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Flooding Forces Evacuations; Al Qaeda Confirms Osama bin Laden's Death; Operation Prom Dress; New CNN Polling on Economy; Heroic & Anonymous: Navy SEALs Meet With the President; Tennessee Fighting a 'Two-Front War' of Weather

Aired May 06, 2011 - 13:59   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We're at the top of the hour here once again, and this water, we are setting a new high-water mark. That's what we're seeing all along the Mississippi River right now, epic levels.

This water is now at the highest many have seen in over half a century. We have mandatory evacuations ordered in several communities, but it's not just right along the Mississippi. It's also the rivers that connect to the Mississippi that are rising as well.

That water has nowhere to go. So what is it doing? It's going over the levees and it's spilling onto many streets.

Here's a look at some of the communities being affected right now by this flooding. And it wasn't too long ago that the Coast Guard issued a traffic stop at Caruthersville, Missouri. That means no river traffic because they're afraid the wake from the ships will just add to the flooding misery in that area. And they could be shutting down shipping right through there for the next eight days.

The rising waters, also affecting traffic on the ground. I-40, a major artery that goes through the Midwest, a major artery for trucks, what you're seeing here is part of that artery that cuts through the state of Arkansas. This is adding hours to the drive for many of these truckers. Interstate 40, a good stretch, had to be closed down, people having to find another way.

And we see in that picture what people are always told not to do, don't drive through this stuff. No matter how big and bad your truck may be, don't drive through it, but it never fails, we see someone doing so.

Meanwhile, we'll turn to Memphis now, where half a million sandbags are being put in place, being placed around Memphis, Tennessee. This is an effort to try to hold back the rising water. Homeowners being told to prepare for even more water in this the coming days.

David Mattingly, in the middle of it all. Literally in the middle of it right now.

Hey there, again, David. DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., this spot where I am standing was dry just a little over a day ago. This disaster is moving very slowly, but it is relentless, moving inches at a time, moving forward every hour. And that's what the officials here in Memphis are trying to impress upon the people who are living in the low-lying areas.

They are saying it's moving slow, you might feel complacent looking at it and think it's not a danger. But now is the time they say to start packing up and to actually think about getting out of its way.

Right now, in Memphis, they have flood walls, they have levees, they have all sorts of protection that they didn't have back in the 1930s, during the last big flood like this. But they are not taking any chances.

There are still areas where homes are up close to water. Yesterday, even, we saw water encroaching into the yards of some houses. That water getting into some houses today. And so they are taking a lot of precautions, making sure that people make the best use of this time as the water continues to come up -- T.J.

HOLMES: And David, what areas are we talking about here? Of course, the downtown Memphis area sits right there on the river. I know Mud Island is there, there are a lot of homes. It's kind of a newer area, an upscale area.

I guess, what are they are trying desperately -- what parts of the city, just that main downtown area they're trying to protect?

MATTINGLY: That main downtown area actually has the best protection. That's where you see the highest levees. That's where you see the biggest flood walls. So that part of the town is protected, and they feel very confident that those walls and levees are going to hold.

The sandbags they're putting together, and the volunteers they are asking to come help fill those sandbags, that is just a precaution. They are taking those sandbags to shore up some of the levees, they're taking some of the sandbags to put in place around hospitals, other emergency buildings that might be needed, just in case one of the levees fail.

But again, they have a great deal of confidence in those levees, and they don't expect any problems. They actually think they're going to be able to hold this near-historic level of floodwater back in a way they never would have been able to back in the 1930s.

HOLMES: All right.

David Mattingly for us in Memphis.

David, we appreciate you, as always.

(WEATHER REPORT) HOLMES: We were telling folks there are mandatory evacuations ordered in many communities along the Mississippi and some of the rivers connected to the Mississippi. One of those communities, Cotton Plant, Arkansas, kind of halfway between Memphis and Little Rock, as you're seeing on the map here. Floodwaters there are starting to top the levees.

1947, that was the last time they were told they needed to get out of there because of flooding. And Cleodis Smith was a young boy then. His family refused to go then.

