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Help Reaches Cut-Off Towns In Vermont; Passaic River Drops, Damage Remains; Wildfires In Oklahoma City; Hot Weather and No Rain Equals Wildfires; Cleanup From Irene And Businesses Gone; Cleaning Up From Irene; Obama's Jobs Speech Next Thursday

Aired September 01, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne, have a great afternoon.

I want to begin this hour with a quote from Vermont emergency management referring to the ravages of tropical storm Irene. A spokesman says this. "The worst is over." That may come as news to thousands of Vermonters who still do not have power or who still can't get in or out of their homes or towns or who have lost their homes or businesses. But four days after Irene came and went, food and supplies are now reaching all the towns that had been entirely cut off. Crews have scrambled to build makeshift roads for emergency vehicles only into 13 otherwise isolated communities. And National Guard helicopters are going where ATVs can't. Some of the 16 helicopters now on the job are on loan from New Hampshire, right next door, and Illinois, hundreds of miles away.

CNN's Amber Lyon is in the devastated Vermont town of Wilmington. Amber, do the folks that you've met believe that the worst is over?

AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they do. They feel positive, Randi, because we are seeing -- I mean, you can't go anywhere. Look at this, right here we've got construction equipment wheeling by. You can't go anywhere in Vermont without finding road crews out here trying to rebuild and trying to reopen those communities -- Randi.

KAYE: And when you talk about, you know, what's being done there, I mean you are showing us that road and some of the construction that apparently is being done, but what are they doing to bring aid and restore power? Have you seen any evidence of that?

LYON: Oh, we have seen electric crews running up and down these roads. We've also even had times where we've been kind of trapped in traffic on more of the smaller mountain roads because what's going on is you've got these electrical crews out there repairing downed lines, they're taking up some space so it's difficult for cars to get through.

We've also seen quite a bit of aid come through here, a lot of volunteers helping these residents, these businesses clean up the mess. And we've seen National Guard troops out here directing traffic, also tossing items that have been ruined with the mud and muck into their truck and disposing of them -- Randi.

KAYE: And Amber, do people feel like enough is being done? I mean, are they -- are they angry about the level of aid coming through, or are they OK with it?

LYON: Well, this -- these are very small mountain communities, most of them are very self-sufficient as is. They are used to them being remote. I think what's bothered people the most is not being able to leave freely. We're here in the center of Wilmington, and this bridge, you can see this construction equipment here, I was just standing in a hole because the integrity of the bridge is a little compromised here, so the residents can only get in and out if they're cleaning up or for emergencies.

So, it's difficult to travel from one town to another, they're frustrated with that, but above all, they've had a lot of help out here. And it's just -- you almost expect them to be very upset, but we found a positive attitude among a lot of these residents.

KAYE: As you show us around just a little bit more -- I mean, is the town open for business, or is everything still shut down?

LYON: No, it's not open for business and I'll show you why. If we can have you pan over here, Tom, and show that yellow road "closed" sign. These are police officers, they're directing traffic, because the only roads they're letting in here to this center -- or the only cars, excuse me, they are letting into the center of town are cars that are here to assist in the cleanup, and assist with people that need supplies.

Regular residents -- we had to get passes to get in here right now with our cameras, because regular residents are not being allowed to move freely. And in 13 communities across the state of Vermont, residents aren't even able to drive out of their towns, and only emergency supplies are coming in and out -- Randi.

KAYE: And where are people staying then if it's hard to get in -- maybe even into their own homes?

LYON: Staying at local hotels. We were at an inn yesterday that had people staying there as well as other areas. Some people say neighbors have opened their homes to them, giving them food, water, supplies and also helping them clean up.

KAYE: Wow. Still sounds like such a mess, though it is good to see aid is getting in and also that construction is underway. Amber Lyon there in Wilmington. Thank you, Amber.

LYON: And Randi --

KAYE: Yes?

LYON: -- if you see this restaurant right here, this is a staple in the center of town, this is Dot's restaurant, and the owners are standing over there, and you see them in the blue shirts. They've owned this for 30 years, and as we speak, inspectors are in the building testing out the integrity and see if they're going to condemn it. So, they are a very nervous couple. That's happening to quite a few business owners in this area, because look over there where the flood came up and washed out part of the foundation. And so, today, we're seeing things evolve from clean-up to now inspecting buildings to see if the business owners can come back in and start to continue to generate an income.

KAYE: All right. Amber Lyon, great reporting, thank you very much.

