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American Morning
Hurricane Relief Effort; Former Iraqi Nuke Scientist on Saddam's WMD Program
Aired September 27, 2004 - 07:30 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It's just about half past the hour now on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Heidi Collins in for Soledad.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Rick Sanchez in for Bill. Can you believe we're talking about this again? Coming up, we're going to get back to the damage in Florida, again, left by Hurricane Jeanne. In fact, I'm being told now these are pictures that we have coming in as we speak. These are live pictures from Vero Beach, an area that's been hit not once, but twice. Remember, Frances came through that same area.
The Red Cross, we understand, has redeployed more of its people. We're going to talk to one organizer about what the biggest emergencies are right now and whether hurricane fatigue -- an interesting term -- could put even more people in danger.
COLLINS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Remember, most people die after the storm, not during.
COSTELLO: That's right. That's right. And the mental capacity of those folks are really, really tough to deal with, for sure, this morning.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
COLLINS: Also, how close was Saddam Hussein to building a nuclear weapon? The answer to that question may have been buried -- believe it or not -- for years in a garden in Baghdad. We're going to talk with a man who hid those secrets coming up in just a few minutes.
For now, though, we want to get a check of the stories "Now in the News" this morning with Carol Costello once again at the CNN center.
Carol -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Heidi. Thank you.
A collapse at an airport terminal in the United Arab Emirates to tell you about. Rescue forces in Dubai are working this hour to save the people now trapped in the rubble. Officials say the area has been under construction. It's not clear how many people are buried by the ruins.
U.S. jets are swooping down on insurgent targets in Baghdad. Witnesses say they heard loud explosions throughout the night in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood. A hospital official says at least five people were killed, dozens of others are injured, including women and children. And in Mosul, another attack against Iraqi security forces. A car bombing there killed at least three members of the Iraqi National Guard.
Pakistani military forces have killed a militant possibly tied to al Qaeda. Pakistani officials tell us Amjad Hussain Farooqi was a suspect in several assassination attempts on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. He was also suspected in the killing of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl. Pakistan's military also arrested several others in an early-morning raid.
Scientists will visit Mount St. Helen later today. Hundreds of small earthquakes have hit the volcano since Thursday. The U.S. Geological Survey issued a notice for the increased volcanic activity, possibly caused by steam explosions. Scientists will fly over the mountain to test for carbon dioxide and sulfur gases, which will build more sensors to measure the activity.
Back to New York now.
COLLINS: Well, 1980 was the last one. I remember my cousin lived there at the time.
COSTELLO: Remember all of the ash that rained down on the area?
COLLINS: She actually sent some to us.
COSTELLO: Did she?
COLLINS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, they used to sell it in those little, like, souvenir bottles.
COLLINS: Yes. I think she collected this on her own, though. Unbelievable. All right, Carol, thanks so much for that.
As you know, Jeanne is now a tropical storm, moving through Georgia and the Carolinas. But once again, Florida took the brunt of the impact. Jeanne is the fourth hurricane to hit Florida in six weeks, the first time a state has been hit by four hurricanes in one storm season since Texas in 1986.
First, there was Charley. It made landfall at Punta Gorda, Florida, that is, as a Category 4 storm on August 13. With Charley's 145 mile-an-hour winds, it caused more than $7 billion in damages in the U.S. and killed at least 31 people.
Then came Frances, which came ashore as a Category 3 storm on September 5, and, like Charley, battered the peninsula. Frances had 120 mile-an-hour winds, caused more than $4 billion in damages in the U.S. and at least 33 deaths.
Then after a slow crawl through the Gulf of Mexico, Ivan arrived as a strong Category 3 on September 16. When it came ashore at the Alabama-Florida border, it was packing 130 mile-an-hour winds, blamed for $3 to $6 billion in damages, at least 43 deaths.
And now Jeanne, hitting Florida where Frances did as another Category 3 storm late Saturday. It arrived with 120 mile- an-hour winds and has caused an estimated $4 to $8 billion in damages here in the U.S. Of course, those numbers are still being re-jiggered a little bit this morning. And Jeanne is also responsible for more than 1,500 deaths in Haiti. We saw some terrible pictures coming out of there as well.
SANCHEZ: You know, oftentimes you don't find out just how much damage there is until a day or two later. At first light now, much of Vero Beach, for example, is still in the dark this morning power-wise. The electricity grid is down.
Hurricane Jeanne made landfall just south of there. It left its calling card. The Red Cross is out in force. Its trying to help some victims. So, that's what we're going to do now is try to find out from them what is going on.
Relief worker Chris Palladino is with us. He's joining us from Vero Beach.
Hi -- Chris.
CHRIS PALLADINO, RED CROSS RELIEF WORKER: Good morning.
SANCHEZ: The first thing we want to try and get a sense from you is the level of frustration from the people that you are dealing with who have been affect by, not one, not two, not three, but four storms now.
PALLADINO: Well, if their level of frustration is anything like my own, having done this four times myself, I'd say they're pretty tired. And I think that's what it is mostly. They just really, really tired of this. They are of having to clean up their homes. They're tired of having to evacuate. They're tired of the uncertainty.
SANCHEZ: Twenty-one-hundred shelters for 350,000 people. We're going over the numbers here. You have served more than six million meals so far. Can you guys, can the Red Cross, continue at this pace?
