the gentleman from tennessee. mr. gordon: i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from tennessee yields back his time. all time being yielded, the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from arizona. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. flake: madam chair, i would ask for a recorded vote. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from arizona will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado rise? mr. salazar: i rise to offer an amendment -- the chair: the gentleman will suspend. it is now in order to consider amendment number 51 print md part b of house report 111-479. the gentleman will proceed. mr. salazar: thank you, madam speaker. i would like to thank chairman gordon for this wonderful bill which will actually create jobs. my amendment adds training -- the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman rise

gordon of tennessee. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1344, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. gordon, and a member opposed, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. gordon: madam chair, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. gordon: the amendment i'm offering today makes a handful of technical and clarifying changes and a few substantive additions to the underlying bill. most of the changes were the result of negotiations with our republican colleagues following our full committee markup. we agreed to work out several issues during the markup so let me tell you about these agreements first. mr. neugebauer, who wished to ensure that we were leveraging as much private funds as we could in implementing the noyce teacher scholarship program, i agreed to split the match into two requirements. the result is a small institutions are also able to participate in this critical program to train stem teachers, and the l

in tennessee, the governor declared 52 of tennessee's 95 counties as disaster areas and key landmarks like the grand ole opry were flooded with several feet of water. in tennessee it hit primarily the districts of our colleague, con man cooper, congresswoman blackburn, and congressman gordon. in kentucky the governor declared a state of emergency of 79 of 620 counties and issued a boil water advisory affecting nearly 83,000 residents. in mississippi, nearly 250 homes were destroyed or suffered major damage and the governor has requested six counties receive a major disaster declaration. even in this tragic situation we saw and continue to see many examples of heroism. as we have seen in previous disasters, people in the community, first responders, and volunteers have responded in a big, big way. the state and local officials along with organizations like the american red cross continue to provide assistance and aid to those affected by this flooding. and fema's assistance has and will help supplement these efforts. i strongly support passage of this resolution and urge all my colleag

. >> joining us on ""ewsmakers" is tennessee senator lamar alexander. and questioning, thank you for being with us. senator let me begin with some of the comments you made of the past week critical of the obama administration when it came to the big issues, immigration, health care, the jobs package. saying that this administration is trying to do too much too soon. what did you mean? >> well, for -- president eisenhower said a long time ago in 1952, i shall go to korea. a and the country said, ok. he said i shall focus my attention on it until i'm done and he ended the war in careera and the country had confidence in him. presidential leadership should only be reserved for a handful of presidential issues. number one is jobs, two is debt, three is the war on terror. and if he can focus on those three and not do much more except if he had to, such as with the gull oil spill, i think the country would be better off and appreciate that leadership more. >> let me ask you about one followup issue, financial regulation. now that it's about to go to conferenc

camden, tennessee, 17 inches. about the same for brownsville, tennessee. nashville, the janieest day ever -- rainiest day ever yesterday. this is showing you how the rain is finally going to move out of tennessee and that is the good news. but it will drop plenty of rain before it gets out of there all the way from the pan ham of florida up through -- panhandle of florida up through portions of alabama. we saw craig in venice, louisiana, this shows you the wind gusts. they're lighter over the weekend, but southerly 10 to 15 miles per hour and this shows how the winds can push the surface oil on the gulf toward the gulf coast. that is not a particularly good news map to look at. but that's a fact. >> brian: 12 minutes after the hour. authorities searching for those behind the attempt to blow up a bomb in times square. we think it is just a singular person. we'll talk with congressman peter king about the twisted plot next. >> gretchen: then all they wanted was a hair cut. they came inches from death. people inside the shop diving out of the way. watch this.

rain today, though, chicago, ohio valley down to the tennessee valley. we're dry in the middle of the country. as we look at saturday, the east coast cools off a little bit. still warm and a little humid down along the gulf, but no big issues on saturday, and even into sunday, a little bit of wet weather heads here from new york to washington, d.c., but it won't be a washout by any means. no big, huge storms, no severe weather outbreaks over the next three days. well, if you're watching us on wncn nbc 17, good old raleigh, north carolina, discover the animals that lived in eastern north carolina when it was covered by ocean at prehistoric north carolina at the north carolina museum of natural sciences, and that's your "early today event of the day," thomas, and hopefully, we all learned something. i had no idea. >> i had no idea, either. i thought the beach towns of the outer banks were the original beach towns, but i guess not. bill, thanks. >>> now here's an early look at this morning's entertainment headlines. the fourth "schrek" movie will rule the b

