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American Morning
Tropical Storm Fay Stalls Along the Florida Coast: Governor Warns of Serious Disaster; Barack Obama VP Pick Announcement Expected Soon; U.S. Womens' Beach Volleyball Wins Gold; Obama Defends Position in Iraq; How Much Free Care is a Hospital Required to Provide?; Denver Protester Lock-Up Raises Concerns
Aired August 21, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Who's number two? Barack Obama's VP pick may happen today whether his ace in the hole is Hillary Clinton.
Plus, under six feet of water. Tropical Storm Fay stalls over the Space Coast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We rode out Charlie and Francis here. It ain't going to even compare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Florida bracing for another direct hit on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And welcome. It is Thursday, August 21st. Glad you're with us. We heard that gentleman say that Francis and Charlie which were hurricanes didn't compare because this has brought a lot of moisture, Fay, to many places that didn't need it.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: It was, as Rob Marciano and Reynolds Wolf forewarning, just a real rain maker there. We've got breaking news and that's where we start this morning.
Dramatic pictures coming in of entire neighborhoods under water as Tropical Storm Fay stalls along the Florida Coast. As much as 30 inches of rain now possible in parts of central Florida.
Boats now navigating street after street next rescuing stranded residents. And Florida's governor stressing the storm is becoming a "serious catastrophic flooding event."
Breaking details in the storm's path coming your way in just a moment.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice making a surprise trip to Baghdad overnight. She is there to press Iraqi leaders to resolve the remaining differences in a security deal that will determine the future of U.S. troops in Iraq.
Rice says negotiators have made great progress but reports of a draft deal were "premature." U.S. officials say that they need to agree on a timeline for troop withdrawals -- immunity for U.S. forces and the handling of Iraqi prisoners.
Hijacking on the high seas. Armed pirates attack a Japanese tanker and an Iranian ship off of the coast of Somalia this morning. There has been no communication so far with either vessel. A multinational naval force is said to be taking action. An urgent warning has been issued to all ships in the area.
CHETRY: Well, to the "Most Politics in the Morning" now, and the race for president drawing dramatically closer at this hour. Still, though, no vice presidential pick from the Obama campaign.
The secret has to be revealed soon, however. In just two days Obama and his number two will appear together at a major rally in Illinois. And Monday, they step into the spotlight at the Democratic National Convention. But the march to Denver is being overshadowed by one thing and that's a new poll of polls that shows Obama's lead over John McCain slipping to just one point.
CNN's Ed Henry joins us live from Washington now. So, Ed, could the VP pick be a game changer for Obama right now?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It could be. There are a lot of people obviously in both parties that say, look, people vote for the top of the ticket, not the bottom of the ticket in the end. But there's a chorus of Democrats saying that Barack Obama needs to get focused back on the economy, the bread and butter issues.
CNN's been talking about it as issue number one. This morning's "New York Times" says, in fact, with a new poll that the economy is the number one issue that Americans want as the top priority on the campaign. But instead, Barack Obama the last few days has been dealing with defending his patriotism, battling John McCain on national security.
That's why there's this chorus of Democrats in the party, senior Democrats saying, look, he really needs to pick someone who can be an attack dog, who has national security credentials. They can battle John McCain on that point and Barack Obama can sort of project a more positive image about how he would try to fix the economy. That's why we're hearing so much about Joe Biden, Senator Evan Bayh, both with national security credentials. But ultimately, this comes down to a gut check for Barack Obama.
He still, despite that chorus, may feel that he wants to underline the change mantra. If he goes in that direction it could be a Washington outsider like Tim Kaine, the Virginia governor, Kathleen Sebelius, the Kansas governor.
So that's why in the end all of these senior Democrats can flee and lobby and say what they want to do. In the end it's going to be what Barack Obama wants -- Kiran.
CHETRY: And this is interesting. What is your sense of -- you know, there's been a lot of talk that he needs to try to win over Hillary voters. As we see the polls and the poll of polls getting closer together, does that somehow make Hillary more viable as a VP pick?
HENRY: It could. What's very interesting is there's this also new NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll saying 52 percent of Clinton's supporters say they'll vote for Obama, but 21 percent of the former Clinton supporters say they'll vote for McCain. Twenty-seven percent still undecided so it gives you a sense that a lot of those former Clinton supporters have still not come over to Obama.
It could argue for a Clinton pick as sort of a surprise, a dark horse here at the end, or it could boost the stock of someone like Evan Bayh. Let's not forget that Evan Bayh was a very vociferous supporter of Hillary Clinton in those tough primaries. Someone like Joe Biden, he stayed neutral after he got out of the presidential race.
