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Cuba Taking Full Force of Tropical Storm Fay; Florida Braces for Storm; On the Move in Georgia?; Nearly Two Dozen People Unaccounted for in Grand Canyon

Aired August 18, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. You're with CNN.
I'm Heidi Collins at the Time Warner Center in New York City today.

Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on Monday, August 18th. Here's what's on the rundown.

On track for the Keys, Fay refueling over the warm waters of the Florida straits right now.

A dam crumbles. Today, almost two dozen people unaccounted for in the Grand Canyon.

Georgia says Russian tanks are rolling today deeper into Georgia territory, but Russia claims it's pulling back as promised.

When words and pictures don't match -- in the NEWSROOM.

Tropical Storm Fay already deadly. This morning, it is headed towards Florida and possibly toward hurricane strength. The storm killed several people on its rampage through the Caribbean, and right now it is plowing toward the Florida Keys.

Residents there are boarding up and sometimes getting out. Thousands of tourists and residents are scrambling to evacuate the Keys. Forecasters warn Fay could reach hurricane strength by late tonight. And for those who want to leave, this is the time.

CNN is your hurricane headquarters.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Cuba taking the full force of Tropical Storm Fay this morning. CNN's Havana bureau chief Morgan Neill is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MORGAN NEILL, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Tropical Storm Fay picked up momentum Sunday hitting Cuba's southern coast with gusty winds and heavy rains that pushed and swirled closer to the island. Hurricane watches were posted along much of Cuba's central and western coast, including Havana as the storm picked up strength. Already, Fay has left at least five people dead in its wake after battering Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Nearly 12,000 people were evacuated in the Dominican Republic and power was cut to some 15,000 homes according to local reports. Target now, the Florida Strait, predictions that could reach hurricane strength as it pushes back over water.

BEN NELSON, FLORIDA STATE METEOROLOGIST: The main threats with Fay as the National Hurricane Center and the state emergency response team diagnosis right now are tornadoes and flooding.

NEILL: Forecasters said the storm could hit the Florida Keys Monday night. In the Keys, schools are closed. Tourists are being urged to leave and shelters are being opened. The governor has declared a state of emergency and 9,000 Florida National Guard troops are at the ready.

GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: Florida is prepared and we are ready and we'll be vigilant.

NEILL: Residents rushed to prepare for the incoming storm buying plywood, batteries, generators and candles. In some areas, water sold out within hours of stores opening. And out in the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. oil companies like Shell are already pulling workers off offshore platforms preparing for Fay's arrival.

Back here in Cuba, the island must now start to deal with the damage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEILL: And now, Heidi, reports of that damage have been relatively light. There has been some flooding in the course of the storm, some roofs blown off, but Cuba's chief meteorologist just came and gave a report recently in which he said it appears that Cuban has escaped this one relatively unscathed.

COLLINS: All right, very good. We sure do appreciate that.

Live from Havana, Cuba, Morgan Neill for us this morning.

Thank you, Morgan.

To Tampa, Florida, now. A low-lying city with ever-rising concerns today. It could be in Fay's path.

We want to get the very latest on the emergency preparations now under way.

Dennis Jones is the emergency management director.

Dennis, what are you doing to prepare for this?

DENNIS JONES, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR: We are continuing to monitor the storm. We are looking at the 11:00 projection which does move at about 25 miles to the east of the downtown area. We are expecting to get some pretty strong winds, 65 miles an hour-plus, and looking at heavy rainfall, five to six inches, as well as an increase in the -- with the storm surge of three to five feet.

COLLINS: Yes. And I'm sure you've been watching very closely, just like we have, what's up on the screen right now, the satellite tracking of Fay.

Tampa, though, has sort of always escaped destructive hurricanes, it seems like. So how do you tell people, hey, you know, this really could be getting us this time and you need to take it seriously?

