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CNN Live Sunday
Milk Prices Soar, Dairy Farmers Hurt; Inexplained Explosion in North Korea Scares Atomic Watchdogs;
Aired September 12, 2004 - 16:00 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.
LINDA STOUFFER, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LIVE SUNDAY: Milk prices are at an all-time high. So why are dairy farmers in so much trouble?
This college student was in a foreign country at a fancy school, and with no money, and figured out an innovative way to pay for her education, a school loan story with a twist.
And the debate, debates! Who needs to do what during the first presidential debate?
Hi there. Welcome to CNN SUNDAY. Glad you could join us. I'm Linda Stouffer. First we'll have a look at the headlines right now.
It is paradise lost for the Cayman Islands, Hurricane Ivan blew through the British territory causing flooding and knocking down trees. The storm is blamed for at least 41 deaths in the Caribbean. It could hit Cuba as early as tomorrow. Our meteorologists will have more on Ivan's track in just a few minutes.
A protest in Afghanistan turned violent today. Afghan police and soldiers fired on demonstrators who set fire to several United Nations offices in Harat. At least eight people were killed, more than a dozen wounded. The demonstrators were upset about the dismissal of a provincial governor.
Almost half of the three million registered voters took part in legislative elections in Hong Kong. Critics believe the large turnout is an effort to put more pro democracy candidates in office. There are 60 seats in the legislative council. Half are directly elected. The other half is selected by groups that tend to back Beijing.
We want to begin now with the fallout over a massive cloud, it was seen over North Korea. And satellite images show the cloud appeared several days ago. It could be the result of a large explosion or maybe a nuclear test. South Korea doubts its neighbor to the north was testing the nuclear device and so does the U.S.
But it's raising concerns. The cloud was seen in close proximity to North Korea's border with China near the Yongjori Missile Base, and that base is a suspected site for North Korea's uranium enrichment program. Arms experts doubt that North Korea would anger its remaining communist ally with the nuclear test right on its border. But the question is if it wasn't nuclear what caused the cloud? Let's bring in our White House correspondent Dana Bash who joins us live from the White House in D.C. today.
Hi Dana.
DANA BASH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey Linda well that is definitely the question that senior administration officials are also asking. And at this point they don't have the answer yet, but they do say at this point there is no evidence that explosion followed by apparently that kind of smoke was actually caused by any kind of nuclear event, but top officials do concede that there is intelligence that North Korea may be planning some kind of nuclear test, a test to see what capability they do in fact have.
And they say that that is definitely a possible, but they're not sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWEL, SECRETARY OF STATE: The recent intelligence suggests that there is some activity taking place that is inconclusive with respect to what it means, it could be that, it could be they're doing some test preparations or it could be that just maintenance is going on, so it's not conclusive and we continue to examine it and study it on a regular basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now as you just heard Secretary Powell say that U.S. intelligence agencies do constantly monitor Pyongyang's progress on its nuclear front. They do periodically according to a senior official get word that North Korea may actually do a test. But they do concede it's very hard to decipher the information they get. This is a very reclusive regime and it's hard to tell.
But the National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice did warn today in a series of interviews that North Korea would simply be isolating itself if it did actually conduct a nuclear test. But said one motive could be a so-called October surprise. Aimed at affecting U.S. elections, and a senate intelligence chairman agreed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PAT ROBERTS, (R) KANSAS: It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Kim Jong-Il (ph) would think in some deranged way that if he had some kind of a test that that would affect the U.S. election, I don't know if that's the case, but that could be one of the conjecturing that is going on in the intelligence assessment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now at least one expert says that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il may see Senator Kerry as somebody who would be perhaps more flexible. President Bush has taken a hard line saying that they would only resume aid to North Korea if they would verifiably dismantle all its nuclear programs. But again, it's very hard for people to tell even those who have been studying North Korea for quite a long time -- Linda.
STOUFFER: Dana a quick question for you back to the actual cloud that was spotted. I mean it could have been something as innocent as an accident, right?
BASH: That's right, and you know the national security adviser said it could have been a forest fire it could have been an accident. They just don't know. They are investigating, they are looking into it, but they do have some information that indicates that at this point they do not think that it was a nuclear explosion of any kind.
STOUFFER: Dana Bash live at the White House. Thank you Dana.
Well the whole threat of nuclear terrorism is the focus of a CNN special that airs tonight, CNN presents "Nuclear Terror." It is at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and again at 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
Now though the latest on Hurricane Ivan. It's unleashing a trail of destruction through the Caribbean. At least 41 deaths are now attributed to the storm. And Ivan is moving on to new targets. Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is tracking the hurricane for us. She joins us now, its sort of inching to the west in the last few days, hasn't it Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, actually we've been watching it over the last several hours, Linda. And it is tracking a little bit more westerly. So that may bring our whole track a little bit closer to the western tip of Cuba or even at the Yucatan channel here, so that could affect the track of the United States a little more westerly, we're going to show you in a second what the official track is from the 11:00 advisory, and the Hurricane Center is going to give us a new one at 5:00.
And I think that may be shifted a little bit more westerly. Right now it is about 60 miles away from the Cayman Islands and it is pushing in a west-northwesterly motion. It's packing winds around 150 miles per hour. So it has weakened slightly today. Still a category four though and a very strong category four, and it is taking aim towards western Cuba, and again it is a little iffy exactly where it's going to be moving.
There are hurricane warnings in effect for all of western Cuba, including the Isle of Youth, also into the Cayman Islands. Even though it is 60 miles away now. Those hurricane-force winds extend out 90 miles from the center of the storm. So that is a sizable chunk of real estate that those winds extend outwards and there's also a tropical storm watch now which has been issued from the Florida Keys from about the seven mile bridge extending down to the Dry Tortugas (ph), and tropical storm-force winds may be arriving as early as tomorrow night.
All right, here's the latest on the forecast track from the 11:00 advisory. It has it just moving over the western tip of Cuba then into the Gulf of Mexico. It will likely weaken a little bit as it does so, so that's some good news. The forecast has it down to a category three before making landfall. Sometime on Wednesday, and I would say midday on Wednesday. But if we do see this slight turn in the track and bring in a little closer over towards Panama City or maybe even over towards Biloxi, if we see that shift, the time it will be making landfall will be pushed back a little bit. So there's still quite a bit of uncertainty. We're still talking three days away. Now we're trying to look at this with the glass half full here, Linda. This part of the country, part of Florida across central and southern parts of the state of course just plowed by Charley and also Frances. And this is the rainfall surplus for the year. More than 17 inches up in Tampa, 10 inches up in Orlando. If there's one part of the state that could hold in a little more rain, of course we don't want to see it come down that fast.
But it is up in the northwestern parts of Florida. Apalachicola you are down about 13 inches for the year and also over towards Pensacola about five inches below normal for the year. So trying to look at it a little bit more optimistically that it may be shifting a little bit more to the west and weakening a bit before making landfall.
We're bringing you that 5:00 advisory as soon as it comes in. Linda.
STOUFFER: Let me ask you more about that track there Jacqui, you know we've been talking about Florida and Florida watching out for this storm. But if it's moving more west, I mean should places like Louisiana be keeping a close eye on this too?
JERAS: Absolutely everybody who lives from Louisiana all the way down to the Florida Keys needs to pay close attention, and of course, Texas, keep an eye on, it but I'm not real worried about those folks that far west.
STOUFFER: All right Jacqui Jeras, thank you.
People in Cuba are bracing for Ivan, some of the homes there are so old and so fragile, and a thunderstorm might knock them down. Well you can imagine the panic and the dread right now at the prospect of not just a hurricane but also a major hurricane. Our Lucia Newman joins us live by videophone from Havana with the latest on the press.
Hi Lucia.
