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Hurricane Ivan Approaches U.S. Gulf Coast; Enemy Fire in Iraqi Cities Have Become Daily Events.

Aired September 15, 2004 - 14:30   ET

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

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


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is LIVE FROM. I'm Kyra Phillips.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here's what's all new this half hour.

As Ivan approaches, it's time to make a tough call: what to do with the llamas, and tigers and bears.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. WALTER S. MAESTRI, JEFFERSON PARISH EMERG. MGMT.: This is the one agency in government that not only is allowed to pray, it's demanded it. We've got callouses on our knees in this business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The big one's too close for comfort. Those know who the most about the dangers find the most to pray about.

WHITFIELD: Those stories and more coming up, but first here's what's happening now in the news. People on the Gulf Coast getting out of way of Hurricane Ivan. Evacuations taking place from Florida, Louisiana, as winds reach 135 miles an hour, blowing into the Gulf. The National Hurricane Center is predicting the eye of the storm will make landfall early tomorrow across Mobile Bay, Alabama.

PHILLIPS: Tropical Storm Jeanne could soon become Hurricane Jeanne. That storm blew into Puerto Rico today drenching that island, or that island rather. The National Hurricane Center says that Jeanne is gaining strength and will probably become a hurricane. The eye of the storm is expected to hit Puerto Rico later today.

Domestic diva Martha Stewart says she's ready to go to jail. Speaking at a news conference today, Stewart says she wants to put the nightmare behind her. Stewart's five-month sentence has been postponed. As she went through an appeal, she was convicted in July on charges related to a 2001 stock sale.

National Hockey League fans may not see any action on the ice for a while. NHL owners agreed to lockout their players today. The league's commissioner is holding a news conference right now. The owners and players have failed to reach an agreement on compensation.

WHITFIELD: Well, forecasters predict the eye of Hurricane Ivan will pass over the Mobile, Alabama, area overnight. Just about 60 miles down interstate 10 from Mobile is Biloxi, Mississippi, and many residents there are heading inland, but many others are hunkering down and preparing to ride out storm.

CNN's Kathleen Koch spoke to Biloxi's mayor, A.J. Holloway.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Mr. Mayor, there's a mandatory evacuation for anyone in low-lying areas, especially south of I-10, but you're staying in your home, a block and a half from the beach. Is that wise?

MYR. A.J. HOLLOWAY, BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI: Well, I was there during Camille, and my wife wouldn't leave. She wanted to be by those grandbabies, and so we'll all be there, hunkered down. Of course I'll be at the EOC office quite a bit also, so...

KOCH: But isn't that, Mr. Mayor, a little bit dangerous, this veteran hurricane survivor mentality that pervade this area because of Camille in '69?

HOLLOWAY: Yes, it does. It really does. A lot of people are not going to leave, they just won't leave. What can I say? I won't leave either, so...

KOCH: But you're making people, I understand, the officers are going in some cases door to door making people sign a people giving the names of next of kin. Are you doing that?

HOLLOWAY: No, no, we aren't not doing that. That's the Harrison County Civil Defense has been requesting that.

Now, we will go -- once the storm hits, that's when people get panicky and try to get out. We have two large (INAUDIBLE). The National Guard will be out, and we'll be patrolling the east Biloxi area. That's the lowest part of our city, and those people down there are old-timers, most of them, and they're going to stay there till the bitter end, and we will be down there helping them get out, as we always do.

KOCH: But, Mr. Mayor, isn't there going to be a certain point, especially if this, say, remains a Category 4 when it comes in, isn't there going to be a point where, as there is with most storms, where you're just going to have to bring your people in, and everyone else as citizens will have to manage?

HOLLOWAY: Yes, we will -- it will come a time if it gets that bad, that we'll have to stay in, true, particularly -- but most of the time, the National Guard and the police are out on the streets.

KOCH: Even in a bad -- even in 100 mile-an-hour winds, they stay out?

HOLLOWAY: Yes.

