good morning everyone. i'm poppy harlow in for carol costello. 9:00 a.m. on the east coast. and we have historic deadly flooding. more than 16 million americans under flood warnings right now. take a look at this. this is a rescue unfolding live on our air right now. it is all happening in eureka, missouri. if you pan in we see crews trying to get a stranded driver out of a truck that is nearly submerged in flood waters there. you have entire neighborhoods under water this morning. flood waters killing at least 13 in missouri alone. roads completely impassable, the water expected to rise for days.

governor jay nixon activating the national guard overnight issuing this warning to residents hours ago. >> we are very concerned about the next 34 hours. we're going too make sure people are safe in that area. you have pacific, eureka and valley park and these are highly populated areas so setting up shelters at francis housing and high school and places like that so that people who do have to leave their home, we're going make sure they are warm and safe. when it goes this high not by an inch but two or three feet you don't know exactly how far that water is going to go. >> you heard him. we have never seen flood waters that high. jennifer gray and elena machado there along the river this morning. elena you are in pacific. talk to us how much worse it e'

gotten, how people are doing. >> reporter: well we know that hundreds of people who live in the town have left simply because of what you are seeing behind me. i'm going to move out of the way so you can get a better sense of the situation here. look how high the water is. look around the opera house building, the water is about several feet high. and if you look to the left you can also see several homes that are completely surrounded by water. this is the meramec river. and it's been at flood stage since sunday and relief is still days away. >> missouri bracing for historic dangerous flooding. dozens of counties facing a severe threat as the mississippi, missouri and meramec rivers approach record levels. >> now that the rain has moved out the threat's changed but it is not over. >> reporter: the flood waters claiming more than a dozen lives. many fear this is just the beginning as swollen rivers rise and crest in the next 48 hours. >> you are talking about almost ten more vertical feet of water.

so the power, as well as the volume, is extremely significant. >> reporter: the governor declaring a state of emergency and activating the national guard. as officials predict river levels could exceed the great flood of 1993 that claimed nearly fifty lives and damaged or destroyed some 50,000 homes. the most devastating in modern u.s. history. the mayor urging some 500 residents to evacuate after water levels overtopped the levee. >> this is serious. so you need to get your final preparations and go. >> reporter: parts of missouri under water with homes, car, restaurants completely submerged. and in bourbon one person capturing video of this home

floating away. it is a race against time as residents and volunteers sandbag their homes and prepare to evacuate. >> i am worried. i just don't know what to do. and it is still supposed to come up higher. >> my main concern right now is getting our vehicle out just so we're not -- our truck is not trapped in here. >> officials now watching and hoping that the levees hold. >> it is more just a wait and see. once it is over, then we'll have to go from there. because we really don't know what's going to happen. >> flood waters in this area are expected to crest at about 35 feet. that is two feet above the record that was set back in 1982, poppy. >> i know the mayor this morning saying we have 40 more hours of concern ahead of them before this starts to recede. i want to two upstream now in

valley park. jennifer gray is there. you heard elena. two feet higher than the '93 flood. what are we expecting where you are? >> we should break the record by about three feet here we are expected to crest between 6:00 a.m. tonight and tomorrow morning. we are already at 40 and expected to go to 43 by tonight. it is a little misleading because it is not raining at all and you think of floods, you think of rain. but the waters are still rising all around here. and will continue to do so for the next couple of days. look behind me. these are major thorough fairs for the entire country. interstate 44 is shut down and you can see the water just underneath it. that is highway 141 underneath that bridge. and the water is expected to reach another three feet.

so we might be touching that bridge by midnight tonight. and this is going to be slow to recede. that is the thing are river flooding. it is slow to rise but it is slow to recede as well. so they are going to be cleaning up for day, weeks and months to come. this is record rainfall this year for st. louis. they received about 60 inches this year and it's about 20 inches above average. not only is the st. louis area going to see a lot of flooding, but in places like paducah, memphis, little rock and even downstream. we're really going to be watching it closely the next week, week and a half. these aerials right now, the water rescue, you can't stress enough don't drive. that is the most simple thing you can do to protect your life. just don't drive.

>> no question. thank you so much. and what you are looking at right now. those are live images out of eureka missouri. you have a fire truck extended trying to rescue a driver out of a nearly completely submerged pickup truck. again this is happening live. we're watching it unfold with you. the governor, jay nixon, there saying most of the deaths they have seen have been people that have driven into these flood waters. they are moving so quickly. it is unclear where they might across the road. stay out of your vehicles if you can. if you open the "wall street journal" this morning, this certainly caught you eye. a major report that the nsa reported by took came at israel and captured conversations involving lawmakers, focusing on

benjamin netanyahu, the "wall street journal" reporting stunning details how the obama administration targeted netanyahu during the iran nuclear talks. it cites two dozen interviews. the nsa, the paper says, interrupted private conversation s. let's go straight to our cnn senior correspondent manu raju in washington. we're hearing from both sides israel not happy at all. >> this is part of long tensions which stem from the effort that drive by mr. netanyahu to kill the nuclear agreement. allegedly the united states was listening in on his phone calls that.

actually had already been known for months. what is knew is those conversations with members of congress allegedly were swept in as part of that effort. the white house thought he was leaking sensitive details to undermine that nuclear accord. this is what the israel government is saying in response to this report. israel's minister of intelligence says israel does not spy on the united states and we expect that our great friend the u.s. will treat us in a similar fashion. in the information on the subject turns out to be true israel must file a formal protest with the american government and demand it stop all activities of this kind. now the american government is not denying this report. it is not confirming either. asked to respond the national security counsel spokesman said we're not going to comment on any specific alleged intelligence activities as a general matter and as we've said previously we do not conduct any

foreign intelligence surveillance activities unless there is specific and validated national security purpose. when it comes to israel president obama has said repeatedly that the u.s. commitment to israel security is sank ro sangt. sacrosanct. it will be interesting to see how members of congress react. right now there's been a muted response from republican leadership. i reach out to paul ryan and mcmcconnell, neither are responding at the moment. >> it is really interesting because this report details how n netanyahu and his advisors leaked some of the information

trying to convince some of those who were on the fence of the deal ahead of that big address to congress. we'll keep following and bring more details. thank you. back to eureka missouri right now. these live pictures of a rescue under way in eureka missouri. a pickup truck nearly submerged. the driver there preparing to tie a rope around his waste. a firefighter just walked the length of the ladder out to him. gave him this rope. he would attempt to tie it on and one would assume walk back across that ladder to the fire truck. the governor of missouri jay nixon saying on "new day" the waters there expected to be at least two to three feet higher than the record highest flood. and saying most of the deaths

have come as a result of driving into these flood waters. remember these are moving quickly. when you leave your house you might not know what you are driving into. when you look at the recent rough weather in the united states in the past week there have been 49 deaths associated. obviously emergency officials doing everything they can now to rescue this man who is now laying on the hood of his car trying to escape the flood wa r waters in eureka missouri.

