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American Morning
Candidates Prepare for Debates; CBS Credibility in Question After "Rathergate"; Two Million Florida Homes/Businesses Without Power
Aired September 28, 2004 - 07:00 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Debating without the debates, George Bush and John Kerry hammer each other at a rock as the next big campaign event draws near.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a little tough to prepare for the debates because he keeps changing his positions.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will never be a president who just says mission accomplished, I will get the mission accomplished.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Thirty-five days before the election, and a terrorist attack is now a growing concern -- states being told exactly what to do just in case.
In Florida, two million homes and business without power. Get used to it.
And Conan O'Brien getting a great new job, it'll have to wait.
All ahead this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER. From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Good morning, everyone. Bill Hemmer along with Heidi Collins. And good morning. Nice to see you here.
Seven o'clock in New York, and good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Some of the other stories we're watching this hour.
New stories of affairs coming out in the Scott Peterson case, they're being raised by the defense, of all people. What does Peterson stand to gain from this? We'll talk to a former prosecutor in a moment, Dean Johnson back with us this hour here. COLLINS: Also, has the new voting demographic emerged in this year's election? Well, Kelly Wallace is with us this morning looking at how voting priorities among women may have changed from last time around.
HEMMER: It's dark here in New York City.
COLLINS: It's very dark.
HEMMER: Look at this. Two o'clock in the morning.
Hey Jack, what's happening? How are you?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm just hanging out. I'm good.
HEMMER: Yes?
CAFFERTY: Are you going to like resume working full-time here, or is it just like a part-time gig for you?
HEMMER: I'm all over the joint, I'm telling you.
CAFFERTY: We've got new poll numbers out suggesting some permanent damage may be accruing to CBS News in the area of its credibility as a result of the "Rathergate" story.
Poll numbers on whether or not this was an honest mistake or a showing of intentional, political bias, what ought to happen to Dan Rather, how much credibility people have in the CBS News organization.
We'll look at the numbers in a few moments.
HEMMER: It reflects on all of us, does it not?
COLLINS: Yes, it sure does.
CAFFERTY: No, it reflects on CBS News.
HEMMER: A little bit, but there are...
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: What do you mean it reflects on all of us? We didn't run no bogus story about Bush and his guard service.
HEMMER: True story.
CAFFERTY: ... only CBS did that.
COLLINS: I think it reflects to some degree on all journalists.
CAFFERTY: What do you mean it reflects on all of us? Lily white right here, fair and balanced.
HEMMER: Thank you. Here's another lily white. Rick Sanchez working with us. Good morning, Rick. Nice to have you in New York.
RICH SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: By the way, especially dark if you're walking around this building trying to find the entrance early in the morning, Bill.
A British military convoy has been ambushed in the Iraqi city of Basra. British ministry of defense is saying that two of its soldiers were killed in the attack.
It comes as U.S. forces stepped up attacks on suspected insurgents in Fallujah. Iraq's ministry of health is saying that 16 people were killed in military clashes and terror attacks in the country in the last 24 hours alone.
Jordan's King Abdullah is saying it is not safe enough for Iraq to hold elections. The King made the comments to French newspaper this morning, this before talks with French President Jacques Chirac.
He says only extremists would gain if elections go ahead in January without the security situation improving there. Jordan is, by the way, considered a key U.S. ally in the Middle East.
Now, in Hawaii, a break in the weather yesterday allowed some rescue workers to recover the bodies of four of the five people that were killed in a helicopter crash. A tourist helicopter slammed into a remote mountain Friday.
You're looking here at pictures taken from this helicopter. Officials say they haven't recovered the body of the fifth person because it's still in the burned wreckage.
Recovery efforts will continue sometime later today. And we're going to follow that for you.
Now, expect to soon hear more details about the Kobe Bryant sex scandal. That's because the lawyers are now saying that they're not going to get in the way of the evidence being made public.
Bryant's lawyers say that they're no longer trying to seal that evidence because it's probably going to be leaked one way or another in the future. They still say that prosecutors acted improperly by suppressing evidence, suggesting that Bryant was innocent.
The case against Bryant was dropped at the accuser's request.
There you go, Heidi. They say you can beat the rap but you can't beat the ride. Expect this ride to be a little more bumpy for Kobe. Back to you.
COLLINS: All right, Rick, thanks so much for that.
Debate practice and campaigning, it's been a mix of both for the presidential candidates this week. Ahead of Thursday's first presidential debate, John Kerry in Wisconsin today where he has no scheduled appearances as he preps for the big event. Frank Buckley is in Wisconsin now with the Kerry campaign. Good morning to you, Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
As John Kerry prepares for this debate here in Wisconsin, he's facing some tough new poll numbers that really illustrate the challenge he faces going into Thursday's debate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY (voice-over): As Senator John Kerry campaigned for votes in Wisconsin...
KERRY: America needs a real conversation about our future.
BUCKLEY: A new CNN-"USA Today" Gallup poll was indicating President Bush has and eight point lead now among likely voters, and 11 point lead among registered voters.
