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American Morning
Tropical Storm Lee Downgraded to Tropical Depression; Massive Texas Fire Threatens Homes; Deadly Plane Crash Sparks Fire; President Obama Views Irene's Aftermath; Rebel Forces Prepare for Fight; Report: China Tried to Arm Gadhafi; Knox Appeal Resumes in Italy; Explosives Stolen in Phoenix; Passenger Plane Skids Off Runway; Postal Service Nears Default; Romney Courting Tea Party; Do Unions Help or Hurt America?; Aruba Missing Woman Case; Romney Addresses Tea Party Rally; Lee Brings The Rain; Massive Texas Wildfires Threaten Homes; Obama; Biden Hit Labor Day Trail
Aired September 05, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: After the deluge. I'm Christine Romans, Tropical Storm Lee now a tropical depression, but still, packing plenty of rain after dumping a foot on parts of the Gulf Coast.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello. Right now, massive wildfires threatening to burn down thousands of homes in Texas. It is the worst fire season in state history and it's far from over on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: All right. Good morning, everybody. It's Monday, September 5th, Labor Day. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Ali is off today.
COSTELLO: Yes, happy Labor Day. I hope you're not laboring. I really do.
Up first this morning, Tropical Storm Lee now downgraded to a tropical depression, but it's still a major rainmaker as it moves across the southeast, the storm dumping a foot of rain along the Gulf Coast.
It also spawned several tornadoes including one in Mobile County, Alabama. It ripped the roof off of one home, uprooted trees, and brought down power lines. Here's what Lee looked and felt like from an oil rig out in the Gulf of Mexico as workers in the gulf were riding out the storm.
This rig worker is holding on for dear life out on that platform. You can also see Lee's raw power in these pictures from Biloxi, Mississippi. The powerful waves literally tossing around a boat as firefighters tried to tie it down.
Here's how that turned out. The waves eventually capsized that craft. CNN's Ed Lavandera is live in Crown Point, Louisiana. It's a strange scene still, Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has been, Carol, for most of the weekend here though the bulk of the heaviest rain has passed this area just south of New Orleans already and just kind of give you a lay of the land, there's one road that takes you into these little communities.
We're in Crown Point and another one called John Lafitte. These are areas popular with fishermen, people who lived here a long time. But this is what's been going on as these waters, it's not the rain that's causing the problem right now, it's tidal surge.
This area that we're in is surrounded by intercoastal waterways and tributaries and that sort of thing and the wind from this storm is still pushing toward the north and that's causing the tidal surge to spill over out of the waterways and into these neighborhoods.
Many places it's kind of eerie because it's a heavily wooded area and it's hard to see and tell where the water is coming from. It just starts emerging from the tree lines here. There are dozens of homes that are very close to start taking on water and that's the concern.
Right now, is high tide, which means the water is at its highest point and many of the areas that we drove around yesterday, we saw literally the water just up to the doorsteps of dozens of homes.
A few homes have in the lowest lying areas have already taken on water, but there is a frantic effort to sandbag and try to control the flow of the water as much as possible and they're waiting here, Carol, for this wind to shift back toward the south.
And that will push water back out toward the Gulf of Mexico and bring a lot of much need flood relief to this area south of New Orleans. Carol --
COSTELLO: Ed Lavandera reporting live from outside of New Orleans, many thanks.
ROMANS: Let's check in with Rob now, Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning guys. Ed mentioned the tidal surge flooding that they're seeing across parts of southern Louisiana. The inland flooding we learned from Irene is a huge concern, if not likely to be the most damage. These are some of the numbers as far as rainfall tallies with this storm.
Parts of New Orleans seeing over 10 inches, Pascagoula, Mississippi, 10 inches of rainfall and Jackson, Mississippi, now seeing 10 inches of rainfall as well. We've got other issues in Jackson.
A lot of the rain came in last night and there are some -- there's some flooding going on within Jackson proper and some evacuations happening as well as the heaviest rain moving to the east of Jackson.
These highlighted boxes, you see four of them, that's where we have a number of radar indicated tornado warnings for eastern and north central Mississippi and extreme south eastern Mississippi. Just to the north of Biloxi and Gulf port area.
All part of a tornado watch in effect for the next few hours, obviously. One of these is a tropical system moving inland. We do get some twists in the atmosphere on the right side of the system and that's why we're concerned about this.
But we're starting to dry it out on the back side. Obviously, Texas not getting much in the way of help or rain from this or anything, getting some detrimental backside winds.
Here's the forecast track. It kind of gets involved with what is really a strong cold front for this time of year and that will draw some of that moisture off towards the north and east.
