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Detained Hiker Back in U.S.; Missing "Cult" Members Found; Hurricane Igor in Bermuda

Aired September 19, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: After spending more than a year in Iranian prison, Sarah Shourd is back on U.S. soil and talking about her ordeal and her health that is straight ahead.

And missing members of a so-called cult-like church are found alive and well. Authorities had feared that they were planning a mass suicide. A live report just a few minutes away.

And women and girls lured to the U.S. and then forced to have sex. The shadowy underworld with of sex trafficking this hour and at 5:00 Eastern.

Freed American hiker, Sarah Shourd, is back at home in the United States but she says she feels like she is only one-third free. Speaking to reporters in New York less than an hour ago, she made an emotional plea for the release of her two companions, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH SHOURD, FREED HIKER: Shane and Josh did not deserve to be in prison one day longer than I was. We committed no crime and we are not spies. We in no way intended any harm to the Iranian government or its people and believe a huge misunderstanding led to our detention and prolonged imprisonment.

Shane, Josh and I had no knowledge of our proximity to the Iran-Iraq border when we were hiking at a Ahamidalah (ph) water fall, a popular tourist site frequented by local families in Iraqi -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti is there in New York where that press conference took place a short time ago. Sarah Shourd did not take questions but the mothers of Shane and Josh did.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And I think that we actually learned a little bit more from the statement that certainly than Sarah Shourd said when she was in Oman. We did learn some additional information that we didn't previously, having her in her own words describe what happened to them for a bit about what happened when they were taken into custody by the Iranians.

But joining us now, Cindy Hickey who is mother of Shane Bauer, that is Sarah's fiance, and over here is Laura Fattal, who, of course is Josh Fattal's mother as well. First of all, one thing that Sarah said was she feels one-third free. And it is not a time to celebrate. Can you tell me what it was like to see her freed and not your sons?

CINDY HICKEY, MOTHER OF SHANE BAUER: I was very excited for Sarah to be free for our families and also Nora and Sarah. However, the bittersweet truth is Shane and Josh aren't home. We really want them home. They are innocent, it's the same case. They need to be returned.

CANDIOTTI: Laura, this is a bitter sweet moment. How do you deal with those conflicting emotions?

LAURA FATTAL, MOTHER OF JOSH FATTAL: Well, I talked to Cindy a lot. We are both in the same boat and our sons are not released and Sarah's come home. I'm, of course, very, very happy for Sarah and for Nora, but it is a mixed blessing. I'm very happy for her but I want Josh home. I want Shane home. They belong home.

CANDIOTTI: Were you able to learn any additional information, have any clearer idea of how she was treated, they were treated?

FATTAL: We - Sarah had - we met her maybe an hour before the press conference. So, we have not gotten any specific information at all.

CANDIOTTI: Does their release make you more or less hopeful that your sons' release is coming any time soon?

HICKEY: I'm always hopeful. I'm a mother. However, Sarah's release does give me more hope. You know, I think she is - I know she is going to put 100 percent effort if not more on this and I've always been hopeful. So yes, I do believe things will end sooner than later.

CANDIOTTI: Well, the fact of the matter is that President Ahmadinejad, of course, is in New York City right now. So the timing of Sarah's arrival back here and her freedom, of course, is very interesting to watch. What plans do you have to try to meet with him and what message will you bring?

FATTAL: Yes, we have requested a meeting with president Ahmadinejad through the U.N.-Iranian mission and we would bring the message of mothers asking for their children to come home. It is a humanitarian message and we think since President Ahmadinejad is a father and Iranians hold motherhood in such high regard, be we are hoping there is many ways we can have a face-to-face meeting and just underscore our great desire to have our young people, Josh and Shane, come home.

CANDIOTTI: Still, Iran is talking about putting your sons on trial. They claim to have evidence that they were, in fact, spies. You must be worried about that.