PALLADINO: Well, actually, you know, and those numbers, as staggering as they are, are actually a little old. We're up to eight million meals and sheltered almost 400,000 people total. I'm amazed at how we're keeping up. We've had over 26,000 volunteers from around the country travel down to Florida for two or three weeks at a time to help folks begin the recovery.
Our biggest challenge is, frankly, of course, money, paying for this. We anticipate that the costs of the first two storms alone are going to about be 67 million. We haven't even put estimates together for the second two storms yet. SANCHEZ: Well, you know, what's interesting, I was reading not long ago that you started in the kitty with only $600,000. You've spent, obviously, millions and millions. Is enough of the money coming in? And are the feds going to be able to help you in the form of FEMA?
PALLADINO: Well, we've been very grateful to the American public so far. My understanding is a little under $50 million in pledges have been raised so far. Still short, of course, of the 67 million we are spending on the first two storms without counting the last two.
But we've always been able to rely on the American public to be generous and to help us. A lot of folks don't realize that as opposed to FEMA, we are not a federal agency, and we rely on the American public support.
SANCHEZ: You know what's very difficult for organizations like yourself? Access, getting to these places. To get to the people to help them, you've got to get through. And sometime the roads look like these pictures that we're showing right now. You can't get through. Power lines are down. Trees are down.
Are you getting to these places on time? And how big of an obstacle is that for you?
PALLADINO: Well, we are lucky -- and lucky is probably the wrong word -- but we have had so many Red Crossers and so much materials and supplies in the state from the last three storms that as each additional storm has been coming, it's been quicker for us to respond.
But it does raise the point why we tell people so much that it's so important to prepare before a storm, before an emergency, before any emergency, to have two or three days' worth of food and water and all of the supplies you need, because it does take time to get through.
SANCHEZ: We're almost out of time. But give me a yes or no, if you possibly can. You've been in this for 12 years. Is this the worst you've ever seen?
PALLADINO: Pretty close.
SANCHEZ: Thank you so much, Chris. We appreciate that. Chris Palladino with the Red Cross.
Jeanne, by is way, is still a tropical storm.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: We want to get to some news just coming into us now this morning here at CNN. Private First Class Lynndie England will face a court-martial. The Army has announced 19 charges against England, including conspiracy and assault in connection with the mistreatment of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. A motion hearing has been set for early December. The trial date is set for January 18. In February of 2003, as the world debated whether the U.S.-led coalition should invade Iraq, one man says he knew for that Saddam Hussein was a threat, because the remnants of Saddam's secret nuclear weapons program was buried in his yard.
After the fall of Baghdad, the former Saddam regime scientist, Mahdi Obeidi, turned himself in and the evidence, and turned it over to the United States. He is telling his story in a new book called "The Bomb in My Garden." And he is joining us now this morning.
Thanks so much for being with us. We know that Saddam Hussein had said that he dismantled his weapons program back in 1991. When you heard that, what did you think?
MAHDI OBEIDI, IRAQI NUCLEAR SCIENTIST: Well, Heidi, we have to put the facts in perspective. In 1991, the weapons were dismantled by the weapons inspectors. However, Saddam Hussein preserved the capabilities for the makings of a bomb if he had wanted to. He preserved the people, and he had the documents and the blueprints and some of the materials in my garden.
COLLINS: How close were you to making a nuclear bomb? I know that you in particular were the one who helped with the centrifuge. Tell people what that means.
OBEIDI: We were very close indeed. We started in August of 1987. At the time, we had not seen or heard of a centrifuge. And we were able in 1990 to be able to start a bomb.
COLLINS: In fact, in your book you tell stories about walking into American universities...
OBEIDI: Yes.
COLLINS: ... and getting -- I don't know if it was top-secret information, but some of the world's most sensitive information about going ahead and building something like a centrifuge. How does that happen?
OBEIDI: Well, my first experiment, I came to the United States and I looked for the first blueprint, the first designs of a magnetic centrifuge. And I went to the University of Virginia. They had a report, which was made by a German called Zippa (ph) in the '60s.
And I was (INAUDIBLE) experience to get into the University of Virginia and try to see that report. That report was out of circulation. And then after about half an hour it was brought to my attention, and I was able to get that report to look at it. And somehow I was able to find the name of a person who was Italian, and I went to Italy to get it.
COLLINS: So, this took you a half an hour, you said. I mean, didn't anybody say, hey, what are you doing over there, or question you at all in trying to get a hold of these documents?
OBEIDI: No, of course not. COLLINS: And did that surprise you? You said it was scary.
OBEIDI: And it was scary because I expected something would happen. But nothing happened fortunately.
COLLINS: Describe the pressure. You and I were speaking during the break. You said you actually met with Saddam Hussein himself about three different times. Describe the pressure on you to come up with some sort of information for him. You know, he wanted to hear how his weapons program was progressing.
OBEIDI: Heidi, it was a scary experience. I went at one time to tell him of the progress that we were making. And then he said, well, now imagine yourself, this is a house and we have made -- you have made the brick for the house. When will we get the house? I said, 'Sir, how can I tell you how soon I can tell you I can get the house?'
COLLINS: Were you honest with him?
OBEIDI: I was honest with him. And then when I got out, one of his assistants said to me, "Why did you hesitate to tell the president about when you will make the bomb? Is it one neck that we have or two necks?" It was really scary indeed. And I think I expected to be landed in prison, but fortunately I wasn't.
