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CNN Live At Daybreak

Potential Damage from Hurricane Frances; RNC Day Four Preview; Examining the Bryant Criminal Case Dismissal

Aired September 02, 2004 - 06:00   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: 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 miles 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.

In Russia this morning, day two with little progress reported. Hundreds of teachers, parents and children are still being held hostage inside of a school. At 14 minutes past the hour, we'll talk with a reporter who's there from "TIME" magazine.

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 are now urging nearly half a million people to evacuate before Hurricane Frances comes ashore some time Saturday afternoon. Forecasters expect the entire state to be affected one way or another.

But let's talk to our own expert, Chad Myers -- good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, Carol, one way or another, whether it's with wind, whether it's with flooding, whether it's with something else, whether it's just not able to go one place or another because the roads just aren't going to be passable. A hundred and forty-five miles per hour now, just to the north of Grand Turk.

Notice the eye getting very much smaller here in the past couple of frames. That's the same thing we talked about yesterday with like those ice skaters in the Winter Olympics. They stand on one foot, they spin around and they bring their arms in. Well, they get faster when they bring their arms in, and that's what's happening here, a little bit of a cycle, as we call it, a cycle of this hurricane, probably on up to a very strong Category 4 now.

It was 145 miles per hour just a few minutes ago, as they put out the 5:00 a.m. advisory.

Here is the advisory, if you're keeping track: 22.9, 73.0; still moving to the west-northwest at about 12 -- maybe a little bit higher than that -- 13 to 14 miles per hour. And on that track, it takes it completely over the Bahamas, just like it was, just like it's doing right now. There's where Karl Penhaul is, right there over Freeport.

The bad news for Karl is that he's on the north side of the eye. Karl may be experiencing 160 mile per hour winds before this thing finally goes by him late tonight into tomorrow, and then finally, obviously, making land fall here, probably somewhere, at this point, this line is just north of West Palm Beach and south of Melbourne.

But don't focus on the line. The line could go left or go right. And obviously, you're going to get effects from this storm in the entire yellow area. And that's all the way from Jacksonville down through Daytona. And in fact, hurricane watches are from Flagler Beach all the way down to Craig Key. It would take you eight hours to drive that far. That gives you an idea how big that hurricane watch is.

COSTELLO: All right.

Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Reaction fast and furious this morning to an electrifying speech, one Democrats call irrational. But Senator Zell Miller, a Democrat from Georgia, rallied the Republican faithful.

Let's head live to New York and Madison Square Garden -- good morning, Bob Franken.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

And tonight it will be the turn of President Bush to try and rally the Republican faithful. You can probably tell in back of me that it doesn't look like they're going to have the floor ready to do this. They've worked overnight. They're constructing a special stage for the president, where he's going to make the speech that sets the stage for the campaign. As a matter of fact, he's even leaving town right afterwards.

As I said, you can see the work going on now. They've pulled out some of the seats. They've put in a theater in the round. It's going to be a chance for the president to be more imitate with his audience.

Last night, Vice President Cheney, to use a football analogy, tried to block out the opponents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: His back and forth reflects a habit of indecision and sends a message of confusion. And it's all part of a pattern. He has, in the last several years, been for the No Child Left Behind Act and against it. He has spoken in favor of the North American Free Trade Agreement and against it. He is for the Patriot Act and against it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And then there was a keynoter. That, of course, was Zell Miller. Zell Miller, Democrat, senator from Georgia, although you sure couldn't tell it last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ZELL MILLER (D), GEORGIA: Today at the same time young Americans are dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, 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?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: So, now we know why he wasn't at the Democratic convention. Certainly a strong presence here. But tonight the strongest presence, the president, makes his speech. And then the campaign really begins -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, and, Bob, you know, the Democrats have come out with a reaction to Zell Miller's speech. They said, "Zell Miller used his keynote address to attack like an angry rabid elephant and his tone was certainly passionate."

FRANKEN: Well, you know, they're -- the understatement is not normally a part of the campaign. We saw that with Zell Miller and we saw it with the response to Zell Miller.

COSTELLO: All right, Bob Franken live from Madison Square Garden.

Thank you.

President Bush is in New York for his convention ending appearance tonight. You heard Bob talk about that. He actually arrived last night after a day of campaigning in Ohio. Tonight, he will formally accept his party's nomination as president.

The president did land in New York just in time to get the ringing endorsement of the city's firefighters union. The union that represents their bosses, though, has endorsed John Kerry. Bush stumped last night at an Italian-American center in Queens.

Get a ringside seat to tonight's grand finale. CNN's primetime live coverage of the Republican National Convention begins at 7:00 p.m. and takes you straight through to 1:00 a.m. Eastern.

Senator John Kerry is keeping the pressure on, campaigning during the GOP convention. Kerry stopped in Nashville to address the American Legion national convention. He followed Bush's appearance before the veterans on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let there be no doubt, when I am president, you will have a fellow veteran in the White House who understands that those who fought for our country abroad should never have to fight for what they were promised back here at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Follow the candidates, the speeches and the issues online. Visit our election coverage at cnn.com.

