brian todd is there waiting on this thing as well. hello to you. and we have seen these pictures of what reynolds and john zarrella have been going through. it looks a little calmer there. how is it and how has it been the past few hours? >> it's intensified overnight and the last few hours. officials are worried about inland flooding. as reynolds and john mentioneded, there has been flash flooding the past few hours. you go through periods of calm, just a few seconds. and a few seconds later a huge micro-burst of wind. the river we were told a short time ago the search is under way for a man who fell or jumped into the river a short time ago. this curfew is in effect in this area. people are urged to stay indoors. do not try to go out in this weather. you still saw people in the beach area last night where we were. back to the flash flooding, the operation center said a concern is downed power lines. they are whipping violently in the wind. we're expecting that in a few hours, the wind to intensify here. and we're about 75 miles due west of the ey

i want to begin in north carolina where brian todd is in the thick of it. looks pretty rough. we seem to have lost brian there. it is rough down there. communication is hard. brian, you're back, i think. >> reporter: can you hear me, piers? can you hear okay? >> you just keep talking. >> reporter: okay. we're going to show you the storm surge here. [ inaudible ] rain, wind. [ inaudible ] pushing up against the pier. [ inaudible ] [ wind blowing ] impacted by the storm. if you're not out of here by now you can't get out. [ inaudible ] people don't stay out here for long, piers. >> brian, we can't hear you well but what we can see is most extraordinary scenes behind you. we'll try to make that connection a bit better. we'll go chad myers. we can see there from brian todd the power of this hurricane and it is clearly heading as you've been predicting now for a while right down the east coast. tell me exactly what we are looking at as we speak now. >> we're looking at a hurricane that's actually getting a little bit stronger tonight. it's getting its act together. there's the eye o

let's go to brian todd. we can talk about the wind and rain and it is causing problems with power outages as well in wilmington. >> reporter: it certainly has, t.j. tens of thousands of people without power in this area. we are told up to 27,000, possibly, now in the state of north carolina, without power. that number is certain to grow in the hours ahead. as john mentioned, the rain has picked up here. we are told there is about 5 inches of rainfall that has fallen at the airport not far from here. we could get 10 to 12 inches of rain. as reynolds and other meteorologists have mentioned, this thing may or may not be slowing down. that is not great news. it means the rain is hovering over periods for places for longer periods of time. the inland flooding will get worse. we are at the banks here at the cape river here. first light is coming in a few minutes. we will see the storm surge maybe a bit better. that is a concern here as it is in areas farther out to the coast. we have downed power lines here. some

brian todd, it's brooke in atlanta. can you hear me? >> fredricka and brooke, we are in north carolina. we're in mantio, north carolina. we just got back from hatteras island. hatteras island, about 2,500 people are completely cut off from civilization right now. they chose to stay and ignore the mandatory evacuation warnings. as a result, they're stranded right now. at least temporarily. because highway 12 which connects them to the northern most outer banks islands and then these roads that go to the mainland, that is completely washed out. on cape hatteras, 2,500 people there stranded. the only way we could get there is because we were imbedded with a national forward unit. these helicopters. the only way we could get to hatteras island was to accompany them. we were imbedded with them, flew over and saw some of the damage from the flooding which is pretty significant there. people there are prepared to ride out however long they need to ride out in order to get supplies. right now they're cut off. you can see the damage. a lot of pr

and we have another reporter right there, brian todd. from virginia beach the wind now pushing waves, water into the chesapeake bay. that could cause a little coastal flooding up into the chesapeake. then tomorrow the waves and the wind just blow onshore all day. and watch by tomorrow night some of that water may be piling up in new york. piers? >> well, it's a very worrying situation. chad, thank you very much. my only aid vice would be to listen to authorities, to take the advice that they give you. that's all for us tonight. "ac 360" starts right now. >>> piers, thanks very much. good evening, everyone. it is 10:00 p.m. on the east coast. we're at new york's battery park at the southern most tip of manhattan island. come sunday parts of this island could be underwater. here's what hurricane irene looked like when it hit the bahamas. new yorkers might see it here and soon. here is the view as irene began moving up the eastern seaboard, and as it did emergency plans started to kick in. airlines began cancelling flights. hospitals moving

that's how we're helping set opportunity in motion. >>> brian todd is in north carolina this evening.riving south into the outer rain bands of hurricane irene. he has stopped off and is joining us from wrightsville beach. brian, i can't tell whether it is water or wind that is the worst there. tell me about it. >> reporter: the storm surge is on the beach here. we just got socked by a wave. few people are down here. emergency management [ distorted video ] some of the people are milling around watching all this. they are worried about the storm surge going that close to the town and washing over it. [ distorted audio ] they are worried about losing power. [ distorted audio ] >> brian, you are tough to understand at this point, but you are fighting the elements there. we hear you about the surge of the water and wind picking up. brian is headed to wilmington. thanks so, brian. we'll get back to you. anderson cooper "360" is coming at the top of the hour. looks so peaceful where you are, anderson, after watching brian todd. >> in fact, the sun just set. it was among the more beautiful s

