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The Situation Room

United Nations Reform; Hurricane Katrina; Chinese Computer Hacking?; Cindy Sheehan's Protest; No Safety Seats on Aircraft; Martha's Back

Aired August 25, 2005 - 17:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive at one place simultaneously. We're watching shots up and down the Florida coast that we're keeping an eye on.
We're getting a live feeds coming in from WKMG, coming in from South Florida. WSVN, also coming in. We've got hurricane -- the National Hurricane Center -- there's Max Mayfield. We'll be speaking with him. He's coming in from Miami. It's also 5:00 p.m. all up and down the southeast Florida coast, where the just-upgraded Hurricane Katrina is offshore. Millions of people are being warned of a dangerous situation. We'll have extensive full coverage this hour.

It's 5:00 a.m. Friday in Beijing. Is the Chinese government behind the hacker attacks on a Pentagon Web site? U.S. investigators, trying to find out right now.

And it's 5:00 p.m. also in New York City, where Martha Stewart is getting ready to get out of that ankle bracelet and get back into show business. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

It's now Hurricane Katrina, not the most powerful storm, but a very very dangerous storm, which is closing in on Florida's densely populated southeast coast. We have two meteorologists standing by: CNN's Rob Marciano is in Hollywood, Florida. Our Jacqui Jeras is at the CNN Hurricane Center.

Mayor Steven Abrams will be joining us from Boca Raton in Florida, but let's begin CNN's John Zarrella, veteran of hurricane's all over the state and elsewhere. He's joining us from Dell Ray Beach. That's between Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. And John, it looks windy out there.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it has picked up considerably. You can see the beach behind me. You can see those waves pounding in along the shore line. We've had one squall line after another come through here. In fact, we've been measuring the wind speeds as best we can. So far, the highest gust we've gotten is about 44.8 miles-an-hour, but steadily at the tropical storm force.

We're going to walk down right now and give our and all a look at what it looks like out here. You can see the tops of the palm trees up there and how they are blowing from the north to the southwest.

Of course, that means that we are on the northern end of the storm -- the north side of the storm, typically the worst side of the storm. You can see how much calmer it is down here now that we've come off of the water's edge.

But the road out here, the streets out here -- the lights and the power are already out here in parts of Dell Ray Beach. Still a lot of traffic on the road, there are lots of palm fronds down and you can, again, notice that not too much traffic, but enough of the traffic, still on the road.

Police cars have been going up and down, telling people to get off the streets. But again, we're on the northern side of the storm. If there is any storm surge later this evening as it makes landfall, we could see some of that three to five-foot storm surge here.

The problem with this hurricane is that it's moving so, so slowly, Wolf, the biggest problem is going to be from the rainfall and the potential from flooding. That is a real concern for state officials and of course, the governor, who has expressed his concerns for people to stay indoors and be careful -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Are most people heeding that advice to stay indoors right now?

ZARRELLA: You know, Wolf, it's funny, on our way driving north up here, we noticed lots and lots of traffic on Interstate 95. The initial thought was the storm would come in tomorrow morning, very early. That timetable having picked up, traffic was backed up on the highways; people leaving work early and getting home; gas stations running out of fuel; supplies being taken off of the shelves.

We see it every year with every storm; no different with Katrina -- Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. We're going to get back to you. John, thanks very much. John Zarrella is in the Dell Ray Beach. Our meteorologist is out in the elements himself today. He's joining us from a little further south from where John is, in Hollywood, Florida. And it looks like it's raining pretty heavily there. Is it, Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Wolf, we just had a band move through -- a squall move through that recorded a 60-miles-an-hour wind gust on our anemometor. So, we're getting close even to hurricane strength. And we are now at tropical-storm strength and the thing hasn't even made landfall yet.

Granted this only a category one hurricane, but it is still a hurricane, no doubt about that. All right. We're in Hollywood. Over my shoulder, obviously, the Atlantic Ocean. So, we're looking off toward the east, northeast. That's where the storm is.

We know that for a couple of reasons: One, I'm dialed into the National Hurricane Center. But two: The winds are coming offshore in this direction and whenever you put your back to the wind and point to the left, that's where the center of the storm is going.

It is. It is drifting to the west and our winds are beginning to shift. They were a short time ago, due east offshore and now they're more of a more northeasterly direction, which indicates that that storm is getting closer to us: 15 miles away now, with a movement of west at six miles-an-hour.

What Broward County has done (inaudible) evacuations. We're starting to get debris off the hotels. So, we'll probably be moving from this site shortly. No mandatory evacuations, but they will close Port Everglades. They will close the airport tonight. Schools are closed tomorrow. And at least in Broward County, they're not taking this storm lightly and they shouldn't. That's the latest from here, Wolf. I can't hear you in my earpieces. I'll just toss it back to you. We'll check in with you later.

