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Storm Feeds Floodwaters & Fires; President Obama's Reputation for Backing Down; Battling Texas Wildfires; Wildfire hits Texas; Evidence of conspiracy between CIA and Libya revealed; Ways to save money and have a summer vacation at the same time; Five Republican candidates are facing off in South Carolina Today

Aired September 05, 2011 - 10:59   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

Want to get you up to speed for this Labor Day, September 5th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my God. It's a war zone. Oh my God. Total devastation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Unbelievable, those pictures there, houses on fire, shells of burned-out homes, and the remains of a neighborhood in ruins. We're going to get an up-close look at the destruction from the wildfires in central Texas.

This fire, southeast of Austin, destroyed 300 homes, stretches across a 16-mile area. Winds whipped up the flames again today, forcing more evacuations. Now, authorities say a separate fire in eastern Texas killed a mother and her 18-month-old child.

Well, Tropical Depression Lee slogging its way north today after dumping as much of a foot of rain on parts of Louisiana. Now, pumps in New Orleans helped prevent any major problems there. That was good, but the storm caused flooding in other towns and cities along the Gulf.

In Alabama, Lee spun off portable tornadoes, and strong winds damaged at least 20 homes in the town of Lillian, Alabama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MYRNA FLETCHER, LILLIAN, ALABAMA, RESIDENT: Well, I heard the television say tornado warning. About that time, you jut heard an ungodly clap of lightning. I mean, it just lit up the whole House, and then you just heard the hard wind go by.

DAN MATTSON, LILLIAN, ALABAMA, RESIDENT: As soon as the lightning hit, the lights went out, they came back, and then everything opened up. It was like a machine gun going off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: We've got breaking news on the political front. Texas Governor Rick Perry has pulled out of a Republican political forum today in South Carolina. Now, Perry says he's skipping this even to go back to Texas and focus on the wildfires there.

Five other GOP presidential candidates, they're scheduled to take part in the forum. It is hosted by South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint. On CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," DeMint blasted President Obama over jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JIM DEMINT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: -- tax credits, for hiring people --

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Can I just interrupt you real quickly and ask you if you're opposed to extending unemployment benefits. Are you opposed to extending the payroll tax cut? Are you opposed to those two things?

DEMINT: I just don't think those things are going to create jobs, Candy. 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)

MALVEAUX: Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is also in the spotlight today. She's going to be at the Tea Party rally in New Hampshire. We're going to take you there live in the next hour. Palin still hasn't said whether or not she's going to run for president.

And President Obama gives his Labor Day speech in Michigan today. He's appearing at an event hosted by the Metro Detroit Central Labor Council. Detroit has been hit hard, as you know, by the unemployment crisis. And the president's remarks, they come just three days before he outlines his plan for turning this job market around.

Fighting, you see there, breaks out between Egyptian police and families of people killed in the uprising against the former president, Hosni Mubarak. The families tried to push their way into the building where Mubarak's trial resumed to day. Now, police used batons to force the crowd back.

Mubarak was again wheeled into court on a stretcher. He is charged with ordering the killing of protesters during the revolution in February.

Libyan rebels push to the outskirts of Moammar Gadhafi's last remaining stronghold. Now, the rebels have given Gadhafi's forces until Saturday to surrender or face attack. They have targeted the cities of Bani Walid and Sirte. And one of Gadhafi's sons tells our Nic Robertson that cease-fire talks had been going well, but then they broke down after an aggressive speech by one of Gadhafi's brothers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I was told at the beginning of the NATO air campaign several months ago that the family was united. Right now it's not, so it clearly indicates that there are divisions there.

Saadi Gadhafi characterized just a little bit of his situation. He said he has to move often, doesn't have time to watch television, that he is safe at the moment, but there is a lot of danger around him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: U.S. markets are closed today, but we're keeping a close eye overseas. That is where European markets are now dropping.

Friday's dismal job report is raising some new concerns about another U.S. recession. Britain's FTSE fell almost three percent in early trading. Stocks in Germany are down more than five percent.

Here is your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories. Patriotism, right? It's a word that you hear candidates say on the campaign trail all the time. Well, now there's some American companies that are coming under fire, accused of not being patriotic.

