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CNN Live At Daybreak

Emily Rushing Up Gulf Coast; President Bush Makes Choice for Supreme Court

Aired July 20, 2005 - 06:00   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.
Emily is rushing up the Gulf Coast. Some south Texas residents just couldn't stay inside, even though there is a hurricane knocking at their door.

Plus, it's one of the most important choices a president can make. And President Bush has made it. What now?

And a warning from the government -- think before you take the abortion pill.

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

Good morning, everyone.

Chad will have more on the forecast in a moment.

Also ahead, do you Yahoo!? You may have taken a dive overnight and didn't even realize it.

But first, now in the news, Iraqi Army recruits were the target of a suicide bomber in Baghdad this morning. As many as six people were killed in the blast. More than 20 others were injured. Iraqi insurgents have stepped up their attacks recently and this morning the victims are being remembered. Two hours ago, Iraq's national assembly held three minutes of silence. Also, Vatican Radio observed a minute of silence, as well.

Oil giant Chevron is one step closer to taking over competitor Unocal. A $17 billion deal was recommended by Unocal's board of directors just a few hours ago. Unocal chose Chevron's bid over a bigger offer made by China's third largest oil company.

And -- Chad, that hurricane Emily.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's back. You know what? We said it would come back to a category three and it did. It even had a potential to get to be a category four. A category three ends at 130 miles per hour. Right now it's significantly less than that, but it's getting over land and it loses its source of water, it loses its source of heat, it is going to die.

Very close to land right now. Still not onshore officially, because the center of the eye is not onshore yet. You can see here, South Padre Island, Brownsville, Texas, that little point right through here. And then the coast of northeastern Mexico right through here.

We just had that story from Ed Lavandera, I think, from here, from Monterrey, Mexico, very concerned about the flooding that could happen as the storm drives itself into the mountainous region here. Significant flooding happened when Gilbert came onshore here in Monterrey, Mexico.

We'll do a couple of things here with a radar picture. We'll zoom it in for you. We're still about 70 miles south or so of the U.S. border. And you can really see that the storm is not quite on shore yet. Yes, the outer eye wall just made landfall, but that's not when the official landfall happens. When the center of the eye comes right there, that's when the Hurricane Center will issue that landfall recording.

There you go, South Padre Island, our reporter right there, Chris Lawrence. One big band headed to the north of him, another big band coming in from the south, as well. There's Monterrey and Laredo, all the way through South Padre and north of Tampico.

The storm continues to move to the west. It is not going to affect most of Texas. It is not going to make the typical right turn and head up into our forecast for the parts of the Midwest, though it may eventually, as it travels into the Mexican mountains, lose a lot of energy here and some of that moisture may trickle on up, but not much.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, Chad, is this a particularly unusual summer? We've got this extreme heat out West and then all of these hurricanes now, seven hurricanes?

MYERS: Emily would be five, right?

WHITFIELD: Emily is five? Emily is five. You're right, I'm sorry.

MYERS: Yes, yes, yes.

WHITFIELD: Named storms.

MYERS: Right. But there have been at least that many in the Pacific, as well. The Atlantic really is warmer than normal. And the el nino and the la nina have really gone away. So this is probably where we're going to be for the next couple of years. There has been a lot of heat in the Southwest, a lot of heat in the Plains. And then the east part of the United States has been soaked with rain. Fourteen inches of rain so far in Atlanta this month.

WHITFIELD: Wow!

MYERS: So I'm just worried about the mosquito population in the eastern part of the U.S. coming up here in the heat of this summer. WHITFIELD: Yes, I've got the mosquito bites to show you, too.

MYERS: Yes, I'll tell you...

WHITFIELD: All right, Chad, thanks so much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Well, we start with the Supreme Court justice nominee. President Bush made his choice by picking Appellate Court Justice John Roberts for the prestigious position. But the Senate still has to clear the way for Roberts to take a seat on what is the biggest bench in the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe that Democrats and Republicans alike will see the strong qualifications of this fine judge, as they did when they confirmed him by unanimous consent to the judicial seat he now holds. 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: Judge John Roberts has some Supreme Court experience. He has argued 39 cases in front of the high court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE JOHN ROBERTS, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: I always got a lump in my throat whenever I walked up those marble steps to argue a case before the court and I don't think it was just from the nerves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Judge John Roberts is being called everything from a man of great character to an extremist court nominee. The appeals court judge is now front and center on the national stage as the president's nominee for the Supreme Court.

For more on his selection, we head to Washington and CNN's Gary Nurenberg -- Gary.

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredericka.

