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CNN Live Today
People Along Gulf Coast Beginning Cleanup in Wake of Ivan; Kerry Speaks in New Mexico; Emmys on Sunday Night
Aired September 17, 2004 - 11:29 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: Folks along the Gulf Coast are beginning the long and difficult cleanup in the wake of Hurricane Ivan. One of the hardest hit areas was Pensacola, Florida.
Our Chris Lawrence joins us from the Panhandle city with a look at Ivan's aftermath.
Chris, good morning.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, getting a look at Ivan's aftermath is just what Governor Jeb Bush has been doing this morning. He's been touring some of the damaged areas, and what he is seeing is basically something unfortunately he's seen a lot lately, after Hurricanes Charley and Frances. This time some of the damage from Ivan, he's seen entire neighborhoods literally cut off from the rest of the city because of downed trees and power lines.
We saw when this storm hit, winds in excess of 100 miles per hour. A storm surge, waves surging nearly two stories. That has destroyed many of the homes in this area, splintered trees. It has cut some of the power lines and let them dangling across the road, and a lot of people are going back to their homes, only to find they don't have very much left to go home to, including one local nurse who had been working nonstop at a local hospital until she got a call from her husband to tell her the bad news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything we have is gone, ruined. There's probably three feet of water in the house that's left. You know, in the portion that's left is flooded. But it brought tears to his eyes talking to me, so I know it must be bad -- he's not a crier. He's a pretty tough guy, and he was crying, so I'm sure it was just devastating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: It's devastating. The devastation extends all the way out here to the highway. This is Interstate 10 over Escambia Bay, and the hurricane destroyed a portion of that bridge, and literally cut off traffic east and west past this point.
You're looking at the back half of a trailer that has been torn in two. Now the cab of the truck and its driver are missing, and police say there's an oil slick in the water right near the edge of that break. The divers have been going into the water, trying to find that driver. But so far, with all the muck and debris in the water, they've only been able to see about five feet down -- Daryn.
KAGAN: A lot of difficult jobs ahead there in the Pensacola area.
Chris Lawrence, thank you for that.
Residents in Gulf Shores have something more to worry about. A rather large and menacing animal is on the loose, and zoo officials are on the prowl.
Here is CNN's Gary Tuchman has the story of Chuckie.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The husband of the zoo director in Gulf Shores, Alabama is now doubling as an alligator hunter. The zoo is underwater from Hurricane Ivan, and several alligators got away. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, some will have to be killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's over our heads right here.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Almost all of the other animals were evacuated before the hurricane, but also on the loose, 13 deer who could not be moved before the storm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We opened the doors. We knew they could swim. They're in full antlers right now. They do not sedate, nor do they move real well.
TUCHMAN: Patty Hall has been director of the zoo for five years.
This is how the barrier island main street near the zoo looked as the storm rolled in. And hours later, the same street, under nine feet of water in spots. One of the deer was spotted frantically swimming in the waters. Another was found and will be OK after being shot with a tranquilizer dart.
Alligators were seen under that water, including this particular one, spotted by a CNN photographer, which the zoo desperately wants to catch alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were real interested in our big boy who is Chuckie, and he is about 12 feet, and weighs anywhere from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds. He could pull you down, drown you and swallow you.
TUCHMAN: Another alligator was found and killed.
Chuckie, though, is still on the loose. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Gulf Shores, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: So, how do you catch a half-ton alligator? Very carefully, of course. Animal expert Jack Hanna joins us from Ohio, where he is director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo. Jack and company, good morning. Thanks for being here with us.
Who's your friend.
JACK HANNA, DIR. EMERITUS, COLUMBUS ZOO: Well, this is our little alligator here, Chops. Now I'm just glad I'm not looking for a 12-foot alligator.
KAGAN: I would say.
And Is that Mr. Chops to you, Jack, I would think?
HANNA: I never looked at it, female or male. It looks like Mr. or Mrs. Chops.
KAGAN: Mr. or Mrs. Chops.
OK, talking about Chuckie here, you know, we can make a lot of jokes about 12-foot long, 1000-pound alligator, but this actually is a very serious and a dangerous situation to have this alligator out there.
HANNA: Well, It really is, because an alligator, you've got to remember something, doesn't have a very big brain. And they can go six months to a year, some of them, without even eating. When an alligator hunts, they hunt with vibration. People don't realize that. It's not necessarily smell or eyesight. They have these little sensors along their side here.
