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Hurricane Gustav; Political Recap
Aired August 30, 2008 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NGUYEN: Well there's a lot coming up. It's been a busy day so far, and it will be continuing through the weekend. The CNN NEWS ROOM does continue.
HOLMES: All right now, Richard Lui through the afternoon. Sitting in again, now for Fredricka Whitfield.
Richard, it's all you, sir.
RICHARD LUI, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: That's right, you guys have a great weekend. Thanks, T.J. and Betty. There's a lot ahead in for you.
First, a trickle, now a stream. Gulf Coast residents are getting out of the way as Hurricane Gustav picks up strength. Gustav is now a Category 3 storm with 125 miles-an-hour winds, it's heading towards Cuba western tip, right now, and is expected to reach the U.S. mainland late Monday or early Tuesday. Now forecasters say it could hit anywhere from Galveston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama, New Orleans, where memories of Hurricane Katrina, are still very vivid, is right in the middle of all of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: Encouraging all citizens to start to make plans to evacuate the city over the next couple of days. We are not in the mandatory evacuation state at this point. We will continue on monitor the storm as it goes forward, but we are now strongly encouraging people to start planning and we will be implementing the city assisted evacuation plan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUI: All right, CNN correspondents and meteorologist are standing on top of all of the developments for us. Our Sean Callebs is in New Orleans, Kate Bolduan in D.C., and meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is in the CNN Severe Weather Center. We're going to talk to all of them coming up. But let's first, let's go to Sean Callebs.
It's still too soon to predict if New Orleans will take a direct hit or be spared, but after Katrina many are not willing to take any chances and are getting out of town. As a was saying. Sean Callebs, there standing by in New Orleans at a bus and train station there.
And, Sean, you've been there all morning. Are they having any problems there? SEAN CALLEBS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this is an evacuation drop-off point. There are 17 points around the city, they're going to bring people here, take them on buses. You see one of the buses, here. Things, simply put, are not going smoothly. The big problem, when they go inside that building behind me to register to be taken to a shelter, the computers went down. So they were trying to register thousands and thousands of people by hand. They are going to try and evacuate 30,000 people who otherwise would not have had a mode of transportation out of this city. So, it's turned into a nightmare.
So what the city officials have decided to do is just get people in buses as quickly as possible because it is oppressively hot out here. Standing in line it has to be very difficult, especially for the elderly and many of people waiting in line are elderly. So, that when they get on their shelter, destination, north of the city, that is when the registration is going to take place.
Still, despite this SNAFU, this difficult time for all of these people who've been waiting in this heat, everybody says, to a person, things are going much more smoothly, the government is much more on top of things than they were three years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED BOYD, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: It looks like it's heading this way, so like I said, I'm not taking no chances -- you know? Never know until it gets here and I don't want to be here.
CALLEBS: not worth the risk?
BOYD: Not wort the risk, at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: And that is the key, not worth risk. One interesting thing, this bus here's been behind us now for probably close to a couple of hours. It's filled with people, waiting to go. We've talked to some people on that bus and they don't even know where they're going. They will not know what shelter they reach until they actually get there. So, that's got to be somewhat difficult and then to get registered once you get there, certainly some concern that there won't be any kind of manifest, who's going where. But, hopefully they'll be able to work that out.
A couple of things, quickly, the city has actually asked the hotels here to encourage visitors to leave, to get out as quickly as possible, as smoothly as possible, and secondly, the airport here is scheduled to shut down, Richard, Sunday at 6:00 Central Time. That, very important. Of course this whole forecast is tentative, but New Orleans is not taking any chances. They do not want a repeat of what happened here three years ago.
LUI: So, Sean, they've got to get out by 6:00, if you're going to take a plane, there. You know, you have the unique perspective, you've been reporting on the ground there from Katrina, where at least New Orleans, where Katrina had hit. How would you compare, over the last three years in terms of the readiness back in 2005 compared to today and what you've seen?
CALLEBS: There's no question the city, state, and federal authorities are much better prepared. It was a trifecta of disappointments last time. The agencies were not speaking to each other, evacuation orders went out about 36 hours before the storm it, simply a nightmare. And they were so poorly in place to help people afterward, but also, the citizens are a lot better prepared. They're taking these warnings seriously.
When people say, look, get out of town, even if it doesn't hit here, it's not a place that you want to be even if we get skirted by the storm. And secondly, you know, looting was a big problem. This is something that hasn't gotten a lot of attention. Well, the police have taken that into consideration, as well. And they're going to be set up in five areas in a city, presumably the storm hits, to make sure the city does not digress into anarchy again like it did after Hurricane Katrina.
LUI: All right, Sean, thank you very much. Despite those early difficulties, hopefully everybody will be able to get out on time. Sean Callebs there in New Orleans, appreciate it so much.
