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CNN Live At Daybreak

Damage and Relief Efforts in Florida; Repositioning of U.S. Troops

Aired August 16, 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: The aftermath of Charley -- the heartbreak and the hearty.
It is Monday, August 16.

This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you.

From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Now in the news, shifting U.S. military around the world. President Bush today is expected to announce plans to withdraw about 70,000 troops from Europe and Asia. They'll be redeployed in an attempt to allow the military to better fight the war on terrorism.

In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez has survived a recall election. Opposition lawmakers are rejoicing the partial vote count, though. But election officials say Chavez clearly has the majority support.

High winds are fanning a wildfire near Redding, California. More than 1,200 firefighters now battling the blaze, which is roaring through an old mining town. The fire has destroyed more than 20 homes and forced about 300 people to flee.

And people have been lining up to get relief supplies in Florida in the wake of hurricane Charley. In the meantime, officials are still trying to fully assess the damage in hard hit Punta Gorda and other communities.

To the forecast center now and Rob -- oh, tell me it's calm out there.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is nice and calm down across much of the East Coast, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: So Chad is OK, he made it through the storm and he's resting today.

MARCIANO: Yes. He's resting or traveling. I think he'll be back tomorrow.

COSTELLO: All right. But it's nice you're here. And you did a great job over the weekend, as well.

MARCIANO: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.

Charley is gone, but the recovery is only starting for the people living in Florida. The hurricane killed at least 16 people in the state and the storm wreaked havoc on the citrus industry.

President Bush toured the hard hit areas on Sunday and he did promise federal aid. And the first day of school has now been delayed in southwest Florida for up to two weeks. Thousands are without power this morning and the number could be as high as one million.

As CNN's John Zarrella reports, some residents are lining up for relief, but they aren't finding what they need.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The line was long, but people from Porter Goss and Port Charlotte waited patiently in the brutal August heat for the ice truck to arrive. At this gas station miles from the disaster area, a fuel truck arrived just in time. Gasoline is tough to find.

ERIC TURNER, TRUCK DRIVER: They were just about out of gas when I got here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much longer do you think they would have lasted?

TURNER: Twenty minutes, maybe. A half hour at the most.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): Back in Punta Gorda, volunteers from the Church of Scientology handed out cases of battled water from the back of a semi.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you help out for just a few minutes?

ZARRELLA: People were helping each other. An elderly man got help carrying his water to his car.

JULIEN HENDRICKS, PUNTA GORDA, FLORIDA: I don't know how to explain it, but I could feel he couldn't carry it, and that just broke my heart and just made me realize what's really going on to all of us so.

ZARRELLA: Klara and Lisa Bosda (ph) came for water, too. But a phone is what they say they need most.

DEBBIE KLARA, PUNTA GORDA RESIDENT: Nobody knows how to get ahold of me because there's been no phone. So nobody knows if I'm OK or not.

ZARRELLA: Search and rescue teams spent a second day looking for people who were OK, and those who were not. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody home? Anybody here?

ZARRELLA: As they moved through neighborhoods, they cut dangling power lines and removed debris. For some, recovery, rebuilding, won't be too bad. For others, there's little left to recover or rebuild.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where do you start?

ZARRELLA: Hurricane Charley proved pain and suffering is not doled out equally.

John Zarrella, CNN, Punta Gorda, Florida.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: And as I told you, Florida's citrus growers have a sour taste in their mouth after Charley. The hurricane uprooted whole groves of trees. A citrus industry group says Charley also left much of this fall's unripened orange and grapefruit crop on the ground. Charley did damage in seven counties that make up more than a third of the state's citrus groves, so I guess expect to pay more at the grocery store, huh?

News across America this morning, the 9/11 Commission recommendations are the focus of three Senate committee hearings today -- Governmental Affairs and Armed Services will look at proposals for reorganizing intelligence agencies. The Science and Transportation Committee reviews the transportation recommendations.

The attorney for a man threatening outgoing New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey with a sexual harassment lawsuit says it isn't for the money. Allen Lowy denies allegations that former aide Golan Cipel tried to extort money from the governor. Want more? Lowry is the guest on "AMERICAN MORNING" in the 8:00 Eastern hour.

More recorded phone calls between Scott Peterson and his former mistress, Amber Frey. That's what jurors in California will hear later today, as Peterson's murder trial resumes. The jury last week heard a tape in which Frey confronted Peterson about his then missing wife Laci.

And will there be a trial in Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case? The NBA star is due in court later today, his final court date before jury selection is to start in less than two weeks. Prosecutors have had a series of setbacks and that's led to speculation they're looking for a way to dismiss the charge.

And Michael Jackson heads to court today for a pretrial hearing in his child molestation case. In the meantime, California's attorney general says Jackson was not mistreated by Santa Barbara County sheriffs' deputies when he surrendered to them last November. The attorney general investigated Jackson's complaint that he was manhandled very roughly by deputies. On the eve of today's hearing, the pop singer went to church.