Now if you're swimming in the water, that's what I tell people, you don't have to be afraid of most gators, but if you are swimming and the alligators are hungry, that type of thing, what they will do is feel those sensors. They can feel them a mile or two off in calm water. They can feel that kicking in the water.
Now if you're on land and you see a gator, my advice is get within about 20 or 30 yards of it. Don't approach it, because a lot of people think they're sleeping. They can feel footsteps on the ground. If they do, what they do happens in a split second. You'll walk up to him like this.
You'll say, oh, he's sleeping, they take their tail and their head and move them at the same time like this. They slap you toward their mouth with their tail, usually near the water. It happens quicker than you can snap your finger, then they drag their prey in the water. They can't chew, so they drown the prey and then tear them apart.
Now, with Chuckie, being an animal that has been in a captive situation for a long time, I would think that he's probably not that hungry right now. And I agree with the zoo director, you know, hopefully they can find Chuckie. There's different ways you can catch a gator.
KAGAN: Even a 12-foot long gator?
HANNA: Well, I've caught them up to eight feet. I'm not the Crocodile Hunter, OK?
KAGAN: OK.
HANNA: I catch the little ones.
But you've got to be very, very careful, because they're very, very fast. They use the tail for swimming, as well as the feet. And Of course they have those eyes they can see above the water.
But again, it's not breeding season, I don't think, Daryn, and they're not -- with eggs and that type of thing. So, they're not that aggressive that time. When they're breeding or have babies, it's one of the most aggressive animals in the world.
Now hopefully Chuckie is so big that they can find Chuckie, or bait him with some bait meat of some sort and get him on a rope. A lot of times they'll hold on and not let go.
KAGAN: So, you think there are other ways, perhaps, depending on what the conditions are, that it's not necessarily that they're going to have to shoot him.
HANNA: Right, I would hope that they could try and catch them, only because he's been in a captive situation a long time. If these were wild gators and causing a problem inside the zoo, then instead of maybe renting strollers, I would rent canoes to go in the zoo.
KAGAN: Yes, I got that.
Now I don't know how familiar you are with how this evacuation took place, but are there some questions about exactly the safety of the animals, and how some were able to get out quickly and safely and others were not?
HANNA: Well, that's a very difficult thing. We were talking about that today. We were getting ready to do a new show up here, about what do we do in Columbus, and then all of a sudden, we had a similar situation at our zoo. It's the largest zoo in the North American right now. We could maybe move some animals. Some animals we'd have to put into concrete shelters. We have beautiful shelters for them, that I can't imagine winds could blow them over.
Water is the problem down there. And they did the right thing. They left the gators. They left the deer. To move a deer, to some of these animals is sometimes more dangerous to tranquilize them than it is to -- do you understand, to move them than it is to let them stay there. Now deer can swim. Deer can get on little islands. Gators have no problem, obviously, in the water whatsoever. So, they moved what they could. And I take my hat off to them.
With the deer and stuff, I wouldn't try and tranquilize a deer myself, because they're very flighty, they have very thin legs, and it's very difficult for those animals to go down peacefully.
KAGAN: And then one final quick question for you, the owner of the zoo, the director, she was on with Bill Hemmer earlier this morning, saying now they've gone back, this zoo looks like it's decimated. They're going to have to figure out where to house all these animals as they rebuild. Does the zoo community of America come together and try to find places and homes for those animals.
HANNA: Right, we have the American Zoo Association, called the AZA, in Washington D.C. And I don't know -- I think that might be an accredited zoo. Whether it is or not, we'll all work together to try and help them and find -- we've already sent -- the Columbus Zoo has already sent several thousands of dollars to Florida to help the zoos down there. And we sent our people down there after the hurricanes, our maintenance people, to help build shelter, because their familiar with animals and animal shelters.
So, we all worked together like a family to take care of the animals. So, the animals, even though we have to take care of the people, obviously, that's our No. 1 priority, we have to find out what's happening to these animals in all these hurricanes, because a lot are left homeless, and we have to take care of them.
KAGAN: Absolutely. Jack Hanna, director emeritus in the Columbus Zoo, and, Mr. Chops, there, thank you so much. Good to see you, Jack.
HANNA: Thank you. All right. Bye-bye.
KAGAN: Thank you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: Right now, we go live to Albuquerque, New Mexico, Senator John Kerry on the campaign trail. Let's listen in.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... $61 million.