Kerry, who is at a rural, Wisconsin resort primarily to prepare for Thursday's debate, used his one campaign stop to continue his criticism of President Bush on Iraq.
KERRY: The mission was not accomplished when he said it. He didn't know it and didn't understand it. It's not accomplished today. And he's still trying to hide from the American people.
BUCKLEY: But the new poll suggests criticism of the war in Iraq may not be working. More Americans believe President Bush can better handle Iraq. On terrorism, 61 percent believe in Bush to 34 percent for Kerry.
Kerry aides say that criticism on Iraq will continue, believing it helps Kerry make the case that President Bush can't fix problems and he won't acknowledge them, an argument they can also apply to domestic issues like the economy.
KERRY: Income is going down, and he just doesn't care. He's out of touch with the average Americans problems because he keeps fighting for Halliburton and Enron and all those big companies.
And we need a president who fights for the average person.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: Kerry campaign officials discount the new poll numbers. They say this particular poll is out of sync with more recent, national polling. They say they look forward to the debate on Thursday. They believe that President Bush will be on the defensive, will have to defend his record on Iraq.
Meanwhile, here in Wisconsin, John Kerry will continue with debate prep. No public events are scheduled -- Heidi?
COLLINS: All right, Frank, live from Dodgeville, Wisconsin, this morning, thanks so much -- Bill?
HEMMER: Heidi, President Bush also getting ready for that debate on Thursday night, taking time out yesterday, making one campaign stop in Southwest Ohio.
Republican Party say this rally attracted more people than ever before, 50,000 said to have shown up at that debate yesterday -- at that rally, rather. The president returning to his ranch in Crawford, Texas after that.
And Karen Hughes also in Crawford, Texas helping the president prep for Thursday's debate. She is a senior adviser to the Bush- Cheney campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Listen to Senator Edwards from yesterday going on the attack in a way that many have not seen him in the past. Here's Senator Edwards.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I saw on television earlier this morning one of the George Bush ads. I mean, they will absolutely lie about anything. I mean, it is amazing.
HEMMER: His words were direct, "They will lie about absolutely anything." And he was talking about an ad that was criticizing John Kerry's healthcare plan. Your response to what Senator Edwards said yesterday?
KAREN HUGHES, SPECIAL ADVISER TO BUSH CAMPAIGN: Well, Bill, I just have to kind of shake my head. I mean that kind of talk, there is really no place for that in our political debate. We can disagree on issues, but I don't think we need to run around using words like lie and things like that.
I think what you're seeing is a little bit of increasing desperation on the part of the Democratic candidates as the polls show that President Bush continues to be in the lead. I know there is a new CNN poll that shows that President Bush is on the lead on all the major issues of this campaign, on the war on terrorism, on the economy, on Iraq.
And I think that what you're seeing here is a little desperation creeping in to our opponents' voices.
HEMMER: I'll get to the poll numbers in a second here. Listen to Senator Kennedy, too, strong words again on Monday.
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: The president's handling of the war has been a toxic mix of ignorance, arrogance and stubborn ideology. No amount of presidential rhetoric or preposterous campaign spin can conceal the truth about the steady, downward spiral in our national security since President Bush made the decision to go to war in Iraq.
HEMMER: In addition, Karen, he talked about distracting the efforts to eliminate al Qaeda. And John Edwards referred to this yesterday, too. He said, in the debate, what happens if President Bush is asked the question, where is Osama bin Laden?
How will that question be answered on Thursday night if it comes to that?
HUGHES: Well, Osama bin Laden has been largely marginalized. He is, we believe, somewhere in Afghanistan, and our troops are looking for him.
We have 10,000 American troops on the hunt for him. It's a very rugged, mountainous terrain there. I've been there. I've seen it. There are caves.
But three-quarters of al Qaeda's operatives, including some of the leaders of those who planned the attacks of September 11 have been either captured or brought to justice.
We're making great progress in the war against terror. And I don't care, both senators from Massachusetts can give their views, which have been largely records of voting against intelligence, of voting against major defense systems.
The American people know that President Bush is going to stand firm. He's going to win this war against terror. What we're hearing is a lot of defeatist talk from the Democrats. And I think there is going to be a backlash, Bill.
And I think the American people don't appreciate that at a time when our young men in women are risking their lives, when they're over in Iraq fighting for the freedom and security of our country.
You know, I guess the Democrats think if we were to leave Iraq, that there probably, that terrorists, al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists whose operating there would maybe suddenly turn to opening a produce stand or a jewelry store. I don't think that's going to happen.
He's a trained killer. We're fighting him there so we don't have to fight them here on our own soil.
HEMMER: Let me get to some of these poll numbers you mentioned, President Bush leading across the board. Our poll numbers reflect that, so, too, do numbers from ABC.
But when asked about who will do a better job in the debate, this is a number that comes in favor of the president, 52 to 39 percent. The expectations for him on Thursday night are much better than they have been in the past.
