Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Gabrielle Blasts Carolina Coast; McCanns Head Home; Petraues Report Preview

Aired September 09, 2007 - 17:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I can hear the rain. There we go. Now we can see you, too. So sorry, John. It's nasty out there.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. It really is. Within the last two hours, it's gotten worse than it's been all day. The storm was parallel to us and then approaching us. (Inaudible) The sun was coming out and now it has been a steady downpour of rain and a little bit (inaudible enough to ruin (inaudible) out here. (Inaudible)

WHITFIELD: Oh boy. I have a feeling we should get out of this one because, sorry, John Zarrella's signal is bad, obviously. Weather is really bad, that happens. So Jacqui Jeras is in the comforting confines of the hurricane headquarters.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. Makes me feel guilty.

WHITFIELD: I know. It's bad out there. It's driving rain, it's very windy, and it seems like the worst that folks might be dealing with there is exactly what we're seeing.

JERAS: Yeah. John is really in the heart of where the worst of the conditions with the storm is. He's not near the center, but he is where the strongest thunderstorms have been and the winds are gusting up to 50 miles per hour and the winds are that strong. You can get heavy rain and rain fade with our satellite signal. There you can see where Gabrielle is. The 5:00 advisory in now, and it's holding steady with maximum sustained winds at 50 miles per hour, it is back over land now. It was over the Pamlico sound and now has pushed inland ever so slightly. So some gradual weakening is expected. This is where John Zarrella is, right here at Atlantic Beach.

There you can see Jacksonville and also right near Morehead City. So the showers and thunderstorms are coming from the north and to the west and pushing offshore here. But the whole system itself is slowly pulling on up to the north. That's what Gabrielle has been doing. We expect it to do that yet over the next couple of hours, and then start to pull away from the shore late tonight, through the overnight hours. And that's when we'll watch for those it conditions to improve.

And here you can see the winds over the last few hours. These are sustained winds and this is Cape Hatteras where winds have been in the 20-mile-per-hour range but gusts have been as strong as 50 miles per hour. And that can cause some damage. Now is the time where you want to hunker down, you want to stay inside, call it a night, just go ahead and watch CNN or some other programming for you, watch a movie and stay indoors. This will be pushing to the north and east late tonight, pull away, along with the cold front pushing through and goes out to sea and will no longer a threat.

So we still have a good couple hours to go, Fredricka, where the winds will be very nasty. The rain, however, certainly welcome. One to three inches with some locally heavier amounts. Wish we could get more of that rain farther off to the west too.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Just hang in there, folks. Just a couple hours more. All right. Jacqui, thanks so much.

Now across the pond now, so to speak, and a bittersweet home coming in Britain. The parents of Madeleine McCann have left Portugal days after they were named official suspects in her disappearance. They had their two-year-old twins safe in their arms, but no word on the fate of the missing four-year-old. Upon arrival in England, they made an emotional denial, insisting they would never do anything to hurt their Maddy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERRY MCCANN, MADELEINE'S FATHER: Portuguese law prohibits us from commenting further on the police investigation. Despite there has been so much we wish to say, we are unable to do so, except to say that we have played no part in the disappearance of our lovely daughter Madeleine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Being back on British soil doesn't protect the McCanns, however, from Portuguese law however. They can be called back there at any time. Our Phil Black sifts through the legalese to bring us more on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They left without saying a word. On the 129th day since their daughter disappeared, Kate and Gerry McCann drove out of the town from where they have directed the Find Madeleine campaign. A spokesperson said they did so with the consent of Portuguese authorities. But even in their home country, Kate and Gerry will remain aguido, official suspects in the investigation.

(on camera): Is it unusual for an aguido to be allowed to leave the country?

OLIVER TRINADE, CRIMINAL LAWYER: It's not unusual and it happens a lot.

BLACK (voice-over): Criminal lawyer Oliveira Trinade says the status of aguido applies for eight months. For that time, even Britain, the McCanns must obey the law of Portuguese secrecy. It is illegal for them to talk about the investigation.

TRINADE: Anywhere in this world, they feel they must remain silent about the facts. They cannot give facts to anyone else.

BLACK: Prosecutors did not seek a court order forcing Kate and Gerry to stay in Portugal, but at any time, they could ask for one, insisting on their return.

TRINADE: It's necessary, the prosecutor or the police, will then call them to be questioned again if necessary in Portugal.