(APPLAUSE)
Sixty-one million dollars in gasoline overcharges, $100 charges for a single bag of laundry from our troops. In fact, there are $1.8 billion of costs billed to the Department of Defense that Halliburton can't even account for. That is plain and simply outrageous. You know where that $1.8 billion, we could have made certain that every one of those troops going over there had the proper vests, and the proper body armor. We could have made sure they had a Humvee that was armored so their legs and arms aren't blown off.
Instead, our troops have been forced to buy their own body armor. Parents have been forced to go on Internet and buy it and send it over to them and give it to them before they go. Here's your going-away gift. My going-away gift to you is the body armor that the military should have given to you. Ladies and gentlemen, that is not the way to send young troops to war.
And you know what, while Dick Cheney claims he has gotten rid of all of his financial interests in Halliburton, he's actually received $2 million in bonuses and deferred compensation from his former company since taking office in 2001. And the Independent Congressional Research Service found that under federal ethics laws, Dick Cheney did have a lingering financial interest in Halliburton.
Now, who's minding the store while all of this has happened? Who's in charge? Who's supposed to make the decision to set the right straight? Who's supposed to put the store right when it's going wrong? We need a commander in chief and a vice president of the United States who put the interests of our troops and our taxpayers ahead of their big money friends in the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
We need a president and a vice president who aren't going to sacrifice the taxpayers' money on the altar of no-bid cronyism, while our fighting men and women go without the armor and the equipment that they need.
As president, let me make it crystal clear, I will never tolerate companies like a Halliburton profiting at the expense of our troops and our taxpayers. I will make absolutely sure...
(APPLAUSE)
I will make absolutely sure that all of our government funds are accounted for, and I'll tell you what, as commander in chief, I've got two words for companies like Halliburton that abuse the American taxpayer and the trust -- you're fired. That simple.
(APPLAUSE)
KAGAN: Senator John Kerry coming out swinging, borrowing a phrase from "The Apprentice," from Donald trump. Coming out with a new these. You're going to see this in some new campaign ads across America, criticizing Halliburton and the U.S. government for accepting some no-bid contracts, and of course Halliburton, the company that Vice President Dick Cheney ran before he became vice president.
But are these type of ads working? let's check out two new polls that are telling vastly different tales about the presidential race. The Gallup poll released today shows President Bush with a 13-point lead over John Kerry among likely voters. Among registered voters, the Bush lead was 8 points.
But there's this new poll by the Pew Research Center. That shows a dead heat. Among, likely voters, the president has a one percentage point edge. Among registered voters, the candidates are tied.
Meanwhile, as for the vice president, Dick Cheney, he has been trading bashes with Kerry over Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today while speaking to the National Guard Association, meeting down in Las Vegas, John Kerry said that our troops deserve no less than the best. But I am stunned by the audacity of that statement, since Senator Kerry voted to send the troops into combat, and then denied them the support they needed once they were at war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Let's look at more from the campaign trail. Candy Crowley in today with our "Voter Alert."
Candy, good morning.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
KAGAN: And why are we hearing these words now from John Kerry? this sounds much stronger language than we have in recent weeks.
CROWLEY: You know, this week has been interesting on the Kerry campaign. And you're right, the language is stronger. I think there's a couple things going on. One is that there was some complaint among Democrats that John Kerry wasn't being tough enough on George Bush, that post-Bush's convention, that Kerry really needed to come out swinging. There's that.
There's also when you look inside those numbers, you just showed, in one of our latest polls, in the Gallup poll, when you looked at issues like leadership and honesty and trustworthiness, George Bush had huge margins of advantage over John Kerry.
So, now when John Kerry talks about an issue, be it assault weapons, as he did on Monday, or Halliburton, as he's doing now, he makes it a matter of honesty and trustworthiness.
Yesterday, in his National Guard speech that the vice president talked about, it was all about the president's not giving you an honest assessment. So, they are really going at those character issues, and trying to be, as one aide said to me, in Bush's face on the character issue, because in the end, as you know, people vote their gut -- who do you trust to make good judgments? Who has those qualities of leadership? So, they are hitting very hard on those, even as they talk about the issues. The underlying and the undertone there is about character.
KAGAN: All right, Candy Crowley, thank you for that.
CROWLEY: Sure.
KAGAN: Much more from the campaign trail on INSIDE POLITICS later today.
CROWLEY: Well, just like last year, HBO appears to be poised to sweep the Emmy Awards. We'll go live to Los Angeles, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Here we go with awards season: 56th Primetime Emmy Awards are on Sunday night. Who's going to win, who's going to lose? More importantly, what are they going to wear?
Entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas has a preview this morning from the Shrine Auditorium in Las Angeles.
Sibila, good morning.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. You know, it's pretty busy out here. There's a lot of construction going on behind me. The red carpet has just been laid out. It's pretty hard to believe that in less than 72 hours, this place will be wall-to-wall celebrities, and leading the pack will be the stars of HBO. HBO pretty much obliterated the competition with 124 nominations. And just to give you a comparison, NBC came in second with 64 -- 64, 124, you do the math.
But really, it's just a testament to the great shows that are on the air. "Angels in America," the miniseries about an AIDS epidemic did phenomenally well, 21 nominations, the show that got the most nominations. Of course the start-studded cast of Al Pacino, Emma Thompson, and Meryl Streep did not hurt at all.
"The Sopranos" also very impressive. They did not disappoint. The Jersey boys came in with 20 nominations. That's second in line to the most nominations. Edie Falco and James Gandolfini of course getting a nod. And the show got a nod as well, which a lot of people think "The Sopranos" may have it in the bag this year. And what's really interesting is "The Sopranos" has never won. It's gotten one nomination after another, but it's never taken home the award.
Other shows are "Deadwood" -- "Deadwood" was not expected to even make it onto the ballots, and here it is with 11 nominations. And let's not forget the sexy ladies from "Sex in the City," who really heated things up this year with their finale. Well, they got 11 nominations, as well.
But you know, something that's great about the Emmys as well is the surprises. "Joan of Arcadia" did extremely well -- three nods. Nobody really expected this show to do so well. And if you really look at the landscape of the dramatic category, the shows, this one really stands out. Amber Tamblyn is the star, and she got a nomination.
She's the youngest person. She's facing Edie Falco, Allison Janney, Mariska Hargitay -- some pretty tough competition. So, it's going to be really interesting to see how she hangdles herself. But to be in that company, that must be something great for her.
KAGAN: A young up and comer. Thank you so much. Sibila Vargas, you have a great time at the Emmys. We'll be watching Sunday night.
VARGAS: I will.
KAGAN: Thank you.
We're going to look at a different type of competition: America's dynamic duo, Tiger Woods driving his tee shot into a bunker. Uh-oh, not good. Phil Mickelson nestled his shot under a tree. Not so dynamic of a start to this year's Ryder Cup competition in Oakland Hills.
The Europeans are pretty happy, though. Team America not faring well, o are the Europeans? They are up in three and tied in one of their four matches underway. The Ryder Cup continues through Sunday.
We are back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Our eye on entertainment takes us to the 47th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival. Among those who's who of jazz greats gathered at the seaside community is a man whose tough-guy image hides the soul of a musician.
CNN's Maria Hinojosa has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gunslinger, golfer...
CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR: Let's see what you do there, Richard.
HINOJOSA: ... producer and director...
EASTWOOD: Thank you very much.
HINOJOSA: ... politician: Clint Eastwood has pursued many interests in his life, but few are aware of one of his primary passions -- jazz.
He rarely performs publicly, though he did play a few licks in the movie "In the Line of Fire." Eastwood has prefered to support the music behind the scenes, serving for many years on the Monterey Jazz Festival Board.
EASTWOOD: We'd like to kind of promote an enthusiasm for jazz in a world where pop music has gone in a direction that a lot of people are not enthusiastic about. Jazz is maybe our big hope for fine music.
HINOJOSA: As an evangelist for jazz, he may seem soft-spoken, but his love for the music is unquestioned. In 1988, he directed the film "Bird" about sax legend Charlie Parker.
EASTWOOD: Here you are.
HINOJOSA: In 1989, he helped salute Ella Fitzgerald.
(MUSIC -- Diana Krall - "Why Should I Care?)
HINOJOSA: He's directed a music video for Diana Krall and a film on piano blues. On this year's Monterey Festival, he'll appear on a progam with pianist Marian McPartland.
EASTWOOD: I'll be sort of interviewing her. But she's great, and she's got so much history in jazz, both as of wife of Jimmy McPartland and a great player in her own right.
HINOJOSA: In the midst of the music on the Monterey Fairgrounds, fans might catch more than one glimpse of that familiar figure.
EASTWOOD: I'm going to be out there every day, so I'm not going to miss a bit.
HINOJOSA: Maria Hinojosa, CNN, Monterey, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And that's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. I hope you have a great weekend. I'll see you 10:00 a.m. Eastern Monday morning.
