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Democratic Spotlight Shines on Hillary Clinton; FAA Computer Glitch Impacts Flights Nationwide

Aired August 26, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN's live coverage of the Democratic National Convention.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody.

You are taking a look inside the Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado. We are reporting to you, though, from CNN ELECTION CENTER in New York. Soledad O'Brien here.

We are continuing our coverage of the 2008 Democratic Convention, some preparations under way as you saw there just a moment ago. Hillary Clinton did her walk-through, checking out the podium, taking a look at the prompter, all that. She is obviously getting ready for her big speech tonight.

And, right now, Senators Obama and McCain are on the campaign trail, Obama at a town hall meeting in Kansas city. McCain is in Phoenix. Here is quick sampling of a little bit of what each had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Whatever we think about how and why we went to war in Iraq, we are all humbled by and grateful for their example. They now deserve the distinction of the best Americans. And we owe them a debt that we can never fully repay.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just remember, we are spending $10 billion a month in Iraq. When they have got an $80 billion surplus, U.S. taxpayer money is rebuilding Iraq. We need U.S. taxpayer money rebuilding America and putting people back to work. That's the kind of future I envision. That is the direction I want to take this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: So, that's the candidates out on the stump. The GOP Convention is next week. You have got a potentially historic day two of the Democratic Convention. It's about to get under way officially.

The spotlight on Hillary Clinton, not on Senator Obama, not on John McCain, but Hillary Clinton and her all-important speech.

Let's get right to a preview with CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger. Hey, Gloria, a lot for her to accomplish. Before we get to that long list -- and every time I interview someone, they add more to the list of what she actually has to do in this speech. First, do you think her speech is going to bring an end to the disunity talks?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, that is what she hopes. That's what her people hope. And I really think it will, because I think it's up to Hillary Clinton and, by the way, later on in the week up to Barack Obama to unify this party.

And Hillary Clinton is going to acknowledge her supporters. She is going to acknowledge how important they have been to her and to the country. But then she is going to go right ahead and start praising Barack Obama. And she is going to essentially say to her supporters, look, if you love me, you cannot love John McCain.

And then she is going to go through a litany of all the issues and all the things she disagrees with John McCain about, and that Barack Obama is with her. So, she is going to say, look, you can't love us both. If you love me, you are going to love Barack Obama.

S. O'BRIEN: It's the 88th anniversary of women getting the right to vote, which we heard the woman from the White House Project earlier, Marie Wilson, saying that Hillary Clinton has really now become the spokesperson for American women.

First, do you think that's true? And if that is the case, what happens after the speech?

BORGER: Well, I think Hillary Clinton rightfully so becomes a leader of American women.

She did get 18 million votes in the primary, as she likes to say and Michelle Obama said last night, 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling. She accomplished something that was quite extraordinary. And I think everyone, including Barack Obama, is going to praise that. And I would be very surprised if, on this anniversary, that wasn't raised tonight.

And one thing Barack Obama needs from Hillary Clinton, and I think he will get it, is these older women voters who were so loyal to Hillary Clinton, that they are just not letting go. And I think she is going to say to them tonight, look, if you believe in the things that I believe in, you have got to go with Barack Obama.

S. O'BRIEN: The message to some degree has got to be you have got to let go. I think it's going to be a tough emotional night for her and for her 18 million -- not all of them obviously in the Pepsi Center, but a bunch in the Pepsi Center, who are going to feel very emotional about that.

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: It's the final you got to let it go.

BORGER: Yes, absolutely. And it's hard when you have spent the last 18 months doing nothing but running for president. And particularly the Clinton supporters feel that they did so well at the end of the race. They finally found their mojo. And then they ended up losing, but they lost. And politics is about winning and it's about losing. And then in the end, it's about getting together, which is what I expect they will really do.

S. O'BRIEN: It's a brutal, brutal game. Gloria Borger covering it for us, though. We appreciate it, Gloria.

BORGER: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: We're going to break it down a little further next from the left and the right. We have got Republican Ed Rollins and Democrat Robert Zimmerman ahead right after these brief messages.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: You can expect high drama in Denver, Colorado. Remember those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling that Michelle Obama talked about yesterday and Hillary Clinton talked about before? Well, they were put there by 18 million Hillary Clinton voters. And about 27 percent now say they are not supporting Barack Obama; they are supporting John McCain.

So, for Barack Obama to win come November, Hillary Clinton has a big job and lots of persuading of her folks to do.

So, high drama, high stakes. Let's dig a little bit deeper now with our pair of CNN contributors and political mavens. We have got Ed Rollins and Robert Zimmerman.

Nice to see you both.

Robert, let's start with you.

We saw Barack Obama in Kansas City, Missouri, today talking at a town hall with a bunch of people who really are on the verge of losing their jobs, if they haven't already, because the business that they do is being moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma. And this was part of his message to them. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: John McCain has a great biography. He's been a POW. I have got a funny name. The Republicans are going to try to make it out as if I'm a scary guy, that I'm going to tax you to death and that you don't know whether I can be trusted to lead.

That's the argument they are going to make. But I have just got to remind everybody here, this election is not about me. It's about you. It's about who is going to be fighting for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Is that an effective argument; the election is not about me; it's about you, Robert?

