president expected to step out? what time? any idea? >> well, we have been given the two-minute warning so that the president will be stepping out formally nominating mr. krueger. he is a professor of economics and also a public affairs at princeton university, an economist who has written a lot about the economy and education and labor and employment and he is a key member of the administration or the face of the administration's economic team. >> dan, appreciate it. we will take it live when it happens and we will have your next political update in an hour and all of the political news you can find 24/7 on our website at cnnpolitics.com. we will see you tomorrow. and suzanne malveaux, you are taking over the post. >> and you were here all weekend covering hurricane irene. >> yes. >> and we hope that everyone is recovering well. >> not as bad as we thought, thank goodness. >> have a good day. live from studio 7, i'm suzanne malveaux, and president obama as we saw moments ago live

pictures, and live pictures now, and he is going to be bringing in a jobs pro to tackle the crisis, and we will have that live from the white house. you are looking at the rose garden there, and we will bring it live when it happens. the president is set to nominate allan krueger to chair the council of economic advisers, and he is a professor at princeton and served as assistant treasury secretary until next year. and stewards of hurricane irene are expected to cleanout to day. it is not what many predicted, but irene did leave a severe scar. the storm took 24 lives and more than 4 million homes lost power, and $10 billion in estimates of cost. >> talking about hurricane irene, i want the make sure that the folks have the support they need as theys a s.e. s assess a

the damages from the storm. that will continue in the days ahead. lit take time it will take time to recover from a storm of this magnitude and the effects are still being felt in the country in new england and states like vermont where there is an enormous amount of flooding. the response continues, but i will make sure that fema and the other agencies are doing everything in their power to help the people on the ground. now, even as we deal with this crises of the moment, our great ongoing challenge as a nation remains how to get this economy growing faster. our challenge is to create a climate where more businesses can post job listings, where folks can find good work to relieve the financial burden they are feel, and where families can regain a sense of economic security in their lives. that is the urgent mission, and what i am fighting for every single day. that is why today, i'm very pleased to nominate allan kr

krueger to chair the council of economic advisers. he has studied economic policy inside and outside of government. in the first two years of th thissed aistratithis administration as we were dealing with the fast-moving effect os of this crisis and a crisis that threatened a second great depression, alan's council as chief economist at the treasury department proved invaluable, so i am pleased to appoint alan and i look forward to working with him. as i told him, it is tough to fill the shoes of austan goolsbee who is a great friend and adviser who i have relied on for years, but i have nothing but confidence for alan as he takes on the important role as one of the leaders of my economic team. i rely on the council to give unvarnished recommendations not

based on politics or narrow interests, but based on the best evidence, based on what is going to do the most good for the most people in this country. that's more important than ever right now. we need folks in washington to make decisions based on what's best for the country and not what is best for any political party or special interest. that is how we will get through this period of economic uncertainty, and that the only way to do what is necessary to grow the economy. so, it is that spirit that i'm going to be calling upon in the coming days. next week, i will be laying out a series of steps that congress can take immediately. that will put more money in the pockets of working families and middle-class families to make it easier for small businesses to hire people and put construction crews to work to rebuild the nation's roads and airports and all of the measures to help grow this economy.

these are bipartisan ideas that are proposals that everybody can get behind no matter what the political affiliation might be. so my hope and expectation is that we can put country before party and get something done for the american people. that is what i will be fighting for. and we have to have a good team to do it, so alan, ap preepreci your willingness to take on this assignment, and i look forward to working with you once again. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> thank you, everybody. i want to go directly to alison kosik at the new york stock exchange to talk a little bit about mr. krueger, the man he has chosen and selected to be a head of the economic team here. alison, what do we know about the economic policy? >> well, we know that he, before he was nominated to this position, he was at the treasury department and once he was there, what he did was he analyzed a lot of the programs

like tax incentives and the cash for clunkers program to give incentives for americans the buy cars and those kinds of things and the incentive-filled programs to get this economy moving and the focus that you heard the president speak about is jobs, because, you know, jobs is really what's the job sector is hurting this economy right now, and you know, if americans don't have jobs, they are not going to spend money, and spending the money is really the engine of economic growth to get us moving forward. we have a big jobs report coming out friday and it is expected that 73,000 jobs were added in august, and obviously, that is not even enough to keep up with the population growth, so you will see that there is a lot of focus on krueger, and he will wind up being more of a public voice as the president lays out his steps in how to move the economy forward. >> is there any response, reaction from wall street to this election? >> well, you know what, i did

ask several traders on the floor whether or not that is really moving the market right now, and it is not a main driver on wall street, but one thing that wall street is going to be listening for is that big jobs speech that the president is going to be having right after labor day. that is also why we saw the market rally on friday when fed chief ben bernanke was at jackson hole, wyoming, and didn't propose any stimulus package, but the way that wall street interpreted that is that bernanke was not looking to sort of steal the thunder of president obama on his big jobs speech that is expected right after labor day, so there is that expectation here that president obama will come up with something that could help americans, 15 million americans at least get some of them back to work. >> all right. alison, the stock is up this morning as well, so we appreciate a little bit of good news there. thank you, alison. some of the worst flooding

took place in a landlocked state. irene dumped six inches of rain on saturated ground in vermont. babbling brooks became rushing rivers. the force of the water washed away four of vermont's historic bridges. the flash floods touched every corner of the state and receded as quickly as they arrived. >> it was amazing within a matter of maybe 45 minutes that the water went from knee-high to hip-height. it was amazing. it was powerful. the power of nature is amazing. >> rescuers are hoping to reach seven families in upstate new york today. they are trapped by raging water in prattsville. they fled new york city to escape irene, but the flash floods washed out all four bridges leading to the vacation house. the family says they are running out of food and have a gallon of water for 23 folks.

>> there is no way to come in or come out, and no one can help us, and we are practically stuck here and nothing, nothing to keep us going. we can not use the bathrooms or wash hands or eat or drink, and there is nothing and it is pitch black. >> a tough monday for a new york city commuters. no trains to the northern suburbs today, because irene ripped up tracks. all subway lines are now operating, but with fewer train cars. that means certainly delays. new york's three major airports are returning to normal schedules today. the winds, the waves are gone, but the flooding danger from what was hurricane irene, it is not over. in vermont heavy rain on ground that was already saturated caused some of the worst flooding in decades. our cnn national correspondent gary tuchman is in brattleboro, vermont. and gary, unbelievable pictures that we have seen and a lot of

people did not expect the kind of water and flooding that they were going to get. what is it like now? is the water starting to recede a little bit? >> well, the river is receding a lot, but the damage is now able to be seen. this building for example is an art studio and five minutes ago, it was officially condemned.con? for a dramatic reason. the ground is muddy and that is because last night this was knee-deep. this is why, this used to be a quiet brook right here, and this is the art studio, and the building right over here, and this is why it is condemned. this brook used to be about ten feet wide, and children were swimming in it as late as two days ago, and now it is a rapid, and it eroded the ground under it, and this building could collapse at any time. it is sad for the artists inside, and there is a yoga studio inside, and painters and sculpt ors and the people on tht part of the building have not