BLITZER: Thanks very much. Rob Marciano, on the scene for us in Hollywood, Florida. That's just south of Ft. Lauderdale. Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is tracking the storm for us over at the CNN Hurricane Headquarters. She's joining us live with the latest forecast -- Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Wolf, we're starting to see some very intense rain bands begin to make their way on shore and as a result, we're starting to get some of those higher wind gusts that Rob and John both were talking about.

In fact, we just a report in the last couple of minutes from Boca Raton and they were reporting winds there around 64 miles-per-hour. So, that's from this cluster right here, which has just pulled off to the west of there.

And of course, those winds circulate this way around the storm. So that's where it's going. What I'm concerned about especially, is this area right here and what's going to be happening is that this heavy area of storm is going to be moving in on the north side of the system and it's going to eventually be making it's way on shore. That's where we we're going to start to see some of these heavy winds begin to kick on in, along with some of that very heavy rain.

Right in this area here, is where Rob Marciano is and this is about right where the center of the storm is, right about here. It's about 15 miles away now from the coast.

So, this is going to be swinging on down and actually Rob could be in some of the worst conditions coming in just a couple hours from now. So, be aware that, that is on the way. There you can, as we put it into motion -- you can see some of the rotation on this storm.

It's kind of hard to pick out the center. It continues to move very, very slowly: Only about five to six miles-per-hour. And as long as that center -- the eye, by the way, only 15 -- or 10 miles wide. Hurricane-force winds only go out about 15 miles.

It will weaken as it moves across the peninsula. We think late tomorrow it will be back over the open water already into the Gulf of Mexico and Florida may be getting the one-two punch. We'll have to wait and see where that second landfall is going to be. Likely late Sunday and into early Monday morning -- Wolf? BLITZER: All right Jacqui, we'll watch it every step of the way. Thanks very much.

Last year's hurricane season was a very rough one and this year, well, it's still only August. Floridians may be wondering how much more they can take. Joining us now on the phone is the mayor of Boca Raton in Florida, Steven Abrams. Mayor, thanks very much for joining us. What's it like in Boca?

MAYOR STEVEN ABRAMS, BOCA RATON, FLORIDA: Well, we're starting to feel the brunt of this hurricane making landfall, Wolf. And so, as your reporter just indicated, the winds are picking up and debris is starting to fall in the streets, some sporadic power outages. So, we're bracing ourselves for what's to come in a couple of hours.

BLITZER: Is your beautiful community ready for this hurricane?

ABRAMS: Yes. We absolutely are. As you mentioned, we're a little hurricane weary, but the other side of that is that we have certainly learned a lot of lessons going through the hurricanes last year and so, we feel that we're very well prepared.

BLITZER: And have people basically stayed put or has there been an exodus from Boca Raton?

ABRAMS: Well, a lot of people did go to work today. Schools were open for the morning part of the day and so, we still have more people than I'd like to see out on the streets. There are some traffic accidents out there and really the best advice at this point, is to make your way home as quickly as possible and stay there.

BLITZER: What's your biggest fear, mayor?

ABRAMS: Well, we're certainly cautious about all of the rainfall and the flooding that, that could possibly bring. We have pumps on stand by to pump out intersections that are flood. But also tornadoes at the top end of the storm. That's certainly a dangerous possibility that we're going to be very aware of and on alert for.

BLITZER: Mayor Steven Abrams of Boca Raton in Florida. Good luck to you, mayor. Good luck to all of out friends in Boca. Appreciate it very much. And to our viewers, please stay with CNN as we continue to track Hurricane Katrina. We'll let you know the path of the storm. We'll keep you informed about damage. Remember, CNN is your hurricane headquarters.

Much more coverage coming up on that, but it's time now to check in with Jack Cafferty, once again for the "Cafferty File."

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Wolf.

America is turning into the land of lard. 25 percent of American adults are obese according to a nonpartisan outfit called Trust for America's Health. More people got fatter last year in every state except Oregon. And all this blubber is costing us dearly. The report said in 2003, taxpayers paid $39 billion to treat conditions linked to being fat. Since we have become a nation of victims, where everything that goes wrong is our lives is someone else's fault, let's see who we can lay this one off on.

Here's the question, "who's to blame for America's obesity problem?"

CaffertyFile -- one word -- cnn.com.

BLITZER: All right, Jack. We'll be watching with you. Thanks. Awaiting the e-mail from our viewers. We're also watching Hurricane Katrina. It's about to come on shore of Florida in the next few hours. We're watching this hurricane category 1, that means it's more than 74 miles an hour. This is still a very, very dangerous situation, don't take it lightly if you think it's only a category 1.

