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Obama Looks for Convention Bounce; McCain V.P. Watch; Severe Weather: Louisiana and Mississippi Declare State of Emergency; Program Makes Refugee Status Available for Iraqis

Aired August 28, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody.
You're taking a look at Al Gore. He's doing his walk-through. It happened just a short while ago at Mile High Stadium.

Welcome back. Soledad O'Brien at the CNN Election Center in New York with our continuing coverage of the Democratic National Convention.

Al Gore is going to be one of the opening acts, if you will. But the spotlight is going to be on Barack Obama tonight. And so, of course, will the heat, speaking to a massive audience on a memorable day, the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

And he's looking for a big convention bounce. We have got some new polling from the first two days of the convention.

And we have got CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser to crunch some numbers for us.

Hey, Paul, what are you finding?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, you know, we're right out here in Denver.

There's a good reason why the Democrats wanted to hold their convention in Denver, in Colorado, because the Rocky Mountain states are being battled over this year, Soledad.

Take a look at our brand-new numbers from CNN, "TIME" and the Opinion Research Corporation. Let's start right here in Colorado, where you have got John McCain up by one point, 47-46. That's basically a statistical dead heat.

Remember, this state went for George Bush in the last two elections. They would love, the Democrats would love to turn this state blue. New Mexico, this is where the really big news in our poll is. Check out these numbers in New Mexico. This is a state George Bush barely won four years ago. Now our new poll has Obama up by 13 points over John McCain. That is a shift, because this state had been pretty close up until this new number.

Nevada, another state they're battling over, another state that George Bush won four years ago, right now, you have got Barack Obama up by about five points.

And our new CNN/"TIME"/Opinion Research Corporation, we also did Pennsylvania. Why? Because Joe Biden, who was just named the running mate, grew up in Pennsylvania. Pretty much the same, though, about a five-point lead right now, 48-43, for Obama over McCain -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: So, Paul, then what are the implications for the electoral map, do you think?

STEINHAUSER: We are updating our electoral map. We did it when this poll came out because of New Mexico. And that is the change. New Mexico, we had as a battleground state. Now we have shifted it over slightly over to the lean-Democratic camp.

And because of that, we have now changed our electoral numbers. You know, 270 electoral votes are needed to win the presidency. Right now, we are projecting or predicting, if you take a look at the state polls, that, if the election were held today, Barack Obama would have 226 electoral votes, John McCain 189, neither of course anywhere close to 270.

We use state polls, voting trends. We take a look at the ad buys in the states and how many times the candidates have visited these states to come up with these numbers, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Paul Steinhauser for us this afternoon -- thanks, Paul. Appreciate it.

Coming up next, digging deeper, looking at the Republican response and a new statement from GOP strategist Karl Rove. Dana Milbank will join us with all that right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: John McCain and a few possible running mates.

CNN's John King and many others are working their sources right now, trying to shake loose the names. The big question is, will John McCain go public with it tonight either overtly or through a leak to upstage Barack Obama on his big night?

Joining me now, CNN contributor Dana Milbank of "The Washington Post."

Dana, nice to talk to you.

On the V.P. pick for John McCain, is it as crucial, as important, as weighty as the V.P. pick for Barack Obama?

DANA MILBANK, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, it's every bit as important, and perhaps more so, because the perception, at least, for John McCain is that he has to pick somebody who is able to stand in as president quickly just by virtue of his age. So, it is a hugely important decision.

And we are indeed already sort of getting little dribs and drabs out. And you have to think that the McCain campaign is trying to rain on Obama's parade tonight as much as possible.

O'BRIEN: You know, some people, David Gergen, for one, and others have said that would be considered, he thinks, unseemly. It's sort of not what you do.

Do you think that times have just changed, and also the calendar, frankly, has changed, with the Olympics where it is, that that wouldn't necessarily be perceived as a bad thing anymore?

MILBANK: You know, there is so little that would be seen as unseemly in politics anymore these days.

We have gone past the idea of it's OK to criticize the president now when he's overseas. And it's OK to rain on the other guy's parade. That said, John McCain probably wants to have the big oomph tomorrow.

But, even now, there's little reports coming out that Romney's sister's home in Michigan is being swept by the Secret Service. It may amount to nothing, but it definitely gives people a little bit to twitter about, instead of focusing all their attention on Obama's big speech.

