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Pentagon Dedicates Memorial to 9/11 Victims; Obama & McCain to Lay Memorial Wreath for 9/11; Texas Prepares for Hurricane Ike; Haiti Faces Health Crisis After Hurricanes
Aired September 11, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in today for Kyra Phillips at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD (voice-over): September 11th, 2008, at Pentagon, at Ground Zero, on a quiet field in Pennsylvania. The nation remembers and vows never to forget.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be no medical services. There will be no fire department. There will be no law enforcement, groceries, gasoline, drugs, electricity.
WHITFIELD: A Texas sheriff lays it on the line as Hurricane Ike surges towards the Texas Gulf Coast. Hundreds of thousands of people are being urged, warned, or ordered, to get out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think this is a capitalistic society, and I just want to capitalize on this.
WHITFIELD: A future family counselor hopes to raise money for grad school by selling what she'd probably lose anyway. Commerce with a purpose, this hour.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: We begin with bells and bagpipes, tears and prayers and silence. Seven years after nearly 3,000 people died in barbaric acts of terror, Americans relive the pain and renew their resolve.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC: "TAPS")
(MUSIC: "AMAZING GRACE")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: This September 11 once again the nation focuses on Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon.
Here at the Pentagon the anniversary is marked with a permanent, newly-dedicated memorial. Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, joins us now -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, seven years to the hour after terrorists crashed a jetliner into this building behind me, a memorial was dedicated at this attack site to the 184 victims.
It was quite a scene this morning as President Bush, flanked by his wartime defense secretaries, stood silently as an honor guard made up of all the services removed the blue shrouds from the 184 individual benches that make up this memorial, to officially dedicate it to the memory of those who lost their lives, and those who fought in the wars since then.
The memorial is laden with symbolism. The benches are designed, are lined in the path that the plane took into the building. They point either toward or away from the building, depending on whether the person died on the plane or in the building, and it's designed as a place of quiet contemplation.
It was something that was recognized today in the remarks by President Bush as he dedicated this hallowed ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Seven years ago at this hour, a doomed airliner plunged from the sky, split the rock and steel of this building, and changed our world forever. The years that followed have seen justice delivered to evil men in battles fought in distant lands. But each day on this year -- each year on this day, our thoughts return to this place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: The real intent and design of this memorial is to make sure that the events of September 11 are never forgotten, as generations to come, come to visit this site.
Right now behind me there's still some family members and members of some of the survivors who are getting a close-up look at the individual aspects of the memorial.
Later tonight it will be open to the public, and from now on it will be open. The Pentagon expects that somewhere between one and two million visitors a year will come to this site of where the United Air -- excuse me, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building seven years ago -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jamie McIntyre, thanks so much, from the Pentagon there.
Well, time clearly hasn't healed all the wounds from that hellish day, but it has made the nation less afraid, apparently. A CNN/Opinion Research poll shows just 30 percent of Americans believe a terror attack on U.S. soil is likely in the next several weeks. That's the lowest percentage since 9/11.
But President Bush, by and large, does not get the credit for keeping the country safe. Thirty-seven percent say he is the reason for the absence of terror attacks since 9/11. Sixty percent say he is not.
Well, the hunt for al Qaeda remains as urgent, unfinished and far-flung as ever. CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena brings up to up to date now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For years we've been told that terrorists are hiding out on that porous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
BUSH: These extremists are increasingly using Pakistan as a base.
ARENA: but what you may not know is that's not the only safe haven being used by al Qaeda. Last year powerful explosions leveled the U.N. headquarters in Algiers, the work of al Qaeda operating out of North Africa.
CRAIG WHITLOCK, "WASHINGTON POST": The area is remote, is desert, or mountainous, and it's very easy for these al Qaeda sympathizers or al Qaeda cells to train, meet regroup in these -- these territories.
ARENA: Algeria is part of the region known as the Margrave, the swath of Muslim North Africa stretching from Mauritania to Libya. This terrorist safe haven is particularly worrisome to U.S. officials. Europe is a boat ride across the Mediterranean. Get to Europe and the door to America is wide open.
FRANCES FARGOS TOWNSEND, NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Then you're a six-hour plane ride. And in many of the visa waiver countries, you don't even need documentation to get on that plane. And we know what happens when bad guys get on planes.
ARENA: In places where government is weak or poor or struggling to control remote areas, al Qaeda is finding refuge and striking new alliances.
Take Yemen. It was there that journalist Craig Whitlock snapped these photos of Djibaro Bana (ph), one of the world's most wanted terror suspects, walking right past disinterested policemen.
