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CNN Live Sunday

Dalai Lama Speaks; Rescue, Recovery Continues In Louisiana

Aired September 11, 2005 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Nearly two weeks after Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, rescue efforts continue. A live report from New Orleans straight ahead.
And America remembers the September 11 terrorist attacks, and pauses to honor the victims. A report from ground zero.

Plus, a message of healing this hour: Tibetan religious leader, the Dalai Lama gives a spiritual service for the country. We'll go there live to Idaho.

Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN center in Atlanta.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Carol Lin. Topping the hour, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Well, there is still a state of emergency in New Orleans, but there are fewer people, and the police chief Eddie Compass says the city is now mainly crime free. 200 people arrested recently are being held in a makeshift jail.

Some good news, though, for southeastern Louisiana, you don't have to boil water anymore. State health officials lifted that order after tests showed that bacteria levels are down.

And it's an emotional day there as well, some storm victims are going home to see what's left of their homes and businesses. The hurricane sent a storm surge into Plaquemines Parish.

And along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, slowly but surely there is progress. For the first time since Katrina hit, the Coast Guard is allowing limited commercial traffic into the Biloxi's harbor. Katrina hurled dirt and trash into the city's bay which became even too polluted for ships.

WHITFIELD: We begin the hour in New Orleans where CNN's Ed Lavendera is covering rescue and recovery operations with the 82nd Airborne Division and the U.S. Coast Guard. He joins us now live -- Ed.

ED LAVENDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. We're standing on Tulane Avenue. You see the Coast Guard and 82nd Airborne here. We're getting ready to go back out.

We've been out several hours this morning already. Had a lunch break. We're going to head out again. And one of the leaders of this patrol that we're on today is Lieutenant Nick Dougherty. Lieutenant, it's been a lot different today then from what you've seen in the last week, has it not?

LT. NICK DOUGHERTY, 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION: Yeah. It's a lot slower. There's a lot less people out there that are ready to come in. Like I said, the last couple of days we've brought in anywhere from 10 to 20 people a day. And the last two days, we've brought in -- yesterday we didn't bring in any in a section up north, and this -- today, so far we haven't brought in any.

Just a lot of people have been evacuated, which is a good sign. Our efforts are starting to show that we've gotten a lot of people out of there, I guess.

LAVENDERA: We're going to show some video of where we were this morning. One of the areas we couldn't broadcast live from, because we were too far away from this location, but it was the hospital that basically you guys were told to go in there and make sure that there wasn't anybody left behind. And at this point, obviously, they were looking for corpses. It was kind of -- we were talking, it kind was an eerie sight in there, wasn't it?

DOUGHERTY: It was, because you could see signs of where some of the patients that couldn't evacuated -- couldn't be evacuated in time had basically just expired there. There were a lot of signs were the people were trying to hold up in there and survive. Food was stockpiled. And you could see where they brought out last-minute medicines and to keep people alive in a makeshift manner with no electricity and no water.

So, yeah, we went through, cleared there. And, of course, we didn't find anything over there, which is good. They've gone through and cleared that to the best of their ability.

LAVENDERA: All right. We're going to go back out again.

What is the plan here for the next couple of hours?

DOUGHERTY: What we're going ahead and do now is I have some -- I have a log of addresses from personnel that we've identified out there in the last couple of patrols over the last few days that were healthy and didn't want to come with us. And so we're going to go out there now, we're going to double-check those people, see how they're doing, and see if they're ready to come in yet.

I know we have got an apartment complex with some elderly folks that are staying there. A couple of places where there's one or two people and some couples staying together. And just check and on them, see if they're ready to come in, see how they're doing. And basically, report our status back up to the higher unit here.

LAVENDERA: All right. Thanks, lieutenant.

We're going to jump back on the boat. We're going to be able bring as many of these pictures to you live from the boat. We're going -- about to launch out into the water. So, stick around with us. And we'll be able show you what these guys are doing as they go street by street -- Fredricka. WHITFIELD: And again, Ed, these guys are trying as best they can to perhaps persuade some of the hold-outs. But they're not taking the position of the New Orleans Police Department, which would be to order these kinds of evacuations. How do they find -- try to, you know, kind of straddle that very fine line?