at least 29 people have died in tennessee, kentucky and mississippi. tennessee is the hardest hit. emergency workers expect more deaths as floodwaters recede. we'll have a live report from tennessee later in the broadcast. >>> next to new york where a former cbs news producer who admitted to trying to blackmail david letterman over an office affair has been sentenced to six months in prison. robert halderman pled guilty to attempted grand larceny in march. he'll also serve 1,000 hours of community service. >>> finally to washington, d.c., where a fourth person has been arrested now in connection with the killing of brian betts, a popular middle school principal. 18-year-old gray was charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery just a day after two other teens were charged with murder in the case. the mother of one teen is also in custody charged with two counts of credit card misuse. police say betts was set up for a robbery that turned into murder. it pushes us to work . to be better. to win. but sometimes even rivals realize they share a common goal. america's beverage comp

the gentleman from tennessee. mr. gordon: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. gordon: i will take the time a little bit later to try to respond to some of mr. hall's concerns, but i want to get to the veterans right now. i want to assure mr. hall when he goes home for memorial day day he can look at -- for memorial day he can look at those veterans and say i fought for you. i will read the language so there will be no mi the bill. for purposes of the activities and programs supported by this act and the amendments made by this act, institutions of higher education offering stem research and education activities and programs that serve veterans with disabilities shall receive special consideration in the review of any proposals by these institutions for funding under research and education programs authorized in this act. so let's be sure that we know that has been addressed. now, let me also point out that there's 435 members of congress. an

the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. gordon: mr. chairman, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from georgia, mr. barrow. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for two minutes. -- the chair: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for two minutes. mr. barrow: i spent many -- much time in my district. we rely a great deal on our manufacturing base. that base is threatened by competition from a broad and by a financial crisis at home. what has sustained us through the hard times lately has always been american innovation. the america competes act fosters that tradition and i'm proud to support it. i'm pleased to offer an amendment that i think makes this good bill a little bit better. in the 12th district of georgia we make everything from lawnmower blades to jet airplanes. but the fundamentals of both industries are very similar. it all starts with education in science, math and engineering. my amendment simply requires that we include manufacturing education in our long-term strategic plan for manufactur

we spoke to the department of transportation in tennessee. they said that the interstates are now open. all the interstates. but they still have flooding in some areas and some of the state routes are closed. and we also want to take you to cheatham county. this -- now, take a look at this. this is part of a roadway, asphalt. >> is that like highway, freeway or something there? >> it literally is this roadway that's -- the asphalt just kind of lifted up and it destroyed a home there. mike and cindy lee, their home was destroyed. listen to what they have to say. >> it was just a miracle of god. that's all you can say. >> he just kept watching. >> if it had been at night, we would have never made it. >> saying that they're just lucky to be alive. i spoke to the department of transportation also. they said that with the flooding that was just so bad that, you know, it's no wonder that that happened. now, we want to show you this video. >> oh, boy. >> and this is a wakeboarder. this is from one of our i-reporters. he's a approached by a policeman

we're working with the tennessee emergency management authority. they're helping guide us in terms of fema to make sure that every county that has been impacted is getting -- getting help and getting inspected. the administrator of fugat was telling me, if you go down street and look down there and somebody says it is fine. that's not good enough. we want to make sure we're going into every area and we got eyes on the ground and maps on target in terms of knowing where the damages are and who needs help. i think fema will be here six months from now in terms of -- of assisting with recovery efforts but at some point in time this will not be a -- primary fema which, their expertise is what do you do immediately but it'll be these other efforts that i describe described. with housing, and urban and -- and with business development d the like. >> [unintelligible] >> i will have the fema director talk about that. >> the recovery centers are similar to the centers already up but we bring the federal family together. we talk about fema but part of it is

tell us, rick. >> the situation in tennessee is going go down as a historic situation. the rain that they received this weekend will cause flooding that they have probably never seen before across this area and unfortunately across a very populated area and that is nashville. really this entire stretch between memphis and nashville has seen anywhere in the amounts of 13 to maybe 18 inches of rain in the last day. think about that. that is about that much rain falling across quite a large area and that has caused very intense flooding. so we have all kinds of flash flood warnings in effect in the burgundy colors. flash flood warnings in with the green areas. this is interesting. this is the hydrograph and shows the flow of water moving through any rivers or creeks where this they monitor. this is just pot west of nashville. typical -- just to the west of nashville. running at 3 feet is the average level for this river. win two to three hours is spiked up to 40 feet. 41 to 42 feet. an increase of almost 40 feet in a couple of hours. that is why the pictures that we are se

