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CNN Sunday Morning
Iowa Dam Fails, Spurring Massive Flooding; Relief-Well Vessel Returns to Oil-Spill Site; Death Toll Rises at Germany's 'Love Parade'; Viral Videos Captivate Viewers
Aired July 25, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(LAUGHTER)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, hello there, everybody. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING for the 25th day of July. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And again, I am Kate Bolduan, still with you this weekend. Thank you for starting your day with us.
HOLMES: Yes, we just can't shake her.
BOLDUAN: Unfortunately (INAUDIBLE).
HOLMES: We -- we might keep her, I think. All right. Always good to have you here.
But a special good morning as well this hour to our military men and women who are watching us on the Armed Forces Network around the world. Hello to you all.
Some happy news to report. We're seeing more and more of these types of reports, and that is that the 82nd Airborne is packing up and coming home from Iraq. They're one of the longest-serving U.S. units in Iraq. We're actually going to bringing you more of their story. So good news to report there.
BOLDUAN: Good news. Yes, exactly.
Some weather news that we're going to be tracking this morning and talking about it with Jacqui Jeras, Chicago flooding. There has been some serious rainfall in the Midwest. More than 13,000 people waking up without power this morning. Several streets and major highways were blocked all throughout the day yesterday, and firefighters, they had to use rowboats to get access to some people.
HOLMES: Also some just scary video we are seeing out of Germany. One point four million people trying to attend the same event, and disaster happens. Nineteen dead in a stampede, another 400 injured. We're going to get more into this for you, show more of the video and explain to you exactly what was happening there in Germany.
But first, let's give you a look at some of the other stories that are making headlines. The exercises are under way now off the coast of North Korea. Well, North Korea, meanwhile, still threatening action after the U.S. and the South Koreans are actually engaged in joint military exercises that are going on just off the coast there of the Korean peninsula. These exercises expected to go out until Wednesday.
These are not routine. These were not scheduled. These were specific targeted towards the North Korea to send them a message of the U.S. and South Korean military might. They're trying to send the strong show of force against the North Koreas, trying to get them to back down on some of their aggressive action, according to the U.S.
Also this morning, in Afghanistan, the search is on now for two missing U.S. service members. These service members went missing after leaving their base in Kabul on Friday. They never returned. Afghan intelligence source saying that militants, in fact, abducted both of these U.S. service members.
Also in Afghanistan on Saturday, five U.S. soldiers were killed in bombings in the southern part of that country.
And also, we are seeing in Cuba, Fidel Castro again. He has been popping up, it seems, all over the place. But this, according to a government website, is his first public appearance outside of the Cuban capital in the past four years. He came out to honor rebels who were killed 57 years ago at the start of the revolution. This was in Artemisa, just about 40 miles west of the capital.
There he is. But again, this is one of several appearances we have seen in the previous weeks of the former Cuban leader.
BOLDUAN: And we want to talk again -- we mentioned the weather right off the top. Well, we have searing heat in the East, wildfires out west. But the floods in the center of the country are making -- making the -- making weather really one of the big stories this morning.
HOLMES: Yes, we've been talking so much about this Tropical Storm, Tropical Depression Bonnie. We thought that was going to be so much of what we focused on. But we have so many other stories happening, and severe rain.
Take a look at this. This was out of eastern Iowa. It caused the failure of a dam. It was called "catastrophic." You see the wave of water that really went toward farmlands. This was just north of Cedar Rapids, where this is all happening. But the water has burst through the Lake Delhi Dam. This was yesterday.
Today though, the National Weather Service says they've started to recede, some of those waters, but not before the water washed out roads and forced nearby towns to evacuate. The governor there in Iowa named two counties disaster areas and telling CNN that 10 inches of rain fell in the area in about 12 hours.
(BEGN VIDEO CLIP) VOICE OF GOV. CHET CULVER (D), IOWA: It is, you know, a very sad situation. You're talking about a catastrophic break in the dam. So that has never happened before, and, you know, once again here in -- in the mid -- Midwest and in Iowa, we're dealing with, you know, record flood levels in -- in certain parts of our state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, in Chicago as well, they got some nasty stuff. A lot of people woke up to scenes like this in Chicago. But this was yesterday we saw all this happening. Heavy rains fell. Five inches at least yesterday, flooded homes, washed out streets, as you see there.
Suburban Westchester declared a weather emergency. Airlines as well had to cancel at least 200 flights. This was at O'Hare International Airport.
The power company says they are working to restore power now to about 13,000 customers. Rescue teams in several suburban towns used boats and even a helicopter to search for people stranded by the rising waters.
BOLDUAN: And add to that, more rain is forecast for the Chicago area this morning.
Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has the details on that, plus your Sunday forecast in the CNN Severe Weather Center.
Jacqui, where do you want to begin?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, guys.
Well, let's talk about some of these flood issues, because they're going to be ongoing. We've had a really active weather pattern the last number of weeks. And, you know, not a state in the Midwest, I think, has been untouched by this flooding, and so devastating and affecting so many people in the Chicago area, is these pictures that you're seeing here. And then also, the dam in Iowa, that was the Maquoketa River that went out of its banks. And then also caused that dam to break.
And the rainfall totals are just almost unheard of. This is an image from the last seven days. And just to give you a better idea of where this is, this is the state of Iowa right here. And I want you to notice in particular this red and purple band that includes right over where the dam broke and then down towards the Chicago area. All of this red, that's at least five inches of rain. And when you start getting into some of the purple here, that's like 10 to 15 inches, and that's just in one week. And some of you saw that in about 24 hours or so.
Now, you can see the flood warnings, which remain in effect all across the area. And the darker-green area here across parts of Ohio and on into West Virginia, that's where we have flood watches. So that's where we're expecting the heavy rain to be for today.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Day 97 of this Gulf oil disaster. We want to head down to our guy, Reynolds Wolf, who is in Grand Isle, Louisiana.
Reynolds, good morning to you once again. Tell me, we -- we -- all eyes were on Bonnie for so long, worried what that storm could possibly do. Looks like we might have dodged a bullet.
How soon are we about to get the work under way again to start skimming some of that oil out there?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, it looks like they're going to start getting things back to normal, or at least trying to, at least today. In fact, just yesterday, they tried to get the Developmental Driller 3, which is the -- the -- actually the craft that's responsible for drilling the first of the two relief wells. That actually started its journey back out to the site. And I'll tell you, the -- you'll see that flotilla grow in size over the next couple of days.
But, you know, having this brief break due to Bonnie really wasn't a bad thing, because, one, it gave them that dress rehearsal. Because, again, we will see more of these storms develop in the Gulf of Mexico.
But also, it gave those boats a chance to retrofit, to resupply. And, you know, they're going to get things started up again, as I mentioned, in a couple days. But it's probably going to take anywhere from one to two weeks before they can really make that effort for the -- the static kill, and of course, the bottom-kill operation.
