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Memorial Service for Rep. Tubbs-Jones; Gustav Headed for New Orleans; Evacuation Planning Underway; Who is Sarah Palin?
Aired August 30, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Take a look now live, a memorial service for Representative Stephanie Tubbs-Jones getting under way in Cleveland.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is scheduled to speak at this service. Hillary Clinton also expected. Obama's running mate Joe Biden and former President Clinton among the guests. You're seeing pictures of some of them here. These are from a little earlier that we have. Tubbs-Jones you may remember died last week from a brain hemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm.
NGUYEN: She was the first African-American woman to represent Ohio in congress. Tubbs-Jones was 58 years old.
HOLMES: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. A lot going on, on this 30th day of August. Hello to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: In the politics department, a lot in the weather department. We have it all for you. Good morning everybody I'm Betty Nguyen. Getting away from hurricane Gustav before it gets too close. That's what you see those folks right there doing.
HOLMES: Also, Senator McCain and his surprise even shocking pick for vice president Governor Sarah Palin, they are hitting the road today as a team. We'll have a live report from the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
NGUYEN: Who is Sarah Palin? We're going to be taking a closer look at her. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. First up though, a dangerous category 3 hurricane is barreling toward the U.S. Gulf Coast. Some people living there are already getting out. Hurricane Gustav grew to a category 3 storm this morning with wind speeds hitting 120 miles an hour. It's expected to cross over western Cuba later today and then after that it is a straight shot to the U.S. mainland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: I'm encouraging all citizens to start to make plans to evacuate the city over the next couple of days. We are not in a mandatory evacuation state at this point. We will continue to monitor the storm as it goes forward but we are now strongly encouraging people to start planning and we will be implementing a city assisted evacuation plan.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: A lot of those plans are taking place right now. Our correspondents and meteorologists on top of all the developments. Our Sean Callebs is in New Orleans top left of the screen. Chris Lawrence to the right, he's on the ground in Louisiana as well and our meteorologist there he is in the CNN severe weather center. We do want to start with our Sean Callebs with memories of hurricane Katrina three years ago still vivid. New Orleans is being evacuated. Plans to take elderly and disabled residents out on buses and trains. Sean, we've been talking to you this morning. A vastly different situation this time around from what we saw three years ago with the evacuations of Katrina.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Without question T.J. really, I've lived in New Orleans for the past three years. I can tell you this is the first time residents have really been antsy, have really been anxious about any possible damage coming to the city since Katrina. But boy, they are really nervous right now. Buses are pulling up. There are 17 sites around the city where people get picked up, are brought here to the Amtrak Greyhound station and then they're going to be loaded on buses like this one right behind me and they're going to be taken to several shelters north of the city. We have one lady who's agreed to chat with us and her dog, bubbles, Margie Hawkins. Ms. Hawkins, thanks very much for chatting with us. You don't even know where you're going at this point, do you? What has your last 24 hours been like?
MARGIE HAWKINS, RESIDENT, NEW ORLEANS: I'm not sure where I'm going as I stated earlier but I am confident and positive that the city will arrange a good place. My last 24 hours have been somewhat worrisome and very prayerful because this is a very serious threat. It's a lot of people that need to get to safe ground or be safe where they are.
CALLEBS: Do you think the city, federal, state governments, are they doing a lot more this time than they did three years ago?
HAWKINS: Yes, they are. Yes they are. I'm very happy with it.
CALLEBS: Let me ask you, also, you were here. You went through the process, endured everything after Katrina three years ago. If a weaker storm hits this area, if there is severe flooding, could the people of the city emotionally and financially take it? Can they rebuild or will this city be lost forever?
HAWKINS: Well I'm not really able to speak for all citizens here but as for myself I'm a native New Orleanean, I was born here. My parents were born here. If I can I will return and will rebuild and yes it will be stressful and yes it will be a challenge but this is my home and I love it.
CALLEBS: You want to grab bubbles real quickly, because this is very significant as well because last time they didn't have a way to transport pets. This time if you look over there they have a whole bunch of crates for dogs and you feel confident that they will take care of you?
HAWKINS: Yes, very, very confident, very happy I can take my dog. CALLEBS: You're in for a long bus ride, I have to tell you, I-10 is bumper to bumper. Hang in there. Good luck to you. Thanks very much Ms. Hawkins. A lot of things are going on here, T.J. We know that the hotels here in the city are also telling visitors to leave. As you mentioned the airports shutting down Sunday at 6:00. So really a very fluid situation but right now it's going extremely smoothly. That's great news to report.
