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CNN Live At Daybreak
Possible Path of Hurricane Frances; RNC Day Three Recap; Bryant Sexual Assault Criminal Case Dismissed
Aired September 02, 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: Get ready for the president's acceptance speech. It is day four of the Republican National Convention.
And today is Thursday, September 2.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news -- it is the day all the speeches, parties and protests have been leading up to. Less than four hours from ground -- or four miles, rather -- from Ground Zero, President Bush will officially accept his party's nomination tonight. Friends say his 40 minute speech will look back as it frames plans to move forward.
On to Russia now. Russian President Vladimir Putin cancels his trip to Turkey as a tense hostage situation enters its second day. Perhaps as many as 400 teachers, parents and children are being held hostage inside of a school. Authorities say many of the armed attackers are women.
U.S. forces target two safe houses being used by Abu Musab al- Zarqawi's followers in Fallujah. In the aftermath, the Associated Press says 17 people are dead, several of them children.
Florida officials now urging nearly half a million people to evacuate before Hurricane Frances sloshes ashore some time on Saturday afternoon. Forecasters expect the entire state to be affected one way or another.
Let's talk to our expert on the subject -- Chad.
What do you think is going to happen?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
There are still two schools of thought on this hurricane, still to this hour. Typically by the time it gets this close now, 500 miles away, we get that cone down to a relatively small area. But we have a number of computer models.
We type in all kinds of stuff -- not we, the Weather Service -- types in all kinds of stuff into this weather model and it tries to predict where this hurricane is going to go. It tries to predict where the upper level winds are going to blow it, where maybe it might hit a piece of land and maybe bounce a little around or maybe lose a little bit of strength.
Well, this storm still has two distinct possibilities -- one, going right into south Florida, maybe a little bit north of Miami; and another one taking a big right hand turn and heading up toward Jacksonville or possibly even to Savannah, Georgia. But there's six models out there. Three are turning it right and three are making it go straight, right into maybe places like Sebastian Inlet.
So, that's why there's a hurricane watch now all the way from Flagler Beach down to Craig Key in the Florida Keys. Obviously, hurricane warnings now in the Bahamas.
Here are the latest numbers now here for you, if you are keeping track: 22.9 north and 73.0 west -- 22.9 north, 73.0 west. About 35 miles north of Mayaguana Island in the Bahamas. And it is forecast now to go right over Freeport and right into the coast there of central and southern Florida.
It's going to be a very tough call until it gets really close to shore whether this thing actually makes the turn or not. What you need to know is that you need to be prepared if you're anywhere from the Florida -- from the Keys, even from Homestead right on up possibly to Savannah, Georgia, because this thing hasn't figured out its way yet.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: President Bush is in New York for his convention ending appearance tonight. Bush arrived last night after a day campaigning in Ohio. Tonight, he will formally accept his party's nomination as president.
Bush landed in New York just in time to get the ringing endorsement of the city's firefighters union. The union that represents their bosses has endorsed John Kerry. Bush stumped last night at an Italian-American center in Queens.
Also, the president takes center stage at tonight's Republican convention, as we've been saying. The speech ends a rousing week of praise and protest.
Let's head straight to Madison Square Garden and CNN's Kareen Wynter -- good morning.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
For those who watched, they saw Republicans let loose here inside the Garden Wednesday night, as they launched an all out attack against Senator John Kerry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WYNTER (voice-over): A Republican and a Democrat shared the stage and spotlight Wednesday night at the GOP convention, but only one delivered a scathing message to his own party, keynote speaker Democrat Zell Miller.
SEN. ZELL MILLER (D), GEORGIA: Our nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of the Democrats manic obsession to bring down our commander-in-chief. What has happened to the party I've spent my life working in?
WYNTER: The Georgia senator with conservative views crossed party lines, bolstering President Bush and blasting John Kerry.
MILLER: John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure.
WYNTER: In response, the Democrats said, "Zell Miller used his keynote to attack like an angry rabid elephant." They also pointed out that Miller had praised Kerry as an authentic hero as recently as 2001.
Vice President Dick Cheney, who officially accepted his party's nomination for a second term that evening, continued the charge against Kerry.
DICK CHENEY (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He talks about leading a more sensitive war on terror as though al Qaeda will be impressed with our softer side.
WYNTER: Protesters continued to make their presence felt at the convention. A woman wearing anti-Cheney slogans was arrested inside the convention hall during Cheney's speech Wednesday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER: Since last Thursday, roughly 1,800 demonstrators have been arrested. Now, tonight, of course, the featured speaker, President Bush. And as you can see right now, work crews are getting things ready on the convention floor. They want to switch things up a bit, create a more intimate feel from what we've been seeing all week as the president gets ready to deliver his keynote address -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Kareen Wynter reporting live from Madison Square Garden this morning.
