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Bonnie Makes Landfall, Charley Follows; U.S. Soldiers On Olympic Team; PGA Championship; Kerry Speech In Cali.; Low-Income Computers

Aired August 12, 2004 - 14:30   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: A CNN exclusive from the embattled Iraqi city of Najaf. This is the first video of a U.S. raid on Muqtada Al Sadr's house. The radical Shiite cleric was not inside. He's believed to be holed up in a holy Shiite Muslim site instead.
Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has left Najaf to have surgery. Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani will undergo an angioplasty procedure at a hospital in London. His representatives deny that he will have open heart surgery.

Here comes Charley. Folks are preparing for Hurricane Charley in the Florida Keys and along the state's west coast. Residents and tourists have been told to evacuate some areas. However, some people have decided to brave the storm. Tropical Storm Bonnie came ashore along the central Florida panhandle earlier today.

Keeping you informed CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Preparing for the worst with a hurricane approaching Florida's west coast. Evacuations are already under way and safety plans are in effect.

Joining us live on the phone now, Chief Mike Radzalowski of the Bradenton, Florida, Police Department.

Chief, good to have you with us.

MICHAEL RADZILOWSKI, CHIEF OF POLICE, BRADENTON POLICE DEPT.: Good to be here, sir.

O'BRIEN: How are things going as you prepare for what could be a rather significant storm surge?

RADZILOWSKI: Well, so far, so good. Traffic is starting to get a little heavy. Some people are taking advantage of the early warning system to evacuate, and we're having a little run on some of the gas stations that is clogging up some of the intersections. So that's the present concern right now, is getting people to realize this could be a very serious event, and if you are in level one or level two areas with a mandatory evacuation to leave the area.

O'BRIEN: All right, so you do have a mandatory evacuation, is it for all of the Barrier Islands? RADZILOWSKI: Well in Manatee County and Sarasota County, we have a level one and level two, which is the Barrier Islands and low-level areas around Manatee and Braden River, so it is quite a little significant area for us.

O'BRIEN: All right, and, of course, we always talk about this in advance of a storm. People tend to be a bit nonchalant, especially since they see kind of nice weather, the surf might be a little bit. They tend to stay and watch and wait. I assume you are discouraging folks from doing that.

RADZILOWSKI: Well, absolutely. They have to realize that once you're in an evacuation area, a mandatory evacuation area. At 6:00 tomorrow morning, the water and sewage is cut off, and if the storm hits with a certain amount of wind, all emergency personnel pull out. So you are basically on your own in a mandatory evacuation zone if you do not evacuate.

O'BRIEN: Chief, when was the last time you can recall Bradenton having to face this sort of level of concern and evacuation in advance of a storm?

RADZILOWSKI: Well, it was about four years ago, with Gabrielle when the tropical storm came across, but it came very quickly, and there was a lot of damage then. So we're bracing for a whole lot of damage in this area if the storm stays on track.

O'BRIEN: And did you learn any lessons then that you're applying right now.

RADZILOWSKI: Well, just be prepared and get the people to realize that if you're in an emergency evacuation zone, in a mandatory evacuation zone, that you really should leave for your own safety.

O'BRIEN: And final thought, I really didn't get this from you. What's the weather there like right now.

RADZILOWSKI: Well, right now, we have bits of sun, and strangely enough, Bonnie is (INAUDIBLE). We have some high clouds, and once in a while a band of rain from Bonnie, with a little wind. So once Bonnie leaves, I guess Charley will be here.

O'BRIEN: All right, Chief Mike Radzilowski of the Bradenton, Florida, Police Department.

Good luck to you and all the members of your department as you try to keep folks safe there and ride these storms out.

Secrets, lies and audiotapes. Scott Peterson's former mistress takes the stand again today as the jury in the murder trial hears more secret recordings.

CNN's Rusty Dornin live from Redwood City, California, with the latest on all of this -- Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, the conversation that's being played in court right now definitely has both jurors and spectators on the edge of their seats.

This is the one on January 6th, where Scott Peterson confesses his true identity, confesses he's not in Madrid, Spain, he's really in Modesto, California, and he is indeed the husband of the woman who's been missing and all over the news, Laci Peterson. He tells her I am not an evil person. He said he'd lost hope that Laci was alive.

He also says, I've always told you the truth, with a few exceptions. That statement brought a chuckle from the courtroom, even a few jurors laughed over that.

