Storms Barrel Down on Florida; Kobe Bryant Case
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. Bill Hemmer, along with Heidi Collins on this Thursday edition of AMERICAN MORNING, watching these storms, huh?</s>HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.</s>HEMMER: Pretty pictures at this point, but we're told later as we move...</s>HEMMER: That's right, like a postcard. But as we move throughout the morning, we'll cover that for you and get you back there live in Florida, find out what we're learning now about the coordinates for that storm.</s>COLLINS: Also, there's another sign today that the Kobe Bryant trial, scheduled to begin at end of the month, may never get off the ground. Did the court make one blunder too many? We'll talk to author and D.A. Jeanine Pirro in just a moment.</s>HEMMER: Also, our personal finance coach, David Bach, helping us all save a little extra cash, stops by today with some tips on how you can "Live Rich Today." Some advice on what you can do to save on your grocery bill.</s>COLLINS: Plus, some "Political Pop." It seems President Bush is dropping what had been one of his favorite economic themes on the campaign trail. Our panel is going to talk about that. Turn the corner?</s>HEMMER: And they are ready to go, too. Yes, turn corner maybe and maybe not. We'll get to that in a moment here. Now the latest on what's happening in Florida. The storm is barreling down now, two of them in fact. Chad Myers is on the beach in Panama City. Rob Marciano is tracking the storm at CNN center in Atlanta. Chad -- good morning. Let's start there. What do you have in your hand?</s>CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I have a wind gauge here, Bill. And now we're up to about 24 miles an hour. And literally, this squall came in just in the past 15 minutes, so good timing that you came to me. The wind is getting -- just driving this rain sideways here, and the storm is still well out to sea, at least 100 miles out to sea. We have some partygoers here up and down the beach. We're going to chase them inside here pretty soon -- at least Mother Nature will. Let me show you the radar as we even can now finally pick up what we think is the outside of an eye wall. The eye wall itself, the orange and the red part there is just to the south of Panama City. And obviously we're going to get these rain bands to come in. Every time a rain band comes in, the squalls are going to pick up and the winds are going to pick up. And even though the hurricane hunters have found 50-mile-per-hour winds, I assume we'll have some gusts to 65 or maybe even a little bit higher than that. The problem is that this is No. 1 of a one-two punch. This storm is going to put down a lot of rain. It already put down two to three inches of rain overnight across the Florida Panhandle. And now it's raining again very hard. And so as this storm moves up the Northeast, Charley is going to move up the same path. And there is going to be a lot of rain. Two storms, two paths, almost parallel. And we're going to knock some trees down as well. And my colleague, Rob Marciano, is in the weather center to tell you about that.</s>COLLINS: Now to the Kobe Bryant rape case. The prosecution's request for an indefinite delay of the trial could mean the criminal case is all but dead. The state claims that information about the accuser's sex life has poisoned the jury pool, and they say she is not ready to testify. Jeanine Pirro, district attorney for Westchester County, New York, and author of "To Punish and Protect," is with us now. All right. So, the prosecution actually began by asking for a fast trial, and they wanted jury selection to begin August 27. The judge said, you know, I'm going to stand by that.</s>JEANINE PIRRO, DISTRICT ATTORNEY WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y.: Right, right.</s>COLLINS: What now? Here we are close to August 27, and it doesn't appear that this case is even going forward for so many reasons. No. 1 is the fact that the prosecution is asking for a delay based upon what appears to be the handwriting on the wall. It appears that the victim is almost reluctant at this point, based upon the fact that there have been one too many blunders by the court. Her name released on the court Web site. Her medical records were released. Defense testimony was released. It's prejudicial to her. But it's so close to this point in time when we're going to trial that the prosecution has said, wait a minute. We need an adjournment. The jury pool has been tainted here.</s>COLLINS: She</s>PIRRO: But also there are DNA records that have not been turned over by the defense to the people that were supposed to be turned over two months ago. Plus, you know, you hear the victim -- the accuser, because the judge forced people to call her the accuser, not the victim.</s>COLLINS: Right.</s>PIRRO: The attorney is saying, you know, what we've got here is an expanded gag order now. Now that our client has been so jeopardized by these court blunders, you expand the gag order that doesn't permit her to protect her reputation. This is one too many mistakes.</s>COLLINS: Well, and speaking of that reputation, you know, a defense expert questioned how many men she had slept with in the past. The prosecution never got respond.</s>PIRRO: Right.</s>COLLINS: How damaging does that become?</s>PIRRO: Look, the rape shield has been turned on its head in this case. You've got the court for the first time saying that she can't be called a victim. She's got to be called accuser. And make no mistake. We're at the trial stage now. There has already been a probable cause hearing here. You've got the court that released her compensatory payments by the state for her medical counseling that she's entitled to. There have been so many mistakes that she's saying, look, I want to take this to a civil court. What I want to do is have a level playing field. I want to turn the tables on Kobe Bryant. And that's what will happen, because now she can talk about his sex life, what he has done. She can subpoena his medical records. She can get in his statement to the police, the t-shirt with blood on it. Everything gets turned around.