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CNN Saturday Morning News

Israeli Denies Spy Allegations; Novak Zone: A Look at GOP Convention

Aired August 28, 2004 - 09:00 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.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning from the CNN Center here in Atlanta. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Drew Griffin. Good morning. If you're just waking up on the West Coast, boy, it's early, 6:00 a.m. Thanks for starting your day with us out there.

First up, the stories making news right now.

Somebody working in a high-level position in the Pentagon may be spying for Israel. The FBI has been investigating for months, we are learning, and reportedly has evidence to back it up, Israel denying any involvement. We'll go live to the White House for more on this in just a minute from now.

In Russia, more alarming new evidence in the crash of two passenger planes. Security officials now have found traces of explosives in the second doomed jet. They earlier discovered similar traces in the first plane. The airliners crashed within minutes of each other. That was on Tuesday.

An alleged bomb plot in New York foiled, the Associated Press and "New York Times" reporting two men are under arrest in connection with plans to bomb the 34th Street subway station. That is near the site of the Republican National Convention. Authorities say the two never got their hands on any explosives and are not believed to be members of al Qaeda.

Storm watches up along this morning along the southeastern coast. Tropical depression is drifting towards Charleston, South Carolina. Forecasters expect it to hit land in the area later tonight. They say it could strengthen into a weak tropical storm before coming ashore.

NGUYEN: And here's what's ahead this hour.

Arresting images from New York City. Just hours before the Republican National Convention kicks off, some uninvited protesters try to rain on the parade of the Grand Old Party. We have the latest on protests, politics, and police presence.

Also, on a hot day, you may want to reach for an icy soda or juice drink, but you might want to think again before you drink. A new study on sugar-sweetened beverages delivers some not-so-sweet news. We'll bring you all of those details. Plus, the 28th Olympiad is coming to a close. We'll have the latest on who has finished and who is still competing.

We will begin, though, this hour with the story of a possible spy for Israel inside the Pentagon. The FBI is investigating. One official says the person was in a position to influence Bush administration policy on Iraq and Iran.

More now from CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House. Good morning, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty.

And this story did break just last night, a very stunning story. As President Bush was leaving the White House just a few minutes ago, I did ask him if he had any concerns about it, but the president did not take any questions.

In any case, CNN did learn last night, according to senior U.S. officials, that there may be this spy -- the emphasis on may -- working for Israel at the Pentagon. One of the officials said that this alleged Israeli mole is an analyst there who may indeed have been in a position to influence not only U.S. policy on Iran but also on Iraq.

The sources say that this FBI investigation has been underway for many months, and that more than one government employee is under investigation.

It was CBS News who first reported the story, and last night it reported that the alleged spy had ties both to Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith. Now, the Pentagon put out a statement last night on the matter saying, quote, "The Department of Defense has been cooperating with the Department of Justice on this matter for an extended period of time. It is the DOD's understanding that the investigation within DOD is limited in its scope."

Also, of course, CNN contacted the Israeli embassy, and a statement there read, quote, "We deny these allegations. The United States is Israel's most cherished friend and ally. We have a strong, ongoing working relationship at all levels, and in no way would Israel do anything to impair this relationship."

Now, officials who CNN spoke with say that the alleged suspect passed documents, classified documents, to Israel through a pro- Israeli lobbying group called the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

And CNN spoke with a spokesman there last night, got a statement from them as well, saying, quote, "Any allegation of criminal conduct by the organization or its employees is baseless and false. We are fully cooperating with the governmental authorities and will continue to do so," though sources do tell CNN that at least two AIPAC employees have been interviewed by the FBI in this matter. Now, at this point, it is important to point out that no one has been arrested, no charges have been brought. And Washington insiders point out that it is not unusual in this city for friendly governments to share certain classified information, have access to certain classified information pertinent to both governments.

So if indeed these allegations are proven to be correct, it must be pointed out that not everyone involved may have believed that they were committing espionage. Still, though, one U.S. source does tell CNN this is, a quote, "very serious matter," Betty.

NGUYEN: A lot still to be learned in this case. All right, CNN's Kathleen Koch.

KOCH: Quite so.

NGUYEN: Thank you very much.

Drew?

GRIFFIN: We turn to New York and the convention. Thousands of protesters are in New York this weekend before the Republican convention even starts. That's Monday night. About 5,000 bikers chanting anti-Bush slogans rode through Manhattan and passed the convention site at Madison Square Garden yesterday. Two hundred and fifty were arrested, mostly for disrupting traffic.

And in a few hours, Planned Parenthood plans a big rally over in Brooklyn.

Live now to CNN's Jason Carroll, who is there now. Jason, good morning.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Drew.

With those arrests that you had last night, that brings the total number of arrests so far to about 272.

But the folks here at Planned Parenthood say that they expect this protest to be a peaceful one, not expecting arrests here today.

What's going to be happening here, well, if you take a look out here at this park, some 10,000 people expected to gather here for rallies, expected to be one of the larger demonstrations that we're going to be seeing out here. They're going to fill in at this park. There will be a rally here, there'll be several speakers. That's going to happen at about 11:00 a.m.

And then at noon, they're expected to march across the Brooklyn Bridge -- that's going to be quite a sight -- into Manhattan. There'll be -- they'll march over to City Hall downtown, where they will hold a second rally at that point.

Along the way, though, there are expected to be -- meet a group of protesters opposed to abortion. We're going to have to see how that turns out. Joining me right now, one of the organizers from Planned Parenthood.

So you know at this point, some of those opposed to abortion are planning to hold their own demonstration, planning to meet you along the way as you march across the Brooklyn Bridge. Have you had discussions about how you're going to handle that?

DANA CZUCZKA, PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF NEW YORK: Absolutely. We're here today as the nation turns its eyes to, you know, New York City to march for women's lives, to march for issues that are of critical importance to the men, women, and teens of this country and internationally. We're in a pro-choice city, in a pro-choice country, and we expect to be embraced, you know, with open arms.

CARROLL: Now, I know that you've said you've had discussions. How are you planning to deal with those other protesters when you meet them across the bridge?

CZUCZKA: Planned Parenthood was actually the first group to receive a permit during this week in New York City. And we've been working with the police and the parks department. And, again, we expect a peaceful demonstration here today to march for women's lives.

CARROLL: Now, I know you also call yourself a nonpartisan group, this is a nonpartisan event. But you're obviously holding it because the Republicans are coming to town. Is it fair to say that there also going to be a fair number of people at this demonstration who do not support the president and his stand on abortion?

CZUCZKA: I think we're all brought here today for the same reasons, again, to make sure that we have safe, legal access to abortion, that there's real sex education in this country, that there's healthcare access for all. And that's why we're marching today.

CARROLL: All right. Dana Czuczka from Planned Parenthood, spokeswoman, thank you very much.

CZUCZKA: Thank you.

CARROLL: Got your name correct. I thought I wouldn't, but I did.

Again, this is expected to be one of the larger demonstrations that we're going to see, Drew, but, by far, not the largest. That one is expected tomorrow. Huge antiwar group will be marching, some 250,000 people expected to march across Manhattan right to Madison Square Garden, where the Republican National Convention will be held, Drew.

GRIFFIN: Jason, some of the huge protests in Boston didn't really materialize. Are you seeing groups of protesters there gathering? Is there any -- I know it's a big city, but is there any chance that you're seeing what could be the demonstrations forming in large numbers? CARROLL: Well, I'll tell you this much, Drew. The city is definitely preparing for much larger numbers than what we saw in Boston. In fact, the New York City Police Department is setting up a temporary holding pen on the West Side of Manhattan near the Hudson River. That holding pen can hold up to 1,000 people if they have to make that many arrests when we see that huge demonstration that is likely to happen tomorrow.

GRIFFIN: OK, Jason Carroll in New York, where it's abortion day, I guess. Both sides of the abortion issue holding rallies and marches. Thanks, Jason.

NGUYEN: When the Republican Convention is gaveled to order on Monday, delegates may find the GOP gathering tilting toward the center.

CNN's Bob Franken is in the Big Apple, diagonally across from Madison Square Garden, where he is standing watch. All calm there at your viewpoint?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Jason Carroll spoke about a holding pen a moment ago. One could argue that with all the security that's going to be around here, this entire area is, in effect, a holding pen. It's going to be severe. There are just a huge number of people. And, of course, behind me, the scene of the event, Madison Square Garden. We've watched a lot of basketball there. Now we're going to see a different kind of game.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): Critics say the lineup is like putting lipstick on a pig. Compassionate conservatives, yes. Passionate ones, no. From night one, the party will be putting what it regards as its best faces forward, or best glosses, depending on the point of view.

Doesn't matter, says the campaign chairman.

MARC RACICOT, BUSH CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: So I think there's just a remarkable difference for the American people between the president and what he has to offer and his opposition in terms of their clarity, their consistency, and their steady hand.

FRANKEN: So, Senator John McCain, who has morphed recently from the picture of Bush irritant to pictures of Bush embrace, is at the podium Monday evening. So is Rudy Giuliani, another of the so-called moderates, and a reminder of the September 11 attacks here.

RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: We need someone who is going to understand that we have to remain firm against terrorists.

