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CNN Live At Daybreak
Tropical Storms Threaten Gulf Coast; Latest 9/11 Commission Recommendation Hearings; Testimony Of Amber Frey; Civil Suit In Bryant Case; More Fighting In Iraq
Aired August 11, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Keep fighting -- that is the message this morning from Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to his followers in Najaf, as the battles between insurgents and U.S. forces intensifies.
It is Wednesday, August 11.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, how to take the 9/11 Commission's report from paper to the real world -- that's what House law makers will be discussing about three hours from now. They're holding more hearings on the recommendations of the 9/11 panel.
U.S. jet fighters are flying overhead and Iraqi police are out in force. It's happening this morning in Najaf, where U.S. forces have been fighting Shiite militants for days. We'll have a live report at 6:30 Eastern time from Najaf.
Donald Rumsfeld has just gotten to Afghanistan. Earlier, the defense secretary visited Oman. In Afghanistan, he's holding talks with government officials. He'll also tour a U.S.-led rebuilding project.
And take a look at this. This is a view from outer space of Tropical Storm Bonnie. Florida officials and, of course, our own Chad Myers keeping an eye on the storm, along with another one that could be coming. And that would be Charley.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Charley looks a lot worse than Bonnie does, for two reasons. One, Charley is larger. And another, Charley is going to affect more people, from Key West to Fort Myers right across Kissimmee and right across all of Florida, really, all the way up toward Jacksonville.
Obviously, this big thing right here in the middle, that is, right in the middle there, that is Bonnie. Was that showing up or not? Maybe that wasn't showing up. It was showing up, OK.
But this storm right here, as it begins to move from the Gulf of Mexico, begins to move a little bit toward the north and toward the northeast, in fact, there are now some watches here all the way along from Panama City almost down to Tampa; in fact, all the way down to the Suwannee River. Those watches here at this storm continues to move on up for tropical storm conditions. But this thing has really been exploding just in the past hour or so. You see all the oranges now with this storm.
Nothing like all the oranges here for Charley. Charley a much larger storm, a much deeper storm and a much more dangerous storm. Charley, I'm going to try to get out of the way of what this is going to do. But forecast track -- and don't take the lines seriously because it's going to diverge one way or the other a little bit -- but the line does bring it over Jamaica, over parts of Cuba, and then possibly very close to the Dry Tortugas and then curving on up into Fort Myers and Tampa area.
Now, that is the line. That is the center of the line. And the Hurricane Center will always tell you don't focus on the line because this thing could go one way or the other, and the farther it is away. But the problem is Key West, this storm gets close to you 2:00 a.m. Friday morning.
So, we're only talking 36 hours away, because this thing is moving so fast. If you're sitting there at the Marquesas or at the Curry Mansion and you have an extra day of vacation and you just feel like getting out of there, that'd be a good idea, because tomorrow I think a lot of folks will be on that one road out of the Keys -- Carol.
COSTELLO: No one ever seems to leave, though.
MYERS: I think the tourists certainly will.
COSTELLO: I have hope so.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: It is a tough job and Porter Goss is going to do it if he's confirmed by the Senate. Goss is the president's controversial pick to run the CIA. Also on the Hill this morning, translating the 9/11 Commission's report to reality.
Let's head live to D.C. and Jennifer Davis for more -- good morning, Jennifer.
JENNIFER DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol.
Congress is on a summer break right now, but many are still at work on Capitol Hill, as hearings continue again today on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. And some Democrats actually want to work overtime. They're asking the president to call a special session of Congress this month because they say this issue deserves such urgent attention.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVIS (voice-over): Big names in Washington came back from vacations and recesses for a series of congressional hearings on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should seize this historic opportunity and move expeditiously.
DAVIS: Members of the 9/11 Commission testified that it's urgent to enact changes as soon as possible to overhaul the intelligence and defense communities and better coordinate them.
Democrats are accusing the administration of dragging its feet. Bush officials disagree.
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The president has already decided that the central recommendation of having a national intelligence director is something he wants.
DAVIS: But it's an existing intelligence position that's now in the spotlight. Tuesday, President Bush appointed Florida Congressman Porter Goss to head the CIA.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Porter Goss is a leader with strong experience in intelligence and in the fight against terrorism. He knows the CIA inside and out.
DAVIS: Goss, an Army intelligence officer and operative in the CIA during the '60s, is a Republican congressman representing a southwest Florida district. Critics say it's bad business to put a partisan politician in this position.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: A person should not be the director of Central Intelligence who's active in a very political way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAVIS (on camera): After his nomination was announced, Goss stepped down as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. That is a position he has held for seven years.
Jennifer Davis, CNN, Washington -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Jennifer.
