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American Morning
People Leaving New Orleans for Higher Ground; Interview With Kitty Kelley
Aired September 15, 2004 - 9:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. And here comes Ivan. A hurricane capable of widespread devastation heading now directly for the U.S. at this hour.
And the agony of the exodus continues. Hundreds of thousands flee New Orleans in bumper-to-bumper traffic. And as if one were not enough, suddenly Tropical Storm Jeanne popping up, already threatening land on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING. Here's Bill Hemmer.
HEMMER: And good morning again. We are live in Mobile, Alabama, this morning. Off in the distance is the Mobile River, where we've seen a number of ships and water vessels take cover, going northward, trying to get out of the way of Ivan.
And Ivan is headed along the Gulf Coast later today. And a number of people waiting not only for this storm, but also for the aftermath and what will be after Ivan comes and goes.
Good morning live in Mobile, Alabama, again. I'm Bill Hemmer.
And a big day for the people here up and down the Gulf Coast. A hurricane warning in effect for a 300-mile stretch of the Gulf Coast from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to Apalachicola in the East, just below Tallahassee.
Now, the mayor of New Orleans urging his city's half-million people to get out of town. That's a city below sea level. And by day and by night, thousands doing just that, leaving the city sometimes in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Now, Ivan 180 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River. Ivan still a strong storm, Category 4 hurricane, winds sustained at 140 miles an hour. Hurricane-force winds felt more than 100 miles away from the eye of that storm. And again, expected to make landfall late tonight, early tomorrow morning on Thursday morning. We will have much more as our coverage continues this morning here in Alabama.
To Heidi Collins again back in New York City.
Heidi, good morning there.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Bill, thanks so much.
Also this morning, some pretty serious allegations being made about President Bush in a new book by Kitty Kelley. And she's making claims about drugs and alcohol. And that is just part of it.
There are plenty of people, though, saying none of it is true. So we're going to talk to her about it directly.
Jack Cafferty now this morning as well.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
I have a question. We keep showing that video of all those cars leaving New Orleans on one side of the interstate. The other side of the interstate has no cars on it at all.
Why wouldn't the authorities, who are trying to evacuate a million people, open up both sides of the interstate to the outbound traffic? Nobody in his right mind is going to want to go into New Orleans if there's a hurricane coming. It's just a little something that occurred to me.
Serena Williams talks about getting robbed in her match against Jennifer Capriati. And she was -- I happened to watch it on TV -- by an idiot chair umpire that just made about four bad calls in a row that cost her the match.
That's part of the Cafferty file. And we're going to try like hell to get it on this hour. We didn't make it last hour.
COLLINS: We will try indeed.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
COLLINS: And it was a very interesting match. You got that right. Jack, thanks so much.
Want to get to the stories in the news now this morning.
Word this hour another American death in Iraq. Military sources say a Marine died in combat yesterday in the Al Anbar province. The death brings the American war toll to 1,017.
Authorities also investigating the discovery of three headless bodies. The victims have been identified as Iraqi civilians.
Three Americans in Afghanistan now are being told they will spend up to a decade in prison. According to wire reports, the men were found guilty of running their own private prison and torture chamber in Kabul. American and Afghan officials say the men were vigilantes posing as U.S. Special Forces and had no special backing.
The search for the body of Lori Hacking is on again. She's the woman who disappeared in Utah last July. Volunteers are now hand searching more than 4,600 tons of trash at a Salt Lake City landfill. Among the volunteers are dozens who looked for remains at the World Trade Center following the 9/11 attacks.
A woman fired for displaying a John Kerry sticker on her car's bumper now has a job with the Democrat's presidential campaign. Lynn Goebel (ph) got a call from Kerry after he read a newspaper story describing how she had been fired Thursday at a plant in Wilton, Alabama. And she's not sure what she'll be doing yet for the campaign.
Back to Bill now in Mobile once again.
Bill, hello.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi.
In Mobile, population 250,000. Jimmy Buffett calls this place home. Hank Aaron grew up here. But now people are getting out, not just in Mobile, but also in New Orleans.
People there leaving that town for higher ground amid fears that Ivan could inundate the Big Easy under 20 feet of water. That was one forecast put out yesterday.
Colonel Jay Mayeaux from Louisiana's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness my guest now in Baton Rouge.
And Colonel, good morning. What are you telling people there in the low-lying areas of your state?
COL. JAY MAYEAUX, LOUISIANA OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY & EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: All across the southeastern portion of the state, Bill, we've asked, in the leadership of those parishes and municipalities, have asked early on in the process that they evacuate and move to higher ground in low -- in-lying portions of our state.
HEMMER: Colonel, there's an observe question here. In cities like New Orleans, below sea level, what can you do to get ready there?
