Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
U.S. Nearing 1,000 Deaths in Iraq since March 2003; Florida Assesses Massive Hurricane Damage
Aired September 07, 2004 - 15:00 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news: Difficult, yet personal -- that's how New Jersey Governor James McGreevey describes his decision to resign. Until today, he hadn't spoken publicly about it since August 12, when he announced he had had an extramarital affair with a man. All the day's political news in half-an-hour, as CNN goes "INSIDE POLITICS" with Judy Woodruff.
Taken in under the Terrorism Act. Police in Southampton, England, say that four men were picked up this morning, but they're not saying what for. They're saying the men are between 26 and 34 years old. It's a story we're following.
Record ready -- Congressional budget analysis -- or analysts, rather -- say that the U.S. is looking at a deficit of $422 billion by year's end. The Bush White House is calling that good news because analysts had predicted months ago the deficit would be much higher.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour, no free passes.
If you've been watching CNN, you heard Donald Rumsfeld lament a threat of terrorism that hangs over just about everybody everywhere, including children and teenagers, parents and teachers on the first day of school in Russia. The defense secretary blames terrorists, criminals and Baathists for ongoing violence in Iraq, but says those groups have underestimated U.S. resolve.
We get more on all of this from our CNN senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld began his Pentagon news briefing, his first in quite a while, noting a grim milestone, that is that the United States is closing in on what will be the 100th of a U.S. military or civilian working for the U.S. military in Iraq -- that is the 1,000th. I think I misspoke there -- the 1,000th death, as well as closing in on about 7,000 casualties.
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said this is the cost for the United States staying on the offensive in the war against terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Hundreds were killed in Russia last week, to be sure, and this week, of course, on September 11, 2004, we remember the 3,000 citizens of dozens of countries who were killed on September 11 in 2001. And September 11, 2001, was not the beginning of terrorism. And the war in Iraq has not created terrorism. International terrorists declared war on the civilized nations of the world some time back. And over the decades, they have killed many thousands of Americans and citizens of other countries as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUMSFELD: Now, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Richard Myers, noted that the United States and the Iraqi government has to make progress in areas where the insurgents are still holding sway, including places like Sadr City, the suburb in Baghdad where the United States has been inflicting heavy casualties and taking some casualties as well, along with the Iraqi forces.
This is one of the so-called no-go zones, where the United States is not patrolling as heavily, sometimes not patrolling at all, and the Iraqi government doesn't have control. There are many of these across the country, including Fallujah, where yesterday there were seven Marines killed in a suicide bomb attack. The Defense Department says that it is working with the Iraqi government and has to wait for the Iraqi government to coordinate the plans to go against these areas.
But Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said today -- quote -- "They get it" and that there is a plan to go in and deal with the areas like Fallujah, Samarra, like Ramadi, where the rebels are holding sway, and take care of those situations in the months ahead. A U.S. general on the ground in Iraq has indicated that it is imperative that something be done about these situations before January, when Iraq is scheduled to hold its first elections -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Jamie, they get it, but they may not be equipped to do anything about it without the help of the U.S. The secretary was a little bit vague on that.
MCINTYRE: That's right.
Well, there are supposed to be about 200,000 Iraqi security forces, police, military, border patrol people available to help. Right now, the Pentagon concedes that the actual number that's trained and equipped is more like 95,000. And there's some questions about how well trained and equipped some of those are. So, that's one of the things that's hampering the progress.
But the U.S. believes that it can't go too much on the offensive itself because it will look like an American-imposed solution, rather than something that the interim Iraqi government is dealing with itself. So, its hands are somewhat tied in making sure that, when they deal with the situation, if they go in, that the settlement lasts and it's seen as legitimate by the people on the ground.
O'BRIEN: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thank you very much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, Frances is unleashing its fury on much of the Southeast today. Now a tropical depression, it's pounding Georgia with powerful winds and rain. Trees are down. Power is out. So, is school in dozens of counties.
The storm has left Florida in shambles. The latest estimate now from Risk Management Solutions puts insured losses in Florida anywhere from $3 billion to $6 billion. The death toll from the storm has climbed to 13. Ten of those deaths were in Florida.
Well, the focus in Florida is on relief. Hundreds of people are still in shelters. About two million are without power, and lines for necessities such as water and ice are hours long.
Joining us on the phone now from Stuart, Florida, is Courtney Prebich, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross.
Courtney, thanks for being with us.
