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CNN Live Sunday
Death, Devastation in Wake of Charley; Fighting Resumes in Najaf; Thousands of American Troops to be Redeployed
Aired August 15, 2004 - 11:00 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is 11 a.m. in Punta Gorda, Florida, and 8 a.m. on the West Coast. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
Ahead this hour, a presidential tour of Florida's devastation as the cleanup continues. We're live in Punta Gorda, and we'll have the latest.
And this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God, here comes another one. It's bad. It's bad. Oh (expletive deleted).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: In the eye of the storm with the videotape rolling, amazing images of Charley's fury as he roared ashore.
But first, here's a look at the stories now in the news.
On the heels of Hurricane Charley, two other systems are gaining attention: Tropical Storm Danielle, which formed Friday, is now a hurricane but is several days from land. And Tropical Storm Earl is prompting storm warnings from the islands in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Meteorologist Rob Marciano joins us in about three minutes with a tropical update.
In Iraq, fighting resumes in Najaf between Shiite militants and U.S. forces after failed peace efforts. Meantime, Shiite protesters at the Iraqi National Conference in Baghdad are demanding the end to the violence in Najaf. A live update in about six minutes.
Pope John Paul II struggles through mass at a so-called miracle shrine in Lourdes, France. Some 200,000 faithful cheered the pope on as he gave his sermon.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Death, devastation and despair, all left behind by Hurricane Charley. Florida's storm victims are cleaning up as the search for storm survivors continues. President Bush is in that state, touring some of the hardest hit areas.
And CNN's Ed Lavandera is live in the hurricane-ravaged Punta Gorda, which was ground zero, with some of the details -- Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, if you take a look behind me along down this road here, this is one of the main avenues in Punta Gorda.
Just a short while ago President Bush's motorcade came through here, so this is why the traffic is backed up, President Bush making a right-hand turn and driving down there and touring one of the neighborhoods that has been devastated by this hurricane.
The president landing a little while ago and being greeted at the airport here near Punta Gorda by his son -- I'm sorry, his brother, the Governor Bush and the president taking an aerial tour. And he's also in a meeting with some officials here, with the emergency management officials, going over the plans and getting an update as to what is going on.
You know, one of the other notes of this being a Sunday, of course, many of the churches here in Punta Gorda were damaged by the hurricane. We've driven around this morning, and many of the church services canceled today.
We do understand across the water, across the bay in Port Charlotte, there were several churches that were getting together for services on this Sunday.
As we approached one of the churches here in Punta Gorda, we ran into a parishioner who had come by to see if they could offer some help to his church.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY JAQUES, PARISHIONER: I look at God, he's all over here, and whether I'm outside, whether I'm inside, I can pray and I can give thanks. It's -- The church is not the big thing. It's the people, and what we're most concerned about right now is all the people in the church.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: And of course, you might imagine that they would be very anxious to get their Sunday services back and running.
You know, emergency officials here are saying that one of the important things that they're going through right now is just getting the basic services to the people here on the ground so the issues of shelter, water -- actually, let's take a look here across the street.
Joe, I'm sorry, if you'll follow me, back over here, there's water that's being kind of handed out to people walking down the street. So it's one of the things that the people here are worried about. Very basic things they're dealing with -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: One of the major concerns was the 31 mobile home parks in Punta Gorda. How is the search and rescue effort going there now? LAVANDERA: Things seem to be going really well, although it is a slow process. And we run into these emergency folks as they're going through each neighborhood one by one, and they go through and they mark it, but it seems to be going rather well.
All of the officials here saying that this experience, compared to Hurricane Andrew 12 years ago with Andrew is night and day, and that they're much happier with the way things are moving here and progressing in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks very much. Ed Lavandera in Punta Gorda. And more on the president's visit throughout Florida when we get it.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is offering his condolences to hurricane victims. In a statement, he gave his heartfelt sympathies to the people of Florida.
Senator Kerry also promised his full support to President Bush and Florida Governor Jeb Bush in helping the victims.
Kerry's campaign says the senator will not make an immediate trip to Florida, adding, Kerry does not want to disrupt recovery efforts there.
Well, it will take several weeks to fully assess the hurricane damage in Florida. It's a long and lengthy process that some Floridians have already started.
CNN's Bruce Burkhardt reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE BURKHARDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The day after, 10:30 in the morning, and Jim Raynor, the State Farm agent in Lake Wales, Florida, has already received 50 to 60 claims.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Temporary repairs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Temporary repairs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. To keep it from getting any worse, you know, like put a tarp over the roof.
BURKHARDT: There would be a lot more claims if the phones were working.
Not only does Jim have to tend to others; he's got his own problems.