Chattanooga expected to get maybe as much as 7 inches of rainfall from this system and moving along the Appalachians along that front, Philadelphia could get an inch and a half, places towards the north and east could see over two inches in spots.
Obviously still reeling from the flooding from Hurricane Irene just a week and change ago. That's going to be a huge concern here in the next 48 hours. Flood watches and some warnings are already posted for this part of the world, but the red highlighted counties there are the warnings, already warnings in place for parts of New England and upstate New York.
Briefly on Katia, here's what's going on. We now have winds of 100 miles an hour, it's a Category 2 storm and it's forecast to strengthen just a little bit and it is still barrelling towards the coastline of the U.S.
We've been seeing all last week we're hoping it turns out to sea and becomes a fish storm, but we're not giving the all clear, I think really until today. Things are looking a little more optimistic as these cold fronts.
The one that's coming through now, very strong for this time of year will help nudge it offshore. We will get big waves crashing along the eastern seaboard. Some spots got banged around pretty good during Hurricane Irene.
But the flooding rains from what's left over from Tropical Storm Lee is going to affect the entire east coast and that includes the extreme northeast and New England and parts of Vermont that, obviously, got hit very, very hard with Hurricane Irene. Back to you guys in New York.
ROMANS: Thanks so much, Rob.
Right now deadly wildfires are blazing across the state of Texas. Got a thousand homes now in danger, hundreds of households have evacuated. In east Texas, a mother and her child were killed as flames engulfed their home.
The largest fire is in Basstrop County just southeast of Austin. You're looking at photos of this right now. This blaze is burning over 14,000 acres. Officials there say it is the worst fire season in the history of Texas.
A deadly plane crash sparks a 500-acre fire in southern California. One person was killed when the small plane crashed down in the Black Burn Canyon, that's about 100 miles north of L.A. One home was burned to the ground. Thirty others threatened. Neighbors forced to evacuate.
COSTELLO: President Obama gets an up close look at the damage left behind from Hurricane Irene. The president toured the flood ravaged areas of New Jersey yesterday and met with residents who lost their homes and businesses and stopped by a makeshift relief center. The president promising help for recovery and pledging federal financial support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The main message that I have for all the residents not only of New Jersey, but all those communities that have been affected by flooding, by the destruction that occurred as a consequence of Hurricane Irene is that the entire country is behind you. And we are going to make sure that we provide all the resources that are necessary in order to help these communities rebuild.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Hurricane Irene ran up a heavy tab, too, from North Carolina to New England. There's an estimated $6 billion worth of damages.
ROMANS: Right now, Libyan rebels are waiting for the green light to launch an attack on Bani Walid, one of the towns still loyal to former leader Moammar Gadhafi. Rebels have given Gadhafi loyalists there until Saturday to surrender, but there are indications opposition force mace enter this town before that deadline.
CNN also learning this morning from opposition leaders that China apparently tried to help arm Moammar Gadhafi's forces in late July. According to a senior member of the transitional government, documents found in Tripoli indicate Chinese companies offered to sell rocket launchers, anti-tank missiles and other weapons to Gadhafi despite a ban on such sales. China says its companies did not sign military trade contracts with Libya.
COSTELLO: Final arguments in the appeal of Amanda Knox's murder conviction will be heard in an Italian courtroom today. Knox and her ex-boyfriend were convicted of killing a 21-year-old British exchange student in 2007.
Questions about DNA evidence could get that conviction overturned. Two court-appointed forensic experts are challenging the testimony of authorities who said Knox's genetic material was found on the suspected murder weapon.
ROMANS: Dominique Strauss-Kahn is back home in Paris this morning. His homecoming comes less than two weeks after sexual assault charges were dropped against him in New York.
A judge threw out the case because of credibility issues with the hotel maid who accused him. Strauss-Kahn still faces a civil suit from that woman and a civil suit from another woman in France who has accused him also of attempted rape.
COSTELLO: So his troubles are not over yet.
ROMANS: No, not yet.
COSTELLO: Coming up next, Sarah Palin will be front and center at a Tea Party rally today. Is she stumping or just stealing the spotlight?
ROMANS: Terrifying moments at the Baltimore Grand Prix, a car losing control at 190 miles per hour. We'll tell you what caused that dramatic crash there.
COSTELLO: Rafael Nadal sliding out of his chair at his post- match press conference. Isn't that something? We'll tell you what happened to the tennis superstar after a break. It's 9 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Police in Phoenix are asking for the public's help to find explosives that were stolen from Sky Harbor Airport. A container with the explosive equipment was taken during a training exercise last Friday. Authorities say the explosives can't detonate without additional equipment and, quote, "some degree of expertise."
COSTELLO: Doesn't that make you feel better about it?
