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CNN Live At Daybreak

Finger Pointing in Louisiana Gets Some Legal Teeth; President Bush Says Buck for Poor Government Response Stops With Him

Aired September 14, 2005 - 05:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is Wednesday, September 14.
The finger pointing in Louisiana gets some legal teeth. The owners of St. Rita's Nursing Home are in custody, charged with the deaths of the 34 people who drowned there.

Also...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: President Bush says the buck for the poor government response stops with him.

And a flood of help of thousands of displaced students. We'll take you live to one Atlanta radio station that's putting it all together.

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.

COSTELLO: And good morning to you.

We'll have more on the aftermath of the hurricane in just a moment.

Also ahead, it is day three in the hot seat for John Roberts. So far the man who might be the chief justice of the United States has managed to sidestep one volatile issue.

And a possible pullout on the way in Afghanistan, some troops there may be coming home. We'll take you live to the front lines.

But first, "Now in the News", it has been an extremely violent day in Iraq with several suicide car bombings and the execution style killing of several men. More than 100 people have been killed. More than 180 wounded. We'll take you live to Baghdad in two minutes.

Heading home this hour, officials in three suburban New Orleans communities of Gretna, Westwego and Lafitte say residents can start returning home. The mayor of Westwego says we're open for business. We are going to rebuild.

Saying no to nuclear terrorism, today several world leaders will begin signing a treaty against using nuclear weapons as tools of terrorism. The pact does not address the use of such weapons by nations.

To the Forecast Center now and Chad. OK, where's Ophelia now?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well not very far, Carol. Not very far from Wilmington and from right there, that is Cape Fear. The eye itself 50 miles wide. When the eyes get much smaller, that means there's a lot more spin in the middle and the winds are higher, so this is only a 75-mile-per-hour storm. That is a minimal category one.

But look at the amount of rain and every band after band coming on shore now this morning. There is going to be some flooding with this storm, especially it's only moving at five miles per hour. It's going to track up here, just clip Long Beach and also Bald Head Island and then right on up even into Atlantic Beach. And we have Rob Marciano right there. That's where all of the wind is going to be coming on shore today, right there.

It's going to eventually pass Morehead City and up through Cape Hatteras. There is your official forecast and the official numbers from 5:00, 33.2 and 77.9. Winds are 75 miles per hour and there you see it staying right along the North Carolina coast. And it may not -- the center may not even make landfall, Carol. That's good news, bad news, but the west of the eye wall certainly will. That's why there are hurricane warnings all the way from the South Santee River all the way to Oregon Inlet.

COSTELLO: Yes and we're going to get Rob Marciano live in the next hour of DAYBREAK.

Thanks Chad.

Want to get more details on this bloody day in Baghdad. There have been at least four suicide bombings and a roadside bombing. Iraqi civilians and soldiers, as well as U.S. troops have been targeted. For more we take you to Baghdad and Jennifer Eccleston.

Hello Jennifer.

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Carol. That's right. It's been a day of escalating violence -- violence targeting Iraq Shiite community. A short while ago the Iraqi police said a suicide car bomb targeted a Shiite neighborhood in northwestern Baghdad, an area that has suffered from many attacks in the past.

We know that four people have died as a result and 22 were injured. And this follows an early morning car bomb attack involving a mini bus. According to the Iraqi police, that bus exploded near a gathering of day laborers in Cuttamia (ph), a Shiite area in north central Baghdad. Iraqi police say at least 80 people were killed and 162 people were wounded. Now those day laborers were lining up at a meeting point early this morning. They are usually there in large numbers to pick up some construction work, some maintenance work on the day, and as a result of those large numbers, they are a prime target for insurgent attack, insurgents seeking mass casualties and mass death.

And just north of Baghdad, in the town of Taji, men wearing Iraqi uniforms pulled 17 men from their homes and shot them execution style at around 4:00 a.m. this morning police said. Now Taji is a mixed Sunni-Shiite town and just yesterday we were told that Iraqi police found six men all shot in the head and left in a garbage dump also in that region -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jennifer, there have been attacks on American convoys as well. Can you fill us in on those?

ECCLESTON: Right. While Iraqi civilians are bearing the brunt of today's violence, we are also being told that the military are also targeted this day. First, a suicide car bomber targeting an Iraqi military convoy where three soldiers died and four U.S. military convoys were attacked this day. In one incident, Carol, a suicide car bomber struck an American Abrams tank in southeastern Baghdad. Now that car bomb didn't explode and the driver is now stuck in that vehicle with an artillery round and he is being interrogated by U.S. forces -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jennifer Eccleston live in Baghdad this morning. We'll get back to you later on, on DAYBREAK.