COLLINS: Quickly, tell me, if you could quickly, what you see for the future of Iraq and the people there.
OBEIDI: Well, I think, Heidi, before I answer you on this point, there is one point which is really important. People -- I think there is a scary thing about the proliferation of centrifuge and bombs. We were able to make centrifuges and we were ready to make a bomb in three months. Imagine tomorrow or next month or next year, you will hear somebody, some nation might be coming with a bomb, and then putting the whole world as a hostage. This is a real possibility, and I think the world should be really looking into this really thoroughly. Otherwise, the whole world might be annihilated without knowing and we are all asleep.
COLLINS: I appreciate your information so very much. It's just a fascinating book. Mahdi Obeidi, thanks so much for your time once again.
OBEIDI: Thank you.
COLLINS: Rick -- back over to you.
SANCHEZ: All right, thanks a lot, Heidi. Still to come here on AMERICAN MORNING, a tough weekend in the office football pool for you? Maybe you did a little better than Andy. He's going to be "Minding Your Business."
Also, some of the greatest minds in America take a trip inside Michael Jackson's head. You heard it right. The 90-second poppers join them, ahead right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back, everyone, to AMERICAN MORNING. We've got Jack here again. He's talking about the "Question of the Day." Boy, it couldn't be more appropriate than what we're talking about this week.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, well, let's hope they are worth the airtime that they get. The presidential debates begin Thursday. It remains to be seen whether they will be worth watching, because the way they set them up has all changed. Gone are the good old days when we watched Richard Nixon dying a slow death under the hot television lights while his beard grew by the minute. We were supposed to have a picture of Mr. Nixon there, but apparently we couldn't find it.
The debates these days are more tightly choreographed than a Broadway musical. Call it a scripted charade. It's run by a group called the Commission for Presidential Debates. That is the Republican and Democratic Parties. And you won't be seeing Ralph Nader. He's not invited, even though he's on the ballot and is a candidate for president.
The question is this: How important are these debates to you?
David writes from New York: "The debates are the only opportunity to voters to compare the candidates' positions, attitudes and basic intelligence without the manipulations inherent in TV advertising."
Hal in Oran, Missouri, writes: "The debates. What debates? Bush and Kerry will be delivering a series of robotic and motionless pre-scripted responses. Questions in the so-called town hall debate on October the 8th, for example, will first need to be submitted in writing. And then if the person strays from the scripted question, the moderator will immediately cut them off."
Democracy in action, ain't it?
CAFFERTY: Doug in Bloomfield, New Jersey: "The debates are more important than the conventions and political ads, but less important than the truth that we see everyday."
Paul writes from Pennsylvania: "The upcoming make-believe debates will feature a president who has the speaking skills of Elmer Fudd and the challenger who can't seem to shut up. I'll listen to both of the candidates' canned scripts very carefully, and when it's all over, I'm voting for Herbert Hoover."
And Al in Florida writes: "Thank god for Thursday night ESPN college football."
So, not a lot of groundswell of support for these debates.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes. Those people are real excited about that, aren't they?
COLLINS: What day is that, Thursday night? SERWER: Oh, come on now!
CAFFERTY: Oh, yes, sure. You want to pick that one, too?
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: I'm just looking for...
SERWER: Heidi the Greek over here, right, Jack?
CAFFERTY: Yes.
COLLINS: Andy Serwer is here now, and we're going to get our first preview of the markets, "Minding Your Business" this morning. I'm not sure that's really something that we want to do. Ouch!
SERWER: Well, looking backwards we sure don't. Heidi, last week was not a good one for the stock market. The Dow was down 237 points. And we have been seeing this pattern here, Heidi. We get a rally going on, and then we slip back. The Dow is down now about 4 percent for the year.
The futures are weak this morning. We talked about higher oil and gas prices. That has a lot to do with that situation.
Now, let's go to the main event, football. First of all, did you see the wet bowl? I'm talking about the Miami-Pittsburgh game. This is outrageous. I mean, Hurricane Jeanne -- Jeanne, Jeanne, you're young and alive and you're wet.
Now, yes, Pittsburgh managed to get this done. Guess who called this game right Jack? Heidi Collins.
CAFFERTY: There you go.
SERWER: Heidi Collins called almost all of the games right. Heidi Collins, football guru. She's not just a news anchor. She was 11-2.
CAFFERTY: Heidi the Greek.
SERWER: Heidi the Greek. Bill Hemmer did OK. Then there's a couple of other people down there. Rick, you are lucky you don't get on this.
SANCHEZ: Oh, I was undefeated.
SERWER: Oh, yes.
COLLINS: Yes, yes, yes.
SERWER: Of course, you were. Jack, you can tie me tonight if the Cowboys win, because you picked the Cowboys.
CAFFERTY: Do I have the Cowboys?
SERWER: You do have the Cowboys.
CAFFERTY: Oh (INAUDIBLE).
COLLINS: Yes, but I thought you were a Skins fan.
SERWER: I picked the Skins.
COLLINS: Oh, OK.
SERWER: So if the Cowboys win anyway.
COLLINS: OK, I got it.
SERWER: Anyway, you are too good. I don't know if we're going to let you do it next week, Heidi. No.
COLLINS: Whatever. I am the only girl. Still to come this morning...
SANCHEZ: Congratulations, by the way.
COLLINS: Thank you.
SERWER: On that too.
