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Gadhafi Threatens Civil War; Wildfires in Texas; Irene Leaves Flooded Homes in Wake; ADD Medication Used Illegally by College Students; J.C. Penney Discontinues Controversial T-shirt for Girls

Aired September 01, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to all of you.

We do have some new developments to pass along to you out of Libya.

But, first, I want you to just take a look at this. Take a look at what CNN's weather computers are picking up there. This is the Gulf of Mexico this time. We now know a hurricane hunter plane headed into this thing. They are calling it a tropical disturbance for now just to see if it's serious enough to name it a tropical storm possibly in the next couple of hours.

Keep in mind we're also learning major oil companies are not taking any chances with this disturbance. Evacuations have begun just in case. Also, we're learning the mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu, he will be holding a news conference as they are all obviously watching this disturbance as well heading precariously closely to their coastline. We will keep an eye on all of it.

But let's move on to some other news for the top of the hour.

Moammar Gadhafi, a la Saddam Hussein, is threatening to plunge his country into a drawn-out civil war, but did you know it is 42 years to the day since a much younger Gadhafi seized control of Libya in a military coup? Now presumably on the run, but apparently still alive, Gadhafi is extorting supporters -- exhorting -- excuse me -- exhorting supporters to fight to the death. Here's his message. This was aired today on a Syrian TV station.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOAMMAR GADHAFI, LIBYAN LEADER (through translator): Go. Use -- use the guns. Go and fight and fight. And we're going to be with you. We're going to fight from one place to the other, from one -- from valley to valley, from mountain to mountain, from town to town, until we show them this battle is going to be for very long and then they will regret. And they will never underestimate the armed forces of the Libyan.

They want a long battle? We are ready for them. They want a war? You get war.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: So you get war as we just heard from Moammar Gadhafi purportedly. Well, at the same time today, Libya's fractured transitional leaders, they are balking at this idea of staging that head-on assault into Gadhafi's biggest stronghold, his hometown, by the way, the city of Sirte.

Now, one of Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam, claiming that Sirte is being defended by 20,000 Gadhafi supporters. Is it a bluff? The transitional leaders are saying they hope to avoid bloodshed there.

Let's go to CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson for us in the capital city of Tripoli.

Nic, look, Gadhafi has pretty much all but been written off there, but keeping in mind Saddam Hussein, what we saw in Iraq, can Gadhafi cause the kind of trouble, you know, fighting month to month, town to town, like he's threatening today?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It seems to be a lot of rhetoric and a lot of bluff.

Yesterday, Saif al-Islam in a speech about this time said this is the moment to attack, attack, attack, and then nothing happened. There was no great big attack from the Gadhafi loyalists. So if -- the audience he's speaking to doesn't really seem to be acting on his words. However, what's interesting is the former foreign minister here turned himself in to the National Transitional Council overnight.

And he has told them that he believes, and this former foreign minister was living here in the city and called two National Transitional Council military commanders when he thought there was a rebel unit getting close to his house -- when he turned himself in, he told the rebels that indeed Gadhafi has been issuing orders to loyalist units very recently, and that is information coming from somebody formerly within the Gadhafi regime. So, yes, it's happening, but they don't appear to be acting on it right now.

Are they planning something Iraq-esque, that they will regroup and gather and come back with an insurgency months ahead? Certainly, the thing that you can look at here in this country is that there is a strong Islamist element within the country, but it doesn't seem like that they will be likely to rally behind the Gadhafi flag at any point in the near future, Brooke.

BALDWIN: But, you know, it's the where. It's the where he's been issuing these threats and these deployments from that's the big question. What we're given to believe, that Gadhafi has these three major strongholds left. You know them.

Let me just spell this out. There's the big one. We mentioned his hometown of Sirte, and then there are these two smaller towns, Bani Walid, home to a very powerful tribe there in Libya, and Sabha, a southern hiding spot in the desert where I know a number of his family members apparently that's where they went in order to get to Algeria.

My question to you is, where is Gadhafi? One of those three places, which could it be? What about Algeria, where, as I mentioned, some of his family members fled not too long ago?

ROBERTSON: Rumors. No one really has any clear idea. And that's been the way since Gadhafi sort of evaporated and moved out of Tripoli. There's a lot of people that would point the finger at Bani Walid, and I think there would be some indications, some reasons to believe that some of his sons might have been hiding there for a while, but, again, there's nothing really concrete to go on.

