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CNN Sunday Morning

President Results Upcoming; Tropical Storm Debby Approaching; Church Born in Slavery Elects Black Leader; 67-year-old Yet Graduates with Grandson

Aired June 24, 2012 - 08:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

Here comes Debby. And where she'll land, no one knows. Nervous eyes watching this newly formed tropical storm as areas in Louisiana prepare this morning for a state of emergency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to see some additional storm surges, more than what's being projected now.

KAYE: Plus, it's the biggest case in more than a decade. And tomorrow could be decision made.

Will Obamacare still stand 24 hours from now?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm actually -- continue to be confident the Supreme Court will uphold the law.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I'm elected president, I will repeal Obamacare.

KAYE: And just one hour from now, Egypt declares a brand new president, but not everyone is in the mood to celebrate.

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KAYE: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It is 8:00 on the East Coast, 5:00 a.m. out West. Thanks for waking up with us.

We begin this morning in Egypt where in just one hour, they are expected to announce a new president. It has been a week of controversy over the runoff results, both sides have claimed victory, both sides have claimed that the other cheated, all while regular Egyptians gather on the streets, waiting for their country's next chapter.

CNN senior international correspondent Dan Rivers is joining me from Cairo by phone. He is headed to the headquarters of Ahmed Shafik, the former Egyptian prime minister who now hopes to be the new president.

Now, Dan, tell us what is the feeling on the streets there with just an hour to go now before the expected announcement?

DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, we've just been in Tahrir Square where there is great anticipation of this announcement. They all believe thinking that they have own, they have proof that their candidate, Mohamed Morsi, has won for the Islam Brotherhood. As you say, we're just coming over to Ahmed Shafik's people, and just switched where their celebration party is, or what they hope it will be, from his headquarters to the outskirts of Cairo, because where they say they have so many people coming that they cannot accommodate them at the party headquarters.

But really, neither side knows for sure who is going to win. In fact, the country is really being building that if Ahmed Shafik is deeply aligned with Hosni Mubarak, the ousted leader, and he was prime minister under Mubarak, the head of the air force at one time, and he is standing simply on a kind of anti-Muslim Brotherhood ticket, that preserving the status quo.

And Mohamed Morsi, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, kind of what was a pretty kind of outlawed organization for some 60 years, and nearly defines the struggle of what has gripped Egypt for the last six decades between the Muslim Brotherhood, and the military establishment, and this is a real focal point in Egyptian politics as to who is going to emerge the winner today.

KAYE: And, Dan, as you are traveling, we are watching, we are sharing with our viewers this incredible live pictures of Tahrir Square, huge crowds gathering, very reminiscent of what happened more than a year ago when we had the Arab Spring and the uprising there. How influential do you think the new president can actually be?

RIVERS: Well, the reality is he is going to be in effect, whoever it is, a (INAUDIBLE) president, because they're going to have to draw a new constitution and then there will be fresh elections again. So, although, you know, both sides are trying to up the ante on this, and putting all sorts of threats of possible violence depending on the outcome, the reality is the new president, (a), has much power, because the army dissolved the parliament, and now issued with emergency law to have the power to arrest anyone they like. But also, there is going to be another election again in possibly, in as little as a year's time.

So, you know, while this is important for the stability on the streets, in terms of the power that the new president will have, well, not so much.

KAYE: Dan Rivers, we will let you keep going and making your way to the Shafiq headquarters there. And once again, we'll continue to watch this story and bring you the results as they happen in an hour from now as soon as they are officially announced.

And new this hour, the Turkish fighter jet downed by Syria on Friday has been found. Turkish television is reporting that a search and rescue crew located the wreckage about 3,300 feet underwater in the Mediterranean Sea. The incident has raised tensions between the two countries. Turkey has just requested a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday with NATO.

We turn to weather now back here at home. Severe weather along the Gulf Coast, heavy rains and rising tides are threatening communities right now. It is all from tropical storm Debby.

Bonnie Schneider is in the weather center watching this for us.