JONES: We have a very aggressive public education campaign, and the Tampa Emergency Management is on the forefront in trying to get out into the communities through our neighborhood registries to let them know that this is real. We did learn a lot in 2004 and 2005, and we try to communicate to the citizens that, when we ask you to evacuate, please take it seriously.

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely.

What about the sandbags? I understand that sandbags are actually being given away to certain people who may need them to help protect themselves?

JONES: That is correct. We began about 9:00 a.m. this morning. We plan to continue that through about 8:00 p.m. tonight, because there are a lot of low-lying areas. If you just have a rise in the water from the bay, the citizens do like to protect their homes through that. And we did provide sandbags for the city.

COLLINS: All right. Well, we sure do appreciate you giving us a little bit of insight on all of that, what's going on in Tampa.

Dennis Jones, emergency management director there.

Thank you, Dennis.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: You need to see this new video now out of Georgia this morning. Russian tanks on the move, pushing aside police cars.

Georgian government officials say Russian troops are digging in, not moving out. But Russia says its troops have begun to pull out of the conflict zone.

So what's the real story?

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is joining us now from the Georgia capital of Tbilisi.

Hello to you, Frederik.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi, let me give you some information about that incident on that Georgian road. According to eyewitnesses, what happened there was that the Russians were going to go down a side road near to that road that's leading into the capital of Tbilisi, and apparently the Georgian police officers said they had orders to block that road. And the Russians then simply got into their tanks and just started shoving those police cars away. Certainly, that shows you how much tension there still is on the ground, even in the face of this pullout that is supposed to be happening as we speak.

Now, we've been talking to Russian soldiers on the ground, actually, in that area, in the area of Gori, and they've been telling us that they have orders to start withdrawing at dusk tonight. That's in about one hour here in Georgian time. So that's something that should happen very quick.

Again, that pullout was to happen much earlier today. And all throughout the day we've been getting reports in that the Russians were not pulling out, that they weren't making any preparations to pull out, and that, indeed, some of their forces seem to be fortifying their positions rather than making any sort of preparations to start pulling out. So we'll see in the next couple of hours, in the next coming hours if, indeed, that pullout will start on a larger scale -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, and it's interesting, too, Frederik, because we spoke with CNN's Phil Black a little bit earlier from Moscow, and there's all of this discussion about semantics, it seems. You know, pull out or pull back.

Are you hearing the same sort of confusion, if you will, from where you are?

PLEITGEN: Absolutely. And certainly it depends on sort of which side of the equation that you're on.

The Georgians certainly have a way different take on this than the Russians do. Basically, I think part of it is due to the fact that the peace agreement, or the cease-fire agreement, I should say, between these two sides does has some very vague language, and there's a lot of questions in there as to how many forces the Russians are still allowed to have inside Georgia, inside that breakaway province of Southern Ossetia.

What status do they have? Are they considered peacekeepers? How many of them are considered peacekeepers? How far should the Russian troops be allowed to patrol outside of that breakaway province of Southern Ossetia?

So there is a lot of vagueness in that cease-fire agreement, and that's probably one of the reasons why there are so many differences between these two sides on these issues -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. And then how much vagueness. I'm sure the story is different from both sides on that regard as well.

All right. Frederik Pleitgen joining us from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

Thank you, Frederik.

Just one week until the Democratic national convention. Still no word on Barack Obama's running mate on the VP radar. Today, we are looking at this, though. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, he is campaigning with Obama today in Albuquerque.

Republican John McCain is in, Orlando, Florida, this morning, pitching to fellow veterans at the VFW convention. He will be in Atlanta tonight for a fund-raiser. We had a little bit of sound from that convention a few moments ago in the NEWSROOM.

And there's a rare site. McCain and Obama on the stage together. It happened Saturday night at a fate and values forum led by the man in the middle there, Pastor Rick Warren. The candidates really opened up, and you will hear them in their own words a little bit later on this hour.

