so we could see very light volume. but both stock exchanges here, the nasdaq and the new york stock exchange are open for business. then the second item we've got concerns the european debt crisis. that's still a big concern. then on friday, we get the government jobs report. we'll find out what the unemployment rate is for august. that is threat number hree. >> oh, and that could be bad. the government jobs report. you know, smaller government -- >> yeah. >> government's been laying off. et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. >> yeah. we've been having a hard time showing a good number throughout the whole summer. so i don't think expect much be this time either. >> i'll still keep my fingers and toes and everything else cross in case in helps. you, too. thank you, carter evans. "american morning" starts right now. irene's extreme impact. i'm christine romans. water rising, the death toll rising, millions without power. one of the most widespread emergency responses in history under way right now?

i'm ali velshi, one of irene's last stops dealt one of its hardest blows. parts of vermont completely unreachable as rivers start to roar. one official describing the aftermath as awful. >> cut off in carolina. i'm carol costello. thousands who ignored evacuation orders stranded on the outer banks. emergency supplies heading there by ferry today on this "american morning." good morning. it is monday, august 29th. you lose track of it on these type of weekends when so much happens. there is a lot going on for a lot of people who say we missed -- we dodged the bull letsz, a lot of people who didn't dodge any bullets. >> whoever says that is not listening to the chainsaws humming in connecticut, vermont, new jersey, all the way up and down the northeast coast. >> i think people thought it would be worse. we're lucky we dodged the bullet. i expected so much worse. >> nobody in western jersey

dodged the bullet when you look at the towns and water still raging. everyone is clear there are still, you know, flood swol len rivers. you might be thinking you're driving like normal but be careful in the northeast. it's dangerous out there. you have lots of bridges closed or out. don't think you dodged it. >> i strongly disagree with that evaluation which i've been seeing from a lot of people. ivory towers for those of us in new york to think we dodged. millions of power outages, record flooding, cutting out communities and some of them are far inland. the storm no longer a hurricane, wasn't as of yesterday midday. not even a tropical storm now. but it rocked boats, flooded streets all the way through new england. and it is being blamed for at least 20 deaths across eight states. tell those families they dodged a bullet. the cost could top $1 billion, but that doesn't begin to include the big one, flood

damage or lost business, downed power lines proved deadly and caused a transformer to blow in north carolina. 4 million left in the dark all the way up the east coast. many don't have power yet. as christine said, several towns in new jersey and new hampshire are under water. in vermont, these pictures are dramatic, raging water, washed away bridges, knocked some of their homes off of their foundations. search crews are saying they are afraid of what they could find when the water starts to go down. right now, seven families say they are trapped in upstate new york's catskill mountains after bridges crumbled around them. 23 include two pregnant women, seven toddlers and three infants. no power either. win dam upstate is also in danger, upstate new york, is in danger of breaking. for the latest forecast on the flooding and vermont -- because they didn't order those evacuations, they didn't think anything would happen. let's go to rob marciano. what is happening in vermont?

what should they expect? >> not going to get any more rain but their riskers in most cases are still rising, most of them will crest this afternoon or tonight, and that sort of terrain, they rise quickly as we've seen and also fall relatively quickly as well. the rainfall amounts we see here are tremendous for sure, but keep in mind a lot of these totals came in between 12 and 18 hours, that's a lot of rain over saturated ground in a short period of time. monroe, 9.26, newark, almost 8 inches, laguardia seeing over 5 inches as well. new hampshire and vermont, you get just a little further north and west of the coastline and that's where the most rain fell and we're seeing the most damage. elizabeth county, new hampshire, 6.6 inches, platsburg, 6.35, and milds bury and burlington, the biggest and largest cities in vermont, we're seeing over 6 inches of rain. marketville, new york, seeing a

tremendous amount of rainfall. these are mountainous areas. these towns will see creeks and rivers rise quickly and barrel through town and take out everything in its path. vermont, the green mountain state, just incredible beauty there, and some of their treasured covered bridge wiped out. that is heartbreaking to see. not the only one that went. this is the kind of thing that -- and there are towns in vermont that got wiped out as well. tremendous amount of rainfall there. the flooding is going to continue today, but no more rain. again, basically from north to south where you'll see the rivers crest in the hillier terrain across vermont and jersey, things crest tomorrow and further down. these are some of the gusts as far as winds go. it was, you know, we did have hurricane strength wind gusts in some spots including new york, laguardia got up to 67 miles an hour. the city itself in manhattan little bit more protect itted, saw less in the way of wind gusts. down the road we are still in the middle of hurricane season

about to ramp as we go through the second week of september. this is tropical depression number 12 f that develops into a storm it will be kauds ya. if i had to roll the dice with that one, maybe it's wishful thinking, hopefully a fish storm. >> i was going to say, no, don't tell us about that yet. >> no immediate threat, guys. >> thanks, rob. north carolina's outer banks slammed so hard some areas are only accessible by chopper. the main highway washed out stranding 2500 people who didn't leave. our david mattingly live in colington, north carolina. good morning, david. >> good morning, christine. in north carolina, and virginia, alone, at least 11 people lost their lives because of this storm and authorities here only now beginning to get a fuel view of the damage that was left behind. >> reporter: a stunning view of the power of hurricane irene. north carolina's highway 12

chopped into pieces on hatteras island. the estimated 2500 residents who stayed behind now stranded with no way to drive out. >> we're probably 24 hours away from being able to get there other than by helicopter. >> reporter: hit first, north carolina felt irene's strongest punch. bringing what is described as epic flooding to waterfront communities along alba marl sound. houses and roads that weathered storms in the past, were swamped like never before. hurricane isabel in 2003 was an incredibly destructive storm when it hit here, the winds were such that it actually blew this water in the sound away from here. the water level was much lower. this time when irene hit, the exact opposite happened. entire neighborhoods were inundated in a matter of hours. one resident caught the flood on camera with winds whipping the water onshore.

just hours later, the waters receded, leaving a mess behind, and weeks of cleaning up. >> part of living in the slice of power dice. >> reporter: people in virginia cleaning up, 1.2 million without power from a full day of damaging winds and 10 inches of rain. governor bob mcdonald is asking for patience. >> it's going to be a matter of days or perhaps longer before power is fully restored. >> reporter: it is the second worst power outage in virginia history. two states that will remember irene as a hurricane for the record books. >> reporter: and no estimates yet on how long it's going to take to repair that broken highway here on the outer banks. but officials now are not wasting any time. they're getting an emergency ferry under way to reconnect those islands and give access to the people who live there. >> thanks so much, david. millions of people without power right now. >> yeah. >> and some might be for days.

you know, that is a whole lot less serious than a loss of life, but is it an inconvenie e inconvenience. >> when you live around trees and have overhead power lines, you expect it but hope it won't happen. this hour mass transit is slowly getting back it to normal. new york city subway system shut down for the first time ever due to a natural disaster. it has shut down before, but for other reasons. it's back up and running with some exceptions this morning. commuters should expect slower service, longer wait times, more crowded times. cnn's jason carroll is at penn station right now. usually one of the busiest places on any monday morning. how is it looking, jason? >> you're right. usually it's very busy where i'm standing right now. doesn't look that way right now. take a look at where we're standing. usually they're lined up here because there are a line of people waiting to hop inside and take the cab to their destination. they've come in on trains, trains that obviously it's in

question as to whether or not they will be running today. this is really a transit culture when you think of a place like new york city. 2.6 billion use the transit system every year on an average, 7.5 million each day use the busses and trains. when you have a situation when the system is shts down, you can imagine it causes a lot of complications for a lot of people. let's bring you up to date in terms of what's happening today. we have the subway system that should be up and running as of now, but because the train service will be limited in some particular sections, you should expect some crowded trains and you should expect delays as well. in terms of new jersey transit, the trains are suspended. we were check the long island railroad service. expect some service suspensions there as well. good news for the area airports, ali. as of 6:00 a.m., we are told that you should start seeing some of the airports opening. all of the major airports will be opening today, that includes,

of course, laguardia, newark and jfk. all the bridges and tunnels are open and cleared today. remember yesterday the holland tunnel flooded for a certain portion of time. but, obviously, this is a story about commuters. i want to bring in one commuter who stopped and decided to talk with us today. this is ron beau, he came in from long island. your commute went pretty well. >> no trouble daat all. >> what did the train look like? >> it was empty, a little quiet today. >> a lot of people maybe decided to take a three-day weekend. >> i think so. >> yeah. so in terms of talking about the commute, if you weren't able to take the train what would have been your option? >> i would have drove in. >> you're one of the lucky people that have a car. you know being in new york city, so many people depend on the subway system and the train system that a lot of folks don't have cars. a lot of people when we were talking about the service suspensions today were saying they were questioning whether or not the system should have been shut down. what are some of your thoughts?

>> it was pretty bad yesterday on long island. i could see why they shut it down. branches flooding, the whole bit. >> and obviously still some spingss on the lirr. thanks for stopping by. hope you can make it to work. >> thank you. >> obviously still going to be suspensions today, people obviously decided not to come out because you know what it looks like right here at this time at 6:00, it's usually packed with people. look at this, not a lot of people around today. new york city's mayor said it's going to be a challenging day. i think that might be an understatement for some folks out here today. >> that -- ron, that is his name? he embodies new york practicalities. he had to come to work. the interesting thing about where you are, it's such a hub, if you take the train from long island you go to penn station. if you come in on amtrak, from new jersey or pennsylvania, you go to penn station. i guess those cabs are looking for those commuters who aren't coming in because we don't have amtrak running properly, we have long island railroad trains

coming in but it's a commuter hub. >> absolutely. amtrak says that in terms of their service in the northeast, they are expecting their trains to be up and running, but i spoke to one guy out here trying to get to washington, d.c., on amtrak, he said amtrak told him no way, system not working for those trying to get down to d.c. it's going to take a while for the system to reboot itself. what you should be doing if you're on amtrak trying to get to a place like philadelphia, boston or washington, you need to check before you come down to a place like penn station. >> was that my husband, jason? >> trying to get from washington, d.c. to new york to d.c. >> he should call. >> i will e-mail him now. >> you use amtrak a lot, you know who you call when you get. julie. >> i love julie. julie is helpful, i think. >> i like julie. >> some man passed me the other day, buying loads of bottled water, he said, why is it that women are buying bottled water and men are buying booze. >> that's a good question. >> i thought that was so funny.

met a lot of nice people, even though it sort of rained hard here in the heart of new york city. take look at this, this is the life guard headquarters in long beach, new york, on long island. you see it, it floated away. waves slammed it up against the boardwalk as the storm moved through at high tide. >> wow. people in upstate new york are told to head for higher ground after water started pouring over a dam. an empty car caught up in the current, empty we're told, tossed around like a toy in the water. >> storm reporters always look so tough facing against huge waves and strong winds. reporter in this next clip, meets her match when hit by a wave from irene, it's too much to handle. >> let's get out of here. let's get out of here. grab the mike. >> come on.

and she left her photographer there. she threw her my crown phone and run. >> you're my size and a wave hits you you're fine. >> cameraman told me first rule in a hurricane, never stand in the water if you're on the beach, don't stand in the water. >> my first rule never leave your photographer behind. he's not going to be happy with you. >> we shad susan candiotti in long island, i was worried, going to end up in the long island sound. >> she didn't run away like a little girl. >> when you're small and waves hit you -- >> no, sarah would not have done that. >> i'd be nice now. coming up on "american morning," hurricane irene batters new jersey. thousands forced to flee their homes. the american red cross calling it one of the worst disasters they've seen in years. daphne heart will come your way next. >> the man convicted in the pan am 103 bombing hasn't been seen for nearly two years until now.