News across America this Wednesday, in New York State, two men accused of promoting terrorism pleaded not guilty but are denied bail. Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain are both members of an Albany, New York mosque. The two allegedly agreed to launder money for an undercover officer posing as an arms dealer.
Convicted child killer Joel Steinberg had to find a new home. He was kicked out of a Manhattan halfway house after he gave a magazine interview on the premises. Steinberg was paroled in June after serving 17 years in prison for killing his six-year-old adopted daughter. He's now living at a new, undisclosed location.
Kobe Bryant's accuser wants at least $75,000 from the NBA star. She filed a civil lawsuit in federal court asking for that amount in compensatory damages. Experts believe the civil suit could derail the criminal case, which is scheduled to start on August 27.
Amber alert: Amber Frey on the stand in the Scott Peterson trial. Peterson's former mistress is recounting likes he told her both before and after Laci Peterson disappeared, like he lived in Sacramento, had a condo in San Diego and partied in Paris at the Eiffel Tower on new year's, as volunteers were looking for his missing wife.
Time for a little "Coffey Talk" now.
Yes, there will be another Amber alert in California today. Ms. Frey will be back on the stand painting her former lover as a lying, scheming scoundrel. Effective?
And Kobe Bryant -- is he off the hook?
Our legal analyst Kendall Coffey joins us live from New York -- good morning, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: How is Amber Frey playing in the courtroom?
COFFEY: Apparently well. She's coming off truthfully and I think up to now, at least, everything she's saying is being believed by the jury, bearing in mind that she's not going to say anything directly incriminating about Scott Peterson. He's raising, as you mentioned, the dirty rotten scoundrel defense and saying everything that Amber Frey could say is consistent with him being a complete cad.
But she's setting the stage for some good things for the prosecution. And after a difficult trial so far, they've got to be mighty glad to finally have their star witness on the stand.
COSTELLO: You know what I found most interesting was Frey's attorney, Gloria Allred. I mean she sounded like the prosecuting attorney.
Listen to what she had to say outside the courtroom, Kendall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA ALLRED, AMBER FREY'S ATTORNEY: I'm not concerned about how much preparation Amber Frey needed. Scott Peterson would be the one who would need extensive preparation were he to testify, because then he would have to try to think of ways to explain himself out of the many lies that he told to the police, to the press, to Amber, to Laci's family, to the public.
And I don't think that he would be able to successfully extricate himself or explain away all those lies. So, I'm just happy that I'm representing Amber Frey and not Scott Peterson.
On the other hand, I don't think Scott Peterson...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Well, Kendall, what is her game? And why does Amber Frey need an attorney?
COFFEY: Well, normally you don't. I mean you're an alleged witness you go on the stand and tell the truth. There are circumstances, Carol, obviously, where if a witness thinks they may have their own legal trouble, of course they should get a lawyer.
But here it seems to be dealing with the media, and, frankly, if there's ever a book deal for Amber Frey, she's going to have an attorney ready to sign her up.
COSTELLO: Gloria Allred will get all of that money. But what I don't understand, so Gloria Allred comes out and slams Scott Peterson. I just don't get that.
COFFEY: Well, it's kind of a secret weapon for the prosecution when you think about it, because the attorneys in the case are under a gag order. Meanwhile, the attorney for Amber Frey can get on, blast away publicly. And so it's a sort of a plus for the prosecution that really they're not supposed to be getting in this case.
COSTELLO: All right, let's talk about the Kobe Bryant case now. His accuser has decided to file a civil suit, probably not a good idea when a criminal case is going on.
COFFEY: You know, this has been a he said/she said. In all probability, now that it's a she suit, he walks, from the criminal case, at least, because it's been a tough prosecution case already. But when the alleged victim herself goes from we want justice to show me the money, this case really is no longer prosecutable.
COSTELLO: You know, on the other hand, Kendall, she's asking for $75,000 in compensatory damages, which doesn't sound like all that much in light of how much money Kobe Bryant has.
COFFEY: Well, that's the minimum jurisdiction amount. I think it's pretty plain she's talking about emotional suffering and the ordeal she's went through from day one in this case. They are looking for millions and millions. And if you're the prosecutor in Eagle County right now, you have a tough time, because frankly your case is not winnable. But nobody wants to be the one to throw in the towel.
COSTELLO: Yes, but his case isn't winnable now, is it, even before she filed the civil suit?
COFFEY: Well, I think it's really the nail in the coffin. I agree with you. Once the evidence came out that the judge saw and then said will be shown to a jury about her sexual history, the critical 72 hours, and with all the other things the defense has been able to do in this case, this case was looking like a wounded duck, like a lame duck, anyway. And I think now we've seen the end of it.
And what the lawyers for the alleged victim have done is a pretty shrewd exit strategy, making the court system the fall guy, perhaps deservedly so, so that they can then move over and say look, we tried the criminal system, it failed us, now we're going to the civil justice system to seek vindication for our client.
