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CNN Live At Daybreak
Candidates and the War on Terror; Latest Peterson Trial Developments; CNN Producer Kidnapped by Gunmen in Gaza
Aired September 28, 2004 - 05:00 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: And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news -- early today, U.S. warplanes hit suspected terrorist targets in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. The U.S. military says the suspected terrorists are connected to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The U.S. believes Zarqawi is behind several kidnappings and beheadings.
Moscow police believe they know who killed the editor of "Forbes Russia" in July. Russia's Interfax News Agency reports police detained two Chechens they believe killed Paul Klebnikov outside his Moscow office.
School safety on the agenda in Washington this morning. A House committee looks into the idea of giving the Department of Education authority to collect and share information on teachers with criminal records.
And the remnants of hurricane Jeanne have washed out dozens of roads in south Georgia. The storm also knocked out power to 76,000 residents. This is Valdosta, which got more than five inches of rain on Monday.
To the forecast center.
Chad is traveling this morning back from Florida.
Rob Marciano is in the house -- good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
Impressive rainfall totals, as you mentioned, leading to some flooding across not only Georgia, but later on today across the Carolinas, as well.
Here's a full list for you: Ocala, Florida, 6.89 inches; as you mentioned, Valdosta, 5.3 inches; Macon, over five inches, as well; Gainesville, Florida, less than five.
So interestingly enough that parts of Georgia saw more rain than parts of Florida. Orlando coming in at 4.17 inches of rainfall.
All right, the other threat with this thing is going to be tornadoes. We had 17 reports of tornadoes touching down yesterday. And interestingly enough, or bad news, actually, for the folks in Raleigh, this is a radar indicated tornado and it should be around north Raleigh area right about now. So if you live in the north Raleigh area, don't be heading to work just yet. You do have an excuse to hang in your house for the next 10 minutes. That doesn't mean it's on the ground, but it's radar indicated right in downtown Raleigh.
All right, all this moisture is heading up toward the north and east, so the major metropolitan areas in the I-95 corridor will see some heavy rains developing. Flood watches out for a bunch of Virginia and North Carolina. And you can see the rainfall beginning to stretch up toward New York City already.
So, a lot of heavy rain and a continuing threat for tornadoes. This should all be gone in the next two days. And we're looking at pretty quiet tropical weather after that.
COSTELLO: Oh, that sounds nice.
Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: OK.
COSTELLO: Tear another day off the calendar. Election day is a little more than a month away. November 2 is in 35 days. President Bush now has an eight point lead over Senator John Kerry among likely voters. That's according to the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. The poll, taken over the weekend, shows 52 percent of the respondents favor Bush. Kerry is the choice of 44 percent.
Among likely registered voters, Bush gets 53 percent, Kerry 42. The sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Polling also shows Bush's approval rating at 54 percent. That is the highest since January.
And while the pollsters crunch the numbers, political operatives are working overtime to get you to vote for their candidate. And you may have noticed things are getting, well, they're getting ugly.
CNN's Howard Kurtz takes a look at the down and dirty hot button issue of terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: God bless you.
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES" (voice-over): The Republican effort to depict John Kerry as weak on terrorism began in earnest with a blast from Vice President Cheney.
RICHARD CHENEY (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And it's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on November 2, we make the right choice. Because if we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that -- we'll get hit again.
KURTZ: Then House Speaker Dennis Hastert said al Qaeda would be more successful under a Kerry administration. And now a conservative 527 group called Progress For America, largely bankrolled by two of the president's fundraisers, targets Kerry with stunning pictures of terrorists and terror attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people want to kill us. They killed hundreds of innocent children in Russia, 200 innocent commuters in Spain and 3,000 innocent Americans. John Kerry has a 30-year record of supporting cuts in defense and intelligence and endlessly changing positions on Iraq. Would you trust Kerry up against these fanatic killers?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Kerry has supported some military cutbacks since the mid- 1980s, but has voted for more than $4 trillion in defense spending. But the message here has more to do with fear than fine print. A Kerry spokesman calls it the Willie Horton ad of 2004. Kerry immediately fired back, not at the 527 group, but at the Bush campaign, which has declined to distance itself from the Progress for America spot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Despicable politics, an un-American way to campaign, the latest Bush-Cheney attacks against John Kerry. George Bush and Dick Cheney are using the appalling and divisive strategy of playing politics with the war on terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Strong words which the Kerry camp took from an anti-Bush editorial in "The New York Times." Of course, with Kerry regularly denouncing Bush on the campaign trail for fumbling the war on terror, both sides can now be described as trying to politically exploit the issue.
The president's campaign followed up today by depicting Kerry as inconsistent on Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERRY: It was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein. And when the president made the decision, I supported him.
I don't believe the president took us to war as he should have.
The winning of the war was brilliant.