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call 1-800-sandals. conditions apply. welcome back to "american morning." hurricane irene hit cities up and down the east coast. we've been receiving hundreds of your i-report videos, stunning images of the wild weather and widespread damage. jesse stone of white river junction, vermont, documenting massive flooding in his area. he said this river is normally very slow, peaceful, but on sunday the rough waters nearly destroyed this covered bridge. >> check this out, jeff captured a flash flood in woodstock, vermont. propane tanks being carried by the powerful waters. >> and let's move on to jersey city. adam rice sent us this video. he took it at the height of the storm yesterday. that's the hudson spilling on to the walkway along the river.

there were evacuations in this area. we'll show you more i-reports throughout the morning. >> new this morning, fled his country after an alleged assassination attempt. the president of yemen says he will return. president ali abdullah saleh is in saudi arabia right now, severely injured in a bombing attack at his palace back in june. saleh says he will not come back to yemen until the investigation is complete. opposition leaders say he's stalling. saleh has agreed to step down from power at the end of the year. irene didn't stop hundreds who trekked to d.c. to visit the newly opened national memorial. the official dedication of the king memorial was postponed sunday because of the hurricane. the memorial features a 30-foot statute of king and an inscription wall with some of his famous quotes. >> the blue skies. sunday afternoon, blue skies. >> that's it. >> beautiful memorial too. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, what will dick cheney's legacy be. i ask you that because mr.

cheney is starting a legacy building book tour. his book titled "in my time." cheney says heads are going to be exploding all over washington. maybe. in an nbc "today" show interview, vice president cheney was apologizing for nothing. certainly nothing. >> i would strongly support using it again if circumstances arose where we had a high value detainee and that was the only way we could get him to talk. >> according to the "new york time times", then secretary of state condoleezza rice, cheney writes of her, nay eve in dealing with north korea, of colin powell, cheney says powell tried to undermine president bush. that sent powell, as canton would say, to the moon. >> he says i went out of my way not to present my positions to the president, but to take them outside of the administration. that's nonsense. >> of george w. bush he called the president an outstanding

leader from dick chaineny. if you think cheney will be bowed by any of his critic in february when ron paul supporters dared to heckle cheney at a conservative gaths eshg, cheney seemed to relish it. >> all right. sit down and shut up. >> war criminal! >> the usual spirited exercise. >> he loved it. our talk back today, what will dick cheney's legacy be? facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. >> i'm looking forward to seeing the comments on that. >> me too. >> still to come, mayors, governors, even president obama

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minding your business this morning. it's sort of business as usual for wall street today. a spokesman for the new york stock exchange says everything is in working order after hurricane irene and investors will now turn their attention to the labor market because the government jobs report comes out on friday. we'll talk more about that this week. early estimates on damage from hurricane irene, financially are, are starting to come in. the wind damage alone is expected to top a billion dollars, but that doesn't include flood damage, loss of productivity, loss of business. it also doesn't include the other side of the equation, the

economic boost like spending before the storm, construction and overtime. irene could cause gas prices to drop. according to the latest lundberg survey, flights were canceled, that may have put a big enough dent in demand to fall. new numbers from the commerce department are expect to show americans are doing a better job of saving money according to the "wall street journal" though thrift does have its downside. americans are spending less slowing economic growth down. facebook is going to stop offering those on-line bargains like groupon. the decision comes months after the social network first started offering discounts in a number of cities. facebook didn't give a specific reason for ending the deals. "american morning" is right back after this break. stay with us. the call... of america's number-one puppy food brand? call... with dha and essential nutrients also found in mother's milk. purina puppy chow.

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as we are still trying to work through what the damage is, the damage reports, and also hope that these swelling rivers aren't going to continue to be a real problem in the northeast. but certainly they are. the threat far from over for millions in the northeast. the storm being blamed for at least 20 deaths now, all up and down the coast. quite frankly you've got governors still warning that we have a lot of water, we have downed power lines, we still have concerns about flash flooding as well, carol. >> yeah. flash floods, lots of flash flood watches over irene. the biggest danger in vermont, suffering its worst flooding in eight decades. no evacuations were ordered ahead of irene. >> that's a problem. a good thing to keep in mind for everybody criticizing the preparations for this. mass travel getting back on track. major airports, jfk and newark in the new york area, they've reopened to arriving flights, philly open. departures will begin at noon. most new york city subways are running, started about a half ago. some limited exceptions and

commuters should expect slower service. in new jersey the challenge is the flooding. irene the first hurricane to make landfall in that state in more than 100 years. rivers still swollen, thousands of homes and businesses have no power. poppy harlow joins us from millburn, new jersey. i'm telling you that new jersey is soaked. it was soaked all spring and now this water has nowhere to go but into basements, businesses and streets. >> that's right. we saw it, christine, firsthand all weekend long. just unbelievable what irene did to new jersey, even inland parts. we'll show you video that's astonishing of the flooding in near by secaucas. governor christie taking a aerial view, flying around the state, warned of a major flooding incident in the next two days because as you've said you have the swollen rivers and now governor christie says you have dams at risk. a huge problem for people across new jersey. want to bring you out and show you the river in millburn.

this river it crested came all the way over this, came into the street across into all the businesses here on main street, christine. i spent the day in all these businesses, flooded basements. want you to take a look at all the damage it did to one restaurant in millburn. take a look. >> we're going to go seat basement. if we can look at the floor it's full of mud. a lot of sewage and grass and leaves that into into these restaurants. this stuff can be -- go ahead and take us there, can be cleaned up, but what dana was telling me earlier, it's going to take about a month. a big concern is often times flood insurance doesn't cover basements. can you imagine that. wait until you see this paintment and see what we're talking about. look down here. dana, how many feet down does that go? >> well, that's about ten, 11 feet. >> 10 or 11 feet of water in there. >> right up to the ceiling. the office, all of the walk-ins, all the food is gone. >> reporter: all the food is

gone, his computers under there. this is a second blow for this town. hurricane floyd in '99 decimated businesses here. 16 feet of water during hurricane floyd. it was worse then. still bad now. all the residents here are livid because there is no drinking water here. there is no power in most of these homes. i was just told by city officials drinking water is going to be at least another 24 hours before it goes on because you had all the sewage treatment flantss that were flooded and you have brown water all over the place here. >> jersey, floyd is a four-letter word, frankly, and a a lot of people saying irene, a lot of businesses, the inland flooding, irene is up there in that category with them. thanks, poppy. >> president obama cut short his vacation to monitor irene from washington. the president warned that while the storm has dissipated the disaster is still unfolding today. >> many americans are still at serious risk of power outages and flooding, which could get worse in the coming days as rivers swell past their banks.

so i want people to understand that this is not over. >> the president exercising caution in the handling of irene, joining governors and mayors from up and down the east coast trying to avoid the political pitfalls they've seen in the handling of katrina six years ago and the new york city blizzard last winter. were they successful? ron brownstein joins me to discuss, a cnn political analyst and editor and director of the national journal. welcome, ron. >> good morning, carol. >> we seem to have a checkered past when it comes to natural disasters. katri katrina, the blizzard this past winter in new york city. critics say the city was slow to react. this time around we actually did see a lot of reaction from our public officials, but some are questioning whether this was overreacti overreaction. is this the new normal? >> after katrina this is the new normal. i think every elected official, those in executive positions, are going to worry much less about being criticized for doing too much than being exposed for

doing too little. most of what government does, most of what we report on is theoretical, abstract to most americans. they're not really tangible, but there are moments when it simply becomes apparent whether or not you can run the thing that you were elected to run. you know, it is a natural disaster, as often the case, and if an elected official is seen as wanting or failing in the moments, michael bloomberg with the snowstorm or when i was growing up in new york john lindsey couldn't clear the streets and cooperate report. i think from now on, particularly post-katrina, that officials you're going to see this kind of very strong reaction and not a lot of concern about whether some people think it's too much. >> the language that was used was strong sometimes. for example, governor chris christie did not mince words in his warnings on friday. listen. >> get the hell off the beach in asbury park and get out.

you're done. it's 4:30, you've maximized your tan. >> tough words. he ended up evacuating 1 million from the jersey shore while michael bloomberg in new york shut down all transit in the city. i know the storm could have been much worse but because it wasn't and officials used this strong language, took strong action, do they risk becoming like the boy who cries wolf. >> maybe michael bloomberg had similar language about how people should not put the first responders in jeopardy sticking around too long in dangerous areas. maybe it's the new york city -- i grew up in new york. it's the new york city kind of sharp elbow politics, people tell you what they think. i actually do think that post-katrina, again, this is also part of the new normal. i think elected officials are not shy about saying to people look, you know, by acting irresponsibly, you're not only putting yourself in danger but others in danger who will have

to come try to save you. we don't want to put up with that. it is, in fact, the storm was serious, though not as serious as it could have been and, you know, maybe in the media we trumpeted a bit too loud as well, but i do think that, you know, after what we saw in new orleans, that you are going to see aggressive responses because as i said, the fear of being seen as doing too little vastly outweighs the concern about being perceived as doing too much. >> i want to touch on something before you have to go. ron paul, the libertarian and presidential contender, attacked fema this weekend, calling it deeply flawed and wasteful. so, he's using fema as a punching bag, even though, even the republican governor chris chris it ti praised fema for its actions during storm. >> fema has been getting good reviews in general. the officials in joplin after the tornados have given it good responses. ron paul has a passionate but limited following and here come the e-mails. this is the reason he is, you know, 10% of the republican

coalition and probably 2 or 3 or 4% of the american public overall except those views of very minimalist government, as someone said a government so small you could drown it in the bathdub. most americans view government the attempt to do collectively what we cannot do alone. one of those is respond to natural disasters beyond the capacity of individuals and individual communities to deal with. and i think most americans at this moment, regardless of their ideology, expect the government to work. it's kind of the bare minimum of what they want from their government, that in a time of crisis, it's there to help people deal with it. >> ron brownstein, many thanks. interesting conversation as always. thank you for joining us. >> very good conversation. i thought he was quite astute. i think the criticism needs to be balanced whether the preparation was overkill and coverage overkill. they're two separate issues. and happy to have the one about the coverage, but i think it's really ivory tower monday morning quarterbacking for people who are saying --

>> mayor bloomberg was criticized for not being prepared for the big storm in the winter and katrina, like he says n a post-katrina world, politicians are really concerned about not being ready. >> there is an article in "the new york times" very interesting, quotes someone from the national hurricane center forecaster there saying that they sort of -- they got the track of the storm right, but as far as the way the storm was structured, they admit they got that wrong. but, you know, these things happen. it's mother nature. >> i would rather skew that way than the other way. coming up on "american morning," cnn exclusive, nic robertson, nic robertson, he tracked down the lockerbie bomber in libya, caught a glimpse of abdel bassett al megrahi on what his family says is his death bed. the video that you will only see on cnn. coming up next. where do you go to find a business backed by the superguarantee®? only& suonline.s®. on your phone. or in the book. go to superpages®. and let the good guys save the day.

