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CNN Live Today

Unwelcome Visitor Knocking on South Florida's Door; Iraqi Constitution

Aired August 25, 2005 - 10:59   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."
Southeast Florida is already feeling the effects of Tropical Storm Katrina. It could develop into a hurricane before the eye makes landfall in south Florida. Residents along the 120-mile stretch of coastline, including Miami, are bracing for the full force of Katrina.

More troops in Iraq. The Pentagon says it will send an additional 1,500 troops to Iraq to boost security during upcoming elections. The two battalions will come from the 82nd Airborne Division. With the latest deployment, U.S. troop levels will rise to at least 140,000 in Iraq.

U.S. officials say a man who was denied entry to the country was responsible for a February suicide attack in Iraq that killed 125 people. Raed Mansoor Albanna tried to enter the U.S. in 2003, was denied entry because of an expired visa. Authorities are still investigating him.

And Pat Robertson is backtracking today. The Christian broadcaster apologies for suggesting the U.S. should assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Robertson initially said his comments were taken out of context. He made the suggestion on his television show "The 700 Club."

Good morning. Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY.

Checking the time around the world, 11:00 a.m. in Miami; 5:00 p.m. in Paris; and 7:00 p.m. in Baghdad.

From CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan.

Up first this hour, an unwelcome visitor knocking on south Florida's door. The outer bands of Tropical Storm Katrina's are already lashing the southeastern coastline. Floridians know this drill all too well. They're boarding up windows and filling up sandbags, bracing for Katrina's arrival.

More than five million people in Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties have been warned to prepare for the storm. Sales are up at Home Depot and other hardware stores. Residents are piling and stocking up on plywood, bottled water, batteries and other supplies.

Chad Myers and Susan Candiotti monitoring Tropical Storm Katrina on different fronts. Susan out in it, in Hollywood, Florida; Chad Myers at the weather center in Atlanta.

Chad, let's start with you. The latest on Katrina?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Up to 60 miles per hour now is the latest 11:00 advisory just in. And the weather service, the National Hurricane Center, has raised the number from 50 to 60 miles per hour.

The storm getting a little bit tighter here. Most of the energy, the strongest part of the storm, is still on the southeastern side, but that's trying to wrap itself around to the north and eventually to the western side itself.

This storm is very close. And it developed very close to the U.S., which didn't give the computer models much time to figure out what's going on with this storm. To about the center, or just the south of the center of the storm, 47 miles.

The last couple of images kind of took the storm to the right a little bit. About an hour ago, this thing was turning left. An hour before that it had stopped. This thing is a wobbler, and it is going to continue to do that. That's why this thing has been so difficult to predict, landfall, speed, and, of course, timing.

So there you go. We're going to keep watching it. As it gets closer, these numbers are going to get smaller. And your weather, if you're in south Florida, it's just going to go downhill all day long.

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KAGAN: And moving particularly slow, would you say?

MYERS: That's part of the problem. The upper level winds are very slow. So they're kind of variable, kind of blowing around a little bit. And so that's why the storm is moving slowly, because there's nothing to push it. But that's also the problem, why it's so hard to forecast.

KAGAN: Right. All right, Chad. We'll be checking back with you.

Meanwhile, let's head out into it. That's where our Susan Candiotti is, in Hollywood, Florida -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

The stray showers come and go. And I don't think you could see the definition in the sky now. It's overcast, but you see breaks in the clouds. That changes as the morning goes on.

Point out to you the morning headline here: "South Florida Faces a Wet Wallop." That's right. And we could indeed be in the center of a big landfall. We're certainly noticing that as these showers come through.

Evacuation orders are already under way, but they're not mandatory. Voluntary for people living in low-lying areas, in mobile homes, to make sure they stay out of harm's way.

Also, people are still going out to the stores. Those who haven't stocked up already, buying last-minute items that they might need. You can imagine what those items are, including batteries and flashlights.

And we talked to one man who said, OK, he's a procrastinator, he admits it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK JONES, FLORIDA RESIDENT: I'm pretty much prepared. My house is ready to go. I prepared earlier for that.

The -- I'm just keeping an eye on the news right now. I hear that it's just a tropical storm at the moment. But I just stay tuned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: So while his home is ready, he's still going out to the store to pick up some last-minute items.

Also, people are heading out to the gas stations to top off their tanks. Some places there are long lines. Some gas stations have actually run out of fuel. But other than that, people are preparing.