So, Bonnie, how unpredictable or predictable is this storm?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's somewhat predictable and that we know that everyone on the Gulf Coast needs to be on alert. And we have new warnings and new updates for you, Randi. In fact, the center of circulation is now 195 miles southwest of Apalachicola, Florida.

And here's something new, the storm has strengthened. Tropical storm Debby's maximum sustained winds are at 60 miles per hour. We just got the latest advisory, and gusts are just below hurricane force strength. So, the gusts are getting even more strong actually, and as you can see.

And we're also looking at the track, taking the storm more westward, as you can see, and really no change since the last advisory, but notice the intensity coming up to a category one hurricane by the time we get to the middle of the week, and moving so slowly in the Gulf of Mexico that Debby will be a concern for us and with us through most of this week.

Here is something else new, the warning areas have extended. Originally, they were just for Louisiana from the mouth of the Pearl River to Morgan City, but now look at this, let's zoom here into Alabama and into Florida and I'll read you the latest warning area.

We have tropical storm warning now for the Mississippi/Alabama border eastward, all the way towards Florida. So, you can see that we are looking at more of an extended area where we have a threat for tropical storm force winds, these winds that are 39 miles per hour or greater. They will actually start coming in as early as later tonight, even though it's within 36 hours. I think you'll already see plenty of rain across Panama City and through much of the region.

We are watching this closely. There's a lot more to talk about. I'll be talking about it throughout the morning -- Randi.

KAYE: And, Bonnie, just remind us, which side of the storm do you want to be on?

SCHNEIDER: Well, this one is a tricky one, Randi, because right now, you can see -- we are getting most of the convection to the eastside of the storm. But the track takes it westward, so for this particular storm, storm surge will be a concern as we go towards the next couple of days into Louisiana. So, really, this is a tricky one. So, it's hard to say what side to be on because the convection is actually on the east now, but we're going to see more movement to the west over the next few days.

KAYE: All right. Bonnie, thank you very much.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

KAYE: And in about 30 minutes, I'll speak with the president of Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, Billy Nungesser, as his area prepares for tropical storm and maybe hurricane Debby.

To Colorado now where hundreds of firefighters are trying to contain a wildfire that is growing by leaps and bounds. The Hyde Park fire has already destroyed 125 square miles and nearly 200 homes. Fire officials concede it could take at least three more weeks before it's really under control there.

In Minnesota, floodwaters have left a path of destruction. This is what it looks like, take a look here, in Rutledge, Minnesota -- heavy rains brought flashfloods. Now, some of the people forced to evacuate are getting to go back to their homes where they are getting a first look at the damage left behind.

Iran may be trying to build a nuclear weapon, but its people want something more simple: freedom.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Koran is where the state got this law from. But us women know we are not happy with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Women in Iran speaking out about equality. And we'll learn much more about Iran that we don't know when we talk with "New York Times" columnist Nick Kristof on this Sunday morning. He talked with the people there and is back from long road trip through the Iranian countryside.

But, first, a very good morning to New York City. Lady Liberty hanging out in the harbor soaking up some sunshine.

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KAYE: Welcome back.

The world is watching Iran with a close eye, especially amid concerns that it's trying to develop a nuclear weapon. It is a country many in the U.S. call a police state, that represses its people and squashes dissent.

But "New York Times" columnist Nick Kristof is back from a visit there. He travel from Tehran to Mashhad, Iran's second largest city, 1,700 miles on the ground, to learn if there is another Iran that we don't know about. And Nick joins me now.

And, Nick, good morning to you.

NICK KRISTOF, NEW YORK TIMES: Good morning, Randi.

KAYE: So, in your column in "The New York Times" today, you say that there is much more to Iran than really meets the eye, especially when it comes to how Americans view that country. You say that Iran is pretty complex.

What struck you most on the ground there?

KRISTOF: Well, I think they here in this country, we tend to associate Iran with the government, with the regime, because that is the side of it that we always see.

And what really struck me was just the modernity of the country, the yearning for change, the degree to which people emulated freedom, how much I was welcomed, how much warmth there was to America, the degree to which the regime frankly seemed to me to be losing legitimacy and in trouble.

