into life-threatening torrents. we'll get an update in a few minutes. but first, breaking news on the international manhunt for moammar gadhafi and members of his family. several hours ago, a senior rebel commander told cnn that one of his sons, khamis gadhafi died sunday night. also today, algeria revealed it had allowed gadhafi's wife and daughter and two of his grown sons and some of his grandchildren to enter the country for what they call humanitarian reasons. nic robertson is in tripoli now. can you update us on the latest on this humanitarian so-called giving of them refuge in alge a algeria? >> reporter: you know, one of the interesting things is that algeria still recognizes moammar gadhafi as the leader of libya. so what happened in the early hours of the day is that moammar gadhafi's wife, daughter, two sons, showed up at the border and crossed over into algeria. they said they're taking them in on humanitarian grounds. they want them back and if algeria doesn't send them back they'll consider this a -- an aggression against the will of the libyan people. so clearly, this government -- this new emerging leadership here takes this very seriously, gloria. >> sure. and since the family left, what does this tell us about the rebel strong hold? i mean, these people managed to get out. >> reporter: you know, there's a massive part of this country that the rebels really don't control, and i don't think anyone really knows even the rebels, even gadhafi himself really knows exactly where a front line might be drawn and exactly who sides with who. the coastline here is where most of the population is. it's almost 1,000 miles long. that's the slif thever that the rebels have. but the south of the country, maybe a hundred kilometer, a hundred miles south of that -- south of the coast line, for hundreds and hundreds of miles into the desert further south, that really still has a lot of gadhafi loyalist, tribes that are loyal to him. it's sparsely populated so really, there's a lot of area where gadhafi could be hiding. and where there is still tribes loyal to him. so it's far from done for the rebels. it's interesting that they say they killed one of gadhafi's sons, khamis, over the weekend. they have offered no evidence. they said things like this before and it's proven not to be true. now the rebel leaders have said they've lied intentionally, a week ago they captured three of gadhafi's sons. they lied intentionally to try to create fear among gadhafi's loyalists. when we hear statements that they killed one of his sons, i think we need to take that with a pinch of salt, if you will. i know it's a psychological operation against gadhafi's loyalists. >> i want to follow up on your exclusive yesterday about the lockerbie bomber. you discovered him apparently in a coma. what are the rebels saying today about the possibility of extraditing him back to scotland? >> they're saying they're not going to do it. which is very interesting because the reason that they're giving publicly is because they're saying there's no extradition treaty with these countries and therefore, that's why they won't go ahead. but another dimension, political dimension. the tribe is hugely important for this government, they need to get them on their side away from gadhafi so he can build this interim government and send gadhafi outside of the country would send a signal to this tribe, a negative signal. so they want to send a positive signal. get the tribe on their side, help firm up their leadership here. >> local politics. thanks so much, nic robertson. gadhafi's grown son hannibal is among the members who entered algeria today. dan rivers discovered, he left behind evidence his family behaved like animals. a quick word of caution, some of the images you are about to see are deeply disturbing. >> reporter: meet a 30-year-old ethiopian nanny who describes how she was horribly tortured. >> she took me to a bathroom and tied my hands behind my back and tied my feet. she taped my mouth. and she started pouring the boiling water on my head like this. >> reporter: her crime, she refused to beat hannibal's toddler who wouldn't stop crying. >> dan rivers joins us now from tripoli. dan, that story is absolutely heart breaking. it's horrifying. we know that hannibal himself may be in algeria. do we have any idea what's happened to the wife who this woman says did this to her? >> reporter: and the short answer is no, we don't. we understand from the algerians that hannibal has crossed the border into algier eriaalgeria, wife, aline, a former lebanese model, we don't know where she is. we're seeing what apparently according to this ethiopian nanny is the most barbaric torture for no reason at all. >> what's the international reaction to this story? is there any way to prosecute this woman? >> reporter: well, there's been a phenomenal reaction from viewers, from people going on to the cnn.com website. we have been in touch with the state department, for example, in the u.s. i think there is an enormous amount of interest in her story. people clearly want to do something about it and we're working to try and make that happen in as effective a way as possible. the problems here on the ground are obvious. this is still a sort of hostile environment in every sense. so hospitals are difficult here, but we are trying to get something done to help this lady. >> hopefully, she can get some medical treatment. dan, you also got an exclusive look at the compound that was used by gadhafi's sons. i want to play that and talk to you at the other end about it. >> this is the main sitting room of a party house we think was used by colonel gadhafi's sons, hannibal and you can see it's full of the evidence of drinking. there's dom perignon rose. johnny walker blue label. this obviously looks like it was a big, expensive tv system. i think it was an awesome tv system. >> what kind of impact will these pictures have? >> reporter: well, i mean, we spoke to the rebel commander that is in charge now of that compound. he said he was disgusted by what he saw, shocked as well. he said colonel gadhafi gave the impression that he spent his whole life living a modest existence in a