We're going to whip on over now to Reynolds Wolf in the Severe Weather Center who's been watching this all evening, last night, and as well as overnight. And Reynolds, when you take a look at the timeline, this time yesterday, it was just a storm after coming down from a hurricane, but now Gustav, back on track, right, Category 3?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, it really is. This is a powerhouse. You could argue this is the strongest storm on the planet right now, winds at 125 miles-an-hours, stronger Gusts going up to 155, it's moving to the northwest at 14 miles-per-hour. He's been phenning off of the warm waters of the Caribbean, getting a lot stronger, moving away from the Cayman's, headed for places like parts of Cuba.
Where Cuba could see a storm surge in some places, just to the south of Havana. Some locations ion the southern coast could have up to 18, maybe even 19 feet. This storm expected to continue its march to the northwest and as it does, it will strengthen.
In fact, the latest forecast we have from the National Hurricane Center brings it just past Cuba to the northeast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Cancun with winds up to 135 miles-an-hour. That puts it up to a Category 4 status. That will be the situation in the forecast for 8:00 a.m. Sunday. But then the storm continues its march to the north and to the northwest, as we get to early Monday at 8:00 in the morning, a Category 3 storm, winds of 125. Then, possibly making landfall, I'd say around six -- I'd say between 6:00 and say,8:00 in the morning, as we get into Tuesday, just to the west of New Orleans and then moving into parts of Louisiana and into Texas where it's going to be a tropical storm, but a big rainmaker. You could have some serious flooding in that part of the world and I would say it is going to be a firm possibility, the thing that you have to watch out for as we get to the midweek.
Something else that I need to tell you about this, in terms of intensity, that's one the most difficult things for forecasters to really get a handle on with these tropical systems. The second thing happens to be the cone of uncertainty. This is an idea -- gives us an idea of where the storm may go. It may veer off a little bit more to the east, perhaps the jog, it's going to go more to the west, affecting places like, say, Galveston. Could even veer off and effect parts of the Alabama coastline, Perdido Key, maybe even Pensacola.
There's a lot of uncertainty with this storm system, but I will tell you, it does look like it is going to strengthen, in the short term, possibly to a Category 4 as we get into early Sunday and then we'll have a better idea, a better handle of where the storm will go the next 48 hours after.
That is the latest we've got for you right here. It is a big pill and a bad one to swallow, but it's the situation that we've been handed. Very scary times for a lot of Americans across the Gulf Coast and of course, people in Cuba.
LUI: Yeah certainly, you and I were talking earlier about the different models that you're watching. What could kick this away from North America, if anything?
WOLF: Well, I mean, that's a great question you're asking. You're talking about those models. Here's a quick look at the models you're seeing behind me. We're not going to go deeper than just where you see these. Each of these lines, indicates a different computer model that shows this storm possibly moving to the east or perhaps the west. What the National Hurricane Center tries do is look at these models and try on combine them, try to get an idea of where the storm is going and affect it and affect the path -- to the second part of your question. It would it be the upper-level winds.
You've got an area of high pressure that's actually setting over parts of the southeastern U.S. and the steering winds, actually, move in a kind of a clockwise fashion and have the ability to possibly push the storm to the west. If that area of high pressure moves back into the Atlantic, deeper into the Atlantic, there's a chance that the storm could veer off and move closer, say, to Florida, maybe the Alabama coastline. So, there's a lot that moves just the water of the storm, the water, warm water, the gulf of Mexico, the mid to some upper 80s. also, the upper-level winds in that area of high pressure, the shear that the storm may encounter. Many variables come into play when following these big storms.
LUI: And lots of folks hoping that it will take the one on the left-hand side you have on your screen there of curse. Lots of variables that you're describing for us. Reynolds Wolf, yeah in the Severe Weather Center. Thanks so much for that.
WOLF: Anytime.
LUI: Hey you know, stay with CNN for the latest on Hurricane Gustav. We've got reporters all over the region in the Gulf Coast, our affiliates in the Gulf Coast, as well, are back being up our CNN storm team. We'll be getting live reports from them all day, right here on CNN. And then of course for the latest hurricane information, at your very own fingertips, all you have to do is go to CNN.com, tickle the ivories there, CNN and CNN.com, your source for storm information throughout the Labor Day weekend, live and raw, right here.
Partnered up, and rolling out this Labor Day weekend, the campaigns for president move into high gear.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LUI: Barack Obama and Joe Biden are out on the campaign trail trying to regain some momentum. Our Jim Acosta is with the campaign in Dublin, Ohio, for us.
