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CNN Live Saturday
Florida Braces For 4th Hurricane Of Season; Intelligence Operatives Still Have Trouble In Iraq; Interview With Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf
Aired September 25, 2004 - 12:00 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is Noon in Florida, 9:00 a.m. on the U.S. West coast. Welcome. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead this hour, Florida again braces for a major hurricane. We'll have the latest on "Mean Jeanne" and where she's expected to make landfall.
Also, the fight for Iraq: We look at the challenges of getting reliable intelligence as the U.S. military tries to fend off insurgent attacks.
And promises, promises: A closer look at some of the campaign pledges the presidential candidates are making and whether they are realistic. But first, here are some stories now in the news.
The fate of a British citizen held captive in Iraq is still uncertain as pleas for his release continue. Kenneth Bigley was kidnapped nine days ago. A delegation of Muslim clerics from Britain is scheduled to arrive in Iraq today to make direct pleas to the kidnappers to release Bigley.
A memorial service for slain American hostage Jack Hensley takes place a couple of hours from now, in Hensley's hometown of Marietta, Georgia. Hensley and another American, Eugene Armstrong, were executed by Islamic extremists earlier this week. CNN will have live coverage of the memorial service when it gets underway.
And more violence rocks Afghanistan just days ahead of the country's landmark election. Suspected Taliban militants launched a string of attacks on security posts in southern Afghanistan earlier today, killing nine Afghan soldiers. The attack came as the head of U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan warned that the Taliban and their al- Qaeda allies were stepping up plans to disrupt the October 9 elections.
Packing up and heading out again: People in storm-battered Florida get ready for an encounter with Hurricane Jeanne, the fourth hurricane to threaten the state in the last five weeks. Landfall is expected about 12 hours from now. Along Florida's East coast, the call has gone out for tens of thousands of people in evacuation zones to head to higher ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: This morning's storm update reminds us once again that every storm is different. And I sincerely hope that Floridians on our East coast will take this to heart. Where Frances was a slow storm, Jeanne has sped up and is moving quickly to our coast, and it is getting bigger and stronger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And we've got extensive coverage of this story. CNN's Susan Candiotti is in West Palm Beach; Rob Marciano is keeping track of the storm in the Weather Center; and Karl Penhaul is in Haiti, already devastated by floodwaters from the storm. Let's begin with a status check on Jeanne. Rob Marciano is in the Weather Center.
And Rob, it looks like Jeanne has picked up strength, as predicted.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And speed, Fredricka. It's moving rapidly towards the Florida coastline, it is now a category 3 storm, it is now the sixth major hurricane of this season. And you see the well defined eye now moving over the western parts -- northwestern parts of the Bahamas and the brighter colors indicating the strengthening. With this westerly movement, it is now forecast to make a direct landfall on the state of Florida. So, it's a little bit worse news than we had for you the last couple of days.
The latest numbers of the Hurricane Center: 150 miles off the Florida coastline, we have winds sustained at 115 miles-an-hour, that makes it category 3. It is moving westerly now at 14 miles-an-hour, so we're looking at the eye wall beginning to touch the coastline sometime 9:00, 10:00 tonight and then the eye itself moving over the coast sometime around midnight, that's when the strongest winds could occur. And the winds, by the way, could very well increase in intensity before it makes landfall.
Here's the forecast track out of the National Hurricane Center: Making landfall somewhere in West Palm Beach up towards Melbourne and then towards Orlando, weakening, yes, but likely still a hurricane as it heads up the spine of the Florida Peninsula.
All right, interesting graphic here, what this basically tells you, what major hurricanes have struck Florida since they've been keeping records up until 1996. And notice that none of them have hit north of Palm Beach. And even from 1996 until now, it's not graphically presented, but we did some research, still, nothing from Palm Beach north towards the Georgia border. So, this one will be interesting and it will be a record setter in more ways than one if it makes landfall as forecast, just to the north of Palm Beach.
There it is, Fredricka. There's the eye. Rain bands all ready to move their way up to the south-central Florida coastline. Winds gusting Daytona, Jacksonville, Vera Beach, and down towards Palm Beach as well, over 30 miles-an-hour, so they're starting to feel the effects already, and obviously it will only get worse throughout the afternoon. Back over to you.
WHITFIELD: All right Rob, thanks so much. We'll be checking in again with you. Well, Jeanne has prompted mandatory evacuation orders across eight Florida counties. CNN's Susan Candiotti is with us now from a shelter in West Palm Beach -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello Fredricka. Yes, this is one of about 15 shelters that is open in Palm Beach County. It opened about 7:30 this morning and it is indeed slowly filling up. We've had only a few showers outside. But the big question here is, how well will people adhere it a mandatory evacuation order that has been in effect since early today? So far only about 6,000 people, all told, have been starting to appear at these shelters. Last time, when Frances hit just a few weeks ago, talk about a total of 19,000, of course, the day is young and the people who run these shelters suggest that, as usual, it is human nature, generally speaking, to wait until the last possible moment before people come here. This is a registration area at a local high school. It is taking information from people as they come in.
We want to show you some pictures of earlier this day at a home improvement store that was only open for three hours from 6:00 to 9:00. People were there buying up plywood, buying batteries, no generators to be found, but that store had to turn away customers when it closed its doors at 9:00 this morning. We are also finding gas lines, those are very commonplace. If you can find a gas station that is still open in Palm Beach County, many of them have been closed since yesterday and are only accepting cash sales this day.
I would like to introduce you to a few people who are here at this shelter who were here the last time.
Peggy, when you heard Jeanne was on the way, and "oh, no, we have to go through the same drill all over again," what did you think?
PEGGY, FLORIDA RESIDENT: I thought, "oh, no, not again." I just couldn't imagine to go through the same thing. We were going to stay home until this morning when we heard that things had changed, you know. So I said, "Uh-ho, let's go."
CANDIOTTI: And just to be on the safe side, this is your husband, Jack. You now, you could have stayed at home and taken a chance, it is not comfortable here.
JACK, FLORIDA RESIDENT: I don't mind the hurricane too bad, but I'm afraid of tornadoes. That's why I'm here. I boarded up and everything, nothing happened the last time. You know, as far as the house was concerned, no leaks, nothing. But I still want to come here.
CANDIOTTI: Better to be...
JACK: To be safe -- safe than sorry.
CANDIOTTI: That's the old expression, but it sure is...
JACK: And it's a wakeup call.
CANDIOTTI: Now, I understand that this is your friend.
Your first name, sir?
RICHEY, FLORIDA RESIDENT: Richey.
CANDIOTTI: Richey. Richey, they call you the comedian of the group.
RICHEY: That's right.
CANDIOTTI: But...
RICHEY: Everybody laughs when they look at me, yeah.
CANDIOTTI: How do you keep people's spirits up at a time like this?
RICHEY: Dance, you know, tell jokes, dirty jokes, whatever I can.
CANDIOTTI: Well, hopefully not that.
RICHEY: Whatever I can think of.
CANDIOTTI: Whatever it takes to get you through the night, right? Anyway, well, thank you very much for joining us. Of course, we wish everyone well, here.
It will be interesting to see how many people do show up as the day goes on. They expect to start feeling tropical storm force winds here, by between now and the next two hours -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Candiotti, thanks so much. And it helps, indeed, for some of the folks to have a sense of humor just to get through it all.
Well, one week after Jeanne swept across Haiti as a tropical storm the rule of law has been swept aside in the flood devastated city of Gonaives. Storm victims have been looting (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and mobbing food distribution centers in desperation over the slow pace of relief. CNN's Karl Penhaul is with us now by video phone from Gonaives -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there Fredricka, it's more than -- it's been more than a week now since Tropical Storm Jeanne swept through Haiti. The latest death toll figures are 1,300 people confirmed dead, that according to the Haitian Civil Protection Departments, a similar number of people missing. I'm just going to step out of the way a minute so that you can look at the street scene behind me, here in downtown Gonaives. As you can see, things are very far from normal still. People are still living in the streets, washing in the streets, living in the streets, and on the roof tops. The homes are still covered with mud. Those lucky of them, still to have homes because obviously many homes have been destroyed.
But right now it's not really concern for the death toll that is the main concern. The main concern is how to care well for the survivors.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PENHAUL (voice-over): They survived the storm, they lost loved ones, and their homes have been destroyed. Now they're hungry and thirsty. Hours of waiting under blazing sun, scuffles to get a place in line. No guarantee of filling their bellies tonight.
"The water took all our stuff, we can't stand it anymore," she says.
Anger, frustration, desperation -- an explosion waiting to happen. Soldiers from the United Nations (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to restore political stability, fire into the air and launch tear gas canisters. They fear a riot is about to erupt, and people are getting crushed.
(on camera): The crowds pulled back for now, but the Argentinean troops here know it's going to be a battle to maintain law and order. They also think somebody in the crowd may have a gun.
(voice-over): Troops on the ground call urgently to comrades on rooftops to try and identify armed gang members among the hungry.
"I think gangs want to take advantage and loot the food and provoke riots to discredit the aid effort," he says.
Tempers fray even among the lucky ones who manage to receive their food rations. These women almost came to blows as they try to shell out food in a small bucket.
CECILY BRYANT, CARE INTERNATIONAL: At the moment it's very difficult to assess exactly what the impact has been -- how profound it has been. I mean, most of these families, down here, have very little anyway, and so this is kind of pushing them right over the edge with having something like this happens to them again.
