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CNN Live At Daybreak
Preparations for Jeanne in Florida; Florida Supreme Court Decision About Right to Die
Aired September 24, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Empty shelves and boarded up homes -- this is definitely getting old for the people in Florida.
It is Friday, September 24.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, word overnight of another kidnapping at this office building in Baghdad. Two Egyptian engineers are being held by kidnappers who burst in after tying up guards.
We'll get a new CIA director just about three hours from now. President Bush will swear in Florida Congressman Porter Goss. The Senate approved Goss for the post earlier this week.
Later today, the president makes campaign appearances in Wisconsin before flying to his ranch in Texas. He'll spend the weekend studying for Thursday's first presidential debate with Senator John Kerry.
And Senator Kerry is on the road, as well, in Philadelphia. He has a 12:00 Eastern rally at the University of Pennsylvania and then Kerry returns to Boston.
To the forecast center now and Chad with a look at Jeanne.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Jeanne, yes. Actually, still moving west now, Carol, exactly due west. Here it is way out here. Here's obviously Florida, the Bahamas. Hurricane warnings are issued now for the northern Bahamas. There is the eye of the storm. It got a little ragged overnight and I think probably it's lost a little bit of intensity but now is in the daylight hours and maybe now as we're getting into some warmer water here, we could regain some energy.
Here is the official forecast track. Here's the storm right now. Here it is late tonight and here it is Sunday or late Saturday night, if you will, after midnight.
And official landfall right now, at least with the line -- remember, we always say don't pay attention to the line -- but the line is over about Cape Canaveral. Here's why we say don't pay attention to the line. We've used this Web site before, rightweather.com. It's a pay site. If you want to get on it, you can do it, but you have to give them a credit card.
Here are the lines. We talk about these models, these hurricane models, about a dozen of them out there. So you say why is the Hurricane Center, why can't they make a better, more definitive forecast? Look where all these lines go -- some down here around Fort Pierce, a couple over Melbourne, a couple out in the ocean, making a big right hand turn and missing Florida altogether. So you've kind of got to add them all up, divide them by 15 or however many models there are and kind of try to find out what's going on.
So it isn't a perfect science, as we call it. A little like medicine. This is not an exact science yet. We're still working on that part.
COSTELLO: We understand.
Thank you, Chad.
But if Jeanne does follow the expected path, then it'll be another blow to Florida's East Coast. People there are still cleaning up from Charley and from Frances and now they have to board up all over again.
We get more from Sally Schulze of CNN affiliate WESH in Daytona Beach, Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SALLY SCHULZE, WESH CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The plywood goes back up at Main Street Laundry.
TONYA GALVEAN, FLORIDA RESIDENT: I'm just tired of it. I want to live here in Florida but yet I don't want to do this every time you turn around.
SCHULZE: Sandbags are once again ready and that all too familiar drill is underway. The hunt for plywood, Floyd Graham is adding more.
FLOYD GRAHAM, FLORIDA RESIDENT: It seems like there's a little demon running around here in these weather patterns.
SCHULZE: While Mike Cloutier scrambles to fix hurricane damage he already has.
MIKE CLOUTIER, STILL CLEANING UP FROM FRANCES: I tried doing repairs and then you think you have plenty of time to fix it then all of a sudden here comes another one.
SCHULZE: At Stavros Pizza, waitress Jeannie Walbert (ph) sums up how many are feeling.
JEANNIE WALBERT: Terrified. SCHULZE: Frances closed this place for two weeks and did major damage to nearby businesses. Throughout the area, you see reminders of both Frances and Charley and find people stunned to think it could happen again.
PATRICIA DIAZ, PREPARING FOR HURRICANE: I've been here for 28 years and I'm to the point where I want to leave the State of Florida.
SCHULZE: Here, they watch the weather, wondering how they'll ever survive another one.
WALBERT: It's going to be rough.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: That was Sally Schulze of CNN affiliate WESH. Dozens of hotels along the Atlantic coast of Florida still haven't opened up again after Frances blew through. The loss in tourism dollars alone could reach into the tens of billions of dollars.
And let's not forget that never say die storm Ivan. After pounding the Southeast and then looping into the Atlantic and back into the Gulf of Mexico, it's now bringing torrential rains along the Texas-Louisiana border. Ivan could dump as much as 10 inches of rain in that region.
There's plenty more hurricane news and updates available on our Web site. Our special hurricane section looks at the hurricanes of this year, as well as the most powerful storms of all time. Just log on to cnn.com.
Let's talk legal matters now. The lead detective in the Scott Peterson case says he considered Amber Frey and even Laci's family as suspects before arresting Scott Peterson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM HOME VIDEO)
COSTELLO: That's Laci Peterson. In court, prosecutors showed this home video of her. They also showed video of a nursery that was being prepared for her unborn child. Analysts say the videos were meant to make Laci seem more like a real person and not just a name.