We're also watching other news, including Cindy Sheehan. She's back with her fellow antiwar protesters. And she's talking about her critics. We'll go live to Crawford for an update.

President Bush sidestepped congress to put John Bolton as the ambassador for the United Nations. We'll get the latest on what the ambassador is doing right now.

And Martha Stewart's return to TV. How real does she expect to get? Much more news coming up. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Hurricane Katrina moving closer and closer toward Miami, Hollywood, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, that entire very populated east coast of South Florida. We're watching this hurricane every step of the way. Much more coverage on it coming up. We'll go live to the scene shortly.

But we're also watching here in THE SITUATION ROOM, other news, including this: could the Chinese government be behind the continuing hacker attacks on U.S. government Web sites? Investigators in this country are now trying to find out. Let's turn to our national security correspondent David Ensor. He's joining us live at the Pentagon with details. David, what do we know?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a senior Pentagon officials tells CNN that hundreds of times each day hackers successfully break into secured but unclassified computer systems here at the Department of Defense. Now, no classified system has ever been gotten in to, they believe.

But 79,000 times last year, these secured but unclassified systems were broken in to. And the government is so concerned that they have given it a name, tighten reign. And law enforcement, Defense Department and intelligence officials are trying to figure out who's up to this.

Now, they are not -- many of the break ins occur passing through Chinese computer systems. What they're not clear on is whether this is an organized effort by the Chinese government to hack into American secrets or whether it's hackers from around the world using China as a smoke screen, as is not infrequently done, they know for sure.

So, they're looking in to this. They're concerned about it. And it's growing each year. But it's not clear whether it's the Chinese or not -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. David, thanks very much. It's a good question, though, that I'll ask the Chinese ambassador to the United States. He'll join me Sunday on "LATE EDITION."

Supporters of the president are stepping up their show of solidarity with Mr. Bush near his ranch in Texas. It's a direct response to the antiwar protests led once again by Cindy Sheehan. The so-called "Peace Mom" is back in Crawford, so is CNN's Ed Lavendera. He's joining us now live with an update -- Ed.

ED LAVENDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that was interesting way to lead into this, because Cindy Sheehan was asked earlier today if she thought if she thought that what she is doing here is influencing the president's message on the war in Iraq. And she clearly thinks so.

Cindy Sheehan arrived, returned to Crawford after being away for six days, taking care of her mother in Southern California. She is back here and vowing to stay as long as President Bush is on vacation.

She's also saying that this movement will continue beyond Crawford, saying that it will move on to Washington, D.C. after the president returns there. But one of the things that these groups here are trying to point out is that this movement, they says, is bigger than Cindy Sheehan.

So, they're making a point of surrounding Cindy Sheehan with other grieving families and mothers who support her cause and support her view.

Very similar to what we have seen President Bush do over the last couple days. He returned to Crawford Wednesday night, just a few hours after Cindy Sheehan had returned. He has had no public events scheduled for today.

But the president making the case over the last couple days as well as he has surrounded himself by family members who have also lost loved ones in Iraq, but who have a very different point of view than Cindy Sheehan -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Ed, thanks very much. Ed Lavendera is in Texas as he almost always is.

Now to a story we're following out of the United Nations in New York. Weeks before many world leaders converge on New York for a summit at poverty and reforms at the U.N., the Bush administration wants some serious changes to a draft agreement to be signed by the heads of state. Our senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth is joining us from the U.N. with details -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, to get anything done here at the United Nations is like cramming for a college or high school exam: it's all at the last minute. Up for debate now, the most significant, sweeping reform package in United Nations history. But getting 191 countries to agree on the proposal is going to take a lot of work.

Enter John Bolton, the new U.S. ambassador sent a letter to all countries this week saying time is short. In his first major public initiative, Bolton submitted more than 700 amendments the other day to the draft plan that's been circulating. New pledges of foreign aid to poor countries would be dropped. And there should be no mention in any summit document of impressive sounding goals to slash poverty.

Bolton and the U.S. government thinks there's just too much of a rush job on security council reform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: U.N. reform is not a one night stand, U.N. reform is forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: John Bolton is going to continue negotiating here. There's talk of the United States and 20 other countries forming, Wolf, a core group to thrash out of problems with only three weeks to go -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Richard Roth at the U.N. Thanks, Richard, very much. We'll watch Richard cover John Bolton.

Still ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, tracking Katrina. The storm making its slow, steady way toward the southeastern Florida coast. We'll have extensive, live coverage. We'll go back to the scene.

Plus, Northwest mechanics, they're still on strike. Can the beleaguered airline keep all its planes in the air and keeping them in the air safe?

