Dam Could Give Way In Massachusetts
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: I've made the adjustments, trust me. Have a great day guys. And good morning, everyone, I'm Tony Harris at the CNN Center in Atlanta sitting in for Daryn Kagan this morning. From menacing skies overhead to water-soaked ground under foot, we're following three weather-related dramas that are developing this hour. In Massachusetts, flood waters rise, a dam falters, a massive evacuation grows more urgent. A severe weather watch blankets Southern California where vicious thunderstorms have unleashed walls of water and mud. And from the Caribbean to the Katrina zone, all eyes are on Wilma. The latest named storm of this extraordinary season is gaining strength and stoking fear. Let's begin this our in Taunton, Massachusetts, where officials say a dam could burst at any moment. Some 2,000 people have been urged to evacuate and the National Guard and local police are on standby if the structure fails. CNN's Dan Lothian is in Taunton with the latest on this developing situation. Dan, good morning.</s>DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. I'm standing right along the Mill River. And as you can see, much higher than it should be, overflowing its banking in this area here. We're about a mile-and-a-half down river from that dam that you've been talking about. It's an old wooden dam more than 100 years old. And there's a concern that if that gives way, there would be a wall of some six feet of water flowing into a community of some a hundred homes and then eventually flowing all the way here into downtown Taunton. So, as you mentioned, some 2,000 people have been strongly advised to evacuate. In fact, this morning officials were going door to door telling folks that the situation could become critical so they need to get out now while they still can. Governor Mitt Romney, who has been criticized of late for his slow response to some other flash flooding incident in Western Massachusetts, has responded quickly to this one, was here earlier this morning meeting with emergency management officials, getting briefed on the situation. And he says there's real reason to be concerned.</s>GOV. MITT ROMNEY, MASSACHUSETTS: We're all looking at why this has occurred, how we can prevent circumstances like this from happening again. This is one of our high hazard dams. It's a privately-owned dam, as you know. We have some 600 dams of this nature. Fortunately it was inspected on time and repairs were requested in a timely basis, were being undertaken.</s>LOTHIAN: Now there's some good news and bad news. First of all, the water is flowing through that dam, so it does shows that the integrity, obviously, is not holding that the point. So that's bad news. The good news, though, is that because the water is flowing through, engineers say that it's relieving some of the pressure. So they still believe that it could buckle, but so far it is holding. Some other good news. We are told that the water level in the lake that feeds into the Mill River has dropped slightly, so they're very happy about that. And also engineers have had a chance to check out a secondary dam. There was concern that if the old wooden dam would give way, the secondary dam would also give way creating a catastrophic problem. Now in daylight, they've had a chance to check that one out and they do believe that if the first dam gives way, the second one will most likely hold. Tony.</s>HARRIS: And, Dan, there doesn't seem to be anything amiss with the inspection process. What, these dams are inspected every two years or so?</s>LOTHIAN: That's right. And the governor in his press conference earlier today said that this one had been checked out. It has been routinely inspected and any kind of repairs that need to be done are done. It is, as you probable head, it is privately owned and it is privately maintained. So he does say that that has taken place. But, obviously, there's a lot of concern from residents here who say this has been a problem for a long time. Any time you get a lot of rain, there's a threat that this dam could give way and they believe that it should have been shored up long time ago.</s>HARRIS: And, Dan, check me on this. We're expected to hear from the mayor of Taunton, Mayor Robert Nunez (ph), pretty soon.</s>LOTHIAN: That's right. He was expected to hold a press conference starting at 10:00. So it could be at any moment now, to give us an update on what the engineers have learned after going out there and inspecting the bridge again or the dam.</s>HARRIS: CNN's Dan Lothian. Dan, thank you. Appreciate it. Now the mudslides in Southern California. This rushing torrent of water and mud is barreling unimpeded down a Burbank mountainside, cleared by an earlier brush fire. And yesterday heavy rains knocked power out to some 140,000 homes and businesses. More storms overnight and into this afternoon are expected to add to the problem. A lot of weather to talk about. Let's get you upstairs now to the CNN weather center and Dave Hennen. Dave, good morning.</s>HARRIS: The hard learned lessons of Hurricane Katrina go under the microscope this hour on Capitol Hill. We're following two hearings now getting underway. Here two House subcommittees are holding a joint hearing on rebuilding New Orleans in the wake of the devastation. On your left here, you see the actual hearing, the hall and the hearing underway. And on the right you see Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco who is appearing via the video link. Also this hour, senators debate the issue of flood insurance. Only 30 percent of the Gulf Coast homes damaged by Katrina had that coverage. Some say the government shares the blame because of insufficient information on who's at risk. A House investigation into the federal response to Katrina has revealed feuding, frustration and gaps in communications. CNN has obtained several of the e-mails exchanged during the crisis, including this one early on. FEMA's press secretary clearly bristled as her boss, Mike Brown, was put in charge of the relief effort. Quoting now, "demote the undersecretary to principal federal officer?" Sharon Worthy wrote on September 30th, "what about the precedent being set? What does this say about executive management and leadership in the agency?" Brown's one word response, "exactly." In fact, even before