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President Bush to Meet with Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas at White House

Aired May 26, 2005 - 10:31   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're just a little past the half hour. Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan. Here's a look at what's happening now in the news.
Iraq's government says it can confirm that terror leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi has indeed been wounded. Officials will only say that their information is credible, but they concede it's lacking in details. They can't say how seriously he is wounded, and where or when it happened. Zarqawi is Washington's most wanted man in Iraq with a $25 million bounty on his head.

On Capitol Hill, a live picture there. As Democrats are threatening to delay today's planned vote on embattled nominee John Bolton, Democrats are demanding documents that they say could prove he is unfit to become the next ambassador to the United Nations. Republicans say they're confident he will be approved.

Speaking of Washington, it has shutdown the U.S. embassy and other government facilities in Indonesia. The State Department cites terror threats and warns Americans there to be on guard. The action comes four days after thousands of Indonesian Muslims protested the alleged U.S. desecration of Islam's holy Koran. That report was later retracted.

And Back to Capitol Hill right now. A Senate subcommittee looking ahead to the summer travel season, and specifically how to keep airlines on time. Lawmakers are considering such factor as aviation capacity and congestion, and looking for ways to relieve problems this summer and beyond.

Just minutes from now, President Bush will meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at the White House. Money, militants and the ever-elusive Middle East peace process are all on the table.

Our national correspondent Bob Franken is at the White House with more.

Hi, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

That's a peace process that has been elusive for generations. If you see a motorcade going behind me, by the way, that would be Mahmoud Abbas arriving for a meeting that's scheduled to start in less than 10 minutes, a meeting of some huge significance, since it's the first time that he has been here as the elected head of the Palestinian Authority, and the first meeting between the president and the head of the Palestinians in about five years.

Now what Abbas brings mainly to the table when it comes to credibility is the fact that he is not Yasser Arafat. Arafat, of course, had pretty much lost credibility with both the United States and the Israelis, and all of the parties here have a lot that they're seeking and a lot that they have to give. In the case of the United States, what we can expect is that there's going to be a direct grant to the Palestinian authority. Nothing buys credibility like real currency.

Abbas is going to have to bring assurances that he is getting a handle on his organization and on his government, a handle on the corruption that has been alleged for decades there, a handle on the security matters, a handle probably more than anything on the groups that are charged with being terrorists and on the violence against Israel.

Abbas will be seeking the U.S. involvement in trying to get Ariel Sharon and the Israeli government to provide some cutback in the number of settlements, to try and get negotiations started.

So there's a lot to give, and it's all a very twisted, convoluted situation. What will happen is this meeting that will be held in the Oval Office, then the two leaders will appear in the Rose Garden, then they go back for a working lunch. There's a lot to work on -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Bob Franken at the White House. We're keeping our eyes there with you.

Now more -- we have more on the meeting with the president from the perspective of the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas. Here now is his exclusive talk with our John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mr. President, thank you so much for joining us.

You're having meetings with senior U.S. officials, including the president, the vice president, the secretary of state. We are told that the president will announce several tens of millions of dollars in new direct aid to the Palestinian Authority. In the past, as you well know, that aid has -- most of it has been run through other organizations because of questions of government bureaucracy, questions of corruption in the past from the U.S. side.

How much money are we talking about, and what is the significance of this?

PRES. MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): We don't know exactly the answer to this. We don't know if the president has decided this or not. But today, throughout the various meetings that we had with members of the Congress, as well as the meeting with the vice president, we gave them a specific message that we are asking that the American financial aid to be sent to the Palestinian Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Finance now enjoys a great deal of transparency and accountability. And we are asking that the American aid and American money to go to the Ministry of Finance. We will listen to the president tomorrow when we meet with him, and we don't know yet about the amount.

KING: Another thing we understand that your delegation and you personally have been seeking is a letter from the president, including some assurances for the Palestinians. As you know, Prime Minister Sharon is very fond of quoting the letter he received from President Bush. And we understand that you would like a letter that has very strong language from the U.S. administration raising concerns about Israeli settlements, and also committing the United States government to a permanent Palestine with contiguous borders.

Will you get that letter, sir?

ABBAS (through translator): All these issues that you refer to is a part and parcel of the road map. The president expressed that through his vision of two states and the existence and establishment state, that it is viable and that is independent.

