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CNN Live At Daybreak
Muscled Up Hurricane Charley Takes Aim at Florida; Muqtada Al- Sadr Wounded in Fighting in Najaf
Aired August 13, 2004 - 05:00 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: Getting out of the way -- a muscled up hurricane Charley takes aim at Florida and the Southeast.
It is Friday, August 13.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, wounded -- radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is said to be hit in the arm and chest during fighting today between the Medhi militia and American and Iraqi troops. Earlier, U.S. Marines busted into al-Sadr's living compound in Najaf, but the cleric wasn't at home. An aide to al-Sadr says he will recover.
Also in Iraq, a British journalist is taken hostage in Basra. He was seized from outside the gate of his hotel. Police gave chase, but lost the kidnappers.
Firefighters in northern California get the upper hand on a wildfire that's destroyed or damaged dozens of homes. Hundreds of people have been forced to flee the so-called Bear Fire.
A tornado is part of the legacy from tropical storm Bonnie in Florida. Take a look at this. This twister hit four miles north of downtown Jacksonville. It uprooted trees and damaged cars, but nobody got hurt.
Let's go up to the forecast center and check in with Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol.
COSTELLO: Hi, Rob.
MARCIANO: Tornadoes are a problem with these hurricanes if they come onshore. But they don't even need to be a hurricane. I mean, Bonnie was just a minimal tropical storm. A lot of twists in the atmosphere when they do come onshore and because of that there's actually a tornado watch out for much of southern Florida for the next several hours.
Here now is Charley. Bonnie's gone, here's Charley. It just came offshore. I mean just, the eye went right over Havana last night. And it still had winds of over 100 miles an hour. And the latest gives it winds of 110 miles an hour. It probably will strengthen even more. Key West and the Keys under the gun. And then Fort Myers and eventually Tampa. And that's where a lot of our reporters are stationed and ready to go.
This red box indicates that we do have a tornado watch out because of the twist, especially on the right side of this storm. But look at the radar. As it comes out of Havana into the Gulf of Mexico again, I mean, the eye wall is well defined. This is a very strong category two tropical -- or hurricane. And it will likely strengthen to a category three over the next couple of hours, Carol.
And Chad Myers is going to be blowing around in the wind later on this afternoon later on.
There he is.
COSTELLO: In fact, Rob, he already is blowing around in the wind.
But this could be really devastating for Tampa, because as of right now, it's going to take a direct hit, right -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, say that again.
COSTELLO: Tampa, is it going to take a direct hit -- Chad.
MYERS: It sure looks like it, Carol. As -- it looks like the problem with Tampa is that it's a bay and that it's a funneling bay. We have all of this water that's in the ocean that's going to be forced into Tampa Bay and to old Tampa Bay. And that is going to be forced up into the rivers that create Tampa Bay. And we are right at the mouth of one of those rivers, or at the delta, if you will, as they come down out of Florida.
This water is going to get all pushed up here. And the boats you see behind me, literally, I am standing about four feet above sea level. This will be way underwater here probably by about maybe 11:00, 12:00, depending on as close as the eye gets here.
The winds literally an hour ago were zero. Now the winds at least 30, maybe 40 miles per hour, at time, especially funneling around this big hotel that we're standing behind.
The boats here are in significant danger. All of the owners of the boats last night were tying them up. But the water is going to come up. The tying that they have, they're actually going to try to tie the boats down as the water wants to come up. And, Carol, I know I'm low here, but trust me, as the day goes on we have seven more layers to go up and we may need all seven before we are finally done here somewhere this afternoon some time -- Carol.
COSTELLO: It looks like the wind gusts are pretty strong there already.
Do you have a gauge of how strong they are? MYERS: Well, we just had a wind gust to around 27 right before we went on the air and it might have been something a little bit stronger than that when I was just talking. But it's not that bad yet, Carol, trust me. It's going to go downhill a whole lot more from here.
COSTELLO: All right, Chad Myers, we'll get back to you.
You be careful out there.
MYERS: I will.
COSTELLO: Charley's first U.S. stop, so to speak, will be Key West, actually, a town never known to turn down a celebration. But take our word for it, no one is celebrating.
Ted Scouten of CNN affiliate WFOR in Miami filed this report Thursday night from Key West.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TED SCOUTEN, WFOR REPORTER (voice-over): The sound of power tools takes the place of music on Duval Street. The party is over for now and it's time to prepare for Charley.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody was expecting this. We got notice very quickly, what, 36 hours ago. It became evident, you know?
SCOUTEN (on camera): So it's taken serious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And then, boom, and they said it was heading our way.
SCOUTEN (voice-over): Business owners are scrambling to finish before it's too late. All up and down the street, they're getting the shutters up while keeping an eye on the sky.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we're kind of watching to see how far west it goes, but it looks like we'll catch a fringe of it, anyway, but I'm boarding up just in case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The airport is closed.