In New Jersey, the Passaic River is finally going down. So, there, too, the worst may be over, but it's still pretty bad. President Obama will see for himself on Sunday. He'll visit the flood ravaged city of Patterson. A short time ago, my colleague Susan Candiotti sent us this report from the nearby city of Wayne.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Coming from Wayne, New Jersey, one of the heavily flooded areas, and just over in this direction the banks of the Passaic River, and on the other side of it Little Falls, New Jersey. Now, you can see that it is difficult to tell where that river bank starts and where this parking lot begins. As you look over this way, we can tell you, however, that the waters are receding. It's come down at least a couple of feet since we were here late yesterday afternoon. And down in this direction is a neighborhood that is access -- is accessible only by boat. We were lucky enough to get a ride back there with locals who showed us how bad things are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's Lake Passaic.

CANDIOTTI: Yes, it's now it's called Lake Passaic. I am seeing what are probably the tops of fences leading up to the front door, but that's not a house on stilts, that is a garage that's under water. They stayed around? That house?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They stayed.

CANDIOTTI: Of course lost a car. Oh, a classic Mustang lost. You've gone through this time and again, I mean why do you and other people still live here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you going to do? You can't sell the house, can't give them away (INAUDIBLE.)

CANDIOTTI: Here's a sign over here that has a double meaning now, "Road Closed, 200 feet ahead, local traffic only." At this point, it's local boat traffic only. You are about to start school, your senior year in high school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

CANDIOTTI: Coming up in just a week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

CANDIOTTI: What's going through your head?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How am I going to prepare for school. My clothes, everything is stuck at home, I don't know how I'm going to get them. Everything is closed to go shopping. The mall is down and I don't know where to go. So --

CANDIOTTI: So, all you have is a suitcase you were able to run out with.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Like five pants, five shirts, and that's it, that's all I have. A week -- and school starts in one week.

CANDIOTTI: Probably won't be the only one. Sad to say, huh?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, there's plenty of them, plenty. I have so many friends that live on this street, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow.

CANDIOTTI: Is this the first time you are seeing it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CANDIOTTI: How do you begin to think about the cleanup that's involved here? What's going through your head?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to think about that right now. As long as we are safe, that's good. That's the main thing, to be safe, and then the cleanup comes next.

CANDIOTTI: And that neighborhood that you saw that remains cut off from the rest of Wayne is just over my shoulder. We're in the parking lot of a car wash, and to show you just how far waters have come down here, check out the vacuum cleaner, the shiny part on top, the water almost came to the top of that, you can see where the watermark is. Authorities say that by this weekend the water could recede enough to allow people to go in and allow people to clean up this mess. Suzanne Candiotti, CNN, Wayne, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: A very different disaster is plaguing parts of Texas and Oklahoma. Wildfires resulting in part from a historic doubt are burning on both sides of Oklahoma City. Homes have been lost and more still could be.

In Texas, crews are making progress against a fire that's burned 40 homes and several RVs in the community of Possum Kingdom Lake, that's just west of Dallas. CNN's Jim Spellman is there. And Jim, let me ask you, how much progress are we talking about.

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they made a lot of progress, they're still working on it. Take a look, Randi. This is a -- this hill here, we watched burn yesterday as the wind picked up in the afternoon. There's still a little bit of active fire and smoke coming off of it. They're hitting it -- this fire on all fronts with helicopters dropping water out of the reservoir here. Yesterday afternoon, the wind picked up and this fire took off and destroyed about 15 more homes yesterday. Today, they made a lot of progress, 50 percent contained now, and they are even allowing some residents back in. But what's really startling about this fire what the continuing hazard is, even when we get this active part of the fire under control, all the same conditions still remain. We have extreme drought, no sign of rain anytime in the near future, so all it takes is a spark, one more ember flying to have another active fire begin.

Yesterday, we saw flames -- embers come from that side of the reservoir back over to this side of the reservoir, and start a few spot fires on this side. That forced the command center here to pull back. We had to pull back, too, because it became too dangerous. That's how volatile these fires can be when these winds pick up and hit the fires -- Randi.

KAYE: Jim, we spoke to a couple, yesterday, that just basically grabbed their dogs and whatever they could and jumped in their car. They thought that they wouldn't be able to get into their home maybe for weeks, but you're saying some residents are already allowed in?

SPELLMAN: Yes. Yesterday afternoon, they had to expand the area -- the evacuation area, they've now let those people back in. The original evacuation area, those people you're talking about, they are working on a plan to get them back in today. The fire was so devastating that it just wiped out some of these homes, there's nothing now standing. But they feel that it's safe enough to let a lot of the residents whose homes weren't damaged back in. But the sheriff said, look, if you come back in, be ready to get back out again, because this could spark up again at anytime. But with extreme drought conditions, they can't evacuate everybody, 90 percent of the state is under the drought conditions -- Randi.

