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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Hurricane Charley Makes Landfall in Florida; Crisis in the Garden State
Aired August 13, 2004 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from Florida, a state under attack by Mother Nature. I'm Anderson Cooper.
360 starts now.
ANNOUNCER: Hurricane Charley bashes Florida. We'll have the latest as the winds and storm surge pummel the Gulf Coast. Residents head for higher ground. Others hunker down to wait out the storm's fury.
360 takes you into Charley's eye. We'll go inside the storm with hurricane hunters.
Crisis in the Garden State. The political fallout after Governor McGreevey's bombshell announcement. New Jersey Republicans call on McGreevey to resign immediately. The governor's political future, ahead on 360.
She brought French cooking into American kitchens and taught millions of us how to cook. Cooking legend Julia Child dead at age 91.
And the double creature feature, alien versus predator. We'll have this weekend's hot Hollywood tickets.
This is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360, with Anderson Cooper in Tampa, Florida, and Daryn Kagan in Atlanta.
COOPER: Good evening again. I am in Tampa, Florida, tonight, a city that expected to weather the worst of Hurricane Charley.
An estimated 1.5 million people evacuated just in case, but this storm has all but passed them by, and citizens of Tampa can breathe a sigh of relief. They have dodged a bullet tonight.
Other parts of Florida, not so lucky, the storm slamming into the coast just south of here. These images just coming in. Winds 145 miles an hour, a category four storm, a huge surge of water with it. The storm is still blasting its way across the state. President Bush has declared Charley's path a disaster area. The damage still being calculated right now. And there is still a very long night ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): Early this morning, Hurricane Charley barreled through the Florida keys, high waves, huge gusts of winds, and heavy rains. But early on, no casualties reported.
Further north, people on Florida's west coast were rushing to get ready.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are in a designated evacuation zone. You should make plans to evacuate immediately.
COOPER: Some chose to hit the road, like the hundreds of thousands who did so yesterday. Others, many of them tourists with nowhere else to go, sought refuge in shelters that were open statewide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It scares the hell out of me. It -- you're looking at the map, and it's -- when you live in -- on the coast, you dream about someday a hurricane hitting us head-on. And, hello, here it is.
COOPER: In the early afternoon, the hurricane's outer bands hit the southwest coast of Florida as its strength grew. The National Hurricane Center upgraded Charley to a category four hurricane on a scale of five.
And public officials took to the airwaves to update their warnings.
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: This is not the time to be getting on the interstate. It is time to seek a safe place to be with family or friends inside of your region.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our primary focus right now is, you have to move now. You cannot delay. Your options are running out...
COOPER: But hurricanes are often unpredictable. Meteorologists expected its eye to hit the heavily populated and largely evacuated city of Tampa Bay. But it suddenly veered right, creating a new ground zero, the Fort Myers area.
At about 4:00 p.m., the hurricane's center roared ashore at North Captiva Island. Walls of water pelted the coast as 145-mile-an-hour winds and heavy rains caused blackouts and flooding.
Further north, tropical storm Bonnie, pushed by Charley, pounded eastern North Carolina, leaving several dead, including an 18-month- old girl, and more than 100 homeless.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, the 145-mile-an-hour winds in this category four hurricane were a bit of a surprise in Sanibel, Florida, today, the town that felt the fullest force of Charley's wrath.
Joining us now on the phone is Bill Tomlinson, chief of police in Sanibel.
Chief Tomlinson, how is your town doing tonight? CHIEF BILL TOMLINSON, SANIBEL, FLORIDA, POLICE DEPARTMENT (on phone): Well, right now we don't know for sure. Looks like we didn't sustain as much damage as we could have. We're still waiting for the aftereffects of the storm surge, which we're still anticipating it of seven to 10 feet.
COOPER: Where are you now? Are your patrolmen out on patrol, or are they, like many police officers here, hunkered down along with everyone else waiting this storm out?
TOMLINSON: No, we evacuated Sanibel yesterday. And final arrangements were made early this morning to get everyone off the island. And we're currently about 10 miles away in Fort Myers.
COOPER: When do you anticipate being able to go back? What are the conditions where you are right now?
TOMLINSON: Well, we're still experiencing squalls, quite a bit of rain, some thunderstorms, still quite a bit of wind. And we're waiting for the surge to pass us by before we attempt to go back.
COOPER: How does this compare to other storms that you've seen on Sanibel?
TOMLINSON: Well, this is the first time we've ever had a direct hit like that. So I've never seen one like this here.
COOPER: And did you get the cooperation you wanted from the people in terms of evacuation?
TOMLINSON: I think we had a pretty high degree of cooperation. I do know there are still are residents on Sanibel who decided to weather the storm. And hopefully they hunkered down and heed this warning that the surge still may be on its way, so that they get back in their houses if they are still out there.
COOPER: When did you realize Sanibel was going to get a direct hit?
TOMLINSON: Well, we've been tracking it for three days. And just like everybody else, when it started to take an easterly direction earlier this afternoon, we saw the track, the predicted track, and we pretty much knew a couple of hours before that we were going to be right in its way.
COOPER: Well, Chief Tomlinson, I know it's going to be a busy night for you and your officers. We wish you a lot of luck tonight. Thanks very much for being with us.
TOMLINSON: OK, thank you.
COOPER: Friday the 13 turned out to be a lucky day for Tampa, the town, with its high population and high buildings expected to be hit head-on. But as we said, Charley slammed into Florida farther south, proving once again that weather is tough to predict. Which is why we have Orelon Sidney on our team. Orelon, how's it look out there?
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks a lot.
It looks like we're going to continue to see a very powerful hurricane throughout the night, moving across Florida. This is the current location on the storm. It's currently about 65 miles south- southwest of Orlando. Last reported movement was north-northeast at 21. Did make landfall 3:45 officially this evening. And in Fort Myers currently, you've got 49-mile-an-hour wind gusts, 41-mile-an- hour sustained winds. Orlando had earlier 39-mile-an-hour gusts. That is tropical storm force.
And as this storm continues to work to the northeast, it's going to head just parallel to Interstate 4, very close to Orlando. And then we think it's going to go offshore somewhere north of Cape Canaveral and Titusville, probably somewhere around Daytona, between Daytona and Palm Coast. I think closest to Daytona is where I feel it's going to go.
Then, of course, it's going to be affecting the eastern coast of the United States. Cape Lookout now has a hurricane warning in effect southward all the way down to the cape. We also have a tornado watch in effect until 2:00 a.m. this morning. Numerous tornadoes, including some that produced damage in Lee County south here, where that storm system did come ashore.
Going to be a very busy night. And folks in Tampa certainly did dodge a bullet today, Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Orelon Sidney, thanks very much. We'll continue watching.
And we're going to check in with CNN's John Zarrella, who is in Venice, Florida, which is about 50 miles or so north of where Hurricane Charley came ashore. What's the situation in Venice, John?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, just as Orelon was describing, we here too dodged a bullet. The storm was off to our right, or east of us, when it came parallel to us. It's now north and east of us.
But you can look up at the clouds here, and you can see they're still swirling around, some thunderheads up there. Just a light breeze blowing here this evening as we are starting to approach some darkness.
People in this hotel that we are at, which this Holiday Inn, have come out now. They had stayed here, coming off of Venice Beach, coming off some of the evacuated low-lying areas. A lot of people just hanging around now, waiting for the all-clear.
And certainly we have seen no damage at all here, Anderson. And again, no rain any longer. There was a light rain throughout the late afternoon hours and then a mist. And the wind was gusting perhaps to tropical storm force. But we certainly never saw anything like hurricane-force winds here.
The beach area is completely evacuated, the downtown area completely evacuated. But the folks here that we talked to feeling a great sigh of relief, Anderson, that the storm has passed them by, Anderson.
COOPER: And they are feeling that same here, thing here in Tampa as well. John Zarrella, thanks very much for that from Venice.
The mandatory evacuation here in Pinellas County has been lifted. Still a voluntary evacuation, though. The storm, about 1.5 million people from this area alone successfully evacuated for this storm. The downside was that some people in the area actually hit by the storm didn't evacuate because they didn't think they were threatened.
CNN's Ed Lavandera now on those who found safety.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in the shelter now.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Almost 200 shelters opened across Florida's west coast, taking in thousands of people looking to escape the worst of Hurricane Charley.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of you can sign in, the other can start taking the stuff up.
LAVANDERA: West of Tampa Bay, calls to evacuate to higher and safer ground were spread one neighborhood at a time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hurricane Charley is approaching the Tampa Bay area. A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for all mobile home parks.
LAVANDERA: Hurricane Charley's intensification startled many people inside the shelters. This part of Florida hasn't experienced a direct hit in more than 80 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It scares the hell out of me. It -- you're looking at the map, and it's -- when you live in -- on the coast, you dream about someday a hurricane hitting us head-on. And, hello, here it is.
LAVANDERA: And all these people can do is sit and wait and listen to the weather reports. With all the excitement outside, everyone here knows it's better to be bored and secure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is safe. We are with our friends. And it does help pass the time.
LAVANDERA: These shelters might not feel like home, but when you're nestled between Mom and Dad, life is still good.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dunedin, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And those reports of damage, those reports of any potential injuries, we are still waiting to hear from the areas hardest hit by Charley. We will continue to follow this throughout the next hour, throughout the evening here on CNN.
But a lot of other things happening, though, throughout the world today. For that, let's go to Daryn Kagan, standing by at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Hey, Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Anderson, good to see you.
Yes, there are some other big stories making news that we're going to bring you tonight, including more on the shocking resignation of New Jersey's governor. Today the other man told his side of the story.
Once again, the two men running for president show up in the same state. John King on why the candidates seem to be shadowing each other so much.
And, of course, we'll keep tabs on the progress of Hurricane Charley, including an update from the National Hurricane Center.
But first, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: As folks in Florida are braving Hurricane Charley, in New Jersey folks are weathering a massive political storm, one that came with very little warning.
Yesterday, the state got its own one-two punch when Governor Jim McGreevey announced his resignation and revealed that he's a gay man who committed adultery.