. >>> floodwaters are receding in nashville, tennessee. authorities there are worried about what they might find. >>> a teenage fan was taken down by a taser at a baseball game prompting a police review. >>> we're clear and cool overnight, jim. we'll get a little bit of a warmup in here. and the weekend, oh, the weekend is looking chilly. lindsey? >>> coming up in sports, penguins try to solve montreal's goal in game three. and then the national goes all out for a win against the bra >>> there are serious questions being raised about the ability of an agency charged with rehabilitating troubled youth in the district. three teenagers in the murder of a popular school principal. jackie benson is in montgomery county at the courthouse where the teens appeared in court today. jackie? >> reporter: jim, drug charges, gun charges. the three suspects in custody for the murder of brian bets share a disturbing history. officials confirm that the three teens, all 18 years old, all walked away from the supervision of the district's department of youth

the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. a senator: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. we're in a quorum call. mr. alexander: mr. president, i ask consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: and ask consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, nashville and middle tennessee have been hit with what the corps of engineers officials tell us is a 1,000-year rain event. in a thousand years, we wouldn't expect to have this much rain. it is providing enormous hardship to the people, not just of nashville and davison county but the counties in and around nashville. i wanted to give a brief report on what we know about that, what nor corker and i and congressman cooper and the other members of congress from that region are doing working together so that the people of our area can know what -- what to expect. there is a telep

we are accountable to the people of tennessee. i do not tell him what to do and vice versa. >> he mentioned checks and balances about the election. do you think senate republicans can and gain control -- can gain control of the chamber? >> i feel the same mood in the country that i felt in a year most of your viewers will not remember. it was 1974. i was a young republican. it was the year of watergate. and in tennessee, people were so mad at republicans that they came out of the mountains to find out who the republicans were to vote against them. i think people will come out of the mountains this year to vote against the rascals in washington. most of the rascals are democrats by large. most -- republicans will do very well. >> looking forward to 2012, democrats have a lot of seats to defend. the future looks fairly bright. is the republican party making a major comeback? when you looked at the polls, the poll numbers for the republican party are still low. >> that is right. people will make a choice on election day. they will lo

in tennessee. severe weather, killing 6 people, a tornado, heavy rains, and flooding across the middle and western parts of tennessee, forcing evacuations. closing down roads. damaging homes. chief meteorologist rick reichmuth is standing by live, now to tell us, when will the rain stop. >> rick: it is going to stop and take until tomorrow, we still have a lot of rain to be had across the area, completely waterlogged and up to 20 inches of rain in some cases, in less than a day. imagine that with almost two feet of rain and we might see 3-4 inches, some spots will exceed two feet of rain during the period, the burgundy counties, shaded in, have flash flood warnings going on and flooding concerns across areas of tennessee, into kentucky and there is' ridge of high pressure not allowing to it budge and move to the east and the rain continues to fall in the same spots over and over and you think you are out of it, nashville but more will move in and pictures out of nashville. you can get an idea of ju

kentucky and here's tennessee. so amazing that you can see this. we're expecting those waters to continue to go down over the next couple of days and that's good news and it is going to stay dry. we do have a cold front approaching, but all of the wet weather will stay up here across parts of the upper midwest. we're looking at showers and thunder showers for mill walk e it's trying to make its way into the chicagoland area and it will be on and off as we head into the afternoon hours and as the winds begin to gust. the system that brought all of that rain into nashville is now bringing in showers and thunder showers across central florida. it's a very, very slow-moving system. the nation as a whole showing you, that's our big game in town. a slight risk of severe thunderstorms right now in the great lakes and indianapolis and the cleveland area. ahead of this front, man, it is gorgeous out there. up and down the eastern seaboard, look at those high temperatures today well into the 80s and we're looking at 90s acro

