Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Hurricane Earl Targeting North Carolina Coast; Face-to-Face With Hurricane Earl; Defense Secretary Robert Gates Makes Surprise Visit to Afghanistan; Terror at Discovery Channel; Apple Unveils New Products;

Aired September 02, 2010 - 06:00   ET

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

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with us. It is Thursday, September 2nd. I'm Kiran Chetry.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Ali Velshi. John Roberts is off this morning. There's a lot going on this morning, so let's get right to it.

Hurricane Earl is a real monster now, packing 145-mile-an-hour winds closing in on the North Carolina coast. Storm warnings and watches now in effect as far north as Massachusetts. Millions of people up and down the east coast bracing for what could be a bruising Labor Day weekend.

CHETRY: A lot of unanswered questions this morning after a day of terror at Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. A gunman holding three workers hostage for hours before eventually being shot and killed by police. This morning, we're learning a bit more about who this man was, James Lee, and what his obsession was with Discovery network's programming.

VELSHI: It's quite a story. We've got a lot on that.

We're also on the ground in Afghanistan as the U.S. military forges ahead in the final wave of the surge. Jason Carroll shows us how one soldier is making the last few preparations before his mission gets underway in our ongoing series, "A Soldier's Story."

CHETRY: Also, the amFIX blog is up and running. We want to hear from you, so join the live conversation right now. Also, you can send us your pictures and video if you've been affected at all by Hurricane Earl. Go to CNN.com/amFIX.

VELSHI: It is big, bad and bearing down on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The radar tells us the story. Hurricane Earl, a real powerhouse now. It's back to high speed, 145 miles an hour. That is a Category Four storm, folks. And the center of this monster could come dangerously close to the Carolina coast by midnight tonight.

CHETRY: Right now, hurricane warnings and watches are in effect for North Carolina to Delaware, and as far north as Massachusetts. In fact, President Obama already signing a disaster declaration for North Carolina in case Earl continues to track to the west, bringing it closer to the coast. And, of course, Earl making a lot of people nervous this morning, because if the system does not make that right, that easterly turn soon, millions of people could be in harm's way. In parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks, they began packing up, heading inland yesterday. There was a mandatory evacuation order for 30,000 residents and visitors ordering them to leave Hatteras Island.

VELSHI: Now, many people around there have been through this drill before in the Outer Banks. Plywood is going fast. Locals are rushing up to board their homes. Many of those homes are new. They just rebuilt in the last seven years after Hurricane Isabel flattened miles of beachfront in the Outer Banks back in 2003.

CHETRY: Yes. And CNN will be your hurricane headquarters. We have this covered. Rob Marciano is live in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. That's where the beaches are closed and people are prepping to leave. First, though, we go to Reynolds Wolf. Reynolds is in the extreme weather center tracking Earl's path right now.

Good morning, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. We're taking a look at the storm. And it is currently the largest storm on the planet. It is the biggest storm. It's about the size of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia combined. Hard to miss it on radar. You see it right here.

Enhanced radar imagery shows that it's just off the coast of Florida and off the Carolinas. I can tell you right now as we speak, the first impact it's going to have on the United States could be some heavy surf from the Florida coastline all the way up into the Carolinas. Eventually it's going to move on.

In terms of power Ali was talking about moments ago, it's 145-mile- per-hour max sustained winds. Gusts at 175. And this powerhouse is expected to roar its way to the north.

Now where exactly is it going to go? Well, according to the latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center, the storm is expected to make more of a northerly jog over the next couple of days. By 2:00 in the morning on Friday, it should be just east of the Outer Banks. But don't follow just the center. You guys remember this thing is a huge storm. So many people in the Carolina coast are going to be dealing with heavy winds, of course, the strong surf, some tremendous waves. There will be millions without power before all is said and done.

As the storm is expected to move its way by Friday afternoon, weakening as it moves in the somewhat cooler water, a Category Three storm that is beginning early Saturday morning. A Category Two storm, perhaps, just off the coast of Cape Cod with winds of 100 miles per hour.

Keep in mind, though, these storms are very fickle. It may jog a little bit closer to shore or may push out a little bit more to sea. (INAUDIBLE) is watching that, of course, as we're going to do over the next couple of hours and days as the storm jogs its way to the north. Let's send it back to New York. VELSHI: Quick question for you. Looking at that map that you've got next to you that cone of uncertainty. Over the last couple of days we've seen variations on that. Some of it touches those northern east coast cities. I've seen some go over New York and that one still going over Boston. Has this moved east or are these mid-Atlantic cities on the coast in danger?

