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American Morning
Tropical Storm Fay Slams Florida; Barack Obama Close to Naming VP; Credit Crisis Continues; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Attends an Emergency Meeting With NATO Allies; Who's on the VP Short List?
Aired August 19, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, it's 7:00 here on the East Coast. Some of the top stories this morning. Breaking news, Tropical Storm Fay slamming Florida again right now. The deadly storm made landfall in southwest Florida about two hours ago. There is still a risk of major flooding and tornado watches are in effect right now.
Fifty homes flooded, people stranded, dogs paddling through waist deep water, all this was in southern Texas. The area was already at its saturation point from Hurricane Dolly last month. Then came two more inches of rain per hour yesterday. Police closed roads. Officials opened shelters. Some people had to use canoes to get to those shelters.
A gang of suicide bombers try to storm a U.S. military base in Afghanistan. It happened near Pakistan. Officials say they didn't get in. Six attackers blew themselves up when they were surrounded outside. They killed 13 insurgents and wounded five Afghan soldiers.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Back now to our top story. Tropical Storm Fay making landfall in southwest Florida. The worst weather it has to offer is over much of the state right now. Some forecasters are predicting that the storm might stall and dump as much as 25 inches of rain over parts of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. There's lingering drought there, but that's an awful lot of rain.
Our reporters are staring down the storm right now. Our Rob Marciano live in Fort Myers, Florida. We also have Reynolds Wolf standing by in Atlanta with the latest advisory.
First, let's go to Rob. He's live for us in Fort Myers. As we said, what's it looking like there, Rob? Wind picking up a bit?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, they are. You know, the storm made landfall about 50 miles south of here a couple of hours ago and it's heading north/northeast. So it will be parallel to us here in the next hour, hour and a half. And as it gets a little bit closer, the wind certainly had been picking up and the squalls had been as well.
The most of the flooding actually has been in eastern part of Lee County. That's where the worst part of the storm is. And that's been the good news with this. High tides this morning were at 5:30 right around landfall. But because it made landfall south of here, the winds were actually blowing offshore. So storm surge not too much of an issue. But they will switch as far as the winds are concerned.
And there are some concerns about seeing a decent surge here later on this afternoon when the second high tide rolls around. Schools closed here. Lee and Collier County just down the road as well. Flights out of Fort Myers Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport, but they're going to open them up, but most of them have been canceled for at least this morning. They may rev them up later on today.
They are certainly bracing for the worst with this thing. Forecasters have had a real tough time getting their head around it. It's been so weak for so long around the Caribbean. Then crossing Cuba, forecasting and density track with such a slow moving weak storm is very, very difficult. And the good news was that it didn't come on shore as a hurricane.
But certainly the eastern part of the state, the entire southern part of the peninsula are getting hammered with wind and rain now. And as this thing tracks northward, we'll just have to wait and see how it pans out because it does get very interesting. What some of our computers are doing with this storm as far as putting it back out in the Atlantic, I'll let Reynolds talk more about that. But certainly the forecasting headaches with Fay continue. John, back to you.
ROBERTS: Rob Marciano for us this morning with that live report from the (INAUDIBLE). Rob, thanks. We'll check back with you in just a little while.
CHETRY: Well, one kite boarder decided to challenge Mother Nature and is now in critical condition. His horrible crash caught on tape.
Fay's high winds dragged him down at Fort Lauderdale beach. There you see him being picked up and then sent flying high impact into the side of a building. There's a bit of the aftermath. A lot of people just looking on shocked.
One local photographer who watched this happen says that the waterspout was forming right offshore at the time or what looked like a waterspout. The victim's friends say that he was strapped into a harness with emergency releases, but that the gust came along too fast for him to get loose.
Our Reynolds Wolf has the latest Fay advisory now. Now, you know, we've seen this. I mean, there are surfers, kite boarders who actually look forward to this type of weather because it makes it more exciting. And there were many of them out there on a lot of the area beaches down in Florida yesterday battling Mother Nature. And there you saw a bad example of what can happen.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know, there's a 100 percent way, a fail proof way to stay safe, you know, if you happen to be surfing or kite boarding. Don't do it. Don't do it when these storms come on shore and that's the number one way you're not going to get hurt. No question because you got -- not only the strong unexpected gusts, but you also have rip currents. You've got all kinds of problems.
The ocean is interesting enough without the storms and sure enough we do have this storm. It is Tropical Storm Fay making its way on shore. Winds now at 60 gusting to 70 miles an hour. It's about 48 miles from Fort Myers, Florida. It continues its trek to the north/northeast.
Kiran, the eye is on shore and for each minute, each hour that passes, the storm is going to lose a little bit of its intensity because it's away from its primary power source, that warm water from the ocean or in this case the gulf of Mexico.
