Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Hurricane Irene Slams the Bahamas, Projected to Hit U.S. East Coast Over Weekend; Intense Battles Around Tripoli International Airport; What Steve Jobs' Resignation as CEO of Apple Could Mean for the Company; Jackson Dr. In Court Next Hour; The Help Desk; Talk Back Question; Libya & The Price At the Pump

Aired August 25, 2011 - 11:58   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, top of the hour. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, let's get you up to speed.

The U.S. Navy dispatched dozens of ships to open sea today to get them out of the way of Hurricane Irene. The massive storm is barreling through the Bahamas today with top winds at 115 miles per hour.

Irene will impact the East Coast this weekend. Even if the eye doesn't come ashore, disaster officials are already getting ready for major disruptions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG FUGATE, FEMA DIRECTOR: And I would caution people, don't get too hung up on the actual category of the hurricane. We've seen tropical storms produce devastating flooding. And even up here in the northeast, with some of the tropical force winds, we can see a lot of power outages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Apple's stock is down today. Investors are worried about the company without Steve Jobs at the top. Jobs says he can no longer run Apple day to day, though he'll remain chairman of the board.

Jobs has a rare form of pancreatic cancer. He brought Apple from the brink of bankruptcy to a blockbuster with the iPod, iTunes, iPhone and iPad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every other company in the world, whether they're in, you know, consumer electronics or clothing or automobiles, they can learn from Apple and what they do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Apple's Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook will take over for Steve Jobs. A man identified as Moammar Gadhafi spoke on a Libyan radio station just a short time ago. He called on his fighters to continue the resistance and destroy the rebels. It's not clear if the broadcast was live or taped.

Meantime, that radio message comes as Libyan rebels say they think they have Gadhafi pinned down. They tell CNN he may be hiding in apartments not far from his compound; some of his sons may be with him as well.

And Italy confirms four Italian journalists were released in Libya today. They were kidnapped a day earlier on a road about 50 miles west of Tripoli. The Italian Foreign Ministry isn't sure who grabbed the reporters, but a spokesman says he presumes it was pro- Gadhafi forces.

And gold is falling for a third day in a row. The metal opened at $1,765 an ounce in New York trading today. That's the lowest price in a week and follows record highs above $1,900. Analysts say a report showing strong gains in manufacturing prompted the sell-off of gold, which some see as a safe haven in tough times.

The number of Americans filing first-time jobless claims is up again. The U.S. Labor Department says initial claims jumped by 5,000 last week for a total of 417,000. Analysts say weekly applications need to fall well below 400,000 for the economy to create jobs.

A 4.5 magnitude aftershock rattled Virginia today. It was centered near the town of Mineral, where the original East Coast earthquake hit on Tuesday. The Washington Monument, by the way, will continue to be closed to tourists indefinitely. The quake left cracks in the stone.

And engineers say Washington's National Cathedral is structurally sound, but the quake snapped three of the building's four spires and caused significant cracks in the limestone exterior.

And by the way, animals at Washington's National Zoo are giving stock to the notion that creatures can sense earthquakes before they happen. The zoo says the apes stopped eating and climbed to higher ground, lemurs and orangutans let out a screech, and the zoo's 64 flamingos gathered together and huddled until the quake was over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DON MOORE, ANIMAL CARE SERVICES: All of these behaviors were atypical given the behaviors that we observe in these animals at this time of day every single day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We thought it was strange. We stopped what we were doing and we watched her, and then we knew what was going on once we felt the shaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The zoo says the giant pandas were about the only animals that didn't notice the earthquake.

Along North Carolina's Outer Banks, tourists and some residents are packing up and heading to higher ground. Mandatory evacuation orders are going out as Hurricane Irene heads that way. Right now it is slamming the Bahamas.

CNN is your hurricane headquarters. Chad Myers has the latest on Iran's expected track. John Zarrella is on the North Carolina coast. And Jim Spellman is in the Bahamas.

So let's begin with Jim on the phone with us, if we're able to get a nice signal.

Tell us what's happening right now from Nassau.

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

Yes, it's still just more of this driving rain. This has been over 14 hours now of this driving wind and pounding rain that's just been pummeling Nassau, Bahamas, here.