COLLINS: His day job keeps him busy, but the governor of California may not be done with his futuristic cyborg killing days. Just ahead, yes, "90-Second Pop" ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right, well it's Monday. That must mean it's time for "90-Second Pop," right? Our band of AMERICAN MORNING idols, Andy Borowitz taking shock to a new level in his new book, "The Borowitz Report: The Big Book of Shockers." And Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine. And, of course, Toure, CNN pop culture correspondent and author of that book, "Soul City."
All right, guys...
ANDY BOROWITZ, AUTHOR, "THE BOROWITZ REPORT": Let's bring in home shopping, OK?
SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: I know! We need, like, a 1-800 number on the bottom.
COLLINS: Maybe we do.
Hey, Toure, let me ask you about this now. Eighteen scholars at Yale University are looking at several different aspects of Michael Jackson...
TOURE, CNN POPULAR CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
COLLINS: ... talking about sexual, racial and artistic aspects of him. Why? TOURE: Why? I mean, any artist this big -- Madonna, U2 -- has got to represent something of their era. Right? You can do the same thing for Tom Cruise, need to be that big and that many people like you, you're going to mean something to that era.
And Michael Jackson means so much. I mean, going from the real black music of his Motown era to the crossover rock and roll music of his adulthood from the military thing to the violence...
COLLINS: So, they're not talking about the court case at all and all of that.
TOURE: No, they're leaving out the court case. That's not necessarily part of it. I mean, he's had a long life. He's had a lot going on. There's a lot sociologically to deal with in Michael Jackson. Just even the videos where there is violence and children. Like, what is going on in your head?
COLLINS: But they're not...
BERNARD: But this is a good idea actually.
TOURE: Oh, absolutely. I mean, you can...
COLLINS: How can they not talk about the court case, though?
TOURE: Well, you could spend so much about Michael before you even get to the court case.
BOROWITZ: For example, you know...
TOURE: Even the coloring of his skin and how he's pushed that, you know, just getting lighter and lighter. What does that mean to African-Americans in this generation?
BOROWITZ: You know, and these scholars spent two days at Yale, and they still couldn't figure out the lyrics to "Billy Jean." They think it's the kid is not my son.
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: I just want to know...
COLLINS: That is pretty sad.
BERNARD: ... does this actually mean people at Yale can major in Michael Jackson?
TOURE: You should be able to major in Michael Jackson.
BOROWITZ: With a minor in Tito, yes.
COLLINS: Right, that's frightening. Sarah, let's talk about this one now: Arnold Schwarzenegger. OK, they're talking about the "Terminator IV"...
BERNARD: Right.
COLLINS: ... and his possible role in it.
BERNARD: I know.
COLLINS: Can you do it as the governor of California?
BERNARD: I think you can. Well, actually, I didn't even realize that "Terminator III" was as successful as it was. It made $460 million. So, of course, they have to make another one.
Now, they introduce a lot of new characters. There is a terminatrix, Claire Danes was in it. So, they do have other cast members if they want to not have Arnold come back.
TOURE: And he's just going to do a cameo.
BERNARD: Well, that's the thing. He's not going to necessarily star as the T800. But what he's going to do...
BOROWITZ: Yes, that is going to be played by Gray Davis.
BERNARD: And he doesn't even need a costume. But what they are going to try and do is coax him into some sort of cameo role. And I think that if he does that and if he makes it clear that it's not taking away from his day job, it would actually be great for him.
COLLINS: A cameo as the governor of California, as himself?
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: No, I think he's going to put the leather jacket on and the sunglasses, because people love seeing him, you know, fight evildoers. And that would be...
BOROWITZ: Well, President Bush had a big part in that Michael Moore film.
BERNARD: Right. So, it's only fair that he...
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: You know, it's true. All right, Andy, we've got to get to the last one here, and I know it's possibly your favorite in a long, long time, the Victoria Secret tour here called "Angels in America."
BOROWITZ: Yes.
COLLINS: We've got Heidi Klum, Giselle Bundchen, Tyra Banks, they're going to be hitting malls near you.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
COLLINS: So what is going to make this campaign successful, Andy? BOROWITZ: Well, you know, I'm so glad this is being thrown in my direction, because I have given this so much thought. But, you know, I think it is going to be a big hit, because, you know, in the past if you wanted to see women at the mall wearing Victoria Secret underwear, you kind of had to hide in the changing rooms. So I'm told.
BERNARD: Yes, right.
BOROWITZ: So, I think it just actually to have it out in the open. It's going to rock.
TOURE: But the beauty of Victoria Secret, right, is somehow they have combined wholesomeness and sexuality. So it's like the Disney of lingerie. So it's like you can go to malls around -- I mean, like the first word is "angels," like they're throwing it right in your face. Like, we're wholesome.
COLLINS: Are they wearing the big wings like they have in the past?
BERNARD: I think they are. And it is also going to be televised on VH1. Their big (INAUDIBLE) across America. So...
COLLINS: Yes, they usually do pretty well when they're on TV.
BOROWITZ: Lingerie is finally getting the attention it deserves.
BERNARD: Yes, right, right, right.
COLLINS: Andy Borowitz, Toure and Sarah Bernard, thanks so much, as always, you guys.
Rick -- back over to you.
SANCHEZ: Yes, you guys really have got to be a little more funny on these things.