HOLMES: I know that's probably different for you given some of the reporting you've had to do over the years about hurricanes down there. Nice to see that things are going smoothly. Our Sean Callebs down there keeping an eye on things. And also, since our shown there is in New Orleans, it might be a good time to pass along, let you all know, our viewers here, that the airport there in New Orleans is going to shut down tomorrow at 6:00 central time. Right now Delta as we know has at least added two more flights scheduled today to help get people out of there. But right now people are trying to get out, get on those flights and get out of there because that airport is going to shut down tomorrow at 6:00. Also, those flow areas, that contra flow after a while not exactly sure when that time is. But at some point they are going to fix these highways so they're only going one direction and you can only get out. Those are some of the things that are going to be in place tomorrow. People get out if you are listening.
NGUYEN: A reminder that at 6:00 p.m. in the evening is when the airport is going to shut down tomorrow in New Orleans. Also, we want to tell you about this as we've been talking about these mandatory evacuations, they begin about two hours from now in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. CNN's Chris Lawrence is at a processing center there and it sounds like just from the name of where you are, people are organized this time around.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot more organized. Totally different situation this time around, Betty. There are 25,000 people in this county. A third of them have already left. Which you've got a lot of people who don't necessarily have maybe the money or the means to get to a hotel or to get out on their own so they're able to get picked up by buses. That's what's been happening here. The buses have started to come in now, bringing some of the people into the center and as well as this going on. Also want to take you out live right on the water. Because they're not only going by bus, they're also taking the boat out on the water and they're looking for campers, families living along the water's edge, trying to get them out as well. Warning them that this is a mandatory evacuation and that they should try to make their way out. That's been going on all morning. We'll continue all day. With me here is Norman Timson, sir you're one of the ones who came in on the last bus. At this point how do you feel about leaving your home behind?
NORMAN TIMSON, EVACUEE: I'm sorry I have to leave but to make things right you may as well leave without going through any kind of problems. They ask you to leave if you want to leave. Or if you're going to stay, then it's up to you. That's why I'm ere.
LAWRENCE: When you look at leaving your home, when you look at going to the shelter, do you have any idea when you'll be able to come back?
TINSON: Well not really. They haven't said. They're just waiting to see if everything will be all right concerning the storm and if they say the storm has ceased, then they're going to let everybody come back. Exactly when, I don't know.
CALLEBS: A lot of questions there. Although you can look down here, you can see all of the evacuees are getting a wristband when they register here. What they're trying to do is to keep track of everyone so they know exactly who is going where. We expect obviously for these bus loads of people to keep coming in throughout the morning and the afternoon. Betty?
LAWRENCE: That's a very important point because this time around, unlike Trina and w we saw that happened afterwards, there was no shelter of last resort. When they tell people to evacuate, they mean it.
LAWRENCE: Yeah, exactly. You know, you had families split up. You had people wondering where everyone was. This time I think it's a much more orderly process in that they'll know that person A is going to shelter B and they can kind of keep track of everyone as the storm hits and then try to get these people back home hopefully within the next week.
NGUYEN: All right. Chris Lawrence joining us live, thank you, Chris.