FRANKEN: Tuesday is another night of stars, quite literally, with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, certainly a muscular party figure. But conservatives say he's weak on gun control and abortion. Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele will also speak that night. Who is that? Well, that was the same question everyone asked about Illinois Senate Democratic candidate Barack Obama before he spoke to his convention.

And that's not all. First Lady Laura bush also goes gently into the night Tuesday. Wednesday, the warm Republican embrace includes a Democrat, a nominal one in many eyes, Georgia Senator Zell Miller.

Then Vice President Cheney, so the conservatives finally get their red meat man. And don't expect anything in his speech about gay rights.

And then, of course, Thursday's big finish. President Bush, with a variation on his theme -- Bush good, John Kerry not good.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to beat him come November.

FRANKEN: The president will deliver his remarks from a specially constructed theater-in-the-round stage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: Of course, like the Democratic convention, this will be extreme political theater, with many of the main characters here kept out of sight, Betty.

NGUYEN: As you say, starting Monday, we'll see what lipstick on a pig really looks like. All right. CNN's Bob Franken, thank you.

The Internet has become a critical part of candidates' campaign. The Web is now crowded with sites offering everything from the next political rally to candidates' stands on the issues.

Or how about this one? A Web site that shows how much your neighbors are contributing to presidential candidates. All you have to do is plug in a zip code or someone's name. It's one of the political sites we're featuring tomorrow morning when we debut a new segment called Best of the Web to help you navigate the Internet. That's on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" at 9:00 Eastern.

GRIFFIN: And CNN's going to kick off our convention coverage a little early. It kicks of tomorrow with an in-depth look at the president, "CNN Presents: The Mission of George W. Bush," that's at 8:00, followed by a special live edition of "LARRY KING LIVE." Then at 10:00 Eastern, it's Wolf Blitzer and Judy Woodruff for an "America Votes 2004" special, a preview of the Republican National Convention.

NGUYEN: In the war on terror, the FBI and Homeland Security Department say al Qaeda may be looking for a military target, and it might try to attack veterans' affairs hospitals. In a nationwide bulletin, a new bulletin, the government warns police and security personnel to watch for suspicious activities at VA hospitals. Authorities say there's no credible intelligence about a specific threat. Russian security officials say traces of explosive have been found in the wreckage of the second of two jets that went down on Tuesday. They earlier discovered similar traces in the other plane. The planes left the same airport and crashed just a few minutes apart.

The U.S. military has wrapped up hearings for four detainees at Guantanamo Bay. They're accused of terrorism. More proceedings are still ahead, and prosecutors say charges should be brought against nine other suspects.

GRIFFIN: There is just no easy way to tell this woman's story. Her brother killed in Iraq, then her fiance. She is having to attend both funerals. We'll tell you her story ahead.

NGUYEN: Also, caution for soda drinkers. A new study says you could be at risk for diabetes.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: and good morning, Phoenix. You're going to get up to about 106 today. Currently it's 80, sun shining, and no real threat for any monsoon moisture. Complete forecast, plus, we have a tropical depression. Could be our next storm right off the Carolina coastline. More weather details in about 10 minutes.

CNN SATURDAY MORNING will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.

Here's a check of our top stories this morning.

The FBI thinks the Pentagon may have a spy in its ranks. Sources say an FBI probe has been going on for some months now, based on evidence a high-ranking Pentagon employee has been spying for Israel. Israel denies it.

Meantime, a truce is still holding in Najaf, and residents are slowly returning to a normal life. The city had seen days of intense fighting between U.S. forces and insurgents.

Dealing with a double tragedy. We'll meet a woman who is traveling cross-country today to attend the funerals of two people close to her killed one day apart in Iraq. That story is coming up in a moment.

GRIFFIN: If you hadn't had a chance to keep up with the news this week, that's what we're here for. It's time to rewind, take a look back.

Two new reports released this week on abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. They found 44 instances of prisoner mistreatment. One assessment cited failures in military leadership and oversight.

Women who drink more than one sugar-sweetened soft drink a day are more likely to develop diabetes than those who drink fewer than one a month. That is the finding in a study of the Journal of American Medical Association. We'll take a hard look at the soft drink findings. That's coming right up.

And a New York judge ruled a ban on a type of late-term abortion is unconstitutional, because it doesn't provide an exception for cases in which the mother's health is endangered.

And more Americans are poor and uninsured. A Census Bureau report says for the year 2003 -- this is last year -- 35.8 million people were living in poverty, 18 percent of them children. More people lacked health insurance as well, 45 million last year, up from 43.5.

Tomorrow, we'll fast forward to the week ahead and tell you which stories are most likely to grab the spotlight.

NGUYEN: Winding down in Athens. Want to talk about that as the countdown to the end begins. We have a live report on the final days at the summer games when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns. Hope you join us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Welcome back, and good morning, Arizona. All roads lead to Tempe tonight. You're looking straight into the sun on I-10 in the Valley of the Sun. Today in Tempe the Arizona Cardinals host the Oakland Raiders in NFL preseason action. It was 106 there yesterday. Rob Marciano will be here with your Saturday forecast a couple of minutes away.

NGUYEN: All right, you've heard it before, sugar and spice and everything nice, well, that may be fine for little girls. But new Harvard research suggests that grown women should try to eliminate the first one. A long-term study of some 90,000 women reveals that sugar, especially in the form of soft drinks, can pose some serious health risks.

Registered dietician Lisa Drayer is here with all the details on this.

Good morning to you.

LISA DRAYER, REGISTERED DIETICIAN: Good morning, Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, let's talk about this. I mean, can you really blame soft drinks for increased weight gain and a risk of diabetes?

DRAYER: Well, you know, it's an interesting point. This was a very large study. It followed over 90,000 women. And researchers did find that those who consume more of these sugar-sweetened beverages did have a higher risk for weight gain and type 2 diabetes.

Specifically, those who increased their consumption from one or fewer drinks per week to one or more per day gained an average of about 10 pounds per four-year period. And those who had one per day also had an 83 percent increased risk for type 2 diabetes. That being said, researchers do point out you can't blame these sugar-sweetened beverages as the only cause of obesity and diabetes. And, in fact, those who were consuming these beverages were also not exercising as much as the other women in the study...

NGUYEN: Exactly, because exercise, diet, genetics, all of that has to factor into this, correct?

DRAYER: Exactly. They were smoking more. They also had lower intakes of protein and fiber. So it just may be that drinking these sugar-sweetened beverages is an indicator of other unhealthy lifestyle behaviors.

NGUYEN: So a lot of parents watching, we all know that, you know, soft drinks aren't the best for us. But they turn to an alternative like fruit juice or fruit punch, drinks like that. How does that factor into all of this?

DRAYER: Right. Well, actually, fruit punch was looked at in the study, and the researchers found that women who consumed fruit punch at least once each day had double the risk of diabetes, compared to women who consumed less than one fruit punch drink per month. It was also associated with increased weight gain.

The key is, if you're go -- want fruit in your drink, you want to look for a beverage that contains 100 percent juice. So this will ensure that you're getting the maximum amount of vitamins in your juice, for example, vitamin C, vitamin A, and it will minimize your intake of added sugars, for example, sugars like high-fructose corn syrup, which simply add calories, but they're not necessarily giving you any nutritional benefit.

So look for 100 percent juice when you're choosing.

NGUYEN: OK, so quickly, ruled out the soft drinks, ruled out the fruit punch. Besides 100 percent juice, what else can people drink that's somewhat healthy?

DRAYER: Well, you know, diet sodas are an option. And, in fact in the study, diet sodas were not significantly associated with diabetes risk. Also there are some new midcalorie sodas. Pepsi and Coca-Cola have now come out with midcalorie beverages, Pepsi Edge, C- 2. They have half the calories and sugar as compared to the regular version. So, for example, a 12-ounce can would contain 70 calories as compared...

NGUYEN: But do they...

DRAYER: ... to 140.

NGUYEN: ... taste good, Lisa?

DRAYER: They do.

NGUYEN: OK. That's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

DRAYER: I've tried them.

NGUYEN: OK.

DRAYER: They are sweetened with Splenda. That's the artificial sweetener that's used.

GRIFFIN: Registered dietician Lisa Drayer, thanks so much.

DRAYER: Thanks.

GRIFFIN: Rob Marciano joins us now with a look at the forecast both offshore and on.

MARCIANO: That's right. Have another tropical depression, which could become a storm, and...

NGUYEN: Another one.

MARCIANO: Yes, in fact, focused in the Carolinas. But it...

NGUYEN: Yes.

MARCIANO: ... looks like it's not going to have...

NGUYEN: I like the but there.

MARCIANO: ... time to strengthen too much.

Here it is. There's the satellite picture, the red L, that indicates the center of the circulation, and it looks to becoming better organized here as we go through the morning hours. And the National Hurricane Center is saying now that it will likely become a tropical storm before the end of the day.

Gaston will be its name, and it likely will bring heavy rains over the next probably day or two, maybe even two and a half to three days, across the Carolinas, where they've really, well, they've (UNINTELLIGIBLE) seen their fair share already of tropical activity.

