susan candiotti joins us by phone. she has been following the story closely as well. and weeks. what have they told you? >> certainly in recent weeks through their representative. we have not been able it to reach them as yet this day, alina, but from the get-go they have insisted that if their sons and daughter had crossed the border, it was simply by accident. in fact, they've said as time has gone on, that they were drawn over the border while they were on a hike by some iranian guards. this has been an issue for a long, long time. as you just heard, the families have been following this very closely. they have hoped and prayed, frankly, that this sentence would not come down. or that if they were given a sentence, a guilty sentence, that they would be allowed to be released because of all the time they have served so far, more than two years spent in a jail. the -- they've had a tremendous amount of support since the beginning from people who are following their case on-line that have spoken out on their behalf from world figures who have come to the hikers' defens

may not go out, because that is when we do expect the full brunt of the storm to be hitting. >> susan candiottian, lights are still out there. >> i can't believe it. >> exactly. >> because by now, we are getting the flashlights out, but it has not happened yet. knock on wood, and if i could find any wood to knock on right now, but since i started this report, look at how, you know, the winds have calmed down a little bit. so obviously, it happens in cycles. >> i want you to know not only can we see what you are going through, we can hear it. can't you hear the pelting rain. it is quite evident, susan. thank you, we will check back in with you, thanks so much. >> we will check the path of the hurricane right after the break and going to the satellite and karen mcginnis. [ male announcer] where'd you get that idea? how'd you learn to do that? what'd you use? every project we finish comes with a story built-in. it's how our rough ideas become "you did that yourself?" so when we can save more on the projects that let us fix, make, and do more... that just makes the stories even better. more saving.

susan candiotti joins us live from smith point, new york, on long island. >> oh, i'll say. let me give you an idea of where we are. you said smith point park, that's on a barrier island that is on the south shore of long island, and it's more than half way out toward the far eastern end. this area is expected to be in the cross hairs of irene when finally that storm makes its way here probably on sunday. now, this area has taken a lot of hits over the years. from big hurricanes and noreasters. one of the worst was called the long island express back in 1938. that was a category 3 storm, 200 people lost their lives. from new york all the way through new england. now, of course, in the ensuing years there's been a lot more development, a lot more beaches that have been built up, but, of course, a storm like this, can wipe out a lot of beach, cause a lot of erosion and certainly do a lot of damage to low-lying areas. so authorities here are warning people, that they really have to listen and prepare. >> when we believe those strong winds, coupled with the tide

susan candiotti is standing by. you are there in the dark though we see what's a generator light behind you. >> reporter: that's right. hard to hear because of that. what a difference 24 hours makes. last night about this hour we were being bufted by the outer bands of hurricane irene. now that storm is no longer even a tropical storm. however, the remnants are being felt, as you said. no major reports of flooding on long island. certainly there is enough work here that has some people working even at this late hour. one of the interesting questions we have as you indicated is the subways will be back in business. the long island railroad that happens here will be carrying people or will they? this is a bedroom community for new york and a hub for tourists. you have to wonder how much money the city has lost because of the storm. what kind of economic impact will there be because of the preparations? i put the question to governor cuomo who came to visit this afternoon. >> don't under estimate the damage here. it wa

susan candiotti joining us live from there. susan, tell us the latest. what happened in court? he came into court wearing leg shackles and those didn't come off. but his handcuffs did. mr. peters was respectful in court and listened closely as a judge explained he was being held on a provisional warrant issued out of australia and that u.s. authorities would hold on to him until australia had a chance to formally file extradition papers and evidently that can take place any time between now and in the next 60 days. >> and susan, how did they manage to track him from australia to louisville, kentucky? >> reporter: boy, an intriguing set of circumstances. australian police took the e-mail address that was written on the alleged extortion note and they traced it to computers he had used in australia. in turn, that led them to surveillance cameras to see who sent these e-mails. then they traced it to the kind of car he was driving, tracked down his drivers license. then had a name. discovered that that person had gotten on a plane and flown to chicago and on to louisville. and then