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (via videophone): Hi Linda. Well you are absolutely right people here are very, very nervous about this hurricane, which if it hits Havana as it's expected to would be the strongest hurricane to hit Cuba in more than 60 years. At least this part of Cuba, which is the most vulnerable because of the shabby construction, the buildings that haven't been repaired, many of them for more than 50 years.
Now the country and the especially western Cuba has been preparing for the last three days for this storm. They've done just about everything they can, but as one Havana resident told me, there is nothing you can really do, nothing can prepare you enough for a hurricane of this magnitude.
A magnitude -- I'm sorry. In the meantime, authorities have already evacuated hundreds of thousands of people in central and even eastern Cuba. And now their beginning to take the people from Havana and Pinar Del Rio (ph) which is to the west of us. Also into shelters and schools and government buildings, anywhere that they can consider they'll be safe from the wind and the rain, the enormous punch that this hurricane is expected to give this country -- Linda.
STOUFFER: Lucia, what about supplies that people in the U.S. would use to prepare for a hurricane like this? How much of an issue is it just to get supplies?
NEWMAN: That's a very good question, unlike in Florida as we've seen where people can go to the hardware store and buy plywood and nails and just about anything they need to try and protect their homes. Here there is nothing like that, they don't even exist. And whatever materials are available are absolutely earmarked for government buildings and hotels, tourist areas.
So people are just roaming around trying to get little pieces of wood. I saw one man today take apart his bed to use the boards from that to help secure his windows. There really is very little that people can do, and what they're most afraid of really more than the storm is the aftermath and how they can recover from it, Linda.
STOUFFER: Lucia, are there any special concerns about the Guantanamo Naval Base, the detainees are there in somewhat open air conditions. What are the concerns about that?
NEWMAN: Well, actually in an ironic twist, the Guantanamo area has turned out to be one of the safest in the storm, initially it was thought that Hurricane Ivan would hit the eastern part of Cuba, but it actually let some rainfall but not much more than that. Someone joked it's probably one of the safest places to be right now is Guantanano -- Linda.
STOUFFER: OK, Lucia Newman reporting to us live from Havana, Cuba.
Well as Jacqui Jeras mentioned Hurricane Ivan did leave quite a mark on Jamaica. When we return the latest look at the devastation there from CNN's Karl Penhaul.
And here in the U.S., the Red Cross is strapped for cash after Hurricanes Charley and then Frances. Can the agency handle a third major storm? I'll talk with the Red Cross spokesman in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
STOUFFER: Welcome back, as Cuba and maybe Florida await Hurricane Ivan's visit. Jamaica has already witnessed its wrath. There it raised the roofs, it washed out roads and claimed at least 16 lives. More now from Karl Penhaul in Kingston.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hurricane Ivan whips up waves and smashes concrete in downtown Kingston. As winds tail off, storm survivors venture out of emergency shelters and pick their way through debris to see what is left of their homes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is like an all-inclusive. (INAUDIBLE)
PENHAUL: Edgar Wallace says he fled in the black of night as the sea lashed at his door. This is what's left of his house in Kingston Shooter's Hill neighborhood, entire rooms have been washed away. In a nearby neighborhood a woman drowned in the tidal surge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is getting worse. We have to leave. We have to leave. When we could leave because it is windy.
PENHAUL: Power lines are down, electricity's out across most of Jamaica; authorities say many highways are blocked by landslides and floods. As soon as weather conditions permit, Prime Minister Patterson has ordered a government recognizant team to fly across the island by helicopter to draw up a full death and injury toll and damage assessment.
PERCIVAL JAMES PATTERSON, JAMAICAN PRIME MINISTER: It is obvious that there is no part of Jamaica, which has been immune.
PENHAUL: He's also ordered a dusk to dawn curfew in Jamaica's main cities and towns to prevent outbreaks of looting. We came across this gang late Friday just as Hurricane Ivan was blowing in. The alleged looters were arrested minutes after engaging police in a gun battle.
PENHAUL (on camera): Down at the ocean side, the power of the waves driven by those incredible winds did the damage. Up here in the hills, just above Kingston the trees torn out by the hurricane have smashed everything in their path.
PENHAUL (voice over): At least one woman is reported to have died in this poor neighborhood. Others like Clarence Francis and his family have been left homeless. He was asleep in a back room when this tree crashed through the front of his wood and tin home.
CLARENCE FRANCIS, KINGSTON CARPENTER: I'm still in a shock, no? Knowing that the tree took -- fall on the house, and we are all inside, we could have died.
PENHAUL: For now the family is sheltering with neighbors, Francis doesn't know when they'll have the materials or the money to begin rebuilding.
Karl Penhaul with the camera of Neil Hallsworth (ph), CNN, Kingston, Jamaica.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUFFER: First it was Charley then Frances; now Ivan is on the move. And Florida is expected to get hit again for the third time in a month. And the storms there strain in the resources of the Red Cross right now. So joining us to talk about that is Peter Teahen a spokesman for the Red Cross he is live in Tampa, Florida. Hi Peter welcome. PETER TEAHEN, SPOKESMAN, RED CROSS: Hi Linda, how are you doing today?
STOUFFER: I'm well. Is the kind of thing you ever thought that the Red Cross would need to prepare for? I mean three hurricanes in one season maybe in one state.
TEAHEN: Well this has been a triple punch month for the Floridians as well as the American Red Cross. We're ready for disasters and we hope to respond to all of them. But this has really taxed our resources in the last few weeks.
STOUFFER: Is the disaster relief expensive. How is that going? How is the cash for the Red Cross right now?
TEAHEN: When we started the operation with Hurricane Charley, we had $850,000 in our disaster relief fund. We anticipate that Charley and Frances will cost the American Red Cross around $63 million, and to date, we have raised only $35 million, and the $63 million does not take into account the cost of doing a response to Hurricane Ivan.
So it's a major financial threat to the Red Cross, but the Red Cross will always be there, we will respond, we'll find creative ways, but we really rely on the donated dollar, people giving to the Red Cross when Americans need them the most.
STOUFFER: And we have the number up on the bottom of the screen. I'm sure a lot of people will be interested in looking at that. Let me ask you though about shelters, because sometimes people just need to stay in a shelter for a day or two, but you have people in Red Cross shelters that have been there for more than a week?
TEAHEN: Absolutely, shelters are a place of safety. They're secure for many; it's the last resort, because they have nowhere else to go. Since the beginning of Hurricane Charley, we've had more than a quarter of a million people in our shelters, we currently still have about 39 shelters open with residents in them, as you say, that have been there for weeks.
It is those shelters will grow in number as we look at evacuating as the government evacuates more people on the onslaught of Ivan, but can Red Cross is providing the housing and providing meals to the people in shelters and people affected in the disaster area. We've done nearly five million meals in the last few weeks.
STOUFFFER: And as you said Ivan hasn't even hit yet. You know I want to ask you about blood supplies, too. Because these storms have come at a time of year where blood supplies are already traditionally low. What is the need right now?
TEAHEN: We're in a critical need for blood supply. As you said summertime is often times the low time of the year for people to donate. Donors throughout Florida are probably tied up in a disaster response. So the blood supply is low, people are urged, no matter where you're at in the United States to donate. American Red Cross will make sure the blood is distributed to where it is needed the most. But give money and give blood at this time.
STOUFFER: And Peter I would imagine that volunteers with the Red Cross are affected by all the stress of having to evacuate and the damage from these storms, too. Have you seen this take a toll on the volunteers themselves?
TEAHEN: Well it has taken a toll. Since the beginning of Charley, we've had over 15,000 Red Cross volunteers from Florida all over the United States, to U.S. territories and Canada have responded here in Florida. Many of them, or myself have been here for four weeks. You come as responders and you're exposed to the elements and the disaster as it develops.