It's the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: But some of these statements have been wrenched out of context. When Kerry praised American troops for winning the war last year, he also said the administration "dropped the ball" in the aftermath and that "you've got to have the capacity to provide law and order on the streets and to provide the fundamental services." That's hardly inconsistent with what he's been saying ever since.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Howard Kurtz reporting.
But we want to know what you think. Fear as a tactic -- is it working for the candidates? E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. Daybreak@cnn.com.
We're always eager to get your e-mails. Of course, we'll read some of your comments on the air a little later in our show.
Just weeks before election day, Florida is wrestling with a lawsuit on touch screen voting machines. A federal appeals court told a judge to reopen a suit that would allow voters to receive paper receipts if they use a touch screen machine. The case could affect 15 Florida counties. But it's not clear if it'll be decided before the November election.
Legendary music producer Phil Spector has now been indicted in the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson. Clarkson died at Spector's Los Angeles area mansion last year. Spector, who is free on $1 million bond, says Clarkson killed herself. He has also not been shy to voice his displeasure with prosecutors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHIL SPECTOR, INDICTED FOR MURDER: The actions of the Hitler- like district attorney and his storm trooping henchmen to seek an indictment against me and censor all means of me getting my evidence and the truth out are reprehensible, unconscionable and despicable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The earliest the murder trial could begin is December 16.
An important ruling is expected to come as early as today in the Michael Jackson case. The judge will rule on the inclusion of evidence gained from a series of searches. That includes materials taken from the Neverland Ranch. Jackson faces numerous charges, including child molestation.
Martha Stewart still has a few days before she goes to prison, but she's already in the system. The Bureau of Prisons has issued Stewart her inmate number. She begins serving her five month term on October 8.
And Scott Peterson, he cheated on his wife numerous times during their marriage. That tidbit has become a key part of Peterson's defense, as his attorney tries to remove Amber Frey as a motive for murder.
CNN's Ted Rowlands explains the strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jurors were riveted as they learned that Scott Peterson had been cheating on his wife Laci since the first year of their marriage. With lead detective Craig Grogan on the stand, defense attorney Mark Geragos decided to provide jurors with new details of Peterson's infidelity, including a story about one girlfriend who didn't know Peterson was married and caused a scene when she walked in on Scott and Laci in bed.
Peterson told another woman he was separated, according to today's testimony, and she didn't find out the real story until meeting Laci at Scott's college graduation. One of Laci's friends told investigators that the Petersons were not having sex because of her pregnancy. The defense theory is that Scott Peterson did not kill his wife because of the now well-known affair with Amber Frey.
DEAN JOHNSON, LEGAL ANALYST: Now, they want to point out that, look, this has happened over and over and over again. It's never been a motive for murder before, why should it be a motive for murder now?
ROWLANDS: Earlier, Geragos disputed the suggestion that a reference to Laci in the past tense by Peterson was incriminating. Laci's mother, brother and sister, according to Geragos, did the same thing in media interviews less than a week after Laci disappeared.
(on camera): The other women Peterson had affairs with were not identified in court and it is unclear whether either side will have them testify. Detective Grogan is expected to be back on the stand when court resumes.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And we will have more on the Peterson case coming up in our next hour. Our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey, will join us with some "Coffey Talk." He'll look at the defense strategy as it prepares to present its case.
In the Middle East this morning, this news hits close to home. One of our producers, Riad Ali, has been kidnapped in Gaza City.
CNN's Ben Wedeman was traveling with him in a taxi when they were stopped by gunmen.
He joins us now live from Gaza City.
Any new word -- Ben. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, Carol. It was 17-and-a-half hours ago that we were stopped by these gunmen and they took Riad away. In those 17-and-a-half hours, we've been waiting, checking with all possible contacts, but no word from anybody. And more disturbingly, not even a claim of responsibility or any demands or ransom demands from any kidnappers. This is an incident that has really shaken Gaza. The Palestinian police have been up all night working their contacts, asking anybody who might know anything about it. We also know that the Israelis are very concerned about the abduction of Mr. Riad Ali.
So at this point, strangely enough, 17-and-a-half hours later, still no word on who's holding him and what they're doing and what they want -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ben, you were with him in that taxi when the abduction took place. It struck me that they asked specifically for him.
WEDEMAN: Yes, that is one of the very strange things about this incident. We were four people in the taxi. The driver, Riad, Mary Rogers, our camerawoman, and I. And of course, we're both Americans and they asked specifically for Riad. And there are many things about this abduction that are strange. These men, they were not -- they did not mask their faces. They -- we were on a large street in the middle of Gaza City and they didn't seem to be in the least concerned that this was a very open act that they were doing.
So many, many questions, many things that are very difficult to understand. And it's worth pointing out that in -- over the last few years here in Gaza, since the outbreak of the intifada in September 2000, there have been incidents were journalists were abducted by groups. Oftentimes they were brought in for a meal, given a diatribe about what's wrong with U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and sent on their way.
But in this case, no word from the kidnappers, no word from Riad. It's very, very mysterious, very confusing -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And of course, this makes us work about you.