HICKEY: You know, I believe in the truth. And there is no way Shane and Josh are connected to the U.S. government. So I have faith that the truth will prevail.

CANDIOTTI: All right. Thank you both very much for joining us. I know that Sarah has said and you all have said that her spirit is broken - moved, I think she said, moved but not unbroken and that all of you will continue - all of your efforts to try to win their release. We will see what happens next. Frederica, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much.

All right. Now, let's move out west to California, where there is a lot of relief, they express, a big search has just ended there. A group that police feared was planning a cult-like mass suicide has actually been found alive. Let's get right to CNN's Thelma Gutierrez who is joining us on the phone from Palmdale. Thelma, what happened?

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (ON THE PHONE): Well, Fredericka, what was really interesting is that we came pulling up to the Jackie Robinson Park, right outside of Palmdale. While we were pulling up, we could see some of the mothers that were being talked to by some of the sheriff's authorities and we could see the children kind of going into their cars. They were all allowed to leave.

Now, basically, this could have been a situation where there was this terrible misunderstanding. Apparently, these women go on these prayer sessions out in the high desert. They go there often and they go maybe once or twice a week. Their families aware of this their husbands are aware. They left some of their belongings behind with their husbands.

They left behind cell phones, money, some personal notes, that kind of thing but they say they went off to the desert to pray. All of a sudden, they say unbeknownst to them, they come to this park, the end of their night-long prayer session. They are having a meeting here on the grounds at the park and the media comes rolling up, the sheriff's deputies come rolling up and they say they were extremely surprised at all of this. They had no knowledge that there was a huge manhunt that was going on for them.

I walked up to one of the women and I asked her in Spanish, I asked "so where were you guys?" She says we were praying through the night. I said "are you to OK? Are your kids OK?" She said, perfectly OK. She seemed to be extremely annoyed by all the attention. They got in their cars. They were free to leave.

We talked to the sheriff's - the sheriff out here and he basically said there was no crime committed. There was - these people were free to go. Obviously, there was some kind of miscommunication, not sure exactly what happened, but the people were obviously off, you know, praying through the night and very surprised that all this attention was being given to them.

WHITFIELD: So Thelma, a couple of questions, because the sheriff's department says what concerned them was some of the reading material that was in some of the purses that were left behind, a, and then, b, it has been described as a cult-like group. Where did that come from and is anyone substantiating even that description?

GUTIERREZ: That is a great question. We had asked Steve Whitmore (ph), who is the spokesperson for the sheriff's department that very question and he said basically, they left behind these personal belongings, you know, money, cell phones, and it could have been not necessarily a deed to a house but maybe it was a mortgage coupon, something like that.

And there were a couple of notes but they were not specific saying that they were out to harm them so far as harm their children. They said it was a combination of circumstances, looking at the things that they had left behind, on top of the fact that the spouses were concerned that led them to want to be cautious and go out and look for these people.

In terms of the - you know, what they had said about the sect, we have talked to one of the friends of the women and he says, no it wasn't a sect at all. What it is is that they belong to a Christian church and from there, they had broken away, this group of sisters and they had these prayer sessions on their own.

And I asked them what they were praying for and they were praying for things like abstinence for the children and also no violence in schools, things like that. But they said that there were - they are not a sect that they just simply happen to go off on the prayer sessions on their own.

WHITFIELD: All right, very fascinating. Thelma Gutierrez, thanks so much from Palmdale, California.

In the meantime, we are going to turn to Robert Faturechi. He has been covering the story since it began, or at least it raised eyebrows there out of Los Angeles. He is with the "Los Angeles Times." He is actually at a different location than Thelma is. He is with family members and he is also joining us on the phone. So, give me an idea what family members are doing and saying around you.

ROBERT FATURECHI, "LOS ANGELES TIMES" (ON THE PHONE): Well, last night, several groups of relatives had huddled at the Palmdale Sheriff's Station and what they were saying was that in the past, this group had taken similar prayer trips out to the mountains before but what was different about this trip was that they had left behind these notes. They had left behind cash.

