initial reports, the avalanche occurred at one of the most treacherous points of the climb.
CHRIS WARNER, CLIMBED K2 IN 2007: You pass underneath this section of glacier. This glacier here is 500 feet thick. It's just a piece of ice precariously placed there. It's constantly cabbing (ph) off, you know constantly dropping sections of ice down onto the bottle neck.
TODD: Warner knows from another mountain what it's like to be caught in an ice avalanche. WARNER: When it hit me, I never knew it was coming. Suddenly I was in like being caught in a ten-foot-tall wave and it just carried my body down.
TODD: If the climbers survived the avalanche but lost their ropes in the slide, they would have had to traverse vertical ice faces with no protection. And Warner's picture showed the breathtaking drop-off below those treacherous passes.
WARNER: If you started to tumble down this slope, it's going to be blunt force trauma that will kill you. Your body would tumble down the south face here falling a distance of almost nine and a half to 10,000 feet.
TODD: That's just one factor making this one of the world's most treacherous mountains. With this accident, nearly 80 climbers have met their deaths on K2.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: All right. Well, we are watching Tropical Storm Edouard bearing down on Texas, and we're live in its path. CNN, your hurricane headquarters.
MARCIANO: And energy, it's a big issue between the candidates, a huge issue to you. So, which candidate's plan is gaining ground with America? Dueling talk show hosts debate both sides.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
Surgery by remote control.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the instruments and they kind of slide right into the arm of the robot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes us into a high-tech operating room where robots do all the work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It take away some of the imprecisements (ph) of the human hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." It certainly is raining in Southeast Texas. Tropical Storm Edouard making landfall right now along the Texas coastline there between Sabine Pass and above High Island. Winds 65 miles an hour. It could dump three to five inches of rainfall, hopefully, in spots that need it.
CHETRY: All right, there you go.
MARCIANO: Umbrella would be helpful for sure.
CHETRY: You bet. Didn't help with the cubs game yesterday, did it. Allan Chernoff joins us now and he's talking about, you know, breaches in your identity, I guess you could say. And really, who's to blame for the majority of it.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: And most of the time we hear about this coming from private companies. Somebody left a laptop in a cab. Well, guess what? The government is responsible for a tremendous number of these, we're learning.
Consumer reports has a story out this morning saying that state, local, and federal government agencies, they were responsible for 230 security breaches since 2005. They've been losing laptops all over the place. And this, we're talking about, I.D.s containing -- maybe a driver's license, maybe a social security card -- 44 million records lost or exposed. That's one out of 5 breaches blamed on government agencies during this time period. And this is very serious, because if you're losing your social security number, your driver's license, somebody can easily cash a check. Maybe they can take out a credit card in your name. This is a really major problem. And these were only the publicly disclosed ones.
The Treasury Department said IRS officials, actually, have also been losing laptops, more than 400 cases of that -- more than 400 individuals have lost IRS data there.
MARCIANO: Are they making an effort to stop this?
CHERNOFF: They are not doing everything they could. As a matter of fact, the Treasury Inspector General said that of all those cases involving those lost IRS numbers and the information there, only one IRS employee was actually disciplined. So, they could crack down a little more, apparently.
MARCIANO: Well, you don't want to shut down the IRS. That's for sure. You know, they're busy...
CHERNOFF: You got to be careful with them.
MARCIANO: ...Taking money. All right, Allan, thank you.
CHETRY: Well, days of cell phone-free flying may be numbered. One airline is about to offer Wi-Fi access on flights. And some say it's just the beginning.
MARCIANO: Stocking up. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My concern is the surge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Tracking Edouard. The second big storm of the season closing in on Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to make sure I have everything boarded up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all just get ready. We all mass into Wal-Mart and get gas and water and get the dogs and get ready to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Get ready. We've got breaking news. Tropical Storm Edouard making landfall just minutes ago on the Texas coastline between High Island and the border of Louisiana around Sabine Pass. Edouard with sustained winds of 65 miles an hour remaining below hurricane strength, but certainly packing a punch there across the upper Texas coastline, where we'll find CNN's Reynolds Wolf, our meteorologist on the scene, live from Galveston this morning.
What's the latest, Reynolds?
WOLF: Well, the latest we've got here, Rob, is the rain has begun to pick up a little bit. The wind kind of comes and goes. At times we have a strong gust or two, but other than it's just been kind of -- I'd say anywhere from maybe a 20, 30 miles an hour at best. But, really, not much stronger than that.
