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CNN Live At Daybreak
Rallying Republicans; Reaction to Republican National Convention
Aired September 02, 2004 - 06:33 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: Back to the Republican National Convention now. Tonight is the big night. The nation's commander-in- chief will rally his party faithful. It follows strong attacks against the Democrats.
Our national correspondent, Bob Franken, joins us live from Madison Square Garden, where they are now preparing the stage.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, all the garden's a stage, and the president is the player later on that stage. They're constructing, finishing up the construction of some sort of theater in the round operation, so there can be some intimacy.
Right now, you just are not allowed on the floor, as a matter of fact, except for the construction workers. But they'll presumably have everything in place by the time the session begins this evening.
And the president gets to come out and, in this little bit different way, make his case, the case that he hopes will then catapult him out into a campaign, into a really tough race ahead with John Kerry.
COSTELLO: Do we know anything about the president's speech?
FRANKEN: Well, we know that he's going to speak at length about the war on terror. We know that he is going to reflect on September 11. Of course, the choice of New York as a site for the Republican Convention for the first time in history has been somewhat controversial. And, of course, we know that he's going to say that the economy is on its way back.
What he's going to try and do is to make the case that even though there are the problems that there are, it is not a good idea to change course now, that he is the one who is more qualified to lead the nation back to the prosperity he says he can.
COSTELLO: He did pick up an important endorsement last night. Tell us about that.
FRANKEN: Are we talking about Zell Miller?
COSTELLO: No, I mean, President Bush and the firefighters.
FRANKEN: Well, yes, the firefighters. He went to a firefighting station here, and the firefighters were chanting, "Four more years, four more years." A lot of symbolism there. The International Firefighters Union has been strongly behind Kerry. John Kerry has made a big point of being seen so many times with firefighters. So the support that the president got here at the very least neutralizes that.
COSTELLO: All right, Bob Franken reporting live from Madison Square Garden this morning, thank you.
You know, win one for the Gipper. That was quite the mantra for Republican delegates last night after a tribute to the late Ronald Reagan was shown at their convention. The video tribute was introduced by Reagan's son, Michael.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL REAGAN, RONALD REAGAN'S SON: My mother, my father, my birth mother and my birth father all had something in common. Do you know what it was? They were all pro-life.
(APPLAUSE)
And, they were pro-adoption.
(APPLAUSE)
Because they were, I stand before you tonight as Michael Edward Reagan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And that brings us to our hot talker this morning, the RNC, its tone and if it's working. Reaction now from a Republican, and we'll get reaction from a Democrat later.
In New York, joining us, Al Cardenas, the former GOP chairman in Florida. Welcome to DAYBREAK.
AL CARDENAS, FORMER FLORIDA GOP CHAIRMAN: Great to be here, Carol. Thank you for having me.
COSTELLO: Oh, any time. You know, there was a lot of talk of Reagan during the Republican National Convention. Why?
CARDENAS: Well, his passing and the fact that the services for President Reagan were amongst the most historic in memory, and the fondness and the love that the American people outpoured for him. That will go down in history, I think, as one of the most touching services for someone well-deserving.
I think all of us who loved Ronald Reagan -- and I got my inspiration to get involved in politics through him -- felt a sense of satisfaction to realize that Americans finally valued all he did for our country.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, it's sort of ironic that Ronald Reagan was all about hope, and he kept his messages very positive. But it was anything but last night. Let's listen again to Democrat Zell Miller speaking at the RNC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ZELL MILLER (D), GEORGIA: I could go on and on and on -- against the Patriot Missile that shot down Saddam Hussein's scud missiles over Israel; against the Aegis air-defense cruiser; against the Strategic Defense Initiative; against the Trident missile, against, against, against.
This is the man who wants to be the commander-in-chief of our U.S. Armed Forces?
U.S. forces armed with what? Spit balls?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Of course, he was blasting John Kerry. Why so negative last night?
