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Severe Weather in the Southeast; Fires Burns in New Orleans' Ninth Ward; France, Germany, U.K. Call for IAEA Meeting on Iran

Aired January 13, 2006 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it is winter and it is a storm, but you can't shovel what is coming down in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida today.
CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras and Dave Hennen, watching a potentially dangerous sneak peak of springtime in our weather center. Hey, guys.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey Kyra. We are tracking some very nasty storms right now across parts of the southeast. Most particularly dangerous along the Florida, Alabama, and Georgia state lines right in that area there. We are concerned about the threat of tornadoes, and there is a watch, which is in effect at this time.

I'm going to change over our sources here and show you where some of the warnings are in effect. Right now it includes Clay County and these are severe thunderstorm watches at this time, which means they are going to be producing some damaging winds, possibly in excess of 60 miles-per-hour. Some hail the size of nickels has been reported within this line of storms. They are all pushing up to the north and the east.

Now we have had some reports of possible tornadoes earlier. We have one fatality to report in Alabama, in south-central Alabama near the town of Bellevue. The name of that person is not being released. It was in a very rural area. The home was also damaged there.

We have a live picture to show you out of Pensacola. We do have some word out of Pensacola that there has been some damage there from the high school. I don't we have the Pensacola shot. There was some report of some damage at the high school. No injuries there. It was just some roof damage. We also is a lot of wet weather to talk about on the north side of the storm where it is not severe at least not at this time.

However, the threat is going to be ongoing throughout the afternoon. There you can see the end of our tornado watch box, and there's the Atlanta metro area. We do have a live picture out of Atlanta to show you the low overcast conditions. Look at all that rain coming down right now. There's been a lot of thunder, but no severe storms at this time out of Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson Airport.

But we do anticipate that delays are going to be a good possibility here, not just at the 2:00 here but as we continue throughout the afternoon. Things are doing OK right now out of Atlanta. Dave Hennen is joining us now because there are delays with storm system all over the place.

DAVE HENNEN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Just looking at the FAA Website Jacqui. No delays reported yet in Atlanta. I would expect that very shortly we will see traffic backing up in Atlanta. It has been raining for about the last couple of hours. If you have flight plans through Atlanta, expect delays. O'Hare is being affected, so the two major airports in the U.S. affected.

Northeast, as well. What a mess in the northeastern U.S., on the map behind me. Check out all the yellow dots those are the current delays. They cover a wide area. The northeast being impacted here as well. Delays now over an hour Newark, La Guardia, JFK back through Reagan National, Philadelphia. Now hour and a half reported some cases these delays are on the increase as well. It will be a nasty travel day throughout the rest of the day, too.

If you take it back to the Midwest, there are the Chicago delays 30 minutes to an hour. Those will increase we think as well. We could see Midway delays as well. Snowing heavily in parts of Chicago area. No delays reported elsewhere. The southeast clear for now. But as Jacqui mentioned we do expect delays in Atlanta. There were Charlotte delays earlier. Those have cleared up.

Later on this afternoon back through Tampa and Orlando expect delays as storms move in. One quick delay in the west, which has now gone away as our maps update. In phoenix we did have delays earlier.

There's the snow in the Chicago area and it has been on the increase. That's the colder air moving in behind the cold front. Check this out, there's the front southeast. It is 47 right now in Little Rock. By the time you get to Miami, it is almost 80 degrees. That is the fuel for the fire, if you will.

Here's the new tornado watch. I was just looking. I think the worst will be back through South Georgia in the Macon area. Watch out the next couple of hours. These storms have a history and at least one fatality reported with them.

JERAS: It is a fast-moving storm system too, Dave. We are looking at even maybe late in the rush hour that things are going to be better from Atlanta say up towards Columbia.

HENNIN: Exactly.

JERAS: Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jacqui, Dave, thanks so much.

That weather pattern has taken tolls on New Orleans. The storms may have passed. Today's big challenge right now is fire. Firefighters have decided to let this massive 100-foot hire pile of hurricane debris just burn itself out. The blaze is located in the city's devastated Lower Ninth Ward.

CNN's Gulf Coast correspondent Susan Roesgen standing by with more.

And Susan, the weather obviously still pretty windy there.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm sure you can see how windy it is here.