there is compelling video out this morning from the case of the affluenza teen, who fled

to mexico with his mother weeks ago. we're going to bring you that video, what it shows and abc has it. it is ethan couch and his mother at a butcher shop in puerta vallarta just two hours before they were captured by mexican authorities on monday. we'll bring it to you as soon as we can. these are the two people in question now apprehended. they are expected to return to the united states today. obviously ethan couch is the teen who fled the country violating his probation after driving drunk and killing four people. the texas district attorney in the case reveals ethan may face a maximum of four months in prison. the sheriff spoke about it this morning on "new day." >> welcome to juvenile law in texas, you know. it is designed obviously in most cases for juveniles to be rehabilitated and think of the

well-being of the child and it doesn't really take into account a terrible crime like was committed here with the loss of life of four innocent people. again i'll say it. we haven't seen the last of him in our legal system here. >> this is the same sheriff who came on when ethan disappeared and said we will hunt you down, we will find you. they did exactly that in mexico. what else is he saying? >> basically he said if ethan couch and his mother had continued on the run that they were basically looking at lifetime of exile. that they would never have been able to return back here to the united states. so now they are in the process of waiting for ethan couch and his mother tonya to return back here and the legal troubles for this family just continue to get worse and worse. now ethan couch is still bound by the conviction there in that juvenile case. prosecutors in fort worth texas are trying to move his case from

the juvenile system into the adult system and they said that would give him more control and more stricter punishment. but for now ethan couch is bound by the terms of the probationary status in his juvenile case. he's technically not committed any new crimes here. it is just a probation violation. so he can be held in jail up until his 19th birthday which is in mid april. from there things can change dramatically depending on what the hearing brings about next month. as for his mother tonya she's facing a felony charge and up to ten years in prison and the sheriff told us that he wasn't surprised that the two were found together. >> during our investigation we received some -- talked to some

people who said that there was a gathering which was likened to -- akin to a going away party before they fled the country. again it just to me shows the arrogance of the family, that they don't believe the law applies. they thumb their noses at authorities again and hold a party if you will before they decide to leave the country and bid everyone farewell on -- like they were leaving on a cruise or something. >> investigators try to continue to piece together exactly how and when they moved from fort worth into mexico. authorities here in texas waiting on their arrival back here. >> before i let you go, what are the citizens there in texas saying about this case? >> there's just been an

incredible amount of outrage and it stems back to the sentence given to ethan couch, driving with three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system, killing four people, leaving one of the passengers in his truck cripple for life and just probation and no jail time for - that crime and that horrible and horrific accident. so a lot of this still stems back to that original sentence. and obviously the argument that his side and his attorneys put forth this idea of affluenza that he was too wealthy and privileged and never taught right from wrong and that that led to all of this. that has not sat well with people across the country and why this case has sparked so much outrage and intrigue. >> i want to talk more about the legal implications and also the psychological component to this. we have criminal defense attorney and psychotherapist

robbie ludwig here. he's turning 19 in april. when he refaces the judge will he be tried as an adult? >> there is a broader discussion. it is this. we're talking about the sentence and how it was a miscarriage of justice. there are two tools the prosecutor has. one is when something happens that involves a juvenile. in some instances if it is really egregious you deal with it in adult court despite their age at the time. and many laws in texas especially allow for the prosecution to begin as an adult. you didn't do that and now they are in juvenile court and so now what to do? you heard ed talk about the fact he can only be held until his 19th birthday which is four

months. that's rids clubhouiculous. so now in the event it's e moved to the adult court. it's more harsh to the extent he violates that probation he could be punished really extraordinarily. which means ten years for every death. and there's question there whether it could be held consecutive or or concurrent. >> we just got this video. let's roll it. video from abc, ethan couch and his mother walking into a butcher shop in puerta vallarta mexico, caught on surveillance video. backwards baseball hat and his beard and mustache grown out. and this was two hours before the authorities in mexico apprehended both the mother and ethan couch. i want you also to listen to one

of the family members for this victim who was so severely injured in the crash reacting to the news that his maximum sentence could be 120 days only. >> well i'm no judge. but he's had four chances without incarceration and his recidivism has just continued. the da was originally asking for 20 years. and i've seen nothing that he's happened so far that would make me change my mind that 20 years wasn't warranted. >> thinking about the psychological profile of someone like ethan couch, what punishment would resonate with him? >> you know it is really interesting. and kind of hard to know. but i do think prison in this case would be very good for somebody like this. because he has made his mother the law. and he is a pathological co-dependent enmeshed relationship with a woman who thinks her son can do no wrong.

really she has made herself the law. she believes she's the only person who knows how special her son is. in some ways he is her soul mate. you know, one wonders if she protecting him the way she wanted to be protected. for most people this would be a rock bottom. he's saying well my mother feels that i should be innocent so i'm going to go with what she says. so that needs to be changed. >> taken out of her custody and put in the custody of the state of the federal government. >> and that is what many scioscsoc sociopaths need. i'm not saying he is but he's behaving like one. >> basically he's protected by the law in as much as he'll get that four months. if he does something down the road in adult court it becomes

much more strict punishment. i think for the mother it is interesting that her exposure is a lot more interesting in terms of his. what i would do is call someone like dr. robbie in to talk about the psychological implications. what mother is not going to prend for their child. >> when you have a pathological mother who says it is okay to kill people because i know your real soul. >> different issue. >> -- then what chance does that child have to be functional in society? >> -- as the parent is huge. >> is huge because every child makes their parent right. if you have a parent who is disturbed. and this is not only about wealth. if you have a parent merged with their son and says it is okay to kill someone. i know you didn't mean it or the law is victimizing it then that child is going to go with i'm going with what my mother says about me. >> thank you very much. we'll keep watching this.

they are expected to arrive back in the united states and face the music today. still to come, two new year's terror plots foiled in two days. what they are doing to keep us safe here at home when we bring in 2016. ice to see everyone. i just wish it had been for a better reason. me, too, but the eulogy that frank's daughter gave was beautiful. i just feel bad knowing they struggled to pay for the funeral, especially without life insurance. i wish they would've let us help. but, it did make me think, though. about what? well, that i could leave you in the same situation. i don't have life insurance, either. if something were to happen to me tomorrow, how are you pay for my funeral? or my other bills? nothing's gonna happen to you tomorrow. you don't know that. i made a promise to always take care of you kids. without life insurance, i'm not keeping it. besides, i already looked into it and between my budget and health, well ...

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learning new details about

the paris terror attack. some of the evidence recovered there. what do you know? >> that's right poppy. this comes from a senior belgian counterterrorism official. the night of the paris attack, the paris attackers were in touch with phones that were located in belgium that night. suggesting possible realtime coordination from suspects or a suspect in belgium for those attacks in paris. notably they found a samsung smart phone outside the concert hall in a trash bin that the attackers left it there. and inside they found 25 messages going back to one of these phones in belgium. the last message just before the attack said "we are about to get started." these messages sent over a period of about one day to this

phone in belgium, poppy. so this possibility of realtime coordination from here in belgium where we are right now. >> absolutely. and it shows that the porous borders we talked about so much in our coverage in paris flowing in and out of belgium into the paris, back and forth, how wide the web was. let's talk specifically about this threat in belgium right now. you have the so called name of it a kamikaze riders. a muslim biker gang linked to this and terror and also in investigations in the past. do we know anything about that organization? >> quite extraordinary titled group. the kamikaze riders. and they ever been in the cross-hairs before here in belgium, notably in 2013 when one of the leaders was on the phone to his brother in syria allegedly talking about a attack

plan against the law courts here in brussels. and fast forward two years later another two members under arrest were told were discussing plans to launch attacks in brussels during the new year celebration including right here in this central square in brussels, legwand plala grad grand plas. they feared they would have easy access to weapons. th they had to move in. they hoped they have neutralized the threat. >> thank you paul. back here the countdown is on.

now that 2016 is right around the corner, new york city police out in full force gearing up for tomorrow's huge celebration in time square. security officials beefing up to keep the streets safe. and of course this all comes amid terror fear. >> there is no police department in america can match what we can put out on the street. those 6 thousand officers that will be here, that is larger than just about three or four police departments in the united states. and they are going to be within this multiple square block area. >> i want to go straight to miguel marquez out in the city. we've been there on new year's e eve. the security is unbelievable tight in times square. but is it tighter than ever this year? >> reporter: it is. the first police are saying look there is no credible threat at the moment but they are preparing like there are.

