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CNN Live At Daybreak

Heat Wave Strikes United States; Condoleezza Rice Wrapping Up Africa Tour After Scuffle in Sudan

Aired July 21, 2005 - 06:30   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Our Randi Kaye is in Monterrey with more on the effects of Emily. Good morning to you, Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredricka. And there is a still a light rain that is falling here. It's now been raining, oh, about 24 hours now, but looking up I can see that the sky is beginning to clear, which, of course, is very good news for the residents of Monterrey, Mexico.

We have seen some flooding here. We are told about four inches of rain has been reported here but when you take a look at the Rio Santa Catarina, that's the river that runs through the heart of Monterrey. That's the river that did flood when Hurricane Gilbert came through here back in 1988. When you look at that, the locals would describe it as curriente fuerte (ph), that means very strong current and that is exactly what it looks like rolling through the middle of Monterrey.

But they have made some improvements to that. They built a dam - we spoke with the mayor from Santa Catarina, one of the counties here in Monterrey, yesterday about that. They built a dam and it's about 150 feet high and I am told it can hold about two and a half times the amount of water that Hurricane Gilbert dropped on this area.

So taking a look at the streets, we did see some flooding. Nothing major. We haven't heard of anything major in the area but certainly some cars having some trouble getting around the neighborhoods and around the local streets here. The trucks even having a hard time. A lot of the drains were blocked up just by the massive amounts of water.

Once again, the schools are closed today. There's, of course, an alert for mudslides with this amount of rain that's come with Hurricane Emily. And as far as the evacuations go, we're told there's still hundreds of people in shelters here. There are about five shelters that have been set up here in Monterrey and we visited one of them yesterday and there is a baby there that is just 20 days old, so you hate to see that in a shelter, but as long as that baby is safe, that's good news. They do provide some medical assistance and food for all of the families that are in the shelters.

Now, the situation here, they are hoping for a drier day, of course, than they did see yesterday. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And no life-threatening situations, then?

KAYE: Not that we've heard of. We haven't heard reports of any deaths. We haven't even heard any official reports of any mudslides.

WHITFIELD: Good.

KAYE: We just know they're taking every precaution that they can and that new dam they have built, it does appear to have worked.

WHITFIELD: That is, indeed, great news. Thanks so much, Randy Kaye from Monterrey, Mexico.

Well, from too much rain to too much heat, here in the U.S. lots of places are sweltering in the summer sun. At least 18 people in Phoenix, Arizona have died, most of them homeless. Police are now passing out bottled water donated by grocery stores. Denver, Colorado hit a record high on Wednesday, 105 degrees. Swimming pools are crowded and everybody is cranking up the air conditioning. Fire crews are hoping for rain this weekend to help with the cleanup of two wildfires in the Southwest. But even storms don't always help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

T.J. STECK, ELIZABETH FIRE DEPARTMENT: We had a thunderstorm blow through early in the day and with the low relative humidities the rain just isn't hitting the ground so what we run into is a number of dry lightning storms out on the prairies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And as we mentioned, summer heat waves can be deadly. Chicago knows all too well on this 10th anniversary of the killer heat wave that claimed 739 lives. That's more than the destructive power of Hurricane Andrew back in 1992, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1989 or even the Great Chicago Fire of the 1800s.

Chicago city spokesperson Monique Bond joins us from the Windy City with more. Good morning to you, Monique.

MONIQUE BOND, CHICAGO OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Good morning, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, a lot of lessons were learned 10 years ago from that horrific heat wave there in Chicago. A lot - most of the deaths involving a lot of elderly people. What has that city learned and what has been put into place so that you don't have a repeat of that situation?

BOND: That's right. Lessons learned and Chicago does have a heat response plan that basically consists of coordinating our key agencies with a focus on the elderly and the senior communities.

The key agencies of aging, health, human services and also environment because we do have to work with our electrical companies and utility companies but for us here in Chicago we mobilize even when the temperatures reach the 90 degree range and that means getting human services and aging out into the communities. Those are the two agencies, they knock on doors, they do well-being checks. We're really, really concerned about the senior community. And we have that in place. We also have a system called 311, where we also ask the community to call if they need help and we can get help to them if necessary.

WHITFIELD: So, it's sort of a modified 911 kind of system.

You also have some cooling centers. What are they like?

