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American Morning
Florida Gets Ready For What Could be Destructive One-Two Punch; Showdown in Najaf
Aired August 12, 2004 - 07:00 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Bracing for Bonnie and Charley. Florida gets ready for what could be a destructive one-two punch.
Showdown in Najaf. The U.S. deciding enough is enough there, launching a major assault.
And more testimony from Amber Frey. Secretly recorded phone calls show just how far Scott Peterson wanted to keep his double life secret.
All ahead this morning on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: And good morning. 7:00 here in New York City. Soledad is off. Bill Hemmer, along with Heidi Collins today, and watching two huge stories that we'll watch through the next three hours. One is in Iraq. we'll get to that in a moment, with Matthew Chance. The other one happening here in this country, down in Florida. People getting ready for a powerful one-two punch from Tropical Storm Bonnie, then Hurricane Charley. We'll talk to the deputy director of the National Hurricane Center to find out how bad it could be for the folks in, and again throughout the East Coast, coming up this weekend, too.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, Scott Peterson's ex-mistress Amber Frey on the stand again. Her testimony yesterday showed just how far Peterson may have gone to keep his relationship to Laci a secret. We'll talk to a former San Mateo County prosecutor about that. Some amazing transcripts.
HEMMER: That it is, you're right. Also in the courtroom, is it game over now for the Kobe Bryant criminal matter? At least one prosecutor now saying the writing is on the wall. We'll talk to an author and the D.A., Jeanine Pirro, on that topic this morning.
Jack is on vacation, right?
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: He continue his vacation. Toure's with us again, with the Question of the Day.
COLLINS: He's calling in, though, checking on the show.
HEMMER: Yes, exclusively with you.
COLLINS: Yes.
Going to move on to the news at this hour, though. Thousands of Americans troops are attacking insurgents in Najaf. Heavy fighting is reported in that city, as helicopters and tanks bear down on militants loyal to radical militant Muqtada Al Sadr.
Matthew Chance is here with the U.S. Marines in Najaf. He is joining us now live by videophone -- Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Heidi.
And it's searing heat here in Najaf, as these thousands of U.S. troops, backed by tanks and helicopter gunships, fight intensive battles against members of the Mehdi Army loyal to the radical Shia cleric Muqtada Al Sadr in the holy city of Najaf.
We're joined now by Major David Holahan of the U.S. Marine Corps.
Major, thanks very much for being with us.
First of all, a lot of talk about fighting in those sacred areas. Are these still the areas where all the activity is going on?
MAJ. GEN. DAVID HOLAHAN, U.S. MARINES: Well, actually, the members of the First Cavalry division have encircled the Old City, and the holy shrine is in the Old City.
The only fighting in the holy shrine is actually being done by Muqtada Al Sadr. This morning, at 10:45, he launched 25 mortar rounds from the courtyard of the shrine, of course in complete of the Koranic verse, which he claims he's defending. He violates international law. And ironically enough, he attacked the I.P.s, the Iraqi police, in their police station. He didn't even attack the coalition troops, which are the ones he claims he's defending against.
So the truth is, he's fighting a war against his own citizens.
CHANCE: A very difficult situation, politically very sensitive, I'm sure, that both the U.S. Army, and the Iraqis and everybody involved wants to get this over with as soon as possible. I know you can't be too specific, but what kind of a timeline are we working with here?
HOLAHAN: Well, the timeline we're working with is to eliminate as many members of the militia as rapidly is possibly, and then come to terms with Muqtada and his militia as soon as possible. So we'll be done as soon as we can be done. And of course the final decisions on what we do and where we go will be made by the interim government and Prime Minister Allawi. So if we could finish it tomorrow, we would.
CHANCE: Just very briefly, do you think there will be an attack on any of these sacred sites? Just one or two words?
HOLAHAN: No, I don't think I should discuss that at this time.
CHANCE: All right, Major Holahan, thanks very much for being with much.
Heidi, there you have it, word from Major Holahan, U.S. Marine Corps.
Back to you in New York.
COLLINS: All right, Major Chance, thanks so much, live from Najaf this morning.
We'll be checking back in several times throughout the morning.
HEMMER: In the meantime, Heidi, back in this country, Mother Nature now in Florida, bracing for double trouble. Residents hunkering down as two big storms threaten to pound much of that state. Meanwhile, the governor, Jeb Bush, declaring a state of emergency for the entire state at this point.
Tracking the storms this morning, Chad Meyers is in Panama City Beach, Florida. Ed Lavandera is in Clearwater, where they're racing to complete a -- complete storm perhaps in time.
Let's start with you, Chad. How are conditions now?
CHAD MEYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, Bill, all morning long, no wind whatsoever, and now finally seeing some wind here, to about, oh, 14, 15 miles per hour. And those winds have come up literally in the last 10 or 15 minutes as the storm gets closer. At 5:00, the 5:00 advisory actually had the storm 160 miles out to sea, but moving at 16 miles per hour, so getting a little bit closer here, and so that was three hours ago, so by the time that plane was out there.
So yes, the winds are getting stronger, the storm is getting closer, and it's even picking up a little bit of strength out there, at least on some of the latest satellite pictures.
In fact, here's the satellite picture of Bonnie. Bonnie now seeing some of those oranges now, especially now getting almost up into Apalachee Bay, and you can even see a little bit of a tail. That's just to the west of Tampa. The whole storm system a little bit hard for the reconnaissance plane to find earlier today. But what they could find, obviously, the rain. Very heavy rain from St. George's Island, right on up to Tallahassee. Some spots, even here in Fort Walton Beach, and all the way over to Panama City Beach, picking up two inches of rain overnight, just from the first storm system that came through from Bonnie.
