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Tropical Strom Patricia Hits Parts of Texas; Democratic Presidential Candidates to Attend Event in Iowa; Train Derailed in Flooded Area; Body of U.S. Soldier Killed in Iraq Returning to U.S.; Arson Light Fires to Several Churches in St. Louis Area. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired October 24, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:41] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Right now in the CNN Newsroom, heavy rains and flooding still an issue in Texas as the remnants of now tropical storm Patricia move over the land there. Some areas could see up to 20 inches of rain.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Plus what could be a critical stop tonight in Iowa for the Democrats. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, all on stage at the Jefferson Jackson day dinner. We'll tell you why this even is so important.

PAUL: And a sex scandal rocking the University of Louisville basketball program. Allegations of prostitutes and sex parties for incoming recruits. Now a former assistant coach is stepping down.

And with that we say good morning to you. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you. It's 10:00 here on the east coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. And all morning we have been keeping close tabs on what used to be the most powerful hurricane every recorded. But Patricia is now scattered across Mexico as a tropical storm. But remember it's still sending huge amounts of rain now as far north as Texas. Flash flood warnings are in effect south of Dallas. Interstate 45 there was the scene of so many high water rescues overnight. Some areas are getting up to four inches of rain per hour.

PAUL: Patricia made landfall on Mexico's west coast. Take a look at this, the moment it arrived. And listen to that wind. That's a category five you're listing to there with top winds at 235 miles an hour. Although the winds have gone rustled down a little bit, the threat of dangerous mudslides and flooding are still very real. Nearly a foot of rain has already fallen in some places and 20 inches or more of rain is still expected.

BLACKWELL: Emergency stockpiles of supplies were there ahead of time. Nearly a quarter of a million people took refuge in shelters as the storm approached. You are looking at Mexico City. Early reports indicate less destruction than expected. But Mexico's president urges everyone to stay some place safe until the storm has completely passed. We have live reports just ahead. And we're keeping a close on what's expected to be a big day in the

race for the White House. This morning Republican presidential candidates are already out on the campaign trail. The new GOP leader in the Hawkeye state, Dr. Ben Carson, hosted a breakfast town hall in front of a frat house in Ames, Iowa. And then he is attending a book signing about an hour from now.

Former Florida governor, Jeb Bush, in Daniel Island, South Carolina, hosting a town hall with Governor Tim Scott. This coming a day after he slashed campaign expenses, putting that money to his ground game in the primary states.

And then at this hour in Greenville, South Carolina, Senator Marco Rubio is set to attend a military and veteran's town hall.

Let's talk about the Democratic presidential candidates now. The road to the White House makes a critical stop in Iowa. There are just three candidates left in the running here, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, and they're all gathering in Des Moines today for the Jefferson Jackson dinner. This is a huge fundraising event. It has been a turning point for many presidential campaigns in the past. Mark Preston, executive editor for CNN politics, joining us live from Washington. I know a lot of people are going to be watching this dinner closely. Help us understand its significance.

MARK PRESTON, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, CNN POLITICS: Well, Christi, certainly Hillary Clinton heads into Iowa with some wind behind her back. It started off with the CNN debate. A little over a week ago she turned in a strong performance. Joe Biden then decides not to seek the presidency. He decides to take a pass on it. And of course we saw her endure 11 hours before the house Benghazi committee. She did very well only to be capped off now by getting the endorsement by the largest public sector union in the United States, AFSCME me. Yesterday, she was in Alexandria. Let's listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A lot of things have been said about me, but quitter is not one of them.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: So as she heads into Iowa today, you can see Hillary Clinton has some more enthusiasm than perhaps she has had in the past couple of weeks. And 6,000 activists will be at this dinner tonight. This is the dinner that helped launch Barack Obama in 2007.

[10:05:00] It is not just about the dinner tonight, though, Christi. It is also about the events that occur beforehand. Pop star Katy Perry is doing a concert on her behalf. Bill Clinton is on the campaign trail right now. Hillary Clinton is trying to show her supporters, Christi, that her campaign is back on track. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, is

going to try to push home the idea that there needs to be a political revolution in the country, that's there too much inequality between the rich and the poor. Christi?

PAUL: Mark Preston, appreciate it, sir, thank you.

