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D.C. Hopes for Water to Subside Soon; Flood Watches in Effect all Over Northeast; Israeli Troops Search for Kidnapped Soldier

Aired June 28, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
Rising threat. Some of these dangerous rescues have been successful; others, not so lucky. Small towns underwater. All eyes are on the bridges and dams built to protect, but now they're at stake.

And steady burn. Fires force visitors right out of their vacation plans. But no vacation for firefighters.

Rivers spilling into roads, dams pushed to the breaking point. Thousands of people heading to higher ground. The northeast is seeing some of the worst flooding on record. And it might only be a taste of what's to come. In western Maryland, soft spots in a dam could become a hard-core breach.

Our national correspondent Bob Franken, once again, is there.

Hey, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, and Kyra, they're saying that the breach at that dam, which is really a lake that is on top of the Rock Creek -- the same Rock Creek that goes to the District of Columbia and ends up in Virginia. They're saying that they need to pay careful attention to make sure there's no structural damage, even though the water level is going back down and even though the weather is clearing up.

So they're not about to let the 2,200 people who they had to evacuate overnight to go back to their homes yet. People who live in the low-lying areas around Rock Creek, 2,200 who were brought to facilities like this one.

This is the Wheaton, Maryland, High School. About 200 people here. Another 200 at another facility. Everybody else dispersed to friends and the like.

In any case, everybody wants to know, when can I go home? And the answer is, nobody knows yet. County officials are saying they want to make sure everything is safe and that they want to make sure that everything is safe, and they really want to make sure that the weather is finally leaving, weather that meteorologists describe as a 200-year event.

There was over a foot of rain registered at Reagan National Airport since the weekend. That is a massive amount of rain. It saturated the ground, and it caused the problems that we have seen so much.

It also caused some tragedy. Officials are still searching for two teenagers at a swollen creek not far from here, looking in Virginia for an 8-year-old who they haven't been able to find. Three people were swept away out of the back of a pickup truck. They had escaped their cars and were getting a ride through a swollen creek area when the water swept them out. They are considered presumed drowned.

As for the District of Columbia, it's getting back to normal. Transportation being restored on roadways and even mass transit that had been disrupted. They're still pumping out the basement of the Internal Revenue Service building, and they're hoping against hope this weather is gone, Kyra, and that they can return to normalcy.

It was interesting. I just saw a postman a moment ago. And I said to him, in my clever way, "Nice day," and he said, "Yes, I don't know how to handle myself."

PHILLIPS: Well, it's interesting, Bob, and we talked to you in D.C. when we saw this type of flooding. It literally really shut down the city. And officials were saying, stay at home, don't go to work. Are you seeing the same thing there in Wheaton?

FRANKEN: Well, you know, it's interesting. What I'm seeing is what looks to be normal. Obviously, not here at the high school, where people are being evacuated and taken care of by the Red Cross here. But things looks like they're quickly returning to normal.

Obviously, the dam is a big concern. It could really wreck havoc if it spilled over to any substantial degree. Because probably about 10,000 people live along the Rock Creek area that could ultimately affect it if it got worse.

But officials are very cautiously hoping that things are going to return to normalcy. They just have to be careful. They have structural engineers there, and they're not going to make any decisions about letting people back until they're absolutely sure that it's safe.

PHILLIPS: All right, Bob, I know you've been working a long morning, too. We appreciate you hanging in there with us. Thanks, Bob.

In Virginia, more than 200 roads are closed and the state expects more to shut down as floodwaters rise. The search has resumed for an 8-year-old girl who fell into a ditch and was swept into a creek yesterday afternoon.

Upstate New York under threat. As many as 15,000 people could be loaded onto buses today and driven out of Binghamton, where cars with under water and homes are flooded. It's feared that a rising river could break the city's concrete floodwalls. Nearby, floodwaters cut a 25-feet deep hole in Interstate 88. Two truckers were killed when those trucks individually just drove right into it.