The roadway is fine. This is Seawall Boulevard you see behind me, named for the seawall. It's actually part of the seawall, some 17 feet above sea level. It helps protect this island from storm surge.
At this point, we haven't had any big issues on the island. There have been no evacuations whatsoever. There have been some places that have been safeguarding windows to -- you know, for the possibility of the storm making landfall.
But if you look at this business behind me -- hey, I mean, it's not open yet, but the windows are just left unprotected. But again, there was that possibility that the storm could have ramped up, become something bigger. But now that it's made its way just to our east and possibly coming on shore as we speak, the storm is going to go from being a big, big threat in terms of the wind to being a big threat in terms of rainfall. Possibly some flooding in store for parts of Texas and into Louisiana.
Rob, let's send it back to you.
MARCIANO: All right, Reynolds. Looks like you dodged this one, as did the folks in Galveston, but they've had their fair share. Thanks for the report. Reynolds Wolf live for us in Galveston -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, a puzzling discovery on Mars. Toxic soil puts a big dent in the chances of finding evidence of life. Phoenix Lander discovered perchlorate. It's a toxic chemical widely used in rocket fuel.
NASA holds a press conference about this at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time today. The chemical was not detected in another experiment, or rather, it turned out inconclusive. NASA is now checking whether it may have been brought up accidentally from earth.
Sparring over energy. Barack Obama accusing John McCain as being in the pocket of big oil and McCain dares Obama to do something about gas prices now.
Surfing in the sky.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That would be fantastic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Laptops and BlackBerrys in flight. Are cell phones next?
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: It's definitely raining across the upper Texas coastline and southwest Louisiana. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
We're tracking Tropical Storm Edouard. It's making landfall between the Texas-Louisiana coastline, the border there, and Galveston. Maximum sustained winds currently 65 miles an hour. Big time rain expected anywhere from 3 to 5 inches.
CHETRY: Eighteen minutes past the hour right now. It's time to fast forward to the stories that will be making news for you all day long.
President Bush meeting with leaders in South Korea today. It's the first stop on his last trip to Asia as commander-in-chief. He'll also be visiting Thailand before attending the Olympics opening ceremonies in Beijing.
The Department of Transportation releasing a monthly report today on everything from flight delays to missing baggage to your complaints. So, we wait to hear more of what exactly that report contains.
And surfing the Web while you're flying. Well, Delta is about to allow wireless Internet access on some of the flights. So, what's next? Could cell phone and BlackBerry use in the sky also be happening quite soon?
Here's CNN's Rusty Dornin with a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You can get wireless Internet here, but except on a few test flights, you can't up here. So passengers scramble, frantically texting and e-mailing before the doors close. But next month, Delta says it will offer a Wi-Fi service called "gogo" on some of its domestic flights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are going to be able to get on Delta Airlines and on 330 planes by the time we're done and over 1,000 flights a day, open up their laptops and be able to access the Internet every time we're above 10,000 feet.
DORNIN: The airline says the service won't interfere with electronics and communication. But could the thing most passengers dread be next -- cell phones during flight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People will not have the capability to connect to their cell phones and that is very much at the request of our passengers.
DORNIN: Some members of Congress are supporting a bill that would continue the cell phone ban, but this new service would be allowed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not limiting the use of BlackBerrys, e-mail. This would only restrict and prohibit voice communication in flight.
DORNIN: For some fliers, it's worth paying the fee, between $10 and $13 for longer flights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of us work off of our laptops and the ability to continue to do that on the airplane, especially considering some of the delays that some of the airlines have been having, that would be fantastic.
DORNIN: Most crew members say they're happy to have passengers entertain themselves, but this will allow people to open Internet sites that have music and potentially sound and noise. Could that be a problem for you, maybe? KAY BILREATH, FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Well, it could be. But anytime anybody uses any kind of device like that on the aircraft, they are supposed to use headphones.
DORNIN: Most of the other major airlines are testing and planning to roll out similar systems. Making getting connected in some cases easier than making a connection.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Energy, a huge issue to you. So which candidate's plan is gaining ground with America? Dueling talk show hosts debate both sides. That's coming up.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
CHETRY: Russia back in our backyard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should stand strong and indicate that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Another Cuban missile crisis? Zain Verjee on how the new cold war is heating up.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART: Well, the only card left, and it's only August would be the Messiah card. Nobody would play that.
