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CNN Live At Daybreak

Surviving Ivan; 'Hot Topics'; Effects of TV on Kids

Aired September 17, 2004 - 06:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about damage estimates now from Hurricanes Ivan, Frances and Charley. They're slowly coming in. Fitch Ratings estimates that losses from Hurricane Ivan are expected to hit between $4 and $10 billion. The costs from Hurricane Frances, about $2.5 billion, and from Charley the losses are estimated at near $7 billion.
In case you're wondering, the most expensive storm ever was Hurricane Andrew, which hit south Florida in 1992. That one cost insurers $19 billion.

Now in the news, a suicide car bomb explodes in central Baghdad. It happened about two hours ago near an Iraqi police convoy. Initial reports say the death toll is at least 5 and possibly 20.

A U.S. airstrike in the Iraqi city of Fallujah killed 60 so- called foreign fighters. Coalition officials say the strike hit a terrorist meeting site of insurgents linked to terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Now, there is a person to blame for that deadly attack on that school in southern Russia. You're looking at him -- or you just were. Chechen terrorist leader Samil Basayev has claimed responsibility for that attack and several others recently in Russia.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to take up a U.S.-led draft resolution on Sudan today or tomorrow. It demands the Sudanese government stop the violence in the Darfur region, where tens of thousands of civilians have been killed.

(WEATHER BREAK)

COSTELLO: November 2 is fast approaching, just 46 days to go in the countdown to Election Day. So, let's talk politics.

Two new political polls are telling very different stories about how the presidential race is shaping up. The Gallup poll shows President Bush widening his lead over Senator John Kerry among likely voters. Fifty-five percent favor Bush, 42 percent Kerry.

But a Pew Research Center poll also of likely voters has the race dead even, with 47 percent favoring Bush, 46 percent favoring Kerry. The margin of error for both polls is 3.5 percentage points.

After a morning campaign rally in the nation's capital, President Bush heads to Charlotte, North Carolina, today. He'll attend a meeting with supporters and a fund-raiser for a Republican Senate candidate. He'll end the day in Kennebunkport, Maine, where he'll spend the weekend at his family's vacation home.

Senator Kerry is in New Mexico today. He's holding a town hall meeting in Albuquerque, and then later it's on to a Denver suburb. Aides say he'll focus on health care at a town hall meeting. Kerry spends the night back in Boston.

You know, it's interesting that President Bush will end his day by relaxing at the family compound in Maine. He's made his presence known in that part of the country and seems to be picking up steam. That's our hot button issue this morning, at least one of them.

CNN's John Mercurio is busy working on his online political grind. He joins us live now.

Good morning.

JOHN MERCURIO, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning, Carol. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm fine. We want to talk about New England and a new CNN analysis. Tell us about it.

MERCURIO: Yes, it looks like President Bush is starting to threaten John Kerry's sort of lock on his native New England, not in a major way yet. But an analysis that we've done of all 50 states and the Electoral College shows that Bush may at this point -- or does at this point look as though he could pick off one of Maine's four electoral votes.

Now, Maine is one of two states that actually splits their electoral votes or could split their electoral votes. It looks like Bush might actually be able to carry at this point the second congressional district, which would allow him to get one of their votes.

COSTELLO: Interesting. So...

MERCURIO: And, again, you know, that sounds very technical, but remember one electoral vote in this close election could make the difference.

COSTELLO: Definitely. So, you've figured it out. So, it would be if the election were held today. It would be 290 to 248 electoral votes.

MERCURIO: Right.

COSTELLO: And it sounds like the president is beating up on Kerry. But that's not quite true, because the election isn't going to be held today.

MERCURIO: Exactly. I mean, this is what we like to call a "snapshot." I mean, this is just what we believe, the analysis that we've done in talking to campaign pollsters, strategists, reporters in these sorts of local states. This is where we believe the race stands today. COSTELLO: But just one...

MERCURIO: But it's still very close.

COSTELLO: I mean, let's say Florida changes...

MERCURIO: Exactly right.

COSTELLO: Let's say -- right. Go ahead.