KAYE: Jim Spellman in Texas for us. Jim, thank you very much.

Miles of devastation and a growing price tag. Damage from Irene will cost a pretty penny to fix, but there are some wounds that even money can't heal. A closer look at the faces behind the devastation, next.

And then, we still don't know where he is but Moammar Gadhafi has apparently just released a new audio message. We'll tell you what he says, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Damage estimates from Tropical Storm Irene are now more than $1 billion just for New York state. Right now, at least six towns are dealing with floodwaters and more than 600 homes have been destroyed. About 300,000 people still don't have power, and 150 major highways have been damaged. One city hit especially hard is Proxville, New York. Families who have lived in the area for decades are now faced with deciding on whether to rebuild or uproot and move. Listen to some of the struggles these people are dealing with right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANN O'HARA, PROXVILLE, NEW YORK: This is where my father and family business for five generations has been. My nephews, at the time, were running this. It withstood 18 floods, obviously it didn't this time. My family grew up across the street, five generations also lived there. There is major devastation throughout the house. I don't know if the house will be saved. The walls are, of course, saturated. And then, of course, you get the black mold.

This is the gas station at that time looking from the house. That's my -- one of my relatives standing right there. Of course you see the river in the back. That is 1933.

It wiped out not only my father's -- my family's gas station business, but many, many families in this town are homeless that have been -- lived here their whole lives that businesses here.

KIPP O'HARA, PROXVILLE, NEW YORK: We have nothing left. There's absolutely nothing there but concrete -- a concrete slab.

KORY O'HARA, PROXVILLE, NEW YORK: We want to rebuild. As you can see, the land where we can rebuild is just not there. We have no land to put our business on, it's gone.

MATT CANGELOSI, VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER, PRATTSVILLE, N.Y.: All these trailers here came from the trailer park, Cratzo (ph) Trailer Park, which is a good quarter mile to a half a mile east. So all these trailers that you see here floated down from all the way over there, down to here, caught in the trees and were just breaking apart.

PATRICIA CROSS, PRATTSVILLE RESIDENT: We've had flooding before, but nothing like this. Nothing. We -- this is devastation.

My home is up by O'Hara's, the gas station. That's gone. And it was up there and it traveled probably a half a mile. I have no idea what I'm going to do. This has been my home since 1969. I've been here, like I said, 71 years. I have cried, and what do you do?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Joining me now on the phone is Matt Cangelosi. He's the volunteer firefighter that you just saw talking about the damage in Prattsville, New York.

Matt, thank you for taking the time. I know that you and your neighbors are dealing with a whole lot right now. How did you fare in this storm?

MATT CANGELOSI, VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER, PRATTSVILLE, NEW YORK (via telephone): Well, Randi, like I said, we were rushing as soon as, you know, around 7:30, 8:00 Sunday morning. As far as the fire department, we had minimal time to get everybody evacuated and up to safe land, you know. It came really, really quick. We really didn't have to much time to move around. By 9:00 or so, the whole main street was absolutely flooded.

KAYE: And now you're helping with the recovery efforts and getting people, I guess, fixed up in their homes. What are you spending most of your time doing? CANGELOSI: Right now most of our time is taking out a lot of furniture out of peoples' houses. We're putting that on the main street, on the side, where anything is cleared. We're still doing pumping out because the ground is so saturated that it's actually filling up the basements. We've been going to several different places back and forth pumping out peoples' basements. But now the recovery is in effect and we're in full mode. I'm getting all the stuff out of peoples' houses that are safe and able to get into their houses and get out all of their stuff that's ruined and put on the side. And that we have containers here coming and picking up, you know, people's furniture.

KAYE: I would imagine that people are as concerned about getting their homes or saving their homes as they are about as saving their memories. Do you find that as well?

CANGELOSI: Yes. I mean we've got a lot of people out on the street that's, you know, we're pumping them out. And as we're pumping them out, they're taking the memories and their belongings and, you know, they're washing it with the water just to, you know, salvage as much as possible. Pictures. You know, memories that held back from before I was even born here.

KAYE: And your family's been affected as well, right? Your grandfather, did he have some damage to his house?

CANGELOSI: Yes, he had major damage. He was on Main Street. It was actually one of the houses that you show. You know, his whole basement was completely flooded up to the first floor, about four feet, and every house on Main Street, the first floor was flooded. And we have basements that are completely just full of sediment where you cannot even pump them out because they're just full of dirt. It actually buried (INAUDIBLE) everybody's belongings that were in basements.