(on camera) You got hit hard.
JIM RAYNOR, STATE FARM AGENT: Yes. Pretty hard, kind of unexpected. We lost part of our roof over here.
BURKHARDT: You've got a sunroof. RAYNOR: Yes, we've got a sunroof in it now.
BURKHARDT: In a situation like this, whose problem. Do you take care of this problem first or other people's?
RAYNOR: Well, a little bit of this, but mostly other people's, because you know, other people haven't got any place to live. You know, this is just where I work.
BURKHARDT (voice-over): Though the coast was hit much worse than this, no one around here expected this much damage this far inland, about 80 miles from where Charley came ashore.
RAYNOR: That's the dry cleaners there.
BURKHARDT: Soon a national catastrophe team will arrive to settle claims. In the meantime, Jim's job is first aid for people like the Garfields (ph), whose home is unlivable.
RAYNOR: Well, if it rains, it could rain -- it could come in everywhere in the house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
RAYNOR: So you might want to take all your bedding off the beds and put everything away, you know, in a plastic bag.
BURKHARDT: When it's all over, billions will be paid out in claims, but it starts with just enough money to find temporary housing.
RAYNOR: Will $500 be enough to start?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
RAYNOR: Just hang on to all your receipts.
BURKHARDT: At the home of another policyholder, insult added to injury, yet more rain that poured in through the damaged roof.
RAYNOR: Big concrete ones?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
RAYNOR: Those big concrete ones are all laying over on 27.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, man.
BURKHARDT: It's days like this that an insurance agent earns his keep, in more ways than one.
Bruce Burkhardt, CNN, Lake Wales, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, we are right in the middle of the Atlantic hurricane season but still a few weeks shy of its usual peak, and already new storms of brewing out there.
Let's check in with Rob Marciano for the latest. But first, Rob, let's talk about what happened to Charley. Where is it?
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: See you.
WHITFIELD: Well, on to Iraq now and renewed fighting in the streets of Najaf. Militants loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr face off against Iraqi and U.S. forces. We'll have a live report coming up.
Also, coming home from other parts of the overseas. President Bush is set to announce a major deployment of U.S. troops. We're live from the White House coming up.
And it was a no-fault debut for tennis in Athens. Details coming up in a live report.
This is CNN LIVE TODAY SUNDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Efforts to stop the fighting around Najaf fails. Talks between the Iraqi government and militants linked to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr broke down yesterday. Today, fighting resumed between the Mehdi Army fighters and U.S. Marines around Najaf.
Matthew Chance joins us via videophone with some details.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Fredricka.
That fighting that we've seen over the past few hours around the holy shrine of Imam Ali in the center of Najaf have been described by the U.S. military here as just light contact with the Mehdi Army.
We understand that U.S. forces fired on a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) position. They also took out an individual firing Iraqi-propelled grenades. But some of that activity was quite close to the shrine Imam Ali shrine, which has caused a great deal of concern in the local environment.
Also, we've had this statement come from the Iraqi Interior Ministry, saying that they've got intelligence saying that 25 foreign nationals are inside the Imam Ali shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, saying they're threatening to blow the building up if it's attacked and that they've warned the Iraqi interim forces as well as the U.S. forces, asked them, rather, not to conduct any military operations in close proximity to the shrine for fear that this group, which they haven't been given any further details of but they're not describing them as the Mehdi Army -- they're describing them as this foreign group -- for fear this group might actually blow up the shrine -- Fredricka. WHITFIELD: And Matthew, how about the U.S. Marines? Have they changed their role, kind of modified their role so that the Iraqi troops are more in command of this mission?
CHANCE: You know, it's not entirely clear what role the U.S. military, the U.S. Marines or the U.S. Army that are here are actually going to play in the -- in the offensive, if and when it comes again the Mehdi army.
Certainly, last night here there were many thousands of men backed by tanks and heavy armor who were preparing to go on what looked like it was going to be a very intensive offensive against the Mehdi Army. But at the last minute as darkness fell, that offensive was apparently called off.
One of the reasons we heard from the Marines that we've spoken to here, is that an order came down, a request came down from Ayad Allawi, the interim Iraqi prime minister, that they wanted to change the operation so that Iraqi forces could lead it, at least with some backing from the U.S. military.
But the problem with that is that there aren't actually Iraqi troops on the ground, and so they're waiting for this, and there's a lull in the fighting to see if and when the Iraqi forces begin arriving in this area on the outskirts of Najaf.
WHITFIELD: All right. Matthew Chance, thanks for that report, traveling with U.S. troops and Iraqi forces there in Najaf.
Well, thousands of U.S. troops, support personnel and family members will be returning to the U.S. while others will be redeployed to other posts.
