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Ivan Bears Down on Jamaica; New Book Out Monday on Bush Family

Aired September 10, 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: We begin this hour with Ivan's advance: Jamaica tonight, Cuba on Sunday, the Florida Keys possibly sometime Monday. The third hurricane to threaten Florida in a month lost a little bit of its strength overnight but remains a robust Category 4, with top sustained winds of 145 miles an hour.
Officials in Jamaica were hoping to persuade a half-million people to move inland, but so far only a few hundred have gone into shelters. And that's even after scenes like these from Grenada, where Ivan damaged or destroyed nine out of every 10 buildings and killed at least 17 people. And that was from a weaker storm than it is now.

Among the Jamaican residents who are taking that urgent advice to board up, pack up and leave is a good friend of mine, Fenella Kennedy, who is from Montego Bay, but not anymore right now. They're kind of in the hills. We've got her on the telephone.

And , five us a sense. You're about 40 miles away from your home in Montego Bay. How is it looking outside?

FENELLA KENNEDY, JAMAICA HOMEOWNER: Hi. I can just hear you. It's a bit gray at the moment, but it's not raining. So we're having a little break, thank goodness.

WHITFIELD: Oh, well that's very good. Apparently yesterday you guys packed up and you started heading for higher ground. What did it look like among your -- fellow residents, your neighbors around there? Were people taking the warnings, heeding the warnings and getting packed up and moving inland?

KENNEDY: I think it's still a sense of unreality. And, you know, people were checking the television, checking the radio and, still, I think leaving a little bit later than maybe we should have done. But I think most people are afraid now.

WHITFIELD: Why is it that so many residents there have been rather complacent about the storm until now? You know, we're just a few hours away with this storm possibly hitting Jamaica this evening.

KENNEDY: I think because we've been lucky and had so many near misses that we just think, oh, you know, it's going to -- it's going to miss us again. But I think -- I think our luck has run out this time.

WHITFIELD: So even though you had a big hurricane, 1988, Hurricane Gilbert, it was a Category 3, a lot of folk's memories are kind of short. Is that what you're feeling? KENNEDY: Yes, I think so. And, you know, we see what happens in -- you know, Florida, but it's always a sense of unreality. I mean, even yesterday it was the most beautiful day, and you're listening to the news reports, and you just can't believe that what they're saying is going to happen.

And even still, as I stand here, we're all packed up, you know, bags at the ready, the house is boarded, and you still just can't believe it. And you don't know what to expect.

WHITFIELD: Well, you all stay safe. You've got a house full of adults and children. And good thing you all are at higher ground. And our thoughts will be with you.

KENNEDY: Thank you so much. And you, too.

WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot, Fenella.

All right -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, beyond Sunday, opinions vary widely on Ivan's attention. That brings us to CNN meteorologist Orelon Sidney.

Orelon, what do you know?

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks a lot.

The storm is continuing now to move to the west-northwest. We know that much. We know Jamaica is going to take a very hard hit from this storm.

Actually, starting now. The hurricane-force winds extend out 60 miles from the center. And currently, the storm is only 85 miles south-southeast of Kingston. So you're already getting tropical storm- force winds in that area.

The hurricane winds -- over hurricane strength, obviously at 145. That's been holding throughout the morning, 16.8 north, 75.8 west.

Here the latest track, too. We still think it's going to start to slow down quite a bit and take a pretty good turn here past the Isle of Youth, passing off to the east of it, and then moving past Cuba by Monday.

See how slow that is? We had earlier thought Cuba might be impacted by Sunday, but now it looks like the storm is really going to slow down. So it will be Monday before it makes it into the Florida Straits, probably as a Category 3 storm.

We think Cuba and some cooler heat content in the waters here are going to take some of the steam out of it. But take a look at some of the model forecasts.

The models actually forecast anything from far out near Apalachicola or Panama City, back to Lake Okeechobee, and then out into the Atlantic. And I'll show you one of the things that I think is going to be very significant, and that is this trough of low pressure across the eastern United States.

A lot of times, hurricanes see this kind of as an alleyway, an entry into the U.S. And what they'll do is sweep up and into this area. So, at this point, I'm favoring maybe a little bit more of turn, but we're just going to have to wait and see, because right now we just don't know where this storm is going to finally end up.

