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Tropical Storm Lee Fanning Texas Wildfires; Gadfahi's Son Speaks to CNN; Pres. Obama's Jobs Speech; Tropical Storm Lee Downgraded to Tropical Depression; New 9/11 Surfaces after Ten Years; Gibson Guitars Target of Raid

Aired September 04, 2011 - 22:00   ET

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

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Susan Hendricks. Don Lemon is off tonight. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We begin with breaking news in drought-stricken Texas where strong winds from Tropical Storm Lee are kicking up several major wildfires. You see them here. This is south of Bastrop County, south of Austin, Texas. Crews are scrambling to knock down flames as soon as they can, as soon as they pop up. About 1,000 homes are at risk, in the line of fire.

This situation has been getting worse. Fire officials can't even tell us exactly how many evacuations they have or any damage assessments as of yet. We'll have much more ahead on those fires, including a live report from the scene and also a man who may lose his home to this fire.

But first we want to bring you up to date on the enormous amounts of rain tropical storm Lee is dumping on Louisiana and also Mississippi.

This was Tropical Storm Lee tearing through the Gulf this weekend. This is an oil rig and the workers there, you see them leaning into the wind, holding on for dear life, it appears, just to find out how fast the wind is blowing. They found out pretty fast.

On land, Lee has been a major flood maker. Some parts of Louisiana have gotten a foot of rain or more. The mayor of New Orleans warns the city will be dealing with that storm for at least one more day.

Want to bring in Jacqui Jeras in the CNN weather center.

A lot going on. We have been hearing about how this is a real rain machine. Also in Texas, some fires and a tornado as well.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. So a lot going on just with this storm.

Let's start out with that threat of fires. This has been breaking throughout the day today. You know, we look at Lee on the radar and we say there is so much moisture with this thing and it's been moving so slow. We've got a strong intense area of high pressure in the Midwest that's been pummeling down here into the Plains states. And with the extreme conditions, with the drought that's ongoing, we have had at least six wildfires which have broken out within a couple of hours this afternoon, they have gotten out of control because the winds are so strong here.

We are talking about sustained winds. We've put a couple of locators down here. Down towards San Antonio, sustained winds have been somewhere -- there we go -- more like 17 miles per hour towards Austin. But the gusts, it's the gusts that have been going up to 40 miles per hour.

And what you're seeing right here on our Doppler radar, that's actually smoke and ashes that's being picked up on Doppler radar and that's been moving across I-10. I understand it's been closed for a while this evening in both directions.

And so these winds are going to continue to fuel these, and this isn't going away any time soon. We're expecting those winds to stick around all through the day tomorrow. And it will finally start to slacken off a little bit as we head into Tuesday and Wednesday.

But just a very dangerous situation evolving all across Texas. There are reports outside of the Dallas area. These pictures you can see, there are from the Bastrop County fire. A fire warning that's in effect there and mandatory evacuations now have been issued for the Lake Bastrop Acres subdivision there.

Those winds have just been really causing this thing to billow and advance very, very quickly. And when you have winds like that, we also worry about new spot fires because they'll take, you know, embers and pieces from the trees and blow them way out ahead of the main line. And that's what makes it so difficult to fight these things with winds that strong.

HENDRICKS: Just when firefighters think they may have something under control, the wind can switch direction and then spread the fire that fast. Also reports of tornadoes in Upstate New York, Jacqui?

JERAS: Yes, in Upstate New York. But we've also had a lot of tornado reports back into parts of Mississippi. That's been ongoing for the last couple of hours. Here you can see one warning and then we've got multiple flood warnings to go along with it.

This is all from Tropical Storm Lee. This made landfall early this morning. If you haven't been paying attention today, it's weakened a lot -- 40 miles per hour. That's a maximum sustained winds. And we are expecting this to slowly move to the north and the east.

Now, inland flooding will be a big concern in the upcoming days and this is going to be spreading all across the Deep South into the Tennessee Valley and throughout the Appalachians. Widespread averages are going to be four to eight inches. And we are really concerned with this getting into the mountains that we have a threat of mud slides here. And, of course, a lot of major cities are being affected. Look at Atlanta. Three to five inches expected between tonight and Tuesday morning. This is going to head up into the northeast as a cold front moves on through. And it's that cold front that produced the tornado in Upstate New York earlier this evening. We've got video of it. We'll bring that to you. We'll talk more about what this whole thing is going to do to your travel. That's coming up a little bit later.

