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American Morning

The Day After Wilma; Iraq Constitution Passes; Avian Flu Threat

Aired October 25, 2005 - 09:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It is the day after Wilma in the state of Florida. They're picking up the pieces. In the dark and unable to drink the water, we'll tell you how they're going to try to get back to normal here.
The CIA leak case. What did the vice president know, when did he know it, and how did he find out? We'll keep you up to date on that as well.

And the passing of a civil rights legend. Rosa Parks refused to go to the back of the bus. She remains uppermost in the civil rights movement on her passing at the age of 92 on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning to you. Hurricane Wilma is still out there. Hurricane Wilma still a Category 3 storm. This is the storm that just won't quit. Act one in Mexico, act two in Florida, perhaps act three unfolding right now on Cape Cod and parts of New England as it is being battered by wind and rain.

We have reporters covering the story on this part of the world and all the way up into New England, giving you the full breadth and depth of coverage on Hurricane Wilma.

This morning we're going to check in with Jeanne Meserve in Naples, Florida, where the storm first came ashore in the United States. Dan Lothian up on the Cape, where the wind and rain is already battering that part of the world. And, of course, CNN's Jacqui Jeras in the weather center, keeping an eye out on where Wilma might be headed.

Soledad is off all this week. Zain Verjee is in.

Good morning, Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Miles.

Also ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, there's word that Iraqi voters have approved the constitution -- the draft constitution through a referendum. It's a significant political development. So what does it mean for the future of the country, and a critical question, how will it impact the insurgency? We're going to bring you a live report just ahead.

But first, back to Miles in Fort Lauderdale.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Zain. I appreciate that.

Zain Verjee in New York for Soledad all this week.

And we are on the streets of Fort Lauderdale, where they're picking up the pieces after glass -- look at the glass that has been shattered here. This is part of the government facilities here. As the sun glistens on that glass, you can see not a single one of them managed to get through it all. And I'm standing on just the pieces of it, the pieces of insulation here that have been left behind.

A little bit of traffic passing through. Police have blocked off some of these roads. The bottom line is, there's no reason to come to downtown this morning. None of the businesses are open because there isn't any power.

And I'm sorry, I can't hear where we're going. So if you can tell me one more time.

All right. All right.

Let's head it over to Jeanne Meserve, who is in Naples, Florida, this morning, other coast, about 120 miles away from where I am right now. This is where Wilma first came ashore early morning yesterday. You saw us there yesterday as we were battered, both Jeanne and I, by the storm.

Jeanne, how does it look this morning?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Much better than it did yesterday. We even each have sunshine now, which is a welcome relief.

You can see the water around me. This is the big problem in Naples here today. It isn't that deep, only about eight to 10 inches. And as you can see, it's mostly in the streets.

The median is dry, the parking lots. The buildings really all over town seem to have survived this pretty well.

When we walk around and look at these buildings we see some windows out there, some roof damage, awnings gone, but very few instances where we see any sort of major structural damage. Of course there were loads of trees around all over this city, some of them big, old, grand Banyan trees just toppled by the wind and the softened soil. That's caused a lot of complications, particularly with the water. Some of those trees apparently yanking up some of the lines.

Here's what one of the utility official had to say to us about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB THOMAS, NAPLES UTILITY MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR: We can't find the water line breaks. They're -- with all these trees down, the roots have jerked the lines out of the ground. And we're having a hard time finding the water line breaks and getting pressure back up on our system. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: There is a little bit of pressure back this morning. Still no potable water, at least in large parts of the country.

Also a problem, of course, with electricity. Ninety percent of the city of Naples said to be without power at this point. All of this means that many businesses are closed.

There's a curfew in effect at night from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. That's going to be imposed indefinitely for the entire county.

Miles, back to you.

O'BRIEN: Jeanne, Naples and Marco Island, that part of the world, some of the priciest real estate anywhere in the United States. I'm curious, because a lot of the building boom has happened there post-Hurricane Andrew in the '90s, and so forth, I wonder if that sort of has proven out that code? Because a lot of the buildings there did pretty well in the wake of Wilma.

MESERVE: Well, that's exactly right. The population in this county expanded from some 15,000 to 300,000 since the last time a hurricane struck. That was back in 1960, Hurricane Donna.

And yes, these new building codes have gone into effect, strengthening things very much so. And apparently it's proven itself here today.

We did have one member of the beach patrol tell us about a building further down here which he says from the beach side looks pretty bad. He questions whether that's going to hold up. But the mayor was on television last night saying no major structural damage as far as he can see.

So apparently either the building code is right or the storm wasn't quite strong enough to do the damage. But things held up well.

O'BRIEN: All right. Jeanne Meserve in Naples, Florida, for us this morning.