Thank you.
Well, the protesters hauled off the convention floor had valid credentials to be inside Madison Square Garden. They said it really wasn't all that difficult to get them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEDEA BENJAMIN, "CODE PINK": And I used a credential from a delegate who didn't want to go back inside. But then I realized that with the press credential, I could get, actually, closer to where the higher-ups were sitting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Code Pink is a worldwide organization of women for creating, non-violent protest.
All this week during the convention, if you are away from your television set, tune us in on the radio or on the Web. "CNN LIVE FROM" anchor Kyra Phillips and I will be broadcasting live every night starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll have complete coverage of everything going on in the Big Apple. That's on CNN Radio all this week, from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
Now for the Kobe Bryant bombshell -- the eleventh hour end to the criminal case against him. For an explanation and a look at what comes next, we turn to CNN's Gary Tuchman, who has all the details for you from Eagle County, Colorado.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After more than 13 months in the courts, right in the middle of jury selection, only days from opening statements, the district attorney who formally charged Kobe Bryant with sexual assault made a dramatic announcement.
MARK HURLBERT, EAGLE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I have reluctantly made the difficult decision to dismiss the case of "People v. Kobe Bryant."
TUCHMAN: Why? Because prosecutors say the 20-year-old accuser is unwilling to appear as a witness in the trial.
HURLBERT: And for this reason, and this reason only, I am dismissing this case.
TUCHMAN: So, the criminal prosecution of the Los Angeles Laker guard is over. He no longer has to worry about prison, probation or lifetime branding as a sexual offender in his case, although a civil lawsuit filed by the accuser is still scheduled to proceed.
Inside the court, as the judge decided whether to accept the motion to dismiss, one of the women's personal attorneys, John Clune, told the court she has suffered too much pain as a result of all the attention and that, "She completely and wholeheartedly agrees with this decision."
Bryant was not in the court for the momentous news, but his attorney, Pamela Mackey, said the rape accusation is still "a charge that he steadfastly denies. He is innocent."
But after the judge accepted the motion and agreed the case would be dropped, the 26-year-old basketball star issued a statement apologizing to the woman who accused him of rape and said, "Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I now understand how she sincerely feels that she did not consent to this encounter." The news about the case being dropped was received well at Laker headquarters by one of Bryant's teammates.
LUKE WALTON, LAKERS PLAYER: You know, that's awesome. You know, now he can hopefully get back to his life and concentrate on some other things.
TUCHMAN: In July, the woman's personal attorneys told CNN she might not want to proceed with this criminal case. But once jury selection began, most assumed it would go forward. Now that it's over, did the prosecution think it still could have won? We asked and got this answer.
HURLBERT: I'm not going to be taking questions at this time.
Thank you very much and thank all of you for being here.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Judge Terry Ruckriegle could have decided the trial should continue, but he ruled the public's interests are not jeopardized by the dismissal of the case. But notably, he ruled the dismissal will always leave a question in the minds of everyone.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Eagle, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: More trial news across America for you. Modesto police testified about their surveillance of Scott Peterson shortly after his wife's disappearance. Peterson visited the Berkeley Marina several times in the first few weeks. Prosecutors contend he dumped the body in the bay and was worried it would surface. The defense says Peterson was just following the progress of the police search.
In Alabama, vacationers have been told to be on the lookout for sharks swimming close to shore. Those are not tadpoles you're seeing, but actual full grown sharks. On an average day, about six sharks were seen within 100 yards of the coastline, but recently as many as 90 have been spotted. Marine biologists say the sharks have come closer to feed on small fish.
The Florida National Guard has been activated to deal with Hurricane Frances. Hundreds of schools are closed this morning, as residents brace for the arrival of the Category 4 hurricane. The mandatory evacuation of 300,000 people in Palm Beach County takes effect at 2:00 p.m. Eastern this afternoon. Other counties are also planning to urge evacuations later today and into Friday.
Now for more on Frances. This would be the first time in more than 100 years that two Category 4 hurricanes have hit the U.S. in one season. Charley made landfall last month.
For a look at some of the more notable events in recent history, we head up to the Weather Center and Chad, who is keeping an eye on things.
Tell us -- Chad. MYERS: You know, Carol, we have hurricanes, we have Category 1s, we have tropical storms, 2s and 3s, and all of a sudden it turns into a major hurricane. And that's where we are now. This thing here, Frances, is a major hurricane. It's one of those that will go down in the books. It will probably be retired as a name, in fact, because it is going to hit somewhere along the Florida coast with an awful lot of damage.
