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Lehman Brothers Shopping for a Buyer; Hurricane Ike Making Its Way to Texas; Haitians Desperate After the Storms; Veteran Newsman Bob Schieffer on Presidential Campaign

Aired September 12, 2008 - 09:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins.
It's Friday, September 12th. Here's what we're watching in the NEWSROOM.

Massive storm nears Texas. Hurricane Ike already being felt on the coast and hundreds of thousands of people head for higher ground.

We are on the front lines and will show you exactly what's going on.

Texans, not the only ones taking a hit from Ike. Oil platforms and refineries may be in harm's way and that is pushing prices up at the pump right here in the NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You're really worried about it, aren't you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Hurricane Ike, it is huge and it is scary. A major threat this morning. Millions of people in its path as it barrels towards the Texas coast. Thousands of residents listened to the dire warnings and hit the roads. Others, though, stay behind and face a chilling threat. The National Weather Service says some could face certain death.

We, of course, have our crews out in full force this morning to bring you all of the angles on the storm. Sean Callebs is in Houston, Reynolds Wolf is to the south in Cliff, Texas, Rob Marciano is in Galveston, and in the Weather Center, meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.

Right now we are keeping an eye on a news conference out of Harris County. The main topic there, of course, evacuations in and around Houston. We will be watching that and bring you any news that comes out of it just as soon as we get it.

I want to make sure that we get the very latest from Jacqui Jeras in our hurricane headquarters in just a moment, of course. You can also see all the updated information about this storm and the left- hand side of your screen.

But, first, we want to make sure that we talk about the serious warnings for the people of Galveston, Texas. That is the story today.

CNN's Rob Marciano is in Galveston and has the very latest now by telephone.

Hey there, Rob, what can you tell us?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Heidi, the water -- it continues to move in off the Gulf of Mexico which should this time of year looks very much like a slick piece of glass, a tranquil lake. It looks more like an Atlantic or Pacific Ocean with waves rolling in and pounding the sea wall built to protect this city ever since the 1900 hurricane which killed more than any other hurricane in U.S. history.

We think this sea wall will hold some of the water but not all of it. It's built to be about 12 to 16 feet high. The surge could very well top 20 and already we had to move back from our initial position around that sea wall because waves are now crashing over it and beginning to flood the roadway.

No rainfall as of yet. As a matter of fact, the sun is trying to peek through the western outskirts of the cirrus clouds that are rolling across the area. We expect rain later on today, but the surge and wind, obviously, the biggest concern.

Evacuations mandatory here. 58,000 people live here. We're told by emergency managers that a little over half heeded that warning and did evacuate. So a big number of people still on this island. Hopefully they'll find higher ground like we have and we'll be safe through this storm but that is a lot of people still stuck on this very low-lying island -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, it certainly is, and we are looking at some of the pictures now of people trying to get out and those waves crashing.

Just -- it looks like a few feet from this ambulance that we're looking at trying to get out of the way, boy.

Rob Marciano, thanks so much, coming to us by telephone, out of Galveston. We'll stay in touch with you.

We want to get the bigger picture now as well. CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is in the Weather Center, and of course, has been watching this hour after hour.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Wow. It's amazing, already, to see that kind of water coming up.

COLLINS: Unbelievable.

JERAS: And see those pictures and something to think about, you know, your time is running out. You were talking about evacuations and people trying to get out of there. You know, some of these roadways are beginning to get cut off and things certainly aren't going to be getting better.

We're going to watch that water continue to rise across the Galveston and Galveston Bay area. We're already getting numerous reports at all of our buoy locators and our other -- weather observations that we have available to us that the surge is between three and five feet there.

We're getting the worst reports in Louisiana at this hour into the Cameron and Parish area. Storm surge over six feet and we're told by the National Weather Service, if you get that kind of surge into Cameron, that pretty much floods out the town, unfortunately, and also (INAUDIBLE) Island, Louisiana, more than seven feet in terms of surge.

And this is going to be the number one issue with Hurricane Ike is that big push of water that's going to continue to rise and likely flood well inland. In fact, this is the forecast of where we're expecting the worst of the storm surge and this is only Texas, by the way, so don't think you're not getting it if you're in Louisiana because we know you already are.

But look at how far inland this whole red area goes. That's on estimates 15 to 18 feet of storm surge and the reason why our surge is so high, two reasons. One is just the size of the storm. This is a really wide slope. We're talking cloud shield on this thing extends over 900 miles so, you know, when you get one little push of water coming in, in a small area, that's one thing.