Now, what's he saying 64 years later? Well, our "Sound Effect" now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLEODIS SMITH, COTTON PLANT RESIDENT: And I ain't leaving tonight either. I saw a lot of people leaving, and I just laughed. I said, they will be coming right back because the water not going to get here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, the National Guard, the National Weather Service, they disagree with you.

SMITH: Yes. But having lived through one, I have to disagree with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, yes, the meteorologists disagree with my man Cleodis there. That's just his opinion, and, yes, we see this oftentimes. A lot of these small communities, people have been through it before, they say we're going to ride it out again. But lot of folks will tell you that is not the smart thing to do. If you are told to evacuate, even if someone suggests that you evacuate, it might be time to go, end of story.

Well, we'll keep a close watch on the flooding throughout this hour. But we do want to turn to some news overseas now.

In the U.K., in particular, new developments there tied to the July, 2005 terror attack on the London transit system. A British coroner is clearing the emergency crews over questions of their response time.

You will remember suicide bombers hit three tube trains and a bus. But following the attacks, there were claims police and firefighters had been unwilling to get close to the scene out of fear for their own safety, and that people died as a result. But the coroner ruled the injuries of the 52 people who died were so severe, they would have died no matter what the response time. She said emergency crews did all that they could do to ensure that lives were saved.

Well, back here in the U.S. now, the rail systems are on alert after receiving a notice from the Department of Homeland Security about a plot by al Qaeda to derail trains. How did we find out about this? Well, it is comes straight from Osama bin Laden, from those hard drives, DVDs, thumb drives the Navy SEALs grabbed from his compound.

They reveal al Qaeda was working on a plan to block railways and send trains of their tracks. That was supposed to happen this fall on the 10th anniversary of September 11th. U.S. officials say this may only be the tip of the iceberg. Some potential plots they are uncovering from bin Laden's files.

Well, al Qaeda's plan to attack the U.S. trains, that's just one example of bin Laden's direct role in plotting terror strikes from his hideout in Pakistan. We are live there, next.

Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. We're 11 minutes after the hour.

We are watching a couple of interesting pictures here, folks. This is all happening live.

The picture on the left is Air Force One. The president of the United States just landing in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. And they'll probably behave a little better than that when he actually walks into the room, but the guys there at Fort Campbell -- the president is going to be there to, of course, meet with the Navy SEAL team that was a part of killing Osama bin Laden. But many of these soldiers who are based there at Fort Campbell of course have done tours, many of them have come back from Afghanistan.

The president is going to be addressing them. But right now, they are having a good time, quite frankly.

This was a victory for -- a lot of people would say certainly for this White House, maybe politically a big deal and a victory for this country, but also a special victor for the men and women who have been serving since September 11th. Many of them signed up just because of what happened on September 11th, and they view getting the bad guy -- and Osama bin Laden was bad guy number one. And so we're actually just seeing them -- we saw them doing the chicken dance there and just getting ready for the president.

The president was in Indianapolis earlier today. But again, reminding you, you are seeing a live picture on the left side there of Air Force One just landing. He's going to make his way over to Fort Campbell, where he will address those soldiers there who are right now clowning around, enjoying themselves just a bit.

And why? And why or why not should they not? But he'll address them, but also, he'll meet privately. It will not be certainly a public forum when he does meet privately with the members of that SEAL team, the Navy SEAL Team 6 that part.

We are told by the White House he will meet with them. Not a formal debriefing, if you will. Not a formal debriefing but, still, he will get some details from them about the operation.

But a part of this also is he just wants to thank that SEAL team, and thank these men as well, men and women who have been a part of really these operations over the past several years. Many of them playing roles directly and trying to hunt down Osama bin Laden.

But it's very -- quite frankly, we don't get to see this a lot. Maybe we don't get to see this enough, our American men and women in uniform, who are actually enjoying themselves, celebrating just a bit, taking a little downtime. The president of the United States, coming to see them.

He is on the ground. When he steps out and begins to address them, you will see the president's comments, I do believe, live. But again, a private moment he will have a little later with members of that SEAL team that were responsible for hunting down and killing Osama bin Laden.

Now, bin Laden may have been in that compound in Pakistan for years, but he was still calling the shots for his al Qaeda terror organization. U.S. officials poring over computer files and documents seized at the compound after bin Laden was killed show he was plotting future strikes against the United States, including one on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. And in a statement confirming bin Laden's death today, al Qaeda warned that his death won't be wasted in vain and promised more attacks against the U.S.