O'BRIEN: Where does the advantage lie? Is it in being first out the gate with your convention or is it being the second guy who can watch the first guy's mistakes or victories and sort of tweak your convention to the first one?

MILBANK: Well, there has been this sort of jockeying the last couple of times around.

Common wisdom says that you would want to have the last word, get the bounce going out of the convention. The truth is the timing matters less than who is best able to establish the narrative. And McCain and the Republicans are going to be on attack next week, making Obama look to be weak, to look unpatriotic.

Obama really needs to use this last, best opportunity to establish himself and really create the dominant narrative for the next two months.

O'BRIEN: Now, how do you do that? How do you do that in a speech in front of 80,000 people where, by the way, you also have to do a bunch of other things, too, introduce people to yourself, not be too professorial or boring -- he occasionally goes with his 15-point memo things that he wants to do -- be compelling, speak intimately, David Gergen advises, speak to those 80,000 people? I mean, you're starting to get a long, long list of stuff you have got to accomplish in this one speech.

MILBANK: This is true.

Expectations for Obama are exceedingly high. And he has helped to raise them. But he has never really failed to -- to make people appreciate his skills, his oratorical skills in these sorts of environments. I expect he will meet expectations once again. But he has to do more than that. He has to get beyond sort of the laundry list of his policies, which people really don't need to hear tonight, and he really has to establish a coherent narrative, what he's going to do for the American economy.

He has to defeat all those doubts that he is weak on foreign affairs, that he is not as patriotic as his opponent is. That's a tall order. But he has in the past at least shown that he's up to it in these events.

O'BRIEN: Why are these two candidates neck and neck? For people who are criticizing the Democrats, they say, with the economy the way it is, it's ridiculous that they're neck and neck. Others say, well, if John McCain was so clearly able to be the different -- different than George Bush and could get that message out and people were really embracing him, and conservatives loved, well, then it wouldn't be neck and neck.

For both sides, there's sort of people having criticisms. Why do you think they're neck and neck?

MILBANK: Well, there's a lot of hand-wringing among Democrats right now, saying, hey, we should be up 10 points on this guy, much like congressional Democrats are over congressional Republicans.

They're looking for faults in the candidate, what he's done wrong. He hasn't perhaps been tough enough. That may be true, but a lot more has to do with John McCain's success at distinguishing himself from Bush.

The polls in the next couple of days will be crucial to see whether the Democrats have used this week effectively to more closely tie Bush and McCain.

O'BRIEN: We have got much more convention coverage coming throughout the day.

Dana, thank you very much. We appreciate the update.

In New York, I'm Soledad O'Brien at CNN Election Center. We are going to send it back to Atlanta and CNN NEWSROOM right after our break.

And then "THE SITUATION ROOM" will begin at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, live pictures now, INVESCO Field in Denver, better known to some of us as Mile High Stadium.

Hours from now, almost 80,000 people will be here for the biggest speech of Barack Obama's political career to date.

Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live here at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. We will get back to convention news in just a bit with Wolf Blitzer.

But now we are going to tell you about some stories making headlines.

Tourists and offshore oil workers are packing up as Gustav packs winds very close to hurricane-force. The tropical storm is spinning through the Caribbean and expected to again reach hurricane status soon. Forecasters predict it will be a monster Category 3 by the time it passes Cuba this weekend.

Well, Gustav is expected to reach the Gulf of Mexico sometime Sunday or Monday. It's anyone's guess where it goes after that. So, folks all along the U.S. Gulf Coast are stocking up and shoring up. Louisiana's governor has called a state of emergency and put the National Guard on standby.

FEMA is there, too, helping cities get emergency their plans in place.

And you know what? Our Chad Myers is tracking Gustav, all the activities. He joins us now with an update on Gustav's status.

What do you have, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Just pounding Jamaica right now, Don. And it's kind of on the Kingston side of Jamaica, Montego Bay on the west side, Kingston kind of on the east, and then the Ocho Rios area just getting pounded with rainfall as well.

And it's still raining in Haiti in places that have had so much flooding and mudslide and misery there in the past couple of days, this outer band right back into Haiti again, just when they thought they were out of the woods. The storm actually jogged to the left a lot overnight, almost 100 miles. It actually reformed south of where it was, because where it was, was over mountains. And it said, I don't want to be there. It wanted to be over water.