Passengers on a plane from Chicago to Ottawa got quite a scare when their plane skidded off the runway. Witnesses say people were screaming as the aircraft veered into the dirt at the Ottawa International Airport. None of the 47 people aboard were injured but the plane did suffer some damage. It caused a minor fuel spill as well.
ROMANS: A battle in Chicago over the length of school days. City officials are pushing for 90 minutes more class time. Not sitting well with the teacher's union. So far, three elementary schools have agreed to take on the extra time, but the Chicago teachers union is accusing district officials of bribing faculty members of those schools.
COSTELLO: The United States Postal Service warns it may be forced to shut down this winter. "The New York Times" reporting the agency is struggling to pay its bills and says it will not be able to make a $5.5 billion payment, which is due this month. The postal service is calling on Congress to step in and help straighten out the finances.
ROMANS: All right, it seems to be all about tea this Labor Day weekend. Mitt Romney cozying up to the Tea Party crowd in New Hampshire yesterday before heading to South Carolina today for Tea Party kingmaker Jim DeMint's big presidential forum.
CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joining us live from Columbia, South Carolina, this morning. Jim DeMint is turning out to be the Republican kingmaker here, isn't he?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: In a way he is and remember he is very influential. He's got a lot of support among Tea Party activists. He was thinking about running for president himself, decided not to do it.
He was extremely influential last year in the Republican primaries in the midterm elections and I think a lot of big say this time around in the presidential race for the GOP. And yes, this is a big event.
I guess, it's so big we brought the buses. You can see the CNN Express. We're here. John King, the anchor from "JK USA" will be here a little later as well.
Christine, it's called the American Principles Palmetto Freedom Forum. It all starts at 3:00 Eastern. We'll have live coverage. Six presidential candidates are going to speak one at a time. Michele Bachmann, the congresswoman from Minnesota; Herman Cain, the former Godfather's Pizza CEO; Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker; Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas; Texas Governor Rick Perry; and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who's making his second stab at the nomination.
And that's interesting with Romney because he was a late edition to this event. He will be speaking here. He just got the - he's going to get an endorsement today. Our Peter Hamby reports from a Tea Party type down here state officials in South Carolina.
And last night where was Mitt Romney? At a Tea Party Express rally in New Hampshire, another incredibly important early voting state. And this was the first time that Romney, since he's jumped into the race for the White House this time around, has talked at a Tea Party rally. So, Christine, pretty interesting stuff here on Mitt Romney.
Let's then - also when he was at that rally last night, it seemed like maybe he was taking a shot at one of his fellow rivals, Rick Perry. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I haven't spent my whole life in politics. As a matter of fact, of the people running for office, you know, I don't know that there are many that have less years in politics than me. I spent four years as a governor. I joke that I didn't inhale. I'm still a citizen. (END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: We've heard that line recently from Mitt Romney. He's barely been a politician, right? Only four years. He was a businessman.
Rick Perry, long-time politician, doesn't mention Rick Perry by name, but maybe now that Romney is no longer the frontrunner, he's starting to go after Rick Perry who now, Christine, is the frontrunner on top of those polls.
ROMANS: I'm not sure I get his joke, but maybe it's early. So, you know, it's 6:16 on the East Coast.
I want to ask you about Jim DeMint. Something that Jim DeMint said yesterday. He told Candy Crowley, he was talking about how he wants a president to put something down on paper. He doesn't want to hear just the president in a pretty speech talking about - he said he could barely listen to the president in another speech.
So, what is it that - and I've heard this before. I mean, in his previous (ph), from the RNC he told me - he told me a couple of times, he said, well, you know, there's not one word that's been put on paper.
What do they - do they want the president to write legislation for Congress? What is it - what is it that they want?
STEINHAUSER: Yes. Republicans have been arguing this for a while and not just on the jobs plan but on health care and some other issues that the White House, the administration doesn't actually put anything on paper. And that gives them more leverage because then they can tell Congress to do something and put the onus on them.
So it is an argument we've heard from the Republicans for a while. Yes, they want an actual plan from the president to be presented to Congress - Christine.
ROMANS: Let me ask you about Sarah Palin then, because Sarah Palin - well, a lot of people are still wondering, is Sarah Palin a celebrity? Is she a candidate? Is she somewhere in between? Is she - she's like something we've never seen before in politics, someone who can really take so much of the oxygen of the room, but we don't - and she's been a governor for two years. I mean, she's not like she's got a long, long career in politics.
What is Sarah Palin and do tell me about what she says about polls?
STEINHAUSER: Yes. Fascinating stuff. And, you know, you're right. I think your description is right on. She's a little bit of all of that.