Carol Costello, she's joining us from New York with today's "Talk Back" question.

And Carol, the word "patriotism" can be used as a weapon. We saw this many times before on the campaign trail as people tried to jockey back and forth and accuse the other of not being patriotic.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here is one more example, Suzanne. Here's a question for you on this Labor Day.

Who is more patriotic, the American worker or the American boss? Well, it depends on who you're asking. Teamster's Union leader James Hoffa is calling out companies like Apple, Pfizer, and General Electric for sending money and jobs overseas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES HOFFA, PRESIDENT, TEAMSTER'S UNION: I think the president should challenge the patriotism of these American corporations that are sitting on the sidelines saying, why do we have high unemployment, but I'm not going to hire anybody? They have an obligation just like the federal government, just like Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Hiring American workers, patriotic? Sort of like going shopping was patriotic after 9/11? That was how many Americans interpreted President Bush's remarks days after the 2001 attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When they struck, they wanted to create an atmosphere of fear. And one of the great goals of this nation's war is to restore public confidence in the airline industry, is to tell the traveling public, get on board, do your business around the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: He added, go to Disney World.

Getting back to Hoffa's charge, though, it is true big American companies are making record profits and they're sitting on gobs of cash. But companies say, why should we part with our money if the economy is still a mess? And does it make good business sense to hire American workers at a higher wage when workers can hire cheaper labor overseas?

Maybe that's not patriotic, but it smacks of good old-fashioned American capitalism.

So "Talk Back" today: Is it unpatriotic for U.S. companies not to hire?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.

MALVEAUX: All right, Carol. We used to hear that all the time from President Obama on the campaign trail, accusing those companies of not being patriotic because of those jobs overseas. So we'll see what our viewers think about that question.

Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: We will.

MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories ahead.

First, a thousand homes in Texas at the mercy of raging wildfires. We are live to see how evacuations are going today.

Then, the storm that would not leave. Tropical Storm Lee pounded the Gulf this weekend. We're going to see how Louisiana is coping with massive flooding.

And is the president's diplomacy actually hurting him? We're going to analyze why some believe that he is developing a reputation for backing down.

Plus, this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're in the basement of the Libyan External Intelligence Agency. It's like being in the basement of the CIA. And here, we've got access to all sorts of documents -- letters, faxes, and other communications -- between the CIA and its Libyan counterparts. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And 90 miles per hour, no brakes. You've got to check out the dramatic conclusion at the Baltimore Grand Prix.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Fire and flooding are major problems on this Labor Day holiday. The entire eastern third of the country is being affected by the storm known as Lee. It's weakened to a tropical depression, but it's still wreaking havoc with heavy rain and gusting winds.

We're covering all the angles here. Our CNN's Chris Welch, he is live in Bastrop, Texas, where winds from Lee have whipped up a massive 14,000 acre wildfire. CNN's Ed Lavandera is live in Crown Point, Louisiana, which felt the brunt of the storm. And our meteorologist Rob Marciano, in the CNN Severe Weather Center, tracking all of this.

Want to begin with you, Chris.

This was ferocious, this wildfire, in the county where you are. Fourteen thousand acres scorched. How many homes were threatened and how are people coping?

CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, everyone is still kind of waiting to see exactly how many homes will be threatened, will be damaged by the end of this. There's 8,000 people who live in the city, in Bastrop proper, and 75,000 in the county. So they estimate thousands of homes are still at risk.

I want to direct our attention over to this plume of smoke that we're seeing. Actually, it's interesting, because just within the last hour or so, we've been seeing this really pick up. It's been getting darker, bigger.

Officials here saying this is the time of day -- the sun has been beating down, the conditions are very dry, and the wind has even been picking up quite a bit. So things are looking -- actually, they anticipated it to get worse today, but now they are thinking it could get even worse than what they were anticipating. So not good on that front.

I want to also show you this building behind me. This is where they've sort of set up the makeshift command center. This is where fire crews from all over the state, officials from the federal government, they are here. They're briefing the press, they're getting their crews out in the field, they're giving them safety precautions, the safety speeches.