WHITFIELD: Right. Thelma just went through that but right now, you are at the location where the family - where these family members are, how are they explaining the descriptions of cult-like, how are they explaining their reaction to when police located them, talked to them and told them that they were considered missing persons?

FATURECHI: Well, there is certainly a lot of relief now in Palmdale. What they have been saying is that this just wasn't adding up. They knew the supposed cult leader - you know, someone who had barely completed the fifth grade, was a very simple woman. You know, could hardly keep a job, let alone lead a cult group.

So from the beginning, there was skepticism as to how serious these claims were and whether these children and whether these adults were actually in harm's way. So, there is relief but from the get-go there was skepticism.

WHITFIELD: All right. Robert Faturechi, thanks so much with the "Los Angeles Times." Appreciate your input on this story as well.

FATURECHI: Thanks so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. We will be right back with the latest on Hurricane Igor, whether it is gaining or losing strength, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Bermuda is on alert and people are taking cover there. Hurricane Igor is closing in with a lot of wind and rain and our Reynolds Wolf is right in the middle of it.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well the (INAUDIBLE) of Hurricane Igor is still some distance away from Bermuda, but the outer bands are coming through, coming through with some incredibly strong winds, gusting up to 60, 70 miles per hour, some heavy rainfall but intermittent at times and the surf has just been spectacular.

Right behind me, you can see what is left of Elbow Beach, everything else covered by the water and the high waves just continue to roll in. Many of the roads have been closed. The major causeway that connects part of Bermuda has also been shut down due to the strong winds.

Traveling is dangerous on the island. However, we were able to get out a while ago and this is what we saw.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF: Here is Bermuda. We are feeling the brunt of the storm. Hard to believe (INAUDIBLE) off the coast of Africa. It has spun its way across the Atlantic, getting close to Bermuda and a now the outer bands, the strongest winds, the heaviest waves are right here on the doorstep of this island.

I'm coming to you from Astwood Cove, Bermuda. This area is getting jack hammered by Hurricane Igor here in Bermuda. And I tell you can the strongest part of the storm is yet to come. We have been pelted by heavy rain falls, immense waves that keep battering the shoreline. The wave has been very strong at times.

Tropical storm force with some hurricane-force gusts coming onshore. We pan over just a little bit. You can see just the sheer power of these pounding up against the rocks. It doesn't matter which direction you go. It truly is a sight to see. White caps as far as you can go on the horizon and of course, closer to shore, you can see all the foam.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now, we do have some good news with the storm and that is not expected to make a direct hit on the island. Hurricane Igor is actually supposed to pass a little bit to the west and as it does so, we are still going to get caught with the brunt of the storm, the northeast quadrant, northeast sector of the storm, which will bring the strongest winds, the heaviest rainfall and again the pounding surf. The storm is expected to move well to the north of the island as we pass forward into Monday and into Tuesday, and then things will slowly get back to normal and the cleanup begins.

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

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Reynolds. It's been a tough week for the folks there in Bermuda. Jacqui Jeras in the hurricane headquarters.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it really is. A couple - some things we want to talk about that Reynolds just mentioned in his piece, how Bermuda is probably not going to get a direct hit. You know, we talk about landfall, we used these terms like direct hit and what do all these things mean? Well, a direct hit means that the eye wall or the worst part of the system, of the hurricane, would make its way onto the island.

Landfall means the entire eye makes its way over it. So you know, sometimes a direct hit can actually be a little bit worse, at least in terms of the wind damage. Now, our best estimate is that at this time, is that Igor is going to move west of Bermuda by maybe 30-ish, give or take a few, miles. How it, you think, oh this is good, right?