Bonnie goes over Panama City, and right into parts of Georgia, and then into upstate South Carolina, and then into North Carolina.
And for all of those states just mentioned, I want you to think of this as a one-two punch, because Charley is going to take a very similar track. Charley is not going to hit Panama City, but once it gets into Georgia and the Carolinas, that's when Charley is going to make its run up the East Coast into very saturated ground, and we're going to lose a lot of trees, we're going to lose a lot of power lines, because those trees are going to be falling on those power lines.
Charley, still down around Jamaica, right over Cayman Brac, if you want to find a map, and as it goes over Cuba, past and across Key West, right into Tampa for tomorrow morning. And obviously, we have a reporter there for it.
Back to you.
HEMMER: Chad, thanks for that. Let's move east to Clearwater.
And, Ed, how are you? Good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, we're waking up to a glorious morning here in Clearwater, across the bay is Clearwater Beach Island. This is the furthestmost northern point of the hurricane watch, where it extends, further on the very southwest edges of the state of Florida. Into the Keys is where we've seen some of the earliest preparation taking place.
There have been mandatory orders for visitors to evacuate the Key West area, the farthest point to the Florida Keys, and quite frankly, though, as we move northward, you sense when you talk to people that this is definitely they day that they will be paying the closest attention to figure out exactly what Hurricane Charley is going to do.
Quite frankly, however, we've talk to a lot people who say they'll believe the storm is coming when they see it. In fact, many of the emergency management folks that we talked to here this morning haven't even started their meetings yet. They say most of these groups will start meeting here in the next few hours, later on this morning, to begin putting out their plans, and advising the public as to what they should do.
Hurricane watches and hurricane warnings extended along the southwest edges of the state of Florida. The storm, we understand, is packing winds of about 85 miles per hour, and the hurricane center says it will have the next update on the storm at 10:00 Eastern -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Ed, thanks for that.
Chad, I'll also be back in touch throughout the morning.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Now Heidi again with more.
COLLINS: And we do have the very latest on this tropical one-two punch from Ed Rappaport, the deputy director of the National Hurricane Center. He's joining us this morning from Miami.
Mr. Rappaport, thanks, as always, for being with us. We've just heard from our meteorologist Chad Meyers, and from Ed Lavandera, you see there. Now winds this morning, and where Ed is, woke up to a beautiful day so far. What's going to change and when?
ED RAPPAPORT, DEP. DIR., NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Well, the conditions are going to deteriorate, particularly in the panhandle, the eastern part, over the next several hours.
Here's again the satellite imagery with Bonnie in the northern gulf and Charley coming the Caribbean.
We can start to see the rainfall coming in now from Bonnie on radar. The radar of the weather service office in Tallahassee. Here's the center back in here.
Most of the rain, and there's a lot of heavy rain, is off to the east and north of it. It's already spreading inland. It will continue to do so during the day today.
COLLINS: All right, Mr. Rappaport, how rare is it, as we talked about already, this one-two punch, to have Bonnie, then Charley right behind it?
RAPPAPORT: Well, we don't have anything in our records, and the Hurricane Center was established about 50 years ago, to suggest that we'd had a similar occurrence during that period. But if you go back farther in the data, it looks like there may have been one other incident like this about 100 years ago, 1906. Florida was hit by two storms in about a 24-hour period.
COLLINS: Any indication of these two storms and what it means for the rest of the hurricane season?
RAPPAPORT: A little early to know that. It certainly has been an active week, with Alex from North Carolina about a week ago, and now these two coming right on the heels of it.
COLLINS: All right, Ed Rappaport, National Hurricane Center, thanks so much for the update. We're watching it this morning -- Bill.
HEMMER: Also there's a wildfire blazing this morning near northern California's Lake Shasta. It burned about 40 buildings, threatening several more near the town of Redding. More than 300 people have been evacuated so far today, and the fire has grown about 1,000 acres. Sparks from a lawnmower helped ignite that fire in the state of California.
Also in California, Amber Frey goes back to the witness stand today in Scott Peterson's double-murder trial. Jurors yesterday hear hours of recording phone conversation, detailing the lies that Peterson told his former mistress. Dean Johnson, a former San Mateo County prosecutor, is with us now this morning Redwood City, California.
Good morning to you, where I now it is early there, 4:00 in the morning.
DEAN JOHNSON, FMR. SAN MATEO CO. PROSECUTOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: On the screen, this is what we learned yesterday based on these phone conversations of yesterday, that Amber Frey had secretly recorded, encouraged to do so by investigators, by the way. We heard yesterday, "Everyone's in the bar now, so I came out in an alley. A quiet alley. Isn't that nice?" he questions. "It's pretty awesome. Fireworks there at the Eiffel Tower." He also talks about Brussels.
At this point, is the prosecution laying a glove on Scott Peterson when it comes to guilt for the murder of his wife?
JOHNSON: Well, yes and no. One thing they're doing is they're making it clear that Scott Peterson is a very careful, very meticulous liar. There's one point at which Amber Frey starts to talk about Paris, and he says, oh, no, honey, remember, I'm in Brussels right now. And, in fact, he was in Modesto all the time.
I think that's going to translate into some very damaging evidence for Scott Peterson, because, remember, he's going to be heard by this jury one way or the other. He probably won't testify, but certainly he's going to be heard through interviews of Diane Sawyer, Gloria Gomez, Ted Rowlands from CNN, and he's going to be saying, look, the only thing that's important to me is the search for Laci Peterson, I had nothing to do with her disappearance. Nobody is going to believe a word that comes out of this man's mouth.