BLACK (on camera): Portuguese lawyers say it is possible the police will complete their investigation without the McCanns having to come back here, but if one or both is charged, and ordered to stand trial, they will be required to attend.

(voice-over): The McCann's announcement they were leaving came as a surprise after earlier insisting they would stay in Praida da Luz (ph).

CARLA RODRIGUES, PORTUGUESE JOURNALIST: It's sudden and it's strange. For the Portuguese community here in Praia da Luz, in less than 48 hours the McCanns considered suspects they are leaving Portugal and going back to the U.K.

BLACK: The first official aguido to be named in this case, a British man has been yet to be either charged or cleared. The McCanns insist they had nothing to do with their daughter's disappearance but clearing the suspicion that now hangs over them could take time yet. Phil Black, CNN, Praia da Luz, Portugal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And back in this country, the top U.S. commander in Iraq is gearing up for a busy day on Capitol Hill tomorrow. General David Petraeus expected to endure grueling questions as he briefs lawmakers on the current strategy in Iraq. His message may not be welcomed by Congress. Ed Henry is in Washington with details. How much do we know? Sorry. How much do we know about what he might say?

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fred. We're learning a little bit about what General Petraeus is expected to say and Democrat Joe Biden today said he believes the general is dead flat wrong for pushing back against troop cuts in Iraq. But Democrats really have little hope of forcing a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): After the long trip back from Australia, at 5:00 a.m. Sunday, president bush was bleary eyed but must quickly refocus on the crucial Iraq testimony from General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. CNN has learned Mr. Bush's likely to address the American people in primetime later this week, a direct appeal that he previewed after meeting with wounded troops in Hawaii.

GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: Now is the time to do the hard work to make sure that we can have a peaceful world. Now is the time to deny radicals and extremists a safe haven. HENRY: But Democrats charge the latest videotape from Osama bin Laden shows Mr. Bush took his eye off al Qaeda.

SEN. BARBARA BOXER, (D) CA: Every time I see that fugitive terrorist on television taunting America I think of how wrong this president was in turning away from going after that murderer who murdered our citizens and moving into Iraq and not having any way of getting us out.

HENRY: Defense officials tell CNN General Petraeus will recommend keeping the current higher U.S. troop levels in Iraq until spring. Ambassador Crocker is also expected to assert the security aspects of the surge have worked and should be maintained to give the Iraqi government more time for political reconciliation. All of which adds up to a president who teased the possibility of troop cuts during his secret mission to Iraq, but appears to be digging in for the status quo.

BUSH: I came back from Iraq encouraged by what I saw. No question there's still hard work to do but my resolve is as strong as it's ever been.

HENRY: After his own trip to Iraq, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden returns, seeking a change in policy, but acknowledged the political reality. Democrats don't have the votes to force a change in the president's strategy.

SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't believe there's 12 Republicans that believe this strategy is working. I don't think there's a dozen. But it's very hard to take issue with your core base and with your sitting president no matter how unpopular he is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (on camera): So despite all the hype about how this may be a turning point in the Iraq debate, it's more likely to turn out to be another chance for the president to buy himself six months or so to pursue the same policy. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Ed Henry, thanks so much from Washington.

HENRY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: While officials await the briefing from General Petraeus, the American public seems far more skeptical. That's according to a recent CNN-Opinion Research Corporation poll. It asks, do you trust the top U.S. commander in Iraq to report what's really going on? Forty-three percent of those polled say yes, 53 percent, no. And when asked if Washington's top commander in Iraq reports the U.S. is making progress, only 28 percent said they'd be more likely to support the war. A majority, 72 percent, say it would have no affect on their view of the Iraq War.

And I'll have more of a long-anticipated Iraq report discussion in about 15 minutes. My guest, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, he is an author and national editor of "The Washington Post" newspaper. The interview at the bottom of the hour in the NEWSROOM.

Well, it was a beautiful day to stroll our nation's capital, but thousands had better reasons than the weather to take part in the third annual America Supports Youth Freedom Walk. Sponsored by the Department of Defense the event commemorates the lives lost in the September 11th terrorist attacks as well as honoring armed forces members past and present.

There are more than 200 similar walks held this weekend in advance of Tuesday's sixth anniversary of 9/11.