However, this is such a huge storm that the hurricane-force winds extend out about 90 miles from the center. So that means we are talking hurricane-force wind on the island for probably six-plus hours and we are just a few hours away from that happening. We have already had some of the hurricane-force wind gusts, not sustained yet, but we're starting to get into the thick of the storm and we think this is going to be peaking out this evening and then into the overnight hours before it starts to wane off.

Category 1 storm, maximum winds 85 miles per hour, moving north right now and take a look at what some of these gusts are doing. 105 miles per hour. So that is still very extreme and there are going to be some power outages and certainly damage. Waves is going to be one of the biggest impacts with this storm. You can see those already. You know, you can barely see tropical storm-force conditions there on the island.

Here is the forecast track, you see it brings it very near Bermuda and then heading up towards the north and the east. The U.S. needs to worry about it through the early part of the week, in terms of a high risk of rip currents and maybe some coastal flooding, the Carolinas, in particular getting hit the worst.

Take a look at our iReporters what a great job they have been doing, keeping us up to date on what's been happening in Bermuda. This is from Claire Hattie. She lives in Pembroke, Bermuda, preparing for this storm for days and days. She says the storm shutters are up, our cupboards are stocked, our water jets and bathtubs have been filled up and now it's just wait and see and hope for the best.

So, Claire, thanks for sending those into us and we do hope for the best for you. And look at all that wind bringing all those trees down. Here is a look at the radar picture from the weather service in Bermuda. There is the island, and here you can see the center of the storm and the worst of the conditions just off to the west now. Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy, thanks so much. Pretty dramatic view. And then there's still other stuff out there?

JERAS: Yes, we have Julia is still out there but not bothering anybody.

WHITFIELD: OK.

JERAS: A tropical wave off the Cape Verdes, a high chance of development in the next couple of days and it is not a tropical system but we got heavy rain and flooding in Texas. We're going to tell a little bit more about that later this hour.

WHITFIELD: OK. We'll check back with you then. Thanks so much, Jacqui. Appreciate it.

Something you and I are going to talk about a little bit later, an interesting little Pekinese dog with a really long tongue. And we are going to talk about that in the "Chat Room."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now.

Sarah Shourd is back in the United States after more than a year in an Iranian prison. But she says she considers herself only one-third free. Her fiance, Shane Bauer, and friend Josh Fattal are still there, being held in Iran. They were captured, all of them, while hiking along the Iraqi-Iranian border. Shourd says they committed no crime and are not spies.

And eight of nine police officers from southern Mexico who disappeared after an attack have been found dead. State media reports a ninth officer was injured but survived the attack. According to Mexico news agencies, the officers were attacked by 30 armed individuals on Friday while investigating a death.

And a recall of some packaged crab meat announced today. The Oregon- based seafood company Hallmark Fisheries says the bacteria Listeria turned up in some of its products during routine testing. The crab meat was distributed in Oregon, California and Nevada.

All right. It's time for a little "Chat Room" with Jacqui Jeras here, in our little chat section of the newsroom. We got a really interesting thing, everything from a teenager who is now a millionaire to a dog that has a really interesting -

JERAS: I can't wait to see the video.

WHITFIELD: I guess, characteristic.

(LAUGHTER) WHITFIELD: And then something else about human behavior. The whole hand washing thing. Does it gross you out to go to public restroom and you wash your hands and you look at the person next to you and they don't? Apparently, it's pretty common, the don't part.

JERAS: You know, I have been known to say "did you wash your hands"?

WHITFIELD: Of course.

JERAS: Out in public, I have seen people not do it.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I know. Yuck.

JERAS: Wash your hands.

WHITFIELD: And they are - hey, it's happening. Apparently, the study says something like 85 percent -

JERAS: Oh my gosh.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Of people are not washing their hands when they go to the restroom.

JERAS: 85 percent aren't?

WHITFIELD: I'm sorry, 85 percent are, 15 percent are not. Still - so, we're looking at - we're looking at the ballpark bathrooms, because apparently that is where they did the studies.