. >> thousands in tennessee needing real help. some of the state's worst flooding causing several deaths. the big question, is more rain on the way? talk about it coming up. ♪ [ male announcer ] let's kick our excuses to the curb. cover 'em up with an extra bag of mulch let's get our hands a little busier. our dollars a little stronger. and our thinking aittle greener. let's grab all the bags, all the plants, and all the latest tools out there so we can turn all these savings into more colorful shades of doing. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. also available in small, easy-to-swallow petites. citracal. the charcoal went out already? [ sighs ] forget it. [ male announcer ] there's more barbeque time in every bag of kingsford charcoal. kingsford. slow down and grill. >> this just in, the wall street journal reporting united and continental airlines

. >> well, 19 people died from the recent flash flooding across tennessee. nine of those deaths were in nashville. and the city itself has really been devastated by the weekend rains. the country music hall of fame has closed. and fortunately the water is primarily confined to a mechanical room. and the fame grand ole opry has had to move some performances due to flooding. a lot of country music stars call nashville home. keith urban spoke to cnn about the devastating floods that have hit his adopted hometown. >> community sprlt has never been more evident than it is now. i notice all the radio stations down here are playing virtually no music. it's all pledge drives happening right now. >> interesting. >> i know the red cross and other facilities are maxed out. but there's so many people offering, you know, their own support to take people in and clothe them and that sort of thing. so everybody is doing their little bit. i'm quite sure there's going to be, you know, benefit concerts and what not to help people as well. certainly financially helping my wife

the gentleman from tennessee. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i associate my remarks with the gentlelady. i think it was an historic occasion. you're absolutely right. some would say more than 50% of the power -- women are left out. that was a big step for the catholic church in 1909. si agree th you, it did pave the way to the 19th amendment that occurred less than 10 years after that. so this is a pleasure to work with you on this bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york. mr. bishop: mr. speaker, as a proud graduate myself of the jesuit college, i urge my colleagues to pass this resolution and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time has expired. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1161. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended -- mr. bishop: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the geleman from new

kentucky. 19 in tennessee alone. after a weekend record-setting rainfall caused flash flooding of the cumberland river cresting 12 feet above flood level. that followed 14 inches of rain. a two-day record for the nashville area. rescuers expect more bodies to emerge from muddy flood water. but at least the waters are now receding. police were able to evacuate some from a tent city of homeless people. they are bracing for the possibility of finding bodies there as the water ebbs. authorities fear finding fatalities in remote areas. the fire chief saying we hope it is not a large number. authorities and volunteers in fishing boats have been rescuing residents and tourists. 500 people were rescued from the windham resort alone. the flooding was not limited to the cumberland. lakes, rivers and drainage systems were deluged, bridges washed out, thousands of homes damaged, nashville businesses hit hard include the grand old opry house, hotel and convention center with 1,500 guests rushed to shelter. that prompted a wave of

and five are dead in tennessee from floods. elizabeth pran is following the developments on this from atlanta and joins us now with more. how is it looking, elizabeth? >> reporter: not looking too good, brian. like you mentioned, we just learned that mississippi officials confirmed that three people have died in benton county, mississippi, as a possible tornado ripped through around 2:30 this morning. that part of the country not seeming to catch a break. tennessee still seeing a lot of flooding, about ten inches yesterday. flooding highways, roadways and rivers. now that band of slow-moving thunderstorms drefrnled t ss d volunteer state this weekend. ten inches falling in memphis turning streets to streams and the floodwaters so high some buildings were even see floating down what was once an interstate. emergency officials scramble to get people out of the flood areas, but even as rescuers were helping others they needed help themselves. raging waters flipped a fire truck, leaving the crew stranded on top of the rig until hel

durbin: i see the senator from tennessee on the floor and i yield the floor to the senator from tennessee. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee is recognized. mr. corker: thank you, mr. president. and i thank my friend from illinois. i want to speak for a moanlt the corker amendment -- for a moment on the corker amendment. waipt to thank senator gregg, senator lemieux, senator coburn for being cosponsors. i want to thank senator shelby for all he has done to help support and make this amendment possible. and also senator isakson who is just a wealth of experience, brings a wealth of experience to this body as it relates to real estate lending. i want to thank all of them for this support of this amendment. it is a basic, commonsense amendment. i think everybody in this body knows that we, as a country, are going down a pretty slippery slope. that we, as politicians, act as enablers. weep don't tell people -- we don't tell people what they need to hear. instead we try to give them what they wish without any degree of discipline. and what this amendment does is try to restore w