One of the interesting things from Gadhafi's speech earlier today was, was that he said to his audience, if you don't hear anything from me in the coming days, continue with the fight. That seems to be an indication he might to be about to in the near future sort of drop out of sight altogether, although the television station that broadcast that audio message is now saying that there's going to be another Gadhafi message coming up in the near future.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTSON: So it it's a very, very confused situation. Gadhafi is sort of issuing these statements, and really the rebels, they are not telling us if they concretely know where he is. They are not telling us. Bani Walid seems to be the sort of place people are putting a lot of focus on, but even that's not a guaranteed hideout for him right now, Brooke.

BALDWIN: That's curious. Wonder where he might be these next couple of days, if he does indeed drop off.

As we mentioned, Nic, this is kind of fascinating. We realize that it's the 42-year mark since the date that Gadhafi seized power there in Libya. Is that at all being talked about where you are today in Tripoli?

ROBERTSON: Sure, yes.

There are certainly some of the rebels, you know, National Transitional Council fighters here, you know, who are commenting on it. I was here two years ago for the 40th celebration. That area behind me at this time of night, there was a massive marquee, band celebration, a huge fireworks display. A massive little march passed him, what's -- he -- Gadhafi called Green Square, what the rebels now call Martyrs Square.

And indeed the rebels are organizing a rally there this evening. We drove past a little earlier and saw them gathering there. It's very much on people's mind that they have managed to push Gadhafi out. And that's one of the issues for Gadhafi right now, what he does, what his next move. Perhaps in the West, we don't sort of understand the tribal culture as much as the people here do.

They realize that for Gadhafi to be forced out of Tripoli is a hugely embarrassing thing for him in the culture of society here, and just a few days, a week before this massive celebration where he would spend -- he would spend millions of dollars every year and put on a huge military show and fireworks, this is a big climb down for him, and he's having to sit somewhere in a hideout and watch everything go on without his grand anniversary, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Nic, something that you have talked about sort of off and on for the past couple of months is the psychology, the psychology of war, and my question, is now essentially as we're referring to Moammar Gadhafi as the ousted Libyan leader, do the people of Libya need this man dead or alive in order to essentially move forward with a new Libya, or can they not just move forward and who knows when Gadhafi may or may not pop up?

ROBERTSON: There's some people who are going to want to see him stand trial for -- essentially for all the squandering of all the money and the deaths that he's been responsible for.

But having said that, this country is already moving forward. When you go around the city today, it's much quieter, there are fewer checkpoints. When you go to government buildings, there are civilians on duty there who will give you a phone number of somebody to contact who is now responsible for that building to make sure it doesn't get looted.

I have been in the harbor today. There's a harbormaster who is directing workers down there to unload some of the aid boats that are coming is, so already the country is moving forward without Gadhafi. Where it's key and critical is that the tribes that have supported Gadhafi in the past, for this country to unite and move forward, those tribes need to align themselves with the National Transitional Council. Compromises must be made.

So Gadhafi is the figurehead for some of these tribes, if you will, a figurehead that they believed, trusted in and looked to for power and for top jobs. Now they need to look to the National Transitional Council. Gadhafi's exit from the stage completely will speed that process, but, again, it's not an entire necessity, but it's still going to be important psychologically, just for a lot of people here to know once and for all he's gone -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Indeed. Nic Robertson, thank you so much in Tripoli.

And here's another sign of how Libya needs, one, an end into the fighting and, two, international help. Take a look from Tripoli from CNN's Dan Rivers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the fuel situation in Tripoli is still pretty bad. There are still incredibly long queues.

It's better than it used to be, but check it out. This is the back of the queue for gas. And I want to show you just how long it is.

(voice-over): This queue just goes on and on and on. It's ironic because Libya actually has the largest oil supply in the whole of Africa, the ninth largest in the world. Experts say it has some 23 years of oil reserves. And before the war, it used to pump about 1.3 million barrels a day, but now all the people in this queue care about is when these petrol queues are going to subside. Some of them say they have been waiting in the scorching heat for hours.

(on camera): And finally this is the front of the queue. The coastal road is open, so it means some supplies are coming in, but you get the idea of just what an agonizing waiting it is simply to fill up your car.

Dan Rivers, CNN, Tripoli.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Dan Rivers, thank you.

