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Dennis Causes Billions in Damage; White House Fields Questions about Purported Rove CIA Leak; Sumpreme Court Speculations

Aired July 11, 2005 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CO-HOST: Billions of dollars in damage and Dennis is not done yet. A couple who saw their town covered in floodwaters share their story.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Air show disaster. What went wrong with this stunt that killed two American pilots?

BLITZER: Supreme speculation over Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Will the president have two slots to fill?

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Wolf Blitzer.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

BLITZER: As a hurricane, it was less than horrible. As a depression, it's a drencher.

Dennis delivered substantial damage to the same stretch of the Florida Panhandle that Hurricane Ivan hit with greater effect last September. Were Ivan not so fresh in the Panhandle's memory, says one county administrator, "We wouldn't have thought Dennis was a terrible experience."

More than 500,000 homes and businesses in Florida alone lost electricity. Three hundred thousand more in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee. And all those states, plus several others, still face the prospect of days of heavy rain as Dennis falls apart ever so slowly in the southern Ohio Valley.

PHILLIPS: Insurance firms are counting on billions of dollars in Dennis-related claims and a sizable chunk of that damage is in Pensacola Beach. CNN's Dan Lothian is there with the latest -- Dan.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good afternoon.

I was talking to a law enforcement official earlier this afternoon, and he told me on a scale of one to 10 putting Ivan as a 10, he saw this as a three. So that kind of gives you a good sense of what people feel here, feeling here on the ground. Residents and also officials feeling like it was not as bad as they were bracing for.

Having said that, there is still a lot of damage. Before I get into the damage, though, let me tell you that we were expecting now within the next few minutes that some of the residents who were evacuated from this area, Santa Rosa Island, and I believe they're -- well, they're starting to come in, even as I speak right now. They're bringing them into this area.

This will be the first chance that they'll get to see their properties to see if there's any damage at all. These are folks who got these stickers when they were leaving. These stickers essentially will prove that you live here. If you have one of these stickers, then you will be allowed to come back in. And as I said, everybody is sort of -- a lot of anxious folks, because they don't know what they will find when they come back here.

Now this was an area that was hit hard by Hurricane Ivan. Behind me is a building that was being remodeled, fixed up after being damaged by Hurricane Ivan. Then comes along this storm and adds more damage to it.

On this side what you see is the scaffolding. It's a little hard to see where it was sheared off. But if you push in, John, we can see that the bottom half there of that scaffolding was just sheared off, taking it through the air, landing over on the visitors' center, visitors and information center, causing damage to the rear of that building.

The lady who works in there told CNN that before the storm, she had talked to the construction workers. She had raised some concerns about seeing that scaffolding right there, thinking that it would come down. And she joked with them and said, you know, you know, if this falls on my building, I want you to repair it for me. And so she said she will be holding them to that.

Now we were not allowed to come onto the island early this morning, because there were some concerns about the bridge, the integrity of the bridge. They checked it out. There were also some concerns about the debris on the -- on the roadways, but after clearing some of that, they did bring us over.

And as we were coming in we were rolling with our cameras. To the right there is a divider in the road. The inbound lanes were blocked. A lot of debris on those lanes.

Over on the left side right along the side of the road we saw two wave runners just perched right there on the side of the road. And of course, a lot of debris, a lot of damage. Telephone poles are down. There were a lot of signs that were down. There were some roofs, part of them that were ripped off. I even saw a trailer, one of those construction trailers, that was on its side.

Now a lot of crews are on the ground now, trying to clean up the debris. Power crews are trying to restore power. About a thousand power crews are out about this Panhandle area, trying to restore power. We're told some 3,000 additional crews will be coming to the area from across the Southeast. Officials are hoping that they can get the power on as quickly as possible, but they warn that it could take up to two weeks -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, Dan, of course, we see all this damage. We see the destruction. And I just want to take it one step farther. Is there any concern right now about price gouging? We saw it happen last time with contractors and supplies. Is that a concern yet?

LOTHIAN: You know, that is something that we have not heard of. No doubt it could become a concern down the road. Right now people are just getting a chance to take a look at what the damage is, so I'm sure that they're not even thinking about that element of price gouging. Even officials are still assessing the full impact of the damage. No doubt that could come into play down the road. But right now, they just want to find out if they do have all the walls of their homes.