And then just a few hours ago, we learned more about the sexual harassment allegations made by McGreevey's former lover.
CNN's Alina Cho has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The man at the center of the sexual harassment allegations against Governor Jim McGreevey spoke out late Friday. Golan Cipel's statement was read by his attorney.
ALLEN LOWY, GOLAN CIPEL'S ATTORNEY: "While employed by one of the most powerful politicians in the country, New Jersey Governor McGreevey, I was the victim of repeated sexual advances by him."
CHO: A source at the U.S. attorney's office says Cipel, a former six-figure aide to the New Jersey governor, was really out for money, and demanded millions of dollars in exchange for not filing a sexual harassment suit against McGreevey. The suit has not been filed. Cipel's attorney denied his client asked for money.
LOWY: First, his sexual harassment by the governor, and now he's a victim of an attempted smear campaign.
CHO: Cipel is the man with whom McGreevey admitted publicly he had a extramarital affair. He was once McGreevey's homeland security adviser. Cipel had little experience at security and subsequently resigned.
On a day when McGreevey's resignation made the covers of all the local newspapers, New Jersey Republicans called the scandal bigger than McGreevey and urged him to leave office right away.
JOSEPH KYRILLOS, NEW JERSEY REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN: The right call is to leave now.
CHO: McGreevey has said his resignation will take effect November 15. The fellow Democrat who will replace him vowed to provide a smooth transition.
RICHARD CODEY (D), NEW JERSEY SENATE PRESIDENT: This is a time for all of us to pull together as one united people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: And a short time ago, CNN spoke to one of Golan Cipel's former employers, who said, quote, "I wondered how he got ahead so quickly and did so well with such limited experience."
McGreevey, for his part, will be spending the weekend away with his family. And Daryn, he is expected back at work on Monday.
KAGAN: In Trenton, New Jersey, thank you for that.
So today's buzz question is this, would you stay with your spouse if he or she revealed they were gay? Log onto CNN.com/360 to vote. Do it right now. Results for you at the end of the show.
On to other political news. Do opposites attract? Apparently so, in this year's presidential race. Today, President Bush and presidential hopeful John Kerry were neighbors once again as they staged events in the same city at the same time. Their target today was Portland, Oregon.
Senior White House correspondent John King was there as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry/
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another day, another near-miss on the shadow campaign, two candidates so close, yet so far apart.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I overcame these economic problems as well because of well-timed tax cuts. SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Under this administration, the tax burden of the wealthy has gone down, and the tax burden of the working American middle class has gone up.
KING: Oregon was the shared stage this day, local stations in Portland mapping and tracking dueling events 11 miles apart. The president has the bigger plane. The challenger, on this day, the bigger crowds, and some hardball help from his spouse.
TERESA HEINZ KERRY, JOHN KERRY'S WIFE: It is important to have a president who not only understands but actually enjoys complexity.
KING: Tax policy was the day's major debating point, two campaigns with very different views of a new Congressional Budget Office study. Senator Kerry seized on this finding, two-thirds of the tax cuts went to those went to those earning more than $200,000 a year.
KERRY: And guess what? Over the last four years, the wages of average Americans have gone down $1,600 on average.
KING: The Bush camp said everyone's taxes were lowered, and the president said the biggest beneficiaries were families and small businesses.
BUSH: And we ought not to play favorites with the tax relief plan. And you received relief. Did it help? I'm not a lawyer, but it sounds like I am. I'm leading the witness.
KING: In the past week, the candidates almost crossed paths in Davenport, Iowa, and campaigned within days if not hours of each other in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, California, and Oregon.
(on camera): With both campaigns saying the race will be settled in a dozen to perhaps 15 battleground states, look for this shadow campaigning to continue over the 80 campaign days left, though perhaps not so much here on the West Coast unless the president improves his standing. He currently trails not only here in Oregon, but in Washington state and California as well.
John King, CNN, Portland, Oregon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And now let's head back to Anderson Cooper. He is tracking Hurricane Charley from Tampa. Anderson?
COOPER: Daryn, thanks very much.
A lot ahead on 360. We're going to be talking to a number of people who have been facing the storm head-on. We'll talk to them when we come back.
360 next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: And you're looking at Hurricane Charley from space. From that great distance, it all looks so peaceful, no inkling of the 145-mile-an-hour winds, the 10-foot storm surges which have caused so many problems for so many Floridians tonight.
As Hurricane Charley moves on, Florida residents are heading outside to inspect the damage.
Joining me on the phone is Dick Keen, a resident of Punta Gorda, a town which sustained a lot of damage.
Dick, what can you tell us about your neighborhood?
DICK KEEN, PUNTA GORDA, FLORIDA, RESIDENT (on phone): Well, first of all, the eye of the hurricane went right through our neighborhood. And I know that, because after the shaking and rattling stopped, the sun came out bright. And we were sitting in a secure area of the master bathroom. And all of a sudden through the concrete block, clear concrete block, the sun was shining brightly, and it stopped howling.
And, of course, within a couple of minutes, it came back howling again. There's not a roof in...
COOPER: So, so, so Dick...
KEEN: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: ... how, how...
KEEN: ... in our neighborhood that isn't...
COOPER: I, I, I'm sorry, you were in, you were in your house through all this?
KEEN: Yes, actually in the master bathroom.
COOPER: And how is your house?
KEEN: I've lost the pool cage, the roof is partially gone. Every tree in the neighborhood is gone. I have an 8,000-pound boat that was on a boat lift, but it is half in my backyard and half in the canal. So quite a bit of damage.
COOPER: But you are safe? Your family is OK?
KEEN: Yes. We brought in an elderly neighbor to stay with us, and we're all fine. And of course, that's what's important. Everything else can be replaced.
COOPER: Yes. And as you look out at your neighborhood tonight, how are your neighbors doing? How are their homes?
KEEN: The damage is very consistent. The houses in my neighborhood are all concrete blocks, so the houses themselves are OK. But the roofs took a beating, and everything outside of the main block part of the house was just destroyed. I would assume in the older parts of Punta Gorda that were built up in the '20s and '30s that were made out of wood, I can only imagine it's all gone.
COOPER: That is just terrible. Dick, did you think about evacuating? Did you think about leaving? I mean, the storm was supposed to hit further north. Did you anticipate this might happen?
KEEN: Unfortunately in this part of Florida, sometimes there -- it's difficult to find a place to evacuate to. And when the predictions were a low hurricane three, I felt safe in the house. Unfortunately, as the storm came up from the Key West area, it intensified even further.
And by then, of course, it was too late. The worst thing you can do is get stuck out on the road. So early this morning I had made a commitment to stay in the house. And once that was decided, that's what we did.
COOPER: Dick, I know you're busy, and I don't want to take up too much of your time. It's a horrible night for you. Can you describe, as you were sitting in your master bathroom, what it is like to sit through a 145-hour -- mile-an-hour hurricane?
KEEN: The noise was extremely loud, obviously. When the pool cage, which is made out of aluminum bars, when it gave way, it came across the top of the roof, I felt the whole roof was going to come off. So obviously an awful lot of noise. The wind noise was very steady. There wasn't a lot of howling and ups and downs, it was just a steady, steady hard noise from it. A lot of noise within the house, obviously, from the roof tiles flying off.
COOPER: Well, well, Dick, I'm glad that you and your family and the neighbor that you took in are safe tonight. I'm sorry for all the damage to your house, and to the neighborhood as well. Thank you for joining us tonight. Good luck to you.
KEEN: Thank you very much. Nice to chat with you. Bye-bye.
COOPER: Our thoughts are with, our thoughts are with you.
Keeping an eye on the eye of the storm, that's what the men and the women from the National Hurricane Center have been doing for days now. That's what they're doing right now.
Joining me from Miami is the director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield.
Max, thanks very much for being with us.
MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Anderson.
COOPER: Where is the storm going now? How powerful is it? Where is it going?
MAYFIELD: Well, it's located right here very near Polk City, Florida, and that's about 55 miles south-southwest of Orlando. Looks like it's going to go right over Orlando and Disney World and continue, likely exit the Florida east coast near Daytona Beach.
I think we're going to hear a lot more stories like Dick there in the, you know, next few hours here. I think that the Punta Gorda area really got clobbered by the eye wall as it went over. And I would be very surprised if there's not just extreme damage from this hurricane.
COOPER: Yes, we are just getting those reports coming in slowly. How strong is the storm now at this point?
MAYFIELD: Well, it made landfall at a cap four. We think the winds -- we don't have direct measurements, but we think the winds are down to probably a marginal category two, category three at this time, probably 110 to 115 miles per hour in a very limited area, in that little -- in the inner eye wall that you see right there where the red is, you know, and then the winds taper off quickly. It will continue to weaken.
But it's still a very dangerous hurricane. And I would expect a lot of tree damage, power outages. And this is going to have a real major impact over much of the Florida peninsula.
COOPER: Well, Max, you've been doing an amazing job, you and the other people tracking this thing all along. We thank you for your efforts. Thanks very much for joining us tonight, Max Mayfield.
MAYFIELD: Thank you, sir.
ANNOUNCER: 360 takes you into Charley's eye. We'll go inside the storm with hurricane hunters.
And crisis in the Garden State. The political fallout after Governor McGreevey's bombshell announcement. New Jersey Republicans call on McGreevey to resign immediately. The governor's political future, ahead on 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Yes. Florida, a state under siege. Yesterday, Charley was a category two hurricane. Today it became a monster, a category four storm packing winds as high as 145 miles an hour, hard to imagine.
Charley made landfall near Fort Myers, just three and a half hours ago. This is new video we are getting in from Punta Gorda, one of the hardest-hit areas.
President Bush has declared a state of emergency in Florida. Nearly 2 million people were being urged to evacuate the west coastline. As of now, half a million are without power.
We will not know the full extent of Charley's devastation really until tomorrow.
One of the greatest fears of Charley is the storm surge. Forecasters predict a wall of water could be as high as 15 feet. Just one of the nightmare scenarios from the strongest storm to hit Florida in decades.
