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14 Wildfires Burning in Texas; Job Growth Grinds to a Halt; Stocks Fall on Weak Jobs Report; Gulf Coast Prepares for Storm; Horrors Blamed on Hannibal Gadhafi
Aired September 02, 2011 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: T.J., have a great weekend.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: I sure will.
MALVEAUX: Have a great holiday weekend.
HOLMES: Yes, you too.
MALVEAUX: All right.
Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed for this Friday, September 2nd.
Just a week after Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast, the central Gulf Coast is now getting ready for a storm with flooding rains. There are already warnings in place, and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has already declared a state of emergency.
Oil companies are pulling workers off the rigs in the Gulf. Some places including New Orleans could get as much as 20 inches of rain.
Texas could really use some of that rain from the tropical system, but it doesn't look promising. Fourteen big wildfires are burning in that state. Just one of them west of Dallas.
Now, firefighters there are finally making some progress. They've got the fire about half contained or so.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE GREEN, FIREFIGHTER: We can do all the work by air that we want, but as my instructors told me a long time ago, it's always boots on the ground that gets it taken care of.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: -- report is out. It's pretty bleak. It shows employers added no jobs during August. The unemployment rate is unchanged at 9.1 percent.
Now, there are a couple things that we should point out. The report was distorted because it counted thousands of Verizon workers who went on strike, but that are now back on the job. The numbers also included Minnesota employees who are temporarily out of work because of the government shutdown.
Well, this discouraging jobs report is driving stocks down across the board. The Dow fell more than 200 points in early trading. It remains in the red now. Right now, we are looking at down 201 points or so.
We're going to be keeping a really close eye on the markets throughout the day.
Firefighters who say they got cancer after the 9/11 attacks, well, they have more evidence today. A new study finds those who were at Ground Zero were 19 percent more likely to get cancer than firefighters who didn't go to Ground Zero. Now, right now, the government does not cover cancer costs for those first responders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The firefighters we're watching, who were there, the World Trade Center, and developed cancer over the last 10 years, they have the lingering question, why did they get this cancer, and was it related to the dust? And you would say what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For most instances, it was World Trade Center related.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Our reporters in Libya are uncovering more evidence of torture, abuse at the hands of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's family. A former Gadhafi staffer in Tripoli told CNN's Dan Rivers that it happened all the time to workers for the former dictator's son Hannibal Gadhafi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN RIVERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like a lot of the staff suffered abuse to varying degrees. We've spoken to one man who is still too afraid to give his name or to show his face, but he took us to another compound that Hannibal Gadhafi used as an office complex. And in that, there was a sort of secret prison room cell where they locked people up, staff, if they felt that they had done something wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Attorneys for Casey Anthony are back in court in Florida. Now, you may recall she is the young mother who was acquitted in July of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, but found guilty of lying to law enforcement officials. Well, right now, a judge is hearing arguments over whether or not she should pay back more than $500,000 spent in the search for her daughter.
Can you believe this? A referee gets decks moments after he called an end to a youth football game. Adults then took to the field and started kicking him. He eventually stumbled off the field. Now deputies in Sarasota, Florida, are investigating and saying charges will probably be filed. The teen involved has been suspended.
Now more on two big stories that could affect millions of people during this Labor Day weekend.
Parts of the central Gulf Coast including New Orleans could be under water if a tropical storm hits. Now, right now, it is just a depression, but warnings are already in place along the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts.
Texas could actually use the rain from that storm, but it's not likely to get much. More than a dozen major wildfires are still spreading in the state of Texas.
Jennifer Delgado is tracking the tropical storm system, and Jim Spellman, he's covering the big wildfire west of Dallas.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MALVEAUX: We'll see how it goes in Texas, because as you mentioned, Texas really needs that rain from that tropical system. And most of the state, it's bone dry from drought. The wildfires, a huge problem there, still.
Our CNN's Jim Spellman, he is covering the big fire west of Dallas.
That is where firefighters, Jim, I understand are making some progress. The situation is a little bit better today. But is there concern that these winds are going to come back and spread this fire again?
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, but they really made a lot of progress yesterday on the ground with hand crews out, using hand tools and bulldozers, creating fire lines to separate the fire from the unburned fuel in the surrounding woods, and from the air with helicopters and planes. And it's really paid off.
Now they are up to 60 percent contained. And they feel really good about where this fire is going.