In Utah, Mark Hacking has waived his right to a preliminary hearing. That means a trial date could be set by the end of next month. He's charged with murdering his wife Lori after she learned he lied to her about being enrolled in medical school. Her body still hasn't been found. Hacking told a local TV station that he's going to write a tell all book about the case and plans to use the money for a scholarship fund in his wife's name.
The Florida Supreme Court has struck down a law that kept severely brain damaged Terri Schiavo on feeding tubes. That clears the way for Schiavo's husband to pull the plug. But the woman's parents are not giving up yet.
Reporter Tracey Silverston (ph) -- we have reporter John Zarrella now? He has this report for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the past 14 years, Bob and Mary Schindler have been fighting to keep their daughter Terri alive on life support. They have always believed their daughter, who was 26 years old when her heart failed, could be rehabilitated.
MARY SCHINDLER, TERRI'S MOTHER: I have always thought there was hope. When I go in there, you know, and she responds to me, she knows I'm there.
ZARRELLA: But court decisions have almost always gone against the Schindlers. This time, Florida's Supreme Court ruled that the law allowing Terri Schiavo to be kept alive by a feeding tube is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers.
Last year, a Florida circuit court ruled there was no evidence that therapy would lead to any form of recovery. That cleared the way for Schiavo's husband Michael to have her removed from the feeding tube.
MICHAEL SCHIAVO, TERRI'S HUSBAND: She didn't want to be kept alive on anything artificial. She didn't want any tubes. She didn't want to be a burden to people.
ZARRELLA: Within days, the Florida legislature passed a bill that gave Governor Jeb Bush the power to trump the court and order Terri's feeding tube reinserted, which he did. The Florida high court's ruling is not what the governor hoped to hear.
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: In my heart, I believe we did what was right. But I'm respectful of the Supreme Court's decision.
ZARRELLA: The ACLU applauded the ruling.
LARRY SPALDING, ACLU SPOKESMAN: It was a powerful statement affirming judicial independence.
ZARRELLA: The governor has not decided whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: Time for some Coffey Talk now.
Live to Miami and our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey -- good morning, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: So help us understand what the court ruled. The law violated the principle of separation of powers. Translate that for us.
COFFEY: A unanimous decision and noteworthy for the fact that it included two justices who were appointed by Governor Bush. But separation of powers is considered one of the most basic elements of our democracy. Judges can't tell the president how to conduct the war in Iraq or legislators whether to raise or lower taxes. And the legislature and governor, members of the executive or legislative branch, cannot tell a court how to decide the individual rights of an individual person or persons in a case.
You couldn't have a legislator, for example, overruling the decision in a child custody case or deciding, for example, who is supposed to prevail in an insurance dispute in the courts or take away a prison sentence that, if the legislature thinks that somebody shouldn't have been convicted.
COSTELLO: Oh, that helps a lot.
COFFEY: It's one of the most basic things in our system, Carol.
COSTELLO: That helps us understand a lot more.
Thank you, Kendall.
It sounds cold, but when can Terri Schiavo's husband act?
COFFEY: Not yet. The Supreme Court of Florida has set 10 days to file a motion for a rehearing, which we'll undoubtedly have; five days for a response. It's still some weeks until the case becomes final and I think it's likely that somebody's going to try to keep going with the legal process. I don't believe the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to intervene, but there's other litigation pending.
This case is getting close to the final chapter, but it's not quite there yet.
COSTELLO: I know, because Terri's family is still fighting. In fact, they want to act on a Pope Proclamation, saying if Schiavo's feeding tube is removed, it would violate their religion.
COFFEY: And that signals probably, since it's raising the religious issue, first amendment, civil rights, perhaps another run into court, this time maybe federal court. But given the unanimity of the decision, and, frankly, while it was a dramatic ruling, Carol, because it's literally life and death, I think virtually every legal analyst in Florida expected this outcome.
And so I think that legally there is really no place for the family -- for the parents to go at this point.
COSTELLO: Kendall Coffey live in Miami, joining DAYBREAK this morning.
Thank you.
Still to come, so the Congress extended the tax cuts. What does that really mean for you? We're talking about that in our business buzz.
And some other hot topics this morning in the political world. Cheney cuts down Kerry. And wait until you hear what John Edwards said about President Bush.
Plus, anticipating the flu season. Not everyone should line up for those shots just yet.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Time for a little business buzz now.
Congress votes to extend tax relief for the middle class.
Carrie Lee has exactly what that means to you.
She's live at the Nasdaq market site this morning -- good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
Thank you.
Congress overwhelming approving $146 billion worth of middle class and business tax cuts last night, giving President Bush a big victory 40 days before the election. Bush is expected to sign the cuts into law within a few days.