So no hard feelings. Senator Clinton friends again with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. They were together for the first time since Richardson endorsed Clinton's rival, Barack Obama. Richardson is helping Clinton raise money to pay off her campaign debts.

Air rescue for boaters. Helicopters evacuate Grand Canyon tourists after floodwaters burst through a dam. Some people still unaccounted for right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Grand Canyon's great escape. Campers and boaters pulled to safety after floodwaters burst through a dam. Some people still unaccounted for at this our.

Our Chris Lawrence is following the story from Peach Springs, Arizona.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Emergency crews have resumed the search for about 20 people who are still unaccounted for after Sunday's massive rescue operation in which rescue crews safely airlifted about 170 people out of the Grand Canyon.

Now, this area down in the canyon is home to both an Indian nation and a major tourist area. It only gets about nine inches of rain a year, but a lot of it comes all at once in August.

They had had heavy rains Friday, heavy rains Saturday. You had a flash flood. That was then followed by the Redlands Dam bursting, sending another wall of water rushing into the canyon.

At one point the current was so strong, it washed out about five rafts that a small group had been using on a boating trip. That left 16 people stranded on a ledge until the helicopters were able to make their way to them, and at times, one by one, airlift them to the other side of the Colorado River.

CEDAR HENNING, RESCUED BOATER: We were in a really good spot. We had a nice little rock ledge. You know, pretty big. Enough for 16 people to comfortably be under.

And, you know, we just got the food and water we had together, collected some rainwater. And we knew we had to wait the night out. We new some commercial ships would come by the next day, we could get food and water from them and figure out our plan from there.

We figured that the boats would get washed down, somebody else would see them, call out on the SAT (ph) phone. You know, at least it would be common knowledge. We didn't think it would be this big of knowledge, but...

LAWRENCE: And they got to you.

HENNING: And so, you know, by 7:30 the next morning there was a helicopter there, you know, just checking on us and kind of circling the whole area. But our group is fine. We're in great shape.

LAWRENCE: He's one of about two dozen people who have been resting here at the emergency shelter behind me. They are expecting another 100 people to arrive here at some point later today. The sheriff's deputy stayed in the canyon overnight, trying to monitor the water level before the search and rescue mission could pick up again.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Peach Springs, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: When the weather becomes the news, remember to send us your iReports. Just go to ireport.com or ireport@cnn.com. You can type that into your cell phone. But remember, of course, stay safe when you do that.

A key U.S. ally in the war on terror resigning under pressure this morning. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf emotional in a televised statement on his decision to quit rather than face impeachment.

The country's ruling coalition was taking steps to remove Musharraf, but until now the general who took power in a 1999 coup has stubbornly resisted. Word of his resignation sparking celebrations across Pakistan. Local media now reporting Musharraf has been granted safe passage out of the country.

Under pressure to form a power-sharing government, Zimbabwe's rival political parties now vowing to keep talking to end the country's crisis. The two sides failed to reach an agreement at a weekend summit of regional leaders in South Africa. Both Zimbabwe's longtime president, Robert Mugabe, and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai attended the summit.

A baby dies after being in his father's care, allegedly shaken to death. How to prevent it in your "Daily Dose" of medicine news. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: In your "Daily Dose" of medical news today, a tragic case goes to trial next month in Ohio. A father allegedly killed his own baby. Doctors and health professionals say it may be a case of shaken baby syndrome.

Our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You're looking at a home in peaceful Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, which was irrevocably changed this past March. That's when Crystal Wilson returned home and found her two-and-a-half-month-old baby Camryn unresponsive.

Camryn was rushed to a hospital, but died two weeks later. The cause, severe bleeding and damage to the brain and retinas. Doctors say the baby was shaken violently, better known as Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Camryn's father, Craig Wilson, who was caring for the child at the time was charged with murder and other related charges. Now, Wilson has pleaded not guilty. He admits to shaking Camryn, but not to kill him.