And I think that at some point hopefully before too long, it is going to look much less like what we associate with Iran and much more like say Turkey.

KAYE: And the threat of nuclear Iran is real, and you say you are concerned that the West hasn't even fully used all of its diplomatic tools. I mean, what more can be done? And are you concerned even about that imminent strike that's getting so much attention that could be coming from Israel?

KRISTOF: Absolutely. Look, the problem is that we have been relying very much on a kind of a hard military tool box, and you know, there is talk, as you know, about an Israeli strike that could lead to a new war between Iran and the West. It seems to me that would be catastrophic for -- well, for everything in the region.

If we have patience, then I think that we're going to see Iran evolve away from the present system.

If we go ahead and if there is a new war, I think that's the one thing that would keep the ayatollahs in power. There would be this nationalist backlash, people would embrace the regime and a war with foreigners, and that would cement in place these ayatollahs who are extraordinary and popular at the moment.

KAYE: The word, as you know, watched the uprising in 2009, of citizens and a lot of young Iranians in the streets. The U.S. was blamed by some critics for not doing enough to support that show of civil disobedience. Do you think -- is that fire of discontent still hot? I mean, will there be an Iranian spring like what we saw in Egypt?

KRISTOF: I'd say that the dissatisfaction is higher than ever with the government, and people are unhappy with that violent repressive of the movement. And they are also very unhappy about the economics. The prices are rising and people are out of work partly because of to sanctions and the dissatisfaction is really high.

But as in Egypt, it is difficult to predict when that change will happen, but what is sure of is that what is unsustainable eventually does not last, and that's true of Iran, as it was in Egypt or Tunisia.

KAYE: Yes. In your column, you write a lot about women today and their situation in Iran. I mean, in 2012, are they more fiercely independent do you think than ever before?

KRISTOF: Yes. One of the few things that Iran has really done well is to raise education standards, and in particular for women. So, almost 60 percent of university students now are women. And they are so sophisticated. They fill important roles in the economy.

And yet, there is this basic discrimination that they inherit only half as much as men, that women can be judges, but in a courtroom, the woman's testimony is only half that of a man. And, you know, indeed, women cannot even go skiing by themselves. A new law was passed that women need a male guardian to go skiing, so I believe they will be engineering of change.

KAYE: Before I let you go, I have to ask -- I know you brought your two kids with you, what did they take away with them from this trip?

KRISTOF: Well, frankly, they were nervous. I mean, I think all of their friends were telling them, wow, you are going to Iran. You know, you will be strung up in the streets, and they were blown away by how hospitable people were.

My daughter especially, she is 14, and she had to wear a hijab on her head, and she was a canvas that the Iranian women painted her views. So, conservative women would always help her tighten her hijab and show a little less face, where liberal women were always slinging it back and yank, show your hair -- just a reminder of how monolithic Iran is.

KAYE: I'm sure. It sounds like a wonderful experience for you and your kids as well.

Nick Kristof, once again, your column in "The New York Times" today definitely worth a read, "Not So Crazy in Tehran" is the headline. Thanks, again. We'll see you next Sunday.

KRISTOF: Thanks, Randi.

KAYE: A big decision expected this week from the Supreme Court. Will the justices uphold or strike down Obamacare?

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KAYE: It is a big week coming up for the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court justices, nine people, whose decisions this week will have the power to fundamentally change all of our lives and impact possibly a presidential election. The high court is deciding whether President Obama's 2,700-page Affordable Care Act is constitutional. As you know it requires individuals to buy health insurance or face a fine.

Author, lawyer and Supreme Court reporter Joan Biskupic joins me now from Washington.

Pretty big time in history for the Supreme Court, Joan. Good morning to you.

JOAN BISKUPIC, SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Yes, Randi. In fact, they almost certainly will. We're in the final week of the annual term at the Supreme Court. They have only a few more rulings yet to issue, the marquee case being the health care one, and they are trying to get out of town, too. I think it could come as soon as tomorrow, Monday -- more likely at the end of the week, but certainly by the end of the week, unless there is real trouble.