Now, as this one ranks, this one ranks about maybe tenth to twelfth in strength of all the hurricanes that we know about that have ever hit the United States. Clearly, it hasn't hit yet, but as it does, it's still forecast to get stronger, 145 miles per hour this morning.
Here's a look back at some of the other notables of late.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MYERS (voice-over): Let's take a look at some of the extremes of extreme weather.
The official Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November and no hurricane has ever hit the U.S. outside of those months. And Atlantic hurricanes have been reported offshore as early as March and as late as January 5.
In 1971, Hurricane Ginger set the mark for longevity, with hurricane force winds for 20 straight days as it wandered between Bermuda and the Carolinas, causing some damage to the Outer Banks.
Hundreds lost their lives in 1969 in Hurricane Camille. The storm battered the Mississippi Gulf Coast with a record 24-foot storm surge before moving north into Tennessee and Virginia.
The busiest day? September 28, 1998. Four Atlantic storms -- Georges, Ivan, Jeanne, and Karl -- were at hurricane strength all at the same time.
And occasionally one of these tropical terrors heads north of the border. The Canadian Hurricane Center says six hurricane strength storms have struck eastern Canada in the last 10 years and most recently in September 2003.
Hurricane Juan killed eight and knocked out power for two weeks in parts of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. And in the half century since forecasters have been naming Atlantic hurricanes, only once have we made it to the letter T. In 1995, Hurricane Tanya was the last of the year's 19 named storms.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MYERS: Carol, this month already, well, August, because now we're into September, there were actually eight named storms. That breaks a record for August. There were eight named storms back in the year 2000 and one in September. September is typically the busiest month. And if that's the case, I'm not looking forward to it. Five hundred and seventeen miles from West Palm Beach right now. There are your new coordinates -- 22.9 north, 73.0 west, if you're keeping track. The latest hurricane hunter aircraft did pick up winds a little bit stronger than that.
They also picked up a little bit of extra high pressure up here, Carol. And what that means, we like to see these hurricanes not have a high pressure here, because then they make a big right hand turn and head back out to sea and miss everything.
With the high pressure up here, that's actually going to push the storm farther to the west and right on down into south and south central Florida -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, incredible.
Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: Sure.
COSTELLO: And I know you'll be keeping us up to date throughout the morning.
MYERS: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, parents in Russia are desperate for any word about their children, but hostage takers are shutting down just about any communication that doesn't involve making a threat to kill. We'll get an update for you on that school stand- off.
And President Bush is gearing up for his big speech in New York tonight. At 30 minutes past the hour, we'll get some insight about the preparations from the man who has been putting words into the president's mouth for years.
And we'll meet some New Yorkers who are wearing their hearts, well, not quite on their sleeves, but close.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The numbers are mixed this morning on Wall Street.
The Dow begins trading, the trading day, rather, slightly down. The blue chips on the S&P opened slightly up, as does the tech heavy Nasdaq market.
In trading across the globe, the Nikkei average in Japan is up about 25 points. In Britain, the numbers are down 2 1/2 on the FTSE. And in France, the CAC is slightly higher, up just over a 1 point.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
President Bush takes center stage tonight at the Republican National Convention. The president is expected to focus on the future as he accepts his party's nomination.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says sanctions are needed against Iran. The call comes on the heels of an atomic agency report saying Iran plans to enrich a large amount of uranium. The enriched uranium could be used to build several nuclear weapons.
In money news, investors are keeping an eye on Intel. The computer chip giant is expected to announce its mid-quarter financial report today. The news could impact stock portfolios across-the- board.
In culture, the lion is getting a little long in the tooth. MGM celebrates its 80th year this weekend, even as rumors swirl over the possible sale of the studio as early as next week.
In sports, Serena Williams made two statements at the U.S. Open. The first was a bold fashion statement. But she backed it up with a straight set victory over Lindsay Lee-Waters -- Chad.
MYERS: Hey, good morning, Carol.
I know we're going to get tired of looking at this and tired of talking about it, but here you go. Hurricane Frances now still a Category 4. Winds are 145 miles per hour. I want to give you the landfall, but I don't want you to focus on the point of the hurricane.