Open and shut, but far from over. Kobe Bryant no longer faces sexual assault charges. A Colorado judge has dismissed the criminal case. The woman who brought the charges has decided not to proceed with the criminal part of the case.

To Chris Lawrence now in Eagle, Colorado -- good morning.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

And potential jurors were supposed to start showing up here in just a few hours for the last two days of jury selection. Instead, just like that, the criminal case is over in what the prosecutors are calling justice interrupted.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): The criminal case against Kobe Bryant collapsed less than a week before opening arguments when his accuser told prosecutors she would no longer cooperate.

MARK HURLBERT, EAGLE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: For this reason, and this reason only, I am dismissing this case.

LAWRENCE: The woman's attorney said she's disturbed by courthouse mistakes, including the repeated release of her name and medical history.

HURLBERT: Today, justice is sadly interrupted and the casualty in this interruption has been a brave young woman who was grievously hurt.

LAWRENCE: The decision came down after Bryant had already flown out. But in a written statement, he apologized to the young woman and her family and said, "I now understand how she sincerely feels that she did not consent to this encounter."

The woman has also filed a civil suit against the basketball star, seeking damages.

But back in Los Angeles, Bryant's teammates were supportive.

LUKE WALTON, L.A. LAKERS TEAMMATE: I just, you know, for something like this, you know, to finally be over with, I'm happy for him and his family.

LAWRENCE: Bryant is married and the father of a little girl. His accuser, a college student and single. Their two worlds might never have collided if not for a knee injury. Bryant developed tendonitis last year and came to Colorado for surgery, putting him at this lodge on a night his accuser was working there. Both agreed they had sex. She said it was rape; Bryant insisted it was consensual.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: So, after 14 months and some 700 motions, the entire process ended in just 15 minutes. Prosecutors cannot re-file these charges at a later date, but the woman's civil suit has not been settled -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Chris Lawrence reporting live from Eagle, Colorado.

Thank you, Chris.

Time for some "Coffey Talk" now.

Our legal analyst Kendall Coffey live on the phone in Melbourne, Florida -- good morning, Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, everyone is saying they're stunned by this, but this is no surprise, is it?

COFFEY: It seemed almost an inevitability, not only from the judge's ruling, indicating that some of the sexual history would be disclosed and some of the implications of that, but let's face it, once the alleged victim filed a civil lawsuit seeking money damages, this he said/she said went to a she sues/he walks.

So, in many ways it's still kind of an amazing development, but not at all unexpected at this point.

COSTELLO: No.

But exactly why did this happen? Is it because the prosecutors insisted on trying a weak case? Or was it that series of embarrassing errors by the court?

COFFEY: This just seemed like a case where everything was going wrong. The courthouse blunders were unprecedented. At least three different times information intensely private, confidential, got thrown out there in the public domain.

The other thing, Carol, really, that spelled the doom of the prosecution's case was DNA, because the prosecution, to this day, has not been able to rebut the DNA evidence presented by the defense that indicated that after the time of the alleged sexual assault, before the medical exam, there was another sexual encounter by the alleged victim with a different man. And that is so inconsistent with the kind of a rape victim, that ultimately it made the case unprosecutable.

COSTELLO: So, in light of that, the statement that Bryant made that he misunderstood that she didn't want to have sex, why did he go ahead and make that statement?

COFFEY: Well, wasn't that amazing to say that this was all sort of a tragic misunderstanding? I think it was part of a negotiated deal. He obviously wanted out from the criminal case. The prosecution was looking desperately for an exit strategy.

By filing a civil suit, clearly the alleged victim wanted out. So, they came up with a statement. It was obviously vetted by the prosecution, by the alleged victim. And he's done with the criminal case.

Interesting to see, Carol, how that apology affects the civil case down the road, because it's...

COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you, you want to bet that civil case never comes to court and that they'll settle out of court?

COFFEY: I think it's going to settle now. That was the sense I got from it. Because even though he said the apology can't be used, it's out there, it's saying he doesn't question her motives, he apologizes for his behavior that night and he's going to have to settle this case at some point.

COSTELLO: On another subject, Kendall, before you go, you're in Melbourne, Florida and I understand you're boarding up your windows right now.

COFFEY: As we speak. It's -- I've got to say, having been through Andrew, as so many of us were in south Florida, there is an extraordinary sense of dread that's surrounding the south Florida -- well, the whole Florida community -- with respect to Frances.

COSTELLO: So, are you going to get out of there after you board up your windows?

COFFEY: Within a couple of hours, I will be in the car on the way out, like an awful lot of people from the coast here.

COSTELLO: That's what I like to hear.

Kendall Coffey joining us live from Melbourne, Florida, this morning.

So, it is time to put away the sunscreen and batten down the hatches, not only in Florida, but in the Bahamas. That's just one of the first hits of Frances. We'll track part of Hurricane Frances from the eye of the storm in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.

President Putin weighs in on the hostage stand-off in Russia, as dozens of children are forced to spend the night in fear for their lives.

