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CNN Larry King Live

Tracking Hurricane Earl; Mideast Peace Talks

Aired September 02, 2010 - 21:00   ET

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

LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, a monster storm. Hurricane Earl striking North Carolina's Outer Banks. Warnings and watches are up along the East Coast all the way to Canada. High surf, deadly rip currents threaten everybody. We've got live reports from those in Earl's path.

And then, Israeli and Palestinian leaders are meeting with President Obama. It's called a historic compromise. Can decades-old conflict ever be resolved? They got a one year deadline. And the former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright is here to tell us what's at stake this time. It's all next on LARRY KING LIVE.

All eyes are on Hurricane Earl, including Rob Marciano's. The CNN News and weather anchor is in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. Rob, what's the situation right now?

ROB MARCIANO: Well, winds have been increasing, but we haven't seen a lot of rain, Larry. This storm now a Category 2. Just over 100 miles to our south and heading in this direction. It will be abreast of my position here at about 2:00, 3:00 in the morning. So folks here are going to be sweating it out until then. To make sure that it does pass offshore as opposed to making a landfall here on Outer Banks before it heads up to New England.

At this point, the forecast is to keep it offshore. We certainly hope that that remains true. Precautionary measures have been the usual items. State of emergency declared. Evacuation orders given, especially for folks who live in some of the Outer Barrier Islands south of here. And those evacuations have taken place.

Yesterday, people were a little bit casual about this storm. And then early this morning when that eye opened up, strong Category 4, people certainly took it very seriously. And lots of folks got out of Dodge.

But there are still people here who have hunkered down. We haven't seen the wrath of this thing yet, Larry. That will come overnight, which often is the worst time, obviously, when it's dark and you've got a bad storm coming down. That's a scary situation. Larry?

KING: That's Rob Marciano.

Let's go to Atlanta. Chad Myers at the CNN Weather Central. He's the CNN weather anchor and severe weather expert as well. Chad, is it -- it ain't what we thunk?

CHAD MYERS, METEOROLOGIST: It isn't the Category 4 that it was yesterday. This was a 145-mile-per-hour little monster in the southern part here of the Atlantic. The good news is, it has fallen apart a little bit. The colors aren't as bright. The biggest thing, Larry, I'm going to follow my finger here, this is what the storm has done in the past hour or so. Turned to the right. Away from right there. That's Cape Hatteras. That right there, that's Rob Marciano.

The more it turns away, the farther it gets away from Cape Hatteras, from the Outer Banks, the less damage it will do. If this thing literally would have waited five more hours before it turned, it would be over here. And it would be making direct landfall in North Carolina. Five hours. That's it. That's all we basically lucked out by with this storm. It's big. It's 110 miles per hour. Okay, it's not Category 3 anymore. It's not Category 4. It's still a very, very big storm. And it may even make a run at Nantucket, at Cape Cod, 85 miles per hour. That'll take shingles off a home. That'll do some damage.

Hurricane hunter aircraft, a little airplane there on our Google Earth. They're out in it all night. We don't have updates every three or four hours. We have updates every 30 seconds from that airplane. Larry?

KING: Thanks, Chad. Always atop the scene.

Now let's go to South Yamouth, Massachusetts. Susan Candiotti.

Susan, the Governor Patrick has declared a state of emergency. What's the thinking there? Do they think it's going to come and hit them?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's possible, just like the Carolinas, they are hoping and praying here, too, that Earl will stay offshore. That would be the best scenario here.

And with that state of emergency in effect, they're also waiting for an okay from President Obama for federal funding to support what they've been doing here. For the most part, people appear to be ready, but they have prepositioned a lot of materials, including meals and water and generators and tarps, even medical supplies.

Now, in terms of evacuations, they haven't ordered any yet. But tonight in some areas here in Cape Cod, they are sending out some prerecorded phone alerts to people who live in especially dangerous areas that are low lying and prone to flooding. Asking those people to get out first thing in the morning.