It's the spirit of American Red Cross volunteer that people need us, and that's what drives our volunteers to be there to help families when they need it the most. And it is always a fantastic experience to watch Red Cross people dig into their hearts and come forward in a time of stress and tragedy to be there for the families.
STOUFFER: And I know so many families appreciate what you do. We have just seconds left. Would you like people to go to your Web site to look into perhaps giving or helping?
TEAHEN: Absolutely go to www.Redcross.org to find more about the Red Cross, how they can donate and as you mentioned the 1-800-help- now. And please give to the American Red Cross so we can help the families of these tragedies.
STOUFFER: Peter Teahen a spokesman for the Red Cross. Thanks so much for your time and effort today.
TEAHEN: Thank you Linda.
STOUFFER: Good luck.
Still to come right here on CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Sticker shock in the dairy section. Up next, a look at the rising cost of milk and some problems in the nation's heartland because of it.
Also, forget about loan officers and banks, coming up a bit later, meet a college student who hit the sidewalks of Wall Street in search extra cash. You won't believe what she found there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
STOUFFER: Welcome back. You might have noticed you're paying more for a gallon. Not gasoline, milk! After a long period of low dairy prices, there's been a sharp spike this year, but dairy farmers are complaining, they say the increasing cost at the store is not translating into profits for them. CNN Sean Callebs reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREN SOWER, DAIRY FARMER: Let's go. Get on over. Go on.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Dairy farmers Randy and Karen Sower are the first to admit; it's a tough job.
RANDY SOWER, DAIRY FARMER: I started this farming because I really liked it, and I do love it. Every day now, I do question, why do we do this? Because, you never know one day from the next whether it's going to work out or not.
CALLEBS: In the best of times, the line between profit and loss is razor thin. But the Sower's and other farmers are dealing with wild price swings for dairy products. Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says prices were at a 25 year low. However, by April and May of this year, consumers noticed a big change.
DOLORES MARTIN, SHOPPER: The milk prices has gone up considerably, and especially if you on a low income, it makes it really impossible.
CALLEBS: Prices are pushing $4 a gallon. When dairy prices were low, some farmers sold cattle for beef. That meant fewer cows to produce milk causing somewhat of a short fall, that helped fuel the price spike.
CHRIS GALEN, NAT'LISOVICZ: MILK PRODUCERS FEDERATION: Dairy's not any different than oil or orange juice or a lot of other commodities when it's in tight supply. Prices may shoot up, when there's too much of it, prices drop.
CALLEBS: The USDA tries to help out farmers like the Sower's by setting a minimum price for milk. It's a practice that dates back to the great depression. Designed to help farmers make ends meet when prices scrape rock bottom. If you think dairy farmers line their pockets when prices are elevated, the Sower's say it's not the case.
K. SOWER: It's tighter, it's tougher, and it really is. But I hope we'll going to see our way through this.
CALLEBS: They have started bottling their own milk, cutting out the middle man and giving their bottom line a boost. That's rare, nationwide the milk supply is creeping up, and consumers are paying slightly less. But the Sower's say the farmer's burden continues. For them, the only guarantee remains long days; fluctuating prices and the satisfaction of knowing they're helping feed the nation.
Sean Callebs, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUFFER: Here's a look now at other stories making news across America. The clock is ticking for US Airways to figure out its financial woes. The airline and its pilots' union say they're willing to resume talks but no meetings have been set. US Airways is seeking concessions from its labor groups to avoid filing bankruptcy for a second time.
Arson is suspected in a deadly apartment fire in Columbus, Ohio, eight people including a child were killed in the fire. The fire chief says it's suspicious that the fire burned so quickly in the hallway where there were few flammable materials.
President Bush makes an unexpected visit to the Russian Embassy in Washington. He signed a book of condolences for victims of the deadly school scene in Beslan. He also promised the U.S. will stand by Russia in the fight against terrorism.
Meantime across Russia itself the grieving continues over the school massacre, but as the funerals end, the anger grows. Here's CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): What kind of country are we living in? Somebody tell me, she screams. Six women dressed in black. Women who have lost their children. Women who demand answers. Let President Putin answers us, she says, he said he'd wipe out terrorists in the outhouse.
Well where is that outhouse? Let all mothers rise up, every one of them, no mother will ever be able to sleep peacefully again. Grief over the Beslan school massacre is now turning to fury, much of it directed at political leaders. Angry crowds are demanding the regional government resign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translator): Why are they lying? Why are they saying 335 people died when it's really 600 or 700?
DOUGHERTY (on camera): Beyond the enormous tragedy at this school, there's growing concern both here and in Moscow that this terrorist act could have wider repercussions, potentially reigniting longstanding ethnic tensions with neighboring republics. Russian authorities still have not publicly identified the terrorists who attacked the school. They claim it was an international band, including some fighters from Arab countries. But in Beslan, located in the Republic of North Ossetia, many are already blaming the Ingush, a neighboring people with whom they fought a war over territory 12 years ago.
There are enemies she says, how can they force us to live with our enemies? Half an hour east of Beslan in the Ingush Republic a village filled with Ingush refuges who fled ethnic fighting 12 years ago. Mary Ann Mahenan (ph) says this week she sat watching TV reports of the school hostage massacre and cried.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I feel so sorry for the children. They're innocent. It was never accepted to raise a hand against a woman or child, regardless of their nationality. Now, it's as if the English and Chechens are a nation of bandits. But we aren't.
DOUGHERTY: Her husband, Hasan (ph), is worried.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is going to destabilize things, whip people up, and give them an excuse to once again claim that the English are guilty, and you simply can't live next to them. DOUGHERTY: At the school in Beslan, a father guides his young daughter through the wreckage where her grandmother perished. "Look at this," he says, "look at what these animals did. Remember this." Jill Dougherty, CNN, Beslan, Russia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUFFER: In the news right now, the aftermath of that strange mushroom shaped cloud in North Korea. U.S. and South Korean officials do not believe it was caused by a nuclear explosion. Earlier today, Secretary of State Colin Powell said some sites in North Korea are being watched carefully, but there's no conclusive evidence that the country is moving toward a nuclear test.
Hurricane Ivan set its sights on western Cuba. The storm is pummeling the Cayman Islands right now. Ivan remains a strong category four storm, topped sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. Forecasters say Ivan could still strengthen before hitting Cuba tomorrow. So far, the storm is blamed for at least 41 deaths.
And we'll take a quick look at Ivan's path, coming up. Also, we will talk politics with Bill Schneider. What does George Bush really need to do in the next 51 days? And before the election, the debates. What does John Kerry have to do? Or really, do the debates matter at all this year? And then, we will wrap up late night laughs political style. We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
STOUFFER: In news around the world now, a deadly confrontation in Afghanistan. Protestors stormed UN offices in the western city of Herat, stoned soldiers there, and set buildings on fire. Afghan troops and police opened fire on the protestors, killing at least eight and wounding 15. Now, the violence followed the dismissal of a local warlord as provincial governor.
In Jerusalem, a right wing demonstration -- tens of thousands of people gathered to denounce Israel's Gaza pullout plan. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is accusing the far right of trying to incite a civil war. Settlement leaders warn that quitting Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank could spark a conflict like that. Polls, however, show most Israelis support the pullout plan.
And in Hong Kong, heavy turnout for today's legislative election. Exit polls show solid returns for pro-democracy candidates. That could give them new clout against the Beijing-dominated leadership. And final results will be posted tomorrow.
It's been a violent Sunday in Iraq. At least 31 people were killed in fierce fighting and bombings too across the country. CNN's Diana Muriel has the latest on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As dawn broke over Baghdad Sunday, parts of the city were burning, mortars raining down on the enclave west of the River Tigris, where the Iraqi interim government is based. No casualties reported, but later, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a checkpoint, killing only himself.