I know you're busy. Why don't you tell us exactly where you are, sort of set the scene, and describe the conditions you're dealing with?
COURTNEY PREBICH, AMERICAN RED CROSS: I'm in Stuart, Florida, which is in Martin County. It's over on the East Coast of Florida, and it took the brunt of the storm in this area along the coast.
In this county, we still have 160 people in a shelter right across the street from the Martin County chapter. Overall, the Red Cross has 158 shelters open throughout the state of Florida, with about 40,000 people still living in them.
PHILLIPS: Now, Courtney, there were some reports at the beginning that a number of these shelters -- I'm not sure if they were Red Cross shelters or other types of rescue areas, they actually had to turn people down. Have you been able to help everyone that comes to you?
PREBICH: The Red Cross helps everybody that comes to us in a shelter. So, if a shelter starts to get crowded, we will make arrangements to open another shelter. And that's part of our preparedness in identifying how many that will be needed.
So, I can tell you currently the one across the street is still open, and there's room there if people need it. The people that are there now were evacuated because of the storm, or they came on their own because of the storm, and now they're unable to return to their homes because of damage. We spoke to one man yesterday who, his roof blew off, and he just can't live there anymore. So, that's why he's still in the shelter.
PHILLIPS: What kind of ages are we talking about? Is this babies all the way to elderly age?
PREBICH: It's -- we have elderly people. We have a lot of people with special needs. We have Red Cross nurses in these shelters helping people with special health needs. And we have children and families and everything in between. We even had a baby born at the shelter here in Martin County, delivered by a Red Cross nurse during the height of the storm.
PHILLIPS: Courtney, I know that you're helping folks with a place to sleep and with food and water. What about looking ahead to finding contractors to work on rebuilding their homes or maybe some psychological support or looking beyond what has happened in just a few days? Are you able to provide that type of assistance?
PREBICH: The American Red Cross provides an immediate disaster relief. So, we provide the shelter and the food and the water, like you said. We're asking people to call our help lines -- that's 1-866- GET-INFO -- if they need additional assistance.
And we're also asking them to call that number, 866-GET-INFO, to let us know where services are needed. The storm was so large and covered so much of the state that we're relying on people out there to kind of be our eyes and ears and let us know where we need to go and where the help is needed in their communities.
PHILLIPS: Courtney Prebich, spokesperson for the American Red Cross there in Stuart, Florida.
Again, that number 1-866-GET-INFO.
Thanks, Courtney -- Miles.
PREBICH: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Well, I'm looking out the window here at CNN Center. We're still getting a little bit of a Frances soaking.
How long will it linger, Orelon Sidney?
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, gosh, I would love to answer that question.
It's moving so slow, Miles, it's just not going much of anywhere at all. I'll show you the radar in a second. But this here, I'm showing you what the radar looks like if you kind of translate it into 24-hour rainfall. This is the Barron's (ph) fast track I'm taking a look at. And my producer, Greg Wentworth (ph), is going to help me a little bit show you some of the rainfall.
But look at this. As you head out towards Savannah, five inches of rain here. Just to the southeast of Atlanta, we've seen as much as three inches. Heaviest activity now seems to be in the Carolinas. That's where we're picking up most of the most severe thunderstorms and had a couple of tornado warnings. And look at that. Just to the southeast of Columbia, five inches there. Six inches towards Macon. So, just some amazingly heavy amounts.
Let's take a look at the graphic 115 and I can show you where the radar is now. Center of the storm was just about over the state line between Alabama and Georgia about an hour ago. You can see that all the action now is generally north of that central axis. To the south, there's not a lot happening.
But look at all the rainfall that extends to the north now, with a couple of tornado watches in effect until 7:00 p.m. tonight for the Carolinas. So, just a very, very busy night.
We've also have had some tornado warnings, as I said. And Ivan, of course, is still in the pipeline. Right now, it's located about 55 miles east-southeast of Granada. Winds now are up from the last advisory to 120 miles an hour. That's a strong Category 3, still moving west at 18 miles an hour. The track on Ivan and the latest on Frances a little bit later -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Orelon, I'm kind of afraid to ask. Is there anything behind Ivan?
SIDNEY: Wouldn't you know there is?
(LAUGHTER)
SIDNEY: Do you really want to know that right now?
O'BRIEN: No.
SIDNEY: But I'll show you that, as a matter of fact, in the next half hour.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Show me later. All right, thanks, Orelon. Appreciate it.