Details on that from CNN's Donna Tetreault in Los Angeles. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Jackson!

DONNA TETREAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a surprise appearance at the First AME Church in Los Angeles when Michael Jackson showed up for Sunday service. His brother Randy and Attorney Tom Mesereau were by his side. Jackson also met with children attending Sunday school. He answered only one question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will it be OK if we went to the Neverland Ranch?

MICHAEL JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: You're welcome anytime.

TOM MESEREAU, JACKSON'S ATTORNEY: It was a before service. He worshiped god, like all of us.

TETREAULT: There was no mention of his next public appearance in a Santa Maria courtroom to fight child molestation charges. Jackson maintains his innocence. A source tells CNN it's going to be a family reunion in the courtroom, all there to witness the district attorney, Tom Sneddon, on the stand, the man leading the prosecution of Michael.

Jackson's lawyers will argue that D.A. Sneddon overstepped his role as prosecutor when he personally went to Los Angeles to investigate the case.

ARTHUR BARENS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The district attorney has put himself in the middle of this case as much as he's put Mr. Jackson in the middle of this case. And we don't want to overlook his conduct and as he acted in a manner that is legally appropriate. And that's what the defense seeks to challenge now.

TETREAULT: At issue, did investigators have the right to search the Beverly Hills office of private investigator Bradley Miller? The private investigator worked for Mark Geragos, Jackson's previous counsel. It's important because any evidence collected at Miller's office would be considered off limits to prosecutors and could be thrown out if the judge ruled it was gathered illegally.

DARIENS: In this instance, much of the material discovered by the prosecution, if it's eliminated, could absolutely cripple the prosecution's case and make the district attorney unable to proceed.

TETREAULT (on camera): Also, Jackson's defense team claims it still doesn't have access to some 73 search warrants obtained by investigators. And they say that some of the information used to get those warrants was false.

Donna Tetreault, for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: On the campaign trail, John Kerry is taking a few days off for a little R&R. Kerry is vacationing at his family home in Ketchum, Idaho. And over the weekend, Kerry wrapped up a two week cross country tour with campaign stops in Oregon.

President Bush campaigns in Michigan and in Ohio today. He'll travel to Cincinnati to deliver a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention. Aides say the president will announce a major realignment of U.S. troops in Asia and Europe. President Bush will then head to Traverse City, Michigan.

Let's get more now on the repositioning of those U.S. troops that President Bush will announce later today.

CNN's Elaine Quijano reports it'll be a fundamental realignment.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush is set to announce what Pentagon officials say has been in the works for some time, a change in where and how the United States positions its military forces around the world.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld discussed it earlier this month.

DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: We've decided that it's time to shift our posture in Europe and Asia and around the world and move from static defense, which does not make much sense today, to a more deployable and usable set of capabilities.

QUIJANO: Pentagon and senior administration officials say the president's announcement will describe a major reduction and repositioning of U.S. forces overseas. While they won't talk total troop numbers, they say most reductions will come from Europe, the rest from Asia. One official says the plan would bring some 100,000 family members of military support staff back to the United States.

The move, say officials, is designed to reflect a ready posture for the war on terror rather than the cold war stance adopted years ago when officials believed the Soviet Union posed the biggest threat to America.

U.S. officials emphasize they've consulted with American allies and members of Congress along the way.

SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), FOREIGN RELATIONS CHAIRMAN: So this is a fundamental change, and it's a change probably in the tactics of our military so that our people will be more mobile, more available at other places all over the earth.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: There are some things that we should do to re-deploy troops so that they're in the best position possible for what the new threats are.

QUIJANO: The president's decision comes against the backdrop of election year politics and the Iraq war. One Democratic senator suggested Mr. Bush's motivation is to ultimately put more troops in Iraq, but others cautioned against that. SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: But the fact is if you do put more troops in, than you sink deeper into that terrible word "quagmire," and it is not unlike what we found in Vietnam over years. You just keep putting more and more troops in, propping up governments, propping up governments.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: And as Elaine reported, the question of whether troops will be redeployed to Iraq and Afghanistan is already an issue. Another question, when are the troops now in Iraq and Afghanistan going to come home? Maybe President Bush will have some answers when he makes his announcement this morning in Cincinnati. He'll address a VFW convention at 11:05 Eastern. And CNN, of course, will carry that live for you.

Also, CNN's Paula Zahn will host a town hall meeting on the undecided vote live from Canton, Ohio, my home town. Tune in for that Wednesday night at 8:00 Eastern time.

A disappointing day for some American athletes at the Olympic Games. But Iraq's Olympic soccer team proves its opening victory was no fluke. So don't go away, because we've got Larry Smith live from Athens with an update in five minutes.

And beyond all expectations -- that's what doctors who separated twins joined at the head say. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on that story in 35 minutes.

And something else has popped up on the Web you're not going to believe. Apparently dating and politics don't mix. Who'd have thunk it? We'll pick that up in 44 minutes. But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Stocks finished slightly higher Friday, so the Dow opens this morning up 10 3/4 points.