The president and Secretary Rice, both of them talked about the necessity to stop settlement activities. I do not believe there are difficulties in achieving those assurances and getting those assurances that you have referred to.

The issue also that it is related to Gaza withdrawal, we do not want the Gaza withdrawal to be first and last. We would like the Gaza withdrawal to lead into additional steps. We would like to go straight after the Gaza withdrawal to the road map and to the issues of the permanent status (ph) phase and the permanent status (ph) agreement.

We will be asking the administration about these issues. And we believe that we would receive various assurances.

KING: But is it important for your personal credibility, sir, back home to leave with a letter, with some of those assurances in writing so that you can go home and say -- tell your people, "The United States is with us on these points"?

ABBAS (through translator): We hope that we will be able to get something that would reflect the credibility of what we say, and we will be in a position to say to the Palestinian people that the American president is committed and here is the proof of his commitment. Up till now, we will see what will happen on this issue.

KING: Prime Minister Sharon is also in the United States, as you know. And he gave a speech in which he has promised to release 400 more prisoners. But the Israeli government says it cannot do more, especially in terms of returning control of several more cities to the Palestinians.

In Mr. Sharon's view, he says you have not done enough, that you have not done enough to crack down on terrorism and violence. And specifically, the Israeli governments says that there are known terrorists at large in Jericho and other cities that you refuse to apprehend.

How would you answer that?

ABBAS (through translator): Regarding this issue of handing over the cities, there is an agreement between us and the Israelis to hand over five cities. So far, only Jericho and (INAUDIBLE) have been handed over to the Palestinian Authority. And I can say that we have full and total security control on those two -- to those cities.

We will continue to ask the Israelis. There are approximately 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jail. We would like all of them to be released.

This is a very sensitive issue. It is a political issue, and it's a humanitarian issue, and we will continue to raise it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Let's show what you took place as we're listening to John King's interview with Mahmoud Abbas, pictures we just rolled on a little bit. The Palestinian leader arrived at the White House for his talk. We don't have tape. OK, well, I'll just tell you that it happened. Mahmoud Abbas arrived at the White House for his meeting with President Bush, a significant, because it is, as Bob Franken was reporting, the first time in four years a Palestinian leader has been invited to come meet President Bush.

We are going to have live coverage, though, of next hour's joint news conference from the White House. It's scheduled for 11:25 a.m. Eastern, 8:25 Pacific. You will see it here on CNN.

Plus, there's a lot of other news to get to on this Thursday morning. She said she felt vulnerable, and she needed help, so she dialed 911. Still to come, why this 86-year-old woman was thrown in jail for seeking assistance. The story is straight ahead.

Plus, a price fight is on among Web sites for digital photographs. We will have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: We're going to take a look now at other stories making news coast to coast. First to Bethesda, Maryland, a woman is in custody this morning, accused of stabbing two women at a local mall. One woman was attacked on an escalator at Nordstrom, the other in the shoe department. Police say both have serious injuries. The motive for the attacks right now remain unclear.

Three separate cross burnings have sparked memories of Ku Klux Klan hatred in Durham, North Carolina. Yellow fliers with KKK sayings were found at one of the sites. Police are investigating. And in Charlotte, North Carolina, 86-year-old for Dorothy Densmore (ph) spent two days in jail after calling 911 dispatchers 20 times in a half hour. Police say her calls were no emergency. Hear now a sample from the 911 tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALLER: I'm having trouble with the pizza place down here at the Providence Square apartments. They called me an ugly old coot and would not sell me a piece of pizza.

Now that's my problem. What are you going to do to help me?

DISPATCHER: I don't think we can. They can refuse to sell to whoever they want.

CALLER: I wanted to find out the balance I had on my checking account. I have a 1-800 number, but I don't have a phone to call on.

DISPATCHER: OK, that's not my problem, ma'am. This is the police department for emergencies. I don't check your account.

CALLER: You poor little thing. You must be an orphan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Well, she called a number of times. Clearly that woman faces some challenges. Densmore is out of jail. She does face misdemeanor charges for all the phone calls.

Are you packing your bags this Memorial Day weekend? Still to come, find out how higher gas prices and bumpy roads might affect your holiday travel plans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: It is a bumpy ride if you're travelling some of the nation's highways, especially around major cities. A research group says a quarter of all the roads along the nation's interstate, freeways and local routes are substandard. The worst major city roads according to this group: Kansas City, Missouri; San Jose, California; St. Louis, Missouri; Los Angeles; and San Francisco. Atlanta, Georgia; Orlando, Florida; and Phoenix, Arizona, are said to be among the best. I would love to see the roads they picked for best here in Atlanta. Not in my neighborhood.