SIDNEY: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, we want to remind you, just ahead, we have some video just coming in from Russia. I'm being told it's pretty graphic footage. It was actually shot by the militants who took more than 1,000 people hostage, you'll remember, in that school in Beslan. We're going to have a live report just ahead, plus, a number of stories coming up on LIVE FROM.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rusty Dornin in Redwood City, California, where Scott Peterson's defense team continues to use prosecution witnesses to further their own theory that someone else might have killed Laci Peterson. More coming up.
PHILLIPS: And plucking out pieces of the sun. Ahead, Miles tells us about a very precarious mission. He's very excited. It could help tell us how the solar system was formed. And then he'll go on and give us a big historical rendezvous when LIVE FROM returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: In California today, Scott Peterson's double murder trial resumes. And this week, prosecutors plan to show DNA evidence that they say ties Peterson to the death of his wife and unborn child.
Rusty Dornin is covering the trial in Redwood City -- Rusty.
DORNIN: Well, that DNA testimony, Kyra, is scheduled to come a little later this week. We've had a parade of witnesses this morning, and it seems like the defense is using again the prosecution witnesses to further their own theory that someone else might have killed Laci Peterson.
There was an officer from north of Modesto, a deputy sheriff who says he was called by Modesto Police about a tip that Laci Peterson might have been held somewhere against her will in a rural area. Apparently, they checked it out. They couldn't find anything.
But Mark Geragos, on cross-examination, pulled it out that in fact there was an area where there were parolees and drug addicts living, and that law enforcement never went there by foot, again, raising that possibility that maybe they didn't follow up on some of those leads.
Then Terri Western, a longtime friend of the Rocha family, the woman who set up the emergency area for Laci Peterson, testified. She also sold the house to Laci and Scott Peterson. She testified that Scott Peterson came up to her in mid-January and ask her again if she could sell the house for him. She told him it wouldn't be appropriate at this time.
Again, there is a criminalist on the stand now who is talking about those pliers, the one that the hair was found in, saying that they had been rusted shut. Now, the defense is claiming, look, if they've been rusted shut, how can the hair belong Laci Peterson? Now prosecutors are claiming it rusted after it was found in the boat, that the salt water caused it to rust. And of course, that raised a big ruckus, with defense attorney Mark Geragos, saying, where are you getting this? This is the first I've heard about this.
So, just sort of a variety of witnesses that we're hearing from now, Kyra. But later on this week, the DNA testimony about that hair is scheduled to come up.
PHILLIPS: All right, Rusty Dornin covering everything there for us in Redwood City -- thanks, Rusty.
O'BRIEN: In Russia today, sorrow and solidarity in the wake of that horrible hostage ordeal in Beslan, this as the Russian TV releases dramatic videotape shot by the Beslan terrorists themselves.
CNN's Jill Dougherty has the latest on all this from Moscow -- Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Miles, just a few minutes ago, Russia's NTV aired this video. And it is indeed chilling.
They said that it was shot by the terrorists. And you can see -- I think we can start to run that video. And you can see, as they walk through, you see the terrorists themselves dressed in masks, in camouflage, for the most part, with Kalashnikovs and other weapons. They walk through, and then you see the gymnasium with women and children, at that point, approximately 1,000 people in that gymnasium.
And as you watch that, you see the terrorists are beginning to hook up wires. That would appear to be wires leading to explosive devices. And again, shots of the people in that gymnasium, little children, mothers, sitting there hands behind their backs, not knowing what will happen.
One of the key shots that we're going to see here is that basketball hoop. If you look at that basketball hoop in the center of the room, that is where the explosives, the main explosives, that apparently brought down the ceiling of that gymnasium on top of those people and started a conflagration, that is where those explosives were hooked on to that basketball hoop.
Again, we're seeing the gymnasium and one terrorist with his foot on a book, which looks like another explosive device. They also shot outside of the building, looking out of the windows. And we can see some of that. But the main picture that continues as we watch that is the terrorists, including one woman that we have a picture of there holding a gun, brandishing a gun, and the people in that gymnasium -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Jill, very, very, very difficult to watch this, for obvious reasons. I'm curious what the reaction has been in Russia. How long has this tape been playing on Russian television, and what's it been like for Russians to see the ordeal from this particular perspective?
DOUGHERTY: Miles, this tape just was broadcast literally probably about, oh, maybe a half-an-hour at the very, very most ago. So, people are seeing it for the first time.
And it is, I'm sure, very disturbing for people, because we all know what happened. We know that hundreds of those people were killed and hundreds more were injured very, very severely, many of them burned, many children burned. And so, it would be very disturbing.