Chad Myers joining me now. Chad, Punta Gorda, a lot of people didn't expect it was going to hit there. People thought it would hit here in Tampa.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. All the models, all the computer models took it right up the Gulf of Mexico, turned it right into Tampa. It turned right too early. It turned right 50 miles too early. And so, therefore, Punta Gorda -- and they weren't prepared, they weren't as prepared as Tampa was for a 145-mile-per- hour, category four hurricane.
There is some damage down there. We're going to get it in the morning. Some of the pictures we've already seen already very vivid. A lot of houses that are actually completely collapsed. We have to think that there are probably some people in those houses. So emergency management is out there doing the best that they can.
Here was the problem, actually, with this storm. We have a keyhole picture for you here. We can actually zoom into the bay. It's called the Port Charlotte, the Port of Charlotte. Port Charlotte on the left, and then as we take a look, the entire area to the right, Punta Gorda on the right.
As the storm pulled in, it gathered its water, it gathered moisture, went over North Captiva Island and right on through. There was the reporter that was actually doing that story with all of that damage there.
Here's the storm now, moving up toward -- yes, Kissimmee.
Here's the problem. Anderson, we just evacuated 1.5 million people from Tampa and sent them to Orlando. And that's where they are now. And they're going to have 95-mile-per-hour winds in the next hour.
COOPER: So, they have to continue to be evacuated. They have to continue to stay where they are?
MYERS: They have to hunker down. They can't move. Stay in the hotel, stay where you are, stay away from the windows. A lot of windows have a lot of glass in front. Stay away from that and you'll be fine. 95-mile-per-hour winds, that's a strong category one.
COOPER: For some reason, with all the technology, and you guys have been following this storm so closely, so well, it can still surprise us.
MYERS: You want to know why?
COOPER: Yes.
MYERS: Because nobody lives in the Gulf of Mexico. We can't send up weather balloons in the Gulf of Mexico. So, when we put all of this stuff in our computer models, we can't actually send the weather balloons up and say, oh, the wind's going that way there. So, there was a secret wind that nobody knew about. There were no weather balloons to find that balloon. That wind took Charley and went -- gave it a slap in the face and it just moved it over 40, 50 miles.
COOPER: Remarkable. Chad Myers
MYERS: When we get people living in the Gulf of Mexico, maybe we'll get a little bit better.
COOPER: Amazing. We'll continue to follow it. We'll talk to you a little bit later. Thanks very much Chad.
Well, while millions were getting out of Charley's way, Lieutenant Eileen Govan was taking the quickest route into the eye of the storm. She's a hurricane hunter. A meteorologist with the Air Force Reserve. Her plane just landed after a trip to the center of Charley.
She joins me on the phone now from Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Lieutenant, thanks very much for being with us. What is it like as you fly first, as you break through into the hurricane?
EILEEN GOVAN, AIR FORCE RESERVES: Well, it's actually very exciting. And a couple of the quadrants actually had some lightning and some hail as we were punching through the eyeball. Quite turbulent, as expect, but absolutely very exciting.
COOPER: Do you feel the force of the storm? Maybe it's a stupid question, but I mean, at that altitude, does it feel like a category four storm?
GOVAN: Yes, it did. As we go through, you know, we hit a series of pockets of air where we go down, and we come up. We went anywhere -- we lost altitude probably from about, you know, 500 feet. So you can feel it dropping. And recovering and coming back up. So it is tossing you around. And you know that you're not in the safest of environments.
COOPER: Why do it? The purpose, I suppose, is to measure the speed, the strength of the storm. What keeps you going back?
GOVAN: Well, I mean, it saves lives and millions of dollars in the ultimate long run. You know, for myself, it's absolutely -- you know, just a -- you just get a personal pleasure going home and actually knowing you did something at night. That you actually helped people. And someone's got to do it.
And like the reporter said before, it's not like we have balloons that are launching. The data is absolutely essential to the models, to get a good forecast track.
COOPER: What do you think -- what surprised you most about storms that you've learned that has surprised you and might surprise our viewers?
GOVAN: How rapidly it can change. We went into it -- as soon as we got out there around 9:00 this morning, we had the eye wall, it was about 12 miles in diameter. And after a couple of passes through, it went down to five miles. So it went, you know, rapid intensification, the eye just shrank very quickly. It was amazing to see.
COOPER: Well, it is amazing work that you do. And we all very much appreciative of it. And there are millions of people that are very appreciative of it, as I hope you well know. Thank you very much Lieutenant Eileen Govan.
GOVAN: I thank you very much.
COOPER: Just about an hour ago, the White House announced that President Bush had declared Florida a disaster area. Joining me now from Washington is Michael Brown, the director of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He's monitoring Hurricane Charley from FEMA's command center. Thanks very much for being with us.
MICHAEL BROWN, DIR. FEMA: Thank you.
COOPER: How bad is this storm at this point? What kind of damage are you expecting?
BROWN: Well, as you've reported earlier, we expect some pretty serious damage. So really, on behalf of President Bush, whom I spoke to a couple of hours ago, we really want to express our condolences to those who have lost lives, to those who have suffered very greatly.
I want everyone to know that FEMA is sending all of its resources down there. We're going to do everything it takes to help that governor and help the state recover to protect the lives of the people who continue to remain in the path of the storm.
COOPER: Have you heard reports of damage at this point? We're getting early reports from Punta Gorda about houses being ripped apart, roofs being ripped off. Do you have any estimate of damage in terms of either, you know, injuries or monetary damage?
BROWN: We don't yet. And we don't really focus on that. I've heard stories anecdotally of Charlotte County being completely devastated. We will tally up the damages later.
Our focus right now is on responding to this disaster and helping people recover from it. And so we'll get those numbers as we work through it. But right now, we've got to take care of people. Take care of lives. And make sure that we respond properly.
COOPER: And what happens, as the storm has moved eastward, Chad Myers was just talking, all these people who were evacuated to the Orlando area, who were moving inland, that's now where the storm is headed. What is your message to them?
BROWN: You know, I preach from the very beginning when we started talking about both Bonnie and Charley, that people need to understand that mother nature has her own agenda and her own timetable. She will go where she wants to go, and we cannot control her. So I always try to convey to people in the outlying areas, don't be complacent and think that this hurricane cannot come up, you know, into your neighborhood, because she can certainly do that anytime she wants.
So what we have to do is make sure -- and you guys were doing a very good job of getting the message out, to stay where you are now. If you're stuck in the storm, you know, stay away from windows. You know, just do everything you can to protect yourself now. And we'll get in there as soon as we can, as the storm passes.
COOPER: Well, I know you were tracking this thing closely, and it's going to be a busy night for you as it's been a busy couple days for you. We appreciate you joining us. Thanks very much.
BROWN: You bet.
COOPER: Joining me on the phone right now is Jim Humphrey, the mayor of Fort Myers. Mayor Humphrey, how much damage has Fort Myers sustained at this point?
MAY. JIM HUMPHREY, FT. MYERS, FLORIDA (via telephone): We've received an extensive amount of property damage, particularly to some of our oldest historical areas where we have some beautiful old oaks, and they are just more than half of them are down. And some of our royal palms.
I've just returned from an assessment of our city, and it's -- of course, this is my first major storm to encounter, and I will say, it's quite devastating to see the damage it can cause.
COOPER: If I'm not mistaken, I think one of the homes of Thomas Edison is in Fort Myers. Am I correct about that?
HUMPHREY: Yes, it is. In fact, that's -- first of all, of course, our life and safety is the most important thing. But then right after that is some of our historical treasures such as Thomas Edison's home, as well as the Henry Ford home. And so we -- I've just made a personal tour that looks like from outside the structure is OK. Much damage, though, within the grounds.
We had a lot of beautiful trees and plants that he was responsible for,as part of his experiments, and a lot of damage there. So, we're quite upset and concerned about that. So we will be doing an assessment tomorrow and seeing where we stand.
But so far, his home and guest house and Mr. Ford's home all seem to be intact.
COOPER: Mayor Humphrey, what went through your mind that moment you got the word that the storm had changed direction, because as we all know, all day long, everyone said it's going to go to Tampa, it's going to go north of Fort Myers. You may get some storms, but you're not going to bear the brunt of this thing. All of a sudden we got word late this afternoon that the storm had changed direction. When you heard that news, what went through your mind? Did you feel your town was ready?
HUMPHREY: Well, our town was ready. In the sense that we, of course, had emergency personnel out. We've had all the public works, all the central employees were there. And of course, working out of the emergency operations center. But I will still tell you, it was most frightening, because while we were trying to persuade everyone to go into the shelters and to evacuate, I have to tell you that so many of them continued to think that the storm was going to go north and east. And not turn west like it did. I mean, excuse me, turn west and not turn east like it did. So we were very concerned about the number of people that remained in their homes.
COOPER: And I'm sure you're hoping to check on those people. I know it's so hard to get people to really heed the warnings, and especially when they don't think the storm is going to be directly hitting their community. Often they'll say, look, we've ridden out storms before. Obviously this time for Fort Myers, it was a bad day indeed. Mayor Humphrey, I know you've got a busy night ahead of you. We do appreciate you joining us. Thank you very much for joining us.
HUMPHREY: You're right, when you have so many people that have moved into our county over the last few years, and 12,000 to 20,000 a year, it's hard for them to comprehend the effect of a major storm such as this.
COOPER: Until you've been through it, it's really hard to get a grasp of what it's really like.
HUMPHREY: I can tell you going through it now, it's a frightening experience to see the winds and to see the trees and everything just blowing past you and all the rain. And we still are concerned about the surge. The surge is still coming up the river on us. And it's already over the banks. So we are very concerned.
COOPER: How big a surge are you expecting?
HUMPHREY: They're predicting around 12 feet. And if that's so, that will do some major damage to us because we are an area where much of our city is, frankly, below 10 feet elevation. And so if we're starting to see 12 feet, we will receive significant damage.
Well, we'll try to check back with you later tonight if we could, Mayor Humphrey. Again, thank you very much. Good luck to you. And good luck to the people in Fort Myers.