WHITLOCK: This weak central government, it's an easy area, comparatively, for Islamic extremists to rebase themselves and conduct secret operations.
ARENA: By expanding its footprint and joining forces with local extremists, al Qaeda is upping the number of jihadists who have adopted its mission of targeting the west. (on camera) The war on terror is more like a global game of Whack-a-Mole. As long as al Qaeda keeps expanding, America's hammer has no choice but to follow.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, the presidential election may be just 54 days away, but on this day politics is on hold. Barack Obama and John McCain plan to stand together at Ground Zero today.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins us with more on that.
Suzanne, they'll be standing together, but will there also be words exchanged?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're not expected actually to give any speeches but, of course, the two of them will probably exchange some pleasantries. Both of their campaigns have said they're going to suspend the campaigns, suspend the kind of animosity that we've heard over the last couple of days and even weeks between them, and they're going to walk together between 3:30, 4:30 and lay a wreath.
Their campaigns say this is a time not to emphasize partisan politics, the Democrat, Republicans, but a time to emphasize that we are all Americans. They've even pulled some of their negative ads from the television, at least for this particular day.
Now, what this really shows, and it exemplifies President Bush, his views since the September 11 attacks just really shaped and almost defined his presidency and his legacy. So it's made national security a top issue for many voters.
And the contrast between these two candidates couldn't be even -- couldn't be more clear, Fredricka. So you're going to hear in the coming days, obviously, Barack Obama as well as John McCain talking about national security.
Barack Obama really making himself the candidate of -- the anti- war candidate, if you will. His agenda very, very different than McCain's. He talks about how he's -- his first mission as commander in chief, that he would bring an end to the Iraq war. He says he'd pull -- pull out those combat troops, within about 16 months. That is his goal. One or two brigades a month or so, so that this would be wrapped up by 2010, summertime.
He also has talked about this notion of aggressive diplomacy, and that is speaking to the leaders of Iran and even Syria. As you know, he got a lot of criticism for that, but he believes that that is a way of bringing peace to the Middle East.
He is going to be focusing, bringing those troops home from Iraq and redeploying them to Afghanistan. He believes that President Bush has failed in making the American people safer, and that is his approach to national security -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much. From hallowed ground there, Ground Zero.
Well, even on this day, running mates, particularly Sarah Palin, remains in the spotlight. Well, she left Alaska two weeks ago as governor and a relative unknown nationally. Well, she returned as the Republican vice-presidential nominee and a relative rock star.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: This was the scene, more than 2,000 people showing up last night in Fairbanks to welcome Palin back home. Today she sits down for her first media interview since John McCain put her on the GOP ticket.
Also on her agenda today, Palin attends an Army deployment ceremony at Fort Wainwright. Her 19-year-old son, Track, is headed to Iraq.
Well, the clock is certainly ticking in Texas, with Hurricane Ike heading that way. The state is shifting its emergency preparations into high gear now. We'll find out what's happening as this big storm moves even closer.
And on this seventh anniversary of 9/11, we'll check in at the New York Stock Exchange, which paused to remember the victims of this national tragedy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Take a look at this right here. We're talking about Texas, and folks are preparing for Hurricane Ike. And you see this traffic, bumper to bumper. Folks are trying to head out of town. This is League City, Texas, between Galveston and Houston, presumably heading north there away from the -- Galveston, the coast, along the Texas coast there. Folks are trying to make their way out.
Wish I could tell you a little bit more about the traffic on the left there, with the police force there, in what appears to be sort of an escort. We're not really sure if this is the beginning of what would eventually become like a contra-flow, when all of the directions of I-45 would all be heading northward, getting away from the coast.
Hurricane Ike expected to be about two days away now before it is expected to make landfall this weekend. Chad Myers will be telling us a lot more about the track of Hurricane Ike. But the folks there in Texas, taking this very seriously, because now we're talking about a Category, possibly, 3, storm that just might be making landfall there.
As we get more information exactly what we're seeing with the police force there, we'll be able to bring than to you. But the right-hand side of your screen, clearly bumper-to-bumper traffic, folks heading as far away from the coast as possible.
Hurricane flags are flying along most of the Texas coast, as Hurricane Ike makes its way. Warnings have been issued. And unless there is a drastic shift in direction, meaning Ike is expected to make landfall sometime over the weekend, perhaps as early as Saturday.