Latest path we have form the National Hurricane Center, this is weird. Has the storm go into the north by 2:00 a.m. Wednesday, beginning to pop out near Cape Canaveral. Then right along Flagler Beach and even near, say, places like St. Augustine near Castillo de San Marcos, then it's going to make a turn back out into the Jacksonville right along the I-10 corridor into south Georgia, Alabama, maybe as far north at the Carolinas you could see some heavy rainfall.
And get this, we're talking about the potential of anywhere from 10 to 25 inches of rain as you go into the weekend. So we're going from a Tropical Storm to a depression and a major -- possible major flooding situation. Let's send it back to you in the studio.
CHETRY: All right. Reynolds, thanks.
WOLF: You bet.
ROBERTS: To the "Most Politics in the Morning" now. Barack Obama on the verge of picking his running mate. The question today is, when will he make the announcement and who will take the number two spot on the ticket?
Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is live in Washington. Candy, this is a favorite political parlor game, who the running mate is going to be? Where is the money going this Tuesday morning?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you that as recently as last night, sources were still telling CNN that obviously it will come later this week. Maybe as late as Saturday. So we have to stand by for those kinds of details. We do know we will hear it first via text message.
Beyond that, the who, we have heard over the weeks three names. Biden, Bayh and Kaine. But absent any official announcement of who it might be there are plenty of clues out there to follow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (voice-over): Barack Obama is within days of announcing his vice presidential choice. It will begin with a text message to supporters. And sources say it will be followed by a series of events designed to roll into next week's convention with maximum excitement. Who he has picked is another matter.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, New Mexico!
CROWLEY: During Veep Week, a campaign stop is less about what's said than where it is. In Veep Week, geography and choreography are clues.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The next president of the United States!
CROWLEY: Obama would love to put New Mexico in the Democratic column this fall. And, Bill Richardson, the governor, standing there with Obama, might be able to deliver it. As it happens, Richardson also appeared on television over the weekend on behalf of Obama. During Veep season Sunday talk shows are widely viewed as tryouts. But along with Richardson last Sunday, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Bayh was all the talk when he campaigned with Obama. But later this week, Obama is scheduled to campaign in Virginia. And much has been made of a counter clue as well. Joe Biden, currently gaining currency in the veepstakes has been uncharacteristically quiet.
Republican and campaign sources close to John McCain say there are plans in the works for McCain to have a big blowout of his own. Naming his VP pick a week from Friday, the day after the Democratic Convention. Sources envision a series of events starting in Ohio. However, they caution those plans are not in cement now and they could change.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm pleased to be here today at Coco Beach.
CROWLEY: McCain was talking to veterans in Florida, a state with 27 electoral votes where the governor is Republican Charlie Crist. Other clues. Talking the talk last Sunday, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've got nothing for you on the VP sweepstakes. Anything in that regard ought to be directed to the McCain campaign.
CROWLEY: Also on the Sunday roster for McCain, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, and the frequently mentioned Minnesota governor, Tim Pawlenty.
GOV. TIM PAWLENTY (R), MINNESOTA: I don't talk about the vice presidential stuff because I think it's mostly speculation, and I just have stopped talking about it.
CROWLEY: He may be the only one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: And here's what we know for sure, John. Over the next 10 days, we're going to have some real news here because we expect that in that period of time, we will have those nominees from both Barack Obama and John McCain.
ROBERTS: Doesn't look like anything's going to happen today. But, you know, everybody on the edge of their seat waiting. Maybe tomorrow, maybe Thursday.
CROWLEY: Exactly. This is a real stay tuned.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes. I love this part of the campaign. It's so exciting. Candy, thanks so much.
Here's what we're working on for you this morning, by the way. Responding to Russia, the Secretary of State at an emergency NATO meeting right now. She says Moscow is playing a dangerous game. But does she have any power to stop Russia?
CHETRY: Also, cold case investigations. Police turn to prisoners and playing cards for help.
ROBERTS: Plus, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi tie the knot. A decade ago critics said Ellen's career was over for coming out of the closet. Now, there's no controversy about it. A look at how times have changed for the comedian.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 11 minutes after the hour. And Gerri Willis is here this morning "Minding Your Business" in for Ali Velshi. What do you got for us?
GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: That's right. You know, the stock market tanked yesterday. The Dow was down 180 points, 1.5 percent.
Take a look at these numbers. All in the red there, you see. Now, stocks are looking down for today's open as well. The reason -- more credit crisis going on and on here. Concerns about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, obviously in the cross hairs here.
These two companies are at the center of the mortgage industry. Now more concerns that they will have more financial difficulties. And in fact, the government may have to take over these two companies.