SCOUTEN: At the airport, quite an unpleasant welcome for tourists who want to try to evacuate. At 9:00 this morning, the flights were canceled when TSA screeners packed it in. That forced the airlines to stop flying, leaving the airport deserted.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just left us high and dry. So we've come here now and we've just bought some Greyhound tickets and we're hoping to get to Miami.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody with children 12 or younger, you can come up to the front.
SCOUTEN: With no flights, the Greyhound bus quickly became a favorite for tourists trying to get out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're leaving today.
SCOUTEN (on camera): How are you getting out of town? Where are you going?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. We're catching Greyhound to Miami and then we're catching Amtrak to Washington, D.C.
SCOUTEN (voice-over): Many of these folks had no earthly idea that their dream vacation to paradise would end with a long bus ride. Many said they didn't realize they would be kicked out without a flight home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But my daughter called me this morning and said, momma, aren't they going to tell you all to leave? I said, oh, no. In less than 10 minutes, they called, said we got to go.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: And out they went. Once again, that report was from Ted Scouten of CNN affiliate WFOR in Miami.
Do you ever wonder which hurricanes were the most devastating? You can get that information plus a look at how hurricanes are formed and all the latest on Charley. That's on our Web site, cnn.com/weather.
The other big story we're following this morning is the report that Muqtada Al-Sadr has been wounded in the fighting in Najaf.
John Vause live in Baghdad to talk more about that.
How serious are his injuries -- John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, we're hearing from a spokesperson for al-Sadr, saying that he received shrapnel wounds in some of the fighting. Apparently his leg, chest and arm were wounded and that's where the injuries are. According to his spokesperson, he is now in a stable condition. The wounds are described as non-life threatening.
But right now, we understand that, in fact, cease-fire negotiations may, in fact, be under way between al-Sadr and the interim Iraqi government.
We're also learning this morning that Grand Ayatollah Sistani, who is in London for heart treatment, has, in fact, sent a very large delegation to Najaf to try and negotiate this cease-fire. Al-Sistani was one of the men behind the cease-fire back in June, which broke down a week or so ago.
Also, we're told that the national security adviser to the interim Iraqi government is in Najaf talking cease-fire, as well. So, too, Muqtada al-Sadr, who earlier this week was vowing to defend the Imam Ali Mosque with his very last drop of blood. So a dramatic turnaround there.
Also today, we're learning that a British journalist has been kidnapped from Basra. Apparently 30 militiamen stormed his hotel. He was shot twice in the leg and has been taken away. One of their demands is that the U.S. operation in Najaf be brought to an immediate end, within the next 24 hours or so.
Al-Sadr's men have, in fact, put out a statement pleading for the release of the British journalist.
There have been protests, too, here in Baghdad, as anger over the Najaf operation spreads across the country. A couple of thousand people staging a fairly noisy but at this stage peaceful sit-in outside the green zone -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And, John, I want to go back to the video we were showing people. Those were Marines raiding Muqtada al-Sadr's home. They didn't find anything inside.
Where was Muqtada al-Sadr when he was wounded? Was he inside that mosque we've been hearing so much about?
VAUSE: It was very difficult to tell exactly where he may have been, because the U.S. is adamant that they have not attacked the mosque, they haven't fired in that direction. They say that there's been no damage sustained to the Imam Ali Mosque.
It appears that he may have, in fact, been outside, possibly near the cemetery area. That's the sprawling cemetery next to the mosque, where a lot of the fighting has been concentrated. There are some reports that he may have been, in fact, addressing some members of his Medhi militia and that is when the injuries occurred.
COSTELLO: John Vause live in Baghdad this morning.
Thank you.
In news across America this Friday, Amber Frey was again the focus of the Scott Peterson trial, even though she never took the stand. The jury heard hours of recorded phone calls between Peterson and his former mistress. They included recorded questions from Frey about Laci Peterson's disappearance.
The court is in recess today, but more calls will be played Monday and Tuesday. Frey is expected to take the stand again midweek.
Will the Columbine diaries ever be seen by the public? A Colorado appeals court says the tapes and diaries made by Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are a matter of public record. But the court also says the materials can be withheld if the release is contrary to public interest.
Another court will take up that argument. The California Supreme Court has turned back the clock and voided all same-sex marriages performed in San Francisco this year. The justices ruled that the San Francisco mayor acted outside of the law when issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. At least 4,000 couples had their unions nullified.
A startling admission by the governor of New Jersey. James McGreevey announced that he is gay and will resign from office. A former aide, Golan Cipel, is expected to file a sexual harassment suit against McGreevey. CNN has made repeated attempts, without success, to get a comment from Cipel.
CNN's Alina Cho has more on the governor's dramatic decision to go public.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a news conference like no other -- Candid, poignant, personal.
GOV. JAMES MCGREEVEY, NEW JERSEY: At a point in every person's life, one has to look deeply into the mirror of one's soul and decide one's unique truth in the world, not as we may want to see it or hope to see it, but as it is. And so my truth is that I am a gay American.
