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The Situation Room
Congressman Tom DeLay Turns Himself In; Mexico and Florida Prepare For Hurricane Wilma; Defense Attorney in Saddam Hussein Trial Kidnapped
Aired October 20, 2005 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time.
Happening now, it's 2:00 p.m. in Cozumel, Mexico. Sun-seeking tourists are not flocking to the vacation paradise. Instead, they're fleeing in advance of Hurricane Wilma. The storm is a Category 4, but could re-intensify to a Category 5, and could hit the Yucatan Peninsula as early as tomorrow.
It's 3:00 p.m. in the Florida Keys, where there are fears Wilma could whip through this weekend. Residents are boarding up and packing up. And Governor Jeb Bush says be very worried.
And it's 2:00 p.m. in Houston, Texas, where Representative Tom DeLay now has a mug shot. He avoided being a wanted fugitive by turning himself in to face criminal conspiracy and money-laundering charges.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
More clues to Hurricane Wilma's probable path -- there are sophisticated grids and graphs, but much of it still involves a lot of sophisticated guesswork. Right now, we do know that Wilma is southeast of Cozumel.
What forecasters predict is, Wilma could strengthen to a Category 5 storm and that it will likely slam into the Yucatan Peninsula tomorrow. After that, Wilma could make a sharp right turn and set its sights directly on Florida by Sunday. Residents there are buying plywood and other supplies, and waiting in long lines to buy gas, obviously heeding warnings like these from Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: The hurricane has slowed down. And it's going to be down in the Caribbean here for at least another couple of days.
The -- looking at satellite loop behind us here, you can see that it certainly doesn't look as powerful as it did yesterday. But, believe me, this is still a very, very powerful hurricane. Don't minimize it just because it's no longer a Category 5. The maximum sustained winds are now 145 miles per hour. That's a very strong Category 4 hurricane.
And we do think that we will continue to see some fluctuations in the intensity. The water temperatures in advance of this hurricane are still very favorable. The upper-level environment is extremely favorable. So, at least for the next couple of days here, we think we're going to have a very, very powerful hurricane in the Caribbean.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Let's get the latest forecast now from CNN severe weather expert Chad Myers. He's standing by at CNN Hurricane Headquarters in Atlanta. What do we know right now, Chad?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The storm is not as strong right now, Wolf, as it was yesterday. It's a Category 4, 145 miles per hour. That's some good news.
The reason why it's not so strong is because it went through an eye wall replacement cycle. Think of it as an ice skater, and when he or she puts one foot on the ice and then all the arms out and spins around, they go pretty slow. But, when you bring those arms in, all of a sudden, that figure skater is going as fast as possible.
That's what was happening yesterday, that fast-as-possible thing. Well, for a while, overnight, the arms went out. The eye got much bigger, all the way out to 35 miles. And now that eye is shrinking again. And, in fact, when it shrinks all the way back down to eight or 10 miles again tonight, into tomorrow, it will probably be back to a Category 5, because that's how the winds get strong.
Now, the winds out here never changed. If this was 70 or 80, it's still 70 or 80, even though the inner-core winds went down a little bit -- a very dangerous, very deep storm.
You were talking about all these computer models and I want to get to some of them, because Cancun, Cozumel, Playacar, really in a bunch of trouble here from this storm. But, then, so is Florida, as it makes the right-hand turn -- the official forecast track, very close to Naples, Fort Myers and then back out. And it will still have a lot of punch as it comes over West Palm Beach, right on down even into Fort Lauderdale, from the back side, from the wrong way, if you will.
The models behind me, they're still pretty scattered, Wolf. You can see that they don't agree all that much.
You know what? If we had a weather balloon, somebody to send it up every 100 miles out in the ocean, we would have great forecasts. But nobody lives out there. So, we don't have as much data as we'd like for all of these computers to churn through and make better forecasts -- not yet. It's getting closer.
BLITZER: Let's -- let's talk a little bit about Cozumel and Cancun, right -- right now in the -- literally in the direct path of this hurricane. A lot of our viewers have been there. A lot of people -- a lot of Americans go there, a lot of tourists. What can people there expect in the next few hours? MYERS: It -- the next few hours are fine. But, as the day goes on and as the night goes on, it's going to start to get worse. The winds are actually going to be out of the east from the storm on shore. I don't think Cozumel, Cancun, they both get the inner eye wall. We talked about how the inner one is the quick one, the fast one, maybe 155. Maybe they get an outer eye wall, but the winds still there 120 to 130.
I do think -- I do think that Cozumel and Cancun will have catastrophic-like damage as the storm goes by them. You know about that big seven that -- all the hotel zone, they call it, all the way from, basically, the -- the Intercontinental, right on back down to the very, very south, where Club Med is. I -- I know it well, actually. I went there on my honeymoon.
This area will have catastrophic wind damage, maybe not so much storm surge, but wind damage. Storm surge happened in the Katrina, Wolf, because the storm came right on shore with a direct hit, straight on. This is not going to hit Cancun or Cozumel straight on. It's going to be a glancing blow. So, you're not going to have that wall of water shoved. It's just going to kind of glance on and glance off. The wind damage, though, will break so many windows. It will be -- the pictures out of Cancun two days from now will -- will be very sad.