That's what they are really concerned about today is, first and foremost, getting people out safely. Secondly, making sure the crews who go out into the field to fight these fires, given this heavy wind -- it's a dangerous, dangerous place to be -- they want to make sure they are safe as well.

So we're actually awaiting a press briefing that will happen within about the next 20 minutes or so, so we hope to have more info after that -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: OK. Great, Chris. We will get back to you when you get more information, because obviously, the one question on everybody's mind, how long is it going to take before that huge wildfire is contained? I know there's still a lot of questions in terms of people's safety and where they live.

So we're going to get back to you as soon as you have got more information on that.

I want to turn from the fires to the floods now that were brought by Lee. I want to bring in our Ed Lavandera. He's in Crown Point, Louisiana. That is just a few miles from New Orleans.

And Ed, tell us how -- the storm system over the area dumped a lot of rain. How bad is it? And how are folks recovering?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a really interesting area that we're in. It's outside of the levy protection zone, south of New Orleans. And they are used to flooding, but this has been a little bit different in the sense that the floodwaters are really coming dangerously close to flooding a lot of homes.

You find scenes like this behind me, where you see the floodwaters here just a few feet away from getting inside of these homes. Over on this side of the street, this street has been flooded out. You see homes -- the water getting much closer there.

These are roads that, depending on the tide, and where we are, at what point in the day, roads have been shut down and blocked off. We've seen several hundred homes in these precarious situations throughout this community, not only here in Crown Point, but just across the bridge into Lafitte. They have been battling this for the last 48 hours, bringing sandbags and huge sandbangs, and makeshift levees to try to control the water situation.

All of this caused not necessarily by the rain that's been falling, but by the tidal surge, the winds blowing the water from the Gulf of Mexico in here. They're waiting for the winds to shift so the water can start to recede -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Have folks, Ed, been able to protect their homes much? Are those sandbags working?

LAVANDERA: What's interesting is that a couple times a day, they'll shut down the roads because they just become too covered with water. But there are a lot of people who just simply haven't left.

You drive by them and you see them. And there might be two or three feet of water around their homes, but they're sitting up on the second floor, on their balcony, or watching it from there.

So these are folks who are used to dealing with this kind of weather and these kinds of flash flooding situations, and a lot of people have been riding them out. There have been mandatory evacuations. Some people have left, but a lot of them just go over to friends' and families' homes.

MALVEAUX: All right, Ed. Thank you so much. Stay safe.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MALVEAUX: Well, his poll numbers are down, the economy at a standstill. Even some of the president's supporters think that the Republicans have him up against the ropes.

Well, CNN's David Gergen, he's seen other presidents go through some tight spots. We're going to ask him what President Obama can do to get back in the fight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's the choices for today's "Choose the News." Text "23360" for the story that you would like to see.

First, Border agents bore? An agent who guards the Washington State coast is speaking out now. He says that agents are getting paid to do nothing, and that's wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.

Second, Gadhafi's former nurse, one of the women who watched after Gadhafi's health, gives a firsthand account of her duties and describes the unique gifts that Gadhafi gave to his closest workers.

Third, Coney Island makeover. The New York beach known for its old roller-coasters, sea-front stores, getting a new look. See the multimillion-dollar makeover and whether or not it's led to more tourists.

So, you can vote by texting "23360." Text "1" for "Border Agents Bored"; "2" for Gadhafi's Former Nurse"; and "3" for "Coney Island Makeover."

The winning story will air in the next hour.

Well, after some ugly fights on the debt ceiling, the budget, even over when the president can address Congress, some say that President Obama is getting pushed around by the Republicans. So, is the leader of the free world really letting the competition lead him around, or is there a greater strategy at work here?

I'm joined by CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen to talk about all of this.

David, thanks for joining us.

We have seen, and it's quite extraordinary when you think about it, all of the things that have been written, particularly over the weekend from the president's biggest supporters, liberal pundits, who are now worried about a crisis of leadership here. We saw Maureen Dowd's column in "The New York Times" this weekend calling it "One and Done?" saying that the president's chances of reelection, pretty slim.

What do you think? Are we seeing President Obama significantly weakened because of all this compromise?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: He's significantly weakened by the economy and the lack of jobs, and the fact that it stuck around so long. But his responses have struck people both on the right and the left as weaker than they would have expected from a person who was so strong as a candidate.