Already Uncle Sam has agreed to stand behind these companies with as much credit as those two companies need and can take. Real concerns here now about whether shareholders will lose their money here in these two companies because they both are public. The two stocks down dramatically, as much as 80 percent from the beginning of the year.
So why is this important? These two companies stand at the center of the mortgage industry. They own, they guarantee $5 trillion in mortgages and that is half of the outstanding mortgage debt. Guys?
ROBERTS: So home sales in southern California one of the worst hit areas in the nation by the mortgage crisis, they saw a jump in home sales. It's the first time in nearly three years. Is this an indication...
WILLIS: A ray of sunshine.
ROBERTS: ... that maybe there is some light at the end of the tunnel and it's not an oncoming train?
WILLIS: Well, I hope you're right. Yes. This is a ray of sunshine in what otherwise has been a dismal story. Yes. Southern California seeing a 14 percent gain in home sales and that is really because so many of these prices cratered dramatically.
Those prices have come down so hard that now there are buyers out there who actually want to buy. Riverside, California, saw a 48 percent one-month gain in July in home sales. So some good news there. We have to wait and see if that whole trend catches fire.
ROBERTS: All right. Gerri, thanks so much.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
CHETRY: Well, it's Veep Week. Barack Obama may be on the verge of picking a running mate. And we'll take a look at whether Hillary Clinton should still be on the list if he wants to win.
ROBERTS: Stacking the deck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a missing part of my life. And I need to find my daughter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Kelli Arena shows us how playing games in prison is helping to crack cold cases.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get some fresh ideas and fresh information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, happening in about 20 minutes, secretary of State Condoleezza Rice holding an emergency meeting of NATO allies over the Russian invasion of Georgia.
State Department correspondent Zain Verjee is live in Brussels, Belgium, with the very latest right now. And what exactly is Condoleezza Rice hoping to accomplish, Zain? ZAIN VERJEE, STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was supposed to be enjoying the fanfare of the Beijing closing ceremonies this week. Instead she's marching through her own kind of closing ceremonies with a different show of flags here in the heart of Europe.
Secretary Rice's goal here is really to try and get Europe and the United States on the same page against Russia to try and isolate it, diplomatically, and to punish it for invading Georgia. The problem is, a lot of European countries aren't willing for that to happen. They have important cooperation and relationships with Russia. Things like peacekeeping, counterterrorism, counternarcotics. They are also heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas. So it's going to be very difficult for Secretary Rice to get a united front, at least behind the scenes, on that. Publicly, though, they are saying that they all are on the same page in support of Georgia -- Kiran.
CHETRY: And so, that's pretty much what they agree on, then? That they're supporting Georgia, how they're handling it may be a different story?
VERJEE: Well, specifically, they're saying that we can expect later in the day some kind of assistance package, some kind of rebuilding package for Georgia as well as more talks in trying to get Georgia into NATO. But the fact of the matter is, is that a lot of European countries think the United States really mishandled the situation. And they're saying, is that President Mikheil Saakashvili is a reckless man who made a bad decision and a loose cannon. They have very critical words of him. And they feel he's not the right man to bring Georgia into NATO and there's a huge amount of skepticism.
So Secretary Rice really does have her work cut out here in the heart of the European military alliance with the United States -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Zain Verjee for us in Brussels, Belgium, today. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Same-sex celebrities. Getting hitched in Hollywood without a hitch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ellen didn't lose her popularity because of this. There was no drama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's coming up now on 21 minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
We are watching Tropical Storm Fay bear down on Florida right now, and so are you. I-reporter Jim Thompson sent us this video of the storm hitting Key West, Florida. You can see the waves crashing over the sea wall as residents pick up shovels to try to clear out rains, let some of that water go back into the ocean.
I-reporter Bobby Pate (ph) captured this video on his digital camera from Lower Matecumbe Key in Florida. This is about 5:45 yesterday. You can see Fay's winds doing a number on those palm trees, but they're staying rooted. Palm trees are incredible.
And I-reporter Brian Bellino captured this video from his boat near Islamorada, Florida. You can see the rain bands sweeping across the water.
This was just before 2:00 p.m. The storm turning the skies a very gloomy gray. Islamorada usually a beautiful, beautiful place. Not so much yesterday.
And if you see news, send in an I-report. Just log on to our Web site Ireport.com and follow the directions on how to submit your photo or video. And remember, never put yourself in harm's way to get that picture.
CHETRY: We've been showing these shots all morning as Fay is bearing down on southwest Florida. We get an update now on the conditions at this hour.
CNN producer Aaron Cooper is live on the phone in Naples, Florida. It's about 20 miles north of where Fay made landfall this morning. Hi, Aaron.