But of course ultimately, it will be up to them. In terms of shelters, there will be six available. They will start to open up tomorrow here on Cape Cod. So, while most people appear to be ready to ride out the storm, not true with tourism. In fact, the Chamber of Commerce is saying they are taking a monstrous hit, of course, on this major Labor Day weekend. Some hotels are only operating at 40 percent capacity. And finally, Larry, you know, last time there was a direct hit here in New England was back in 1991, Hurricane Bob. Minimal damage then. They hope that Hurricane Earl stays offshore and that the same will hold true this time around and that they'll dodge a bullet.

KING: Thanks, Susan. Let's hope you have little to report. It's hard to say to a reporter but let's hope that's true.

Here in Los Angeles, Bill Nye, the science guy. Scientist, engineer, author, inventor, Emmy-winning TV host. Anything striking to you about Earl?

BILL NYE, THE SCIENCE GUY: It's huge. You look at these pictures, it's as long as North Carolina and South Carolina combined. It's almost as long north to south as Florida. So although it's weakened, substantially, it's still an enormous storm.

KING: If it keeps going right, is Bermuda threatened?

NYE: No. I would say no.

KING: It's north of that?

NYE: Yes, it's north of that. And it's funny you should mention Bermuda because there's this mythic thing we call the Bermuda dome or the Bermuda High. And so it's high pressure system that sits off the coast of North America and the storm will go along the edge of it. So that's part of why it steers right. Going to its right.

KING: Who's most likely to be damaged severely?

NYE: On the Outer Banks, I think, of North Carolina, where Rob is. That's very flat area. You know, I spent a lot of time there. Emerald Isle, North Carolina. That's where sea turtles breed. And there's a lot of wildlife there. When you start tearing things up with a big storm, it's--

KING: How about the big population centers like Washington, Baltimore, New York?

NYE: I think they're okay. Because the storm's weakened already from several tens of miles an hour. It'll keep weakening as it goes north--

KING: Colder.

NYE: --as the water gets cooler, yes.

KING: I think I'm learning more. Been doing hurricanes for a long time. Hey, we're going to have another firsthand account of Hurricane Earl as it barrels along the East Coast. You want to say Earl. Hurricane Earl. It's coming up next. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Joining us now from Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, is its mayor. Mayor Ray Sturza. Rob Marciano just told us, mayor, and Bill Nye affirmed, that anyone's going to get hit hard as it passes, it's going to be your area. How concerned are you?

RAY STURZA, MAYOR, KILL DEVIL HILLS, NC: Well, we're really concerned, particularly about the areas just south of here, down on Hatteras Island, where it looks like a lot of water's going to pile up and, you know, pass over the top, over wash (INAUDIBLE) down there.

KING: A lot of emergency preparations.

STURZA: A lot of work went on today. We pretty much got the entirety of our tourist population off of the island. And I'm standing on the deck right now, Larry. I can hear the ocean's roar. I can see the clouds moving around. And I'm about a half a mile back from the ocean. And I can smell it.

KING: Why are you staying in Kill Devil Hills?

STURZA: Larry, I'm the mayor. I've got to stay here. This is my responsibility.

KING: Is this the worst so far since you've been there?

STURZA: It equals the worst. Recent experience about five years ago with Hurricane Isabel was pretty frightening. But at the peak of its power, this storm was more frightening. It's diminished a bit now, but the amount of water it's displacing is still very frightening.

KING: Good luck to you, mayor. We'll keep in constant touch.

STURZA: All right. Thank you much, Larry.

KING: Thank you. Bill, what's the threat there? The fact they're flat?

NYE: Yeah, it's low. And the hurricane is huge. It's going to be persistent, that is to say it'll be around for a long time. After the front edge goes by, it's many, many hours before the back edge goes by. And it's going to be raining the whole time. And then -- so hurricanes going this way, it's on the hurricane's left, which is good, but still, it will be a lot of water--

KING: Good that it's on left? Why good on the left?

NYE: The wind is not prone to carrying water onshore as much. The right side is the real--

KING: In other words, you would not want to be a ship in the North Atlantic now?