PENHAUL: A short drive away from the chaos of the food handout, parts of Gonaives are still under water. Residents try to push mud out of the church that is now their shelter. Like thousands of others, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) home is destroyed. Some of the neighbors were among the more than 1,200 that died. She escaped with her two children.
"We haven't eaten," she says. She's one of 700 people crammed in the church. She says she's received no food aid and is surving on scraps.
Back in the food distribution center, aid workers say Haitian authorities have done nothing to help the needy. Shortages of drinking water are fueling fears of the outbreak of disease. As if the survivors of Tropical Storm Jeanne don't have enough misery to contend with.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PENHAUL: The United Nations officials we've spoken to here have accepted that so far the relief effort has been pretty chaotic and that has slowed the delivery of emergency aid to the thousands of survives that need help. And they're also blaming the Haitian government for failing to step up to the plate, for failing to take the responsibility of helping to coordinate this aid. In what seems to be response to that criticism, the Haitian government said today they're sending an aid convoy. We understand that aid convoy is on the way from Port-au-Prince, the capital, at the moment, due to arrive this afternoon. That aid should be distributed from about six points, but still this is far a long, long way from being resolved as the real need -- the scale of this disaster dwarfed the relief effort so far -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Karl Penhaul in Gonaives, Haiti, thanks so much.
Well, much more on Hurricane Jeanne. Straight ahead, we'll go live to the National Hurricane Center in Miami and CNN meteorologist, Chad Myers, looks to some storms of the past for some clues about the storms of the future.
And coming up, another violent day in Iraq as the death toll rises. We'll look at what the U.S. is doing in response to the continuing attacks.
Plus, critical comments from the Pakistani leader about the war in Iraq. We'll tell you what one of Washington's closest allies says.
And this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The situation is deteriorating rapidly. The storm is strengthening and any resemblance that they think this storm has to Frances where Frances was a weakening storm has been misguided. This is storm is actually forecast to intensify.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: We'll keep you posted as Florida continues to brace for Jeanne. CNN LIVE SATURDAY returns in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, let's get you up to date on what is going on in Iraq today. The U.S. launches another round of air strikes in Fallujah aimed at insurgents linked with the a-Zarqawi network. At least seven Iraqis were killed, children are among the injured. Also, near Fallujah, four U.S. Marines have been killed in fighting around the area.
Still no word on the fate of British hostage Kenneth Bigley kidnapped in Iraq nine days ago. Two Americans also kidnapped and held along with Bigley were beheaded earlier this week.
And an Iraqi intelligence officer was assassinated Friday night. Gunmen ambushed his car in western Baghdad before leaving the scene. Attackers spray painted a message on their target's car, quoting, "This is the fate of the traitors." Well, the U.S. military is struggling to gather reliable intelligence on the Iraqi insurgency to head off these attacks. It is a murky science at best. Let's talk about the difficulties with CNN military intelligence analyst, Ken Robinson. He joins us now from Washington.
Good to see you, Ken.
KEN ROBINSON CNN, MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Hi, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Well reportedly, it's been very difficult for the intelligence gathering process leading up to a trial for Saddam Hussein, so that date is waffling quite a bit. Is this the problem as a whole that intelligence gathering is really running into some remarkable hurdles?
ROBINSON: The human intelligence effort is enormously challenging because the insurgents and former regime loyalists, Baathists, watch very carefully when coalition members enter into towns and communicate with locals and many locals who do cooperate are or communicate are either attacked or their families are attacked or maybe their houses are bombed. So, it has an enormous deterrent effect. So, the coalition, a lot of times, must rely on their other forms of intelligence, being their overhead imagery, or satellites, and their drones.
WHITFIELD: And so, how integral is intelligence gathering to the success or failure of this war?
ROBINSON: It is central. Intelligence gathering will be central to this. And they cite many successes in the past week with the ability to go after lieutenants of the Zarqawi network, specifically in Fallujah, where they feel they are using tactics that are making a difference.
WHITFIELD: We heard from interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi earlier this week, as well as President Bush, saying that there is progress in Iraq. Meantime the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, said that there are too many areas that are too insecure in order to guarantee a successful January election in Iraq. So who is painting the more realistic picture here?
ROBINSON: You know, it is a mixed bag that you find from city to city. It is clear on the part, I believe, of military on the ground, who live there, that there are certain pockets that have to be isolated and will not be part of the election process. The challenge with that is that those populations will feel disenfranchised and the government of Iraq and the United States trying to set the conditions for some form of democracy is going to have to find out how rapidly they can integrate those people who are disenfranchised from the initial election process and bring them into the community so that they don't formant the potential for civil war.
WHITFIELD: All right, we also heard from Allawi this week an admission that the borders are porous and so he blames a lot of the insurgency being able to come in without being challenged. And then most recently, apparently, a U.S. delegation informed Syria, the president, that that is indeed what's taking place, Syrians are aiding militants getting into the border. So, what is being done with this kind of intelligence sharing? What's the next step here?
ROBINSON: Well, this is really a critical step because Allawi himself traveled to Damascus several times. And now we have a U.S. delegation delivering a message that says, "Knock it off! Stop supporting; stop allowing your bases, your territory to be a launching pad." And this message was delivered very sternly. The Syrians in response to that meeting on September 11 put a rosy picture on it and said now things are working well and we solved our problems. Government officials have told CNN that that's not the case, that they're waiting for real action on the part of the Syrians and it's a wait and see attitude. And the solution that they're trying to work toward is a trilateral relationship between the militaries, between the Syrian military, the United States military, and the military of the government of Iraq in hopes that that may find a way forward and first step being able to control the border.
WHITFIELD: All right, Ken Robinson, military intelligence analyst, thanks so much for joining thus Saturday.
ROBINSON: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well, coming up, it's full steam ahead for Hurricane Jeanne. We'll check in with the National Hurricane Center and find out what Floridians can expect now.
Plus, the storm is wreaking havoc on the sports world, as well. We'll tell you which college football games are in flux and if the NFL's Dolphins game is in jeopardy, as well, when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back. We are keeping a close eye on Hurricane Jeanne and its path. Joining us from the National Hurricane Center in Miami an all too familiar face, unfortunately, this hurricane season, that is Deputy Director Ed Rappaport.
Ed, this thing strengthened overnight. What does your latest recon tell you and is it forecast to strengthen further?
ED RAPPAPORT, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Yes, we did upgrade the hurricane to category 3 status on the Saffir-Simpson scale earlier today, 115 mile-per-hour winds. That was based on what the Hurricane Hunter aircraft crew reported. We think there'll be more strengthening over the last hour or two, we haven't -- don't have any indication of that yet. We are forecasting Jeanne to come ashore on the Florida East coast late tonight, probably before midnight, at category 3 status with some chance of it making it to category 4.
MARCIANO: Government officials greatest concerns, or one of them, is that folks along the eastern seaboard of Florida taking this a little bit lightly because Frances was -- you know, a category 2 storm. What's going to be the biggest difference with this thing as it comes on shore?
RAPPAPORT: This is actually not too different than Frances except for one issue, and that is it's now stronger than Frances was. The track is fairly similar, at this point, to the coastline, so some of the same counties are going to get hit a second time, unfortunately. And, so with a stronger hurricane, though, those areas very close to the center, around the core of this eye wall region, are going to have stronger winds than they saw during Frances. Also going to have a storm surge of six feet or higher near into the north of where the center comes ashore and also over Lake Okeechobee there's going to be a storm surge or seven to eight feet. One other difference is we're going to have hurricane force winds over a large portion of the Florida peninsula as the center comes ashore and turns to the northwest.
MARCIANO: One more question regarding history. Our research has shown over the last 100 years there has be no major hurricane to make landfall across the northern part of Florida -- north of Palm Beach, are you pretty confident this thing is going to make landfall there or further to the south or maybe turn to the right? How confident are you in the forecast?
RAPPAPORT: At this point we seem to be pretty much locked on to a track that takes the center ashore somewhere between Palm Beach County, Martin, Saint Lucie County, the next couple of counties up to the north. There could be a jog, I've seen as before, with Charley, take a little jog to the right, 40 miles, with Andrew, a jog to the left 40 miles. That's possible. So, this entire area along the southeast, east-central coast has to be prepared now for a hurricane and, in fact, time has run out now for completing those preparedness actions. Hopefully everybody's ready.
MARCIANO: All right Ed, I know you have a busy afternoon and evening ahead of you. Thanks again for joining us and we'll be talking to you later on.
He makes a great point, Fredricka. Is that the entire eastern seaboard is under a hurricane warning.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
MARCIANO: So whether or not this thing jogs up or down, folks should be prepared for it.
WHITFIELD: Wow, and that's exactly why at least, in Florida, along the east coast there, tens of thousands of people have gotten the order, mandatory evacuations in effect right now. The state's eastern coast is really taking Hurricane Jeanne very seriously. This now being the fourth hurricane to threaten the state of Florida since April -- since August, rather 13th. Well, it's even affect something college football plans. Apparently some college football fans are tailgating a bit earlier than usual because of Jeanne. Florida moved up its 6:00 p.m. game time against Kentucky and Gainesville, the game began about two hours ago. And in the NFL, the Miami Dolphins are considering possibly delaying Sunday's game against the Steelers. And at least three college games in Florida have also been affected by the storm.