Listen, for somebody who is not an elected official, somebody who is not right now a declared candidate for president, she has no problem whatsoever finding the spotlight. And she is doing it again right now this weekend.
Remember, she was - today, she's going to be in New Hampshire at a Tea Party Express rally. We'll have live coverage of that in the noon hour. She's going to be speaking there in New Hampshire. And on Saturday, she was in Iowa, the first state that votes in the primary caucus calendar at another Tea Party event. Of course, there was a lot of coverage of that as well.
Take a listen to what she said about polls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN, FMR. ALASKA GOVERNOR: Polls, they're actually - usually I'll say polls, nah, they're for strippers and cross country skiers, but - but polls in those parts actually show that some people there believe that the economy has actually improved. See, there may not be a recession in Georgetown, but there is in the rest of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Classic Sarah Palin there, I guess you could say in Iowa. One thing she didn't do in Iowa and she - we don't expect her to do today is declare or announce her candidacy for president. She says she will have a decision probably by the end of this month. It's getting a little late. But somebody like Sarah Palin could probably jump in late and generate a lot of buzz and maybe raise a lot of money at the last minute - Christine.
ROMANS: Polls are for strippers and cross country skiers.
COSTELLO: She's a tease.
ROMANS: Wow. I love it.
All right. Paul, have a good time. Thanks so much.
You know, CNN is going to air Senator DeMint's Presidential Forum in its entirety from 3:00 to 5:20 P.M. Eastern Time today. John King, as Paul mentioned, are going to anchor that special coverage. CNN, of course, is the exclusive national broadcaster of this forum - Carol.
COSTELLO: Now is your turn to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you today, do unions help or hurt America?
It's a question labor union leaders want you to consider on this Labor Day, because they say a war is being waged against hard-working Americans.
In Wisconsin, despite massive protests Governor Scott Walker took on public unions and their pension plans and effectively killed off collective bargaining.
Ohio's governor did the same thing by pushing Ohio's Senate Bill Number 5 or SB 5. It is now law. Unions aren't giving up, though. They point to Wisconsin and the successful recall of two anti-union Republican state lawmakers. In Ohio, they point to a petition with a record 1.3 million signatures that put SB 5 on the November ballot. In Pittsburgh, union leaders have banned any state lawmaker considered anti-union from their Labor Day parade.
And the head of the Teamsters, James Hoffa, he's calling big companies who refuse to hire American workers unpatriotic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES HOFFA, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS: I think the president should challenge the patriotism of these American corporations that are sitting on the sidelines saying, why do we have high unemployment, but I'm not going to hire anybody. You know, they have an obligation just like the federal government, just like Obama. We've all got to get into the game. But I don't see that happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Despite it all, only 11 percent of American labor is now represented by unions. And the American middle class worker, their wages plateaued decades ago. And the wage gap is growing ever wider.
Of course, critics blame unions for that, charging their fat pensions and greed force companies to send jobs overseas.
So the "Talkback" question today, do unions help or hurt America? Facebook.com/AmericanMorning, Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. I'll read your comments later this hour.
ROMANS: Can't wait to see that.
Coming up on this AMERICAN MORNING, the nuclear era now under way in Iran. That's right, nuclear era under way in Iran. We've got details of that ahead.
COSTELLO: Plus, Egypt's ousted president on trial. But the real action is taking place outside the courtroom.
It's 21 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
"Minding Your Business" this morning.
U.S. stock markets are closed today for Labor Day. On Friday, that dismal jobs report pushed markets down sharply. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 all lost more than two percent Friday.
This week, America's high jobless rate remains front and center. President Obama will give that big speech on Thursday about jobs and today will be talking about jobs in an event in Detroit. Pushing European markets down overnight Friday's U.S. jobs report, also a local elections loss for German Chancellor Angela Merkel mounting pressure on her and other EU leaders over the financial bailout of Greece. Concerns over Europe's debt problems also likely to have an effect on U.S. markets this week.
Honda is recalling nearly one million Fit Compact CRV and City vehicles worldwide over a problem with the window switch that could catch fire. More than 80,000 CRV vehicles in the U.S. made in 2006 are part of this recall. The company says no injuries or deaths have been reported related to this switch problem.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz getting more politically involved. He's calling for a town hall by phone tomorrow. He'll talk about the partisan gridlock in Washington. And he took out full page ads in some national newspapers over the weekend with his new open letter criticizing lawmakers and their leadership or lack of the leadership of this country.
The Murdoch still making a pretty penny despite that phone hacking scandal in the U.K. earlier this year. Rupert Murdoch, the Chairman and CEO of News Corp. got a raise to 47 percent. Now makes more than $33 million a year including a $12.5 million bonus. This is according to the company's regulatory findings. The founder's son, James Murdoch, who heads up the company's international unit, declined his bonus after the fall of one of News Corp's London based newspapers.