NYE: No. Well, North Atlantic, let's say within 100 nautical miles of the shore, yeah, 150 nautical miles.

KING: So the worst winds are to the right? NYE: Generally, yes, but I mean, you're talking about if it's moving 18 miles an hour, I would say 10 miles an hour, then it's 110 on one side and 100 on the other. It's not--

KING: But if it keeps turning, that's good?

NYE: Yes, well, if it keeps turning, that's good.

KING: Can it make a severe right?

NYE: Yes, well, you saw the predicted paths, which is based on all these very sophisticated pressure measurements in the atmosphere. And everybody generally thinks it will turn to its own right as it goes north.

KING: Let's hope.

NYE: Now, this is -- it's an imperfect thing. I mean, you see when they show the storm track, it gets wider as it goes north. And that's because it's more uncertain. But this -- you know, let me just slip in, this is a big hurricane. It's only the first of September. Hurricane season normally goes all the way to November. This could be the first of many.

KING: We'll check in with the National Hurricane center in Miami. FEMA, too ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Let's go to my old stomping grounds down in Miami, Florida. The National Hurricane Center. Ed Rappaport is its deputy director. Would you call Hurricane Earl dangerous, Ed?

ED RAPPPORT, DEPUTY DIR., NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: It still is, particularly if you live in a coastal area. The Outer Banks of North Carolina and southeastern New England, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, are the two areas we're most concerned about.

KING: What does type -- hurricanes -- type 2 mean?

RAPPPORT: Well, we usually call it by categories, 1 through 5. 1's the lowest. 5's the highest. Category 2 means that the winds are on the order of 95 to 110 miles per hour. And that's sustained or average with higher gusts. That's strong enough to cause structural damage, bring trees down, power poles.

More importantly, perhaps along the coast, is that it tends to pushes the water inland. In this case, we're concerned about a storm surge on the order of 2 to 5 feet. That's a rise of water 2 to 5 feet along portions of the Outer Banks.

KING: Bill Nye pointed out this is only September 2nd. Can we expect more this season, hurricanes?

RAPPPORT: Oh, I'm sure we'll have more hurricanes. There are a couple systems back behind this one, which while they're not immediate threat to the United States, could redevelop and pose a threat in the days and weeks ahead. We are, as you said, approaching the mid part of the season. September's usually the most active month. It's also the month where we get some of the longest lived and most intense hurricanes, the ones that cause most of the damage and most of the loss of life in this country.

KING: Finally, Earl, no two are the same. What strikes you most about Earl?

RAPPPORT: So far, Earl's maintained a course that's pretty much on track. And that's good news because it looks like the center will remain off shore from North Carolina. And that will keep the worst of the weather offshore. They're still likely to have tropical storms force winds along all the Outer Banks and up through portions of the MidAtlantic, northeastern U.S. There's still about a 20 percent chance of hurricane force winds in the Cape Hatteras area. And then down the road, we still have some risk for Southern New England about a day from now. So tomorrow night and into Saturday.

KING: Thank you so much, as always. Right on the job. Ed Rappaport at the Hurricane Center in Miami.

Let's go now by phone to Bobby Outten. He's manager of Dare County, North Carolina. We understand you're calling us from emergency management headquarters in Mantao, North Carolina. What's the situation, Bobby?

BOBBY OUTTEN, MANAGER, DARE COUNTY, NC: Right now here, it's calm and raining. We're waiting for the worst to come. We're probably a couple hours away before the stronger winds come. Hatteras is probably 50 miles or so south of us. And that's where we expect the worst of it to be.

KING: How are the evacuations going?

OUTTEN: The evacuations went well. We got everybody off of Hatteras yesterday. So we got the people out of harm's way down there. Today, we got most of the people off the ocean front in the towns and the areas north of Hatteras. And so, those are the areas that we were most concerned with. And I think those evacuations have gone well.

KING: Is anybody -- any people holding out or did you get them all off?