Meantime, the court has released several of the conversations, and are releasing them right now, to the media of things we have been hearing about over the last few days.

Now the one you are going to be hearing is when Scott Peterson claims he was in Paris, France. It is new year's eve, the candlelight vigil for Laci Peterson. You hear Scott Peterson talking to Amber Frey. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT PETERSON: Amber, hey, Happy New Year's.

AMBER FREY: Happy New Year's.

PETERSON: I wanted to call you.

FREY: Thank you.

PETERSON: Amber, are you there? Amber?

FREY: I'm here. I wish you could hear me.

PETERSON: I'm on the -- I think that you're there. I'm near the Eiffel Tower, New Year's Celebration is unreal. The crowd is huge.

FREY: The crowd is huge?

PETERSON: Amber?

FREY: Yes, I'm here.

PETERSON: Amber, if you're there, I can't hear you right now, I'll call you on New Year's.

FREY: OK, I'll hear from you then.

PETERSON: Amber -- Amber, miss you. See you soon.

FREY: Okay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: Scott Peterson's voice sounds somewhat garbled in those recordings. But he's saying he's at the Eiffel Tower and he's watching fireworks.

Now the tape is court is going to be playing again were about 62 pages worth of transcripts, so it's going to more than an hour and a half worth of these conversations where Scott is apologizing to Amber Frey to this, telling her he really knows nothing about it. He would like to get the person who's responsible for kidnapping his wife and that sort of thing.

But January 6th is also the day that Amber Frey asked Modesto Police for protective custody, whether she was figuring that perhaps if Scott figured out her ploy, that she might get his wrath -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Rusty Dornin. Gripping testimony.

Just quickly, any sense how attentive the jury has been thus far as Amber Frey's testimony has gone on.

DORNIN: It's -- during these telephone recordings, they've been listening, going -- they all have transcripts, so they can go over each thing and understand exactly what is being said in each of them. It is -- right now there's been more drama in the courtroom this morning than there has been over the past few days, because it's been mostly idle chit chat between the two of them. There's a lot of drama, a lot of tension as he's doing this confession right now.

All right, Rusty Dornin, in Redwood City, thanks very much -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, it's the longest course in PGA history. We'll check in live with Tiger and company as they make their way around Whistling Straits up in Wisconsin. That's coming up next.

And later, in biz, a new cheap PC. Find out how to get it, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: When the modern Olympic Games began in Greece in 1896, only 14 countries showed up. This year as the Games return to Athens, there are thousands of athletes, tens of thousands of journalists, and hundreds of millions of people watching all around the world.

Now, today, the Olympic Flame is making its way to the Acropolis -- a matter of fact, it's already there. And Carl Lewis got the last leg. Brought it up to the steps. Lit the cauldron there on the Parthenon. Just an impressive site seeing it.

Some of the Games have already actually begun. The Iraqi Soccer Team is in action against Portugal. And at last check, they were tied two goals apiece. We'll watch that one for you.

WHITFIELD: Anyone knows by now that the Women's U.S. Soccer Team beat Greece yesterday as well.

O'BRIEN: Not exactly popular on the streets of Athens, I trust. WHITFIELD: No, apparently like eight of the 19 Greek players were actually from the U.S. -- Greek-Americans who went to school in U.S. colleges.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. I guess they all knew each other on the field.

WHITFIELD: So, little trivia, yes.

O'BRIEN: Good trivia, by the way. Wow, a fan -- she's a fan.

WHITFIELD: All right. I like sports.

Well, among those thousands of competitors gathering in Athens for the Games are hundreds of Americans, of course. And CNN's Gary Tuchman has found several who are definitely athletes of a different sort.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are soldiers at Fort Benning, Georgia, but they are also athletes, recruited by the army to train fellow soldiers and hopefully make it all the way to the Olympics. Sergeant First Class James Todd Graves is on the Olympic Skeet Shooting Team. He won a bronze in the event at the 2000 Olympics.

SGT. JAMES TODD GRAVES. OLYMPIC SKEET SHOOTER: We're not just representing the United States, we're also representing the army. And that's a big plus for us.

TUCHMAN: For the better part of a century, the military has sent prestige (ph) to the Olympic Games. Seventeen soldiers, sailors, and airmen will be competing in Athens.

Their athletic venues are their battlefields. These soldiers generally don't fight in wars, but they go to the Athens Olympic Games with their colleagues on their minds.

