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Evacuations Ordered Due to Flooding in Paterson, New Jersey; Vermont Devastated by Irene; Major Scare has Porn Industry on Edge; Gadhafi's Female Executioner; Polygamist Leader Convicted to Life; Wildfire Evacuations

Aired August 30, 2011 - 13:59   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: It's 2:00 p.m. in the East, where the rains of Irene are long gone, but the ravages are all around.

Just look at Vermont. Hundreds of roads and bridges are trashed or submerged. Whole communities are still isolated. FEMA Director Craig Fugate is touring the state and promising federal help, even if it means delaying long-term help for past disasters.

In New Jersey, first responders are rafting house to house, rescuing people by the hundreds. Pets along with them from the bloated Passaic River. It's cresting today, well above what's considered major flood stage. Likewise, the Connecticut River, due to crest at midnight.

From Florida to Massachusetts, at least 41 deaths are being blamed on Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene. And more than three million homes and businesses still don't have power. Flood warnings are in effect for Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

Let's get to our Mary Snow on what's supposed to be dry land. She's in Paterson, New Jersey.

Mary, what is the latest on the rescue effort?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, Randi, the Passaic River, which is behind me -- it's about three blocks behind me -- was expected to crest this afternoon, right around now. And there have been evacuations going on throughout the day because there are some areas in this town that are flooding that don't normally flood.

There are some areas that are prone to flooding, but we're being told that there are some not used to this. And people have been staying on behind too long.

We're going to be joined right now by Scott Evans with New Jersey Task Force One Urban Search and Rescue.

And Scott, we saw two boats pull up, a father and son pulled out. What happened?

SCOTT EVANS, N.J. OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Yes. We just got a call that there were two people in the water that right near the river.

We had one boat out there that was doing a recon mission, so we quickly redirected that person. It was about five blocks downstream, which was an intersection just adjacent to the river. So they were literally being pulled into the river. So we had two boats go assist them.

SNOW: And where were they? I mean --

EVANS: They were going back to their home to check on their house. They were just one block -- he says the intersection. He felt the strong current pulling them into the river, and they were just right outside their house. So we were lucky we had a boat in the water doing a recon.

SNOW: And is it just a matter of people not realizing how deep this is, how strong the water is?

EVANS: Yes, absolutely. I don't think they understand the power of the water and how deep it is. I had just come back from -- completed a recon a short time ago, and just the difference in the last couple of hours, I mean, we have water over street signs, we have water that's over one-story buildings.

We literally had to duck under electric lines to get into different passageways behind the homes. So they just don't understand how quickly it rises and how fast it moves.

SNOW: And you're expecting the river to crest around now?

EVANS: Yes, we're anticipating this would be the crest of the river. And it could stay at this level for some time, even before it starts to recede.

SNOW: Recede. All right. Scott Evans, thank you very much for your time.

And Randi, we were talking to the mayor of Paterson earlier, and he was saying that he is looking to open up a few schools so that when people are evacuated -- he's anticipating thousands of people will be evacuated, and he is looking to open some schools to serve as shelters.

KAYE: And in terms of yourself, Mary, have you had a chance to talk to any of the residents there? I mean, do they have any idea what their future plans are, how they're going to dry out?

SNOW: They're looking to stay with family and friends for the people that I've talked to. And they said that they really did not anticipate the water to get this high.

As I mentioned a little bit earlier, this is a city that is prone to flooding. And one man I spoke to said that he was going to stay in his home. He just expected the waters to recede, and then he realized at one point last night that the water wasn't going down, that it was actually rising, and he realized he had to get out. And he did not have a phone, so he was waiting for a boat and somebody to come by and take him out.

KAYE: Mary Snow, in Paterson, New Jersey.

Mary, thank you very much.

And in just a few minutes, I'll speak live with emergency responders in Vermont, and we'll revisit the finances of FEMA. As you know, it has been a disastrous year.