OUTTEN: I'm sure there are people holding out. I know that I talked with Nags Head earlier this morning, the folks in South Nags Head, which is a vulnerable area. Most everyone, maybe two or three, out of the whole area stayed. They were successful with that. And I know that Kitty Hawk has evacuated most of their ocean front as well.

KING: Is the state and the federal government helping yet or is it too early?

OUTTEN: It's too early yet. They're all on standby. We've talked with all the agencies. The agencies call us regularly to be sure we don't have any resource needs and those types of things. They're ready to help if we need it. And so, everybody's now standing by to see what happens.

KING: Thanks, Bobby. Bobby Outten, manager of Dare County, North Carolina. Good luck.

OUTTEN: Thank you.

KING: Let's go to FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C. Craig Fugate is the administrator of FEMA. Thanks for joining us. FEMA got kind of a bad name in Katrina. Have we overcome that? Is FEMA ready, able, and willing to tackle whatever occurs here?

CRAIG FUGATE, ADMINISTRATOR, FEMA: I think we are, Mr. King. We were moving folks in several days before the hurricane ever got up to the coast. We've been working with Governor Perdue's teams there. As they said, we're on standby ready to support the local officials.

And we have teams in all of the coastal states ready to support them, all the way up to the New England states. So we're not going to wait till things get bad. We've already got supplies going into Fort Bragg jut in case they're needed down in North Carolina. We have supplies going to Massachusetts just in case we're need there. And again, our role is to support the governors, but we're not going to wait for them to ask for help. If we think they need it, we're going to make sure it's ready to go.

KING: The president signed an emergency declaration for North Carolina. What does that mean?

FUGATE: Well, what it does for the governor here is it helps her for the cost of this response, particularly some of the local cost of the evacuation. Provides up to 75 percent federal dollars to support that, as well as being able to provide direct federal assistance if they need additional resources.

But again, we were there already in a standby mode. This give us the ability to help them both in the response, but also some of the cost of this evacuation.

KING: So the manpower materials are there?

FUGATE: Yes, sir, we've been working to get things in place because we're not sure. We didn't know which area would be hit the most. We just didn't take the chance. And again, our direction from President Obama was prepare for the worst and hope for best.

KING: And, Craig, did we learn a lot from Katrina?

FUGATE: I think so, sir. One of the things Congress did in 2006 was change the law. It clarified that FEMA could provide resources and get ready to go prior to a governor's request prior to waiting for it to get so bad that we needed to be there.

And, again, when we can see a hurricane coming, we can get things there ahead of time, make sure we're ready to go. So the lessons of Katrina, I mean, our partners in Red Cross have been doing this, and take those lessons. Like we know one of the things we got to be prepared for are children and infants. And so, again, Red Cross bringing supplies in. We're bringing supplies in.

But we got to remember the governors and many of these local officials, they're prepared as well. They got their teams in place. And so, our goal is not to be back waiting for things to fail, but to be there to support. But again, the leadership of the governors and local officials, the people we're supporting, is what's key in making this work.

KING: Thanks, Craig. Craig Fugate, the FEMA administrator, on top of the scene. Let's spend a couple more moments with Bill Nye, the science guy. What strikes you the most about this one?

NYE: Its size.

KING: The size.

NYE: The expanse of it, east to west to north and south.

KING: What causes a storm to pick up strength?

NYE: The warm water. The energy in the water.

KING: And why does it reduce strength?

NYE: When the water cools off, because there's no longer this tendency for -- you know the expression hot air rises? That's only true because cool air is squeezing it up. So if you're in outer space, there is no hot air rising. So the cool air is squeezing the warm air up. When that difference in temperature, between the warm water and the cool air around it is lower, when there's less difference, there's less drive. Doesn't get pushed up as much.

KING: Hurricanes are -- they're phenomenal, aren't they?

NYE: It's astonishing. They're enormous. So they start off the coast of Africa.

KING: They all do, right?

NYE: Yes, for us, in North America, yes. So then they work their way westward. And because the earth is spinning and because gravity's pushing it down, these two accelerations combine and make the thing spin an enormous -- I mean, 300 miles across. It's crazy.

