and water is the reason why. you're looking at where prattsville, new york, used to be. prattsville, parts of it are gone. the town of 600, parts of it washed away. everyone got away safely but don't have much to return to. of course, compared to jop pin, missouri, she was stranded there by rising floodwaters and joins us shortly. still stranded there tonight. irene dumped as much as a foot of rain on to full rivers and reservoirs. look at that truck trying to get through. that water has to go through somewhere. this scene in new jersey where big military trucks are having a hard time getting around. rivers and streams overflowing. some above record flood levels or soon to be. largely because of the damage could hit $7 billion making it one of the ten most expensive disasters in american history, as many as 5 million are still without people. lines are down nearly everywhere. several have been electrocuted. some have drowned. the death toll rose to 27. first how we got there, saturday, 7:30 a.m. hurricane irene makes its first landfall as a category 1 hurricane. waves slammed the north carolina coastline as the storm packs winds of up to 85 miles an hour. >> look this way. nothing but rain. the sea is absolutely white. awe churned up, whipped by this wind. and again we're getting hit with some of those strong gusts right now. >> what you're looking at here is houses that are about underwater in places, and this is the bogue sound. you can see that. you're looking out right now at the bogue sound that has come inland here, and there goes the camera. you can feel the wind and the rain. we have waves literally racing inland. >> irene drops more than 15 inches of rain here, causing massive flooding before moving north. in virginia, rivers swell. neighborhood streets fill with water. >> this is normally a rod but it has turned into a huge lake. and it's about a few blocks long and about three to four feet deep. that's way too deep for your car. >> irene is still a category 1 hurricane when it hits new jersey early sunday morning. heavy winds and driving rain pound the shoreline. >> these waves are scary. >> in long beach, new york, waves surged beyond sand barriers to protect the city. >> you get a certain of this. this is the boardwalk and it's breached it. street flooding as i can see still huge. >> a very serious storm, a category 1 storm. there have been fatalities. >> let's get out of here! get out of here! grab the m. c. >> new york city is spared the brunt of the storm, only heavy rain and some flooding in some areas of lower manhattan. but as irene continues north, vermont is pummelled. >> i was just woken up about 15 minutes ago with a policeman knocking on my door telling me it was time to get out of town because we are flooded. >> hotels and residents are quickly evacuated as waters raged through battle borough cresting the banks of the river. >> it's all the way through route 9 and bridges are out. main street is closed here in brattleboro. haven't seen it like this in a long time. >> reporter: with the waters continuing to rise in rivers and creeks in many states, heavy flooding could be a major problem in the days to come. it's amazing how fast that water is moving. that's the breaking fuss right now. waters still rising, vermont facing the worst flooding since 1927. 260 roads affected. numerous bridges including some right off of a picture postcard. one of those covered bridges just getting overcome with water, the water final rell treating in places but still cresting or yet to crest in others. gary tuchman joins us from. gary, what's the situation there? >> anderson, we're in the northern part of vermont near the state's biggest city of burlington, and these are the waters from the wimuski river. but we're nowhere near the wimuski river. the river is behind me about a quarter mile. this is a street and flooding in northern vermont is just starting to crest an hour after the worst tropical storm came through. but the worst damage and the worst devastation is in the southern part of the state where we spent much of the day, and that's where creeks and brooks became raging rapids, hundreds of places that were in some cases just ponds where children used to swim became rapids. and in three cases, fatalities, three people have been confirmed dead in vermont, another person is missing but it was incredible, the sights we saw. in one particular place, we saw rapids going through a building, a building that collapsed. and was hanging precarious over the waters. old-timers we talked to had never seen anything like this. the state had never seen flooding like this for more than eight decades. fortunately, the waters have receded in southern part of vermont, but many homes are flooded and what we see during these catastrophes, the flooding has receded, but the problems don't, because many homes, hundreds of homes in the state of vermont are flooding flood right now, and as soon as these waters start to recede, these homeowners will see their homes are full of mud, too, with a lot of repairs to make. in the state of vermont, it's known for its green mountains, but