But they are not going to let the last of the residents into the most heavily-affected areas until they can really mop up 100 percent, because, like you said, with these severe drought conditions, it's so easy for a new fire to get sparked off by just a single amber picked up in the wind. So they really want to be sure this thing is 100 percent mopped up before they let the final residents back into those heavily burned-out areas -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And Jim, I understand Possum Kingdom Lake, it's a big tourist area. Is that going to be open for Labor Day weekend, or is it just too dangerous?
SPELLMAN: Yes, Suzanne. I think it's important to realize that these are big economic stories, not just a fire story.
And amongst all the fire trucks, we are starting to see boats come back here towards the lake for the final Labor Day weekend. So that's good news for them here. That's been a big priority, is getting this lake back open to tourists to come back to boat, to camp. There's a lot of getaway homes here, and all the cafes, gas stations, motels and stuff, rely on that.
So they're hoping that everything is done today and they can get everybody back here tomorrow. They've already been hit by missing a week in this economy. A business can't lose a week of revenue. So they're glad they'll be back open, at least for this weekend -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. A big economic story as well. Thank you, Jim.
Here is a rundown of some of the stories that we are covering.
First, an analysis of the weak new job numbers and a check of the markets as stocks plunge on morning trade.
Then, a police dashcam captures an amazing rescue. Police pull passengers from a burning car.
Also, an amazing story of survival. Hear how a New Jersey man saved himself from drowning in his own house.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said, "I've got to get the heck out of here." He goes, "What are you, nuts?" I said, "I'm swimming out of here. I'm getting out of here."
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you walking or sort of swimming?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I'm swimming where I hold on to branches. OK? And I get pushed over here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And later, this is not backed-up traffic. It's a line for gas in Libya.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: The monthly unemployment report out today highlights a job market that is now in critical condition. Job growth basically flat-lined in August.
Want to bring in Christine Romans of our Money team.
And Christine, so we've been told not to panic, do not panic yet, but this report honestly was worse, right, than economists expected?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
MALVEAUX: What was most surprising here? How did this happen?
ROMANS: Well, what was most surprising is that private sector job growth is very minimal. Government sector continues to shed jobs. I mean, you're talking about government workers losing their jobs every month for 10 months, and you've got a 9.1 percent unemployment rate overall, Suzanne. But here's an interesting statistic in this number.
The unemployment rate now for African-Americans is 16.7 percent. The highest since July 1984. 1984. You look within these numbers and you see huge disparities for people in this country.
If you have a bachelor's degree, your unemployment rate is 4.3 percent. The average for everyone else is 9.1 percent. For black Americans it's 16.7 percent.
It shows you a labor market that is not working for everyone. And it shows you a labor market that is really paralyzed when we are trying to talk about a recovery and moving forward and digging our way out of this recession.
The White House yesterday gave its own forecast for when we would get back to pre-recession levels for employment, Suzanne, and they said maybe 2017. I have a baby. My baby is in diapers. By the time we are back to where we started, my child will be able to ride a bike, read, and will be talking and walking and the whole bit.
I mean, that's a long time. And it shows some pain going forward.
One of the things I wanted to show you is, this is going to be political, as you know. So, next week, the president is going to give his jobs prescription. Many people say that already, this won't work, press releases have already been written before anybody's seen it.
Look at where we have come from jobs creations over the course of this presidency. You can see what it was like at the very beginning. And the White House loves to point this out.
Look at those red bars. We were losing hundreds of thousands of jobs. And then, those yellow bars, that's when we started to create jobs again.
But then came the government sector job cuts, and we lost jobs. And since then, we have not been doing well enough to try to eat into that unemployment rate. But when you look at these numbers, and you look at different races, ages, sectors, educational background, you see an America that is working -- an economy that is working very differently for different people.
MALVEAUX: Christine, I'm glad you brought that up. The Congressional Black Caucus has been talking to the White House. The president saying, look, you need to focus specifically on African- American and the high unemployment disparity among African-Americans in this economic crisis.
I want to ask you about the jobs report again, because there were a couple of things I understand that distorted the numbers for August that people need to be aware of.
ROMANS: I think that there are a couple of things that distorted them, but I wouldn't put too much weight on them.
One was Minnesota workers, state workers, who had been laid off or brought back. So 22,000 jobs were added because Minnesota public workers went back to work. But then there was a Verizon strike, and so 45,000 or so workers were counted out of that section.