If they slop over into July, it means they've only had real problems behind the scenes. But I don't think that's the case.

KAYE: Do you think that it's likely that all of the decisions have been made? I mean, the justices had preliminary votes, right, back in March?

BISKUPIC: That's exactly right. As you remember, the health care case was heard over three days in the end of March and the justices took a preliminary vote on March 30th in their private conference, the assignments were made for the majority and for the dissent.

Now, they're just ironing out differences. It's like anyone else, you know, going right up to a deadline. And June opinions are notoriously for being a little bit messy with some compromises. But this is a case where there's no way they want to be messy.

KAYE: So, what is the purpose of the preliminary vote? I mean, is it to sort of feel each other out? Because they can flip-flop, right, until the final vote?

BISKUPIC: Oh, they can, but no, no, this is what happens. The preliminary vote is actually usually sticks, because they have heard the oral arguments and they've read the briefs, but now they are writing it. So much of what they produce is a written decision that justifies the bottom line vote, and the rational that justifies the vote will guide lower courts.

So that's almost as crucial as the judgment and the standard of, does it stand or does it fall? They're explaining themselves to each other and then to the American people.

KAYE: And in Washington, which is a town that loves leaks, there hasn't been a single leak, right, about the preliminary vote?

BISKUPIC: There has been so much speculation, and there have been leaks, but they're -- I mean, not real leaks. There have been speculation that includes, you know, somebody's cousin told me that somebody's brother-in-law who is a janitor -- you know, that kind of thing is going. Or people are reading the body language, but nobody knows for sure what they have decided except for the nine and their closest assistants.

KAYE: You have covered the Supreme Court for quite some time. I mean, and do you have any indication of what the outcome might be?

BISKUPIC: You know, I'm surprised by the speculation that's swirling around so close to when we're going to get a ruling, because at any moment, we could all be proved so wrong.

What I have said is that despite all of the predictions that came out right after oral arguments that for sure it's going down -- I think that there's reason for people to think that that confidence there on that kind of prediction is misplaced. That there's good reason to think that they could equally uphold it, and maybe tip more toward upholding it given where the law in the land has been in the past on the powers of Congress.

It's a very big deal for the Supreme Court to strike down an act of Congress, especially one that in this case forms a major plank of a president's agenda. So, you know, there are just lots of reasons to think that we should be cautious at the last minute, and as I said, we can predict, but I don't want to be wrong in just 24 hours.

KAYE: But you mentioned the oral arguments. I mean, those took place in March. So, why are we now looking at the end off June? What takes so long?

BISKUPIC: Well, this is not unusual for it to take this long, because they have to -- this is hundreds of pages to produce. Maybe it won't be as long as hundreds of pages. That would be wonderful for tomorrow or later in the week that it would not be that long.

But it's sort of justifying the decision, and it's not like they come down and say, OK, this side wins, this side loses. They justify it based on the law and then they answer each other.

Here is something that people don't realize, is that the dissenting justices would be countering and then the majority wants to answer them back and then they can get into a battle of footnotes. I have gone through lots of the papers of retired justices to see just what does hold up a case, you know, the kinds of questions that you have, Randi, and the issue is sometimes over the core legal reasoning. But somebody wants to keep responding, and then they get into a battle of the footnotes and then finally says, this is not worth it, get this sucker out.

KAYE: So, historically, just again, put this in perspective for us, -- how big of a decision is this?

BISKUPIC: This is huge. You know, of course, much will depend upon how much they actually rule, but here we have in the middle of a major election year, we are dealing with core powers of Congress to regulate interstate commerce and act on major social pro problem likes the health care dilemma, so it has lots of consequences for how people live out there, and then coming in the middle of this election year, both sides are, you know, sort of running on this law that was sponsored by Barack Obama.

So I can't think of another case that has so much potential consequence even with Bush v. Gore, you know, remember how quickly that was decided. This is much larger and this is going to dictate federal powers going forward for many decades.

KAYE: Joan, Biskupic, thank you so much, and nice to see you again.

