Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Najaf Offensive; Bonnie & Charley; Blood Pressure Insight
Aired August 12, 2004 - 14:00 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: Across Iraq, a very violent and deadly day. In Najaf, U.S. forces launched a major offensive on the Mehdi Army militia and stormed the house of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. CNN's Matthew Chance is in Najaf with some exclusive video, and he joins us now via videophone -- Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Fredricka.
And a day of intensive fighting between the thousands of U.S. troops that have been deployed in force inside Najaf. The battle, the Mehdi Army, the are forces loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, there have been several raids across various locations in the city against those Mehdi Army fighters.
Our film crew went on one of those raids where there was fierce fighting. After that fierce fighting came to an end, and the U.S. Marines that we were with actually secured the area, a raid on the house itself of Muqtada al-Sadr. We have exclusive video pictures of CNN -- from CNN of that raid. U.S. Marines busting down the front gate to Muqtada al-Sadr's residence, then moving inside to secure the area.
Now, we under that the Marines knew that Muqtada al-Sadr was not inside the house at the time. But they clearly wanted to send a very strong message to the leader of the Mehdi Army that this series of operations, this crackdown was an intensive one, and that no one, even the top figure, Muqtada al-Sadr, is immune to this operation from U.S. forces and Iraqi forces, who are backing these Marines on the ground -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Now, Matthew, there was no expectation that al-Sadr would be in the home. But why do they feel this was an important objective in their mission anyway?
CHANCE: Again, just to -- just to show the leadership of the Mehdi Army that they would also be targeted in this new phase of the heightened offensive against the Mehdi Army.
Both the Iraqi government and the U.S. Military are now taking this objective extremely seriously. They both say they want to bring to an end all of the sort of illegal militias operating in towns and cities across Iraq, but particularly this one in Najaf, the Shiite militia, the Mehdi Army.
They started this intensive series of air strikes and tanks and helicopter gunships battling up against them here, mainly in the town's holy city of Najaf. Much of that fighting centering around some of the most sacred areas of Shia Islam. That's been a constraint certainly on the U.S. forces.
But even then, both the U.S. and the interim Iraqi government are saying that they will crackdown on those insurgents wherever they are, even if that means perhaps going into the holiest sanctuaries. But then they are saying they would only use Iraqi forces, not U.S. ones.
WHITFIELD: And already there is some blame being placed on some of the damage that has been sustained on some of those holy sites. And is the U.S. bearing the brunt of that blame?
CHANCE: Well, certainly the U.S. and the interim Iraqi government are totally blaming Muqtada al-Sadr for allowing his militants to hole up in places like the Imam Ali Mosque. This is the holiest shrine in Shia Islam.
Yet, from within the compound of that shrine, a few hours earlier ago -- a few hours earlier today, we were told by the Marines that they received 25 mortar shells that were fired from the inner compound of that mosque to an Iraqi police station, causing substantial damage and substantial casualties as well.
So, that underlines the problem that U.S. and Iraqi forces are up against in this battle for Najaf. The militants have taken to the holy places, making it very difficult for the U.S. and the Iraqi forces to get them out.
WHITFIELD: All right. Which is why, Matthew, as you explained, the U.S. is refraining from entering any of those sites during this battle. Matthew Chance joining us from Najaf. Thanks very much -- Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And now to Florida and the serial cyclones. Bonnie has hit, Charley on the way. About 380,000 Tampa area residents have been asked to get out of the way.
The evacuation request, not an order, reflects worries that Hurricane Charley now a Category Two storm with winds over 100 miles an hour, may became a Cat Three by tomorrow, with storm surges of 10 feet. By my reckoning, that would put Ed Lavandera under water from where he is right now.
Ed, be careful out there. What is the latest right now?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're here in Clearwater Beach Island, the beach here. We have seen a good crowd of people here throughout the day, kind of enjoying what has been a lot of sunlight and a lot of -- a lot of body surfing here, as the surf on this beach has picked up considerably.
And also, the wind we're feeling much stronger now. And I imagine it's a combination of effects from Bonnie and perhaps a little bit of Charley as it starts to move northward toward this area.
You know, you are talking about the evacuations. We just talked a little while ago to one of the emergency management officials that looks over this Pinellas County area which is just to the west of Tampa. And basically they have issued evacuation orders for anybody on the coast, which is pretty much everyone.
In fact, the emergency management official described it as a nightmare situation because, if the flooding gets too tense, there's only three routes that you can use to get out of this area, those evacuation routes, and all of those routes go over water. So, this is a concern that they have here. And they are waiting to see how this will -- will play out.
