stand, reports of explosions near a compound where he may be hiding. and i'm carol costello. a new poll predicting a tight race in 2012, whether obama versus romney, bachmann, perry or paul on this "american morning." good morning to you. it is tuesday, august 23rd. this is "american morning." we have a lot going on today here. this weather in the united states. >> that's right. >> politics and, of course the developments in libya. >> start with breaking news in the battle for libya this morning. the arabic news network al arabiya reporting explosions near the compound where moammar gadhafi is believed to be hiding, this coming as the regime is teetering on the bring of collapse. nobody has seen gadhafi since the opposition rolled into tripoli over the weekend. >> his son, saif al islam, made a surprise appearance after the libyan opposition claimed they captured him. he showed up at a western hotel with journalists and spoke to matthew chance and said his father is alive and well in tripoli. the international criminal court apparently was negotiating his transfer to the hague when that happened. >> in this really strange encounter, saif even invited cnn out on the town, which is currently under siege. listen to this. >> >> let's go. >> no. >> go. >> wait, i have to -- >> no. we have to -- i have to move right away. >> may i get a picture, sir? >> victory. >> that is remarkable. unclear what he meant when he said i'll take you to the hottest places in tripoli. we don't know what that means -- >> night clubs. >> hottest battle places or night clubs. another one of sis hiss siblings, mohammed gadhafi, whose capture was recorded live on al jazeera on the phone, escaped yesterday according to the libyan ambassador to the united states. escaped what seemed to be a house arrest of some sort. >> some people say he was hijacked. the rebel group said he was hijacked. it's unclear what is going on. >> unclear what is going on? in the meantime the fierce battle rages on for control of parts of tripoli. this is a youtube video posted yesterday taken from inside a family's home. black smoke rising all around them. the sounds of machine gunfire and a rocket-propelled grenade launch. you can hear one woman calling for help from god. >> all right. reports now in libya of explosions near a compound where gadhafi may be hiding. ar what damon live from tripoli's airport waiting to see if it's safe enough to go on the streets this morning. good morning, arwa. what's the latest on the reported exploixs at the gadhafi compound. what do we know now about that? >> well, christine, the gadhafi compound has really been the focus of some of the most intense fighting, ever since rebel fighters began their initial push into tripoli. what we are now hearing is there are ongoing sounds of explosions, smoke rising above that part of the capital. we're around 15 miles to the south at the tripoli international airport that rebel fighters captured yesterday. they said that fighting has been quite intense, what they have managed to do is clear the area to the west of the airport and now they're running probing missions to the east and up north. there is a straight shot from here all the way to the compound, but they fully anticipate there is going to be a fairly intense battle because on that road there are many significant military positions. gadhafi military positions. there is, for example, a refueling station, there is also an oil storage facility but must to the east there are two main military compounds. they're telling us right now they're trying to push forward very slowly, trying to see what kind of resistance they encounter before they begin to pull back. they most certainly expect a very fierce battle ahead. >> arwa, al jazeera, reporting rebel fighters are closing in within 500 meters of that compound. the opposition saying that sleeper cells have secretly armed residents helped them take tripoli. what can you tell us about that? >> that's right. we heard that from the fighters we are with. seems as if the rebels established these sleeper cells early on in the uprising in various neighborhoods and these sleeper cells, based on what we're told v a fairly complex chain of command. and the minute they received the word go, that the operation to try to attack tripoli was going to be taking place s they all rose up as well and joined in the effort. however, although we are hearing from opposition fighters that they do control or they say that they control most of the capital and they say that they especially control the areas to the west, at the very same time they are saying that they have been forced back from certain positions as gadhafi forces appear to have regrouped and launched various counter attacks. >> all right. arwa damon at the airport in tripoli, thank you so much. let's get back to gadhafi's sons, shall we? our matthew chance, as you saw a moment ago, spoke with saif gadhafi. his appearance coming after reports of his capture. it may prove that the opposition is as good at spinning as the guy they're trying to topple. matthew with more on his strange encounter with saif gadhafi. >> all this cur fufle in the lobby of the hotel. i was woken up around my room, ran downstairs and everyone pointing at this white armored land cruiser saif is the in there. i walked in, knocked on the door, he was about to drive off. it opened up, i said saif, i need to see you with my own eyes. i leaned in, i turned on the light on the ceiling of the -- in the back seat of this land cruiser. there he was. i took a photograph of him. and i asked him about where his father was. he said all of his family are in tripoli. he went on to say that, you know, it was all a trick, the rebels coming in to tripoli, that we've now broken their backbone. and we've given them a hard time. he then invited me to get into the car and to drive around tripoli so he could prove how, you know, how much it was under the government's control. but before i had to chance to do that, the door closed and he drove