And, Jim, we've been following Gustav all day before we begin the politics here, but has Obama had anything to say about this storm as of yet?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: He sure has, Richard, that's right. This morning in Youngstown, Ohio, Barack Obama and Joe Biden and their respective wives were mixing it up with some of the locals there at a diner in Youngstown and Barack Obama was asked about Hurricane Gustav, which as we know is making its way towards the Gulf Coast. And even though this is a major hurricane that appears to be heading towards New Orleans on the eve of the Republican National Convention, Barack Obama did not take the bait there and go on the attack and remind Americans of what happened during Hurricane Katrina.
All he basically said to reporters there when the question came up that was he has directed his staff to stay in touch with FEMA to make sure that they're doing everything that they need to be doing on the ground, on the Gulf Coast, and that he hopes that this country has learned from the last tragedy that happened there with Hurricane Katrina.
So, Barack Obama has touched on it. Joe Biden touched on it as well. But at this point, they're not trying to score any political point at this point. They say, they just want to make sure that everything is done that needs to be done to protect people down there on the Gulf.
LUI: Hey, Jim, also move into what they're doing in Ohio, trying to reconnect, if you will, with the blue-collar vote. This time around, though, this round, he got Senator Joe Biden by his side.
ACOSTA: Reporter: that's right, Richard. The last time around, Barack Obama didn't too well in this part the country, as you'll recall, he got creamed by Hillary Clinton here in Ohio, didn't do as well in Pennsylvania. Hillary Clinton trounced him there in the Keystone State. And so, Barack Obama knows he has his work cut out for him, but this time around, he has a shepherd to lead his path. He has Joe Biden, who, as we know, is the senator from Delaware. But as Joe Biden likes to talk about Wilmington, these days he's talking a whole lot about the fact that he grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, that he was born there. We heard a lot of that last night in Beaver, Pennsylvania, when these two gentlemen had an event outside of Pittsburgh with their two wives at their side.
And so on Joe Biden and Barack Obama, they're going to be talking about what they're doing for union families, they're talking a lot about healthcare and the economy. And interestingly, Richard, last night during that meeting in Beaver, Pennsylvania, Barack Obama did not mention Governor Sarah Palin by name. The only time he got anywhere near the subject of a woman on the are ticket is when Barack Obama made a very concerted effort for women voters last night, reminding voters there in Beaver that he's for equal pay, for equal work, making sure that women are paid just as men -- as much as men in the workplace -- Richard.
LUI: Jim Acosta, thank you so much. There in Dublin, Ohio, following the Obama campaign. Talk to you soon.
ACOSTA: You bet.
LUI: All right, right now, the Republican team is on the road too to next week's convention in Minneapolis. Curious voters in Pittsburgh today get a closer look at John McCain and his relatively unknown running mate. Just about everyone is asking, who is Governor Sarah Palin?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): John McCain's urgent task is exposing his little known running mate to battleground state voters, their first campaign stop, some buckeye shopping. But inside McCain and his wife went one way, Sarah Palin and family, went another. It's a new political pair hoping for the country to accept them as a team. Even before they really know each other.
McCain met Palin just six months ago, only once until meeting again this week before making her his running mate, but moments like this are a big reason McCain picked her.
GOV SARAH PALIN (R), MCCAIN'S VP PICK: Hi, honey. How cute.
BASH: images of a young mother trying to do it all. Someone he hopes Female voters will relate to. But what about voters who wonder why the man running on experience would pick a small town of Alaskan mayor turned first-term governor, that's what we wanted to know?
BASH (on camera): That would be great (INAUDIBLE) enough experience.
PALIN: Well, I've appreciated the certainty (INAUDIBLE) elected office that I've had to give me good experience and to get ready for this job, it's been good experience.
BASH (voice over): Talking points down, she got back on McCain's "Straight-Talk Express," and as they stopped again to get some ice cream and greet more voters, one thing was clear, bringing an unknown running mate around Ohio didn't just bring buzz. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There she is, right there.
BASH: It also generated intrigue.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alaska.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a long ways.
BASH: It's a bold choice that has many in Washington shaking their heads. But at least on day-one, turning heads on the trail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: All right, our Dana Bash is just outside of Pittsburgh and Washington, Pennsylvania. Dana, it's kind of odd though, this has been said certainly, he chose someone he barely knows, isn't it?
BASH: You know observing Senator John McCain it certainly was at first blush very odd to me, because he's somebody who likes to have a comfort level personally with people around him, somebody -- people that he knows very well. But, you know, in talking to the campaign what they insist is the senior advisers insist is he might not have a personal knowledge of her, but he has a connection to her because in everything that he has read and learned about her record, her short record, nevertheless, but she does have a record in Alaska, it has been in pushing against the grain, bucking her own party, bucking status quo to do things like fight corruption and stop out-of-control spending. Those are classic traits of John McCain, at least that John McCain sees in himself. So that is one of the big reason why his campaign said that he decided to go with her, even though there is no question about it. And now, that this is a huge risk because she might be all of those things in terms of her personality, in terms of her approach, but in terms of how she will do on a national stage, on an international stage, that is the big, big question mark -- Richard.