Here are the highlights. The extensions, number one, the child tax credit. The bill prevents the $1,000 credit from dropping to $700 at the end of this year. Number two, the marriage penalty fix. It extends the relief that prevents some married couples from having to pay more taxes than they would if they were single. And number three, the lowest tax bracket. The bill maintains that 10 percent marginal tax rate, thus lowering bills for almost all taxpayers.
So good news for folks who fall into these categories. The measure, by the way, Carol, affects about 94 million people -- back to you.
COSTELLO: A quick look at the futures before you go, Carrie.
LEE: Things looking pretty flat this morning. You know, the Dow is seeing three days of selling. We're down about 245 points there on the week. Techs looking especially weak this morning.
Lockheed Martin one stock to watch. The defense giant upping its dividend 14 percent, to $0.25 a share from $0.22.
That's the latest.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Carrie.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 6:14 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Two Egyptian engineers were abducted during the night in Baghdad. Iraqi officials say the armed kidnappers tied up the guards first. The two hostages work for an Egyptian telecommunications company.
The two survivors of that Montana plane crash that killed three people are in good spirits today. One of them told doctors that they waited in the wreckage for a day and a half before trying to walk down the mountain.
In money news, the nation's emergency oil reserve is being tapped because of Ivan. The hurricane caused supply disruptions that have raised prices at the gas pump. It's the first time in two years that the strategic reserve has been used.
In culture, "Seinfeld" is coming back to TV, not in reruns, but only for one show. A special Thanksgiving Day retrospective is planned to coincide with the release of the series on DVD.
In sports, number four ranked Miami had little trouble getting past the University of Houston. The Hurricanes ran their record to 3- 0 for the year, but the defense did allow its first touchdown of the season.
Now for talk about another kind of hurricane -- Chad.
MYERS: Oh, my goodness, yes, exactly. Like they almost need to change their name after this season, huh, hurricane season, that is?
Temperatures across the Midwest very mild. We have rain showers across parts of the upstate into -- oh, all the way down into Mississippi and in Alabama, with parts of Ivan.
But this is Jeanne. This storm right here obviously still spinning around in the overnight hours, making its way toward the Florida peninsula. It will make a hard right hand turn. Notice our winds are 100. But as it gets toward Florida, it will actually make a huge right hand turn. And if the right hand turn is early enough, it could miss Florida altogether. If it's too late, then obviously it strikes right there around Cape Canaveral and then runs up the coast.
There's Ivan, the L there across parts of Texas making rain showers this afternoon.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
Thirty-nine days until the election and the Bush campaign is probably happy to be seeing red this morning. The latest CNN analysis of the electoral votes shows two more states siding with Bush, Iowa and New Hampshire. That means if the election were held today, President Bush would have 301 electoral votes. A candidate needs only 270 to be elected, regardless of the popular vote.
It's going to be one interesting election. But our hot button issue this morning is Iraq.
So let's head live to D.C. and political editor John Mercurio -- good morning, John.
JOHN MERCURIO, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning, Carol.
How are you?
COSTELLO: I'm fine.
Let's start with this. The Iraqi interim prime minister spoke before Congress and said something many Americans yearned to hear.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQ'S INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: We are fighting for freedom and democracy, ours and yours. Every day we strengthen the institutions that will protect our new democracy and every day we grow in strength and determination to defeat the terrorists and their barbarism. The second message is quite simple and one that I would like to deliver directly from my people to yours. Thank you, America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Talking specifically about that thank you, John, that thank you to America, will it make skeptical Americans feel more positive about the outcome of the war?
MERCURIO: It might. It definitely might, sure. I mean I think it makes people sort of proud to be thanked by a foreign leader who comes to their country and thanks them for their sacrifice. I think that was a very, very powerful image for Bush to stand with Allawi yesterday in the Rose Garden. You know, he said a lot of things that I think helped Bush. He really aligned himself with the Bush-Cheney campaign.
But, you know, the one thing, I'm not sure that was the best thing for him to do in terms of, for Allawi to do in terms of his own domestic politics. I mean the last thing you want to do in Iraq right now, I think, is been seen as a puppet of the United States and to be coming over here. So he had to sort of handle that pretty carefully.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
Well, let's talk more along that theme. Both Allawi and President Bush did paint an upbeat picture of how the war in Iraq is going. The Kerry campaign comes out swinging.
Here's John Edwards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: George Bush needs to get out of fantasy land and come back to planet Earth, that's what he needs to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK, so they're painting two very different pictures of Iraq.
Which picture is winning within, you know, within the American voting public?
MERCURIO: Well, look, I think Democrats are trying to basically do two things. They're trying to hit Bush on a couple of different fronts.
First, they want to say that Iraq is still a disaster, Bush has no plan to lead this country out of the situation, he never did, he never will, we need to change course, we need to vote for John Kerry.