MOSES: Behold his mighty hands!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Obama may be the one, but is he ready to lead?
STEWART: You're going to tar Obama with the Moses smear?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Jon Stewart last night poking fun at the presidential campaign in these dog days of August.
Well, energy remains the hot issue on the campaign trail today. John McCain visits a nuclear power plant in Michigan, while Barack Obama holds a town hall meeting on energy in Ohio this morning. And on the issue, there was a major flashpoint between the candidates yesterday. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: His plan invests very little in renewable sources of energy, and he's opposed to helping the auto industry retool.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We're not going to achieve energy independence by inflating our tires.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Joining me now, conservative radio talk show host, Joe "Pags" Pagliarulo. He is in West Palm Beach, Florida. And in New York, liberal radio talk show host, Laura Flanders.
Welcome and good morning to both of you.
Let's first talk about what kind of shook down the past couple of days. Basically, Senator Obama changing a little bit. Saying -- hey, you know what, I might agree to some offshore drilling. I might dip into the strategic petroleum reserves. Critics are saying -- hey, he's completely changing his mind. He's completely changing the issue. Is he, Joe? And if so, is he pandering to voters or is this some sort of evolution of thought?
JOE PAGLIARULO, CONSERVATIVE RADIO/TV TALK SHOW HOST: Well, I don't know if it's an evolution of thought. I think that his thought process always is, let's find out what the voters want to do and I'll go ahead and put it out there. OK, we'll drill but only if it's environmentally safe.
Well, of course, it's going to be environmentally safe. Well, what's the drill and be environmentally unsafe? And the strategic oil reserve is just that strategic oil reserve. It's a strategy in case somebody attacks us or there's an oil embargo. It's not to help lower the price at the pump, it's not to help our economy. I think that he's flip-flopping all over the place, and I'm not surprised. This is what Barack Obama has been doing for a while now.
MARCIANO: Laura, has this been something he's been considering and just not talking about it?
LAURA FLANDERS, LIBERAL RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, you know, I'm very disappointed that this is the tone of our conversation already. I mean, we're all into -- the media continues to be into this politics of kind of personal gotcha, personal destruction. Did he flip-flop? That is not the issue. And it's not the issue of the American public.
PAGLIARULO: That's what he did.
FLANDERS: The plan that Barack Obama laid out these last few days has been very comprehensive and very clear. The key points about it...
PAGLIARULO: And very different, Laura.
FLANDERS: ...are a $1,000 rebate per family based on an oil windfall profit tax on the corporations that have been bringing in more money than they have ever seen. This is a huge contrast to John McCain who would support a $4 billion tax break for those very same companies.
You want to talk about flip-flopping, let's talk about McCain. In the very days after he changed his position entirely on offshore drilling, he sought huge amounts of money, more than $1 million coming from oil companies in the last month. $285,000 in a matter of hours...
PAGLIARULO: That is such a ruse.
FLANDERS: ...from a single corporation's family and its employees in a weird kind of way.
(CROSSTALK)
PAGLIARULO: Laura, come on.
(CROSSTALK)
FLANDERS: But this is of sort of situation where, really, for John McCain to be calling Barack Obama --
(CROSSTALK)
PAGLIARULO: Laura, I must interject here.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Let's Joe -- let's let Joe speak out real quick, Laura. Joe, real quick?
PAGLIARULO: Well, I just want to say this. I mean, it's not like big oil wrote a $1 million check to John McCain. That's not what happened. You've got shareholders, you've got people who work in big oil that can't donate more than $2,300 a piece. That's a big fat lie that big oil wrote him a check and said, thanks, John McCain.
And, by the way, if big oil gets all these tax breaks, it's going to lower the price at the pump. You want to take their profit, it's going to raise the price at the pump. Why don't we --
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Hold on, guys.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Excuse me --
(CROSSTALK)
FLANDERS: We're talking about Exxon Mobil. What we're talking about here is raking in something like $1,500 --
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Laura, this is a capitalist country. First of all, let's break this down. Let's kind of separate the forest from the trees here. It's really about supply and consumption. I mean, you talk about McCain, he's really about increasing supply. You're talking about Obama, he wants to change the technology, he wants to change the way we consume.
Laura, which one do you think was a better point?