Let's check in again with John Zarrella. We're going to try this live shot one more time. He is in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina where Gabrielle is a mess.

ZARRELLA: Fredricka, yeah. Television equipment doesn't stand up real well to this kind of weather, so we lost the signal back at the top. I was saying these are really the worst conditions we have seen here all day. It started out earlier in the day. The sun was peeking through. Certainly heavy overcast and a light drizzle. But for the past two hours it has been steady pelting, heavy rain.

And I had started to point out one of the problems you have with this kind of a storm, of course you get beach erosion. And take a look down here. You can see right along the edge here, where the waves have been lapping up at the edge of the shore here, a lot of this beachfront is beginning to be eroded away. No it's not going to be a terrible situation of erosion here. It's not that powerful a storm. But certainly bad enough.

And now if you look out here, you can see what's doing all that. The waves are really pounding in now. The white caps. The wind blowing and whipping the tops of those white caps off there in the distance. You can see more squalls, more squall lines as the storm continues.

As I was saying, it's even by us and we're really getting the worst of the weather now. I guess it's appropriate because Fredricka, tomorrow is the climatological height of hurricane season. That means September 10th, over 125-year period, there are more tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico on September 10th, than on any other day of the year. Then it starts to tail off. Wouldn't you know it, there are two other systems out off of Africa moving across, the hurricane center is keeping an eye on.

So we're far from out of the woods. People here, though, this is actually somewhat of a blessing. I was saying they've had terrible drought conditions in North Carolina and this is at least going to help them out along the coastal sections of the Carolinas. Again, some of the worst conditions we've seen here now in the past couple of hours. Certainly tropical storm force winds and heavy, heavy rain. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks, John. Hopefully some benefit to it all. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a college student disappears for a week leaving his friends and family really worried. Then suddenly, he's spotted trying to drag himself from a ditch. The story straight ahead.

Plus, with only seconds to spare, an elderly woman is dragged from this car. Wait until you hear what was headed her way.

And then take a look at this. A noose in a tree. A disturbing sight to see, especially on a college campus. We'll tell you where this was found and the reaction there. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: For seven days, Julian McCormick's family waited and worried. He was missing and they knew something was terribly wrong. But they never would have guessed the 18-year-old student was badly injured and trapped in his wrecked car off a Maryland highway. CNN's Kathleen Koch has Julian's amazing survival story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A deep ravine, just a stone's throw from a major highway, that's where police found the overturned car where missing 18-year-old Bowie State University student Julian McCormick had been trapped for a week. He was last seen September 1st on his way to pick up his girlfriend. Finally McCormick managed to free himself, telling family he crawled through a creek bed, under a bridge and up an embankment to a road where Saturday two women spotted him.

LEIGH ANN HESS, PASSERBY: I ran up to him and said are you OK, what happened? He said I got in a car accident. I said hold on, you're going to be OK. We're going to have an ambulance come and I ran up and flagged to my mom, yes, get them to come, get them, get them to come.

KOCH: The disoriented teenager asked what day it was.

HESS: He did have a movie ticket in his pocket or something. He gave one of the observers, that this was the last thing he had remember seeing.

KOCH: The date on the ticket, September 1st. Police responded immediately.

LT. ROXANNE BROWN ANKEY, U.S. PARK POLICE: We found a young gentleman suffering cuts, abrasions, burns, dehydration.

KOCH: McCormick's aunt says he told his family he survived by dipping his shoe into the creek and eating what fish he could catch while he worked to tear the seat belt. Police confirm it was evident from the crash scene McCormick had been trapped in the car for days. The teenager is being treated for non life-threatening injuries.

PEGGY MCCORMICK, JULIAN'S MOTHER: He says, I love you, mom. I love you, mom. I was so scared.

KOCH: Worried friends had created a Facebook page and were headed to a Saturday vigil for McCormick when they got the news.

EMILY SPRINGER, FRIEND: At first, I kind of thought it was joke. But then she said he was OK, so came over here as fast as I could.

MCCORMICK: Julian is well. He is still having medical treatment. We are just so happy.