BLITZER: I -- I hope not, that doesn't happen. I suspect, though, you're right.
MYERS: Yes.
BLITZER: Chad, let's talk a little bit about South Florida. What's the basic difference between the west coast of South Florida, where this hurricane, presumably, is going to hit, and the east coast? Because, I take it, the strength of the hurricane won't diminish, although the -- the surge will be a big factor in the west coast...
MYERS: Yes.
BLITZER: ... that, presumably, won't be a big factor on the east Coast.
MYERS: That is correct. The surge -- if the track is still correct -- and I think it will change a little bit before it gets really that close -- if the surge is right here, if the line is perfectly where it is here, the whole Florida Bay, the whole Everglades region, will be inundated with a 15-foot storm surge, completely up and over into the Everglades, and then running possibly as far east even as Card Sound Road, all the way to U.S.-1, maybe even in to about Homestead, Florida City. That's how flat the water is and the land is here. Then, the storm comes in from the other direction, from the wrong way, for the east coast cities, and that's where the major damage, the money, the monetary damage, will be done, because the area here along the east coast of Florida is so highly built up.
Now, we talked about this. And I talked about with -- it with your producer. And I hope I have a couple seconds to talk about it. If the storm is moving forward at 30 miles per hour, the right side of the eye has to add in that wind speed to the forward motion. Let's say the storm is going 100. On this side of the eye, this side, that's 130. You add those two numbers together. If you add that on this side, you subtract on the other side.
So, Fort Myers, Tampa, Sarasota, you get the negative effect, an offshore wind. But you subtract the two. So, on one side of the eye, you have 70 miles per hour. On the bad side, you have 130. That's because of the forward motion.
BLITZER: Chad Myers with us from the CNN Hurricane Headquarters. We're going to get back to you soon, Chad. Thank you very much -- excellent explanation from Chad.
The message from the Florida governor, Jeb Bush, to many in Wilma's likely path: This is the time to decide whether and when to leave and just how to prepare. The governor also says, be worried.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: Floridians south of the I-4 Corridor and in the Keys should prepare for the possibility of a major hurricane making landfall late in the weekend.
And to our friends and the folks living in Southwest Florida, many, I'm sure, will compare this storm to Hurricane Charley and think, well, perhaps it may not be as strong a storm has Hurricane Charley, so, therefore, we don't have to worry about it as much. You do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Cuba also in the crosshairs of Hurricane Wilma. Official there are planning to evacuate 250,000 residents from Cuba's western- most provinces. Forecasts suggest Wilma will whip into Cuba this weekend and could cause up to three feet of rain in some parts of that island.
More now from our Havana bureau chief, Lucia Newman. She's joining us on the phone. How are they getting ready for this, Lucia?
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Wolf. Well, you know what Chad was talking about, being on the bad side of the -- or the less bad side of the storm. Cuba is definitely on the bad side.
As of this moment, 222,571 people have been evacuated from western Cuba. But according to officials, at least half a million people will be evacuated from their homes in advance of this storm, because they're really, really afraid of the rain, this enormous amount of water that's going to be dumped on Cuba, even if it doesn't get as close to this island as the last two hurricanes that hit Cuba.
Now, the reason that so many homes -- so many people, rather, are having to leave their homes, of course, is that so many of the buildings here are falling apart. But officials say that the main thing here is to save lives. And let's see, Wolf, just how is it that Cuba does it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWMAN (voice-over): Cuba is the largest and most populated island in the Caribbean. Yet, it consistently experiences the lowest death tolls during hurricane season. According to the United Nations, it's not because Cubans are lucky, but because they're prepared.
"We were prepared for a big one. And big, it was," says this man of Hurricane Ivan. He and nearly two million others were evacuated from low-lying areas and fragile buildings ahead of the hurricane. Nobody was killed.
(on camera): Preparations for a hurricane start well in advance. The same system that gives the communist state total, political and economic control is used efficiently to mobilize the nation to face natural disasters.
(voice-over): State-run television and the Civil Defense Authority bombard the population with information and instructions about what measures to take.
On every block, there's a person assigned to take a census on who is being evacuated to which shelter, with special attention paid to the elderly and pregnant women.
"We have a list and tell each person where they have to go. And, there they're taken care of," says Janse Perez (ph).
In the fishing village of La Coloma, which is vulnerable to hurricane flooding, a massive evacuation was mandatory -- the police and army responsible for guaranteeing there was no looting. Electricity is cut ahead of the hurricane to prevent electrocutions.
After Hurricane Ivan, the seaside village of Las Canas looked like a ghost town -- its residents evacuated days earlier. But, while many lost much of their belongings, at least no one had to cry over the loss of a loved one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWMAN: Well, Wolf, right now, it's not very -- it's not raining here. It's very, very cloudy, though. And as you saw, the -- the officials here do take extreme precautions. So they're already going as far as to transfer prisoners from the local jail in La Coloma, the town we just saw in that report. They're taking them, too, to higher ground.
In the meantime, ordinary Cubans are stocking up already on dry food and water and praying that the third hurricane to impact this island this evening will be merciful.
BLITZER: Let's hope for the best. Thanks very much, Lucia Newman, reporting from Havana.