Here at home, the flames have been as high as 150 feet in the air as another massive wildfire ignites there across Texas. Homes are charred. Hundreds have had to flee, including our own crew.

Jim Spellman, he is now there back on the ground where firefighters are battling some of the worst flames they have seen there. We will check in with him next.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Overseers say the water came in and disturbed several graves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You heard right, the flooding in Vermont now so bad right now even those grave sites are being washed away. We're going to show you some of the unbelievable video we're just now getting into us here at CNN coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: One more note on Libya before I move to the wildfires. Have you heard about this?

You know France stepped out. They essentially took the lead on Libya and today the French are hosting this international conference on Libya's future. There's French President Nicolas Sarkozy greeting two leaders there of the NTC. That's the National Transition Council of Libya.

Well, how about this? Here's what we have also learned. A French newspaper is reporting today that the French oil giant Total has inked a back-door deal with the NTC for 45 percent of Libya's oil.

Jim Bittermann live for us out of Paris.

And, Jim, want to talk to you about the conference here in a minute. But I know Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is there, a number of other world leaders. But can you tell me a little bit more about this report on this purported oil deal involving Libya and France?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you that everybody is denying that it exists, and I think that story has been pretty well beaten down.

It has been around, in fact, on the Internet by anti-rebel forces, pro-Gadhafi forces for the last couple of weeks, and today members of the National Transitional Council and the head of Total denied that there was any kind of agreement about oil, so, I mean, there's no question that everybody sees that there's a lot of oil contracts out there. This is an oil-producing country, but as far as anybody can tell, this is pretty much a fallacious report that was batted around the Internet and then finally surfaced this morning -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. Just wanted to confirm that with you.

Jim, what about this conference? What is the purpose? What's being done there today?

BITTERMANN: Well, I mean, this is a chance of reconciliation for just about everybody here. First it's to bring on board the international community, the members of the international community that weren't behind this effort to begin with, Russia and China, for example, who opposed the NATO bombing.

Secondly it's a chance for everybody to hear what the National Transitional Council is saying, what is their plan, and they laid out today a road map towards democracy over the next 18 months in which they hope to hold democratic elections down the line.

They also -- we just heard from Ban Ki-Moon, the U.N. secretary- general, who said that the Transitional Council has asked for help in institution-building and justice-building, the sort of things that they will need when they come up against these factions that are still squabbling and still fighting in Libya.

So there's a lot of challenges to them out there. But one of the things that's going to help is that the international community has made a unanimous commitment here to release all the money that was frozen. Some say it's somewhere between $50 billion and $200 billion that have been frozen under the Gadhafi regime and now those funds can be released to the National Transitional Council. So that will help at least getting things going again towards the new Libya -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Wow. Sure, the future of Libya. Jim Bittermann in Paris, Jim, thank you.

And back here at home, we were talking about those wildfires yesterday. Now 17 new fires have ignited in the drought-stricken Texas in the past 24 hours. Firefighters, they are out there. They are trying to get a handle on one of the most aggressive, which has destroyed 40 homes, burned 6,200 acres. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's ugly. It's real ugly, because it keeps flaring up. The wind just got it crazy. It's crazy. It's crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The smoke was so thick, you really couldn't see. You had to just crawl through it as slow as you could in your truck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Crews say the big wildfire about 50 percent contained, and we're learning some of the evacuation orders are being suspended.

Jim Spellman back for buts in Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas.

And, Jim, gosh, I remember just talking to yesterday from one hour to the next, the smoke was just incredible behind you. Your crew had to evacuate. Tell me, though, first -- we care about the conditions of the fire and then tell me what happened to you guys.

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, yes.

Right now, as you said, about 50 percent contained. They have been at it all day today using helicopter drops to get the few remaining hot spots that are left in this fire to really try to get it under control before the winds might pick up again.

Brooke, yesterday, when we spoke, we were standing right here, and behind us you could just see flames, really all the trees almost exploding it was moving so fast, and embers came across the reservoir to our side shortly after we spoke and they were igniting spot fires on this side. They had to strike this command center and evacuate us with them to get out of the way of this and they had to immediately expand evacuation orders.

You can see the devastation that the fire brought over here. It just leveled a part of this forest, and there are still hot spots in here for sure. They are trying to deal with it, but they have gotten it enough under control that they were able to lift the evacuation orders that they added yesterday.