PHILLIPS: Dan Lothian, thanks -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Farther north the problem is rain and lots of it. Dennis bombarded several states, particularly Georgia, with torrential rains. The result, flooding.

CNN's Catherine Callaway is seeing some of the worst of it in Douglas County. That's west of where we are at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Set the scene for us, Catherine.

CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's unbelievable, Wolf. That train of rain from Dennis continues to just march right through this state.

Started in the middle of the night. It really hasn't let up very much and as you said we're west of Atlanta in Douglas County, where an entire city block here has been flooded.

As you can see behind me, this is what's left of a car dealership. About 150 cars were moved in the middle of the night, but as you can see about 90 cars are underwater. Some of the water has receded a little bit, but this is, as you can imagine, only going to get worse as this rain continues to pour in.

And behind this car dealership is another shopping center, also under water. And all of the pressure from this water has led to a sinkhole, Wolf, and they've had to evacuate the area, because the sinkhole exposed some gas lines and they're concerned about the businesses here. They've evacuated a Waffle House, some of the -- a little bit of the area here as they watch that gas line. Concern that some of the pressure from the rain and the debris may pop that line. And as you know, that would be quite a mess.

We're going to speak now with John Bleakley. He's the owner of this car dealership here. And I know you've been here all night long moving cars. And what a mess. How much damage do you think you've suffered here?

JOHN BLEAKLEY, OWNER, CAR DEALERSHIP: We've got, we think, between $3 and $4 million right now. We're not sure.

CALLAWAY: You also have a couple of buildings that are under water. I know you can't even see it beyond those trees. There's a building under water, and the building next to us here. Also, the water is starting to come out of that building now, but a lot of damage. BLEAKLEY: Yes, this building, we've got part storage in it, but that building down there is a sales office, and we've got desks that are just -- just floating. I mean we've lost everything that's in there.

CALLAWAY: And some of these cars, I notice the windows are down and the trunks are popped open. Water wreaking havoc with the electric systems.

BLEAKLEY: Right. The water gets in and floods, and then horns go off, lights flash. You don't know what's going to happen. All of a sudden, like I said, we saw windows going down, and these are the cars we just couldn't get to. We couldn't get them. We couldn't get them all.

CALLAWAY: All right. Well, good luck to you, John. I know you worked all night long, trying to save what you could.

BLEAKLEY: Yes. Thank you very much.

CALLAWAY: And Wolf, we should tell you that they believe that a clogged storm drain may be behind this. A lot of runoff from a hill that's behind us. But, Wolf, as this rain continues to pour in, we're just concerned about that sinkhole and those gas lines, and we'll continue to watch that area.

BLITZER: All right. Catherine Callaway, we'll get back to you. Pretty dramatic pictures. Thank you very much, Catherine, for that -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Back in Florida, some of the worst flooding occurred in the small town of St. Marks, just south of Tallahassee. Much of the water has receded, but the damage is already done.

Yesterday, a couple took along one of CNN's photographers, Mark Fielo (ph), on their boat to get a look at that damage. That couple, Mitchell Pope and Brenda Dewar, join me now live from St. Marks.

And it's a pleasure to have you both. And I want to be the first one to thank you both for letting Mark come aboard your boat. We got to see those pictures for the very first time of your area, so we appreciate your kindness to both of you, thank you.

MITCHELL POPE, ST. MARKS RESIDENT: You're welcome.

BRENDA DEWAR, ST. MARKS RESIDENT: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Well, why don't you give us a little background? When -- obviously this was unexpected. We had talked to a number of people from your area yesterday. How long have you two lived there?

POPE: I've been here all my life. And I've weathered out several hurricanes here, and this one caught us all with our britches down, if you want to say. It was a total supplies, and the flood surge that we had, and there's a lot of damage due to that.

PHILLIPS: and Brenda, what about you? How long have you lived there?

DEWAR: I just came back down two months ago from Missouri. I've been going back and forth for about four years now.

PHILLIPS: Wow. All right. So Mitchell, you've been there -- yes, and you're probably going to go back to Missouri. I have a feeling you and Mitchell might be taking the boat elsewhere.

But Mitchell, seriously, you've lived there all your life. This has never happened before. You've never seen this happen before. So when it did, tell me how you two responded. You not only helped us get pictures of the area but did you -- were you involved in any rescuing, trying to get people out of their homes? Give me a play-by- play for when it all went down, what you did.