WOLF: Well, the storm itself is going to wobble. And you have to remember, too, you don't follow just the point itself. The winds are going to far exceed the center of circulation. So you're going to have some winds that are going to be roaring to places like Richmond, Washington. If the storm does get closer to, say, the shoreline itself, yes, New York is going to have some very strong winds. Especially in the downtown area, we have these high-profile buildings, of course, that could really accelerate some of the winds. We are going to see some damage throughout the eastern seaboard, no question. Also into New England as we get closer to the weekend itself -- Ali.

VELSHI: Thank you very much for that.

There are a --

CHETRY: No. I was going to say even places like New York preparing for the possibility of opening evacuation centers.

VELSHI: They're putting shelters. And Long island is establishing some shelters for people. Obviously, it's much, much better to know ahead of time what's going on. There are places, of course, on the east coast that are vulnerable to a hurricane. Those fragile barrier islands of North Carolina and that is the price you pay for living in paradise. Those are beautiful, beautiful beaches.

Kill Devil Hills, where the snow white sand dunes hosted the first flight of the Wright brothers. They're nailing everything down this morning. Look where they're located. Helplessly exposed in the Atlantic, face-to-face with a fast-approaches beast of a storm. Rob Marciano live, Kill Devil Hills.

Rob, what are the conditions like?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, right now, calm. But as I look out to the east, I can see the higher cirrus outflow of Hurricane Earl, now beginning to make inroads. It may shroud what we were hoping to be a beautiful sunrise, kind of a calm before the storm. But the waves certainly have increased overnight. And the wind will be increasing throughout the day.

One thing is for sure. The past couple of days we've been talking about rip currents how this is going to affect the beachgoers here over the Labor Day weekend and certainly the last week of summer. I think now we're talking about something that is much, much larger than that with the storm as big as this is and with the wind field that as large as this. Reynolds touched on this.

You have tropical storm force winds that are 230 miles out from the center. Hurricane force winds 90 miles off from the center. So you don't need this thing to make landfall for it to be doing some damage here and taking out at the very least some power.

So folks have been evacuating, at least some here across parts of the Outer Banks, 200 miles of barrier chain of islands that protects the North Carolina shoreline. It kind of sticks out in the ocean like a sore thumb. One out of every two years you get some sort of tropical cyclone making landfall here. But it has been -- hasn't been since Hurricane Isabel that they've seen a storm of any magnitude really make landfall here. So a little bit of storm amnesia I think with these folks.

Also, the Coast Guard helicopters were up yesterday doing fly-overs of the coast, kind of taking a survey, kind of a before-storm shot at what this coastline looks like before Hurricane Earl makes landfall. And one of the Coast Guard lieutenants there told us something very interesting, in relation to Katrina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At one point we thought Hurricane Katrina was going to be no big deal. And we all know how that turned out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: How about that? I mean, that's an excellent point here because we've been showing this cone, guys, kind of staying offshore. We've been talking about a major storm. But it's been a while. And I think people should be a little bit more nervous than they are down here -- Kiran, Ali.

CHETRY: You have been to many of these. You see what it's like. You see what people are prepared to do. Just give us some overall notes about this storm, in terms of intensity, how fast it may move. I mean, in some cases, we pay so much attention to the wind speeds. But the bottom line is, the longer it sits and dumps rain, then you start getting into other problems with flooding.

MARCIANO: Yes, it's a good point. You know, back in 2005 just down the road, Hurricane Ophelia was just a Category One storm. But it moved so slowly and it just raked the coastline and did much, much more damage than a typical Category One storm would do. And also, the way the shoreline is set up here in North Carolina, you've got the barrier islands and then you've got numerous sounds. Of course, the bigger one being Pamlico Sound. So you kind of get a storm surge from either side. As the storm approaches, you get a storm surge from the ocean. As it exits, you get a storm surge from the sound and often that can do even more damage. So we're hoping this thing picks up speed. We certainly hope it makes that right turn sooner rather than later. But it really hasn't done that just yet. So a lot of people on edge here.

But I'll tell you this, from the people that we've talked to, even though there are some evacuating, they're not as nervous as they should be. There are a lot of people here taking this storm kind of, you know, with a casual attitude. And maybe today things will be different. Maybe they'll wake up and see the coverage, see the storm and be like, you know what? Maybe I should get out of dodge, at the very least, take this a little bit more seriously.