The original area where most of the burned-out homes, they are still trying to come up with a strategy to get people back into those areas. But as you mentioned, all the fires that are breaking out across Texas and all the way up into Oklahoma City, it's just this intense drought. I can't stress again how hot and dry it is here, how all of the vegetation, the bark on the trees just peels right off when you put your hand on it, so they know that even if they bring people back into these evacuation areas, they could send them right back out again.

But with 90 percent of the state under these kind of severe drought conditions, you can't evacuate 90 percent of Texas. People will just have to be ready and know that in fire-prone areas like this, they may have to pull out again at any time -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes. I don't know how it is today. I remember yesterday you were saying it was 103 degrees. That is hot, and you were also mentioning how it's a lot of vacation homes, but what about our ranchers out there and their livestock? Are there any concerns for that?

SPELLMAN: Yes. Yes. Well, they have had to move sort of from pasture to pasture moving some of their livestock. There's just no way to get that much, you know, cattle or horses on to trailers that fast.

There's an animal rescue group that was here yesterday. They rescued one cat. Everyone is always happy to see that. But otherwise, apparently no livestock, no animals or most importantly no people injured in this, which I'm amazed, because a lot of communities, as the sheriff said, there's one road in, one road out.

And when this fire broke out two days ago people had to get out by boat across the reservoir because there was just nowhere else for them to go. They couldn't get out on the road. I'm amazed that through all everyone managed to make it out. People had to evacuate here in April. They are used to it. They know that it's the real deal. They know what these fires can begin and they don't hesitate to evacuate when that's the order -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, they have been it through before just four months ago. Gosh.

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

And hard to believe they were just golfing buddies. Remember this? What was that, just a couple of months ago? But that has all changed between President Obama and the House speaker, John Boehner, and it's all over a speech that would have been on a day each side wanted the spotlight.

Is this just petty sparring? Is this a sign of things to come, or, as Michele Bachmann points out, is it this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, does this show maybe a little insecurity on the part of the president? Either, A., he wants to...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And so it begins. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The White House today seems pretty eager to get beyond this tiff with House Speaker John Boehner over the date for the president's jobs speech. The president, he asked Speaker Boehner to call this joint session of Congress next Wednesday evening, the day Congress returns from its recess, but that's also the night of the televised Republican presidential debate and Boehner pretty much said no. And that set off all kinds of back and forth and the White House agreed to Boehner's suggestion ultimately to deliver the speech the following day on that Thursday.

But here's the $64,000 question. It was actually asked at the White House briefing just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: If you can't even get the Congress to agree on a date for a speech without a political sideshow, how can we expect -- how can the American people expect you can do something much more difficult, come up with a jobs plan, deal with the deficit?

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Because the sideshows don't matter. The economy matters. The American people matter. Jobs matter. And that's what we're focused on. That's why -- you know, Thursday's the day, Thursday's the day. We want to give the speech. The president wants to talk to the American people. The president wants to call on Congress to act. That's what we're going to do.

QUESTION: But what does it say about your ability to get anything out of this Congress? I mean, you can't work on a scheduling date for a speech.

CARNEY: It's irrelevant, and it's -- this is small stuff. The issue is, whether it's -- we were -- you know, Wednesday was the soonest possible day upon their return from their recess. Thursday is fine with us. We're going -- he's going to give the speech Thursday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So let me say it again. Thursday is the day the president is giving the speech to the joint session of Congress. We're going to talk much more about this at the top of the next hour.

But when we come back, do you remember this, that incredible $50,000, here it is, the hockey goal from an 11-year-old? You remember he's a twin and the wrong twin actually made the shot. So did the family get the cash? Today, an update.

Also, whatever happened to geek being chic, folks? I'm a little bit of a self-professed geek myself, so have you seen this T-shirt? Take a look at what it says there. And some parents are absolutely outraged today that J.C. Penney would even sell it. What do you think? Coming up, a very special guest joins me, and she is not happy about it either.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Checking our top stories now for you. A new grim discovery in an ongoing mystery in the Pacific Northwest. Another severed leg bone and foot found in the waters just off Vancouver. The foot was inside a running shoe. This is the 11th found in Canadian waters in the past four years, foul play not suspected since there's no evidence of trauma on the remains.

DNA tests have identified some of the other feet, but police don't know where they are coming from.

Now this: violence on the streets of Istanbul, Turkey, today. Ethnic Kurds were holding a rally to celebrate World Peace Day. Dozens of Kurdish youth apparently started throwing petrol bombs, stones at police. Security forces responded by firing some of that tear gas just to try to break up those crowds. Kurds are a minority in Turkey.