HOLMES: They appear to be heeding the warnings down in the gulf coast region, New Orleans especially. Reynolds, they are still the target if you will. If we were asking Gustav where you are going, right now it looks like it's going to New Orleans.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah but Gustav is not saying a word. Giving us a few clues as to where it might go, but in terms of the short-term you know the storm is strengthening, it's gone up from 120 to 125. Gusts have been up to 155 miles an hour. Based on gusts alone, just the gusts which we don't follow in terms of the strength of the storm, it is a cat 3 but the gusts are approaching at the strength that you have for a category 5 storm. So it is powerful no question about it. You can really see that center of circulation. I mean it is just looking very good in terms of the structure of the storm. What is not looking good is what it's going to threaten. The threat it has to people in parts of Cuba, certainly along the gulf coast. This is a powerful storm. The good aspect of it is that people are taking this seriously. We've been showing you all morning long the steps people have been taking just to keep themselves and their families safe. The reason why they should is because this is going to get stronger. In fact, the latest forecast we have from the national hurricane center has this storm strengthening to a category 4 major hurricane. As we get into 8:00 a.m. Sunday with maximum sustained winds of 135 miles per hour. It's moving into a minimal shear environment, very warm water. It has every ability to get strong. It may actually weaken a little bit, at least the forecast shows that it may be moving into cooler waters by 8:00 a.m. on Monday. May be even encountering a little bit of shear which would weaken the storm just a little bit, damaging it's structure. As we go from Monday, let's zoom in a little bit as we get closer to the coast into Tuesday, roughly around I'd say 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, maybe around 6:00 a.m. It's coming onshore as either a category 1 or 2. Notice it's going to be going just to the west of New Orleans. However, New Orleans off to the east of that center of the circulation could still deal with a lot of the wind, a lot of the heavy rainfall and of course the storm surge. It certainly has New Orleans not out of the woods just yet. If you also look at the cone of uncertainty, there's the possibility the storm could move a little bit more say to the east, maybe a little more to the west. A lot of changes can and probably will take place especially over the next 12 to 24 hours. That is the latest we have for you, let's send it back to you at the news desk.
NGUYEN: All right, we'll be watching very closely. Thank you Reynolds.
HOLMES: And of course, stay right here with Reynolds, stay right here with CNN for the latest on hurricane Gustav. Our affiliates all along the gulf coast. You're seeing pictures, those top two. A reporter at one of our affiliates getting ready for a live shot there. Then a live picture as well on the right screen of Louisiana. We'll be getting live updates and reports from our affiliates all day and for the latest hurricane information at your fingertips, cnn.com is your resource and source for storm information throughout the Labor Day weekend.
NGUYEN: Partnered up and rolling out. This Labor Day weekend the campaigns for president, they are moving into high gear and we have the latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Let's show you what's happening right now. They're saying good-bye to Ohio's late Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones. A live look here at the memorial service that is just getting under way in Cleveland to honor Jones. She died last week from a brain hemorrhage. She was 58 years old. She was the first African-American woman to represent Ohio in congress. Politicians from both sides of the aisle attending the service including Senator Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as well as presidential nominee Barack Obama. They are all expected to speak this morning.
NGUYEN: It's our presidential politics segment that is worth a listen today because what are they saying and many in fact are still talking about Senator John McCain's surprise choice for a running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, including freshly minted presidential nominee Barack Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I haven't met her before. She seems like a compelling person. Obviously a terrific story, personal story. I'm sure that she will help make the case for the republicans. Unfortunately, the case is more of the same. And so ultimately John McCain is at the top of the ticket as I indicated in my speech last night, I think that he wants to take the country in the wrong direction. I'm assuming Governor Palin agrees with him in his policies. The fact that she's been nominated or will soon be nominated, I think is one more indicator of this country moving forward, the fact that you've got a woman as the nominee of one of the vice presidential nominee of one of the major parties I think is one more hit against that glass ceiling. And I congratulate her and look forward to a vigorous debate. I'm pleased with my choice for vice president, Joe Biden. I think he's the man who can help me guide this country in a better direction and help working families.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: We'll hear from Governor Palin a little bit later this hour right here in the NEWSROOM.
HOLMES: On the road this week and heading into next week's republican convention, John McCain and Sarah Palin. Voters in Pittsburgh today getting a closer look at McCain's surprise choice for a running mate and voters all around Pennsylvania really. Our Dana Bash just outside of Pittsburgh in Washington, Pennsylvania. Dana, good morning to you. They are hitting the road together and they are not wasting time putting Sarah Palin right in front of the voters she is supposed to be helping McCain with.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They certainly are not. That is exactly why we are here in Washington, Pennsylvania. There will be a big open air rally here tonight. In fact this is the kind of event T.J. that we almost never see from John McCain. He usually has somewhat smaller town hall intimate meetings but this is about introducing Sarah Palin to exactly the kind of voters that they hope she will help him with. Southwest Pennsylvania where we are right now is where Hillary Clinton won big in the democratic primary. It is the home of a lot of blue collar voters who are conservative socially. This is the kind of area that John McCain needs and hopes someone like Sarah Palin who is socially conservative. She is staunchly anti- abortion. She is a card carrying member of the NRA. She is somebody who talks about the fact that she's proudly socially conservative and the fact that she is a woman is kind of that package that John McCain is hoping will add to his strength in this area. Republicans haven't won here for a very long time. They hope that someone like her can push John McCain over the finish line in this very important state of Pennsylvania.
