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Tropical Storm Isaac Threatens Gulf Coast; Ann Romney Opens Up

Aired August 27, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin live from the CNN Grill here in Tampa, Florida, the 2012 Republican Convention.

And I give you Republican Chairman Reince Priebus exactly one hour ago. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REINCE PRIEBUS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: The Republican National Convention has directed that the 2012 Republican National Convention be held in Tampa, Florida starting at 2:00 p.m. on the 27th day of August, 2012.

So, it's my privilege to proclaim the 2012 Republican National Convention in session and called to order.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

PRIEBUS: The chair announces pursuant to Clause 12(b)(1) of Rule 1 of the rules of the House of Representatives, the 2012 Republican National Convention stands in recess, subject to the call of the chair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: There you have it, Reince Priebus gaveling the convention to order and then called for a recess. They will convene again tomorrow. As you know by now, the big storm out in the Gulf has delayed things here by just a day.

Just so you know, Chairman Priebus did unveil this debt clock, actually not just one, but two debt clocks. Here you go, one that tallies the national debt and the second to track the amount of debt from the start of this convention. Priebus says it's to illustrate what he calls -- quote, unquote -- "the unprecedented recklessness of the Obama administration."

Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to be a strong Category 1 hurricane when it makes landfall. And the Gulf Coast now in a really all-too-familiar model, bracing for this hurricane.

Brian is in New Orleans for us. And Chad Myers is in the Severe Weather Center.

But, first, someone who has just flown through this storm. I want to bring in Captain Nicole Mitchell. She's a weather officer with the Hurricane Hunters. It's a unit of the Air Force specifically, Air Force Reserves that gathers information. They go inside these storm systems.

Nicole, again I want you to explain to me what it is you do as you and your teams are flying through these storms. Why are you doing it? What are you looking for?

CAPT. NICOLE MITCHELL, U.S. AIR FORCE: Well, besides the fact that we're crazy. Right? No.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Yes. Maybe.

(CROSSTALK)

MITCHELL: We're looking for the storm is currently doing.

Yes. The Hurricane Center has satellites and computer models and different forms of data and buoys and all that stuff, but you don't always have a lot of data over water.

So, we fly right inside the storms and we collect all of that information, winds, temperatures, pressures, and of course things like the pressure, if the pressure is going down or if the wind going up, signs of an intensifying storm. We fly right inside the storm, do cross-sections. That also gives a feel of how large the storm is, how far out the damaging winds go.

That's why we do it. All of that goes back to the Hurricane Center and it helps improve their forecast and ultimately protect the people that are going to be in the path of these storms.

BALDWIN: I'm sure folks like Chad Myers -- Chad, I think you're with me here listening -- I know you have been watching Isaac very closely -- you rely on information, right, Nicole's...

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: ... and others like that to then show our viewers what to expect.

MYERS: No question.

I look at these Atlantic recon vortex messages, the minute-by- minute data, every 30-second data. We just found a 76.3 mile-per-hour wind in the storm which means it's going to be hurricane pretty soon.

But, Nicole, my question to you because you just got out of there what did you see with this storm that's changed or gotten better organized or less organized? What was your personal experience?

MITCHELL: Our experience, and we were happy to see it during our flight, was -- I had the flight from the lovely hours of 2:00 a.m. Central time until about noon. But at least during that period of time, it was pretty much holding steady pressure wise. But there was a slight drop in the pressure on our very last observation. So then the plane after us would have followed that up whether that was a trend of just a slight deviation. Now you're saying that there's higher winds. We also saw the winds being pretty steady.

For us, it was nice. It was a steady tropical storm because that meant it wasn't intensifying at that time or it wasn't intensifying very much. The longer we can keep this a tropical storm the better.

MYERS: Absolutely.

MITCHELL: As you mentioned there's already another plane in there. They found some higher winds.

We at this point literally as one plane leaves another one is going in. We're all lined up. I always have another flight scheduled for tomorrow. We're going to be in here nonstop until this makes landfall.