Right now, Wolf Blitzer is off, but Carol Lin will be filling in. You'll get to see her in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired September 17, 2004 - 11:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Folks along the Gulf Coast are beginning the long and difficult cleanup in the wake of Hurricane Ivan. One of the hardest hit areas was Pensacola, Florida.
Our Chris Lawrence joins us from the Panhandle city with a look at Ivan's aftermath.
Chris, good morning.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, getting a look at Ivan's aftermath is just what Governor Jeb Bush has been doing this morning. He's been touring some of the damaged areas, and what he is seeing is basically something unfortunately he's seen a lot lately, after Hurricanes Charley and Frances. This time some of the damage from Ivan, he's seen entire neighborhoods literally cut off from the rest of the city because of downed trees and power lines.
We saw when this storm hit, winds in excess of 100 miles per hour. A storm surge, waves surging nearly two stories. That has destroyed many of the homes in this area, splintered trees. It has cut some of the power lines and let them dangling across the road, and a lot of people are going back to their homes, only to find they don't have very much left to go home to, including one local nurse who had been working nonstop at a local hospital until she got a call from her husband to tell her the bad news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything we have is gone, ruined. There's probably three feet of water in the house that's left. You know, in the portion that's left is flooded. But it brought tears to his eyes talking to me, so I know it must be bad -- he's not a crier. He's a pretty tough guy, and he was crying, so I'm sure it was just devastating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: It's devastating. The devastation extends all the way out here to the highway. This is Interstate 10 over Escambia Bay, and the hurricane destroyed a portion of that bridge, and literally cut off traffic east and west past this point.
You're looking at the back half of a trailer that has been torn in two. Now the cab of the truck and its driver are missing, and police say there's an oil slick in the water right near the edge of that break. The divers have been going into the water, trying to find that driver. But so far, with all the muck and debris in the water, they've only been able to see about five feet down -- Daryn.
KAGAN: A lot of difficult jobs ahead there in the Pensacola area.
Chris Lawrence, thank you for that.
Residents in Gulf Shores have something more to worry about. A rather large and menacing animal is on the loose, and zoo officials are on the prowl.
Here is CNN's Gary Tuchman has the story of Chuckie.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The husband of the zoo director in Gulf Shores, Alabama is now doubling as an alligator hunter. The zoo is underwater from Hurricane Ivan, and several alligators got away. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, some will have to be killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's over our heads right here.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Almost all of the other animals were evacuated before the hurricane, but also on the loose, 13 deer who could not be moved before the storm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We opened the doors. We knew they could swim. They're in full antlers right now. They do not sedate, nor do they move real well.
TUCHMAN: Patty Hall has been director of the zoo for five years.
This is how the barrier island main street near the zoo looked as the storm rolled in. And hours later, the same street, under nine feet of water in spots. One of the deer was spotted frantically swimming in the waters. Another was found and will be OK after being shot with a tranquilizer dart.
Alligators were seen under that water, including this particular one, spotted by a CNN photographer, which the zoo desperately wants to catch alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were real interested in our big boy who is Chuckie, and he is about 12 feet, and weighs anywhere from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds. He could pull you down, drown you and swallow you.
TUCHMAN: Another alligator was found and killed.
Chuckie, though, is still on the loose. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Gulf Shores, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: So, how do you catch a half-ton alligator? Very carefully, of course. Animal expert Jack Hanna joins us from Ohio, where he is director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo. Jack and company, good morning. Thanks for being here with us.
Who's your friend.
JACK HANNA, DIR. EMERITUS, COLUMBUS ZOO: Well, this is our little alligator here, Chops. Now I'm just glad I'm not looking for a 12-foot alligator.
KAGAN: I would say.
And Is that Mr. Chops to you, Jack, I would think?
HANNA: I never looked at it, female or male. It looks like Mr. or Mrs. Chops.
KAGAN: Mr. or Mrs. Chops.
OK, talking about Chuckie here, you know, we can make a lot of jokes about 12-foot long, 1000-pound alligator, but this actually is a very serious and a dangerous situation to have this alligator out there.
HANNA: Well, It really is, because an alligator, you've got to remember something, doesn't have a very big brain. And they can go six months to a year, some of them, without even eating. When an alligator hunts, they hunt with vibration. People don't realize that. It's not necessarily smell or eyesight. They have these little sensors along their side here.
Now if you're swimming in the water, that's what I tell people, you don't have to be afraid of most gators, but if you are swimming and the alligators are hungry, that type of thing, what they will do is feel those sensors. They can feel them a mile or two off in calm water. They can feel that kicking in the water.