LAVENDERA: Well, they're very clear about that purpose of their mission here on these waters. They have found that the people who are still here, who are still in their homes, are the hard core people who do not want to leave. And from what these guys have been telling me, they feel the best way to approach them is to explain to them, reason with them, explain to them how just dangerous this situation is. And that the idea of forcing them to leave they don't think is going to work.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ed Lavendera, thanks so much from New Orleans. We'll be checking in with you -- Carol.

LIN: All of them, the Coast Guard especially mindful that the president is coming back to the region very soon, sometime in the next hour. CNN's Dan Simon is down by the Mississippi River, near the USS Iwo Jima where the president is going to spend the night -- Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, how are you doing, Carol? It's right behind me, the USS Iwo Jima. And the president is scheduled to come here in about two hours. One of the things that Ed just talked about, it's a daunting challenge for the city of New Orleans, getting these remaining holdouts out of the city. There have been veiled threats that at some point, the police department might have to use force to get these folks out of their homes. But now we're getting indications that there might be a shift in terms of the thinking.

Just a short while ago, we spoke to a woman, her name is Kay Vereen, and what she told us is that police came to her door and basically told her, listen, we know that you're here at your own risk, we're not going to give you any more food and water, we may not. And basically they told her that if you stay here, if something happens to you, it's basically your fault. Take a look at what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAY VEREEN, BAR OWNER: Because of the health risk they just wanted us to know that if I do stay, that I'm here illegally and that I'm at my own risk. And I said that that's what I chose to do. And they took my name and my address and the number of people in the house and said they would not be bothering -- no one would be bothering us again.

SIMON: So they made it clear to you that they're not going to force you out of your home?

VEREE: That's correct, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SIMON: So conventional wisdom over the past couple of days was that at some point things were going to get ugly. We placed a call to the New Orleans Police Department. They haven't gotten back to us yet. Hopefully we'll have more information a bit later on. Carol, back to you.

LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Dan.

We all need a little inspiration on this day with the tragedy down in Mississippi and New Orleans, but here in Sun Valley, Idaho, a stage, you can't see him quiet yet, because he's walking very slowly, but the Dali Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet who fled to India, became a best-selling author, and now a celebrity of sorts and a popular speaker. He's going to be addressing some 10,000 people at the Sun Valley, Idaho high school. He's there to offer a message of compassion and peace and inspiration to people on this 9/11 anniversary. A special invitation by a supporter of the Dali Lama to Sun Valley, Idaho.

GOV. KIRK KEMPTHORNE, (R) IDAHO: As the governor of the state of Idaho, it's an honor to stand here on behalf of all of the citizens...

LIN: All right. We're going to wait for the Dali Lama to get to the microphone. And we are going to take some of his remarks live.

But right now, we want to talk a little bit more about the president's trip, Fred.

WHITFIELD: That's right. The president is planning to make his way back to the Gulf region. He's already in the air on Air Force One and soon to be landing just outside of New Orleans. And make his way there on the USS Iwo Jima, which is right outside New Orleans on the Mississippi River.

And our Bob Franken is at the White House, keeping tabs on the trip that the president is embarking upon. It's sort of a PR trip that is much needed right now since the administration is getting so much criticism as to the way it responded to Hurricane Katrina.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And a lot of people believe that, Fredricka. The White House would say it is a chance for the president to make sure the people in this beleaguered area can get reassurance that the chief executive is paying such close attention to it.

The president, of course, is travelling on the fourth anniversary of September 11, the last tragedy to hit the United States four years ago. A tragedy of comparable impact. And now he is facing some tremendous questions, as you pointed out, about the performance of his administration in the moments leading up to Hurricane Katrina and the days that followed. Criticism that continues in Washington, even as the White House continuously tries to stop what it calls the blame game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. MARY LANDRIEU, (D) LOUISIANA: I'm not here to blame anyone. But I'm also here to tell the federal government and the operatives from the White House, over my dead body will you put the blame on mayors, city council members, Republicans or Democrats, local elected officials, when the White House and the Washington bureaucracy -- and maybe I'm part of that -- failed to give them the resources they needed.

SEN. DAVID VITTER, (R) LOUISIANA: You know, right now we need to focus on fixing problems and fixing blame. But eventually, we're going to have to ask a lot of tough questions of a lot of people. And certainly, a bunch of those questions are about exactly when and in what numbers did the governor call the National Guard out and start getting assistance from other states? And exactly when did she actually specifically ask the president for active duty help?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: So the normal formula here is, each side says the other should stop placing blame. And each side tries to point the finger at the other side. And that is what is going on, even as the people in the hurricane area are trying desperately to recover from the devastating storm that hit just about two weeks ago.