POPE: Well, first of all, I've seen it before but not to this extent. There have been some hurricanes before my time, I understand, that the water did get as high as it did on this one.

But as far as me doing any rescuing, I had a great big offshore boat. I couldn't get in shallow to get to people's doorsteps to rescue people, so actually I didn't do any rescuing. Basically, I took your padre off with the camera to see all the damage. That's about all the contribution I had made.

PHILLIPS: Well, it was a tremendous contribution.

Brenda, were you able to make contact with people that were in trouble? Were you able to help in any way, try to coordinate getting folks out of there or maybe saving some things out of homes and businesses?

DEWAR: Oh, yes, Mitchell did send other boats. Our neighbor had a smaller boat, and he did send them to get some older people out that we couldn't put them in our boat because it was too large of a boat. It was an offshore boat.

PHILLIPS: Well, you're sitting...

DEWAR: It was...

PHILLIPS: I'm sorry. Go ahead.

DEWAR: But it was going down this road yesterday.

PHILLIPS: Unbelievable. So where you're standing right now because we're looking at the videotape that we got yesterday. This is the same area that was completely under water?

DEWAR: Yes.

POPE: Yes. Six foot if not more.

PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. Well, I don't know if the photographer, is that Mark, our photographer that's shooting this live shot, do you know? DEWAR: No, it is not.

PHILLIPS: OK.

DEWAR: He's in another location.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, I'll tell you what. If the photographer can hear us, maybe he or she can kind of give us a view for what things are looking like right now. And I'll continue to talk to you two also.

Tell me how much better it's gotten since yesterday. I mean, is everybody able to get through the areas where we saw businesses completely submerged?

DEWAR: Oh, yes, the water is completely gone now. The water is completely gone, and we're just cleaning out the mud and ripping out the flooring and pulling mattresses and everything out to air out.

PHILLIPS: And I see the American Red Cross right behind you there. They've been able to come in and help folks?

DEWAR: Right. They've come in. They're going to help us. The governor has declared it a disaster area. We just got phone lines. We won't have electricity until midnight tonight at the earliest.

PHILLIPS: Wow. So Mitchell, you've been there all your life. And we saw the post office under water. We saw the restaurants, so many homes. Is everybody OK and accounted for, as far as you know?

POPE: Yes, there was no casualties of any kind, to my knowledge. Not even a slippage and a scrape, et cetera, to my knowledge. But yes, this -- we've gone through this before, not so much as the severity of this. But we pretty much were -- we knew what to do. We just wasn't expecting to have to do it is all.

PHILLIPS: That's amazing. Well, is everybody back in St. Marks now, the 325 residents?

POPE: I would say pretty much all of them have returned, yes.

PHILLIPS: And any major needs right now with regard to rebuilding homes or businesses? I know American Red Cross is there, but there's a lot of people that have been e-mailing that have wanted to help folks in your area as soon as we brought those pictures on live yesterday. What are the major needs there? You know all the people. You've lived there your whole life.

POPE: I don't know if there's a dry mattress in St. Marks at this time unless they was up on stilts. You know, just overall, everything was just -- our clothing and all, we got to go to Tallahassee to do the laundry. There's, you know, my washing machine is gone and everybody's pretty much in this same situation. Unless they were up on stilts, we all just got a lot of water damage. Refrigerators, stoves, hot water heaters, et cetera.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well...

DEWAR: That being saltwater is a whole other ball game, compared to freshwater, too.

PHILLIPS: No doubt. Well, American Red Cross will make note of that. St. Marks, Florida, we'll not forget that area. We also won't forget what the two of you did for us to let our photographer board your boat to get those pictures from yesterday. We salute you both, Brenda and Mitchell. Thank you so much.

DEWAR: You're welcome.

POPE: Thank you, Kyra.

BLITZER: So where is Dennis right now? Let's turn -- turn it over to our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras, at the CNN Weather Center for a complete update -- Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Wolf, Dennis is now pounding parts of the Tennessee and Ohio River valleys. And there are still concerns about flooding, just in different places today because of the rainfall, very persistent and very heavy.

So this is a real tropical air mass. It's still a tropical depression with winds around 35 miles per hour. That's the maximum sustained winds. And it's slowing down a little bit, and it's going to be sitting in this area over the next couple of days, so that is going to be our next big concern here.