let's say hello wuonce again to brian todd. he's in wilmington, north carolina, for us this morning. brian, can you hear me? >> reporter: i can hear you fine and give you a quick update what's going on here. the rain and wind hasn't let us since irene came ashore. top winds 60 miles an hour, sustained winds in the 30s. i don't think it's gotten into the 30-mile-an-hour range. this river behind me, the cape fear river, i'm going to walk toward the edge of it here with the swells and whitecaps this is expected to flood later today in the northern areas of the river just upstream a bit where it's narrower. half this county is without power right now, more than half actual actually. two-mile stretch of road on carolina beach is flooded. we wanted to give people in the northeast a sense of what it's like here. you heard mayor bloomberg about the precautions to take. for people in the northeast and new york who may not have experienced this yet. if you're going to try to go outside, i can tell you what you're going to experience. it's

if people are going to leave, they better do it soon. >> brian todd, wilmington, north carolina. brian, stay safe, you and your entire crew. thank you. next jean is farther north in ocean city, maryland. what's it like where you are? >> we are not feeling the weather effects yet. a little bit of wind. a little surf. they're really not expecting to feel the storm here for another 12 hours or so. but the city itself is eerie. it's a party town, beach town on a friday night in the summer. you would expect people to be in the streets, for there to be a lot of noise, bars, clubs open. it is completely quiet. you drive down the streets, there are no cars, there are no people. it reminds me of a zombie movie before the zombies make their appearance. that's how totally quiet this place is. they're really worried about flooding. although the army corps of engineers put in the dunes and extended the beaches. they're expecting perhaps as much as of a sixth of the city could be under water by the time irene comes through tomorrow and tomorrow night. back to you. >> jeanne meserve, stay safe.

not too late to get out of here, but if people are going to leave they'd better do it soon. >> brian todd, wilmington, north carolina. brian, stay safe you and your entire crew. let's go next to jean mazerv in ocean city. jean, what's it like where your? >> reporter: we are not feeling the weather effects yet. a little bit of wind, a little surf. they're really not expecting to feel the storm here for another 12 hours or so. but the city itself is eerie. this is a party town, a beach town on a friday night in the summer. you'd expect people to be in the streets, for there to be a lot of noise, bars and clubs open. it is completely quiet. you drive down the streets here, there are no cars, there are no people. it reminds me, isha, of a zombie movie before the zombies make their appearance. that's how totally quiet this place is. they're really worried here about flooding, although the army corps of engineers did put in these dunes and extended the beaches. they're expecting that perhaps as much of a sixth of this city could be underwater by the time irene comes through here tomorrow and to

brian todd was on that flight and joins us live from kinston, north carolina.an, what did you see up there? >> reporter: well, marty, we just came back from hatteras island. the only way to get there, by helicopter. we took off in two helicopters from the north carolina national guard. doing a damage assessment, and a recon mission out there. what we saw, incredible. you're right. thousands of people, about 2,500 to be exact, cut off from the rest of the world. they ignored the governor's mandatory evacation order to get out. that order issued earlier in the week, well before the hurricane got here. they ignored it, wanted to stay and now are cut off. the reason, highway 12 which leads north-south into hatteras island. the part that connects it to other islands in the outer banks which connects to the bridges to the mainland, that highway, completely decimated. washed over. not just washed over. it looks like an earthquake this. it's completely chopped up. the storm and storm surge completely chopped up the road. now it's not just flooded. the ocean is now wash

cnn's brian todd just back from a flight with the national guard. those pictures and the latest from that area after this break. 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. ♪ got so many scratches and scars ♪ ♪ maybe time can mend us together again ♪ ♪ it's not what we've done but how far we've come ♪ ♪ i know that we will recover [ male announcer ] here when you need us most. yep...doh. [ boy ] slurpably fun and a good source of calcium. dads who get it, get go-gurt. [ boy ] slurpably fun and a good source of calcium. if something is simply the color of gold, is it really worth more? we don't think so. chase sapphire preferred is a card of a different color. unlike others, you get twice the points on travel, and twice the points on dining, and no foreign transaction fees. call now or apply at chasesapphire.com/preferred. any questions? no. you know... ♪ we're not magicians ♪ we can't read your mind ♪ ♪ read your mind ♪ we n