I want you to focus on the yellow area, because that's the area that's going to be affected. That entire area could turn left or turn right. And a hurricane is not a point. This hurricane is absolutely not a point. It's hundreds of miles wide. Hurricane watches from Flagler Beach right on down to Craig Key this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
The Russian hostage crisis has prompted President Vladimir Putin to cancel a planned trip to Turkey. Heavily armed militants strapped with explosives are holding hundreds of hostages, most of them schoolchildren. And they're threatening to blow up the school. The U.N. Security Council was called into emergency session as a result.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUAN ANTONIO YANEZ-BARNUEVO, SPANISH AMBASSADOR TO U.N. (through translator): The Security Council demands immediate and unconditional release of all hostages of the terrorist attack. The Security Council expresses the deepest sympathy and condolences to the people and government of the Russian Federation and to the victims of the terrorist act and their families. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: As many as 16 people were killed yesterday when the militants took over the school, which is now surrounded by Russian special forces troops.
In Iraq, a desperate bid to save two French journalists being held by a group that has threatened to kill them. Some French Muslims head for Baghdad today and crisis talks to get those journalists released. The kidnappers want France to revoke a law banning Muslim head scarves in public schools. The French law also forbids other religious items, including Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses. The law begins today, which is also the first day of school.
And that brings us to our e-mail "Question of the Day": Should children be banned from school for wearing any clothing or symbols that portrays their faith? We want to hear from you. E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
Twenty-two million single women decided to skip voting in the last presidential election. Later on DAYBREAK, why this group doesn't feel like they have a voice in politics.
And ahead, Florida and the Caribbean brace for Frances. We'll head down south to check out conditions next.
You are watching DAYBREAK for a Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time to check out our "Web Clicks" this morning on cnn.com. We're always interested to see what you're clicking onto. And the number one clicked on story on cnn.com this morning, Kobe Bryant. And the...
MYERS: I logged on this morning to go look at the hurricane and all of a sudden it was everywhere. I was like oh! I didn't even know it happened until 4:00 this morning.
COSTELLO: Hurricane? Oh.
MYERS: I clicked on to look at the hurricane stuff and all of this -- and this Kobe stuff is all over everywhere.
COSTELLO: I got you. I understand now. Got you.
Well, we're going to talk a lot more about the Kobe Bryant case later on DAYBREAK.
MYERS: Sure.
COSTELLO: The criminal charges dropped against him. Of course, the civil case goes on.
The second most clicked on story on our Web site, this bizarre family -- or this bizarre story out of Marietta, Georgia. Have you heard about this?
MYERS: I have been to this place. I've been to where these guys were partying. Yes. They drove home -- it's a very hard story to describe. Two people in the truck. One guy obviously hanging out the truck at some point in time. The driver...
COSTELLO: Out of the side passenger window.
MYERS: Out of the side passenger window. As the other driver was so drunk driving home, the passenger was decapitated on a wire that was holding up a power pole. And the driver didn't even know it. He drove home, parked his truck, went inside and went to sleep.
COSTELLO: That's just insane. Now he's in court.
MYERS: And a neighbor found the body in the truck the next morning.
COSTELLO: Yes. Now he's in court charged with vehicular manslaughter. But the family of the deceased man wants them to drop all charges.
MYERS: Let me just say all of that was allegedly.
COSTELLO: It's a strange story.
The third most clicked on story on our Web is the fury of Frances, set to slam the Bahamas and maybe the coast of Florida.
MYERS: Of course. Well, we were supposed to have a live phoner now from Grand Turk down in the Turks & Caicos. There you see the storm right there. There's no cell towers left. I think they all probably got knocked down on Grand Turk. The winds there were gusting to 70, 80 miles per hour, and in some spots even higher than that. So, it's going to be...
COSTELLO: Yes. And of course, you'll have much more on that throughout the morning.
MYERS: Yes, there's a lot of things that you can do that you may not think about, especially getting water in your tub, because if there isn't any water, you know, you can use that water later. We'll get through all of those things that maybe you're not thinking about in our next half hour.
COSTELLO: Here's what's also ahead in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
Up close and personal, the chief speechwriter for President Bush will give you an idea of what the president wants out of his chief writer.
And putting it to the test -- students in France start the first day of school under a new law banning Muslim head scarves in school. We've been asking you this question this morning -- should children be banned from school for wearing any clothing or symbol that portrays their faith?
E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. And of course we'll read your comments later on on DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: This is day four, the final day of the Republican National Convention.
It is Thursday, September 2.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
Welcome to the second half hour of DAYBREAK.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news -- Republicans party in New York, but the first three days of their convention are prologue and the climax comes tonight, when President Bush accepts the nomination for a second term and delivers perhaps the most important speech of his campaign.
No progress reported in the stand-off at that Russian school near Chechnya. Gunmen are holding at least 100 people, mostly schoolchildren, and threatening to blow up the school. Russia's president is postponing a visit to Turkey now.
The United States is supporting a call for more international peacekeepers to enforce the cease-fire in Sudan. That's no surprise. But the U.N. proposal is also getting a positive response from Sudan's government. And that was not expected.
