Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Hurricane Emily Getting a Second Wind; President Bush Makes His Selection for Supreme Court

Aired July 20, 2005 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is Wednesday, July 20.
President Bush has made a decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I look forward to the Senate voting to confirm Judge John Roberts as the 109th justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president knows who he wants on the bench. But is he setting the stage for a bench clearing brawl?

Plus, moving in. Hurricane Emily is getting a second wind as it gears up for its final strike.

And is it hot enough for you? It's enough to make some people wish for a heavy downpour.

From the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Carol Costello.

Good morning, everyone.

We'll have more on the Roberts nomination in just a moment.

Also ahead, Mexico prepares for hurricane Emily. We'll walk through Monterrey before the storm.

And later, a serious warning about the so-called abortion pill. Why taking the drug could be hazardous to your health.

But first, now in the news, Britain clamps down. In about 90 minutes, the government will announce tougher new anti-terror and immigration laws. It follows the July 7 terror bombings in London.

A suicide bomber killed at least six people in Baghdad this morning. He blew himself up in a line outside an Iraqi Army recruiting center. Twenty-four other people were wounded.

CNN is your hurricane headquarters.

Hurricane Emily is moving in this morning and it's not a friendly neighbor. Right now its outer edges are pounding the coasts of south Texas and northern Mexico.

Let's go to the Weather Center and meteorologist Chad Myers -- is there still a chance that this hurricane could pick up strength and speed?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Actually, it still could. It still could get a couple more miles per hour before it makes real landfall. Some of the outer eye walls are already on the line here, the Mexican coast itself. But I'll tell you what, the outer eye wall is not what we're worried about, because there's still this little laguna madre here behind it, a very warm area of water. That water is part of the typical basin that you get behind a barrier island. A lot of times we know it here as the Intercoastal Waterway.

Well, that's a very wide Intercoastal Waterway there. So it still has another two to three hours over warm water before it actually gets to real land here.

Brownsville getting hit very hard with band after band of heavy rain showers and heavy winds. Winds have been over 50 miles per hour at times there in McAllen. And the whole area is still sliding off toward the west at only about eight miles per hour. It really has slowed down in the overnight hours. It picked up speed a little bit, it slowed down, and, in fact, for a point last night, around 10:00, it stalled there and they really were concerned that the longer this stalls, the more it could pick up intensity.

And so right now still 125 miles per hour, a category three. If you want to plot it, Brownsville, right about there. There's South Padre. We have reporters there. And then all the way down the Mexican coast there's really not very much.

This right here is the very populated area right along the Rio Grande, not down here. But then there's a very big city right there called Monterrey. Monterrey, four million people there. And if all of this rain moves into Monterrey with all those mountains around it, there's going to be significant flooding there.

Here's another band north of Brownsville, almost up to about Bathing Bay. The rain showers and thunderstorms are going to continue to roll in. So will the wind. We're not out of this yet for Brownsville, but the eye did not make landfall there -- back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chad, thanks so much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Well, gale force winds, super high tides and pounding rain -- that's what hurricane Emily is bringing to the southern tip of Texas this morning.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is in the middle of it all on South Padre Island -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, I can definitely see what Chad is talking about when he talks about those bands, because it really comes and goes. It's a very strange thing where, for 10 or 15 minutes it will be very calm. And then the winds will just really start to whip up. And even just a half hour ago, we were getting a tremendous amount of rain here. It was almost raining sideways at a really good clip. And then just like that, it was like somebody just turned off the faucet and it completely dried up. And it's been like that for the last 20 minutes or so.

Over the last, I'd say, eight to 10 hours, we've seen the conditions get worse, get a little better, and then when they get worse again, they're much worse than the time before.

Overnight, a lot of people have been trying to pack up, get out. There is one bridge that is in and out of South Padre Island. Late last night, they closed the outgoing part of that bridge -- or, excuse me, I should say the incoming part of that bridge. So people can leave the island, but nobody else can come in.

Once the wind started to hit about 50, 55 miles an hour, they closed the entire bridge, basically sealing off the island.

So if you hadn't made a decision to try to get out at that point, well, you were going to have to just stay here in stick it out.

