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American Morning
Murkowski Concedes in Alaska to Joe Miller; Operation New Dawn Begins; The Plan in Afghanistan; White House to Hold Israel- Palestinian Peace Talks; Hurricane Earl Threatens East Coast; Consumer Confidence Rebounds; WikiLeaks Founder Rape Allegations
Aired September 01, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's Wednesday, September 1st. I'm Ali Velshi. John Roberts has the day off.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Nice to see you. Welcome back.
VELSHI: What a great time for us to be together.
CHETRY: Yes. We're talking about the official end of combat operations in Iraq. The big ceremony and marking the occasion. It's going to take place in two hours, live here.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: So we'll have more on that.
Meantime, Hurricane Earl weakening slightly but we're still nervous here on the east coast. There could be some big trouble up and down the eastern seaboard ahead of the Labor Day weekend. Earl just downgraded to a Category 3 storm but it is still packing winds of 125 miles an hour. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered along the North Carolina coast, the Barrier Islands. FEMA is urging people to prepare for the worst.
VELSHI: President Obama makes it official. Kiran, we're just talking about this. The war in Iraq, at least the combat operations are over.
The Pentagon is launching "Operation New Dawn" today keeping 50,000 troops there to help Iraq's military. The vice president and defense secretary are in Iraq right now to see military control change hands. From Baghdad to D.C., our CNN team has every angle covered for you this morning.
CHETRY: Also a surprise rise in how shoppers may be feeling about the economy. There are new numbers revealing consumer confidence is up. So does this mean that better economic times could be ahead? We're going to break it down for you.
VELSHI: And, of course, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation right now. All you have to do is go to CNN.com/amFIX.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
CHETRY: We're following breaking news from the political world this morning. What could be called one of the biggest upsets of the year.
Overnight, two-term Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski conceded the Republican primary to Tea Party favorite Joe Miller. He was ahead by more than 1,600 votes after the counting of additional ballots. Miller many say really came from nowhere. He's a lawyer, a political newcomer. He had Sarah Palin's support as other Tea Party candidates did.
VELSHI: AMERICAN MORNING, we're going to bring the story like no one else can. CNN's Shannon Travis is in Anchorage, Alaska. Here's his report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Alaska, there's been a seismic shift in the political landscape. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski has conceded the Senate GOP primary to her challenger Joe Miller.
SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R), ALASKA: For the good of the state of Alaska, which is, this is what this is all about. It's for the good of the state of Alaska. I am now conceding the race for the Republican nomination. I shared that information with Mr. Miller just a few moments ago.
TRAVIS: Joe Miller, you will remember, is the Tea Party Express candidate, who back in June when the Tea Party Express endorsed him, was a virtual unknown in this state. Many people had not heard of him but the Tea Party Express took a candidate who had very low name I.D. They poured in money, they poured in time, they poured in resources and helped push him towards the finish line. This will also be seen as a political victory for none other than Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin endorsed Joe Miller back again when he had very little name I.D. That earned a lot of local and national attention. So this will also be seen as Sarah Palin flexing her muscle yet again.
Shannon Travis, CNN, Anchorage, Alaska.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: And the interesting thing is Senator Murkowski was also part of a political dynasty.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: She was relatively popular in the state. And, of course, her loss is now the Tea Party's gain. Joe Miller, by the way, the fifth Tea Party-backed candidate to win this year. He joins Sharron Angle of Nevada, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah, and Ken Buck of Colorado. These are victories that prove the Tea Party is becoming a major player in Republican politics, often spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads for candidates.
By the way, Joe Miller will be on CNN tonight. John King's guest. "JOHN KING USA," 7:00 right here on CNN.
VELSHI: You don't see a lot of bearded Senate candidates. CHETRY: He might be the first one.
VELSHI: If he were to win, he'd be the first bearded senator. I think. I don't know. I think in the old days they were bearded.
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: I don't know much about hair, anyway.
Anyway, a change of command in Iraq this morning. A story we're following. Vice President Biden and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will pass the baton to Iraq's military at a special ceremony at 8:00 this morning, 8:00 Eastern this morning. We're going to bring it to you live when it happens.
CHETRY: Also, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is meeting with U.S. and Iraqi forces. This is taking place at Camp Ramadi (ph). A video from just a short time ago. Secretary Gates telling American soldiers that they're still going to work with Iraqis on counterterrorism and do a lot of training and advising.
VELSHI: And last night, you may have seen this, President Obama paying tribute to the Americans who served in the war, nearly 1 1/2 million troops. He didn't give any credit to former President Bush's surge strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because of our troops and civilians, and because of the resilience of the Iraqi people, Iraq has the opportunity to embrace a new destiny, even though many challenges remain. So tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. "Operation Iraqi Freedom" is over and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Our team of reporters covering this story like only CNN can from all sides of the globe this morning. Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House getting reaction from the administration. Chris Lawrence is with our American forces at Camp Victory in Iraq.