Let's move up the coast about 1,200 miles. Somewhere in between is Wilma, still very strong, a powerful, dangerous hurricane, Category 3, but out to sea right now. Nevertheless, it is sending a ripple effect which is being felt very strongly already in New England, in particular, Cape Cod.

Chatham, Massachusetts, is where we find Dan Lothian this morning.

Dan, how's the weather?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, as you can see, things have really intensified since the last time we spoke. I am in the southeast corner of the Cape, where the winds really have picked up and the rain continues to pound this region. Just take a look over here. There's a seaside hotel. This awning has just been pounded by the wind. The plastic surrounding as well getting ready to give. Workers over there trying to secure that entire enclosure area.

It is just amazing. We have clocked the winds sustained at more than 20 miles per hour, gusting what we have seen here between 35 to 40 miles per hour. We are told to expect gusts between 60 to 70 miles per hour.

Emergency management officials here in Massachusetts are obviously very concerned for a number of reasons. First of all, they're concerned about this rainfall. As you know, the last couple of weeks, Massachusetts and, in fact, most of New England has just been inundated by heavy rains. We've seen a lot of flash flooding from western Massachusetts, all of the way up into New Hampshire.

So the concern, of course, being that, even if you have one inch or even two inches of rain, that we could have major problems in some of the low-lying areas. Especially in the coastal areas. So there have been some flood warnings in those coastal areas.

Also concerned, emergency officials are, about downed power lines and also trees falling down. We've already seen some of that north of here. Even in the Boston area the winds have also been very strong. We've seen trees being toppled by these high winds.

So a lot of concern here right now. Less about the rain. While the rain is coming down, as I mentioned, we might have some isolated flooding. The big concern now continues to be the wind, the high winds that continue to pound this region of New England -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, Dan Lothian. It sounds like just the situation I was in yesterday.

Jacqui Jeras, question for you. It's late October. The water up that far north can't be the kind of water a hurricane likes. It's got to be a little to chilly. Having said that, this storm is moving so quickly it might very well pack a wallop up there.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. Well, Wilma's not going to directly hit the Northeast. We're not going to get that perfect storm scenario, we're not going to get a hurricane hit the New England coastline. However, some of the moisture is in training into another storm system, and you can kind of see that here on our satellite imagery. So some of the moisture is coming in, but we're not getting a direct blow.

What was Tropical Depression Alpha kind of merged in with Wilma a little bit, but Wilma and what we call a mid-latitude low pressure system, which is really going to turn into a Nor'easter, basically, they're going to maintain their separate identities. But either way, this is going to be a heck of an event for the Northeast, with gale- force conditions all along the coast.

I think Dan could possibly even see hurricane-force wind gusts at times. That would be 74, 75 mile per hour.

Heavy rain into the corridor here. One to two inches widespread. Possible locally heavier amounts can be expected. And you get into interior parts of the Northeast, and we're going to start to see that heavy snow above 1,400 feet into the Alleghenies, also into the Adirondacks. Expecting to see some heavy snow in the Green and the White Mountains, too, six to 12 inches possible.

So winter is also arriving with this storm system. We've got delays in Philadelphia, Newark and LaGuardia. And expecting more delays throughout the day -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Jacqui -- Jacqui Jeras. Appreciate that.

Take a look at the scene here. They're already getting to work right here. A lot of the workers are going through, clearing out some of the glass that is broken.

There's a truck here with some contractors here going into the Broward County school administration headquarters. They're already getting to work here. They're not wasting any time here in Fort Lauderdale trying to get back on their feet, even though there's no power where we are right now. They're doing it with a generator.

Let's get some other headlines in. Carol Costello is in.

Good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, miles.

We have a bit of news just in to CNN. Let's go right to the pictures now.

We're talking about Long Beach Airport out in California. It's between Los Angeles and Orange County. These pictures from our affiliate KTTV.

There's been a bomb threat and the entire airport has been closed down now. This serves commercial air traffic and cargo planes. And the reason we're reporting a bomb threat, which we normally do not do, is because it is affecting air travel in the United States.

In fact, if you're in the airport right now on your way to California and your flight is delayed, this is why. Again, Long Beach Airport in California, between Los Angeles and Orange County, closed because of a bomb threat.

The local affiliates there are naming officials who are telling them about this. And of course, as you might expect, there are investigators on the ground, probably with bomb-sniffing dogs and other equipment. When we get more information as to what exactly is happening on the ground of course we'll pass it along to you.

Let's talk about Rosa Parks now. She sat down and stood up for a nation. Remembering her this morning. Parks died from natural causes on Monday in her Detroit home. Back in 1955, she refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus. That simple act of protest sparked the modern civil rights movement. Tributes to Ms. Parks pouring in from across the country today. Rosa Parks dead at the age of 92.