Now, the attorney general for the state of Florida has also issued a warning to beware of price gougers because this happens every time a storm comes through south Florida, it would seem, or throughout the state of Florida. And they have set up a toll-free hotline if you think you are getting ripped off.

It happens. For example, last year they told us, last hurricane season 13 lawsuits were filed against, for example, hotels, people selling lumber, other, bottled water, that kind of thing. And the state recovered almost $1 million in fines, punishing people for trying to cheat people out of what they should be paying for some of these necessary items to prepare for a hurricane.

So everyone is pretty much ready. We're just waiting for the rain to hit as Katrina inches closer and closer -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. I would say, stay dry, but I think we're past that point. So just stay safe. Thank you, Susan.

CANDIOTTI: OK.

KAGAN: Susan Candiotti, in south Florida.

Well, another sign that they are getting ready for Tropical Storm Katrina, the MTV Moonman taken down from the top of one of South Beach's art deco hotels. Whatever happens, the Moonman is OK. And the MTV Video awards still scheduled to go on Sunday night.

An update on Katrina's position and projected path is just ahead. We'll give live to the National Hurricane Center in Miami for the latest forecast. That's coming up in about 10 minutes.

We move on now to Iraq. The Pentagon sending another 1,500 U.S. troops to the country. The reinforcements help with security in the run-up to a fall vote on the new constitution. The two infantry battalions from the 82nd Airborne will bring U.S. troop levels in Iraq to at least 140,000.

Iraqi lawmakers are considering a vote on the draft constitution. Well, they're supposed to. That's not going to happen today. Our correspondent Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad with late details.

Aneesh, hello.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, Iraqi politics, as it often does, getting more confusing by the hour. The National Assembly, which was to meet today, has canceled its session. But officials say that the deadline for compromise, now just about five hours away, will be met.

They are in meetings right now between the Shia-Kurd coalition and the Sunnis to try, if they can, at this late hour, bridge the divide over that main sticking point of federalism and how it will be worded in this draft constitution. The government says, though, that the only legal requirement it had was to have a draft submitted to the National Assembly by Monday.

They met that deadline. Now they don't see a need, really, to have a vote in the National Assembly. They don't see a need for it today.

Instead, the assembly could meet next week and essentially rubberstamp the document. But again, as far as we can tell, the deadline is still in place. So whatever document emerges at midnight tonight, or earlier if they release it, that will be the draft constitution.

This drafting process will end. And beginning tomorrow, both sides will undoubtedly begin the rhetoric of persuasion to the Iraqi public to try and get them to come on board, either for federalism, which the Shia and Kurds want, or against, which the Sunnis have been very vocal about. And we'll know the answer to that, of course, in the referendum that is to come this fall -- Daryn.

KAGAN: So, Aneesh, by not meeting, is that a slap in the face to the Sunnis, who have had a problem with this recent draft of the constitution?

RAMAN: Well, one can only presume that a vote, if they were to have one in the National Assembly, would have reinforced the divide between the Shia-Kurd coalition and the Sunnis, just as you pointed out. To visually have a moment where all those lawmakers are voting for a document that the Sunnis see as illegitimate would underscore that tension.

So perhaps what they are trying to do, if they cannot find compromise, is just ease this process as quietly as they can towards that referendum. They are very keen, the Shia-Kurd coalition, to try and convince the majority of Sunnis that federalism is essential in the new Iraq, with the hopes of preventing this constitution from being voted down in that referendum and for this entire process subsequently to have to start again -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Aneesh Raman, live in Baghdad.

Thank you.

Back here in the U.S. Cindy Sheehan is back in Crawford, Texas. She is the antiwar protester returning after nearly a week away tending to her ailing mother. She was met by supporters, but also faced demonstrators who support President Bush's war policies.

Our Ed Lavandera is at Camp Casey and joins us now with the latest -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

Well, the camp that you see behind me is this huge tent. And literally, the security checkpoint leading to President Bush's ranch is just right here. And this is one of the biggest protest sites that has been set up.

We're expecting to hear from Cindy Sheehan just shortly. She returned to Crawford last night in a very emotional return for her to this particular camp. Her supporters here had set up a banner-size portrait of her son who was killed in Iraq. And we saw Cindy Sheehan break down in tears at the site of seeing that as she was welcomed here with open arms by many of her supporters.