Still to come, everyone knew Jeanne was coming. So, why did so many people stay in the way, fail to move? A look at that ahead right here. This is AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired September 27, 2004 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It's just about half past the hour now on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Heidi Collins in for Soledad.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Rick Sanchez in for Bill. Can you believe we're talking about this again? Coming up, we're going to get back to the damage in Florida, again, left by Hurricane Jeanne. In fact, I'm being told now these are pictures that we have coming in as we speak. These are live pictures from Vero Beach, an area that's been hit not once, but twice. Remember, Frances came through that same area.
The Red Cross, we understand, has redeployed more of its people. We're going to talk to one organizer about what the biggest emergencies are right now and whether hurricane fatigue -- an interesting term -- could put even more people in danger.
COLLINS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Remember, most people die after the storm, not during.
COSTELLO: That's right. That's right. And the mental capacity of those folks are really, really tough to deal with, for sure, this morning.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
COLLINS: Also, how close was Saddam Hussein to building a nuclear weapon? The answer to that question may have been buried -- believe it or not -- for years in a garden in Baghdad. We're going to talk with a man who hid those secrets coming up in just a few minutes.
For now, though, we want to get a check of the stories "Now in the News" this morning with Carol Costello once again at the CNN center.
Carol -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Heidi. Thank you.
A collapse at an airport terminal in the United Arab Emirates to tell you about. Rescue forces in Dubai are working this hour to save the people now trapped in the rubble. Officials say the area has been under construction. It's not clear how many people are buried by the ruins.
U.S. jets are swooping down on insurgent targets in Baghdad. Witnesses say they heard loud explosions throughout the night in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood. A hospital official says at least five people were killed, dozens of others are injured, including women and children. And in Mosul, another attack against Iraqi security forces. A car bombing there killed at least three members of the Iraqi National Guard.
Pakistani military forces have killed a militant possibly tied to al Qaeda. Pakistani officials tell us Amjad Hussain Farooqi was a suspect in several assassination attempts on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. He was also suspected in the killing of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl. Pakistan's military also arrested several others in an early-morning raid.
Scientists will visit Mount St. Helen later today. Hundreds of small earthquakes have hit the volcano since Thursday. The U.S. Geological Survey issued a notice for the increased volcanic activity, possibly caused by steam explosions. Scientists will fly over the mountain to test for carbon dioxide and sulfur gases, which will build more sensors to measure the activity.
Back to New York now.
COLLINS: Well, 1980 was the last one. I remember my cousin lived there at the time.
COSTELLO: Remember all of the ash that rained down on the area?
COLLINS: She actually sent some to us.
COSTELLO: Did she?
COLLINS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, they used to sell it in those little, like, souvenir bottles.
COLLINS: Yes. I think she collected this on her own, though. Unbelievable. All right, Carol, thanks so much for that.
As you know, Jeanne is now a tropical storm, moving through Georgia and the Carolinas. But once again, Florida took the brunt of the impact. Jeanne is the fourth hurricane to hit Florida in six weeks, the first time a state has been hit by four hurricanes in one storm season since Texas in 1986.
First, there was Charley. It made landfall at Punta Gorda, Florida, that is, as a Category 4 storm on August 13. With Charley's 145 mile-an-hour winds, it caused more than $7 billion in damages in the U.S. and killed at least 31 people.
Then came Frances, which came ashore as a Category 3 storm on September 5, and, like Charley, battered the peninsula. Frances had 120 mile-an-hour winds, caused more than $4 billion in damages in the U.S. and at least 33 deaths.
Then after a slow crawl through the Gulf of Mexico, Ivan arrived as a strong Category 3 on September 16. When it came ashore at the Alabama-Florida border, it was packing 130 mile-an-hour winds, blamed for $3 to $6 billion in damages, at least 43 deaths.
And now Jeanne, hitting Florida where Frances did as another Category 3 storm late Saturday. It arrived with 120 mile- an-hour winds and has caused an estimated $4 to $8 billion in damages here in the U.S. Of course, those numbers are still being re-jiggered a little bit this morning. And Jeanne is also responsible for more than 1,500 deaths in Haiti. We saw some terrible pictures coming out of there as well.
SANCHEZ: You know, oftentimes you don't find out just how much damage there is until a day or two later. At first light now, much of Vero Beach, for example, is still in the dark this morning power-wise. The electricity grid is down.
Hurricane Jeanne made landfall just south of there. It left its calling card. The Red Cross is out in force. Its trying to help some victims. So, that's what we're going to do now is try to find out from them what is going on.
Relief worker Chris Palladino is with us. He's joining us from Vero Beach.
Hi -- Chris.
CHRIS PALLADINO, RED CROSS RELIEF WORKER: Good morning.
SANCHEZ: The first thing we want to try and get a sense from you is the level of frustration from the people that you are dealing with who have been affect by, not one, not two, not three, but four storms now.
PALLADINO: Well, if their level of frustration is anything like my own, having done this four times myself, I'd say they're pretty tired. And I think that's what it is mostly. They just really, really tired of this. They are of having to clean up their homes. They're tired of having to evacuate. They're tired of the uncertainty.
SANCHEZ: Twenty-one-hundred shelters for 350,000 people. We're going over the numbers here. You have served more than six million meals so far. Can you guys, can the Red Cross, continue at this pace?