Tim Kaine was with Obama from day one. If he does not pick Hillary Clinton, you could see Barack Obama maybe reach out to Evan Bayh or some other very prominent supporter of Clinton -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Very interesting. All right, Ed. Thanks for being with us.
HENRY: Thank you.
ROBERTS: A disaster unfolding right now in Florida. Hundreds of homes flooded. Streets submerged as Tropical Storm Fay hangs out on Florida's east coast. And what the storm lacks in punch in terms of wind it makes up for in persistence dumping massive amounts of rain. Nearly two feet already on the ground in a state that is just barely a few feet above sea level.
Rescuers going door to door picking up stranded residents. And as the storm crawls toward the north and the east, it's expected to make landfall yet again.
CNN's Sean Callebs is live in St. Augustine Beach for us this morning. Rob Marciano is standing by in the CNN hurricane headquarters.
Let's start with Sean, though. And what are conditions like where you are, Sean?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, if you can look right now, this is quite a low. But there's absolutely no rain falling right now. We're being buffeted by winds which would total about 40 miles an hour and they're coming directly from the northeast.
The bands of this storm which have just been punishing this area all night, at times last night felt like the roof was being peeled off of our hotel. These bands are moving into this area, and as you mentioned, when the legacy of this storm is finally written, certainly it will be remembered for all of the precipitation it has brought.
I want to show you some pictures from Melbourne, Florida. This last night, pretty dramatic stuff. Airboats going door to door plucking people who were simply stranded by all of this flooding. You know that Florida's governor is very concerned about this storm throughout the day. He's already contacted FEMA, expecting more flooding in the northeastern part of the state.
Now we have some pictures from Port St. Lucie, much further down south, when Fay first made contact in the Keys then blew ashore on the southwestern part of the state causing great deal of problems in that area. Really, perhaps, thousands of homes affected by all of the flooding there.
Well, what can we expect here in this area of St. Augustine Beach? We have some pictures from neighboring Flagler County that happened last night. A number of trees down, simply overburdened by these winds. Taking power lines down with them as well. And they expect it is simply going to pour here today.
This is not a storm that basically carved its way across the state. This is one that kind of lumbered in a very zigzag fashion. Right now, what is left of the eye is still sort of rambling off the coast. And we certainly, John, expect these bands to begin punishing this area further.
Last night an amazing lightning and thunderstorm for hours on end. So we're in for more of that today. This area, as you mentioned, just a matter of feet above sea level is going to be in for a very long, very wet day -- John.
ROBERTS: Yes. Fortunately, Sean, people there in Florida don't have basements so when the water goes down the water will be gone. But it's going to leave behind an awful lot of damage.
Sean Callebs for us in windy St. Augustine Beach this morning. Sean, thanks.
And if the unprecedented rain is not bad enough, folks in Melbourne, Florida are being warned that alligators could be swimming in the streets.
CNN's Rob Marciano is standing by at the CNN hurricane headquarters. What's the storm going to do next, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, that's been the big question, the one that's been toughest to answer from the beginning of this storm when its inception became -- when it was in the Caribbean.
Right now, it's pretty much straddling the coastline. We got winds at 60 miles an hour. We just got a message from the Hurricane Hunter aircrafts that have been zigzagging through the eye or what would be an eye. And it's just doesn't want to give up.
Right now, they're seeing some winds at about 50 knots. So we're looking for it not really to weaken entirely until it gets completely on shore.
And as Sean mentioned, rainfall the huge factor here. Almost two feet, Cocoa Beach. Moore Haven over a foot. Melbourne, where apparently there may be an alligator or two. You've got to believe that's got to be the case in more than one spot swimming in the water there, and over a foot in places like Fort Pierce and Melbourne.
So here's the forecast track across the Florida peninsula. It may or may not come back in the Gulf of Mexico but of more immediate concern is, when does it get on shore and when can we start knocking down these winds and start degrading these rain bands because that has been the most persistent thing?
You see this circulation. I mean, if this thing was a hurricane it'd have an eye right here. But certainly an eye wall-like structure has been trying to develop really for the past 12 hours or so.
We have winds on either side of this thing from 30 to 40 miles an hour. Daytona Beach really is where the center of the circulation is about a mile offshore and that is where things are swirling around. So flood warnings, as you can imagine, are up for a good chunk in the Florida peninsula and we expect to see more rain.
The good news is that Fort Pierce, Melbourne, that's where the rain is beginning to decrease now where they have had the worst flooding. So they should start to dry out a little bit today. Back up to you.
ROBERTS: Any silver lining in this, Rob? You know, the state of Florida has been in a severe drought for a number of years now. That limestone very porous. How much of this water will make it down into the aquifers where it's really need?