Do you wish these numbers were flipped around and your guy was the underdog going in?
HUGHES: Well, I don't know. I think in many ways he may be, Bill because remember, Senator Kerry has spent a lifetime preparing for this debate, way back to prep school when he first practiced debating, was involved, I believe, in the debate society. He spent 20 years in United States Senate. He doesn't have much of a record of achievement there, but he's had lots of debates there. That's what senators do. They stand on the floor of the Senate and they debate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Karen Hughes from Crawford, Texas earlier. The debate set for Thursday night in Miami. CNN's live coverage starts at 9:00 Eastern.
And watch AMERICAN MORNING as we get ready for that first debate. I'll be in Miami starting Thursday morning for full coverage then -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Counter terrorism experts are striving to be a step ahead of any terror attacks aimed at election day. Justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, reports on the steps being taken to make sure this year's presidential election is secure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is now mandatory for some police officers guarding the Capitol building in Washington to wear special vests meant to protect them from a biological or chemical attack.
As the window between now and election day narrows, counter terrorism officials are growing more anxious.
ASA HUTCHINSON, HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT: Really in every area of concern we've enhanced, ratcheted up the security measures that are in place.
ARENA: Last Spring, senior officials said intelligence suggested that al Qaeda wanted to not only attack the United States but disrupt the November elections. Senior administration officials saying new intelligence continues to suggest the same, but there are still no specifics.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We still don't have any specific information as to who, what, when, where. If we did, there would be an effort to interdict and we'd prevent the attack.
ARENA: As election day nears, officials say they are redoubling security efforts. For example, increasing the number of ships boarded by Coast Guard inspectors, padding down some passengers at airport checkpoints, and interviewing, in some cases, re-interviewing individuals who may have information about a possible attack.
What's more, state and election officials have set up a task force to encourage jurisdictions to have contingency plans in place if al Qaeda strikes.
REBECCA VIGIL-GIRON, NATL. ASSN. OF SEC. OF STATES: We just want people to think about it. We don't want to scare anyone. This is not about scaring anyone to move in placing officers in front of polling places.
ARENA (on camera): Charges of scare mongering for political gain are difficult to counter, especially because there's no specific intelligence to offer the public. But officials insist the concern is real and that they are merely acting responsibly.
Kelly Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The aim of the election security bulletin by the homeland security department was to provide guidelines and make sure officials running the elections know how to contact security officials in their jurisdictions.
HEMMER: Meanwhile, Tropical Depression Jeanne climbing up the East Coast, bringing some tough times with it as it goes through a trailer park in South Carolina wiped out, last night, apparently by a tornado spawned by that same storm.
All of South Carolina under a flood watch. Flooding knocked out power and shut down roads as the storm passed through the state of Georgia. Half of the 4,000 customers without electricity are in the city of Atlanta, and twice now in two weeks in that town.
Remnants of Jeanne still dumping rain there. Rob Marciano is working for Chad, checking in now at the CNN Center.
Rob, good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Bill.
Tornado watches all out during the day yesterday. Seventeen reports of tornadoes touching down from what's left over of Jeanne. The latest tropical, or tornado, watch has been dropped. But there will probably be a couple more reissued today.
A very impressive line heading through Eastern North Carolina, at this time, and we did have a tornado warning earlier for downtown Raleigh.
You see the rain shield with this system moving all the way up now into the major metropolitan areas of the I-95 corridor, even up through upstate New York and eventually in through New England as well.
Just some rain, heavy at times for those folks.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: The rain gear is required, Bill, for folks in New York as Jeanne marched up toward the Northeast.
HEMMER: Hey, we're feeling it already. Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet. HEMMER: Talk to again about 30 minutes from now.
COLLINS: And still to come, the torch has been passed, sort of. NBC says Conan O'Brien will take over "The Tonight Show." But why make that announcement five years early? We're going to take a look. It that going to be a long five years for him?
HEMMER: Also ahead, revelations that Scott Peterson had more than one affair. How his lawyers plan to use the affairs as part of his defense. We'll explain.
COLLINS: And now that Jeanne is gone, how much longer will the lights stay out in Florida?
Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: In Florida this morning, they are in recovery mode after a weekend battering from Hurricane Jeanne, the fourth major storm to hit the state this season.
President Bush, yesterday, asked Congress for $7.1 billion more to help Florida and other hurricane ravaged states. Nearly two million people are still without power in Florida.
Chuck Cain with Florida Power and Light is joining us now from Melbourne to tell us more about the situation there. Good morning to you.
CHUCK CAIN, FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT: Good morning, Heidi.
COLLINS: I want to put it in perspective a little bit, if we could, Chuck. Tell us how hard of a hit Florida Power took after Jeanne.
CAIN: Well, Florida Power and Light took a very hard hit. We lost service to approximately 1.7 million of our customer accounts. So that represents almost half of our customer accounts in the state of Florida.
COLLINS: Wow. Worse than Frances and Charley?