KOCH: That's unique. You don't see that in other areas. Again, that's veteran hurricane mentality you've got.

HOLLOWAY: They were out in Camille with 200 mile-an-hour winds, taking people out of trees and rooftops, so they'll be out there, putting their lives on the line.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was Kathleen Koch with the mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi. Well, let's get the latest now on Hurricane Ivan from Max Mayfield at the National Hurricane Center in Florida.

Max, good to see you.

Well, the latest maps are showing that Ivan is heading toward the Mobile Bay area. Is that what you're updating are indicating?

MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Yes, we've been consistent, Fredricka, since Monday on the track forecast. But even though the center is headed towards the Alabama coast, this is a large hurricane and will have a large impact over most of the area from southeast Louisiana all the way over through the Florida Panhandle.

WHITFIELD: And a large impact because of the width of this storm. Hurricane-force winds, what, reaching out 100 miles and possibly inland, tropical storm-force winds, 300 miles?

MAYFIELD: Well, the tropical storm-force winds will, and the hurricane-force winds, will spread inland. Hurricane-force winds will actually go 100 miles, and maybe a little bit more than that.

But you don't have to have hurricane-force winds to knock down some tall tree asks cause power outages. We're going to have to deal with the storm surge, the wind and the rainfall throughout this event.

WHITFIELD: And talking about the storm surge, we're talking about up to a foot in some places?

MAYFIELD: We're talking 10 to 16 feet in some places. Near to the east of where the center is crossing the coast, they'll be very high break waves on top of that. The analog might be Hurricane Opal back in 1995 that made landfall near Pensacola, but it had a big impact throughout the whole Florida Panhandle.

WHITFIELD: At first, New Orleans was a city that though that may feel the brunt of the impact, being right in the path of this storm. Now it may be on the fringes.

However, their levies are built to withstand Category 3 hurricane. What we think this hurricane is going to be. It seems to be wobbling back and forth between 3 and 4?

MAYFIELD: Well, people should certainly plan on a Category 4 hurricane, but this not the worst-case scenario for the city of New Orleans, but we need to remember that not everybody lives within those levies. St. Bernard's and Praclin parish (ph), extending out there in southeast Louisiana, they're going to get less, but very significant storm surge amounts over on that side, the areas where they have that onshore flow.

WHITFIELD: Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center, thanks so much.

MAYFIELD: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, our live coverage of the hurricane continues all day right on CNN.

WHITFIELD: Also ahead, all of this over Fox hunting? And this is only what happened outside. Wait until you see the inside pictures.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, we don't know if we're going to get a punch in the mouth or a kick in the knee, so says a lawmaker in New Orleans -- a city that's largely below sea level.

CNN's John Zarrella tells us that's making for some very nervous people there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New Orleans is all about attitude. From its music to its streetcars and river boats, it oozes charm. It's a city that moves a bit slower, saving its energy to party a little harder.

It is also a city that flirts with disaster nearly every hurricane season.

MAESTRI: It's going to happen, you know? We can't continue to beat the odds. We've beaten the odds for a long, long time now.

ZARRELLA: Walter Maestri is the Jefferson Parish Emergency Manager. Of the 1.3 million people living in metropolitan New Orleans, he is responsible for nearly half a million, which during hurricane season leaves him with many sleepless nights.

Maestri is keenly aware there is little he can do to keep people from falling victim to a natural disaster or to save his city.

MAESTRI: Very, very rapidly within a 10 hour period, you know, the metropolitan New Orleans area is totally devastated. Gone.

ZARRELLA: Several expert studies and computer models show New Orleans even more vulnerable than anyone previously thought. Maestri says levies and flood walls designed to protect the city from moderately intense hurricanes might be overtopped and fail in just such storms.

MAESTRI: The way it's described, we describe it here as Lake Pontchartrain has now become Lake New Orleans. ZARRELLA: Maestri estimates most of the dead would be people who, for whatever reason, did not or could not evacuate, left trapped in the city as the water rises.