it's inland, it's not known for hurricanes and tropical storms, and the people are suffering greatly today. back to you. >> and, gary, how long has the water been at that height at that location? >> reporter: well, right now it's really in the process of cresting. within the next couple of hours, authorities believe it will diminish, and they think by tomorrow, all this water, a huge amount of water with a very strong current, they think it will all be gone. that's what's amazing about hurricanes and tropical storms. you see all this water, and you can't imagine it disappearing but it does. one of the cases of this is where we spent a lot of time. this water will disappear, but the mud will remain, the problems will remain for a long time. >> no doubt about it. gary, be careful out there. a few hours west, a small town has suffered major damage. more video here of the area around prattsville, new york, a town established back in 1824. briefly a boom town thanks to local hemlock trees that were used for processing, but until the weather hit, there were about 80 homes occupied in prattsville. megan crews and our photographer both from kynn are responsible for the video you're seeing. i spoke to her a short time ago. megan, you said last night this town looked like it had been wiped off the map. >> reporter: oh, definitely. we arrived here probably in the late afternoon, and we didn't know what prattsville looks like. i mean, this is not in our usual coverage area, but when we came here, it was just all water. i would not have known there was an established community unless somebody had said, see that house there? there is supposed to be other houses around there. >> and you've been trapped there since last night, right? >> reporter: i have. i have. let me give you an idea of the flooding so you understand why we were probably trapped here last night. if you can follow me, can you see where the creek is right now? imagine where i'm standing, that creek flooded to this point and actually a mile out of town, even more. so definitely this is flooding that no one has ever seen here before, and, yes, all the other smaller roads around this area have been flooded, so we're being told that there is no way for us to get out. >> so for residents there, what comes next? what will they be able to go back to their homes? >> reporter: it's on a case-by-case basis. some people, their homes have been flooded throughout the basement, others not so much, or more, actually, so they're staying at the area's two shelters or they're staying with family and friends on higher ground. it's different for every person, but a lot of people have been affected. if you could see the video we shot, i mean, this town has just been devastated. there are parts of the main street that there are plots of land that people are like, there used to be a gas station there, there used to be a home there, and all it is is land that's been completely swept away. right now it's just recovery on their mind. >> at this point, do oflts have a toll of how many properties have been destroyed, how many homes? >> reporter: no. they're still serurveying the area. what they do know is of the 800 residents in this town, all have been accounted for. they did have to rescue some people on sunday, but in terms of the people, they're fine, and they're still evaluating the property. >> and you're going to stay tonight for the same reason. >> reporter: that's what i just heard. my assignment said they've spoken to the sheriff and the roads around us have not been open yet. i don't know, i'm hoping i can try to figure something out, but yes, it seems we might have to stay here another night. >> it's great they were able to rescue all the folks and no one lost a life or was really injured. megan cruz, good luck to you and your crew. appreciate the work and thanks very much. >> reporter: thank you. no problem. let's turn now to the bigger picture and where things go from here with chad myers in the cnn weather center. >> just a lot of flooding still to go, because all this water that's up a hill has to come down a hill. we have all these purple maps now, all these purple spots. i want you to be able to go tonight to something called water.weather.gov. if you're in any of these areas where the water has to run downhill to get to the ocean or to the sound, even whether it's new jersey or up into vermont or on up into lake champlain, you can see what your creek or stream is forecast to do. it's a great website. you may want to take a hard look at what to expect. some people in north carolina had no idea what they were going to expect today, tornadoes. big storms right now. here's raleigh and those tornadoes, spinning storms headed out to the ocean, headed out toward the outer banks where they can't even get out of there at this point in time. the next thing i want to show you is what rutland, vermont looks like. can't even get out of town. i talked to our i-reporters there. mr. ritter said can't get out of town at all. all the bridges are gone. then tropical depression number 12. i know you wanted to hear about that. it's