So, it found water, found a new center, and then it shifted a little bit to the left. It doesn't really change the forecast very much, still a Category 3 in the Gulf of Mexico. There's Sunday and there's Monday morning 8:00. Now, this could be left or right, north or south of where we are now.

And I expect that this forecast will change. They always do. A five-day forecast from the Hurricane Center, they admit it. They are 300 miles away one way or the other five days out. So, 300 miles one way or the other, that's a pretty big cone.

Now Tropical Storm Hanna, this is a brand-new storm. It is forecast to become a hurricane. You know what the problem is? There's Florida right there. But it's forecast eventually after this to be affected by a huge northward wind. And it will be pushed down into the Bahamas and maybe over Cuba. We will have to see. That's five days away as well, remember, 300 miles away one way or the other. There's a lot of time to figure that out -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Chad Myers, we will be checking back with you a lot. Thank you very much for that, sir.

MYERS: All right. You got it.

LEMON: And as you heard Chad say, this hour, Gustav is taking aim at Jamaica.

Bradley Finzi-Smith is on the phone with us from Kingston. He is with the aid agency Food for the Poor.

Tell us about preparations there, sir.

BRADLEY FINZI-SMITH, FOOD FOR THE POOR: How are you, Don? And good afternoon to you and your listeners.

We have been prepared for the last two days with it coming on and off. Now it's actually here. And we have just sent food all over the island to the various agencies we work with and the ODPM, Office of Disaster Preparedness, has 18 shelters island-wide while we wait for the pounding of Gustav.

LEMON: Tell us about what you're seeing there.

FINZI-SMITH: Well, right now, we're seeing wind gusts in Kingston, where I'm situated.

In Spanish Town, where Food for the Poor is, nothing yet. We have closed down our operation there and are waiting to distribute relief supplies thereafter, lots of rain. All indications that some flooding to the eastern-northeastern side of Jamaica, which is Portland, as we know it. And we're just waiting to see what it's going to bring to us.

LEMON: So, in terms of damage, all you're seeing, you said some very high winds and some flooding, right?

FINZI-SMITH: At this time, yes.

LEMON: At that time.

Now, are you having people take advantage of those 18 shelters that you mentioned?

FINZI-SMITH: We have some of them taking advantage of them. Other areas, they have not quite taken advantage. I guess some people are not 100 percent sure what is happening. And so we are telling them on the radios and getting on to our Web site at www.foodforthepoor.org, tell them that they need to get into these shelters, because it's important. This is not a joke. The hurricane is upon us. And so we have to take precaution for life and property.

LEMON: My last question, do you think that -- do you feel that you're prepared?

FINZI-SMITH: We are prepared. We are one of the lead agencies in Jamaica, Food for the Poor is. So, we are prepared as far back as June. And we have deployed food supplies, medical supplies and mattresses, et cetera, around the island.

LEMON: OK.

FINZI-SMITH: So, for that side, we're prepared.

What we need to be more prepared is the individual people taking care of their homes and themselves.

LEMON: OK.

FINZI-SMITH: And that's always a challenge in Jamaica.

LEMON: All right, we wish you all the very best.

Bradley Finzi-Smith with Food for the Poor, thank you, sir. Best of luck to you.

All eyes are on Gustav. And that includes the markets today. What effect could a hurricane rampaging through the Gulf have on oil prices?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Ana Maria once dreamed of becoming a dancer. But a loss of hearing and not wanting to wear traditional hearing aids kept her off the dance floor.

ANA MARIA JOHNSON, LYRIC CUSTOMER: It was becoming really a challenge for me to be able to perform, to be able to follow directions, to still to the music.

MARCIANO: She's now pursuing her passion thanks to a new device, Lyric, a tiny non-surgically-implanted hearing aid.

Traditional hearing aids amplify sound from outside the ear. Lyric is placed inside the ear canal next to the eardrum, making it invisible to the naked eye.

ADNAN SHENNIB, LYRIC CO-CREATOR: Each of these devices has a sort of compressible foam-like material that will adjust and conform to the unique shape of the ear canal.

MARCIANO: The spongy material is antibacterial and allows moisture to escape, so it won't cause infection.

Their customers pay a yearly prescription for the device and can wear it continuously for up to four months. When the battery dies, the whole device is replaced. Right now, it's only available in some states, but makers say more are coming. Besides, Lyric is not for anyone.