Well, coming up, we'll go back to the Sunshine State where thousands of hurricane weary residents have been evacuating, some of their stories coming up.
Plus, still more than two months to go before the end of hurricane season. How much more hardship can Floridians expect? What the hurricane experts have to say about this hurricane cycle when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories now in the news. Family and friends will gather today to rember Jack Hensley, one of the two American hostages beheaded in Iraq this week. Memorial services will be held in an Atlanta suburb. Meanwhile, the fate of a British hostage in Iraq is still unknown.
In the Middle East conflict, Israel launches an offensive against suspected Palestinian militants. Two missiles hit a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Gaza. Palestinians say a 9-year-old girl and an elderly Palestinian were killed. The Israeli military says militants were preparing a rocket propelled grenade launcher to attack Israelis.
And finally, crude oil prices are at a record high, nearly $49 a barrel. The market's reacting to word that oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is coming back at a slower than expected pace in the wake of Hurricane Ivan.
Florida gets ready and the Bahamas is already reeling from Hurricane Jeanne. In Florida, preparations include filling up sand bags. The category 3 storm is spinning toward the state's eastern coast. Several million people are under a mandatory evacuation order.
Governor Jeb Bush is warning those planning to ride out the storm to reconsider.
In the Bahamas, Hurricane Jeanne made a direct hit on the Abaco Islands and is threatening Freeport now. Hundreds of people are riding out the storm in emergency shelters there. Let's check in with Rob Marciano.
We know Hurricane Jeanne is a Category 3 and, you said, at last report, moving fast, isn't it?
MARCIANO: It is. Westerly movement at 14 m.p.h. That's good news in that it shouldn't bring as much flooding rainfall as did Frances. Bad news is that it only adds to the wind speed. Right now, already it is stronger than Frances was when it made landfall. Cat 3 storm, it means it has winds of over 111 m.p.h., 110 m.p.h. And we have 115 right now.
You can see it strengthening overnight. The brighter colors, the more well defined eye. Certainly getting forecasters to raise an eyebrow around here. It is 150 miles off the coast of Florida, winds 115, and that movement westerly at 14 miles an hour.
We expect the outer reaches of the eye wall to scrape the coastline here this evening. 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, the eye wall making landfall sometime around midnight give or take a couple of hours.
What we're seeing for the forecast track out of the National Hurricane Center, it is forecast to make landfall as a major hurricane, a Category 3 storm or greater, sometime around midnight.
It will decrease in intensity, but will remain a hurricane well inland with hurricane force winds extending well through Orlando, maybe as far north and to the east of Tallahassee.
Right now, the rainfall bands beginning to show up on the radar screen. And winds from Daytona Beach to Vero Beach to Melbourne and even as far inland as Orlando begin to gust now over 30 miles an hour.
As a reminder a Category 3 storm, winds 111 to 130. Storm surge up to 12 feet. Severe damage from that surge, from those waves and from the wind can be expected with a Category 3 landfall. And even worse as a Category 4, possibly, later on tonight.
This is the cold front we hoped would get here sooner to push this thing off to sea. It got here too little, too late and is not going to do that. For the folks who live in it, the northeast and the eastern third of the country, north of Florida, they've had some beautiful weather.
But the Florida coastline, Fredricka, will see wind and rain beginning in the next couple of hours.
WHITFIELD: All right, we'll be watching. Thanks, Rob.
Hurricane Jeanne is interrupting the lives of residents and vacationers along Florida's east coast. In Daytona Beach, they are preparing for the storm. We take you there live with reporter Claire Metz from affiliate WESH -- Claire.
CLAIRE METZ, REPORTER, WESH: Fredricka, good afternoon to you.
It is not a real pretty picture here unless you think the awesome power of the ocean is a spectacle. And it is. Take a look now at what is pounding ashore. We have got seas out there about 12 feet when they're out. As they're moving on to shore, between four and six feet now. Expect the off shore seas to run up anywhere 15, 16 feet and on shore perhaps later tonight or early tomorrow morning, eight to nine feet.
It is a significant issue and it is a very dangerous storm. Unfortunately, a few people choose to play in the water and we have seen some surfers and a few swimmers. It has been kind of an odd day along the world's most famous beach, called the world's most famous because typically you can drive on this beach. Obviously, the only thing driving now are the waves. But it has been sunny and we have had rain and then we have had the winds kick up again. So, it is a real odd thing. Now, this is a peninsula, the ocean on one side, the inter-coastal on the other. About 120,000 people live right here in this county, on this peninsula. They have been ordered to evacuate, perhaps the third will not.
Remember, as you have been bringing up so apropos, we have had three storms so far. Some folks are just fed up, weary, afraid to leave their homes anymore. We had two-thirds of the properties along A-1A, along the coast damaged. This is a beachfront hotel. It looks a little worse for wear because it is. They are shut down, closed for business after Hurricane Frances tore through. They may not be able to open up until January.
And there are several properties some of them real marquis businesses, that will not be able to open their doors because of this storm. So you get a weariness among people who are just tired of seeing their properties destroyed. And then unawareness of what is happening to it. They've decided to ride it out. We'll wait and see.
In Brevard County, south of us, which is the Space Coast, of course, they buttoned down NASA and the Kennedy Space Center. And we have a real fragile beach down that way as well. It is a fairly wide beach here. We have a good half a block before you hit. Down there is standing room only. We have the shore battering up against homes on those properties and that is real scary for the folks who live there.
And then north of us is Flagler County. And they have some real precarious beachfronts as well. So we'll have to see what happens. We'll do our best to hang in there. But Hurricane Jeanne could be a real problem for the folks at east central Florida and beyond -- Fredricka, back to you.
WHITFIELD: All those coastal communities certainly very vulnerable. Claire Metz, thank you very much of WESH out of Daytona Beach.
Is the parade of strong storms this hurricane season an indicator of things to come? Here is CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice over): Ivan, Frances, Charley and Jeanne, sound like a schoolhouse lineup. But these storms are anything but child's play. They have killed hundreds, cost billions, crippled communities and crushed spirits.
Experts say coastal residents should brace themselves. Weather like this may be around for a while.
CHRIS LANDSEA, NOAA HURRICANE RESEARCH DIV.: We have been in a busy period since 1995. And it is part of a long-term cycle where we go back to busy conditions for about 25 to 40 years.
MYERS: He's referring to what is called the storm cycle. A climatic condition characterized by more active or less active hurricane seasons. And this one is packing a punch.
Although experts don't have all the answers, they compare historic storm, sea surface temperatures, and other records to current data. And then try to predict how long that cycle will last and how severe a storm season will be.
They found that the 19 named storms that defined the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season churned through the warmest regional ocean temperatures in recorded history. That hot event was the start of a very active phase in this storm cycle. Marked by stronger and more frequent storms than in decades past.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa!
MEYRS: And if the 2004 hurricane season is an indication of what this storm cycle has in store, it looks like the Caribbean and U.S. coastal residents should prepare to face more wet, wild weather -- Chad Myers, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, still ahead, the buildup of another storm of sorts with just 38 days until election day, we'll have reports on how the candidates are spending their weekend.
Plus, pulling out of Iraq. How politics is shaping that intensely controversial issue. We'll take a look where with political analyst Robert Novak when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: President Bush is spending the weekend at his ranch in Texas preparing for next week's presidential debate. Meantime, in his weekend radio address, the president reiterated the U.S. is making steady progress in Iraq. He also promised more spending on reconstruction in Iraq, saying more than $9 billion would be spent on projects there over the next several months.
John Kerry is spending the weekend at his home in Boston, also preparing for the upcoming debate. The Democratic candidate spent the week hammering the president over Iraq and the war on terror. Kerry accused the president of dropping the ball on Al Qaeda and says Bush's view of Iraq shows he's living in fantasyland.
Iraq and the U.S. presence there is likely to be a major topic at Thursday's first presidential debate. John Kerry says, if elected, he would begin the process of pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq after taking office.
In an article this week, columnist Bob Novak says the president has a similar plan. If re-elected, starting the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2005. Regardless of the situation in Iraq. Bob Novak, co- host of CNN's "Crossfire," and panelist on "The Capital Gang" joins us now.
Good to see you, Bob. ROBERT NOVAK, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Good to see you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Your sources are telling you that there is a Bush plan of a U.S. military pullout of Iraq. But publicly this is not being touted. What are the risks of the Bush administration doing so?
NOVAK: There are two ways of looking at it. One is the political way. I have said that both candidates are giving a lot of blather on Iraq. They cannot say they're going to pull out. But very high sources in this administration who are policymakers, not bureaucrats, believe that it is inevitable after the elections are held. And they believe there will be successful elections held in Iraq in January, that the pullout will begin.
That was almost confirmed by Secretary Rumsfeld in a very cautious way yesterday. Now, sources I have in the Kerry campaign say exactly the same thing.
But when they have the first political debate in Miami, Fredricka, they just simply cannot tell the truth about the fact that they want to get out because they are afraid there will be talk about cutting and running out of Iraq. But the American people, I believe, both sides feel cannot sustain this constant loss of life and turmoil in Iraq indefinitely.
WHITFIELD: What a serious mixed message this would be sending as well as, particularly with the Bush administration now asking for $9 billion more in the reconstruction effort if there is an early, a premature military pullout. That seems like that would completely dismantle any kind of reconstruction plans for Iraq, wouldn't it?