there's our john zarrella right there, brian todd right here. this is a very wet storm right now. wind gusts are 45, 47 miles per hour. and that's going to be the story. the winds will stay between 40, 50 and even up to 60 all night long before landfall brings it in as a category 1 hurricane. maybe a slight small category 2 hurricane as we make our way into atlantic beach for 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. that's where john zarrella is right now. but you have to notice the size of the green. that's the size of the tropical storm rainfall. almost 300 miles east to west, 400 miles north to south. that means when it gets close to you, when this storm is within 300 miles of you, you are going to feel the wind of a tropical storm. and you're going to feel that wind for the next 24 hours. so, if you are in a bay like the chesapeake bay, that water and that wave action is just going to push water in and the surge is going to be tremendous. some spots on the western side of chesapeake bay could see eight to ten-foot surge. ocean city, 2:00 a.m. sunday that's the lowest approach to your hurri

brian todd coming up. eight years after the disaster, a a part from the space shuttle is found in a texas lake. is old blue eyes back? a construction worker channelling frank sinatra. jeannie moos has been listening. comes with some risk, t north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing decades of cleaner burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self contained well systems and using state of the art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment we are america's natural gas. [ male announcer ] this is our beach. ♪ this is our pool. ♪ our fireworks. ♪ and our slip and slide. you have your idea of summer fun, and we have ours. now during the summer event get an exceptionally engineered mercedes-benz for an exceptional price. but hurry, this offer ends august 31st. what if we designed an electric motorcycle? what if we turned trash into

cnn's brian todd reports on the damage done and just who may be behind it. >> reporter: remember alle recent hack attacks we've reported on, groups like anonymous and lolsec. according to a new report that was a nuisanc compared to one massive series of sner atacks targeting dozens of governments and companies around the world. >> what we're witnessing is the largest transfer of wealth, a form of intellectual property in history. >> we spoke with this man from the cybersecurity firm mcafee incorporated who discovered the attacks he calls operation shady rat whonchs were the targets of this attack? >> every single industry you can imagine, from i.t. industries, energy industries, governments, nonprofits, the united nations, the international olympic committee, the world anti-doping agency, the association of southeast asian states. >> reporter: he says six u.s. government agencies, a dozen defense contractors are among those that have had data stolen over the past ve years, data like information on summits, military secrets, other sensitive projects. a common method used, spear phishi

brian todd, live in north carolina. thank you. >>> we want to catch up on the other stories making news here today. coming up, including this story, the manhunt for this former nba player. what he's accused of and why the fbi wants your help. >>> plus, breaking news on one of moammar gadhafi's son. we'll share it with you after this break. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ machines have a voice. ♪ medical history follows you. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities... committed to delivering the most advanced mobile broadband experience to help move business... forward. ♪ oh, we call it the bundler. let's say you need home and auto insurance. you give us your information once, online... [ whirring and beeping ] [ ding! ] and we give you a discount on both. great! did i mention no hands in the bundler? bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today. news just into us here at cnn. this is coming in from libya. senior rebel commander is telling us that son of libyan leade

now let's go to brian todd in wilmington, north carolina. brian, what are conditions like where you are? >> well, isha, we're just getting hit with the outer bands of hurricane irene. you can see how bad it is here. we're getting really whipped by wind and very strong rains here in wilmington. we're on the edge of the cape here with the vehicle path. they're very worried about flash flooding. we've already seen traces of it here in wilmington getting hit pretty hard. the emergency management director of new hanover county. i spoke to him just a little while ago. already some 6,000 customers are without power. this area of the city they've got some power but they're very worried about power lines snapping down. we came from wrightsville beach over here and saw a lot of power lines whipping very violently in the win. not coming down yet. but that's a big concern in this area. power lines being down, losing power in this area. flash flooding a huge worry here. experts have told us that a lot of time when people die during and after hurricanes it

brian todd, virginia beach.s are with all of those family members for their sacrifice. unbelievable. >>> still ahead, we're talking religion and politics. rick perry holds a day of prayer. it seems he did connect with religious conservatives. can he connect with other americans? >>> the big moment is here. a 61-year-old distance swimmer on her way to a world record right this very moment. she is swimming from -- swimming, yes, from cuba to florida in shark-infested waters without a protective cage. we'll check in on her progress, 16 minutes after the hour. have i got a surprise for you! a mouthwatering combination of ingredients... i know you're gonna love. [ barks ] yes, it's new beneful healthy fiesta. made with wholesome grains, real chicken, even accents of tomato and avocado. yeah! come on! [ barking ] gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] new beneful healthy fiesta. another healthful, flavorf

brian todd. john zirella has seen more than his share of storms.is a hurricane like this can do. he is in the path of the storm and we'll speak with him next. you are in "the situation room." vrrooom...vrrroooomm vroom vrrooom vrrroooomm vrrroooomm vrroom vrrrooomm vrrroooooooommmmmm mmmm mm. have i got a surprise for you! yeah, it's new [ barks beneful healthy fiesta. gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] new beneful healthy fiesta. >>> we want to go back to chad meyers in the hurricane headquarters for the latest. we do know and we are about to go to john zirella around moorhead city. you can tell us about what's going on out there? it looks like the conditions have gotten bad. >> tremendous rainfall. it's the same thing that brian todd is driving into. tremendous rainfall away from the eye. he has a 37 to 38 mile per hour wind. there is the 39 mile per hour gust. we get you closer to john zirella. that beach right there is atlantic