But so far, I feel like on the island we've been pretty lucky. It feels like a lot of wind, but when you put things in somewhat of a perspective, after being in Pensacola last year for hurricane Ivan, it puts these winds in some perspective.

They're bad, but not nearly as bad as they could be. And we are seeing a lot of a storm surge. Where the ocean was probably 100 yards away from us yesterday, now it's coming up probably about 15 yards away, basically covering the entire beach that was there just yesterday -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And, Chris, does it appear as though there are still a significant number of people who have made the decision to stay on South Padre Island, who did not evacuate?

LAWRENCE: It was kind of hard to hear your question, but if you were asking about people staying or going, I felt like most people -- I'd say it was about 50-50. We saw a lot of people packing up yesterday. We saw one woman who lives right near the shoreline and she said she was just too close. She was worried about the storm surge coming in and flooding her house. So she packed up. She didn't leave the island, but she moved to a different part of the island and like a second or a third story.

We've seen a lot of people who are from other parts of Texas decide this isn't the place that they really wanted to try to ride it out. So they decided to move further inland.

But a lot of people said well, we're not going to get the eye and they decided to just stick it out at home, put some sandbags up to prevent against some flooding.

WHITFIELD: And, Chris, it looked like either a staff member or perhaps even security walking around behind you.

Is that what they're doing to try and keep an eye on those stragglers who decided to stay?

LAWRENCE: Yes, because, you know, you've got a lot of people in the hotel and there were a lot of kids who were out last night. I mean, you know, in some ways a hurricane is a very scary thing. But in some ways if you haven't seen one or been involved in one, it can be somewhat fascinating, too, I mean when you see these huge waves coming into the shore, being right here on the ocean. A lot of the kids were out just outside the hotel, not really in any serious danger, but just kind of watching it all last night. And some of the security were going by after a while and saying hey, come on, come on back inside.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Chris Lawrence, thanks so much, South Padre Island.

We'll keep a close eye on Emily all morning long.

Keep it tuned to CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

President Bush has made his selection for the Supreme Court, but it's up to the Senate to seal the deal. The president went on prime time television to introduce Appeals Court Justice John Roberts to the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I have full confidence that the Senate will rise to the occasion and act promptly on this nomination. It is important that the newest justice be on the bench when the Supreme Court reconvenes in October. I look forward to the Senate voting to confirm Judge John Roberts as the 109th justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Roberts now faces what is likely to be a spirited confirmation process as he tries to replace retiring justice, Sandra Day O'Connor.

A few things about him. Judge John Roberts, 50 years old. He's a Roman Catholic with a pair of degrees from Harvard. Roberts clerked for now Chief Justice William Rehnquist in the early 1980s. And as a lawyer, Roberts has argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court.

He was also an adviser to the Bush-Cheney campaign during the 2000 Florida recount. He was in private practice at the time. Roberts has been on the U.S. Court of Appeals since 2003.

While on the appeals court, Roberts upheld the decision in the so-called "French Fry" case. That was the one where a 12-year-old was arrested for eating a French fry inside a Washington, D.C. subway. Roberts argued the arrest didn't violate the girl's constitutional rights.

While in private practice, Roberts represented 18 states and the District in the 2001 Microsoft anti-trust case. He also defended Alaska's Meghan's Law. That law allows the names of sex offenders to be made public. Roberts argued that case in front of the Supreme Court.

Roberts is no stranger to the confirmation process. He was first nominated for the appeals court by the first President Bush, back in 1992. But that one never came up for a vote in the Democrat- controlled Senate. Then, Roberts had to wait two years to be confirmed after he was nominated by the court by the second President Bush in 2001.

But now the stakes are higher.

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a day of watching all the guesswork...

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've heard quite a bit all day long now about Edith Clement.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: OK, well, the two Ediths have been mentioned.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The early rumors in terms of Edith Jones, Edith Clement.

FRANKEN: ... President Bush put a quick stop to the speculation by naming John Roberts.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My decision to nominate Judge Roberts to the Supreme Court came after a thorough and deliberative process.

FRANKEN: A process that involved Democrats and Republicans alike. Finally, the president decided on Roberts to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

President Bush was having lunch yesterday with the Australian prime minister when he excused himself to call Roberts.

