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Isaac Threatens New Orleans; Isaac Forces Big Changes at RNC; Human Trafficking Gang Busted; Live Coverage of Gov. Bobby Jindal's Presser about Tropical Storm Issac; Russia Rockers Flee Country; Marines Disciplined For Urination Incident

Aired August 27, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. We are taking you around the world in 60 minutes.

Here's what's going on right now:

On the run -- two members of the punk rock group Pussy Riot are out of Russia.

And Chinese gang members are accused of kidnapping women and forcing them into prosecution in Africa. We're going to tell you what is being done to stop it.

But, first, the storm everybody is focusing on right now, that is Isaac. Tropical storm Isaac putting the Gulf Coast on high alert, massive evacuations underway from Louisiana to Alabama. In the call just a couple of minutes ago, Federal Emergency Management Agency said it is particularly concerned about storm surge and heavy rainfall.

Tropical storm Isaac passed through south Florida on Sunday, bringing blustery winds and some wet weather. But it's going to move over to the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center is saying that the storm is now getting better organized. It looks like Isaac is going to pass -- well past west of Tampa. That is where the Republican National Convention has been delayed.

I want to go the Chad Myers who is tracking all of this. What do we expect?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We expect this storm, although 65 miles per hour now, to be a hurricane later today.

In fact, I've just looked at some Air Force reconnaissance that's out there flying through the storm, they found 72 miles per hour. That's close enough. Hurricane is 74. So we're going to get there today.

And getting better organized means that the pressures are going to get lower, the wind speeds pick up and an eye wall forms. We haven't had an eye wall yet with this, and that's the reason why it has not exploded into that category 1 or 2 hurricane, it's been kind of fighting itself out there, not getting organized, but that is all going to change.

Something else that I am concerned about this morning or afternoon depending where you are, all up the I-95 or just a little bit west there in Florida, we have what is called training. Think about a train. Like a freight train, and there is one car right behind another, and behind another. There's one storm right behind another where it has put down an inch and another inch and another inch of rain and all of the sudden, you'll get significant flooding and we could get flash flooding there across parts of south central Florida and maybe up to Brevard County, we are expecting an awful of rainfall.

And as the storm moves up, a couple of things that came out from FEMA, and we already knew this, but I just want to let you know that that's what they are worried about, it is a category 1 hurricane and that the forecast. You should not think about this as a category 1 storm surge. It is a large storm, it just doesn't have to have a tight center.

So when this storm moves up into the Gulf of Mexico, the storm surge could be literally 8 to 10 feet and think of that through the bayou, through Grand Isle or all the way up to Mississippi for a while.

And then the storm comes up and literally stops. It is a cold front or ridge that stops and its' going to rain for days just north of New Orleans. And that may help a little bit when it comes to the alleviating some of the drought, but I tell you what? This could cause a lot of flooding.

Here's what Katrina looked like at this state here, it's what Isaac looks like. Two completely different storms right now because by this time in the forecast, we were already seeing and I know you have heard about this Katrina comparison, but Katrina was already a cat 3. So that does not work.

And here it is driving into the bayou south of New Orleans and could go to Gulfport or could be all the way back here toward new Liberia, but the center of the cone, the cone is getting smaller now, because the storm is getting closer. The center of the storm is somewhere near the mouth of the Mississippi around maybe 6:00 or 7:00 or 8:00 tomorrow night -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Chad, I have to ask you. I mean, is there any chance at all that this could become like a Katrina? That it could grow that big?

MYERS: There is always that chance. There's always a chance and anyone at the hurricane center will tell you that the -- they know the path pretty good at 24 hours, but it's impossible to tell that that storm is going to literally get its act together and pull arms in like an ice skater doing a big circle in the middle, and it is impossible for them to tell that this thing could explode. Forecast models are not that good to predict that yet.

It's all kinds of things that the models are good at and one thing that they will all admit that they are not that good at what the wind speed might be 24 hours from where it is now. So, yes, there is a potential that it is still a cat 3, but we're going to get at least cat 2 surge because it's such a wide, broad storms which just doesn't have the tight packed winds to get that category up. It's still a significant storm for the Gulf Coast when it comes to storm surge and flooding.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you.