But amazingly, I think so far, still no major damage. These buildings, the larger buildings here, anyway, are really built to withstand this kind of thing.

They haven't made out so well in the more southern Bahamian islands, where we're getting terrible reports of whole settlements wiped out. So we'll keep an eye on that as communications open up during the day and they're able to get some cell service back down there to try to find out what's going on.

Here, people are starting to emerge from their homes to drive around and kind of get a look, and people are telling us that there's some mild damage back in their neighborhoods, trees down, power lines down. But still, nothing too dramatic here damage-wise, which I have to say is really amazing to me, because it's just been hour after hour of these strong winds -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jim Spellman, thanks so much from Nassau. Appreciate that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, we're going to head on down to North Carolina, because that's the next big place that's keeping a close watch on this. Already mandatory evacuations in order. And that's where we also find our John Zarrella. He's at Wrightsfield Beach right now in North Carolina.

And so right now it looks very nice. A few folks who are enjoying it as best they can, because Irene is on the way.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's kind of interesting, Fredricka. When you look around us, you see all these people out here on the beach. It's a beautiful day here in coastal North Carolina. But, you know, the irony of that is that the governor of North Carolina, the governor of Virginia have already declared, in advance of the arrival of the storm, states of emergency in these -- along their coastal communities and in their states because of the growing threat that this storm could come very close, or perhaps right over the coastal areas of these two states.

Now, we're under a tropical storm watch here and a hurricane watch up off the Outer Banks. Now, both of these could very likely be changed to warnings by this afternoon, when the hurricane center puts out its next advisory at 5:00.

And, you know, right now for anybody from North Carolina northward -- I'm sure Chad has already mentioned this -- all the way northward, up into Maine, it's time to start stocking up on the supplies. Don't wait until the last minute, when everything is ripped from the shelves and there's nothing left.

Make sure you get your water. Make sure you have your medicines and your first-aid kits and your flashlights and your batteries, your portable radios, a portable TV, if you have one, enough water for four days for every member of your family. All those things are essential if the power goes out. Make sure you have a safe room designated in your house and evacuation routes chosen, and know where you've got to go if you've got to leave.

It's not too early now to start planning for all those eventualities, because clearly Irene is coming, and it's going to come very, very close to North Carolina, to Virginia, and perhaps right up the coastline.

So -- but again, as you can see here, Fredricka, a nice day. People are getting out, and tomorrow morning it will probably be pretty nice as well here. And then things will start to deteriorate as we go into the late afternoon, evening, and certainly by Saturday.

And the Coastal Cupcakes gave us these today to get us through the day in case we had nothing else to eat, with the little hurricane symbols on them -- cupcakes -- and the little hurricane flags on there.

WHITFIELD: That's nice.

ZARRELLA: So, I felt compelled because they went to so much trouble to do that for us --

WHITFIELD: That's so sweet.

ZARRELLA: -- to give them a little bit of a plug.

WHITFIELD: Literally, very sweet. All right. Thanks so much.

ZARRELLA: It really is. I'll save you one.

WHITFIELD: Oh, please do.

ZARRELLA: Yes, they do.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, John Zarrella. Appreciate that.

Great emphasis on having a plan for anyone living along the East Coast.

All right. Meantime, let's take a look at the rundown of some of the stories that we're covering over the next hour.

First, our Arwa Damon is live in Tripoli, where Libyan rebels say they have cornered Moammar Gadhafi.

And what does Steve Jobs' resignation as CEO of Apple mean for the future of the country? I'll talk to an editor with Wire.com about that.

And later, a head-on collision between a police car and a wrong- way driver is caught on tape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. New from Libya today, a message said to be from fugitive dictator Moammar Gadhafi urging his fighters to continue the resistance and not to be scared. The message was played on a loyalist radio station.

Earlier, Libyan rebels said they believed Gadhafi and his sons were holed up in an apartment complex near the former compound. They have surrounded the area -- the rebels have. However, other reports of Gadhafi being cornered have turned out to be wrong.

And we're also just getting in these new pictures of the fighting in Tripoli. Rebels are trying to stamp out remaining areas of resistance as the focus shifts to find Gadhafi.