So just a little bit of a hiccup, so to speak. But they're going to start getting those -- certainly get things started.
T.J., and speaking of getting things started, last night here, they had in Grand Isle, it was called Island Aid 2010. And it was a big fundraising event for a lot of the businesses here that have just been ravaged by a rough tourism season.
You see the video here. You have a lot of businesses that certainly had a rough time with the oil spill. That kept the tourists away, of course. The people are hurting businesswise, and this gave them a little bit of a shot in the arm.
I can tell you that right here behind me, you can see, if you come back to me for just a few seconds, you might be able to see off in the distance, a little bit of an orange barrier in the background. That is a -- a little bit of a -- a mesh fence that will prevent us from getting down to the water itself. And then back along the other side, you've got a couple of other little barriers. And then even farther off into the water, you have some of that protecting boom that was put out just in case Bonnie had been a bit stronger and that oil came closer to shore -- T.J.
HOLMES: And -- and just one quick look -- question. I saw the video of the concert.
WOLF: Sure.
HOLMES: Did they get a little -- get a little rain? I saw some people covered up.
WOLF: They did get some rain. They certainly did. They had a few scattered showers in the area, a few booms of thunder.
But really, it didn't really destroy the festive event they had here. I mean, they had a lot of great acts, including your personal favorite, Leann Rimes. I know that you celebrate her entire collection.
HOLMES: You know me well, Reynolds. I do appreciate you, buddy.
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: We'll check in with you throughout the morning. We appreciate you.
WOLF: That's why I'm here, man.
HOLMES: All right -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: So a disaster at a German festival that's really all about promoting peace and joy. Thousands -- and we're going to show you this video -- pack into a tunnel connecting visitors to the stage. The crowd stampedes, and in the aftermath, 19 people are dead. Hundreds injured.
Hear from witnesses to that tragedy.
Stay with us, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now, take a look at this video as we're coming up on 11 minutes past the hour here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
This was at a concert. This is in Duisburg, Germany. This was a stampede. This was a music festival that they were expecting some 700,000 to 800,000 people. One point four million showed up, according to estimates there.
The result: Nineteen people dead, another 400 injured.
What happened here, essentially, there just wasn't enough space for people who were trying to get into what was the only entrance. And there was essentially a tunnel, an overpass, where people were jamming into it from both sides. And you can imagine, hundreds of thousands -- and again, they said 1.4 million altogether.
But so many people were packed in, and, in -- in fact, Kate, here, the -- I'm told the concert here actually went on. Authorities were worried, well, we don't want to upset the crowd even more, possibly, if we cancel this concert. But it's a...
BOLDUAN: Or create a worse scene maybe.
HOLMES: A worse scene if they get upset. So...
BOLDUAN: And at the same time, there were 1,400, we're told, police officers on the scene. But think: Fourteen hundred vs. almost one and a half million, they couldn't control a crowd that swelled to that size. The result, as you saw, disaster.
Our Ralitsa Vassileva looks at what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They came from all over Europe for one of the world's biggest techno-music festivals. Hundreds of thousands, most in their late teens to mid-20s, descended on this year's host city, the German town of Duisburg.
But tragedy struck the Love Parade Saturday, when panic triggered a deadly stampede, when thousands crammed in a tunnel just outside the entrance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): One could see ahead of time, before we were even allowed to go through the tunnel, that people were shaking the barrier violently. They climbed up the wall. They wanted to climb up onto the bridge, up cables and stairs. And they fell down, and people trampled over them. It was simply unheard of.
VASSILEVA: One point four million people converged on the festival site, far more than expected. The crowd was so big, it spilled into the surrounding streets, delaying the ambulances' arrival.
Inside, rescuers had to fight their way through the packed crowds. Journalists at the scene say people blamed the event organizers for the tragedy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What crazy idea to have just one entrance to such a huge festival?
They also complained about the information policy of the organizing people. Some folks told me, 'We got text messages from back home from our parents, asking, 'Are you OK?' And we didn't know at that time what had happened.'
VASSILEVA: Fearful of sparking another deadly stampede, authorities decided not to close the venue, so many festivalgoers continued partying, unaware of the stampede in the tunnel.
As night descended on this tragic day, people were stunned that a festival of love should become a death trap. Germany's president has called for a full investigation, and Chancellor Angela Merkel said she's distraught by the tragedy.
Ralitsa Vassileva, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: So the Coast Guard has released audiotapes of radio communications from that deadly barge-boat collision that I'm sure you remember in Philadelphia that happened earlier this month. A barge stuck a duck-boat tour on the Delaware River -- on July 7 is when it happened. Two of the 37 people onboard that tour boat died in the accident.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Woah! Woah! Woah! Woah! Woah!
VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Freedom.
VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, one of the duck boats off Penn's Landing, looks like they got run over by a barge, and I'm going in to pick them up.
VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this is Freedom. We got people in the water off Penn's Landing. It looks like they got run over by a barge, one of the duck boats. I'm going in to pick them up.
VOICE OF UNIDENITFIED MALE: Roger, Captain. How many persons are in the water. Over.
VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No idea. I don't have time to talk to you right now. I'm going to get the people.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: And the National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the boating incident.
HOLMES: Well, we have an update this morning on a story we told you about yesterday, and showed you the amazing video. A woman who was partially blind just walks right onto the tracks at a train station -- ah -- here in the Atlanta area. People rush to her rescue.
Well, this morning, we are now hearing from that woman.
It's a quarter past the hour here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING>
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: So no matter how busy we all get during the week, there's one thing that we always have time for.
HOLMES: What's that?
BOLDUAN: The Old Spice commercial, OK?
HOLMES: OK.
(LAUGHTER)
BOLDUAN: And watching viral videos.
HOLMES: Yes, of course. There's something new, something viral every single day. They rack up millions of views in just a few days, and then we make them famous.
Josh Levs here to make them famous right now.
Josh, good morning.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I'm only sorry for Kate. We're looking at other videos today instead of the -- instead of the Old Spice guy. But I'll send you the link after we get off -- I get off the air.
BOLDUAN: Thank you, dear.
LEVS: Enjoy that one again.
All right. So what we're doing is taking a look at which hot videos everyone's watching this week.
This first one's actually really interesting, because it's a new kind of technology that's developing.
Take a look at this building. And what you're seeing in this video is the exact same thing people saw when they were standing there. It's these 3-D projections onto this historic building. I believe this one was shot in Belgium.
Samsung made this to promote its new LED TV. And what you see is just all these things that aren't actually happening. It's actually just a building.
Skip to the next section and watch what they do in this video. Let's just skip ahead, and you're going to see it fill with water. And then you're going to see these fish come swimming through this.