And, Chris, let's start with you. You've been talking to troops there, as you said yesterday, although it sort of signals the formal end to combat operations, or guys that are out there in the field it certainly doesn't feel like they're out of combat. What does this mean to them today, from what you're hearing?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, you know, we heard from Defense Secretary Robert Gates just a couple of hours ago. He was asked are we still at war in Iraq? And he said no. And I think that really kind of sums up. Even though this day is symbolic and troops have been sort of, you know, transitioning to this new role, to think that we are no longer in active combat missions here, you know, for some of these men who have been here off and on for the better part of seven years, you know, this day is really taken on a lot of meaning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Now it's official. American troops who once led missions now assist Iraqi forces.
(on camera): What does September 1st mean to you?
STAFF SGT. BRADLEY BEAZER, 4-10 CAVALRY: To me it means we've done well and we've worked ourself out of the job, which is what we came here to do in the first place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It means that I'm not going to have to come back.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): September 1st means more work for some American flight crews, especially those flying Blackhawks.
SPC. NICOLE JONES, BLACKHAWK FLIGHT CREW: We're the only -- one of the only support aircraft here since we had Chinooks that were here. They just recently left. So, it's picked up quite a bit for us.
LAWRENCE: The first full day of "New Dawn" is especially poignant for soldiers who saw (ph) through years of fighting "Operation Iraqi Freedom."
STAFF SGT. ADAM STEFFENS, 3RD BRIGADE, 4TH INFANTRY DIVISION: I've been here, you know, four tours and the change I've seen is remarkable.
LAWRENCE: Staff Sgt. Adam Steffens was part of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, then deployed twice during the most brutal fighting.
STEFFENS: It was really, really crazy for a couple years there. But now, I look back at that and, I mean, it's a breathtaking difference.
LT. COL. JOHN DIGIAMBATTISTA, U.S. ARMY: It is a significant thing for a soldier to see Iraqis that you might have trained two years ago and they weren't that -- didn't have much initiative. They weren't that well trained. They weren't that aggressive. Now to come back and see them, and they're doing operations we're following them, he's getting paid back for that time that he's already spent here.
LAWRENCE: More than 4,400 American troops died fighting "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Another 34,000 were wounded.
(on camera): When you look back at your experience in '05, '06, '07, was it worth it?
DIGIAMBATTISTA: Absolutely. There are a lot of individuals that made the ultimate sacrifice. A lot of soldiers here in Iraq, soldier's faces and the people I worked with. And if their sacrifice can be worth where we're going, I think we're doing the right thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: Yes, a lot of soldiers told me, you know, over the past seven years, those on their fourth deployment, they have spent the majority of their lives here in this country, over the last seven years. A lot of them feel very invested in Iraq. Some of them told me even when I deploy back home and I'm not going to come back here, I'm going to keep trying to find out what's going on because right now they've got some hope that what they did and the men that they saw killed here, it made some sort of difference. But if Iraq slides back into chaos, you know, a lot of them tell me, you know, it's really going to be hard to take once I'm back home.
CHETRY: Very understandable sentiment for people that gave so much. Chris Lawrence for us this morning, thanks so much.
VELSHI: This is a tricky political landscape for the president to navigate. He's winding down one war in Iraq, while ramping up another war in Afghanistan, all with a backdrop of tough economic times. He's going to try and sell this idea to the American people. He started that last night.
Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House this morning. Suzanne, the Afghanistan war is wildly expensive, it's wildly unpopular. It's a tough sell at the best of times for the president. But he's had to deal with it right now, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Ali. And one of the things, I traveled with the president yesterday to Fort Bliss, Texas, visiting the troops. It is very clear that the president cares a great deal about the servicemen and women but this is a war-weary nation. Let's face it. It's going to be a very difficult sell for the president. But one thing that was notable last night is that in a nod to President Bush's surge, troop surge in Iraq, he did mention the fact that that was going to be the one thing that would be important in Afghanistan, a vehicle to end that war. I want you to take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As with the surge in Iraq, these forces will be in place for a limited time to provide space for the Afghans to build their capacity and secure their own future. But, as was the case in Iraq, we can't do for Afghans what they must ultimately do for themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And, Kiran, Ali, last night we already heard from the president talking about July as a potential window to take a look and see whether or not the forces, things are going well in Afghanistan, whether or not it will be time to start pulling out those forces. He essentially is saying to the American people hold on here, bear with me, we're going to get through this.
VELSHI: Suzanne, so he was dealing initially with Iraq, with the pull-out of troops from Iraq, the end of combat. That, of course, has to involve Afghanistan by definition. So you heard the president talk about both of these but we really are covering the entire Mideast today because the president is holding several big meetings today ahead of tomorrow's face-to-face meetings between Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas.
MALVEAUX: And he made that connection last night, essentially saying that this is all part of the same story here, providing peace, trying to get peace in the Middle East. So obviously, they're trying to jump-start the direct talks. They're going to be one-on-one meetings here at the White House. The president is going to be meeting with the principals. That would be the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, also Jordan's King Abdullah, as well as Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak. Those will be one-on-one meetings. Then he's going to have a dinner at the White House with all four of them.