HOLMES: You have to help us here. He hopes she can push him across. But you have been covering McCain for quite some time. Something he has always been able to talk about is his experience. Something now he has been able to criticize Obama about is his lack of it. How in the world are they spinning this about the woman who is everybody has been saying a heartbeat away and it's a 72 year old heart from the presidency? How can they say that this woman is ready to be president of the United States? What are they saying?
BASH: As you can imagine they knew this was coming. They had their talking points ready. They are pushing back by saying that Sarah Palin they believe has more experience than Barack Obama and that Sarah Palin is running as the number two on the ticket and not number one. They say that she has executive experience, something Barack Obama doesn't have. Nonetheless, it is clearly a question. It's actually something that on the trail with them yesterday I posed to Palin herself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Critics say you don't have enough experience.
GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) ALASKA: I have appreciated the 13 years in elected office that I have to give me some good experience and hopefully to get ready for this job. It's been good experience.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now you hear there her saying 13 years of experience. She's talking about a year and a half to two years in the governor's mansion and her time as a small town mayor in Alaska. Democrats, if this is what you're alluding to T.J., they scoffed at that saying does that really make her ready to be commander in chief of the United States of America if that is needed? The McCain campaign insists that she is going to surprise people. The other thing that's interesting is that they are seeming to pivot a little bit away from the experienced commander in chief argument and using this as a way to talk much more about the idea that John McCain is somebody who wants to push against the grain and fight against corruption, fight against special interests and earmarks and things like that because they say that is the kind of reputation and experience that she has that mirrors what he wants to do in Washington. T.J.?
HOLMES: All right. Our Dana Bash there where McCain will make an appearance with his new running mate Sarah Palin. I know you'll be there. We'll be checking in with you again throughout the day. Dana Bash, good to see you, thank you so much. To our viewers on CNN tonight, we'll have two documentaries for you to tell you about the presidential candidates and who they really are. Back-to-back specials in depth like nothing you have ever seen before. Don't miss "REVEALED," John McCain at 7:00 p.m. eastern followed by Barack Obama at 8:30. Of course, CNN, your place for politics.
NGUYEN: After Katrina FEMA failed miserably. Are emergency managers ready for Gustav? We're going to ask that question, we'll show you the answers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Gustav is now a strong category 3 hurricane. Watching the storm gain strength has a whole lot of people asking is FEMA ready? Especially after what we saw with hurricane Katrina. Kate Bolduan joins us now from FEMA headquarters in Washington. Just a little bit earlier Kate you actually spoke with the FEMA director.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, we got it straight from administrator Paulison himself. We're now waiting here in this briefing room for an update, a daily briefing from Paulison as well as other agency leaders to get the latest on FEMA's preparation as they prepare for emergency relief if need be. And preparation Betty is really the major theme coming out of FEMA as Gustav approaches the coast. This from an agency that was widely criticized for poor and slow response in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and always reminding us of those pictures. I don't think anyone will really be able to forget what the scenes we saw in places just like New Orleans. As you mentioned, I did speak with the man in charge. FEMA administrator David Paulison just a short time ago. He says they've learned, they've changed and they're ready. Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID PAULISON, FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: We changed from reactive to a pro active organization. So what you see now is the things that are on the ground now you already see hundreds of buses, hundreds of air ambulances, urban search and rescue team, supplies are already there, evacuation routes are laid out. The evacuation centers are already there where they are going to be staying. Supplies are in place there. We have trains on the ground. We have planes on the ground. All of those things that didn't happen until after Katrina hit are now happening before the storm comes in.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: You hear Paulison there talking about some of the things that are already in place so they say they are going to be keys to their success. Another major part that he did mention to us is evacuations. Earlier more coordinated on the federal, state and local level and he says those are going on right now and of course will continue as Gustav approaches. We also did just learn that President Bush has called the governors of the states that are in the potential path of Gustav and White House Spokesperson Scott Stanzel says the president made that call in order to speak with the governors themselves and to make sure the states have everything they need. Just to that point we did learn from Paulison and here from him and we've also heard in the past week or so that better communication, clearer communication is the key, will be the key to this agency's success in facing Gustav. And so as we see now, they're really trying to get out there and have clear communication between all agencies as well as getting the word out to the press and people at home as well. Betty?