The Nasdaq up 4 3/4.

And the S&P 500 up 1 1/2 points.

Your news, money, weather and sports now.

It is 5:15 Eastern.

Here's what's all new this morning.

It's cleanup time in the Carolinas courtesy of hurricane Charley. Residents wait for high water to run off Atlantic coast states and the buzz of chain saws clears away forests of downed tree limbs.

In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez appears to have survived a referendum. An elections official says with 94 percent of the vote counted, 58 percent voted to keep Chavez in office. In money news, with crude oil surging past $46 a barrel, look for gas prices to pump back up. The latest Lundberg Survey shows the nationwide average at $1.87 per gallon.

In culture, call it a Phish wrapper -- 60,000 Phish heads, that's with a P-H, came from far and wide for the band's farewell concert in a Woodstock like setting in rural Vermont, which is Phish's home state.

In sports, sing his praises. Vijay Singh birdied the first hole of a three hole play-off, to win the 86th PGA championship. That gives him two PGA titles among his three major championships.

To the forecast center and Rob -- good morning.

MARCIANO: Good morning, Carol.

Tiger who? Vijay is the man.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

MARCIANO: That guy is tough.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

A full week of Summer Olympic events is on the burner.

Let's see how the games are going, the medal totals, who's doing well and who's not.

At the games for us this morning, CNN's Larry Smith -- and, Larry, I'm still reeling from the American men's basketball team.

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, I tell you what, Carol, let's not call them the Dream Team anymore. It wouldn't be fair to them. The only dreaming being done is by the international teams, who could have only hoped the U.S. would put together a team this inexperienced and with this many holes.

Keep in mind, the original Dream Team back in 1992 had 11 future Hall of Famers among its 12 man roster. This year's team, maybe one or two likely future Hall of Famers.

But as you mentioned, the U.S. got their hats handed to them last night in men's basketball in their opener of the Olympics, 92-73, versus Puerto Rico. The worst Olympic loss ever for America. And just the third loss ever. After the U.S. shot just three for 24 from three point range, Coach Larry Brown said "I am embarrassed."

Now, the good news is this is just a preliminary game and it doesn't take the U.S. out of medal consideration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LAMAR ODOM, USA TEAM MEMBER: No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not embarrassed. It's not embarrassing at all. It happens, right? The Yankees lose, Mike Tyson lost, Mohammed Ali lost, Michael Jordan lost big games. You know, we'll get over it. We've still got a series, I guess you would call it, to try to win. So we can still do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Now, tonight in swimming, it's being billed as the race of the Olympics. The four fastest swimmers ever will line up for the 200-meter freestyle final, a showdown between Australia's Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps.

Now, Phelps, the 19-year-old, lost his shot at a record eight gold medals when the U.S. former 100 freestyle relay team took bronze last night. Phelps will go for his second gold of these games tonight. This morning, he advanced to the semifinals of the 200 butterfly. The finals of that event will take place Tuesday night.

Finally, the latest on the Greek sprinters Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou. Well, they have asked for a 48-hour extension to plead their case on why they missed Thursday's mandatory drug test. We're now receiving late word, just a couple of moments ago, that the International Olympic Committee's investigative panel, which met this morning and has already adjourned, has now adjourned until Wednesday. So it appears that that request has been granted.

Keep in mind, the isle seats (ph) have the final say on their fate, although the Greek Olympic Committee has already withdrawn them from the games. All this may not be over any time soon, Carol, as track and field events don't begin until Friday -- let's go back to you.

COSTELLO: Well, I'd like to go back to the American basketball team for just a second and read you this quote from Allen Iverson, because I didn't quite get it. He said, "They," Puerto Rico, "play the game the way it's supposed to be played. It's good for kids to see how the game is supposed to be played."

What does that mean?

SMITH: Well, what it means is they played a team game. And the argument of these Americans is that they just got together about a month ago. They don't play a team game. They don't have any outside shooting. And right now the luster is gone. In 1992, when NBA players first began playing, their competitors were more worried about getting autographs than actually trying to beat them. But no longer is that the case now and that the U.S. needs to wake up, buy into Coach Brown's philosophy and play a better team effort or else this may not be a very good Olympics for them.

COSTELLO: No, and even more embarrassing.

SMITH: Yes.

COSTELLO: Larry Smith reporting live from Athens for us this morning.

Up next, in our Web click, we'll tell you what famous Hilton headed down the aisle over the weekend. Well, she actually went to Las Vegas.

And take a look at this. While the world's best battle it out in Athens, runners in Hong Kong are taking the 100-meter sprint to new heights.

You are watching DAYBREAK for a Monday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We can't get our chairs quite right this morning. Does Rob seem taller than me? Yes.

MARCIANO: We've got it right about right. Well, Carol, I think I am taller than you.

COSTELLO: Well, yes, you are.