katia, k-a-t-i-a, katia is the pronunciation. it replaced the name katrina because it's the six-year anniversary of katrina today, and they recycle names every six years. katrina's name will never come back. katia forecast a category 2 hurricane in five days. not too far from where irene was, but this looks more like a right-turning gutter ball than a landfalling hurricane. anderson, we all know about the forecasts, how they can come and go, turn left and right. still too early to tell. we'll keep watching. >> you see the pictures and hear the reporting and wonder what you can do. you can get involved if you want. go to cnn.com/impact if you want to help those in the affected areas. we're going to stay on the story throughout the hour, update you on any new developments. let us know what you think. we're on facebook. i'll try to tweet some tonight. up next, a cnn exclusive, nic robertson locating the pan am 103 bomber, the one who was let out of prison to die. the only person held responsible for the bombing of that plane for all those deaths. stayed alive for two years after getting out of prison. he appears to be in pretty rough shape right now. you'll hear from his family about the outlook and what's happening in libya. self-proclaimed prophet and convicted sex offender and child rapist warren jeffs. the latest on his condition, and his condition has taken a turn for the worse. we'll tell you why he is now in a coma. he looks completely different than he did just a few weeks ago in trial. whether the state can keep him alive against his will. isha? >> new reports tonight in the disappearance of robyn gardner who disappeared in aruba. reports that the man she went there with made what sounds like a stunning admission and we'll see what authorities are doing about it in crime and punishment. that and more when "360" continues. anananananananannounc] this...is the network. a living, breathing intelligence that's helping drive the future of business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ machines have a voice. ♪ medical history follows you. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities... committed to delivering the most advanced mobile broadband experience to help move business... forward. ♪ [ male announcer ] it's been a good year for the chevy silverado. and not because of the awards or the accolades. no, it was good because you told us so. the chevy model year wrap up. get in on our greatest model year yet. just announced -- celebrate labor day with an additional $500 bonus cash. with all other offers, including the all-star edition discount, that's a total value of $6,500. ♪ our greatest model year yet is wrapping up. -woohoo! -yes! ♪ it was the best day ♪ it was the best day yeah! ♪ it was the best day ♪ because of you [echoing] we make a great pair. huh? progressive and the great outdoors. we make a great pair. right, totally. uh... that's what i was thinking. covering the things that make the outdoors great. call or click today. a lot of news out of libya tonight. the claim that one of the dictator's sons is dead. he was head of the 42nd brigade. that's a video of him visiting children in a hospital, reportedly killed in battle. he died in a local hospital and was buried nearby. meantime, gadhafi's wife, his daughter asha, and two sons, hannibal and muhammad, have fled. they left behind a dent life. lifestyle, now a rebel commander plays where gadhafi's sons used to party. this compound of opulent beachside villas is dripping with every luxury imaginable. it's ransacked but still looks like a hideout in a bond movie. in one we find rebels sharing out hundreds of bottles of fine bordeaux and champagne. each bottle worth hundreds of dollars. but amid this decadence, there were acts of unspeakable cruelty. this house belongs to hannibal gadhafi and what went on in here was truly horrendous. a 30-year-old ethiopian man who describes how she was horribly tortured by hannibal's wife. >> she took me to a bathroom and tied my hands behind my back and tied my feet. she taped my mouth. she started pouring the boiling water on my head like this. >> a crime she says she refused to beat hannibal's toddler who wouldn't stop crying. she was scalded twice. the most recent was three months ago. her wounds are still raw and weeping. >> we'll knock on the door and see if we can get any answer. hello? for 15 minutes or so, nothing. i'm not sure if they've heard me. let's try the last-ditch means which is shouting over the wall. hello? hello? then all of a sudden someone comes. nothing prepares me for what i see. megrahi apparently in a coma. his aging mother at his side. >> oxygen and -- >> we just give him oxygen and nobody give us the advice and some food by injection. >> reporter: he had been expected to die almost two years ago but convict ed pan am 103 bomber abdel al megrahi lives. this wasn't the way he looked when he was released from a scottish jail two years ago. he came home to a hero's welcome. freed on compassionate grounds because doctors said he would be dead in three months. >> nic robertson joins us fromship along with ar want damon. >> do we know