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Senator Obama Campaigns with Virginia Governor; Fay Lingers Over Florida; The Presidential Race Tightens; Phelps' Facebook Frenzy
Aired August 21, 2008 - 09:00 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 are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is on vacation.
See events come into the NEWSROOM live on Thursday, August 21st. Here's what's on the rundown.
Slow poke Fay. Lingering around Florida today. The governor calls the flooding catastrophic.
Barack Obama and Virginia governor Tim Kaine. Is that the ticket? The pair campaigning together. This morning live coverage.
And a speeding bullet bike crushes -- crashes underneath an SUV. A mother pulls her children from the fire. Was the accident a video game come to life? Joystick on two wheels in the NEWSROOM.
Tropical Storm Fay, a rainmaker that's setting a high water mark for misery. The rainfall nothing short of staggering. Some parts of central Florida reporting more than 23 inches. Areas in its path from Daytona to Jacksonville could see rainfall totals of 30 inches. Flood waters have swallowed hundreds of homes.
Want to take a minute now to get over to Rob Marciano. He's standing by in the Severe Weather Center to talk more about this.
Rob, we just cannot get rid of Fay.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, we can't, and I don't think we're going to get rid of her for some time to come. Once we get her over to the peninsula and on the west side, then we've got another problem.
But let's deal with problem number one, which is wind 60 miles an hour continues to be stationery, it's drifted a little bit farther to the north. Obviously, the right side of the cloud signature, a little more potent than the left, it's over the water. This is kind of a combination of visible and infrared and you could see the flair up of thunderstorms on this side.
Good outflow, really gets up towards South Carolina. If this thing was like 10 or 20 miles farther off shore towards the Gulf stream we'd be talking about a whole lot of hurdles as far as wind and rain and surf and storm surge.
The main factor with this storm has certainly been the rain and these are as of 2:00 a.m. so these numbers certainly could have come up almost two feet at Coco Beach, which is right about there. So that's still in rain.
The center of circulation is still right -- just off shore of Daytona Beach by about 15, 20 miles and it's starting to drift a little bit farther to the north and to the northwest. The forecast is for it to continue its trek towards the west and get over land, but until it does, though, these -- these spiraling bands are going to continue to whip around and continue to dump flooding rains on top of central and northern Florida -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Boy. All right, Rob, we know you're watching it. Thank you.
Also watching Fay, CNN's Sean Callebs is in St. Augustine now awaiting Fay's third landfall in Florida.
Hey, Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi.
I hope Rob is nice and warm in that weather center talking about just how bad this tropical storm is going to be and how much rain it's going to bring to this area. We've been out here all morning. This rain just started coming down, I'd say, within the last 15 minutes and we heard the governor of Florida talk about it.
This is a storm that is going to be remembered for its resiliency and amount of precipitation that it is bringing to Florida. We know it just hammered the southwestern part of the state moving across in a very, very slow lumbering fashion, then sitting off out in the Atlantic, and now slowly moving ashore.
We are basically in that northern eye wall until the last few minutes. But, boy, the wind has picked up significantly. This rain has now started to come down. They fear that this area could get as much as 10 inches of rain in the next several hours.
And, boy, we saw what happened in Melbourne last night. So much flooding there, they had to use air boats to go and rescue people.
I'd say in the last half hour, there are people walking on the boardwalk with children, with dogs, nobody out here now. The situation has changed. And we're standing here in the surf, not just for effect, but this is about low tide.
And you can see as the surf comes crashing in all the way up to these rocks and the protected floodwall, a high tide is going to be just after noon here. So we're not able to stand out here for a lot longer, Heidi, but conditions out are here getting significantly worse.
We expect it is going to rain throughout much of the day and possibly, quite possibly Florida very low-lying area gets significant flooding here in this area. We know that the governor has called FEMA. Folks are standing by. It's just a question of how much rain this area gets -- Heidi? COLLINS: Hey, Sean, I just want to remind us about any sort of evacuation type situation if, in fact, that could come or if some people have, sort of, voluntarily made their way out of the area, even though this is the third time around.
CALLEBS: You know -- it's a good point. You know it's a great point because this is a storm that has really punished the state for four days. They saw just the damage it did in Port St. Lucie.
John Zarrella doing a great job of documenting how many homes are flooded in that area and the amount of rescues that had to be performed there. Once Fay carved across the Keys and in the southwestern part of the state.
People we talked to here -- and we actually started well below Daytona Beach, which is about an hour and a half from us, drove all the way up the beach highway, stopping in communities, talking to folks. A lot of people said, you know what, we don't think this is going to be any worse than a nor'easter, and that's exactly what one woman who moved down from the north a number of years ago told us.
So people here are taking this one -- I don't want to say cavalierly -- but they're certainly not taking it with the urgency that perhaps the governor and other emergency officials would like to see them look at this storm.