KOCH: His family says McCormick should be released from the hospital in a few days. Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And new information just in to CNN regarding the search for missing millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett. Let's go live to CNN's Kara Finnstrom in Minden, Nevada. Kara?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, search crews have confirmed for us now that they are checking out an area where they believe there could be some wreckage. This has happened a number of times, six times to be exact where they have found wreckage in the past that was from an old plane wreck. They are not sure in this case whether this is -- what this could be or whether this could be the wreckage from Fossett's plane. They tell us they are checking it out and have aircraft in the area right now and land crews also checking it out and they will be bringing us more information as they know.

We are in day six right now. What they did tell us earlier today, is that they have now covered about 100 percent of their big search area that we've been telling you about, 17,000 square feet (sic). That they've covered that 100 percent with a cursory initial search where they kind of fly over and get the best look they can, and that as of today, what they were going to do is really focus on a 50- mile radius right around the area where the airstrip was that Fossett took off from on Monday. What we're told now is while they were focusing on the area, this area they're checking out at this point is outside of that actual radius. So again, we hope to learn more. We do understand they will be holding a press conference in just a couple minutes, Fredricka, and hopefully will have a little more for us at that point.

WHITFIELD: OK. We'll monitor that and get back to you if it merits. Thanks so much. Kara Finnstrom.

And then this is a pretty frightening and offensive sight, especially on a college campus. A hang man's noose in a tree.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every time I walk past Nebrew (ph) now, I feel kind of like a little scared because I look up and I'm kind of like more cautious.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Police are treating it as a hate crime. The story next in the NEWSROOM plus, take a look at this. Two trains mangle a car, but the driver is saved in dramatic last-second rescue. Much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A head's up move by a driver in suburban Chicago. But for his quick thinking this mangled car that was struck by a train would have been a death trap for a fellow motorist. He told his story to a news crew.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS FOUST, PULLED DRIVER FROM CARVER: I was driving behind this elderly woman and she basically turned on the tracks and I started honking my horn at her. And the gates hadn't gone down yet so I pulled around and then saw a train coming and I stopped my car. I exited. And right when I got by the gates they started going down, so I just ran up to her car and started pounding on the window. I said, ma'am, you know, you got to get out of this vehicle, and I opened the door for her because she didn't have any idea what was going on. And I unclipped her seat belt and pulled her out. And seconds later the car got struck by the train. And I was maybe 10 feet away, and I covered her up so no debris hit her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: More from Thomas Foust in the 7:00 Eastern hour, he will explain the rest of what happened. The woman's car was struck not by one, but two oncoming trains. No injuries amazingly were reported.

And more now on a story we first told you about yesterday. University of Maryland police finding what looked like a noose hanging from a tree near the school's cultural center on Friday. Jackie Congedo of affiliate WJLA has some on campus reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It really is upsetting.

JACKIE CONGEDO, WJLA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): University of Maryland junior Connie Elow (ph) is making sure everything is in place for the Black Terp (ph) weekend kickoff here at the Nyumburu Cultural Center on campus. Just feet away from where police say a noose was hanging just days ago.

AMINA DANIELS, SOPHOMORE: Every time I walk past Nyumburu now, I feel like a little scared because I look up and I'm kind of more cautious.

CONGEDO: Students who saw it hanging from this tree say it was there for at least a week before it was taken down on Friday.

ANNE CARSWELL, NYUMBURU ASSOC. DIRECTOR: A student informed me Thursday around 5:30 p.m. they had seen it down the stairwell.

CONGEDO: Nyumburu associate director Anne Carswell is also the faculty advisor to "The Black Explosion," a student newspaper on campus. She told newspaper staff about it and they notified police who then sent out a crime report to the campus community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's disgusting that somebody would do that. This is Maryland, like if you can't deal with the diversity, don't come to this school because it's full of diversity.

CONGEDO: Police received this photo of the noose and believe it to be authentic. Many students we talked to think it's nothing to be concerned about, but Connie hopes everyone on campus takes it seriously.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The campus community as a whole can rally behind this and make sure this doesn't happen again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And a statement issued by the University of Maryland denounces the person behind the noose for invoking the legacy of lynching. The statement concludes, quote, "The university will do all in its power to investigate this and to ensure that all members of our campus family know we stand together against any such acts." End quote.

Expect a huge spotlight on America's Iraq commander tomorrow as General David Petraeus addresses Congress. But here's the big question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If in September you think the surge strategy is not working are you going to be able to tell that to the president and presumably the Congress?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: His answer coming up.

Plus -- it's never been done before and tonight is the night, the Democrats hold a presidential debate, but the whole thing is in Spanish.