KING: Well, must have been crazy, years ago, without all this--

NYE: Oh, without these satellites.

KING: These ships must have been -- one day it's Twitter. And the next day, you're gone. NYE: And then you -- you know, there's stories of these enormous holes in the sea, maelstrom. You know, when you get very, very low pressure, the ocean can make these enormous peaks and valleys. And it would be a clear day. In certain conditions, you'd be seeing blue sky when it come across--

KING: I've seen it across Miami many times.

NYE: Yes, it's astonishing.

KING: Any benefits to a hurricane?

NYE: Well, they move energy from the equator to the upper latitudes, both north and south. Hurricanes and typhoons. And that is keeping the atmosphere's energy in balance.

KING: So nature's always working?

NYE: Nature's always working, Larry and--

KING: Some of us are in its path.

NYE: Yes, that's right, some of us are in its path. And as I've said on this program in the past, it is very frustrating when you see buildings that are unprepared. Buildings that are built--

KING: Yes.

NYE: --in that area that aren't set up for this sort of storm.

KING: It's a shame. Thanks, Bill.

NYE: Well, it's just -- you think you're saving money, but are you really? Thank you.

KING: Thank you. Bill Nye, the science guy.

We'll update Earl later in the show. Next, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will talk about the latest Israeli/Palestinian peace talks. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched direct talks between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mohammed Abbas today in Washington. Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians broke down last in December of 2008, shortly before Israel launched an offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

Joining us, our old friend Madeleine Albright, the former Secretary of State. She helped organize the Camp David summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat back in 2000. Are you hopeful? She's now chair of the Albright Stone Bridge group. Are you hopeful?

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I am hopeful, Larry. I'm always an optimist. I say I'm an optimist who worries a lot. So there are lots of things that could go wrong. But I think it is very important that this summit was called, that President Obama and Secretary Clinton, Senator Mitchell, are so deeply involved. And what was really good news today was that Senator Mitchell explained that there would be another meeting in a couple of weeks somewhere in the region. I think that's a very important sign.

KING: Hamas, though, makes public statements they're going to continue to cause trouble.

ALBRIGHT: Well, they will. I mean, I think that has to be expected. Because they are beneficiaries when there isn't peace. And by the way, somebody that I always recollect in this regard is Prime Minister Rabin who used to say, we have to negotiate as if there were no terrorists and fight terrorism as if we weren't negotiating. So we can't let Hamas and violence have a veto over these talks.

KING: The last time he was with us a little while ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu seemed to have bent quite a bit toward the middle. He was very open to talks, to settling this thing. Much more on the peace front than in the past. Do you agree?

ALBRIGHT: I do. I have listened very carefully to the statements he's made in the last few days. I think he's definitely saying all the right things and showing compassion towards the Palestinians, restating the importance of security for the people of Israel, saying that there needs to be a solution of two states.

So I think that he is showing every sign of being open to ideas. But we're going to have to see how this whole thing proceeds.

KING: What's the role of the president in this?

ALBRIGHT: Well, the president has made very clear that he thinks that it is in America's national interest to have these talks go forward. I think it's very important that he summon these leaders together. But he has also said something that is so evident, is that the United States cannot impose a solution. The parties themselves are the ones that have to come to an agreement.

But he is kind of the person that can do some closing, can bring the people together. You mentioned about Camp David. President Clinton really worked on this from the beginning of his administration. So I think the U.S. does have a role. But ultimately, it's the parties that have to make the difference.

KING: What value does Mubarak of Egypt and Abdullah of Jordan bring to this?

ALBRIGHT: I'm glad you brought that up, Larry, because I think that one of the things we didn't really do as well as we should have at Camp David was to have some of the moderate Arab countries there to validate and to really give support to the Palestinians. And so I think it's very important that President Mubarak was there and that King Abdullah was there. I thought their statements yesterday at the White House were also very supportive. I think at some point others have to be brought in, the Saudis. There is a whole Arab initiative out there. And so I think it's a very important step forward. I applaud that.