HEMMER: We were in Paris. We were in Brussels. Based on the testimony, also he says, "You know, in my mind, we could be wonderful together and I could -- I could care for you in any and every way for the rest of our lives."
Dean you told our producers you're pretty surprised about how well Amber Frey is holding up? Why do you say that?
JOHNSON: I think she's a very credible witness. You know, witness preparation has not been a great skill for the prosecutors in this case. Amber Frey was not prepared by these prosecutors so much as by her own attorney, Gloria Allred. She comes across as very credible. She answers questions very clearly. She's very precise. She doesn't seem to have an axe to grind.
and of course the primary part of her testimony, these recorded telephone conversations, really aren't subject to cross-examination. Scott Peterson says what he says and nobody twisted his arm to say it. And in a sense of, we're hearing from Scott Peterson, we're hearing a lot about Scott Peterson through the testimony of Amber Frey and through the tapes that she merely introduces.
HEMMER: So then, if Amber Frey is that effective, what do you do if you're Mark Geragos? What is your strategy to try and discredit her?
JOHNSON: Initially, Geragos said he was going to keep her on the stand under cross-examination for six days. I don't think he's going to do that. She's come across as very sympathetic to this jury. If Mark Geragos were smart, he would tighten it up. He would get up and cross-examine her on two points. He would say, look, first, Mrs. Frey, you're a scorned lover, you have an axe to grind, and secondly, you're a snitch, you're working for the a police, you were at one point identified by the Modesto police as a suspect until you decided to cooperate with them, and then sit down and shut up.
HEMMER: If the trial ended today, is Scott Peterson guilty or is he acquitted?
JOHNSON: Oh, if you stopped today, I think anybody would have to say that Scott Peterson walks out the door. But remember, we're in the midst of the prosecution case, and the prosecution believes it's now getting to the evidence that it's always wanted to put before this jury, and it's going to make its strongest points at the end of its case.
HEMMER: Dean Johnson, thanks for your time. Nice to have you here -- Heidi.
JOHNSON: Thirteen minutes past the hour now. Time for a look at some of today's other news, and Daryn Kagan.
Daryn, good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Heidi, good morning to you.
Let's begin in Iraq. The CIA is denying that one of its employees -- actually any of its employees, have gone missing in Iraq. A video posted on an Islamic Web site earlier this week shows what appears to be the beheading of a man identified as an American CIA operative. Efforts to verify the video recording have been unsuccessful.
A deadly helicopter crash in the Al Anbar (ph) province of Iraq. Military sources say at least two U.S. Marines were killed. Three others were injured. Some 935 U.S. military personnel have now died in Iraq since the start of operations there last March.
Back here in the U.S., federal officials say there is no evidence so far that a Pakistani man arrested videotaping a building in North Carolina is connected to a terrorist group. Kamran Shaikh, also known at Kamran Akhtar, was arraigned Tuesday on immigration charges. Officials are now investigating whether Shaikh was casing buildings throughout the country as part of a terrorist plot, or merely taking tourism pictures.
In Arizona, one person is dead, more than 30 are injured, after a fiery traffic pileup closed both lanes of an interstate just west of Phoenix last night. Dozens of vehicles, including a bus and several tractor trailers were involved. Witnesses heard explosions and saw motorists fleeing burning vehicles. Officials are blaming a powerful dust storm for that incident.
On a much happier note, in this summer's Olympic kickoff, the U.S. women's soccer team beat their Greek opponent. Mia Hamm's stutter-step setup was the beginning of the end, and the U.S. went on to dominates the Greek team 3-nil. The Olympic Games continue today with the Iraqi soccer team taking on Portugal. Opening ceremonies get under way tomorrow, and for your soccer fans, the U.S. women next take on Brazil, and that, Heidi, is set for Saturday.
COLLINS: All right, we'll be watching all of it, opening ceremonies coming up, too, Friday.
KAGAN: There you go.
HEMMER: That's Friday.
COLLINS: All right, Daryn, thanks so much.
Still to come now this morning, one of the largest toy retailers ever may be leaving the business altogether. Is their life after Barbie and building blocks?
HEMMER: Gosh, let's hope so, please.
COLLINS: We're doing to talk about it.
HEMMER: Also, U.S. forces bearing down on insurgents in Najaf. What does the battle mean in the Arab world. The Arab league's ambassador, our live on AMERICAN MORNING in New York in a moment.
COLLINS: And is the criminal case against Kobe Bryant all but dead? We'll hear from the district attorney about the trial, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: The U.S. offensive against insurgents in Najaf under way today. Helicopters, tanks, U.S. troops there fighting militiamen loyal to a cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr. Many of the militants are massed in the Imam Ali Shrine, that's a holy site to Shiites.
Can the U.S. avoid an attack on the mosque, which would surely anger many in the Arab world?
Yahya Mahmassani is the Arab League's ambassador to the U.N. He works in New York. He is our guest here now in our studios.
Good morning to you.
YAHYA MAHMASSANI, ARAB LEAGUE AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: How do you analyze this offensive at this point?
MAHMASSANI: Well, I think this offensive is certainly something we would like to see avoided. I don't think any military action or violence will solve the problem of the new Iraq. This sort of path they are following now will lead to further violence, to further enmity. It will inflame further feelings, and I don't think it (inaudible) well if you want to build a new Iraq. This is not the proper way.
HEMMER: If the fighters are defeated, can Muqtada al-Sadr still claim victory?
MAHMASSANI: This is not a question of who is defeated. I don't think you can defeat anyone in such a battle, when you're fighting such a war, you know. For over one year and a half now, you've claimed to have defeated the people you want to fight and then look what's happening now.