And Miles, I have to tell you today -- you know, President Putin last evening met with some Russian experts, and he described one chilling scene. He said that they actually -- according to the Russian security people, those terrorists were not carrying cell phones because they figured that they would be -- the transmissions would be caught by the FSB, the federal security service.
So, they carried walkie-talkies. And President Putin said, anyway, the walkie-talkies were intercepted as well. And in one of those conversations, you hear one of the terrorists saying to the other, hey, what are you doing there? I hear some noise. And he says, oh, well, I'm just shooting some children.
O'BRIEN: Oh, my gosh.
DOUGHERTY: And the president said they were -- yes. Yes. And he said they were so bored that they were shooting children. And they have that, he says, in this transmission that is taped.
So, this is just -- you know, the reality of what went on in there is just dawning on people. And again, a lot of the -- how it actually happened is going to be very, very crucial. What was the moment where the forces, the Russians decided to go in there? Was there an explosion? What exactly happened?
O'BRIEN: Well, and that remains kind of steeped in mystery. Is there much more tape out there beyond what has been released? Are we aware of additional tape that will be released over time?
DOUGHERTY: You know, we really do not know. That was a tape that NTV obtained. There could be more.
This is not the first time, you know, that Chechen terrorists have taken pictures, taken video of themselves. Remember the theater hostage crisis two years ago. There was some videotape as well. So, this is not that uncommon. But this is really amazing to see this video. And I'm sure that the authorities will be watching it minute by minute very, very carefully. There were a couple of moments there where they had some sound up. We listened to it as carefully as we could.
One is kind of an innocuous conversation, like, you know, get those kids, move them, or something like that. The second one, which is more -- it is louder, but you can't even really understand what language it is in. But again, sure that the FSB is going to be analyzing that very carefully.
O'BRIEN: One final thought here. You mentioned that theater attack of a couple of years ago. And I have heard the Russians talk about how much more sophisticated this attack was and how, in essence, the terrorists sort of went to school on tactics based on what happened there.
Looking at that foot on the book, it almost looked like there was a trip wire there. What I'm trying to get at here is, it was an incredibly sophisticated, highly-planned-out attack, wasn't it?
DOUGHERTY: Absolutely. In fact, they cased that school. That's obvious, investigators say. They cased it way in advance. In fact, the theory now is that they had so much firepower, so much ammunition, so many explosives that there was no way that they could have brought that in when they swooped in on September 1 and took those hostages. They must have placed it there in advance.
And the theory is that they were some, perhaps the very terrorists that we've been seeing or perhaps their accomplices, placing that stuff in the false basement of the gymnasium or another room in that school. And then, when they took over the building, they were able to pry that open and take out all of these explosives.
Another thing that they learned from the theater crisis is, they were aware that the Russian authorities might attempt to use some type of knockout gas. That's what they did, of course, two years ago. And so, they were prepared for that. They had gas masks. They reportedly also had sniffer dogs, professional sniffer dogs who were prepared to figure out whether some type of an attack was imminent or whether any gas was going to be used.
And they also, reportedly -- this is, again, coming from the Russian security forces -- knocked out the windows, broke a lot of the windows so that, if any gas was used, it wouldn't penetrate as much. There would be some fresh air.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Jill Dougherty. Rough pictures. Thank you for your report.
It's hard to comprehend the evil and inhumanity behind those masks. Thank you very much.
We're back with more in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Well, we had hoped to give you a preview of the Genesis capture tomorrow. News got in the way.
There it is, in essence. That's all you need to know. Helicopter, hook, parachute, and very valuable piece of the sun in a capsule.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Hopefully, it will go well. Tomorrow, by the time we see you, we'll know. It happens the noon Eastern hour. Stay tuned to CNN for live coverage of that tomorrow.
I know you'll be watching.
PHILLIPS: You know I'll be watching. You'll be briefing me.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Yes.
That wraps up this Tuesday edition of LIVE FROM.
PHILLIPS: And now, to take us through the next hour of political headlines, "JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS." Hi, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Kyra. Thanks to you. Thanks to you. Thanks to Miles.
The Bush campaign, accusing John Kerry of flip-flopping on the Iraq issue. But is that issue as important in this election as it once was. Our Bill Schneider looks at Iraq and what it may mean in November.
Plus, some Democrats have been critical of their leader in recent days. We'll talk with one man who says Kerry needs to rethink his campaign strategy.