And at 37 past the hour, we'll get a view of the Republican National Convention from both sides of the aisle.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Most parents in a small Russian town near the Chechen border likely spent a sleepless night. Keeping them awake, worries about what could be happening to their children being held hostage by terrorists inside their elementary school.

Let's get on the phone right now to Russia with "TIME" magazine correspondent Paul Quinn-Judge, who is on the scene.

Good morning, Paul.

PAUL QUINN-JUDGE, "TIME" CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Set the scene for us.

What's going on?

QUINN-JUDGE: At the moment, there's a sort of still nothing much is happening. There are no negotiations going on that we know of. People are standing, sitting, walking aimlessly through the streets. The streets have a very quiet feeling about it. People are still numbed and I think probably those who have children or loved ones who are held hostage are fairly terrified at the prospect of what might happen.

We get sporadic firing from the school where the guerrillas have held their hostages. They seem to be firing mostly to deter any first signs of any movement whatsoever by Russian troops in the area. I have to say we haven't seen any signs that they're planning a storm. But the longer this confrontation and stand-off goes on, the more the danger is, of course, that there's going to be a violent end to this hostage taking drama.

COSTELLO: There have been people killed. Tell us about that.

QUINN-JUDGE: The remarkable thing is for a regime like Vladimir Putin's, which prides itself on its crispness and toughness and organization is that, again, as has happened before in times of a crisis, there's been a sort of information breakdown.

As far as we understand, and I have to stress it's really unreliable information, seven people were killed yesterday when the hostage takers went into the school. They probably included one policeman; also included a man who lives across the road, realized something had gone horribly wrong, knew his wife and his children were in this school for the opening of the school year ceremonies, rushed over there, too, with his gun, was shot and bled to death, apparently not very far in the street afterwards. People couldn't get to his body for some time.

There has been no deaths confirmed that we know of since then, though rumors, of course, are rife, because there's been very little official information that people trust or can actually even receive from the officials, who seem to have hunkered down in their own buildings and who are working out what to do next.

COSTELLO: Well, you stay safe.

Paul Quinn-Judge, "TIME" magazine correspondent, right outside that elementary school in Russia, where all of those hostages are still being held.

Your news, money, weather and sports.

It's 6:17 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.

Virginia residents still reeling from the horrendous flooding in the Richmond area. Just the remnants of Tropical Storm Gaston dumped more than a foot of rain. "It looks like Armageddon, " said one downtown dweller. Many buildings aren't safe to enter. More than 100 roads remain closed. The death toll stands at seven this morning.

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 line 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. Yes, the first was that bold fashion statement. But she backed it up with a straight set victory over Lindsay Lee-Waters.

Now to the forecast center and Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

Obviously the story today is Frances. And if you don't live anywhere near Frances and it won't affect you or your loved ones, or your mom or your dad that live down there, them I'm going to be sorry to talk to you for the next couple of days, because this is going to be the lead story, and it will be maybe for weeks, depending on what city it hits up there.

Now moving through the Turks and the Caicos, moving through the Bahamas. Hurricane watches already posted for the coast of Florida. Hurricane warnings will be issued later today. I guarantee it.

The winds now are 145 miles per hour. The storm is still moving to the west-northwest. It'll move through the Bahamas, right to the south of Freeport, and then into parts of Florida.

Many of the new models are turning this storm a little bit farther to the north. We'll have to keep watching it. Very few, in fact, zero, are turning it to the left. But we'll have to keep watching it.

I will explain what this means. This is where the storm was on Tuesday. And it was really a random scattering of computer models then. I'll show you what those models are saying now -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Right here.

Thank you, Chad.

Those are the latest headlines for you here this morning.

Republicans and one Democrat went on the attack at the Republican National Convention. Vice President Dick Cheney calling Senator Kerry a flip-flopper and Democrat Senator Zell Miller blasting his whole party, calling it more motivated by partisan politics than by national security.

To break it down, let's head live to New York and Vaughn Ververs, managing editor of the "National Journal's Hotline."

Good morning.

VAUGHN VERVERS, MANAGING EDITOR, "THE HOTLINE": Good morning.

COSTELLO: You know, the Republicans certainly went negative last night, pounding John Kerry.

Let's listen to a bit of what Vice President Dick Cheney had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHENEY: Even in this post-9/11 period, Senator Kerry doesn't appear to understand how the world has changed. He talks about leading a more sensitive war on terror, as though al Qaeda will be impressed with our softer side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You know, Vaughn, there was a lot of talk about the war, but no talk of its end. What's the tactic here?

VERVERS: Well, really what you heard was the greatest hits of the Republicans and the Bush campaign have given out on Kerry for the past several months now. You've heard a lot -- you heard a lot of recycled lines.

I mean, this is really an attempt to draw the distinction, to -- between Bush and Kerry on security issues, which they believe is the number one advantage that they have. And the polls show that out, too.

Now, what's interesting -- is going to be interesting is we'll see how the president handles it tonight and whether, you know, I expect him to talk a little bit more about his positive agenda for a second term.

You're probably not going to hear as many attacks as you did last night, if any at all. That was left up to the speakers last night.