All right. Now your chance to "Talk Back" on what's happening in Libya. Carol Costello is live for us from New York with some of your responses and the question -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The question today, Fredricka: What should happen if Moammar Gadhafi is captured?

Moammar Gadhafi does remain at large. The slippery dictator has evaded capture only to pop up on the radio, vowing to fight against the rebels for months or even years. Gadhafi's spokesman has also added, "We will turn Libya into a volcano of lava and fire under the feet of invaders and their treacherous agents."

While we all wait for the hot magma to start flowing, retired Major General Spider Marks says that this kind of rhetoric closes the door to a peaceful surrender by Gadhafi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GENERAL JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Somebody needs to shoot him in the face or -- and I don't know that there is an alternative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Libyan rebels have now put up a $1.4 million bounty to anyone who kills or captures Gadhafi. Still, knowing the eyes of the world are upon them, the rebels have also said they would offer Gadhafi a fair trial if captured alive.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague wants Gadhafi, too. We know what that kind of trial would look like.

But if a trial took place in Libya, would it resemble that, or would it resemble Saddam Hussein's trial in Iraq? Hussein, you'll remember, was found guilty and hanged. A videotape from his execution showed people taunting him, and it became an international controversy.

So, the "Talk Back" question today: What should happen if Gadhafi is captured?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your responses a little later in the show.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Carol. Look forward to that.

Now let's go live to Libya for the latest. CNN's Arwa Damon joins us live from the Tripoli International Airport, where rebels have found one of Gadhafi's previous hideouts.

So, Arwa, what more can you tell us about the situation there?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, we've actually been hearing quite a bit of heavy machine gun fire, the sounds of explosion coming from the northeast. So the battle around the Tripoli airport most certainly is not over, but rebels are saying they are making significant gains, and they are pointing to this bounty as evidence of that.

Now, last hour we showed you the interior of that mobile home that they say they got off of Gadhafi's farm that's located around 15 minutes away. Now, there was a pretty intense firefight there. One rebel fighter was killed, another one was wounded. They say that they detained a number of individuals that were at the farm.

But at the same time, they drove up these two golf carts that they saw they also brought from that location. And the senior commander was telling us how he could clearly remember a clip he saw on television back in March of Gadhafi coming out of one of these golf carts holding an umbrella. And for the rebels who were on the farm, we've been talking to them, and they say that seeing the type of luxurious life first hand that Colonel Gadhafi was leading while they were suffering really makes them even more determined than ever to try to capture him and bring him to justice.

WHITFIELD: So, even though the bounty is for capture or killing, most are feeling that they would rather he be captured alive? DAMON: That's the sense that we're getting, because they really want to hold him accountable for everything that Libya has been through. They really want to see him stand some sort of a trial, whether it's one in Libya or whether it's one that plays out on the international stage.

But they say that he has caused this country and its people to suffer so much, that he has to be held accountable. There has to be some sort of closure to this all.

So many of these young fighters have already lost loved ones. One of the commanders here, for example, his father was the main Zintan fighter -- that's an area to the south. His father was killed. He has then picked up his father's mantle. He says he's fighting for his father, he's fighting for all of Libyans.

And so they do want to see this resolved, they do want to see justice served.

WHITFIELD: Arwa Damon, thanks so much, in Tripoli, at the international airport.

Steve Jobs took Apple to the heights of success. Now he has resigned as CEO. We'll look at who is taking over the biggest technology company in the world now, and what it means for Apple's future.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE NICERO, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Steve Jobs is one of the great innovators in the history of modern capitalism. He is also one of the genius marketers, with ways of getting people to get interested in and buying products that nobody -- that we haven't seen in a long time. Apple is going to miss that, without question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The man behind the iPod, the iPad, and the iPhone is stepping down from his job as Apple's CEO. Steve Jobs has been battling pancreatic cancer for several years now and has been on medical leave since January, but he only alluded to his health in his letter of resignation to Apple's board last night, saying, "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, the day has come."

So joining me now to talk about Jobs' resignation and the future of Apple is Wired.com's New York bureau chief, John Abell.