COSTELLO: Kendall Coffey live in New York.
Thanks very much for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
Just ahead on DAYBREAK, at 15 minutes past the hour, we'll talk to one of our reporters who was embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq during some of the most harrowing times. And we're talking Najaf here.
At half past the hour, a campaign trail mix. A closer look at the key battleground state of Pennsylvania.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Will this be another good day for Wall Street? Here is a look at the closing numbers for you. Stocks were on the up and up. The Dow closed with a 130 point gain. The Nasdaq up 34 points. And the S&P 500 added nearly 14 points, closing at 1079.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 6:13 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Denver voters have decided against a measure that would have banned using animals as entertainment. A 15-year-old girl got the referendum on the ballot because she was upset with reports of abuse at the circus.
Georgia voters are one step closer to sending their first African-American woman to the Senate. Congresswoman Denise Majette won the Democratic runoff election. The vote in November is to replace Democrat Zel Miller, who is retiring.
In money news, interest rates on the move. For the second time this summer, the Fed raised the lending rate by a 1/4 percent. It's the rate lenders refer to when they set their own interest rates.
In culture, Donald Trump fires himself. Trump is no longer the CEO of his casino company, but he will remain as chairman. The company plans to restructure after it files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In sports, Team USA beat Turkey for the second straight time in their last tune-up before the Olympics. Tim Duncan led the Americans with 25 points as the team finished 5 and 1 in its exhibitions. Their first game in the Olympics will be Sunday against Puerto Rico -- Chad.
MYERS: Carol, Bonnie right there in the central sections of the Gulf of Mexico, right under that L that I just put on it. The problem is it is moving on up toward the north and toward the northeast. It's going to make a beeline for Panama City. It could move a little bit left or right from there, but that's the problem with that storm, probably 65, maybe 70 miles per hour when it makes land fall.
This down here a much more dangerous storm, Charley. It has really picked up some speed. And I know you maybe weren't even thinking about it until Saturday or Sunday. The problem is this thing could be over Havana and very close to Key West by midnight Thursday night. Not all that -- 36 hours from now. And then making a big curve right on back toward Fort Myers or into Tampa.
That line is not the perfect line. It could go one way or the other. But we will have the forecast for you coming up in less than 14 minutes.
COSTELLO: And we will be right here waiting.
Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you.
The struggle for Najaf remains intense this morning. The Mehdi Army is battling U.S. forces in a massive cemetery and a sacred mosque.
We are fortunate to have our Baghdad bureau chief, Jane Arraf, here in Atlanta to talk more about Najaf -- welcome.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: It's nice to see you out of Baghdad for once.
ARRAF: Thanks.
It's nice to be here today, Carol.
COSTELLO: And out of Najaf, too, because you've been there.
ARRAF: I was. I was embedded with the U.S. Army when they were fighting the Mehdi Army the first time around.
COSTELLO: And now they're fighting again.
We have new tape just into CNN. We want to show some demonstrations going on right now in the streets of Najaf. And we see them here.
Explain to us the atmosphere in that city.
ARRAF: Well, as you know, the part of it that's really at stake is the holy city, which is centered around the Imam Ali Shrine. Now, Ali has led to the founding of Shia Islam, so it's considered extremely holy for Shia Muslims, that part of the city.
Now, around there is a commercial center, more of an ordinary city, and that's where the U.S. forces are there. They're very careful not to go into that shrine area. But they have been fighting in that cemetery, which is one of the biggest cemeteries in the world. It's considered the place where you really want to be buried if you're Shia.
Now, what we're seeing now, obviously, is possibly an attempt by Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. forces, to take that compound, that extremely holy site, which is potentially, of course, explosive.
COSTELLO: Iraqi forces are fighting alongside U.S. forces.
Can you tell us numbers? Are there numbers? Like how many U.S. forces are there compared to the number of Iraqi forces fighting alongside them?
ARRAF: There are varying degrees of Iraqi forces. But one of the problems, of course, is when this uprising first started in April, what we saw was Iraqi police actually laying down their uniforms, laying down their guns and joining the other side, so that when I was there in the middle of the uprising, the new police chief said he had perhaps only 100 police officers he could count on.
It's been reinvigorated since then. They have more army, more police. But this is still, to be perfectly honest, an Iraqi front on what has to be a U.S. operation.
COSTELLO: So how many insurgents are out there? How many people are loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, because the numbers seem to be growing all the time?
ARRAF: Well, this is the amazing thing. It's generally estimated that perhaps now he has between 1,000 and 2,000 fighters. But he had managed to seize that entire city. And not just that city, Sadr City, one of the major areas in Baghdad, other cities in the south, with not very many fighters at all. And they keep showing up outgunned, outmanned. They keep showing up to fight against the U.S. Army and now the U.S. Marines. And they die in considerable numbers and they just keep coming.