Well, thousands of people flee these storms, but reporters go right in. Hurricane Charley, of course, no exception. Journalists spent much of today braving the rough winds and rains to try to bring you the story. Not always an easy job. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've heard the phrase rapidly deteriorating weather a lot this afternoon. We wanted to kind of show you what that looks like from up here. These are the 60 or 70-mile-an-hour gusts. I can tell you what that sound was that you heard in the studio a few minutes ago. We lost a satellite dish up here. We're about to lose an antenna over there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the southern-most point, waves crashed out of the ocean, hitting anyone standing too close. It's a powerful sight.
TED SCOUTAN, KEY WEST, FL.: Pretty crazy. I've never seen anything like it before. Never seen the waves come over the wall like that before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down the street, debris crashed out of the water carried by angry waves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've had some winds probably pushing 60 miles an hour. We've got a lot of breakers coming over the sea wall.
ROD CARTER, VENICE BEACH, FL.: About 50 miles south of the strike zone, before we get into some video, I want to show you the breaks in the clouds over here. For the past hour and a half we've been experiencing a very violent feeder band. Some very strong storms that went through here, 75-mile-an-hour winds, a lot of driving rain. And this stuff hurts when it hits you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here on Venice Beach, which is roughly about a half an hour, 35 minutes north of Port Charlotte. Right now, the winds are picking up quite a bit. A rough estimate, maybe 20, 25 miles per hour coming out of the north. The rain is starting to get a little bit heavier.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are bands of the storm across us, behind us right now. You can see that they are moving fairly rapidly. Like I said, boy, 15, 20 minutes ago, there was hardly any wind here at all. But now it's definitely picked up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: We continue to follow Hurricane Charley as it makes its way across Florida. We'll come back here to Tampa shortly. Right now, let's go back to Daryn Kagan in Atlanta. Hey, Daryn.
KAGAN: Anderson, thank you. Other news of the day, including New Jersey's governor out of the closet and soon out of office. Next up on 360, why his political opponents say his stunning announcement is not enough.
Plus, icon of the kitchen. Remembering Julia Child, the French chef who taught millions of Americans how to cook.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: We'll be back with Anderson and more on Hurricane Charley in just a moment. First though, the man who had an affair with Governor James McGreevey had his say today through a statement read by his lawyer, Golan Cipel accused the governor of sexual harassment. For more now on the story, we're going to bring in Bob Ingle. He's in Los Angeles but he is the Trenton, New Jersey bureau chief for Gannett Newspapers. Bob, thanks for being with us this evening. As we said, Golan Cipel had his say today, his lawyer holding a press conference, reading a statement. We're going to listen a little bit about what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN LOWY, GOLAN CIPEL'S ATTORNEY: "While employed, by one of the most powerful politicians in the country, New Jersey Governor McGreevey, I was the victim of repeated sexual advances by him."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: So, what do we actually know about this man making these allegations, Bob?
BOB INGLE, TRENTON, N.J. BUREAU CHIEF, GANNETT NEWSPAPERS: Well, my crew in Trenton, especially Sandy McClure, who is our lead investigative reporter, spent three months investigating him in this country and also in Israel and had a story that ran in Gannett Newspapers as well as in Hebrew and Israel. And what we found is he was in no way qualified for the job that he had.
KAGAN: So from what I've been able to learn, he had no experience. You mentioned he was an Israeli citizen. He couldn't even get clearance to find out the kind of things he needed to get this job.
Weren't you guys sniffing around? Didn't this seem suspicious at the time?
INGLE: Of course we were. That's why we spent three months investigating it. Sandy McClure did a great job. After she did her job, he resigned.
KAGAN: Let's listen to a little bit more about what he had to say or his lawyer had to say about the situation he found himself in.
INGLE: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOWY: "When I finally dared to reject Governor McGreevey's advances, the retaliatory actions taken by him and members of his administration were nothing short of abuse and intimidation."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: So he believes he was a victim of sexual harassment. McGreevey's family standing by him at the news conference. His current wife, also his parent and then his first wife came out today and also offered her support for the governor. Bob, is that surprising that he got that kind of support from his family?
INGLE: No. I think a family -- that's what a family does. A family supports you. That's not surprising to me at all. KAGAN: But also not surprising that scandal is surrounding this governor. This was a jaw-dropper yesterday. Yet there have been other allegations of wrong-doing. This is just the latest.
INGLE: Absolutely. Almost since the day he took office. The first big one was Golan Cipel. When he named this fellow, who at the time was identified as a former Israeli sailor and poet, although Sandy McClure could never find that in fact he had written that book of poetry he supposedly read. He was put into a job and we went down and tried to find out what he was doing but he was never there. But he was being paid $110,000 a year. And it had just gone on and on and on.
Recently, his top contributor has gotten in trouble over a sex videotape thing. Another contributor is in trouble and being investigated by the feds. His former chief of staff and his former chief counsel are being investigated for a series of billboard deals that they concluded just before they took office. He has been a disaster waiting to happen almost from day one.
KAGAN: And just real quickly, he saying he's stepping down November 15. Republicans saying that's not good enough. Do you think he will last until November 15?
INGLE: I think they're going to try everything they can do to last until November the 15th. And I think the Republicans are going to do everything they can do, if he doesn't agree to step down before September 3 so there can be an election.
I think the Republicans are going to do everything they can do to make the Democrats feel very sorry that that was the road that they took.
KAGAN: Giving you and other reporters out there plenty to cover in the next couple of months.
INGLE: Absolutely. That's always the way it is in New Jersey. Every day's an adventure.
KAGAN: There you go. Bob Ingle, with "The Gannett" newspaper. Thank you for your time today.
INGLE: My pleasure.
KAGAN: You're welcome.
So, today's "Buzz" is, would you stay with your spouse if he or she revealed they were gay? Log on to cnn.com/360 to vote. Results for you at the end of the show.
Also ahead, we are remembering the master chef. Next up on 360, Julia Child, a look back at the woman who taught America the art of cooking.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: Foodies everywhere are mourning the loss of the woman we called the French chef. Julia Child died yesterday at the age of 91. She leaves behind a legacy of fine dining and a joy for eating that we just don't see in these calorie and carb-counting times.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA CHILD, CHEF: Welcome to "The French Chef." I'm Julia Child.
KAGAN (voice-over): She was the original domestic diva, tickling taste buds with rich treats with a French flair. And teaching us all how to cook them at home.
CHILD: Here is our dear little old friend the chicken.
KAGAN: But even the French chef didn't always live to eat.
She was born Julia McWilliams in Pasadena in 1912. She graduated from Smith College in 1934 with a degree in history, intent on becoming a writer. At the start of World War II, she joined the Office of Strategic Services, the OSS, a forerunner of the CIA. And met her husband, diplomat Paul Child.
When he was stationed in Paris, the 6'2" Julia entered the Cordon Bleu Cooking School and found her inner French chef.
CHILD: I really like French cooking the best.
KAGAN: She started in print, collaborating with two French writers on mastering the art of French cooking. Eleven more books followed.
But it was while she was promoting a book and making an omelet that television found Julia Child. And a cooking star was born.
CHILD: I have enough eggs in here to go on and on and on. And this is really, I think, is just such fun.
KAGAN: "The French Chef" last through 206 episodes. And Julia Child had us cooking with gas and butter and cream.
And now the kitchen is closed. But the memories, the rich recipes and the words of the French chef will inspire wannabe cooks for years to come.
CHILD: This is Julia Child, bon appetit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And a forever bon appetit to you, Julia Child, as well.
Well, as we look at the calendar, it does seem fitting that this being Friday the 13th, there would be something scary to see at the movies. True to form, there is a new horror film with a couple of familiar faces hitting the big screen. So let's check out "The Weekender."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN (voice-over): In "Alien Versus Predator," two of Hollywood's most fearsome intergalactic creatures face off for a sci- fi species fight to the finish. Along the way, some humans get caught in the middle, which, considering what we've seen these guys do in the past, is not the best place to be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is so cool!
KAGAN: If you prefer a more dreamy fantasy world, there's "The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement." Ann Hathaway reprises her role as a young woman preparing to become a queen in one romantic and refined film.
On the lighter side there's "Danny Deckchair," about a construction worker whose life is transformed following a no-thrills balloon ride. It's uplifting.
UMA THURMAN, ACTRESS: I'm going to kill Bill.
KAGAN: New on DVD, "Kill Bill Volume 2." Uma Thurman returns as an angry bride seeking revenge, in Quentin Tarantino's homage to Hong Kong action flicks.
On tour, Norah Jones performs in Atlanta tomorrow night. The singer will soothe the crowd with sweet songs from her new album, as well as from her Grammy Award-winning debut.
And if you're near Frankfurt, Kentucky this weekend, you might want to check out the Bourbon and Bluegrass Festival. Expect plenty of music, plenty of food, and maybe even something to drink.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Looks like it will be some indoor activities for folks in Florida. Let's head back to Anderson Cooper. He is tracking Hurricane Charley from Tampa -- Anderson.
COOPER: Daryn, thanks very much. We're going to talk to CNN's Gary Tuchman, very shortly, who is in Daytona Beach getting pounded by the storm. We'll have a live report ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Hurricane Charley is heading east, right toward Daytona Beach, and that's where CNN's Gary Tuchman is standing by. Gary, how does it look there?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, within the last 30 minutes, the thunder, the lightning, the rains and the wind have hit Daytona Beach. Very unusual situation here, as you look at the live picture, because normally when we cover hurricanes, the hotels are virtually empty. People evacuate. But what happened is, many people came here to the east coast and never imagined the hurricane would come here, and the hotels are all virtually full. So it's very crowded. People haven't had time to evacuate, but they expect the eye of this hurricane to cross around here two to three hours from now, and Daytona Beach is very full of people right now -- Anderson.
COOPER: A surprising development indeed. Gary Tuchman, thanks very much for that.
I'm Anderson Cooper, live from Tampa, a city which expected to be pounded today. Tampa dodged the bullet today, but there are many in Florida tonight who are suffering. Our thoughts, our prayers are with them. Thanks for watching this special edition of 360. "PAULA ZAHN NOW" is next.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 13, 2004 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from Florida, a state under attack by Mother Nature. I'm Anderson Cooper.