PHILLIPS: It truly triggered this fire. Is that what firefighters believe?

ROESGEN: They are not sure that the weather started this fire. They don't know what has caused it yet. They won't know for a while if at all. The fire chief told me that it is burning deep inside one of the mountains of trash. You can probably see the smoke behind me. They are trying to do right now is keep that smoke off of themselves.

The EPA says the smoke maybe hazardous from all the chemicals and appliances that are in these mountains of trash. You have vinyl, wiring, insulation, all things that could release dangerous chemicals into the smoke. The EPA has asked the fire department to stay here, contain this fire; don't try to put it out. Try to avoid the smoke.

Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We know that's an area that really got wiped out from the hurricanes. Do we know of any individuals that are still living near that fire?

ROESGEN: Probably not Kyra, probably very few, if any. I'm actually standing on the canal here right on the levy at the industrial canal which had a wall of water come through and wipe out almost all the homes in this area. The fire and the smoke from it is not a danger to any homeowners in this area. It could be a danger to the firefighters on the scene.

PHILLIPS: Are there enough firefighters? I mean we talked earlier about how strapped this department is already. Are there enough men and women to fight this, wait it out, and try and get a handle on it?

ROESGEN: There are right now. Last night the fire chief said it was an iffy situation. He felt that he had too many guys on the scene here, and if there were another fire in New Orleans, he would have a hard time responding to it. But now he said they've only got a couple dozen guys still on the scene just sort of watching this.

So he feels confident he can handle anything else that might come up today, but this wind is so strong. The wind can be a firefighter's worst enemy wherever a fire is. That's something they have to worry about.

PHILLIPS: We see it all the time in California. Now we are seeing it in Louisiana. Susan Roesgen, we will continue to check in with you. Thanks Susan.

Germany, France and Britain are taking a deep breath today after throwing up their hands and saying nuclear talks with Iran had hit a dead end. The European trio says it's still too soon to smack Iran with U.N. sanctions. And with Washington backing the threat to refer Iran, the U.N. Security Council remains in play. The Iranians still are not yielding.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour is in Tehran with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They reiterate that they are going to restart what they call nuclear research and they are not going to engage in any large-scale or commercial style enrichment programs. They say research is their right under the nuclear non- proliferation treaty. That right, they say, is non-negotiable.

The foreign minister has also said, though, if Iran is referred to the United Nations Security Council as the west is saying that it will do, then Iran has a role which will obligate to end cooperation with these European countries for instance things that could potentially entail inspections and the like.

Iran, however -- it says that it will continue its relationship with the IAEA, that no law here requires it to pull out its relationship with that U.N. nuclear watchdog.

Yesterday when we sat down for an exclusive interview with the head of Iran's nuclear, the head of the Iranian National Security Council, he told us again that they only wanted to do nuclear research, that they were not engaged in enrichment and they would not be diverting any nuclear material to any kind of weapons program.

ALI LARIJANI, IRANIAN NUCLEAR NEGOTIATOR (through translator): If anyone wants to go towards making weapons, they are not going to go about it this way because under the supervision and cameras of the IAEA, no one is going to produce weapons.

We have already cleared our intention is to do nuclear research. It has nothing to do with enrichment. The issue of enrichment is for the production of nuclear fuel. Research is a different issue. Based in Article III of the IAEA charter and Article IV, all country can conduct nuclear research and indeed other countries must help them with this research.

AMANPOUR: Now that is the crux of Iran's position. It says that all countries under the international treaties have the right to this kind of research. For peaceful nuclear processes which he said Iran does intend to do, pursue a peaceful nuclear program.

Again, they say their right to nuclear research is non-negotiable and they are not going to step back on that. They say that they hope that they can continue to talks and negotiations in a way to resolve this issue. As he said to us yesterday, in a win-win situation for both sides.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: With Iran threatening to stop its cooperation with the IAEA, we decided to take a look at exactly what the agency does. Here's the background.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, more commonly known as the IAEA, has been called the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog. Established in 1957 as an autonomous organization under the United Nations, president Dwight Eisenhower actually proposed the creation of the agency in 1953 to monitor the spread of nuclear technology.

The IAEA is headquartered in Vienna, Austria. It has 139 member states who meet annually. The IAEA currently has safeguard agreements with more than 145 countries around the world.