PALLADINO: Well, actually, you know, and those numbers, as staggering as they are, are actually a little old. We're up to eight million meals and sheltered almost 400,000 people total. I'm amazed at how we're keeping up. We've had over 26,000 volunteers from around the country travel down to Florida for two or three weeks at a time to help folks begin the recovery.
Our biggest challenge is, frankly, of course, money, paying for this. We anticipate that the costs of the first two storms alone are going to about be 67 million. We haven't even put estimates together for the second two storms yet. SANCHEZ: Well, you know, what's interesting, I was reading not long ago that you started in the kitty with only $600,000. You've spent, obviously, millions and millions. Is enough of the money coming in? And are the feds going to be able to help you in the form of FEMA?
PALLADINO: Well, we've been very grateful to the American public so far. My understanding is a little under $50 million in pledges have been raised so far. Still short, of course, of the 67 million we are spending on the first two storms without counting the last two.
But we've always been able to rely on the American public to be generous and to help us. A lot of folks don't realize that as opposed to FEMA, we are not a federal agency, and we rely on the American public support.
SANCHEZ: You know what's very difficult for organizations like yourself? Access, getting to these places. To get to the people to help them, you've got to get through. And sometime the roads look like these pictures that we're showing right now. You can't get through. Power lines are down. Trees are down.
Are you getting to these places on time? And how big of an obstacle is that for you?
PALLADINO: Well, we are lucky -- and lucky is probably the wrong word -- but we have had so many Red Crossers and so much materials and supplies in the state from the last three storms that as each additional storm has been coming, it's been quicker for us to respond.
But it does raise the point why we tell people so much that it's so important to prepare before a storm, before an emergency, before any emergency, to have two or three days' worth of food and water and all of the supplies you need, because it does take time to get through.
SANCHEZ: We're almost out of time. But give me a yes or no, if you possibly can. You've been in this for 12 years. Is this the worst you've ever seen?
PALLADINO: Pretty close.
SANCHEZ: Thank you so much, Chris. We appreciate that. Chris Palladino with the Red Cross.
Jeanne, by is way, is still a tropical storm.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: We want to get to some news just coming into us now this morning here at CNN. Private First Class Lynndie England will face a court-martial. The Army has announced 19 charges against England, including conspiracy and assault in connection with the mistreatment of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. A motion hearing has been set for early December. The trial date is set for January 18. In February of 2003, as the world debated whether the U.S.-led coalition should invade Iraq, one man says he knew for that Saddam Hussein was a threat, because the remnants of Saddam's secret nuclear weapons program was buried in his yard.
After the fall of Baghdad, the former Saddam regime scientist, Mahdi Obeidi, turned himself in and the evidence, and turned it over to the United States. He is telling his story in a new book called "The Bomb in My Garden." And he is joining us now this morning.
Thanks so much for being with us. We know that Saddam Hussein had said that he dismantled his weapons program back in 1991. When you heard that, what did you think?
MAHDI OBEIDI, IRAQI NUCLEAR SCIENTIST: Well, Heidi, we have to put the facts in perspective. In 1991, the weapons were dismantled by the weapons inspectors. However, Saddam Hussein preserved the capabilities for the makings of a bomb if he had wanted to. He preserved the people, and he had the documents and the blueprints and some of the materials in my garden.
COLLINS: How close were you to making a nuclear bomb? I know that you in particular were the one who helped with the centrifuge. Tell people what that means.
OBEIDI: We were very close indeed. We started in August of 1987. At the time, we had not seen or heard of a centrifuge. And we were able in 1990 to be able to start a bomb.
COLLINS: In fact, in your book you tell stories about walking into American universities...
OBEIDI: Yes.
COLLINS: ... and getting -- I don't know if it was top-secret information, but some of the world's most sensitive information about going ahead and building something like a centrifuge. How does that happen?
OBEIDI: Well, my first experiment, I came to the United States and I looked for the first blueprint, the first designs of a magnetic centrifuge. And I went to the University of Virginia. They had a report, which was made by a German called Zippa (ph) in the '60s.
And I was (INAUDIBLE) experience to get into the University of Virginia and try to see that report. That report was out of circulation. And then after about half an hour it was brought to my attention, and I was able to get that report to look at it. And somehow I was able to find the name of a person who was Italian, and I went to Italy to get it.
COLLINS: So, this took you a half an hour, you said. I mean, didn't anybody say, hey, what are you doing over there, or question you at all in trying to get a hold of these documents?
OBEIDI: No, of course not. COLLINS: And did that surprise you? You said it was scary.
OBEIDI: And it was scary because I expected something would happen. But nothing happened fortunately.
COLLINS: Describe the pressure. You and I were speaking during the break. You said you actually met with Saddam Hussein himself about three different times. Describe the pressure on you to come up with some sort of information for him. You know, he wanted to hear how his weapons program was progressing.
OBEIDI: Heidi, it was a scary experience. I went at one time to tell him of the progress that we were making. And then he said, well, now imagine yourself, this is a house and we have made -- you have made the brick for the house. When will we get the house? I said, 'Sir, how can I tell you how soon I can tell you I can get the house?'
COLLINS: Were you honest with him?
OBEIDI: I was honest with him. And then when I got out, one of his assistants said to me, "Why did you hesitate to tell the president about when you will make the bomb? Is it one neck that we have or two necks?" It was really scary indeed. And I think I expected to be landed in prison, but fortunately I wasn't.
COLLINS: Quickly, tell me, if you could quickly, what you see for the future of Iraq and the people there.