MARCIANO: Well here we always have to be equal.

COSTELLO: By about a foot. I know. Because that's the way it's done in news.

MARCIANO: That's right.

COSTELLO: The women have to look exactly the same size as the men.

MARCIANO: Well, let's go over the Web clicks right now.

COSTELLO: OK, Web clicks. Because we're always interested in the Web clicks, what you're clicking onto on cnn.com. And this morning, my goodness, you're only interested in entertainment, because the number one clicked on story is about Nicky Hilton.

MARCIANO: Oh, is there a sister?

COSTELLO: Yes, a sister, and she dyed her hair dark to like separate herself.

MARCIANO: So she's finally in the news a little bit more than Paris?

COSTELLO: Yes. Well, she's blonde in that picture, but she's dark-haired now. But she got married in a Las Vegas chapel to a money manager whose name is Todd Andrew Meister. And the weird part is, and I just looked this up...

MARCIANO: What's that?

COSTELLO: The same spokesperson who announced Nicky's wedding announced Britney Spear's wedding in the same Vegas chapel and they stayed at the same resort.

MARCIANO: It must be a package deal.

COSTELLO: I don't know. It's just insane, isn't it?

MARCIANO: All inclusive.

COSTELLO: It's insane.

MARCIANO: What else do we have?

COSTELLO: The second top story, speculation mounts regarding Kobe dismissal.

MARCIANO: No, no, there's one other.

COSTELLO: Oh, I'm sorry. The second most popular story was about "Alien Versus Predator," which is a movie out, and it says it scares the competition so it was number one at the box office. I didn't see it. I went to see "The Manchurian Candidate."

MARCIANO: How was that?

COSTELLO: What a great movie.

MARCIANO: I hear it's good.

COSTELLO: Oh, a great movie.

MARCIANO: Yes?

COSTELLO: Great movie.

And the third most clicked on story, speculation mounts regarding Kobe Bryant's dismissals. And, of course, you've all heard about all of the controversy going on in that case. And now the suit may be dismissed and we could know something later this week. So we'll keep you posted.

MARCIANO: And on top of that, the U.S. basketball team is struggling in the Olympics.

COSTELLO: Oh, how embarrassing is that?

MARCIANO: I know. So we'll have plenty of time to talk about it.

COSTELLO: Because they can't play as a team.

MARCIANO: Is that the deal?

COSTELLO: That's what Larry Smith said.

MARCIANO: Are they getting paid? Maybe that's it, they're not getting paid to play.

COSTELLO: I think you have your finger on it now.

Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Opener."

One die-hard Packers fan doesn't want deja vu all over again. Randy Hanson paid $1,800 for this not so subtle billboard that greets you as you enter Green Bay. It's to remind Coach Mike Sherman of the fourth and twenty-sixth play the Packers' defense blew last season, ending their play-off hopes. Nevertheless, Lambeau Field will be packed for the Packer's pre-season opener against the Sea Hogs and that is tonight.

In Lacrosse, Wisconsin, organizers of this year's Bark In The Park rile up about 200 dogs to set a new world record for the loudest bark. Oh, this must have been annoying. Their barks measured 112 decibels, enough to break the old record and believe me, you wouldn't have wanted to be there.

MARCIANO: It's the higher barks, the pitches, that are annoying.

COSTELLO: Oh, that shrill bark?

MARCIANO: Yes.

COSTELLO: Oh, man.

MARCIANO: Nails across a chalkboard.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

In Hong Kong, what goes up -- 40 daring athletes competed in Hong Kong's first vertical track meet. As you can see, climbing a rope more than 300 feet up the side of a skyscraper. This is just the prelims. The finals are August 22.

MARCIANO: You know that's going to be an Olympic event four years from now.

COSTELLO: That's got to be.

MARCIANO: It should be.

COSTELLO: It's better than the hammer throw.

We'll be right back.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Larry Stevenson built Canada's largest bookstore chain before getting behind the wheel at Pep Boys just over a year ago. With no experience in car parts, he is tuning up the nation's leading full service automotive after market chain by remodeling stores, making cuts, adding products and enhancing service.

LARRY STEVENSON, CHAIRMAN-ELECT & CEO, PEP BOYS: Challenges on a personal level always build character. Where I've learned the most is when I've been in a particularly tough situation that may not have been the most comfortable for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stevenson is meeting challenges head-on. Sales for the quarter ending in May were up over 10 percent from the same period last year.

STEVENSON: There's three things I've learned over the years about success in business. The first one is surround yourself by great people. The second is focus. Finally, I'd say it's create an environment where people can challenge you as a CEO.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The beginning of the week, a tough test for those in the wake of hurricane Charley.

It is Monday, August 16.

This is DAYBREAK.

Good morning.

Welcome to the second half hour of DAYBREAK.

From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Now in the news, President Bush unveils a new plan this morning to redeploy and reposition U.S. troops around the world. Most of the American troop reductions are expected to be in Europe. President Bush makes his announcement five and a half hours from now. CNN does plan live coverage.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired August 16, 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: The aftermath of Charley -- the heartbreak and the hearty.
It is Monday, August 16.