SGT. SHAWN DULOHERY, OLYMPIC SKEET SHOOTER: Our job is to represent those guys, that are in Iraq and Afghanistan and all over the countryside and the world, in the Olympic world and national competitions.

TUCHMAN: This will be the first Olympic Games for air riflist Hattie Johnson of Idaho. It's a dream come true for her, but still, her first priority is her role as Army Specialist.

SGT. HATTIE JOHNSON, OLYMPIC AIR RIFLER: We may be training for a match, getting ready to travel somewhere, but then it comes up that we've got some military training to do, and that's just, you know, finding the time and the open spot to get it done. You know, we have to do it, just like everybody else does.

TUCHMAN: But now they're in Greece, hoping to represent the nation and the military honorably. GRAVES: If I go over to the Olympics and actually win a medal, it will be definitely dedicated to all the soldiers that are overseas.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, it's glory's last shot for the world's best golfers. The PGA Championship is underway in Haven, Wisconsin. The tournament is the final major of the season.

CNN's Patrick Snell is live from the Whistling Straits course to tell us more about the first round leaders. What have you got?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, thanks. Many thanks for rejoining us. Well, today was a day when some of the world's top golfers were meant to suffer. I'll tell you more about that in just a minute.

But quickly, a word on the course. It is the longest ever in majors history. It's about 7,500 yards long. And it does have a really treacherous finish. That is the word that has been used among some of the players.

It's a newly designed course. It was only built in 1998. It was a former toxic dump, and I know for a fact many players had never seen this course, let alone played it. So, it was with some trepidation that they arrived here this week.

Now, many players have begun finishing their rounds. I have been mingling with them. And one in particular was Australia's Adam Scott who I'd been talking to. And he quite categorically has been saying, "I don't really know what the fuss is about."

He shot a one under par for his opening rounds, and he is boldly predicting that, amid much hype, the winning score will probably be around 10 under par. That's the bold prediction from Adam Scott.

So, who is winning? Well, I can tell you that northern Ireland's Darren Clarke, who never before has won a major, is in the lead at the moment in the clubhouse. He shot an opening round 65. That is seven under par.

And he says he got lucky out there. He got great conditions. He said he played the course on Sunday. And he thought the way he played Sunday, he would never have shot a 65. He surprised himself. He also paid tribute to the fact he has a new coach who he has been working with on his short game. So, that has paid dividends.

But he was off early in a group, a trio, along with Korea's K.J. Choi and the American Justin Leonard. And these guys really did bring out the best of each other. Choi opened up with five birdies. Clarke pretty much matched and him, and Justin Leonard believes that he certainly benefits from that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JUSTIN LEONARD, AMERICAN GOLFER: I think the beginning of the round, those two guys were definitely feeding off each other. And I think they kind of pulled me into the mix. So, you know, it's good.

It's always fun to have a group like that where everybody is playing well. And for me to get kind of sucked into it there on the back nine -- well, it was a lot of fun, as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: The British Open winner of 1997 looking in good shape as he makes his preparations for the next three rounds.

Quickly, a word on Tiger Woods. I can tell you that, going down 18, he hasn't really found the form to rekindle his career at the moment. He was three over par going down 18 -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And this is the kind of course that would be to his liking, isn't it?

SNELL: You would think so. You would think so. It's long enough. But a lot of players are saying that it is not necessarily length of the tee. It's not necessarily going to be a big pro for them, given that the fairways are so tight. The rough is in some cases knee high.

It's very, very similar to British Open venues, and Tiger Woods didn't perform particularly well at the British Open this year or indeed last year. And I do think he has a real struggle on his hands to win another major. He's gone nine majors without success. Quite staggering by his immaculately high standards, Fredricka.

SNELL: All right. Patrick Snell, thanks very much, joining us from Whistling Straits. And we were saying that that course did look like something you'd see in the British Open.

O'BRIEN: Yes, and -- looked like Bally Bunyan (ph) or St. Andrews or something like that. And there you are, you're in the dells. You know, go figure. And with Mr. Snell there, I thought we were in Great Britain.

In any case, poor Tiger, you know?

WHITFIELD: Hey, well, it's early. It's the first round. Anything can happen.

O'BRIEN: You know, it's very simple. I've got some advice for Tiger, if he's listening: Hit it straight and hit it long.

WHITFIELD: OK. I'm sure he'll appreciate that.

O'BRIEN: That should solve it for him. Don't you think?