According to the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, more than 1,400 babies are injured by shaking every year. About 300 of them will die. Others suffer permanent disabilities.

You see, a baby's neck muscles aren't strong enough to resist the motion of violent shaking. When that happens, the brain rattles around inside the skull, causing bleeding and tearing of brain tissue in the protective membranes. The baby's retinas can be destroyed, causing blindness. The syndrome has become so widespread in the United States, many states are forming task forces to alert parents to the problem.

DR. R. DARYL STEINER, AKRON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: It will be a Web-based program that will allow the hospitals, health care providers, and childcare agencies to access the information so that they can distribute it to mothers, parents, prospective mothers, childcare providers, in the dangers of shaking the baby.

GUPTA: In many maternity wards in Ohio, a mother must sign a form promising she understands the dangers of shaking an infant. But some doctors say fathers should also sign, because many new dads don't know how to handle little ones.

STEINER: A young infant comes into the lives of an adult, of a mother or a father, and suddenly they have the stress of raising that child that they've never had before. And, of course, a baby doesn't come with an operator's manual.

GUPTA: Wilson's lawyer John Sinn says although the father admitted to shaking the child, he never meant to hurt his son.

JOHN SINN, WILSON'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This was a young father who was overwhelmed and overstressed, but acted in a spur of the moment and made some decisions out of frustration that obviously cost his son his life and will affect the rest of his life.

GUPTA: Since Camryn's death, CNN has obtained a copy of the baby's autopsy records. According to the medical examiner's report, besides the bleeding, the baby had more than 20 rib fractures, some of which were older than others. Wilson's attorney says that needs to be taken into account.

SINN: If that autopsy is accurate, if this child has been severely injured to the point that his ribs were fractured on prior occasions, multiple occasions, how come no one knew that?

GUPTA: Police say the case is closed and they don't expect any more arrests. The judge wants the issue of the fractures to be resolved before Wilson's murder trial in September in Akron, Ohio.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site, where you will find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. That address: CNN.com/health.

The quest for Olympic gold put into perspective. A coach returns to his team following a family tragedy.

And here comes Fay. And Florida gets ready for a tropical punch. The storm threatening to grow into a hurricane.

We are tracking Fay all day, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Tropical Storm Fay, it's been on a deadly tear through the Caribbean, and now it is headed toward Florida and could grow stronger. Residents as far north as Orlando are stocking up on drinking water and other staples. It's too early to know the exact path of the storm, of course, but at this hour, the Florida Keys are in Fay's path. Officials say as many as 25,000 people are now evacuating.

Let's go ahead and get the very latest on Fay now and where it's headed.

CNN Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is in the extreme weather center for us now this morning.

Hey there, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey there, Heidi. Yes, we're watching Fay moving at a northwesterly track, but, you know, it's one of those tricky forecasts for so many reasons. One of which, it's been moving over land throughout the weekend, and now, as it moves over the open waters, we're expecting it to be turning parallel to the coast. And as we know and as we learned with Charley, for example, we know any tiny deviation from that forecast track really makes all the difference in the world as to what type of an impact you're going to be getting.

Now, here's what we're expecting throughout the day today. Your main headline is that winds are going to be increasing, and landfall in the Keys will be possible late today or tonight.

Heavy rainfall expected across all of south Florida, 4 to 8 inches plus. And urban flooding is likely.

Storm surge at impact, we think most likely between 3 and 5 feet above normal tides. And throughout the day today and tomorrow, tornadoes and waterspouts are a possibility. In fact, we still have that warning in effect for Mobile County for a tornado which was spotted on Dolphin Island (ph). It moved up over into the Bay Area there and just a funnel cloud now.

Here are the showers and the thundershowers associated with the storm. Really heavy at times here into south Florida, especially right along the I-95 corridor moving up towards the Port St. Lucie area, expecting to see real reduced visibility at times because of this too. The winds are picking up, speeds at times sustained around 20-plus miles per hour. But we're getting gusts beyond 30. So watch for those conditions to continue to go downhill.