BLACKWELL: OK, so the Jefferson Jackson day dinner is a fundraiser and a test to the candidate's popularity. But if previous dinners are any indication, and Mark mentioned then senator, Barack Obama, this night could be defining moment in the race for the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: They want to go back to the dark old days when the state can tell the spouse that doesn't have to go to the nursing home, we'll give you help but only after you sell your car, your house and clean out your bank account. Now, then, we'll take your spouse in the nursing home. I don't know what you are going to do. That's not our problem. I don't know about you folks. That is not the America I want to live in in the 21st century. I don't believe in that.

(APPLAUSE)

AL GORE, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When Newt Gingrich took over the Congress and tried to reinforce Reaganomics, some walked away. I decided to stay and fight.

JOHN KERRY, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Iowa, Iowa, don't just send them a message next January. Send them a president.

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's why telling the American people what we think they want to hear instead of telling the American people what they need to hear just won't do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: You saw the last several nominees there. I want to bring in CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, editorial director for "The National Journal." So Ron, this is not just about the speech. It is also about organization, which Iowa in large part is about.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: First of all, that's a great sequence of memory lane for me, stay and fight. Both were used to turn back candidacies not unlike Bernie Sanders. You're right, Iowa is about organization, and particularly this year it is going to be not only who votes but home people vote.

I remember sitting there in 2007 with Teresa Gomain (ph), a long time Iowa operative who was running Hillary Clinton's campaign. And she said, you know, if it is up to 150,000 people, we feel good about our chances. If it is around 150,000 or above, that's a crap shoot. If it gets well above that, we are in trouble. And in fact in 2008, President Obama and Hillary Clinton between them drove a turnout that was twice as large as any Iowa caucus ever, 225,000, double what either party had ever done.

Bernie Sanders, if he is going to challenge Hillary Clinton in Iowa this year, is also going to have to expand the electorate. You look at the polling out this week. He is much stronger among young people than he is among older voters. And he has to bring many of those young people who have historically been kind of imperfect participants into the Iowa caucus into the process. So yes, this is one speech. But, Iowa, ultimately is a marathon, not a sprint, because as a caucus it really rewards organization much more than the New Hampshire primaries.

BLACKWELL: You talk about Clinton, you talk about Sanders. I want to talk about former Maryland governor, Martin O'Malley. There is a piece in the "Post" that says this is one of his last opportunities to do something big here to get a lot of attention and boost these single digit poll numbers. How does he sell this narrative as it is shaped by his campaign, that Clinton is too polarizing, Sanders is too radical, but do it in a way that doesn't attack? Because I can't imagine there is any appetite for a negative attack in that room.

BROWNSTEIN: I think you are right. It is a very partisan, Democratic audience, and you have to be careful about doing that. I think his contrast is as implicit as anything else. He is generationally. He is a lot younger than either of these candidates. He offers a very different profile for the party. The problem is that the basic contours for the debate for most Democrats feel settled. For those on the left, we have talked about the wine track in the past. Candidates like Bill Bradley or Howard Dean are being the targets of some of the language you cited before. Bernie Sanders is in that mode. He is good among young people. He's good among college-educated whites. For most minority voters and blue collar voters, Hillary Clinton is strong in that base. So it's not really clear exactly where the lane is. And to the extent there is a lane for Martin O'Malley, I think it's more of a generation contrast. And as I say, Bernie Sanders is already mobilizing a lot of young people, which is what he is going to have to do to overcome Hillary Clinton here.

BLACKWELL: Hillary Clinton coming with Katy Perry and the former president, Bill Clinton, his first visit to Iowa of this campaign cycle. How do they balance, of course, this arena that so many agree he is really good in with the potential that he will overshadow the candidate in this environment?

BROWNSTEIN: I think that's less of a threat than some people think. The candidate is the candidate. Bill Clinton is not going to be the next president of the United States, although I did hear him once say that the best change in the constitution would be adding one word to the 25th amendment, the word consecutive. No president gets more than two consecutive terms. That was 12 years, 16 years ago. I think Hillary Clinton is the one in the spotlight, especially after all of the events of the past week that Mark Preston cited.