LUI: All right, Dana Bash, there with the McCain campaign. Thank you, Dana, we'll talk to you later today.
You know, millions watched as history was made at the Democratic National Convention last week, now it is the GOP's turn. Join the best political team on television for complete coverage of the Republican convention live from st. Paul, Minnesota. Coverage starts Monday afternoon, 4:00 eastern right here on CNN, Your home for politics.
The Democratic National Convention is history, but before we move on, some unfinished business. You heard the speeches. What -- was what they said really true, though?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LUI: Well, the Democratic convention may be over, but the analysis goes on, and when we say analysis here on Saturday at CNN, we say Josh Levs, right?
JOSH LEVS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: They do say that a lot.
LUI: We do. We say reality check, in fact, you're going to take a look at some of the claims, right, and the accusations that remained in one of Obama's biggest speeches and especially on that last stump.
LEVS: Yeah exactly, when I was watching the speeches, we saw the pageantry and the history, which was fascinating, big part of the story. What about the reality? We need to look at that, too. I'm going to, really, today, drill down on one major sound bite from the night that's all about issue No. 1.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: He said that our economy has made great progress under this president. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong.
LEVS: Obama talking about McCain. Here's what McCain actually said. This was in April, speaking to Bloomberg, he said "We are in very challenging times. I think, if you look at overall record and millions of jobs have been created, et cetera, you could make an argument that there's been great progress economicalllly over that period of time. But that's no comfort. That's no comfort to families now that are facing these tremendous economic challenges." And FactCheck.org has looked at this attack before from Obama and said he's distorting McCain's views.
Let's now look at the rest of the sound bite from Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: And now one of his chief advisers, the man who wrote his economic plan, was talking about the anxieties that Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a mental recession and that we've become, and I quote "a nation of whiners."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: OK, here's what's three that's about. Senator Phil Gramm did say that in July, but McCain repudiated and Gramm's stepped down from the campaign, he's since taken on the role of an informal advisor. And this is what McCain said at the time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: The person here in Michigan who just lost his job isn't suffering from a mental recession. I believe the mother, here in Michigan, around America, who's trying to get enough money to educate their children isn't whing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So clearly, it gives you a little bit more context of what the whole attack was about and obvioulsy, Richard, we're keeping an eye on the RNC next week, we'll be doing the exact same thing next week, looking at the claims, there. We will be checking those. LUI: You've been eating well. Keeping fit? You're ready for the next 66 days?
LEVS: I got a lot of Red Bull over there, so I'm hoping that'll get me through.
LUI: So, "Reality Check" is not going anywhere, when you're right here every weekend. Thank you so much, sir, appreciate it.
On CNN tonight, two documentataries tell you who presidential candidates really are. Back-to-back specials go in-depth like nothing you have ever seen before, do not miss "Revealed: John McCain." 7:00 p.m. Eastern, followed by Barack Obama 8:30, CNN, your place for politics.
How did you spend your summer vacation? Some folks did more work than play. We'll tell you about that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some people like to relax when they're on vacations, others like to chill out with the locals to Sharon goodwill.
AMY ZIFF, TRAVELOSITY.COM: Voluntourism (ph) is a vacation that adds volunteering into the mix. It can be for a day, it could be a week, it can be the entire thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And people are pitching in to help others from the U.S. Gulf Coast to around the world.
ZIFF: A lot of people are drawn to the humanitarian projects and at Travelocity, we fund several volunteer vacations a year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many other organizations, like Globe Aware and Earth Watch Institute, also give back to get helping hands.
ZIFF: A volunteer vacation can be tax deductible. That's something that's positive for doing something good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No matter what the incentive, many voluntourists say the opportunity to give back is the ultimate vacation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: Twenty-nine minutes after the hour on this Saturday. Happening now across the world, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake rocks China's Sichuan province, that country already reporting a number of deaths and injuries. Just last May a massive earthquake there in the same area killed nearly 70,000 people.
We're keeping a very close eye on Gustav, already changing in the last 12 hours, twice, being upgraded. Growing more dangerous by the hour. Major evacuations there are underway, but not everyone is leaving.
CNN's Ali Velshi is with one guy whose fortified house survived Katrina in Louisana, so he's hunkering down now for Gustav.
Hey, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Richard, good to see you.
I'm here in Grand Isle, it's a barrier island right with the Gulf of Mexico over to my side here. And most of the folks around here are not taking any chances, particularly after Katrina. They've moved up, they've packed their stuff. The boats have moved out. This, in fact, where I'm at is a shrimp processing facility. There's a shrimp boat over on my left shoulder. And in fact, it's the last one here. They're all moving further up so they'll be safe.