COLLINS: Well, hopefully that will change and everybody will really stay tuned into this one because from where you are and what we're seeing in your pictures, certainly, looks like it is not over.
Sean Callebs live for us this morning in St. Augustine -- thank you, Sean.
Much of Texas also reeling from heavy rains and widespread flooding. Up to nine inches of rain fell in Colin County, that's north of Dallas. For much of north Texas, it was the sixth straight day of heavy rains.
In south Texas hundreds of people are trying to clean up homes damaged by flood waters over the weekend.
So will this be decision day? Barack Obama gets closer to naming his running mate. He campaigns with one possible pick next hour. But another name keeps bubbling up -- Hillary Clinton.
Ed Henry is on the VP watch, yet again, today. All right, so, what do you think today, Ed? Because I know yesterday it might have been different.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting. You mentioned Hillary Clinton. This name has been surfacing over the last 24 hours -- some Democrats, but frankly, I've also heard it from some Republicans -- because they -- the strategists in both parties are saying, wait a second.
We thought Barack Obama was going to roll this out a couple days ago, maybe a little sooner, and now, since we're getting closer to the convention, is it a surprise? Is it someone with lot of name I.D.? Someone he doesn't need to spend a lot of time rolling out and introducing to the American people.
And frankly, I think some Republicans are spreading this because it's a wishful thinking on their part because they know that she's also a lightning rod. She did get 18 million votes in the primary. She brings some real strengths to the table and but she also could really rally conservatives if she was on the ticket and could give conservatives sort of a spark to turn out for John McCain. So there may be some wishful thinking there.
We have gotten no new reporting suggesting that she has vaulted to the top of the short list, but I think, especially with some polls out there saying a lot of Hillary Clinton supporters have not come into the Obama camp right now, this is fuelling the speculation, maybe she'll get back.
But I think more likely is what we're seeing two clear paths for Barack Obama -- either he goes for the Washington insider and determines he needs to strengthen his national security bona fides and go with someone like Senator Joe Biden or Senator Evan Bayh, or he needs to underline sort of the change mantra of his campaign, not go with an insider who would run counter to that image and, instead, go with Governor Tim Kaine, who is going to be campaigning with, as you mentioned this morning, or go with Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas.
I think there are two clear distinct paths here for Barack Obama. Just, as frankly, there are two clear roads that John McCain can go down -- either conservative or moderate -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, it would be a little strange, though, would it not, Ed, to see him campaigning with Governor Kaine and then announce someone else? That would be bad.
HENRY: Well, it depends on when he makes the announcement.
COLLINS: Right.
HENRY: I mean, obviously, 10 minutes later, 10 minutes after a Kaine event you announce somebody else, right, that would be bad. I think that's highly unlikely. I think a lot of the speculation is focusing on Saturday.
We know there's a big event in Springfield, Illinois, Barack Obama's home state. They haven't officially said that's where the announcement will be, but that's where his presidential campaign -- that's where it all started. So there's some symmetry...
COLLINS: Yes.
HENRY: ... for him to bring his running mate back there. So I've been told by senior Democrats days ago that the window is between Thursday and Saturday. We're now hearing Thursday, that's why the speculation is building... COLLINS: That's a big window.
HENRY: But it is a big window, and Saturday is, obviously, closer to the convention. So if you want to get a bump for the convention -- you know, that's why a lot of people are focusing on Friday or Saturday more than today -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, very good. We are glad that you are following all of those details for us.
CNN's Ed Henry.
HENRY: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: Thank you, Ed.
His lead is shrinking in the polls, some say Barack Obama needs a game changer and what about John McCain's VP choice? A strategy obsession with two political insiders coming up at the half hour.
Overseas now, twin suicide bombings. They happened at a military weapons factory in Pakistan. More than 50 dead and 70 wounded. The attacks taking place near the gates of the facility. It's located just outside the capital of Islamabad.
Police say the bombers blew themselves up during a shift change as workers were coming and going. It is the second deadly suicide attack in as many days. Pakistani forces are battling an escalating war with Islamic militants in nearby tribal regions.
Arriving in Baghdad this morning, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She is there pushing a deal on the future of U.S. troops in Iraq.
Want to go live now to CNN's Arwa Damon who is in the Iraqi capital.
Arwa, good morning to you.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
And Secretary Rice did say that both sides were very close to coming to this agreement, but still much work does remain to be done. She didn't go into the details of exactly what it would entail, but did say that both sides had agreed to a time horizon for U.S. troop drawdowns.
Now this agreement is meant to replace the U.N. mandate that expires at the end of this. The negotiations have taken much longer than both sides would have hoped for.
Secretary Rice also emphasizing that one of the crucial points was that this agreement would respect Iraqi sovereignty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: What we're trying to do is to put together an agreement that protects our people that respects Iraqi sovereignty that allows us to lay the kind of foundation that we need for making certain that we complete the work that we've all sacrificed so greatly to see accomplished, and that work is being accomplished.