INSIDE POLITICS begins in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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 September 7, 2004 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news: Difficult, yet personal -- that's how New Jersey Governor James McGreevey describes his decision to resign. Until today, he hadn't spoken publicly about it since August 12, when he announced he had had an extramarital affair with a man. All the day's political news in half-an-hour, as CNN goes "INSIDE POLITICS" with Judy Woodruff.
Taken in under the Terrorism Act. Police in Southampton, England, say that four men were picked up this morning, but they're not saying what for. They're saying the men are between 26 and 34 years old. It's a story we're following.
Record ready -- Congressional budget analysis -- or analysts, rather -- say that the U.S. is looking at a deficit of $422 billion by year's end. The Bush White House is calling that good news because analysts had predicted months ago the deficit would be much higher.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour, no free passes.
If you've been watching CNN, you heard Donald Rumsfeld lament a threat of terrorism that hangs over just about everybody everywhere, including children and teenagers, parents and teachers on the first day of school in Russia. The defense secretary blames terrorists, criminals and Baathists for ongoing violence in Iraq, but says those groups have underestimated U.S. resolve.
We get more on all of this from our CNN senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld began his Pentagon news briefing, his first in quite a while, noting a grim milestone, that is that the United States is closing in on what will be the 100th of a U.S. military or civilian working for the U.S. military in Iraq -- that is the 1,000th. I think I misspoke there -- the 1,000th death, as well as closing in on about 7,000 casualties.
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said this is the cost for the United States staying on the offensive in the war against terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Hundreds were killed in Russia last week, to be sure, and this week, of course, on September 11, 2004, we remember the 3,000 citizens of dozens of countries who were killed on September 11 in 2001. And September 11, 2001, was not the beginning of terrorism. And the war in Iraq has not created terrorism. International terrorists declared war on the civilized nations of the world some time back. And over the decades, they have killed many thousands of Americans and citizens of other countries as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUMSFELD: Now, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Richard Myers, noted that the United States and the Iraqi government has to make progress in areas where the insurgents are still holding sway, including places like Sadr City, the suburb in Baghdad where the United States has been inflicting heavy casualties and taking some casualties as well, along with the Iraqi forces.
This is one of the so-called no-go zones, where the United States is not patrolling as heavily, sometimes not patrolling at all, and the Iraqi government doesn't have control. There are many of these across the country, including Fallujah, where yesterday there were seven Marines killed in a suicide bomb attack. The Defense Department says that it is working with the Iraqi government and has to wait for the Iraqi government to coordinate the plans to go against these areas.
But Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said today -- quote -- "They get it" and that there is a plan to go in and deal with the areas like Fallujah, Samarra, like Ramadi, where the rebels are holding sway, and take care of those situations in the months ahead. A U.S. general on the ground in Iraq has indicated that it is imperative that something be done about these situations before January, when Iraq is scheduled to hold its first elections -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Jamie, they get it, but they may not be equipped to do anything about it without the help of the U.S. The secretary was a little bit vague on that.
MCINTYRE: That's right.
Well, there are supposed to be about 200,000 Iraqi security forces, police, military, border patrol people available to help. Right now, the Pentagon concedes that the actual number that's trained and equipped is more like 95,000. And there's some questions about how well trained and equipped some of those are. So, that's one of the things that's hampering the progress.
But the U.S. believes that it can't go too much on the offensive itself because it will look like an American-imposed solution, rather than something that the interim Iraqi government is dealing with itself. So, its hands are somewhat tied in making sure that, when they deal with the situation, if they go in, that the settlement lasts and it's seen as legitimate by the people on the ground.
O'BRIEN: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thank you very much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, Frances is unleashing its fury on much of the Southeast today. Now a tropical depression, it's pounding Georgia with powerful winds and rain. Trees are down. Power is out. So, is school in dozens of counties.
The storm has left Florida in shambles. The latest estimate now from Risk Management Solutions puts insured losses in Florida anywhere from $3 billion to $6 billion. The death toll from the storm has climbed to 13. Ten of those deaths were in Florida.
Well, the focus in Florida is on relief. Hundreds of people are still in shelters. About two million are without power, and lines for necessities such as water and ice are hours long.
Joining us on the phone now from Stuart, Florida, is Courtney Prebich, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross.
Courtney, thanks for being with us.
I know you're busy. Why don't you tell us exactly where you are, sort of set the scene, and describe the conditions you're dealing with?