As Chad mentioned, tropical the storm Isaac is gaining strength now in the Gulf of Mexico. Strangely enough, this is not strangely just on the same path as Katrina, but it's also forecast to make landfall on Katrina's 7th anniversary.

I want to bring in our meteorologist, Rob Marciano. He's in New Orleans.

And, Rob, I know that people are still recovering from devastation of Katrina. A lot of the relatives have been on the phone with them and asking questions about -- is New Orleans is prepared for this kind of hurricane to hit?

What are they saying and what have they done?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, they've really been preparing for seven years. They had a kind of practice session with hurricane Gustav back in 2008, which is just to a south of here, but they got a taste of the hurricane and how the new and improved levees would hold up and better than that now.

But the people here, you would think are storm hardened, storm tested.

Well, when we got here yesterday, the anxiety level was extremely high and people were certainly worried about what this might do to their city and now that the track seems to be zeroed in on it, they are even more so worried. And they have done things to prepare like gas up the cars. I mean, everybody was at a gas station last night and a lot of to filling stations are now tapped out because of it. So, even though there are not mandatory evacuations yet, people have left or preparing to do so just in case, and taking the storm very seriously, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And, Rob, the big problem is the levees that the Army Corps of Engineers rebuilt them, refortified them. They have spent, what, $11 billion to build a wall around New Orleans and it has on of the largest drain pumps I understand this the world.

Are people actually confident that this is going to hold up? That this is going to work?

MARCIANO: Well, I think that General Honore put it easily that what man builds Mother Nature can easily destroy. So that's always in the back of their heads. But when you look at the structures -- come with me and look this -- when you look at something like this that was not here seven years ago, you think, my goodness, how is a wall of water going to get through that?

That is a new floodgate to protect the 17th Street Canal, and on either side of the floodgate are massive pipes connected to the pumps to have the ability through each one of the pipes and there are eight of them on this side, they have the ability to pump over 8,000 gallons of water a second out of basically New Orleans over the flood wall and back into Lake Pontchartrain.

We've got three of these on the north side. We've got another one on the south side and on top of that, you've got 140 miles of reinforced levees around this city.

So that's the main reason they haven't had mandatory evacuations here yet. If they go the category 3, a forecast, then that is going to trigger them, and that's what people are preparing for just in case -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Rob, we are going to be paying very close attention and appreciate it.

Now, there are two governors in the Southeast. They're already addressing the storm.

This hour, we've got Governor Robert Bentley in Alabama. He is speaking right now talking about precautions. We've got Governor Bobby Jindal in Louisiana, he is expected any minute to talk. We're going to actually stay on top of the statements and as we get new information, we will bring it right to you.

(MUSIC)

MALVEAUX: Just two hours away from the official opening of the Republican National Convention. Party chief Reince Priebus, he's going to be pounding the opening gavel there at 2:00 p.m. Eastern and turn around and adjourn the meeting until tomorrow. The party made the choice to delay the convention by a day, because of Isaac, and obviously the tropical storm churning off of Florida's coast, and the weather has delayed Paul Ryan's arrival in Tampa until tomorrow.

Brooke Baldwin and Hala Gorani -- they are both in Tampa for convention.

Brooke, let's start with you. Just first of all, tell us what is -- what's the weather like?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What's the weather like? I will tell you that it is absolutely stunning right now. To be perfectly honest with you, beautiful blue skies I woke up around 5:00 or 5:30 this morning. It was an absolute deluge. Fast forward a couple of hours and it's beautiful.

But, you know, you mentioned Reince Priebus' gavel call at 2:00, which we'll take live in my show a little later on. But you know, it was ultimately the RNC's call and they played it safe. They said, hang on, we're just going to ahead and condense this thing, from fours ito three, hey will con dins it from four days to three.

And Mitt Romney has been in New Hampshire practicing the speech which is by the way, Thursday, and he was cornered and asked and certainly on his mind the folks in that you mentioned Bobby Jindal in Louisiana and, of course, Mississippi as well. So, certainly, everyone's mind is on Isaac and it's clear that the delegates are not out and about at least right around the forum where they would have normally been had this thing not been condensed.