MARCIANO: Well, they'll see Okeechobee fill up a little bit, a lot of the canals. They're just getting too much of it at any one time. Any time you get two feet that's going to knock out any sort of drought across the northern part of the state.
ROBERTS: Yes.
MARCIANO: It's the southern part that probably could use a little bit more than the northern part. Certainly northern Georgia and through the Carolinas where we need the rain desperately, doesn't look like it will get fed up into the circulation to get to that part of the country for the next several days. So I'm trying to find a silver lining, John. It's not a hurricane. How's that?
ROBERTS: Yes. There you go. All right. Well, that's something.
Rob, thanks so much.
MARCIANO: All right, man.
CHETRY: And still ahead, the fastest man in the world and a huge win on the beach. We're live in Beijing for Olympic gold.
Also, a man in a coma, a hospital wants to discharge an illegal immigrant who suffered a brain hemorrhage. Family calls it discrimination. We'll take you to the center of the controversy. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Celebration in the sand. Americans Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh beat China to take their second straight Olympic gold medal in beach volleyball. They've now won 108 matches in a row.
CNN's Larry Smith has got more in the golden day for U.S. women. Perhaps more to come. He's live in Beijing for us.
Long road to that gold medal for those two, but, wow, they pulled it out at the end.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It really was, John. In fact, they just got back from their news conference just about an hour ago. It wrapped up and they were saying that they had never played in rain like this.
You know, you get the wind, you get the sun and the heat. They said yesterday it was in practice, the heat was probably the hottest day they'd experienced here. And then today all morning it was a driving rain. We were stunned that the match went on as scheduled, but it did. And it's good for the Americans.
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh getting the gold. As you mentioned, they defeat China as they successfully defend the gold medal that they won in Athens four years ago.
Also, the women's indoor volleyball team advances to the gold medal match. And that comes up on Saturday. They beat Cuba 3-0, and they go on to the final.
And also some finals this evening. Gold medals up for grabs in women's soccer, women's water polo. There's a lot of stuff going on right now. It's a big day for the ladies -- John.
ROBERTS: You know, it seemed, Larry, every time I turned on the television to watch the beach volleyball it was raining. But you got to think it's a little difficult to play when the rain was coming down like that. That ball gets awfully slippery.
What about Usain Bolt at the Bird's Nest behind you there? Two world records? Amazing, that guy.
SMITH: You know, it's amazing. Think of someone who maybe could -- is not going to but he could come close to overshadowing Michael Phelps. But that is the big buzz right now.
The first man to set world records in the 100 and the 200 in the same Olympics -- a 19.30. I'm not sure I could run the 100 in 19.30. But he was so dominant in setting this world record that he beat the competition by more than half a second. And by the way, today is his 22nd birthday. What a way to celebrate with a couple of gold medals and a couple of world records. ROBERTS: I'll tell you, he's such a great guy, too. He's just, you know, always joking around and, you know, just really enjoying himself at this Olympics.
SMITH: Yes.
ROBERTS: All right. Larry Smith for us from Beijing. Larry, thanks so much.
SMITH: Absolutely. It's fun to watch him.
ROBERTS: Yes. We'll see you again soon.
SMITH: OK.
CHETRY: Well, Tropical Storm Fay still hanging over Florida. Now, the governor warning of catastrophic flooding. Some neighborhoods reachable only by boat. We'll take you there.
Also ahead, locking up protesters. Denver police get ready for the Democratic Convention. But find out why critics are comparing their new makeshift jail to Gitmo.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up now on 17 minutes after the hour. We're tracking breaking news for you as parts of Florida getting battered this morning by Tropical Storm Fay's drenching fury. Five feet of water now being reported in some counties along the east coast. And the state's governor is warning that Florida is facing a "serious catastrophic flooding event."
CHETRY: And welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." The "Most Politics in the Morning" now.
Barack Obama talking to voters in Virginia about the economy. Now yesterday the presumptive Democratic nominee was defending his position on Iraq. He's been attacked by rival John McCain. So here's Barack Obama in his own words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that it was a mistake to go into Iraq. But I believe -- but I believe that we have an obligation to stabilize the situation there. We've got to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in.
So what I've said is -- what I've said is that let's put more of a burden on the Iraqis. Their troops are getting trained. Let's withdraw our troops at a pace of one to two brigades per month.
At that pace we'd have our troops out, combat troops out in about 16 months. We would retain a residual capacity to strike against any remnants of al-Qaeda. We would still be training troops. We'd still protect our embassy, our diplomats, our civilians. And the fact is, is that at that pace, 16 months, that means that we wouldn't have all our combat troops out for another two years. Now, when John McCain says this is precipitous and this is a recipe for failure, Obama's just proposing this because of his presidential ambition, I mean, think about it.