360 starts now.
ANNOUNCER: Hurricane Charley bashes Florida. We'll have the latest as the winds and storm surge pummel the Gulf Coast. Residents head for higher ground. Others hunker down to wait out the storm's fury.
360 takes you into Charley's eye. We'll go inside the storm with hurricane hunters.
Crisis in the Garden State. The political fallout after Governor McGreevey's bombshell announcement. New Jersey Republicans call on McGreevey to resign immediately. The governor's political future, ahead on 360.
She brought French cooking into American kitchens and taught millions of us how to cook. Cooking legend Julia Child dead at age 91.
And the double creature feature, alien versus predator. We'll have this weekend's hot Hollywood tickets.
This is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360, with Anderson Cooper in Tampa, Florida, and Daryn Kagan in Atlanta.
COOPER: Good evening again. I am in Tampa, Florida, tonight, a city that expected to weather the worst of Hurricane Charley.
An estimated 1.5 million people evacuated just in case, but this storm has all but passed them by, and citizens of Tampa can breathe a sigh of relief. They have dodged a bullet tonight.
Other parts of Florida, not so lucky, the storm slamming into the coast just south of here. These images just coming in. Winds 145 miles an hour, a category four storm, a huge surge of water with it. The storm is still blasting its way across the state. President Bush has declared Charley's path a disaster area. The damage still being calculated right now. And there is still a very long night ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): Early this morning, Hurricane Charley barreled through the Florida keys, high waves, huge gusts of winds, and heavy rains. But early on, no casualties reported.
Further north, people on Florida's west coast were rushing to get ready.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are in a designated evacuation zone. You should make plans to evacuate immediately.
COOPER: Some chose to hit the road, like the hundreds of thousands who did so yesterday. Others, many of them tourists with nowhere else to go, sought refuge in shelters that were open statewide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It scares the hell out of me. It -- you're looking at the map, and it's -- when you live in -- on the coast, you dream about someday a hurricane hitting us head-on. And, hello, here it is.
COOPER: In the early afternoon, the hurricane's outer bands hit the southwest coast of Florida as its strength grew. The National Hurricane Center upgraded Charley to a category four hurricane on a scale of five.
And public officials took to the airwaves to update their warnings.
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: This is not the time to be getting on the interstate. It is time to seek a safe place to be with family or friends inside of your region.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our primary focus right now is, you have to move now. You cannot delay. Your options are running out...
COOPER: But hurricanes are often unpredictable. Meteorologists expected its eye to hit the heavily populated and largely evacuated city of Tampa Bay. But it suddenly veered right, creating a new ground zero, the Fort Myers area.
At about 4:00 p.m., the hurricane's center roared ashore at North Captiva Island. Walls of water pelted the coast as 145-mile-an-hour winds and heavy rains caused blackouts and flooding.
Further north, tropical storm Bonnie, pushed by Charley, pounded eastern North Carolina, leaving several dead, including an 18-month- old girl, and more than 100 homeless.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, the 145-mile-an-hour winds in this category four hurricane were a bit of a surprise in Sanibel, Florida, today, the town that felt the fullest force of Charley's wrath.
Joining us now on the phone is Bill Tomlinson, chief of police in Sanibel.
Chief Tomlinson, how is your town doing tonight? CHIEF BILL TOMLINSON, SANIBEL, FLORIDA, POLICE DEPARTMENT (on phone): Well, right now we don't know for sure. Looks like we didn't sustain as much damage as we could have. We're still waiting for the aftereffects of the storm surge, which we're still anticipating it of seven to 10 feet.
COOPER: Where are you now? Are your patrolmen out on patrol, or are they, like many police officers here, hunkered down along with everyone else waiting this storm out?
TOMLINSON: No, we evacuated Sanibel yesterday. And final arrangements were made early this morning to get everyone off the island. And we're currently about 10 miles away in Fort Myers.
COOPER: When do you anticipate being able to go back? What are the conditions where you are right now?
TOMLINSON: Well, we're still experiencing squalls, quite a bit of rain, some thunderstorms, still quite a bit of wind. And we're waiting for the surge to pass us by before we attempt to go back.
COOPER: How does this compare to other storms that you've seen on Sanibel?
TOMLINSON: Well, this is the first time we've ever had a direct hit like that. So I've never seen one like this here.
COOPER: And did you get the cooperation you wanted from the people in terms of evacuation?
TOMLINSON: I think we had a pretty high degree of cooperation. I do know there are still are residents on Sanibel who decided to weather the storm. And hopefully they hunkered down and heed this warning that the surge still may be on its way, so that they get back in their houses if they are still out there.
COOPER: When did you realize Sanibel was going to get a direct hit?
TOMLINSON: Well, we've been tracking it for three days. And just like everybody else, when it started to take an easterly direction earlier this afternoon, we saw the track, the predicted track, and we pretty much knew a couple of hours before that we were going to be right in its way.
COOPER: Well, Chief Tomlinson, I know it's going to be a busy night for you and your officers. We wish you a lot of luck tonight. Thanks very much for being with us.
TOMLINSON: OK, thank you.
COOPER: Friday the 13 turned out to be a lucky day for Tampa, the town, with its high population and high buildings expected to be hit head-on. But as we said, Charley slammed into Florida farther south, proving once again that weather is tough to predict. Which is why we have Orelon Sidney on our team. Orelon, how's it look out there?
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks a lot.
It looks like we're going to continue to see a very powerful hurricane throughout the night, moving across Florida. This is the current location on the storm. It's currently about 65 miles south- southwest of Orlando. Last reported movement was north-northeast at 21. Did make landfall 3:45 officially this evening. And in Fort Myers currently, you've got 49-mile-an-hour wind gusts, 41-mile-an- hour sustained winds. Orlando had earlier 39-mile-an-hour gusts. That is tropical storm force.
And as this storm continues to work to the northeast, it's going to head just parallel to Interstate 4, very close to Orlando. And then we think it's going to go offshore somewhere north of Cape Canaveral and Titusville, probably somewhere around Daytona, between Daytona and Palm Coast. I think closest to Daytona is where I feel it's going to go.
Then, of course, it's going to be affecting the eastern coast of the United States. Cape Lookout now has a hurricane warning in effect southward all the way down to the cape. We also have a tornado watch in effect until 2:00 a.m. this morning. Numerous tornadoes, including some that produced damage in Lee County south here, where that storm system did come ashore.
Going to be a very busy night. And folks in Tampa certainly did dodge a bullet today, Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Orelon Sidney, thanks very much. We'll continue watching.
And we're going to check in with CNN's John Zarrella, who is in Venice, Florida, which is about 50 miles or so north of where Hurricane Charley came ashore. What's the situation in Venice, John?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, just as Orelon was describing, we here too dodged a bullet. The storm was off to our right, or east of us, when it came parallel to us. It's now north and east of us.
But you can look up at the clouds here, and you can see they're still swirling around, some thunderheads up there. Just a light breeze blowing here this evening as we are starting to approach some darkness.
People in this hotel that we are at, which this Holiday Inn, have come out now. They had stayed here, coming off of Venice Beach, coming off some of the evacuated low-lying areas. A lot of people just hanging around now, waiting for the all-clear.
And certainly we have seen no damage at all here, Anderson. And again, no rain any longer. There was a light rain throughout the late afternoon hours and then a mist. And the wind was gusting perhaps to tropical storm force. But we certainly never saw anything like hurricane-force winds here.
The beach area is completely evacuated, the downtown area completely evacuated. But the folks here that we talked to feeling a great sigh of relief, Anderson, that the storm has passed them by, Anderson.
COOPER: And they are feeling that same here, thing here in Tampa as well. John Zarrella, thanks very much for that from Venice.
The mandatory evacuation here in Pinellas County has been lifted. Still a voluntary evacuation, though. The storm, about 1.5 million people from this area alone successfully evacuated for this storm. The downside was that some people in the area actually hit by the storm didn't evacuate because they didn't think they were threatened.
CNN's Ed Lavandera now on those who found safety.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in the shelter now.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Almost 200 shelters opened across Florida's west coast, taking in thousands of people looking to escape the worst of Hurricane Charley.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of you can sign in, the other can start taking the stuff up.
LAVANDERA: West of Tampa Bay, calls to evacuate to higher and safer ground were spread one neighborhood at a time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hurricane Charley is approaching the Tampa Bay area. A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for all mobile home parks.
LAVANDERA: Hurricane Charley's intensification startled many people inside the shelters. This part of Florida hasn't experienced a direct hit in more than 80 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It scares the hell out of me. It -- you're looking at the map, and it's -- when you live in -- on the coast, you dream about someday a hurricane hitting us head-on. And, hello, here it is.
LAVANDERA: And all these people can do is sit and wait and listen to the weather reports. With all the excitement outside, everyone here knows it's better to be bored and secure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is safe. We are with our friends. And it does help pass the time.
LAVANDERA: These shelters might not feel like home, but when you're nestled between Mom and Dad, life is still good.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dunedin, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And those reports of damage, those reports of any potential injuries, we are still waiting to hear from the areas hardest hit by Charley. We will continue to follow this throughout the next hour, throughout the evening here on CNN.
But a lot of other things happening, though, throughout the world today. For that, let's go to Daryn Kagan, standing by at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Hey, Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Anderson, good to see you.
Yes, there are some other big stories making news that we're going to bring you tonight, including more on the shocking resignation of New Jersey's governor. Today the other man told his side of the story.
Once again, the two men running for president show up in the same state. John King on why the candidates seem to be shadowing each other so much.
And, of course, we'll keep tabs on the progress of Hurricane Charley, including an update from the National Hurricane Center.
But first, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: As folks in Florida are braving Hurricane Charley, in New Jersey folks are weathering a massive political storm, one that came with very little warning.
Yesterday, the state got its own one-two punch when Governor Jim McGreevey announced his resignation and revealed that he's a gay man who committed adultery.
And then just a few hours ago, we learned more about the sexual harassment allegations made by McGreevey's former lover.