JUDGE JOHN ROBERTS, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: I am very grateful for the confidence the president has shown in nominating me and I look forward to the next step in the process, before the United States Senate.

FRANKEN: The Senate will be considering a 50-year-old graduate of Harvard and Georgetown Law Schools, an active legal conservative. Roberts clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist, worked as a deputy solicitor general, and perhaps most importantly, has not developed a long judicial record to attack, since he's only been appeals court judge for two years.

Not that Democrats and liberal groups won't be trying to pin him down.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: No one is entitled to a free pass to a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.

BUSH: I have full confidence that the Senate will rise to the occasion and act promptly on this nomination.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was CNN's Bob Franken reporting.

And it brings us to our DAYBREAK E-mail Question of the Day -- Supreme nominee -- is Judge John Roberts the right choice? Let us know what you think at daybreak@cnn.com.

And we'll have more on Judge John Roberts coming up later in the show. Former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey will be along in about 25 minutes to answer some of your questions.

British investigators are following the money trail left by the four men believed to have bombed London's transit system. Authorities are examining bills, credit card statements and Internet transactions of the men. Financial documents have also been seized in raids on the suspected bombers' homes in the city of Leeds. The money trail may help investigators figure out how much outside help the men may have had in carrying out the bombings.

Still to come, the base closings list isn't final. More installations getting added to the list and military families across the country who thought they were safe are steaming mad now.

Also, steaming hot best describes people in the West. We'll get an up on their serious heat wave.

And later, in the hot seat is where President Bush's Supreme Court nominee is finding himself. We'll have more on what Judge Roberts can expect in the days ahead.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Your news, money, weather and sports.

It is now 15 minutes after the hour and here's what's all new this morning.

President Bush has nominated D.C. federal judge John Roberts to the Supreme Court. It's the first Supreme Court nomination in nearly 11 years. Critics worry Roberts would chip away at the abortion rights if confirmed.

Keeping it in the U.S., so says Unocal's board of directors. They're recommending the oil company accept a last minute takeover bid from Chevron and reject a competing offer from a Chinese company.

In money, thousands of Hewlett-Packard workers are going to be out of work. The computer maker plans to cut more than 14,000 jobs over the next year-and-a-half. It's part of a cost cutting, restructuring plan.

In culture, the media watchdog group Parents Television Council wants the software game Grand Theft Auto San Andreas taken off the market. The group is upset over a modification allowing the game's characters to engage in sex acts.

In sports, Lance Armstrong appears unstoppable. He's got a lead of almost three minutes in the Tour de France after Tuesday's last high mountain stage. Spaniard Oscar Pereiro won Tuesday's 16th stage.

And in weather -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes, good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: The military base closing commission has added five more bases that could be on the chopping block. They are Brunswick Naval Air Station in Maine; Galena Airport Forward Operating Location in Alaska; the Navy Broadway Complex in San Diego; Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina and the Oceana Naval Air Station, the top employer in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The commission will hold hearings on closing or downsizing those bases as well as 62 others. The decision could come in September.

Still to come, why should you care about the president's choice for the Supreme Court? We'll explain right after this.

And later, Mexico's third largest city prepares for the worst, as Emily moves close.

You're watching DAYBREAK for Wednesday, July 20.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: And don't forget out E-mail Question of the Day -- what are your thoughts on the nomination of Judge John Roberts to the Supreme Court? Is he the right choice? We will have that here for you. E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com.

And why should Judge Roberts' nomination matter to you? Well, if he's confirmed to the high court, he could hear cases that have divided Americans for generations.

CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley takes a look at the man behind the bench. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite the pre- nomination hype and hoopla, and no matter what you heard, "Roe v. Wade" is not on the Supreme Court docket this fall. "Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood" is, a New Hampshire case dealing with parental notification when a minor plans an abortion.

The right to die is not on the Supreme Court docket this fall. But "Gonzales v. Oregon" is, a case involving Oregon doctors assisting suicides with federally controlled drugs.

Both cases move around the edges of the most heated issues of our time -- life and death, the right to an abortion, the right to die.