the gentleman from tennessee. mr. gordon: mr. chairman, i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from texas, ms. johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is cognized for two minutes, ms. johnson. ms. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of h.r. 5325, the american competes re-authorization act of 2010. it was once said when the lord says, give up, hope whispers. try it one more time. america cannot afford to give up on science, education, and innovation, i want to applaud my colleagues, and leadership on science and technology for their hard work on this legislation. our nation is being outpaced by our competitors and graduating with scientists and engineers. it is so important to invest wisely in programs that truly make a difference in achieving -- in the aievement of our young people. america competes is about our future. it's about ensuring we are taking the right steps towards increasing american competitiveness and innovation. it is also about strengthening diversity in our nation's

flood warnings through kentucky and western parts of tennessee, as well. some parts of indiana and getting that action coming on through. more showers and more thunderstorms behind that. there for north dakota. traveling through the west coast, let me take you live to san francisco. looking real nice for the day. little breezy and 30-minute delays and it will be dry. great shot of san francisco. more on that, robin, in a half hour. >> they look pretty. >>> did you notice something about the for sale signs in your neighborhood. a lot of those signs are coming down. that's good news in a bad economy. >>> police chased a guy along the banks of a river. you know somebody is going in the water. energy. her. this. lives. how ? by bringing together... information. ... people ... ... machines ... ... systems ... ideas... verizon helps businesses worldwide... including fortune 500 companies... find and achieve... better. better. better. better. too these cheap props aren't but la quinta is! nta inns and suites? yeahbuddy ts take a gander captain thre changing! they

that is what the residents of tennessee care about. they don't care about a business in shelby county a mom or proper operation or bigger if they fail, they're out of business. when they see the large institutions fail and a dollar glut of business they consider that to be a moral hazard and morally wrong. we will get that right before this bill passes i hope. i hope we can deal with them appropriately. i yield the floor. >> i appreciate those comments again from my friend and colleague from tennessee. one quick observation. going back to the issue that wall street could have used a public-relations firm. that is the essence of the problem. when you have to hire a public relations come if you don't understand this yourself there is something fundamentally wrong. with multimillion-dollar is in bonuses so people who lose their jobs and homes in foreclosure because of the problems you created out there i don't know why you need a public relations operations? where is decency and ethics and morality that the average citizen for this consti

the tennessee titans football stadium is drying out. officials report minimal damage, even though its field was under water. hundreds of businesses remain closed while the cumberland river which winds through nashville recedes. still above flood stage this morning, but well below its record crest tuesday. the flooding is the result of weekend storms that brought torrential rains and deadly tornadoes to mississippi, kentucky, and tennessee. for marla perry, more than she can bear. she doesn't want to rebuild here after losing so much. now the aftermath from a disaster that's affected thousands. leanne gregg, nbc news. >> president obama has authorized a major disaster declaration for four tennessee counties which will help people there get federal funds to clean up. more counties may be added later. >>> a new ash cloud from that volcano in iceland disrupting flights in the uk. these pictures from iceland show a plume of ash reaching 18,000 feet. similar to the eruptions last month that closed european air space for six long days. airport

and that is the situation there in tennessee, but not here. we've got a beautiful blue sky, high pressure is holding fourth here and we have temperature now at 77 at reagan national. dew point down to 47. that's drew. humidity only 35% and a variable light wind right now. elsewhere we're in the mid-70s in friprince georges and througt much of the region, we have temperatures hitting the 70s. any wind off the water is cooler. out of the mountain, it's near 07 degrees. eastern shore and at the beach, in the 70s except right there on the shore. wind off the water is keeping it it cooler. over the last 12 hour, the high pressure has moved in and has given thup gorgeous sky and we're not alone. it stretches all the wear from new england all the way down to the gulf coast and into florida. and we will see over the last 24 hours that this high pressure h continuing to advance off to the east and if it does move that way, behind that we have a weak front that will be drifting through tomorrow. and if that does come in, right now it's triggering light