But of course, the amount of rain and how much rain will fall in this area will be a very difficult situation. And we've been talking a lot about, too -- and emergency management officials, I think, like it to be stressed -- is that this is an area that has not seen a direct hit from a hurricane in more than 80 years. And when you talk to a lot of people here there's a lot of indifference, a lot of apathy as to, you know, what exactly the storm might be bringing.
And so, they are trying to urge people to -- to stay on top -- on top of what is going on and be listening to the local reports as to what is going on. As you can see, the wind is really picking up here, Miles, and blowing a lot stronger than it has been at any point throughout this day -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. Ed Lavandera, I want to you make sure everybody you see and hear out there, you tell them this is something they shouldn't be playing around. Inevitably, right as these storms come in, you see a bunch of people out there body surfing, and you've got to wonder about their sanity. You know?
LAVANDERA: Well, they do that -- they do it quick. And I think they try to -- you know, they'll be -- they'll be moving. It doesn't take very much to convince them to move elsewhere.
O'BRIEN: You tell them. You tell them I said so, Ed. All right?
LAVANDERA: All right.
O'BRIEN: We'll see you a little bit later. Be safe out there -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, more on Charley from a meteorological point of view. And that's where Orelon Sidney comes in -- Orelon.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Fredricka, thanks a lot.
Look, I'm going to tell you something. I'm starting to get kind of concerned about those folks on the beach.
There are some mandatory evacuations in effect for that area. That's about 36 hours out from landfall, we think. It could be sooner. And it does take many hours to evacuate that area.
Where Ed Lavandera is, is actually a peninsula. And that area could get cut off by water, especially since Charley is now intensifying. It is possible that this could become a Category Three hurricane before it makes landfall in Cuba, near the Isle of Youth, and that's later on this afternoon.
You can already see on the satellite it started to get an eye formation that is very well defined. As it moves across Cuba, it will probably disorganize just a bit. But then it's got all of this warm water in the Gulf of Mexico to regenerate. This could easily become a Category Three storm, move across, and then become a Category Three if it doesn't hold together, once again, as it moves out towards Key West.
Folks, you've got to take this seriously, because this could be a very serious situation. We have the very latest information in now.
The winds are up to 105 miles an hour. That makes it a Category Two storm currently. But it could be go up to Category three. At 111 miles an hour, it would go from a two to a three. And rather than seeing damaging coastal floods and minor damage, what we would start to see is a storm surge of up to 12 feet, and even in some areas greater than that. And we start to see severe damage expected.
That's only 111 miles an hour. Not much more than we have currently.
The last coordinates just came in, 20.4 north, 81.5 west. Continuing to move to the northwest at 17 miles an hour.
This is a (INAUDIBLE) image of the Tampa Bay area. Clearwater is over here. Tampa, St. Petersburg, of course, looks like it's going to be right in the sights of our storm as it makes its way inland.
Tomorrow, that's the projected path you see on the left of your screen. As the storm moves in, it is going to start pushing water up and then back over the St. Petersburg area. The water then pushing up the bay will be the problem because of the topography and also the -- the sea bottom there.
You can see your storm surge of 10 to 20 feet. The areas in blue could potentially be under water. We think the storm surge may be on the lower end of this, but it's possible it could be greater.
So, I can only emphasize, if you have been ordered to evacuate, you need to do that. This could be a very dangerous situation -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Orelon. You know, part of the problem for some of those surfers and body surfers out there is they see these clear skies. And it's deceiving.
SIDNEY: It's very deceiving, because that always happens ahead of the hurricane. That is part of the hurricane structure.
You get the sinking air on both sides of the storm. Sinking air is warm, clear and usually very, very calm. So, you get these beautiful days, and then by this time tomorrow, what a mess. It's going to be totally different in the Tampa Bay area.
WHITFIELD: All right. Orelon Sidney, thanks very much for that update.
SIDNEY: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Miles.
O'BRIEN: Get that sinking feeling.
All right. Turning westward, that's where the campaign trail has led both major party presidential candidates. President Bush in Las Vegas at this moment. He's talking with members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. Live picture there.
Nevada, of course, a battleground state. Kerry's been there over the past couple of days. They seem to be going in the same direction these days. It's one of 17 where the presidential race could go either way.
We're listening to the president's remarks, and we'll bring you some excerpts a little later as we monitor it for its news value. President Bush goes to California this evening. His Democratic challenger has been there all day. They're kind of following each other around the country, it seems.
John Kerry is set to make a campaign appearance in Carson any minute now to talk tax cuts. We'll be checking in on those comments as well.