And later, a chance for redemption? Perhaps. Britney Spears leaving behind the headlines about drinking, questionable parenting and that nasty divorce, to hopefully reignite her career, they say. We'll tell you all about it coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: CNN has learned General David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, will recommend no troop reductions in Iraq before the so-called surge is scheduled to end next spring. Petraeus will outline his thinking when he reports to Congress tomorrow. But he's already told the troops why they need to stay in a letter.

Details from CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CNN has learned that when General David Petraeus meets with President Bush and reports to Congress, he will recommend maintaining the current higher U.S. troop levels in Iraq until spring when the surge will begin to be phased out. And officials familiar with the thinking of the top commander, strongly dispute published reports in the "New York Times" and "Washington post" suggesting General Petraeus would be OK with pulling back or pulling out one brigade, roughly 4,000 troops in a nod to critics and Congress. That's nonsense, one military official told CNN. Insisting Petraeus believes, at this crucial time, every brigade is important.

In an April interview with CNN, General Petraeus promised, as he has many times, to give the unvarnished truth about the prospects for success.

(on camera): If in September you think the surge strategy is not working are you going to be able to tell that to the president and presumably the Congress?

GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, TOP U.S. COMMANDER IN IRAQ: Not only will I be able to, Ambassador Crocker and I will do that. We have an obligation to the young men and women who are giving their all to do just that.

MCINTYRE (voice-over): Some of the general's thinking is revealed in a letter he sent to all U.S. troops in Iraq on the eve of his Congressional testimony. In it he acknowledges while the security improvements have been dramatic in some areas, such as Ramadi and Anbar Province, overall progress has been uneven. And the Iraqis have not used the breathing space to embrace reconciliation. He concedes, "It has not worked out as well as we had hoped. We are a long way from the goal line. It's clearly taking more time than we initially expected."

(on camera): Ultimately it will be up to President Bush to decide if he should order a brigade home before the surge is scheduled to end, but if he does, sources tell CNN it will not be on the recommendation of General Petraeus.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, you've heard his name in the headlines a lot, but who is General David Petraeus? Here are some of the fast facts. He took over as the top U.S. commander in Iraq in February. Before that Petraeus commanded the Army's 101st Airborne Division during the 2003 invasion. He established order in the northern city of Mosul and trained Iraq's army and police forces. The four star general is a graduate of West Point. He also has a PhD in international relations from Princeton. And alongside him on Monday will be Ambassador Ryan Crocker. He will be there as well, and Crocker spent three decades as a U.S. diplomat in the Middle East and south Asia and served as ambassador to Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Pakistan and Iraq. He knows Iraq well, and also worked there in the 1970s and Crocker reopened the American embassy in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban.

So what might we hear from both men in their key testimony tomorrow on Capitol Hill?

Let's ask Rajiv Chandrasekaran, national editor at "The Washington Post." He also the author of "Imperial Life in the Emerald City Inside Iraq's Green Zone." He joins us from Washington.

Good to see you, Rajiv.

RAJIV CHANDRASEKARAN, NATIONAL EDITOR, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Good afternoon, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: This report should answer what questions?

CHANDRASAKARAN: Well, this report is aimed at trying to address the progress of the troop surge in Baghdad and whether or not it is working as the president hopes it is and the supporters of surge and also military commanders. We're likely to hear, as Jamie McIntyre had mentioned a while ago, is that General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker are going to say it is starting to show some signs of progress, that security is improving in certain parts of Baghdad and in the once very volatile al Anbar province to the west. That the Iraqi security forces are doing better, that certain metrics in terms of violence, particularly Iraqi on Iraqi violence, is trending somewhat downwards, buts there still remains some really big question marks. That primarily concerns the issue of political reconciliation.

Will the Iraqis and are the Iraqis using the improvements in security to move forward with political compromises? And in that respect, Ambassador Ryan Crocker will likely present a far more mixed picture of progress and note that Iraqis failed to move on several important initiatives that the White House wants them to.

WHITFIELD: I wonder, might Congress interpret this as this is the military assessment of what's taking place here, or is Petraeus and Crocker -- is their role to help convey what the White House assessment is on what's taking place in Iraq?