I mean what sorts of protections are in place to protect journalists?
WEDEMAN: Well, there is Palestinian security here right outside our office. I've been coming to Gaza for many years. I don't feel that -- or haven't felt over the years that we were in any way threatened or in danger. This is a disturbing development. And we don't know the motives of the men who kidnapped Riad. So at the moment we're fine. I'm not concerned about our security. Obviously the Palestinians are very embarrassed about this incident. We've heard from Hamas and other organizations here, other radical Palestinian militant organizations condemning the kidnapping.
I've read reports in some of the Israeli press that they believe Hamas or Islamic Jihad are behind it. But here on the ground it seems that, at least from everything we're hearing from our contacts, that nobody wants to claim responsibility for the kidnapping of Riad -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, Ben, you stay safe and our prayers are with Riad this morning.
Thank you.
Ben Wedeman reporting live for us.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, there are global worries about oil supplies and that's fueling a hike in crude oil prices in a big way. We'll take you live to London at 17 minutes past for the details.
More appeals for the release of that British hostage in Iraq. We'll have a live report for you out of Brighton, England at 33 minutes past.
But first, hurricanes. Now a political storm is coming to Florida. At 41 minutes past the hour, the first in a series of reports on the presidential debates.
And finally, it's not caffeine that's energizing some people's coffee breaks these days. We'll have details at 54 minutes past.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning, the 28th day of September.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Parts of Georgia underwater thanks to tropical storm Jeanne. Heavy rains flooded homes and roads and knocked out power to thousands of people. Many low lying areas were evacuated ahead of the storm. We'll have more on Jeanne in just a minute.
China is sending police officers to Haiti to help control the chaos following hurricane Jeanne. It's China's first ever deployment to the Western Hemisphere. Jeanne caused more than 1,000 deaths and riots have broken out at many aid distribution centers.
In money news, you can get an updated picture of Ulysses S. Grant starting today. The picture of the 18th president is on the brand spanking new $50 bill. It will be similar to the new pastel colored $20 bill. The redesign is to make it more difficult to counterfeit, of course. A new $100 bill comes out next year.
In culture, a series of letters written by President Ronald Reagan are up for sale. The 41 letters were written to the former actor turned senator George Murphy between late 1970 to the early 1990s. The letters reveal a harder edge to the former president, who was critical of Ted Kennedy, Walter Mondale and Jimmy Carter.
In sports, the Dallas Cowboys pulled out all the stops in their Monday night win over the Washington Redskins. With a 21-18 win, the Cowboys have now beaten the Redskins in 13 of their last 14 meetings. Can you believe that, Rob?
MARCIANO: Did you stay up to watch that game?
COSTELLO: I wanted to so badly, but I fell asleep.
MARCIANO: I love it that you're so into football. But you can't stay up that late.
Hey, listen, the tropical storm, now a tropical depression, and really just the -- just some spinning air. The center of Jeanne, what's left of it, heading across the border of the Carolinas.
And that's the wrong map.
There's a national map, Carol.
You got me all flustered when you talked about the cowboys and the Indians.
COSTELLO: No. Redskins, Redskins.
MARCIANO: And the Redskins.
I'll talk to you in a little bit.
COSTELLO: All right, I'm sorry, Rob.
That computer, it's having its problems this morning.
Thank you, Rob.
Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
The forecast for oil prices is, in a word, stormy. Crude oil future prices rose early today in New York, hitting a new all time high of $50.35 a barrel. You've seen the impact of that at the pump.
Well, let's look at the growing global demand.
For that, we head live to London and Hala Gorani -- good morning, Hala.
HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
You're going to need one of those new Ulysses Grant $50 bill, at least one of them, to buy a barrel of NYMEX crude oil. Some analysts are calling this the perfect storm in terms of having all the factors necessary to push the price of oil higher, high above the psychologically important barrier of $50 for NYMEX crude.
Hurricanes in the Gulf region and tropical storms in the Gulf region, that area of the world produces more than a million barrels a day. You also have Nigerian rebels threatening to halt production in the Niger Delta. Nigeria produces 2.5 million barrels a day and exports at least that much. And so you have that factor on top of all the others, including U.S. inventory levels at relatively and historically low levels.
All of that coming together and adding to the pressure on oil markets. And this is a record high, $50.14 a barrel right now in electronic trade for NYMEX crude for November delivery.
So it doesn't look like the price will come down today because these factors are still in place -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I just wonder how much higher it might go.
GORANI: You know, the question is if this is still a problem today at current levels, because they still could go higher. But you need to look at it historically. And some analysts or economists are warning us not to get too carried away, us journalists and also consumers, as to how much this could affect them at the pump, at the gas station.
Now, for prices to have the same impact today as they did in the late '70s, when they were close to $40 a barrel, they would have to be at $70 to $80 a barrel in real terms. And because the world economy is so much more efficient and we don't need as much oil to produce as much GDP, oil prices, some say, would have to be closer to $150 a barrel to have the same impact on the world economy as they did in the late '70s.