Martha Stewart about to break free. Can the domestic diva stage a successful come back? Our Mary Snow has details on what she announced today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're now expecting in the next two hours, Hurricane Katrina to hit the land shore in South Florida. Precisely where? That remains a little bit up in the air. But we're watching it. It's moving. It's now a category one hurricane. We are going to come back, go to the scene, and have extensive coverage of what's happening right now. Heavy rains, winds building up already. John Zarrella and others on the scene for us, but let's check some other news that are in the headlines right now. For that, let's turn to CNN's Zain Verjee. Hi, Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf. Eight bodyguards assigned to Iraq's president are dead in the aftermath of an assault on their convoy today in northern Iraq. President Jalal Talabani was not in any of the cars at the time. The attack occurred as Iraq's parliament tried to meet a midnight deadline to hammer out differences in the new draft constitution. The body's speaker says they didn't make it, and they need one more day for talks.

The Italian Red Cross says it treated four presumed Iraqi terrorists at its hospital in Baghdad to secure the release of two kidnapped Italian aid workers. The outgoing International Red Cross commissioner revealed the deal in an interview today in a daily newspaper "La Stampa." He says it was kept secret from U.S. officials.

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission in Hawaii has set caps on wholesale gasoline prices. The price ceilings are the first ever to be imposed on a state level. They're made possibly by a 2004 state law authorizing lawmakers to step in. Hawaii's legislature designed the law to compel the state's two refiners to set wholesale prices closer to mainland rates.

And Miss America is on the move -- actually, it's the pageant itself that's moving. We just don't know where yet. Officials who run the Atlantic City, New Jersey venue where the pageant has been held for 66 years voted unanimously to let it out of its contract. The contest is in rough shape, and it lost the once lucrative network TV contract with ABC. Miss America's CEO says that so far, they don't know where they will go -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, we'll be anxious to find out. Zain, thank you very much.

You know Northwest Airline mechanics are on strike, but how is the airline currently handling its operations? Let's check in with CNN's Ali Velshi. He's in New York, and he's got the bottom line on this. Ali, what's going on?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've been following this. We wanted to check in. Northwest claims again that it can continue to handle this strike situation indefinitely. And let me tell you a little bit about why. It's a quick history lesson.

Go back to 1990. There were three unions at Northwest. There were the flight attendants, the pilots, and the International Association of Machinists. Those were mechanics, ground operators, ramp operators, customer service agents -- you know, everybody else who does stuff.

Well, this other union, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, came in and took over the mechanics, the custodians and the cleaners and a few other people, and they split off from the IAM. So there's been hostility between these two groups for a while.

So what happened is Northwest -- the AMFA goes on strike on Saturday night, and one of the things that Northwest uses to keep everybody running is the idea that the other unions won't cross -- will cross that picket line. So immediately, AMFA goes on strike. Northwest gives the IAM, the competing, rival union some of the work -- pulling the aircraft back and forth from the gates and cleaning the planes on domestic routes. It then hired non-union workers to fill the clean water on airplanes, and to clean the lavatories. And as I mentioned earlier, I still don't know why they call them lavatories on planes, because no one else does.

Now, here's what happened: Rumor has it that yesterday afternoon, the machinists union -- not the mechanics union, the other union -- said to Northwest, we want some of the work that the mechanics aren't doing. And if you don't give it to us, we are actually going to walk off the job, or we won't cross the picket line.

Turns out that now, the IAM, the other union gets to fill the clean water on planes and clean the lavatories. Doesn't sound fantastic, but it means more jobs for the other union.

For the striking union, as far as they're concerned, they say, those guys can do the work while we're on strike, but when we get back on the job, we want that work back. The new guys say, forget it, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, but bottom line, very quickly, Ali, is it safe to fly Northwest?

VELSHI: For the time being, there are no reports that it's not safe. Northwest does seem to be running their airline, with some delays and some cancellations, but everything seems to be moving along.

BLITZER: All right, Ali, thanks very much. Ali Velshi in New York.

Once a tropical storm, it's now formally, officially a hurricane. Coming up, we'll have the latest on Hurricane Katrina. We'll go live to South Florida for details, and I'll speak live with the director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. He has the latest on where this storm is heading.

Also, bird flu fears. Recent cases in Asia have many people in Europe worried. What are they doing to prevent an outbreak? We'll tell you. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: They're bracing for Hurricane Katrina in South Florida. We're going to head there momentarily. But there's another developing story we're following right here in Washington, a story very important to many of our viewers. Let's bring in Jeanne Meserve, she's got details -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this is a story about children and safety. The FAA has announced that it will not require the use of child safety seats on aircrafts. The FAA says its analyses show that if families are forced to buy an extra ticket for children, they might choose to drive instead. And they believe that is more dangerous statistically than flying is for families.