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Aired September 2, 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: Get ready for the president's acceptance speech. It is day four of the Republican National Convention.
And today is Thursday, September 2.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news -- it is the day all the speeches, parties and protests have been leading up to. Less than four hours from ground -- or four miles, rather -- from Ground Zero, President Bush will officially accept his party's nomination tonight. Friends say his 40 minute speech will look back as it frames plans to move forward.
On to Russia now. Russian President Vladimir Putin cancels his trip to Turkey as a tense hostage situation enters its second day. Perhaps as many as 400 teachers, parents and children are being held hostage inside of a school. Authorities say many of the armed attackers are women.
U.S. forces target two safe houses being used by Abu Musab al- Zarqawi's followers in Fallujah. In the aftermath, the Associated Press says 17 people are dead, several of them children.
Florida officials now urging nearly half a million people to evacuate before Hurricane Frances sloshes ashore some time on Saturday afternoon. Forecasters expect the entire state to be affected one way or another.
Let's talk to our expert on the subject -- Chad.
What do you think is going to happen?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
There are still two schools of thought on this hurricane, still to this hour. Typically by the time it gets this close now, 500 miles away, we get that cone down to a relatively small area. But we have a number of computer models.
We type in all kinds of stuff -- not we, the Weather Service -- types in all kinds of stuff into this weather model and it tries to predict where this hurricane is going to go. It tries to predict where the upper level winds are going to blow it, where maybe it might hit a piece of land and maybe bounce a little around or maybe lose a little bit of strength.
Well, this storm still has two distinct possibilities -- one, going right into south Florida, maybe a little bit north of Miami; and another one taking a big right hand turn and heading up toward Jacksonville or possibly even to Savannah, Georgia. But there's six models out there. Three are turning it right and three are making it go straight, right into maybe places like Sebastian Inlet.
So, that's why there's a hurricane watch now all the way from Flagler Beach down to Craig Key in the Florida Keys. Obviously, hurricane warnings now in the Bahamas.
Here are the latest numbers now here for you, if you are keeping track: 22.9 north and 73.0 west -- 22.9 north, 73.0 west. About 35 miles north of Mayaguana Island in the Bahamas. And it is forecast now to go right over Freeport and right into the coast there of central and southern Florida.
It's going to be a very tough call until it gets really close to shore whether this thing actually makes the turn or not. What you need to know is that you need to be prepared if you're anywhere from the Florida -- from the Keys, even from Homestead right on up possibly to Savannah, Georgia, because this thing hasn't figured out its way yet.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: President Bush is in New York for his convention ending appearance tonight. Bush arrived last night after a day campaigning in Ohio. Tonight, he will formally accept his party's nomination as president.
Bush landed in New York just in time to get the ringing endorsement of the city's firefighters union. The union that represents their bosses has endorsed John Kerry. Bush stumped last night at an Italian-American center in Queens.
Also, the president takes center stage at tonight's Republican convention, as we've been saying. The speech ends a rousing week of praise and protest.
Let's head straight to Madison Square Garden and CNN's Kareen Wynter -- good morning.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
For those who watched, they saw Republicans let loose here inside the Garden Wednesday night, as they launched an all out attack against Senator John Kerry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WYNTER (voice-over): A Republican and a Democrat shared the stage and spotlight Wednesday night at the GOP convention, but only one delivered a scathing message to his own party, keynote speaker Democrat Zell Miller.
SEN. ZELL MILLER (D), GEORGIA: Our nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of the Democrats manic obsession to bring down our commander-in-chief. What has happened to the party I've spent my life working in?
WYNTER: The Georgia senator with conservative views crossed party lines, bolstering President Bush and blasting John Kerry.
MILLER: John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure.
WYNTER: In response, the Democrats said, "Zell Miller used his keynote to attack like an angry rabid elephant." They also pointed out that Miller had praised Kerry as an authentic hero as recently as 2001.
Vice President Dick Cheney, who officially accepted his party's nomination for a second term that evening, continued the charge against Kerry.
DICK CHENEY (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He talks about leading a more sensitive war on terror as though al Qaeda will be impressed with our softer side.
WYNTER: Protesters continued to make their presence felt at the convention. A woman wearing anti-Cheney slogans was arrested inside the convention hall during Cheney's speech Wednesday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER: Since last Thursday, roughly 1,800 demonstrators have been arrested. Now, tonight, of course, the featured speaker, President Bush. And as you can see right now, work crews are getting things ready on the convention floor. They want to switch things up a bit, create a more intimate feel from what we've been seeing all week as the president gets ready to deliver his keynote address -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Kareen Wynter reporting live from Madison Square Garden this morning.