Our Chad Myers is in the severe weather center, the hurricane headquarters, keeping a close watch on all this.
Chad, what is the latest on this storm that seems to be making its way closer and closer to the Texas coast? Are we talking about possibly a Category 3 or are we still looking at a 2? What?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's having some difficulty getting organized. And it was a very low pressure yesterday. We were watching this pressure drop rapidly, which means that the wind speed should be picking up, as well. But they were stuck. They were stuck at 100 miles per hour, and they're still stuck at 100 miles per hour, Fred. But I do think the winds speeds will catch up and, yes, this will be a 125-mile-per-hour, Category 3 storm.
And this is from our Hazard State (ph) and from our hurricane impact zone. Even Houston is going to feel the effects, and I'll drive your attention up to here. That's a 96- to 100 mile-per-hour wind right there, maybe even 110.
But the problem is not so much the sustained winds; it will be the peak gusts. The peak gusts here, that could be a Category 4 gust. Even in a Category 3 hurricane, you can get gusts all the way up past that 130, 131 mark.
Now, here's what we're doing now. I'm going to drag you all the way over on our screen here, all the way over to Louisiana. There's water flushing into these bayous now and in through the ditches. And also into Biloxi and into Waveland. And I can prove that to you by showing you what's going on at the Bay Waveland Yacht Club. Here is the water level. There's a red line all the way up here. It's observed six feet higher than where it should be, low tide. But there's where it should be right now. High tide just happened, about two feet. So we've already got four feet of extra water into this Bay Waveland area.
And I can prove it to you, because we have our Mark Sudduth out there, HurricaneTrack.com, driving through. He's already seeing flooding here. The storm is hundreds of miles away, but it's that wind that just keeps pushing the water into Bay Waveland, into Biloxi, into the U.S. 90 area there all along Louisiana. The water is going up.
And here's where our guy is. Here's Bay St. Louis, a thunderstorm coming through here. We're going to track him out here. Here's Louisiana. There's New Orleans right there. This will be Lake Pontchartrain. He's coming up the I-10. He is right there streaming back live video on HurricaneTrack.com for us.
He will take these suitcases. They're about -- I don't know -- three feet long, two feet high. And they are pretty heavy. They have a computer inside. They have a VCR inside, because believe it or not, they're very reliable. And he's going to dump these things into the Gulf of Mexico. He's going to put them -- where did we go? Here we go. He's going to put them all the way along this area here in Texas, all the way from about Houston, all the way down maybe to Aransas Pass, and leave those boxes there on the map, right there on the beach. And you know what? We're going to watch these boxes get blown away live.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Really?
MYERS: Yes, really.
WHITFIELD: And how are we going to do that?
MYERS: Well, because we've paid him to do that.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, that's part of the deal. Part of the contract. All right. Well, you know, it's kind of fun to be able to track it that way, but isn't this a very serious matter?
MYERS: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: People need to be taking it very seriously, you know. And the thing that happens, you know, post- your Katrina, even though it's three years ago, that's always kind of the new barometer of how seriously anyone should be taking hurricanes. So when they hear Category 2, sometimes they kind of let their guard down. Don't they, Chad? That, you know, they feel like this really isn't going to be as powerful as a 3 or a 4?
MYERS: There should be no one on any of these barrier islands. Absolutely no one. And I can guarantee you that we are not going to have any crews there. I've taken all of our crews off these barrier islands. Because there's a very good possibility that, when the storm surge rolls through, this is the track of the hurricane.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
MYERS: It could actually push the water completely over the island. And then all of a sudden, you have trucks and people that can't stand up anymore, because the water's coming over the top.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
MYERS: This could happen all the way down to Aransas (ph) Pass, all the way up to Galveston Island.
WHITFIELD: Right.
MYERS: Right now the middle of Shreveport. But I don't even want you to be within 30 miles of his coast.
WHITFIELD: Right.
MYERS: You can get yourself out, problem is, Houston's 35, right there. You want to leave the city. You want to be out of there. That's why that traffic is there.
WHITFIELD: Right. Forget the wind speed. I mean, a Category 2 can bring as much water if not more than a 3 or 4...
MYERS: Can do.
WHITFIELD: ... on any day. So we'll be keeping -- keeping abreast through you. Thanks a lot, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk about the devastation that's already been caused from Hurricane Ike. In Haiti, a very critical situation there on a dramatic scale. Thousands of people are in dire need of medical care in the aftermath of Ike and the other big storms that have already pounded that country.