But when you're talking about a storm with, you know, 600 miles across, almost pushing that water, that surge is going to be much higher and you funnel that up the bay as well and it's got to go somewhere so that's why we're going to see some of those big peeks in those areas as well.

The forecast tracker remains right on target pushing west- northwesterly now, turning a little more northwest. Landfall is still well over 12 hours away. 12 to 16 hours away before landfall so it's amazing to see this kind of destruction and this kind of water already beginning to move in at this hour.

Now Houston, not so much water there but wind a major issue. Category 2 type conditions can be expected. That's winds over 100 miles an hour at times in the Houston area and that's where we find our own Sean Callebs.

Sean, what's the latest in Houston?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jacqui, I think a lot of concern about evacuation, we were out here yesterday. This is Interstate 45. If you're going to leave Galveston or any area between Galveston and Houston, you'll probably going to come up this road.

Well, right now, look, traffic is moving very well. That's good news for the city and the state. They got the word out early. They planned to evacuate about a million people, just staggering numbers. It's the size of that storm, the whole scope of this entire weather event really being felt throughout Texas. Yesterday bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-45. They -- not ruling out having a contra flow. We all know that term after New Orleans a week ago and out here they could open up both sides of Interstate 45 to get traffic moving just as smoothly as possible.

It's really almost surreal right here right now. It's very cool, just a little bit breezy, but what we're hearing from emergency officials -- and we know they're having a news conference right now -- is they want everybody off this interstate by noon, because they expect that they're going to start feeling those tropical storm force winds by noon.

So that's a very sobering information as well. Right now, though, absolutely beautiful here. But this storm is -- the scope of the storm is just so huge. We got people all over the place. We're now going to go to Reynolds Wolf, who's in the town of Clute.

Reynolds, tell us what's going on, including where is that exactly?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Clute, from where we are, it's roughly about 10 miles or so from the Gulf of Mexico. And to get to the Gulf of Mexico from this area, you take Highway 288 right behind me, Sean. It leads right to the Gulf, but also leads to some of the largest chemical plants in the United States.

Now Joel Delarosa is with us. He's on the other side of the camera like you can see. And he's got some shots here. But we also have John Person who's also with us this morning. He's on the second balcony. He's going to get a great shot for you from across the roadway.

You can see the flame burning from on top of the chemical plant. That is actually burning off some of the excess chemicals. That is actually a -- that is BASF. But right around that area we also have Dow Chemical. This is also home to Shell, Gulf, and the Strategic Petroleum Preserve.

Now keep in mind due to the storm roughly 97 -- 97 percent of the oil and natural gas production has been shut down. Some rigs out of the Gulf of Mexico have not been repopulated since Gustav. They haven't had a chance to get out there and man those up. So I would not expect they're going to have any -- those things will be repopulated until the storm passes.

Speaking of the storm and speaking of what we're doing right here in Clute, Texas, take a look at where we are. You'll notice this is right along hotel road. You see the various hotels. This hotel that we have here happens to be kind of the CNN hotel, if you will.

Management handed us the keys and now this is pretty much going to be our spot. They've abandoned it. This is -- this area, all of Missouri County, by the way, is under a mandatory evacuation. Over 300,000 people live here.

Not everyone is gone just yet. But I guarantee you, as the storm edges closer, people will be getting out. If things get really bad here, I can promise you that we will also be included in the evacuees.

Take a look, we've got our vehicles here. We also have excess fuel, a lot of the gas stations have already shut down the business area. It's like a ghost town. It is just ridiculous, Heidi.

I mean it's a very eerie thing to see this place so unpopulated at this time but the great thing about it is that people are heeding the warnings.

COLLINS: Yes.

WOLF: They're taking this very seriously. They're heading to the north and that by far and away is the best thing we've seen this morning.

Let's send it back to you in the studio.

COLLINS: Well, you make a great point. Very, very happy to hear that people are listening and getting out of the areas that they certainly need to be doing so.

Reynolds Wolf, sure do appreciate that, from Clute, Texas this morning.

Want to get to story now, danger at sea. A massive freighter dead in the water and right in the path of Hurricane Ike. Not only is the ship at risk it could pose a major threat if the storm pushes it to shore.

The Coast Guard scrambling and joining us now from Katie, Texas, is Captain Bill Diehl.

