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CNN Live Today
Bush Signs Homeland Security Fund Bill; Kerry Warns Floridians of Social Security Privatization; Iraqi Insurgents Kill 7
Aired October 18, 2004 - 10:00 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.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: All right. Time to get ready here and bring you the very latest going on in our nation and in our world here on CNN.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Coast to coast, worried Americans are lining up for a shot at a flu vaccine. The demand well outpaces supply, after British regulators unexpectedly shut down a major flu shot manufacturer. That cut the U.S. supply in half. Health officials are asking that the tight supply be limited to the very old and very young, the chronically ill, care givers and pregnant women.
Within the past hour, President Bush signed into law a bill that allocates some $33 billion for homeland defense. It sets the stage for a Bush address, which will happen later today on Homeland Security, and the war on terrorism.
Well, the price of U.S. light crude oil hit a record high of $55.33 a barrel this morning. Concerns over a tight winter fuel supply are being blamed for the spike. And stock market analysts say those prices are likely to overshadow this week's earnings report, saying government data on the economy.
And take a look at this. A swing of the bat and the Red Sox stay alive in the American League Championship Series. Boston slugger, David Ortiz plowed this 12-inning homer to seal a 6 to 4 win over the rival New York Yankees. The teams match up in Game 5 later today.
Well, Election Day is drawing near and the race is ever so close.
SANCHEZ: Yes. President Bush gained some ground though, in our latest poll, as the candidates hit the stretch run. In fact, let's take a look at the numbers.
A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, here it is, showing the president with a 52 to 44 percent lead over Senator John Kerry. Now, that's among likely voters, we should mention. Let's go to registered voters now, there the president's lead is within the margin of error. Our poll also asked voters, regardless of who they support to just pick a winner. The president there has a commanding 20-point edge.
After a one-day breather, President Bush jumps right back into the campaign today. Mr. Bush has events in New Jersey and also in Florida. But before he hits the road, the president has some business at the White House, as well.
That's where our Suzanne Malveaux is standing by this morning. Good morning, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick. President Bush having a busy morning already. It was just within the last hour or so he signed a Homeland Security Appropriations Act. That actually appropriates some $33 billion to that department to improve security. You may recall, of course, that Kerry has been hitting the president hard on that matter, saying that he doesn't think that the president is doing a good enough job.
Now, this hour the president is sharing a moment with U.S. Olympians, Paralympians on the South Lawn. That is where he's congratulating them, of course, for the performance in the games over the summer.
And of course, President Bush is going to waste no time getting back on the campaign trail. He is going to be hitting southern New Jersey today. The campaign very much excited about what they see as a wipeout of the lead that Kerry had following those debates. The latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup showing that among likely voters, President Bush has a lead 52 to 44 percent.
Now this week President Bush, of course, is going to be hitting those very important battleground states with just two weeks left. We are talking about New Jersey and Florida today. Then he goes on to Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. And Rick, it may seem like an unlikely choice to go to New Jersey today, it is a Democratic stronghold. This is where Gore won essentially by 16 percentage points.
But President Bush's top adviser, Karl Rove saying they're there for two reasons. Because a lot of New Jersey residents, of course, were directly impacted by the 9/11 attacks. It's a very important issue for them, the war on terror. And of course, also that event will be covered in a spillover market of Philadelphia, the all- important state of Pennsylvania still very much in play.
Should let you know, as well, that the camp is saying that this is a significant speech when it comes to the war on terror, contrasting President Bush's approach to Senator Kerry's. We're told, however, it's not going to be any kind of new policies. But it's going to be kind of a capsule, if you will, of all of those details. All of the points that the president has been making over the last couple of weeks wrapped into one big speech -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux reporting to us from the White House. We certainly thank you, Suzanne.
Two things that we're going to be following for you. One of them you heard Suzanne mention just a little while ago. It's the president; he's going to be speaking there at the White House with some Olympians. And then later in the day at 1:15 p.m. Eastern, the president is also going to be giving a speech on Homeland Security. And we will definitely bring you that one right here.
Betty, over to you. NGUYEN: Meanwhile, Senator John Kerry begins his day at a retirement community in West Palm Beach, Florida, where some voters will cast their ballots today.
CNN's Kelly Wallace is traveling with the Kerry campaign and she joins us now live.
Hi there, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Betty. Well, as you're saying, early voting getting underway today. Senator John Kerry speaking right now, as we are doing this live shot. And no surprise, he is encouraging Floridians to go out and vote early and vote for him.