But the goal is to have Iraqi forces responsible for the security of Iraq. That is the goal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: And that has pretty much been the goal since the onset, but that is also where a lot of the risk that does lie in terms of the future of Iraq. If we look at the past, there have been a number of occasions where the U.S. military tries to hand over the security portfolio to the Iraqis, only to have security crumble in these areas.
Nobody wants to see that happen again because so much has been sacrificed here. We have been hearing from the Iraqi side that they would like to see a timeline that would have U.S. troops out of the major cities (INAUDIBLE) with the (INAUDIBLE)...
COLLINS: Unfortunately, it looks like we're having a little bit of technical difficulty with Arwa Damon's shot there. But we will be following the story and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Baghdad for you throughout the NEWSROOM here.
In the other war zone, Afghanistan. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed today by Afghan president Hamid Karzai. The British leader is there to underscore Britain's support of the flagging democracy went under assault by a Taliban resurgent.
Mr. Brown also met with his troops on the front lines. His visit comes during a bloody week. Ten French and three Polish soldiers killed in combat.
Just back from Afghanistan -- French president Nicolas Sarkozy today taking part in the ceremony for the 10 young French troops killed on Monday in that Taliban ambush. Mr. Sarkozy cut short his vacation this week and flew to the war zone after hearing of the deaths of his troops. He is unwavering in his commitment to keeping French forces in Afghanistan.
Three days of mourning begins today in Spain. The country honoring victims of yesterday's horrific plane crash in Madrid. Officials say 153 people were killed, 19 survived the crash.
The Spanair jet went down in flames on take off. It was heading to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. That city also observing three days of mourning.
The owner of Spanair says the plane reported an air intake valve overheating before first attempt at takeoff. But it is not clear if that was a factor in the crash.
We will take you live to Madrid coming up in a little bit later this hour.
An update on a heart tugging story we told you about last week. A New Jersey man reunited now with his two young daughters. The girls were trapped by fighting in the Republic of Georgia.
7-year-old Ashley and 3-year-old Sofia Evans -- there you see them -- were visiting their grandparents when Russian troops invaded. This week a Russian general gave them permission to travel to the U.S. embassy in Tbilisi. There they were greeted with McDonald's Happy Meals and cake. Their father says they are fine and will be back in New Jersey in a few days.
Speeds topped 100 miles an hour. A motorcycle ends up under an SUV.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TROOPER CAMERON RODEN, UTAH HIGHWAY PATROL: I don't know whether he was trying to act out a scene in a video game or what he was trying to do, but he said it's always worked for him in video games.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: For the mother and kids in the SUV, this was anything but a game.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, the most trusted name in news. Now back to the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Game over for a bullet bike rider. He led police on a chase and ended up under an oncoming SUV putting a family in danger. Why did he do it?
Sandra Yee of Salt Lake City affiliate has KSL has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDRA YEE, KSL REPORTER: If you blinked, you might have missed it. Here it is again in slow motion. A bullet biker not wearing a helmet speeds past a sheriff's deputy on State Road 13 in Corrine, going more than 100 miles an hour. It's hard for troopers to stay on his tail.
RODEN: Our cars can, you know, travel pretty fast, but he was definitely exceeding what our speeds are.
YEE: But the chase ends seconds later. By the time this deputy who has the dash cam rolling turns around to join in the chase, the guy on the bike has lost control. The bike ended up under a green Ford Expedition and then burst into flames.
You can see the female passenger running back to the vehicle to get her child. She carries the kid to safety then goes back for her second child. Meanwhile the deputy goes to help the male driver. Troopers say before the crash, the driver of the SUV tried to avoid the bullet bike a couple times as it weaved in and out of traffic and almost hit another car.
RODEN: They are lucky that they were all conscious and able to get out of the vehicle in time before it was fully engulfed in flames.
YEE: As for the biker, he tried to run away but troopers found him a thousand yards away with road rash. The man gave police a fake name but he's been identified as 27-year-old Daniel Savino.
As for motive, Savino told troopers this was his own video game adventure.
RODEN: I don't know whether he was trying to act out a scene in a video game or what he was trying to do, but he said it's always worked for him in video games so.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: None of the people in that SUV were hurt, thankfully.
Changing the game. The Democrats consider a new primary calendar for 2012. And superdelegates? They may not be so super next time around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tributes are coming in today for Ohio Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Doctors say she died from a brain hemorrhage.
Tubbs Jones was a five-term member of the House from the Cleveland area. She was the first African-American from Ohio in the U.S. House and a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
Tubbs Jones was one of Hillary Clinton's early backers in her run for the White House. One colleague called the congresswoman's death an incalculable loss.
Democrats trying to win one election and looking ahead to the next. Party leaders are considering some primary changes after the grueling battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Among the ideas, revising the calendar and reducing the number of superdelegates.
