Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Update on Hurricane Frances; Russian Hostage Crisis; President Bush Hits Campaign Trail
Aired September 03, 2004 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's check what is happening "Now in the News."
Chilling developments this hour in the school hostage crisis in Beslan, Russia. Journalists on the scene report about 100 corpses have been found in the burned out school gym where hundreds of students, teachers and parents were held by Chechen rebels. The discovery was made after Russian forces stormed the school earlier this morning. We'll have a live report from the scene in about 10 minutes.
It is big, it's bad and it's heading for Florida. Millions of people are under mandatory evacuation orders as Hurricane Frances turns an eye on the mainland. We'll have a live report from shelters, beaches and the National Hurricane Center. That is all just ahead.
There is no time to rest. Less than 12 hours after his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, an energized President Bush is on a campaign sprint through battleground states. The president reached out to voters in Pennsylvania this morning. Later today, he'll attend rallies in Wisconsin and Iowa.
Democratic presidential rival John Kerry is concentrating on Ohio. He's scheduled to hold a town hall meeting in Newark, Ohio, this hour. Last hour, the senator delivered a post-convention speech in Springfield, saying he believes he can do a much better job than President Bush. Ohio is one of the most hotly-contested states in the race. A full report on campaign 2004 coming up at the half-hour.
Keeping you informed, CNN is the most trusted name in news.
We are just a minute past 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, which is bracing for Hurricane Frances. It's 8:00 a.m. for those of you on the West Coast.
From CNN Center in Atlanta, good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan. And I'm joined by Bill Hemmer, who finds his way to Florida -- Bill.
BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn. Good morning. We are watching and waiting for Frances. The conditions downgrading overnight. However, that does not mean we are out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination.
In fact, if you listen to the experts, they caution us that the storm may likely strengthen again overnight tonight. But we're waiting. We'll let you know what's happening here for Floridians, Daryn. Charley hit three weeks ago to the day today. And no one is taking this one for granted.
Back to you.
KAGAN: All right. We'll be back with you in just a moment, Bill. Thank you.
HEMMER: All right.
KAGAN: Speaking of Hurricane Frances, it has slowed as it pounded the Bahamas. The island of Ulifera (ph), in the middle of the chain, has been directly in the eye of the storm. The most intense part of Frances could reach the Grand Bahama in the next few hours.
After Frances is done with the Bahamas, it's just a quick skip across the gulf stream to Florida's Atlantic coast. Evacuation orders are in place, and people have been streaming out of coastal areas looking for higher ground.
Now, meanwhile, roads were jammed yesterday. Traffic, as you can see, seems to be moving much better today.
So as we add it up, 17 counties, or at least parts of them, are under mandatory evacuation orders. Those considered high risk include people living on Barrier Islands and in low-lying flood-prone areas. Five other counties have issued voluntary evacuation orders.
Let's go to Rob Marciano. He is tracking the satellites and the latest information on Frances -- Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Daryn. The very latest actually. This is the 11:00 advisory out of the National Hurricane Center. And a lot of this is not updated for you graphically. We hope to have that for you in about a half an hour.
But I'll just tell you this, that the latest recon report have the hurricane at 110 -- 100-knot winds, which corresponds to 115 to 120 mile-an-hour winds. So it hasn't strengthened since the last time we checked at 8:00 a.m. and again at 5:00 a.m. If anything, it's weakened just a little bit.
And as far as a forecast is concerned, the track pretty much remains the same. Again, we'll have that graphically for you. But the intensity does not strengthen it back to Category 4 status before it makes landfall. So that, at least, is the bit of good news we have for you this half an hour.
It is expected to get into these very warm waters. The Bahamas here, Freeport about to get hammered with the fleeting edge of the system, will likely see winds over 100 miles an hour and heavy rainfall. But right in through here is where there are some really warm waters.
I mean, 85-degree surface water temperatures, and that could lead to re-intensification. But right now, it's not conducive as far as the wind field goes.
Hurricane warnings up for the Bahamas. From Florida City up through Melbourne, up through Daytona Beach and Flagler Beach, we have hurricane warnings are out. That means that hurricane conditions are expected in the next 24 hours.
So this is where we expect the eye of this thing to make landfall, likely tomorrow afternoon, as likely a Category 3 storm. West-northwesterly movement, nine miles an hour. It is expected to slow just a little bit, Daryn.
And as these things slow -- Chad had pointed this out to you earlier -- as the hurricane slows, the track of it gets a little bit more difficult to predict. So we'll definitely be watching it hour by hour. And the latest does bring it down just a little bit.
Still a Category 3 storm, Daryn. And still expected to make landfall as a Category 3 storm sometime tomorrow afternoon.