President Bush announced his details in a speech to veterans tomorrow.
Elaine Quijano is at the White House with some of the numbers.
And Elaine, this does not apply to U.S. forces in Iraq or Afghanistan, does it?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At this point, we understand that that is, in fact, the case, Fredricka, that it will not apply to those troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, but as you said, the president set to make that announcement tomorrow.
One thing I can tell you is that Pentagon and senior administration officials are not giving out specific numbers on those troop reductions, but they do say that the majority of the troops being pulled will be pulled from Europe. Also, the rest coming mostly from countries in Asia.
Now, a senior administration official says that the move will bring some 100,000 military support staff, as well as family members, back to the United States. The president, as I said, expected to make his announcement tomorrow. That is went he is out back on the roads. Specifically, he'll be in Cincinnati, addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.
Now, the reduction and repositioning does not come as a complete surprise. The Pentagon has been in the process of taking a look at where exactly their troops are stationed worldwide, especially now that the Cold War has ended, long since ended.
One administration official says that this move will strengthen the country's ability to respond to threats abroad.
Now, recently an official said that planned changes would focus on things like improving speed, flexibility and capability, while also building new alliances and strengthening the ones that are already in place.
Now, again, Fredricka, the president said to make that announcement tomorrow, when he speaks to military veterans in the crucial battleground state of Ohio. Again, most of those troop reductions, we understand, coming from Europe, with the remainder mostly coming from countries in Asia -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Elaine Quijano from the White House, thanks so much.
Checking news across the America now.
Several wildfires are blazing a trail of destruction across northern California. Some 20 homes were gutted near an old mining town near Reading. More than 100 residents were forced to flee the 2,500-acre blaze.
Remembering Lori Hacking. A memorial service was held yesterday for the Utah woman whose husband is accused with her murder. Some 600 people, including Lori's parents and her husband's parents attended that service.
Funk legend Rick James is being remembered as a musical genius. The Grammy Award-winning singer was laid to rest yesterday in his hometown yesterday of Buffalo, New York. Some 6,000 people waited for hours to pay their final respects.
One down and seven to go. We'll have the latest on Michael Phelps as he goes for more gold in Athens.
And speaking of swimming...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to be going swimming with the dolphins. So we can't do that because of all of the debris in the water and stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Well, they came for the sun, but they got a lot of rain. That story coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well it's the second full day of the summer Olympics, and it's underway. While a blanket of both heat and security cover Athens, there have been record-setting performances already and early scandals.
Let's check in with Mark McKay for a look at what's going on at the games.
Hello, Mark.
MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Fredricka.
Michael Phelps, he has been the headline story not only coming into the games but at these games. He could have the second of what he hopes will be a record eight gold medals in swimming before this evening is out.
Already qualified for the 200-meter freestyle semifinal earlier in the day, Phelps has also been chosen now for the United States four-by-100-meter relay squad. They will run their final here in Athens tonight.
On Saturday, Phelps struck gold for the first time in the 400- meter individual medley, a world record time, in fact, of 4 minutes, 8.26 seconds that even had the silver medal winner, his U.S. teammates, impressed.
U.S. 100-meter sprinter Torri Edwards will have a hearing Monday before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, this in hopes of remaining eligible to compete here in Athens. Edwards is currently suspended as a result of a positive drugs test.
We got our first look Sunday at Greek track and field hero Kostas Kenteris, who's been hospitalized since late last week. Kenteris and fellow Greek sprinter Katerini Thanou are on the mend following a motorcycle accident.
The pair have been withdrawn from the games by the Greek Olympic Committee, this after the two missed a mandatory doping test. The International Olympic Committee said Sunday the withdrawal of the runners won't have any bearing on a hearing they have scheduled for the matter on Monday.
Finally, the saga of Iran's world champion in judo has taken yet another turn. The International Judo Federation has launched their own investigation as to why Arash Mireshmaeli failed to make weight by two kilos, or 4.5 pounds.
Now, the 23-year-old had originally said, Fredricka, that he wouldn't compete in here in Athens because his opening round opponent was from Israel. So that saga takes yet another twist.
WHITFIELD: Wow! And a little bit of good news in tennis, however, right, for Andy Roddick and Venus Williams?
MCKAY: Boy, they swept their opponents off the court pretty handily.
Andy Roddick, coming here as the second seed, Fredricka, in the Olympic tennis competition, behind the gold medal favorite, the world number one Roger Federer, but he was able to move past his opening round opponent in back-to-back sets.
Venus Williams also went through with ease. In fact, Fredricka, she needed only 47 minutes to win. That is quite swift indeed, but it's -- really comes in handy when you're under this searing Athens sun. It's pretty hot.
