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CNN LIVE SUNDAY
Jamaica Cleans Up After Hurricane Ivan; Apartment Fire In Ohio Kills 10; US Airways Files For Chapter 11
Aired September 12, 2004 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LVIE SUNDAY: CNN LIVE SUNDAY straight ahead. But first a quick a look at what is happening now in the news.
Jamaicans begin cleaning up from Hurricane Ivan. Their island was spared a direct hit, but it still suffered major damage and casualties. At least 16 people are reported dead, eight of them drowned when a tidal surge flooded a coastal neighborhood.
In Baghdad Iraqi police officers come under attack again, a car bombed killed two officers and injured four. Throughout Iraq, at least 31 people were killed today including three soldiers from Poland.
And U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell does not believe a strange cloud in North Korea was caused by a nuclear weapons test. A mushroom-shaped cloud appeared Thursday near North Korea's border with China. South Korea's news agency said the cloud was the result of an explosion.
Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Carol Lin this evening. Welcome to CNN SUNDAY. We are tracking Hurricane Ivan this hour. Will the massive storm strike Florida after it tears through the Caribbean? The latest on Ivan's path straight ahead.
Also, a tragic story out of Ohio. Police suspect arson in an overnight apartment fire that killed 10 people. There are also stories of survival. We'll go live to the scene, straight ahead.
But first we begin with the latest on Hurricane Ivan, wreaking havoc across the Caribbean. Forty-one deaths are now linked to the storm. It slammed across the Cayman Islands today causing major flooding and power outages, damage is widespread.
Sixteen deaths are reported in Jamaica, half of those happened during a tidal surge when a wall of water swept through a coastal neighborhood. Eight people drowned. Nadine Newsome is on the telephone from Jamaica from Kingston, particularly. She's with the island's Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management Office. And Nadine is it your expectation that while the death toll right now is reported at 16 that perhaps once the roads are passable, the number may be higher?
NADINE NEWSOME, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS & EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICE (via telephone): Yes that is possible. We are still out of touch with the western section of the island.
WHITFIELD: So right now the biggest challenges for you all besides getting around are what?
NEWSOME: The biggest challenge is communications. We cannot communicate with sections of the island. Many persons we understand are trying to get information to request help, to request assistance and they're unable to get the word into us. However, we are currently doing an aerial reconnaissance, trying to find out the areas, which are worst damaged.
WHITFIELD: And so far, you're able to assess where are the worst damaged places?
NEWSOME: So far, the areas that you mentioned earlier, where eight persons drowned from the tidal surge. That area is inaccessible to vehicular traffic because of the damaged roads, and across the island, that's the situation.
Roads, which are damaged from -- or blocked from flooding, from impassable (INAUDIBLE) from trees, which fell across the road. That is the challenge at this time also, moving from place to place.
WHITFIELD: And knowing that so many buildings there, residences are skimpy, for lack of a better word, was it your concern and other government leaders' concerns that perhaps people were not heeding the warnings, not taking cover or going further inland, or taking to the higher ground, knowing that Ivan was to potentially very dangerous?
NEWSOME: That is the case in many instances. We are concerned that when we sent -- that persons who lived in areas, persons who lived near the sea, were to move into shelters. Many persons did not heed the warnings. But in many situations, persons were really not expecting the hurricane to wreak so much damage.
WHITFIELD: Nadine Newsome, we know you have a huge job ahead of you. Thanks so much for taking the time out. With the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management Office.
NEWSOME: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Well Ivan's projected path is putting it on a collision course near the western end of Cuba tomorrow. The National Hurricane Center says Ivan may regain lost strength and be back to a category 5 status by the time it reaches Cuba. Our Lucia Newman is in Havana with the latest now.
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cubans have been waiting now for this hurricane for more than three days. So just about everything that they can do to prepare for it has been done. They stocked up on food, on water, candles, batteries for their radios, so they can stay tuned to bulletins from the Civil Defense Organization here. The government has already evacuated hundreds of thousands of people from low-lying areas and from fragile homes, particularly here in Havana.
Where many homes often collapse just after a thunderstorm. They have gone to refuges in safety places in schools, in government buildings, sometimes even in churches, anywhere where it is considered to be safe and where the buildings will not collapse. This is a tremendously strong hurricane, the strongest it believes to have hit Cuba in over 60 years. One woman said to me it doesn't matter what you do, you cannot prepare enough for a hurricane like this, and now there's a lot of anxiety, all they can really do is wait.