But the guy who runs this operation, Dean Blanchard (ph), says he's sticking it out. He's got a house that's about a block from here. It's well raised up. It was built by the same people who built the oil rigs that are just off shore here. This is the center of oil processing in the Gulf of Mexico. He says he is staying put and that we're welcome to ride this out with him. He thinks that it'll all be fine.
They are expecting, obviously, they're bracing for a big storm. Grand Isle is like a lot of places in southern Louisiana, below sea level and is expected to flood very quickly. Most of the houses here are on stilts. But people are still not taking chances. They're getting out, they'll come back afterwards. There are a handful of people sticking around.
I'm here, Dean is with us here. The gentleman from the Fire and Rescue, the volunteer fire department here in Grand Isle is here. There are goign to be a handful of people sticking around and they say they'll ride it out -- Richard.
LUI: Well, yesterday checking out -- talking about stilts, oil rigs. How is the water and how are things going on that side of it?
VELSHI: Mostly evacuated. You can see some of them from right around here. We went out on the Gulf of Mexico yesterday on a boat up to some oil rigs. ExxonMobil's Gulf of Mexico operation's center is right near us. Port Fourchon, which is where so much of the oil that is coming in from the Gulf comes in, it's just up the road here.
Most of the people have been evacuated. Now, there's still a few oil companies saying there's some final evacuations to take place that should be done by tonight. About 10,000 people, Richard, work in the Gulf of Mexico offshore. They don't want to take any chances, even if there's some chance that this won't be a very strong storm coming onshore. They don't want people out on those rigs.
Now Richard, one thing that's important is before they evacuate those rigs, the Department of Interior, which runs the offshore operations here, insists that those rigs and those wells are completely shut down. So, that's what's been going on over the last 36 hours. They've been shutting down those wells, then they evacuate by helicopter on shore into areas around where I am right now. So by tonight, there shouldn't be anybody left in the Gulf of Mexico.
LUI: A lot of folks know this, Ali. By day, you are our business guru. What will this mean by shutting down all those rigs for -- when we go to the pump every day to fill up our car?
VELSHI: Well, there's a couple of things going on, Richard. First of all, if the offshore production, which is 25 percent of America's domestic production comes from the Gulf of Mexico, if that shut down for a few days, it's not going to be a very big deal. The issue is damage.
If the storm churns up the infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, like it did during Katrina, that's where we see problems. It did do a lot of damage back then. This storm is going to be strong over the Gulf of Mexico. The second problem is that many of the country's refineries are in this region right here.
So, if those refineries get damaged, that affects the amount of gasoline we can get. We've already seen gas prices increasing for the last couple of days nationwide, definitely down here in the Gulf of Mexico area. If we see refineries damaged or we see facilities getting oil to the mainland damage, you'll start to see the price of oil and gasoline go up. But for the moment, we've seen some increases. No damage as of yet obviously because there's no storm yet. That's what we're going to be watching out for.
LUI: Great information. Ali Velshi who wears lots of hats today, a black one. Thank you so much, there at Grand Isle, Louisiana. Appreciate it.
You know, Gustav now a strong category 3 hurricane as we've been telling you. Watching this storm gain strength has many people asking, is FEMA ready?
Well, CNN's Kate Bolduan joins us from FEMA headquarters itself in Washington. She can answer that question for us. Hey, Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Richard.
Well, we are here in this briefing room. We're hoping to get an update from FEMA, expecting to get an update a little later this afternoon. But it's something that people across the country have been talking about since Hurricane Katrina, and that is disaster response. Is FEMA prepared? Has FEMA done enough? Have they learned from Hurricane Katrina?
Well, FEMA acknowledges that they've learned lessons and they say it's a much-improved system and they're ready to go this time around. I just spoke to the man in charge, FEMA administrator David Paulison a short time ago. He just returned from the region. He says there are some notable changes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID PAULISON, FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: The most important thing right now is evacuations. We've -- the Corps has done a wonderful job of rebuilding those levees, making them stronger, making them higher, but there's still a lot of vulnerabilities. We don't want people to stay in the city if this hurricane comes in. We want them to evacuate.
The governor's on board with that, the mayor's on board. All the parish presidents. Mississippi governor's doing exactly the same thing, moving people out with mandatory evacuations to make sure they don't stay there. There is no reason for people having excuses to stay in the city this time unlike last time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Along with evacuations, both voluntary and mandatory, other major elements of better preparation, according to FEMA, is transportation: buses and other modes of transportation on the ground, ready to go and moving to help people who need assistance to get out of the threatened areas. Also, emergency supplies. They say they have the supplies in preset locations in the region which is an improvement from last time that are ready to go if and when needed.