COSTELLO: Yes, more than 360 have been killed in this fighting in six days in Najaf. I want to read a quote from the "Washington Post" this morning from a battalion commander in Sadr City. He said: "I don't mean to give them too much, but they're good. These guys really make us work to kill them, but in the end they're dead."
ARRAF: What a horrifying quote. Yes, no, that is the ugly truth.
COSTELLO: So they have found an effective way to fight U.S. forces in Najaf.
Now, let's go back to Muqtada al-Sadr, because there was an arrest -- I guess there still is an arrest warrant out for him, but nobody's acting on it. There was a supposed deal in the works between the new Iraqi government and Muqtada al-Sadr.
Where does all of that stand right now?
ARRAF: Well, we thought, when he actually agreed to the cease- fire, to lay down the arms, to disband the militia, OK, this is the new Muqtada al-Sadr. He is going to be a political force, which to many people was even scarier than Muqtada al-Sadr commanding a militia. But now he seems to have seen an opportunity to get control again and to keep the military off balance and to keep the Iraqi government off balance.
This is one of the most potentially dangerous things to the Iraqi government right now. I mean it really could go either way.
COSTELLO: So is there some weird possibility that he could play a role in the new Iraqi government because of the effectiveness of his fight?
ARRAF: That had been thought before, because you have to find a way to deal with this man. You can dismiss him as a young firebrand. You can dismiss him as unqualified. But he comes from extremely influential religious, a long line of religious clerics. And he has the support of these angry young men, who cannot be dismissed. Now it's going to be much tougher to rehabilitate him and turn him into a political figure, given this recent violence.
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf, many thanks.
ARRAF: Thank you.
COSTELLO: When do you head back?
ARRAF: Soon.
COSTELLO: Soon? Well, we're looking for your live reports out of Baghdad.
ARRAF: Thanks so much, Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
Jane Arraf.
Still to come on DAYBREAK.
Coming up next, a veteran news man gets into some trouble with the law. Yes, that's Mike Wallace. We'll explain ahead.
And later on DAYBREAK, parents have a tough job when kids get out of hand. An expert weighs in with some tips on discipline.
This is DAYBREAK for a Wednesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Opener." Veteran news man Mike Wallace is a dangerous man. At least that's what New York traffic officers thought when they arrested the 86-year-old in front of a New York restaurant. Wallace, of "60 Minutes" fame, was cited for disorderly conduct after officers say he lunged at them over a double parking incident. Other witnesses say Wallace was mishandled by the police.
A scary moment for singer Gloria Estefan. Take a look at this. During a show in Houston, an over -- that's an over zealous fan there. He jumps on the stage and he rush Estefan as she sang. The startled singer didn't miss a beat, though. And, as you can see, the fan was removed by her congo player. Estefan is in the middle of her farewell tour.
Several former Negro League greats were on hand in Washington to talk about the new Negro League Legends Hall of Fame. Ground breaking on the project is set for Saturday. The Hall of Fame will pay tribute to the more than 3,000 players who never got their chance to play in the major leagues.
Headlines coming your way in two minutes.
But first, your DAYBREAK Daytimers, stories you will see later today on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The president and his opponent both trying to garner support out west. But a key state they need is in the east.
It is Wednesday, August 11.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello. Now in the news, how to take the 9/11 Commission's report from paper to the real world. That's what House law makers will be discussing about two and a half hours from now. They're holding more hearings on the recommendations of the 9/11 panel.
U.S. jet fighters are flying overhead and Iraqi police out in force. It's happening this morning in Najaf, where U.S. forces have been fighting Shiite militants for days.
Amber Frey will be back on the stand today when the Scott Peterson trial resumes. Peterson's former mistress has been answering questions about lies Peterson told about the time his wife disappeared. Frey's testimony could last for the rest of the week.
And this is what tropical storm Bonnie looks like from outer space. Back here on Earth, well, it looks a lot worse.
Let's head to the forecast center now and Chad. MYERS: In fact, Carol, at about 2:00 this morning, this thing was dead. Nothing. Hardly any convection with it at all. But now just look at the last couple of frames here, how much orange is now right over the center. It's now a round storm and, in fact, it is headed up toward Panama City. It could go one way or the other to Panama City, maybe 50 miles left or right. But that's the general direction of this thing, very close to a hurricane strength storm as it makes land fall.
Still forecast to be a strong tropical storm, but like 70 miles per hour. So it could be close to a category one. And if it keeps going like it is this morning, it could be bigger than that. So we'll have to keep watching.
This is actually Charley, a very fast moving storm, moving across Jamaica. Already hurricane watches for the Keys, from the Dry Tortugas to Craig Key here by Upper Matecumbe Key. This thing could be very close to Key West by 2:00 a.m. or even midnight late tomorrow night. That's how quickly that storm is moving.