The Kerry strategy this week is to hammer away at the administration on a series of domestic issues, but also to keep the focus on international affairs. We are told in this speech, that Senator Kerry is giving now, he will hit on a new report in today's "Washington Post." Which says that the commander, the U.S. commander on the ground, Ricardo Sanchez, complained to the Pentagon last winter that he just didn't have enough supplies in Iraq. And that that shortage was threatening the ability of armies to fight against insurgents. So expect Senator Kerry to pick up on that.
Yesterday, his focus was something else, accusing the administration of trying to privatize Social Security at the start of his second term. A response from the Bush administration to all this is that the senator is somewhat desperate and is trying to scare seniors, and scare other voters.
Let's take a look right now at the map. The battleground states; about eleven key states right now where Senator Kerry and President Bush will be spending a lot of their time. States like Florida. Also from here Senator Kerry going to Pennsylvania, spending a lot of time in Ohio, as well.
As Suzanne was mentioning, some of the national polls moving in the direction of President Bush. But Kerry's advisers say to that, the polling in the battleground states, the crucial battleground states, continuing to move in Senator Kerry's direction. So Betty, they're still feeling confident. But again, they know they have a lot of work ahead. And so they're trying to hammer away at the Bush administration, and also trying to get voters to go out and vote here in Florida today -- Betty.
NGUYEN: And a big day for the candidates in Florida, as early voting gets under way there. Kelly Wallace, thank you so much for that.
And in fact we are wanting to take a quick listen now to John Kerry's speech as he's saying right now in Florida. Let's take a listen.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... months ago.
The day after General Sanchez wrote that letter, you know what George Bush went out and told the American people? He said our troops were properly equipped.
My friends, despite the president's arrogant boasting that he's done everything right in Iraq and that he's made no mistakes, the truth is beginning to come out and it's beginning to catch up with him. And on November 2nd, it will catch up with him.
(APPLAUSE)
General Sanchez isn't alone.
Do you remember when General Shinseki, the Army chief of staff, went to Congress and he was asked by a congressman who represents you, "How many troops is it going to take to be able to win the peace in Iraq?" And General Sanchez said, "It will take about 200,000 or more" -- several hundred thousand.
Well, the administration didn't like to hear that. So instead of dealing with the truth, they hide the truth and they retired General Shinseki early.
You know what this administration does? It rewards the people who make the mistakes, who miscalculate. It rewards the people who hide the truth. And it fires the people who tell the truth.
And we need a president who tells the American people the truth.
(APPLAUSE)
Just last week, General Tommy Franks admitted that disbanding the Iraqi army last year was a mistake and it created a dangerous security vacuum.
KERRY: Well, that wasn't a judgment that was made in a vacuum. Many people advised the president, "Don't disband the army. Make sure you got enough troops. Protect the ammo dumps. Protect the nuclear facilities. Make sure you have the borders."
And do you remember that in Cincinnati when the president gave that speech to the nation, what did he say?
He said, "We will plan carefully. We will take every precaution. We will go with our allies." He said to America that war was not inevitable. And the fact is that on every single one of those things that he promised to do, they didn't do the job and our troops are now paying the price and the American people are paying the burden.
And we deserve new leadership with fresh credibility that can wage a more effective war.
(APPLAUSE)
And it wasn't just General Franks. It wasn't just General Shinseki. The fact is that now Paul Bremer, the man that they picked to run the war afterwards, he's admitted that there weren't enough troops on the ground.
And so, now we see troops struggling with the problem of being ordered to go out on a patrol and they know they don't have the equipment that they need. They don't have the people with them that they need.
Let me tell you something that I learned when I fought in Vietnam: Listen to the troops and give the troops the equipment that they need. Stand up for the troops. Fight for the troops. Lead the troops. And we deserve new leadership that stands up and fights for the troops in our country.
Now, if you think that what I'm saying, all I'm doing, is repeating what General Shinseki said. I'm repeating what General Tommy Franks said. And I'm repeating what Ambassador Bremer said, all of them people who work for this president. But you know who else has said something pretty serious?
AUDIENCE: (OFF-MIKE)
KERRY: Yes, you're right. But I'm trying to keep this away from me right now. I want the American people to separate what I'm saying. I want them to separate it from politics and connect to the head and the truth and their hearts and their guts.
This is truth.
You know, Senator Lugar is a very thoughtful, distinguished senator from the state of Indiana. He's a Republican. He's head of the Foreign Relations Committee in the United States Senate. And Senator Lugar said the other day that the administration...
NGUYEN: Listening to Senator John Kerry speaking in West Palm Beach, Florida today.
We want to take you now to the White House where the president is speaking on a number of issues. And he's also going to be talking to some U.S. Olympians today. And let's take a listen.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you all for coming. Please be seated.
It's such an honor for Laura and me to welcome the mighty United States Olympic team to the White House. We're really proud of our athletes.