nashville and tennessee are here. we thank everybody. the president was great. he called on the phone and talked to me. other members of the white house staff have call down here. we're getting a lot of help and people are getting their lives back. >> governor bredesen we appreciate it. we wish the best for you and your entire state. those people certainly need our thoughts and prayers. thank you. >>> new details about the times square bomb suspect and alleged terrorist training in pakistan. terrorism analyst evan kohlmann joins me to talk about whether other terrorists could be linked to faisal shahzad. >> jeff rossen on the campus of the university of virginia in charlottesville. coming up a bombshell admission in the lacrosse murder case that involves kicking down a bedroom door and a violent attack. the details coming up. >>> also we'd like to know what you think about any of the stories we've been covering today. let me know. go to twitter.msnbc.com. pfffffffff! ♪ let's szush up this one tone hair color! try nice 'n easy, with color-blend technology. in o

i know tennessees a will do as well. governor phil bredesen, governor of tennessee. best of luck. >> thank you. >>> you can find out how you can help. here's how you can make a difference to help the flood victims in tennessee. make sure you visit our impact your world page at cnn.com/impact. >>> now is time for what we sal sound effect because sometimes pictures really don't tell the whole story. two words stand out in this clip from the streets of new york city. and i quote, nypd rocks, nypd rocks. here new yorkers and visitors talk about the terrorism in the wake of a botched car bombing and some textbook police work. >> i think it's a concern but i've lived here for 20 years. i was here through 9/11. i feel like -- i think the nypd rocks. i think new yorkers have their eyes open. if they see something, they're going to say something. >> new yorkers seem to have the guts just to do, to go on with their lives. if something happens, we'll react to it and then we will let it go from there. >> i was a visitor to new york, are you worried about the terrorism threat in

they don't call tennessee the volunteer state for nothing. they've got a big job. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. because the story out of the gulf of mexico has not changed in over a month and because there's oil spill into that water right now and every minute of every day, the anger and despair there are now taking a toll. now the oil is surging. miles up and into the marsh. more than 65 miles of some of the most beautiful coastline in the united states now affected. the damage spread across three states, louisiana, mississippi, alabama. the effort to stop it, clean it up is huge. 22,000 people are working on it just there in the spill zone. over three quarters of a million gallons of chemical dispersant have been poured into the gulf to try to break up the slick which is the size of delaware and rhode island combined. we have team coverage again starting with our chief environmental affairs correspondent, anne thompson. >> reporter: the oil giant faces potential fines and perhaps a criminal investigatio

he joins us from maryville tennessee. let me just start where robert gibbs was talking about that the administration has done everything possible, more than, noon and daylight. nighttime too to get this thing fixed down in the gulf. senator, do you think they've done everything they could do? >> i'm not going to start pointing fingers at the administration. there's wunl thing they could do under the law. they can fire bp and take it over. but the truth is the federal government probably doesn't have the capacity to do that. i think we ought to allow the administration working with the government and others to do its best to clean it up and make our verdict about the blame later. >> schieffer: but would you favor taking over bp if that became necessary? >> sure. that's up to the president to decide. under the law, we know who pays. that's bp. they're the responsible party. we know who is managing the federal effort. that's the coast guard. under the law the federal government can take it over if they choose. i understand w

. >>> heavy rains and flooding are soaking much of tennessee. the floods have forced several hundred people to evacuate their homes near memphis and memphis, police say, many streets are impassable because of the high waters. at least five people have died in central tennessee, in/around the nashville area. >>> memphis, looked bad, but video coming in from near nashville is really just incredible. let's check in now with cnn's jacqui jeras for an update. >> don, it's actually really bad all across tennessee. since this morning, some locations have had more than a fast rainfall. there you can see video. this is from i-24 in nashville, and 70 vehicles were submerged in this area and there you can see, an annex building which was washed away in the river, and then just crumbled apart as it hit up against this bridge and into these vehicles. we do know at a minimum three people have lost their lives in the flooding today across the state of tennessee, and unfortunately, it is situation continues to compound and will get worse, we think, throughout t