CAIN: In terms of total numbers, it's about the same as Frances. And Charley, while it hit the West Coast more directly and there was devastation there, it didn't affect us quite a wide an area as Frances and Jeanne have.
COLLINS: We said in the introduction coming to you, nearly two million people still without power. Any update on that?
CAIN: Well, in Florida Power and Light service territory, we've restored over half of those 1.7 million to this point. So we are now about three-quarters of a million people out that F.P.L. serves. There are other utilities affected as well.
COLLINS: Well, that's some good news. Those are some increasing numbers, at least, for some of those folks.
Talk to me a little bit, if you could, Chuck, about the temperatures. We've been hearing a lot about, you know, it's really hot there, too. People don't have air-conditioning, of course, adding to the frustration, I bet.
CAIN: Sure. No, it's -- we're in the heat of the summer, and so temperatures are quite hot. And so, you know, people are, especially people with special needs need to be making sure they're taking care of themselves in seeking appropriate shelter.
COLLINS: Part of the bad news, though, that we have been hearing for several days, now, it's going to take about three weeks to get the remaining power back on. Is that accurate, in your estimation?
CAIN: It most likely will take, if not that amount of time, close to that amount of time to get every last customer who is able to take service on, unfortunately.
Now, we'll get a substantial number before then, obviously. But to the last person, it may take that long.
COLLINS: Yes. It's a bummer. How much help are you getting from other states? Other electricians and work crews coming in to help you out?
CAIN: Well, the help relief has been a little slow coming due to the effects of Ivan and, of course, Jeanne making its way up the coast. And so the utilities that we normally get contractors and line people from are still recovering from those storms, themselves. And so, as they recover, we'll start to see the influx.
COLLINS: Yes, just one after another. Boy, good to hear, thought, that you said during the break, people are still being nice and patient in the midst of all this frustration with the power.
We appreciate your time. Chuck Cain from Florida Power and Light this morning.
CAIN: Great.
COLLINS: Thanks, Chuck.
CAIN: Thank you, Heidi.
HEMMER: In a moment here, Andy is "Minding Your Business." More reason to worry that gas prices will not be coming down any time soon. Andy explains that after the break here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. Welcome back, everyone.
Oil reaches $50 a barrel again. It could go higher, maybe, we're hearing. Andy is back with us. First check, "Minding Your Business."
And good morning to you.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Bill. A couple of ignominious milestones in business broken yesterday -- let's talk about.
Oh here, we'll talk about this milestone first.
We broke below 10,000 on the Dow. We've seen this time and time again over the past five years. Why? Because of those higher oil prices you were talking about, Bill, breaking $50 a barrel for the first time ever.
More disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico, we talked about that. Supply is very tight. And really some very disturbing news out of Nigeria, which is the seventh largest exporter in the world.
Rebels there say they are going to declare war on October 1 and have warned all oil producing companies there to shut down production. Royal Dutch Shell is a big producer down there.
Oil is up 55 percent so far this year. And yes, it has translated into higher gasoline prices, which are averaging about $1.91, $1.92 across the country.
Now, this just crossing the tape here, though, possibly some good news. Saudi Arabia says its raising its oil production from nine million barrels a day to 11 million. So that's 9.5 a day to 11 million, so that could be impacting oil futures.
Stock futures are up slightly this morning, so maybe some good news this morning.
HEMMER: Maybe.
SERWER: Maybe.
HEMMER: Ignominious.
SERWER: Ignominious.
COLLINS: That's impressive. It's only 7:25.
All right. Time for "The Cafferty File." We'll talk a little bit more about CBS today.
CAFFERTY: CBS News, Heidi, has suffered a blow to its credibility as a result of "Rathergate," according to the latest CNN- "USA Today" Gallup poll.
Fifty-five percent of the people questioned said they still have confidence in CBS' ability to report stories accurately, but 41 percent don't. And that's not good.
Another question in the poll was this, whether Dan Rather made an honest mistake reporting the story or whether it was based on a desire to make George Bush look bad. Fifty-six percent think it was an honest mistake, 38 percent believe it was a result of political bias.
And a rather ominous note for Mr. Rather, 26 percent of the people in this poll think Dan Rather should be fired.
So the question this morning is this, how can CBS restore its confidence following the Rather scandal -- not its confidence but the confidence of its viewers?
Am@cnn.com is the e-mail address.
COLLINS: All right. You know, we were saying earlier that we wonder how much effect this is going to have across the board with all journalists. And I think some people at home, they just kind of lump us all in together.
CAFFERTY: Don't be painting me with no CBS broadcast.
COLLINS: True.
All right, Jack, thank you for that.
Still to come this morning. The reasons why Jay Leno is stepping down from "The Tonight Show" and making room for Conan O'Brien, maybe not just yet but in a few years.
Plus, it's a weakness that surprised some Democrats, what does John Kerry need to do sure up support from a key voting bloc?