(NEWSBREAK)

KAYE: Coming up, much more on the emergency in Vermont. We'll find out what the state is doing right now to reach communities still cut off by flooding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: As you saw at the top of the show, some of the worst damage we've seen is in Vermont, where people are still cut off by the flooding. Some of the waters have started to recede, leaving a better picture of the destruction left behind.

CNN's Amber Lyon has made her way to the Vermont town of Rockingham. She joins me now.

Amber, set the scene for us there.

AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, over here we're at this road, and this road leads to a town called Grafton. And there are 800 residents in there that are stranded.

The town has essentially become an island, because this road into town and the other road out of town are now destroyed. There's a river on the other side of this piece of construction equipment, and when that flooded, it completely took out the road. It's just piecing away out here.

You can just grab it off the side. It's crumbling. And this construction crew's biggest desire is to clean this up as soon as possible so that emergency vehicles can get in here in case any of the residents need any help.

And as of now, the only way into town is by ATV. And we just found Tara Taylor (ph) and her family, who just came back from Grafton.

And Tara, can you set the scene for us? What is it like? I mean, 800 people stranded and they can't get out.

TARA TAYLOR (ph), GRAFTON RESIDENT: Yes, it's one massive mess up through there. It's just -- there's no words to describe this. I've never seen nothing like it, and I hope this never happens again.

LYON: What is the sentiment among the people there? Do they have enough supplies, electricity?

TAYLOR: Yes. The upper part of Grafton has electricity, but there's a lot that's still running on generators.

But as far as supplies, everybody is good. We've got people going in and out that can help them, and checking on everybody to make sure everybody is safe or nobody has been hurt or anything like that. We've been very lucky with this.

LYON: And what do the residents think? Are they nervous that they can't leave? Or what's the feeling of kind of being stranded in their homes?

TAYLOR: I really haven't talked to too many of them, but they seem to be pretty relaxed, for the most part. There's people going around, like I said, checking on them, and they know they have help if they need it.

LYON: And tell us a little bit about the damage. What type of damage did you and your family see when you went through there?

TAYLOR: Well, there was a garage, a two-bay (ph) garage that's completely gone. There was part of a house that went that we saw.

The Grafton town garage, the back end of that is gone. Their sand pile, that's somewhere floating down the river. I didn't go any further than the middle of the street, but unbelievable.

LYON: And did you see anything that really stood out in your mind, that surprised you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've seen pictures up along the road of where my barn is. It's up on that hill. And it just tore me apart on how it was, like, all just gone.

LYON: Thank you very much.

TAYLOR: Thank you.

LYON: And best of luck.

And crews out here continue to clean up these roads. Several communities stranded like this town of Grafton as emergency crews and relief efforts are under way here in Vermont.

KAYE: Amber Lyon there, reporting from Cambridge.

Amber, thank you very much.

And joining me now on the phone to talk about relief, rescue and recovery efforts in Vermont is Mark Bosma from the Vermont Office of Emergency Management.

Mark, thank you very much for your time.

We spoke over the weekend, when this was all coming down. Talk to me a little bit about what the biggest concern is there right now.

MARK BOSMA, VERMONT OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: The biggest concern right now is the welfare of our residents, and that has been from the beginning. On Sunday, that included doing rescues whenever necessary, and now it's ensuring everyone has the basic necessities they need.

KAYE: And do they?

BOSMA: Well, not everyone does. People are running out of food and water and other basics. And so we are bringing in supplies to them, water and food and diapers and formula and various other items.

Our National Guard is flying in some supplies to those towns that can't be accessed any other way. They're going to drop the supplies for the towns, and then the towns are going to distribute them to residents. So if anyone in any of those affected towns want to know how to get that, they should call their town.

And there are a few other areas where there is limited access, but people still are having trouble getting supplies. We're trucking them into those areas.

KAYE: You say call their town. Can they call their town? I mean, are the phone lines working? Are the offices open?

BOSMA: Well, not in all cases. They'll need to figure out a way or -- it's been difficult with communications, but the state police have been going door to door in some cases, checking on the welfare of people. So just neighbor helping neighbor and getting word as best they can.

KAYE: Still, it looks like plenty of work to be done there.