anything about the circumstances? as you know, opposition forces have claimed, you know, before they've captured or killed people and it turns out not to be the case. >> reporter: that's right. in fact they have claimed khamis was killed on a number of occasions and that turned out not to be true. they are saying now he was killed in battle on sunday around 40 miles to the southeast of tripoli. they say they buried his body in the desert but they have put forward no real evidence. there's no images to corroborate their claims. they have in the past made allegations that certain members of gadhafi's family were detained. they then came out and admitted that that was part of this psychological warfare so until there is concrete evidence that he was killed this should be treated with a certain level of skepticism, anderson. >> so, nic, other members of the gadhafi family have fled to algeria. do we know how they were able to get there? it's not just women in the family. there are also two gadhafi sons mohamed and was it unis, i think his name is. >> reporter: yeah. >> hannibal, i'm sorry. >> reporter: mohamed and hannibal, and their children fled. i think most people believe gadhafi and his family were in the south and would have driven westward to the border with algeria. the crazy thing about the situation now, algeria is the only country that still recognizes gadhafi as a legitimate ruler here. they say they have taken the family in on humanitarian grounds. but already the national transition council here says we want them back. we want to put them on trial, unspecified charges so far. beyond that, they say if algeria doesn't hand them back, they will treat it as an act of aggression against the will of the libyan people. they're really drawing a line in the sand here. you get the impression that they don't want moammar gadhafi and anyone else going there. it's a message to the algerians, too. >> arwa, this guy, we have seen a number of sons like saif, khamis who was allegedly killed who have a very active role in the military and military in the government. do we know much about these two sons? are these the playboy sons? i know a bunch gave money to american entertainers to perform in st. bart's and clubs. are these people living off the state getting money from businesses and traveling the world. were they playboys? >> it would appear to be the case. hannibal had instances of allegations that during various visits to europe he was beating up police officers. on a number of occasions he was accused of breaking his wife's nose. as for mohamed, he is if i'm not mistaken gadhafi's oldest son, if i'm not mistaken, from a different mother from hannibal. neither of the sons have charges brought against them in the international criminal court. algeria saying it is allowing these specific family members access to the country on humanitarian grounds, but this most certainly is something that the national transitional council doesn't want to be as an option for gadhafi or any of his other family members like saif or khamis. they do not want them escaping justice. >> we have pictures of hannibal's home, now occupied by opposition members. they interviewed the nanny. she said she had been badly burned with boil iing water from hannibal's wife because she refused to beat their toddler son. quite a scene there. nic, you had remarkable images. you got into the home of the lockerbie bomber who was released by the scottish government two years ago. he looked in really bad shape. i feel like i had seen pictures of him a few months ago in which visible or at some sort of an e eve event. it looks like he's declining quickly. was that legitimate? you don't think -- he wasn't faking it while you were there, was he? >> you know, when you go into a situation like that you think in the back of your mind, are they faking it? i saw megrahi two years ago. he was about ten feet from me on a stage at an event after he came back to libya. he looked much better than he does now. i really got the impression that his family were tense, nervous. you got the impression they were very low at that moment really just sitting in the room there waiting for him in a way to die, if you will. he didn't look -- i kept looking. i went back to look at the video, did his eyes move, how was his head on the pillow, did it look like the pillow had been there for a long time but really when you looked at his skin, it looked very thin. when you looked at his wrists they were thin. this did look to be a man perhaps on his last days. but not being a doctor, not doing proper medical checks, you cannot say with 100% of certainty his real state of health here. >> i know the u.s. still thinks megrahi should be behind bars. the national transitional council said they wouldn't extradite him but it seems they are backtracking now, aren't they? >> they have left a bit of wiggle room here. they said, look, okay, when a government is formed they can decide and determine here. but there does seem to be a political element. they want megrahi's tribe to join the national transition council. they want them away from gadhafi. gadhafi