AARON COOPER, CNN PRODUCER: Good morning. You should be looking at some video coming live over a cell phone connection right now. The trees just getting battered in the wind here. Actually we have the wind picked up quite a bit in the last 20 minutes or so compared to what it was maybe an hour ago as this storm bands come through this morning.
There have been quite a bit of winds, quite a bit of rain as well, and resulted in some pretty significant street flooding. A number of the side streets here, we're right now about a block or so inland, and there's -- side streets have about six to eight inches of water. Up to some of the axles of some of the vehicles.
Here you see a vehicle that is attempting to make its way through this high water here this morning. There's not been a lot of damage here in Naples. Most of the power still is on.
We have seen scattered power outages, but most of the power is on. And there's a few palm frawns down on the ground and a few downed coconuts. But for the most part, everything seems to be weathering the storm pretty well.
CHETRY: It's fascinating technology. It's like your own live I- report there. You're feeding this through your cell phone right now?
COOPER: Exactly. It's an amazing technology. It's a new technology. It's only recently become available to us. And I can show you these things all over.
CHETRY: Yes. It gives us a chance to see many different areas that we normally might not be able to see because of trying to get camera crews in there.
CNN producer Aaron Cooper showing us via cell phone video what it looks like in Naples, Florida, about 20 miles north of where Fay made landfall this morning. Aaron, thanks.
ROBERTS: It's coming up now on 24 minutes after the hour. We could know Barack Obama's running mate as early as tomorrow. Doesn't look like we're going to hear anything today. Many candidates may still be in the running. So who gives him the best chance to win?
And almost a dozen people still missing after a Grand Canyon flood. Those rescues say the sound of the rain and the falling rocks sounded like a freight train. The latest on the life saving effort. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 26 minutes after the hour. The Democratic National Convention is just days away. And sources tell CNN that Senator Barack Obama will announce his choice for a running mate this week.
Joining me now to talk about -- more about the veepstakes on both sides of the aisle, "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl and syndicated columnist Liz Smith. They are the founders of the Web site Women on the Web or wowowow.com. And we're very excited this morning because you ran an informal poll on who your readers would think would make a great running mate. And what did we find out here?
LESLEY STAHL, CORRESPONDENT, "60 MINUTES": Well, we found out -- no, we gave them names. Hillary Clinton was not on the list. So that's important to know. In the list, we found that Senator Biden got 39 percent and others got 31 percent. Now, others was -- a lot of it was a write in for Hillary.
ROBERTS: Really. That's interesting. Kathleen Sebelius here. The governor of Kansas second with 18 percent. Senator Evan Bayh, eight percent. Former Governor Mark Warner, six percent. Why do you think Biden came out on top?
STAHL: I think he's -- people are beginning to focus on him because he has experience and because he has foreign policy know-how. And we're in the midst of a foreign policy --
LIZ SMITH, FOUNDER, WOWOWOW.COM: He's the most attractive male senator.
ROBERTS: There you go.
SMITH: I mean, you know --
ROBERTS: Liz cuts right to the chase here.
SMITH: He takes all the oxygen out of the room. But I think he's learning and I think he's learned. He's very popular.
ROBERTS: Now, why was Hillary -- why was Hillary Clinton not on the list?
STAHL: Because we, I guess, have determined that that's not going to happen. It's just not a possibility at this point and I --
ROBERTS: But you say --
SMITH: But we say it's not going to happen but we're beginning to wonder if maybe it should.
ROBERTS: But you were saying --
STAHL: Well, Liz is beginning to wonder if maybe --
SMITH: Oh, well --
ROBERTS: Liz, you're saying on your Web site if he wants to win, he should rethink this one.
SMITH: Well, that's all I mean.
STAHL: You know what?
SMITH: Forget your personal opinion, I mean.
STAHL: CBS has done a poll of the delegates. And the delegates, naturally half of them voted for her. Say and this is interesting. Twenty-eight percent, this is CBS poll of delegates, want her. Now, almost 50 percent voted for her.
SMITH: Look at how pitiful the figures were for Biden and all the rest of them.
STAHL: Biden only got six percent of the delegates.
ROBERTS: Interesting.
STAHL: And John Edwards, after the scandal, got four percent of the delegates.
ROBERTS: Maybe he's not dead yet. But here's the thing. A lot of people now believe that being the vice presidential running mate is not the best use of Hillary Clinton's talents. So she's a strong senator. She should stay in the senate.
And there's also other people who believe that, well, if you put her on the ticket what do you do about Bill? So she's still carrying the Bill baggage? Is that fair?
SMITH: I think that's it. I think now she has changed her mind about letting him interfere with her life. I mean, I've talked to her. And I think that's a phony issue now.