Mark Bosma, appreciate your time from the Emergency Management Office there in Vermont. Thank you.

A major scare has the porn industry on edge. We'll tell you what's put a stop to porn film production, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: FEMA is putting the breaks on some long-term repair and rebuilding projects because its disaster funding is running low. Here is a closer look at exactly why.

Take a look at this map here behind me. Forty states highlighted here in blue have made major disaster declarations this year. That means they're all eligible for federal funds from FEMA following some sort of natural disaster.

In fact, there have been 10 storms that have cost at least $1 billion each this year alone from severe winter storms in parts of the Northeast and Midwest, tornadoes and flooding in the Southwest, and out West. This has been a very stormy and costly year. And what's worse, we're just now approaching the height of hurricane season.

FEMA says its disaster relief fund is below $1 billion right now, which is the minimum amount that they like to keep on hand. That means some projects have to be put on hold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG FUGATE, DIRECTOR, FEMA: The survivors that are eligible for assistance are still getting funds. Individual assistance programs were not affected by this, nor was any protective measures or any debris clearance or any project that had already been approved. The only thing that we have postponed is new projects that are permanent work that had not been started when we go into immediate needs funding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We're not diverting any funds from reconstruction in Joplin, Missouri. All we have done is to make sure that all survivors are paid, all ongoing projects continue. But no new projects will be approved until we see what the immediate survivors of Irene need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The Obama administration may be forced to go to Congress for more FEMA disaster aid. That's likely to mean yet another confrontation between the two parties and the two chambers of Congress.

And we are still waiting to hear from North Carolina Governor Perdue, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. They are holding a news conference in North Carolina, and we'll bring that to you live any moment now.

Porn film production across Los Angeles has temporarily shut down. According to the "Los Angeles Times," the shutdown was prompted after an adult film performer tested positive for HIV.

In the wake of this HIV scare, a porn industry trade group, Free Speech Coalition, urged adult film production companies to stop production on Monday. The Free Speech Coalition executive director told the "L.A. Times" several major porn studios, including Hustler Video, have agreed to shut down for now.

Molly Hennessy-Fiske is the "Los Angeles Times" reporter who dug into this story, and Molly joins us now from Los Angeles.

Molly, when did the Free Speech Coalition, the porn trade group, find out about this performer being HIV positive?

MOLLY HENNESSY-FISKE, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, they had said in a statement that they found out on Saturday, and then first thing on Monday morning, they had contacted the studios and organized this moratorium while further testing is done to confirm or make sure that that first test, the HIV positive test, was correct.

KAYE: And this porn performer was tested out of state. Why is that important to note?

HENNESSY-FISKE: That's correct. That's what the Free Speech Coalition has told us, that the test was done while the performer was working out of state.

In past cases that we've seen here in Los Angeles, the county public health officials became involved because the testing folks were required to be reporting portions of the test results to them so that the public health officials could be sort of monitoring and making sure that secondary testing was going on, that people who might have been exposed to that person were getting testing, knew what was going on. But in this case, it's not really clear whether state or other government officials have been notified or involved in that process. The Free Speech Coalition has said that they are notifying people who may have been exposed, and sort of managing that testing process.

KAYE: Yes, I was going to ask you, so are people who might have been involved in porn films with this person, they are being notified and they're being tested?

HENNESSY-FISKE: That's what the -- Diane Duke at the Free Speech Coalition has told us. And in the past, what we've seen is it's not just people who may have performed with the individual who tested positive, but also other sex partners -- you know, girlfriends, boyfriends, other people outside of the business.

KAYE: Given the business, is there some type of system in place? I mean, is there regular testing that is required here?

HENNESSY-FISKE: There is testing that goes on. It's voluntary testing done where performers have to test every 30 days, and they have to be cleared to perform.

And the Free Speech Coalition recently launched a new Web site that is sort of a database of not test results specifically. It doesn't have any private, protected medical information on it, but it does say whether a performer is cleared to perform or not, so that then the studios or the producers could look at that and be sure that the person had tested.

