[Chad Myers, Cnn Meteorologist:] Ernesto back in open water and getting stronger. The forecast coming up.
[Keith Oppenheim, Cnn Correspondent:] It's the kind of fall that's expected to be a big rainstorm in Charleston, South Carolina. I'm Keith Oppenheim, and I'll have all the preparations coming up.
[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] And Hurricane John is battering parts of Mexico right now. A possible tourist resort is right in the storm's path.
[David Mattingly, Cnn Correspondent:] I'm David Mattingly in Lexington, Kentucky. Did a lack of sleep for an air traffic controller play a role in a commuter crash? I'll have that story.
[Miles O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] And RadioShack fires some employees with a few strokes of a keyboard. Somebody e-mail these guys a heart on this AMERICAN MORNING. Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.
[S. O'brien:] Good morning.
[M. O'brien:] Hi.
[S. O'brien:] You beat me to it. Good morning to you, Miles.
[M. O'brien:] Good to see you.
[S. O'brien:] I'm Soledad O'Brien. Welcome back, everybody. We've been following a couple big weather stories this is morning Tropical Storm Ernesto, Hurricane John, as well. Keith Oppenheim is in Charleston, South Carolina, for us. Harris Whitbeck is in Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. Severe weather expert Chad Myers is at the CNN center. So, Chad, let's start with you. What's the big picture here?
[Myers:] The big picture for Ernesto is that the longer it stays in the water the more it gets organized. Back to you.
[S. O'brien:] All right, Chad. Thanks.
[Myers:] You're welcome.
[S. O'brien:] Let's get right to CNN's Keith Oppenheim. He's live in Charleston, South Carolina, for us. Hey, Keith. It actually doesn't look so bad yet.
[Oppenheim:] That's true, Soledad. It's not bad yet. It was raining a little bit earlier, and we have a nice view of Charleston harbor behind me. And we can just begin to feel some of the winds that are coming off the coast, but not too bad. As Chad was saying, this is really expected to be a rain event, and because the city of Charleston, as you can see behind me is low this is called low country this is a place where there should be significant flooding today, if not for the next couple of days. Take a look at some pictures we shot yesterday just a few miles from here on Sullivan's Island, where crews were putting up storm boards on some of the beachside houses there. One of the guys he was actually the head of that crew he said one reason he was taking those precautions was because he had gone through Sullivan's Island rather gone through Hurricane Hugo back in 1989.
[Unidentified Male:] I had to deal with Hugo. That's pretty much when I started living in South Carolina. So it was it was a nightmare after the hurricane for the first six months or a year. So we're hoping that never comes around again.
[Oppenheim:] Well, officials here are saying this is going to be no Hugo, Ernesto will be much milder than that. But even so, they are taking precautions, providing shelter for people who live in the low- lying areas and along beachfronts, saying that those people will likely need to take shelter because there will be all kinds of flooding along these low-lying areas. Also today, no schools throughout the area. And some of the bridges might be closed, Soledad, if the winds start to get too too high. Back to you.
[S. O'brien:] Yes, no surprise there. Great. Keith Oppenheim for us. Thanks, Keith, for the update from there.
[M. O'brien:] Hurricane John, meanwhile, is pummeling Mexico's Pacific coast this morning. A lot of beach resorts in harm's way. A foot of rain on the way in some places. CNN's Harris Whitbeck live now from Cabo San Lucas with more Harris.
[Harris Whitbeck, Cnn Correspondent:] Hello, Miles. Mexican civil defense authorities say some 10,000 people on Mexico's Pacific coast in the towns of Acapulco and Manzanillo spent the nights in shelters. Heavy rains associated with Hurricane John caused flooding, particularly in Acapulco, which has a population of about one million people. Further up the coast, in Manzanillo, people were desperately trying to board up hotels and buildings as the storm churned up the coast towards them. Here in Cabo San Lucas, on the tip of the Baja, California, peninsula, preparations are well under way. Local civil defense authorities say they have to prepare shelters for some 30,000 people. They believe an evacuation order will be issued just in a few hours. Meanwhile, lots of tourists from the United States here have been trying to get out. We understand all flights to the U.S. are now practically sold out. And those tourists who are staying behind are being asked to stay in their hotels and local hotel management will tell them what steps to take as Hurricane John approaches. It is expected to at least glance off the tip of the Baja, California, peninsula. This area is quite low, the elevation is quite low. So the concern is that there could a lot of flooding that could wash out a lot of the roads that connect the different towns around here Miles.
[M. O'brien:] Harris Whitbeck, thank you very much. A system stretched thin. This morning, new information on what happened in that control tower in Lexington, Kentucky, on Sunday morning. Was a sleep-deprived controller a factor in the crash of that Comair plane that killed 49 people? CNN's David Mattingly live now from Lexington with more David.