(CROSSTALK)
FLANDERS: Well, there's one thing Barack Obama said that we haven't mentioned yet, which is that he would like to see the oil companies use the 68 million acres that they have in oil drilling licenses that they don't use. They're busily stockpiling more licenses, but they're not using --
(CROSSTALK)
PAGLIARULO: Because there's nothing there. There's nothing there. It's empty land, Laura. It's empty land. Listen, we have the technology.
(CROSSTALK)
FLANDERS: You ask the oil companies --
(CROSSTALK)
PAGLIARULO: I work in Houston, Texas everyday. The oil companies are in Houston, Texas. It's dry land. If there's nothing there, they have the technology to find out. These leases will run out. We'll go and get the oil where it really is, offshore, in the Shell in northern South Dakota, in Montana, in Wyoming, it's in Alaska. It's not in these empty 68 million acres. That's such a ruse. You guys keep saying that. There's nothing there.
(CROSSTALK)
FLANDERS: Why don't they give up those licenses, and let us have it back financially.
PAGLIARULO: Well, they will.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: We can go on all day.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: I want to kind of change gears completely. Let's talk about Bill Clinton. He's kind of been an interesting figure in the primary, the whole season long. He recently told ABC News when asking a question about having any regrets, he mentioned, well, I'm not a racist. Let's listen to that clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATE SNOW, ABC NEWS: Do you personally have any regrets about what you did campaigning for your wife?
WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, but not the ones you're saying. And it would be counterproductive for me to talk about it. There are things that I wished I urged her to do. Things I wished I had said. Things I wished I hadn't said. But I am not a racist. I never made a racist comment and I didn't attack him personally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: All right, Laura, is he rekindling the race card here. Aren't we trying to put that to bed?
FLANDERS: You know, Barack Obama invited the media to engage in a sophisticated conversation about the way that racial prejudice and racial history in this country continues to hold this country back.
Instead, what we're getting is a media, once again, focusing on -- is this one a racist or is that one a racist? That is not the point. This country is facing a half a trillion dollar deficit next year.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Joe, Joe --
PAGLIARULO: The media --
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Joe, what's the point?
PAGLIARULO: The media didn't do this.
FLANDERS: The important stuff --
PAGLIARULO: Hey, Laura, Rob, hold on a second.
MARCIANO: Laura, let Joe speak. Joe has a point.
PAGLIARULO: It's almost as if that the reporters said -- hey, what's your favorite meal and Bill Clinton said, I'm not a racist. I have no idea why he said it, Rob, Laura. I have no clue why this man said this. Does he rekindle it? The media didn't do it. I think that he has a guilty conscience about something.
(CROSSTALK) PAGLIARULO: Did he have any regrets during the campaign trail? Probably that he didn't help his wife as much. How race got into this conversation was very odd. He did this, not the media.
FLANDERS: Race is in the conversation. We live in 21st century U.S.A.
(CROSSTALK)
PAGLIARULO: Well, it wasn't in that specific conversation.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: All right, guys. OK, guys. If you guys were both in New York, I would tell you to meet outside after school by the bike rails.
Joe Pagliarulo, Laura Flanders, always an interesting and entertaining debate.
PAGLIARULO: All right.
MARCIANO: We appreciate you both coming in once again today -- Kiran.
PAGLIARULO: You got it.
CHETRY: Rob, thanks.
We have breaking news this morning. Tropical Storm Edouard making landfall on the Texas coast just minutes ago. That storm hit between High Island and Sabine Pass with maximum sustained winds near 65 miles an hour. Some areas could see three to five inches of rain.
And meantime, we're just now getting word of some airport delays due to Edouard. Atlanta now in a ground stop. This is until 8:30 Eastern time this morning. Which is right now actually. So we'll update you in a couple of minutes on that. Also, the same is going on at Chicago's Midway, Cincinnati, Chicago's O'Hare, also experiencing delays.
And we have more extreme weather in the Midwest. Severe thunderstorm watches remain for Chicago in the suburbs after major downpours. Lightning and hurricane-force winds last night. Tens of thousands of people lost power. Hundreds of flights have been canceled at O'Hare. Fans at Wrigley were told to take cover when a tornado warning was issued for the area. That game was called after two long rain delays.
Let's turn it over to Jacqui Jeras in the Weather Center for us now. I know you're following Edouard's position and update us on the ground stops because of this system moving in.
JERAS: Yes, a lot going on, Kiran.