I'm hearing that we do have those pictures in now. This is just outside of Connectidie (ph), in Cranesville. This tornado actually crossed the New York State Thruway and this was caught on camera as it moved through there. There was quite a bit of damage from where I see, and a lot of trees down, lots of power outages as well.

We don't know if anyone has been injured in the storm just yet. We do have crews on the scene and we're talking with our affiliates. And as we get more information on that, we'll bring it along to you. But look at the debris in the air. Just amazing pictures out of New York tonight.

HENDRICKS: Wow. That is massive. You really see the enormity in that picture. We hope the person taking those pictures for us is OK.

Jacqui, we'll check back in a few. Thank you so much on that.

We will take you live to Texas for much more on the massive fires there as well, those explosive wildfires. But first we want to get the latest from the Gulf coast where Tropical Storm Lee is still dropping a large amount of rain.

CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf has been out there for some time near the eastern edge of the warning zone in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

How is it now, Reynolds?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, looks pretty good for the time being. I got to tell you, this is just really for the last, say, hour, maybe 90 minutes we have had some blasts of some very, very heavy rainfall, but for the time being we are seeing something different, we haven't seen for a while that happens to be the moon.

CNN photojournalist Tim Wall is trying to get a shot of that. There you go. Half moon high above the Gulf of Mexico.

I got to tell you, one thing has changed, too, for the time being, it's the wind, although still fairly strong. Feels like a much drier, drier breeze at this point. However, it is still expected to be fairly strong, still pushing the water right up against the coast.

So tomorrow, people are going to still try to make the most out of their holiday weekend, are going to be out here with pretty -- kind of dangerous conditions at the very least. Lots of rip currents are going to be a threat. Certainly a possibility. So if you are heading out to the coast by all means, please be careful and people here are still fairly frustrated. Anyone making the way back far, going farther north, obviously may run into the chance of rain, as Jacqui was telling you about. Still a very, very real potential of major flooding not only in parts of Louisiana, back into Mississippi, Alabama and, of course, in parts of Florida as well.

It really will be interesting to see what happens especially over the next 12 to 24 to 36 hours where the bulk of this heads up. You know, a lot of models have it going in different directions. But again, as it makes its way over towards parts of Alabama, then farther into Georgia, into Tennessee, perhaps even Carolinas, we could see some massive flooding from this. So it's far from over.

When we talked about the rainfall they've had here, roughly seven inches of rainfall in the last, say, 30 hours or so. They still might get some here but it does look like the system is slowly on the move for some people. But still the back side of it, possibly some heavy rainfall to parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama tomorrow, especially parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. That's the latest we've got from the beach. Let's send it back to you in the studio.

HENDRICKS: Our thanks to reporter Reynolds Wolf and photojournalist Tim Wall out there. They have been out there for several hours. Thanks, guys.

To Texas now where those massive wildfires are a disaster for the state. They are a personal tragedy for those who have lost their homes to those fast-moving fires, which have scorched three and a half million acres. Put your mind around that. That massive.

Julian Ochoa joins me now from Bastrop, Texas with his own story.

Julian, I know it is a stressful time for you. Thanks so much for joining us. What do you know and how fast are these fires moving there?

JULIAN OCHOA, TEXAS RESIDENT: Right now, I honestly don't know anything. All they did was evacuate us. I can see the fire and I can see the smoke. But as of now, I don't know if our home has been burned to the ground, or if it's still standing or what is going on.

HENDRICKS: So where are you and can you see your home from where you are? Is your family safe with you?

OCHOA: Everyone is safe. I cannot see my home. I can see -- it's on top of the hill, I can see the smoke where it's coming from. Other than that, I'm just standing in a parking lot in the middle of Bastrop.

HENDRICKS: Take us through right before you were evacuated. What were you doing and when did you know or realize that this is something serious and I have to leave?

OCHOA: Well, we were just enjoying the day. It was nice out. And then we were all outside by the pool and we saw a cloud of smoke. And we were debating whether if it was a storm cloud or a fire and then after a few minutes we heard a ton of sirens. And at that point, we knew something was up and we were waiting to see what's going to happen, whether we would be evacuated or not.