Thank you.
Well, the protesters hauled off the convention floor had valid credentials to be inside Madison Square Garden. They said it really wasn't all that difficult to get them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEDEA BENJAMIN, "CODE PINK": And I used a credential from a delegate who didn't want to go back inside. But then I realized that with the press credential, I could get, actually, closer to where the higher-ups were sitting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Code Pink is a worldwide organization of women for creating, non-violent protest.
All this week during the convention, if you are away from your television set, tune us in on the radio or on the Web. "CNN LIVE FROM" anchor Kyra Phillips and I will be broadcasting live every night starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll have complete coverage of everything going on in the Big Apple. That's on CNN Radio all this week, from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
Now for the Kobe Bryant bombshell -- the eleventh hour end to the criminal case against him. For an explanation and a look at what comes next, we turn to CNN's Gary Tuchman, who has all the details for you from Eagle County, Colorado.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After more than 13 months in the courts, right in the middle of jury selection, only days from opening statements, the district attorney who formally charged Kobe Bryant with sexual assault made a dramatic announcement.
MARK HURLBERT, EAGLE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I have reluctantly made the difficult decision to dismiss the case of "People v. Kobe Bryant."
TUCHMAN: Why? Because prosecutors say the 20-year-old accuser is unwilling to appear as a witness in the trial.
HURLBERT: And for this reason, and this reason only, I am dismissing this case.
TUCHMAN: So, the criminal prosecution of the Los Angeles Laker guard is over. He no longer has to worry about prison, probation or lifetime branding as a sexual offender in his case, although a civil lawsuit filed by the accuser is still scheduled to proceed.
Inside the court, as the judge decided whether to accept the motion to dismiss, one of the women's personal attorneys, John Clune, told the court she has suffered too much pain as a result of all the attention and that, "She completely and wholeheartedly agrees with this decision."
Bryant was not in the court for the momentous news, but his attorney, Pamela Mackey, said the rape accusation is still "a charge that he steadfastly denies. He is innocent."
But after the judge accepted the motion and agreed the case would be dropped, the 26-year-old basketball star issued a statement apologizing to the woman who accused him of rape and said, "Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I now understand how she sincerely feels that she did not consent to this encounter." The news about the case being dropped was received well at Laker headquarters by one of Bryant's teammates.
LUKE WALTON, LAKERS PLAYER: You know, that's awesome. You know, now he can hopefully get back to his life and concentrate on some other things.
TUCHMAN: In July, the woman's personal attorneys told CNN she might not want to proceed with this criminal case. But once jury selection began, most assumed it would go forward. Now that it's over, did the prosecution think it still could have won? We asked and got this answer.
HURLBERT: I'm not going to be taking questions at this time.
Thank you very much and thank all of you for being here.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Judge Terry Ruckriegle could have decided the trial should continue, but he ruled the public's interests are not jeopardized by the dismissal of the case. But notably, he ruled the dismissal will always leave a question in the minds of everyone.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Eagle, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: More trial news across America for you. Modesto police testified about their surveillance of Scott Peterson shortly after his wife's disappearance. Peterson visited the Berkeley Marina several times in the first few weeks. Prosecutors contend he dumped the body in the bay and was worried it would surface. The defense says Peterson was just following the progress of the police search.
In Alabama, vacationers have been told to be on the lookout for sharks swimming close to shore. Those are not tadpoles you're seeing, but actual full grown sharks. On an average day, about six sharks were seen within 100 yards of the coastline, but recently as many as 90 have been spotted. Marine biologists say the sharks have come closer to feed on small fish.
The Florida National Guard has been activated to deal with Hurricane Frances. Hundreds of schools are closed this morning, as residents brace for the arrival of the Category 4 hurricane. The mandatory evacuation of 300,000 people in Palm Beach County takes effect at 2:00 p.m. Eastern this afternoon. Other counties are also planning to urge evacuations later today and into Friday.
Now for more on Frances. This would be the first time in more than 100 years that two Category 4 hurricanes have hit the U.S. in one season. Charley made landfall last month.
For a look at some of the more notable events in recent history, we head up to the Weather Center and Chad, who is keeping an eye on things.
Tell us -- Chad. MYERS: You know, Carol, we have hurricanes, we have Category 1s, we have tropical storms, 2s and 3s, and all of a sudden it turns into a major hurricane. And that's where we are now. This thing here, Frances, is a major hurricane. It's one of those that will go down in the books. It will probably be retired as a name, in fact, because it is going to hit somewhere along the Florida coast with an awful lot of damage.