The most intense fighting took place on nearby Haifa Street, nicknamed "Little Fallujah" by its inhabitants. U.S. forces clashed with insurgents, who blew up a Bradley armored personnel carrier with a homemade car bomb. The U.S. military says soldiers came under fire with grenades and Molotov cocktails as they were being evacuated. Four soldiers were injured.
A military spokesman says a helicopter gunship later fired on the Bradley to prevent looters from stripping it of ammunition. But eyewitnesses say a large crowd of civilians had gathered around the vehicle by that time, and the strike was responsible for most of the casualties, 13 dead, 55 wounded, according to Iraq's ministry of health.
Many of the victims brought here to this central Baghdad hospital. Elsewhere, more killings. A senior police officer and a colleague died in a car bomb attack to the west of the city, four others injured in the blast. At Abu Ghraib Prison, coalition forces destroyed a car whose driver tried to ram the gates. They say the car was carrying explosives.
(on camera): With more than 20 dead, and over 60 wounded, in Sunday's attacks, the struggle between insurgents and coalition-backed Iraqi national forces seems to be intensifying. Firefights are a daily occurrence in some parts of the city. Insurgent mortar attacks remain a constant threat. Diana Muriel, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUFFER: Now, to politics. It's been somewhat of a laidback Sunday for the Democratic duo on the campaign trail. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry spent the day in Washington without any special campaign events on his schedule. Vice presidential nominee John Edwards was in his home state of North Carolina earlier. The senator toured areas damaged by, what was, Hurricane Frances, and also promised to fight for federal assistance for families there in need. His next stop Detroit, where he's scheduled to attend a labor fest.
Well, it's getting closer. The two political camps are preparing to face off in the big, critical, and prestigious debates. The presidential debates have been proposed to take place September 30th at the University of Miami, October 8th at Washington University in St. Louis, and October 13th at Arizona State University. But we should warn these dates are not final. The Bush campaign has not yet signed off on them.
And the vice presidential debate has been proposed for October 5th. That would be at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. CNN political analyst Bill Schneider looks at some important debates from the past and what they could teach today's presidential candidates. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Debates are a campaign's restart button. For the first time, voters see the candidates face to face, equal and unscripted, which is why a challenger, particularly one who's running behind, is eager to have debates, lots of debates.
SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D), PRES. CANDIDATE: Let's meet every week from now till the election and talk about the real issues facing Americans.
SCHNEIDER: The challenger gets a chance to close the stature gap with the president or the vice president, and to turn the election into an referendum on the incumbent. In 1960, John F. Kennedy played to concerns that the U.S. was losing its competitive edge against the Soviet Union.
PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY: As our strength and prestige rises, the people wanted to be identified with us.
SCHNEIDER: The 1980 race was very much in doubt when challenger Ronald Reagan went into the one and only debate with President Jimmy Carter a week before election day. Reagan's hard-line image frightened many voters. He used the debate to reassure them that he wasn't dangerous, and to frame the election as a referendum on his opponent.
PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: Are you better off than you were four years ago?
SCHNEIDER: Debates often have revealing moments, like in 1976, when President Gerald Ford prematurely liberated Eastern Europe.
PRESIDENT GERALD FORD: And the United States does not concede that those countries are under the domination of the Soviet Union.
SCHNEIDER: Or in 1988, when Michael Dukakis gave a dispassionate response when asked whether he would favor the death penalty for someone who raped and murdered his wife.
MICHAEL DUKAKIS, FMR. PRES. CANDIDATE: ... I've opposed the death penalty during all of my life. I don't see any evidence that it's a deterrent.
SCHNEIDER: In 1992, the first President Bush was criticized for being out of touch with ordinary Americans, a perception reinforced by the debates, particularly when a voter asked a question about the national debt. The incumbent didn't connect. The challenger did.
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: Tell me how it's affected you again?
SCHNEIDER: In 2000, Al Gore may have won more debating points, but the polls showed that voters had a more favorable opinion of George W. Bush, and that's what counted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUFFER: And joining me now live, senior political analyst Bill Schneider. Bill, you know, I want to get to the numbers if we can right now. The latest Time Magazine poll we have, it was taken last week. It shows President Bush ahead of Kerry by 11 points. So let's talk about Kerry the challenger. What does he have to do in these debates?
SCHNEIDER: Well, he has to do something he did not do at the Democratic Convention. He has to focus this whole campaign on the Bush record. He's got to say President Bush didn't accomplish what he set out to accomplish, the economy has gotten worse, we're mired in a quagmire in Iraq, and above all, he promised to be a uniter, not a divider, and the country is more divided than ever.
That is what he did not do at his convention, which touted his war hero record in Vietnam, but didn't talk about Bush's record. And we're not done talking politics. Tis the season -- we're not done with you quite yet, Bill. Coming up after the break, we will take a look at the gender gap along the campaign trail. Also, it's late night TV, anything goes there. The political puns, the parodies, the play on words... that and more when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
STOUFFER: Well, before the break, we were talking politics. Let's get back to the elections now, and the all-important gender gap. When it comes to voting and politics, do Mars and Venus collide? Well, senior political analyst Bill Schneider joins us again for a look at this. And Bill, I'd like us to put up the latest Time poll on the gender vote. When Time asked women who they planned to choose in this presidential election, Bush has 45, Kerry 44. It's a statistical tie. What does that tell you, Bill?
SCHNEIDER: It tells me that a lot of women are worried about security. You know, you've heard of soccer moms that were big in the last few elections, well, today they're beginning to look more like security moms. That is, they're worried about safety, they're scared about another terrorist attack, and President Bush looks like he's strong and protective.
He looks like the kind of father figure that a lot of women say will protect them and their families. So right now, where Kerry ought to be ahead among women, he can do no better than a tie.
STOUFFER: It's completely different, though, on the men's side. Bush has quite an edge here. Bush has 56 percent of men support Kerry, 34. What do you make of that?
SCHNEIDER: Well, men elected Bush, or at least he did much better among men, and that's the reason that he won the electoral college, and men are still going for Bush. Bush is all about risk taking and competition. He's bold, he's aggressive. Both his tax cut and his war in Iraq were bold, aggressive, risky policies. That scares a lot of women, but men like those kind of policies. Remember, Bush comes out of the world of sports and business, where risk-taking and competition is a way of life, and it's a man's way of life.
STOUFFER: And Bill, when people were asked about what issue is really the most important to them, I thought it was interesting that the top two issues of the voters are those top two issues that the campaigns are pitching as the most important this time around -- terrorism with 26 percent, economy 24 percent, Iraq and moral issues are there at 17 percent, healthcare at 9 percent. Talk us through what's important to look at here.
SCHNEIDER: Well, terrorism and the economy are both increasing in importance, terrorism particularly, since the Republican Convention put such a stress on it. What's interesting there is Iraq is third, and it's declining in importance. Ever since the handover of power in Iraq to the Iraqi government, the new Iraqi government at the end of June, Americans have gotten less and less obsessively concerned with what's happening in Iraq.
Now, we don't know -- this poll was taken before the death toll of Americans tragically hit a thousand in the past week, and we don't know if that will shock Americans into a sudden surge of concern. But all summer long, there's been diminishing concern about the situation in Iraq.
Iraq, people concerned about that vote for Kerry, but terrorism, people vote for Bush. And terrorism, Bush's issue, has displaced Iraq, Kerry's issue.
STOUFFER: And if you're Kerry, you want people to be concerned about the economy as well, isn't that right?
SCHNEIDER: That's right, yes, certainly. And the economy ought to be a bigger issue, and somehow, Kerry has got to figure out a way to get people more focused on the job losses that have occurred, the healthcare problems that are keeping businesses from hiring more workers. He's got to use these last few weeks of the campaign to try to put the economy back front and center, because that's his issue.