recovered their works burk the people on this part were. they loaded up a truck just before they officially condemned the building. this is vermont and a landlocked state and borders canada. the last time they were affected by a tropical storm was 1938. people are not used to it here. they have flooding, but they don't have tropical systems. all throughout the states, creeks and brooks are rushing with powerful water causing immense flooding. most of the water has now reced receded, but what you have now is millions of dollars in cleanup and worse yet at least one person was killed. the body of a woman was discovered in a creek 15 minutes west of here this morning. suzanne? >> i understand as well that there was someone who died. and tell us how the community is actually dealing with this? clearly, they were quite surprised and caught off guard by what had taken place. >> yeah, and people are shocked. they are stunned. remember, this tropical system

of irene began off of the coast of africa, and then it went to the caribbean and people thought it would hit florida and ended up hitting north carolina and then everyone talked about new york city and all of the sudden the strangest and the most elaborate destruction in the state of vermont, the green mountain state, and so that the fact is that you might be saying, okay, they knew it was a possibili possibility, and why didn't they evacuate? well, because most of the population lives near streets and brooks and you cannot evacuate to ontario or quebec or new hampshire, and it is not practical. some people were in shelters, but it is not practical to evacuate a whole state. >> we appreciate it, gary tuchman. we are getting in video from an aerial tour that was takenb from new york governor cuomo who decided to get on and take an aerial tour to get a sense of the damage in the area. we are told that this is

scoalhari creek and mohawk river, and you can see how swollen it is and expanded over the last 12 to 24 hours as they fly over to get a better sense of what this looks like. we understand, too, that the area includes pratsvil s pratts york, and that is where we are following a story of several families who are actually abandoned there. they had sought to leave the city, and went to a vacation home and are trapped because of the four bridges that have collapsed around their location. they are in prattsville, new york, and this is an arena includes prattsville, new york, and you can just see the amount of water that has occurred a on the flooding that has occurred as this has taken over. you see the shadow of the

helicopter as this has taken over areas of new york. we will have more on this and the story of the families trapped in that area after a quick break. [ woman ] jogging stroller. you've been stuck in the garage while i took refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®.

okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours? be happy. be healthy. host: could switching to geico reon car insurance? or more host: do people use smartphones to do dumb things? man 1: send, that is the weekend. app grapgic: yeah dawg! man 2: allow me to crack...the bubbly! man 1: don't mind if i doozy.

man 3: is a gentleman with a brostache invited over to this party? man 1: only if he's ready to rock! ♪ sfx: guitar and trumpet jam vo: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis. here is a rundown of the stories we are working on. first, they survived this, but now they are stranded and running out of food. a woman from a mobile home community tells me how they need help now. plus, irene through the eyes of cnn ireporters an incredible videos that you have to see. and the storm's impact on your portfolio.

and they were promised freedom the next day, but brutally executed in the night. prisoner horror store the ris are now pouring out of libya. here is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question is, is fema necessary? carol costello joins us from new york. carol, this debate was all of the rage around katrina when it was such a disaster, and i will never forget that. >> suzanne, i see your lips moving and i cannot hear you, but i know what you are asking me, the question of the day. so here i go. on the day that hurricane katrina clobbered the coast, ron paul pounted away at big government, and in particular the federal emergency management agency or fema calling it a great contributor to deficit financing. >> they come in and tell you what you can do and can't do and you can't get into the houses and hinder the local people, and they hinder volunteers from going in. so there is no magic about fema,

and more people are starting to recognize that. >> hmm. that is not what new jersey republican governor chris christie says or the democratic governors martin o'malley or peter shulman say. >> president obama and the fema team has been extraordinary. we have been on the phone with them continuously, and they are getting us the help that we need and between the federal and the state governments we will get this dug out. >> and not to say that fema does not deserve criticism, because it performed abysmally in hurricane katrina, and now they send people in before catastrophes to work with state and local officials and that way if they are overwhelmeded the fed can pick up the slack. if they need help pumping out areas, fema can assist on the spot, but still, ron paul says there is no need for fema, and the states can take care of themselves and people arer e

perfectly capable of taking response fo responsibility for their homes. insurance, anyone? and the question of the day is fema necessary? go to facebook.cnn.com/carol. suzanne? i can hear you again. >> and i remember when president bush said "good job, brownie" and he was in charge of fema then, and it was a disaster. so i will be anxious to see what people say about your question. >> and if if government can help you in times and if smaller government is better all of the time. we will see what people say. >> thank you, carol. >> sure. six years ago hurricane katrina hit the gulf coast killing 1,700 people. katrina made landfall as a powerful category 3 hurricane. it flooded 80% of new orleans, almost half of the victims wither the elderly who drowned in the flooding. insurers say that katrina caused

$45 billion in private damage alone and katrina was the single most catastrophic natural disaster in american history. well, irene may have come and go, but the storm left a lot of damage behind which means expensive repair work ahead. we will go live to the new york stock exchange to see what that means for you. but i was still taking a risk with my cholesterol. anyone with high cholesterol may be at increased risk of heart attack. diet and exercise weren't enough for me. i stopped kidding myself. i've been eating healthier, exercising more, and now i'm also taking lipitor. if you've been kidding yourself about high cholesterol, stop. along with diet, lipitor has been shown to lower bad cholesterol 39 to 60 percent. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications

or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. lets go... haha. if you have high cholesterol, you may be at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. don't kid yourself. talk to your doctor about your risk and about lipitor.

i want to take a look at cnnmoney.com lead story happening now. damage may reach billions. irene was not as bad as expected, but the billions off dollars that the storm may cost us. taking a quick look at the markets here, up 151 points which is good news. we want to see some good news

here. there is a lot of expensive repair work going on right now across the northeast because of hurricane irene, and some homeowners have their insurance companies picking up the tab, and some folks who have to pay out of pocket. i want to bring in alison kosik standing by at the new york stock exchange. alison, let's start off with the insurance companies, and big cleanup job ahead and repairs ahead, and how does that impact their stocks? >> okay. suzanne, we are watching shares of some of the big insurance companies like allstate, metlife, travelers and chub, and they are up from 4 to 7% today, because you know what this is? they are breathing a big sigh of relief because the damage from the storm wasn't as bad as expected. and one analyst said that irene had much less bite than bark. and much of the damage from storm is from flooding so that the insurance companies are getting off easy here on that, because most americans don't have flood insurance, but once

again, it is good news for the the insurance industry, and the insurance industry believe it or not needs good news, because it has been a rough year. look at metlife and allstate and for the years the shares are down 20% to 30%, and because of all of the storms and th tornad that we had in the spring, and remember the southwest and joplin, missouri, and they took a beating in the spring and getting off easier this time around, suzanne. >> i know when it used to rain my basement would flood in maryland, and i would go out to the retailers like lowe's and home depot and you have to pay out of pocket, so you go the these places and what about in terms of the numbers for them? >> well sh, they are flat, and the opening bell we saw shares of home depot and lowe's popping in the early trading, but now one is trading lower and one higher, and it is kind of the same thought process as the insurers and with the damage, it was not as bad as expected so

that the thinking is less to repair or rebuild and fewer supplies are needed and people won't keep on buying all of the things at those stores, but what we did see before the storm hit, suzanne, is that shares of home depot jumped 5%, and lowe's up 7%, and that time people were loading up on up a bit on supply, and so you can see how that affects the trading here on wall street. suzanne? >> yes, thank you, alison. next we will talk to a woman who saw everything that she owns get washed along with the bridges in prattsville, new york. and a ireport sent this in and saw this military vehicle drive down the street with water all of the way up to the roof. it seemed to be going fine, but it got stuck. another truck was brought to the rescue. >> they are in trouble. okay.