That will cause damage. That will cause flooding. That will cause a big, big headache again for much of the state of Florida. We'll keep you updated.
KAGAN: All right, Rob. Thank you for that. We'll be back with you.
We are well staffed to bring you the latest on Hurricane Frances. Let's take a look at our rundown here.
We've deployed correspondents throughout the hurricane zone to bring up up-to-the-minute reports. We have Kathleen Koch at the northern edge at St. Augustine; Gary Tuchman is to the south, at West Palm Beach; Karl Penhaul to the east, in Freeport, Bahamas; and Bill Hemmer and Chad Myers are right in the middle, in Melbourne, Florida.
Let's begin our round of live updates and go to Bill for that.
Bill, hello.
HEMMER: All right, Daryn. Hello to you as well.
The beach is pretty much deserted here. The schools are closed, the space center up the coast here has been closed here as well. Court trials have been put on hold for now. All waiting and bracing to see what Frances brings Florida's way.
Down in the surf, quickly to Chad Myers.
Chad, you've been out here for about eight hours, I believe.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
HEMMER: You've noticed the conditions, et cetera. You've been watching and listening as well. Good morning again to you, Chad.
MYERS: And good morning, Bill. What I've noticed is that the tide is coming in. The waves getting bigger and bigger as the tide comes in. We've had a little ridge right through here. And I want to show you what happens out there when there's a sandbar.
The waves come in, they go over the sandbar, and they find themselves in a valley. This valley then -- it's out there -- this valley then comes all the way down here and turns into a cutout as we get erosion through here and we get the rip tide. I'm not even going to get into that, because thing is going at least 20 miles an hour.
But as we get this farther and farther out, picture this not only six inches deep, picture this six feet deep out there. And that's what swimmers get caught in. They get caught in these rip currents, they get caught in these rip tides, and they get taken out to sea.
You have to swim across them. But one of the most dangerous things can you do is get in the water with surf like this -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Chad. Thanks for that.
I want to go much further east, much further east, in fact, to Freeport in the Bahamas. Karl Penhaul is back on the line. We talked to Karl about an hour ago.
How are conditions now?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Bill.
Still very variable. We're starting to pick up the winds here, continuously picking up the winds here, but they're still only beginning to be tropical storm-force winds. That would indicate there are still several hours to go before the real leading edge of the hurricane starts to slam into Freeport and Grand Bahama.
Talking to the chief meteorologist here on the island. They say within about three hours from now, by about 2:00, we should be feeling the hurricane winds. But the eye of the hurricane may not, in fact, be over in Freeport and Grand Bahama until later on this evening, possibly even as late as midnight.
That said, Bill, we have moved in from the previous location we were at on the ocean side because those meteorologists are predicting that there could be tidal surges, anything between 14 and 18 feet, driven by 120 mile-an-hour winds. Now, with Grand Bahama being as very flat as it is, and with their experience of flooding and previous hurricanes in the past, of course we've moved inland. Meteorologists say really that's the only thing to do.
We also note that most of the islands have also left their dwellings on the ocean side and moved three, four miles inland. That's still not a guarantee that the wouldn't be flooded. But certainly they should be away from the worst effects of any waves that do come crashing in -- Bill.
HEMMER: Karl Penhaul, thanks, live in Freeport. We will be in touch again as we go throughout the day.
And Daryn, before we go back to you in Atlanta, I just want to remind our viewers yet again what we're hearing from the hurricane center. The storm has slowed down. And if it continues at the current rate of speed here, not only are the Bahamas getting hammered right now, but if it comes to Florida in its current form, this is going to be an enormous rainmaker.
Some predictions yesterday said as much as 20 inches of rain. Whether or not it turns out that way, we're not sure. But the forecasters right now are very cautious in terms of their maps and very cautious in terms of trying to predict where this storm will go. Because at this point, 24 hours ago they had a good beat on it. Twenty-four hours later, now, at this point, it is pretty much anyone's guess.
Much more in a moment. We're live in Melbourne.
Daryn, back to you now in Atlanta.
KAGAN: All right. Well, we might not know now if all those 20 inches are going to show up, but, Bill, you'll be there to see it firsthand. We'll be back with you in just a moment.
HEMMER: All right.
KAGAN: Meanwhile, we want our viewers to know just one more note on Frances. You can follow the storm as takes aim at Florida. Log on any time you're away from your television. The address is cnn.com/weather.
We will get back to Frances. But now there is another story that is breaking this morning in Beslan, Russia: gunfire, explosions, death and mayhem at a school that has been under a terror siege since Wednesday.