They have been out on the streets there protesting because many of them are angry the Turkish military has been attacking their villages.

And now to this -- you remember the 11-year-old Minnesota kid who made that incredible hockey shot just last month, supposed to win that big, big prize? Well, the kid who was originally supposed to make the shot based on that raffle drawing handed it off to his twin brother, who hit it in. The puck went into this tiny hole, for which should have awarded him a $50,000 prize.

Look at that. The company says since the wrong brother made the shot, the family doesn't get the prize money, but -- there's a but here -- it is donating $20,000 to youth hockey programs in Minnesota.

What once was Hurricane Irene now long gone, but folks in the Northeast, they are still suffering, hundreds possibly still trapped right now in areas just totally cut off. Now a desperate rush to just try to get aid in there.

Plus, dramatic new video of a school at the moment that Virginia earthquake hit. We will have more of that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Before we take you to the northeast, I want to show you. We are waiting for New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to take to that podium as we are watching now what they are calling a tropical disturbance forming in the Gulf. We'll monitor that for you. Bonnie Schneider is going to talk about that here in just a minute.

But first, life is anything but back to normal for many, many people caught in the path of what was once hurricane and then tropical storm Irene. It's been five days since Irene first made landfall, and flooding is still a big problem, all the way from North Carolina up to Vermont.

President Obama, we now know, will tour New Jersey's flood region this coming Sunday. I want you to listen here as Susan Candiotti, she's there and gets her own tour. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are about to start school, your senior year in high school coming up in a week. What's going through your head?

LAURA SHAKIRI, LITTLE FALLS RESIDENT: How am I going to prepare for school? My clothes, everything is stuck at home. I don't know how I will get them. Everything is closed to go shopping. Mall is down. I don't know where to go.

CANDIOTTI: All have you is a suitcase you were able to run out with?

LAURA SHAKIRI: Yes. Five pants, five shirts, that's it. That's all I have. And school starts in one week.

CANDIOTTI: You probably won't be the only one.

LAURA SHAKIRI: There are plenty of them. I have so many friends that live on this street.

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

SAM SHAKIRI, LITTLE FALLS RESIDENT: Yes.

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

SAM SHAKIRI: I don't want to think about that right now. As long as we are safe that's good. That's the main thing is to be safe. Then the cleanup comes next.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Imagine seeing your home like that for the first time. Then several towns in Vermont just now getting the much-need supplies. The only way in, helicopter. That's been a problem because all six of Vermont National Guard choppers are in Iraq. So these helicopters, they are on loan from New Hampshire.

Take a look at this. This is a map from the state of Vermont. Really just gives you an idea as to how many of the state's roads impassable. A lot of dots on that map. And a note to anyone with Labor Day plans that include Vermont and Adirondacks, almost all hiking trails are closed indefinitely.

So, many towns in Vermont have been completely cut off by raging floodwaters. Listen to this report from Rochester where the rising tide did not discriminate between the living and the dead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSIE STEIMLE, WCAX TV: One of the more jarring images in Rochester is the Woodlawn cemetery. Overseers say the water came in and disturbed several graves. They say as many as 25 may be displaced.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very, very disturbing. We do not want that to happen.

STEIMLE: Sue Flewelling (ph) says local kids have been sneaking in and posting images of the cemetery online, so she's making sure someone watches the cemetery at all times.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just wanted to protect the integrity, and so we've been working very, very hard. We had someone spend the night to protect our loved ones who are lost.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The town of Rochester, Vermont, that's where those graves are washing away, just got connected with the outside world. Here's Randy Gyllenhaal from our affiliate WPTZ.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDY GYLLENHAAL, REPORTER, WPTZ: All they could do is wait in long lines to get food, even water. The landlocked town of Rochester became an island overnight. The town was trapped. All roads in and out were washed away, that is, until now. Today with the help of four-wheel drive, we were finally able to get a lock inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The water was up into that apartment up above here.

GYLLENHAAL: The town had been under siege by a powerful torrent of water. Some houses collapsed. Others had their foundations sucked away. Bodies and caskets from the local graveyard began to wash out. But the real problem were the roads. Slowly they began to disintegrate, all of them.

DEB PAINO: Because one by one we were realizing that we were becoming so isolated.