(CROSSTALK)

JERAS: The group spies in Public restrooms, in the name of science, so they say right?

Only two thirds of men observed washing their hands after using the restroom. Men are worst than the women

WHITFIELD: Yes.

JERAS: That's the lowest rate.

WHITFIELD: Kind of no surprise there. Sorry, dudes. You know, yuck. I know 20 percent of people using restrooms at Penn Station, Grand Central Station did not wash their hands so the number is even higher than at some of these ballparks.

JERAS: You got to start young, right? Teach your kids and they will do it forever and ever, and then every generation will get better, almost going to be in the NEWSROOM, in the 6:00 hour Eastern hour, he has a little hand washing -

WHITFIELD: Remember, it was about a year ago there was a little hand washing tune and I think, you and I try it out. I don't remember -

JERAS: Happy birthday.

WHITFIELD: I remember the message.

JERAS: That's right, sing happy birthday and that is how long you -

WHITFIELD: Take a little time there, you snow, keep those communicable diseases to yourself.

Wash them down the drain.

All right. Let's talk about being rich and a teenager. On her 18th birthday, how did it happen?

JERAS: How did it happen? She won the lottery.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

JERAS: How about that?

WHITFIELD: I know. She decided to stop and buy a ticket.

JERAS: Worth $1 million.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Just kind of celebrating a birthday, had a little extra time. Extra couple of bucks or two and said you know, I'm just going to take a stab at this lottery thing and jackpot.

JERAS: Wow. Wins $1 million.

She says she's going to use some of it to go to college.

WHITFIELD: That's nice.

JERAS: We like that.

WHITFIELD: Very clever about her money, her winnings now and I'm sure she has a whole lot of new friends suddenly.

JERAS: I bet she does. Phone's probably ringing off the hook. Good luck, girl.

Show met video of this. I can't wait to see this.

WHITFIELD: Here's a little poochy, a little Pekinese.

I guess there's certain breeds with propensity -

JERAS: You're kidding me.

WHITFIELD: But this is a world record. Four and a half inches long. Little poochie.

JERAS: Does he keep it in his mouth?

WHITFIELD: Not right there in that shot but I don't know.

JERAS: It's a world record for the longest tongue on a canine, right?

WHITFIELD: I know. Poor dog.

JERAS: His name is Puggy.

WHITFIELD: And imagine trying to drink water.

JERAS: 4 1/2 inches long, nearly the same length of his body. The owner adopted him eight years ago after he was abandoned. My cousin has a pug that has a stroke and its tongue looks almost exactly like that, not just as fat.

WHITFIELD: Oh, really.

JERAS: All the time. He's cute.

WHITFIELD: And this Pekinese, the dog's name is Puggy, so a little something in common with your pug friend there.

JERAS: A pug.

WHITFIELD: I don't know. Maybe it's the species.

JERAS: All right. I got to get this in, we only got 30 seconds. My favorite thing of the day international talk like a pirate day.

WHITFIELD: Argh.

JERAS: Did you know - all right, so here is the web site that displayed, you can just go ahead Google talk like a pirate day, and you'll find a whole bunch of them. There are all kinds of lingo to help you talk like a pirate.

WHITFIELD: Yes, teach me.

JERAS: You know, "argh," that's a big one. You can pretty much use that exclamation for anything. Hardies, you always hardy, right? An affectionate term for one's friend. The Jolly Roger, right, the skull and bones pirate flag used to surrender, means you are going to be treated very well. Lad is a younger male. Lass is a younger female. And a mate is just an affectionate term for all your friends.

And if you go to Facebook page, Antoinette, we pull that up now. That's why I have that up there. By the way, you can change your language on Facebook to be pirate.

So go to your settings.

WHITFIELD: That is a lot of work.

JERAS: It's under English. So go to English and then pirate, under there. And it will say - it says Captain Jacqui Jeras.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's cute.

JERAS: Change it all to pirateease (ph). It's kind of fun thing.