That provoked an immediate response from the National Transportation Safety Board, the acting chairman of that group, Mark Rosenker, had said that children deserve the same protection adults have. They have issued a press release saying, "during take off, landing and turbulence adults are required to be buckled up, baggage and coffee pots are stowed, computers are turned off and put away, yet infants and toddlers need not be restrained. This is an unnecessary risk to our children."

Interestingly, the head of the FAA, Marion Blakey, once was head of the NTSB. Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Any ages for how do they define a toddler, or a little kid?

MESERVE: In the rule that I'm looking at, children -- I can tell you that right now, children under the age of two are allowed to be held on the lap. Older than that, people are encouraged to use safety seats, but it isn't mandated. This is something the NTSB has wanted since 1995. required. It's on one of their most wanted safety steps that they've wanted to see taken. Obviously, very disappointed by the FAA decision.

BLITZER: All right. Very important information for our viewers. Jeanne, thanks very much for bringing that to us.

Let's get back, now, to our top story. Hurricane Katrina, it's about to come to shore in the next couple hours or so in South Florida. Our former colleague Jeff Flock has seen numerous hurricanes over the years. He's the co-founder of HurricaneNow.com. He's joining us now live on the phone from Deerfield Beach.

Jeff, what are you seeing? Give our viewers an update.

JEFF FLOCK, HURRICANENOW.COM: Well Wolf, (INAUDIBLE). This is one. It's a category one storm. It enables you (INAUDIBLE) to be out in it. And, in fact, we are not in an evacuation situation here in Deerfield Beach, which is where I am. We have got a lot of people out along the beach, looking at the storm.

We're beginning to get the leading edge of it right now. And the wind is really beginning to whip. So, you know, (INAUDIBLE) hope this thing does not intensify more to a cat two which could make it a lot worse than it is right now.

BLITZER: Jeff Flock, we got a little bad connection. We're going to try to make it better. But we'll get back to you. We want to continue hearing what you're finding on the ground. Southeast Florida, bracing as I said, for Hurricane Katrina. It's a category one storm. But it's already pounding on the door. Millions of residents are being warned that this is a very dangerous storm.

Let's go live to Donald Forbes of our affiliate WKMG. He's also in Deerfield Beach. We see you. Hopefully we can hear you a little bit better. Don, tell us what's going on. DON FORBES, WKMG CORRESPONDENT: Well Wolf, the winds have been picking up here steadily in the last 30 minutes. Before they were very calm, but now take a look behind me. It's getting really difficult to see out here.

One of the bad parts of being here in Deerfield Beach is the sand. I tell you, we just got back from Iraq and Kuwait a couple of months ago, but those sand storms are nothing compared to what's flying around here in Broward County.

Now, you can see that there are officers out patrolling the scene, but there are also plenty of people driving anywhere you go in this small section of Broward County.

And again, if you can take a look to my left here, of course this is going to get our camera very wet. But the winds are coming in ferociously right now. And they're really churning up the Atlantic Ocean and having their way with the beach out here.

Wolf, it seems to be getting worse and worse as the hours progress along.

BLITZER: They're expecting, Donald, in the next hour or two for it to really pick up as it hits ashore, probably not far away from you are. I'm pretty surprised that people are still driving around. Are they driving around in big numbers, or little numbers.

FORBES: No, no. We see people cars going by every 30 seconds in groups of two and three. And we also see that there are plenty people of out here tempting fate to be out in this kind of weather without any kind of protection just sight seeing, trying to get a taste what a hurricane is like.

We covered those major hurricanes in Florida last year, Charley being the major of those. And this doesn't seem to be near as intense, but of course there's some time to come before that. And, of course, this is only a category one compare to the four that was Charley.

BLITZER: Donald Forbes from our affiliate WKMG in Deerfield Beach along the shore. Thanks, Donald, very much.

Jacqui Jeras is getting some information at the CNN Hurricane Center. What are you learning, Jacqui?

JERAS: Well, we have a tornado warning, Wolf. A water spout very likely off the lower Keys, so a tornado warning now, has been issued for the Lower Keys, into the little of -- Little Torch Key, Big Torch Key, Middle Torch Key and also Big Pine Key.

Possible tornado -- or water spouts about 26 miles off to the west of Marathon. And these are from the outer bands of Katrina. It's pushing on down to the south and the east at about 40 miles per hour. There you can see that warning. It expires at 5:45.

So, a possible water spout heading over the Keys here in a very short period of time. Looks like it's going to be there in about 15 minutes or so.

Of course, tornadoes always a possibility when we have a tropical system. So expect them across the Keys and South Florida over night -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Jacqui. Thanks very much.