DR. ROBERT SCHINDLER, LYRIC CO-CREATOR: Somewhere between 50 to 60 percent just won't be able to do it because their ears are too small, too narrow. MARCIANO: For Ana Maria, Lyric's invisibility makes her forget she needs it.

JOHNSON: I no longer have in the back of my mind that I cannot hear and I have to make an effort to hear. That is fast.

(LAUGHTER)

MARCIANO: Rob Marciano, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

LEMON: Life-or-death decisions in Iraq. Iraqis who worked for the U.S. choose whether to live in the U.S. for good.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, INVESCO Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver, more than 75,000 people will be there tonight as Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination for president.

You're looking at live pictures now as they are setting the stage. CNN's special convention coverage continues at the top of the hour with Wolf Blitzer and the best political team on television.

Meantime, I want to get you caught up now on Gustav's whereabouts -- floodwaters from Tropical Storm Gustav. Right now, Jamaica is in the bull's eye, as Gustav churns across the Caribbean.

Earlier, it unleashed floods in parts of Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The storm is expected to turn into a powerful hurricane and threaten parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast after Labor Day.

Meteorologist Chad Myers is tracking Gustav in the CNN Severe Weather Center.

He joins us now with the latest with the track -- Chad.

MYERS: Don, the track is into the Gulf of Mexico. I don't see it one way or the other missing the Gulf of Mexico. Now, it could clip Cuba and it could clip Mexico. But somewhere here in the Yucatan Channel is where we think it's going.

Right now, directly over Jamaica. The north side of the islands getting north winds. The south side of the island getting south winds. Literally, the center right over the island now, with 70-mile per hour winds.

It jogged to the south overnight because it was over Haiti. It's a very mountainous country there. It said I want to be over mountains, I want to be over water. So it found more water and made a new eye. And now it's still contracting itself, getting a little bit weaker because it's over Jamaica.

As soon as it leaves Jamaica, it's going to get stronger. And those threes right there mean category three, 115, 120 miles per hour.

Now, also, Hannah, on some of the computer models that I've just been looking at, could be a stronger storm than what Gustav is. A couple of the computer models are not going all the way to category three. But with Hannah, they are getting it to be a very strong storm. The difference is Hannah, although it looks like it's headed to Florida, is going to run into a big piece of high pressure here that will say, hey, you can't go any further, kind of like what Fay ran into -- you can't go any farther and then it had to go west.

Well, here it is. And it's going to turn back down into the Bahamas. This is five days away now, so the big turn may be seven or eight days away. But it could be another very large, major hurricane out there. It could be hurricane Hannah -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Chad Myers.

Thank you very much for that.

MYERS: Sure.

LEMON: We want to get real quick to Dave Cohen. He's the news director at WWL Radio. And we know he has to get on the air pretty soon.

But you're there in the thick of it, sir. Thanks for joining us.

I was there earlier in the week. People were scared and the sun was out. I imagine now the same thing is happening...

DAVE COHEN, WWL RADIO NEWS DIRECTOR: Absolutely.

LEMON: Or even -- it's even -- people are even in more fear now.

COHEN: Well, we have seen some people very scared, some people even breaking down in tears as they make their hurricane preparations, thinking back to three years ago today, when Katrina was about to make landfall here in Louisiana, drumming up all those awful memories. But nonetheless, most people are going methodically about getting ready, filling their gas tanks, getting cash from the bank, buying their hurricane supplies that they'll need and preparing to evacuate if, indeed, the call comes.

All the while, it's 93 degrees and sunny here.

LEMON: Yes. It's amazing how that is.

OK, so, listen, yesterday we spoke to Mayor Ray Nagin. He said that the city was prepared with buses and what have you. We saw Michael Chertoff on the air just a short time ago headed toward that area. And the FEMA director, David Paulison, is there, as well. Did you feel that the area -- that officials are prepared there for what is -- could come their way?

COHEN: Well, what we're hearing from folks is that they feel that they're hearing the right thing from officials this time compared to three years ago; that they were very happy to hear that 700 buses are already rolling, pre-positioned to get tens of thousands of people evacuated if they can't evacuate themselves. They're glad to hear that 300 ambulances are mobilized to help evacuate hospitals and nursing homes so we don't have dozens of people dying in hospitals and nursing homes like we did three years ago. And they're glad to hear that 3,000 National Guard troops have already been activated to provide security, to help with the evacuation and to help make this all go smoothly.