The problem is population has mushroomed. Evacuation routes are limited.

And New Orleans is like a bowl. The city sits below sea level. On three sides, there's water: the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Pontchartrain, and the Mississippi River.

(on camera): The experts say, in a major hurricane, the water here in the French Quarter could be up to the nose of Andrew Jackson's horse or as high as the second story windows on the cathedral behind it.

(voice-over): Jackson Square, the cathedral, and just about everything else in New Orleans would be underwater, 12 to 15 feet of it. In the storm's aftermath, water would sit in the city for an estimated six months. Pumps needed to get the water out would be themselves underwater.

MAESTRI: This is the one agency and government that not only is allowed to pray, it's demanded. We've got callouses on our knees in this business.

ZARRELLA: Divine intervention, good fortune, the whims of nature: Whatever it is, it is all that separates this city on the Mississippi from Walter Maestri's nightmare.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Thanks again to our John Zarrella for that report. Now, down the coast in the other direction from Mobile, there are mandatory evacuation orders in much of the Florida Panhandle.

But as Rick Sanchez reports, it's not just people who may need to get out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: State officials say that some 500,000 people are going to be evacuated here in the State of Florida. But what about animals? Well, zookeepers that we talked to say they got to be evacuated, as well.

STEPHANIE WILLARD, ZOOKEEPER: She would normally have free access in and out all day long every day.

SANCHEZ: So, she's in the lockdown now?

WILLARD: She's in lockdown, huh.

SANCHEZ: Tigers, cubs, the smaller -- perhaps some of the more delicate animals, you have taken out of this facility? WILLARD: Yes. Well, we still have them here on property, so long as we're on property right now. But you know, we've considered before taking the bigger animals off property, the more dangerous ones.

SANCHEZ: They look a little apprehensive. Is that -- do they sense that there's something going on?

WILLARD: Animals definitely can sense -- they can sense, you know, something's not right with the weather. They see us scrambling, doing things out of the ordinary. You know, they know if they see nets and carriers and things like that that something's not right. You know, they can definitely sense the drop in pressure, too.

SANCHEZ: Yes?

WILLARD: You know, they can tell a storm is coming way before we can.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Thank you to Rick Sanchez for that.

We're going to get the latest hurricane forecast in just a few minutes at the top of the hour.

Other news across America now, though -- no special election in New Jersey to replace Governor Jim McGreevey. A federal judge made that decision today. Last month, McGreevey announced that he would step down November 15th after revealing that he had an extramarital affair with a man. His critics wanted him to step down immediately.

The rape case against Kobe Bryant cost Colorado taxpayers nearly $400,000 and counting. Prosecutors spent nearly $75,000 for expert witnesses and more than $78,000 on investigators. Criminal charges have since been dropped. No word on how much Bryant spent on his own defense. Some estimates put it in the millions of dollars.

People are flocking to the site of a church explosion in Connecticut. Why? Well, the church was devastated in last week's blast, but a marble statue of the Virgin Mary is still standing. Some people are calling it a miracle and travelling to that location to pray to the Virgin.

We'll be back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Car bombing in the Iraqi city of Suwayrah killed two people today. An Iraqi National Guard member is among the dead. At least 10 others were injured. Suwayrah is about 40 miles south of Baghdad.

North of the capital, security forces found three beheaded bodies. The victims were all men, each had a tattoo. Investigators are still trying to determine their names and nationalities. Under attack: For some U.S. troops in Iraq, facing enemy fire has become part of their daily lives, especially in one Baghdad neighborhood. CNN's Diana Muriel takes us to Sadr City.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make a hole, make a hole, make a hole.

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the sun goes down, the shooting starts. For the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, it's a daily part of their routine at this base: an abandoned school building in the north of Sadr City.

(on camera): What you've been hearing is like a warmup for what is to come; Rocket-propelled grenades, small-arms fire, and mortars have been landing around this forward operating base here in Sadr City. It happens every night, and it will probably only get worse.