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Aired August 11, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Keep fighting -- that is the message this morning from Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to his followers in Najaf, as the battles between insurgents and U.S. forces intensifies.
It is Wednesday, August 11.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, how to take the 9/11 Commission's report from paper to the real world -- that's what House law makers will be discussing about three hours from now. They're holding more hearings on the recommendations of the 9/11 panel.
U.S. jet fighters are flying overhead and Iraqi police are out in force. It's happening this morning in Najaf, where U.S. forces have been fighting Shiite militants for days. We'll have a live report at 6:30 Eastern time from Najaf.
Donald Rumsfeld has just gotten to Afghanistan. Earlier, the defense secretary visited Oman. In Afghanistan, he's holding talks with government officials. He'll also tour a U.S.-led rebuilding project.
And take a look at this. This is a view from outer space of Tropical Storm Bonnie. Florida officials and, of course, our own Chad Myers keeping an eye on the storm, along with another one that could be coming. And that would be Charley.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Charley looks a lot worse than Bonnie does, for two reasons. One, Charley is larger. And another, Charley is going to affect more people, from Key West to Fort Myers right across Kissimmee and right across all of Florida, really, all the way up toward Jacksonville.
Obviously, this big thing right here in the middle, that is, right in the middle there, that is Bonnie. Was that showing up or not? Maybe that wasn't showing up. It was showing up, OK.
But this storm right here, as it begins to move from the Gulf of Mexico, begins to move a little bit toward the north and toward the northeast, in fact, there are now some watches here all the way along from Panama City almost down to Tampa; in fact, all the way down to the Suwannee River. Those watches here at this storm continues to move on up for tropical storm conditions. But this thing has really been exploding just in the past hour or so. You see all the oranges now with this storm.
Nothing like all the oranges here for Charley. Charley a much larger storm, a much deeper storm and a much more dangerous storm. Charley, I'm going to try to get out of the way of what this is going to do. But forecast track -- and don't take the lines seriously because it's going to diverge one way or the other a little bit -- but the line does bring it over Jamaica, over parts of Cuba, and then possibly very close to the Dry Tortugas and then curving on up into Fort Myers and Tampa area.
Now, that is the line. That is the center of the line. And the Hurricane Center will always tell you don't focus on the line because this thing could go one way or the other, and the farther it is away. But the problem is Key West, this storm gets close to you 2:00 a.m. Friday morning.
So, we're only talking 36 hours away, because this thing is moving so fast. If you're sitting there at the Marquesas or at the Curry Mansion and you have an extra day of vacation and you just feel like getting out of there, that'd be a good idea, because tomorrow I think a lot of folks will be on that one road out of the Keys -- Carol.
COSTELLO: No one ever seems to leave, though.
MYERS: I think the tourists certainly will.
COSTELLO: I have hope so.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: It is a tough job and Porter Goss is going to do it if he's confirmed by the Senate. Goss is the president's controversial pick to run the CIA. Also on the Hill this morning, translating the 9/11 Commission's report to reality.
Let's head live to D.C. and Jennifer Davis for more -- good morning, Jennifer.
JENNIFER DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol.
Congress is on a summer break right now, but many are still at work on Capitol Hill, as hearings continue again today on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. And some Democrats actually want to work overtime. They're asking the president to call a special session of Congress this month because they say this issue deserves such urgent attention.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVIS (voice-over): Big names in Washington came back from vacations and recesses for a series of congressional hearings on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should seize this historic opportunity and move expeditiously.
DAVIS: Members of the 9/11 Commission testified that it's urgent to enact changes as soon as possible to overhaul the intelligence and defense communities and better coordinate them.
Democrats are accusing the administration of dragging its feet. Bush officials disagree.
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The president has already decided that the central recommendation of having a national intelligence director is something he wants.
DAVIS: But it's an existing intelligence position that's now in the spotlight. Tuesday, President Bush appointed Florida Congressman Porter Goss to head the CIA.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Porter Goss is a leader with strong experience in intelligence and in the fight against terrorism. He knows the CIA inside and out.
DAVIS: Goss, an Army intelligence officer and operative in the CIA during the '60s, is a Republican congressman representing a southwest Florida district. Critics say it's bad business to put a partisan politician in this position.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: A person should not be the director of Central Intelligence who's active in a very political way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAVIS (on camera): After his nomination was announced, Goss stepped down as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. That is a position he has held for seven years.
Jennifer Davis, CNN, Washington -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Jennifer.
News across America this Wednesday, in New York State, two men accused of promoting terrorism pleaded not guilty but are denied bail. Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain are both members of an Albany, New York mosque. The two allegedly agreed to launder money for an undercover officer posing as an arms dealer.