COSTELLO: Oh, you're not kidding.

Let's talk about Democrat Zell Miller. A lot of our viewers telling us this morning he was just plain mean.

Listen to some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: Time after time in our history, in the face of great danger, Democrats and Republicans worked together to ensure that freedom would not falter. But not today. Motivated more by partisan politics than by national security, today's Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator, and nothing makes this Marine madder than someone calling American troops occupiers rather than liberators.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: He certainly played to the crowd. But Vaughn, was he so mean-spirited that he'll anger Democrats and independents into voting Democrat or not at all?

VERVERS: Well, certainly this morning he's being portrayed as being very angry, very bitter in his speech. It was interesting, I saw him on CNN last night after the speech and he was asked about why he was so angry. And he said he didn't mean to come off that way. But certainly it has struck everybody else that way. He was very forceful in the way he delivered the speech.

He's even being compared this morning to Pat Buchanan's speech at the 1992 Republican convention, which was widely credited for the, you know, the -- casting the party as intolerant at that convention. So...

COSTELLO: And they lost that election.

VERVERS: That's right.

COSTELLO: This is how the Democrats are reacting to Zell Miller's speech. They say this morning, "Zell Miller used his keynote to attack like an angry, rabid elephant. Zig-Zag Zell irrationally attacked John Kerry for voting against the very same programs Dick Cheney voted to cut."

Are they coming out strong enough, though, to combat what Zell Miller said last night?

VERVERS: Well, I think they've come out pretty strong. They might not have to, though. I do think that there is the potential here for this to sort of backlash on the Republican Party. They, if you look at the way the speeches last night are being covered in the papers this morning, there's a decidedly negative tone to them. And again, the president has an opportunity tonight to sort of reverse that a little bit and get back on the positive track.

But this is a real distinction between this convention and the Democratic convention, where we didn't hear these kind of attacks on the president that we've heard here on John Kerry.

COSTELLO: Vaughn Ververs, managing editor of the "National Journal's Hotline."

Thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, in the path of Frances, a live report from the Bahamas, where they're preparing for the hurricane's landfall. We'll have the latest for you next.

You're watching DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In the Bahamas this morning, cruise ships have turned tail to avoid the coming storm. Frances is coming fast and furious toward the more than 700 islands. And there are 300,000 residents. I don't think there are 700 islands in the Bahamas.

For the latest, let's head to Freeport, where Karl Penhaul is waiting for Frances -- Karl, give us an update on the situation there now.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

We're standing at ocean side in Freeport on Grand Bahama here. And so far, we must say that the breeze is only slight. It's not a huge breeze. Certainly no signs of those tropical storm force winds as yet.

We have, though, been talking to the chief meteorologist on the island and she's explained to us that we expect to feel very strong winds by late afternoon and then some time overnight and very early Friday morning. We're expecting to see those hurricane force winds packing up to 145 mile an hour winds some time overnight and early morning.

Now, as you might imagine, the preparations are under way here. People are battening down the hatches. We talked to one local hardware store owner and he said that over the space of a day-and-a- half, he sold more than 8,000 sheets of plywood. We have seen, obviously, people boarding up stores and windows.

Now, as you mentioned, yes, some of the cruise ships that have been headed toward the Bahamas -- obviously a very popular tourist resort -- have been turned back. There's also at least two cruise ships, as far as we understand, in port here. And the passengers on board those, mostly American tourists, have been brought inland to some of the hotels inland. Other tourists at the hotels on the ocean side have either been flown out of the Bahamas altogether or, again, they have been packed in toward the interior, a hotel about three, three-and-a-half miles in.

Yesterday, curiously, we even talked to a couple who had just gotten married here. They celebrated their wedding yesterday. They're from Virginia. But there's no time for a honeymoon. They should be flying out this afternoon on a flight about 2:00. And that was very possibly the last flight out of Grand Bahama before the hurricane strikes -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Karl, we're going to bring in Chad Myers to ask you some questions, too. You know, I was just wondering, you're on an island and they tell you to get out of harm's way.

But where do you go on an island if you can't fly out?

MYERS: Yes, I'm not even sure that Karl can hear us. But we're going to try to get back and forth to him, because I know he can hear us -- or we can hear him.

But yes, Carol, there are actually 700 islands in the Bahamas. Most of them are very small. Most of them are less than five feet tall from the ocean level. So, as this storm comes in with six to 12 foot ocean surges, most of these islands will be completely over washed with water.

Where do you go? That's a good question because even the airport at Freeport, 11,000 foot long airport, it's the biggest private airport, I think, in the Bahamas, or, for that matter, across most of the southeast. It's only 10 feet above sea level. Water could clearly be over the top of that. So, at that point, obviously, no planes coming in or out.

But when the winds start to blow like that, there really is -- you just have to go look for a friend or a shelter that has a high enough piece of property that's hopefully made out of concrete and brick and cinder block and whatever, because most of the homes there in Freeport and Nassau are not.

COSTELLO: No.

Thank you, Chad.

We'll get back to you, of course.

MYERS: All right.