Josh Levs is here now...
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
COLLINS: ... with more details on this.
OK, what do they want?
LEVS: Oh man, well, you know, any time we've talked about this issue, all year long, we get so much mail, you know?
COLLINS: Yes.
LEVS: So much e-mails. So many people saying something needs to be done. And not just Democrats. I mean people who look at the system and say it needs it be more one person, one vote type democracy.
So when the Democrats are talking about doing this is really interesting. It's basically tackling all three major things that were -- people have been complaining about.
Let's go to that first graphic and I'll show you how it boils down.
The first one, they're talking about a new calendar. We'll go more into that in a second. They also want to reduce the number of superdelegates, just like Heidi was saying, can make them less super. How many fewer? We don't know. But you got about 800 now. They're talking about making a big cut there.
And then changing the caucus system. And this is one thing we've heard about a lot. If a democracy is supposed to be one person, one vote, it's simply factual, it's not playing out that way right now in a caucus system. Again, they're not being specific.
Well, let's go to the next graphic where they do give a sense of what's ahead here. They want to create this thing, a Democratic change commission. This is DNC and the Obama camp saying this. They're saying the goal will be to ensure that there'll be no contest before the first Tuesday in March, so it will be an even bigger Super Tuesday. Nothing in January at all.
But there would still be early states. They would be closer to the March date. There would be an improved pre-window in February. And, Heidi, they want this all done by 2010.
Now I will mention, some people have said the system, as it was this year, is a good thing. One of them is Ed Rendell. Let's take a look at him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: In Pennsylvania we added 300,000 Democrats to the registration rolls. We now have a million vote margin over the Republicans in the state, the largest, I think, we've ever had in the history of the state.
That's a good thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Let's go to that quote now we also have from Howard Dean, who said something similar. They're saying that this system has empowered the Democratic Party, but Dean is also saying, "We must continue to strengthen the process and ensure a fair process in which the diverse voices in our party and our nation have a chance to be heard." So, Heidi, that's the basic idea. They're talking about presenting this at the upcoming convention, getting a system going, something about early 2010, we should know what they might do next time around.
COLLINS: I want to ask you what Republicans think of all this.
LEVS: Yes. I mean the thing about Republicans, a lot of people forget, there's complexities in their systems, too. But the reason the Democratic ones were exposed this time is that it was a tight race.
Neither of this system is designed for a close race. And if the Republicans had had that, we'd be having the same conversation about that.
COLLINS: Yes. Exactly. It's like the gymnastics debacle with the new scoring system in the Olympics, right?
LEVS: Why didn't I think of that?
COLLINS: Exactly the same.
LEVS: That is what it's like. It really is in the end. Sometimes these technicalities feel that way.
COLLINS: Josh Levs, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
LEVS: It was good. Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: Want to get back to the story we first told you about yesterday here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Death on the runway. Crash investigators try to pinpoint what caused this fiery disaster at Madrid's airport.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The ferocity of Fay. Destruction not measured in wind speed but rain fall. Inches add up to several feet of flood waters.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: Good morning, once again, everybody.
Spain in mourning today remembering 153 people killed in yesterday's plane crash. Only 19 survivors.
Our Cal Perry is covering the developments in the Spanish capital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Originally intended to ferry passengers to a popular European vacation destination, Spanair flight 5022 instead ended in horror.
Spain's transport minister said the plane first had a technical problem, which delayed it by an hour, but after takeoff, the worst happened. The plane went down in flames after leaving the ground.
Witnesses say there was an explosion on board, followed by a fire. The plane, barely making it into the air, violently banked to the right before slamming back to earth, coming to rest in a gully just off the runway.
ERVIGIO CORRAL, HEAD OF EMERGENCY SERVICES (Through translator): When we arrived at the scene with the fire crews, we were face would a desolate scene. You couldn't distinguish if there was an aircraft there apart from the remains of the tail.
If you didn't know, you wouldn't have been able to say there was a plane. There was nothing of a fuselage.
PERRY: The proximity of the crash site to the airport perhaps an advantage to investigators. Evidence is close by as they quickly mobilized to determine the cause of the crash.
While investigators get to work, a cloud of sorrow settles over the Spanish capital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Try to imagine we said good-bye to a 23-year-old boy. Today was his birthday and now you don't have him any more. So try to imagine how I feel.
PERRY: The scene makes it impossible to believe any one could survive, but there are a lucky few. A handful of survivors, family and friends clinging to what many describe as a miracle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We were all so happy, friends and family that we're going to celebrate it right now. He has been born again and he has been conscious all the time.
PERRY: The crash quickly became a national tragedy. The prime minister canceling his vacation and declaring three days of mourning.
(on camera): Authorities now have two priorities. First, to investigate the scene to try to make sure something like this does not happen again in the future. And, second, the immediate and painstaking task of providing psychological assistance to the families and friends of those lost in Spain's worst air accident in more than 20 years.
