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Boots on the Border; New England Copes With Severe Flooding
Aired May 15, 2006 - 13:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR; Boots on the border. Let's revisit one of our top stories today, the immigration battle. We are less than seven hours away from President Bush's Oval Office address in which he plans to call for deploying National Guard troops to the U.S./Mexico line. The administration says they would simply back up the U.S. Border Patrol, but any mention of a military presence is putting border towns on guard.
Our Keith Oppenheim is at a border crossing in El Paso, Texas.
Hi, Keith.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony.
And behind me is the Cordova Bridge. It's one of the main thoroughfares between the U.S. and Mexico, between here and El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, the largest city to the south of here.
This morning and early this afternoon we've been talking to residents in El Paso, many cool to the idea of troops coming to help the border patrol, and what a lot said was they felt that overall it sends a very hostile message to Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to make America look even worse, I think, at this point, and it's just another ploy that I think the Republicans are using to try to avoid the whole immigration issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm opposed to it because it's the wrong signal you're giving to Mexico, that we're putting soldiers on the border. They don't know the difference between Border Patrol -- I mean between National Guard and regular troops, and it's a friendly country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: There are 11,000 Border Patrol agents along the U.S./Canadian border and U.S./Mexico border. The lion's share of those Border Patrol agents are here. So we'll find out from President Bush's speech tonight, perhaps the more precise number of the number of National Guard troops that would assist.
But, Tony, it certainly sounds like that, proportionately, this could be a significant increase, even if the National Guard troops are in a support role, not directly trying to capture illegal immigrants as we understand it to be. HARRIS: All right, so, Keith, do people who live in El Paso make a distinction between civilian Border Patrol and the military?
OPPENHEIM: I think they do. From the conversations that I've had with people today, they're not opposed to more enforcement on the border. In fact, many feel that that's a very good idea, but they are much more comfortable with civilian enforcement from the Border Patrol and much less comfortable from what they perceive as military enforcement from the National Guard.
HARRIS: Got you. Keith Oppenheim at a border crossing in El Paso, Texas. Keith, we appreciate it. Thank you.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the border patrol has been on the job for decades. Here's a CNN fact check.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. Border Patrol got its start in the early 1900s. For a handful of agents on horseback, the job involved patrolling desolate, often rugged areas along the borders with Mexico and Canada. More than 11,000 men and women continue doing that work today, patrolling nearly 6,000 miles of border area, as well as some 2,000 miles of coastal waters and the island of U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. While horses are still used,, the Border Patrol covers deserts, canyons, and mountains in SUVs, all-terrain motorcycles, snowmobiles, bicycles and planes. A recent addition to their equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles.
While charged with stopping the flow of illegal immigrants, another crucial job is trying to ensure terrorists and weapons of mass destruction don't get into the U.S. The patrol says that last year, over one million people were arrested for illegally entering the country.
Agents also play a role in the war on drugs. With help from sniffer dogs, the agents seized more than 12,000 pounds of cocaine and over a million pounds of marijuana last year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Here's a reminder for you: CNN brings you extensive live coverage tonight, before, during and after President Bush's speech. Starting at 7:00 Eastern, a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM. That's followed by the president's address live at 8:00, then it is a special edition of "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT," and "LARRY KING" is live at the border crossing. And finally, told you, it's a full lineup, a special edition of "ANDERSON COOPER 360" live from Chicago.
HARRIS: And another story we're following, a third indictment in the Duke rape case. Another lacrosse player stand accused. And we're standing by for a live news conference in Durham.
The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Boy, roads washed out, homes absolutely unlivable and dams at the breaking point. New Englanders -- have you seen some of these picture? -- are experiencing what could be the worst flooding in 70 years.
CNN's Dan Lothian takes a firsthand look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We are in downtown Peabody. This is the town center area behind me. It's being guarded right now by National Guard troops just to make sure that people don't go into that area. And the reason is that the water is so deep. Probably one to two feet right in this area, but it gets much deeper over to the side.
And as we walk down this street, which is just off Main Street, take a look all the way down. You see that white car. That gives you some perspective as to how deep it really gets here. We've seen a lot of residents come by taking pictures because they can't believe what is happening in their downtown area. Downtown area shut down, government buildings closed, businesses closed, as well.
Now, here is something that's been repeated not only in this area, but all across New England. That pump is pumping water out of the basement area, because this building here, at least, the bottom portion of it has been flooded. Hundreds of people have been evacuated. States of emergency have been declared in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and the southern county of Maine.
Now, one of the big concerns once this rain started coming down has been the dams. So much water, so much pressure, building up against these dams. There's a big concern that some of them could give way. Already some of the dams, the water has been going over the tops so we have seen crews going in and putting sandbags across the top of these dams to make sure that they can hold the water back.