CHO: Governor James McGreevey then announced he would resign. The hastily called news conference came after reports of a pending lawsuit. Two Democratic sources tell CNN a former aid to McGreevey is the plaintiff in a sexual harassment suit against the New Jersey governor. Flanked by his second wife Dina, even his parents, McGreevey, a father of two said he had grappled with his identity for years, was forced into what he called an acceptable reality. And ultimately, he admitted he had strayed.
MCGREEVEY: Shamefully, I engaged in adult consensual affair with another man which violates my bonds of matrimony. It was wrong, it was foolish, it was inexcusable. And for this, I ask the forgiveness and the grace of my wife.
CHO: The embattled governor is no stranger to controversy. Just last month a top McGreevey campaign contributor Charles Kushner was charged with luring grand jury witnesses into sex with prostitutes. McGreevey survived that news. This he could not escape.
MCGREEVEY: This, the 47th year of my life, it is arguably too late to have this discussion. But it is here and it is now.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: So our e-mail question of this morning -- did McGreevey resign because of abuse of power? Was it an abuse of power issue or was it a gay issue for you? Why did he really resign, because he was gay or was there some abuse of power involved?
E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
Also just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington will be along to discuss the governor's decision.
On the campaign trail, for the second time in a week, President Bush and his opponent, Senator John Kerry, will hold dueling events in the same city today. John Kerry will visit Eugene, Oregon and then take part in a rally in Portland. President Bush will also be in Portland, speaking at a small business summit. Then he heads on to Washington State.
In the meantime, President Bush isn't coming right out and condemning an ad that criticizes Kerry's Vietnam War record, but does say the independent ad should be pulled off the air.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I haven't seen the ad. But what I do condemn is these unregulated soft money expenditures by very wealthy people. And they've said some bad things about me and I guess they're saying bad things about him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In response to Bush's interview on "LARRY KING LIVE," Kerry's campaign issued a statement saying, "The president spent an hour on TV and didn't talk about jobs or plans to get the economy going."
It's an event of Olympic proportions. How's that for a hint? It is opening day in Athens and CNN's Mark McKay has a live report in 11 minutes.
Lobbyists throw a lot of money around in Washington and a lot of it comes from overseas. Another installment of The Best Government Money Can Buy. That happens in 24 minutes.
And what the federal government hasn't told us about the dangers of children taking anti-depressants. A report from Dr. Sanjay Gupta. That's 42 minutes away.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Crude oil prices surging past $45 a barrel sink Wall Street. The Dow opens in a few hours down nearly 124 points. Ooh, ouch.
The Nasdaq opens down nearly 30 points.
The S&P 500 opens 12 1/2 points down.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei drops nearly 271 points, to a three month low.
Britain's FTSE 100 is up 2 points.
And France's CAC is off, oh, just about 3 1/2 points.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Muqtada al-Sadr has been wounded. Reports from Najaf say the cleric was hit by shrapnel in his arm and chest. The U.S. military and Iraqi security forces are battling al-Sadr's army for control of the city.
If any foam falls off during the next shuttle launch, a live NASA camera should be able to see it. A piece of foam on the external fuel tank is blamed for causing last year's Columbia disaster. Discovery is scheduled to launch next spring.
In money news, tax day part two is coming. For more than eight million of you who filed for income tax extensions, Monday at midnight is the deadline to pay the piper.
In culture, the doctor for civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks will have to explain why she can't testify in the lawsuit over her name. Parks is suing over a 1998 song by the group OutKast called "Rosa Parks."
In sports, the Yankees are at it again. They powered their way over the Texas Rangers 5-1, to increase their lead over the rest of the league. New York has won eight of 11 games this month. And that one was just for you, Rob Marciano, Yankees fan.
Let's talk about something serious, though, the weather.
Chad is out in Tampa. Rob is here in the forecast center.
Chad -- why don't you go first.
MYERS: Good morning.
You know what? It's Charley and it's now 110 miles per...
COSTELLO: I'm sorry, Charley.
MYERS: What did you say, Bonnie?
COSTELLO: No, I'm sorry.
Go ahead, Chad. Sorry to interrupt.
MYERS: You were right, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: You, of course, you were right.
Actually, you know, it's really, it's going to be hard to hear out here today because the wind is really blowing. It's on and off. I turned up my little backpack here so that I can hear you and all of a sudden a gust of wind will come by and then I won't be able to hear what you're saying because it's just too loud. It's just going to be one of those days. And this is the easy part.
This storm is now 110 miles per hour. It's going to get to 111. If it does, that's a category three. So that's how close we are to a category three.
This is obviously the largest hurricane Tampa Bay, Fort Myers, Naples, all the way up the coast. The largest hurricane they've seen in a really long time. But what we understand and what we experienced yesterday was an awful lot of non-chaos. Like you'd expect there would be, just orderly conduct, people getting out of the town. If there were mandatory evacuations, they were moving, they moving in line. It wasn't bumper to bumper. It wasn't just standstill traffic and pandemonium. It was an orderly evacuation and that's good, because this is a big storm headed this way -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Absolutely, Chad.
And, Rob, can you tell us exactly where Charley is right now?