Just how hard will the Hurricane Katrina hit the coast? Max Mayfield is the director of the National Hurricane Center. He's joining us now live from Miami.

What's the latest Mr. Mayfield?

MAX MAYFIELD, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Well Wolf, this is not a major hurricane, that's the good news. But it has continued to strengthen. The maximum sustained winds are near 75 miles per hour. And this is a little different than some hurricanes. The strongest winds are on the eastern side. So, even though the center of the hurricane is east, oh, I don't know, five or 10 miles here east of Hallandale, Florida, the strongest winds are yet to come.

So, people really need to understand that. They also need to understand that the winds are a little bit higher loft than on the surface. So, if you're in some of these high-rise condominiums, you need to remember that.

After it makes landfall, it's certainly not over, by any means. We are going to have the flooding to deal with for a couple days over South Florida. And then we'll have to look and see what happens once it gets in the Gulf of Mexico.

We're becoming very concerned that as it moves in the Gulf, even though it will weaken over the peninsula, it will have a very good chance to restrengthen into a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.

BLITZER: Well, a lot -- I'm very familiar, I'm sure a lot of our viewers are very familiar with that Hollywood, Hallandale, Ft. Lauderdale area. A lot of high rise buildings. What is the recommendation? Should people stay in their condominiums and their apartments or go down stairs?

MAYFIELD: No, absolutely. Right now, stay where you are, no. 1. Don't get out, don't be driving around for the next several hours. If you're in one of these high rise buildings, the winds are higher aloft, it would be better for you to go down to a lower level. We're not going to have a humongous storm surge with Katrina, so you can go down to a lower level, get into.

If the winds start blowing really strong, get into that closet or a stay away or a stairwell with no windows and we'll be fine after a few more hours.

BLITZER: And the tornadoes. Explain to our viewers, Mr. Mayfield, the connection between hurricanes and tornadoes.

MAYFIELD: Well, big, big difference. Tornados are very, very small scale. They usually don't last very long as opposed to the hurricanes which are much, much larger and last a long time.

But you can get some weak tornadoes, typically, in these outer rain bands. And Jacqui was just talking about down here in the Lowe Keys, any of these rain bands, even well out away from the center, can spawn a few tornadoes. Fortunately, most of those are weaker tornadoes compared to what we have in the Midwest.

BLITZER: And finally in the next day or two, what are we projecting? After it hits South Florida on the eastern side, where is it headed?

MAYFIELD: Well, a lot of people are not going to want to hear this, Wolf, but as it comes across the peninsula, we think it's going to head up into the north in the Gulf of Mexico towards the Florida panhandle, northwestern Florida coast. That whole area there, in the northeastern Gulf really needs to pay close attention to Katrina.

BLITZER: Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, thanks very much. We'll continue to check in with you.

MAYFIELD: Thank you.

BLITZER: We'll continue to watch Hurricane Katrina, but we're also watching other news including Martha Stewart and her new reality. Coming up, the domestic diva is ready to break free in home confinement and return to TV. Are her fans ready for her close-up?

And it's a very big problem, but who's to blame? We've been talking about obesity in the United States. Now you can weigh in. Jack Cafferty, reading pounds of your e-mail. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: I want to show our viewers a picture we got from one of our viewers. We've been asking for your help. This is the -- right over here -- the vehicle assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Dark clouds as you can see, but this check this out. This is a funnel cloud that has just moved in. Clearly, a source of some concern to that area. As we heard earlier from Max Mayfield, these hurricanes can spawn off tornadoes and we're watching this throughout the hours to come.

Now only a problem of hurricanes, Hurricane Katrina specifically, but tornadoes that could emerge as well. Much more coverage on this coming up, but let's check in with Lou Dobbs, see what he has on tap at the top of the hour -- Lou?

LOUB DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Wolf, thank you. Indeed, we'll be following the progress of Hurricane Katrina: Live reports form up and down the coast of Florida tonight. Also, cyberterrorism and communist China: There are fears tonight that the communist Chinese government is in fact, hacking in to the U.S. military's most sensitive Web sites and stealing U.S. military secrets. We'll have a special report. And surrendering America: Dallas votes tonight on an astounding measure that would force school principals there to learn Spanish and speak it on the job. Is it now in this country, up to our educators to learn Spanish rather than to teach their students English? Broken boarders and possibly broken schools. We'll have that special report.

And also tonight, Henry Kissinger is our special guest. I'll be talking with the form secretary of state about whether Iraq is, as some Republicans have charged, becoming a new Vietnam. All of that and more coming up at the top of the hour. Please join us. Now back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks very much, Lou. We'll see you in about 16 minutes. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT," coming up at the top of the hour.