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you see, that's really the core of the issue here, whether Barack Obama can demonstrate, and I think he can, and it will begin this speech at the Mile High Stadium Thursday, where they can go from the Mile High Stadium into everyone's kitchen table, and show that he feels their anger, their passion and their commitment to turn our nation around.

Granted, he's obviously trying to inoculate the public from the attacks on the Republicans, but I wouldn't worry too much about that. He's got to keep focused on the attack. And I think we are going to see the beginning of that tonight with Senator Clinton with her speech, because she's going to help lay out the choice we have as Americans, not just as Democrats, between continuing the Bush policies with John McCain or an alternative with Barack Obama.

S. O'BRIEN: Many have said people who are critics of the way it went last night, even if it was -- they thought it went too emotional, not enough attack. And some have said, well, the attacks will happen. Take your time. Last night was a time to have the family. Last night was a time to have Senator Ted Kennedy.

But did you feel there was momentum coming out of yesterday into today?

ED ROLLINS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: There were two extraordinary moments in political history, obviously, this lovely woman talking about her husband and her children and her family and where she came from, which is a beautiful story. It doesn't have anything to do with who is going to be the next leader of the country, though, in the sense of what he's going to...

S. O'BRIEN: Well, it does have to do with values.

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: ... values, values, values.

ROLLINS: Except we don't -- you are not voting for your next- door neighbor. You are basically voting for someone who understands what's going on in your neighborhood, but, more important, someone who can lead this country and lead this country effectively.

The Kennedy moment obviously was the end of a 50-year -- not the end, but certainly a highlight of a 50-year career of a man who has been the soul of the party. But tonight is another very important part.

And what Democrats have to understand is that Bill Clinton brought them back from the wasteland. They had been out in the wilderness for a long, long time. And after the Carter presidency, people weren't sure there was ever going to be another Democratic president. He brought them back. He put the formula together and was a pretty darn good president, in spite of his little innuendoes and little problems that he had in the course of it. And there's a lot of Democrats who love him, a lot of Democrats who love her, obviously, by the course of the campaign. But tonight you have got to put this party back together or you are not going to win.

S. O'BRIEN: You heard the national anthem. It's kind of weird, Ed, to have the national anthem going behind you as you are making your political points. That was kind of a first for me, maybe for everybody else, as well -- they are doing rehearsals, obviously.

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, Robert?

ZIMMERMAN: I want to thank Ed for queuing up the music, so when he was speaking, I couldn't hear him.

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, no, it was beautiful, but it didn't necessarily support what he was talking about.

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: But let's talk about Hillary Clinton for a second, Robert, because I heard earlier Alex Castellanos say that he expected -- one of the things he felt that Hillary Clinton had to do in her speech tonight was to reference some of the mean things that were said in the primary, because, of course, those are now being leveraged in political ads.

Is there a way for her or do you think she has to say kind of a, listen, everybody said mean things about each other during the course of the primary? Does she have to kind of slide that into her speech? Is that critical?

ZIMMERMAN: Well, with all due respect to Alex, I think that Hillary Clinton has a good instinct as to how to speak to the Democratic Party.

And the one venture -- the one path to take is not going backwards. It's going forward. And in regard to last night is a good example. We have a party that is beginning this convention divided, tense from a 17-month primary. And last night was a very healing time. The tribute to Ted Kennedy brought everyone together. Michelle Obama's speech really was a very beautiful introduction to who the Obama family is for many people.

And, tonight, tonight, we draw the distinctions between John McCain and between Barack Obama, the Democratic legacy that Bill Clinton gave us with that historic record economy and the travesty of the economy under George Bush.

And so I think, contrary to Alex's advice, I don't think we have to live the attacks of the primary. We have to focus on the future challenges in this election. S. O'BRIEN: We will see how that speech comes out.

Robert Zimmerman and Ed Rollins, nice to see you both.

ROLLINS: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

Much more -- much more -- I'm having trouble speaking now -- convention coverage -- is what I'm trying to say -- in about 20 minutes and of course throughout the day.

In New York, I'm Soledad O'Brien at the CNN Election Center here in New York.

Let's send it back to Atlanta and CNN NEWSROOM right after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's scary now. And in a few days, it could be major, the first major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico in three years. All eyes are on Gustav as it clips southwestern Haiti.

And wildfire sweeps through a neighborhood in Idaho. Homes are destroyed. Not everybody makes it out alive. We have got the latest from Boise.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Those stories and more in less than 90 seconds right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, this just coming into CNN right now.

Apparently, we are getting word from the FAA that its computer system, its computer system which processes flight plans for the Eastern United States has a -- quote -- "failure in the system that process flight plans."

What does that mean? It means that, right now, there are about 5,835 flights airborne at this time, and there's been a network failure that is affecting those flights throughout the whole United States. What exactly does that mean? How are those flights being affected?

Jeanne Meserve working this for us now, she joins us live now out of D.C.

Does that mean any of these flights are in jeopardy of any kind in regard to landing or the routes of these flights?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No, it doesn't appear to mean that at all. This is a communications problem, a problem apparently at an FAA facility called the National Airspace Data Interchange Network facility. That's near Atlanta. Apparently, it's having problems with communications. So, they have had to take all the flight plans for all of the aircraft in the country and move it to a facility in Salt Lake City.