CARDENAS: Well, if you'll remember last night and the earlier days with Senator McCain and with Rudy Giuliani, our party has some real concerns about someone with John McCain's (sic) record becoming our commander-in-chief. We've been very respectful. Every night of his military service had been mentioned he received a warm ovation, which was appropriate to do.
But at the same time, you know, this is a very dangerous time in America. We're at war. And his policies and his beliefs over the last 20 years have been so against the things that are necessary for a commander-in-chief to tackle in these difficult times.
And Zell Miller as a Democrat has been very upset and very angry that his party chose someone out of touch with the dangerous realities of the world today, and that came across last night.
COSTELLO: Well, we've heard that in the past few days at the Republican National Convention how the Republicans are doing a great job during these very tense times. But they haven't really talked about a plan for any sort of resolution to the war, for any sort of exit strategy from Iraq. Will we hear that tonight from the president? And why haven't we heard it so far?
CARDENAS: Well, we've only had three days, Carol. And the idea of these three days was to talk about the last four years, the president's record, his advancement on education, tax cuts, where he's led the country during difficult times. We've had a chance for the first time to talk about Kerry's record. Democrats have been at it for a year talking about Bush's record and, frankly, in a very mean- spirited way.
And tonight, we'll get to hear the president and his vision for the future.
The one thing I will agree with you is I wish we would have had more time to talk about the actual things we've done in Iraq, the fact that we now have more schools open than we did during Hussein, the hospitals are up and running. We're going to have a force of 200- some-thousand Iraqis in the military well-trained. Over 10 million Iraqis have registered to vote. A lot of progress has been made in very, very difficult circumstances...
COSTELLO: Well...
CARDENAS: ... in a country that's become the battleground of war on terror.
COSTELLO: Well, I'm sure the president will mention much of that tonight. Thank you so much for joining us, Al Cardenas, a former GOP chairman, live in Florida this morning.
CARDENAS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: We're live in New York this morning. I apologize, Al. Thanks for joining DAYBREAK.
Let's go live to Washington now to Wendy Sherman, a former advisor to President Bill Clinton.
Welcome to DAYBREAK.
WENDY SHERMAN, FORMER CLINTON ADVISOR: Good to be with you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Tell me your thoughts on Zell Miller's speech last night.
SHERMAN: I think there is a big difference between being tough and being mean, and I think he was downright mean. I think also he talked about votes that Senator Kerry made about weapons systems when, in fact, they were weapons systems that Dick Cheney opposed as well. He talked about John Kerry, talking about an occupying force instead of a liberator, while President Bush has talked about an American occupation force.
But what I think was most upsetting for Americans last night was there no discussion of the issues in front of us. There was no discussion of health care. There was no discussion of jobs. In fact, Vice President Cheney attacked John Kerry 14 times and only mentioned jobs twice; one of those times was about his own job. And where Iraq is concerned and the security of our country.
Yesterday, John Kerry laid out his plan, his vision at the American Legion for how to win the war in Iraq and how to win the war against terrorism.
COSTELLO: Well...
SHERMAN: And we haven't heard any of that from the GOP.
COSTELLO: Well, it's good you brought up John Kerry's speech, because we have a bit of it for our viewers this morning. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think we need what President Bush has defined as a catastrophic success. I think we need a real success.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: John Kerry was trying to talk a lot tougher about President Bush. But did he talk tough enough? Because the big criticism from Democrats is, is you're not fighting hard enough.
SHERMAN: Well, I think that John Kerry is fighting hard. He's always been known to fight hard, particularly in the final days of any campaign. I think we will see a very tough John Kerry, someone who is really ready to lead this country.
You know, if you read the morning paper this morning, we have suicide bombers in Israel. We have death in Afghanistan. We have 12 Nepalese who were hostages in Iraq dead. We have more Iraqis dead because of American attacks; unfortunately, civilian deaths in Fallujah. We have more American soldiers dead in Iraq.