GYLLENHAAL: Deb Paino was stuck, no way out of town. National Guard helicopters had to drop in much-needed food and water. Medicine was running low. Frustration was high, but the town didn't give up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The community has just really pulled together so quickly, so fast.

GYLLENHAAL: Local stores like the one seen here were giving away their food. Survival was all that mattered. Four days later you can now access the town by going through a maze of back roads. The next task, rescue crews spreading out, making sure that everybody is accounted for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just trying to check off lists, go around door to door.

GYLLENHAAL: Power is still out. It could take weeks, and damage costs are unthinkable, but at least the island of Rochester has created a bridge, baby steps back to normalcy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: While so many people up and down the East Coast still dealing, you know what, Irene left behind take a look at what is forming. This is the Atlantic right now. This is Katia. Already now Katia classified as a hurricane. Bonnie Schneider is in the CNN Hurricane Headquarters. Bonnie, how strong is she, and do we even know yet where she's headed?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right now, Brooke, we still have a hurricane out there named Katia, and the important thing to note it's still pretty far out, thousands of miles away from land. And where it will go, it depends as we go through the next few days.

Right now maximum winds at 75 miles per hour so it's a category one hurricane. As we put it into motion, the track kind of takes it all the way to the west. And then will that turn occur? The track takes us to Tuesday so it's still pretty far out into early next week. We're hoping the storm will turn away from the U.S. by the time we get to the middle of next week, but it's just too early to tell.

One thing to note is that Katia is scheduled to intensify to category three or major hurricane. That's another reason we're keeping a close watch on Katia.

That's not the only storm we're tracking in the tropics. Look what's happening in the Gulf of Mexico. An area of disturbed weather is pushing some very heavy rain, heavy downpours of showers and thunderstorms, coastal Louisiana and also in Alabama. And really the motion of this disturbance, it may become a tropical storm.

The next name on the list is Lee, but it's already impacting some areas like in the Gulf of Mexico where the oil rigs are located. In fact, many of the oil companies are already starting to go to phase one or phase two, which means that if the tropical system is likely to form within the next 46, 48 hours, they start to evacuate non- essential personnel. And many of these oil conditions you can see hundreds of rigs in the Gulf of Mexico closely monitoring this system.

We'll have more when the 5:00 advisory comes in to see whether or not this will indeed be the next tropical storm on the list. Brooke?

BALDWIN: Bonnie, thank you very much.

I'm getting some news here. Let's just dip in and listen to New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who just started speaking a little while ago talking about exactly this tropical disturbance that bonnie was talking.

MAYOR MITCH LANDRIEU, (D) NEW ORLEANS: We're already seeing gusts of up to 25 miles per hour. The National Weather Service at this point is predicting a 70 percent chance of tropical development. But, again, everybody has been very cautious and has indicated that because of how this matter is forming, it is very difficult to predict, and, unfortunately, for us it is slow moving. So we have decided and are in the process of preparing for a very significant rain event with the possibility of localized flooding. For those of you in the neighborhoods, you know where they are. We are here to tell you that the EOC is meeting to coordinate. We've done that with Gosep (ph). We have already talked to the Surging Water Board. All of the pumps are 100 percent operational. The backup generators and Surging Water Board power plants are already active. We're monitoring the canals and Lake Pontchartrain with the Corps of Engineers.

Public works has two contractors standing by for road repair and debris removal, if necessary. Park and parkways and sanitation equipment is staged and ready to clear roadways should it become necessary. Capital construction projects, many of which are going on in the city right now, will be shut down when sustained winds reach the 25-mile-per-hour mark.

We are completely staffed up and we're prepared to work around the clock should we be called upon to do so. We're also coordinating with our tourism leaders because we have a number of conventions in town and so we are putting that operation into play to make sure that all of our tourists are communicated with so that they understand the risks.

BALDWIN: Essentially what the mayor was saying, there have been reports of these marsh fires in and around New Orleans, and there's been all kinds of heavy smoke, and he was talking earlier about how the National Guard troops have actually been dropping some water. So perhaps if this disturbance doesn't strengthen too much, it may be a good thing delivering much-need rain for the New Orleans area. But, again, he and we and Bonnie Schneider will continue watching that disturbance for you in the Gulf of Mexico right now.