NOVAK: I don't believe that is the case. I think - I don't think that is a premature pullout. There are people in the administration who believe that the U.S. should have pulled out after Saddam Hussein fell...
WHITFIELD: But wouldn't it be premature when President Bush said they're in it for the long hall and we heard him reiterate it this week?
NOVAK: Well, the long hall means reconstruction of Iraq, it means training of Iraqi forces. It means spending a lot of taxpayer money on rebuilding Iraq. But this country is Iraq's, it is not the United States'. There are neo-conservatives in and out of administration who think it is the place of the United States to build democracy all over the world; some a few democratic ideals, also.
But I believe that there is a prevalence of opinion in both parties that this is the responsibility of the Iraqis. And the interim Iraqi prime minister this week, I think he said as much, that it is up to them to bring peace to their own country. It can't be done by U.S. forces and the loss of -- the constant loss of American life.
WHITFIELD: So part of the justification if they were to pull out in 2005 under a Bush administration, a second Bush administration, would be that President Bush is satisfied, almost solely with the fact that Saddam Hussein has been removed from power and that alone is the victory of this war?
NOVAK: I believe so. I think that is a major force. It is not a police state. It is not a -- a fedder (ph) who was always look being for weapons of mass destruction, even if he didn't find them; he was a threat to his neighbors and a threat to the West. They're gone.
But it is up to the Iraqis to devise the kind of state they're going to have and that the United States commitment is, we are going to give you aid, we will give you support, but you to pull yourself together. The Iraqis and their rather short history have never been able to do that so far. But they have to do it for themselves.
I believe that is, Fredricka, that is strongly felt by people I talked to on both -- in both campaigns, they just can't say it publicly. When you get this close to an election, truth is a victim.
WHITFIELD: All right, Bob Novak of "Crossfire" and "The Capital Gang." thank you very much.
NOVAK: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: A rather blunt assessment of the Iraqi situation from Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf. He spoke with CNN's Paula Zahn.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Is the world a safer place because of the war in Iraq?
GEN. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT: No. it is more dangerous. It is not safer, certainly, not.
ZAHN: How so?
MUSHARRAF: Well, because it has aroused the passions of the Muslims more. This arouses certain sentiments of the Muslim world. And then the response is the latest phenomenon of explosives, remotely controlled bombs and suicide bombings. This phenomenon is extremely dangerous.
ZAHN: Was it a mistake to have gone to war with Iraq?
MUSHARRAF: Well, I would say that it has ended up bringing more trouble to the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, Pakistan is considered a key ally in the U.S. led war on terror. But the country has not sent troops to help in Iraq.
Another issue likely to take center stage during the presidential debate, employment. Already at issue between the candidates, how many jobs have been created in the last few years and how many jobs have been lost. That's national correspondent Kelly Wallace's focus in her series, "Promises, Promises"
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): One candidate talks of jobs lost.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The first president in 72 years to actually lose jobs on his watch.
WALLACE: The other about jobs created.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We`ve increased jobs over the last two months by over 200,000 jobs.
WALLACE: Could both be right? Well, yes; 1.7 million jobs have been created since last September. But if you start counting when President Bush first took office, a total of 966,000 jobs have been lost. Senator Kerry thinks that`s an opening.
KERRY: Are you ready to put America back to work?
(APPLAUSE)
WALLACE: Kerry`s promise: create 10 million jobs in four years. He would reward companies that stay in the U.S., by cutting the corporate tax rate by 5 percent and providing $22 billion in new tax credits for businesses making new hires. And he would remove incentives for outsourcing, by eliminating tax breaks for businesses that send jobs overseas.
But can these proposals actually provide the jobs boom that Kerry promises? Sorry, we don`t have a crystal ball.
BUSH: In order to keep jobs here in America, America must be the best place in the world to do business.
WALLACE: The president doesn`t promise how many jobs he`ll create. He does promise to spend 250 million for job training at community colleges and $10 billion over 10 years to encourage business investment in needy communities.
But just as with the senator`s proposals, will the presidents actually create jobs? Again, no crystal ball here.
Both men agree on this: Another way to create job growth, cut costs on small businesses so they can hire more workers. Kerry would try to slash health care premiums by 10 percent, but that could cost hundreds of billions of dollars.
The president promises to make his tax cuts permanent, but that could drive up the deficit.
And then there`s this question: Does a president really create jobs? Some economists say a president has a role, but that job growth has more to do with larger, global forces in the economy. (on camera): But voters think otherwise, which is why the candidates mention the word "jobs" just about everywhere they go. Kelly Wallace, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Any leaf peepers out there? New England is dressing up for fall foliage season that time of year it puts on a colorful show. Ian Aldrich is the Internet editor of "Yankee" magazine. He joins us for our weekend getaways feature in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Good to see you, Ian.
IAN ALDRICH, INTERNET EDITOR, "YANKEE": Great to be on the program. Thank you for having me.
WHITFIELD: We're close to peak season in some states like Vermont and parts of northern Maine. How do you go about making some plans?
ALDRICH: Well, the first plan would be to visit our Web site, yankeefoliage.com which has tremendous amount of resources for finding places to stay, places to go and things like that.
And there are just a ton of places to go, contacting the local chambers of commerce. We're hitting peak colors in northern Vermont, northern Maine, northern New Hampshire. And it looks like it is going to be a banner year for fall color.
WHITFIELD: Isn't it tricky, though, to time it just right? Because, you know, the fall foliage or peak season really does depend on elevation and a few other factors. So how do you go about making plans so you get there just at the right time?
ALDRICH: Well, the thing we like to tell readers and our Web site users is that peak color is not a fixed moment in time. It is a continuum. And it is based on elevation and tree type. So visiting local chambers of commerce, contacting those resources and things like that are a great way to go to start making your plans.
WHITFIELD: Do a lot of hotels and even airlines have, almost like, leaf specials? How do you try to get the most bang for your buck?
ALDRICH: Well, a lot of lodging is filled up at this time of year. Don't feel like you have to wait until 2005 to start making your foliage plans. One little secret we like to tell our readers is that if you contact the local chambers of commerce, they often set aside private rooms in homes, that are set aside if lodging is filled up. So that you don't have to wait until the next year to make your fall plans.
WHITFIELD: Wow, that would be a shame if you have to wait until next year, can't take advantage of it this year if you're recommending this will be a great year.
What about trying to rent out cabins and things like that if a lot of hotels are already sold out, as you say?
ALDRICH: That's another route. And inns and things like that New England is blessed with a lot of tiny bed and breakfasts. That's another way to go. There isn't a shortage of lodging it is scattered all throughout the region.
WHITFIELD: Great. Ian Aldrich, thank you very much.
ALDRICH: Thanks.
WHITFIELD: Of course, folks can make their plans now, start making plans now for this year as well as for next year to take advantage of the fall foliage.
ALDRICH: Thanks for having me on the program.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.
Still ahead, see that it is like to be an astronaut and be weightless with CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: NASA calls it the vomit comet, a specially equipped plane to help astronauts train for weightless. Now there is another version. Anyone with $3,000 can go up, float around and get sick, maybe. Will CNN's Jeanne Moos be brave enough to take a ride? Let's watch and see.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It starts like a regular flight with the usual warnings. Though your tray table may stay in the upright and locked position, you won't. For 3,000 bucks and you can experience weightlessness in a padded 727.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa! Whee!
MOOS: A 727 that flies up and then down like an 8,000 foot roller coaster.
Each time you go over the hump, you're weightless for about 30 seconds until you hear the warning, feet down. This is how real astronauts train. This is how they film the weightless scenes in "Apollo 13". Now the public can do it. A press preview flight, four intrepid CNNers went up.
And one cowardly correspondent waved good-bye from the hangar.
PETER DIAMANOIS (ph), SUB-ZERO GRAVITY GROUP: People the first time they go up tend to think they're swimming. Moving your arms and legs do no good. MOOS: Take it from this poor little rabbit or this bird during a NASA weightless experiment. On a press flight, folks were having a ball. Miles O'Brien was playing superman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jeanne, you're missing out. You're missing out, Jeanne.
MOOS: But then to borrow a phrase --
TOM HANKS, ACTOR: Houston, we have a problem.
MOOS: Clutching motion sickness bags, some scurried to the seats in the back. For most of the flight this reporter was merrily floating around. Then she to be helped away uttering --
TIFFANY MCELROY, WB 11 REPORTER: I feel totally sick right now but it was amazingly worth it. It was so fun. Nothing happened yet.
MOOS: It happened later.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the casualty ward.
MOOS: Out of 27 flyers, at least six got sick or came --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very, very close.
MOOS: And speaking of close, a porn scene was once shot on a no gravity flight. But any bodily mingling here was merely accidental. Once the plane G-Force One landed --
MCELROY: It was amazing. Like terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. On that last run, caught up with me.
MOOS: The $3,000 flights will take off out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A former astronaut comes along.
BOB CENKER, FORMER ASTRONAUT: It is like skydiving only you never hit the ground. It is like scuba diving only you don't have to hold your breath.
MOOS: What you do are to hold is your lunch. Jeanne Moos, CNN, Newark, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And the $3,000 includes the bag, of course.