This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you.

From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Now in the news, shifting U.S. military around the world. President Bush today is expected to announce plans to withdraw about 70,000 troops from Europe and Asia. They'll be redeployed in an attempt to allow the military to better fight the war on terrorism.

In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez has survived a recall election. Opposition lawmakers are rejoicing the partial vote count, though. But election officials say Chavez clearly has the majority support.

High winds are fanning a wildfire near Redding, California. More than 1,200 firefighters now battling the blaze, which is roaring through an old mining town. The fire has destroyed more than 20 homes and forced about 300 people to flee.

And people have been lining up to get relief supplies in Florida in the wake of hurricane Charley. In the meantime, officials are still trying to fully assess the damage in hard hit Punta Gorda and other communities.

To the forecast center now and Rob -- oh, tell me it's calm out there.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is nice and calm down across much of the East Coast, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: So Chad is OK, he made it through the storm and he's resting today.

MARCIANO: Yes. He's resting or traveling. I think he'll be back tomorrow.

COSTELLO: All right. But it's nice you're here. And you did a great job over the weekend, as well.

MARCIANO: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.

Charley is gone, but the recovery is only starting for the people living in Florida. The hurricane killed at least 16 people in the state and the storm wreaked havoc on the citrus industry.

President Bush toured the hard hit areas on Sunday and he did promise federal aid. And the first day of school has now been delayed in southwest Florida for up to two weeks. Thousands are without power this morning and the number could be as high as one million.

As CNN's John Zarrella reports, some residents are lining up for relief, but they aren't finding what they need.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The line was long, but people from Porter Goss and Port Charlotte waited patiently in the brutal August heat for the ice truck to arrive. At this gas station miles from the disaster area, a fuel truck arrived just in time. Gasoline is tough to find.

ERIC TURNER, TRUCK DRIVER: They were just about out of gas when I got here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much longer do you think they would have lasted?

TURNER: Twenty minutes, maybe. A half hour at the most.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): Back in Punta Gorda, volunteers from the Church of Scientology handed out cases of battled water from the back of a semi.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you help out for just a few minutes?

ZARRELLA: People were helping each other. An elderly man got help carrying his water to his car.

JULIEN HENDRICKS, PUNTA GORDA, FLORIDA: I don't know how to explain it, but I could feel he couldn't carry it, and that just broke my heart and just made me realize what's really going on to all of us so.

ZARRELLA: Klara and Lisa Bosda (ph) came for water, too. But a phone is what they say they need most.

DEBBIE KLARA, PUNTA GORDA RESIDENT: Nobody knows how to get ahold of me because there's been no phone. So nobody knows if I'm OK or not.

ZARRELLA: Search and rescue teams spent a second day looking for people who were OK, and those who were not. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody home? Anybody here?

ZARRELLA: As they moved through neighborhoods, they cut dangling power lines and removed debris. For some, recovery, rebuilding, won't be too bad. For others, there's little left to recover or rebuild.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where do you start?

ZARRELLA: Hurricane Charley proved pain and suffering is not doled out equally.

John Zarrella, CNN, Punta Gorda, Florida.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: And as I told you, Florida's citrus growers have a sour taste in their mouth after Charley. The hurricane uprooted whole groves of trees. A citrus industry group says Charley also left much of this fall's unripened orange and grapefruit crop on the ground. Charley did damage in seven counties that make up more than a third of the state's citrus groves, so I guess expect to pay more at the grocery store, huh?

News across America this morning, the 9/11 Commission recommendations are the focus of three Senate committee hearings today -- Governmental Affairs and Armed Services will look at proposals for reorganizing intelligence agencies. The Science and Transportation Committee reviews the transportation recommendations.

The attorney for a man threatening outgoing New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey with a sexual harassment lawsuit says it isn't for the money. Allen Lowy denies allegations that former aide Golan Cipel tried to extort money from the governor. Want more? Lowry is the guest on "AMERICAN MORNING" in the 8:00 Eastern hour.

More recorded phone calls between Scott Peterson and his former mistress, Amber Frey. That's what jurors in California will hear later today, as Peterson's murder trial resumes. The jury last week heard a tape in which Frey confronted Peterson about his then missing wife Laci.

And will there be a trial in Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case? The NBA star is due in court later today, his final court date before jury selection is to start in less than two weeks. Prosecutors have had a series of setbacks and that's led to speculation they're looking for a way to dismiss the charge.

And Michael Jackson heads to court today for a pretrial hearing in his child molestation case. In the meantime, California's attorney general says Jackson was not mistreated by Santa Barbara County sheriffs' deputies when he surrendered to them last November. The attorney general investigated Jackson's complaint that he was manhandled very roughly by deputies. On the eve of today's hearing, the pop singer went to church.