The rainfall amounts have been really unbelievable. We saw the flooding pictures. Austell, Georgia, 9 1/2 inches of rain. You had more than six inches in Tallahassee and Atlanta, Georgia, proper. You had over five inches of rainfall, and that was as of 7 a.m. this morning. The rain is still coming down in the Atlanta metro area.

The other concern, we've heard all the reports of how many people are without power. Well, check out the temperatures here. Along the Gulf Coast we're talking about temperatures in the low 80s now. They should easily make their way into the middle to upper 80s as we progress throughout the afternoon, and this is without air- conditioning.

So use a lot of caution when you're out there cleaning up for today. Also, a tropical depression, TD No. 5, could become Emily before the day is over -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Jacqui Jeras with the latest. We'll be checking back with you.

From the weather, let's head over to the White House. The White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, being asked questions about Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove and reports that he may have leaked information to a "TIME" magazine reporter about a former CIA clandestine officer.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Again, after the investigation is complete, I will be glad to talk about it at that point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And a follow-up. And a follow-up, can you walk us through why, given the fact that Rove's lawyer has spoken publicly about this, it is inconsistent with the investigation, that it compromises the investigation to talk about the involvement of Karl Rove, the deputy chief of staff?

MCCLELLAN: Well, those overseeing the investigation expressed a preference to us that we not get into commenting on the investigation while it's ongoing, and that was what they requested of the White House. And so I think in order to be helpful to that investigation, we are following their direction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scott, there's a difference between commenting on an investigation and taking action.

MCCLELLAN: Go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I finish, please?

MCCLELLAN: You can -- I'll come back to you in a minute.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president spoke about the war on terrorism and also, according to a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) report, earlier (ph) bombings in London and also bombings in India, and at both places al Qaeda was involved. According to the international (ph) press reports, Pakistani terrorism said that Osama bin Laden is alive and they have spoken with him and his group is (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Now the major bombing after 9/11 took place in London and moreover...

BLITZER: All right. We're going to break away from the White House press briefing room. Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, was being asked some very tough questions about Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff.

In recent days, there have been widespread reports that he did provide information to Matthew Cooper of "TIME" magazine, our sister publication, suggesting that former ambassador Joe Wilson's wife, who was then a clandestine officer at the CIA, working at the CIA, was involved in setting the stage for his trip to Africa on behalf of the CIA.

There's a lot of interest in this story. We'll continue to monitor it for our viewers.

Much more coming up on LIVE FROM here. Also, 5 p.m. Eastern on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS," among other things, we'll be speaking with Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward on their new book, as well as on the entire investigation now involving Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff.

We'll take a quick break. More of our coverage of Hurricane, now Tropical Storm, Dennis and much more right after this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM: midair collision. What caused this crash as horrified air show spectators watched?

Later on LIVE FROM, a standoff ends in a hail of bullets. Police say the gunman used a baby girl as a human shield. Details on how it all went down.

Also ahead, inside Gitmo. What CNN's cameras could and could not show you. CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman has just returned from the prison.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Caught on tape, an air show aerobatic act turned deadly on Sunday when two biplane pilots from the U.S., performing in Canada, were killed in this horrific collision. It was captured on this amateur video, and the distressing images of the planes exploding into fireballs and falling to the ground.

The show took place in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and that's the area of the Canadian province that's just north of Montana. No injuries were reported on the ground, but that crash is under investigation.

Earlier today on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," an air show organizer said that both pilots were highly skilled and very well respected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLIVE TOLLEY, SASKATCHEWAN CENTRAL AIR SHOW: These guys are two members of a four-person team that's considered the hottest act and the best act in the air show industry. They're professionals, all individual award winners in the industry, been doing this thousands of times. And really, we don't know what happened, and I'd be remiss to even speculate about what did happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Those two victims were stunt pilots with a group called the X Team. A third pilot on their team landed safely.

Now we want to take you back to our hurricane coverage. On the other end of Santa Rosa Island, Navarre Beach is an area very hard hit before the storm was downgraded last night.