This is it. This is the big impact hour with Edouard, as a strong tropical storm. You know, it's not that far away from hurricane status, but now that the center is over the coastline, we're going to start to watch this gradually weaken. So that's some good news, but look at some of these strong bands, especially now pushing down toward the Houston and Galveston area. And we're also watching these bands, because they're going to be seeing some wind gusts with these, 30, 40 plus miles per hour, as those roll on shore along the Louisiana coastline.
There you can see I-10, a real rough go of it and we're going to be seeing maybe an inch to an inch and a half per hour with these heavier thunderstorms. The strongest wind gusts I could find was several hours ago around 62 miles per hour around Cameron, Louisiana. Sustained winds, though, still in the 20s and 30s at this time. And that is certainly strong enough to cause a little bit of damage.
This system has been moving at 14 miles per hour, way faster than Dolly did. And so that's going to keep our rainfall totals down a little bit. But some flooding, especially in urban areas like downtown Houston, could see a good three to six inches of rainfall and that is going to hold things up at maybe some of the intersections as well.
There you can see the forecast track of where this is going to continue to go. Still tropical storm strength as we head overnight tonight and into early tomorrow morning. And then weakening and losing its tropical characteristics. Our severe thunderstorm watch now across the upper Midwest has expired and we're still looking at some strong action, particularly across the Hoosier states.
And we've got many airport delays due to low clouds, thunderstorms and because of our tropical storm here, Cincinnati has a ground stop. That means nobody is taking off to get into Cincinnati. Indianapolis, because of those storms, looking at a ground stop until 8:15. And now look at that, almost five hours at Bush Intercontinental Airport as a result of Edouard.
And you might want to call ahead with some of those carriers, because we could be looking at cancellations on top of it. Things are looking a lot better, Kiran, at Chicago O'Hare and Midway, but we're going to be making up a bit from the real severe storms and tornado that moved through that area last night. It takes a little bit to recover from that.
CHETRY: Absolutely. All right. Jacqui Jeras, thanks.
MARCIANO: Meanwhile, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake hits China's Sichuan province. The Olympic torch, its making it through that day just three days before the games begin. And there are no immediate reports of casualties, thank goodness. The area still recovering, you may remember, from a devastating 7.9 quake that killed 70,000 people.
And new word that Russia and Cuba could be getting back together. That's raising some old cold war concerns here in the U.S.
Zain Verjee looks at that potential partnership.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cold war allies could be warming up to each other again. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says he wants to "restore our position in Cuba and other countries."
Just last week, an anonymous Russian source indicated Russia could base capable nuclear bombers in Cuba. That unconfirmed report prompted a stern warning from the U.S. military.
NORTON SCHWARTZ, AIR FORCE CHIEF OF SATFF NOMINEE: We should engage the Russians not to pursue that approach. And if they did, I think we should stand strong and indicate that that is something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America.
VERJEE: The Soviet Union crossed a red line in 1962. The revelation of its missiles in Cuba almost triggered nuclear war. Now Russia's angry over U.S. plans for missile defense in the Czech Republic and Poland. Russia may once again want its military back on the turf of its old communist ally. Cuba's just 90 miles away from U.S. shores. The State Department wouldn't respond to Putin's comments, but says Russia's wasting its time.
GONZALO GALLEGOS, DEPUTY STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: That is a country that continues to oppress its citizens, that continues to squeeze them for all the resources that it can to maintain the regime there. We don't see dealing with the Cuban government as particularly productive.
VERJEE: Russian ties with Cuba were thick during the cold war. Moscow propped up the Fidel Castro regime with oil, arms, food. That dried up when the Soviet Union collapsed. Cuba now gets help from Venezuela and China. Russian leaders traveled recently to Cuba to meet with Raul Castro to talk cooperation on things like energy, mining, health care.
Zain Verjee, CNN at the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Zain, thanks.
Actor Morgan Freeman in a serious car accident, airlifted to the hospital. Our Tony Harris has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Rescuers had to use the jaws of life to remove the 71-year-old star and a passenger from the smashed up wreck. The passenger was identified Monday night as Demaris Meyer, a friend of the actor. Former police officer Bill Rogers witnessed the accident.
BILL ROGERS, CRASH WITNESS: They slid right through here. As I looked out the window from next door, I could see as the front end of the car hit here, it got airborne and it flipped, end over end.
HARRIS: Freeman's publicist said that the "Dark Knight" star suffered multiple fractures, but is in good spirits. Police say there is no indication that either alcohol or drugs were involved.