STOUFFER: And Bill, if you're the president and his political team right now, are you feeling confident?
Aired September 12, 2004 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LINDA STOUFFER, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LIVE SUNDAY: Milk prices are at an all-time high. So why are dairy farmers in so much trouble?
This college student was in a foreign country at a fancy school, and with no money, and figured out an innovative way to pay for her education, a school loan story with a twist.
And the debate, debates! Who needs to do what during the first presidential debate?
Hi there. Welcome to CNN SUNDAY. Glad you could join us. I'm Linda Stouffer. First we'll have a look at the headlines right now.
It is paradise lost for the Cayman Islands, Hurricane Ivan blew through the British territory causing flooding and knocking down trees. The storm is blamed for at least 41 deaths in the Caribbean. It could hit Cuba as early as tomorrow. Our meteorologists will have more on Ivan's track in just a few minutes.
A protest in Afghanistan turned violent today. Afghan police and soldiers fired on demonstrators who set fire to several United Nations offices in Harat. At least eight people were killed, more than a dozen wounded. The demonstrators were upset about the dismissal of a provincial governor.
Almost half of the three million registered voters took part in legislative elections in Hong Kong. Critics believe the large turnout is an effort to put more pro democracy candidates in office. There are 60 seats in the legislative council. Half are directly elected. The other half is selected by groups that tend to back Beijing.
We want to begin now with the fallout over a massive cloud, it was seen over North Korea. And satellite images show the cloud appeared several days ago. It could be the result of a large explosion or maybe a nuclear test. South Korea doubts its neighbor to the north was testing the nuclear device and so does the U.S.
But it's raising concerns. The cloud was seen in close proximity to North Korea's border with China near the Yongjori Missile Base, and that base is a suspected site for North Korea's uranium enrichment program. Arms experts doubt that North Korea would anger its remaining communist ally with the nuclear test right on its border. But the question is if it wasn't nuclear what caused the cloud? Let's bring in our White House correspondent Dana Bash who joins us live from the White House in D.C. today.
Hi Dana.
DANA BASH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey Linda well that is definitely the question that senior administration officials are also asking. And at this point they don't have the answer yet, but they do say at this point there is no evidence that explosion followed by apparently that kind of smoke was actually caused by any kind of nuclear event, but top officials do concede that there is intelligence that North Korea may be planning some kind of nuclear test, a test to see what capability they do in fact have.
And they say that that is definitely a possible, but they're not sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWEL, SECRETARY OF STATE: The recent intelligence suggests that there is some activity taking place that is inconclusive with respect to what it means, it could be that, it could be they're doing some test preparations or it could be that just maintenance is going on, so it's not conclusive and we continue to examine it and study it on a regular basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now as you just heard Secretary Powell say that U.S. intelligence agencies do constantly monitor Pyongyang's progress on its nuclear front. They do periodically according to a senior official get word that North Korea may actually do a test. But they do concede it's very hard to decipher the information they get. This is a very reclusive regime and it's hard to tell.
But the National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice did warn today in a series of interviews that North Korea would simply be isolating itself if it did actually conduct a nuclear test. But said one motive could be a so-called October surprise. Aimed at affecting U.S. elections, and a senate intelligence chairman agreed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PAT ROBERTS, (R) KANSAS: It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Kim Jong-Il (ph) would think in some deranged way that if he had some kind of a test that that would affect the U.S. election, I don't know if that's the case, but that could be one of the conjecturing that is going on in the intelligence assessment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now at least one expert says that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il may see Senator Kerry as somebody who would be perhaps more flexible. President Bush has taken a hard line saying that they would only resume aid to North Korea if they would verifiably dismantle all its nuclear programs. But again, it's very hard for people to tell even those who have been studying North Korea for quite a long time -- Linda.
STOUFFER: Dana a quick question for you back to the actual cloud that was spotted. I mean it could have been something as innocent as an accident, right?
BASH: That's right, and you know the national security adviser said it could have been a forest fire it could have been an accident. They just don't know. They are investigating, they are looking into it, but they do have some information that indicates that at this point they do not think that it was a nuclear explosion of any kind.
STOUFFER: Dana Bash live at the White House. Thank you Dana.
Well the whole threat of nuclear terrorism is the focus of a CNN special that airs tonight, CNN presents "Nuclear Terror." It is at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and again at 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
Now though the latest on Hurricane Ivan. It's unleashing a trail of destruction through the Caribbean. At least 41 deaths are now attributed to the storm. And Ivan is moving on to new targets. Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is tracking the hurricane for us. She joins us now, its sort of inching to the west in the last few days, hasn't it Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, actually we've been watching it over the last several hours, Linda. And it is tracking a little bit more westerly. So that may bring our whole track a little bit closer to the western tip of Cuba or even at the Yucatan channel here, so that could affect the track of the United States a little more westerly, we're going to show you in a second what the official track is from the 11:00 advisory, and the Hurricane Center is going to give us a new one at 5:00.
And I think that may be shifted a little bit more westerly. Right now it is about 60 miles away from the Cayman Islands and it is pushing in a west-northwesterly motion. It's packing winds around 150 miles per hour. So it has weakened slightly today. Still a category four though and a very strong category four, and it is taking aim towards western Cuba, and again it is a little iffy exactly where it's going to be moving.
There are hurricane warnings in effect for all of western Cuba, including the Isle of Youth, also into the Cayman Islands. Even though it is 60 miles away now. Those hurricane-force winds extend out 90 miles from the center of the storm. So that is a sizable chunk of real estate that those winds extend outwards and there's also a tropical storm watch now which has been issued from the Florida Keys from about the seven mile bridge extending down to the Dry Tortugas (ph), and tropical storm-force winds may be arriving as early as tomorrow night.
All right, here's the latest on the forecast track from the 11:00 advisory. It has it just moving over the western tip of Cuba then into the Gulf of Mexico. It will likely weaken a little bit as it does so, so that's some good news. The forecast has it down to a category three before making landfall. Sometime on Wednesday, and I would say midday on Wednesday. But if we do see this slight turn in the track and bring in a little closer over towards Panama City or maybe even over towards Biloxi, if we see that shift, the time it will be making landfall will be pushed back a little bit. So there's still quite a bit of uncertainty. We're still talking three days away. Now we're trying to look at this with the glass half full here, Linda. This part of the country, part of Florida across central and southern parts of the state of course just plowed by Charley and also Frances. And this is the rainfall surplus for the year. More than 17 inches up in Tampa, 10 inches up in Orlando. If there's one part of the state that could hold in a little more rain, of course we don't want to see it come down that fast.
But it is up in the northwestern parts of Florida. Apalachicola you are down about 13 inches for the year and also over towards Pensacola about five inches below normal for the year. So trying to look at it a little bit more optimistically that it may be shifting a little bit more to the west and weakening a bit before making landfall.
We're bringing you that 5:00 advisory as soon as it comes in. Linda.
STOUFFER: Let me ask you more about that track there Jacqui, you know we've been talking about Florida and Florida watching out for this storm. But if it's moving more west, I mean should places like Louisiana be keeping a close eye on this too?
JERAS: Absolutely everybody who lives from Louisiana all the way down to the Florida Keys needs to pay close attention, and of course, Texas, keep an eye on, it but I'm not real worried about those folks that far west.
STOUFFER: All right Jacqui Jeras, thank you.
People in Cuba are bracing for Ivan, some of the homes there are so old and so fragile, and a thunderstorm might knock them down. Well you can imagine the panic and the dread right now at the prospect of not just a hurricane but also a major hurricane. Our Lucia Newman joins us live by videophone from Havana with the latest on the press.
Hi Lucia.