You know, Iraq is not in a mess. I think what should happen, really, is that everything should be avoided as far as military actions are concerned and violence. We should have a national conference, as was stipulated by the latest Security Council resolution, and we should try to have all the Iraqis come together and agree on a platform in a process of reconciliation on the understanding among all Iraqis will solve the problem of Iraq.
HEMMER: I think everybody around the world would agree with what you just said, but the problem is making that a reality not just in Najaf, but Sadr City and Fallujah. How is that possible given the situation now?
MAHMASSANI: Well, it's possible, if you actually -- if everybody wants to come together.
First of all, let's hold this conference. The first thing you have to do and the first step is to hold this national conference, and in this national conference, all Iraqis, I mean all Iraqis, must be invited -- those who are fighting and those who are not fighting. Then in this process, you can come to an understanding.
I don't think any Iraqi would like to see Iraqis killed or to see his country destroyed. And this is the process that will lead to a new Iraq and lead actually to the withdraw of all foreign forces from Iraq.
HEMMER: Let me get back to the shrine in Najaf and the current fighting there.
What does it mean to the Shiite people if this became a focus point for the fighting, if the fighters went in and holed up themselves inside? Matthew Chance asked a commander just 20 minutes ago, saying he would not discuss whether or not the shrine would become involved in this battle. If it is, if it's damaged, what does that mean?
MAHMASSANI: First of all, we hope the shrine will not be touched. We hope that nothing will happen as far as the shrine is concerned. As you said, this is a very holy site for Shiite Muslims.
But at the same time, I must say, if anything happens, of course, it would have serious repercussion. It will inflame people, it will make people more angry. And this is the last thing we want to see.
HEMMER: Final question about Iyad Allawi. How is he viewed right now in the Arab world? Because this is truly a test of the relationship between the U.S. and the Iraqis today.
MAHMASSANI: That's true.
Now, we do hope that the prime minister will actually resort to prudence and that any military action could be avoided.
HEMMER: But is he respected? How is he viewed outside of Iraq?
MAHMASSANI: We are hoping that he can bring Iraqis all together. This would be just by the events, if we have a national conference, if we have election, then you see, you can judge by the results.
Of course, we would like to see him succeed in attempting to get all Iraqis together, and again I underline all Iraqis. We should not exclude anyone. And in this process, if we are able to get all Iraqis together, then actually the new Iraq will be built on the principles we want to see it.
HEMMER: Thank you, Mr. Ambassador, for your time this morning.
MAHMASSANI: Thank you.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, bad news if a you're a Toys 'R' Us kid. It looks like the game may be up at the nation's second largest toy retailer. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Here's one for you. Toys 'R' Us getting out of the toy business? Gerri Willis is in this morning for Andy Serwer. She's "Minding Your Business," and the toy business.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You bad guys, listen to this. Stop me if you've heard this before. Toys 'R' Us getting out of business. Why? Because Wal-Mart is taking all their business. We've heard this so many times, happening again. And I don't know, guys, if they'll have to change the name of the company to Toys Aren't Us, Toys Were Us, but now we're doing something else entirely, I have no idea.
COLLINS: Babies 'R' Us?
WILLIS: Babies 'R' Us, that's a better business for them. They're doing better there. They're going to focus their efforts on that business.
Guy, you've got to understand. The toy business has been terrible. Lots of companies have gotten out. Kay Bee Toys, FAO Schwarz got out, Chapter 11 last year. We're seeing lots of troubles. Wal-Mart a loss leader (ph); they're not even making money there.
COLLINS: Unbelievable. So we were talking about their real estate, though. They have so many stores all around, that's going to become their main focus? WILLIS: Right, you know, that's a big focus, 683 stores, Toys 'R' Us stores. That's a ton of real estate to manage. Maybe they can make a little money there.
COLLINS: Yes, maybe they can.
All right, so what about the markets? What are we going to see today?
WILLIS: Markets, summer doldrums, you know, it looks like we're going to open lower here, markets closed a little lower yesterday. Nothing too exciting going on there. Wal-Mart reporting earnings, though. They're saying things are going pretty well there, so we will get more details later.
COLLINS: That's because they're making money on all the toys, right?
WILLIS: You got it.
COLLINS: Gerri Willis, thanks so much for that.
HEMMER: It's good to have you here.
I talked about this story yesterday, when Mike Wallace had a bit of a run-in with the law in a street in New York on Tuesday night, in fact. Jay Leno last night had a chance to poke some fun at the veteran journalist.
Here is Jay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW" HOST: Mike Wallace, you know why he did this? You know why he got arrested? It's a plot to get the first jailhouse interview with Martha Stewart, that's what I think. That's what I think. Smart. Anyway, but god bless Mike. You give him lemons, what happens, Kev?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lemonade.
LENO: Lemonade. That's right. This Mike Wallace, he is still going to be on "60 Minutes" this Sunday.
We'll show the opening. Here you go.
MORLEY SAFER, CBS NEWS: I'm Morley Safer.
ED BRADLEY, CBS NEWS: I'm Ed Bradley.
LESLIE STAHL, CBS NEWS: I'm Leslie Stahl.
MIKE WALLACE, CBS NEWS: I'm Mike Wallace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: That's good for a laugh. Mike Wallace is 86. Yesterday had an interesting comment. He said, "They said that I lunged at a guy. He said, I can't lunge into bed at my age." So Jay Leno from last night.
In a moment here, is it game over now for Kobe Bryant? The prosecution's case, a look at that in a moment.