BILL LUCKETT, MORGAN FREEMAN'S ATTORNEY: Either something mechanical happened to the car or he went off the road. He doesn't recall, exactly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And you know, Kiran, it turns out the car that was being driven was actually owned by Demaris Meyer, the passenger in this case and witnesses tell us that Morgan Freeman was actually driving the car home because he knew the area a little better. No information has been released on Meyer's condition.
CHETRY: Oh well, we hope for a speedy recovery, for sure, for both of them.
HARRIS: Well, here's the thing, I mean, Morgan Freeman has about one million friends around the world and a million more who consider him a friend and you can bet that there are a lot of positive wishes and energy funneling in his direction now for that speedy recovery that you mentioned. Kiran, while I'm here, can I tease what's coming up at the top of the hour?
CHETRY: Please do. Absolutely.
HARRIS: OK. All right. Stay up to minute on Edouard all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. The tropical storm is pelting the coastal Louisiana and Texas at this hour. Live coverage from Galveston.
And you know about fish's benefit for the heart and now researchers say it protects the brain from silent or mini strokes.
Blanket or pillow? That will be $7, please. Water, another $2. Airlines move to a la carte pricing to offset jet fuel prices. That's issue #1 for us.
And an alleged al Qaeda plotter in court in New York shortly. You're in the NEWSROOM.
Kiran, top of the hour on CNN and back to you.
CHETRY: As for the flying, you want a seat on the plane, that will be a little bit more? I'm sorry, you want an armrest with that seat? That will be a little bit more.
HARRIS: That's right. That's right. You want to get to your destination?
CHETRY: Oh, what are you going to do? Tony, great to see you. Thanks.
HARRIS: Great to see you. Thanks. MARCIANO: Barack Obama blasting John McCain on energy. The presumptive Democratic nominee takes aim at his rival's plan to relieve prices at the gas pump. It's the candidates in their own words.
Surgery by remote control.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the instruments and they kind of slide right into the arm of the robot.
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MARCIANO: Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes us into a high-tech operating room where robots do all the work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They take away some of the impreciseness of the human hand.
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MARCIANO: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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CHETRY: Well, breaking news this morning. Tropical Storm Edouard making landfall this hour on the Texas coast between High Island and Sabine Pass, Texas. Edouard now with sustained winds of 65 miles an hour. That's below hurricane strength, but the storm is still packing a major punch. Of course, we talk about the wind. That doesn't say anything for how wet it's going to get in some of those areas, Rob.
MARCIANO: Definitely a lot of rain expected across Texas. Hopefully it eventually gets to places that need it.
All right. Switching gears. Many patients are now asking for robots to perform surgery on them. Doctors are still in the O.R., but they're using a remote control. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta got a firsthand look inside a robot's operating room.
Sanjay, as if you don't make enough money, you've got to hand off your duties to robots. What's up with that?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Isn't this something, Rob? There's no question that people still takes a little bit getting used to have a robot operating on them, whether it's their heart or their prostate, but this is an option for a lot of patients out there. About one in six men are going to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. And the question is, what exactly do you do about it? We decided to take a look. Here's what we found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DR. NIKHIL SHAH, ST. JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL OF ATLANTA: These are the instruments and they kind of slide right into the arm of the robot.
GUPTA: It looks like a video game. What you're watching is Dr. Nikhil Shah delicately remove a prostate. He's seated five feet away from the patient and uses robotic arms and a joy stick to perform the operation and doesn't even has to scrub his hands.
SHAH: It takes away some of the impreciseness of the human hand. I'm able to use my hands to control the instruments but I'm able to do them more delicately.
GUPTA: It's called robotic surgery and over the last several years, it has become very popular. Patients often traveling hundreds of miles to have this type of operation performed. Like Tony Pouncey, he's 60 years old. He's healthy and active. But a few months ago during a routine visit, he got the shocking news. Prostate cancer.
TONY POUNCEY, PROSTATE CANCER PATIENT: Right away, I kind of freaked out a little bit and got on the Internet, called around to find out what was out there for me.
GUPTA: So Mr. Pouncey had a tough decision to make. What exactly to do about his prostate cancer and where to have it done. What he decided was to come to this operating room and have a robotic prostatectomy. Let's take a look.
SHAH: So we put a total of six ports across his belly. They go through, but they don't do a lot of damage as they go through the tissue.