From the border of Georgia and Florida all the way up to Surf City, North Carolina, we have tropical storm watches up for the next couple of days, could be upgraded to a tropical storm warning if this thing does materialize here before the end of this afternoon. Next update is at 11:00 a.m. Already on the radar picture, you can kind of see the circulation centered right about there, and feeder bands already starting to come into the Carolina and Georgia coastline.

So this system looks like it's getting its act together just a little bit.

Meantime, more substantial rains across Dallas, Fort Worth, up across the Red River Valley of Texas, through Oklahoma City. Kansas City last night, several inches of rain. Major flooding across the downtown area there. That squall has weakened as it heads through Springfield, but could fire up again through St. Louis. Milwaukee and Chicago, some rains this morning, now moving through Detroit and in through that area, maybe up towards Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio.

All along this front is where you're going to see the showers and storms today. Out ahead of it, kind of steamy, hazy, hot, and humid across parts of D.C., 90 degrees, it will be near 90 in Atlanta, 89 degrees in New York, 88 degrees expected in Boston, 82 in St. Louis with rainfall expected.

Look at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Minneapolis, 70, cool, comfortable there, 75 degrees in Denver, Colorado, 79 in Salt Lake City, 91 offshore winds for the San Francisco (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Bay area will be a little bit cooler tomorrow. But 106 in Phoenix.

Another live shot for you from Phoenix, where it's currently 80 degrees. Lots of sun. Don't expect -- that camera stopped moving (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

NGUYEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

MARCIANO: ... looking for (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

NGUYEN: ... long look at Phoenix...

(CROSSTALK)

GRIFFIN: ... but he's doing the weather (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

MARCIANO: Not a whole lot going on in Phoenix right now.

NGUYEN: And it's getting up to, what, 106 today?

MARCIANO: One-oh-six.

NGUYEN: That's it, just 106.

MARCIANO: That's all.

NGUYEN: Not a biggie for the folks in Phoenix.

GRIFFIN: We're almost past the heat. Just end of August.

NGUYEN: Yes, before you know it, it will be 99, a real cool front in Phoenix.

(CROSSTALK)

GRIFFIN: It's a national holiday for the folks in Phoenix when it reaches a high of 99 degrees.

NGUYEN: All right, Rob. Thank you.

GRIFFIN: Sad story to tell you about. Traveling across the country, she's going to mourn those that she loved. One woman, grief- stricken after her brother is killed in Iraq, and she gets more tragic news the very next day. Her journey when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Will the Republican convention give President Bush the bounce he needs? Bob Novak is going to join me from the convention for a edition of The Novak Zone.

But before we do that, I'm Drew Griffin.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for joining us. Welcome back. That story is coming up.

But first, here's what's happening now in the news.

The Israeli embassy in Washington says it doesn't have a spy in the Pentagon, but U.S. sources say otherwise. The sources tell CNN there's evidence a Pentagon employee may have been spying for Israel, and the FBI has been investigating that for months. The person is said to work in a high-level office.

Now to the presidential campaign. It's the latest shot in the battle over military records. Former Texas lieutenant governor Ben Barnes says he helped President Bush get into the Texas Air National Guard so he could avoid serving in Vietnam. Published reports say Barnes, a Democrat, admits he's ashamed of it, and he has apologized to Texas voters.

The Bush family has denied asking Barnes for help.

Storm watches, they are up this morning along the southeastern U.S. coastline, as a tropical depression drifts toward Charleston, South Carolina. Forecasters expect it to reach land in the area later tonight. They say the unnamed depression could strengthen into a weak tropical storm before coming ashore.

GRIFFIN: Well, the Republicans gearing up for their big convention next week. That's our focus in The Novak Zone today. And Bob Novak, who's covering his 24th convention, joins us from Madison Square Garden to talk about this one, and those he's covered in the past.

Good morning to you, Bob. Thanks for getting up.

ROBERT NOVAK, THE NOVAK ZONE: Good morning, Drew.

GRIFFIN: You've covered so many of these conventions, it seems like the parties are getting closer and closer together fighting for the middle. Are there going to be any differences between what we're seeing now and what we saw with the Democrats?

NOVAK: Yes. So far, I think there is -- oddly, against all historical precedent, there's more of a tendency by the Republicans to air their differences. I've been here all week, covering a Rules Committee and the Platform Committee. And they actually had votes and differences, while the Democrats just all took the party line as put down by Senator Kerry. So I think that is the big difference between them.

GRIFFIN: And they have differences of opinions on the podium as well. And Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is about as close to a Democrat as a Republican can come, will speak Tuesday night.

NOVAK: Well, they're trying to have the best face forward. Rudy Giuliani, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John McCain, they not, they may not seem much like the congressional Republicans. But both, these are not -- conventions don't decide anything anymore. So what they want to do is to have a nice, clean, gentle look to the public, and they want to get the most attractive people.

The most attractive Republicans today are those three, Schwarzenegger, McCain, and Giuliani.

GRIFFIN: I want to talk about the wives, the presidential and the contender's wives. They are playing a prominent role in this convention. Is this a fairly new, modern-day phenomenon? I remember Elizabeth Dole's speech.

NOVAK: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), it absolutely is. I think it's a very bad development, myself. I don't understand why they have the wives giving these speeches. Can you imagine Bess Truman or Mamie Eisenhower getting before their conventions and speaking? I mean, they would die rather than do that.

And of course Teresa Kerry is a -- Heinz Kerry is a very controversial person. They were very worried what she was going to say. Laura Bush is a little softer and milder. But this is a new development. And I suppose people like it, but it seems to me to be irrelevant.

GRIFFIN: I know we're straying, but why do you think that is, Bob? Why do you think the women are -- they're almost forced to talk now.

NOVAK: Well, yes. It's something that is expected. If you don't come before the, say, What's the matter, has she got a goiter or something, you know, that she can't go before the public? So she has to.

GRIFFIN: I saw your show last night with James Carville. It got kind of feisty there. Of all the political conventions and political campaigns you've covered, I want to ask you about this one in particular. There seems to be just a lot of hatred this year that's the undermining kind of a political force. We see it in the swift boat ads, we see it in the Democratic side. Do you sense that as well in these campaigns, that...

NOVAK: Oh, yes, I, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), there's an enormous amount of hostility, more than usual. My first convention, Drew, was in Los Angeles in 1960 with Kennedy and Nixon. And you really didn't have that kind of hostility at that time.

And, of course, the interesting thing about this convention is what's going to happen on the streets. This could -- there's a lot of demonstrators here. They've got just thousands and thousands of New York cops to take care of them. But what the Republicans are worried about is, it really starts to get out of hand, as it did in Chicago in 1968, when it really hurt the Democratic ticket. And they were behind anyway, and all the rioting in the street really, I think, doomed their ticket.

I don't think anything like that is going to happen there. But I can guarantee you, talking to Republicans, that's a worry in the back of their mind.

GRIFFIN: My favorite part of The Novak Zone, the big question. And Bob, I get to answer it, ask it today. What does the president need to do next in his speech to rally his side, to rally the Republicans, both who are going to vote and those who might be thinking about voting, to get out there and vote for him?

NOVAK: I, Drew, I think that President Bush in his Thursday night acceptance speech has to give an agenda for the future, something new. We're told it's going to be a new tax reform. There may be some surprises.

But it has to be -- you cannot just be backward looking if you are the incumbent president. The polls are looking up for President Bush right now. He's doing pretty well. But he can't just say, Gee, I've had a terrific four years. He has to tell America, You put me in office, and I am going to do this in the next four years.

And I think what the big gem in this acceptance speech is going to be a proposal for tax reform. Americans really don't like the tax system, and this is something that could have a lot of political oomph to it.

GRIFFIN: Bob Novak, live in New York this morning. Thanks, Bob.

And you can see more of Bob Novak at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time, a special edition of "THE CAPITAL GANG," live from the convention floor at Madison Square Garden.

And stay with CNN for all the convention coverage. We're going to kick it off tomorrow with an in-depth look at the president, "CNN Presents: The Mission of George W. Bush." That's at 8:00, followed by special live edition of "LARRY KING." At 10:00 Eastern, join Wolf Blitzer and Judy Woodruff for an "America Votes 2004" special, a preview of the Republican National Convention.

NGUYEN: Now to a story of twofold death and despair from the war in Iraq. Twenty-two-year-old Rosanna Powers buried her brother after he was killed on duty in Iraq. Later today, she faces another heart- wrenching final goodbye.

Lucinda Kay of affiliate KXLY reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSANNA POWERS: I feel like I lost my whole past with my brother, and my whole future with my fiance. LUCINDA KAY, REPORTER, KXLY (voice-over): Rosanna Powers is a Marine corporal herself. She understands the perils of war. But this seems almost too much to bear.

POWERS: The two men I cared the most about in my life, and they're both gone, one day after another. This is the worst nightmare anybody could ever imagine.

KAY: Rosanna's brother, 21-year-old Caleb Powers, was killed in Iraq August 17. Her fiancee, and the father of her son, was killed a day later.

POWERS: It's twice as hard.

KAY: This town of Mansfield hasn't had to cope with a military death since World War II. Now, nearly the entire population of 320 is grieving along with friends and family from around the nation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a Marine, Caleb could give back to those who had helped him in the past. He offered hope to children less fortunate than most. He became a hero, a mentor...