This is a pretty tough day, and we need someone who is going to take a new look at this, who is going to gather the world to a common cause to keep America safe in the way that we need to be safe.
So, what I want to hear from President Bush tonight is not only what he's done, but what he will do. What is his plan? How are we going to end this war in Iraq? How are we going to win the war on terrorism, which just the other day he said may not be winnable?
Well, John Kerry believes the war is winnable, and I believe John Kerry can help us win this war.
COSTELLO: We'll see what the president has to say tonight. Wendy Sherman, a former advisor to President Bill Clinton, joining us live this morning. Thank you.
SHERMAN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: During the convention, if you're away from your television, tune us in on the radio or on the Web, "CNN LIVE FROM." Anchor Kyra Phillips and I have been broadcasting live every night starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, and we broadcast until 11:00 p.m. Eastern. We have complete coverage of everything going on in New York. That's CNN Radio from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
Let's head live to New York now to check in with Bill and Heidi to see what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Carol. It's been a quick week. You know, the final night is later tonight, some of the guests that are joining us in a few moments here. It's the final day for the convention, and we'll talk about the speeches from last night.
Dan Bartlett joins us in a moment here to talk about Dick Cheney's speech and Zell Miller's speech. And also, most importantly, what will the president say later tonight?
Also, John Edwards is making a rare interview live with us here, rare in the sense that very few times has the opposing party ever stepped out to do a national live interview when the other team -- when the other party is conducting its convention. We'll talk to the senator this morning.
Heidi, good morning to you. How are you?
COLLINS: Good morning to you as well.
Another huge story we're following this morning, the Kobe Bryant case, or non-case I should say, a bombshell there. This criminal case dismissed. So what does that mean now? We're going to talk to Jeffrey Toobin about that.
And Hurricane Frances is on the heels of Charley, as you know, and Florida is bracing for it. We're going to have live updates all throughout the morning and keep our eye on that story as well -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi, see you at the top of the hour. We'll see you then, too, Carol. We'll let you know about the construction project still under way now on the floor of Madison Square Garden. They're transforming it for the president later tonight. So, a big show for you coming up at 7:00 Eastern, about 15 minutes away -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Making it into a theater of the round for a more intimate speech tonight. Thank you, Bill and Heidi.
The city, the mountains and maybe even the beach as long as you avoid Frances. If you're looking for a destination deal, we can tell you where the fairest fares can be found. That's at 50 minutes past the hour.
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 the trading day down slightly, but blue chips on the S&P open slightly up, as does the tech-heavy Nasdaq market.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:47 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
Case dismissed. Rape charges against Kobe Bryant have been thrown out for good. The prosecution's case collapsed when Bryant's accuser refused to testify, but she is moving ahead with her civil suit against the NBA star. Overnight, Israeli forces destroyed two apartment buildings at a Gaza refugee camp. Israel says the buildings were being used to stage attacks on Israel. Palestinians say the operation left 40 families homeless. It comes two days after Palestinian suicide bombers blew up buses in Israel, killing 16 people and wounding 94 others.
In money news, Pfizer, the nation's largest pharmaceutical company, has reportedly ended its widely-used discount card for seniors. According to "The New York Times," the move leaves more than a half a million low-income Medicare beneficiaries without access to discounts on popular medicines.
In culture, Marie Rita was one of the big winners at last night's Latin Grammys. She took home two statues, including the award for best new artist. But it was balladeer Alejandro Sanz who captured album record and song of the year honors.
In sports, another New York quarterback is getting one huge contract. The Jets' Chad Pennington signed a seven-year extension that could be worth as much as $64 million and some change.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: Do you want to get away from it all this Labor Day weekend? I know I do. We've got the lowdown on some travel bargains.
And find out how one airline will make you pay if you want to deal with an actual human being.
This is DAYBREAK.
COSTELLO: You have planned your Labor Day flight, but there is a little problem. Hurricane Frances may be heading for the same place you want to go. So, what can you do with your airline tickets?