Take a look, though, at some statistics I found about the state of Florida. From 1900 to 1996, the northwest part of Florida has received 24 hurricanes, seven of those major hurricanes, Category 3 or greater. No major hurricanes, though, across parts of the southwest, which is interesting. And we are at the peak of hurricane season today.

Florida has received 15 hurricanes in the month of September since 1996. September 10 is the peak day for the Atlantic hurricane season. The good news is, it's all downhill from here -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. There is some good news. Thanks, Orelon.

SIDNEY: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Well, it could be the new state slogan of Florida: "Enough already." After Charley, after Frances, Floridians don't have to be told to fear Ivan, especially on the Keys. By day's end, three out of four inhabitants of that slender string of islands are expected to be gone. And CNN's John Zarrella is watching them go right there on Key Largo.

Hi, John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

You know, I think I feel like -- and we all do here with the crew -- feel kind of like most Floridians do. This is like Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day." We keep reliving this over and over again the past month.

But as you can see, you know, behind me here, a steady stream of traffic leaving the Florida Keys. Some 60,000 of the 80,000 residents expected to be out of here by the end of business today.

Evacuations actually began yesterday in the -- with the evacuation of the non-residents and tourists, and this morning got under way in the Lower Keys with residents there. The Middle Keys began at noon, and the Upper Keys, where we are in this staggered staged evacuation, will begin at about 4:00 this afternoon.

Again, most of the people leaving lots of boats. More boats than I thought existed down here are being pulled out one out after the other -- travel trailers and lots and lots of cars.

Of course, you know, after reeling from those two hurricanes, people in many parts of the state are still cleaning up, particularly on the west coast of Florida that was hit by Charley, you know, up in the Tampa area.

Folks are still digging out from what happened to them with the flooding and the high winds from Frances when it came across the state. So, while people are trying to clean up, they are at the same time trying to prepare for the potential for a third hit. And nobody really knows at this point exactly where it's going to go.

So, when they're evacuating and leaving, the real quandary for folks is you head north and, ultimately, you might head right into the path of the hurricane. So for the next several days, it's going to be some very difficult, stressful times for the folks here in Florida. And if the storm should make landfall in Florida in the next few days, certainly going to be very stressful somewhere in Florida for a lot longer than just the next few days -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: John, I'm just curious. You live Florida. Has anyone said to you, "That's it, forget it, this is -- I can't take anymore hurricanes, I'm moving to Atlanta"?

ZARRELLA: You know we are hearing that, as some folks we talked to yesterday up in the West Palm area who are trying to clean up from Hurricane Frances, you know, said -- the gentleman saying, "Look, I don't want to go through this. I don't want to put my kids through this anymore. You know, I'm not sure that living in paradise is all it's cracked up to be, you know, and maybe it is time to move out of the state for good."

And, you know, a lot of other people -- obviously, it's a small, small number, but there are some people who are just very, very anxious about what's been happening and are saying, you know, "It isn't worth it. I don't want to go through this anymore and I don't want to put my family through it anymore" -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I don't blame them. John Zarrella live from Key Largo. Thanks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that 9/11 was huge. And I think that it will be with us forever. Definitely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know if I've gone back to my pre- 9/11 behavior, but I don't think I changed that much afterwards anyway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The world is a very different world. Terrorism is a very real threat. We have a lot of it around. And if people don't interact with people, then nothing is ever going to change.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe we're a little bit more aware of our surroundings, but I don't think it's let us stop living our lives. I mean, I think, you know, people still want to find good in everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: On the eve of the third anniversary of September 11, many Americans are taking pause and reflecting. So does 9/11 still have an impact on your daily life? E-mail us your thoughts. The address is livefrom@cnn.com. And we'll read some of your e-mails later on in the show -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Three years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden and his right hand man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, have yet to be captured. But National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice says the noose is tightening around al Qaeda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: But even Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri and all of them are operating in smaller and smaller space, with the entire world after them in a way that was not the case three years ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN senior White House correspondent John King conducted that interview with Condoleezza Rice.

Fifty days ago, the 9/11 Commission issued its report on ways to make the U.S. safer against future terrorist attacks. Now Congress is back in session, but is it any closer to taking action? CNN national correspondent Kelly Wallace looks at the objectives and the obstacles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dueling messages on Capitol Hill. There is the go-fast crowd...

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: Nothing else we have to do is more important...

WALLACE: ... versus those saying, let's not rush to judgment.