Russian commandos have imagined to free some of the hostages held by the suspected Chechen rebels. Our Ryan Chilcote is live on the scene with some new information on this breaking story -- Ryan.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, they are still fighting here inside the school. It's been going on now for seven hours. That's when four Russian officials, four rescue officials from the Russian side, under an agreement with the hostage-takers, went up to the school to recover some bodies that had been lying out in front of it, the bodies of some people who had been killed on the first day when the school was seized.
They had recovered two of the bodies. Both sides had agreed they would stop shooting at one another while this was going on so that the bodies could be recovered, so the families could bury them.
They recovered two of these bodies, when all of a sudden there was an explosion on the other end of the school. Some of the hostages inside the gymnasium -- that's where they were being kept -- used this as an opportunity to try and make a break for it, to try and flee the school.
The hostage-takers opened fire on the fleeing children. The Russians returned fire. And here we are seven hours later. This is the worst possible anyone could have imagined for an ending to this situation. We may be looking at hundreds and hundreds of casualties among the hostages.
Now, inside, we are getting reports of what was going on before -- the conditions that the children were in before the actual storming began, and they are horrific. Basically, they had no water or food for two-and-a-half days before this storming began.
We understand that the boys -- this is from speaking with them -- actually began to drink their own urine because they had absolutely no water. And you're probably seeing that a lot of the people that were coming out of the school were coming out with no clothes on at all. Well, that's, they say, because there was 1,000 people.
This is what they are saying. Russian officials have not given us an official number yet. They say they're working on an official number. There were so many people packed in the gymnasium, it was so hot, and there was so little to drink, everybody just took their clothes off to feel a little bit cooler.
But it was an absolutely horrific scene inside. One boy when he came out was too weak to even chew. I mean, just awful.
We've been following one grandmother who has two granddaughters inside. She told me today that she found her granddaughters; however -- they're both alive, for which she is happy -- however, one of her granddaughters had been bruised by a bullet in the head, another has a bullet through her leg. And when I asked her how her grandchildren are in terms of their mental condition, she said -- she looked at me and she said, "I'm not sure that they'll ever be children again" -- Daryn.
KAGAN: It just breaks your heart. And still, people shaking their head as to how people could make children victims in all this. What about President Putin and his plans to address the nation, Ryan?
CHILCOTE: Well, we understand the Russian president is expected to address the nation very soon. That will be the first time he has really come out since this fighting began six hours ago. It will be a very important address.
This is one of the biggest -- it was viewed as one of the biggest challenges to the Russian president once it began two days ago. So we'll be waiting to hear what he says. But this is by no means, by no stretch of the imagination any kind of success for Russian officials. This is a worst-case scenario in terms of an end to this siege here in the southern Russian town of Beslan.
KAGAN: Absolutely tragic. Ryan Chilcote from Russia. Thank you for the latest on that story.
Yet another big story that we're following today, a grand finale for the Republican National Convention. Now the president takes his show on the road. His opponent, John Kerry, already turning up the heat. We're live coming up.
And we go back to Frances. As millions are being told to evacuate and get to higher ground, the question remains, where will a monster hurricane strike? We are live to the National Hurricane Center next to get the latest word on Frances.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: The winds are already picking up along Florida's eastern coastline. Millions of people are fleeing to shelters and neighboring states ahead of Hurricane Frances.
Let's get the latest on the storm from Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Ed, a busy morning. Thanks for making a few minutes for us.
ED RAPPAPORT, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Yes, thank you. It's a busy morning, and we're going to have a busy few days in Florida.
KAGAN: Give us the latest on Frances, please.
RAPPAPORT: Frances still has a Category 3 intensity, maximum winds are 115 miles per hour. That's come down considerably since yesterday. So that's good news in that the inner core is not as strong as it had been.
But it's still a very large hurricane. And it's going to spend perhaps a day to two days getting across the Florida peninsula.
KAGAN: As people talk about it weakening, is that something that could be misleading?
RAPPAPORT: In once sense it is misleading in that, for all areas outside of the core region, the storm really has not weakened at all. They're still going to experience a long period of heavy rain and wind, perhaps 18 to 24 hours worth. We've had that long of a period experienced in the Bahamas already.
Now, the inner core has weakened. That's great news because we wouldn't expect the kind of devastation of a Hurricane Charley. We're looking more like a Hurricane Isabel like we had last year in the Mid Atlantic coast.
KAGAN: Now, some of the numbers we're hearing in terms of rain, 18, 20 inches of rain. Is it really capable of that?
RAPPAPORT: It's certainly possible. This is a relatively large hurricane. And the biggest issue now is that it's not moving fast, and it's forecast to slow down even more.
That means that the time for the rain to fall is extended in any given place. We could be seeing as much as 10 inches locally to 20 inches of rain.
KAGAN: And I know you say with a hurricane this size, don't be so focused on exactly where the eye might make landfall. And yet I know our viewers are going to be interested in that. So what's the latest prediction on that?