CNN's Alina Cho has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The man at the center of the sexual harassment allegations against Governor Jim McGreevey spoke out late Friday. Golan Cipel's statement was read by his attorney.
ALLEN LOWY, GOLAN CIPEL'S ATTORNEY: "While employed by one of the most powerful politicians in the country, New Jersey Governor McGreevey, I was the victim of repeated sexual advances by him."
CHO: A source at the U.S. attorney's office says Cipel, a former six-figure aide to the New Jersey governor, was really out for money, and demanded millions of dollars in exchange for not filing a sexual harassment suit against McGreevey. The suit has not been filed. Cipel's attorney denied his client asked for money.
LOWY: First, his sexual harassment by the governor, and now he's a victim of an attempted smear campaign.
CHO: Cipel is the man with whom McGreevey admitted publicly he had a extramarital affair. He was once McGreevey's homeland security adviser. Cipel had little experience at security and subsequently resigned.
On a day when McGreevey's resignation made the covers of all the local newspapers, New Jersey Republicans called the scandal bigger than McGreevey and urged him to leave office right away.
JOSEPH KYRILLOS, NEW JERSEY REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN: The right call is to leave now.
CHO: McGreevey has said his resignation will take effect November 15. The fellow Democrat who will replace him vowed to provide a smooth transition.
RICHARD CODEY (D), NEW JERSEY SENATE PRESIDENT: This is a time for all of us to pull together as one united people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: And a short time ago, CNN spoke to one of Golan Cipel's former employers, who said, quote, "I wondered how he got ahead so quickly and did so well with such limited experience."
McGreevey, for his part, will be spending the weekend away with his family. And Daryn, he is expected back at work on Monday.
KAGAN: In Trenton, New Jersey, thank you for that.
So today's buzz question is this, would you stay with your spouse if he or she revealed they were gay? Log onto CNN.com/360 to vote. Do it right now. Results for you at the end of the show.
On to other political news. Do opposites attract? Apparently so, in this year's presidential race. Today, President Bush and presidential hopeful John Kerry were neighbors once again as they staged events in the same city at the same time. Their target today was Portland, Oregon.
Senior White House correspondent John King was there as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry/
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another day, another near-miss on the shadow campaign, two candidates so close, yet so far apart.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I overcame these economic problems as well because of well-timed tax cuts. SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Under this administration, the tax burden of the wealthy has gone down, and the tax burden of the working American middle class has gone up.
KING: Oregon was the shared stage this day, local stations in Portland mapping and tracking dueling events 11 miles apart. The president has the bigger plane. The challenger, on this day, the bigger crowds, and some hardball help from his spouse.
TERESA HEINZ KERRY, JOHN KERRY'S WIFE: It is important to have a president who not only understands but actually enjoys complexity.
KING: Tax policy was the day's major debating point, two campaigns with very different views of a new Congressional Budget Office study. Senator Kerry seized on this finding, two-thirds of the tax cuts went to those went to those earning more than $200,000 a year.
KERRY: And guess what? Over the last four years, the wages of average Americans have gone down $1,600 on average.
KING: The Bush camp said everyone's taxes were lowered, and the president said the biggest beneficiaries were families and small businesses.
BUSH: And we ought not to play favorites with the tax relief plan. And you received relief. Did it help? I'm not a lawyer, but it sounds like I am. I'm leading the witness.
KING: In the past week, the candidates almost crossed paths in Davenport, Iowa, and campaigned within days if not hours of each other in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, California, and Oregon.
(on camera): With both campaigns saying the race will be settled in a dozen to perhaps 15 battleground states, look for this shadow campaigning to continue over the 80 campaign days left, though perhaps not so much here on the West Coast unless the president improves his standing. He currently trails not only here in Oregon, but in Washington state and California as well.
John King, CNN, Portland, Oregon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And now let's head back to Anderson Cooper. He is tracking Hurricane Charley from Tampa. Anderson?
COOPER: Daryn, thanks very much.
A lot ahead on 360. We're going to be talking to a number of people who have been facing the storm head-on. We'll talk to them when we come back.
360 next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: And you're looking at Hurricane Charley from space. From that great distance, it all looks so peaceful, no inkling of the 145-mile-an-hour winds, the 10-foot storm surges which have caused so many problems for so many Floridians tonight.
As Hurricane Charley moves on, Florida residents are heading outside to inspect the damage.
Joining me on the phone is Dick Keen, a resident of Punta Gorda, a town which sustained a lot of damage.
Dick, what can you tell us about your neighborhood?
DICK KEEN, PUNTA GORDA, FLORIDA, RESIDENT (on phone): Well, first of all, the eye of the hurricane went right through our neighborhood. And I know that, because after the shaking and rattling stopped, the sun came out bright. And we were sitting in a secure area of the master bathroom. And all of a sudden through the concrete block, clear concrete block, the sun was shining brightly, and it stopped howling.
And, of course, within a couple of minutes, it came back howling again. There's not a roof in...
COOPER: So, so, so Dick...
KEEN: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: ... how, how...
KEEN: ... in our neighborhood that isn't...
COOPER: I, I, I'm sorry, you were in, you were in your house through all this?
KEEN: Yes, actually in the master bathroom.
COOPER: And how is your house?
KEEN: I've lost the pool cage, the roof is partially gone. Every tree in the neighborhood is gone. I have an 8,000-pound boat that was on a boat lift, but it is half in my backyard and half in the canal. So quite a bit of damage.
COOPER: But you are safe? Your family is OK?
KEEN: Yes. We brought in an elderly neighbor to stay with us, and we're all fine. And of course, that's what's important. Everything else can be replaced.
COOPER: Yes. And as you look out at your neighborhood tonight, how are your neighbors doing? How are their homes?
KEEN: The damage is very consistent. The houses in my neighborhood are all concrete blocks, so the houses themselves are OK. But the roofs took a beating, and everything outside of the main block part of the house was just destroyed. I would assume in the older parts of Punta Gorda that were built up in the '20s and '30s that were made out of wood, I can only imagine it's all gone.
COOPER: That is just terrible. Dick, did you think about evacuating? Did you think about leaving? I mean, the storm was supposed to hit further north. Did you anticipate this might happen?
KEEN: Unfortunately in this part of Florida, sometimes there -- it's difficult to find a place to evacuate to. And when the predictions were a low hurricane three, I felt safe in the house. Unfortunately, as the storm came up from the Key West area, it intensified even further.
And by then, of course, it was too late. The worst thing you can do is get stuck out on the road. So early this morning I had made a commitment to stay in the house. And once that was decided, that's what we did.
COOPER: Dick, I know you're busy, and I don't want to take up too much of your time. It's a horrible night for you. Can you describe, as you were sitting in your master bathroom, what it is like to sit through a 145-hour -- mile-an-hour hurricane?
KEEN: The noise was extremely loud, obviously. When the pool cage, which is made out of aluminum bars, when it gave way, it came across the top of the roof, I felt the whole roof was going to come off. So obviously an awful lot of noise. The wind noise was very steady. There wasn't a lot of howling and ups and downs, it was just a steady, steady hard noise from it. A lot of noise within the house, obviously, from the roof tiles flying off.
COOPER: Well, well, Dick, I'm glad that you and your family and the neighbor that you took in are safe tonight. I'm sorry for all the damage to your house, and to the neighborhood as well. Thank you for joining us tonight. Good luck to you.
KEEN: Thank you very much. Nice to chat with you. Bye-bye.
COOPER: Our thoughts are with, our thoughts are with you.
Keeping an eye on the eye of the storm, that's what the men and the women from the National Hurricane Center have been doing for days now. That's what they're doing right now.
Joining me from Miami is the director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield.
Max, thanks very much for being with us.
MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Anderson.
COOPER: Where is the storm going now? How powerful is it? Where is it going?
MAYFIELD: Well, it's located right here very near Polk City, Florida, and that's about 55 miles south-southwest of Orlando. Looks like it's going to go right over Orlando and Disney World and continue, likely exit the Florida east coast near Daytona Beach.
I think we're going to hear a lot more stories like Dick there in the, you know, next few hours here. I think that the Punta Gorda area really got clobbered by the eye wall as it went over. And I would be very surprised if there's not just extreme damage from this hurricane.
COOPER: Yes, we are just getting those reports coming in slowly. How strong is the storm now at this point?
MAYFIELD: Well, it made landfall at a cap four. We think the winds -- we don't have direct measurements, but we think the winds are down to probably a marginal category two, category three at this time, probably 110 to 115 miles per hour in a very limited area, in that little -- in the inner eye wall that you see right there where the red is, you know, and then the winds taper off quickly. It will continue to weaken.
But it's still a very dangerous hurricane. And I would expect a lot of tree damage, power outages. And this is going to have a real major impact over much of the Florida peninsula.
COOPER: Well, Max, you've been doing an amazing job, you and the other people tracking this thing all along. We thank you for your efforts. Thanks very much for joining us tonight, Max Mayfield.
MAYFIELD: Thank you, sir.
ANNOUNCER: 360 takes you into Charley's eye. We'll go inside the storm with hurricane hunters.
And crisis in the Garden State. The political fallout after Governor McGreevey's bombshell announcement. New Jersey Republicans call on McGreevey to resign immediately. The governor's political future, ahead on 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Yes. Florida, a state under siege. Yesterday, Charley was a category two hurricane. Today it became a monster, a category four storm packing winds as high as 145 miles an hour, hard to imagine.
Charley made landfall near Fort Myers, just three and a half hours ago. This is new video we are getting in from Punta Gorda, one of the hardest-hit areas.
President Bush has declared a state of emergency in Florida. Nearly 2 million people were being urged to evacuate the west coastline. As of now, half a million are without power.
We will not know the full extent of Charley's devastation really until tomorrow.
One of the greatest fears of Charley is the storm surge. Forecasters predict a wall of water could be as high as 15 feet. Just one of the nightmare scenarios from the strongest storm to hit Florida in decades.