COURTNEY PREBICH, AMERICAN RED CROSS: I'm in Stuart, Florida, which is in Martin County. It's over on the East Coast of Florida, and it took the brunt of the storm in this area along the coast.
In this county, we still have 160 people in a shelter right across the street from the Martin County chapter. Overall, the Red Cross has 158 shelters open throughout the state of Florida, with about 40,000 people still living in them.
PHILLIPS: Now, Courtney, there were some reports at the beginning that a number of these shelters -- I'm not sure if they were Red Cross shelters or other types of rescue areas, they actually had to turn people down. Have you been able to help everyone that comes to you?
PREBICH: The Red Cross helps everybody that comes to us in a shelter. So, if a shelter starts to get crowded, we will make arrangements to open another shelter. And that's part of our preparedness in identifying how many that will be needed.
So, I can tell you currently the one across the street is still open, and there's room there if people need it. The people that are there now were evacuated because of the storm, or they came on their own because of the storm, and now they're unable to return to their homes because of damage. We spoke to one man yesterday who, his roof blew off, and he just can't live there anymore. So, that's why he's still in the shelter.
PHILLIPS: What kind of ages are we talking about? Is this babies all the way to elderly age?
PREBICH: It's -- we have elderly people. We have a lot of people with special needs. We have Red Cross nurses in these shelters helping people with special health needs. And we have children and families and everything in between. We even had a baby born at the shelter here in Martin County, delivered by a Red Cross nurse during the height of the storm.
PHILLIPS: Courtney, I know that you're helping folks with a place to sleep and with food and water. What about looking ahead to finding contractors to work on rebuilding their homes or maybe some psychological support or looking beyond what has happened in just a few days? Are you able to provide that type of assistance?
PREBICH: The American Red Cross provides an immediate disaster relief. So, we provide the shelter and the food and the water, like you said. We're asking people to call our help lines -- that's 1-866- GET-INFO -- if they need additional assistance.
And we're also asking them to call that number, 866-GET-INFO, to let us know where services are needed. The storm was so large and covered so much of the state that we're relying on people out there to kind of be our eyes and ears and let us know where we need to go and where the help is needed in their communities.
PHILLIPS: Courtney Prebich, spokesperson for the American Red Cross there in Stuart, Florida.
Again, that number 1-866-GET-INFO.
Thanks, Courtney -- Miles.
PREBICH: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Well, I'm looking out the window here at CNN Center. We're still getting a little bit of a Frances soaking.
How long will it linger, Orelon Sidney?
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, gosh, I would love to answer that question.
It's moving so slow, Miles, it's just not going much of anywhere at all. I'll show you the radar in a second. But this here, I'm showing you what the radar looks like if you kind of translate it into 24-hour rainfall. This is the Barron's (ph) fast track I'm taking a look at. And my producer, Greg Wentworth (ph), is going to help me a little bit show you some of the rainfall.
But look at this. As you head out towards Savannah, five inches of rain here. Just to the southeast of Atlanta, we've seen as much as three inches. Heaviest activity now seems to be in the Carolinas. That's where we're picking up most of the most severe thunderstorms and had a couple of tornado warnings. And look at that. Just to the southeast of Columbia, five inches there. Six inches towards Macon. So, just some amazingly heavy amounts.
Let's take a look at the graphic 115 and I can show you where the radar is now. Center of the storm was just about over the state line between Alabama and Georgia about an hour ago. You can see that all the action now is generally north of that central axis. To the south, there's not a lot happening.
But look at all the rainfall that extends to the north now, with a couple of tornado watches in effect until 7:00 p.m. tonight for the Carolinas. So, just a very, very busy night.
We've also have had some tornado warnings, as I said. And Ivan, of course, is still in the pipeline. Right now, it's located about 55 miles east-southeast of Granada. Winds now are up from the last advisory to 120 miles an hour. That's a strong Category 3, still moving west at 18 miles an hour. The track on Ivan and the latest on Frances a little bit later -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Orelon, I'm kind of afraid to ask. Is there anything behind Ivan?
SIDNEY: Wouldn't you know there is?
(LAUGHTER)
SIDNEY: Do you really want to know that right now?
O'BRIEN: No.
SIDNEY: But I'll show you that, as a matter of fact, in the next half hour.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Show me later. All right, thanks, Orelon. Appreciate it.