KAY: Lance Corporal Powers is remembered for his smile, his love of the Marines, and his craziness.

POWERS: Growing up, I was always my brother's hero. And I was his hero. Now he's my hero.

KAY: Rosanna's mind is full of memories, promises, and prayer. When she leaves her brother's funeral, she'll fly to Florida and arrive just in time for her fiance's funeral. She says her son will know his Uncle Caleb and dad were both heroes.

POWERS: All the dreams that we had for the future, I just want to make sure that I live those to the fullest, and just remember that they did this for our future. And that's how I keep going.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Powers will bury Richard Lord, her fiance and the father of her 10-month-old, in Florida at 1:00 p.m. Eastern today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Live picture of the White House this morning. The guy who lives there is on his way to Ohio. Rob's forecast is coming up.

MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Mark McKay in Athens. All that glitters is not gold for the United States men's basketball team. I'll have a live report coming up, Betty.

NGUYEN: Plus, the closing ceremonies will cap more than two weeks of often outstanding athletic performances. Check it out.

And out of the blur of those events emerged eternal moments of singular clarity. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Drew Griffin.

The headlines now.

A high-level Pentagon employee may be a spy for Israel, sources telling CNN an FBI investigation has been in progress for months. The Israeli embassy in Washington denies the allegation.

In Iraq, a mortar attack killed two civilians in eastern Baghdad today. Explosions went off near several government offices. Firefights continued between the Iraqi national guard, backed by U.S. forces, and insurgents in Baghdad's Shi'ite neighborhood of Sadr City.

Investigators have found traces of an explosive in the second of two Russian airliners that crashed Tuesday. Evidence of the explosive hexagen (ph) was found on an jetliner that crashed south of Moscow. The planes went down almost simultaneously, 450 miles apart.

A nightmare performance from the so-called dream team, the first time a team of U.S. pros has failed to grab the gold. Live report from Athens is coming right up.

NGUYEN: All right, now let's check some stories across America today.

Nearly half a foot of rain in just a few hours. That's what people had to deal with on both the Missouri and Kansas sides of Kansas City. Police closed off streets and urged people along one roadway to evacuate.

Federal officials are now at the scene of a deadly fraternity house fire at the University of Mississippi. That fire, at the Alpha Tau Omega House, killed three students. ATF officials are working to find out the cause.

Lawyers on both sides of the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case are spending the weekend reviewing 300 questionnaires filled out by potential jurors. Fifty people will be called back Monday for more questioning.

And in California, the state is cleaning house in a big way. Today is the second day of what's touted as a massive garage sale in Sacramento. The state is emptying its warehouse of excess, from cars, to espresso makers, all in an attempt to balance the state budget.

GRIFFIN: They went to Athens with visions of gold. Now, one day before the Olympics end, some of those dreams and visions have evaporated. For the latest on the 28th Olympiad, now its waning hours, we go to Mark McKay -- Mark.

MCKAY: All right, Drew.

In just about three hours from now, the United States men will play their very last game of Olympic basketball here at the Summer Games. It's not the game they would have liked to have been in, this after Friday night's setback on the court. The NBA-heavy squad, all they can do now is hope for the bronze medal.

Argentina made sure of that with an 89-81 win Friday night here in Athens. The South Americans next took up with Italy for the title. The United States meets Lithuania in the third-place game.

After returning home from Sydney four years ago with five medals in hand, U.S. sprinter Marion Jones will leave Athens with not a single medal. No gold, no silver or bronze. Last night at Olympic Stadium, Jones first failed to medal in the long-jump final. Later. her attempt at a medal in the 400-meter relay disappeared on a botched handoff to Lauren Williams (ph). Jamaica won the relay gold.

U.S. Sprinter Justin Gatlin, already golden in the 100 meters and a bronze medal winner in the 200, looks to add to his haul tonight as the athletics program comes to an end at Olympic Stadium. Gatlin is a member of the U.S. men's 4-by-100 meter relay squad. It's been a good if not great Game for USA track and field.

And finally, the doping police remain busy here in Athens on this Saturday. A Puerto Rican wrestler and a Hungarian weightlifter have both come up with failed doping tests. The lifter won the silver medal, Drew, he's going to have to give that back now.

These games, we'll remember for really three things, great performances, the doping issue, and, of course, the judging issue that we saw so vividly in gymnastics.

GRIFFIN: Yes, Mark, the doping thing is -- I think will go down as probably the headline a lot of people remember. It's incredible.

MCKAY: Yes, no doubt about it. And, you know, the International Olympic Committee came in here very aggressive. They spent millions of dollars. They have a staff working around the clock. And it's caught these guys and gals who have come here. If they came to cheat, they're certainly not going to leave town with a gold, silver, or bronze in hand, Drew.

GRIFFIN: All right, Mark. Tough as it was, maybe this will set a precedent that they can't do it next time. Right, Betty?

NGUYEN: And that leads to our e-mail question of the day. Which Olympic sport is the most difficult to score? We've gotten a lot of responses.

Edwin from Toronto writes, "Water sports, in general, are a hard call. We don't even see the routine they're aiming for. We see the product. The same could apply to floor exercises as well."

GRIFFIN: "Got to be women's beach volleyball," says Gunnar of Tenner, Alabama. "I know I couldn't take my eyes off those beauties. I bet the WBVB venue was a complete sellout, and nobody cares who won."

NGUYEN: Well, we know who won.

GRIFFIN: That's right.

NGUYEN: Kerri Walsh and Misty May, the U.S. team, took home the gold in that one.

And we do want to say a very happy Saturday to the capital city. Want to give you a live look at Washington right now. Maybe it will come up. There we go, see the flag flying? Rob Marciano is here with your forecast when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right. Almost 10:00 a.m. here on the East Coast.

Rob, is it a good day to get outside?

MARCIANO: East Coast, you're going to be sweating, it looks like...

GRIFFIN: What else is new, Rob?

MARCIANO: Betty...

NGUYEN: Yes, really, we know that.

MARCIANO: But all up and down the East Coast, from Florida al the way up to Maine, it's going to be hazy, hot, and humid. So if you're putting, you know, looking to put it off a day, go to the beach today, because it's the last weekend of August, and, you know, maybe the last time it feels a lot like summer.

But we are right smack in the middle of hurricane season. And we peak at around the second week of September, so we're ramping things up. This is our latest tropical depression, number seven, and it's becoming better organized. We've been talking about Frances the last couple of days, but this one's so close to home, I mean, it is 135 miles off Carolina coastline, South Carolina, specifically, Charleston, South Carolina.

And you can see the oranges get a little bit more prevalent. Next advisory out in about an hour. And National Hurricane Center saying it will probably be upgraded to a tropical storm. And if that happens, its name would be Gaston. So heavy rains possible across the Carolinas, not only later today, but more so tonight, tomorrow, and maybe in through Monday.

Also heavy rains today along this blue dotted line. It's a cool front. It's slamming into that hot, humid air that's making everybody sweat up and down the East Coast today and tomorrow. It won't give any sort of relief to, say, the bigger cities up and down the I-95 corridor till later on tomorrow and into Monday.

But in the meantime, showers and storms quite prevalent. I mean, Kansas City had a tremendous amount of rain last night, several inches fell, downtown flooded. The -- you're starting to see things taper off just a little bit.

High pressure in control and comfortably cool there across the northern tier. A chance for shower in Seattle, and the West Coast looking pretty good, although San Francisco pretty hot.

Hot and humid, Boston, New York, and Philly not only today but tomorrow. Highs around 90, feeling a little bit warmer than that with the humidity. Atlanta 89, it'll be 91 degrees in Miami, and Charlotte will see similar numbers.

Detroit, 79. Heavy thunderstorms there this morning. We'll see them pop up again in the afternoon.

Denver, beautiful day in the mountains, Mile High City, 75 and 81 degrees, low humidity of course. And Los Angeles 75. There's your offshore flow across the Bay area, with a high of about 91 today. Onshore push tomorrow for you San Francisco residents, with a high of about 72 degrees.

All right. We'll run through some radars for you. Milwaukee saw some action this morning. It's now moving towards Detroit, so it's moving quite rapidly, but the front itself is not moving rapidly. Pretty strong line of storms through Kansas City, mentioned that, dying off now in Dallas and Fort Worth. So showers expected there to linger.

There's our tropical (UNINTELLIGIBLE) probably will be a tropical storm out there. It's getting better organized on the radarscope as well.

This is Frances. This is a much stronger system. It's a category three storm, could even increase to category four status. But, Drew and Betty, it's not going to get anywhere close to the U.S. till the end of this coming week. So first we're looking at this other tropical depression, which will, at the very least, bring some heavy rain to the Carolina coastline later on today.

NGUYEN: Yes, watch out for Frances. She's brewing.

MARCIANO: Yes, you know, it's -- doesn't sound too tough, but it's a bad storm out there right now.

GRIFFIN: Yes, meanwhile, Gaston, the strong guy's a wimp.

NGUYEN: Gaston, it's Gaston, right?

MARCIANO: Gaston.

(CROSSTALK)

MARCIANO: Yes, they're either French, Spanish, or English. That's how they run those names.

GRIFFIN: Thanks, Rob, all morning long.