Chad Myers joining me now. Chad, Punta Gorda, a lot of people didn't expect it was going to hit there. People thought it would hit here in Tampa.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. All the models, all the computer models took it right up the Gulf of Mexico, turned it right into Tampa. It turned right too early. It turned right 50 miles too early. And so, therefore, Punta Gorda -- and they weren't prepared, they weren't as prepared as Tampa was for a 145-mile-per- hour, category four hurricane.
There is some damage down there. We're going to get it in the morning. Some of the pictures we've already seen already very vivid. A lot of houses that are actually completely collapsed. We have to think that there are probably some people in those houses. So emergency management is out there doing the best that they can.
Here was the problem, actually, with this storm. We have a keyhole picture for you here. We can actually zoom into the bay. It's called the Port Charlotte, the Port of Charlotte. Port Charlotte on the left, and then as we take a look, the entire area to the right, Punta Gorda on the right.
As the storm pulled in, it gathered its water, it gathered moisture, went over North Captiva Island and right on through. There was the reporter that was actually doing that story with all of that damage there.
Here's the storm now, moving up toward -- yes, Kissimmee.
Here's the problem. Anderson, we just evacuated 1.5 million people from Tampa and sent them to Orlando. And that's where they are now. And they're going to have 95-mile-per-hour winds in the next hour.
COOPER: So, they have to continue to be evacuated. They have to continue to stay where they are?
MYERS: They have to hunker down. They can't move. Stay in the hotel, stay where you are, stay away from the windows. A lot of windows have a lot of glass in front. Stay away from that and you'll be fine. 95-mile-per-hour winds, that's a strong category one.
COOPER: For some reason, with all the technology, and you guys have been following this storm so closely, so well, it can still surprise us.
MYERS: You want to know why?
COOPER: Yes.
MYERS: Because nobody lives in the Gulf of Mexico. We can't send up weather balloons in the Gulf of Mexico. So, when we put all of this stuff in our computer models, we can't actually send the weather balloons up and say, oh, the wind's going that way there. So, there was a secret wind that nobody knew about. There were no weather balloons to find that balloon. That wind took Charley and went -- gave it a slap in the face and it just moved it over 40, 50 miles.
COOPER: Remarkable. Chad Myers
MYERS: When we get people living in the Gulf of Mexico, maybe we'll get a little bit better.
COOPER: Amazing. We'll continue to follow it. We'll talk to you a little bit later. Thanks very much Chad.
Well, while millions were getting out of Charley's way, Lieutenant Eileen Govan was taking the quickest route into the eye of the storm. She's a hurricane hunter. A meteorologist with the Air Force Reserve. Her plane just landed after a trip to the center of Charley.
She joins me on the phone now from Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Lieutenant, thanks very much for being with us. What is it like as you fly first, as you break through into the hurricane?
EILEEN GOVAN, AIR FORCE RESERVES: Well, it's actually very exciting. And a couple of the quadrants actually had some lightning and some hail as we were punching through the eyeball. Quite turbulent, as expect, but absolutely very exciting.
COOPER: Do you feel the force of the storm? Maybe it's a stupid question, but I mean, at that altitude, does it feel like a category four storm?
GOVAN: Yes, it did. As we go through, you know, we hit a series of pockets of air where we go down, and we come up. We went anywhere -- we lost altitude probably from about, you know, 500 feet. So you can feel it dropping. And recovering and coming back up. So it is tossing you around. And you know that you're not in the safest of environments.
COOPER: Why do it? The purpose, I suppose, is to measure the speed, the strength of the storm. What keeps you going back?
GOVAN: Well, I mean, it saves lives and millions of dollars in the ultimate long run. You know, for myself, it's absolutely -- you know, just a -- you just get a personal pleasure going home and actually knowing you did something at night. That you actually helped people. And someone's got to do it.
And like the reporter said before, it's not like we have balloons that are launching. The data is absolutely essential to the models, to get a good forecast track.
COOPER: What do you think -- what surprised you most about storms that you've learned that has surprised you and might surprise our viewers?
GOVAN: How rapidly it can change. We went into it -- as soon as we got out there around 9:00 this morning, we had the eye wall, it was about 12 miles in diameter. And after a couple of passes through, it went down to five miles. So it went, you know, rapid intensification, the eye just shrank very quickly. It was amazing to see.
COOPER: Well, it is amazing work that you do. And we all very much appreciative of it. And there are millions of people that are very appreciative of it, as I hope you well know. Thank you very much Lieutenant Eileen Govan.
GOVAN: I thank you very much.
COOPER: Just about an hour ago, the White House announced that President Bush had declared Florida a disaster area. Joining me now from Washington is Michael Brown, the director of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He's monitoring Hurricane Charley from FEMA's command center. Thanks very much for being with us.
MICHAEL BROWN, DIR. FEMA: Thank you.
COOPER: How bad is this storm at this point? What kind of damage are you expecting?
BROWN: Well, as you've reported earlier, we expect some pretty serious damage. So really, on behalf of President Bush, whom I spoke to a couple of hours ago, we really want to express our condolences to those who have lost lives, to those who have suffered very greatly.
I want everyone to know that FEMA is sending all of its resources down there. We're going to do everything it takes to help that governor and help the state recover to protect the lives of the people who continue to remain in the path of the storm.
COOPER: Have you heard reports of damage at this point? We're getting early reports from Punta Gorda about houses being ripped apart, roofs being ripped off. Do you have any estimate of damage in terms of either, you know, injuries or monetary damage?
BROWN: We don't yet. And we don't really focus on that. I've heard stories anecdotally of Charlotte County being completely devastated. We will tally up the damages later.
Our focus right now is on responding to this disaster and helping people recover from it. And so we'll get those numbers as we work through it. But right now, we've got to take care of people. Take care of lives. And make sure that we respond properly.
COOPER: And what happens, as the storm has moved eastward, Chad Myers was just talking, all these people who were evacuated to the Orlando area, who were moving inland, that's now where the storm is headed. What is your message to them?
BROWN: You know, I preach from the very beginning when we started talking about both Bonnie and Charley, that people need to understand that mother nature has her own agenda and her own timetable. She will go where she wants to go, and we cannot control her. So I always try to convey to people in the outlying areas, don't be complacent and think that this hurricane cannot come up, you know, into your neighborhood, because she can certainly do that anytime she wants.
So what we have to do is make sure -- and you guys were doing a very good job of getting the message out, to stay where you are now. If you're stuck in the storm, you know, stay away from windows. You know, just do everything you can to protect yourself now. And we'll get in there as soon as we can, as the storm passes.
COOPER: Well, I know you were tracking this thing closely, and it's going to be a busy night for you as it's been a busy couple days for you. We appreciate you joining us. Thanks very much.
BROWN: You bet.
COOPER: Joining me on the phone right now is Jim Humphrey, the mayor of Fort Myers. Mayor Humphrey, how much damage has Fort Myers sustained at this point?
MAY. JIM HUMPHREY, FT. MYERS, FLORIDA (via telephone): We've received an extensive amount of property damage, particularly to some of our oldest historical areas where we have some beautiful old oaks, and they are just more than half of them are down. And some of our royal palms.
I've just returned from an assessment of our city, and it's -- of course, this is my first major storm to encounter, and I will say, it's quite devastating to see the damage it can cause.
COOPER: If I'm not mistaken, I think one of the homes of Thomas Edison is in Fort Myers. Am I correct about that?
HUMPHREY: Yes, it is. In fact, that's -- first of all, of course, our life and safety is the most important thing. But then right after that is some of our historical treasures such as Thomas Edison's home, as well as the Henry Ford home. And so we -- I've just made a personal tour that looks like from outside the structure is OK. Much damage, though, within the grounds.
We had a lot of beautiful trees and plants that he was responsible for,as part of his experiments, and a lot of damage there. So, we're quite upset and concerned about that. So we will be doing an assessment tomorrow and seeing where we stand.
But so far, his home and guest house and Mr. Ford's home all seem to be intact.
COOPER: Mayor Humphrey, what went through your mind that moment you got the word that the storm had changed direction, because as we all know, all day long, everyone said it's going to go to Tampa, it's going to go north of Fort Myers. You may get some storms, but you're not going to bear the brunt of this thing. All of a sudden we got word late this afternoon that the storm had changed direction. When you heard that news, what went through your mind? Did you feel your town was ready?
HUMPHREY: Well, our town was ready. In the sense that we, of course, had emergency personnel out. We've had all the public works, all the central employees were there. And of course, working out of the emergency operations center. But I will still tell you, it was most frightening, because while we were trying to persuade everyone to go into the shelters and to evacuate, I have to tell you that so many of them continued to think that the storm was going to go north and east. And not turn west like it did. I mean, excuse me, turn west and not turn east like it did. So we were very concerned about the number of people that remained in their homes.
COOPER: And I'm sure you're hoping to check on those people. I know it's so hard to get people to really heed the warnings, and especially when they don't think the storm is going to be directly hitting their community. Often they'll say, look, we've ridden out storms before. Obviously this time for Fort Myers, it was a bad day indeed. Mayor Humphrey, I know you've got a busy night ahead of you. We do appreciate you joining us. Thank you very much for joining us.
HUMPHREY: You're right, when you have so many people that have moved into our county over the last few years, and 12,000 to 20,000 a year, it's hard for them to comprehend the effect of a major storm such as this.
COOPER: Until you've been through it, it's really hard to get a grasp of what it's really like.
HUMPHREY: I can tell you going through it now, it's a frightening experience to see the winds and to see the trees and everything just blowing past you and all the rain. And we still are concerned about the surge. The surge is still coming up the river on us. And it's already over the banks. So we are very concerned.
COOPER: How big a surge are you expecting?
HUMPHREY: They're predicting around 12 feet. And if that's so, that will do some major damage to us because we are an area where much of our city is, frankly, below 10 feet elevation. And so if we're starting to see 12 feet, we will receive significant damage.
Well, we'll try to check back with you later tonight if we could, Mayor Humphrey. Again, thank you very much. Good luck to you. And good luck to the people in Fort Myers.