And as far as September 11 is concerned, the president this morning led the nation in a minute of silence as his commemoration of the September 11 event here in Washington. There, of course, are more around the country, particularly in New York.

Now the president is on his way to the Gulf area, where as we heard a moment ago, he'll be spending the night, the first time he's done that, before he comes back for a series of events tomorrow -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. Bob Franken at the White House.

And more now on how the nation has commemorated 9/11 -- Carol.

LIN: Bells are ringing out in New York, marking the fourth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Nearly 3,000 Americans died that day, and they died in New York, most of them.

There was a ceremony at ground zero this morning. In the past, it was parents who read the list of the dead. This time it was the siblings.

CNN national correspondent Mary Snow now at ground zero. Mary, it must have been incredibly moving even four years later.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. A very emotional ceremony. And we're sitting above ground zero. I can tell you a handful of family members still at the site. For many families, this is the only grave site they really have.

Earlier in the day, over a ceremony that lasted about four-and-a- half hours, as you mentioned, the siblings, brothers and sisters of the victims, read their names aloud. There were 2,749 people who were killed here in New York four years ago.

Four moments of silence were also marked. This, at the exact times that suicide hijackers flew into the towers and when those towers collapsed in the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

And family members and leaders vowing today to never forget.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kevin Nathaniel Colbert.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michele P. Colbert.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And my brother, Christopher Allen Hamm.

Chris, Phil and JJ and Peg and I miss you terribly and we love you always.

RUDOLPH GIULIANI, FRM. MAYOR NEW YORK CITY: We helped and support each other at our times of greatest trial. And that's what you all did. Everyone who lost someone on September 11, 2001, all of you here today who lost a brother or sister should know that their loved ones helped to save the spirit of our nation on the day of its greatest attack. They not only saved lives, they saved our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was of course mayor at the time, and has become nationally known for his leadership on that day and the aftermath. He along with the mayor, the governor were here, as well as secretary of state Condoleezza Rice did greetings here.

Also, Carol, family members have been steadily walking to two pools that now mark the site where the World Trade Centers stood, both towers. It is about 70 feet below the street level. And all that remains is a small pool of water.

They are brimming over, though, with flowers as people have been coming by. Now only a handful still here, have come by to mark the memory of their loved ones. And this year, the site will look very different because construction is set to begin next year on a permanent memorial site, and also the Freedom Tower, which is due to become the tallest building in North America -- Carol.

LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Mary.

So, on this day, a New York City police officer finds herself at another kind of ground zero: the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina. You know, it was interesting for our Allan Chernoff to get her perspective on her role during two tragic events.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Walking by the rubble in Biloxi brings back memories of 9/11 from New Yorker Alexandra Hampton whose office back home is only two blocks from ground zero.

ALEXANDRA HAMPTON, INVESTIGATOR: The smell is different, but otherwise it looks the same. You have that dust everywhere. And it's all over the street.

CHERNOFF: After Hurricane Katrina hit, Hampton got down to Mississippi as fast as she could to check on relatives and volunteer, exactly what she did after 9/11.

HAMPTON: I feel I had to do something. And I just could not sit at home and not do anything.

CHERNOFF: Hampton, an investigator for New York City, is helping Biloxi police. Saturday, she was directing traffic, after having worked an overnight shift.

HAMPTON: We're also out there looking for looters. Last night, I was with the Mississippi Highway Patrol, and we arrested guy one night and -- for public drunkenness. A guy was hiding in what was left of a pawn shop with a bunch of machetes.

CHERNOFF: The day after 9/11, she was at ground zero.

HAMPTON: I drove around firefighters, because their trucks were gone, and they had still worked there from the day before. And they were just sitting at the corner of the streets, just tired, as dirty as can be.

CHERNOFF: The devastation of the World Trade Center, Hampton says, is often on her mind.

HAMPTON: I can see the piles burning. and i remember firefighters sleeping on the couches in the street, and everything is black. And just every day I see that. I'm still emotional about it.

CHERNOFF: Even so, face to face with another tragedy, Alexandra Hampton also sees another opportunity to help.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, Biloxi, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, the Dali Lama is holding a spiritual service this hour, offering hope to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, as well as helping to mark the anniversary of 9/11.