MARCIANO: Right now it's just passing over Havana, Cuba and heading now back into the Gulf of Mexico. Just to the west of Key West is likely where it will pass. This image behind me is what we call a keyhole image. It's a high resolution landside imagery of Tampa Bay.
This is Tampa Bay. And when we get these storms, a category three storm, the storm surge is really what we're most concerned about. A lot of the areas in Tampa are very low at elevation. As this thing comes onshore, even if it just passes to the west of Tampa Bay, it'll really push all of that water into the bay. And that's what -- we call that storm surge. If it's a category three, we can get a storm surge of up to about 12 feet. If it happens to come in, you know, around high tide, that adds another two feet. But regardless of that, a lot of these areas will be underwater.
This is an Air Force base. I couldn't find the elevation of it, but with Tampa International Airport being at about 26, 27 feet in elevation, certainly the air force base is less than that. So there will be areas that will be underwater. And St. Petersburg itself, I mean, in a category four or a five storm, would actually become an island. So that's a huge, huge concern. And obviously Chad knows all about that and he's being careful of where he locates himself.
Here's the storm itself. It is a category two, but likely to become a category three storm over the next couple of hours as it heads into the very warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: Yes. COSTELLO: It is opening day for the Summer Olympic Games. And believe it or not, there has already been an upset in Athens. We'll have a live report of the 28th Olympiad in four minutes.
We'd like to hear from you on our e-mail Question of the Day -- New Jersey Governor McGreevey's resignation. Is it an abuse of power issue or a gay issue for you? RSVP to daybreak@cnn.com.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
You're watching DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Let the games begin. The opening ceremonies flame up today, marking the official start of the 28th Olympiad. In fact, the games began before the opening ceremonies. And get this, in a stunning upset, Iraq's soccer team scored a 4-2 victory over heavily favored Portugal.
CNN's Mark McKay takes a look at some of the other compelling story lines from the Athens Olympics.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The big splash at these games is expected to be made in the pool. United States swimmer Michael Phelps is trying to go where only one summer Olympian has ever gone. The lanky 19-year-old is looking to equal or even surpass the record, seven swimming gold medals earned by Mark Spitz at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Phelps has entered five individual events and hopes to swim in three relays. While supremely confident in his abilities, Phelps has chosen to keep his head above water when it comes to making bold predictions.
MICHAEL PHELPS, U.S. SWIMMER: I would be satisfied with one gold medal. You know, how many people in the world have one Olympic gold medal? That's a goal of mine and, you know, I'm going to shoot for that and try and achieve it.
MCKAY: Ian Thorpe could be the biggest obstacle standing between Phelps and Olympic history. The Australian swimming sensation, who's gone on record as saying that the Americans' attempt at Spitz's mark is impossible, will be hoping to make his own waves in Athens. Thorpe could meet Phelps in three relays in what's already being called the race of the Olympics -- the 200 meter freestyle, an event at which the Thorpedo holds the world record.
A trio of distance runners are hoping to avoid wearing the tag of world record holders without Olympic titles. Among them, 29-year-old Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj, whose last shot at 1,500 meter glory is expected to come in Athens. Men's basketball will be even more intriguing at these Summer Games. A less than impressive lead up to the Olympics has the United States seen as anything but a lock for gold. World champions Serbia and Montenegro, and a deep Argentinean squad, are expected to challenge for a spot on the medals podium.
What's new for 2004? Women's freestyle wrestling, which makes its Olympic debut in four different weight classes. Struggling for decades to be accepted by their male counterparts and society in general, these women are poised to make their mark on a sport that has an Olympic history dating back to ancient times.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
MCKAY: Nearing eight hours away from the start of the opening ceremony and Greece is all abuzz over two of their own, Olympic 200- meter champion Costas Kenteris and Sydney's 100-meter silver medalist, Katarina Thanou face being thrown out of these games for missing mandatory drug tests on Thursday.
Now, Carol, what makes this story even more intriguing is that the two were involved in a motorcycle mishap Thursday night and are currently hospitalized with what are said to be minor injuries. They are expected at an IOC drugs tribunal at the bottom of the hour.
COSTELLO: So did the accident happen after they were to appear for the drug test or before?
MCKAY: It happened, apparently, Carol, after the drug test late Thursday night.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
I wanted to talk more about the Iraqi soccer team before you went, Mark, because that's just a fabulous story.
MCKAY: An intriguing story, for sure. We knew the lead up and we knew the atrocities that were committed in that country and how this team had to build up to where they are now. And for them to break out of the blocks and actually beat a team like Portugal, Portugal, the host nation of the European championships, it says a lot. And what a boost not only for those players, Carol, , but for the Iraqi nation as a whole.
COSTELLO: Absolutely.
Mark McKay live in Greece this morning.
Thank you.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
Where's Charley? We'll find out the latest on the hurricane from Chad, who is live in Tampa this morning.
U.S. forces report gaining the upper hand in a hard fought battle for Najaf. We'll have an update for you in seven minutes.