MAYEAUX: There's several mitigation projects we already have in place with pumping stations and pumping systems. There's also a levee in place around New Orleans and a series of levee walls and doors and gates that can be closed to prevent flooding in the in-lying areas of New Orleans. Those are already in place.
HEMMER: And the people living in that area, the warnings go out, take care, get out, protect your own lives. But also, the aftermath of these storms can be downright uncomfortable -- no power, no electricity, no gas, many times no hot food. What are you telling people, Colonel, today in your state?
MAYEAUX: We are already taken proactive steps on our part. In advance we've called on Governor Blanco to bring additional National Guard soldiers on duty, to put them in forward staging areas to be deployed, and probably areas that will be effected by the storm.
We have shelters inland also to help receive some of these evacuees and house them for the duration and the effects of the storm. And we continue to monitor with the state police and the Department of Transportation the ongoing evacuation process.
HEMMER: You know, the one thing we learn, Colonel, in every one of these storms, that no two storms are alike. What are you hearing now about the possibility of New Orleans taking a direct hit from Ivan?
MAYEAUX: Well, we are consistently tracking the storm tracks. Over the last eight -- five to six alerts and advisories, it has been consistently between the Mississippi and Alabama border, leaving us on the westward side of the storm. So we are happy about that.
We'll continue to monitor. It's still a very serious storm. We're in contact twice daily with our parishes, to conference calls, updating them with information right from the National Weather Service, getting their issues of concern and addressing those as they arrive.
HEMMER: Colonel, thanks. Jay Mayeaux is there in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Someone's going to get it, whether it is New Orleans or Biloxi or Mobile or possibly the Panhandle of Florida. That's what we're all waiting here.
Colonel, thanks and good luck to you in the next 24 to 36 hours for this storm now looming here.
Also in Mississippi, residents there living south of Interstate 10, I-10, under mandatory evacuation orders there. In Biloxi this morning, say good morning to Kathleen Koch.
Kathleen, what do you have for us?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
We're here at the Treasure Bay Casino. This is one of 12 casinos that dot the Mississippi Gulf Coast, that 75-mile stretch. And these are really critical to the local economy.
They employ some 15,000 people. On a daily basis, they generate more than $350,000 in state and local taxes. So really vital. But, you know, it all came to a halt yesterday.
That was when the state gaming commission said we're shutting these down at noon yesterday. And employees at these 12 casinos then labored through the night, picking up, boxing up, carrying out everything they could, everything that was not nailed down. And then things that they couldn't carry out they elevated on cement blocks.
Now, when you look at these casinos, you can see why they evacuated them and shut them down, because they're literally floating barges. They are on the water. And they are totally unprotected.
When Hurricane George swept through here back in 1998, very, very serious damage to a couple of these casinos. The hurricane itself caused some $2.3 billion in damage. And that was just a Category 2. So, hence, these mandatory evacuations for all the low-lying areas of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
There are some 18 shelters opened in Harrison County alone, the central county in Mississippi. Only 360 people inside. That could be a good thing, that could be a bad thing.
Officials say, well, perhaps people got out, they headed north. There is a lot of clogged traffic on the roadways heading north from here. But the other worry, Bill, is that people are hunkering down in their homes and planning to ride this out.
There's that survivor mentality after this area was hit in 1969 by Camille, the strongest Category 5 in modern history. A lot of people say, "I'll ride this one out, too." Very risky, Bill.
HEMMER: You be safe, OK? Kathleen Koch there live in Biloxi.
Want to get to Chad Myers again watching the satellite, watching the radar.
Chad, good morning again. What do you have for us now at this hour?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Bill.
I have a line on the map behind me. It's the most important line for the people of New Orleans and probably the most dangerous line for the people in Mobile.
This line takes us from all the way back 24 hours ago in a direct straight line to New Orleans. You will notice, now, the last couple of frames, literally the last 30 minutes, the line is starting to get a little bit of distance between the eye wall and that line, which means the storm is making its turn.
That anticipated turn that we thought would make it -- you know, we thought it would happen, but until it happens you never know. But it is now coming off of this line and now probably making its turn toward the hurricane center's path on up toward Mobile Bay. That's the official forecast track.
You can see how large the storm is. Everyone all the way probably even to Tallahassee could see some hurricane strength gusts -- 140 miles per hour right now, Category 4, running right into Mobile Bay, although you still have to watch.
This thing could still turn left. If you're in New Orleans, you still can't breathe easy with this thing. But at least it's off that line for you. That's not so good news, though, for the folks in Mobile, Bill, right where you are, and possibly even into Pensacola.
It just depends on how hard that right turn decides to be. We know it is finally moving. That's good news for some and not so good for others -- Bill.