That has caused some delays simply because of the volume. They stress, the FAA stresses there is no problem communicating with these planes. There doesn't appear to be any jeopardy. There just is this backlog that they are coping with.

Just a short time ago, we checked the FAA's own Web site to see what the delays looked like. We could see delays at La Guardia, JFK and Atlanta, but at least according to the Web site, the delays did not appear to be significant at other airports around the country -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Bring us more information as you get it.

OK. I'm being told -- OK, being told -- actually, go ahead and stay with us, Jeanne. You might want to listen to this.

One of our photographers, CNN photog Mark Biello, is actually on the tarmac at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.

Mark, I don't know if you have taken off on assignment or arriving from assignment, but what have you heard about these communication issues with the FAA right now?

MARK BIELLO, CNN PHOTOGRAPHER: Hi, Kyra.

Yes, I have been sitting on a tarmac here in Atlanta for over an hour. It seems like most of the planes. There were a few taking off at the time. But we were told by the pilot that there is an FAA flight plan glitch I guess in the computer system.

The biggest question that a lot of passengers and a lot of people are talking about is where is the backup system for this? if There a computer glitch and a computer system does go down, you would think that they would possibly have (AUDIO GAP) backup system for when it fails, almost the same like you are having with the hard drive on your computer. You have a backup system that would save the data.

So, I guess that is the question that a lot of people are talking about. There is no danger immediate. That's the question everyone has had, is that suppose there were computer hackers or computer terrorism or something that recently happened in Georgia. The question is (AUDIO GAP) is the backup for a system like this?

PHILLIPS: So, Mark, let me ask you. What has the captain said to you? Or are you getting word from flight attendants or from the captain directly about what specifically the issue is? We are hearing there is a communication glitch somehow in the system, but that it's not necessarily affecting the communications airborne or any of these 5,000-plus flights that are airborne already with regard to its -- to the flight path. So...

BIELLO: Well, the information we are getting is that they are releasing the planes one at a time. They are going by priority list on the time that these planes are supposed to (AUDIO GAP) from their gates and takeoff times.

So, it's a very slow process that is probably coming from another facility that's releasing the planes, but one-by-one basis. So it's really backed the whole system up, at least in the (AUDIO GAP) area. (AUDIO GAP) I think that is sitting also on the tarmac in Miami. And that is what kind of brought this to light, that, OK, what is happening here, and it's been well over an hour now that we have been sit hearing on the tarmac.

PHILLIPS: All right, Mark. Keep us posted on what the captain tells you and what you are hearing from the tarmac there in Atlanta- Hartsfield.

Meanwhile, let's get back over to Chad.

As you can see, we can actually -- this is such a wonderful Web site, Chad, because we can track the flights, see where they are, how many flights are airborne at this point. What are you able to gauge from this?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, when I first started giving you the data a little bit ago with a number, it was 5,385. That's how many planes were in the sky.

And at this time of day, that number just keeps going up, until we get to the peak around 5:00. Well, now we are down to 5,791, which means we're down about 50 planes. And we should be up maybe 50 planes.

So, what I was showing you and I was clicking around on this Web site the entire time we were live. And maybe you can't really figure out what we have here. That is the Southeast United States. But now I'm going to done more thing. I'm going to take all of the origin ATL planes. These are the Atlanta airplanes outbound from Atlanta, only 108 in the sky right now. A typical day right now, we are about 160 to 180 planes.

There is right downtown into Atlanta. So, yes, planes are still taking off. See what this one is. Let's see what that plane is right there. That's a ATL to DCA. That one is going to Reagan National Airport.

What about this one here? That is a Delta Airlines Flight 1513 going to Indianapolis. So, yes, they are getting off the ground, but more slowly than they should be. And that's why our number of planes, in fact, going down, the total number of planes in the sky going down, when we should be well on up past 6,000 planes by now.

And what you see is still -- that's still all the planes leaving Atlanta. Now, let me take off Atlanta. And I will show you all the planes that are in the sky. The good news about this map, Kyra, is that planes aren't this big, thank goodness, because if they were, they would all be bumping into each other, and they don't. So, that's good news. But, sometimes, we call this map ants on candy, because really that's what it looks like, a bunch of ants on a candy bar.

PHILLIPS: It's controlled chaos.

MYERS: Chaos.

PHILLIPS: That's right. Chad Myers, all right, thanks so much.

Jeanne Meserve, let's get back to you there in Washington, D.C.

Are you hearing anything more from your sources about this glitch in the computer system and what it means?

MESERVE: No, we haven't heard anything new, but just a couple of points of clarification.

When Mark Biello was talking to you from the tarmac, he was saying there is frustration that is there is no backup system. Well, according to our information from the FAA, there is a backup system. There is this second facility out in Salt Lake City, and it is handling the flight plans for all the general aviation and commercial flights in the country. That's a lot of volume. It is taking some time, but there does appear to be a backup.

And it's in play and that's why as many planes as are taking off are taking off right now.

PHILLIPS: Got it.

