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Pan Am Lockerbie Bomber Found in Libya; Hatteras Island Cut Off From Mainland; Red Hot Chili Peppers Release New Album; Rick Perry Pulls Ahead in Polling among Republicans; Irene's Aftermath; Interview With Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano

Aired August 29, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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


BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

And let's begin with this storm. One time, Hurricane Irene is just now a rainmaker, soaking Eastern Canada right now. But the emergency, as Randi was just pointing out with her guest, far from over.

It is a large, wide path. The storm churned all the way up the Eastern Seaboard. I mean, look at this. This is central New York. This is Prattsville in the Catskill Mountains. And officials there say the volume of water rushing through these small riverbanks is more than what's flowing over Niagara Falls today. Just think about that.

It tour apart people, shut off electricity and stranded people in their homes and their hotels with no way to get out of the area. And think about it the opposite way, no way for rescuers to get to them.

Next here, I want to share some video from Rhode Island, 300,000 people there in the dark, no electricity. Several of these, you can see them, downed trees. Just sheer wind power took them down. Half the state is affected here. Listen now. This is Rhode Island's governor speaking just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. LINCOLN CHAFEE (R), RHODE ISLAND: Really, what we're focusing on is getting the power back. Rhode Islanders are without power getting antsy. And they want to -- that's really where our focus is. And we will assess the damage and the cost and everything else. But that's our priority right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And in Vermont, that is where it looks like the flooding is worse today. You know, some towns in the southern part of the state are completely underwater.

Others being battered by raging rivers that are far out of their banks today.

Let's go now live to CNN's Amber Lyon, who has been driving, from what I understand, Amber, all around the state today. There you are and able to pop in front of the camera to give us this visual here. You're in Brattleboro, Vermont. And just a quick reminder, Vermont is entirely landlocked. What are you seeing?

AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we're seeing out here is some of these waters actually start to recede, Brooke. The governor spoke earlier and he said that areas of higher elevations are starting to see less and less flooding. But he's also warning that this flooding is active. And it's currently happening especially in areas of lower elevations.

And all across the state, there's kind of a state of shock out here as almost every single waterway here in Vermont flooded. They have said that this is the worst flooding they have seen since 1927. And I want you to get a look at this building behind me. This is an artist's studio. And luckily everyone was able to get out OK. But as you can see, this building has now been condemned. It's just hanging on there right over the side of this stream.

What we have noticed so far, driving in, we didn't have any issues on the major roads. But the governor and emergency crews say that about 260 roads here in this state alone are currently flooded. Big issue with that is that some of these smaller communities have actually been cut off because the bridges and roads leading in and out of town have been or are now currently underwater.

Governor Shumlin here is also warning people not to get out in your cars and drive today unless absolutely necessary. There's a concern that although the surface of some of these roads will be OK to drive over, the ground underneath has been washed away, which could essentially turn some of these areas into quicksand.

Now, I have been monitoring Twitter traffic from people all over the state, and there's been some concern in certain communities of the smell of gas. Propane companies are saying that several propane tanks were washed away in the flooding. They're trying to recover those as of now.

Earlier today, too, the governor spoke with CNN. He said -- quote -- "Vermont is not used to getting hit by tropical storms and they could be digging out of this for a very long time." But he said, as of now, their biggest concern is making sure people in flooded areas are staying safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. PETER SHUMLIN (D), VERMONT: Absolutely devastating. Irene really whacked us hard up here.

Vermont is a mountainous state, small rivers following into bigger rivers, small brooks. And literally, every small community south of the Massachusetts line is impacted all the way through up Central Vermont.

We're trying to get Vermonters to focus on a few things, so that we don't have further loss of life that we have already had. The first is stay away from downed power lines because we don't have roads and adequate transportation systems into many of those areas to go in and fix them. The second is stay away from standing water. That's obviously when people lose life when they go into water that they don't know how deep it is.

And, finally, reach out to your neighbors as we do in Vermont. We have hundreds and hundreds of seniors, of low-income Vermonters crammed into shelters that would be much happier in a home of a wonderful Vermont family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LYON: And 50,000 customers across the state are still without power.