went to great lengths to bring megrahi back to libya because megrahi is from an important powerful tribe. gadhafi wanted to keep him on site. now the council wants to win over megrahi's tribe. this is certainly one positive way they can do it, anderson. >> two questions for you very quickly, arwa ch. i hear gunfire behind. is that celebratory or is there fighting going on? and also you were taken to a compound where there were 150 or so civilian bodies or what looked like civilian bodies. what was that? >> first of all, the gunfire most definitely is celebratory, it's been going on since the rebels took over tripoli, and and it's the start of the celebration at the end of the holy month of ramadan. that location you were talking about, it was chilling. it was a small warehouse around 30 by 45 feet located on the back end of khamis' brigade headquarters. we spoke to a survivor who said he had been picked up along with his brother for no apparent reason. he was held there for 18 days. there were people there for up to six months. there were 175 of them crammed inside this tiny warehouse. one day the guards came and said that they were going to be released. then that day at sunset the door opened. everybody inside thought the guards were going to be making good on their word and they were going to finally be set free. one survivor said they threw a grenade inside the room. they began opening with gunfire indiscriminately spraying people who were trapped inside. he managed to make a run for it. it wasn't until a few days later when residents in the area felt safe enough to go back to the warehouse. when they opened the door, anderson, they found the burned, charred remains of up to what volunteers tell us was up to 150 people that appeared to have burned to death, perished inside that tiny room. >> i wish i could say that's unbelievable, but it's all too believable given what we have already seen of gadhafi's regime. nic robertson, arwa damon, i appreciate your time. thank you. still ahead, syria losing the support of a key ally due to its continued crackdown of anti-government protest. more deathed. i'll show you the videos. also the latest on the health of the polygamist leader warren jeffs. why he's listed in critical condition tonight in a texas hospital. these pictures you are looking at are from his trial. they are weeks old. we have a picture of him in prison that's pretty shocking. his followers remain committed to him. we'll look at that ahead. [ bell dings ] [ car door closes ] ♪ are you okay? yeah, i'm okay. and the truck? i got good news for you, kid. you're getting a new truck. what do you mean? i mean it's gonna cost more to fix than it's worth. besides, the truck's older than you. grab your stuff out of the truck and meet me up front. ♪ ♪ just fix it. ♪ if something is simply the color of gold, is it really worth more? we don't think so. chase sapphire preferred is a card of a different color. unlike others, you get twice the points on travel, and twice the points on dining, and no foreign transaction fees. call now or apply at chasesapphire.com/preferred. coming up shortly on "360", polygamist sect leader warren jeffs accused of sexually assaulting two kids is in critical condition in a texas hospital. these are pictures from inside the prison. he looks very different. first we have a "360" bulletin. deadly new violence in syria. security forces cracked down on anti-government protesters in a number of villages killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens more. the president of neighboring turkey long friendly to syria said he's lost confidence in bashar assad's government. dick cheney's new memoir will be released tomorrow. he's already being criticized. former secretary of state colin powell said cheney is taking cheap shots at him and members of the bush administration. president obama announced the nomination of his new economic adviser, 50-year-old alan kreuger from princeton university. if confirmed by the senate kreuger will replace austin goolsbee who is returning to academia. stocks rallied on wall street today. the nasdaq and s&p were higher. investors were encouraged that damage from hurricane irene wasn't worse, that consumer spending is up and that europe's debt crisis may be easing. anderson, it is official. beyonce is pregnant. she confirmed rumors last night at the mtv video music awards. she said she wanted to have a baby at age 30. and she turns 30 next week. she and husband jay-z were married in september 2008. how's that for having a plan and sticking to it? >> good for them. congratulations. time for tonight's the shot. people were glued to the coverage of hurricane irene. one intrepid young reporter from dia doylesdown, pennsylvania. this clip got a lot of air time. if you have seen it, it's worth watching again. >> jane haubrich reporting from doylestown, pennsylvania. the rain is coming down more than it was before. the wind is probably going faster. i think this is just the starting of it. i definitely feel it on my head just a tiny bit of rain. i think that this is probably going to be my -- i might think