Lucia Newman, CNN, Havana.
WHITFIELD: And right now it appears residents in the Florida Keys are breathing a sigh of relief. Ivan is expected to bypass them, but those who live on Florida's Panhandle are taking no chances. They're already stocking up on plywood and other storm supplies. Ivan's course could have it striking the Panhandle on Wednesday. The wildly nature of the storm has emergency officials warning residents to stay vigilant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL BROWN, FEMA: They need to help us help them. They need to listen to the evacuation orders. If Governor Bush says to leave a certain area, they should do that. They need to prepare themselves to take care of themselves for maybe one or two days while Ivan makes its progress across the Florida coast. They need to be prepared.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: For the latest on where Ivan is right now, let's bring in our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. She's tracking the storm.
Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, METEOROLOGIST: Well Fredricka Ivan is pulling away from the Cayman Islands. It did weaken a little bit in intensity today but the last three hours it has been rather steady with maximum sustained winds at 150 miles per an hour, and still makes it a very strong category 4 hurricane. You have to the 156 miles an hour to have this be a category 5.
It is moving west-northwest at 10 miles per hour, so it is well away from the Grand Cayman Islands now, but they still are sustaining some heavy rainfall and also some tropical storm force winds across the island. Now the forecast track has it heading towards Cuba at this time, however, whether or not it will make landfall there is still a little bit iffy. It may be staying over open waters.
These are the updated warnings in effect you can see all of western Cuba under a hurricane warning, including the Aisle of Youth (ph). Cayman Islands remain under that hurricane warning; because you're still going to see a few of those wind gusts easily at hurricane strength. Hurricane watch, this is brand-new, just issued for parts of the Yucatan Peninsula, and there still is a tropical storm watch in effect for the Florida Keys. From the Seven Mile Bridge extending south ward down to the Dry Tortuous (ph). So while most of these people your likely not going to be seeing this making landfall, there's still a bit of question as to where exactly Ivan will be going.
But I think the Keys are probably going to be OK here, and you're still going to see some of those strong winds begin to pick up by tomorrow night. But these tropical storm force winds are going to be pushing in, but probably not hurricane-force winds.
All right here is the latest for forecast track. The timing of this has slowed down pretty significantly, because it has taken more of a westerly turn. And the farther west that the hurricane goes, the longer it is going to be taking it to making landfall. The last advisory did have it making landfall east of Appearlash (ph) Cola, and now the guidance has it farther to the west, a little bit closer to Panama City, and this will be later in the day then now on Wednesday.
But anybody who lives across central Louisiana all the way to the Florida coast here still really needs to pay attention, because our steering is still very weak, so the exact track is still somewhat uncertain. The good news is that the intensity forecast is staying the same, that it is expected to weaken as it moving into the Gulf of Mexico, but likely still a category 4. Maybe a category 5 as it moves through the Yucatan Channel -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And Jacqui is it strictly the winds that is making this particular storm so difficult to try to track? It seems like this one is a lot more perplexing than some of the more recent hurricanes.
JERAS: A lot of hurricanes take little wobbles, and that's what we saw today. It took a little wobble, which it brought it a little bit more westerly. We also have an area of high pressure across the northeast, and that tends to bring in winds this way, and so that is going to help to push that a little farther off to the west today as well.
WHITFIELD: All right Jacqui thanks so much.
Well now the fallout over a huge explosion that rocked North Korea and produced a massive cloud on satellite photos. Expressed worry now that it's a telltale sign of a possible nuclear test by the communist nation, but the Bush administration is downplaying those fears today. Here's our White House correspondent Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In an unannounced visit to the Russian Embassy, the president signed a condolence book for hundreds killed by terrorists who seized a school last week.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: The killers once again remind us of the duties we have as free people, to work in concert, to work in unity, to make this world a better place.
BASH: In another dangerous part of the world, North Korea, top Bush advisers said so far there's no evidence a mysterious explosion there was nuclear, but concede there is intelligence Pyongyang may be preparing a nuclear test.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: It could be that. It could be they're doing some test preparations. Or it could be just some maintenance is going on. So it's not conclusive, and we continue to examine it and study it on a regular basis.