this is the cross-roads of the world. in 36 hours from now this place will be transformed into the most secure street in the world. across the city though thousands of different venue, thousands of different parties, what used to be called just a good time are now soft targets after paris and san bernardino. and they will rely heavily on bomb sniffing dogs and chemical and nuclear protectors and they will be protecting the city from the ground, the sea, the air, and even underground in the subways. the mayor saying since paris and san bernardino as the new world security order. >> there is a new world because of what's happened with isis. i had the occasion back in january to go to paris after the first attacks there. the difference now is we have a much better trained force.

again, a dedicated force. these 500 members plus full time this is what they do. they are trained. they are armed specifically to prevent terror. and god forbid they are ready to respond very very quickly. >> that special response force, he says they can respond to dozens of incidents at a time. the fact that those small bore incidents like in san bernardino or paris, that has caused them to look at security a different way. another thing that is different about new york police department is that they have officers from 14 different countries. so the amount of information that flows into this police department is different than anywhere in the world. and they feel they are ready for anything that anyone may bring. >> absolutely. our thanks to all of them who keep us safe there on new year's eve. thank you. up next that stunning video of the water rescue in missouri happening live at the top of the hour that we showed you. that man was safely rescued off

the truck. looks like puthey are pulling t truck out as well.

here is video we just got of an extraordinary water rescue in eureka, missouri. this truck was completely submerged in water. the driver was on the hood when we last showed it to you. they have been able to rescue him. he went back in the truck. they were able to pull the truck out of the submerged flood waters safely. the driver inside rescued by first responders and emergency crews there. you can see the water dumping out of that pickup truck.

the mayor there, again, the governor warning everyone to stay off the roads, be incredibly careful. many of the deaths from this flooding have been from people driving into these flood waters. with me now is mayor of rock away beach near branson, missouri. thank you for being with me mayor. i know you said it is hard to put into words what your community is going through right now. >> yes. i appreciate you guys for giving us the opportunity to explain to people what it is that our community is going through right now. it is just absolutely devastating. and we're begging for help. >> can you explain how high the flood waters are where with your. we've heard two or three feet

above the historic '93 flood. >> some of our businesses here, rockaway beach is a historic community built right on the bank of the river. and our businesses that are right down on the water, we have trucks that we can't even see because they are completely under water. and i don't even know how we're going to deal with the clean up process of this. there are condominium units that are completely under water. >> as you look at your residents, have you had any deaths as a result of the flooding? and also, have the evacuations been continuing as well as possible? or are there people who are stuck in their homes? >> well, nobody is stuck in homes. we had one lady during the flood

had either a heart attack oar seizure or something like that. we had one death. i don't think that was directly caused by the flood. but we did do a water rescue of a lady and her child. myself and the police department here. and our evacuations were real successful. me and the police department went door to door everywhere that we knew was going to be effected by this and got people out, you know, and to safety. so we had some success with that. >> how can people help? >> -- how devastating the business is, one of the business owners who has an antique shop where he sells antiques, he had water coming in, there were minnows swimming around inside of his store. >> welfarebefore i let you go m how can people help? what to do you need?

>> we have a very unique situation where some of the construction upstream branch landing and table rock dam that construction caused mud and debris to be built up in our lake and our lake needs to be dredged bad. we don't have the capability to hold this water that keeps getting dumped on. and we are desperately o hoping the arm corps of engineers dredge this is lake. that is the main thing. we need somebody to come in here and help us with this issue. >> mayor, good luck to you. mayor don smith there, and all of your residents. our hearts are with you. get beautyrest, posturepedic,c:

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now to the race for the

white house which winds through south carolina today. at least for donald trump. in just over an hour the republican front runner will hold a rally just hours after a trip to iowa. trump announced a plan to start buying ad for those two states and also new hampshire to make sure he gets his message out to his voters and keeps his rivals at bay. >> i feel an i have an obligation to the voters and even to myself. and even to the country. and i will spend a lot of money against the people that will go after me. >> [ inaudible ]. >> well i'm just saying if somebody attacks me i will attack them very hard in terms of ads. you got to understand i'm $35 million under budget. i thought as of january 1st, i would have spent 35 million on

ads. i spent nothing. so i'm 35 million under budget. >> cnn is in hilton head this morning and sarah, he spoke out against the personal attacks against him. this comes in the wake hoiof hi sharp criticism of bill clinton. >> he's been bringing up the past and talking about monica lewinsky. and yesterday he said that means his own personal discretions are fair game. >> are yoursen. >> yes and frankly hillary brought up the whole thing with sexist. and if she wants to do that we're going to go right after the president, the ex-president and we'll see how it all comes out. and i feel very confident that it will come out very well for us. i will say this, the last person that hillary wants to run against is me.

>> you can see see we're moving into a tougher phase of this campaign, and trump is making it clear that he is willing to put everything on the table. he's here in south carolina this afternoon. this is a state where he's leading in the most recent polls. but judging by that aspect, can you see he knows how important momentum is going to be, who wins in iowa, who wins in new hampshire really matters for south carolina. and the trump campaign does not want to take any chances. >> all right, sara murray live for us in south carolina ahead of the rally in hilton head. let's talk more about trump and his daughter, ivanka. as trump grabs more headlines with his bold statement, it is his daughter who has emerged as a behind-the-scenes force in his campaign. she introduced her father when he launched his presidential bid in june. donald trump calls her one of his closest advisers and now a fascinating new "town & country" profiles her as the executive, as the mother, as the daughter

and the influence that she has, writing in part, "even trump's critics can't help being charmed by his daughter." fox news chairman and ceoager a george ales says ivanka is the secret weapon of the entire trump organization. joining me now, the man who wrote the piece, also a senior editor for the daily beast. first, congratulations. >> thank you very much. thank you. >> it's a fascinating profile. i was struck when i interviewed her, as i know you were. let's roll part of what she told me specifically in october about her father and women after those controversial remarks. let's roll it. >> look, my father is very blunt. he's very direct. he is not gender specific in his criticism of people and people that he doesn't particularly like or people that he does like but thinks they're wrong on a particular issue. so, you know, i don't think that he's gender targeted at all. like i said, i wouldn't be the person i am today, i wouldn't be

a high-level executive within his organization if he felt that way. so he's always supported and encouraged women, and truthfully, he's proven that over decades through his employment practices, through his hiring practices. >> how much, tim, does she help donald trump with the women's vote? >> i think she helps him a lot. i think she helps him a lot. i think the comments that he made about women, by his supporters, if you're a supporter of him or not, they're very controversial remark, and i don't think they can be read in any other way. but i think ivanka, extremely intelligent, extremely poised. >> extraordinarily. >> i didn't get the sense it was an act with her either. i felt she had total loyalty to her father. i felt she would always speak to him truthfully as well. but i also feel that in that family, they are very independent set of people in that family. >> i felt like she didn't have to speak for him. >> yes. i think she's -- well, it's a

very tricky balancing act she has. she's building her own brand, as you know, the ivanka trump collection which is housed within the trump organization. she wants to support her dad. her dad will say these things which generate controversy and generate debate. and i think her trick is to remain completely loyal to him and to voice that and to be that for him. but also in some way to remain separate. and i don't know if that's a formal arrangement they've come to, but they're clearly operating in independent units within that family whilst remaining loyal and support to each other. it's an amazing balancing act all around. >> you also write "ivanka stands by his side, appearing consistently cool and supremely well behaved. amazingly, the perpetual fracas that swirls around donald bypasses her." >> the interview was conducted before his remarks about muslims in america, for example. and i'll be very surprised and

interested to see how this continues, if the level of what he says continues at that sort of highly pitched level, whether the children stay as insulated from the damage as one might imagine they would be damaged if they weren't, right? i think the interesting thing with her is she runs her own business. she runs her own life. and she remains absolutely his number one supporter, you know. >> if we do see her on the trail, especially after she lives birth to her third child. >> that's right. >> say in general, if he makes it to the general, what role do you think she could play? what could she do for her father? >> well, i think judging from what she said to me in the interview was very, i would say it was quite hardened. i was quite tough. i kept going back to asking her why she supported her dad. she's loyal to him. what would happen if he won? that's an interesting question. i think what we would see is she would remain absolutely independent but at his side in key moments.