WHITFIELD: Aye, aye, mate. That's very clever of you. Thanks a lot, Jacqui.

Ahoy.

JERAS: I don't know what good-bye is.

WHITFIELD: Chips Ahoy? I'm suddenly hungry, I need some chocolate chip cookies.

JERAS: Dinner.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jacqui, thanks so much. Thanks for being in the "Chat Room." We'll have much more in the NEWSROOM after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The word "disturbing" doesn't begin to describe a new movie documentary called "A Film Unfinished." It is filled with previously unseen Nazi propaganda, shot in Warsaw Jewish ghetto in 1942. Shortly before its residents started heading to the Treblinka death camp. Here is a look at the trailer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): A story of a film that was never completed a film designed to serve as propaganda for the third Reich that empire that knew so well to document its own evil.

[Speaking a foreign language]

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Yael Hersonski, the filmmaker joins us now from Tel Aviv, Israel. Good to see you. It is hard to determine what's more disturbing, that this propaganda film, these films were made or that these films were found in a vault in such amazing condition that you're able to discern exactly what was going on at that time in 1942.

YAEL HERSONSKI, DIRECTOR, "A FILM UNFINISHED:" True. The fact that it was found in '54 and was used many times by many documentaries as well as Holocaust memorial museums, but only in bits and pieces actually disabled us to understand whatever we can understand from seeing the whole footage. And this is the first time when I think this footage, almost in its entire length is being exposed.

WHITFIELD: And what we see as viewers, this footage of wanting this Warsaw ghetto in 1942 we are able to see the images while we don't hear the voices it is very clear what is taking place here that the third Reich wants people to believe that these Jews are living well, that they are happy, that they are not starving, that they are doing all these wonderful, beautiful things that ordinarily people do from having flowers on the table at dinner to enjoying each other's company, buying meat at the market, et cetera. But you show the real hypocrisies of what indeed, was taking place in real life compared to this propaganda film. HERSONSKI: Right. I was asked many times why I think they were shooting not only staged scenes in which we can see well off, allegedly well-off Jews living life of luxuries, but also why were they documenting the atrocities? And I think that we can speculate. I couldn't find even a single document that will serve me as proof to the reason why they made it like it was found, but the minister, Nazi minister for propaganda, Josef Goebbels (ph), wrote in his diary before the filming began, that now when they have decided to move the Jews to the east it is urgent for them to make films, as many as possible, for the sake of their education, of future generations of the third Reich.

Meaning that maybe they didn't intend to show it in movie theaters but to use it as an educational film. And therefore, maybe tried to establish a kind of distorted snapshot of the community in which the upper classes exploit the poor and the weak and actually, they are the cause of the atrocities we see in the film. The interesting thing about propaganda, that it's not -- yes, sorry.

WHITFIELD: I am just wondering what do you want people to learn from this film.

HERSONSKI: I wished that viewers will become more aware of the manipulation, of editing, the context maybe they should seek for whenever they -- they are being exposed to imagery of such historical events. I think that today, images became our reality and we experienced reality through images. Without them, everything remains quite abstract.

And therefore, I think to learn the context or to learn how layered is the image as a weakness, to learn to not only to look but to see and to exceed the numbness we often feel as viewers bombarded by images, I hope that this is something that viewers will take with them after seeing the film.

WHITFIELD: Yael Hersonski it is a fascinating film "A Film Unfinished," extraordinary, too, that you had five survivors who watched this film and talked openly about how they were looking in the film for anyone they may have known from that ghetto in Warsaw. Thanks so much for your time.

HERSONSKI: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We will have much more in the NEWSROOM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories. Chile's president visited the site of a mine today where 33 miners have been trapped for more than a month. He was there to speak with family members, keeping vigil on the surface and he also saw the powerful drills working to free the miners. Today is the first day that all three drills working simultaneously. One of the drills reached the miners Friday but now the hole needs to be widened.