And investing in America -- make that American politics. Another report on the best government money can buy in 10 minutes.
This is DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired August 13, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Getting out of the way -- a muscled up hurricane Charley takes aim at Florida and the Southeast.
It is Friday, August 13.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, wounded -- radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is said to be hit in the arm and chest during fighting today between the Medhi militia and American and Iraqi troops. Earlier, U.S. Marines busted into al-Sadr's living compound in Najaf, but the cleric wasn't at home. An aide to al-Sadr says he will recover.
Also in Iraq, a British journalist is taken hostage in Basra. He was seized from outside the gate of his hotel. Police gave chase, but lost the kidnappers.
Firefighters in northern California get the upper hand on a wildfire that's destroyed or damaged dozens of homes. Hundreds of people have been forced to flee the so-called Bear Fire.
A tornado is part of the legacy from tropical storm Bonnie in Florida. Take a look at this. This twister hit four miles north of downtown Jacksonville. It uprooted trees and damaged cars, but nobody got hurt.
Let's go up to the forecast center and check in with Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol.
COSTELLO: Hi, Rob.
MARCIANO: Tornadoes are a problem with these hurricanes if they come onshore. But they don't even need to be a hurricane. I mean, Bonnie was just a minimal tropical storm. A lot of twists in the atmosphere when they do come onshore and because of that there's actually a tornado watch out for much of southern Florida for the next several hours.
Here now is Charley. Bonnie's gone, here's Charley. It just came offshore. I mean just, the eye went right over Havana last night. And it still had winds of over 100 miles an hour. And the latest gives it winds of 110 miles an hour. It probably will strengthen even more. Key West and the Keys under the gun. And then Fort Myers and eventually Tampa. And that's where a lot of our reporters are stationed and ready to go.
This red box indicates that we do have a tornado watch out because of the twist, especially on the right side of this storm. But look at the radar. As it comes out of Havana into the Gulf of Mexico again, I mean, the eye wall is well defined. This is a very strong category two tropical -- or hurricane. And it will likely strengthen to a category three over the next couple of hours, Carol.
And Chad Myers is going to be blowing around in the wind later on this afternoon later on.
There he is.
COSTELLO: In fact, Rob, he already is blowing around in the wind.
But this could be really devastating for Tampa, because as of right now, it's going to take a direct hit, right -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, say that again.
COSTELLO: Tampa, is it going to take a direct hit -- Chad.
MYERS: It sure looks like it, Carol. As -- it looks like the problem with Tampa is that it's a bay and that it's a funneling bay. We have all of this water that's in the ocean that's going to be forced into Tampa Bay and to old Tampa Bay. And that is going to be forced up into the rivers that create Tampa Bay. And we are right at the mouth of one of those rivers, or at the delta, if you will, as they come down out of Florida.
This water is going to get all pushed up here. And the boats you see behind me, literally, I am standing about four feet above sea level. This will be way underwater here probably by about maybe 11:00, 12:00, depending on as close as the eye gets here.
The winds literally an hour ago were zero. Now the winds at least 30, maybe 40 miles per hour, at time, especially funneling around this big hotel that we're standing behind.
The boats here are in significant danger. All of the owners of the boats last night were tying them up. But the water is going to come up. The tying that they have, they're actually going to try to tie the boats down as the water wants to come up. And, Carol, I know I'm low here, but trust me, as the day goes on we have seven more layers to go up and we may need all seven before we are finally done here somewhere this afternoon some time -- Carol.
COSTELLO: It looks like the wind gusts are pretty strong there already.
Do you have a gauge of how strong they are? MYERS: Well, we just had a wind gust to around 27 right before we went on the air and it might have been something a little bit stronger than that when I was just talking. But it's not that bad yet, Carol, trust me. It's going to go downhill a whole lot more from here.
COSTELLO: All right, Chad Myers, we'll get back to you.
You be careful out there.
MYERS: I will.
COSTELLO: Charley's first U.S. stop, so to speak, will be Key West, actually, a town never known to turn down a celebration. But take our word for it, no one is celebrating.
Ted Scouten of CNN affiliate WFOR in Miami filed this report Thursday night from Key West.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TED SCOUTEN, WFOR REPORTER (voice-over): The sound of power tools takes the place of music on Duval Street. The party is over for now and it's time to prepare for Charley.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody was expecting this. We got notice very quickly, what, 36 hours ago. It became evident, you know?
SCOUTEN (on camera): So it's taken serious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And then, boom, and they said it was heading our way.
SCOUTEN (voice-over): Business owners are scrambling to finish before it's too late. All up and down the street, they're getting the shutters up while keeping an eye on the sky.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we're kind of watching to see how far west it goes, but it looks like we'll catch a fringe of it, anyway, but I'm boarding up just in case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The airport is closed.
SCOUTEN: At the airport, quite an unpleasant welcome for tourists who want to try to evacuate. At 9:00 this morning, the flights were canceled when TSA screeners packed it in. That forced the airlines to stop flying, leaving the airport deserted.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just left us high and dry. So we've come here now and we've just bought some Greyhound tickets and we're hoping to get to Miami.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody with children 12 or younger, you can come up to the front.