(voice-over): Waiting to go out on a mission, the tension building. A few try to snatch some sleep. Most are alert, watchful.

Finally, the night operation is underway, 20 armored vehicles on patrol, with air support.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comanche, Lancer, are you ready?

MURIEL: The tactic? Drawing out the Mehdi Militia, who have been attacking with rockets and AK-47s. The helicopter is the bait.

Tonight, the patrol has been successful. Two fighters killed in action. In all, the day's tally, 18 militiamen killed, an unknown number wounded. The commander considers it a quiet night.

LT. COL. GARY VOLESKY, 5th CAVALRY, U.S. ARMY: Maybe they just didn't want to come out and fight us tonight.

MURIEL: But these soldiers rarely get much of a break.

(on camera): This base, to the northeast of Sadr City, is where U.S. forces come back to regroup and reform. But even here, they're vulnerable to attack. The black smoke is rising from a mortar attack on a fuel truck within the walls of this compound.

(voice-over): Despite the problems, U.S. forces have been trying to improve the desperate living conditions for the people of this sprawling slum district. But work on most of the projects has had to stop. We found out why.

At a sewage pumping station the U.S. military had helped to refurbish, we came under attack from militiamen firing AK-47s. We made a run for it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go, go, go.

MURIEL: The cavalry will be back, but only once they've finished fighting. Diana Muriel, CNN, Sadr City, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Stealing the spotlight in London: protesters. They're hounding lawmakers about fox hunting. How things got so out of hand?

And she's traveled the world. Now, the Material Girl makes a pilgrimage to Israel. It's all coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: News around the world now -- in London: furious fox hunters. Britain's lower House of Parliament has voted to ban the age old sport, despite demonstrations and a few protesters who managed to storm the chamber during a debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... to a full-scale whatever -- just trying to stabilize the camera for my cameraman. We're being pushed...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And outside, a very dramatic scene: some 10,000 people blew horns in support of the sport. Scuffles broke out between protesters and police.

The Material Girl embarks on a spiritual journey to the holy land. Madonna is on a five-day visit to Israel for the Jewish New Year, which starts at sundown. Catholic-born pop star has been a devout follower of the mystical Jewish Kabbalah. Well, not all Israelis are excited. A leading rabbi and Kabbalahist is furious, saying that, quote, "It's forbidden to teach a non-Jew Kabbalah."

WHITFIELD: Well, ever heard of a football tax? Businesses could be getting hit with some unexpected costs this football season. Rhonda Schaffler joins us from the New York Stock Exchange with more on that -- Rhonda?

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

You can blame fantasy football for this tax. A new report says even if workers spend just 10 minutes of their workday managing their fantasy football team, that's going to cost more than $36 million in lost productivity to businesses. But the bosses may have actually caught on to this one.

According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the distraction has already prompted many employers to add fantasy football and other sports-related Web sites to the list of Internet destinations that are blocked in the office. According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, about 14 million people participate in fantasy football -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And Rhonda, what is this about a California winery that may be pulling the cork on one of its businesses?

SCHAFFLER: That's right. The crown jewel of Napa, Robert Mondavi, heading for some big changes now. The company is going to sell its luxury wine business so it can focus on its relatively inexpensive Woodbridge brand and other lower end wines.

Michael Mondavi, the founder's son, also resigned from his post as vice chairman. Shares of Mondavi losing more than $3 today, and the overall market is head south, as well. Dow's off 66 points; Nasdaq down three-quarters of one percent.

That is all the latest news from Wall Street. We'll go back now to Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Rhonda, thanks so much.

This wraps up this edition of LIVE FROM. "INSIDE POLITICS" is next. Judy is here with a preview. Hi, Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Hey, Kyra. Thanks very much.

Well, President Bush is staying here in Washington today, but the battle over his National Guard service continues. We'll take a look at the latest accusations and what members of Congress have to say about them.