People turn out for these more and more. And what they're doing is building this technology to the point that they say you're be able to aim these lasers from really, really far away, and making pretty cool modern art right outside.
All right. Next one now. You probably didn't know, but the World Juggling Federation is having its big competition right now in Vegas. So along with this, they have posted some of the hottest clips ever from their competitions, people pulling off some pretty amazing juggling action. And this is how all the buildup to see who's going to win this year. I love this.
All right. We got time to bang through two more here. I got a plethora for you today.
Everyone's going crazy about this, calling it the most adorable video in the world of the week: a little baby inside a watermelon. And some people are trying to decide which thing there is eating the other. Is it the baby eating the watermelon, or is the watermelon gobbling up the baby? This is posted so many places on YouTube that it's already had more than two million views in just a matter of days. Aw.
And we're going to end on the other side of the age spectrum where, with a woman named Aunt Alice, who turned 101 and is singing "Enjoy Yourself." Listen to her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Go Aunt Alice. That was for her 101st birthday. Her daughter-in-law Bonnie Schop (ph) sent that to me, and it's already gotten thousands and thousands of views all over the Web.
Here's where I posted all the links for you, as always -- they're all up at Facebook at joshlevscnn. Send us your favorites.
And, you know, we try to give you a little extra wakeup call on Sunday mornings, with some of the hottest and most fun viral videos out there, amidst all the news.
Kate, T.J., do you have any favorites?
BOLDUAN: I am very interested to hear who decided to put the baby in the watermelon.
LEVS: In the watermelon? I know. I'm thinking somebody better be standing really, really close. Because those things wobble.
BOLDUAN: I'm thinking it's a mother who was, like, 'This kid's going to get completely messed up anyway. I'm just going to put the child in the watermelon...'
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Nobody else -- nobody else finds that weird? Am I the only one who doesn't think that's cute?
LEVS: I -- you don't think it's cute? You are the only one.
HOLMES: There's a watermelon sitting on an upholstered chair inside -- who cut the watermelon out? Where's the -- I mean, I got a lot of questions about this child.
BOLDUAN: The child was that hungry that the child ate all of the watermelon, and then just -- I'm making it all up.
HOLMES: That sounds kind of -- that baby's got ants crawling all over him (INAUDIBLE). LEVS: I think -- no, I think it's real-life proof that Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.
BOLDUAN: Good morning, everyone. T.J. woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
HOLMES: I'm sorry.
LEVS: (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: No, I'm thinking clearly this morning.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
HOLMES: All right, Josh...
LEVS: See you, guys.
BOLDUAN: He's like, 'Call the health department.'
Thanks, Josh.
HOLMES: All right.
BOLDUAN: So you've heard of Rosa Parks, a civil-rights icon who famously refused to give up her seat on the bus.
HOLMES: Yes, you know maybe a few famous names like hers. But there were countless other women whose names you may not know, who also helped with the movement.
One of those women, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, had her in studio with us. And she's telling us about a new exhibit called "Freedom Sisters," that's honoring some of these female civil-rights leaders.
It's 21 minutes past the hour. Stay right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. We brought you this story yesterday, and the video was the most amazing part of this story here.
But take a look, and you'll see -- and you'll see, it's on the left there, it comes across the screen. A woman walks right into the tracks. This was at a train station here in the Atlanta area. This was earlier this month.
Now, you also see a man rush to try to save her and the train was on the way.
BOLDUAN: That's right. And others, after this man went to help her, they then went to help. And the train stopped just four feet from where this woman, a visually impaired woman, lay on the tracks.
Fifty-seven-year-old Addie Norfleet and her nieces, they talked about the frightening experience. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF ADDIE FORFLEET, FELL ON TRAIN TRACKS: That's because I wasn't really concentrating on where I was walking.
PAMELA, NORFLEET'S NIECE: Had it not been for God's grace and mercy and that young man, we would be doing a whole different story.
AFRIKA, NORFLEET'S NIECE: Really just want to meet him and show appreciation, because that -- for him to get down on the tracks like that....
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, that man, who first rushed to help, is -- nobody knows who he is. He still remains anonymous. We were asking yesterday if anybody knew him, maybe give us a buzz. We were trying to track him down. But I have much respect and we're going to...
BOLDUAN: Just a Good Samaritan.
HOLMES: ...leave him alone. He wants to be a Good Samaritan and remain anonymous. That's OK. But it's amazing to see her just walk right -- I mean, not seeing what was right in front of her. The train was on the way.
But again, she's visually impaired. She's OK for the most part, thanks to somebody who remains anonymous.
Well, also this morning, North Korea, you'll remember was threatening a physical response if the U.S goes through with its plan to begin joint military exercises with North -- excuse me, with South Korea.
BOLDUAN: And guess what? Those exercises started this morning. So what can we expect from North Korea? We ask an expert, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, bottom of the hour here now on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Welcome back. Hello to you all. And once again, hello to all of our men and women who are serving in the armed forces, watching us around the world right now on the Armed Forces Network. Glad you could be here. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BOLDUAN: And I am Kate Bolduan. So glad you're here.
And we want to say a happy birthday the Boy Scouts of America.
HOLMES: Kind of old.
BOLDUAN: The -- not individual Boy Scouts. But the organization turns 100 this year, and they're having a yearlong -- it's like yearlong celebrations throughout the country. And today, there's a Boy Scouts parade down Constitution Avenue in D.C.
So happy birthday to Boy Scouts. Hope they can handle the heat in D.C.
HOLMES: Oh yes. There's that. Jacqui Jeras going to be along, telling us about some of that heat.
Meanwhile, let me give you a look at some of the stories that are making headlines right now, including a story out of Germany, where the death toll is rising. The chaos broke out there yesterday at an overcrowded music festival; 19 people now confirmed dead, 400 others injured.
The stampede took place in a tunnel between the main event site of this concert and an area that was set up to handle the overflow crowd. This is the Love Parade 2010, had expected no more than about 800,000 people. The crowd grew to about 1.5 million according to organizers.
In Northwest California some 300 firefighters have been able to knock down and snuff out seven wildfires that rolled across Lassen County. Crews are still working to extinguish two more. They burnt more than 500 acres in the Sierra Mountains. That is 90 miles north of Reno. Lightning is believed to have ignited the fire.
Also hundreds of protesters held rallies around the world yesterday to support an Iranian woman convicted of adultery. Her name is Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. She was originally sentenced to death by stoning. But international outcry forced a delay, now protesters demanding her release. The woman's attorney says she confessed only after being subjected to 99 lashes. She later recanted the confession, denied any wrongdoing. Protests were held in 30 cities including Washington, Paris and Berlin.
BOLDUAN: Throwing down the gauntlet at Kim Jong-Il, joint military exercises now under way between the U.S. and South Korea have North Korea on the defensive and threatening possible nuclear response. Let's delve into this a little further with Gordon Chang. He is the author of "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On The World". And he's joining me live from Toronto this morning.