Well, thousands of people flee these storms, but reporters go right in. Hurricane Charley, of course, no exception. Journalists spent much of today braving the rough winds and rains to try to bring you the story. Not always an easy job. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've heard the phrase rapidly deteriorating weather a lot this afternoon. We wanted to kind of show you what that looks like from up here. These are the 60 or 70-mile-an-hour gusts. I can tell you what that sound was that you heard in the studio a few minutes ago. We lost a satellite dish up here. We're about to lose an antenna over there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the southern-most point, waves crashed out of the ocean, hitting anyone standing too close. It's a powerful sight.
TED SCOUTAN, KEY WEST, FL.: Pretty crazy. I've never seen anything like it before. Never seen the waves come over the wall like that before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down the street, debris crashed out of the water carried by angry waves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've had some winds probably pushing 60 miles an hour. We've got a lot of breakers coming over the sea wall.
ROD CARTER, VENICE BEACH, FL.: About 50 miles south of the strike zone, before we get into some video, I want to show you the breaks in the clouds over here. For the past hour and a half we've been experiencing a very violent feeder band. Some very strong storms that went through here, 75-mile-an-hour winds, a lot of driving rain. And this stuff hurts when it hits you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here on Venice Beach, which is roughly about a half an hour, 35 minutes north of Port Charlotte. Right now, the winds are picking up quite a bit. A rough estimate, maybe 20, 25 miles per hour coming out of the north. The rain is starting to get a little bit heavier.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are bands of the storm across us, behind us right now. You can see that they are moving fairly rapidly. Like I said, boy, 15, 20 minutes ago, there was hardly any wind here at all. But now it's definitely picked up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: We continue to follow Hurricane Charley as it makes its way across Florida. We'll come back here to Tampa shortly. Right now, let's go back to Daryn Kagan in Atlanta. Hey, Daryn.
KAGAN: Anderson, thank you. Other news of the day, including New Jersey's governor out of the closet and soon out of office. Next up on 360, why his political opponents say his stunning announcement is not enough.
Plus, icon of the kitchen. Remembering Julia Child, the French chef who taught millions of Americans how to cook.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: We'll be back with Anderson and more on Hurricane Charley in just a moment. First though, the man who had an affair with Governor James McGreevey had his say today through a statement read by his lawyer, Golan Cipel accused the governor of sexual harassment. For more now on the story, we're going to bring in Bob Ingle. He's in Los Angeles but he is the Trenton, New Jersey bureau chief for Gannett Newspapers. Bob, thanks for being with us this evening. As we said, Golan Cipel had his say today, his lawyer holding a press conference, reading a statement. We're going to listen a little bit about what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN LOWY, GOLAN CIPEL'S ATTORNEY: "While employed, by one of the most powerful politicians in the country, New Jersey Governor McGreevey, I was the victim of repeated sexual advances by him."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: So, what do we actually know about this man making these allegations, Bob?
BOB INGLE, TRENTON, N.J. BUREAU CHIEF, GANNETT NEWSPAPERS: Well, my crew in Trenton, especially Sandy McClure, who is our lead investigative reporter, spent three months investigating him in this country and also in Israel and had a story that ran in Gannett Newspapers as well as in Hebrew and Israel. And what we found is he was in no way qualified for the job that he had.
KAGAN: So from what I've been able to learn, he had no experience. You mentioned he was an Israeli citizen. He couldn't even get clearance to find out the kind of things he needed to get this job.
Weren't you guys sniffing around? Didn't this seem suspicious at the time?
INGLE: Of course we were. That's why we spent three months investigating it. Sandy McClure did a great job. After she did her job, he resigned.
KAGAN: Let's listen to a little bit more about what he had to say or his lawyer had to say about the situation he found himself in.
INGLE: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOWY: "When I finally dared to reject Governor McGreevey's advances, the retaliatory actions taken by him and members of his administration were nothing short of abuse and intimidation."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: So he believes he was a victim of sexual harassment. McGreevey's family standing by him at the news conference. His current wife, also his parent and then his first wife came out today and also offered her support for the governor. Bob, is that surprising that he got that kind of support from his family?
INGLE: No. I think a family -- that's what a family does. A family supports you. That's not surprising to me at all. KAGAN: But also not surprising that scandal is surrounding this governor. This was a jaw-dropper yesterday. Yet there have been other allegations of wrong-doing. This is just the latest.
INGLE: Absolutely. Almost since the day he took office. The first big one was Golan Cipel. When he named this fellow, who at the time was identified as a former Israeli sailor and poet, although Sandy McClure could never find that in fact he had written that book of poetry he supposedly read. He was put into a job and we went down and tried to find out what he was doing but he was never there. But he was being paid $110,000 a year. And it had just gone on and on and on.
Recently, his top contributor has gotten in trouble over a sex videotape thing. Another contributor is in trouble and being investigated by the feds. His former chief of staff and his former chief counsel are being investigated for a series of billboard deals that they concluded just before they took office. He has been a disaster waiting to happen almost from day one.
KAGAN: And just real quickly, he saying he's stepping down November 15. Republicans saying that's not good enough. Do you think he will last until November 15?
INGLE: I think they're going to try everything they can do to last until November the 15th. And I think the Republicans are going to do everything they can do, if he doesn't agree to step down before September 3 so there can be an election.
I think the Republicans are going to do everything they can do to make the Democrats feel very sorry that that was the road that they took.
KAGAN: Giving you and other reporters out there plenty to cover in the next couple of months.
INGLE: Absolutely. That's always the way it is in New Jersey. Every day's an adventure.
KAGAN: There you go. Bob Ingle, with "The Gannett" newspaper. Thank you for your time today.
INGLE: My pleasure.
KAGAN: You're welcome.
So, today's "Buzz" is, would you stay with your spouse if he or she revealed they were gay? Log on to cnn.com/360 to vote. Results for you at the end of the show.
Also ahead, we are remembering the master chef. Next up on 360, Julia Child, a look back at the woman who taught America the art of cooking.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: Foodies everywhere are mourning the loss of the woman we called the French chef. Julia Child died yesterday at the age of 91. She leaves behind a legacy of fine dining and a joy for eating that we just don't see in these calorie and carb-counting times.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA CHILD, CHEF: Welcome to "The French Chef." I'm Julia Child.
KAGAN (voice-over): She was the original domestic diva, tickling taste buds with rich treats with a French flair. And teaching us all how to cook them at home.
CHILD: Here is our dear little old friend the chicken.
KAGAN: But even the French chef didn't always live to eat.
She was born Julia McWilliams in Pasadena in 1912. She graduated from Smith College in 1934 with a degree in history, intent on becoming a writer. At the start of World War II, she joined the Office of Strategic Services, the OSS, a forerunner of the CIA. And met her husband, diplomat Paul Child.
When he was stationed in Paris, the 6'2" Julia entered the Cordon Bleu Cooking School and found her inner French chef.
CHILD: I really like French cooking the best.
KAGAN: She started in print, collaborating with two French writers on mastering the art of French cooking. Eleven more books followed.
But it was while she was promoting a book and making an omelet that television found Julia Child. And a cooking star was born.
CHILD: I have enough eggs in here to go on and on and on. And this is really, I think, is just such fun.
KAGAN: "The French Chef" last through 206 episodes. And Julia Child had us cooking with gas and butter and cream.
And now the kitchen is closed. But the memories, the rich recipes and the words of the French chef will inspire wannabe cooks for years to come.
CHILD: This is Julia Child, bon appetit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And a forever bon appetit to you, Julia Child, as well.
Well, as we look at the calendar, it does seem fitting that this being Friday the 13th, there would be something scary to see at the movies. True to form, there is a new horror film with a couple of familiar faces hitting the big screen. So let's check out "The Weekender."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN (voice-over): In "Alien Versus Predator," two of Hollywood's most fearsome intergalactic creatures face off for a sci- fi species fight to the finish. Along the way, some humans get caught in the middle, which, considering what we've seen these guys do in the past, is not the best place to be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is so cool!
KAGAN: If you prefer a more dreamy fantasy world, there's "The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement." Ann Hathaway reprises her role as a young woman preparing to become a queen in one romantic and refined film.
On the lighter side there's "Danny Deckchair," about a construction worker whose life is transformed following a no-thrills balloon ride. It's uplifting.
UMA THURMAN, ACTRESS: I'm going to kill Bill.
KAGAN: New on DVD, "Kill Bill Volume 2." Uma Thurman returns as an angry bride seeking revenge, in Quentin Tarantino's homage to Hong Kong action flicks.
On tour, Norah Jones performs in Atlanta tomorrow night. The singer will soothe the crowd with sweet songs from her new album, as well as from her Grammy Award-winning debut.
And if you're near Frankfurt, Kentucky this weekend, you might want to check out the Bourbon and Bluegrass Festival. Expect plenty of music, plenty of food, and maybe even something to drink.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Looks like it will be some indoor activities for folks in Florida. Let's head back to Anderson Cooper. He is tracking Hurricane Charley from Tampa -- Anderson.
COOPER: Daryn, thanks very much. We're going to talk to CNN's Gary Tuchman, very shortly, who is in Daytona Beach getting pounded by the storm. We'll have a live report ahead.
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COOPER: Hurricane Charley is heading east, right toward Daytona Beach, and that's where CNN's Gary Tuchman is standing by. Gary, how does it look there?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, within the last 30 minutes, the thunder, the lightning, the rains and the wind have hit Daytona Beach. Very unusual situation here, as you look at the live picture, because normally when we cover hurricanes, the hotels are virtually empty. People evacuate. But what happened is, many people came here to the east coast and never imagined the hurricane would come here, and the hotels are all virtually full. So it's very crowded. People haven't had time to evacuate, but they expect the eye of this hurricane to cross around here two to three hours from now, and Daytona Beach is very full of people right now -- Anderson.
COOPER: A surprising development indeed. Gary Tuchman, thanks very much for that.
I'm Anderson Cooper, live from Tampa, a city which expected to be pounded today. Tampa dodged the bullet today, but there are many in Florida tonight who are suffering. Our thoughts, our prayers are with them. Thanks for watching this special edition of 360. "PAULA ZAHN NOW" is next.
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