HENDRICKS: It's been a tough fire season in Texas there. Has it been tough in Bastrop County where you are? So, my point is, are you used to something like this? Or is this your first time facing a fire of this magnitude?

OCHOA: I have never dealt with anything like this. I have heard of things like this before, but not anything like this. This is a huge fire. All I can see is smoke covering Bastrop. It's insane.

HENDRICKS: And Julian, we're going to show some pictures that you sent into us. So, just looking at that massive amount of smoke there, what's it like driving through there and what is it like to be in that?

OCHOA: It was -- honestly, I cannot describe it. I didn't anticipate that when we came onto the highway. The smoke was right on us. The fire was right on us. We pulled off and I was just amazed by how much smoke and how bad it smelled and the heat it gave off.

HENDRICKS: So who's around you? You say you're in the middle of a parking lot. With that fire, the pictures that you sent us engulfing that area, who's around you? Are people kind of just wandering around? Is there any guidance for you?

OCHOA: There are some places that are taking people in, that are helping people out that have been evacuated and there's lots of people like myself that are just posted up in parking lots with friends and family.

HENDRICKS: You sound pretty calm. Are you fearful of what the next step is, what will happen next and to your home?

OCHOA: I have no idea. I sound calm now because we have been dealing with this all day. It started earlier in the day. And when it first happened, I was very panicked and frightened. And now I just -- now I'm just worried and hoping that our home is still there and that all our belongings are still there and that everyone's OK. I know that there's been tons of housed burned down. I've had few of my friends call me, tell me that they've lost their houses. And I'm just hoping that ours is still standing.

HENDRICKS: I bet this certainly puts things into perspective for you. Julian Ochoa, thanks so much for calling in and sending those pictures. Please stay safe for us and let us know what happens next in terms of your home and your loved ones as well. Julian, thank you.

Next, a CNN exclusive interview with one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons who expressed his feelings about his time running out in Libya.

Also President Obama lays out his job growth plan this week - something on the mind of many Americans. What does he need to say, if anything? Will it be enough? We want answers. We'll talk about it next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Welcome back. Back to the breaking news out of Texas and that massive wildfire we have been showing you. No end in sight to a brutal year of drought and fire there. New fires started tonight. Strong winds are whipping up blazes, threatening 1,000 homes. KXAN's Reagan Hackleman joins me now from Steiner Ranch.

Reagan, I just got off the phone with a man named Julian. He was nice enough to call in, to send us pictures. He doesn't know if he lost his home or not. He is in Bastrop County. Are you in that vicinity or is this a different fire?

REAGAN HACKLEMAN, KXAN REPORTER: Susan, this is a different fire. We are probably 45 minutes, probably actually an hour west of where that fire is happening. It's been a very busy day for firefighters here in Kingsville, Texas. Numerous fires they have been battling today. And the one that I'm at actually looks like it is finally getting a little bit under control. It is in a very upscale neighborhood, about 20 minutes away from Austin.

Luckily, it is right next to one of the larger lakes out here. That has allowed firefighters that have been using helicopters, they've been able to go over there, get some water out of that lake and dump it on this fire.

I would say probably for the last three or four hours literally thousands and thousands of people were told to evacuate this neighborhood. They have been sitting in traffic this entire time. They finally started to clear things up here about 15 minutes ago.

But The fire you are talking about is over in Bastrop County which is east of the Austin area. There is a rather large training fort out there, an army fort, I believe, out there. It's not a very populated area. There are no really big cities over there.

But we are told that that fire over there was thousands of acres. That's really one of the big things you mentioned that the caller who didn't know if his house was there. A lot of people over here wondering the same thing. They were just told to pack up as much stuff as they could as quickly as they could and to get out of there.

We do know. We've seen pictures a lot of pictures of homes that have just been engulfed in these flames. And there is barely you can make out that there is a home there. At one point, I'm probably standing a quarter of a mile away from this fire. We could see the flames shooting up over the trees. It looks like it's in a little bit of a valley, shooting up over the valley. As it started to get dark out here, the entire sky was lit up from this fire.