CNN's Allan Chernoff is in Binghamton. We're going to check in with him in about an hour.

Now, in Pennsylvania, at least three people have been swept to their deaths and dozens more forced to their rooftops by water that is still rising right now. The river there could crest 17 feet above flood stage in some places, its banks, no match for the heaviest rains in 200 years.

Now many Pennsylvania roads and bridges are just a memory. Evacuations are mandatory in Wilkes-Barre right now. In Wayne County, emergency management headquarters has already moved to higher ground once and may have to move again.

Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf has more on the heavy rain and severe weather threats along the East Coast. Hey, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi there, Kyra.

You know, what's interesting about this whole thing: many of the places that you were referring to in Virginia, in parts of Delaware, you happen to be outside, you look up, you see blue skies. It's really frustrating, because most of the rainfall is moving off. So you'd think, well, then, most of the danger is leaving. That's not the case.

The problem is, we've got a lot of water up in the higher elevations that is now dropping into the lower elevations, into the creeks, into the rivers, rivers like the Susquehanna, the Rappahannock, the Delaware, even in places like Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They've had a history before of massive flooding. That could happen again today.

Every county you see shaded in the dark greens, that's the warning area. Every place you see that happens to be in the light green, that indicates your flood watch.

Now, what we're going to be seeing is, again, that batch of moisture moving out. Unfortunately, there's another system that's forming out in the g Great Lakes, exactly what we don't want to be seeing. It's going to bring some strong thunderstorms to portions of Michigan. Not affecting the Northeast at this time, obviously, but it will be drifting its way to the east, to these places that have been flood- ravaged. So they're going to get an additional amount of moisture on top of what they already have.

You know, Kyra, moments ago, Bob Franken was talking about the heavy rainfall they've had in Washington, D.C. Right inside the beltway, some places have had over 12 inches of rainfall just since this weekend. You have to remember that the ground is kind of like a sponge. You get a sponge, you put it into the sink, you let it fill with water, and then you have runoff. That's exactly the type of situation we're seeing. And many of these places in the northeast and along the Eastern Seaboard.

So when that additional batch of rainfall comes in, that's not going to help matters at all. We're going to be seeing this march its way from the west to the east. Places like Philadelphia today, and then tomorrow will be dealing with the showers in the short term.

However, it does look better for many places in the northeast as we make our way into the long term. For Friday, Saturday and Sunday it looks like dryer air will move in, and that will certainly be a welcome thing for many places in the northeast.

That's the latest we have for the forecast for you, Kyra. Let's send it back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Appreciate it, Reynolds, thanks so much.

WOLF: You bet.

PHILLIPS: Well, it wasn't the vacation that they planned. Hundreds of tourists finally escorted out of lodges, cabins, and campsites on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, and still that wildfire that sent them packing is only partially contained.

The Grand Canyon fire has burned some 50,000 acres now. It's one of 32 major wildfires in Arizona and seven other western states. Our Dan Simon is near the Grand Canyon. We're going to check in with him next hour.

Well, a state of emergency is in effect in Nevada, where 190 square miles have burned and virtually every piece of firefighting equipment in the state is on the job. One fire is looped around the state capital, right in Carson City.

Despite an ongoing threat, though, some evacuees have gone back to homes and businesses in Mound House, and that includes one of the community's more famous, or infamous establishments. Yes, the Moonlight Bunny Ranch Brothel is back in business, folks.

Israel promised extreme action to try to free its kidnapped soldier, and it's delivering. Bombs are falling on Gaza, and Israeli tanks and troops are on the move in the first ground offensive there since troops and settlers pulled out last summer.

Along with the kidnapped Israeli soldier, an 18-year-old West Bank settler is also apparently a captive. And now the A.P. reports that militants claim to be holding a third Israeli.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins me now from Jerusalem.

Paula, what's the latest on the deal to swap this prisoner? PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we are actually hearing from the Hamas government itself, that they would like a prisoner swap deal. This is something we've been hearing from the militants over the past couple of days, saying they would give information on this particular Israeli soldier, who was kidnapped on Sunday if all Palestinian women and children were released from Israeli jails.