MALVEAUX: Brooke, has anybody who's kind of quietly complaining, thinking, come on, it is a little rain here and we could have started it off right and we had to delay it a day?

BALDWIN: Sure, of course. People are frustrated, you know. It is a big hurry up and wait and most everyone got into town fearful that -- you know, we know how the airlines can be with an impending tropical storm and those folks are in town. And when we say most folks, it's a huge number, Suzanne, 50,000 people here in Tampa and add to that, folks like myself and Chris and Kim Siegel (ph) here, producing, journalist, you've got 20,000 people on top of that.

So yes, some are frustrated, but I think they understand out of the abundance of caution, and you have covered the storms. You know that the weather can change on a dime. So they've just had to condense shorter speeches and the big superstar speakers, that all remains the same and for all of seven to 10 minute, we will see you as you mentioned, Reince Priebus with the gavel at 2:00 and the national debt clock and really the whole party is rolling tomorrow.

MALVEAUX: All right. Well, enjoy the weather, and stay warm and dry. We will be following you as the days going on. Thanks, Brooke.

Now, I want to bring in Hala Gorani.

Clearly, Hala, the fact that you were there covering the National Republican Convention not only for us, but CNN International certainty underscores the importance of the process of picking potentially a new U.S. president or staying the course with President Obama.

What do you think is the biggest draw? H what are the biggest questions or concerns of the international audience?

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Mitt Romney and the running mate do remain a foreign policy mystery for the international audience. They don't have much experience with that, in that regard. Paul Ryan did vote several times and even co-sponsored a bill extending sanctions to insurance companies that deal with ships that are meant for Iranian shores.

And by the way, if the party starts tomorrow, we are here in the pre-party, because the sound checks are going on, and if that is what you are hearing, apologies for the audio issues.

But I think that we can identify some foreign policy differences between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, though, of course, as many of the viewers know, once the president makes it to office, then the harshness of real politics sets in and it is a question of having to work both with Congress and with the realities on the ground, especially when it comes to the Middle East, to Iran and to Russia.

Some of the differences -- on missile defense for instance, and Barack Obama of course famously reset Russia/U.S. relations after they went through a rough patch. As far as Mitt Romney, he's criticized that reset, and said that Russia is, quote, "our number one geopolitical foe, and now on the Middle East peace process that has stalled since 2009.

Mitt Romney has criticized Barack Obama for asking concessions of Israel on that kind of thing. But fundamentally, I think that the international audience is going the wait and see for -- and to hear more details on what the foreign policy differences and similarities are between the two men.

MALVEAUX: All right. Hala Gorani -- thank you, Hala. Good to see you.

Reminder, tonight, 8:00 Eastern, as part of CNN's Republican National Convention coverage, join us as the presumptive nominee Mitt Romney. "Romney Revealed: Family, Faith and Road to Power is followed at 9:30 Eastern by a preview of the convention. That is tonight, right here on CNN.

Here is more of what we are working for CNN NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL: undercover and under fire in Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There is a number of dead they are trying to bring them back, but a major fear now is the jet circling overhead.

(NED VIDEO CLI)

MALVEAUX: Our Nick Paton Walsh finds out for himself just how dangerous life is for the rebels there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Police in China and Angola are cracking down on gangs trafficking Chinese women.

Here's how it works. Follow this -- the women down on people trafficking women in Angola, they Angola are kidnapped and coerced into prosecution. Many are forced to work in casinos -- now, this is outside of Luanda and a dozen Chinese criminal gangs could be involved in this.

I want to bring many Michael Holmes to talk about this, because it's the first time I've heard of this story. So, explain to us first of all what is taking place and why this connection between China and Angola?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, it's disturbing case, and you are talking about in this case the first time that the Chinese authorities, police have been working with the African police to crackdown on Chinese gangs working in Africa -- in this case in Angola.

They busted 37 people. They rescued 14 women who were being forced into prostitution and they will be taken back China where they face some very charges. The relationship with Angola has been the same as the rest of Africa, economic. China gets one-third of the oil from Africa -- most of it from Angola.

So, you've seen a growing, growing increase in Chinese investment in general, and in Angola in particular.