CHANDRASAKARAN: Well, the way this is being framed, that this is supposed to be their independent assessment. Although, at least as far as the Petraeus portion of the testimony is concerned, Petraeus has made clear to the president in a secure video teleconference, as well as in a face-to-face meeting when the president was just in Iraq last week, the general outline of what he plans to say.

WHITFIELD: I wonder, Rajiv, if anyone should expect to hear the answer to really the burning questions, what Congress wants to know, what's the end game plan, how much more is this going to cost in terms of dollars and in terms of American lives? Are they going to get that kind of answer starting tomorrow?

CHANDRASAKARAN: They're going to get an answer from people who have a real vested stake in wanting to see the current policies succeed. I think what they're going to hear is a lot of talk about how the surge is working. It's not going to be so much of an independent assessment as opposed to one where the guys who are in charge of the policy are going to say the policies are working as we hope it will be.

WHITFIELD: "The Washington Post's" Rajiv Chandrasekaran, thanks so much for your time.

CHANDRASAKARAN: Good to talk to you.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

And this quick program note, while politicians and the White House debate the war, our Anderson Cooper is in Iraq, keeping them honest. Watch "AC 360" live from Iraq all this week at 10:00 eastern.

One of the biggest political fund raising parties of the year was held last night. And no cameras were allowed inside the party.

(VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So you say wait a minute, that was a camera. That was outside and before the guests actually boarded the bus to get to the big party at Oprah's digs in California. We'll look into that.

The Democrats have a debate tonight, but if you don't speak Spanish, you may not understand all of what's being said. The story straight ahead when you take -- when we take you live to Florida.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: When treating a traumatic brain injury doctors often measure brain pressure to determine the amount of damage and type of treatment. This involves drilling into the skull and inserting a monitor, but Dr. Ernest Braxton says he's developing a nonsurgical alternative.

DR. ERNEST BRAXTON, CO-FOUNDER, NEUROLIFE: iScan is a medical device that allows doctors and nurses the ability to diagnose brain injury without drilling a hole into the skull. iScan does this by looking into the eyes and measuring small changes by the vessels in the back of the eye.

The technology iScan technology is a combination of bringing three things together, a very sensitive pressure sensor that's attached to the contact lens, a high resolution camera that's able to see blood vessels and having computer vision software able to detect small changes in the blood vessels.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: The device still must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bus loads of people dressed to nines. Don't you wish you were there? The occasion? Just the most talked about political event of the year. Oprah Winfrey's star-studded fund-raiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Last night's party was held at Winfrey's palatial estate in southern California. All 1,500 tickets were sold at $2,300 a piece. Snapping them up, average voters, along with a bunch of celebrities, including Forest Whitaker, Chris Rock, and Cindy Crawford. The event is expected to raise over $3 million for Obama's campaign.

Senator Obama's next stop, Florida. He and his Democratic rivals will go head to head, competing for the Hispanic vote at the first debate to be entirely in Spanish. Tonight's event is hosted by the Spanish language television network Univision and the University of Miami.

Joining us live from Coral Gables, Florida, CNN Spanish correspondent Juan Carlos Lopez. Good to see you.

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN NEWS SPANISH CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon.

WHITFIELD: Well, the expectations are high...

LOPEZ: We're waiting...

WHITFIELD: ... for the first ever event, right?

LOPEZ: Oh, yes. It's not the first forum conducted in Spanish, but the first one broadcast on open TV. People will be able to see it in their homes. Rules are English only for the candidates. Two of the candidates, Senator Chris Dodd and Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, didn't like the rule because they speak Spanish. And we don't know if they're going to follow or not these rules, people at home will hear the whole debate in Spanish. The anchors conducting the forum will ask the questions in Spanish and if people want to watch it in English, go to the closed captions and how they will be able to get it.

WHITFIELD: Is there any worry among the candidates, particularly Bill Richardson, since he does speak Spanish, there might be something lost in the translation?

LOPEZ: Yes. They were the first to accept the invitation and they think that not being able to speak in Spanish might take away some of the flavor. That's why we're not sure they're going to follow the rules during the whole forum, but we'll wait and see. It's go to be an interesting event on TV.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. There might have been or at least there were plans to have a Republican debate in a very similar format. But that didn't come to fruition, why? LOPEZ: It's on hold. It's still in the planning stages because only Senator John McCain confirmed he would come and take part in the forum. So they're waiting. They say they have two dates they're discussing. It's not completely off. People are going to wait to see what happens today, the outcome of the first forum. See the candidates debating in English, translated to Spanish, simultaneous interpretation. After that we'll know what happens with the Republicans.