The test for her is there has been more of a sense of duty than excitement around her campaign. And I think now that she has crossed this critical gauntlet with the Benghazi hearing that was circled in red on so many Democrats calendars, I think her challenge is to show that she can fire up Democrats in the way that Bernie Sanders has done, and that this is not just an expression of kind of the next personal up in line. I mean, there has not been that lift in the campaign so far. This is the beginning of her opportunity to see if she can provide that.

BLACKWELL: All right, we'll watch closely tonight. Ron Brownstein, thank you so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: And be sure not to miss Bernie Sanders, Marco Rubio, also Donald Trump, all exclusively on "State of the Union." That's tomorrow morning at 9:00 eastern right here on CNN.

PAUL: Well, President Obama not pulling any punches, comparing the GOP to a certain not so happy feline.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: It does make you wonder why is it the Republican politicians are so down on America. Have you noticed that? I mean, they are gloomy.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Plus, we are following breaking news. Flooding fears. What you are can looking at is Texas. The rain from now tropical storm Patricia impacting that state now. A live report next.

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[10:15:06] BLACKWELL: We've got live aerials for you right now. Breaking news. This is out of Navarro County where you see a freight train has derailed, and this is directly related to and caused by the flooding we're seeing in this community. The tracks have washed away. And this aerial shot that are have getting from KTVT, they are over this scene. You see just the water rushing over what used to be the tracks there. Car after car here has been knocked off, derailed here. It looks like, and I've been watching this shot for a few minutes now, dozens of cars. I'm hoping to get someone on the phone to tell us if there are any injuries or a crew there that was injured when this tipped over. I just got from my producer 20 cars off the track here.

PAUL: The track that you can't even see in part of that picture we should point out. So it is something else.

I believe we do have Ed Lavandera on the phone with us. Ed is not near this, but he is in Navarro County and he has seen what's been happening there. In fact, he has been standing out in the rain for a good four or five hours this morning. Ed, we are looking at these pictures of this train derailment, but what's happening where you are? Help us understand.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One situation that's been going on for a little while is before the sun had come up, the emergency here in Navarro County had gotten word there were two crew members on that train that needed to be rescued. The last I heard from emergency management teams here in the Texas area, those teams were going out there to rescue two conductors on that train. So waiting on word of their conditions. It sounded like everything was going to work out just fine in that situation. But obviously, we talked about cars driving into low lying areas that have a lot of water. Same thing for the trains as well. So that is a stretch of lines that I was told runs parallel to Interstate 45 on the west side of that interstate.

And in many places, even though I have had a chance to drive up and down of Interstate 45, and a portion has been blocked off for much of the overnight hours. A lot of the water has proceeded off of the interstate, but in the countryside along the lower lying areas along the side of the road and into the banks of the roads, there is still an intense amount of water. And the rain continues to fall as well.

PAUL: OK, so the rain has been falling there. I don't know if you all noticed when we were watching this, these aerials. It looks like there is -- we saw traffic first of all on the freeway that looked like it was moving. There was a road, but it looks as though that road is washed out. So you are wondering how rescue crews or how quickly they can get to these two crew members that Ed was just talking about that were on this train, the conductors, and the fact that we need to get the rescue.

BLACKWELL: Ed, standby for us. We have on the phone with us Union Pacific Railroad PIO Jeff Degraff. Jeff, what do you know about these two crew members, these two conductors, and the rescue that we understand was either launched or is in process now?

JEFF DEGRAFF, UNION PACIFIC SPOKESMAN: Well, we're happy to say our two crew members have been picked up and are back with us. They are in good condition, no injuries. Just a little wake and shaken up. But thanks to Navarro County, they were able to send out their rescuers and pick our guys up shortly before 6:00 this morning.

BLACKWELL: Shortly before 6:00 a.m. this morning. I saw a panning of the camera on this aerial shot we have on now live that there appears to be an iridescent film over the water here. Can you tell us what this train was carrying, if there is anything hazardous here, or is that something that is an effect of the camera or something that was there already?

DEGRAFF: When this train was carrying cement, which is not a hazardous material, simply rocks and gravel. There is concern. And we are keeping an eye out for diesel. It is in the locomotive. We have our environmental contractors close by ready to respond should we see any dangerous leaks. We have remediation equipment available such as booms and buoys. But right now we are monitoring the situation. And as of now, we don't have anything to be concerned about.