Plus a real life red, white, and blonde: Are Paris and Nicole headed to Washington? We'll have the story on "INSIDE POLITICS," plus all the hurricane updates, 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 15, 2004 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is LIVE FROM. I'm Kyra Phillips.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here's what's all new this half hour.

As Ivan approaches, it's time to make a tough call: what to do with the llamas, and tigers and bears.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. WALTER S. MAESTRI, JEFFERSON PARISH EMERG. MGMT.: This is the one agency in government that not only is allowed to pray, it's demanded it. We've got callouses on our knees in this business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The big one's too close for comfort. Those know who the most about the dangers find the most to pray about.

WHITFIELD: Those stories and more coming up, but first here's what's happening now in the news. People on the Gulf Coast getting out of way of Hurricane Ivan. Evacuations taking place from Florida, Louisiana, as winds reach 135 miles an hour, blowing into the Gulf. The National Hurricane Center is predicting the eye of the storm will make landfall early tomorrow across Mobile Bay, Alabama.

PHILLIPS: Tropical Storm Jeanne could soon become Hurricane Jeanne. That storm blew into Puerto Rico today drenching that island, or that island rather. The National Hurricane Center says that Jeanne is gaining strength and will probably become a hurricane. The eye of the storm is expected to hit Puerto Rico later today.

Domestic diva Martha Stewart says she's ready to go to jail. Speaking at a news conference today, Stewart says she wants to put the nightmare behind her. Stewart's five-month sentence has been postponed. As she went through an appeal, she was convicted in July on charges related to a 2001 stock sale.

National Hockey League fans may not see any action on the ice for a while. NHL owners agreed to lockout their players today. The league's commissioner is holding a news conference right now. The owners and players have failed to reach an agreement on compensation.

WHITFIELD: Well, forecasters predict the eye of Hurricane Ivan will pass over the Mobile, Alabama, area overnight. Just about 60 miles down interstate 10 from Mobile is Biloxi, Mississippi, and many residents there are heading inland, but many others are hunkering down and preparing to ride out storm.

CNN's Kathleen Koch spoke to Biloxi's mayor, A.J. Holloway.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Mr. Mayor, there's a mandatory evacuation for anyone in low-lying areas, especially south of I-10, but you're staying in your home, a block and a half from the beach. Is that wise?

MYR. A.J. HOLLOWAY, BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI: Well, I was there during Camille, and my wife wouldn't leave. She wanted to be by those grandbabies, and so we'll all be there, hunkered down. Of course I'll be at the EOC office quite a bit also, so...

KOCH: But isn't that, Mr. Mayor, a little bit dangerous, this veteran hurricane survivor mentality that pervade this area because of Camille in '69?

HOLLOWAY: Yes, it does. It really does. A lot of people are not going to leave, they just won't leave. What can I say? I won't leave either, so...

KOCH: But you're making people, I understand, the officers are going in some cases door to door making people sign a people giving the names of next of kin. Are you doing that?

HOLLOWAY: No, no, we aren't not doing that. That's the Harrison County Civil Defense has been requesting that.

Now, we will go -- once the storm hits, that's when people get panicky and try to get out. We have two large (INAUDIBLE). The National Guard will be out, and we'll be patrolling the east Biloxi area. That's the lowest part of our city, and those people down there are old-timers, most of them, and they're going to stay there till the bitter end, and we will be down there helping them get out, as we always do.

KOCH: But, Mr. Mayor, isn't there going to be a certain point, especially if this, say, remains a Category 4 when it comes in, isn't there going to be a point where, as there is with most storms, where you're just going to have to bring your people in, and everyone else as citizens will have to manage?

HOLLOWAY: Yes, we will -- it will come a time if it gets that bad, that we'll have to stay in, true, particularly -- but most of the time, the National Guard and the police are out on the streets.

KOCH: Even in a bad -- even in 100 mile-an-hour winds, they stay out?

HOLLOWAY: Yes.

KOCH: That's unique. You don't see that in other areas. Again, that's veteran hurricane mentality you've got.