Because of the road situation, electric companies don't know, have any type of an estimate, Brooke, as to when they will get the power back on here. Also, they're currently worried about some people who are missing, presumed to have been swept away in some of these flooded waters.

So, search and recovery teams out there looking for them right now. And over here in this city, we're seeing all of these houses just lined up with belongings pulled outside to dry out. People are inside trying to clean up after water spread through where we are now -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Well, you know it's bad. I was listening to the White House daily briefing and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate making the point that an Vermont emergency center actually had to evacuate because of all the flooding.

Amber Lyon, I know you're keeping a close eye on it. We will check back in with you. Thank you.

But I want to share this piece of video. This had a lot of us staring at our computer screens this morning. Look at this. So you see this military truck, right? And it's moving through very, very muddy waters. This is New Jersey. And you're sitting and you're thinking, is it moving through because the wake is pushing it through?

You can't possibly have someone inside this thing, can you? You can. Take a good long look. See these guys starting to climb out? People climbing out of this truck. Do you see how high the water is? Finally getting the truck unstuck. Amazing.

Also, another iReporter sent this video. This is of people being rescued in front and inside a front-loader. That is how they're getting rescued, desperate times, desperate measures. That was yesterday. Today, New York City goes back to work as usual. Subways, trains, buses, they are back in service.

And the three majors airports, happy to report they are back open. Also, the New York Stock Exchange opened this morning doing business as usual there. But there are some concerns about inland flooding in the region as rivers, creeks, some do continue to rise.

Now, a much weakened Irene has moved away from the East Coast, but the rivers, they are still rising. Electricity is back in several areas, although hundreds of thousands of people, in fact, millions of people, are still without power.

Chad Myers, if we can just hone in on specific regions where the rivers are still rising, where are you seeing?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That would be Vermont, northern parts of New York in the Catskills and Adirondacks, parts of New Hampshire and also into Maine.

BALDWIN: OK.

MYERS: It's not really going to get a whole better for the next 48 hours.

And what I don't think people understand is, in the Adirondack Mountains and basically in the entire Appalachian chain, there's a continental divide, a lot like there is in the Rockies. In the Rockies, if you're west of the continental divide, all the water goes to the Pacific. If you're east, all the way goes into the Mississippi and eventually into the Gulf of Mexico.

But there's the same type of thing. And so there are waters and floodwaters that may getting into Quebec because of this. So not only the American flood warnings, but there may actually be some flooding going on up into parts of Canada as well. All of the green counties have some river, some creek, some stream out of its banks.

And the counties are going to continue. This map will be green for at least another week or so. The rainfall totals were tremendous. They were all the way from here in the Carolinas to over 14 inches on up into D.C. and Delaware where there are still flood warnings going on now. You know how flat Delaware is. You would think the water would runoff. No. That actually doesn't help at all. Flatland doesn't really run off as quick.

And then temperatures here were in the 60s and 70s and 80s and 90s. And as that thing came up, we have rainfall totals six to 10 inches. The temperatures really came up here. This was a warm side of the hurricane. People even were telling me in Nova Scotia on my tweets it felt like they were in the Caribbean.

BALDWIN: Oh, wow.

MYERS: What could this possibly be? That was the Caribbean air. That was literally the tropical air coming up from the south to the north.

Now, here, you can go on this. If you are interested in where your creek, where your river is going, water.weather.gov. Now, you have to understand that that's a problem, just because I said it, that this Web site is going to be have tremendous traffic real quick. So just give it a half-hour and go there. You can see your creek. This is the worst one I could find, Otter Creek at Rutland -- 17 feet is the river stage. Their record stage is four feet below that. This is a flood that they have never seen before on this creek in Rutland and that's the case of many, many rivers. They're out of their banks and they are record stage.

BALDWIN: Yes. It's been decades since a lot of these places have seen water like this. Chad Myers, thank you very much.

MYERS: Yes. You're welcome.