PAUL: What can you tell us about the two members on board, what these two conductors said about what happened?

[10:20:00] DEGRAFF: Well, essentially, the train was headed south, as they approached the area, the conductor saw the water start to gather over the tracks. And he put the train into an emergency stop, which isn't an immediate stop. It slows the train until it can come to a safe stop. And once it came to a stop, they were in the water, and the water was starting to rise. They saw the water rise and immediately evacuated the locomotive and were able to swim to some higher ground before the rescuers go out to them.

PAUL: So they were able to swim to higher ground before it derailed, essentially?

DEGRAFF: Essentially, yes. It was still upright and they were able to get out. But the rushing water and the rising water is what eventually led to the locomotives and the cars tipping over.

BLACKWELL: Again, you can see that sheen in the water as Jeff was telling us that there are concerns about diesel leaking into the water. Of course, the primary concern, those two crew members who are we are told in good condition.

Jeff, I wonder, and maybe it is too early to determine, but may you know. How far above the water on a typical day are these tracks? How far did the water have to rise to be able to wash these tracks away?

DEGRAFF: I don't have the specifics on this particular location. As we lay our tracks down and do our continual maintenance in the areas, we always go in and make sure that the measurements are at a safe level. So it does take an extreme event like this for the water to come up to this level and do this kind of damage to our trains.

PAUL: So you have, you see here to, it looks like a car that tried to drive through some water. And that water now up to probably halfway up its windshield, hoping that nobody is in that, hoping that that is just residue, what is left from a rescue. We hope nobody is in that vehicle right now. But Jeff, what is the process now? Is it just wait until you can get to that train? And how does the cleanup begin with the train? We are talking about 20 cars derailed.

DEGRAFF: For right now we are a little bit at the mercy of Mother Nature. We need the rain to cut back and the floodwaters to cut down so we can get out to the site and access and determine exactly the amount of damage done. We have some heavy equipment that we will need to get out there to lift the locomotives and cars back on the track. So we will need some dry ground to be able to do that. So right now we are just waiting for Mother Nature to cooperate with us so we can get out there as quickly as possible.

BLACKWELL: All right, Jeff Degraff, PIO, Public Information Officer, I should say, with Union Pacific Railroad, thank you so much. And guys, if we can switch back to the live picture. I know we are supposed to go to Jennifer in a moment, but I want people to see what is happening from KTVT as there is this car. We don't know, I just want to be with what we do know and what we don't know. We don't know if this is a car that was abandoned when the waters were not as high as they are now. But we do see that there are authorities waiting at the higher section of this road. A couple of cop cars there, and this station is focused in on this area here. We'll reach out to authorities there and our affiliates at KTVT to try to learn more about what is going on here. But we are watching both that train derailment and this car that's here. A reminder, don't drive through this water. You think you know these roads.

PAUL: You think you know how keep it is.

BLACKWELL: But there is a strong chance in storms like this that the road has washed out. And even if the road is still there, it only takes a foot or two to wash away a car or carry an SUV, we have learned.

Now let's go to Jennifer Gray, CNN meteorologist. A tropical storm, Patricia, again, the rain still coming down in some places, but the effects, as were seeing, will linger for some time.

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and you make a good point about the floodwaters. I just want to say, you can't underestimate the power of water. It can wash away roads, bridges and in in case train tracks. It can also wash away homes. We have seen the power of water. When you are in a flooding event like we are now in Texas, flash flooding can happen in the blink of an eye. So that's why we say just stay in a safe spot. Don't get on the roads. And you guys make a great point. Do not travel through roads that are covered in water. You have no idea how deep it is or if the road is even there all together.

So very, very dire situation across Texas. We are seeing a lot of moisture being fed in. There was an upper-level low already in place, dumping a lot of rain across especially the eastern portion of the state. South of Dallas has gotten the worst of it. But now we are going to see all this moisture pulling in, and that's just going to add to this. So that's why this is going to be a several day event. It's still going to be rainy throughout the afternoon today, tomorrow, and even possibly on Monday.

[10:25:03] Look at this, Corsicana, more than 10 inches of rain across the Dallas Metroplex. We have seen rainfall amounts as high as six to 10 inches. Some of these areas have seen rainfall rates one to three per hour, some even higher.