off. but it was quite incredible because i mean, as we've been discussing, we all thought the rebels had reported, the icc, international criminal courts in the hague, had confirmed, we believed, he was in the custody of the rebels. he's not, he's free and driving around tripoli. one correspondent that's been here much longer than me said that, you know, the thing is about libya, the trouble is with reporting it, is that kind of lying is the national sport. obviously it was a little tongue in cheek. but, you know, the fact is both sides in this conflict have been, you know, spinning us a line, both sides have been exaggerating, both sides have been telling us untruths, and it's been very difficult, all along, for the whole -- for the past six months it's been difficult picking through that and trying to get to the truth or as close to it as we can. this was another, you know, really vivid example of that. >> of course the most disturbing part of this, saif gadhafi, was supposedly running the country in the place of his father. he was his closest political adviser and there were reports that the international criminal court in the hague, it was preparing to try this guy. >> yeah. >> matthew chance we're trying to get him on the phone. we believe the power might be out in the hotel. he's still trapped in that hotel in tripoli. >> there are developments in libya and we're following them closely. >> we could learn more about these reported strikes during a nato briefing that is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. eastern. people will update us on the libya mission and we'll carry that live. we've got continuing breaking news here in the united states. the first atlantic hurricane of the season is now a category 2 storm headed toward the southeast united states. president obama has declared an emergency for puerto rico. the storm causing floods, landslides and power outages there. earlier this morning the storm kicked up dangerous surf along the northern coast of the dominican republic. irene is also flooding streets and knocking down trees. the track of the storm is -- which is predicted, by the way, to be a category 4 by later this week, a very serious storm, could be anywhere from florida to virginia, some tracks have it just off of land, some have it on land. the folks in the carolinas are preparing now for possible evacuations. also along the coast officials are warning residents and vacationers to start reviewing their emergency plans. emergency officials are also checking truck, fork lifts, generators and computers to make sure everything is working. jacqui jeras joins us live now in the cnn hurricane headquarters. unusual this storm could take a track that makes it substantially more powerful after crossing over land and wide swath of united states in that cone of uncertainty, jacqui. >> yeah. all signs really point towards huge intensification here, ali. the main reason why this is a stronger storm than what we thought over the weekend, is because the position that it's in right now. the center of the storm is just north of the dominican republic and the computer models initially brought it over the land. had this moved over the island those mountains would have ripped this thing apart and a weaker storm. in the meantime it stays over the warm water which is going to allow it to get stronger and make irene a formidable storm, unfortunately. category 2 now. 100-mile-per-hour winds. slow to intensify today, even though it's over water it is interacting with hispaniola and going to move through the turks and caicos and bahamas on thursday and we'll feel tropical storm force conditions in parts of south florida by thursday morning. what happens after that, models bring it towards of the north and curving back. look at this huge area where this cone of uncertainty is. it includes parts of georgia and all the way up into the northeastern united states and there you can see the carolinas are in the bull's eye at this time. so things are not looking good for the pusp great to see that video, see everybody getting ready in south carolina. >> best thing you can do. can't control the hurricane. only control how you're going to react to it. jacqui, thanks very much. we'll be in touch with you and staying on top of this with cnn's team. the president of standard & poor's is stepping down. s&p's parent company mcgraw-hill announced deven sharma will leave his post which the end of the year replaced by the chief operating officer of citibank. beside's s&p downgrade of america's credit rating the agency is being investigated by the justice department for allegedly overrating mortgage backed securities at the height of the housing bubble. in politics, new evidence that next year's presidential election could be too close to call. according to a new gallup poll, president obama is running neck and neck with the top four republican presidential candidates. he's ahead of congresswoman michele bachmann by four percentage points, 48 to 44. he's tied with texas governor rick perry at 47%. the president leads congressman ron paul by two percentage points, 47 to 45. and the president trails former governor mitt romney by two percentage points, 46 to 48%. >> speaking of mitt romney, might be fair to say that mitt romney's renovation plan is going to do little to change some people's perceptions that he's -- he lives in a rarefied environment. the republican presidential candidate is reportedly planning to demolish his $12 million, 3,000 square foot ocean front home in california and replace it with a property that's nearly four times larger. these are pictures of the home he's planning to tear down. a campaign official says the two bedroom home, $12 million two bedroom home, is no longer adequate. >> isn't it la hoya. is there anything less than -- i'm just saying. it is a very -- >> it is a very expensive part of california. >> two bedrooms. >> i don't think he's going to start renovating now. he will wait until the proper time. >> yeah. people can renovate