We think that we could see landfall in the southwest coast of Florida as early as maybe 24 hours or so away from this time. This is a storm that has plenty of time, though, still to strengthen, Heidi. We still think we'll see at least a Category 1 potentially out of this storm.

COLLINS: Yikes. All right, Jacqui, thank you. We'll check back a little later on.

Want to get the (INAUDIBLE) now from south Florida. Luanne Sorrell is in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She is joining us now on CNN's Miami affiliate, WSVN.

Hi, there, Luanne.

LUANNE SORRELL, WSVN REPORTER: Hey, good morning.

We're in Fort Lauderdale, as you said, on the beach here, where it's been raining pretty steadily for about three hours or so. Now that's bad news if you wanted to come to the beach and take a dip in the water, but it's great news if you're a surfer. Take a look, dozens of surfers grabbing their boards and flocking to the beach here. It's pretty rare that here in Florida we see waves that are large enough to surf. So these guys are very excited. You know, people here not too upset or too worried that Fay is making her way towards us. Floridians see this thing every year during hurricane season and considering Fay is just a tropical storm, people are not letting that stop them from doing their normal daily activities. We saw people out here running and biking and kind of doing their normal things out here this morning. No one really shuttering up that we've seen because, as you know, Fay is expected to make a bigger impact on the West coast of Florida than the East coast. Even people, as we come back out here live, you can see them, tossing the football around, their friends out there surfing. So right now everyone is just kind of waiting and seeing what Fay will bring.

Right now, though, just a little rough sea, some high surf and rip currents. Governor Charlie Crist warning people this morning not to come to the beach to go swimming, but as you can see there, if you're a surfer and you're used to this kind of rough surf, it's not a big deal.

COLLINS: Yes, all right. Well, hopefully things won't change and those conditions will stay fun, if you will.

Sure do appreciate it. Luanne Sorrell, thanks so much.

SORRELL: Sure.

COLLINS: Search and rescue operations resuming today in the Grand Canyon. Floodwaters burst through an earthen dam stranding more than 100 campers and boaters yesterday. Helicopter cruise had to fly over and air lift them out. But more than 20 people are still unaccounted for.

A Texas family dies in a Colorado plane crash. The wreckage -- found by a hiker. The plane disappeared after taking off from Steamboat Springs on Friday. A couple and their two children, ages 8 and 6, died in the crash. Officials say the family was headed to the Houston area after wrapping up their Colorado vacation.

In Texas, a surveillance tape leads to a murder suspect. Police say the man with the gun is Wallace Bowman Junior, a convicted sex offender. Right now he's charged with aggravated robbery and kidnapping but a murder charge is expected to be added. Police say Bowman kidnapped 46-year-old Mindy Daffern from her family's convenience store on Friday. It was in the town of Scotland, 130 miles northwest of Dallas. They say he led them to her body on Saturday.

Musician Isaac Hayes is being remembered this hour at a memorial service in Cordova, Tennessee. Hayes' doctor says the singer died of a stroke. The entertainer's body was found at his Memphis home one week ago yesterday. His funeral coming later today in Memphis. Hayes' death came one day after comedian Bernie Mac died. The two were to star in a film together.

The presidential candidates through the eyes of the faithful. What were the hardest decisions they ever had to make, and why? You'll hear it in their own words. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Faith, values, and politics. They came together on Saturday night. The presidential candidates sitting down with Pastor Rick Warren. Here they are, in their own words now, talking about marriage, taxes, and tough decisions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I had a difficult youth. My father wasn't in the house. I've written about this. There were times where I experimented with drugs, and I drank, in my teenage years. And what I trace this to is a certain selfishness on my part. I was so obsessed with me and the reasons that I might be dissatisfied, that I couldn't focus on other people. And I think the process for me of growing up was to recognize that it's not about me.