AMERICAN MORNING will be back right after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 30 minutes past the hour. Happy Labor Day.
Let's get to our top stories now.
Tropical storm Lee downgraded to a tropical depression, but still bringing rain. Parts of Louisiana and Mississippi waking up under water after more than a foot of rain fell. Lee also spawning several tornadoes.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Meantime, at least a thousand homes in Texas are in danger of being burned to the ground as deadly wildfires there continue to rage. Hundreds of households have been evacuated now. A fire in east Texas killed a mother and her 18-month- old daughter who were trapped inside their home.
The largest fire is burning in Bastrop County, that's southeast of Austin. That blaze has scorched some 14,000 acres.
COSTELLO: President Obama tours flood-ravaged New Jersey. He visited two towns hit hardest by the hurricane yesterday. He spoke with residents who lost their homes and businesses. The president also stopped by a temporary relief shelter and he pledged federal resources to help victims rebuild and recover. There's an estimated $6 billion in damages along the East Coast.
ROMANS: All right. Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center for us this morning.
Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys.
I want to crank through a few tornado warnings that are all from Lee. The right side of this storm spinning radar indicated tornadoes to the east of Louisville, Mississippi. Jackson, Mississippi, by the way, getting a tremendous amount of rain last night and there are some evacuations ongoing this morning because of flooded roadways and homes and some apartment complexes in and around the Jackson, Mississippi, area proper.
One through three tornado warnings for southeast Mississippi. These are radar-indicated and one decent size, one moving east across or north across I-10 just to the east of Pensacola and north of Destin. That one radar indicated as well. So, watching these storms as they develop, all within this tornado watch box area which is fairly common for a tropical storm when it makes landfall. But nonetheless, a dangerous situation there.
Obviously, the flooding is a dangerous situation as well. From Mississippi is where you're getting it right now and this rain will spread up towards the north and east throughout the day, kind of getting tangled up within a cold front. We could see five, seven inches across parts of the Tennessee Valley and then getting up into areas that really don't need it, along the I-95 corridor and north and west of there in through places like Connecticut, the Catskills and Vermont. Flash flood watches have been posted and some warnings already in anticipation of seeing some of that rainfall.
Katia, by the way, now a category two storm. The forecast track brings it toward the U.S. but breathing a little easier this morning because I think these cold fronts, one of which is very, very strong for this time of year, will help nudge this thing out to sea. There it is. There's your cold front, there's your rain -- cooler air behind it and drier. But the next 48 hours, guys, looks to be fairly wet.
Back up to you.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, rob. Fairly wet 48 hours -- I've heard that before.
COSTELLO: I know. I can't wait until hurricane season is over.
Japan is struggling in the aftermath of Typhoon Talas. Right now, 56 people are still missing, 29 people have been killed. Typhoon Talas brought in record rainfall causing landslides and flooding. More than 16,000 were forced to evacuate.
Iran's first nuclear plant is now online. The facility connected to the national electric grid late Saturday night. It's expected to produce 2.5 percent of the country's electricity when fully operational. The plant is fueling concerns its reactors may also help Iran continue to develop nuclear weapons.
COSTELLO: Ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak back in court today. His trial resumes behind closed doors in Cairo.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
COSTELLO: As you can see outside the courtroom, major clashes between police and the families of those killed during February's uprising. Mubarak's charged with ordering the killings of more than 800 protesters which ultimately ended his 30-year rule. If convicted, Mubarak faces the death penalty.
ROMANS: We're following developments this morning in the case of the American woman missing in Aruba. Gary Giordano is a prime suspect in the disappearance of his traveling companion Robyn Gardner. His lawyers are expected to appeal a ruling to keep him in an Aruban jail for another 60 days.
CNN's Martin Savidge is live in Oranjestad, Aruba.
Good morning.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
Well, yes, you'll remember last week, a judge said that Gary Giordano could be held in this country for another 60 days. His attorneys say, look, that is ridiculous. There is no evidence of a crime as yet in the disappearance of Robyn Gardner. So they'll appeal it -- a hearing perhaps later this week.
Meanwhile, authorities are appealing to the public for their help to try to identify a mystery car. Now, the car is a white Hyundai Getz, not familiar to many Americans but familiar to many on the islands here, just a small compact.
Here's the thing. It was seen on a security camera video right in the back of the restaurant where Robyn and Gary had their last meal together. The time stamp on that photograph, 5:59 p.m. In other words, right at the time that Gary Giordano says the couple was snorkeling. This is the story that has not been verified by anybody else.