But now it looks like things are getting a little bit under control. I know there is a -- one of the helicopters is right behind me. It is refueling. And they're going to -- I believe they're going to try to dump that bucket back into the lake, put some more water on this. There was also a rather large fire up north earlier today from Austin, maybe 15 minutes north of there. That one had about 200 homes evacuated for a few hours. Luckily none of those homes were destroyed by the fire. I think it burned up a few empty structures and that was about it.

Definitely, a lot of people here in central Texas right now are very worried about all the dry that's been -- we haven't had rain probably since May, if not before that. It is very dry here. Our lakes are getting very dry. The temperatures have been, you know, hundred plus all the time out here this summer, and we've had over 70 days of that.

It's just simply dry out here and people -- they don't have any word on how any of these fires started yet. But there it is very to start fires and today we're having wind gusts close to 40 miles per hour which were fanning these flames out here.

HENDRICKS: Yes. That is the recipe.

HACKLEMAN: Things have calmed down a little bit out here but...

HENDRICKS: Triple-digit temperatures and fast winds, Reagan. As you know, how fast these massive fires can spread. Please stay safe out there. We appreciate your report. Thanks so much.

Want to take you to Libya now where rebel forces are surrounding one of Moammar Gadhafi's last strongholds, the city of Bani Walid. The rebels have extended the deadline for Gadhafi's forces to surrender until next Saturday. But there are indications they could storm Bani Walid any moment after negotiations for a ceasefire fell apart.

Now a CNN exclusive. As rebels close in, the whereabouts of fallen leader Moammar Gadhafi are still unknown. But one of his sons, Saadi Gadhafi, is speaking to exclusively to CNN. Saadi Gadhafi is considered a relatively moderate son compared to the others in his family at least. He called CNN's Nic Robertson to talk about the Gadhafi family's dwindling options. Nic describes that conversation. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTL. CORRESPONDENT: I asked him specifically where his father was, where his brother Saif al-Islam al- Gadhafi, the heir apparent, really to Moammar Gadhafi, where they were. He told me he hasn't seen them in two months.

I asked him where he was and he told me he was a little way outside Bani Walid. He told me that he had been moving around a lot, that he hadn't been able to watch television very much, that he was relatively safe but still in a dangerous situation. He told me then that he's been negotiating with National Transitional Council rebel military commanders. They have also confirmed this.

He's been negotiating to try and get a cease-fire for the town of Bani Walid. However, he said, on Thursday when his brother Saif Gadhafi gave what he described as a very aggressive speech on television urging his supporters to keep fighting, Saadi Gadhafi told me at that point the National Transition Council, the rebels essentially said the cease-fire talks are off if your brother is going to talk like that.

And right now according to Saadi Gadhafi, he believes that there is no point in negotiations that the National Transition Council is amassing troops to move into Bani Walid. He did, however, say and this is very significant that he clearly has differences with his father and his brother Saif al-Islam. There are clearly divisions emerging in this family. He said that he is neutral, is neither in the rebel camp nor his father's camp and is merely trying to negotiate a cease-fire.

The divisions are significant because until now Gadhafi's family have been the power brokers, the main people that have run the country, they always stuck together, and now that cohesion is falling apart.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: And again, our thanks to Nic Robertson for that exclusive report speaking to Moammar Gadhafi's son.

President Obama tours the devastation in New Jersey caused by the remnants of Hurricane Irene. That report right after the break. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Well, President Obama today got a firsthand look at the damage caused by last weekend's massive storm -- Hurricane Irene. He toured flood-damaged areas of northern New Jersey, where Irene's torrential rains caused the Passaic River to overflow. CNN's Susan Candiotti was there.

Susan?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Susan, there were cheers for the president as he visited two of many New Jersey cities -- Wayne and Patterson that are ravaged by Hurricane Irene. Hugs and heartache from residents as the president in his role as comforter-in- chief heard from residents who lost their homes and businesses due to record floods here in New Jersey. He promised federal help to get people and their towns back on their feet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The main message that I have for all the residents not only of New Jersey but all those communities that have been affected by flooding, by the destruction that occurred as a consequence of Hurricane Irene is that the entire country is behind you. And we are going to make sure that we provide all the resources that are necessary in order to help these communities rebuild.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Across the region including Vermont, New Jersey and New York, thousands of people are still unable to return to their homes more than one week after the storm. However, there are signs of progress. This bridge, for example, that was still closed during the president's visit has now re-opened. We talked with one of the workers who made that happen.