at exxonmobil we know the answer is yes. when we design any well, the groundwater's protected by multiple layers of steel and cement. most wells are over a mile and a half deep so there's a tremendous amount of protective rock between the fracking operation and the groundwater. natural gas is critical to our future. at exxonmobil we recognize the challenges and how important it is to do this right. i find investments with e-trade's top 5 lists and use pre-defined screeners to work smarter. not harder. i depend on myself to take charge of my financial future. [ bell dinging ] whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪

from north carolina to canada, people are busy today cleaning up after irene.

the storm dumped as much as 16 inches of rain in places, washing away at least four of the old covered bridges in vermont. in some cases, washing over entire towns. president obama declared a disaster there this morning. here's what governor peter shumlin said right after. >> the team has been extraordinary, and we have been on the phone continuously with them, and between the state and the federal government, we will get dug out. vermonters are tenacious, and we have common sense and this storm is bigger than what we are used to, and we don't usually get tropical storms up here, but we will get out of this one, too. >> and we will go to michael bloomberg about how new york handled the hurricane. >> well, the shelters are down from a peak of 9500 evacuees

friday night to sunday mornings. and the places like transportation departments and buildings services, and the 911 operators who handled nearly a quarter million calls on sunday, and more than ten times the normal load. thanks also go to the bus drivers, and cab and livery car drivers and those who drove new yorkers to the shelters, and the people in door to door in low-lying areas covered by the evacuation order in order to get the message out, and urged people to leave. the elected officials who mobilized their offices to help us communicate urgent messages to new yorkers, and the ems medical and health professionals who carried out the incredibly well done evacuation of more than 7,000 hospital patients and patients of nursing homes and residential facilities in the low-lying coastal areas, and the workers who prevented irene from

devastating the transportation system and then got the system back up and running this morning. i wanted to say thank you to jay walder who leads them and all of them. if they had not moved the equipment, they would not have been able to get it back this morning and fortunately the foresight to do it. you are listening to the mayor of new york city, michael bloomberg talking a little bit about the hospitals that have been evacuated. we will hospitals have to be returned to the original hospitals. joining us is jacqui jeras who worked all weekend covering this. it was not as tough or intense as expected in new york, but certainly, i mean, when you talk about the rain and the flooding in other areas, it seems like it was devastating. >> well, new york had a lot of impact. there are 700,000 people in new york city who don't have power, right. there was a lot of damage over into new jersey and the winds a little bit stronger over there, but the water is one of the biggest stories that we have been dealing with. the ireporters have been sending in amazing video of that water,

and the flooding. this is from chris from fleischmans, new york. this is up in the catskills and when you get up into the mountains, you have a little lift from the mountains, and flooding was heavier, and they say that the rain took the town over and evacuations were successful. another picture here from a man visiting his family in hackettstown, new jersey, and he said that rivers rose and kept people trapped in there. it takes a while for the water to come down. and the rainfall totals are incredible from what we have seen up and down the coast. this map is showing you the worst of the precipitation, and it is from the coast over 100 miles inland where we are seeing the heavy rain. in vermont 4 to 8 and totals as much as 16. looking at the totals where the flood threat remainst that hour. major flooding still expected in

many of the areas. it will take a while for all of the water to recede, so we have a dozen states under flood warnings still at this time. all right. plum point, maryland, you had nearly 13 inches of rain. tuxedo park, new york, 11.5. delaware had 10 inches there. and here is virginia, suffolk, more than 11 inches for you, and newland, virginia, 10.5, and down here in burlington, connecticut, 8.7, and walden, vermont had 7.6. the wind is a big deal for some folk, and these are some of the highest amounts we could find at 91 in sayville, and 72 in chesapeake beach in maryland, and in laguardia, 67. and 64 in fire island. that storm is out of here and in canada, and what we call extra tropical so no more worries about irene other than the cleanup and dealing with the damage that we already have. but this is of course, active time of year for tropical system ises and e es and we are watch

hurricane katia probably within three days. thank you. >> thank you, jacqui. we have someone on the line who is in prattsville, new york, and we have been talking about this situation so many people in a community of mobile homes lost their homes and ended up trying to get to an area they thought was safe, but the bridges have flooded out, and they are not safe. melissa, this is suzanne. i understand you are at a shelter, and what kind of situation you are dealing with you? >> well, the shelter is very good. we have two generators running now, and we have running water. but our town is devastated. we have all lost our houses. we have lost our jobs, and we have lost everything. >> i am sorry to hear that, melissa, and how do you know that you have lost your home? >> we went back down this morning, and the houses aren't livable, and there is fuel oil in all of them.

it is -- mud everywhere. fuel oil everywhere and there is no way because the basements are still full of water. >> you were actually able to go and take a look? >> yeah, i went down to get my dog whom i left in my upstairs yesterday. >> is the dog okay? >> yeah, he is all right. i got him here with me now. >> who are you with now? was your whole family able to get out okay? >> yeah. >> and what kind of help are, do you need at this time? have you been offered help? >> we have been getting groceries from the local grocery store, and because it was flooded, they are giving us everything they can, and we are just up here, you know, everybody sticking together. >> what kind of shelter is this this? >> sorry? >> what kind of shelter is this, a church -- >> it is right down huntersfield road and it is called huntersfield christian retreat.

a church with big dorms and everything. >> where the shelter is, are you, are there fairly good living conditions while you are there? >> yes. >> can you tell me if there are others with you? >> yes, a lot of us. >> what have they told you about being able to stay there? are you able to stay there for days or weeks to give yourselves? >> i don't know at this point, because we can't get out of prattsville, because there are no roads leading out of prattsville at this point. >> has anyone offered to try to get you out of the area, or do you feel like you are essentially stuck there for a while? >> yeah, we are pretty much stuck here for a few weeks, because the bridge on one end is completely washed out and the bridge of the other end has an abutment cracked, and we are trapped here. >> do you have enough food, enough water to last for a while? >> well, they have been bringing

water for the generators and stuff, and we have the generator hooked up to the pumps up here and we have running water, but who knows how long it will last. >> has anybody been injured, and are you in good physical health? >> yeah, everybody is in good physical health, and just shaken up. >> what is your next move, melissa? >> i don't know. i don't know. to get out of this town, to find a place to stay. to rebuild. >> do you know where you could rebuild if you were to rebuild? would you try to get back home? >> there's -- i don't know -- i just don't know, i mean, it would have to be out of this town, and windham is devastated and prattsville is devastated, and i don't know where else to go. >> have you been able to speak to anybody at the shelter who has offered help to get you out of prattsville? >> there is no way to get out of here, because all of the roads are cut off.