MALVEAUX: And the Chinese gangs, why in Angola? Why the emergence of Chinese gangs in Angola?

HOLMES: Well, you've heard of the Chinese gangs, triads and the like that operate in Hong Kong and Macau and other places. And basically they follow the money. When you have money pouring into Africa, the gangs are going say, hey, we can get a little bit of this as well.

You have something like 800 corporations, Chinese corporations doing business in Africa. You know, something like 3/4 of a million Chinese nationals working in Africa. These guys are following the money. I saw reports of Chinese businessmen working in Africa, having flak jackets, bodyguard, bulletproof cars to protect themselves from the Chinese gangs in Africa. Not the local.

MALVEAUX: Unbelievable. It's really fascinating.

And there's one aspect of this as well -- obviously, of it is legal trade, but some of it is also, they are talking about these kind of small arms that China is providing to Africa. Can you speak to system of tome of those things that are of concern to us?

HOLMES: Yes. There -- is the arms -- China makes a lot of arms for a lot countries and a concern that some of them are getting into the places where there is myriad of disturbances like the civil wars and also the terrorist angle, but mostly in the purely business sense. There were protests in Kenya because the Chinese merchants have set up shops in the local markets and selling stuff cheaper than the locals and that is hurting the local economy.

But the U.S. is worried about it in the broader picture. China back in 2009 overtook the U.S. as Africa's biggest trading partner. Multibillions of dollars involved. You are talking about infrastructure -- oil and gas, mining, building roads in and as well as banking.

One of the things that is concerning about it some Westerners are that we still have our finger in the African pie of course, but ill at ease with how big China is getting there, and some countries have criticized as neocolonialism because they go in and go out and don't leaf a lot there and leave import Chinese workers there to work, and not hiring the locals.

MALVEAUX: The next phase is to sort it out.

HOLMES: Yes, a lot of money to be made in Africa, mainly out of minerals, but a lot of worried that mostly from the minerals, but in China's case, not leaving a lot behind.

MALVEAUX: Right. And there's the abuses that follow behind.

HOLMES: That's right.

MALVEAUX: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Rebels say they brought down this helicopter, but they have a long way to go before they can make a dent in the Syrian military.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We are all over tropical storm Isaac, which is likely to turn into a hurricane. This is out of Mississippi here, calling approximately 1,500 National Guard personnel now in the state to active duty in support of emergency operation. This is, of course, in anticipation that Isaac will turn into a hurricane, and make landfall on or near the Mississippi Gulf Coast later in this week, just within days.

We are also awaiting a news conference and update from the Louisiana's Governor Bobby Jindal who give more info information about the path of this storm, very likely to hit New Orleans.

It is one of the worst bloodbaths in Syrian's civil war and we are talking about a massacre in the suburb of Damascus. These images are very graphic. They are very disturbing. We have to warn you about this.

This is a YouTube video that appears the show dozens of victims laid to rest in a mass grave. CNN has no way of independently verifying videos like this, but the opposition activists say that more than 245 people, we are talking about 245 people killed as Syrian forces moved in to take control of Daraya. Now, state-run however TV blames the rebels for all of those people.

Elsewhere in Syria, another helicopter crashes, and opposition activists are saying that the rebel forces are the ones who shot down a plane. It happened this morning in another suburb of Damascus. This is YouTube video of the crash and we cannot, again, authenticate what that is actually, but it is what the rebels are saying.

Now, to another flashpoint in the Syrian war -- the country's largest city. This is Aleppo. Now, Syria's state-run news agency says that government troops just cleared one neighborhood of what they say are terrorists, but these are what they call the rebel forces. The battle for control is a key city and it is intensifying. You have rebels facing constant, constant bombardment from these government jets.

Our Nick Paton Walsh, he finds himself in the middle of one of these fights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice-over): This is what it's like to be with the Syrian rebels around Aleppo, hunted from above by merciless government jets.

That fly-by followed with relief they survived and one commander's anger they must fight alone.

"Maybe the out outside world pities us," he says, "but until now, we don't have any help. We need a no-fly zone and weapons and then just a battalion of us can finish this."