NGUYEN: It does sound like a lot has been learned since Katrina. As we well know, speaking with our correspondents on the ground that evacuations are under way. Thank you Kate, we do appreciate it.
HOLMES: As always on big stories certainly often times on weather related stories, our i-Reporters jump into action and certainly the case here with Gustav as well. We're showing you their reports next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We've made it to the bottom of the hour here, 11:30 on the east coast. News around the world now. A 6.1 magnitude earthquake rocking China's Sichauan Province. Already a number of deaths being reported from there. You may remember last May there was a massive earthquake in that same area that killed almost 70,000 people. Meanwhile, Barack Obama, the Clintons and other high profile democrats join mourners gathered this hour in Cleveland, Ohio, certainly others from the other side of the aisle, joining as well for a memorial service for the late Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones. Tubbs-Jones died last week from a brain aneurysm.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get the latest now on hurricane Gustav which is approaching western Cuba and could hit the U.S. gulf coast late Monday or early Tuesday. Now landfall is predicted any where from Galveston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama. There's a large cone of uncertainty there. New Orleans though is in the center of what's called that cone of uncertainty that was spoke of and some people are already leaving that city. Lines are forming at evacuation centers. You're looking at some of that now. Traffic is heavy on interstate 55 which is a major route out of New Orleans. In Belle Chasse, Louisiana, mandatory evacuations begin in about 90 minutes.
HOLMES: U.S. military also gearing up to help out. We are joined now by General Renuart who joins us now from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Sir, we appreciate you giving us some time today. Are you all taking a pro active role instead of a reactive and what are you doing right now?
GEN. GENE RENUART, U.S. NORTHERN COMMAND: We certainly are. It's great to be with you this morning. As you know we learned a lot of lessons out of hurricane Katrina and we have put those to good use in preparation for this storm. I have to compliment Governor Jindal and his team and the state of Louisiana for their forward leaning preparation. As you've mentioned we've begun evacuations already. And for our purposes the U.S. northern command is coordinating very closely with the national guard and with FEMA as well as the state to be supportive in these evacuation processes.
HOLMES: You say supportive, I guess who is responsible, if you will, we have the national guard there helping out and so many other resources and agencies. You all specifically. Are you there just as support or do you actually have an active hand in getting those people out of there?
RENUART: Actually we're very much engaged. There is a three-prong evacuation plan that we have coordinated with the state and with FEMA both rail, by the roadway as you've mentioned and via air. As a matter of fact today we have medical evacuation teams on the ground in Lake Charles, Louisiana and in New Orleans preparing to move critical care medical patients out of the area. We're also in the process, in fact as we speak there are aircraft on the ground in New Orleans to begin to move the general population out of that area to selected sites around the southeast and we could move up to 16,000 of those folks.
HOLMES: How are you all going about targeting the areas where the need is greatest? We talk about that cone of uncertainty with this storm. We have a general idea but we know these things are unpredictable. It sounds like some of the things you're saying talking about Louisiana that you're targeting that area but are you also putting resources in place as in helping people out throughout the gulf coast? RENUART: Absolutely. You're right. Mother nature gets the final vote on this. We're working closely with Louisiana for sure but also with Mississippi and Texas. And I mentioned medical evacuation, we're also putting teams in place in Beaumont, Texas, to assist the state of Texas in moving some of its most critical patients out of that potential area of danger. This is across the southeast from Florida all the way to Texas and in each state we have a good sense of the requirements they have and how DOD might be supportive.
HOLMES: All right. General Renuart, sir, we appreciate your time and we appreciate the efforts as well. I know a lot of other people do. We've been hearing from our people on the ground and certainly a lot of people are noticing right now that this is in stark contrast at least this pro-active movement as you describe certainly a stark contrast to what we saw several years ago with Katrina. So that is certainly a good thing. Sir, thank you so much for your time. Good luck to you today and through the weekend.
RENUART: Thank you very much. Our pleasure.
NGUYEN: Here's a reality check on Gustav. It has already killed 78 people in the Caribbean and caused a whole lot of destruction. We've been getting a number of i-Reports from you and our Josh Levs has been looking over them especially as we sit here watching that cone of uncertainty waiting to see when and where Gustav is going to hit.