BASH: The U.S. does periodically receive reports North Korea wants to test its nuclear capability, but senior officials say the reclusive regime's plans are hard to decipher. The national security adviser suggested Kim Jong-il's motive for any nuclear test could be to affect the U.S. elections.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The North Koreans would only succeed in isolating themselves further if they're trying to gain negotiating leverage or their own October surprises.
BASH: So-called October surprises have been engineered before, timed for the closing days of U.S presidential races.
SEN. PAT ROBERTS, (R) CHAIRMAN, INTELLIGENCE CMTE: It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Kim Jong-il would think in some deranged way that if he had some kind of test that he would affect the U.S. election.
BASH: The motive? Mr. Bush is holding out for verifiable dismantlement. North Korea may think John Kerry would be different.
MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Their immediate call is to hope that Senator Kerry prevails because they think he would be a more flexible negotiating partner.
BASH: In a statement late Sunday, Senator Kerry said, "Because of the Bush North Korea policy" a potential root to a nuclear 9/11 is clearly visible. A Kerry adviser argued attacking Iraq has emboldened Pyongyang.
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: They get the wrong message out of Iraq. You know we invade countries that don't have nuclear weapons, and we don't invade those that do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (on camera): And Senator Kerry accused the president of taking his eye off the ball when it comes to North Korea. The CIA believes that country has about a handful of nuclear weapons already. As for the White House, they say the president still believes diplomacy is the best strategy, although he never takes military options off the table -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right Dana Bash at the White House. Thanks so much.
Well be sure to tune in tonight for the rest of this in-depth look at "Nuclear Terror." CNN presents airs at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific, also check out the special on-line content at CNN.com/presents.
Another bloody day in Baghdad. Still to come, the intense fighting and the death toll.
Plus, 10 dead and 53 homeless. What went wrong this morning at a Columbus apartment building? And they're gearing up for their big debate, so who's helping them prepare. A closer look at the candidates' dream teems.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It's been a violent day in Iraq. Fierce fighting in several bombings left at least 31 people dead across the country. CNN's Diana Muriel has the latest from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As dawn broke over Baghdad on Sunday. Parts of the city were burning. Mortars raining down on the enplade (ph) west of the River Tigress 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 crashed with insurgents and blew up a Bradley armored personnel carrier with a home made car bomb. The U.S. military says soldiers came under fire with grenades of moalital (ph) 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 center 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.
MURIEL (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. Fire fights are a daily occurrence in some parts of the city. Insurgent mortar attacks remain a constant threat.
Diana Muriel, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: In other news around the world now, a deadly confrontation in Afghanistan. Protesters stormed U.N. offices in the western city of Herat, stoned soldiers and set buildings on fire. Afghan troops and police opened fire on the protesters killing at least eight and wounding 15. The violence followed the dismissal of a local warlord as provincial governor.
In Jerusalem, a right-wing demonstrations, 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 Civil War. Settlement leaders warned that quitting Jewish settlements in the Gaza strip and parts of the West Bank could spark such a conflict. Polls however show that most Israelis support the pullout plan.
And in Hong Kong, heavy turn out for today's legislative election. Exit polls show solid returns for pro-democracy candidates. Which could give them new clout against the Beijing dominating leadership. The final results will be posted tomorrow.
Trouble in the skies for U.S. Airways. For the second time in two years the airline struggles to stay afloat. How is financial woos could impact your travel plans.
And a deadly suspicious fire in Ohio. We'll go live to Columbus for the latest on that investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Ten people are dead following an apartment fire in Ohio today. The early-morning fire is now a suspected arson. Patrick Bell is covering the story from our affiliate WBNS, he joins us live from Columbus -- Patrick.
PATRICK BELL, WBNS: And good evening to you Fredricka. Fire crews here say victims really never had a chance. The intense flames just spread too quickly. In all, ten people are dead, many of them children, and at least one victim is still missing. As you mentioned it started just after 2:00 this morning, at the Lincoln Park West Apartments.
That is in the western portion of Columbus. And just eight minutes after the frantic emergency came in firefighters arrived finding an entire building completely engulfed. Flames already burning through the roof. To give you an idea of just how intense this fire was, these flames were, crews say they had a problem with a local fire hydrant. Still they say even if was operable, it wouldn't have mattered. The blaze was simply too severe.