it blamed for 17 deaths in tennessee. >> today is not the dead push your luck in hov lane -- it's not the day. police will be out in full force along several major area highways. courtney robinson is live in arlington with a warning for all new drivers out there. good morning. >> good morning du. we usually see them do this every so often. for some drivers they can use the hov lane. for other drivers, when they see you out there so low, it's not the day. >> i had two offenders. but officers say they catch you often. violating high occupancy vehicle lanes intended to ease congestion. it's a faster ride to work for those carpooling. >> they pose a great danger to themselves when you're driving secure 70 miles an hour. we see that all the time. >> virginia and maryland say law-abiding citizens are the ones writing you out. when the pullover violators, they give every excuse in the book. today officers will be out cracking down, reminding drivers that if you don't apply to hov rules, don't use those lanes. you'll see officers on the lookout on 66, the alito road, 95, on 395 right here, an

and is beginning now to hurt west tennessee. we have the arizona immigration debate, which the distinguished senator from illinois was discussing a little earlier. we have a new start treaty that the president has asked us to consider. just around the corner we have a nomination coming for a vacancy on the supreme court of the united states which will dominate, as it should, the attention of this body for two or three months or so until it's thoroughly considered. and of course the american people would like for us to focus on jobs. i have a great respect for the democratic governor of tennessee who was quoted in the "wall street journal" yesterday saying the following: "if i have 100 conversations with people, 95 of them will be about jobs, and none of them will be about cap-and-trade, and none of them will be about bank reform," said governor phil bredesen, a conservative democratic in an interview. but financial regulation is the topic and financial regulation is important. the importance of it is this is a country that produ

all of tennessee will be dry today after the big floods this weekend. lynn, it will cool off even in the east, but it's going to take a couple of days. i'll let you know when we come back. >>> euro wors pound the mar connects, oil slides and who's football's oi official beer. your early morning headlines are straight ahead. >>> plus the case of a fi philandering husband goes forward. >>> the sharks need overtime and if dad says don't do it, don't do it. you're watching "early today." >>> good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. the floodwaters in nashville, tennessee, have begun to recede following deadly weekend storms that killed 30 people in the south. the damage assessment there is just beginning. up to six feet of water flooded the famed muse stage, the grand ole onry, forcing shows to with moved to other opera halls. >>> more fiery remarks from iran's president. threatened that a new round of u.n. sanctions against tehran would put an end to recent earths to restore diplomat

when we come back, a tennessee chocolate maker. spirit of the heart land is next. chocolate, right? in nashville, there's a great spot to quench >>> virtually everybody likes chocolate, right? in nashville there's a spot to satisfy your appetite including truffles that include a variety and taste. in this report from the university of tennessee, the chocolate company with an international flair. >> bethany came to nashville to write songs. while she hasn't given up entirely, she meantime discovered a new talent. i'm a self-taught self-taught chocolate tier tier. she creates truffles at the cocoa tree. >> i name them after women who inspired me. >> this downtown business haystacks to an african nation more than 5,000 miles away. soon the cocoa tree could be working with crops grown in liberia. farmers grow this tree crop in countries such as liberia. she recently spent time as part of a research exchange program. mushu wants to expand her country's market. >> i wanted to learn more about the cocoa industry and take that back home to liberia, that i would be able to change things in l

the clerk: the senator from tennessee, mr. corker, for him send a oh, propose an amendment numbered 395 to amendment number 3739. mr. corker: i move to dispense with the reading, mr. president. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. corker: minding is we have about 30 minutes on each side, is that correct, on this amendment? 30 minutes on this, 30 minutes on merkley, is that correct? the presiding officer: there is no order in effect. mr. corker: no order in effect. okay. senator isakson, senator gregg, and senator shelby wanted to speak on our side. mr. dodd: technically there's no time agreement? mr. corker: i will be very brief. mr. gregg: i would ask unanimous consent that after senator corker finishes his remarks, senator isakson be recognized and that i be recognized and -- senator shelby wants to be recognized. he should be recognized before senator isakson or myself. mr. dodd: a member on this side somewhere in the midst of all of this wants to be heard as well. mr. gregg: that would be totally reasonable. mr. c