KAYE: So how many porn studios have shut down, and for how long, do you think?

HENNESSY-FISKE: It's a little difficult to tell. I had called and spoken with some of the folks at the studios yesterday. Based on what they told me, and what the Free Speech Coalition has said, it's an industry-wide moratorium.

The Free Speech Coalition has said they expect to get results of that, the secondary testing of the individual who tested positive, within a week. So I think everybody is just sort of waiting to see those test results and then to decide about lifting the moratorium.

KAYE: Molly Hennessy-Fiske with the "L.A. Times."

Molly, thank you so much for your time today. HENNESSY-FISKE: Thank you.

KAYE: Well, he is the king of the court. Rafael Nadal steps up to defend his U.S. Open title tonight, but first he sits down with us to talk with us about his nightlife off the court. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: The U.S. Open tennis championships are under way in New York this week. Today, Rafael Nadal takes the court to defend the title that he won last year, his first U.S. Open championship.

Nadal, ranked number 2, plays the 98th ranked player in the world. He's been busy this year. Besides winning tennis titles, he's written a book and he's taken up modeling. But that's just the public Rafa.

Our Carol Costello had a chance to find out more about the more private Rafael Nadal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One of the quotes from your book, your mother describes you as a scaredy cat around your family who sleeps with the light on.

How does the cat become the tiger that you certainly are on the court?

RAFAEL NADAL, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: Well, it's good, especially during the evening. I like to live with the TV or with the computer.

COSTELLO: Even today, now?

NADAL: Today I live with the TV on. Yes.

COSTELLO: Why is that? You don't like the dark?

NADAL: I hate the dark. So I do -- I do. I sleep with the TV.

COSTELLO: It takes a big man to admit that.

NADAL: Sometimes I wake up at 3:00 in the morning with the TV on and I turn it off.

COSTELLO: You've joined the Twitterverse.

NADAL: I am doing it since a few weeks ago.

COSTELLO: How is that going?

NADAL: I started with Facebook a few years ago. It was the right moment to start with Twitter. It's a different thing to do.

I have fun. I am in more contact with the fans. And I am a little bit shy, but with these kind of things, I am opening myself a little bit more to the people. And something I think works for them, but works for myself, too.

COSTELLO: See, I would never think you would be shy.

NADAL: I am a little bit, yes. I was very shy a few years ago. But, you know, with my life, I tried to improve that.

COSTELLO: So why did you decide to become a part of that campaign?

NADAL: Well, for me, it's really an honor to be an ambassador of the Champions Drink Responsibly campaign of Bacardi. It's a campaign that I really believe is for everybody, but especially for the young people.

I am young, and I like to go out with friends. I like to have fun with the family, friends, go for a party. But everything is drinking responsibly. If you drink like crazy, have the right plan to come back home safely. That's the right message.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about the U.S. Open. So what is different about the U.S. Open from other tournaments?

NADAL: The U.S. Open is the last round I'm going to see (ph). The Grand Slam is more show for everybody, for the players, for the crowd. The crowds are very emotional here. A lot of things going on during the match for the crowd.

COSTELLO: Is the crowd tough here?

NADAL: No, I love the crowd here. I think they -- I had big support from them last year, and hopefully this year I will have, too.

I feel a lot of passion when I go on this court. It's the biggest court on the tour. The crowd is hard, so I love being playing here in New York.

COSTELLO: What opponent do you find more difficult to pace? Is it Federer or Djokovic?

NADAL: When Federer was playing well, and when Federer is playing at his top level, I think he's the best of the (INAUDIBLE). It's impossible to reach that level.

Djokovic is doing fantastic things this year. When he's playing well, it's very difficult to defeat him, to beat him. This year, everybody knows because he only lost two matches (INAUDIBLE). But it depends on the moment. When Djokovic is playing his best, Djokovic is very difficult. When Federer is playing his best, Federer is very, very difficult. And if I'm playing not my best, it's impossible. So, I think --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Got to love Rafa. So, what would Rafa have done if he didn't make it as a tennis player? You have to log on to iReport.CNN.com to find out. Yes, we're going to make you work for this one. Answer questions sent in from some our iReporters and we've got them posted there on the Web site.