Stay with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: In a moment, why Scott Peterson's lawyers think numerous affairs could actually be a good thing for their client. We'll explain after the break here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired September 28, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Debating without the debates, George Bush and John Kerry hammer each other at a rock as the next big campaign event draws near.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a little tough to prepare for the debates because he keeps changing his positions.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will never be a president who just says mission accomplished, I will get the mission accomplished.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Thirty-five days before the election, and a terrorist attack is now a growing concern -- states being told exactly what to do just in case.
In Florida, two million homes and business without power. Get used to it.
And Conan O'Brien getting a great new job, it'll have to wait.
All ahead this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER. From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Good morning, everyone. Bill Hemmer along with Heidi Collins. And good morning. Nice to see you here.
Seven o'clock in New York, and good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Some of the other stories we're watching this hour.
New stories of affairs coming out in the Scott Peterson case, they're being raised by the defense, of all people. What does Peterson stand to gain from this? We'll talk to a former prosecutor in a moment, Dean Johnson back with us this hour here. COLLINS: Also, has the new voting demographic emerged in this year's election? Well, Kelly Wallace is with us this morning looking at how voting priorities among women may have changed from last time around.
HEMMER: It's dark here in New York City.
COLLINS: It's very dark.
HEMMER: Look at this. Two o'clock in the morning.
Hey Jack, what's happening? How are you?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm just hanging out. I'm good.
HEMMER: Yes?
CAFFERTY: Are you going to like resume working full-time here, or is it just like a part-time gig for you?
HEMMER: I'm all over the joint, I'm telling you.
CAFFERTY: We've got new poll numbers out suggesting some permanent damage may be accruing to CBS News in the area of its credibility as a result of the "Rathergate" story.
Poll numbers on whether or not this was an honest mistake or a showing of intentional, political bias, what ought to happen to Dan Rather, how much credibility people have in the CBS News organization.
We'll look at the numbers in a few moments.
HEMMER: It reflects on all of us, does it not?
COLLINS: Yes, it sure does.
CAFFERTY: No, it reflects on CBS News.
HEMMER: A little bit, but there are...
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: What do you mean it reflects on all of us? We didn't run no bogus story about Bush and his guard service.
HEMMER: True story.
CAFFERTY: ... only CBS did that.
COLLINS: I think it reflects to some degree on all journalists.
CAFFERTY: What do you mean it reflects on all of us? Lily white right here, fair and balanced.
HEMMER: Thank you. Here's another lily white. Rick Sanchez working with us. Good morning, Rick. Nice to have you in New York.
RICH SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: By the way, especially dark if you're walking around this building trying to find the entrance early in the morning, Bill.
A British military convoy has been ambushed in the Iraqi city of Basra. British ministry of defense is saying that two of its soldiers were killed in the attack.
It comes as U.S. forces stepped up attacks on suspected insurgents in Fallujah. Iraq's ministry of health is saying that 16 people were killed in military clashes and terror attacks in the country in the last 24 hours alone.
Jordan's King Abdullah is saying it is not safe enough for Iraq to hold elections. The King made the comments to French newspaper this morning, this before talks with French President Jacques Chirac.
He says only extremists would gain if elections go ahead in January without the security situation improving there. Jordan is, by the way, considered a key U.S. ally in the Middle East.
Now, in Hawaii, a break in the weather yesterday allowed some rescue workers to recover the bodies of four of the five people that were killed in a helicopter crash. A tourist helicopter slammed into a remote mountain Friday.
You're looking here at pictures taken from this helicopter. Officials say they haven't recovered the body of the fifth person because it's still in the burned wreckage.
Recovery efforts will continue sometime later today. And we're going to follow that for you.
Now, expect to soon hear more details about the Kobe Bryant sex scandal. That's because the lawyers are now saying that they're not going to get in the way of the evidence being made public.
Bryant's lawyers say that they're no longer trying to seal that evidence because it's probably going to be leaked one way or another in the future. They still say that prosecutors acted improperly by suppressing evidence, suggesting that Bryant was innocent.
The case against Bryant was dropped at the accuser's request.
There you go, Heidi. They say you can beat the rap but you can't beat the ride. Expect this ride to be a little more bumpy for Kobe. Back to you.
COLLINS: All right, Rick, thanks so much for that.
Debate practice and campaigning, it's been a mix of both for the presidential candidates this week. Ahead of Thursday's first presidential debate, John Kerry in Wisconsin today where he has no scheduled appearances as he preps for the big event. Frank Buckley is in Wisconsin now with the Kerry campaign. Good morning to you, Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
As John Kerry prepares for this debate here in Wisconsin, he's facing some tough new poll numbers that really illustrate the challenge he faces going into Thursday's debate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY (voice-over): As Senator John Kerry campaigned for votes in Wisconsin...
KERRY: America needs a real conversation about our future.
BUCKLEY: A new CNN-"USA Today" Gallup poll was indicating President Bush has and eight point lead now among likely voters, and 11 point lead among registered voters.
