[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] All right, we've got a lot going on. We're going to begin with an update on some breaking news that has unfolded this morning. Word from Afghanistan now that two International Security Assistance for service members are missing. They are members of the coalition force in Afghanistan survey. Afghan intelligence sources say the two missing troops are Americans and they were abducted south of Kabul. NATO's command says they were last seen yesterday leaving Kabul. The search for both missing troops now is ongoing. We'll update you as we learn more information. Meantime let's turn to weather. It was a big threat, earlier. Now, let's just call it a lot weaker and less of a worry. The second named tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is winding down as it approaches the U.S. Gulf Coast. Bonnie was the name, it is now just a tropical depression and let's check in with our meteorologist, Reynolds Wolf and Jacqui Jeras. They've been keeping close tabs on this storm. Reynolds is in New Orleans, Jacqui is here in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Jacqui, let's begin with you. Do we still call it Bonnie even though it's a tropical depression?
[Jacqui Jeras, Cnn Meteorologist:] Yes, you sill can, until it's a remnant low, then it loses its name. Or we can call it "what's left of Bonnie." But it is still a tropical depression and it does still have some threats with it. It's been weakening very significantly and that's been some good news because of the impact on the oil spill. Of course, all the vessels have moved on out, and so that's rather unfortunate, but the seas, we think for the most part, are seeing rather minimal. The tide will be maybe one to three feet above average, but as the winds move in a little stronger, southeasterly, later on tonight, that can push any of that existing oil that's out there a little closer towards the shoreline. We don't expect this thing to strengthen any longer. In fact it's possible that it could even continue weaken a little bit as it gets closer to shore. We've got this upper level area of low pressure over here in the northwestern gulf and that provides what we call windshears, strong winds, which have been really just knocking this storm out. You really need light winds for a storm to develop anymore. Landfall is expected for later on tonight. We're expecting to see showers and thundershowers continuing and kind of increasing a bit throughout the day, today, and expecting to see anywhere between one and three inches. Now, speaking of rainfall, oh, my goodness, it has been a real mess across parts of the Midwest the last couple of days. The Chicagoland area, in particular, getting hit very hard this morning. Quite a bit of flooding across the area. If we have those pictures, go ahead and roll them. The rivers have been rising, as well as the small streams and creeks. And there you can see this in the suburbs, but we've also had a lot of downtown, too, and some of the major interstate has been closed down at times due to some of that high water. If you've been trying to travel, it's been a mess at the airports, too. O'Hare has canceled dozens of flights and we're in contact with them right trying to get a better handle on just how many, but I know at least 60 have been canceled there for today. Storms could become severe later on today. We'll be watching the Midwest, Great Lakes and on into the northeast for that threat. And south of this system, oh, my goodness, is the heat on. There are millions of people today that could very well be experiencing the hottest day of the summer. Oh, yeah, not fun. The heat index well into the triple digits. This is New York City, Philly, D.C., Baltimore, down to Raleigh.
[Whitfield:] A hundred to 110?
[Jeras:] Yeah. St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, so many cities being impacted by this, Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] Unbearable.
[Jeras:] It is. And it's really dangerous.
[Whitfield:] Not heat index. Not feels like.
[Jeras:] Well, some cities will see a triple digits. Like, Washington, D.C., could hit maybe 102. But most of them will see upper 90s, like 97, say in New York City for today, but it will be feeling like about 105 to 110, this afternoon.
[Whitfield:] Oh my, stay in the shade. Mom and dad, you stay inside.
[Jeras:] And then throw Bonnie into the mix for the southern states. That's just going to increase with the humidity.
[Whitfield:] Oh, bad hair days, man. That's what humidity that's the translation for me on humidity. Don't go outside. Really bad hair day. All right, thanks, Jacqui. Appreciate that. All right, well, weak or not, we're talking about that system called Bonnie. There are those in the gulf who have been a little nervous about it and that's why during the cleanup efforts, had to evacuate some of the ships that were in the area, a lot of personnel. Our Reynolds Wolf is actually in New Orleans to give us update about what now as this storm kind of crumbles. Do they kind of very quickly kind of resume efforts, there? What's the window of opportunity?