Nic Robertson joins us from that area where, in fact, bin Laden was found.

Nic, hello to you once again.

A lot of people have been wanting to see these pictures released of a dead Osama bin Laden, and they wanted that as confirmation. Well, this al Qaeda statement, is that further confirmation now?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is confirmation, and if the pictures were ever going to convince anyone who was holding out and believing this, then it was clearly going to be they were going to be used to convince al Qaeda. But they have now volunteered this statement, a statement of revenge and a vow for continued attacks on the United States and here in Pakistan, calling for Pakistanis to throw out Americans here. They say that it's a stain on Pakistan's reputation, that traitors in Pakistan led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

So, those photographs, if they were going to convince anyone, al Qaeda now already believes, confirms it believes he was dead. So, the pictures, we can see, perhaps would have been used by al Qaeda now as part of this campaign. They're using bin Laden's death really to try and motivate their followers, calling for revenge. You can see that they certainly would have tried to use any photograph to their best advantage -- T.J.

HOLMES: And Nic, how is the story still developing there? What are you hearing from maybe people on the street, maybe even what we're getting from officials in the government there in Pakistan about how it's possible that the Pakistanis did not know he was there?

ROBERTSON: Well, certainly, we are getting the clearer idea here that there is a lot of embarrassment at the senior levels of the military, of the intelligence services, of the government about what has happened here. And we are sort of seeing now the horse has bolted, the stable door being closed, if you will.

There have been a number of arrests in this city tonight, some close to bin Laden's compound, others around the city. A source that we talked to here said that tens of people have been arrested. Arrests are still going on.

Anyone who had a connection with the compound, with the people in the compound, even if it was only a simple commercial connection, selling meat or selling milk to them, all these people are being arrested because the government wants to drill down on those connections and see if anyone had any more nefarious dealings with the people in the compound. Are they al Qaeda sympathizers? Were they supporting bin Laden? Do they belong to al Qaeda?

So the government now, sort of belatedly, is going after anyone who had a connection with bin Laden and the compound there -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right.

Our Nic Robertson in Abbottabad, Pakistan, for us today.

Nic, we appreciate you, as always.

And it was last hour that I spoke with Paul Rieckhoff. He's the executive director and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the first and largest group of its kind. He shared his organization's feelings about President Obama's decision not to release photos of bin Laden's body.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL RIECKHOFF, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & FOUNDER, IAVA: There are mixed opinions throughout the organization, but I think there is always a need for visual confirmation. And I think there's a practical reality, too.

Some of us understand that there are parts of the Middle East that don't have the Internet, don't have CNN, and they need some kind of visual confirmation to be able to tell people on the ground throughout the Middle East that he is dead. But we believe the president. It's a really good day for America, it's a good week for America, and especially for our military and veterans community that have been working so hard for this very moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Paul Rieckhoff there. He fights on behalf of veterans. And he went on to say during our interview that veterans need jobs. He pointed out today that we are in fact hearing about the unemployment rate in this country going up to 9 percent. But some 11 percent of veterans are unemployed. His organization is working toward turning those numbers around.

Well, a lot more to come, including you're going to be hearing from the president. We told you not too long ago the president was going -- we'll get you that picture in a second.

But what you're looking at here, we'll tell you how one man is bringing truckloads of commitment and compassion to one small Georgia town hit hard by the nation's largest tornado outbreak.

But, to the live picture we were showing you a short time ago. We are waiting for the president of the United States to step off of Air Force One.

He is in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He is going to be greeting some of the men and women who have just come back from service in Afghanistan. You see a live picture on the right. They are waiting to hear from their commander in chief.

But also on this trip, the president will be meeting with that SEAL team. Navy SEAL Team 6 are the ones who hunted down and killed Osama bin Laden.

We are watching all of this for you, and you will hear from the president live when it happens.

A quick break and I'm right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: And this is what we were watching. This happened just moments ago. The president of the United States stepping down the steps there of Air Force One, being greeted by his vice president there in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

The president there, of course, to meet with the SEAL team that carried out that strike on Osama bin Laden. He'll meet privately with them. Not a formal debriefing, but still, he'll get some details of how that all went down, but also said he wanted to thank them.