HEMMER: There is one silver lining in all this, too, Chad. I would tell you, coming in last night from the airport, driving to our location here about 30 minutes away, it seems to us as if people are really taking this storm seriously.
Countless stores and homes and businesses boarded up. Much more so than we saw with Frances about two weeks ago. If there is a silver lining, people are heeding the warnings that folks like you are putting out.
MYERS: All the way...
HEMMER: Thank you, Chad. Talk to you again at the bottom of the -- go ahead, all the way where?
MYERS: All the way from the water's edge, Bill. All the way 12 blocks inland in downtown Mobile will be under water if this storm runs right up the bay like it's forecast to do. So good thing they're ready.
HEMMER: It's one heck of a storm surge. That's right.
Some cars on the roads here in downtown Mobile. That won't be the case later today. We'll watch it for you.
Back to Heidi again now in New York -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Wow. All right, Bill. Thanks so much.
Still to come this morning, the frightening link between suicide and kids who use antidepressants. Federal officials have some recommendations now. And Dr. Sanjay Gupta sorts them out for us.
Plus, it's the new book the White House says is so trashy even tabloids could cringe. We'll talk to the controversial author, Kitty Kelley, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tales of infidelity, drug use and alcoholism go on sale today in an unauthorized biography about the Bush family. But its author, Kitty Kelley, has been skewered by the press for her journalistic methods.
And the White House dismisses this way: "This gossip writer's allegations are false and so trashy that even the tabloids should cringe. The politically-motivated timing, the lack of any credible sources, and the writer's long history of making similar false allegations against great Americans, including President and Mrs. Reagan, should cause all Americans and credible news organizations to place this book and its lies where it belongs... in the garbage."
The book is called "The Family: The Real Story of The Bush Dynasty." And the author, Kitty Kelley, joins me now.
Good morning to you. Thanks for being here today.
KITTY KELLEY, AUTHOR: Hi, Heidi.
COLLINS: You do make some very unflattering accusations against all of the Bush family. You worked on it for four years.
KELLEY: Four years. COLLINS: And yet, it all came together just weeks before the general election. Do you have...
KELLEY: Oh, I wish it did all come together that way.
COLLINS: Well, the book is out now...
KELLEY: It's out.
COLLINS: ... on sale today, just weeks before the election.
KELLEY: That's right.
COLLINS: Do have you any hopes of actually having an impact on the political elections here?
KELLEY: No, that wasn't the point of writing the book. The point of writing the book was to go beyond this crafted public image of the Bush family to the reality behind them, what they're really like, how they accumulated their wealth, how they accumulated their great power. It is not negative or positive. It just is very, very real.
I'm surprised, though, that the White House is so exorcised about this. My previous books have all been about people who are alive. I don't write about people who are dead. I write only about people who can defend themselves. And each book has stood the test of time, and this one will, too, because everything in it is corroborated.
Also...
COLLINS: Let's talk about one of the more serious allegations, if we could get down to some of the details here. You write that the president did cocaine at Camp David while his father was president. Let me just ask the question.
You say your source for that was Sharon Bush. And we have heard her publicly deny that she ever said that to you.
In fact, we have the exact quote from Sharon Bush from "The Today Show" with Matt Lauer. It says, "I never saw the use of cocaine. And I am sticking by it. I mean, I have to set the record straight."
"I was stunned. I looked at her and I said, 'Who would ever tell you that?'"
Does it become a problem for you as a writer, as a person, when someone comes out that you say you have spoken to and they say, "Whoa, I didn't say any of that"?
KELLEY: No, it doesn't. It doesn't become a problem at all.
First of all, I never said that she saw George W. do cocaine. I have an independent witness who was sitting at the lunch when she said it.
COLLINS: The independent witness was?
KELLEY: Lou Colace Wagner (ph).
COLLINS: Your agent?
KELLEY: No, hers.
COLLINS: Her agent.
KELLEY: Right. And he has confirmed it.
I then read the notes the next day to my editor, called her on the phone, confirmed it. His name is Peter Gethers (ph). Two independent sources that were there when I went over information.
But I don't blame Sharon Bush. She's scared. People are scared.
COLLINS: Of what?
KELLEY: Of what? Of the family, of the most powerful family in America, of a sitting president, of a former president who has a long and influential reach.
COLLINS: All right. Let's talk about one of the other questions that you had here in your book, the president's time in the National Guard.
Of course, you speculate that he failed to show up for his physical. This was in April of '72. But the reason, you say, was because that was when the Air Force started this random drug testing.
In fact, you write, "While there is no indication that George W. Bush was institutionalized for substance abuse, legitimate speculation arose after he failed to show up in 1972 for his annual physical with the National Guard and was suspended from flying."
You talk about speculation here, but what evidence do you have of that?