REP. TOM DELAY (R), MAJORITY LEADER: ... so that we do the right thing, not the knee-jerk thing.

WALLACE (on camera): It's not just a debate over how quickly to pass legislation, but over how many of the September 11th Commission's 41 recommendations should become law.

(voice-over): Those recommendations include broader information sharing among government agencies, increased screening of U.S. visitors, and the most controversial, creating a national intelligence director who would have full control over the budget of 15 different agencies. Something President Bush now suggests he can support.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We believe that there ought to be a national intelligence director who has full budgetary authority.

WALLACE: Now to the obstacles: turf battles, with some lawmakers unwilling to give up oversight of intelligence agencies; a shortage of time, with Congress expected to recess in less than a month; and partisan politics, with both sides positioning themselves the November elections, when all 435 seats in the House and 34 seats in the Senate are in play.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This close to an election the temptation to political mischief can be strong but most be resisted by both parties.

WALLACE: How does the public feel? The polls might surprise you.

According to a survey last month, nearly two-thirds said Congress should take as much time as it needs to consider the recommendations. Clearly, the American public is paying attention. The September 11th Commission's report is number one on "The New York Times" paperback best-seller list.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: President Bush is back on the campaign trail. He is in the battleground state of Ohio for the fifth time this year. Right now, he's at a rally in Portsmouth. The event is being called "Ask President Bush." But military records during the Vietnam War are, again, stealing the spotlight.

This time, experts are questioning memos reported on CBS News, purportedly written by one of Mr. Bush's former commanders in the National Guard. They document suggests Mr. Bush ignored an order to take a physical and lost his flight status. Some experts say the papers may be forged. CBS is standing by its report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN RATHER, CBS NEWS: I know that this story is true. I believe the witnesses and the documents are authentic. We wouldn't have gone to air if they had not been. There isn't going to be -- there's no -- what did you say, an apology?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An apology or any kind of retraction or...

RATHER: Not even discussed. Nor should it be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meantime, Bush's challenger, John Kerry, is steering clear of the Bush National Guard story altogether. He is talking about health care, instead.

The Democratic presidential nominee is in the suburbs of St. Louis, meeting with senior citizens. He said Bush's Medicare plan benefited HMOs and drug companies, and senior citizens will end up paying more. Kerry also slammed Bush for not pushing for an extension of the assaults weapons ban. Kerry's next stop is the all-important state, another battleground state, of Pennsylvania. PHILLIPS: The assault weapons ban in the U.S. is on its last legs. The 10-year-old law is about to become history. Find out why it doesn't look like it's going to get a reprieve from Congress.

The end of an era at Disney. We'll tell you why the entertainment giant is putting out the help wanted sign for a new chief.

Dishing about the first family. A new book is already facing controversy before it even hits the store shelves.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, on now to politics and some, perhaps, interesting reading. Kitty Kelley, who writes about celebrities, is out with a new book Monday about the Bush family. Details from Howard Kurtz of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD KURTZ, CNN "RELIABLE SOURCES": When Kitty Kelley writes a book, it is usually big news, whether it's about Jackie Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, or Princess Diana and the British royals.

KITTY KELLEY, AUTHOR: This is a controversial family and it's a controversial book.

KURTZ: That was Kelley talking about Britain's preeminent family seven years ago. But now, the celebrity biographer is taking on an American royal family of sorts, including the president of the United States at the height of his reelection campaign.

The result? Well, the fireworks have started even before the book is released on Monday.

It's called "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty," and contains lots of unflattering gossip and allegations about George W. Bush based in part on unnamed sources. Most explosive are Kelley's charges about alleged past drug use by Bush, a subject the president has declined to address in the past by saying simply that he was once young and irresponsible.

BUSH: There is a game in Washington. And it's called, gotcha. It's a game where we float a rumor and make the candidate prove a negative. And I'm not playing the game.

KURTZ: One of Kelley's main sources is Sharon Bush, the former wife of presidential brother, Neil Bush. But Sharon Bush denies ever having said what the book attributes to her, that George Bush used cocaine at Camp David while his father was president. "That's a falsehood," she says. But Kelley is supported by Sharon Bush's former public relations man, Lou Caliswano (ph), who was at lunch with the two women last year when the subject came up.