WHITFIELD: Wow! All right, it's hotter than Florida hot, which is what Venus Williams is used to. All right, Mark McKay, thanks very much. Enjoy the games.
Well, long considered the least glamorous of the four major championships in professional golf, today's final round of the PGA championship looks more like an all-star event.
Plenty of golf's biggest names will battle it out on this final day for the title. Masters champion Phil Mickelson is once again in contention for the win. He's already finished in the top three of this year's other majors.
Ernie Els, runner up at both this year's Masters and the British Open, is tied with Mickelson, four shots behind this man, leader Vijay Singh. And he will be paired with American Justin Leonard in the final two, some of the day at least today. And Leonard is just one stroke off the lead so far, and it could be quite a finish at Whistling Straights in Haven, Wisconsin.
The big news about Tiger Woods, however, he's getting a little angry at all the photographers taking all those pictures. It's not helping his game, apparently.
Well, "RELIABLE SOURCES" is coming up in about ten minutes, and here is Howard Kurtz with a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES": Coming up a showdown looming over who leaked the name of a CIA operative. Several high profile Washington journalists have been subpoenaed in the case, and "TIME" magazine's Matt Cooper may be facing jail.
Are prosecutors tramping the First Amendment rights of journalists, or should reporters turn over the names of the leakers?
Plus, Howard Dean's former campaign manager and how he duped the press, the "Washington Post" editor makes mistakes in covering Iraq, and the case of Mike Wallace and the meatloaf. Why did the 86-year- old veteran get arrested in New York?
That's all next on "RELIABLE SOURCES."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Now that we've seen the devastation, it seems hard to believe, but not everyone was trying to get out of the way of the hard-charging Charley. Some people literally threw caution to the wind to document the sound and the fury.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh (expletive deleted). Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
OK, right now, the time here is roughly 4:37. We are watching a neighborhood disintegrate. This is Hurricane Charley.
For the past five minutes or so, we have been experiencing winds in excess of 10 miles an hour. It is tearing off roofs. Category Four -- Category Four hurricane. I hope I'm recording.
It is raining on us right here. Hurricane Charley, Friday the 13th, August 13. You want to know what it looks like inside a Category Four hurricane, this is it. Oh!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Jim Reed, one of the people who actually shot that video, said it was his tenth hurricane, and he's never experienced anything like it, but he lives for things like that. In fact, he lives in South Carolina just so he can be part of the hurricane season every summer.
Well, for Florida vacationers who endured Hurricane Charley, they want from soaking up some sun to, in some cases, just getting soaked, but as CNN's Jason Bellini reports, many Florida visitors did not allow the weather to dampen their spirits.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outside Wet 'n' Wild, it was a bit like the Griswalds' summer vacation. Tourists who came all the way from England discovered the park was closed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. It was a bit disappointing, really.
BELLINI (on camera): Yes? Were you looking forward to Wet 'n' Wild?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, going on all the rides and that.
BELLINI: Has this ruined the vacation?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It won't ruin it. It will put a damper on it, but it won't ruin it.
BELLINI (voice-over): It's Dad's job to put a happy twist on the situation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you got a nice equalizer for the hurricane, called a Budweiser. So we stayed at the bar last night.
BELLINI: Others in the family aren't so easily entertained.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, because we wanted to go in swimming with the dolphins, but we couldn't do that because of all the debris in the water and stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch the football; there's not much you can do.
BELLINI (on camera): Coming all the way to Orlando, and you're staying in your hotel room?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
BELLINI: Tourists got little advanced warning the hurricane would pass through Orlando. Hotels Friday remained packed with people riding out the storm.
(on camera) In this city of 116,000 hotel rooms, tourists didn't want to waste a single day of their holidays. Even though the storms ripped through here last night, they expected the theme parks to be open today, and in most cases, they were.
(voice-over) The Universal theme park had a decent Saturday crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, well, this is the first place we tried today, so obviously, the traffic it took us three hours to get here.
BELLINI: Sea World opened late, but it did open. Disney World reports its park opened at 9 a.m. with the exception of Animal Kingdom. It stayed closed for the day because not enough employees could get to work.
For many tourists, the hurricane has been, overall, an exciting adventure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been before to Florida, but we've never met a storm like this before.
BELLINI: Vacations are about memories. This one more wet and wild than most.
Jason Bellini, CNN, Orlando, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, stay tuned to CNN. In a few moments, at the bottom of the hour, "RELIABLE SOURCES." At noon, it's "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER." Among Wolf's guests, General Tommy Franks.
And at 2 p.m. Eastern, it's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," today profiling Britney Spears and Madonna.