Now we mentioned a little bit about the call as Fredricka investigators are still searching for that cause, though some firefighters, many firefighters here on the scene do believe it is arson. Ohioans are also opening their hearts to the families and victims here. Several charitable organizations collecting money and food and clothing for residents and family members. And to recap for you Fredricka at least ten people are dead following an early morning apartment fire here in Columbus.
WHITFIELD: All right thanks so much, Patrick Bell.
In other news across America in the nation's capitol, police investigate their possible role in the deaths of two children. A fleeing drug suspect ran a red light hitting an 8-year-old girl and her 7-year-old brother. Police say they had already called off their pursuit when the accident happened. And in Victorville, California, flash flooding east of Los Angeles. Muddy water rushed over the highway, trapping cars and backing up traffic. Giant earthmovers were brought in to help clear the roads.
And US Airways is filing for bankruptcy again. Low-cost rivals, soaring fuel prices and a failure to win concessions from labor groups are behind its financial problems. It's the second time in two years that US Airways has filed bankruptcy. The airline employs 28,000 people.
What does this mean if perhaps you're a frequent flier of US Airways? What does this filing of bankruptcy mean? Let's check in with CNN financial correspondent Gerri Willis. And Gerri what does this mean?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Hi Fredricka. Well, I spoke with the company tonight, and they say that US Airways tickets will be honored, dividend miles customers, frequent flier miles will be honored. Remember, this is a Chapter 11 reorganization, the whole idea is to keep the company operating in bankruptcy, so as a practical matter, one of the first things the court will probably do is allow the company to continue paying vendors. Satisfying the claims of customers so they can continue operating.
WHITFIELD: But if this is the second time in two years that airways has filed for bankruptcy, didn't they already have some protections? What was the need of filing once again?
WILLIS: Well, they had emerged from a Chapter 11 in March of 2003, so any protections they had prior would have lapsed once they left bankruptcy protection. So now they're going back into bankruptcy protection so they can continue operating and come up with a plan to satisfy their creditors.
You know, Fredricka, one of the things that's interesting here, a lot of the debt that this company has is actually taxpayer money. After 9/11, the company was lent some $900 million of taxpayer money, they still owe $718 million, so a big question in this reorganization is will Uncle Sam get his money back?
WHITFIELD: Some real problems overall now with many airlines. Lets talk about Delta Airlines earlier last week saying that 7,000 people would be laid off, as well as the closing of their hub in Dallas Ft. Worth. Are we soon getting to the point of streamlining so severely, limitation of airlines that will be afloat out there?
WILLIS: Well it's an interesting question. Because one of the problems that have plagued companies like US Airways, and frankly Delta is the emergent of low-cost options for fliers. For example, Jetblue and others, these new low-cost airlines, they operate in a streamlined fashion, they are offering better pricing so in some ways it's also competition, not just the fallout from 9/11 that's plaguing this industry.
WHITFIELD: All right. Gerri Willis thanks so much for joining us the telephone.
WILLIS: Thank you Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Well still to come on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, the times, places and locations are set for the presidential debates, so who's helping Bush and Kerry to shine during the big showdowns?
Plus no love on Capital Hill today as more vets challenge John Kerry.
And later Bill Clinton and all the other famous hearts that have gone through by pass surgery.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Here is a quick look at what is happening now in the news. If you thought you saved a couple pennies at the gas pump lately. You're right. A New Lindbergh survey found gas prices dropped nearly two cents in the past two weeks. A gallon of self-serve regular is averaging $1.86.
Hurricane Ivan hit the Cayman Islands today. The powerful storm caused flooding and knocked out power on Grand Cayman. The storm is blamed for at least 41 deaths throughout the Caribbean. It is expected to reach Cuba tomorrow.
Some coastal states in the U.S. are also preparing for possible hit from Ivan. And Alabama residents are stocking up on plywood to protect their homes. It was 25 years ago today that Hurricane Fredrick hit Alabama killing five people.
Well let's check in once again with Jacqui Jeras in the Weather Center. And Jacqui, this storm seems to be fluctuating in terms of its strength. What is it now?
JERAS: It is still a category 4 Fredricka. It did weaken earlier this morning, but it's still packing winds around 150 miles an hour, so it's been about status quo for almost six hour now in terms of its intensity. It is heading up to the west-northwest, and it will likely possibly strengthen again. We tend to get these fluctuations and when it's so close to category 5 status, as it is. Don't be surprised if this thing blows up a little bit more and then weakens down a little bit. As it stays over these very warm waters.