And 13 members of a church in southern California have been found alive after a search that lasted more than a day. Police fear the church members were planning a mass suicide. The group had left behind notes saying good-bye to relatives according to authorities and one of the cars of the members was spotted in a park by someone who had seen news reports about their disappearance. He ended up calling police.

The Bp well is officially sealed shut; a pressure test on the concrete poured into the well was successful this morning. President Barack Obama commended crews for finishing the job but also said a lot still have to be done to make sure the Gulf coast fully recovers from the oil disaster.

Tropical-force winds and torrential rains have been pounding Bermuda as it braces for hurricane Igor. Jacqui Jeras is in our Severe Weather Center with the latest on this. So we know, because we saw Reynolds Wolf kind of in the blowing, wind and rain as those outer bands have hit Bermuda, but what more can they expect there?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, more of that and worse probably, Fredricka as we are still talking about the height of this storm probably getting closer to Bermuda say 8 p.m.ish, give or take maybe an hour, Eastern Time, so they are getting those hurricane-force winds now, we just had a report of a gust around 76 miles per hour last hour. So they are going to start to see some of that damage, trees down, and power outages can be expected. We have seen the pictures of those waves that have just been incredible. This is the radar from Bermuda; there is the island, some of the worst conditions in this area. The storm moving on up toward the north now.

So we have several hours to go with the brunt of this storm moving on in. What is the status here? Less than 100 miles away from Bermuda at this time. This is a category 1 storm now, maximum winds 85 miles per hour. This is a huge storm because those hurricane winds extend out farther than probably your average storm, so when we are talking 90 miles away from the center of the storm those winds that is going to keep them right over Bermuda for several hours, talking probably at least six hours or more with sustained hurricane force winds and that is one of the reasons why this is such a dangerous storm to deal with.

And there you can see the forecast path moving probably just to the west of Bermuda and then curving on up towards the north and to the east. A couple other things I want to talk about yet this hour, I want to mention what has been going on in the state of Texas. We have had incredible amounts of rainfall across the state. This is not a tropical system, it is just a disturbance that has been moving on through, but look at the rain it has been putting down, Brownsville, Texas in the last four plus hours, 7.25 inches of rain. There have been a lot of reports of flooding around Corpus Christi, part of I-37 has been closed down, and we are talking a good two to five inches plus on top of what you already had with rain in the forecast. Fredricka, at least through Tuesday, heavy rain and then it will start to taper off.

WHITFIELD: Gosh it seems never ending.

JERAS: It is that time of the year.

WHITFIELD: That is the way it is. All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui, appreciate it.

All right, still trapped a half-mile underground, Chilean miners find a reason to celebrate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Time for CNN equals politics update; we are keeping an eye on all the latest headlines on the CNN.com political ticker. Here is what is crossing right now Republican strategist Karl Rove wants an explanation from Delaware Senate hopeful Christine O'Donnell. Talking today, the GOP strategist says O'Donnell can't hide from comments she made about dabbling in witchcraft. She made the comment on a television show back in 1999. And Rove who is the former chief adviser for President George W. Bush was an outspoken critic of O'Donnell even before the witchcraft comment surfaced.

And Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski says she was the victim of a smear campaign by the Tea Party Movement. She lost the Republican Senate primary to political newcomer, Joe Miller. Miller was backed by the Tea Party Express. Murkowski says the group influenced the outcome with campaign lies and fabrications.

And health care is a winning strategy. That is what DNC chairman Tim Kaine is saying. He said Democrats should be touting the legislation instead of running from it. Appearing on "State of the Union" with Candy Crowley, Kaine also said he doesn't believe Republicans will gain control of the House or Senate come November.

For the latest political news go to CNNPOLITICS.com.