Thanks so much for being with us, Captain. Tell us what you know. I mean...

CAPTAIN BILL DIEHL, U.S. COAST GUARD: Good morning.

COLLINS: ... this is a large vessel we're talking about.

DIEHL: Yes, it's 584 feet long. It left Port Arthur and was trying to run south. Got in the direct line of the path of the storm and lost its engines. It's a Panamanian freighter and it's adrift out there right now.

COLLINS: Well, tell us how this all came about, because my understanding is that the vessel tried to get out ahead of the storm and beat the storm and then, unfortunately, wasn't able to do that and recently you've gotten a distress call in and now you're having to sort of assess your rescue option.

DIEHL: That is correct. We are assessing our rescue options out in New Orleans right now. We have 22 people on board but, as you can imagine, that freighter, which is loaded with PETCO is right in the middle of the path of the storm and they are going to see some heavy seas soon.

COLLINS: I'm sorry, Captain, tell me again what the freighter is loaded with?

DIEHL: I couldn't hear you.

COLLINS: Tell me again what the freight is?

DIEHL: It's PETCO, it's a product after you burn off the petroleum, what's left. It's sort of like a coal-type product. It's a bulk that they use, I guess, to make asphalt or something on the highway.

COLLINS: OK. All right. Well, keep us posted if you possibly can. I know you've got a lot to be thinking about right now and certainly that includes the 22 people on the crew there with that vessel.

Thanks so much, Captain Bill Diehl of the Coast Guard. Thank you, once again.

And Hurricane Ike could also have a major impact on the oil industry. There are a lot of oil refineries in the path of the storm now. That includes Bay Town, Texas, the home of the country's largest refinery, in fact.

I want to show you this map here. It shows just how many oil platforms in the Gulf could be impacted by Ike and many of them were just getting restarted after Hurricane Gustav came through. Now they have actually been evacuated once again for Ike.

We're going to take a closer look at the possible impact of all of that coming up just a little bit later on in the hour.

Gas lines. We've been seeing them in Texas as people move out but we are also seeing lines at gas stations far away from Texas. Here's an iReport now from Christine Bailey in Ocala, Florida. And here's what iReporter Matt Johnson saw in Crusoe, North Carolina.

You can see the lines, the idea of what Ike might do to supplies is fueling the fear like this line in Charleston, South Carolina, sent to us by Jen Proctor.

People still remember what happened during Katrina, of course, with toppled oil rigs and pipeline problems.

As always, we would love it if you would help us to tell the story to people who are maybe not in the region, but, of course, are concerned. Send us your iReports. You can send them to CNN.com or right from your cell phone.

But please, of course, stay safe.

We also want to show you this video now from our affiliate, WLTX, in Sumter, South Carolina. Look at the prices for gas at the station there. You ever seen that? $5.23 for regular unleaded.

Reports this morning show some stations in the area have run out of gas and others have started rationing fuel. We'll stay on top of that story for you, too.

Sarah Palin, pressed on foreign policy. How the Republican VP candidate responded to a question about President Bush's doctrine.

ANNOUNCER: CNN NEWSROOM brought to you by...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JUDGE ED EMMETT, HARRIS COUNTY: The storm surge is stronger and it's important that people understand that this really is a life-or- death matter. If you live in one of the evacuation zones, get out.

I would also like to note that mobile homes, the same thing. We're going to have high winds. You need to move to safer sanctuary somewhere.

COLLINS: We are monitoring that press conference still going on right now live as you can see. The mayor of Houston standing behind the gentleman we just heard from who was Judge Ed Emmett, really warning people about the situation that they are facing out of Houston.

And we will continue to monitor that and bring you any other information that comes out of it.

They're back in fighting mode today but last night the presidential candidates played nice. They were part of a forum on national service.

The White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The first fundamental difference between them -- the role of government itself.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Part of my job, I think, as president, is to make government cool again. I believe firmly that government should expand avenues of opportunity.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Government can't do it all. The essence of volunteerism starts at the grassroots level.

MALVEAUX: Despite their differences they both took an almost identical swipe at President Bush for his response to the September 11th attacks.

OBAMA: Rather than tell the American people to shop, what I would have done is to say now is the time for us to meet some great challenges.

MCCAIN: I would have called them to serve.

MALVEAUX: And despite the mostly civil tone of the discussion, they took some swipes at each other.

MCCAIN: I think the tone of this whole campaign would have been very different if Senator Obama had accepted my request for us to appear in town hall meetings.