susan candiotti, cnn, indianapolis. >> so sad.to see people, rushing to try to help those who were wounded. >>> we're following a number of other stories. isha sesay has a 360 news and business bulletin. >> the worst day of deadly violence in iraq in months. officials said 20 attacks on police and civilian targets killed at least 75 people and wound more than 250. >>> in libya, moammar gadhafi once again called on his supporters to fight the rebels who appear to be making gains. but there may be a high level defection from gadhafi's embattled government. an egyptian newspaper reported that libya's interior minister and his family arrived in cairo today. >>> also in egypt, former president hosni mubarak was taken to a court hearing on a hospital gurney. he is charged with corruption and ordering the killings of protesters who rose up against his regime. his trial resumes in early september. a judge ruled that cameras will not be allowed in the courtroom. >>> wall street kicked off a new trading week by posting solid gains. the dow

susan candiotti is there live. susan -- i see a black screen. is she there? there she is.ou hear me? >> reporter: yes, i hear you loud and clear. >> wonderful. tell me what you see. >> reporter: well, now the cleanup begins i guess is what you could say because we're getting squalls now that are in some ways almost as strong as we were getting in the middle of the night when we were out here all night watching the storm approach. we're in an area called long beach. this is a barrier island. as you've been hearing in other locations, the damage was less than they had expected but certainly -- done. looking down the street here, this is one of the streets that runs parallel to the south shore. one of the spots where -- here. that is typical. what is not typical is the mud that is now -- >> all right, obviously the connection a tad precarious there on long beach. we're efforting to get her back up live, susan candiotti at long beach. >> let's head further north, connecticut. it too is dealing with a bit of a storm surge, lots of wind and rain. let's check in and see how they

our susan candiotti has been in touch with the families of these two men. she joins us now from new york. susan, i know you've been trying to speak to the families of these hikers. have you spoken to them yet? and if so, what have they cede? >> reporter: yeah, not yet. but certainly, we've been in touch with them over the course, consistently, over the past few years, but right now they are remaining quiet. we've reached out in various ways to them. this is not uncommon. initially, they oftentimes, when there is a major development here, they get together, they talk with each other, they get together a united front, and then they issue a statement, sometimes followed by appearing on camera to publicly give reaction. now, the last time, alina, we saw them was just a few weeks ago. and this was as the trial was underway. they were in a rally outside the united nations. and after that, they were waiting for a sentence. as you know, the sentence was supposed to be released about three -- well, almost three weeks ago, within a week after the trial ended, but it w

cnn's susan candiotti has been covering this story for many months now and joins us live from new york. what more can you tell us about this? >> reporter: well, fred, certainly that this has been a grueling ordeal for the families of the hikers as they are learning this news today. again, this is being reported by state run media and specifically a judiciary source talking with them, telling them that the two hikers that remain in prison now, shane bauer and josh fattal have been sensed, as you said to eight years. it is five years for spying as they put it, the words, cooperating with the american intelligence service and three years each for illegally crossing the border into iran. now, this information, according to the lawyer for the hikers, they have not officially -- he's not officially been told this yet. so he's still waiting for that. and until then he's withholding comment. same thing goes for the families. we have been reaching out to them consistently since this morning and they're remaining silent. it is not unusual for them to not say anything at first when there is a maj

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susan candiotti is in long beach. susan, what's the damage like there? flooding. the biggest problem, however, power outages. at its height, more than 400,000 customers on long island are in the plaque tonight. in addition to that you have upwards of 500 downed trees and power hines so there are repairs to be made. for the most part people are out and about tonight just kind of looking things over. here in long beach -- again this is a barrier island, we're about 25 miles east of manhattan -- and you have people taking a look at the main attraction here which is a hotel that got flooded out on the ground floor so at this hour they're still pumping out power and sweeping out the muck. the governor came by. knowing you, you didn't let that opportunity pass. what did he say? >> he said he was actually mainly congratulating new yorkers for being prepared for the storm and saying that there's nothing wrong with telling people to go to the lengths that they did to get out, to evacuate, and many people did heed that request so he was congratulating people for d

susan candiotti is in long beach. susan, what's it's damage like there?reporter: well, there is at least one thing that long islanders can enjoy tonight. that's a beautiful sunset you can make out over my shoulder, but they are still getting bits of rain and it must have pretty high wind gusts, some probably reaching tropical storm force as a lot of people are out and about tonight. fortunately -- well, or unfortunately -- to things came true. there is flooding. however, it is mainly localized flooding. nothing major according to official, but there are plenty of power outages and that is unfortunate. to give you a quick look around, a lot of people are getting ot and about surveying damage up close. in long beach, 0 a barrier island 25 miles east of manhattan. people are up on the boardwalk 15 feet above sea level. for example, this hotel, in fact, where we were staying and a lot of reporter was staying as well, got flooded on the first floor, below sea level. pumping the water out and sweeping out the mud. that appears to be the worst of the damage in t