But the best news I can tell you is that it's still expected to weaken back down to maybe a category 3 before making landfall across the United States. Here are the big things you need to know. Current winds 150 miles per hour, category 4 hurricane. The track has now shifted slightly off to the west, but the Florida Panhandle is still the likely target, just a little farther to the west in the Florida Panhandle. Tropical storm watch remains in effect for the Florida Keys, and tropical storm force winds could be arriving as early as Monday night.
Here's the latest forecast track. It is still expected to head towards western Cuba. It's a little iffy as to whether or not it is going to be making landfall. If so, it is going to be right on to the western tip, which is great news for Cuba, however not so great news, because if it stays over the open water, this could stay very, very strong and it may not weaken quite as much if we get it back up to a strong category 5.
Moving then through the Gulf of Mexico, it will likely make landfall somewhere still in the extreme western Florida Panhandle, but residents who live in New Orleans, over towards Biloxi, into Mobile, Pensacola, you need to pay very close attention, because we could till see some changes. We're still talking almost 72 hours away before this could likely make landfall.
And also note the farther west this does make landfall, the later in the time period it would be. So now we're looking at maybe Wednesday afternoon, maybe Wednesday evening before it will be making a direct impact. Trying to look at it optimistically Fredricka, parts of central and southern Florida, 17 to 10 inches above normal for rainfall but if you head up to Apalachicola, and there is 13 inches dry, over towards Pensacola about 5.5 down for the year.
So this part of the country could absorb a little bit more rain, so that's some good news, of course anytime you get 8 to 12 inches in a very short period of time of course you're going to have flooding problems. So trying to look at it a bit more optimistically -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right nice try. Thanks a lot Jacqui.
Well President Bush makes an unexpected visit to the Russian Embassy in Washington today. He signed a book of condolences for the victims of the deadly school massacre in Beslan, and he promised that the U.S. will stand by Russia in the fight against terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I talked to Vladimir right after the incident; we had a very good discussion about the need for us to continue to work together. I pledged our government would continue to work with the Russian government and the Russian people. May God bless the people of Russia, and may God bless those who suffer. Thank you all very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Russia says that 335 hostages died in that tragic school massacre. At least half of them were children.
Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate John Edwards and his wife spend this Sunday in his home state of North Carolina. The senator- toured areas affected by Hurricane Frances, and surveyed the damage done by flooding. He met with state officials and promised to fight for federal assistance for families in need.
Edwards later traveled to Detroit, Michigan.
In Washington, D.C., a massive rally. The group called the Vietnam Vets for the truth held a demonstration in front of the U.S. capitol. They're calling it, quote, Kerry lied rally. Participants say it's a peaceful remembrance to honor those who served in Vietnam and to challenge claims made by Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry regarding widespread atrocities and war crimes during that war.
The first presidential debate isn't scheduled to start until the end of the month, but a hotly contested debate over the debates has already begun. And according to the latest "Time" magazine poll taken last week, 52 percent of likely voters choose President Bush for a second term, 41 percent would vote for Kerry, and 3 percent for independence candidate Ralph Nader.
Joining me with details of this big showdown and all the numbers already, CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider. All right good to see you Bill this Sunday.
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICIAL ANALYST: Hi Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Well I would think the Bush camp says we're going to keep doing what we're doing since the poll numbers are very positive. What about for John Kerry's camp? What do they need to do? At least what are the rumblings of what they need to do?
SCHNEIDER: Well, there's a tremendous debate going on, do this, do that, go after Bush personally, go after his record, and there are yet more and more people keep coming on to the Kerry campaign. What he's got to do essentially is go after Bush's record, not his character, I think. But Americans know President Bush and they like him and they trust him.
But his record I think the desire for change is very strong in the country, the view that the economy isn't shaping up as good as people thought it should, the war in Iraq may be a quagmire, and I think there are lots of things on Bush's record that Kerry could go after, but he has to focus his message just as much like a laser beam as Bill Clinton once did. And that is what Bush is doing right now not Kerry.
WHITFIELD: And that is interesting because Former President Bill Clinton is the one who apparently advised John Kerry earlier in the week before he went into surgery saying get away from this 35 years ago Vietnam battle over who served, who didn't etc. focus more on the issues.