So, John, Jobs and Apple are interchangeable. So when you see how iPad, iPods, iPhones, all of it influenced other companies, is Jobs the single most influential person in the computer technology industry, in your view, as well? JOHN ABELL, WIRED.COM: Well, I mean, certainly you can make a case for that. Clearly, in the digital age he's the number one high- tech CEO. Broader than that, you can make a case that he's more important, ultimately, than Bill Gates, Hewlett-Packard and people like that.

But even broader than that, you could make a case that he's one of the greatest CEOs in the history of the CEO-dom. And we won't actually know that for a while. But, yes, absolutely, he's right up there vying for a number one overall.

WHITFIELD: You know, Tim Cook, a quieter presence, but he has been Jobs' right hand. While he may be leading differently, his style may be a little different, would he be sticking to the same vision of the company, the same kind of method of execution?

ABELL: Yes, absolutely. He has Apple DNA through and through.

He, Jobs and Johnny Ive, the designer, the person who's responsible for the look of all their hardware, have been working together for a very, very long time. Cook has run the company on and off for years.

There was a time when the spiritual leader role was very important, and Steve Jobs was that. He would go and he would rally the fans, and he would do the developers' conferences, and he would say, you know, we can do it, we can beat these guys, and people would love that.

Now Apple is a mainstream consumer products company, and their leader is now somebody who knows actually how to get things from the drawing board, to the manufacturing plant, to the stores better than anybody probably in the business. So it's a perfect time for Tim Cook, and he certainly knows the company inside and out.

WHITFIELD: So, even without Jobs -- you know, his DNA is throughout the company. We heard in that Tim Cook statement that that is very much the case. Throughout the company culture, apparently, inventions, and even ideas with many years' reach are apparently in the pipeline. So people may not see a real difference in Apple, at least in the near future.

Would you agree with that?

ABELL: Yes. Companies tend to have things in the design stage many, many years before they reach fruition. I mean, Gillette used to say that when they released a new razor, they were already working on the one that would replace the one that they were announcing today.

Apple was working on the iPad before they released the iPhone. So it's anybody's guess what they're working on at Cupertino. It's a very, obviously, secretive company, and rightly so.

Yes, in the short and the medium term, we're going to see the same kind of stuff coming from Apple. Whether they're hits or misses, we don't know. That's a matter of the market to decide. But we will see innovation.

The real question for Apple is in 10 to 20 years, in 20 years and beyond, when the current leaders that were part of the Jobs era are no longer running the company. And the way things go in the marketplace, though, companies tend to have a life span of being on top of their game for a generation or so anyway, unless they're IBM. So that timing would even sort of make sense to see what Apple could be in its next phase.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right. Fantastic.

John Abell, New York bureau chief of Wire.com.

Thanks so much for your time.

ABELL: A pleasure.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're working on.

Next, Libyans take to the streets to celebrate rebel victories against Moammar Gadhafi and his forces. We'll go live to Benghazi.

Then, the doctor accused in the death of pop star Michael Jackson heads to court to plead his case for a sequestered jury.

And later, the East Coast gets prepared for a powerful hurricane.

We're following minute-by-minute developments in Libya. Here's the latest.

A message said to be from fugitive dictator Moammar Gadhafi urges his fighters to continue the resistance and not to be scared. The message was played on a loyalist radio station.

And earlier, Libyan rebels said they believed Gadhafi and his sons were holed up in an apartment complex near his former compound. Other reports of Gadhafi being cornered have turned out to be wrong.

And we're also just getting in these new pictures of the fighting in Tripoli. Rebels are trying to stamp out remaining areas of resistance as the focus shifts to finding Gadhafi.

So, who are the people who would take over Libya once Gadhafi is captured?

In February, people in eastern Libya got together and formed the National Transitional Council. There are 33 members, and these are the two top leaders.

On the left is the chairman, Mustafa Abdul Jalil. On the right is the vice chairman and spokesperson, Abdul Hafez Ghoga. Jalil is a judge who was part of Gadhafi's regime. He resigned as minister of justice six months ago after seeing troops loyal to Gadhafi shoot peaceful demonstrators. Jalil often ruled against the government during his career. Human rights groups have praised him for bravely trying to reform Libya's criminal code.