MALVEAUX: Does that hurt him significantly? Can he make up for it? What does he need to do to show a little bit more strength?

GERGEN: Well, it's so interesting, Suzanne, because I'm not sure anybody knows at this point. I'm particularly clear that his own White House doesn't know.

He has had -- going back for several years now, he tends to have terrible Augusts. And then he has very good Septembers. He bounces back in September.

Now, he's had his bad August. The question becomes, can he have a good September? I'm not sure.

Certainly this speech that is coming Thursday night is going to set the stage. But even going into the speech, this little contretemps -- and it was silly, of course -- over when he should speak, I thought he did the right thing by moving the speech. But even so, it symbolically became a sign of weakness.

And Maureen Dowd picked up on that. And there are -- I must tell you now, there are people in the Democratic Party who wonder whether there is any possibility of him stepping aside in favor of Hillary Clinton.

MALVEAUX: There has been some talk about -- I know -- and the president did something that is more than symbolic here. He just allowed the EPA regulations on air quality to be rolled back. He did not move forward with that because he agreed -- he said it could cost America jobs.

This is something that he ran against very strongly in the campaign. I mean, his heart and the speeches, the rhetoric behind that, was definitely not what we're hearing today.

Can he make those kinds of concessions and still have people to support him for 2012?

GERGEN: That's another good question. And it has undermined some of the enthusiasm among the greens on his left, certainly.

There is a powerful argument for doing what he did, but I must say, again, going back to -- I think he often makes the right decisions, it's the way he exercises power that is very problematic. Let's take this ozone decision when he decided to drop those regulations.

He would have been so much better off had he gone into a negotiation over jobs. And when that time came, that he wanted something from the Republicans, he would say, OK, listen, here's what I'm going to give you. I'm going to delay some of these regulations on air pollution, but I'll do that in exchange.

Instead, he made a preemptory concession to his right on the expectation, well, if you make a concession, that will warm them up, it will make them more easier to deal with. It doesn't work that way with these Republicans, as you well know.

They look at that as a sign of weakness and say, OK, you've given us this, what are you going to give us next? It doesn't whet their appetite for compromise.

MALVEAUX: David, really quickly here, the president is going into this speech on Thursday with 34 percent approving of the way he's dealing with the economy. What does he need to convey to the American people essentially to get his mojo back?

GERGEN: It's got to be more than a speech. It's got to be a speech that's a prelude to action, to a real deal.

People have had enough speeches, they really want to see action now. This has got to lead fairly quickly to action, some sort of agreement with the Republicans, so people can get a feel, they get a sense, we're moving on, we're actually going to move forward.

MALVEAUX: All right. David Gergen, have a good holiday. Thanks for joining us.

GERGEN: OK, Suzanne. Good to talk to you.

MALVEAUX: You too.

We're going to hear more from President Obama at 1:15 Eastern. That's today. He's going to be talking to people in Detroit.

Also today, Sarah Palin, the woman some think still may be considering for a run for the White House. She's going to be speaking in Iowa at a rally sponsored by the Tea Party Express. We're going to take some of that live in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

We're also watching thousands of acres on fire in Texas, entire neighborhoods going up in flames. I'm going to talk to the public information officer for the Texas Forest Service, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're working on.

Up next, an investigation reveals that the CIA has closer ties to Libya's intelligence agency than previously known.

Then, Republican presidential contenders, well, they're taking center stage today in South Carolina. We're going to check in with "The Best Political Team on Television" for a preview.

And later, pointers on snagging the best vacation deals. Got to listen to that one as the summer is winning down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: You're looking at a neighborhood. This is near Austin, Texas.

It is amazing video when you look at the tour and the devastation scorched in a raging wildfire that is still burning right now. In fact, several fires are burning across the state. The biggest has burned 14,000 acres.

Joining us by phone is Mary Kay Hicks. She is the public information officer for the Texas Forest Service. She is in McGregor, Texas.

Mary Kay, you have been on the front lines, you've seen what's happening. We're checking out this video. It is quite amazing, when you see just the devastation here.

Have things gotten any better today?