cnn's susan candiotti was there when the law went into effect. >> reporter: it's friday night, we're in downtown philadelphia, center city. one of the two areas where the extended curfew is kicking in. it's just about to start. we have police ready to go. police and volunteers are here to help patrol the streets. anyone under the age of 18 has to be off the streets by 9:00 or they will be in big trouble. there have been a number of incidents, eight of them in the last 20 months. and police are tired of the havoc that they're creating. we're about to talk to the police commissioner about why he thinks this extended curfew is going to make a difference. >> i think it sends a very strong message to children and parents that we're serious about this. we cannot have any kind of attacks or the kind of nonsense we've experienced over the last couple of weeks in center city or any other part of our city. >> reporter: among the volunteers out this friday night is tyrone wuertz. you were in jail, interesting story, for 36 years. got out, minding your own business at home. why are you getting i

our susan candiotti is in philadelphia for us. n, good morning to you, and did the curfew do what it was supposed to do last night. >> reporter: good morning. hi, t.j., good morning. yes, police are saying so far the curfew has been very successful, because there was absolutely no trouble on city streets last night. that's because they said they had a strong police presence out there along with civilian volunteers who were also helping patrol the streets, to send a message that further violence won't be tolerated. you've already talked about flash mobs or groups of teens who were involved in some recent random attacks on people. some of them very violent, indeed. one alleged attacker only 11 years old, so police last night for the very first time, extended a curfew that was already in place by just one hour. as you said, anyone under the age of 18 better have been off the streets by 9:00 last night or they would be picked up. and in fact, they picked up 50 minors, 50 juveniles. and they were taken to the police department and they

susan candiotti, cnn, indianapolis. >> so sad.g to see people, rushing to try to help those who were wounded. >>> we're following a number of other stories. isha has a news bulletin. >> the worst day of deadly violence in iraq. officials said 20 attacks on police and civilian targets killed at least 75 people and wound more than 250. >>> in libya, moammar gadhafi once again called on his supporters to fight the rebels who appear to be making gains. but then there may be another high-level defection from gadhafi's embattled government. an egyptian newspaper reported that libya's interior minister and his family arrived in cairo today. >>> also in egypt, former president hosni mubarak was taken to a court hearing on a hospital gurney. he is charged with corruption and ordering the killings of protesters who rose up against his regime. his trial resumes in early september. a judge ruled that cameras will not be allowed in the courtroom. >>> wall street kicked off a new trading week by posting solid gains. the dow rose 214 points on n

back to you, marty. >> susan candiotti, thanks very much.id see people on the street, though, behind her. >> we did. my guess is they're pushing it to the very last minute. we hear a lot about storm chasers during tornado season. well, also chase hurricanes. we'll talk to one of them about what with he's seen today. that's coming up next. [ man ] i got this new citi thankyou card and started earning loads of points. you got a weather balloon with points? yes i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. ♪ ♪ there it is. [ man ] so i used mine to get a whole new perspective. ♪ [ male announcer ] the new citi thankyou premier card gives you more ways to earn points. what's your story? citi can help you write it. >>> we're going to take you back to north carolina where irene first made landfall. storm chaser mark sulette joins us on the phone from kitty hawk on the outer banks. what are the conditions like there now? >> they're getting a little bit better. still pretty windy, but the rain has calmed down. it was quite an interestin

let's go to susan candiotti who has been watching things in long beach, new york. susan, last time we talked they were pumping the water out of the streets is that still working? >> that's still what is happening. the sun is peeking through, but we are still getting powerful tropical storm gusts, wind gusts likely at least 40 miles per hour. given the experience i've had. i'm showing you the muck that's all around and that fills the hotel here. this is the water they're still pumping out. thanks for stopping the traffic here for a second. want to tell you that the locals here were surprised when governor andrew cuomo stopped by here to survey damage on long island. this is one of the places he came. he went up on the boardwalk here. he took a look around, he looked at a life guard station that had been upended. he shook a lot of hands. then we were able to talk to him one-on-one and ask him some questions about how he thinks new york fared. now, he said that he does not think that new york overprepared for this monster storm. and he said that he does think that new