The summer travel season gets into full swing this Memorial Day weekend and despite high gas prices, families are packing up and hitting the road. But could it be more economical to actually fly for your next vacation destination?

Our economic correspondent Kathleen Hays is crunching the numbers, figuring out the gas prices, the air fares and she's here with some options. Hi, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN ECONOMIC CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn. Well, I guess it depends on how many you're traveling. That's key. I was so glad, though, to hear that the roads around Orlando look good, because we're taking a look at a week-long trip. We are going from the New York area down to Florida.

Let's start by looking at somebody going on their own. It's the young, swinging single heading for South Beach. The round-trip gas about $237. We threw in hotels and food, you get $577. Let's compare that to flying. Went on the Internet yesterday, found a round-trip fare that you could leave tonight for $326, add in the hotels, to--and from the airport, you get a grand total of $452 grand total. So if you're single, the lesson is clear. Hop on the plane. The better the fare, the more it makes sense to fly.

But what if you're a family of four? Mom, dad, two kids. Well, maybe the math is a little bit different. The gas is the same, the hotels are about the same. The food is more. We're giving you two days down, OK, and two days back, one night hotel. Grand total, about $880. Compare that to flying. Now you've got to multiply your plane ticket times four, $1,300. You got the cabs. The total is $1,400. $1,400 versus $880? You save some money.

One of my colleagues, though, Daryn, Chris Huntington, when we were talking about the story, said, Kathleen, I've got two beautiful kids. There's no way I'm going to Florida with those two kids in the back seat, all of that driving. I would fly.

So I said I've got another scenario to look at. It's called ditching the kids. You've got to have a cooperative Aunt Daryn or gram and grandpa. You buy some pool toys for the kids, you know, a little gift for the grandparents, maybe some wine, maybe a fruit basket. You got your two plane tickets. $930 versus $880, a little bit more. You get the week away, you know, you and your husband or wife. Maybe that's the best strategy.

But again, it's really in the question of how many people are flying. If you've got three or four kids, clearly you're going save money driving -- Daryn?

KAGAN: OK, I love my nephews, but if Aunt Daryn comes and stays for a few days, the goodie for Aunt Daryn had better be more than $50.

HAYS: A lot more, OK. Factor that into all your numbers.

KAGAN: Thank you, Kathleen.

HAYS: All right, let's check the time. 10:52 in Boston. Oh, no one wants -- everyone wants to get away from there. It's cold and wet and windy. The weather is making for a miserable month of May.

Also, it is 7:52 in Santa Maria, where the defense rested in the Michael Jackson case. Stay with us. We're back with a quick check of your morning forecast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: One more weather note here for you. Hurricane experts expecting this to be an especially busy season in the Atlantic and that's understandably unnerving after last year's devastating season. So for some tips and perspective, here's CNN's Christina Park at our dot-com desk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN.COM CORRESPONDENT: CNN.com is helping you prepare for hurricane season. This year, seven to nine hurricanes could hit the United States between June and November. Last year alone, four hurricanes slammed into the Florida coast. Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne caused scores of death and tens of billions of dollars in damage.

Scientists say this year's warmer waters in the Atlantic could spawn some fierce storms. See how it all begins. Our interactive hurricane guide explains how warmer climate can turn into a tropical storm and then a devastating hurricane. The East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico are most vulnerable.

If you think your family might be in danger from a hurricane, study our safety tips. Stay away from low-lying areas. Evacuate mobile homes. In you live in a wooded area, make trees more wind resistant by cutting out weak limbs so that wind can blow through. And while you're online, click through our gallery of past hurricanes, including the ten worst ever.If and when the hurricanes hit, find out what to call it. Check out the list of names for 2005 storms for the Atlantic and eastern north Pacific.

But the only name you need to remember is CNN. We've got your online hurricane special at CNN.com/hurricanes.

Reporting from the dot-com desk, I'm Christina Park.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: President Bush is meeting right now with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House. A news conference is scheduled with the two leaders after their talks. When that happens, we will bring it to you live, as the second hour of "CNN LIVE TODAY" begins right now.