WHITFIELD: Yes, I think that's simple.

O'BRIEN: Just listen up: Straight and long. WHITFIELD: Very good advice. All right, more on Bonnie and Charley -- it would have been so much more fun if it were Bonnie and Clyde. But more on Bonnie and Charley when we come right back.

O'BRIEN: And we'll check in with Rhonda Schaffler. The markets tanking a little bit. Not sure why.

We'll tell you how you can get a computer for 300 bucks. A new computer for $300. Big catch on it, though. We'll tell you.

WHITFIELD: Does it work?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: All right, let's go live now to Carson, California. Cal State there. John Kerry speaking to a group there about the economy. Let's listen for a few minutes.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... raise interest rates and already are. Falling wages, Americans going backwards in the income that they earn and of too many jobs shipped overseas.

The sad fact is that too many of our fellow citizens, they don't have to read about how disappointing last month's jobs numbers were, because they're living the disappointment.

They don't need to be told about the rising costs of healthcare, because they're the ones who can't afford to take their child to the doctor. They don't need -- they don't need to open the newspaper to find out that new jobs that are being created pay on average -- and remember, this is on average -- $9,000 less than the jobs we've lost because they're the ones who open the paychecks and they wonder how they are going to pay their bills.

The response -- the response of this administration to those people, the response of those people in charge of leading America, is to tell us that this is the best economy we've ever had. We're told that anyone who thinks otherwise or offers a better plan for America is a pessimist.

Well here is my answer to them. There is nothing more pessimistic than suggesting that America can't do better. We can, and we will.

There is -- there is a very simple reason that we've gone four years without a plan to fix our economy, without a real plan to fix it: No one in the White House thought anything was broken. And they still don't.

They are just fine with the same old failed policy of the past. Same old big tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. Same old shipping of the jobs overseas, and even a few new creative things like crushing the aspirations of Americans by taking away overtime pay, which is an insult to the 40-hour workweek and the efforts of people of America. O'BRIEN: Senator John Kerry in Carson, California, California State University. A few words about the economy as he continues his campaign.

The president on his way to California, too. These campaigns seems to follow each other around the country these days. And he will take a few moments, along with his first lady -- actually, an hour -- with "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight, 9:00 Eastern, and we invite you to tune in for that.

WHITFIELD: In the spirit of the Olympic Games, it's the synchronized sport.

O'BRIEN: The synchronized sport of politics. That's it. That's what is going on.

WHITFIELD: That's what I say.

O'BRIEN: I missed that memo.

WHITFIELD: Well, still another broad-based selloff underway on Wall Street.

O'BRIEN: Rhonda Schaffler is watching all the action, joining us live now from the Exchange. Hello, Rhonda.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hello once again. We're still seeing stocks sell off here pretty fiercely. And oil prices are hitting new highs. Investors disappointed today with Hewlett-Packard's miss on earnings.

Right now, the Dow Industrial Average working its way back from session lows, but still down to 93 points. Tech stocks again take the brunt of the selling. The Nasdaq is down more than one percent.

One of the few bright spots in the market today: Wal-Mart shares. They're up $1.25. The world's largest retailer beat Wall Street's quarterly profit estimates. The company also boosted its outlooks for the year and said its back-to-school shopping season is shaping up to be a good one -- Miles, Fredricka?

O'BRIEN: All right, Rhonda. We've teased this -- what is it -- $300 computer.

SCHAFFLER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: And there is a big catch: You are going to become an AOL lover, whether you like it or not?

SCHAFFLER: Well, it's one reason why AOL is coming up with this plan. America Online has been facing some big subscriber losses. It's now reaching across the digital divide as it tries to find some new sources of revenue.

It's targeting low-income households and minorities that don't already have a PC by offering a new computer that comes in just at $300. The catch is, though, got to sign up for a year's worth of AOL Internet service. So, the total cost is actually about $600 when you add it in.

The computer comes equipped with an Intel Celeron processor, Windows XP, 17-inch monitor, and color printer. It can go back and forth easily between English and Spanish.

These computers can be available at Office Depot stores later this month. And we should mention that AOL's parent company, Time Warner, is the parent of AOL, of course, and this particular network.

That is the latest in business news. Miles, Fredricka, all yours?

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Rhonda. Appreciate that.

We're tracking hurricane Charley. A live report from the Florida coast straight ahead.