CNN's Karl Penhaul reports from one of the hardest-hit cities, Gonaives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The cries of Haitian babies, itching with rashes, in pain from diarrhea after days of walks in filthy floodwater.
Josa Beshlin (ph) trudged miles through mud to get emergency treatment for her 9-month-old daughter, Jean (ph). "She's got a lot of rashes and is covered in spots, and now she's got a genital infection," she tells me.
Running this clinic in one of Gonaives' most devastated neighborhoods is Doctor Efrain Fajardo from the international aid group Doctors Without Borders.
Cuban medical relief workers are also here, even though their own island has been ravaged by Hurricane Ike.
There's no sign of any Haitian government medics.
"This is a really critical situation. These people's lives have just collapsed. There's terrible contamination, even before these people faced chronic illnesses. Now things have just gotten dramatically worse," he says.
From bad to heart-wrenching. Babies wail. These doctors are doing their best to cure infection, abscesses and rashes. Adults hobble through with open, now infected, wounds suffered during the killer storms. "I'm seeing such extreme suffering. These people just can't go home to a clean house or three meals a day, or even clean drinking water," he says.
(on camera) And this is exactly the dilemma. The doctors will patch those patients up inside the hospital, and then they'll come out to this. There's a lot of floodwater still in the streets, and these people's homes are full of mud. And so the conditions are ripe for fresh infections and even epidemics.
(voice-over) Aid is arriving in Gonaives, but thousands of storm survivors are still cooking out in the open, sleeping in the debris of their homes. And wandering miles in knee-deep water. It's survival of the fittest.
On the clinic floor, 75-year-old Suzanne Irma (ph) is wheezing her last breaths. She came through the floods unscathed, but her son says the stress of trying to survive is killing her.
"My mother was so upset by the flood. Everything she had, just washed away. That drove her blood pressure through the roof. Now I have no money to bury her," he tells me.
It's left to the hospital maintenance man to pronounce her dead. Even in death, there's little dignity. The doctors must battle to care for the living and leave families to figure out how to bury their dead.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Gonaives, Haiti.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Very sobering situation there.
And in this nation, as this nation marks the seventh anniversary of 9/11. And so even on the New York Stock Exchange, a moment of silence speaking volumes about painful memories.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BELL RINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The first order of business today at the New York Stock Exchange: a moment of silence on the floor in honor of 9/11 victims. Also happening today on Wall Street, a concert in celebration of peace and shared humanity on 9/11.
Usually, we see Susan Lisovicz inside, instead outside, where all of those things took place -- Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, one of the common observations about 9/11 is that it brought us all together on that day. And that's what the September Concert Foundation wants to do. It wants to transform a day of pain and anguish into a day of unity and a celebration of our humanity.
Seven years in a row now they've been holding concerts, not only here on Wall Street but actually all over the world. In just a few moments, the Rock Brokers, which is a group of people who all work inside the NYSE, who are wearing things that would not be able to get them inside the NYSE, are going to take the stage and do a whole bunch of cover songs and really celebrate a day when we all should come together.
I got -- I got a copy of the play list, Fred. Lots of songs you can dance to, including "Respect," "Good Loving," "I Can See Clearly" and at the top of the hour, a sing-along to the Beatles' "Let it Be," Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: That's -- that's kind of a nice way of kind of -- a real juxtaposition of the mood. Certainly, everyone is, you know, paying respects to the many lives lost but at the same time trying to celebrate being together, as you say.
LISOVICZ: There's no question about it. And you know, one thing that we also remember, seven years ago the economy was in a recession, and today seven years later, for different reasons, the economy is still quite tenuous.
I just want to mention a couple things. Lehman Brothers continues its collapse. Its shares are down 39 percent. But oil is down $1.50, despite Hurricane Ike, at $111 a barrel. We could see double digits any time now for oil prices. And finally, the Dow is down about three quarters of a percent. The NASDAQ is down about a third of a percent -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Susan. Thanks so much.
Well, it was just seven years ago, so everyone can answer this question. Exactly where were you when you heard the news? CNN iReporters will share their memories, still very vivid.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Hello again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
All right. Barack Obama and John McCain might be cooling the campaign rhetoric today, but there is a hot campaign topic for our senior political analyst Bill Schneider to talk about. We'll talk about these new polls from the battleground states.
And Bill, we're talking about seven battleground states, four that seem, according to this poll, to favor Obama. The other three, John McCain. It is tight down to the nail, isn't it?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: It certainly is. And what's interesting about these battleground state poll -- and these are the polls that count, because state votes, the country as a whole does not vote for president. It is done in each separate state. Yesterday we reported our own polls of four states, battleground states. And what was interesting is they were voting the same way they voted in 2004.