Also, Florida getting ready for Charley and Bonnie. We'll take you there live in a moment, as we continue bottom of the hour here, on a busy Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired August 12, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Bracing for Bonnie and Charley. Florida gets ready for what could be a destructive one-two punch.
Showdown in Najaf. The U.S. deciding enough is enough there, launching a major assault.
And more testimony from Amber Frey. Secretly recorded phone calls show just how far Scott Peterson wanted to keep his double life secret.
All ahead this morning on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: And good morning. 7:00 here in New York City. Soledad is off. Bill Hemmer, along with Heidi Collins today, and watching two huge stories that we'll watch through the next three hours. One is in Iraq. we'll get to that in a moment, with Matthew Chance. The other one happening here in this country, down in Florida. People getting ready for a powerful one-two punch from Tropical Storm Bonnie, then Hurricane Charley. We'll talk to the deputy director of the National Hurricane Center to find out how bad it could be for the folks in, and again throughout the East Coast, coming up this weekend, too.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, Scott Peterson's ex-mistress Amber Frey on the stand again. Her testimony yesterday showed just how far Peterson may have gone to keep his relationship to Laci a secret. We'll talk to a former San Mateo County prosecutor about that. Some amazing transcripts.
HEMMER: That it is, you're right. Also in the courtroom, is it game over now for the Kobe Bryant criminal matter? At least one prosecutor now saying the writing is on the wall. We'll talk to an author and the D.A., Jeanine Pirro, on that topic this morning.
Jack is on vacation, right?
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: He continue his vacation. Toure's with us again, with the Question of the Day.
COLLINS: He's calling in, though, checking on the show.
HEMMER: Yes, exclusively with you.
COLLINS: Yes.
Going to move on to the news at this hour, though. Thousands of Americans troops are attacking insurgents in Najaf. Heavy fighting is reported in that city, as helicopters and tanks bear down on militants loyal to radical militant Muqtada Al Sadr.
Matthew Chance is here with the U.S. Marines in Najaf. He is joining us now live by videophone -- Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Heidi.
And it's searing heat here in Najaf, as these thousands of U.S. troops, backed by tanks and helicopter gunships, fight intensive battles against members of the Mehdi Army loyal to the radical Shia cleric Muqtada Al Sadr in the holy city of Najaf.
We're joined now by Major David Holahan of the U.S. Marine Corps.
Major, thanks very much for being with us.
First of all, a lot of talk about fighting in those sacred areas. Are these still the areas where all the activity is going on?
MAJ. GEN. DAVID HOLAHAN, U.S. MARINES: Well, actually, the members of the First Cavalry division have encircled the Old City, and the holy shrine is in the Old City.
The only fighting in the holy shrine is actually being done by Muqtada Al Sadr. This morning, at 10:45, he launched 25 mortar rounds from the courtyard of the shrine, of course in complete of the Koranic verse, which he claims he's defending. He violates international law. And ironically enough, he attacked the I.P.s, the Iraqi police, in their police station. He didn't even attack the coalition troops, which are the ones he claims he's defending against.
So the truth is, he's fighting a war against his own citizens.
CHANCE: A very difficult situation, politically very sensitive, I'm sure, that both the U.S. Army, and the Iraqis and everybody involved wants to get this over with as soon as possible. I know you can't be too specific, but what kind of a timeline are we working with here?
HOLAHAN: Well, the timeline we're working with is to eliminate as many members of the militia as rapidly is possibly, and then come to terms with Muqtada and his militia as soon as possible. So we'll be done as soon as we can be done. And of course the final decisions on what we do and where we go will be made by the interim government and Prime Minister Allawi. So if we could finish it tomorrow, we would.
CHANCE: Just very briefly, do you think there will be an attack on any of these sacred sites? Just one or two words?
HOLAHAN: No, I don't think I should discuss that at this time.
CHANCE: All right, Major Holahan, thanks very much for being with much.
Heidi, there you have it, word from Major Holahan, U.S. Marine Corps.
Back to you in New York.
COLLINS: All right, Major Chance, thanks so much, live from Najaf this morning.
We'll be checking back in several times throughout the morning.
HEMMER: In the meantime, Heidi, back in this country, Mother Nature now in Florida, bracing for double trouble. Residents hunkering down as two big storms threaten to pound much of that state. Meanwhile, the governor, Jeb Bush, declaring a state of emergency for the entire state at this point.
Tracking the storms this morning, Chad Meyers is in Panama City Beach, Florida. Ed Lavandera is in Clearwater, where they're racing to complete a -- complete storm perhaps in time.
Let's start with you, Chad. How are conditions now?
CHAD MEYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, Bill, all morning long, no wind whatsoever, and now finally seeing some wind here, to about, oh, 14, 15 miles per hour. And those winds have come up literally in the last 10 or 15 minutes as the storm gets closer. At 5:00, the 5:00 advisory actually had the storm 160 miles out to sea, but moving at 16 miles per hour, so getting a little bit closer here, and so that was three hours ago, so by the time that plane was out there.
So yes, the winds are getting stronger, the storm is getting closer, and it's even picking up a little bit of strength out there, at least on some of the latest satellite pictures.
In fact, here's the satellite picture of Bonnie. Bonnie now seeing some of those oranges now, especially now getting almost up into Apalachee Bay, and you can even see a little bit of a tail. That's just to the west of Tampa. The whole storm system a little bit hard for the reconnaissance plane to find earlier today. But what they could find, obviously, the rain. Very heavy rain from St. George's Island, right on up to Tallahassee. Some spots, even here in Fort Walton Beach, and all the way over to Panama City Beach, picking up two inches of rain overnight, just from the first storm system that came through from Bonnie.