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (via videophone): Hi Linda. Well you are absolutely right people here are very, very nervous about this hurricane, which if it hits Havana as it's expected to would be the strongest hurricane to hit Cuba in more than 60 years. At least this part of Cuba, which is the most vulnerable because of the shabby construction, the buildings that haven't been repaired, many of them for more than 50 years.
Now the country and the especially western Cuba has been preparing for the last three days for this storm. They've done just about everything they can, but as one Havana resident told me, there is nothing you can really do, nothing can prepare you enough for a hurricane of this magnitude.
A magnitude -- I'm sorry. In the meantime, authorities have already evacuated hundreds of thousands of people in central and even eastern Cuba. And now their beginning to take the people from Havana and Pinar Del Rio (ph) which is to the west of us. Also into shelters and schools and government buildings, anywhere that they can consider they'll be safe from the wind and the rain, the enormous punch that this hurricane is expected to give this country -- Linda.
STOUFFER: Lucia, what about supplies that people in the U.S. would use to prepare for a hurricane like this? How much of an issue is it just to get supplies?
NEWMAN: That's a very good question, unlike in Florida as we've seen where people can go to the hardware store and buy plywood and nails and just about anything they need to try and protect their homes. Here there is nothing like that, they don't even exist. And whatever materials are available are absolutely earmarked for government buildings and hotels, tourist areas.
So people are just roaming around trying to get little pieces of wood. I saw one man today take apart his bed to use the boards from that to help secure his windows. There really is very little that people can do, and what they're most afraid of really more than the storm is the aftermath and how they can recover from it, Linda.
STOUFFER: Lucia, are there any special concerns about the Guantanamo Naval Base, the detainees are there in somewhat open air conditions. What are the concerns about that?
NEWMAN: Well, actually in an ironic twist, the Guantanamo area has turned out to be one of the safest in the storm, initially it was thought that Hurricane Ivan would hit the eastern part of Cuba, but it actually let some rainfall but not much more than that. Someone joked it's probably one of the safest places to be right now is Guantanano -- Linda.
STOUFFER: OK, Lucia Newman reporting to us live from Havana, Cuba.
Well as Jacqui Jeras mentioned Hurricane Ivan did leave quite a mark on Jamaica. When we return the latest look at the devastation there from CNN's Karl Penhaul.
And here in the U.S., the Red Cross is strapped for cash after Hurricanes Charley and then Frances. Can the agency handle a third major storm? I'll talk with the Red Cross spokesman in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
STOUFFER: Welcome back, as Cuba and maybe Florida await Hurricane Ivan's visit. Jamaica has already witnessed its wrath. There it raised the roofs, it washed out roads and claimed at least 16 lives. More now from Karl Penhaul in Kingston.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hurricane Ivan whips up waves and smashes concrete in downtown Kingston. As winds tail off, storm survivors venture out of emergency shelters and pick their way through debris to see what is left of their homes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is like an all-inclusive. (INAUDIBLE)
PENHAUL: Edgar Wallace says he fled in the black of night as the sea lashed at his door. This is what's left of his house in Kingston Shooter's Hill neighborhood, entire rooms have been washed away. In a nearby neighborhood a woman drowned in the tidal surge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is getting worse. We have to leave. We have to leave. When we could leave because it is windy.
PENHAUL: Power lines are down, electricity's out across most of Jamaica; authorities say many highways are blocked by landslides and floods. As soon as weather conditions permit, Prime Minister Patterson has ordered a government recognizant team to fly across the island by helicopter to draw up a full death and injury toll and damage assessment.
PERCIVAL JAMES PATTERSON, JAMAICAN PRIME MINISTER: It is obvious that there is no part of Jamaica, which has been immune.
PENHAUL: He's also ordered a dusk to dawn curfew in Jamaica's main cities and towns to prevent outbreaks of looting. We came across this gang late Friday just as Hurricane Ivan was blowing in. The alleged looters were arrested minutes after engaging police in a gun battle.
PENHAUL (on camera): Down at the ocean side, the power of the waves driven by those incredible winds did the damage. Up here in the hills, just above Kingston the trees torn out by the hurricane have smashed everything in their path.
PENHAUL (voice over): At least one woman is reported to have died in this poor neighborhood. Others like Clarence Francis and his family have been left homeless. He was asleep in a back room when this tree crashed through the front of his wood and tin home.
CLARENCE FRANCIS, KINGSTON CARPENTER: I'm still in a shock, no? Knowing that the tree took -- fall on the house, and we are all inside, we could have died.
PENHAUL: For now the family is sheltering with neighbors, Francis doesn't know when they'll have the materials or the money to begin rebuilding.
Karl Penhaul with the camera of Neil Hallsworth (ph), CNN, Kingston, Jamaica.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUFFER: First it was Charley then Frances; now Ivan is on the move. And Florida is expected to get hit again for the third time in a month. And the storms there strain in the resources of the Red Cross right now. So joining us to talk about that is Peter Teahen a spokesman for the Red Cross he is live in Tampa, Florida. Hi Peter welcome. PETER TEAHEN, SPOKESMAN, RED CROSS: Hi Linda, how are you doing today?
STOUFFER: I'm well. Is the kind of thing you ever thought that the Red Cross would need to prepare for? I mean three hurricanes in one season maybe in one state.
TEAHEN: Well this has been a triple punch month for the Floridians as well as the American Red Cross. We're ready for disasters and we hope to respond to all of them. But this has really taxed our resources in the last few weeks.
STOUFFER: Is the disaster relief expensive. How is that going? How is the cash for the Red Cross right now?
TEAHEN: When we started the operation with Hurricane Charley, we had $850,000 in our disaster relief fund. We anticipate that Charley and Frances will cost the American Red Cross around $63 million, and to date, we have raised only $35 million, and the $63 million does not take into account the cost of doing a response to Hurricane Ivan.
So it's a major financial threat to the Red Cross, but the Red Cross will always be there, we will respond, we'll find creative ways, but we really rely on the donated dollar, people giving to the Red Cross when Americans need them the most.
STOUFFER: And we have the number up on the bottom of the screen. I'm sure a lot of people will be interested in looking at that. Let me ask you though about shelters, because sometimes people just need to stay in a shelter for a day or two, but you have people in Red Cross shelters that have been there for more than a week?
TEAHEN: Absolutely, shelters are a place of safety. They're secure for many; it's the last resort, because they have nowhere else to go. Since the beginning of Hurricane Charley, we've had more than a quarter of a million people in our shelters, we currently still have about 39 shelters open with residents in them, as you say, that have been there for weeks.
It is those shelters will grow in number as we look at evacuating as the government evacuates more people on the onslaught of Ivan, but can Red Cross is providing the housing and providing meals to the people in shelters and people affected in the disaster area. We've done nearly five million meals in the last few weeks.
STOUFFFER: And as you said Ivan hasn't even hit yet. You know I want to ask you about blood supplies, too. Because these storms have come at a time of year where blood supplies are already traditionally low. What is the need right now?
TEAHEN: We're in a critical need for blood supply. As you said summertime is often times the low time of the year for people to donate. Donors throughout Florida are probably tied up in a disaster response. So the blood supply is low, people are urged, no matter where you're at in the United States to donate. American Red Cross will make sure the blood is distributed to where it is needed the most. But give money and give blood at this time.
STOUFFER: And Peter I would imagine that volunteers with the Red Cross are affected by all the stress of having to evacuate and the damage from these storms, too. Have you seen this take a toll on the volunteers themselves?
TEAHEN: Well it has taken a toll. Since the beginning of Charley, we've had over 15,000 Red Cross volunteers from Florida all over the United States, to U.S. territories and Canada have responded here in Florida. Many of them, or myself have been here for four weeks. You come as responders and you're exposed to the elements and the disaster as it develops.
It's the spirit of American Red Cross volunteer that people need us, and that's what drives our volunteers to be there to help families when they need it the most. And it is always a fantastic experience to watch Red Cross people dig into their hearts and come forward in a time of stress and tragedy to be there for the families.