We want to welcome the U.S. Olympians and the Paralympians here in the South Lawn. We welcome the coaches and the team leaders who are here today.
We welcome the former Olympians and Paralympians who are with us today. We want to welcome Herman Frazier and Jeanne Picariello. We want to welcome the family members here.
But most of all, we're thrilled the athletes are here.
(APPLAUSE)
To qualify for Team USA, you had to set high goals, devote long hours to training and outperform talented athletes from all across our country.
In Athens, you faced the toughest competition and the highest pressure in all of sports. When the games were over, America had earned more than 100 medals; the most in the world.
(APPLAUSE)
We heard our national anthem played 35 times to honor gold medalists. Our athletes created lasting memories for millions of Americans who followed the games.
We'll always remember Paul Hamm coming from behind to win the gold in the men's gymnastics...
(APPLAUSE)
... and Carly Patterson winning the women's gold the next night.
(APPLAUSE)
We'll remember Rulon Gardner leaving his shoes in the ring after winning his last match as an Olympic wrestler.
(APPLAUSE)
We'll remember our many incredible swimmers, swimmers like Michael Phelps and the 4x200 women's freestyle relay team that set a world record.
BUSH: We'll remember the Paralympians who earned a remarkable 88 medals for the United States of America...
(APPLAUSE)
... including Royal Mitchell and Karissa Whitsell, each of who earned two gold medals. We'll remember all the American teams that came together to win gold in the Olympics and Paralympics, men's rowing and sailing, women's soccer, softball, basketball, beach volleyball and the women's wheelchair basketball team.
(APPLAUSE)
Their success has showed the power of discipline and persistence. These games came at an historic time for the world. You and your fellow Olympians showed why we have such great hope in this world.
Think about what happened at the opening ceremonies. Our teams marched alongside men and women from Afghanistan and Iraq...
(APPLAUSE) ... nations that just four years ago knew only tyranny and repression.
With millions watching, you showed the best values of America. You were humble in victory, gracious in defeat. You showed compassion for your competitors. You showed the great tolerance and diversity of our people.
You're great athletes and most importantly you showed great character. You made us all proud.
BUSH: And I want to thank you for being such fine ambassadors of our nation to the world.
(APPLAUSE)
You also understand your responsibility to be champions away from the field as well. Appreciate the good examples you set for millions of children who dream about becoming Olympians or Paralympians themselves.
In the years ahead, I hope you will continue to give back to your communities. I hope you'll consider mentoring a child or coaching a child. With your generosity and decency, you'll make this country a more hopeful place.
Once again, welcome to the White House. Congratulations. May God continue to bless our country.
(APPLAUSE)
NGUYEN: And you've been listening to the president speaking at the White House, meeting and greeting U.S. Olympians and Paralympians. Of course, we're following a number of developments by both candidates today. A little bit earlier today the president signed off on a $33 billion funding bill for homeland defense. That happen a little bit earlier than the remarks that we just heard there to the Olympians.
SANCHEZ: You heard Senator Kerry in Florida reference General Ricardo Sanchez. Here's what he was talking about. There's an article that appears in today's "Washington Post" that essentially attributes to the general the fact that it was taking just way too long to get supplies while he was in charge there in Iraq. In fact, there's one specific quote, where he says, "At one point we waited 40 days for critical spare parts." Expect to hear a lot more on that comment by the general from the Kerry campaign in Florida today. As well as you will hear comments about privatization of Social Security.
Some of the things that we're going to be following for you throughout the day right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And welcome back to CNN, I'm Rick Sanchez. We were mentioning the Iraq story just moments ago. Here's the very latest taking place in Iraq on this day. Insurgents ambushed Iraqi police in the city of Baqubah today, wounding seven officers. Sources say place came under fire when they responded to a fake accident call. Five Iraqi civilians were killed, 15 others wounded in the bridge in Mosul, as well.
A car carrying a bomb detonated after colliding with another car. And Fallujah's chief negotiator was released from the U.S. custody today. Sheikh Khalid al Jumaili was detained three days ago, after peace talks with Iraqi government broke down there.
NGUYEN: Well, a political storm is brewing in Britain over a U.S. request to redeploy troops inside Iraq.
CNN's Robin Oakley is in London with that story and he joins us now with the latest.
Hi there.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Betty. Well, within a few minutes, Jeff Hoon, the British defense secretary will be getting up in the House of Commons to tell lawmakers that yes, there has been a request from the U.S. commanders on the ground in Iraq for some 600 British troops to be moved from the comparatively safe sector around Basra, to southern areas near Baghdad: Latifiyah and Iskandariyah, where they will backfill for U.S. Marines, freeing them to take part in the expected major assault on Fallujah.