STAHL: Well, you think that she should keep him? SMITH: This is a largely ceremonial position anyway. And I think she would just say, get out of my life.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Although the message in -- yes.
STAHL: You really think she can keep him in a corner?
SMITH: Yes, I do. I don't think he could interfere.
STAHL: Well, I love you a lot. But I don't think that's going to happen.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Let's look at the Republican side and we'll go through the numbers very quickly here.
Mitt Romney came out number one with 33 percent. Tom Ridge, former governor of Pennsylvania, 19 percent. Joe Lieberman, 15. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, 13. Others got 20.
What do you think Romney came in number one? These guys were like oil and water?
SMITH: Because the pickings are slim. And Romney is good looking and he knows something about economics. Everything we say here has a negative and a positive. No matter who you mention, there are reasons not to choose them. You know, I think that McCain, in the end, will just go with his gut. And he's probably choose somebody that nobody ever heard of. I think he might pick T. Boone Pickens.
ROBERTS: He's good on the environment these days, yes.
STAHL: What surprised me was the Joe Lieberman coming up pretty strong in that poll. And, you know, if he picked Joe Lieberman, he could go out and then kind of take the bipartisanship issue away from Obama. I'm the conciliator, look what I've done. I've taken a democrat- independent. Interesting choice.
ROBERTS: Well, we're going to find out who John McCain is going to pick a week from Friday and Barack Obama, we think, sometime this week. It's great to see you, Lesley and Liz -- wowowow.com. And that's wow just the letter O wow.com. Some really interesting commentary on there from all of your readers.
SMITH: We're having fun with our ladies. They're great. Our women. Our girls. Whatever they are.
ROBERTS: Thanks for coming in this morning. It's great to see you.
STAHL: Thank you.
SMITH: Thank you. CHETRY: 31 minutes past the hour now. Some of the top stories we're following for you here on AMERICAN MORNING. Happening right now, an emergency NATO meeting over Russia's invasion of Georgia. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Belgium with western allies. She said Russia's playing a "dangerous game with its use of military force in the region."
Tropical storm Fay slamming Florida right now. The deadly storm made land fall in southwest Florida about two hours ago. There is a risk of major flooding and even tornado watches.
Our Rob Marciano standing by now in Fort Myers. We have Reynolds Wolf at the hurricane center in Atlanta.
First, though, to Rob with a look at what it's like right now, the conditions on the ground in Fort Myers.
Hey, Rob.
MARCIANO: ...continue this march across the Florida peninsula, making landfall about 50 miles south of here about 2 1/2 hours ago. Emergency managers here are just telling people to stay off the roads if they can. So far the bridges have been allowed to remain open. They really need 40 miles an hour wind or better sustained in order to shut those down. So that would certainly have incapacitated Lee and Collier counties as this storm came ashore.
Making land fall in Cuba, making landfall again in the keys, and then making a third land fall this morning across, just south of Naples near Marco Island and heading towards Lake Okeechobee, the central part of the state which actually could use some of this rain for sure. Schools are closed in anticipation of the storm. The airport well is scheduled to reopen, but certainly there's a lot of flights that are canceled at least for this morning. And there will be a slow go if you're trying to travel in and out of this airport. They were bracing for a hurricane.
The forecast was for it to possibly get to hurricane status. It did not do that. That's the good news. The other good news is that because it came in south of here, most of the storm surge went into the Everglades themselves. And that's always a healthy option. Although when the winds switch, and they're beginning to do that even as we speak right now, we get more of an on shore push later on today. And that may well coincides with high tides. And then we'll get a bit of a surge then. But not nearly what could have been as tropical storm Fay made land fall early this morning.
Potentially reemerging on the other side. I'll let Reynolds talk more about that. But John and Kiran, this storm has been a headache from the start, from the National Hurricane Center to get their heads around an accurate forecast. And it continues to play with them this morning. Back up to you.
CHETRY: But as you said, it could have been way worse. Rob in Fort Myers beach this morning for us. Thanks.
ROBERTS: And let's go to Reynolds Wolf as Rob was saying. He's got the latest advisory on Fay. What does it say in there, Reynolds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The latest we have on this storm - winds are at 60, gusting to 70 miles an hour. It's about 48 miles or so, give or take a mile from Fort Myers, Florida. It is currently moving north/northeast at nine miles per hour. Because of the slow progress, that's one of the reasons why we have the potential of flash flooding throughout much of central and south Florida.
Now, the latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center. My goodness. What a headache this storm has been. It is expected to make its way to the north and to the northeast doing so rather slowly as I mentioned. The rate of speed around nine miles per hour. Crossing the peninsula. And by 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday, should just go right out near Cape Canaveral, right near the Banana River and then moving out over open water, possibly gaining a little more strength with winds of 45 miles per hour as we get to 2:00 a.m. Thursday.