BALDWIN: In terms of damage here, we have to talk in the billions. Talking about the bill that Hurricane Irene left in her wake. Who pays for the cleanup? There's a good chance FEMA will not. Why? Because the disaster agency cannot. Coming up next, the financial disaster that's quickly turning into campaign fodder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Washington, D.C., you would think by now they would get the message. An earthquake, a hurricane. Are you listening?

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I will speak live with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, facing its very own financial emergency. Take a look at this. Even before Hurricane Irene, the agency has had to deal with 65 what they call major disasters this year. Think back, wildfires, floods, tornadoes, last week's earthquake.

And it's all draining FEMA's budget. Now it has fewer than a billion dollars remaining. And it has to cope with this, Hurricane Irene cleanup and rebuilding that is estimated to cost in the billions of dollars.

Critics say FEMA has handled tax dollars irresponsibly by overspending, failing to weed out fraud and waste. And among those critics, presidential candidate Ron Paul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All they do is come and tell you what to do and can't do. You can't get in your houses. And they hinder the local people and they hinder volunteers from going in. So there's no magic about FEMA. And more people are starting to recognize that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, FEMA's director says if there is another disaster, the agency may just have to ask for more federal money. But presidential candidate Congresswoman Michele Bachmann says don't bother. She calls spending out of hand, laughingly saying Washington won't take the hint. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BACHMANN: Washington, D.C., you would think by now they would get the message. An earthquake, a hurricane. Are you listening?

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: The American people have done everything they possibly can. Now it's time for an act of God. And we're getting it.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, as FEMA starts collecting the damage estimates from Irene, you know, a big question many of you I know have is, is there enough cash on hand?

Secretary of Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano good enough to join me live from FEMA headquarters there in our nation's capital.

Madam Secretary, thank you so much for coming on and sparing the time.

Let me just ask you straight up here, because this is the concern. Does the federal government have the money it needs to respond to this storm?

JANET NAPOLITANO, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Yes.

And let me be very clear about this. Survivors of Hurricane Irene, survivors from the tornado, survivors from the flooding that occurred this spring, they are all going to receive their individual assistance.

Public assistance for projects already under way will continue. The only thing that has happened -- and this has happened historically at the end of the fiscal year is -- if you have had a heavier-than- predicted disaster year, that we take money and make sure that survivors get paid first and no new projects for older disasters are approved until Congress replenishes the funds necessary for disasters.

BALDWIN: I know -- I think of Joplin, for example. And who can forget the images there? I know they just started school recently and they are still picking up the pieces.

Can you be more specific, Secretary Napolitano, in terms of how you prioritize your funding obligations?

NAPOLITANO: Well, I think it's pretty straightforward. Survivors come first, always, and then all uninsured losses for businesses, infrastructure, like highways, things of that sort. And, like I said, all that has happened now is, we have declared immediate needs assistance, meaning that we want to make sure that all the immediate needs of the millions of people affected by Hurricane Irene are met. No new projects will be funded, i.e., nothing that is not already in the works will be started, until Congress and the president replenish the fund.

And this happens historically. There's nothing new about this, because at the beginning of any fiscal year, it's difficult to predict how many disasters you're going to have to deal with. And so traditionally and historically, they wait until right around this time every year and then make decisions about how much actually will be needed to make sure that all of FEMA's obligations are met. And that's our expectation.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I know that the immediate needs assistance, that's certainly nothing new, as you point out. But what is new or perhaps unprecedented is the money in the coffers for FEMA, as we now know. Pre-Irene, it was less than a billion dollars.

So, springboarding off your point with regard to Congress, will the Obama administration have to request supplemental funding from Congress and then how is that handled? Does that get decided upon by the super committee?

NAPOLITANO: Well, it gets obviously decided by the appropriators.

But we're already talking with the head of OMB and with the president. And we don't know what the damages from Irene are going to be. Those assessments are just now beginning. We were just able to get up in the air in North Carolina a day or two ago, because the wind speed was over 35 miles per hour. It was unsafe for aircraft to get up to do the low flying necessary.

But they're up there. They're doing the damage assessments. We're working with the governors in the other states. We're still in response in a number of states. As you have noted, the record flooding that we're now seeing in places like New Jersey, in New England, that's still ongoing. Some of those rivers won't crest for a day or two.

