Growing List of Precautions Surround Boston Hosting Democratic National Convention
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Generations ago, outrage Bostonians rebelled with a tea party. Today the 't' stands for terrorism, and the growing list of precautions that will surround the city's hosting the of Democratic National Convention. CNN Boston bureau chief Dan Lothian explains.</s>DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): It's a massive security blanket covering Boston during the Democratic National Convention. In the harbor, armed Coast Guard units and new Boston Police speedboats.</s>KATHLEEN O'TOOLE, BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER: Capable of heading off threatening vessels at speeds up to 70 miles an hour.</s>LOTHIAN: Across town for the first time at least 75 high-tech cameras wired into a temporary surveillance network. Manhole covers have been sealed. Garbage cans and newspaper stands, potential hiding places for bombs, have been removed.</s>THOMAS MENINO (D), MAYOR OF BOSTON: The people of Boston can feel assured knowing that our city is more secure than ever.</s>LOTHIAN: But that tight security grip troubles some residents, who worry too much of a good thing may cross the line.</s>PROTESTERS (singing): We are no more safe than in the streets of Boston.</s>LOTHIAN: These protesters recently took to the streets calling the city's plans to conduct random person bag checks on the train system during the DNC week unconstitutional.</s>CAROL ROSE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACLU: It is going to violate the fundamental right to privacy while potentially bringing the entire system to a standstill.</s>LOTHIAN: Civil rights advocates are poised to file lawsuits to challenge searches and halt them once they begin.</s>URSZULA MASNY-LATOS, NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD: If we allow these searches to happen, what will be our next step? Are we going to allow searches of all cars? Are we going to allow searches of everyone who enters a mall? Where are we going to stop with this?</s>LOTHIAN (on camera): The ACLU is also concerned about all the surveillance cameras which will be keeping a close eye on activity across the city, raising questions about oversight and safeguards, fearful that they could be used for the wrong reasons. (voice-over): But law enforcement officials say they're just targeting criminals, not snooping on the general public, and that all the security measures, while inconvenient, are necessary.</s>O'TOOLE: This is a different world today. It's is post-9/11 world. We have to err on the side of caution.</s>LOTHIAN: Some residents are understanding.</s>RICHARD GROSSACK, BOSTON COMMUTER: You have to be somewhat sympathetic, no matter how much of a civil liberties person you are.</s>LOTHIAN: The law enforcement challenge, working to keep Boston safe and free. Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.</s>WHITFIELD: The Democratic National Convention will be the platform to officially bestow the party's nomination on John Edwards and John Kerry. It's an accomplishment that didn't come cheap. Kerry's federal election report filed late yesterday shows his spending has nearly matched President Bush's since the primary ended. That's roughly $111 million in four months. Also included in that report, Kerry raised a party record of more than $186 million from January 2003 to last month. Well, Kerry's running mate Senator John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, will be guests on LARRY KING LIVE tonight. You can catch that 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific. Jenna Bush set tongues wagging when she and her sister, Barbara, joined their father's re-election campaign. Apparently turnabout is fair play. The twins join their father on the campaign trail for the first time yesterday. Jenna playfully saluted the political press photographer corps at Lambert International Airport at St. Louis, Missouri. Well, what would a political season be without a little fun. Fun and quite a few insults coming up in the next hour of CNN LIVE TODAY. Meet the guys behind the political cartoon of the season. And have all the diet trends impacted what you eat? Find out what Americans are really eating when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.</s>WHITFIELD: Well, seems like everywhere you look these days it's low carb, low carb, low carb. But guess what? Not all Americans are buying it. When it comes to losing weight, a Gallup poll shows that the majority of Americans believe a low-fat diet is the healthiest, 67 percent compared to 23 percent, who believe low carb is the way to go. Only about 27 percent of Americans say they are trying to avoid carbs, 33 percent are actually trying to include them, while 39 percent don't think about them either way, just eat what they want. Well, here's what people we talked to this morning say about the low-carb craze.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a lot of friend that actually went on South Beach and lost a lot of weight. So I'm not going to -- I don't really know about it as far as how healthy it is, but I know it does show results, but it comes back.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I tried the Weight Watchers, and we did the low carb, and then I tried just cutting back calories, stuff like that, and the low carb seemed to work the best. I've tried weight watchers, and it's like, it just didn't work for me. And the others low calories just -- I guess I couldn't stick to them or something, I don't know.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I eat a lot of carbohydrates; it gives me energy. And I don't really think carbs make you that big. The low fat, that's the way to go.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there's a lot of fanfare around these diets and a lot of marketing being pushed. And you know, just eat right, exercise, stay healthy.</s>WHITFIELD: Well, in our next hour we'll break down those diet numbers further, and we'll talk about all of those options with a dieting guru Dr. Jim Hill. Well, celebrating 35 years of history with the president. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins will join us momentarily to talk about the morning visit with the president.