But let's zoom in on this bull eye right around Corsicana, and you can see Powell, Texas. That's the highest rainfall amount that we have seen so far. And that's more than 20 inches of rain. That's a lot of rain. And when you add to it what we are going to see the rest of today and tomorrow, it's going to be mind-boggling in this area. We have seen some areas, Waco, Texas, even 11 inches of rain.

And so we do have flash flood warnings in place across a large portion of the state, flood warnings, flood watches in effect. And as this rain continues to come down, it is only going to get worse. It is not going to let up. This isn't going to be one of those off and on rain events. You can see it is right in this area not letting up. And it is going to continue for hours and hours on end. So guys, unfortunately, we are seeing this major flooding event unfold live on the air, as you are seeing with what train right there and the cars underwater. So it is a dire situation and folks need to take it seriously with the additional moisture being pumped in.

PAUL: The good news is at this point we know nobody was hurt in the train derailment.

BLACKWELL: Yes, yes.

PAUL: So thank you, Jennifer, so much. We appreciate, Jennifer Gray there.

And obviously we are going to continue to follow this breaking news. We are going to take a quick break here. Back in a moment.

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[10:30:18] BLACKWELL: And we're following the breaking news. This is Navarro County, Texas, live look on the right of your screen of the flooding that had washed away roads here. People have been evacuated from some of these communities. We have seen cars with water up to mid-windshield. On the left of your screen, we are seeing the effect of washed-away railroad tracks. This car, 20 cars from this train, this freight train we are told by Union Pacific, approached a section of track that had been washed away. This train derailed. There were two crew members who were operating this train. A rescue effort was launched. They have both been rescued and are in good condition.

But of course we will continue to watch the major effects of the rain that's been coming down in Texas as what used to be hurricane Patricia, now tropical storm Patricia, approaches the U.S.

Now, let's talk about this new attack this morning in Israel leading to one person being killed. Officials say a Palestinian man was shot dead after attempting to stab security personnel at a checkpoint in the West Bank. This latest comes as secretary of state, John Kerry, meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan. The two are discussing the recent violence in the region. Earlier this week Kerry also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

PAUL: Meanwhile, new this morning, a surprising announcement from Secretary Kerry's Russia counterpart. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying Russia is now ready to support Syrian rebels in their fight against ISIS. Lavrov's comments coming one day after he and Kerry discussed new ways of trying to reach a political settlement to the crisis in Syria. CNN contributor Jill Dougherty joins us from Moscow. This seems to be somewhat contradictory to people, because we know that Russia and one of the points of contention with the U.S. is Russia's support of the Assad regime. So with that said, is this surprising that now they are ready to arm the rebels, or at least assist them in some fashion?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Assist them from the air is really what they are saying. In a way it is not that surprising because they have been showing their hand on this all week. After all, even though the Russians are continuing to bomb, really the mantra here in Moscow is Putin as peacemaker. Now they are moving, they hope, towards some type of political settlement. So let's listen to what the foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (via translator): We are ready to provide aerial support to the patriotic opposition, including so called Free Syrian Army. But it is important to us to get in touch with people who are authorized to represent these armed groups that are standing against terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGHERTY: And then he went on to take a swipe at the United States by saying, yes, but that's difficult because the United States won't give us any information on where the Free Syrian Army is or where the terrorists are.

But that said, I think, as I said he they have been indicating this all along this week that President Putin did sit down with President Assad in Moscow, asked him, what do you think about working or protecting or cooperating in some fashion with the opposition who are fighting ISIS? And apparently, Assad said, sounds like a decent idea. So I think that plus the fact that the Russians say that the FSA are not really terrorists adds up to this interesting movement.

Now, the next question will be, how can they move forward? Can they get everybody to the table?

PAUL: No doubt. Jill Dougherty, thank you so much for breaking it down for us. We appreciate it.

BLACKWELL: Today, the body of an American service member killed in Iraq will return to the U.S. Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler lost his life during a daring rescue mission which ultimately that led to the liberation of 70 hostages. This marks the first U.S. death by enemy fire since 2011.