KAYE: Is the town pulling together? I mean you're a volunteer firefighter. Are there other volunteers that are coming out of the woodwork just to try and help?

CANGELOSI: Oh, oh, you know it. I mean we've got -- we got -- we have help, but we could use so much more help. I mean we have fire departments here that I don't even know where they came from. They're coming from all over the place. You know, they're really doing a great job. The National Guard's here. They volunteered to actually clean out our fire department because that was under water, which they've been doing last night, all through the night and into this morning. And they really are doing a great job. I just passed by about half an hour ago and they really were able to clean out a lot of it. It doesn't even look like it flooded here.

KAYE: For anyone who might be watching this show right now and wants to help, what could they do? What do you need?

CANGELOSI: Well, right now we've got a lot of -- I mean we've got FEMA here, we've got Red Cross here. Any family members that are in the town of Prattsville and (INAUDIBLE) that are outside of Prattsville like trying to get in, right now we kind of have it blocked off and any way to get in here by the National Guard. They're only accepting anybody that has a residence in Prattsville. But if they do get a hold of their family members, they can meet them at the checkpoint and get them down and they'll escort them down just to their property. We're trying to keep it down to a minimum of only people that live here and relatives that are trying to get here to help out.

KAYE: Wow. Well, Matt Cangelosi, really appreciate your time and certainly your efforts there to try and get your town back on track. Thank you very much.

CANGELOSI: Thank you, Randi.

KAYE: Parents are engaging in risky behavior, and some caution it's an unsafe practice. Find out exactly what I'm talking about up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It's about 22 minutes past the hour. Let's update some of the top stories that we're following.

Moammar Gadhafi is vowing to keep on fighting. In a message believed to be from the Libyan leader, Gadhafi calls the rebels "traitors," and says his loyalist fighters are, quote, "not women. We are not cowards and we will not give up." The audio message was aired on a Syrian TV channel. The message gave no clues to Gadhafi's whereabouts.

It is a first in the Iraq War. August was the first month without any U.S. military deaths since the invasion in 2003. All totaled, 4,464 American troops have died in the war. That figure includes 56 killed since the U.S. declared an end to combat operations one year ago.

Another aftershock has rattled Virginia. The 3.0 magnitude quake hit this morning about four miles from the town of Mineral. There are no reports of injuries or any damage. Mineral was the epicenter of the 5.8 magnitude quake that struck the state and much of the East Coast last week.

Now we have this new surveillance video to show you of the power of last week's quake. This is inside the Louisa County High School, just as part of the ceiling collapsed. Seconds later, students and teachers poured into the hallway and made a quick exit out of the school. Damage to the high school and an elementary school is estimated at nearly $60 million. The high school has been closed for the entire school year. All of the 1,400 students are being moved to the county middle school.

Tough decisions for some parents out there as students head off to college. All this week, CNN is taking an in-depth look at the cost of a college education. That's why a story in the "USA Today" caught our attention. It is taking a look at how some parents are dipping into their retirement to pay for their kids' college.

According to Sallie Mae, parents who withdrew or took a loan from their 401(k) plans in 2010 more than doubled to 7.4 percent from 3.4 percent in 2009. And the cost of college, as you know, isn't going down. According to the college board, the annual cost to attend a four year public college in 2010 averaged about $16,000. That's up 6.1 percent from 2009. While a private education averaged about $37,000 a year, that's up 4.3 percent from 2009.

So, what is a parent to do? Financial advisers tell parents that students have options. Student loans, scholarships and financial aid. Experts say saving for retirement should be a bigger priority. Students have many ways to borrow money. Retirees, of course, do not.

So, what should you do? An education group in New York suggests considering options like this, high school graduates taking a year off to work or spending the first two years at a lower cost college and then transferring to a four-year school. But the best advice anyone offers, check all available options before you dig yourself into a hole.

The president, protocol and the Packers. It's what everyone is talking about, when we should be talking about jobs. We will tackle that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: I'm sure by now you've heard that President Obama will lay out his jobs plan next Thursday, not Wednesday as originally planned. But, sadly, no one is talking about the jobs or the plan today. Instead, it's all about the seeming sandbox antics between two political parties that cannot seem to agree that the sky is blue. So, to the playground we go.

The schedule bump occurred after Republican House Speaker John Boehner basically said no to Wednesday. The speech would have coincided with a nationally televised Republican debate. So now the president moves to Thursday and the dueling press releases as to who's to blame for the calendar shuffle have bounced back and forth faster than they can be typed.