KELLEY: Well, first of all, we have George W. Bush himself, who has never, ever denied his cocaine use. He was a drug addict and he was an alcoholic. His substance abuse is a matter of public record. And in this book...
COLLINS: Are you saying that George W. Bush has never denied that he was using drugs while in the Texas National Guard?
KELLEY: I am saying that. He has never, ever denied it. And he could easily settle this whole thing by opening up the flight inquiry board record.
COLLINS: And what would that show?
KELLEY: That would show what happened, why his last recorded flight was in April of 1972, why he couldn't fly again. That would show... COLLINS: Well, I think we're missing one of the main points here, and that is a determination and an (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of the word "speculation" versus evidence. You do see a difference?
KELLEY: No, not in this book.
COLLINS: You don't see a difference between speculation and evidence?
KELLEY: In this book, what is speculated says "legitimate speculation." What is corroborated says "corroborated."
COLLINS: I don't know what legitimate speculation is.
KELLEY: You just read it.
COLLINS: I don't know what it is still.
KELLEY: A legitimate speculation, if someone has a drug problem, has never denied his drug problem. The Air Force is instituting random drug testing. And this man cannot take a physical -- legitimate.
COLLINS: Kitty Kelley, we appreciate your time this morning.
KELLEY: Thank you.
COLLINS: Thanks for being here.
Bill, back down to you and Mobile, Alabama.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi. Thanks for that.
Hoping for the best, certainly. Getting ready, though, for the worst. Hurricane Ivan, if it looks this bad from space, how much damage could it do once it makes landfall? The latest on the path of the storm ahead in a moment here live in Mobile in after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Ah, the things people say. Jack Cafferty now.
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Heidi.
"The Cafferty File" Wednesday, which means talking about things people say, beginning with this: "I'm the most immature person I know. No, that's not true. There's Hugh Grant." That's Sandra Bullock, the actress.
"People that don't like me are certain rich people that are jealous of the show 'The Apprentice,' because they walk down the street and nobody knows who they are and nobody gives a damn." Guess who now.
COLLINS: Who?
CAFFERTY: Mr. ego, Donald Trump.
You do need to get over yourself, Don, at some point.
"My claim to fame, the reason for my success, is that I do not perspire and I rarely have to go to the bathroom." That would be Barbara Walters commenting on her long and illustrious career as a television reporter and anchor woman.
"Too many good doctors are getting out of business. Too many OBGYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." That's our illustrious president, George Bush, on the effects of frivolous lawsuits on health care.
And finally, this: "I am extremely angry, bitter, upset. I feel cheated. Should I go on? I just feel robbed."
Serena Williams on the not questionable calls, absolutely miserable calls made by the chair umpire, who's name is Marianna Alves, in a match at the U.S. Open against Jennifer Capriati. I happened to watch that at home. It was disgraceful.
They had that machine on CBS that shows you where the ball lands. And time and time again, the machine showed that Marianna Alves had her head someplace besides in the game, if you get my drift.
Why don't they use those machines to determine whether or not a questionable call is accurate or? Serena Williams was robbed of that match against Jennifer Capriati and might have been robbed of the U.S. Open title because of this incompetent woman who was sitting in the chair umpire seat.
COLLINS: Yes. The Mac (ph) cam, John McEnroe.
CAFFERTY: Huh?
COLLINS: The Mac (ph) cam they call it.
CAFFERTY: Yes?
COLLINS: Yes. I don't know...
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: Whatever. I mean, but it -- they seem to be able to determine whether a call is accurate or not using this thing.
COLLINS: Sure.
CAFFERTY: Why the hell don't they use it?
COLLINS: To change the call.
CAFFERTY: Why should the woman -- yes, why should the woman be kicked out of the open based on the idiocy of this -- I don't understand it.
COLLINS: Well, you may be right.
CAFFERTY: And one other thing. Those of you writing about the roads in New Orleans, I've got a daughter who is a student at Tulane. She was trying to get out New Orleans yesterday afternoon.
I talked to her on her cell phone at 4:00 in the afternoon yesterday, and they had gone 10 miles in 4.5 hours.
COLLINS: Oh my gosh.
CAFFERTY: So that's the -- that's first-hand testimony to the wisdom of the local politicians on making it able -- making it feasible to get out of that town yesterday afternoon. Now, this morning, they apparently have figured out the errs of their ways. But yesterday it was just a nightmare.
COLLINS: Yes, man. All right. Well, glad she's out of there. Thanks so much, Jack.
CAFFERTY: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Still ahead now this morning, we'll go back to Bill in Alabama. And we'll also talk "90-Second Pop."
Simon Cowell is best known as the tough judge on "American Idol." But Cowell himself may end up in front of an even tougher judge.