All of this, as you mentioned, yes, Ali, before the real talks begin tomorrow. That's going to happen at the State Department, at the head of that Secretary Clinton. She has already met with the Israeli leader and she's giving a preview in terms of what the U.S. position when it comes to going in. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We pledge to do all we can, always, to protect and defend the state of Israel and to provide security to the Israeli people. That is one of the paramount objectives that Israel has that the United States supports in these negotiations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Another objective, of course, is taking a look at the situation and trying to establish a Palestinian state, a two-state solution. Kiran, Ali, you know, many administrations before, I've covered Bush as well as Clinton, have tried this and have failed. This is President Obama's attempt.
VELSHI: Suzanne, thanks very much. We'll be in touch with you as this develops. It's a busy few days in Washington.
CHETRY: Eleven minutes past the hour. Just in to CNN. There's another new twist in the accusation of rape against WikiLeaks Web site founder, Julian Assange. You may remember that Swedish prosecutors initially charged him and then revoked those charges. Well, they're confirming that the investigation will be reopened saying there is reason to believe that a crime has been committed. We're also learning that the investigation involving alleged molestation by Assange has also been extended.
It was less than two weeks ago that the arrest warrant was issued, then hours later as the charges revoked, Assange has denied any wrongdoing. He said that he had been warned by Australian intelligence that there would be people trying to discredit him and the whistle-blower Web site. WikiLeaks, you may remember last month, published more than 70,000 secret military files about Afghanistan. U.S. officials at the time called it one of the biggest security breaches in U.S. military history.
VELSHI: This story remains very interesting because Swedish police are just sort of giving out little bits of information, then they pull it back, and then they give out little bits of information. So we have no idea what the context of the story is which makes it very difficult for journalists to follow up and find out whether these are allegations or whether somebody is trying to muscle Julian Assange.
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: A lot of people very angry with him and his organization for coming out with those documents.
CHETRY: And the fact that the Swedish prosecutors revoke the charges a few hours later --
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: -- sort of gave credence to his argument that it was, you know, that it was unfounded.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: But now, again, they're expanding it. So we'll continue to follow.
VELSHI: And we'll have a live report on it in about 15 minutes or so.
Coming up, a monster form on the move. Hurricane Earl is tearing across the Caribbean on a fast track for the U.S. east coast. Rob Marciano is keeping a close eye on Earl. He joins us live from Virginia Beach.
Hi, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hello, Ali. Yes, we're here where they're still plucking people out of the water from Hurricane Danielle and the rip currents and the waves that that storm generated. Well, hurricane watches are posted for this area and evacuations in some areas under way already. We'll have the latest forecast track on Hurricane Earl when the Most News in the Morning continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Storm preparations are under way right now all along the East Coast with Hurricane Earl fast approaching. Earl is passing near the Turks and Caicos Islands this morning. It's just been downgraded to a category 3 hurricane with 125-mile-an-hour winds. Still pretty - pretty fast.
CHETRY: Oh, yes. North Carolina is on notice because of Earl. Authorities have ordered tourists and people living there to leave the Barrier Islands. One of them, Ocracoke, is accessible only by ferry, also Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Earl is on track to brush by the North Carolina coast by tomorrow night, and of course the hurricane watch is up along the outer banks as well.
VELSHI: FEMA is urging people to stock up on supplies and have an evacuation plan at the ready.
President Obama will get an update first thing this morning on Earl's progress and the emergency preparations under way. He'll take part in a conference call with FEMA director Craig Fugate.
CHETRY: Well, right now we're going to go to Rob Marciano. He is in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Looks can be deceiving, of course, because it looks nice and calm behind you right now. But, you know, this is the last weekend in the summer coming up, right when Earl's going to hit.
A ton of people out there, a huge tourist spot. So what's the latest?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you're right. This place is just jammed with people. They came out yesterday afternoon and the beach is littered with folks trying to cool off, and still there's - the danger lies underneath the ocean with the rip currents. You know, Danielle came - was hundreds of miles away, and there were hundreds of rescues from - -from dangerous seas over the weekend, and that danger is going to continue as we go through this weekend regardless of how close Earl gets.
The problem is - the scary thing is is that Earl's getting closer, and until it makes that right-hand turn, nobody is relaxing. That's for sure. Even though this is down to only a category 3, come on, 125- mile-an-hour winds? Nobody wants to see that directly impact land in North Carolina or Virginia. Forecast track brings it very, very close.
All right, let's take a look at the hurricane watches that have been posted for this area, including Virginia Beach. The coast of Virginia, all the way down almost to the North Carolina-South Carolina border, these are where hurricane watches have been posted. Likely, warnings will be hoisted later on today for hurricane conditions that will be expected in the next 36 hours.
Here's a satellite imagery. And we have seen just a little bit of weakening. Of course, that's great news. Will that trend continue? Big question. The National Hurricane Center does not think so. It thinks it will remain a category 3 storm as it passes or makes landfall.
It's moving us to the northwest at about 16 miles an hour, currently 800 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras and heading in this direction. At that speed and direction and this forecast track, it will bring it very close to this area early Friday morning, and then accelerating as it heads towards New England.