SIDNEY: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, we want to remind you, just ahead, we have some video just coming in from Russia. I'm being told it's pretty graphic footage. It was actually shot by the militants who took more than 1,000 people hostage, you'll remember, in that school in Beslan. We're going to have a live report just ahead, plus, a number of stories coming up on LIVE FROM.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rusty Dornin in Redwood City, California, where Scott Peterson's defense team continues to use prosecution witnesses to further their own theory that someone else might have killed Laci Peterson. More coming up.
PHILLIPS: And plucking out pieces of the sun. Ahead, Miles tells us about a very precarious mission. He's very excited. It could help tell us how the solar system was formed. And then he'll go on and give us a big historical rendezvous when LIVE FROM returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: In California today, Scott Peterson's double murder trial resumes. And this week, prosecutors plan to show DNA evidence that they say ties Peterson to the death of his wife and unborn child.
Rusty Dornin is covering the trial in Redwood City -- Rusty.
DORNIN: Well, that DNA testimony, Kyra, is scheduled to come a little later this week. We've had a parade of witnesses this morning, and it seems like the defense is using again the prosecution witnesses to further their own theory that someone else might have killed Laci Peterson.
There was an officer from north of Modesto, a deputy sheriff who says he was called by Modesto Police about a tip that Laci Peterson might have been held somewhere against her will in a rural area. Apparently, they checked it out. They couldn't find anything.
But Mark Geragos, on cross-examination, pulled it out that in fact there was an area where there were parolees and drug addicts living, and that law enforcement never went there by foot, again, raising that possibility that maybe they didn't follow up on some of those leads.
Then Terri Western, a longtime friend of the Rocha family, the woman who set up the emergency area for Laci Peterson, testified. She also sold the house to Laci and Scott Peterson. She testified that Scott Peterson came up to her in mid-January and ask her again if she could sell the house for him. She told him it wouldn't be appropriate at this time.
Again, there is a criminalist on the stand now who is talking about those pliers, the one that the hair was found in, saying that they had been rusted shut. Now, the defense is claiming, look, if they've been rusted shut, how can the hair belong Laci Peterson? Now prosecutors are claiming it rusted after it was found in the boat, that the salt water caused it to rust. And of course, that raised a big ruckus, with defense attorney Mark Geragos, saying, where are you getting this? This is the first I've heard about this.
So, just sort of a variety of witnesses that we're hearing from now, Kyra. But later on this week, the DNA testimony about that hair is scheduled to come up.
PHILLIPS: All right, Rusty Dornin covering everything there for us in Redwood City -- thanks, Rusty.
O'BRIEN: In Russia today, sorrow and solidarity in the wake of that horrible hostage ordeal in Beslan, this as the Russian TV releases dramatic videotape shot by the Beslan terrorists themselves.
CNN's Jill Dougherty has the latest on all this from Moscow -- Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Miles, just a few minutes ago, Russia's NTV aired this video. And it is indeed chilling.
They said that it was shot by the terrorists. And you can see -- I think we can start to run that video. And you can see, as they walk through, you see the terrorists themselves dressed in masks, in camouflage, for the most part, with Kalashnikovs and other weapons. They walk through, and then you see the gymnasium with women and children, at that point, approximately 1,000 people in that gymnasium.
And as you watch that, you see the terrorists are beginning to hook up wires. That would appear to be wires leading to explosive devices. And again, shots of the people in that gymnasium, little children, mothers, sitting there hands behind their backs, not knowing what will happen.
One of the key shots that we're going to see here is that basketball hoop. If you look at that basketball hoop in the center of the room, that is where the explosives, the main explosives, that apparently brought down the ceiling of that gymnasium on top of those people and started a conflagration, that is where those explosives were hooked on to that basketball hoop.
Again, we're seeing the gymnasium and one terrorist with his foot on a book, which looks like another explosive device. They also shot outside of the building, looking out of the windows. And we can see some of that. But the main picture that continues as we watch that is the terrorists, including one woman that we have a picture of there holding a gun, brandishing a gun, and the people in that gymnasium -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Jill, very, very, very difficult to watch this, for obvious reasons. I'm curious what the reaction has been in Russia. How long has this tape been playing on Russian television, and what's it been like for Russians to see the ordeal from this particular perspective?
DOUGHERTY: Miles, this tape just was broadcast literally probably about, oh, maybe a half-an-hour at the very, very most ago. So, people are seeing it for the first time.
And it is, I'm sure, very disturbing for people, because we all know what happened. We know that hundreds of those people were killed and hundreds more were injured very, very severely, many of them burned, many children burned. And so, it would be very disturbing.