BOND: We have cooling centers that are located throughout the city and they are posted on our Web site. Our citizens are so used to this plan now and they know that we really take proactive steps in getting the word out so they'll call 311, they'll get the information on the nearest cooling center to where their neighborhood is and we just - The most important thing is to really get the message out there and to make sure that people are checking on their neighbors because a lot of times we just forget and we don't remember that there could be someone right next door that may be elderly or immobile or can't get around and needs help so the main message is to really, really check on your neighbors, make sure that they have help if they need it.

And a lot of advice going out to the most vulnerable including the elderly and even young children and asking people to cut back on their physical activity outdoors. Well, this weekend you've got the 12th annual mayor's cup youth soccer tournament. Is that still on and if so will you have emergency - extra emergency crews out there just in case?

BOND: All of our special events continue to take place. One of the other things that we have in place with our traffic management program, we have our variable message signs that really give traffic messages and integrated onto those signs as well, what we've started to do was flash the heat warnings and flash the heat advice. Check your neighbors, drink plenty of water. Heat alert, temperatures exceeding 90 degrees so it kind of instills in the public's mind, they could be driving around, they could be attending an event, but if they see the message, it still serves as a reminder and I think that's what we really try to do is just reiterate the message and it seems to have worked.

WHITFIELD: Monique Bond of the Emergency Management and Communication Office out of Chicago. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

So what should you do in a heat wave? Experts offer this advice. Be sure to drink more water. Dress in light clothing. Avoid direct sunlight and strenuous activity and one more tip, check on your elderly neighbors.

And keep an eye on the pets as well.

The heat is on for NASA and yet another new day is set for the Discovery launch. Let's check in with CNN's Miles O'Brien for a look at what's coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Fred. The folks at NASA, the engineers, working hard, still really don't know what's causing the problem with that fuel sensor, which grounded Columbia (sic) last week as they tried to go for launch. First flight back since Columbia. Could be something like electromagnetic interference. In other words, maybe somebody's Blackberry is causing the problem. We'll see.

They're going to do a little test, a little launch countdown, hopefully all will go well and they'll fly on Tuesday. Of course, we'll be there whenever that happens.

Also this morning, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. I guess you could call him a Supreme Court bridesmaid this morning, although maybe he wouldn't like that characterization. But we will be talking to him about the fact that of course he was talked about ...

WHITFIELD: All right.

O'BRIEN: ... frequently in the whole process as a potential nominee. He remains the attorney general this morning. We'll ask him if he has the advice for John Roberts, who is in fact the nominee as he makes his way through the whole process, the vetting process, which may be putting it lightly, Fredricka, depending on how things go.

Fred. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: No kidding. And Alberto Gonzales, his name was always on the short list, even before he became attorney general.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: So it will be interesting to see how he thinks about the whole situation.

O'BRIEN: He should have some interesting insights.

WHITFIELD: He has to be a good sport about it though. You know you're not going to hear him say, well, doggone it should have been me.

O'BRIEN: Well, there's apt to be another slot coming up soon. So you want to stay in good standing just in case.

WHITFIELD: You're right. You never know. All right Miles, thanks so much.

O'BRIEN: We'll see you in a bit.

WHITFIELD: Two weeks after the London terrorist bombings, British Prime Minister Tony Blair will meet today with his security chiefs to discuss their responses to the attacks and his cabinet will approve new anti-terror measures.

Meanwhile, there may be another U.S. connection. A suspect in the attacks scouted out an Oregon ranch as use for a jihad training camp six years ago. British authorities say Haroun Rashi Azwat (ph) left Britain shortly before the London bombings and went to Pakistan. Authorities there are now searching for him. Still to come on DAYBREAK. The Manhattan millionaire turns his eyes on the world. Donald Trump has plans for the UN. And hear what it's like for Bruce Springsteen when he steps on stage.

First, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, the international markets are mixed. Tokyo's Nikkei is down two points, the London FTSE up 12 points and the German DAX is up 36 points.

Time now for a little business buzz. A hidden sex scene leads to an adults only rating not for a movie but for a video game. Carrie Lee joins us again with a look at the fallout. Carrie?

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're talking about Grand Theft Auto, Fredricka, San Andreas. That's the version and the game was given an adults only rating by the Electronic Software Ratings Board.