Flames as high as 50 feet. Wildfires burn dozens of homes and threaten more. We've got the latest on a bad situation in California.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rusty Dornin in Redwood City, California, where jurors are hearing the taped conversation where Scott Peterson confesses his true identity to Amber Frey. Details coming up.
O'BRIEN: And the eyes have it. What your eyes reveal about your health, or at least your blood pressure. Dr. Gupta is on the case just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, now to shots fired on the campaign trail first from the president's running mate. Before a crowd of troops, veterans and first responders, Vice President Dick Cheney took aim at comments John Kerry made last week about fighting a "more sensitive war on terror by reaching out to potential allies."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The sensitive war will not destroy the evil men who killed 3,000 Americans and who seek the chemical, nuclear and biological weapons to kill hundreds of thousands more. The men who beheaded Daniel Pearl and Paul Johnson will not be impressed by our sensitivity. As our opponents see it, the problem isn't the thugs and murderers that we face, but our attitude. Well, the American people know better. They know that we are in a fight to preserve our freedom and our way of life and that we are on the side of right and justice in this battle. Those who threaten us and kill innocents around the world do not need to be treated more sensitively. They need to be destroyed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And now for a response to Cheney's response, Kerry's spokesman, Phil Singer, told CNN -- and we're quoting here -- "If you continue with a foreign policy when you're arrogant it makes it harder to hunt down terrorists."
The Kerry campaign itself issued this statement: it reads, "What Dick Cheney doesn't understand is that arrogance isn't a virtue when the lives of our own men and women are on the line. George Bush and Dick Cheney both went out of their way to avoid combat duty, pursued policies that have made America less safe, alienated key allies, and overextended our military to its thinnest level in years," end statement -- end quote from that statement coming from the Kerry campaign.
And in a moment you'll hear from John Kerry himself as he's campaigning on his 21-state tour across America. Right now he's in Carson, California, at California State University. And when he takes to the podium there we'll be bringing you his comments live.
O'BRIEN: A check of news across America now.
In new York, the 15-member United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to extend the U.N.'s mission in Iraq for another year. The resolution drafted by Britain and the U.S.
In Shasta Lake, California, sparks from a lawnmower that caused this wildfire. At least 40 homes destroyed, hundreds forced to flee. So far, the fire has scorched 3,000 acres.
Another wildfire near Oroville, north of San Francisco, now 45 percent contained. One home was destroyed there. About 100 people evacuated the area. Fire officials say 750 acres have been burned in that part of the world.
Also in California, 4,000 same-sex marriages are now void. The state Supreme Court ruled that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom exceeded his authority when he allowed those unions to take place.
WHITFIELD: And he'll be having some live comments during a press conference a little bit later. We'll bring that to you as it happens.
Well, moving on now to health news now, a new study is providing some insight into blood pressure treatment, and it's all in the eyes. CNN's senior medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they say the eyes are the window to the soul. Well, they may be the window to high blood pressure, at least, as the case may be out of this new study.
One in four Americans has significantly high blood pressure or is at risk of developing it. So, the challenge for a lot of internists for a long time has been to try and determine who is going to be at risk of developing high blood pressure later in life.
Certainly, you get your blood pressure checked regularly, things like that, but you may also have some clues from getting your eyes checked. You know when they come at you with those bright lights and actually shine in the back of your eye?
Well, there's lots of things that they are looking for. And what this new study out of Australia found was that if you have some significant changes in the back of your eye, narrowing of the blood vessels, you're more likely to develop high blood pressure later on in life.
Let me show you some pictures and tell you what I'm talking about here. Take a look at a normal retina. This is a normal retina. All the blood vessels back there are of normal caliber and size.
Now, the next picture is someone who is pre-hypertensive. And these are people who are more likely to develop blood pressure problems later on in life. You can see that their blood vessels are a little bit narrowed back there.
Now someone who is hypertensive. More significant change. You can see how it is all sort of blotted out back there. The blood vessels even narrower.
And finally, someone who has severe hypertension. See those cotton wool spots, those white spots in the back of the eye? That's very indicative of severe hypertension.
So, your opthamologist, your eye doctor may have some early clues as to whether or not you're going to develop hypertension. Again, this isn't a substitute for getting your blood pressure checked, but there are lots of clues in the back of the eye, other disease processes, as you might be able to see as well.