>> has anybody suggested a aerial lift or anything like that? >> not at this time. >> offered you any information -- >> not at this time. >> okay. is there anything that you would like people to know who are listening and see you in this circumstance, i mean, this is just must be a very, very tough situation right now. >> it is -- we are all stranded here. there is no way out. before they were letting people go out over the bridges and walk, and now they are not allowing the foot traffic over the bridges to get out of the town. we are just basicallyp trapped here. >> melissa, we will see if we can get some information for you to see if there are any alternatives so that you do not have to stay there necessarily, and see what kind of resources there are. melissa post, thank you so much for joining us and telling us your story. we wish you the very best. >> okay. civilians and another story locked in a warehouse in libya. this is just when they thought they would go free when the

horror began. we are uncovering the gruesome evidence of a massacre. i knew for the longest time that did not want to be a smoker. and the fact that i failed before. i think i was discouraged for a very long time. ♪ knowing that i could smoke during the first week was really important to me. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill proven to help people quit smoking. [ jeff ] chantix reduced my urge to smoke, and personally that's what i knew i needed. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some of these can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms.

get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. until you know how chantix affects you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. ♪ these are the reasons i quit smoking. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about chantix. over 7 million people have gotten a prescription. learn how you can save money and get terms and conditions at chantix.com.

gadhafi go away. rebels in libya give gadhafi supporters in his hometown an ultimatum, put down your weapons or we will take the city by force. thousands off rebels are on the out skirts of the city where gadhafi was born, and they are urging those who are loyal to gadhafi to give up their guns and allow them to enter the city. as the rebel forces advanced across tripoli, they discovered gruesome evidence of atrocities allegedly committeded by gadhafi's regime. inside of a warehouse, the charred bodies of prisoners killed by a massacre. one witness says as many as 175 people were held there, and just as they thought they were about to go free, well, that is when the horror began. i want to warn you, that this report has disturbing images, it

is graphic, and this is a story from cnn's arwa damon. >> reporter: they heard screams, gunshots, but it would be days before people discovered the g magnitude of the horror within the walls. this man was picked up by gadhafi forces in early august. my brother and i were in the street and they grabbed us and blindfolded us and cuffed us he remembers. the detainees ranged from ages 17 to 70, he says. they were beaten, penned up like animals, and in their last days deprived of food and water. he says he survived by dreaming of freedom. that one day i would leave this place. early last week, he thought that day had come. the last day they informed us that they are going to release us. we all started planning, he says, preparing to reunite with

loved ones. this warehouse is around 15x10 meters and 35x30 feet, and he says that there were 175 people crammed in here. at sunset, the guards came and opened the door. he and the other prisoners thought they were going to make good on their word and set them free. instead, he says, the soldiers threw a grenade through the door and opened fire. he made a run for it. i ran away, i jumped over that wall. but i don't remember anything else. though he survived, his younger brother and most of the others trapped in this hell did not. the warehouse is located in a lot on the back end of hamas gadhafi's third brigade headquarters the most feared and loathed unit of his father's military. once rebels secured the area,

and people felt safe enough to approach the warehouse, this is all they found. volunteer workers say they have pulled out the remains of at least 150 bodies. >> some of the bodies, there are more than one body. some of them four or three people in one bag. >> reporter: because the bodies, you can't recognize the bodies? >> difficult. because they are burned. you cannot recognize them. so we have some various ways to -- >> reporter: the i.d.'s of people all over libya. do you know why the men here were detained? >> they were detained, some of them for nothing, just to say that gadhafi is to raise the new flag, and not the green flag, but the new color. this one. >> reporter: in another corner lot people gathered report another atrocity. we are told that a number of bodies were also dug up right here, and the dirt, it is just

filled and it is crawling with maggots. the cost of freedom in libya. many of the victims will remain unknown. their families left without answers to their fate. >> arwa joining us live from tripoli. arwa, just seeing this video and this story is just very disturbing and i saw you with the mask there, what was that like to be there? >> well, it is incredibly chilling just when you think about what those victims must have gone through, and especially in the final moments. residents in the area saying they could hear them scream, and they didn't know exactly what had taken place. this entire area was a no-go zone for ordinary libyans. they are terrified of the brigade, and they knew and heard of the atrocities committed, but when we spoke to a number of the rebels who accompanied us there, they said they had never witnessed anything like this firsthand and some of them were so overcome with emotion, they

were trying to rush us lu tthro the location and get us through the horror of it as fast as possible and hardened them to bring gadhafi and his family to justice, suzanne. >> and quickly, do we have a sense of where gadhafi is? i imagine that people are still furiously searching for him. >> yeah, the hunt for him most certainly is still on, although, there is no evidence that would indicate that he is in one part of the country or the other. the predominant theory is that he would have fled to the south perhaps to where his tribe is from. there is a huge chunk of the country that no one knows, who is in control of. and so those are potentially areas where he could easily hide himself or find loyalists willing to hide him. the tribes in that area, he secured their loyalty. >> arwa damon, excellent reporting as always. thank you, arwa. well, a lot of people pumping water out of their basements this morning in wake of hurricane irene, and what do

you do if your house is hit by this storm or any natural disaster? alison kosik has top tips of filing an insurance claim. to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t network... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say.

got the mirrors all adjusted? you can see everything ok?... just stay off the freeways, all right? i don't want you going out on those yet. and leave your phone in your purse, i don't want you texting. >> daddy... ok! ok, here you go. be careful. >> thanks dad. >> and call me--but not while you're driving. we knew this day was coming. that's why we bought a subaru.

millions are still without power. after irene, the storm flooded basements and damaged a lot of homes, so dnlg. our cnn alison kosik has top tips, and she's in new york. we have been through this many times, and boy, filing an insurance claim can be a real pain. >> oh, yeah. >> what do folks do to start the process? >> the first thing you do is report the claim to your

insurance company, and do it asap, because they are usually handled on a first come first serve basis. keep good records. even if you stay at a hotel, you may be surprised because there could be something in your insurance policy where you could be reimbursed. >> what if you go through that work and your claim is denied? do you have recourse? >> you can ask them to show them in the policy that justifies why they denied you. of course the last result here, a resorts to get a lawyer. this is where all the good record keeping would come into play.