And Miles, I have to tell you today -- you know, President Putin last evening met with some Russian experts, and he described one chilling scene. He said that they actually -- according to the Russian security people, those terrorists were not carrying cell phones because they figured that they would be -- the transmissions would be caught by the FSB, the federal security service.
So, they carried walkie-talkies. And President Putin said, anyway, the walkie-talkies were intercepted as well. And in one of those conversations, you hear one of the terrorists saying to the other, hey, what are you doing there? I hear some noise. And he says, oh, well, I'm just shooting some children.
O'BRIEN: Oh, my gosh.
DOUGHERTY: And the president said they were -- yes. Yes. And he said they were so bored that they were shooting children. And they have that, he says, in this transmission that is taped.
So, this is just -- you know, the reality of what went on in there is just dawning on people. And again, a lot of the -- how it actually happened is going to be very, very crucial. What was the moment where the forces, the Russians decided to go in there? Was there an explosion? What exactly happened?
O'BRIEN: Well, and that remains kind of steeped in mystery. Is there much more tape out there beyond what has been released? Are we aware of additional tape that will be released over time?
DOUGHERTY: You know, we really do not know. That was a tape that NTV obtained. There could be more.
This is not the first time, you know, that Chechen terrorists have taken pictures, taken video of themselves. Remember the theater hostage crisis two years ago. There was some videotape as well. So, this is not that uncommon. But this is really amazing to see this video. And I'm sure that the authorities will be watching it minute by minute very, very carefully. There were a couple of moments there where they had some sound up. We listened to it as carefully as we could.
One is kind of an innocuous conversation, like, you know, get those kids, move them, or something like that. The second one, which is more -- it is louder, but you can't even really understand what language it is in. But again, sure that the FSB is going to be analyzing that very carefully.
O'BRIEN: One final thought here. You mentioned that theater attack of a couple of years ago. And I have heard the Russians talk about how much more sophisticated this attack was and how, in essence, the terrorists sort of went to school on tactics based on what happened there.
Looking at that foot on the book, it almost looked like there was a trip wire there. What I'm trying to get at here is, it was an incredibly sophisticated, highly-planned-out attack, wasn't it?
DOUGHERTY: Absolutely. In fact, they cased that school. That's obvious, investigators say. They cased it way in advance. In fact, the theory now is that they had so much firepower, so much ammunition, so many explosives that there was no way that they could have brought that in when they swooped in on September 1 and took those hostages. They must have placed it there in advance.
And the theory is that they were some, perhaps the very terrorists that we've been seeing or perhaps their accomplices, placing that stuff in the false basement of the gymnasium or another room in that school. And then, when they took over the building, they were able to pry that open and take out all of these explosives.
Another thing that they learned from the theater crisis is, they were aware that the Russian authorities might attempt to use some type of knockout gas. That's what they did, of course, two years ago. And so, they were prepared for that. They had gas masks. They reportedly also had sniffer dogs, professional sniffer dogs who were prepared to figure out whether some type of an attack was imminent or whether any gas was going to be used.
And they also, reportedly -- this is, again, coming from the Russian security forces -- knocked out the windows, broke a lot of the windows so that, if any gas was used, it wouldn't penetrate as much. There would be some fresh air.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Jill Dougherty. Rough pictures. Thank you for your report.
It's hard to comprehend the evil and inhumanity behind those masks. Thank you very much.
We're back with more in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Well, we had hoped to give you a preview of the Genesis capture tomorrow. News got in the way.
There it is, in essence. That's all you need to know. Helicopter, hook, parachute, and very valuable piece of the sun in a capsule.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Hopefully, it will go well. Tomorrow, by the time we see you, we'll know. It happens the noon Eastern hour. Stay tuned to CNN for live coverage of that tomorrow.
I know you'll be watching.
PHILLIPS: You know I'll be watching. You'll be briefing me.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Yes.
That wraps up this Tuesday edition of LIVE FROM.
PHILLIPS: And now, to take us through the next hour of political headlines, "JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS." Hi, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Kyra. Thanks to you. Thanks to you. Thanks to Miles.
The Bush campaign, accusing John Kerry of flip-flopping on the Iraq issue. But is that issue as important in this election as it once was. Our Bill Schneider looks at Iraq and what it may mean in November.
Plus, some Democrats have been critical of their leader in recent days. We'll talk with one man who says Kerry needs to rethink his campaign strategy.
INSIDE POLITICS begins in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