So, right now, with the size of the storm, we have still got response going with the inland flooding effects, as well as now recovery and damage assessments for places where the hurricane hit first.

BALDWIN: I know I have you for a limited time. So let me just get one more question in. And that is, FEMA admits that, yes, it's been victimized by fraud and waste.

And my question is, how is the government getting a handle on those problems? How and when will the government begin to get their money back?

NAPOLITANO: Well, I think a lot of those older problems have long been rectified and dealt with. And we want to make sure the taxpayers are getting their money's worth. We want to be and are good stewards of the taxpayer dollars.

But these are disaster dollars. These are to go to places that otherwise would have no recourse for all the victims of disasters that we have had this year. So it's very important and I think very fundamental that from a safety and security perspective, we take care of these issues.

BALDWIN: Well, Madam Secretary, I thank you so much for coming on, spending the time. Thank you.

NAPOLITANO: Thank -- you bet. Thank you.

BALDWIN: And quick reminder to all of you. If you are watching these images, you would like to help in some way, you can. You can just visit our Impact Your World page. There's all kinds of great information there with links to several relief organizations, if you would like to give. The page is CNN.com/Impact.

And now this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What's the philosophy? Why do people like you stay?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to guess. I don't know. You know, we grew up here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And now they're stuck there, more than 2,000 people stranded on North Carolina's remote Hatteras Island after Hurricane Irene destroys the only way out. CNN's Brian Todd is there. We will check in with him live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, let me take you back to Saturday morning. Irene Cat 1 came ashore the coast of North Carolina, headed north.

Fast-forward to Sunday. Take a look at this. North Carolina, this is Highway 12, north of Cape Hatteras, washed out. Here's what this means. Hatteras Island, Ocracoke, south of the breach -- actually, we're learning there are multiple breaches on this Highway 12 -- they are cut off from the mainland.

And the folks who stayed behind, some 2,500 non-evacuees, they're stranded, maybe self-imposed exile, you could say.

Brian Todd, he has been out there. He's back there on the mainland now at Stumpy Point, North Carolina.

And, Brian, are those folks out there in any danger, the 2,500 people out there on the Outer Banks? TODD: They have not reported any cases of imminent danger or any emergency medical needs yet, Brooke.

But that's going to be an issue if and when that ever happens, because as you mentioned, 2,500 people there, they have been stranded since Saturday. The reason is because of that breach on Highway 12 that connects the Outer Banks to Hatteras Island there.

It was completely washed over. It caved in, downed power lines all over the place. It's a real mess. So the people there are stranded. This is one of the lifelines here. We're going to show you actually from this side. This is the ferry here at Stumpy Point. They're bringing passengers in this way ad then they're bringing the ferry over here to load vehicles on. They will be doing that shortly.

They're bringing in electrical trucks, highway repair equipment, food, medical supplies to Hatteras Island. But it's slow going. This takes about 2.5 hours each way to get to Hatteras Island. It's kind of a slow lifeline to them.

The people we talked to there have said that they have enough food and supplies for now. But this is three days in. The governor says they may need it for quite some time longer. This is the way it's getting there. It's slow, but it does have a fairly steady stream. This leaves about two or three times -- about once every two or three hours, we're told. But it is a slow boat. And they have got to make do with that for now, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. So they make do with the boat. What about the road? I was reading back in '03 with Isabel there was a breach back then. I think it took two months to repair that. Are they getting any kind of ballpark estimate as to how long it will take to fix Highway 12, to reconnect Hatteras and Ocracoke?

TODD: Well, we heard the governor earlier today on CNN say that they're going to have to have enough supplies there for two months. That's an indication of how long it's going to take.

BALDWIN: Yes.

TODD: The people who we talked to on the island who we were standing next to this breach talking to them, they said this is going to be at least two weeks. And that's really kind of a conservative estimate. That's a very serious breach.

The Atlantic Ocean is washing completely over the road in addition to the damage the road has suffered. It's going to be at least two weeks. You know, you project ahead, it's probably going to be much longer than that.