President Bush says Baghdad is safe for Saddam Hussein's trial despite the killing of a lawyer last week. The president says Hussein will get a fair trial in Baghdad and that Iraqis want to see the former dictator "tried for crimes he committed." The trial is set to resume on November 28.

Vice President's Dick Cheney's name is being mentioned again in the CIA leak investigation. There's a very interesting article in "The New York Times" this morning. All of this is according to lawyers quoted in that article.

The vice president was the one who first identified operative Valerie Plame to his chief of staff, Scooter Libby. Details of the conversation appear in Libby's notes, but that's not what Libby is thought to have told the grand jury. And that may get him in trouble.

He said he learned about Plame from journalists. The grand jury is set to resume tomorrow.

Ministers and health experts are now gathering in Ottawa, Canada, for the international conference on the bird flu. The conference opens as the virus continues to spread.

Indonesia has confirmed two new cases of bird flu in humans. The virus killed some 60 people across Asia, and it's been found in birds in some parts of Europe.

Could it reach the United States? We'll have much more on that just ahead.

And it just keeps going and going and going. The Mars Rover Spirit which landed on the Red Planet last year is on the move again. After exploring the summit of Husband Hill this summer, the rover is making it's way down the 270-foot hill. But Spirit will be going at a very slow pace. Scientists say it could take the vehicle two whole months to make the journey.

VERJEE: It took them a year to get up on that hill. But you know, they're going to this interesting outcrop that they've actually nicknamed "home plate," because when you go out in orbit and you look down on it, it actually looks like home plate on a baseball field.

COSTELLO: It just doesn't have A.J. Pierzynski behind it.

(LAUGHTER)

VERJEE: Thank you. Thank you.

COSTELLO: You're welcome. VERJEE: Still to come, voters in Iraq pass the draft constitution in a referendum vote. What does it mean for the future of their country? We'll bring you a live report just ahead.

The deadly bird flu virus is spreading. Is the U.S. ready? We're going to ask a top health official that question -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: We'll also check in with the Conch republic, Key West, Florida, where many people decided to ride out the storm. Did they regret -- do they regret that decision? We'll be back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: The votes have been counted in Iraq, and the draft constitution has now passed. But that doesn't necessarily mean that there would be a slowdown in the insurgency.

Nic Robertson, our senior international correspondent, is in Baghdad. He joins us now live.

Nic, give us the details.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Zain, electoral officials say 9,800,000 people voted. That was 63 percent of the electorate. Seventy-eight percent of them voted in favor of the constitution.

Two provinces, Sunni provinces, voted overwhelmingly against this new draft constitution, Al Anbar, in the west of the country, one of the most dangerous regions in the country, and Salah Ad Din, a province just north of Baghdad. Both voted against.

There was one swing province today everyone was looking at. It has a slender Sunni majority. It did vote 55 percent against the referendum, but that's not enough to pass that two-thirds majority that would have been required to block this new constitution.

So the constitution passes. It's being welcomed by many politicians here as a very positive step, paves the way for parliamentary elections in December, and draws many Sunni, otherwise outside the democratic process, draws them into politics. That's the analysis here -- Zain.

VERJEE: Nic Robertson for us in Baghdad.

Well, they're on alert in Baghdad this morning after those three car bombs exploded on Monday near two hotels near the Green Zone. At least 10 people were killed, another 22 were wounded. The final blast used a cement mixer and sent a plume of smoke billowing into the air.

Specialist Darrell Green shot that cement mixer, essentially trying to stop it. He's joined by Captain John Newman, his commanding officer. They both join us now from Baghdad.

Specialist Green, first to you, describe us to what happened, what you saw.

SPC. DARRELL GREEN, U.S. ARMY: Initial two blasts went off, and we couldn't see a whole lot. After those two initial blasts and the dust and the debris settled down, I noticed the cement mixer already through our baskets and our boundaries.

He backed up, pulled forward, and I engaged him and stopped the truck. Initially, if he had made it through, he could have done a lot of building damage and a lot more casualties than what actually happened.

VERJEE: Captain john Newman, give us a sense of the security around the area where this occurred.

CAPT. JOHN NEWMAN, U.S. ARMY: The security is pretty good. This is definitely not what's been described as a soft target.

There's multiple layers of walls there. There's both U.S. security forces, as well as different security forces employed by the people staying at the hotel.

The security actually worked. You know, this was definitely a large explosion, but this was a success story thanks to soldiers like Specialist Green and their hard work.

VERJEE: Specialist Green, how long did it take from the moment you saw it come through and you shot at it before the third and final explosion occurred?

GREEN: Ma'am, I really couldn't say how long exactly. All I know is I saw him and I engaged. I just wanted to stop the truck and make sure nobody else was hurt.