We have been there five years. By then, of the time that we will have removed all our combat troops under my plan, we would have been there seven years. We will have spent well over a trillion dollars. We will have lost well over 4,000 lives.
We are spending $10 billion a month in Iraq at the same time that the Iraqis have a surplus because of the rise in oil prices. They've got $79 billion that they're parking in New York banks, getting interests, while U.S. taxpayers are paying to rebuild Baghdad and our roads and our schools and our hospitals are being -- are being neglected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And in about 30 minutes, we'll hear from John McCain on Iraq and abortion.
Also a programming reminder. Live coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Denver begins Monday right here on the "Most News in the Morning."
ROBERTS: A hospital's decision to deport a patient sparking a serious debate over just how much free health care a hospital should provide to illegal immigrants. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
And breaking news. Floodwaters on the rise right now. Streets beneath the waves, homes flooded, and many more in danger as Tropical Storm Fay sits off the coast of Florida. The latest on the storm's track.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 22 minutes now after the hour. A Chicago hospital is at the center of a firestorm over two flawed American systems -- immigration and health care. The case surrounds a comatose illegal immigrant and just how much free care the hospital is required to provide. Here's CNN's Bill Tucker with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Francisco Pantaleon is an illegal alien with no health insurance. In mid July, he suffered a brain hemorrhage and lapsed into a coma. Pantaleon was admitted to this hospital. Because he has no insurance and poor, the complete cost of his medical care has been picked up by the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago.
Now that his condition is stabilized, the hospital wants to discharge him as they would any other patient to a long-term care facility. And that's where this story becomes complicated.
The hospital wants to return Pantaleon, a Mexican citizen, to his country of origin because he's an illegal alien. His wife and sister have organized protests outside of the hospital objecting to the plans to discharge him and charging that the hospital is discriminating against Mexicans.
The attorney representing the family is also the general counsel to the Mexican consulate. He says Mr. Pantaleon is not leaving the hospital in Chicago because they are responsible for looking after him.
JOHN DELEON, ATTORNEY: All I'm telling you is, he happens to be an immigrant who is in need of desperate medical attention around the clock. And the hospital under federal law and, I believe, under the laws of the state of Illinois, have got to provide the necessary care for this individual.
TUCKER: Ironically, Mr. Pantaleon was not worried about federal law when he entered the country illegally. The Illinois Hospital Association notes that Illinois hospitals spend millions of dollars a year providing this kind of medical care and that it puts hospitals in a difficult position.
HOWARD PETERS, ILLINOIS HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION: I think it's unfair to criticize the hospital after the hospital has really provided world class care and has really made an appropriate arrangement, and is willing to pay the medical transport of this person by a medical air ambulance to the new facility.
TUCKER: A spokesman for the University of Illinois Medical Center insists that it is not in the deportation business, and that, "We have been working with a family member authorized to make the necessary decisions regarding Mr. Pantaleon's care."
Bill Tucker, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Locking up protesters for the Democratic National Convention. Denver police build a makeshift jail and critics are now comparing it to Gitmo. Is it free speech or good security? A look at both sides.
Also, breaking news. Floods ravage parts of Florida as Tropical Storm Fay hits yet again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back.
Unruly protesters at the Democratic National Convention in Denver could find themselves detained in a warehouse. The Denver police have set up a makeshift jail, there's a look, that authorities call it an arrest processing center. It can hold about 400 people and officials say that it's very temporary. Critics, though, comparing it to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is America. We have a system in place, so why aren't we using it? Why are we using a warehouse?
DIVISION CHIEF MARIE KEILAR, DENVER SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: They're typical cells. They'll have the availability of water any time, phone calls, free phone calls, food and medical attention.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Authorities say that there could be 20 to 50,000 protesters. And, of course, in that type of environment there's always concern about the possibility of violence.
Our legal analyst Sunny Hostin joins us now. Police have to be prepared for the worst. But are they allowed to, I mean, round up people and hold them? And if so, for how long?
SUNNY HOSTIN, AMERICAN MORNING LEGAL ANALYST: Well, they really are allowed, Kiran, and there's this tension, though, between law and order. Your right to free speech, your right to protest, your right to talk about your views versus the police's right to really keep the peace and keep order. So I think there is this tension but police certainly are allowed to do this.
In Denver, they're doing a very good job of letting people know what they can do, Kiran, and what they can't do. They have this handy-dandy pamphlet that I've reviewed that is very accurate, that's very good. And it talks about what protesters at the convention cannot do. It says you can't block streets. You can't block sidewalks.