But secondly, and I think this could be potentially more powerful for them, they're trying to convince people that they're being lied to, that Bush is not just out of touch, but that he's sort of deceiving them and misleading them. And that, I think, could ultimately be more effective, because it hits him on credibility, sort of an overall charge against him.
COSTELLO: Well, it's funny you should say that because, of course, the Republicans are counter-attacking.
Here's what Dick Cheney had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's a brave and a determined leader and I must say I was appalled at the complete lack of respect Senator Kerry showed for this man of courage when he rushed out to hold a press conference and attack the prime minister, the man America must stand beside to defeat the terrorists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And, you know, John, what he said there, it brings up an interesting point Allawi made in the Rose Garden. He said Iraq is becoming a front line for a global fight against terrorists. Interesting choice of words.
MERCURIO: Yes. I think a lot of foreign leaders, or at least a few, have come to the United States over the past couple of years and said that, they want the United States or they want their country, Iraq, the Philippines, Afghanistan, Indonesia, to remain sort of the top priority, the top U.S. diplomatic priority in this fight on terror. They know that all that the United States, the Bush administration is focused on is terror.
But what's sort of interesting, the unique thing about Iraq in this campaign is that for the most part voters in the United States, domestic voters, have to rely on these sort of secondhand accounts -- Ayad Allawi, on other people coming from Iraq -- of what's going on over there. It's not like the economy or health care or any of those issues that we know about.
I mean we sort of have to say well, he said this, he said this, I don't really know because I've never been to Iraq, so I just have to believe somebody.
So it really goes to credibility, again. I think that's what, you know, ultimately people have to decide.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
All right, John Mercurio, many thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
And if you want to read more of John Mercurio's political analysis, it's easy. Visit cnn.com and click on "The Morning Grind." He outlines the day's hot political topics every morning.
DAYBREAK will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Well, those statistics about the flu grab you, don't they? Thirty-six thousand deaths a year from the flu in the United States each year. And we're just around the corner from the so-called flu season.
CNN medical correspondent Christy Feig joins us live from Washington to talk more about that.
Is it time to get our shots yet?
CHRISTY FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol.
For some people, it may be. I mean it's certainly a hectic time of year right now, with school just back in session, holiday vacations coming up. And, frankly, you don't really need anything more on your plate. But public health officials are saying don't underestimate the flu. It can be dangerous and even deadly. And they do want some of you to make an appointment for a flu vaccine.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
FEIG (voice-over): According to the Centers for Disease Control, an average of 36,000 people die from the flu every year. Flu season usually runs from October until late January. But last year, it started a month earlier. With that in mind, U.S. health officials urge all Americans to get their flu shots as soon as possible.
DR. WALTER ORENSTEIN, EMORY VACCINE CENTER: Fewer than a half of Americans for whom influenza vaccine is recommended are vaccinated annually.
FEIG: Last year, at least 152 children under the age of 18 died from the flu. This year, the Centers for Disease Control recommends that all children from the age of six months to 23 months be vaccinated, along with their caregivers. They also stress that all pregnant women should get their flu shots, not just those in the final stages of pregnancy.
DR. KEUI FUKUDA, CDC: Influenza vaccine is recommended for all women who will be or who expect to be pregnant during the influenza season.
FEIG: Along with pregnant women and children, officials say people over 50 and people with chronic diseases should be vaccinated, as are those who come in contact with the very young, old and sick.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
FEIG: Now, within that group of Americans over the age of 50, it's those 65 and older that health officials are most concerned about. They make up more than 90 percent of flu related deaths and more than half of the 200,000 hospitalizations every year -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, Christy, you also mentioned babies six months to 23 months. But what about older children and getting those shots?
FEIG: That's actually a very good question. That is healthy kids and sick kids in that group between six months and 23 months. But health officials will tell you that all kids who have a chronic disease like diabetes or asthma should actually get the flu vaccine, because it can be very dangerous for them. It can actually make them very, very sick. So they should definitely check in if they have any of those diseases.
In fact, every year only about one third of asthmatic children actually get the flu vaccine.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, last year we had that flu shot shortage.
I mean have they solved that problem for this coming season?
FEIG: They're not anticipating that problem. We did ask about that. They're not anticipating that problem. They say most of the product has already been made. They're actually making more this year. They're making 100 million doses this year. Most of it is being shipped now. You may remember a couple of months ago there was a story that one of the major manufacturers was actually expecting a delay. That problem has been resolved now and that shipment is full and is en route.
COSTELLO: OK, that's good to hear.
Christy Feig live in Washington this morning. Still to come, the hunt for Osama bin Laden. It's intense, but we don't see much of it on television. And there are a lot of other things happening in Afghanistan, too. I'll talk with a man who recently visited and he knows what he's talking about.