So they could go higher, but relatively speaking, Carol, economists are saying they're still not that high.
COSTELLO: Tell that to consumers.
Hala Gorani reporting live from London this morning.
What's hot on the Web straight ahead.
Also, viva Las Vegas. We'll tell you what's going to happen to this landmark sign.
And we want to hear from you this morning. Our DAYBREAK e-mail Question of the Morning deals with the upcoming presidential elections. Fear as a tactic, a political tactic, is it working for the candidates? Send us your thoughts, daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
And you are watching DAYBREAK for a Tuesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's time to check out our Web clicks this morning.
We're always interested in what you're clicking onto on cnn.com.
And we have some stories from the top 10 clicked on stories to tell you about this morning.
MARCIANO: Let's hear them. What's first?
COSTELLO: One of them, O'Brien, Conan O'Brien to replace Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show."
MARCIANO: Really?
COSTELLO: Have you heard about this?
MARCIANO: No. Soon?
COSTELLO: What do you do all day? Do you just look at meteorological maps?
MARCIANO: It's been a busy season so like I don't even know who's playing football anymore.
COSTELLO: I know. I know. But Jay Leno is going to retire in the year 2009 and Conan O'Brien has graciously decided to wait it out so he can be Jay Leno's replacement.
MARCIANO: Is 2009 in our lifetime?
COSTELLO: I know.
MARCIANO: What is this, another -- that's like a Tom Brokaw swan song here.
COSTELLO: That's kind of early, isn't it?
MARCIANO: OK. Good luck, Conan.
COSTELLO: Another very popular story on our Web site, "Grandpa Seeking Family Gets Adopted." An 80-year-old retiree in Italy, very lonely. He lived with his seven cats. He decided he wanted a family, so he put himself up for adoption.
MARCIANO: And who adopted him? Do we know?
COSTELLO: He got so many offers he couldn't decide. They came from as far as New Zealand, Brazil and even the United States. And he decided to go with a family in northern Italy.
MARCIANO: One, two, three, ah.
COSTELLO: Ah.
MARCIANO: That's a good story.
COSTELLO: That makes you feel good.
MARCIANO: Yes, it's a good one.
This one not so good.
COSTELLO: This one's not so good. You know, this is like a nightmare. This is like my nightmare whenever I go swimming in the ocean or swimming anywhere around Florida. A woman was killed by an alligator in Fort Myers. She went swimming in a Florida lake near her parents home, I believe. And the alligator bit her arm off and she died.
MARCIANO: Wow!
COSTELLO: Really scary.
MARCIANO: Well...
COSTELLO: And they haven't caught the alligator, either. So it's still out there swimming around somewhere, so be careful.
MARCIANO: That's very dangerous.
COSTELLO: Definitely.
Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Openers" now.
This Las Vegas sign you're about to see is just about the most recognizable sign in the world. And now you can take it home with you. Well, you can buy the first sanctioned replica of the famous landmark. The landmark is the first to be approved by the 81-year-old creator of the original sign. A portion of the proceeds will go to cancer research.
Things are getting bumpier on Mount St. Helens. The amount of small quakes felt at the volcano match the activity felt just before the last eruption in 1986. On Monday, the rate was about one or two earthquakes every minute.
Thousands of people showed up on the coast of Capetown, South Africa to watch the whales and the whales obliged by coming out of the water to watch the people. The annual festival boasts the world's only official whale crier. He's kind of a cross between a town crier and a horse whisperer for whales.
MARCIANO: And that's whale watching when you don't have to get on a boat.
COSTELLO: Isn't that awesome?
MARCIANO: You can just hang out right by...
COSTELLO: Look at that.
MARCIANO: That's cool.
COSTELLO: It's awesome.
Have you ever been annoyed by someone talking loudly on a cell phone? Well, then this story may be for you. A pregnant woman in Maryland was actually arrested for disturbing the peace by talking on her cell phone. A transit officer told her to tone it down, but she said he had no right to regulate her volume.
Well, apparently he did have the authority and she was arrested and handcuffed and maybe we should explain further, this happened in the Washington Metro system. She was apparently on a train talking loudly on the phone and the Metro officer came up and said disorderly conduct. You're out of here.
MARCIANO: They're tough. You can't eat there. You can't drink there in the Metro.
COSTELLO: They are tough.
MARCIANO: Some New York commuter trains have actual cars where you can't talk on cell phones.
COSTELLO: That's good. That's good.
MARCIANO: So you can sleep on the way to work.
COSTELLO: In Washington, apparently you can talk, but not loudly.
But we're going to have much more on that in the 6:00 hour of DAYBREAK.
MARCIANO: OK.
COSTELLO: We're going to talk to a reporter live from Washington about that story.
MARCIANO: Great.
COSTELLO: They're hot in Washington about that.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
College sports generating more money than ever before, but will the record setting TV revenue put a damper on the real focus of academics?