Zain Verjee is joining us once again from the CNN Center in Atlanta. She's looking at other stories making news -- Zain?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, around the world, farmers and farm ecologists are all working to prevent one thing: A bird flu outbreak.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE (voice-over): In Brussels today, bird flu fears were the focus of a meeting of experts from the European Union. They're concerned about the recent outbreak of bird flue in Russia. That's killed some 11,000 birds and raised fears of a pandemic.

PROF. JOHN OXFORD, FLU EXPERT: It took us by surprise, I must admit, you know, to see this virus spreads westwards to Siberia and places. that was a big surprise. From the point of the danger: Well, it does increase the danger.

Reporter: Though Russian officials say the situation there is under control and has not spread to Europe, Europe is trying to make sure it stays that way.

Experts believe the flu virus spread to Russia after Russian birds mingled with infected wild birds migrating from other parts of Asia. Now, Europe worries that those same birds could travel there and infect it's chickens.

Though today's meeting did not call for European farmers to bring their chickens indoors, experts are putting Europe on high alert of the potential risks of bird flu.

The E.U. already has a ban in place on imports of Russian poultry and the Netherlands has ordered it's poultry farmers to bring over five million chickens inside.

Outbreaks of bird flu began in parts of Asia in 2003 and thus far, have caused the deaths or destruction of 150 million birds and the deaths of at least 57 people in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: And Wolf, just yesterday, the World Health Organization announced that ti's accepting a donation of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu to treat up to three million people in the event of a bird flu pandemic. And though the strain isn't yet easily transmitted from birds to humans, experts fear it could acquire this ability.

BLITZER: Zain, thanks very much. Zain Verjee reporting for us from the CNN Center. And to our viewers: Stay with CNN as we're continuing to track Hurricane Katrina.

Coming up, we'll tell you where it hits -- where it will hit and what type of damage it's likely to cause. Remember, CNN is your hurricane headquarters. These are live pictures, by the way, that you're seeing from the scene..

And are Americans getting bigger? Yes, they are, but whose to blame for America's obesity problem? We'll hear what you think.

She's ready to get out of her home detention and get back into your home on television. Martha Stewart, about to lose that ankle bracelet. Mary Snow has details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: And stay with CNN. We're continuing to cover Hurricane Katrina. These are live pictures that we're getting in. Perhaps in the next hour or two, it will come ashore a category one hurricane. We'll get back to that story.

Her boss calls it a coming-out party: Martha Stewart is getting ready to loosen her ankle bracelet and break loose from her home confinement next week and just in time. She's kicking off not one, but two TV programs this fall. CNN's Mary Snow has more. She's joining us live -- Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Martha Steward faced the press today to reveal details of her new show. She cracked some jokes and she showed a softer side, and it was all by design.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): From her days as a model to the day she was accused of lying about a stock sale, Martha Stewart is including it all in her new daily television show.

MARTHA STEWART, MARTHA STEWART OMNIMEDIA: Am I the same girl? Yes, I am. Yes, I am, although I've changed.

SNOW: One change, her electronic bracelet, and the fact that she did not shy away from displaying it.

STEWART: Oh, I have a microphone on one ankle, and the other bracelet on the other ankle. So I'm well balanced today.

SNOW: Next week, Stewart will complete her five months of home confinement, and the bracelet comes off. But her time in prison won't wear off anytime soon.

But Stewart is embracing it, even planning to have her audience wear ponchos one day -- ponchos like the one she wore the night she was released from prison.

Asked why she is being so open about her experience?

STEWART: Reality, accessibility. People are used to seeing me like that for the last year, I think. And to avoid it is avoidance. We're not going to avoid things.

SNOW: One thing she can't avoid, the company is relying on her rebranding and making her TV shows a success. During her legal troubles, her company distanced itself from Martha Stewart the brand. Now, she's front and center, and not holding back on her past.

SUSAN LYNE, CEO, MARTHA STEWART OMNIMEDIA: She made a very clear choice that she was not going to be embarrassed about it and she was not going to try and bury it. That doesn't mean she is going to focus on it.

SNOW: Besides Stewart's daily daytime show, she has her own version of "The Apprentice." Then, there are two books, DVDs, a radio show. One TV critic says it comes with the risk of Martha Stewart overexposure.

MARC PEYSER, NEWSWEEK TV CRITIC: It's also possible that by the time week three of "The Apprentice" comes on, we're all going to be sick to death of Martha again and say, you know what, go away again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: Now, one thing Martha Stewart isn't talking about is the catch phrase that she plans to use on her version of "The Apprentice." Donald Trump, of course, says, "you're fired." Martha Stewart is keeping her secret -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, we'll see how she does. I suspect she'll do very, very well. Mary, thank you very much for that.