MERCURIO: If the state of Florida switched over, John Kerry would surge into the lead. If Kerry took over in a state as big as Ohio, it would be, you know, a tie, or within a couple of points. So, yes, the race is still very close, and the Electoral College reflects that.

COSTELLO: OK, John, tell us this: We have presented two polls to our viewers this morning. Both show very different results. What's up with that?

MERCURIO: Well, each of the campaigns like different polls. I mean, I've talked Bush campaign people who love the Gallup poll. And the Kerry campaign loves the Pew poll. There is also a Harris interactive poll that we've seen that reflects -- or much more resembles the Pew poll, which shows the race in a dead heat.

I mean, you know, the campaigns each have polls they say that show the race is much closer than the Gallup poll reflects, although the Bush people say that they're slightly in the lead. I think at this point, though, most people seem to believe that Bush has lost a significant amount of that double-digit bounce that he had coming out of his convention. And the next sort of big defining, decisive event is going to be these debates.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, the debates. We can't wait for them. And, of course, there is controversy on that, and that will be in your political grind this morning. You can catch that on CNN.com. John Mercurio, thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

Just ahead, is there a link between overweight kids and too much TV watching? We'll talk to "Parenting" magazine about the emotional and physical effects of TV on children.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Let's check the markets overseas for you this morning. Japan's Nikkei closes up 42 points, but there is worse news in Europe. Britain's FTSE is trading down 6 points. Frances' CAC is down 11 points.

It's time for a little bit more -- it's time for a little business buzz right now. It was the allegation surrounding New Jersey Governor James McGreevey's resignation. Sexual harassment toward men is a growing problem in the workplace. Oh, I didn't think this story was going to be the business buzz, but it certainly is.

Carrie Lee is live with the story from the Nasdaq Marketsite.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: A very interesting trend here, Carol. You'd think with all of the awareness regarding sexual harassment there would be less of it. But it looks like the stats are pointing to more men filing sexual harassment suits, complaining of sexual harassment.

"USA Today" states that statistics show sexual harassment towards men is a growing problem. Not sure if men are becoming less tolerant of it or if there have been more incidences of it. But after New Jersey Governor James McGreevey's resignation, the issue is gaining more attention.

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the percentage of sexual harassment complaints made by men was 9 percent back in 1992. Last year, though, men filed 15 percent of all claims.

And here's an interesting twist, too. Legal experts say there is an increase in those numbers of men complaining about being harassed by other men. So, sexual harassment is a serious allegation any way you slice it, Carol. And this is the latest business news.

COSTELLO: Well, you do have word on the futures, though, for us, don't you?

LEE: Yes. More of our typical type of story. We are seeing futures gain a little bit of ground. So, we could see some buying at the 9:30 open. The University of Michigan is out with an early look at September consumer sentiment, telling us how people are feeling about the economy. That comes 15 minutes into the session, and that could give us some direction as well.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Carrie. Carrie Lee live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:42 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

The U.S. military says about 60 foreign fighters have been killed in an airstrike on a suspected terrorist house in Fallujah. The airstrike destroyed three buildings. Some Iraqis say women and children were among the victims of that strike.

A grand jury report on the Columbine High School massacre indicates authorities in Colorado withheld important documents. Those documents indicate deputies knew one of the killers made death threats and built pipe bombs two years before the shootings.

In money news, oil traders are watching Tropical Storm Jeanne. Concerns over nasty weather in the Gulf of Mexico are affecting prices. U.S. light crude oil prices rose 24 cents today to 44.12 a barrel.

In culture, the Olsen twins are selling French fries in France. Mary-Kate and Ashley are part of McDonald's promotion that gives customers photo albums or denim bags.

In sports, the 35th Ryder Cup tees off today. The Europeans won the last match, but the Americans are hoping to come out strong. They have Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson teaming up in the first pairing.

(WEATHER BREAK)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.

Let's head live to Gulf Shores, Alabama, now to check in with Bill Hemmer to see what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING" and what the situation is there now.

Good morning -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.