What they want now is to know that when it does come, when push comes to shove and an evacuation is called if that happens as soon as Saturday, they'll see all of this actually work. It's never been tested.

LEMON: Yes. I've got to ask you one more question real quick. I mean people do get antsy there, obviously, and they should be every time that there's a storm or a possibility of something headed their way.

Do you feel differently about this one? Does this up the ante, more intense?

COHEN: Well, you know, since 2005, when we saw Katrina, Rita and Wilma, we have had not a major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. It's been three years. And it's been a very welcome reprieve that there haven't been any major category three or higher storms.

LEMON: Yes.

COHEN: This one has people particularly on edge because the forecast continues to say it will be a major hurricane. A lot of people have been, saying oh, no, not again. We're just not ready for this again, please. Let this thing go somewhere else.

LEMON: All right, thank you very much.

Dave Cohen, news director at WWL Radio. We know that you're very busy and you've got to get back on the air.

Appreciate it. Check back in with us if you get any new information for us, will you?

COHEN: Thank you.

LEMON: All right, New Orleans is nervously watching all of this. Three years ago tomorrow, Hurricane Katrina slammed ashore and the city is still recovering from that. We plan to take you there on the anniversary to see how schools and businesses are faring and how some survivors are taking charge in very innovative ways. That's tomorrow on CNN.

Storm warnings are out for parts of Cuba.

Let's get straight to our Havana bureau chief, Morgan Neill -- Morgan, tell us what you're seeing there.

MORGAN NEILL, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Don, in the eastern part of the island, there is some sense of relief today, actually. But in the west, people are keeping a very close eye on this storm. Now the reasons why, what happened was during the night last night, this storm, that looked like it was going to pass just south of Santiago changed course, now heading over Jamaica.

Now, in Jamaica, they have asked people in rural areas to move to higher grounds. They've evacuated some tourists. A big risk there in Jamaica is the risk of mud slides because of the mountainous areas there.

Now, Gustav has already taken a heavy toll in Haiti, in the Dominican Republic. Fourteen people killed in Haiti, another eight in the Dominican Republic, due to landslides.

Now, in Cuba, as I said, about four -- or during yesterday, we saw at least 40,000 people evacuated in the easternmost provinces here. Those people are starting to relax somewhat.

But in the westernmost part of the island, where this storm's path is projected to head, people are keeping a very close eye on the storm to this point -- Don.

LEMON: All right.

Morgan Neill, we appreciate your reporting. Thank you, sir.

All right, we're going to take you overseas now, because it's no longer just flooding in India. It is an emergency of staggering scope. Almost three million people are marooned, displaced or homeless in the northeast Indian state of Bihar. Now, a government spokesman says 47 people are dead and hundreds of villagers unprepared -- or villages, I should say -- unprepared for a much heavier than normal flood season. An area about the size of Delaware is under water.

Well, a bomb went off today in one of Pakistan's most unstable regions of Islamic extremism. The explosion destroyed a police van and killed at least seven people, most of them policemen. Twelve others are hurt. There's no immediate claim of responsibility. It happened not far from where gunmen fired on a U.S. consulate vehicle on Tuesday. Nobody was hurt in that attack.

Live your life in fear or gamble on the unknown -- that's the gut-wrenching decision facing some Iraqis today -- people who chose to work with or for American military or commercial interests. A new program makes it easier for them to leave their homeland for new lives in America.

Can they do it? CNN's Arwa Damon reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We met Ronnie, an interpreter for the U.S. Army, a year ago.

"RONNIE," U.S. ARMY INTERPRETER: I swear, my God, every other day I have a nightmare of some militias trying to kill me in front of my house.

DAMON: Insurgents and death squads see anyone working with the Americans as an enemy.

Ronnie's visa finally came through and he fled to America.

The U.S. government has come under sharp criticism for not doing enough for Iraqi employees, but recently it expanded its refugee program.

RICHARD ALBRIGHT, U.S. EMBASSY REFUGEE COORDINATOR: Five thousand visas for five years. So that's 25,000 visas that will be available for Iraqis. On top of that, you know, the refugee resettlement program. So we think that represents a significant commitment to Iraqis who have worked for the United States.

DAMON: And for those eligible, a significant step.

(on camera): Iraqis working alongside the U.S. military have given up just about everything. But without them, the contractors and the interpreters, the soldiers' mission here would be nearly impossible. But for some Iraqis, the thought of having to start their lives all over again in a foreign land is just as petrifying as the prospect of staying here.