Bonnie goes over Panama City, and right into parts of Georgia, and then into upstate South Carolina, and then into North Carolina.
And for all of those states just mentioned, I want you to think of this as a one-two punch, because Charley is going to take a very similar track. Charley is not going to hit Panama City, but once it gets into Georgia and the Carolinas, that's when Charley is going to make its run up the East Coast into very saturated ground, and we're going to lose a lot of trees, we're going to lose a lot of power lines, because those trees are going to be falling on those power lines.
Charley, still down around Jamaica, right over Cayman Brac, if you want to find a map, and as it goes over Cuba, past and across Key West, right into Tampa for tomorrow morning. And obviously, we have a reporter there for it.
Back to you.
HEMMER: Chad, thanks for that. Let's move east to Clearwater.
And, Ed, how are you? Good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, we're waking up to a glorious morning here in Clearwater, across the bay is Clearwater Beach Island. This is the furthestmost northern point of the hurricane watch, where it extends, further on the very southwest edges of the state of Florida. Into the Keys is where we've seen some of the earliest preparation taking place.
There have been mandatory orders for visitors to evacuate the Key West area, the farthest point to the Florida Keys, and quite frankly, though, as we move northward, you sense when you talk to people that this is definitely they day that they will be paying the closest attention to figure out exactly what Hurricane Charley is going to do.
Quite frankly, however, we've talk to a lot people who say they'll believe the storm is coming when they see it. In fact, many of the emergency management folks that we talked to here this morning haven't even started their meetings yet. They say most of these groups will start meeting here in the next few hours, later on this morning, to begin putting out their plans, and advising the public as to what they should do.
Hurricane watches and hurricane warnings extended along the southwest edges of the state of Florida. The storm, we understand, is packing winds of about 85 miles per hour, and the hurricane center says it will have the next update on the storm at 10:00 Eastern -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Ed, thanks for that.
Chad, I'll also be back in touch throughout the morning.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Now Heidi again with more.
COLLINS: And we do have the very latest on this tropical one-two punch from Ed Rappaport, the deputy director of the National Hurricane Center. He's joining us this morning from Miami.
Mr. Rappaport, thanks, as always, for being with us. We've just heard from our meteorologist Chad Meyers, and from Ed Lavandera, you see there. Now winds this morning, and where Ed is, woke up to a beautiful day so far. What's going to change and when?
ED RAPPAPORT, DEP. DIR., NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Well, the conditions are going to deteriorate, particularly in the panhandle, the eastern part, over the next several hours.
Here's again the satellite imagery with Bonnie in the northern gulf and Charley coming the Caribbean.
We can start to see the rainfall coming in now from Bonnie on radar. The radar of the weather service office in Tallahassee. Here's the center back in here.
Most of the rain, and there's a lot of heavy rain, is off to the east and north of it. It's already spreading inland. It will continue to do so during the day today.
COLLINS: All right, Mr. Rappaport, how rare is it, as we talked about already, this one-two punch, to have Bonnie, then Charley right behind it?
RAPPAPORT: Well, we don't have anything in our records, and the Hurricane Center was established about 50 years ago, to suggest that we'd had a similar occurrence during that period. But if you go back farther in the data, it looks like there may have been one other incident like this about 100 years ago, 1906. Florida was hit by two storms in about a 24-hour period.
COLLINS: Any indication of these two storms and what it means for the rest of the hurricane season?
RAPPAPORT: A little early to know that. It certainly has been an active week, with Alex from North Carolina about a week ago, and now these two coming right on the heels of it.
COLLINS: All right, Ed Rappaport, National Hurricane Center, thanks so much for the update. We're watching it this morning -- Bill.
HEMMER: Also there's a wildfire blazing this morning near northern California's Lake Shasta. It burned about 40 buildings, threatening several more near the town of Redding. More than 300 people have been evacuated so far today, and the fire has grown about 1,000 acres. Sparks from a lawnmower helped ignite that fire in the state of California.
Also in California, Amber Frey goes back to the witness stand today in Scott Peterson's double-murder trial. Jurors yesterday hear hours of recording phone conversation, detailing the lies that Peterson told his former mistress. Dean Johnson, a former San Mateo County prosecutor, is with us now this morning Redwood City, California.
Good morning to you, where I now it is early there, 4:00 in the morning.
DEAN JOHNSON, FMR. SAN MATEO CO. PROSECUTOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: On the screen, this is what we learned yesterday based on these phone conversations of yesterday, that Amber Frey had secretly recorded, encouraged to do so by investigators, by the way. We heard yesterday, "Everyone's in the bar now, so I came out in an alley. A quiet alley. Isn't that nice?" he questions. "It's pretty awesome. Fireworks there at the Eiffel Tower." He also talks about Brussels.
At this point, is the prosecution laying a glove on Scott Peterson when it comes to guilt for the murder of his wife?
JOHNSON: Well, yes and no. One thing they're doing is they're making it clear that Scott Peterson is a very careful, very meticulous liar. There's one point at which Amber Frey starts to talk about Paris, and he says, oh, no, honey, remember, I'm in Brussels right now. And, in fact, he was in Modesto all the time.
I think that's going to translate into some very damaging evidence for Scott Peterson, because, remember, he's going to be heard by this jury one way or the other. He probably won't testify, but certainly he's going to be heard through interviews of Diane Sawyer, Gloria Gomez, Ted Rowlands from CNN, and he's going to be saying, look, the only thing that's important to me is the search for Laci Peterson, I had nothing to do with her disappearance. Nobody is going to believe a word that comes out of this man's mouth.