We're standing literally on a state route here, State Route 59. About a mile that way you hit the shore of Alabama, the best of the property here in southern Alabama. This is where everybody comes in this state to go vacationing. They can't get there now.

The damage assessment is far from complete because the place has been essentially shut off. A curfew is in effect. The police won't let anybody go.

We will be here live throughout the morning, not only here in Gulf Shores, Alabama, which is where this eye wall came ashore yesterday about this time, but further east, too, in the panhandle of Florida, where we already know there is devastation on a very large scale, too. At least 20 deaths are now blamed in Ivan, Carol. And we'll be looking at that throughout the morning here, our last day here.

Heidi Collins is back in New York as well.

What's coming up from there, Heidi? Good morning to you.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, violence from Ivan, of course, and a different kind of violence, Bill, in Iraq. A suicide bomb hit central Baghdad this morning. We're going to have the very latest on the casualties there with our live reports this morning.

Also, the battle for the White House. Is the presidential race tightening? We're going to look at some new numbers this morning, a couple of polls that show very, very different results. We'll have that and a whole lot more coming up from this side of the fence on "AMERICAN MORNING" -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, good deal, Heidi. We'll see you at the top of the hour.

Carol -- back to you now at the CNN center.

COSTELLO: All right, thanks to you both. Do you monitor what your kids watch on television? Coming up next, "Parenting" magazine takes a look at what your kids are watching and the effect it may be having on their physical and emotional well- being. This is DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I'm sure your kids watch television. And there are a lot of studies out there about how watching television can affect them, but the results of some studies might surprise you.

Sarah Smith with "Parenting" magazine joins us live from New York with some new information.

Good morning, Sarah.

SARAH SMITH, "PARENTING" MAGAZINE: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So what is the new information?

SMITH: Well, the truth is actually that TV doesn't deserve the bad rap that it sometimes gets. I mean, it's a part of our daily life, and parents shouldn't feel so bad always if their kids watch some TV. You know...

COSTELLO: Yes, but what if they watch 12 hours of television per day?

SMITH: Well, that's too much. Twelve hours is definitely too much. Four hours is a little too much, too.

But, you know, there was a study recently in the news that linked television watching with attention deficit disorder. And that concerned a lot of parents, for good reason. You know, but the truth is that that study didn't show whether TV caused the disorder, but did show that the same kids who watch a lot of TV often do have it. So, there needs to be more studies done on that before we really get too concerned.

You know, people also really associate television watching with obesity. But there have been new studies that show that, in fact, kids who are overweight aren't necessarily the same kids who are watching a lot of TV.

So, you know, the lesson here really is moderation, just the same way it is with eating.

COSTELLO: So, it's just very confusing when you hear of studies. I mean, it would make sense that the more a kid is in front of the television sitting there and maybe snacking while he or she is watching...

SMITH: Right.

COSTELLO: ... perhaps that would lead to obesity in children. SMITH: Right, exactly. If your kid is always eating dinner in front of the television or always has snacks, salty snacks, you know, in front of the television, that could be a problem. But what you need to think about is maybe not having snacks in front of it. It's not the TV that necessarily is the problem. It's combining problematic things like that.

COSTELLO: Understand. So, give us good advice. I mean, say your kid wants to watch a lot of -- although you're saying that what? Four hours of television a day is OK?

SMITH: Well, actually four hours is a little too much. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids don't watch more than one to two hours of TV a day. And at "Parenting," we think that's a great recommendation, a good guideline. But, you know, the truth is that that's not always realistic in today's families.

So, parents should use their own judgment and not feel guilty or too worried if their kids sometimes watch a little bit more than that. You have to think about what kind of day it is. If it's a rainy day, you know, it's OK if your kid sits around a little bit more. But if he has a friend over, that's the kind of time that he should probably not be watching TV and playing with his friend.

COSTELLO: Yes, but you know how it is. You just get home from work. You're busy.

SMITH: Oh, yes.

COSTELLO: You want the kid to be occupied. So, you say, yes, just go watch television. I'll be with you in a minute.