BISKUPIC: Thank you, Randi.

KAYE: A church that was created to support slavery now has a black president. How Fred Luter's historic election is changing the face of the Southern Baptist convention.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back, everyone, to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Randi Kaye.

Bottom of the hour now. Here is a check of the top stories.

We are watching Egypt this morning as we are closer to having an official announcement of who won the presidential election. That announcement is to come in just about 30 minutes. Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi are gathering in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where there are fears of violence if Morsi loses.

Also on our radar, quite, literally, is tropical storm Debby. They are already watches in effect along the Gulf Coast for this very unpredictable storm. It could become a hurricane later in the week. In a few minutes, I'll be talking with Billy Nungesser. He's the president of Plaquemines Parish there on the coast in Louisiana. He's already declaring a state of emergency.

Later today, a protest against the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. It's supposed to take place in Washington. It's being led by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. Marchers are expected to wear orange jumpsuits as part of their protest.

Time now for this week's "Faces of Faith." The church that was founded by Southern slaveholders has elected its first African- American president. On Tuesday, Reverend Fred Luter became the leader of the Southern Baptist Convention. No one even wanted to run against him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED LUTER, PRESIDENT, SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION: It was a surprisingly that I was unopposed, particularly because there is a large convention, and it's a year of the presidential election, and it is -- so I was really, really, really surprised that nobody stepped up and wanted to run against me. And then scene of support I got from the floor just brought tears to my eyes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Luter's election is of huge significance, because it is the largest Protestant congregation in the U.S., and did not apologize for the support of white supremacy until the 1990s. Luter says this shows it's a brand new convention.

And joining us now from San Diego is Dr. Richard Land, the president of the Ethics and the Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Commission.

Richard, good morning to you.

RICHARD LAND, SOUTHERN BAPTIST COMMISSION: Good morning.

KAYE: This is a convention that used to support Jim Crow laws. So, how does it feel to see this evolution?

LAND: It feels wonderful. It feels liberating and it was a joyous moment. You know, Dr. King used to say that the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice. We were privileged on Tuesday to be there and to see one of those bends toward justice.

KAYE: I saw that you had written -- you hope that Dr. King -- believe Dr. King is smiling down on this and seeing this incredible change.

LAND: Yes. Yes, I think, you know, this -- these are the children of the civil rights revolution that have brought this about. We -- 10 percent of the congregations now are African-American. And we are 22 percent ethnic. That makes us the most ethnically diverse denomination in the country, from all white in 1965 to the most ethically diverse today is a good beginning.

KAYE: So what sparked this change in the church and this acceptance of diversity?

LAND: Well, I believe it was the direct intervention of God. I think that we need to give God the credit for changing the collective heart of the Southern Baptist Convention on the issue of race, convicting us of the fact that this was sin, convicting us that we needed to take the bible as our -- as our goal instead of quote "the southern way of life" and we needed to repent of our past sin, and we needed to reach out to our African-American brothers and sisters.

KAYE: And -- and what do you make of this lack of resistance within the church to have a black president?

LAND: Well, I think this shows that we have changed. I think this is -- this is the end of the beginning. We have -- we are now a fully ethnically diverse denomination and our next goal is to reflect the demographic makeup of the country to have it so that there is no difference between the demographic makeup of the country and the demographic makeup of the Southern Baptist Convention. KAYE: What do you think it is about Fred Luter that -- that makes him so special?

LAND: Well, he is -- he's a tremendous preacher. He is a tremendous Christian. He's built a great church twice. Now, you know, he built a church in the Lower 9th Ward, a great church in perhaps the most difficult city in America to build a great evangelical church in New Orleans.

And then when Katrina came and flooded it out, he became an itinerant pastor going to Houston and Dallas and Birmingham and Memphis and ministering to this flock that had been spread like the four winds and the he had brought them back and like a phoenix rising from the ashes, he's rebuilt that great church again since Katrina. It's really one of the most incredible -- well the most incredible examples of pastoral leadership and shepherding a flock that I've ever seen in my entire life.