brian todd is there. this is a tight-knit military community. how are they taking this tragic loss? >> reporter: don, a tough development for people in this community. you don't have to look far around here to realize this is a military town. you have memorials here, military bases dotting the landscape, including one down the road that is the home of s.e.a.l. team six. the realities of war are engrained in the culture here but the enormity of this attack is just sinking in. a while ago, we spoke to kimberly vaughn. she learned that her husband, aaron vaughn was among the s.e.a.l.s killed. >> i woke up, i saw the reports on the tv. i thought i was okay. nobody had come. as i come up the stairs, i heard the door bell ring. i said hopefully it's just a neighbor. as i rounded the stairs, i saw the men in uniform. i just fell to my knees. there's no preparing for it. you know, it's something you see in the movies. it's not something you're supposed to live through. but it -- it was men from the command. and, you know, it was as nice as it could be, i guess. >> she is now left to care fo

cnn's brian todd is outside the plant now. they are closely watching that place. >> reporter: they certainly are, candy, both reactors are shut down as you said because of the cutoff of power from the electrical grid to this plant. and that's actually why they declared an alert here rather than an unusual event. an unusual event is the lowest classification of emergency for a nuclear power plant. this is one step up from that. it's called an alert. the reason they declared an alert was basically because the plant lost offsite power from the electrical grid to this plant, but they assure us that it is now running on backup generator power which can last indefinitely. just a short time ago i spoke to dan stoddard, he's the senior vice president for nuclear operations for dominion nuclear power that runs this plant about the message he wants to convey to the public. what dough y you want to say to general public in the mid-atlantic region about the nuclear power plant so close to the epicenter and their potential safety? >> well,

and our brian todd is there. hello to you. you have been talking to people in this tight-knit military town. how are they doing? how are they taking this? >> it's been very tough to take, don. a very difficult day for them here. and reminders everywhere here of the sacrifices the naval personnel and others make in this war. you've got a tribute here to the fallen naval personnel who've given their lives. and over here a tribute to the concept of the homecoming. a wonderful statue here, and a mural here that kind of reminds you of just what people are going through. and of course it's even more sobering and heartbreaking when you realize that so many of the naval personnel, the navy s.e.a.l.s involved in this incident are not going to be going through this reunion. we spoke to a navy s.e.a.l.'s wife a short time ago today and got another stark reminder of some of the sacrifices being made. kimberly vaughn describes that horrible moment when uniformed officers came to her door and told her about her husband. >> and i just fell t

cnn's brian todd is in one of the nation's s.e.a.l. communities today, virginia beach, virginia. >> reporter: kimberly vaughn describes that horrible moment when uniformed officers came to her door and told her about her husband. >> and i just fell to my knees. >> reporter: arson carson vaughn was one of 22 navy s.e.a.l.s killed in the helicopter crash in afghanistan. kimberly is now left to care for 2-month-old daughter chamberlin and son reagan who turns two next month. >> i want to the tell the world that he was an amazing man, that he was a wonderful husband and a fabulous father to two wonderful children. and he was a warrior for our country. and he wouldn't want to leave this earth any other way than how he did. >> reporter: on the boardwalk, in the diners of the vaughn's newly adopted town of virginia beach, a community grieves for nearly two dozen young men who were in their midst but who they never really got to know. mary's restaurant is a hangout for some of the s.e.a.l.s based near virginia beach. >> you feel like you're at

our brian todd is live outside the north anna nuclear plant in mineral, virginia. p tell us what the situation is there, brian. >> we've found out a short time ago that power from the main grid was restored to this nuclear power plant overnight. that's the power that fuels the cooling systems for the nuclear reactors and spent fuel pools here. both nuclear reactors at this power plant remain shut down as they walk through the safety checks. that's one part of how an entire region is recovering from this quake. >> may be an aftershock, but you're allowed to go back in the building at this time. >> reporter: to millions of people on the east coast, this was the big one. >> you believe you've just witnessed an earthquake in washington, d.c. >> reporter: it's the strongest quake to hit the virginia area since 1897, a 5.8, rattling nerves and shaking buildings in the nation's capital. >> i thought it was some kind of bomb. i never felt nothing like that before in washington. >> i was on the bus and the bus did a shimmy. >> i thought the building was about to ke lapse. >>