Now, here's what he said on Libyan TV about his role as leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUSTAFA ABDUL JALIL, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL TRANSITIONAL COUNCIL (via translator): My role after the fall of Gadhafi will continue unless I lose control of the golden aspirations that I aim for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The vice chairman Abdul Hassed Ghoga is a human rights lawyer and community organizer. He was arrested after the anti-government protests began and released a few days later. He says once Gadhafi is out, the group hopes to hold national elections within three months.

The transitional council also includes a professor educated in the U.S., a former political prisoner and an attorney whose uncle was imprisoned for opposition activities. The council has already drawn up this draft of the constitution. It sets out a plan to create a multiparty democracy with Islamic Sharia law as the main source of legislation.

A CNN iReporter from South Carolina gets an up-close look at the dramatic events sweeping across Libya. We talked with Sammi Addahoumi earlier this week, and he has since filed this picture of Libyans hoisting a banner saluting NATO leaders for their efforts.

Sammi Addahoumi joins us once again from Benghazi, Libya. So, when we last talked to you, there was a whole lot of celebration going on. What's happening right now? Is it still festive or have things calmed down a little bit?

SAMMI ADDAHOUMI, CNN IREPORTER: Yes, Fredricka, everything is fantastic in Benghazi. The mood still is quite celebratory. Every night people gather in Freedom Square to celebrate the victories in Tripoli and throughout Libya.

However, people are still quite aware there's fighting going on. They know for a fact Gadhafi hasn't been captured; his sons are still at large. So, by all means, the war is still going on. They're celebrating, but not celebrating the end of the war.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, what are people saying about the fact that Gadhafi is a fugitive, that he and his sons are holed up somewhere? Do people talk at all about their fears or their concerns about that?

ADDAHOUMI: Yes, of course, there are fears that he might never be caught. And more than that, there are people more certain he will be caught. But of course, there's the uncertainty without his capture or his death documented that NTC will have a hard time getting legitimacy as a true ruling force of Libya if Gadhafi is still at large somewhere and has the ability to reappear at some time. That's very important for the Libyan people and for the National Transitional Council itself.

WHITFIELD: And so I wonder --

ADDAHOUMI: To make sure everybody in Libya knows he's dead.

WHITFIELD: So, Sammi, I wonder if you can kind of paint a picture for me, you know, the scene in Benghazi. What does it look like around you? Are people spending the majority of the time inside their homes right now? Just tell me what it's like.

ADDAHOUMI: Well, of course, during the month of Ramadan, traditionally it's very slow during the days. And that's the situation here in Benghazi. For most of the day, the people are staying at home. Some of the shops are open, of course, but only a few hours a day.

The city really comes alive at night, and it really comes alive when good news comes through about the war. When there's a large, breaking story such as the liberation of Tripoli or the seize of Gadhafi's compound, the streets just surge with people and cars. And everyone is extremely happy.

WHITFIELD: Sammi Addahoumi, thanks so much for your iReporting out of Benghazi.

All right, back in this country much of the East Coast get slammed by Hurricane Irene this weekend. A lot of people could lose power, water, and phone service. If you live in the path of the storm, we'll show you a hurricane preparation kit that could help you get through the worst of it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, this weekend millions of people could feel the impact of Hurricane Irene if it makes landfall on the East Coast as expected.

CNN's Jason Carroll is live from Rockaway Beach, New York. So, Jason, what kind of preparations are being made there?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, first let me just set the scene where we are. This is one of those low- lying areas on the East Coast. We're only about 14 feet above sea level. And if you look at one of the maps of this area where we are in Rockaway, about 30 minutes outside of Manhattan, on one side you have Jamaica Bay. And on the other side you have the Atlantic Ocean.

And so, the worry here -- they've seen it in the past -- when you have a major storm that comes through, you have something that's called when the bay meets the ocean. What's trapped in between? Places like Rockaway. So, you have businesses like the Sandbar here, which is right on the boardwalk. I spoke to the owner here, Fredricka. He says they're going to stay open. It's just a little too early for them -- even in this economy when you have a hurricane coming, you stay open as long as you can. So, these guys aren't going to board up until at least late Friday, possibly early Saturday.