BALDWIN: And then that is -- the tourist season, Brian Todd, is contingent upon that road as well. Does this mean the end of Outer Banks' tourist season 2011?

TODD: That's a very good question because of the timing. On one hand we have heard some state officials kind of indicate, hey, we want people to come back. The hurricane is gone. Come back to the Outer Banks, still plenty of good weather left, even though Labor Day is coming up in a week. After that, you have got at least a month of good weather down here where people can come and enjoy the Outer Banks. They want people to come.

But another issue is the power outages. There's still a lot of these areas on the Outer Banks that don't have power and they may not get it for at least a couple of weeks. So that will really eat away at a critical moment here in the tourist season, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Wow, weeks for the electricity, possibly months for that road.

Brian Todd, live in North Carolina, thank you, Brian.

And we want to catch you up on some of the other stories making news here today coming up, including this story, the manhunt for this former NBA player, what he's accused of and why the FBI wants your help.

Plus, we're getting some breaking news on one of Moammar Gadhafi's son. I will share it with you after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, news just into us here at CNN, this is coming in from Libya. A senior rebel commander is telling CNN Khamis Gadhafi, a son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, has been killed. The spokesman says Khamis Gadhafi was killed Sunday night in a battle with opposition forces. We're making calls on this story, monitoring this story. As soon as we get any updates there, we will pass them along any updates to you.

Checking some of our other top stories on this Monday, President Obama has nominated Princeton Professor Alan Krueger to be the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. If he is confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Krueger will replace Austan Goolsbee. The nomination comes one week before President Obama is set to deliver his plan for creating jobs with unemployment at 9.1 percent.

Atlanta police have an arrest warrant out for a former NBA player wanted in this murder investigation. They say Javaris Crittenton, who used to play for the Washington Wizards, shot and killed 22-year-old Julian Jones some 10 days ago. She was hit by several bullets from an assault rifle in this drive-by shooting while she was just walking down the street. She was not the intended victim. Police say Crittenton was robbed back in April, was looking to retaliate against a man who was on the street at the same time as Jones.

And a wildfire near Yosemite National Park has extended to nearly 5,000 acres. Take a look at this. It started Thursday in the Sierra Nevadas of California. Firefighters have ordered some communities and campgrounds to evacuate. People in El Portal California may be asked to leave next. But they say they are making progress to get that fire under control. If you were watching last night, some unexpected baby news at MTV's Video Music Awards. At the end of Beyonce's performance, she unbuttons her sequin jacket and reveals the baby bump to the world, as you can hear, to plenty of applause. Her husband of three years, Jay- Z, got a little love from Kanye West. The very public revelation is out of the ordinary for Beyonce and Jay-Z. The couple has kept their private lives notoriously secret over the years.

He was freed from a Scottish prison two years ago. Now, the man convicted of bombing Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie is in a coma and apparently very near death. CNN's Nic Robertson tracked him down in Libya.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Has he been able to see a doctor?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, there is no doctor. There is nobody to ask and we don't have any phone line to call anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Should Abdel Basset al Megrahi return to prison? I'll speak with a mother who lost her daughter in that attack nearly 23 years ago. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let's talk about Libya now. And there are two very separate items to tell you about today in Libya. First is the health and status of the only person convicted in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. He's in Libya and there's news today about his condition and fate now that Libya's state is in transition. More on that in just a minute.

We are working to confirm several reports about members of Moammar Gadhafi's family, his wife, three of his children. Algeria's foreign ministry says that they are in Algeria. More on that as soon as we get more details.

But I want you to watch this report. It's an exclusive report from CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson about Abdul Basset al Megrahi. He may be the only person alive who knows who ordered the bombing of the Pan Am flight 103 back in 1988. Nic has been looking for Megrahi in Tripoli, and yesterday he found him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: We found Abdel Basset al Megrahi's villa in an up market part of town, at least six security cameras and flood lights outside.

(on camera) This is Megrahi's house. This is where he's been living for the last couple of years. We're going to knock on the door, see if we can get any answer. Hello? For 15 minutes or so, nothing. I'm not sure if they've heard me, so we'll try the last-ditch means which is shouting over the wall. Hello? Hello?