Now if you're on land and you see a gator, my advice is get within about 20 or 30 yards of it. Don't approach it, because a lot of people think they're sleeping. They can feel footsteps on the ground. If they do, what they do happens in a split second. You'll walk up to him like this.
You'll say, oh, he's sleeping, they take their tail and their head and move them at the same time like this. They slap you toward their mouth with their tail, usually near the water. It happens quicker than you can snap your finger, then they drag their prey in the water. They can't chew, so they drown the prey and then tear them apart.
Now, with Chuckie, being an animal that has been in a captive situation for a long time, I would think that he's probably not that hungry right now. And I agree with the zoo director, you know, hopefully they can find Chuckie. There's different ways you can catch a gator.
KAGAN: Even a 12-foot long gator?
HANNA: Well, I've caught them up to eight feet. I'm not the Crocodile Hunter, OK?
KAGAN: OK.
HANNA: I catch the little ones.
But you've got to be very, very careful, because they're very, very fast. They use the tail for swimming, as well as the feet. And Of course they have those eyes they can see above the water.
But again, it's not breeding season, I don't think, Daryn, and they're not -- with eggs and that type of thing. So, they're not that aggressive that time. When they're breeding or have babies, it's one of the most aggressive animals in the world.
Now hopefully Chuckie is so big that they can find Chuckie, or bait him with some bait meat of some sort and get him on a rope. A lot of times they'll hold on and not let go.
KAGAN: So, you think there are other ways, perhaps, depending on what the conditions are, that it's not necessarily that they're going to have to shoot him.
HANNA: Right, I would hope that they could try and catch them, only because he's been in a captive situation a long time. If these were wild gators and causing a problem inside the zoo, then instead of maybe renting strollers, I would rent canoes to go in the zoo.
KAGAN: Yes, I got that.
Now I don't know how familiar you are with how this evacuation took place, but are there some questions about exactly the safety of the animals, and how some were able to get out quickly and safely and others were not?
HANNA: Well, that's a very difficult thing. We were talking about that today. We were getting ready to do a new show up here, about what do we do in Columbus, and then all of a sudden, we had a similar situation at our zoo. It's the largest zoo in the North American right now. We could maybe move some animals. Some animals we'd have to put into concrete shelters. We have beautiful shelters for them, that I can't imagine winds could blow them over.
Water is the problem down there. And they did the right thing. They left the gators. They left the deer. To move a deer, to some of these animals is sometimes more dangerous to tranquilize them than it is to -- do you understand, to move them than it is to let them stay there. Now deer can swim. Deer can get on little islands. Gators have no problem, obviously, in the water whatsoever. So, they moved what they could. And I take my hat off to them.
With the deer and stuff, I wouldn't try and tranquilize a deer myself, because they're very flighty, they have very thin legs, and it's very difficult for those animals to go down peacefully.
KAGAN: And then one final quick question for you, the owner of the zoo, the director, she was on with Bill Hemmer earlier this morning, saying now they've gone back, this zoo looks like it's decimated. They're going to have to figure out where to house all these animals as they rebuild. Does the zoo community of America come together and try to find places and homes for those animals.
HANNA: Right, we have the American Zoo Association, called the AZA, in Washington D.C. And I don't know -- I think that might be an accredited zoo. Whether it is or not, we'll all work together to try and help them and find -- we've already sent -- the Columbus Zoo has already sent several thousands of dollars to Florida to help the zoos down there. And we sent our people down there after the hurricanes, our maintenance people, to help build shelter, because their familiar with animals and animal shelters.
So, we all worked together like a family to take care of the animals. So, the animals, even though we have to take care of the people, obviously, that's our No. 1 priority, we have to find out what's happening to these animals in all these hurricanes, because a lot are left homeless, and we have to take care of them.
KAGAN: Absolutely. Jack Hanna, director emeritus in the Columbus Zoo, and, Mr. Chops, there, thank you so much. Good to see you, Jack.
HANNA: Thank you. All right. Bye-bye.
KAGAN: Thank you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: Right now, we go live to Albuquerque, New Mexico, Senator John Kerry on the campaign trail. Let's listen in.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... $61 million.