VERJEE: When the explosions occurred, Captain John Newman, did you and the troops in the area rush immediately to assist those who had been injured?

NEWMAN: Yes, ma'am, we were primarily concerned with the people inside of the hotel. The hotel had a lot of broken glass and debris of that nature that potentially could hurt somebody. So of course we're initially checking to make sure all our soldiers are OK, and then once we'd done that, checking for any civilian casualties in the area. But of course the primary concern there is trying to get security re-established so that there's no follow-on attacks and they can't further the destruction that they've already done.

VERJEE: Specialist Green, to you, finally, from your position and your vantage point on the ground, do you think that the insurgency is getting stronger or weaker?

GREEN: You'll have to repeat that. You came in static. I couldn't understand you.

VERJEE: Do you think the insurgents are getting stronger or weaker?

GREEN: I can't hear.

NEWMAN: She's asking if the insurgency is getting stronger or weaker.

GREEN: Oh.

NEWMAN: I think from our perspective, it's really hard to judge. You know, things have been really quiet since the elections, and we hope they're going to continue that way. This seemed to be one very large act, but a random act, and we hope that things, you know, things are going to go back to the quiet it's been since the elections.

VERJEE: Thank you so much for joining us, Specialist Darrell Green and Captain John Newman. Many thanks.

Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, with the deadly bird flu spreading across Europe, how safe are we here in the United States? A top international health official weighs in next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: In Indonesia, a fourth person has died from the bird flu, and there are fears that the virus is spreading, at least in birds themselves. The strain's been detected in a parrot in Britain. And dead birds in Croatia and Germany are now being checked.

How likely is it that bird flu will make it to the U.S.? Dr. Michael Ryan is with the World Health Organization. He heads a department for epidemic and pandemic alerts, and he joins me now from Geneva in Switzerland.

Thanks for being with us, Doctor. What's the likelihood it could get to the U.S.?

DR. MICHAEL RYAN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Well, I think the first thing to remember is that this is a disease of birds. This is an avian disease. This is not yet a human disease, except in a small number of cases in Asia where people have been exposed.

At the present time, the disease has spread in birds into Europe, and the risks at the present time in the Americas are quite low. But it is important to remember that diseases like this can spread. And we need to be ready, both in terms of controlling the animal disease, and in dealing with the potential for human outbreak.

VERJEE: Are we ready?

RYAN: There are many, many uncertainties in this. We are getting better prepared both at the global level and at the national level. But as we've been saying for many months and years now, countries need to get better prepared for the potential emergence of a pandemic strain.

We're not there yet. We do not have a pandemic strain. People should remember that, but people are coming to terms with the new threat. And this is -- this is a new worry for people, and it's a rational fear.

But we do need to turn that concern into real action. And governments are doing that right now. But we need more government to plan for the emergence of a pandemic strain, and we need more coordination and more cooperation on the international front.

VERJEE: More than 60 people have died in Asia. Give us a sense, Doctor, of how a human being could actually contract the bird flu.

RYAN: Well, right now there have been millions of birds affected in Asia. And there have been many, many people potentially exposed to this virus. However, very, very few have actually become infected. It is quite difficult to catch this disease, even from a sick bird.

However, a small number of people have. And generally this has been through direct contact with sick animals, usually in backyard situations, where people hold small flocks of poultry for their own personal use. And in that situation people can be heavily exposed to the virus during the process of caring for those poultry or in the process of preparing those poultry for the table. So it's an issue of direct exposure to the virus in the environment usually around the houses of people.

VERJEE: British officials, Doctor, confirmed the first case of bird flu since 1992. And a parrot they said was likely infected while in quarantine with birds from Taiwan.

Give us your assessment, your perspective on that.

RYAN: Well, I think it's important to remember, first of all, that in this particular case the quarantine system appears to have worked for the design that it was made. The potential for the disease to spread around the world can be through many routes, through the trade and poultry, through potentially migratory birds, and even through the trade in exotic animals. All of this needs to be monitored now, and we need to have very sensitive surveillance systems across all of these areas to pick up disease in birds and also to investigate that, because not all in this in birds is due to avian flu.

We've seen many cases of bird (INAUDIBLE), and birds die every day. In the vast majority of cases there are other causes.

So it is important that these (INAUDIBLE) birds or these illnesses in birds are properly investigated, and that we don't assume that these are the highly pathogenic avian strain until we have the laboratory proof to show that.

VERJEE: Dr. Michael Ryan with the World Health Organization, speaking to us from Geneva.

Thank you so much -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Zain.

I'm live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where they're picking up the pieces today. In just a few moments we're going to check in with Florida's attorney general. He says buyer beware as you try to find somebody to fix your roof or fill up your gas tank.

Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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