the scottish government is defending its decision to release the lockerbie bomber back to libya. this comes a day after the national transitional council says it will not extradite abdel bassett al megrahi, convicted of the 1988 pan am bombing above scotland. he may be one of the last men alive who knows the secrets behind the devastating attack

and who in libya's government actually authorized it. in a cnn exclusive, senior international correspondent nic robertson was able to track megrahi down. nic joins us now live from tripoli. good morning, nic. >> reporter: good morning, ali. we had an proximate idea of which district in tripoli megrahi was living in. we went to that neighborhood. we had a photograph of the house or what we believed was the house. we asked in some local stores if they knew where he lived, sort of a mini celebrity in that neighborhood. it turns out we found the house, talked to neighbors, said the family was in, we continued to knock on the door, nothing prepared me for what i was going to see when i got inside. >> reporter: we found abdel bassett al megrahi's villa in an up part of town. six security cameras and flood lights outside. this is megrahi's house. this is where he's been living the last couple years. we're going to knock on the door.

see if we can get any answer. hello? for 15 minutes or so, nothing. i'm not sure if they've heard me. let's try the last ditch means, shout over the wall. hello? hello? hello? then all of a sudden someone comes. nothing prepares me for what i see. megrahi apparently in a coma, his aging mother at his side. >> oxygen. nobody give us. some food by injection. . >> reporter: he had been expected to die almost two years ago. but convicted pan am 103 bomber abdel bassett al megrahi lives, only just. this wasn't the way he looked when he was released from a scottish jail two years ago. he came home to a hero's

welcome, freed on compassionate grounds because doctors said he would be dead in three months. almost immediately, he began renovating this palatial house. money, no object. it doesn't take long walking around this building before you begin to realize and looking at the marble here, these expensive fittings, to realize it appears megrahi was being paid off handsomely for all those years he spent in jail. in the two decades since the bomb exploded on board pan am 103 over lockerbie, killing 270 passengers, crew and towns people, it seemed the secrets of the attack would die with the bombers. megrahi always maintained he was innocent. just a month ago, in a rare public sighting, moammar gadhafi had him literally wheeled out for a pro-government rally. i'm seeing him now for the first time in two years. he appears to be just a shelf the man he was, far sicker than

he appeared before. has he been able to see a doctor? >> no. there is no doctor. there is nobody to ask. we don't have any phone line to call anybody. >> what's his situation right now? >> he stop eating and he sometimes is come in coma. >> coma? unconscious? >> yes. we just sit next to him and -- >> reporter: all that's keeping him alive, they say, oxygen and a fluid drip. i ask about demands he return to jail in scotland. >> my dad he's still -- if you send him to scotland, he will die by the way here or there. >> do you know how long he has left? >> nobody can know how long he will stay alive, nobody know. >> reporter: it seems i've arrived too late. he's apparently in no state to talk, whatever secrets he has,

may soon be gone. now some former government officials may also have details about who was responsible for the attack, but it may also implicate them if they were to spill the beans, so to speak. megrahi always maintained his innocence, always said he would prove it, and perhaps if he had fingers to point, he could point at those officials who may themselves prefer to remain silent. perhaps unless he has told his family or someone else those secrets, they may go to the grave with him, ali. >> i mean, incredible to have seen that. and your video really does show a man who looks very sick. did his family seem to want to exonerate him? did they have those fingers, you say he might have had to point, does his family seem equipped to do that or were they just telling you that they didn't feel he was guilty? >> no. this is something that they've maintained for a long time. when megrahi was in jail in scotland he spent many years not only working on his appeal, but

doing, he said, preparing to show that he was innocent. when he was freed. his family, when he came back, have been isolated in a way by the regime, not allowed to talk to the media, not allowed to tell their own story. it does seem, the fact that they were handsomely paid off, seems gadhafi really just paid for his silence. the family, when i saw them, you really got a sense that this is a family who are very nervous about the situation right now. they don't know what's coming. they do seem to be gathered in his room. this does seem to be a dying man. really what they have on their minds right now is that he is allowed to die in peace. that really was what came across, more than wanting to prove his innocence after everything that's been said for the past 20 or so years, just let this man die in peace. that's what came across from the family. >> that's what it sounded like. nic, great job finding him. thanks very much, nic robertson, joining us from libya. bit of breaking news to show you. these pictures just in to cnn.

this is pompton lakes, new jersey, a home, and it's on fire right now. we're told firefighters can't reach the home because of floodwaters. we have no word on whether there were any injuries, don't know the cause of the fire, but we know that house will probably burn to the ground because firefighters just can't get to it. we'll have an update as soon as we get it. >> the remnants of this storm are in canada somewhere, dissipating over canada, but this will be a troubling week, i would say, for people in especially vermont, covered on all sides by land, is under water. >> we just heard that pretty much every major roadway, every waterway in the state in vermont, is affected right now. 260 roads. >> that interior flooding in new jersey that's preventing first responders from getting to a what could well be a run of the mill issue really impeding things. 50 minutes after the hour. top stories are next. >> plus, former vice president

dick cheney out with a new book. he says it will cause heads to explode all over washington. though not everyone agrees. some are angry about this book. what will dick cheney's legacy be. your thoughts just ahead. ♪ [ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over.

it is 52 minutes past the hour. here's what you need to know to start your day. irene pushing into new england and triggering unprecedented flash floods in vermont. officials telling hundreds to

leave their homes there. it's the worst flooding that state has seen in generations. the storm is no longer a hurricane or even a tropical storm. it is being blamed for 20 deaths now across eight states. the cost of wind damage alone could top a billion dollars. total costs anywhere from 7 to $20 billion. firefighters are struggling to put out a 5,000 acre wildfire in california. over the weekend an air tanker dumped fire retardant on the so-called motor fire in the sierra nevada mountains. residents have been evacuated. little league world series the boys from huntington beach, california, are going home champions. they beat the team from japan. two outs the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 2-1 victory. it's official, beyonce and jay-z are expecting their first child. the pop star showed off her pregnant belly at last night's mtv vmas. they married in april of 2008. congratulations.

that's the news you need to know to start your day. "american morning" back right after this.

okay. we asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. we asked you this question, since dick cheney has this book coming out, what will dick cheney's legacy be. the "american morning" audience, not really a big fan of dick cheney's. in fact, we could only find one remotely nice answer to our question. this is from kevin. this is an example, he says --

this from christopher -- the only nice comment we got -- and this from tobey -- >> keep the conversation going. facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read more of your thoughts later. somebody has to like dick cheney. send in your comments. irene moving out, but the threat is nowhere near over. thou sansdss are stick with no power. the water is still rising in parts of the northeast. vermont, most of that state is under water right now. the latest on the rescue effort coming up ahead. nothing helped me beat arthritis pain. until i tried this. it's salonpas. pain relief that works at the site of pain... up to 12 hours.

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the wrath of irene in new england. flash floods ripped through vermont, rivers are still rising, threatening to be some of the state's worst flooding in more than eight decades.

the sun is rising after another dark night for millions of people. record power outages and dangerous conditions with live wires down along the drenched each coast. air and rail service limping back to normal this morning, but residual delays could linger for days on this "american morning." and good morning, everyone. it is monday, august 29th. welcome to "american morning." as we assess irene. >> as we continue to assess it we still got vermont, going to talk to the governor in a few moments, very serious situation is there, north carolina, virginia, a lot of people without power, trenton, new jersey, the train station under water, trains not working. i get more and more irritated by the minute, by the people who are carrying on saying this was an overreaction. live wires, trees coming down, 20 dead people, this is a serious, serious storm. >> again, i just think that because so many places dodged the bullet, people say maybe there was an overreaction by the

media and by some politicians. but we're going to get into that later. >> others say -- >> bothers ali as you can see. >> the overreaction in new york city because new york city dodged the bullet, that means nothing happened anywhere else. everywhere else suffered this morning. the remnants of what was hurricane irene have crossed the ka yads yan border but the storm's aftermath is nowhere near over for millions in harm's way. >> crews say it could take weeks to restore power on the east coast. at the height of the storm 4 million lost power from the carolinas through new england. >> we have just about 3 million people still without power. irene being blamed for at least 20 deaths across eight states, the most in north carolina. the state took the first direct hit from the storm and the cost of wind damage alone could top a billion dollars. that doesn't even begin to include the big one, flood damage or lost business. the ranges i'm seeing this morning, the reputable ranges from 7 to $20 billion. >> for all the damage.

>> hurricane katrina was about $45 billion. put that in perspective. >> we're not going to approach that. >> right. >> i don't think so. major airports along the east coast were deserted all weekend long. more than 11,000 flights canceled nationwide, but there is some good news right now. arrivals and departures are under way at laguardia airport, arrivals at new york's other major airports, jfk and newark, began in the last hour. departures are not expected to start until noon today. please, call ahead. >> that's because they send the planes out of the hurricane zone, so they don't get damaged. that's why you have to get the planes in before anybody can go out. amtrak, what's going on here. trains are rolling again between philadelphia and washington, d.c. on the northeast corridor, but there are no trains running between philly and boston this morning. that part is just not running. amtrak has canceled acela service between boston and washington. you have the nonacela trains only from philly south. >> got it. let's talk about this

breaking news. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> let's talk about that breaking news. a massive house fire burning right now in pompton lakes, new jersey. take a look at this. this is one of the areas flooded by irene. we don't have the video right now? i'm telling you, this house is up in flames. yesterday governor chris christie expressed particular concern about the flooding in that town. flooding preventing firefighters from approaching that house fire. police say there was some sort of explosion reported. crews were trying to cut gas and electricity to the area. we'll get the pictures for you soon, but a huge house and it's totally engulfed in flames. because firefighters can't get to it, it will probably burn to the ground. we'll keep you posted. >> just getting some reporting of -- from the owner, apparently everybody was out of the house as of yesterday which is great and it does seem to be a gas-led fire. governor chris christie warned of that yesterday, particularly in this town, and that et what seems to be the case. the big story in vermont, raging waters ripping through

the streets. these pictures sent by an i-reporter, floodwaters have washed away bridges, they've knocked homes off their foundations. these -- it could be some of the worst flooding in this state since 1927. gary tuchman is live in vermont. gary, my goodness, this is a state surrounded by land that's not surrounded by water. >> that's right, christine. the landlocked green mountain state of vermont seen its worst flooding in 84 years. this is an example of what's going on. we're in bradle in vermont, this used to be called the wet stone brook. it's a raging rapids like you would see in the bottom of niagara falls or grand canyon. up until yesterday, for generations, children would swim in this brook. they were swimming just last week. but the waters all throughout the state of vermont, every tributary, every creek, every brook, every river has been flooded because of the waters

from tropical storm irene. look what's happened because of the power of these waters, the power of these waters basically exploded this brook into more than triple its width, eroding the land under that building. that building was an art studio and a joe ga studio, three stories, and it is about to collapse into this water. no more land under there. we don't know when it will collapse. authorities can't go in. we talked to two tenants of this building say they have valuable items inside the building but obviously could not go in. but this is what is going on right now in vermont. more than 260 roads are or were under water. it has now started to recede. where i was standing yesterday was water past my knees. it's dry, but since we've been here, let me give you a look. this is a huge tree, we got here last night, that was standing right here last evening. because of the eroded ground, muddy wet ground, it has now collapsed into the water. we camped out here overnight

because it's too hard to get back here and we heard this tree go down in the middle of the night. it's a frightening situation here in the state of vermont. we could tell you the saddest news, is that at least one person has died here in vermont. the body of a woman was recovered from a brook like this about 20 miles west of us in the city of wilmington a couple hours ago. >> gary, that's too bad when you hear that there have to be fatalities. quick question, why vermont getting so much water? because it was -- the spring was so wet or where it sits in relation to the storm and the eyewall that the rainmaker happened to hit vermont? >> combination of all those factors. you have a situation where they had some flooding several months ago, so the streams, the brooks, creeks were very full and then also the location of the tropical storm as it was coming up. just too much for this state to bear. i mean they haven't gotten hit by a tropical system since the great hurricane in 1938 which is 73 years ago. one very important point, a lot of people are saying why didn't people evacuate.