Up next, which anchor will grace the stage of the next season of "Dancing with the Stars"? Here's a hint. Yes, no, definitely not Ali Velshi or Chad Myers. OK, Ali, you can stop now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It is about 32 minutes past the hour. Let's get you caught up on some news that you may have missed.

The shake-up today in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Director Kenneth Melson reassigned to the Justice Department as a senior advisor for forensic issues. Melson came under fire for the so-called Fast and Furious program involving illegal weapons sale along the border with Mexico. The Justice Department says Melson is being replaced by U.S. attorney Todd Jones who will serve as acting director of the ATF.

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann says she just has a great sense of humor. Bachmann came under fire after the making the comment that the D.C. earthquake and hurricane Irene were acts of God sending a message to Washington. Bachmann said on Monday the remarks were intended to tell the president he was not listening to the American people. Bachmann says it was simply a joke and that she was being humorous.

The deadly avian flu commonly referred to as bird flu may be coming back. The United Nations warns there are signs a mutant strain may be spreading in Asia. This particularly bird flu apparently can outsmart current vaccines. The Food and Agriculture Organization says it's the virus has appeared in Vietnam and China. You see it in here red. But the mutant strain threatens a number of neighboring countries. The avian flu most recently killed eight people in Cambodia.

You may know her for her passion and strong points of view on her HLN show. But on the next season of "Dancing with the Stars," Nancy Grace will show off her quick step and tango to the world.

Some of the names joining Nancy to compete for the mirror ball trophy are actor David Arquette, activist Chaz Bono, Los Angeles Laker Ron Artest and talk show host Ricki Lake.

The upcoming season of the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" is set to premiere next Monday. But the network that airs it now plans to run a special on suicide according to "Entertainment Weekly." Bravo TV will air the special following Russell Armstrong's suicide. Armstrong was the estranged husband of one of the stars of the show. The network also plans to reedit the series so that it does not feature Armstrong. It's unclear when the sue suicide special will air.

Nineteen years old, raped and forced to become an executioner for Moammar Gadhafi. A Libyan woman's story of horror.

CNN's Arwa Damon is live from Tripoli, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Fifty thousand people killed in the Libyan civil war. That figure coming today from the rebels. It includes both civilians and combatants who died since the fighting broke out back in February. A rebel spokesman says the figure is based on estimates from rebel groups in every region of that war zone.

In another key development today, the rebels are warning Gadhafi loyalist, if they don't surrender by Saturday, they face major assaults by rebel fighters.

And we're hearing more allegations on the brutality of the Gadhafi regime. This account is from a 19-year-old Libyan woman who says she was raped and forced to become an executioner for Gadhafi. She spoke with CNN's Arwa Damon who joins us now from Tripoli.

Arwa, this is an incredible story. How did you find this young woman and what exactly did she tell you?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she's in one of the hospitals because of a number of bruise and wounds that she sustained when she jumped out of a second-story window trying to escape a firefight which she is saying that she was forced at gunpoint. She had armed Gadhafi soldiers to her right, to her left and behind her telling her that she had to shoot rebel prisoners. And she says that they brought in one after the other. She described how she had to close her eyes as she was firing. The blood continuing to trickle out of the bodies as they piled up in front of her.

She says that she only did this because she felt that if she didn't, she would, in fact, be killed. She said that prior to this incident taking place, she had been raped on three occasions by three different senior commanders in Gadhafi's military. The people at this hospital, both the medical staff and, in fact, the rebels who are holding her are on a certain level quite sympathetic to her. They pity her for what took place. As one of the doctors put it, she's clearly a victim of the Gadhafi regime, Randi.

KAYE: I'm just curious. Why would they do this? Why was she forced to do something like this? Why wouldn't they just do that themselves?