STOUFFER: And I know so many families appreciate what you do. We have just seconds left. Would you like people to go to your Web site to look into perhaps giving or helping?
TEAHEN: Absolutely go to www.Redcross.org to find more about the Red Cross, how they can donate and as you mentioned the 1-800-help- now. And please give to the American Red Cross so we can help the families of these tragedies.
STOUFFER: Peter Teahen a spokesman for the Red Cross. Thanks so much for your time and effort today.
TEAHEN: Thank you Linda.
STOUFFER: Good luck.
Still to come right here on CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Sticker shock in the dairy section. Up next, a look at the rising cost of milk and some problems in the nation's heartland because of it.
Also, forget about loan officers and banks, coming up a bit later, meet a college student who hit the sidewalks of Wall Street in search extra cash. You won't believe what she found there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
STOUFFER: Welcome back. You might have noticed you're paying more for a gallon. Not gasoline, milk! After a long period of low dairy prices, there's been a sharp spike this year, but dairy farmers are complaining, they say the increasing cost at the store is not translating into profits for them. CNN Sean Callebs reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREN SOWER, DAIRY FARMER: Let's go. Get on over. Go on.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Dairy farmers Randy and Karen Sower are the first to admit; it's a tough job.
RANDY SOWER, DAIRY FARMER: I started this farming because I really liked it, and I do love it. Every day now, I do question, why do we do this? Because, you never know one day from the next whether it's going to work out or not.
CALLEBS: In the best of times, the line between profit and loss is razor thin. But the Sower's and other farmers are dealing with wild price swings for dairy products. Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says prices were at a 25 year low. However, by April and May of this year, consumers noticed a big change.
DOLORES MARTIN, SHOPPER: The milk prices has gone up considerably, and especially if you on a low income, it makes it really impossible.
CALLEBS: Prices are pushing $4 a gallon. When dairy prices were low, some farmers sold cattle for beef. That meant fewer cows to produce milk causing somewhat of a short fall, that helped fuel the price spike.
CHRIS GALEN, NAT'LISOVICZ: MILK PRODUCERS FEDERATION: Dairy's not any different than oil or orange juice or a lot of other commodities when it's in tight supply. Prices may shoot up, when there's too much of it, prices drop.
CALLEBS: The USDA tries to help out farmers like the Sower's by setting a minimum price for milk. It's a practice that dates back to the great depression. Designed to help farmers make ends meet when prices scrape rock bottom. If you think dairy farmers line their pockets when prices are elevated, the Sower's say it's not the case.
K. SOWER: It's tighter, it's tougher, and it really is. But I hope we'll going to see our way through this.
CALLEBS: They have started bottling their own milk, cutting out the middle man and giving their bottom line a boost. That's rare, nationwide the milk supply is creeping up, and consumers are paying slightly less. But the Sower's say the farmer's burden continues. For them, the only guarantee remains long days; fluctuating prices and the satisfaction of knowing they're helping feed the nation.
Sean Callebs, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUFFER: Here's a look now at other stories making news across America. The clock is ticking for US Airways to figure out its financial woes. The airline and its pilots' union say they're willing to resume talks but no meetings have been set. US Airways is seeking concessions from its labor groups to avoid filing bankruptcy for a second time.
Arson is suspected in a deadly apartment fire in Columbus, Ohio, eight people including a child were killed in the fire. The fire chief says it's suspicious that the fire burned so quickly in the hallway where there were few flammable materials.
President Bush makes an unexpected visit to the Russian Embassy in Washington. He signed a book of condolences for victims of the deadly school scene in Beslan. He also promised the U.S. will stand by Russia in the fight against terrorism.
Meantime across Russia itself the grieving continues over the school massacre, but as the funerals end, the anger grows. Here's CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): What kind of country are we living in? Somebody tell me, she screams. Six women dressed in black. Women who have lost their children. Women who demand answers. Let President Putin answers us, she says, he said he'd wipe out terrorists in the outhouse.
Well where is that outhouse? Let all mothers rise up, every one of them, no mother will ever be able to sleep peacefully again. Grief over the Beslan school massacre is now turning to fury, much of it directed at political leaders. Angry crowds are demanding the regional government resign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translator): Why are they lying? Why are they saying 335 people died when it's really 600 or 700?
DOUGHERTY (on camera): Beyond the enormous tragedy at this school, there's growing concern both here and in Moscow that this terrorist act could have wider repercussions, potentially reigniting longstanding ethnic tensions with neighboring republics. Russian authorities still have not publicly identified the terrorists who attacked the school. They claim it was an international band, including some fighters from Arab countries. But in Beslan, located in the Republic of North Ossetia, many are already blaming the Ingush, a neighboring people with whom they fought a war over territory 12 years ago.
There are enemies she says, how can they force us to live with our enemies? Half an hour east of Beslan in the Ingush Republic a village filled with Ingush refuges who fled ethnic fighting 12 years ago. Mary Ann Mahenan (ph) says this week she sat watching TV reports of the school hostage massacre and cried.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I feel so sorry for the children. They're innocent. It was never accepted to raise a hand against a woman or child, regardless of their nationality. Now, it's as if the English and Chechens are a nation of bandits. But we aren't.
DOUGHERTY: Her husband, Hasan (ph), is worried.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is going to destabilize things, whip people up, and give them an excuse to once again claim that the English are guilty, and you simply can't live next to them. DOUGHERTY: At the school in Beslan, a father guides his young daughter through the wreckage where her grandmother perished. "Look at this," he says, "look at what these animals did. Remember this." Jill Dougherty, CNN, Beslan, Russia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUFFER: In the news right now, the aftermath of that strange mushroom shaped cloud in North Korea. U.S. and South Korean officials do not believe it was caused by a nuclear explosion. Earlier today, Secretary of State Colin Powell said some sites in North Korea are being watched carefully, but there's no conclusive evidence that the country is moving toward a nuclear test.
Hurricane Ivan set its sights on western Cuba. The storm is pummeling the Cayman Islands right now. Ivan remains a strong category four storm, topped sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. Forecasters say Ivan could still strengthen before hitting Cuba tomorrow. So far, the storm is blamed for at least 41 deaths.
And we'll take a quick look at Ivan's path, coming up. Also, we will talk politics with Bill Schneider. What does George Bush really need to do in the next 51 days? And before the election, the debates. What does John Kerry have to do? Or really, do the debates matter at all this year? And then, we will wrap up late night laughs political style. We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
STOUFFER: In news around the world now, a deadly confrontation in Afghanistan. Protestors stormed UN offices in the western city of Herat, stoned soldiers there, and set buildings on fire. Afghan troops and police opened fire on the protestors, killing at least eight and wounding 15. Now, the violence followed the dismissal of a local warlord as provincial governor.
In Jerusalem, a right wing demonstration -- tens of thousands of people gathered to denounce Israel's Gaza pullout plan. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is accusing the far right of trying to incite a civil war. Settlement leaders warn that quitting Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank could spark a conflict like that. Polls, however, show most Israelis support the pullout plan.
And in Hong Kong, heavy turnout for today's legislative election. Exit polls show solid returns for pro-democracy candidates. That could give them new clout against the Beijing-dominated leadership. And final results will be posted tomorrow.
It's been a violent Sunday in Iraq. At least 31 people were killed in fierce fighting and bombings too across the country. CNN's Diana Muriel has the latest on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As dawn broke over Baghdad Sunday, parts of the city were burning, mortars raining down on the enclave west of the River Tigris, where the Iraqi interim government is based. No casualties reported, but later, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a checkpoint, killing only himself.