CHETRY: And that's usually when we see most of these arrests happening for things like blocking road access.
HOSTIN: Blocking, exactly. You also aren't going to be allowed to disrupt public assemblies. You can't stand up in the middle of the convention during, you know, Barack Obama's speech and protest and do that sort of thing. You can't do that.
Ignoring orders to disperse. And that's something that I always, always advise people. Anything that you're doing with the police, any encounter, Kiran, you want to make it as limited as possible.
So even if you're being lawful and your conduct is lawful, if the police tell you to leave, guess what, leave. Another thing that's not allowed to do, signs on overpasses, signs on public property. You can't do that.
Speech that advocates violence. And that is, I think, really the big take away here. Hate speech not allowed and also speech that's going to tell people, you know, kill, maim, that sort of thing. And, again, speech that advocates illegal activity. Everybody go out and kill someone. CHETRY: Right.
HOSTIN: You can't do that sort of thing. And they're being very clear about what you can and cannot do. And so the holding pen, it's completely legal.
CHETRY: All right. So, they say you are allowed to march or hold a parade as long as you have a permit and that you can hold up signs. And also, it says you are allowed inflammatory speech or no?
HOSTIN: Well, sure. And that's one thing the First Amendment provides for. Just because your opinion may be unpopular doesn't mean that you can't say it. Certainly that sort of unpopular speech is protected. But hate speech, the other type of speeches, inciting violence -- no, that is not protected. And that makes common sense.
CHETRY: All right.
HOSTIN: And the law.
CHETRY: All right. Sounds good. Sunny, thanks.
HOSTIN: Thanks.
ROBERTS: Just about 30 minutes after the hour now. And Florida's governor warning that his state is facing a, quote, "serious, catastrophic flooding event," as Tropical Storm Fay batters the East Coast. Incredible images as more than five feet of rainwater swamps entire neighborhoods.
You're looking at new video just in to us from Melbourne. Many homes reachable only by boat. And a warning out to residents there that there could be alligators swimming the streets. And while winds have not exceeded 60 miles an hour, the storm has spawned several tornadoes. We're going to have more on the storm's erratic path in just a moment.
The presidential race now looking more and more like a horse race. CNN's latest poll of polls shows Barack Obama's lead over John McCain is slipping. Obama now leads McCain by just one point -- 45 percent to 44 percent. 11 percent of people still undecided.
Two prominent U.S. senators are showing their support for the nation of Georgia. Connecticut's Joe Lieberman and South Carolina's Lindsay Graham met with Georgian leaders in Tbilisi. They want the U.S. to help Georgia strengthen its defense against any future Russian attacks. The senator says the U.S. should help provide the Georgian military with the necessary equipment such as anti-tank and anti- aircraft systems.
And back to our breaking news now. The historic flooding in Florida after four days of drenching by Tropical Storm Fay. Hundreds of home suddenly surrounded by deep water. And we're not talking just a few inches here. We're talking about reports of five feet of water in some places and more to come. As the storm crawls towards Florida's northwest. CNN's Rob Marciano is standing by in our hurricane headquarters for us this morning.
Rob, where is it now and where do we think it's headed?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it hasn't moved a whole lot. That's the main problem, John. And it's close enough to the shore. Actually, just barely offshore to where it continues to spawn these rain bands that will dump heavy amounts of rain in the counties that are highlighted, flash flood watches and warnings posted.
Check out some of these numbers. Very impressive. Almost two feet at Coco Beach. Moore Haven, Florida, 16. Melbourne, 13.9. Fort Pierce and Vero Beach, this is where it has finally started to wind down. That's the good news for those folks. But just to the north, we're looking at -- it's definitely some serious rain bands that are rolling in.
So, here's the center of the circulation. It's pretty much straddling Daytona Beach. Maybe the exact center will be about a mile or two just offshore. And winds are anywhere from 20 to 40 miles an hour around the center of the circulation.
Hurricane hunter aircraft in this thing saying that it's really hasn't weakened all that much. So it is just offshore enough to continue to have that strength to where we're looking at the rain that continues to pour in.
All right, here's port St. Louis. We're starting to dry out here. You go Palm Bay North towards Cape Canaveral and the north of there is where we expect to see the most heavy amounts of rain today. But John, it's basically stationary now. Until we get it moving and moving inland, which might not happen for several hours, the flooding threat is going to continue through a good chunk of the morning, if not, through the rest of today.
Back up to you.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks. We'll keep checking back with you this morning. And let those folks in Florida know what's going on. Appreciate it -- Kiran.