You put it on balance, it's still only a swing of some 20,000 jobs. In an economy of 307 million people, we can't be talking about numbers that are this small.
We need to be creating a couple of hundred thousand, 300,000 a month to start eating into the unemployment rate significantly to make sure that we are going to have a grower labor market that's going to absorb everyone that goes into it. It's just paralyzed right now. You know? It's a really troubling situation.
MALVEAUX: And Christine, finally, we know that President Obama is going to talk about his big jobs speech next week, and talk about the things that the government can do, but his role is really limited. The government's role is really limited here.
ROMANS: Yes.
MALVEAUX: What do they actually -- do you think people need to hear to become more confident about the markets, to get these markets to change, to turn around here and start actually investing and hiring again?
ROMANS: Because companies are sitting on $2 trillion in cash that they are not using to build new factories, at least in this country, or to hire people or to expand. What changes that? And some will say, well, when people start buying things again, companies will feel it and start to hire again. But people won't buy things again until they feel better about their jobs, so it's this vicious circle.
The president can come out and show confidence and show that he knows the economy is slowly improving and will continue to. The president can say what he thinks Congress should do -- tax cuts for small business, payroll tax holiday, perhaps, unemployment benefits in exchange for retraining with companies.
All of these are things he could talk about. I guess we won't know how big that plan will be until next week.
MALVEAUX: All right. Christine, thanks. We're going to be paying very close attention to what the president's plan is, and when we get some of those details.
We're going to have much more on jobs in the next hour. We're going to hear from an economist, a financial expert, and a business owner about what needs to be done to improve job growth. We are also going to hear from Johanna Hill. She is out of work and she is also fed up with Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHANNA HILL, UNEMPLOYED: This job thing has affected all of us. It doesn't matter, white, black, Republican, Democrat, Tea Party.
I mean, come on, guys. I mean, we are all adults here. I don't understand all the bickering. If we can't sit at a table and make a decision, I mean, there's a lot of things that can be done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The bleak jobs report for August is driving stocks down. Karina Huber is at the New York Stock Exchange.
Karina, what are we seeing from the markets right now?
KARINA HUBER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Suzanne, I mean, the impact has been pretty dramatic not only around the world, but here on Wall Street, as well.
We see that the Dow is down by 185 points. That is a drop of 1.6 percent. Over at the Nasdaq, we are seeing they are down by 1.6 percent. S&P 500 down by 1.7 percent.
Now, the sell-off is pretty broad-based. We saw that all 30 Dow components are in negative territory right now. But if you had to pick a sector that is really feeling the brunt of this, it is the financial sector.
Now, talking about the VIX, which is the fear indicator, that has gone up. So it's showing that investors really want to take some of the trades off the table, don't want to take on some risk today. So they are going to safe haven bets like gold, which is up by more than two percent today -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And Karina, I understand banks still feeling the effects of the financial crisis. And we are also hearing today about another lawsuit. Tell us about that.
HUBER: Yes, another lawsuit, just one of many. This is according to "The Wall Street Journal and "The New York Times."
The FHFA, which is the government agency which overlooks Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, they are looking to potentially launch a series of losses against some of the banks including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Deutsche Bank. We don't know about the other banks, and perhaps they will also be hit by this.
This has to do with mortgage-backed securities which the FHFA might say that they misrepresented the value of these securities when they sold them to Fannie and Freddie. Of course, this is at a time when the banks were bundling mortgages and selling them as assets to people like Fannie and Freddie.
Now, when the mortgages -- when people couldn't pay their mortgages, those assets went sour. And in the process, Fannie and Freddie lost billions of dollars. So, of course FHFA wants to recoup some of that money.
What this all means for the banks is that they are under a lot of pressure. This is just one of many lawsuits out there. So a lot of uncertainty concerning the financials. So investors clearly want to get out of that trade right now -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thanks, Karina.
Well, we're giving you a chance to "Choose the News." Text "22360" to vote for the story that you would like to see in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
Number one, federal agents accuse a legendary guitar maker of breaking the law by smuggling a rare protected wood from India for its instruments, but the CEO is fighting back.
Number two, Russia's Vladimir Putin is thinking about running for president again. And he is showing everyone he is man enough for the job in a variety of ways.