CHETRY: Yes. You're certainly the picture of the calm before the storm.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: It looks beautiful where you are this morning. And it's understandable why some people may not think this is as serious as it. Rob, thanks.

Up and down the east coast, though, families are trying to get prepared, boarding up their homes, tying things down. And some are actually evacuating before Earl hits. The powerful hurricane is threatening a huge portion of the coastline. There are warnings and watches in effect from North Carolina, all the way up to Cape Henlopen and Delaware, parts of Massachusetts as well.

VELSHI: And going the other way as far south as Florida, Earl is already been kicking up high winds. It's churning up surf there. Lifeguards are posting red flags and warning about those strong rip currents. In Maryland, some beachfront hotels say they're seeing cancellations for the Labor Day weekend which is usually for these hotels the last chance to cash in on the summer season.

CHETRY: Yes, it's a shame for them. Folks as far north as Cape Cod, Massachusetts as well are getting ready for Earl. The CNN weather team warning, it could hit there as a Category One storm before the weekend.

VELSHI: And a huge east coast hurricane could lead to chaos at the airports on Labor Day weekend. Of course, a lot of people getting out early and that's going to be right when the storm is hitting. The big carriers, Delta, Continental, American telling CNN, they don't expect huge delays or cancellations -- pardon me -- this weekend. As always, you can check your flight status online and you may be able to cancel or reschedule your flight without extra fees if there have been announced cancellations or scheduled changes. You do have to check with your airline first. They have all issued statements and you can find them on their Web sites.

CHETRY: It's a pain to cancel your vacation. It's a bigger pain to be stuck at the airport or hours delayed.

VELSHI: That's exactly right. Right. I totally think if you think that's going to happen, make an alternate plan.

CHETRY: Well, when you're away from your TV, CNN.com is your hurricane headquarters online. For the latest information or if you have pictures and video that you want to share with us, go to CNN.com/weather.

VELSHI: All right. Yesterday, a remarkable story developing at about 1:00 Eastern in the afternoon, a hostage taking at the Discovery channel right outside of Washington, D.C. in Silver Spring, Maryland. We're learning more about the gunman and a possible motive for the hostage taking that led to his death. It's 10 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Breaking news now. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made a surprise visit to Afghanistan. His plane touched down just minutes ago. He is scheduled to meet with Afghan's president and the military. This follows yesterday he was in Baghdad for the handover ceremony to Iraqi authorities at the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq. And this also takes place against the backdrop in the United States of peace talks, direct peace talks going on between the Israelis and the Palestinians. We'll have more on that a little later on the show.

CHETRY: Meantime, we're continuing to follow Hurricane Earl churning off of the east coast. CNN, your hurricane headquarters, are keeping a very close eye on the track of this storm as it continues to take a more easterly turn, something that the meteorologists are hoping changes. We're going to get another update within the hour on the track of the storm.

VELSHI: Let me bring you up to speed with the hostage drama that played out at Discovery Channel headquarters in Maryland. This morning, Montgomery County police are giving the all clear after sweeping the building for explosives.

Now it all began yesterday afternoon when this man, James Lee, burst into the building with a gun and explosives. He took three hostages and after a nearly 4 1/2, a four-hour standoff, a police SWAT team shot and killed Lee. The hostages were unarmed.

CHETRY: Well, hours after this drama ended, there were a series of by detonations by police that could be heard near the scene. It turns out James Lee had a history of gripes against the Discovery network. There you can hear actually those detonations going off.

Amber Lyon is live in Washington with more on this story. As we talked about it, it wasn't until 1:00 in the morning that the all clear was given. I mean, this played out from yesterday afternoon on into this morning. Give us the latest right now on what the investigation is yielding.

AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. Well, a lot of people have been looking into the mental state of 43-year-old James Lee, and we spoke with a forensic psychologist. And just to put things into perspective this morning, she compares Lee's mental state to that of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. This psychologist, Dr. Helen Morrison, says that Lee apparently had some type of paranoia disorder, accompanied with rage, and that rage was directed at Discovery Communications.

We tapped into an online manifesto that Lee had written directed towards the network where he says the network wasn't doing enough to save the planet. In this manifesto, he orders them to change their programming and get rid of any shows that glorify human birth. Apparently, Lee was pretty obsessed with overpopulation, even referred to human infants as parasitic at one point. Lee was also a big environmentalist and really into wildlife. At one point in that manifesto, he said, quote, "Nothing's more important than saving them. The Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Elephants, Froggies, Turtles, Apes, Raccoons, Beetles, Ants, Sharks, Bears, and, of course, the Squirrels."