And thanks for joining us. We hope you have a great day. NGUYEN: That's right. "ON THE STORY" is next from New York, so stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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 28, 2004 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning from the CNN Center here in Atlanta. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Drew Griffin. Good morning. If you're just waking up on the West Coast, boy, it's early, 6:00 a.m. Thanks for starting your day with us out there.

First up, the stories making news right now.

Somebody working in a high-level position in the Pentagon may be spying for Israel. The FBI has been investigating for months, we are learning, and reportedly has evidence to back it up, Israel denying any involvement. We'll go live to the White House for more on this in just a minute from now.

In Russia, more alarming new evidence in the crash of two passenger planes. Security officials now have found traces of explosives in the second doomed jet. They earlier discovered similar traces in the first plane. The airliners crashed within minutes of each other. That was on Tuesday.

An alleged bomb plot in New York foiled, the Associated Press and "New York Times" reporting two men are under arrest in connection with plans to bomb the 34th Street subway station. That is near the site of the Republican National Convention. Authorities say the two never got their hands on any explosives and are not believed to be members of al Qaeda.

Storm watches up along this morning along the southeastern coast. Tropical depression is drifting towards Charleston, South Carolina. Forecasters expect it to hit land in the area later tonight. They say it could strengthen into a weak tropical storm before coming ashore.

NGUYEN: And here's what's ahead this hour.

Arresting images from New York City. Just hours before the Republican National Convention kicks off, some uninvited protesters try to rain on the parade of the Grand Old Party. We have the latest on protests, politics, and police presence.

Also, on a hot day, you may want to reach for an icy soda or juice drink, but you might want to think again before you drink. A new study on sugar-sweetened beverages delivers some not-so-sweet news. We'll bring you all of those details. Plus, the 28th Olympiad is coming to a close. We'll have the latest on who has finished and who is still competing.

We will begin, though, this hour with the story of a possible spy for Israel inside the Pentagon. The FBI is investigating. One official says the person was in a position to influence Bush administration policy on Iraq and Iran.

More now from CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House. Good morning, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty.

And this story did break just last night, a very stunning story. As President Bush was leaving the White House just a few minutes ago, I did ask him if he had any concerns about it, but the president did not take any questions.

In any case, CNN did learn last night, according to senior U.S. officials, that there may be this spy -- the emphasis on may -- working for Israel at the Pentagon. One of the officials said that this alleged Israeli mole is an analyst there who may indeed have been in a position to influence not only U.S. policy on Iran but also on Iraq.

The sources say that this FBI investigation has been underway for many months, and that more than one government employee is under investigation.

It was CBS News who first reported the story, and last night it reported that the alleged spy had ties both to Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith. Now, the Pentagon put out a statement last night on the matter saying, quote, "The Department of Defense has been cooperating with the Department of Justice on this matter for an extended period of time. It is the DOD's understanding that the investigation within DOD is limited in its scope."

Also, of course, CNN contacted the Israeli embassy, and a statement there read, quote, "We deny these allegations. The United States is Israel's most cherished friend and ally. We have a strong, ongoing working relationship at all levels, and in no way would Israel do anything to impair this relationship."

Now, officials who CNN spoke with say that the alleged suspect passed documents, classified documents, to Israel through a pro- Israeli lobbying group called the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

And CNN spoke with a spokesman there last night, got a statement from them as well, saying, quote, "Any allegation of criminal conduct by the organization or its employees is baseless and false. We are fully cooperating with the governmental authorities and will continue to do so," though sources do tell CNN that at least two AIPAC employees have been interviewed by the FBI in this matter. Now, at this point, it is important to point out that no one has been arrested, no charges have been brought. And Washington insiders point out that it is not unusual in this city for friendly governments to share certain classified information, have access to certain classified information pertinent to both governments.

So if indeed these allegations are proven to be correct, it must be pointed out that not everyone involved may have believed that they were committing espionage. Still, though, one U.S. source does tell CNN this is, a quote, "very serious matter," Betty.

NGUYEN: A lot still to be learned in this case. All right, CNN's Kathleen Koch.

KOCH: Quite so.

NGUYEN: Thank you very much.

Drew?

GRIFFIN: We turn to New York and the convention. Thousands of protesters are in New York this weekend before the Republican convention even starts. That's Monday night. About 5,000 bikers chanting anti-Bush slogans rode through Manhattan and passed the convention site at Madison Square Garden yesterday. Two hundred and fifty were arrested, mostly for disrupting traffic.

And in a few hours, Planned Parenthood plans a big rally over in Brooklyn.

Live now to CNN's Jason Carroll, who is there now. Jason, good morning.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Drew.

With those arrests that you had last night, that brings the total number of arrests so far to about 272.

But the folks here at Planned Parenthood say that they expect this protest to be a peaceful one, not expecting arrests here today.

What's going to be happening here, well, if you take a look out here at this park, some 10,000 people expected to gather here for rallies, expected to be one of the larger demonstrations that we're going to be seeing out here. They're going to fill in at this park. There will be a rally here, there'll be several speakers. That's going to happen at about 11:00 a.m.

And then at noon, they're expected to march across the Brooklyn Bridge -- that's going to be quite a sight -- into Manhattan. There'll be -- they'll march over to City Hall downtown, where they will hold a second rally at that point.

Along the way, though, there are expected to be -- meet a group of protesters opposed to abortion. We're going to have to see how that turns out. Joining me right now, one of the organizers from Planned Parenthood.

So you know at this point, some of those opposed to abortion are planning to hold their own demonstration, planning to meet you along the way as you march across the Brooklyn Bridge. Have you had discussions about how you're going to handle that?

DANA CZUCZKA, PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF NEW YORK: Absolutely. We're here today as the nation turns its eyes to, you know, New York City to march for women's lives, to march for issues that are of critical importance to the men, women, and teens of this country and internationally. We're in a pro-choice city, in a pro-choice country, and we expect to be embraced, you know, with open arms.

CARROLL: Now, I know that you've said you've had discussions. How are you planning to deal with those other protesters when you meet them across the bridge?

CZUCZKA: Planned Parenthood was actually the first group to receive a permit during this week in New York City. And we've been working with the police and the parks department. And, again, we expect a peaceful demonstration here today to march for women's lives.

CARROLL: Now, I know you also call yourself a nonpartisan group, this is a nonpartisan event. But you're obviously holding it because the Republicans are coming to town. Is it fair to say that there also going to be a fair number of people at this demonstration who do not support the president and his stand on abortion?

CZUCZKA: I think we're all brought here today for the same reasons, again, to make sure that we have safe, legal access to abortion, that there's real sex education in this country, that there's healthcare access for all. And that's why we're marching today.

CARROLL: All right. Dana Czuczka from Planned Parenthood, spokeswoman, thank you very much.

CZUCZKA: Thank you.

CARROLL: Got your name correct. I thought I wouldn't, but I did.

Again, this is expected to be one of the larger demonstrations that we're going to see, Drew, but, by far, not the largest. That one is expected tomorrow. Huge antiwar group will be marching, some 250,000 people expected to march across Manhattan right to Madison Square Garden, where the Republican National Convention will be held, Drew.

GRIFFIN: Jason, some of the huge protests in Boston didn't really materialize. Are you seeing groups of protesters there gathering? Is there any -- I know it's a big city, but is there any chance that you're seeing what could be the demonstrations forming in large numbers? CARROLL: Well, I'll tell you this much, Drew. The city is definitely preparing for much larger numbers than what we saw in Boston. In fact, the New York City Police Department is setting up a temporary holding pen on the West Side of Manhattan near the Hudson River. That holding pen can hold up to 1,000 people if they have to make that many arrests when we see that huge demonstration that is likely to happen tomorrow.

GRIFFIN: OK, Jason Carroll in New York, where it's abortion day, I guess. Both sides of the abortion issue holding rallies and marches. Thanks, Jason.

NGUYEN: When the Republican Convention is gaveled to order on Monday, delegates may find the GOP gathering tilting toward the center.

CNN's Bob Franken is in the Big Apple, diagonally across from Madison Square Garden, where he is standing watch. All calm there at your viewpoint?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Jason Carroll spoke about a holding pen a moment ago. One could argue that with all the security that's going to be around here, this entire area is, in effect, a holding pen. It's going to be severe. There are just a huge number of people. And, of course, behind me, the scene of the event, Madison Square Garden. We've watched a lot of basketball there. Now we're going to see a different kind of game.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): Critics say the lineup is like putting lipstick on a pig. Compassionate conservatives, yes. Passionate ones, no. From night one, the party will be putting what it regards as its best faces forward, or best glosses, depending on the point of view.

Doesn't matter, says the campaign chairman.

MARC RACICOT, BUSH CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: So I think there's just a remarkable difference for the American people between the president and what he has to offer and his opposition in terms of their clarity, their consistency, and their steady hand.

FRANKEN: So, Senator John McCain, who has morphed recently from the picture of Bush irritant to pictures of Bush embrace, is at the podium Monday evening. So is Rudy Giuliani, another of the so-called moderates, and a reminder of the September 11 attacks here.

RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: We need someone who is going to understand that we have to remain firm against terrorists.