KING: The ten-month moratorium on Israel building settlements expires September 26th. What's going to happen?

ALBRIGHT: Well, I think we don't know. I think that is one of the issues. Clearly, the settlements are a part of final status issues. But that is the issue out there that people are looking at. And the American position has not changed on this. Senator Mitchell kept saying that. And so I think that we'll just have to see where this is going to be. But it is one of the very biggest of the final status issues.

KING: What about the specter of a nuclear Iran? Does that hover over these talks?

ALBRIGHT: Well, it certainly hovers over the whole Middle Eastern situation. It is something that is of great concern. The United States has taken a very strong position on that. There's a new sanctions resolution against Iran in the United Nations. Other countries are -- from everything that I can see -- abiding by it. And the United States also has additional unilateral sanctions.

And so there's a lot of pressure there. But it clearly is something that is on Prime Minister Netanyahu's mind. And obviously on our mind also.

KING: Thanks, Madeleine. Always good seeing you. You look great.

ALBRIGHT: Thank you. Good to be with you, Larry.

KING: Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Ari Fleischer and Jamie Rubin are next. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Two more distinguished guests. Ari Fleischer served as White House press secretary for President George W. Bush. Jamie Rubin was United States assistant secretary of state and chief State Department spokesman during the Clinton administration. All right, Ari, are you hopeful about all of this?

ARI FLEISCHER, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Sure, Larry, I think you always start these exercises being hopeful. As Americans, we want to be hopeful about achieving peace around the world. But realistically, a long way to go. I think the fundamental issue remains. Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinians, is a good man. He wants peace. But is he strong enough to deliver the Palestinian people, who I'm not sure want peace?

That's a big issue. He represents a very divided populous that I'm not sure, at the end of the day, he's going to be strong enough to lead them the way Egyptian Sadat was or Jordanian King Hussein was, both of whom did make peace.

KING: James, how do you see it?

JAMES RUBIN, FMR. STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I think the important thing is for the United States to exercise its leadership role in the world. And the world expects us to play a unique role in this area. The United States is the only country in the world that has and can exert influence on both the Palestinians and the Israelis.

I think by pursuing and seeking this peace process, you do two things. One, when the leaders are meeting, when the process is on- going, at least you improve the chances that there won't be a deterioration, another conflict won't result. And number two, we show the world that we're involved. And I think when we do that, when we're not just pursuing our national interest through the use of force in Afghanistan and the use of force in Iraq, but actually pursuing our peacemaking role, I think it improves the power of the United States and the respect for the United States around the world.

KING: Ari, all this up front, is that a better idea than backdoor dealing?

FLEISCHER: Well, you really do both in diplomacy. And events like what President Obama held at the White House yesterday are profoundly important. That image in the Arab world of seeing Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt, and King Abdullah of Jordan walking together with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas -- it's a wonderful signal to send about the possibilities.

And this is America's role. And I was glad to see that take place. Powerful symbolism and a hopeful reality here in the beginning. There also will be, over time, backdoor negotiations, other people sending messages. That will be a good sign too. Diplomacy typically works at both levels.

When you start to get down to the real brass tack, the real things that divide people, it becomes extraordinarily delicate. It does take some backroom negotiating and some trusted partners to help push people over the finish line.

KING: James, Netanyahu has a coalition government. Abbas is challenged by Hamas. How much strength do these two men bring to the table?

RUBIN: The real challenge in the Middle East is precisely that. I think most people know the general outlines of how this has to be resolved with two states. The problem has been to get the right people in the room at the right time, pursuing the right solution.

When it comes to Prime Minister Netanyahu, he does have a fair amount of political power in Israel right now. He has been saying things that give people great optimism. The issue with him is his negotiating style. He negotiates over every detail. He's someone who will fight tooth and nail for a package of proposals, will try to link them together. He will engage in bluffs. When he was at the Y River negotiations and he wanted to show that he was prepared to leave, he ordered his delegation to put their suitcases out and to say that he was going to depart because he wasn't getting what he wanted. As it turned out, one of our security guys lifted up one of the suitcases and it was empty. So the threat didn't really work that well.