Disease processes like, obviously, high blood pressure, but also glaucoma, diabetes, MS, leukemia, and lymphoma. Get your blood pressure checked for sure, and get your eyes checked as well every -- every two years before the age of 40 and every year after the age of 40 or 50.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: He said, she said, and she was taping it. Scott Peterson's phone calls with former mistress Amber Frey played in his murder trial. You'll hear some of them straight ahead. RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler live from the New York Stock Exchange. If you think you're having a tough go of it in the tight labor market, try being a 20-something. I'll explain after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Two whistleblowers from the FBI are speaking out about problems they see with translators at the agency. One translator tells Paula Zahn that post 9/11 there is still lax security and that there are unqualified people working at the FBI.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIBEL EDMUNDS, FBI WHISTLEBLOWER: What I saw during my work with the Bureau as a translator for three Middle Eastern languages could be categorized in maybe three broad categories of issues.
One was certain translators were hired despite the fact that these translators have failed all given proficiency exams. Because either they had a family member working for the Bureau, or they had a close friend who worked for the Bureau.
One translator who failed all these proficiency exams was sent to Guantanamo Bay for two months. Now, they were there to translate the interrogations from certain languages to English. Well, this person did not even speak the most elementary level English.
PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": So, how would you characterize, based on your experience as a translator for the FBI, where we are in our ability to confront terror?
EDMUNDS: Today, three years after September 11, these issues, none of them have been addressed. The first reaction is let's cover it up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And you can catch Paula Zahn's complete interview with the FBI whistleblowers tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" at 8:00 Eastern.
O'BRIEN: All right. We're going to go check in with Athens now or not? Shall we do it, Athens?
WHITFIELD: I say yes. How's that?
O'BRIEN: Let's do it very quickly.
WHITFIELD: How's that?
O'BRIEN: Athens...
WHITFIELD: Because it's a beautiful site.
O'BRIEN: ... here's a little bit of tape. This is tape of the flame. But if it was live it would look just like this. And it is -- gosh, what -- I mean...
WHITFIELD: Isn't that remarkable?
O'BRIEN: Wow. I mean, why not just do the Olympic there every time?
WHITFIELD: The Parthenon. It's some -- it's over 4,000 years old.
O'BRIEN: Yes. I mean, really.
WHITFIELD: And it's remarkable. They are still in the middle of a renovation project there. And it is going to take yet many more years. As much as up to 10 years to finish it, but it doesn't matter because it's still beautiful.
O'BRIEN: I think it's terrible they are making it condos, though. You know? It's a bad idea. Don't you think?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Anyway, Rhonda, all summer long I've been telling my kids, "It's about time you got a job." Now, they are 11 and 10. Do you think that's too young?
SCHAFFLER: First of all, they may be too young. And...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
SCHAFFLER: Baby sitting would be about it.
O'BRIEN: Earn your keep, right?
SCHAFFLER: OK. That's hard to do, Miles and Fredricka, in this job market, we know. But you know what? It's even worse when we go outside the U.S. and look at some other statistics.
In fact, nearly half of the world's unemployed are under age 24, first of all. This is according to the International Labor Organization. That's a U.N. agency.
Eighty-eight million teens and early 20-somethings cannot find work. The jobless rates are highest in the Middle East and North Africa, and young women are the hardest hit. Many of those that do have jobs get paid less than a dollar day. And they have no health benefits.
The U.N. says governments need to do something to increase hiring. Cutting the youth unemployment rate in half would add at least $2 trillion to the global economy, and exercise caution if the problem is not dealt with, high unemployment can boost crime and even terrorism in those hard hit poor nations -- Miles, Fredricka.
O'BRIEN: Rhonda, what -- as I understand it, though, Big Blue is looking for a few good men and women. Maybe those youngsters ought to monster.com their way to IBM, huh? SCHAFFLER: IBM is indeed hiring. Pleasant news, when we know so many are concerned about the job market. It's going to boost hiring by several thousand.
Big Blue plans to add almost 19,000 new jobs across the globe this year. That's going to bring its total work force to 330,000.
On Wall Street, shares of IBM are actually losing two percent. But we are in the midst of a broad market selloff. And shares of IBM's competitor, Hewlett-Packard, are leading the decline, tumbling more than $3 or 16 percent. That's after HP reported a third quarter profit that missed expectation and warned its fourth quart results will fall short, as well.
Because of that loss from Hewlett-Packard, the Dow Industrials sharply lower, off 116 points. Other tech stocks following HP's lead. And the Nasdaq is giving up one and two-thirds percent right now.
That's the latest from Wall Street. CNN's LIVE FROM rolls on right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: All right. Welcome back from the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is LIVE FROM. I'm Miles O'Brien.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here's what is all new this half-hour...
The phone call Scott Peterson made to his mistress the night of a candlelight vigil for his missing wife, you'll hear part of it straight ahead.
O'BRIEN: And in the path of a hurricane, some Florida communities evacuate, others honker down. We'll talk with the police chief of Bradenton, Florida, just south of Tampa, about what his city is doing to get ready for Charley.