Kerry, who is at a rural, Wisconsin resort primarily to prepare for Thursday's debate, used his one campaign stop to continue his criticism of President Bush on Iraq.
KERRY: The mission was not accomplished when he said it. He didn't know it and didn't understand it. It's not accomplished today. And he's still trying to hide from the American people.
BUCKLEY: But the new poll suggests criticism of the war in Iraq may not be working. More Americans believe President Bush can better handle Iraq. On terrorism, 61 percent believe in Bush to 34 percent for Kerry.
Kerry aides say that criticism on Iraq will continue, believing it helps Kerry make the case that President Bush can't fix problems and he won't acknowledge them, an argument they can also apply to domestic issues like the economy.
KERRY: Income is going down, and he just doesn't care. He's out of touch with the average Americans problems because he keeps fighting for Halliburton and Enron and all those big companies.
And we need a president who fights for the average person.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: Kerry campaign officials discount the new poll numbers. They say this particular poll is out of sync with more recent, national polling. They say they look forward to the debate on Thursday. They believe that President Bush will be on the defensive, will have to defend his record on Iraq.
Meanwhile, here in Wisconsin, John Kerry will continue with debate prep. No public events are scheduled -- Heidi?
COLLINS: All right, Frank, live from Dodgeville, Wisconsin, this morning, thanks so much -- Bill?
HEMMER: Heidi, President Bush also getting ready for that debate on Thursday night, taking time out yesterday, making one campaign stop in Southwest Ohio.
Republican Party say this rally attracted more people than ever before, 50,000 said to have shown up at that debate yesterday -- at that rally, rather. The president returning to his ranch in Crawford, Texas after that.
And Karen Hughes also in Crawford, Texas helping the president prep for Thursday's debate. She is a senior adviser to the Bush- Cheney campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Listen to Senator Edwards from yesterday going on the attack in a way that many have not seen him in the past. Here's Senator Edwards.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I saw on television earlier this morning one of the George Bush ads. I mean, they will absolutely lie about anything. I mean, it is amazing.
HEMMER: His words were direct, "They will lie about absolutely anything." And he was talking about an ad that was criticizing John Kerry's healthcare plan. Your response to what Senator Edwards said yesterday?
KAREN HUGHES, SPECIAL ADVISER TO BUSH CAMPAIGN: Well, Bill, I just have to kind of shake my head. I mean that kind of talk, there is really no place for that in our political debate. We can disagree on issues, but I don't think we need to run around using words like lie and things like that.
I think what you're seeing is a little bit of increasing desperation on the part of the Democratic candidates as the polls show that President Bush continues to be in the lead. I know there is a new CNN poll that shows that President Bush is on the lead on all the major issues of this campaign, on the war on terrorism, on the economy, on Iraq.
And I think that what you're seeing here is a little desperation creeping in to our opponents' voices.
HEMMER: I'll get to the poll numbers in a second here. Listen to Senator Kennedy, too, strong words again on Monday.
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: The president's handling of the war has been a toxic mix of ignorance, arrogance and stubborn ideology. No amount of presidential rhetoric or preposterous campaign spin can conceal the truth about the steady, downward spiral in our national security since President Bush made the decision to go to war in Iraq.
HEMMER: In addition, Karen, he talked about distracting the efforts to eliminate al Qaeda. And John Edwards referred to this yesterday, too. He said, in the debate, what happens if President Bush is asked the question, where is Osama bin Laden?
How will that question be answered on Thursday night if it comes to that?
HUGHES: Well, Osama bin Laden has been largely marginalized. He is, we believe, somewhere in Afghanistan, and our troops are looking for him.
We have 10,000 American troops on the hunt for him. It's a very rugged, mountainous terrain there. I've been there. I've seen it. There are caves.
But three-quarters of al Qaeda's operatives, including some of the leaders of those who planned the attacks of September 11 have been either captured or brought to justice.
We're making great progress in the war against terror. And I don't care, both senators from Massachusetts can give their views, which have been largely records of voting against intelligence, of voting against major defense systems.
The American people know that President Bush is going to stand firm. He's going to win this war against terror. What we're hearing is a lot of defeatist talk from the Democrats. And I think there is going to be a backlash, Bill.
And I think the American people don't appreciate that at a time when our young men in women are risking their lives, when they're over in Iraq fighting for the freedom and security of our country.
You know, I guess the Democrats think if we were to leave Iraq, that there probably, that terrorists, al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists whose operating there would maybe suddenly turn to opening a produce stand or a jewelry store. I don't think that's going to happen.
He's a trained killer. We're fighting him there so we don't have to fight them here on our own soil.
HEMMER: Let me get to some of these poll numbers you mentioned, President Bush leading across the board. Our poll numbers reflect that, so, too, do numbers from ABC.
But when asked about who will do a better job in the debate, this is a number that comes in favor of the president, 52 to 39 percent. The expectations for him on Thursday night are much better than they have been in the past.
Do you wish these numbers were flipped around and your guy was the underdog going in?