The question that I think we have to ask ourselves is, if we believe in good schools, if we believe in good roads, if we want to make sure that kids can go to college, if we don't want to leave a mountain of debt for the next generation, then we've got to pay for these things. They don't come for free. And it is irresponsible -- I believe it is irresponsible, inner-generationally, for us to invest -- for us to spend $10 billion a month on a war and not have a way of paying for it.

I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian -- for me as a Christian, it's also a sacred union. You know, God is in the mix. But --

PASTOR RICK WARREN, MODERATOR: Would you support a constitutional amendment with that definition?

OBAMA: No, I would not.

WARREN: Why not?

OBAMA: Because historically -- because historically we have not defined marriage in our Constitution. It's been a matter of state law. That has been our tradition.

I do believe in civil unions. I do believe that we should not -- that for gay partners to want to visit each other in a hospital, for the state to say, you know what, that's all right, I don't think that in any way that inhibits my core beliefs about what marriage are. I think my faith is strong enough and my marriage is strong enough, that I can afford those civil rights to others, even if I have a different perspective or different view.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It was long ago and far away in a prison camp in North Vietnam. My father was a high- ranking admiral. The Vietnamese came and said that I could leave prison early. And we had a code of conduct that said you only leave by order of capture. I also had a dear and beloved friend who was from California, name of Ed Alvarez, who had been shot down and captured a couple years before me. But I wasn't in good physical shape, in fact, I was in rather bad physical shape. And so I said no.

Now, in interest of full disclosure, I'm very happy I didn't know the war was going to last for another three years or so. But I said no and I'll never forget sending in (ph) my last answer and the high- ranking officer offered it, slammed the door, and the interrogator said, go back to your cell, it's going to be very tough on you now. And it was. But I -- not only the toughest decision I ever made, but I'm most happy about that decision than any decision I ever made in my life.

We should not and cannot raise taxes in tough economic times. So it doesn't matter really what my definition of rich is, because I don't want to raise anybody's taxes. I really don't. In fact, I want to give working Americans a better shot at having a better life.

WARREN: Define marriage.

MCCAIN: A union between man and a woman, between one man and one woman. That's my definition of marriage.

I am a federalist. I believe in that states should make those decisions. In my state, I hope we will make that decision, and in other states they have, to recognize the unique status of marriage between man and woman. And that means that -- that doesn't mean that people can't enter into legal agreements, that doesn't mean that they don't have the rights of all citizens. I'm not saying that. I am saying that we should preserve the unique status of marriage between one man and one woman. And if a federal court -- if a federal court decided that my state of Arizona had to observe what the state of Massachusetts decided, then I would favor a constitutional amendment. Until then, I believe the state should make the decisions within their own states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: So let's talk more about this a little bit. Our Jessica Yellin is in Washington this morning with the reaction to the forum.

Hi there, Jessica. What did each candidate really set out to achieve at this forum? And, maybe more importantly, did they achieve it?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Well, John McCain went, Heidi, because he wanted to build a connection with white evangelical communities, because many of the evangelical faith leaders have been less enthusiastic about McCain's campaign so far than they have been about prior Republican candidates. So McCain was really there laying out some of his key views on issues that resonate in this community on abortion, on gay marriage. And he was very clear that he stands in line with the white evangelical community, especially emphasizing his position on the Supreme Court justices, that he only supports those who have the most conservative views and don't support Row v. Wade, for example. And he succeeded in very strongly sending the message that he shares political views with the evangelical community, and he got a very warm reception there.

For Barack Obama the challenge was a little different. This is not the community that would naturally embrace a Democrat, they haven't in the past. Pew Polls show 68 percent of white evangelicals support McCain. So for Obama, basically, most of the challenge was just showing up and talking and saying, look, there are areas where we disagree, but there is some common ground. And for Barack Obama, he does not share McCain's view on abortion, for example, has a different view on same-sex marriage to some extent, but for him it was really to reach out to young evangelicals who might be open to Barack Obama and have shown signs that some are, and also, finally, Heidi, to those people in the community who think that poverty and the environment are the issues that they'll vote on as opposed to some of these more traditional faith issues. So different challenges for each man.