HEMMER: We were in Paris. We were in Brussels. Based on the testimony, also he says, "You know, in my mind, we could be wonderful together and I could -- I could care for you in any and every way for the rest of our lives."
Dean you told our producers you're pretty surprised about how well Amber Frey is holding up? Why do you say that?
JOHNSON: I think she's a very credible witness. You know, witness preparation has not been a great skill for the prosecutors in this case. Amber Frey was not prepared by these prosecutors so much as by her own attorney, Gloria Allred. She comes across as very credible. She answers questions very clearly. She's very precise. She doesn't seem to have an axe to grind.
and of course the primary part of her testimony, these recorded telephone conversations, really aren't subject to cross-examination. Scott Peterson says what he says and nobody twisted his arm to say it. And in a sense of, we're hearing from Scott Peterson, we're hearing a lot about Scott Peterson through the testimony of Amber Frey and through the tapes that she merely introduces.
HEMMER: So then, if Amber Frey is that effective, what do you do if you're Mark Geragos? What is your strategy to try and discredit her?
JOHNSON: Initially, Geragos said he was going to keep her on the stand under cross-examination for six days. I don't think he's going to do that. She's come across as very sympathetic to this jury. If Mark Geragos were smart, he would tighten it up. He would get up and cross-examine her on two points. He would say, look, first, Mrs. Frey, you're a scorned lover, you have an axe to grind, and secondly, you're a snitch, you're working for the a police, you were at one point identified by the Modesto police as a suspect until you decided to cooperate with them, and then sit down and shut up.
HEMMER: If the trial ended today, is Scott Peterson guilty or is he acquitted?
JOHNSON: Oh, if you stopped today, I think anybody would have to say that Scott Peterson walks out the door. But remember, we're in the midst of the prosecution case, and the prosecution believes it's now getting to the evidence that it's always wanted to put before this jury, and it's going to make its strongest points at the end of its case.
HEMMER: Dean Johnson, thanks for your time. Nice to have you here -- Heidi.
JOHNSON: Thirteen minutes past the hour now. Time for a look at some of today's other news, and Daryn Kagan.
Daryn, good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Heidi, good morning to you.
Let's begin in Iraq. The CIA is denying that one of its employees -- actually any of its employees, have gone missing in Iraq. A video posted on an Islamic Web site earlier this week shows what appears to be the beheading of a man identified as an American CIA operative. Efforts to verify the video recording have been unsuccessful.
A deadly helicopter crash in the Al Anbar (ph) province of Iraq. Military sources say at least two U.S. Marines were killed. Three others were injured. Some 935 U.S. military personnel have now died in Iraq since the start of operations there last March.
Back here in the U.S., federal officials say there is no evidence so far that a Pakistani man arrested videotaping a building in North Carolina is connected to a terrorist group. Kamran Shaikh, also known at Kamran Akhtar, was arraigned Tuesday on immigration charges. Officials are now investigating whether Shaikh was casing buildings throughout the country as part of a terrorist plot, or merely taking tourism pictures.
In Arizona, one person is dead, more than 30 are injured, after a fiery traffic pileup closed both lanes of an interstate just west of Phoenix last night. Dozens of vehicles, including a bus and several tractor trailers were involved. Witnesses heard explosions and saw motorists fleeing burning vehicles. Officials are blaming a powerful dust storm for that incident.
On a much happier note, in this summer's Olympic kickoff, the U.S. women's soccer team beat their Greek opponent. Mia Hamm's stutter-step setup was the beginning of the end, and the U.S. went on to dominates the Greek team 3-nil. The Olympic Games continue today with the Iraqi soccer team taking on Portugal. Opening ceremonies get under way tomorrow, and for your soccer fans, the U.S. women next take on Brazil, and that, Heidi, is set for Saturday.
COLLINS: All right, we'll be watching all of it, opening ceremonies coming up, too, Friday.
KAGAN: There you go.
HEMMER: That's Friday.
COLLINS: All right, Daryn, thanks so much.
Still to come now this morning, one of the largest toy retailers ever may be leaving the business altogether. Is their life after Barbie and building blocks?
HEMMER: Gosh, let's hope so, please.
COLLINS: We're doing to talk about it.
HEMMER: Also, U.S. forces bearing down on insurgents in Najaf. What does the battle mean in the Arab world. The Arab league's ambassador, our live on AMERICAN MORNING in New York in a moment.
COLLINS: And is the criminal case against Kobe Bryant all but dead? We'll hear from the district attorney about the trial, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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HEMMER: The U.S. offensive against insurgents in Najaf under way today. Helicopters, tanks, U.S. troops there fighting militiamen loyal to a cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr. Many of the militants are massed in the Imam Ali Shrine, that's a holy site to Shiites.
Can the U.S. avoid an attack on the mosque, which would surely anger many in the Arab world?
Yahya Mahmassani is the Arab League's ambassador to the U.N. He works in New York. He is our guest here now in our studios.
Good morning to you.
YAHYA MAHMASSANI, ARAB LEAGUE AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: How do you analyze this offensive at this point?
MAHMASSANI: Well, I think this offensive is certainly something we would like to see avoided. I don't think any military action or violence will solve the problem of the new Iraq. This sort of path they are following now will lead to further violence, to further enmity. It will inflame further feelings, and I don't think it (inaudible) well if you want to build a new Iraq. This is not the proper way.
HEMMER: If the fighters are defeated, can Muqtada al-Sadr still claim victory?
MAHMASSANI: This is not a question of who is defeated. I don't think you can defeat anyone in such a battle, when you're fighting such a war, you know. For over one year and a half now, you've claimed to have defeated the people you want to fight and then look what's happening now.