BALDWIN: Wow. We appreciate your doing that, Nicole, even if it's 2:00 in the morning, as your shift was this past evening. We really rely on your information and you bravery, you and the crew.

Nicole, remember talking to you during Irene last year. Thank you for coming back on.

And, Chad Myers, we will check back in with you in just a moment here.

But coming up next, just want to shift focus specifically to New Orleans, where we have Brian Todd standing by, where here we go. They will be marking the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. That's this Wednesday.

Brian, $11 billion has been spent strengthening all those levees that failed so catastrophically back in 2005. How confident are folks who you're talking to in New Orleans that they will in fact do their jobs?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, the mayor, Mitch Landrieu, and the governor, Bobby Jindal, they acknowledge there's a lot of anxiety around this region right now because of the track of the storm and it's approaching almost the identical angle that Hurricane Katrina did seven years ago.

But they are trying to reassure people around here this is a much different situation as far as the infrastructure. This is an example of it. This is the 17th Street Canal levee and pumping station. Our photojournalist Khalil Abdallah will kind of take you and show you -- look at those massive pumps there.

None of this was here during Hurricane Katrina. This is fairly new. This is one of the things that local officials point to, to try to reassure local residents the infrastructure here, the levee system here much different, much more equipped to handle a storm like this.

Mayor Landrieu addressed some of those concerns just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITCH LANDRIEU (D), MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA: It's quite ironic we have a hurricane that's threatening us on the seventh anniversary of Katrina.

It's worth noting that that brings a high level of anxiety to the people of New Orleans. But I want to assure you all that there is nothing that this storm is going to bring us that we do not believe that we are prepared to handle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: The mayor and others are saying -- they're quoting the figure that you mentioned just in our lead-in here that at least $10 billion and closer to maybe $11 billion of the $14 billion that were allocated for improvements to levees, canals, pumping stations here at least $10 billion or $11 billion of that $14 billion have already been spent and have already been allocated and actually spent to upgrade these areas here so they are reassuring people again that the infrastructure is much better equipped to handle it.

And again they out this storm is not expected to be as strong as Katrina. Still they are ordering some evacuations of areas here. Saint Charles Parish near here has been ordered evacuated. These are low-lying coastal areas, some of which are outside the levee system. Parts of Plaquemines Parish have been ordered to be evacuated.

The mayor is not ordering anyone right now from New Orleans proper to be evacuated. But that could change. He is saying that some of the 950 city residents who are outside this levee system do need to think about leaving. We will keep monitoring that for you.

BALDWIN: Right, of course that could change. Who knew one day the RNC would have be to blown out for precautionary reasons. Who knows what will end up happening where you are.

Brian Todd in New Orleans, thank you.

Back here in Tampa, as I mentioned, really still all eyes on the storm and also politics, including Mitt Romney. A closer look at how the presidential candidate and his family have dealt with Ann Romney's painful battle with M.S. A revealing interview, you have to see this next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, will be speaking at this convention in prime time tomorrow night. We also learned that she is now getting Secret Service protection. That's just coming out here. Her spokeswoman confirms that the security detail actually began back on Friday. A defining moment in Ann Romney's life and really her husband's life here has been her battle with multiple sclerosis, with M.S.

In this interview with our Gloria Borger, she opened up about the fight. She opened up about the husband and really showed a side of her husband that Americans don't always get to see.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): It was just before Thanksgiving 1998.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She began to see some numbness on her right side. It began spreading. She was having more difficulty getting upstairs. We went to a neurologist.

BORGER: Romney's life was about to take an unexpected and unhappy turn.

M. ROMNEY: We went into his office and he performed an examination and it was very clear that she was flunking the examination. She couldn't stand on her right foot without falling over and so forth. He stepped out. And she began to cry. And I welled up tears as well. And we hugged each other.

And she said, you know, something's terribly wrong.

BORGER: At age 49, Ann Romney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis -- an incurable disease that can shut down the central nervous system.