COLLINS: Yes, clearly. It was really interesting to watch, though. It was an interesting forum.

What did this tell us, though, about what we should expect in the presidential debate? It's obviously a completely different forum to begin with.

YELLIN: Right, but our first chance to see them sort of go back to back against one another in a Q and A session before the general. What we saw is that John McCain was very disciplined, and there's been a lot of expectation that McCain, who has run an undisciplined campaign at some point and has sort of shot from the hip frequently on the trails, was not at all loose and was much more, as I said, disciplined. And so we could see that in the debate -- maybe a more contentious and focused debate than we may have expected before this weekend's event -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Jessica Yellin -- thank you, Jessica.

And there's more. Go behind the scenes of the Faith Forum with Pastor Rick Warren. He's Larry King's guest tonight, see it here at 9:00 Eastern only on CNN.

A violent death in the family gives an Olympic coach a new take on life. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Forgive Qantas airline officials if they are flushed with embarrassment this morning. It seems that somebody forgot to empty the toilets on the 737. The plane took off from Sydney for Paris, but diverted to Adelaide. The airline says four of the seven toilets were not working, basically, because they were full. The toilets had not been emptied after the plane's last trip from Honolulu. That's lovely.

As summer starts winding down, many school kids will soon be learning a harsh lesson in economics. Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange with the latest on reading, writing, and recession.

Hey there, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi.

They probably don't want to hear this at all because it's getting pretty close to the time when kids will be heading back to school. But the days of many children being blissfully unaware of such economic forces as inflation and high gas prices -- they may actually be over. The "Associated Press" is reporting that the shaky economy will be taking a toll on school children this fall, and that means for many kids it will mean they'll be paying more for their lunches, reading old textbooks and walking further to get to the bus stop.

But, didn't we all walk further? Anyway, that's the story.

As to those who look forward to a whole new wardrobe this fall, many will be wearing last year's clothes and even sporting that same old backpack -- heaven forbid-- from last year -- Heidi.

COLLINS: You know, the backpack that always seems to way 350 pounds for those poor little kids.

So the obvious question though, what are schools doing to handle the financial difficulties?

ELAM: Well, you know, many plan on taking fewer field trips and some New York and Boston area students, they're going to visit local landmarks since they have enough of them instead of those historic sites that may require more travel by bus or van.

They're also being forced to raise lunch prices and as those prices go up, nutritional value often goes down. We all know that fresh fruit, vegetables, they can cost pennies more a meal and all of that adds up every day. All of this comes as parents are trying to cut back but, are still asked to pay more.

Now, as far as wall street is concerned, not a lot of veggies and fruits around here either. Maybe there are because the markets are down. The DOW Jones Industrial is off 52 points, 11,607 there. NASDAQ on the downside by 9 points, at 2,443. We're pretty much in a holding pattern right now, Heidi, as everyone's watching to see what's going to happen with Fay. So, oil prices kind of tempered right now.

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. All right. And we are all watching that.

Thanks so much, Stephanie Elam, appreciate it.

ELAM: Thanks, Heidi.

COLLINS: As Stephanie said, Fay on the way and feeding on the warm waters of the Florida straits right now. Will the storm mushroom into a hurricane? CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: An Olympics coach putting medals in perspective. Hugh McCutcheon, back with the U.S. men's volleyball team after the stabbing death of his father-in-law in Beijing.

Our Larry Smith spoke with the coach. And he is joining us now live, from Beijing.

By, this is such a tough story, Larry.

LARRY SMITH, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: This really is a tough story, Heidi. In fact, it was very kind that he would sit down and take the time to talk with us. Everyone wanted to talk to the McCutcheon family since this happened. That's in just a moment.