The 33 miners trapped underground in Chile got a special visitor today. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera spoke to them by means of a video cable that has been strung a half mile down into the shaft. He said they were in good spirits. Mr. Pinera assured the men, that who have been trapped since the cave-in last month, that the rescue mission will succeed. He also visited with the miners' families. This weekend marks Chile's 200th anniversary, it was celebrated around that country and despite their confinement the miners themselves manage to participate. Our Karl Penhaul shows us how.

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KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Above ground, rescuers sing the Chilean anthem and hoist a flag. Half a mile beneath their feet, 33 trapped miners are doing exactly the same. Saturday marked 290th anniversary of Chilean independence and a new nine-minute video from deep underground.

Miner Madian Cy (ph) made the best of the disaster with a traditional dance. And lunch was a feast of sorts, meat empanada dropped down like all the emergency supplies, through a small bore hole. A message from Carlos Memani, the only Bolivian trapped along with the 32 Chileans.

CARLOS MAMANI, TRAPPED MINER: I want to send a message to Chilean President Sebastian Pinera for helping us in this difficult time and also send a message to Bolivian President Morales (ph) for supporting my family.

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WHITFIELD: That was Karl Penhaul reporting.

A third drill is now being used to help free the trapped miners it is expected to bore an escape shaft that is large enough to bring the miners to the surface in the coming weeks and this is the first time three drills have been used at the mine at the same time.

A 15-year-old Mexican girl thought she was coming to the U.S. to get a job at a clothes factory. The reality was something very different. We will hear a first-hand account from a victim of modern-day slavery.

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WHITFIELD: As the immigration debate rages, one angle is sometimes ignored. Some illegal immigrants are here against their will. CNN's senior Latin America affairs editor Rafael Romo introduces us to a Mexican girl who was forced into prostitution.

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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICA AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice over): Across Mexico, young girls dream of escaping their small towns for the big cities. Claudia, not her real name, was like that when she was 15; she met a charming man at a party.

CLAUDIA, (via translator): This individual would tell me a lot about the United States and would ask me to join him to go work at a clothes factory.

ROMO: Claudia was smuggled into the United States and then taken to New York, and then she realized her boyfriend was part of a prostitution ring. He forced her into prostitution, beating her, burning her skin with lit cigarettes and telling her he would have her parents in Mexico killed if she tried to resist or escape. This is the first time she has spoken about her experience.

CLAUDIA (via translator): The first day I started working was very hard because I had to sleep with 20 men in rapid sequence.

ROMO: Many people associate prostitution with women walking the streets in shady areas and being picked up by johns but Claudia says the prostitution ring she was forced to work for had a long list of clients who knew the price they had to pay, where to go and who to call. It is well organized and lucid underground industry. Luis Cdebaca monitors human trafficking at the U.S. State Department and he says there are no reliable figures on the scale of the problem but forced prostitution from Mexico and Central America is a big part of it.

AMB. LUIS CDEBACA, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: They know that their victims are not going to go to law enforcement. They know they are afraid. In fact sometimes one of their threats is to turn people over to the immigration service. ROMO: Claudia was 15 when she was forced to become a prostitute but there are younger victims. Cdebaca found out when he worked as prosecutor.

CDEBACA: I ended up seeing cases with girls as young as 13 and women in their 40s and everything in between.

ROMO: Ten years ago, Congress passed a law that allows victims of human trafficking to stay in the country if they testified in court against perpetrators of the crime.

DANIELLE CONNELLY, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: And it allows these individuals who are victims of trafficking, go through the proper procedures to be able to show that with evidence and so forth to actually apply for what is called a T Nonimmigrant Visa, which if and when approved allows them to be here in the United States lawfully and documented.

ROMO: Claudia has now moved to a different city in the U.S., where she tries to live a normal life but she is still afraid of retribution and wants to remain anonymous. Several cases have been successfully prosecuted in states like New York and Georgia against prosecution rings that operate in the same way. They lure women in Mexico with promises of a good job, only to be forced into sexual slavery once here.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

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