OBEIDI: Well, I think, Heidi, before I answer you on this point, there is one point which is really important. People -- I think there is a scary thing about the proliferation of centrifuge and bombs. We were able to make centrifuges and we were ready to make a bomb in three months. Imagine tomorrow or next month or next year, you will hear somebody, some nation might be coming with a bomb, and then putting the whole world as a hostage. This is a real possibility, and I think the world should be really looking into this really thoroughly. Otherwise, the whole world might be annihilated without knowing and we are all asleep.
COLLINS: I appreciate your information so very much. It's just a fascinating book. Mahdi Obeidi, thanks so much for your time once again.
OBEIDI: Thank you.
COLLINS: Rick -- back over to you.
SANCHEZ: All right, thanks a lot, Heidi. Still to come here on AMERICAN MORNING, a tough weekend in the office football pool for you? Maybe you did a little better than Andy. He's going to be "Minding Your Business."
Also, some of the greatest minds in America take a trip inside Michael Jackson's head. You heard it right. The 90-second poppers join them, ahead right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back, everyone, to AMERICAN MORNING. We've got Jack here again. He's talking about the "Question of the Day." Boy, it couldn't be more appropriate than what we're talking about this week.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, well, let's hope they are worth the airtime that they get. The presidential debates begin Thursday. It remains to be seen whether they will be worth watching, because the way they set them up has all changed. Gone are the good old days when we watched Richard Nixon dying a slow death under the hot television lights while his beard grew by the minute. We were supposed to have a picture of Mr. Nixon there, but apparently we couldn't find it.
The debates these days are more tightly choreographed than a Broadway musical. Call it a scripted charade. It's run by a group called the Commission for Presidential Debates. That is the Republican and Democratic Parties. And you won't be seeing Ralph Nader. He's not invited, even though he's on the ballot and is a candidate for president.
The question is this: How important are these debates to you?
David writes from New York: "The debates are the only opportunity to voters to compare the candidates' positions, attitudes and basic intelligence without the manipulations inherent in TV advertising."
Hal in Oran, Missouri, writes: "The debates. What debates? Bush and Kerry will be delivering a series of robotic and motionless pre-scripted responses. Questions in the so-called town hall debate on October the 8th, for example, will first need to be submitted in writing. And then if the person strays from the scripted question, the moderator will immediately cut them off."
Democracy in action, ain't it?
CAFFERTY: Doug in Bloomfield, New Jersey: "The debates are more important than the conventions and political ads, but less important than the truth that we see everyday."
Paul writes from Pennsylvania: "The upcoming make-believe debates will feature a president who has the speaking skills of Elmer Fudd and the challenger who can't seem to shut up. I'll listen to both of the candidates' canned scripts very carefully, and when it's all over, I'm voting for Herbert Hoover."
And Al in Florida writes: "Thank god for Thursday night ESPN college football."
So, not a lot of groundswell of support for these debates.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes. Those people are real excited about that, aren't they?
COLLINS: What day is that, Thursday night? SERWER: Oh, come on now!
CAFFERTY: Oh, yes, sure. You want to pick that one, too?
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: I'm just looking for...
SERWER: Heidi the Greek over here, right, Jack?
CAFFERTY: Yes.
COLLINS: Andy Serwer is here now, and we're going to get our first preview of the markets, "Minding Your Business" this morning. I'm not sure that's really something that we want to do. Ouch!
SERWER: Well, looking backwards we sure don't. Heidi, last week was not a good one for the stock market. The Dow was down 237 points. And we have been seeing this pattern here, Heidi. We get a rally going on, and then we slip back. The Dow is down now about 4 percent for the year.
The futures are weak this morning. We talked about higher oil and gas prices. That has a lot to do with that situation.
Now, let's go to the main event, football. First of all, did you see the wet bowl? I'm talking about the Miami-Pittsburgh game. This is outrageous. I mean, Hurricane Jeanne -- Jeanne, Jeanne, you're young and alive and you're wet.
Now, yes, Pittsburgh managed to get this done. Guess who called this game right Jack? Heidi Collins.
CAFFERTY: There you go.
SERWER: Heidi Collins called almost all of the games right. Heidi Collins, football guru. She's not just a news anchor. She was 11-2.
CAFFERTY: Heidi the Greek.
SERWER: Heidi the Greek. Bill Hemmer did OK. Then there's a couple of other people down there. Rick, you are lucky you don't get on this.
SANCHEZ: Oh, I was undefeated.
SERWER: Oh, yes.
COLLINS: Yes, yes, yes.
SERWER: Of course, you were. Jack, you can tie me tonight if the Cowboys win, because you picked the Cowboys.
CAFFERTY: Do I have the Cowboys?
SERWER: You do have the Cowboys.
CAFFERTY: Oh (INAUDIBLE).
COLLINS: Yes, but I thought you were a Skins fan.
SERWER: I picked the Skins.
COLLINS: Oh, OK.
SERWER: So if the Cowboys win anyway.
COLLINS: OK, I got it.
SERWER: Anyway, you are too good. I don't know if we're going to let you do it next week, Heidi. No.
COLLINS: Whatever. I am the only girl. Still to come this morning...
SANCHEZ: Congratulations, by the way.
COLLINS: Thank you.
SERWER: On that too.