ANN ROMNEY, MITT ROMNEY'S WIFE: You don't know how much is it going to chew me up and spit me out? Where is it going to -- and when is it going to spit me out? How sick am I going to get? Is this going to be progressive? Am I going to be in a wheelchair?

It's a very, very frightening place to be.

MITT ROMNEY: I know Ann was really distraught and distressed with the diagnosis, particularly as time went on, because she was really ill for quite a while. ANN ROMNEY: I really just was having a hard time and was very depressed and had kind of given up a little bit.

TAGG ROMNEY, MITT ROMNEY'S SON: It was a tough moment for both of them. It was interesting to see the way he treated her as they went through that -- very caring, very loving, very frustrating for him not to be able to step in and fix it. But it was -- they drew even closer.

A. ROMNEY: Even when I was as sick as that, he would curl up in the bed with me.

BORGER: Take a minute.

A. ROMNEY: So you just knew that that's where he was. It was like he was going to do anything he could to just say I'm here. You're OK. Just stay right there. And we'll be OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: I want to bring in Gloria Borger.

Gosh, just talking through and hearing the Romneys speaking, tears welling with their eyes, that was '98, when she found out about M.S. And it's very, very poignant, very emotional for them still. It's a side of them -- we should say it's a side of Mitt Romney we don't always see.

BORGER: Right.

In talking to people throughout his life, particularly people he worked with at the Olympics after she was diagnosed, it was very clear that this was a really, really difficult issue for them.

What Tagg was tearing up about, the question I asked is, your father's the fix-it guy. Tagg said he couldn't fix it.

(CROSSTALK)

BORGER: And that was very difficult for them.

It's interesting because Ann Romney talks about this as if it happened yesterday, and in an interesting way, so does Mitt Romney because it stays with her. It's still a struggle she has every day. She had a relapse after Super Tuesday and collapsed. Right?

BALDWIN: You see this side of them. You look at the recent poll. There was a "Washington Post" poll out today in terms of females, though, the gender gap between the president and Mitt Romney, the latest number today is six. The president is up six.

I was talking to Margaret Hoover earlier and she said what is so key hearing Ann Romney speak tomorrow night. Because it's Ann Romney and only Ann Romney who can truly, can I use the word humanize?

BORGER: Yes.

BALDWIN: Humanize Mitt Romney.

BORGER: Yes. I think people want someone to fix the economy, but voting for president is a very personal vote.

BALDWIN: It is.

BORGER: You have to be able to trust that person. Yes, it's about Mr. Fix-It, but being an efficiency expert is not good enough.

What they want to know -- this is the person who will make the decision about sending your kids to war, the future of our country, not only the economy, which is a large part of it. I think the campaign has taken a look at Mitt Romney's likability numbers, which by the way are underwater, and decided that people have to like him if they're going to vote for him, women, of course, suburban women in particular, but generally people have to feel like they trust you and like you.

It will be interesting to see how perhaps he capitalizes on showing that sliver of his personality come Thursday night, when he accepts the nomination.

BORGER: He's a private guy, though.

BALDWIN: No, you can tell he's private and your word was cautious. We will see. We will see Thursday night.

Gloria Borger, thank you very much.

Tonight, the special in-depth look at Mitt Romney, "Romney Revealed." In case you missed it, it airs at 8:00 Eastern. That's followed by live coverage of the convention here in Tampa at 9:30 Eastern time, only here on CNN.

So, what does the Tea Party think about presidential candidate Mitt Romney? Will Tea Partiers embrace him?

Amy Kremer, chairwoman of the Tea Party Express, answers those questions with me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: President Obama will not be taking the traditional time off during his rival's party convention.

He is actually heading out to Colorado, to Iowa and Virginia over the course of the next two days, three key swing states here everyone agrees are crucial when it comes to victory November 6. Vice President Joe Biden he was actually supposed to be in Tampa today campaigning, but he canceled those plans because of Tropical Storm Isaac.