Now, there's a lot of controversy about this among British politicians, because they fear some of them that this is a political gesture from Tony Blair to help George Bush. A political gesture perhaps, which might be of little help to George Bush, faced by accusations from the Democrats that the U.S. is taking 90 percent of the casualties in Iraq. But it could be considerable harm to Tony Blair who, of course, has an election himself next May -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Robin Oakley, we thank you for that report.
Well, refusing orders or playing it safe? Still to come, U.S. soldiers under investigation for dodging a danger zone. What happens next? But first...
GERRI WILLIS, CNN-FN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Check out the new mortgage products out there. We're going to tell you what to do if you have an adjustable rate mortgage next on CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, as home prices have surged, so has the popularity of adjustable rate mortgages. Cash strapped homebuyers love those low initial rates. But the risk of later increases may cause some homeowners to seek safer alternatives.
For those "Top Five Tips," we turn now to Gerri Willis, the CNN/FN personal finance correspondent and author of "The Smart Money Guide to Real Estate Investing."
Good morning to you, Gerri.
WILLIS: Hey, good morning. Good to see you. Tip No. 1 today, you've got to consider your time line. If you hold an adjustable rate mortgage right now, and that initial rate lock is about to expire, you may want to think about getting into a new loan, swapping into either a fixed rate, or another ARM. But think about this. You may want to sit tight. You need to do the calculation, the hard number crunching and find out will it cost you more to hang onto the loan that you have right now, or to pay the 2.5 percent of your existing loan to get a new one. So do the math before you make any move at all.
NGUYEN: Absolutely have to do the math. But OK, so when you're considering to refinance, should you even consider another ARM. Or is it just too late for that with all these interest rates on the climb?
WILLIS: Well, you know, the expectation has been that rates were going to move higher here. But you know, they really haven't. We have some numbers here to show you how they sort of stayed steady. Five point six percent is the current rate for a 30-year fixed rate loan. It hasn't budged too much here compared to last year. You can see the numbers here.
So, you may want to refi back into another adjustable rate mortgage, particularly if you're not going to be staying in that house very long. If you know your horizon for living in that house is only, say three, five or seven years, you may want to consider another ARM
NGUYEN: And to be a little more flexible, what about convertible ARMs? Is that an option?
WILLIS: This is a great idea. You may have already bought a convertible ARM if you have an adjustable rate mortgage. This means you can just convert that loan into a fixed rate loan by paying a few extra fees. It's not completely without costs. But it's certainly cheaper than doing the whole refi. So think about that if you have one now or if you're shopping for a new one.
NGUYEN: There's so many deals out there, quote-unquote "deals." Everyone says they have the best one. How do you know which one to choose?
WILLIS: Well, one easy thing to do because it's really hard to compare these loans, it seems like you're comparing apples and oranges. What you need is a number that boils everything down into one number, whether it's the fees or the interest rate or whatever. Look for the APR, the annual percentage rate. That does that for you. Makes you compare oranges to oranges when you're looking at a number of different loans. And you can really figure out what the best deal is for you.
NGUYEN: And when you make those comparisons is there some kind of help out there? Because everyone needs to know which numbers are right and if you're doing the calculations correctly. WILLIS: Exactly. You want to think independently. There are a couple of Web sites out there that will give you great information on the loans available in your area. Because remember, it differs from market to market. Try bankrate.com, which can give you local market interest rate numbers, and also the deals that are available in that area. As well as hsh.com. You find out all the players in your region, you pick the best deal for you and you get the job done.
NGUYEN: Got to know the players to get the deal. All right. Gerri Willis, thanks for those "Top Five Tips."
WILLIS: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Now, a lot of computing and adding and subtracting. I would be guaranteed to mess a lot of that stuff up.
NGUYEN: Lots of math.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Well, speaking of numbers, shop till you drop. Maybe not? Still to come, why women are deciding to hold onto the cash in their stash tomorrow morning.
NGUYEN: And the delayed defense gets its chance in court today. But will they put Scott Peterson on the stand?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Time now for stories now in the news.
SANCHEZ: Yes, we should mention that Daryn is not lollygagging around.
NGUYEN: Working, that's right.
SANCHEZ: She's actually on assignment today.
Here we go. British officials are considering a U.S. request to move some of its troops from Basra to the area south of Baghdad. The British forces would take the place of U.S. units moving to cities like Fallujah to fight the insurgents. The British officials stressed no decision has yet been made. This could be a political story throughout the day, by the way.
Also researchers hope to learn more about breast cancer by studying the sisters of patients. Fifty thousand women will take part in this decade-long sister study. And doctors will look at a environmental as well as genetic causes of the cancer.