RAPPAPORT: Yes, but in this case the eye isn't really consequential in the sense that that's not where the strongest of the winds are located. But we are forecasting a continued motion of the center up to the northwest.
There may be a bend back a little bit to the west-northwest. And for that reason, with the great size of the storm, we still have hurricane warnings up for most of the Florida east coast.
KAGAN: And not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but Ivan already, another storm you're watching out there?
RAPPAPORT: That's right. We're just now reaching to the peak of the hurricane season. So it's not unexpected to have another tropical storm in the deep tropics, far to the east. If it's ever to become a threat to the United States, it won't be for well more than a week.
KAGAN: All right. Keeping you guys busy. Ed Rappaport, good luck over the next few days. Thank you for your time.
RAPPAPORT: Thank you.
KAGAN: And we switch back now to our other developing story, that out of Beslan, Russia. And that is a school siege. Still more breaking news on that. Let's go back to Ryan Chilcote in Russia -- Ryan.
CHILCOTE: Yes, we just spoke with the head of the crisis headquarters that is tasked with dealing with this hostage situation. And the head of it is Valerio Andreyov (ph). And he says that there is still fighting going on inside the school and that the hostage- takers still have hostages inside the school, among them, children.
He also said that they have so far killed 20 of the hostage- takers. And he says that 10 of them are from Arab countries.
He is also saying that they have won the release of 400 people in this storming operation. He says those people are getting medical treatment here in hospitals in the town of Beslan. He also said, of course, that there are many fatalities, and that they have, so far, identified 60 bodies -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Yes. So the numbers here -- so the 400 hostages being released, that is a new number, but the concern still being that there's a large number of casualties?
CHILCOTE: That's right. And they are not saying how many casualties. There have been reports that 158 children were hospitalized. Those reports are six, seven hours old. So the number is probably somewhat higher than that, significantly, perhaps, higher than that now. But this is the first firm information about the number of people that have been released, about the number of hostage-takers that have been killed, and about their background.
This allegation coming from the head of the crisis headquarters here from the Federal Security Service, Valerio Andreyov, that 10 of the 20 fighters that they have killed are from Arabic countries. Also, this is the first information that we have got that, while the fighting is under way, that there are still hostages inside, among them, children -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right. So this definitely still going on, still a developing story. Ryan Chilcote from Beslan, Russia. Thank you for that.
CHILCOTE: Unfortunately.
KAGAN: As we've said -- thank you, Ryan. As we've said, we have a number of developing stories. We have the story out of Russia, you have Frances, you have the campaign. We're following all of this.
Right now, we'll take a break. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: President Bush hits the campaign trail in Pennsylvania this morning after making his pitch for a second term on the closing night of the Republican convention. The president made broad proposals on the domestic front, and he devoted much of his speech to national security, saying he was the right man to lead the nation in perilous times.
Let's get the specifics from our national correspondent, Bob Franken, outside Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Bob, good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
And, Daryn, if you look behind me, what you don't see anymore is most of the barricades that were up here which really acted as a dam, stopping the floodgate -- floodgate, stopping the sea of people that normally crowd 8th Avenue. But they're pretty much gone. The story has moved elsewhere.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: George Bush has got to go, hey, hey, ho, ho!
FRANKEN (voice-over): New York will have its streets around the Garden back. The barricades and stifling security gone. The demonstrators gone after about 1,800 were arrested during the convention.
The convention gone, too, after the really big finish, complete with some last protester incidents in the hall. And the main reason for all this is gone. President Bush is in Pennsylvania, leaving New York right after his campaign salute to the city.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People will look to the resurrection of New York City and they will say, "Here buildings fell, here a nation rose."
(APPLAUSE)
FRANKEN: And the Republicans hope a president defined by his actions after the September 11th attacks, and a campaign also defined by the opposition.
BUSH: My opponent's policies are dramatically different from ours.
FRANKEN: In fact, the opponent broke tradition to publicly vent over the way Republicans described his military past.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will not have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and who misled America into Iraq.
(APPLAUSE)
FRANKEN: The campaign promises to be about as subtle as the celebrations that closed the convention. And a whole lot uglier.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: And now we have a two-month run until the election, a two-month dash, if you want to call it that, where each side, Daryn, is going to try and run over the other -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Lace up both -- lace up those running shoes, Bob. Thank you.
Well, some delegates didn't stick around to hear what the president's big speech was at the GOP convention. Florida delegates checked out of the Midtown Hilton in Manhattan early. They were racing home ahead of Hurricane Frances. They were eager to secure their property and check on their family and friends.
Understandable there.
And while the delegates return to Florida, many other residents are leaving. The evacuation order has been given, and millions are now on the move or boarding up as the monster hurricane moves in. More Frances coverage is up next.