Plus, Jessica Simpson dukes it out for a big movie role and comes out a winner.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired September 15, 2004 - 9:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. And here comes Ivan. A hurricane capable of widespread devastation heading now directly for the U.S. at this hour.
And the agony of the exodus continues. Hundreds of thousands flee New Orleans in bumper-to-bumper traffic. And as if one were not enough, suddenly Tropical Storm Jeanne popping up, already threatening land on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING. Here's Bill Hemmer.
HEMMER: And good morning again. We are live in Mobile, Alabama, this morning. Off in the distance is the Mobile River, where we've seen a number of ships and water vessels take cover, going northward, trying to get out of the way of Ivan.
And Ivan is headed along the Gulf Coast later today. And a number of people waiting not only for this storm, but also for the aftermath and what will be after Ivan comes and goes.
Good morning live in Mobile, Alabama, again. I'm Bill Hemmer.
And a big day for the people here up and down the Gulf Coast. A hurricane warning in effect for a 300-mile stretch of the Gulf Coast from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to Apalachicola in the East, just below Tallahassee.
Now, the mayor of New Orleans urging his city's half-million people to get out of town. That's a city below sea level. And by day and by night, thousands doing just that, leaving the city sometimes in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Now, Ivan 180 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River. Ivan still a strong storm, Category 4 hurricane, winds sustained at 140 miles an hour. Hurricane-force winds felt more than 100 miles away from the eye of that storm. And again, expected to make landfall late tonight, early tomorrow morning on Thursday morning. We will have much more as our coverage continues this morning here in Alabama.
To Heidi Collins again back in New York City.
Heidi, good morning there.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Bill, thanks so much.
Also this morning, some pretty serious allegations being made about President Bush in a new book by Kitty Kelley. And she's making claims about drugs and alcohol. And that is just part of it.
There are plenty of people, though, saying none of it is true. So we're going to talk to her about it directly.
Jack Cafferty now this morning as well.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
I have a question. We keep showing that video of all those cars leaving New Orleans on one side of the interstate. The other side of the interstate has no cars on it at all.
Why wouldn't the authorities, who are trying to evacuate a million people, open up both sides of the interstate to the outbound traffic? Nobody in his right mind is going to want to go into New Orleans if there's a hurricane coming. It's just a little something that occurred to me.
Serena Williams talks about getting robbed in her match against Jennifer Capriati. And she was -- I happened to watch it on TV -- by an idiot chair umpire that just made about four bad calls in a row that cost her the match.
That's part of the Cafferty file. And we're going to try like hell to get it on this hour. We didn't make it last hour.
COLLINS: We will try indeed.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
COLLINS: And it was a very interesting match. You got that right. Jack, thanks so much.
Want to get to the stories in the news now this morning.
Word this hour another American death in Iraq. Military sources say a Marine died in combat yesterday in the Al Anbar province. The death brings the American war toll to 1,017.
Authorities also investigating the discovery of three headless bodies. The victims have been identified as Iraqi civilians.
Three Americans in Afghanistan now are being told they will spend up to a decade in prison. According to wire reports, the men were found guilty of running their own private prison and torture chamber in Kabul. American and Afghan officials say the men were vigilantes posing as U.S. Special Forces and had no special backing.
The search for the body of Lori Hacking is on again. She's the woman who disappeared in Utah last July. Volunteers are now hand searching more than 4,600 tons of trash at a Salt Lake City landfill. Among the volunteers are dozens who looked for remains at the World Trade Center following the 9/11 attacks.
A woman fired for displaying a John Kerry sticker on her car's bumper now has a job with the Democrat's presidential campaign. Lynn Goebel (ph) got a call from Kerry after he read a newspaper story describing how she had been fired Thursday at a plant in Wilton, Alabama. And she's not sure what she'll be doing yet for the campaign.
Back to Bill now in Mobile once again.
Bill, hello.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi.
In Mobile, population 250,000. Jimmy Buffett calls this place home. Hank Aaron grew up here. But now people are getting out, not just in Mobile, but also in New Orleans.
People there leaving that town for higher ground amid fears that Ivan could inundate the Big Easy under 20 feet of water. That was one forecast put out yesterday.
Colonel Jay Mayeaux from Louisiana's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness my guest now in Baton Rouge.
And Colonel, good morning. What are you telling people there in the low-lying areas of your state?
COL. JAY MAYEAUX, LOUISIANA OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY & EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: All across the southeastern portion of the state, Bill, we've asked, in the leadership of those parishes and municipalities, have asked early on in the process that they evacuate and move to higher ground in low -- in-lying portions of our state.
HEMMER: Colonel, there's an observe question here. In cities like New Orleans, below sea level, what can you do to get ready there?