Under these agreements, inspectors are sent out to monitor nuclear reactors to make sure nuclear materials is not being made into weapons. More than 900 facilities around the world are under IAEA safeguards. Since 1997 Mohamed ElBaradei has been the director general of the IAEA along with the agency he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his efforts to limit the spread of atomic weapons.

Well, she is out of the hospital. Baby Noor, who just four days ago underwent surgery to correct spinal birth defects, has just been released. But she is not going back to Iraq just yet, doctors here in Atlanta want to monitor her for another two or three months so the three months old her father and grandmother are going to be staying with a host family right here in Atlanta. We'll follow her progress.

A first for the African continent and First Lady Laura Bush intends to be there, but first she talked to CNN's Zain Verjee about women and politics in this country. The news keeps coming. We will keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM and Zain Verjee coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The planes in Spain are giving Washington a pain, but the Bush administration can do little it would seem to stop their sale to Venezuela. The planes are military, Spanish-built, a dozen in all and the U.S. can say no sale, but they contain American components. The U.S. and Spain get along pretty well but Venezuela, led by Chavez, is a whole different story. Spain's deputy prime minister says the sale will go on minus the U.S. hardware.

Three days from now Africa will have its first elected female head of state and the first lady of the United States plans to be there when Ellen Johnson Sirleaf takes the oath of office as Liberia's president.

Just a short time ago CNN's Zain Verjee had a chance to sit down with Laura Bush for an exclusive one-on-one. Zain, I know you talked to her about her upcoming trip and a whole lot more. What did she have to say?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra from Washington. She talked about her up coming trip to Liberia to attend the inauguration of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female president. But I also asked her, Kyra, about what she thought of Mrs. Alito's tears at the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Samuel Alito, and this is a part of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE (voice-over): As an American woman seeing that Africa has its first elected president who is a woman, what does that make you think? Do you think its time that America...

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it will happen for sure. I think it will happen probably in the next few terms of the presidency in the United States.

VERJEE: Who would you like to see?

BUSH: Well, of course, a Republican. Dr. Rice. She says she definitely is not running.

VERJEE: But you would like to see her run?

BUSH: Sure, I would love to see her run. She's terrific.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right. Obviously, a little bit of wrong sound byte bite there. This is live television. We'll work around that. Why don't you go ahead and describe the context of that part of the interview and then we will get back to the issue of Alito's wife.

VERJEE: Well essentially, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, is a 67-year- old woman -- she is a grandmother, she has six grandchildren, and she's been a political prisoner under the leadership at the time of Samuel Doe.

Essentially what I was asking Laura Bush, you know, look, Africa now has its first elected female president. This is a really big deal for the continent, and for the rest of the world to see what a woman like this can achieve. She is Harvard educated and an economist by training.

I said, you know, isn't it time that America has a woman as a president sometime in the near future? She said yes, my vote's for Condi, but Condi's not so sure. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll talk a little bit more about Condi Rice for president. That's pretty interesting. Let's get back to Alito's wife for just a second. And what exactly it was the first lady said to you.

VERJEE: Yes, let's listen to a piece of that now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE (voice-over): A few days ago in the Supreme Court confirmation hearings where Mrs. Alito just sort of broke down, cried, and left the room, on hearing her husband being criticized.

BUSH: Do I ever feel like doing that? VERJEE: Yes, I mean, have you...

BUSH: Every once in a while.

VERJEE: Do you ever feel like crying when you hear the president being criticized, called a liar, being accused?

BUSH: No, not really. I will say I called Martha Alito yesterday to tell her to hang in there. I do think it is really important in the United States for people like Judge Alito, who -- to be treated with respect.

I think it's very important for the Senate to have a very civil and respectful hearing for anyone that has been nominated for the Supreme Court or for the other jobs that require Senate confirmation.

But on the other hand, my family has been in politics for a long time, and I think you do develop a thick skin. Does it ever not hurt? You know, not really.

VERJEE: So you don't take it personally?

BUSH: No, you try not to take it personally. That's what I want to say is that I think personal attacks are what people don't like and what are really unwarranted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Zain, that was a great question. Think of all the e- mails we get from angry viewers about how we do interviews and what we talk about. Just imagine being the first lady, being sitting behind a possible Supreme Court nominee.