SCHNEIDER: That's right. I think the Democrats overemphasized the military record and the Vietnam War at their convention and lost the opportunity, particularly with the controversy over the Swift Boat Veterans' accusations of really gaining control of the agenda.
So now Kerry has the problem that he's focusing on a lot of different issues and a lot of different messages, and he has got to decide on one thing, and the one thing should be Bush's agenda, and Kerry's message for change. That is what this election has got to be about. If Kerry is going to have any chance to win.
WHITFIELD: Now they've both Bush and Kerry have put together some pretty mean-looking teams on the debates, bringing in people like Madeline -- I'm sorry, like Mary Matlin, as well Burton Jordan on you know different sides here as part of the teams to help get these debates together. James Baker on Bush's team as well as Haley Barbour, what does this signify?
SCHNEIDER: Well first of all it signifies in a word experience. All these people, Vernon Jordan, James Baker they know the ways of Washington, they're wiley, they have been around the track, they know how to negotiate these kinds of deals, but you also saw us particularly on Kerry's teams, Vernon Jordan is African-American, he has some women governors on there, like Jennifer Granholm the governor of Michigan. There is an effort to show that this is diverse look. They are not going to lose any initiative, any opportunity to demonstrate in this campaign, neither side, that they are diverse and that they represent America.
You say Mary Matalin, a woman who is on the Bush debate negotiating team. She's experienced, she is knowledgeable but she's also a woman, and that helps.
WHITFIELD: How much does it help the Kerry camp that most recently, today in fact, John Kerry apparently was quoted as saying in a written statement that the only person who has been honest with America is Secretary of State Colin Powell. What's the motivation behind saying something like this, singling somebody out within the Bush administration?
SCHNEIDER: Yes. It's a way of saying, even someone on your team acknowledges that the connections between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda are not there. Nobody's ever established them, and yet at the whole Republican Convention, speaker after speaker, including the president himself, linked Saddam Hussein and Iraq with 9/11 and Al Qaeda. Over and over, the vice president even said he denounced Kerry for saying that he would only go to war if the United States were attacked.
And then Cheney said, Mr. Senator Kerry, we've been attacked. Well, we were attacked, but not by Iraq. So what Kerry is trying to establish is all those statements at the Republican Convention about Saddam Hussein and 9/11 were misleading and we have evidence from someone on the president's own team, Colin Powell, that that is the case.
WHITFIELD: Is there any wonder as to whether the John Kerry camp might be in trouble, given that they are trying to call some attention to, you know, the Bush camp with those kind of, you know, inconsistencies and at the same time in the John Kerry camp there's a real shake-up, a rearrangement of and hiring and letting go of some key players?
SCHNEIDER: Well, whenever there's a shake-up in a campaign, that's never a good sign. That's being taken as a metaphor for John Kerry's irresoluteness, his wavering, and his vacillation. Even President Bush picked up on the theme this week when he linked the shake up of the Kerry campaign to the inconsistency of the Kerry message. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: After saying he would have voted for the war even knowing everything we know today, my opponent woke up this morning with new campaign advisers and yet another new position. Suddenly he's against it again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: There you are, a focused message from the Bush campaign in fact it is the same message they have been putting out for about six months now, flip-flop, wavering, vacillation, inconsistency. The Kerry team has got to find a message and focus on it just as strongly as the Bush team has.
WHITFIELD: And folks thought that it couldn't get any uglier. We've got another month and a half of this. And it's going to get real ugly indeed. Isn't it Bill?
SCHNEIDER: If fear it will.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot Bill.
Well Former President Bill Clinton is said to be resting and recuperating at his Chappaqua home. The 58-year-old Clinton was released from a New York Hospital Friday, just four days after undergoing quadruple by pass surgery. He's not the first famous person's heart to undergo repair but as our Jeanne Moos reports, lots of people are taking the former presidents heart problems to heart.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): One day you're the life of the party, next thing you know, you're on the operating table and doctors are using a plastic heart to describe your clogged arteries. The waiting room consists of the world press, exhibiting some not exactly heart-healthy behavior, while waiting for the former president's arteries to be bypassed, but there's one thought that is hard to bypass.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know that could be us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It does make you stop and think.
MOOS: It's kind of sad, because Clinton had just changed his ways. You know suddenly he was --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you can't change your arteries overnight.
MOOS: Even if your arteries are famous.