For President Abbas, I think his problem is that he's shown a willingness to sit back and hope that the Israelis and the United States will disagree and that the United States will put pressure on Israel. So he's been quoted as saying that he's happy doing nothing and watching the United States and Israel fight it out.

And so I think that's the challenge, is to make sure that we keep the negotiating tactics to a minimum and that President Abbas understands that without his movement and his decisions, this is not going to be possible.

KING: Ari, you're a PR expert. What are you going to be listening for?

FLEISCHER: I'll be listening for the things you can't hear. I'll be listening for what takes place behind the scenes as trust gets built. If Prime Minister Netanyahu really starts to think that he has a partner with prime minister -- with President Abbas, that's the type of dynamic that needs to start in private between two leaders. The leaders, interestingly, are the ones going to be doing a lot of this negotiating, which is significant.

And you have to have that trust start to grow and start to build because that's how you can start to tackle the more difficult issues. I expect we on the outside will have a very hard time seeing that. It really becomes a dynamic between the two people.

At the end of the day, Israel is going to have to say to itself, if we agree to these concessions, if we pull back from the borders, if we increase the risk to our people, because now, all of a sudden, we've given up territory, can they rely on a Palestinian government to keep the peace? That to me is a huge issue. Because I'm not sure they can.

I remember, Larry, on September 11th, people in Ramallah took to the streets to cheer that America got hit. Does President Abbas have people who want peace in his country, enough to get peace?

KING: We'll have both of you back in the days ahead. I know both of you are baseball fans. Ahead, is Ralph Branca. But we'll check in with Chad Myers and get another update on Hurricane Earl next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT) KING: You know, as kids across the United States head to school, many will be carrying a new backpack loaded with school supplies or wearing new clothes. But in Cambodia, the cost of even the most basic supplies often keeps children from attending class. This week's CNN's hero, Ponheary Ly, is a survivor of the ruthless Khmer Rouge regime. She's using money she's earned as a tour guide to educate Cambodia's poor. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PONHEARY LY, CNN HERO: In the countryside in Cambodia, some children, they come to school, but not very regular. The school is free, but they don't have any money. How can they have the money for uniforms and supplies?

My name is Ponheary Ly. I help the children go to school. At the beginning, I got only one girl. After that, 40 children. And now 2,000.

After several years, I see the change, because they know how to read and write and they borrow the books from our library to read for their parents.

I need them to have a good education to build their own family, as well as to build their own country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Our hero and her organization have helped more than 2,000 children receive an education. To help our hero educate more kids, go to CNN.com/Heroes. Speaking of heroes, Ralph Branca is next. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- at second base. Thompson is on deck. Bobby Thompson up there swinging. It's a long drive to centerfield. It's gone I believe. The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Great clip. Welcome to LARRY KING LIVE one of my favorite all time ball players, Ralph Branca, the former Brooklyn Dodger. He threw the pitch that Bobby Thompson hit for the home run that is now called "The Shot Heard Round The World," voted the greatest moment in baseball history. I think it's the greatest moment in sports history, and the saddest moment of my life.

Ralph, I know you went to Bobby's memorial service. What was it like?

RALPH BRANCA, FMR. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PITCHER: It was very, very nice, Larry. I had to go to say good-bye to an old friend. And I once said I lost the game, but I made a friend. And Bobby and I became close.

At first, it was very difficult for me, but after I got to know Bobby and we attended certain award dinners, golf tournaments, other functions, I got to know him. We started to talk. And we became very, very close friends.

It was a very rewarding ceremony. It was conducted in his hometown and the family was there. And I was happy and proud to be there, because I consider him a real good guy, gentile man.

KING: Even though, Ralph, we have since discovered the strong possibility that he was tipped off to that pitch by a telescope in center field. It's now regarded as fact. You didn't hold it against him, though, right?