Meantime, a new CNN/ORC poll shows the economy remains the president's weak link when it comes to likely voters. Take a look at this, Mitt Romney leading 50 percent to 46 percent, this is our new survey, when we asked who would better handle the economy. The president leads Romney on range of other issues, though, including terrorism, foreign policy and taxes.

And joining me here in Tampa, Amy Kremer, chairwoman of one of the Tea Party groups, the Tea Express.

Amy, welcome. Nice to meet you.

AMY KREMER, CHAIR, TEA PARTY EXPRESS: Hey, Brooke. Thanks for happening me.

BALDWIN: Let's just begin with Mitt Romney. Is he acceptably conservative for you?

KREMER: Well, look, this is our ticket. He is our presidential nominee. Paul Ryan is our V.P. Nominee. We have one opportunity to defeat Barack Obama and make him a one-term president. And so that's what we're going to be working on.

BALDWIN: Do you say that to me because he's your only choice at this point in time and you wished it was something else?

KREMER: We went through the nominating process, through the primaries and so he is going to be our nominee and so everybody needs to rally around him. At the end of the day, if you compare him and Paul Ryan to President Obama and Vice President Biden, he's absolutely conservative.

BALDWIN: How about this? Do you trust Mitt Romney?

KREMER: Yes.

I think he showed he understands the problems we're facing when he picked Paul Ryan as his V.P. That was very courageous. It was risky. It was courageous and I actually think it was a brilliant move, because Paul Ryan understands the dire situation we're in financially and that we have to do something about it.

I don't know anybody else out there that would have the courage to step forward and put a plan together and do what Paul Ryan's done.

BALDWIN: I have to you about Todd Akin, Missouri congressman running for Missouri Senate, we know recently made some pretty incendiary remarks when it comes to rape or as he initially called it legitimate rape.

I know a lot of Republicans, really, really big Republicans, were pushing him to stay aside. He would have been in Tampa this week. He's not here. He's a member of the Tea Party Caucus. Do you support him, first of all?

KREMER: Right.

Well, actually, we called on him to get out of the race because we didn't agree with what he said. And it wasn't just misspeaking. He believed in what he said and it was wrong. And that's not what we need to be focused on.

And as you have seen, they're using it and going to run with it. We can't afford to not take back the Senate and we can't afford to not defeat President Obama.

BALDWIN: If he was sitting next to you right now in Tampa, what would you say to him?

KREMER: Well, I have already communicated to him, but it's no secret how we feel. We were one of the first ones to call on him to get out of the race.

BALDWIN: Get out.

Some GOP elders, they have spoken out and have talked about the Tea Party influence on the Republican Party. And specifically I want to read you something that Dan Quayle said. This was to "The New York Times" today. He said, "They're opposed to anything that is perceived as being any kind of establishment, even conservative. To me," he says, "that is craziness."

Just more for you, Amy. This is former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole said this -- quote -- "There's this undercurrent of rigid conservatism where you don't dare not toe the line."

They both argue that Tea Party orthodoxy is limiting the Republicans from growth, especially when it comes to minorities. What do you say about that?

KREMER: I completely disagree with them. And quite frankly I would say that they're living in the bubble in Washington, D.C., and have no clue what the Tea Party movement is about, because there's nothing further from the truth.

If you look at what Governor Scott Walker did in Wisconsin and Lieutenant Governor Kleefisch, they toed the line. They knew they had a serious problem and they did what was necessary to fix it. They defeated that recall overwhelmingly.

This movement is all about fiscal responsibility, limited government and free markets. We don't talk about social issues. And that's why we have Democrats and independents that identify with us, because they too think that Washington needs to live within their means. It's pretty simple. That's all we're focused on.

BALDWIN: Final quick question since I have you. We saw at the top of last hour Reince Priebus calling the session into order. We saw this. Now there's two debt clocks. Right? It's the national debt clock and then the debt clock that is ticking away the debt just during these couple of days.

Folks are saying that's a nod to the Tea Party specifically. Others would argue it's really more effective for voters really to the economy seeing an unemployment rate instead.