Now an adults only rating is the equivalent to an NC-17 rating for a movie, it's called AO for short. The change in rating comes after users were able to unlock a hidden racy sex scene in the games code.

Well, Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy have all said they will pull the game from the shelves until a change can be made to the game. Wal-Mart, Target, two of the biggest video game sellers, by the way.

The game is one of the best-selling video games of all time, selling six millions copies since last October. Now, the creator of the game, Take Two Interactive, their software - makes the game, well, they say they are going to stop manufacturing game. Also they cut their profit forecasts by $50 million as a result so Take Two shares were seven percent lower in after hours trading. We'll see what they do today but obviously not very good news for that company.

The sex scene, by the way, is dubbed "Hot Coffee."

WHITFIELD: Oh, brother.

LEE: So a lot of people Googling it, trying to see what it's all about.

WHITFIELD: Well, what were they thinking?

LEE: Yeah, I don't know what got in there.

WHITFIELD: What about futures?

LEE: Futures looking flat to slightly lower today. We do have a lot of profit reports coming out this morning. Six Dow components, including Caterpillar, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Merck, SBC Communications and Microsoft tonight, so it's all going to be about profits and Fed chief Alan Greenspan also addressing the Senate today. That's the latest.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Carrie Lee.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's about 16 minutes before the hour now. Here's what's all new this morning.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is visiting a refugee camp in Sudan's Darfur region right now. The visit comes after she demanded an apology from the Sudanese government for manhandling members of her staff and journalists.

In money, Eastman-Kodak is cutting more jobs. 10,000 jobs, in fact. And that's on top of the 15,000 job cuts already announced. The company's latest earnings report are (sic) well below forecasts.

In culture, the award-winning "Spamalot" will go on the road next year. Monty Python's musical will begin a North American tour in Boston next March.

In sports, the Super Bowl champs will be without one of their top players this fall. New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi says he will not play because of a mild stroke he had in February.

And Chad ...

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And good morning. A hot one today. Denver, St. Louis, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma. Big red spot there for you. Temperatures going to be at 100 or in many cases above. Imperial, Nebraska was 111 degrees yesterday.

Couple of showers across the Southeast. That'll keep you cooler than the rest of the country. Only 91 in Atlanta because the clouds pop up. 91 in New York City. The hottest day, actually, comes in on Sunday as the next cold front is going to work its way down Monday and Tuesday but ahead of that cold front the air actually gets hotter.

Kansas City, 100, Boise, 102. It was 106 in Grand Junction, Colorado yesterday. 109 Phoenix officially today but the humidity is up. It's no longer what we can call a dry heat. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Chad.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, he is a rock and roll legend born and bred on Thunder Road. Bruce Springsteen talks about what it's like to be the Boss.

But first a look at who's celebrating birthdays on this Thursday, July 21st.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: U.S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is close to wrapping up her trip in Africa but not before first getting to the bottom of a scuffle in Sudan. Our Andrea Koppel is traveling with Secretary Rice and gives us an explainer on exactly what took place there. You're joining us from the Darfur region, but before getting there, what happened?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Well, it was - there was some security - Sudanese security folks who didn't want any Western journalists to be inside Secretary Rice's meeting with the Sudanese president Lieutenant Colonel Omar al-Bashir. And got a little rough and they weren't just roughing up journalists but they were also manhandling some of Secretary Rice's aides. It's still being resolved. The foreign minister called Secretary Rice and apologized and it seems everything is settled.

I should tell you, Fredricka, that I am in the second largest refugee camp in Darfur. This is the western region of Sudan. Over the last two and a half years you have had over two million Sudanese Darfur residents, most of the them are Arab villages who have been forced from their homes, they're living in these enormous camps. You've got what aid officials say is between 180,000 to 300,000 of them who were killed.

I am standing, actually, right now in front of some very colorfully dressed women who are making some kind of - it looks like some kind of bread and they have been here, many of them, for upwards of 18 months. I spoke to one woman just a short time ago who said even though they live in this camp, they still have to outside to gather firewood. They have to do that every couple of days or so and she said she herself knows of at least 70 women in this camp, and there are 55,000 living in it right now, who have been raped, she says by government officials.

And in fact, by government, I should say military men. I should say that that is one of the priorities of Secretary Rice's trip here to Darfur and to Sudan. It's to get the Sudanese government to end the violence, not just the general violence against the people of Darfur but the violence against women.