But you also got talking about Condoleezza Rice. You mentioned that a moment ago, speaking of women in politics, the first lady really wants to see her go for the gold?

VERJEE: Exactly. She really wants to see her go for it. Although she says that Condi perhaps needs a little bit of convincing, Condoleezza Rice not so sure herself. It is interesting to note, though, Kyra, that in the entire world, the greatest representation of women in parliaments is actually in Rwanda; 49 percent of women are represented in the lower parliament. There are only 15 percent represented in the United States.

Certainly Mrs. Bush thinks that Condoleezza Rice is a very able and a very appropriate candidate for a future leader of this country and the first woman.

PHILLIPS: Fantastic exclusive interview. Zain Verjee thanks so much.

We are going to take a quick break. LIVE FROM continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The measure requires companies with more than 10,000 Maryland employees to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on employee healthcare.

Wal-Mart is the only company in the state that's falls below that threshold. A Wal-Mart executive says the company is being unfairly singled out because of partisan politics. But unions and groups who pushed for the law are applauding the move and pursuing similar legislation in at least 30 other states focusing first on Colorado, Connecticut, Washington, and Wal-Mart by the way, Kyra, is making suggestions that it may partially pull out of Maryland as a result.

Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's stay on that same tone, a big department store chain up for sale as well?

LISOVICZ: Yes, I mean you have heard about winter white sales. This one is a major sale. The whole company is up for sale Lord and Taylor, the department store, very old department store. Federated purchased Lord and Taylor when it acquired Macy's Department stores last year.

Now Federated wants to focus on expanding its Macy's and Bloomingdale's names. Lord and Taylor chain is 180 years old and has 55 stores on the east coast and in the Midwest. Quite famous here in New York for its Christmas holiday displays in its windows.

Federated stock gained about 1.5 percent on the news. The rest of the market as you can see is weak. The Dow Industrials falling further below 11,000 down 23 points. The Nasdaq down 6.5 points. And that's the latest from Wall Street. LIVE FROM continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: News on that volcano in Alaska. Tony Harris in the newsroom with more. Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, we want to show you a little more of mother nature at work here to Anchorage, Alaska now and the Augustine Volcano. Take a look at this picture we were able to grab off the Web here. The volcano is huffing and puffing and blowing its stack for the third time in a week.

This eruption, we understand, was stronger than a pair of eruptions Wednesday from this very same volcano. A lot more energy this time around. I believe Jacqui Jeras is with us now and help us understand the weather conditions surrounding this volcano and that cloud there which is still a problem. The plume of ash reached 34,000 feet, and Jacqui; give us a sense of the wind speeds, because that certainly is kind of the guiding current to take that ash, that ash cloud into some more populated areas there.

JERAS: Right, yes, I was just on our computer system looking for winds throughout that area across much of the Cook inlet over towards the Homer area, and the winds are actually very calm all the way up to Anchorage. It is difficult to predict where the plume will be going. If you take a look over here at our radar, this kind of shows you this area right here, right here is where the Augustine Volcano is. It is an uninhabited island.

Just a volcano is there basically. You can kind of see that little area. I think that's the ash plume. You can see it was traveling very slowly out to the east and maybe dissipating a little bit. It is possible that we could see a little bit of dust, a little bit of ash coming. There's an ash fall advisory, which is in effect. They believe that could include part of the Homer area.

Also sitting all the way down here, this is called Kodiak Island down here. They are concerned there might be a little bit of that coming through. Also another thing to think about when this ash gets up into the atmosphere, it can affect the aviation. If it gets into the engines or jets or airplanes, that could cause significant problems and cause the engines to quit. Nobody wants to be flying around this area.

HARRIS: And Jacqui, we have a couple of other still pictures of this volcano erupting as well. Just to support your point here it looks like the information we are getting is the ash cloud is starting to thin as it makes its way to some of these more populated communities.

The Web cam from our first picture, if we can pop that up again for just a second here, this as you mentioned Jacqui is in Homer, Alaska. That's about 75 miles northeast of the Augustine volcano, so we can give you a sense there of just how big and deep and wide that ash cloud really is at this point. Depending on the upper level winds, it could travel hundreds, possibly even as far as thousands, of feet away.

HARRIS: OK, Jacqui, thank you. And, Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Pretty interesting stuff. Thanks so much, Tony.

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