(APPLAUSE)
Sixty-one million dollars in gasoline overcharges, $100 charges for a single bag of laundry from our troops. In fact, there are $1.8 billion of costs billed to the Department of Defense that Halliburton can't even account for. That is plain and simply outrageous. You know where that $1.8 billion, we could have made certain that every one of those troops going over there had the proper vests, and the proper body armor. We could have made sure they had a Humvee that was armored so their legs and arms aren't blown off.
Instead, our troops have been forced to buy their own body armor. Parents have been forced to go on Internet and buy it and send it over to them and give it to them before they go. Here's your going-away gift. My going-away gift to you is the body armor that the military should have given to you. Ladies and gentlemen, that is not the way to send young troops to war.
And you know what, while Dick Cheney claims he has gotten rid of all of his financial interests in Halliburton, he's actually received $2 million in bonuses and deferred compensation from his former company since taking office in 2001. And the Independent Congressional Research Service found that under federal ethics laws, Dick Cheney did have a lingering financial interest in Halliburton.
Now, who's minding the store while all of this has happened? Who's in charge? Who's supposed to make the decision to set the right straight? Who's supposed to put the store right when it's going wrong? We need a commander in chief and a vice president of the United States who put the interests of our troops and our taxpayers ahead of their big money friends in the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
We need a president and a vice president who aren't going to sacrifice the taxpayers' money on the altar of no-bid cronyism, while our fighting men and women go without the armor and the equipment that they need.
As president, let me make it crystal clear, I will never tolerate companies like a Halliburton profiting at the expense of our troops and our taxpayers. I will make absolutely sure...
(APPLAUSE)
I will make absolutely sure that all of our government funds are accounted for, and I'll tell you what, as commander in chief, I've got two words for companies like Halliburton that abuse the American taxpayer and the trust -- you're fired. That simple.
(APPLAUSE)
KAGAN: Senator John Kerry coming out swinging, borrowing a phrase from "The Apprentice," from Donald trump. Coming out with a new these. You're going to see this in some new campaign ads across America, criticizing Halliburton and the U.S. government for accepting some no-bid contracts, and of course Halliburton, the company that Vice President Dick Cheney ran before he became vice president.
But are these type of ads working? let's check out two new polls that are telling vastly different tales about the presidential race. The Gallup poll released today shows President Bush with a 13-point lead over John Kerry among likely voters. Among registered voters, the Bush lead was 8 points.
But there's this new poll by the Pew Research Center. That shows a dead heat. Among, likely voters, the president has a one percentage point edge. Among registered voters, the candidates are tied.
Meanwhile, as for the vice president, Dick Cheney, he has been trading bashes with Kerry over Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today while speaking to the National Guard Association, meeting down in Las Vegas, John Kerry said that our troops deserve no less than the best. But I am stunned by the audacity of that statement, since Senator Kerry voted to send the troops into combat, and then denied them the support they needed once they were at war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Let's look at more from the campaign trail. Candy Crowley in today with our "Voter Alert."
Candy, good morning.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
KAGAN: And why are we hearing these words now from John Kerry? this sounds much stronger language than we have in recent weeks.
CROWLEY: You know, this week has been interesting on the Kerry campaign. And you're right, the language is stronger. I think there's a couple things going on. One is that there was some complaint among Democrats that John Kerry wasn't being tough enough on George Bush, that post-Bush's convention, that Kerry really needed to come out swinging. There's that.
There's also when you look inside those numbers, you just showed, in one of our latest polls, in the Gallup poll, when you looked at issues like leadership and honesty and trustworthiness, George Bush had huge margins of advantage over John Kerry.
So, now when John Kerry talks about an issue, be it assault weapons, as he did on Monday, or Halliburton, as he's doing now, he makes it a matter of honesty and trustworthiness.
Yesterday, in his National Guard speech that the vice president talked about, it was all about the president's not giving you an honest assessment. So, they are really going at those character issues, and trying to be, as one aide said to me, in Bush's face on the character issue, because in the end, as you know, people vote their gut -- who do you trust to make good judgments? Who has those qualities of leadership? So, they are hitting very hard on those, even as they talk about the issues. The underlying and the undertone there is about character.
KAGAN: All right, Candy Crowley, thank you for that.
CROWLEY: Sure.
KAGAN: Much more from the campaign trail on INSIDE POLITICS later today.
CROWLEY: Well, just like last year, HBO appears to be poised to sweep the Emmy Awards. We'll go live to Los Angeles, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Here we go with awards season: 56th Primetime Emmy Awards are on Sunday night. Who's going to win, who's going to lose? More importantly, what are they going to wear?
Entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas has a preview this morning from the Shrine Auditorium in Las Angeles.