And also, disaster relief and relief, basically, troops, you know? Anything from medical assistance as well as the National Guard also in there, ready to help when they're called on. And FEMA says they're much improved and ready to go.
But overall, this is also something that FEMA has been talking about is communication. They say communication is going to be key. Better communication from top down across the board and this agency being able to deem this a successful response this time around.
And as we always say, Richard, everyone is going to be watching. All eyes will be on FEMA and how they respond to this potential disaster and we're hoping to learn a little bit more about their preparation and their relief efforts a little bit later this afternoon right here in this briefing room.
LUI: All right, thank you so much. Kate Bolduan there at FEMA headquarters, thank you.
You know, as FEMA seamen readies for Hurricane Gustav as we've been told by our Kate Bolduan, our own Reynolds Wolf is already prepared and deployed on the severe weather watch for us.
And Gustav here, we talk about this Reynolds, on Havana's door right about now, is that right?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Due south of Havana, southern part of the island of Cuba and I'll tell you right now what they're going to be dealing with is a lot of water. A lot of, not just in form of rain but storm surge. You've got water that's beginning to pile up just to the east of that center of circulation, the southern shore of Cuba. South of Havana is the place where they could be dealing with the storm surge anywhere from say, 15, maybe 18, maybe 19 feet over the next couple of hours. Something we desperately are, again, got to watch. And that's the situation that could play out in other places. Maybe along somewhere along the Gulf Coast, maybe in Louisiana.
The reason why we say that is because then the latest forecast that we have from the National Hurricane Center shows this storm which currently has winds of 125 miles per hour, gusting to 155. Shows the storm moving to the northwest at a rate of about 14 miles an hour.
Now, as we fast forward on the forecast into eddying (ph) Sunday, you notice the number 4 that's popping up. Well, that 4 in the middle of that hurricane icon stands for a category 4 storm with winds in excess of 135 miles an hour. The forecast then brings it deeper into the Gulf of Mexico. As we get to Monday morning, 8:00 a.m., 125 mile- per-hour winds. The maximum sustained winds drop a little bit, bringing it back to a category 3. Then, we fast forward and there you, go into Tuesday morning, winds around 75 miles an hour, passing onshore.
I think when it does come onshore, it's either going to a category 1 or category 2. But the most difficult thing for forecasters is to really determine the strength of the system. There's a chance the storm could actually hit a pocket of really warm water, mineral shear environment and become a 5 somewhere along this path. So, the thing is you have to be vigilant.
What we also are taking a look at is this cone of uncertainty. You notice this big white area, that is the possibility. The place where the storm may veer a little more to the east, maybe go back to the west, depending on the steering winds we have from very high pressure that is setting up over the southeastern United States. That's kind of the driving force, the mechanism that really steers this, or maybe even pulls it more eastward or pushes it farther to the west.
The point is, we're going to see a lot of changes with that storm as we make our way over the next couple of hours. Certainly, the next couple of days, we're going to probably see some changes in terms of the path of the storm. Many people I know along the Gulf Coast are very concerned at this time.
For that, you want to keep us here -- keep it here at CNN. Also, you know, you can listen to us, if you happen to have satellite radio, we'll give you up-to-date information there too. We're all over it.
Let's send it back to you, Richard.
LUI: All right, Reynolds. I guess you weather experts are really looking for that milestone, to be when it hits landfall in Cuba, right?
WOLF: Absolutely, that's going to be the big thing. You know, a lot of times when these systems cross land or get on land, they tend to lose a little bit of the strength. They're away from their primary source, that being that warm, warm water.
The problem is though in this part of Cuba, all things considered, it's relatively flat, kind of like almost like a tabletop. You don't have a lot of topography like you did in parts of say, Haiti, the Dominican Republic or even in ...
LUI: Right.
WOLF: ...through Jamaica. So, we don't think the storm is going to lose a lot of its intensity as it crosses over parts of Cuba. In fact, by the time it gets over into the strait of Florida, that's where you could see the intensification bringing it up to a category 4 storm.
LUI: All right, Reynolds Wolf, all over this story for us on this Saturday. Thank you so much for that ...
WOLF: You got it.
LUI: ...latest information there.
And in talking about landfall, we hope to later today here on CNN get a live report coming out of Cuba.
You know, last week Governor Sarah Palin, is she qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency? A hard look at this candidate.
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LUI: It is 11:42 a.m. in New Orleans right now, Louisiana. We're going to go straight to Susan Roesgen who's going to give us the latest there at an Amtrak station as people perhaps are trying to get out of that area in terms of the pathway of Gustav.
What do you got there, Susan?
VOICE OF SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Richard.