GUPTA: Admittedly, robotic surgery is less tested, but it also has proven advantages, less pain, fewer side effects, less blood loss. It's pricey, costing up to $15,000. Not always covered by insurance and dangerous if not performed by a properly trained surgeon.
SHAH: I worry about that a little bit. I think that when you have such sophisticated technology and doing such complicated surgery, ask questions of the people there. What kind of experience does your doctor have?
GUPTA: But the experience has been outstanding for Tony Pouncey. Only weeks after his operation, he's back to his active lifestyle and best of all, he's cancer free.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: This particular robot is called the Da Vinci robot and this type of operation is offered in 47 states plus Washington, D.C. now. So the demand has really gone up, Rob. It is not for everybody. People who are very overweight, people who have had previous operations, for example, may not be candidates, but it is growing in popularity.
MARCIANO: It's just startling to me the advances we've made in medicine in the past 50 years, Sanjay. Some news came out yesterday regarding the screening of prostates, somewhat controversial. What's being recommended now?
GUPTA: When it comes to screening, you're talking about a risk/benefit ratio for screening. Is it going to provide enough benefit to recommend that to everybody, with prostate cancer, specifically. There's an organization that recommends that the PSA test, which is one of the screen test not be done for men over the age of 75. Not everyone agrees with that but the idea is that prostate cancer can be a slow-growing cancer, so if it's not diagnosed until after you're 75, it may not affect you in your lifetime.
What it really needs to be based on as well, as you might imagine, Rob, is your overall state of health. There are 75-year-olds who are going to live a long time, they should probably get the test but if someone is more sicker and has more health problems, maybe not. So, it's a decision to talk to about with your doctor.
MARCIANO: And just real quick, on the low side note, how old or young should you be to first get your screening?
GUPTA: Well, you know, PSA test, around 40, it could change depending on your family history if you have some other risk factor for it.
MARCIANO: OK. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks for that valuable information. Good to see you. Thank you.
GUPTA: All right.
MARCIANO: Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, earlier we heard from Senator John McCain about his energy plan. His rival, Senator Barack Obama says that his ideas are not right. We're going to get more from the candidates in their own words still ahead.
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MARCIANO: The most politics in the morning now. Earlier we brought you Senator John McCain's latest comments about his energy plan. Now it's Barack Obama's turn. And he says McCain has it wrong. AMERICAN MORNING is committed to helping you make informed choices this November by bringing you the candidates in their own words.
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OBAMA: You won't hear my say this too often, but I could not agree more with the explanation that Senator McCain offered a few weeks ago. He said - and I quote "our dangerous dependence on foreign oil has been 30 years in the making and was caused by the failures of politicians in Washington to think long-term about the future of the country."
Now, what Senator McCain neglected to mention was during those 30 years, he was in Washington for 26 of them! And in all that time, he did little to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He voted against increased fuel efficiency standards and opposed legislation that included tax credits for more efficient cars. He voted against renewable sources of energy, against clean biofuels, against solar power, against wind power, against an energy bill, that while far from perfect, represented the largest investment in renewable sources of energy in the history of this country.
So when Senator McCain talks about the failure of politicians in Washington doing anything about our energy crisis, it's important to remember that he's been part of that failure. And now - and now, after years of inaction, in the face of public frustration over rising gas prices, the only energy proposal he's really promoting is more offshore drilling. A position he recently adopted that's become the centerpiece of his plan and one that will not make a real dent in current gas prices or meet the long-term challenge of energy independence.
Understand, George Bush's own energy department has said that if we opened up new areas to offshore drilling today, we wouldn't see a single drop of oil for seven years. Seven years. Senator McCain knows that, which is why he admitted that his plan would only provide "psychological relief to consumers." I know that's what you've been looking for, is psychological relief when you're pumping gas in your car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Digging up dirt on Obama's do.
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OBAMA: I noticed that I've been getting gray since this campaign started.
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CHETRY: Jeanne Moos investigating the graying of Obama.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Others wonder if he stopped dying his hair to look older.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You're a watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back now to the "Most News in the Morning."
We have breaking news right now. Tropical Storm Edouard, there it is, the picture of it now, making landfall and drenching Texas.
CNN's Reynolds Wolf is standing by live in Galveston, Texas, with more on what is going on with that right now. That was supposed to be the spot that got hit hardest.
What's it like there now?