(voice-over) then all of a sudden someone comes. Nothing prepares me for what I see. Megrahi apparently in a coma, his aging mother at his side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just give him oxygen and some food by injection. If you see, his body is weak.

ROBERTSON: He had been expected to die almost two years ago. But convicted Pan Am 103 bomber al Megrahi lives, only just. This wasn't the way he looked when he was released from a Scottish jail two years ago. He came home to a hero's welcome freed on compassionate grounds because doctors said he would be dead in three months.

Almost immediately, he began renovating this palatial house, money no object.

(on camera) It doesn't take long walking around this building before you begin to realize and looking at the marble here on these expensive fittings to realize that it appears Megrahi was being paid off handsomely for all those years he spent in jail.

(voice-over) In the two decades since the bomb exploded on board Pan Am 103, over Lockerbie killing 270 passengers, crew and townspeople, it seemed the secrets of the attack would die with the bombers. Megrahi always maintained he was innocent.

Just a month ago in a rare public sighting, Moammar Gadhafi had him literally wheeled out for a pro-government rally. I'm seeing him now for the first time in two years. He appears to be just a shell of the man he was, far sicker than he appeared before.

(on camera) Has he been able to see a doctor?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. There's no doctor. There is nobody to ask and we don't have any phone line to call anybody.

ROBERTSON: What's his situation right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He stop eating and he sometimes is come in coma.

ROBERTSON: Coma -- he goes unconscious?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We just sit next to him and --

ROBERTSON (voice-over): All that's keeping him alive, they say, oxygen and a fluids drip. I ask about demands he return to jail in Scotland.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My dad, if you send him to Scotland, he will die by the way, here or there.

ROBERTSON: (on camera) Do you know how long he has left?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody can know how long he will stay alive. Nobody knows. ROBERTSON (voice-over): It seems I've arrived too late. He's apparently in no state to talk. Whatever secrets he has may soon be gone.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Tripoli, Libya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: I want to bring in Susan Cohen now. She and her husband lost their daughter, Theodora in 1998 when Pan Am flight 103 went down in Scotland. Susan, I want to begin with that image the way nick Robertson finished his piece. You see al Megrahi appearing frail, shelf a man. What emotions are stirred in you, if any, when you see that image?

SUSAN COHEN, DAUGHTER KILLED IN PAM AM BOMBING: First of all, I've been through this a dozen times where any time Megrahi comes up in a situation which is difficult for Megrahi, you get pictures of him getting oxygen. I have been over this many, many times, he was supposed to be near death, and he isn't. He's lived for a very long time beyond the time he was supposed to live even from Scotland.

Now, Nic Robertson said that only a doctor can determine Megrahi's condition, and I think really we have to be very, very careful about this. I would like to see the western -- western, actually American government officials able to go in there and interview Megrahi if at all possible because we need to get information about Pan Am 103 and he is the one to tell us. If he were still in prison in Scotland where he should be, I bet you would be surprised how fast he might decide it was in his interest to talk. But right now --

BALDWIN: Susan, forgive me for interrupting you. So you entirely question the veracity of his sickness, his condition? Not so sure he's that sick?

COHEN: I've been through it so many times. I'm not in a position to say whether he's dying. His family has always told us that. It's a replay of what they've done before where he is shown with oxygen and then somehow conveniently back home and feeling better. I'm just asking for a lot of skepticism. Nobody should jump on the idea that he's really in a coma and dying. Give it time. It may be true. But I tell you that I've been through it too often. It's like the boy who cried wolf.

BALDWIN: So you say, sounds like very clearly that he absolutely should be taken, extradited back to Scotland even though his son in the piece said he would either die either here or there. You say he should head back to Scotland, face the tough questions. What questions would you want him to face?