Cal Perry, CNN, Madrid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Other news to report to you now, just in here to the CNN NEWSROOM. The NFL Players Association executive director and Hall of Famer Gene Upshaw has died. He was 63 years old. Hall of Fame guard and played 15 seasons entirely with the Oakland Raiders, including two Super Bowl wins, seven Pro-bowl appearances, and as you probably well know in 1983, he became the executive director of the player's association. And got it through that strike in 1987 that then led to replacement football. So, unfortunately, some sad news here. Gene Upshaw is dead at the age of 63.
And we are going to take a quick moment to look now at the New York Stock Exchange. And the opening bell that happened just a couple of minutes ago. So, there you have that. We're going to be following these numbers for you as we always do here in the CNN NEWSROOM. But yesterday it looked OK. At least we ended in the positive up about 68 points or so. The open down a tad, though, down about 92 points. Resting now at 11329.
Again, we will follow the numbers for you as we always do. And check in with our business correspondents momentarily.
Tropical Storm Fay and a new wave of misery washing over much of Florida's East Coast. The storm has dumped astonishing amounts of rain. Some parts of Central Florida reeling for more than 23 inches. Areas in its path from Daytona to Jacksonville could see rainfall totals of 30 inches. Reporter Angela Spears is in Flagler Beach. She's with CNN's Jacksonville affiliate WTLV.
Go ahead and tell us what you're seeing around you, Angela.
ANGELA SPEARS, WTLV CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Yes, it's been raining all morning long here in Flagler Beach. It's been a light, drizzly type of rain. The wind, though, has been the major problem. Take a look here behind me, the beach is closed but still you see some onlookers coming out here and just to take a look to see what effects Tropical Storm Fay is having on this area. Very choppy, choppy sea.
You see how windy it is. The trees blowing and weeping in the wind there. My photojournalist, Ken Thomas (ph) and I were driving around earlier this morning. We saw trees down in the roadway, power lines down. Crews have been coming up and down the street steadily just checking on things. I've been talking with officials in this area and they say they want to catch any major problems before they happen.
We have seen fences blown over as well. Electricity is out. And we are told in one area, a mobile home park has some major damage. The most part officials want people to stay inside and people have been doing that, there are a few people, though, Heidi, coming out as I mentioned here just trying to see the effects that Fay is having on this area.
COLLINS: All right. Well, we will continue to watch that situation. Obviously, as the wind is still kicking up there. We can see it behind you.
Our reporter Angela Spears from WTLV. Sure do appreciate it, Angela.
Want to give you the very latest now from meteorologist Rob Marciano. He is standing by in the extreme weather center.
Boy, you know, I'm kind of getting sick of this thing. I'm sure you are, too.
MARCIANO: Yes. But I'm training my mind to get used to it because Fay don't want to go away, that's for sure. Tracking on some of the odds in this past hour. Melbourne and as far inland as Orlando still seeing winds gusting to 30, 38 miles an hour. So, this thing still packing a punch, especially the eastern half of the system which is over water. Obviously, tapping into some of that Atlantic Ocean, and invigorating some of the rain bands that are wrapping around this thing.
All right. It's not really moving. It's kind of drift a little bit farther to the north. Winds are at about 60 miles an hour, gusting to 70. So, it's a strong tropical storm for sure. The forecast just to give you some forward-looking advice here is for it eventually to sneak back to the west over the northern part of the Peninsula into the Panhandle. Might even touch the Gulf of Mexico. Might even get into the Gulf of Mexico. We've got another headache on our hands. So, we'll deal with that when we need to.
Here's the center of circulation just offshore of Daytona Beach. You see, actually, it's beginning that you can see that drift towards the north. Kind of hugging the coastline. It hasn't quite got far enough offshore towards where the Gulf Stream is, where that really warm water is intensified dramatically. But who needs that. They've got the rain and we got the on-shore flow.
All right. I got a couple of iReports I want to show you. From Port St. Lucie, this guys. There's the helmet cam, there it is. Let's see, who is this? This is, I believe, it is Craig Boileau. And he's just driving around on his mountain bike checking out some of the flooding. And, obviously, we've got a good shot of Craig there. Thanks for that interesting video. All right. Send your iReports to CNN.com/ireport.
To the east, we go Daytona Beach. That is where the center of the circulation is and that's where the rotation continues to spiral in. These rain bands still getting some to Port St. Lucie. That's where the major flooding is, down towards Melbourne and Titusville as well. But this will be coming to an end as we shift it off towards the north and west.
I heard you cackling over there, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. I mean, I think that was a very valuable iReport, you know.
MARCIANO: We're always looking for valuable information like that.
COLLINS: I like his helmet and his biking gear.
MARCIANO: He look cute.
COLLINS: Yes. All right, Rob, thank you. We'll check back later on.