Even though they say 2/3 of Aleppo supports them, they switch off headlines into a journey into a city that President Bashar al Assad knows he must hold if he is cling to power.

They are young and cheered along, they have the will, but not the unified way ahead.

(on camera): The rebels we are traveling with have stopped to radio ahead to the unit in the next town, to be sure that when they arrive, they are not going to fire upon them, really example about patchy coordination and communication can be.

(CHANTING)

WALSH (voice-over): We drive down a main road that the locals tell them is safe in pitch black in case jets fly above. But ahead, Assad's forces lie in wait with machine guns and grenades.

(on camera): We are down the road in towards Aleppo, our light is off. We took incoming fire, seemed to have an RPG shot at us and now everyone is staying very low and trying to work out what's the next best move is, all of the lights off.

We couldn't even risk the tiny lights that the cameras make until we made it past the trees nearby.

(on camera): They say wounded and perhaps dead in the front rebel vehicles and trying to bring them back, but the major fear now is a jet circling overhead in the past 15 or 20 minutes which keeps swooping low.

(voice-over): Their intense fear of not knowing if a bomber above can see them.

Later that day, state TV seems to headline this incident as a failed attack on an army checkpoint.

The rebels must wish they were that organized. They lost two men and had many injured. They later learned the local rebels knew there was a military base on that road, but the information just never got to this unit.

(on camera): Many think that the rebels will be eventually victorious because they know the areas they are fighting in better than the Assad forces. Tonight, we witnessed on a local level how a lack of cooperation can be fatal and you have the ask really what that means for the rebels' strategy nationwide.

(voice-over): Questions when for now there are mostly prayers that this rebellion pulls together fast enough to bring the killing to an end.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Aleppo, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Firefighters are beating back flames in Venezuela after a dead lay blast at a refinery that could impact what you pay for gas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEUAX: High anxiety along the Gulf Coast. All eyes tracking this Tropical Storm Issac. Want to go to the governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal. He is starting to speak, getting us updated. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN LIVE COVERAGE OF SPEECH - JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: The reality is every storm is different. The track has obviously shifted slightly to the west. There are now 20 parishes under a hurricane warning. The forecast currently shows the storm will make landfall as a strong Category 1. However, the National Weather Service is also forecasting that the storm has a slow forward speed, which means that the coast will see long periods of heavy wind.

I want to emphasize this, the slow moving nature of this storm means that there are many parts of our state where we could be inundated with tropical storm or heavy winds or heavy rainfall for several, several hours at a time. So, that the slow speed could cause more damage as those forces accumulate. We are likely to see, for example, the landfall late Tuesday, early Wednesday morning. We are likely to see quite a bit of rain. In terms of the wind, there are tropical storm winds for 20 to 24 hours with some locations, though at some locations, a few locations perhaps seeing tropical storm winds for 36 hours. In southeast Louisiana, there is an 80 to 90 percent chance that we'll see tropical storm-force winds in the greater Baton Rouge area, the River Parishes area, it is about 70 percent.

So, the tropical storm warning, I do want to emphasize this because it is a slow moving storm and because it's projected across various parts of our state -- could project, and could cover various parts of the state -- there are inland parishes covered by the tropical storm wind warnings. So, it's not just coastal parishes. And folks --I do encourage the folks the pay attention to the advisories and the alerts coming out of the National Weather Service. There are inland parishes that could see significant winds and rain from the storm. In terms of the hurricane-force winds, there's about a 20 percent to 30 percent chance of hurricane-force winds in southeast Louisiana that drops to about 10 percent to 18 percent in the river parishes, the greater Baton Rouge area. For storms in the direct path -- for parishes in the direct path of the storm, the forecast shows hurricane-force winds could last for as long as anywhere between eight and 10 hours. So again, one of the things that I want to emphasize about this storm is that because it is a slow-moving storm, you could see an accumulation, both not only of wind damage, because it will be several hours of heightened wind activity, but also rain accumulation as well. And so, folks, you do need to be ready for that as well.

The National Weather Service does indicate they have less confidence in the direction, their guidance on the direction of this storm than they did compared to for example, Gustav. And so anybody in the cone certainly needs to be taking precautions. One of the things that I know a lot of folks are looking at the center of the cone. It is important to remember that the storm, two-thirds of the time, ends up somewhere in that cone, not necessarily exactly onto projected pathway.