Thanks so much for joining me, Gordon. What do you make of this latest threat from North Korea? How serious is this?
GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR, "NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN": North Korea always threatens when the South Koreans and the Americans jointly exercise, because they don't want their adversaries to really have a heightened state of readiness. But also there's something else going on here, and that is in the last two weeks, China vociferously complained about the naval exercises and about the U.S. sending an aircraft carrier into the Yellow Sea. So now the aircraft carrier will be in the Sea of Japan. And what the North Koreans are saying, basically, is that, well, if the Chinese can intimidate the Pentagon, so can we. They're wrong, but that's the way they're thinking. BOLDUAN: So North Korea is threatening to retaliate, I guess we should back up a little bit. What are the U.S. and South Korea hoping to accomplish with this military, these military exercises? They clearly are aware of the threat from North Korea.
CHANG: Well, the exercises were originally scheduled to show resolve in the face of the sinking of the South Korean warship on March 26. And these were scheduled just about a week or so after that terrible incident to show North Korea that it cannot continue its aggressive behavior. And so that is why these naval exercises will continue even in the face of these dire North Korean threats.
BOLDUAN: So North Korea is threatening retaliation, using some very strong language in saying they will retaliate if they are forced to, in their minds. What do you actually think North Korea will do? Is this just more saber rattling on their part?
CHANG: Well, part of it sounds like saber rattling but on Friday, a North Korean diplomat in unusually blunt terms, without all of this blustery language, without qualification, said that there will be a physical response. And this could take a form of a number of different ways. So for instance the North Koreans could fire one of their short range missiles over the exercises or they could put one of their submarines in the middle of the American and South Korean fleets. There's a number of things they can do. I think those are the two most probable. We'll just have to wait and see until the exercises are finished on Wednesday.
BOLDUAN: In terms of the response to, the response, what should, in your view, should U.S. and South Korea do in response to this threat?
CHANG: Well, obviously we should continue with these exercises. They're going to go on for four days. And then I think after that, we have to be very clear to the North Koreans about what they're doing. One of the things that I think we need to do is what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, and that is increase sanctions on North Korea, especially financial sanctions which worked very well the last time they were tried, which was September 2005. That really hurt the regime, and I think that if we do that now, North Korea will learn a very valuable lesson. So I think that what Mrs. Clinton did on Friday in announcing those sanctions was absolutely the right thing to do.
BOLDUAN: And Gordon, quickly, because we're out of time, do you think that this represents a new chapter in the conflict with North Korea?
CHANG: Definitely. There's succession problems in Pyongyang. The economy is turning down, everything is going wrong for Kim Jong-Il at this moment.
BOLDUAN: Thank you so much, Gordon Chang joining from us from Toronto, thank you very much.
CHANG: Thank you.
BOLDUAN: T.J.
HOLMES: It's now day 97 of the Gulf oil disaster. Ships now starting to return to work this morning. Tropical Storm Bonnie, Tropical Depression Bonnie, well it has kind of fizzled and faded away. Still it cost some time but also helped teach us some lessons. Our Reynolds Wolf is in Grand Isle, Louisiana, for us.
Reynolds, you put it so well the last time I talked to you, this was a good test run.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. I mean you know, this is a prime area behind me in the Gulf of Mexico for these tropical systems to form and really develop and of course intensify and this is the time of the year especially not just now but in the months to come where these storms can get very big, very violent and of course cause all kinds of untold damage.
So this is a good test run, if you want to find positives. There are some to find. A good test run to take these crews that are out there by the oil slick, bring them onshore, and try to reevaluate things.
What it is also giving cruise the chance to retrofit some of the boats and at the same time they have been able to resupply. But some of the boats stayed out there. There were a couple that stayed very close to the-where the Deepwater Horizon actually fell beneath the waves, keeping a very sharp eye on that cap underwater. And doing so with seismic and with sonar and, of course, with two underwater robots.
But again there's a lot that they learned from this and certainly I tell you quite honestly, I'm sure some of the guys could have used a little bit of a break, many away from their families and whatnot. But a very brief respite before they get back to work. Thing is, T.J., as they get back to work it's not going to be something they can just go and do instantaneously. To have to go back, they have to set up. That could take several days. But to get to the point where they begin the static kill or top-kill operation could take at least one to two weeks.
HOLMES: Weeks-like we said we did lose some valuable time here, but also learned some valuable lessons. You've been hopping around different spots along the Gulf over the past several weeks. And seems like we are getting a bit of good news, maybe building some momentum towards a resolution to this whole thing. Tell me, I'm always curious to hear from you how people are feeling these days right now, about how things are going in the Gulf. Optimistic?
WOLF: You know, I would say they're dealing with it the best they possibly can. What they have doing in many places trying to give themselves a shot in the arm. For example, here in Grand Isle last night, they had the Island Aid 2010, which is a great musical celebration. They had thousands that made their way to the island, all to benefit people that have been suffering, many of the businesses, for the lack of tourists, due to not only poor economy, not only to high unemployment across the nation, but at the same time, of course, the oil spill.
So that was really what it was about last night, celebrating what they have, trying to be optimistic, looking ahead to a brighter future. And I think they accomplished that last night. Dodged a few rain drops and few thunderstorms here and there but for the most part seems like everyone had a great time.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds we appreciate you always, buddy. Reynolds, coming to us from Grand Isle, Louisiana, this morning, talk to you again soon.
BOLDUAN: Well, a long-awaited return home. One of the longest serving units in Iraq finally gets to come back to the U.S. We're there as troops pack up for the big trip.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: They struggled, fought for civil rights alongside some of the best known figures in the movement. But some of the names and stories of these brave women possibly in danger of being forgotten? A national exhibition playing in several cities looking to make sure that's not the case. Called Freedoms Sisters, and it highlights the stories of 20 extraordinary African-American women who are critical to the movement. The tour brought them to the Jimmy Carter Center, right here, in Atlanta. Gave us a rare opportunity to talk to one of those women, Charlayne Hunter-Gault.
My goodness, it is good to have you right here, in the studio with us. Thanks so much. What do you think about that? We need this type of exhibit? Are we in danger of losing some of the stories like yours?
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT, FMR. CNN JOHANNESBURG BUREAU CHIEF: Well, you know, I think that the real impetus for this exhibition was that most women who worked in the movement, who were the actually backbone of the civil rights movement, were not really known. You know, they did their work day in, day out. Did what had to be done, did the logistics, did the planning, the conceptualizing. But you always saw the men. And one of those who was with us and unfortunately no longer is, at least, physically, she is with us in spirit, was Dorothy Height. When this series, when this exhibition opened in Cincinnati in 2008, Dorothy was there and told this amazing story, because she was one of what they called the black kitchen Cabinet?
HOLMES: Yes.