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


Aired May 26, 2005 - 10:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're just a little past the half hour. Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan. Here's a look at what's happening now in the news.
Iraq's government says it can confirm that terror leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi has indeed been wounded. Officials will only say that their information is credible, but they concede it's lacking in details. They can't say how seriously he is wounded, and where or when it happened. Zarqawi is Washington's most wanted man in Iraq with a $25 million bounty on his head.

On Capitol Hill, a live picture there. As Democrats are threatening to delay today's planned vote on embattled nominee John Bolton, Democrats are demanding documents that they say could prove he is unfit to become the next ambassador to the United Nations. Republicans say they're confident he will be approved.

Speaking of Washington, it has shutdown the U.S. embassy and other government facilities in Indonesia. The State Department cites terror threats and warns Americans there to be on guard. The action comes four days after thousands of Indonesian Muslims protested the alleged U.S. desecration of Islam's holy Koran. That report was later retracted.

And Back to Capitol Hill right now. A Senate subcommittee looking ahead to the summer travel season, and specifically how to keep airlines on time. Lawmakers are considering such factor as aviation capacity and congestion, and looking for ways to relieve problems this summer and beyond.

Just minutes from now, President Bush will meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at the White House. Money, militants and the ever-elusive Middle East peace process are all on the table.

Our national correspondent Bob Franken is at the White House with more.

Hi, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

That's a peace process that has been elusive for generations. If you see a motorcade going behind me, by the way, that would be Mahmoud Abbas arriving for a meeting that's scheduled to start in less than 10 minutes, a meeting of some huge significance, since it's the first time that he has been here as the elected head of the Palestinian Authority, and the first meeting between the president and the head of the Palestinians in about five years.

Now what Abbas brings mainly to the table when it comes to credibility is the fact that he is not Yasser Arafat. Arafat, of course, had pretty much lost credibility with both the United States and the Israelis, and all of the parties here have a lot that they're seeking and a lot that they have to give. In the case of the United States, what we can expect is that there's going to be a direct grant to the Palestinian authority. Nothing buys credibility like real currency.

Abbas is going to have to bring assurances that he is getting a handle on his organization and on his government, a handle on the corruption that has been alleged for decades there, a handle on the security matters, a handle probably more than anything on the groups that are charged with being terrorists and on the violence against Israel.

Abbas will be seeking the U.S. involvement in trying to get Ariel Sharon and the Israeli government to provide some cutback in the number of settlements, to try and get negotiations started.

So there's a lot to give, and it's all a very twisted, convoluted situation. What will happen is this meeting that will be held in the Oval Office, then the two leaders will appear in the Rose Garden, then they go back for a working lunch. There's a lot to work on -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Bob Franken at the White House. We're keeping our eyes there with you.

Now more -- we have more on the meeting with the president from the perspective of the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas. Here now is his exclusive talk with our John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mr. President, thank you so much for joining us.

You're having meetings with senior U.S. officials, including the president, the vice president, the secretary of state. We are told that the president will announce several tens of millions of dollars in new direct aid to the Palestinian Authority. In the past, as you well know, that aid has -- most of it has been run through other organizations because of questions of government bureaucracy, questions of corruption in the past from the U.S. side.

How much money are we talking about, and what is the significance of this?

PRES. MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): We don't know exactly the answer to this. We don't know if the president has decided this or not. But today, throughout the various meetings that we had with members of the Congress, as well as the meeting with the vice president, we gave them a specific message that we are asking that the American financial aid to be sent to the Palestinian Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Finance now enjoys a great deal of transparency and accountability. And we are asking that the American aid and American money to go to the Ministry of Finance. We will listen to the president tomorrow when we meet with him, and we don't know yet about the amount.

KING: Another thing we understand that your delegation and you personally have been seeking is a letter from the president, including some assurances for the Palestinians. As you know, Prime Minister Sharon is very fond of quoting the letter he received from President Bush. And we understand that you would like a letter that has very strong language from the U.S. administration raising concerns about Israeli settlements, and also committing the United States government to a permanent Palestine with contiguous borders.

Will you get that letter, sir?

ABBAS (through translator): All these issues that you refer to is a part and parcel of the road map. The president expressed that through his vision of two states and the existence and establishment state, that it is viable and that is independent.