New England is still very close and still in that cone of uncertainty as a category 1 or 2 storm as it passes across maybe Cape Cod or the islands there late Friday night, into early Saturday morning.
As you mentioned, evacuations under way for Ocracoke Island. The Navy here, there's a huge Navy - Navy area across Chesapeake Bay. They're preparing for potentially moving assets and personnel out of here if the forecast gets a little bit more ominous. And then there's, you know, there's a whole lot of bridges here. They shut those down if - when winds get over 35 miles an hour.
But the beach, with all the beachgoers here, that's been the big - the huge issue. A little bit later on in the program, we'll talk about what kind of dangers that swimmers have been enduring here. Just yesterday alone they - they picked out - they rescued 75 people that were struggling due to the rip currents, and it was an absolutely spectacular day.
It looked pretty calm. You know, waves, sure, but it didn't look like there were any sort of deadly currents out there. Well, sure enough, there are, and there will continue to be right through the holiday weekend.
So, regardless of how close Earl gets, that's going to be the ongoing issue, I think, especially as we wrap up summer - Ali, Kiran.
CHETRY: Stressed-out lifeguards. I mean, can you imagine?
VELSHI: Yes. Seriously, you have to go in there. You're going to have more on the rip currents for us, Rob. Thanks very much.
I'm - I'm here this weekend. I'm not - I'm not going to come and visit you, I guess, because if this thing is heading toward us, I'm going to try and stay inland as much as possible.
CHETRY: I think so. And, you know, that's the other interesting thing, and we're going to talk to Rob about it a little bit later as well, we're not necessarily used to -- here at least, in this area and parts of, you know, the -
VELSHI: Sure.
CHETRY: -- the D.C./New York metro area to prepare for a hurricane.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: They're - they're pros at it, you know, in North Carolina and other places. (INAUDIBLE).
VELSHI: Well, we'll be - we'll be tracking it very carefully.
Listen, you know we've been talking - I was here a couple of weeks ago. We've been talking about this double-dip recession and all the bad economic news out there. Get this -- consumer confidence actually grew in August.
Have we been getting this all wrong? What is behind this rise? Are people feeling better about this economy than we've been saying? We'll talk about it when we come back. We're "Minding Your Business."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty-three minutes past the hour. We're "Minding Your Business".
A sliver of good news, I guess you can say, about the economy.
VELSHI: I wish it would happen when John is here, because he thinks I'm the gloomiest guy in the entire world, and we've got good news for you.
CHETRY: Yes. You have a little bit of a bright spot, although I'm a little skeptical.
VELSHI: Yes. Well, say, shoppers surprised experts and grew a little bit more confident about the recovery.
Joining us to talk about it is our good friend, Ryan Mack, he's the president of Optimum Capital Management. I never want to overstate this, Ryan, but the fact is consumer confidence, which is a sentimental measure.
RYAN MACK, INVESTMENT ADVISER: Right.
VELSHI: It's not - it's not like a jobs report with real statistics. It was up in August.
MACK: Right.
VELSHI: Personal income was up a little bit. Personal spending was up a little bit. That seems to fly in the face of everything we've been hearing.
MACK: We have to look at it in terms of workers are becoming a little bit more productive. So those workers who are still employed are making a little bit more money. Though, there still have a lot of unemployment out there. Those - those individuals who are getting more accustomed to dealing with a slow economy. That is where the confidence is coming from.
The overall economy is not necessarily looking that bleak. We still have the housing market we have to get through. It's been going nowhere - nowhere fast. We still have a lot of business lending that still has yet to be -
VELSHI: Yes.
MACK: -- getting - get kick-started as well. And then, again, the whole jobless market right now, still something that is of concern of mine.
VELSHI: We were just - Kiran and I was just talking this morning, and we're going to talk later on the show about it, Ryan. People are getting accustomed to this new economy -
MACK: Right.
VELSHI: -- behaving differently because they're -
CHETRY: Well, I mean, spend - VELSHI: -- they're used to it.
CHETRY: -- spending - saving more for the first time.
MACK: Exactly.
CHETRY: You're seeing credit - credit, of course, tightening so people aren't maxing out their credit cards. And so what I was wondering - I mean, just contrarian viewpoint is, do people feel it can't really get any worse? And they say one in six people in some sort of, you know, government poverty program, whether it'd be food stamps, needing to, you know, collect - needing to put your family on Medicaid, is there a confidence because people think it can't get any worse than this?
MACK: Well, you see, America always self-corrects. And from the business perspective, from the individual perspective, we learn how to adapt to various situations. Right now businesses are cutting back drastically, because, I mean, right now they're getting - what, 48,000 mortgages per month in terms of banks where they were giving 100,000 mortgages per month.
VELSHI: Right.
MACK: So they've corrected themselves to be able to give something which is a little bit more responsible. Individuals as well are saying, you know what, the savings rate was negative for the first time in a lot - many years since 2005. But now let me start saving a little bit more, being a little bit more fiscally responsible so we can start preparing for these rainy days.