we saw already when he launched his campaign. we see her at key sort of visual moments. it's a very visual kind of presence. and it inoculates him in some degree. i would say whatever the viewers might think or whatever people donald trump detractors would say, what she said that day was absolutely honest and from the heart. what he says about women?bout - well, he says that about lots of people, she says. i mean, she has an answer for everything. and when i say that, i don't mean that unkindly. her answers are genuine, i think. i think she has figured out a way of supporting her dad absolutely whilst having her own life and also trying to keep the ivanka trump brand both personally and professionally separate from the donald trump campaign. >> it's a fascinating read. i'd encourage everyone -- "town & country" profile on ivanka trump. thank you very much for the story. have a nice new year's. i do want to get to some breaking news on bill cosby. we could find out in just moments if a district attorney in pennsylvania will file charges against him.

the investigation centers around a 2004 report to police by a woman named andrea constant, sexual assault by bill cosby. we are expecting a press conference at 10:00 a.m. eastern at the top of the hour. we'll keep you posted. quick break. we're back in a moment.

this is cnn breaking news.

>> good morning, everyone. i'm poppy harlow sitting in for carol costello today. thank you for joining me. we are following breaking news on bill cosby. we could find out in moments if a district attorney in pennsylvania will file charges against him. this is an investigation that centers around a 2004 report to police by a woman named andrea constant. of sexual abuse by bill cosby. we are expecting a press conference at the top of the hour. we will bring you that as soon as we have it. also, historic deadly flooding striking the united states. more than 16 million americans under flood warnings right now. rescues unfolding live on our air in the city of eureka, missouri. you saw it last hour. crews rescuing a stranded driver in a pickup truck, bringing him and his truck to safety. entire neighborhoods are under floodwaters now. floodwaters have killed at least

13 people in missouri alone. roads completely impassable. the water expected to rise still for days. missouri's governor, jay nixon, issuing this warning to residents just hours ago. >> we're very concerned about how this next 35 hours are going to go. we're going to make sure that the people are safe in that st. louis area there. you've got pacific. you've got eureka. you've got valley park. you've got areas where the water is rising high, and these are highly populated areas. so setting up shelters in high schools and places like that so that folks that do have to leave their homes, we're going to make sure that they are warm and safe. we've never seen water this high. and when it goes above record not by an inch but by two or three feet, you really don't know exactly how far that water is going to go. >> all right. we have live team coverage right now this morning, jennifer gray, alina machado in missouri. let me begin with you, alina. you're in pacific.

i know many, many people have already evacuated. >> reporter: that's right, poppy. many people have already evacuated, and the water here in pacific continues to rise. just in the few hours that we've been here standing here, we have seen the water here inching closer to us. the merrimack river is what you're looking at. it is flooding these buildings. there's also homes on the other side that are completely surrounded by water. several feet of water. hundreds of residents have already evacuated. there is a shelter that is open in town for those who have been displaced. and officials here tell me that so far at least 400 homes and businesses have flooded. that number likely to rise since this river isn't expected to crest until sometime tomorrow. and the floodwaters are likely to be an issue not just here in pacific but also in several other communities around missouri. i want you to listen to what some people in west alton, missouri, had to say.

>> this is -- this is where we live. this is it. this is what we've been through. >> normally, something comes in, and you've got, you know, a week or so to prepare what's going on. and this is just instantly here. >> reporter: and that was the big challenge for people here. they're used to flooding, but they're not used to the water rising so quickly without much warning. that was the mayor, by the way, of west alton. that's about 50 miles from where we are. and it's another community that is also being affected by these floods, poppy. >> all right. alina machado, thank you. to valley park where jennifer gray is. you were telling me last hour, the flooding way above the historic '93 flood, right? >> reporter: yeah, we've actually broken a record this morning, now standing at almost 41 feet. we're expected to go to 43 by

midnight tonight. sometime between midnight and 6:00 a.m. that's a good three feet above the record. flood stage is 16 feet, and we are now at 40. so you can imagine. look behind me. look at all of this water. this is actually highway 141. it runs perpendicular to interstate 44, which a huge section of that has been completely closed off. all of these signs are under water. and this is not standing water. it is actually rushing through here. we've seen barricades. we've seen all sorts of things just being pulled with the current. and then a lot of it just sucked completely under water, never seeing it again. there is a huge problem here around this area. we've talked to a couple of the residents. one lady in particular who evacuated earlier today, listen to what she had to say. >> i mean, my house is on a hill, but our street, once i got out, it was just already flooded. and i was just, like, i have to get out because i have actually

a new year's eve party to go to tomorrow. so i wanted to get out so i could get out. i just hope all my friends in valley park, they can get out safely and they don't have too much damage. >> reporter: she actually has something to look forward to. a lot of people here will have some rough days ahead cleaning up. this is not going to last just a couple of days. it is going to be weeks, even months. this water is going to be slow to recede. and then there will be a mess. businesses, homes completely under water. a lot of the people we talked to that were here for the '93 floods, they say that it is worse in this area than it was then. they said back in '93, they never thought they would ever see it again, and they are reliving those days, unfortunately. so much water and nowhere to go, poppy. that's basically how this happened. st. louis has had a record-breaking year as far as rainfall goes. they've received 61 inches this year. normal is 40 inches. so well above normal. they've received 11 inches of rain in december alone. and so all of that water flows

into the streams, the rivers, eventually meeting here at the merrimack river and will eventually flow into the mississippi. not just the st. louis area seeing roblems. we'll see problems in places like paducah, little rock, memphis and points south as all of this water flows downstream of the mighty mississippi. poppy? >> mighty indeed. what a devastating situation for all of those people. jennifer gray live for us there. thank you so much. also want to show you really compelling new video this morning from the so-called case of the affluenza teen who fled to mexico with his mother. abc news showing this video of ethan cash and his mother at a butcher shop in puerto vallarta, mexico. this was taken just two hours before they were captured by authorities there earlier this week. couch and his mother expected to be extradited to the united states today. meantime, you've got the texas district attorney in this case revealing ethan couch may face only four months in prison. his mother could spend two to

ten years if she is convicted. c this. n's ed lavandera with me now from dallas. you've got the sheriff, dee anderson, speaking out about the case on "new day." first set the scene for our viewers who aren't familiar with the case and what the sheriff said about it today. >> reporter: well, texas officials expecting the return of ethan and tonya couch back here to texas at some point today. a u.s. official telling us that that is supposed to happen at some point. and when that does, as you mentioned, tonya couch, the mother of ethan couch, will immediately be charged with interfering with the apprehension of this juvenile fugitive. she faces up to ten years in prison on that felony charge. and the bigger question now is, poppy, what exactly is going to happen with ethan couch? technically, he has not committed a crime here. he has just violated the terms of his probation. and the prosecutors in fort worth, texas, what they're trying to do is move ethan's case. this is all under the juvenile system, and that's what much of the outrage here has been is