MARCIANO: All right.
CHETRY: And as this storm inches along, it's leaving a devastating trail of sogginess in its wake. Here's CNN's John Zarrella in St. Lucie County.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, this is what many areas in St. Lucie County on Florida's East Coast look like. Racing water. Floodwaters. And there's nowhere for it to go but into people's homes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Misery for people and animals. It's the only description for what Tropical Storm Fay has left behind in St. Lucie County. Some neighborhoods reachable only with airboats. 11 inches of rain turned streets into lakes. Water from the swollen St. Lucie River raced across roads.
MEG DEFORE, HOMEOWNER: Everybody's car in the area is under -- it's pretty bad.
ZARRELLA: Never seen it like this, huh?
DEFORE: No. It's pretty bad.
ZARRELLA: In this neighborhood, the water was at least six feet high in places. Some homes sitting on high ground looked like islands. Susan Thul lives here. She's not leaving.
What's your plan?
SUSAN THUL, HOMEOWNER: We have a boat. So if we need to get out, the cars are up at the end of the street. We've got power. So we're going to stay.
ZARRELLA: For hours, volunteer rescuer Rodney Hull tried convincing people like Susan to get out.
RODNEY HULL, VOLUNTEER RESCUE WORKER: Just try not to wait too late. You know, it's easier to do this in the daylight than at night. It's always -- you know, everything bad happens at night.
ZARRELLA (on camera): The problem rescue workers are having in this neighborhood is that while many of the people want to bring their belongings out, they don't want to stay out. They want to come back and stay in their homes.
HULL: This family right here, we have -- I've hauled them in and out about five times just to bring stuff out. And this is their last load, he told me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Most of what they left behind, the young men tell us, is ruined. Sitting in a foot of water. Authorities say they have no idea how long these floodwaters are going to last because they still don't know how much higher the creeks and rivers might get -- John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: John Zarrella for us this morning, knee deep in the water there. It's 35, almost 36 minutes after the hour.
Gasoline prices off the hook. And more and more people now riding the rails. Amtrak's perpetual bust now turning into a boom.
Imagine you're just days away from one of the biggest weeks of your life and you can't seem to shake a cold.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm all right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Barack Obama is under the weather. And Jeanne Moos is all over it. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Now here's a real Olympic fan. This is Wei Shengchu,, who's decided to show his dedication to the game by putting the flags of all 205 nations competing in the Olympics this year on to the heads of acupuncture pins and then sticking them in his head. It takes him four hours to do it.
You know, you don't want to just stick a needle anywhere. You want to make sure you get it along those acupuncture lines. So, Wei has become sort of a real hit there at the Games. A lot of people stopping by to watch him do it every day. Now, that is the Olympic spirit.
CHETRY: How about that? And that is the new Olympic pinup, as they're calling him today.
Well, Gerri Willis joins us now. Nothing as gruesome as sticking a billion pins in your head.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Oh, yuck. And then walking around all day with them on.
CHETRY: Well, it doesn't actually hurt. You know, it doesn't actually hurt.
ROBERTS: Until they hit that nerve and twist the needle.
CHETRY: That can hurt. However, I still wouldn't sign up to have, how many, 200-some?
ROBERTS: 205 needles.
CHETRY: Ouch.
WILLIS: No, but you know what, Amtrak is having less pain as well. What a segway right? OK. I'm doing what I can, OK. All right. Just want to tell you a little bit about Amtrak this morning. As a matter of fact, you're hearing many negative stories about Amtrak. But the reality is, guess what, they're doing better, and that's because of high gas prices.
Take a look at the numbers. The ridership July over July last year, up 14 percent. Pretty dramatic stuff. Spokesman for Amtrak said recently, it's a good problem to have. They expect ridership to go up to 50 million by 2018. That's a doubling of ridership.
The problem for Amtrak, of course, though, is they haven't had a single new passenger car since 1990. Their cars, even the locomotives are old and aging. They're asking Congress for help. Dick Durbin has introduced legislation into the Senate to try to do something about that. Interestingly, he says that Thanksgiving is going to be a wakeup call for Americans as we all try to go visit relatives for the holidays, and find that service on airlines is limited and then Amtrak sold out.
Also, speaking of the airline industry, you know, they've been under pressure. Lots of concerns about the viability of airlines going forward. Well, guess what? This drop in oil prices is benefiting airlines. Their fortunes are turning around. $1 a gallon reduction in jet fuel has turned into $13 billion worth of savings for the airline industry. Plus, they've had deep capacity cuts, raised their prices, all good news for the airline industry.
ROBERTS: No new cars for Amtrak except the Acela, right, because it's fairly recent.