MARY KAY HICKS, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, TEXAS FOREST SERVICE: They have gotten a little better, but we are expecting strong winds this afternoon. This ongoing, extreme drought conditions, coupled with the strong winds, it makes fires spread just -- they spread so quickly, that the firefighters can't catch them.

MALVEAUX: How many homes are we talking about here? How many people have been endangered?

HICKS: Probably -- when we finally get the numbers counted, you're probably looking at about 500 homes over the whole state of Texas. And the biggest thing about yesterday was we had such a big area impacted that, usually we just have just parts of Texas impacted. But yesterday, we had the size of the state of Oregon impacted at one point.

MALVEAUX: That's unbelievable. You talk about a 14,000 acre fire. Do we have any sense of that's been contained or how much has been contained?

HICKS: It has not. Like you said it was like a war zone there. People were trying to get out of their homes, and just get safe ground. They have no containment on it. As a matter of fact, I was on a conference call listening, we have sent every available resource to that area this morning.

MALVEAUX: What is your greatest challenge now? Is it fighting the winds, the dry forest conditions, the supplies that you have?

HICKS: I think the combinations of all three are the biggest challenge. You know if these winds pick up and this drought is actually killed live, you know large trees, so it's like firewood standing out there, so when the wind hits it, it's like you know fanning your fire in your fireplace, it's just, there's no stopping it.

MALVEAUX: If you live in Texas and you live close to that area, how do you find out whether or not your home is in danger?

HICKS: I guess the biggest thing is to stay in touch, stay on the radio, stay in touch with your media if at all possible, you know we'll get that information to them as soon as we know anything.

MALVEAUX: And, again, how long to we think before this is actually going to get on the other side, before people get a little bit of relief here?

HICKS: Well, you know I heard other people say we won't call the fires contained until they get rain on them. So, unless we get some tropical rain, we'll be in the drought a while longer.

MALVEAUX: All right, Mary Kaye Hicks, thank you very much for your information. We certainly hope that things get better for the folks there in Texas.

A reminder to vote for today's choose the news winner, text 23360 for the story you would like to see. Text 1 for border agents bored. An agent says millions of taxpayer dollars wasted on worker who have nothing to do. Text 2 for Gadhafi's former nurse. One of the women who watched over Gadhafi's health is speaking out about her daily duties, or text 3 for Coney Island makeover. It's a multimillion renovation project on New York titanic (ph) beach. What does it look like and mean for tourists, winning story? This is going to air on the next hour.

Documents left behind by the Gadhafi regime on the run reveal cozy relationship between the CIA and Libyan intelligence. Our Ben Wedeman gets a look at them in Tripoli.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: So, a reporter who found a memo in a pile of trash in Tripoli says that it shows China offered to sell weapons to the Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, some $200 million worth. Now, that is despite a U.N. ban on exporting arms to Gadhafi's government. And Libyan Transitional Council says weapons from China may have been delivered to Gadhafi forces. Chinese officials are denying the report.

And documents left behind by the Gadhafi regime on the run detail how closely the CIA worked with Libyan intelligence to fight terrorism. Our CNN Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman show us that several cases the CIA handed over terror suspect to Libya.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They didn't have much time to shred many documents in the headquarters of the Libya's main spy agency. In fact, most of the contents of the building are intact.

It all amounts to a treasure trove of information about the shadowy world of cooperation between the world's spies.

We're in the basement of the Libyan external intelligence agency. It's like being in the basement of the CIA. And here, we have access to all sorts of documents, letters, faxes and other communications between the CIA and its Libyan counterparts. Top-secret documents, secret documents with names and dates and all sorts of details that some people probably don't want to be made public.

And that relationship was it appears cozy. Peter Boukckaert of human rights watch photographed hundreds of documents of external intelligence. Run for years by Moussa Cussa who fled Libya last spring.

PETER BOUKCKAERT, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Moussa Cusa was on a first-name basis with the CIA and MIC. There are Christmas greetings in here, and there are documents saying thanks for the oranges you sent.

WEDEMAN: The U.S. and Libya were at odds for years, but relations warmed dramatically after Libya renounced its program for weapons of mass destruction in 2003, when Kusa started corresponding with then CIA director Porter Goss. Libya eagerly signed up for the U.S. global war on terror. But just how eager made clear by the documents uncovered in Tripoli.