Joining us to discuss that and more and to look at Labor Day specials is USAToday.com travel writer Ben Mutzabaugh.
Good morning, Ben.
BEN MUTZABAUGH, USATODAY.COM TRAVEL WRITER: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: So, what do you do if you have a ticket to Florida?
MUTZABAUGH: Well, it's not a good situation to be sure. If you're heading to Florida, hearing about Hurricane Frances is probably the last thing that you wanted to hear about. But it's there and it's not going away.
So, what the airlines have done is they've instituted a flexible rebooking policy. And that applies to most travelers headed to Florida almost through the entire state. Some of the Panhandle cities aren't included. But if you're going to Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, anywhere in central or south Florida, the airlines are going to let you rebook your flights once without a change of fee or without charging you a new fare. COSTELLO: That's not bad. OK. Let's talk about...
MUTZABAUGH: It's not too bad, but there are some restrictions. You've to be careful, too. You've got to travel by a certain date in most cases. So, it's not carte blanch to rebook your ticket two months in the future, but they are letting you off the hook for this coming week.
COSTELLO: Yes, there is always a catch in there someday -- somewhere, I mean.
MUTZABAUGH: Yes.
COSTELLO: Labor Day deals. If you want to get away somewhere other than Florida, are there deals out there to get?
MUTZABAUGH: There are. And even at this last minute you can still find some pretty good deals. Now to do that, though, you can't fly on Friday to Monday, because that's what everyone wants to do. And those flights are pretty full.
But if you want to get away, if you're willing to travel on off days, if you're willing to leave, say, Saturday morning or Saturday around noon and come back on Tuesday, there are some pretty good deals.
COSTELLO: Tell us about them. Give us one.
MUTZABAUGH: Well, one of them is Bermuda, and that, fortunately, is not being affected by Frances. So, if you still wanted to get an island or a beach getaway, you can head to Bermuda. And it's $218 if you fly, plus tax. It comes out to be about 290 total if you fly from Newark to Bermuda, and that's if you leave on Saturday and come back on Tuesday. Now, if you wanted to leave tomorrow and come back Monday, it's going to cost you over $1,000.
COSTELLO: Oh!
MUTZABAUGH: Yes. So, they charge you a premium for traveling the peak days.
COSTELLO: Boy, you're not kidding.
MUTZABAUGH: And there are other deals, too. Northwest is letting you go from Atlanta to Chicago, and that's -- I believe you save about $200 if you're willing to travel on the off-peak days on that route. So, again, those off-peak days really help you.
And the same thing if you're in Philadelphia, where US Airways dominates. If you want to go to Montreal and try to get a little French culture just north of the border here in North America, you can do that. It's only about $280 or about -- sorry, $180 if you're willing to go, again, Saturday through Tuesday. But if you want to go Friday through Monday, they're going to charge you almost 500.
COSTELLO: I sense a theme in here (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Thank you for that tip, though. That's interesting.
You know, an interesting story is going to appear in Friday's "USA Today" about Niagara Falls becoming the new casino town?
MUTZABAUGH: That is true. Unfortunately, I think we're pushing that back for a few days here. But what you'll be able to see next week in "USA Today" is Niagara Falls is really becoming -- you know, a lot of people remember it from when they were, you know, a kid or a teenager, maybe 10-20 years ago. And, you know, you sort of remember the kitchie (ph) -- you know, the falls are obviously impressive. But you remember these kitchie (ph) tacky tourist stops.
But now, they've built this new hotel in Niagara Falls. It's called the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort. And this place is a legitimate five-star resort. They're still filling in some of the retail. But this place, once it's completely built out, which is very close to be done, it's going to compete -- or it's going to be on the same par as the Bellagio or the Mirage or some of Las Vegas' most featured attractions.
COSTELLO: Ben Mutzabaugh from USAToday.com joining DAYBREAK this morning. Thank you.