WILLIS: It's fairly recent. But it's not as new as you would think.
ROBERTS: Yes. Five, six years?
WILLIS: Yes. I think maybe more than that.
ROBERTS: Tell you what -- what they need is new track, because every Sunday...
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: ...like this, all the way up.
CHETRY: They need more track, too. I mean, not just the trains because, you know, a lot of those routes, they need to be able to get more people moving.
WILLIS: Well, and the Acela is really nice. But the other trains -- if you've ever been on the older trains, not so great.
ROBERTS: Gerri, thanks very much.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
ROBERTS: See you again, soon.
CHETRY: A community overrun by senseless violence.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a sense of hopelessness.
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CHETRY: See the bold plan one American city has enacted to keep its children safe.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every time I hear gunshots, my whole body shivers, shakes.
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CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Diesel engines are one of the biggest source of particles that contribute to smog, but truckers routinely run their engines while parked to keep the AC or heat on.
Enter IdleAire.
JOHN DOTY, IDLEAIRE: These are really computers that are hanging out in a truck stop parking lot.
JERAS: The system pumps conditioned air into parked trucks via big yellow hoses, allowing drivers to shut down their engines.
DOTY: It's a state-of-the-art air handling system for bacteria, viruses, anything like that.
JERAS: IdleAire also pumps in entertainment, from movies to TV to the Internet.
RICH ESLINGER, TRUCKER: When I'm out on the road I like to check my e-mail and play video games sometimes.
JERAS: Truckers say they also like the fuel savings. It's estimated a big rig burns about a gallon of diesel for every hour of idling. More than 150,000 truckers have used IdleAire so far this year alone.
DOTY: That amounted to about 11 million gallons of diesel saved by their use in the system, and over 257 million pounds of diesel emissions that we displaced.
JERAS: IdleAire is currently available in 34 states and at 131 locations. But that's not enough for the truckers we talked to.
ESLINGER: A lot of us actually plan our trips around them.
JERAS: Jacqui Jeras, CNN.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning" now. John McCain has been launching some pretty effective attacks against Barack Obama on national security as well as foreign policy. At a town hall meeting in New Mexico on Wednesday, McCain was at it again pointing to his opponent's misjudgement on Iraq. Here's McCain in his own words.
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SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Now on Iraq, Senator Obama says he wants peace, but he still opposes the surge that succeeded. He opposed the surge. He said that it wouldn't work. He announced his policy towards Iraq the day before he left, for the first time in over 900 days, to visit Iraq, and then refuses to acknowledge that the surge has succeeded. Remarkable. Remarkable.
I mean, no rational observer could go to Iraq and see what we've succeeded in doing in the last two years and say that the surge hasn't succeed. That's what this is all about, my friends. This is what it's all about: securing our nation.
Even in retrospect, with all we know today, he'd still choose the path of retreat and failure.
You know, yesterday Senator Obama got a little testy on this issue. He said I'm questioning his patriotism. Let me be very clear. I am not questioning his patriotism. I am questioning his judgment. I am questioning his judgment.
(APPLAUSE)
I said on Saturday night that I have a proud pro-life record in Congress. And I am proud of that.
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I respect the views of others but I also happen to believe that the noblest words ever written, in history, were those that said, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all of us are created equal, and endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life. I think, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that life applies to those that are not born as well as those that are born.
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CHETRY: In our next hour we're going to hear from Barack Obama. He's attacking John McCain on taxes and the economy. Also, we have a programming reminder for you. Live coverage of the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis kicks off here on AMERICAN MORNING, September 1st.
Before he picks a vice president, Barack Obama needs to make sure he's not contagious.
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OBAMA: I'm all right.
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CHETRY: A Jeanne Moos special. The candidate and the head cold. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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ROBERTS: The nominating convention just days away and things have gone to Barack Obama's head out on the campaign trail. Not his ego, though. It's a head cold.
CHETRY: That's right. As Jeanne Moos tells us, more than just his message is contagious.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's sniffling.
OBAMA: Thank you.
MOOS: He's sneezing.
OBAMA: Everybody's who's discharged -- excuse me.
MOOS: The candidate known for his cool caught a cold. Wouldn't you know it, right before one of the biggest command performances of his career, the convention.
OBAMA: I'm all right. That's OK. That's why I got my handkerchief here.
MOOS (on camera): Now, normally it's the candidate who travels around with a spray of hand sanitizer and worries about getting infected by well wishers.
(voice-over): But if you want to stay well, stay well away from him.
OBAMA: Wash your hands after you shake my hand.
MOOS: The threats of presidential candidate cooties didn't deter this crowd. Senator Obama said he caught the cold while vacationing in Hawaii with his kids.