All right, Jeanne Meserve, we will stay in touch with you and track what is happening what is happening right now.

Now I'm being told that CNN producer John Couwels on a plane in Miami International.

John, we just talked with Mark Biello. You probably heard what he is dealing with, with the delay there at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.

Are you heading to assignment, coming back from assignment there at the Miami International Airport? And what are you hearing about this glitch in the system with the FAA?

JOHN COUWELS, CNN PRODUCER: Just to correct it, I'm actually at Fort Lauderdale International Airport.

And, yes, I was on assignment and on my way to Tampa. And I had a 2:00 flight and at about 10 minutes to the flight's departure, I was told that there was some type of a computer glitch and they were unable to file a flight plan. After a few minutes, I made a call to and spoke with Kathleen Bergen with the FAA out of Atlanta. And she had told me what the problem was, that all flight plans are processed through two centers, one in Atlanta, and they handle all flights on the East Coast of the United States, and one out of Salt Lake City. All flights are filed out of Salt Lake for West Coast flights. So, there was a network failure, communication failure within this computer system in the FAA system in Atlanta which they were unable to process. So, what they did is they rerouted all network traffic out of Salt Lake City. Now Salt Lake has to process all flight plans, doubling their duty and slowing down the processing significantly.

The pilot had told me that no plane can take off within the United States without having the proper flight plans filed. So at this point flights all across the United States have been affected. Flights are taking off. I was told just recently that two planes had taken off from F.A. -- from Fort Lauderdale International. But, obviously, there are flights sitting all over the United States waiting to take off.

PHILLIPS: All right, John Couwels there, one of our producers at Fort Lauderdale International Airport, just like our photographer Mark Biello that is on the tarmac there at Atlanta-Hartsfield Airport, both on hold right now, as you are hearing straight from the FAA that there is a glitch in their computer system right now, which means they can't file a flight plan, meaning -- well, it makes sense, Chad Myers, if you look at the Flight Explorer here that you can't let any planes take off at this point with that many planes in the air until they get the computer glitch fixed.

And I'm assuming that there are a number of planes in holding patterns right now, maybe not able to land at this point.

MYERS: Kyra, I don't know how they do it with the computers working properly, to be very honest. What was that movie, "Stacking Tin" something like that show?

I'm going to zoom in here to Atlanta. And we will kind of do a -- we will do a little deal here. This is going to be all the planes headed into Atlanta. And we will see what's happening. So, there is Atlanta right down in the middle there. But you also have these circles going on up here. See those planes going in circles? Well, that's not the shortest distance to the Atlanta runway, clearly.

So they are in holding patterns. They are in patterns to stack these planes to arrive on time. There also is a little bit of weather around Atlanta, too. So, that could also have something to do with it. But all the planes coming in from the southwest, they are circling down there. From the northwest, they are circling up near Rome, Georgia, or Dalton, Georgia.

You may recognize that from the carpet capital of the world, and then back up here toward the northeast, northeast of Gainesville, Georgia, got that circle going there. And that's just randomly taking these planes and putting them in the proper order, so they can land at the exact time that they should be, one to two minutes apart.

That's why they do this. But, obviously, that's what's causing a couple of the delays as well, too, not only departure delays, but probably some arrival delays as well. PHILLIPS: All right. So, if you are getting ready to fly, hold tight. Your plane more than likely will be delayed right now. And you're right. It's "Pushing Tin." That's the movie about air traffic controllers.

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: Is that it? Yes, OK. OK.

PHILLIPS: Chad Myers, thanks. Keep an eye on that for us.

Jeanne Meserve out of D.C. talking to her sources at the FAA, any new information, Jeanne, before we go to break?

MESERVE: No. No. We haven't heard anything new, just that of course all of these flight plans are sent electronically to the FAA. So when there's a communications breakdown, it can have a pretty profound effect. And that is what you are seeing, at least, as I say, at those three airports, Atlanta, JFK, La Guardia. And of course our person on the ground in Fort Lauderdale, too, was seeing delays there. So, we will keep watching it for you.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. Jeanne Meserve, thanks so much.

Also straight ahead, moving slowly and gaining steam, the newest Caribbean hurricane, Gustav, on the radar. Also, CNN severe weather expert Chad Myers, he will have more for us.

And the congregation was stunned when the pastor confessed that he had been faking terminal cancer for two years. They were shocked even more when he told them why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, If you're getting ready to fly today, yes, you might want to hold off. We're getting reports of delays from LAX to Arlington to Chicago -- even here in Atlanta, Georgia. Live pictures from the various airports at this point.

What's the problem? It's a glitch in the FAA computer system. We're being told through our sources at FAA that there doesn't appear to be any type of threat to the more than 5,000 flights that are airborne right now.

Our Chad Myers has been monitoring Flight Explorer for us. As you can see, these are all the planes that are in the air right now. But I can tell you a number of those planes that are trying to land are in holding patterns.

So what exactly does this glitch in the computer system mean?

Well, A, the FAA is trying to figure that out right now, what went wrong; if, indeed, a hacker got into the system. But the problem is flight plans can't be filed at this point, which means the FAA cannot approve any plane to take off or land until they're able to get this communications -- or their communications figured out and that they are able to communicate with all the appropriate people, as this network failure affected thousands of flights right now throughout the entire United States.