HUNTER-GAULT: And so she said whenever the pictures would be taken, she was always on the end. And so the editors always edited her out. And she said, so gradually I would look at the papers, and I would see. I was there, I'm not in the picture. She said, so I learned to move to the middle.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Now, what happened here? I guess, a lot of people, you hear-you hear, Rosa Parks, you know, go farther back, you can hear Harriet Tubman, some of these women who were so important. Beyond some of the biggest names, you have a lot of people just don't know the others.
HUNTER-GAULT: I know, there was a woman named Ella Baker, who actually helped SNCC, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, which was known as the shock troops of the movement, and they were all young people. But it was Ella Baker, an older woman who was with the NAACP, but who helped guide these young people and who helped them to feel confident about their own abilities, and their own progressions.
HOLMES: You helped integrate University of Georgia. Now other people could tell your story and define your place in the civil rights movement. Where would you place yourself in the whole movement?
HUNTER-GAULT: Well, you know, I'm just honored and actually humbled to be in this exhibit. Because as Jeanette Coles, who used to be president of Spellman, she is now with the Smithsonian, which helped put this together. As she said, there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of freedom sisters. But everybody can't be in the exhibit. So, I'm just pleased that I have an opportunity to speak about it. And to bring to awareness of your generation, and even younger generations, that this movement existed, that these women made contributions.
And also to try and motivate young people who, should know that they-like President Obama, who was then running for president, he spoke in Selma during the campaign. And said that he was standing on the shoulders of giants and I think that today we often don't know enough about our history. And it's been said in the past that those who don't know their history may be condemned to repeat it.
HOLMES: On that point then, to repeat our history, we certainly don't want to do that, but we have had a tough couple of weeks in this country when it comes to race, as you know.
HUNTER-GAULT: Um-hum.
HOLMES: I'm curious about your thoughts and what have we learned about ourselves again in the past two weeks, we saw the incidents, a lot of it, NAACP versus Tea Party stuff and Jesse Jackson come out and equate the owner of the cavaliers to a slave master, in dealing with Lebron James and now we have the whole Shirley Sherrod story, that is in the news.
HUNTER-GAULT: And her husband, by the way, was an activist in the Albany, Georgia Movement, and nobody's even mentioned that.
HOLMES: Mentioned him. He has kind of stayed out of it
HUNTER-GAULT: Right, right.
HOLMES: What are your thoughts about where we are and what we've learned about ourselves in the past two weeks?
HUNTER-GAULT: I've been talking about this, I live in South Africa half of the year and America half of the year. And when I come back here it's just amazing that we have come such a short distance in terms of reconciling this whole issue of race and now it has moved into a broader area of intolerance. And I think I listen to CNN, and everybody says oh, we've got you on the air yesterday, we've got to have the conversation about race, that lasted for 24 hours. And then it's over. And we never really, as the academics say, interrogate this issue, we never dig down into it. So, I'm proposing. And I hope I can do this, I want to do a series of conversations about race, and really probe this issue.
HOLMES: We talk about young people and getting them involved. Explain to them, young people, what their civil rights struggle is of today. They can sit where they want on the bus, they can have opportunity here and there. They don't have the same struggle that you went through, being turned away and having to drink at a white and black water fountain, so on and so forth. So, they don't, sometimes when I talk to them, get what their civil rights struggle is today. What is it?
HUNTER-GAULT: It's changing. There's a whole issue of the environment, that got so involved in politics. And as you can see it's so disheartening to me to see the politics so, how shall I describe it, so bitter today. I've never seen it this awful across the board. And maybe part of it is a function of the economy, but they have to, you know, each generation has to find its own battles that it wants to fight. And or accept them or reject them. And I think that there are so many issues that young people can embrace.
HOLMES: Shirley Sherrod story this week, what do you make of it? What have you learned?
HUNTER-GAULT: I've spoken about this, I'm so concerned about the state of media today. It's so different than it has been in the past, and I'm really troubled by the polarization that media are promoting in this country. I mean it's -- we're not providing people in the main with news that can be used. Instead, we're feeding stereotypes and actually contributing to ignorance as opposed to enlightenment.
HOLMES: Well, it is a pleasure to have you here in Atlanta, in studio. Any time you are in Atlanta make sure you come by and see us.
HUNTER-GAULT: I'd love to. Thank you so much.
HOLMES: Thank you so much for being with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: About 10 minutes to the top of the hour.
In Iraq, new marching orders for the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne, they're coming home. Nice orders.
BOLDUAN: Right, I'm sure they are very happy about that.
The unit is one of the longest serving since the war began. CNN's Arwa Damon, who is embedded with the troops, reports some members of the elite group will face new challenges, though, upon their return.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (On camera): The music is blaring, the guys are out here having fun. This is something they've rarely been able to do at this deployment. Most of these soldiers are with the 82nd Airborne and they are on their way home. They've had multiple tours in Iraq. They've spent more time in this country than they have with their families. And they have seen things that they would rather forget, but now the White House deadline, there is a sense of finality to their departure.
SGT. 1ST CLASS GARY WILSON, U.S. ARMY: Sometimes you'll have guys that are think about, hey, I'm going home to a baby I barely know, a wife I barely know and I house I've never seen before. And they get to thinking about it. And they need a little coddling, they need a little atta-boys, pat on the backs, tips here and there from guys that have been here before and done it before.
DAMON: And what's your greatest concern leaving Iraq?
WILSON: Greatest concern? Will be that we have to come back. If that's not the case, the greatest concern would be that, keeping my boys safe back at home. You know, keeping them, trying to make them not have to prove something when they get home. It's not an Afghanistan fight anymore. It's not like what they're doing in Afghanistan. These guys did a specific mission over here. Yeah, it wasn't the kinetic fight they were expecting, but it was a mission. And I don't want them to have to go home and try to prove themselves that they're worth their mettle.
They did what they were asked to do. That's all I ask, and if they go home and hold their heads high and pump out their chest a little bit. And say hey, I'm proud of what I did, even though I didn't have to shoot anybody or didn't get in a fire fight or whatever, I still did a good thing.
DAMON: They're leaving behind Iraq with an uncertain future. There are many challenges that still lie ahead once they arrive back in the United States, but on this night, none of that matters. Arwa Damon, CNN, Al Assad Airbase, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: So, the controversial Arizona immigration law takes effect this week, and the debate surrounding it has made national headlines.
HOLMES: However, there is a county on the East Coast, that enacted similar legislation three years ago. We'll show you what kind of impact the law has had there. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Good morning to you from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING for this July the 25th. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BOLDUAN: Good morning, I'm Kate Bolduan. It's 7:00 a.m. in Atlanta, 6:00 a.m. in Chicago. Thanks for starting your day with us.