OBAMA: Washington is broken. My whole campaign has been premised from the start on the idea that we have to fundamentally change how Washington works.

MALVEAUX: Both candidates took on some unresolved conflicts from the increasingly bitter exchange from the campaign trail. McCain's running mate Sarah Palin's ridicule of Obama's work as a community organizer in Chicago.

OBAMA: I was surprised by the -- several remarks around community organizing and belittling it.

MCCAIN: Government Palin was responding to the criticism of her inexperience in her job as a mayor in a small town. That's what she was responding to.

Of course, I respect community organizers.

MALVEAUX: And this admission -- a potential opening for Obama who's been accused of being out of touch with common people.

MCCAIN: It's easy for me to go to Washington and, frankly, be somewhat divorced from the day-to-day challenges people have.

MALVEAUX: A few lighter moments as well over whether either candidate would serve as a cabinet level community czar for the other.

MCCAIN: Yes.

OBAMA: If this is the deal he wants to make right now, I am committed to appointing him to my cabinet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Can they not always be that friendly and entertaining?

Suzanne Malveaux is joining us now from New York. So what's next for the campaign today, Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Well, Heidi, Barack Obama is going to be in New Hampshire campaigning there. That is the state, obviously, that rejuvenated Hillary Clinton's run in the primaries.

As for Senator John McCain, he's staying here in New York. He has some television tapings, some shows, "The View," as well as "Rachael Ray." What he is doing is, obviously, trying to focus on that critical voting bloc, that is, women -- Heidi?

COLLINS: Yes, very interesting. We'll be watching for those appearances.

All right, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux from New York this morning. Thank you, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Hey, thanks.

COLLINS: You will hear more from the presidential candidates in their own words later this hour. Obama and McCain on the economy and the role of government.

John McCain's running mate, Governor Sarah Palin, defending her qualifications last night in an interview on ABC. She's pressed on foreign policy and the so-called Bush doctrine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLIE GIBSON, ABC NEWS: Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In what respect, Charlie?

GIBSON: What do you interpret it to be?

PALIN: His world view?

GIBSON: No, the Bush doctrine enunciated September 2002 before the war.

PALIN: I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell bent on destroying our nation.

There have been wonders along the way, though. There have been mistakes made and with new leadership, and that's the beauty of American elections, of course, and democracy, is with new leadership come opportunities to do things better.

GIBSON: The Bush doctrine, as I understand it, is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a preemptive strike against any other country that we think is going to attack us.

Do you agree with that?

PALIN: Charlie, if there is legitimate and enough intelligence that tells us that a strike is imminent against American people we have every right to defend our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: We, of course, will have more of that interview coming up in the next hour.

Meanwhile, I want to remind you we are, of course, following the developments from Hurricane Ike. We are going to be talking with some of the people, one in particular, who is leaving the area.

Lots of evacuations under way, press conferences going on at this time, updating all of the residents in that area, the areas of Galveston and Houston and Clute, Texas as well.

We got our reporters all over the place and we are watching it very, very closely.

Also, first it was Bear Stearns, then Fannie and Freddie, and now Lehman Brothers. Will the government step in again to save the financial institution?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live breaking news, unfolding developments, see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: According to some of our reports -- and these numbers will likely change as we follow Hurricane Ike -- we are aware that about 58,000 people are already out of Galveston regarding mandatory evacuations there.

In Houston they are hoping to have about a half million people out of harm's way come Thursday -- actually, this was -- sorry, yesterday afternoon. So obviously a lot of people on the move trying to get out of the way of that, what you are looking at on your screen there.

In fact, one of those people, Rusty Davis from La Porte, Texas is joining us now. He lives about five minutes or so from Houston.

Rusty, I understand that you are -- you are packing up and getting out.

RUSTY DAVIS, PREPARING TO EVACUATE: Yes, I am.

COLLINS: What made you finally do it, Rusty?

DAVIS: Well, La Porte came out with a mandatory evacuation yesterday at noon, and we are in a -- we live in a mobile home so we don't think it's going to last through this one.

COLLINS: Yes, I -- it's looking, I'm sure you have seen a lot of the reports that are coming out. Where will you go once you do pack up?

DAVIS: OK, well, we're already packed. My wife is already gone. We're going up on the north -- very north side of Houston which is in a safer area. My sister-in-law lives up there and we're just -- we're headed up that way. We're not going real far.