But that doesn't mean people here are not concerned. I want to introduce you to one of these men, spoke to him a little earlier. This is Danny Ruscillo. He's lived here for 16 years and lives just about eight blocks away from where we stand now. And Danny, we were talking a little bit earlier if an evacuation is ordered whether you will stay or go?

DANNY RUSCILLO, ROCKAWAY BEACH RESIDENT: Well, what I'm going to do is feel it out. Category 1, I'll probably hang in there. If I see that it goes a little bit higher, I'll probably go to the mainland. But we'll see. We've had very high winds before. I'm only here 16 years, and I hear the last storm 1985, Hurricane Hugo, I was talking to a few of my residents, actually. And friends. And they said that they definitely left when HurricaneHugo hit.

CARROLL: And you know, there's always been this concern about whether or not the ocean meets the bay.

Just a little bit of a history lesson here, Fredricka, it happened in 1960 during Hurricane Donna. Happened again in 1944 during an unnamed storm. This is what some of the long-time residents here are telling me. Once again, only 14 feet above sea level where we are now. Any concern about that happening this time around?

RUSCILLIO: Oh, sure. There was a lot of concern about it. I wasn't here; I didn't live here at the time when the bay met the ocean. But that would be a disaster because you have a the lot of local areas here with flooding and stuff like that. We'll see what happens.

CARROLL: All right. So, right now a little early here, Fredricka. It's wait and see. Once again, residents are concerned. They are going to wait before they start boarding up. Wait to see exactly where that hurricane tracks. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Jason Carroll, thanks so much. Maybe a little too early for the folks at Rockaway Beach there in New York. But not too early for the states of Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey where already the governors there have declared states of emergency in advance of Hurricane Irene.

So, let's check in with Chad Myers. Other ways in which people need to be prepared. We see those governors are saying you know what? Preemptively let's go here.

Now what about regular citizens? What can folks do to brace?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You need to prepare to camp for five days. I know we have all of this stuff, and we hold it up. And people are trying to write it down. Oh, I need this, I need this, I need this.

What you need to think about is going camping. I don't care if you camp in your fifth floor apartment.

WHITFIELD: Just stuff that you would need.

MYERS: Camp. You don't have water. You don't have electricity. What do you do to camp for five days? Be prepared.

WHITFIELD: Good way of putting it.

MYERS: Don't expect the government to take care of you because there will be millions of people in the same situation.

WHITFIELD: Sure.

MYERS: So, go out and buy water. Really? You have to buy water? No! I just saw you had this on your desk. It's a bottle of water.

WHITFIELD: Fill up your tub and sinks. Fill up containers. Sure.

MYERS: When you finish the gallon of milk, rinse it out, fill it up with water, put it in the fridge. Water is water. When it gets closer, then you maybe fill up your tub because you might have to use that to flush the toilet and other things. That'll be your gray water. Your tub water is your gray water. Don't drink that.

Turn your freezer on cold, as cold as it will go. Not the fridge. You don't want to freeze things in the fridge. Turn your freezer on cold, as cold as it will go so everything gets rock-hard. Then you might have three or four days before it actually melts.

Medicines, you have to get those refills. Let's say you have ten days worth of medicine left, and all of a sudden the pharmacy is not open for 11. What do you do? You're already out of medicine. Get that next month's refill right now.

Make sure the babies have things. Babies need special things, diapers and things.

And get some gas in the car. Maybe don't make a big gas line and fill it up and make everything a big run on gas, but that gasoline, the car makes air-conditioning for you. The car makes power for you. You can plug in your charger or the phone. There's so many ways you don't think about unless you're camping like that.

Also remember if this thing kind of does makes a run at the Hudson Bay, there are only so many ways off Long Island, and that's going to be an issue. I can't tell you when it's going to be like with 50,000 cars on Long Island Expressway stopped and the hurricane then comes because nobody else can get off. Prepare early.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And have some cash.

MYERS: That's a great idea, yes! That is a great idea.

WHITFIELD: ATMs won't be working. When things do finally open up, it will be cash only.