that essentially in that drunk driving accident that resulted in the death of four people, ethan couch had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system. he got ten years' probation for that crime. and obviously, that is the cause of the outrage in all of this. so prosecutors are trying to move his case into the adult system, which they say will give them much harsher punishment options in the future if he were to violate his probation again. and the sheriff did tell us yesterday that he wasn't surprised to hear that ethan and his mother were found together. >> during our investigation, we received some -- talked to some people who said that there was a gathering which was likened to a -- akin to a going-away party before they fled the country. again, it just, to me, shows the arrogance of the family, that they don't believe the law applies. they thumb their nose at authority again and hold a party, if you will, before they

decide to leave the country and bid everyone farewell like they were leaving on a cruise or something. >> you know, so those authorities are still trying to piece together exactly the details. they wouldn't share a lot of information about that party, what the sheriff describes as essentially that going-away party done the night before tonya couch and ethan couch drove in their pickup truck from fort worth to puerto vallarta, mexico, there on the pacific ocean. but they do say that they had some contacts that were giving them information, and that led them to mexico. with the help of mexican authorities down there, they were able to find them in that apartment complex, that apartment building in the center of town. poppy? >> all right. ed lavandera live in dallas, thank you very much for that. i want to discuss further the legal implications here. cnn legal analyst danny cevallos and phillip holloway.

when you look at the fact that ethan couch was tried in juvenile court, obviously most americans outraged that he didn't get any time in jail for killing four people, severely injuring two others. could he now be tried as an adult? >> no. technically, all he's done is violate probation. >> isn't that breaking the law? >> it's breaking a probation order. and remember, he's not in adult court. he's in juvenile court. and unless and until he is transferred, which in texas, you can be transferred to adult court, but he is still in juvenile court. while you are still in juvenile court, there is a maximum amount of punishment that can be given by the judge. in this case, it's about 120 days. he maxs out -- >> he's 18 years old. >> well, he maxs out at 19 in the juvenile system. however if he were an adult, if he were transferred to the adult system, it's an entirely different game. when that happens, then probation can be revoked, and now we're looking at many, many years, possibly decades when you are a criminal defendant who

violates probation. i've said it many times. any criminal defense attorney will tell you, as an adult probationer, the last thing you want to do is go before a back judge and explain why you violated that judge's trust who put you on probation in the first place. >> phillip holloway, to you, the sheriff there, dee anderson, he came out when these two disappeared, and he said, look, we'll hunt you down, we'll find you. they did. and then he spoke earlier about this potential sentence of only 120 days for ethan couch. let's listen. >> welcome to juvenile law in texas, you know. it's designed, obviously, in most cases for juveniles to be rehabilitated and to think of the well-being of the child, and it doesn't really take into account a terrible crime like that was committed here with the loss of life of four innocent people. again, i'll say it, we haven't seen the last of him in our legal system here. >> phillip, what's your reaction to his point? >> poppy, good morning. good morning, danny. obviously the sheriff is very

frustrated as are very many americans. in fact, federal tax dollars were used and a lot of them in an effort to track down this mother and her son all the way in mexico. now, danny's absolutely correct with regard to the way the state criminal process is going to work and unfold for ethan couch. however, if there were a desire by the u.s. federal authorities, the justice department, the federal fugitive act which authorizes the marshals service to get involved in apprehending state fugitives in the first place is, in fact, a federal penal law. and if they decide that they want to use it, hypothetically, these two could find themselves in federal court facing a federal felony. and that would actually add quite a bit to what the young man might be facing in terms of incarceration. >> danny, to you. if you were defending them? >> if i'm defending them -- what philip said is absolutely correct because the reality is virtually anything is a federal

crime under federal law. so yes, there are potential federal charges. how do you defend a probationer who's violated their probation? it's a different tactic. in many cases, criminal defense attorneys appearing in court on a probation violation are essentially making the argument please be nice. don't hurt me too bad, judge. >> -- a whole lot of background and backage, this case. >> it does, but remember, we are still talking about a defendant who is in juvenile court in the juvenile system where the primary object is treatment, rehabilitation, supervision. now, texas, i will say, in the last few years, texas -- people were not happy with the fact that you had a juvenile system and an adult system. so they have sort of a blended system now which allows for a juvenile to be transferred or sort of eased into the adult system and punished like an adult for adultlike crimes. so we are moving away from this juvenile model where no matter what, if you're under a certain age, you cannot be punished as an adult. clearly, throughout all the states, we're seeing a trend towards punishing juveniles as

adults when they do adult-type crimes. >> all right. danny cevallos, thank you very much, philip holloway as well. i want to show you live pictures of a podium in pennsylvania where at any moment we are expecting an official from the district attorney's office to speak about the investigation there into bill cosby. we're hearing that there may be a decision made on any charges that may be filed against the former comedian. we will take you there live when it happens. i'll be right back. ♪ (vo) some call it giving back. we call it share the love. during our share the love event, get a new subaru, and we'll donate $250 to those in need. bringing our total donations to over sixty-five million dollars. and bringing love where it's needed most. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

while you're watching this, i'm hacking your company. breaking news. you're listening to a press conference in norristown, pennsylvania, by the montgomery county district attorney, kevin steele, talking about a sexual assault from 2005 against bill cosby. >> -- in sheltonham township, montgomery county. mr. cosby is charged with aggravated indecent assault.

this is a felony of the first degree. mr. cosby's attorney has been notified of the charges, and he is expected to be arraigned later this afternoon. when we have a specific time for that, we'll let you know, and that's going to be at the district judge's office in elkins park. the charges today are filed as a result of new information that came to light in july of 2015. the statute of limitations in this type of case is 12 years. after determining that the statute of limitations regarding potential criminal offenses had not yet expired, the investigation was reopened. working with chief norris and the sheltonham township police, montgomery county detectives and prosecutors from our office, our team reviewed the initial investigation, re-enter viewed some of the witnesses, examined

evidence from the civil case and information from other alleged victims. the evidence shows mr. cosby established a relationship with the victim after meeting her through her work associated with temple university's women's basketball program. through the course of their association, the victim came to consider mr. cosby her mentor and her friend. on two other occasions before the incident leading to the criminal charge in this case, mr. cosby made two sexual advances at her that were rejected. on the evening in question, mr. cosby urged her to take pills that he provided to her and to drink wine. the effect of which rendered her unable to move, respond to his advances, and he committed aggravated indecent assault upon her. now, prosecutor's job is to

follow the evidence wherever it takes us. and sometimes that means whenever it comes to light. when u.s. federal judge edward rebrano unsealed legal filings that contained references to the civil deposition and we learned about allegations from other victims under similar circumstances, reopening this case was not a question. rather, reopening this case was our duty, as law enforcement officers, with a sworn obligation to uphold our constitutions and to uphold the law. today, after examination of all the evidence, we are able to seek justice on behalf of the victim. now, going forward, and we ask that anyone that has any information regarding any similar incidents with mr. cosby come forward.

we ask them to contact either the montgomery county detective bureau here or sheltonham township police. at this point, i will take questions. >> reporter: do you know anything yet about the legality of getting that deposition submitted? as evidence in this case? i know there was some question about that earlier one. >> well, i can't at this point. you know, there's going to certainly be motions that will be filed in the case and matters to be litigated. i can't give you a determination of how that is going to result. but the depositions were released by the federal court judge, and we examined them and examined other evidence that we were able to obtain in this case. other questions. >> the arraignment is here or in elkins park? >> the arraignment will be in elkins park, and we don't have a specific time. i anticipate it may be around 4:00 p.m. today.