COLLINS: Have you ever had to leave this area before, Rusty, because of a storm?

DAVIS: Yes, I have.

COLLINS: OK. So you're familiar with this. You're being smart, you're getting out, and good for you.

Do you know anybody who's staying? DAVIS: There are -- the city has basically said to the people in Houston that really aren't going to be in the high flood districts or high flood areas to basically hunker down. I know a couple of my friends that I work with, they're staying but they live in a high lying area where they're -- you know, they're going to get a lot of wind and everything. And a lot of rain but no flooding.

COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. Last time you left, was it anything like this? I mean, we're talking about a possible 900-mile effect from Hurricane Ike because of this cloud shield thing that our meteorologists are talking about. I mean it is a huge storm this time around.

DAVIS: The last one we left was when Rita came in but we really, you know, with it taking a turn towards Louisiana but at the time we evacuated it was headed here. So we were...

COLLINS: You were lucky.

DAVIS: Yes, we were lucky.

COLLINS: You were lucky. Well, we certainly hope...

DAVIS: This time we're not so sure.

COLLINS: Right. Well, better safe than sorry.

Rusty Davis, we certainly wish you the best of luck and glad that you will be getting out of possible harm's way. Thanks again. Coming to us from La Porte, Texas right outside of Houston there.

Hurricane Ike is coming and oil workers are getting out of the way as well. Several major oil companies shutting down production. So what could this mean for gas prices?

CNN's Christine Romans is watching that side of the story and joins us now live from New York.

Hi there, Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Heidi. We're already seeing gas prices creep up and there's anecdotal reports around the region and even much farther away to where the storm is of gas prices moving higher.

This monster storm headed straight for the heart of the Gulf Coast Petrochemical facilities. Heidi, there are sweeping evacuations at this hour of oil rigs, the refiners are shutting down. Chemical plants are securing their tanks of dangerous chemicals.

First, the refiners, this Texas swath of the Gulf Coast is dotted with oil refiners. If you look here you can see just how many different companies there are hugging the coast. They won't be refining much crude oil for the next few days at least.

And oil and the stuff that comes from it -- fuel and chemicals -- are the things that literally drive the U.S. economy. And that's why you're seeing prices creep higher. This Texas coastline accounts for about 20 percent of U.S. refining capacity.

The Gulf of Mexico, as we keep reporting every time there's a storm, is a quarter of domestic oil production, 15 percent of our natural gas production, and then there are chemicals.

Dow Chemical, Heidi, is shutting its free port complex. There's 75 chemical plants there for Dow. More than 27 billion pounds of chemicals are manufactured there...

COLLINS: Wow.

ROMANS: ... every year. They have to secure all of those supplies as do all the other chemical companies that have facilities in the region, often dangerous chemical stocks, things like benzene just sitting there in the path of the storm.

The Port of Houston is shut down now. It's the second largest port in the country. That will stop agricultural products and manufactured goods from coming in and out. Already a massive response the likes of which, Heidi, we haven't seen since Hurricane Rita three years ago.

COLLINS: Yes.

ROMANS: So while people like Rusty Davis are hunkering down, the companies involved in the petrochemical industry are feverishly working at this hour to make sure that all of this stuff is secured and everyone is safe.

COLLINS: Yes. And we did just hear Rusty refer to that, getting out this time, too.

All right, Christine Romans, thanks for watching that for us. Appreciate it.

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: The government seized the nation's two largest mortgage players at the beginning of the week, as we are listening to the opening bell from the New York Stock Exchange there on this day.

Banks are certainly in focus now at the end of the week. One of Wall Street's biggest and oldest financial firms fighting for survival. It's not the first time that we have heard this. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with details.

Hi there, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Well, Lehman Brothers predates the Civil War but the stunning collapse of its stock price this week makes it unlikely to stand on its own much longer. Lehman shares plunged more than 40 percent yesterday alone. They just opened for trading. Right now dropping another 9 percent. Its shares trading under $4. The talk on the street now is that the number four investment firm is shopping for a buyer. "The Wall Street Journal" says potential suitors include Bank of America and Barkley's. Meanwhile, "The Washington Post" says the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve are also working on a sale of Lehman.

Lehman stocks started to unravel at the beginning of the week, prompting it to announce drastic measures on Wednesday to shore up its balance sheets. Those measures include selling big chunks of its real estate portfolio. But Lehman doesn't actually have a buyer and its shares continue to plummet. This on top of $4 billion in losses in this quarter alone.