Now, we spoke with some people near the Discovery Communication building. He used to hang out at the coffee shop. They say Lee would come in there every day, dressed in green military-style clothing, as if he was about to head into battle.

And they also said one thing for sure. Every single day, Lee was complaining about this network.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYON: So what do you mean when you say you knew something wasn't right?

FEKRA BOWEN, SAW LEE NEAR DISCOVERY BUILDING: Well, his opinions about things. We couldn't understand what he - why he hated the Discovery Channel. We just couldn't figure that out.

LYON: Every single day he was talking about how much he hated the Discovery Channel?

BOWEN: Yes. Every day. There's something about children, having overpopulation of children. He had a problem with that as well.

LYON: Did any one, a border (ph), say what the heck are you doing, Mr. Lee and start arguing with him?

BOWEN: Oh, there were discussions. Yes. There were a lot of people that has said, well, he's just crazy and just blow it off. Things like that. (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LYON: And this isn't Lee's first run-in with the law. Two years ago, a judge ordered him to stay away from the Discovery Communications building after he hosted quite an unruly rally where he was just throwing thousands of dollars of cash in the air - Ali, Kiran.

VELSHI: Amber, thanks very much. Amber Lyon in D.C. on that story.

And, just ahead, at 6:40 Eastern, about 20 minutes from now, we're going to talk with Sommer Mathis. He's a blogger who's familiar with James Lee's online ranting against the Discovery Network. He said as soon as he heard this - she said as soon as she heard this news yesterday that she immediately thought of James Lee. She thought this had to be him.

CHETRY: Right. So we're just going to find out more about that. And I mean, it was just so surreal to hear the explosions going off -

VELSHI: Yes. CHETRY: -- into the night as they were trying to detonate.

VELSHI: That had to be scary for people who are still around, wondering what's happened now, because this was supposedly over in the afternoon.

CHETRY: Exactly.

All right, well we have some big news from tech giant Apple. They're always doing something, aren't they? Well, now the full iPod line is getting a major overhaul. The new Apple TV is smaller, cheaper and you can rent movies and TV shows.

So, how much does it all cost? We're going to get some answers, coming up.

It's 18 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: What is that song from? "57 Channels"?

VELSHI: "57 Channels".

CHETRY: Now it's - now it's -

VELSHI: I was thinking to myself -

CHETRY: -- 457 channels. And -

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: And I still sometimes can't find anything good on, which is when you tune in to AMERICAN MORNING.

CHETRY: Nothing except for us, of course.

VELSHI: Exactly.

"Minding Your Business" this morning.

CHETRY: Tech giant Apple is announcing some major gadget redesigns, and some of the biggest changes are coming from one of Apple's few poor sellers, and that's Apple TV. It now fits in the palm of your hand. It's $99, about $230 cheaper than before. And the focus is now on rentals. New movies, $4.99; TV shows, 99 cents a pop. And the device will also link to Netflix accounts, YouTube and Flickr.

VELSHI: It's - you know, it's the most - it's always the most elegant way to do it with - with Apple, but these - none of this is entirely new. It's just new that it's now discreet and cheap in a little Apple setup.

The iPod Nano, by the way, losing the old school click wheel. Instead, it's getting a tiny touchscreen. And this stuff always throws me off when that happens, because I'm - you know, it takes me a little while to learn these new things.

It's about half the size of the old one and clips on anything from a belt loop to a purse strap. The eight -

CHETRY: Wait, half the size of the old one?

VELSHI: I know, this is -

CHETRY: So now, what?

VELSHI: So now you're really going to lose it.

CHETRY: So now you can accidentally swallow it at any time?

VELSHI: Now it's a - now it's a flash card.

CHETRY: I mean, seriously.

VELSHI: No, I - this is exactly what I was going to say, because I've got a Nano and I lose it constantly because it's so small.

The eight gig version one - one, by the way, in case you swallow it, no big loss. It's $49. $30 more doubles the storage space. Do not swallow that one.

Other upgrades coming for the rest of the iPod line as well, new version of iTunes featuring a social networking component that lets you follow friends and your favorite bands. And I think - I've got an inside track on the next things going to happen.

CHETRY: Which is what?