We find CNN's roving correspondent -- no, it's not Rick Sanchez today. It's Randi Kaye with our specialized equipment. A lot calmer than yesterday, that's for sure, Randi. I think you got the better end of the assignment.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think you're right, Kyra. We let Rick take the hurricane and all the rainfall yesterday and the heavy winds, and I got the sunshine and all the damage, though, which we are going to show you here in just a second.

I'm at Navarre Beach, which as you said was the area that's hardest hit. They -- they had sustained winds of about 120 miles an hour here yesterday afternoon. And we just got a tour of the area here, of the beach area, and with the sheriff's department. Nobody can go on there because it's all flooded still, but we want to show you a little bit of video that we took.

There are some really amazing pictures, folks going door to door, the search and rescue teams working Navarre Beach. They want to make sure that nobody did stay in the homes there. There was an evacuation. But they're going door to door, and what they do is they mark the doors with an orange red or red paint to let folks know that nobody is inside. There aren't any fatalities inside.

But the power lines are down. We had some great video of the power lines crossing the road there, the main road. There's actually half the road missing now, which we're going to show you a little bit later on. Right down the yellow line, the ocean actually took out half the road. It was really something to see. I climbed down in there, and now the ocean is actually half of the road, which is pretty amazing.

Homes are pretty much destroyed in there. This is an area that was pretty hard hit by Ivan. Folks here have just started to rebuild, even getting some of their insurance money, and some folks had rebuilt.

We even walked an area of the beach where there used to be homes yesterday morning. As of yesterday morning, Kyra, there were about three or four homes in the area that we went to. Those homes are gone. They were washed into the beach or blown into land. And it's just a devastating, devastating scene.

This area, I don't even know how long it's going to be closed for, but the pictures in there. We want to show you a little bit more of them later on to get you some of the really more intense pictures just a little bit later on -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll look forward to your next report, Randi Kaye, there, live from Navarre Beach, Florida. Thank you -- Wolf

BLITZER: Thank, Kyra. Dennis blows billions of dollars for the insurance industry, but you may also be paying up. We'll have details on that. That's straight ahead.

And the death toll rises in the London bombings, along with the determination to find out who did it.

Also ahead, Rehnquist rumors. Talk of another possible retirement. We'll take you inside the Beltway. There's a boiling point over a possible shakeup, another shakeup at the Supreme Court. We'll have details.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ANNOUNCER: CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

BLITZER: The insurance industry is expecting to shell out big bucks to cover losses related to Hurricane Dennis. CNN's Chris Huntington is crunching the numbers for insured and uninsured losses. He's here to tell us what this storm may wind up costing. Chris, what is -- what's going on?

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the good news is that the damage, at least that we can assess so far, is not as serious as people had expected.

Let's take a brief look at the area, though, where the biggest damage did occur. It's basically between Pensacola on the west and Panama City. We just heard from Randi Kaye in Navarre Beach right dead center there where the hurricane struck.

Town of Baghdad, perhaps unfortunately named, at the northern tip of Pensacola Bay hit very, very badly.

The insured amounts that are going to be paid out range -- the estimates right now range from 1.5 to $2 billion. This is a U.S. Insurance Industry estimate. The biggest company in the business, the biggest reinsurance company business, and the way insurance works there are retail insurers that handle the policies for homeowners and such, but then they are insured by reinsurance companies. Three to 5 billion estimated by Munich Re, which is the biggest in the business.

Right now, Wolf, the emergency -- the emergency rescue operations and operations on the ground right now are actually being covered by FEMA.

Here's a look, by the way, of the costliest hurricanes. Right now, Dennis, at least as estimated, doesn't even make the top five. But you can look in there and see that three of those top five were just in the last year, and Ivan right there at No. 3 hit in exactly the same area.

Now, the way FEMA works right now is the state of Florida has applied for and been granted 100 percent coverage for all the public assistance emergency relief that is put to use in the first three days following the disaster, after which it'll go down to 75 percent.

So federal taxpayers, you and I and folks around the country, will be paying some of the tab for helping these folks recover from this disaster.

Now, the fact that the overall numbers are less than what people expected, that's -- that's cold comfort for folks who have had their lives ripped apart. We've shown report after report, just an hour or so ago, a car dealer in Georgia, his entire inventory underwater. I mean, that's the kind of devastation that people are dealing with and that's the kind of thing that sets lives back for a long, long time.

The only good news coming out of this is that oil infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico was not damaged, so oil prices, in fact, are down. There was some concern that there might be refineries or oil rigs damaged by this hurricane. That has not been the case -- Wolf.