BRANCA: No, I didn't hold it against him. Whom I hold it against is the Giant front office, whoever the key people in the front office, Leo Derosa, Herman Franks, who was his lead coach, and I'm going to say the two team leaders who were Alvin Dark and Eddie Stanky (ph). Eddie Stanky and I roomed together and he was a very devout Catholic. And I was really astonished that he would vote to do what I call the most despicable act of the game, to go off the field, look through a telescope, hook up a buzzer system to the bullpen and to the dugout and relay all the signs.

This is a team that was 59-51 before they started doing this. Then they ended up being 37-7. Everybody said oh, just play 500; you have a 13-game lead. That's exactly what we did. We played 500, which as you as a Dodger fan would know, was a terrible, terrible 500.

KING: How, Ralph, did you get over that?

BRANCA: Well, I think part of it was after the game, Ann and I were going to be married in 17 days, you know, the 20th. We went out and in the car -- my car -- was a priest, dean of discipline at Fordham, dean of campus ministries, Father Pat Reilly. And I said why me? Why me? I do everything right. I don't abuse myself. I love this game. And he said God chose you because he knew your faith would be strong enough to bear this cross.

So, I accepted that. It may just be Jesuit philosophy. But I accepted that. Then I got home and my brother, John, who you know, the boxing commissioner, he said, listen, just tell people that who would you send in in that spot, the best pitcher you had or the worst pitcher? Truthfully, I wasn't really having a great year until, I'm going to say, September. I was leading the league in ERA and September, you know the song goes, what's too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget. So, I forget September, but I can't forget October one, two and three.

KING: And your nephew is Bobby Valentine, a great manager.

BRANCA: No, no, he's my son-in-law. He's married to my daughter, Mary.

KING: Married to your daughter. Your nephew is John Branca, the lawyer of the Michael Jackson estate?

BRANCA: Right. John Branca is a lawyer and Billy Branca, his brother, was an agent with William Morris. He's a good kid. He's working on me to write a book or produce some documentary or movie. So, Billy's working on that. He has with William Morris. I think he was head of some division. I don't remember.

KING: Do you cringe every time they show that film?

BRANCA: No, no. It's old hat, you know what? I just look at it and just say, hey, it's ancient history. It's like reading about the Civil War. And so many people of that era are gone, especially Brooklyn fans, Dodger fans -- I mean Giants fans. They're gone. Whatever age they are, if they were 30 years old, we're talking 60 years later. How many are there? They're all gone.

Truthfully, I noticed once John Prager's (ph) book came out -- first it came out in the "Wall Street Journal" on January 31st, 2001, and then he wrote a book that came out five years later. I noticed that baseball does not talk about that as being the most memorable moment in baseball history. They kind of shuffled it under the rug.

KING: Embarrassing.

BRANCA: Well, nothing was done about it, you know. I think when it was discovered, I think then the commissioner should have rewarded the Dodger team National League rings. I mean, because we really deserved to win the pennant and --

KING: No one would agree with you more; as you wrote in signing a picture of yourself to me, the Giants stole the pennant. But I'm glad you remained friends with Bobby Thomson. I hope you write that book. You write that book, you come back, we'll do a whole program. Great seeing you looking so great, Ralph. Thanks for being with us.

BRANCA: And you look terrific. I thank you for having me on. As I say, I'm going to miss Bobby Thomson. But you know what? Life goes on. I lost my brother John in July. So that's another great loss.

KING: Thanks, Ralph.

BRANCA: Thank you, Larry, for having me on.

KING: Ralph Branca, he will live in forever in history.

On a sad note, we extend our condolences to LARRY KING LIVE producer Nancy Baker, great lady. Her beloved mom, Diane Abrahmson (ph), died yesterday at home after a long illness. She was just 74. Diane was a talented musician, devoted church goer and a faithful viewer of this show. She is survived by her mother, her husband, her three daughters and her seven grandchildren.

Diane Abrahmson will be much missed by everyone who knew her and our sincere sympathies to her family and many friends. "AC 360," Anderson Cooper is next. Anderson?