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CNN Live At Daybreak

Controversy Around FEMA Director Michael Brown's Resume; Confusion Over Debit Cards for Evacuees; Displaced College Students

Aired September 09, 2005 - 06:29   ET

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


ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us. Chad will have your Friday forecast in just a moment.

Also coming up this half-hour, the FEMA director, Michael Brown, in the spotlight again. This time it's about his resume.

And a little relief for evacuees at the Astrodome. We'll have a live report from Houston for you.

But first "Now in the News."

President Bush has signed a nearly $52 billion aid package for Hurricane Katrina relief. Congress approved more than 10 billion in emergency spending last week, but that money has pretty much run out already.

The Pentagon also has taken a big hit from Katrina. It's estimated that repairs from hurricane damage will cost nearly a billion dollars. That's to fix bases in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The head of NASA says there is damage to two NASA facilities on the Gulf Coast. That means the shuttle launch scheduled for next March may be up in the air.

To the forecast center and Chad.

Good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol. That's where they take those big fuel tanks, and they refurbish them. And it was right in Bay St. Louis, which was right in the heart of the eye there. So, yes, they're going to take $1 billion to fix those facilities. It's a lot of money.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: The hot seat is getting hotter for FEMA Director Michael Brown. First, he was under fire for his handling of the recovery effort. Now, "TIME" magazine is reporting, he's padding his resume.

More on that from CNN's Catherine Calloway. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The controversy centers around entries in Michael Brown's biography on both the White House and FEMA Web sites. It states that years ago, in Edmond, Oklahoma, Brown was an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight.

"TIME" magazine reports that Brown was not an assistant city manager but an assistant to the city manager.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Which is a purely administrative position and did not have oversight over anybody or anything, or certainly not any city agencies in Edmond.

CALLAWAY: "TIME" also points to Brown's bio on the legal Web site findlaw.com. Under the heading of "honors and awards," it lists Brown as outstanding political science professor at Central State University. The college says that Brown -- quote -- "wasn't a professor here, he was only a student here."

A FEMA spokesperson begs to differ.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He served as an adjunct professor in law at the Oklahoma City University. He was named an outstanding political science senior as a student at the University of Central Oklahoma.

CALLAWAY: Another entry lists Brown as director of the Oklahoma Christian Home. "TIME" magazine contacted an administrator of that facility, who said that Brown was never a director there and is -- quote -- "not a person that anyone here is familiar with."

FEMA says the Find Law Web Site is wrong and the "TIME" article misleading.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's very disappointing that "TIME" magazine has decided to use as their primary source a Web site that does not even claim or make promises to carry accurate or complete information. And we certainly know that this true, because information carried about Mr. Brown's background is incorrect on the Web site.

CALLAWAY: President Bush nominated Brown to be deputy director of FEMA in 2001. He was named director of FEMA in 2003.

Catherine Callaway, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Let's head straight to Washington to talk more about this. Our CNN national correspondent, Bob Franken, is there.

Bob, the first question I have for you if this "TIME" article is true and that Michael Brown padded his resume, what does this say about the vetting process of the Bush administration? BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, like every administration, it's sort of to the victor goes the spoils type of thing. And the response thus far has been less about Brown.

But the general belief, expressed by Vice President Cheney yesterday as a matter of fact, that the president must have control over his appointments. But along with that comes the question about whether the president should have responsibility for the performance of his appointments.

Now, there is a real effort by the White House to accuse anybody who questions any of this to be somebody who is playing the blame game. That's the operative word from the White House spokespeople and all of that type of thing right now.

But reporters continue to be relentless about this. There are new disclosures. We can't vouch for the accuracy of the "TIME" magazine report. But there has been relentless criticism of the agency, and a lot of it is focused on Michael Brown. And a lot of it, of course, is focused on the president, who is suffering in the polls as a result of the response to Katrina.