Or number three. Talk about manly, a logger trapped beneath the trailer uses a pocket knife to free himself by cutting off his toes. Oy.
You can vote by texting "22360." Text "1" for "Feds Raid Gibson Guitars"; "2" for "Putin's Manly Moments"; or "3" for "Logger Cuts off Toes."
The winning story is going to air in the next hour.
Well, a story you're not going to want to miss. Police race toward a burning SUV with four people inside.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
MALVEAUX: Well, as millions of Americans waited for Hurricane Irene to hit, this week's CNN Hero was stand buying to help victims. Seventy-seven-year-old Wilma Melville and her search dog group helped save lives at every major disaster site for the past 15 years.
Just take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILMA MELVILLE, CNN HERO: When the Oklahoma City bombing happened, I saw the size of that building on television. I had a hobby of learning to train a disaster search dog.
I was deployed to Oklahoma City. I did wonder, can we really do this? Can we really find live people?
When I got home, I said, "What is this nation doing with approximately 15 FEMA certified dogs?" This one building alone requires far more than 15.
My name is Wilma Melville. Our organization trains rescue dogs and firefighter handlers to save lives after a disaster.
Right turn.
We like to use shelter dogs. It's a humane thing to do. There is nothing better than a dog's nose to find a live human.
We've been to the World Trade Center; Japan; Joplin, Missouri; and Haiti.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Haiti, on our fourth day there, we made contact with a 10-year-old girl. We would ask her to acknowledge us with a tap. And around the sixth or seventh hour, she stopped tapping.
MELVILLE: Finding live people is our goal, but providing hope for the onlooker and a place to begin work for the firefighter, those are many fold objectives.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Ms. Melville and her organization have trained 131 shelter dog rescue teams for free.
You can learn more about the Search Dog Foundation or make a donation at CNNHeroes.com. And you can join the conversation on CNN Heroes Facebook, as well as Twitter pages.
Well, almost six years to the day after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans prepares for another big storm. We are going to speak with the city's deputy mayor of public safety.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are working on.
A man makes a desperate move as his house fills with water from Hurricane Irene. You're going to get to hear his amazing story of survival.
Then, a house of horrors in Libya. If you haven't heard about Gadhafi's son Hannibal, you're not going to forget him after this story.
And later, talk about a long line at the gas pump. What life is like now for Libyans.
Well, the central Gulf Coast is getting prepared for what is expected to be a tropical storm. And that is going to happen this Labor Day weekend. And right now, the system is kind of wobbling offshore. Warnings are in place along the Louisiana and Mississippi Coast. The biggest concern now is heavy rain and flooding. Some places, including New Orleans, could get 10 to 20 inches of rain.
Jerry Sneed, he is the deputy major of public safety in New Orleans. He is on the phone. He joins us now.
Mr. Sneed, I have to tell you, I have a personal investment in this. A lot of my family is in New Orleans still. What's happening now? What are you guys doing to prepare for this storm?
JERRY SNEED, DEPUTY MAJOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY, NEW ORLEANS (via telephone): Well, you can let them know we are taking good care of them. Again, we have talked with all of our agencies, sewer water board, the levee districts, corps of engineers, and all the public safety. We are all ready for this moving forward. Expecting a very heavy rain event for the next three or four days.
MALVEAUX: Are you evacuating any neighborhoods, any areas, any wards?
SNEED: Not at all. There's absolutely no reason for evacuation. We are going to get a heavy rain but it is extended over a period of time so there may be some minor street flooding in various areas that typically flood when we get heavy rains.
MALVEAUX: If New Orleans gets 10 to 20 inches of rain, what is that going to do to the Lower Ninth Ward and other areas that were simply devastated by Katrina?
SNEED: Well, again, remember that, 10 to 20 inches is through Wednesday. So if we get 20 inches at one time, we would be in real trouble, but it's over extended period of time. So everything is in place. Lower Ninth Ward will be safe. Everybody should have no problems with this event. We feel comfortable that everything is in place to take care of our systems. There may be some minor flooding for short periods of time.
MALVEAUX: Are you concerned about the levees? The situation with the levees holding?
SNEED: Not at all. Not at all. The levees, the corps has done a great job of getting things in preparation for this hurricane season. We are ready.
MALVEAUX: What should folks be doing now who are watching this and wondering, can they protect their homes? Can they protect their schools and their property?