But just as many of the people have been supporting her, there are also a good number who are pouring into Crawford who, quite frankly, have given her an icy reception when she came into the airport yesterday afternoon. There was a mixture of cheering and booing as she made her way through the airport, and many several Bush supporters lined up along the street as she returned here to the Crawford area.

President Bush landing in Crawford just a few hours after Cindy Sheehan returned. And over the course of the last few days, in speeches that he made in Utah and Idaho, President Bush making the case that the U.S. needs to stay the course in Iraq and keep its troop levels where it needs to be, which, of course, is not the kind of news that the protesters who have come here to Crawford wanted to hear -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Ed Lavandera, live in Crawford, Texas.

More on the antiwar activist, Cindy Sheehan's latest moves and her emotional return to Texas. Her live news conference is in about 20 minutes, and we will get other view points as well.

Katrina making waves, and Florida getting ready. I'll talk live with an expert at the National Hurricane Center. That's next. And Lance Armstrong rides out his own storm. He gets ready to address a doping allegation with our Larry King. A look at that controversy when CNN LIVE TODAY gets back to the news after this.

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KAGAN: We're keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Katrina, gathering steam off the Florida coast. Katrina could reach hurricane strength before making landfall.

Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, joins us now from Miami with the latest on Katrina.

Ed, good morning

ED RAPPAPORT, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Good morning again.

KAGAN: What is the latest you can tell us on this hard-to- predict storm?

RAPPAPORT: The tropical storm is following pretty close to the forecast, both in terms of the tracking intensity -- we've now had Hurricane Hunter aircraft from NOAA go through the system in the last half-hour, confirms what we suspected, that there is a slow, strengthening trend.

Maximum winds are now up to 60 miles an hour. It also indicates that the center of the tropical storm, which we can see on radar as well, is progressing towards the west at about five miles per hour, very slowly.

That's going to give the storm more time to strengthen. So we're still forecasting it will become a Category 1 hurricane before landfall.

The other problem with the slow motion is, once it gets to land, it's going to prolong the rainfall. And there's a flood risk for south Florida.

KAGAN: How much rain are we talking about, Ed?

RAPPAPORT: If the tropical storm or hurricane, if it becomes one, continues to move at five to six miles per hour, as we're forecasting, then we're talking about upwards of 10 inches of rain. In the worst cases, perhaps even 15 inches.

KAGAN: And as this crosses the peninsula there, is it too early to talk about where it might be going, either up the west coast of Florida or more out into the Gulf?

RAPPAPORT: It's not too early, but it's too early to know with certainty which of those options are going to take place. It does appear that once it crosses the peninsula, there will be a turn to the northwest and eventually to the north, with some acceleration. And that puts the north central to northeastern Gulf Coast in the likely target zone. But we're talking about three or four day from now.

KAGAN: OK. This one a slow mover. Katrina taking its sweet time.

Ed Rappaport, thank you. I know it's a busy time.

RAPPAPORT: Thank you.

KAGAN: Let's take a look now at other stories making news overseas this morning.

A powerful typhoon is targeting Japan. Typhoon Mawar is headed toward the Tokyo area. It could hit any time now. Strong winds and heavy rains have already disrupted flights and oil deliveries.

There are new worries in the aftermath of deadly flooding across central Europe. Authorities are concerned about buildings on the brink of collapse, or chunks of mud and debris that could give way. In Germany, runoff is still coming off the rivers, and there are fears of even more flooding. Days of torrential rain left dozens dead, and bodies are still washing up.

And authorities in southern Australia have given up their search for a marine biologist following a grisly shark attack. A fellow diver says the 23-year-old victim fought off the great white shark, and then it came back and dragged him away.

Sharks have killed five people in this very same region in the past five years. It brings to question just how likely is it that you will be attacked by a shark? You might be surprised.

Here now, a look at the facts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN (voice over): There were only 61 unprovoked shark attacks worldwide in 2004. Seven of those were fatal.

Shark attacks have been on the rise for the last 100 years. Four hundred and eighty-one attacks were reported in the 1990s, nearly twice as many as in the '60s.

It's not because of more sharks. In fact, the world shark population is declining because of over-fishing and loss of habitat. But the number of shark attacks is actually directly related to the amount of time people spend at the beach. And Americans are spending more time at the beach every year.