But first, a check of the stories now in the news.
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Aired August 15, 2004 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is 11 a.m. in Punta Gorda, Florida, and 8 a.m. on the West Coast. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
Ahead this hour, a presidential tour of Florida's devastation as the cleanup continues. We're live in Punta Gorda, and we'll have the latest.
And this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God, here comes another one. It's bad. It's bad. Oh (expletive deleted).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: In the eye of the storm with the videotape rolling, amazing images of Charley's fury as he roared ashore.
But first, here's a look at the stories now in the news.
On the heels of Hurricane Charley, two other systems are gaining attention: Tropical Storm Danielle, which formed Friday, is now a hurricane but is several days from land. And Tropical Storm Earl is prompting storm warnings from the islands in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Meteorologist Rob Marciano joins us in about three minutes with a tropical update.
In Iraq, fighting resumes in Najaf between Shiite militants and U.S. forces after failed peace efforts. Meantime, Shiite protesters at the Iraqi National Conference in Baghdad are demanding the end to the violence in Najaf. A live update in about six minutes.
Pope John Paul II struggles through mass at a so-called miracle shrine in Lourdes, France. Some 200,000 faithful cheered the pope on as he gave his sermon.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Death, devastation and despair, all left behind by Hurricane Charley. Florida's storm victims are cleaning up as the search for storm survivors continues. President Bush is in that state, touring some of the hardest hit areas.
And CNN's Ed Lavandera is live in the hurricane-ravaged Punta Gorda, which was ground zero, with some of the details -- Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, if you take a look behind me along down this road here, this is one of the main avenues in Punta Gorda.
Just a short while ago President Bush's motorcade came through here, so this is why the traffic is backed up, President Bush making a right-hand turn and driving down there and touring one of the neighborhoods that has been devastated by this hurricane.
The president landing a little while ago and being greeted at the airport here near Punta Gorda by his son -- I'm sorry, his brother, the Governor Bush and the president taking an aerial tour. And he's also in a meeting with some officials here, with the emergency management officials, going over the plans and getting an update as to what is going on.
You know, one of the other notes of this being a Sunday, of course, many of the churches here in Punta Gorda were damaged by the hurricane. We've driven around this morning, and many of the church services canceled today.
We do understand across the water, across the bay in Port Charlotte, there were several churches that were getting together for services on this Sunday.
As we approached one of the churches here in Punta Gorda, we ran into a parishioner who had come by to see if they could offer some help to his church.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY JAQUES, PARISHIONER: I look at God, he's all over here, and whether I'm outside, whether I'm inside, I can pray and I can give thanks. It's -- The church is not the big thing. It's the people, and what we're most concerned about right now is all the people in the church.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: And of course, you might imagine that they would be very anxious to get their Sunday services back and running.
You know, emergency officials here are saying that one of the important things that they're going through right now is just getting the basic services to the people here on the ground so the issues of shelter, water -- actually, let's take a look here across the street.
Joe, I'm sorry, if you'll follow me, back over here, there's water that's being kind of handed out to people walking down the street. So it's one of the things that the people here are worried about. Very basic things they're dealing with -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: One of the major concerns was the 31 mobile home parks in Punta Gorda. How is the search and rescue effort going there now? LAVANDERA: Things seem to be going really well, although it is a slow process. And we run into these emergency folks as they're going through each neighborhood one by one, and they go through and they mark it, but it seems to be going rather well.
All of the officials here saying that this experience, compared to Hurricane Andrew 12 years ago with Andrew is night and day, and that they're much happier with the way things are moving here and progressing in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks very much. Ed Lavandera in Punta Gorda. And more on the president's visit throughout Florida when we get it.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is offering his condolences to hurricane victims. In a statement, he gave his heartfelt sympathies to the people of Florida.
Senator Kerry also promised his full support to President Bush and Florida Governor Jeb Bush in helping the victims.
Kerry's campaign says the senator will not make an immediate trip to Florida, adding, Kerry does not want to disrupt recovery efforts there.
Well, it will take several weeks to fully assess the hurricane damage in Florida. It's a long and lengthy process that some Floridians have already started.
CNN's Bruce Burkhardt reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE BURKHARDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The day after, 10:30 in the morning, and Jim Raynor, the State Farm agent in Lake Wales, Florida, has already received 50 to 60 claims.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Temporary repairs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Temporary repairs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. To keep it from getting any worse, you know, like put a tarp over the roof.
BURKHARDT: There would be a lot more claims if the phones were working.
Not only does Jim have to tend to others; he's got his own problems.
(on camera) You got hit hard.
JIM RAYNOR, STATE FARM AGENT: Yes. Pretty hard, kind of unexpected. We lost part of our roof over here.