KREMER: Well, I think both of them are very significant.

But at the end of the day, people engage when it affects them personally. And jobs is a huge issue. When people can no longer afford to send their kids to college and pay for it or they're having trouble filling up their gas tanks or putting food on their table, that's when people engage and people are paying attention. People are paying attention now more than ever before because it's affecting them personally.

I think that's why President Obama will be defeated, because your own poll shows he's very weak on the economy and that's what people will be voting on in November.

BALDWIN: Amy Kremer, thank you so much.

KREMER: Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Now to this. We want to know exactly what it's really like here. If you want to know what it's like to experience the Republican National Convention here from Tampa, really from the inside, tomorrow -- this is kind of cool -- join the CNN election roundtable with Wolf Blitzer and CNN's political A-team here.

What do you do? You can submit your own questions and you get answers in real time. It's a live chat online. This is when it happens. It happens tomorrow 12:00 noon Eastern time. You have got to go online. Go to CNN.com/roundtable. We will see you online.

Tropical storm Isaac forces big changes here at the Republican National Convention. We go storm-watching with Republican delegates to see how they are re preparing for Isaac. Met a couple folks from North Dakota and they told me they can handle blizzards, but tropical storms, not so much.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Seven years to the week since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans finds itself a potential bullseye for a hurricane this time around.

Isaac is a tropical storm right now, but at some point it's expected to turn into a Category 1 hurricane. The video shows what it did earlier. This is the Florida Keys, Big Pine Key, beating up parts of Florida's coast.

And now emergency officials in the U.S. are preparing for when Isaac is supposed to hit sometime Tuesday night into Wednesday. Evacuations are mandatory in parts of Louisiana and Alabama. Mississippi shut down some islands and called in the national guard.

As troops are going in, folks across the Gulf are getting out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN WILKERSON, LIVES IN NEW ORLEANS-AREA: Anything scares me. So, why take a chance? I mean, between a Cat 1 and a Cat 3, depending on where you're at, could still be basically the same. So, I'm not taking any chances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Isaac has already proven deadly, killing six people in Haiti on Saturday.

They have weathered their fair share of blizzards, but a group of delegates from North Dakota have never experienced a hurricane, let alone a tropical storm and they are making sure they're ready for anything. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: On the eve of what was supposed to be a full first day of the Republican National Convention, Cyndy Aafedt is prepared for a possible storm.

CYNDY AAFEDT, NORTH DAKOTA GOP DELEGATE: Well, I packed a flashlight. I've never packed a flashlight on a trip before.

BALDWIN: You packed a flashlight?

AAFEDT: I even went and bought batteries before I came.

BALDWIN: Cyndy, you're prepared. You are a prepared alternate delegate.

Aafedt is from North Dakota. Back home, she and her state party chairman, Stan Stein, are used to battling blizzards, not tropical storms.

STAN STEIN, NORTH DAKOTA REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN: Sure, we're watching the weather channel just like everybody else. We're used to doing blizzards in North Dakota. We handle them just fine. We watch hurricanes on TV.

BALDWIN: Delegations from North Dakota and Connecticut thought they'd scored with this beachfront property near Tampa. Instead, all eyes are on Isaac.

The RNC has suspended Monday's session. The governors of Alabama and Louisiana are staying home and Florida Governor Rick Scott canceled his convention speaking appearance to stay on top of his official duties as the storm threatens his state.

In fact, Governor Scott is asking Floridians to help all of the out-of-towners cope.

GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: With regards to the convention, we made sure that the delegates that are coming have information about how they should act around here with regard -- because some of them have never been around a hurricane. Floridians, we deal with these things.

BALDWIN: Floridians like Bilmar hotel general manager, Clyde Smith.

CLYDE SMITH, GENERAL MANAGER, BILMAR HOTEL: This is a closet we try not to use too often.

BALDWIN: Smith has weathered his fair share of hurricanes and he has his guests covered with a closet full of flashlights, megaphones and lanterns, just in case.