Here in the United States, Hurricane Wilma could pose a huge problem for FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, that agency already stretched thin and under fire, after its much-criticized response to Hurricane Katrina.
CNN's Brian Todd is over at FEMA headquarters here in Washington with the latest. Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, just moments ago, the acting FEMA director, David Paulison, gave a briefing in this room. It was -- it was a very short briefing. He was here to talk about the resources that FEMA is deploying to Florida, ahead of Hurricane Wilma. He talked about the 300 truckloads of ice and water, about the preparations that they have made with Florida officials on conference calls and -- and about all the medical response and emergency response teams that -- that FEMA is sending down there.
Actually, though, in reality, FEMA is sending fewer resources to Florida for Wilma than they sent to the Gulf region for Hurricane Katrina. And the reason for that is the Florida officials, the local and state officials there, are so well versed and well experienced in preparedness and response, they simply don't need as much federal help. They traditionally ask FEMA for less help than other states do. So FEMA's role in this crisis, very likely, almost no matter what happens, will be somewhat reduced.
And I asked David Paulison just a moment ago if he's worried about that issue of perception during this crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID PAULISON, ACTING DIRECTOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: All I'm worried about right now is making sure we have the supplies on hand, have the equipment on hand, have the medical teams on hand, and the urban search-and-rescue teams on hand to handle whatever catastrophe might come along.
I don't have time to deal with perceptions right now. That's my home state. I know what they're prepared to do. They do an outstanding job. Governor Bush and Craig Fugate know about hurricanes. They know about disasters. And they know how to handle those.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: But you still can't escape the irony of this day, Wolf. At almost the same time that Mr. Paulison was giving that briefing, you had another official, Marty Bahamonde, testifying on the Hill about all the communications problems that were going on during Hurricane Katrina.
We asked David Paulison about some of those. He said he never had time to watch that testimony.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting from FEMA headquarters in Washington. Brian, thank you very much.
Time now to check in with Jack Cafferty. He's standing by in New York. Hi, Jack. Welcome back.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How you doing, Wolf? Are you familiar with the cheeseburger bill?
BLITZER: The cheeseburger bill.
CAFFERTY: Cheeseburger bill.
BLITZER: I'm familiar -- I'm familiar, as you can probably tell, with cheeseburgers.
CAFFERTY: Well, no, no. I -- you look fairly svelte there.
BLITZER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: But they have something called the cheeseburger bill that the House of Representatives passed yesterday. It's a bill that would block people from suing fast-food restaurants for making them fat. Backers say the issues of personal responsibility don't belong in the nation's courts. But critics point to the increased numbers of fat kids and say, fast-food companies should be held accountable.
How's this for an idea? How about parents don't take the little butterballs for double cheeseburgers, fries and a milkshake three or four times a week?
The bill now goes to the Senate, has to pass there before it becomes law. They tried this a year ago. A similar bill got through the House. The Senate -- the Senate never acted on it, however, last year. We will see what happens this time.
Here's the question. Should you be able to sue a fast-food joint because you're fat? CaffertyFile@CNN.com, or you can go to CNN.com/caffertyfile. Or you can send the mail to my house or bring it by in person.
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: I get home about 7:00.
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: They have a lot of addresses here.
BLITZER: All right.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Jack.
CAFFERTY: You're welcome.
BLITZER: I now am familiar with the cheeseburger bill, thanks to you. Appreciate it very much.
We are standing by for a new forecast. Coming up, Max Mayfield at the National Hurricane Center in Miami is going to be giving a -- a new track, new information, on where Hurricane Wilma might be heading. We will bring you that announcement as soon as he makes it.
Stand by in THE SITUATION ROOM for that.
Also coming up, allegations American soldiers desecrated the bodies of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. We will show you the video that sparked a Pentagon investigation.
And there are new developments with the embattled Congressman Tom DeLay. He's been booked today. And he's heading for court.
Gas shortages already cropping up in Florida, ahead of Hurricane Wilma. Our Ali Velshi has the "Bottom Line."
And art for a cause -- the artist Peter Max using his talent for hurricane relief. He's standing by to join us live here in THE SITUATION ROOM. We will tell you what's going on.
Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: "This Week in History", fists were raised, as Tommy Smith and John Carlos staged what they called a silent protest against U.S. racial discrimination during the 1968 Olympic victory celebration. Smith and Carlos, gold and bronze medalists in the 200 meters, wore black gloves as they bowed their heads during the American national anthem.
In 1987, the world watched the rescue of 18-month-old baby Jessica, who was trapped in a well for two days.
And, in 1995, hundreds of thousands of African-American men gathered in Washington, D.C., for a rally called the Million Man March.
And that is "This Week in History.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN "Breaking News".
BLITZER: There is an important story developing right now in Baghdad. Let's get some details.
CNN's Zain Verjee standing by from -- at the CNN Center in Atlanta. What's going on, Zain?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, this is just coming into CNN.
Iraqi police have confirmed to us that a lawyer in Saddam Hussein's defense team has been kidnapped. We don't know the identity of this lawyer. As you know, the trial of Saddam Hussein began yesterday. The first case was that of a massacre that occurred in 1982 in a town north of Baghdad, a Shia town called Dujail, where more than 140 men and boys were killed -- Saddam Hussein defiant at this trial.