john zarrella and brian todd are in the bull's-eye right now along the north carolina coast. athena jones in the nation's capital of washington. rob marciano, poppy harlow and elizabeth cohen owl in new york. jason carroll is in atlantic city, jersey. let's get the latest on the path that irene is going to be taking away from north carolina. let's check in with jacqui jeras first in our hurricane headquarters. then we'll head up to new jersey. >> we'll go ahead and tell you where the storm is and where it's going to be going. it's in the pimlico sound right now. up through the cape area, towards new york city tomorrow, into boston by tomorrow afternoon. and then making its way all the way into canada. and it will be finally done with it here as we head into monday. there you can see some of those big waves which have been pushing into the area. we've also been seeing big rain amounts. in fact, flooding could ultimately end up being the biggest story for a lot of folks who live just a couple of miles inland. we're getting as much as 3 inches an hour in some of these areas and

brian todd in wilmington, north carolina, thank you once again. on the bottom of the hour now, it's not just our reporters out there who have been helping us with this story, you have as well. our ireporters have been sending in video to us. it keeps coming e inine ining i you for it. you'll get the view from our ireporters next. >>> all right. welcome back. we're just past the bottom of the hour. hurricane irene has made landfall and it is now on its way, heading up the east coast after making landfall just a few hours ago in north carolina. now, this is some of the stuff we're expecting here. heavy rain, high wind. irene made landfall near cape lookout, about 60 miles from cape hatteras on north carolina's outer banks. just gives you an idea there, you can hear, you can certainly see, but you can hear the force of this storm and those waves as it came pounding in. this is in atlantic beach. this is south of where irene made landfall. and more high winds and heavy rain in wilmington on the southern end of the north carolina coast. our reporters h

brian todd, cnn, washington. >> well, a helping hand for breast cancer patients.urvivor is using her own experience to make a difference. we're going to meet her, next. >>> well, there are nearly a quarter of a million new cases of breast cancer diagnosed in the country every year. one survivor is using her own experience as a springboard to help others. meet debbie cantwell, this week's cnn hero. >> when i was diagnosed with breast cancer, my kids are really young, and i was working full-time. we were struggling. when you start adding hospital bills and medication costs, it just throws your world upsidedown. my husband took care of me, took care of the kids. my parents and my friends did everything for me. but through treatment, i was meeting women that just didn't have it as easy as me. all these people were there for me, and i couldn't possibly pay everybody back. soy decided i was going to pay it forward. my name is debbie cantwell and i provide care and comfort to young women fighting breast cancer. get two $25 subways. we send out gas gift cards, restaurant

one of our reporters, brian todd, has been stationed for us in wilmington, north carolina, throughoutg. let's check in with him once again. how are things, brian? >> reporter: well, t.j., they say that the worst of it may be starting to move away from us, but i'm not sure i believe it. we're still getting pelted with wind and rain, as strong as it's been all morning, just now, and flooding is a huge concern right now. in a couple of manifestations. first, you've got the river behind me, the cape fear river. there are concerns and it is expected to flood its banks upstream where the river gets narrower. you can see the swells and white caps behind me. pretty rough around here right now. this river is expected to rise with the storm surge and flood its banks upstream. other variances of flooding, you've got the flash flooding on the streets which is a huge problem because the rain has been so unrelenting around here, it's really hovered over this area. a lot of flash flooding, there's floods up the street from us here, a two-mile stretch of flooding on a street not too far the from us i

brian todd reports on the heart break in a family in a community. >> reporter: kimberly vaughn describeshen they came to the door and told her about her husband. >> i fell to my knees. >> reporter: kimberly is now left to care for 2-month-old daughter chamberlin and reagan. >> i want to tell the world that he was an amazing sxhan a wonderful husband and a fabulous father to two wonderful children, and he was away for our country and he would not want to leave this earth any other way than how he did. >> reporter: in the hometown, a community grieves for nearly two dozen young men who they never really got to know. mary's restaurant is a hangout for some of the s.e.a.l.'s base at virginia beach. >> you feel like you are at rock bottom again, and you feel like you are not succeeding at what needs to be done, and you have to ask, is it worth it? is another life worth it? >> it's very sad, a very sad day. >> reporter: these were secretive elite commandos that could never reveal what they did to these people. we're told none of the s.e.a.l. killed in this operation were on the bin laden raid.