bedouin tent and to come in and see that, that was quite hard for them to take. but it's clear from what we have seen that the money was no object to the gadhafi sons and family. everything was the very best that money could buy. incredible decadence and overindulgence in these beach houses. it wasn't just one, but a series of villas. we were told in one that at one point before the rebels arrived dozens of swiss watches. we walked into another as they were rifling through hundreds of bottles of very expensive champagne. quite incredible scenes and scenes that are really difficult for the libyan people to stomach given the long 42 years of suffering under considerable gadhafi's regime. >> one would think. thank you so much, dan rivers for being with us. i'd like to add the note that the nanny who was burned has received an outpouring of concern from our viewers. cnn is working with humanitarian organizations to get help for her. as soon as that is finalized we'll let you know how you can help. you can go to cnn.com/impact. with us now from new york, we have cnn national security contributor fran townsend who advised president bush and now is on the external advisory boards of the cia and homeland security department. in may of 2010, she visited high-ranking libyan officials at the invitation of the libyan government and also with us is the national security analyst peter bergen with me here in washington. let me start with you, fran. the family is now or so we think part of it in algeria. what does this tell us about whether gadhafi's days are numbered? >> you know, gloria, it's interesting to me that where we find that they're in algeria because it was cnn that reported about a week ago that they had attempted to flee to tunisia where they refused to accept them. look, this i think all is part of gadhafi's exit from the scene, if you will. there's no question he wanted to find -- he clearly was looking to find safe haven for his family. he had to deal with the rebels what ijs. and the hunt is on for him, but it becomes frankly less imperative for gadhafi to flee now that he's got his family or a good portion of his family out of harm's way. >> do you think he's preparing for martyrdom? >> i do. he's said from the beginning, it's not what i think, but he said his preferences were to die and have his blood spill on libyan soil. i think this is part of his preparation plan before he has to confront that. >> peter, does it matter in the long run if gadhafi is actually found, tried or killed? >> shush ure it matters, but capturing him and then trying saddam was obviously important to a lot of iraqi people. but it didn't end the insurgency. quite the opposite. it gathered steam. there are gadhafi sympathizers. i'm sure gadhafi's planned for some kind of insurgency to kind of follow his fall from power. so even if gadhafi is taken from the scene, enough people identify with his regime that libya is likely to have some kind of civil unrest for a long time. >> fran, let me ask you this. is bringing gadhafi to justice a rebel decision or is it a nato decision and what is justice? >> well, in the first instance, it will be a rebel decision, the national transition council is the governing, if you will, body for the moment. and libya remains a sovereign country and so if he becomes into their control, it will be an empty decision. if there was nato support, you must expect they'll consult nato and probably the united states, given the level of u.s. support. >> well, let me -- let me ask you this, peter. given the fact that libya son the edge right now, does this validate the obama/nato strategy because it's clear that the rebels are doing quite well? they haven't gotten gadhafi, but they're winning. >> i think it does surely. not a single smoernldier has died. this is similar to the kosovo interventi intervention. this is done without a great deal of blood and treasure on our part and the results will speak for themselves. there were naysayers at the beginning. it seemed to take a long time. these things don't happen overnight. and, you know, the bosnia intervention took at least three months. so it was to be expected that this was not going to be something that you just overthrow the regime immediately. >> fran, did people get a sense early on that gadhafi was going to go quicker and is that a problem politically for the president? >> i think as long as he goes it's not a political problem for the president. i mean, i think there was an expectation, gloria, that he would go quicker. and it took nato a little while. if anyone has got some sort of bruises from the engagement, it's nato. nato really took a while to get their rhythm down. and their increased bombing campaign helped the rebels ultimately to succeed. and so i do think that in the end, as long as gadhafi is gone, the president's policy is a success. >> and fran, you have met him. i have to ask you what you think he's got cooking in his own mind now that his family is out. we talked about martyrdom, but is there any escape you think planned or do you think he's there till the finish? >> i actually take him at face value on this. i think he's planning to be there to the finish. i think his family is not at all signed on that. i think the sons you have seen the sort of luxury they have lived in themselves. they are not as tough or crazy as gadhafi himself. the real question is will the sons try to flee? one comment real quick on the nanny. the horrific injuries that she suffered, this is not an isolated incident. remember one of his sons and wife were charged in switzerland which caused a big conflagration and that was because they had abused a nanny. this horrific conduct is part of a pattern. >> okay. thank you so much, fran and peter. and there's another developing story tonight and that one is in vermont. where the state's governor is warning people to brace for more flooding and more loss of life. we'll speak with governor up next. pile on the products. or challenge all that effort with olay. simply sweep on the new total effects dark circle minimizer. it tightens and helps conceal to beautifully reveal younger-looking eyes. it's a clean sweep. the nascar na, i