everyone in this state lives near a creek, a brook like this. if you would evacuate people from vulnerable areas you would be evacuating the whole state and it's not practical. >> gary tuchman, thank you so much. joining us is vermont governor peter shunland. you heard what gary was talking about. what's the situation right now? you've got 260 roads that are otherwise -- that are under water, or otherwise affected as gary said, every waterway in your state and there are lots of them, is flooded. you know we thought we would be talking about major metropolitan areas being hit by this hurricane. were you expecting this to happen? >> well, we were prepared, but, obviously, it it's a devastating to many parts of the state. my heart goes out to the loss of life in wilmington. the shots you looked at, that's my hometown. we've got that devastation throughout southern and central vermont. the answer is we were prepared,

emergency shelters were open, we evacuated an awful lot of people. when you get that much water in that period of time, we were taking on an inch and a half of rain an hour for a sustained period, you can't take that. vermont is the green mountain state, large mountains and valleys. as you mentioned the wet stone brook, that's a little stream most of the time. you saw what that looks like. we've got our hands full in the state of vermont assessing damage, digging out and trying to get back on our feet. >> a lot of places where the storm hit, we were worried about a storm surge or water levels rising. you have an entirely different problem. chad myers was doing a good job of describing the topography in vermont, flash flooding. you've got water coming off the mountains, you've got water coming in from the rain. there is a way that you could have been better prepared? i ask you this, governor, because this morning, we're hearing a lot of, you know, monday morning quarterbacking about being overprepared in other parts of the country,

overfearful about what was going to happen? >> you know, i do not think that there's any blame to go around. i think that, frankly, those that got hit, have their hearts broken and understand how serious this storm was. you cannot predict exactly where a storm is going to do the damage. because manhattan didn't get hit, folks down there and certainly the major networks seem to think everything is beautiful. the fact of the matter is, the areas of america in the northeast that were hit by this storm and vermont was hit last and, therefore, we're going to dig out last, have tremendous damage. loss of life as we all know about, obviously property damage, homes, infrastructure. we've had historic covered bridges in vermont that have been wiped out. as well as our more modern bridges. we're dealing with huge infrastructure problems, power out, state government shut down. real infrastructure challenges. those that were hit know that there was no such thing as overpreparing. having said that, you just can't

prepare for water like this. you can't predict where it's going to hit. where i'm standing right now is between berry and waterbury. we would have predicted berry would have flooded first. water bury flooded first. berry seems to have gotten off pretty well. you can't make the prediction about who's going to lose homes, property. i think that emergency management has done an extraordinary job. >> do you have everything you need right now? getting the help you need to get folks rescued? a lot of people you know that need help getting out? >> we're still digging people out. doing some evacuation. i have to say, president obama and the fema team has been extraordinary. we've been on the phone with them continuously. they're getting us the help that we need. between the federal and state governments, we're going to get this dug out. it's going to be a long dig. we have a lot of rebuilding to do. vermonters are tough, tenacious, good common sense, we deal with big storms a lot. this is bigger than what we're used to. we don't usually get tropical storms up here. we're going to get out of this

one, too. >> our thoughts with you, governor. thanks for joining us, governor peter shumlin from vermont. >> that house fire, that massive house fire burning in pompton lakes, new jersey. these are the pictures. here's what happened. the owner of that house, this is according to wabc, the local television station here in new york, the owner of this house reported a ruptured gas main yesterday. because everything was flooded around this area of new jersey, rescue workers or firefighters or gas line workers couldn't get in to offer any help. eventually this house, there was an explosion and this is a gas-fed fire. you can see the flames are burning and that house will probably burn to the ground. because the homeowner noticed the rupture in the gas line he managed to get everybody out safely. his family is okay. but can you imagine standing there, and just watching your house burn to the ground because firefighters just can't get there?

we'll keep you posted, but we're glad everybody got out safely. in new jersey, irene the first hurricane to makeland fall in more than a century and some rivers are still on the rise, adding to flooding that's being called some of the worst in state history. in suburban new york city, the town of elmsford, a number of families had to be rescued after the sawmill river spilled over its banks and in the catskill mountain town, seven families who thought they escaped irene's wrath are trapped there after floodwaters washed away bridges, blocking their escape. let's head to rob marciano, hear the governor of vermont, you have to admire his spirit because he says okay, we'll get out of this, but no rain expected there today because i don't think the governor wants any more of that. >> you saw the sun actually shining on the state today. it is green because of rainfall and other things. the green mountain state is going to get more flooding, but the rivers will begin to recede

as early as now through this afternoon and because of topography is so rough there, because the mountains are so steep and valleys so deep, you get the flooding the last and quickly, but you also get the recession of those rivers a little quickly as well. meanwhile, places farther south in jersey, you're going to see crests more like later today and tomorrow and places like north carolina will see them later in the week, it's a little more flat there. some of the rainfall tallies across this area. some of the new numbers coming out pretty impressive. delaware, over 10 inches, adamsville, 10 inches, east hartford, over 6 inches, and burlington, i know there's a burlington, connecticut, not sure if that's vermont or connecticut, 8.7 inches. other rainfall tallies, in new jersey, seeing 8.92, and tuxedo park almost a foot of rainfall there. other slices of video from upstate new york. this stuff is impressive. when you go north and west of

where this thing made landfall that's where most of the rainfall was. on the west side of the storm. the east side of the storm saw less rain and more wind. west side saw more rainfall. little streams on quaint mountain towns like this, turn into torrential rapids. and then another slice of video you probably seen this morning as well, this is just heartbreaking stuff, between four and six of these historic covered bridges wiped out in vermont. that is just tough, tough to look at. winds were the other issue on the east side of the storm. sayville, new york, seeing 91 mile an hour wind gusts, and fire island seeing 64. closer to the coastline more in the way there. as far as our next storm is concerned, tropical storm jose back there, not so worry for us, tropical depression number 12 could be katia in the next couple days, way out there, shouldn't have to worry about that at least for now. toss it back to you. >> thank goodness. >> keeping himself in business with td number 12.

>> that's right. >> thanks, rob. planes, trains and automobiles, they're trying to get back on track this morning up and down the east coast, but for millions of commuters in the new york city area, it's likely going to be a rough ride for at least another day. in just the last hour, subways began rolling again, but not at full capacity. it's going to take several hours, if not all day, before things in the subway system can get back to normal. riders should expect slower service, crowded trains. everyone be nice to your neighbor, please. cnn's jason carroll in penn station where the commuter train service including amtrak still struggling to get back on schedule. you have new yorkers trying to get to work on the subway system, but you know it's this big commuter network, amtrak, new jersey transit, long island railroad, the big trains connecting this area of the country that's still slow to get up and going, isn't it? >> yeah. still trying to get back on track. 7.5 million people use the mass transit system every day. you would never know it from where we're standing.

outside penn station right now, it's empty. you know penn station. this what is it looks like on a weekend morning at around 6:00 a.m. look over here where the cabs line up, usually there's a huge line of people extended down the block trying to grab a cab. now you've got more cabs than people. obviously lot of folks deciding to take a holiday today, rather than deal with the transportation system. let's update you in terms of what's happening. the subways are up and running. they are up and running. that happened at 6:00 a.m. some of the other systems we've got going here. new jersey transit, the trains are still suspended. long island railroad, there is a service on long island railroad but there also is some of the service there has been suspended. especially if you're talking about the areas near the rockaways. good news for the area airports. as of 7:00 a.m. all the area airports, newark, laguardia, jfk, they are open and running, but still, passengers should be checking with their carriers in terms of possible residual

delays. also, all the bridges and tunnels are open and running. so the situation is this, although you do have some suspensions on things like amtrak, you should definitely be checking with amtrak if you're trying to head to washington, d.c., or areas north, in boston. but basically the situation on the subways they're up and running. new york city's mayor telling us yesterday, that you should be prepared for some delays just in case. >> it's fair to say, you're going to have a tough commute in the morning and if you're pleasantly surprised, that's great. >> reporter: zach rose is one of those people who was pleasantly surprised this morning. how is your commute going so far? >> it was good. came up from fulton street and i had to wait a little longer probably than i would normally have to, but otherwise got on the train, wasn't overly packed. >> not overly packed because a lot of people, obviously, decided to stay home. >> right. >> fulton street downtown. you're trying to head to where?

>> back to boston. came down for the weekend and, you know, i took a bus down. i was supposed to take a bus back. tried to get out before on saturday night. canceled the busses saturday. now i just got one in about an hour. >> good luck trying to get back to boston. wish you the best of luck. once again there have been trains suspended, especially on amtrak. as we went down here in penn station we saw that practically every destination was canceled. amtrak says they have some service in the northeast, so if you're traveling on amtrak you want to check that before you head out. for the subway system, it is up and running. you should expect some delays, simply because there won't be as many trains on the tracks but, obviously, a lot of folks decided to stay home this morning. christine? >> all right. and jason, thanks. i love you guys, zach decided to come down to new york for the weekend from boston. what hurricane? why not. >> i'm going to new york. >> smart move because the city's now crowded and new york wasn't damaged from the storm. >> i think hotels were full because a lot of companies had

put their staff up in hotels. you think you get cheap rates like on a holiday weekend in new york, come in and get a hotel room for 99 bucks. >> certainly could not go to a broadway show. it is still dangerous out there as we mentioned but how did the states do in their preparationings? we're going to talk to chad sweet, the former chief of staff for the department of homeland security. it's 19 minutes after the hour. having her is amazing.

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welcome back. a lot of discussion this morning about what went right and what went wrong in the preparations for hurricane irene. joining me live from washington, is chad sweet, he is the former chief of staff for the department of homeland security. he's dealt with a number of natural disasters, including hurricanes gustav and ike which involved one of the largest evacuations in u.s. history and the co-founder of the chertoff group, a global risk management firm. good to see you. thank you for being with us. >> sure.