FRANKEN: Tuesday is another night of stars, quite literally, with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, certainly a muscular party figure. But conservatives say he's weak on gun control and abortion. Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele will also speak that night. Who is that? Well, that was the same question everyone asked about Illinois Senate Democratic candidate Barack Obama before he spoke to his convention.

And that's not all. First Lady Laura bush also goes gently into the night Tuesday. Wednesday, the warm Republican embrace includes a Democrat, a nominal one in many eyes, Georgia Senator Zell Miller.

Then Vice President Cheney, so the conservatives finally get their red meat man. And don't expect anything in his speech about gay rights.

And then, of course, Thursday's big finish. President Bush, with a variation on his theme -- Bush good, John Kerry not good.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to beat him come November.

FRANKEN: The president will deliver his remarks from a specially constructed theater-in-the-round stage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: Of course, like the Democratic convention, this will be extreme political theater, with many of the main characters here kept out of sight, Betty.

NGUYEN: As you say, starting Monday, we'll see what lipstick on a pig really looks like. All right. CNN's Bob Franken, thank you.

The Internet has become a critical part of candidates' campaign. The Web is now crowded with sites offering everything from the next political rally to candidates' stands on the issues.

Or how about this one? A Web site that shows how much your neighbors are contributing to presidential candidates. All you have to do is plug in a zip code or someone's name. It's one of the political sites we're featuring tomorrow morning when we debut a new segment called Best of the Web to help you navigate the Internet. That's on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" at 9:00 Eastern.

GRIFFIN: And CNN's going to kick off our convention coverage a little early. It kicks of tomorrow with an in-depth look at the president, "CNN Presents: The Mission of George W. Bush," that's at 8:00, followed by a special live edition of "LARRY KING LIVE." Then at 10:00 Eastern, it's Wolf Blitzer and Judy Woodruff for an "America Votes 2004" special, a preview of the Republican National Convention.

NGUYEN: In the war on terror, the FBI and Homeland Security Department say al Qaeda may be looking for a military target, and it might try to attack veterans' affairs hospitals. In a nationwide bulletin, a new bulletin, the government warns police and security personnel to watch for suspicious activities at VA hospitals. Authorities say there's no credible intelligence about a specific threat. Russian security officials say traces of explosive have been found in the wreckage of the second of two jets that went down on Tuesday. They earlier discovered similar traces in the other plane. The planes left the same airport and crashed just a few minutes apart.

The U.S. military has wrapped up hearings for four detainees at Guantanamo Bay. They're accused of terrorism. More proceedings are still ahead, and prosecutors say charges should be brought against nine other suspects.

GRIFFIN: There is just no easy way to tell this woman's story. Her brother killed in Iraq, then her fiance. She is having to attend both funerals. We'll tell you her story ahead.

NGUYEN: Also, caution for soda drinkers. A new study says you could be at risk for diabetes.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: and good morning, Phoenix. You're going to get up to about 106 today. Currently it's 80, sun shining, and no real threat for any monsoon moisture. Complete forecast, plus, we have a tropical depression. Could be our next storm right off the Carolina coastline. More weather details in about 10 minutes.

CNN SATURDAY MORNING will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.

Here's a check of our top stories this morning.

The FBI thinks the Pentagon may have a spy in its ranks. Sources say an FBI probe has been going on for some months now, based on evidence a high-ranking Pentagon employee has been spying for Israel. Israel denies it.

Meantime, a truce is still holding in Najaf, and residents are slowly returning to a normal life. The city had seen days of intense fighting between U.S. forces and insurgents.

Dealing with a double tragedy. We'll meet a woman who is traveling cross-country today to attend the funerals of two people close to her killed one day apart in Iraq. That story is coming up in a moment.

GRIFFIN: If you hadn't had a chance to keep up with the news this week, that's what we're here for. It's time to rewind, take a look back.

Two new reports released this week on abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. They found 44 instances of prisoner mistreatment. One assessment cited failures in military leadership and oversight.

Women who drink more than one sugar-sweetened soft drink a day are more likely to develop diabetes than those who drink fewer than one a month. That is the finding in a study of the Journal of American Medical Association. We'll take a hard look at the soft drink findings. That's coming right up.

And a New York judge ruled a ban on a type of late-term abortion is unconstitutional, because it doesn't provide an exception for cases in which the mother's health is endangered.

And more Americans are poor and uninsured. A Census Bureau report says for the year 2003 -- this is last year -- 35.8 million people were living in poverty, 18 percent of them children. More people lacked health insurance as well, 45 million last year, up from 43.5.

Tomorrow, we'll fast forward to the week ahead and tell you which stories are most likely to grab the spotlight.

NGUYEN: Winding down in Athens. Want to talk about that as the countdown to the end begins. We have a live report on the final days at the summer games when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns. Hope you join us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Welcome back, and good morning, Arizona. All roads lead to Tempe tonight. You're looking straight into the sun on I-10 in the Valley of the Sun. Today in Tempe the Arizona Cardinals host the Oakland Raiders in NFL preseason action. It was 106 there yesterday. Rob Marciano will be here with your Saturday forecast a couple of minutes away.

NGUYEN: All right, you've heard it before, sugar and spice and everything nice, well, that may be fine for little girls. But new Harvard research suggests that grown women should try to eliminate the first one. A long-term study of some 90,000 women reveals that sugar, especially in the form of soft drinks, can pose some serious health risks.

Registered dietician Lisa Drayer is here with all the details on this.

Good morning to you.

LISA DRAYER, REGISTERED DIETICIAN: Good morning, Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, let's talk about this. I mean, can you really blame soft drinks for increased weight gain and a risk of diabetes?

DRAYER: Well, you know, it's an interesting point. This was a very large study. It followed over 90,000 women. And researchers did find that those who consume more of these sugar-sweetened beverages did have a higher risk for weight gain and type 2 diabetes.

Specifically, those who increased their consumption from one or fewer drinks per week to one or more per day gained an average of about 10 pounds per four-year period. And those who had one per day also had an 83 percent increased risk for type 2 diabetes. That being said, researchers do point out you can't blame these sugar-sweetened beverages as the only cause of obesity and diabetes. And, in fact, those who were consuming these beverages were also not exercising as much as the other women in the study...

NGUYEN: Exactly, because exercise, diet, genetics, all of that has to factor into this, correct?

DRAYER: Exactly. They were smoking more. They also had lower intakes of protein and fiber. So it just may be that drinking these sugar-sweetened beverages is an indicator of other unhealthy lifestyle behaviors.

NGUYEN: So a lot of parents watching, we all know that, you know, soft drinks aren't the best for us. But they turn to an alternative like fruit juice or fruit punch, drinks like that. How does that factor into all of this?

DRAYER: Right. Well, actually, fruit punch was looked at in the study, and the researchers found that women who consumed fruit punch at least once each day had double the risk of diabetes, compared to women who consumed less than one fruit punch drink per month. It was also associated with increased weight gain.

The key is, if you're go -- want fruit in your drink, you want to look for a beverage that contains 100 percent juice. So this will ensure that you're getting the maximum amount of vitamins in your juice, for example, vitamin C, vitamin A, and it will minimize your intake of added sugars, for example, sugars like high-fructose corn syrup, which simply add calories, but they're not necessarily giving you any nutritional benefit.

So look for 100 percent juice when you're choosing.

NGUYEN: OK, so quickly, ruled out the soft drinks, ruled out the fruit punch. Besides 100 percent juice, what else can people drink that's somewhat healthy?

DRAYER: Well, you know, diet sodas are an option. And, in fact in the study, diet sodas were not significantly associated with diabetes risk. Also there are some new midcalorie sodas. Pepsi and Coca-Cola have now come out with midcalorie beverages, Pepsi Edge, C- 2. They have half the calories and sugar as compared to the regular version. So, for example, a 12-ounce can would contain 70 calories as compared...

NGUYEN: But do they...

DRAYER: ... to 140.

NGUYEN: ... taste good, Lisa?

DRAYER: They do.

NGUYEN: OK. That's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

DRAYER: I've tried them.

NGUYEN: OK.

DRAYER: They are sweetened with Splenda. That's the artificial sweetener that's used.

GRIFFIN: Registered dietician Lisa Drayer, thanks so much.

DRAYER: Thanks.

GRIFFIN: Rob Marciano joins us now with a look at the forecast both offshore and on.

MARCIANO: That's right. Have another tropical depression, which could become a storm, and...

NGUYEN: Another one.

MARCIANO: Yes, in fact, focused in the Carolinas. But it...

NGUYEN: Yes.

MARCIANO: ... looks like it's not going to have...

NGUYEN: I like the but there.

MARCIANO: ... time to strengthen too much.

Here it is. There's the satellite picture, the red L, that indicates the center of the circulation, and it looks to becoming better organized here as we go through the morning hours. And the National Hurricane Center is saying now that it will likely become a tropical storm before the end of the day.

Gaston will be its name, and it likely will bring heavy rains over the next probably day or two, maybe even two and a half to three days, across the Carolinas, where they've really, well, they've (UNINTELLIGIBLE) seen their fair share already of tropical activity.

From the border of Georgia and Florida all the way up to Surf City, North Carolina, we have tropical storm watches up for the next couple of days, could be upgraded to a tropical storm warning if this thing does materialize here before the end of this afternoon. Next update is at 11:00 a.m. Already on the radar picture, you can kind of see the circulation centered right about there, and feeder bands already starting to come into the Carolina and Georgia coastline.