HOLLOWAY: They were out in Camille with 200 mile-an-hour winds, taking people out of trees and rooftops, so they'll be out there, putting their lives on the line.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was Kathleen Koch with the mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi. Well, let's get the latest now on Hurricane Ivan from Max Mayfield at the National Hurricane Center in Florida.

Max, good to see you.

Well, the latest maps are showing that Ivan is heading toward the Mobile Bay area. Is that what you're updating are indicating?

MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Yes, we've been consistent, Fredricka, since Monday on the track forecast. But even though the center is headed towards the Alabama coast, this is a large hurricane and will have a large impact over most of the area from southeast Louisiana all the way over through the Florida Panhandle.

WHITFIELD: And a large impact because of the width of this storm. Hurricane-force winds, what, reaching out 100 miles and possibly inland, tropical storm-force winds, 300 miles?

MAYFIELD: Well, the tropical storm-force winds will, and the hurricane-force winds, will spread inland. Hurricane-force winds will actually go 100 miles, and maybe a little bit more than that.

But you don't have to have hurricane-force winds to knock down some tall tree asks cause power outages. We're going to have to deal with the storm surge, the wind and the rainfall throughout this event.

WHITFIELD: And talking about the storm surge, we're talking about up to a foot in some places?

MAYFIELD: We're talking 10 to 16 feet in some places. Near to the east of where the center is crossing the coast, they'll be very high break waves on top of that. The analog might be Hurricane Opal back in 1995 that made landfall near Pensacola, but it had a big impact throughout the whole Florida Panhandle.

WHITFIELD: At first, New Orleans was a city that though that may feel the brunt of the impact, being right in the path of this storm. Now it may be on the fringes.

However, their levies are built to withstand Category 3 hurricane. What we think this hurricane is going to be. It seems to be wobbling back and forth between 3 and 4?

MAYFIELD: Well, people should certainly plan on a Category 4 hurricane, but this not the worst-case scenario for the city of New Orleans, but we need to remember that not everybody lives within those levies. St. Bernard's and Praclin parish (ph), extending out there in southeast Louisiana, they're going to get less, but very significant storm surge amounts over on that side, the areas where they have that onshore flow.

WHITFIELD: Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center, thanks so much.

MAYFIELD: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, our live coverage of the hurricane continues all day right on CNN.

WHITFIELD: Also ahead, all of this over Fox hunting? And this is only what happened outside. Wait until you see the inside pictures.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, we don't know if we're going to get a punch in the mouth or a kick in the knee, so says a lawmaker in New Orleans -- a city that's largely below sea level.

CNN's John Zarrella tells us that's making for some very nervous people there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New Orleans is all about attitude. From its music to its streetcars and river boats, it oozes charm. It's a city that moves a bit slower, saving its energy to party a little harder.

It is also a city that flirts with disaster nearly every hurricane season.

MAESTRI: It's going to happen, you know? We can't continue to beat the odds. We've beaten the odds for a long, long time now.

ZARRELLA: Walter Maestri is the Jefferson Parish Emergency Manager. Of the 1.3 million people living in metropolitan New Orleans, he is responsible for nearly half a million, which during hurricane season leaves him with many sleepless nights.

Maestri is keenly aware there is little he can do to keep people from falling victim to a natural disaster or to save his city.

MAESTRI: Very, very rapidly within a 10 hour period, you know, the metropolitan New Orleans area is totally devastated. Gone.

ZARRELLA: Several expert studies and computer models show New Orleans even more vulnerable than anyone previously thought. Maestri says levies and flood walls designed to protect the city from moderately intense hurricanes might be overtopped and fail in just such storms.

MAESTRI: The way it's described, we describe it here as Lake Pontchartrain has now become Lake New Orleans. ZARRELLA: Maestri estimates most of the dead would be people who, for whatever reason, did not or could not evacuate, left trapped in the city as the water rises.

The problem is population has mushroomed. Evacuation routes are limited.

And New Orleans is like a bowl. The city sits below sea level. On three sides, there's water: the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Pontchartrain, and the Mississippi River.