President Bush has chosen a lawyer with a long reputation as a lawyer, but a short paper trail from his only two years on the court bench. Activists who wanted certainty about what the new nominee will do aren't getting it.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BUSH: Good evening.

NURENBERG (voice-over): President Bush calls it... BUSH: One of the most consequently decisions the president makes.

NURENBERG: His decision this time is to choose 50-year-old appellate court judge John Roberts, a former lawyer who has held prestigious jobs in and out of government and who has argued 39 cases before the high court. Roberts has the conservative credentials the president was looking for.

BUSH: He will strictly apply the constitution and laws, not legislate from the bench.

NURENBERG: Roberts serves as an appellate court judge and talked about his life in the law.

ROBERTS: That experience left me with a profound appreciation for the role of the court in our constitutional democracy and a deep regard for the court as an institution.

NURENBERG: Democrats say the confirmation hearings will be comprehensive.

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

NURENBERG: Before Roberts arrived at his suburban Washington home after his appearance with the president, members of the Judiciary Committee were insisting he be forthcoming about his views in upcoming confirmation hearings.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I voted against Judge Roberts for the D.C. Court of Appeals because he didn't answer questions fully and openly.

NURENBERG: Roberts is expected to begin his campaign for the job by visiting key senators as early as today.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

NURENBERG: The president says he wants Roberts confirmed by the time the court convenes on the first Monday in October. But Democrats last night would only say the hearings will "take a fair amount of time" -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: And, so, Gary, the White House interviewed John Roberts, apparently, on Friday; made a decision by Tuesday. In a town that is known for leaks, this is an incredible secret that was kept, wasn't it?

NURENBERG: You know, Fredericka, you're right, this is a town known for leaks. But this Bush administration is not known for leaks. They remain tight-lipped on every major policy decision and they pulled it off this time, as well.

WHITFIELD: All right, Gary Nurenberg from Washington.

Thanks so much.

So here's a look at what comes next.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will meet to debate the nomination. Republicans say they will want to start hearings in late August or early September. The full Senate gets its chance if the nomination clears the committee. The next Supreme Court term begins October 3. And we'll have more on what this nomination could mean to the court a little later on in the hour.

"News Across America" now.

Lawmakers in Illinois meet today to discuss rules governing eminent domain. The Supreme Court approved the practice in a decision last month. The ruling means that state and city governments can take over private homes in order to promote other public projects. But the court also said that states could issue their own ban on the practice.

The military base closing commission has added five more bases that could be on the chopping block. The expanded list includes Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina and the Oceana Naval Air Station, the top employer in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The commission's decision could come in September.

Late last night, police made an arrest in the case of a 12-year- old tourist who claims she was sexually assaulted in an Orlando, Florida hotel elevator. Police accuse a 36-year-old man of assaulting the British girl on Monday. Investigators say the girl was heading back to her family's room from the parking lot when she was attacked.

CNN is your hurricane headquarters.

This morning, we're watching as Emily hits the Gulf Coasts of both Texas and Mexico.

CNN's Randi Kaye is in Monterrey, Mexico and joins us now for the very latest. She's on the phone with us -- Randi.

On video phone, rather.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredericka.

The situation here so far seems to be -- the situation here seems to be far better than it was in South Padre. For our folks there this morning, we saw some heavy winds and rain pounding that area. But so far here, it's a very nice morning waking up here in Monterrey, Mexico. It's dry. We had a little bit of rain last night. Not much wind in the area.

But the people here do know what is coming because back in 1988, Gilbert, hurricane Gilbert rolled through this area. It left about 260 people dead, billions of dollars in damages and massive flooding.

That is really the concern here is the flooding, because we are in an inland area. So they're not so concerned here about the high winds and the storm surge. We are in the inland area surrounded by the Sierra Madre Mountains, about 14,000 feet of mountains. And what happens when the storm rolls through here is it sort of climbs up the mountain, if you will, makes its way up the mountain, packing all that moisture. And then basically wrings itself out, sort of like a soggy dishtowel or a soggy towel, rings itself out and dumps all of that moisture, just unloads on the inland area. And that's what happened during Gilbert.

You can see behind me there a lot of the lights there in the mountains. Those are the homes that could get pounded by some of the rain that hit here today that we're expecting.

We're on a bridge here, a walking bridge just above the Rio Santa Catarina. That's the river that runs right through the heart of Monterrey. It's dry most of the year. It's dry right now. But yesterday they were asking folks to pack up. There's a flea market there, a soccer field, a baseball field. They wanted that flea market out of the area because when Gilbert rolled through here, this river, the Santa Catarina, rose up to 10 feet, 10 feet of water and 150 yards wide of water. So that was the situation there.