>> your evaluation first of all? there's a lot of what i'm calling monday morning quarterbacking about some places being overprepared. the media hyping this. and the weather forecasters sort of overforecasting this. what's your general thought about how we went into irene? >> i'm smiling because today, as you know, is the anniversary of katrina. >> that's right. >> and who would have thought here we are six years later and instead of debating failures we're debating being overprepared. i think it's a good thing. the american public should be proud their leaders both at the state, federal and local level are leaning forward and all across the east coast, we saw leadership in close collaboration as a team. i think fema did an excellent job along with the state and local leaders. and the governors like governor christie, mayor bloomberg and others who made the tough decisions for mandatory evacuations, should be applauded. when you do these types of large evacuati

evacuations, they're tough decisions to make but that resolves about 90% of your problems. >> talk about katrina six years ago. there was a sense that fema didn't do its job afterward, but really, as craig fugate told us many times last week, the decisions to evacuate, the preparedness decisions are often made on the local and state level. there seems to be uniformty with that from where the storm first hit up the coast with mayors and governors saying we are going to take a decision to achieve a higher level of preparedness and rather be save than sorry. >> that's right. and i think if you think back to the lessons of katrina, right after katrina, there were essentially in every major category disasters, fires, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes, major stress tests that occurred under the bush administration, everything from the worst tornado season in u.s. history to the major midwest floods in 2008, to the san diego wildfires and then lastly a repeat of almost a replica of

katrina, which was gustav and ike as we mentioned on the program. all of those we saw the same type of forward leaning, better coordination. now whether it's the tornado in joplin under president obama or in this case, irene, we're seeing again the same type of learning from the past, leaning forward and hopefully having a much more proactive response. >> you know, let me tell you, ron paul came out this weekend attacking fema, calling it deeply flawed and wasteful. you remember a time when those allegations could be made and sounded fair. what do you think about ron paul making them today? >> well, i respect congressman paul, but i would say he's just dead wrong on this point. lives have been saved as a result of fema. i don't disagree with him we need to avoid a culture of federal dependency. he's right we need every family, business to take responsibility for their own survival. remember the first 72 hours are on you, the first 72 is on you.

you have to be able to self-sustain. but we still need fema. there are cases where in natural disasters, states, localities will be overwhelmed and that's the role of the federal government. so i just respectfully disagree with him on that. what we're seeing whether it's under the second phase of the bush administration or now under craig fugate in the obama administration, is they're taking what's the old fema and making it into the new fema. fema 2.0. you're seeing them embrace social media which they didn't do in the past. they've unleashed an android app. they're doing things like the old stafford act model reactivr, they would wait until after the storm came in and do an assessment and help. what mr. fugate is doing is prepositioning the assets before the storm hits and being there and we've heard this across the board, whether it's republican or democratic leaders across the states, thanking fema for being forward leaning. that's the right model. >> generally speaking it is interesting, because republicans and democrats can't agree on anything these days. if they agree the preparedness

for this disaster was sound i'm clinds to think that's worth listening to. good to have you here. the co-founder of the chertoff group and formerly the chief of staff of the homeland security. >> we had a hallelujah moment over fema of all things. up next minding your business including why, why you might see gas prices go down because of hurricane irene. i'll tell you about that. 26 minutes after the hour. you're watching "american morning." a week.

it saves us so much time and money. postage meters are a lot more expensive. can you print only stamps? no. first class. priority mail. certified. international. and the mailman picks it up. i don't leave the shop anymore. now it's all under my control. and i like that. [ male announcer ] learn more at stamps.com/tv and get a 4-week trial plus $100 in extras including a scale and free postage to use during your trial. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. minding your business this morning. u.s. stock futures are higher and on wall street it's back to business. the opening bell will ring as scheduled after less than anticipated damage from

hurricane irene in lower manhattan. here's how the markets closed on friday. the dow was up more than 130 points, the nasdaq and s&p 500 were also up in case you were getting bottled water and flashlight battery instead of watching the markets. early estimates from the damage from hurricane irene are starting to come in. the wind damage alone expected to top a billion dollars. but that's not even the half of it. doesn't include flood damage, loss of productivity and business. also doesn't include an economic boost like spending before the storm, construction and overtime. you're looking at a multibillion dollar storm here. irene could cause gas prices to drop according to the latest lundberg survey because folks were hunkered down, flights cannedled. they may have put a big enough dent in demand to cause prices to fall over the next couple weeks. new numbers from the commerce department expected to show americans are doing a better job of saving money, thrift does have its downside. americans are spending less and that could slow growth.

soon facebook will no longer offer things like groupon. this months after the social network started offering discounts in a number of citys. facebook did not give a reason for ending the deals. for the latest news about your money check out the new cnnmoney.com. "american morning" will be back right after this quick break.

the recommend remnants of hurricane irene moving into canada. the danger not going away for

days for millions in the u.s. and vermont, raging water washed away bridges, knocked homes off their foundations. could be the worst flooding in that state since 1927. >> flash floods taking a toll on towns in upstate new york. muddy water plowing through the streets of margaretville. some resident had to be rescued by boat and taken to the fire station. breaking news, a massive house fire burning in pompton lakes, new jersey. one of the areas flooded by irene. according to wabc in new york everyone was out of that house as of yesterday. that's a good thing. that's because the front wall of the house collapsed which ruptured a gas main. the wall blew across the yard in the explosion but the owner reported the gas leak yesterday but no one could come to fix it. governor chris christie expressed particular concern about flooding in this town. that house will burn to the ground. north carolina's outer banks were slammed so hard, some areas are only accessible by chopper right now. the main highway washed out

stranding 2500 people who didn't leave. our david mattingly is live in kill devil hills, north carolina, where i'm told there was a 30 hours of rain in parts of north carolina just a nonstop rain. >> that's right. when we rode out the storm on the outer banks of north carolina we were hit by rain for over 30 straight hours. we experienced tropical storm and hurricane-force winds for almost that long as well. officials here are only beginning to get the full picture of the damage that was left behind. >> reporter: a stunning view of the power of hurricane irene. north carolina's highway 12 chopped into pieces on hatteras island. the estimated 2500 residents who stayed behind now stranded with no way to drive out. >> we're probably 24 hours away from being able to get there other than by helicopter. >> reporter: hit first, north carolina felt irene's strongest punch.

bringing what is described as epic flooding to waterfront communities along ab ber marl sound. houses and roads that weathered storms in the past, were swamped like never before. hurricane isabel in 2003 was an incredibly destructive storm when it hit here, the winds were such that it actually blew this water in the sound away from here. the water level was much lower. this time when irene hit, the exact opposite happened. entire neighborhoods were inundated in a matter of hours. one resident caught the flood on camera with winds whipping the water onshore. just hours later, the waters receded, leaving a mess behind, and weeks of cleaning up. >> part of living in the slice of paradise. >> reporter: people in virginia cleaning up, 1.2 million without power from a full day of damaging winds and 10 inches of rain. governor bob mcdonald is asking for patience.

>> it's going to be a matter of days or perhaps longer before power is fully restored. >> reporter: it is the second worst power outage in virginia history. two states that will remember irene as a hurricane for the record books. >> reporter: and the most tragic losses of all in these two states, virginia, and north carolina, 11 people lost their lives because of this hurricane. christine? >> all right. david mattingly, thanks. in libya, embattled leader moammar gadhafi is still a major threat according to the national transitional council. the rebels are giving the loyalist troops until later today to disarm or face liberation, quote, as they advance on the lead ears hometown of sirte. gadhafi troops killed nearly 150 civilian hostages. their charred bodies found in a warehouse yesterday. the scottish government defending its decision to release the lockerbie bomber back to libya, comes a day after the ntc announced it will not

extradite abdel bassett al megrahi. cnn found al megrahi comatose. you see him, there hooked up on an oxygen tank and has an iv in him. his family says his cancer is getting worse. he's on his death bed. al megrahi was convicted in the 1988 pan am 103 bombing that killed 270 people. more than 800 firefighters are struggling to put out a massive wildfire in california. an air tanker dumping fire retardant on the flames over the weekend. the so-called motor fire is in the sierra nevada mountains that spread to almost 5,000 acres. this is since it started on thursday. residents in the area have been evacuated. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, what will dick cheney's legacy be? i ask you that because mr. cheney is starting a legacy building book tour. his book titled "in my time." cheney says heads are going to be exploding all over washington because of this book.

maybe. in an nbc "today" show interview, vice president cheney was apologizing for nothing. certainly not the now banned practice of waterboarding. >> i would strongly support using it again if circumstances arose where we had a high valued detainee and that was the only way we could get him to talk. >> according to the "new york times," what cheney said of then secretary of state condoleezza rice, cheney writes of her, naive in dealing with north korea, in powell, powell tried to undermine president obama. that sent mr. powell to the moon. >> he says that i went out of my way not to present my positions to the president, but to take them outside of the administration. that's nonsense. >> of george w. bush, mr. cheney called the president an outstanding leader. if you think cheney will be bowed by critics consider this, back in february when ron paul

supporters heckled cheney at a conservative gathering, he seemed to relish it. >> all right. sit down and shut up. >> war criminal! >> the usual spirited exercise. >> he's got moxie. talk back question today, what will dick cheney's legacy be? facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. >> moxie, haven't heard that word in a long time. one of the best words in the english language. from the girl who has some. still to come, as we reported some residents in north carolina virtually cut off after irene slams into the coast. the latest on efforts to help them and others in that state. i'll be talking live with the

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the torment of hurricane irene isn't over. now that storm has passed

atlantic states are left to deal with some significant damage. you're looking at video of irene's trail of destruction in north carolina. washed out roads, torn down trees, more than 400,000 people there are still without power. others remain stranded in their homes. thousands of them. on the phone now is north carolina governor bev purdue. where do you stand right now? the storm has passed and you're assessing the damage. what do you see? >> we were out yesterday, we'll be out all day today, probably take the rest of the week to do the full assessment and to begin the partnership with the feds if we meet the threshold. we've had deaths in north carolina so that's a real horrific loss for the families and the communities. there's still about 350,000 homes without electricity. the flooding is real across the coast. business and homes are destroyed. again it was not nearly as severe as it could have been. though it was horrific if it was your home or loved one or business that's destroyed. >> not the worst case scenario

but certainly a difficult cleanup. you mentioned the loss of life. our thoughts go out to those families an your state as you deal with that. let me ask you about hatteras island. we're seeing pictures of really particularly devastated hatteras island. you told those people to leave and there's 2500 still there. what's the status for them? are you angry they decided to stay? >> i'm not angry. it's where their homes and business and lives are. these are the real people in hatteras that live there, not the tourists. they have ferry service. we put in ferries yesterday. the ferries are running for them. they are cut off. there are two breaches that are big enough, i looked at both of them, one is huge, and the third one, was a smaller bridge, but i'm being told this morning it presents serious challenges too. we have engineers on-site and department of traps portion people from -- transportation from washington and here because it's a federal road trying to figure out how quickly we can

rebuild it. after isabel it took us about two months. >> i would assume those people like you said who live there, they are -- i think the first ferry will get there some time today or tomorrow but they are prepared, they hunkered down with this storm with the proper supplies. >> i don't know that anybody has proper supplies for two months. they will have to make a mighty long journey over the water, 2 1/2 hours minimum ferry drive, that makes it impossible for people who didn't leave the island to go to work. we're beginning our season after labor day where fishing and a lot of people come down. hatteras is cut off from that. that's a huge economic loss. >> it's tough at this stage to figure out what the financial impact will be. the tourist season being over, all those folks who are going to have a difficult commute for weeks if not months. can you begin to assess where this one's going to rank for you guys on the financial impact on your state? >> we can't at this point in time.

there's terrific crop damage too. let me tell you the good news about north carolina. we are resilient. hatteras is closed but the rest of our beaches are open for business, open for the last good weekend of summer. from south carolina to virginia border. come on down. and that's the motto of our state, our communities will be rebuilt, provide resources to do that and north carolina is still the best state in america. >> bev purdue of north carolina, thanks for joining is. our hearts two out it to those in your state whose families are suffering right now. the man convicted in the 103 bombing above lockerbie, scotland hasn't been seen for two years until now. nic robertson found abdel bassett al megrahi and takes us inside his home. this is a report you will only see on cnn. it's coming up. 44 minutes after the hour.