So, what it would mean is that there was somebody back in the place where the couple was at the time they were supposedly getting into trouble in the water, which is why authorities desperately want to talk to that driver. They may have seen something that can either confirm or deny the story that Gary Giordano has been telling about the disappearance of Robyn Gardner.
The thing is, it could be somebody in Aruba driving that car or it could be an American tourist. It's popular to rent that car. So, that's why they're appealing in this country and the United States as well. If you were in that white Hyundai Getz at that time, authorities desperately want to hear from you.
Meanwhile, Gary Giordano now has been detained for one month. Robyn Gardner disappeared exactly -- well, August 2nd. And there has not been a trace of her since -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Martin Savidge, mystery intensifies -- thanks, Martin.
COSTELLO: Imagine 190 miles per hour and no brakes. A terrifying high-speed crash during a practice run at the Baltimore Grand Prix. Brazilian Tony Kanaan loses control during the first turn and he hits the back of Helio Castroneves car and launches into the air before smashing into the tire barriers.
Incredibly, neither driver was hurt. Actually they're friends and competitors. So, they talked to one another afterwards and both said, are you OK? Are you OK?
ROMANS: Wow.
COSTELLO: And the race went on.
ROMANS: All right. Four American men have reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the first time in eight years.
But everyone is still buzzing about second seed Rafael Nadal's press conference afterward. The Spaniard rolled his head back, squeezed his eyes shut and slid off his chair in front of dozens of reporters two hours after winning his third round match.
You know, it's a scary moment. It turns out it was just a leg cramp. Nadal's camp is insisting he's OK, but that looks painful. It's very painful.
COSTELLO: I can't imagine no one rushed to his aid and offered to massage his leg.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Tennis's top players feeling pretty darn good about his chances at Flushing Meadow. Novak Djokovic doing a little dance, a little victory dance, Saturday after advancing to the fourth round of the U.S. Open. The top seeded Serb improving his 2011 record to an astounding 60-2. He's a lot to dance about.
ROMANS: He sure does.
All right. Up next on AMERICAN MORNING, guys, trying to win over the Tea Party, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney addressing a rally in New Hampshire. Can he turn some skeptics into supporters? We're going to talk to two top political analysts ahead.
COSTELLO: And she keeps stirring the pot. Sarah Palin slamming Mitt Romney and the president this weekend. But does she have an announcement?
AMERICAN MORNING back in a minute. It's 38 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is making his first real attempts to win over the Tea Party. Over the weekend, he attended a Tea Party rally in New Hampshire.
Today, he'll be in South Carolina where Senator Jim DeMint's Tea Party presidential forum is drawing the top GOP contenders.
Joining us live this morning from Washington, "Roll Call" political writer Shira Toeplitz and from Manchester, New Hampshire, Ben Smith, senior political reporter for "Politico."
Welcome to both of you and good morning. Happy Labor Day. Thanks for laboring for us this morning.
BEN SMITH, POLITICO.COM: Good morning.
ROMANS: Ben, let me ask you first about Mitt Romney in New Hampshire. This is sort of first foray to a Tea Party crowd. There was a counter kind of presence from the FreedomWorks folks who don't like him. And you say the news from your perspective he didn't pander to the Tea Party crowd?
SMITH: Yes. I mean, I think a lot of people were watching to see whether he would try to --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How could you possibly explain that?
ROMANS: We have sound in our ear, something bleeding through.
But, Ben, just try to talk over it and we'll get them to fix this.
SMITH: Yes. I mean, I guess I think a lot of people were trying to figure out whether he would try to out-Tea Party Rick Perry, whether he would, you know, come out there and tell these guys exactly what they wanted to hear, which would be a bit of a departure from his record, from his past.
And, in fact, he didn't mention the word Tea Party. He gave a word for word standard stump speech and he brought in maybe 50 people in blue t-shirts, about half the crowd, some of whom kind of, you know, were clearly not Tea Party members. One of them a Tea Party person was saying have called the Tea Partiers a nut -- called them nuts. You know, it was much more his own crowd that he brought in and spoke to.
ROMANS: So, what is his comfort level, I guess, with the Tea Party? And how is he going to fair later today with Jim DeMint, Senator DeMint, and sort of trying to address this group on a broader scale?
SMITH: I mean I think his pitch to them is that he's -- as he said, a business guy, for free enterprise, he's a private sector guy, but he's not going to try to run as the candidate of conservative ideology. He's not going to run as -- and I think, you know, basically there's no way he can plausibly get to the right of Rick Perry, no way he can sell himself as more of Rick Perry than Rick Perry. And at least the early indication was that he wasn't going to try.