Now for an update on the latest hurricane headlines in our "Mission Critical" update. We start with criminal charges. The owners of St. Rita's Nursing Home in St. Bernard Parish have now been charged with negligent manslaughter. Mable and Salvador Mangano face 34 charges.

That's one for each of the bodies found in the flooded nursing home. Louisiana's attorney general says both have been jailed in Baton Rouge. Charles Foti, Jr., says the couple declined an offer for buses and ambulances to evacuate the home.

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco has been upset with FEMA over the handling of dead bodies in the state. The death toll now stands officially at 423. Blanco blasted FEMA for its failure to sign a contract with a company working to clear those bodies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO (D), LOUISIANA: No one it seems even those at the highest level seems to be able to break through the bureaucracy to get this important mission done. I cannot stand by while this vital operation is not being handled appropriately. In death as in life our people deserve more respect than they have received.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But Blanco sounded very different a few hours later after she talked with FEMA point man Vice Admiral Thad Allen. Now she says and I quote, "I deeply appreciate Admiral Allen's sensitivity and understanding in his call to me this afternoon. I am reassured by his call as I continue to have great confidence in the admiral's leadership."

New Orleans may soon be open for business. Mayor Ray Nagin says he's just waiting for a key environmental study on the city's water quality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: If the report, the verbal report that I got from the EPA stands up, we will be set within the next couple of days to open up a couple of key areas of the city for full access, Algiers, Central Business District, French Quarter, and Uptown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The test results are expected as early as Monday.

President Bush says he still wants to know what went wrong with relief efforts in the wake of Katrina, but the president admitted that ultimately he is responsible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government and to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right. I take responsibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: President Bush was responding to a question about whether another disaster could have similar results. The president is planning to make his fourth trip to the Gulf Coast tomorrow. He's also planning to address the nation while he's in Louisiana. CNN will have live coverage of that event beginning at 9:00 p.m. Eastern tomorrow night.

See what the president will likely find on his next trip to the disaster zone. Jim Roope of CNN Radio is in New Orleans and he joins us now.

Good morning, Jim.

JIM ROOPE, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about this nursing home fiasco first. The owners of the nursing home now charged with negligent homicide. What more do you know about that? I know we're getting new pictures from inside that nursing home.

ROOPE: I know that the attorney for the couple said that the couple thought that the patients would not be able to survive evacuation and so they were left behind. They just evacuated themselves, I guess, as far as the couple goes, the Manganos. But I don't know how deep that goes.

I don't know -- I have not heard from a spokesperson directly from the Manganos, but it's a sad situation. And it's one that, you know the panic that sets in when a disaster like this happens, and so we have just to wait for the investigation to be completed. And the governor -- the attorney general also says that we have to remember that this couple is innocent until proven guilty, even though he says he has enough information and that's why he placed them under arrest.

COSTELLO: I guess it's unclear right now whether the Manganos stayed through most of the storm. I mean at what point did they leave these people?

ROOPE: I think that's the information we're going to find out as this continues.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about what Mayor Nagin said as far as reopening parts of New Orleans to the public pending this EPA report. That seems impossible for all of what we've heard about the water quality in the city.

ROOPE: Well yes, but if you take a look at the French Quarter, the Business District, the dryer areas, everything up on the higher elevation, especially the French Quarter, it's relatively untouched. I mean it looks much like it did before Katrina hit except for the lack of electricity and the lack of clean water and that kind of thing. And if that infrastructure can be repaired relatively quickly, then they can fire it back up and tourism can start again.

I think the concern, however, will be if he lets people back in to certain areas of New Orleans and there's still a health risk in other areas, what's going to keep those people out of those areas where that risk exists? So I think that's a big concern too, is how you let people in, where you let them, and how do you quarantine the rest of the city.

COSTELLO: Well right and as far as tourism go, although it's admirable that the mayor wants to allow people to come in and visit, I can't think of many people wanting to go right now other than those who are curious about the worst parts...

ROOPE: Right.

COSTELLO: ... of the city.

ROOPE: Yes, just like when you're on the other side of the freeway in a traffic accident and you have that rubbernecking crowd (UNINTELLIGIBLE) look over their shoulders and hold up the traffic on the other side, and that's what the tourism really will be. It'd be a look and see kind of thing. And in a city where death is celebrated or at least it's not hidden, New Orleans, people want to come and see what's been happening around here. And I think that's probably what's going to really spark the tourism. It's a curiosity factor.