SCOUTEN: With no flights, the Greyhound bus quickly became a favorite for tourists trying to get out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're leaving today.
SCOUTEN (on camera): How are you getting out of town? Where are you going?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. We're catching Greyhound to Miami and then we're catching Amtrak to Washington, D.C.
SCOUTEN (voice-over): Many of these folks had no earthly idea that their dream vacation to paradise would end with a long bus ride. Many said they didn't realize they would be kicked out without a flight home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But my daughter called me this morning and said, momma, aren't they going to tell you all to leave? I said, oh, no. In less than 10 minutes, they called, said we got to go.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: And out they went. Once again, that report was from Ted Scouten of CNN affiliate WFOR in Miami.
Do you ever wonder which hurricanes were the most devastating? You can get that information plus a look at how hurricanes are formed and all the latest on Charley. That's on our Web site, cnn.com/weather.
The other big story we're following this morning is the report that Muqtada Al-Sadr has been wounded in the fighting in Najaf.
John Vause live in Baghdad to talk more about that.
How serious are his injuries -- John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, we're hearing from a spokesperson for al-Sadr, saying that he received shrapnel wounds in some of the fighting. Apparently his leg, chest and arm were wounded and that's where the injuries are. According to his spokesperson, he is now in a stable condition. The wounds are described as non-life threatening.
But right now, we understand that, in fact, cease-fire negotiations may, in fact, be under way between al-Sadr and the interim Iraqi government.
We're also learning this morning that Grand Ayatollah Sistani, who is in London for heart treatment, has, in fact, sent a very large delegation to Najaf to try and negotiate this cease-fire. Al-Sistani was one of the men behind the cease-fire back in June, which broke down a week or so ago.
Also, we're told that the national security adviser to the interim Iraqi government is in Najaf talking cease-fire, as well. So, too, Muqtada al-Sadr, who earlier this week was vowing to defend the Imam Ali Mosque with his very last drop of blood. So a dramatic turnaround there.
Also today, we're learning that a British journalist has been kidnapped from Basra. Apparently 30 militiamen stormed his hotel. He was shot twice in the leg and has been taken away. One of their demands is that the U.S. operation in Najaf be brought to an immediate end, within the next 24 hours or so.
Al-Sadr's men have, in fact, put out a statement pleading for the release of the British journalist.
There have been protests, too, here in Baghdad, as anger over the Najaf operation spreads across the country. A couple of thousand people staging a fairly noisy but at this stage peaceful sit-in outside the green zone -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And, John, I want to go back to the video we were showing people. Those were Marines raiding Muqtada al-Sadr's home. They didn't find anything inside.
Where was Muqtada al-Sadr when he was wounded? Was he inside that mosque we've been hearing so much about?
VAUSE: It was very difficult to tell exactly where he may have been, because the U.S. is adamant that they have not attacked the mosque, they haven't fired in that direction. They say that there's been no damage sustained to the Imam Ali Mosque.
It appears that he may have, in fact, been outside, possibly near the cemetery area. That's the sprawling cemetery next to the mosque, where a lot of the fighting has been concentrated. There are some reports that he may have been, in fact, addressing some members of his Medhi militia and that is when the injuries occurred.
COSTELLO: John Vause live in Baghdad this morning.
Thank you.
In news across America this Friday, Amber Frey was again the focus of the Scott Peterson trial, even though she never took the stand. The jury heard hours of recorded phone calls between Peterson and his former mistress. They included recorded questions from Frey about Laci Peterson's disappearance.
The court is in recess today, but more calls will be played Monday and Tuesday. Frey is expected to take the stand again midweek.
Will the Columbine diaries ever be seen by the public? A Colorado appeals court says the tapes and diaries made by Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are a matter of public record. But the court also says the materials can be withheld if the release is contrary to public interest.
Another court will take up that argument. The California Supreme Court has turned back the clock and voided all same-sex marriages performed in San Francisco this year. The justices ruled that the San Francisco mayor acted outside of the law when issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. At least 4,000 couples had their unions nullified.
A startling admission by the governor of New Jersey. James McGreevey announced that he is gay and will resign from office. A former aide, Golan Cipel, is expected to file a sexual harassment suit against McGreevey. CNN has made repeated attempts, without success, to get a comment from Cipel.
CNN's Alina Cho has more on the governor's dramatic decision to go public.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a news conference like no other -- Candid, poignant, personal.
GOV. JAMES MCGREEVEY, NEW JERSEY: At a point in every person's life, one has to look deeply into the mirror of one's soul and decide one's unique truth in the world, not as we may want to see it or hope to see it, but as it is. And so my truth is that I am a gay American.
CHO: Governor James McGreevey then announced he would resign. The hastily called news conference came after reports of a pending lawsuit. Two Democratic sources tell CNN a former aid to McGreevey is the plaintiff in a sexual harassment suit against the New Jersey governor. Flanked by his second wife Dina, even his parents, McGreevey, a father of two said he had grappled with his identity for years, was forced into what he called an acceptable reality. And ultimately, he admitted he had strayed.