Katrina came ashore, Brown's deputy chief of staff dismissed the idea of the White House creating an interagency group. In an August 28th e-mail, Brooks Altshuler wrote, "let them play their little reindeer games as long as they are not turning around and tasking us with their stupid questions." Another matter to arise from the House probe. It appears that in those first days of the Katrina disaster, even FEMA's lead official in Mississippi wasn't quite sure where Brown was or how he could be reached. So stay with us. We'll take a closer look at more e-mail obtained by CNN in the our next hour. FEMA's responsiveness to such disasters will be a focus of a new homeland security spending bill. President Bush in signing the measure later today is hoping to streamline FEMA by relieving it of preparedness planning. Instead, FEMA will focus only on responding to storms and other disasters. Some critics say FEMA lost direction when it was folded into the Department of Homeland Security. In Washington, there are few topics generating as much buzz as the grand jury investigation of who leaked a CIA operate's identity. That could be a criminal offense and most certainly a scandal if the leak can be traced backed to the Bush administration. CNN White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux takes a closer look.</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX: Just days away from the federal grand jury deadline, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald will decide whether he'll seek criminal charges against anyone for leaking the identity of CIA Operative Valerie Plame. Legal sources say Fitzgerald is also considering seeking lesser charges like perjury or obstruction of justice. Most of Fitzgerald's attention seems to be focused on Karl Rove, President Bush's top political adviser, who testified for the fourth time on Friday, and Scooter Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, whose testified numerous times before as well. Rove denies leaking but has admitted to talking with reporters about the fact that former Ambassador Joe Wilson's wife worked at the CIA. According to "Time" magazine, Rove already has a contingency plan if he's indicted to resign or to go on unpaid leave, a scenario the president refused to talk about.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're not going to prejudge how I can prejudge the outcome of the investigation.</s>MALVEAUX: But Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, said, "there is absolutely no truth whatsoever to the report that Mr. Rove has made contingency plans concerning his possible indictment."</s>SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Karl is here at the White House doing his duties as he always does.</s>MALVEAUX: Already there's speculation about who would move in as part of Mr. Bush's new team.</s>DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: I would imagine that the president would ask Ed Gillespie to step in and take that role. He's a very senior person who's experienced. The president likes him, relied on him.</s>MALVEAUX: But Republican sources say, until Fitzgerald makes his next move, everyone is just holding their breath. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.</s>HARRIS: And now on to Congress and President Bush's Supreme Court nominee. Many senators have been withholding judgment on Harriet Miers, saying they need to learn more about her. That may happen today. Miers is scheduled to return a 12-page questionnaire to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Among the questions on that document, has Miers offered private assurances to anyone about how she would vote on any Supreme Court case. The committee is expected to announce soon the November date for Miers' confirmation hearings. The Bush administration continues to push the Miers nomination, but at least some Americans think that's a mistake. Thirty-six percent of the participants and a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup Poll conducted over the weekend said President Bush should withdraw the nomination. Forty-six percent said the nomination should not be withdrawn. As the president pushes his Supreme Court nominee and deals with other major issues, his poll numbers continue to slide. Only 39 percent of those questioned over the weekend said they approve of the way Mr. Bush is handling his job. That's down from 45 percent in late September. Fifty-eight percent voiced disapproval in the latest survey. That's up from 50 percent previously. The poll numbers may be the lowest of Mr. Bush's presidency, but we were wondering, how many other recent presidents have had approval ratings so low. Here's what we found.</s>HARRIS, (voice over): Every single president since John F. Kennedy has seen approval ratings lower than President Bush has right now. President Johnson's numbers dipped down to 35 percent in 1968, pressuring him into withdrawing his bid for reelection. Richard Nixon's approval rating was down to 24 percent during Watergate. He, of course, resigned. Gerald Ford was down to 37 percent in 1976 during his ill-fated election campaign. Jimmy Carter's numbers dropped as low as 28 percent during the late '70s and even the beloved Ronald Reagan saw approval ratings as low as 35 percent in 1983 when unemployment numbers were soaring. Reagan, of course, came back quickly and never dropped below 40 again. The elder George Bush had his ratings down to 29 percent at one point in 1992. And more recently, President Clinton had his approval rating drop to 37 percent during his first two years in office. They never dropped that low again, even during the Lewinsky scandal. So while President Bush's numbers may be at an all-time low, they're not setting any records and there's still plenty of precedent to suggest they could come back up.</s>HARRIS: And we are continuing to follow a developing story out of Massachusetts. The Whittendon Pond Dam on the brink of collapse and a town that would be in the path of the rushing water. More on this story throughout the morning. Also, Saddam Hussein just hour away from trial and accused of a massacre of scores of people. We'll look back at the day that led to all those deaths. And many families are divided over the war in Iraq, but not like this. The parents of one soldier battling in court over where to bury him. We'll be right back.