BOUKCKAERT: They established conclusively what we've been seeing for a long time that the CIA was capturing and rendering people through Libya so they could be interrogated by Libyan security. And we even have the CIA questions they sent to be asked to the suspects to be rendered to Libya.

WEDEMAN: One of the sent by U.S. officials to Libya was alleged Libyan Islamic militant Abdel Hakeem Bell Hodge, also known by his Nom the Ger Abdullah Al-Sadik (ph). According to documents by human rights watch, in 2004, the U.S. detained Bell Hodge and handed him over to Libya. Bell Hodge now heads the rebel military council in Tripoli.

Rights groups and the U.S. state department regularly accused Libyan security services, of this systematic use of torture. Bashir Sharif (ph) was not part of the extraordinary rendition program, but he experienced the torture first hand.

He showed us how he was beaten to his knees in Tripoli's infamous Bousalin (ph) Prison, where he was held from 1984 to 2001. A CIA spokeswoman declined to comment on the specifics of the documents in Tripoli but added "it can't come as a surprise that the central intelligence agency works with foreign governments to help protect our country from terrorism and other deadly threats." among spies, there is no such thing it seems as a strange bedfellow.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Tripoli.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Powerful reporting.

Well, it's been a wild few weeks for Rick Perry. Many were hoping hear from the presidential Republican front-runner to speak today in South Carolina alongside his opponents in the race fir the GOP nomination, but now Perry says he can't make it. We'll tell you why.

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MALVEAUX: We are bringing you some live pictures. We're keeping a close eye on both of these pictures. We are monitoring them here. One of them, they are both out of Manchester, New Hampshire. This is where Sarah Palin is expected to arrive very shortly. One of them you see the empty stage there, where folks are anticipating her arrival. Another picture where people are mulling around a little bit, great deal of excitement and anticipation of what Sarah Palin is going to do, whether or not she'll make significant announcements.

She was in Iowa three days ago, sounded kind of like a stump speech. So, there's a lot of speculation of whether or not she's actually going to jump into the race. A lot of people think that it's not going to happen. But she's known in some ways to kind of steal the spotlight from some of other candidates, showing up at various states that are critical to the presidential race and making a little news. So, we'll see. We will keep our eyes on that, and we will take it live as soon as she starts.

Five Republican candidates are facing off in South Carolina today. Paul Steinhauser, part of the best political team on television is live at the event with all of the angles. So Paul, we know it was supposed to be front-runner Rick Perry's first appearance on stage with the other Republicans. He has since pulled out. Can you tell us why?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. Well, it seems those wildfires in Texas are really having an impact here in South Carolina, and on the race for the White House, because we started asking early this morning to Rick Perry's campaign, whether he would return to the state to deal with those raging wildfires, and communications director for the campaign early this morning told me they were considering it, and then our Seana Shepherd, she's our producer here in South Carolina. She broke the news, heard from sources here in the state that Perry was headed home. He spoke about it at an event earlier today. He was here in South Carolina this morning. He had a town hall and he poke about the fires back in Texas. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our state has got wildfires that are running quite wild. Zero containment right now. And the winds are supposed to pick up again. So, just keep those folks in your prayers if you will as we go back and try to get people out of harms' way and get them safe, and pray for rain, as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: So after that event, Perry headed back to Texas. His campaign also tells me he had events in California tomorrow, those are canceled. Suzanne, listen, this forum later today is very important, but when the lives of the residents of your state are at risk, you forget about presidential politics and head home to deal with the business.

MALVEAUX: Sure. And I'm sure that's a great political as well. People will look at that and say, OK, he's responsive here. What should we be watching for the kickoff event at 3:00 today?