SMITH: Oh, definitely. TV is -- you know, it can be a really good tool for parents who need to get things done. What you need to do is think of your child's time as a pie chart. You know, look at all of the things that he does. Does he -- if watching TV takes up more time than the time he spends with you or the time he spends with friends or on homework, then that's when it's a problem. Not just when you say, you know, if you could just watch this video for half an hour, you know, that's OK sometimes.

COSTELLO: All right, Sarah Smith from "Parenting" magazine joining DAYBREAK this morning, thank you.

SMITH: Thank you.

COSTELLO: More on the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in two minutes, but first this is DAYBREAK for a Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.

Ivan is still delivering quite a blow to Georgia. The storm killed three people here, knocked out power and produced tornadoes and floods throughout the state. Reporter Denise Dillon (ph) of CNN affiliate WAGA in Atlanta reports on the damage in Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): With the rain came the floods. In what seemed like no time at all, rivers overflowed their banks, the reddish-brown water creating its own path.

At the Atlanta Hunt Club on training or jumping for the horses. Inside and outside the fence, nothing but water.

By nightfall, the water continued to rise, not just along creeks, but in subdivisions. Andrea Rankin (ph) waded through her cul de sac to talk to us.

(on camera): What about just walking down the road to get to your house?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it's about up to my waist. It's kind of deep. It's kind of yucky and kind of smelly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Many of the homes in this neighborhood got a soaking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The back yard flooded, and we were about 18 inches from it coming inside the house and just a couple of inches from it getting in the garage. So, we rolled up all of our carpets and rugs and so forth, but we got lucky. A lot of neighbors were not as fortunate as we were.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some were luckier than others.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The carpet is already floated up. My furniture, my couches and chairs are soaked.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We moved all of the cars up. We put some furniture up on some blocks in the house and cleaned out some of the antique stuff and let flood insurance carry the rest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: That report from Denise Dillon (ph) from CNN affiliate WAGA.

Boy, power was out for a lot of people here in Georgia. In fact, some of them still are without power this morning.

You know, we're getting a lot of e-mails about our coverage of Hurricane Ivan. Most of it is good. But there is mail like this: "Your viewers aren't fools. We know a hurricane is a big, bad storm. We don't need to see an on-the-spot broadcast at the risk of a man's life."

Well, I can understand that feeling when you see reporters literally blowing in the wind. I say reporters ought to be where the story is. Look, reporters everywhere walk willingly into situations a sane person would not. Correspondents risk their lives every day covering the war in Iraq.

It does look silly to see reporters blowing around, but they do take precautions. When was the last time you heard of a reporter dying while covering a hurricane? Reporters ought to be where the story is. Where else would you want them to be?

So, keep the comments coming into Daybreak@CNN.com, because we're always interested in what our viewers have to say. And sometimes, oftentimes, you (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. And I was talking to Rob Marciano. He's down there doing this hurricane. We were talking the other day. It makes a difference if you can feel what a 70-mile-per- hour wind gust is. It makes a difference on how you report it. It makes a difference on how you feel about it and how you know it's now affecting people.

When it's an 80-mile-an-hour wind gust, you can just blow that off on the wind. But when you felt it, you've seen it and you've seen shingles blow off someone's home, it makes a difference.

COSTELLO: It certainly does.

We should talk a little bit about this big alligator that's on the loose in...

MYERS: Charlie.

COSTELLO: ... yes, Gulf Shores, Alabama. The zoo there, they evacuated some of the animals.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And Charlie is now swimming around out there somewhere. In fact, Gary Tuchman and our CNN crew actually got a glimpse of Charlie. And they called the zoo to come get him, but the zoo officials did not get there in time. So, this huge, giant Chuckie the alligator...

MYERS: Chuckie.

COSTELLO: ... is swimming around out there. And officials are warning people to be very careful and to stay away from Chuckie.

MYERS: Chuckie has a three to six chicken a day habit, and they have not been able to give him his chickens.

COSTELLO: And he's hungry.

MYERS: He's hungry. And so, maybe he's getting Chicken of the Sea now. We're not sure. But Chuckie, come home.

COSTELLO: Yes (UNINTELLIGIBLE) right back to the zoo...