And when you start doing that you start realizing, you know what, it's really all not that bad and I do have some things that I can do to empower myself, even in a hard economy.
VELSHI: You know, one of the things that we - we talked about is, you - you've talked about this a lot, there's some value attached to all of this, when everything around you collapses -
MACK: Right.
VELSHI: -- that, you know, all this material stuff, you actually start to find some joy in other things.
MACK: Exactly. Well, this is - this is a value economy, what I call, especially where I'm from in Detroit, you know, a lot of cities like that across the country, individuals are looking at this opportunity. People have needs. There's value in terms of starting your own business right now, going back to school. I mean, community colleges are flooded with individuals preparing themselves, getting back into - getting additional education so they can put further value in making sure that they can - when the - when the economy does turn around -
VELSHI: Yes.
MACK: -- they're putting themselves in a proper position to move themselves forward.
CHETRY: And this is the interesting thing, something happened quite quietly and we covered the foreclosure crisis and obviously still it's tough out there. But banks have quietly started helping homeowners modify as well.
MACK: Right.
CHETRY: In fact, double the rate of the government's making homes affordable, right? I think 665,000 people have had their - or mortgages have been modified -
VELSHI: Not in the government program.
CHETRY: Not in the government program but through the private banks. I mean, is this something we're going to slowly see start to correct itself as well, that people are getting fitted into mortgages that they can afford?
MACK: See, what people were doing was they were realizing that - or individuals that a lot of them are just walking away from their homes -
VELSHI: Yes.
MACK: -- and saying you know what? I - this is totally worth the risk if you're not going to work with me, I'm going to walk away from home. I'm going to leave with you with all this additional debt. And now they're going to be saddled with this.
The banks are now saying, you know what, we better start getting on the ball and say that -
VELSHI: Yes.
MACK: -- that we can self help these individuals getting this so we can keep receiving these interest payments and making our balance sheets a little bit more solid.
VELSHI: It's better that the banks are doing what the government is -
MACK: Exactly.
VELSHI: -- forcing them.
CHETRY: Better late than never.
MACK: Exactly.
VELSHI: I wish they'd done it two years ago or three years ago and we talk about it.
MACK: Right.
VELSHI: Great to see you, Ryan. Thanks, buddy.
MACK: (INAUDIBLE).
VELSHI: Ryan Mack - Ryan Mack, always a pleasure when we talk to you.
MACK: Appreciate it.
CHETRY: Thanks, Ryan.
Well, President Obama makes it official. The war in Iraq is over. But what does that mean for our military as they focus to the front lines in Afghanistan? We're live from the home of the Army's Screaming Eagles, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.
It's 27 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Past half hour -- 30 minutes past right now. And we have some new information in to CNN right now, a development involving the editor and founder of the whistle-blowing Web site WikiLeaks.
A little more than an hour ago, Swedish prosecutors again decided to reopen the investigation into allegations of rape against the person you are looking at there, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. You'll remember, it was less than two weeks ago when Sweden's chief prosecutor said Assange was no longer wanted. This was just hours after announcing the rape and molestation allegations.
So, why the about-face yet again?
Joining us on the phone right now from Amsterdam, Atika Shubert.
For people that are not necessarily completely familiar with this case, Atika, just get us up-to-date on exactly what went on with Assange as it relates to these charges.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, basically, earlier this month, apparently, two women went to police with a complaint. We don't know exactly what their -- you know, what their complaint was, but clearly, it went to the prosecutor's office. And initially, there was an investigation open and an arrest request put out for Julian Assange on one charge of rape, and another of molestation -- which is a Swedish legal term which really means harassment, in sort of an American sense.
And that was first. And then, hours later, it was inexplicably dropped. And now, weeks later, it seems they've reopened the case. So, no one really knows what's happening with the Swedish prosecutor's office but it does appear, according to the chief prosecutor in Sweden, that there may be evidence of a crime having been committed and that is why she is reopening the case against Julian Assange.
We have not heard from Julian Assange at this point or his lawyer. But clearly, this is a big setback for him. He has maintained that he has done nothing wrong and that this is all part of a smear campaign. So, we'll have to wait and see what his lawyer or if Julian Assange, makes a public statement later on today. CHETRY: It's interesting because he did speak to the Arabic language channel, al Jazeera, last week, saying that it was a smear campaign against him. He also reportedly said that he was warned by Australian authorities that something could be drummed up against him as well because of the outrage over the leaks, some 70,000 classified documents from Afghanistan that some of our officials, including our military officials, said, compromised national security.
Could you correct, or sort of clarify what you mean when you're talking about rape and molestation? When we think of it, we think of it as a sexual assault. Is this two different incidents? Is one rape and the other, as you said, molestation, or harassment?
SHUBERT: Exactly. What we know is that it was two separate cases. Two women came forward to the police, they did so together. They apparently compared stories, and then they went to the police. One of them is a case of now the prosecutor is saying a possible case of rape and they're reopening that case. The other is a charge of molestation which is really more like harassment. It doesn't necessarily involve any sexual violence and it could be anything like pushing someone to, you know, almost like stalking them, giving them repeated phone calls or coming to their house repeatedly, unwontedly.