The president and Secretary Rice, both of them talked about the necessity to stop settlement activities. I do not believe there are difficulties in achieving those assurances and getting those assurances that you have referred to.

The issue also that it is related to Gaza withdrawal, we do not want the Gaza withdrawal to be first and last. We would like the Gaza withdrawal to lead into additional steps. We would like to go straight after the Gaza withdrawal to the road map and to the issues of the permanent status (ph) phase and the permanent status (ph) agreement.

We will be asking the administration about these issues. And we believe that we would receive various assurances.

KING: But is it important for your personal credibility, sir, back home to leave with a letter, with some of those assurances in writing so that you can go home and say -- tell your people, "The United States is with us on these points"?

ABBAS (through translator): We hope that we will be able to get something that would reflect the credibility of what we say, and we will be in a position to say to the Palestinian people that the American president is committed and here is the proof of his commitment. Up till now, we will see what will happen on this issue.

KING: Prime Minister Sharon is also in the United States, as you know. And he gave a speech in which he has promised to release 400 more prisoners. But the Israeli government says it cannot do more, especially in terms of returning control of several more cities to the Palestinians.

In Mr. Sharon's view, he says you have not done enough, that you have not done enough to crack down on terrorism and violence. And specifically, the Israeli governments says that there are known terrorists at large in Jericho and other cities that you refuse to apprehend.

How would you answer that?

ABBAS (through translator): Regarding this issue of handing over the cities, there is an agreement between us and the Israelis to hand over five cities. So far, only Jericho and (INAUDIBLE) have been handed over to the Palestinian Authority. And I can say that we have full and total security control on those two -- to those cities.

We will continue to ask the Israelis. There are approximately 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jail. We would like all of them to be released.

This is a very sensitive issue. It is a political issue, and it's a humanitarian issue, and we will continue to raise it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Let's show what you took place as we're listening to John King's interview with Mahmoud Abbas, pictures we just rolled on a little bit. The Palestinian leader arrived at the White House for his talk. We don't have tape. OK, well, I'll just tell you that it happened. Mahmoud Abbas arrived at the White House for his meeting with President Bush, a significant, because it is, as Bob Franken was reporting, the first time in four years a Palestinian leader has been invited to come meet President Bush.

We are going to have live coverage, though, of next hour's joint news conference from the White House. It's scheduled for 11:25 a.m. Eastern, 8:25 Pacific. You will see it here on CNN.

Plus, there's a lot of other news to get to on this Thursday morning. She said she felt vulnerable, and she needed help, so she dialed 911. Still to come, why this 86-year-old woman was thrown in jail for seeking assistance. The story is straight ahead.

Plus, a price fight is on among Web sites for digital photographs. We will have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: We're going to take a look now at other stories making news coast to coast. First to Bethesda, Maryland, a woman is in custody this morning, accused of stabbing two women at a local mall. One woman was attacked on an escalator at Nordstrom, the other in the shoe department. Police say both have serious injuries. The motive for the attacks right now remain unclear.

Three separate cross burnings have sparked memories of Ku Klux Klan hatred in Durham, North Carolina. Yellow fliers with KKK sayings were found at one of the sites. Police are investigating. And in Charlotte, North Carolina, 86-year-old for Dorothy Densmore (ph) spent two days in jail after calling 911 dispatchers 20 times in a half hour. Police say her calls were no emergency. Hear now a sample from the 911 tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALLER: I'm having trouble with the pizza place down here at the Providence Square apartments. They called me an ugly old coot and would not sell me a piece of pizza.

Now that's my problem. What are you going to do to help me?

DISPATCHER: I don't think we can. They can refuse to sell to whoever they want.

CALLER: I wanted to find out the balance I had on my checking account. I have a 1-800 number, but I don't have a phone to call on.

DISPATCHER: OK, that's not my problem, ma'am. This is the police department for emergencies. I don't check your account.

CALLER: You poor little thing. You must be an orphan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Well, she called a number of times. Clearly that woman faces some challenges. Densmore is out of jail. She does face misdemeanor charges for all the phone calls.

Are you packing your bags this Memorial Day weekend? Still to come, find out how higher gas prices and bumpy roads might affect your holiday travel plans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: It is a bumpy ride if you're travelling some of the nation's highways, especially around major cities. A research group says a quarter of all the roads along the nation's interstate, freeways and local routes are substandard. The worst major city roads according to this group: Kansas City, Missouri; San Jose, California; St. Louis, Missouri; Los Angeles; and San Francisco. Atlanta, Georgia; Orlando, Florida; and Phoenix, Arizona, are said to be among the best. I would love to see the roads they picked for best here in Atlanta. Not in my neighborhood.