And then possibly coming on shore for a fourth time. Think about this. Once in Cuba, once in the Keys, once south of where Rob is. The fourth possible land fall near Jacksonville. As we get to 2:00 a.m. Friday, with winds around 35 miles an hour. Then the storm system veers again back across parts of Florida, Georgia, even into Alabama, bringing the potential from anywhere from a foot, and maybe as much as two feet of rainfall into the weekend. So there's certainly going to be the likelihood of some flooding.
What a mess this storm has been and what a mess it may prove to be over the next couple of days. All right. That's the latest we've got for you. John, let's send it right back to you in the studio.
ROBERTS: So, Reynolds, as we've been mentioning for a long time now, there's been persistent drought there in the central part of Florida as well as Georgia, the Carolinas. Is this too much rain all at once?
WOLF: Oh, absolutely. The one thing we have going for us in this part of the world is that you have to know that the landscape of much of central Florida and parts of south Georgia, it's easier for them to handle this kind of rainfall. A lot of this is really marshy area.
However, you contrast that to central Texas where you have a lot of rocky soil and you have more runoff and more issues, it should be better to handle in parts of Florida. But still when you're talking about not six inches or maybe even eight inches of rain with possibly several feet, I don't care what kind of soil you have. You're going to have some problems. That's the thing we're going to see especially as we get into Saturday and maybe into Sunday, too.
ROBERTS: All right. Reynolds Wolf for us this morning with the latest on Fay. Reynolds, thanks so much.
WOLF: You bet.
ROBERTS: Other headlines making news right now. A $20 million settlement in that 2003 station nightclub inferno. 100 people died in the blaze. The state of Rhode Island and the town of West Warwick have each agreed to pay $10 million to survivors and victims' families. The government and companies sued over the fire have offered families a total of almost $175 million now. None of that money though has been distributed yet.
An attorney is suing Columbia University saying that its women's studies program is unconstitutional. The lawsuit claims that the college program is discriminatory because there's no comparable men's program. Columbia had no comment. The lawyer Roy Den Hollander is the same man who sued to end ladies nights in Manhattan bars. That suit is still pending.
CHETRY: Well, California's highest court ruled that doctors cannot deny care based on a patient's sexuality despite moral obligations or objection by the doctors. The ruling stems from a case in which two Christian fertility doctors refused to artificially inseminate a lesbian woman. One of the doctors referred the woman to another fertility specialist who did not have moral objections and she has since given birth to three children.
And still missing after the Grand Canyon flood. Rescuers still combing through the vast national park for 11 campers who were either washed away, still in the park, or may have simply gone home and are unaware that people are searching for them. Crews have already rescued hundreds.
ROBERTS: New this morning, some colleges want to lower the drinking age. Presidents from about 100 of the country's top colleges want lawmakers to consider dropping the legal drinking age from 21 to 18. They say the current law actually encourages dangerous binge drinking on campus. The group Mothers Against Drunk Driving disagrees though. It says statistics show the higher drinking age has reduced the number of fatal car crashes.
If you own an American car, a new survey says you may not be too happy. G.M., Ford, Chrysler all saw their ratings fall on a new consumer satisfaction lists. We'll tell you which cars are on top.
CHETRY: Also a new report says problems were found with Mexican peppers and chilies long before the recent Salmonella outbreak. How long the government has known about dangerous food?
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CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. We want to let you know that we are going to be talking to the ultimate Olympian, the winningest Olympic champion of all times, Michael Phelps, swimmer, eight gold medals in Beijing. He's going to be joining us live in just about 15 minutes. You may want to stick around for that. John.
ROBERTS: All right. It's 20 minutes to the top of the hour. The most politics in the morning now. AMERICAN MORNING is committed to helping you make an informed choice this November. We're showing you more of the candidates' messages to voters in their own words. Senator Barack Obama is speaking about his recent meeting with T. Boone Pickens and the quest for renewable energy sources. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have no time to waste. You know, I met with T. Boone Pickens yesterday. Now, T. Boone Pickens, this guy's a billionaire oil man. Not a liberal, by any means. I mean, this is a guy who, you know, frankly, he's gone after democrats, including John Kerry in the last presidential election in some very tough ways. But the reason we met was because he shares an interest that I share. And a sense of urgency about energy.
We have to fundamentally change how we use energy in this country. Fundamentally. We have to do it because we're sending $700 billion to foreign nations. It's a huge transfer of our wealth. It oftentimes leads us to funding both sides in the war on terrorism because we're sending a bunch of that money to the Middle East and countries that don't necessarily like us. And it is fundamentally impacting our environment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And coming up in about 15 minutes' time, we're going to hear from Senator John McCain and his response to Senator Obama for allegedly distorting McCain's position on the G.I. bill. Our AMERICAN MORNING is your best place for the best convention coverage. Live in Denver as the democratic convention kicks off starting this Monday.