There is so much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY. In a few moments, "In The Money" at 2:00 Eastern, "CNN Live Saturday". At 3:00, "Next@cnn."
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Aired September 25, 2004 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is Noon in Florida, 9:00 a.m. on the U.S. West coast. Welcome. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead this hour, Florida again braces for a major hurricane. We'll have the latest on "Mean Jeanne" and where she's expected to make landfall.
Also, the fight for Iraq: We look at the challenges of getting reliable intelligence as the U.S. military tries to fend off insurgent attacks.
And promises, promises: A closer look at some of the campaign pledges the presidential candidates are making and whether they are realistic. But first, here are some stories now in the news.
The fate of a British citizen held captive in Iraq is still uncertain as pleas for his release continue. Kenneth Bigley was kidnapped nine days ago. A delegation of Muslim clerics from Britain is scheduled to arrive in Iraq today to make direct pleas to the kidnappers to release Bigley.
A memorial service for slain American hostage Jack Hensley takes place a couple of hours from now, in Hensley's hometown of Marietta, Georgia. Hensley and another American, Eugene Armstrong, were executed by Islamic extremists earlier this week. CNN will have live coverage of the memorial service when it gets underway.
And more violence rocks Afghanistan just days ahead of the country's landmark election. Suspected Taliban militants launched a string of attacks on security posts in southern Afghanistan earlier today, killing nine Afghan soldiers. The attack came as the head of U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan warned that the Taliban and their al- Qaeda allies were stepping up plans to disrupt the October 9 elections.
Packing up and heading out again: People in storm-battered Florida get ready for an encounter with Hurricane Jeanne, the fourth hurricane to threaten the state in the last five weeks. Landfall is expected about 12 hours from now. Along Florida's East coast, the call has gone out for tens of thousands of people in evacuation zones to head to higher ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: This morning's storm update reminds us once again that every storm is different. And I sincerely hope that Floridians on our East coast will take this to heart. Where Frances was a slow storm, Jeanne has sped up and is moving quickly to our coast, and it is getting bigger and stronger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And we've got extensive coverage of this story. CNN's Susan Candiotti is in West Palm Beach; Rob Marciano is keeping track of the storm in the Weather Center; and Karl Penhaul is in Haiti, already devastated by floodwaters from the storm. Let's begin with a status check on Jeanne. Rob Marciano is in the Weather Center.
And Rob, it looks like Jeanne has picked up strength, as predicted.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And speed, Fredricka. It's moving rapidly towards the Florida coastline, it is now a category 3 storm, it is now the sixth major hurricane of this season. And you see the well defined eye now moving over the western parts -- northwestern parts of the Bahamas and the brighter colors indicating the strengthening. With this westerly movement, it is now forecast to make a direct landfall on the state of Florida. So, it's a little bit worse news than we had for you the last couple of days.
The latest numbers of the Hurricane Center: 150 miles off the Florida coastline, we have winds sustained at 115 miles-an-hour, that makes it category 3. It is moving westerly now at 14 miles-an-hour, so we're looking at the eye wall beginning to touch the coastline sometime 9:00, 10:00 tonight and then the eye itself moving over the coast sometime around midnight, that's when the strongest winds could occur. And the winds, by the way, could very well increase in intensity before it makes landfall.
Here's the forecast track out of the National Hurricane Center: Making landfall somewhere in West Palm Beach up towards Melbourne and then towards Orlando, weakening, yes, but likely still a hurricane as it heads up the spine of the Florida Peninsula.
All right, interesting graphic here, what this basically tells you, what major hurricanes have struck Florida since they've been keeping records up until 1996. And notice that none of them have hit north of Palm Beach. And even from 1996 until now, it's not graphically presented, but we did some research, still, nothing from Palm Beach north towards the Georgia border. So, this one will be interesting and it will be a record setter in more ways than one if it makes landfall as forecast, just to the north of Palm Beach.
There it is, Fredricka. There's the eye. Rain bands all ready to move their way up to the south-central Florida coastline. Winds gusting Daytona, Jacksonville, Vera Beach, and down towards Palm Beach as well, over 30 miles-an-hour, so they're starting to feel the effects already, and obviously it will only get worse throughout the afternoon. Back over to you.
WHITFIELD: All right Rob, thanks so much. We'll be checking in again with you. Well, Jeanne has prompted mandatory evacuation orders across eight Florida counties. CNN's Susan Candiotti is with us now from a shelter in West Palm Beach -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello Fredricka. Yes, this is one of about 15 shelters that is open in Palm Beach County. It opened about 7:30 this morning and it is indeed slowly filling up. We've had only a few showers outside. But the big question here is, how well will people adhere it a mandatory evacuation order that has been in effect since early today? So far only about 6,000 people, all told, have been starting to appear at these shelters. Last time, when Frances hit just a few weeks ago, talk about a total of 19,000, of course, the day is young and the people who run these shelters suggest that, as usual, it is human nature, generally speaking, to wait until the last possible moment before people come here. This is a registration area at a local high school. It is taking information from people as they come in.
We want to show you some pictures of earlier this day at a home improvement store that was only open for three hours from 6:00 to 9:00. People were there buying up plywood, buying batteries, no generators to be found, but that store had to turn away customers when it closed its doors at 9:00 this morning. We are also finding gas lines, those are very commonplace. If you can find a gas station that is still open in Palm Beach County, many of them have been closed since yesterday and are only accepting cash sales this day.
I would like to introduce you to a few people who are here at this shelter who were here the last time.
Peggy, when you heard Jeanne was on the way, and "oh, no, we have to go through the same drill all over again," what did you think?
PEGGY, FLORIDA RESIDENT: I thought, "oh, no, not again." I just couldn't imagine to go through the same thing. We were going to stay home until this morning when we heard that things had changed, you know. So I said, "Uh-ho, let's go."
CANDIOTTI: And just to be on the safe side, this is your husband, Jack. You now, you could have stayed at home and taken a chance, it is not comfortable here.
JACK, FLORIDA RESIDENT: I don't mind the hurricane too bad, but I'm afraid of tornadoes. That's why I'm here. I boarded up and everything, nothing happened the last time. You know, as far as the house was concerned, no leaks, nothing. But I still want to come here.
CANDIOTTI: Better to be...
JACK: To be safe -- safe than sorry.
CANDIOTTI: That's the old expression, but it sure is...
JACK: And it's a wakeup call.
CANDIOTTI: Now, I understand that this is your friend.
Your first name, sir?
RICHEY, FLORIDA RESIDENT: Richey.
CANDIOTTI: Richey. Richey, they call you the comedian of the group.
RICHEY: That's right.
CANDIOTTI: But...
RICHEY: Everybody laughs when they look at me, yeah.
CANDIOTTI: How do you keep people's spirits up at a time like this?
RICHEY: Dance, you know, tell jokes, dirty jokes, whatever I can.
CANDIOTTI: Well, hopefully not that.
RICHEY: Whatever I can think of.
CANDIOTTI: Whatever it takes to get you through the night, right? Anyway, well, thank you very much for joining us. Of course, we wish everyone well, here.
It will be interesting to see how many people do show up as the day goes on. They expect to start feeling tropical storm force winds here, by between now and the next two hours -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Candiotti, thanks so much. And it helps, indeed, for some of the folks to have a sense of humor just to get through it all.
Well, one week after Jeanne swept across Haiti as a tropical storm the rule of law has been swept aside in the flood devastated city of Gonaives. Storm victims have been looting (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and mobbing food distribution centers in desperation over the slow pace of relief. CNN's Karl Penhaul is with us now by video phone from Gonaives -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there Fredricka, it's more than -- it's been more than a week now since Tropical Storm Jeanne swept through Haiti. The latest death toll figures are 1,300 people confirmed dead, that according to the Haitian Civil Protection Departments, a similar number of people missing. I'm just going to step out of the way a minute so that you can look at the street scene behind me, here in downtown Gonaives. As you can see, things are very far from normal still. People are still living in the streets, washing in the streets, living in the streets, and on the roof tops. The homes are still covered with mud. Those lucky of them, still to have homes because obviously many homes have been destroyed.
But right now it's not really concern for the death toll that is the main concern. The main concern is how to care well for the survivors.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PENHAUL (voice-over): They survived the storm, they lost loved ones, and their homes have been destroyed. Now they're hungry and thirsty. Hours of waiting under blazing sun, scuffles to get a place in line. No guarantee of filling their bellies tonight.
"The water took all our stuff, we can't stand it anymore," she says.
Anger, frustration, desperation -- an explosion waiting to happen. Soldiers from the United Nations (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to restore political stability, fire into the air and launch tear gas canisters. They fear a riot is about to erupt, and people are getting crushed.
(on camera): The crowds pulled back for now, but the Argentinean troops here know it's going to be a battle to maintain law and order. They also think somebody in the crowd may have a gun.
(voice-over): Troops on the ground call urgently to comrades on rooftops to try and identify armed gang members among the hungry.
"I think gangs want to take advantage and loot the food and provoke riots to discredit the aid effort," he says.
Tempers fray even among the lucky ones who manage to receive their food rations. These women almost came to blows as they try to shell out food in a small bucket.
CECILY BRYANT, CARE INTERNATIONAL: At the moment it's very difficult to assess exactly what the impact has been -- how profound it has been. I mean, most of these families, down here, have very little anyway, and so this is kind of pushing them right over the edge with having something like this happens to them again.