In terms of the tidal surges, they are looking -- projecting five to eight feet above normal in Lake Pontchartrain, six to 10 feet west of Mississippi River. In terms of the timing of the winds and the rain, the onset of tropical storm winds will start in the Lower Plaquemines Parish as late as tonight and into the early hours of Tuesday morning. You add several hours to that before you get those winds in Baton Rouge and to other parishes further from the coast. But again, the projections are as early as late tonight and early Tuesday morning and we could see the onset of tropical storm winds in Lower Plaquemines Parish. They are expecting two to seven inches but could be as much as 10 to16 inches, depending upon the path of the storm. They also expect tornadoes -- we could see tornadoes Tuesday and Wednesday as well.

The following parishes have declared mandatory evacuations. You remember yesterday I did note that I strongly recommended voluntary evacuations in the low-lying areas south of the Intracoastal, outside of levee areas in the 15 parishes that were then covered by the hurricane warning. Today, we did project that by this morning, some parishes would make some of the areas mandatory evacuation areas. For example, in Jefferson Parish and Grand Island La Fete have mandatory evacuations. Jefferson Parish is identified, other low-lying areas in La Fouche Parish, south of the floodgates. Plaquemines on the east bank, St. Charles activated a mandatory evacuation for their entire parish. And St. John, low-lying areas, and Tangibaho (ph) Parish, they've got a voluntary evacuation in the low lying areas currently. They do expect to be mandatory at 5:00 p.m. today. There are other parishes adding parts of their parishes for mandatory evacuations espeically -- I would emphasize that these are especially likely to be happening in low-lying areas south of the Intercoastal outside of the levee-protected areas. And so folks that are living in those areas, these are areas that have been flooded before. These are areas when we have had previous storms, they have seen an accumulation of water, they know where they are. Certainly today is the day, today is the day for folks living in those areas to get out of harm's way. Pack up their stuff and get out of harm's way.

At this point in time, 23 parishes have declared a state of emergency. I will list them very quickly, but will give these to you in writing as well and put them online as well. These include Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, Ibberville (ph), Jefferson, La Fouche, Livingston, Orleans, Morehouse, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John, St. Tammany, Tangibaho (ph), Terrebone, Jefferson Davis, Cameron, Plankabe (ph), St. Mary and West Baton Rouge. Yesterday, we sent a letter to the federal government requesting a federal pre-landfall disaster declaration in preparation for the storm. FEMA tells us that request is still pending. They've got that request it in front of them.

In terms of the evacuations and sheltering capacity, several updates. St. Charles Parish is the only parish so far that has activated their point-to-point evacuation plans. They are doing it in partnership with Tangibaho (ph) Parish. In terms of the capacity, there are currently, there are 13 Red Cross shelters opening today that will have 5,306 slots available for folks who choose to use that. And there is a Red Cross application where they will update you when they open. Use shelter capacity. You can get that information through 211 and through your local parish EOC as well.

The state is operating. Right now, we have 8,000 critical transportation need beds --

(END LIVE COVERAGE OF SPEECH)

MALVEAUX: Listening to Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, warning people need to take shelter. They need to evacuate their homes. They need to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Isaac (sic), which is on its way. We will have more details on how quickly that could happen after a quick break with our own Chad Myers.

(COMMERICAL BREAK)

MALVUEAX: All eyes on the Gulf Coast, and you can imagine folks pretty anxious about what is taking place and tracking Tropical Storm Isaac. The storm is projected to make landfall on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

I want to bring in Chad Myers and Chad, we heard the governor, Bobby Jindal, first of all say he is not attending the RNC in Tampa, because he has stuff to take care of at home in Louisiana. He talked about a Category 1 hurricane and slow-forward speed winds. What does that mean for parts of New Orleans?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It means the surge is not going to act like a Category 1 surge. You think, oh it's just a one, the winds come in. It will be just a blow. It'll be fine. It'll be four feet. No, this is a very large storm, and just because it does not have a central eye yet, it doesn't have that 130-miles-per-hour wind speed it does not mean it is not sucking water into the middle of it and making that bulge, making that bubble of water that will eventually get pushed on shore. You have to understand about the southern part of Louisiana. There is not much there there. There are islands, there are places where people have built, but the rest of it is a bayou. OK. And so when it gets over Grand Isle north of there, it is still not going to be losing speed because that water is still warm. There is still water there and the humidity is still very impressive in the bayou.