Still ahead today, in depth -- some students are calling it college crack, and it's becoming just about as rampant on campuses as books. We'll tell you what it is and why it's becoming so popular. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Some students are calling it college crack. They are comparing it to acid or marijuana from the '60s or '70s or ecstasy from the '90s. I'm talking about medication for ADD, attention deficit disorder. And part of our in-depth look at higher education this week on CNN, we're taking a closer look at how students are using Adderall to keep them alert. Here is CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: College senior Jared Gabay has a business finance test tomorrow and he's all ready. He's got his book, his notes, and his pill. It's a prescription drug that wasn't prescribed to him. It was prescribed to a friend and Jared bought it for $5. It's a generic form of Adderall, an amphetamine meant for people with attention deficit disorder. He doesn't have ADD, but he loves what he says Adderall does to his report card.

(on camera) So Jared writing a paper not on Adderall, what's going on in your head?

JARED GABAY, STUDENT: I'm kind of on YouTube, kind of on Facebook, listening to music.

COHEN: So when you take it, how does it change you?

GABAY: I would say I'm more driven, kind of don't focus on anything else.

COHEN: You're just focused on getting that paper done?

GABAY: Right on the paper. Nothing is going to distract me from doing it and nothing's going to bother me, and it's going to get out and be good.

COHEN (voice-over): Jared feels good as he's studying all night and into the morning right up until he leaves for class.

GABAY: I got a lot of formulas memorized, a lot of stuff that I crammed for, and I think I'm really going to rock this test out.

COHEN: Jarred says lots of his friends take Adderall like he does. A study at the University of Kentucky found half of juniors and seniors say they use stimulants like Adderall. The drug is so common among millennials it's popping up on MTV. This has doctors like Raymond Kotwicki worried.

DR. RAY KOTWICKI, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY, EMORY UNIVERSITY: In the short term those stimulant medications can often feel good. In the long run there are significant problems, both in terms of thinking and mood problems.

COHEN: Adderall can be addictive, cause seizures, hallucinations, aggressive behavior. But Jared says he's been taking it for two years and he's fine. He doesn't think he's doing anything wrong.

(on camera) After talking to lawyers, it appears you are breaking the law by doing this.

GABAY: I would see how. The law is there, but it just kind of -- I consider of an unwritten rule, you know. It's accepted.

COHEN: So did the pill help with Jared's test? We caught up with him after class.

GABAY: I know I did great on the test.

COHEN: And he says he has Adderall to thank for that. College students just don't think Adderall is a big deal. In a survey of students at the University of Kentucky, they said that they considered Adderall an amphetamine about as dangerous as an energy drink. Back to you. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Elizabeth, thank you. In case you were wondering, Jared got an A on that exam.

Coming up next, the controversy over this T-shirt. Have you seen this? It says this, "I'm too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me." J.C. Penney has pulled it from its stores after parents complained, pulled it off the Web site where it was sell. Do you agree with that? When we come back, I'll ask someone who definitely did her homework. Not only is she an big TV star, she has a PhD in neuroscience. And I'm betting you can guess how she feels about it. Mayim Bialick joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COHEN: OK, this is all over the internet. It's a T-shirt for young girls offered on the J.C. Penney website. It says "I'm too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me." The shirt was being offered for girls started ages seven to 16. I emphasize "was" here, because J.C. Penney got hit with so much outrage it yanked the shirt from the Web site.

Take a look at some of the tweets. "J.C. Penney's girls are too pretty for home work T-shirt sends worst message ever." Another one, "Repugnant, sexist J.C. Penney shirt for girls seven to 16." And "Dear J.C. Penney, your "too pretty for homework" shirt discourages young women from reaching their full potential and promotes sexist values."

So we wanted to talk to a really smart girl about this T-shirt and the message it sends, we called of Mayim Bialik who played Blossom on the hit TV series of the same name and plays Amy on "The Big Bang Theory" right now, two very smart loess. In real life, she has a PhD in neuroscience. I am on the phone with her from L.A.

Good to have you on.

MAYIM BIALIK, ACTRESS: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: You heard about the T-shirt. I know you have two boys, but if you had a little girl, would you buy it for her?

BIALIK: If that's the question you're asking me, no, I would certainly not by this T-shirt for a daughter of mine. If the shirt said "I'm too handsome to do homework so my sister has to do it for me," I wouldn't buy that for my boys, either.

BALDWIN: Why, Mayim?