stand by, we're going to get back to you as well, brian todd, our correspondent is heading towards theer of the earthquake, outside of richmond, virginia. we'll be speaking live with him shortly. the president as you know is on vacation, keeping a very close eye on the developments as far as the earthquake in this part of the country is concerned, as well as the situation in libya. he's on the phone, even on the golf course. we'll check in with our correspondents, when we come back. [ dr. ling ] i need to get the results from the m.r.i. see if the blood work is ready. review ms. cooper's history. and i want to see katie before she goes home. [ male announcer ] with integrated healthcare solutions from dell, every patient file is where dr. ling needs it. now she can spend more time with patients and less time on paperwork. ♪ dell. the power to do more. i've tried it. but nothing's helped me beat my back pain. then i tried this. it's salonpas. this is the relief i've been looking for. salonpas has 2 powerful pain fighting ingredients that work for up to 12 hours. and my pharmacist told m

cnn's brian todd is live near the epi center. when have we said mineral, virginia, the epi center of an earthquake, brian? >> right. >> you wouldn't think this would be a epi center of a natural event lie i like this. >> reporter: there was significant damage to the middle school and high school in this town. minor injuries reported. not significant damage as far as heavy structural damage to these buildings here. two houses did collapse but one of them had been abandoned and one was not occupied at the time. so that is the extent of the damage in the town. but there is real concern here about the facility behind me. this is the norn anna nuclear power plant. both of the nuclear reactors here are offline and been offline since the earthquake hit yesterday. they don't anticipate getting back online for another day. they have to run down the safety checks. what they have been able to tell it us, though, the power from the outside grid has been restored to the cooling systems in this facility. that means that the cooling systems whic

our own brian todd is in stumpy point, north carolina.an your team was the only news crew that went out with the national guard helicopters. how did that go? >> reporter: it went well, wolf but these people are pretty much cut off right now at least temporarily. this ferry behind me the only lifeline to the 2,3500 still on hatteras island. folks who have ridden out stronger hurricanes before are isolated and some surprised by how much punch this category 1 storm packed. this is what isolation looks like on the outer banks. highway 12 connecting hatteras island to the rest of the barrier islands, washed up, caved in, power lines down at the breach, the atlantic ocean flowing over it, a costly casualty of irene's storm surge. 2,500 people who ignored mandatory evacuation orders stranded here at least temporarily. the only way we could get there -- by riding with north carolina national guard helicopters on a damage assessment mission. we're flying over the ocracoke island on the outer banks. we captured severe damage to homes, flooding in w

that is where our brian todd is, in wilmington. we have two other reporters there who gave us two very different pictures. one reporter was being whipped around, the other fairly calm. how it is it there with you? >> reporter: well, t.j., the sustained winds around where we are are between 60 and 65 miles an hour. i mean, you can stand in that. you can walk around in that. it's not comfortable, but you can kind of deal with it. what is really the telling factor, i think, is the rain. it is unrelenting. it's been unrelenting since late yesterday afternoon, overnight. it has intensified this morning. we see the cape fear river behind me with this very large swells of white p caps. there are fears this river may spill over its banks a little farther north of here, not necessarily here because it's wide enough to maybe prevent that. farther north where the river is narrower, they are fearful that this river may spill its banks when the storm surge sticks around. the fact that this storm may not be the fastest moving hurricane in the wo

our brian todd is not far from the epicenter of the quake, where an automatic shutdown was triggered brian? >> reporter: joe, this plant has now canceled its emergency declarations and stood down from its alert status, but as we found out inside this facility, there were some very tense moments right after the earthquake. dan stoddard said he hates to see his nuclear plant like this, not because there's danger he says, he just hates to see his plant not producing power. it could be worse. stoddard, a top nuclear official with dominion virginia power took us inside the north anna facility to show us what it was like when a "once in a century" earthquake struck centered just a few miles from here. we're at a simulated control room at north anna, where they train the reactors to run the reactor, dan stoddard will show us the moment the earthquake hit and they lost offsite power, dan? >> they recognized they had an earthquake and they were moving toward the manual shutdown switches to shut down the reactor. at that point they experienced a loss of offsite power and we'll see what that loo

brian todd did an aerial tour and joins frus kinston, north carolina tonight. brian?marty, we did the aerial tour and landed on hatteras island. exclusive access from the national guard because the only way in is by chopper right now. we went in two helicopters, did the aerial tour and saw the damage firsthand. then landed and surveyed it from the ground. it's compelling to watch. you have highway 12 that you mentioned. this is the key artery connecting hatteras island to the outer banks islands north of it. from the other islands the causeways go to the mainland. when this part of highway 12 was destroyed, that meant 2,500 people on hatteras island were stranded and remain stranded now. 2,500 ignored the mandatory evacuation order. now they are cut off from the world. that section of highway 1 was amazing to look at. we have footage. you see the road there was washed out by storm surge but looked like it was hit by an earthquake as well. the road collapsed. it was chopped to pieces. now the ocean is flowing other it. there are ocean currents going over it into pamlic