VELSHI: The next iteration of all of these "i" things from Apple is going come with somebody to massage your feet because that's all it doesn't do at this point.

CHETRY: Well, that would require you to have human interaction, so I don't think they're going down that road.

VELSHI: That's true. That's not going to happen.

CHETRY: This is now the -

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: It's going to assure that you actually never have to speak to a human being in person again.

Well, it's almost impossible to know what our U.S. military go through once they hit the ground in Afghanistan. But, up next, we're right beside one veteran soldier as he prepares for battle. The advance look at his mission and the surprises that have already cropped up.

It's 24 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: Hurricane Earl is a Category 4 storm this morning. CNN is your hurricane headquarters. We're keeping a close eye on the storm. We're going to have the latest information coming up in just a few minutes.

Now, for 28 days - 28 straight days, those 33 men in Chile, they've been buried half a mile below the earth's surface. It is such a remarkable story. New video of the miners shows - and it fascinates me, they are still in good spirits. Or perhaps even better news, they're getting healthier. They're - they're eating properly.

CHETRY: Yes. This is a 23-minute video tour and it shows how they're getting supplies and how they're getting medicine, and also for the first time, a hot meal.

Our Karl Penhaul has the latest from Chile this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN VIDEO CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Trapped in the depths of the earth - but spirits are high. They're proud to be Chilean, and even prouder to be miners.

MARIO SEPULVEDA, TRAPPED MINER (through translator): "You can see things down here have changed," he says.

PENHAUL: In this new video sent to the surface, miner Mario Sepulveda wanders through the cabin half a mile deep, showing how he and his 32 comrades are holding up.

Since rescuers found the men alive 10 days ago, survival rations have been delivered by a narrow bore holes. In these metal tubes, miners are getting food, water, medicine, clean clothes, (INAUDIBLE) and even music on MP3 players.

SEPULVEDA (through translator): "The music has arrived, and we're organizing today's party. We're super happy and we've been dancing to a couple songs," he says.

Off camera, a miner could be heard joking, "We still want to flow up rather dull (ph)".

Above ground, seeing the new video stirred mixed emotions.

SCARLET SEPULVEDA, DAUGHTER OF TRAPPED MINER (through translator): "Of course, I'm sad. I miss him so much," she says.

CRISTINA NUNEZ, WIFE OF TRAPPED MINER (through translator): "They're happy. They're content," she says.

LUIS URZUA, FOREMAN OF TRAPPED MINERS (through translator): "We're very grateful to all the workers who are above and making the great sacrifice. We know the problem's pretty big and it's hard work," he says.

PENHAUL: Johnny Barrios, an explosives expert with nursing experience, is keeping close watch on the men's health.

NASA experts reached the San Jose Mine, Wednesday to share lessons they've learned about keeping astronauts alive in outer space.

MICHAEL DUNCAN, NASA DEPUTY CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: And we've been very impressed also with the courage and the organization that the miners have provided themselves in this very difficult circumstance.

PENHAUL: After 23-minute tour by the light of a head lamp, the miners bid farewell.

SEPULVEDA (through translator): "The little guys want to say good-bye now. I say good-bye to my beautiful family. I love them very much. And down here, we, 33 miners, are walking hand in hand with God," he says.

PENHAUL: Karl Penhaul, CNN, San Jose Mine, Northern Chile.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: It's amazing, but you got to keep your fingers crossed that a) they can stay healthy and in good spirit and that they can get moving. And get faster estimate --

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: I'm -- I just pray that everybody has overestimated how long it's going to take. I think the entire world is with these guys in spirit. It would like -- take me about six hours before I go nuts down there.

CHETRY: I can't even imagine.

VELSHI: Yes, good for them.

CHETRY: So, three months or more to drill this is the estimate. And there are some backup plans. So --

VELSHI: Let's hope.

CHETRY: Yes.

Meantime, we're crossing the half hour now -- time for our top stories.

And we're following Hurricane Earl closely this morning. It's picking up steam overnight -- now, a powerful category 4 storm, targeting the coast of North Carolina tonight. Hurricane warnings and watches are in play as far north as Cape Cod. And unless Earl makes a hard right turn soon, millions of people up and down the East Coast could be in harm's way.

VELSHI: Police in Silver Spring, Maryland, right outside of the D.C. line, giving the all-clear this morning to the Discovery Channel's headquarters. They spent the night sweeping the build for explosives after police shot and killed James Lee. Lee took three workers hostage yesterday and had a history of gripes with Discovery.