BURKHARDT: You've got a sunroof. RAYNOR: Yes, we've got a sunroof in it now.
BURKHARDT: In a situation like this, whose problem. Do you take care of this problem first or other people's?
RAYNOR: Well, a little bit of this, but mostly other people's, because you know, other people haven't got any place to live. You know, this is just where I work.
BURKHARDT (voice-over): Though the coast was hit much worse than this, no one around here expected this much damage this far inland, about 80 miles from where Charley came ashore.
RAYNOR: That's the dry cleaners there.
BURKHARDT: Soon a national catastrophe team will arrive to settle claims. In the meantime, Jim's job is first aid for people like the Garfields (ph), whose home is unlivable.
RAYNOR: Well, if it rains, it could rain -- it could come in everywhere in the house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
RAYNOR: So you might want to take all your bedding off the beds and put everything away, you know, in a plastic bag.
BURKHARDT: When it's all over, billions will be paid out in claims, but it starts with just enough money to find temporary housing.
RAYNOR: Will $500 be enough to start?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
RAYNOR: Just hang on to all your receipts.
BURKHARDT: At the home of another policyholder, insult added to injury, yet more rain that poured in through the damaged roof.
RAYNOR: Big concrete ones?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
RAYNOR: Those big concrete ones are all laying over on 27.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, man.
BURKHARDT: It's days like this that an insurance agent earns his keep, in more ways than one.
Bruce Burkhardt, CNN, Lake Wales, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, we are right in the middle of the Atlantic hurricane season but still a few weeks shy of its usual peak, and already new storms of brewing out there.
Let's check in with Rob Marciano for the latest. But first, Rob, let's talk about what happened to Charley. Where is it?
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: See you.
WHITFIELD: Well, on to Iraq now and renewed fighting in the streets of Najaf. Militants loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr face off against Iraqi and U.S. forces. We'll have a live report coming up.
Also, coming home from other parts of the overseas. President Bush is set to announce a major deployment of U.S. troops. We're live from the White House coming up.
And it was a no-fault debut for tennis in Athens. Details coming up in a live report.
This is CNN LIVE TODAY SUNDAY.
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WHITFIELD: Efforts to stop the fighting around Najaf fails. Talks between the Iraqi government and militants linked to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr broke down yesterday. Today, fighting resumed between the Mehdi Army fighters and U.S. Marines around Najaf.
Matthew Chance joins us via videophone with some details.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Fredricka.
That fighting that we've seen over the past few hours around the holy shrine of Imam Ali in the center of Najaf have been described by the U.S. military here as just light contact with the Mehdi Army.
We understand that U.S. forces fired on a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) position. They also took out an individual firing Iraqi-propelled grenades. But some of that activity was quite close to the shrine Imam Ali shrine, which has caused a great deal of concern in the local environment.
Also, we've had this statement come from the Iraqi Interior Ministry, saying that they've got intelligence saying that 25 foreign nationals are inside the Imam Ali shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, saying they're threatening to blow the building up if it's attacked and that they've warned the Iraqi interim forces as well as the U.S. forces, asked them, rather, not to conduct any military operations in close proximity to the shrine for fear that this group, which they haven't been given any further details of but they're not describing them as the Mehdi Army -- they're describing them as this foreign group -- for fear this group might actually blow up the shrine -- Fredricka. WHITFIELD: And Matthew, how about the U.S. Marines? Have they changed their role, kind of modified their role so that the Iraqi troops are more in command of this mission?
CHANCE: You know, it's not entirely clear what role the U.S. military, the U.S. Marines or the U.S. Army that are here are actually going to play in the -- in the offensive, if and when it comes again the Mehdi army.
Certainly, last night here there were many thousands of men backed by tanks and heavy armor who were preparing to go on what looked like it was going to be a very intensive offensive against the Mehdi Army. But at the last minute as darkness fell, that offensive was apparently called off.
One of the reasons we heard from the Marines that we've spoken to here, is that an order came down, a request came down from Ayad Allawi, the interim Iraqi prime minister, that they wanted to change the operation so that Iraqi forces could lead it, at least with some backing from the U.S. military.
But the problem with that is that there aren't actually Iraqi troops on the ground, and so they're waiting for this, and there's a lull in the fighting to see if and when the Iraqi forces begin arriving in this area on the outskirts of Najaf.
WHITFIELD: All right. Matthew Chance, thanks for that report, traveling with U.S. troops and Iraqi forces there in Najaf.
Well, thousands of U.S. troops, support personnel and family members will be returning to the U.S. while others will be redeployed to other posts.
President Bush announced his details in a speech to veterans tomorrow.