So that is the long and short of what is going to happen to New Orleans. I want to get to this comparison, because really the -- other than the date, there is no real comparison to Katrina. And I know the maps have shown it and everybody is talking about it, but let me tell you, this is not Katrina. There are few and far between Katrinas, thank goodness. But this storm is well off to the east of where Katrina was right now. By this point, Katrina was a Category 3, approaching Category 4. This storm is going to be here; this storm as well over here. Why does that matter? That is where it was a category 5. Because that is where -- this is a very old map, but it's important. Here is where we are going, here is where Katrina went, and it hit something called a loop current. It hit the warmest water in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, and that's when it exploded. When that storm turned into the Category 5 because it was in such a big heat content -- this storm is not in the heat content. Much cooler water over there and I say much, but it's just a couple of degrees, but it is significant enough that this does not go to Cat 5. I just don't see it happening.

It does make its way onshore. It does probably hit the south part of the Mississippi River into the delta somewhere, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 tomorrow. We will see the hurricane-force winds probably in New Orleans by 8:00 tomorrow night. Even though the storm is not there, it will be blowing around. And we will get a lot of convection in here, we're going to get wind blowing into Lake Pontchartrain, wind blowing out here and the surge all of the way through the southern Louisiana parishes. There may even be some surge from Bay St. Louis back toward Mobile Bay. Probably not as big of a surge, but if the storm turns a little bit, then the surge here, that is eight to 12 feet of a bubble of water that will slowly washes on to your property and keep going and going. And as it bubbles up, it starts knocking things down, because it is higher and higher and higher.

It is not a tsunami. You're not going to see this huge 14-foot wall. It just slowly comes on shore, foot by foot and higher and higher and higher. You think you are okay, until all of the sudden your house is under water.

So, that is why the southern parishes there, that's why the mandatory evacuation through there where New Orleans is still up there. The storm is getting larger, it's still very impressive and round and it will create quite a storm surge. Even though it may not say Cat 3, we will get big damage with this.

You get north of Grand Isle and you will have 50 miles before you hit any other settlements. And so you have all of that time for this to keep getting bigger. Plus 20 inches of rain on top of an eight-foot surge, and all of the flooding is going to be tremendous in some places. MALVEAUX: Yes, you can bet I will be on the phone with my relatives and warning them to stay inside. All right. Thank you very much, Chad. Appreciate it.

Their punk prayer landed three of the members in a Russian prison. So two of the other members of the band Pussy Riot, they are not taking their chances. They have left Moscow to avoid prosecution. Phil Black, he is joining us from Moscow to explain -- first of all, Phil, I want to remind the viewers what this is all about. It is something that happened in February. Had five band members of the band Pussy Riot performed this song that was critical of President Vladimir Putin. It happened in an orthodox church. So, three of the members were caught. Do we know what happened to the other two band members?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, Pussy Riot has always acknowledged that there were five members who took part in that punk prayer that, as you say, was Moscow's main cathedral.

MALVEAUX: Right.

BLACK: They performed a song calling for the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Vladimir Putin. They -- three members were arrested shortly after in the weeks that followed. Now those close to the band, they always thought that the authorities knew the identities of those two other women, but for whatever reason decided to only prosecute three of them.

Despite that, those two other women have kept a very low profile for the last six months, partly because they didn't want to antagonize the authorities, perhaps inspire them to change their mind, but also because the fate of their colleagues has been hanging in the balance for much of that time, too. But now just a week or so ago, Russian police announced very publicly that they are still looking for unidentified members of the group. And now today we have this announcement, confirmed by a spokesman for the band, that two people have fled Russia because of a police investigation, but they won't say where they're going, how long they're going for, even if they're potentially thinking about or have asked for formal asylum in another country. They won't even confirm that these are the two women connected to that original punk prayer in the church. The reason they won't talk in detail about all of this, they say, is that they are worried about the safety for those women, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, Phil Black, thank you for the update. Appreciate it.