He will also take a moment to make some comments to members of Fort Campbell, those men and women who have been actually eagerly anticipating the president's arrival. They're collected there. Many of them are just getting back from Afghanistan. Making some comments to them.

You will see that live when it does happen. But we are keeping a close eye on things happening right now at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Let's turn back to the South now and all of the destruction that was left behind by last week's tornado outbreak. Six southern states hit.

In the northwest, in the Georgia town of Ringgold, three people died. Half the businesses were damaged, many homes just gone.

Ringgold had limited emergency resources until 2008 CNN Hero Tadd Agoglia and his first response team were rolled into town.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED AGOGLIA, CNN HERO: When a disaster strikes, you don't really know what you are going to need. That's why we've packaged up four tractor-trailers loaded with just about every type of tool and gear and piece of equipment.

We got the generator running. We're going to power up this church.

We roll those rigs all across this country.

We decided to come to Ringgold, Georgia, because it's a small community. And most likely, they didn't have the resources that they would need.

All these homes were completely destroyed.

My team has been to about 38 mega-storms at this point, but we've never seen anything like this before.

It's all gone. Almost like the whole city went through a blender.

When we first got here, we started powering up the shelter, clearing the roads and we wanted to just help stabilize the situation.

We will have him come straight in and grab these trees right off of these two stones right here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They went over and cleared the cemetery. That's why I am able to bury my father today.

AGOGLIA: We're going to keep working until this is done.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He then came over and offered his services again.

AGOGLIA: We just joined with the family members on our hands and knees looking for things.

There's some more photos in here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We found a wedding picture of my dad and mom. These guys are angels.

Thank you so much for you and your team.

AGOGLIA: When we see people suffering and struggling, it is our responsibility to come and to help. This is part of being human, to see a need and to do something about it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, since 2007, Tadd and his team have helped 39 communities around the U.S. and in Haiti free of charge.

If you know someone like Tadd, who is making a difference in the world, please tell us about them. All of this year's CNN Heroes are chosen from people who you nominate at CNNHeroes.com.

Well, as we know, a lot of families lost everything when those tornadoes slammed their state last week, but have maybe the attention of the country, of the world, been in other places here lately, because of the new cycle? We're going to make sure we keep a close eye on what's happening with our friends in the South.

Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Some families in Alabama lost everything when powerful tornadoes ripped through parts of the South last week, but thanks to something now called Operation Prom Dress, some girls will still get to go to the prom.

Our Rafael Romo is in Birmingham, Alabama, for us with more.

Hey there, Rafael.

RAFAEL ROMO, SR. LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: T.J., we are in the Pratt City, neighborhood here, in Birmingham, Alabama, and what you see around me is just a pile of debris.

This used to be the house belonging to the Archie family here in Birmingham. Sixteen-year-old Renarda, before the tornado hit last week, had a dream. She wanted to go to the prom, but as you can see, all of their belongings are gone. Everything was destroyed, and she thought she was not going to be able to go to the prom this Friday, tonight, but some adults came together and had a brilliant idea.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENARDA ARCHIE, TORNADO VICTIM: As soon as we landed on the couch, it hit.

ROMO (voice-over): Renarda Archie says she barely had time to escape the tornado. The tornado reduced to rubble the house the 16- year-old Birmingham resident and her family ever knew.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were running down the steps. You could just hear the glass and hear it in the front of the house, and I was thinking, it's really tearing up my house.

ROMO: Renarda's father moved everybody downstairs into the basement just seconds before their house and entire neighborhood were swept away by the devastating winds.

ARCHIE: It was like waking up from a bad dream. It's unbelievable.

ROMO: The tornado also destroyed a dream. As a junior at Jackson-Olin High School in Birmingham, Renarda wanted to attend this year's prom. She was one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of girls and boys whose prom plans were blown away by the tornadoes. That is, until somebody took notice at a nearby school district.

CINDY WILEY, SIBLEY COUNTY SCHOOLS: We had a phone call from one of our local principals who had gotten an e-mail that there were some kids looking for prom dresses. They had lost their house, they had lost everything, but they still wanted to go on with the prom.