COSTELLO: This is DAYBREAK.

We're going to take a short break.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired September 2, 2004 - 06:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: 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 miles 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.

In Russia this morning, day two with little progress reported. Hundreds of teachers, parents and children are still being held hostage inside of a school. At 14 minutes past the hour, we'll talk with a reporter who's there from "TIME" magazine.

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 are now urging nearly half a million people to evacuate before Hurricane Frances comes ashore some time Saturday afternoon. Forecasters expect the entire state to be affected one way or another.

But let's talk to our own expert, Chad Myers -- good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, Carol, one way or another, whether it's with wind, whether it's with flooding, whether it's with something else, whether it's just not able to go one place or another because the roads just aren't going to be passable. A hundred and forty-five miles per hour now, just to the north of Grand Turk.

Notice the eye getting very much smaller here in the past couple of frames. That's the same thing we talked about yesterday with like those ice skaters in the Winter Olympics. They stand on one foot, they spin around and they bring their arms in. Well, they get faster when they bring their arms in, and that's what's happening here, a little bit of a cycle, as we call it, a cycle of this hurricane, probably on up to a very strong Category 4 now.

It was 145 miles per hour just a few minutes ago, as they put out the 5:00 a.m. advisory.

Here is the advisory, if you're keeping track: 22.9, 73.0; still moving to the west-northwest at about 12 -- maybe a little bit higher than that -- 13 to 14 miles per hour. And on that track, it takes it completely over the Bahamas, just like it was, just like it's doing right now. There's where Karl Penhaul is, right there over Freeport.

The bad news for Karl is that he's on the north side of the eye. Karl may be experiencing 160 mile per hour winds before this thing finally goes by him late tonight into tomorrow, and then finally, obviously, making land fall here, probably somewhere, at this point, this line is just north of West Palm Beach and south of Melbourne.

But don't focus on the line. The line could go left or go right. And obviously, you're going to get effects from this storm in the entire yellow area. And that's all the way from Jacksonville down through Daytona. And in fact, hurricane watches are from Flagler Beach all the way down to Craig Key. It would take you eight hours to drive that far. That gives you an idea how big that hurricane watch is.

COSTELLO: All right.

Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Reaction fast and furious this morning to an electrifying speech, one Democrats call irrational. But Senator Zell Miller, a Democrat from Georgia, rallied the Republican faithful.

Let's head live to New York and Madison Square Garden -- good morning, Bob Franken.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

And tonight it will be the turn of President Bush to try and rally the Republican faithful. You can probably tell in back of me that it doesn't look like they're going to have the floor ready to do this. They've worked overnight. They're constructing a special stage for the president, where he's going to make the speech that sets the stage for the campaign. As a matter of fact, he's even leaving town right afterwards.

As I said, you can see the work going on now. They've pulled out some of the seats. They've put in a theater in the round. It's going to be a chance for the president to be more imitate with his audience.

Last night, Vice President Cheney, to use a football analogy, tried to block out the opponents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: His back and forth reflects a habit of indecision and sends a message of confusion. And it's all part of a pattern. He has, in the last several years, been for the No Child Left Behind Act and against it. He has spoken in favor of the North American Free Trade Agreement and against it. He is for the Patriot Act and against it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And then there was a keynoter. That, of course, was Zell Miller. Zell Miller, Democrat, senator from Georgia, although you sure couldn't tell it last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ZELL MILLER (D), GEORGIA: Today at the same time young Americans are dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, 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?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: So, now we know why he wasn't at the Democratic convention. Certainly a strong presence here. But tonight the strongest presence, the president, makes his speech. And then the campaign really begins -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, and, Bob, you know, the Democrats have come out with a reaction to Zell Miller's speech. They said, "Zell Miller used his keynote address to attack like an angry rabid elephant and his tone was certainly passionate."

FRANKEN: Well, you know, they're -- the understatement is not normally a part of the campaign. We saw that with Zell Miller and we saw it with the response to Zell Miller.

COSTELLO: All right, Bob Franken live from Madison Square Garden.

Thank you.

President Bush is in New York for his convention ending appearance tonight. You heard Bob talk about that. He actually arrived last night after a day of campaigning in Ohio. Tonight, he will formally accept his party's nomination as president.

The president did land in New York just in time to get the ringing endorsement of the city's firefighters union. The union that represents their bosses, though, has endorsed John Kerry. Bush stumped last night at an Italian-American center in Queens.

Get a ringside seat to tonight's grand finale. CNN's primetime live coverage of the Republican National Convention begins at 7:00 p.m. and takes you straight through to 1:00 a.m. Eastern.

Senator John Kerry is keeping the pressure on, campaigning during the GOP convention. Kerry stopped in Nashville to address the American Legion national convention. He followed Bush's appearance before the veterans on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let there be no doubt, when I am president, you will have a fellow veteran in the White House who understands that those who fought for our country abroad should never have to fight for what they were promised back here at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Follow the candidates, the speeches and the issues online. Visit our election coverage at cnn.com.