MAYEAUX: There's several mitigation projects we already have in place with pumping stations and pumping systems. There's also a levee in place around New Orleans and a series of levee walls and doors and gates that can be closed to prevent flooding in the in-lying areas of New Orleans. Those are already in place.
HEMMER: And the people living in that area, the warnings go out, take care, get out, protect your own lives. But also, the aftermath of these storms can be downright uncomfortable -- no power, no electricity, no gas, many times no hot food. What are you telling people, Colonel, today in your state?
MAYEAUX: We are already taken proactive steps on our part. In advance we've called on Governor Blanco to bring additional National Guard soldiers on duty, to put them in forward staging areas to be deployed, and probably areas that will be effected by the storm.
We have shelters inland also to help receive some of these evacuees and house them for the duration and the effects of the storm. And we continue to monitor with the state police and the Department of Transportation the ongoing evacuation process.
HEMMER: You know, the one thing we learn, Colonel, in every one of these storms, that no two storms are alike. What are you hearing now about the possibility of New Orleans taking a direct hit from Ivan?
MAYEAUX: Well, we are consistently tracking the storm tracks. Over the last eight -- five to six alerts and advisories, it has been consistently between the Mississippi and Alabama border, leaving us on the westward side of the storm. So we are happy about that.
We'll continue to monitor. It's still a very serious storm. We're in contact twice daily with our parishes, to conference calls, updating them with information right from the National Weather Service, getting their issues of concern and addressing those as they arrive.
HEMMER: Colonel, thanks. Jay Mayeaux is there in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Someone's going to get it, whether it is New Orleans or Biloxi or Mobile or possibly the Panhandle of Florida. That's what we're all waiting here.
Colonel, thanks and good luck to you in the next 24 to 36 hours for this storm now looming here.
Also in Mississippi, residents there living south of Interstate 10, I-10, under mandatory evacuation orders there. In Biloxi this morning, say good morning to Kathleen Koch.
Kathleen, what do you have for us?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
We're here at the Treasure Bay Casino. This is one of 12 casinos that dot the Mississippi Gulf Coast, that 75-mile stretch. And these are really critical to the local economy.
They employ some 15,000 people. On a daily basis, they generate more than $350,000 in state and local taxes. So really vital. But, you know, it all came to a halt yesterday.
That was when the state gaming commission said we're shutting these down at noon yesterday. And employees at these 12 casinos then labored through the night, picking up, boxing up, carrying out everything they could, everything that was not nailed down. And then things that they couldn't carry out they elevated on cement blocks.
Now, when you look at these casinos, you can see why they evacuated them and shut them down, because they're literally floating barges. They are on the water. And they are totally unprotected.
When Hurricane George swept through here back in 1998, very, very serious damage to a couple of these casinos. The hurricane itself caused some $2.3 billion in damage. And that was just a Category 2. So, hence, these mandatory evacuations for all the low-lying areas of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
There are some 18 shelters opened in Harrison County alone, the central county in Mississippi. Only 360 people inside. That could be a good thing, that could be a bad thing.
Officials say, well, perhaps people got out, they headed north. There is a lot of clogged traffic on the roadways heading north from here. But the other worry, Bill, is that people are hunkering down in their homes and planning to ride this out.
There's that survivor mentality after this area was hit in 1969 by Camille, the strongest Category 5 in modern history. A lot of people say, "I'll ride this one out, too." Very risky, Bill.
HEMMER: You be safe, OK? Kathleen Koch there live in Biloxi.
Want to get to Chad Myers again watching the satellite, watching the radar.
Chad, good morning again. What do you have for us now at this hour?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Bill.
I have a line on the map behind me. It's the most important line for the people of New Orleans and probably the most dangerous line for the people in Mobile.
This line takes us from all the way back 24 hours ago in a direct straight line to New Orleans. You will notice, now, the last couple of frames, literally the last 30 minutes, the line is starting to get a little bit of distance between the eye wall and that line, which means the storm is making its turn.
That anticipated turn that we thought would make it -- you know, we thought it would happen, but until it happens you never know. But it is now coming off of this line and now probably making its turn toward the hurricane center's path on up toward Mobile Bay. That's the official forecast track.
You can see how large the storm is. Everyone all the way probably even to Tallahassee could see some hurricane strength gusts -- 140 miles per hour right now, Category 4, running right into Mobile Bay, although you still have to watch.
This thing could still turn left. If you're in New Orleans, you still can't breathe easy with this thing. But at least it's off that line for you. That's not so good news, though, for the folks in Mobile, Bill, right where you are, and possibly even into Pensacola.
It just depends on how hard that right turn decides to be. We know it is finally moving. That's good news for some and not so good for others -- Bill.
HEMMER: There is one silver lining in all this, too, Chad. I would tell you, coming in last night from the airport, driving to our location here about 30 minutes away, it seems to us as if people are really taking this storm seriously.