let's turn to our very own susan candiotti, who also joins us by phone from new york city. she's been in touch with the families of these two men. she joins us now by phone. susan, i know you're trying feverishly to speak to these families. when was the last time you spoke to them or their representatives and what did they tell you? >> reporter: it would have been within the last couple of months. more often than not the families, when there's a situation like this, like to speak through a representative that's speaking on their behalf. and it's not uncommon at all to discuss things among themselves, the three moms and their relatives, figure out exactly what they want to say, and then put out the word, initially, anyway, through their media representative, who is based in new york. so we're working all of those angles. i've reached out by phone to all of the families, and of course, other methods as well, as well as the representative. so i'm quite sure that's what's happening now is they're speaking among themselves to gather information, figure out what they can from all

our susan candiotti tells us how we learned of the sentences. >> reporter: news came from an iranianian tv quoting a judiciary source quoting that they had been sentenced to five years for spying and three years each for illegally crossing the border into iran. now, the state department still has no official confirmation of this andish ued a statement. u.s. state department spokesmen said we are working to confirm these reports and are in contact with the swiss to obtain more information. we have repeatedly called for the release of shane bauer and josh fattal. the u.s. state department is also working with the swiss ambassador, because she is the liaison between the two countries, since the u.s. has no mission in iran. the families have been silent so far. the families of the hikers. and that's not unusual in a case like this, because often when a major announcement is made, the families get together, wait for official confirmation and then he issue a statement or speak out publicly, and so far the lawyer representing the hikers that was hired by the family tells cnn that he has had

cnn's susan candiotti live outside the courthouse.lity, how did this case physical apart? >> that's the main thing. two things really, credibility and evidence in this case. in the end, prosecutors said this was boiling down to a he said/she said case and that's very -- it's a difficult way to go to a trial and try to convince a jury one way or the other with that kind of evidence. they said there was simply not enough physical evidence to prove that the sex that happened wasn't forced versus consensual. that's what it boils down to. here's how the district attorney summed it up. he said, quote, whatever the truth may be about the encounter between the complainant and the defendant, if we do not believe her beyond a reasonable doubt, we cannot ask a jury to do so. this, of course, not good news for miss diallo, who brought this case, who prosecutors and the police initially said was very credible, that her account was believable, but in the end, her lawyer is saying it was a bad move by the district attorney to now ask the court to dr

cnn's susan candiotti has been following this. susan, what do you know? >> well, we'll have to see how it plays out. of course there's been a lot of speculation about this case for weeks. the d.a.'s office won't comment about whether it will drop charges. on friday, prosecutors sent a her to to her and her lawyers. she's the housekeeper of accusing dominique strauss-kahn with sexual assault. ms. dialo is expected to attend that meet. >> so in this her, did it actually spell out or say that charges might be dropped? >> actually it did not. it said they would tell her what will happen in court on tuesday. now, there are so many reasons -- only so many reasons why they would want to meet with her ahead of the court appearance. speculation that the case was going south, of course, ramped up back on july 1st, when the d.a. asked the judge to release strauss-kahn from house arrest because of the credibility issues with his accuser. >> what are those issues? >> among them the d.a. says she admits to lying on her asylum is a papers, and prosecutors says she lied

let's go to susan candiotti outside o the federal court in lieu louisville. i know you want to talk about the court appearance. first, if you could, take me through these bizarre events alleged to have happened in madeline's bedroom back on august 3rd. >> reporter: well, you pretty well laid it out. it must have been terrifying for this teenager who was studying for on exam when this man came into her house. she said what are you doing and he strapped this thing around her neck that he told her -- she didn't find out right away. he was carrying also a baseball bat and then he left the room. and then he seemed to simply leave the house. she called out his name and looked to see the note that he had left behind. it said something about explosives. so she called her father who called the police and that's when she sat there for ten hours until they figured out what to do, finally determined there was no explosives in it. but imagine the terror that she must have been going through. >> absolutely frightening. >> that was australia two weeks ago. now you're in lou