Open and shut, but far from over. Kobe Bryant no longer faces sexual assault charges. A Colorado judge has dismissed the criminal case. The woman who brought the charges has decided not to proceed with the criminal part of the case.

To Chris Lawrence now in Eagle, Colorado -- good morning.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

And potential jurors were supposed to start showing up here in just a few hours for the last two days of jury selection. Instead, just like that, the criminal case is over in what the prosecutors are calling justice interrupted.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): The criminal case against Kobe Bryant collapsed less than a week before opening arguments when his accuser told prosecutors she would no longer cooperate.

MARK HURLBERT, EAGLE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: For this reason, and this reason only, I am dismissing this case.

LAWRENCE: The woman's attorney said she's disturbed by courthouse mistakes, including the repeated release of her name and medical history.

HURLBERT: Today, justice is sadly interrupted and the casualty in this interruption has been a brave young woman who was grievously hurt.

LAWRENCE: The decision came down after Bryant had already flown out. But in a written statement, he apologized to the young woman and her family and said, "I now understand how she sincerely feels that she did not consent to this encounter."

The woman has also filed a civil suit against the basketball star, seeking damages.

But back in Los Angeles, Bryant's teammates were supportive.

LUKE WALTON, L.A. LAKERS TEAMMATE: I just, you know, for something like this, you know, to finally be over with, I'm happy for him and his family.

LAWRENCE: Bryant is married and the father of a little girl. His accuser, a college student and single. Their two worlds might never have collided if not for a knee injury. Bryant developed tendonitis last year and came to Colorado for surgery, putting him at this lodge on a night his accuser was working there. Both agreed they had sex. She said it was rape; Bryant insisted it was consensual.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: So, after 14 months and some 700 motions, the entire process ended in just 15 minutes. Prosecutors cannot re-file these charges at a later date, but the woman's civil suit has not been settled -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Chris Lawrence reporting live from Eagle, Colorado.

Thank you, Chris.

Time for some "Coffey Talk" now.

Our legal analyst Kendall Coffey live on the phone in Melbourne, Florida -- good morning, Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, everyone is saying they're stunned by this, but this is no surprise, is it?

COFFEY: It seemed almost an inevitability, not only from the judge's ruling, indicating that some of the sexual history would be disclosed and some of the implications of that, but let's face it, once the alleged victim filed a civil lawsuit seeking money damages, this he said/she said went to a she sues/he walks.

So, in many ways it's still kind of an amazing development, but not at all unexpected at this point.

COSTELLO: No.

But exactly why did this happen? Is it because the prosecutors insisted on trying a weak case? Or was it that series of embarrassing errors by the court?

COFFEY: This just seemed like a case where everything was going wrong. The courthouse blunders were unprecedented. At least three different times information intensely private, confidential, got thrown out there in the public domain.

The other thing, Carol, really, that spelled the doom of the prosecution's case was DNA, because the prosecution, to this day, has not been able to rebut the DNA evidence presented by the defense that indicated that after the time of the alleged sexual assault, before the medical exam, there was another sexual encounter by the alleged victim with a different man. And that is so inconsistent with the kind of a rape victim, that ultimately it made the case unprosecutable.

COSTELLO: So, in light of that, the statement that Bryant made that he misunderstood that she didn't want to have sex, why did he go ahead and make that statement?

COFFEY: Well, wasn't that amazing to say that this was all sort of a tragic misunderstanding? I think it was part of a negotiated deal. He obviously wanted out from the criminal case. The prosecution was looking desperately for an exit strategy.

By filing a civil suit, clearly the alleged victim wanted out. So, they came up with a statement. It was obviously vetted by the prosecution, by the alleged victim. And he's done with the criminal case.

Interesting to see, Carol, how that apology affects the civil case down the road, because it's...

COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you, you want to bet that civil case never comes to court and that they'll settle out of court?

COFFEY: I think it's going to settle now. That was the sense I got from it. Because even though he said the apology can't be used, it's out there, it's saying he doesn't question her motives, he apologizes for his behavior that night and he's going to have to settle this case at some point.

COSTELLO: On another subject, Kendall, before you go, you're in Melbourne, Florida and I understand you're boarding up your windows right now.

COFFEY: As we speak. It's -- I've got to say, having been through Andrew, as so many of us were in south Florida, there is an extraordinary sense of dread that's surrounding the south Florida -- well, the whole Florida community -- with respect to Frances.

COSTELLO: So, are you going to get out of there after you board up your windows?

COFFEY: Within a couple of hours, I will be in the car on the way out, like an awful lot of people from the coast here.

COSTELLO: That's what I like to hear.

Kendall Coffey joining us live from Melbourne, Florida, this morning.

So, it is time to put away the sunscreen and batten down the hatches, not only in Florida, but in the Bahamas. That's just one of the first hits of Frances. We'll track part of Hurricane Frances from the eye of the storm in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.

President Putin weighs in on the hostage stand-off in Russia, as dozens of children are forced to spend the night in fear for their lives.