Details on that from CNN's Donna Tetreault in Los Angeles. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Jackson!

DONNA TETREAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a surprise appearance at the First AME Church in Los Angeles when Michael Jackson showed up for Sunday service. His brother Randy and Attorney Tom Mesereau were by his side. Jackson also met with children attending Sunday school. He answered only one question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will it be OK if we went to the Neverland Ranch?

MICHAEL JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: You're welcome anytime.

TOM MESEREAU, JACKSON'S ATTORNEY: It was a before service. He worshiped god, like all of us.

TETREAULT: There was no mention of his next public appearance in a Santa Maria courtroom to fight child molestation charges. Jackson maintains his innocence. A source tells CNN it's going to be a family reunion in the courtroom, all there to witness the district attorney, Tom Sneddon, on the stand, the man leading the prosecution of Michael.

Jackson's lawyers will argue that D.A. Sneddon overstepped his role as prosecutor when he personally went to Los Angeles to investigate the case.

ARTHUR BARENS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The district attorney has put himself in the middle of this case as much as he's put Mr. Jackson in the middle of this case. And we don't want to overlook his conduct and as he acted in a manner that is legally appropriate. And that's what the defense seeks to challenge now.

TETREAULT: At issue, did investigators have the right to search the Beverly Hills office of private investigator Bradley Miller? The private investigator worked for Mark Geragos, Jackson's previous counsel. It's important because any evidence collected at Miller's office would be considered off limits to prosecutors and could be thrown out if the judge ruled it was gathered illegally.

DARIENS: In this instance, much of the material discovered by the prosecution, if it's eliminated, could absolutely cripple the prosecution's case and make the district attorney unable to proceed.

TETREAULT (on camera): Also, Jackson's defense team claims it still doesn't have access to some 73 search warrants obtained by investigators. And they say that some of the information used to get those warrants was false.

Donna Tetreault, for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: On the campaign trail, John Kerry is taking a few days off for a little R&R. Kerry is vacationing at his family home in Ketchum, Idaho. And over the weekend, Kerry wrapped up a two week cross country tour with campaign stops in Oregon.

President Bush campaigns in Michigan and in Ohio today. He'll travel to Cincinnati to deliver a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention. Aides say the president will announce a major realignment of U.S. troops in Asia and Europe. President Bush will then head to Traverse City, Michigan.

Let's get more now on the repositioning of those U.S. troops that President Bush will announce later today.

CNN's Elaine Quijano reports it'll be a fundamental realignment.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush is set to announce what Pentagon officials say has been in the works for some time, a change in where and how the United States positions its military forces around the world.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld discussed it earlier this month.

DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: We've decided that it's time to shift our posture in Europe and Asia and around the world and move from static defense, which does not make much sense today, to a more deployable and usable set of capabilities.

QUIJANO: Pentagon and senior administration officials say the president's announcement will describe a major reduction and repositioning of U.S. forces overseas. While they won't talk total troop numbers, they say most reductions will come from Europe, the rest from Asia. One official says the plan would bring some 100,000 family members of military support staff back to the United States.

The move, say officials, is designed to reflect a ready posture for the war on terror rather than the cold war stance adopted years ago when officials believed the Soviet Union posed the biggest threat to America.

U.S. officials emphasize they've consulted with American allies and members of Congress along the way.

SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), FOREIGN RELATIONS CHAIRMAN: So this is a fundamental change, and it's a change probably in the tactics of our military so that our people will be more mobile, more available at other places all over the earth.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: There are some things that we should do to re-deploy troops so that they're in the best position possible for what the new threats are.

QUIJANO: The president's decision comes against the backdrop of election year politics and the Iraq war. One Democratic senator suggested Mr. Bush's motivation is to ultimately put more troops in Iraq, but others cautioned against that. SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: But the fact is if you do put more troops in, than you sink deeper into that terrible word "quagmire," and it is not unlike what we found in Vietnam over years. You just keep putting more and more troops in, propping up governments, propping up governments.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: And as Elaine reported, the question of whether troops will be redeployed to Iraq and Afghanistan is already an issue. Another question, when are the troops now in Iraq and Afghanistan going to come home? Maybe President Bush will have some answers when he makes his announcement this morning in Cincinnati. He'll address a VFW convention at 11:05 Eastern. And CNN, of course, will carry that live for you.

Also, CNN's Paula Zahn will host a town hall meeting on the undecided vote live from Canton, Ohio, my home town. Tune in for that Wednesday night at 8:00 Eastern time.

A disappointing day for some American athletes at the Olympic Games. But Iraq's Olympic soccer team proves its opening victory was no fluke. So don't go away, because we've got Larry Smith live from Athens with an update in five minutes.

And beyond all expectations -- that's what doctors who separated twins joined at the head say. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on that story in 35 minutes.

And something else has popped up on the Web you're not going to believe. Apparently dating and politics don't mix. Who'd have thunk it? We'll pick that up in 44 minutes. But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Stocks finished slightly higher Friday, so the Dow opens this morning up 10 3/4 points.