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 October 18, 2004 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: All right. Time to get ready here and bring you the very latest going on in our nation and in our world here on CNN.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Coast to coast, worried Americans are lining up for a shot at a flu vaccine. The demand well outpaces supply, after British regulators unexpectedly shut down a major flu shot manufacturer. That cut the U.S. supply in half. Health officials are asking that the tight supply be limited to the very old and very young, the chronically ill, care givers and pregnant women.
Within the past hour, President Bush signed into law a bill that allocates some $33 billion for homeland defense. It sets the stage for a Bush address, which will happen later today on Homeland Security, and the war on terrorism.
Well, the price of U.S. light crude oil hit a record high of $55.33 a barrel this morning. Concerns over a tight winter fuel supply are being blamed for the spike. And stock market analysts say those prices are likely to overshadow this week's earnings report, saying government data on the economy.
And take a look at this. A swing of the bat and the Red Sox stay alive in the American League Championship Series. Boston slugger, David Ortiz plowed this 12-inning homer to seal a 6 to 4 win over the rival New York Yankees. The teams match up in Game 5 later today.
Well, Election Day is drawing near and the race is ever so close.
SANCHEZ: Yes. President Bush gained some ground though, in our latest poll, as the candidates hit the stretch run. In fact, let's take a look at the numbers.
A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, here it is, showing the president with a 52 to 44 percent lead over Senator John Kerry. Now, that's among likely voters, we should mention. Let's go to registered voters now, there the president's lead is within the margin of error. Our poll also asked voters, regardless of who they support to just pick a winner. The president there has a commanding 20-point edge.
After a one-day breather, President Bush jumps right back into the campaign today. Mr. Bush has events in New Jersey and also in Florida. But before he hits the road, the president has some business at the White House, as well.
That's where our Suzanne Malveaux is standing by this morning. Good morning, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick. President Bush having a busy morning already. It was just within the last hour or so he signed a Homeland Security Appropriations Act. That actually appropriates some $33 billion to that department to improve security. You may recall, of course, that Kerry has been hitting the president hard on that matter, saying that he doesn't think that the president is doing a good enough job.
Now, this hour the president is sharing a moment with U.S. Olympians, Paralympians on the South Lawn. That is where he's congratulating them, of course, for the performance in the games over the summer.
And of course, President Bush is going to waste no time getting back on the campaign trail. He is going to be hitting southern New Jersey today. The campaign very much excited about what they see as a wipeout of the lead that Kerry had following those debates. The latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup showing that among likely voters, President Bush has a lead 52 to 44 percent.
Now this week President Bush, of course, is going to be hitting those very important battleground states with just two weeks left. We are talking about New Jersey and Florida today. Then he goes on to Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. And Rick, it may seem like an unlikely choice to go to New Jersey today, it is a Democratic stronghold. This is where Gore won essentially by 16 percentage points.
But President Bush's top adviser, Karl Rove saying they're there for two reasons. Because a lot of New Jersey residents, of course, were directly impacted by the 9/11 attacks. It's a very important issue for them, the war on terror. And of course, also that event will be covered in a spillover market of Philadelphia, the all- important state of Pennsylvania still very much in play.
Should let you know, as well, that the camp is saying that this is a significant speech when it comes to the war on terror, contrasting President Bush's approach to Senator Kerry's. We're told, however, it's not going to be any kind of new policies. But it's going to be kind of a capsule, if you will, of all of those details. All of the points that the president has been making over the last couple of weeks wrapped into one big speech -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux reporting to us from the White House. We certainly thank you, Suzanne.
Two things that we're going to be following for you. One of them you heard Suzanne mention just a little while ago. It's the president; he's going to be speaking there at the White House with some Olympians. And then later in the day at 1:15 p.m. Eastern, the president is also going to be giving a speech on Homeland Security. And we will definitely bring you that one right here.
Betty, over to you. NGUYEN: Meanwhile, Senator John Kerry begins his day at a retirement community in West Palm Beach, Florida, where some voters will cast their ballots today.
CNN's Kelly Wallace is traveling with the Kerry campaign and she joins us now live.
Hi there, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Betty. Well, as you're saying, early voting getting underway today. Senator John Kerry speaking right now, as we are doing this live shot. And no surprise, he is encouraging Floridians to go out and vote early and vote for him.
The Kerry strategy this week is to hammer away at the administration on a series of domestic issues, but also to keep the focus on international affairs. We are told in this speech, that Senator Kerry is giving now, he will hit on a new report in today's "Washington Post." Which says that the commander, the U.S. commander on the ground, Ricardo Sanchez, complained to the Pentagon last winter that he just didn't have enough supplies in Iraq. And that that shortage was threatening the ability of armies to fight against insurgents. So expect Senator Kerry to pick up on that.