HOLMES: Take a look at this picture, we just want to bring you, from Grand Isle, Louisiana. This is where our crew is, including our Reynolds Wolf, keeping an eye on things in the Gulf. And keeping an eye on the skies, as well, just in the distance, kind of a gorgeous shot, you see the lightning back there, I'm told no rain necessarily in the forecast for Louisiana, I believe. I just got that word from our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.
Still some lightning in the clouds, in the distance, just off of the coast of Louisiana. But just kind of a beautiful shot this morning, even if it can be a bit ominous to see lightning. But a beautiful shot as the sun starts to come up in Louisiana this morning.
BOLDUAN: Speaking of rain, Chicago floods. More than 13,000 people are waking up in the area without power this morning. Several streets-you see the video right there-and major highways were blocked because of this downpour and the flooding. Firefighters had to use rowboats to get access to some of these people.
HOLMES: And in Germany, take a look at these pictures. They expected 700,000 or 800,000 at a concert, 1.4 million showed up. The result? A stampede, 19 dead, at least 400 hurt. We'll give you more details here in just a bit.
Let me give you a look at some of the other stories making headline this is morning.
First, the tensions still rising on the North Korean or Korean Peninsula. The U.S. and South Korea have begun military exercises this morning. The drills are a show of strength and also reminder of the alliance between the two nations. These are images from an exercise from last year between the two countries. North Korea, meanwhile unleashing its usual rhetoric saying it's ready to respond with, quote, "both dialogue and war", end quote. There's 8,000 U.S. and South Korean personnel taking part along with 20 ships and -- 200 ships, and 20 aircraft I believe.
It's day 97 of the Gulf oil disaster. Crews are getting back to work. What had been Tropical Storm Bonnie has fizzled out. It didn't cause any major problems. It did force to delay containment and cleanup efforts.
Most of the vessels that had been moved are expected to be back in place today. Later this week, crews are hoping to begin again that static kill that involves sealing the ruptured well by pumping mud into it.
BOLDUAN: Arizona's controversial immigration law will go into effect this week unless a federal judge says otherwise. There are two legal challenges to Senate Bill 1070, which it's called. One from citizens and civil rights groups who say the law promotes racial profiling. The other challenge is from the Obama administration. It's trying to block the law before it goes into effect Thursday.
The law requires police to question people about their status if they have detained for another reason and if there's reason to suspect they're in the U.S. illegally.
A number of states may move to follow Arizona's lead, actually, crafting their own legislation to deal with various issues of immigration.
HOLMES: Yes, how -- yes, however, though, you might not know this, Prince William County in Virginia instituted a similar statute some three years ago. So, how is that law playing out?
Our Sandra Endo went to find out for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fear still rings in Maria's voice.
(on camera): What has the law been like for you? Living under this ordinance for three years now in this community, what have you been feeling and experiencing?
"MARIA," UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT: Afraid. I'm so afraid. Everybody shares the same feeling. We're afraid.
ENDO (voice-over): It's been three years since Prince William County in Virginia passed a tough immigration law similar to the controversial Arizona law. Local police check a person's immigration status if that person is charged with an offense, worrying the Latino community is strong.
Maria is undocumented and asked us not to use her last name or show her face. She rarely leaves her home, scared of being racially profiled.
MARIA: We can be all the time, you know, under the shadows, as I'm doing right now.
ENDO (on camera): There are tears in your eyes.
MARIA: Yes.
ENDO: Because you don't feel free?
MARIA: Because -- yes, I don't feel free and it's a really hard situation.
ENDO (voice-over): At Todos Supermarket, owner Carlos Castro says his business suffered because of the law. Regular customers fled the county and moved away.
CARLOS CASTRO, SUPERMARKET OWNER: People were also running some rumors that immigration was here at the supermarket and, you know, don't go out. ENDO (on camera): Police statistics show overall last year, 6 percent of criminal arrests were found to be illegal immigrants and police can only stop to check a person's status if an arrest is made, not simply if a person is just stopped by cops.
(voice-over): The county hired the University of Virginia to find out the impact of the law. Preliminary findings show that illegal immigrant communities shrunk, but the law created discontent within communities of color.
TOM GUTERBOCK, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: It did create serious rifts in the community about how people viewed the county. It's still taking time for the police to repair those issues.
ENDO: Prince William County police chief, Charlie Deane, says he's working to build that trust.
CHIEF CHARLIE DEANE, PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY POLICE DEPT.: We are very much committed to community policing, meaning that we understand -- I certainly understand and our officers understand -- that we have to maintain the trust of all of the people that we serve.
ENDO: Castro believes the heightened fear of three years ago has lessened.
(on camera): Do you think it was a good idea?
CASTRO: Well, I -- I wouldn't consider it a good idea because of all the pain we went through, but we have a safer community.
ENDO (voice-over): But for Maria, the pain is still very real.
MARIA: People who think different than me should come into my shoes and feel what the Latino people is feeling.
ENDO: Sandra Endo, CNN, Prince William County, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: The Gulf is definitely weathered the remnants, the fallout of Tropical Storm Bonnie, without much problem, which is good news. Our Reynolds Wolf is live in Grand Isle, Louisiana, this morning, with more on what's next.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, guys. Thankfully, Bonnie is going, going, gone -- just a few stray remnants right now. But now, it's time to think about the cleanup and when that resumes. I'll bring you the latest from Grand Isle come up in a few moments.
You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: It is day 97 of the Gulf oil disaster and both crews and residents are breathing a little easier actually. HOLMES: Yes, we're all worried about this Tropical Storm Bonnie. Well, it has now fizzled. Vessels are returning to the site to resume their work in this whole Gulf oil disaster.
BOLDUAN: Exactly. So, let's get the latest. CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is in Grand Isle, Louisiana.
What is the latest, Reynolds?
WOLF: The latest that we have for you is that Bonnie is dissipating as we mentioned. And Bonnie actually is just a cluster of thunderstorms that is now continuing to move to the north and, of course, Jacqui Jeras is going to give you the latest on that.
What I'm going to give you is the very latest on what they can expect for today and for days to come. And it's all about getting back to work, and they're going to do that slowly but surely.
To be honest, the effort began yesterday when the Developmental Driller III, which is the vehicle that is actually responsible for drilling the first of two relief wells started making its trip back out to the Gulf of Mexico. It's going to be joined by other ships and it's going to be a very slow process, probably within at least the next 24 to 36 hours to get things in place. But then, for the work to begin in earnest, it's going to be possibly a week or maybe even two.
And they got a lot of work to do. They got to go back and try to take a look at the top kill or rather the static kill operation and then long-term towards the end of the month, into -- well into August, they're going to be working on the bottom kill operation. The procedure where they'll kill out the well all together if all goes as planned.