We did get good news from at least one particular town Arlington, where we're told there was concern there that that dam could give way. But they say right now -- officials say that right now it is structurally sound.
That's the very latest now from Peabody. Dan Lothian, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And we've just learned that Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is touring the flooded areas in his state and will brief reporters in the next hour, and we will monitor that story.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: A grand jury has charged -- this is news inside the hour -- has charged a third Duke University lacrosse player -- his name is David Evans and he is a senior at the university -- with rape and sexual assault in connection with that March 14th off-campus party. Now, the attorney, for David Evans, Joe Cheshire, is scheduled to respond to these new charges against his client at the top of the hour. That's 2:00 p.m. Eastern and we will, of course, bring that to you live when it happens.
NGUYEN: In the meantime, gators on the offensive. What is causing Florida's most infamous wild residents to go after humans?
The news keeps coming. We're going to keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Three women, three grisly, grisly deaths in five days. But the presumed culprits were just following biological orders. CNN's Carol Costello has more on the recent spate of fatal gator attacks in Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The bodies of two more alligator attack victims were found in Florida on Sunday. Twenty-three year old Ann Marie Campbell was visiting from Tennessee. She was attacked while swimming at a recreation area near Lake George southeast of Gainesville. She went into the water with three friends, got separated and the friends found her in the gator's mouth.
CAT KELLY, FLA. FISH & WILDLIFE COMMISSION: They risked their life. They went to do everything that they possibly could and my understanding is that they were jabbing at eyes and trying to pry its jaws.
COSTELLO: It was too late. Trappers believe she was killed by an adult alligator between seven and nine feet long.
KELLY: This is Mother's Day and our hearts are with these families.
COSTELLO: Authorities near St. Petersburg believe an alligator killed 43 year old Judy Cooper. Her body was found Sunday in a canal behind a house.
FRED FERDERBER, OLDSMAN, FLORIDA, RESIDENT: Just out walking my dog and went in the backyard and saw what looked like a pair of pants floating in the backyard in the pond and I walked up closer and I saw they were a pair of sneakers attached to it and my daughter and I went out there with a stick and pushed on it. It turned out to be a woman.
COSTELLO: Cooper's body had been in the water for about three days. Officials say an alligator bit her several times. On Saturday, wildlife officers captured a nine-foot alligator they believe killed 28 year old Suarez Jiminez near Ft. Lauderdale. She had been out jogging and authorities say she had been attacked on the bank, then dragged into the water. Authorities found two human arms inside the gator's belly. While the string of fatal attacks may be rare, wildlife officials say caution should never go out of season because alligators can strike quickly from shallow waters.
KELLY: Is there any more room for worry tonight versus other nights? No, this is -- you're living in Florida. You need to be careful.
COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Be careful is right. Tough, wily and deadly, the alligator is one of nature's most perfect predators and has spent the millennia honing its lethal skills. Here are some facts for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
The name alligator comes from Spanish for lizard, el legarto. Its a cold-blooded reptile whose ancestors may have shown up during the Triassic Era, before the dinosaurs. They've survived. Nowadays there are about 23 species of alligators and crocodiles but the one in the news is the American Alligator.
It can grow up to 19 feet and weigh as much as a thousand pounds. It's mouth holds 80 teeth and an endless supply of replacements and, by way of comparison, when you crunch down on a meal, you're using 120 pounds of pressure per square inch. A dog's bite, 310 pounds. A great white shark exerts 600 pounds, the alligator more than quadruple that jaw power, up to 2500 pounds of pressure.
Spring is prime feeding and breeding time for alligators. Think you can outrun one? Well, think again. On land with their short stubby legs they can still sprint short distances at upwards of 30 miles an hour, but as they lurk in murky water they're capable of lunging five feet in the direction of prey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Is that frightening or what?
HARRIS: How about I just avoid where they hang out?
NGUYEN: It's hard because they're moving into neighborhoods because as homes go up, their habitat is diminishing. We are going to talk to the gator guy, an animal trapper. His name is Todd Hardwick. He is going to be on here live in the next hour to talk about what's being done because he is getting a lot of calls from people saying, come out here, I've seen a gator.
HARRIS: It's that season.
NGUYEN: It's 26 years. He knows his gators.
HARRIS: Still ahead when we come back live to Durham where we're awaiting new details on the Duke rape investigation, a third lacrosse player has been indicted this afternoon. News keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM... next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well live this hour a third indictment in the Duke rape case. Another lacrosse player stands accused and we are standing by for a live news conference from his attorney in Durham, North Carolina. Also, New England flooding and lots of it. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is touring the flooded areas in his state and will brief reporters live this hour.
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