COLLINS: His day job keeps him busy, but the governor of California may not be done with his futuristic cyborg killing days. Just ahead, yes, "90-Second Pop" ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right, well it's Monday. That must mean it's time for "90-Second Pop," right? Our band of AMERICAN MORNING idols, Andy Borowitz taking shock to a new level in his new book, "The Borowitz Report: The Big Book of Shockers." And Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine. And, of course, Toure, CNN pop culture correspondent and author of that book, "Soul City."
All right, guys...
ANDY BOROWITZ, AUTHOR, "THE BOROWITZ REPORT": Let's bring in home shopping, OK?
SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: I know! We need, like, a 1-800 number on the bottom.
COLLINS: Maybe we do.
Hey, Toure, let me ask you about this now. Eighteen scholars at Yale University are looking at several different aspects of Michael Jackson...
TOURE, CNN POPULAR CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
COLLINS: ... talking about sexual, racial and artistic aspects of him. Why? TOURE: Why? I mean, any artist this big -- Madonna, U2 -- has got to represent something of their era. Right? You can do the same thing for Tom Cruise, need to be that big and that many people like you, you're going to mean something to that era.
And Michael Jackson means so much. I mean, going from the real black music of his Motown era to the crossover rock and roll music of his adulthood from the military thing to the violence...
COLLINS: So, they're not talking about the court case at all and all of that.
TOURE: No, they're leaving out the court case. That's not necessarily part of it. I mean, he's had a long life. He's had a lot going on. There's a lot sociologically to deal with in Michael Jackson. Just even the videos where there is violence and children. Like, what is going on in your head?
COLLINS: But they're not...
BERNARD: But this is a good idea actually.
TOURE: Oh, absolutely. I mean, you can...
COLLINS: How can they not talk about the court case, though?
TOURE: Well, you could spend so much about Michael before you even get to the court case.
BOROWITZ: For example, you know...
TOURE: Even the coloring of his skin and how he's pushed that, you know, just getting lighter and lighter. What does that mean to African-Americans in this generation?
BOROWITZ: You know, and these scholars spent two days at Yale, and they still couldn't figure out the lyrics to "Billy Jean." They think it's the kid is not my son.
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: I just want to know...
COLLINS: That is pretty sad.
BERNARD: ... does this actually mean people at Yale can major in Michael Jackson?
TOURE: You should be able to major in Michael Jackson.
BOROWITZ: With a minor in Tito, yes.
COLLINS: Right, that's frightening. Sarah, let's talk about this one now: Arnold Schwarzenegger. OK, they're talking about the "Terminator IV"...
BERNARD: Right.
COLLINS: ... and his possible role in it.
BERNARD: I know.
COLLINS: Can you do it as the governor of California?
BERNARD: I think you can. Well, actually, I didn't even realize that "Terminator III" was as successful as it was. It made $460 million. So, of course, they have to make another one.
Now, they introduce a lot of new characters. There is a terminatrix, Claire Danes was in it. So, they do have other cast members if they want to not have Arnold come back.
TOURE: And he's just going to do a cameo.
BERNARD: Well, that's the thing. He's not going to necessarily star as the T800. But what he's going to do...
BOROWITZ: Yes, that is going to be played by Gray Davis.
BERNARD: And he doesn't even need a costume. But what they are going to try and do is coax him into some sort of cameo role. And I think that if he does that and if he makes it clear that it's not taking away from his day job, it would actually be great for him.
COLLINS: A cameo as the governor of California, as himself?
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: No, I think he's going to put the leather jacket on and the sunglasses, because people love seeing him, you know, fight evildoers. And that would be...
BOROWITZ: Well, President Bush had a big part in that Michael Moore film.
BERNARD: Right. So, it's only fair that he...
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: You know, it's true. All right, Andy, we've got to get to the last one here, and I know it's possibly your favorite in a long, long time, the Victoria Secret tour here called "Angels in America."
BOROWITZ: Yes.
COLLINS: We've got Heidi Klum, Giselle Bundchen, Tyra Banks, they're going to be hitting malls near you.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
COLLINS: So what is going to make this campaign successful, Andy? BOROWITZ: Well, you know, I'm so glad this is being thrown in my direction, because I have given this so much thought. But, you know, I think it is going to be a big hit, because, you know, in the past if you wanted to see women at the mall wearing Victoria Secret underwear, you kind of had to hide in the changing rooms. So I'm told.
BERNARD: Yes, right.
BOROWITZ: So, I think it just actually to have it out in the open. It's going to rock.
TOURE: But the beauty of Victoria Secret, right, is somehow they have combined wholesomeness and sexuality. So it's like the Disney of lingerie. So it's like you can go to malls around -- I mean, like the first word is "angels," like they're throwing it right in your face. Like, we're wholesome.
COLLINS: Are they wearing the big wings like they have in the past?
BERNARD: I think they are. And it is also going to be televised on VH1. Their big (INAUDIBLE) across America. So...
COLLINS: Yes, they usually do pretty well when they're on TV.
BOROWITZ: Lingerie is finally getting the attention it deserves.
BERNARD: Yes, right, right, right.
COLLINS: Andy Borowitz, Toure and Sarah Bernard, thanks so much, as always, you guys.
Rick -- back over to you.
SANCHEZ: Yes, you guys really have got to be a little more funny on these things.
Still to come, everyone knew Jeanne was coming. So, why did so many people stay in the way, fail to move? A look at that ahead right here. This is AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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