WHITFIELD: And reality TV crosses the border. A popular new show where contestants perform crazy stunts for a chance at a Green Card. Truth is stranger than fiction, straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired August 12, 2004 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A CNN exclusive from the embattled Iraqi city of Najaf. This is the first video of a U.S. raid on Muqtada Al Sadr's house. The radical Shiite cleric was not inside. He's believed to be holed up in a holy Shiite Muslim site instead.
Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has left Najaf to have surgery. Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani will undergo an angioplasty procedure at a hospital in London. His representatives deny that he will have open heart surgery.

Here comes Charley. Folks are preparing for Hurricane Charley in the Florida Keys and along the state's west coast. Residents and tourists have been told to evacuate some areas. However, some people have decided to brave the storm. Tropical Storm Bonnie came ashore along the central Florida panhandle earlier today.

Keeping you informed CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Preparing for the worst with a hurricane approaching Florida's west coast. Evacuations are already under way and safety plans are in effect.

Joining us live on the phone now, Chief Mike Radzalowski of the Bradenton, Florida, Police Department.

Chief, good to have you with us.

MICHAEL RADZILOWSKI, CHIEF OF POLICE, BRADENTON POLICE DEPT.: Good to be here, sir.

O'BRIEN: How are things going as you prepare for what could be a rather significant storm surge?

RADZILOWSKI: Well, so far, so good. Traffic is starting to get a little heavy. Some people are taking advantage of the early warning system to evacuate, and we're having a little run on some of the gas stations that is clogging up some of the intersections. So that's the present concern right now, is getting people to realize this could be a very serious event, and if you are in level one or level two areas with a mandatory evacuation to leave the area.

O'BRIEN: All right, so you do have a mandatory evacuation, is it for all of the Barrier Islands? RADZILOWSKI: Well in Manatee County and Sarasota County, we have a level one and level two, which is the Barrier Islands and low-level areas around Manatee and Braden River, so it is quite a little significant area for us.

O'BRIEN: All right, and, of course, we always talk about this in advance of a storm. People tend to be a bit nonchalant, especially since they see kind of nice weather, the surf might be a little bit. They tend to stay and watch and wait. I assume you are discouraging folks from doing that.

RADZILOWSKI: Well, absolutely. They have to realize that once you're in an evacuation area, a mandatory evacuation area. At 6:00 tomorrow morning, the water and sewage is cut off, and if the storm hits with a certain amount of wind, all emergency personnel pull out. So you are basically on your own in a mandatory evacuation zone if you do not evacuate.

O'BRIEN: Chief, when was the last time you can recall Bradenton having to face this sort of level of concern and evacuation in advance of a storm?

RADZILOWSKI: Well, it was about four years ago, with Gabrielle when the tropical storm came across, but it came very quickly, and there was a lot of damage then. So we're bracing for a whole lot of damage in this area if the storm stays on track.

O'BRIEN: And did you learn any lessons then that you're applying right now.

RADZILOWSKI: Well, just be prepared and get the people to realize that if you're in an emergency evacuation zone, in a mandatory evacuation zone, that you really should leave for your own safety.

O'BRIEN: And final thought, I really didn't get this from you. What's the weather there like right now.

RADZILOWSKI: Well, right now, we have bits of sun, and strangely enough, Bonnie is (INAUDIBLE). We have some high clouds, and once in a while a band of rain from Bonnie, with a little wind. So once Bonnie leaves, I guess Charley will be here.

O'BRIEN: All right, Chief Mike Radzilowski of the Bradenton, Florida, Police Department.

Good luck to you and all the members of your department as you try to keep folks safe there and ride these storms out.

Secrets, lies and audiotapes. Scott Peterson's former mistress takes the stand again today as the jury in the murder trial hears more secret recordings.

CNN's Rusty Dornin live from Redwood City, California, with the latest on all of this -- Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, the conversation that's being played in court right now definitely has both jurors and spectators on the edge of their seats.

This is the one on January 6th, where Scott Peterson confesses his true identity, confesses he's not in Madrid, Spain, he's really in Modesto, California, and he is indeed the husband of the woman who's been missing and all over the news, Laci Peterson. He tells her I am not an evil person. He said he'd lost hope that Laci was alive.

He also says, I've always told you the truth, with a few exceptions. That statement brought a chuckle from the courtroom, even a few jurors laughed over that.

Meantime, the court has released several of the conversations, and are releasing them right now, to the media of things we have been hearing about over the last few days.