Convicted child killer Joel Steinberg had to find a new home. He was kicked out of a Manhattan halfway house after he gave a magazine interview on the premises. Steinberg was paroled in June after serving 17 years in prison for killing his six-year-old adopted daughter. He's now living at a new, undisclosed location.
Kobe Bryant's accuser wants at least $75,000 from the NBA star. She filed a civil lawsuit in federal court asking for that amount in compensatory damages. Experts believe the civil suit could derail the criminal case, which is scheduled to start on August 27.
Amber alert: Amber Frey on the stand in the Scott Peterson trial. Peterson's former mistress is recounting likes he told her both before and after Laci Peterson disappeared, like he lived in Sacramento, had a condo in San Diego and partied in Paris at the Eiffel Tower on new year's, as volunteers were looking for his missing wife.
Time for a little "Coffey Talk" now.
Yes, there will be another Amber alert in California today. Ms. Frey will be back on the stand painting her former lover as a lying, scheming scoundrel. Effective?
And Kobe Bryant -- is he off the hook?
Our legal analyst Kendall Coffey joins us live from New York -- good morning, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: How is Amber Frey playing in the courtroom?
COFFEY: Apparently well. She's coming off truthfully and I think up to now, at least, everything she's saying is being believed by the jury, bearing in mind that she's not going to say anything directly incriminating about Scott Peterson. He's raising, as you mentioned, the dirty rotten scoundrel defense and saying everything that Amber Frey could say is consistent with him being a complete cad.
But she's setting the stage for some good things for the prosecution. And after a difficult trial so far, they've got to be mighty glad to finally have their star witness on the stand.
COSTELLO: You know what I found most interesting was Frey's attorney, Gloria Allred. I mean she sounded like the prosecuting attorney.
Listen to what she had to say outside the courtroom, Kendall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA ALLRED, AMBER FREY'S ATTORNEY: I'm not concerned about how much preparation Amber Frey needed. Scott Peterson would be the one who would need extensive preparation were he to testify, because then he would have to try to think of ways to explain himself out of the many lies that he told to the police, to the press, to Amber, to Laci's family, to the public.
And I don't think that he would be able to successfully extricate himself or explain away all those lies. So, I'm just happy that I'm representing Amber Frey and not Scott Peterson.
On the other hand, I don't think Scott Peterson...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Well, Kendall, what is her game? And why does Amber Frey need an attorney?
COFFEY: Well, normally you don't. I mean you're an alleged witness you go on the stand and tell the truth. There are circumstances, Carol, obviously, where if a witness thinks they may have their own legal trouble, of course they should get a lawyer.
But here it seems to be dealing with the media, and, frankly, if there's ever a book deal for Amber Frey, she's going to have an attorney ready to sign her up.
COSTELLO: Gloria Allred will get all of that money. But what I don't understand, so Gloria Allred comes out and slams Scott Peterson. I just don't get that.
COFFEY: Well, it's kind of a secret weapon for the prosecution when you think about it, because the attorneys in the case are under a gag order. Meanwhile, the attorney for Amber Frey can get on, blast away publicly. And so it's a sort of a plus for the prosecution that really they're not supposed to be getting in this case.
COSTELLO: All right, let's talk about the Kobe Bryant case now. His accuser has decided to file a civil suit, probably not a good idea when a criminal case is going on.
COFFEY: You know, this has been a he said/she said. In all probability, now that it's a she suit, he walks, from the criminal case, at least, because it's been a tough prosecution case already. But when the alleged victim herself goes from we want justice to show me the money, this case really is no longer prosecutable.
COSTELLO: You know, on the other hand, Kendall, she's asking for $75,000 in compensatory damages, which doesn't sound like all that much in light of how much money Kobe Bryant has.
COFFEY: Well, that's the minimum jurisdiction amount. I think it's pretty plain she's talking about emotional suffering and the ordeal she's went through from day one in this case. They are looking for millions and millions. And if you're the prosecutor in Eagle County right now, you have a tough time, because frankly your case is not winnable. But nobody wants to be the one to throw in the towel.
COSTELLO: Yes, but his case isn't winnable now, is it, even before she filed the civil suit?
COFFEY: Well, I think it's really the nail in the coffin. I agree with you. Once the evidence came out that the judge saw and then said will be shown to a jury about her sexual history, the critical 72 hours, and with all the other things the defense has been able to do in this case, this case was looking like a wounded duck, like a lame duck, anyway. And I think now we've seen the end of it.
And what the lawyers for the alleged victim have done is a pretty shrewd exit strategy, making the court system the fall guy, perhaps deservedly so, so that they can then move over and say look, we tried the criminal system, it failed us, now we're going to the civil justice system to seek vindication for our client.
COSTELLO: Kendall Coffey live in New York.