Now the counterattack is under way. White House communications chief Dan Bartlett calls the book garbage, and Republicans are circulating examples of what they say is past shoddy reporting by Kelley. Her assertions that Ronald Reagan was a date rapist who once paid for a girlfriend's abortion, and that Nancy Reagan once had an affair with Frank Sinatra, which drew an annoyed response from the 40th president.

RONALD REAGAN, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think a church would be the proper place for me to use the words I'd have to use in discussing that.

KURTZ: Like most intimate matters, these kind of charges, who slept with whom, are hard it prove or disprove. So how are the media handling Kelley's controversial book?

NBC's Matt Lauer will interview her for three straight mornings on "The Today Show." And Kelley is tentatively booked on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News as well.

But "Newsweek," which got an advanced look at the manuscript, passed on doing the story, Editor Mark Whitaker saying he wasn't comfortable with Kelley's reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KURTZ: Should journalists be serving as publicity agents for this sort of doggedly researched gossip? Can you really fact check a book in a five or 10-minute television interview? One thing is clear: the bubbling media controversy, which I'm contributing to right now, is propelling Kitty Kelley toward the best-seller list -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, Howard, it's interesting, because the Democrats were concerned there may be this kind of October surprise in the form of Osama bin Laden. And Republicans have said they are worried that this might be their type of October surprise.

So how potentially damaging do Republicans feel this might be for the White House?

KURTZ: Republicans are definitely worried about it. And the White House has counterattacked. They are distributing negative information about Kitty Kelley. They had called the book garbage and fiction, as I mentioned in the piece.

And, ironically, that has made the book, which is not out until Monday, even more popular. It's number three on Amazon this morning, and "The Wall Street Journal" reports this morning that the publisher, Doubleday, has increased the initial printing to 720,000 because of all the buzz.

WHITFIELD: So, Howard, you talked about Kitty Kelley. And she's going to be on her book tour and various interviews, et cetera. Is there a campaign from the Republicans on their strategy on how they're going to try to dispel some of these facts or rumors that are being published in her book?

KURTZ: I might have thought initially that basically they would try to ignore it and not sort of give it a bigger platform by going out and attacking it. But I am now told that Bush campaign people, Republican Party officials, surrogates, are going to be quite aggressive, quite visible. I think we'll be seeing some of them on the air in knocking down some of these -- some of these rumors and allegations.

I haven't seen the book, so I can't judge for myself yet. But on the other hand, you know, Bush has already kind of pleaded guilty to having been young and irresponsible. I don't know, other than getting people to buy a lot of books and probably setting off a lot of salacious gossip, whether this will have quite an impact on the presidential campaign that some might fear.

WHITFIELD: And I guess the fear is that, no matter whether it's factual or whether there is a lot of fantasy in it, it's like to be a pretty big seller, at least inside the Beltway. Books like that always are.

KURTZ: Maybe in Hollywood, too.

WHITFIELD: That's right. All right. Howard Kurtz, thanks so much, of "RELIABLE SOURCES."

Well, don't miss "RELIABLE SOURCES" this Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Plunging to Earth, landing with a crash. Can anything from the Genesis mission be saved? We're going to find out what scientists managed to salvage.

Plus, destruction for a Connecticut church. Find out what happened in this incredible blast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Pictures now via our affiliate, WCNC. We want to thank you for the tape just fed in here.

We're showing you for the first time remnants of the hurricane -- Frances -- or the hurricane, rather, that came through Charlotte, North Carolina. This is what we can tell you about North Carolina. Here in Charlotte, you can see the obvious flooding, what residents are dealing with in their homes, their cars, also trying to get back and forth.

Now, live pictures coming in. This is a helicopter via our affiliate, WCNC. Not sure if these are kids that are just out playing next to the waterside or if, indeed, they're working on evacuating kids and adults here, beachside.

As we roll on this picture, though, from the helicopter, I can tell you that water is still flowing through Asheville. A number of roads being closed after Frances.

Also, electricity is almost fully restored, I'm told, since the water lines were taken down. Still a lot of people digging out from the mudslides. Canton also struggling to recover from the flooding. And also, in Wilmington, a commission now has been created by a number of leaders there that's going to help study the state's readiness to evacuate residents due to what we're seeing here in North Carolina.

Once again, live pictures now from WCNC out of Charlotte, North Carolina, of sort of what it looks like, what residents have been dealing with since Frances brought a lot of flooding to that area.