KAYE: Yes he does have an incredible story. Let me ask you about the church, because just this week the church approved an alternative name The Great Commission Baptist it part of this effort --

(CROSSTALK)

LAND: Yes.

KAYE: -- to distant the church right from the race's routes. So how do you think this will help?

LAND: Well, I think it'll help in some areas you know I went to college in the northeast at Princeton and I know that there are some people in some other regions of the country that when they hear the name Southern or they hear the name Southern Baptist they have certain connotations that make it more difficult to reach them with the gospel.

And the Apostle Paul told us that we just -- are to seek to be all -- all things to all men and by that we might win some to the cause of Christ. And if the name is an impediment to our witness, then we need to change it. And I think that what we did as a convention was said, if you find that Great Commission Baptist helps you to get an open door to share the gospel in a way that Southern Baptist doesn't, then by all means, use it.

KAYE: Dr. Richard Land, great to talk to you this morning. Thank you.

LAND: Thank you.

KAYE: And for more stories on faith, be sure to check out our widely popular belief blog. You can find it at CNN.com/belief.

A sneaky sailor dressed up in disguise to surprise his kids after a long deployment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's up?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: See more of this heart-warming reunion.

Plus people all along the Gulf Coast getting ready for the worst; tropical storm Debby on her way and growing stronger.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: June is gay pride month and there are celebrations and parades taking place all over the world. In Berlin and Germany, participants partied on a float during the city's annual Christopher Street Day parade yesterday.

People took to the streets in Seoul, South Korea for gay pride this month as well. Participants there say they were hoping to create solidarity among the gay community and help others in Korean society understand and accept gay and lesbian people.

Back in the U.S., a 67-year-old man in New York is finally graduating high school at the same time as his grandson. Russell Lee dropped out of high school when he was 16 to serve in the Navy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Russell William Lee, local diploma.

RUSSELL WILLIAM LEE, HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE: I think it is right in there with days that I will remember for a long time.

MIKE ALLEN, HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE: It's an opportunity that not many people get. It's one of those once in a lifetime things that you will never really understand until after the fact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: It is part of operation recognition. It's a program that lets war vets get their diploma as long as they have a high school equivalence.

Now to San Diego where a Navy Sailor returning from deployment surprised his three kids while in disguise at a go-cart track. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw you crashed a couple of times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about you buddy was it fun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now who is that guy in the blue suit, let's -- let's see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's up? Hi Tyrese (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daddy?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Who is that random guy in the blue suit? Rashad Jeffries (ph) has been away from his kids for four and five years he's been in the Navy. He just finished a seven-month-deployment but his kids thought that he would not be back until July.

Communities along the Gulf Coast are on notice right now and that is because tropical storm Debby is on the way. The storm is getting stronger and could soon become a hurricane. I want to show you some live pictures though before we get to the Gulf.

Right now, out of Tampa, Florida, where the skies are beginning to look ominous. Take a look at that. You could see the palm trees are starting to blow even the umbrellas a bit are looking pretty ugly there in that live picture.

Joining me now on the phone is Billy Nungesser. He's is the President of Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana. Billy, good morning once again last we talked this morning much earlier you haven't yet declared a state of emergency, have you now?

BILLY NUNGESSER, PRESIDENT, PLAQUEMINES PARISH, LOUISIANA: Yes, we have, we declared a state of emergency and trucks are on their way to begin sandbagging those levees that were topped last year during the tropical storm. We've got about foot clearance before it comes over the top and we're anticipating being right at the level, so we're going to be adding a couple of feet of sandbags to the top of that little levee in south Plaquemines.

KAYE: And is that the immediate danger?

NUNGESSER: Yes, we're projecting a 3.9 storm surge there and this will bring us up to four feet.

So it's still going to be pretty close. We have way too much levy to go much higher than four feet. So it's projected to be higher than four feet we will then retreat and put Haskel baskets and tubes along Highway 23 and flood fight along that highway like we did last year.