ROMANS: Shira, let me ask you about Sarah Palin. She's in New Hampshire today for a Tea Party event. Saturday, she was in Iowa. She's hitting these important states. She's not declared. Sarah Palin, is she a candidate? Is she a celebrity? Is she a kingmaker? Is she a speech maker? A rainmaker?
I've never seen anything like this before. I mean, she's got two years of, you know, of I guess governor level public service under her belt. What is Sarah Palin?
SHIRA TOEPLITZ, ROLL CALL: You know, I've heard some people refer to her as a celebri-tician, a combination of a celebrity and a politician, a nod to the reality show she did a couple years ago. I think that's probably the best way to describe her.
Yes. Is she a presence in the Republican Party? Sure. But does anyone look for her for policy positions or is anything more than someone who stirs the pot on the right? I don't think so at this point.
ROMANS: You don't think she'll run, do you?
TOEPLITZ: I think it's very doubtful at this point. Look, we're getting close to the Iowa caucuses and it's a process to run for president in Iowa. You need to be there on the ground. You need to meet with voters one at a time. You just can't come in like the celebrity she may think she is and think she's going to have an upper hand immediately.
I think every week that goes on, it gets more and more difficult for her to say, to lay her claim to the nomination.
ROMANS: Ben, do you think she could still come in and make a run for the nomination?
SMITH: Yes. She certainly could. I mean, it's hard to see how she would actually win the nomination, but no law against her running. She's been incredibly unpredictable in the past and could do it.
I mean, what she did yesterday -- sorry, the day before yesterday in Iowa was actually pretty interesting. She -- a lot of people expected her to take a look at Rick Perry and say he's my kind of guy. He's very conservative. He's a governor. She did not do that. She delivered a speech full of kind of veiled barbs at Perry. And I think it at least showed she wants to be a troublemaker in the race.
ROMANS: Shira, let me ask you about this big test maybe today for Governor Perry at the Jim DeMint, the Republican presidential, you know, event later today. How important is this for him?
Shira Toeplitz, roll call political writer: Oh, I think it's pretty important, especially given how many debates we have coming up in the next few weeks. This is his first time he's going to sit down in South Carolina and answer questions by some of the so-called kingmakers in that state, for example, Senator Jim DeMint. We've seen him on the stump already. We know he's pretty good on the stump.
We know he's glad handling voters and speaking with them, but this is going to be a different kind of test. We'll see how he does when someone is actually asking him questions.
ROMANS: Ben, you know, it's Labor Day, and, on Thursday, we get the president's jobs speech. Senator DeMint telling our Candy Crowley that they want something in writing from the president with a price tag. They want to see what he's actually putting down on paper. Are the president's policies -- what do you think is going to come out for the jobs speech? Is it dead-on-arrival? I mean, is the bent of the presidential candidates on the Republican side just to say no to whatever the president wants?
SMITH: I think the Republicans will certainly be calling for something quite different, you know, massive roll backs of regulations and taxes, but I think, you know, the president may be able to propose sort of relatively small kind of middle of the road stuff like this Georgia works unemployment insurance program that can get some kind of bipartisan support on the hill.
ROMANS: Yes. And that Georgia works unemployment -- people got unemployment benefits, but they're also working for companies for free. So, the companies got workers to try out and the people were getting unemployment benefits and the president has mentioned that as a program that he likes. __, thank you so much, "Roll Call," Ben Smith, "Politico," nice to see both of you.
SMITH: Thank you.
ROMANS: We're going be back in just a couple of minutes. It's 47 minutes after the hour.
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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Forty-eight minutes past the hour. happy Labor Day. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
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COSTELLO (voice-over): Lee now a tropical depression but bringing rain by the bucket full as it moves from the Gulf Coast to points north and east. There is severe flooding in parts of Louisiana and in Mississippi after a foot of rain from the storm.
Massive wildfires raging in Texas. One thousand homes now in danger. Hundreds have been evacuated. Two state highways are partially closed. In East Texas, a fire killed a mother and her 18- month-old daughter. They were trapped inside their mobile home.
Final arguments will be heard in an Italian courtroom today in the appeal of Amanda Knox's murder conviction. Questions about DNA evidence used to convict Knox could get her 2007 verdict overturned. President Obama and Vice President Biden hitting the campaign trail on this Labor Day. The president will be in Michigan. He'll speak to a Detroit labor council while the vice president heads to Cincinnati, Ohio for an AFL-CIO event.
The top Republican candidates for president will be in South Carolina today for Senator Jim DeMint's Tea Party presidential forum. You can see that live beginning at 3:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.