So this system looks like it's getting its act together just a little bit.

Meantime, more substantial rains across Dallas, Fort Worth, up across the Red River Valley of Texas, through Oklahoma City. Kansas City last night, several inches of rain. Major flooding across the downtown area there. That squall has weakened as it heads through Springfield, but could fire up again through St. Louis. Milwaukee and Chicago, some rains this morning, now moving through Detroit and in through that area, maybe up towards Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio.

All along this front is where you're going to see the showers and storms today. Out ahead of it, kind of steamy, hazy, hot, and humid across parts of D.C., 90 degrees, it will be near 90 in Atlanta, 89 degrees in New York, 88 degrees expected in Boston, 82 in St. Louis with rainfall expected.

Look at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Minneapolis, 70, cool, comfortable there, 75 degrees in Denver, Colorado, 79 in Salt Lake City, 91 offshore winds for the San Francisco (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Bay area will be a little bit cooler tomorrow. But 106 in Phoenix.

Another live shot for you from Phoenix, where it's currently 80 degrees. Lots of sun. Don't expect -- that camera stopped moving (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

NGUYEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

MARCIANO: ... looking for (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

NGUYEN: ... long look at Phoenix...

(CROSSTALK)

GRIFFIN: ... but he's doing the weather (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

MARCIANO: Not a whole lot going on in Phoenix right now.

NGUYEN: And it's getting up to, what, 106 today?

MARCIANO: One-oh-six.

NGUYEN: That's it, just 106.

MARCIANO: That's all.

NGUYEN: Not a biggie for the folks in Phoenix.

GRIFFIN: We're almost past the heat. Just end of August.

NGUYEN: Yes, before you know it, it will be 99, a real cool front in Phoenix.

(CROSSTALK)

GRIFFIN: It's a national holiday for the folks in Phoenix when it reaches a high of 99 degrees.

NGUYEN: All right, Rob. Thank you.

GRIFFIN: Sad story to tell you about. Traveling across the country, she's going to mourn those that she loved. One woman, grief- stricken after her brother is killed in Iraq, and she gets more tragic news the very next day. Her journey when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Will the Republican convention give President Bush the bounce he needs? Bob Novak is going to join me from the convention for a edition of The Novak Zone.

But before we do that, I'm Drew Griffin.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for joining us. Welcome back. That story is coming up.

But first, here's what's happening now in the news.

The Israeli embassy in Washington says it doesn't have a spy in the Pentagon, but U.S. sources say otherwise. The sources tell CNN there's evidence a Pentagon employee may have been spying for Israel, and the FBI has been investigating that for months. The person is said to work in a high-level office.

Now to the presidential campaign. It's the latest shot in the battle over military records. Former Texas lieutenant governor Ben Barnes says he helped President Bush get into the Texas Air National Guard so he could avoid serving in Vietnam. Published reports say Barnes, a Democrat, admits he's ashamed of it, and he has apologized to Texas voters.

The Bush family has denied asking Barnes for help.

Storm watches, they are up this morning along the southeastern U.S. coastline, as a tropical depression drifts toward Charleston, South Carolina. Forecasters expect it to reach land in the area later tonight. They say the unnamed depression could strengthen into a weak tropical storm before coming ashore.

GRIFFIN: Well, the Republicans gearing up for their big convention next week. That's our focus in The Novak Zone today. And Bob Novak, who's covering his 24th convention, joins us from Madison Square Garden to talk about this one, and those he's covered in the past.

Good morning to you, Bob. Thanks for getting up.

ROBERT NOVAK, THE NOVAK ZONE: Good morning, Drew.

GRIFFIN: You've covered so many of these conventions, it seems like the parties are getting closer and closer together fighting for the middle. Are there going to be any differences between what we're seeing now and what we saw with the Democrats?

NOVAK: Yes. So far, I think there is -- oddly, against all historical precedent, there's more of a tendency by the Republicans to air their differences. I've been here all week, covering a Rules Committee and the Platform Committee. And they actually had votes and differences, while the Democrats just all took the party line as put down by Senator Kerry. So I think that is the big difference between them.

GRIFFIN: And they have differences of opinions on the podium as well. And Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is about as close to a Democrat as a Republican can come, will speak Tuesday night.

NOVAK: Well, they're trying to have the best face forward. Rudy Giuliani, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John McCain, they not, they may not seem much like the congressional Republicans. But both, these are not -- conventions don't decide anything anymore. So what they want to do is to have a nice, clean, gentle look to the public, and they want to get the most attractive people.

The most attractive Republicans today are those three, Schwarzenegger, McCain, and Giuliani.

GRIFFIN: I want to talk about the wives, the presidential and the contender's wives. They are playing a prominent role in this convention. Is this a fairly new, modern-day phenomenon? I remember Elizabeth Dole's speech.

NOVAK: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), it absolutely is. I think it's a very bad development, myself. I don't understand why they have the wives giving these speeches. Can you imagine Bess Truman or Mamie Eisenhower getting before their conventions and speaking? I mean, they would die rather than do that.

And of course Teresa Kerry is a -- Heinz Kerry is a very controversial person. They were very worried what she was going to say. Laura Bush is a little softer and milder. But this is a new development. And I suppose people like it, but it seems to me to be irrelevant.

GRIFFIN: I know we're straying, but why do you think that is, Bob? Why do you think the women are -- they're almost forced to talk now.

NOVAK: Well, yes. It's something that is expected. If you don't come before the, say, What's the matter, has she got a goiter or something, you know, that she can't go before the public? So she has to.

GRIFFIN: I saw your show last night with James Carville. It got kind of feisty there. Of all the political conventions and political campaigns you've covered, I want to ask you about this one in particular. There seems to be just a lot of hatred this year that's the undermining kind of a political force. We see it in the swift boat ads, we see it in the Democratic side. Do you sense that as well in these campaigns, that...

NOVAK: Oh, yes, I, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), there's an enormous amount of hostility, more than usual. My first convention, Drew, was in Los Angeles in 1960 with Kennedy and Nixon. And you really didn't have that kind of hostility at that time.

And, of course, the interesting thing about this convention is what's going to happen on the streets. This could -- there's a lot of demonstrators here. They've got just thousands and thousands of New York cops to take care of them. But what the Republicans are worried about is, it really starts to get out of hand, as it did in Chicago in 1968, when it really hurt the Democratic ticket. And they were behind anyway, and all the rioting in the street really, I think, doomed their ticket.

I don't think anything like that is going to happen there. But I can guarantee you, talking to Republicans, that's a worry in the back of their mind.

GRIFFIN: My favorite part of The Novak Zone, the big question. And Bob, I get to answer it, ask it today. What does the president need to do next in his speech to rally his side, to rally the Republicans, both who are going to vote and those who might be thinking about voting, to get out there and vote for him?

NOVAK: I, Drew, I think that President Bush in his Thursday night acceptance speech has to give an agenda for the future, something new. We're told it's going to be a new tax reform. There may be some surprises.

But it has to be -- you cannot just be backward looking if you are the incumbent president. The polls are looking up for President Bush right now. He's doing pretty well. But he can't just say, Gee, I've had a terrific four years. He has to tell America, You put me in office, and I am going to do this in the next four years.

And I think what the big gem in this acceptance speech is going to be a proposal for tax reform. Americans really don't like the tax system, and this is something that could have a lot of political oomph to it.

GRIFFIN: Bob Novak, live in New York this morning. Thanks, Bob.

And you can see more of Bob Novak at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time, a special edition of "THE CAPITAL GANG," live from the convention floor at Madison Square Garden.

And stay with CNN for all the convention coverage. We're going to kick it off tomorrow with an in-depth look at the president, "CNN Presents: The Mission of George W. Bush." That's at 8:00, followed by special live edition of "LARRY KING." At 10:00 Eastern, join Wolf Blitzer and Judy Woodruff for an "America Votes 2004" special, a preview of the Republican National Convention.

NGUYEN: Now to a story of twofold death and despair from the war in Iraq. Twenty-two-year-old Rosanna Powers buried her brother after he was killed on duty in Iraq. Later today, she faces another heart- wrenching final goodbye.

Lucinda Kay of affiliate KXLY reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSANNA POWERS: I feel like I lost my whole past with my brother, and my whole future with my fiance. LUCINDA KAY, REPORTER, KXLY (voice-over): Rosanna Powers is a Marine corporal herself. She understands the perils of war. But this seems almost too much to bear.

POWERS: The two men I cared the most about in my life, and they're both gone, one day after another. This is the worst nightmare anybody could ever imagine.

KAY: Rosanna's brother, 21-year-old Caleb Powers, was killed in Iraq August 17. Her fiancee, and the father of her son, was killed a day later.

POWERS: It's twice as hard.

KAY: This town of Mansfield hasn't had to cope with a military death since World War II. Now, nearly the entire population of 320 is grieving along with friends and family from around the nation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a Marine, Caleb could give back to those who had helped him in the past. He offered hope to children less fortunate than most. He became a hero, a mentor...

KAY: Lance Corporal Powers is remembered for his smile, his love of the Marines, and his craziness.