But that's the only evacuation out of south Plaquemines those fishing villages, the oil fill, to all of the people coming in from offshore, it's the only way they have out of Plaquemines Parish, so it's very important we keep that route clear.

KAYE: Yes, it certainly is. What about shelters for those who might be in trouble at home. Is there a safe place they can go? NUNGESSER: Well, right now we're not anticipating the highway flooding, we think we're going to be able to hold back those flood waters if the storm comes more towards the tip of Louisiana, you know we're sticking out there 30 miles to 40 miles out into the Gulf, that little finger, then we will start talking about shelters and bringing people to the north end of the parish.

But right now, we're not anticipating doing that at this time.

KAYE: Billy, I know you've been through so much there. we wish you the best of luck and we'll keep an eye on it along with you. Plaquemines Parish president, Billy Nungesser with us this morning.

Let's check in now with Bonnie Schneider. She has word of a couple of tornado warnings in Florida -- Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Randi. We we're talking about the movement of the storm is heading more westward but it's the eastern side that we're getting severe weather right now.

Let's zoom in here. We have a tornado warning and we'll put this map in motion and you'll see that the rain is just sweeping on shore, this tornado warning is for eastern Charlotte and Northern Lee County until 9:00 a.m.

A wider spread look shows heavy rain all the way to the panhandle of Florida down to South Florida and to Fort Myers, and this is the region we had some tornadoes reported in Collier County yesterday, so look for the risk to continue today. And incidentally the coastal flooding will extend for a really large portion of the Gulf Coast from Debby all of the way from Louisiana where we have tropical storm warnings into Florida, Alabama and Mississippi and notice the heavy rain 10 inches, this is going to be a big rain maker and not just for Louisiana, but particularly for Florida.

This is incredible. We could see six inches plus over to the next couple of days and some parts of Florida need the rain, but others just saw a lot of rain so this is going to cost some flooding. We're keeping our eye on it -- Randi.

KAYE: We got it, Bonnie thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

KAYE: Bracing for protest and possible violence Egyptians are awaiting word on their first democratically-elected president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: Let's head to Washington now. CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" coming up at the top of the hour and possibly the Egyptian election results. Good morning to Candy Crowley joining us live from D.C. So Candy --

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Good morning.

KAYE: -- could these election results, do you think, hurt the U.S./Egypt relations possibly depending on how it ends up?

CROWLEY: Either way it could hurt the U.S. relationship with the Egyptian military which has always been very close is already in question by some folks who say, wait a minute, the military has moved in, you know, and the parliament has been disbanded. They've taken control of writing the constitution. Is it time for the U.S. to pull back -- hold back its support for the Egyptian military?

Each candidate comes with both internal and external problems. I would imagine that the State Department -- and we certainly hope that the State Department and others have gained out either scenario.

KAYE: And I know that on the other big issue, certainly we are expecting a few big rulings from the Supreme Court this week. You're going to have a couple of guests on this morning to talk about the looming ruling on Arizona.

CROWLEY: Yes. Arizona's very strict immigration laws that were passed; in particular people looked at that part of the law that called for state police officers to question any suspect they may have pulled over for other reasons if they are also suspicious that suspect has no papers. They are supposed to ask for documentation of whether or not they are legally in the U.S.

So we're going to talk to Luis Gutierrez who is a congressman from Illinois and a democrat, a supporter of the President, but also one who has been pushing the President hard on the issue of immigration. We're also going to talk to Carlos Gutierrez who is now an advisor to the Romney campaign but he used to be commerce secretary for George W. Bush.

They are not related and they don't have the same ideas about immigration. So we want to talk a little bit about that court ruling and what it will mean politically on the campaign trail and what it means in general for other states who are watching this Supreme Court ruling on Arizona to see what they will be allowed to do in their states to try to deal with the illegal immigration problem.

KAYE: It is going to be a very interesting discussion and I'm sure a very interesting show. Candy, thank you very much.

CROWLEY: Thanks.

KAYE: We will check back in with you at the top of the hour.