>> alison, what if the damage is due to flooding? that's handled differently? >> it is. you may be surprised, but 80% of americans don't have flood insurance and many don't know they don't have it. they think they are covered if they have homeowners insurance, but a typical policy does not cover flooding. and you need to buy separate flood insurance policy 30 days before a storm would hit that would cover the damage specifically because of flooding because of storm surges or torrential rains. if you are one of the lucky ones that has flood insurance and you purchased it through fema and all state and farmers. >> good information. a bit of work involved, but good information. thank you, alison. >> the "talk back" question of the day.

is fema necessary?

we're bringing you live pictures out of new jersey. these are ariel shots. you can see how the water has taken over some of the areas there, buildings along the water's surface, what looks like what was a bridge. if you pull out a little bit,

you can see the whole landscape there that the water has expanded quite a bit. there are a lot of folks that are waiting to recede. again, this from hurricane irene. some of the pictures, the amazing pictures that we're getting out of the area and what folks are dealing with as you see the water up against the buildings. it looks like some of them could be residential buildings, some homes, something that looks like perhaps a garage. all of that water that is just right up to the edge of those buildings, imagine some flooding is taking place and the water lapped into the buildings along the water's edge. you have been sounding off on the "talk back" question.

and carol costello is in new york with your responses. what are folks saying about fema? >> the question is, is ron paul right? and this is from alex, of course fema is necessary. the question is is ron paul necessary? and elizabeth says ron paul is playing a political game as usual. >> and wilma says fema is indeed necessary. it needs to be reformed mainly due to lack of trained damage assessors. i will have more responses in the next -- in fact, i will be back in 15 minutes as will suzanne. we'll be back after this. combin of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them.

it's the at&t network... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. it's the at&t network... ♪ priceis it true thata-tor. name your own price.... >>...got even easier? affirmative. we'll show you other people's winning hotel bids. >>so i'll know how much to bid... ...and save up to 60% >>i'm in i know see winning hotel bids now at priceline. so i take one a day men's 50+ advantage. as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused. it's the only complete multivitamin with ginkgo to support memory and concentration. plus it supports heart health. [ bat cracks ] that's a hit. one a day men's.

aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's never been easier to get the whole grain you want from your favorite big g cereals. from cheerios to lucky charms, there's whole grain in every box. make sure to look for the white check. there's whole grain in every box. you could save a bundle with geico's multi-policy discount. geico, saving people money on more than just car iance. ♪

geic we're following this story here and getting information out of ft. leavenworth army base. there's a portion of a wall in a building on that campus, on that base that has collapsed. it's according to a media representative that confirms that a portion of a wall in a building has collapsed. the build something known as the old u.s. disciplinary bare ux. and one person is trapped. we're looking at pictures out of ft. leavenworth kansas, and it

looks like the affiliate is trying to get pictures out of the army base. as soon as we have information, we will get back to you. what we do know is that there's a media relations representative from the base that confirms to cnn that there's a portion of a wall in a building that has collapsed, trapping at least one individual. we notice that our affiliate is trying to get pictures. we will be following that throughout the hour. as soon as we have more information, we'll get back to you on that. crews say at least 3 million customers up and down the east coast don't have electricity today thanks to hurricane irene. it may be days, days before it's back on. at one point 4 million folks lost power, and at least 21 deaths are linked to irene. the total tab according to one insurance expert likely to be $10 billion, the cost of the damage. the president talked about irene just this last hour. >> so our response continues,

but i am going to make sure that fema and other agencies are doing everything in their power to help people on the ground. >> vermont is dealing with its worst flooding in eight decades. irene turned creeks into raging rivers. four of the historic covered bridges washed away. it dumped six inches on ground that was already saturated. >> we literally were taking on an 1 1/2 of rain an hour. >> and 2500 people who did not evacuate the island are chopped off today. emergency ferry service for residents is expected, hopefully, to begin today. >> and the rain also overwhelmed towns in upstate new york.

i spoke with a woman who lives in pratsville who says she has lost everything. >> our town is devastated. we all lost our houses, our jobs, everything. >> i am so sorry to hear that, melissa. how do you know you lost your home? >> we went back down this morning, and the houses are not liveable, fuel in them, and mud and everywhere, and the basements are still full of water. >> amtrak and new york's commuter lines are trying to get back to normal today. the subway system is running, but airlines cancelled 11,000 flights because of irene, and laguardia re-opened at 7:00 this morning, and newark and jfk are now allowing departing flights to take off. here is your chance to "talk back" on one of the big stories

of the day. today's question is fema necessary? presidential candidate, ron paul, he doesn't think so. carol costello joins us from new york. >> does ron paul think any government agency is necessary? >> he's stirring up the pot. >> i think not. irene clobbered the coast, and ron paul pounded away at big government, in particular the federal emergency management agency, or fema, calling it a great contributor to deficit financing. >> all they do is come in and tell you what you can do and can't do, and they hinder the local people and they hinder volunteers from going in, and so there's no magic about fema and more people are starting to recognize that. >> that's not what chris chrissy says, or vermont's peter shumlin

say. >> they are getting us the help we need and between the federal and state governments, we'll get this dugout. >> not to say fema doesn't perform some criticism, and it performed bismoly since hurricane katrina. it let's people in before the hurricane hits, and that way they won't be overwhelmed. fema can assess right on the spot, and still ron paul says there is no need for fema. states can take care of themselves and people are perfectly capable of taking responsibility for their homes. insurance anyone? is ron paul right about fema? is it necessary? facebook.com/carolcnn. i will read your responses later

this hour. before the storm even hit, trains and buses were parked and planes were grounded and hundreds of thousands of passengers were left stranded. joining us to talk by phone is the spokesman for the port authority of new york and new jersey. ron, first of all, is everything back up and running in your area? >> well, it's back up and running, but it will take time for it to ramp up back to normal. laguardia airport opened for arrivals and departures at 7:00 a.m. this morning, newark and kennedy airports took arrivals beginning at 6:00 a.m., and just a few minutes ago started taking departures as well. >> are we seeing massive delays? >> no. matter fact, faa is reporting delays of 15 minutes or less at all three of the major airports. >> that's not so bad there. i know new york, new jersey -- new jersey got hit hard, and new

york got expected to be worst than it was. was there any damage that was done to the planes, the airports or the subway stations? >> no, at the three mayor airports there was nothing major. it will take a while for our team to get out there and look for debris on the runway, and the employees worked hard over the last 48 hours and coordinated with the faa and tsa and u.s. customs and the airlines to get everybody back up and running. >> sure, ron, i guess the mayor took a little criticism. there was a lot of shutting down much of the transportation system. do you think it was a good call when you look at it now? >> better safe than sorry. again, we're happy that we're getting our facilities back up and running today, and we are egoia are going to take it from there. >> thank you so much. appreciate it.

irene may edge gas prices down a little bit, because millions of drivers put their cars in park due to the storm. the survey shows gas prices held steady over the past two weeks, and the nationwide average is $3.61 a gallon. president obama is bringing in a pro to tackle the unemployment problem. crew gur served as an assistant treasury secretary until last year. libyan rebels say gadhafi's fighters must surrender or face assault. thousands of rebels have taken up positions on the outskirts. there's new evidence of war crimes, a survivor says gadhafi

soldiers executed about 150 prisoners before they retreated. he says the prisoners had been told they would be released. libya's new political leader say they will not return the lockerbie bomber to custody in the west. the national transition council tells cnn that a decision will be left to libya's still to be elected government. nic robertson found megrahi this weekend. he is apparently in a coma in his tripoli villa, and he is near death from prostate cancer. >> has he been able to see a doctor? >> no, there's no doctor. nobody to ask. we don't have a phone line to call anybody. >> he said megrahi had terminal cancer and was sent home, and that was two years ago. and now they said all the speculation about al megrahi as

ill informed. irene actually sought a landlocked state. >> far from the ocean, floods from the former hurricane wash away several of vermont's covered bridges. a live report moments away. where do you go to find a business backed by the superguarantee®? only superpages.com®. for local maps, deals and more, go to superpages.com®. and let the good guys save the day.