JOSH LEVS: What it will be like by the time it does, absolutely. This is something parts of the U.S. obviously are bracing for, it could hit really hard and the people who know what it's been like include our i-Reporters who have sent us some stuff. I'm doing something a little different here. See this pretty picture behind me? This is calm before the storm in Jamaica. Now we're going to go from this to video we have of Gustav's arrival. This is powerful stuff. This is coming to us from Castel Johnson, this is in St. Elizabeth, you can hear the sound there. This is St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. This southwestern section of Jamaica, this area that was really slammed pretty hard. But also tell you, Castel Johnson says this is not one of the worst storms she's ever seen. Jamaica does get hit but as we do know from officials there four people did die in Jamaica. More people live in Kingston. I want to bring you over to those photos now right there we have some i-Report photos that were sent to us from Sonia Fuller who watched this crash through in Kingston. And she tells us that she actually saw people lose their homes. Parts of the area really devastated there. Some people staying in shelters, still recovering.
I'm going to emphasize before I tell you anything else, no one went to danger to take these videos or these photos. We screen for that. If you happen to have pictures taken in a safe way, send them to us at ireport.com. Quickly I'll show you this screen behind me. This is where we have some of the latest that you can get. First of all, you can submit your photos, Ireport.com, you don't have to be a techno wizard. We'll show you how to do it. Also I want to show you what we've got at cnn.com because this brings it home. This is associated press photography of people in Louisiana of trying to get prepared right now. I know we're about to get the latest on the weather. I want to let you know if you're on the go, if you're not near a TV, we have actually set something up where we're taking the projected path and putting it for you right here as part of the main story at cnn.com. This keeps getting updated every time our Reynolds Wolf tells us what the latest is. So if you're not near a TV, go for that, but if you are obviously pay attention to Reynolds. And there you go. In fact I think he's coming up. Reynolds?
NGUYEN: Yes, let's talk to him right now. Reynolds as we talk about Gustav and we wait for it, where is it right now? How strong is it getting?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's a very strong storm. It's a major hurricane. You've got maximum sustained winds of 125 miles. Some gusts have been stronger, approaching 150, 155. It is moving northwest at 14 miles an hour. It is expected to continue its track to the northwest. It might be crossing over just the path -- let's say extreme western Cuba, which is relatively quiet in terms of topography. So I don't think it's going to be a whole lot of energy taken out of this. A lot of times when these tropical systems move over land they are away from the primary power source, that warm ocean water. That will not be the case for very long with this particular situation. We do anticipate and so does the National Hurricane Center that this storm will gain a bit of strength. As we show you the forecast path, notice this. Moving to the northwest, gaining strength to a category 4 storm. Winds of 135 miles an hour. That should be the situation if this forecast plays out for Sunday. Then we're going to continue onward. As we go from Sunday and into Monday at 8:00 in the morning, winds of 125 miles an hour weakening just a little bit and then back into we go into parts of Sunday or from Monday into Tuesday and coming onshore either as a category 1 or category 2 storm. Again, just passing to the west of New Orleans. But you have to remember the strongest winds, the heaviest storm surge, a lot of the damage could be on the eastern side of this which would certainly be in the range of New Orleans. Then it should move inland again as I mentioned away from this primary power source and dying into a tropical storm as we get into Wednesday.
A couple things to think about, you look at this big cone behind me. This is the cone of uncertainty. The storm could move a little bit more to the east. Perhaps it could jog to the west. Any type of bump, any skip this storm could move early in its path maybe crossing over Cuba could make a difference in terms of hundreds of miles as to where this storm might end up. The only way you can really stay on top of it is just to watch it and monitor it. That's what we're going to do here at CNN. So for the very latest in your weather situation, stay here at CNN, we're your hurricane headquarters. We're a full team. I'm just here in the weather area but of course out in the field and both of you at the news desk. Let's send it back to you guys.
NGUYEN: Ok thank you Reynolds.
HOLMES: We have been talking about today how everything is going on in New Orleans. Evacuations in place, we've also been telling you about the airport that is going to shut down there at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, on Sunday. But certainly a mess there right now. We assume a lot of people trying to get out. Our Don Lemon is on the phone there at the airport in New Orleans. Don, I don't know if you're just getting there or if you're trying to get out. So tell us what your situation is and what the situation is at the airport?