And, will Eddie Murphy host the 2012 Oscars? Reports say the actor and comedian has emerged as the leading candidate to host this February Oscar telecast. A final decision could be made this week.
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COSTELLO (on-camera): And that's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING -- AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this break.
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ROMANS: General Motors is betting the new Chevy Sonic will be big in the small car market. It's the first subcompact to be built in the U.S. in decades, and the first 2012 sonic is now coming off the assembly line at a GM plant that was shut down. It's now full of life and full of workers again. CNN's Casey Wian has the story from Orion, Michigan.
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CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Brad Glendee was working at a GM plant in Wisconsin that was about to close in 2008. So, he moved his family to Michigan and transferred to GM's Orion plant. Before he knew it, the Orion plant shut down too and Glendee was out of work for six months.
BRAD GLENDEE, CHEVROLET SONIC(ph): There was a lot of uncertainty at that point. So, I decided to keep my fingers crossed and hope that the leadership was making the right decision.
WIAN: One big decision, investing more than $500 million to completely retool the Orion plant to do something that GM hasn't done in more than two decades, produce a subcompact car in the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chevlet Sonic hatchback, very sporty and aggressive design, not only on the exterior but also on the interior. Very fuel-efficient vehicle.
WIAN: 1,500 Orion employees are back building the Chevrolet Sonic set to hit showrooms this fall.
CARK MONTROSEE, CHEVROLET SONIC (ph): I think it's an opportunity for us to show of that our manufacturing system can build anything. We can make it cheap, we can make it good. WIAN: The plant was completely gutted and redesigned to save half a million square feet of floor space allowing suppliers to operate closer to the assembly line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just think about going in and taking out everything except for the concrete floor and the roof and then just starting over. That's essentially what we did a year and a half ago.
WIAN: Energy efficiencies will help also loosen the tight profit margin among cars selling for less than $15,000.
PATRICK HONG, ROAD AND TRACK: I think it's a risk, but I think it's a calculated risk in the sense that because there's more demands for smaller vehicles, and Chevrolet traditionally never had a portfolio to extend down that far into small cars. So, trying to meet the consumer demands and looking at the future diversification away from trucks, I think, is an important step for them.
WIAN: Another cost savings a controversial agreement with the United Auto Workers tied to the federal government's massive bailout of GM and Chrysler. It's a two-tiered labor agreement permitting newly hired workers to be paid $14 to $16 an hour, about half of what GM veterans make.
GLENDEE: I think we all had to go through a cultural change between union and the management.
BOB KING, PRESIDENT, UNITED AUTO WORKERS: It's a bold gamble by both the UAW and General Motors, and it's going to be successful and that's going to be really important for creating more jobs in America.
WIAN (on-camera): But that two-tiered wage system remains controversial among some in the UAW. In fact, that very issue is on the table right now in negotiations over a new UAW contract. Talks are expected to wrap up later this month.
Casey Wian, CNN, Orion, Michigan.
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ROMANS: You always love to see the factory floor come to life in this country, but it always comes with great compromise because it's been very tough.
COSTELLO: It has been tough, but the good news between the auto company unions and, you know, the Detroit big three, supposedly they're ahead of schedule in their negotiations. So, they're getting along.
ROMANS: Nice. It's nice.
COSTELLO: It's amazing. We asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day and that has to do with unions. We asked you this question, do unions help or hurt America?
This from David, "I'm sure they help a whole lot more than CEOs making 400 plus percent of what the average worker makes. Now, the GOP wants to give them huge tax breaks with hopes that they'll give us a few jobs. We wouldn't have 40-hour work weeks and weekends off if not for unions."
This from Christina, "From my experience, working at jobs both represents and not represented by union, I can't say unions make much of a difference. They take mandatory high cuts from worker's paychecks and union empolyees are less knowledgeable and lazy because they have secure lifetime jobs that don't force them to do better."
And this from Joe, "Unions are demonized being because they protect workers from greedy companies, corporations, and politicians. Unions are necessary for correcting the unbelievable wealth inequality in the United States and maintaining a decent standard of living for Americans. Our country has become in recent years divided into three categories in recent years, rich, poor, and working poor. There really isn't much of a middle class to speak of since unions have been on the decline."
Keep the comments coming. Facebook.com/americanmorning. We'll read more of your thoughts later.
ROMANS: I've been doing a lot of stuff on my weekend show about education, and boy, people get fired up about education and unions and education. Are unions helping education reform or hurting education reform and it is a subject that inspires so much passion on so many levels. Really interesting on this Labor Day.
Top stories coming up next, including tropical depression Lee saturating several southern states. There's a lot of concerns about New Orleans. We're live in Louisiana. Fifty-six minutes after the hour.
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