In just a few minutes, we'll talk with a blogger who's familiar with Lee's online rantings.

CHETRY: And a federal judge is ruling against the White House, refusing to throw out a lawsuit that seeks to block the Obama administration's moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, officials plan to remove the capping stack on BP's ruptured well this afternoon. And they'll soon then begin the recovery of the blowout preventer that failed to stop the worst U.S. oil spill in history.

Well, it's 32 minutes past the hour. We've followed him for months, and now, we're with Sergeant Randy Shorter as he hits the ground in Afghanistan.

VELSHI: This deployment is his third tour of duty.

Jason Carroll joins us on the phone this morning from Sharana, Afghanistan, with our ongoing series, "A Soldier's Story."

CHETRY: And, Jason, what are some of the challenges that lie ahead for this unit and for Sergeant Shorter?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, you know, Kiran, there are a number of challenges that Sergeant Shorter has had to face, hitting the ground here in FOB Sharana. Sergeant Shorter and other in his unit have really had to hit the ground running. Remember, there are a number of things that have to be done at this crucial step, making sure that the weapons are stocked and ready to go.

Just, in fact, a few hours ago, he saw (INAUDIBLE) his armored vehicles pull into final inspection before deploying. That's just one of the many things that has to be done at this stage -- communications systems checked. Basically, taking, Kiran, all of the crucial steps necessary to make sure that his soldiers are armed and in a safe as they possibly can be before heading out on their mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: This is a moment where we've got to get a lot done in a short period of time, right?

SGT. RANDY SHORTER, U.S. ARMY: That is correct is. It's, first, starting time -- I mean, we came in, we finally did our training. And now, it's -- you know, it's first time, it's game time. Well, the frustration now is, you know, not only we're trying to help our counterparts and our brothers, you know, to get out of here to continue their mission, we're now preparing and getting our equipment together which can be a very frustrating portion of deployment.

CARROLL: What sort of dynamics are you dealing with? I mean, what are the challenges that you face with getting your equipment?

SHORTER: In laymen's terms, it's like buying a new car. You buy a new car, you know, you want all the new accessories. Well, it's similar to that. You come in and (INAUDIBLE) these brand new vehicles, and obviously, you know, there are some -- there are some things we still have to add on to the vehicle.

CARROLL: What it comes down to is you don't want to be heading out there unless you're absolutely equipped with the best that you can get?

SHORTER: That is correct is. We got to get to the place where we need to be and go ahead and, you know, starts to show our presence out there.

CARROLL: There's a sense of heaviness here, given the losses that we've seen just over the past few days. How are you dealing with that?

SHORTER: Well, you know, some of our counterparts have lost some -- I mean, some of the guys that I've actually, you know, replaced may have lost some soldiers. And, you know, from how they're taking it, you know, they're some super troopers, let me tell you.

You know, some of the guys, it's reality now. You know, now, we're in the combat environment. These guys are hearing the stories. They're starting to see pictures around, you know? It's hard.

But in a sense, it prepares us, you know, that this is no game. And we're out here to do what we need to do, and it just gives us the strength and will to continue forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And, Kiran, so far, there are 19 casualties in this area, in this region, since Saturday. You can imagine that the military world can be somewhat of a small world. So, given there's one casualty, just about everyone feels it -- Kiran.

CHETRY: It's unimaginable what they go through when they lose one of their own. You also have a chance to speak to Major General John Campbell as he was inspecting those forward-operating bases. What was his take?

CARROLL: You know, I had an opportunity, a brief opportunity, Kiran, to ask him a few questions -- mainly about that drawback date of July 2011. I asked him what he thought about that, if there was any wiggle room, was that a firm set deadline? And he said, you know what, that's not even something that he told me he's focusing on at this point, that in terms of where he's coming from, the focus is really on trying to get the Afghan police and security forces to really take -- to take control of the situation here. We're doing that through -- and to retrain the Afghan police.

That's just part of what Sergeant Shorter's mission will be when he gets out there to secure his area and to help retrain the Afghan police so they can then take a big hand in terms of going after the insurgents -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right, Jason. You know what? We're going to also link up your interview on our Web site, CNN.com/amFIX, so people can see more of it. Great job out there. We'll be checking with you throughout the week, of course.