VOICE OF DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey T.J., just getting into the airport. Got in I guess about 30 minutes ago and immediately noticed a difference in what is happening here. I'm seeing lots of military people. Some folks with guns. Lots of people in uniform. From the air force to the national guard to the army. They are all here. I happened to hook up with a person who's in charge of the operations, for getting all of the evacuees out by plane, he's standing here with me now. I'm going to let him talk to you in just a little bit. What they're telling me here is that the initial plan is for the airport to close at 6:00. Depending on the weather it could close earlier or it could close later or if something happens and the storm doesn't come this way, it may not close at all. What is very interesting they are chartering aircraft from airlines, every different airline as many as they can get depending on what's in service and what's not to try to get people out. Initially they want to get people out by bus and then by rail and then the last round of getting people out will be done by air. What they've done is chartered all those aircraft as many as they can to get, if they can't get enough people out by rail and by bus.
So (INAUDIBLE) is on the phone now getting some last-minute updates but I'm going to ask him to join me in a second. Colonel, I need to get you on the phone colonel, we're live here on CNN. Thanks for joining us. You're in charge of how many personnel in from all over the place and what are you guys doing?
VOICE OF BULLET YOUNG, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: There's about 245 department of defense personnel in and around the New Orleans area and throughout the coast and we're in support of the state and the elite federal agency which is FEMA in support of the ongoing evacuation operations here in the state.
LEMON: What I said was initially that you were trying to get people out by bus and by rail. They call that 311 number that the city has set up. They tell the city where they live and then what, send a bus to them or do they go to the place to be evacuated?
YOUNG: There's established points that the bus goes to the pickup points and picks up the families or the individuals that logged onto 311 or that need a ride. These are the individual ones that need a ride, 311. Then they take them to a collection point. At that collection point they decide whether or not they are going to go out by rail, bus, or there's the option of going out by air.
LEMON: You've got 200 people from all over the country that have been here that you're in charge of. What are they doing now? How are you deploying them?
YOUNG: Right now we have them -- our primary mission here at the New Orleans airport is to prepare for the air evacuation. We're kind of running the air hit in conjunction with kind of a unified team consisting of the marshal service, FEMA, TSA, the FAA, and so it's kind of a consolidated command team that's putting together an air movement plan to move people from New Orleans to various places around the country.
LEMON: The very interesting thing is that you have chartered aircraft from different airlines. Do you know how many you have or how many you're going to need?
YOUNG: Well that's all based on the number of people that we have to move. It's really based on the flow of personnel. We bring in the number of personnel aircraft based on what we think will be the airflow of people that need to go out in order to get them out of the city.
LEMON: So what I'm hearing though is the airport is busier today and they have the airlines have added more flights to their schedule to try to get people out especially the tourists and what have you and to get the number of people who are coming in to work and volunteer and help so they've increased the flight schedule.
YOUNG: Yes, in fact they've increased the flight schedule. We have our own airflow of airplanes that we use that's separate from the airlines. Airflow to get the normal passengers out.
LEMON: No firm time on when the airport will be closed?
YOUNG: No, not at this time.
LEMON: Colonel Bullet Young, thank you very much. T.J., that's the latest from here at the airport. I'm going to go around again. He's going to take me to their command point and show me exactly what's going on in the operations here. I'll have more information when I get over there and hopefully get you some pictures on the air just as soon as I can.
HOLMES: Don, we appreciate you hustling as soon as you get there. Thank you so much and keep us updated.
LEMON: All right thank you T.J.
NGUYEN: Coming up we have more on the political front. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, is she qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency? We're going to take a hard look at the candidate and her credentials.
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HOLMES: All right. If you're like most folks who don't live in America's last frontier, your question this week was who in the world is Sarah Palin? After somebody told you she was John McCain's running mate, your next question was, no really, who is Sarah Palin. How exactly does this Alaska governor describe herself? Well as a corruption busting tax cutter who refuses to par take in Washington's pork barrel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Along with fellow reformers in the great state of Alaska as governor I've stood up to the old politics as usual, to the special interests, to the lobbyists, the big oil companies, and the good old boy network. When oil and gas prices went up so dramatically and the state revenues followed that increase, I sent a large share of that revenue directly back to the people of Alaska and we are now embarking on a $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence. I signed major ethics reform and I appointed both democrats and independents to serve in my administration and I've championed reform to end the abuses of earmarked spending by congress. In fact, I told congress thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. Bottom line, does Palin help or hinder McCain's chances come November? Let's strategize now here with CNN political editor Mark Preston, he is live in St. Paul, Minnesota, where they are preparing for next week's republican convention. All right Mark, let's get down to the business of who Sarah Palin is and what she actually brings to the table. Because there are a lot of critics who jumped on this right out of the gate saying this is little more than a blatant attempt to get female voters and Hillary Clinton supporters.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: There's no question when John McCain was making this decision Betty, he did take that into account. John McCain and his advisers have been working very hard over the past couple months to try to reach out to disaffected Hillary Clinton voters. These are voters who do not want to support Barack Obama. These are voters who are upset at the Democratic Party because they think that Hillary Clinton should have been the nominee. So that clearly was a decision when John McCain asked her to join the ticket.