And remembering a man who signed up for work in Iraq. A community mourns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired September 24, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Empty shelves and boarded up homes -- this is definitely getting old for the people in Florida.
It is Friday, September 24.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, word overnight of another kidnapping at this office building in Baghdad. Two Egyptian engineers are being held by kidnappers who burst in after tying up guards.
We'll get a new CIA director just about three hours from now. President Bush will swear in Florida Congressman Porter Goss. The Senate approved Goss for the post earlier this week.
Later today, the president makes campaign appearances in Wisconsin before flying to his ranch in Texas. He'll spend the weekend studying for Thursday's first presidential debate with Senator John Kerry.
And Senator Kerry is on the road, as well, in Philadelphia. He has a 12:00 Eastern rally at the University of Pennsylvania and then Kerry returns to Boston.
To the forecast center now and Chad with a look at Jeanne.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Jeanne, yes. Actually, still moving west now, Carol, exactly due west. Here it is way out here. Here's obviously Florida, the Bahamas. Hurricane warnings are issued now for the northern Bahamas. There is the eye of the storm. It got a little ragged overnight and I think probably it's lost a little bit of intensity but now is in the daylight hours and maybe now as we're getting into some warmer water here, we could regain some energy.
Here is the official forecast track. Here's the storm right now. Here it is late tonight and here it is Sunday or late Saturday night, if you will, after midnight.
And official landfall right now, at least with the line -- remember, we always say don't pay attention to the line -- but the line is over about Cape Canaveral. Here's why we say don't pay attention to the line. We've used this Web site before, rightweather.com. It's a pay site. If you want to get on it, you can do it, but you have to give them a credit card.
Here are the lines. We talk about these models, these hurricane models, about a dozen of them out there. So you say why is the Hurricane Center, why can't they make a better, more definitive forecast? Look where all these lines go -- some down here around Fort Pierce, a couple over Melbourne, a couple out in the ocean, making a big right hand turn and missing Florida altogether. So you've kind of got to add them all up, divide them by 15 or however many models there are and kind of try to find out what's going on.
So it isn't a perfect science, as we call it. A little like medicine. This is not an exact science yet. We're still working on that part.
COSTELLO: We understand.
Thank you, Chad.
But if Jeanne does follow the expected path, then it'll be another blow to Florida's East Coast. People there are still cleaning up from Charley and from Frances and now they have to board up all over again.
We get more from Sally Schulze of CNN affiliate WESH in Daytona Beach, Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SALLY SCHULZE, WESH CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The plywood goes back up at Main Street Laundry.
TONYA GALVEAN, FLORIDA RESIDENT: I'm just tired of it. I want to live here in Florida but yet I don't want to do this every time you turn around.
SCHULZE: Sandbags are once again ready and that all too familiar drill is underway. The hunt for plywood, Floyd Graham is adding more.
FLOYD GRAHAM, FLORIDA RESIDENT: It seems like there's a little demon running around here in these weather patterns.
SCHULZE: While Mike Cloutier scrambles to fix hurricane damage he already has.
MIKE CLOUTIER, STILL CLEANING UP FROM FRANCES: I tried doing repairs and then you think you have plenty of time to fix it then all of a sudden here comes another one.
SCHULZE: At Stavros Pizza, waitress Jeannie Walbert (ph) sums up how many are feeling.
JEANNIE WALBERT: Terrified. SCHULZE: Frances closed this place for two weeks and did major damage to nearby businesses. Throughout the area, you see reminders of both Frances and Charley and find people stunned to think it could happen again.
PATRICIA DIAZ, PREPARING FOR HURRICANE: I've been here for 28 years and I'm to the point where I want to leave the State of Florida.
SCHULZE: Here, they watch the weather, wondering how they'll ever survive another one.
WALBERT: It's going to be rough.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: That was Sally Schulze of CNN affiliate WESH. Dozens of hotels along the Atlantic coast of Florida still haven't opened up again after Frances blew through. The loss in tourism dollars alone could reach into the tens of billions of dollars.
And let's not forget that never say die storm Ivan. After pounding the Southeast and then looping into the Atlantic and back into the Gulf of Mexico, it's now bringing torrential rains along the Texas-Louisiana border. Ivan could dump as much as 10 inches of rain in that region.
There's plenty more hurricane news and updates available on our Web site. Our special hurricane section looks at the hurricanes of this year, as well as the most powerful storms of all time. Just log on to cnn.com.
Let's talk legal matters now. The lead detective in the Scott Peterson case says he considered Amber Frey and even Laci's family as suspects before arresting Scott Peterson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM HOME VIDEO)
COSTELLO: That's Laci Peterson. In court, prosecutors showed this home video of her. They also showed video of a nursery that was being prepared for her unborn child. Analysts say the videos were meant to make Laci seem more like a real person and not just a name.