BLITZER: A billion to $2.5 billion, nothing to sneeze at, by any means. Thanks very much. Chris Huntington reporting for us -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: They're counting down a lift-off in Florida. NASA's gearing up for a space shuttle launch for the first time since the Columbia disaster. Up next, the lessons learned since that accident.

And the Supreme Court retirements. We're going to take you behind the camera as the mad dash to cover the breaking news ensues. Joe Johns, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: "Now in the News," what was once Hurricane Dennis is now a tropical depression, but the storm still holds the potential for some serious damage as it works its way northward. Damage estimates are already reaching as high as $5 billion along the Florida Panhandle, where Dennis came ashore with 120 mile-per-hour winds yesterday, swamping homes, flooding streets and tearing off roofs.

A somber day today as Bosnia marks the tenth anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre. Families gather to bury the skeletal remains of 610 victims, part of the 8,000 unarmed Muslim men and boys taken to slaughter in 1995 from what was supposed to be a U.N.-protected safe zone. More than 7,000 body bags remain filled with unidentified remains.

An Amber Alert is out for two Arizona children missing from their home where their grandparents and uncle were found killed. Police believe 18-month-old Brian Cervantes and his 3-year-old sister Jennifer are with their father and that he may be heading for the Mexican border.

PHILLIPS: Well, we're back live here in B Control, and if it's any consolation, well, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is just about in the dark as anybody else is about the future of U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist. The inscrutable overseer of the highest court in the land, indeed, all the federal courts continues to keep the nation guessing whether he'll stay on the job in the face of illness and infirmity, or follow Justice Sandra Day O'Connor right into retirement.

Well, adding to the intrigue is a scenario outlined yesterday with judiciary chairman, Arlen Specter. Rehnquist, hypothetically, could retire and O'Connor stay on to replace him. That's interesting. Interesting speculation.

From cold hard facts is the role, of course, of reporters, including our Joe Johns, who told the world of Justice O'Connor's bombshell just two weeks ago. Here's the inside look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We really thought there could be something happening on Friday, and Friday was one of those dates that was always out there, so everyone was on high alert. Phone call from Darius Walker (ph) on the desk here in Washington saying we've got one source, we need you to get on the phone, call people on the Hill, and find out if we've got a retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. 9:27, about, is when I think is when I got the call, and I was in front of a camera at about 9:57.

The historic announcement today released in a statement. "This is to inform you of my decision to retire from my position as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States."

It's blazing hot and I'm trying to, like, hide the sweat on camera. There's absolutely no sense in even trying to put on makeup because it'll wash right off. It's never just nice whenever there's a big story at the Supreme Court. It's always hot or cold.

CROWD: Choice, dignity, it's our responsibility.

JOHNS: We saw the keep abortion legal folks who showed up, and they started chanting. That's when I noticed they were here. And then we saw the people who are opposed to abortion who have the famous tape that they put around their mouths. They came a little bit later. You know, it's a gathering storm.

There are also discussions, of course, underway about what happens when the president names a successor for her.

That's the unknown factor. Someone's name gets out there and there's something that the opposition can really, really chew on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Our Joe Johns, once again, live in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. OK, Joe, I know you've got your handkerchief.

JOHNS: You bet.

PHILLIPS: It's even hotter today, isn't it?

JOHNS: Well, yes, it feels like it, but you know, not as bad, I think, as a week ago Friday. But, you know, it's always hot out here during the summer and it's always cold during the winter. I remember during Bush versus Gore, it seemed like I was just freezing, you know.

PHILLIPS: Maybe it's the story content, I don't know. But you know the story is getting even hotter. Talks about replacements, of course. Today the buzz is what could happen with regard to William Rehnquist. I guess, bring us up to date on what you're hearing. I know everybody's there trying to get the scoop. What do you know to this point?

JOHNS: Frankly, and to be quite honest with you, nothing. This has been an extremely quiet day. Out here, we've got a lot of concrete, a lot of marble and a lot of TV cameras up and down the street. Of course, inside it's a very different story, where all the reporters gather. It's sort of a cross between a library, perhaps, and a trailer park. And I mean that sincerely because there's actually a trailer here where all the reporters hang out in little cubicles. It's very nice, by the way. It has carpet and so on. They call it modular housing in some other places.