Barack Obama moving closer to a decision on his running mate. It's expected today or tomorrow. John McCain twiddling away at Obama's lead in the polls. What does that mean for both of their VP choices? With us from Washington this morning, Republican strategist Cheri Jacobus.
Hi, there, Cheri.
CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Good morning.
COLLINS: And in New York, Democratic strategist Keith Boykin.
Hi, there, Keith.
KEITH BOYKIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Hi, Heidi.
COLLINS: Good morning to you both. Let's get started on this thing because, you know, at any moment, right in the middle of this interview we could finally get the VP announcement. Yes, we'll be waiting for that.
Want to look first at the CNN Poll of Polls and talk a little bit about the numbers now that we are seeing. You see the dates there, August 10th through the 18th. Voter's choice for president. Obama 45 percent, McCain 44 percent, 11 percent still unsure. So that will certainly make a difference.
But the lead is shrinking day by day for Senator Obama. And our David Gergen actually says he needs a game changer. Let's talk about who a game changer might be.
Cheri, do you want to take it first?
JACOBUS: Right. I think it's obvious it would be Hillary Clinton. Had she been the pick to be his vice presidential running mate earlier in the summer, it wouldn't be exciting. The summer would be all about Bill Clinton. It would be old news by now. But at this point, it could be a game changer.
It would be a bold, exciting pick. And because -- I think it looks like Obama needs her. Like it or not, he needs her. He doesn't like it. So he's in a little bit of a tough position. But Hillary Clinton, quite frankly, when you look at the numbers, when you look at the polls, when you look at who he needs to pull in his side, she's sort of -- it's low-hanging true. Whether or not he does it I guess we could find out in a matter of minutes, but that's probably who he needs to choose.
COLLINS: Keith, you're laughing. What are you laughing at?
BOYKIN: Well, you know, I don't buy into the panic argument right now. Barack Obama has still been ahead in almost every poll that has been conducted since mid-May. There's only two polls that have been conducted where he's even trailed. Obama is in a strong position. The American people want change. They're tired of George Bush. They don't want a third Bush term, 81 percent of the public wants change. So, it's like -- it doesn't really make sense to me that people are panicking and say he needs a game changer. He just needs to focus on his strategy and keep doing what he's doing and he'll do well.
COLLINS: Well, to be fair, this latest poll that we have is a poll of polls. It's taken into account several different polls and that's how we came up with the number here at CNN.
Who do you see him choosing? Who would help him the most at this stage of the game?
BOYKIN: Well, you know, a few days ago, if you'd ask me, I would have said that maybe Kathleen Sebelius would have been chosen. And then I thought, Evan Bayh. Then I thought Time Kaine. Now, I'm leading towards Joe Biden. It changes everyday.
It's hard to really be serious about this because the honest truth is that the only person who knows is Barack Obama, and maybe a few people in his close circle, and maybe the candidate who has been chosen, as well.
And, you know, I don't know that it makes a difference. Vice presidential selection doesn't make a difference in terms of moving forward the candidate. It only could hurt the candidate. I don't think he's in a position where he's likely to pick somebody to hurt him.
COLLINS: OK. So that being said, maybe it's not a VP choice that could be the game changer.
Cheri, what do you think Barack Obama could do at this point to get back his increase or what could John McCain do to keep the momentum going?
JACOBUS: Well, first of all, I think that the vice presidential choice in this election might be different than other years. I think it is key for Barack Obama because of his lack of experience.
What we do know, what the voters think, is that they do like both men. Their personal stories and their journey to this point -- it's unique, it's compelling. And I think that's good for the electorate. We had a good look at them. We saw the CNN specials last night as we get closer to Election Day.
People are taking a good look at both of these men, a little bit closer. And they're going with who they feel more comfortable with in these modern times. And it looks like more and more that person is John McCain. Now, that's not a personal slight against Barack Obama.
As I said, I think the electorate finds both men likable and compelling and interesting, but we're looking for a commander-in- chief, and the world is a dangerous place. So, that's why, I think because of the inexperience issue, Barack Obama's vice presidential running mate is more significant than John McCain who is well-known to the country, whose experience is very broad. But, still, it's somewhat significant. But I think the bold choice and excitement would probably be, quite frankly, around the Obama choice.
COLLINS: All right. Keith, I'm going to give you the last word here. What does Barack Obama need to do to get back up in the polls?
BOYKIN: Well, he has five opportunities to sort of "close the deal," quote, unquote. The first is the pick of the vice presidential nominee. The second is the convention next week. And he's got three presidential debates. I agree with Cheri on one thing. People will start paying attention after the summer.
Right now, it really doesn't matter. But if you look at the state polls. And remember, this is not a national election, but a state-by-state election. Obama is doing very well. If he continues with the strategy, he will do well in the election.
COLLINS: All right. To the both of you, we will be watching. And I know you will, too. Keith Boykin and Cheri Jacobus, thanks, guys.