We continue to get calls in from our various producers and photographers that are trying to fly in and out on assignment right now, telling us that they have been delayed.

Mark Biello is one of our photographers. He's been on the tarmac for more than an hour now.

Live pictures from our affiliate WSB out of Atlanta, Georgia -- Mark, I think you're still with us.

Are you actually sitting on the airplane right now? And, if so, what has the captain told you?

BIELLO: Yes. We're still here. We're still at the gate. But we're still on the plane. And, actually, the pilot has been very good informing. And this specific airline, Delta, they've been very good at informing and updating us every five minutes.

Again, you know, they don't know much more information than the passengers here. But, you know, they are very thorough in telling us that it was an FAA flight plan computer glitch and that each flight plan, which has to be approved or has to go through the system. Then they release the planes one at a time.

So at this point, we're still stuck here, still on the tarmac. You know, it's no big concern, you know, safety-wise with any of the passengers or for anyone. But they have been very thorough and the communication has gotten to the cockpit of these planes, which have been relayed to the passengers. And it's just -- it's a very long delay. Nothing more than that, really.

PHILLIPS: OK. Great, Mark. And if you could get a chance, Mark, if you can talk to flight attendants or possibly the captain or co- captain of your flight to get some more information on just how long they think this delay might be in play and what it means for -- if this is affecting flights all across the country at this point.

Meanwhile, while you're doing that, I'm going to go back over to Chad Myers in the Severe Weather Center, who also monitors the Flight Explorer for us -- and, Chad, you were saying, as we were looking, I guess, about five minutes ago, there were about 5,791 flights airborne, a number of them in holding patterns.

Has that changed since we last talked?

MYERS: Well, it has. We're up to 5,825. And so that's saying something, that plane are getting off the ground -- more planes off the ground than getting on the ground. But that just means that there's probably some planes out there that are doing some circles, that are going to have to get on the ground rather soon, because they don't carry too much extra fuel, because, you know, you've got to push this fuel around. The map that you see on the right, those are all the planes that have left Atlanta in the past three hours. That number is down to 99. That is probably 60 percent -- maybe 50 percent of the number of planes that should be off the ground going somewhere from Atlanta right now, the world's busiest airport. There we go.

Now I'm going to change it to how many planes are coming into Atlanta. That's 140.

Well, if you have 140 coming in and only 100 going out, that means there's going to be more planes on the ground than you have spaces to put them in jet ways and all that, because you have to get these planes off one at a time -- the same number that's going on, the same number that's going off. So we are going to see this.

And I can change to a couple of different airports. Let's do the same thing here. Let's change this to Newark, EWR. There are 106 planes headed into Newark and there are 70 planes that have left Newark. Same problem -- 36 more planes that are going to be landing that have just taken off. So you're getting more planes on the ground and probably not only take-off delays, but if you get too many planes on the ground, then you have planes that haven't left the gate and there is no gate for the new planes that come in to come in and park.

So you're going to be in the penalty box while you're landing, waiting for that plane to exit its jet way -- its little ramp, because it can't go anywhere. It's grounded. It doesn't have a plan. According to the FAA, they are clearing this up plane by plane by plane. But it may take some time if you have an afternoon or evening flight tonight -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. And, Chad, you know what else, I was just reading through some various wires and Web sites that I know of in aviation. And one of the first questions I had, what about the radars and if the radars are still up and running. And according -- it looks like we have confirmed it through our own CNN wires here that the FAA is saying that there are no radar outages and that they have not lost contact with any of the planes.

So I think that was the first concern, when the FAA said there was a glitch within the system -- and Jeanne Meserve was talking about communication problems. The good news is, according to the FAA, that they are still in contact with all those planes that are airborne. They haven't lost contact with any of those 5,000 plus flights that are up in the air right now and the radars are still working OK.

MYERS: Yes. There's no safety issue here. They will not allow a safety issue. That's why the planes are being slow to leave.

Think of it this way. You have a plant making minivans in Atlanta and a plant making minivans in Salt Lake City and they both want to put out a thousand minivans today. Well, the plant in Atlanta just went down, so Salt Lake City is trying to make 1,500 today instead of a thousand. They're doing double the work out there in Salt Lake City. And, in the meantime, they're going to have to slow the process down because they can't do double the work. They still have the same manpower as on an everyday basis.

So they're allowing planes to leave and they're releasing them as they can, but only up to their capacity. You know, you can't build 2,000 minivans in Salt Lake City on a day. You just can't get there. So you just can't put out 2,000 more planes. You can't do double the work -- Atlanta and Salt Lake City -- the Salt Lake City plant can't do all the work that two usually do. That's the only issue here. There's -- no planes are in trouble. No radar is in trouble. They know where every plane is.

PHILLIPS: Well, this is important for us to point out right now. I'm being told that the Airport Network here -- CNN -- is simulcasting CNN right now. So we want to welcome all our viewers in airports across the United States right now. We are broadcasting to you live as you are there, probably wondering why your flights are delayed.