Another sit-down that I've done the past couple days -- we've been pretty busy in Beijing -- was with Michael Phelps. He of the new record eight gold medals in a single games. We spoke for quite a while this morning, in a sit down interview. You can see that interview in its entirety on CNN.com. Phelps told me that he never doubted that he could win the eight gold medals. Says that he is returning to swimming again in London in 2012. And says he got over 1500 text messages, voice mails, and Facebook requests just overnight alone, last night. So if you haven't heard back from him, trying to reach him, forget about it he's not going to call you back in a while. It's just the way it goes.

Now, back to Todd McCutcheon, the volleyball coach. Who his father in law was killed in that stabbing incident in central Beijing, a week ago Saturday, on the first day of competition, here in the capital city of China. His mother-in-law was also injured in that attack. She has since gone back to the U.S. to continue her treatment. But we talked on Sunday about what this has meant to him and how he has really appreciated -- Hugh McCutcheon that is -- has really appreciated all the support that he and his family have received.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUGH MCCUTCHEON, U.S. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL COACH: It's an interesting question because I think to me personally, it probably means less in some ways because, you know, if anything, this event gives you a much different perspective on the value of life and being with the people that you love. However, I know for our team and our family, for the organization, you know, it would be a great thing. But I'm not sure that it's necessarily an agenda where, you know, we have to win the gold to somehow vindicate what has happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Again, that is head coach Hugh McCutcheon. His father- in-law was Todd Bachman. I apologize for that mistake. By the way, the volleyball team 4-0, and they now lead Japan in their final preliminary match right now, at this hour, two sets to none, trying to go 5-0 before they go on to the quarter-finals.

And that now is over, by the way. They have beaten Japan 5-0. By the way, men's 40 meter hurdles, very quickly. Anglo Taylor getting the victory as the U.S. goes gold, silver, bronze, in a 1-2-3 sweep in the 400 meter hurdles. So another medal for the U.S. Also Nastia Liukin getting silver in the women's uneven bars, the third medal of these games for the gymnasts.

Let's go back to you.

COLLINS: Yes. Love that gymnastics story, too.

All right. Larry, good job. That was a tough interview to do, I'm sure. Thank you.

CNN.com will be talking to Michael Phelps, we want to remind you about that, too. And of course, you can get involved. You can go to ireport.com right now and submit your own video question for him. Then, don't miss Michael Phelps tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. Eastern only at CNN.com/live.

Quickly we want to get one final check with Jacqui Jeras on Fay and the progress that she, right -- she -- is making.

JERAS: It, it.

COLLINS: It, OK. All right. I'll give you that.

JERAS: Yes. Although it is a feminine name, right?

COLLINS: Yes.

JERAS: Hey, we're watching Fay. It is off the coast now. It's into the Florida straits. And we do expect some strengthening here. And it could possibly become a Category 1 hurricane.

Now, landfall is possible even late today or this evening into the western Keys or Dry Tortugas. It's going to be a close call. Either way you're going to be feeling the impact of this storm. Of course, the showers and thundershowers are already there, bringing in some heavy downpours. Wind gusts have been between about 30 and 40 miles per hour already. We'll watch that steadily increase, especially if some of these stronger outer bands make their way towards the coastline.

And we could also see some urban flooding in particular, that includes you in Miami and into the Fort Lauderdale area. Quick live picture to show you out of Key West and show you the conditions there. It's kind of a dark look in Key West this morning and we're expecting -- there you can see it -- a little bit of rough surf associated with that as well. And you can see some of those tree branches and bushes beginning to move, as well.

So, Heidi, things going downhill in Key West throughout the day today.

COLLINS: Yikes. All right. Well, we know you guys will stay on top of it. Thanks so much.

Jacqui Jeras, appreciate it.

CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.

"ISSUE #1" with Gerri Willis and Christine Romans, starts right now.