First, here's what's happening "Now in the News."
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 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Across Iraq, a very violent and deadly day. In Najaf, U.S. forces launched a major offensive on the Mehdi Army militia and stormed the house of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. CNN's Matthew Chance is in Najaf with some exclusive video, and he joins us now via videophone -- Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Fredricka.
And a day of intensive fighting between the thousands of U.S. troops that have been deployed in force inside Najaf. The battle, the Mehdi Army, the are forces loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, there have been several raids across various locations in the city against those Mehdi Army fighters.
Our film crew went on one of those raids where there was fierce fighting. After that fierce fighting came to an end, and the U.S. Marines that we were with actually secured the area, a raid on the house itself of Muqtada al-Sadr. We have exclusive video pictures of CNN -- from CNN of that raid. U.S. Marines busting down the front gate to Muqtada al-Sadr's residence, then moving inside to secure the area.
Now, we under that the Marines knew that Muqtada al-Sadr was not inside the house at the time. But they clearly wanted to send a very strong message to the leader of the Mehdi Army that this series of operations, this crackdown was an intensive one, and that no one, even the top figure, Muqtada al-Sadr, is immune to this operation from U.S. forces and Iraqi forces, who are backing these Marines on the ground -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Now, Matthew, there was no expectation that al-Sadr would be in the home. But why do they feel this was an important objective in their mission anyway?
CHANCE: Again, just to -- just to show the leadership of the Mehdi Army that they would also be targeted in this new phase of the heightened offensive against the Mehdi Army.
Both the Iraqi government and the U.S. Military are now taking this objective extremely seriously. They both say they want to bring to an end all of the sort of illegal militias operating in towns and cities across Iraq, but particularly this one in Najaf, the Shiite militia, the Mehdi Army.
They started this intensive series of air strikes and tanks and helicopter gunships battling up against them here, mainly in the town's holy city of Najaf. Much of that fighting centering around some of the most sacred areas of Shia Islam. That's been a constraint certainly on the U.S. forces.
But even then, both the U.S. and the interim Iraqi government are saying that they will crackdown on those insurgents wherever they are, even if that means perhaps going into the holiest sanctuaries. But then they are saying they would only use Iraqi forces, not U.S. ones.
WHITFIELD: And already there is some blame being placed on some of the damage that has been sustained on some of those holy sites. And is the U.S. bearing the brunt of that blame?
CHANCE: Well, certainly the U.S. and the interim Iraqi government are totally blaming Muqtada al-Sadr for allowing his militants to hole up in places like the Imam Ali Mosque. This is the holiest shrine in Shia Islam.
Yet, from within the compound of that shrine, a few hours earlier ago -- a few hours earlier today, we were told by the Marines that they received 25 mortar shells that were fired from the inner compound of that mosque to an Iraqi police station, causing substantial damage and substantial casualties as well.
So, that underlines the problem that U.S. and Iraqi forces are up against in this battle for Najaf. The militants have taken to the holy places, making it very difficult for the U.S. and the Iraqi forces to get them out.
WHITFIELD: All right. Which is why, Matthew, as you explained, the U.S. is refraining from entering any of those sites during this battle. Matthew Chance joining us from Najaf. Thanks very much -- Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And now to Florida and the serial cyclones. Bonnie has hit, Charley on the way. About 380,000 Tampa area residents have been asked to get out of the way.
The evacuation request, not an order, reflects worries that Hurricane Charley now a Category Two storm with winds over 100 miles an hour, may became a Cat Three by tomorrow, with storm surges of 10 feet. By my reckoning, that would put Ed Lavandera under water from where he is right now.
Ed, be careful out there. What is the latest right now?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're here in Clearwater Beach Island, the beach here. We have seen a good crowd of people here throughout the day, kind of enjoying what has been a lot of sunlight and a lot of -- a lot of body surfing here, as the surf on this beach has picked up considerably.
And also, the wind we're feeling much stronger now. And I imagine it's a combination of effects from Bonnie and perhaps a little bit of Charley as it starts to move northward toward this area.
You know, you are talking about the evacuations. We just talked a little while ago to one of the emergency management officials that looks over this Pinellas County area which is just to the west of Tampa. And basically they have issued evacuation orders for anybody on the coast, which is pretty much everyone.
In fact, the emergency management official described it as a nightmare situation because, if the flooding gets too tense, there's only three routes that you can use to get out of this area, those evacuation routes, and all of those routes go over water. So, this is a concern that they have here. And they are waiting to see how this will -- will play out.