Are you still worried about finding yourself nose to nose with jaws? Well, maybe this will help to think about this: your odds of being attacked by a shark in the U.S. are roughly one in 10 million. You're more likely to be struck by lightning or die from falling out of bed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Can your doctor be too brutally honest? Apparently so. A New England MD is in trouble for calling them like he sees them. He told a fat patient, get this, she was fat.

And did he dope? He says nope. New allegations against cyclist Lance Armstrong and his response, still ahead.

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KAGAN: So did he or didn't he? The debate over whether or not cyclist Lance Armstrong has ever used performance-enhancing drugs in the Tour de France, it continues this morning.

Joining me now to talk about the issue is Dave Shields, author of "The Race," a page turner about competitive cycling and Tour de France.

Dave, good to see you again.

DAVE SHIELDS, AUTHOR: Good to see you again, too, Daryn.

KAGAN: First, let's talk about the substance in question, EPO. What is it, how would it help?

SHIELDS: EPO is a drug used to increase the red cell count. It's actually a very -- it's a miracle drug for anemia patients. And drug -- or sport cheats in endurance sports have discovered that they can increase their oxygen-carrying capacity, which will increase their ability to go long distances.

KAGAN: So this was a banned substance in '99, it still is now. But back in '99, the testing wasn't available to detect it. Now it is. The French say they go back and tested an old urine sample of Lance Armstrong and said it comes up, bingo.

SHIELDS: Yes, the test has been available for a couple years now. I think it came out in either 2001 or 2002. So it's been available for quite a while now.

KAGAN: So what about the timing of all this, after this incredible accomplishment of Lance Armstrong winning this latest Tour de France?

SHIELDS: Well, I think given -- given the way that this particular newspaper has approached this, I think the timing indicates that they didn't really know about the story until now. I don't think there's any question they would have brought it out during the Tour de France if they had been able to -- if they had been able to put the story together at that time.

KAGAN: OK. So, bottom line, Dave, you live in this world, do you think he did or didn't? SHIELDS: You know, based on the evidence, you can't be -- you can't be so naive to say that there's no way that he did. What I -- what you've got to say, though, is that he's been very unfairly treated by this. And the reason is that, what they've done is they've taken the B samples -- the procedure is that you've got to have an A sample and a B sample, and the athlete needs to be present if you open the B sample.

What they did is essentially took all of these B samples, opened them up, declared them positive, and now there's no way that he can -- that he can defend himself. So they put him in a no-win situation. No matter what he says, he looks bad.

KAGAN: Right. At the end of the day, he has to prove a negative.

SHIELDS: He has to prove a negative, and there's no evidence to do it. I mean, does he have a urine sample sitting around from 1999 that he can use? Of course not.

So he's -- you know, it's -- what he's going to go through is really -- it's very fair if he was guilty. But if he's not guilty, it's a tragedy. It's a very unfair to thing to put a guy in a position where he's put tremendous effort into what he's done and suddenly he's called into question as a result of a custody situation of these samples that can never be traced. It's just -- it's extraordinarily unfair what's being said about him because they can't back it up.

KAGAN: And finally, at the end of the day, the French are bitter and want to believe that he's guilty. And Americans want to believe in one of their heroes, Lance Armstrong.

SHIELDS: I think that's a very true statement. I also -- I think you'd be surprised to find that it's not universally French.

As a matter of fact, if you're in the countryside of France, Lance Armstrong is very much loved. And that's one of the reasons why "Le Monde," when Armstrong retired, they wrote something about, "Never has the retirement of a great champion been so eagerly anticipated and looked forward to."

Well, that's just not the truth, because even in France, the ratings for the race are higher than they've ever been. Lots of people are watching it. What they're telling us is how they feel in their -- in their particular newsroom.

KAGAN: All right. Well, and I know you were just over in France and working on a book on this very topic. So when that's ready to go, you'll have to come back and share what you found.

SHIELDS: I'll look forward to it.

KAGAN: All right. Dave Shields, author of the book "The Race."

Thank you. Well, Lance Armstrong will respond to these doping allegations and more this evening. He's giving an exclusive interview to our "LARRY KING LIVE," featuring Bob Costas. That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern, only here on CNN.

An emotional moment in Crawford, Texas. Cindy Sheehan returning to the site she calls Camp Casey, and a portrait of her son. We'll be hearing from her live from Crawford in just a few minutes. Also hearing, by the way, from a parent of another soldier lost in Iraq with a different political point of view.

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