So, it is going to be a bit of getting back to normal. I can tell you that they did take advantage of the situation. It was a great dress rehearsal because it is going to be an active tropical season. We've already seen two named storms. I'm sure there going to be others. And the Gulf of Mexico is one of those places where it really is a launching pad for many of the storms, or at least a place where they really energize and strengthen considerably.
Thankfully, that didn't happen with Bonnie. But it did give them a chance to look at how they would evacuate the cleanup scene and how they can possibly get back. And, plus, it gave them a chance to actually resupply the boats, kind of make whatever repairs they had to, just a little bit of a maintenance on the ships before they head back and before work resumes.
BOLDUAN: All right. Reynolds Wolf, we'll check back in with you throughout the morning. Thanks, Reynolds.
HOLMES: We saw 10 inches of rain in 12 hours in parts of Iowa.
BOLDUAN: Yes. And take a look at what that downpour actually did. A dam fails, water spills over, really rushes over, and hundreds are forced to evacuate. But that's not the only place where people are dealing with severe weather.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's 10 minutes past the hour now.
As we know, in Arizona, the countdown continues to Thursday. That's when the new immigration law is officially in effect, unless a federal judge's ruling changes that.
Vice mayor of Phoenix, Michael Nowakowski, is joining us now this morning.
Come this Thursday, all of the eyes of the nation will be on your state, sir. We appreciate you being here. Everybody seems to think that this Thursday, the 29th, is D-Day. But what do you think is going to happen on that day?
VICE MAYOR MICHAEL NOWAKOWSKI, PHOENIX, ARIZONA: You know, I think it's going to be an historic moment. Hopefully, we have an injunction and people could celebrate that, we could take more time to really think about this. I really think this is about politics and our governor trying to be reelected and save her own job instead of bringing jobs to the state of Arizona.
HOLMES: Now, Mr. Nowakowski, do you not give her any credit for having some good faith here? And you all agree out there that there is a problem with immigration in that state. The federal government, many say, are not doing enough, not doing anything. That she's trying to do something.
NOWAKOWSKI: You know what? You know, T.J., I believe that we have a problem throughout the whole country. It's not just the state of Arizona. We need some type of immigration reform, we need to make sure that our borders are safe, and we need to make sure that all of these drug dealers are picked up and thrown in jail.
HOLMES: Again, you say a nationwide problem. Certainly, you would agree that the issues in Arizona and other border states are different from other issues they might have with immigration in Iowa or Indiana.
NOWAKOWSKI: Oh, absolutely. But if you look at our statistics -- and here's the true facts: we have the state -- the governor is going around telling people that people are being beheaded in the desert. That the drug cartels are taking over our state. That's not true.
If you look at the facts from 2003, we're at 50 percent -- our murder rate's down 50 percent. Our crime is down in the state of Arizona by 7.8 percent, in violent crimes. So, what we need to do is we need to tell the true picture to invite people to our state, not to scare people.
HOLMES: OK. But the --
NOWAKOWSKI: You know, the state of Arizona is one of the safest states around and that we want to invite people -- unless if you're a drug dealer or human smuggler, you should be afraid to be here in our state.
HOLMES: OK. You say the true picture. The true picture, though, sir, is, in fact -- I mean, you don't dispute that there are hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants in your state, do you?
NOWAKOWSKI: Oh, no, not at all.
(CROSSTALK)
NOWAKOWSKI: I believe we have millions throughout the country.
HOLMES: Yes. All right. But we're sticking with Arizona here. But no one is suggesting that the majority of those folks, indeed, are not drug dealers, or trying to do anything illegal. They're there frankly just trying to maybe make a living and have a better life for them and their families. OK, a lot of people would agree with that.
NOWAKOWSKI: Right.
HOLMES: But still, they are here illegally. The federal government -- may be it is the problem they should tackle but they're not. So, why not Arizona and other border states? What's wrong with trying something?
NOWAKOWSKI: You know what, I believe what we need to start is this debate on a national level and not just focus on the state of Arizona because if we focus on the state of Arizona, they're going to have copycat states. What we need to do is that -- well the FCC, let's say, for example, would you like our state of Arizona to start tackling regulations on the FCC and have our own regulations on the FCC, what programs should be aired here and what shouldn't be aired?
I believe we have federal laws and these federal laws are there for a reason. We have police officers that need to go after the bad guys in our state, not become federal agents for ICE.
(CROSSTALK)
NOWAKOWSKI: So, I believe there's a system, and we need to follow that system.
HOLMES: Well, yes, Mr. Nowakowski, everybody -- I know you -- it sounds like you think the better option is for the federal government, we should have a federal debate and conversation. We've been trying that for a long, long time and it has not gotten us anywhere in terms of comprehensive immigration reform and that is why, some are saying, and that is why Governor brewer and others in your state are saying they had to do something.
So, besides a federal or national debate about it, what should a state do? What is the better option then for Arizona, for your citizens to tackle the problem, since we haven't seen the federal government do anything? NOWAKOWSKI: I believe what our state of Arizona should do is wait for a non-election year, and let's find out if these politicians are going to end up fighting for 1070 during a non-election year. What's happening right now is that they're using it as an election tool.
HOLMES: Mr. Nowakowski, you don't give them any credit for having good faith here. You don't give them any credit for trying to do this in good faith. You're saying this is all politics?
NOWAKOWSKI: It's all politics. That's what it is. I mean, on a non-election year this would never happen in our state. We have good people that respect other cultures and aren't going to go out were there profiling individuals because of the color of their skin.
HOLMES: One last thing here to you, Mr. Nowakowski, do you have faith -- a lot of people are hung up on this idea in the law that you have to have a reasonable suspicion, or an officer does, that someone is in the country illegally in order to ask them to prove their citizenship. Do you have faith in the law enforcement officers around the whole state of Arizona that they can implement that, that they can do the right thing, that they won't profile, that they will have reasonable suspicion -- do you have faith in them?
NOWAKOWSKI: You know what? I don't have faith is in the training process for those individuals. We have great men and women in uniform. They're out there protecting us.
But we really only have an hour and a half video that's going to tell you how to actually identify an undocumented person and a documented person. That's crazy. We need to have some type of program where individuals go out there, they get trained by ICE and understand what are the legal ramifications and what are not.
It takes seven weeks -- five to seven weeks -- to get trained by ICE. We have about nine officers that are trained by ICE. But it took five to seven weeks of training. There's no way you can do that training in an hour and a half.
HOLMES: All right. Well, Mr. Nowakowski, again, this is the week -- we've been debating this for quite some time, the law will go in effect on Thursday. And we got at least seven lawsuits flying and we can expect probably some more lawsuits. We will see what happens if it does, in fact, even get a chance to go into effect on Thursday.
We appreciate you getting up here with us early. We appreciate you talking to us, as always. You enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
NOWAKOWSKI: Thank you. And thank you, T.J., for passing on that information.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks so much.