The Nasdaq up 4 3/4.

And the S&P 500 up 1 1/2 points.

Your news, money, weather and sports now.

It is 5:15 Eastern.

Here's what's all new this morning.

It's cleanup time in the Carolinas courtesy of hurricane Charley. Residents wait for high water to run off Atlantic coast states and the buzz of chain saws clears away forests of downed tree limbs.

In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez appears to have survived a referendum. An elections official says with 94 percent of the vote counted, 58 percent voted to keep Chavez in office. In money news, with crude oil surging past $46 a barrel, look for gas prices to pump back up. The latest Lundberg Survey shows the nationwide average at $1.87 per gallon.

In culture, call it a Phish wrapper -- 60,000 Phish heads, that's with a P-H, came from far and wide for the band's farewell concert in a Woodstock like setting in rural Vermont, which is Phish's home state.

In sports, sing his praises. Vijay Singh birdied the first hole of a three hole play-off, to win the 86th PGA championship. That gives him two PGA titles among his three major championships.

To the forecast center and Rob -- good morning.

MARCIANO: Good morning, Carol.

Tiger who? Vijay is the man.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

MARCIANO: That guy is tough.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

A full week of Summer Olympic events is on the burner.

Let's see how the games are going, the medal totals, who's doing well and who's not.

At the games for us this morning, CNN's Larry Smith -- and, Larry, I'm still reeling from the American men's basketball team.

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, I tell you what, Carol, let's not call them the Dream Team anymore. It wouldn't be fair to them. The only dreaming being done is by the international teams, who could have only hoped the U.S. would put together a team this inexperienced and with this many holes.

Keep in mind, the original Dream Team back in 1992 had 11 future Hall of Famers among its 12 man roster. This year's team, maybe one or two likely future Hall of Famers.

But as you mentioned, the U.S. got their hats handed to them last night in men's basketball in their opener of the Olympics, 92-73, versus Puerto Rico. The worst Olympic loss ever for America. And just the third loss ever. After the U.S. shot just three for 24 from three point range, Coach Larry Brown said "I am embarrassed."

Now, the good news is this is just a preliminary game and it doesn't take the U.S. out of medal consideration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LAMAR ODOM, USA TEAM MEMBER: No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not embarrassed. It's not embarrassing at all. It happens, right? The Yankees lose, Mike Tyson lost, Mohammed Ali lost, Michael Jordan lost big games. You know, we'll get over it. We've still got a series, I guess you would call it, to try to win. So we can still do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Now, tonight in swimming, it's being billed as the race of the Olympics. The four fastest swimmers ever will line up for the 200-meter freestyle final, a showdown between Australia's Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps.

Now, Phelps, the 19-year-old, lost his shot at a record eight gold medals when the U.S. former 100 freestyle relay team took bronze last night. Phelps will go for his second gold of these games tonight. This morning, he advanced to the semifinals of the 200 butterfly. The finals of that event will take place Tuesday night.

Finally, the latest on the Greek sprinters Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou. Well, they have asked for a 48-hour extension to plead their case on why they missed Thursday's mandatory drug test. We're now receiving late word, just a couple of moments ago, that the International Olympic Committee's investigative panel, which met this morning and has already adjourned, has now adjourned until Wednesday. So it appears that that request has been granted.

Keep in mind, the isle seats (ph) have the final say on their fate, although the Greek Olympic Committee has already withdrawn them from the games. All this may not be over any time soon, Carol, as track and field events don't begin until Friday -- let's go back to you.

COSTELLO: Well, I'd like to go back to the American basketball team for just a second and read you this quote from Allen Iverson, because I didn't quite get it. He said, "They," Puerto Rico, "play the game the way it's supposed to be played. It's good for kids to see how the game is supposed to be played."

What does that mean?

SMITH: Well, what it means is they played a team game. And the argument of these Americans is that they just got together about a month ago. They don't play a team game. They don't have any outside shooting. And right now the luster is gone. In 1992, when NBA players first began playing, their competitors were more worried about getting autographs than actually trying to beat them. But no longer is that the case now and that the U.S. needs to wake up, buy into Coach Brown's philosophy and play a better team effort or else this may not be a very good Olympics for them.

COSTELLO: No, and even more embarrassing.

SMITH: Yes.

COSTELLO: Larry Smith reporting live from Athens for us this morning.

Up next, in our Web click, we'll tell you what famous Hilton headed down the aisle over the weekend. Well, she actually went to Las Vegas.

And take a look at this. While the world's best battle it out in Athens, runners in Hong Kong are taking the 100-meter sprint to new heights.

You are watching DAYBREAK for a Monday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We can't get our chairs quite right this morning. Does Rob seem taller than me? Yes.

MARCIANO: We've got it right about right. Well, Carol, I think I am taller than you.

COSTELLO: Well, yes, you are.

MARCIANO: Well here we always have to be equal.