MYERS: Money talks.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: That's right. It talks all the time. All right, Chad, appreciate that. Thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right. We're going to talk about some legal matters, like should the jury in the Michael Jackson trial be sequestered? Details straight ahead on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In about 15 minutes, attorneys for the man accused in the death of pop legend Michael Jackson will make his argument for sequestering a jury. Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyers say it's the only way he'll get a fair trial next month.

Our Thelma Gutierrez explains why they want to keep jurors away from certainly media personalities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Huge controversy surrounding this case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Manslaughter trial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He continues to practice.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The criminal trial against Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, hasn't even started.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Claiming watching "Nancy Grace" will prevent a fair trial.

GUTIERREZ: Already the intense scrutiny and publicity the case is generating is worrying the defense team, especially on the heels of the massive coverage of the Casey Anthony trial.

Murray's attorneys say this trial will be bigger, calling it the most publicized in history. So they filed a motion asking the court to sequester jurors for the duration of the trial, which is expected to last six weeks.

MICHAEL FLANAGAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I would like to try just in this courtroom. And the only way that I think that that can be done is probably to have a sequestered jury.

SHEPARD KOPP, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There is a less than 10 percent chance that this jury will be sequestered.

GUTIERREZ: Defense Attorney Shepard Kopp says sequestration is expensive and the state is broke. Look what happened in Florida, where the jury in the Casey Anthony trial was sequestered, costing taxpayers there nearly $200,000.

KOPP: You've got to have individual hotel rooms for each juror. You've got to provide for their meals.

GUTIERREZ: And round the clock security. But Defense Attorney Ellyn Garofalo says since cameras will be allowed in the courtroom, it's the only way to insulate jurors.

ELLYN GAROFALO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You eliminate the possibility that they're talking to friends and family, that they're inadvertently seeing news. And in a case like this, which is as high profile as it gets, it is not unreasonable to ask to sequester a jury.

GUTIERREZ (on camera): Sequestration could run well into the six figures, and that's on top of the cost of the trial. But defense experts argue that in this highly publicized case, it may be the price of a fair trial for Dr. Murray.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And today's "Talk Back" question, rebels say they have Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi surrounded, but what should happen to the dictator if he is captured? Carol Costello has your responses coming up.

But first, here's some free money advice from the CNN "Help Desk."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Manisha Thakor, a personal finance expert.

Interesting questions. Yours is from Kevin. Kevin wrote in, "how much should parents save for each child's 529? Should it be a percentage of our monthly income or should it be based on the type of school the child may attend?" So, you know, some people do this at birth. You don't know if they're going to a private university or a state school.

MANISHA THAKOR, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Poppy, you so nailed it. And I think the first question really to ask is, what is your family's philosophy about paying for education? I think that may have to change going forwards. We have a retirement crisis and a lot of families aren't going to be able to do both.

If you can, the key is to save as much as you can early on in your child's life. You can put up to $13,000 and avoid -- a year into a 529 and avoid gift tax issues, which means you and your spouse could put in up to $26,000 a year. You can put in $65,000 lump sum if you don't contribute for the next four yours after that.

So rather than thinking of a set percentage or a specific type of school, I really want parents to be thinking about, can they fund their retirement, first and foremost. And then, with what's leftover, what's the maximum amount they can put in as early on as possible to have that run and compounding working for them?

HARLOW: Sure, because they don't want to pay for their child's education all the way through and then have their child have to take care of them in retirement because they didn't --

THAKOR: Exactly.

HARLOW: The didn't save enough.

THAKOR: Not a win for anyone.

HARLOW: Great advice.

And if you have a question you want answered by our experts, just send us an e-mail any time to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We want to show you some new images that have been posted on YouTube that we want to be able to bring to you. And these images right here apparently showing rebel forces liberating prisoners from the Abus Salim prison in Tripoli. This video was actually posted on YouTube Wednesday, August 24th. And you will see also in the images here that rebels apparently break open some metal doors of the cells with prisoners who are waiting inside. And many of them then released. These images here from YouTube.

All right, more now on all that's taking place in Libya. Carol Costello is in New York for us with today's "Talk Back" question and the responses. Today's question, what should happen if Moammar Gadhafi is to be captured?

Carol, what do people say?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me give it a go here.