(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 3, 2004 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's check what is happening "Now in the News."
Chilling developments this hour in the school hostage crisis in Beslan, Russia. Journalists on the scene report about 100 corpses have been found in the burned out school gym where hundreds of students, teachers and parents were held by Chechen rebels. The discovery was made after Russian forces stormed the school earlier this morning. We'll have a live report from the scene in about 10 minutes.
It is big, it's bad and it's heading for Florida. Millions of people are under mandatory evacuation orders as Hurricane Frances turns an eye on the mainland. We'll have a live report from shelters, beaches and the National Hurricane Center. That is all just ahead.
There is no time to rest. Less than 12 hours after his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, an energized President Bush is on a campaign sprint through battleground states. The president reached out to voters in Pennsylvania this morning. Later today, he'll attend rallies in Wisconsin and Iowa.
Democratic presidential rival John Kerry is concentrating on Ohio. He's scheduled to hold a town hall meeting in Newark, Ohio, this hour. Last hour, the senator delivered a post-convention speech in Springfield, saying he believes he can do a much better job than President Bush. Ohio is one of the most hotly-contested states in the race. A full report on campaign 2004 coming up at the half-hour.
Keeping you informed, CNN is the most trusted name in news.
We are just a minute past 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, which is bracing for Hurricane Frances. It's 8:00 a.m. for those of you on the West Coast.
From CNN Center in Atlanta, good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan. And I'm joined by Bill Hemmer, who finds his way to Florida -- Bill.
BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn. Good morning. We are watching and waiting for Frances. The conditions downgrading overnight. However, that does not mean we are out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination.
In fact, if you listen to the experts, they caution us that the storm may likely strengthen again overnight tonight. But we're waiting. We'll let you know what's happening here for Floridians, Daryn. Charley hit three weeks ago to the day today. And no one is taking this one for granted.
Back to you.
KAGAN: All right. We'll be back with you in just a moment, Bill. Thank you.
HEMMER: All right.
KAGAN: Speaking of Hurricane Frances, it has slowed as it pounded the Bahamas. The island of Ulifera (ph), in the middle of the chain, has been directly in the eye of the storm. The most intense part of Frances could reach the Grand Bahama in the next few hours.
After Frances is done with the Bahamas, it's just a quick skip across the gulf stream to Florida's Atlantic coast. Evacuation orders are in place, and people have been streaming out of coastal areas looking for higher ground.
Now, meanwhile, roads were jammed yesterday. Traffic, as you can see, seems to be moving much better today.
So as we add it up, 17 counties, or at least parts of them, are under mandatory evacuation orders. Those considered high risk include people living on Barrier Islands and in low-lying flood-prone areas. Five other counties have issued voluntary evacuation orders.
Let's go to Rob Marciano. He is tracking the satellites and the latest information on Frances -- Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Daryn. The very latest actually. This is the 11:00 advisory out of the National Hurricane Center. And a lot of this is not updated for you graphically. We hope to have that for you in about a half an hour.
But I'll just tell you this, that the latest recon report have the hurricane at 110 -- 100-knot winds, which corresponds to 115 to 120 mile-an-hour winds. So it hasn't strengthened since the last time we checked at 8:00 a.m. and again at 5:00 a.m. If anything, it's weakened just a little bit.
And as far as a forecast is concerned, the track pretty much remains the same. Again, we'll have that graphically for you. But the intensity does not strengthen it back to Category 4 status before it makes landfall. So that, at least, is the bit of good news we have for you this half an hour.
It is expected to get into these very warm waters. The Bahamas here, Freeport about to get hammered with the fleeting edge of the system, will likely see winds over 100 miles an hour and heavy rainfall. But right in through here is where there are some really warm waters.
I mean, 85-degree surface water temperatures, and that could lead to re-intensification. But right now, it's not conducive as far as the wind field goes.
Hurricane warnings up for the Bahamas. From Florida City up through Melbourne, up through Daytona Beach and Flagler Beach, we have hurricane warnings are out. That means that hurricane conditions are expected in the next 24 hours.
So this is where we expect the eye of this thing to make landfall, likely tomorrow afternoon, as likely a Category 3 storm. West-northwesterly movement, nine miles an hour. It is expected to slow just a little bit, Daryn.
And as these things slow -- Chad had pointed this out to you earlier -- as the hurricane slows, the track of it gets a little bit more difficult to predict. So we'll definitely be watching it hour by hour. And the latest does bring it down just a little bit.
Still a Category 3 storm, Daryn. And still expected to make landfall as a Category 3 storm sometime tomorrow afternoon.
That will cause damage. That will cause flooding. That will cause a big, big headache again for much of the state of Florida. We'll keep you updated.