DAMON: That's a very good question. One theory out there that we heard was that it perhaps is a cultural thing. There's a saying in Libya that basically insinuates that the worst possible fate for a man is to be shot by a woman, especially a woman who is considered to be impure because she had been raped -- bearing in mind, though, that she said she only joined the Gadhafi popular guard militia because of a friend of the family.

The head of the militia was friend with her mother. They got into an argument. Then the head of this force took this young girl and forced her to join this militia effectively that was serving Gadhafi.

But this young woman had no intention of pursuing this kind of a life. She most certainly was not a supporter of Gadhafi herself. But she was incapable of leaving. Every single time she asked to leave, she was quite simply prevented from doing so.

KAYE: What does his future hold? How is she doing physically and mentally?

DAMON: Physically, she's recovering. She does not have any sort of life-threatening injuries. She has bruises and what not. Emotionally, though, I mean, she is scarred for life. That is going to be a very difficult journey, if in fact she ever does recover from that. She is severely depressed the doctors say.

And as we were talking to her on many occasions, she quite simply was incapable of responding. It's almost as if she would sink into the horror of the memory of everything that she had been through and the doctors said that she spent a lot of her time sleeping, trying to forget what she had gone through. The rebels do plan on putting her on trial because she did admit to killing 11 rebel prisoners.

But that being said, this is a young woman. Again, that doctors are saying was a victim of the regime. She had everything taken from her. She had her family taken from her, her honor taken from her and then she was forced to kill.

And if in fact she's able to recover from that, they say it's going to take a lot of obviously therapy. She's going to need a lot of support from her family, especially. And she's all alone. Her mother is battling cancer. Her father is ill as well.

KAYE: Wow. What a tragic story for this 19-year-old Libyan woman.

Arwa Damon, thanks very much.

Coming up: can polygamist leader and convicted sex offender, Warren Jeffs, maintain control of his followers from behind bars? More on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Breaking news here into CNN. You can see it right there. This is a raging wildfire coming to us from our affiliate in Oklahoma City, KOCO. You can see the flames, thick smoke.

This is in a residential area and according to our affiliate's Web site, a large fire on o the northeast side prompted firefighters to call for mandatory evacuations. You can see why. When you look at the flames and the smoke there, the evacuations have been ordered in case you have loved ones or anybody in that area, in an area from Northeast 63rd Street and Wilshire Road to Sooner Road and the Air Depot Boulevard.

The blaze is apparently near northeast 50th Street there in Oklahoma City. But the plumes of smoke can be seen for dozens of miles around.

But once again, call your attention to those flames and that thick smoke from KOCO there. The cause of the fire apparently is not known. But you can see the houses there not too far from where that blaze is happening.

Cause of the fire not known. No injuries yet reported. But there you see that house right there in the thick smoke.

Let's hope those residents got out of that area in time because there is a mandatory evacuation under way right there in Oklahoma City. We'll continue to watch that and bring you much more video and the very latest on it, if anything happens.

Turning now to polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. He's hospitalized in Texas in critical but stable condition. Prison officials say he wasn't eating or drinking enough and is now sedated but responsive.

You recall that Jeffs was convicted earlier this month of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old and was sentenced to life behind bars.

But there's still this question. Can he still influence his followers while in county jails awaiting his trial? Jeffs spent thousands of dollars on phone calls to his followers, effectively maintaining control over them.

However, now, that he's a convicted sex offender in state prison, contact with the outside world will be more limited -- right now at least.

That's not an issue within his isolated community as Gary Tuchman found out up close.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Warren Jeffs may be in prison for the rest of his life. But in the border towns of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, where thousands of Jeffs' followers live he's still the prophet.

(on camera): Do you believe the evidence they showed the jury?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe the evidence is ill-gotten and manufactured. That's what I have to go by.

TUCHMAN: So you believe it was --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know the government can do that.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): It's a common sentiment even though Jeffs didn't deny having sex with minors during his trial. The court has even released audio of Jeffs coaxing his victims.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

WARREN JEFFS, POLYGAMIST: You have to know how to be excited sexually and to be exciting, to administer that comfort and strength. And you have to be able to assist each other. No one just stands around. Everyone assists.