cnn's brian todd had an opportunity to talk with a man. >> reporter: less than 18 minutes into the 38raid came the crucial moment. navy s.e.a.l.s had fought their roy through osama bin laden's compound. they blasted through cage-like metal gates on the stairways. as a small team of s.e.a.l.s reached the third floor, one of them turned to his right. >> you see a tall individual poking his head out of the door. >> reporter: the s.e.a.l. instantly sensed that was bin laden. schmidle's article bases his reporting on sources of special operations officers who had intimate knowledge of the ring. he did not speak directly with s.e.a.l.s who carried out the mission. the s.e.a.l.s' identities are classified. he writes that when the s.e.a.l.s rush dound the hall and into that room two of bin laden's wives had placed themselves between sooels and bin laden. an account of how the first s.e.a.l. in the room had to act in a split second when he encountered bin laden's youngest wife. >> the concern is that they're wearing suicide explosive vests. so he shoots her once in the calf and proceeds to gra

cnn's brian todd rode along with a national guard chopper to look at the situation there. n joins us now from stumpy point, north carolina. brian, what is the situation for these folks? >> well, randi, many of them are still stranded. there is a lifeline. it's behind me. i'll take a walk back a little bit. our foe to you journalist oliver is going to follow me. this is the only way that people in hatteras island are getting supplies, highway repair equipment, food, water, things like that. even some doctors have been shuttled back and forth if people have a need. they just pulled this in a short time ago. they'll be loading vehicles on this ferry shortly. we're told that they leave here about every two to three hours. it takes two and a half hours each way for this ferry to go to hatteras island and back with supplies. it's the only way they're getting them right now. the only other way to get there is by helicopter. we went there with the north carolina national guard yesterday to check out some of the damage. the most serious piece of damage is that breach on highway 12 w

brian todd is with the national guard. he joins us from north carolina. brian? and then landed on hatteras island. we got exclusive access. the only way to get there is by chopper. we went in with the national guard and saw highway 12. this key section of the highway was destroyed. not only destroyed. it looked like an earthquake hit it with the hurricane. the road was chopped to pieces by the storm surge. there are downed power lines and now the ocean is running over it. this is a key section of highway 12 which connects hatteras island to a northern island of the outer banks which can connect to the mainland through bridges. hatteras island is cut off. 2,500 people are stranded at least temporarily because of that. they decided not to leave. they ignored the mandatory evacuation order. we talked to some of them and we'll bring you some reports later. the devastation at least in the key section is significant. that leaves 2,500 people stranded at least temporarily. we saw a lot of flooded out roads, a home that was burned as well as being hit by the hurricane a

brian todd reporting.ood report. >>> as we watched the collapse of gadhafi's regime we can also see an impact on the world's oil supply and the price of gas. the final battle in libya could affect all of us. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." pain relief that works at the site of pain... up to 12 hours. salonpas. >>> president obama says moammar gadhafi's regime is clearly coming to an end, that's a direct quote, a little perspective on how long gadhafi has ruled libya. the united states has had eight presidents over the course of his reign when he took power in september 1969, richard nix quon was in the white house. president obama was only 8 years old. that same year americans landed on the moon for the first time, "sesame street" debuted, gasoline cost 35 cents a gallon. 42 years later, gadhafi is almost gone. meanwhile a rebel victory in libya could have positive ripple effects for all of us at the gas pump. mary snow is working this part of the story for us. the impact on gas, mary, what's

cnn's brian todd has that. >> reporter: less than 18 minutes into the 38-minute raid came the crucialoment. navy s.e.a.l.s had fought their way through osama bin laden's compound, killed his cowurrier courier's brother and son. as the s.e.a.l.s reecached the third floor -- the s.e.a.l. instantly sensed that was bin laden. his article in "new yorker" magazine launched new details of the bin laden raid. sourced conversations with special operation officers who had intimate knowledge of the raid. he did not speak directly with s.e.a.l.s who carried out the mission. he writes that when they rushed down the hall and into that room, two of bin laden's wives had placed themselves between the s.e.a.l.s and bin laden. account of how he had to act into a split second when he encountered bin laden's youngest wife. >> she began to approach the first s.e.a.l. and the concern is that they're wearing suicide explosive vests and he shoots them all in the calf and proceeds to grab amal and the other woman and turn his back to the s.e.a.l.s and pushes them off to the side. if they explode and they blow

brian todd, cnn, washington. >>> 18 minutes past the hour now. this has never been written before. >> there is a reason. >> there are a lot of people that have been rave being the book and now movie "the help." there are others that wish "the help" had never been written or turned into a movie at all. i am going to talk to one of those folks and let them explain for themselves. e 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®. another good thing about geico so like say you need to report a people wclaim, alright./7.. a real person will be there to help you. then you can use geico.com to view photos of the damage, track your claim, print an estimate. you want an english muffin? they literally hand you a toasted muffin with butter and jam. (sigh) whaa. tasty. that's, that's a complete dramatization of course, but you get my point. vo: geico 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. fiber one. uh, forgot jack