As we know, the prosecution of Saddam Hussein could be a lengthy process. And the Dujail case is really the first of up to a dozen that prosecutors are planning to bring to trial against Saddam Hussein and his inner circle for atrocities committed during their more than 20- year rule.
That's all we know, though, Wolf. Iraqi police confirming to CNN that a lawyer on Saddam Hussein's defense team has been kidnapped by gunmen.
BLITZER: Some of the wire services are reporting a name. I take it, we're not ready to report any name of this defense attorney. Is that right, Zain?
VERJEE: That's right. We are checking with our bureau, though. And we will bring that to you as soon as we have it.
BLITZER: All right, Zain, stand by.
Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad, our reporter there. Aneesh, what are you hearing on this developing story?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK.
BLITZER: Aneesh is not ready. Aneesh, it's Wolf. Can you hear me in Washington? Aneesh, are you ready?
All right. Aneesh, stand by. We're going to get you -- we are going to get you hooked up. Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad. And we're going to go there and get some more specific details on what is going on.
Aneesh Raman, are you there?
RAMAN: Yes, Wolf. We have just gotten word from multiple sources here that one of the lawyers involved in the defense of this Dujail case, not one of Saddam's lawyer, but the lawyer for a man named Awad Bandar -- he was a former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court -- viewers will remember him from sitting next to Saddam in that front pew of three in those cage-like settings in the court itself.
His name is Saadoun Janabi. Local police in the area are telling us from eyewitnesses, at about 8:30 p.m. local, which is about two hours ago, five gunmen stormed into this lawyer's office. They abducted him. That is essentially what we know right now. This is, of course, a critical -- critically sensitive case here in Iraq.
And the lawyer names for those who are involved in the defense, not just for Saddam, but for the other seven defendants, essentially are known out on the streets of Baghdad -- and it seems that one of the lawyers targeted tonight.
Wolf. BLITZER: All right. So, just -- just to be clear, what's the name of the person that we now believe has been kidnapped?
RAMAN: Saadoun Janabi. And he is not a lawyer for Saddam Hussein. He's a lawyer for Awad Bandar, the former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, who, as far as I can recall, was sitting next to Saddam Hussein in court.
But he's one of the defense lawyers involved in this trial that has eight defendants, but not of Saddam Hussein himself -- his name, again, Saadoun Janabi.
BLITZER: All right, Aneesh Raman with that. We will continue to monitor the story. Thanks, Aneesh, very much.
Let's -- and thanks to Zain Verjee as well.
Let's check some other important news happening around the world.
The U.S. military investigating allegations right now that American troops in Afghanistan burned the bodies of Taliban fighters in a des -- deliberate effort to desecrate them and to use that as a psychological weapon to taunt other Taliban forces -- the allegations stemming from video footage included in an Australian television program shot by a journalist embedded with U.S. troops this month -- the United States government taking the matter very seriously.
Let's get some details. Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is standing by. Jamie?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, one indication of how seriously they're taking it, they're already saying that these allegations are disturbing, if, of course, they turn out to be true, and the investigation is just getting under way.
We are going to show you a little bit of the videotape. But I -- I do want to warn you that the images are somewhat graphic in nature.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE (voice-over): The videotape, showing burning bodies of Taliban fighters killed by U.S. troops in a firefight, was part of a documentary aired on Australia's SBS Television. It was shot earlier this month by a journalist embedded with U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
STEPHEN DUPONT, PHOTOJOURNALIST: You know, we have been told to burn the bodies, because the bodies have been here for 24 hours. And they're starting to stink. So, for hygiene purposes, this is what we have got to do.
MCINTYRE: The program charged that the bodies were deliberately desecrated, faced toward Mecca to mock the Muslim faith, and that American soldiers from a psychological operations unit then taunted the Taliban over loudspeakers about, calling them "lady boys" for failing to retrieve the remains.
DUPONT: They deliberately wanted to incite that much anger from the Taliban, so the Taliban could attack them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smoke them out.
DUPONT: Smoke them out.
MCINTYRE: The broadcast drew a quick response from the U.S. military -- one commander calling the actions repugnant. And an immediate investigation was ordered.
A statement issued by the U.S. military in Afghanistan said -- quote -- "The command does not advocate, nor tolerate, the wrongful desecration of anyone's remains or the use of broadcast messages in conjunction with an act such as this. These are very serious allegations," it went on to say. "And, if true, they are reprehensible."
One reason for the forceful reaction, fear the incident could incite the kind of anti-U.S. violence that followed allegations of Koran abuse by the U.S. military" -- at the State Department, a spokesman underscored the seriousness of the charges.
SEAN MCCORMACK, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: What we see in this videotape is not at all reflective of the -- the values of the military or of the United States.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: The U.S. government is promising a full investigation and that anyone found to have violated either the Geneva Conventions or U.S. military law will be held accountable.
But a U.S.-based Islamic advocacy group says that's not enough. They're calling for a top-to-bottom review of Pentagon policies regarding personnel who operate in Muslim countries.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Jamie McIntyre reporting for us. Jamie, thank you very much.