GREGORY GLOVER, CITY WORKER: Took a good look around, seen the damage that was done and he told the people that was around that he will support us financially and try to help us the best way he can.

CANDIOTTI: Even though the Passaic River has returned to its banks, no one is under the illusion that the cleanup won't take months and in places like hard-hit Patterson, New Jersey, it could take even longer -- Susan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: Yes, President Obama saying we will not forget about you, even when the cameras go away. Our thanks to Susan Candiotti for that report. Irene is blamed for at least 43 deaths and total losses from the storm could reach $6 billion, with a b.

Turning to politics. Tonight, Mitt Romney is looking for new friends in the Tea Party, you could say. Until recently, he hasn't spent a lot of time courting the anti-big government activists. But tonight, a different story. He spoke at a Tea Party rally in Concord, New Hampshire. He played up his business background and said he is the candidate to unseat President Obama and solve the nation's economic problems.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have zero confidence, zero faith in a president who created zero jobs. It's time for someone who knows how to create jobs and get our economy going. And that's something I know. That's in my wheelhouse. And I'll get America working again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: South Carolina's Senator Jim Demint is a powerhouse among Tea Party supporters. He was on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" making his feelings known about President Obama's upcoming jobs speech to Congress on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JIM DEMINT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I just don't think those things are going to create jobs, Candy. What we're trying -- what the president appears to be doing, and frankly, I'm so tired of his speeches, it's going to be hard for me to watch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: A lot of people feel the same way. Whether Senator Demint is watching or not, President Obama will address both houses of Congress and the American people Thursday evening, offering his proposals to get America back to work.

Want to bring in CNN contributor and political anchor for New York 1, Errol Louis.

Errol, great to see you. We do know the president has his job cut out for him Thursday night when he's talking about jobs. He will talk specifically, I would say, about job training and infrastructure spending, right? No big surprises there. Will he add any Republican proposals to his speech? What do you think?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You can almost count on that. The fact that Mitt Romney is going to unveil his jobs proposal on Tuesday will give the White House a good 48 hours to steal any good idea that they think might actually get some traction and call it the president's idea. We have seen this before. Bill Clinton did it all the time. It's not like you can copy right a good idea.

And so this president, in particular, has often taken ideas from his political opponents and tried to make them his own. That then puts them in the awkward position as Republicans have been lately of opposing a payroll tax cut that the president has been pushing for. And he's going to use that to good political advantage, one can assume.

We can also assume, though, Susan, that he's going to put some things in, the White House is already signaling, that won't require any help from the Republicans, won't require any act of Congress. And that's going to be sort of the most interesting array of things that he puts out there -- things that the White House can and presumably will do with or without any help from the Republicans.

HENDRICKS: Errol, you heard Senator Demint saying, "I'm so sick of his speeches, it's going to be tough for me to watch." There is no doubt that President Obama knows how to deliver a speech. But let's look at the poll numbers and they are not good. He's not in good shape politically. No jobs. We're talking zero added in the month of August.

And here are the poll numbers -- 34 percent approve of President Obama's handling of the economy, 65 percent do not. He not only needs to revive the economy, Errol. He needs to revive his presidency. Do you think he'll do it? Maybe on Thursday night?

LOUIS: Well, those two are one and the same thing at this point, Susan. And, look, the overall approval numbers for the president are down around 40 percent. And at this point in his presidency, Ronald Reagan was at 43 percent. At this point in his presidency in his first term, Bill Clinton was around 46 percent.

So, yes, there is time for this president to turn things around. He's going to have to get things going though for sure. And it won't just be one speech. It will be the actual policies. It will be the actual job numbers.

It's worth noting, by the way, that that zero new jobs includes or, you know, failed to account for 46,000 striking workers up here in the New York area, who, when you are on strike, you are not counted as employed. So it's a little, you know, it's a little bit of a glitch.

Would 46,000 jobs be better than none at all? Sure. Is it enough to get the economy going? Obviously not. This president is going to have to provide some real stimulus.

HENDRICKS: A good point, Errol. Just have about a minute left. I want to -- it's been a wacky weekend, I want to bring this up. I want your take on it. Rick Perry, new frontrunner Mitt Romney hanging out with the Tea Party Express. Sarah Palin, is she or isn't she? Your comment. You have 60 seconds. Go ahead.