PENHAUL: A short drive away from the chaos of the food handout, parts of Gonaives are still under water. Residents try to push mud out of the church that is now their shelter. Like thousands of others, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) home is destroyed. Some of the neighbors were among the more than 1,200 that died. She escaped with her two children.
"We haven't eaten," she says. She's one of 700 people crammed in the church. She says she's received no food aid and is surving on scraps.
Back in the food distribution center, aid workers say Haitian authorities have done nothing to help the needy. Shortages of drinking water are fueling fears of the outbreak of disease. As if the survivors of Tropical Storm Jeanne don't have enough misery to contend with.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PENHAUL: The United Nations officials we've spoken to here have accepted that so far the relief effort has been pretty chaotic and that has slowed the delivery of emergency aid to the thousands of survives that need help. And they're also blaming the Haitian government for failing to step up to the plate, for failing to take the responsibility of helping to coordinate this aid. In what seems to be response to that criticism, the Haitian government said today they're sending an aid convoy. We understand that aid convoy is on the way from Port-au-Prince, the capital, at the moment, due to arrive this afternoon. That aid should be distributed from about six points, but still this is far a long, long way from being resolved as the real need -- the scale of this disaster dwarfed the relief effort so far -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Karl Penhaul in Gonaives, Haiti, thanks so much.
Well, much more on Hurricane Jeanne. Straight ahead, we'll go live to the National Hurricane Center in Miami and CNN meteorologist, Chad Myers, looks to some storms of the past for some clues about the storms of the future.
And coming up, another violent day in Iraq as the death toll rises. We'll look at what the U.S. is doing in response to the continuing attacks.
Plus, critical comments from the Pakistani leader about the war in Iraq. We'll tell you what one of Washington's closest allies says.
And this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The situation is deteriorating rapidly. The storm is strengthening and any resemblance that they think this storm has to Frances where Frances was a weakening storm has been misguided. This is storm is actually forecast to intensify.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: We'll keep you posted as Florida continues to brace for Jeanne. CNN LIVE SATURDAY returns in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, let's get you up to date on what is going on in Iraq today. The U.S. launches another round of air strikes in Fallujah aimed at insurgents linked with the a-Zarqawi network. At least seven Iraqis were killed, children are among the injured. Also, near Fallujah, four U.S. Marines have been killed in fighting around the area.
Still no word on the fate of British hostage Kenneth Bigley kidnapped in Iraq nine days ago. Two Americans also kidnapped and held along with Bigley were beheaded earlier this week.
And an Iraqi intelligence officer was assassinated Friday night. Gunmen ambushed his car in western Baghdad before leaving the scene. Attackers spray painted a message on their target's car, quoting, "This is the fate of the traitors." Well, the U.S. military is struggling to gather reliable intelligence on the Iraqi insurgency to head off these attacks. It is a murky science at best. Let's talk about the difficulties with CNN military intelligence analyst, Ken Robinson. He joins us now from Washington.
Good to see you, Ken.
KEN ROBINSON CNN, MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Hi, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Well reportedly, it's been very difficult for the intelligence gathering process leading up to a trial for Saddam Hussein, so that date is waffling quite a bit. Is this the problem as a whole that intelligence gathering is really running into some remarkable hurdles?
ROBINSON: The human intelligence effort is enormously challenging because the insurgents and former regime loyalists, Baathists, watch very carefully when coalition members enter into towns and communicate with locals and many locals who do cooperate are or communicate are either attacked or their families are attacked or maybe their houses are bombed. So, it has an enormous deterrent effect. So, the coalition, a lot of times, must rely on their other forms of intelligence, being their overhead imagery, or satellites, and their drones.
WHITFIELD: And so, how integral is intelligence gathering to the success or failure of this war?
ROBINSON: It is central. Intelligence gathering will be central to this. And they cite many successes in the past week with the ability to go after lieutenants of the Zarqawi network, specifically in Fallujah, where they feel they are using tactics that are making a difference.
WHITFIELD: We heard from interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi earlier this week, as well as President Bush, saying that there is progress in Iraq. Meantime the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, said that there are too many areas that are too insecure in order to guarantee a successful January election in Iraq. So who is painting the more realistic picture here?
ROBINSON: You know, it is a mixed bag that you find from city to city. It is clear on the part, I believe, of military on the ground, who live there, that there are certain pockets that have to be isolated and will not be part of the election process. The challenge with that is that those populations will feel disenfranchised and the government of Iraq and the United States trying to set the conditions for some form of democracy is going to have to find out how rapidly they can integrate those people who are disenfranchised from the initial election process and bring them into the community so that they don't formant the potential for civil war.
WHITFIELD: All right, we also heard from Allawi this week an admission that the borders are porous and so he blames a lot of the insurgency being able to come in without being challenged. And then most recently, apparently, a U.S. delegation informed Syria, the president, that that is indeed what's taking place, Syrians are aiding militants getting into the border. So, what is being done with this kind of intelligence sharing? What's the next step here?
ROBINSON: Well, this is really a critical step because Allawi himself traveled to Damascus several times. And now we have a U.S. delegation delivering a message that says, "Knock it off! Stop supporting; stop allowing your bases, your territory to be a launching pad." And this message was delivered very sternly. The Syrians in response to that meeting on September 11 put a rosy picture on it and said now things are working well and we solved our problems. Government officials have told CNN that that's not the case, that they're waiting for real action on the part of the Syrians and it's a wait and see attitude. And the solution that they're trying to work toward is a trilateral relationship between the militaries, between the Syrian military, the United States military, and the military of the government of Iraq in hopes that that may find a way forward and first step being able to control the border.
WHITFIELD: All right, Ken Robinson, military intelligence analyst, thanks so much for joining thus Saturday.
ROBINSON: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well, coming up, it's full steam ahead for Hurricane Jeanne. We'll check in with the National Hurricane Center and find out what Floridians can expect now.
Plus, the storm is wreaking havoc on the sports world, as well. We'll tell you which college football games are in flux and if the NFL's Dolphins game is in jeopardy, as well, when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back. We are keeping a close eye on Hurricane Jeanne and its path. Joining us from the National Hurricane Center in Miami an all too familiar face, unfortunately, this hurricane season, that is Deputy Director Ed Rappaport.
Ed, this thing strengthened overnight. What does your latest recon tell you and is it forecast to strengthen further?
ED RAPPAPORT, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Yes, we did upgrade the hurricane to category 3 status on the Saffir-Simpson scale earlier today, 115 mile-per-hour winds. That was based on what the Hurricane Hunter aircraft crew reported. We think there'll be more strengthening over the last hour or two, we haven't -- don't have any indication of that yet. We are forecasting Jeanne to come ashore on the Florida East coast late tonight, probably before midnight, at category 3 status with some chance of it making it to category 4.
MARCIANO: Government officials greatest concerns, or one of them, is that folks along the eastern seaboard of Florida taking this a little bit lightly because Frances was -- you know, a category 2 storm. What's going to be the biggest difference with this thing as it comes on shore?
RAPPAPORT: This is actually not too different than Frances except for one issue, and that is it's now stronger than Frances was. The track is fairly similar, at this point, to the coastline, so some of the same counties are going to get hit a second time, unfortunately. And, so with a stronger hurricane, though, those areas very close to the center, around the core of this eye wall region, are going to have stronger winds than they saw during Frances. Also going to have a storm surge of six feet or higher near into the north of where the center comes ashore and also over Lake Okeechobee there's going to be a storm surge or seven to eight feet. One other difference is we're going to have hurricane force winds over a large portion of the Florida peninsula as the center comes ashore and turns to the northwest.
MARCIANO: One more question regarding history. Our research has shown over the last 100 years there has be no major hurricane to make landfall across the northern part of Florida -- north of Palm Beach, are you pretty confident this thing is going to make landfall there or further to the south or maybe turn to the right? How confident are you in the forecast?
RAPPAPORT: At this point we seem to be pretty much locked on to a track that takes the center ashore somewhere between Palm Beach County, Martin, Saint Lucie County, the next couple of counties up to the north. There could be a jog, I've seen as before, with Charley, take a little jog to the right, 40 miles, with Andrew, a jog to the left 40 miles. That's possible. So, this entire area along the southeast, east-central coast has to be prepared now for a hurricane and, in fact, time has run out now for completing those preparedness actions. Hopefully everybody's ready.
MARCIANO: All right Ed, I know you have a busy afternoon and evening ahead of you. Thanks again for joining us and we'll be talking to you later on.
He makes a great point, Fredricka. Is that the entire eastern seaboard is under a hurricane warning.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
MARCIANO: So whether or not this thing jogs up or down, folks should be prepared for it.
WHITFIELD: Wow, and that's exactly why at least, in Florida, along the east coast there, tens of thousands of people have gotten the order, mandatory evacuations in effect right now. The state's eastern coast is really taking Hurricane Jeanne very seriously. This now being the fourth hurricane to threaten the state of Florida since April -- since August, rather 13th. Well, it's even affect something college football plans. Apparently some college football fans are tailgating a bit earlier than usual because of Jeanne. Florida moved up its 6:00 p.m. game time against Kentucky and Gainesville, the game began about two hours ago. And in the NFL, the Miami Dolphins are considering possibly delaying Sunday's game against the Steelers. And at least three college games in Florida have also been affected by the storm.