. >> a lot of people in tennessee feel the national media and washington haven't paid enough attention. we reported on the situation a little bit but not as much as we should have. we hope to begin to correct that tonight and tomorrow from nashville. we'll go there tomorrow. with us now is nashville mayor, carl dean. it's a been five days since the storm first occurred, seeing pictures coming over the city. how bad is it tonight? >> anderson, we're really in the recovery stage. the rain stopped sunday and the river crested monday night. we're in a position the river is actually receding. we are coming out of this thing, beginning the cleanup process. we had nine deaths in nashville, a lot of people who lost their homes and businesses no longer operating. this has been devastating. our heart goes out to the victims of this flood. right now, we're going to be focused on getting our city back up working. in essence, the government will report back to work tomorrow completely. we are going forward with the cleanup. the downtown area you'll see tomorrow is rapidly coming back. i think the c

in tennessee, the cumberland river is about to crest. take look at our newsroom, it's coming in there, from across the country, around the world. you know we'll bring all the details to you as soon as we get them. jon: first into the investigation into the attempted times square car bombing, police questioning the owner of the suv used in that failed attack, this as surveillance video now released shows the tens moments after street vendors alerted police to the suspicious parked vehicle. moments later that car began smoking and making poppingnizes, that's when officer wayne ratigan stepped in, ordering passengers to move away from the vehicle. officer ratigan says his nypd training kicked in instantly. >> everything happened so fast, there's not time to be scared. it's just like time to get the people out of here, time to start a parameter, everybody back, and you know, things start going from there and you don't -- training kick necessary, everything we've been taught over years of, you know, all these training sessions we go to, it ju

in all, 30 people were killed in tennessee, mississippi, and kentucky. earlier today i spoke with the governor of tennessee by phone and asked if he'd seen anything like this before. >> this is extraordinary. this is probably in terms of flooding more than a hundred-year event here. we're surviving and will get back to normal. nashville and tennessee are here. we thank everybody. the president was great. he called about the problem and talked to me. other members of the white house staff have called down here. we're getting a lot of people and people are getting their lives back. >> ron, the governor also talked about meeting with the red cross and really trying to find shelter for people who will make it back to their homes but find them uninhabitable. >> reporter: right. that's the case here in this neighborhood, tamron. the flood waters are mostly bad memories for these folks. this is the harsh reality that follows. there are hundreds of volunteers just in this neighborhood alone helping these homeowners all do the same thing which is take their perso

floods that caused major damage in mississippi and tennessee. check out a newly released video that shows how bad it was. this is security footage from an auto shop in nashville. you can see the avalanche of flood water bursting through the door and taking over the place. this video was taken two weeks ago. more coverage you can find at foxnews.com, of course. a sheriff's deputy found dead in his home after hours of long standoffs with fellow police officers. we'll tell you what he did in the hours before they found him dead. plus, a would-be robber tries to pick up the wrong guy. you'll see i >>> a sheriff's deputy accused of shooting his wife's parents found dead in his home after a six hour standoff with police. this happened in washington, 15 minutes outside of tacoma. 49-year-old alan miron killed the mother and father and then barricaded inside his house with the two children. they made it out safely. they found the veteran deputy dead inside the home. >> it's just shocking. never expected anything like this in this neighborhood. >> it's v

, eastern tennessee, the watauga valley. i found this fellow named ronnie hazelwood. he has a deer in his 70 cows on that. mr. hazelwood, where do you sell your milk? he said that's become improper to use to sell in the local community. but now i can't. now i depend -- there's a guy on the other side of the blue ridge since a truck over every day and he picks up my milk and goes to couple other surviving carries. but what about the people in your community? they all buy the milk at the wal-mart. so i went to the wal-mart. i want to find out where does the wal-mart get their milk if not from mr. hazelwood. i went to this wal-mart in elizabethtown, tennessee. and i went back to the cold case i looked at what was inside the cold case. i seem to be all these choices in there. you could buy milk that has a label on it that said that gary. is another label that said mayfield there goes another label doesn't great value. that's the wal-mart in storebrand. well, what i found out with a little research after the fact was that dairy a

he is briefed on a regular basis about the situation in tennessee. a senior adviser to him has met with him every day during this flood. he knows the extent of this and the breadth and depth of this. one of the reasons i am here is because at homeland security, we are kind of the first on the scene at the cabinet level, making sure that we have eyes on the ground. i will be following up shortly with a number of other members of the cabinet. these visits are designed to sit down and go through, all right, what do we need to do, what do we need to coordinate and collaborate on as we removed -- as we move from response to recovery. i have to say that the response in tennessee -- i have been to a lot of disasters. the people of tennessee should be very proud of the response and the overwhelming assistance already going on in neighborhoods and counties across the state. obviously, there is very good leadership and very effective teamwork being exercised. these things were already under way before the floods hit. you cannot respond unless you are ready, ri