Meanwhile, coming up, the man behind this hostage drama that played out yesterday afternoon at Discovery Channel headquarters had a history of gripes against the network's programming. And, in fact, when people first heard about this story, those who followed it, said Jason Lee was the first person that came to mind when they heard about what was going on. We're going to speak to a blogger who first reported on his online rantings two years ago.

VELSHI: It is 36 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Forty minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

You know, there's a lot of questions that remain this morning after that hostage situation that ended in the death of the gunman yesterday, after he took three people hostage at the Discovery Channel headquarters. This is just outside of D.C. in Silver Spring, Maryland.

What was perhaps deeply disturbing about what was going on is these online rantings by 43-year-old James Lee, ended up being killed by a police SWAT team after a four-hour standoff yesterday. He was known for these online rants about Discovery's environmental programming. He even posted a manifesto with his demands for the network.

Sommer Mathis is a blogger for TBD.com. She also had covered a lot about what was going on with Lee and she joins us from Washington this morning.

Sommer, thanks for being with me.

SOMMER MATHIS, NEWS EDITOR, TBD.COM: Thanks for having me.

CHETRY: You know, I mean, a lot of people rant on the Internet. And there are a lot of people --

MATHIS: Absolutely.

CHETRY: -- who certainly appear to be people fixated with one entity, company, organization -- in this case, it was Discovery Channel for James Lee. But how did it come to this?

MATHIS: Well, the first time I ran across James Lee was when someone passed along a link to a Web site to me in January of 2008. And it was a Web site promoting a week -- an entire week of protests against the Discovery Channel. And it contains a lot of complaints about Discovery's record of producing shows that really had an impact on saving the planet.

And it was -- the man's -- at the time, he only went by Lee. I didn't know his first name at the time. But he complained that the Discovery Channel was profit-driven, didn't really care about the environment, wasn't sincere about saving the planet. It was around the same time that Discovery was launching its new channel Planet Green, I believe it's called.

So, you know, his beef with Discovery was that they were a company, and they didn't care about the environment, and they weren't producing content that was what he had hoped for.

CHETRY: Right. And some of the -- you spoke about that manifesto on the Web site. Just to give people an idea of what he was saying, he described humans as, quote, "filth." He demanded the Discovery Channel to stop encouraging the birth of any more, quote, "parasitic human infants."

MATHIS: Right.

CHETRY: He went on to accuse them of promoting war and WMD with technology programming. And you also talk about this week in 2008 where he actually took out ads and protested outside of the building which led to an arrest.

MATHIS: That's right.

CHETRY: Whatever came of that?

MATHIS: Well, so one thing I want to clarify is that originally when this Web site existed, it looked much different than it does today. The complaints about Discovery that were listed there were much more focused on that they weren't producing environmentally conscious content on the channel. What you see there today, the stuff where he talks about population control, that Discovery should be promoting that human beings should no longer have babies and they should be pushing for sterilization, that was all posted at some point between the time when he was protesting in 2008 and yesterday. So --

CHETRY: Right. So, you're talking about sort of an escalation in his rantings at this point?

MATHIS: Yes.

CHETRY: He claims, at least according to "The Washington Post" that he did get an evaluation with the state psychiatrist after that arrest. And the arrest wasn't for anything violent. It was apparently just for littering, you know, and disturbing the peace.

MATHIS: It was. Yes. Those charges were related to the protests that he held for an entire week in February of 2008. And the reason he was arrested was he was actually throwing cash all over the street in downtown Silver Spring. So, one of the gimmicks of his protest was that he was handing out money to people and asking them to help him brainstorm better concepts for programming of Discovery Channel. And if they would write down an idea and he liked it, he would give them cash.

The other thing he was doing was -- because this was really a one-man protest, he was recruiting homeless people and individuals off the street to stand with him to make it look like his protest was much larger than it really was and giving them cash as well. And then about five days into the week of protests that he had planned, he actually just sort of started throwing money around, literally just tossing it into the street. That was when he was arrested for littering and disturbing the peace by Montgomery County police.

CHETRY: Also, as we understand, his picture was posted at the security bulletin board inside of the building at Discovery Channel, and they were able to, as they say, according to company spokesman, quickly identify him. I mean, it leads you to believe that this situation could have been worse. I mean, it is tragic that he ended up forcing police to kill him, but the bottom line is, no one else was harmed.

MATHIS: Yes. Absolutely. You know, people I have spoken to in the past who first alerted me to his existence back in 2008 at Discovery Channel, there's this -- there's a sense over there that he may have been someone who was sending the pitches and -- for programming ideas of his that he wanted to see and they were -- they were ignoring him or they were declining those pitches. And there's some evidence that perhaps that's how his beef with Discovery first began.