Well, coming up, we'll go back to the Sunshine State where thousands of hurricane weary residents have been evacuating, some of their stories coming up.
Plus, still more than two months to go before the end of hurricane season. How much more hardship can Floridians expect? What the hurricane experts have to say about this hurricane cycle when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories now in the news. Family and friends will gather today to rember Jack Hensley, one of the two American hostages beheaded in Iraq this week. Memorial services will be held in an Atlanta suburb. Meanwhile, the fate of a British hostage in Iraq is still unknown.
In the Middle East conflict, Israel launches an offensive against suspected Palestinian militants. Two missiles hit a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Gaza. Palestinians say a 9-year-old girl and an elderly Palestinian were killed. The Israeli military says militants were preparing a rocket propelled grenade launcher to attack Israelis.
And finally, crude oil prices are at a record high, nearly $49 a barrel. The market's reacting to word that oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is coming back at a slower than expected pace in the wake of Hurricane Ivan.
Florida gets ready and the Bahamas is already reeling from Hurricane Jeanne. In Florida, preparations include filling up sand bags. The category 3 storm is spinning toward the state's eastern coast. Several million people are under a mandatory evacuation order.
Governor Jeb Bush is warning those planning to ride out the storm to reconsider.
In the Bahamas, Hurricane Jeanne made a direct hit on the Abaco Islands and is threatening Freeport now. Hundreds of people are riding out the storm in emergency shelters there. Let's check in with Rob Marciano.
We know Hurricane Jeanne is a Category 3 and, you said, at last report, moving fast, isn't it?
MARCIANO: It is. Westerly movement at 14 m.p.h. That's good news in that it shouldn't bring as much flooding rainfall as did Frances. Bad news is that it only adds to the wind speed. Right now, already it is stronger than Frances was when it made landfall. Cat 3 storm, it means it has winds of over 111 m.p.h., 110 m.p.h. And we have 115 right now.
You can see it strengthening overnight. The brighter colors, the more well defined eye. Certainly getting forecasters to raise an eyebrow around here. It is 150 miles off the coast of Florida, winds 115, and that movement westerly at 14 miles an hour.
We expect the outer reaches of the eye wall to scrape the coastline here this evening. 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, the eye wall making landfall sometime around midnight give or take a couple of hours.
What we're seeing for the forecast track out of the National Hurricane Center, it is forecast to make landfall as a major hurricane, a Category 3 storm or greater, sometime around midnight.
It will decrease in intensity, but will remain a hurricane well inland with hurricane force winds extending well through Orlando, maybe as far north and to the east of Tallahassee.
Right now, the rainfall bands beginning to show up on the radar screen. And winds from Daytona Beach to Vero Beach to Melbourne and even as far inland as Orlando begin to gust now over 30 miles an hour.
As a reminder a Category 3 storm, winds 111 to 130. Storm surge up to 12 feet. Severe damage from that surge, from those waves and from the wind can be expected with a Category 3 landfall. And even worse as a Category 4, possibly, later on tonight.
This is the cold front we hoped would get here sooner to push this thing off to sea. It got here too little, too late and is not going to do that. For the folks who live in it, the northeast and the eastern third of the country, north of Florida, they've had some beautiful weather.
But the Florida coastline, Fredricka, will see wind and rain beginning in the next couple of hours.
WHITFIELD: All right, we'll be watching. Thanks, Rob.
Hurricane Jeanne is interrupting the lives of residents and vacationers along Florida's east coast. In Daytona Beach, they are preparing for the storm. We take you there live with reporter Claire Metz from affiliate WESH -- Claire.
CLAIRE METZ, REPORTER, WESH: Fredricka, good afternoon to you.
It is not a real pretty picture here unless you think the awesome power of the ocean is a spectacle. And it is. Take a look now at what is pounding ashore. We have got seas out there about 12 feet when they're out. As they're moving on to shore, between four and six feet now. Expect the off shore seas to run up anywhere 15, 16 feet and on shore perhaps later tonight or early tomorrow morning, eight to nine feet.
It is a significant issue and it is a very dangerous storm. Unfortunately, a few people choose to play in the water and we have seen some surfers and a few swimmers. It has been kind of an odd day along the world's most famous beach, called the world's most famous because typically you can drive on this beach. Obviously, the only thing driving now are the waves. But it has been sunny and we have had rain and then we have had the winds kick up again. So, it is a real odd thing. Now, this is a peninsula, the ocean on one side, the inter-coastal on the other. About 120,000 people live right here in this county, on this peninsula. They have been ordered to evacuate, perhaps the third will not.
Remember, as you have been bringing up so apropos, we have had three storms so far. Some folks are just fed up, weary, afraid to leave their homes anymore. We had two-thirds of the properties along A-1A, along the coast damaged. This is a beachfront hotel. It looks a little worse for wear because it is. They are shut down, closed for business after Hurricane Frances tore through. They may not be able to open up until January.
And there are several properties some of them real marquis businesses, that will not be able to open their doors because of this storm. So you get a weariness among people who are just tired of seeing their properties destroyed. And then unawareness of what is happening to it. They've decided to ride it out. We'll wait and see.
In Brevard County, south of us, which is the Space Coast, of course, they buttoned down NASA and the Kennedy Space Center. And we have a real fragile beach down that way as well. It is a fairly wide beach here. We have a good half a block before you hit. Down there is standing room only. We have the shore battering up against homes on those properties and that is real scary for the folks who live there.
And then north of us is Flagler County. And they have some real precarious beachfronts as well. So we'll have to see what happens. We'll do our best to hang in there. But Hurricane Jeanne could be a real problem for the folks at east central Florida and beyond -- Fredricka, back to you.
WHITFIELD: All those coastal communities certainly very vulnerable. Claire Metz, thank you very much of WESH out of Daytona Beach.
Is the parade of strong storms this hurricane season an indicator of things to come? Here is CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice over): Ivan, Frances, Charley and Jeanne, sound like a schoolhouse lineup. But these storms are anything but child's play. They have killed hundreds, cost billions, crippled communities and crushed spirits.
Experts say coastal residents should brace themselves. Weather like this may be around for a while.
CHRIS LANDSEA, NOAA HURRICANE RESEARCH DIV.: We have been in a busy period since 1995. And it is part of a long-term cycle where we go back to busy conditions for about 25 to 40 years.
MYERS: He's referring to what is called the storm cycle. A climatic condition characterized by more active or less active hurricane seasons. And this one is packing a punch.
Although experts don't have all the answers, they compare historic storm, sea surface temperatures, and other records to current data. And then try to predict how long that cycle will last and how severe a storm season will be.
They found that the 19 named storms that defined the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season churned through the warmest regional ocean temperatures in recorded history. That hot event was the start of a very active phase in this storm cycle. Marked by stronger and more frequent storms than in decades past.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa!
MEYRS: And if the 2004 hurricane season is an indication of what this storm cycle has in store, it looks like the Caribbean and U.S. coastal residents should prepare to face more wet, wild weather -- Chad Myers, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, still ahead, the buildup of another storm of sorts with just 38 days until election day, we'll have reports on how the candidates are spending their weekend.
Plus, pulling out of Iraq. How politics is shaping that intensely controversial issue. We'll take a look where with political analyst Robert Novak when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: President Bush is spending the weekend at his ranch in Texas preparing for next week's presidential debate. Meantime, in his weekend radio address, the president reiterated the U.S. is making steady progress in Iraq. He also promised more spending on reconstruction in Iraq, saying more than $9 billion would be spent on projects there over the next several months.
John Kerry is spending the weekend at his home in Boston, also preparing for the upcoming debate. The Democratic candidate spent the week hammering the president over Iraq and the war on terror. Kerry accused the president of dropping the ball on Al Qaeda and says Bush's view of Iraq shows he's living in fantasyland.
Iraq and the U.S. presence there is likely to be a major topic at Thursday's first presidential debate. John Kerry says, if elected, he would begin the process of pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq after taking office.
In an article this week, columnist Bob Novak says the president has a similar plan. If re-elected, starting the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2005. Regardless of the situation in Iraq. Bob Novak, co- host of CNN's "Crossfire," and panelist on "The Capital Gang" joins us now.
Good to see you, Bob. ROBERT NOVAK, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Good to see you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Your sources are telling you that there is a Bush plan of a U.S. military pullout of Iraq. But publicly this is not being touted. What are the risks of the Bush administration doing so?
NOVAK: There are two ways of looking at it. One is the political way. I have said that both candidates are giving a lot of blather on Iraq. They cannot say they're going to pull out. But very high sources in this administration who are policymakers, not bureaucrats, believe that it is inevitable after the elections are held. And they believe there will be successful elections held in Iraq in January, that the pullout will begin.
That was almost confirmed by Secretary Rumsfeld in a very cautious way yesterday. Now, sources I have in the Kerry campaign say exactly the same thing.
But when they have the first political debate in Miami, Fredricka, they just simply cannot tell the truth about the fact that they want to get out because they are afraid there will be talk about cutting and running out of Iraq. But the American people, I believe, both sides feel cannot sustain this constant loss of life and turmoil in Iraq indefinitely.
WHITFIELD: What a serious mixed message this would be sending as well as, particularly with the Bush administration now asking for $9 billion more in the reconstruction effort if there is an early, a premature military pullout. That seems like that would completely dismantle any kind of reconstruction plans for Iraq, wouldn't it?