But of course, the amount of rain and how much rain will fall in this area will be a very difficult situation. And we've been talking a lot about, too -- and emergency management officials, I think, like it to be stressed -- is that this is an area that has not seen a direct hit from a hurricane in more than 80 years. And when you talk to a lot of people here there's a lot of indifference, a lot of apathy as to, you know, what exactly the storm might be bringing.
And so, they are trying to urge people to -- to stay on top -- on top of what is going on and be listening to the local reports as to what is going on. As you can see, the wind is really picking up here, Miles, and blowing a lot stronger than it has been at any point throughout this day -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. Ed Lavandera, I want to you make sure everybody you see and hear out there, you tell them this is something they shouldn't be playing around. Inevitably, right as these storms come in, you see a bunch of people out there body surfing, and you've got to wonder about their sanity. You know?
LAVANDERA: Well, they do that -- they do it quick. And I think they try to -- you know, they'll be -- they'll be moving. It doesn't take very much to convince them to move elsewhere.
O'BRIEN: You tell them. You tell them I said so, Ed. All right?
LAVANDERA: All right.
O'BRIEN: We'll see you a little bit later. Be safe out there -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, more on Charley from a meteorological point of view. And that's where Orelon Sidney comes in -- Orelon.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Fredricka, thanks a lot.
Look, I'm going to tell you something. I'm starting to get kind of concerned about those folks on the beach.
There are some mandatory evacuations in effect for that area. That's about 36 hours out from landfall, we think. It could be sooner. And it does take many hours to evacuate that area.
Where Ed Lavandera is, is actually a peninsula. And that area could get cut off by water, especially since Charley is now intensifying. It is possible that this could become a Category Three hurricane before it makes landfall in Cuba, near the Isle of Youth, and that's later on this afternoon.
You can already see on the satellite it started to get an eye formation that is very well defined. As it moves across Cuba, it will probably disorganize just a bit. But then it's got all of this warm water in the Gulf of Mexico to regenerate. This could easily become a Category Three storm, move across, and then become a Category Three if it doesn't hold together, once again, as it moves out towards Key West.
Folks, you've got to take this seriously, because this could be a very serious situation. We have the very latest information in now.
The winds are up to 105 miles an hour. That makes it a Category Two storm currently. But it could be go up to Category three. At 111 miles an hour, it would go from a two to a three. And rather than seeing damaging coastal floods and minor damage, what we would start to see is a storm surge of up to 12 feet, and even in some areas greater than that. And we start to see severe damage expected.
That's only 111 miles an hour. Not much more than we have currently.
The last coordinates just came in, 20.4 north, 81.5 west. Continuing to move to the northwest at 17 miles an hour.
This is a (INAUDIBLE) image of the Tampa Bay area. Clearwater is over here. Tampa, St. Petersburg, of course, looks like it's going to be right in the sights of our storm as it makes its way inland.
Tomorrow, that's the projected path you see on the left of your screen. As the storm moves in, it is going to start pushing water up and then back over the St. Petersburg area. The water then pushing up the bay will be the problem because of the topography and also the -- the sea bottom there.
You can see your storm surge of 10 to 20 feet. The areas in blue could potentially be under water. We think the storm surge may be on the lower end of this, but it's possible it could be greater.
So, I can only emphasize, if you have been ordered to evacuate, you need to do that. This could be a very dangerous situation -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Orelon. You know, part of the problem for some of those surfers and body surfers out there is they see these clear skies. And it's deceiving.
SIDNEY: It's very deceiving, because that always happens ahead of the hurricane. That is part of the hurricane structure.
You get the sinking air on both sides of the storm. Sinking air is warm, clear and usually very, very calm. So, you get these beautiful days, and then by this time tomorrow, what a mess. It's going to be totally different in the Tampa Bay area.
WHITFIELD: All right. Orelon Sidney, thanks very much for that update.
SIDNEY: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Miles.
O'BRIEN: Get that sinking feeling.
All right. Turning westward, that's where the campaign trail has led both major party presidential candidates. President Bush in Las Vegas at this moment. He's talking with members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. Live picture there.
Nevada, of course, a battleground state. Kerry's been there over the past couple of days. They seem to be going in the same direction these days. It's one of 17 where the presidential race could go either way.
We're listening to the president's remarks, and we'll bring you some excerpts a little later as we monitor it for its news value. President Bush goes to California this evening. His Democratic challenger has been there all day. They're kind of following each other around the country, it seems.
John Kerry is set to make a campaign appearance in Carson any minute now to talk tax cuts. We'll be checking in on those comments as well.
Flames as high as 50 feet. Wildfires burn dozens of homes and threaten more. We've got the latest on a bad situation in California.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rusty Dornin in Redwood City, California, where jurors are hearing the taped conversation where Scott Peterson confesses his true identity to Amber Frey. Details coming up.