The president, and even more importantly American job seekers, now face an even tougher competition. The big plan goes helmet to helmet with the first game of the NFL season featuring the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Green Bay Packers. CNN contributor Will Cain joins me now to discuss all this.

So, Will, this is a partisan fight over the date, not even the plan itself, but the date. How does this type of scheduling normally work? And why wasn't it handled behind the scenes?

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, Randi, there's really not a protocol for how these kind of things normally occur. How the various branches of government normally communicate with each other. It's kind of an informal affair. That being said, it's usually handled with courtesy and with some confirmation behind the scenes, as you said.

There is some he said/she said about whether or not Boehner cleared the date with the Obama aides ahead of time. But to be honest, by all accounts it looks like this situation was handled without that courtesy and without that behind the scenes confirmation. By more accounts, this speech was delivered -- was going to be delivered on very short notice, and in obvious conflict with a big Republican debate.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the White House says that they did clear it and Boehner's office is saying they didn't, right?

CAIN: Right, right.

KAYE: So, we don't really know yet.

CAIN: That's right.

KAYE: Let's take a look at the calendar, though, OK? If you look at the calendar with me, it's a pretty busy calendar. Monday is Labor Day, Tuesday the House isn't back yet. And you have Wednesday, of course, the GOP debate. Thursday, the NFL game. And then Friday to Sunday is the weekend. We have Monday as the holiday.

I mean, the president would need to unveil this plan before the 9/11 festivities. So, if you were at this White House, what day would you have chosen when you look at the calendar?

CAIN: You know, Randi, there was a lot of choices to be made here. Look, the president could have delivered the speech in August. He could have delivered the speech from the Oval Office or a factory in Michigan, but he chose it to be in a joint session of Congress.

Let me say this, Randi, I don't relish attacking the president as the person. As a conservative, I'm very honest about my ideology here. He gives me plenty of substance to disagree with, and I feel no need to go after the president as a person. But he deserves critique on this and it's not just coming from the right.

The liberal Web site Fire Dog Lake criticizes President Obama. James Carville -- CNN's own James Carville said the president was out of bounds in scheduling this in competition with the Republican debate. It just doesn't make sense.

There were a lot of choices to be made here, but the choice he made was to put this on the night of a Republican debate that had been scheduled for months.

KAYE: But were there really a lot of choices when you look at that week?

CAIN: If you're determined to have a joint session of Congress, and you're determined to have it in that week, yes, you can you narrow it down to one of two days. By the way, there was still Thursday, the day we landed on. That was another choice.

KAYE: Well then you have the NFL game. So, you know, there's something on every night.

CAIN: Well, we don't want to compete with the NFL, do we?

KAYE: Of course not.

But some are saying that, you know, he doesn't even need to have to give this speech in front of a joint session, but if he is going to take them to task, shouldn't Congress be there?

CAIN: Well, is that what he's going to do, Randi? Is that what he's going to take Congress to pass?

KAYE: He hasn't shared his plan with me yet.

CAIN: Right. But what I'm saying is, I don't know -- is that the motivation? To take Congress to task? I mean, I think the motivation here is to unveil a jobs plan that for some reason we have not yet seen, or that he has some new idea that we have not yet seen, which I will be skeptical about it. I'm not sure there is some brand-new gleaming idea to fix the economy that the Obama administration has not put out yet.

So, I don't really know. Is the motivation to take Congress to task? Is it to unveil a new plan? Is it to set up his new campaign message?

And I'm not trying to be, you know, real jaded towards President Obama on this, but I just think that this was some really odd choices that were made.

KAYE: Well, the White House says it's certainly to unveil his new plan for job growth. But do you think that the plan and the unveiling of the plan has been lost in the whole dispute now?

CAIN: Well, yes. I mean, this is -- do you think in, like, a year we're going to look back on this week and go, that was the big scheduling debate of 2011? I mean, no, we're not. There are some big things that are going on in the world, like, oh, a war in Libya and Afghanistan. There's the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But we're still trying to figure out our Wednesday/Thursday conflict.

I think that yes, I think important things are getting lost in this whole little fight. Will it be Obama's jobs plan? Well, I'll wait to hear what he has to say on that and see what new ideas he has.

KAYE: Well, I hope, Will, that the next time we talk, we're not talking about a scheduling debate. We're really talking about jobs and getting people back to work, all right? Let's make a deal on that?

CAIN: Then let's do it. Let's do it, Randi. It's in my book.