susan candiotti, thank you for the update.oing far from the situation still unfolding in libya, but first let me show you this picture. happening right now. take a look at the radar. a hurricane barreling toward the united states. find out where irene is heading and which states could be in its path. we're back in 70 seconds. >>> all right. here we go. the very first hurricane of the atlantic season is officially here. it could take aim in the southeastern part of the united states. hurricane irene churning through the caribbean right now with maximum winds of 80 miles an hour. earlier this morning, it pounded parts of puerto rico, ten inches of rain on parts of the island. dave pennington sent us this video as irene came toward san juan. the storm left behind downed trees, flooded streets. no major damage but nearly a million people are still out of power there. now that irene is back to warmer water, it's likely to gain strength. that's certainly not good news for those of you who live in the southeastern part of the u.s. le

susan candiotti has been in touch with the families of these two men.he joins us live from new york. what have the families said and just riding on that last comment from reza, will the families feel that doesn't mean a hard core eight years, that perhaps there is a possibility there may be an early release? >> that would be the hope of the families. we've been reaching out to the families and their representatives throughout the morning. so far, we have not been able to talk directly to the families. it's not unusual when there has been a major development in this case for the mothers and the relatives to get together to figure out what they want to say, to study the situation, make sure they have the most up to date information before they get together and agree on what it is that they're going to say. so that apparently, is what is happening right now and in fact, in the end, we may be hearing strictly from their lawyer they hired, who is in iran. and that might be the conduit throughout the day, but certainly, it's an ordeal, yet another step many t

cnn national correspondent susan candiotti is following this dramatic showdown in new york. >> we wantice for our people! >> honk your horns! >> early friday, supporters rallied outside the home of a woman whose only home she's known since 1969. >> it means everything. i have put everything into this house. all these years. >> she ran into trouble in the mid 1990s when she refinanced in order to raise cash to fight for custody of her great granddaughter, she was hoping to cash out $10,000. >> when they turned and gave the check to me, i almost passed out. $1,176.51. >> far less than the $10,000 she expected. she still has a copy of that tech czech. >> the next day, i went to the district attorney because i didn't know what to do. >> the lender turned out to be shady, but she could not have the loan rescinded. after a long legal battle, her home was sold at an auction three years ago. the new owner wants her out. >> i have no intention of leaving. if they break in and take me, i won't resist. >> cnn was inside ward's home mid morning. >> the marshal will not be taking any action today.

susan candiotti, how are things looking now?reporter: you know, this area was supposed to be in the crosshairs of irene. two things were predicted and came true. there was flooding. montauk, boats sweeping away and some homes were flooded. others experienced localized flooding. power outages? more than 400,000 customers remain in the dark on long island. one million customers throughout new york. at this hour, as you can see, the cleanup work is continuing at this hotel which is a few feet below sea level. consequently the lobby was flooded with sand and muck. tonight they have been sweeping out the mud from the first floor lobby, but they didn't lose power. late in the afternoon, governor cuomo showed up and congratulated new yorkers for being prepared. >> if we had to do it again we would. i'm sure there was an economic consequence to it. we couldn't afford that. we couldn't afford it more than a loss of life, significant property damage and i think because we acted the way we acted we sustained much less damage in the long te

. >> thanks so much, susan candiotti. >>> and before it gets to new york, hurricane irene has got toracing for flooding, we'll have a live report from philly right after this. but there's one opportunity that's too good to miss. the lexus golden opportunity sales event. see your lexus dealer. the lexus golden opportunity sales event. met an old man at the top asked him if he had a secret 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 [ male ] using clean american fuel is just a pipe dream. ♪ [ female announcer ] we're rolling away misperceptions about energy independence. did you know that today about a quarter of all new transit buses use clean, american natural gas? we h

susan candiotti is watching this case from new york. >> reporter: this is being reported by state run media and specifically a judiciary source talking with them tell iing the that the two hikers that remain in prison now, shane bauer and josh fattal, have been sentenced as you said to eight years. it is five years for spying as they put it, the words, cooperating with the american intelligence service. and three years each for illegally crossing the border into iran. now, this information, according to the lawyer, for the hikers, they have not officially -- he's not officially been told this yet, so he's still waiting for that and until then is withholding comment. >> and a third american was arrested with fattal and bauer. she was leased last year due to medical reasons. >>> a military jet crashed to the at an air show in the united kingdom. it was one of the royal air force's precision aerobatic team, the red aeros. they were performing at a big aviation festival on the coast. no word on the pilot's condition. >>> and rebels battling moammar gadhafi's army say they are in complete