This is from Charles. "It would be best if he's tried in Libya and then sent to war crimes trial. After conviction for war crimes, he should be sent back to Libya for execution. Libya needs to start as a democratic country for all their people's futures. In the end, it's up to the Libyan people. No one else should have a say in this."

Kevin -- this is from Kevin. "Trial in the Hague. No reason to sink to his level of savagery." This from John. "It's unlikely he will let anyone take him alive or that the rebels have any desire to. The best thing would be just to kill him. There can be no doubt he deserves it and this would alleviate any possible escapes or a future release because he is in bad health."

This from Bob. "Everyone deserves a fair trial, even if you are a leader of a country. So give him a fair trial and let his peers determine his fate."

Keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn. And thank you, as always, for your comments.

WHITFIELD: OK. And, Carol, you know, I know you probably have incorporated some new words into your lexicon. New words that have --

COSTELLO: I try to remain hip.

WHITFIELD: Yes. You know, you've got to sometimes, right? All right, well take a look at some of the new words that have made it into the dictionary. Some of this year's additions to the Miriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary.

So, the new meaning of the word "tweet" is now in the dictionary. You knew that was coming. And then "social media." That also made the cut. As did the "helicopter parent," the term for overzealous moms and dads who kind of hover over their young at the playground and anywhere else.

And then, parents, you've got to get used to the whole "boomerang child." You thought your kid had gone away, but here they come again.

And then "fist bump." You know that, right, Carol? You probably do a fist bump every now and then, yes?

COSTELLO: Michelle Obama made it famous. Come on.

WHITFIELD: That's right, during that election season. So, well, you know, now we're all hip. We all know what's in Webster's nowadays.

COSTELLO: Hey, somebody tweeted me a new word. He said he was twappy to see me via tweet.

WHITFIELD: He was twappy. Oh, that's very cute. All right. Thanks for the tweets out there.

COSTELLO: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, Carol, appreciate that.

All right, the collapse of the Gadhafi regime, well it could get the oil flowing in Libya again and that could save you money at the gas pump. Hear what one analyst has to say about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: The war in Libya disrupted that country's oil production. Getting the oil flowing again could actually save you money when you fill your gas tank. But by how much and how soon? That depends on how quickly Libya's oil industry can get back on track. The story now from CNN's Mary Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the Gadhafi regime falls, one of the big questions is what happens now to one of Libya's biggest assets, it's oil? Libya supplied about 2 percent of the world's oil until civil war broke out in February, bringing production to a virtual halt.

SNOW (on camera): Before the war started, Libya was producing about 1.6 million barrels of oil a day. And it has one of the largest reserves in Africa (ph). It exports most of its oil and its biggest customers are in Europe. Italy gets about 28 percent of its oil from Libya. France is its second biggest customer.

SNOW (voice-over): While Europe will feel a bigger impact than the U.S., since the U.S. doesn't use Libyan crude oil, one energy analyst says drivers everywhere could wind up paying less at the pump.

PETER BEUTEL, ENERGY ANALYST, CAMERON HANOVER: It will have an impact on worldwide gasoline prices, and that will end up helping U.S. consumers by about four to six cents a gallon, I predict, over the next month or two.

SNOW: That timetable is up for debate.

What's unknown is how much damage has been done to refineries, pipelines and oil wells. And then there's the political question.

HELIMA CROFT, SR. GEOPOLITICAL STRATEGIST, BARCLAYS CAPITAL: If you don't have a stable security environment in Libya, if you have the sense that you're looking the a protracted political and security power vacuum, western companies are going to be reluctant to go back in.

SNOW: There are predictions it could take 18 months to three years for Libya to restore its oil production to full capacity, but analyst Peter Beutel doesn't see western countries allowing that to happen.

BEUTEL: And here's an opportunity for them to help a struggling democracy stands on its own two feet. If that means every single oil expert from Texas to Rotterdam is suddenly on a plane to Libya to get their oil up and running, I think there's a chance that that could happen.

SNOW (on camera): Some of the U.S. energy companies that were in Libya and had to leave say they have no timetable about when they might send personnel back in. One company, though, Marathon Oil, says it's had preliminary talks with the National Transitional Council about coming up with a working plan to restore production once the situation stabilizes.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye.

Randi.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Fred. Thank you very much.