MCGREEVEY: Shamefully, I engaged in adult consensual affair with another man which violates my bonds of matrimony. It was wrong, it was foolish, it was inexcusable. And for this, I ask the forgiveness and the grace of my wife.
CHO: The embattled governor is no stranger to controversy. Just last month a top McGreevey campaign contributor Charles Kushner was charged with luring grand jury witnesses into sex with prostitutes. McGreevey survived that news. This he could not escape.
MCGREEVEY: This, the 47th year of my life, it is arguably too late to have this discussion. But it is here and it is now.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: So our e-mail question of this morning -- did McGreevey resign because of abuse of power? Was it an abuse of power issue or was it a gay issue for you? Why did he really resign, because he was gay or was there some abuse of power involved?
E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
Also just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington will be along to discuss the governor's decision.
On the campaign trail, for the second time in a week, President Bush and his opponent, Senator John Kerry, will hold dueling events in the same city today. John Kerry will visit Eugene, Oregon and then take part in a rally in Portland. President Bush will also be in Portland, speaking at a small business summit. Then he heads on to Washington State.
In the meantime, President Bush isn't coming right out and condemning an ad that criticizes Kerry's Vietnam War record, but does say the independent ad should be pulled off the air.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I haven't seen the ad. But what I do condemn is these unregulated soft money expenditures by very wealthy people. And they've said some bad things about me and I guess they're saying bad things about him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In response to Bush's interview on "LARRY KING LIVE," Kerry's campaign issued a statement saying, "The president spent an hour on TV and didn't talk about jobs or plans to get the economy going."
It's an event of Olympic proportions. How's that for a hint? It is opening day in Athens and CNN's Mark McKay has a live report in 11 minutes.
Lobbyists throw a lot of money around in Washington and a lot of it comes from overseas. Another installment of The Best Government Money Can Buy. That happens in 24 minutes.
And what the federal government hasn't told us about the dangers of children taking anti-depressants. A report from Dr. Sanjay Gupta. That's 42 minutes away.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Crude oil prices surging past $45 a barrel sink Wall Street. The Dow opens in a few hours down nearly 124 points. Ooh, ouch.
The Nasdaq opens down nearly 30 points.
The S&P 500 opens 12 1/2 points down.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei drops nearly 271 points, to a three month low.
Britain's FTSE 100 is up 2 points.
And France's CAC is off, oh, just about 3 1/2 points.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Muqtada al-Sadr has been wounded. Reports from Najaf say the cleric was hit by shrapnel in his arm and chest. The U.S. military and Iraqi security forces are battling al-Sadr's army for control of the city.
If any foam falls off during the next shuttle launch, a live NASA camera should be able to see it. A piece of foam on the external fuel tank is blamed for causing last year's Columbia disaster. Discovery is scheduled to launch next spring.
In money news, tax day part two is coming. For more than eight million of you who filed for income tax extensions, Monday at midnight is the deadline to pay the piper.
In culture, the doctor for civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks will have to explain why she can't testify in the lawsuit over her name. Parks is suing over a 1998 song by the group OutKast called "Rosa Parks."
In sports, the Yankees are at it again. They powered their way over the Texas Rangers 5-1, to increase their lead over the rest of the league. New York has won eight of 11 games this month. And that one was just for you, Rob Marciano, Yankees fan.
Let's talk about something serious, though, the weather.
Chad is out in Tampa. Rob is here in the forecast center.
Chad -- why don't you go first.
MYERS: Good morning.
You know what? It's Charley and it's now 110 miles per...
COSTELLO: I'm sorry, Charley.
MYERS: What did you say, Bonnie?
COSTELLO: No, I'm sorry.
Go ahead, Chad. Sorry to interrupt.
MYERS: You were right, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: You, of course, you were right.
Actually, you know, it's really, it's going to be hard to hear out here today because the wind is really blowing. It's on and off. I turned up my little backpack here so that I can hear you and all of a sudden a gust of wind will come by and then I won't be able to hear what you're saying because it's just too loud. It's just going to be one of those days. And this is the easy part.
This storm is now 110 miles per hour. It's going to get to 111. If it does, that's a category three. So that's how close we are to a category three.
This is obviously the largest hurricane Tampa Bay, Fort Myers, Naples, all the way up the coast. The largest hurricane they've seen in a really long time. But what we understand and what we experienced yesterday was an awful lot of non-chaos. Like you'd expect there would be, just orderly conduct, people getting out of the town. If there were mandatory evacuations, they were moving, they moving in line. It wasn't bumper to bumper. It wasn't just standstill traffic and pandemonium. It was an orderly evacuation and that's good, because this is a big storm headed this way -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Absolutely, Chad.
And, Rob, can you tell us exactly where Charley is right now?