The fallout from the Jerry Sandusky case: the jury found him guilty but now the attention is turning to Penn State University. Legal contributor Paul Callan will break down what it all means.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: What's next in the Jerry Sandusky case? He is behind bars and will likely spend the rest of his life there, but what about the victims? Earlier I asked CNN legal contributor, Paul Callan, about that, and about the possibility of civil claims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: I think you could see anywhere from five to 15 lawsuits probably being filed. Mike McQueary, remember, the assistant coach who testified -- he also has a lawsuit against Penn State which he's filed, is going to file formally in the near future. So, lots of suits against the university.

KAYE: Yes. And let me ask you about one of Sandusky's defense attorneys Karl Rominger went on a radio show yesterday. I want you to listen to what he said and then I want to ask you about it, because it is very intriguing.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

KARL ROMINGER, JERRY SANDUSKY'S ATTORNEY: We actually asked to resign from the case, and that was done in secret. Joe Amendola and I asked Judge Cleland if we could withdraw from representing Jerry Sandusky, because we felt we were ethically unable to go forward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When did you ask to resign the case?

ROMINGER: We did that the morning before jury selection started. It was denied.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KAYE: Paul, when you hear a defense attorney say that they were ethically unable to move forward -- those were his words -- what would that mean possibly?

CALLAN: This was an astonishing claim by this attorney. By the way, this is the same attorney who said before trial that the defense was going to be, that Sandusky gave showers to disadvantaged boys. He was teaching them how to take showers.

Now, usually in the criminal cases, criminal defendants claim they have not had a speedy trial which is guaranteed by the constitution. This is now going to be the reverse of that. They're going to say he was forced into trial quickly -- a rush to judgment.

And what it makes me think, Randi is in the end it's going to be a claim of incompetence of counsel. You don't hear the attorney saying that, but essentially I think that Sandusky may have a claim that his attorneys acted incompetently -- that will be one of his claims. They certainly will put on the list that they were forced to trial too quickly and could not adequately prepare for trial. And then there other sordid things that arose during the course of the trial about things that were admitted into evidence.

So there are areas where they can file an appeal. Whether that appeal would be granted by an appellate court is another matter.

KAYE: Let me ask you about it -- because it is as fascinating statement, and that is part of why we wanted your take on it. Penn State issued a statement saying the university wants to provide a forum to where the university can privately, expeditiously, and fairly address the victims' concerns and compensate them for claims. How would this work? And what would you expect to happen from here on this?

CALLAN: This was a very, very good thing, I think, that the university did. Of course, they have a new president in place. The university has a $1.8 billion endowment, so there are funds available and, of course, there's probably some insurance coverage available.

This indicates a willingness to try to settle these cases out of court and quietly, so that you really don't have to put the victims of sex abuse through a public trial again. So I would be hopeful that the university and the victims will be able to sit down and reach an agreement on these cases.

Of course, the hardest thing is always trying to decide what is an appropriate measure of damages. Some people want millions and millions of dollars and the university is going to try to limit its exposure there. There are going to be some hard negotiations about how much to pay these victims.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And for more of my guest and stories, you can check out my newsroom blog. Just go to cnn.com/randi, you will find it all there.

Any minute now we could find out who Egypt's new president will be; the results could mean more violence in that country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Checking the morning top stories.

We are keeping an eye on tropical storm Debby. There are already watches in effect along the Gulf Coast for this unpredictable storm. It could become a hurricane later this week. Billy Nungesser, the president of Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana is already declaring a state of emergency.

And in Minnesota, flood waters have left a path of destruction. Heavy rains brought the flash floods, now people forced from their homes are returning to devastation and loss.

And finally we are watching Egypt and in particular Tahrir Square. We are just moments away now from the expected announcement of the presidential runoff results. There are fears that violence could erupt in the Square if Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Mohamed Morsi loses.

His supporters are the ones there in Tahrir Square right now -- looking at these live pictures. Meanwhile we have seen riot police gathering outside the Square as well.

I hope you have a great day. Thanks for watching. You can always continue the conversation with me on Twitter @RandiKayeCNN; I always love to hear from you. Have a wonderful Sunday.

"STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts right now.