What's that? We'll have more on that story in about 20 minutes on DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired September 28, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news -- early today, U.S. warplanes hit suspected terrorist targets in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. The U.S. military says the suspected terrorists are connected to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The U.S. believes Zarqawi is behind several kidnappings and beheadings.
Moscow police believe they know who killed the editor of "Forbes Russia" in July. Russia's Interfax News Agency reports police detained two Chechens they believe killed Paul Klebnikov outside his Moscow office.
School safety on the agenda in Washington this morning. A House committee looks into the idea of giving the Department of Education authority to collect and share information on teachers with criminal records.
And the remnants of hurricane Jeanne have washed out dozens of roads in south Georgia. The storm also knocked out power to 76,000 residents. This is Valdosta, which got more than five inches of rain on Monday.
To the forecast center.
Chad is traveling this morning back from Florida.
Rob Marciano is in the house -- good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
Impressive rainfall totals, as you mentioned, leading to some flooding across not only Georgia, but later on today across the Carolinas, as well.
Here's a full list for you: Ocala, Florida, 6.89 inches; as you mentioned, Valdosta, 5.3 inches; Macon, over five inches, as well; Gainesville, Florida, less than five.
So interestingly enough that parts of Georgia saw more rain than parts of Florida. Orlando coming in at 4.17 inches of rainfall.
All right, the other threat with this thing is going to be tornadoes. We had 17 reports of tornadoes touching down yesterday. And interestingly enough, or bad news, actually, for the folks in Raleigh, this is a radar indicated tornado and it should be around north Raleigh area right about now. So if you live in the north Raleigh area, don't be heading to work just yet. You do have an excuse to hang in your house for the next 10 minutes. That doesn't mean it's on the ground, but it's radar indicated right in downtown Raleigh.
All right, all this moisture is heading up toward the north and east, so the major metropolitan areas in the I-95 corridor will see some heavy rains developing. Flood watches out for a bunch of Virginia and North Carolina. And you can see the rainfall beginning to stretch up toward New York City already.
So, a lot of heavy rain and a continuing threat for tornadoes. This should all be gone in the next two days. And we're looking at pretty quiet tropical weather after that.
COSTELLO: Oh, that sounds nice.
Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: OK.
COSTELLO: Tear another day off the calendar. Election day is a little more than a month away. November 2 is in 35 days. President Bush now has an eight point lead over Senator John Kerry among likely voters. That's according to the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. The poll, taken over the weekend, shows 52 percent of the respondents favor Bush. Kerry is the choice of 44 percent.
Among likely registered voters, Bush gets 53 percent, Kerry 42. The sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Polling also shows Bush's approval rating at 54 percent. That is the highest since January.
And while the pollsters crunch the numbers, political operatives are working overtime to get you to vote for their candidate. And you may have noticed things are getting, well, they're getting ugly.
CNN's Howard Kurtz takes a look at the down and dirty hot button issue of terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: God bless you.
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES" (voice-over): The Republican effort to depict John Kerry as weak on terrorism began in earnest with a blast from Vice President Cheney.
RICHARD CHENEY (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And it's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on November 2, we make the right choice. Because if we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that -- we'll get hit again.
KURTZ: Then House Speaker Dennis Hastert said al Qaeda would be more successful under a Kerry administration. And now a conservative 527 group called Progress For America, largely bankrolled by two of the president's fundraisers, targets Kerry with stunning pictures of terrorists and terror attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people want to kill us. They killed hundreds of innocent children in Russia, 200 innocent commuters in Spain and 3,000 innocent Americans. John Kerry has a 30-year record of supporting cuts in defense and intelligence and endlessly changing positions on Iraq. Would you trust Kerry up against these fanatic killers?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Kerry has supported some military cutbacks since the mid- 1980s, but has voted for more than $4 trillion in defense spending. But the message here has more to do with fear than fine print. A Kerry spokesman calls it the Willie Horton ad of 2004. Kerry immediately fired back, not at the 527 group, but at the Bush campaign, which has declined to distance itself from the Progress for America spot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Despicable politics, an un-American way to campaign, the latest Bush-Cheney attacks against John Kerry. George Bush and Dick Cheney are using the appalling and divisive strategy of playing politics with the war on terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Strong words which the Kerry camp took from an anti-Bush editorial in "The New York Times." Of course, with Kerry regularly denouncing Bush on the campaign trail for fumbling the war on terror, both sides can now be described as trying to politically exploit the issue.
The president's campaign followed up today by depicting Kerry as inconsistent on Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERRY: It was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein. And when the president made the decision, I supported him.
I don't believe the president took us to war as he should have.
The winning of the war was brilliant.
It's the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: But some of these statements have been wrenched out of context. When Kerry praised American troops for winning the war last year, he also said the administration "dropped the ball" in the aftermath and that "you've got to have the capacity to provide law and order on the streets and to provide the fundamental services." That's hardly inconsistent with what he's been saying ever since.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Howard Kurtz reporting.