Now the one you are going to be hearing is when Scott Peterson claims he was in Paris, France. It is new year's eve, the candlelight vigil for Laci Peterson. You hear Scott Peterson talking to Amber Frey. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT PETERSON: Amber, hey, Happy New Year's.

AMBER FREY: Happy New Year's.

PETERSON: I wanted to call you.

FREY: Thank you.

PETERSON: Amber, are you there? Amber?

FREY: I'm here. I wish you could hear me.

PETERSON: I'm on the -- I think that you're there. I'm near the Eiffel Tower, New Year's Celebration is unreal. The crowd is huge.

FREY: The crowd is huge?

PETERSON: Amber?

FREY: Yes, I'm here.

PETERSON: Amber, if you're there, I can't hear you right now, I'll call you on New Year's.

FREY: OK, I'll hear from you then.

PETERSON: Amber -- Amber, miss you. See you soon.

FREY: Okay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: Scott Peterson's voice sounds somewhat garbled in those recordings. But he's saying he's at the Eiffel Tower and he's watching fireworks.

Now the tape is court is going to be playing again were about 62 pages worth of transcripts, so it's going to more than an hour and a half worth of these conversations where Scott is apologizing to Amber Frey to this, telling her he really knows nothing about it. He would like to get the person who's responsible for kidnapping his wife and that sort of thing.

But January 6th is also the day that Amber Frey asked Modesto Police for protective custody, whether she was figuring that perhaps if Scott figured out her ploy, that she might get his wrath -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Rusty Dornin. Gripping testimony.

Just quickly, any sense how attentive the jury has been thus far as Amber Frey's testimony has gone on.

DORNIN: It's -- during these telephone recordings, they've been listening, going -- they all have transcripts, so they can go over each thing and understand exactly what is being said in each of them. It is -- right now there's been more drama in the courtroom this morning than there has been over the past few days, because it's been mostly idle chit chat between the two of them. There's a lot of drama, a lot of tension as he's doing this confession right now.

All right, Rusty Dornin, in Redwood City, thanks very much -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, it's the longest course in PGA history. We'll check in live with Tiger and company as they make their way around Whistling Straits up in Wisconsin. That's coming up next.

And later, in biz, a new cheap PC. Find out how to get it, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: When the modern Olympic Games began in Greece in 1896, only 14 countries showed up. This year as the Games return to Athens, there are thousands of athletes, tens of thousands of journalists, and hundreds of millions of people watching all around the world.

Now, today, the Olympic Flame is making its way to the Acropolis -- a matter of fact, it's already there. And Carl Lewis got the last leg. Brought it up to the steps. Lit the cauldron there on the Parthenon. Just an impressive site seeing it.

Some of the Games have already actually begun. The Iraqi Soccer Team is in action against Portugal. And at last check, they were tied two goals apiece. We'll watch that one for you.

WHITFIELD: Anyone knows by now that the Women's U.S. Soccer Team beat Greece yesterday as well.

O'BRIEN: Not exactly popular on the streets of Athens, I trust. WHITFIELD: No, apparently like eight of the 19 Greek players were actually from the U.S. -- Greek-Americans who went to school in U.S. colleges.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. I guess they all knew each other on the field.

WHITFIELD: So, little trivia, yes.

O'BRIEN: Good trivia, by the way. Wow, a fan -- she's a fan.

WHITFIELD: All right. I like sports.

Well, among those thousands of competitors gathering in Athens for the Games are hundreds of Americans, of course. And CNN's Gary Tuchman has found several who are definitely athletes of a different sort.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are soldiers at Fort Benning, Georgia, but they are also athletes, recruited by the army to train fellow soldiers and hopefully make it all the way to the Olympics. Sergeant First Class James Todd Graves is on the Olympic Skeet Shooting Team. He won a bronze in the event at the 2000 Olympics.

SGT. JAMES TODD GRAVES. OLYMPIC SKEET SHOOTER: We're not just representing the United States, we're also representing the army. And that's a big plus for us.

TUCHMAN: For the better part of a century, the military has sent prestige (ph) to the Olympic Games. Seventeen soldiers, sailors, and airmen will be competing in Athens.

Their athletic venues are their battlefields. These soldiers generally don't fight in wars, but they go to the Athens Olympic Games with their colleagues on their minds.

SGT. SHAWN DULOHERY, OLYMPIC SKEET SHOOTER: Our job is to represent those guys, that are in Iraq and Afghanistan and all over the countryside and the world, in the Olympic world and national competitions.