KAGAN: All right, Rob. Thank you for that. We'll be back with you.
We are well staffed to bring you the latest on Hurricane Frances. Let's take a look at our rundown here.
We've deployed correspondents throughout the hurricane zone to bring up up-to-the-minute reports. We have Kathleen Koch at the northern edge at St. Augustine; Gary Tuchman is to the south, at West Palm Beach; Karl Penhaul to the east, in Freeport, Bahamas; and Bill Hemmer and Chad Myers are right in the middle, in Melbourne, Florida.
Let's begin our round of live updates and go to Bill for that.
Bill, hello.
HEMMER: All right, Daryn. Hello to you as well.
The beach is pretty much deserted here. The schools are closed, the space center up the coast here has been closed here as well. Court trials have been put on hold for now. All waiting and bracing to see what Frances brings Florida's way.
Down in the surf, quickly to Chad Myers.
Chad, you've been out here for about eight hours, I believe.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
HEMMER: You've noticed the conditions, et cetera. You've been watching and listening as well. Good morning again to you, Chad.
MYERS: And good morning, Bill. What I've noticed is that the tide is coming in. The waves getting bigger and bigger as the tide comes in. We've had a little ridge right through here. And I want to show you what happens out there when there's a sandbar.
The waves come in, they go over the sandbar, and they find themselves in a valley. This valley then -- it's out there -- this valley then comes all the way down here and turns into a cutout as we get erosion through here and we get the rip tide. I'm not even going to get into that, because thing is going at least 20 miles an hour.
But as we get this farther and farther out, picture this not only six inches deep, picture this six feet deep out there. And that's what swimmers get caught in. They get caught in these rip currents, they get caught in these rip tides, and they get taken out to sea.
You have to swim across them. But one of the most dangerous things can you do is get in the water with surf like this -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Chad. Thanks for that.
I want to go much further east, much further east, in fact, to Freeport in the Bahamas. Karl Penhaul is back on the line. We talked to Karl about an hour ago.
How are conditions now?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Bill.
Still very variable. We're starting to pick up the winds here, continuously picking up the winds here, but they're still only beginning to be tropical storm-force winds. That would indicate there are still several hours to go before the real leading edge of the hurricane starts to slam into Freeport and Grand Bahama.
Talking to the chief meteorologist here on the island. They say within about three hours from now, by about 2:00, we should be feeling the hurricane winds. But the eye of the hurricane may not, in fact, be over in Freeport and Grand Bahama until later on this evening, possibly even as late as midnight.
That said, Bill, we have moved in from the previous location we were at on the ocean side because those meteorologists are predicting that there could be tidal surges, anything between 14 and 18 feet, driven by 120 mile-an-hour winds. Now, with Grand Bahama being as very flat as it is, and with their experience of flooding and previous hurricanes in the past, of course we've moved inland. Meteorologists say really that's the only thing to do.
We also note that most of the islands have also left their dwellings on the ocean side and moved three, four miles inland. That's still not a guarantee that the wouldn't be flooded. But certainly they should be away from the worst effects of any waves that do come crashing in -- Bill.
HEMMER: Karl Penhaul, thanks, live in Freeport. We will be in touch again as we go throughout the day.
And Daryn, before we go back to you in Atlanta, I just want to remind our viewers yet again what we're hearing from the hurricane center. The storm has slowed down. And if it continues at the current rate of speed here, not only are the Bahamas getting hammered right now, but if it comes to Florida in its current form, this is going to be an enormous rainmaker.
Some predictions yesterday said as much as 20 inches of rain. Whether or not it turns out that way, we're not sure. But the forecasters right now are very cautious in terms of their maps and very cautious in terms of trying to predict where this storm will go. Because at this point, 24 hours ago they had a good beat on it. Twenty-four hours later, now, at this point, it is pretty much anyone's guess.
Much more in a moment. We're live in Melbourne.
Daryn, back to you now in Atlanta.
KAGAN: All right. Well, we might not know now if all those 20 inches are going to show up, but, Bill, you'll be there to see it firsthand. We'll be back with you in just a moment.
HEMMER: All right.
KAGAN: Meanwhile, we want our viewers to know just one more note on Frances. You can follow the storm as takes aim at Florida. Log on any time you're away from your television. The address is cnn.com/weather.
We will get back to Frances. But now there is another story that is breaking this morning in Beslan, Russia: gunfire, explosions, death and mayhem at a school that has been under a terror siege since Wednesday.
Russian commandos have imagined to free some of the hostages held by the suspected Chechen rebels. Our Ryan Chilcote is live on the scene with some new information on this breaking story -- Ryan.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, they are still fighting here inside the school. It's been going on now for seven hours. That's when four Russian officials, four rescue officials from the Russian side, under an agreement with the hostage-takers, went up to the school to recover some bodies that had been lying out in front of it, the bodies of some people who had been killed on the first day when the school was seized.