KAYE: All right. Mine, too. And are you free Wednesday or Thursday though?

CAIN: I'm going to have to check with my people, there may be a football game next Wednesday.

KAYE: You make sure your people check with my people, OK?

CAIN: Right, right.

KAYE: All right. Will Cain, thank you very much.

CAIN: Thanks, Randi. Thank you.

KAYE: OK. Take a look at this. Remember this amazing shot? The wrong twin who hit the $50,000 goal. Did the family get the money? We have the scoop for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: The time right now, 36 minutes past the hour. Let's check some top stories that we're monitoring and some other news that you might have missed.

As the East Coast struggled to cover from Irene, we have out eye on Hurricane Katia. You are looking at the current satellite image of the second hurricane of the season in the Atlantic. Katia is more than 1,000 miles east of Leeward Islands and is projected to past north of the Caribbean. Katia is already a category 1 storm and could strengthen into a major hurricane in the next 48 hours.

While rebels in Libya are trying to overtake Moammar Gadhafi's stronghold, in Paris, world leaders are meeting to talk about Libya's reconstruction and transition to democracy. Delegates from 60 countries, including members of the United Nations, Arab League and African Union have gathered for the one-day summit at the presidential palace. A road map for a constitution and democratic election is expected to come out of today's meeting.

Joran van der Sloot, once a prime suspect for Natalee Holloway's disappearance now officially charged with the murder of a Peruvian woman. Van der Sloot was arrested last June, but Peruvian authorities only formally charged today. Prosecutors are asking for a 30-year prison sentence, and a restitution of $73,000 for the family of Stephany Flores. They also charged van der Sloot with theft.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice firing back about Vice President Dick Cheney's memoir. She told "Reuters" she resents what she sees as an attack on her by former Vice President Dick Cheney. Along with several others of Cheney's accounts, she rejects Cheney's belief that she misled President George W. Bush on nuclear talk with North Korea. Rice told "Reuters," quote, "You know, I don't appreciate the attack on my integrity that that implies."

For the first time since last week's earthquake in Virginia, we got a glimpse today inside the Washington National Cathedral and the damage from the 5.8 magnitude quake. Safety nets are being installed along the ceiling to catch some of the falling debris. The earthquake caused three of the cathedral's spires to break off and major cracks as well. While the church's spokesman said the basic structure is sound, the repairs are expected to cost millions. The cathedral will reopen the weekend of September 11th.

A quick update to what was called the shot heard around Faribault. You may remember in August, 11-year-old Nate Smith making his $50,000 shot at a hockey game in Faribault, Minnesota, but his dad admitted they made a bit of a switch. Twin brother Nick was actually supposed to take the shot, but should the Smith family have gotten the prize money? Well, it turns out they didn't. No money for the family. Instead, according to NBC's "Today" show, the promoters are donating the money to youth hockey leagues in Minnesota.

Venus Williams backs out of the U.S. Open, but not because of her game. No, she is taking herself out because she has an incurable disease. How she plans on gaining the advantage over that illness, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Venus Williams plays a mean game of tennis on the court, but her battle off the court has taken her out of a game. She dropped out of the U.S. Open yesterday. In a statement, Venus says, "I'm really disappointed I have to withdraw from this year's U.S. Open. I have been recently diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, an auto immune disease. I am thankful I finally have a diagnosis and am focused on getting better and returning to the court soon."

Sjogren's syndrome is a chronic auto-immune disease in which a person's white blood cells attack his or her moisture producing gland. And according to the Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation, as many as 4 million people live with this disease.

This morning, the tennis star spoke about her illness on ABC's "Good Morning America," saying her battle off the court has been going on for years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VENUS WILLIAMS, PRO TENNIS PLAYER: For many, many years, I always felt like no matter how much I trained, I never had stamina. And so, I would go to the doctor and say I don't feel like I can get in shape. And so, when you have that symptom, you know, it's tough to find something. And then, about four years ago, I felt like I was not getting enough air. And so, I got diagnosed with exercised-induced asthma. But my medicines never worked.

So, for years and years and years, you know, I had trouble with stamina and continuing and just on and on and on, and until this summer when I started to have more definite symptoms outside of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Here to help us better understand this disease is CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

So, it took doctors, it seems, a while to diagnose this. But she also spoke about her doctors.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, let's here what she had to say about that, because it was interesting what she had to say about how long it took to get this diseases diagnosed. Let's take a listen.

KAYE: OK, I am understanding we don't have it now. Why don't you tell them?