COSTELLO: Yes, we're going to be talking to someone from the Convention and Visitor's Bureau of New Orleans in the next hour of DAYBREAK. We'll ask him for his thoughts on what Mayor Nagin has said.

Jim Roope, CNN Radio joining us live this morning. Thank you.

Getting back to any sense of normalcy after the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina is tough to do, but the people of New Orleans do have a deep love for their city and a spirit of renewal that's carrying them through the darkest days to find the sun.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

DANNY ST. ANGELO, EMERGENCY WORKER: It's pretty devastating, but we're going to get it done. I mean 60 percent of New Orleans is under water, so it's going to take a while, but we're going to work until it's done.

(MUSIC)

BUSH: People of New Orleans can design the vision. The people of New Orleans can lay out what New Orleans ought to look like in the future and the federal government will help.

(MUSIC)

MARCIE RAMSEY, JOHNNY WHITE'S SPORTS BAR: A majority of us wanted to stay and help rebuild our town. This is where we live. This is where we love to be, so we wanted to be able to stay and help in the efforts once everything got organized again.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

(MUSIC)

VOICE OF J.T. ALPAUGH, HELICOPTER REPORTER: And the way these sandbags go putting (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was it like when you finally got to the point where you had stopped the flow of the water? That must have been a good moment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well of course everybody out here felt a lot better. I mean you accomplished something through all the chaos that was out here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did you get out here sweeping up this mess?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well we had a mandatory evacuation and I tried to get myself hired on so I'd have a legitimate excuse to stay in the city. I'm originally a waiter. I work in a restaurant in the French Quarter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I work at a market cafe on Decatur. It's a very good restaurant, live band. Come on by when things are better.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been blessed. There's a message in here and there's a message to be told. They said that New Orleans is going to be off the face of this map. No it's not. It's going to be better. It's going to be a lot better.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well anything is possible. I mean I made it through the storm. Anything is possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey mama. I'm still alive. I'm here in New Orleans. I never left.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you're helping the city get back on its feet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm helping them clean up, stay out here (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: OK, that guy just made my morning.

MYERS: Sixteen days ago that hit, Carol. There hasn't been one thunderstorm since, so the sun has been out. It's going to take more than a song to make those people come back, but I'll tell you what maybe that's -- maybe the song is what actually will be coming out of this. I mean I know these people want to get back to jazz. They want to get back to their roots and that would be great.

COSTELLO: Well so many questions remain like who's going to bear the most responsibility for the new, New Orleans? I mean there are a lot of different factions coming in and there's a lot of politics at play.

MYERS: Well...

COSTELLO: So...

MYERS: I'm afraid some of the new, New Orleans may be so contaminated that it may not be for a while. There's going to be a lot of clean up. This is a long, long process...

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: We can't think this is going to be done by Christmas.

COSTELLO: Yes and parts of New Orleans probably won't exist anymore, at least that's the prediction of many people. We're going to talk more about that in the 6:00 hour of DAYBREAK with the Convention Bureau's chief.

Coming up next though on DAYBREAK. Judge John Roberts faces another day of questions in the Senate. We'll look at how he's doing so far. Flood or hurricane, for victims of Katrina, the kind of insurance they have can make all the difference.

And backpacks for hurricane victims. A radio station does its part as well as many other people across the country, but first here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: International markets mixed today, Tokyo's Nikkei down 67 points. London FTSE up by two. The German DAX higher by 21. Let's check on our oil prices now. In future's trading, crude is creeping back up. It's $63.43 a barrel this morning.

Your news, money, weather and sports, it's 5:18 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Judge John Roberts is back on the hot seat today. It is the second and possibly last day of questions from the Senate Committee considering his nomination as chief justice.

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta visits the Crescent City today. He's scheduled to stop at the Port of New Orleans where he'll make an inspection and announce a deployment of additional ships. He'll also check in at the airport where he's expected to announce some federal funding.

In money news, the Pilots Union at Northwest Airlines says company directors will decide today whether to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Northwest has been seeking to cut more than $1 billion in expenses. Delta could also file for bankruptcy as early as today.

In culture, the boyhood home of rock legend Jimi Hendrix has been saved. The two-bedroom house covered in graffiti was moved to a mobile home park south of Seattle across the street from where Hendrix is buried. The home could become a museum and education center.

In sports, the Cleveland Indians will hold on to the American League wildcard lead for at least one more day. The Indians beat Oakland 5-2. And the Florida Marlins make it two in a row with a 4-2 win over Houston in their wildcard bid.

To the Forecast Center and Chad.