BIALIK: I think it's a great opportunity to say this is not even about J.C. Penney, this is about, you know, in what ways do we think it's funny to joke? I think a lot of people will probably accuse me and many others of taking this too that seriously and it's just cute, and it's just funny. But I think it underscores a really important point, what is funny to joke about. And I don't think it's terribly funny personally to joke about girls being, quote, "too pretty to do homework."

BALDWIN: We are going to keep talking, but we did do our due diligence here at CNN. We reached out to J.C. Penney. They haven't gotten back to us, so I'm going to read the statement they gave to the "L.A. Times," quote, "We agree that the T-shirt does not deliver an appropriate message and we have immediately discontinued its sale." They go on, "Our merchandise is intended to appeal to a broad customer base, not to offend them."

So Mayim, my question for you, what was it like growing up for you, you know, child star, you're smart. Did you ever get pressured, do you feel pressure to be more cute, less smart? How did you handle that?

BIALIK: I think it's a pressure that at least most girls in our culture specifically experience, whether you're on television or not. Obviously the pressure when you're in an industry that values thin and pretty more than anything, I think maybe I experienced it differently, but I've always been a character actress and probably always will be because of how I look.

But I went to public school in Los Angeles, and I think anyone who was not on TV as a female growing up in this culture can tell you it is highly emphasized and favored to be attractive, to be thin. And it's spreading to boys more as well.

So I think that's something we should all -- again that's the point we should take from this. It's not about censorship, it's not about J.C. Penney, it's about the dialogue can we get going that we value.

BALDWIN: All right, Ms. PhD in neuroscience, let me show this contrarian view --

BIALIK: I saw it yesterday.

BALDWIN: Geek Girls network, she says this -- she knows she should be outraged, but if her girls wanted it, she would buy it. And here's why, quote, "I have enough confidence in my kids to know they won't be swayed by silly sayings on a T-shirt." It may make them laugh, but it won't mark their moral decline. Does she have a point? I mean --

BIALIK: She has an absolute academic point. But again, this is not an academic discussion of does a T-shirt make you think you don't have to do homework. That's not at all the point. The point is what do we think is acceptable to joke about? How do we think it's funny to emphasize what's important.

Talk to any 12 years old girl and ask them what they would rather do, win a Nobel Prize or by on "America's Top Model." Their answers should astound us. What is making girls thing and feel that way? Let's take the focus off the silly T-shirt.

BALDWIN: If I could make a T-shirt, what would it say?

BIALIK: "Science rules"? I don't know.

BALDWIN: Science is for the cool girls. Thank you so much. We'll see you on "The Big Bang Theory." Thanks for calling in to CNN. We thought that would be fun.

BIALIK: Thank you

BALDWIN: Coming up next, a story you have to hear. Things got so bad for this father of one -- no money, no job, foreclosure looming -- he up and left his child behind -- not with family, with his neighbors. Please ended up tracking him down, essentially across the country. Let's say he is in big, big trouble.

What do you think, though? Did he do the right thing? Is it a sign of the times? We're going to talk about it, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Time for your CNN = Politics update. Let's go to Wolf Blitzer with stories fresh off the Ticker. Wolf, it was so great to see you yesterday.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": Thank you, Brooke. Great to see you too. It was a great CNN dialogue over at the Carter Center. I really enjoyed it. I think the audience did as well.

BALDWIN: It was fantastic.

BLITZER: That's a good word. Let's do a little Political Ticker right now. First of all, it's official. There will be eight Republican presidential candidates at the CNN Tea Party Express debate that's coming up on September 12th in Tampa. I'll be moderating that debate, and it's going to be a good debate, a serious debate. We'll hear what all the candidates, the Republican presidential candidates have to say.

On some new poll numbers that we're getting in, not necessarily such great numbers for the president of the United States when it comes to his handling of the economy. Only 34 percent approve of the job he's doing on the economy, 65 percent disapprove.

How are things going in the country right now? This is the classic right track/wrong track question and 28 percent think things are going well, 73 percent think things are going badly.

When you ask pollsters what the most important question they ask the American people every election cycle is right track/wrong track, is the country moving in the right direction or wrong direction, some variant of that question. When an overwhelming majority think the country is moving in the wrong direction, incumbents almost always suffer at the polls. So that's a question politicians watch very, very closely, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican. Brooke?

BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, thank you sir. We'll check in with you next hour to see what you have cooking on "THE SITUATION ROOM" today. Thank you.