Well, there will soon be a new king in the Magic Kingdom. Rhonda Schaffler joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with that story -- Rhonda.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired September 10, 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: We begin this hour with Ivan's advance: Jamaica tonight, Cuba on Sunday, the Florida Keys possibly sometime Monday. The third hurricane to threaten Florida in a month lost a little bit of its strength overnight but remains a robust Category 4, with top sustained winds of 145 miles an hour.
Officials in Jamaica were hoping to persuade a half-million people to move inland, but so far only a few hundred have gone into shelters. And that's even after scenes like these from Grenada, where Ivan damaged or destroyed nine out of every 10 buildings and killed at least 17 people. And that was from a weaker storm than it is now.

Among the Jamaican residents who are taking that urgent advice to board up, pack up and leave is a good friend of mine, Fenella Kennedy, who is from Montego Bay, but not anymore right now. They're kind of in the hills. We've got her on the telephone.

And , five us a sense. You're about 40 miles away from your home in Montego Bay. How is it looking outside?

FENELLA KENNEDY, JAMAICA HOMEOWNER: Hi. I can just hear you. It's a bit gray at the moment, but it's not raining. So we're having a little break, thank goodness.

WHITFIELD: Oh, well that's very good. Apparently yesterday you guys packed up and you started heading for higher ground. What did it look like among your -- fellow residents, your neighbors around there? Were people taking the warnings, heeding the warnings and getting packed up and moving inland?

KENNEDY: I think it's still a sense of unreality. And, you know, people were checking the television, checking the radio and, still, I think leaving a little bit later than maybe we should have done. But I think most people are afraid now.

WHITFIELD: Why is it that so many residents there have been rather complacent about the storm until now? You know, we're just a few hours away with this storm possibly hitting Jamaica this evening.

KENNEDY: I think because we've been lucky and had so many near misses that we just think, oh, you know, it's going to -- it's going to miss us again. But I think -- I think our luck has run out this time.

WHITFIELD: So even though you had a big hurricane, 1988, Hurricane Gilbert, it was a Category 3, a lot of folk's memories are kind of short. Is that what you're feeling? KENNEDY: Yes, I think so. And, you know, we see what happens in -- you know, Florida, but it's always a sense of unreality. I mean, even yesterday it was the most beautiful day, and you're listening to the news reports, and you just can't believe that what they're saying is going to happen.

And even still, as I stand here, we're all packed up, you know, bags at the ready, the house is boarded, and you still just can't believe it. And you don't know what to expect.

WHITFIELD: Well, you all stay safe. You've got a house full of adults and children. And good thing you all are at higher ground. And our thoughts will be with you.

KENNEDY: Thank you so much. And you, too.

WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot, Fenella.

All right -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, beyond Sunday, opinions vary widely on Ivan's attention. That brings us to CNN meteorologist Orelon Sidney.

Orelon, what do you know?

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks a lot.

The storm is continuing now to move to the west-northwest. We know that much. We know Jamaica is going to take a very hard hit from this storm.

Actually, starting now. The hurricane-force winds extend out 60 miles from the center. And currently, the storm is only 85 miles south-southeast of Kingston. So you're already getting tropical storm- force winds in that area.

The hurricane winds -- over hurricane strength, obviously at 145. That's been holding throughout the morning, 16.8 north, 75.8 west.

Here the latest track, too. We still think it's going to start to slow down quite a bit and take a pretty good turn here past the Isle of Youth, passing off to the east of it, and then moving past Cuba by Monday.

See how slow that is? We had earlier thought Cuba might be impacted by Sunday, but now it looks like the storm is really going to slow down. So it will be Monday before it makes it into the Florida Straits, probably as a Category 3 storm.

We think Cuba and some cooler heat content in the waters here are going to take some of the steam out of it. But take a look at some of the model forecasts.

The models actually forecast anything from far out near Apalachicola or Panama City, back to Lake Okeechobee, and then out into the Atlantic. And I'll show you one of the things that I think is going to be very significant, and that is this trough of low pressure across the eastern United States.

A lot of times, hurricanes see this kind of as an alleyway, an entry into the U.S. And what they'll do is sweep up and into this area. So, at this point, I'm favoring maybe a little bit more of turn, but we're just going to have to wait and see, because right now we just don't know where this storm is going to finally end up.