But we want to know what you think. Fear as a tactic -- is it working for the candidates? E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. Daybreak@cnn.com.
We're always eager to get your e-mails. Of course, we'll read some of your comments on the air a little later in our show.
Just weeks before election day, Florida is wrestling with a lawsuit on touch screen voting machines. A federal appeals court told a judge to reopen a suit that would allow voters to receive paper receipts if they use a touch screen machine. The case could affect 15 Florida counties. But it's not clear if it'll be decided before the November election.
Legendary music producer Phil Spector has now been indicted in the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson. Clarkson died at Spector's Los Angeles area mansion last year. Spector, who is free on $1 million bond, says Clarkson killed herself. He has also not been shy to voice his displeasure with prosecutors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHIL SPECTOR, INDICTED FOR MURDER: The actions of the Hitler- like district attorney and his storm trooping henchmen to seek an indictment against me and censor all means of me getting my evidence and the truth out are reprehensible, unconscionable and despicable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The earliest the murder trial could begin is December 16.
An important ruling is expected to come as early as today in the Michael Jackson case. The judge will rule on the inclusion of evidence gained from a series of searches. That includes materials taken from the Neverland Ranch. Jackson faces numerous charges, including child molestation.
Martha Stewart still has a few days before she goes to prison, but she's already in the system. The Bureau of Prisons has issued Stewart her inmate number. She begins serving her five month term on October 8.
And Scott Peterson, he cheated on his wife numerous times during their marriage. That tidbit has become a key part of Peterson's defense, as his attorney tries to remove Amber Frey as a motive for murder.
CNN's Ted Rowlands explains the strategy.
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TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jurors were riveted as they learned that Scott Peterson had been cheating on his wife Laci since the first year of their marriage. With lead detective Craig Grogan on the stand, defense attorney Mark Geragos decided to provide jurors with new details of Peterson's infidelity, including a story about one girlfriend who didn't know Peterson was married and caused a scene when she walked in on Scott and Laci in bed.
Peterson told another woman he was separated, according to today's testimony, and she didn't find out the real story until meeting Laci at Scott's college graduation. One of Laci's friends told investigators that the Petersons were not having sex because of her pregnancy. The defense theory is that Scott Peterson did not kill his wife because of the now well-known affair with Amber Frey.
DEAN JOHNSON, LEGAL ANALYST: Now, they want to point out that, look, this has happened over and over and over again. It's never been a motive for murder before, why should it be a motive for murder now?
ROWLANDS: Earlier, Geragos disputed the suggestion that a reference to Laci in the past tense by Peterson was incriminating. Laci's mother, brother and sister, according to Geragos, did the same thing in media interviews less than a week after Laci disappeared.
(on camera): The other women Peterson had affairs with were not identified in court and it is unclear whether either side will have them testify. Detective Grogan is expected to be back on the stand when court resumes.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And we will have more on the Peterson case coming up in our next hour. Our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey, will join us with some "Coffey Talk." He'll look at the defense strategy as it prepares to present its case.
In the Middle East this morning, this news hits close to home. One of our producers, Riad Ali, has been kidnapped in Gaza City.
CNN's Ben Wedeman was traveling with him in a taxi when they were stopped by gunmen.
He joins us now live from Gaza City.
Any new word -- Ben. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, Carol. It was 17-and-a-half hours ago that we were stopped by these gunmen and they took Riad away. In those 17-and-a-half hours, we've been waiting, checking with all possible contacts, but no word from anybody. And more disturbingly, not even a claim of responsibility or any demands or ransom demands from any kidnappers. This is an incident that has really shaken Gaza. The Palestinian police have been up all night working their contacts, asking anybody who might know anything about it. We also know that the Israelis are very concerned about the abduction of Mr. Riad Ali.
So at this point, strangely enough, 17-and-a-half hours later, still no word on who's holding him and what they're doing and what they want -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ben, you were with him in that taxi when the abduction took place. It struck me that they asked specifically for him.
WEDEMAN: Yes, that is one of the very strange things about this incident. We were four people in the taxi. The driver, Riad, Mary Rogers, our camerawoman, and I. And of course, we're both Americans and they asked specifically for Riad. And there are many things about this abduction that are strange. These men, they were not -- they did not mask their faces. They -- we were on a large street in the middle of Gaza City and they didn't seem to be in the least concerned that this was a very open act that they were doing.
So many, many questions, many things that are very difficult to understand. And it's worth pointing out that in -- over the last few years here in Gaza, since the outbreak of the intifada in September 2000, there have been incidents were journalists were abducted by groups. Oftentimes they were brought in for a meal, given a diatribe about what's wrong with U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and sent on their way.
But in this case, no word from the kidnappers, no word from Riad. It's very, very mysterious, very confusing -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And of course, this makes us work about you.
I mean what sorts of protections are in place to protect journalists?