They had recovered two of the bodies. Both sides had agreed they would stop shooting at one another while this was going on so that the bodies could be recovered, so the families could bury them.
They recovered two of these bodies, when all of a sudden there was an explosion on the other end of the school. Some of the hostages inside the gymnasium -- that's where they were being kept -- used this as an opportunity to try and make a break for it, to try and flee the school.
The hostage-takers opened fire on the fleeing children. The Russians returned fire. And here we are seven hours later. This is the worst possible anyone could have imagined for an ending to this situation. We may be looking at hundreds and hundreds of casualties among the hostages.
Now, inside, we are getting reports of what was going on before -- the conditions that the children were in before the actual storming began, and they are horrific. Basically, they had no water or food for two-and-a-half days before this storming began.
We understand that the boys -- this is from speaking with them -- actually began to drink their own urine because they had absolutely no water. And you're probably seeing that a lot of the people that were coming out of the school were coming out with no clothes on at all. Well, that's, they say, because there was 1,000 people.
This is what they are saying. Russian officials have not given us an official number yet. They say they're working on an official number. There were so many people packed in the gymnasium, it was so hot, and there was so little to drink, everybody just took their clothes off to feel a little bit cooler.
But it was an absolutely horrific scene inside. One boy when he came out was too weak to even chew. I mean, just awful.
We've been following one grandmother who has two granddaughters inside. She told me today that she found her granddaughters; however -- they're both alive, for which she is happy -- however, one of her granddaughters had been bruised by a bullet in the head, another has a bullet through her leg. And when I asked her how her grandchildren are in terms of their mental condition, she said -- she looked at me and she said, "I'm not sure that they'll ever be children again" -- Daryn.
KAGAN: It just breaks your heart. And still, people shaking their head as to how people could make children victims in all this. What about President Putin and his plans to address the nation, Ryan?
CHILCOTE: Well, we understand the Russian president is expected to address the nation very soon. That will be the first time he has really come out since this fighting began six hours ago. It will be a very important address.
This is one of the biggest -- it was viewed as one of the biggest challenges to the Russian president once it began two days ago. So we'll be waiting to hear what he says. But this is by no means, by no stretch of the imagination any kind of success for Russian officials. This is a worst-case scenario in terms of an end to this siege here in the southern Russian town of Beslan.
KAGAN: Absolutely tragic. Ryan Chilcote from Russia. Thank you for the latest on that story.
Yet another big story that we're following today, a grand finale for the Republican National Convention. Now the president takes his show on the road. His opponent, John Kerry, already turning up the heat. We're live coming up.
And we go back to Frances. As millions are being told to evacuate and get to higher ground, the question remains, where will a monster hurricane strike? We are live to the National Hurricane Center next to get the latest word on Frances.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: The winds are already picking up along Florida's eastern coastline. Millions of people are fleeing to shelters and neighboring states ahead of Hurricane Frances.
Let's get the latest on the storm from Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Ed, a busy morning. Thanks for making a few minutes for us.
ED RAPPAPORT, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Yes, thank you. It's a busy morning, and we're going to have a busy few days in Florida.
KAGAN: Give us the latest on Frances, please.
RAPPAPORT: Frances still has a Category 3 intensity, maximum winds are 115 miles per hour. That's come down considerably since yesterday. So that's good news in that the inner core is not as strong as it had been.
But it's still a very large hurricane. And it's going to spend perhaps a day to two days getting across the Florida peninsula.
KAGAN: As people talk about it weakening, is that something that could be misleading?
RAPPAPORT: In once sense it is misleading in that, for all areas outside of the core region, the storm really has not weakened at all. They're still going to experience a long period of heavy rain and wind, perhaps 18 to 24 hours worth. We've had that long of a period experienced in the Bahamas already.
Now, the inner core has weakened. That's great news because we wouldn't expect the kind of devastation of a Hurricane Charley. We're looking more like a Hurricane Isabel like we had last year in the Mid Atlantic coast.
KAGAN: Now, some of the numbers we're hearing in terms of rain, 18, 20 inches of rain. Is it really capable of that?
RAPPAPORT: It's certainly possible. This is a relatively large hurricane. And the biggest issue now is that it's not moving fast, and it's forecast to slow down even more.
That means that the time for the rain to fall is extended in any given place. We could be seeing as much as 10 inches locally to 20 inches of rain.
KAGAN: And I know you say with a hurricane this size, don't be so focused on exactly where the eye might make landfall. And yet I know our viewers are going to be interested in that. So what's the latest prediction on that?