But the fact is, nobody really knows what's going on. I saw the chief justice's car come in. It was the most exciting thing I've done all day. I wouldn't -- wasn't able to see him, of course, because he has tinted windows. Nothing going on here at the Supreme Court, although tons of speculation, as there has been for weeks -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, let's talk a little bit about William Rehnquist, of course, and the very important position we're talking about here if, indeed, he does decide to retire. First of all, how crucial that seat is. We've been talking so much about Sandra Day O'Connor, who is going to replace her. Let's bump it up a notch here and talk about Rehnquist.

JOHNS: Sure. Obviously, if he were to retire, it would be a historic moment on the United States Supreme Court. He was appointed by Richard Nixon. He's been here a very long time. This court has been a very stable place for more than a decade, and if he were to leave, it could certainly change the equation. He's very much viewed as a conservative. That plays into the mix, of course. It would be a huge decision for the president of the United States. You just can't understate how big a deal it would be if William Rehnquist were to retire -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, you and I were talking over the weekend, and one thing I learned about Rehnquist, well, I asked you. I said, give me a tidbit. Tell me something about this man that maybe we don't know. And you said his sense of humor. And then right after you told me that, Joe, I was reading in a couple of papers the next day, and evidently a producer yelled out at him and said, chief justice, are you going to retire, and he looked at them and said, well, that's for me to know and you to find out. So he definitely is keeping his sense of humor.

JOHNS: He certainly is, and you do have to wonder as he comes to work day after day whether he's taking just a little bit of satisfaction and humor in the fact that all these TV cameras are out here waiting for some word on him.

The other thing that is really interesting about the chief justice, is a lot of people say, he really restored some comity to the court, in a way that when the justices have their meetings, their conferences, he was able to sort of create a situation where everybody gets to talk at least one time and before anyone else talks. That's something that a lot of people say is very important, because it creates a situation where people can disagree without being disagreeable, and, Kyra, I may have just lost audio. I think it went away in my ear.

PHILLIPS: You're OK. Can you hear me, Joe? All right, I think we lost IFB. But, Joe Johns, we did hear you. Wiping the sweat from your brow, I think it probably affected our connection. Great stuff, though. We appreciate it. We know you'll be working the story at the Supreme Court. Also, too, we want to fake a moment to tell you about "ON THE STORY," a new program that airs on the weekend, 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You can hear from our correspondents, like Joe Johns, and Barbara Starr and Jeanne Meserve, and all the various people working various stories for the sort of behind-the-scenes on how we work our stories, how we get information and work our sources. 7:00 p.m. Eastern "ON THE STORY" Saturday night. It also re-airs Sunday morning if you miss it Saturday night -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Kyra.

Kyra, did you know that Joe Johns is not only a great reporter, but he's also a graduate of the American University Law School, has a lot of legal experience himself, knows this stuff he's actually reporting on when it comes to the Supreme Court. Did you know that, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Actually I did know that. When we were talking over the weekend. He has his law degree, and he says he loves the law; he just loves keeping up on all the various laws, and you know what else, Wolf, he said he's getting ready to take the bar, and I suggested that CNN should pay for it.

BLITZER: Well, maybe he could represent both of us if we get into legal trouble.

PHILLIPS: There you go. Wolf, you're on to something.

BLITZER: All right. Joe Johns, a good man. Kyra Phillips, a good woman. Thank.

In Los Angeles, on a very serious note, a shootout between police and an armed man holding a toddler ended tragically. The little girl and the suspect were killed, but at this point, it's not clear who shot the child.

Our Ted Rowlands is live in Los Angeles with more on the investigation.

Ted, what happened.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, clearly, Wolf, there's an investigation under way, but there is a probability that this young child was killed by police officer fire as they returned fire. Her father was holding her as he emerged from his apartment. He was firing at police, and they made the decision. They say they were forced into this decision, but it was a decision that ultimately cost a 19-month-old little girl her life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS (voice-over): A two-and-a-half-hour standoff between a gunman and an LAPD S.W.A.T. team ended tragically Sunday.

(GUNFIRE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About a good 12 shots is what I thought I heard. A good pop, pop -- about 12 shots.