What are the chances, you think, you're going to be using any of this this week?

SMITH: We probably will go into the flashlights and maybe the rain suits. We're doing a few sandbagging just to protect some of the sand sculptures out back, but I don't think we're going to have the major sandbagging to protect the building itself. BALDWIN: This North Dakota delegate isn't too concerned. She thinks the storm won't detract from the convention much at all and reminds us why she's here, rain or shine.

AAFEDT: I'm excited about just the energy that comes from everyone together with the same values and the same desire to just to make the United States a better place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: She told me she is just so thrilled to be in Tampa whether it's three or four days at the RNC.

And you know what? Wherever Isaac may land, you could be filling its impact when you fill up your gas tank. Seventy-eight percent of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, suspended, which could send already rising gas prices could another 10 cents this week. AAA says the average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.75.

To the crisis in Chicago and the city's "killing field," gun violence there at a new high. Thirty-seven people shot over this past weekend, but police can't get anyone to talk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Nine dead, 28 wounded in shootings, just over this past weekend. I'm not talking about Syria. I'm talking about Chicago and CNN's Ted Rowlands is here now.

And, Ted, I know we've been talking. You've been covering this extensively here in the city of Chicago. The mayor, Rahm Emanuel, is saying success is being made in the fight against shootings and homicides. Explain that to me, given those numbers.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, success, he's couching it a bit and rightfully so. He is pointing out the fact that crime is down overall in the city of Chicago ten percent and, in certain districts that have been very violent, they've gone in with a concerted effort and a concerted plan and they have seen results.

In places like Englewood, crime is down. Homicide rates are drastically down, 30 percent, but overall, Brooke, let's be honest, 27 percent rise in homicide so far this year through the month of August - through, actually, July.

Once the August numbers come in, that's going to go higher. They're not happy, he's not happy and neither is the Superintendent Garry McCarthy who is the new superintendent of police in Chicago.

BALDWIN: You know, Ted, I covered crime pretty extensively for a couple of years when I lived in Washington, D.C., and I always found it really difficult to get people to talk. There's this "no- snitching" mentality and I imagine is the same in Chicago.

ROWLANDS: Absolutely. Eighty percent of the non-fatal shootings this summer, in 80 percent of those cases, Brooke, the victims are not helping the police and, when the victims don't help police, it's awfully tough to take a case to the district attorney when the victim is a hostile witness.

That's one of the many hurdles that they are up against. It's just staggering to think 80 percent of the people that are shot aren't cooperating.

BALDWIN: Eighty percent, it's a stunning number.

Ted Rowlands, thank you for all that you're doing and showing, of course, the efforts of police there, as well, working the streets this Chicago. Thank you, Ted.

Storm ready? Not for Tropical Storm Isaac, but for rock concerts.

Find out why more bands, including Linkin Park, added a weather crew to the concert tour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: As the Gulf Coast is bracing for Isaac, a concert in Texas tonight is part of a first for music and weather. Linkin Park - you know this band? Linkin Park are performing and the group's tour has received a special sign off from, of all things, the National Weather Service. It's deemed the tour, quote/unquote, "storm-ready."

Let's take a look. This is from CNN's Rob Marciano.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Heart-thumping outdoor concerts have been part of the summer lifestyle for decades, but recently, severe weather has had a deadly impact.

Last summer, five concert-goers were killed after high winds took down a stage at a festival in Belgium. During a Cheap Trick show, the band barely escaped after a storm caused their stage canopy to collapse. And, in Indiana, seven people were killed and scores injured in this frightening scene at the state fair.

But rock bands like Linkin Park are now stepping up to protect their fans.

DAVE FARRELL, LINKIN PARK BASS PLAYER: I feel like there's a big responsibility or onus to kind of make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that the show itself is as safe as possible.

MARCIANO: What they've done is hired a weather consulting firm to pinpoint a forecast specific to their concert stage.

Curtain goes up, lights go on, what do you guys start doing behind the scenes?