cnn national correspondent susan candiotti joins us on the phone from louisville, kentucky.d in court today? >> reporter: well, this was an appearance, first court appearance only, for this man who is being held now on a provisional arrest of a warrant from australia. he appeared before a u.s. magistrate and it was a pretty perfunctory appearance. he was dressed in khaki shorts and an oxford shirt and he had nothing to say in court other than to hear this provisional complaint. basically, it was about saying australia wants us to hold on to you, the u.s. martials will do that until his next court appearance in 60 days which gives australia plenty of time to formally ask for his extradition back to australia to face these kidnapping and extortion charges. >> what i find so interesting about this case is where he was found in louisville, kentucky, 9,000 miles away from australia. any insight as to how they tracked him down, how they found him there in kentucky? >> reporter: yes, this is really intriguing. this is all from the complaint of the provisional arrest warrant. amazin

our susan candiotti is in the town of long beach. us now with the latest on conditions there. susan? >> reporter: hi, marty. the winds have picked up just a bit. of course, they ebb and they flow, but right now we're in the middle of it. i've got my trusty wind meter with me here and we recorded a gust of 30 miles per hour. it's not huge, but certainly, it's the highest that we've gauged since we've been standing out here this night. i want to give you a little looksy. this is the main street here, one of the main streets very close to the boardwalk. and i wanted to show you a setup here. obviously, very little traffic out there. but you can see that if you look up a bit, we have a lot of power lines up here that certainly could be damaged, could fall over. you never know, if the winds get high enough. and certainly, we see some of the street lights over here that we've noticed swayi ining as we and beyond that -- not too much action right now, was beyond that is a coastal evacuation route. and that is because where we are located now

in these low-lying areas and the expectation, i heard you talk to susan candiotti earlier, long beachin the direct path of the storm and then the question there is, if it makes landfall here what is the path towards more urban areas and what's the flooding issues and, again, already you see saturation on the roads and you have to assume with another 1 hours or more of rain even after the storm hits more rain after that. if it is as intense as they predict you can already see evidence that they will have at a minimum floateding issues which means power issues and property damage issueses. >> we're showing our viewers live picture of the statue of liberty. mary snow is in another part of the city, battery park. mary, what's going on where you are? >> reporter: it's quiet here, wolf. take a look out at the new york harbor. we're in front of the statue of liberty. on an ordinary saturday this harbor would be filled with boats. as you can see it's so quiet. that's the scene around the city. the mass transit system, coming to a grinding halt earlier today with all subways and buses shut dow

let's go to long beach where susan candiotti is standing by.ell me what you're seeing. >> reporter: two predictions came true. there is flooding. and there are power outages. that much is true. if you happen to be in one of those areas, you're not feeling too good about things right now. if not, officials are saying from their early estimates, no injuries, no damages. there is flooding in some minor areas that they always get flooding. a lot of the water has already receded. no serious reports of heavy damage. however, 450,000 customers on long island are without power. we're reporting to you from long beach. this is where we were staying. you can see they flooded in the first floor of this hotel. if you look down the street, you can see that they're pumping water out. you can see that water gushing out of that hose right down there to the left of the police vehicle. then as we drove around town, we saw some issues, minor flooding. but honestly, it wasn't bad at all. walking over here just a step or two, i just want to show you that this is one

susan candiotti, cnn, queens, new york. >>> a syrian tanks pound one of their cities for a second day king is now condemning the violence. saudi arabia's pulled its ambassador from damascus. this is an interesting development. syrian government troops have launched maybe the bloodiest crackdown yet last week since the protests began in march but this could actually be a game changer. >> and the president of yemen has now been released from a hospital in saudi arabia. ali abdullah saleh suffered shrapnel wounds and severe burns during the assassination attempt. it's not clear -- that was back in june. it's not clear when he might attempt to return to yemen. he ruled the country for 32 years. opposition forces are vowing to keep him from returning. i'm telling you right now, that looks like a completely -- >> different -- >> different person than the man who was leading yemen before that anas nags. >> he does not look well. it was an attack on the mosque in the presidential palace. some member eshs of his cabinet who were killed. it was a vigorous assault. he went to saudi arabia for tr

susan candiotti, cnn, brooklyn. >> let's hope she is able to stay in her home. >>> coming up, makingook at virtual credit card numbers. [ female announcer ] firm skin would be easy without gravity. with olay challenge that. regenerist day and night duo. the uv lotion helps protect skin and firms during the day. the cream hydrates to firm at night. gravity doesn't stand a chance. regenerist, from olay. but not in my neighborhood. ♪ [ female announcer ] we're throwing away misperceptions about natural gas vehicles. more of the vehicles that fuel our lives use clean american natural gas today. it costs about 40 percent less than gasoline, so why aren't we using it even more? start a conversation about using more natural gas vehicles in your community. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] more people are leaving bmw, mercedes and lexus for audi than ever before. experience the summer of audi by september 6th and get over 130 channels of siriusxm satellite radio for 3 months at no charge. >>> welcome back. when you buy something online, do you hesitate before typing in your credit card number? so what