CHETRY: Interesting. Well, Sommer Mathis, news editor with TBD.com, thanks for giving some insight into the mind of this person. We appreciate it.

MATHIS: Thanks for having me.

VELSHI: What a -- what a complicated story that was yesterday. Quite remarkable. You know, they knew he existed, but who thinks that just because you don't take somebody's pictures or ideas that this could happen.

All right. Reynolds Wolf is tracking Hurricane Earl. He'll have the latest information on just how strong the storm is right now and where it is headed -- after the break.

CHETRY: And a contraption meant to train police and military is now putting you in the middle of the virtual action. We're going to show you how this human hamster ball works just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Welcome back to CNN AMERICAN MORNING, the Most News in the Morning. Right now, the big story we got is a big storm. We're talking about Earl. Earl is the largest storm on the planet. It's category 4 storm. The wind is 145, gust up to 175 miles per hour, the latitude and the longitude, you see it there, it is just off the coast of Florida and the Carolinas.

This storm itself is about the size of North Carolina, South Carolina combined, and then you throw in Virginia for good measure. That's how big it is. As big as the three states. This is one view that we got. Another view that we're going to give you is one from high in space. Let's go right to it from the space station. You can see the imagery just incredible, just an immense storm. It is a powerhouse. What we're seeing as we come back for a moment, back to radar, we see what might be a little bit of weakening which is not unusual.

This storm is very difficult for them to maintain that same kind of strength. We're seeing a little bit of dry air moving to the top half of the storm then may break up the storm just a little bit, probably they can weaken it to substantially, but there's a very good chance, during the next update, this may be weakening to about a category 3, but it's very probable it may go right back up to a category 4 stronger.

OK. We know where the storm is. We know that it's strong. The question is where is it going to go? The latest forecast path we have for National Hurricane Center, you see the cone of uncertainty. You see the line of itself, and this expects to go right up the Carolina Coast as we get into early Friday morning. Winds up of 135. Gusts of 160, and then pulling more to the north right along the coast as we get into Friday and Saturday.

By Saturday, possibly just east of Boston, not far from Cape Cod, but winds of 100 miles per hour, gusts up to 120. Now, what's it going to mean for the coastline? What's going to mean for the coast as we already have watches and warnings in effect from the Carolinas clear up through Maine. To be more specific, waves of 4 to 18 feet can be expected today off the outer banks.

Wave 25 to 30 feet this evening with the storm surge of 2 to 3 feet. Because the storm is so big, it doesn't have to make landfall to cause damage. We're talking about winds that could far extend in shore into parts of the Carolinas and Virginia and farther north. Widespread power outages, coastal flooding certainly a possibility, and we're going to have more on that coming up right here on CNN AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: All right. Sci-fi authors have written about it. You may have dreamed about the possibilities, but now, an ultimate gaming system can transport you right into the middle of a virtual 3D world. Gary Tuchman's got the story in today's "Edge of Discovery."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the movie "The Matrix," actor Keanu Reeves was trapped in a virtual world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?

TUCHMAN: Now, you can experience your own ultimate reality inside of video game. It's called "the virtue sphere," a human hamster ball that tracks your every move. MICHAEL ALEXANDREA, 360 VIRTUAL VENTURES: The game (INAUDIBLE) where you are focus point.

DANIEL JAMES SCHIAVONE, 360 VIRTUAL VENTURES: Get a 3D headset and allows you to see the 3D world. We also have a sensor that on the bottom of the sphere that tracks which way the surface is wrong (ph). So, you get a really true 3D experience.

TUCHMAN: You can walk, spin around, and even run inside the sphere during an action-packed game.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're actually involved in the game. It's not just your thumb, it's your whole body.

TUCHMAN: Or you can just take a stroll through a virtual village in Russia. The virtue sphere was originally designed for military and police training, but now --

SCHIAVONE: The possibilities are endless, and we can't wait to work with major gaming publishers. What we can see in the next five years is placing these in hundreds of malls and major theme parks around the world.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Sometimes, do you feel like you're on the human hamster wheel?

VELSHI: I'm not sure why I'd pay money to be a human hamster like that. Isn't that what life feels like?

CHETRY: Oftentimes, yes. We're going to take a break. Your top stories coming up. Fifty-six minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)