Yesterday, his focus was something else, accusing the administration of trying to privatize Social Security at the start of his second term. A response from the Bush administration to all this is that the senator is somewhat desperate and is trying to scare seniors, and scare other voters.
Let's take a look right now at the map. The battleground states; about eleven key states right now where Senator Kerry and President Bush will be spending a lot of their time. States like Florida. Also from here Senator Kerry going to Pennsylvania, spending a lot of time in Ohio, as well.
As Suzanne was mentioning, some of the national polls moving in the direction of President Bush. But Kerry's advisers say to that, the polling in the battleground states, the crucial battleground states, continuing to move in Senator Kerry's direction. So Betty, they're still feeling confident. But again, they know they have a lot of work ahead. And so they're trying to hammer away at the Bush administration, and also trying to get voters to go out and vote here in Florida today -- Betty.
NGUYEN: And a big day for the candidates in Florida, as early voting gets under way there. Kelly Wallace, thank you so much for that.
And in fact we are wanting to take a quick listen now to John Kerry's speech as he's saying right now in Florida. Let's take a listen.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... months ago.
The day after General Sanchez wrote that letter, you know what George Bush went out and told the American people? He said our troops were properly equipped.
My friends, despite the president's arrogant boasting that he's done everything right in Iraq and that he's made no mistakes, the truth is beginning to come out and it's beginning to catch up with him. And on November 2nd, it will catch up with him.
(APPLAUSE)
General Sanchez isn't alone.
Do you remember when General Shinseki, the Army chief of staff, went to Congress and he was asked by a congressman who represents you, "How many troops is it going to take to be able to win the peace in Iraq?" And General Sanchez said, "It will take about 200,000 or more" -- several hundred thousand.
Well, the administration didn't like to hear that. So instead of dealing with the truth, they hide the truth and they retired General Shinseki early.
You know what this administration does? It rewards the people who make the mistakes, who miscalculate. It rewards the people who hide the truth. And it fires the people who tell the truth.
And we need a president who tells the American people the truth.
(APPLAUSE)
Just last week, General Tommy Franks admitted that disbanding the Iraqi army last year was a mistake and it created a dangerous security vacuum.
KERRY: Well, that wasn't a judgment that was made in a vacuum. Many people advised the president, "Don't disband the army. Make sure you got enough troops. Protect the ammo dumps. Protect the nuclear facilities. Make sure you have the borders."
And do you remember that in Cincinnati when the president gave that speech to the nation, what did he say?
He said, "We will plan carefully. We will take every precaution. We will go with our allies." He said to America that war was not inevitable. And the fact is that on every single one of those things that he promised to do, they didn't do the job and our troops are now paying the price and the American people are paying the burden.
And we deserve new leadership with fresh credibility that can wage a more effective war.
(APPLAUSE)
And it wasn't just General Franks. It wasn't just General Shinseki. The fact is that now Paul Bremer, the man that they picked to run the war afterwards, he's admitted that there weren't enough troops on the ground.
And so, now we see troops struggling with the problem of being ordered to go out on a patrol and they know they don't have the equipment that they need. They don't have the people with them that they need.
Let me tell you something that I learned when I fought in Vietnam: Listen to the troops and give the troops the equipment that they need. Stand up for the troops. Fight for the troops. Lead the troops. And we deserve new leadership that stands up and fights for the troops in our country.
Now, if you think that what I'm saying, all I'm doing, is repeating what General Shinseki said. I'm repeating what General Tommy Franks said. And I'm repeating what Ambassador Bremer said, all of them people who work for this president. But you know who else has said something pretty serious?
AUDIENCE: (OFF-MIKE)
KERRY: Yes, you're right. But I'm trying to keep this away from me right now. I want the American people to separate what I'm saying. I want them to separate it from politics and connect to the head and the truth and their hearts and their guts.
This is truth.
You know, Senator Lugar is a very thoughtful, distinguished senator from the state of Indiana. He's a Republican. He's head of the Foreign Relations Committee in the United States Senate. And Senator Lugar said the other day that the administration...
NGUYEN: Listening to Senator John Kerry speaking in West Palm Beach, Florida today.
We want to take you now to the White House where the president is speaking on a number of issues. And he's also going to be talking to some U.S. Olympians today. And let's take a listen.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you all for coming. Please be seated.
It's such an honor for Laura and me to welcome the mighty United States Olympic team to the White House. We're really proud of our athletes.
We want to welcome the U.S. Olympians and the Paralympians here in the South Lawn. We welcome the coaches and the team leaders who are here today.