Thanks very much for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
Just ahead on DAYBREAK, at 15 minutes past the hour, we'll talk to one of our reporters who was embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq during some of the most harrowing times. And we're talking Najaf here.
At half past the hour, a campaign trail mix. A closer look at the key battleground state of Pennsylvania.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Will this be another good day for Wall Street? Here is a look at the closing numbers for you. Stocks were on the up and up. The Dow closed with a 130 point gain. The Nasdaq up 34 points. And the S&P 500 added nearly 14 points, closing at 1079.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 6:13 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Denver voters have decided against a measure that would have banned using animals as entertainment. A 15-year-old girl got the referendum on the ballot because she was upset with reports of abuse at the circus.
Georgia voters are one step closer to sending their first African-American woman to the Senate. Congresswoman Denise Majette won the Democratic runoff election. The vote in November is to replace Democrat Zel Miller, who is retiring.
In money news, interest rates on the move. For the second time this summer, the Fed raised the lending rate by a 1/4 percent. It's the rate lenders refer to when they set their own interest rates.
In culture, Donald Trump fires himself. Trump is no longer the CEO of his casino company, but he will remain as chairman. The company plans to restructure after it files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In sports, Team USA beat Turkey for the second straight time in their last tune-up before the Olympics. Tim Duncan led the Americans with 25 points as the team finished 5 and 1 in its exhibitions. Their first game in the Olympics will be Sunday against Puerto Rico -- Chad.
MYERS: Carol, Bonnie right there in the central sections of the Gulf of Mexico, right under that L that I just put on it. The problem is it is moving on up toward the north and toward the northeast. It's going to make a beeline for Panama City. It could move a little bit left or right from there, but that's the problem with that storm, probably 65, maybe 70 miles per hour when it makes land fall.
This down here a much more dangerous storm, Charley. It has really picked up some speed. And I know you maybe weren't even thinking about it until Saturday or Sunday. The problem is this thing could be over Havana and very close to Key West by midnight Thursday night. Not all that -- 36 hours from now. And then making a big curve right on back toward Fort Myers or into Tampa.
That line is not the perfect line. It could go one way or the other. But we will have the forecast for you coming up in less than 14 minutes.
COSTELLO: And we will be right here waiting.
Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you.
The struggle for Najaf remains intense this morning. The Mehdi Army is battling U.S. forces in a massive cemetery and a sacred mosque.
We are fortunate to have our Baghdad bureau chief, Jane Arraf, here in Atlanta to talk more about Najaf -- welcome.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: It's nice to see you out of Baghdad for once.
ARRAF: Thanks.
It's nice to be here today, Carol.
COSTELLO: And out of Najaf, too, because you've been there.
ARRAF: I was. I was embedded with the U.S. Army when they were fighting the Mehdi Army the first time around.
COSTELLO: And now they're fighting again.
We have new tape just into CNN. We want to show some demonstrations going on right now in the streets of Najaf. And we see them here.
Explain to us the atmosphere in that city.
ARRAF: Well, as you know, the part of it that's really at stake is the holy city, which is centered around the Imam Ali Shrine. Now, Ali has led to the founding of Shia Islam, so it's considered extremely holy for Shia Muslims, that part of the city.
Now, around there is a commercial center, more of an ordinary city, and that's where the U.S. forces are there. They're very careful not to go into that shrine area. But they have been fighting in that cemetery, which is one of the biggest cemeteries in the world. It's considered the place where you really want to be buried if you're Shia.
Now, what we're seeing now, obviously, is possibly an attempt by Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. forces, to take that compound, that extremely holy site, which is potentially, of course, explosive.
COSTELLO: Iraqi forces are fighting alongside U.S. forces.
Can you tell us numbers? Are there numbers? Like how many U.S. forces are there compared to the number of Iraqi forces fighting alongside them?
ARRAF: There are varying degrees of Iraqi forces. But one of the problems, of course, is when this uprising first started in April, what we saw was Iraqi police actually laying down their uniforms, laying down their guns and joining the other side, so that when I was there in the middle of the uprising, the new police chief said he had perhaps only 100 police officers he could count on.
It's been reinvigorated since then. They have more army, more police. But this is still, to be perfectly honest, an Iraqi front on what has to be a U.S. operation.
COSTELLO: So how many insurgents are out there? How many people are loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, because the numbers seem to be growing all the time?
ARRAF: Well, this is the amazing thing. It's generally estimated that perhaps now he has between 1,000 and 2,000 fighters. But he had managed to seize that entire city. And not just that city, Sadr City, one of the major areas in Baghdad, other cities in the south, with not very many fighters at all. And they keep showing up outgunned, outmanned. They keep showing up to fight against the U.S. Army and now the U.S. Marines. And they die in considerable numbers and they just keep coming.