I'm about a quarter of a mile from where Sean Callebs is. I'm behind him where these first Amtrak train, the fmaous city of New Orleans is about to pull out and you're going to hear that train whistle blow. That's the sound of safety for the disabled and elderly. The first train of perhaps several to lead this city taking ultimately 7,000 elderly and disabled to points north, all the way up to Memphis.
Now, this train is pulling out. I'm watching it pull out now. This train normally makes a run from New Orleans to Chicago and back. But today, if you can heart train coming now, it is taking these people to safety. It may be just for caution if this hurricane does not come to New Orleans, God forbid, but otherwise here's the train, Richard.
LUI: All right, Susan. OK, there it is.
ROESGEN: And we'll be here to continue to get the trains and the buses as people get out.
LUI: OK, Susan Roesgen there in New Orleans at an Amtrak station. Thank you, Susan. The first train that is departing there she was noting for us, this has at least a couple of evacuation stations are getting going. We were reporting there with Chris Lawrence as well as Sean Callebs for you today.
You know, we're committed to keeping you informed about the presidential candidates and their running mates, that's of course the other big story for you today. We heard from Obama earlier. Now, get to know Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in her very own words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To serve as vice president beside such a man would be the privilege of a lifetime and a city that this trust has been given to me 88 years, almost to the day, after the women of America first gained the right to vote.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
PALIN: I think -- I think as well today as two other women who came before me in national elections. I can't begin this great effort without honoring the achievements of Geraldine Ferraro in 1984. And of course, Senator Hillary Clinton, who showed such determination and grace in her presidential campaign.
It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America. But it turns out the women of America aren't finished yet and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
PALIN: So for my part, the mission is clear. The next 67 days, I'm going to take our campaign to every parts of our country and our message of reform to every voter of every background in every political party or no party at all. If you want change in Washington, if you hope for a better America, then we're asking for you vote on the 4th of November.
My fellow Americans, come join our cause.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
PALIN: Join our cause and help our country to elect a great man, the next president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUI: And with those words from 24 hours ago, those might have been the first words that many Americans have heard from Sarah Palin. So, who is she?
Well, Jim Carlton from the "Wall Street Journal" has covered Alaska for the past decade and interviewed Governor Palin six short weeks ago. He joins us live from San Francisco, for his insight on the woman who wants to be America's first female vice president.
Good day to you there, Jim.
JIM CARLTON, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Hey, Richard.
LUI: Who is Sarah Palin?
CARLTON: You know, I'm still blown away, Richard. Sarah Palin is like your neighbor next door. I went up to Anchorage, Alaska. I went into her office and you know, she made me at home. I walked in, her husband Todd was there with the baby Trig, holding Trig. She showed me the grizzly bear rug -- skin that her dad had killed, giant crab. She showed me around the skyline of Anchorage, Alaska. I mean, she really is like your next door neighbor. I mean, she's really disarmingly down to earth.
LUI: Hey, and one of the questions that folks will have is does she have the gravitas to be the vice presidential nominee? You were right across the table from her.
CARLTON: You know the thing is, Sarah Palin isn't what she looks like. She looks very, kind of meek and mild, but she's not at all. They call her the barracuda on her basketball team and look.
And you know, the thing is, she took on the good old boys' establishment in Alaska, which is a tough establishment and she won. She rose up from the Wasilla City Council to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to governor of Alaska and she's taken down some pretty big people all the way. So, she is not a shrinking violet.
LUI: You're a journalist not a tarot card reader, but six weeks ago, Jim, did you have any sense that this was coming?
CARLTON: I really didn't. In fact, I asked Sarah -- you know, at the time, I was calling her Sarah, now it's, you know, maybe it's vice president or Governor Palin. But I asked her, I said, you know, Sarah, do you think -- I have to ask you about the vice presidential nomination and she looked a little bit coy.
But she -- you know, she had a covered (ph) pat response, that she thinks that Senator McCain is the right person for the job, and et cetera, et cetera. But she said I'm not finished with my work in Alaska, so I really thought that she was going to focus on Alaska. So, I really was surprised that she was picked.
LUI: She's a mother of five. We see a picture there holding one of her daughters there. How does she talk about her children?
CARLTON: You know, Richard, this is a politician who actually does weave her whole family into her working life. You know, she drives -- I'll give you a quick example. There was a bill signing ceremony in Keen Eye (ph), Alaska, which is about a three-and-a-half hour drive from Anchorage -- or you can fly 25 minutes. LUI: Right.
CARLTON: She opted -- I flew down to meet her, it was 25 minutes. She drove with Todd and Trig. It took them about four hours because they got stuck in traffic and she wanted to take her baby. And she actually went through road construction, showed up 30 minutes late for the bill signing ceremony, apologized. She said, you know, I just -- Todd kept telling me, good traffic is coming, good traffic is coming. And I asked her later, why didn't you just flash your badge? You're the governor of alaska?