JACOBUS: Thank you.
BOYKIN: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: Barack Obama campaigns in Chester, Virginia, next hour with Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. He is considered a possible running mate. So we will take you there live when it happens at 10:30 Eastern right here in the NEWSROOM.
These baristas don't wear much and neither did one of their customers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was wearing hot pink panties now. And underwear that, he was wearing the Rover Space, and there's a little peep hole like so you could see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Really?
The repeat customer. Three trips through the drive through for this flasher.
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COLLINS: In Parkland, Washington, the bikini clad workers at Java girls opened their drive through window to a surprise. It wasn't really one they wanted, either. The baristas working last week say the man was dressed in women's underwear. He exposed himself, three different times, until one of the baristas threw hot water on him. Apparently, though, the hot water didn't convince the flasher.
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JAMAE FEDDOCK, BIKINI BARISTA: Kylie opened the door and threw boiling hot water on his face and his chest and he said, oh, yes, and then drove away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: They didn't throw it in the right place, did they? The young women tried to get the car's license plate number but couldn't. A pair of women's underwear was covering it.
Black and blue and ugly. Those unexplained bruises. Why do you get them and what can you do about them in your 30s, 40s and 50s? Here's Judy Fortin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY FORTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ever wonder where the bruise on your leg or arm came from. You may not have realized but as we get older easy bruising becomes more common. Bruises form when small blood vessels known as capillaries break near the skin surface. They are usually caused from an impact from a blow or an injury but many times bruises can pop up in unexpected places, especially the arms and legs.
MELANIE FOWLER, BRUISED EASILY: Come on, baby, shake it off.
FORTIN: Just ask Melanie Fowler from Acworth, Georgia. She was lounging around her pool this summer when a friend made a comment about the marks on her legs.
FOWLER: She started counting them and said, how did you get that many bruises? And I didn't even realize I had some of those bruises.
FORTIN: Fowler became concerned and went to the doctor.
FOWLER: The first thing that came to mind was that I might have a cancer or leukemia.
FORTIN: Instead, Fowler was told she was taking supplements that caused her blood to thin so she dropped her baby aspirin but stuck with her Omega 3 and her bruises began to disappear.
In your 30s and 40s, watch your medications. Blood-thinning drugs like aspirin can cause bruising because blood from damaged vessels doesn't clot as quickly. Also, certain dietary supplements like Omega 3 or fish oil, gingko, ginger and garlic can increase bruising because they, too, have a blood-thinning effect. Make sure your doctor knows you were taking these supplements.
DR. CHRISTINE KEMPTON, HAEMATOLOGIST, EMORY UNIVERSITY: They may hear that aspirin maybe beneficial for them or they may be specifically recommended by their physician, so they may be taking a combination of things that may lead to a likelihood to have a bruise.
FORTIN: And watch the rays. Years of sun exposure can damage the skin. And weaken the blood vessel walls.
In your 50s, your capillaries begin to age and become fragile. Over time, the tissues that support the vessels weaken and capillary walls are more prone to rupture, and the skin becomes thinner. That's because some of the protective fatty layer that usually cushions blood vessels break down, leaving you more susceptible to bruising.
KEMPTON: At the buffer between your skin and your blood vessel may become thinner, as well. So your likelihood to have a bruise would increase as you age.
FORTIN: Most bruises go away in a few days, but if they continue, frequent bruising at any age may indicate something more serious is going on. Such as blood-clotting problems or blood diseases. If they persist, see your doctor.
Judy Fortin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: From sibling rivals to Olympic team mates. Two brothers and one sister compete in Taekwondo, and brother number three is a coach.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A stunner of Olympic proportions. The USA softball team's 22 game streak at the summer games ends with a gold medal defeat. Our Larry Smith is live in Beijing now with the story.
Oh no, Larry, this is not great news.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is tough, Heidi. You're so right. I mean, a 3-1 loss to Japan. A team they just beat one day ago to reach the gold medal match. And this is even more important because USA won the gold in Athens, and since then it was determined that the softball competition would be taken off the Olympic venue for London in 2012.
The USA really wanted to come out and have a strong showing in what could be the swan song of the sport, be it short-term or long- term, and as a result, they've settle for silver. Still, great for them, but disappointing when they did expect to go for gold.
Now, there is a family also going for gold. And when I say that, I don't mean like, you know, they're all supporting one kid going out to do his thing. How about three kids, and, well, even a fourth kid, all part of the Olympic dream here. Here's their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN LOPEZ, USA TAEKWONDO COACH: You know, I think you have a better chance of winning the lotto than seeing something like this happen.
SMITH (voice-over): It's one thing to have an Olympian in your family; but imagine being an Olympic family. Meet the fighting Lopezes, three siblings, all world champions in Taekwondo, all U.S. Olympians, the first time that has happened in more than 100 years. J. LOPEZ: Actually, we broke that record because the older brother is coaching them, so there's four siblings on the Olympic team.