COHEN: What she said was that it takes an average of like six years for doctors to make this diagnosis, that for six years, a patient will be walking around and going to doctors and they won't get the diagnosis. And when I show you the symptoms, Randi, I think you'll see why.

So, the main symptoms are dry mouth and dry eyes. But they also, some patients will also have joint pain and fatigue. And when you look at these kinds of things -- I mean, this is stuff that a lot of people experience. And so, it's hard to pin it down to one illness because things like upset stomach, dry skin. It's common --

KAYE: Yes, a lot of people feel.

COHEN: Yes, a lot of people feel at times. And so, it could be hard to nail it down.

And this is why if you feel like this has been going on with you, you know, she said I hope people learn from this. So, if you feel like you are having the symptoms, you have to be an empowered patient. First of all, you have to learn about the disease, CNN.com/EmpoweredPatient. We have all the information about the disease that you could want to read.

And if you feel like this is you, go to your doctor and don't be afraid to feel like a hypochondriac and say, is it possible? Now, you probably don't have it, but it maybe you think you do have it. And so, you want to be afraid to say to your doctor, is this what I could have?

KAYE: Yes. I mean, certainly if you feel like that, with an upset stomach or nauseous, I mean, certainly, you don't want to play tennis or go for a run or anything like that. But is this a career-ending disease? Could this be?

COHEN: You know, Sjogren's syndrome is interesting because it affects different people in different ways. There are people with this disease, Randi, who run marathons, right? And there are people who are so debilitated that they are in wheelchairs. So, it's a really full range of how it affects people.

Obviously, she is doing pretty well. She's out there playing tennis even though she may not be feeling 100 percent. The thing here that's really tough is that it's not curable. So, you don't get cured with the disease. You always have it.

KAYE: It can be treated?

COHEN: It can't be treated and so they can try to help you deal with the fatigue. They can give you, let's say, anti-inflammatories for the joint pain, but they're not going to get rid of the disease for you.

KAYE: Wow. I mean, to think that she's been struggling dealing with this for years. And you look at her play

COHEN: To play at that level, it's incredible. And we just really hope and pray she can keep playing like this.

KAYE: Yes, we're both big fans. So, we certainly hope she'd get back. COHEN: Yes.

KAYE: Elizabeth, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

KAYE: Is it time for Gadhafi loyalists to surrender? Wait until you hear what two of Gadhafi's outspoken sons are saying. CNN's Nic Robertson from Tripoli coming up next.

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KAYE: Moammar Gadhafi is still on the run. His exact whereabouts still a mystery, but he is speaking out and is as defiant as ever. In an audio message airing on Syrian TV, the Libya leader vowed to keep fighting and denounced the rebels as traitors.

At the same time, the rebels scored another victory, the surrender of his foreign minister. The rebels aren't saying if he's in Tripoli, but only that he is in a safe location.

And in a move to try to stop more bloodshed, the rebels extended by a week a deadline for the Gadhafi forces to lay down their weapons. They had been given until Saturday to surrender.

And another key development, an apparent split in the Gadhafi family itself. Two of his most prominent sons are speaking. Their comments are somewhat contradictory and downright bizarre.

CNN's Nic Robertson has the latest from Tripoli.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Saif al- Islam is the one that everyone has seen the heir apparent. A few months ago when I was meeting and talking with both Saadi and Saif al- Islam, Saadi said Saif is the leader, that's the one that could be family is rallying behind.

Saadi has given indications over the past few months that he perhaps wanted to leave the country, that he wasn't particularly, perhaps not in line with everything that his father and Saif was saying. However, he said he was giving them his support. They're leading the country, they're running the country.

So, now when he speaks out and said something different that he wants to negotiate to bring about a cease-fire with the National Transition Council who, by the way, are rejecting having any dealings of any member of Moammar Gadhafi's family, it means that there are splits right now in the Gadhafi family. And it part of its strength has been in its unity.

So, you can see it breaking apart. Some of the family members we now know have fled to Algeria. Now, we are seeing even brothers that have stood side by side splitting in how they want to handle the country.

So, really, it does show that for the Gadhafi family, really, we're beginning to see the end is coming right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: That report from CNN's Nic Robertson in Tripoli.

Libya's future is the hot topic being discussed at an international conference in Paris at this hour. Among those attending -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. We'll bring you the very latest with live reports from Nic Robertson in Tripoli and Jim Bittermann in Paris, that's starting at 2:10 Eastern Time.

And up next, see this guy in that dapper sweater vest? Why this 10- year-old thinks straws suck.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: My next guest thinks America has a bit of an addiction to straws. That's right. These little plastic -- pieces of plastic that we use every day here. Yes. We were unable to confirm the exact number of straws used annually, but it's easily in the billions.