Countless stores and homes and businesses boarded up. Much more so than we saw with Frances about two weeks ago. If there is a silver lining, people are heeding the warnings that folks like you are putting out.
MYERS: All the way...
HEMMER: Thank you, Chad. Talk to you again at the bottom of the -- go ahead, all the way where?
MYERS: All the way from the water's edge, Bill. All the way 12 blocks inland in downtown Mobile will be under water if this storm runs right up the bay like it's forecast to do. So good thing they're ready.
HEMMER: It's one heck of a storm surge. That's right.
Some cars on the roads here in downtown Mobile. That won't be the case later today. We'll watch it for you.
Back to Heidi again now in New York -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Wow. All right, Bill. Thanks so much.
Still to come this morning, the frightening link between suicide and kids who use antidepressants. Federal officials have some recommendations now. And Dr. Sanjay Gupta sorts them out for us.
Plus, it's the new book the White House says is so trashy even tabloids could cringe. We'll talk to the controversial author, Kitty Kelley, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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COLLINS: Tales of infidelity, drug use and alcoholism go on sale today in an unauthorized biography about the Bush family. But its author, Kitty Kelley, has been skewered by the press for her journalistic methods.
And the White House dismisses this way: "This gossip writer's allegations are false and so trashy that even the tabloids should cringe. The politically-motivated timing, the lack of any credible sources, and the writer's long history of making similar false allegations against great Americans, including President and Mrs. Reagan, should cause all Americans and credible news organizations to place this book and its lies where it belongs... in the garbage."
The book is called "The Family: The Real Story of The Bush Dynasty." And the author, Kitty Kelley, joins me now.
Good morning to you. Thanks for being here today.
KITTY KELLEY, AUTHOR: Hi, Heidi.
COLLINS: You do make some very unflattering accusations against all of the Bush family. You worked on it for four years.
KELLEY: Four years. COLLINS: And yet, it all came together just weeks before the general election. Do you have...
KELLEY: Oh, I wish it did all come together that way.
COLLINS: Well, the book is out now...
KELLEY: It's out.
COLLINS: ... on sale today, just weeks before the election.
KELLEY: That's right.
COLLINS: Do have you any hopes of actually having an impact on the political elections here?
KELLEY: No, that wasn't the point of writing the book. The point of writing the book was to go beyond this crafted public image of the Bush family to the reality behind them, what they're really like, how they accumulated their wealth, how they accumulated their great power. It is not negative or positive. It just is very, very real.
I'm surprised, though, that the White House is so exorcised about this. My previous books have all been about people who are alive. I don't write about people who are dead. I write only about people who can defend themselves. And each book has stood the test of time, and this one will, too, because everything in it is corroborated.
Also...
COLLINS: Let's talk about one of the more serious allegations, if we could get down to some of the details here. You write that the president did cocaine at Camp David while his father was president. Let me just ask the question.
You say your source for that was Sharon Bush. And we have heard her publicly deny that she ever said that to you.
In fact, we have the exact quote from Sharon Bush from "The Today Show" with Matt Lauer. It says, "I never saw the use of cocaine. And I am sticking by it. I mean, I have to set the record straight."
"I was stunned. I looked at her and I said, 'Who would ever tell you that?'"
Does it become a problem for you as a writer, as a person, when someone comes out that you say you have spoken to and they say, "Whoa, I didn't say any of that"?
KELLEY: No, it doesn't. It doesn't become a problem at all.
First of all, I never said that she saw George W. do cocaine. I have an independent witness who was sitting at the lunch when she said it.
COLLINS: The independent witness was?
KELLEY: Lou Colace Wagner (ph).
COLLINS: Your agent?
KELLEY: No, hers.
COLLINS: Her agent.
KELLEY: Right. And he has confirmed it.
I then read the notes the next day to my editor, called her on the phone, confirmed it. His name is Peter Gethers (ph). Two independent sources that were there when I went over information.
But I don't blame Sharon Bush. She's scared. People are scared.
COLLINS: Of what?
KELLEY: Of what? Of the family, of the most powerful family in America, of a sitting president, of a former president who has a long and influential reach.
COLLINS: All right. Let's talk about one of the other questions that you had here in your book, the president's time in the National Guard.
Of course, you speculate that he failed to show up for his physical. This was in April of '72. But the reason, you say, was because that was when the Air Force started this random drug testing.
In fact, you write, "While there is no indication that George W. Bush was institutionalized for substance abuse, legitimate speculation arose after he failed to show up in 1972 for his annual physical with the National Guard and was suspended from flying."
You talk about speculation here, but what evidence do you have of that?
KELLEY: Well, first of all, we have George W. Bush himself, who has never, ever denied his cocaine use. He was a drug addict and he was an alcoholic. His substance abuse is a matter of public record. And in this book...