She met privately with women who were victimized, some of whom were raped. I just spoke with Secretary Rice. She said that she got assurances from the Sudanese government that they were going to not just pay lip service to this but actually take action and publicly declare that this is not acceptable behavior here.

But I can tell you right now I am standing - I have been walking as we're talking and I'm standing in front of a huge crowd, I mean, you can imagine 55,000 refugees and the secretary of state of the United States is here, they all come out. Many of these are children ...

WHITFIELD: And let me ask you. You are talking about many of these people who are in the refugee camps who are women who have been victimized, whether they've been raped or they've watched their husbands who have been killed by mostly the Janjaweed militiamen and now you've got this black woman, high ranking official from the United States there. Are many of these Sudanese women commenting about the fact that they see this woman, powerful woman from the U.S. meeting with powerful leaders of their country?

KOPPEL: You know, Fredricka, it's a question that I asked Secretary Rice when I interviewed her a few minutes ago and I haven't gotten a straight answer from her and of the women that I've been able to speak with this morning nobody singled that out as something. I think that clearly the fact that you have an African American secretary of state is noteworthy anywhere that she goes. I think that the main concern for these women, for these men and children, is the fact that they want to go home and they can't do that right now. They need more protection here. Secretary Rice, when she arrived at the airport here in Darfur, was greeted perhaps not coincidentally by about 40 more Rwandan peacekeeping troops.

The African Union is taking over the monitoring of the situation here but they only have about 3,300 people on the ground and by September the expectation and the hope is that they're going to be able to more than double that number here on the ground but I can tell you just from talking to these women and to these children and some men, their concern is that they want the violence to end, they want the Sudanese government to reign in the Janjaweed militia, to disarm them, as the international community has called on them to do so that they can go back to their villages.

WHITFIELD: Andrea Koppel, thanks so much for taking the time out for that report while traveling with Condoleezza Rice on what must be a very pivotal, promising and emotional experience on so many levels there in the Darfur region of Sudan.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bruce Springsteen dropped out of college, but the legendary rock and roller has done pretty well for himself. Now there are college courses about the Boss and his music and he is on the cover of the August issue of "Esquire" magazine. Why? Because believe it or not, Bruce Springsteen is a very private person but "Esquire's" Chris Berendt got a chance to learn a bit about the Boss and he joins us now.

Now, did you actually get a chance to talk with him yourself? I know you had been pursuing him for something like three to four years but it ends up being quite a collaborative event, wasn't it?

CHRIS BERENDT, "ESQUIRE": Well, it took us about three to four years to actually get him to do our cover. It took us - he has never actually done monthly magazine cover, he usually does weeklies and really it was a collaboration between one of our really skilled writers and a really, really great photographer named Danny Clinch.

WHITFIELD: And why is it that it took some real cajoling in order to get Bruce Springsteen to talk? Some would say he's a bit reclusive, others say he is private. How does he categorize it?

BERENDT: I don't think he's reclusive. I think there's a difference between being reclusive and being private. I do think he's a very private person and I think ever so often he steps out into the limelight when he feels that there's something that he really feels passionately about. That's either usually music and most recently it's been political.

WHITIFIELD: In your article he is quoted as saying, "I've got a big family, the people are close. I didn't know how to handle that when I was a young man. It was burdensome and the responsibilities felt like an intrusion."

So you really do kind of delve into this private portion of his life versus the public persona of him on stage.

BERENDT: Right. One of the most interesting things he says at the very beginning of our interview is that he talks about the moment that he goes on stage and the kind of anxiety he feels. He actually makes the comparison to when you first take your driving test and when you're nervous about actually getting your license.

He feels that kind of anxiety when he steps on stage and then he says that kind of disappears as soon as he touches his guitar.

But I think those are the kinds of insights that you don't normally hear from him because he is so private.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Berendt, "Esquire" magazine, thanks so much. A nice inside look of Bruce Springsteen, the Boss, a rare opportunity to hear about his private life and how he approaches his business on stage as well. Thanks so much.

BERENDT: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And AMERICAN MORNING begins in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Thanks very much, Fred. I'm Miles O'Brien, watching for today's danger zones in a relentless heat wave. Already this morning, severe heat advisories issued all across the country as the death toll climbs. Any relief in sight? We're tracking the forecast.

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