Take a look, though, at some statistics I found about the state of Florida. From 1900 to 1996, the northwest part of Florida has received 24 hurricanes, seven of those major hurricanes, Category 3 or greater. No major hurricanes, though, across parts of the southwest, which is interesting. And we are at the peak of hurricane season today.

Florida has received 15 hurricanes in the month of September since 1996. September 10 is the peak day for the Atlantic hurricane season. The good news is, it's all downhill from here -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. There is some good news. Thanks, Orelon.

SIDNEY: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Well, it could be the new state slogan of Florida: "Enough already." After Charley, after Frances, Floridians don't have to be told to fear Ivan, especially on the Keys. By day's end, three out of four inhabitants of that slender string of islands are expected to be gone. And CNN's John Zarrella is watching them go right there on Key Largo.

Hi, John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

You know, I think I feel like -- and we all do here with the crew -- feel kind of like most Floridians do. This is like Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day." We keep reliving this over and over again the past month.

But as you can see, you know, behind me here, a steady stream of traffic leaving the Florida Keys. Some 60,000 of the 80,000 residents expected to be out of here by the end of business today.

Evacuations actually began yesterday in the -- with the evacuation of the non-residents and tourists, and this morning got under way in the Lower Keys with residents there. The Middle Keys began at noon, and the Upper Keys, where we are in this staggered staged evacuation, will begin at about 4:00 this afternoon.

Again, most of the people leaving lots of boats. More boats than I thought existed down here are being pulled out one out after the other -- travel trailers and lots and lots of cars.

Of course, you know, after reeling from those two hurricanes, people in many parts of the state are still cleaning up, particularly on the west coast of Florida that was hit by Charley, you know, up in the Tampa area.

Folks are still digging out from what happened to them with the flooding and the high winds from Frances when it came across the state. So, while people are trying to clean up, they are at the same time trying to prepare for the potential for a third hit. And nobody really knows at this point exactly where it's going to go.

So, when they're evacuating and leaving, the real quandary for folks is you head north and, ultimately, you might head right into the path of the hurricane. So for the next several days, it's going to be some very difficult, stressful times for the folks here in Florida. And if the storm should make landfall in Florida in the next few days, certainly going to be very stressful somewhere in Florida for a lot longer than just the next few days -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: John, I'm just curious. You live Florida. Has anyone said to you, "That's it, forget it, this is -- I can't take anymore hurricanes, I'm moving to Atlanta"?

ZARRELLA: You know we are hearing that, as some folks we talked to yesterday up in the West Palm area who are trying to clean up from Hurricane Frances, you know, said -- the gentleman saying, "Look, I don't want to go through this. I don't want to put my kids through this anymore. You know, I'm not sure that living in paradise is all it's cracked up to be, you know, and maybe it is time to move out of the state for good."

And, you know, a lot of other people -- obviously, it's a small, small number, but there are some people who are just very, very anxious about what's been happening and are saying, you know, "It isn't worth it. I don't want to go through this anymore and I don't want to put my family through it anymore" -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I don't blame them. John Zarrella live from Key Largo. Thanks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that 9/11 was huge. And I think that it will be with us forever. Definitely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know if I've gone back to my pre- 9/11 behavior, but I don't think I changed that much afterwards anyway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The world is a very different world. Terrorism is a very real threat. We have a lot of it around. And if people don't interact with people, then nothing is ever going to change.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe we're a little bit more aware of our surroundings, but I don't think it's let us stop living our lives. I mean, I think, you know, people still want to find good in everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: On the eve of the third anniversary of September 11, many Americans are taking pause and reflecting. So does 9/11 still have an impact on your daily life? E-mail us your thoughts. The address is livefrom@cnn.com. And we'll read some of your e-mails later on in the show -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Three years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden and his right hand man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, have yet to be captured. But National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice says the noose is tightening around al Qaeda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: But even Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri and all of them are operating in smaller and smaller space, with the entire world after them in a way that was not the case three years ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN senior White House correspondent John King conducted that interview with Condoleezza Rice.

Fifty days ago, the 9/11 Commission issued its report on ways to make the U.S. safer against future terrorist attacks. Now Congress is back in session, but is it any closer to taking action? CNN national correspondent Kelly Wallace looks at the objectives and the obstacles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dueling messages on Capitol Hill. There is the go-fast crowd...

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: Nothing else we have to do is more important...

WALLACE: ... versus those saying, let's not rush to judgment.

REP. TOM DELAY (R), MAJORITY LEADER: ... so that we do the right thing, not the knee-jerk thing.