POWERS: Growing up, I was always my brother's hero. And I was his hero. Now he's my hero.

KAY: Rosanna's mind is full of memories, promises, and prayer. When she leaves her brother's funeral, she'll fly to Florida and arrive just in time for her fiance's funeral. She says her son will know his Uncle Caleb and dad were both heroes.

POWERS: All the dreams that we had for the future, I just want to make sure that I live those to the fullest, and just remember that they did this for our future. And that's how I keep going.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Powers will bury Richard Lord, her fiance and the father of her 10-month-old, in Florida at 1:00 p.m. Eastern today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Live picture of the White House this morning. The guy who lives there is on his way to Ohio. Rob's forecast is coming up.

MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Mark McKay in Athens. All that glitters is not gold for the United States men's basketball team. I'll have a live report coming up, Betty.

NGUYEN: Plus, the closing ceremonies will cap more than two weeks of often outstanding athletic performances. Check it out.

And out of the blur of those events emerged eternal moments of singular clarity. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Drew Griffin.

The headlines now.

A high-level Pentagon employee may be a spy for Israel, sources telling CNN an FBI investigation has been in progress for months. The Israeli embassy in Washington denies the allegation.

In Iraq, a mortar attack killed two civilians in eastern Baghdad today. Explosions went off near several government offices. Firefights continued between the Iraqi national guard, backed by U.S. forces, and insurgents in Baghdad's Shi'ite neighborhood of Sadr City.

Investigators have found traces of an explosive in the second of two Russian airliners that crashed Tuesday. Evidence of the explosive hexagen (ph) was found on an jetliner that crashed south of Moscow. The planes went down almost simultaneously, 450 miles apart.

A nightmare performance from the so-called dream team, the first time a team of U.S. pros has failed to grab the gold. Live report from Athens is coming right up.

NGUYEN: All right, now let's check some stories across America today.

Nearly half a foot of rain in just a few hours. That's what people had to deal with on both the Missouri and Kansas sides of Kansas City. Police closed off streets and urged people along one roadway to evacuate.

Federal officials are now at the scene of a deadly fraternity house fire at the University of Mississippi. That fire, at the Alpha Tau Omega House, killed three students. ATF officials are working to find out the cause.

Lawyers on both sides of the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case are spending the weekend reviewing 300 questionnaires filled out by potential jurors. Fifty people will be called back Monday for more questioning.

And in California, the state is cleaning house in a big way. Today is the second day of what's touted as a massive garage sale in Sacramento. The state is emptying its warehouse of excess, from cars, to espresso makers, all in an attempt to balance the state budget.

GRIFFIN: They went to Athens with visions of gold. Now, one day before the Olympics end, some of those dreams and visions have evaporated. For the latest on the 28th Olympiad, now its waning hours, we go to Mark McKay -- Mark.

MCKAY: All right, Drew.

In just about three hours from now, the United States men will play their very last game of Olympic basketball here at the Summer Games. It's not the game they would have liked to have been in, this after Friday night's setback on the court. The NBA-heavy squad, all they can do now is hope for the bronze medal.

Argentina made sure of that with an 89-81 win Friday night here in Athens. The South Americans next took up with Italy for the title. The United States meets Lithuania in the third-place game.

After returning home from Sydney four years ago with five medals in hand, U.S. sprinter Marion Jones will leave Athens with not a single medal. No gold, no silver or bronze. Last night at Olympic Stadium, Jones first failed to medal in the long-jump final. Later. her attempt at a medal in the 400-meter relay disappeared on a botched handoff to Lauren Williams (ph). Jamaica won the relay gold.

U.S. Sprinter Justin Gatlin, already golden in the 100 meters and a bronze medal winner in the 200, looks to add to his haul tonight as the athletics program comes to an end at Olympic Stadium. Gatlin is a member of the U.S. men's 4-by-100 meter relay squad. It's been a good if not great Game for USA track and field.

And finally, the doping police remain busy here in Athens on this Saturday. A Puerto Rican wrestler and a Hungarian weightlifter have both come up with failed doping tests. The lifter won the silver medal, Drew, he's going to have to give that back now.

These games, we'll remember for really three things, great performances, the doping issue, and, of course, the judging issue that we saw so vividly in gymnastics.

GRIFFIN: Yes, Mark, the doping thing is -- I think will go down as probably the headline a lot of people remember. It's incredible.

MCKAY: Yes, no doubt about it. And, you know, the International Olympic Committee came in here very aggressive. They spent millions of dollars. They have a staff working around the clock. And it's caught these guys and gals who have come here. If they came to cheat, they're certainly not going to leave town with a gold, silver, or bronze in hand, Drew.

GRIFFIN: All right, Mark. Tough as it was, maybe this will set a precedent that they can't do it next time. Right, Betty?

NGUYEN: And that leads to our e-mail question of the day. Which Olympic sport is the most difficult to score? We've gotten a lot of responses.

Edwin from Toronto writes, "Water sports, in general, are a hard call. We don't even see the routine they're aiming for. We see the product. The same could apply to floor exercises as well."

GRIFFIN: "Got to be women's beach volleyball," says Gunnar of Tenner, Alabama. "I know I couldn't take my eyes off those beauties. I bet the WBVB venue was a complete sellout, and nobody cares who won."

NGUYEN: Well, we know who won.

GRIFFIN: That's right.

NGUYEN: Kerri Walsh and Misty May, the U.S. team, took home the gold in that one.

And we do want to say a very happy Saturday to the capital city. Want to give you a live look at Washington right now. Maybe it will come up. There we go, see the flag flying? Rob Marciano is here with your forecast when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right. Almost 10:00 a.m. here on the East Coast.

Rob, is it a good day to get outside?

MARCIANO: East Coast, you're going to be sweating, it looks like...

GRIFFIN: What else is new, Rob?

MARCIANO: Betty...

NGUYEN: Yes, really, we know that.

MARCIANO: But all up and down the East Coast, from Florida al the way up to Maine, it's going to be hazy, hot, and humid. So if you're putting, you know, looking to put it off a day, go to the beach today, because it's the last weekend of August, and, you know, maybe the last time it feels a lot like summer.

But we are right smack in the middle of hurricane season. And we peak at around the second week of September, so we're ramping things up. This is our latest tropical depression, number seven, and it's becoming better organized. We've been talking about Frances the last couple of days, but this one's so close to home, I mean, it is 135 miles off Carolina coastline, South Carolina, specifically, Charleston, South Carolina.

And you can see the oranges get a little bit more prevalent. Next advisory out in about an hour. And National Hurricane Center saying it will probably be upgraded to a tropical storm. And if that happens, its name would be Gaston. So heavy rains possible across the Carolinas, not only later today, but more so tonight, tomorrow, and maybe in through Monday.

Also heavy rains today along this blue dotted line. It's a cool front. It's slamming into that hot, humid air that's making everybody sweat up and down the East Coast today and tomorrow. It won't give any sort of relief to, say, the bigger cities up and down the I-95 corridor till later on tomorrow and into Monday.

But in the meantime, showers and storms quite prevalent. I mean, Kansas City had a tremendous amount of rain last night, several inches fell, downtown flooded. The -- you're starting to see things taper off just a little bit.

High pressure in control and comfortably cool there across the northern tier. A chance for shower in Seattle, and the West Coast looking pretty good, although San Francisco pretty hot.

Hot and humid, Boston, New York, and Philly not only today but tomorrow. Highs around 90, feeling a little bit warmer than that with the humidity. Atlanta 89, it'll be 91 degrees in Miami, and Charlotte will see similar numbers.

Detroit, 79. Heavy thunderstorms there this morning. We'll see them pop up again in the afternoon.

Denver, beautiful day in the mountains, Mile High City, 75 and 81 degrees, low humidity of course. And Los Angeles 75. There's your offshore flow across the Bay area, with a high of about 91 today. Onshore push tomorrow for you San Francisco residents, with a high of about 72 degrees.

All right. We'll run through some radars for you. Milwaukee saw some action this morning. It's now moving towards Detroit, so it's moving quite rapidly, but the front itself is not moving rapidly. Pretty strong line of storms through Kansas City, mentioned that, dying off now in Dallas and Fort Worth. So showers expected there to linger.

There's our tropical (UNINTELLIGIBLE) probably will be a tropical storm out there. It's getting better organized on the radarscope as well.

This is Frances. This is a much stronger system. It's a category three storm, could even increase to category four status. But, Drew and Betty, it's not going to get anywhere close to the U.S. till the end of this coming week. So first we're looking at this other tropical depression, which will, at the very least, bring some heavy rain to the Carolina coastline later on today.

NGUYEN: Yes, watch out for Frances. She's brewing.

MARCIANO: Yes, you know, it's -- doesn't sound too tough, but it's a bad storm out there right now.

GRIFFIN: Yes, meanwhile, Gaston, the strong guy's a wimp.

NGUYEN: Gaston, it's Gaston, right?

MARCIANO: Gaston.

(CROSSTALK)

MARCIANO: Yes, they're either French, Spanish, or English. That's how they run those names.

GRIFFIN: Thanks, Rob, all morning long.

And thanks for joining us. We hope you have a great day. NGUYEN: That's right. "ON THE STORY" is next from New York, so stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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