here's a rundown of some of the stories ahead. first, vermont hit by epic flooding, the worst in more than 80 years. and then cut off and

surrounded by miles, we check on people trapped in north carolina. and then unprecedented evacuations from hospitals and now figuring out to bring them back. and tracking down the person responsible for the lockerbie bombing. and waters receding in parts of vermont revealing a lot of damage left behind. heavy rain turned streams into raging rivers. about 260 roads in vermont were affected. some of them now under water. cnn national correspondent, gary tuckman, he has been checking out all of this, the damage and flooding. he joints us, and gary, people did not think it was going to be that bad in vermont. what does it looks like now? >> reporter: totally unexpected.

they are not used to this thing. they knew a tropical storm could be headed their way, and the sad news one person died here, a woman who fell in what was a very quiet creek like this one but became a rapids, and her body was identified a mile from here. they cannot handle the amount of water from tropical storm irene. look to what has happened here. this creek used to be 15 feet wide and now it's 60 feet wide and exploded with energy when the water came through, and destroyed the building and now the building is hanging above the body of water, and this building was just condemned a short time ago. before it was condemned, we went inside the building, not the damaged part because that would

have been stupid, and then this goes back to the stupid reference, we heard aloud creeking sound twice and then got out of there. the landlord was in there with us and he was stunned by what a he saw. >> very old-fashioned shop. a couple thousand square feet, and most of it is gone right now. so the shock will come in a couple three days. but for the time being, my responsibility is finding places for the tenants, the artists in the building so they can continue to work, because that's what this building is, a place for the artist. >> reporter: the building is condemned now. nobody will go into it again, and it will either fall into the water or will be destroyed. the tree right here, we know this tree was standing in this very spot last night, the tall tree that had been here for generations, and we know that

because we were here and we camped here overnight, and we heard a boom overnight and did not know what happened until the sun came up, and then we saw the tree falling into the water. most of the streets, the flooding has receded, but you have mud and a lot of water here in the state of vermont. >> gary, very good lesson. you called it stupid to be in that section of the house. you can't go into the places and expect them to be safe even if you don't see damage, because their foundations have been weakened so much. gary, thanks again. nic robertson is tracking down the terrorists responsible for the lockerbie bombing in 1988. >> reporter: i am not sure they have heard me, and so let's try the last ditch means, which is shout over the wall. hello! y tempur-pedic moves... ...talk to someone who owns an adjustable version of the most highly recommended bed in america...

ask me about my tempur advanced ergo. ask me about having all the right moves. these are real tempur-advanced ergo owners! find one for yourself. check out twitter. try your friends on facebook... see what they have to say...unedited. it goes up... ask me what it's like to get a massage ---any time you want. ...it goes down... ergo...nomics... ergo...nomics... tempur-pedic brand owners are more satisfied than owners of any traditional mattress brand. (in chinese) ask me why i never want to leave my ergo. ask me why i'm glad i didn't wait 'till i was too old to enjoy this. start asking real owners. ask me how to make your first move... find out more about the tempur advanced ergo system! call the number on your screen for your free dvd and information kit. to find an authorized dealer near you, visit tempurpedic.com. tempur-pedic. the most highly recommended bed in america.

turning to libya, moammar gadhafi is still on the run, but there's another man that people are waiting to find, and his name is abdelbaset ali mohmed al megrahi. he was released two years ago, and he may be one of the last men alive who knows precisely who in the libyan government authorized that bombing. cnn's nic robertson managed to track that man down. >> reporter: we found abdelbaset ali mohmed al megrahi's villa in town, at least six security cameras and flood lights outside. this is where he has been living

a couple last years. we'll knock on the door and see if we can get any answer. hello? for 15 minutes or so nothing. i am not sure they have heard me so let's try the last ditch means, which is shout over the wall. hello? hello, hello? all of a sudden, something comes. nothing prepares me for what i see. megrahi apparently in a coma, and his aging mother at his side. >> reporter: he had been expected to die almost two years ago, but convicted pan am 103 bomber, ali al megrahi lives. only this was not the way he looked when he was released from

a scottish jail two years ago, and he came home to a hero's welcome, freed because the doctor said he would be dead in three months. he began to renovate this house. money? no object. it doesn't take long walking around the building before you begin to realize, and looking at the marble here on the expensive fittings to realize that it appears megrahi was being paid off handsomely for all the years he spend in jail. in the two decades since the flight, killing the passengers and crew and towns people, it seems the secrets of the attack would die with the bombers, and megrahi always maintained he was innocent. and moammar gadhafi had him literally wheeled out for a pro government rally. i am seeing him now for the first time in two years, and he

appears to be a shell of the man he was, and far sicker than he appeared before. has he been able to see a doctor? >> no, no doctor. there is nobody to ask and we don't have a phone line to call anybody. >> reporter: what is his situation right now? >> he stopped eating and sometimes he comes in coma. >> reporter: where he goes unconscious? >> yes. we just sit next to him. >> reporter: all that is keeping him alive, they say, oxygen, and a fluids drip. i asked about demands he return to jail in scotland. >> my dad, he's still in the house, and if he goes to scotland, he will die by the way. nobody can know how long he will stay alive. >> reporter: it seems i arrived

too late. he is in no state to talk, and whatever secrets he has may soon be gone. >> nic joins us from tripoli. as always, excellent reporting and excellent find pn anybody who is questioning whether or not this is indeed, ali al megrahi, not somebody trying to dupe us, that this guy is the real megrahi? >> reporter: he's the real megrahi. the minister talked about it today, and it's clear from the images megrahi is a very, very sick man and may be close to death. they certainly are convinced it's the man, and i have seen him on a couple occasions before, and this is him. >> is there a possibility he could recover at this point, and does it appear to you, you saw him, that he is in fact dying?