WHITFIELD: Juan Carlos, thanks so much. We'll check with you throughout the evening as the debate gets under way.

Watch the CNN "NEWSROOM" tonight. We'll have the most memorable moments of that debate and tell you which candidates seem to dominate. That's at 10:00 p.m. eastern.

And we've seen the headlines, the bald head, the nasty divorce, and all the late night drinking. You know who I'm talking about -- Britney Spears. Well, apparently tonight she has a chance to change all of that.

(VIDEO CLIP)

Or does she? A live report about the pop diva's so-called comeback performance scheduled for tonight. More in the "NEWSROOM."

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in your hurricane headquarters. Tropical Storm Gabrielle, just kind of lingering around the Outer Banks. Find out when it's going to be pulling away and when the worst of the weather will arrive, that's coming up in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Tony Harris alongside me. That's later. For now let's talk about Gabrielle. Jacqui Jeras is in the weather center -- Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: She likes saying that name.

WHITFIELD: Gabrielle. It is. It's a beautiful name.

JERAS: It is. It's a nice storm too.

WHITFIELD: That's true. It could have been ugly. She stayed pretty.

JERAS: Hey, you know, the wind is nasty, though, in one spot, and it's really concentrated here near Morehead City towards Jacksonville, into Atlantic Beach, into that area. These winds that you're seeing from Hatteras towards Wilmington are the sustained winds. Hatteras has reported a strong wind gust up to 51 miles per hour. Now is the time you want to hunker down, stay indoors, and just go ahead and plan on staying in for the night. The rainfall estimating now by Doppler radar, on average, one to three inches. Everybody else has hardly had any rain at all. All the convection has been on the south side of the storm. If you live up towards Hatteras, towards Kitty Hawk, for example, while you've had some gusty winds, your rain hasn't arrived yet. Your conditions are going to be going downhill for later tonight.

The storm is moving north, curving towards the northeast late tonight and pulling off shore, so you get through the next six hours or so and things are going to be looking a lot better here. That rainfall certainly need, and that is going to be one of the biggest problems we think with the storm, too, is if we get too much in one spot, we could get some flash flooding going on and we'll be watching that over the next couple hours.

WHITFIELD: We don't want a repeat of that scene. We've seen that too much lately. Thanks so much.

Much more of the "NEWSROOM" straight ahead with Tony Harris.

TONY HARRIS, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Wow. This is fancy.

WHITFIELD: Like that new camera.

HARRIS: Fancy stuff on your show. Can we get that for 7:00 and 10:00 tonight?

WHITFIELD: I think you're going to get that.

HARRIS: You've been telling folks about the rescue the out of Chicago where the young man realizes there there's a woman trapped on the train tracks, an elderly woman stuck there. What is the impulse for so many of us that will put ourselves in harm's way to protect and help others? The young hero in this case, name Thomas Faust, we will talk to him. We've got him, Fred. We booked him. He's coming up at 7:00 p.m. And we'll ask him that question.

WHITFIELD: And a young guy.

HARRIS: He's a young guy. The elderly woman, OK. But I think you saw the video there, her new Lexus jacked up, hit by not one, but two trains. That's coming up at 7:00 p.m.

WHITFIELD: I'm sure she said that way too.

HARRIS: How about this -- are you going to be around and watch? 10:00 tonight? Got to call my mom on this one. The Sundance Kid joins us, Robert Redford. He'll join us from Sundance to talk about the global warming conference that he's hosting out there for a number of mayors, 30 to 40 mayors, a ground up approach to this. The mayors and governors closest to the problems on the ground and maybe they can affect the most change in global warming. We will talk to that man right there, Robert Redford, live, exclusively.

WHITFIELD: He makes things happen.

HARRIS: He really does. Tonight at 10:00. WHITFIELD: We'll be watching, 7:00 and 10:00. Have a good Sunday.

All right. The headlines, they have not been very positive, hasn't been easy on the pop star Britney Spears. But is there a chance all that could change tonight? Maybe a little about-face? It's called Britney's comeback. We'll tell you all about it next in the "NEWSROOM."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Might her potential comeback be toxic? Britney Spears in the headlines again. Not for her divorce or parenting skills or bald head, none of that stuff. This time it's all about her possible musical comeback tonight at the MTV Video Music Awards show. She will open the live show with her single "Gimme More." Some of her friends and fellow celebs are rooting her on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CORRESPONDENT: What's going on with Britney? Is she coming?