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: ... and get into your quarters.

I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.


Aired September 17, 2004 - 06:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about damage estimates now from Hurricanes Ivan, Frances and Charley. They're slowly coming in. Fitch Ratings estimates that losses from Hurricane Ivan are expected to hit between $4 and $10 billion. The costs from Hurricane Frances, about $2.5 billion, and from Charley the losses are estimated at near $7 billion.
In case you're wondering, the most expensive storm ever was Hurricane Andrew, which hit south Florida in 1992. That one cost insurers $19 billion.

Now in the news, a suicide car bomb explodes in central Baghdad. It happened about two hours ago near an Iraqi police convoy. Initial reports say the death toll is at least 5 and possibly 20.

A U.S. airstrike in the Iraqi city of Fallujah killed 60 so- called foreign fighters. Coalition officials say the strike hit a terrorist meeting site of insurgents linked to terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Now, there is a person to blame for that deadly attack on that school in southern Russia. You're looking at him -- or you just were. Chechen terrorist leader Samil Basayev has claimed responsibility for that attack and several others recently in Russia.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to take up a U.S.-led draft resolution on Sudan today or tomorrow. It demands the Sudanese government stop the violence in the Darfur region, where tens of thousands of civilians have been killed.

(WEATHER BREAK)

COSTELLO: November 2 is fast approaching, just 46 days to go in the countdown to Election Day. So, let's talk politics.

Two new political polls are telling very different stories about how the presidential race is shaping up. The Gallup poll shows President Bush widening his lead over Senator John Kerry among likely voters. Fifty-five percent favor Bush, 42 percent Kerry.

But a Pew Research Center poll also of likely voters has the race dead even, with 47 percent favoring Bush, 46 percent favoring Kerry. The margin of error for both polls is 3.5 percentage points.

After a morning campaign rally in the nation's capital, President Bush heads to Charlotte, North Carolina, today. He'll attend a meeting with supporters and a fund-raiser for a Republican Senate candidate. He'll end the day in Kennebunkport, Maine, where he'll spend the weekend at his family's vacation home.

Senator Kerry is in New Mexico today. He's holding a town hall meeting in Albuquerque, and then later it's on to a Denver suburb. Aides say he'll focus on health care at a town hall meeting. Kerry spends the night back in Boston.

You know, it's interesting that President Bush will end his day by relaxing at the family compound in Maine. He's made his presence known in that part of the country and seems to be picking up steam. That's our hot button issue this morning, at least one of them.

CNN's John Mercurio is busy working on his online political grind. He joins us live now.

Good morning.

JOHN MERCURIO, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning, Carol. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm fine. We want to talk about New England and a new CNN analysis. Tell us about it.

MERCURIO: Yes, it looks like President Bush is starting to threaten John Kerry's sort of lock on his native New England, not in a major way yet. But an analysis that we've done of all 50 states and the Electoral College shows that Bush may at this point -- or does at this point look as though he could pick off one of Maine's four electoral votes.

Now, Maine is one of two states that actually splits their electoral votes or could split their electoral votes. It looks like Bush might actually be able to carry at this point the second congressional district, which would allow him to get one of their votes.

COSTELLO: Interesting. So...

MERCURIO: And, again, you know, that sounds very technical, but remember one electoral vote in this close election could make the difference.

COSTELLO: Definitely. So, you've figured it out. So, it would be if the election were held today. It would be 290 to 248 electoral votes.

MERCURIO: Right.

COSTELLO: And it sounds like the president is beating up on Kerry. But that's not quite true, because the election isn't going to be held today.

MERCURIO: Exactly. I mean, this is what we like to call a "snapshot." I mean, this is just what we believe, the analysis that we've done in talking to campaign pollsters, strategists, reporters in these sorts of local states. This is where we believe the race stands today. COSTELLO: But just one...

MERCURIO: But it's still very close.

COSTELLO: I mean, let's say Florida changes...

MERCURIO: Exactly right.

COSTELLO: Let's say -- right. Go ahead.