COSTELLO: Well, not only Michael Brown is a target within FEMA, but a "Washington Post" article says that many of his top deputies don't have any experience in emergency management either.

FRANKEN: And, again, an issue always is the question about political patronage and the seeming inevitability that oftentimes people are rewarded for their political support by being put in positions that perhaps they're not the best qualified for. These are the kinds of questions that a lot of people are demanding be investigated. And, of course, the stakes are so high, given the tragedy that hit the people of New Orleans and the whole Gulf area.

COSTELLO: OK. Two Republicans have come out and said, hey, maybe we need a Katrina czar. And, of course, that would effectively push Michael Brown out of the picture and maybe Michael Chertoff as well.

FRANKEN: Well, the White House thus far is sort of deflecting that, although there are persistent discussions that might include everybody -- anybody from Colin Powell, who has not said that he's been approached, to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has been very coy about the subject.

But at the moment, the White House seems to be taking the position that to appoint somebody like that would be an acknowledgement that the people already in place, those appointed by the president, had failed.

COSTELLO: All right, Bob Franken, I know you're going to be looking into this all day long. And you'll also be back with us on "AMERICAN MORNING." Bob Franken reporting live from Washington.

We want to head to Houston now, because there were supposed to be these debit cards passed out to the evacuees staying at the Astrodome. Well, that really never happened, and maybe it never will.

Betty Nguyen is there to tell us where this all stands.

Good morning -- Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Actually, debit cards were passed out yesterday. These are Red Cross debit cards.

COSTELLO: Yes, Red Cross, but not FEMA.

NGUYEN: Well, this morning, FEMA is also distributing its debit card here in Houston to the four main shelters here in the Houston area. That begins at 8:00 a.m. local time this morning. And they're offering up to $2,000 per family. These debit cards will be distributed.

I know there is a lot of confusion about whether, will they be or will they not be distributed. We have understood that they will be distributed today in Houston.

But here's the catch. Because of all of the confusion yesterday with the Red Cross debit cards, the long lines, the chaos and the temporary lockdown that occurred because of all of that, FEMA has decided that it will continue its debit card program here in Houston for the evacuees here.

But elsewhere around the nation, they are opting to go with the hold method, which is direct deposit or sending checks to evacuees in need of instant assistance.

COSTELLO: Sending checks where though? I mean, some of these -- I mean, these people can't go back home.

NGUYEN: You have a very good point. But I will tell you that 348,000 families have already registered with FEMA throughout the nation. So, they have a location, whether that be a shelter or their temporary home. So, there is an address within the system.

Of course, that always can change. But information will be provided that if you can't pick it up at your address, then you can come to a particular site and pick up your check. And if you do have a bank account, that will be direct deposited into the bank account, where the funds will be available.

COSTELLO: Betty Nguyen bringing us up to date live from Houston. Thank you, Betty.

Talk about an open house. We'll show you where some of the men and women of the NOPD are regrouping. That would be the New Orleans Police Department.

Plus, some university students are welcomed on a campus far from the floods. We'll talk to them live.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: To the headlines of this morning's "Mission Critical" update.

The mandatory evacuation of New Orleans could start at any time now. Police officers say they're just about done with voluntary evacuations, and they're warning remaining residents that they will be back to get them.

An official in Jefferson parish is blaming looting on FEMA's failure to act. Emergency management chief Walter Maystream (ph), says he told FEMA would be bringing aid 48 hours after the storm hit. But he says it took four days for FEMA to reach the parish.

The Red Cross says their relief efforts in New Orleans were put on hold by state officials. Their shipment of supplies arrived the Thursday after the storm. But officials say they were told they couldn't enter the city due to logistical problems.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin took a trip outside his beleaguered city. Nagin traveled to a Dallas, Texas, shelter to meet personally with evacuees.

Vice President Dick Cheney made his first trip to New Orleans since the storm hit. Cheney also toured the damage in Gulfport, Mississippi. The vice president said there would be no talk of a tax increase in order to pay for the relief and recovery efforts.