We'll be right back with more. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
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Aired September 2, 2004 - 06:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Back to the Republican National Convention now. Tonight is the big night. The nation's commander-in- chief will rally his party faithful. It follows strong attacks against the Democrats.
Our national correspondent, Bob Franken, joins us live from Madison Square Garden, where they are now preparing the stage.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, all the garden's a stage, and the president is the player later on that stage. They're constructing, finishing up the construction of some sort of theater in the round operation, so there can be some intimacy.
Right now, you just are not allowed on the floor, as a matter of fact, except for the construction workers. But they'll presumably have everything in place by the time the session begins this evening.
And the president gets to come out and, in this little bit different way, make his case, the case that he hopes will then catapult him out into a campaign, into a really tough race ahead with John Kerry.
COSTELLO: Do we know anything about the president's speech?
FRANKEN: Well, we know that he's going to speak at length about the war on terror. We know that he is going to reflect on September 11. Of course, the choice of New York as a site for the Republican Convention for the first time in history has been somewhat controversial. And, of course, we know that he's going to say that the economy is on its way back.
What he's going to try and do is to make the case that even though there are the problems that there are, it is not a good idea to change course now, that he is the one who is more qualified to lead the nation back to the prosperity he says he can.
COSTELLO: He did pick up an important endorsement last night. Tell us about that.
FRANKEN: Are we talking about Zell Miller?
COSTELLO: No, I mean, President Bush and the firefighters.
FRANKEN: Well, yes, the firefighters. He went to a firefighting station here, and the firefighters were chanting, "Four more years, four more years." A lot of symbolism there. The International Firefighters Union has been strongly behind Kerry. John Kerry has made a big point of being seen so many times with firefighters. So the support that the president got here at the very least neutralizes that.
COSTELLO: All right, Bob Franken reporting live from Madison Square Garden this morning, thank you.
You know, win one for the Gipper. That was quite the mantra for Republican delegates last night after a tribute to the late Ronald Reagan was shown at their convention. The video tribute was introduced by Reagan's son, Michael.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL REAGAN, RONALD REAGAN'S SON: My mother, my father, my birth mother and my birth father all had something in common. Do you know what it was? They were all pro-life.
(APPLAUSE)
And, they were pro-adoption.
(APPLAUSE)
Because they were, I stand before you tonight as Michael Edward Reagan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And that brings us to our hot talker this morning, the RNC, its tone and if it's working. Reaction now from a Republican, and we'll get reaction from a Democrat later.
In New York, joining us, Al Cardenas, the former GOP chairman in Florida. Welcome to DAYBREAK.
AL CARDENAS, FORMER FLORIDA GOP CHAIRMAN: Great to be here, Carol. Thank you for having me.
COSTELLO: Oh, any time. You know, there was a lot of talk of Reagan during the Republican National Convention. Why?
CARDENAS: Well, his passing and the fact that the services for President Reagan were amongst the most historic in memory, and the fondness and the love that the American people outpoured for him. That will go down in history, I think, as one of the most touching services for someone well-deserving.
I think all of us who loved Ronald Reagan -- and I got my inspiration to get involved in politics through him -- felt a sense of satisfaction to realize that Americans finally valued all he did for our country.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, it's sort of ironic that Ronald Reagan was all about hope, and he kept his messages very positive. But it was anything but last night. Let's listen again to Democrat Zell Miller speaking at the RNC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ZELL MILLER (D), GEORGIA: I could go on and on and on -- against the Patriot Missile that shot down Saddam Hussein's scud missiles over Israel; against the Aegis air-defense cruiser; against the Strategic Defense Initiative; against the Trident missile, against, against, against.
This is the man who wants to be the commander-in-chief of our U.S. Armed Forces?
U.S. forces armed with what? Spit balls?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Of course, he was blasting John Kerry. Why so negative last night?
CARDENAS: Well, if you'll remember last night and the earlier days with Senator McCain and with Rudy Giuliani, our party has some real concerns about someone with John McCain's (sic) record becoming our commander-in-chief. We've been very respectful. Every night of his military service had been mentioned he received a warm ovation, which was appropriate to do.
But at the same time, you know, this is a very dangerous time in America. We're at war. And his policies and his beliefs over the last 20 years have been so against the things that are necessary for a commander-in-chief to tackle in these difficult times.
And Zell Miller as a Democrat has been very upset and very angry that his party chose someone out of touch with the dangerous realities of the world today, and that came across last night.
COSTELLO: Well, we've heard that in the past few days at the Republican National Convention how the Republicans are doing a great job during these very tense times. But they haven't really talked about a plan for any sort of resolution to the war, for any sort of exit strategy from Iraq. Will we hear that tonight from the president? And why haven't we heard it so far?
CARDENAS: Well, we've only had three days, Carol. And the idea of these three days was to talk about the last four years, the president's record, his advancement on education, tax cuts, where he's led the country during difficult times. We've had a chance for the first time to talk about Kerry's record. Democrats have been at it for a year talking about Bush's record and, frankly, in a very mean- spirited way.
And tonight, we'll get to hear the president and his vision for the future.
The one thing I will agree with you is I wish we would have had more time to talk about the actual things we've done in Iraq, the fact that we now have more schools open than we did during Hussein, the hospitals are up and running. We're going to have a force of 200- some-thousand Iraqis in the military well-trained. Over 10 million Iraqis have registered to vote. A lot of progress has been made in very, very difficult circumstances...
COSTELLO: Well...
CARDENAS: ... in a country that's become the battleground of war on terror.
COSTELLO: Well, I'm sure the president will mention much of that tonight. Thank you so much for joining us, Al Cardenas, a former GOP chairman, live in Florida this morning.
CARDENAS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: We're live in New York this morning. I apologize, Al. Thanks for joining DAYBREAK.
Let's go live to Washington now to Wendy Sherman, a former advisor to President Bill Clinton.
Welcome to DAYBREAK.
WENDY SHERMAN, FORMER CLINTON ADVISOR: Good to be with you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Tell me your thoughts on Zell Miller's speech last night.
SHERMAN: I think there is a big difference between being tough and being mean, and I think he was downright mean. I think also he talked about votes that Senator Kerry made about weapons systems when, in fact, they were weapons systems that Dick Cheney opposed as well. He talked about John Kerry, talking about an occupying force instead of a liberator, while President Bush has talked about an American occupation force.
But what I think was most upsetting for Americans last night was there no discussion of the issues in front of us. There was no discussion of health care. There was no discussion of jobs. In fact, Vice President Cheney attacked John Kerry 14 times and only mentioned jobs twice; one of those times was about his own job. And where Iraq is concerned and the security of our country.
Yesterday, John Kerry laid out his plan, his vision at the American Legion for how to win the war in Iraq and how to win the war against terrorism.
COSTELLO: Well...
SHERMAN: And we haven't heard any of that from the GOP.
COSTELLO: Well, it's good you brought up John Kerry's speech, because we have a bit of it for our viewers this morning. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think we need what President Bush has defined as a catastrophic success. I think we need a real success.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: John Kerry was trying to talk a lot tougher about President Bush. But did he talk tough enough? Because the big criticism from Democrats is, is you're not fighting hard enough.
SHERMAN: Well, I think that John Kerry is fighting hard. He's always been known to fight hard, particularly in the final days of any campaign. I think we will see a very tough John Kerry, someone who is really ready to lead this country.
You know, if you read the morning paper this morning, we have suicide bombers in Israel. We have death in Afghanistan. We have 12 Nepalese who were hostages in Iraq dead. We have more Iraqis dead because of American attacks; unfortunately, civilian deaths in Fallujah. We have more American soldiers dead in Iraq.
This is a pretty tough day, and we need someone who is going to take a new look at this, who is going to gather the world to a common cause to keep America safe in the way that we need to be safe.
So, what I want to hear from President Bush tonight is not only what he's done, but what he will do. What is his plan? How are we going to end this war in Iraq? How are we going to win the war on terrorism, which just the other day he said may not be winnable?
Well, John Kerry believes the war is winnable, and I believe John Kerry can help us win this war.
COSTELLO: We'll see what the president has to say tonight. Wendy Sherman, a former advisor to President Bill Clinton, joining us live this morning. Thank you.
SHERMAN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: During the convention, if you're away from your television, tune us in on the radio or on the Web, "CNN LIVE FROM." Anchor Kyra Phillips and I have been broadcasting live every night starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, and we broadcast until 11:00 p.m. Eastern. We have complete coverage of everything going on in New York. That's CNN Radio from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
Let's head live to New York now to check in with Bill and Heidi to see what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Carol. It's been a quick week. You know, the final night is later tonight, some of the guests that are joining us in a few moments here. It's the final day for the convention, and we'll talk about the speeches from last night.
Dan Bartlett joins us in a moment here to talk about Dick Cheney's speech and Zell Miller's speech. And also, most importantly, what will the president say later tonight?
Also, John Edwards is making a rare interview live with us here, rare in the sense that very few times has the opposing party ever stepped out to do a national live interview when the other team -- when the other party is conducting its convention. We'll talk to the senator this morning.
Heidi, good morning to you. How are you?
COLLINS: Good morning to you as well.
Another huge story we're following this morning, the Kobe Bryant case, or non-case I should say, a bombshell there. This criminal case dismissed. So what does that mean now? We're going to talk to Jeffrey Toobin about that.
And Hurricane Frances is on the heels of Charley, as you know, and Florida is bracing for it. We're going to have live updates all throughout the morning and keep our eye on that story as well -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi, see you at the top of the hour. We'll see you then, too, Carol. We'll let you know about the construction project still under way now on the floor of Madison Square Garden. They're transforming it for the president later tonight. So, a big show for you coming up at 7:00 Eastern, about 15 minutes away -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Making it into a theater of the round for a more intimate speech tonight. Thank you, Bill and Heidi.
The city, the mountains and maybe even the beach as long as you avoid Frances. If you're looking for a destination deal, we can tell you where the fairest fares can be found. That's at 50 minutes past the hour.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
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COSTELLO: The numbers are mixed this morning on Wall Street. The Dow begins the trading day down slightly, but blue chips on the S&P open slightly up, as does the tech-heavy Nasdaq market.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:47 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
Case dismissed. Rape charges against Kobe Bryant have been thrown out for good. The prosecution's case collapsed when Bryant's accuser refused to testify, but she is moving ahead with her civil suit against the NBA star. Overnight, Israeli forces destroyed two apartment buildings at a Gaza refugee camp. Israel says the buildings were being used to stage attacks on Israel. Palestinians say the operation left 40 families homeless. It comes two days after Palestinian suicide bombers blew up buses in Israel, killing 16 people and wounding 94 others.
In money news, Pfizer, the nation's largest pharmaceutical company, has reportedly ended its widely-used discount card for seniors. According to "The New York Times," the move leaves more than a half a million low-income Medicare beneficiaries without access to discounts on popular medicines.
In culture, Marie Rita was one of the big winners at last night's Latin Grammys. She took home two statues, including the award for best new artist. But it was balladeer Alejandro Sanz who captured album record and song of the year honors.
In sports, another New York quarterback is getting one huge contract. The Jets' Chad Pennington signed a seven-year extension that could be worth as much as $64 million and some change.
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COSTELLO: Do you want to get away from it all this Labor Day weekend? I know I do. We've got the lowdown on some travel bargains.
And find out how one airline will make you pay if you want to deal with an actual human being.
This is DAYBREAK.
COSTELLO: You have planned your Labor Day flight, but there is a little problem. Hurricane Frances may be heading for the same place you want to go. So, what can you do with your airline tickets?
Joining us to discuss that and more and to look at Labor Day specials is USAToday.com travel writer Ben Mutzabaugh.
Good morning, Ben.
BEN MUTZABAUGH, USATODAY.COM TRAVEL WRITER: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: So, what do you do if you have a ticket to Florida?
MUTZABAUGH: Well, it's not a good situation to be sure. If you're heading to Florida, hearing about Hurricane Frances is probably the last thing that you wanted to hear about. But it's there and it's not going away.
So, what the airlines have done is they've instituted a flexible rebooking policy. And that applies to most travelers headed to Florida almost through the entire state. Some of the Panhandle cities aren't included. But if you're going to Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, anywhere in central or south Florida, the airlines are going to let you rebook your flights once without a change of fee or without charging you a new fare. COSTELLO: That's not bad. OK. Let's talk about...
MUTZABAUGH: It's not too bad, but there are some restrictions. You've to be careful, too. You've got to travel by a certain date in most cases. So, it's not carte blanch to rebook your ticket two months in the future, but they are letting you off the hook for this coming week.
COSTELLO: Yes, there is always a catch in there someday -- somewhere, I mean.
MUTZABAUGH: Yes.
COSTELLO: Labor Day deals. If you want to get away somewhere other than Florida, are there deals out there to get?
MUTZABAUGH: There are. And even at this last minute you can still find some pretty good deals. Now to do that, though, you can't fly on Friday to Monday, because that's what everyone wants to do. And those flights are pretty full.
But if you want to get away, if you're willing to travel on off days, if you're willing to leave, say, Saturday morning or Saturday around noon and come back on Tuesday, there are some pretty good deals.
COSTELLO: Tell us about them. Give us one.
MUTZABAUGH: Well, one of them is Bermuda, and that, fortunately, is not being affected by Frances. So, if you still wanted to get an island or a beach getaway, you can head to Bermuda. And it's $218 if you fly, plus tax. It comes out to be about 290 total if you fly from Newark to Bermuda, and that's if you leave on Saturday and come back on Tuesday. Now, if you wanted to leave tomorrow and come back Monday, it's going to cost you over $1,000.
COSTELLO: Oh!
MUTZABAUGH: Yes. So, they charge you a premium for traveling the peak days.
COSTELLO: Boy, you're not kidding.
MUTZABAUGH: And there are other deals, too. Northwest is letting you go from Atlanta to Chicago, and that's -- I believe you save about $200 if you're willing to travel on the off-peak days on that route. So, again, those off-peak days really help you.
And the same thing if you're in Philadelphia, where US Airways dominates. If you want to go to Montreal and try to get a little French culture just north of the border here in North America, you can do that. It's only about $280 or about -- sorry, $180 if you're willing to go, again, Saturday through Tuesday. But if you want to go Friday through Monday, they're going to charge you almost 500.
COSTELLO: I sense a theme in here (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Thank you for that tip, though. That's interesting.
You know, an interesting story is going to appear in Friday's "USA Today" about Niagara Falls becoming the new casino town?
MUTZABAUGH: That is true. Unfortunately, I think we're pushing that back for a few days here. But what you'll be able to see next week in "USA Today" is Niagara Falls is really becoming -- you know, a lot of people remember it from when they were, you know, a kid or a teenager, maybe 10-20 years ago. And, you know, you sort of remember the kitchie (ph) -- you know, the falls are obviously impressive. But you remember these kitchie (ph) tacky tourist stops.
But now, they've built this new hotel in Niagara Falls. It's called the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort. And this place is a legitimate five-star resort. They're still filling in some of the retail. But this place, once it's completely built out, which is very close to be done, it's going to compete -- or it's going to be on the same par as the Bellagio or the Mirage or some of Las Vegas' most featured attractions.
COSTELLO: Ben Mutzabaugh from USAToday.com joining DAYBREAK this morning. Thank you.
We'll be right back with more. Stay with us.
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COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
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