>> brian todd, definitely and continues to be a tough story for all of us to hear. >>> if you want to hear more on the helicopter crash, check out our new national security blogs, security clearance at cnn.com/security. reports, analysis, opinion pieces. we're also on twitter @nationalsecurity cnn. >>> can you pray away a bad economy? texas governor rick perry raidsraids raised some eyebrows when he did just that. does this blur the line between politics and religion? every day, all around the world, energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy developement comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing decades of cleaner burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self contained well systems and using state of the art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment we are america's natural gas. >>> this weekend in houston, governor rick perry stood before thousands of people, a liv

let's bring in cnn's brian todd.d were from that navy seal unit that was involved in the killing of bin laden. >> that's right, wolf. part of the same unit. we're told none of those killed were part of that actual bin laden raid. still, this is already a very elite group, a very small elite group and depths of 17 seals from a very famous unit has a huge impact on the seal forces. a devastating loss for families, friends and teammates. the 17 seals killed in afghanistan were part of a unit that's elite even among thele s.e.a.l.s themselves. at various times it's been salad s.e.a.l. team six. >> how tough is it to fill the void of these twice? >> going to be a challenge, no doubt. just to be a u.s. navy s.e.a.l. from the point you want to volunteer until you're in combat the first time is 3 1/2 years. >> and at least another two years of training and deployments to be on s.e.a.l. team six. as a member of that team, he tracked down war criminals in the 1990s. half of the men that try out for the team wash out. these are

brian todd is there in virginia beach tonight. you have been talking to people there. how are they doing? >> reporter: not well, don. it's a surreal atmosphere. you can hear fireworks going off here in the background. this is a weekly tradition here. they would have this no matter what. it's bizarre to be here in the middle of this. it's been a somber mood here. this is a military town and for a place like this where the realities of war are constant this has been a tough couple of days. kimberly vaughn describes the horrible moment when uniformed officers came to her door and told her about her husband. >> i just fell to my knees. >> aaron vaughn was one of 22 navy seals killed in the helicopter crash in afghanistan. kimberly is left to care for 2-month-old chamber lynn and 2-year-old reagan. >> i want to tell the world he was a wonderful husband, a fabulous father to two wonderful children. he was a warrior for our country. he wouldn't want to leave this earth any other way than how he did. >> reporter: on the boardwalk in the diners of virginia beach a community gri

brian todd talked to the author and has play-by-play details. >> reporter: less than 18 minutes intoment. navy s.e.a.l.s fought their way through the compound. they blasted through cage-like metal gates on the stairways. as a small team of s.e.a.l.s reached the third floor, one turned to his right. >> he sees this tall individual poking his head out. >> the s.e.a.l. instantly sensed it was bin laden. the article has riveting details of the raid. special operations officers had intimate knowledge of the raid. he says he did not speak directly with s.e.a.l.s who carried out the mission. the s.e.a.l.'s identities are classified. some of this detail had already been reported by cnn. smidal writes when the s.e.a.l.s rushed down the hall, two of bin laden's wives placed themselves between the s.e.a.l.s and bin laden. an account of how the first s.e.a.l. had to act in a split second when he encountered his youngest wife, amal. >> the concern is they're wearing suicide vests. she shoots her once in the calf to disable her and proceeds to grab amal and the other woman, wrap them in a bear hug

let's go brian todd. what are conditions like where you are? >> we're just getting hit with the outer bands and you can see how bad it is here. we are getting ripped by wind and very strong rain. we are on the edges of the river here. they are very worried about flash flooding getting hit pretty hard. the marge management director. i spoke to him a little while ago. 6,000 customers are without power. they are very worried about power lines snapping down. came down over here and saw a lot of power lines very violently in the wind. there is a big concern in this area. experts have told us that a lot of time when people died during and after hurricanes it is because they are trying to drive through flooded roads. experts are saying you have got stay out of this stuff during and after a hurricane. that is going to be a big concern here. the wind is whipping at us from the north. this is what we are dealing with here. >> what's your sense of the level of preparedness for the storm there in north carolina. >> i think the preparedness has been very go

and our cnn's brian todd has that report. >> there may be an aftershock, but you're allowed to go backhe building at this time. >> reporter: to millions of people on the east coast, this was the big one. >> can you believe you witnessed an earthquake in washington, d.c.? >> reporter: it's the strongest quake to hit the virginia area since 1897. a 5.8, rattling nerves in the nation's capital. >> i never felt something like that before in washington. >> i was on the bus and the bus did a shimmy. >> reporter: the quake was centered near mineral, virginia, about 40 miles from richmond and 83 miles from d.c. the quake could be felt all the way in martha's vineyard where the president is on vacation. shaking was felt in more than a dozen states in all, even into canada. nbc's cameras focused on the white house, caught the shaking as it happened. some of the masonry of the national cathedral fell off. and engineers found a crack near the top of the washington monument. it will be closed indefinitely to keep visitors safe. many government buildings including the pentagon were evacuated, but no