MARK TAYLOR, WEATHER DECISION TECHNOLOGIES: We have meteorologists back in Norman, Oklahoma, monitoring the show, basically, live right now back in Norman, watching the radar, watching the models.

MARCIANO: There's even a mini-weather station right up on stage with the band.

Jim Digby is Linkin Park's longtime tour director.

JIM DIGBY, LINKIN PARK DIRECTOR OF TOURING: This information in conjunction with the forecasting information from WDT and potentially a meteorologist on the phone at WDT is telling me, OK, we've hit our 40-mile-an-hour threshold.

On our decision matrix, at 40-miles-an-hour, we're going to take "X" action.

MARCIANO: The matrix is a grid of specific actions for specific weather scenarios and they're plastered on everything, including the lighting board.

So, everybody knows what they have to do before it happens?

DIGBY: Everybody knows what they have to do before it happens.

We're not making the decision in the face of imminent threat. We've made the decisions already. It's as simple as referring to your sheet.

MARCIANO: Winds in excess of 40-miles-an-hour, secure the video wall. More than 60-miles-an-hour or lightning within six miles, everyone take shelter.

Is there any pressure to put the show on rain or shine?

DIGBY: Well, I think there's a lot of pressure to make sure that you're making an informed decision about having to cancel or postpone. Certainly, the financial burden, the safety burden, you want to be right.

MARCIANO: While it becomes a joint decision between the venue and the band whether to cancel or delay a show, Linkin Park is trying to set a new standard for safety.

CHESTER BENNINGTON, LINKIN PARK LEAD SINGER: I think the industry's a little late to the game, you know? So, hopefully, others can, you know, follow behind the chart.

MARCIANO: Leading the way to safe, summertime fun.

Rob Marciano, CNN, Alpharetta, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Rob Marciano, thank you for that.

We are about to show you a pretty extraordinary account of Syrian towns, one town in particular under siege. There are chilling pictures we're going to share next. Do not miss this exclusive report only on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Here is a number for you -- 113. At least 113 people were killed across Syria today. That is on top of an already staggering weekend total of 684.

Syrian rebels also claim to have shot down a government helicopter in the city of Jobar. As always, we have to preface it by saying CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of this video.

The most chilling developments come to us from Daraya. This is just outside the capital of Damascus. Activists say 245 bodies were found over the weekend.

And, just today, CNN obtained an extraordinary account of life in Daraya just before the neighborhood was overrun. Just have to pause and warn you that some of the images that you're about to see are graphic and, for safety reasons, we are not naming the journalist who filed this chilling report.

It's a story you will see only right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFED FEMALE: Downtown Daraya, here, every night during Ramadan, the townspeople came together after nightly prayers in celebration.

I traveled to Daraya on the outskirts of Damascus because I'd heard that, nearly two months after forcing out Syrian authorities, the town was declaring itself "Free Syria."

For the safety of those who helped me get into Syria, I've promised not to reveal my identity.

After forcing out Syrian government forces nearly two months ago, anti-regime activists had been spending their days rebuilding the town. It was a sight I'd never seen before in Syria. The activists eagerly told me that they were in the next stage of their revolution.

And, for the first time, the Free Syrian Army, based out in the gardens and fields on the outskirts of town, even agreed to allow us to film them carrying out exercises in broad daylight.

But Syrian government forces were on the move and, after breaking the fast on the last day of Ramadan, we began to hear mortars fall. It was relentless.

The activists told us we had to leave Daraya or risk being trapped. After our departure, they continued to send us these pictures of the onslaught.

Even as the hospital became overrun with casualties, the Syrian government switched off electricity and running water. I listen to the clips they sent us as they narrated the unfolding massacre, struggling to keep their voices steady, leaving the few doctors that remained to stumble in the dark.

In 72 hours, activists said 100 men, women and children were killed and more than 300 wounded and that toll continues to rise. At first, we were told they tried to bury the dead, but even funeral processions weren't safe from the shelling and the bodies had to be abandoned.