OBAMA: They all got little germs. I love them, but they have germs.
MOOS: All that hand holding.
OBAMA: They're wiping each other, wiping noses.
MOOS: Now he's the one doing the wiping. Since he got back from vacation, think of all the germs he's spread to those shaking his hand, doing his makeup.
OBAMA: Here. You can borrow mine.
MOOS: Grabbing his contaminated mike. He shook this little girl's hand and posed with her, and her fingers went straight to her mouth. As part of our continuing coverage of Infection '08, we can only warn supporters to look, but don't touch. For instance, when the candidate drops his water cap. OBAMA: I lost my cap there for a second.
MOOS: Don't pick it up.
OBAMA: Thank you, thank you very much.
MOOS: Too late. Months earlier in the campaign, the senator blew his nose. And it got a murmur of applause. Sort of like when this panda started sneezing. As long as it's from a distance, sneezing can be crowd pleasing. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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CHETRY: Stall out. Tropical Storm Fay sits over Central Florida.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We rode out Charlie and Francis here. And they don't even compare.
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CHETRY: 30 inches of rain could come down by today.
Plus, that sweet swing? That we may never see again.
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UNIDENTIFIED DOCTOR: Once he starts swinging, he's not going to be able to control the force in that leg. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at Tiger Woods' long road to recovery. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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CHETRY: Senator Hillary Clinton supporters will be heard at the Democratic Convention next week. It's not clear yet still, though, whether that will unite or divide the party on its biggest stage. Here's CNN's Tom Foreman.
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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What to do at the convention with Hillary Clinton and her 18 million supporters has been a burning question for Democratic leaders. One they hope will finally fizzle with the decision to put her name in nomination.
"As a show of unity and in recognition of the historic race she ran, and the fact that she was the first woman to compete in all of our nation's primary contests."
Exactly how the Democrats will handle the details is not clear. But the roll call vote for candidates has been a staple of political convention since the '60s. And many Clinton supporters want to loudly and publicly state their choice as this convention. In 1992, Pat Schroeder was the last woman to get votes at a major party convention. She got eight votes. Clinton could expect a lot more. Then political analysts say she could politely decline the support and urge everyone to get behind Obama.
Larry Sabato was at the University of Virginia.
LARRY SABATO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: If she can make it very high minded, it's all about letting the people's voice be heard. Letting the delegates speak. And that will supposedly lead to greater unity. Of course, in the process, she benefits enormously.
FOREMAN: She benefits because it puts the party's stamp of recognition on her accomplishments.
OBAMA: Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign.
FOREMAN: She benefits because if Obama loses, she is well- positioned to run again in four years.
(on camera): Still, plenty can go wrong. Conventions these days are all about selling the party's candidate to the public. Not celebrating the one they didn't pick.
(voice-over): Unlike Bill Clinton and Al Gore, John Kerry was kept from unanimous acclimation by 43 votes going to Dennis Kucinich. If Obama loses too much attention, too many votes to Hillary Clinton --
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: That's certainly what the Republican Party would love to see. You know, on what a night should be about unification.
FOREMAN: Hillary Clinton vows that will not happen. And assures conspiracy fans there will be no last-minute grab for the nomination either. She will take her bow, enjoy the moment, and then hit the trail to get Obama elected. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
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ROBERTS: Well, as we wait this morning to find out who is number two, Barack Obama is focusing on issue number one. And attacking John McCain's tax policy. Here's what the senator said in his own words.
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OBAMA: John McCain's basic economic policies are identical to George Bush's economic policies. Don't take my word for it. Read any economist, and ask them what's the difference between John McCain's policies and George Bush's, and they'll tell you not much. He wants to continue the Bush tax cuts that went to the wealthiest one percent disproportionately. But he also wants to double down and provide tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas. He wants to get $300 billion worth of tax cuts to folks. By the way, a huge percentage of them to people who don't need those tax cuts and weren't even asking for them. You know, if you make about $2.5 to $2.8 million a year, you'd get half a million dollars worth of tax breaks from John McCain in his tax plan. Let me just see a show of hands. How many people are making $2.5 million here?
Just raise your hand now. Come on. Be honest now. I'm looking for campaign contributors. All right. So that's John McCain's tax plan. My tax plan says that the people who really need help are working families -- middle class families. And so what I say is, instead of cutting taxes for corporations when 70 percent of them aren't even paying taxes, is to make sure that we are giving tax relief to you -- $1,000 per family.
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ROBERTS: Coming up, it's Senator John McCain's turn. What he said when a voter asked him about picking a pro-life running mate.