that it's the last of it, but if it's not, i will report back to you later. and that's about it. back to you. >> you know, she's my tv coach. you probably didn't know that. i used to take classes with her. >> you do seem to have the same hand gestures. >> yes, i'm working on the hand gestures. she taught me everything i know. >> my favorite one is at the end. she says, it's past my bedtime. i have to go now. a line i have wanted to use many times. >> all right. much more serious news ahead. polygamist leader warren jeffs in a coma tonight in a texas hospital. this is what he looked like in prison. it's a very different look from weeks ago back when he was on trial. ultimately convicted of sexually assaulting two girls he says were his spiritual wives. he's lost a lot of weight. and the missing woman in aruba. robyn gardner. a new report is making headlines about the man held in connection with her disappearance. he reportedly said, she might be dead now. when savage asked her. a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. and challenge janet who's 6 chapters ahead. [ male announcer ] with interactive learning solutions from dell, mrs. davis can make every student feel like her only student. dell. the power to do more. on "360," millions of word tonight that polygamist leader warren jeffs is in critical condition in a texas hospital. a source familiar with his condition told cnn he's in a coma. you'll recall jeffs, head of a fundamentalist offshoot, a mormon sect, was convicted earlier this month of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl and was sentenced to life behind bars. they said he was hospitalized last night. he was fasting so there wasn't enough liquid in his system. he has other medical issues as well. the booking photo with his head shaved was taken just after his conviction a few weeks ago. compare that to the older photo of him showing a full head of hair was from an fbi wanted poster a few years ago. can he still lead his church? is he still the leader? jeffs spent thousands of dollars on phone calls to his followers from jail effectively maintaining control over them. now he's a convicted sex offender in state prison and contact with the outside world is much more limited. right now that's not an issue as gary tuchman found out up close. >> reporter: warren jeffs may be in prison for the rest of his life, but in the border town of colorado city, arizona and hi hillandale, utah, where thousands of his followers live, he is still the prophet. >> do you believe the evidence they showed the jury? >> i know that the government can do that. >> reporter: it's a mon sentiment here. even though jeffs did not deny having sex with minors during his trial, the court has even released audio of jeffs coaxing his victims. >> you have to know how to be excited sexually and to be exciting, to administer that comfort and strength. and you have to be able to assist each other. no one just stands around. everyone assists. and you have to be prepared to be trained to do this, against the time i would need your help, the lord's help, through you. so listen carefully, as the lord intended that my ladies, all of my ladies, be trained. >> reporter: but despite the evidence there remains strong suspicions here of the world outside the polygamist church, including suspicion of reporters, now even more so. >> i want to see if i can ask you a quick question. my name is gary tuckman of cnn. i was hoping i could just ask a question. >> pardon me. >> reporter: i was at the trial of warren jeffs in texas where he was convicted. did you know about that conviction? did you know he was convicted? if you don't want to talk, that's fine. >> i'm not interested. >> reporter: are you not interested in talking to me? did you know he was on trial last week? is there anything you want to say about warren jeffs? willie jessup used to be one of warren jeffs' right-hand men until jessup realized jeffs was molesting children. jeffs' followers are warned not to pay attention to the news, and if they speak to reporters -- >> they will be instantaneously excommunicated from the church. they would remove all the privileges of the community. >> reporter: were you aware he was even on trial last week? were you aware of that? miss, can i ask you a quick question? can i ask you a quick question, ma'am? do you know what happened in that trial? >> i don't know anything about it. >> reporter: you don't want to know anything about it? how come? >> just don't want to. >> reporter: if i told you would that owe fend you? the jury found him guilty. >> i don't want to know anything about him. >> reporter: how come you don't if you don't mind me asking? >> i know the information i need to know. >> reporter: it's always difficult to talk to members of the lds on camera, not because they're particularly unfriendly, it's because they're paranoid, they're downright scared. i've later talked to members that were excommunicated. but this flds follower named emile made the decision to talk to you. do you believe this is a persecution of religion? >> you have to go back and analyze who hung jesus christ on the cross. >> reporter: so you're comparing warren jeffs to jesus christ? >> they're in the same position. >> reporter: is he still your prophet? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: even though he's in prison? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: arnold richter was excommunicated from the church earlier this year for criticism of warren jeffs. how many mothers do you have? >> i've got five. >> reporter: he believes the conviction makes more influential than ever. >> he can build an image and he is not there to physically get in the way of that image. >> reporter: so he's basically become a martyr? >> he has. >> reporter: the jury did not believe warren jeffs, but his devoted followers still do. gary tuckman, cnn, colorado city, arizona. up next on "crime and punishment." new information about the missing woman in aruba and what the man being held for her disappearance said, she may be dead now. the question is what did he mean by that exactly? we'll talk to martin savidge who's been on the case. why conan o'brien made it to tonight's ridiculist. ♪ there's another way to minimize litter box odor: purina tidy cats. tidy cats premium line of litters now works harder to help neutralize odors in multiple-cat homes. and our improved formula also helps eliminate dust. so it's easier than ever to keep your house smelling just the way you want it. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. setting that goal to become a principal. but, i have to support my family, so how do i go back to school? university of phoenix made it doable. a lot of my instructors were principals in my district. i wouldn't be where i am without that degree. my name is dr. carrie buck. i helped turn an at-risk school into an award winning school, and i am a phoenix. 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"crime and punishment" tonight, a startling new report about the american woman missing in aruba and what the man who is in custody told investigators in the early hours after the search. robyn gardner was last seen august 2nd. the man she was with, gary giordano, said they disappeared shortly after they were together. tonight abc is reporting that police started talking to giordano shortly after they began talking, looked at his watch and said, she might be dead now. local fishermen told abc that he seemed very drunk when he reported her missing. martin savidge joins us live. when you talked to the aruban authorities, what do they make of this guy giordano telling searchers she might be dead now? >> when i first asked them, he laughed. he thought the minutia of the phrases were getting crazy. that said, he said we don't really see that as being so incriminating. keep in mind, the search had been going on for a couple hours, it was dark, she hadn't been found. they had divers in the water. she was not an expert swimmer. so for gary giordano to look at his watch after, say, two hours, and say, she is probably dead now. they look at it as a fatalistic comment and not a damning statement. >> we know he told investigators they didn't purchase alcohol at the restaurant. sorries said he was so drunk investigators couldn't even talk to him. do we know anything about his demeanor or condition in the hours after gardner disappeared? >> well, a couple of things we know they didn't administer a breath analysis. so we don't know if he was legally drunk. investigators say there was no alcohol consumed at the bar, there was no alcohol on the bar tab which was the last place he was seen. however, there was a closed circuit camera that noticed a couple times gary went to the car and came back. seemed a bit mysterious, but then authorities found cups in the car and put two and two together. oh, this guy doesn't like to pay for his drinks in a bar. instead they find it cheaper to mix drinks in the car and do it that way. so it's possible they could have consumed a lot of alcohol without necessarily drinking it in plain public, in sight in a bar. >> that obviously would -- the presence of alcohol would, i guess, cast doubt on the story about them going diving. that's not the only part of the story that raises eyebrows, though. >> reporter: no. what's interesting is that from the get-go, police began having their suspicions, particularly this story about the snorkeling accident. because that particular beach where they were snorkeling, it can be pretty treacherous, however, that day it was calm and i don't mean just slightly calm, it was extraordinarily calm. it was incredibly calm. in fact, authorities say it's rarely ever that calm. and the first responders that went in the water, i've had contact with them and they said we didn't feel the current. we didn't feel the water trying to get us back. they didn't have to struggle like gary giordano said she did. from that very description he gave, they began to think, boy, this is not adding up right. >> the bottom line, she is still missing and the search is still going on. martin savidge, appreciate the reporting. there is actually a lot happening tonight. isha is back. >> late word tonight that homeland security janet napolitano and other obama administration officials will visit vermont and virginia tomorrow for recovery efforts. officials at yellowstone say a hiker found dead was the victim of a grizzly bear attack. 