[Mattingly:] Good morning, Miles. This air traffic controller was putting in a lot of hours in a short amount of time. He put in an eight-hour shift on Saturday, had nine hours off, got two hours of sleep, before coming back to another eight-hour shift, the overnight shift at midnight here at the Lexington airport. This air traffic controller, however, did give the correct instructions to the Comair flight before it made the wrong turn on to the wrong runway. Still, federal crash investigators are looking at the scheduling very closely and looking around at other airports to see if this might be a sign of a bigger problem.
[Debbie Hersman, Ntsb Spokeswoman:] We won't not just be looking at this controller. We're going to be taking a system's approach to this, looking at what happens at this facility, potentially looking at what happens at other facilities. If we identify any issues, any safety issues, we will address them.
[Mattingly:] The ground investigation wrapping up here by the NTSB. We expect to see them leaving here today. Meanwhile, here in Lexington, attention is turning to the families of the victims of this crash. A memorial service has been planned. Several of them, in fact, around here in the area. A memorial has been set up outside the airport where people are bringing flowers and writing well wishes onto a banner. So many people affected by this terrible tragedy Miles.
[M. O'brien:] All right. Thank you very much, David Mattingly Soledad.
[S. O'brien:] All right. We're getting some information. The Associated Press is reporting that there has been a breach of security at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv. A man apparently who is armed has breached security there. He is threatening to commit suicide. This report coming to us from The Associated Press. This is breaking news. We're obviously following up on this story, update you on what's happening there as soon as we get more information Miles.
[M. O'brien:] All right. So, who is to blame for staffing problems at the Blue Grass Airport? We're going to discuss that a little bit later with the NTSB former vice chairman, Bob Francis, in just a few moments. And now to a developing story. Iran right now remaining defiant in its nuclear ambitions. Today excuse me.
[S. O'brien:] Want me to take over?
[M. O'brien:] Why don't you you better. You better. Thank you.
[S. O'brien:] OK. You take a drink of water.
[M. O'brien:] I apologize.
[S. O'brien:] We're talking about the deadline, of course, the U.N. deadline for Tehran to stop its nuclear program. Nobody expects, though, that Iran will indeed stop. In fact, U.N. sanctions appear likely. Let's get right this morning to CNN Senior United Nations Correspondent Richard Roth. Hey, Richard. Good morning.
[Richard Roth, Cnn Sr. U.n. Correspondent:] Good morning, Soledad. A big day looming here, August 31st, deadline day, but there will not be a vote in the Security Council calling for sanctions against Iran. It's just not going to happen. The U.S. needs to build its case. And it has been taking a gradual approach against Iran in rallying support. The president of Iran, though, has vowed to be defiant, saying that his country has every right to have nuclear power, but it's only for peaceful purposes. The U.S. State Department's official, Nicholas Burns, will be going to Europe next week, likely to talk to key players on the Security Council about the way forward.
[Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary Of State:] We're not going to be intimidated by anything the Iranians do. And they've got to understand one thing. They are fairly isolated on this issue. They now have the entire Security Council, all the permanent members, including Russia and China, saying that they've got to cease and desist. And you had countries like India and Egypt also vote against them in the International Atomic Energy Agency. So, the Iranians have to sit back, and they'll have to calculate the cost of isolation, the increased pressure that is going to come their way. And this is not going to be a pleasant time for them.
[Roth:] Kofi Annan today in Jordan saying the deadline has passed. The U.S. will have to convince China and Russia that it's time to go for sanctions. Both of those countries with extensive business ties to Iran think diplomacy is still the way forward. The U.S. is likely, Soledad and Miles, to pursue gradual sanctions, maybe export bans, dual-use technology that can be banned that might go towards Iran's nuclear program. Back to you.
[S. O'brien:] All right. Richard Roth for us. Thanks, Richard. Appreciate it. We're getting confirmation now from an Israeli spokesperson about this story we just told you about, breaking news that an armed man had in fact breached security at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv and he was threatening to commit suicide. That report first coming to us from The Associated Press. We're getting some details now from Israeli media reports. Apparently, large forces have now been dispatched to the embassy. It happened around 2:45 p.m. The embassy employees reported apparently that an Arab-speaking man jumped the fence, entered the building with a gun, pointed at his own head. And there are reports that he is, in fact, requesting asylum. The Israeli police couldn't enter the compound because it's considered to be British territory, and the British Embassy also saying that they could not respond to the event. So obviously that's going to be something that's up for a lot of investigation later. The whole area is closed right now, opened to traffic. Police everywhere. We'll update you on what's happening there. This is some breaking news coming to us we're confirming now with officials in Israel Miles.
[M. O'brien:] Well, we'll have more on the investigation into Sunday'Comair crash in a moment. The air traffic controller on duty was working on just a couple of hours' sleep. Is that a factor in all of this? Ultimately, it is the pilot in command, the flight crew, who has the responsibility in all that. We're going to talk to an expert and ask him about whether the system in general is just stretched too thin.
[S. O'brien:] Also ahead this morning, your morning "House Call." We'll take a look at how fruit or vegetable juice could reduce your risk for Alzheimer's.
[M. O'brien:] And later, you've got a pink slip. RadioShack employees find out they no longer have a job in a rather heartless way. Stay with us.