o'sullivan said. if you going to the providence place mall which is the big downtown shopping area in providence, i win '95 goes by, you go around and underneath to get into the parking area. if you look up you will see planks across the high beams that support the bridge. the bridge is falling through and the planks stop. chunks of the bridge that fall through from landing on the cars that go by. that is the state of the main artery going to the northeast through the capital city. >> that is a visual that we need to be reminded of. senator inhofe talked about the tragedy in his state when a piece of concrete fell on a young mom who was walking past and she is gone. our responsibility, our committee's responsibility. i saw appreciate that. when we get to our markup before we leave here i think we should try to get a few photographs of this example and others to keep it in the front of our minds, a stark reminder that we are dealing with life and death and safety in addition to the jobs and the movemen

>> reporter: steve and debbie o'sullivan live in rockaway beach in queens, new york.setting. beautiful wide shoreline. they never used to worry about hurricanes. >> we never really understood the greater impact of it. we never had a great fear of them. we used to play out in them. >> what's changed? >> katrina. >> reporter: the o'sullivan's whose house lives one block from the ocean are thinking about stocking up on hurricane supplies. >> i really am seriously considering getting more supplies of water and dry goods and -- it is a worry for me. he's not as worried as i am. there may be reason for concern. new york city hasn't experienced a big hurricane since 1938. combined with the law of averages, many experts believe another nay jor storm may be coming, and soon. >> is it going to be a slow rise? >> yeah, yeah. it's going to come up slowly. about the rite rate that you fill a bathtub. >> reporter: this coastal geologist believes if a major hurricane hits, it could be catastrophic. deaths might surpass katrina. >> the most dangerous thing in new york is the new york

and that's a concern. >> for the o'sullivans, being prepared just makes sense.ven in new york where hurricanes are as unheard of as the yankees not making the playoffs. john zarrella, cnn, new york. >> didn't the yankees miss the playoffs a few years ago? 32 minutes past the hour now. we are a couple hours away from landfall with hurricane irene. north carolina is where it is going to make landfall. this is a live picture. this is where you saw brian todd reporting just a few minutes ago. they keep talking about these wind gusts they keep getting. some reported 74-mile-per-hour sustained winds or wind gusts i should say in some areas of north carolina already and the storm hasn't even made it yet technically. quick break. we'll be right back. >>> 37 minutes past the hour on this "cnn saturday morning". coming to you an hour earlier today so we can keep an eye on this storm for you. a storm that is going to affect 20% of the population. 65 million people could be affected up and down the east coast. many cities are populated cities that aren't used to dealing wit

o'sullivan and mr. james in spending for spending's sake and the commonwealth of the nation. >> you first. >> well, thank you, senator whitehouse, for the question. having spent a lot of years in the business world where we invest heavily in large equipment, the answer to that question seems so obvious. when the united states spends money building infrastructure, you have created an asset. that asset lasts literally for decades. we are all traveling on a federal interstate system that's been in existence now for four or five decades. it's a real asset. unfortunately, there's not a federal balance sheet like there is in the private sector where we look at our investments over the last 10-30 years and say here's a real asset. it's producing economic efficiency. it's producing revenue. it is a long-term value enhancing asset. somehow we don't see that or that doesn't seem to enter -- >> indeed we have no capital budget in the federal government to work with to accomplish that. >> yeah. >> senator, thank yo

o'sullivan claims he was drinking but no one thought he was out of control. he also says the verbal attack against the african-american officer didn't let up. >> he regretted hiring him as an n word. he kept using. he was the last one he would hire. then he looked at the other people and said i could kill you all whenever i want. >> reporter: the school district spokesperson says sarna will be on paid administrative leave during the investigation. we reached out to get his side of the story, but he declined. this isn't the first time sarna has been in trouble. after working with the oakland police department in 2007, sarna was named by then attorney general jerry brown in the state justice department overseeing hundreds of employees. he was forced to resign after crashing his state-owned car and being cited for driving under the influence. in 2009, he got the job as the school district's top cop. >> i think he's married to an african-american woman, so he shouldn't be racially prejudice but he just exploded. and you can't have someone like that running a depa

. >> reporter: steve and debbie o'sullivan and their three children live in queens, new york. trank will setting. >> we used to play out in them. >> reporter: what's changed? >> katrina. >> reporter: the o'sullivans, whose house sits one block from the ocean are thinking about stocking up on hurricane supplies. >> i really am seriously considering getting more supplies of water and dry goods. it is a worry for me. i mean, he's not as worried as i am. >> reporter: there may be good reason for certain. new york city hasn't experienced a big hurricane since 1938. wtd increase in hurricane activity combined with the law of averages, many experts believe another major storm may be coming and soon. >> is it going to be a slow rise? >> yeah, yeah, it's going to come up slowly b-the rate you fill a bathtub. >> reporter: coast algae gist in this case nick koch he believes it could be cat strfk. >> the most dangerous thing in new york is the new yorker. the new yorker thinks they've been tested by everything, but very few noshgers have been in the eye of a hurricane and know how uncontr

joe o'sullivan is his attorney and tells us what sarna allegedly said in the car. >> he called the african-american the "n" bomb several times. told him he had no right to live in la marinda because he's african-american. he didn't use that word. he should be hung in the town square because he is an african-american and he was the last african-american he would ever hire. >> and he would just as soon kill him. >> sarna was a lieutenant with oakland police when jerry brown hired him to work in justice department but had to resign in 2007 crashing his vehicle while driving drunk. the "chronicle" is reporting that sarna says he was just trying to be funny after a day of drinking at the golf tournament. he says that his wife is african-american. >> thank you. >>> 6:03. the trains are running and the stations are open for bart following a massive protest last night that shut several down for hours. [ yelling ] >> the hacker group anonymous organized the protest in response to bart's decision to cut cell phone service to prevent a different protest. last night, police were forced to close down four bart

o'sullivan and mr. james on spending for strength and -- spending for spending sake and spending to strengthen our economy and the wealth of our nation. >> senator white house -- senator whitehouse, thank you for the question. spending in the business world where we invest heavily in large equipment the answer to that question is obvious. when the united states spends money building infrastructure you have created an asset. it will last literally for decades. we are traveling on an interstate system that has been in existence, many parts of it for four or five decades. unfortunately, there is not a federal balance sheet like there is in the private sector where we can look at our investments over the last 10 or 20 or 30 years and say, here is a real asset. it is producing economic efficiency. it is producing revenue. it is a long-term value- enhancing assets. -- asset. somehow, we do not see that. >> we have no budget in the federal government to work with to accomplish that. >> nice to see you. thank y