MARCIANO: Right now it's just passing over Havana, Cuba and heading now back into the Gulf of Mexico. Just to the west of Key West is likely where it will pass. This image behind me is what we call a keyhole image. It's a high resolution landside imagery of Tampa Bay.
This is Tampa Bay. And when we get these storms, a category three storm, the storm surge is really what we're most concerned about. A lot of the areas in Tampa are very low at elevation. As this thing comes onshore, even if it just passes to the west of Tampa Bay, it'll really push all of that water into the bay. And that's what -- we call that storm surge. If it's a category three, we can get a storm surge of up to about 12 feet. If it happens to come in, you know, around high tide, that adds another two feet. But regardless of that, a lot of these areas will be underwater.
This is an Air Force base. I couldn't find the elevation of it, but with Tampa International Airport being at about 26, 27 feet in elevation, certainly the air force base is less than that. So there will be areas that will be underwater. And St. Petersburg itself, I mean, in a category four or a five storm, would actually become an island. So that's a huge, huge concern. And obviously Chad knows all about that and he's being careful of where he locates himself.
Here's the storm itself. It is a category two, but likely to become a category three storm over the next couple of hours as it heads into the very warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: Yes. COSTELLO: It is opening day for the Summer Olympic Games. And believe it or not, there has already been an upset in Athens. We'll have a live report of the 28th Olympiad in four minutes.
We'd like to hear from you on our e-mail Question of the Day -- New Jersey Governor McGreevey's resignation. Is it an abuse of power issue or a gay issue for you? RSVP to daybreak@cnn.com.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
You're watching DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Let the games begin. The opening ceremonies flame up today, marking the official start of the 28th Olympiad. In fact, the games began before the opening ceremonies. And get this, in a stunning upset, Iraq's soccer team scored a 4-2 victory over heavily favored Portugal.
CNN's Mark McKay takes a look at some of the other compelling story lines from the Athens Olympics.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The big splash at these games is expected to be made in the pool. United States swimmer Michael Phelps is trying to go where only one summer Olympian has ever gone. The lanky 19-year-old is looking to equal or even surpass the record, seven swimming gold medals earned by Mark Spitz at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Phelps has entered five individual events and hopes to swim in three relays. While supremely confident in his abilities, Phelps has chosen to keep his head above water when it comes to making bold predictions.
MICHAEL PHELPS, U.S. SWIMMER: I would be satisfied with one gold medal. You know, how many people in the world have one Olympic gold medal? That's a goal of mine and, you know, I'm going to shoot for that and try and achieve it.
MCKAY: Ian Thorpe could be the biggest obstacle standing between Phelps and Olympic history. The Australian swimming sensation, who's gone on record as saying that the Americans' attempt at Spitz's mark is impossible, will be hoping to make his own waves in Athens. Thorpe could meet Phelps in three relays in what's already being called the race of the Olympics -- the 200 meter freestyle, an event at which the Thorpedo holds the world record.
A trio of distance runners are hoping to avoid wearing the tag of world record holders without Olympic titles. Among them, 29-year-old Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj, whose last shot at 1,500 meter glory is expected to come in Athens. Men's basketball will be even more intriguing at these Summer Games. A less than impressive lead up to the Olympics has the United States seen as anything but a lock for gold. World champions Serbia and Montenegro, and a deep Argentinean squad, are expected to challenge for a spot on the medals podium.
What's new for 2004? Women's freestyle wrestling, which makes its Olympic debut in four different weight classes. Struggling for decades to be accepted by their male counterparts and society in general, these women are poised to make their mark on a sport that has an Olympic history dating back to ancient times.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
MCKAY: Nearing eight hours away from the start of the opening ceremony and Greece is all abuzz over two of their own, Olympic 200- meter champion Costas Kenteris and Sydney's 100-meter silver medalist, Katarina Thanou face being thrown out of these games for missing mandatory drug tests on Thursday.
Now, Carol, what makes this story even more intriguing is that the two were involved in a motorcycle mishap Thursday night and are currently hospitalized with what are said to be minor injuries. They are expected at an IOC drugs tribunal at the bottom of the hour.
COSTELLO: So did the accident happen after they were to appear for the drug test or before?
MCKAY: It happened, apparently, Carol, after the drug test late Thursday night.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
I wanted to talk more about the Iraqi soccer team before you went, Mark, because that's just a fabulous story.
MCKAY: An intriguing story, for sure. We knew the lead up and we knew the atrocities that were committed in that country and how this team had to build up to where they are now. And for them to break out of the blocks and actually beat a team like Portugal, Portugal, the host nation of the European championships, it says a lot. And what a boost not only for those players, Carol, , but for the Iraqi nation as a whole.
COSTELLO: Absolutely.
Mark McKay live in Greece this morning.
Thank you.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
Where's Charley? We'll find out the latest on the hurricane from Chad, who is live in Tampa this morning.
U.S. forces report gaining the upper hand in a hard fought battle for Najaf. We'll have an update for you in seven minutes.
And investing in America -- make that American politics. Another report on the best government money can buy in 10 minutes.
This is DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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