So, there are two different instances. We don't know the background to these instances, what exactly happened. We have not heard from either of the two women, or from Julian Assange, on what might have happened. So, we're waiting to see if further details will come out. The prosecutor's office has only said that they are reopening the investigation. They also have not said whether or not an arrest will be put out for Julian Assange.
So, we're still -- there are still a lot more questions than answers on this and we'll just have to see what the prosecutor decides next.
CHETRY: Atika Shubert for us -- thanks so much.
And, again, just wire just crossing moments ago from CNN saying that prosecutors are escalating that molestation charges, Atika told us, to include a sexual component. Again the details are not known. Julian Assange maintains through his lawyer to CNN that he is completely innocent of these allegations.
VELSHI: It's interesting that the molestation doesn't mean what we think molestation means. Rape does.
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: I mean, (INAUDIBLE). Nothing about that case is going to be simple.
All right. It's time for a check on this morning's top stories.
Federal officials are warning everyone along the east coast to prepare to evacuate. Hurricane Earl packing winds up to 125 miles an hour. The category three hurricane is expected to bring high winds and heavy rain to North Carolina's outer banks by late Thursday or early Friday. With Cape Cod and the Maine shorelines potentially in its crosshairs this weekend.
CHETRY: It was a stunner in Alaska. Actually, it was just overnight that Senator Lisa Murkowski conceded her Republican primary race against Joe Miller. He was a lawyer from Fairbanks, not known, a newcomer to politics. He had the backing of Tea Party activists and Sarah Palin.
Miller's victory last night establishes him as the presumed favorite now to capture the Senate seat in a heavily Republican state.
VELSHI: And President Obama declaring a formal end to America's combat role in Iraq, saying it's time to turn the page and focus on the economy. The president addressed the nation in the Oval Office last night and thanked our troops for paying a huge price so the Iraqis can begin to build a future.
Throughout that 7 1/2-year conflict, many American soldiers who served in Iraq came from Fort Campbell. Campbell is home to the Army's 101st Airborne, better known by many as the Screaming Eagles -- 101st is the only air assault division in the world. Those soldiers are currently doing a lot of heavy lifting in Afghanistan.
For more on that, let's bring in our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. She is at the home of the Screaming Eagles this morning.
Good morning, Barbara.
All right. We've got some audio problems with Barbara. She's there. We're going to fix those and get back to Barbara momentarily with -- at the home of the Screaming Eagles.
CHETRY: It will be interesting to get their perspective because -- I mean, we announced with much fanfare that, you know, the end of combat operations in Iraq taking place, still a very active war in Afghanistan.
VELSHI: Absolutely.
CHETRY: And our guys and gals are still deploying.
VELSHI: That's absolutely right. Some people might be coming back and will be -- and may be going back. The official ceremony by the way that marks the end of -- this is a confusing term to a lot of people -- the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq. We're still going to have 50,000 troops there.
But there is going to be an actual handover ceremony today about 8:00 Eastern, about an hour and a half from now. Vice President Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates -- they're there for the handover. You have some sense of what is likely to happen. We don't know really know what is -- I mean, it's not like Hong Kong or India, where they go from one administration to another. This is kind of a "who gets the keys to this car." CHETRY: Yes. It will be interesting to see how this happens and, of course, it's going to be live for you right here on AMERICAN MORNING in the next hour and a half. Meantime, let's try to check in with Barbara again.
VELSHI: Barbara, are you there?
Barbara's just going to try and sign her report to us. All right. We'll get Barbara back. We will definitely do that.
CHETRY: Third time's a charm.
VELSHI: She's got the Airborne, the 101st Airborne. They could probably get it going for her.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly.
Well, President Obama, by the way, managing two wars, a wounded economy and a latest poll suggesting Democrats are in for a pretty rough November. Ahead: we're going to break it all down with Susan Molinari, she's the former Republican congressional -- congresswoman and we're also going to be talking to Democratic strategist Kiki McLean, coming up.
We'll be right back. Thirty-eight minutes past the hour.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
CHETRY: It's 41 minutes past the hour.
When you went to sleep last night, I don't know if you were following the Alaska primaries, but, boy, a big upset and a concession. Attorney Joe Miller, backed by Sarah Palin and the Tea Party, knocking off a pretty popular incumbent senator, Lisa Murkowski, to capture Alaska's Republican primary. This makes Miller the fifth Tea Party-backed candidate to win this year.
Some are asking though: will all of this primary enthusiasm translate into a win in the general elections?
I'm joined now by Democratic strategist Kiki McLean in Washington, and former Republican congresswoman of New York, Susan Molinari.
Thanks to both of you for being with us this morning.