STEINHAUSER: Five remaining candidates will be here. As they said, it starts at 3:00, we'll have live coverage. And for Michele Bachmann, I guess it's maybe one of the first chances to kind reach back and grab the spotlight. Remember, she was the big star back in August. She won the important straw poll in Iowa, but then on the same day, Rick Perry jumped in and kind of stolen the spotlight stole away from her. So, look to Michele Bachmann and see how she does today, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And Paul, also, we know that Romney trying to get back into the spotlight as well. Steal some of the tea party thunder from Perry and Michele Bachmann. What is he doing?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, Romney was a late entry here, very interesting. Originally he said his schedule prevented him from doing it. But remember, last night, he was the keynote speaker at a tea party express rally in New Hampshire. The first time since he announced for president that he spoke in front of a tea party rally and coming here today, this is kind of like a tea party event. One of the organizers and speakers is Senator Jim Demint of South Carolina, a big favorite and influential person among Tea party activist.

So, maybe Romney is changing strategy a little bit now that he's no longer front-runner in the national polls. Now, Rick Perry is front-runner in those polls. So maybe, Romney reaching out to tea party activists, a little bit of a change of strategy it seems, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, we'll keep our eyes on all of the changes and strategies. Thank you, Paul. Appreciate it. Good to see you.

You don't want to miss the action in this afternoon's Republican forum. CNN's exclusive coverage hosted by John King begins at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, that is later today.

And reminder to vote for todays choose the news winner, text 1 for border agents bored. An agent says millions of taxpayer dollars are being wasted on workers who have nothing to do. Text 2 for Gadhafi's former nurse. One of the women who watched over Gadhafi's health speaks about out about err her daily duties or text 3 that is Coney Island makeover. Multimillion dollar renovation of New York's beach. Do the new look mean new tourists? We'll find out when the story airs next hour.

Well, a lucky group for workers entered an office pool and won the mega millions. But one man is not happy about it. We' are going to tell you what he did.

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MALVEAUX: You have been sounding back on the "talk back" question and Carol Costello is here with more of what you are saying about the "talk back." what is the question, Carol?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Suzanne. People are fired enough about this. What the "talk back" question this morning, is it unpatriotic for U.S. countries not to hire?

This was from Matthew. Make it profitable for small companies to be able to do business here by getting rid of the enormous taxation and it will be worth it to hire here instead of China.

This from Robert, is it unpatriotic to empty our pockets with endless taxing and spending?

This from Paul, big businesses were now concerned with being patriotic; their concern is profits and shareholder expectations.

This from Christine, it is unpatriotic but not illegal. I say if they don't hire Americans they get no American tax breaks. Let them pay and they will change their minds.

And this from Mary, it's absolutely unquestionably, unpatriotic to sit there on piles of money after the American taxpayers bailed you out and then whine about how you can't see your way toward hiring anybody. How dare they? Please, keep the conversations going facebook.com/carolcnn.

MALVEAUX: They are outrage ha, Carol. So, we have another question, Carol. This is another story. You have friended anybody lately on facebook? You're a big facebook person, yes?

COSTELLO: Yes, I am. I have friended many people lately.

MALVEAUX: And yes, many people follow you. OK. So, did you know that Jesus has a page? Well, kind of, kind of.

COSTELLO: He did not reach out and friend me, ask me to friend him though.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: It's called Jesus daily, was 8.4 million likes and counting. It has been - see were Web traffic than any facebook in the world, Carol of the last three months. More people have liked or commented or share content, right there on the pages more that those belonging to Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, you know. The Page counted in astounding 3.4 million hits last week. So Bieber's page, only 600,000.

COSTELLO: Jesus beats them all out. The only thing I would be concerned about is if Jesus is actually answering, you can post comments on there and reach each other's comments?

MALVEAUX: Yes, you know. I mean it's very popular. It's catching on. It's the biggest around the world there, Carol. Now, if they could see, I refer them to you and you would get more folks and it would work out great.

COSTELLO: I'll start praying.

MALVEAUX: All right, I will see you, Carol.

Some of our stories our affiliates are covering across the country. A storm chaser who happened to be driving home captured the huge tornado as it cross over New York State Thruway. The storm touched down in the town of Amsterdam, knocking down trees, tearing roofs and homes. Amazingly no injuries were reported.

And unbelievable video from the Baltimore's grand prix. Here it is.

A driver lost his brakes, flew right over another car, almost clipped somebody in his head, now, no one was hurt. In fact, the driver who has almost clipped ran out of his c to check on the one who lost his brakes. Unbelievable!