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start your day. irene pushing into new england and triggering unprecedented flash floods in vermont. officials telling hundreds of people to leave their homes. this is the worst flooding the state has seen in generations. with irene behind, most of us mass travel getting back on track, jfk and newark have reopened to arriving flights. departures will begin at noon. laguardia opened to both arriving and departing flights. most new york city subway are running with limited exceptions. the lundberg survey believes hurricane irene could lead to lower gas prices because the storm kept people from traveling, putting a big dent in demand. beyonce did she drop a bombshell. the singer cradling her belly bump at last night's video awards making it clear she and her husband jay-z are expecting their first baby. congratulations. you are caught up on the day's headlines. "american morning" back in 60 seconds.

in libya the national transitional council warns leader moammar gadhafi is still a major threat. he's gone into hiding since the rebels took over tripoli last week and opposition fighters are giving loyalist troops hiding. loyalist troops have been given till later today to disarm or, this is how they put it, face liberation. gadhafi's forces killed nearly 150 civilian hostages. the charred bodies of those people were discovered in a warehouse yesterday. >> the rebel government

turned -- that's their way of saying we'll figure out a way to get this guy. >> in not a nice way. >> the government says it will not extradite the lockerbie bomber. megrahi was convicted of the devastating attack. he may know who in libya's government authorized it. senior correspondent nic robertson was able to track megrahi down. >> reporter: we found abdul al megrahi, with six security cameras and floodlights outside. this is his house. this is where he has been listen living the last couple of years. we're going to knock on the door, see if we can get any answer. hello? for 15 minutes or so, nothing. i'm not sure if they've heard me. la

let's try the last ditch means, which is just shouting over the wall. hello? hello? hello? then, all of a sudden, someone comes. nothing prepares me for what i see. megrahi, apparently in a coma, his aging mother at his side. >> and some food by injection. >> reporter: uh-huh. >> if you see, his body is weak. >> reporter: he had been expected to die almost two years ago, but convicted pan am 103 bomber abdul al megrahi lives. this isnwasn't the way he looke when he was released from a scottish prison twoiers ago. he came home freed because doctors said he would be dead in three months. almost immediately he began renovating this palatial house,

money no object. it doesn't take long walking around this billing until you realize that it appears megrahi was being paid off handsomely for all those years he spent in jail. in the two decades since the bomb exploded on board pan am 103 in lockerbie, killing 203 passengers, crew and townspeople, it seems the secrets of the attack will die with the bombers. megrahi always maintained he was innocent. moammar gadhafi had him literally wheeled out for pro government rally. i'm seeing him now for the first time in two years. he appears to be just a shell of the man he was, far sicker than he appeared before. >> has he been able to see a doctor? >> no. there is no doctor and there is nobody to ask. and we don't have any phone line to call anybody.

>> reporter: what's his situation right now? >> he stopped eating and he sometimes is come in coma. >> reporter: he goes unconscious? >> yes. we just sit next to him and -- >> reporter: all that's keeping him alive, they say, oxygen and a fluid drip. i ask about demands he return to jail in scotland. >> my dad, he's still in the house and if you sent him to scotland he will die here or there. >> reporter: do you know how long he has left? >> you don't know how long he will stay alive. >> reporter: it seems i arrived too late. he apparently is in no state to talk. whatever secrets he has may soon be gone. former government officials will certainly have an idea of who authorized it and the steps of who was involved.

if they were to speak out, they would perhaps implicate themselves in that process. megrahi, who always said he was innocent, always said he would prove his innocence, perhaps by pointing his finger to somebody else, to someone who had nothing else to lose, saying it was him, it was him. this apparently will go to the grave. >> he's dying in a manner that his fellow countrymen aren't allowed. he is protected by gadhafi. even now with gadhafi out, he is living in that compound. >> reporter: i think they're very afraid. he told me the house had already been loot ed by rebel s who hav come into the city. it's a very up-market neighborhood. they said that the medicines that they had had in the house

have been looted and taken away. they're very afraid, because they know that they're viewed as being part of a regime and megrahi was a former intelligence officer. they benefited from megrahi. what may save them, if you will, is that the national transitional council want megrahi's tribe on board and to support the new government here. that is very important for them. they may try to protect them, but this is still a chaotic time and the family are -- seem very, very afraid and certainly know there will be people out there on the streets that will be very angry how well they've done out of gadhafi. christine? >> nic robertson, amazing reporting. just to see you call over the wall, really interesting. thanks, nic. we asked you to talk back on one of the big stories on the day. since dick cheney is on book tour, what will dick cheney's legacy be? "american morning" fans, i must

preface this, are not fans of dick cheney. cheney's legacy will be one of cover up, chicanery and torture. he is the poster boy for the failed bush administration. he needs to take the advice he once gave a group he was addressing. just shut up and sit down. from tim, cheney was one of the most influential and powerful vice presidents in the history of the office. as secretary of defense he oversaw the success of desert storm and panama. in my opinion, like him or not, he is a vice president and that has has had more impact on america and american policy than any other vice president in recent history. and this from mike, cheney will be remembered as a man obsessed with power. no lie was too big. no nastiness too petty, no means too cruel if it served his ends. whatever he says in his book must be viewed with deep suspicion and nothing can rehabilitate his reputation. whew! keep the comments coming. facebook.com/"american morning." >> what did he say the book will do? >> make people's heads explode. >> that's quite a tease.

we'll talk about that in quite a bit. water is still rising in parts of the northeast. latest on the rescue effort. [ kimberly ] when i was 19, i found myself alone with two children and no way to support them. people told me i wasn't going to do anything. and i just decided i have more to offer than that. i put myself through nursing school, and then i decided to go get a doctorate degree. university of phoenix gave me the knowledge to make a difference in people's lives. my name is dr. kimberly horton. i manage a network of over a thousand nurses, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu.

the wrath of irene in new england. i'm christine romans. flash floods rip through vermont, threatening to be some of the worst flooding in that state in eight decades. cut off in carolina. thousands who ignored evacuation orders now stranded on the outer banks. officials scramble to get them out. good-bye, irene. hello katia? a new tropical depression forming in the atlantic. what forecasters say could be the next big threat on this "american morning." >> are you kidding me? good morning. it's monday, august 29th. this is a rob marciano plot to stay in business, tropical depression number 12. it's very small. >> we're keeping an eye on it. >> we are, as we must. with the extreme impact of hurricane irene, as the storm moves out, millions are waking up without electricity this

morning. and flooding, far inland. the storm is no longer a hurricane or even a tropical storm. it's crossed the canadian border now. the danger nowhere near over for people still suffering in its wake. >> irene is being blamed for at least 20 deaths now across eight states, the most in north carolina, the state that took the first direct hit. >> crews say it could take weeks to restore power to some areas of the east coast. weeks. 4 million people lost power from the carolinas up to new england. that number now is 2.9 million still without power along the east coast. >> we've been showing you these pictures out of pompton lakes, new jersey. the house is on fire. firefighters are unable to reach this home because of the floodwaters. according to wabc new york, everyone got out of that house safely. they knew there was a problem yesterday because the front wall of the house collapsed and ruptured a gas main. the wall flew across the yard in the explosion. the owner reported the gas leak yesterday.

governor chris christie had expressed particular concern about flooding in this town. boy, was he right. that house is going to burn to the ground because emergency crews just can't get to it. along the east coast, deserted all weekend. there were no flights coming or going. good news to report this morning. arrivals and departures are under way at laguardia airport. arrivals at jfk and newark are also under way. departures are not expected to start until noon. more than 11,000 flights were canceled over the weekend. >> new york city's subway system is back up and running, service slowly resuming. it was shut down for the first time ever because of a natural disaster. commuters -- >> look at that. >> wow! >> empty, empty. you know your pockets are not going to get picked. longer wait time and longer lines. >> i would say an empty train

station is a better chance my pockets will get picked. big story this morning is in vermont. raging waters flowing through the streets of brattleboro. >> another ireporter captured this covered bridge, being ripped to shreds. it breaks your heart. being there since 1870. floodwaters washed away several bridges, some of those historic ones and knocked some homes right off their foundation in the state. gary tuchman is live there. what's the scene this morning? >> reporter: a very sad scene, ali. this building behind me was an art studio, three-story art studio that now is in danger of collapsing into what looks like a raging rapid.

but yesterday at this time, this was just a brook called the weststone brook. up until yesterday, children swam in here. it was ten feet wide. now with all the water that came down from tropical storm irene, it is 100-foot wide rapid. and the power from this water, the power from all the rain that went into the creek and all throughout the state of vermont have created problems like this. the power of the water end ed u leaving the building in this precarious shape. several artists do their work in here. i went inside the building to help some of the artists recover their art work. we did not go into that part that is leaning over the water. obviously, it would be too dangerous to do that. we camped out here last night. it's too hard to get in and out. while we were here in the middle of the night, this is what happened. this tree was standing when we got here last night. this gives you an idea of the ground, how eroded it is. i'm not going to get too close. i don't want to end up in there.

this ground gave way. the tree ended up in the water. this is what they're dealing with all throughout the state of vermont. more than 260 roads were submerged by water. like i said, as we see in most storms, the water is now receding, but authorities are now dealing with all the cleanup. when the water recedes, the mud remains. over here, i'll give you a look at some of the houses in this very beautiful rural neighborhood. the homes are covered with mud on the ground. in vermont, they can't believe this has happened. this is more water than eight decades. at least one person was killed 20 miles west of here in wi wilmington, vermont. in a brook like this that became a rapid, a woman fell in. her body was recovered this morning. ali? >> it's a good reminder that that flooding continues to be very, very dangerous.

gary, thanks for that reporting. i su a tweet from craig fugate, from fema, reminding people not to drive through your water. >> water is wnot your friend. there are more deaths from trying to drive through water after the hurricane. >> that's right. >> in jersey, the smell of gasoline is in the air, people are revving up their chainsaws and same on the shores of north carolina. the outer banks were slammed so hard, some areas are only accessible by chopper right now. pounding surf watched over do you knows, covering roads. water and sand all in one big mess right now, stranding 2,500 people who didn't leave hatteras island. an emergency ferry will be spent there. the governor says, quite frankly, it could be 2 1/2 months before a permanent way to get out there. some of those people, every day, commute in by ferry to the

mainland. very slow going there. that is closed for the season now. >> the navy is sending three war ships to the east coast to help with the post irene effort. heading toward the north carolina coast right now to help in the search and rescue effort. david mattingly is in kill devil hills, north carolina. what might they be doing there? >> reporter: well, carol, there's so much right now to do in terms of just assessing all of the damage and try to assist the recovery that's just now beginning here on the outer banks. when we road this storm out, we experienced over 30 hours of rain and almost as many hours of tropical storm winds and hurricane force winds and authorities are just now beginning to see the big picture of all the damage that's been left behind. bird's-eye view of the power of hurricane irene, highway 12 chopped into pieces on hatteras island. estimated 2,500 residents who

stayed behind now stranded with no way to drive out. >> we're probably 24 hours away from being able to get there, other than by helicopter. >> reporter: at first, north carolina felt irene's strongest punch, bringing what is described as epic flooding to waterfront communities to albemarle south. roads were swamped like never before. hurricane isabel 2003 was an incredible destructive storm. the water level was much lower. this time when irene hit, the exact opposite happened. in higher neighborhoods inundated within a matter of hours. one resident caught the flood on camera with winds whipping the water onshore. just hours later, the waters receded, leaving a mess behind and weeks of cleaning up.