In the next hour, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM, I will speak live with General James Jones. He's the NATO supreme allied commander. We will talk about this videotape, among other subjects. That's coming up in the next hour here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Also, Hurricane Wilma -- we're standing by for a live update from the National Hurricane Center -- the director, Max Mayfield, getting ready with the latest tracking, the latest forecast of this Category 4 storm -- Wilma only days away from Florida, we believe -- already getting reports of gas shortages in Florida as a result -- Ali Velshi checking out the situation there.
Plus, one of America's best-known artists helping raise funds for hurricane relief, Peter Max. He's standing by to unveil his latest work. That's coming up live here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're watching Hurricane Wilma right now. It's a Category 4 storm. We're standing by for new information. We will bring it to you as soon as we get it from Max Mayfield at the National Hurricane Center -- but concern about Wilma already sparking a run on gas in parts of South Florida.
CNN's Ali Velshi, he's standing by live in New York with the "Bottom Line." What are you picking up, Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, we heard about this yesterday. It started to happen.
We have discussed this before with -- with Katrina and Rita, a run on gas, because people get panicked about putting enough gas in their cars and -- and their supplies.
Let's go straight to South Florida. We want to go to a place called Clewiston, Florida, where Carl Berner is joining me on the line. Carl has been in the oil business for a long time. He is one of the people who supplies gasoline to stations. Carl, you supply a lot of southern Florida gas stations. Tell me a little about what's happening. Are you running short of gas down there?
CARL BERNER, OWNER, BERNER OIL COMPANY; No, sir. There's plenty of gas at the ports. The problem is the distribution system. As they increase the usage, it's jumped almost three to four-fold, but the distribution system just can't keep up with it. So we're having this panic of people coming in and filling things up that they normally wouldn't fill up.
When a lady called earlier today, at that time I had to hang the phone up for a minute because I had people that I never seen before trying to buy gasoline.
VELSHI: And you had told me people buying a lot more gasoline. You were saying that they're putting it not just in normal containers that you use for gasoline. People are, it almost sounds like, hoarding gasoline?
BERNER: Yes, sir. We've been experiencing that ever since the storms last year.
VELSHI: Now, what you were saying is that there's not a shortage of gasoline. What's the problem? People go to a gas station and the 10,000, or 15,000, 5,000 gallons in that reservoir has run out and that causes panic? People think they won't get their gas?
BERNER: No, sir. What it is that a normal station, let's say, sells 5,000 gallons a day. Well, I had one yesterday that was particularly like that. And yesterday, he sold 15,000 gallons a day.
And so, the distribution system of the trucking it, because everything has to be trucked in -- this particular station's 10 miles away from the port. It takes, four or five hours. And now you're having this all over southwest and southeast Florida. We're experiencing outages in Palm Beach County also, which is on the Atlantic side.
VELSHI: So, what do people do? How do you get people not to panic?
We're looking at line-ups going into gas stations right now. How do you get people to not panic? They want to get out of that zone -- what we're calling the gas panic zone. They want to be able to know that they can drive north. What's your advice?
BERNER: Well, I would say that the best thing to do is top your car off and be prepared three and four days ahead of time. Don't drive around and use that gasoline up. And then be prepared to move.
I, myself, I live in the center part of the state, about 70 miles from both coasts -- 60 miles from both coasts and I live on a big dike just like that was perched in New Orleans. And I myself, am preparing my business and my home three and four days ahead of time. And so, those are the things people need to do is just prepare. And then, when they decide to leave, they need to leave with a full tank.
VELSHI: Carl, good to talk to you. Thank you. I know you're very busy. Carl Berner is with Berner Oil Company in Clewiston, Florida, right now, just near Naples.
And Wolf, later on we're going to be speaking to somebody who is at the southernmost point of the United States, also bracing for this hurricane to come their way. And we'll talk to them about their preparations.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, thanks very much, Ali. We'll get back to you very, very soon.
Let's go to Cancun right now. Kimberly Howell is the owner of the Mermaid in Cancun and she's joining us via videophone right now. Kimberly, first of all, what's it like where you are right now?
KIMBERLY HOWELL, OWNER, CANCUN MERMAID: Well, I'm in downtown Cancun. And actually, at the moment, the sun is shining but it's very windy. It's been a little bit rainy this morning but you can definitely feel it coming. It's very bizarre conditions.
BLITZER: Kimberly's actually joining us on the phone right now. What is it like? A lot of tourists, I assume, have gotten out of Cancun, but there are probably are still plenty of people left. What are they doing?
HOWELL: Yes, that's correct. We had a lot of people fly out yesterday. And then, a little bit earlier this morning, they went ahead and evacuated the entire hotel zone.
And, for instance, they're not letting anybody go into the hotel zone. They have the army and the police there blocking off the entrance. And the people are brought by buses into downtown -- the tourists. And we have different schools throughout the town and those are hurricane shelters.
BLITZER: How prepared are the buildings, the residents for what is about to hit? This could be a Category 4, maybe even a Category 5 storm, giving a direct hit to Cancun?
HOWELL: Yes. It's been like -- I guess Gilbert was last one we had that was like this and it was prior to my arrival here. But the locals are really quite prepared.
For instance, the last two days, everyone was stocking up in the grocery stores, places are boarded up. They're removing anything that might be able to get airborne or whatnot. So, everyone's just kind of buckling down and waiting for it to happen and hoping it's not a direct hit for us and perhaps hits a little bit south, which is not good for them, but you know, it's a lot better for us here.