MERCURIO: If the state of Florida switched over, John Kerry would surge into the lead. If Kerry took over in a state as big as Ohio, it would be, you know, a tie, or within a couple of points. So, yes, the race is still very close, and the Electoral College reflects that.

COSTELLO: OK, John, tell us this: We have presented two polls to our viewers this morning. Both show very different results. What's up with that?

MERCURIO: Well, each of the campaigns like different polls. I mean, I've talked Bush campaign people who love the Gallup poll. And the Kerry campaign loves the Pew poll. There is also a Harris interactive poll that we've seen that reflects -- or much more resembles the Pew poll, which shows the race in a dead heat.

I mean, you know, the campaigns each have polls they say that show the race is much closer than the Gallup poll reflects, although the Bush people say that they're slightly in the lead. I think at this point, though, most people seem to believe that Bush has lost a significant amount of that double-digit bounce that he had coming out of his convention. And the next sort of big defining, decisive event is going to be these debates.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, the debates. We can't wait for them. And, of course, there is controversy on that, and that will be in your political grind this morning. You can catch that on CNN.com. John Mercurio, thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

Just ahead, is there a link between overweight kids and too much TV watching? We'll talk to "Parenting" magazine about the emotional and physical effects of TV on children.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Let's check the markets overseas for you this morning. Japan's Nikkei closes up 42 points, but there is worse news in Europe. Britain's FTSE is trading down 6 points. Frances' CAC is down 11 points.

It's time for a little bit more -- it's time for a little business buzz right now. It was the allegation surrounding New Jersey Governor James McGreevey's resignation. Sexual harassment toward men is a growing problem in the workplace. Oh, I didn't think this story was going to be the business buzz, but it certainly is.

Carrie Lee is live with the story from the Nasdaq Marketsite.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: A very interesting trend here, Carol. You'd think with all of the awareness regarding sexual harassment there would be less of it. But it looks like the stats are pointing to more men filing sexual harassment suits, complaining of sexual harassment.

"USA Today" states that statistics show sexual harassment towards men is a growing problem. Not sure if men are becoming less tolerant of it or if there have been more incidences of it. But after New Jersey Governor James McGreevey's resignation, the issue is gaining more attention.

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the percentage of sexual harassment complaints made by men was 9 percent back in 1992. Last year, though, men filed 15 percent of all claims.

And here's an interesting twist, too. Legal experts say there is an increase in those numbers of men complaining about being harassed by other men. So, sexual harassment is a serious allegation any way you slice it, Carol. And this is the latest business news.

COSTELLO: Well, you do have word on the futures, though, for us, don't you?

LEE: Yes. More of our typical type of story. We are seeing futures gain a little bit of ground. So, we could see some buying at the 9:30 open. The University of Michigan is out with an early look at September consumer sentiment, telling us how people are feeling about the economy. That comes 15 minutes into the session, and that could give us some direction as well.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Carrie. Carrie Lee live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:42 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

The U.S. military says about 60 foreign fighters have been killed in an airstrike on a suspected terrorist house in Fallujah. The airstrike destroyed three buildings. Some Iraqis say women and children were among the victims of that strike.

A grand jury report on the Columbine High School massacre indicates authorities in Colorado withheld important documents. Those documents indicate deputies knew one of the killers made death threats and built pipe bombs two years before the shootings.

In money news, oil traders are watching Tropical Storm Jeanne. Concerns over nasty weather in the Gulf of Mexico are affecting prices. U.S. light crude oil prices rose 24 cents today to 44.12 a barrel.

In culture, the Olsen twins are selling French fries in France. Mary-Kate and Ashley are part of McDonald's promotion that gives customers photo albums or denim bags.

In sports, the 35th Ryder Cup tees off today. The Europeans won the last match, but the Americans are hoping to come out strong. They have Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson teaming up in the first pairing.

(WEATHER BREAK)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.

Let's head live to Gulf Shores, Alabama, now to check in with Bill Hemmer to see what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING" and what the situation is there now.

Good morning -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.

We're standing literally on a state route here, State Route 59. About a mile that way you hit the shore of Alabama, the best of the property here in southern Alabama. This is where everybody comes in this state to go vacationing. They can't get there now.