HUGHES: Well, I don't know. I think in many ways he may be, Bill because remember, Senator Kerry has spent a lifetime preparing for this debate, way back to prep school when he first practiced debating, was involved, I believe, in the debate society. He spent 20 years in United States Senate. He doesn't have much of a record of achievement there, but he's had lots of debates there. That's what senators do. They stand on the floor of the Senate and they debate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Karen Hughes from Crawford, Texas earlier. The debate set for Thursday night in Miami. CNN's live coverage starts at 9:00 Eastern.
And watch AMERICAN MORNING as we get ready for that first debate. I'll be in Miami starting Thursday morning for full coverage then -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Counter terrorism experts are striving to be a step ahead of any terror attacks aimed at election day. Justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, reports on the steps being taken to make sure this year's presidential election is secure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is now mandatory for some police officers guarding the Capitol building in Washington to wear special vests meant to protect them from a biological or chemical attack.
As the window between now and election day narrows, counter terrorism officials are growing more anxious.
ASA HUTCHINSON, HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT: Really in every area of concern we've enhanced, ratcheted up the security measures that are in place.
ARENA: Last Spring, senior officials said intelligence suggested that al Qaeda wanted to not only attack the United States but disrupt the November elections. Senior administration officials saying new intelligence continues to suggest the same, but there are still no specifics.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We still don't have any specific information as to who, what, when, where. If we did, there would be an effort to interdict and we'd prevent the attack.
ARENA: As election day nears, officials say they are redoubling security efforts. For example, increasing the number of ships boarded by Coast Guard inspectors, padding down some passengers at airport checkpoints, and interviewing, in some cases, re-interviewing individuals who may have information about a possible attack.
What's more, state and election officials have set up a task force to encourage jurisdictions to have contingency plans in place if al Qaeda strikes.
REBECCA VIGIL-GIRON, NATL. ASSN. OF SEC. OF STATES: We just want people to think about it. We don't want to scare anyone. This is not about scaring anyone to move in placing officers in front of polling places.
ARENA (on camera): Charges of scare mongering for political gain are difficult to counter, especially because there's no specific intelligence to offer the public. But officials insist the concern is real and that they are merely acting responsibly.
Kelly Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The aim of the election security bulletin by the homeland security department was to provide guidelines and make sure officials running the elections know how to contact security officials in their jurisdictions.
HEMMER: Meanwhile, Tropical Depression Jeanne climbing up the East Coast, bringing some tough times with it as it goes through a trailer park in South Carolina wiped out, last night, apparently by a tornado spawned by that same storm.
All of South Carolina under a flood watch. Flooding knocked out power and shut down roads as the storm passed through the state of Georgia. Half of the 4,000 customers without electricity are in the city of Atlanta, and twice now in two weeks in that town.
Remnants of Jeanne still dumping rain there. Rob Marciano is working for Chad, checking in now at the CNN Center.
Rob, good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Bill.
Tornado watches all out during the day yesterday. Seventeen reports of tornadoes touching down from what's left over of Jeanne. The latest tropical, or tornado, watch has been dropped. But there will probably be a couple more reissued today.
A very impressive line heading through Eastern North Carolina, at this time, and we did have a tornado warning earlier for downtown Raleigh.
You see the rain shield with this system moving all the way up now into the major metropolitan areas of the I-95 corridor, even up through upstate New York and eventually in through New England as well.
Just some rain, heavy at times for those folks.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: The rain gear is required, Bill, for folks in New York as Jeanne marched up toward the Northeast.
HEMMER: Hey, we're feeling it already. Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet. HEMMER: Talk to again about 30 minutes from now.
COLLINS: And still to come, the torch has been passed, sort of. NBC says Conan O'Brien will take over "The Tonight Show." But why make that announcement five years early? We're going to take a look. It that going to be a long five years for him?
HEMMER: Also ahead, revelations that Scott Peterson had more than one affair. How his lawyers plan to use the affairs as part of his defense. We'll explain.
COLLINS: And now that Jeanne is gone, how much longer will the lights stay out in Florida?
Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: In Florida this morning, they are in recovery mode after a weekend battering from Hurricane Jeanne, the fourth major storm to hit the state this season.
President Bush, yesterday, asked Congress for $7.1 billion more to help Florida and other hurricane ravaged states. Nearly two million people are still without power in Florida.
Chuck Cain with Florida Power and Light is joining us now from Melbourne to tell us more about the situation there. Good morning to you.
CHUCK CAIN, FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT: Good morning, Heidi.
COLLINS: I want to put it in perspective a little bit, if we could, Chuck. Tell us how hard of a hit Florida Power took after Jeanne.
CAIN: Well, Florida Power and Light took a very hard hit. We lost service to approximately 1.7 million of our customer accounts. So that represents almost half of our customer accounts in the state of Florida.
COLLINS: Wow. Worse than Frances and Charley?