And you have to be prepared to be trained to do this, against the time I would need your help, the Lord's help through you. So listen carefully, as the Lord intended that my ladies, all of my ladies, be trained.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: But despite the evidence, there remains strong suspicions of the world outside of the polygamous church including suspicion of reporters -- now even more so.

(on camera): I want to ask you a question. My name is Gary Tuchman from CNN. I was hoping I can just ask you a question.

I was at the trial of Warren Jeffs last week in Texas where he was convicted. Did you know about the conviction? Did you know he was convicted? If you don't want to talk --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not interested.

TUCHMAN: You're not interested in talking to me. Did you know he was on trial last week? Is there anything you want to say about Warren Jeffs?

(voice-over): Willy Jessop used to be one of Warren Jeffs' right-hand men until Jessop says he realized Jeffs was molesting children. Jessop said Jeffs' followers are warned not to pay attention to the news and if they speak to reporters --

WILLIE JESSOP, FORMER WARREN JEFFS SUPPORTER: They would be instantaneously excommunicated from the church. They would remove all of the privileges of the community.

TUCHMAN (on camera): I wonder if you were even aware that he was on trial last week. Were you aware of that?

Miss, can I ask you a quick question? Miss, can I ask you a quick question?

Can I ask you a quick question, ma'am?

Do you know what happened in that trial?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know anything about it.

TUCHMAN: You don't want to know anything about it? How come?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to.

TUCHMAN: If I told you, would that offend you? I mean, the jury found him guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to know anything about it.

TUCHMAN: How come you don't?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know the information I need to know.

TUCHMAN: It's never been easy talking to FLDS members on camera. It's not because they are particularly unfriendly. It's because they're paranoid. They're downright scared.

Over the years, I have interviewed several members who were later excommunicated.

(voice-over): But this FLDS follower named Emil made the decision to talk to me.

(on camera): Do you believe this is a persecution of religion?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to go back and analyze who hung Jesus Christ on the cross.

TUCHMAN: So, you are comparing Warren Jeffs to Jesus Christ?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do. He's in the same position.

TUCHMAN: Is he still your prophet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

TUCHMAN: Even though he's in prison?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Arnold Richter (ph) was excommunicated from the church earlier this year for criticisms of Warren Jeffs.

(on camera): How many mothers do you have?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got five.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): He believes the conviction makes Jeffs more influential than ever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's fascinating, but I do. They can build an image. He's not there to get in the way of the image. The image can be built into whatever they want, a perfect image.

TUCHMAN (on camera): So he's basically become a martyr.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The jury didn't believe Warren Jeffs, but his devoted followers still do.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Colorado City, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Up next, Michael Vick climbs out of the career ditch to score a winning new deal. Where the $100 million man ranks with other top-paid NFL stars -- we'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Now for a look at the comeback kid, Michael Vick. The NFL quarterback just signed a six-year deal with the Eagles worth 100 million bucks with $40 million guaranteed. He comes in fifth among other highest paid NFL players. Peyton Manning tops the list. He's getting paid $23 million for the 2011 season. Followed by Sam Bradford at $18.4 million. Tom Brady at $18 million for the year.

Athletes and celebrities are congratulating Vick on his big new contract. Here's what LeBron James tweeted. "Congratulations to Mike Vick on your new deal. Happy for you. Yes, sir."

Vick is experiencing all the success after being released from prison only two years ago. In 2007, he was arrested on dog fighting charges. The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to killing dogs and operating a business involving illegal gambling. He served 18 months in prison while wrapping up his sixth season as quarterback with the Atlanta Falcons.

Once out, Vick signed on with the Eagles as a third string quarterback. He used this second chance to revamp his image by paring up with the Humane Society. And in July, he threw support behind legislation imposing penalties on dog fighting spectators.

Last years, Vick also won the Comeback Player of the Year Award. And last night on Piers Morgan Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said it truly has been a comeback.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CUBAN, DALLAS MAVERICKS OWNER: America loves second chances. I mean, that's what we're all about. You know, hopefully, he's learned his lessons and learned from his mistakes and he'll be a better person for it. But, you know, at the same time, Philadelphia Eagles fans, you know they're the least forgiving of all fans in America.