WOLF: Right now, this is the worst we've had so far this morning. The rain is at its most intense point, but even then it kind of has like a fluctuating effect. It times with heavier downpour, then will let up a little bit. But for the most part, it's been pretty constant for the last 20, 30 minutes. The wind has also picked up a bit. But I'll tell you one thing that's interesting on the island, we haven't had any evacuations. Traffic is still moving smoothly. I'll show you something else.
You see right over here on my shoulder, you'll notice one surfer there with the surfboard. When you come over on this side, you see over here you got a couple guys out here on the water. Waves are coming in in slow sets of two. They're getting out there, trying to make the most of it. But I tell you what, Galveston really missed out on the most of it in terms of the heavy waves in terms of the wind and the rain. It could have been far worse.
The next big story out of this though is I got to tell you, Kiran, is going to be the potential for flooding in parts of Texas and Louisiana. That could happen later on.
Let's send it back to you.
CHETRY: All right. Reynolds Wolf for us in Galveston, Texas, getting hit with that tropical storm. Didn't go to hurricane strength, but it doesn't mean there's not a lot of rain with it.
MARCIANO: Often we kind of relax a little bit when it makes landfall, but that's oftentimes when it's the worst, especially the southern back of that thing. He's getting beat up just a little bit.
CHETRY: Sure did.
MARCIANO: This is change you can believe in. Barack Obama's going gray on the campaign trail. We'll look at the toll that this running for president deal is all about on his hair.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Well, you've seen how being president can certainly take a toll on your appearance, but apparently just campaigning can also make you gray.
CHETRY: One of the many reasons you chose to stay out of the presidential race this year.
MARCIANO: Yes. I don't want to get gray too soon.
CHETRY: You wanted to stay brown. All right. Well, Jeanne Moos takes a look at the graying of Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MOOS: Barack Obama's MySpace page was ablaze with birthday greetings from supporters. But there's nothing like a birthday to make you count your gray hair.
OBAMA: One, two, three. Happy birthday to you...
MOOS: At one appearance, Senator Obama was serenaded as if he was already president. Happy birthday to the president.
MOOS: But a Cedar Rapids rally is no Marilyn Monroe.
MARILYN MONROE, ACTRESS: Happy birthday, Mr. President.
MOOS: Marilyn Monroe sang to J.F.K. for his 45th birthday. Obama just turned 47.
OBAMA: I noticed that I've been getting gray since this campaign started.
MOOS: He's not the only one noticing. The graying of Obama has bloggers poring over photos, looking for gray, the amount of gray in the photos seem greatly influenced by the lighting. But you don't need a magnifying glass to see the impact of eight years in the White House on President Bush's hair. Senator Obama pays his Chicago barber, Sarif, (ph) 21 bucks for a hair cut. Sarif rates the candidate's gray at --
VOICE OF SARIF, BARACK OBAMA'S BARBER: He's a four or five.
MOOS: On a scale of one to ten.
SARIF: Ten would be McCain gray.
MOOS: Speaking of McCain, one of the birthday greetings to Obama on the left leaning Daily Kos Web site featured a knife-wielding Senator McCain with the caption, don't let McCain cut your cake.
Now, if you want to see what the candidates might look like four long years in the White House, check out popphoto.com. Just drag your mouse across the candidate and watch gray and wrinkles magically appear. Since McCain is already 71, his photo aging seems less of a shocker.
OBAMA: When I started this campaign, everybody called me a young man. They're not calling me that anymore.
MOOS: Oh, some folks still are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A gifted, eloquent, young man.
MCCAIN: For a young man with very little experience, he's done very well.
MOOS: Senator Obama, by the way -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy birthday, Obama. MOOS: Is a Leo and his horoscope -- you won't make nearly so many silly mistakes over the next 12 months as you did over the previous 12 months. You're not catching any gray, are you? Some wonder if Obama has dyed his hair to look younger. Others wonder if he stopped dyeing his hair to look older and wiser but his hairdresser says --
SARIF: It's 100 percent natural.
MOOS: When it comes to the slight graying around the temples, that's change you can believe in.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: I love how even the barber called in to Jeanne's report.
MARCIANO: Yes. Hair stylist or beautician, I think. I think he's a barber, for sure.
CHETRY: Well, thanks so much for joining us on AMERICAN MORNING. We'll see you back here tomorrow.
MARCIANO: Right now, here's "CNN NEWSROOM" with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.