know pleasing fans is a top priority, 'cause without the fans, there'd be no nascar. just like if it weren't for customers, there'd be no nationwide. that's why they serve their customers' needs, not shareholder profits. because as a mutual, nationwide doesn't report to wall street, they report to their customers. and that's just one more reason why the earnhardt family has trusted nationwide for more than 30 years. nationwide is on your side. in vermont tonight, three people are confirmed dead in the flooding caused by hurricane irene. a little bit ago, the state's emergency management agency warned that even though the floodwaters have receded from levels we saw yesterday, most rivers and streams remain above normal levels and are still quite dangerous. with us on the phone is vermont governor peter shumlin. thanks so much for being with us. we know you're quite busy. first of all, governor, can you give us an update on whether the waters are finally receding? >> well, they are from the smaller tributaries, but our major rivers which they flow into are still rising so we have our challenges ahead. >> i understand that this afternoon, you spoke with the president. can you tell us what you asked him for? >> well, i should tell you the president reached out to me. he's been extraordinary as has his entire team. he's going to dispatch his director of fema up here tomorrow, senator napolitano has been in constant contact with us. but really what he said is governor, i want to do whatever i can do to help vermont dig out -- >> but what do you need right now, because you have people who are isolated in small communities. so what do you need from the federal government? >> well, the biggest thing we need right now is resources bigger than ourselves. we're kind of a self-reliant up here in vermont, self-sufficient. we don't ask for much, but we're at a time where we need resources in terms of water, food, engineering help so we can get water systems and sewer systems up. we continue to struggle with huge challenges. we just got absolutely whacked by the flooding. >> when you say totally isolated, you mean without any communication, you don't know whether people are sick? you don't know whether they're injured? >> no, we're in there. the red cross and fema is on the ground, but the challenges that in many of the smaller communities, they can't get out if they need to hospitals without helicopters. we don't have many in vermont. >> there is also a missing person i gather in vermont. has that -- >> well, this is the toughest part is that as you probably know, we lost one woman on the first day of the flood in wilmington, vermont. today, we found two other individuals who worked for the city of rutland. we found one, and we're searching for the other. we had a young -- a man die in ludlow, who drowned there. so we are at three confirmed deaths and we are searching for a fourth individual. and these are just devastating stories that break your heart. the other challenge we have is just the amount of infrastructure that we've lost. i mean, covered bridges. we have lost cemeteries, businesses, houses. you know, whole communities are struggling to stay afloat here in terms of the kind of losses that we're experiencing. so it's really been a tough, tough whack for us here in vermont. >> well, do you have any idea the kind of economic damages it's going to cause your state? >> you know, we're still in crisis management. i'm trying to save lives and get people to safety. we have evacuated our entire state hospital as an example. it's under water. much of the functions of the state government are under water. at water bury, we're evacuating seniors and low-income seniors from mobile homes and other areas. we are trying to get them to safety. so we'll be doing the financial assessments in the coming weeks, but right now we're still in crisis mode. >> i have to ask you one last question, did you expect it to be this bad? >> you know, in fairness, we were warned that it would be this bad. we were told by the weather service that we were going to get the eye of the storm and we did. so we prepared for the worst and hoped for the best and frankly we got delivered the worst. but, you know, the national weather folks told us four days out that vermont was going to get the eye. but the rest of the nation wasn't paying attention. our emergency management people did an extraordinary job making preparations. we set up obviously shelters throughout the state. we had our water teams, high water equipment distributed across the state in anticipation that we'd be whacked everywhere. we were right. so i would say that we did expect it. we hoped it would change, but we knew it was coming. >> okay. thanks so much, governor, for being with us. we know it's a very difficult time for you in the state of vermont. >> thanks for all your sympathy. we deeply appreciate it. >> good luck. with all the attention on hurricane irene, it's hard to believe that today marks six years since hurricane katrina hit new orleans in the gulf coast. next, i'll ask james carville and mary matalin, have we learned anything? 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[ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. six years ago today hurricane katrina hit the gulf coast and new orleans was not ready. today at the white house, fema administrator craig fuget asked how the lessons learned from katrina influenced the response to hurricane irene. listen to this. >> we can't wait to know how bad it is before we get ready. we have to go fast, we have to base it upon the potential impacts. that's why we look at these forecasts we get from the hurricane center and bemake the decisions -- we make the decisions based upon what the potential impacts can be. if you wait until how bad it is, it becomes harder to change the outcome. >> with us from new orleans republican strategist mary matalin and democratic strategist james carville. thanks for being here. you heard craig fugate. did we learn the lessons of katrina from looking at irene? >> irene and katrina are two, both separate kind of events in their own way, but we learned some lessons in terms of preparedness. but t