(voice-over): Even though this new legislation gives Anita, an interpreter, the ability to leave, she's torn.

"ANITA," U.S. ARMY INTERPRETER: In Iraq, it's a bad future. I can't recognize anything and what's going to happen. In America, it's also a dark future for me, because I don't know how the Americans are going to accept me or accept my kids or how am I going to live.

DAMON: Anita, who is divorced, took the job back in 2003 to support her four children. Now, she barely sees them -- unable to go home most nights because of security concerns.

"ANITA": Really, I didn't know it was going to be hard like this. I thought -- I thought that as long as we are helping, the Iraqis, also, they're going to appreciate it.

DAMON: Instead, she found herself living in a climate of constant fear.

"ANITA": Is somebody watching me, following me? Maybe they're going to kill my family.

DAMON: Though life in America would be safe, it's uncertain. And like so many other Iraqis, despite everything, she says she will desperately miss her homeland. Anita isn't the only one hesitating. Also eligible under the program are Iraqis working with American NGOs and media.

(on camera): Just being an Iraqi working for an American company is enough to make you a target. And that includes our own invaluable staff here at CNN, like the producer who worked on this story or the cameraman who is filming me right now. And they're also torn about the decision to leave Iraq.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, he's no longer Russia's leader -- or is he?

CNN sits down with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Casey Anthony's freedom may be far more fleeting than she had hoped. She is the Florida mother suspected in the disappearance of her 3-year-old daughter, Caylee.

And here's video shot this morning of Anthony running into her lawyer's office. Today, the bounty hunter who bailed Anthony out of jail says he'll begin the process of locking her back up. Leonard Padilla says it is just not safe for Casey Anthony to be on the outside. Investigators say they found evidence of human decomposition in a car connected to Anthony.

Caylee has been missing since June, but police weren't alerted for a month.

In Idaho, Joseph Edward Duncan said he should die for killing a 9-year-old boy and a federal judge and jury agreed. Jurors watched in horror as Duncan's homemade video of Dylan Groene's sexual abuse and killing was played in court. Dylan's grandmother calls Duncan "an evil shell of a human being."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARLENE TORRES, DYLAN GROENE'S GRANDMOTHER: At least I know he has not out there hurting anybody else or, you know, to any other family. And for that, I am thankful, because I would never wish this on anybody. It's been very hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Duncan pleaded guilty to killing three members of Dylan Groene's family and sexually torturing the boy's sister, Shasta. He may face trial in California for the 1997 murder of a 10-year-old boy.

The fighting is over between Georgian and Russian troops. The blame game, the finger-pointing, the who did what first was replaced -- has replaced the roar of tanks and artillery fire. The Russian prime minister says his country is not responsible and neither is Georgia. Vladimir Putin places the blame on the United States.

So let's go straight to the man who had an exclusive interview with Putin, CNN's senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance.

What did he say -- Matthew?

MATTHEW CHANCE, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, thanks very much.

He laid, of course, part of the blame on Georgian officials, saying that they attempted by force to seize that breakaway territory of South Ossetia, causing large scale casualties. But he also made that dramatic accusation, accusing the United States of orchestrating the military conflict in Georgia for political purposes.

Vladimir Putin saying that for political purposes, in order to gain political points with the electorate because of the poor state of the Iraq War, the poor state of the U.S. economy and the disastrous conflict in Afghanistan, in his words, they needed a victory to talk about.

And so that's why he says this was orchestrated by the United States.

He went further than that, as well, Don, saying not only were U.S. forces on the ground in Georgia during the conflict, but they actually took part in combat operations against the Russians.

Here's what Vladimir Putin had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The fact is that U.S. citizens were, indeed, in the area in conflict during the hostilities. Then it should be admitted that they would do so only following direct orders from their supervisors. Therefore, they were acting in implementing those orders, doing as they were ordered. The only one who can give such orders is their supervisors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: Well, Vladimir Putin really ratcheting up the diplomatic tensions there.

By the way, the White House has categorically denied that any of these accusations made by Vladimir Putin are true. They say they were no U.S. forces on the ground assisting with Georgians against the Russian invasion -- Don.

LEMON: Matthew, before you get away, I've got to ask you this question.

So is this more of the same for Putin or does it represent a new level of distrust for the West?