NGUYEN: What do you know about her? And what kind of impressions do you have of her? Because a lot of folks outside of Alaska really don't know about her at all, but I understand, just from reading that there is definitely a tough side to this woman. She's fought some hard battles when it came to running for governor. And she's one that you definitely want to watch.
PRESTON: Yeah, no doubt. And you know, yesterday, you know, there's a little criticism about her speech yesterday. They thought it was a little bit rah-rah. A little bit too biographical but I'll tell you, I've been going over interviews over the past night now, just looking at how she's answering questions. What issues she's talking about, and she definitely has a pulse on policy and she is very strong when she's answering these questions. I also spoke to some people that are very close to the governor. And they say she's no nonsense. That when Sarah Palin sits down to talk, everyone listens. She's not known on the national scene but what is she is known, she's known with social conservatives and that is a segment of the base that John McCain needed to shore up. Social conservatives are very happy with this pick.
NGUYEN: Ok, so she's no nonsense but how is she really going to play out on the national scene? When she starts getting questions about national security, foreign policy, all these things that Joe Biden is really an expert at?
PRESTON: Yeah, and you know something, you know, that remains to be seen how that's going to play out. You know the supporters of Sarah Palin say that she will play well out in the mountain states. That she might play well in the Midwest, such as where we are right now. But you know we don't know, people don't know her. She has a very big hill to climb. We're 60 days out before the election. Sarah Palin really has to go out and sell herself. John McCain has to sell Sarah Palin. When they get to the debate with Joe Biden, you know there is a lot of concern from republicans that she doesn't have enough foreign policy experience and when Joe Biden goes head to head with her, they're afraid that she won't be able to stand up to Joe Biden, especially when it comes to issues of terrorism and securing the country.
NGUYEN: All right, CNN, Mark Preston joining us live, as always, we do appreciate your insight. You're live there. And I know that we'll be seeing much more from you as the weekend unfolds. Thank you.
Well, millions watched as history was made at the Democratic National Convention. Now, it's the GOP's turn. Join the best political team on television for complete coverage of the republican convention, live from St. Paul, Minnesota, coverage starts Monday afternoon at 4:00 eastern right here on CNN, your home for politics.
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HOLMES: The third anniversary of hurricane Katrina, and entire communities are still devastated. Families dispersed, still living in trailers. Today's CNN hero quit her job, left her home, moved to New Orleans after the disaster to help rebuild. Liz McCartney is bringing people back to their neighborhoods to their own homes. One house at a time.
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This is CNN Heroes.
Katrina's destroyed families, homes. Who (INAUDIBLE) American families, and one day it took to wipe us out. I was so beaten down, I was going to blow myself away.
When Katrina hit, I was living in Washington, D.C. I couldn't believe the pictures that I was looking at. I wanted to come down to New Orleans and volunteer. I naively thought that six months later you would see all kinds of progress. But St. Bernard parish looked like the storm had just rolled through. We realized very quickly that we were going to move to like New Orleans. And it was just something that we felt like we had to do. I'm Liz McCartney and I'm helping families rebuild in St. Bernard Parish. The St. Bernard project can take a house that was gutted down to the studs. Hanging the sheet rock, put in new floors. We do all of that work in about 12 weeks for about $12,000.
The St. Bernard project lives and her group it saved my life.
Once you get one family back, other families are more confident and they're willing to come back as well.
Little by little, one house at a time, we'll be back. I feel it, I know it.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, to see how Liz McCartney changed her life, rebuild St. Bernard Parish or to get involved with any of our heroes causes you can go to cnn.com/heroes.
NGUYEN: The most outstanding "CNN Heroes" will be honored at an all- star tribute thanksgiving night right here on CNN.
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