ROMO: Several schools got involved. And all of a sudden, a movement was born. Operation Prom Dress inspired people like Melinda Huckabee to make a difference.

MELINDA HUCKABEE, HOOVER RESIDENT: I thought, wow, for girls not to have a beautiful dress to wear to prom, what a shame when you have lost everything. So that's what started it.

ROMO (on camera): It all started with a specific request from a school for prom dresses. The first day they received 300. So far, they have collected 1,200, and people are still showing up bringing more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have had, you know, people that have contacted us from Georgia and from Texas and all over the United States, wanting to know if they could ship dresses here. So it's really been incredible to see.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't think that we would have this many dresses.

ROMO: The dresses have been delivered to high schools around the area, including Renarda's. Some people donated shoes and accessories as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those go well with it.

RENARDA ARCHIE, TORNADO SURVIVOR: It is surprising like the dresses and the shoes and everything, like I never thought that somebody would do this for me. And it is like amazing.

ROMO: In the end, a Cinderella story -- a powerful need to help that wiped tears away and made Renarda's dream come true.

(on camera): And now, you look like a princess.

ARCHIE: Thank you. Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMO: And she definitely looked like a princess. Her prom is tonight, and actually she -- her date is going to be her cousin who also lost everything, his house included in this disaster. T.J., I was talking to the organizers of the Operation Prom Dress and also officials at the Shelby County schools, and they tell me that they have received so many dresses that they telling people that it's enough, thank you for the generosity, but it's enough already.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And, Rafael, that's great to see that outpouring. But also, how were they able to, I guess, just stay organized enough? There was so much damage around, you wonder -- I mean, do they have the resources and still have a facility and can people still get to the prom? You know, they are busy doing other things trying to pick up their lives back up.

ROMO: A lot of the people donating the dresses, T.J., are people who live a little bit south of here. They didn't experience the powerful tornadoes that made all of this damage, and so, they wanted to find a way to cheer people who had been in this situation. And so, they decided to donate. And we saw that lady, Melinda Huckabee (ph), she had a dress from her daughter that had been used only once, and it was in perfect condition, and she came out to donate it.

HOLMES: All right. Rafael, good to see you as always. That's a nice story there. We appreciate you bringing that one to us -- our Rafael Romo in Birmingham.

Also, something else I want to show our viewers right now -- a live picture here. Well, there is a massive effort underway. This is a live picture you're looking at. But what you're seeing here are rescuers and what they are trying to rescue? Whales.

This is just outside of -- and not too far from Key West, Florida, where these whales, at least 16 of these pilot whales ended up stranding themselves, and they are worried about their health. You see, a lot of people have come out to try to help these whales out. They're trying to get them in this particular pen and try to keep them going, keep them moving.

But we've seen these types of stories over the year, and this is not a good thing when often times these whales strand themselves -- nobody knows exactly why. But the area you are looking at is 20 miles north of Key West. It's about a four-mile stretch, a four-mile area we're talking about where at least 16 whales have turned up.

Now, unfortunately, we can tell you that two of them, unfortunately, have died.

But the issue here is that they don't know why these whales happen to strand themselves in some of the shallow water, but with so many doing so, they worry that there may be some kind of illness, some kind of sickness related to the whales. They don't exactly know.

But the effort is going on out there. And you see the folks out in the water desperately trying to save these whales. We don't know how much the efforts will pay off, but they are at least trying.

But we've been watching this story over the last couple of days now, don't know when they might be able to nurse these things back to health -- but just another story that we are keeping a close eye on as we look at the live picture again right outside of Key West, where there are at least 16 whales who have stranded themselves and the people right now desperately trying to save them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. A human rights group in Syria says at least 21 people were killed today in clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces. We are about to show you some images here, some video. We do want to warn you, some of it is a bit graphic.

This is after prayers today. Protesters flooded the streets of several cities across the country in what they called "a day of defiance" against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The government says seven soldiers and four police officers were killed by what it calls criminal gangs.

Protesters also took to the streets of Damascus. The government claims they blocked roads, threw stones and started fires. Both local and international human rights group say that more than 400 people have been killed in seven weeks of protest.

The U.S. government has called the violent crackdown barbaric.