SNEED: I think the most important thing is everybody watch closely what the weather events, and listen to us, and be prepared for a heavy rain. We've already told our citizens that if their streets are prone to flooding, please move those vehicles to higher ground. Things like that.
MALVEAUX: Is there any reason that we should anticipate that this could get worse? That this is not just going to be a rain event, but that this could be much, much worse?
SNEED: You know, we always plan for the worse and hope for the best, but all indications are that it's a rain event, not even a great deal of wind for this one here. But we are going to prepare and our citizens need to prepare also. You never know what's going to happen in any of these events.
MALVEAUX: All right. Well, Jerry Sneed, we appreciate you are preparing for this rain event. We will hold you, guys, accountable, make sure. We'll be talking to my relatives over the weekend. Make sure everything is safe and sound. We appreciate your information. We certainly hope that everything will be OK. Thank you again for joining us.
SNEED: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Well, it is a terrifying experience, a New Jersey man is never going to forget.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought I'd be out in the street and literally done and be dead. And, I guess an angel or somebody or a soul who's watching me get to where I had to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Maybe an angel. He was swept away by Hurricane Irene's flood waters, but lived to tell about it. We've got his story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Just getting this from the State Department. I want to read it on my BlackBerry here. It's a statement saying that, "As we mark the 10th anniversary of this September 11th attacks, the Department of State informs U.S. citizens traveling and residing abroad of the continued threat posed by al-Qaeda and its affiliates. While we have not identified any specific threats from al-Qaeda affiliates and allies to attack the United States, or interests in 9/11 anniversary, U.S. citizens should be aware that al-Qaeda affiliates and allies have demonstrated the intent and capability to carry out attacks against the United States and our interests around the world."
Simply, a travel warning to those who are overseas, those who are going to be traveling over the September 11th tenth anniversary next weekend, simply to be aware and to be cautious.
Also, don't forget we've got something else here to vote to choose the news. To vote by 22360, vote 1 for "Feds Raid Gibson Guitars." The iconic instrument maker says it's not in the business of smuggling. That's the first choice.
Vote 2 for "Vladimir Putin's Manly Moments." Prime Minister of Russia struts his tough stuff. or vote 3 for "Logger Cuts Off Toes." Yes, I'm serious. He decided it was the only thing to do after a trailer landed on his foot. Winning story is going to air in the next hour.
Well, a New Jersey man considers himself very lucky even to be alive. He got swept away by Hurricane Irene's flood waters and he lives to tell about it. CNN's national correspondent Susan Candiotti has his amazing story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): The river is right in your backyard. You're watching the water go up, and then, you see your kids played set right in the back of the tree. What are you thinking?
RICH BUONTEMPO, SURVIVOR: I'm thinking that it's very dangerous, and it's time to leave this place.
CANDIOTTI: As you're looking outside, what is the storm looking like, and what's going on in your head?
BUONTEMPO: Well, the house is surrounded by water. And I thought about, eventually, leaving 3:30, 4:00 in the afternoon on Sunday, so I grabbed my credit card and my keys. I literally opened the door, the water rushed in.
CANDIOTTI: Show me where you went.
BUONTEMPO: I started walking down here and I did one of these. I finally got here and the water is up to here. I walked, I walked. Literally, the water is splashing in my face. So, I walk up here. And I know this is the lowest point to come up. So, I literally walked up, and it goes higher ground, and I literally grabbed on to the railing here in my neighbor is pumping the water out very well.
CANDIOTTI: What did you say, though?
BUONTEMPO: I said, I got to get the heck out of here. He goes, what, are you nuts? I said, I'm swimming out of here. I'm getting out of here.
CANDIOTTI: Are you walking or sort of swimming and the current is carrying you?
BUONTEMPO: No, I'm swimming. I hold on to branches and I get pushed over here. I grab on to the pole here and let go and I get thrown all the way over here.
SAUL ZUCKER, NEIGHBOR: When I lost sight of him at the front door and so I decided to come over here. He said, keep an eye on me. So this is a great view. So, I walked over here, looked out the window. And I saw him rest on top of that wooden fence, and he started doing a backstroke.
BUONTEMPO: : Back swam to the bushes over there, and then, I see him in the window and I just gave him a thumbs up. CANDIOTTI: Did you think your life was on the line?