KIKI MCLEAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
CHETRY: Susan, I want to ask you about this, first of all, big win in Alaska for the Tea Party. As we said, it was a candidate, a little-known attorney out of Fairbanks. He was backed by Sarah Palin and he didn't have the support, of course, of the Republican establishment. Lisa Murkowski did. Pretty big upset and her concession overnight -- what do you make of it all? SUSAN MOLINARI (R), FMR. CONGRESSWOMAN FROM NEW YORK: Well, there is this Tea Party enthusiasm that is in some areas throughout the United States. Quite frankly, it is that enthusiasm that's separated the Democrats from the Republicans where the enthusiasm gap, as we call it, is 15 percent in favor of the Republican Party. More Republicans are turning out in these primaries, all of which bodes well for us as we enter into the November elections.
You know, and then when you start to get to the generic polling, this is going to be, you know, unless something dramatically changes in the next nine weeks, this is going to be a watershed week for the Republican Party.
CHETRY: Right. But we ask -- I do want to ask -- talk a little bit about that generic polling a second, but I just want to ask because he didn't have the Republican establishment support. In fact, it was sort of a reluctant, OK, if he's the guy, we'll support him. They came out with a stronger statement last night.
But is this what Republicans want -- that their established candidates, their incumbents, are getting picked off by lesser known and more conservative candidates in the primaries?
MOLINARI: I think what they want is the confidence of the American people. I think they want that enthusiasm. I think they want hard-fought -- you know, hard-fought primaries, if it brings out a lot of Republicans and gets people excited and gets people revved up about coming out in the general election is all good.
You know, Joe Miller may not be Senator Lisa Murkowski. But, you know, he's a West Point graduate. He's Bronze Star. First, Iraq, Gulf War. He's a Yale Law School graduate.
So, he's a pretty credible candidate in his own regard.
CHETRY: As you're watching all of this, Kiki, from a Democratic perspective -- is this a good thing to see the Tea Party candidates winning in these primary elections and potentially going head-to-head in the general in 2010?
MCLEAN: Well, look. What I think it means is that the dangerous place to be is in the role of an incumbent. My guess is, if a lot of the Tea Party candidates carry in to the general election and win, that it's Mr. Boehner, the Republican leader, who's probably the most endangered incumbent of all.
This is, in fact, a tumultuous time and it's tumultuous for all incumbents. That leaves Democrats overexposed, if you will, for lack of a better word, because we are in the majority. But it's not a cakewalk for anybody else.
I don't -- I think what this means is these are not nationalized elections. If you're a campaign manager, running a congressional race in a local district, it's about running in that district. Whether you're Republican or Democrat, you're going to run as an individual candidate trying to localize your race as much as you can. And that instance I think there will be room for Democrats to do better than expected.
All of the history and traditional algebra goes against Democrats this year. But I do think that as we get into the hard election of September and October, you will hear where Democrats are, what's been done to keep the economy in a stronger place than it could have been, and what the forecast is. I do think it's interesting to watch the Republican primaries on this.
When they go around bashing President Obama, that's not the winning strategy, the people who are getting unseated or getting unseated by people who are talking about the future and that does go to the intensity level to some degree that Susan was talking about.
CHETRY: And Susan, I want to ask you about that because the latest Generic Gallup Polling as new reference shows the generic Republican has a ten-point lead over Democrats. And Gallup says this has been pretty spot-on accurate both in the 1994 race and in 2004 as well for what ended up happening in the general.
When you go head-to-head, though, of generically, how do you translate that to, as Kiki said, ideas and people that are attracted in the general election and candidates that have ideas that will make Americans who right now feel we're not necessarily headed in the right direction by a lot of the polling, that Republicans are the answer?
MOLINARI: What you're starting to see in the generics -- and let me just go back because I was there in 1994 when we won the House for the first time in a generation. All the indicators from a political standpoint, and unfortunately, for this country from an economic standpoint play better for the Republican party right now than they did in 1994 when we picked up, you know, an overwhelming number of seat.
CHETRY: That's right.
MOLINARI: A generic poll, you know, if the election were held today, would you vote for a Republican or Democrat, is very telling. In 1994, we were four points behind when we won the majority. So, a ten-point lead is huge. That being said, candidates do have to take that energy, that enthusiasm and that disillusionment with the Democratic Party that controls the House, the Senate, and the White House right now and translate it into real ideas for how they're going to jump start this economy, number one, and create jobs.
CHETRY: This is what it said, it says that the GOP did have a single-digit lead, virtually in the same position, in 1994 and that was in November when the Republicans grabbed 54 seats.
MOLINARI: Right, but at this point, we were about four points behind even, I think.
CHETRY: All right. Kiki, if it does in fact change hands in the House, what is the Democrats' mission moving forward? Obviously, a lot of initiatives, agenda items, will be caught up in gridlock.
MCLEAN: I'd like to talk about the Democratic Party as a majority where it is today. I'll let the voters decide. There are two months of campaigns before I concede that point to Susan. I also thought what was interesting out of that Gallup Poll where they talk about the generic ballot was that only two months ago, Democrats were leading. I think any pollster in this season, the unique level of tumultuousness, which how you don't count on anything in the polls, and we're at the very beginning of the general election season.