MYERS: Oh, October is getting closer and closer, Carol.

Good morning everybody. Taking a look at Ophelia, obviously the big story of the day, from Myrtle Beach right up to Wilmington, into Jacksonville. We can zoom into a couple of spots. Surfside Beach, you can see some wind speeds there, around 30. Little River Inlet about 20, and then back up to Carolina Beach, somewhere around 33.

Piney Green (ph) at 26, Emerald Isle 24, so now the winds are picking up because the storm is getting closer. If you look out to the Atlantic Ocean, there is not much else out there. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) there is a little flare up there at the southwest part of the screen there but other than that really don't worry about it.

This is the story of the day, Ophelia. It could become a little bit stronger. Right now it is 75 miles per hour. There's also some severe weather across parts of Oklahoma. That's what those big yellow boxes are for -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you Chad.

We have a bit of breaking news to tell you about, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) attack against central Baghdad right now. We're just getting these pictures into CNN. We don't know much more about this. Apparently, there has been a huge explosion in central Baghdad. You see the black smoke pouring from something there. This comes after -- well after a night of deadly violence.

At least 104 people were killed and 186 injured in two suicide car bombings. Plus, insurgents hauling 17 men from their homes. They shot them execution style. Those men were wearing the uniforms of Iraqi police. Now this incident is separate from those. We don't know if it's a string of attacks that were planned or not, but as you can see, military helicopters are now flying by and you can see that thick black smoke pouring from something in central Baghdad.

When we get more information on this, of course, we'll pass it along to you. Jennifer Eccleston live in Baghdad this morning. We'll take her live as soon as she gets some information for us.

Our coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina continues too, but as we go to a break, from CNN's Victims and Relief Desk, some of the missing and their contact information.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We have been asking this question a lot on DAYBREAK. What is the difference between hurricane damage and flood damage? For many in the devastated Gulf Coast, the difference can add up to everything or nothing.

CNN's Allan Chernoff has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If no wind and storm bring it in, how did the water get into the house six feet high, eight feet high and now (UNINTELLIGIBLE) covered.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Biloxi resident Seng Thai venting to his neighbor. An insurance adjuster told Mr. Thai it was a flood, not a hurricane that caused the bulk of damage to his home. Mr. Thai's policy does not include flood coverage. SENG THAI, BILOXI RESIDENT: Oh he already came this morning. Above the water line inside six feet high, above they'll cover. Below is not covered, which is everything -- below is damaged, the whole thing.

CHERNOFF (on camera): The same devastating news is being heard up and down the demolished streets of Biloxi. Many homeowners here did not buy flood insurance because the area is not designated as a flood zone.

(voice-over): Thai's insurance company, Nationwide, tells CNN it can't speak about individual claims for privacy reasons. The company says flood insurance is needed to cover damage from water that enters through the home's foundation. Nationwide says a homeowner's policy will cover flooding if water comes through the roof by a tree falling.

Flood insurance adjuster Dan Wiley of CNC Insurance Adjusters has been handing out checks to people who have flood insurance. He says there is no doubt flood caused much of the damage.

DAN WILEY, CNC INSURANCE ADJUSTERS: We know for a fact there was a 20-foot surge here, so we know it was done by water. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) beach up there, you have to assume it was done by water because the water had a 20 to 30-foot surge.

CHERNOFF: Bobby Migues has flood coverage. His insurer said only that portion of his policy will apply.

BOBBY MIGUES, BILOXI RESIDENT: If you look around and you see parts of my roof in trees, parts of my roof over here and there, parts of my roof is sitting way over there, OK, which shows you that wind had to take that roof. Give me what I'm due. I want the insurance company to come in here and give me what I'm due.

CHERNOFF: The mayor says insurance companies need to have a heart.

MAYOR A.J. HOLLOWAY, BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI: If they're not in business to help the people, then they need to get out of business.

CHERNOFF: President Bush heard the complaints when he visited Monday, but was non-committal.

BUSH: And I said I would find out the process that determines whether or not it's a wind or water (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

CHERNOFF: There are calls for the government to help insurance companies cover flood damage, but so far there's no sign that will lead to changes in the law. Local authorities say they may have to sue the insurance companies while homeowners now without a home are hoping their insurance companies will make good on the policies they thought had been protecting them.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, Biloxi, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: And just a short time ago we told you about that huge explosion in central Baghdad. We're efforting more information now. You can see the smoke still coming from the ground there. There were military helicopters flying overhead possibly to see what's happing on the ground most likely. We're going to have more information for you on the other side of the break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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