TUCHMAN: This will be the first Olympic Games for air riflist Hattie Johnson of Idaho. It's a dream come true for her, but still, her first priority is her role as Army Specialist.

SGT. HATTIE JOHNSON, OLYMPIC AIR RIFLER: We may be training for a match, getting ready to travel somewhere, but then it comes up that we've got some military training to do, and that's just, you know, finding the time and the open spot to get it done. You know, we have to do it, just like everybody else does.

TUCHMAN: But now they're in Greece, hoping to represent the nation and the military honorably. GRAVES: If I go over to the Olympics and actually win a medal, it will be definitely dedicated to all the soldiers that are overseas.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, it's glory's last shot for the world's best golfers. The PGA Championship is underway in Haven, Wisconsin. The tournament is the final major of the season.

CNN's Patrick Snell is live from the Whistling Straits course to tell us more about the first round leaders. What have you got?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, thanks. Many thanks for rejoining us. Well, today was a day when some of the world's top golfers were meant to suffer. I'll tell you more about that in just a minute.

But quickly, a word on the course. It is the longest ever in majors history. It's about 7,500 yards long. And it does have a really treacherous finish. That is the word that has been used among some of the players.

It's a newly designed course. It was only built in 1998. It was a former toxic dump, and I know for a fact many players had never seen this course, let alone played it. So, it was with some trepidation that they arrived here this week.

Now, many players have begun finishing their rounds. I have been mingling with them. And one in particular was Australia's Adam Scott who I'd been talking to. And he quite categorically has been saying, "I don't really know what the fuss is about."

He shot a one under par for his opening rounds, and he is boldly predicting that, amid much hype, the winning score will probably be around 10 under par. That's the bold prediction from Adam Scott.

So, who is winning? Well, I can tell you that northern Ireland's Darren Clarke, who never before has won a major, is in the lead at the moment in the clubhouse. He shot an opening round 65. That is seven under par.

And he says he got lucky out there. He got great conditions. He said he played the course on Sunday. And he thought the way he played Sunday, he would never have shot a 65. He surprised himself. He also paid tribute to the fact he has a new coach who he has been working with on his short game. So, that has paid dividends.

But he was off early in a group, a trio, along with Korea's K.J. Choi and the American Justin Leonard. And these guys really did bring out the best of each other. Choi opened up with five birdies. Clarke pretty much matched and him, and Justin Leonard believes that he certainly benefits from that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JUSTIN LEONARD, AMERICAN GOLFER: I think the beginning of the round, those two guys were definitely feeding off each other. And I think they kind of pulled me into the mix. So, you know, it's good.

It's always fun to have a group like that where everybody is playing well. And for me to get kind of sucked into it there on the back nine -- well, it was a lot of fun, as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: The British Open winner of 1997 looking in good shape as he makes his preparations for the next three rounds.

Quickly, a word on Tiger Woods. I can tell you that, going down 18, he hasn't really found the form to rekindle his career at the moment. He was three over par going down 18 -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And this is the kind of course that would be to his liking, isn't it?

SNELL: You would think so. You would think so. It's long enough. But a lot of players are saying that it is not necessarily length of the tee. It's not necessarily going to be a big pro for them, given that the fairways are so tight. The rough is in some cases knee high.

It's very, very similar to British Open venues, and Tiger Woods didn't perform particularly well at the British Open this year or indeed last year. And I do think he has a real struggle on his hands to win another major. He's gone nine majors without success. Quite staggering by his immaculately high standards, Fredricka.

SNELL: All right. Patrick Snell, thanks very much, joining us from Whistling Straits. And we were saying that that course did look like something you'd see in the British Open.

O'BRIEN: Yes, and -- looked like Bally Bunyan (ph) or St. Andrews or something like that. And there you are, you're in the dells. You know, go figure. And with Mr. Snell there, I thought we were in Great Britain.

In any case, poor Tiger, you know?

WHITFIELD: Hey, well, it's early. It's the first round. Anything can happen.

O'BRIEN: You know, it's very simple. I've got some advice for Tiger, if he's listening: Hit it straight and hit it long.

WHITFIELD: OK. I'm sure he'll appreciate that.

O'BRIEN: That should solve it for him. Don't you think?

WHITFIELD: Yes, I think that's simple.