people of virginia, now cleaning up as well. 1.2 million were without power from a full day of damaging winds and up it to 10 inches of rain. governor bob mcdonald was asking for patience. >> it's going to be a matter of days, perhaps longer before power is fully restored. >> reporter: the second worst power outage in virginia history. two states that will remember irene as a hurricane for the record books. people were warned that if they chose to stay behind and not evacuate when the storm was coming in that they would need at least three days of supplies of food and water to get through that period before authorities could get to them. the people on hatteras island are going to need that 72 hours worth of supplies. but they're working now to get a ferry up and running, an emergency ferry, to re-establish access to that island. that should be up and running today. carol? >> i hope so.

david mattingly, reporting live from kill devil hills, north carolina. rob marciano is here with us in studios. rob, you have more information on irene. >> yeah. >> and you're talking about katia. >> interesting, the conversation this morning, their experiences with this storm, not having these things come up here very often. >> right. >> everyone has their own way of looking at things. it was interesting, to say the least. >> this outer bands came through at my mailbox. it was just -- it's in the that people get these in the northeast. you grew up, you probably had a couple of them. >> every 10, 20 years. people i talked to weren't concerned but more curious than anything else. we have that luxury here. other places, not so lucky. we had rain, obviously. wind gusts that are certainly -- sayville, new york,

91-mile-per-hour, chesapeake beach, 72, and fire island, 64. over 4 million people at one point without power. wind over 60 miles an hour, that saturated ground. everything we talked about last week came to fruition with the exception of the fact that this thing came onshore as a category 1 as opposed to a two or three and by the time it got to new york, it was a tropical storm strength. over 15" of rainfall, new bern, north carolina, seeing 14.79. a lot of these rivers have yet to crest. when they do crest it will take quite a long time for them to recede unlike the rivers in upstate new york and new jersey. maryland, over a foot. tuxedo park, outside the city, almost a foot and ellendale over 10 inches.

couple of towns got hit really hard. hard to see those covered bridges wiped out. connecticut, 8.7. still major flooding under way. north carolina, the rivers will crest over the next couple of days and slowly recede. jersey, connecticut, upstate new york. and recede more quickly. and then places like vermont, where we've got that rough terrain, steeper mountains, steeper valleys. they will also recede fairly rapidly. most of the rivers across the green mountain state will crest this afternoon. tropical depression -- by the way, tropical storm jose, i forgot about that, north of bermuda now. tropical depression number 12 already just south of cape verde islands. if it becomes a tropical storm, its name will be katia. it is thousands of miles away.

it has plenty of time to make that right-hand turn to become a fish storm. we don't know if that will happen or not but certainly are hoping for that. today, thankfully, a much quieter day across the u.s. obviously we're going to see travel problems because of the volume. just trying to get to the airports, train stations. that's where you see most of your delays. once the airports do get operational for us. we're almost into september. we're still talking about heat across parts of texas. getting into the heat -- the heat. hurricane season through the next couple of weeks. >>eer not in the thick of it yet? >> we're not. >> stop it. >> it's been so long since we've had a tropical system or anything across new york. >> is this the big hurricane -- >> katrina was. >> but the first big storm. >> i'll make one other point. we have never gone six years

without having a major hurricane make land fall in the u.s. the last major land fall of a hurricane was wilma, back in 2005. if we make it through this year -- we didn't get a major one yet, cat 3 or higher, past six years have been relatively quiet. >> if you saw the flooding in my town, you would say this is major. >> half the fatalities -- one thing we know, half the fatalities from all hurricanes result from inland flooding. the biggest story that probably gets the least amount of headlines. >> i'm active on twitter. what's up with the voice? >> occupational hazard. you cover it for two days and -- >> thanks, rob. do you think he sounds -- >> no, i was just laughing. you're saying that.

>> sexy. for a kite surfer, it could be the ride of a lifetime. off the coast as hurricane irene approached take beiing advantag some of the strongest winds of the year. >> she met her match. check this out. she is hit by a wave that is simply too much for her to handl handle. >> get out of here! get out of here! grab the mike. grab -- >> she was merely illustrating what to do when the surf comes. head for higher ground. >> and drop the microphone immediately. >> never drop the microphone in the water. >> her second hurricane will be there.

>> number one market, there's -- >> her replacement is training well this weekend. you probably didn't see this one. she is a 5-year-old ireporter. she documented irene's every move until bedtime. >> reporting from pennsylvania. the rain is coming down more than it was before. the wind is probably going faster. i think this is just the starting of it. i definitely feel it on my head. just a tiny bit of rain. i'm concerned about the flood, just like my puppy. it's definitely raining more, because it's 5:00 now. back to you. this is my last report because it's my bedtime. it is really raining. the wind has picked up. this is the biggest ever has it been. everybody take care and please stay inside. otherwise, you might float away. >> isn't that great?

>> i love it. >> sticking to the facts, carol. >> she is. >> she has a lot to learn as far as over-hyping the story. >> i'm going to need that line. this is my last report because it's my bedtime. >> i feel the rain on my head. >> she wouldn't have been running away from that wave like that. >> we'll see you on tv in about 15 years, kid. >> michele bachmann, someone was trying to send a message from washington and it's not coming from the american people. here is what she told a campaign stop over the weekend. >> reporter: you would think by now they would get the message. an earthquake, a hurricane, are you listening? the american people have done everything they possibly can. now it's time for an act of god. and we're getting it.

>> she was just joking. everyone is laughing, right? >> and yin print you can't see she's joking. i was like, she didn't say that, did she? context matters. >> bachman is the most conservative republican presidential contender with a score of 94. congressman ron paul scored a 76. >> where did the other six points go with michele bachmann? what six points are not conservative about her? >> i'm not sure. that's a good question. >> i thought you would have done a full 100 on that. >> now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, what will dick cheney's legacy be? i ask you that question because mr. cheney is on a legacy building book tour titled "in my time." he said that heads will be exploding all over washington. maybe. vice president cheney was

apologizing for nothing, certainly not the practice of waterboarding. >> i would strongly support using it again if circumstances arose where we had a high-valued detainee and that was the only way we could get him to talk. >> according to "new york times," the then secretary of state konld condoleezza writes -- of powell, he says powell tried to undermine president bush. that sent powell, as cramden would say, to the moon. >> he says i went out of my way not to present my positions to the president, but to take them outside of the administration. that's nonsense. >> of george w. bush, mr. cheney called the president an outstanding leader. if you think mr. cheney will be battle bid critics, when ron paul supporters dared to heckle

cheney at a gathering, he seemed to relish it. >> all right. sit down and shut up. the usual spirited exercise. >> what will dick cheney's legacy be? facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. check of the morning on markets and how irene could lead to lower prices of the gas pump. 21 minutes after the hour. [ male announcer ] 95% of all americans

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25 minutes after the hour, minding your business. u.s. stock futures are higher. the big story that will be driving this week's market is jobs. friday, the all-important government jobs report for august. early estimates on the damage from hurricane irene are starting to come in. the wind damage alone, winds only expected to top a billion dollars, that doesn't include the flood damage, loss of productivity, loss of business or the economic boost, like spending before the storm, construction, overtime, things like that. irene could cause prices to -- wait for it -- drop. according to the latest lundberg survey, because folks were hunkered down and flights were canceled, it may have put a big enough dent in demand to cause prices to fall in the next couple of weeks. "the help" number one at the box office, one of the best movies

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good morning, new york city. take a look at central park. sunny, 61 degrees right now, headed for a high of 78 degrees. it's going to be a beautiful, gorgeous day. >> looks very clean. >> because no one is here yet. >> after being scrubbed by all that rain. >> this is true. new york got a little microdermabrasion. >> that's right. commuters in the northeast will be dealing with slower commuter service. mass transit just getting back to normal. new jersey commuters are worse off. transit service there is still

shut down. live in penn station, amtrak is experiencing some delays and cancellations. quite frankly, people have been e-mailing us all morning saying i'm not going anywhere, and i know it. >> reporter: yeah. you can tell people aren't going anywhere. if you look here at penn station, this is a major hub here in new york city. this is rush hour. you guys know what it normally looks like out here. it's packed with people. take a look at it right now. pretty empty. looks more like a weekend. amtrak, just one of the situations here that seems to be having somewhat of a problem, depending on where you're going. let's start with the subway service in new york city. early this morning at 6:00 am, subway service in new york city resumed. fewer trains out there than normal. you should expect some delays if you're taking the subways here in the city. at least they are back on track. let's review some of the other transit swayings we've got going on. new jersey transit, trains have been suspended. if you're trying to get in from new jersey, you'll have a

problem there. you'll have to try to find another means of transportation. long island railroad, it's hit or miss on that. service is suspended in some sections. all the area airports are open. that's good news for travelers. you should check with your carriers. i heard from my colleague, trying to come in from overseas. she's still having some issues and delays. definitely check with your carrier as you're heading out to the airports. all the bridges and tunnels are open. minor flooding in the tunnel this weekend. the situation there has cleared up. really, the major snag we're seeing in terms of transportation, as you say, is amtrak. i spoke to one commuter, who was trying to get to washington, d.c. from new york. he said it was a no go for him. we checked downstairs and saw a lot of cancellations up on the board. amtrak, still operating in the northeast. definitely still some residual delays as a result of the hurricane. back to you. >> are there any workers there? penn station is empty. >> that's just not a scene you

normally see with nobody around jason there. normally there are people around jason anyway. but at penn station even more. >> is anyone even working there? >> reporter: yeah. there are more workers than there are commuters. i think everybody basically decided to take a three-day weekend in anticipation of some of the delays that they were hearing about. but, yeah, there are workers down here. you can come on down. if you're going to take amtrak, as i said, i strongly urge you to get online and check and see if the train is actually running. >> they're doing conference calls today. everyone is wosh irking, doing conference calls. >> amtrak says philly to boston routes are canceled. if you're looking for -- new jersey tran seems to be running some of its service. everybody is warning that it will be slow. clearly -- >> i was checking the transit

trains on the board, canceled, canalled,canceled. >> the reason for that is there's debris on the track. that's why they're canceling service today. don't hate amtrak too much. let's check in with rob marciano. >> you know that because of the times you spent on the rails back in the day? >> box car carol. >> that's right. with my hat on and my little whatever. >> quite the image. i have a picture that i hope is really cute. let's roll that beautiful kiddy in the front loader. >> what? >> that's right. get the kids out of the house and evacuate. back up the front loader and load them up. >> a great memory. that will be great video for those kids for the rest of their lives. >> i smell lawsuit. >> yeah. >> got the kids out. >> that's a great ride.