5-year-old john wallace's body was found friday. autopsies showed he died from traumatic injuries after being mauled by a bear. it's the second fatal bear attack at yellowstone this summer. in mexico five gang members confessed to last week's deadly casino fire. they set fire to the casino because the owners wouldn't go along with their extortion demands. 52 people died in the fire. a los angeles judge ruled today that details of michael jackson's sexual molestation case are off limits for the upcoming trial of jackson's doctor, conrad murray. the defense wanted a detective to testify about drugs found in the search related to the molestation case. the judge said those events are too far in the past to be brought up at conrad murray's trial. another reason to call michael vick the comeback kid. michael vick signed a million-dollar contract. vick joined the eagles in 2009 after serving nearly two years in prison on federal dog fighting charges. he led the team to a title last year. and l -- hln's nancy grace will be competing on the new season of "dancing with the stars." the competition will include, among others, david arquette, ricki lake, and chaz bono. we'll be watching, nancy. now back to anderson. coming up, the ridiculist. in a head-to-head battle with conan o'brien in a winner take all over who has the best hair. all i can say is, don't count your chickens, conan. ananananan] this...is the network. a living, breathing intelligence that's helping drive the future of business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ machines have a voice. ♪ medical history follows you. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities... committed to delivering the most advanced mobile broadband experience to help move business... forward. ♪ ♪ got so many scratches and scars ♪ ♪ maybe time can mend us together again ♪ ♪ it's not what we've done but how far we've come ♪ ♪ i know that we will recover [ male announcer ] here when you need us most. the ridiculist is back, and tonight we're adding the demon follicles that reside on the head of one mr. conan o'brien. now, i don't know if you heard about this but some reports came out about an online poll asking who has the best head of hair on television. conan came in first. i was chosen second. a close second, but second nonetheless. now, in my defense it is hard to compete with a mane that can be molded into a giant pompadour. and it's true. conan can do more tricks than i can. >> we use a german cement that isn't made anymore. we inject it into this part right here and little steel girders are inserted. this is structurally very sound. look what i can do. look at that. can mike wallace do that? >> no. >> i didn't think so. >> i can. i'm not afraid to admit it, it stung a little coming in second. over the years, i've spent countless hours and thousands of dollars at top salons in new york city. i try all the latest cutting edge hair products, and i'm not afraid to take risks with my hairstyles as you see over the years. all right, the truth is i pay a very nice man named isaac $6 with a $4 tip basically on the treat, and it looks the same every time. but still, how could i possibly lose to conan o'brien, to this guy? now, the report came out a couple -- seriously, how could i have lost to this guy? i don't get it. all right. the report came out. here's a baby who has conan hair, all right? i just wanted to share that. now, the report came out a couple days ago and maybe i shouldn't have let it get to me. after all, in the poll, i came in way, way ahead of fabio. i came ahead of ashton kutcher and even mario lopez. i left them all in the dust, but it's conan's hair, that to usled mess of cotton candy that haunts my dreams. so i ended up writing this on twitter. damn you, conan o'brien, your ginger wave is number one. i'll take number two, i guess. and he actually answered, sorry, as long as there's blood in my scalp, my hair shall defeat yours. maniacal laughter. not so fast, mr. o'brien, not so fast because guess what, oh, yeah, we checked the poll again today and, oh, oh what do we have here? it seems the crimson tide has turned a shiny silver. that's right. check out who is number one. that would be one anderson cooper. conan o'brien is number two. bam! sorry, team coco. if you want to jump ship to team cuckoo, you'll be welcomed with open arms. god, i hope that team cuckoo doesn't stick. read it and weep, read it and weep. anderson cooper, number one. wait a minute. 24 votes. is that right? fabio, 14 votes? why is fabio even on this list? 70 votes total for the entire survey? whatever, so it isn't some huge gallup poll. is the victory any less sweet just because it comes from a view dozen people voting on the pert plus facebook page? i think not. it's not about how large the playing field is but who wins and i won fair and square, which is what i like to call my hairstyle, the fair and square.