CAIN: In terms of total numbers, it's about the same as Frances. And Charley, while it hit the West Coast more directly and there was devastation there, it didn't affect us quite a wide an area as Frances and Jeanne have.
COLLINS: We said in the introduction coming to you, nearly two million people still without power. Any update on that?
CAIN: Well, in Florida Power and Light service territory, we've restored over half of those 1.7 million to this point. So we are now about three-quarters of a million people out that F.P.L. serves. There are other utilities affected as well.
COLLINS: Well, that's some good news. Those are some increasing numbers, at least, for some of those folks.
Talk to me a little bit, if you could, Chuck, about the temperatures. We've been hearing a lot about, you know, it's really hot there, too. People don't have air-conditioning, of course, adding to the frustration, I bet.
CAIN: Sure. No, it's -- we're in the heat of the summer, and so temperatures are quite hot. And so, you know, people are, especially people with special needs need to be making sure they're taking care of themselves in seeking appropriate shelter.
COLLINS: Part of the bad news, though, that we have been hearing for several days, now, it's going to take about three weeks to get the remaining power back on. Is that accurate, in your estimation?
CAIN: It most likely will take, if not that amount of time, close to that amount of time to get every last customer who is able to take service on, unfortunately.
Now, we'll get a substantial number before then, obviously. But to the last person, it may take that long.
COLLINS: Yes. It's a bummer. How much help are you getting from other states? Other electricians and work crews coming in to help you out?
CAIN: Well, the help relief has been a little slow coming due to the effects of Ivan and, of course, Jeanne making its way up the coast. And so the utilities that we normally get contractors and line people from are still recovering from those storms, themselves. And so, as they recover, we'll start to see the influx.
COLLINS: Yes, just one after another. Boy, good to hear, thought, that you said during the break, people are still being nice and patient in the midst of all this frustration with the power.
We appreciate your time. Chuck Cain from Florida Power and Light this morning.
CAIN: Great.
COLLINS: Thanks, Chuck.
CAIN: Thank you, Heidi.
HEMMER: In a moment here, Andy is "Minding Your Business." More reason to worry that gas prices will not be coming down any time soon. Andy explains that after the break here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. Welcome back, everyone.
Oil reaches $50 a barrel again. It could go higher, maybe, we're hearing. Andy is back with us. First check, "Minding Your Business."
And good morning to you.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Bill. A couple of ignominious milestones in business broken yesterday -- let's talk about.
Oh here, we'll talk about this milestone first.
We broke below 10,000 on the Dow. We've seen this time and time again over the past five years. Why? Because of those higher oil prices you were talking about, Bill, breaking $50 a barrel for the first time ever.
More disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico, we talked about that. Supply is very tight. And really some very disturbing news out of Nigeria, which is the seventh largest exporter in the world.
Rebels there say they are going to declare war on October 1 and have warned all oil producing companies there to shut down production. Royal Dutch Shell is a big producer down there.
Oil is up 55 percent so far this year. And yes, it has translated into higher gasoline prices, which are averaging about $1.91, $1.92 across the country.
Now, this just crossing the tape here, though, possibly some good news. Saudi Arabia says its raising its oil production from nine million barrels a day to 11 million. So that's 9.5 a day to 11 million, so that could be impacting oil futures.
Stock futures are up slightly this morning, so maybe some good news this morning.
HEMMER: Maybe.
SERWER: Maybe.
HEMMER: Ignominious.
SERWER: Ignominious.
COLLINS: That's impressive. It's only 7:25.
All right. Time for "The Cafferty File." We'll talk a little bit more about CBS today.
CAFFERTY: CBS News, Heidi, has suffered a blow to its credibility as a result of "Rathergate," according to the latest CNN- "USA Today" Gallup poll.
Fifty-five percent of the people questioned said they still have confidence in CBS' ability to report stories accurately, but 41 percent don't. And that's not good.
Another question in the poll was this, whether Dan Rather made an honest mistake reporting the story or whether it was based on a desire to make George Bush look bad. Fifty-six percent think it was an honest mistake, 38 percent believe it was a result of political bias.
And a rather ominous note for Mr. Rather, 26 percent of the people in this poll think Dan Rather should be fired.
So the question this morning is this, how can CBS restore its confidence following the Rather scandal -- not its confidence but the confidence of its viewers?
Am@cnn.com is the e-mail address.
COLLINS: All right. You know, we were saying earlier that we wonder how much effect this is going to have across the board with all journalists. And I think some people at home, they just kind of lump us all in together.
CAFFERTY: Don't be painting me with no CBS broadcast.
COLLINS: True.
All right, Jack, thank you for that.
Still to come this morning. The reasons why Jay Leno is stepping down from "The Tonight Show" and making room for Conan O'Brien, maybe not just yet but in a few years.
Plus, it's a weakness that surprised some Democrats, what does John Kerry need to do sure up support from a key voting bloc?
Stay with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: In a moment, why Scott Peterson's lawyers think numerous affairs could actually be a good thing for their client. We'll explain after the break here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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