LOUIS: Well, I tell you, I happened to watch Sarah Palin at the Iowa Tea Party rally and I watched it on C-SPAN. And C-SPAN lets the cameras run. So even after the thing was over and this is the thing that fascinated me. For a good 40 minutes or so after she was signing anything that this crowd wanted to give her -- books and programs and all kinds of stuff, and there was an easy banter. It was the kind of star performance that I used to see with a Barack Obama, with a Hillary Clinton back in 2008. She looked for all the world like somebody who is running for president. The fact is she's going to take this whole road show to Mew Hampshire next. Until she says definitively that she's out, I'm assuming that there is a good chance that she might be in.

HENDRICKS: Or she could take it to the very end, decide she's not running, write a new book and back someone else. That's an option as well.

LOUIS: Well, that's true. Well, I mean, look, in this process they've changed the rules for the Republican nomination. And if you come in second in almost every contest, if you can go district by district, if you can keep picking up delegates, you can come into the convention and stage a big floor fight, something Democrats used to do a lot. Republicans have tended not to, but this time could be an exemption. If there was anybody who would maybe want to do that, it could be a Sarah Palin.

HENDRICKS: When she makes the call, Errol, I want to talk to you again. Great talking to you tonight.

LOUIS: You got it.

HENDRICKS: Appreciate it.

LOUIS: Likewise.

HENDRICKS: Have a good Labor Day, thanks.

A program reminder, President Obama lays out his job growth plans Thursday night as I just talked about before a joint session of Congress. CNN's special live coverage begins at 6:00 Eastern followed by the president's address at 7:00.

How about this, Tropical Storm Lee continues to hover over the Gulf Coast states dumping rain, threatening heavy flooding. An update -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Checking the headlines, Tropical Storm Lee is expected to bring a lot of rain to the eastern part of the country this Labor Day. The storm has already dumped about a foot of water in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. The system is now expected to merge with the cold front and bring cooler, wetter weather to much of the eastern U.S. over the next few days.

Lee offered no relief to Texas firefighters. They certainly need it. Look at this. Strong winds instead are fuelling wildfires, scorching the landscape in Texas. The largest has burned 14,000 acres and threatens 1,000 homes. Boy, does it move fast. A record three and a half million acres have burned so far since last November. This is the worst fire season Texas has ever seen.

Iran is claiming a historic achievement in nuclear energy. Tehran says it connected its nuclear reactor to the country's electrical grid Saturday night. That would make Iran the first Middle Eastern country to produce commercial power from a nuclear plant. The reactor is eventually expected to supply two and a half percent of the country's power needs.

In Italy, the sister of the woman that American Amanda Knox was convicted of killing is speaking out. Stephanie Kercher is worried that her sister Meredith is being forgotten in the media frenzy surrounding Knox's appeal. Final arguments on the appeal are set for Monday. Knox was convicted of killing Kercher, her roommate, in 2007 and sentenced to 26 years in prison. New DNA analysis may call her conviction into question. We will keep you posted.

Check out this video from the inaugural Grand Prix race in downtown Baltimore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This morning, just a few minutes into the morning warm up, watch Kanaan in the green-yellow car launched over the top of his friend Helio Castroneves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: Wow, look at that.

Here, you're going to see it again. It goes right over the other car from that angle. You don't want to experience this firsthand, folks, right? Fortunately neither driver was hurt. I'm always amazed at that. It looks like the worst accident you could possibly have, and people walk away from it.

Indy Car driver Will Power eventually took the checkered flag. The course was laid out on city streets that normally see thousands of city drivers and commuters. Again, no one was injured in that crash. Wow.

A man has been found dead in the Texas swimming pool of NFL player Antonio Smith. Tonight police are investigating the circumstances surrounding it. He's a defensive end for the Houston Texans. Well, he threw a party at his home on Saturday night. Hours later, the body of a 37-year-old man was found at the bottom of the pool at the home. Police say the man was a family friend and they do not suspect foul play. Toxicology testing will be done to see the cause of death.

North of Los Angeles, a small plane crash ignited this fire today. It has burned 500 acres so far. One person was killed in that. And the home was destroyed by the fire in the aftermath. 30 other structures are threatened, leading authorities to order nearby residents to evacuate. As many as 300 firefighters are fighting that fire.