WALLACE (on camera): It's not just a debate over how quickly to pass legislation, but over how many of the September 11th Commission's 41 recommendations should become law.

(voice-over): Those recommendations include broader information sharing among government agencies, increased screening of U.S. visitors, and the most controversial, creating a national intelligence director who would have full control over the budget of 15 different agencies. Something President Bush now suggests he can support.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We believe that there ought to be a national intelligence director who has full budgetary authority.

WALLACE: Now to the obstacles: turf battles, with some lawmakers unwilling to give up oversight of intelligence agencies; a shortage of time, with Congress expected to recess in less than a month; and partisan politics, with both sides positioning themselves the November elections, when all 435 seats in the House and 34 seats in the Senate are in play.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This close to an election the temptation to political mischief can be strong but most be resisted by both parties.

WALLACE: How does the public feel? The polls might surprise you.

According to a survey last month, nearly two-thirds said Congress should take as much time as it needs to consider the recommendations. Clearly, the American public is paying attention. The September 11th Commission's report is number one on "The New York Times" paperback best-seller list.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: President Bush is back on the campaign trail. He is in the battleground state of Ohio for the fifth time this year. Right now, he's at a rally in Portsmouth. The event is being called "Ask President Bush." But military records during the Vietnam War are, again, stealing the spotlight.

This time, experts are questioning memos reported on CBS News, purportedly written by one of Mr. Bush's former commanders in the National Guard. They document suggests Mr. Bush ignored an order to take a physical and lost his flight status. Some experts say the papers may be forged. CBS is standing by its report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN RATHER, CBS NEWS: I know that this story is true. I believe the witnesses and the documents are authentic. We wouldn't have gone to air if they had not been. There isn't going to be -- there's no -- what did you say, an apology?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An apology or any kind of retraction or...

RATHER: Not even discussed. Nor should it be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meantime, Bush's challenger, John Kerry, is steering clear of the Bush National Guard story altogether. He is talking about health care, instead.

The Democratic presidential nominee is in the suburbs of St. Louis, meeting with senior citizens. He said Bush's Medicare plan benefited HMOs and drug companies, and senior citizens will end up paying more. Kerry also slammed Bush for not pushing for an extension of the assaults weapons ban. Kerry's next stop is the all-important state, another battleground state, of Pennsylvania. PHILLIPS: The assault weapons ban in the U.S. is on its last legs. The 10-year-old law is about to become history. Find out why it doesn't look like it's going to get a reprieve from Congress.

The end of an era at Disney. We'll tell you why the entertainment giant is putting out the help wanted sign for a new chief.

Dishing about the first family. A new book is already facing controversy before it even hits the store shelves.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, on now to politics and some, perhaps, interesting reading. Kitty Kelley, who writes about celebrities, is out with a new book Monday about the Bush family. Details from Howard Kurtz of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD KURTZ, CNN "RELIABLE SOURCES": When Kitty Kelley writes a book, it is usually big news, whether it's about Jackie Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, or Princess Diana and the British royals.

KITTY KELLEY, AUTHOR: This is a controversial family and it's a controversial book.

KURTZ: That was Kelley talking about Britain's preeminent family seven years ago. But now, the celebrity biographer is taking on an American royal family of sorts, including the president of the United States at the height of his reelection campaign.

The result? Well, the fireworks have started even before the book is released on Monday.

It's called "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty," and contains lots of unflattering gossip and allegations about George W. Bush based in part on unnamed sources. Most explosive are Kelley's charges about alleged past drug use by Bush, a subject the president has declined to address in the past by saying simply that he was once young and irresponsible.

BUSH: There is a game in Washington. And it's called, gotcha. It's a game where we float a rumor and make the candidate prove a negative. And I'm not playing the game.

KURTZ: One of Kelley's main sources is Sharon Bush, the former wife of presidential brother, Neil Bush. But Sharon Bush denies ever having said what the book attributes to her, that George Bush used cocaine at Camp David while his father was president. "That's a falsehood," she says. But Kelley is supported by Sharon Bush's former public relations man, Lou Caliswano (ph), who was at lunch with the two women last year when the subject came up.

Now the counterattack is under way. White House communications chief Dan Bartlett calls the book garbage, and Republicans are circulating examples of what they say is past shoddy reporting by Kelley. Her assertions that Ronald Reagan was a date rapist who once paid for a girlfriend's abortion, and that Nancy Reagan once had an affair with Frank Sinatra, which drew an annoyed response from the 40th president.