DAVID LETTERMAN, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN:" While I was gone I had quintuple bypass surgery on my heart. Plus, I got a haircut.
MOOS: The kind of operation that makes even a funny man chokes up. LETTERMAN: These men and women right here saved my life, and --
MOOS: Even age-defying David Bowie had to undergo balloon angioplasty recently to unclog an artery.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That makes me feel old.
MOOS: And if it can happen to Bowie, why not the terminator himself?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just can't go around killing people.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: Why?
MOOS: Arnold Schwarzenegger did you even know he had a valve replaced?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't know he had a heart.
MOOS: Bill Clinton's well wishers included this flock of roller skating nuns.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We wish him all the best.
MOOS: What kind of nuns are these?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sisters of life.
MOOS: And when the comeback kid comes back to life. He can expect a Letterman-like return.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought you were dead.
LETTERMAN: I'm just happy to be wearing clothing that opens in the front.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And having a sense of humor is the best medicine.
Well from famous hearts to famous fish and mafia sharks, coming up later Will Smith teams up with Robert DeNiro to dominate the big screen, this time in they're in rare form.
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WHITFIELD: The town of Hoboken, New Jersey was particularly hard-hit by 9/11. Fifty-three of its residents died in the terrorist attacks. This weekend, the community dedicated a church bell, a gift from victim's families who wanted to give something back to the community that had done so much to comfort them.
Here's CNN's Denise Belgrave.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They called it simply the group. For three years they've come together at Trinity Church to grieve. Young widows and widowers, parents and friends of the 53 Hoboken residents killed at the World Trade Center on September 11th. Sandy O'Connor, mother of then 2-year-old Reana lost her husband Keith that day.
SANDY O'CONNOR, WIDOW: It was like we lived in a nightmare, and the rest was awake. But with that commonalty you could then begin to take your steps and lean on each other.
BELGRAVE: O'Connor says their grieving process was unlike any other.
O'CONNOR: Particularly as time went on it became harder, because as I would be trying to recover, then I'd see footage on TV and I would be brought right back there.
BELGRAVE: Reverend Robert Griner, a grief counselor, who has been with the group since the beginning explains their unique pain.
REVEREND ROBERT GRINER, GRIEF COUNSELOR: They became sort of grief celebrities. At the same time, there was, you know, like a real strong anger and revulsion about, you know, taking on that kind of identity, and so there was a desire to, um to be with people like themselves who got it.
BELGRAVE: After three years, the group was ready to give something back to a community that had nurtured them through their darkest days. They gave the church a bell. It would fill the empty tower that as far as anybody could remember, had been empty.
GRINER: I saw this space, and it seemed to be kind of an emblem of the space that had been left in each member's heart from the loss of a loved one.
BELGRAVE: The bell tolled for the first time on September 11th in remembrance. Sandy O'Conner hopes one day soon she'll hear it again.
O'CONNOR: You know what I look forward to? Walking by someday running errands or what ever and hearing it ringing for somebody's wedding. I learned that after immense sadness, there still can be a smile and laughter again.
BELGRAVE (on camera): Many of the surviving family members say there is no such thing as moving on or closure. In fact what they hope for is to integrate this experience into their lives. As one of the founders explained it's a lot like a tree growing around the fence. The two eventually become one.
Denise Belgrave, CNN, Hoboken, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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WHITFIELD: The dead ruled the weekend box office. "Resident Evil Apocalypse" about a group of zombie attackers opened at number one bringing in almost $24 million. Overall it's been a slow weekend at the movies. "Cellular" starring Kim Basinger opened in the number two spot with $10 million. It is followed by "Without a Paddle," "Hero," and "Princess Diaries 2." And rounding out the top ten "Anacondas: Hunt for the Blood Orchid," "Vanity Fair," and "Collateral, " "Napoleon Dynamite," and "Paparazzi." And coming soon to a theater near you, a new round of movies for the fall season.
CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas shows us what to expect on the big screen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Conquer your fear, and I promise you will conquer death.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN'S ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hollywood bad boy Colin Farrell has got some big sandals to fill in Oliver Stone's "Alexander" just one of the big budget movies Hollywood hopes will fill the void left by the absentee of "Lord of the Rings."
CHRIS GARDNER, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: It is the first time in the past three years that there is no Peter Jackson this fall with Elijah Wood and this whole gang.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What have you got me into this time?