O'BRIEN: And the eyes have it. What your eyes reveal about your health, or at least your blood pressure. Dr. Gupta is on the case just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, now to shots fired on the campaign trail first from the president's running mate. Before a crowd of troops, veterans and first responders, Vice President Dick Cheney took aim at comments John Kerry made last week about fighting a "more sensitive war on terror by reaching out to potential allies."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The sensitive war will not destroy the evil men who killed 3,000 Americans and who seek the chemical, nuclear and biological weapons to kill hundreds of thousands more. The men who beheaded Daniel Pearl and Paul Johnson will not be impressed by our sensitivity. As our opponents see it, the problem isn't the thugs and murderers that we face, but our attitude. Well, the American people know better. They know that we are in a fight to preserve our freedom and our way of life and that we are on the side of right and justice in this battle. Those who threaten us and kill innocents around the world do not need to be treated more sensitively. They need to be destroyed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And now for a response to Cheney's response, Kerry's spokesman, Phil Singer, told CNN -- and we're quoting here -- "If you continue with a foreign policy when you're arrogant it makes it harder to hunt down terrorists."
The Kerry campaign itself issued this statement: it reads, "What Dick Cheney doesn't understand is that arrogance isn't a virtue when the lives of our own men and women are on the line. George Bush and Dick Cheney both went out of their way to avoid combat duty, pursued policies that have made America less safe, alienated key allies, and overextended our military to its thinnest level in years," end statement -- end quote from that statement coming from the Kerry campaign.
And in a moment you'll hear from John Kerry himself as he's campaigning on his 21-state tour across America. Right now he's in Carson, California, at California State University. And when he takes to the podium there we'll be bringing you his comments live.
O'BRIEN: A check of news across America now.
In new York, the 15-member United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to extend the U.N.'s mission in Iraq for another year. The resolution drafted by Britain and the U.S.
In Shasta Lake, California, sparks from a lawnmower that caused this wildfire. At least 40 homes destroyed, hundreds forced to flee. So far, the fire has scorched 3,000 acres.
Another wildfire near Oroville, north of San Francisco, now 45 percent contained. One home was destroyed there. About 100 people evacuated the area. Fire officials say 750 acres have been burned in that part of the world.
Also in California, 4,000 same-sex marriages are now void. The state Supreme Court ruled that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom exceeded his authority when he allowed those unions to take place.
WHITFIELD: And he'll be having some live comments during a press conference a little bit later. We'll bring that to you as it happens.
Well, moving on now to health news now, a new study is providing some insight into blood pressure treatment, and it's all in the eyes. CNN's senior medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they say the eyes are the window to the soul. Well, they may be the window to high blood pressure, at least, as the case may be out of this new study.
One in four Americans has significantly high blood pressure or is at risk of developing it. So, the challenge for a lot of internists for a long time has been to try and determine who is going to be at risk of developing high blood pressure later in life.
Certainly, you get your blood pressure checked regularly, things like that, but you may also have some clues from getting your eyes checked. You know when they come at you with those bright lights and actually shine in the back of your eye?
Well, there's lots of things that they are looking for. And what this new study out of Australia found was that if you have some significant changes in the back of your eye, narrowing of the blood vessels, you're more likely to develop high blood pressure later on in life.
Let me show you some pictures and tell you what I'm talking about here. Take a look at a normal retina. This is a normal retina. All the blood vessels back there are of normal caliber and size.
Now, the next picture is someone who is pre-hypertensive. And these are people who are more likely to develop blood pressure problems later on in life. You can see that their blood vessels are a little bit narrowed back there.
Now someone who is hypertensive. More significant change. You can see how it is all sort of blotted out back there. The blood vessels even narrower.
And finally, someone who has severe hypertension. See those cotton wool spots, those white spots in the back of the eye? That's very indicative of severe hypertension.
So, your opthamologist, your eye doctor may have some early clues as to whether or not you're going to develop hypertension. Again, this isn't a substitute for getting your blood pressure checked, but there are lots of clues in the back of the eye, other disease processes, as you might be able to see as well.
Disease processes like, obviously, high blood pressure, but also glaucoma, diabetes, MS, leukemia, and lymphoma. Get your blood pressure checked for sure, and get your eyes checked as well every -- every two years before the age of 40 and every year after the age of 40 or 50.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: He said, she said, and she was taping it. Scott Peterson's phone calls with former mistress Amber Frey played in his murder trial. You'll hear some of them straight ahead. RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler live from the New York Stock Exchange. If you think you're having a tough go of it in the tight labor market, try being a 20-something. I'll explain after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Two whistleblowers from the FBI are speaking out about problems they see with translators at the agency. One translator tells Paula Zahn that post 9/11 there is still lax security and that there are unqualified people working at the FBI.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIBEL EDMUNDS, FBI WHISTLEBLOWER: What I saw during my work with the Bureau as a translator for three Middle Eastern languages could be categorized in maybe three broad categories of issues.