COHEN: Well, mainly, I want to find out more about who else was involved in the bombing. How it was done. How it was handled, if there is anyone else to bring to trial. Everything is different now in Libya. Everything has changed. It's not going to help him to be under the protection of Moammar Gadhafi anymore, because Moammar Gadhafi doesn't have power. So I would like to see the new government, which I support completely, work with American officials to try to get information from Megrahi if he can do it. And I don't know that he should be back in Scotland. They did a pretty horrible job when they let him go. I would like to see him in the United States. I would like to see him imprisoned here. But --

BALDWIN: Susan, Scottish officials say they have no intention of extraditing him. If I may play the other side of this, what if it's true? What if he's very ill? What if he dies either in that bed we see him in or en route to Scotland if that in fact happens? What are you left with? What are your final thoughts if that happens? Does it close a chapter?

COHEN: Of course not. I don't think we should weep our heads off for Megrahi. He murdered -- he's a convicted murderer of 270 people. He murdered my daughter. He ruined my life. I don't feel sorry for Megrahi. And if he dies, he dies.

But I know Scotland is not going to want him back. But there is no reason to think that he might not be able to be imprisoned some other way, might not be able to come here. I don't know if that's going to happen. I suspect not.

But I think that Senator Menendez and other senators have suggested that he should be imprisoned and they had suggested that there may be problems for the new government that they don't help us with this. So, you know, to me, I'm just being skeptical and waiting to see what happens with Megrahi.

BALDWIN: Sure.

COHEN: I would feel happy if he died later. But I'd like to know what he knows first.

BALDWIN: Of course. He took your sister's life in 1988. Final question. If you were in that room, Susan Cohen, what would you whisper in his ear.

COHEN: He took my only child, my daughter's life, not my sister's.

I would whisper to him he's going to rot in the lowest level of held. There will be no pity for him wherever he's going. He has showed no pity of us, the people whose lives were destroyed by him, and he never should have been let out on something called compassionate release, which I don't think is the reason he was let out anyway. I think it had to do with money, trade, oil, and a moral collapse on part of the west.

And where did that get them? Look where we are now with Libya and Gadhafi. If they had been tough with Gadhafi, they would have wound off better here in America, Britain, France, and Scotland than they ever did by placating him and having policies of appeasement towards Gadhafi. I will be especially happy the day Gadhafi is dead. He is the one who is really behind this horrible mass murder of the bombing of Pan Am 103.

BALDWIN: And So we wait. Still we don't know where Moammar Gadhafi is. Susan Cohen, thank you very much.

COHEN: Thank you.

Coming up, I want to return to a story we were telling but this hour. There's 2500 people stuck right now on Hatteras Island just off the North Carolina coast. Because of this, highway 12 has been sliced into two after this hurricane. And it's the only way to get in or get out of that island. Straight ahead, I'll talk to a man who didn't heed the warnings to leave, now finds himself among those 2,500 cut off. That's next.

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BALDWIN: Just in to us here at CNN, being dubbed one of the toughest immigration laws in all of the country has been blocked now by a federal judge. I'm talking about this law set to go in effect in Alabama on Thursday. This is video of Alabama Governor Bentley signing this into law just a couple of months ago, and there have been a number of opponents to this measure. Quickly, the law very expansively requiring the state to check the immigration of students in public school. Again, a federal judge blocking enforcement of that law in Alabama.

Back to North Carolina now, outer banks. Let's have a look at Highway 12, the lifeline to the mainland washed out. The folks who stayed behind, obviously they're the ones who didn't evacuate. They're stranded now. We're hearing the number 2,500, plus people. Among them, business owner Ollie Jarvis. And Ollie, we keep saying that you're stuck. I understand you don't see it that way. How come?

OLLIE JARVIS, BUSINESS OWNER: Well, Hatteras Island is our home and our life is here. Our businesses are here. Our friends are here. And my business happens to be at one part of it is selling gasoline. And so we feel like if we stay in our station or our gas pumps are not ruined, we're here and able to fill people's generators and keep them with some food to eat in their refrigerators and keep some ice for them and things like that.

You know, it's a hardship for us. But I've been here since 1983. The people of Hatteras Island just always body together when something like this happens.