Elaine Quijano is at the White House with some of the numbers.
And Elaine, this does not apply to U.S. forces in Iraq or Afghanistan, does it?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At this point, we understand that that is, in fact, the case, Fredricka, that it will not apply to those troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, but as you said, the president set to make that announcement tomorrow.
One thing I can tell you is that Pentagon and senior administration officials are not giving out specific numbers on those troop reductions, but they do say that the majority of the troops being pulled will be pulled from Europe. Also, the rest coming mostly from countries in Asia.
Now, a senior administration official says that the move will bring some 100,000 military support staff, as well as family members, back to the United States. The president, as I said, expected to make his announcement tomorrow. That is went he is out back on the roads. Specifically, he'll be in Cincinnati, addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.
Now, the reduction and repositioning does not come as a complete surprise. The Pentagon has been in the process of taking a look at where exactly their troops are stationed worldwide, especially now that the Cold War has ended, long since ended.
One administration official says that this move will strengthen the country's ability to respond to threats abroad.
Now, recently an official said that planned changes would focus on things like improving speed, flexibility and capability, while also building new alliances and strengthening the ones that are already in place.
Now, again, Fredricka, the president said to make that announcement tomorrow, when he speaks to military veterans in the crucial battleground state of Ohio. Again, most of those troop reductions, we understand, coming from Europe, with the remainder mostly coming from countries in Asia -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Elaine Quijano from the White House, thanks so much.
Checking news across the America now.
Several wildfires are blazing a trail of destruction across northern California. Some 20 homes were gutted near an old mining town near Reading. More than 100 residents were forced to flee the 2,500-acre blaze.
Remembering Lori Hacking. A memorial service was held yesterday for the Utah woman whose husband is accused with her murder. Some 600 people, including Lori's parents and her husband's parents attended that service.
Funk legend Rick James is being remembered as a musical genius. The Grammy Award-winning singer was laid to rest yesterday in his hometown yesterday of Buffalo, New York. Some 6,000 people waited for hours to pay their final respects.
One down and seven to go. We'll have the latest on Michael Phelps as he goes for more gold in Athens.
And speaking of swimming...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to be going swimming with the dolphins. So we can't do that because of all of the debris in the water and stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Well, they came for the sun, but they got a lot of rain. That story coming up.
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WHITFIELD: Well it's the second full day of the summer Olympics, and it's underway. While a blanket of both heat and security cover Athens, there have been record-setting performances already and early scandals.
Let's check in with Mark McKay for a look at what's going on at the games.
Hello, Mark.
MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Fredricka.
Michael Phelps, he has been the headline story not only coming into the games but at these games. He could have the second of what he hopes will be a record eight gold medals in swimming before this evening is out.
Already qualified for the 200-meter freestyle semifinal earlier in the day, Phelps has also been chosen now for the United States four-by-100-meter relay squad. They will run their final here in Athens tonight.
On Saturday, Phelps struck gold for the first time in the 400- meter individual medley, a world record time, in fact, of 4 minutes, 8.26 seconds that even had the silver medal winner, his U.S. teammates, impressed.
U.S. 100-meter sprinter Torri Edwards will have a hearing Monday before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, this in hopes of remaining eligible to compete here in Athens. Edwards is currently suspended as a result of a positive drugs test.
We got our first look Sunday at Greek track and field hero Kostas Kenteris, who's been hospitalized since late last week. Kenteris and fellow Greek sprinter Katerini Thanou are on the mend following a motorcycle accident.
The pair have been withdrawn from the games by the Greek Olympic Committee, this after the two missed a mandatory doping test. The International Olympic Committee said Sunday the withdrawal of the runners won't have any bearing on a hearing they have scheduled for the matter on Monday.
Finally, the saga of Iran's world champion in judo has taken yet another turn. The International Judo Federation has launched their own investigation as to why Arash Mireshmaeli failed to make weight by two kilos, or 4.5 pounds.
Now, the 23-year-old had originally said, Fredricka, that he wouldn't compete in here in Athens because his opening round opponent was from Israel. So that saga takes yet another twist.
WHITFIELD: Wow! And a little bit of good news in tennis, however, right, for Andy Roddick and Venus Williams?
MCKAY: Boy, they swept their opponents off the court pretty handily.
Andy Roddick, coming here as the second seed, Fredricka, in the Olympic tennis competition, behind the gold medal favorite, the world number one Roger Federer, but he was able to move past his opening round opponent in back-to-back sets.
Venus Williams also went through with ease. In fact, Fredricka, she needed only 47 minutes to win. That is quite swift indeed, but it's -- really comes in handy when you're under this searing Athens sun. It's pretty hot.