And here's what we can tell you right now, that the FAA has got some type of computer glitch right now that's making it hard to process your flights and your flight plans at this time. But we are told that this failure in the system is not affecting the safety of the flights -- any of those flights that are airborne right now. This is what Chad Myers is monitoring for us right now, the Flight Explorer that shows the more than 5,000 flights that are airborne.

So if you're at the airport, whether it's Washington, D.C. , Arlington, LAX, Chicago, Atlanta -- wherever you are, yes, you will be experiencing delays for some time right now.

So we want you to stay with us. And we're going to continue to bring you the updated information as this is all happening.

I have a little bit more information for you, as well. This is coming through to us from the FAA. They are saying that these flight plans are what -- the fact that they can't process the flight plans for all of you that are wanting to get out of the airport, and that's what's causing the flight delays there.

They are working on it right now as we speak, trying to figure out why the facility that's just south of Atlanta, Georgia, by the way, is having problems processing this data. They're just having a hard time punching it all through.

It's got to go through this Atlanta facility to a Salt Lake City, Utah facility. And these two facilities that process all the flight plans for all commercial and general aviation flights here in the United States.

Now, the administration, Chad, as we mentioned, once again coming forward, the FAA saying there are no radar outages. They haven't lost contact with any of the planes that are airborne right now.

Let me ask you, too, while we've got all our viewers here in the various airports around the United States, if you are stranded in the airport and you are getting any information right there in the airport as you wait for your flight, do us a favor and share us -- share with us your story. Just go to iReport.com. Get out your Crackberries (ph). Get out your iPods. Take some pictures. Tell us what you're dealing with. Tell us what airport you're in. Tell us what the airlines are telling you right now -- any information that would help us, as you are there in various airports -- Chad, Flight Explorer, as you're monitoring that, anything else for us right now?

MYERS: No. There is quite a bit. And you can see here the shiny tarmac here. There's quite a bit of weather out there, too. And so you can't maybe blame all 1,000 flights that aren't in the sky right now that should be or could be on just this FAA glitch.

I mean you do have some thunderstorms around Atlanta. You have some thunderstorms around Charlotte. You have heavy rain across parts of Eastern Kentucky up into West Virginia, as well. And those planes and those airports would be a little bit slow anyway.

That's the issue we have here. All you need to know is that there just aren't as many planes in the sky right now because they want to put every plane in the sky safely, rather than say yes, you go ahead. We'll work that out later.

No. They don't work it out later. They work it out right now or they don't work it -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Appreciate it, Chad.

MYERS: Right.

PHILLIPS: Keep monitoring that for us, will you?

And if you're just tuning in, we know we are simulcasting now with the Airport Network, so we can bring all of you -- the passengers in various airports across the U.S. -- updated information on why you are probably not able to get onto your plane right now. This is affecting almost every airport in the U.S., almost every flight right now in the U.S., due to what the FAA is saying is a computer problem which is causing it not able to process your flight plans right now for the Eastern United States.

This doesn't mean that there is any type of safety risk at this time for flights that are already airborne. The flights that are trying to land, obviously, are in a holding pattern right now.

Miles O'Brien, who obviously works for us -- he is a pilot himself. He is always on top of everything aviation involved. He was making some calls for us.

He joins us on the phone -- Miles, what have you been able to surmise from a number of your sources?

MILES O'BRIEN, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, a couple of things. First of all, Kyra, the first thing I did was I tried to file a flight plan myself. And I got nowhere. I put it in. I just set up a flight from here down to the Atlanta area. And the computer has not given me the general response it would normally give me in that case, indicating that that flight plan was on file. So I wouldn't be able to fly, under instrument flight rules, to Atlanta right now.

Now another thing that's kind of interesting , I've been listening to the clearance delivery frequency in Boston. This is the frequency that is set aside by flight controllers to talk to the airliners -- all the airplanes leaving out of there before they leave -- to deliver the flight plans to them. No one is getting a flight plan there right now. It is a total ground stop gate hold situation right now. They've had numerous airplanes calling in, asking for their clearance delivery. And they're getting nothing.

And so there are now about 25 airplanes in line at Boston Logan alone. And there are some airlines that wouldn't allow their flights to fly under so-called visual flight rules, perhaps without a flight plan, depending on the rules of some airlines. Some smaller airlines might allow that.

But other than that, nothing is moving out of Boston Logan Airport right now.

So that's just one airport I've been listening to on live ATC.net, which is a Web service that has a lot of these frequencies on there.

So this has the potential, as time goes on, to cascade into a much bigger mess. It will tend to snowball. And we'll just have to see how this all plays out, how quickly they can get that computer system back up and running.

PHILLIPS: Miles, where are you right now?

M. O'BRIEN: I'm in New York in my office. I couldn't get down to the camera in time for you, Kyra. I apologize.

PHILLIPS: That's OK. More than anything, I have you with me trying to help our viewers kind of weave through this right now.

And, Miles, we're simulcasting with the Airport Network right now. So every airport, hopefully, has us on and viewers are paying attention to our information, so we can let them know why there's such a drastic flight delay issue right now.

Miles, you know, you're a pilot. You tried to file a flight plan. You weren't able to do that. Tell -- explain to our viewers why this is not a safety concern, because the first thing I think about, OK, they still have communication with all the airplanes that are airborne right now. But at the same time, if you have planes that can't land and they're in a holding pattern, I mean there's only so much fuel that an aircraft has, right?