We're going to Pakistan now, just days after the killing of Osama bin Laden, a U.S. drone today killed 12 suspected militants in Pakistan. Pakistani intelligence officials say it happened in the tribal region of North Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan. The unmanned drone, maybe like the one you are seeing here, hit a militant hideout and a vehicle carrying militants. The tribal region is a known staging area for Taliban forces fighting in Pakistan.

Pakistan demanded a U.S. apology after 44 people were killed in a drone strike last month. Today's attack was the 21st this year, compared to 111 in all of last year. Some political groups and Islamic fundamentalists have long used the drone attacks to stoke anti-American sentiment.

And listen to this -- in Asia, especially Thailand, they have become the hot spots for UFO sightings, with everyone from fund managers to diplomats saying that this is the century of Asia, extraterrestrial seems to be taking note as well, that's according to "The Wall Street Journal."

We don't know if what they are seeing is anything like the white dot in this video, but a 75-year-old Harvard-educated physician in Thailand says aliens have been coming to Asia for decades, but now, they sense a change.

Also, we don't know if what they are seeing there and other Asians are seeing in Thailand and other places say that they are seeing what looks like the UFO drawings in pictures that the folks in Britain say they saw back in the 1950s. "The Journal" says since the slump of the Western banking system in 2008, UFO sighting among Asia's fast growing economies have taken off, if you will. Some folks even blame them for shutting down airports in China, buzzing resorts in Indonesia, and lighting up the night sky in Myanmar.

Well, most Americans feel that the economy is in pretty bad shape. But exactly who do they blame? Mark Preston will tell me after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, time now for the CNN political update. And for that, we turn to our senior political editor, Mark Preston, joins me now from Washington.

Good to see you, buddy. What's going on?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, T.J., good to see you as well.

Look, I've got some good news and some bad news regarding the economy and President Obama.

Let's start off with the bad news. This new CNN/Opinion Research poll which is just released today shows that 82 percent of Americans believe that economic conditions in the country is poor.

Now, we shouldn't be too surprised by that, T.J. We've gone through some very tough times over the past couple of years, tough economic times, things are getting -- or seems to be getting a little bit better. We saw a new jobs report today and I guess it was about 244,000 new jobs added to the roles today. But still, not what it was.

Let's talk about the political angle when it comes to President Obama. Who is to blame for where we are right now? Let's take a look at these numbers. Again, the new CNN/Opinion Research poll: President Bush at 55 percent -- and a majority of the Americans believe that we are here because of President Bush's policies. And only -- President Obama, only 30 percent, and three in 10 Americans believe it is President Obama's responsibility.

And what do you, the voters, the viewers out there think are going to be the number one issues heading into the 2012 presidential election? Well, look at those as well, T.J., with some of the top issues heading into 2012 -- no surprise -- unemployment right now. Thirty-eight percent of Americans say that is the number one issue on their mind, followed by the federal deficit at 28 percent, gas prices at 21 percent, housing, 6 percent, taxes, 4 percent, and the stock market, 2 percent.

So, yes, a lot of talk about President Obama and his leadership on foreign policy over the past week with the killing of Osama bin Laden, but look, T.J., heading into 2012, it really does have to do with the economy.

HOLMES: Of course, it does. All right. Mark Preston for us, good to see you as always. And your next update from "The Best Political Team on Television" is just an hour away.

Well, a group of Chicago aldermen, they want to honor the military for killing of Osama bin Laden. But for the Navy SEALs who carried out that mission, a ticker tape parade ain't going to happen. I'm going to be talking to a Navy SEAL officer and he'll tell you why. He's coming up right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, another detail about the Osama bin Laden raid that a lot of people are finding fascinating. Reportedly one member of the U.S. elite team that took him out has four legs. Yes, man's best friend was used in the raid on the terrorist leader's hideout.

Man's best friend, of course, is the dog, and that's the subject of today's "Big Breakdown," canines and combat.

It is actually not surprised to learn that a dog was learned in the mission, because dogs have been fighting alongside U.S. troops for more than a hundred years, playing a pivotal role in military operations, from being in combat zones to comforting soldiers in the aftermath of duty.