A tornado touches down in Upstate New York. We will tell you how this -- look how massive this is. Take a look.

Also, we'll have much more on your travel forecast for Monday. It may not be good.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Tropical Storm Lee has been downgraded to a tropical depression now. But what it lacks in strong winds, it makes up for its heavy rain. Look at this. This is the so-called back levy in Plaquemine's Parish, south of New Orleans. This is not what you want to see.

Water overtopped the levee. It could cause it to fail. Parish officials have issued a voluntary evacuation order as they rush to patch it. In New Orleans itself, the giant weather system has dumped up to a foot of rain. Mayor Mitch Landrieu says all 24 of the city storm pumps are working, they are fully operational he says, but the city cannot breathe easy just yet in the big easy.

Lee is likely to cause a lot of headaches as it heads toward the northeast. Jacqui Jeras joins us now.

Labor Day could be a washout for a lot of people. Jacqui has been very busy also following tornadoes, fires, a lot going on, Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HENDRICKS: Now to the big stories and the week ahead. From the White House to Wall Street. Our correspondents tell you what you need to know. We begin with the president's plans for the week.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brianna Keilar at the White House. And this week is all about President Obama's jobs proposal. Following disappointing jobs numbers last week, the president is set to unveil his plan on Thursday night, 7:00 p.m. Eastern. He'll do this in an address to a joint session of Congress. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It will be a big event and it's set to be a pivotal moment in the Obama presidency.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Bolduan in Washington. After a month-long recess, Congress returns and hits the ground running this week. The focus, to sum it up in a word, jobs. After a brief spat over date and time, the House and Senate will welcome President Obama to The Hill Thursday for his much- anticipated jobs speech.

Also, House Republicans will be pushing their own jobs agenda that focuses in large part on repealing environmental and Labor regulations they believe hinder job growth.

Also this week, we expect the so-called Super Committee to begin their work. The group formed by the debt ceiling agreement is tasked with finding more than a trillion dollars in debt savings, a very big job and not a lot of time to figure it out.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Well, markets here in the U.S. are closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. When trading resumes on Tuesday, investors will get a key reading on the service sector. That accounts for the largest part of labor market.

On Wednesday, we'll get a look at the Fed's assessment of the economic health of key regions across the United States. And weekly jobless claims come out on Thursday. Those will be closely watched as they could reflect the impact of Hurricane Irene. Of course, we'll track it all for you on CNN Money.

HENDRICKS: New chilling video of 9/11 surfaces ten years after the terrorist attack. This was taken by a resident near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. You will hear his voice as he narrates what he has seen, that is next.

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HENDRICKS: Welcome back. New video in to CNN. It is from 9/11. It is just surfacing now ten years after the fact. It was taken just moments after United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field of Pennsylvania. You will hear the voice of a man calmly narrating what he thinks he is seeing. That man is now deceased and his family wishes to remain anonymous. Watch and listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The remains of an airplane crash over on the Lambertville road, and probably a terrorist bomb on board, blew up. Don't know anything more than that. That's what I heard on the scanner. I just saw the smoke come up and the explosion shook the house clear over here. And we are, what, 15 miles from Lambertville. And it shook the heck out of the house. I don't know what else is happening. They ran one into the Pentagon and into the World Trade Center. We're watching it on TV. And this one happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: It has been said that because of the passengers on that flight the plane did not hit its intended target. It may have been The Capitol, maybe The White House. You may remember Todd Boehmer was on that plane. His last words "Let's Roll" meaning toward the cockpit. Again, this is believed to be the first known video that shows the smoke cloud from the crash of flight 93.

CNN will bring you special 9/11 coverage beginning next Sunday morning, 8:30 Eastern. Anderson Cooper, also Candy Crowley are among the many people who will help us remember the events of the day and honor the thousands lost. Join us for our coverage of "9/11 TEN YEARS LATER" next Sunday.

The maker of a classic American guitar, The Gibson, is under federal investigation. It's all about the wood used to make that iconic sound. And hear this, even the First Lady is involved. We'll tell you how.