In Utah, Mark Hacking has waived his right to a preliminary hearing. That means a trial date could be set by the end of next month. He's charged with murdering his wife Lori after she learned he lied to her about being enrolled in medical school. Her body still hasn't been found. Hacking told a local TV station that he's going to write a tell all book about the case and plans to use the money for a scholarship fund in his wife's name.
The Florida Supreme Court has struck down a law that kept severely brain damaged Terri Schiavo on feeding tubes. That clears the way for Schiavo's husband to pull the plug. But the woman's parents are not giving up yet.
Reporter Tracey Silverston (ph) -- we have reporter John Zarrella now? He has this report for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the past 14 years, Bob and Mary Schindler have been fighting to keep their daughter Terri alive on life support. They have always believed their daughter, who was 26 years old when her heart failed, could be rehabilitated.
MARY SCHINDLER, TERRI'S MOTHER: I have always thought there was hope. When I go in there, you know, and she responds to me, she knows I'm there.
ZARRELLA: But court decisions have almost always gone against the Schindlers. This time, Florida's Supreme Court ruled that the law allowing Terri Schiavo to be kept alive by a feeding tube is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers.
Last year, a Florida circuit court ruled there was no evidence that therapy would lead to any form of recovery. That cleared the way for Schiavo's husband Michael to have her removed from the feeding tube.
MICHAEL SCHIAVO, TERRI'S HUSBAND: She didn't want to be kept alive on anything artificial. She didn't want any tubes. She didn't want to be a burden to people.
ZARRELLA: Within days, the Florida legislature passed a bill that gave Governor Jeb Bush the power to trump the court and order Terri's feeding tube reinserted, which he did. The Florida high court's ruling is not what the governor hoped to hear.
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: In my heart, I believe we did what was right. But I'm respectful of the Supreme Court's decision.
ZARRELLA: The ACLU applauded the ruling.
LARRY SPALDING, ACLU SPOKESMAN: It was a powerful statement affirming judicial independence.
ZARRELLA: The governor has not decided whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: Time for some Coffey Talk now.
Live to Miami and our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey -- good morning, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: So help us understand what the court ruled. The law violated the principle of separation of powers. Translate that for us.
COFFEY: A unanimous decision and noteworthy for the fact that it included two justices who were appointed by Governor Bush. But separation of powers is considered one of the most basic elements of our democracy. Judges can't tell the president how to conduct the war in Iraq or legislators whether to raise or lower taxes. And the legislature and governor, members of the executive or legislative branch, cannot tell a court how to decide the individual rights of an individual person or persons in a case.
You couldn't have a legislator, for example, overruling the decision in a child custody case or deciding, for example, who is supposed to prevail in an insurance dispute in the courts or take away a prison sentence that, if the legislature thinks that somebody shouldn't have been convicted.
COSTELLO: Oh, that helps a lot.
COFFEY: It's one of the most basic things in our system, Carol.
COSTELLO: That helps us understand a lot more.
Thank you, Kendall.
It sounds cold, but when can Terri Schiavo's husband act?
COFFEY: Not yet. The Supreme Court of Florida has set 10 days to file a motion for a rehearing, which we'll undoubtedly have; five days for a response. It's still some weeks until the case becomes final and I think it's likely that somebody's going to try to keep going with the legal process. I don't believe the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to intervene, but there's other litigation pending.
This case is getting close to the final chapter, but it's not quite there yet.
COSTELLO: I know, because Terri's family is still fighting. In fact, they want to act on a Pope Proclamation, saying if Schiavo's feeding tube is removed, it would violate their religion.
COFFEY: And that signals probably, since it's raising the religious issue, first amendment, civil rights, perhaps another run into court, this time maybe federal court. But given the unanimity of the decision, and, frankly, while it was a dramatic ruling, Carol, because it's literally life and death, I think virtually every legal analyst in Florida expected this outcome.
And so I think that legally there is really no place for the family -- for the parents to go at this point.
COSTELLO: Kendall Coffey live in Miami, joining DAYBREAK this morning.
Thank you.
Still to come, so the Congress extended the tax cuts. What does that really mean for you? We're talking about that in our business buzz.
And some other hot topics this morning in the political world. Cheney cuts down Kerry. And wait until you hear what John Edwards said about President Bush.
Plus, anticipating the flu season. Not everyone should line up for those shots just yet.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
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COSTELLO: Time for a little business buzz now.
Congress votes to extend tax relief for the middle class.
Carrie Lee has exactly what that means to you.
She's live at the Nasdaq market site this morning -- good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
Thank you.
Congress overwhelming approving $146 billion worth of middle class and business tax cuts last night, giving President Bush a big victory 40 days before the election. Bush is expected to sign the cuts into law within a few days.