"New York Times" quoting David Petraeus as saying that the dogs are useful because of the capability they bring to the fight cannot be replicated by man or machine.

So, how exactly are they so useful? Well, they are intelligent, alert. They have heightened senses, especially their smell. They've got endurance, athleticism. They run faster, jump higher than humans. They can get into smaller spaces, sometimes with a camera attached to their head to feed back video.

And just like the elite group of Navy SEALs, the four-legged fighter has not yet been identified, but the breed most likely used in the raid on bin Laden's compound was maybe a German Shepherd or Belgian Shepherd, a breed used frequently in raids in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In this specific raid in Pakistan, the dog may have been used to sniff out people or explosives. It was likely attached to a human SEAL and also lowered from a helicopter into the compound.

Some do question, though, the use of dogs in combat. And in fact, dogs do die, but they save human lives as well. They do things in missions that may be otherwise impossible, and most soldiers look at their four-legged friends as part of the team, not disposable machines.

And where do these highly trained and talented dogs go to retire? Well, they often become pets or therapy dogs for soldiers.

And it was minutes ago that President Obama, he landed at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. That is where he is expected to meet with the secretive Navy SEAL team that killed bin Laden and raided his compound. The meeting will take place soon in private so President Obama can honor and congratulate them.

But if you are among those Americans who would like to honor the team publically, that is just not going to happen, is it Eric? Eric Greitens is a Navy SEAL as well as the author of "The Heart and the Fist." He joins me now from New York.

And, Eric, explain to our viewers. Everybody wants to honor, wants to see, wants to hear us from these men, but explain why it's important that that just doesn't happen.

LT. COMDR. ERIC GREITENS, U.S. NAVY SEAL: Well, T.J. these men have been involved in this war for nine and a half years, often at great personal sacrifice, sacrifice of the families.

And they are going to stay involved in the fight, and in order for them to stay involved at that level, it is just really important that they, their unit, the tactics and the techniques and procedures they have remain classified so that they can continue to bring that fight to al Qaeda.

HOLMES: Would you be in support of or do you even think the conversation may be happening behind the scenes to make an exception of any kind in this case? This one was different, this is historic, and the American people want to see these guys.

GREITENS: I know that the American people absolutely want to see these guys. I personally consider them all to be heroes. They have done a fantastic job for all of us.

I think that it is very unlikely, though, that they would make an exception here. And I think that it is very unlikely that the men who conducted the operation would want an exception to be made.

It is -- I think that, you know, in the coming years, it is very unlikely that we will know who these men are, but perhaps a decade from now the information may come out and they may come forward and we can publicly recognize them then.

HOLMES: I still hear you say there even a decade later, it might come out. Do you think it is possible we will never know who these men were and who finally put the bullets into the body of bin Laden?

GREITENS: It is possible that we may never know. I -- with the most great secrets, you know, who was Deep Throat, things like that, eventually we sometimes find out that information. But for the foreseeable future, I think we'll have to be content knowing that it was a highly-trained, very dedicated warrior who did this on all of our behalf, who is probably going to remain anonymous.

HOLMES: Eric, what kind of stress, what kind of strain, what kind of life is this for these men? We had a report earlier from our Brian Todd of the hometown that were believed to be home of these SEALs, and a lot of people not really -- say they walk into the room, you would not even know who they are most times. What is that like to be in the their own hometowns with the wives, with their girlfriends, with family members that you can't even talk about what you do?

GREITENS: Well, one of the things that is important to recognize is that these guys do live with both the heart and the fist. And that fist of physical courage and tactical proficiency and great strength, but they also have a heart, and they come home and they are fathers and husbands and sons and baseball coaches and Cub Scout leaders, and they are welcomed home back into the communities, and they take on those roles as citizen warriors. Because they really are, they are both citizens and warriors, they live with both the heart and the fist. And I am sure that their communities and all of the families are going to be glad to have them home now.

HOLMES: Eric, do you think there's any way -- and I know these SEAL guys are trained to the "T" like nobody's business here -- but still, do you think a part of them as part as profession a unit as they are, when they heard that the target was Osama bin Laden, we heard some reports that there was a bit of a cheer and even more excitement, but is it difficult still when you hear that is who you are going after, that that the adrenaline gets going more?