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HENDRICKS: Gibson has been an internationally recognized name in guitars for more than 100 years. They are used by musicians ranging from BB King, to Paul McCartney to U2's The Edge, but now the company is under the close scrutiny of federal agents. David Mattingly spoke to the company's CEO about allegations involving smuggling.

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DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He makes guitars that make America sound cool, but Gibson's CEO Henry Juszkiewicz is being ordered to change his tune.

(on camera): It sounds almost a little ironic that you're playing the blues right now.

HENRY JUSZKIEWICZ, CEO, GIBSON GUITAR: I got the blues.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): That's because in late August armed federal agents raided his Tennessee factories for the second time in two years, alleging the illegal importation of rare protected wood. In this case, ebony and rosewood from India. An affidavit filed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alleges Gibson falsely labeled the wood shipment to make it sound legal and suspiciously omitted the company's name as the recipient. But so far, no charges have been filed.

MATTINGLY (on camera): It almost sounds like this company was engaged in smuggling these raw materials into the country.

JUSZKIEWICZ: Well, we were not engaged in smuggling . We have been buying fingerboard stock on a regular basis from India for 17 years. MATTINGLY (voice-over): On the neck of a guitar, the tropical hardwood is prized for its look and durability, but it's subject to a law called the Lacey Act, aimed at fighting black market trade at protected animal parts and plants, and anything made from them.

MATTINGLY (on camera): But the material that came in the box from India looked just like this?

JUSZKIEWICZ: Looked very similar.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Juszkiewicz says the fingerboards Gibson imported from India were confiscated as illegal wood by the federal government.

JUSZKIEWICZ: The law says that if a guitar or an instrument of any kind crosses a border, you have to know the specie of wood that every component is made of and where it came from.

MATTINGLY: If this is true, could hundreds of international stars like Paul McCartney and B.B. King risk seeing their Gibson's confiscated at the border.

JUSZKIEWICZ: Michelle Obama gave a Gibson Guitar to the wife of the president -- or prime minister of France just a year ago.

MATTINGLY (on camera): The First Lady may have broken the law?

JUSZKIEWICZ: Uh, yes.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): The Lacey Act does give federal agents broad authority to pursue smugglers. But if you own a Gibson, don't worry. When we asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for clarification, it released this brief statement. "We target corporations and individuals who are removing protected species from the wild and making a profit by trafficking in them." And right now, in spite of Juszkiewicz's strong claim of innocence, Gibson is a target.

JUSZKIEWICZ: A nightmare. It's a nightmare.

MATTINGLY (on camera): It took almost a week before Gibson got back into full operation, but the damage had already been done. Just the shutdown of that one day with the materials that were taken costs the company over $1 million.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): And now the maker of the guitars that have commanded the spotlight for over 100 years has no choice but to play on and wait for its day in court.

David Mattingly, CNN, Nashville.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: No word from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Interior or the Department of Justice about when or if charges might be filed. Back to you.

HENDRICKS: All right. Our thanks to David Mattingly for that report.

Ahead an update on Tropical Depression Lee's flooding threat to the Gulf Coast states.

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HENDRICKS: Checking the headlines now. Tropical Storm Lee, a tropical depression is spoiling a lot of Labor Day holiday plans. So far the giant weather system has dumped a foot of rain on New Orleans and surrounding areas. Again, it has been downgraded, that's good news, to a tropical depression. But mayor Mitch Landrieu says despite some of the flooding, all 24 of the city's storm pumps are working. He did warned residence that it will be at least another day before they can breathe easy in the big easy.

A scary moment today for Rafael Nadal at the U.S. open tennis tournament in New York. Look at him. He's in pain. The world's number two ranked player slumped back in his chair during a news conference following his third round victory. He literally falls off the chair, lowered himself to the ground. Moments later, there he is, he's back on his feet. He did crack a smile. He attributed the pain to a leg cramp from the hot, humid weather. There's that smile.

It is safe to say, though, Nadal's rival was feeling quite a bit better, you could say. Look at him. He's grooving. Novak Djokovic was in a dancing mood after he advanced to the final 16 at the U.S. Open. No surprise the world's top-ranked player is in such a good mood. He lost only two matches so far this year. He is considered a favorite to win the tournament. All smiles.

I'm Susan Hendricks at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Great to see you. Have a great Labor Day. "CNN PRESENTS" is next.