COLLINS: Are you saying that George W. Bush has never denied that he was using drugs while in the Texas National Guard?
KELLEY: I am saying that. He has never, ever denied it. And he could easily settle this whole thing by opening up the flight inquiry board record.
COLLINS: And what would that show?
KELLEY: That would show what happened, why his last recorded flight was in April of 1972, why he couldn't fly again. That would show... COLLINS: Well, I think we're missing one of the main points here, and that is a determination and an (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of the word "speculation" versus evidence. You do see a difference?
KELLEY: No, not in this book.
COLLINS: You don't see a difference between speculation and evidence?
KELLEY: In this book, what is speculated says "legitimate speculation." What is corroborated says "corroborated."
COLLINS: I don't know what legitimate speculation is.
KELLEY: You just read it.
COLLINS: I don't know what it is still.
KELLEY: A legitimate speculation, if someone has a drug problem, has never denied his drug problem. The Air Force is instituting random drug testing. And this man cannot take a physical -- legitimate.
COLLINS: Kitty Kelley, we appreciate your time this morning.
KELLEY: Thank you.
COLLINS: Thanks for being here.
Bill, back down to you and Mobile, Alabama.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi. Thanks for that.
Hoping for the best, certainly. Getting ready, though, for the worst. Hurricane Ivan, if it looks this bad from space, how much damage could it do once it makes landfall? The latest on the path of the storm ahead in a moment here live in Mobile in after this.
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COLLINS: Ah, the things people say. Jack Cafferty now.
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Heidi.
"The Cafferty File" Wednesday, which means talking about things people say, beginning with this: "I'm the most immature person I know. No, that's not true. There's Hugh Grant." That's Sandra Bullock, the actress.
"People that don't like me are certain rich people that are jealous of the show 'The Apprentice,' because they walk down the street and nobody knows who they are and nobody gives a damn." Guess who now.
COLLINS: Who?
CAFFERTY: Mr. ego, Donald Trump.
You do need to get over yourself, Don, at some point.
"My claim to fame, the reason for my success, is that I do not perspire and I rarely have to go to the bathroom." That would be Barbara Walters commenting on her long and illustrious career as a television reporter and anchor woman.
"Too many good doctors are getting out of business. Too many OBGYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." That's our illustrious president, George Bush, on the effects of frivolous lawsuits on health care.
And finally, this: "I am extremely angry, bitter, upset. I feel cheated. Should I go on? I just feel robbed."
Serena Williams on the not questionable calls, absolutely miserable calls made by the chair umpire, who's name is Marianna Alves, in a match at the U.S. Open against Jennifer Capriati. I happened to watch that at home. It was disgraceful.
They had that machine on CBS that shows you where the ball lands. And time and time again, the machine showed that Marianna Alves had her head someplace besides in the game, if you get my drift.
Why don't they use those machines to determine whether or not a questionable call is accurate or? Serena Williams was robbed of that match against Jennifer Capriati and might have been robbed of the U.S. Open title because of this incompetent woman who was sitting in the chair umpire seat.
COLLINS: Yes. The Mac (ph) cam, John McEnroe.
CAFFERTY: Huh?
COLLINS: The Mac (ph) cam they call it.
CAFFERTY: Yes?
COLLINS: Yes. I don't know...
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: Whatever. I mean, but it -- they seem to be able to determine whether a call is accurate or not using this thing.
COLLINS: Sure.
CAFFERTY: Why the hell don't they use it?
COLLINS: To change the call.
CAFFERTY: Why should the woman -- yes, why should the woman be kicked out of the open based on the idiocy of this -- I don't understand it.
COLLINS: Well, you may be right.
CAFFERTY: And one other thing. Those of you writing about the roads in New Orleans, I've got a daughter who is a student at Tulane. She was trying to get out New Orleans yesterday afternoon.
I talked to her on her cell phone at 4:00 in the afternoon yesterday, and they had gone 10 miles in 4.5 hours.
COLLINS: Oh my gosh.
CAFFERTY: So that's the -- that's first-hand testimony to the wisdom of the local politicians on making it able -- making it feasible to get out of that town yesterday afternoon. Now, this morning, they apparently have figured out the errs of their ways. But yesterday it was just a nightmare.
COLLINS: Yes, man. All right. Well, glad she's out of there. Thanks so much, Jack.
CAFFERTY: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Still ahead now this morning, we'll go back to Bill in Alabama. And we'll also talk "90-Second Pop."
Simon Cowell is best known as the tough judge on "American Idol." But Cowell himself may end up in front of an even tougher judge.
Plus, Jessica Simpson dukes it out for a big movie role and comes out a winner.
Stay with us.
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