And he says -- get this -- 500 million straws are used in the U.S. every day, an average of 1.6 straws per person. And most straws are not biodegradable. When they go to the dump, they stay there.

These facts encouraged 10-year-old Milo Cress to go on a one-man crusade to press restaurants to do one simple thing to help the environment, only give customers a straw if they ask for one. His idea has changed businesses from his home state of Vermont, to Tennessee and California. He's even met the governor and testified before the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee.

The amazing founder of Be Straw Free joins me now from Newton, Massachusetts for today's "Big I."

Milo, thank you so much for joining us.

MILO CRESS, FOUNDER, BE STRAW FREE: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

KAYE: Any time. Listen, I want to talk to you about this. This is a great project you have under way here to get the nation to be straw- free. I know your mother is there. So, my first question to you is shouldn't you be in school today?

CRESS: Well, actually school starts September 6th.

KAYE: OK. So, you've got a few more days.

CRESS: Yes.

KAYE: Well, let's talk about this. What inspired you to get folks to be straw-free?

CRESS: Well, sometimes I think we forget that every straw we use, every piece of plastic, will be here on earth, somewhere on earth, even when my grandchildren are born, long after that. So, in February of this year, I started a project to reduce the number of straws that go into our landfills every day and actually even biodegradable and compostable straws, even if they wind up in the landfill won't biodegrade or compost.

KAYE: Really? So you know your science on this one.

CRESS: Well, I have done the research, and -- and we -- we found out that you were saying -- well, actually annually, we found out that 46,000 busloads of straws are used every year.

KAYE: Wow.

CRESS: Just in America annually which is -- which is way too many.

KAYE: And so, how are the restaurant and the businesses that you're talking to, how are they receiving this bit of advice from you?

CRESS: Well, I'm asking restaurants to offer straws. Instead of putting them into every drink automatically, and I'm asking customers to order their drinks without straws instead of putting -- if they don't want one, instead of getting a straw automatically in their drink.

KAYE: But what about the -- sorry. Go on.

CRESS: No, that's OK. Go ahead.

KAYE: I wanted to ask you about those cups that have the -- the tops for the cups are made specifically for straws. They have the hole in them. So, what do we do about those if we stop using straws?

CRESS: Well, I actually came up with a design. Fast food restaurants -- for fast food restaurants to sign on, they do need to -- they will need a lid that offers customers the flexibility to drink their drink without a straw -- with the lid but without needing a straw.

And so, designed one. It's a -- it's this lid right here. It's a -- to go lid with a sippy cup option on one side. It's like a coffee cup lid and it has a place to put a straw in the middle of the lid. And so, as far as we know, nobody's using a lid like this and nobody's designed a lid like this.

KAYE: So it sounds to me like -- it sounds like you've designed a bit of a sippy cup for adults.

CRESS: Kind of.

KAYE: Yes.

CRESS: Kind of.

KAYE: Yes, that sounds like a good one. So let me ask you this before we run out of time, Milo. You're already so successful at age 10. You have so many ideas inside you.

What do you want to do when you grow up? CRESS: Well, I don't know. I think I'll always be an environmentalist. I think we should live our lives in a sustainable way so that we leave only good impacts on the earth. But I probably would like to be an inventor when I grow up -- scientist. I'm on the right track.

KAYE: I think -- I think you are definitely on the right track, and, in fact, Milo, you have convinced me to take the straws and put them in the draw forever. I will not use them, OK? You have my word on that.

CRESS: Well, thank you. I'm only trying to reduce the number of disposable straws we use. I'm not against straws at all.

KAYE: Right.

CRESS: And there are a bunch of biodegradable compostable options, reusable options, glass straws, bamboo straws, but a few years ago I -- sorry?

KAYE: No, that was it. Those are all great ideas.

CRESS: Yes. Well, also I saw a bumper sticker that I really liked that says the best way to predict the future is to help create it, and I think -- I think you and I can create the future for our planet.

KAYE: I think you're right.

CRESS: And this project is only one way, yes.

KAYE: I think you're right. And, Milo, if I get a chance to meet new person one day, I would love to shake your hand. You're doing a wonderful job.

Thank you so much for coming on the show.

CRESS: Thank you. Thank you so much.

KAYE: Good luck.

And for much more on -- for much more on Milo and how you can help, you could check out my Facebook page, Facebook.com/RandiKayeCNN. How cute was he?

We'll be right back.

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