You know, Iraq is not in a mess. I think what should happen, really, is that everything should be avoided as far as military actions are concerned and violence. We should have a national conference, as was stipulated by the latest Security Council resolution, and we should try to have all the Iraqis come together and agree on a platform in a process of reconciliation on the understanding among all Iraqis will solve the problem of Iraq.
HEMMER: I think everybody around the world would agree with what you just said, but the problem is making that a reality not just in Najaf, but Sadr City and Fallujah. How is that possible given the situation now?
MAHMASSANI: Well, it's possible, if you actually -- if everybody wants to come together.
First of all, let's hold this conference. The first thing you have to do and the first step is to hold this national conference, and in this national conference, all Iraqis, I mean all Iraqis, must be invited -- those who are fighting and those who are not fighting. Then in this process, you can come to an understanding.
I don't think any Iraqi would like to see Iraqis killed or to see his country destroyed. And this is the process that will lead to a new Iraq and lead actually to the withdraw of all foreign forces from Iraq.
HEMMER: Let me get back to the shrine in Najaf and the current fighting there.
What does it mean to the Shiite people if this became a focus point for the fighting, if the fighters went in and holed up themselves inside? Matthew Chance asked a commander just 20 minutes ago, saying he would not discuss whether or not the shrine would become involved in this battle. If it is, if it's damaged, what does that mean?
MAHMASSANI: First of all, we hope the shrine will not be touched. We hope that nothing will happen as far as the shrine is concerned. As you said, this is a very holy site for Shiite Muslims.
But at the same time, I must say, if anything happens, of course, it would have serious repercussion. It will inflame people, it will make people more angry. And this is the last thing we want to see.
HEMMER: Final question about Iyad Allawi. How is he viewed right now in the Arab world? Because this is truly a test of the relationship between the U.S. and the Iraqis today.
MAHMASSANI: That's true.
Now, we do hope that the prime minister will actually resort to prudence and that any military action could be avoided.
HEMMER: But is he respected? How is he viewed outside of Iraq?
MAHMASSANI: We are hoping that he can bring Iraqis all together. This would be just by the events, if we have a national conference, if we have election, then you see, you can judge by the results.
Of course, we would like to see him succeed in attempting to get all Iraqis together, and again I underline all Iraqis. We should not exclude anyone. And in this process, if we are able to get all Iraqis together, then actually the new Iraq will be built on the principles we want to see it.
HEMMER: Thank you, Mr. Ambassador, for your time this morning.
MAHMASSANI: Thank you.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, bad news if a you're a Toys 'R' Us kid. It looks like the game may be up at the nation's second largest toy retailer. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
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COLLINS: Here's one for you. Toys 'R' Us getting out of the toy business? Gerri Willis is in this morning for Andy Serwer. She's "Minding Your Business," and the toy business.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You bad guys, listen to this. Stop me if you've heard this before. Toys 'R' Us getting out of business. Why? Because Wal-Mart is taking all their business. We've heard this so many times, happening again. And I don't know, guys, if they'll have to change the name of the company to Toys Aren't Us, Toys Were Us, but now we're doing something else entirely, I have no idea.
COLLINS: Babies 'R' Us?
WILLIS: Babies 'R' Us, that's a better business for them. They're doing better there. They're going to focus their efforts on that business.
Guy, you've got to understand. The toy business has been terrible. Lots of companies have gotten out. Kay Bee Toys, FAO Schwarz got out, Chapter 11 last year. We're seeing lots of troubles. Wal-Mart a loss leader (ph); they're not even making money there.
COLLINS: Unbelievable. So we were talking about their real estate, though. They have so many stores all around, that's going to become their main focus? WILLIS: Right, you know, that's a big focus, 683 stores, Toys 'R' Us stores. That's a ton of real estate to manage. Maybe they can make a little money there.
COLLINS: Yes, maybe they can.
All right, so what about the markets? What are we going to see today?
WILLIS: Markets, summer doldrums, you know, it looks like we're going to open lower here, markets closed a little lower yesterday. Nothing too exciting going on there. Wal-Mart reporting earnings, though. They're saying things are going pretty well there, so we will get more details later.
COLLINS: That's because they're making money on all the toys, right?
WILLIS: You got it.
COLLINS: Gerri Willis, thanks so much for that.
HEMMER: It's good to have you here.
I talked about this story yesterday, when Mike Wallace had a bit of a run-in with the law in a street in New York on Tuesday night, in fact. Jay Leno last night had a chance to poke some fun at the veteran journalist.
Here is Jay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW" HOST: Mike Wallace, you know why he did this? You know why he got arrested? It's a plot to get the first jailhouse interview with Martha Stewart, that's what I think. That's what I think. Smart. Anyway, but god bless Mike. You give him lemons, what happens, Kev?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lemonade.
LENO: Lemonade. That's right. This Mike Wallace, he is still going to be on "60 Minutes" this Sunday.
We'll show the opening. Here you go.
MORLEY SAFER, CBS NEWS: I'm Morley Safer.
ED BRADLEY, CBS NEWS: I'm Ed Bradley.
LESLIE STAHL, CBS NEWS: I'm Leslie Stahl.
MIKE WALLACE, CBS NEWS: I'm Mike Wallace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: That's good for a laugh. Mike Wallace is 86. Yesterday had an interesting comment. He said, "They said that I lunged at a guy. He said, I can't lunge into bed at my age." So Jay Leno from last night.
In a moment here, is it game over now for Kobe Bryant? The prosecution's case, a look at that in a moment.
Also, Florida getting ready for Charley and Bonnie. We'll take you there live in a moment, as we continue bottom of the hour here, on a busy Thursday morning.
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