</s>COLLINS: Could this motion for delay, though, just be sort of a face-saving way for the prosecution to say, look, we quit?</s>PIRRO: I think what the prosecution is doing is re-assessing its case and trying to figure whether out they have a victim who will cooperate. I think that they are now stepping back a bit, and they're entitled to, based upon the fact that they don't have all of the defense reports. But the prosecution is definitely not in a good place.</s>COLLINS: What about the money in all of this? I mean, you know, unspecified damages...</s>PIRRO: Right.</s>COLLINS: ... for this civil lawsuit that's coming up. How does all of that play in?</s>PIRRO: Well, I think that what the accuser has said in this case is, look, I have been accused of everything from being a slut to a bigot to mentally unstable. I've been accused of having only a financial motive for this since there have been so many mistakes that have inured to my detriment, none of the mistakes incurred by the defendant in this case, I now am seeking money damages. And make no mistake, Heidi. A victim has the right to bring a civil case. I mean, the fact that you are a victim in a criminal case doesn't mean you can't be a plaintiff in a civil case. She doesn't lose those rights. She is entitled to sue civilly.</s>COLLINS: All right, Jeanine Pirro, thanks so much, as always, for your insight on this case. More to go, that's for sure. All right. Bill -- back to you.</s>HEMMER: all right, Heidi, 22 minutes now before the hour. Back to Daryn Kagan watching the news and starting again in Iraq. Daryn -- good morning.</s>DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: That we do. Bill, good morning to you. A major U.S. military offensive is under way in the Iraqi city of Najaf. Explosions and gunfire are echoing throughout the city. American and Iraqi security forces are working to crush the insurgency led by radical cleric Muqtada al Sadr. The offensive was launched just overnight. It's not clear at this point if there are any casualties. President Bush and Senator John Kerry pass by each other. They'll both be in Southern California today. The president addresses union leaders in Las Vegas and then heads to a fund-raiser with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Meanwhile, Senator Kerry is in the L.A. area speaking about job creation. He'll rally in Oregon tonight. Speaking of the president, Larry King has an exclusive interview with President Bush and the first lady, Mrs. Laura Bush, tonight at 9:00 Eastern on "LARRY KING LIVE." To Utah now. There are new details about the relationship between Mark and Lori Hacking. According to court papers released yesterday, Lori Hacking apparently wrote to her husband expressing doubts about their five-year marriage. Mark Hacking is charged with killing his wife and dumping her body. Investigators have yet to recover a gun or the body. The search of a landfill is expected to resume tonight. To Washington, three 14-week old Sumatran tiger cubs make their official debut at the National Zoo. A few folks did get a sneak peek -- oh, look at that -- yesterday. The general public will be able to see them. Here are their names. They are Mara (ph), Jolin (ph) and Basar (ph). Starting at 7:30 this morning, you get your peek. Each cub will grow. They look pretty cute now, but each is going to go to about 300 pounds over the next year. Sumatran tigers, by the way, are endangered. There are fewer than 500 remaining in the wild. But you can get your peek. Bill, I know you love the animal stories. That one was for you.</s>HEMMER: I like Sumatra...</s>KAGAN: Yes, Sumatra.</s>HEMMER: The island.</s>KAGAN: Sumatran tigers.</s>HEMMER: That's right. Hey, thank you, Daryn.</s>KAGAN: Sure.</s>HEMMER: Jack a off on vacation. Back with us, look what the cat dragged back in, my man Toure. How are you doing?</s>TOURE, "ROLLING STONE": I'm fine. I'm fine. We have a little bit of a more serious question. We're looking for honesty today. In New York City, we live with the strictures of terrorism every day. We know we are a constant target. But if you're in Miami or Iowa or North Dakota, do you really deep down fear that an attack is going to happen in your world? Is it a physical concern for you? Or is it just a big city concern? Is it just an East Cast thing, or is this something the whole country is worried about? Do you feel vulnerable if you're not in a big city? So, the question is: Do you believe terrorism will affect you directly if you're not in New York City or Washington, D.C.? E-mail us at AM@CNN.com.</s>HEMMER: A really great topic, too. The "L.A. Times" had a piece about a week ago that talked about the amount of attention the terror warnings got on the East Coast versus the West Coast in papers like the "L.A. Times" versus "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post".</s>TOURE: And it could happen out there.</s>COLLINS: The Oklahoma City bombing.</s>TOURE: Yes, yes, yes, absolutely.</s>HEMMER: But the point they made in Washington was that for us it's personal.</s>TOURE: That's right.</s>HEMMER: Because of the Pentagon...</s>TOURE: That's right.</s>HEMMER: ... because the World Trade Center, going back to 9/11.</s>TOURE: That's right.</s>COLLINS: It's certainly on everybody's mind no matter where you live, though.</s>TOURE: Absolutely.</s>COLLINS: Tour, thanks so much. Well check back and see what they say, huh? Still to come this morning, food for thought. Want to know how to fill up your grocery cart without emptying your wallet? Yes, we all do. Personal finance guru David Bach has the secrets of saving big bucks at the supermarket.</s>HEMMER: Also, "Political Pop" and the Bush campaign making a bit of a u-turn on the stump. The president has dropped a favorite phrase apparently going back to last Friday. We'll talk about that, why he's not using it now. Back in a moment after this.