ALLI SIMS, SPEARS' COUSIN, FORMER ASSISTANT: It's a surprise. It's a surprise.

CRISS ANGEL, MAGICIAN: Britney is a very, very talented young lady. She's going to do amazing.

WAYNE BRADY, COMEDIAN: I cannot wait. Girl, I was so sad when there was a picture of her and the kids in the car an I was like what, but now I'm like okay.

RACHEL SMITH, MISS USA 2007: I am -- eagerly anticipating her comeback, as is everyone else.

BRADY: No. No.

LIL JOHN, RAPPER: I think she's going to be good. She's ready.

When people look at you like, that's motivation to you to do better. Not a good look.

BRADY: Not a good look.

SIMS: I don't even really know what's going on.

CISCO ADLER, MUSICIAN: Britney is going to do all right.

BRADY: Good luck, Britney. Good luck.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, let's see if she needs it. Joining us from Las Vegas where the VMAs are to be held, Denise Quan.

Denise, a lot of buzz. I mean they couldn't keep it a secret she's going to be part of the opening act. What do you know about how this opening act will go down?

DENISE QUAN, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Is Britney performing? I haven't heard that, actually.

WHITFIELD: Really?

QUAN: The CNN crew I've been with, we've been in Vegas for the past couple of days, and the buzz just all around town is all about Britney. We do know that she is doing her new single "Gimme More." It's off of her new album that doesn't have a title yet, but hitting record stores November 13th. She has been spotted around Las Vegas and Los Angeles with Criss Angel, the illusionist. And we ran into him last night at a 50 cent event and he said that he had given Britney a couple pointers, that's all he would tell us, but there could be a magic element incorporated in her opening number. We'll have to see what happens.

WHITFIELD: Okay. Some -- a little bit of illusionist kind of, you know, influence there, but are we to expect this is going to be kind of a risque Britney, like this "toxic" or back to the wholesome -- you know, back to the old first Britney?

QUAN: Well, I suspect that they might be trying to toe the line a little bit. I think she's trying to win her audience back. They don't want to see a completely wild Britney. They want her to kind of reign it in a little bit. It's really important for her image wise to perhaps keep it provocative, not cross the line. There's a fine line that she needs to not cross for this. As far as whether or not it's a risk, risque, versus risk, if she nails it, people will talk about it. If she is a train wreck, people are also going to talk about it. For Britney, the worst scenario in the world would be she's kind of mediocre.

WHITFIELD: Really? So you don't score any points if your -- you just play it safe?

QUAN: Not in this case. The bar has been raised since the time she's been out of the public eye in the performing sense. You are have these incredible performers like Beyonce who can sing and dance, J-Lo back on screen, dances, people with pipes like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. She has to step up her performance and her singing a couple notches.

WHITFIELD: Okay. The performance, the singing, all that really important, but important, too, I got to ask the hair. Will there be hair?

QUAN: There's got to be hair. There has to be something for the wind machines to kind of take off on. I would say that's a good gamble, we're in Vegas, that's a gambling town.

WHITFIELD: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but not this time, not with the VMA awards in town. Denise Kwan, thanks for the preview.

KWAN: Thanks, Fredricka. WHITFIELD: Fingers are crossed for Britney Spears.

All right. Meantime, we are standing by for news conference to take place in Nevada on the ongoing search now entering the seventh day for the missing aviator, Steve Fossett. We're going to continue to monitor the developments there as soon as that press conference begins. And we'll bring that along to you.

But first, "Lou Dobbs This Week" is coming up with a special report on a new threat to our sovereignty from Mexico.

And then at 8:00 eastern, Afghanistan's addiction and the world's new worry. CNN's Anderson Cooper traces the opium journey from poppy flower to addict on an all new CNN "SIU: Narco State, the Poppy Jihad."

That's followed by Bill Clinton on "Larry King Live." The former president talks about his wife's presidential campaign, the Senator Craig scandal and his new book on "How to Change the World."

Tony Harris joins you again at 7:00 eastern. Until then, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "Lou Dobbs This Week" starts right now.

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