One was certain translators were hired despite the fact that these translators have failed all given proficiency exams. Because either they had a family member working for the Bureau, or they had a close friend who worked for the Bureau.
One translator who failed all these proficiency exams was sent to Guantanamo Bay for two months. Now, they were there to translate the interrogations from certain languages to English. Well, this person did not even speak the most elementary level English.
PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": So, how would you characterize, based on your experience as a translator for the FBI, where we are in our ability to confront terror?
EDMUNDS: Today, three years after September 11, these issues, none of them have been addressed. The first reaction is let's cover it up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And you can catch Paula Zahn's complete interview with the FBI whistleblowers tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" at 8:00 Eastern.
O'BRIEN: All right. We're going to go check in with Athens now or not? Shall we do it, Athens?
WHITFIELD: I say yes. How's that?
O'BRIEN: Let's do it very quickly.
WHITFIELD: How's that?
O'BRIEN: Athens...
WHITFIELD: Because it's a beautiful site.
O'BRIEN: ... here's a little bit of tape. This is tape of the flame. But if it was live it would look just like this. And it is -- gosh, what -- I mean...
WHITFIELD: Isn't that remarkable?
O'BRIEN: Wow. I mean, why not just do the Olympic there every time?
WHITFIELD: The Parthenon. It's some -- it's over 4,000 years old.
O'BRIEN: Yes. I mean, really.
WHITFIELD: And it's remarkable. They are still in the middle of a renovation project there. And it is going to take yet many more years. As much as up to 10 years to finish it, but it doesn't matter because it's still beautiful.
O'BRIEN: I think it's terrible they are making it condos, though. You know? It's a bad idea. Don't you think?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Anyway, Rhonda, all summer long I've been telling my kids, "It's about time you got a job." Now, they are 11 and 10. Do you think that's too young?
SCHAFFLER: First of all, they may be too young. And...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
SCHAFFLER: Baby sitting would be about it.
O'BRIEN: Earn your keep, right?
SCHAFFLER: OK. That's hard to do, Miles and Fredricka, in this job market, we know. But you know what? It's even worse when we go outside the U.S. and look at some other statistics.
In fact, nearly half of the world's unemployed are under age 24, first of all. This is according to the International Labor Organization. That's a U.N. agency.
Eighty-eight million teens and early 20-somethings cannot find work. The jobless rates are highest in the Middle East and North Africa, and young women are the hardest hit. Many of those that do have jobs get paid less than a dollar day. And they have no health benefits.
The U.N. says governments need to do something to increase hiring. Cutting the youth unemployment rate in half would add at least $2 trillion to the global economy, and exercise caution if the problem is not dealt with, high unemployment can boost crime and even terrorism in those hard hit poor nations -- Miles, Fredricka.
O'BRIEN: Rhonda, what -- as I understand it, though, Big Blue is looking for a few good men and women. Maybe those youngsters ought to monster.com their way to IBM, huh? SCHAFFLER: IBM is indeed hiring. Pleasant news, when we know so many are concerned about the job market. It's going to boost hiring by several thousand.
Big Blue plans to add almost 19,000 new jobs across the globe this year. That's going to bring its total work force to 330,000.
On Wall Street, shares of IBM are actually losing two percent. But we are in the midst of a broad market selloff. And shares of IBM's competitor, Hewlett-Packard, are leading the decline, tumbling more than $3 or 16 percent. That's after HP reported a third quarter profit that missed expectation and warned its fourth quart results will fall short, as well.
Because of that loss from Hewlett-Packard, the Dow Industrials sharply lower, off 116 points. Other tech stocks following HP's lead. And the Nasdaq is giving up one and two-thirds percent right now.
That's the latest from Wall Street. CNN's LIVE FROM rolls on right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: All right. Welcome back from the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is LIVE FROM. I'm Miles O'Brien.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here's what is all new this half-hour...
The phone call Scott Peterson made to his mistress the night of a candlelight vigil for his missing wife, you'll hear part of it straight ahead.
O'BRIEN: And in the path of a hurricane, some Florida communities evacuate, others honker down. We'll talk with the police chief of Bradenton, Florida, just south of Tampa, about what his city is doing to get ready for Charley.
First, here's what's happening "Now in the News."
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