The damage assessment is far from complete because the place has been essentially shut off. A curfew is in effect. The police won't let anybody go.

We will be here live throughout the morning, not only here in Gulf Shores, Alabama, which is where this eye wall came ashore yesterday about this time, but further east, too, in the panhandle of Florida, where we already know there is devastation on a very large scale, too. At least 20 deaths are now blamed in Ivan, Carol. And we'll be looking at that throughout the morning here, our last day here.

Heidi Collins is back in New York as well.

What's coming up from there, Heidi? Good morning to you.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, violence from Ivan, of course, and a different kind of violence, Bill, in Iraq. A suicide bomb hit central Baghdad this morning. We're going to have the very latest on the casualties there with our live reports this morning.

Also, the battle for the White House. Is the presidential race tightening? We're going to look at some new numbers this morning, a couple of polls that show very, very different results. We'll have that and a whole lot more coming up from this side of the fence on "AMERICAN MORNING" -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, good deal, Heidi. We'll see you at the top of the hour.

Carol -- back to you now at the CNN center.

COSTELLO: All right, thanks to you both. Do you monitor what your kids watch on television? Coming up next, "Parenting" magazine takes a look at what your kids are watching and the effect it may be having on their physical and emotional well- being. This is DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I'm sure your kids watch television. And there are a lot of studies out there about how watching television can affect them, but the results of some studies might surprise you.

Sarah Smith with "Parenting" magazine joins us live from New York with some new information.

Good morning, Sarah.

SARAH SMITH, "PARENTING" MAGAZINE: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So what is the new information?

SMITH: Well, the truth is actually that TV doesn't deserve the bad rap that it sometimes gets. I mean, it's a part of our daily life, and parents shouldn't feel so bad always if their kids watch some TV. You know...

COSTELLO: Yes, but what if they watch 12 hours of television per day?

SMITH: Well, that's too much. Twelve hours is definitely too much. Four hours is a little too much, too.

But, you know, there was a study recently in the news that linked television watching with attention deficit disorder. And that concerned a lot of parents, for good reason. You know, but the truth is that that study didn't show whether TV caused the disorder, but did show that the same kids who watch a lot of TV often do have it. So, there needs to be more studies done on that before we really get too concerned.

You know, people also really associate television watching with obesity. But there have been new studies that show that, in fact, kids who are overweight aren't necessarily the same kids who are watching a lot of TV.

So, you know, the lesson here really is moderation, just the same way it is with eating.

COSTELLO: So, it's just very confusing when you hear of studies. I mean, it would make sense that the more a kid is in front of the television sitting there and maybe snacking while he or she is watching...

SMITH: Right.

COSTELLO: ... perhaps that would lead to obesity in children. SMITH: Right, exactly. If your kid is always eating dinner in front of the television or always has snacks, salty snacks, you know, in front of the television, that could be a problem. But what you need to think about is maybe not having snacks in front of it. It's not the TV that necessarily is the problem. It's combining problematic things like that.

COSTELLO: Understand. So, give us good advice. I mean, say your kid wants to watch a lot of -- although you're saying that what? Four hours of television a day is OK?

SMITH: Well, actually four hours is a little too much. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids don't watch more than one to two hours of TV a day. And at "Parenting," we think that's a great recommendation, a good guideline. But, you know, the truth is that that's not always realistic in today's families.

So, parents should use their own judgment and not feel guilty or too worried if their kids sometimes watch a little bit more than that. You have to think about what kind of day it is. If it's a rainy day, you know, it's OK if your kid sits around a little bit more. But if he has a friend over, that's the kind of time that he should probably not be watching TV and playing with his friend.

COSTELLO: Yes, but you know how it is. You just get home from work. You're busy.

SMITH: Oh, yes.

COSTELLO: You want the kid to be occupied. So, you say, yes, just go watch television. I'll be with you in a minute.