And so, I think if he missteps, they're going to shoot him down. So, it was a little bit of a risk, I'm sure. But, you know, more power to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: So now that Vick is making a hefty paycheck and continuing his return to fame, will he give some of the money to charity or continue his campaign against dog fighting? He just may answer that question next hour at the Eagles press conference.

Christine O'Donnell has the rug pulled out from under her. So, who is keeping the former Tea Party favorite off the stage -- the answer in our CNN political update coming your way next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: We want to take you back now to that breaking news in Oklahoma City. This is a video of this huge grassfire coming to us from KOCO.

Randi Kaye here, joined with Chad Myers.

Chad, tell us what you know about the evacuations there and what you know about this area.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the wind now from the south at 25 gusting to 35. So, anybody that can smell the smoke, you need to be evacuating whether they have told you that or not because that wind will blow. If it's blowing the smoke to you, it will blow the fire to you as well.

This is east of Remington Park, which is the big horse racing track there. And there are homes in here. The cedars are what really will catch on fire here. It's been so dreadfully dry over Oklahoma and all of Texas. We've known that.

But the dreadfully dry weather has caused these cedars to be just almost like gasoline when they start on fire. It's the sap inside the cedar that will burn right away.

Now, there's some scrub oak in that area as well. This is about 63rd up to Wilshire and from Sooner to Air Depot. So, it's literally, if you know where Remington Park is, it's just to the east of there. It shouldn't be hard to find. Literally, look up and you'll see the smoke.

Every time you see something that's black, that's a structure burning or a car fire, or an outbuilding. When you see the white smoke, that's typically just the scrub oak or the grass that's fire. So, you see where the white is, that's not so bad.

But when you see there's black, that means something, a structure is burning. It's the asphalt, shingles that burn black, the tires of a car burn black and so you can tell between what's not so bad and what is real bad.

Firefighters there at the scene, but this is going to be tough to deal with, with winds gusting to 35. Sparks do fly at wind speeds of 35.

KAYE: So, how quickly will this move, something like this? Because you can see the homes in that area -- I mean, certainly, there's been a mandatory evacuation. But --

MYERS: It could move at about 15 miles per hour. It's the risk now of the smoke getting in the firefighters' way. No, I haven't seen any kind of air tankers dropping anything yet, you know, helicopters. We're not on the scene yet.

But there are small wildfire crews out there trying to protect structures like that one right there, although that obviously nothing protecting that at this point in time. There are too many structures to have a truck on every little structure. So, this is going to take out some homes. And I know that the evacuations and the smell -- the smell that is happening right now where you are, it's sickening. It makes you sick to your stomach.

And, literally, you don't -- you just want to get out and you say -- I'm going to get a handkerchief or something, and cover my mouth and try to go out there and save my house. Literally, at this point in time, it's time to save yourself.

KAYE: Yes. For any of us who has covered a wildfire, I get what you're saying about the smell of the smoke and how it's really just comes over you.

But look at that. You see that house. You can barely see the house really through the smoke. But it sounds like the only way to get at this, Chad, are certainly the safest way is from the air.

MYERS: Right. That house looks it's pretty safe. And the reason why that house is because there aren't trees right up against it. There's grass up against it, but the grass probably won't catch the house on fire.

When you have houses being surrounded by cedars, that's what really can catch the house on fire. And, right now, if you're evacuating, the best thing to do is take the drapes and tear them off the wall because that heat will go through the window, catch the drapes on fire and you will literally burn the house from inside out.

KAYE: All right. Well, we will certainly continue to watch this. Once again, this is Oklahoma City. These are live pictures coming to us from KOCO, a grassfire there.

Chad Myers, thank you very much for doing that along with us, bringing us up to date there on exactly where that wildfire is. Mandatory evacuations under way.

That will do it here for this hour. Now, we hand it over Brooke Baldwin who will pick it up from here.