M. O'BRIEN: Right.

PHILLIPS: I mean these guys can't stay in a holding pattern forever right now. They've got to act quickly and be able to land these aircrafts.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, here's the thing. Everything that's in the air right now, before they took off, they got their flight plan. So they have a flight plan. And there's a whole series of rules that we all live by in aviation.

If, for whatever reason, there is some confusion or lack of communication, you just stick to the flight plan. And so they'll continue to fly the flight plan that was filed. And unless the controllers are unable to even see that -- and I haven't heard that that is the case -- there would be no problem getting those planes safely to and from their destination.

This is about the -- you know, it's like -- it's sort of like when you go to AAA before a big trip and you get a Trip Tick. I don't know if anybody gets Trip Ticks anymore, but, you know, Trip Ticks -- which give you, you know, exactly what roads you're going to take on your way down to -- from Boston to Atlanta, let's say.

In this case, nobody is getting the planned route, the altitude, all of the rules of flight and the direction of flight. And so those planes cannot take off. Anything that's in the air, don't worry about it. The radars are working. The two-way communication is working. The controllers are able to talk to all those planes. The planes know where they're supposed to go. The FAA knows which way they're supposed to be going. Everybody is in sync if they're in the air.

But they don't want to put planes in the air without a clear sense of where they're going and that information being passed on down the line through all the various centers and the radar rooms and the control towers that would be relevant to that given flight. That's why you're seeing this mess on the ground right now.

PHILLIPS: All right. So the facilities that are having issues right now, the one that's just south of Atlanta that is -- it's having problems processing the data -- also, Miles, it's saying a facility in Salt Lake City, Utah is another facility that's having a problem processing this data.

How many facilities are there? Are these -- are these the two main facilities or are these facilities that just deal with this certain Eastern region? Do you know how many there are?

M. O'BRIEN: Well, I don't know the specifics on this system. But I do know this, that the FAA computer system is in -- you know, it's sort of patched together, in many respects, of baling wire and paper clips. It's in need of a sort of a holistic upgrade and has been for years. And we've seen these communications breakdowns, we've seen these computer glitches on a relatively regular basis. And the system could use some revamping to -- also to accommodate the kind of traffic levels that we experience these days.

The FAA does the best it can with the hand it is dealt, with the money it has to do it, but the system kind of peters because, frankly, it could use -- it could use some serious upgrading.

PHILLIPS: Got it.

And, Miles, stay with me for a minute. I just -- since all the airports are -- since we're simulcasting, rather, with the Airport Network right now, I just want to reach out to passengers in all the various airports that are experiencing delays.

If you don't mind, could you send us your stories, tell us what airports you are in right now, what you're dealing with, what flight delays you're experiencing, what airlines?

Just send your story to iReport.com -- iReport.com -- so we can share with other viewers and even get information here directly from you, as you are dealing with these flight delays due to this glitch in the FAA system in airports across the U.S. right now.

Miles, stay with me, if you don't mind. I want to get to Mark Biello. He's one of our photographers who has been stranded for more than an hour now on the tarmac there at Atlanta-Hartsfield Airport. He is experiencing these delays that are taking place across the country -- Mark, have you been able to find anything else out from the captain there of that flight or any of the flight attendants?

BIELLO: Yes, Kyra.

We're at the East terminal, which is where a lot of the international flights that leave Atlanta to overseas. Basically, what's happening -- what's happening right now is incoming flights from Europe need a gate to dock in. So we have been asked -- I'm on Delta Flight 887 to Tampa. We have been asked to push away from the gate and hold on the tarmac to let these incoming European flights have a gate to dock in, to let off the Europeans coming in -- the flights coming in from Europe. I'm not sure which flight or which airline. I assume it's a Delta flight coming in.

But it's what Chad was saying earlier, that, you know, this is -- it's the backup that's beginning to occur now, that there are going to be more planes that are going to need gates that are taking off. And so it's going to create one heck of a glut here on the runway and on the tarmac of these outbound planes aren't getting out as fast as the incoming flights, especially the priority flights that are coming in from Europe at this time.

PHILLIPS: All right. So you don't see -- you have no idea when you're going to be able to take off or if, indeed, you'll be taken back to the gate.

BIELLO: No. We're currently at Gate E as in Edward, 8. And they're pushing us back to make room for this European flight coming in from Europe, which, you know, obviously is a priority at this time. So I anticipate there probably will be quite a few planes on the tarmac.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Our Mark Biello there, one of our photographers, stranded at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport.

If you're just tuning in, I understand that we are simulcasting now with the Airport Network. So all of you passengers in various airports across the country, practice your patience right now. It looks like there are hundreds of delays taking place due to this glitch in a computer system within the FAA.

Unfortunately, a number of your flight plans cannot be filed because of this glitch. For those of you at home that maybe have a friend, a family member, a loved one airborne right now, there are more than 5,000 flights that are up in the air. According to the FAA and to our correspondents dealing with the flight experts right now in the system, all those flights are fine. This is not a safety issue at this point. The flights that are airborne, there is communication between the FAA and the various captains of those aircraft. A number of flights are in holding patterns right now and unable to land because of this traffic that is happening due to this glitch in the system in the FAA.