VARGAS: Jude Law and Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow are out to save the planet in the sci-fi adventures "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow." If romance is more your sport, fall's got plenty of it. Love is in the air for Kirsten Dunce and Paul Bettany in the tennis romance "Wimbledon." J. Lo's back to teach Richard Gere some new moves in "Shall We Dance?" A U.S. remake of a Japanese hit.
For more comedy with a swing, Bernie Mac proves he has got all the right moves as an aging baseball player in "Mr. 3000."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at this. Oh, baby! This is sweet.
GARDNER: Always around this year you can expect the regular fall comedies, but also it is the time of year when the studios deliver their big academy awards hopeful.
VARGAS: Oscar winner Sharles Tharon (ph) is anything but monstrous as an eccentric photographer in the World War II drama "Head in the Clouds." And Jamie Fox is already getting Oscar buzz as he proves he has got the music in him as the legendary Ray Charles in "Ray."
Big Willy's back, only in smaller proportion. Will Smith joins an all-star cast as a fish on a mission in "Shark Tale." And director Robert Demechanic (ph) and Tom Hanks reunite to bring a popular children's book to life. They hope you go for a ride on their "Polar Express." So there won't be any hobbits this fall, but with the variety of films to choose from, studios are hoping that this season's movie experience is a memorable one.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well Hurricane Ivan is already proving to be very memorable. Let's check in with Brad Huffines one more time to see what that storm is doing.
BRAD HUFFINES, METEOROLOGIST: Well Fredricka we are still seeing this hurricane gaining with strong winds, and moving by the Cayman Islands now and of course moving toward western Cuba. And of course here are the straits between the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba. And if the eye of this hurricane travels through that gap in the next 24 to 36 hours, it will likely not lose a lot of strength as it now continues as a very strong hurricane category 4, at times category 5 into the Gulf of Mexico.
I want to show you viper, and this is the way that CNN shows you radar. This is looking at live radar from Key West. And you're still seeing rain showers now starting to enter some of the radar scanning abilities of the United States National Weather Service radars. And you can see some very heavy rains already brushing the southern banks of middle Cuba. And that rain will continue to impact western Cuba, regardless of whether the center of the storm passes over the island itself or not.
Let me once again show you this forecast and the forecast is for the most part only a suggestion as to where this storm could possibly go. The winds now 150 miles an hour, been looking at computer modeling, and the computer models which helps us to forecast where it is going to go, really do differ in opinions, once this storm gets into the Gulf of Mexico.
By 2:00 tomorrow afternoon it should be crossing the western tip of Cuba, likely just off to the west, then through the next 24 to 36 hours, again reminding you that anywhere you see this yellow, that's called the cone of uncertainty. That allows forecasters the ability to widen the forecast possibilities, so really this hurricane could possibly impact the Gulf shores anywhere from western Cuba all the way to Houston, Texas if not further west. This one is worth watching. Another weather update coming up in just about an hour and a half -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right thanks a lot Brad.
That's all the time we have for this hour. Coming up at 7:00 Eastern on "People in the News," the myth and the reality as we examine the life of Osama Bin Laden. At 8:00 Eastern, it is three years after 9/11, has the threat of nuclear terrorism grown worse? CNN presents and investigates this in a special report. Then at 9:00 Eastern, comedy super star Ellen Degeneres joins Larry King for a no holds barred hour on her life and career. And I'll be back at 10:00 Eastern for rap sheet, tonight's discussion, the romance that was a crime, Mary Kay Letourneau (ph) and Vili Fellow (ph) and their plans for marriage. The hour's headlines when we come right back.
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WHITFIELD: Hello again I'm Fredricka Whitfield, "People in the News" starts in a moment. But first a look at what is happening now in the news.
Jamaicans begin cleaning up from Hurricane Ivan, their island was spared a direct hit but it still suffered major damage and casualties. At least 16 people are reported dead, eight of them drowned when a tidal surge flooded a coastal neighborhood.
In Baghdad Iraqi police officers come under attack again. A car bomb killed two officers and injured four throughout Iraq at least 31 people were killed today including three soldiers from Poland.
And U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell does not believe a strange cloud in North Korea was caused by a nuclear weapons test. A mushroom shaped cloud appeared Thursday near North Korea's border with China. South Korea's news agency said the cloud was a result of an explosion.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Now time for "People in the News."
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