We welcome the former Olympians and Paralympians who are with us today. We want to welcome Herman Frazier and Jeanne Picariello. We want to welcome the family members here.
But most of all, we're thrilled the athletes are here.
(APPLAUSE)
To qualify for Team USA, you had to set high goals, devote long hours to training and outperform talented athletes from all across our country.
In Athens, you faced the toughest competition and the highest pressure in all of sports. When the games were over, America had earned more than 100 medals; the most in the world.
(APPLAUSE)
We heard our national anthem played 35 times to honor gold medalists. Our athletes created lasting memories for millions of Americans who followed the games.
We'll always remember Paul Hamm coming from behind to win the gold in the men's gymnastics...
(APPLAUSE)
... and Carly Patterson winning the women's gold the next night.
(APPLAUSE)
We'll remember Rulon Gardner leaving his shoes in the ring after winning his last match as an Olympic wrestler.
(APPLAUSE)
We'll remember our many incredible swimmers, swimmers like Michael Phelps and the 4x200 women's freestyle relay team that set a world record.
BUSH: We'll remember the Paralympians who earned a remarkable 88 medals for the United States of America...
(APPLAUSE)
... including Royal Mitchell and Karissa Whitsell, each of who earned two gold medals. We'll remember all the American teams that came together to win gold in the Olympics and Paralympics, men's rowing and sailing, women's soccer, softball, basketball, beach volleyball and the women's wheelchair basketball team.
(APPLAUSE)
Their success has showed the power of discipline and persistence. These games came at an historic time for the world. You and your fellow Olympians showed why we have such great hope in this world.
Think about what happened at the opening ceremonies. Our teams marched alongside men and women from Afghanistan and Iraq...
(APPLAUSE) ... nations that just four years ago knew only tyranny and repression.
With millions watching, you showed the best values of America. You were humble in victory, gracious in defeat. You showed compassion for your competitors. You showed the great tolerance and diversity of our people.
You're great athletes and most importantly you showed great character. You made us all proud.
BUSH: And I want to thank you for being such fine ambassadors of our nation to the world.
(APPLAUSE)
You also understand your responsibility to be champions away from the field as well. Appreciate the good examples you set for millions of children who dream about becoming Olympians or Paralympians themselves.
In the years ahead, I hope you will continue to give back to your communities. I hope you'll consider mentoring a child or coaching a child. With your generosity and decency, you'll make this country a more hopeful place.
Once again, welcome to the White House. Congratulations. May God continue to bless our country.
(APPLAUSE)
NGUYEN: And you've been listening to the president speaking at the White House, meeting and greeting U.S. Olympians and Paralympians. Of course, we're following a number of developments by both candidates today. A little bit earlier today the president signed off on a $33 billion funding bill for homeland defense. That happen a little bit earlier than the remarks that we just heard there to the Olympians.
SANCHEZ: You heard Senator Kerry in Florida reference General Ricardo Sanchez. Here's what he was talking about. There's an article that appears in today's "Washington Post" that essentially attributes to the general the fact that it was taking just way too long to get supplies while he was in charge there in Iraq. In fact, there's one specific quote, where he says, "At one point we waited 40 days for critical spare parts." Expect to hear a lot more on that comment by the general from the Kerry campaign in Florida today. As well as you will hear comments about privatization of Social Security.
Some of the things that we're going to be following for you throughout the day right here on CNN.
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SANCHEZ: And welcome back to CNN, I'm Rick Sanchez. We were mentioning the Iraq story just moments ago. Here's the very latest taking place in Iraq on this day. Insurgents ambushed Iraqi police in the city of Baqubah today, wounding seven officers. Sources say place came under fire when they responded to a fake accident call. Five Iraqi civilians were killed, 15 others wounded in the bridge in Mosul, as well.
A car carrying a bomb detonated after colliding with another car. And Fallujah's chief negotiator was released from the U.S. custody today. Sheikh Khalid al Jumaili was detained three days ago, after peace talks with Iraqi government broke down there.
NGUYEN: Well, a political storm is brewing in Britain over a U.S. request to redeploy troops inside Iraq.
CNN's Robin Oakley is in London with that story and he joins us now with the latest.
Hi there.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Betty. Well, within a few minutes, Jeff Hoon, the British defense secretary will be getting up in the House of Commons to tell lawmakers that yes, there has been a request from the U.S. commanders on the ground in Iraq for some 600 British troops to be moved from the comparatively safe sector around Basra, to southern areas near Baghdad: Latifiyah and Iskandariyah, where they will backfill for U.S. Marines, freeing them to take part in the expected major assault on Fallujah.