Here in THE SITUATION ROOM, we're plugged into almost everything happening online. Here's a closer look at some of the most popular stories right now on CNN.com. Our Internet reporters Jacki Schechner and Abbi Tatton are checking out the situation online. Abbi, let's start with you.

ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Yes, topping the CNN.com most popular right now for domestic and international readers is the story of Scout Taylor-Compton, a teen actress who had gone missing in Southern California a couple of weeks ago, who has been found safe and well today. She is the star of such movies as the 2004 teen movie "Sleepover," one of our favorites here. Police have said that she's being -- she was treated as a juvenile runaway. She apparently had an argument with her family, and now she is found safe and well. Also on cnn.com this hour, the hurricane, Hurricane Katrina now rising up in the top 10. Number four story for online readers right now at cnn.com.

But people aren't just going to news outlets for their news on this story. They're also uploading to their computers their own journalism. Look at flickr.com, people taking photos of the storm as it's moving towards Florida right now. This is Pompano Beach in Broward County. You can see it rolling towards the shore there.

JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: As we have been doing all along, we wanted to continue to give you more resources online, where you can track the storm yourself. This one, HurricaneAlley.net, a great visual for you to check out Hurricane Katrina.

Also wanted to show you somebody who is live blogging from Ft. Lauderdale. This is FamilyImagery.com (ph), and they actually have a map of where they are in location to Katrina right now. Pointing out that his 13-year-old son will be blogging at some point, so you can check in to get that perspective.

Also, wanted to show you some more researches -- resources, rather, about hurricane hunters. Those are the people who fly into the center of hurricanes. We showed you HurricaneHunters.com yesterday. Another site we found today, which is very cool. A hurricane hunter's photo album. This is a guy who was a hurricane hunter in the '80s. This is home.att.net. You should check this out. It's very cool photographs of when he was up in a plane, he had his camera -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, guys, we'll see you tomorrow. Thanks very much.

All hour, we have been asking you about a very big problem, obesity in the United States. Coming up, you'll have a chance to weigh in. Jack Cafferty has your thoughts, your e-mail. Stay with us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This week in history, Hurricane Andrew devastated parts of the Bahamas, Florida and Louisiana. More than 125,000 people were left without homes. Andrew is the costliest natural disaster ever to hit the U.S.

In 1989, the Major League Baseball permanently banned Pete Rose for gambling on baseball games. Though Rose initially denied the claims, 15 years later, he admitted to betting on the team he managed, the Cincinnati Reds.

In 1911, "The Mona Lisa" was stolen from the Louvre museum in Paris. Two years later, the painting was recovered. It now sits protected behind the thick box of triplex glass.

And that is this week in history. (END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Just got an e-mail from my brother-in-law in South Florida, in Hollywood. Steve Schwartz (ph), he says: "I believe the eye of the storm is right here now. A few minutes ago, the wind was strong enough to knock over a tree. Now, it's dead calm, he says. If I'm right, the winds will pick up again in the opposite direction in half an hour or so."

We're getting information from all sorts of sources on the scene. Jack Cafferty has got a question and some answers. Jack, what are people saying?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah, you called it a big problem. You're absolutely right, Wolf. Twenty-five percent of all the adults in America are obese. Not heavy, not pudgy, not a little overweight, obese, according to a group called Trust for America's Health. They are non-partisan.

The costs in 2003 of treating medical problems associated with obesity in this country, $39 billion. So the question this hour is who's to blame for America's obesity problem?

Jean in Johnson City, Illinois writes: "Personally, I blame my right arm. I've got an over-active elbow, can't seem to stop shoveling food into my face. I'm fat and it's nobody's fault but my own. I'm probably one of the few fat folks in America willing to admit that."

Sharon in Manteo, North Carolina: "Overprotective parents are to blame. They don't let their kids go out and play around the neighborhood. Lack of exercise leads to fatness. Children need to run around, not watch TV and play videogames."

Michael in Ontario: "The American way is to blame. Big dreams, big budgets, big deficits, big armed forces, big salaries, big cars, you get the idea. The American way is to live big, and so you do."

Shereen writes: "I think we need to look at the price of food. If the prices of healthier options were reduced, like fruits, vegetables, whole grains et cetera and the price of fast food increased, I think we would see a shift."

And Jeremy writes from St. Augustine: "I blame THE SITUATION ROOM, "The Cafferty File" and Lou Dobbs for keeping me on the edge of my seat for four hours. I have to eat something to keep still."

BLITZER: All right, we've got to leave, because Lou Dobbs is standing by. Jack, thanks very much. Lou Dobbs picking up our coverage from New York -- Lou.

END

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