BLITZER: Where are you going to ride out the storm?
HOWELL: I'm going to go ahead and stay in my home because I don't want to leave my dogs alone. So, I'm going to bring them inside and I'm just actually preparing things around here, removing patio furniture and, boarding up the windows and getting ready for the worst but, hopefully, that won't pass -- that won't happen.
BLITZER: Kimberly Howell, good luck to you, good luck to everyone in Cancun right now.
Kimberly Howell joining us on the phone. We'll check back with you later.
Just ahead -- getting ready again. Where Hurricane Charley remains an ugly memory, Hurricane Wilma may plan to make memories of her own.
We'll go live to Punta Gorda. That's in Florida.
And later: Where will Wilma go? It's still a huge question. We hope to get a better idea when we hear from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Max Mayfield preparing the latest track, the latest forecast.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
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BLITZER: More now on Hurricane Wilma.
Out severe weather expert, our meteorologist, Chad Myers, standing by at the CNN Hurricane Headquarters in Atlanta with the latest on this very, very dangerous storm. It's still, even though it slowed down a little bit, very dangerous, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. When we say "slowed down," we mean the forward speed is slowing down. We don't mean that the storm has actually wound down or decreased in intensity. It is still a very dangerous Category 4, Wolf, 145 miles per hour. And that storm is headed right into the Cozumel/Cancun area here.
You can see the drift of the storm now up toward the north and the northwest.
Here's one of our in-house computer models. This is where it is now, We move it ahead 24 hours. It tries to get over toward Playa del Carmen, but then it runs on right up on into -- you can see on-shore flow right at Cancun, Cozumel, the most dangerous direction because every window in Cozumel and in Cancun faces the ocean. Why would you put windows, really, on the other side? And I'm afraid that a lot of the windows are going to be blown out.
As we move you ahead into Monday -- it looks like Sunday afternoon, possibly Monday -- landfall in the western parts of Florida, 140 and then getting down to a Category 3 for U.S. landfall at 120 miles per hour.
But there could be a secondary landfall, Wolf, somewhere up in the Northeast, maybe not New England; maybe it's Atlantic Canada. But this storm could really look a lot like that book in the movie you heard about, "Perfect Storm." We'll see.
BLITZER: Let's hope not. Chad, thanks very much.
I want to go to Cozumel right now. Chris van de Venter is there. He's the owner of the travel Web site radiotrips.com. He's joining us on the phone. What's it like where you are, Chris? And how are people preparing for this storm?
CHRIS VAN DE VENTER, OWNER, RADIOTRIPS.COM: Yes, actually right now, everyone is in preparation mode and anticipation. As you said, it's very slow.
The last 24 hours, we've had sustained winds of between 25 and they're upwards of about 45 to 50 now.
Just in moving very slow, everyone's in anticipation mode. Everyone here at the Melia Cozumel is prepared. We're going to be moving into the shelters at 8:00 p.m. tonight and riding the storm out. And I'm here if you need me again later.
BLITZER: Well, we might be calling you. Now, have you been to one of the shelters? How safe are they?
VAN DE VENTER: Everything here -- the construction in Mexico, unlike the U.S., is all concrete and block, so it's very secure. The theater area has no exterior windows, so there's no glass there. So there's about 100 people that will be in that shelter. Each of the hotels has similar type ballrooms as well as the convention center in Cozumel that will also be utilized for tourists. And there's some local civil defense shelters for the local population.
BLITZER: We're showing our viewers a picture of the hotel where you are right now, the Melia. It looks like a beautiful hotel, but can they really deal with the enormity of a Category 4 or Category 5 direct hit?
VAN DE VENTER: The structures, they hold out pretty well. Some of the palapa roofs, the thatch roofs you see, they will be gone but they are replaced very quickly. Others could be some glass damage and that's repaired very quickly. If you remember, Emily came through in July, and within a week everyone was back up and running with the exception of a couple of hotels in the southern area of the island.
BLITZER: Good luck to you, Chris. And we will stay in touch.
VAN DE VENTER: No problem. We're here riding it out. Everything's going great, and we look forward to hearing and talking with you guys later.
BLITZER: All right. Chris van der Venter. He is in Cozumel right now.
It was 14 months ago that Punta Gorda, Florida, near Fort Myers, took a big hit from Hurricane Charley. Now they're looking at possibility of getting slammed once again.
Our senior correspondent, Allan Chernoff, is in Punta Gorda. He's joining us live. Looks lovely right now, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it absolutely is lovely -- very sunny the entire day. We're having a very nice time here. But people have been very busy preparing for Hurricane Wilma. They have been buying bottled water, food, propane, gasoline, et cetera. As you mentioned, Charley was 14 months ago, and in that time, people have been busy rebuilding. They are certainly hoping that all of their time and effort does not go to waste.
The other big question, should we stay or should we go? Everybody's wondering that. Some people, they've already made up their mind. And we've got one resident who certainly knows exactly what he's going to do. He is Steve Duquemien. He's the owner of the Tamiami Bar here in Punta Gorda. Steve, thank you for joining us.
STEVE DUQUEMIEN, BAR OWNER: Thank you, Allan.
CHERNOFF: Staying or going?