GREITENS: I understand that there was a great cheer that went up when they heard it was Osama bin Laden. And I'm sure that this was a very important target for them, because you have to keep in mind, over this fight over the course of these nine and a half years, these guys have also lost comrades and friends and colleagues. I have personally lost friends who went through SEAL team training with me.

And so, for them to conduct this mission it was not just important on the war on terrorism, it was extraordinarily important for all Americans, but for them, this was also a mission that was personal and it was about justice.

HOLMES: Personal, that's a good way to put it there, a personal mission.

Eric Greitens, really, the people in this country would love to shake their hands and see them sitting down the do some big interviews, but we understand at the time.

Eric, good to see you again, Navy SEAL and author of "The Heart and the Fist." It is good to have you on with us. You enjoy your weekend.

GREITENS: Thank you, T.J.

HOLMES: All right, well, in two and a half minutes, folks, I'm going to be talking to the governor of Tennessee about historic flooding that's now taking place in his state. He'll be on the line with me, he is standing by to be. Two and a half minutes after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: All right, before we hand the NEWSROOM over to Brooke Baldwin, I want to talk to governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslam, he is on the line with me from Humboldt, Tennessee.

Sir, we appreciate you hoping on. I know that you and your state have been going through it over the past several weeks, tornados and now flooding. Let's stick with flooding here for just a second.

What part of the state is being affected the most and you describe it, just how bad off are you?

GOV. BILL HASLAM (R), TENNESSEE: The Mississippi River is the western border of the state, and so it is historic flood levels. It was a huge flood back in 1937 that is still kind of in the history books, and this is probably going to surpass that.

The Mississippi is fed by everything in the central part of the country, all of the waterways, and we are feeling the brunt of it. So when you see the Mississippi River and it is about two miles wide because it has lost the borders, it is sobering.

HOLMES: Governor, are you considering -- we are hearing about evacuations, but are any mandatory at this point?

HASLAM: We've had one or two small -- we've had a couple of smaller mandatory evacuations of areas that we thought necessitated that. That's been it so far. We are obviously monitoring it. We have everything from, you know, a state prison to nursing homes that could be endangered by the flooding.

So we are, along with help from the National Guard and the Emergency Management Association, we are staying on top of that, because it is, like I said, we are dealing with somebody that something who is alive today has ever seen in terms of this level of water.

HOLMES: Governor, are you asking for and will you get or need federal help?

HASLAM: We have. We have declared several counties -- we have asked for to be declared federal disaster areas, several of which have already been granted. Some of those are in the Eastern part where we had 40 tornadoes last week and this is kind of like the second front of a two-front war in west Tennessee. With the flooding, we have asked for and do expect for at least two or three of those counties to be declared.

HOLMES: Sir, at this point, do you know of any loss of life associated with these -- with this flooding or also any injuries associated with it?

HASLAM: Well, we have, and you know, the river kind of just, it is -- it's incredibly gradual process, so hopefully if everyone is smart, we won't have loss of life and people do the normal common sense things. So, so far, no, we have been blessed that we haven't had -- we have had 37 fatalities with the tornados last week, but the flooding so far we have not, and hopefully won't see any loss of life.

HOLMES: And, Governor, I know the most important thing here is protecting human life, but at the same time, states across the country have been strained financially and now here you are trying to deal, like you said, a two-pronged war, one part of the state hit by tornados, now this part of the state with flooding.

How do you plan on managing financially in the near future and maybe even down the road with these disasters that you have to pay for some kind of way?

HASLAM: Well, it is a challenge because not only do you have the cost of recovery and cleanup, but you have loss of business during all of this time, and states basically live on sales tax revenue. So we are making those adjustments.

And fortunately, we have had some pretty prudent budgeting practices in Tennessee, and have a good rainy day fund. And days like this is what you have them for.

HOLMES: All right, Governor Bill Haslam, governor of Tennessee, going through it right now, dealing with tornadoes one week, the next week historic flooding. Both events historic, quite frankly.

Governor, good luck to you and your folks there. We will continue to check in with you, thank so much.

All right, I will hand it over now as we get close to the top of the hour to Brooke Baldwin as the NEWSROOM continues right now.

Brooke, lot of folks going through it.