. >> susan candiotti with the quiet before the storm. quite literally. thanks for that.the storm could not be worse for washington. the city is recovering for tuesday's earthquake that damaged the washington monument. now park service workers are rushing to plug cracks caused by the tremor. the fear is that water will seep into the monument itself. the smithsonian museum's castle took a hit in the quake. they hope to keep five decorative ture ets from harm. this is the oldest building on washington's national mall. there is no way to avoid a hurricane when it's teaming straight towards you. people along the east coast are filling sandbags and nailing plywood over windows and preparing to protect their homes from the storm's worst. is it true that 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. >>> as we watch the march of hurricane irene up the coast of the united states, the state of maryland is ext

susan candiotti is at smith point county park. you are -- where you are, are people being told to evacuate there? >> reporter: they will be. it's a beautiful day to be out here on the beach on fire island, which is a 30-mile long barrier island on long island south shore. people are out here at the beach. but things are starting to get serious. as of this hour, there are mandatory beach-side community evacuations being ordered for anyone living on this barrier island. starting tomorrow morning, about 8:00, officials tell me they're going to call for a mandatory evacuation for people living on the mainland side of this barrier island. so joining me now to talk about that, two people who live on the mainland. kevin and christine church. have you decided whether you will go along with the mandatory evacuation? are you going to get out? >> i want to get out. i don't want to take chances. >> kevin, you're on the fence. >> i don't want to leave the house. >> this storm is a serious one. haven't taken a hit here in many, many years. this

and susan candiotti, she is on the north shore.eriously and ready for what is about to hit here? >> reporter: i get a sense, suzanne, people are. as you pointed out, we're on fire island which stretches about 30 miles. we're to the eastern end of that, a barrier island. there are only two ways on to fire island. there are a couple ferries on either end, and a road -- bridges on either end, excuse me, and a bridge that runs only for residents here. we don't have an evacuation order yet for people up live on the island or on the south shore of long island. of course, there are high dunes set up to protect the shoreline. conditions are beautiful for people to take advantage of the nice waves and the high surf, and of course, we're two days out from the expected impact of the storm. are people getting ready? yes, i can tell you by going to the stores that some of the shelves are emptying out from what you would need, batteries, water, atms, cash, and one sure thing is expected, a ton of rain and there quwill be rain in low lying areas,

our national kor spocorresponde susan candiotti, you're in a high-profile news conference when the earth tell our viewers what happened. >> reporter: well, a lot of new yorkers also thrown off balance. i was attending the news conference held by the district attorney from manhattan about the dominique strauss-kahn case and he got two sentences into it when all of a sudden everything came to a screeching halt. you'll see me wearing this red jacket. take a look. >> for generations, this standard has protected. >> calm down. calm down. >> so clearly, everyone was alarmed. so was i. i thought quite frankly, it might have been a bomb and quickly there was an earthquake and we were taken down a starewell, about eight floors. he said, i've been through a lot of these and i, too, was trying to figure out what was going on. wolf. >> and generally in new york, is it relatively calm, now, or are people still rattled by this? >> well, i'm sure a lot of people will never forget going tluf something like this. a lot of people were thrown off balance when this happened, but the good news is, according

cnn national correspondent susan candiotti at the scene of the tragedy.ned, what do we know about this? >> well, we don't know much more, but there are a lot of questions that are coming up, wolf. certainly cotton candy is selling and the ferris wheel is spinning but there is an air of sadness. you see that tangled pile of steel that used to be the sound stage. and there's questions about whether this tragedy could have been avoided. >> as relatives struggle with their grief, they're also struggling with what they call the senseless. >> the only question i would have at this point was why? >> families are questioning what happened. >> there was a great deal of a lack of communication. no one was really able to act and get the orders put out that need to get put out. >> nathan bird, a father of two worked the rigging. he didn't make it. nathan bird had been around grand stands and stages like this one for 25 years. they saul ecalled him save the nate. he died when the rigging collapsed on top of him. his family says his death could have been avoided. >> na