Now, as this one ranks, this one ranks about maybe tenth to twelfth in strength of all the hurricanes that we know about that have ever hit the United States. Clearly, it hasn't hit yet, but as it does, it's still forecast to get stronger, 145 miles per hour this morning.
Here's a look back at some of the other notables of late.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MYERS (voice-over): Let's take a look at some of the extremes of extreme weather.
The official Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November and no hurricane has ever hit the U.S. outside of those months. And Atlantic hurricanes have been reported offshore as early as March and as late as January 5.
In 1971, Hurricane Ginger set the mark for longevity, with hurricane force winds for 20 straight days as it wandered between Bermuda and the Carolinas, causing some damage to the Outer Banks.
Hundreds lost their lives in 1969 in Hurricane Camille. The storm battered the Mississippi Gulf Coast with a record 24-foot storm surge before moving north into Tennessee and Virginia.
The busiest day? September 28, 1998. Four Atlantic storms -- Georges, Ivan, Jeanne, and Karl -- were at hurricane strength all at the same time.
And occasionally one of these tropical terrors heads north of the border. The Canadian Hurricane Center says six hurricane strength storms have struck eastern Canada in the last 10 years and most recently in September 2003.
Hurricane Juan killed eight and knocked out power for two weeks in parts of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. And in the half century since forecasters have been naming Atlantic hurricanes, only once have we made it to the letter T. In 1995, Hurricane Tanya was the last of the year's 19 named storms.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MYERS: Carol, this month already, well, August, because now we're into September, there were actually eight named storms. That breaks a record for August. There were eight named storms back in the year 2000 and one in September. September is typically the busiest month. And if that's the case, I'm not looking forward to it. Five hundred and seventeen miles from West Palm Beach right now. There are your new coordinates -- 22.9 north, 73.0 west, if you're keeping track. The latest hurricane hunter aircraft did pick up winds a little bit stronger than that.
They also picked up a little bit of extra high pressure up here, Carol. And what that means, we like to see these hurricanes not have a high pressure here, because then they make a big right hand turn and head back out to sea and miss everything.
With the high pressure up here, that's actually going to push the storm farther to the west and right on down into south and south central Florida -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, incredible.
Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: Sure.
COSTELLO: And I know you'll be keeping us up to date throughout the morning.
MYERS: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, parents in Russia are desperate for any word about their children, but hostage takers are shutting down just about any communication that doesn't involve making a threat to kill. We'll get an update for you on that school stand- off.
And President Bush is gearing up for his big speech in New York tonight. At 30 minutes past the hour, we'll get some insight about the preparations from the man who has been putting words into the president's mouth for years.
And we'll meet some New Yorkers who are wearing their hearts, well, not quite on their sleeves, but close.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The numbers are mixed this morning on Wall Street.
The Dow begins trading, the trading day, rather, slightly down. The blue chips on the S&P opened slightly up, as does the tech heavy Nasdaq market.
In trading across the globe, the Nikkei average in Japan is up about 25 points. In Britain, the numbers are down 2 1/2 on the FTSE. And in France, the CAC is slightly higher, up just over a 1 point.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
President Bush takes center stage tonight at the Republican National Convention. The president is expected to focus on the future as he accepts his party's nomination.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says sanctions are needed against Iran. The call comes on the heels of an atomic agency report saying Iran plans to enrich a large amount of uranium. The enriched uranium could be used to build several nuclear weapons.
In money news, investors are keeping an eye on Intel. The computer chip giant is expected to announce its mid-quarter financial report today. The news could impact stock portfolios across-the- board.
In culture, the lion is getting a little long in the tooth. MGM celebrates its 80th year this weekend, even as rumors swirl over the possible sale of the studio as early as next week.
In sports, Serena Williams made two statements at the U.S. Open. The first was a bold fashion statement. But she backed it up with a straight set victory over Lindsay Lee-Waters -- Chad.
MYERS: Hey, good morning, Carol.
I know we're going to get tired of looking at this and tired of talking about it, but here you go. Hurricane Frances now still a Category 4. Winds are 145 miles per hour. I want to give you the landfall, but I don't want you to focus on the point of the hurricane.
I want you to focus on the yellow area, because that's the area that's going to be affected. That entire area could turn left or turn right. And a hurricane is not a point. This hurricane is absolutely not a point. It's hundreds of miles wide. Hurricane watches from Flagler Beach right on down to Craig Key this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
The Russian hostage crisis has prompted President Vladimir Putin to cancel a planned trip to Turkey. Heavily armed militants strapped with explosives are holding hundreds of hostages, most of them schoolchildren. And they're threatening to blow up the school. The U.N. Security Council was called into emergency session as a result.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUAN ANTONIO YANEZ-BARNUEVO, SPANISH AMBASSADOR TO U.N. (through translator): The Security Council demands immediate and unconditional release of all hostages of the terrorist attack. The Security Council expresses the deepest sympathy and condolences to the people and government of the Russian Federation and to the victims of the terrorist act and their families. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: As many as 16 people were killed yesterday when the militants took over the school, which is now surrounded by Russian special forces troops.