Now, there's a lot of controversy about this among British politicians, because they fear some of them that this is a political gesture from Tony Blair to help George Bush. A political gesture perhaps, which might be of little help to George Bush, faced by accusations from the Democrats that the U.S. is taking 90 percent of the casualties in Iraq. But it could be considerable harm to Tony Blair who, of course, has an election himself next May -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Robin Oakley, we thank you for that report.
Well, refusing orders or playing it safe? Still to come, U.S. soldiers under investigation for dodging a danger zone. What happens next? But first...
GERRI WILLIS, CNN-FN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Check out the new mortgage products out there. We're going to tell you what to do if you have an adjustable rate mortgage next on CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, as home prices have surged, so has the popularity of adjustable rate mortgages. Cash strapped homebuyers love those low initial rates. But the risk of later increases may cause some homeowners to seek safer alternatives.
For those "Top Five Tips," we turn now to Gerri Willis, the CNN/FN personal finance correspondent and author of "The Smart Money Guide to Real Estate Investing."
Good morning to you, Gerri.
WILLIS: Hey, good morning. Good to see you. Tip No. 1 today, you've got to consider your time line. If you hold an adjustable rate mortgage right now, and that initial rate lock is about to expire, you may want to think about getting into a new loan, swapping into either a fixed rate, or another ARM. But think about this. You may want to sit tight. You need to do the calculation, the hard number crunching and find out will it cost you more to hang onto the loan that you have right now, or to pay the 2.5 percent of your existing loan to get a new one. So do the math before you make any move at all.
NGUYEN: Absolutely have to do the math. But OK, so when you're considering to refinance, should you even consider another ARM. Or is it just too late for that with all these interest rates on the climb?
WILLIS: Well, you know, the expectation has been that rates were going to move higher here. But you know, they really haven't. We have some numbers here to show you how they sort of stayed steady. Five point six percent is the current rate for a 30-year fixed rate loan. It hasn't budged too much here compared to last year. You can see the numbers here.
So, you may want to refi back into another adjustable rate mortgage, particularly if you're not going to be staying in that house very long. If you know your horizon for living in that house is only, say three, five or seven years, you may want to consider another ARM
NGUYEN: And to be a little more flexible, what about convertible ARMs? Is that an option?
WILLIS: This is a great idea. You may have already bought a convertible ARM if you have an adjustable rate mortgage. This means you can just convert that loan into a fixed rate loan by paying a few extra fees. It's not completely without costs. But it's certainly cheaper than doing the whole refi. So think about that if you have one now or if you're shopping for a new one.
NGUYEN: There's so many deals out there, quote-unquote "deals." Everyone says they have the best one. How do you know which one to choose?
WILLIS: Well, one easy thing to do because it's really hard to compare these loans, it seems like you're comparing apples and oranges. What you need is a number that boils everything down into one number, whether it's the fees or the interest rate or whatever. Look for the APR, the annual percentage rate. That does that for you. Makes you compare oranges to oranges when you're looking at a number of different loans. And you can really figure out what the best deal is for you.
NGUYEN: And when you make those comparisons is there some kind of help out there? Because everyone needs to know which numbers are right and if you're doing the calculations correctly. WILLIS: Exactly. You want to think independently. There are a couple of Web sites out there that will give you great information on the loans available in your area. Because remember, it differs from market to market. Try bankrate.com, which can give you local market interest rate numbers, and also the deals that are available in that area. As well as hsh.com. You find out all the players in your region, you pick the best deal for you and you get the job done.
NGUYEN: Got to know the players to get the deal. All right. Gerri Willis, thanks for those "Top Five Tips."
WILLIS: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Now, a lot of computing and adding and subtracting. I would be guaranteed to mess a lot of that stuff up.
NGUYEN: Lots of math.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Well, speaking of numbers, shop till you drop. Maybe not? Still to come, why women are deciding to hold onto the cash in their stash tomorrow morning.
NGUYEN: And the delayed defense gets its chance in court today. But will they put Scott Peterson on the stand?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Time now for stories now in the news.
SANCHEZ: Yes, we should mention that Daryn is not lollygagging around.
NGUYEN: Working, that's right.
SANCHEZ: She's actually on assignment today.
Here we go. British officials are considering a U.S. request to move some of its troops from Basra to the area south of Baghdad. The British forces would take the place of U.S. units moving to cities like Fallujah to fight the insurgents. The British officials stressed no decision has yet been made. This could be a political story throughout the day, by the way.
Also researchers hope to learn more about breast cancer by studying the sisters of patients. Fifty thousand women will take part in this decade-long sister study. And doctors will look at a environmental as well as genetic causes of the cancer.
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