The days after the hurricane were extremely rough for the New Orleans police force. Not only did they have to deal with the rising level of lawlessness, but most of the officers lost their homes.

Now, they have a new place to stay, thanks to two of their own.

CNN's Drew Griffin has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is across the Mississippi in an area of the city known as Algiers. The water did not come here. The houses here survived. And inside this one, Dave and Becky Benelli are running a New Orleans police precinct.

BECKY BENELLI, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT: On and off, we're all working different hours, so we're all doing different stuff.

GRIFFIN: Becky is Sergeant Becky of the city's crime lab. Her husband, Dave -- that's Lieutenant Dave -- is commander of the sex crime division. The flag and squad cars parked out front mark the house as the new headquarters for both.

(on camera): Is your gas working?

B. BENELLI: Uh-huh. I have a stove. GRIFFIN: So you can cook.

B. BENELLI: Tonight we're having meatballs and spaghetti.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): But the Benellis opening up their home is not just a duty, they say, it is the only option for their colleagues who have lost everything.

B. BENELLI: I'm very blessed.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Better than surviving, really.

B. BENELLI: Yes. I'm very blessed.

GRIFFIN: You're holding people in this house, because they weren't...

B. BENELLI: Half of them are people who have no home to go back to.

GRIFFIN: What are they going to do?

B. BENELLI: I have no idea. They can stay here as long as they want.

DAVE BENELLI, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT: The very areas of the city that were most devastated by floods, this happened to be the area where 85 percent of our police officers live.

Oh, absolutely, because...

GRIFFIN (voice-over): From his driveway, Benelli dispatches patrol cars and sends officers to new assignments. What used to be the sex crimes unit now handles a little bit of everything.

Lieutenant Benelli says the public needs to see this to understand how officers who have lost everything can keep working and working. He also says people need to know what really happened in New Orleans and what did not.

Benelli was assigned as security at the Superdome for six days. He, his fellow officers and 250 National Guardsmen, he says, prevented the pathetic conditions from inside from becoming catastrophic.

D. BENELLI: We had to basically sleep with one eye open at all times, because we had an environment there that was ripe for chaos. We had 25,000 people living in subhuman conditions. It was hot.

GRIFFIN: And hot-tempered. But he says the police themselves policed the crowds. Thugs were few. And he wants to explode the urban myths about rampant rapes, killings and beatings.

D. BENELLI: I'm the commander of the sex crimes unit. My unit handles all rapes. We had two reported attempted rapes.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Attempted. D. BENELLI: Attempted rapes. And they were handled. And the individuals were arrested.

GRIFFIN: That's it.

D. BENELLI: And that's it.

GRIFFIN (voice over): For six days, that was it. He says the people remained calm, the police remained vigilant and the evacuees were taken away.

Now, he says, look and see who is left: the cops.

Drew Griffin, CNN, at the new Algiers police precinct, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 6:45 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

From the war in Iraq to the turmoil back home, some 3,700 National Guard troops from Louisiana's 256th Brigade Combat Team are heading home. Some left Kuwait yesterday not knowing what they'll find when they get back.

In money news, President Bush has signed a nearly $52 billion aid package for hurricane relief. This is additional to the more than 10 billion in emergency spending Congress approved last week.

In culture, a grand jury has indicted Richard Hatch on tax charges. Hatch, who got a million dollars as the winner of the very first "Survivor" TV show, is accused of never paying taxes on that money.

In sports, the New England Patriots began the NFL season the same way they finished the last one. They won. The Pats beat the Oakland Raiders 30-20.

To the forecast center and Chad. And you're going to show us that site now, right?

MYERS: I had such a tremendous response from that site. Some people were just tuning in didn't get it, didn't have a pencil or paper around. So, I want to go to it again.

It's www.noaa -- N-O-A-A.gov -- G-O-V. It's not dot-com, because it's a government agency. It's dot-gov.