>> reporter: he seems to be very sick. certainly his family showed an awful lot of concern. it was very hushed tones in the room around the house, and a very subdued feeling. he may -- his situation or condition may improve if he gets better medical treatment, because they said he has not seen a doctor or been eating for a number of days and only has the drip and has the oxygen, but the prognosis seems very bad if he's slipping in and out of coma. tough to say when you are not a medical expert, and all the conditions that were presented to me seemed to show that he was very sick. but not impossible. he may have a short recovery for a period. >> do we know in light of the situation in libya, it's so fluid it's hard to tell who is actually really in charge there, what might happen to this man? >> reporter: it does seem that

he's going to stay where he is right now, and the family has nowhere else they seem to want to go right now. they have a large villa, and they seem to be very well katered for. the government here, the national transitional council said they will not extradite him, and that is to win the influence of the tribe here, and very important because they want to try and build the government here. >> i imagine there's the certain frustration where people who have questions about the lockerbie bombing will not get the questions answered? >> reporter: here is the dell, gadhafi will obviously have the best answers of anyone if anybody could get to him and get the truth. the former foreign minister who left the country, he will have information. the former justice minister is now a leader in the national

transitional council, and he will have information and has provided some of it to journalists pointing the finger at gadhafi. all of the former leaders part of the government have something to lose. megrahi maintained his innocence and said he could prove his innocence and at this stage in his life had nothing to lose except having his family cut off financially from gadhafi if he spoke out before. and it's the moment where potentially he could speak out and point the finger in a way that other officials still around and know the truth wouldn't do because they could implicate themselves in the horrible killing, the horrible bombing. >> thank you so much, and again, excellent reporting. we're joined by karl azuz. >> first and more most, he is a convicted terrorists. to understand his story, you have to go back to 1988 when it

was bombed. it had 259 people onboard, all of who were killed. the plane fell to the ground in lockerbie scotland, hence, lockerbie bombing and 11 people died on the ground as well. it took 11 years to convict al megrahi, and he served eight years in prison was was convicted to 27 years. >> tell us why scotland allowed him to return to libya? >> at the time he only had a few months to live. they did not think he was going to live very long after that. there were a few things that happened after his release. and the government was

criticized. he received a hero's welcome back home. you see pictures here. he was greeted personally by gadhafi and people were celebrating in the streets, and to the west seeing a convicted terrorists come home and get that hero's welcome, that looked bad. and finally he lived for two years after this and was expected to live for a couple months. he has managed to survive for a couple of years, and that's why people are calling for his extradition. there were before rick robertson found him in this state. >> and there were business deals with the scotts and the brits and everything, and very interesting to see how they handle the delicate situation. >> the scotts and the brits and the united states, there are politicians on both sides of the atlantic that did call for the extradition. there are still a number of people that want to see him

tried again. >> thank you, carl. >> getting a firsthand look at the flooding in the northeast. a view of hurricane irene's impact. we'll talk with him live from vermont. we share. shop from anywhere.

and are always connected. we live in a social world. isn't it time we had a social currency to match? membership rewards points from american express. use them to get the things you love from amazon.com, ticketmaster.com, and more unexpected places. they're a social currency with endless possibilities. at liberty mutual, we know how much you count on your car and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness, man: good job. where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us,

it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life. so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. looks really good. call us at... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

here is a rundown of some of the stories up ahead. up next, you will hear one guy trapped in vermont without electricity, who somehow keeps sending us these riveting images. and then we will see the damage that stretches for miles. new york hospital staff got the elderly out before the storm hit but now there is this different job ahead of trying to bring back all of them to that hospital. some of the most dramatic pictures from the flooding caused by hurricane irene have come from our i-reporters, and one sent us this video of a small mountain river near his house that turned into just a plume of rushing water. >> oh, my gosh.

it almost makes you dizzy. >> he is on the phone from vermont, and first of all, how did you get that shot and take that picture? >> there's a bridge across the river and on the house, and i walked out on to the bridge and there it was. >> were you afraid you might be in danger of getting those shots? >> well, yeah, the blood pressure went up a little bit. it was a little nerve-racking. we have had floods before one back in 1988 that was probably this bad, but none never touched the bridge or took the bridge out, so i felt pretty secure. >> tell us where you are now and what the situation is now on the ground where you are now? >> well, i am at work. normally it takes me about an hour to get here and it took four hours this morning because there are roads out in the town of warren, and roxbury, and i

had to come the long way around. it's a beautiful sunny day. you would not know what happened yesterday because it's so gorgeous out today, a beautiful vermont day. >> i understand you lost power. is your power still out? >> yes, i just spoke with my parents who live in lincoln, and they said the power just came back on, and i think they're probably watching now. the river is back down to normal today, too. still high but nothing like yesterday. >> i was going to ask you about that. the water is usually, what? ankle deep? how high did it get? >> i would say the bridges are normally 15 to 20 feet above the water, and it was maybe two to three feet from touching the bridge. so it was pretty deep. >> there were a lot of people, jared, who were surprised by all the flooding that happened in vermont. give us a sense of how folks are feeling today. you said it was a beautiful

sunny day. are people feeling more optimistic about cleaning up and moving on? >> i think so. just trying to get into work today, especially in the town of roxbury, and it seems like they got hit hard and it was pretty isolated. i think a lot of people under shock, too. there are a lot of houses that you could tell were totally surrounded by water. i saw at least two houses that looked like they were off their foundation, and pretty sad, you know, and we're a small close-knit state, and it's quite a shock to have something like this happen to the whole state, basically. >> jared, we're glad and it seems as if you are one of the lucky ones today, perhaps the power even coming back on. we appreciate the i-reports, and keep sending them as something as a follow-up. it continues to be a big story from where you are in vermont.

thank you. the flooding leaves 2500 people cut off in north carolina. we'll get an update on the effort to reach those folks. and people still without power in the east today. the question is how long was the power out in the northeast after hurricane gloria hit back in 1985? did it take two weeks, one week, or three days?

so how long did it take to competely restore power in 1985 after hurricane gloria? the answer? two weeks. and hurricane irene could keep them busy for weeks. north carolina is just starting to recover now from the damage that was left by hurricane irene.

about 2,500 people are stranded on hat russ island. and joining us, brian, how are things going? are they able to get to these folks and get supplies to them, these islands that are now cut off? >> reporter: they were cut off for a long time, suzanne. for the better part of two days. but this is the lifeline to the island. you see vehicles starting to go on to the ferry here. this was set up for emergencies like this. we cannot get in the way of these vehicles because they will bring in electrical trucks and highway repair equipment and things like that. but the trucks are starting to be loaded on to the ferry right now. they can normally fit 38 or so smaller vehicles on here, but they are about to bring a bunch of trucks and they can't fit as

many, but they have to get them over here. as you mentioned, 2,500 people chose to ignore the evacuation orders. they have been stranded for 2 1/2 days since the hurricane hit. and the reason is highway 12, running north and south which connects to other islands and the mainland. it was chopped to pieces. power lines went down and now the atlantic ocean is flowing over it. it will take at least two weeks to get that operational and probably longer than that. as for who stayed and why? well, i asked a local resident about that when we got there. >> reporter: what is the philosophy? why do people like you stay through this? >> i don't know. i don't know, i guess -- we grew up here. the main thing is getting back. when you are gone, you're wondering about your belongings

and property and how it is. it's your whole life here so it's hard to leave. >> reporter: we see an electrical truck getting loaded on to the ferry right now. it takes about 2 1/2 hours each way to get across the sound here and to the island. other people there told us that, you know, they have ridden out worse hurricanes before but they were not prepared for the flooding. the wind was not so much an issue as was the flooding. they are just trying to cope with it as best they can, suzanne. so far no reports of deaths or injures on the island, and nobody has required immediate evacuation. if they did the only way to get them out would be by chopper how we got there yesterday, or on one of these boats which is slow and not ideal for evacuation. >> that's an extraordinary