And at 37 past the hour, we'll get a view of the Republican National Convention from both sides of the aisle.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Most parents in a small Russian town near the Chechen border likely spent a sleepless night. Keeping them awake, worries about what could be happening to their children being held hostage by terrorists inside their elementary school.

Let's get on the phone right now to Russia with "TIME" magazine correspondent Paul Quinn-Judge, who is on the scene.

Good morning, Paul.

PAUL QUINN-JUDGE, "TIME" CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Set the scene for us.

What's going on?

QUINN-JUDGE: At the moment, there's a sort of still nothing much is happening. There are no negotiations going on that we know of. People are standing, sitting, walking aimlessly through the streets. The streets have a very quiet feeling about it. People are still numbed and I think probably those who have children or loved ones who are held hostage are fairly terrified at the prospect of what might happen.

We get sporadic firing from the school where the guerrillas have held their hostages. They seem to be firing mostly to deter any first signs of any movement whatsoever by Russian troops in the area. I have to say we haven't seen any signs that they're planning a storm. But the longer this confrontation and stand-off goes on, the more the danger is, of course, that there's going to be a violent end to this hostage taking drama.

COSTELLO: There have been people killed. Tell us about that.

QUINN-JUDGE: The remarkable thing is for a regime like Vladimir Putin's, which prides itself on its crispness and toughness and organization is that, again, as has happened before in times of a crisis, there's been a sort of information breakdown.

As far as we understand, and I have to stress it's really unreliable information, seven people were killed yesterday when the hostage takers went into the school. They probably included one policeman; also included a man who lives across the road, realized something had gone horribly wrong, knew his wife and his children were in this school for the opening of the school year ceremonies, rushed over there, too, with his gun, was shot and bled to death, apparently not very far in the street afterwards. People couldn't get to his body for some time.

There has been no deaths confirmed that we know of since then, though rumors, of course, are rife, because there's been very little official information that people trust or can actually even receive from the officials, who seem to have hunkered down in their own buildings and who are working out what to do next.

COSTELLO: Well, you stay safe.

Paul Quinn-Judge, "TIME" magazine correspondent, right outside that elementary school in Russia, where all of those hostages are still being held.

Your news, money, weather and sports.

It's 6:17 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.

Virginia residents still reeling from the horrendous flooding in the Richmond area. Just the remnants of Tropical Storm Gaston dumped more than a foot of rain. "It looks like Armageddon, " said one downtown dweller. Many buildings aren't safe to enter. More than 100 roads remain closed. The death toll stands at seven this morning.

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 line 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. Yes, the first was that bold fashion statement. But she backed it up with a straight set victory over Lindsay Lee-Waters.

Now to the forecast center and Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

Obviously the story today is Frances. And if you don't live anywhere near Frances and it won't affect you or your loved ones, or your mom or your dad that live down there, them I'm going to be sorry to talk to you for the next couple of days, because this is going to be the lead story, and it will be maybe for weeks, depending on what city it hits up there.

Now moving through the Turks and the Caicos, moving through the Bahamas. Hurricane watches already posted for the coast of Florida. Hurricane warnings will be issued later today. I guarantee it.

The winds now are 145 miles per hour. The storm is still moving to the west-northwest. It'll move through the Bahamas, right to the south of Freeport, and then into parts of Florida.

Many of the new models are turning this storm a little bit farther to the north. We'll have to keep watching it. Very few, in fact, zero, are turning it to the left. But we'll have to keep watching it.

I will explain what this means. This is where the storm was on Tuesday. And it was really a random scattering of computer models then. I'll show you what those models are saying now -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Right here.

Thank you, Chad.

Those are the latest headlines for you here this morning.

Republicans and one Democrat went on the attack at the Republican National Convention. Vice President Dick Cheney calling Senator Kerry a flip-flopper and Democrat Senator Zell Miller blasting his whole party, calling it more motivated by partisan politics than by national security.

To break it down, let's head live to New York and Vaughn Ververs, managing editor of the "National Journal's Hotline."

Good morning.

VAUGHN VERVERS, MANAGING EDITOR, "THE HOTLINE": Good morning.

COSTELLO: You know, the Republicans certainly went negative last night, pounding John Kerry.

Let's listen to a bit of what Vice President Dick Cheney had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHENEY: Even in this post-9/11 period, Senator Kerry doesn't appear to understand how the world has changed. He talks about leading a more sensitive war on terror, as though al Qaeda will be impressed with our softer side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You know, Vaughn, there was a lot of talk about the war, but no talk of its end. What's the tactic here?

VERVERS: Well, really what you heard was the greatest hits of the Republicans and the Bush campaign have given out on Kerry for the past several months now. You've heard a lot -- you heard a lot of recycled lines.

I mean, this is really an attempt to draw the distinction, to -- between Bush and Kerry on security issues, which they believe is the number one advantage that they have. And the polls show that out, too.

Now, what's interesting -- is going to be interesting is we'll see how the president handles it tonight and whether, you know, I expect him to talk a little bit more about his positive agenda for a second term.

You're probably not going to hear as many attacks as you did last night, if any at all. That was left up to the speakers last night.

COSTELLO: Oh, you're not kidding.