LIN: Plus Hurricane Ophelia swirling in the Atlantic. So, when is this storm going to hit? We're going to tell you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Welcome back live to Sun Valley, Idaho, where the Dalai Lama is addressing a crowd of 10,000 people.

TENSIN GYATSO, DALAI LAMA: And most important, I think people, a big number of people -- big I think -- when my friends ask about compassion, I think everybody's hand you see go like that. So that means you some bit of promise -- some kind of promise, the rest of your life will be more compassionate.

I think that's wonderful. So once you now determined the rest of your life will be a more compassionate person, so from today I think you should quarrel less, you should fight less.

Of course, occasionally sometimes even myself, I always try to sort of altruism, and not only this life, but until space remain, until ascendant human beings suffering remain, I will remain in order to serve. This is my sort of determination.

But that does not mean I never lose my temper. Occasionally I lose my temper. And sometimes I used to say harsh words. So you also occasionally as a human beings, some trouble with your neighborhood, your friend. But basically, a basic person should be more compassionate person. So that, firstly, you will be more peaceful person. You become a more peaceful person, more calm mind.

Research, I think a first benefit, most benefit goes up to yourself. With more calm mind, on the basis of compassion, when you come across disturbances, it won't disturb much. So deep down, your calm mind also can sustain.

As to the search, your sleep, less disturbances. Your digestion will be more normal. Through that way, days and nights, weeks, months, and years your life becoming more happier, your health also more better. And then one individual becoming more peaceful. Then when we come across some kind of disagreement or conflict, we can easily solve this conflict the human way. We'll not be out of control.

Although human society, some conflict, some disagreement, always, even within one's self, the idea which all kind morning and evening, there's very little conflict -- contradictory. But it's all of these contradictories as a conflict can solve within, I think the compassionate atmosphere.

So that's actually, I think, the principle of nonviolence. Nonviolence does not mean you are doing nothing. Or absence from the trouble. No. You should -- because you fully engage in the problem, but with -- but try to solve the problem within the atmosphere of friendship or compassion. So then I think dialogue can take place.

So anyway...

(through translator): This is partly in response to your enthusiastic response to making the pledge for compassion, so I just wanted to affirm it.

(speaking English): So I would like to make clear, you know, sometimes people get the impression, the idea or concept of compassion, forgiveness, these things are something like a religious matter. I think actually not that case. Then secondly, if you practice compassion, it's something good for others, but not necessarily helpful to one's self. I think that's also a mistake, as I mentioned earlier. I think most beneficial goes to himself or herself. That's very clear.

According to my own little experience, as my friend -- I mentioned, my life, I go through a lot of difficulties, and painful experiences, but I think hopefully my mental state, quite peaceful. Although a lot of painful sort of adversity, news, or heart-breaking sort of news or events that have happened, still my basic sort of mental attitude still can remain calm. So through my own experience, inner warm-heartedness or compassionate attitude is something truly precious.

This precious we cannot buy through supermarket. Or this inner precious cannot be produced by sophisticated machines or pharmaceutical sort of medicines. So this must develop within ourselves.

And also the seed of such sort of precious by birth, origin there. No need effort to acquire from outside, but from birth. We have the seed of this precious, this quality.

So pay more attention about our inner value. Your life will be more happier. So...

(through translator): I noticed that the flag is lowered down today. So this reminds me that today is a day to commemorate the tragic events. And also we are all aware that recently the United States has also been hit by great tragedy, natural disaster.

(speaking English): So one is manmade tragedy, one by nature. Of course, both cases are determined a sort of painful experiences. Not only those people who really experienced on the spot, but like myself, who is watching television, really feel very sad, very sad.

So I want to share with you and also those, I think, thousands and thousands of people who really suffer directly, and also who lost their friends, their lovers, their relatives, so I would like to share.

Now, I want to point out three points. No. 1, those people who died, who passed away or who died or who were killed -- now, as a believer, after death, still whatever you call soul or self is still there according to different sort of tradition, according to some sort of tradition. Of course, life after life, call it that way. But according to some tradition, still their soul remain. Still, I think final judgment, like that.

So, therefore, our prayer, according to a believer to god, to creator, and according to those who pray to a higher being like Buddha, but all have the same experience to pray. So I think let us pray. Pray together, all those souls. As a Buddhist, I believe that their death is a tragedy, so I think that moment that they are dying, that death took place, I think their attitude, I think didn't such fear, I think not a negative sort of emotion, so therefore from the Buddhist viewpoint, I think their transition may not be bad. So that's one point.