RONALD REAGAN, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think a church would be the proper place for me to use the words I'd have to use in discussing that.

KURTZ: Like most intimate matters, these kind of charges, who slept with whom, are hard it prove or disprove. So how are the media handling Kelley's controversial book?

NBC's Matt Lauer will interview her for three straight mornings on "The Today Show." And Kelley is tentatively booked on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News as well.

But "Newsweek," which got an advanced look at the manuscript, passed on doing the story, Editor Mark Whitaker saying he wasn't comfortable with Kelley's reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KURTZ: Should journalists be serving as publicity agents for this sort of doggedly researched gossip? Can you really fact check a book in a five or 10-minute television interview? One thing is clear: the bubbling media controversy, which I'm contributing to right now, is propelling Kitty Kelley toward the best-seller list -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, Howard, it's interesting, because the Democrats were concerned there may be this kind of October surprise in the form of Osama bin Laden. And Republicans have said they are worried that this might be their type of October surprise.

So how potentially damaging do Republicans feel this might be for the White House?

KURTZ: Republicans are definitely worried about it. And the White House has counterattacked. They are distributing negative information about Kitty Kelley. They had called the book garbage and fiction, as I mentioned in the piece.

And, ironically, that has made the book, which is not out until Monday, even more popular. It's number three on Amazon this morning, and "The Wall Street Journal" reports this morning that the publisher, Doubleday, has increased the initial printing to 720,000 because of all the buzz.

WHITFIELD: So, Howard, you talked about Kitty Kelley. And she's going to be on her book tour and various interviews, et cetera. Is there a campaign from the Republicans on their strategy on how they're going to try to dispel some of these facts or rumors that are being published in her book?

KURTZ: I might have thought initially that basically they would try to ignore it and not sort of give it a bigger platform by going out and attacking it. But I am now told that Bush campaign people, Republican Party officials, surrogates, are going to be quite aggressive, quite visible. I think we'll be seeing some of them on the air in knocking down some of these -- some of these rumors and allegations.

I haven't seen the book, so I can't judge for myself yet. But on the other hand, you know, Bush has already kind of pleaded guilty to having been young and irresponsible. I don't know, other than getting people to buy a lot of books and probably setting off a lot of salacious gossip, whether this will have quite an impact on the presidential campaign that some might fear.

WHITFIELD: And I guess the fear is that, no matter whether it's factual or whether there is a lot of fantasy in it, it's like to be a pretty big seller, at least inside the Beltway. Books like that always are.

KURTZ: Maybe in Hollywood, too.

WHITFIELD: That's right. All right. Howard Kurtz, thanks so much, of "RELIABLE SOURCES."

Well, don't miss "RELIABLE SOURCES" this Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Plunging to Earth, landing with a crash. Can anything from the Genesis mission be saved? We're going to find out what scientists managed to salvage.

Plus, destruction for a Connecticut church. Find out what happened in this incredible blast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Pictures now via our affiliate, WCNC. We want to thank you for the tape just fed in here.

We're showing you for the first time remnants of the hurricane -- Frances -- or the hurricane, rather, that came through Charlotte, North Carolina. This is what we can tell you about North Carolina. Here in Charlotte, you can see the obvious flooding, what residents are dealing with in their homes, their cars, also trying to get back and forth.

Now, live pictures coming in. This is a helicopter via our affiliate, WCNC. Not sure if these are kids that are just out playing next to the waterside or if, indeed, they're working on evacuating kids and adults here, beachside.

As we roll on this picture, though, from the helicopter, I can tell you that water is still flowing through Asheville. A number of roads being closed after Frances.

Also, electricity is almost fully restored, I'm told, since the water lines were taken down. Still a lot of people digging out from the mudslides. Canton also struggling to recover from the flooding. And also, in Wilmington, a commission now has been created by a number of leaders there that's going to help study the state's readiness to evacuate residents due to what we're seeing here in North Carolina.

Once again, live pictures now from WCNC out of Charlotte, North Carolina, of sort of what it looks like, what residents have been dealing with since Frances brought a lot of flooding to that area.

Well, there will soon be a new king in the Magic Kingdom. Rhonda Schaffler joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with that story -- Rhonda.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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