Here are the highlights. The extensions, number one, the child tax credit. The bill prevents the $1,000 credit from dropping to $700 at the end of this year. Number two, the marriage penalty fix. It extends the relief that prevents some married couples from having to pay more taxes than they would if they were single. And number three, the lowest tax bracket. The bill maintains that 10 percent marginal tax rate, thus lowering bills for almost all taxpayers.
So good news for folks who fall into these categories. The measure, by the way, Carol, affects about 94 million people -- back to you.
COSTELLO: A quick look at the futures before you go, Carrie.
LEE: Things looking pretty flat this morning. You know, the Dow is seeing three days of selling. We're down about 245 points there on the week. Techs looking especially weak this morning.
Lockheed Martin one stock to watch. The defense giant upping its dividend 14 percent, to $0.25 a share from $0.22.
That's the latest.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Carrie.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 6:14 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Two Egyptian engineers were abducted during the night in Baghdad. Iraqi officials say the armed kidnappers tied up the guards first. The two hostages work for an Egyptian telecommunications company.
The two survivors of that Montana plane crash that killed three people are in good spirits today. One of them told doctors that they waited in the wreckage for a day and a half before trying to walk down the mountain.
In money news, the nation's emergency oil reserve is being tapped because of Ivan. The hurricane caused supply disruptions that have raised prices at the gas pump. It's the first time in two years that the strategic reserve has been used.
In culture, "Seinfeld" is coming back to TV, not in reruns, but only for one show. A special Thanksgiving Day retrospective is planned to coincide with the release of the series on DVD.
In sports, number four ranked Miami had little trouble getting past the University of Houston. The Hurricanes ran their record to 3- 0 for the year, but the defense did allow its first touchdown of the season.
Now for talk about another kind of hurricane -- Chad.
MYERS: Oh, my goodness, yes, exactly. Like they almost need to change their name after this season, huh, hurricane season, that is?
Temperatures across the Midwest very mild. We have rain showers across parts of the upstate into -- oh, all the way down into Mississippi and in Alabama, with parts of Ivan.
But this is Jeanne. This storm right here obviously still spinning around in the overnight hours, making its way toward the Florida peninsula. It will make a hard right hand turn. Notice our winds are 100. But as it gets toward Florida, it will actually make a huge right hand turn. And if the right hand turn is early enough, it could miss Florida altogether. If it's too late, then obviously it strikes right there around Cape Canaveral and then runs up the coast.
There's Ivan, the L there across parts of Texas making rain showers this afternoon.
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COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
Thirty-nine days until the election and the Bush campaign is probably happy to be seeing red this morning. The latest CNN analysis of the electoral votes shows two more states siding with Bush, Iowa and New Hampshire. That means if the election were held today, President Bush would have 301 electoral votes. A candidate needs only 270 to be elected, regardless of the popular vote.
It's going to be one interesting election. But our hot button issue this morning is Iraq.
So let's head live to D.C. and political editor John Mercurio -- good morning, John.
JOHN MERCURIO, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning, Carol.
How are you?
COSTELLO: I'm fine.
Let's start with this. The Iraqi interim prime minister spoke before Congress and said something many Americans yearned to hear.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQ'S INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: We are fighting for freedom and democracy, ours and yours. Every day we strengthen the institutions that will protect our new democracy and every day we grow in strength and determination to defeat the terrorists and their barbarism. The second message is quite simple and one that I would like to deliver directly from my people to yours. Thank you, America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Talking specifically about that thank you, John, that thank you to America, will it make skeptical Americans feel more positive about the outcome of the war?
MERCURIO: It might. It definitely might, sure. I mean I think it makes people sort of proud to be thanked by a foreign leader who comes to their country and thanks them for their sacrifice. I think that was a very, very powerful image for Bush to stand with Allawi yesterday in the Rose Garden. You know, he said a lot of things that I think helped Bush. He really aligned himself with the Bush-Cheney campaign.
But, you know, the one thing, I'm not sure that was the best thing for him to do in terms of, for Allawi to do in terms of his own domestic politics. I mean the last thing you want to do in Iraq right now, I think, is been seen as a puppet of the United States and to be coming over here. So he had to sort of handle that pretty carefully.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
Well, let's talk more along that theme. Both Allawi and President Bush did paint an upbeat picture of how the war in Iraq is going. The Kerry campaign comes out swinging.
Here's John Edwards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: George Bush needs to get out of fantasy land and come back to planet Earth, that's what he needs to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK, so they're painting two very different pictures of Iraq.
Which picture is winning within, you know, within the American voting public?
MERCURIO: Well, look, I think Democrats are trying to basically do two things. They're trying to hit Bush on a couple of different fronts.
First, they want to say that Iraq is still a disaster, Bush has no plan to lead this country out of the situation, he never did, he never will, we need to change course, we need to vote for John Kerry.