And then second I want to tell those people who still are alive, but a lot of traumatic experiences. Now, of course, the painful experience, some of your close friends already passed away. This is reality. It is fact. It's happened. Now that tragedy, if you think it already happened, so even your much more sort of sadness, much more sort of frustrations, will not solve the problem. Already happened. And particularly, so much sorrow, too much anger, too much frustration will not bring your close friends who passed away, will never return. So the more sadness, more frustration brings more suffering to yourself. And, perhaps, your friends who already passed away, some way they know about your state of mind.

Too much sadness, too much frustration and completely lost hope. I think then those spirits, I think, really feel more sad. In spite that unfortunate. Now you try to rebuild your home, rebuild your life. With self-confidence, with effort, I think those souls may feel happier in spite of such tragedy. Now, still keep his spirit, and try to rebuild their home, their society, their community with self- confidence, with self-dignity.

So, therefore, I want -- according to my own experience, as my friend mentioned, we lost not only our freedom, but also lost our own country, I lost 46 years as a refugee. And in the meantime, I think the worst thing is, from time to time, from news from within Tibet, in most cases very sad.

LIN: You're listening to the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet who fled to India 46 years ago, talking about his own personal loss, the loss of his country, the loss of his people's freedom, and relating it to us Americans who remember the sadness four years ago of 9/11, and now the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. His encouraging words to find compassion, to understand that sadness and frustration just breeds more frustration if we allow ourselves to stay in a state of mourning, that we have to think of rebuilding our lives and moving on, and finding happiness. Those inspirational and compassionate words by the spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, addressing a crowd of 10,000 people in Sun Valley, Idaho. As he continues to speak through this hour, we may dip in and out of those remarks in case you missed the beginning of what he had to say.

In the meantime we also have much more news and updates from the hurricane zone. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Let's get an update on Hurricane Ophelia spinning ominously along the North Carolina coast. Jacqui Jeras is in the Weather Center. How is looking?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The same Fredricka. I sound like a broken record, I know, but it's still not moving, it's still just sitting there, its still holding its strength as an 80-mile-per- hour category 1 hurricane. We have seen just a little bit of movement here, just based on satellite imagery. It looks like it's wobbling around a little bit. But I don't think it's anything significant. Still not expected to move a whole heck of a lot over the next 24 hours or so. Hurricane watches have been issued from Edisto Beach extending on up to Cape Lookout. This may be shifted northward as we wait for the 5:00 advisory, which will be coming in shortly.

And of course we'll bring that to you in the 5:00 hour as it becomes available.

Here's the forecast track, it's expected to slowly be drifting off to the west and then kind of pulling on up to the north. Best estimate has it making landfall possibly on Wednesday morning somewhere across the coastline of North Carolina, but still, remember, there is a margin of error. We're not ruling out South Carolina here. It's still going to be a possibility, so we'll watch it once it starts to pick up a little forward movement. We'll keep you up to date.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Folks along the North and South Carolina coast watching closely then. Thanks much Jacqui.

LIN: Fred, we're talking about a great animal rescue. An entire family of one puppy, two dogs, and a cat, and the master is reunited. You're going to want to see more of these pictures, all the pictures that led up to this moment. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK

WHITFIELD: There's been plenty of criticism and finger pointing for what many say was a slow response to Hurricane Katrina. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco rushed to blame FEMA, the Pentagon later pointed to deficiencies in local and state responses. And the American Red Cross said it had problems getting through the state's red tape. This week's "Time" magazine gets to the bottom of the blame game in its cover story "System Failure." And with us in New York is Jeremy Caplan, the man who fact checked and researched this story. Good to be here Jeremy.

JEREMY CAPLAN, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Well you begin your article by saying the government says she asked for federal help, quoting her, everything you've got is what she asked for, calling the White House, Homeland Security. Was she not taken seriously?

CAPLAN: Well, it was difficult to get through to the president on Wednesday when she was trying to reach the president. She didn't know exactly at that point what she needed. The federal government, she expected, would know exactly what to deliver, but they didn't and she didn't have specific enough instructions, so there was some confusion as well as incompetence going on.