>> he will visibly be there? >> he has to appear at an arraignment before the district judge mchugh, and he'll be arraigned by her. it's her jurisdiction. >> reporter: have you been in contact with any of the other accusers for potentially testifying in this case? >> i'm not going to get into specifics of the investigation at this point, but it's outlined in the affidavit of probable cause that there are other alleged victims, and we are examining evidence in that, and again, as to the prior question, it's going to be looked at in terms of motions that will be filed down the line here. >> reporter: other alleged victims but not in pennsylvania, not in montgomery county, correct? >> this is -- the charge that we are proceeding on here today involves one victim, involves a victim that went to mr. cosby's

home in sheltonham in early 2004. there is one charge that is filed, aggravated indecent assault, which is a felony of the first degree. >> reporter: has the victim indicated she'll be willing to testify at trial? >> she has indicated she'd be willing to cooperate with us going forward. >> reporter: what was her reaction when you told her that today you're going to file charges? >> i didn't speak to her specifically, so i can't give you an answer to that. >> reporter: any other charges? >> one charge, aggravated indecent assault. there is a statute of limitations as to that charge, which is within 12 years, and that is the charge that we filed. there's separate sections under that that have been filed, and it is one charge. >> reporter: can you discuss the use of the drugs?

does that play into the charges in terms of the aggravated factor, or is that not part of the charges? >> so the charge is aggravated indecent assault. and the breakdown of that statute is, number one, a person commits some type of vaginal penetration, digital penetration, and the person does so without the complainant's cob se consent. the second aspect, the person was unconscious or the person knows that the complainant is unaware that the penetration is occurring. five, the person is substantially impaired -- the complainant's power to appraise or control his or her conduct by administering or providing drugs or other intoxicatants or other means for preventing resistance. so that's the breakdown of the statute.

>> reporter: were there any charges you couldn't seek because of the statute of limitations? >> this is the -- this is the central charge in the case. it's aggravated indecent assault, which is a felony of the first degree, and that's where. >> reporter: -- you couldn't seek because of the statute of limitations has run out? >> well, we're not looking at other charges at this point because this is the charge we have the ability to go forward on under the statute of limitations. >> reporter: so has it become complicated for the prosecution given that apparently the victim continued to have at least a social relationship with mr. cosby after the incident? >> i -- i'm not sure -- i'm not sure what you're -- i'm not sure what you're referring to at this point. there's, you know, investigative materials that we've gone through, and we've looked through a lot of evidence in this case to make the determination that we have. when you look at the case, there is a number of aspects that are undisputed in the case. and, you know, and that has led

to the charges that are being brought forth today here. there's not a question in terms of, you know, pills being provided to her. there's not a question as to the occurrence of what went on of the digital penetration. and we've gotten that from statements, from depositions, so, you know, that led us to today and the filing of charges of aggravated indecent assault. >> reporter: can you say anything about the decision not to prosecute ten years ago and why you were able to make this decision and why mr. castro wasn't? >> i'm not -- i'm not going to look at the past or actions that weren't taken at that point. you know, it's not time to monday morning quarterback. we have examined the evidence in this case. we have made determinations in regard to it that the evidence

is strong and sufficient to proceed at this point, and we are proceeding with the charge of aggravated indecent assault. >> reporter: did you say specifically what was in the deposition that sort of opened the door to this investigation? >> well, there were a number of aspects, but if i can refer you to the affidavit of probable cause, which i know is extensive, so i don't know how far everybody's gone through, but there were specific questions in regard to using quaaludes, and i think that's been widely reported, and that's a significant factor in making a determination. the detectives followed the evidence where it led them. we examined all the evidence that we had available to us, made this determination because it was the right thing to do. all right. one more. >> reporter: do you believe that it was quaaludes used in this case? >> if you look at the affidavit of probable cause and

particularly when you work to the conclusionary aspects of the case, what we know is that pills were provided. there's inconsistencies on what type of pills they were. there was also wine that was provided. we then go to the reaction of the victim. you know, frozen, paralyzed, unable to -- unable to move. a person in that state cannot give consent. therefore the aggravated indecent charge. >> reporter: [ inaudible ]. >> well, only the person providing that material to the victim knows exactly what was provided to her. all right. thank you very much. >> all right. there you have it. this is a huge moment. this is the first time that charges have beneficially filed against bill cosby in one of the sexual assault cases that he has been accused of.

again, you just heard a press conference from norristown, pennsylvania. the montgomery county district attorney, kevin steele, saying that they have found new evidence in july of this year to bring charges of aggravated indecent assault against bill cosby in the case of andrea constant, the case of this alleged sexual assault was in 2004. the d.a. at the time in 2005, bruce castor, opted not to bring criminal charges. this d.a. saying we found new evidence, saying the victim here will cooperate and that will bi cosby will be arraigned later today around 4:00 p.m. eastern time in pennsylvania. we have full team coverage. our jean casarez who has been following this throughout is with us. she'll break it down. our criminal defense attorney, cnn legal analyst joey jackson, danny cevallos. jean, how big is this?

>> oh, this is huge. this is the first time thatbill cosby has ever been charged criminally with sexual assault. i just got off the phone with the attorney and what about for the last decade of andrea constant. she tells me that they thank the district attorney's office for this. they are putting their faith in the criminal justice system now. she also told me, because i asked andrea's feelings, because she is the alleged victim in all of this. >> and she's the first one to come forward. >> she is the first one, and she lives in canada, but she, dolores tells me, she is so grateful for the confidence that this district attorney is placing in her because this is her story. >> because let's remember, when she first brought her story to authorities in 2004, 2005, they said there's not enough evidence. >> that's right. >> and they didn't charge -- >> bruce castor did not charge. >> did not charge. >> a decade ago. >> but now the statute of limitations is 12 years, so they are still within that window. >> and we knew they were, and we knew that time was running out. we knew at the end of january that that was about the time

would be running out. you know, there's been so much political wrangling, and i say that objectively in all of this, the district attorney, reesa fuhrman, was running for judgeship, and bruce castor who did not bring charges was running for the district attorney's office in that county. he lost. and the man that won -- >> we just saw kevin steele. jean, can you walk us through the facts? i know that she was an employee at the time back in 2004, andrea constant was an employee at temple university, formed a friendship with cosby. he was sort of a mentor to her. >> it's the story that we've seen repeated over and over again. she was an employee in the athletic department of temple university. bill cosby mentored her. he was someone that believed in err had, appeared to believe in her. and so got her trust in all of that. and as we just heard today in the press conference, there were two prior -- two sexual advances that she refused. and then the third one of an evening in 2004 was when the

prosecutor is now alleging that she was given pills, which rendered her unable to consent and unable to say no. and that is when there was a sexual assault. and we do know the charge, and it is a singular charge, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault in the first degree. >> so for some legal analyst, thank you so much, jean, stay with us for all of this. joey jackson, to you -- >> here's the reality. jean talks about the charge itself. we're talking about a charge that carries ten years in jail. look at cosby's age. he's 78 years old. now, jean also mentions the politics behind this. a lot of politics involved in the actual election of this, and it was really foreseen that if this person, steele, who we see won, that this would be the result. why? castor, the former d.a. at the time, said i find insufficient evidence. well, perhaps you found insufficient evidence because you didn't look hard enough. in addition to that, i should say, that there's a defamation suit by the victim here,