ROWLANDS: Police say they were negotiating with the suspect, Jose Paul Lemos, when he suddenly started shooting and using a 19- month-old baby as a human shield. Police say they returned fire after an officer was wounded. Lemos and the baby both died in the exchange.

JIM MCDONNELL, LAPD: We're saddened to say that the infant was struck by gunfire and also died at the scene. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family.

ROWLANDS: The incident began Sunday afternoon in south Los Angeles, when police responded to a report that Lemos was behaving aggressively and erratically, and had barricaded himself in a house with a number of weapons. The outcome was one police say they desperately wanted to avoid, but they say there was no choice but to take down the suspect.

MCDONNELL: Anytime you go to a scene and you have a young baby killed, it takes a tremendous toll. These officers are all family people. And they can picture their own kid in that same circumstance. So they're taking it to heart, they're taking it -- taking it tough.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: An officer was injured in the gunfire exchange, a shoulder injury. He is expected to be all right. The child's mother says that she asked police to let her husband cool off, and she says that she is demanding, at this point, a full investigation, and one is under way.

BLITZER: Is the community pretty much outraged right now? What's going on? What's the sense of the blood there, Ted?

ROWLANDS: Well, you know, depends on who you talk to. If you think about it, this is really the worst-case scenario for police officers, when you have a guy who is erratic. They say he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. They say he has the child. But he's also shooting his pistol at police officers and at members of the public, and he emerges. It was that decision. It's always a split- second decision, but, boy, what a choice to make, and these officers decided that their lives were in danger, and they decided to shoot the suspect. Unfortunately, the little girl was shot and killed, as well.

BLITZER: What a sad story. Thanks very much for bringing it to us, though. Ted Rowlands in Los Angeles.

We'll take a quick break. When we come back, much more news. We'll get quick check of the markets. What's going on right now on this day after Hurricane Dennis? We'll be right back.

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BLITZER: So what's really going on with the detainees at Guantanamo Bay? Our Ben Wedeman was there on a visit invited by the government. What did he see? We'll find out when the next hour of CNN's LIVE FROM continues.

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BLITZER: A new study that could quiet critics in the so-called "morning after pill" leads our look at health news. British researchers say easy access to the contraceptive pills does not lead to an increase in their use. The pills have been sold without prescription in Britain since 2001. Among other complaints, critics had argued the emergency contraceptive could lead to an upsurge in unprotected sex, but researchers say that is not the case.

Lessons in anger management now. If you want to stay healthy, you might want to keep your anger in check. When scientists at the University of California-Berkeley reviewed research on anger and health issues, they found the following correlation. People with chronic anger were at higher risk of getting sick.

And this last study is almost a no-brainer. It is a no-brainer. Researchers say pare down those trips to the drive-thru if you want to stay trim. They found girls who ate fast food four times a week downed more calories, sodium and fat than girls who frequented such eating establishments only once a week. They needed a study for that? That is certainly a no-brainer -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, she came out a winner despite losing an election. As we celebrate our 25th year bringing you the stories that matter, we look back at the dark horse in the 1984 campaign for the White House. Geraldine Ferraro didn't win the vice president spot, but she did earn a place in history. Here's our Paula Zahn.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Political history was made when 1984 Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale named New York Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. It was the first time a woman was a contender for the country's second highest office on a major party ticket.

GERALDINE FERRARO, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT CANDIDATE: Whether it was a rally, whether it was a press conference, whether it was a debate against the vice president of the United States, my biggest concern when I walked in was making sure that I did it right and didn't let down the women.

ZAHN: The re-election of Ronald Reagan ended her executive office hopes. But Ferraro went on to serve as a U.S. ambassador and after leaving government, moved to CNN's "CROSSFIRE." In 1998 while campaigning for a Senate seat, Ferraro was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a very rare and often fatal blood cancer. She now in what doctors call pathological remission.

Besides raising awareness for myeloma, she's traded the life after politician for a slightly less demanding V.P. role with a global consulting group. Ferraro has been married for 45 years. The mother of three and the grandmother of seven, She considers herself a very lucky person. FERRARO: I went from being a kid who lost her father and who lived in the South Bronx almost to going into live in the White House. Which just tells you about what this country is all about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The military tells the news media to come on down to Guantanamo Bay for a little public inspection of its detainee facilities, but did the public relations campaign to improve the camp's embattled image work? That story when CNN LIVE FROM continues.

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