LUI: Right.
CARLTON: But she said I didn't want to do that. So, she's very, very of the people there.
LUI: Jim Carlton, some really good insights there in terms of who Sarah Palin is. You covered Alaska for 10 years. You're a journalist for "Wall Street Journal." Thank you so much for stopping by on a Saturday afternoon with us.
CARLTON: You bet.
LUI: All righty.
You know, back in jail and still not talking, some new charges against the mom who refuses to tell what she knows about her missing three-year-old. Our legal guys take on this one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LUI: So-called person of interest Casey Anthony is back in jail this morning. She was rearrested in Florida last night. Anthony is the mother of missing three-year-old Caylee, who disappeared earlier this summer. Now, anthony was returned to jail last night for allegedly using money and checks that did not belong to her. She's already been charged with obstruction in the investigation of her missing daughter, but bonded out of jail last week.
Now, let's turn to our legal guys, Avery Friedman, he's a civil rights attorney and law professor. And Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good day to you, gentlemen.
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hey, Richard.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Good to see you, Richard.
LUI: All right, let's start with you, Richard. Some new evidence coming out. Is it all circumstantial here?
HERMAN: The new evidence -- listen, I've spoken to my buddy Jeff Brown who's the greatest criminal defense attorney in Orlando, in Tampa area. The evidence they have is mitochondria DNA. I don't want to get too technical with you, but the hair sample could absolutely be that of Casey's, not just Caylee's. So, that's No. 1 for the hair. And as far as the air sample goes, you know, are you telling me that you can take an air sample from a vehicle 30, 40 days after the child was missing or after the body is removed from the vehicle and that's going to be reliable in the court of law with chain of custody issues? I don't think so.
FRIEDMAN: Well, wait a minute, wait a minute.
HERMAN: They have nothing --
FRIEDMAN: Wait a minute, wait a minute. The question was, what's going on here in terms of the circumstantial evidence? What happened last night has nothing to do with the question of the disappearance of Caylee.
LUI: Right.
FRIEDMAN: What happened here, Richard, was that mom, Casey, wrote some hot checks, passed them, that's the uttering charge. They picked her up on that. It really has nothing to do with anything.
What's really significant here is there's kind of a minor league immunity agreement between Jose Baez who represents Casey and the prosecution. That's going to go up in smoke. They use this basically as a show. It's got nothing to do with the underlying case.
HERMAN: So Richard, Richard, I've got to tell you. Richard, they knew about these financial crimes a month ago.
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
HERMAN: Baez, her attorney, said, look, I'll bring her in, anytime you want. And law enforcement said, no, don't worry. We're not going to charge her and now, they had the spectacle last night where they came to her house, dragged her out in the press. It's really -- it's outrageous.
FRIEDMAN: Well, and I -- you know, I hate to agree, but Richard's actually right on this one. The truth is it has absolutely nothing to do with this very important underlying case. I actually think the good news is that they're closing in. They're closing in on Casey.
Again, there are questions about the evidence that -- I mean, getting back to your original question, Richard, is it circumstantial? Of course it is. No one's going to admit anything. But we're getting closer and closer to attaching what happened to this little girl.
LUI: So, let's ask the question then to you, we'll start with Richard. The new charges yesterday: forgery, fraudulent use of personal information, petty theft. Are these insignificant to the case here?
HERMAN: They're not significant to the case, except for this. It just shows the frustration on law enforcement to pull this stunt off. FRIEDMAN: That's right.
HERMAN: And they're going to argue, they may argue, that these crimes came after the period of time with the initial arrest and therefore, her entire bail package should be revoked and she should not have bail.
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
HERMAN: That's what they're doing. They're trying to torture her. They are so frustrated that they don't have a case.
FRIEDMAN: Whoa, whoa, whoa. I mean, I don't know if they're trying to torture her, but I think the underlying proposition that they're going to use these new crimes to revoke what's up -- Padilla has a $500,000 bond up, the bounty hunter for her. That may go up in smoke. We're going to find out about that this week.
But more importantly, we got to zero in on what's going on. There is this little girl who's missing. The evidence is continuing to pile up. There's a long way to go before you're even going to look at an indictment.
LUI: Gentlemen, we have to cut it short. I appreciate both of your comments. I know, Richard, you want to get in there. But we've got to go. Avery Friedman as well as Richard Herman, always a great time when we get to speak with you guys and get all the inside stuff.
HERMAN: All right, Richard.
FRIEDMAN: Good to see you. Take care.
HERMAN: No evidence of murder here. No evidence of murder, Richard.
LUI: Thank you, guys.
Hurricane Gustav takes aim at the Gulf Coast. We'll be watching that for you.
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