SMITH: Oh, definitely. TV is -- you know, it can be a really good tool for parents who need to get things done. What you need to do is think of your child's time as a pie chart. You know, look at all of the things that he does. Does he -- if watching TV takes up more time than the time he spends with you or the time he spends with friends or on homework, then that's when it's a problem. Not just when you say, you know, if you could just watch this video for half an hour, you know, that's OK sometimes.

COSTELLO: All right, Sarah Smith from "Parenting" magazine joining DAYBREAK this morning, thank you.

SMITH: Thank you.

COSTELLO: More on the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in two minutes, but first this is DAYBREAK for a Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.

Ivan is still delivering quite a blow to Georgia. The storm killed three people here, knocked out power and produced tornadoes and floods throughout the state. Reporter Denise Dillon (ph) of CNN affiliate WAGA in Atlanta reports on the damage in Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): With the rain came the floods. In what seemed like no time at all, rivers overflowed their banks, the reddish-brown water creating its own path.

At the Atlanta Hunt Club on training or jumping for the horses. Inside and outside the fence, nothing but water.

By nightfall, the water continued to rise, not just along creeks, but in subdivisions. Andrea Rankin (ph) waded through her cul de sac to talk to us.

(on camera): What about just walking down the road to get to your house?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it's about up to my waist. It's kind of deep. It's kind of yucky and kind of smelly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Many of the homes in this neighborhood got a soaking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The back yard flooded, and we were about 18 inches from it coming inside the house and just a couple of inches from it getting in the garage. So, we rolled up all of our carpets and rugs and so forth, but we got lucky. A lot of neighbors were not as fortunate as we were.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some were luckier than others.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The carpet is already floated up. My furniture, my couches and chairs are soaked.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We moved all of the cars up. We put some furniture up on some blocks in the house and cleaned out some of the antique stuff and let flood insurance carry the rest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: That report from Denise Dillon (ph) from CNN affiliate WAGA.

Boy, power was out for a lot of people here in Georgia. In fact, some of them still are without power this morning.

You know, we're getting a lot of e-mails about our coverage of Hurricane Ivan. Most of it is good. But there is mail like this: "Your viewers aren't fools. We know a hurricane is a big, bad storm. We don't need to see an on-the-spot broadcast at the risk of a man's life."

Well, I can understand that feeling when you see reporters literally blowing in the wind. I say reporters ought to be where the story is. Look, reporters everywhere walk willingly into situations a sane person would not. Correspondents risk their lives every day covering the war in Iraq.

It does look silly to see reporters blowing around, but they do take precautions. When was the last time you heard of a reporter dying while covering a hurricane? Reporters ought to be where the story is. Where else would you want them to be?

So, keep the comments coming into Daybreak@CNN.com, because we're always interested in what our viewers have to say. And sometimes, oftentimes, you (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. And I was talking to Rob Marciano. He's down there doing this hurricane. We were talking the other day. It makes a difference if you can feel what a 70-mile-per- hour wind gust is. It makes a difference on how you report it. It makes a difference on how you feel about it and how you know it's now affecting people.

When it's an 80-mile-an-hour wind gust, you can just blow that off on the wind. But when you felt it, you've seen it and you've seen shingles blow off someone's home, it makes a difference.

COSTELLO: It certainly does.

We should talk a little bit about this big alligator that's on the loose in...

MYERS: Charlie.

COSTELLO: ... yes, Gulf Shores, Alabama. The zoo there, they evacuated some of the animals.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And Charlie is now swimming around out there somewhere. In fact, Gary Tuchman and our CNN crew actually got a glimpse of Charlie. And they called the zoo to come get him, but the zoo officials did not get there in time. So, this huge, giant Chuckie the alligator...

MYERS: Chuckie.

COSTELLO: ... is swimming around out there. And officials are warning people to be very careful and to stay away from Chuckie.

MYERS: Chuckie has a three to six chicken a day habit, and they have not been able to give him his chickens.

COSTELLO: And he's hungry.

MYERS: He's hungry. And so, maybe he's getting Chicken of the Sea now. We're not sure. But Chuckie, come home.

COSTELLO: Yes (UNINTELLIGIBLE) right back to the zoo...

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: ... and get into your quarters.

I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

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