CHANCE: Well, you know, Vladimir Putin is an incredibly powerful man in this country. And he's certainly taken it upon himself to ratchet up the diplomatic tensions between Moscow and Washington.

These accusations were really quite astounding. He even went on to announce some economic measures against the United States.

You know, there's been a lot of talk about what sanctions, possibly, Russia could face from around the world, economically, diplomatically, because of its actions in Georgia.

But Vladimir Putin today preempted that, saying that 19 companies that export poultry products to Russia from the United States have been banned for health and safety reasons. He said this has nothing to do with the diplomatic stand-off.

But the fact that he brought this up, the fact that he announced this ban on these 19 U.S. companies in the context of this exclusive CNN interview, shows there may have been some political motive behind it -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Matthew Chance, thank you very much for that. A very interesting interview, as well.

Well, we want to show you some things that are Caught on Camera.

A case of father not knowing best. Police in Kansas City, Missouri say Willis Cole, Sr. and Jr. came to complain about alleged mistreatment and soon got into a fight with police in the lobby. Police say they had to use pepper spray and a taser on these guys, both of whom face assault charges now. And dad also faces a charge of resisting arrest; son with interfering with an arrest.

Unexpected fireworks this morning over the Ukraine. A forest fire set off an old Soviet ammunition depot, which reportedly housed 100 tons of antiquated munitions. No one was seriously hurt, although several thousand people living nearby had to clear out.

So, we all know that some telemarketers won't take no for an answer. But wait until you hear this one. She called back a guy in Austin, Texas who hung up on her and gave him an earful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did you hang up? Because, what, you're not man enough to talk to me?

You don't want to be contacted if somebody wins and if you win, then they'll put your name in it. That's just such a girl thing to do. Wimp.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Such a girl thing to do. I think she said wimp there at the end. OK, so using caller I.D. , the man contacted the call center and asked to speak to a supervisor. He says the supervisor denied any of her callers were responsible for that.

If you've been watching the Democratic Convention, you may have noticed all of the A list celebrities who are there. But many agree there is no one bigger than Oprah -- no bigger celebrity, I should say.

Well, she'll be at INVESCO Field tonight when Obama gives his speech. No doubt about it, Oprah is an icon of influence.

But what does the "O" factor do for Obama? Here's CNN's Alina Cho.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the first time Oprah Winfrey endorsed a political candidate.

OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": I feel that now is the time for me to use my voice to say, if we're going to choose -- and there's only one choice we get for president of the United states -- and if you're going to choose, that choice ought to be Barack Obama.

CHO: And the Obama campaign knew her impact could be tremendous. Winfrey's enthusiastic support of Obama during the primaries played a big role in introducing voters, many of them her fans, to his cause.

But as the campaign moved forward, Winfrey deliberately stepped out of the spotlight.

AMY HOLMES, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: We've seen Barack Obama be very careful with those celebrity endorsements, so that he comes across to the American people as a serious commander-in-chief.

CHO: But Oprah isn't just any celebrity. This is a woman who can convince her loyal fans what books to read and what products to buy -- the "O" effect. Two grad students tried to quantify it using a formula that looked at subscriptions to "O" magazine and sales of her book club. They compared the data with votes cast for Obama and claimed he may have gotten a boost of one million votes.

TIM MOORE, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: Statistically, we found an effect that is very unlikely to be random.

CHO: Not everyone agrees.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: 1,015,559 votes she brought to Barack Obama. Well, that's a little absurd.

I mean how do you get specific to that degree?

CHO: Buzz on the blogs is that Oprah has already arrived in Denver and she'll be at INVESCO Field tonight when Obama officially accepts the Democratic nomination.

So how could she impact the campaign going forward?

HOLMES: She can generate interest and headlines. She can help you raise money. Having Oprah Winfrey as a political friend is a very good thing.

CHO: And if Oprah is successful in helping Obama win the White House, what then?

HOLMES: I can very well see Oprah Winfrey becoming more like a Bono figure, lobbying Barack Obama for some of her pet causes. She has a daily talk show that's watched by millions of Americans and maybe some of his issues will become her issues, too.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, well, the closing bell and a wrap of all the action on Wall Street straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: This just in to the CNN NEWSROOM.

We just got a press release from the governor's office in Mississippi. The governor issued a state of emergency for that state. He's saying due to the threat posed by -- he says Hurricane Gustav. Well, of course, it's still a tropical storm.