Meanwhile Defense Secretary Ash Carter says this incident does not mean that the U.S. has returned to a combat role in Iraq. But he did say that similar raids in the region are likely. CNN's Ryan Nobles joins us now with details. Ryan?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Victor, yes. Ash Carter will be in Dover, Delaware today, when Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler's body arrives here in the United States. Wheeler was a member of the elite Delta Force. And they were supporting a team on a rescue mission to rescue 70 hostages, including many Iraqi security force members who were in danger of imminent mass execution.

[10:35:09] The Kurdish forces attacking that compound in northern Iraq were overwhelmed, and that's when U.S. special forces command made the call to engage. It was during that gun fight where Wheeler was shot and killed.

Meanwhile, Ash Carter is clarifying exactly what the U.S. military role is in Iraq. They are not there in a combat role but more to advise and assist Iraqi forces. But Carter made it clear that U.S. forces should and can engage when necessary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHTON CARTER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Americans are flying combat missions, thousands of combat missions, over Syrian and Iraqi territory. There are Americans involved in training and advising Iraqi security forces around the country. We do not have combat formations there the way we had once upon a time in Iraq or the way we have had in years past in Afghanistan. But we do have people that are in harm's way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: And that could mean raids when necessary, Carter said. It is something that U.S. forces on the ground should be prepared for.

Meanwhile, Carter spoke at length about Sergeant Wheeler himself, saying he was very proud of him. This was a man that was a 20-year military veteran and a father of four. He said that Sergeant Wheeler risked his life to save the lives of others. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart for his efforts in Iraq. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Ryan nobles, thank you so much.

NOBLES: Thank you.

PAUL: It was the strongest hurricane ever recorded has reached Mexico. Now tropical storm Patricia creeping into the southeastern United States. Powerful winds, heavy rains, damage, all this we will share with you.

Plus churches burned in St. Louis. Seven, in fact, already torched. Now one pastor says he really wants police to hurry up and find those responsible. We are talking to him. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:16] BLACKWELL: All right, so the latest on what I guess we can call what now used to be Patricia is that this storm has now been downgraded to a tropical depression. So we are dealing with remnants of what was once hurricane Patricia, the strongest hurricane ever recorded. But at its height, the storm was lashing trees, whipping up waves as high as 30 feet along the coast. And a lot of people pulled out their cell phones and took pictures. Sara Ganim is following the incredible images posted to social media. Sara, what are you seeing?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Victor. You can really see the progression of this storm, everything from the anticipation all the way through to now, people waking up. You can see them on social media starting with the anticipation, the preparation. These are people in the town of Puerto Vallarta evacuating to a shelter. This is yesterday. And then you can see the clouds rolling in through what people have posted up to Twitter and Facebook and Instagram. This is a video of the crowds rolling in.

And then you see hotel staff here at the Hard Rock Hotel. You see them boarding up. You see people prepping for what was the largest hurricane in history. And then some of these amazing destruction videos, Victor. You can just see. Look at intensity of those winds there. You can see rescue vehicles going down the street and the amazing intensity that you can see captured in these videos. This is another one from a coastal town in Mexico. You can see the winds blowing. You can see captured from inside someone's home. Look at those winds as they are capturing this on video and posting it online.

And then this morning, and this is where some of the relief comes in as people were waking up. You can see from tweets like this one, reporter minor damage, only about 100 downed trees. And they are crediting it, emergency officials crediting that to the prompt response warnings from their citizens.

I want to take you to the United States for a minute. This is from Texas overnight just north of Waco. This is the Texas game warden uploading to Facebook these images of water rescues. This one here, Victor, pretty intense. So the storm still having an impact. This isn't yet over, but you can really see the progression of that in how people have captured it on their phones as they were living it, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Now that the sun is up we are getting reports of rescues about damage across Mexico. We have seen, Sara, that the rain is now headed towards Texas, washing out roads. We will get people the latest on that train derailment in Navarro County. Sara Ganim, keep watching social media. Thank you very much. We'll check back in. Christi?

PAUL: Seven churches set on fire in St. Louis. Here is the big question -- who is behind this? We are talking to one pastor that wants more help finding those responsible for setting fire to his church specifically.