constant, against the former d.a., castor, for politically saying that her story's been inconsistent. so we'll see what that has to do. but in terms of the facts here, i mean, it's compelling because what we're essentially talking about is penetration without the consent of the victim. and as a result of that, you get to that second-degree felony. you get to the indecent exposure. you get to ten years in jail. if convicted. >> danny, to be clear, and we're getting the last statement from bill cosby, he hasn't made any statement since through his attorneys on these new charges. he has consistently said through his attorneys, i have not been charged with any crime. i have not been charged with any crime. today he was charged with a crime, a very, very serious crime. >> very serious. and as this case progresses, it will educate viewers about different kinds of sex crimes. what is aggravated indecent assault? well, in pennsylvania, that crime focuses not on rape, which is actually about intercourse in most cases, as a general proposition, but instead,

aggravated indecent assault focuses on penetration. which is a nuanced difference, which means -- what does that tell us about what the prosecution believes? it means they must not believe that there was intercourse or maybe they believe they can only prove penetration. as we read their affidavits of probable cause, that will tell us more and more information as time goes on. and as the case progresses. but it will be -- the actual charges they elected to file tell us a lot about what they think about this particular case. >> stay with me, jean, danny, joey. i do have a victim's rights attorney, gloria allred, on the phone with me. to give you context, gloria allred represents a number of women who are also accusing bill cosby of sexual assault and rape. gloria, thank you for being with me. >> yes thank you very much for inviting me. >> what is your reaction to these charges? >> well, this has been a very long process. this has been a journey towards justice. i'm very proud of andrea.

i don't represent her, but i know that her attorney and she have shown quite a bit of courage in all of this, as have my 29 clients. we have one lawsuit. we are continuing to proceed with that lawsuit on behalf of judy huss against mr. cosby. we had taken his deposition in october. there's a protective order on it. i don't know how long that will last. that will be up to the judge. we have filed a motion to compel seeking to have him be ordered to take -- to appear for a second deposition based on his refusal to answer certain questions in the first 3 deposition which we took in october. so all of this is now coming together. i think that the prosecutor in pennsylvania has looked at this very, very carefully. i don't think it's political. i think he's looking at the facts. he was clear that the civil deposition in mr. cosby from

andrea's case in 2005 and what mr. cosby said under oath in that deposition did play a role in the evidence that he is using to support his charge. so i think this is a very significant development,and , for one, am very happy about it. he has a right, of course, to his day in court and to a fair trial, but certainly the victim, andrea, has a right to a fair trial as well. >> gloria, i want our viewers to also know that we've reached out to bill cosby, his team, his attorneys, waiting for some sort of comment or reaction from them ahead of his arraignment at 4:00 p.m. today. we have not heard back. as soon as we do, we will let you know what the reaction is. but gloria, the fact that this is a case that in 2005, andrea constant was told by then-district attorney bruce castor there was not enough information. and the new d.a., kevin steele,

just said they came across new information in july of this year. for the cases that you are representing, have you come across new information? because the issue here, for a lot of these cases, is the window, the statute of limitations. >> well, i do think -- yeah, i do think that it's really important that anyone who is alleged to be a victim of sexual assault or rape, you know, go to an attorney, whether it's by mr. cosby or someone else, and report it and find out what their options are. and i hope -- and i hope that they would not have been demoralized by what the decision made in 2005, and i hope they will be encouraged by this decision which comes many years later, but still it's within the time period of the statute -- for the statute of limitation. you know, it may be that -- and i don't know -- that some of my clients might be called as

witnesses in this case if and when the prosecutor decides that what they allege happened to them is relevant and admissible under pennsylvania law. so we'll have to wait and see. you though, i'm not going to comment on what law enforcement either has done or might do. i think they want to protect their investigation. i'm sure they do. but we're proceeding with our civil lawsuit. and we'll see what the judge decides in reference to whether this deposition, which we took, will be made available or not and whether or not we'll be able to take a second deposition of mr. cosby, given that there is now a criminal prosecution of him. >> all right. gloria allred, appreciate you calling in. thank you very much. i want you to stand by. our entire panel will stand by. again, we have reached out to bill cosby, his attorneys for comment. nothing yet. but a huge, huge development in

the sexual assault charges that have been brought against bill cosby. all of these accusations over months and months, for the first time, a criminal charge has been filed. bill cosby will be arraigned today. back in a moment. announcer: it's time to make room

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why wait for the new models? sleep train's year end clearance sale is on now! superior service, best selection, lowest price-- guaranteed! ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ breaking news, for the first time, bill cosby has been criminally charged with aggravated indecent assault. this is a sexual assault charge tying back to a case in 2004 against the then-temple university employee, andrea constant. when she first brought her case to authorities she was told in 2005 that there was not

sufficient evidence to bring charges. now a new district attorney, kevin steele, in montgomery county, pennsylvania, disagrees. he has brought charges. here's what he said just moments ago. >> we are here to announce today charges that have just been filed against william henry cosby. these charges stem from a sexual assault that took place on an evening in early 2004 at mr. cosby's home in sheltonham township, montgomery county. mr. cosby is charged with aggravated indecent assault. this is a felony of the first degree. mr. cosby's attorney has been notified of the charges, and he is expected to be arraigned later this afternoon. >> all right. let's talk about all of this. jean casarez, our cnn reporter who has been on this story from the very beginning, legal analyst danny cevallos. jean, to you. she lives in canada.

>> yes, she's a massage therapist. she has gone on with her life. i have been able to confirm that this summer investigators from the district attorney's office flew to canada and spoke with her at length for several days. and we also know that this summer, i was able to get the deposition. it was unsealed. we were able to get it. 3,000 pages from 2004. and remember, it had been sealed for that amount of time. and that deposition, of course, went into what allegedly had happened with she and cosby. and the district attorney today just said that it was newly discovered evidence this summer. >> they realized the statute of limitations was not closed yet. it was 12 years. this happened allegedly in 2004. joey jackson, to you, what is key here when he said new information came to light in july. what could that be? >> to jean's point, it's got to be the deposition. now, here's what's so significant about that deposition. in that deposition, the 3,000 pages that jean mentioned, there's many things in there. one such thing is an admission

from bill cosby with respect to the penetration that danny cevallos referenced earlier which is the cornerstone of that statute. that presents a real problem in terms of the defense. if you have admitted in a deposition, sworn, under oath, specifically what your conduct was as it related to the victim here, that's going to play big in the criminal case against cosby. >> danny, paint a picture for us of how significant this is because so many women have alleged that bill cosby sexually assaulted them, raped them, and this is the first time that criminal charges have been brought. >> it's very significant because most of these allegations are sometimes decades old. but in this particular case, in pennsylvania, you have a 12-year statute of limitations, and they are right up against the expiration of this statute. and this was a case that was investigated years ago, back in 2004, 2005, around that time. so it's going to be really interesting. it's also going to be a study in what happens when a prosecutor

waits until closer to the end of a statute of limitations to bring charges because this case was investigated sometime ago. they elected no the to prosecute for whatever reason. how does a case evolve over time? how does it prejudice or help the prosecution's case when witnesses or evidence become somewhat stale but not too stale so as to be in violation of the statute of limitations? and how does a defendant like cosby defend themselves martial witnesses and evidence in his defense a decade later as opposed to back in the mid-2000s, early 2000s. >> i think in this case, though, it will be a little different. why? because remember, there was a civil lawsuit here that was brought. as a result of that civil lawsuit, it serves to preserve much of the evidence. why? we speak about a deposition. what is that? it's the interviewing of witnesses under oath who have already given their statement. so if there's any memory loss or any memory gaps, you can go to what you said back during the time that it occurred to assist