(on camera): The experts say, in a major hurricane, the water here in the French Quarter could be up to the nose of Andrew Jackson's horse or as high as the second story windows on the cathedral behind it.

(voice-over): Jackson Square, the cathedral, and just about everything else in New Orleans would be underwater, 12 to 15 feet of it. In the storm's aftermath, water would sit in the city for an estimated six months. Pumps needed to get the water out would be themselves underwater.

MAESTRI: This is the one agency and government that not only is allowed to pray, it's demanded. We've got callouses on our knees in this business.

ZARRELLA: Divine intervention, good fortune, the whims of nature: Whatever it is, it is all that separates this city on the Mississippi from Walter Maestri's nightmare.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Thanks again to our John Zarrella for that report. Now, down the coast in the other direction from Mobile, there are mandatory evacuation orders in much of the Florida Panhandle.

But as Rick Sanchez reports, it's not just people who may need to get out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: State officials say that some 500,000 people are going to be evacuated here in the State of Florida. But what about animals? Well, zookeepers that we talked to say they got to be evacuated, as well.

STEPHANIE WILLARD, ZOOKEEPER: She would normally have free access in and out all day long every day.

SANCHEZ: So, she's in the lockdown now?

WILLARD: She's in lockdown, huh.

SANCHEZ: Tigers, cubs, the smaller -- perhaps some of the more delicate animals, you have taken out of this facility? WILLARD: Yes. Well, we still have them here on property, so long as we're on property right now. But you know, we've considered before taking the bigger animals off property, the more dangerous ones.

SANCHEZ: They look a little apprehensive. Is that -- do they sense that there's something going on?

WILLARD: Animals definitely can sense -- they can sense, you know, something's not right with the weather. They see us scrambling, doing things out of the ordinary. You know, they know if they see nets and carriers and things like that that something's not right. You know, they can definitely sense the drop in pressure, too.

SANCHEZ: Yes?

WILLARD: You know, they can tell a storm is coming way before we can.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Thank you to Rick Sanchez for that.

We're going to get the latest hurricane forecast in just a few minutes at the top of the hour.

Other news across America now, though -- no special election in New Jersey to replace Governor Jim McGreevey. A federal judge made that decision today. Last month, McGreevey announced that he would step down November 15th after revealing that he had an extramarital affair with a man. His critics wanted him to step down immediately.

The rape case against Kobe Bryant cost Colorado taxpayers nearly $400,000 and counting. Prosecutors spent nearly $75,000 for expert witnesses and more than $78,000 on investigators. Criminal charges have since been dropped. No word on how much Bryant spent on his own defense. Some estimates put it in the millions of dollars.

People are flocking to the site of a church explosion in Connecticut. Why? Well, the church was devastated in last week's blast, but a marble statue of the Virgin Mary is still standing. Some people are calling it a miracle and travelling to that location to pray to the Virgin.

We'll be back right after this.

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PHILLIPS: Car bombing in the Iraqi city of Suwayrah killed two people today. An Iraqi National Guard member is among the dead. At least 10 others were injured. Suwayrah is about 40 miles south of Baghdad.

North of the capital, security forces found three beheaded bodies. The victims were all men, each had a tattoo. Investigators are still trying to determine their names and nationalities. Under attack: For some U.S. troops in Iraq, facing enemy fire has become part of their daily lives, especially in one Baghdad neighborhood. CNN's Diana Muriel takes us to Sadr City.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make a hole, make a hole, make a hole.

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the sun goes down, the shooting starts. For the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, it's a daily part of their routine at this base: an abandoned school building in the north of Sadr City.

(on camera): What you've been hearing is like a warmup for what is to come; Rocket-propelled grenades, small-arms fire, and mortars have been landing around this forward operating base here in Sadr City. It happens every night, and it will probably only get worse.

(voice-over): Waiting to go out on a mission, the tension building. A few try to snatch some sleep. Most are alert, watchful.