WHITFIELD: Wow! All right, it's hotter than Florida hot, which is what Venus Williams is used to. All right, Mark McKay, thanks very much. Enjoy the games.
Well, long considered the least glamorous of the four major championships in professional golf, today's final round of the PGA championship looks more like an all-star event.
Plenty of golf's biggest names will battle it out on this final day for the title. Masters champion Phil Mickelson is once again in contention for the win. He's already finished in the top three of this year's other majors.
Ernie Els, runner up at both this year's Masters and the British Open, is tied with Mickelson, four shots behind this man, leader Vijay Singh. And he will be paired with American Justin Leonard in the final two, some of the day at least today. And Leonard is just one stroke off the lead so far, and it could be quite a finish at Whistling Straights in Haven, Wisconsin.
The big news about Tiger Woods, however, he's getting a little angry at all the photographers taking all those pictures. It's not helping his game, apparently.
Well, "RELIABLE SOURCES" is coming up in about ten minutes, and here is Howard Kurtz with a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES": Coming up a showdown looming over who leaked the name of a CIA operative. Several high profile Washington journalists have been subpoenaed in the case, and "TIME" magazine's Matt Cooper may be facing jail.
Are prosecutors tramping the First Amendment rights of journalists, or should reporters turn over the names of the leakers?
Plus, Howard Dean's former campaign manager and how he duped the press, the "Washington Post" editor makes mistakes in covering Iraq, and the case of Mike Wallace and the meatloaf. Why did the 86-year- old veteran get arrested in New York?
That's all next on "RELIABLE SOURCES."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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WHITFIELD: Now that we've seen the devastation, it seems hard to believe, but not everyone was trying to get out of the way of the hard-charging Charley. Some people literally threw caution to the wind to document the sound and the fury.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh (expletive deleted). Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
OK, right now, the time here is roughly 4:37. We are watching a neighborhood disintegrate. This is Hurricane Charley.
For the past five minutes or so, we have been experiencing winds in excess of 10 miles an hour. It is tearing off roofs. Category Four -- Category Four hurricane. I hope I'm recording.
It is raining on us right here. Hurricane Charley, Friday the 13th, August 13. You want to know what it looks like inside a Category Four hurricane, this is it. Oh!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Jim Reed, one of the people who actually shot that video, said it was his tenth hurricane, and he's never experienced anything like it, but he lives for things like that. In fact, he lives in South Carolina just so he can be part of the hurricane season every summer.
Well, for Florida vacationers who endured Hurricane Charley, they want from soaking up some sun to, in some cases, just getting soaked, but as CNN's Jason Bellini reports, many Florida visitors did not allow the weather to dampen their spirits.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outside Wet 'n' Wild, it was a bit like the Griswalds' summer vacation. Tourists who came all the way from England discovered the park was closed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. It was a bit disappointing, really.
BELLINI (on camera): Yes? Were you looking forward to Wet 'n' Wild?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, going on all the rides and that.
BELLINI: Has this ruined the vacation?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It won't ruin it. It will put a damper on it, but it won't ruin it.
BELLINI (voice-over): It's Dad's job to put a happy twist on the situation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you got a nice equalizer for the hurricane, called a Budweiser. So we stayed at the bar last night.
BELLINI: Others in the family aren't so easily entertained.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, because we wanted to go in swimming with the dolphins, but we couldn't do that because of all the debris in the water and stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch the football; there's not much you can do.
BELLINI (on camera): Coming all the way to Orlando, and you're staying in your hotel room?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
BELLINI: Tourists got little advanced warning the hurricane would pass through Orlando. Hotels Friday remained packed with people riding out the storm.
(on camera) In this city of 116,000 hotel rooms, tourists didn't want to waste a single day of their holidays. Even though the storms ripped through here last night, they expected the theme parks to be open today, and in most cases, they were.
(voice-over) The Universal theme park had a decent Saturday crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, well, this is the first place we tried today, so obviously, the traffic it took us three hours to get here.
BELLINI: Sea World opened late, but it did open. Disney World reports its park opened at 9 a.m. with the exception of Animal Kingdom. It stayed closed for the day because not enough employees could get to work.
For many tourists, the hurricane has been, overall, an exciting adventure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been before to Florida, but we've never met a storm like this before.
BELLINI: Vacations are about memories. This one more wet and wild than most.
Jason Bellini, CNN, Orlando, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, stay tuned to CNN. In a few moments, at the bottom of the hour, "RELIABLE SOURCES." At noon, it's "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER." Among Wolf's guests, General Tommy Franks.
And at 2 p.m. Eastern, it's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," today profiling Britney Spears and Madonna.
But first, a check of the stories now in the news.
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