WHITFIELD: Wow!

KAYE: They don't want to see that happen again.

As far as evacuations go, they went around yesterday sort of the old-fashioned way here in Mexico. They went around door to door with some fliers and asked people to evacuate their homes by 8:00 p.m. last night. We're not sure how many folks did leave the area, but that was the low lying areas here.

Not a lot of boarding up like we saw during hurricane Dennis, when we were in Pensacola, just about a week ago. So it's a very different story here. They know it's coming and they're prepared for it. But they don't do a whole lot to prepare for it -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: OK, Randi.

I want to bring in Chad, who's in the Weather Center keeping a close watch on this, as well.

And, Chad, it's of particular concern, even for those inland, because this is such a slow moving storm, meaning it could dump a lot of rain.

MYERS: Absolutely. And that coast of Mexico is very flat. And where Randi is, is very mountainous. This entire city -- I wish you could see it, because it's not daylight, but you will be able to later -- this entire city is just, is ringed by mountains. And those mountains are going to wring out, basically, the rain.

Let's get back to my radar here. I want to show you some of the distances of where the eye is, also, to where Monterrey is. But the outer band now is only 76 miles away from Monterrey.

Now, I'm going to also take you from this point right into Monterrey and tell you, at eight or nine miles per hour, we're talking about eight-and-a-half, eight-and-a-half hours here before the rain really begins in earnest. And the entire area, the northern part of this storm, is really going to hit Monterrey.

Still about 20 hours, 21 hours from landfall for eye time, but I'll tell you what, that first outer band is going to start to get very heavy at times for Monterrey, and that rain is going to come down in inches. And they could see five to 10 inches of rain in those mountains. That water runs down the mountains.

And, Randi, I need you to make sure that you're always on a high piece of ground out there.

KAYE: Will do. That's why we're on the bridge.

MYERS: Fair enough.

WHITFIELD: Good plan.

Randi Kaye in Monterrey, Mexico.

And Chad in the Weather Center.

Thanks so much.

Remember that CNN is your hurricane headquarters. We'll have much more ahead on Emily.

Relief workers are poised to move in the minute Emily moves out. Coming up, we'll have a live report from the Red Cross. Find out the action plan in about 10 minutes from now, as volunteers gear up to help hurricane victims.

At a quarter after, a moving sight. We'll tell you about a huge chunk of evidence in the London bombing investigation.

And a warning about the so-called abortion pill. Get the facts from the FDA doctor who joins us live at 10 until.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: New developments in the London bombing investigation. Police have removed a mangled carriage from deep underground in central London. The wreckage was wrapped in blue plastic and taken to a secret location for further analysis. Seven of the 52 people killed in the bombings died at the Edgware Road Station.

Meanwhile, Egyptian police have cleared a biochemist suspected of a role in the London attacks. Investigators say Magdy al-Nashar has no links to al Qaeda or the London blasts. No word on when or if he'll be released.

Your news, money, weather and sports.

It is now 16 minutes after the hour and here's what's all new this morning.

President Bush has nominated John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, Roberts would replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is retiring. The president called on the Senate to hold a "dignified confirmation process."

In money, X.M. Satellite Radio has invested $25 million in World Space, a leading provider of satellite radio programming for Asia, Europe and the Middle East and Africa. And analysts say the move could help turn satellite radio into a global service.

In culture, a media watchdog group 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 has got a lead of almost three minutes in the Tour de France after Tuesday's last high mountain stage. A Spaniard won Tuesday's 16th stage.

And in weather -- Chad.

MYERS: Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, CNN is your hurricane headquarters.

Here is the latest.

Emily is a category three storm with 125 mile per hour winds. But those winds could increase before making landfall. Landfall, when the storm's eye crosses land, is expected about 6:30 Eastern, if it doesn't slow down anymore. Emily is pushing Gulf waters ahead of that landfall. A storm surge of seven to 11 feet above normal tide levels is expected.

Now, let's talk about how people in the path of this storm have been getting ready and what kind of help they'll be able to get once it passes through.

Peter Teahen, he is a Red Cross volunteer who is in Brownsville, Texas.

He joins us on the telephone.

And, Peter, when did you get in position there?

PETER R. TEAHEN, AMERICAN RED CROSS VOLUNTEER: I arrived in Brownsville on Sunday afternoon, in preparation of this storm. And we're kind of the advance team for the Red Cross in support of the local chapter, who has volunteers, of course, responding. The Red Cross has over 1,000 Red Cross volunteers from all over the United States and the northern part of Texas ready to come in as soon as the storm passes through so we can start providing services to the families.