DUQUEMIEN: Stay, sir, without a doubt.
CHERNOFF: Why?
DUQUEMIEN: Because this is a big storm, where do you run to? How far do you run? There's no point. Just batten down the hatches and get it done.
CHERNOFF: Now, you own a bar. Is that bar staying open during the storm?
DUQUEMIEN: Yes, sir, the bar will stay open to normal trading hours, as long as it does not endanger any life.
CHERNOFF: What did you do during Charley?
DUQUEMIEN: Stayed.
CHERNOFF: And it was just fine? How did it all come out?
DUQUEMIEN: It was a tough three hours while that storm came overhead, but it passed, and back to normal. Just rebuild the roofs and get on with your life.
CHERNOFF: So, the storm, Charley, actually ripped off the roof of your bar?
DUQUEMIEN: It took the whole roof off.
CHERNOFF: While it was open? While the bar was open?
DUQUEMIEN: No, the bar was not open. That was too dangerous and I would never endanger anybody's life.
CHERNOFF: OK, well, Steve, thank you very much for joining us. We wish you the best of luck riding the storm out.
Wolf, plenty of people here will be riding the storm out. Others, if the storm does turn this way, of course, will be taking off. Back to you.
BLITZER: All right, Allan. Thanks very much. Allan Chernoff is in Punta Gorda in Florida.
Let's go back to CNN's Aneesh Raman in Baghdad right now. We're following a developing story involving a lawyer who has been kidnapped, apparently a lawyer involved in the Saddam Hussein trial. What additional information, Aneesh, are we getting?
RAMAN: Yes, Wolf, we've been talking to our sources. We understand now a better picture of what took place some two hours ago, around 8:30 p.m. local. We understand that two white Nissan trucks pulled up to the office of Sadoon Janabi. He is the one of 13 defense lawyers involved in this first trial that includes, of course, Saddam Hussein.
He is the lawyer for Awad Bandar, who appeared in court with Saddam Hussein at the trial proceeding. He was seated next to Saddam in the first of those three pews, if you will, where the defendants were sitting.
These two white Nissan pickup trucks arrived. At least five gunmen stormed into the office -- this was in northern Baghdad -- and they abducted this lawyer. It happened, again, just about two hours ago.
Now Bandar was a former chief judge in the Revolutionary Court. He is charged with being the man that sentenced these 143 villagers of Dujail to death. The prosecution also said in that opening session that they have the execution orders that Saddam Hussein signed himself. But this man, Bandar was the one who actually sentenced them to death.
The other moment that people might remember of Bandar he was the defendant that stood up and complained to the presiding judge about the fact that they had these defendants remove their head scarves. All of the defendants, aside from Saddam Hussein, entered this court in the traditional Arabic garb of a dishdash. They were wearing sandals. Only Saddam was wearing a suit, socks and leather shoes.
But Bandar was the one who stood up, demanded that the head scarves be returned. The judge acquiesced and the head scarves were given back to the defendants.
So, again, we're just trying to get more information on what happened. But about two hours ago, one of the 13 lawyers involved in the defense of this first case of Dujail, Sadoon Janabit, the lawyer for Awad Bandar, was abducted by gunmen in northern Baghdad, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Aneesh. Thanks very much. We'll check back with you as soon as you get some more information. Aneesh reporting from Baghdad.
Here in the United States, we're waiting for a live update from Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center. He's going to bring us the latest on where Hurricane Wilma is heading next. We'll bring that to you as soon as he shows up.
And raising funds for hurricane relief with art. Peter Max, one of America's best-known artists -- he'll show us what he's come up with. That's coming up right here live in THE SITUATION ROOM.
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BLITZER: Even as concern grows about hurricane Wilma striking Florida, efforts continue to raise funds to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. The artist Peter Max is lending his talent as he did after 9/11 and last year's tsunami. He's now created a commemorative poster to raise money for the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, and Peter Max is joining us here in THE SITUATION ROOM. You're about to unveil this poster ...
PETER MAX, ARTIST: First time.
BLITZER: ... for the first time right here. We have it covered right now, but tell us how this started, before we show our viewers the poster, who came up with this concept.
MAX: I came up with the idea -- you saw it on TV. Everybody wanted to do something. I'm good friends with Bush Sr. I'm good friends with Bill Clinton. They were talking about it. I said I'm going to go to work. And I created this wonderful poster. And it's going to be available on PeterMax.com. And we're going to see what else we can do it. Lots of radio stations want it. And hopefully I'll raise another million or $2 million.
BLITZER: So, the money will go to the Katrina Relief Fund?
MAX: Oh, yes, that's where it's going to go.
BLITZER: All right. Let's show our viewers for the first time, this new poster, a Peter Max original. And we'll talk about it. There it is. There it is. The Gulf states, the heart of our nation is with you.
Talk a little bit what we're seeing.
MAX: I've got the three flowers of Mississippi and the other two states. And then of course on the bottom is -- on the bottom is the Capitol building. The line is "The Gulf States: The Heart of Our Nation Is With You." It's a really almost emotional poster.
BLITZER: You want me to hold that for you?
MAX: Hold this for a second. On the bottom left right over here are the three states, and these are the three flowers that belong to each state, they're like national states.
BLITZER: State flowers.