Some observers are calling this, Heidi, a high-stakes poker game. A potential buyer will want the same kind of government backing JPMorgan got when it bought Bear Stearns in March and if everybody wants to know what the price tag is for that, it's up to $29 billion in potential losses. That was the deal that JPMorgan got when it had that shotgun marriage with Bear Stearns.

And so what you're seeing right now, a lot of fears, again, rooted in the financial sector. And you're seeing, well, you're seeing triple digit losses right at the open right now and Washington Mutual and other stocks that we're watching and its shares are down 13.5 percent. Concerns about WaMu's exposure to those toxic real estate invest -- or mortgage-related securities as well, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Well, Susan, we know you're watching that story for us. Sure do appreciate it.

LISOVICZ: And I'll be back.

COLLINS: Yes, we'll talk with you coming up in the next hour. Thank you.

Hurricane Ike, we are still watching, of course, watching and waiting, actually. The very latest track from our weather center. Plus, where the evacuees are headed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Hurricane Ike absolutely swamping the State of Texas right now. People living along the coast got the order to get out. Many have actually already hit the road. And that came even before the National Weather Service issued this dire warning. Expect some neighborhoods to be totally devastated. There are nearly 4 million people living in the expected impact zone.

I want to get straight over to Jacqui Jeras standing by in the severe weather center with the latest.

I know you have a tornado warning to tell us about, too.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we want to start there and actually get that, hopefully, lifesaving information out right away. Jefferson and St. Charles parishes in Louisiana under a tornado warning right now. This is a Doppler radar-indicated tornado but we're seeing a good signature here on radar. This includes the Armstrong International Airport here. So, we may have some issues for travelers.

Speaking of airports, too, by the way, Houston Intercontinental closes today at 2:00 ahead of Ike and if you're traveling elsewhere in the country today, we've got a lot of delays in the northeastern corridor also. So make sure you call ahead. That's right as tornadoes increasing now as these outer bands continue to push through the area. There you see the tornado watch from Mississippi on over to near the state line of Texas. The storm is encroaching and moving in.

We've seen those pictures of the water coming up and a lot of that has to do with the size of this storm which is just huge. There you can see the maximum sustained winds, a 105 miles per hour. There you can see some of that surge video. And keep in mind that we're talking overnight tonight before landfall begins. So this is a very long duration event for a lot of people.

And in addition to the waves, the wind will be a big deal. Look at this map here showing you this dark red area. That's where we're expecting a Category 2 wind gusts. That includes all of downtown Houston. Because of the size of this storm, you know, this would be the equivalent of an EF2 tornado basically blowing through the entire downtown of Houston.

So we're talking about, you know, well, inland impacts. And even Dallas looking at tropical storm force winds. We could see power outages that far north. So, we're going to talk a little bit more about why size matters with Ike, coming up at the top of the hour. Make sure you stick around for that.

COLLINS: It is just gargantuan. All right, Jacqui, we'll check back later on. Thanks.

Evacuations happening right now throughout coastal Texas. Many people got onto buses to get out of town and highways have actually been jammed with people heading west.

We did hear one disturbing report from our affiliate there KHOU out of Houston. Nursing home patients stuck on school buses for hours because better transportation and shelter just could not be found. People are being urged to head for shelters in San Antonio, Dallas and Austin, among some other places.

Well, people literally fighting for food and water, desperation after deadly storms in Haiti. What peacekeepers are forced to do to keep things under control.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Hundreds of people dead and survivors left for days without food, water, or shelter. It's happening in Haiti after four storms slammed the island in less than a month. People so desperate for help that fights break out when aid shipments show up. CNN's Karl Penhaul is in Gonaives. And his report does have some disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Haitian woman lies tangled, cut and bleeding, in razor wire. She and thousands of other storm survivors have been fighting since early morning to get a food handout. Hunger and desperation, it's an explosive mix with a short fuse.

I've got seven kids and they're all dying of thirst. They've got no strength to even stand up anymore, she says.

Getting food and water to the needy in Gonaives has become a military operation. United Nations troops from Argentina ride down to port aboard armored gun trucks to protect the new arrival of relief supplies. The kids may be friendly but these soldiers know chaos is just around the corner.

Some of these people haven't eaten in three or four days and so there's a lot of desperation. That's why the aid has to be delivered under armored guard, he tells us.