WHITFIELD: So, early assessments before the storm actually arrives, how do you think you all will be best utilized there?

TEAHEN: Well, we're utilizing right now with shelters, and that's a real key piece of service that we're providing. Last night, we had 14 shelters open with over 4,000 residents within the shelters seeking the immediate protection from this storm.

As soon as the storm hits, then we'll be out there continuing with shelters as needed, coming in with family services, giving financial assistance to families who are affected by the disaster, providing health services and mental health services for people who have -- who will suffer losses through this.

WHITFIELD: And let's talk about those mental health services. A lot of folks who are in those shelters, given that they're on the coast of Texas, have been through this before. At the same time you've got a lot of folks who are unfamiliar with what to expect.

How much mental or psychological help is being provided now, before the storm actually arrives, to help keep people calm?

TEAHEN: Well, the Red Cross has tried to provide information ahead of time to help people prepare psychologically for a storm, because yes, storms are prevalent in this area, but there's a lot of people who have never been through one or in various levels of hurricanes.

We'll be here afterward to help people discuss their losses and figure out how they're going to make it through today and deal with tomorrow. And that's the important part of mental health services, is getting them back on the track so they can begin to help themselves.

A lot of times we do that even through a mass care feeding. That's a great way of just getting people to have a hot meal and something to drink and something so that they can keep their physical and emotional strength up to deal with the issues of a disaster.

WHITFIELD: Peter Teahen, an American Red Cross volunteer.

Thanks so much for joining us from Brownsville, Texas.

And remember that CNN is your hurricane headquarters.

We head live to South Padre Island, Texas in about 10 minutes from now for the latest on the conditions there.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, do Yahoo! investors want the good news or the bad news first? If you own tech stocks, you'll want to hear what's making the business world buzz this morning.

But first, we want to say good morning to Baltimore, or "Ballamore" if you're from the area, where designers of the very first lunar camera are reuniting today, the 36th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon.

DAYBREAK will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, time now for a little "Business Buzz."

Thousands of Hewlett-Packard employees will be out of work soon. The computer maker plans to cut more than 14,000 jobs during the next year-and-a-half. It's part of a cost cutting restricting plan.

Cell phone sales around the world are expected to reach nearly 800 million this year and pass one billion in 2009. That's according to a new report. It also says cell phone makers are not necessarily reaping huge profits because competition pressures them to cut prices.

Shareholders at one of the most popular Internet companies are not yelling yahoo this morning.

Carrie Lee joins us this morning from the New York Stock Exchange -- good morning to you, Carrie.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredericka.

So you can guess which company we're talking about, right? Of course, Yahoo!.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEE: Yes. The shares down as much as 10 percent in after hours trading. This after yesterday's close. The company reported second quarter earnings that were in line with Wall Street forecasts, but analysts had been hoping Yahoo! would beat those numbers, as they have in the past.

Now, one factor for the dip, disappointing sales. Yahoo! reported revenue of $875 million. That's an increase of about 51 percent over last year, but still, a little short of expectations. They're also narrowing sales guidance for this year.

The company did see a big jump in advertising revenue, but the bottom line -- Yahoo! posted strong numbers, but analysts were looking for a little bit of a better performance here.

Also, keep in mind, the stock has gained 23 percent since late March, so the price has been pretty high.

Also reporting profits yesterday after the close, Intel, the world's largest chip maker. A similar story here. It reported second quarter results that were slightly higher than expected, but analysts were hoping to see better numbers than that. They wanted them to beat the expectations. So, this stock sliding 4 percent in after hours trading.

And both of these companies are affecting futures across-the- board, looking like a weaker open for stocks today, the opposite of what we saw yesterday.

IBM helped boost stocks, but today looking like some weakness. Now, this morning we'll get profit reports from several Dow components, including General Motors, Pfizer, Honeywell and United Technologies. So we'll see. A lot can happen this morning when these numbers come out.

Fredericka -- back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Carrie Lee, thanks so much.

Well, still to come on DAYBREAK, candles outside the court -- the battle over President Bush's Supreme Court nominee could prove to be a fiery one.

And blowing in the wind -- hurricane Emily makes a final push. We'll take you into the storm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Good morning, everyone.

Thanks for waking up with us.

Coming up this half hour, the confirmation commotion can now begin. President Bush has made his choice for the Supreme Court and now both sides are setting their sights on John Roberts' past and the court's future.

Also, questions about the so-called abortion pill. We'll examine the new FDA warning over RU-486.

But first, now in the news, new anti-terror laws will be proposed on the floor of the British parliament this morning. British Home Secretary Charles Clark is set to outline new measures in the wake of the London terror bombings.

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