O'BRIEN: Just listen up: Straight and long. WHITFIELD: Very good advice. All right, more on Bonnie and Charley -- it would have been so much more fun if it were Bonnie and Clyde. But more on Bonnie and Charley when we come right back.

O'BRIEN: And we'll check in with Rhonda Schaffler. The markets tanking a little bit. Not sure why.

We'll tell you how you can get a computer for 300 bucks. A new computer for $300. Big catch on it, though. We'll tell you.

WHITFIELD: Does it work?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: All right, let's go live now to Carson, California. Cal State there. John Kerry speaking to a group there about the economy. Let's listen for a few minutes.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... raise interest rates and already are. Falling wages, Americans going backwards in the income that they earn and of too many jobs shipped overseas.

The sad fact is that too many of our fellow citizens, they don't have to read about how disappointing last month's jobs numbers were, because they're living the disappointment.

They don't need to be told about the rising costs of healthcare, because they're the ones who can't afford to take their child to the doctor. They don't need -- they don't need to open the newspaper to find out that new jobs that are being created pay on average -- and remember, this is on average -- $9,000 less than the jobs we've lost because they're the ones who open the paychecks and they wonder how they are going to pay their bills.

The response -- the response of this administration to those people, the response of those people in charge of leading America, is to tell us that this is the best economy we've ever had. We're told that anyone who thinks otherwise or offers a better plan for America is a pessimist.

Well here is my answer to them. There is nothing more pessimistic than suggesting that America can't do better. We can, and we will.

There is -- there is a very simple reason that we've gone four years without a plan to fix our economy, without a real plan to fix it: No one in the White House thought anything was broken. And they still don't.

They are just fine with the same old failed policy of the past. Same old big tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. Same old shipping of the jobs overseas, and even a few new creative things like crushing the aspirations of Americans by taking away overtime pay, which is an insult to the 40-hour workweek and the efforts of people of America. O'BRIEN: Senator John Kerry in Carson, California, California State University. A few words about the economy as he continues his campaign.

The president on his way to California, too. These campaigns seems to follow each other around the country these days. And he will take a few moments, along with his first lady -- actually, an hour -- with "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight, 9:00 Eastern, and we invite you to tune in for that.

WHITFIELD: In the spirit of the Olympic Games, it's the synchronized sport.

O'BRIEN: The synchronized sport of politics. That's it. That's what is going on.

WHITFIELD: That's what I say.

O'BRIEN: I missed that memo.

WHITFIELD: Well, still another broad-based selloff underway on Wall Street.

O'BRIEN: Rhonda Schaffler is watching all the action, joining us live now from the Exchange. Hello, Rhonda.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hello once again. We're still seeing stocks sell off here pretty fiercely. And oil prices are hitting new highs. Investors disappointed today with Hewlett-Packard's miss on earnings.

Right now, the Dow Industrial Average working its way back from session lows, but still down to 93 points. Tech stocks again take the brunt of the selling. The Nasdaq is down more than one percent.

One of the few bright spots in the market today: Wal-Mart shares. They're up $1.25. The world's largest retailer beat Wall Street's quarterly profit estimates. The company also boosted its outlooks for the year and said its back-to-school shopping season is shaping up to be a good one -- Miles, Fredricka?

O'BRIEN: All right, Rhonda. We've teased this -- what is it -- $300 computer.

SCHAFFLER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: And there is a big catch: You are going to become an AOL lover, whether you like it or not?

SCHAFFLER: Well, it's one reason why AOL is coming up with this plan. America Online has been facing some big subscriber losses. It's now reaching across the digital divide as it tries to find some new sources of revenue.

It's targeting low-income households and minorities that don't already have a PC by offering a new computer that comes in just at $300. The catch is, though, got to sign up for a year's worth of AOL Internet service. So, the total cost is actually about $600 when you add it in.

The computer comes equipped with an Intel Celeron processor, Windows XP, 17-inch monitor, and color printer. It can go back and forth easily between English and Spanish.

These computers can be available at Office Depot stores later this month. And we should mention that AOL's parent company, Time Warner, is the parent of AOL, of course, and this particular network.

That is the latest in business news. Miles, Fredricka, all yours?

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Rhonda. Appreciate that.

We're tracking hurricane Charley. A live report from the Florida coast straight ahead.

WHITFIELD: And reality TV crosses the border. A popular new show where contestants perform crazy stunts for a chance at a Green Card. Truth is stranger than fiction, straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

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