Now this is something that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert immediately refused, saying he would not negotiate. He said it again this Tuesday in a speech this morning in Jerusalem. He reiterated it twice in a row to emphasize the fact there would be no prisoner swap.

So it's interesting, though, that we're now hearing it from the Palestinian Authority itself; the actual government is saying this is the way that this situation could be defused.

And as you say, tensions are escalating in Gaza itself. We know that the Israeli defense forces are shelling open areas in the north and the south of Gaza.

Now the Israeli defense forces, when we asked them whether or not one of those areas was a former Hamas training camp, said they had no comment and they'd heard that rumor, but what they were doing is firing only on open areas. And at this point there are no reports of casualties -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, what's the latest on this Israeli army's incursion into Rafa?

HANCOCKS: Well we know that there are Israeli troops and there are tanks around that area. They're still not actually in Rafa at this point. And what the Israeli defense forces is saying, is this is where they believe this particular soldier is, and that's where he's being held.

Now what we're also hearing from the forces themselves is this is why they decided to launch the air strike, probably about 15, 16 hours ago now, where they actually bombed the bridges that connect north and south Gaza so that southern Gaza was isolated so that they could put the squeeze on southern Gaza to make sure that these Palestinian militants were not going to move this soldier.

But a complicating matter in this whole situation is the fact that it does appear there could be more hostages are being taken. We do understand from the Popular Resistance Committee that an 18-year- old settler has been kidnapped. The police at the moment say he is missing, that the PRC has shown a photocopy or what appears to be a photocopy of his I.D. report.

And then also hearing we're from A.P. that possibly a third Israeli could have been taken hostage, a 62-year-old. Again, police are treating that as a missing person at the moment. But these are all worrying developments at the same time this escalation in Gaza -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Paula Hancocks, thanks so much.

And we're just getting this in to CNN, as well as Paula has been talking about the situation there out of Israel. We are getting word, according to the Associated Press, that Israeli aircraft, Israeli defense force aircraft has done a fly-by of the presidential palace of Syrian President Assad. We're told that this was a deliberate action, obviously trying to send some type of message.

We just got word in. We're trying to get more details on this. We'll bring it to you as we get more information.

Live pictures, actually, of these Israeli planes that had just flown over the presidential palace. Obviously, we're seeing tanks on the ground, as well. We're just getting these live pictures in and trying to get more information as Israel, as you know, has been working back toward retrieving this captured soldier, a story we've been following for the past couple of days.

As we get more live pictures and more information, we'll bring it to you.

Now back to our top story: upstate, under water. States of emergency in effect in 10 counties in New York, and this is the reason. Roads in the city of Binghamton, well, they look more like canals.

CNN senior correspondent Allan Chernoff is there.

Set the scene for us, Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, we're in a very precarious situation here in Binghamton, New York. As you can see right behind me, water is flowing out of the floodwalls that actually protect Binghamton from the Susquehanna River.

The river, as you can see, very, very high right now. These floodwalls are 25 feet high, and the water is just inches from flowing over those floodwalls. This floodwall was built in 1943, 11 years after a terrible flood that devastated this entire city.

And you can see a police officer right now, actually, preventing us from going further. But right over here, you can see the Susquehanna River. And it is really about an hour away from cresting.

And already, the river is flowing up, over a pedestrian bridge. And you can see they're clearly trying to prevent the news media or anyone from being anywhere close to the river, because the situation is so dangerous right now.

It's actually been beautiful here and sunny since 9 this morning. But nonetheless, the water continues to build. And as I said, we're about an hour away, they believe, the officials here believe, from a fully crested river. The critical issue here in Binghamton is whether or not these floodwalls are actually going to hold. And that's the reason the authorities here are so concerned. They've been pushing everybody away. And until a few minutes ago, we believed -- at least we could show you a close-up of the bridge over there, but now they're not even letting us over there.