After five days of bombardment, the town was eventually overrun by Syrian government forces and I lost touch with the activists trapped inside. One of the last messages they did manage to send read, simply, "Daraya is now cursed."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Back here live in the CNN Grill, which, by the way, used to be a parking garage and, now, it's a restaurant full of all kinds of important folks kind of coming in here on this first official unofficial day of the Republican National Convention.

Take a look and you can see folks sitting around. I know Wolf Blitzer is not too far away from me, high, perched high above the convention floor for a huge, huge night of A-team political coverage.

Wolf, how are you?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Good, Brooke. It's good to have you here in Tampa. There's going to be several important days, but you know what? We're also watching stuff that's not happening here in Tampa, namely what's about to happen along the Gulf Coast, maybe even New Orleans.

We're going to have extensive coverage of this tropical storm, could turn into a hurricane by tomorrow night, once the big speakers start speaking. Can you imagine if there have to be split screen coverage of a hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast at the same time speakers here at the opening, real opening session, of the Republican convention?

So, we're all over both of these stories. We're watching what's going on and we're not going to ignore other news, as well, including our own Reza Sayah, who is now in Iran, in Tehran, where nuclear tensions are clearly escalating.

So, we've got important news coming up, a lot of it. Good to have you, Brooke, here at this Republican convention.

BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, thank you. I'll come find you a little later. We'll watch for you and the A-team reporting from the convention center.

In the meantime, as you mentioned, we're not ignoring other stories either. Hundreds of earthquakes have been rattling folks in Southern California in something scientists actually call a "swarm," this earthquake swarm.

It's the most seismic activity in Southern California since the '70s and they're expecting thousands -- you heard me -- thousands more quakes over the next couple of days.

Casey Wian is in Brawley, California, for us today, the city that's apparently closest to this swarm and how strong are these earthquakes, Casey?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're ranging in magnitude, Brooke. We felt one not long ago 3.8 magnitude. It was a good, sharp jolt that you could really feel

Some of them have been as strong as 5.3, even 5.5 magnitude. Those are the ones that have actually done some damage.

But by our account, nearly 500 earthquakes in the last 36 hours, 60 of those, approximately, more than 3.0 in magnitude.

When we got here last night, this pharmacy was an absolute mess. Many of these products were completely off the shelves and I think we can show you some of the pictures of the cleanup effort. It's remarkable how much work they've been able to do.

But there is some damage that is more significant that you're seeing around the city. You can see these cracks on the wall here. Those were not here before this earthquake storm ...

BALDWIN: Oh, wow.

WIAN: ... hit, starting yesterday.

Now, some of these residents in this area have actually been displaced from their homes. Here's what one woman had to say about that experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSANNA RAMOS, BRAWLEY, CALIFORNIA, RESIDENT: Freaky, crazy, scary and very -- I don't have my house anymore. I want to come home and I can't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIAN: Also, today was supposed to be, Brooke, the first day of school. School has been canceled for today. We don't have any idea when school is going to reopen, but they are checking those buildings to make sure that the structural integrity remains intact.

Hospitals have also been closed. The one hospital in town, closed to non-emergency and non-ICU patients.

Now, if you want to see what the biggest of these earthquakes looked like firsthand, here's what one family felt. They had a camera rolling while the earthquake was actually happening yesterday afternoon. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, god. The house is coming down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIAN: Very scary experience, as you can imagine, Brooke. The parents telling us those young children had a real difficult time getting to sleep last night and it's going to be scary for the next several days because, as you mentioned earlier, the forecast is, is for more smaller earthquakes for several days, Brooke.

BALDWIN: We'll be watching it right with you and I'm just sitting here wondering why, why this is happening. We'll continue the conversation.

Casey Wian for us in California.

And that's it for me. I'm Brooke Baldwin here live at the CNN Grill in Tampa, Florida.

Let's go to Wolf Blitzer, high above the convention floor as the RNC rolls on.

Hey, Wolf.