The most intense fighting took place on nearby Haifa Street, nicknamed "Little Fallujah" by its inhabitants. U.S. forces clashed with insurgents, who blew up a Bradley armored personnel carrier with a homemade car bomb. The U.S. military says soldiers came under fire with grenades and Molotov cocktails as they were being evacuated. Four soldiers were injured.
A military spokesman says a helicopter gunship later fired on the Bradley to prevent looters from stripping it of ammunition. But eyewitnesses say a large crowd of civilians had gathered around the vehicle by that time, and the strike was responsible for most of the casualties, 13 dead, 55 wounded, according to Iraq's ministry of health.
Many of the victims brought here to this central Baghdad hospital. Elsewhere, more killings. A senior police officer and a colleague died in a car bomb attack to the west of the city, four others injured in the blast. At Abu Ghraib Prison, coalition forces destroyed a car whose driver tried to ram the gates. They say the car was carrying explosives.
(on camera): With more than 20 dead, and over 60 wounded, in Sunday's attacks, the struggle between insurgents and coalition-backed Iraqi national forces seems to be intensifying. Firefights are a daily occurrence in some parts of the city. Insurgent mortar attacks remain a constant threat. Diana Muriel, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUFFER: Now, to politics. It's been somewhat of a laidback Sunday for the Democratic duo on the campaign trail. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry spent the day in Washington without any special campaign events on his schedule. Vice presidential nominee John Edwards was in his home state of North Carolina earlier. The senator toured areas damaged by, what was, Hurricane Frances, and also promised to fight for federal assistance for families there in need. His next stop Detroit, where he's scheduled to attend a labor fest.
Well, it's getting closer. The two political camps are preparing to face off in the big, critical, and prestigious debates. The presidential debates have been proposed to take place September 30th at the University of Miami, October 8th at Washington University in St. Louis, and October 13th at Arizona State University. But we should warn these dates are not final. The Bush campaign has not yet signed off on them.
And the vice presidential debate has been proposed for October 5th. That would be at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. CNN political analyst Bill Schneider looks at some important debates from the past and what they could teach today's presidential candidates. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Debates are a campaign's restart button. For the first time, voters see the candidates face to face, equal and unscripted, which is why a challenger, particularly one who's running behind, is eager to have debates, lots of debates.
SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D), PRES. CANDIDATE: Let's meet every week from now till the election and talk about the real issues facing Americans.
SCHNEIDER: The challenger gets a chance to close the stature gap with the president or the vice president, and to turn the election into an referendum on the incumbent. In 1960, John F. Kennedy played to concerns that the U.S. was losing its competitive edge against the Soviet Union.
PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY: As our strength and prestige rises, the people wanted to be identified with us.
SCHNEIDER: The 1980 race was very much in doubt when challenger Ronald Reagan went into the one and only debate with President Jimmy Carter a week before election day. Reagan's hard-line image frightened many voters. He used the debate to reassure them that he wasn't dangerous, and to frame the election as a referendum on his opponent.
PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: Are you better off than you were four years ago?
SCHNEIDER: Debates often have revealing moments, like in 1976, when President Gerald Ford prematurely liberated Eastern Europe.
PRESIDENT GERALD FORD: And the United States does not concede that those countries are under the domination of the Soviet Union.
SCHNEIDER: Or in 1988, when Michael Dukakis gave a dispassionate response when asked whether he would favor the death penalty for someone who raped and murdered his wife.
MICHAEL DUKAKIS, FMR. PRES. CANDIDATE: ... I've opposed the death penalty during all of my life. I don't see any evidence that it's a deterrent.
SCHNEIDER: In 1992, the first President Bush was criticized for being out of touch with ordinary Americans, a perception reinforced by the debates, particularly when a voter asked a question about the national debt. The incumbent didn't connect. The challenger did.
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: Tell me how it's affected you again?
SCHNEIDER: In 2000, Al Gore may have won more debating points, but the polls showed that voters had a more favorable opinion of George W. Bush, and that's what counted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUFFER: And joining me now live, senior political analyst Bill Schneider. Bill, you know, I want to get to the numbers if we can right now. The latest Time Magazine poll we have, it was taken last week. It shows President Bush ahead of Kerry by 11 points. So let's talk about Kerry the challenger. What does he have to do in these debates?
SCHNEIDER: Well, he has to do something he did not do at the Democratic Convention. He has to focus this whole campaign on the Bush record. He's got to say President Bush didn't accomplish what he set out to accomplish, the economy has gotten worse, we're mired in a quagmire in Iraq, and above all, he promised to be a uniter, not a divider, and the country is more divided than ever.
That is what he did not do at his convention, which touted his war hero record in Vietnam, but didn't talk about Bush's record. And we're not done talking politics. Tis the season -- we're not done with you quite yet, Bill. Coming up after the break, we will take a look at the gender gap along the campaign trail. Also, it's late night TV, anything goes there. The political puns, the parodies, the play on words... that and more when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
STOUFFER: Well, before the break, we were talking politics. Let's get back to the elections now, and the all-important gender gap. When it comes to voting and politics, do Mars and Venus collide? Well, senior political analyst Bill Schneider joins us again for a look at this. And Bill, I'd like us to put up the latest Time poll on the gender vote. When Time asked women who they planned to choose in this presidential election, Bush has 45, Kerry 44. It's a statistical tie. What does that tell you, Bill?
SCHNEIDER: It tells me that a lot of women are worried about security. You know, you've heard of soccer moms that were big in the last few elections, well, today they're beginning to look more like security moms. That is, they're worried about safety, they're scared about another terrorist attack, and President Bush looks like he's strong and protective.
He looks like the kind of father figure that a lot of women say will protect them and their families. So right now, where Kerry ought to be ahead among women, he can do no better than a tie.
STOUFFER: It's completely different, though, on the men's side. Bush has quite an edge here. Bush has 56 percent of men support Kerry, 34. What do you make of that?
SCHNEIDER: Well, men elected Bush, or at least he did much better among men, and that's the reason that he won the electoral college, and men are still going for Bush. Bush is all about risk taking and competition. He's bold, he's aggressive. Both his tax cut and his war in Iraq were bold, aggressive, risky policies. That scares a lot of women, but men like those kind of policies. Remember, Bush comes out of the world of sports and business, where risk-taking and competition is a way of life, and it's a man's way of life.
STOUFFER: And Bill, when people were asked about what issue is really the most important to them, I thought it was interesting that the top two issues of the voters are those top two issues that the campaigns are pitching as the most important this time around -- terrorism with 26 percent, economy 24 percent, Iraq and moral issues are there at 17 percent, healthcare at 9 percent. Talk us through what's important to look at here.
SCHNEIDER: Well, terrorism and the economy are both increasing in importance, terrorism particularly, since the Republican Convention put such a stress on it. What's interesting there is Iraq is third, and it's declining in importance. Ever since the handover of power in Iraq to the Iraqi government, the new Iraqi government at the end of June, Americans have gotten less and less obsessively concerned with what's happening in Iraq.
Now, we don't know -- this poll was taken before the death toll of Americans tragically hit a thousand in the past week, and we don't know if that will shock Americans into a sudden surge of concern. But all summer long, there's been diminishing concern about the situation in Iraq.
Iraq, people concerned about that vote for Kerry, but terrorism, people vote for Bush. And terrorism, Bush's issue, has displaced Iraq, Kerry's issue.
STOUFFER: And if you're Kerry, you want people to be concerned about the economy as well, isn't that right?
SCHNEIDER: That's right, yes, certainly. And the economy ought to be a bigger issue, and somehow, Kerry has got to figure out a way to get people more focused on the job losses that have occurred, the healthcare problems that are keeping businesses from hiring more workers. He's got to use these last few weeks of the campaign to try to put the economy back front and center, because that's his issue.
STOUFFER: And Bill, if you're the president and his political team right now, are you feeling confident?