For the last few days, aid agencies have sidestepped angry crowds and distributed supplies before dawn. But this U.S. Navy landing craft is just docked with much needed rice and cooking oil, supplies that must be delivered even though it means a risky daylight distribution run.

CHIEF BOATSWAIN MATE CARL LEMOIS, U.S. NAVY: A real humbling experience. (INAUDIBLE) kind of take part in it and see how other people less fortunate than ourselves, how they live.

PENHAUL: Back at the food line there's just not enough to go around. Today's have-nots are held back with rolls of razor wire. Among the lucky few, the hope of having food on the table tonight is enough to make this young boy lick his lips. After hours under the blazing sun, women collect the sack of rice, a gallon of oil and a few pounds of beans.

Thank God I managed to get this food even though it's been a huge stress and it's been really difficult to get it, she says. But they can't wait any longer.

(on camera): As you can see things are threatening -- things are threatening to get out of control right now and it's all that the U.N. Peacekeepers can do to keep these people back and stop a full-scale riot.

(voice-over): Women squeeze through the gaps, troops push back with riot shields. Another girl collapses into the razor wire. Hers are the screams of Haiti's latest humanitarian disaster.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Gonaives, Haiti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: You can help. CNN.com has links to aid agencies that are organizing help for that region.

Well, he knows his way around Washington especially how to get to the White House. Veteran Newsman Bob Schieffer talks about a presidential campaign like no other.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PARIS HILTON, ACTRESS: But then that wrinkly white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad, which I guess means I'm running for president. So thanks for the endorsement white-haired dude. And I want America to know that I'm like totally ready to lead.

BOB SCHIEFFER, CBS NEWS: Politics aside, I am compelled now to stand up for old white-haired dudes, and point out we actually have several advantages over others. For example, if forced we can drink coffee straight from a mug. We don't need to sip it through a little hole in a plastic top on a cardboard container to make it taste good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Well, it's been quite an election season. Here to talk about all of it, our favorite white-haired dude and author of a new book "Bob Schieffer's America," is of course, none other than Bob Schieffer.

SCHIEFFER: Hi, Heidi.

COLLINS: Bob, thanks for being with us. That was a great little moment you had on your program there. You have covered an awful lot of elections. You have moderated debates. I know you're going to get ready to moderate a debate, the last one, in fact, this time around. Give me your general thought on what you have seen so far if it's at all possible.

SCHIEFFER: Well, I have to tell you, Heidi, this is a campaign unlike anyone that I have seen before. We use the word historic so much it's almost become a cliche. But, I mean, when you look at the characters, I mean, if you were casting a movie and put people like John McCain, a true American hero, Barack Obama, the first African- American, Sarah Palin, this colorful governor from Alaska, you're not used to be that Joe Biden had a really interesting and compelling life story.

COLLINS: Sure.

SCHIEFFER: You know, and he still does, of course, but what a cast we've got for this one. And I'll tell you something else, I wouldn't bet your money on how this is going to come out. I think it right now is neck and neck right now.

COLLINS: Well, and you know what, I think that's a fascinating thing, and the thing that is driving the media crazy because, you know, you have a lot of political correspondents out there who are covering these events, of course, and have done it for a very long time and nobody can really call it.

SCHIEFFER: You know, I was going to retire last year and the bosses at CBS said don't you want to stick around for one more? I'll tell you, they were right and I was wrong. I wouldn't miss this one for the world. And it's going to be more interesting in the coming days. I really do believe, Heidi, this is one that's going to be decided by those debates.

COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. And I think people are going to be watching so much closer than they did last time around, if you will, four years ago.

I want to ask you about Sarah Palin, quickly, because there was another thing that I heard by a commentator, if you will, who was amazed at themselves that they were sitting there live -- it was actually for this, what we're seeing right now, in Alaska, 11:30 at night waiting for this event to take place for a vice presidential nominee.

SCHIEFFER: Well, you know, John McCain wanted a game-changer. He knew this was a big risk. He was putting it all up on the line. The old fighter pilot who is not afraid to take the chance. He wanted to change things and shake it up. And I'll say one thing. Whatever else happens with this pick, he has changed the campaign.

Suddenly, it's all about the vice presidential pick. And I don't recall another campaign when it's been like that. It will go on to other things. But right now, John McCain has changed the game.

COLLINS: Yesterday, a very nice moment, September 11th, remembrances, when we saw both of the presidential candidates together, putting politics aside. What did you think about that?