BALDWIN: I understand that. I know you know these folks very well. I mean, you don't have electricity. I know that there's a very slow- moving ferry. Hopefully it will get to you guys. Highway 12 may not be fixed for two months. Do you feel in danger at all?

JARVIS: I do not. We are supposed to have electricity back within two days. We have been talking to Senator Hagan, Senator Hagan says she thinks she can get the corps of engineers to come, pull up the portable bridges like they do in the war area.

BALDWIN: Sure.

JARVIS: And we have already had ferries come across with fuel for the National Guard. We have food trucks coming across already. BALDWIN: So you're pretty cool, calm and collected, Ollie. Let me ask you about your bait shop. I know tourism is very key for you and a lot of people. Are you nervous about that? Are you nervous about the money you won't be making the rest of year?

JARVIS: Yes. We're always nervous about that. We go through that constantly on another situation. But yes, we worry about it, because any time we have a hurricane, it affects our business a week and a half before and at least two weeks after a hurricane. People leave. Some say they'll never come back. But normally they'll drift back in and hopefully we'll pick up where we left off. I know certainly it hurts everybody here economically.

BALDWIN: Ollie Jarvis, thank you very much. Here's hoping it's not ruined the rest of the outer banks 2011 season. Thank you very much.

And it's Monday, and you know what that means on this show. It is "Music Monday." We have a real treat for you. Remember these guys? The Red Hot Chili Peppers, they are back finally, with a brand new album out today. CNN got to go behind the scenes on this music video shoot. "Music Monday" after the break.

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BALDWIN: We haven't heard any new tunes from these guys in five years. But today fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers can get their new album "I'm with You." And you will not be disappointed. For today's "Music Monday" my friend Denise Quan got to go to behind the scenes of a Chile Peppers video shoot, part of CNN.com's sound check. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

FLEA, BASSIST, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: Hello, everybody. My name is Flea, I am the bass player on the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

CHAD SMITH, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: This is Chad form the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

ANTHONY KIEDIS, VOCALIST, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: My name is Carl Zufredi (ph), and I do all the mechanics for the band.

(MUSIC)

FLEA: Very happy to be here on this auspicious day. We are making our video for the song "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie."

(MUSIC)

FLEA: After the last tour we decided to take a two-year break, which was outstanding.

KIEDIS: We got to do a little bit of work at the end of the last tour. FLEA: Things have shifted. John Vrishante left the band. I didn't think I'd want to continue if he left. But once he left I felt like I did want to continue. And we hired Josh Klinghoffer.

JOSH KLINGHOFFER, GUITARIST, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: I'm Josh from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

DENISE QUAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: How many guitar players have you had in the red hot chili peppers?

KIEDIS: Let me see, how many guitar players. You know the movie "Spinal Tap," the exploding drummer. It's a bit like that. Funnily enough, we asked Josh to be in the band. And Flea called him on the phone, and josh, being the person that he is, he'd go yes, yes, great I'll be in the band. He's like, let me think about that. I'll get back to you.

KLINGHOFFER: The first day we started playing, musically made sense and I've known them for over ten years and I love them all. People, you know, so it just sort of worked.

FLEA: Things sound a lot different. It sounds great. Sounds vibrant, sounds alive, sounds -- has a feeling of excitement and exploration and love and warmth and violence and explosion that you want in rock music.

(MUSIC)

KLINGHOFFER: It's a new chapter, it's the same name but it's a different band.

KIEDIS: We like what we did. Please listen.

(MUSIC)

QUAN: Chili peppers are back?

FLEA: Chili peppers never went away.

KLINGHOFFER: OK, we're out. I have to get back to work.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: I'm pretty sure I played "Under the Bridge" so many times the tape broke in my cassette deck. "Music Monday" for you. Denise Quan, thank you very much. Check out CNN.com/showbiz. And when I interview bands and I get to go backstage for "Music Monday" I post them on my blog, CNN.com/Brooke. Got a good one for you next Monday, by the way. Stay tuned for that.

Straight ahead, CNN has a brand new poll on the GOP presidential candidates, and one among the pack is pulling ahead of the rest. Wolf Blitzer has that and more coming up next in your Political Ticker.

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