BOLDUAN: So, it's been a wet, soggy weekend for folks in parts of Iowa, and in Chicago, both trying to dry out after heavy rains and massive flooding. Take a look at some of the amazing images from each area. On the right, you're looking at Delaware County, Iowa -- people are dealing with 10 inches of rain, in just 12 hours. The result: what's been called a catastrophic failure of the Lake Delhi dam. A spokesman for the governor says the water is receding though.
And on the left, you're looking at flooding from the Chicago area. At O'Hare Airport yesterday, more than 200 flights were canceled, about 13,000 people, we're told, are waking up this morning without electricity.
So, what are the -- are these areas in the clear today? Well, you don't want me to tell you. Let's check with meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the weather center.
What are you looking at, Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Kate, so much better across some parts of the upper Midwest, but the problem we've been dealing with has to do with the winds and the upper levels of the atmosphere. We have what we called "zonal flow," and that's when the jet stream moves pretty flatly from west to east, and then we'll get storm system after storm system tracking in the same areas, bringing these torrential downpours. And unfortunately, it doesn't look like that pattern is going to break.
But today, we've got high pressure, which is building into the upper Midwest, so the showers and thunderstorms which will be heavy again will be a little bit farther on down to the south. So, places like Iowa, into Chicago, Milwaukee, who have just been hammered in this last week, will see much better weather today -- in fact I even put a "nice" on there. it's going to be that good with temperatures in the 80s and lots of sunshine.
But serious weather then across the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic States -- we're expecting severe thunderstorms. Damaging winds will be our concern, but we could see isolated areas of large hail as well as an isolated tornado.
South side of the system, here's what we're dealing with here. This is the remnants of what was Bonnie, and that's going to be bringing in some heavy downpours at times across the lower Mississippi River Valley, Louisiana, into the state of Mississippi.
And then we have that upper level disturbance, that thing that caused, though, that wind shear into the Gulf, which really prevented Bonnie from turning into much of a story -- well, that is moving up across the Four Corners area for today and that's going to be bringing in some very heavy showers and storms.
All right, story number three. It's the heat and, man, I don't have to tell you that it's hot from there, out there. From coast to coast, we've got heat advisories from Portland, Oregon, and then up and down the eastern seaboard. Yesterday, a plethora of records were broken -- 105 in Richmond, Virginia; Baltimore, 100, as well as Raleigh. New York City, in Central Park, tied the record at 97; and 96 in Reading.
And here you can see some of those advisories in effect for today. New York City, you're in it. Philadelphia, you're under a heat warning. Down towards Raleigh into Atlanta, it's going to feel like 100 to 110 degrees again. You're going to start to cool down a little bit into the northeast over the next couple of days. But we do expect that heat to persist across parts of the south.
We'll take a look at the big picture and show you some of the numbers out there. You could really see the difference here from Chicago down towards Kansas City, things look pretty good and this where it's really hot.
And then a secondary area here, across parts of the west and we do have fire danger again today. We got some fires burning in northern California. A few dry thunderstorms are possible again today -- combine that with the heat and that spells more trouble.
That's the latest on the national forecast, the "CNN NEWSROOM" with T.J. and Kate will be right back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Here's a problem a lot of us didn't see coming. I personally had -- well, I can say I'm not the most tech-savvy but had no idea this could be a problem. The Internet is about to run out of addresses.
HOLMES: Maybe not exactly what you think that means, though. So, what will this mean for you, but not just you surfing the web, but also your newer devices, your cell phone, all those little new PDAs, everything that's coming out every 10 minutes, it seems.
Josh is back with that once again.
Josh, good morning once again to you.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, again, to you, guys.
Yes, they're calling it the big Internet crunch. And here's what the problem is: it's not a Web site, it's the way that you get online, any device you use -- I know we got video -- but you guys whether you're using your computer, whether you're using your handheld devices, whatever it is that you use to get on the Internet, has something called an IP address. It's an Internet protocol address and we're running out of them. In fact, they might all be gone within a year and this could cause some serious problems if we don't take steps in general to do something about it.
Let me show you basics here on my screen. I want to talk you through what the problem is. This is the idea, as I'm saying. Internet devices use IP addresses to get online. While the current system allows for 4 billion IP addresses, you would think with a little over 6 billion people in the world that would be enough, but it's not, because people have so many different ways of getting online now, businesses have all of the ways. We are quickly approaching the 4 billion mark which means that other devices that are out there won't be able to access the current system of getting online.
There is a new system waiting around. It's a replacement system that would allow for trillions and trillions of them. But what's happening is that especially businesses are kind of taking their time with this, there are a lot -- and some of the big businesses have caught up. They're getting in touch with the new system making it work. You got Google, Facebook, YouTube on there, but a lot of these smaller businesses are not so far, like we got video here of some of the smaller businesses out there.
As we know, every business out there uses the Internet. Well, some of them have not climbed on to the new system and there are a few problems that could come from that. One, it might be impossible for people who have new devices to reach some Web sites, because if Web sites out there are operating on the old system, you won't be able to get there and then these businesses won't get new clients that are on this. Plus, some people think there could be technical problems when you try to mesh the two, some people saying it could potentially by a Y2K kind of thing.
It's probably not going to reach that extent given the work that's being done right now to make way for it. But people should know about it. I put all sorts of details for you up at Facebook and on Twitter, I'm at JoshLevsCNN.
Take a look. And, hey, if you're at a business in America that does a lot of web, make sure that you get onto the new system and avoid the big Internet crunch.
Kate and T.J., not to worry about CNN, we're going to be OK. Smaller businesses out here need to catch up and make sure they're on it, too.
BOLDUAN: Let's hope.
LEVS: Yes.
HOLMES: All right. Josh, we do appreciate it.
LEVS: You got it, guys.
HOLMES: Twenty-five past the hour. Quick break. We are right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We are just getting information this morning: an Afghan official is telling CNN that in fact of those two service members we told you about yesterday who went missing in Afghanistan that, we're told, were captured by the Taliban, this Afghan government spokesperson now telling CNN than, in fact, one of those American service members is dead. The other is now being held by the Taliban.
We brought this story to you yesterday -- these two American service members apparently left Kabul, left their base there, and went missing, did not return, did not show up anywhere. The hunt was on for them, trying to find the missing soldiers. And now, we're being told by this Afghan government official is that, in fact, one of the missing is dead, another is now being held captive by the Taliban.
Our Atia Abawi is working to confirm more information about this particular incident. But, right now, the search is now on for that other service member. So, they're being very careful about how much information they let out, don't want it to compromise their investigation or the search.
But again, one U.S. service member dead, another being held by the Taliban, according to a government spokesperson in Afghanistan.
We will be back with more live news at the top of the hour. Certainly, we'll have more updates for you about this breaking situation in Afghanistan.
BOLDUAN: But, first, "SANJAY GUPTA, MD" begins now.