SCHIEFFER: I thought it was a wonderful thing. This was one of the worst days in the history of America, Heidi. But we must remember it was also a time when we saw America at its best. One group of people that wanted to kill the innocent to publicize their cause. On the other side, Americans who were willing to risk their lives to save the innocent. That's what makes America what it is. That's what I write about it in this book.

COLLINS: I know you do. And it is compelling and interesting. As always, Bob Schieffer, the book, "Bob Schieffer's America." We sure do appreciate you having a chance to come and talk to us on the NEWSROOM.

SCHIEFFER: Thanks, Heidi.

COLLINS: Thank you, Bob.

SCHIEFFER: You bet.

COLLINS: Back to this now. A monster storm making its way to Texas. We are covering Hurricane Ike all day here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Helping you make an informed choice on Election Day. We are showing you more of what the candidates are saying in their own words. Here now, Barack Obama and John McCain responding to similar questions on the economy and the role of government when they spoke at the forum on national service.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Our economy is broken. People are sitting around not worrying about volunteering but staying in their homes, keeping their job, affording to fill up their gas tank, we know that. Americans are hurting very badly. We have got to reform government. We've got to fix the economy. We have got to create jobs. But right now, we have to restore trust and confidence in government.

If people don't trust the government, then they're not going to be as eager and willing to frankly be part of these programs that we are proposing and that we are hoping that people will volunteer and serve in. So obviously, we have to fix our economy and get it going again and create jobs for Americans.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We are going to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by 20 or 30 percent over the course of a decade or two.

We are going to ask all citizens to participate in that process, not just government, but each and every one of us are going to have -- are going to make commitments in terms of increasing fuel efficiency in our cars and homes, and the government is going to be in partnership with citizens to make that happen.

Washington is broken. My whole campaign has been premised from the start on the idea that we have to fundamentally change how Washington works. That the domination of special interests, the domination of lobbyists, the loss of a civic culture in Washington among public service has led to not only well-known disasters, like the mismanagement of the Katrina situation, but quiet disasters, where you've got entire agencies that have been hollowed out and you've got political appointees who aren't concerned with the mission of those organizations.

MCCAIN: Americans are so frustrated now with our government. 84 percent of the American people think the country's headed in the wrong direction. The approval rating of Congress is down to 9 percent, I believe, down to blood relatives and paid staffers.

(LAUGHTER)

MCCAIN: And this is an opportunity, this is an opportunity to lead the nation and talk to the American people and reform our government and ask for more service.

OBAMA: We have to have a FEMA that works, which by the way, means that we should be encouraging young people, the best and the brightest, to get involved as civil servants, to pursue careers of public service so we've got people who are trained in federal emergency management who are able to take on the job.

Now, that does not crowd out the Red Cross. That doesn't crowd out the thousands of church groups that went down there. What it means is that each area has a role to play.

The Peace Corps does not crowd out opportunities for service overseas. You've got churches and synagogues and mosques all across the country that are deeply involved in efforts to deal with HIV/AIDS and malaria and all sorts of public health issues. And yet, this is an area George Bush appropriately said, we're going to make a commitment as the wealthiest nation on earth to deal with the devastation of AIDS, and his PEPFAR program has been highly successful, working with not-for-profits, working with governments, working with both public and private in order to solve the problems.

So there are more than enough problems out there to deal with. And what is true is we don't need to set up bureaucracy. See, I would distinguish between a government assist in providing people avenues for service and a government bureaucracy in which the notion is that the only way you can serve is through some defined government program.

MCCAIN: The role of government obviously is the primary role, and to protect our citizens and help them in times of emergency and distress. But also, I think there's a great role for faith-based organizations, volunteer organizations and the private sector.

I think we've got to involve more businesses and industries that routinely provide goods and services rather than rely on the federal government to do it. I don't think, frankly, if FedEx or Target or one of these organizations had been in charge, we wouldn't have had a truck full of ice ending up in Maine. They know where everything is. So we need to have -- we need to have that partnership.

But I also want to point out that faith-based organizations, as well as other volunteer organizations, did a magnificent job. There's a place called the Resurrection Baptist Church down in New Orleans. Thousands of volunteers from churches all over the country came and are still working in New Orleans, as we speak.

So the primary role is government, but we also need to have citizen involvement in a way which, as -- and to say the least, we all know, you need a better level of cooperation between federal, state and local government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. September 12th. Here's what we're watching in the NEWSROOM.