NOVAK: I don't believe that is the case. I think - I don't think that is a premature pullout. There are people in the administration who believe that the U.S. should have pulled out after Saddam Hussein fell...
WHITFIELD: But wouldn't it be premature when President Bush said they're in it for the long hall and we heard him reiterate it this week?
NOVAK: Well, the long hall means reconstruction of Iraq, it means training of Iraqi forces. It means spending a lot of taxpayer money on rebuilding Iraq. But this country is Iraq's, it is not the United States'. There are neo-conservatives in and out of administration who think it is the place of the United States to build democracy all over the world; some a few democratic ideals, also.
But I believe that there is a prevalence of opinion in both parties that this is the responsibility of the Iraqis. And the interim Iraqi prime minister this week, I think he said as much, that it is up to them to bring peace to their own country. It can't be done by U.S. forces and the loss of -- the constant loss of American life.
WHITFIELD: So part of the justification if they were to pull out in 2005 under a Bush administration, a second Bush administration, would be that President Bush is satisfied, almost solely with the fact that Saddam Hussein has been removed from power and that alone is the victory of this war?
NOVAK: I believe so. I think that is a major force. It is not a police state. It is not a -- a fedder (ph) who was always look being for weapons of mass destruction, even if he didn't find them; he was a threat to his neighbors and a threat to the West. They're gone.
But it is up to the Iraqis to devise the kind of state they're going to have and that the United States commitment is, we are going to give you aid, we will give you support, but you to pull yourself together. The Iraqis and their rather short history have never been able to do that so far. But they have to do it for themselves.
I believe that is, Fredricka, that is strongly felt by people I talked to on both -- in both campaigns, they just can't say it publicly. When you get this close to an election, truth is a victim.
WHITFIELD: All right, Bob Novak of "Crossfire" and "The Capital Gang." thank you very much.
NOVAK: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: A rather blunt assessment of the Iraqi situation from Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf. He spoke with CNN's Paula Zahn.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Is the world a safer place because of the war in Iraq?
GEN. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT: No. it is more dangerous. It is not safer, certainly, not.
ZAHN: How so?
MUSHARRAF: Well, because it has aroused the passions of the Muslims more. This arouses certain sentiments of the Muslim world. And then the response is the latest phenomenon of explosives, remotely controlled bombs and suicide bombings. This phenomenon is extremely dangerous.
ZAHN: Was it a mistake to have gone to war with Iraq?
MUSHARRAF: Well, I would say that it has ended up bringing more trouble to the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, Pakistan is considered a key ally in the U.S. led war on terror. But the country has not sent troops to help in Iraq.
Another issue likely to take center stage during the presidential debate, employment. Already at issue between the candidates, how many jobs have been created in the last few years and how many jobs have been lost. That's national correspondent Kelly Wallace's focus in her series, "Promises, Promises"
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): One candidate talks of jobs lost.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The first president in 72 years to actually lose jobs on his watch.
WALLACE: The other about jobs created.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We`ve increased jobs over the last two months by over 200,000 jobs.
WALLACE: Could both be right? Well, yes; 1.7 million jobs have been created since last September. But if you start counting when President Bush first took office, a total of 966,000 jobs have been lost. Senator Kerry thinks that`s an opening.
KERRY: Are you ready to put America back to work?
(APPLAUSE)
WALLACE: Kerry`s promise: create 10 million jobs in four years. He would reward companies that stay in the U.S., by cutting the corporate tax rate by 5 percent and providing $22 billion in new tax credits for businesses making new hires. And he would remove incentives for outsourcing, by eliminating tax breaks for businesses that send jobs overseas.
But can these proposals actually provide the jobs boom that Kerry promises? Sorry, we don`t have a crystal ball.
BUSH: In order to keep jobs here in America, America must be the best place in the world to do business.
WALLACE: The president doesn`t promise how many jobs he`ll create. He does promise to spend 250 million for job training at community colleges and $10 billion over 10 years to encourage business investment in needy communities.
But just as with the senator`s proposals, will the presidents actually create jobs? Again, no crystal ball here.
Both men agree on this: Another way to create job growth, cut costs on small businesses so they can hire more workers. Kerry would try to slash health care premiums by 10 percent, but that could cost hundreds of billions of dollars.
The president promises to make his tax cuts permanent, but that could drive up the deficit.
And then there`s this question: Does a president really create jobs? Some economists say a president has a role, but that job growth has more to do with larger, global forces in the economy. (on camera): But voters think otherwise, which is why the candidates mention the word "jobs" just about everywhere they go. Kelly Wallace, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Any leaf peepers out there? New England is dressing up for fall foliage season that time of year it puts on a colorful show. Ian Aldrich is the Internet editor of "Yankee" magazine. He joins us for our weekend getaways feature in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Good to see you, Ian.
IAN ALDRICH, INTERNET EDITOR, "YANKEE": Great to be on the program. Thank you for having me.
WHITFIELD: We're close to peak season in some states like Vermont and parts of northern Maine. How do you go about making some plans?
ALDRICH: Well, the first plan would be to visit our Web site, yankeefoliage.com which has tremendous amount of resources for finding places to stay, places to go and things like that.
And there are just a ton of places to go, contacting the local chambers of commerce. We're hitting peak colors in northern Vermont, northern Maine, northern New Hampshire. And it looks like it is going to be a banner year for fall color.
WHITFIELD: Isn't it tricky, though, to time it just right? Because, you know, the fall foliage or peak season really does depend on elevation and a few other factors. So how do you go about making plans so you get there just at the right time?
ALDRICH: Well, the thing we like to tell readers and our Web site users is that peak color is not a fixed moment in time. It is a continuum. And it is based on elevation and tree type. So visiting local chambers of commerce, contacting those resources and things like that are a great way to go to start making your plans.
WHITFIELD: Do a lot of hotels and even airlines have, almost like, leaf specials? How do you try to get the most bang for your buck?
ALDRICH: Well, a lot of lodging is filled up at this time of year. Don't feel like you have to wait until 2005 to start making your foliage plans. One little secret we like to tell our readers is that if you contact the local chambers of commerce, they often set aside private rooms in homes, that are set aside if lodging is filled up. So that you don't have to wait until the next year to make your fall plans.
WHITFIELD: Wow, that would be a shame if you have to wait until next year, can't take advantage of it this year if you're recommending this will be a great year.
What about trying to rent out cabins and things like that if a lot of hotels are already sold out, as you say?
ALDRICH: That's another route. And inns and things like that New England is blessed with a lot of tiny bed and breakfasts. That's another way to go. There isn't a shortage of lodging it is scattered all throughout the region.
WHITFIELD: Great. Ian Aldrich, thank you very much.
ALDRICH: Thanks.
WHITFIELD: Of course, folks can make their plans now, start making plans now for this year as well as for next year to take advantage of the fall foliage.
ALDRICH: Thanks for having me on the program.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.
Still ahead, see that it is like to be an astronaut and be weightless with CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: NASA calls it the vomit comet, a specially equipped plane to help astronauts train for weightless. Now there is another version. Anyone with $3,000 can go up, float around and get sick, maybe. Will CNN's Jeanne Moos be brave enough to take a ride? Let's watch and see.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It starts like a regular flight with the usual warnings. Though your tray table may stay in the upright and locked position, you won't. For 3,000 bucks and you can experience weightlessness in a padded 727.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa! Whee!
MOOS: A 727 that flies up and then down like an 8,000 foot roller coaster.
Each time you go over the hump, you're weightless for about 30 seconds until you hear the warning, feet down. This is how real astronauts train. This is how they film the weightless scenes in "Apollo 13". Now the public can do it. A press preview flight, four intrepid CNNers went up.
And one cowardly correspondent waved good-bye from the hangar.
PETER DIAMANOIS (ph), SUB-ZERO GRAVITY GROUP: People the first time they go up tend to think they're swimming. Moving your arms and legs do no good. MOOS: Take it from this poor little rabbit or this bird during a NASA weightless experiment. On a press flight, folks were having a ball. Miles O'Brien was playing superman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jeanne, you're missing out. You're missing out, Jeanne.
MOOS: But then to borrow a phrase --
TOM HANKS, ACTOR: Houston, we have a problem.
MOOS: Clutching motion sickness bags, some scurried to the seats in the back. For most of the flight this reporter was merrily floating around. Then she to be helped away uttering --
TIFFANY MCELROY, WB 11 REPORTER: I feel totally sick right now but it was amazingly worth it. It was so fun. Nothing happened yet.
MOOS: It happened later.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the casualty ward.
MOOS: Out of 27 flyers, at least six got sick or came --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very, very close.
MOOS: And speaking of close, a porn scene was once shot on a no gravity flight. But any bodily mingling here was merely accidental. Once the plane G-Force One landed --
MCELROY: It was amazing. Like terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. On that last run, caught up with me.
MOOS: The $3,000 flights will take off out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A former astronaut comes along.
BOB CENKER, FORMER ASTRONAUT: It is like skydiving only you never hit the ground. It is like scuba diving only you don't have to hold your breath.
MOOS: What you do are to hold is your lunch. Jeanne Moos, CNN, Newark, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And the $3,000 includes the bag, of course.
There is so much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY. In a few moments, "In The Money" at 2:00 Eastern, "CNN Live Saturday". At 3:00, "Next@cnn."
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