WHITFIELD: Part of the challenge in covering this story for everybody has been that there has been a lot of blame, a lot of placing of criticism, a lot of denial from all fronts. How did you go about trying to fact-check and get the information, the timelines for your story?

CAPLAN: Well, there are various agencies and individuals playing a role. Obviously we have local, state, and national officials involved, and we wanted to piece out the roles that each of those groups were playing. At the local level we found that local officials simply weren't prepared, despite having gone through elaborate training exercises as recently as last summer.

For example, a fleet of busses was sitting idle and eventually flooded, even as people were trying desperately to find transportation out of the area. So local officials weren't quite prepared. State officials didn't quite know what was needed. And federal officials, as we have seen, were very slow to respond to what was clearly a devastating disaster.

WHITFIELD: And as a whole you kind of zeroed in on four areas of concern where there may have been some breakdown in communication. Did you discover that any one area was more culpable than the others?

CAPLAN: Well ultimately, the buck stops at FEMA, they're responsible for managing the disaster on a national scale, and clearly FEMA officials were not prompt in responding to the disaster. When they did respond, didn't seem to understand the scope of what was happening and weren't able to provide the resources that the local and state officials needed. In fact, people were turned away that were offering help in the form of buss and the form of other kinds of assistance. So FEMA certainly delayed the effort to recover and ultimately the buck stops there.

WHITFIELD: And this is an issue, in this "Time" Magazine issue, that is also talking about some of the disparities of survival, the measures that people have taken, and the wealthier communities, some people even resorted to hiring their own private security details to protect them. And then you also talk about, you know, the triumphs and the tribulations of those who didn't have the means, who were simply trying to survive.

CAPLAN: That's right. Some individuals actually hired firms to protect their property, and even to come in and help get that property out. Other people tried to make do with what they could, surviving in the chaotic days in the aftermath.

WHITFIELD: Did you find a lot of cooperation in trying to get some of the details, the facts of participants in order to help tell this story?

CAPLAN: Some people were hard to reach. For example, the mayor embarked for Dallas this past week and was out of touch and refused most media interviews, the mayor of New Orleans, so he was very difficult to reach and refused most media interviews. Other state and national officials have started to talk about the recovery, but it's going to take many months to sort out exactly what happened and to figure out how this really all played out.

WHITFIELD: Jeremy Caplan of "Time" Magazine, the focus on system failure on stands this week. Thanks so much, Jeremy.

CAPLAN: Thank you.

LIN: Well a lot of people are coming to the rescue of the hurricane evacuees, people across the country opening their homes and hearts to those victims, but some are concerned about the safety of welcoming total strangers, even strangers in need. David Waters of affiliated central Florida News 13 reports the FBI are now making background checks public-friendly, but not everyone is happy about that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID WATERS, NEWS 13: The FBI is allowing the public to use its national criminal database for the next two months because of Hurricane Katrina. That's because so many people are asking for criminal background checks as evacuees move in with families across America.

KAWANA MILLER, SLIDELL LOUISIANA EVACUEE: Everybody was affected by this, not only good people, everybody was affected.

WATERS: Every day more Americans are opening up their homes to those left homelessly by Hurricane Katrina. But there's a new problem emerging, amongst all of those law-abiding evacuees, there's also criminals. Since the storm spared no one, now murders, rapist, and sexual offenders are amongst those moving into people's homes across the country.

MILLER: They lost probably everything just like we lost everything.

WATERS: Anne Valente allowed a family to move into her home without doing a background check. She believes screening sends the wrong message.

ANNE VALENTE, FLORIDA HOMEOWNER: If you have to worry about that, in all sincerity, I would say that it might not work because you have to have a totally open heart to accept someone in your home as your own family.

WATERS: The FBI's date base includes information on everything from sex offenders to foreign fugitives and deported felons. Local law enforcement will access the information those who want it then make a recommendation.

SGT. CHRISTIE MYSINGER, LAKE COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE: If you have small children and you're bringing people into your home, you probably should find out what these people's past is like.

WATERS: Many worry the public reception and the FBI opening it's database could have a chilling effect.

MYSINGER: Everybody needs to help. That is where this is very fine line.

VALENTE: The needs out weight the risks at this point.

WATERS: Some homeowners hope that mutual doesn't become another delay for so many evacuees who need an immediate place to live.