CHETRY: Well, taking a look now at this morning's business headlines, oil prices are down again this morning, trading below $112 a barrel. That's after tropical storm Fay avoided the oil infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. Analysts say that falling worldwide demand could lower prices even more.
And there's a new survey that says U.S. car buyers are feeling less satisfied with domestic brands. This is according to the University of Michigan's American Consumer Satisfaction Index. General Motors and Ford fell from their number two spot. Lexus and BMW, the top brands followed by Toyota and Honda. Chrysler was among the worst brand.
And a new report out this morning says Mexican peppers and chilies were tainted with Salmonella months before the recent outbreak. An "Associated Press" review of the Food and Drug Administration records show 88 shipments of diseased peppers stopped at the border. Of those 10 percent were contaminated with Salmonella. Now, critics say that should have prompted the government to increase screening sooner.
ROBERTS: The greatest Olympian in the world. Michael Phelps is joining us live from Beijing. Find out what he's doing to help get your kids in the pool.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Same sex celebrities. Getting hitched in Hollywood without a hitch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ellen didn't lose her popularity because of this. There was no drama.
ROBERTS: You're watching the most news in the morning.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. There's a new program in New York that has prisoners actually helping police solve open cases. The secret weapon, a deck of cards. CNN's Kelli Arena explains in part two of her series, "Life Behind Bars." Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Kiran. You know, this may look like an ordinary deck of playing cards. But each one represents a tragedy and hope for an answer.
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ARENA (voice-over): In prison, inmates tend to have a lot of time on their hands.
No chip, no cash, but the stakes couldn't be higher.
JONATHAN KITT, INMATE: I looked through them at first. It was very distracting, were horrifying when I first seen them.
ARENA: Each of the 52 cards is an unsolved crime. The faces of the dead and missing. Like Suzanne Lyall. A decade ago she got off a bus in Albany, New York, near her college and vanished.
MARY LYALL, CARD PROGRAM ORGANIZER: This is a missing part of my life. And I need to find my daughter. And this is our job now.
ARENA: Her parents, Doug and Mary, hope the cards will jog a memory. Jar a guilty conscience. Maybe even a hot lead in a cold case.
DOUG LYALL, CARD PROGRAM ORGANIZER: There's still an answer out there. That's our belief is that somebody knows someone, knows something about this situation.
ARENA: So does it work? Well, a similar program in Florida has already led to eight cold case arrests. Sheriff Jack Mahar runs the county jail in Renselaer County, New York. He started distributing cards to inmates in June.
SHERIFF JACK MAHAR, RESSELAER COUNTY, NEW YORK: We have a very high turn over which is very good. Because we keep on getting different people in here all the time. That would, you know, give some fresh idea and fresh information.
ARENA: It makes sense to convicts hear things, know things that the cops don't. At the call center that takes the tips, callers can stay anonymous. But surprisingly, many inmates choose to give their names.
CINDY BLOCK, N.Y. CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES: There's a wide range of calls from people saying yes, I think I've seen this person or I know someone who has said that they have information about this case.
KAREEM WILLIAMS, INMATE: It makes you come clean of the things you did to try to change your life around.
ARENA: Maybe that's a genuine change of heart or just more convict bluff. Doesn't matter. For Doug and Mary Lyall and the police with cold cases to solve, there's nothing to lose.
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ARENA: The Lyalls are hoping to get the cards into state prisons as well and are hoping that a corporate sponsor will step up to the plate to help foot the bill. John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: The Olympic golden boy, Michael Phelps is joining us live a few minutes from now. We're going to ask him how much the high-tech pool and special swim suit helped him crush world records. Stay with us.
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ROBERTS: Nine minutes to the top of the hour. A Hollywood wedding unlike any other before. Talk show host Ellen Degeneres and actress Portia De Rossi tied the knot this past weekend in California.
CNN's Brooke Anderson reports much of America is saying so what -- Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, those same-sex marriage is a hot button issue, the weekend wedding of Ellen Degeneres and her partner has heard little to no controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): On the same weekend, both presidential candidates defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, one of the biggest Hollywood weddings of the year featured a same-sex couple. On Saturday, Ellen Degeneres and Portia De Rossi became the highest profile couple yet to take advantage of California legalizing same-sex marriage. But what may be more notable than the nuptials is the lack of debate surrounding them.
DAVID CAPLAN, EDITOR, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Ellen didn't lose any popularity because of this, there was no drama even in terms of advertisers in her show.
ANDERSON: A far cry from 1997 when Ellen first announced she was gay.