[Reynolds Wolf, Cnn Meteorologist:] Well, it looks like it's going to take a little bit of time for the storm to die down. I mean, even though the storm is falling apart, which is some great news, I mean, the water is still going to be pretty rough out there. So, we've got many ships that are still in harbor, but latest information that we have that one particular ship, the developing driller 3, the ship that is responsible for drilling in the first relief well is already starting to venture out. This ship is designed, actually, handles some fairly rough seas and that's what they're going to be experiencing out there today. You know, there still is a handful of ships that happen to be out there. They're mainly handling the ROBs the Underwater Robotic Cameras, keeping a very sharp eye on that cab, which is actually holding pretty well. The pressure going up just a little bit, but everything seems well for the time being. So, they will remain busy out there. The ships, again, that skeleton crew, if you will, just keeping a very sharp eye on things. I can tell you, though, Fredricka, things have been fairly busy on land. You have a lot of crews along the coastline that have been putting out some addition boom in case the tides, and of course, the heavier wave actually starts pushing some of that oil closer shore. They're taking those steps to actually kind of hold that stuff back. At the same time, places like Grand Isle, Louisiana, are not only taking those steps, but also trying to take some steps that will help them in the pocketbook. They've got an investment today to start at 10:00 Local Time it will go until 8:00 tonight and it is called Island Aid 2010. So, trying to do what they can to earn up some money to certainly help out some people that have just been decimated by really tough times as far as tourism is considered. You know, obviously we already have a tough economy, unemployment's high, but then with the oil spill, a lot of people hurting and that's one step that may help.
[Whitfield:] All right. Thanks so much, Reynolds. I said you were in New Orleans, didn't I? Grand Isle, Louisiana. There you are. All right. Thanks so much. Oh, OK, I was right, you are in New Orleans. All right, Reynolds Wolf. Thanks so much. Holding down the fort, there, in New Orleans. You know, I recognized the tunes there, off St. Charles. So, that's why I knew where you were. Anyway, OK, bye-bye. All right, we're also keeping a close watch on North Korea. It's ratcheting up its treats against the United States. Today Pyongyang warned that they will use a "powerful nuclear deterrent" to respond to joint U.S.South Korean military exercises planned for tomorrow. About 8,000 military personnel expected to take part in the drill off the South Korean coast. The U.S. says the exercises are in response to the deadly sinking of a South Korean ship blamed on the north. So2 years in office, president Obama is still popular with African-Americans, but a new CNNOpinion Research Poll suggests that he's much less popular with white voters. CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser has been crunching the numbers.
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Deputy Political Director:] Fred, our new poll suggested African-Americans don't see eye-to-eye with white over some crucial issues. Let's start with President Barack Obama. More than nine out of 10 respondents in our new CNNOpinion Research Cooperation national survey say they approve of how Mr. Obama is handling his duties in the White House, but the president's approval rating drops to 57 percent among Hispanics and down to 37 percent among whites. According to the poll, nearly six in 10 African-Americans say they think race relations will always be a problem. That's up 14 points from last year. The number of whites think race relations will always be a problem here in the U.S. is up five points from last year to 47 percent. What about the year-and-a-half-old Tea Party movement? Our survey indicates that a quarter of you believe that almost all or most Tea Party supporters are prejudice against minorities with another 35 percent saying that at least some are prejudice. Our polls also suggests that those numbers clime when asked only of black respondents Fred.
[Whitfield:] All right, Thanks so much, Paul. African-American farmers owned monetary settlements by the federal government. We'll dig deeper into a big issue, this week. Concerns about racism within the Agriculture Department, as well.