New Hampshire and Michigan were voting Democratic for Barack Obama. They had voted for John Kerry. And, Missouri and Virginia were voting Republican for John McCain. They had voted for George W. Bush. So no change.
We have three more states with polls today -- Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Let's take a look at those.
Here's is the poll in Florida. McCain winning Florida now by seven points. That is just within the margin of error. It's 50-43. Bush had won Florida in 2004. So again, no change, Florida voting Republican just as it had in 2004.
Here is Pennsylvania, which has a three-point margin for Barack Obama. And you know what? In 2004, Kerry won Pennsylvania by exactly three points. Again, no change. It's amazing.
But, take a look at what's happening in Ohio. In Ohio, we have a different result. We have Obama winning Ohio by five points. Bush won Ohio in 2004. Let me tell you something, if Kerry had won Ohio in 2004, John Kerry would have been elected president. So that's the one state so far that we're seeing shifting sides from Republican to Democrats. And that's a crucial state.
It came down to Ohio in 2004. If it comes down to Ohio in 2008, the Democrats might be able to win this.
WHITFIELD: So instead of Florida, Florida, Florida, it's Ohio, Ohio, Ohio.
SCHNEIDER: Exactly, exactly, exactly.
WHITFIELD: We'll see.
All right. Bill, Bill, Bill, thanks, thanks, thanks.
SCHNEIDER: OK, OK, OK.
WHITFIELD: John McCain and Barack Obama -- they will be making a joint appearance about two hours from now. Completely different tone, completely different that you're going to be seeing together. Both will be at Ground Zero in New York to lay a wreath. No politics, no debates, just silence and respect.
The candidates will also be together tonight at Columbia University for a forum on volunteerism and service. You can see both here live on CNN.
All right. 9/11. You remember where you were, right, and what exactly you were doing when you heard the news? CNN's i-Reporters are sharing some of their stories with us. Josh Levs has been monitoring all of it.
This was a profound day. No one can forget it. It was just seven years ago.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Yes, it was just seven years ago.
But you know what? Each year it seems to come back like it hasn't even been that long, you know? Especially since I've had the opportunity to look at some of these i-Reports today it makes it flood back to you. Let me just quickly close in on this screen so you can see some of the latest ones we're getting.
Want to show you some of these pictures we got from Brian Cardin (ph) who writes us from New York who had these pictures. I'll get out of way. He talks about the tribute in lights as they are happening there. He tells us that all New Yorkers love this tribute in lights but he says we hope they hurry up and build something the whole country can be proud of there again.
Now as Fred was just saying, I want to use this opportunity now to give a voice to some people who can't be in New York or near the Pentagon or in Shanksville today. We received a lot of moving discussions and quotes from some of our i-Reporters. Let's go to a graphic we have, which brings you some quotes from these people.
First one: "While the devastation on 9/11 was the ugliest evil imaginable, there were more acts of kindness and compassion than we all imagined. People helping each other through chaos. Our country surviving fear and devastation. Adversity always reveals just how much strength, determination and will power we have." That's from B. Davis in Atlanta.
Let's go to the next one now from Robin Kirtland: "I thought today of how the only services honoring these events were miles away and how alone I felt in remembering. I thought of my co-worker who fell to her knees behind me to pray for our nation. The radio DJ this morning played a fantastic version of 'America The Beautiful.' I noticed the flag at half-staff and just sat in my car and cried. I cried for all those hurting today, all those that hurt that day, and for the changes that day made in our lives." Thank you, Robin Kirtland.
Finally, I'm going to tell you what C. Ray of Connecticut sent to us: "My local firefighters and police will be the ones standing up to fight if something like that ever happened here, so I make cupcakes and cookies and bring them to local fire stations and police stations. Small, I know, but it is what I can do to let them know that they are appreciated."
If you want to share your memories, you can go right here to ireport.com. Send us your photos and your videos or just your stories. What today means to you. It's a good opportunity to weigh in. Also, our AC360 blog has a lot going on throughout the day. I encourage you to check that out. Right now they're talking about when sons follow fathers into flames and never return (ph). Some really powerful stories. You've got ireport.com and you've got the blogs at CNN.com.
And Fred, we're going to keep going through these. And I'll tell you, as you saw just now, they're really moving.
WHITFIELD: Yes, a lot of ways in which people are expressing themselves. We're glad to hear it.