BUONTEMPO: Oh, absolutely. I thought I'd be out in the street and literally done and be dead. And, I guess an angel or somebody or a soul who's watching me get to where I had to go. But it was not a point of -- I just had to do it. I have four kids, and literally, I'm on my own, and I had to get out.
CANDIOTTI: You made the decision you were going for it?
BUONTEMPO: Yes, but I ruined my credit card and my car keys. Yes.
CANDIOTTI: An amazing story. Buontempo's wife and kids weren't home when this happened. So they didn't know what he was planning to do and they weren't happy when they found out. They were happy, of course, that he survived.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Cranford, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Good for him.
As millions of people taking to the road this weekend for Labor Day, I want you to check out our question here. According to AAA, will the number of Americans traveling this weekend go up or down compared to the same time last year?
That answer in two minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: According to AAA, will the number of Americans traveling this weekend go up or down compared to this time last year? The answer is down. AAA estimates that it will drop by 2.4 percent. Reason why, you can probably guess. Unemployment, gas prices and higher hotel rates.
Well, here are your choices for today's "Choose the News" story. Vote by texting 22360. Vote 1 to see why the government accuses a legendary guitar maker of smuggling. Vote 2 to see the Prime Minister of Russia strutting his stuff as he considers a run for president. Or vote 3 for the impossible decision a logger had to make after a trailer landed on his foot.
We're going to air the winning story in the next hour.
So each week CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to someone who has achieved remarkable things despite major challenges. Well, in this week's "Human Factor," we meet Scout Bassett. She's an athlete who overcame a difficult childhood in China through the power of exercise.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a hot Los Angeles day you'll find Scout Bassett outside on the roof of her apartment building logging miles on her bike. She's a dedicated multisport athlete, but take a closer look. Scout has run marathons and raced triathlons all with one leg.
SCOUT BASSETT, ATHLETE: This has been very good to me and done a lot of long miles.
GUPTA: Scout lost her leg when she was just a baby. It was the beginning of a difficult childhood.
BASSETT: I was burned in a fire in China and when I turned one- year-old, I was placed on the streets in front of the government orphanage. When I came here to the U.S., I was 7 years old and weighed 22 pounds.
GUPTA: Scout had never left her orphanage before being adopted. Overnight, she found herself with a new family in a new country surrounded by strangers and unable to speak any English.
BASSETT: Everybody is just looking at you, wanting to know what is going on, who you are, where you come from. And I mean -- and it's like I'm not even sure what's happening to me. How am I supposed to explain that to you?
GUPTA: Exercise became a refuge. She saw other para-athletes race a triathlon with the Challenged Athletes Foundation.
BASSETT: Being able to see that was something that changed my life forever, seeing what was possible out there.
GUPTA: She started to race triathlons herself, swimming without any artificial leg because it would weigh her down. Switching into a leg with a foot made into a bike cleat and then switching again to an artificial running leg for the end of the race.
BASSETT: Race-by-race, training day by training day, I started to gain this confidence that I really had lacked for much of my life. And became just this person who really believed in myself for the first time.
GUPTA: And she has no plans of slowing down.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Wow, she is awesome. Good for her.
A line of cars goes on for miles, and it's not backed-up traffic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the back of the queue for gas. And I want to show you just how long it is. This queue just goes on and on and on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Every day we hear more about what went on behind the gates of Moammar Gadhafi's compound. And these stories, some of them just really horrible.
Our senior international correspondent Dan Rivers is getting a lot of these stories first hand now from people who worked for Gadhafi's son, Hannibal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shweyga is slowly regaining her dignity now being cared for in Tripoli's Burns Hospital. She is weak, but able to gesture a greeting to those who helped her and express her profound gratitude.
SHWEYGA MULLAH, NANNY FOR HANNIBAL GADHAFI'S FAMILY (through translator): I want to say thank you very much, because all the people have helped me. Thank you very, very much.
RIVERS: She's overcome with emotion, but these are tears of relief and not pain. Shweyga is Christian and her faith has been crucial in coming to terms with what has happened.
MULLAH: Thank you very much. I want God to heal me and return me back to my family.
RIVERS: The National Transitional Council's new health minister also visited her and summed up the horror of her ordeal.