never had that much fun as a kid. no seat belts but looks like everyone got through it unscathed. always the big story with tropical systems, especially when they traverse across the northeast. rainfall last 48 hours from doppler radar. you can flip a switch to see how much rain fell. tide water area, eastern virginia, delmarva, chesapeake, jersey. pink, brighter colors across upstate new york. that's why we saw the tremendous amount of flooding around the catskills, vermont, massachusetts as wl. as far as actual numbers are concerned, some of the higher amounts across maryland came to over a foot. plum point. a lot of this rainfall came between 10 and 14 hours, coming down in a tremendously short

amount of time. major flooding ongoing, especially across parts of vermont, new hampshire. although, they got the worst. they'll get rid of it the quickest. tremendous amount of cleanup to do, but because this area is so rough, the waters rise quickly and also fall quickly. new jersey also seeing a decent amount of flooding. that will be a little slower to recede. if you are traveling today, once the airports open up -- they're open now, but with the sheer volume of trying to get the people, the planes in and out, likely you'll see delays across the new york metros, newark, san francisco will see weather-related delays and miami and denver will also see weather related to a lesser extent. if you don't live on the east coast, northeast, what about me? don't ignore me. heat continues across parts of texas. i know we'll eventually cool off in october and november. scattered showers across the inner mountain west.

kids, if they're not in school, they're getting ready to go back to school. >> cold in the winter, snow in the -- >> like minneapolis. gets pretty harsh winds in winter. >> what did you think of that kid, by the way, the reporter? seasoned meteorologist. >> i wish i had that down at that age. it would have taken me a shorter amount of time to get where i am. she was very, very good and cute. and do you think mom and dad push hr into beauty contests as well? i sense there was coaching. >> even if she was coached, though, she had such a natural flow to her. we're going to bring her on. >> are you really? >> yeah. do the weather report with you. >> i'll just watch her, you know. kick back and let her do it. >> okay, rob. thank you. hurricane irene landing in the editorial pages of the paper. two editorials.

whether government leaders overreacted in prepping the public for the storm. quote, that means the mandatory evacuations from north carolina to connecticut, the closed subways in new york, thousands of canceled flights, a darkened broadway and wall-to-wall television coverage were overdone? he goes on to say that they're not as severe in other parts of the country but, in the end, they would rather be safe than sorry. there you go. the next time government cuts comes up, new yorkers expect federal agencies to help them, keep them informed. a week that featured both a earthquake and hurricane in the nation's most populous regions serves as a reminder of what americans expect of their government and what they're willing to pay for it. another term for that gap, the debt ceiling. intere -- deficit. >> interesting. >> tea party express takes its show on the road, 29-city bus

tour. who is on board and what's their message? what do they think about fema and its role in this weekend's storm? it's 37 minutes past the hour. where do you go to find a super business?

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it is now 40 minutes past the hour. what a beautiful day it's shaping up to be in washington, d.c. take a look at the white house. partly cloudy now, 71 degrees. expected to reach a high there of 79. good morning, my washington friends. republican campaign for the white house takes shape, the tea party express is trying to rally its base, the group kicking off a cross-country bus tour this weekend in california. it will eventually take them to florida. just in time for the cnn tea party express g.o.p. presidential debate. joining us now to talk about the bus tour, a performer on the tea party express tour and darcy van orden, a utah tea party organizer. thank you folks for being here. >> good morning, carol. >> good morning. appreciate you getting up early with us. darcy, i was wondering, you're a proponent of small government. how do you think the federal government performed during the hurricane? >> you know, i guess i'm curious

about, you know, how bad the storm was to be. but they did do an excellent job. i guess it seems like getting things prepared for it. i guess i'm still waiting to see what all the fuss is about. i guess we'll see where it goes. >> what do you mean what all the fuss is about. >> i was wondering how bad the storm was really going to be. >> you think the federal government, perhaps, overreacted? >> no. i'm glad that they were prepared. i'm just hoping everything continues to go well and we'll go from there. >> got you. i ask you that, because ron paul came out over the weekend, a b libertarian. and he called fema deeply flawed and wasteful. we've heard from several governors across the country or the east coast who said fema did a great job. i was wondering if you had any newfound respect for fema or do you agree with ron paul?

>> ron paul gets it right most of the time. so, i'm a big fan of ron paul. and i appreciate everything he does. and will continue to do for this nation. >> well, as far as his fema remarks. >> i guess we'll have to see where it goes. in large part, all of government is extremely wasteful. i think it's a pretty accurate statement. like all governments, fema is pretty wasteful. >> you perform at these tea party tours and to the delight of the crowd. and i just wondered, you're used to support at those tea party rallies. this tour is coming at a time when tea party support isn't so strong. only 31% have a favorable opinion of the tea party, according to the latest cnn/orc poll while 51% have unfavorable opinions of the tea party movement. are you bothered at all by these numbers? >> i think i am basically bothered by being racisting.

>> i don't think that's what the poll is about. >> oh, yes, it is. >> no, it isn't. it really is. that may be part of it, but certainly not all of it. >> oh, no, no, no. no, no, no. we have so many people on the opposite side, despicably trying to make this thing about race. this has nothing to do with race. these are people who are hard-working americans and they are simply saying no to socialism. that's it. i have been to well over 200 tea parties around this country and the american people are absolutely wonderful folks, but they are saying no to socialism. and more and more people are joining our ranks. i don't know what that poll is all about. more folks are seeing the light. >> darcy, let me ask you that same question. why do you think more people, across the country, those who do not belong to the tea party, why are they growing more

disenfranchised with the movement? >> i would have to look at your polling data to answer that question. you can pretty much poll to get whatever response you want. i disagree. in large part, i think people from all walks of life, from both sides of the aisle have come to the conclusion that government is wasteful, spending out of control. the raising of the debt ceiling to do something about it. we were hopeful with the brand new congress that we would usher these new freshmen in and they would keep to their promises and rhetoric, that they would actually cut the spending. what do we do? we cut $43 billion within a couple of days. >> and disenfranchised? >> excuse me. >> disenfranchised. >> excuse me. let me pose this question to darcy. i think most people, in response to that poll, are disenfranchised more and more of the tea party because of the debt ceiling debate and the tea party's unwillingness to compromise on anything.

>> thank god! >> i would argue that the debt ceiling debate was -- unfortunately, it was lathered with a lot of misinformation by the media. just because you don't raise the debt ceiling doesn't mean we automatically default as a nation. unfortunately, there was a lot of misinformation out there that people kind of gave into and that was disturbing to watch. we had an opportunity to stop kicking the can down the road, do the right thing and not continue to service our children and our children's children with debt of spending we do today. >> amen, sister. right on. >> and it's unfortunate that they chose not to do the right thing and deal and stop the spending. we're just going to continue the course. we'll raise the debt ceiling again in 2013. >> we talk about saving five cents basically. come on. >> hold on. let me ask another question. as far as default in the debt ceiling, if we didn't raise the debt ceiling, by and large, the

majority of the economists and business minds right here certainly said the country would have gone into default. >> that's not true. >> that is not true. i don't care who says that, that's not true. >> they have to prioritize spending. we were going to force our government to finally prioritize spending. all we did was kick the can down the road. >> most people know that. we're not stupid. that's the tea party. we're not stupid. wow! >> wow is right. >> we'll wrap this up. thanks to both of you and good luck on your tour, lloyd marcus for the tea party express and darcy van orden, organizer for the utah tea spaert express. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> i thought there was nothing i would agree on. i agree with them on the wow at the end. wow is all i have to say about those two. i'm not even going to relive that debate. those two want to go around and think about what they're thinking, prioritizing spending

not defaulting on something, knock yourselves out on your 29-city bus tour. the facts are the facts. opinions are opinions. the two don't get to mix. >> by the way, cnn, along with the tea party, will co-host a republican debate. that's coming your way monday, september 12th at 8:00 pm eastern. ali velshi will be live in tampa. boy, will those tea party people be talking to you, baby. >> all the debates i'll be having with them about putting the facts out there. >> it's 47 minutes past the hour.

it's 49 minutes after the hour. here are your morning headlines, remnants of hurricane irene now moving into canada. the danger not going away for days for millions in the northeast. most recent a woman fell into raging floodwaters in vermont. the most in north carolina. states that took the first direct hit. irene, triggering unprecedented flash floods in vermont. officials telling hundreds to leave their homes now, the worst flooding there in generations. 2,500 people who ignored evacuation orders are now stranded in the outer banks. a u.s. navy war ship is headed to the carolina coast to help in the rescue effort. tropical depression 12 forming off the coast of africa could become tropical storm

katia later today. markets open in 45 minutes. u.s. stock futures are opening higher. rebounded in july to its biggest increase now in five months. it's official. beyonce and hubby jay-z are expecting a baby. married in april of 2008. she showed off her baby bump last night at the mtv vmas. jamaica was getting set to run the hundred meter. he jumped the gun, was disqualified. he holds the world's record, in the 500.

moammar gadhafi is still a major threat according to the international council. giving the loyalist troops until later today to disarm or, in their words, face liberation. they're advancing on the leader's hometown of serb. gadhafi's troops killed nearly 150 prisoners. their charred bodies were discovered in a warehouse yesterday. belonging to gadhafi's children, hanibal gadhafi's beach front villa. luxurious lifestyle and unspeakable brutality. cnn spoke to a woman who claim ed to be a nanny to hanib lachlt gadhafi's children. hanibal's wife, she says, poured boiling water on her after she refused to punish a child for crying. the scottish government is

defending its decision to release a lockerbie bomber back to libya comes one day after the acting government announced they will not extradite al megr a. hi. cnn found al nmegrahi comatose. his family says he is on his death bed. he was convicted of the lockerbie bopan am bombing. 53 minutes past the hour. hey krystal. we're going to head on into the interview. krystal. . . krystal . . . what lead to your decision to go with the fusion? i just keep on going back to looks; it's a great looking car. how do your co-workers feel about your decision? they were the ones who were against ford. they were like they're a truck company. for the most part i am pretty sure i have changed most everyone's mind. krystal, you seem pretty comfortable up there, are you sure you haven't done this before? umm. . . i did 8th grade telecommunications class.

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we asked you this question this morning. will dick cheney's -- what will dick cheney's legacy be? he's on this big book tour. from rob, he will be remembered as a man who helped fuel an endless war that's doing nothing but draining our economy. from brian, he to play the very hard hand he was handed but in the end i think he helped make this country a bit safer. and from john, in the end he will be just a joke, seems like

a conspiracy theorist or jaded ex-employee than a former vice president. i keep waiting for him to respond with i know you are, but what am i? i have to say most of our responses were anti-dick cheney. >> a few, carol, were unreadable? >> yeah. >> not in the morning when there might be kids watching. >> that's true. thank you for your responses. facebook.com/americanmorning if you want to continue the conversation. >> one special tv reporter braving irene's fury. he literally got a taste of the storm. >> the waves are crashing up against the sea wall. it's developing this foam that is riding over the top and start ing to stick to all the hotels and buildings right along the boardwalk here. excuse me. it's in my face as well, as you can imagine. it doesn't taste great. >> in ocean city maryland, you can see him covered in seafoam.

turns out the organic matter was mostly the effects of the raw sewage pouring into the water during the storm. >> he stood there. >> doesn't taste very good was quite something. >> not worth it. >> i've got a better one. this will make you all smile with your cheerios. that amazing 5-year-old ireporter one more time. >> she's great. >> documented irene's every move. she wouldn't rest until it was bedtime. >> jean here reporting from doylestown, pennsylvania. the wind is probably going faster i think this is just the starting of it. i definitely feel it on my head, just a tiny bit of rain. i'm concerned about the flood, just like my puppy. it's definitely raining more. it's 5:00 now. back to you. this is my last report, because it's my bedtime. it is really raining. the wind has picked up. this is the biggest ever has it been. everybody take