picture with the road and the water rushing over it. i am sure they did not realize that that was going to happen. but now, you know, they need everything. water, food, the whole bit. >> yeah, and that's why we tell you when you preb for storms like this, you need to have a supply of three to seven days of food and water and all of the medicines and things, because you never know when people are going to be able to get you. you should evacuate. your local authorities tell you to get out of there, even though it was a category 1 for folks as it hit in the carolinas, and the surge was so great because it was such a huge storm. take a look at the animation. we just got this in from noaa. this shows you the progress of irene, and basically from birth. so it developed into the atlantic ocean, and then you see it making landfall into the carolinas and then continues up the coast. we had three landfalls overall in the u.s. it's just amazing to see how this thing grew as it made its

way through the bahamas and intensified and then ultimately weakened this morning and the last advisories were issued. and this is the satellite from noaa, and this is the position and what it looked like from space as it was making landfall on new york. this was 9:00 a.m. yesterday morning. can you see the center of circulation in the area right here. don't be fooled, because that's not an eye but shadowed from the stronger thunderstorms that were developing. irene is finally out of here but will feeling the impacts from days to come with so much rain and flooding, and that's going to be the big thing that people remember in the northeast. of course you will remember in the carolinas those pictures you just saw. we had anywhere between 6 and 16 inches of rain so far and major flooding still on going. we have a dozen states that still have flood warnings. this will improve relatively quickly in the next couple of days, but perhaps weeks and

months of cleanup. >> it is true that storm was the size of europe? >> it was a thousand miles across, so the cloud field was that big and at times the wind field extended out more than 500 miles across. >> thank you, jackie. as always, good work and good job. five new york city hospitals were ordered to evacuate patients before irene hit. what is going on now? how an aa.

medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget.

with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now.

five new york city hospitals that evacuated during hurricane irene are slowly letting patients come back today. our cnn medical correspondent, she is at one of the medical centers. first of all, tell us a little bit about how this works. i understand the mandatory evacuations were unprecedented. did they go smoothly. do we know how it was carried out. >> reporter: they had less than a day to get hundreds of patients out, but they said they did it and it went smoothly, and now comes the harder part, which is letting them come back in. over the weekend i was given

exclusive access to come inside nyu the medical center where i am right now. i was inside an empty emergency room. usually you have 50 patients coming in and out. it was eerie to be an in emergency room not only with no patients, but with no beds because they had taken the beds out and it was strange. now they have to go back through the hospital and resterile eyes things and make things safe, and they need to make sure that everything is ready for patients to return. patients are starting to come back now. here at nyu, they are bringing back the newborn babies first, and then in the next few days they will bring back the rest of the patients. >> they were moving newborn babies. that's incredible when you think about it. nyu kept some patients through the storm? how did that go? why did they do that?

>> reporter: they kept six patients in the intensive care unit because they figured it was more dangerous to move them, moving them could have killed them. so laboratory technicians and people from the blood bank, they had to keep 200 staff people here to take care of those patients. these people are heheroes to st through the storm. i have one with me. i know you don't like it when i call a hero. >> we're heroes every day of the week, the staff. >> reporter: elaine is the manager here at the icu at nyu. how did it go? >> seamlessly. we were able to provide all the services we could normally provide on any other given day. and i think it's because we prepare for these types of disasters throughout the years with drills.

>> you were close to rivers. were you nervous being here? >> i wasn't nervous. we had a command center and leadership was here, and they brought in lots of people to help us in the event that something did happen. >> reporter: that's great. i am sure the six patients and their families are indebted to you and the other nurses and doctors. that's wonderful, so thank you. suzanne, back to you. >> thank you, elizabeth. our "talk back" question of the day, is fema necessary? presidential candidate, ron paul, does not think so. and the old man stopped and thought and said: free 'cause that's how it ought to be my brother credit 'cause you'll need a loan for one thing or another score 'cause they break it down to one simple number that you can use dot to take a break because the name is kinda long com in honor of the internet that it's on

put it all together at the end of the song it gives you freecreditscore-dot-com, and i'm gone... offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com yeah. 24 bucks later. that hurts. it's not like i really had a choice. snack on this. progressive's "name your price" tool showed me a range of coverages and i picked the one that worked for me. i saved hundreds. wow, that's dinner and a movie. [ dramatic soundtrack plays ] this picture stars you and savings. but mostly savings. out there with a better way. now, that's progressive.

want to go to vermont's governor who is joining us now before the microphones, and all three of these officials completed an aerial tour of a section of the state. thank you for joining us. i understand that some of you have sound and perhaps the general does not. if i could start with the governor. give us a sense of what you have actually seen. this is the worst natural disaster, this flooding, in some eight decades for your state. what state is it in now? >> it's absolutely devastating. irene whacked us hard here. and literally every small community south of the massachusetts line is impacted all the way up through central

vermont. we're trying to vet vermonters to focus on a few things, and the first is to stay away from downed power lines because we don't have roads and adequate transportation systems to go fix them, and stay away from standing water, and people lose live when they don't know how deep it is, and reach out to your neighbors, and some would be happier in a home instead of a shelter. under water are businesses and homes, and rail transportation, and infrastructure, we lost crops. we are tough and we will get through this, and irene hit us hard. >> there are at least 260 roads under water. have things improved or is the water receding? what are you doing? >> it's receding from the higher

elevations, but that means the water is flowing with great force into the larger rivers and streams. we have more flooding ahead, and obviously we have more bad news ahead. we're looking for missing people. we have our hands full. our national guard and red cross and law enforcement folks and firefighters, all of our municipal transportation work s workers, we have been working without sleep and they are doing an extraordinary job. >> how many people are missing in your state? >> we have several missing. i will be vague on that, and we're hoping for the best but we want to notify family before we announce it publicly, but there are several -- >> hundreds or several? >> no, we just one young girl a.

21-year-old girl in wilmington up from the ridge from where we are now. our heart goes out to both her and her family. we will be landing there shortly. there will be more casualties, we believe. we're searching for several people, but not dozens. >> senator, where do you head next? what area are you traveling to? what kinds of questions and things do you need to learn? >> we'll stay down primarily in the southern part of the state and then eventually work back up to central vermont. we started where i was born -- all three of us are natives of the state. all three of us had the same reaction. we would go by and see a perfectly tranquil area and then go another mile and see devastation.

i can't think of a time in my lifetime where i have seen flooding this man in this southern part of the state, and certainly not this time of year. in the spring with ice jams and all, but nothing like this. i want to make it clear in washington, that we do need help. we're a small state. we'll pull together. it's extraordinary when we see neighbors helping neighbors, and sometimes people have nothing themselves and are still helping. we need help in washington. i have already got e-mails from democratic and republican senators saying we'll help you. >> thank you so much, senator leahy, and governor shumlun. we hope things get better for the folks there in vermont. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now.

two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy.