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CNN Live At Daybreak
Hurricane Ivan Heading for Jamaica; Latest Developments in Scott Peterson Murder Trial
Aired September 10, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hurricane Ivan makes a beeline for Jamaica and Florida prepares for a third super soaker.
It is Friday, September 10.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, on the eve of the third anniversary of 9/11, new threats from al Qaeda. Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant appears in a tape airing on the Arab television network Al Jazeera. Ayman al- Zawahiri threatens Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has an update on the war on terror. Rumsfeld is speaking at the National Press Club in Washington today. His speech is titled "Three Years Later: A Progress Report On the Global War On Terror."
Police in Indonesia say at least one suicide car bomber is responsible for that deadly blast in Jakarta. At least nine people died in the explosion outside of the Australian embassy. More than 180 people were wounded.
And people across Jamaica are hunkering down, getting ready to get smacked by hurricane Ivan. The monster storm is expected to hit the island later tonight. The hurricane's current path might, just might put it over the Florida Keys by Monday.
But let's go to the man who knows.
Chad Myers in the forecast center -- good morning, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
Yes, the very latest here, the 5:00 advisory from hurricane Ivan from the National Hurricane Center down in Florida, the very latest numbers, 15.9 on the north side and 74.2 west. That's only about 225 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. Here it is. Yes, it is a monster of a storm. It has lost some of its intensity. Notice how strong the eye was last night. Now the eye is a little bit filled in this morning, a little bit more ragged, and that's some good news. That means it's not spinning quite as strong as it was. Here, though, are the numbers. Winds at 145, gusting to 180 still. The storm, as it moves itself right over Jamaica today, still going to be a category four, or very close to a category four storm. Then it gets here, on the western side of Cuba. Here it is on Sunday. And then moving again right ahead, right across, and it looks like, again, a storm right across Havana and then through and very close to Key West, maybe Fort Jefferson, maybe the Dry Tortugas and then farther on up toward the north. This looks strikingly familiar to what was Charley, and it certainly does.
It will lose some intensity as it goes over Cuba, as it always does, because of the mountains there, and also just losing the water.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Of course, we'll get back to you.
The residents of Jamaica have been told to brace for the worst. Hurricane Ivan is bearing down on that island nation.
CNN's Karl Penhaul is there.
He has more for you from Kingston, Jamaica.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Residents of Kingston and the rest of Jamaica are now into the final hours of preparation for the arrival of hurricane Ivan. We've seen people in Kingston out on the streets in force, both in their vehicles and on foot. Panic buying, it must be said, in the supermarkets, laying in stores, laying in provisions. They've also been racing home to start boarding up their homes and make any preparations for this very fierce hurricane now blowing in off the southeast coast of Jamaica.
In an afternoon conference, Dr. Barbara Carby, she's the head of the Office for Disaster Preparedness, has said that up to 500,000 people may need to be evacuated from some of the low lying areas in Kingston and in the surrounding neighborhoods. She says they won't all be moved at once, but as of this mid-afternoon, many of those have already been boarded onto government sponsored busses and taken to shelters, churches and some of the state schools that have been cleared out specifically for this purpose.
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson also told us in an afternoon press conference that he was expecting winds of unprecedented ferocity. He said, however, that he believed that Jamaican authorities have done everything in their power to ensure the minimum loss of life and the minimum amount of damage. But he said that all that was left for him and the rest of Jamaica to do was to pray and to hope somehow that this storm turned away from the island at the last minute.
Certainly, though, meteorologists predicting little of that. They say hurricane Ivan is likely to blow straight across the island and they say the effects could be catastrophic.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Kingston, Jamaica.
COSTELLO: And, of course, we'll have more coverage on hurricane Ivan throughout the morning.
Plus, we will take your e-mail questions. Chad will join me to answer those questions a little later during DAYBREAK. If you have any questions at all about hurricane Ivan and why this hurricane season has been so awful and why Ivan is so big, please e-mail us your questions at daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
On the campaign trail this morning, Democrat John Kerry will be in Missouri trying to regain momentum. A new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll shows President Bush leads Senator Kerry by 11 percentage points among Missouri's registered voters and 14 points among likely voters. Keys will also campaign today in Allentown, Pennsylvania and in Boston.
President Bush returns to economically struggling areas of West Virginia and Ohio today. Bush's campaign bus will stop in Huntington, West Virginia and Portsmouth and Chillicothe, Ohio. A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll puts Bush ahead of Kerry 52 to 44 percent among likely voters in Ohio, and that's a reversal from before the political conventions.
When it comes to winning the White House, it's the all important electoral college vote that counts. President Bush has extended his lead over Senator Kerry in the electoral college by yanking away the battleground state of New Mexico. Some more numbers. The latest CNN analysis of the electoral map shows that if the election were held today, Bush would have 289 electoral votes and Kerry would have 249. Two hundred seventy votes are needed to win.
But listen to this. Kerry could retake the lead if he won Florida. And if he won Ohio, Bush and Kerry would be tied at 269. Can you say squeaker? Hmmm.
Changing gears now, Scott Peterson's father is defending his son in court and arguing with Laci Peterson's brother outside of the courtroom.
CNN's Ted Rowlands is covering the trial in Redwood City, California.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lee Peterson started his testimony by making it clear where he stands. The first words out of his mouth, quote, "I'm proud to say Scott is my son." Then he did his best to try to help his son in front of the jury.
Prosecutors put Peterson on the stand to establish that he was never told about a boat purchased by his son, the boat investigators say was used to dump Laci Peterson's body. He also testified that his son never mentioned that he'd been fishing in the San Francisco Bay during a Christmas Eve phone conversation the afternoon Laci Peterson was reported missing.
On cross-examination, Lee Peterson said it, quote, "wouldn't be unusual" that Scott didn't tell him about the boat, because Scott had a history of buying cars, boats, and motorcycles without telling his family. Peterson also testified that his son preferred to fish in saltwater, which could explain why he traveled 90 miles to fish in the San Francisco Bay, leaving his pregnant wife at home.
Observers say the father's testimony may have helped the defense.
DEAN JOHNSON, LEGAL ANALYST: He became a real person for this jury, and if you humanize the father, it becomes much more difficult for the jury to convict the son.
ROWLANDS: A simmering battle between the two families resumed outside the courtroom. Lee Peterson and Brent Rocha, Laci Peterson's brother, exchanged words at the metal detector on the way into the courthouse.
(on camera): There were no public comments from either side about the recent flareup between the families, but a source close to one of the families tells CNN it is, quote, "getting ugly."
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: In other news across America this morning, a massive disaster drill sent some 10,000 people pouring into the streets of downtown Los Angeles. City hall, police headquarters and the federal building were among the sites evacuated. Employees were sent to designated safe areas while police and firefighters tested their response to a terror attack. This evacuation was not a test.
The governor's office and part of the state capital on Helena, Montana were evacuated after a piece of mail sent there ignited when it was opened. Officials say it happened before at a governor's offices -- at governor's offices in at least four other states. All the mail appeared to have come from a maximum security prison in Nevada. Cracker Barrel has paid nearly $9 million to settle a racial discrimination suit. Plaintiffs argued that African-American customers were segregated from white customers and black employees were given inferior jobs. Four months ago, the restaurant chain settled a similar suit brought by the Justice Department.
It's not even out yet, but a new Bush bashing book has the White House on spin control. Get the inside scoop on the Kitty Kelley book the White House calls "garbage."
People in Florida are asking when will this ever end? No time soon, apparently. We will track the path of hurricane Ivan.
And an American leader finally assigns the "G" word to the tragedy in Sudan. Can a new definition help stop a year of genocide?
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Wall Street will open mixed this morning.
The Dow is down 24 points.
The Nasdaq up 19 points.
And the S&P 500 up 2 points.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei lost almost 89 points.
But it is good day in Europe.
Britain's FTSE 100 is trading up 23 points.
France's CAC trading up 15 points.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:12 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
A gun control group is using the image of Osama bin Laden to pressure the president and the Republican controlled Congress to extend the ban on assault weapons. The 10-year-old ban is due to expire on Monday. In newspaper ads running today, the group depicts bin Laden holding a rifle with a banner that reads "terrorists of 9/11 can hardly wait for 9/13."
Secretary of State Colin Powell told a Senate panel Arab militias supported by Sudan's government is committing genocide against black Africans in Sudan's Darfur region. Powell is calling on the United Nations to investigate.
In money news, Home Depot will open its first store in Manhattan today. The three story shop will cater to a more urban crowd, focusing on more upscale, fashionable home items and promising same day delivery. I wish they did that here in Atlanta.
In culture, fans of the novel "The Da Vinci Code" can now book specialized tour packages to the evacuation locations mentioned in the book. It's similar to the tourism boom in Savannah, Georgia after the novel "Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil" became a best-seller.
In sports, the NFL started its season the same way it ended the last one, with a win by the New England Patriots. They held on for a 27-24 victory after the Indianapolis Colts missed a last minute field goal that would have tied the game -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Just ahead, more on how people in the Caribbean and south Florida are getting ready for hurricane Ivan.
Plus, we're taking your e-mail questions on hurricane Ivan this morning, anything you want to know about Ivan or the other storms or why it's been such a terrible season for hurricanes.
Chad will be back in about five minutes to answer those questions, so send them now to daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
Kitty Kelley, who writes about celebrities, is out with a new book Monday about the Bush family. Most news outlets are running with the story. But "Newsweek" magazine is stiffing it.
Details from Howard Kurtz of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES."
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES (voice-over): When Kitty Kelley writes a book, it's usually big news, whether it's about Jackie Kennedy, Nancy Reagan or Princess Diana and the British royals.
KITTY KELLEY: This is a controversial family and it's a controversial book.
KURTZ: That was Kelley talking about Britain's preeminent family seven years ago. But now, the celebrity biographer is taking on an American royal family of sorts, including the president of the United States at the height of his reelection campaign. The result? Well, the fireworks have started even before the book is released on Monday.
It's called "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty," and contains lots of unflattering gossip and allegations about George W. Bush based in part on unnamed sources. Most explosive are Kelley's charges about alleged past drug use by Bush, a subject the president has declined to address in the past by saying simply that he was once young and irresponsible.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a game in Washington. It's called gotcha. It's a game where we float a rumor and make the candidate prove a negative. And I'm not playing the game.
KURTZ: One of Kelley's named sources is Sharon Bush, the former wife of presidential brother Neil Bush. But Sharon Bush denies ever having said what the book attributes to her, that George Bush used cocaine at Camp David while his father was president. "That's a falsehood," she says.
But Kelley is supported by Sharon Bush's former public relations man, Lou Colasuonno, who was at lunch with the two women last year when the subject came up.
Now the counterattack is under way. White House Communications Chief Dan Bartlett calls the book "garbage" and Republicans are circulating examples of what they say is past shoddy reporting by Kelley. Her assertions that Reagan was a date rapist who once paid for a girlfriend's abortion and that Nancy Reagan once had an affair with Frank Sinatra, which drew an annoyed response from the 40th president. RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think a church would be a proper place for me to use the words I would have to use in discussion of that.
KURTZ: Like most intimate matters, these kinds of charges, who slept with whom, are hard to prove or disprove.
So how are the media handling Kelley's controversial book?
NBC's Matt Lauer will interview her for three straight manages on "THE TODAY SHOW" and Kelley is tentatively booked on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, as well.
But "Newsweek," which got an advanced look at the manuscript, passed on doing a story, editor Mark Whitaker saying he wasn't comfortable with Kelley's reporting.
(on camera): Should journalists be serving as publicity agents for this sort of doggedly reschedule gossip? Can you really fact check a book in a five or a 10 minute television interview? We'll all have to reserve judgment until we see the book, but the bubbling media controversy, including the fact that I'm talking about it here, will undoubtedly propel Kitty Kelley toward another best-seller.
Howard Kurtz, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: You thought he was going to be a hype, but he wasn't. CNN political editor John Mercurio will join us in the next hour of DAYBREAK. We will be talking more about the Kitty Kelley book on the Bush family.
DAYBREAK will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is time to check out our Web clicks this morning. Every morning we go to cnn.com to see what you're clicking onto.
Chad is just joining me on the set.
Now, I know you're busy up there this morning.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: You have your tie off and everything.
MYERS: I haven't really had a chance to look at Web clicks.
COSTELLO: Here's his tie.
MYERS: It's in a wad.
COSTELLO: That's OK, I'll tell you about...
MYERS: My mother would be so proud.
COSTELLO: I'll tell you about the Web clicks. They're kind of interesting this morning.
MYERS: OK.
COSTELLO: Three different stories. The most clicked on story on the Web this morning is about John Ritter. Remember the comedian died last year?
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Well, the family of John Ritter has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a Burbank hospital alleging that a misdiagnosis of his condition contributed to his unexpected death last year.
MYERS: That's sad.
COSTELLO: So that's interesting.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: And the second most clicked on story, Democrat plans girlie-man Schwarzenegger doll. It should be a big seller. Let me read the first graph of this. "California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called Democrats "girlie-men" during a recent budget battle. Now a Democratic lobbyist wants to turn him into one in the form of a bottle head doll."
MYERS: With hot pink dresses and matching pumps.
COSTELLO: It should be a big seller.
The third most clicked on, five governors sent rigged letters. This is such a weird story. So these five governors received this letter rigged to ignite when they open the letter. And we have the story from Montana this morning. Apparently all were sent from a prison, from the Ely State Prison in Ely, Nevada. And apparently somehow they stuck a match in the envelope and when you open the envelope, the match was supposed to ignite.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: Some did, some didn't.
MYERS: Ouch.
COSTELLO: You have a lot of time in prison.
MYERS: That's scary.
COSTELLO: That is scary.
MYERS: How did they get matches (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COSTELLO: Nobody was hurt, though. That's the good news. MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: Hurricane Ivan is looming large in the minds of a lot of people, especially those living in Jamaica.
MYERS: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: When is Ivan expected to make landfall?
MYERS: Probably around 2:00 this afternoon. I mean landfall is one thing, but when do they start feeling the effects, already? When can you not put a piece of plywood up anymore at that point? You know, that's after winds get to be about 20 miles an hour where you can't hold a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood. So you're done. You just get inside and you're done.
And even when we were down there covering Frances, winds were blowing 50. And pickup trucks full of plywood were going by. Well, where are you going with that?
COSTELLO: It's a little late now.
MYERS: How are you going to put that up? How many guys do you have holding that thing trying to get that thing on there? So that's why people have to prepare.
COSTELLO: See, people wait because they don't think it's going to happen.
MYERS: Obviously they don't.
One of the questions this morning was about the Saffir-Simpson Scale. We talk about this cat one, cat two, cat three, category, category, blah, blah, blah. What are the categories?
Category one, 74 miles per hour to 95 miles per hour; 74 to 95. That's a category one.
Category two, 96 to 110. And like that's not strong enough already. That's basically where Frances was as it came onshore.
Category three, 111 to 130. So these are kind of going up by 20 mile per hour increments.
Now, a category four is actually 131 to 155. So to be a category five you need to be 156 miles per hour and up. And after that, then obviously we don't count that. There's no such thing as...
COSTELLO: But Ivan is now down to a category four. But it might restrengthen.
MYERS: It could restrengthen, although it's forecast to be 150 when it hits and goes over Jamaica and then into Cuba, 150. So it's forecast to be a very strong category four storm.
COSTELLO: Well, we want your e-mail questions about Ivan and any other questions you have about the weather as it relates to the hurricanes this season.
MYERS: Yes. I got one about retiring names. Why do they retire names and what are some of the names that are retired?
COSTELLO: Are you going to answer them now or are you going to make people wait?
MYERS: We'll wait for a few minutes.
COSTELLO: See, that was a good tease. Daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
OK, let me turn my pages to page 44, because that's where we're going now.
MYERS: The Florida Keys.
COSTELLO: Florida Keys. Evacuations also the order of the day in the lower Florida Keys. Residents are ordered to begin their exodus at 7:00 this morning. Shelters have been set up in Miami to handle all of the crowds.
And let's get more on the preparations now from Rosh Lowe of CNN affiliate WSVN.
He's reporting from Key West.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ROSH LOWE, WSVN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're boarding up, they're gassing up and they're ready to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, let me tell you something. You have to pay attention to a system like we have right now facing us. And it's a very, very serious situation. Timing is critical.
LOWE: It's the same plywood they used for hurricane Charley and back up goes that plywood again. They're going through the drill again here in Key West.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be a big one. A category five is pretty impressive.
LOWE (on camera): And you just did this for Charley, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we did this for Charley, but that was just precautionary. This is, you know, really serious for this one.
LOWE: Are you nervous?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bit. I'm getting the heck out of here.
LOWE (voice-over): And it's a quiet Duval Street.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think they're just prepared. It's not a drill anymore. Sop they're just taking it not as a warning. Everyone is leaving. All my neighbors are. So...
LOWE (on camera): Duval Street looks pretty empty today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. It's kind of -- it gets scary when you see all the stores boarded up.
LOWE (voice-over): This is an area that already dealt with hurricane Charley and is now dealing with hurricane Ivan. Fastly approaching the area, businesses boarded up, the aluminum shutters going up and the people getting out of town.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: That was Rosh Lowe of CNN affiliate WSVN.
The last time the Keys were totally evacuated was in 2001 for hurricane Michelle.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
Still holding out hope for survivors in the Russian school siege. An update on that tragedy in Beslan.
And a videotaped message from Osama bin Laden's right hand man. What it all may mean, when DAYBREAK returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired September 10, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hurricane Ivan makes a beeline for Jamaica and Florida prepares for a third super soaker.
It is Friday, September 10.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, on the eve of the third anniversary of 9/11, new threats from al Qaeda. Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant appears in a tape airing on the Arab television network Al Jazeera. Ayman al- Zawahiri threatens Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has an update on the war on terror. Rumsfeld is speaking at the National Press Club in Washington today. His speech is titled "Three Years Later: A Progress Report On the Global War On Terror."
Police in Indonesia say at least one suicide car bomber is responsible for that deadly blast in Jakarta. At least nine people died in the explosion outside of the Australian embassy. More than 180 people were wounded.
And people across Jamaica are hunkering down, getting ready to get smacked by hurricane Ivan. The monster storm is expected to hit the island later tonight. The hurricane's current path might, just might put it over the Florida Keys by Monday.
But let's go to the man who knows.
Chad Myers in the forecast center -- good morning, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
Yes, the very latest here, the 5:00 advisory from hurricane Ivan from the National Hurricane Center down in Florida, the very latest numbers, 15.9 on the north side and 74.2 west. That's only about 225 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. Here it is. Yes, it is a monster of a storm. It has lost some of its intensity. Notice how strong the eye was last night. Now the eye is a little bit filled in this morning, a little bit more ragged, and that's some good news. That means it's not spinning quite as strong as it was. Here, though, are the numbers. Winds at 145, gusting to 180 still. The storm, as it moves itself right over Jamaica today, still going to be a category four, or very close to a category four storm. Then it gets here, on the western side of Cuba. Here it is on Sunday. And then moving again right ahead, right across, and it looks like, again, a storm right across Havana and then through and very close to Key West, maybe Fort Jefferson, maybe the Dry Tortugas and then farther on up toward the north. This looks strikingly familiar to what was Charley, and it certainly does.
It will lose some intensity as it goes over Cuba, as it always does, because of the mountains there, and also just losing the water.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Of course, we'll get back to you.
The residents of Jamaica have been told to brace for the worst. Hurricane Ivan is bearing down on that island nation.
CNN's Karl Penhaul is there.
He has more for you from Kingston, Jamaica.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Residents of Kingston and the rest of Jamaica are now into the final hours of preparation for the arrival of hurricane Ivan. We've seen people in Kingston out on the streets in force, both in their vehicles and on foot. Panic buying, it must be said, in the supermarkets, laying in stores, laying in provisions. They've also been racing home to start boarding up their homes and make any preparations for this very fierce hurricane now blowing in off the southeast coast of Jamaica.
In an afternoon conference, Dr. Barbara Carby, she's the head of the Office for Disaster Preparedness, has said that up to 500,000 people may need to be evacuated from some of the low lying areas in Kingston and in the surrounding neighborhoods. She says they won't all be moved at once, but as of this mid-afternoon, many of those have already been boarded onto government sponsored busses and taken to shelters, churches and some of the state schools that have been cleared out specifically for this purpose.
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson also told us in an afternoon press conference that he was expecting winds of unprecedented ferocity. He said, however, that he believed that Jamaican authorities have done everything in their power to ensure the minimum loss of life and the minimum amount of damage. But he said that all that was left for him and the rest of Jamaica to do was to pray and to hope somehow that this storm turned away from the island at the last minute.
Certainly, though, meteorologists predicting little of that. They say hurricane Ivan is likely to blow straight across the island and they say the effects could be catastrophic.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Kingston, Jamaica.
COSTELLO: And, of course, we'll have more coverage on hurricane Ivan throughout the morning.
Plus, we will take your e-mail questions. Chad will join me to answer those questions a little later during DAYBREAK. If you have any questions at all about hurricane Ivan and why this hurricane season has been so awful and why Ivan is so big, please e-mail us your questions at daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
On the campaign trail this morning, Democrat John Kerry will be in Missouri trying to regain momentum. A new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll shows President Bush leads Senator Kerry by 11 percentage points among Missouri's registered voters and 14 points among likely voters. Keys will also campaign today in Allentown, Pennsylvania and in Boston.
President Bush returns to economically struggling areas of West Virginia and Ohio today. Bush's campaign bus will stop in Huntington, West Virginia and Portsmouth and Chillicothe, Ohio. A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll puts Bush ahead of Kerry 52 to 44 percent among likely voters in Ohio, and that's a reversal from before the political conventions.
When it comes to winning the White House, it's the all important electoral college vote that counts. President Bush has extended his lead over Senator Kerry in the electoral college by yanking away the battleground state of New Mexico. Some more numbers. The latest CNN analysis of the electoral map shows that if the election were held today, Bush would have 289 electoral votes and Kerry would have 249. Two hundred seventy votes are needed to win.
But listen to this. Kerry could retake the lead if he won Florida. And if he won Ohio, Bush and Kerry would be tied at 269. Can you say squeaker? Hmmm.
Changing gears now, Scott Peterson's father is defending his son in court and arguing with Laci Peterson's brother outside of the courtroom.
CNN's Ted Rowlands is covering the trial in Redwood City, California.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lee Peterson started his testimony by making it clear where he stands. The first words out of his mouth, quote, "I'm proud to say Scott is my son." Then he did his best to try to help his son in front of the jury.
Prosecutors put Peterson on the stand to establish that he was never told about a boat purchased by his son, the boat investigators say was used to dump Laci Peterson's body. He also testified that his son never mentioned that he'd been fishing in the San Francisco Bay during a Christmas Eve phone conversation the afternoon Laci Peterson was reported missing.
On cross-examination, Lee Peterson said it, quote, "wouldn't be unusual" that Scott didn't tell him about the boat, because Scott had a history of buying cars, boats, and motorcycles without telling his family. Peterson also testified that his son preferred to fish in saltwater, which could explain why he traveled 90 miles to fish in the San Francisco Bay, leaving his pregnant wife at home.
Observers say the father's testimony may have helped the defense.
DEAN JOHNSON, LEGAL ANALYST: He became a real person for this jury, and if you humanize the father, it becomes much more difficult for the jury to convict the son.
ROWLANDS: A simmering battle between the two families resumed outside the courtroom. Lee Peterson and Brent Rocha, Laci Peterson's brother, exchanged words at the metal detector on the way into the courthouse.
(on camera): There were no public comments from either side about the recent flareup between the families, but a source close to one of the families tells CNN it is, quote, "getting ugly."
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: In other news across America this morning, a massive disaster drill sent some 10,000 people pouring into the streets of downtown Los Angeles. City hall, police headquarters and the federal building were among the sites evacuated. Employees were sent to designated safe areas while police and firefighters tested their response to a terror attack. This evacuation was not a test.
The governor's office and part of the state capital on Helena, Montana were evacuated after a piece of mail sent there ignited when it was opened. Officials say it happened before at a governor's offices -- at governor's offices in at least four other states. All the mail appeared to have come from a maximum security prison in Nevada. Cracker Barrel has paid nearly $9 million to settle a racial discrimination suit. Plaintiffs argued that African-American customers were segregated from white customers and black employees were given inferior jobs. Four months ago, the restaurant chain settled a similar suit brought by the Justice Department.
It's not even out yet, but a new Bush bashing book has the White House on spin control. Get the inside scoop on the Kitty Kelley book the White House calls "garbage."
People in Florida are asking when will this ever end? No time soon, apparently. We will track the path of hurricane Ivan.
And an American leader finally assigns the "G" word to the tragedy in Sudan. Can a new definition help stop a year of genocide?
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Wall Street will open mixed this morning.
The Dow is down 24 points.
The Nasdaq up 19 points.
And the S&P 500 up 2 points.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei lost almost 89 points.
But it is good day in Europe.
Britain's FTSE 100 is trading up 23 points.
France's CAC trading up 15 points.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:12 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
A gun control group is using the image of Osama bin Laden to pressure the president and the Republican controlled Congress to extend the ban on assault weapons. The 10-year-old ban is due to expire on Monday. In newspaper ads running today, the group depicts bin Laden holding a rifle with a banner that reads "terrorists of 9/11 can hardly wait for 9/13."
Secretary of State Colin Powell told a Senate panel Arab militias supported by Sudan's government is committing genocide against black Africans in Sudan's Darfur region. Powell is calling on the United Nations to investigate.
In money news, Home Depot will open its first store in Manhattan today. The three story shop will cater to a more urban crowd, focusing on more upscale, fashionable home items and promising same day delivery. I wish they did that here in Atlanta.
In culture, fans of the novel "The Da Vinci Code" can now book specialized tour packages to the evacuation locations mentioned in the book. It's similar to the tourism boom in Savannah, Georgia after the novel "Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil" became a best-seller.
In sports, the NFL started its season the same way it ended the last one, with a win by the New England Patriots. They held on for a 27-24 victory after the Indianapolis Colts missed a last minute field goal that would have tied the game -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Just ahead, more on how people in the Caribbean and south Florida are getting ready for hurricane Ivan.
Plus, we're taking your e-mail questions on hurricane Ivan this morning, anything you want to know about Ivan or the other storms or why it's been such a terrible season for hurricanes.
Chad will be back in about five minutes to answer those questions, so send them now to daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
Kitty Kelley, who writes about celebrities, is out with a new book Monday about the Bush family. Most news outlets are running with the story. But "Newsweek" magazine is stiffing it.
Details from Howard Kurtz of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES."
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES (voice-over): When Kitty Kelley writes a book, it's usually big news, whether it's about Jackie Kennedy, Nancy Reagan or Princess Diana and the British royals.
KITTY KELLEY: This is a controversial family and it's a controversial book.
KURTZ: That was Kelley talking about Britain's preeminent family seven years ago. But now, the celebrity biographer is taking on an American royal family of sorts, including the president of the United States at the height of his reelection campaign. The result? Well, the fireworks have started even before the book is released on Monday.
It's called "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty," and contains lots of unflattering gossip and allegations about George W. Bush based in part on unnamed sources. Most explosive are Kelley's charges about alleged past drug use by Bush, a subject the president has declined to address in the past by saying simply that he was once young and irresponsible.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a game in Washington. It's called gotcha. It's a game where we float a rumor and make the candidate prove a negative. And I'm not playing the game.
KURTZ: One of Kelley's named sources is Sharon Bush, the former wife of presidential brother Neil Bush. But Sharon Bush denies ever having said what the book attributes to her, that George Bush used cocaine at Camp David while his father was president. "That's a falsehood," she says.
But Kelley is supported by Sharon Bush's former public relations man, Lou Colasuonno, who was at lunch with the two women last year when the subject came up.
Now the counterattack is under way. White House Communications Chief Dan Bartlett calls the book "garbage" and Republicans are circulating examples of what they say is past shoddy reporting by Kelley. Her assertions that Reagan was a date rapist who once paid for a girlfriend's abortion and that Nancy Reagan once had an affair with Frank Sinatra, which drew an annoyed response from the 40th president. RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think a church would be a proper place for me to use the words I would have to use in discussion of that.
KURTZ: Like most intimate matters, these kinds of charges, who slept with whom, are hard to prove or disprove.
So how are the media handling Kelley's controversial book?
NBC's Matt Lauer will interview her for three straight manages on "THE TODAY SHOW" and Kelley is tentatively booked on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, as well.
But "Newsweek," which got an advanced look at the manuscript, passed on doing a story, editor Mark Whitaker saying he wasn't comfortable with Kelley's reporting.
(on camera): Should journalists be serving as publicity agents for this sort of doggedly reschedule gossip? Can you really fact check a book in a five or a 10 minute television interview? We'll all have to reserve judgment until we see the book, but the bubbling media controversy, including the fact that I'm talking about it here, will undoubtedly propel Kitty Kelley toward another best-seller.
Howard Kurtz, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: You thought he was going to be a hype, but he wasn't. CNN political editor John Mercurio will join us in the next hour of DAYBREAK. We will be talking more about the Kitty Kelley book on the Bush family.
DAYBREAK will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is time to check out our Web clicks this morning. Every morning we go to cnn.com to see what you're clicking onto.
Chad is just joining me on the set.
Now, I know you're busy up there this morning.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: You have your tie off and everything.
MYERS: I haven't really had a chance to look at Web clicks.
COSTELLO: Here's his tie.
MYERS: It's in a wad.
COSTELLO: That's OK, I'll tell you about...
MYERS: My mother would be so proud.
COSTELLO: I'll tell you about the Web clicks. They're kind of interesting this morning.
MYERS: OK.
COSTELLO: Three different stories. The most clicked on story on the Web this morning is about John Ritter. Remember the comedian died last year?
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Well, the family of John Ritter has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a Burbank hospital alleging that a misdiagnosis of his condition contributed to his unexpected death last year.
MYERS: That's sad.
COSTELLO: So that's interesting.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: And the second most clicked on story, Democrat plans girlie-man Schwarzenegger doll. It should be a big seller. Let me read the first graph of this. "California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called Democrats "girlie-men" during a recent budget battle. Now a Democratic lobbyist wants to turn him into one in the form of a bottle head doll."
MYERS: With hot pink dresses and matching pumps.
COSTELLO: It should be a big seller.
The third most clicked on, five governors sent rigged letters. This is such a weird story. So these five governors received this letter rigged to ignite when they open the letter. And we have the story from Montana this morning. Apparently all were sent from a prison, from the Ely State Prison in Ely, Nevada. And apparently somehow they stuck a match in the envelope and when you open the envelope, the match was supposed to ignite.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: Some did, some didn't.
MYERS: Ouch.
COSTELLO: You have a lot of time in prison.
MYERS: That's scary.
COSTELLO: That is scary.
MYERS: How did they get matches (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COSTELLO: Nobody was hurt, though. That's the good news. MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: Hurricane Ivan is looming large in the minds of a lot of people, especially those living in Jamaica.
MYERS: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: When is Ivan expected to make landfall?
MYERS: Probably around 2:00 this afternoon. I mean landfall is one thing, but when do they start feeling the effects, already? When can you not put a piece of plywood up anymore at that point? You know, that's after winds get to be about 20 miles an hour where you can't hold a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood. So you're done. You just get inside and you're done.
And even when we were down there covering Frances, winds were blowing 50. And pickup trucks full of plywood were going by. Well, where are you going with that?
COSTELLO: It's a little late now.
MYERS: How are you going to put that up? How many guys do you have holding that thing trying to get that thing on there? So that's why people have to prepare.
COSTELLO: See, people wait because they don't think it's going to happen.
MYERS: Obviously they don't.
One of the questions this morning was about the Saffir-Simpson Scale. We talk about this cat one, cat two, cat three, category, category, blah, blah, blah. What are the categories?
Category one, 74 miles per hour to 95 miles per hour; 74 to 95. That's a category one.
Category two, 96 to 110. And like that's not strong enough already. That's basically where Frances was as it came onshore.
Category three, 111 to 130. So these are kind of going up by 20 mile per hour increments.
Now, a category four is actually 131 to 155. So to be a category five you need to be 156 miles per hour and up. And after that, then obviously we don't count that. There's no such thing as...
COSTELLO: But Ivan is now down to a category four. But it might restrengthen.
MYERS: It could restrengthen, although it's forecast to be 150 when it hits and goes over Jamaica and then into Cuba, 150. So it's forecast to be a very strong category four storm.
COSTELLO: Well, we want your e-mail questions about Ivan and any other questions you have about the weather as it relates to the hurricanes this season.
MYERS: Yes. I got one about retiring names. Why do they retire names and what are some of the names that are retired?
COSTELLO: Are you going to answer them now or are you going to make people wait?
MYERS: We'll wait for a few minutes.
COSTELLO: See, that was a good tease. Daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
OK, let me turn my pages to page 44, because that's where we're going now.
MYERS: The Florida Keys.
COSTELLO: Florida Keys. Evacuations also the order of the day in the lower Florida Keys. Residents are ordered to begin their exodus at 7:00 this morning. Shelters have been set up in Miami to handle all of the crowds.
And let's get more on the preparations now from Rosh Lowe of CNN affiliate WSVN.
He's reporting from Key West.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ROSH LOWE, WSVN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're boarding up, they're gassing up and they're ready to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, let me tell you something. You have to pay attention to a system like we have right now facing us. And it's a very, very serious situation. Timing is critical.
LOWE: It's the same plywood they used for hurricane Charley and back up goes that plywood again. They're going through the drill again here in Key West.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be a big one. A category five is pretty impressive.
LOWE (on camera): And you just did this for Charley, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we did this for Charley, but that was just precautionary. This is, you know, really serious for this one.
LOWE: Are you nervous?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bit. I'm getting the heck out of here.
LOWE (voice-over): And it's a quiet Duval Street.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think they're just prepared. It's not a drill anymore. Sop they're just taking it not as a warning. Everyone is leaving. All my neighbors are. So...
LOWE (on camera): Duval Street looks pretty empty today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. It's kind of -- it gets scary when you see all the stores boarded up.
LOWE (voice-over): This is an area that already dealt with hurricane Charley and is now dealing with hurricane Ivan. Fastly approaching the area, businesses boarded up, the aluminum shutters going up and the people getting out of town.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: That was Rosh Lowe of CNN affiliate WSVN.
The last time the Keys were totally evacuated was in 2001 for hurricane Michelle.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
Still holding out hope for survivors in the Russian school siege. An update on that tragedy in Beslan.
And a videotaped message from Osama bin Laden's right hand man. What it all may mean, when DAYBREAK returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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