But secondly, and I think this could be potentially more powerful for them, they're trying to convince people that they're being lied to, that Bush is not just out of touch, but that he's sort of deceiving them and misleading them. And that, I think, could ultimately be more effective, because it hits him on credibility, sort of an overall charge against him.
COSTELLO: Well, it's funny you should say that because, of course, the Republicans are counter-attacking.
Here's what Dick Cheney had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's a brave and a determined leader and I must say I was appalled at the complete lack of respect Senator Kerry showed for this man of courage when he rushed out to hold a press conference and attack the prime minister, the man America must stand beside to defeat the terrorists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And, you know, John, what he said there, it brings up an interesting point Allawi made in the Rose Garden. He said Iraq is becoming a front line for a global fight against terrorists. Interesting choice of words.
MERCURIO: Yes. I think a lot of foreign leaders, or at least a few, have come to the United States over the past couple of years and said that, they want the United States or they want their country, Iraq, the Philippines, Afghanistan, Indonesia, to remain sort of the top priority, the top U.S. diplomatic priority in this fight on terror. They know that all that the United States, the Bush administration is focused on is terror.
But what's sort of interesting, the unique thing about Iraq in this campaign is that for the most part voters in the United States, domestic voters, have to rely on these sort of secondhand accounts -- Ayad Allawi, on other people coming from Iraq -- of what's going on over there. It's not like the economy or health care or any of those issues that we know about.
I mean we sort of have to say well, he said this, he said this, I don't really know because I've never been to Iraq, so I just have to believe somebody.
So it really goes to credibility, again. I think that's what, you know, ultimately people have to decide.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
All right, John Mercurio, many thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
And if you want to read more of John Mercurio's political analysis, it's easy. Visit cnn.com and click on "The Morning Grind." He outlines the day's hot political topics every morning.
DAYBREAK will be right back.
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COSTELLO: Well, those statistics about the flu grab you, don't they? Thirty-six thousand deaths a year from the flu in the United States each year. And we're just around the corner from the so-called flu season.
CNN medical correspondent Christy Feig joins us live from Washington to talk more about that.
Is it time to get our shots yet?
CHRISTY FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol.
For some people, it may be. I mean it's certainly a hectic time of year right now, with school just back in session, holiday vacations coming up. And, frankly, you don't really need anything more on your plate. But public health officials are saying don't underestimate the flu. It can be dangerous and even deadly. And they do want some of you to make an appointment for a flu vaccine.
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FEIG (voice-over): According to the Centers for Disease Control, an average of 36,000 people die from the flu every year. Flu season usually runs from October until late January. But last year, it started a month earlier. With that in mind, U.S. health officials urge all Americans to get their flu shots as soon as possible.
DR. WALTER ORENSTEIN, EMORY VACCINE CENTER: Fewer than a half of Americans for whom influenza vaccine is recommended are vaccinated annually.
FEIG: Last year, at least 152 children under the age of 18 died from the flu. This year, the Centers for Disease Control recommends that all children from the age of six months to 23 months be vaccinated, along with their caregivers. They also stress that all pregnant women should get their flu shots, not just those in the final stages of pregnancy.
DR. KEUI FUKUDA, CDC: Influenza vaccine is recommended for all women who will be or who expect to be pregnant during the influenza season.
FEIG: Along with pregnant women and children, officials say people over 50 and people with chronic diseases should be vaccinated, as are those who come in contact with the very young, old and sick.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
FEIG: Now, within that group of Americans over the age of 50, it's those 65 and older that health officials are most concerned about. They make up more than 90 percent of flu related deaths and more than half of the 200,000 hospitalizations every year -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, Christy, you also mentioned babies six months to 23 months. But what about older children and getting those shots?
FEIG: That's actually a very good question. That is healthy kids and sick kids in that group between six months and 23 months. But health officials will tell you that all kids who have a chronic disease like diabetes or asthma should actually get the flu vaccine, because it can be very dangerous for them. It can actually make them very, very sick. So they should definitely check in if they have any of those diseases.
In fact, every year only about one third of asthmatic children actually get the flu vaccine.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, last year we had that flu shot shortage.
I mean have they solved that problem for this coming season?
FEIG: They're not anticipating that problem. We did ask about that. They're not anticipating that problem. They say most of the product has already been made. They're actually making more this year. They're making 100 million doses this year. Most of it is being shipped now. You may remember a couple of months ago there was a story that one of the major manufacturers was actually expecting a delay. That problem has been resolved now and that shipment is full and is en route.
COSTELLO: OK, that's good to hear.
Christy Feig live in Washington this morning. Still to come, the hunt for Osama bin Laden. It's intense, but we don't see much of it on television. And there are a lot of other things happening in Afghanistan, too. I'll talk with a man who recently visited and he knows what he's talking about.
And remembering a man who signed up for work in Iraq. A community mourns.
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