In Lake (INAUDIBLE) David Waters, Central Florida News 13.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: People in Melbourne, Florida, know about hurricanes, they've been through quite a few of their own. So after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf coast, a band of Melbourne residents headed to the region to offer aid and hope. CNN caught up with them in Biloxi, Mississippi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very important.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Melbourne, Florida, and we came here to help the people out. We got sick of sitting around and watching TV and seeing all this destruction. We had to do something.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have a baby in there?

SANDRA KRIMM, GOOD SAMARITAN: It's the biggest disaster in the history, and people were never prepared for that. There's only so much they can do, and there's so much we can do. So I think everybody that has the means to get anything down here, they should.

We wanted to open restaurants, bars, and got of everything I think I think of from the last hurricanes, I put down here. We're trying to get to people that nobody can get to right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody's organized here. That's why we're not sitting at one spot and drop of everything, because most places here got water, they need ice, they need more food.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. You need more food.

KRIMM: We have all the food and water in front, and then all the clothing in the back. We have new infant clothes, pet supplies, dog food, cat food, we got leashes. As we are speaking right now there are people in Melbourne, Florida, still connecting, and I'm trying to make another trip up here in the next couple of days.

So you have a total of, what, 30 people living here right now? I'm pretty frustrated because now we ran out of blankets and pillows, and that's what they really need now, too, and we don't have it anymore. Other than that, I feel pretty good because there are things I can do. They need it and they're thankful for it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well rescuing man's best friends, Katrina's separated families, even the furry kind. That story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Amid all the misery and suffering of Hurricane Katrina, thousands of stories of strangers making friends and helping others. Gary Tuchman has one about a man in New Orleans and his friend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This story is partly about 2-month-old Max.

This is his first hurricane.

TUCHMAN: A mascot of the CNN staff in New Orleans thanks to his owner, Bernard Williams, who fled his home during Katrina, befriended us at CNN, who we then hired as a maintenance assistance.

The day before the Hurricane, Bernard, everything was dry, right?

BERNARD WILLIAMS, HURRICANE EVACUEE: Yeah, dry. A normal day.

TUCHMAN: We decided to do a story on Bernard returning to his home to see the damage.

WILLIAMS: Here's my street here.

TUCHMAN: With the puppy seeking shade under a boat seat, we see that Bernard's street is only suitable for boats. The inside of his home, flooded. We feel a little anxiety because we know that Max, the puppy's mother and brother and a cat were not evacuated. They were left with just a little bit of food and water 12 days ago at a neighbor's house with a slightly higher elevation. But then --

WILLIAMS: That's both my dogs. That's his mother and his brother.

TUCHMAN: Your dog's mother and brother. I think they know we're coming.

WILLIAMS: That's the mother, that's Missy, and that's Champ. Hey, Champ! Hey, Missy! Don't come out here. Don't come out here. Don't you come out here. You stay there. Stay there! Stay there! Don't you come out here, Champ! Missy, Missy, go back!

TUCHMAN: Stay!

WILLIAMS: Go back! That's my cat. All three of those are mine. The whole family's here. That's my puppy. Come on Champ. That's Missy.

TUCHMAN: Missy here.

WILLIAMS: That's his momma.

TUCHMAN: Oh, Missy is hungry.

WILLIAMS: Here comes the kitty cat. All three of these live together. TUCKMAN: Here guys and girls here is some water for you.

WILLIAMS: That's real water there.

TUCHMAN: These are some thirsty dogs. Missy, Champ, and Mindy the cat were safe, and completely coincidentally, when the boat got back to dry land, Humane Society volunteers from Missouri were looking for strays. And they guaranteed the big dogs and cat will be taken care of until Bernard gets a new home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have veterinarians standing by.

TUCHMAN: And as for Max, he'll be staying with us at CNN, as long as Bernard is. Gary Tuchman, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: We'll be giving you regular updates about Max.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, we want to know. Oh, that's so sweet, sweet, sweet. I love to see all of these animals are getting rescued.

LIN: Especially the cats.

WHITFIELD: Not a big fan.

LIN: Right here on CNN at the top of the hour, ordinary people helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We're going to talk about a California car dealer who is helping those displaced by the storm and even offering them jobs. That is coming up when we come back.

Also, live pictures of the Dalai Lama. He's still addressing a crowd of 10,000 people in Sun Valley, Idaho, offering compassion and words of comfort on the fourth anniversary of 9/11, and the days and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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