He said: "which has demonstrated the potential to severely impact the entire state, according to the current predictions by the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center."

Just a real quick quote here. He says: "I urge all Mississippians to please take this storm seriously. One of the most important lessons we learned after Hurricane Katrina was that there is no substitute for awareness and self-help."

Again, the State of Mississippi under a state of emergency, declared by their governor.

Meantime, we want to check in now with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. He's standing by to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour from Denver.

Hello, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. Thanks very much.

In this, an historic election season, it could be the biggest night yet. In just a few hours, Barack Obama will take the stage in front of some 75,000 supporters and give the biggest speech of his life. The best political team on television has all the angles covered. Also, John McCain knows who he wants as his vice president. The question now, when will America find out?

Plus, we're live in New Orleans as the battered city prepares for what could be another monster storm.

All that and a lot more coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- back to you, Don.

LEMON: All right, Wolf. We look forward to that. Thank you very much.

We told you about Mississippi being under a state of emergency just before Wolf. We want to tell you now about a scaffolding collapse. This is in San Diego. And we do have pictures -- yes, live pictures now from Metro Networks in San Diego, our affiliate there.

Nine people injured in the scaffolding collapse. The scaffolding collapse was downtown. And all the information we have is that nine people were injured. It is at 16th Street and Imperial Avenue in downtown San Diego. We'll try to get more information on that here on CNN and bring you any updates, if they are warranted.

Meantime, what do you -- what do high gas prices have to do with a bottle of tequila?

While tourists drink up, many Mexican farmers are abandoning their agave fields and growing corn for ethanol. Well, there's more money in it. And as more farmers cash in on corn, tequila prices could rise -- making it more expensive to hang out in Margaritaville. The perfect summer drink. The price may go up.

Do you like salt or no salt -- Steph?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No salt.

LEMON: No salt?

ELAM: No salt.

LEMON: Frozen or on the rocks?

ELAM: What do you think?

LEMON: I think you're an on the rocks girl.

ELAM: No, frozen.

LEMON: What? You like frozen?

ELAM: Yes.

LEMON: Oh, man.

ELAM: I've got to have it frozen.

LEMON: I'm sorry.

ELAM: That's a sad story there for a lot of people. You just messed up a whole bunch of people's weekend.

LEMON: I know. I know. Well, hopefully, you'll give them better news and it might help out a little bit.

ELAM: Maybe so. I have a question for you, though.

In what region of the country do you think people leave the biggest tips?

LEMON: I would say the Northeast.

ELAM: OK. That's huge. Give me a city.

LEMON: It's probably New York or Philadelphia or D.C. , one of those expensive cities.

ELAM: You like all of the Northeast.

LEMON: All right.

ELAM: Philadelphia. Philadelphia.

LEMON: Oh. OK.

ELAM: You were very good. You did a good job. This is according to a Zagat survey. They're saying that the City of Brotherly Love is the city where you'll find the biggest tippers. Even though three quarters of those surveyed said poor service was their main complaint, they leave an average tip of 19.6 percent. The national average is 19 percent, so they're right above it.

Rounding out the top tippers, Denver came in second, at 19.5 percent. And then three metro areas tied for third. You've got Detroit, then the Orlando/Tampa/Sarasota region and the Cincinnati/Columbus/Cleveland area, which my producer, who is from Ohio, likes to point out is the whole state.

(LAUGHTER)

ELAM: So you (INAUDIBLE).

LEMON: Well, Philadelphia has some great restaurants.

ELAM: They do.

LEMON: So I'm sure people tip because the food is amazing, you know, all those Stephen Stars restaurants, Buddakan and all those.

ELAM: There is a lot, yes. Well, someone said it's like getting a reservation at Buddakan was like being able to get a date with -- what was it -- with someone who Miss. USA. That's what it was. Yes. So, they apparently like to eat good food down there.

LEMON: Yes. (INAUDIBLE). I used to live there, so...

ELAM: Yes, I remember.

LEMON: (INAUDIBLE).

ELAM: You've got it all down. Yes, good food there.

All right, well, Philadelphia live on. The "City of Brotherly Love" is sharing the love.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

LEMON: Hey, have a good one, Steph. We'll see you soon. Thanks a lot.

Now let's go to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Mr. Wolf Blitzer in Denver -- Wolf.