Finally, the night operation is underway, 20 armored vehicles on patrol, with air support.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comanche, Lancer, are you ready?

MURIEL: The tactic? Drawing out the Mehdi Militia, who have been attacking with rockets and AK-47s. The helicopter is the bait.

Tonight, the patrol has been successful. Two fighters killed in action. In all, the day's tally, 18 militiamen killed, an unknown number wounded. The commander considers it a quiet night.

LT. COL. GARY VOLESKY, 5th CAVALRY, U.S. ARMY: Maybe they just didn't want to come out and fight us tonight.

MURIEL: But these soldiers rarely get much of a break.

(on camera): This base, to the northeast of Sadr City, is where U.S. forces come back to regroup and reform. But even here, they're vulnerable to attack. The black smoke is rising from a mortar attack on a fuel truck within the walls of this compound.

(voice-over): Despite the problems, U.S. forces have been trying to improve the desperate living conditions for the people of this sprawling slum district. But work on most of the projects has had to stop. We found out why.

At a sewage pumping station the U.S. military had helped to refurbish, we came under attack from militiamen firing AK-47s. We made a run for it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go, go, go.

MURIEL: The cavalry will be back, but only once they've finished fighting. Diana Muriel, CNN, Sadr City, Iraq.

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WHITFIELD: Stealing the spotlight in London: protesters. They're hounding lawmakers about fox hunting. How things got so out of hand?

And she's traveled the world. Now, the Material Girl makes a pilgrimage to Israel. It's all coming up next.

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PHILLIPS: News around the world now -- in London: furious fox hunters. Britain's lower House of Parliament has voted to ban the age old sport, despite demonstrations and a few protesters who managed to storm the chamber during a debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... to a full-scale whatever -- just trying to stabilize the camera for my cameraman. We're being pushed...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And outside, a very dramatic scene: some 10,000 people blew horns in support of the sport. Scuffles broke out between protesters and police.

The Material Girl embarks on a spiritual journey to the holy land. Madonna is on a five-day visit to Israel for the Jewish New Year, which starts at sundown. Catholic-born pop star has been a devout follower of the mystical Jewish Kabbalah. Well, not all Israelis are excited. A leading rabbi and Kabbalahist is furious, saying that, quote, "It's forbidden to teach a non-Jew Kabbalah."

WHITFIELD: Well, ever heard of a football tax? Businesses could be getting hit with some unexpected costs this football season. Rhonda Schaffler joins us from the New York Stock Exchange with more on that -- Rhonda?

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

You can blame fantasy football for this tax. A new report says even if workers spend just 10 minutes of their workday managing their fantasy football team, that's going to cost more than $36 million in lost productivity to businesses. But the bosses may have actually caught on to this one.

According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the distraction has already prompted many employers to add fantasy football and other sports-related Web sites to the list of Internet destinations that are blocked in the office. According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, about 14 million people participate in fantasy football -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And Rhonda, what is this about a California winery that may be pulling the cork on one of its businesses?

SCHAFFLER: That's right. The crown jewel of Napa, Robert Mondavi, heading for some big changes now. The company is going to sell its luxury wine business so it can focus on its relatively inexpensive Woodbridge brand and other lower end wines.

Michael Mondavi, the founder's son, also resigned from his post as vice chairman. Shares of Mondavi losing more than $3 today, and the overall market is head south, as well. Dow's off 66 points; Nasdaq down three-quarters of one percent.

That is all the latest news from Wall Street. We'll go back now to Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Rhonda, thanks so much.

This wraps up this edition of LIVE FROM. "INSIDE POLITICS" is next. Judy is here with a preview. Hi, Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Hey, Kyra. Thanks very much.

Well, President Bush is staying here in Washington today, but the battle over his National Guard service continues. We'll take a look at the latest accusations and what members of Congress have to say about them.

Plus a real life red, white, and blonde: Are Paris and Nicole headed to Washington? We'll have the story on "INSIDE POLITICS," plus all the hurricane updates, in just a moment.

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