And here's the Web site itself right here, getting into focus. As soon as it gets closer it will get a little darker. There you go.

If you click in noaa.gov, this is what you're going to get. Here's your full story, top story Katrina. Right there is the click. Go to full story inside. You click on that, and it starts talking about Katrina. If you move over here, there are 7,000 aerial images. In fact, those images are made from five million different pictures all added together.

Now come over here where there's a little map, and you click on that map. Now the map gets bigger. Every square has hundreds of pictures. So, let's just pick on one.

Here's Bay St. Louis. Every little picture here, every little square is another picture. So, if we go to Bay St. Louis, this is Pass Christian, one of the pictures that I showed you.

So, let's say you're in Chicago and you want to look to see if your house is still there or the beach house. Well, here is the beach at Pass Christian. Now you're coming in probably four or five blocks. Here is a huge -- come back here. Here's a huge debris field from those homes. That's what was left of those homes.

Now, if you still come a little bit farther inland, we're going north really, some of the homes here are destroyed. But as you get farther and farther away from the ocean, look, only a few shingles missing on the buildings here.

We'll go to a different picture here. We'll go back. Now, this is Highway 90 that goes over to Bay St. Louis, taking a look at the homes here along the water, completely destroyed. But if you go inland a little bit, there you go. We're going to inland, go, go, go, go, and the homes are absolutely fine.

So, you know, a lot of folks got evacuated. They can't get back. The roads are closed, whatever it might be. If you go to noaa.gov, you can sure get a great idea of what's going on there, a better idea.

And also an idea of the scope, the size of this, Carol. It's huge. These pictures go for hundreds of miles, and so does the destruction.

COSTELLO: Yes. A great site. Thanks for sharing. Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Getting back to the books. We'll hear from two Louisiana college students who fled the floodwaters and are now beginning a new chapter in their lives at a new institution. That's after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And welcome back. It's 6:51 Eastern. Here is what will be making news today.

Mandatory evacuations could begin at any time now in New Orleans. Police say they're almost finished with voluntary evacuations.

This afternoon, President Bush will host the 9/11 heroes Medal of Valor awards ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.

And the new undersecretary of state, Karen Hughes, will be sworn into office today. She'll handle public diplomacy and shaping the U.S. image overseas. Hughes is expected to discuss hurricane relief during remarks at the State Department ceremony. Of course, we'll bring you those later.

In Houston, school kids get on the bus just like any other day. But this day is decidedly different for these school kids displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Some say they hope to learn new things and maybe make new friends. Others cried uncontrollably. About 19,000 evacuated students are now enrolled in Texas public schools. For some, it's the first time they've been away from their parents since the hurricane.

Of course, Hurricane Katrina also disrupted the education of thousands of college students in Louisiana. Many are being accepted at other universities across the country.

And here to talk more about that are Bill Spielman of Tulane University and Bianca Loffredo of Loyola. Both are now enrolled at Fairfield University in Connecticut.

Welcome to both of you.

BIANCA LOFFREDO, LOYOLA STUDENT: Thank you.

BILL SPIELMAN, TULANE STUDENT: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Let's start with you, Bill. You were scheduled to go to Tulane to start your senior year. And what happened?

SPIELMAN: Well, at first (INAUDIBLE) at getting the plane tickets back, and then the hurricane comes on the TV and I see. And they scheduled to push school back for a day. And then, I was going to wait and get my ticket. And then, again, they pushed school back again. And I'm like, 'What am I going to do?' And then I'm just stranded here. And Fairfield University was nice enough to open their doors to me and be able to be a place to be accommodating for school.

COSTELLO: Were you watching the hurricane as it unfolded on television, knowing that some of your fellow students were already at Tulane?

SPIELMAN: The people I live with, yes. My roommates were there. So...

COSTELLO: Were you able to get in touch with them?