All right, Josh, thank you.
LEVS: Thanks, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, the 9/11 attacks became quite the rallying cry for the U.S. military. Outraged men and women rushed to enlist. But here is a sobering thought, the youngest of today's troops may have faint memories of that day that changed life as we know it.
CNN's Arwa Damon is in Iraq with their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were barely teenagers when the 9/11 attacks happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I was in the eighth grade when that went down. I look back on that (ph).
DAMON: For Sergeant Cavanaugh, and many other young soldiers, 9/11 was incomprehensible. They were too young to realize the global impact and how it would forever alter their lives.
SGT. MICHAEL CAVANAUGH, U.S. ARMY: I don't think that I could have imagined actually being here. It still kind of shocks me sometimes when I wake up and I'm like, wow, not only am I in the army, but I'm in Iraq.
DAMON: Many of the young soldiers we talked to don't realize that Iraq had no role in 9/11. They're on month 13 of their deployment, fighting a war they say they don't really understand. Still, they see themselves as having a role in fighting the global war on terror.
PVT. ADAM FRIDAY, U.S. ARMY: Kind of a big blur. Like I said, every day kind of runs together. We don't get much sleep.
DAMON: Two hours after some of the troops get back from patrol in the evening streets, it's time to head back out again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still sweaty.
DAMON: Although the pace here is grueling, in sharp contrast to previous units that have patrolled these streets of Baqubah, these soldiers say they can be considered lucky. They haven't lost any of their buddies this deployment.
SPEC. SIMON WOLANCZYK, U.S. ARMY: Good day? When you get sleep, to chill. Some patrols -- it's sweet. You go out, you do stuff, like -- we got this neighborhood water and all that stuff. See the kids, so it's pretty cool.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your name?
CAVANAUGH: Mike. Mike.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike.
DAMON: Throughout their tour in Iraq they say they have seen improvements.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello.
FRIDAY: I think it's worth it, looking at the long run. One day it will be looked back upon as something maybe great. But, right now it sucks.
DAMON: Though the training never stops out here on this combat outpost in downtown Baqubah, many do feel that they are doing the right thing.
FRIDAY: I think we just need to get it done, because if we don't we'll be back over here anyway to fix something we didn't finish. I'd rather get it done now while I'm already over here and just finish it out rather than come back 10 years down the road.
DAMON: As American reflect on September 11th, there is something these soldiers want them to know --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just know that we're doing the best we can to hopefully to prevent anything like that from ever happening again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to push up and then 22 is going to take to the trail.
DAMON: Arwa Damon, CNN, Baqubah, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And CNN's coverage of the 9/11 remembrance continues. You can watch the ceremonies live and uninterrupted on CNN.com/live.
Well if you believe in medical miracles, don't expect your doctor to necessarily share that belief. Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, explains.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. Do you believe a higher power can save life when doctors cannot? If so, there's a good chance that your doctor disagrees with you. Elizabeth Cohen joins us now to talk about the faith gap between doctors and patients.
And so, Elizabeth, you asked people to e-mail you if they felt that God played a role at all in their feelings. And what was the response?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, we asked people, have you ever seen God perform a miracle on someone who doctors said the situation was futile? And we received -- I can't even tell how many e-mails we received saying, yes, I have seen God perform miracles when doctors said the situation was futile.
For example, Pamela Gorman (ph), her newborn son, Christopher -- he developed an infection called fungal meningitis. It is a terrible brain infection. Doctors prepared her for his death. She prayed morning, noon and night, and he lived. He was discharged and he is celebrating his third birthday tomorrow. There he is -- Christopher Gorman. And she said that the saddest part was that the doctor, she said, made her feel silly for praying.
They told her, there's no hope, he's got a fungal infection in his brain. You can pray, but it's not going to do anything. And she says they were wrong.
WHITFIELD: So I wonder if conflicts like this between the patient and the doctor happen a lot. Because I would imagine that in a lot of cases maybe the patient would just say, I'm just going to be quiet about what my belief is in prayer, maybe not even express it to the doctor, because I don't really need his blessing.
COHEN: That's right. That does sometimes happen.
And survey after survey has shown --
WHITFIELD: His or her blessing.
COHEN: Right, his or her.
Survey after survey has shown that there is this faith gap between doctors and patients. Take a look at this. The most recent study asked, Could God save someone when doctors say it's futile?