So they're working on it. That's all we can tell you. The FAA is working on this, trying to figure out what to do about these various delays across the U.S.

We're going to continue to follow this and bring you updated information.

Meanwhile, Chad Myers, you're going to take a switch from the Flight Explorer back to severe weather,

On top of all of this and all the delays going on, you've got a tornado warning.

MYERS: Well, we told you a little bit ago about how that there was pretty much big severe weather all across the country and that would be slowing down some planes, as well. Well, now, one of the major flight paths out of the northeast into Atlanta near Gainesville -- that's where you -- if you fly into Atlanta from the northeast, you will see Lake Lanier on the right of your plane. Now there's a tornado in that county, which is Hall County. And I'm looking at it.

This significant rotation is near Oakwood, moving up into Gainesville proper, if you're in Gainesville, Georgia -- not Gainesville, Florida -- Gainesville, Georgia -- you need to be taking cover now.

We know of a different tornado that actually hit Clemson in South Carolina about an hour ago that did cause damage. And we're working on how much damage that did cause there -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Chad Myers, appreciate it so much.

MYERS: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Chad Myers following the severe weather for us.

Right now, we're going to stay on top of that FAA story. Be patient as a number of flights -- hundreds of flights are delayed right now across the country as the FAA tries to fix this glitch in the computer system.

Let's now check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

He's actually standing by in Denver with the other top news of the day, to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour in "THE SITUATION ROOM". He's obviously at the convention there in Colorado.

Hey, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Kyra.

It's day two of the Democratic National Convention. Formally, it will begin an hour from now, day two. It will be Hillary Clinton's night. She's giving the big speech.

But will her words be able to finally bring together this Democratic Party?

Also, a hurricane is heading toward the Gulf of Mexico -- how that could impact part of the Republican National Convention next week in Minnesota.

And strong words -- very strong words between Russia and the United States, as the White House condemns new movement by Moscow and the Russians threaten more military action -- Kyra, we're going to stay on top of all of those, including this computer glitch, right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right, Wolf. Thanks so much.

And like Wolf said, we're going to stay on top of all the developing news.

As we follow the Flight Explorer here, more than 5,000 flights airborne. We're told it's not a safety issue. But for all of you watching CNN right now, trying to figure out why you have a delayed flight and how long it's going to take to get airborne, we can't give you an exact answer right now. We can just tell you the FAA is working it, trying to get those flight plans filed.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We continue to follow the breaking news across the country right now. Hundreds of flight delays due to a glitch in the FAA system. You're looking at the Flight Explorer. More than 5,000 flights airborne right now. Communications OK. But for those of you trying to take off, it's a nightmare.

Jeanne Meserve working more details for us out of Washington, D.C. today, even know what the problem is yet -- Jeanne.

MESERVE: Well, they know what the problem is, but they don't know what the cause is. There are two centers in the country that the FAA runs that processes flight plans. One of them, outside of Atlanta, has a communications problem. It has been unable to process flight plans, so all are being done by the second center out in Salt Lake City. It is simply overloaded, that system, and it's slow going.

We just spoke to a spokesperson from the FAA who says the worst delays are in the Northeast. She mentioned Boston in particular. Also, they're saying Chicago O'Hare has a 60 minute delay. Midway, at this point, has a 90 minute delay. And they are warning that eventually these delays could extend into the West because there is such a backlog on processing these flight plans.

They say that weather is complicating the picture at several airports, including Atlanta, JFK and LaGuardia.

They hope to get things back up in a couple of hours. But for now, they don't know what the cause is.

We've been reporting to you that there was a similar event about a year ago involving the same center. And we're also told by Doug Church with the Air Traffic Controllers Union that there was a similar event last Thursday night that involved this processing center in Atlanta. According to documents he read to us, about 134 departures were delayed last Thursday because of a similar malfunction. Nothing in what he could tell us that shed any light on what the cause might be.

PHILLIPS: And once again, no safety issues at this point.

This is not -- there are no safety concerns, can we confirm that -- Jeanne?

MESERVE: That is absolutely correct. They can communicate with all the flights that are in the air. The problem is with the flights that are on the ground waiting to take off. Those are going very slowly at the moment because they cannot process their flight plans.

PHILLIPS: Jeanne Meserve, thank you so much.

And if you're stranded in an airport, send us your story, to iReport.com, so we can bring you more information from right there on the front lines -- Chad Myers, you're also monitoring extreme weather for us.

What's up with the tornado?

MYERS: Well, one quick storm here near Gainesville, Georgia. And this is just outside the tornado watch box.

Here's Atlanta proper. We'll drive you up I-85 to Gainesville, Lake Lanier right there. You see it as you fly down into Atlanta.

Well, the storm is circulating right there -- enough to put a tornado warning out for Gainesville, Georgia proper. And there are also other tornado warnings. You see all these green dots near Greenville, near Anderson, way out just to the south of Rockville into South Carolina and North Carolina tonight. This weather will move to the northeast. We'll watch it for you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And thanks. Now let's take you to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer live in Denver -- Wolf.