MAX: State flowers. The Capitol Building, Peter Max flag and the three locations where the whole thing happened. And it's done with the typical color blend I do. The poster will be a little larger, probably than this. This may be the actual size. If you go to PeterMax.com and order, all of the money will go to the Bill Clinton and the George Bush you know, Katrina thing. I did the same thing for the tsunami, too.
BLITZER: If someone wants to buy one, how much does it cost?
MAX: It's probably going to be $135, $150.
BLITZER: And will some of them be signed by you, too?
MAX: Yes, I'll personalize it. If I give the first one to Wolf Blitzer, it'll be for Wolf, Love, Peter Max.
BLITZER: That would be lovely.
MAX: You got it.
BLITZER: All right. Well, you're doing good work. And you're doing a good cause. And we thank you for unveiling this poster. It's a beautiful poster right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
MAX: Thank you.
BLITZER: "The Art of Peter Max" probably one of the most successful art books around.
MAX: Yeah, this book has sold 150,000 books already. As you know, in Washington here I show it at the Wentworth Gallery tonight and tomorrow night, and Saturday, and Sunday. And this book everybody comes with this book, I sign it for everybody. And it's just great being here with you.
BLITZER: Hey Peter, thanks very much for doing it. Thanks for the good work. I've been a huge fan of yours for many years.
All right. Stand by. Jack Cafferty has been going through your e- mail. He's joining us once again from New York.
Peter Max has got a gallery in New York, Jack. You've probably been there.
CAFFERTY: I'm familiar with some of his work. But it just occurred to me, I mean, we are getting some impressive guests that are rolling through this SITUATION ROOM. We've only been at this for a couple of months now.
BLITZER: Oh, yeah. It's only going to get better.
CAFFERTY: I know. This is where the happening in-crowd needs to hang out. And I'll leave as soon as I'm done here.
The House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday that will block people from suing fast-food restaurants for making them chubby. It would need to pass in the Senate in order to become law. That hasn't happened yet.
The question is this. Should you be able to sue a fast-food joint because you're fat?
Al in Glen Falls, New York: "Parents take a minute to ask your children what they were served for lunch today in school. The fast- food restaurants are not responsible for our eating habits. We've been educating our children that it's correct to eat tacos, orange pseudo cheese, pizza, hot dogs, buttered noodles. I could go on and on."
Jim in Charlottesville, Virginia: "If the cigarette companies can be sued for attempting to sell to kids a product known to cause health problems, why should not the fast-food industry be held to the same standards?"
Paul in Middletown, Ohio: "The answer would be, no. However, I wanted to thank you for clearing up the cheeseburger bill. Until now, I thought it was the Secret Service code name for President Clinton."
Bill in Greensboro, North Carolina: "Not only will I be suing Burger King for making me fat, I'll be suing Turner Broadcasting for not giving you your own show. And then I'll sue you, because you never read my responses."
And Allen writes: "Who do you sue if you're not just fat, but ugly too?
BLITZER: Jack, I read that little X-rated e-mail you got from one viewer as well.
CAFFERTY: It wasn't X-rated, but it was just border line. But it was funny. BLITZER: Not appropriate for THE SITUATION ROOM.
CAFFERTY: No, no. It's a family show here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Don't show it to Zain, she might go crazy.
BLITZER: Thank you, Jack.
Still ahead, very serious news involving Tom DeLay. He's now been finger printed and booked. We'll have a live report from Texas on DeLay's legal ordeal and his political crisis.
Also coming up, we expect a live update coming up from the National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield on Wilma's likely collision course with Florida.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
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BLITZER: It's almost time for the markets to close and the closing bell. Let's check in with Ali Velshi for more on that and other stuff he's looking at. Ali?
VELSHI: Big ouchy on the markets right now -- I'll go back to that in just a minute -- just as markets are closing. But we have a 125 point loss right now on the Dow. It's exactly the gain we had yesterday.
Let me tell you back to Hurricane Wilma what's going on. We've got cruise ships telling us what they are doing right now. We've heard from Carnival, six itineraries run by Carnival Cruise Lines ships -- now that's the Carnival Cruise Lines branch of Carnival, because they've got other cruise lines as well -- six of those are going to have itineraries changed.
If there's a change in the itinerary or the port of call before the ship departs, passengers can cancel the trip and get a full refund. If there's a drop in the number of ports of call during a cruise, you get 25 bucks for each port that you miss.
Now, a lot of these cruise companies wait. They keep in close contact with the Coast Guard, because a lot of them feel they can run out a hurricane better in the open sea than they can in port. I don't know how you deal with that with this wobbly storm. But a lot of them like to be at sea. They figure they can outrun the storm that way.
Norwegian Cruise Lines has three ships in the Caribbean right now, the Norwegian Sun and the Dream and the Crown. The Sun and the Dream will have scheduled changes as a result of Hurricane Wilma.
Disney is watching closely, but there are no changes on the books right now. They've got two ships operating out of Port Canaveral. But they do say a change in the port of call wouldn't necessarily entitle a passenger to a refund.
Also, sticking with hurricane stuff, we had jobless claims coming in today. The government now saying the total number of people claiming jobless status as a result of Hurricane Katrina, 478,000, well above the 400,000 estimate that we initially had, Wolf.
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