Let me just show you one other thing. What makes the situation even more dangerous, from where I'm standing right now, is that we're at the confluence of another river. The Chenango River is right beyond there. And you can see a little park is all flooded. That park extends about 200 feet, 300 feet or so, and it's entirely flood out. Water also is beginning to flow over there.

So we're at the confluence of these two rivers. And again, within about an hour or so, we'll probably know whether or not these floodwalls are going to hold here in Binghamton, New York -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We'll be checking with -- checking in with you every few minutes, Allan. Keep us updated. Thank you, I appreciate it.

Straight ahead, a U.S. soldier mourned this hour in Texas. The funeral for Private Kristian Menchaca, one of the two soldiers kidnapped and killed in Iraq. A tribute to this fallen hero, straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: As you know, we've been following this story all throughout the morning and this afternoon. And that is, Israel turning up the pressure on Palestinian militants to release -- relieve a captive soldier.

Now we're getting word that Israeli aircraft have done a flyby over the presidential palace of Syrian President Assad. While that has happened, we're also getting in live pictures of Israeli tanks on the ground involved in the firing upon Gaza right now.

As you know, as Israel's begun to really beef up the pressure on the Palestinian militants, wanting to get the release of this captive soldier, it continues to send warplanes that have gone in to bomb a Hamas training camp after knocking out electricity and water supplies for a large portion of residents there in the Gaza Strip. Now a tank still involved in this mission, continuing to fire into the Gaza area.

At the same time, we're getting word that Israeli warplanes have also done a flyby over the presidential palace of Syrian President Assad. We'll keep you updated on this story.

Now our other top story we've been talking about is a rude awakening for more than 2,200 people in western Maryland. This leaky earthen dam in Rockville forced them out of their beds and their homes early this morning. It's holding so far, but it might not be able to stand up to a quickly rising lake.

Also in Maryland, three people died when floodwaters swept them from the bed of a pickup truck. They'd been rescued from a stranded car just minutes before. And still, a search goes on for two teenagers who disappeared in a swollen creek. Now, the homeland security chief in Montgomery County, Maryland, just briefed reporters on the situation in his county. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON AOYAGI, MONTGOMERY COUNTY HOMELAND SECURITY DIRECTOR: We are advised that about 50 people are currently on site with equipment and supplies to attempt to resolve the seepage problem. In addition to that, we are trying to provide additional resources to assist them in this effort.

The Maryland Department of Environment determines the safety of dams. They continue to be concerned about the ongoing seepage from this dam. We cannot at this time indicate when residents will be able to return to their homes, because of the continuing seepage. More information will be provided later this afternoon, after we receive further assessment of the ongoing work.

We continue to be concerned about the safety of our residents and must rely upon the Maryland Department of Environment's determination of the safety of the dam. We will continue to monitor the situation and will provide additional information on the dam's condition later this afternoon, after an additional meeting with our technical experts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A flag-draped casket, honor guard, full military honors. Today's the day the family of Kristian Menchaca buries their son, their brother, their hero. Menchaca, an Army private first class, is one of two soldiers captured and killed by insurgents in Iraq.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in the town showing its respect today. We're talking about Brownsville, Texas, and that's where Ed is -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Close to 1,000 people -- I mentioned in an earlier report, there were about 300 -- way off. There is about 1,000 people at this funeral service here this morning. They have made their way now to a graveside ceremony, where he will be laid to rest just a short distance here from the Brownsville civic center, where this large auditorium was converted into a church for this morning's service, where Kristian Menchaca was remembered as someone who -- courageous, very proud of, not just his family, but hundreds of people who showed up who didn't even know Kristian Menchaca. But he had gone to middle school here for a time, as well as high school.

So deep roots here with a very large family that -- it was extremely emotional throughout this service. And they remembered him as someone who was devoutly courageous, who was dedicated to his mission in Iraq. But someone also who lived by the cuff.