Let's talk about Democrat Zell Miller. A lot of our viewers telling us this morning he was just plain mean.

Listen to some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: Time after time in our history, in the face of great danger, Democrats and Republicans worked together to ensure that freedom would not falter. But not today. Motivated more by partisan politics than by national security, today's Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator, and nothing makes this Marine madder than someone calling American troops occupiers rather than liberators.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: He certainly played to the crowd. But Vaughn, was he so mean-spirited that he'll anger Democrats and independents into voting Democrat or not at all?

VERVERS: Well, certainly this morning he's being portrayed as being very angry, very bitter in his speech. It was interesting, I saw him on CNN last night after the speech and he was asked about why he was so angry. And he said he didn't mean to come off that way. But certainly it has struck everybody else that way. He was very forceful in the way he delivered the speech.

He's even being compared this morning to Pat Buchanan's speech at the 1992 Republican convention, which was widely credited for the, you know, the -- casting the party as intolerant at that convention. So...

COSTELLO: And they lost that election.

VERVERS: That's right.

COSTELLO: This is how the Democrats are reacting to Zell Miller's speech. They say this morning, "Zell Miller used his keynote to attack like an angry, rabid elephant. Zig-Zag Zell irrationally attacked John Kerry for voting against the very same programs Dick Cheney voted to cut."

Are they coming out strong enough, though, to combat what Zell Miller said last night?

VERVERS: Well, I think they've come out pretty strong. They might not have to, though. I do think that there is the potential here for this to sort of backlash on the Republican Party. They, if you look at the way the speeches last night are being covered in the papers this morning, there's a decidedly negative tone to them. And again, the president has an opportunity tonight to sort of reverse that a little bit and get back on the positive track.

But this is a real distinction between this convention and the Democratic convention, where we didn't hear these kind of attacks on the president that we've heard here on John Kerry.

COSTELLO: Vaughn Ververs, managing editor of the "National Journal's Hotline."

Thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, in the path of Frances, a live report from the Bahamas, where they're preparing for the hurricane's landfall. We'll have the latest for you next.

You're watching DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In the Bahamas this morning, cruise ships have turned tail to avoid the coming storm. Frances is coming fast and furious toward the more than 700 islands. And there are 300,000 residents. I don't think there are 700 islands in the Bahamas.

For the latest, let's head to Freeport, where Karl Penhaul is waiting for Frances -- Karl, give us an update on the situation there now.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

We're standing at ocean side in Freeport on Grand Bahama here. And so far, we must say that the breeze is only slight. It's not a huge breeze. Certainly no signs of those tropical storm force winds as yet.

We have, though, been talking to the chief meteorologist on the island and she's explained to us that we expect to feel very strong winds by late afternoon and then some time overnight and very early Friday morning. We're expecting to see those hurricane force winds packing up to 145 mile an hour winds some time overnight and early morning.

Now, as you might imagine, the preparations are under way here. People are battening down the hatches. We talked to one local hardware store owner and he said that over the space of a day-and-a- half, he sold more than 8,000 sheets of plywood. We have seen, obviously, people boarding up stores and windows.

Now, as you mentioned, yes, some of the cruise ships that have been headed toward the Bahamas -- obviously a very popular tourist resort -- have been turned back. There's also at least two cruise ships, as far as we understand, in port here. And the passengers on board those, mostly American tourists, have been brought inland to some of the hotels inland. Other tourists at the hotels on the ocean side have either been flown out of the Bahamas altogether or, again, they have been packed in toward the interior, a hotel about three, three-and-a-half miles in.

Yesterday, curiously, we even talked to a couple who had just gotten married here. They celebrated their wedding yesterday. They're from Virginia. But there's no time for a honeymoon. They should be flying out this afternoon on a flight about 2:00. And that was very possibly the last flight out of Grand Bahama before the hurricane strikes -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Karl, we're going to bring in Chad Myers to ask you some questions, too. You know, I was just wondering, you're on an island and they tell you to get out of harm's way.

But where do you go on an island if you can't fly out?

MYERS: Yes, I'm not even sure that Karl can hear us. But we're going to try to get back and forth to him, because I know he can hear us -- or we can hear him.

But yes, Carol, there are actually 700 islands in the Bahamas. Most of them are very small. Most of them are less than five feet tall from the ocean level. So, as this storm comes in with six to 12 foot ocean surges, most of these islands will be completely over washed with water.

Where do you go? That's a good question because even the airport at Freeport, 11,000 foot long airport, it's the biggest private airport, I think, in the Bahamas, or, for that matter, across most of the southeast. It's only 10 feet above sea level. Water could clearly be over the top of that. So, at that point, obviously, no planes coming in or out.

But when the winds start to blow like that, there really is -- you just have to go look for a friend or a shelter that has a high enough piece of property that's hopefully made out of concrete and brick and cinder block and whatever, because most of the homes there in Freeport and Nassau are not.

COSTELLO: No.

Thank you, Chad.

We'll get back to you, of course.

MYERS: All right.

COSTELLO: This is DAYBREAK.

We're going to take a short break.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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