And in Ohio man is suing to get a share of a 99 million dollar jackpot that his co-worker won on an autumn's pool. . He says he is entitled to it because he has been paying in the pool for eight year now, but he had a back injury and wasn't it worked to actually pay that day that they won.

In this unsure economy, many Americans are cutting back in all sorts of things including vacation. But summer is winding down. You might be able to find a deal. Alison Kosik joins us for some end of the summer travel tips.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Hi, Suzanne. Yes, we are all watching our budget but did you know that you can still you know get the heck out of town without breaking the bank because summer is actually peak season for hotels and airlines and cruises. So, what you will see, you will see those rates actually go down significantly once summer draws to a close.

We spoke to Nina Weldorf (ph). She's from budget travel, and she said you need to know when to book. Airlines sometimes lower prices anywhere from two to three weeks before flight to fill seats. So, keep on eye off for that. And choose destination in between High and low season, ski location like Colorado and Utah, they are cheap and they are really beautiful right now, plus you get to avoid the crowd and save money as well.

Also, consider a cruise at site lastminutecruises.com. They can give you access to locates on under booked sailings. Suzanne? MALVEAUX: Alison, any place where the best place to travel right now?

KOSIK: Well, actually Mina did give us a few hotspots where you can get the best bang for your buck. It's hurricane season in the Caribbean but Aruba, Vanair (ph) and Truecell (ph). They are all outside the hurricane belt. So, those are the recommendations.

Iceland since 43 percent pure visitors in September and prices actually dropped from the U.S. They dropped 24 percent compared to the high season. And also, you know what? Don't forget about Florida. Late summer prices are low and its hurricane season there but for last minute travel, it's an advantage. Check up-to-the-minute weather update and get those discounted rates because Florida is also a pretty damn good possibility if you ask me, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Yes. I did Caribbean in Florida before Iceland, but you know that's just me.

KOSIK: Yes, me too.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: They can take a nice beach any day. All right, stay with us, Alison.

Up next, we are going to explain how to save money if you are actually driving or traveling by car.

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MALVEAUX: Just getting some pictures in here. Want to take a look at the aerial shots. This is from Bastrop Texas, the Bastrop fire. This is a wildfire that is southeast of Austin. It has so far destroyed 300 homes. It has scorched thousands of acres and stretches across a 16-mile area.

We are looking at live pictures I am told. You can see the smoke coming from that area, a very thick, forested area. This is a massive, largely uncontained fire in Bastrop County. That is near Austin. And we were told earlier that this has burned up to 14,000 acres. 300 homes destroyed. And it's threatens about 1,000 other homes. And you can see as they pull in there, that there is a building that is on fire. That is spreading. And there are 5,000 residents that have been evacuated as many of the fires just caught on and raged out of control. We will keep a close eye on what is taking place out of Texas. That was Bastrop fire out of Texas, near Austin.

We are also back with Alison talking about ways you can save on your vacation, even over the summer it's even kind a last-minute thing but I'm a last-minute girl myself. So.

(LAUGHTER)

KOSIK: Me too.

MALVEAUX: We know gas prices went up, but if you want to go on a road trip, can you save money?

KOSIK: You can you know. And gas right now, Suzanne is costing about $3.50 a gallon. That's according to Triple-A. That's almost double from last summer but there are still ways you can save money.

According to (INAUDIBLE), the biggest factor here is to drive at a moderate speed. If you know don't floor (ph) it, don't go at a high speed. Don't make those quick start and those squalling stop because you'll burn more gas.

Also, avoid sitting idle for long periods of time, because if you idling, your car is getting zero miles to the gallon and that adds up over time. You know turn your engine off if you expect to sit more than 30 seconds.

Also, kick some of that excess luggage out of your car because at high way speed, more than 50 percent of engine power actually goes to overcoming that drag. So you may want to think about leaving that surfboard and the golf clubs at home, of course, if you're not using them -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, Alison. I'm looking for a break, some sort of vacation. You and I, I don't know how we got stuck working --

KOSIK: Me too. Take me with you.

MALVEAUX: -- Labor Day, but we are both working the holidays here, so they owe us one, I think.

Thanks, Alison.