COSTELLO: Yes, more than 360 have been killed in this fighting in six days in Najaf. I want to read a quote from the "Washington Post" this morning from a battalion commander in Sadr City. He said: "I don't mean to give them too much, but they're good. These guys really make us work to kill them, but in the end they're dead."
ARRAF: What a horrifying quote. Yes, no, that is the ugly truth.
COSTELLO: So they have found an effective way to fight U.S. forces in Najaf.
Now, let's go back to Muqtada al-Sadr, because there was an arrest -- I guess there still is an arrest warrant out for him, but nobody's acting on it. There was a supposed deal in the works between the new Iraqi government and Muqtada al-Sadr.
Where does all of that stand right now?
ARRAF: Well, we thought, when he actually agreed to the cease- fire, to lay down the arms, to disband the militia, OK, this is the new Muqtada al-Sadr. He is going to be a political force, which to many people was even scarier than Muqtada al-Sadr commanding a militia. But now he seems to have seen an opportunity to get control again and to keep the military off balance and to keep the Iraqi government off balance.
This is one of the most potentially dangerous things to the Iraqi government right now. I mean it really could go either way.
COSTELLO: So is there some weird possibility that he could play a role in the new Iraqi government because of the effectiveness of his fight?
ARRAF: That had been thought before, because you have to find a way to deal with this man. You can dismiss him as a young firebrand. You can dismiss him as unqualified. But he comes from extremely influential religious, a long line of religious clerics. And he has the support of these angry young men, who cannot be dismissed. Now it's going to be much tougher to rehabilitate him and turn him into a political figure, given this recent violence.
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf, many thanks.
ARRAF: Thank you.
COSTELLO: When do you head back?
ARRAF: Soon.
COSTELLO: Soon? Well, we're looking for your live reports out of Baghdad.
ARRAF: Thanks so much, Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
Jane Arraf.
Still to come on DAYBREAK.
Coming up next, a veteran news man gets into some trouble with the law. Yes, that's Mike Wallace. We'll explain ahead.
And later on DAYBREAK, parents have a tough job when kids get out of hand. An expert weighs in with some tips on discipline.
This is DAYBREAK for a Wednesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Opener." Veteran news man Mike Wallace is a dangerous man. At least that's what New York traffic officers thought when they arrested the 86-year-old in front of a New York restaurant. Wallace, of "60 Minutes" fame, was cited for disorderly conduct after officers say he lunged at them over a double parking incident. Other witnesses say Wallace was mishandled by the police.
A scary moment for singer Gloria Estefan. Take a look at this. During a show in Houston, an over -- that's an over zealous fan there. He jumps on the stage and he rush Estefan as she sang. The startled singer didn't miss a beat, though. And, as you can see, the fan was removed by her congo player. Estefan is in the middle of her farewell tour.
Several former Negro League greats were on hand in Washington to talk about the new Negro League Legends Hall of Fame. Ground breaking on the project is set for Saturday. The Hall of Fame will pay tribute to the more than 3,000 players who never got their chance to play in the major leagues.
Headlines coming your way in two minutes.
But first, your DAYBREAK Daytimers, stories you will see later today on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The president and his opponent both trying to garner support out west. But a key state they need is in the east.
It is Wednesday, August 11.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello. Now in the news, how to take the 9/11 Commission's report from paper to the real world. That's what House law makers will be discussing about two and a half hours from now. They're holding more hearings on the recommendations of the 9/11 panel.
U.S. jet fighters are flying overhead and Iraqi police out in force. It's happening this morning in Najaf, where U.S. forces have been fighting Shiite militants for days.
Amber Frey will be back on the stand today when the Scott Peterson trial resumes. Peterson's former mistress has been answering questions about lies Peterson told about the time his wife disappeared. Frey's testimony could last for the rest of the week.
And this is what tropical storm Bonnie looks like from outer space. Back here on Earth, well, it looks a lot worse.
Let's head to the forecast center now and Chad. MYERS: In fact, Carol, at about 2:00 this morning, this thing was dead. Nothing. Hardly any convection with it at all. But now just look at the last couple of frames here, how much orange is now right over the center. It's now a round storm and, in fact, it is headed up toward Panama City. It could go one way or the other to Panama City, maybe 50 miles left or right. But that's the general direction of this thing, very close to a hurricane strength storm as it makes land fall.
Still forecast to be a strong tropical storm, but like 70 miles per hour. So it could be close to a category one. And if it keeps going like it is this morning, it could be bigger than that. So we'll have to keep watching.
This is actually Charley, a very fast moving storm, moving across Jamaica. Already hurricane watches for the Keys, from the Dry Tortugas to Craig Key here by Upper Matecumbe Key. This thing could be very close to Key West by 2:00 a.m. or even midnight late tomorrow night. That's how quickly that storm is moving.
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