In Iraq, a desperate bid to save two French journalists being held by a group that has threatened to kill them. Some French Muslims head for Baghdad today and crisis talks to get those journalists released. The kidnappers want France to revoke a law banning Muslim head scarves in public schools. The French law also forbids other religious items, including Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses. The law begins today, which is also the first day of school.
And that brings us to our e-mail "Question of the Day": Should children be banned from school for wearing any clothing or symbols that portrays their faith? We want to hear from you. E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
Twenty-two million single women decided to skip voting in the last presidential election. Later on DAYBREAK, why this group doesn't feel like they have a voice in politics.
And ahead, Florida and the Caribbean brace for Frances. We'll head down south to check out conditions next.
You are watching DAYBREAK for a Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time to check out our "Web Clicks" this morning on cnn.com. We're always interested to see what you're clicking onto. And the number one clicked on story on cnn.com this morning, Kobe Bryant. And the...
MYERS: I logged on this morning to go look at the hurricane and all of a sudden it was everywhere. I was like oh! I didn't even know it happened until 4:00 this morning.
COSTELLO: Hurricane? Oh.
MYERS: I clicked on to look at the hurricane stuff and all of this -- and this Kobe stuff is all over everywhere.
COSTELLO: I got you. I understand now. Got you.
Well, we're going to talk a lot more about the Kobe Bryant case later on DAYBREAK.
MYERS: Sure.
COSTELLO: The criminal charges dropped against him. Of course, the civil case goes on.
The second most clicked on story on our Web site, this bizarre family -- or this bizarre story out of Marietta, Georgia. Have you heard about this?
MYERS: I have been to this place. I've been to where these guys were partying. Yes. They drove home -- it's a very hard story to describe. Two people in the truck. One guy obviously hanging out the truck at some point in time. The driver...
COSTELLO: Out of the side passenger window.
MYERS: Out of the side passenger window. As the other driver was so drunk driving home, the passenger was decapitated on a wire that was holding up a power pole. And the driver didn't even know it. He drove home, parked his truck, went inside and went to sleep.
COSTELLO: That's just insane. Now he's in court.
MYERS: And a neighbor found the body in the truck the next morning.
COSTELLO: Yes. Now he's in court charged with vehicular manslaughter. But the family of the deceased man wants them to drop all charges.
MYERS: Let me just say all of that was allegedly.
COSTELLO: It's a strange story.
The third most clicked on story on our Web is the fury of Frances, set to slam the Bahamas and maybe the coast of Florida.
MYERS: Of course. Well, we were supposed to have a live phoner now from Grand Turk down in the Turks & Caicos. There you see the storm right there. There's no cell towers left. I think they all probably got knocked down on Grand Turk. The winds there were gusting to 70, 80 miles per hour, and in some spots even higher than that. So, it's going to be...
COSTELLO: Yes. And of course, you'll have much more on that throughout the morning.
MYERS: Yes, there's a lot of things that you can do that you may not think about, especially getting water in your tub, because if there isn't any water, you know, you can use that water later. We'll get through all of those things that maybe you're not thinking about in our next half hour.
COSTELLO: Here's what's also ahead in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
Up close and personal, the chief speechwriter for President Bush will give you an idea of what the president wants out of his chief writer.
And putting it to the test -- students in France start the first day of school under a new law banning Muslim head scarves in school. We've been asking you this question this morning -- should children be banned from school for wearing any clothing or symbol that portrays their faith?
E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. And of course we'll read your comments later on on DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: This is day four, the final day of the Republican National Convention.
It is Thursday, September 2.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
Welcome to the second half hour of DAYBREAK.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news -- Republicans party in New York, but the first three days of their convention are prologue and the climax comes tonight, when President Bush accepts the nomination for a second term and delivers perhaps the most important speech of his campaign.
No progress reported in the stand-off at that Russian school near Chechnya. Gunmen are holding at least 100 people, mostly schoolchildren, and threatening to blow up the school. Russia's president is postponing a visit to Turkey now.
The United States is supporting a call for more international peacekeepers to enforce the cease-fire in Sudan. That's no surprise. But the U.N. proposal is also getting a positive response from Sudan's government. And that was not expected.
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