COSTELLO: By about a foot. I know. Because that's the way it's done in news.

MARCIANO: That's right.

COSTELLO: The women have to look exactly the same size as the men.

MARCIANO: Well, let's go over the Web clicks right now.

COSTELLO: OK, Web clicks. Because we're always interested in the Web clicks, what you're clicking onto on cnn.com. And this morning, my goodness, you're only interested in entertainment, because the number one clicked on story is about Nicky Hilton.

MARCIANO: Oh, is there a sister?

COSTELLO: Yes, a sister, and she dyed her hair dark to like separate herself.

MARCIANO: So she's finally in the news a little bit more than Paris?

COSTELLO: Yes. Well, she's blonde in that picture, but she's dark-haired now. But she got married in a Las Vegas chapel to a money manager whose name is Todd Andrew Meister. And the weird part is, and I just looked this up...

MARCIANO: What's that?

COSTELLO: The same spokesperson who announced Nicky's wedding announced Britney Spear's wedding in the same Vegas chapel and they stayed at the same resort.

MARCIANO: It must be a package deal.

COSTELLO: I don't know. It's just insane, isn't it?

MARCIANO: All inclusive.

COSTELLO: It's insane.

MARCIANO: What else do we have?

COSTELLO: The second top story, speculation mounts regarding Kobe dismissal.

MARCIANO: No, no, there's one other.

COSTELLO: Oh, I'm sorry. The second most popular story was about "Alien Versus Predator," which is a movie out, and it says it scares the competition so it was number one at the box office. I didn't see it. I went to see "The Manchurian Candidate."

MARCIANO: How was that?

COSTELLO: What a great movie.

MARCIANO: I hear it's good.

COSTELLO: Oh, a great movie.

MARCIANO: Yes?

COSTELLO: Great movie.

And the third most clicked on story, speculation mounts regarding Kobe Bryant's dismissals. And, of course, you've all heard about all of the controversy going on in that case. And now the suit may be dismissed and we could know something later this week. So we'll keep you posted.

MARCIANO: And on top of that, the U.S. basketball team is struggling in the Olympics.

COSTELLO: Oh, how embarrassing is that?

MARCIANO: I know. So we'll have plenty of time to talk about it.

COSTELLO: Because they can't play as a team.

MARCIANO: Is that the deal?

COSTELLO: That's what Larry Smith said.

MARCIANO: Are they getting paid? Maybe that's it, they're not getting paid to play.

COSTELLO: I think you have your finger on it now.

Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Opener."

One die-hard Packers fan doesn't want deja vu all over again. Randy Hanson paid $1,800 for this not so subtle billboard that greets you as you enter Green Bay. It's to remind Coach Mike Sherman of the fourth and twenty-sixth play the Packers' defense blew last season, ending their play-off hopes. Nevertheless, Lambeau Field will be packed for the Packer's pre-season opener against the Sea Hogs and that is tonight.

In Lacrosse, Wisconsin, organizers of this year's Bark In The Park rile up about 200 dogs to set a new world record for the loudest bark. Oh, this must have been annoying. Their barks measured 112 decibels, enough to break the old record and believe me, you wouldn't have wanted to be there.

MARCIANO: It's the higher barks, the pitches, that are annoying.

COSTELLO: Oh, that shrill bark?

MARCIANO: Yes.

COSTELLO: Oh, man.

MARCIANO: Nails across a chalkboard.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

In Hong Kong, what goes up -- 40 daring athletes competed in Hong Kong's first vertical track meet. As you can see, climbing a rope more than 300 feet up the side of a skyscraper. This is just the prelims. The finals are August 22.

MARCIANO: You know that's going to be an Olympic event four years from now.

COSTELLO: That's got to be.

MARCIANO: It should be.

COSTELLO: It's better than the hammer throw.

We'll be right back.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Larry Stevenson built Canada's largest bookstore chain before getting behind the wheel at Pep Boys just over a year ago. With no experience in car parts, he is tuning up the nation's leading full service automotive after market chain by remodeling stores, making cuts, adding products and enhancing service.

LARRY STEVENSON, CHAIRMAN-ELECT & CEO, PEP BOYS: Challenges on a personal level always build character. Where I've learned the most is when I've been in a particularly tough situation that may not have been the most comfortable for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stevenson is meeting challenges head-on. Sales for the quarter ending in May were up over 10 percent from the same period last year.

STEVENSON: There's three things I've learned over the years about success in business. The first one is surround yourself by great people. The second is focus. Finally, I'd say it's create an environment where people can challenge you as a CEO.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The beginning of the week, a tough test for those in the wake of hurricane Charley.

It is Monday, August 16.

This is DAYBREAK.

Good morning.

Welcome to the second half hour of DAYBREAK.

From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Now in the news, President Bush unveils a new plan this morning to redeploy and reposition U.S. troops around the world. Most of the American troop reductions are expected to be in Europe. President Bush makes his announcement five and a half hours from now. CNN does plan live coverage.

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