The summer travel season gets into full swing this Memorial Day weekend and despite high gas prices, families are packing up and hitting the road. But could it be more economical to actually fly for your next vacation destination?

Our economic correspondent Kathleen Hays is crunching the numbers, figuring out the gas prices, the air fares and she's here with some options. Hi, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN ECONOMIC CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn. Well, I guess it depends on how many you're traveling. That's key. I was so glad, though, to hear that the roads around Orlando look good, because we're taking a look at a week-long trip. We are going from the New York area down to Florida.

Let's start by looking at somebody going on their own. It's the young, swinging single heading for South Beach. The round-trip gas about $237. We threw in hotels and food, you get $577. Let's compare that to flying. Went on the Internet yesterday, found a round-trip fare that you could leave tonight for $326, add in the hotels, to--and from the airport, you get a grand total of $452 grand total. So if you're single, the lesson is clear. Hop on the plane. The better the fare, the more it makes sense to fly.

But what if you're a family of four? Mom, dad, two kids. Well, maybe the math is a little bit different. The gas is the same, the hotels are about the same. The food is more. We're giving you two days down, OK, and two days back, one night hotel. Grand total, about $880. Compare that to flying. Now you've got to multiply your plane ticket times four, $1,300. You got the cabs. The total is $1,400. $1,400 versus $880? You save some money.

One of my colleagues, though, Daryn, Chris Huntington, when we were talking about the story, said, Kathleen, I've got two beautiful kids. There's no way I'm going to Florida with those two kids in the back seat, all of that driving. I would fly.

So I said I've got another scenario to look at. It's called ditching the kids. You've got to have a cooperative Aunt Daryn or gram and grandpa. You buy some pool toys for the kids, you know, a little gift for the grandparents, maybe some wine, maybe a fruit basket. You got your two plane tickets. $930 versus $880, a little bit more. You get the week away, you know, you and your husband or wife. Maybe that's the best strategy.

But again, it's really in the question of how many people are flying. If you've got three or four kids, clearly you're going save money driving -- Daryn?

KAGAN: OK, I love my nephews, but if Aunt Daryn comes and stays for a few days, the goodie for Aunt Daryn had better be more than $50.

HAYS: A lot more, OK. Factor that into all your numbers.

KAGAN: Thank you, Kathleen.

HAYS: All right, let's check the time. 10:52 in Boston. Oh, no one wants -- everyone wants to get away from there. It's cold and wet and windy. The weather is making for a miserable month of May.

Also, it is 7:52 in Santa Maria, where the defense rested in the Michael Jackson case. Stay with us. We're back with a quick check of your morning forecast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: One more weather note here for you. Hurricane experts expecting this to be an especially busy season in the Atlantic and that's understandably unnerving after last year's devastating season. So for some tips and perspective, here's CNN's Christina Park at our dot-com desk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN.COM CORRESPONDENT: CNN.com is helping you prepare for hurricane season. This year, seven to nine hurricanes could hit the United States between June and November. Last year alone, four hurricanes slammed into the Florida coast. Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne caused scores of death and tens of billions of dollars in damage.

Scientists say this year's warmer waters in the Atlantic could spawn some fierce storms. See how it all begins. Our interactive hurricane guide explains how warmer climate can turn into a tropical storm and then a devastating hurricane. The East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico are most vulnerable.

If you think your family might be in danger from a hurricane, study our safety tips. Stay away from low-lying areas. Evacuate mobile homes. In you live in a wooded area, make trees more wind resistant by cutting out weak limbs so that wind can blow through. And while you're online, click through our gallery of past hurricanes, including the ten worst ever.If and when the hurricanes hit, find out what to call it. Check out the list of names for 2005 storms for the Atlantic and eastern north Pacific.

But the only name you need to remember is CNN. We've got your online hurricane special at CNN.com/hurricanes.

Reporting from the dot-com desk, I'm Christina Park.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: President Bush is meeting right now with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House. A news conference is scheduled with the two leaders after their talks. When that happens, we will bring it to you live, as the second hour of "CNN LIVE TODAY" begins right now.

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