Should John Roberts be confirmed, both cases will be watched for what they signal about him and what they bode for the country. Certainly, Roberts is not what liberals had hoped for. They set Sandra Day O'Connor as the bar, a moderate whose vote was pivotal in an otherwise evenly divided court. Friends indicate Roberts is a conservative. His contributions indicate he's Republican, but there is little in his two years on the D.C. Court of Appeals that hints at how he would vote on either the Oregon or New Hampshire case.

The paper trail is bits of confetti. A brief Roberts co-authored while serving as deputy solicitor general. "We continue to believe," it reads, "that "Roe" was wrongly decided and should be overruled." During his confirmation for the D.C. Court of Appeals, Roberts explained those words were that of a lawyer advocating for his client. As for his own position, Roberts said, "'Roe v. Wade' is the settled law of the land. There's nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent."

Interesting, but not definitive. As an appellate court judge, Roberts' job is to uphold law. The Supreme Court can reconsider law.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley reporting.

Abortion rights activists are already up in arms over Roberts' nomination. NARAL Pro-Choice America has put out this statement. It says: "Judge Roberts is a divisive nominee with a record of seeking to impose a political agenda on the courts rather than a unifier Americans could trust to preserve our personal freedoms, like the right to privacy and a woman's right to choose."

One member of the Senate Judiciary Committee says that's an overreaction. Arizona Republican Jon Kyl talked to CNN's Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")

SEN. JON KYL (R), ARIZONA: I would suggest that what's going to happen if Judge Roberts would rule as it's predicted I hear that he would rule is that you will see "Roe v. Wade" nibbled away at, at the edges, but not overruled as a core decision. Parental notification and partial birth abortion are certainly marginal issues with respect to abortion. And it wouldn't surprise me a bit to see them -- to see congressional acts outlawing those practices declared constitutional by a court in the future.

But that doesn't necessarily eliminate the rationale of "Roe v. Wade."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Senate Republicans hope to start confirmation hearings for Roberts in late August or early September.

Well, here is what's all new in the next half hour.

Hurricane Gilbert steamrolled this Mexican city 17 years ago and now Emily threatens it.

Plus, we've talked about what politicians want. What do you want from the Supreme Court nominee?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: From the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Carol Costello.

Good morning, everyone.

Coming up in the next 30 minutes, President Bush wants Judge John Roberts on the Supreme Court. But is he the right man for the job?

And it's been hot, hot, hot this July. Will this heat wave ever end?

But first, now in the news, Chevron has sweetened the pot. It's now offered just over $17 billion for Unocal. But the offer is less than the $18.5 billion offered by China's state owned oil company. The Unocal board of directors has apparently accepted the offer from Chevron.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan heads to Capitol Hill this morning. He'll talk about the nation's economic outlook and is expected to make a case for raising interest rates again.

And just about an hour from now, Britain's home secretary goes before parliament to talk about proposed anti-terrorism legislation. He also will talk about changes to immigration laws in response to the July 7 bombings.

And CNN is your hurricane headquarters.

Emily is moving in. Conditions have gone from bad to worse along the Mexican Gulf Coast and the south Texas coast, as well. The eye of the storm is expected to make landfall around daybreak -- Chad, it looks like it's moving in quite closely, isn't it?

MYERS: It certainly is.

WHITFIELD: Just about four miles away, at least the outer bands?

MYERS: The outer -- the outer eye wall itself, the outer part of the eye wall is now about four miles from making landfall on the outer barrier island. Nobody lives there. It's just a sand island. It's a spit of land that's just about 13 miles from real mainland Mexico. The miles itself, really, they don't make all that much difference. But everybody has been calling up here throughout the newsroom, CNN International, Espanol. Everybody wants to know is this thing on land yet? Is there landfall?

No. Landfall happens officially when the center of the eye goes over the land. Obviously, it's not there yet.

Let me get you all the way down into the center of the storm. There is the center of the eye right now. It is still 15 miles from that little spit of land. Then you see there's still more mileage before you actually get to mainland Mexico.

We'll zoom it back out so you can kind of see it a little bit better. Take a look perspective, a different perspective of it.

This is a Gulf of Mexico. Here comes the storm crashing onshore here. A very populated area here around Brownsville. This is the NAFTA area, basically, if you will, from Brownsville all the way through South Padre, Harlingen, McAllen, right on down into Mexico itself.

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