SPIELMAN: Up until the storm, and then after the storm all telephone services were out. So, it was hard to get in touch with them. But I finally was able to get in touch with them. They went to Houston.

COSTELLO: And they're OK.

SPIELMAN: Yes.

COSTELLO: I don't...

SPIELMAN: So, it was a relief, yes.

COSTELLO: So, you're going to finish your senior year away from the university that you loved.

SPIELMAN: Yes.

COSTELLO: As you watch what's happening within the city of New Orleans, what goes through your mind?

SPIELMAN: It's devastating. I mean, to see the footage every day on TV, just water over the house and the looting, everything. It's so sad to see the city that you've grown accustomed to for three years to be just devastated by such a traumatic national disaster.

COSTELLO: Bianca, you were going to Loyola, and you were actually in New Orleans before the storm struck. Tell me about that.

LOFFREDO: I left the city on Saturday night. And by the time we left it was just a category 3. By the time we woke up the following day it already a 5. So...

COSTELLO: Oh. So, you got out in time.

LOFFREDO: Yes.

COSTELLO: What did you leave behind?

LOFFREDO: Everything, yes. All I have a carry-on bag of clothes, but I'm safe, so...

COSTELLO: So, as you're watching the images on television in the city of New Orleans, which, you know, both of you came to love, what goes through your mind?

LOFFREDO: It's heartbreaking. Just everyone lost everything. It's going to take a long time to get back.

COSTELLO: We have seen a lot of the worst of New Orleans. But tell me about the best.

LOFFREDO: The whole city. Everything in New Orleans it's just comfort living there. It was home.

COSTELLO: You're hoping to go back for the spring semester. Do you really think that will be possible?

LOFFREDO: I'm keeping my fingers crossed. But as I saw in Loyola, they told us that we would, so...

COSTELLO: They told you would, so you're keeping your fingers crossed.

LOFFREDO: Yes, hopefully.

COSTELLO: I don't know. The spring semester is not so far away.

LOFFREDO: Yes.

COSTELLO: So, how does it feel? You know, you look for a university, you know, in your senior year in high school. And you agonize over picking which one. Now, you can't finish your senior year there. What is that like?

SPIELMAN: It's difficult, especially getting accustomed to a new university. I mean, you feel so at home at one for three years, and then you go to a new one, I mean, new buildings, new like everything. Yesterday was my first day of classes. It was hard finding my way around the school. But...

COSTELLO: Well, and as far as the cost, too, because New Orleans is a lot cheaper than Fairfield, Connecticut.

SPIELMAN: Oh, definitely. I agree.

COSTELLO: So, how are you both handling that?

SPIELMAN: I'm living at home.

COSTELLO: You're lucky you're living at home. How about you, Bianca?

LOFFREDO: On campus.

COSTELLO: Yes, I'm sure Fairfield is helping you out, too.

LOFFREDO: Yes, they are. They're very nice.

COSTELLO: Bianca, Bill, thanks for coming in so early. We appreciate it. And good luck.

SPIELMAN: Of course. Thank you very much.

LOFFREDO: Thank you.

COSTELLO: You're watching DAYBREAK for a Friday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: "Now in the News."

More money for Katrina relief. President Bush signed a nearly $52 billion emergency aid bill last night. When added to funds approved earlier by Congress, it means more than $62 billion is now available for the disaster relief effort.

There should be enough money to pay out all of the insurance claims in Louisiana -- at least that's what the state's insurance commissioner says. Health insurers have agreed to allow patients to seek treatment outside of their normal plan since so many area hospitals were damaged.

At least two major hospitals in New Orleans will have to move. Louisiana State University officials at Charity and University Hospitals will reopen eventually but in different buildings. The old buildings were badly damaged by the hurricane and high water.

The Baghdad Airport closed today. The British company that provides security for the airport has stopped worked. It says it hasn't been paid by Iraq's Transportation Ministry in seven months.

And that will do it for us. From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

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