I do think that Democrats who are focusing on the economy, focusing on what we can do to engage in job creation and to move this sluggish recovery forward are going to be the people who are engaging in the conversation that voters care about and that want to be involved in that. I think people are tired, tired from the struggles and a lot of avenues of their life. And what they want to hear is not a bunch of fighting over personalities and political name calling, but they do want to hear about conversations and ideas for the future. And I think that matters this year more than ever before.
CHETRY: Yes. I think a lot of more people are going to be listening and paying attention certainly to what's being said on both sides of the aisle. Kiki McLean, Susan Molinari, thanks to both of you for being with us this morning.
MOLINARI: Thank you.
MCLEAN: Thanks.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming up, hurricane Earl, it's weaker now but still packing quite a punch. 125 miles an hour. That's not a small storm as it approaches, rip currents up and down the East Coast are putting swimmers in danger. Rob Marciano is live in Virginia beach just ahead. Forty-eight minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Fifty minutes past the hour, and we're following Earl, hurricane Earl, downgraded slightly this morning but still certainly something to be watchful of especially if you're living along the East Coast. They're preparing right now all along the East Coast for hurricane Earl's approach. He's right now -- he, I mean, the storm. They gave him a boy name.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Earl's passing near the Turks and Caicos Islands this morning, a category 3 with 125-mile-an-hour winds.
VELSHI: It's been downgraded to category 3, but 125 miles an hour is still a lot of wind. The impact is already being felt, rough surf, dangerous rip currents in particular are making beaches off- limits to swimmers. Just in time for, of course, the big Labor Day weekend. Some people hoping to get their last swim in. Rob Marciano is live in Virginia Beach with more on that. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. Yes. It's just human nature to think, oh, it's just a category 3 storm. No, but it's 125-mile-an-hour storm and it's a large storm. And you got to remember, guys, Danielle was a much weaker storm, much further away, and the waves generated by Danielle over the weekend spurred hundreds of rescues from waters like this over the weekend.
But now, we got three storms out there, including Earl. So, you better believe that the lifeguards around here have their hands full.
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MARCIANO: Beautiful day today. Looks relatively safe out there, but you're pulling people out of the water.
TOM GILL, VA. BEACH LIFESAVING SERVICES: Gorgeous day today. We came out hoping that we wouldn't have to put the red flags up. Within the first five minutes, we were on the stands. We made one rescue already. The surf started to pick up. We started to see some intermittent, pretty large swells come in. So, we put the red flags back up, went to a waist-deep restriction for the day, and we still have 15 or 16 rescues with about 65 victims pulled in.
NEAL HOLSAPPLE, RIP CURRENT VICTIM: Got caught up with the waves and trying to ride a minion (ph). It actually was taking us out further and further. My wife was like we're (ph) not making any progress. Next thing we know we saw the lifeguards coming up. I wasn't actually scared until the lifeguards got up and were trying to get us in, and then, there was two of them and two of us, and we were still getting pulled out.
GILL: As we saw on Saturday, when we went from a high tide into a low tide situation, the tide was going out, that water that was sucking out just pulled and pulled and pulled. But that was Danielle on the other side of Bermuda. This is Earl, stronger, stronger than Danielle and a whole heck of a lot closer. We're going to have to really be on our game this week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: It has been such a hot summer in this part of the country that people have just been flocking to the beach. The other thing, you know, with the economy, this is a pretty cheap vacation. It's free to come to the beach. You don't have to stay at the fanciest hotels to enjoy the water and that's what people want to do. They get out there, and even on a beautiful morning like this where it looks relatively calm with those storms churning out there. The rip currents are high, and you get stuck in one it's easier said than done.
You're supposed to swim parallel to the shorelines and calmly swim your way back in away from the current, but that's difficult to do. Regardless, guys, I think they're going to have their hands more full than just battling rip currents this weekend because the forecast for -- over the next couple days, because the forecast for Earl is bringing much closer than we were hoping. And as you mention, Ali, it's a major category 3 storm. So, it'll be much worse than just swimmers.
CHETRY: Absolutely. Rob, you know, I mean, of course, in the outer banks, sort of old hat, they know what to do, obviously, not to diminish what they go through, but for people that live up and down parts of the eastern seaboard a little bit more north, when somebody like Craig Fugate from FEMA says prep for the hurricane. I mean, a lot of people are going, OK, what do I do?
MARCIANO: Exactly. So, you got kind of a double whammy. Not only do you have a storm coming up the coastline, but you got a lot of people who are here that don't really have any hurricane experience. So, I think once the warnings go up later on this afternoon and we anticipate that happening, there might even be more evacuations ordered. So, this is going to ramp up pretty quickly as far as the serious nature of this storm -- Guys.
VELSHI: Rob, thanks very much. We'll, of course, keep tracking this storm and seeing where it's heading up the East Coast. Let's remember, it's downgraded to a 3. That is still a very big storm. 125 miles per hour.
CHETRY: And the fact that it's tracking closer to the coast is also troublesome.
Also, we're going to be in Camp Victory. Chris Lawrence is there in Iraq. The handover officially taking place, actually in just an hour. He's going to get reaction from the troops who are still there, 50,000. Fifty-five minutes past the hour.
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