WEDEMAN: Well, there is Palestinian security here right outside our office. I've been coming to Gaza for many years. I don't feel that -- or haven't felt over the years that we were in any way threatened or in danger. This is a disturbing development. And we don't know the motives of the men who kidnapped Riad. So at the moment we're fine. I'm not concerned about our security. Obviously the Palestinians are very embarrassed about this incident. We've heard from Hamas and other organizations here, other radical Palestinian militant organizations condemning the kidnapping.
I've read reports in some of the Israeli press that they believe Hamas or Islamic Jihad are behind it. But here on the ground it seems that, at least from everything we're hearing from our contacts, that nobody wants to claim responsibility for the kidnapping of Riad -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, Ben, you stay safe and our prayers are with Riad this morning.
Thank you.
Ben Wedeman reporting live for us.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, there are global worries about oil supplies and that's fueling a hike in crude oil prices in a big way. We'll take you live to London at 17 minutes past for the details.
More appeals for the release of that British hostage in Iraq. We'll have a live report for you out of Brighton, England at 33 minutes past.
But first, hurricanes. Now a political storm is coming to Florida. At 41 minutes past the hour, the first in a series of reports on the presidential debates.
And finally, it's not caffeine that's energizing some people's coffee breaks these days. We'll have details at 54 minutes past.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning, the 28th day of September.
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COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Parts of Georgia underwater thanks to tropical storm Jeanne. Heavy rains flooded homes and roads and knocked out power to thousands of people. Many low lying areas were evacuated ahead of the storm. We'll have more on Jeanne in just a minute.
China is sending police officers to Haiti to help control the chaos following hurricane Jeanne. It's China's first ever deployment to the Western Hemisphere. Jeanne caused more than 1,000 deaths and riots have broken out at many aid distribution centers.
In money news, you can get an updated picture of Ulysses S. Grant starting today. The picture of the 18th president is on the brand spanking new $50 bill. It will be similar to the new pastel colored $20 bill. The redesign is to make it more difficult to counterfeit, of course. A new $100 bill comes out next year.
In culture, a series of letters written by President Ronald Reagan are up for sale. The 41 letters were written to the former actor turned senator George Murphy between late 1970 to the early 1990s. The letters reveal a harder edge to the former president, who was critical of Ted Kennedy, Walter Mondale and Jimmy Carter.
In sports, the Dallas Cowboys pulled out all the stops in their Monday night win over the Washington Redskins. With a 21-18 win, the Cowboys have now beaten the Redskins in 13 of their last 14 meetings. Can you believe that, Rob?
MARCIANO: Did you stay up to watch that game?
COSTELLO: I wanted to so badly, but I fell asleep.
MARCIANO: I love it that you're so into football. But you can't stay up that late.
Hey, listen, the tropical storm, now a tropical depression, and really just the -- just some spinning air. The center of Jeanne, what's left of it, heading across the border of the Carolinas.
And that's the wrong map.
There's a national map, Carol.
You got me all flustered when you talked about the cowboys and the Indians.
COSTELLO: No. Redskins, Redskins.
MARCIANO: And the Redskins.
I'll talk to you in a little bit.
COSTELLO: All right, I'm sorry, Rob.
That computer, it's having its problems this morning.
Thank you, Rob.
Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
The forecast for oil prices is, in a word, stormy. Crude oil future prices rose early today in New York, hitting a new all time high of $50.35 a barrel. You've seen the impact of that at the pump.
Well, let's look at the growing global demand.
For that, we head live to London and Hala Gorani -- good morning, Hala.
HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
You're going to need one of those new Ulysses Grant $50 bill, at least one of them, to buy a barrel of NYMEX crude oil. Some analysts are calling this the perfect storm in terms of having all the factors necessary to push the price of oil higher, high above the psychologically important barrier of $50 for NYMEX crude.
Hurricanes in the Gulf region and tropical storms in the Gulf region, that area of the world produces more than a million barrels a day. You also have Nigerian rebels threatening to halt production in the Niger Delta. Nigeria produces 2.5 million barrels a day and exports at least that much. And so you have that factor on top of all the others, including U.S. inventory levels at relatively and historically low levels.
All of that coming together and adding to the pressure on oil markets. And this is a record high, $50.14 a barrel right now in electronic trade for NYMEX crude for November delivery.
So it doesn't look like the price will come down today because these factors are still in place -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I just wonder how much higher it might go.
GORANI: You know, the question is if this is still a problem today at current levels, because they still could go higher. But you need to look at it historically. And some analysts or economists are warning us not to get too carried away, us journalists and also consumers, as to how much this could affect them at the pump, at the gas station.
Now, for prices to have the same impact today as they did in the late '70s, when they were close to $40 a barrel, they would have to be at $70 to $80 a barrel in real terms. And because the world economy is so much more efficient and we don't need as much oil to produce as much GDP, oil prices, some say, would have to be closer to $150 a barrel to have the same impact on the world economy as they did in the late '70s.