Want to take a look at some live pictures here of the -- this is Paul Ryan. As you know, he's the Republican vice presidential candidate. Well, this is his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin, and he is going to be leaving for Tampa tomorrow. He's had to delay it because of the weather, of course. We're going to hear what he is saying about keeping up on the campaign trail and moving forward to the RNC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MALVEAUX: Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan, he is getting a warm send-off from his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin, right now. You see him there. Ryan heads to Tampa tomorrow for the Republican National Convention. Let's take a listen.

PAUL RYAN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a YMCA. We have a YWCA. These are the things we do in our communities that bring us together, to help our neighbors in need. You know they call it civil society. I call it Janesville, Wisconsin.

And what is important is that our government respects this. That our government honors this. That our government works for the people and not the other way around so that we can do this. That's what this election's all about.

You know, we've been hit pretty hard here. You know, we used to always say, as GM goes, so goes Janesville. You remember that statement? You know what, we've been hit hard, we got a hard knock, but we are hearty people and we will recover from this.

Yes, I've got a lot of friends who lost their job at the plant. One of my buddies, he went to Blackhawk Tech. Afterwards, got an HVAC (ph) contracting degree. And now he's doing a great job, he's got a great career and he's happy. Another one of my buddies lost a job over at Leer. He went to Blackhawk Tech, went to Whitewater (ph) and he's on a path to a brighter horizon and a promising career that's going to be there for him for the rest of his life. That's the kind of thing we need to do is pick ourselves up, help people who need, give them the job training skills they have, flourish entrepreneurs and small businesses so people can get back on their feet. That's exactly what the Romney plan for a stronger middle class is all about doing.

MALVEAUX: We're going to be follow up, covering more from the Republican National Convention later in the hour after a quick break.

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MALVEAUX: Got some breaking news here.

We've got some information about Marines who have been disciplined because of a desecration incident that happened in Afghanistan. I want to bring in our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr to give us an update on this.

And, first of all, Barbara, tell us briefly what this case was about.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you'll remember, Suzanne, earlier this year some video emerged of Marines in Afghanistan urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban. It was an incident that had actually happened about six months earlier, but the video just emerged earlier this year.

An investigation ensued. The Marines were quickly identified. And now the results. Three Marines have received discipline in this case. Not charges, not going to jail, but they have received what essentially will be career-ending punishment, reprimands about their activities. They plead guilty, essentially, we are told by the Marines, to posing for unofficial photographs with human casualties, urinating on a dead Taliban soldier, of course, and one Marine disciplined for failing to report the mistreatment by other Marines.

This also comes as there is confirmation that Army soldiers are receiving similar reprimands, punishment for their roles in the Koran burning incident at Bagram Air Base. Also possibly career-ending for them.

The Afghanistan government has been briefed about all of this. A lot of concerns to make sure that this doesn't spark more violence, as it did in Afghanistan when the incidents first happened.

MALVEAUX: Barbara, it may be too soon to know this, but I'm wondering what the reaction would be to this kind of punishment. Is this considered a slap on the wrist? Could it have been a lot more severe if the Afghans, as well as some of the members of the military, how they'll respond and react to this kind of punishment that's been doled out?

STARR: Well, you know, the thing is, Suzanne, in today's sort of winding down military from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, they're downsizing, less people in the military. So even if you have one of these reprimands in your file, the first thing is, it is likely to be a career-ender. They're not going to keep you because they can get enough people who don't have discipline problems in their file.

And a lot of concern. When these incidents first emerged, there was violence, there was very adverse understandable reaction in Afghanistan. So this time they're trying to make sure they brief the Afghan government. They explain their actions.

The incidents are taken very seriously by Afghan authorities. But this also comes as Afghan authorities are having to explain their own troop actions. So many of these green on blue incidents. So a lot of tension on both sides.

MALVEAUX: All right, Barbara Starr out of the Pentagon with the breaking news. Thank you, Barbara. Appreciate it.

STARR: Sure.

MALVEAUX: We're going to take a quick break.

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