ELLEN DEGENERES, TV SHOW HOST: I'm gay. ANDERSON: Critics said her career was in jeopardy and when her TV show was canceled a year later, it looked like they were right. But what a difference a decade makes. Not only has Ellen made a come back with a wildly successful daytime talk show, she openly talked on the program about her relationship and impending nuptials.
DEGENERES: I'm announcing, I am getting married.
ANDERSON: "People" magazine is featuring Ellen's wedding in their new cover story.
CAPLAN: This is what "People's" readership wants to see, they love Ellen and they want to see her enjoying one of her biggest life moments ever.
ANDERSON: Gay and lesbian activists say it's a step in the right direction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think about Ellen coming out of her television show, folks saying end of her career. And gay TV couldn't work, and now you see the tremendous success that she's had.
ANDERSON: But same-sex marriage remains a lightning rod for controversy and that battle will continue through this election season and beyond.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Now, Ellen wrote on her web side that she had an eventful weekend. Her talk show is currently on high hiatus and will return with new episodes in September. John, Kiran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): Bracing for the storm. Southwest Florida feels the worst of Fay. Thousands skipping town, others rolling the dice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The question is where am I going.
CHETRY: And making you disappear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should really think anything is possible.
CHETRY: Right out of "Harry Potter," unveiling the science behind in-visibility cloaks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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ROBERTS: New this morning, a bonus swimsuit edition of "Sports Illustrated." Michael Phelps appears on the magazine's cover draped in gold and lots of it. He joins us now live from Beijing.
Michael, it's great to see you. Congratulation, what an extraordinary feat that you pulled off there in Beijing. Has it sunk in yet?
MICHAEL PHELPS, 14-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: I'm not so sure it's all sunk in, but some of it has. And it was just a fun week, a crazy week, but a fun one.
ROBERTS: It was just an extraordinary thing to watch. I mean, obviously it's still a long way away, but you're planning on coming back to the 2012 Olympics. After you win eight gold medals in a single Olympics, what's left to do?
PHELPS: Well, my goal for, I guess, one of my goals you know growing up was always to change the sport of swimming. And I watched Michael Jordan change the sport of basketball. And today, I just finished the last lap with from Beijing and there was $100,000 raised for U.S.A. swimming to go help kids become more water safe and you know, I think that's going to be something that will be something I'm going to be working on for the rest my life and you know, I think, I can definitely change the sport and raise the bar.
ROBERTS: Yes, this is something that started back in November. You swam the first lap, since then I think kids across America have swum some 6,000 laps. You swam the last one this morning. Swimming really changed your life, didn't? You had that middle school teacher, I think English teacher, you said, who once upon a time said you're never going to be a success, Phelps, give it up.
PHELPS: Yes, you know, it was fun doing the last lap today and you know I'm looking forward to what the future brings. You know, I've been able to accomplish pretty much whatever I really set my mind on, I've been able to be very successful. So you know hopefully this is a goal that I really, really want to achieve to grow the sport and really have kids become more water safe. I think it's extremely important.
ROBERTS: I tell you, it's a great thing to do. You know, Michael, all through these games, people are just marveling at the times that you and the other swimmers were putting down and they were wondering what is it? Is it something in the suit, is it something in the water? Was it the pool, was it the suit, was it the physical conditioning that led to these times, a combination of all three? What do you think it was?
PHELPS: I think it was a combination of everything. The sport is changing. There's so much more technology involved. And you know, people are just getting faster. People are swimming faster. It's the Olympics and everyone was excited to swim here. And it definitely showed.
ROBERTS: I'll tell you. The closest it came was the 100-meter butterfly against Lazlo Cseh. You won literally by a fingernail. Did you know at the time how close that race actually was?
PHELPS: I had no clue. And when I took my last little half stroke, I thought that cost me the race. But that actually ended up winning the race and I still, you know, every time I see it, I just can't believe it. ROBERTS: It's just an amazing thing to watch. And you know, a lot of people here, this whole games has been about Michael Phelps, but there's so many other people on the American swim team that did such a great job and I'm wondering how much do you love Jason Lezak for putting in that anchor leg on the 400-meter medley the other night?
PHELPS: You know, Jason, we were talking about - I think Jason, you know, is a professional relay swimmer. The guy is incredible. He's a great teammate. All of my teammates are amazing. And I'm just fortunate enough to have such great teammates who we were all able to work together and all swim pretty fast times to get our relay back on American soil.
ROBERTS: All right. Listen, Michael, again, congratulations on this amazing feat. I know that you're heading to London in the next couple of days and somehow I think we're going to be seeing a lot more of you in the next few years. Appreciate it. Thanks very much.
PHELPS: Thanks a lot.
ROBERTS: Take care.