SMITH: I stand corrected.
Leading the way is 29-year-old Steven, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who hasn't lost a match since 2002. Joining him as Olympians for the first time are little brother Mark and baby sister Diana.
STEVE LOPEZ, 2-TIME GOLD MEDALIST: I think it has been the toughest part to be the princess, the little sister, also having three older brothers who picked on her a lot as she was growing up, but I think that's what has made her the toughest.
DIANA LOPEZ, FIRST-TIME OLYMPIAN: They opened the doors and the road for me to make it easy for me. I train with the best. I train with guys. No one is going to be stronger or faster in the ring.
You know, the sky is the limit for Marky. You know, he's Hollywood. You know, he does his back flips after he wins.
MARK LOPEZ, FIRST-TIME OLYMPIAN: Yes, I like to please the crowd. I like to blow kisses. I like to show my appreciation when they support me.
SMITH: Not only do the Lopezes share a deep commitment for each other, but all are driven by a fiery competitive spirit that never takes a day off.
D. LOPEZ: We can never have this little friendly game of poker or anything because it just excels and becomes competitive.
J. LOPEZ: Having four siblings, the nature of going home for dinner and knowing that if you're late for dinner, that, you know, you wouldn't have any food left because we're big eaters, can drive anyone to be competitive.
SMITH: But knowing how and when to push that drive is big brother and USA coach Jean.
M. LOPEZ: He's the most essential part of the formula. Without him, we wouldn't even be on a national team together. We wouldn't be in this sport together. I mean, he's a father figure, psychologist, our manager, our agent. He's everything.
J. LOPEZ: At the end of the day, it's the unconditional love for each other that, you know, pushes each other to levels that we never thought that we could accomplish.
S. LOPEZ: The question has been asked, you know, would you rather win your third Olympic gold medal or them win their gold medals? And I mean, that's a no-brainer. I would rather them win two gold and me not win.
SMITH: But for the Lopez family coming up one short just isn't an option.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Well, it won't be a Lopez clean sweep for the gold. Diana taking bronze on this day in her event. Mark got the silver. Steven will compete on Friday trying again for his third consecutive gold medal.
Very quickly, from track and field, disappointing night for both the men's and women's 4x100 meter relay teams. They both dropped their batons during the preliminaries and neither would get a chance to go for gold. It has been a really tough, tough week in track and field for the U.S.
Let's go back to you.
COLLINS: You do not want to screw up the handoff in the Olympics. Boy oh, boy. All right, Larry. Great story on the Taekwondo siblings, too. Love that. Appreciate it. Larry Smith live from Beijing this morning.
SMITH: Thanks.
COLLINS: Want to be Michael Phelps' friend? Well, more than 1 million other people do, too. The Phelps' Facebook frenzy.
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COLLINS: Swimmer Michael Phelps breaking records in the pool, now going after a record of another kind on the Internet. Veronica De La Cruz joins me now to talk more about this.
So he's got a lot of friends.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: He does have a lot of friends. He's a popular guy. His name, Heidi, is all over the Internet. I mean, if you Google him, you're going to get 1 million of hits. I believe 11 million. He's also one of the most twittered topics. And now, the Olympic swimmer has reached another high. More than 1 million Facebook friends. And that number continues to grow, Heidi.
In fact, I was watching the Web this morning. And every time I hit refresh on that page, those numbers were growing exponentially. At last count, somewhere around 1,260,000. And it might be because of this. Facebook posted this banner, Heidi, congratulating Phelps.
As soon as you log on to the social networking, this is probably what you would find. And Phelps actually admitted to being a Facebook user during an interview with Bob Causes. That's how this whole thing started. He said he'd seen a surge in (INAUDIBLE) quest, getting about 7600 in a day. And right now he also has more than 60,000 messages on his wall. All congratulatory. And it all puts him at number two when it comes to Facebook popularity.
COLLINS: No! DE LA CRUZ: All right. Yes, so number two?
COLLINS: Who is number one?
DE LA CRUZ: Heidi Collins. I believe she has about two million.
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Oh, yes, right. No, I'm way behind this whole thing. I got to figure out how to work it, I guess.
DE LA CRUZ: Can you guess?
COLLINS: Well, is it in the political realm of things?
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. He would be. It's Barack Obama. It's Barack Obama. He has 1,360,000 friends but Phelps could catch up, Heidi, especially with closing ceremonies right on the corner. He's also on that "Sports Illustrated" cover, so he's a popular guy.
COLLINS: Yes, he sure is. Wow, and if he corresponds with all those people, imagine the time that will take.
DE LA CRUZ: I know. Imagine that.
COLLINS: All right. Veronica De La Cruz, thank you.
Good morning once again, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris has the day off today.
Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the run down now.