And patients that were surveyed, 57 percent said, yes, God can do that. But doctors and other medical personnel said only 20 percent of them thought that God could do that. So there really this gap between the patients and doctors, who are sort of more likely to see themselves as people of science, seem to think (ph).
WHITFIELD: So what about in the case, other cases, where the patient says I do want to express to my doctor that I believe prayer should play a role here. What about the patient who actually asks the doctor to participate in that prayer? COHEN: I asked some experts about this. These are MDs who study faith and medicine. And I said, is it OK to ask a doctor to pray with you? They said, look, you have to tread lightly here. They said express your views, say, I would really like to pray for my husband, let's say -- my mother's doctor prayed for my father. And if the doctor sort of gets all tense and looks the other direction, maybe it's not a place you want to go. But many doctors will pray with you, and it's OK to sort of ask those questions that can lead up to that
WHITFIELD: Wow. That's interesting stuff.
All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
And, of course, there is this -- this something that has a lot of folks on edge. We're talking about Hurricane Ike. Folks particularly along the Texas coast -- they are worried. Hurricane Ike is expected to bear down on the region just hours from now. Hundreds of thousands of people have already been told to head to higher ground. You look at the pictures there of the traffic. Folks in a lot of cases heading north, or at least west. Mandatory evacuation orders in place in Galveston, the Houston area and other places up and down the coast.
Hospital patients are among those being moved to safer locations already. And if the current storm track holds up, the Houston area could be on the worst side of Hurricane Ike.
Let's check in with meteorologist, Chad Myers for the latest information.
We're talking about the dirty side of the hurricane. We're talking about the windiest and the wettest, right?
MYERS: Windiest, wettest, and also the side that has the most surge, the most water getting pushed into those bays. And about a half hour ago I showed you that, Bay St. Louis, which is right there. That area, that Bay-Waveland Yacht Club already has four feet of surge into the bay because the water just gets pushed and pushed and pushed all in the same direction.
Now, the other side of the coin, or the other side of the storm, would be Brownsville. The wind is offshore, pushing that water away. You may actually have a low water (INAUDIBLE) problem here across parts of the southern sections of the storm as the water gets ripped out of those bays and those rivers and those creeks and streams. The boats may be sitting on land for a while until the water comes back up.
We're not going to have that in Houston. This is going to be the storm surge side and Galveston Bay could really be a problem if the winds blow in that direction for a very long time.
Right now, the storm is having some problems. And maybe some divine intervention here wouldn't be so bad either. The storm is having some problems getting itself organized. The center, at the surface, is not right below the center at the upper levels -- at the flight levels. And so the storm is kind of wobbling around and it is not this perfect cylinder. The eye is not a perfect cylinder going around getting deeper and deeper and deeper.
And this is a good thing. The longer this storm remains disorganized, the smaller it will be when it makes landfall.
What else the storm is doing, because it's moving so slowly, the wind here is blowing around the storm, messing up those waters. That messing up of the waters stirs up the water a little bit so it's not as warm when the eye gets there. That's another good thing. The longer we can get these number of good things together, the better, because, in fact now the Hurricane Center -- I don't know, 24, 48 hours ago -- had this thing up to 135 miles per hour.
Well now we're not going to get to Category 4. It doesn't look like it. It still could. But with all of these good factors coming into play, that may be one thing that helps us out not to get to that really ugly section where a Category 4 making landfall here, Fred, would be devastating, at least $100 billion worth of damage and the lives that don't get out of the way would really be in danger.
WHITFIELD: Oh yes, devastating indeed.
All right, Chad, thanks so much.
MYERS: But don't let your guard down just because it's not (INAUDIBLE).
WHITFIELD: Absolutely. People need to pay attention.
MYERS: I'm just telling you how it is right now.
WHITFIELD: That's right. Respect those warnings and evacuations and everything else, try to get to higher ground and do what you can.
MYERS: You bet.
WHITFIELD: All right, Chad, appreciate it.
MYERS: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Gone in a moment. A family shattered by a sudden accident, but the one survivor's story will actually amaze you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Today families and friends of 9/11 victims gather to remember their losses seven years ago. Well, this week, a man is remembering what he lost five years ago when on a stretch of Kansas highway. In September of 2003, he was burying his wife and four children. But what he has done since has simply amazed us.
Kyra Phillips has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Labor Day weekend 2003, Robert Rogers, his wife, Melissa, and their four young children attend a friend's wedding in Wichita. The kids play with balloons decorating the church. This would be their last family photo.
As the Rogers family drives home, a flash flood engulfs them. Melissa tries to keep the children calm.