all they want. from a perception perspective, this is got that i said corporations are people. not incorrect, just he's definitely not saying the man of the people stuff. >> just saying. >> now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, why isn't america more excited about its presidential contenders. marching toward 2012 and the first republican primary, some of the most talked about an candidates are those who aren't running. want proof? young gun republican congressman paul ryan, to the chagrin of many in the gop, the arc ticket of the republican budget that would cut federal spending by $6.2 trillion, has issued a definitive no. ryan says while humbled by the encouragement, i have not changed my mind and, therefore, i am not seeking our party's nomination for president. the desire for alternative blood is as fresh as it ever was. when supporters were begging new jersey governor chris christie to run and they continue today even after he made his lack of desire crystal clear. >> i said what do i have to do short of suicide to convince people i'm not running. apparently i have to commit suicide. to convince people i'm not running. >> why can't christi and company be. because in the recent cnn poll, only 14% of republican voters say they are very satisfied with the field. ouch. it's not like democrats are jumping up and down either. 28% of democrats would rather see a candidate other than president obama nominated. a record high or low for him. there have been calls for hillary clinton to run in 2012. it makes you wonder, is there anyone out there who could inspire the entire country, anybody who would want to be president when the economy is in the toilet, and two wars continue to drag on. so the talk back question today, why isn't america more excited about its presidential contenders. facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. >> i wonder if it's a reflection of the people in the field or a reflection of the times we live in? no matter what you're not going to be satisfied because the problems are so insurmountable. >> who in his right mind would run in 2012 with things the way they are in the country. lot of tough hurdles to jump over. >> like buying stocks at the bottom, things so bad, run in 2012 and get elected ha ded -- to get better, right? >> isn't that what we thought. >> ahead on "american morning," the rape charges against dominique strauss-kahn made headlines worldwide, but turns out, prosecutors had a bigger problem. namely the credibility of the accuser. >> one of wall street's powerful ceo is laurg up. we'll tell you who it is and why after this. >> with gadhafi's regime on the brink of collapsing we could see oil production restored in libya. but will that be easy? and what can we expect to see with gas prices here in the united states? we will break it down. it's 16 minutes past the hour. 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[ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. welcome back to "american morning." the sex assault case against dominique strauss-kahn has been falling apart for weeks now. in a few hours the entire case could be history. >> a court hearing in new york today, prosecutors are expected to tell the judge that they cannot prove that the former imf chief raped a hotel maid. they're planning to ask to have the charges dismissed. making the recommendation, the manhattan d.a. says if they couldn't believe the accuser, nafissatou diallo, beyond a reasonable doubt, how do they expect a jury to do so. >> cnn's susan candiotti has been following the story since the beginning live outside the courthouse in lower manhattan. what will happen later today? >> good morning, carol. we'll find out whether the judge will accept the motion from prosecutors to dismiss the case. it boils down to two things, according to prosecutors they simply didn't believe miss diallo and they couldn't prove a rape occurred. in terms of the credibility issues they said in their words, she simply wasn't truthful in matters big and small, and when it came down to it, they couldn't prove a rape occurred. there wasn't enough physical evidence and the case would simply come down to a he said/she said. this is how the district attorney summed it up. quote -- obviously this is not sitting well with miss diallo or the lawyer who has been representing her. he maintains that she is sxleetsly believable -- completely believable, she did have enough evidence in this case, and that she cooperated fully with the authorities and he said, what is happening here simply sends the wrong signal to victims. >> manhattan district attorney, cyrus vance, has denied the right of a woman to get justice in a rape case. he has not only turned his back on this innocent victim, but he has also turned his back on the forensic, medical and other physical evidence in this case. >> and mr. thompson, miss diallo's lawyer, still has another motion out there, asking this judge to appoint a special prosecutor and throw the district attorney off the case. we'll see what happens. now obviously the lawyers for dominique strauss-kahn are pleased. we haven't heard from strauss-kahn yet. but they issued this statement. quote, mr. strauss-kahn and his family are grateful that the district attorney's office took our concerns seriously and concluded on its own that this case cannot proceed further. we'll see what happens in court this day. prosecutors say it boils down to this, quote, a prosecutor's duty is to seek justice, not simply to win cases. but really in the end, is there any winner in this case? guys, back to you. >> what a mess. susan candiotti live in lower manhattan, thanks. remember the beginning how the prosecutor said this is an unimpeachable witness we believed her from the beginning, this case is so solid, we would never go after someone of his stature without having such a solid case. what an amazing turn of events. >> for dominique strauss-kahn, it totally trashed his reputation. >> absolutely. still to come on this "ameri