DR. NAJI BARAKAT, LIBYAN HEALTH MINISTER: I think it's a crime against humanity. So we'll ask the Minister of Justice to send someone who can document, as well as forensic evidence to document it and then we document everything, and then after that she has a free waiver wherever she wants to stay in Libya. We will be happy to treat her. If she wants to go, that would be great as well.
RIVERS (on-camera): So this is Hannibal Gadhafi's office.
(voice-over): This man who worked with Shweyga is too scared to reveal his identity, but showed another of Hannibal Gadhafi's properties where he says more horrendous abuse was meet out to staff by Hannibal's wife, Aline.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Shweyga is not the only one. There's a Sudani man who Aline burned him twice. She boiled water and she burned him from here to down.
RIVERS: He says the foreign staff were targeted the most.
(on-camera): A picture is emerging of horrendous abuse of Hannibal Gadhafi's houses. I've been contacted by another nanny who described Aline Gadhafi as psychologically sick and a sadist. And this room would seem to bear out her testimony. What kind of family has their own private jail cell at one of their properties.
(voice-over): Shweyga is now facing months of recuperation and surgery. CNN is working with a number of organizations to ensure she gets the best care available, that she can get home to Ethiopia after her nightmare at the hands of the Gadhafi family.
Dan Rivers, CNN, Tripoli.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: If you would like to help those families, you can go to CNN.com/Impact.
Hear more a bit on Hannibal Gadhafi. He is the fourth son of Moammar Gadhafi and his second wife, Sofia. A couple of years, Hannibal has been accused of beating his staff and his wife. He also reportedly paid millions of dollars for parties featuring Beyonce and Mariah Carey and Usher. Earlier this week, Hannibal Gadhafi fled to Algeria with his mother, his sister and brother, Mohammed.
Well, no one seems to know where his father is. There's been no sign of the former Libyan leader in Tripoli. Now the people there had been left to fend for themselves.
Dan Rivers brings us a glimpse of how desperate their situation is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIVERS (on camera): 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've 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 wait it is simply to fill up your car.
Dan Rivers, CNN, Tripoli.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Just 15 minutes after the weak jobs reports was released here, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney blamed the president. Hear exactly what he said on our Political Ticker.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Zero. That's right. Zero jobs added in August. That's a pretty bleak picture, and politicians are now responding.
Paul Steinhauser, part of the Best Political Team on Television, live from the political desk in Washington.
Paul, I mean, zero, zero jobs here? I am sure that Republicans were very quick to jump on this?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Very quick indeed, Suzanne. In fact, the Republican National Committee, the RNC, they were out just a few minutes after the report. John Boehner, the House speaker as well, putting out a statement as well. And the presidential candidates, the Republican presidential hopefuls have been putting out statements.
The first to do it was former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. He was pretty quick with his statement, and he also spoke about the jobs report and criticized the president at an event he was having in Florida this morning.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Obama is not working. And he has disappointed the American people. And this morning, very bad news. Did you see the numbers that came out on job growth? Look, there is zero faith in Barack Obama because he has created zero jobs last month.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: And Suzanne, on Tuesday, Mitt Romney in Nevada will introduce his jobs plan. Of course that comes two days before the president will do it as well in front of Congress.
A lot of the other presidential candidates putting out similar statements criticizing the president on the jobs report. Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: And Paul, I know we've got new poll numbers out this morning on the economy, what do they suggest?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, troubling numbers. Listen, economists tell us this country has not been in a recession for over two years, but Americans do not feel that way.
Take a look at this. Brand new this morning from CNN and ORC, and you can see more than 8 and 10 say yes, the economy is in a recession, only 18 percent saying no.
And what about jobs? Here's another example of how important jobs are to the American public. And look at that. We asked what is more important for the Obama administration to do? Create jobs or reduce the deficit. Look at that, by more than 2 to 1 margin, Americans say create jobs only 3 and 10 say reducing the deficit is more important, Suzanne. Just another example of how jobs is the topic and on the concern right now for Americans.
MALVEAUX: Absolutely. All right, thank you, Paul. For the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNPolitics.com.
And also don't forget to vote for today's "Choose the News Story." Vote by texting 22360. Vote 1 for feds raid Gibson guitars. The iconic instrument maker says it's not in the business of smuggling. Vote 2 for Putin's manly moments by Mr. Russia strutting his tough stop. Or vote 3 for logger cuts off toes. That's right. He decided it was the only thing to do after a trailer landed on his foot. Winning story is going to air in the next hour.