ROBERT ROGERS, AUTHOR, "INTO THE DEEP": Just before the seven- foot wall of water washed our van into the culvert (ph), she was even singing Bible songs to our four children to calm their fears, and she was praying over them as the water was filling our van. Her faith was relentless.
PHILLIPS: Robert kicked open a window. He, his wife and their oldest daughter were swept into the current.
ROGERS: After I was sucked out of the van, the water was so powerful that I knew I was drowning. Somehow, I believe by an angel of God, I was washed up on to the left river bank.
PHILLIPS: Hours later, rescuers found the bodies of 5-year-old Zachary, 3-year-old, Nicholas and 21-month-old Alenah inside the van. The next day, 8-year-old Makenah's body was found a quarter mile away. And then --
CHIEF JACK TAYLOR, EMPORIA, KAN. FIRE AND RESCUE: At approximately 7:30 this morning, we located Mrs. Rogers approximately 200 feet into the pond.
ROGERS: My beautiful wife, Melissa, was found yesterday morning. She did not survive the tragedy. She was the love of my life.
PHILLIPS: Robert had lost his entire family. But he had not lost his faith. Speaking out, just days after the accident --
ROGERS: I am not bitter against God. I had a full, abundant life and I'm fully persuaded that somehow, by his grace, he will turn this tragedy into good.
PHILLIPS: Robert turned from being a full-time electrical engineer to a full-time minister. He started a ministry devoted to helping others. Robert is determined to open five orphanages on five different continents in honor of the family he lost.
The first orphanage, Melissa House, opened in Russia in 2006. A second is under construction in Rwanda.
And now, Robert has a second chance at love. On May 20th, 2006, he married Inga (ph). And last year they gave birth to this little blessing, Ezekiel (ph).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, yesterday, we spoke with Robert Rogers and he updated us on his life's focus since that accident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Faith isn't about feeling, but it was a determination to live life, to honor God, to honor my heavenly family. There's over 143 million orphans around the world right now. And that's a conservative number. And since we had adopted an orphan from China in 2003, I had a passion for them. And so seeing them and ministering to them in Haiti, and India after the tsunami, those who had lost their loved ones in turbulent waters, just really tugged on my heard. So, my vision is to sponsor five orphanages around the world, on five different continents in honor of my five heavenly family members. So far, we have one in Russia --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Wow. And by the way, that music that you were hearing, that piano under that story, that's music that he composed for his family that he lost. And if you want to hear more about Robert's ministry, you can check out the Web site thedeep.org (sic).
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Getting an education and then some. A 22-year-old Californian hopes to pay for grad school by earning money the old-fashioned way, sort of. She's auctioning off her virginity.
Koula Gianulias, of CNN affiliate of KVOR, in Sacramento.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATALIE DYLAN, AUCTIONING VIRGINITY: The main purpose of it is to finance a few things in my life.
KOULA GIANULIAS, KVOR REPORTER (voice-over): Natalie Dylan says she cannot afford grad school to become a marriage and family counselor. So, she'S selling sex, her virginity to come up with the cash.
DYLAN: I think empowerment to women is picking yourself up and doing something on your own to better yourself.
GIANULIAS: Natalie won't just give it up to the highest bidder. She's also seeking other qualities from her first lover. She says hundreds of applicants have already poured in to the Bunny Ranch in Nevada, where the sex sale will go down.
DYLAN: I'm looking for intelligence and I'm looking for an overall nice person.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's just giving it to some random person. And that should be something special she gives to who she loves, you know?
GIANULIAS: Sac State students were shocked to hear the story about their former classmate and opinions were mixed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As long as she's doing it for herself and not for any other reason and for grad school, I think that's a noble reason to get money.
GIANULIAS (on camera): Do you know a lot of college girls that are virgins?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't. And she doesn't really look like one either.
GIANULIAS (voice-over): Natalie says she'll prove it and the Bunny Ranch backs her up.
DENNIS HOF, BUNNY RANCH OWNER: Natalie did a lie detector test in New York City, that conclusively says she's a virgin. She's also willing to go through a physical examination.
GIANULIAS: So, if it's true and she's held on to it for 22 years, we wanted to know why she's willing to part with it now, in such a public and controversial manner.
DYLAN: When I was younger, I definitely wanted to be 100 percent about the romance, possibly even wait for marriage. But, as I grew up, you know, reality kind of hit. And I think this is a capitalistic society and I definitely want to capitalize on this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