When he was here, back home, about a month and a half ago, there were two things that he worried -- he was worried about. Whether or not his mom really ever fully approved of him joining the military. She told him absolutely she was. And also his very quick marriage to his wife, who many people in his family, which has been kind of interesting to hear family members talk about, hadn't met until this funeral.

So he was living life by the cuff, and many of the members of his family hadn't even had a chance to meet his wife until then. And that was the other thing that weighed on him as well, wanting to make sure that his mother approved of that, as well. She told him back then that of course that was OK.

So a lot of heavy hearts here in Brownsville, not just a family mourning Kristian Menchaca, but an entire city. Throughout this city, we've seen flags at half-staff and signs and memorials posted all over this city honoring this soldier -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ed Lavandera, from Brownsville, Texas, appreciate it.

Saddam Hussein on trial for crimes against humanity. Evidence against him is out there, too. Some of it just takes a little digging. I'm going to talk with the man learning volumes about a dreadful period of Iraq's history from the people long dead and buried. That's coming up on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, a map of Texas that sent more Republicans to Washington has cleared its biggest road block, mostly. The Supreme Court ruled today one of the redrawn districts in the Lone Star State unfairly limited Hispanic voting strength. But the rest of the map, which led to four Democratic incumbents losing their jobs, was upheld.

State Republican lawmakers drew up the new districts after they took control of the Texas legislature in 2002. They were inspired and supported by the former House majority leader, Tom DeLay, and opposed by outnumbered Democrats who, you may remember, fled the state to try and shut the process down.

Now tomorrow is the high court's last work day of the term, and so we expect to hear a long-awaited ruling on military tribunals for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay. The case is Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld. And you'll hear the ruling first right here on CNN around 10 a.m. Eastern tomorrow.

The big American automakers have been cutting jobs and closing factories recently, but one Japanese giant is moving in the opposite direction. Susan Lisovicz live from the New York Stock Exchange with that story.

Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.

And the announcement today ends a feverish scramble among five U.S. states. Honda Motor has chosen Greensburg, Indiana, as the site for its new $550 million auto assembly plant. The move, part of Honda's billion-dollar global expansion plan. The new factory will employ 2,000 workers and eventually produce 200,000 vehicles per year.

Obviously, it's a huge windfall for Indiana's economy, which has lost nearly 100,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000, but it is a disappointment for Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin, all of which had competed to land the Honda plant.

GM and Ford have been scaling back production as their market share declines. But Honda and Japanese rival Toyota have been ratcheting up their North American manufacturing capacity to keep up with demand.

When the new plant is completed in '08, Honda will have 37,000 workers in North America.

And Kyra, Greensburg, Indiana, is only about 50 miles southeast of Indianapolis. And a fact that is not lost on Honda executives is that every car in the Indy 500 this year had motors made from Honda.

PHILLIPS: Imagine that, have you ever been to the Indy 500?

LISOVICZ: I haven't.

PHILLIPS: It's quite a fun time. I got to tell you.

LISOVICZ: We'll have to do that for our girls' outings.

PHILLIPS: OK, that's a deal. Forget Vegas; we'll go to the Indy 500.

All right. A big part of the Japanese automakers' success comes from their hybrids, obviously, and the fuel efficient models. Can we expect any new entries, you think, into that market?

LISOVICZ: Oh, yes. In fact, we had an announcement today, DaimlerChrysler announcing it will introduce a smart edition to its lineup. The German-American automaker will bring its smart mini car brand to the U.S. by 2008. A smart coupe, listed as getting 46 miles to the gallon in the city and 69 miles per gallon on the highway.

The tiny two-seat car has gained popularity in European cities and will be targeted to urban drivers here, as well. Fender to fender, the car measures just nine feet.

I know, Kyra, you've seen them all over Europe when you're on vacation there.

PHILLIPS: That is true. That's all you see, actually.

All right. What's happening on Wall Street?

(STOCK REPORT)

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