BLACKWELL: First, CNN has announced the top 10 heroes for 2015, and we would like you to meet another one of them. Her name is Monique Pool and she helps save our environment by saving sloths. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONIQUE POOL, CNN HERO: Saving the sloths for me is not just about saving the sloths. It's about what they stand for. It's about losing habitat. It's about importance of environmental protection for everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: For more of our story go to CNNheroes.com. While you're there meet all of the top 10 heroes. Vote once a day every day for your candidate and all 10 will be honored at CNN Heroes, an all-star tribute hosted by Anderson Cooper. That's on December 6th. But only one will be named CNN Hero of the Year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:47:40] PAUL: This morning federal investigators are hunting for those people behind a series of church fires. Official say seven churches in the St. Louis area have been impacted by arson with a majority of them set in predominantly black neighborhoods. A spokesman for the ATF spoke out about these incidents, saying, "We believe this fire-setting activity is meant to send a message. We believe this activity may be the result of stress experienced in the subject's life."

We will discuss this with a former ATF agent Matthew Horace along with Reverend Roderick Burton whose church was affected in one of these fires. So Reverend, I would like to start with you, if I could, please. You heard there that the ATF said these fires were meant to send a message. Help us understand what the conversations are in your convocation and your community about what message that might be.

REVEREND RODERICK BURTON, PASTOR OF CHURCH DAMAGED BY ARSON: The conversations in our church and our faith community is just praying for the perpetrator that is obviously disturbed. An act like this against houses of worship is a disturbing act. And so we are just praying that they would be caught so that they can receive the help that they need.

PAUL: Do you have an instinct in you that tells you what motive might be behind this?

BURTON: Well, of course, you always want to be careful trying to guess what's in someone else's mind. But I feel especially with extensive experience in dealing with people that suffer mental health who come to the church one of the first places that this must be someone who is having some sort of mental health crisis.

PAUL: OK, so you agree with what the ATF is releasing here when they say we believe this activity may be the result of stress experienced in the subject's life?

BURTON: Yes, I do. I do agree with that, because I feel in evidence of other church fires where it was a racial motivation, there was month destruction. There was more intentionality to cause more widespread damage. And here the damage has been limited, except for in one case where just the nature of fire caused catastrophic damage on the fifth fire.

PAUL: OK, Matthew, I want to bring you into the conversation. What role is the ATF playing in this investigation? And do you believe they are looking for one person, that perhaps this is a group of people? What does your gut tell you?

[10:50:00] MATTHEW HORACE, FORMER ATF AGENT: The ATF, as you know, we employ certified fire investigators to determine cause of origin. So in addition to adding to the tool box, canine, accelerant, dogs, investigative resources, the ATF national laboratory, and others, we go into arson investigation not drawing any conclusions at the front end so we can make sure we get the right information at the back end. We allow the information to drive the investigation and not let the investigation drive the information.

PAUL: So based on what you know of this investigation, one person, a group of people, not known yet? What do you think?

HORACE: It is not known yet. Remember, Christi, there is a lot that needs to be done. There is the cause and origin determination at the scene of each fire. There is the follow-up investigation to determine the motive, the suspect, the points of origin. And in this case every church is uniquely different. And we really don't know yet if it is actually a serial problem or if there are one people, two people, different fires done by different people. Incendiary fires take a long time to resolve. And ATF is on the job. I'm sure they will get some answers before too long.

PAUL: Very good point. Reverend Roderick Burton and Matthew Horace, we appreciate you both being here. Thank you.

And we'll be right back.

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[10:55:25] PAUL: I want to show you what's happening in Texas right now. We, I think you can see that train there in the background -- 20 cars off the track, derailed because of the torrential flooding that we have been seeing there in Navarro County, Texas, this morning.

BLACKWELL: What we've learned from Union Pacific railroads is that there were two conductors, two crew members on this locomotive. There had to be a rescue effort launched to get those men. But we are told they are both in good condition.

Now there is a concern about the leaking of diesel from this locomotive. There is a sheen over the water there. But we are told again by Union Pacific that they have hazmat teams nearby and will start the process once it is safe, because the rain continues there, to clean up this area and get those cars up-righted and move this out of the way. Just an indication of the treacherous conditions there in Navarro County and other parts of Texas.

PAUL: Ed Lavandera.

BLACKWELL: We'll talk to him in a moment. Thanks for watching this morning.

PAUL: Much more ahead in the next hour of Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield.

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