susan candiotti on long island, thanks so.eorologist jacqui jeras is tracking the storm as it closes in on the east coast. we are hearing this time and again whether from john in north carolina or susan in new york, a lot of time for the people who live in hurricane vulnerable areas on the east coast who have seen something like this. it might be a good idea to get ready. >> it definitely. not might. you should be rushing to complete whatever you need to do in the carolinas and rearrange your flights. you know? make your family plan if you don't have it and make sure you have that disaster kit and to go kit to bring with you as well. the impacts of the storm often arise hours ahead of the main brunt of that storm. now, one of the worst things we are concerned about with the storm is what we call storm surge. this isn't one big wave of water that washes up on the shore. this is a slow steady progression of the water that gets pushed up from the strong winds. now, this is a simulation that i want to show you. a storm surge inter

. >> susan candiotti, thank you so much. next on reporter roulette is a big night for star gazers.erseid meteor shower. where do we look? >> to the northeast and they will be falling out of the sky. there may actually be some big, long streaks. not just a quick poof, poof, poof. the big long ones are the ones that everybody loves to take pictures of, as well. >> there is a but here. >> the best time to look will be 4:00 a.m. >> are you getting up at 4:00 a.m.? >> no. the reason why the moon will rise in the east at the same time that the sun sets in the west. you'll have the moon in your face where you're trying to focus on the meteors coming in. all of a sudden, it will blind you. you have to wait until the morning when the moon is in the western sky, but the little shuttle, the little things coming out ofl little meteors coming from the northwest. >> we'll wait. >> i'll call you at 3:30. >> if you do. i'll come find you, chad myers and pinch you. >>> now to this here, switching gears just a tad. before he raped them, warren jeffs told girls and i'm quoting this man, don't think a

we have susan candiotti, cnn reporter covering the press conference by cyrus vance, the district attorney dropped the case. what happened in that room? >> hi, richard. once he started to talk, all of a sudden the floors started to shakement honestly, my first thought is, is someone shaking the back of my chair because there were lines of chairs. and then it kept shaking. i quickly turned around and i thought, wait a minute, the floor is still shaking. honestly, my first thought was, could this be a bomb? and my third thought was, is this an earthquake? but having covered a lot of them and aftershocks in new york and -- rather, in central and south america, it seemed unlikely in new york. what we did was quickly mr. vance left the room and the press corps. >> susan i have to wrap you up for more coverage on the quake and other news, back to you. >> richard, our thanks to susan as well. we've been telling that you president obama is on vacation in martha's vineyard. dan lothian is traveling with the president. dan, tell us, has the president been briefed on what's happened and where is he?

. >> susan candiotti joins us now, following the story from the beginning.or the accuser aren't very happy about that are they? >> not at all. because nafissatou diallo's attorney, ken thompson, does tell he he expects the charges to be dromds. cnn has learned from several sources an official announcement could be made as early as today in advance of tomorrow's court hearing. diallo and thompson are scheduled to meet this afternoon with prosecutors to discuss this case and things will probably get tense. thompson feels his client is being treated as a criminal defendant, rather than an alleged victim. the meeting is billed as a one-time opportunity to find out what will happen in court on tuesday. that's when dominique strauss-kahn makes his next appearance and gets the official verdict on whether charges will be dismissed. >> what a colossal embarrassments for prosecutors if this case is dropped or dismissed. how did it fall apart? >> well, that's a long story, but it boils down to credibility issues. basically, prosecutors appear to have lost faith in dial

. >> we shad susan candiotti in long island, i was worried, going to end up in the long island sound. >> she didn't run away like a little girl. >> when you're small and waves hit you -- >> no, sarah would not have done that. >> i'd be nice now. >>> coming up on "american morning," hurricane irene batters new jersey. thousands forced to flee their homes. the american red cross calling it one of the worst disasters they've seen in years. daphne heart will come your way next. >> the man convicted in the pan am 103 bombing hasn't been seen for nearly two years until now. cnn's nic robertson found him and takes us inside his home. a report you're only going to see on cnn. coming up. hey, the new guy is loaded with protein! really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. new ensure high protein... fifty percent of your daily value of protein. low fat and five g