you in terms of exactly what happened, when it happened, where were you? where was he? and so i think to the extent that there was an underlying civil case here, a lot of information is preserved. >> i also heard something else. i heard the district attorney say in regard to a question about other alleged victims, he said stay tuned for other motions. there is something in the law called prior bad acts. and if there is something that that is so strikingly similar in nature, and a judge rules whether it can come in or not, then other alleged victims, some of the other women can come in and testify as to what happened to them. >> this is riddled with exceptions, this rule. as a general rule, prior bad acts not allowed to prove that somebody is guilty, but in a very, very broad stroke, there are exceptions in cases like these if it shows sort of a modus operandi, that evidence. but certainly not a sure thing one way or the other. >> danny and i said at the same time because as defense

attorneys, it's so prejudicial, if the jury believes that you did anything to anyone else, what are they going to believe? that you did it here. >> right. >> it's propensity evidence, and it's not admissible to show that you did this offense. >> no, but to show absence of acts. and i have to tell you that one of my sources has told me that some of the other alleged victims were contacted by the district attorney's office and spoken to. >> great reporting, jean, as always, getting on the phone immediately with the attorney for andrea constant. thank you both for the analysis. again, bill cosby, we have reached out to him and his lawyers. no comment from them yet. bill cosby will be arraigned on these sexual assault criminal charges today in pennsylvania. a quick break. we have breaking news on ethan couch, that 19-year-old from texas who fled to mexico when we return. it takes a lot of work... to run this business. but i really love it. i'm on the move all day long... and sometimes, i just don't eat the way i should. so i drink boost® to get the nutrition that i'm missing. boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals,

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this is cnn breaking news. >> all right. a major development in the case of the two texas individuals just taken into custody in mexico. 19-year-old ethan couch who drove drunk and killed four people, injured two others, then fled his probation to mexico along with his mother, tonya couch. they were expected to come back to the united states today to be extradited, to face the justice system here. apparently that is not going to happen, at least not right now. why? let's go straight to our ed lavandera on the story in dallas. ed, what happened? >> reporter: well, i just spoke with the sheriff in tarrant county, dee anderson, who you've seen over the course of the last few days talking about the case

of ethan couch. his agency was responsible for bringing in the u.s. marshals and tracking down ethan couch and his mother in puerto vallarta, mexico. he had just told me he's gotten word from the u.s. marshals service that ethan couch and his mother have, quote, filed some sort of paperwork in the court system in puerto vallarta, mexico, trying to delay their return. so the sheriff says, quote, there's no chance of them returning today. he's not sure if it's delayed simply a day or several days or it could be weeks at this point. they're in the process of trying to gather more information to determine what kind of delay w're looking at here in this situation. but the sheriff saying that as originally had been suspected that ethan couch and his mother would be returning back to texas today. that no longer appears to be the case. and texas officials say, you know, they had spent a great deal of manpower mobilizing people to make all of this happen today. so they're trying to figure out

what the next step's going to be now. >> yeah, of course. ed lavandera thank you. stay with me. i want to bring in danny cevallos for legal guidance. why would they want to stay in mexico? is it because they haven't broken a law in mexico, and would the authorities have to let them go? >> why would they want to stay in mexico? we'd have to peer into their mind, but the easiest answer appears to be that ethan couch is not on probation in mexico. he is not at present violating any mexican laws that we know of. >> they're going to have to let him go? >> well, not necessarily. mexico is one of the countries, like many, that have an extradition treaty with the united states. >> right. >> the thing that makes this interesting is that most of these cases deal with when the united states has an arrest warrant for a defendant who flees to mexico. this is a defendant that was on juvenile probation. it's a slightly different case. >> for killing four people. >> absolutely, yes. and he actually, under the laws of the united states, he had been found guilty, or whatever the equivalent is in the joouchb

s juvenile system, and was serving his probation. he violated probation, he didn't necessarily commit a crime, although he potentially committed a federal crime when he fled or when he caused the u.s. marshals to expend their resources to track him down, yes, he potentially violated federal law. but traditionally extradition treaties with mexico involve a fugitive for which there's an arrest warrant. so without knowing what particular papers he filed in mexican court, he could be seeking asylum. who knows? really at this point, we have no idea. it's just -- it's just conjecture. >> i have 30 seconds. do you think he and his mother will end up back in the u.s. in a matter of weeks? >> yes. as a general rule, when it comes to extradition, yes, countries have extradition countries. but the reality is is most countries outside of the u.s. are very interested in helping the united states bring back fugitives. even going above and beyond what that extradition treaty provides for because, quite frankly, from

a geopolitical perspective -- >> the u.s. >> yes, people like helping the united states. we are what you would call an influential nation. so it's no surprise that mexico is not a safe haven for fugitives fleeing justice from the united states. >> interesting, then, that that's where they went. all right. we'll be watching. danny, thank you, as always, appreciate it. ed lavandera, great reporting, as always. quick break. we'll be right back. we live in a pick and choose world. choose, choose, choose. but at bedtime? ...why settle for this? enter sleep number, and the lowest prices of the season. sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. you like the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow! only at a sleep number store, find the lowest prices of the season. save $600 on the #1 rated i8 bed, plus no interest until january 2018. know better sleep with sleep number.

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here, one of the hardest-hit areas in all of missouri. with me on the phone right now is mike livengood, the mayor of union. sir, first let me tell you from all of us here at cnn, i am so sorry what you are going through. it is unbelievable devastation. how are the people in your community coping? >> well, we're managing pretty good right now. i think i've said before, the water is receding here in town. so now we've moved from disaster, and we're trying to get started to our recovery, which is probably really the hard part, you know. as i stated before many times, we're just fortunate that no one was injured. no one was hurt. >> that is very good news. you said the floodwaters have started to recede, is that right? how much? >> well, they've went down approximately four foot. i haven't heard an official number. i was just out watching some buildings that i knew were completely under water. it looks like it's receded about four foot or so. we're hoping by friday it might be back on the banks.

we don't know for sure. >> and for the people there, i know many, many people had to evacuate. and one of the dangerous things was people in their cars being swept away by the floodwaters. has anyone been stuck in their homes, or did everyone get out all right? >> everyone got out all right. there was some at the last minute that had to be evacuated, but they were -- because we kept trying to tell them the original reports weren't showing to be this high, but we felt we knew from past experience and what we've seen farther up the river that we were going to have record-breaking water, and we did. everybody finally -- some of them stayed that didn't get flooded. it was just real close, right on the border. >> what kind of assistance -- i mean, just looking at these images, these aren't live pictures. these are from tuesday, from yesterday. but, i mean, you've got a mcdonald's almost to the roof submerged in water. you've got a lot of these independent mom and pop shops. you've got these homes submerged in water. in terms of recovery for people, what kind of assistance are they

going to get? anything federal coming in? >> fema is -- i'm not really sure if they're in town right now. we're supposed to get a call, but they was coming in to do an evaluation. and they started out with, you know, loans and some of them are grants. it just depends on how the whole area, jay nixon, if they declared a disaster, then there will be the potential for getting aid and assistance on these people that don't have flood insurance. a lot of these homes that flooded weren't in the floodplain. >> i know, i know. well, just know that we are all thinking of you, and people that want to help can go to cnn.com/impact. find ways to help there. mayor mike livengood, we wish you the best. thank you, sir. >> thank you very much. >> thank you all for being with me today. i'm poppy harlow in new york. "at this hour with berman and bolduan" begins after a quick break. announcer: it's time to make room

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♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ this is cnn breaking news. >> hello, i'm john berman in new york. i want to welcome our viewers in the united states and all around the world. the breaking news this morning, a legal bombshell. moments ago, bill cosby charged with aggravated indecent assault in the first degree. sexual assault. these charges filed in montgomery county, pennsylvania, in a case that's about 12 years old. now, dozens of women have come forward alleging that cosby druggend