Sibila, good morning.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. You know, it's pretty busy out here. There's a lot of construction going on behind me. The red carpet has just been laid out. It's pretty hard to believe that in less than 72 hours, this place will be wall-to-wall celebrities, and leading the pack will be the stars of HBO. HBO pretty much obliterated the competition with 124 nominations. And just to give you a comparison, NBC came in second with 64 -- 64, 124, you do the math.
But really, it's just a testament to the great shows that are on the air. "Angels in America," the miniseries about an AIDS epidemic did phenomenally well, 21 nominations, the show that got the most nominations. Of course the start-studded cast of Al Pacino, Emma Thompson, and Meryl Streep did not hurt at all.
"The Sopranos" also very impressive. They did not disappoint. The Jersey boys came in with 20 nominations. That's second in line to the most nominations. Edie Falco and James Gandolfini of course getting a nod. And the show got a nod as well, which a lot of people think "The Sopranos" may have it in the bag this year. And what's really interesting is "The Sopranos" has never won. It's gotten one nomination after another, but it's never taken home the award.
Other shows are "Deadwood" -- "Deadwood" was not expected to even make it onto the ballots, and here it is with 11 nominations. And let's not forget the sexy ladies from "Sex in the City," who really heated things up this year with their finale. Well, they got 11 nominations, as well.
But you know, something that's great about the Emmys as well is the surprises. "Joan of Arcadia" did extremely well -- three nods. Nobody really expected this show to do so well. And if you really look at the landscape of the dramatic category, the shows, this one really stands out. Amber Tamblyn is the star, and she got a nomination.
She's the youngest person. She's facing Edie Falco, Allison Janney, Mariska Hargitay -- some pretty tough competition. So, it's going to be really interesting to see how she hangdles herself. But to be in that company, that must be something great for her.
KAGAN: A young up and comer. Thank you so much. Sibila Vargas, you have a great time at the Emmys. We'll be watching Sunday night.
VARGAS: I will.
KAGAN: Thank you.
We're going to look at a different type of competition: America's dynamic duo, Tiger Woods driving his tee shot into a bunker. Uh-oh, not good. Phil Mickelson nestled his shot under a tree. Not so dynamic of a start to this year's Ryder Cup competition in Oakland Hills.
The Europeans are pretty happy, though. Team America not faring well, o are the Europeans? They are up in three and tied in one of their four matches underway. The Ryder Cup continues through Sunday.
We are back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Our eye on entertainment takes us to the 47th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival. Among those who's who of jazz greats gathered at the seaside community is a man whose tough-guy image hides the soul of a musician.
CNN's Maria Hinojosa has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gunslinger, golfer...
CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR: Let's see what you do there, Richard.
HINOJOSA: ... producer and director...
EASTWOOD: Thank you very much.
HINOJOSA: ... politician: Clint Eastwood has pursued many interests in his life, but few are aware of one of his primary passions -- jazz.
He rarely performs publicly, though he did play a few licks in the movie "In the Line of Fire." Eastwood has prefered to support the music behind the scenes, serving for many years on the Monterey Jazz Festival Board.
EASTWOOD: We'd like to kind of promote an enthusiasm for jazz in a world where pop music has gone in a direction that a lot of people are not enthusiastic about. Jazz is maybe our big hope for fine music.
HINOJOSA: As an evangelist for jazz, he may seem soft-spoken, but his love for the music is unquestioned. In 1988, he directed the film "Bird" about sax legend Charlie Parker.
EASTWOOD: Here you are.
HINOJOSA: In 1989, he helped salute Ella Fitzgerald.
(MUSIC -- Diana Krall - "Why Should I Care?)
HINOJOSA: He's directed a music video for Diana Krall and a film on piano blues. On this year's Monterey Festival, he'll appear on a progam with pianist Marian McPartland.
EASTWOOD: I'll be sort of interviewing her. But she's great, and she's got so much history in jazz, both as of wife of Jimmy McPartland and a great player in her own right.
HINOJOSA: In the midst of the music on the Monterey Fairgrounds, fans might catch more than one glimpse of that familiar figure.
EASTWOOD: I'm going to be out there every day, so I'm not going to miss a bit.
HINOJOSA: Maria Hinojosa, CNN, Monterey, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And that's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. I hope you have a great weekend. I'll see you 10:00 a.m. Eastern Monday morning.
Right now, Wolf Blitzer is off, but Carol Lin will be filling in. You'll get to see her in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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