So they could go higher, but relatively speaking, Carol, economists are saying they're still not that high.
COSTELLO: Tell that to consumers.
Hala Gorani reporting live from London this morning.
What's hot on the Web straight ahead.
Also, viva Las Vegas. We'll tell you what's going to happen to this landmark sign.
And we want to hear from you this morning. Our DAYBREAK e-mail Question of the Morning deals with the upcoming presidential elections. Fear as a tactic, a political tactic, is it working for the candidates? Send us your thoughts, daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
And you are watching DAYBREAK for a Tuesday.
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COSTELLO: It's time to check out our Web clicks this morning.
We're always interested in what you're clicking onto on cnn.com.
And we have some stories from the top 10 clicked on stories to tell you about this morning.
MARCIANO: Let's hear them. What's first?
COSTELLO: One of them, O'Brien, Conan O'Brien to replace Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show."
MARCIANO: Really?
COSTELLO: Have you heard about this?
MARCIANO: No. Soon?
COSTELLO: What do you do all day? Do you just look at meteorological maps?
MARCIANO: It's been a busy season so like I don't even know who's playing football anymore.
COSTELLO: I know. I know. But Jay Leno is going to retire in the year 2009 and Conan O'Brien has graciously decided to wait it out so he can be Jay Leno's replacement.
MARCIANO: Is 2009 in our lifetime?
COSTELLO: I know.
MARCIANO: What is this, another -- that's like a Tom Brokaw swan song here.
COSTELLO: That's kind of early, isn't it?
MARCIANO: OK. Good luck, Conan.
COSTELLO: Another very popular story on our Web site, "Grandpa Seeking Family Gets Adopted." An 80-year-old retiree in Italy, very lonely. He lived with his seven cats. He decided he wanted a family, so he put himself up for adoption.
MARCIANO: And who adopted him? Do we know?
COSTELLO: He got so many offers he couldn't decide. They came from as far as New Zealand, Brazil and even the United States. And he decided to go with a family in northern Italy.
MARCIANO: One, two, three, ah.
COSTELLO: Ah.
MARCIANO: That's a good story.
COSTELLO: That makes you feel good.
MARCIANO: Yes, it's a good one.
This one not so good.
COSTELLO: This one's not so good. You know, this is like a nightmare. This is like my nightmare whenever I go swimming in the ocean or swimming anywhere around Florida. A woman was killed by an alligator in Fort Myers. She went swimming in a Florida lake near her parents home, I believe. And the alligator bit her arm off and she died.
MARCIANO: Wow!
COSTELLO: Really scary.
MARCIANO: Well...
COSTELLO: And they haven't caught the alligator, either. So it's still out there swimming around somewhere, so be careful.
MARCIANO: That's very dangerous.
COSTELLO: Definitely.
Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Openers" now.
This Las Vegas sign you're about to see is just about the most recognizable sign in the world. And now you can take it home with you. Well, you can buy the first sanctioned replica of the famous landmark. The landmark is the first to be approved by the 81-year-old creator of the original sign. A portion of the proceeds will go to cancer research.
Things are getting bumpier on Mount St. Helens. The amount of small quakes felt at the volcano match the activity felt just before the last eruption in 1986. On Monday, the rate was about one or two earthquakes every minute.
Thousands of people showed up on the coast of Capetown, South Africa to watch the whales and the whales obliged by coming out of the water to watch the people. The annual festival boasts the world's only official whale crier. He's kind of a cross between a town crier and a horse whisperer for whales.
MARCIANO: And that's whale watching when you don't have to get on a boat.
COSTELLO: Isn't that awesome?
MARCIANO: You can just hang out right by...
COSTELLO: Look at that.
MARCIANO: That's cool.
COSTELLO: It's awesome.
Have you ever been annoyed by someone talking loudly on a cell phone? Well, then this story may be for you. A pregnant woman in Maryland was actually arrested for disturbing the peace by talking on her cell phone. A transit officer told her to tone it down, but she said he had no right to regulate her volume.
Well, apparently he did have the authority and she was arrested and handcuffed and maybe we should explain further, this happened in the Washington Metro system. She was apparently on a train talking loudly on the phone and the Metro officer came up and said disorderly conduct. You're out of here.
MARCIANO: They're tough. You can't eat there. You can't drink there in the Metro.
COSTELLO: They are tough.
MARCIANO: Some New York commuter trains have actual cars where you can't talk on cell phones.
COSTELLO: That's good. That's good.
MARCIANO: So you can sleep on the way to work.
COSTELLO: In Washington, apparently you can talk, but not loudly.
But we're going to have much more on that in the 6:00 hour of DAYBREAK.
MARCIANO: OK.
COSTELLO: We're going to talk to a reporter live from Washington about that story.
MARCIANO: Great.
COSTELLO: They're hot in Washington about that.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
College sports generating more money than ever before, but will the record setting TV revenue put a damper on the real focus of academics?
What's that? We'll have more on that story in about 20 minutes on DAYBREAK.
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