RAPPAPORT: Yes, but in this case the eye isn't really consequential in the sense that that's not where the strongest of the winds are located. But we are forecasting a continued motion of the center up to the northwest.
There may be a bend back a little bit to the west-northwest. And for that reason, with the great size of the storm, we still have hurricane warnings up for most of the Florida east coast.
KAGAN: And not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but Ivan already, another storm you're watching out there?
RAPPAPORT: That's right. We're just now reaching to the peak of the hurricane season. So it's not unexpected to have another tropical storm in the deep tropics, far to the east. If it's ever to become a threat to the United States, it won't be for well more than a week.
KAGAN: All right. Keeping you guys busy. Ed Rappaport, good luck over the next few days. Thank you for your time.
RAPPAPORT: Thank you.
KAGAN: And we switch back now to our other developing story, that out of Beslan, Russia. And that is a school siege. Still more breaking news on that. Let's go back to Ryan Chilcote in Russia -- Ryan.
CHILCOTE: Yes, we just spoke with the head of the crisis headquarters that is tasked with dealing with this hostage situation. And the head of it is Valerio Andreyov (ph). And he says that there is still fighting going on inside the school and that the hostage- takers still have hostages inside the school, among them, children.
He also said that they have so far killed 20 of the hostage- takers. And he says that 10 of them are from Arab countries.
He is also saying that they have won the release of 400 people in this storming operation. He says those people are getting medical treatment here in hospitals in the town of Beslan. He also said, of course, that there are many fatalities, and that they have, so far, identified 60 bodies -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Yes. So the numbers here -- so the 400 hostages being released, that is a new number, but the concern still being that there's a large number of casualties?
CHILCOTE: That's right. And they are not saying how many casualties. There have been reports that 158 children were hospitalized. Those reports are six, seven hours old. So the number is probably somewhat higher than that, significantly, perhaps, higher than that now. But this is the first firm information about the number of people that have been released, about the number of hostage-takers that have been killed, and about their background.
This allegation coming from the head of the crisis headquarters here from the Federal Security Service, Valerio Andreyov, that 10 of the 20 fighters that they have killed are from Arabic countries. Also, this is the first information that we have got that, while the fighting is under way, that there are still hostages inside, among them, children -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right. So this definitely still going on, still a developing story. Ryan Chilcote from Beslan, Russia. Thank you for that.
CHILCOTE: Unfortunately.
KAGAN: As we've said -- thank you, Ryan. As we've said, we have a number of developing stories. We have the story out of Russia, you have Frances, you have the campaign. We're following all of this.
Right now, we'll take a break. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: President Bush hits the campaign trail in Pennsylvania this morning after making his pitch for a second term on the closing night of the Republican convention. The president made broad proposals on the domestic front, and he devoted much of his speech to national security, saying he was the right man to lead the nation in perilous times.
Let's get the specifics from our national correspondent, Bob Franken, outside Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Bob, good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
And, Daryn, if you look behind me, what you don't see anymore is most of the barricades that were up here which really acted as a dam, stopping the floodgate -- floodgate, stopping the sea of people that normally crowd 8th Avenue. But they're pretty much gone. The story has moved elsewhere.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: George Bush has got to go, hey, hey, ho, ho!
FRANKEN (voice-over): New York will have its streets around the Garden back. The barricades and stifling security gone. The demonstrators gone after about 1,800 were arrested during the convention.
The convention gone, too, after the really big finish, complete with some last protester incidents in the hall. And the main reason for all this is gone. President Bush is in Pennsylvania, leaving New York right after his campaign salute to the city.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People will look to the resurrection of New York City and they will say, "Here buildings fell, here a nation rose."
(APPLAUSE)
FRANKEN: And the Republicans hope a president defined by his actions after the September 11th attacks, and a campaign also defined by the opposition.
BUSH: My opponent's policies are dramatically different from ours.
FRANKEN: In fact, the opponent broke tradition to publicly vent over the way Republicans described his military past.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will not have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and who misled America into Iraq.
(APPLAUSE)
FRANKEN: The campaign promises to be about as subtle as the celebrations that closed the convention. And a whole lot uglier.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: And now we have a two-month run until the election, a two-month dash, if you want to call it that, where each side, Daryn, is going to try and run over the other -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Lace up both -- lace up those running shoes, Bob. Thank you.
Well, some delegates didn't stick around to hear what the president's big speech was at the GOP convention. Florida delegates checked out of the Midtown Hilton in Manhattan early. They were racing home ahead of Hurricane Frances. They were eager to secure their property and check on their family and friends.
Understandable there.
And while the delegates return to Florida, many other residents are leaving. The evacuation order has been given, and millions are now on the move or boarding up as the monster hurricane moves in. More Frances coverage is up next.
(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
