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Tropical Storm Rita Update; Key Largo Feeling Affects From Rita; Algiers Residents Evacuating Again; Minding Your Business; New Orleans Saints Play Home Game In New Jersey

Aired September 20, 2005 - 07:30   ET

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

CHAD MYERS, METEOROLOGIST: Fourteen different programmers, 14 different computers and outputs and inputs. And the entire area had it all shifted over here yesterday. Well overnight, the computer said, well, wait, wait, wait. Maybe not. Maybe this high pressure to the north is strong enough that it will slide this storm to the west long enough so that when it does turn, like Katrina, same turn, but when it does turn that will be Texas and not New Orleans. Folks here not very happy about that but at least New Orleans at least taking a little sigh this morning.
Back to you.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I know. And I can't help but think of the people who evacuated to Texas and what they must be feeling right now.

We're going to concentrate on Key West because most people urged to evacuate there on Monday. Anyone who has stayed behind has been ordered to take immediate shelter. So, Chad, tell us more about that.

We're trying to get Dan Lothian up. He's in Key Largo. We don't have him quite yet.

But tell us what's happening in Key West right now.

MYERS: Carol, (INAUDIBLE). We're going to take my weather graphics machine right here and I'm going to show you the center of the storm. And then I'm going to actually go ahead and zoom in. I'm over here by the computer, so you're not going to see me.

But we're going to zoom right into Key West. One of those very strong outer bands just rolled through Key West. Here's Shark Key (ph) and all the way back up to the outer and middle keys. Key West is kind of a very small island. Only about four miles long and just about the same wide. And if we slide you back up, some of those showers and thunderstorms are going to continue throughout the afternoon.

I'm going to widen the view quickly and then put it into motion and you'll begin to see the circulation, the spin of the storm right there still moving in from the east at about 20 to 25 mile per hour. And that will pick up some speed. And we're even seeing a few of those showers all the way up into Biscayne Bay. Those showers and thunderstorms from Key West, just to the south of Key Largo, also going to affect this area as this whole storm comes in from the east at almost 20 miles per hour now.

Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Chad.

We have Dan Lothian. He is live in Key Largo.

Dan, are people heeding orders there?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does appear that people have been heeding the orders here. What we've been seeing over the night and certainly into the morning now, what Chad was talking about, those wind gusts of as high as 50 miles per hour here in Key Largo. You've seen that happening. Also heavy rains. Right now, the showers have ceased but those gusts continue happening periodically.

There is a lot of concern here. Obviously, what happened with Katrina has made some of the folks who typically would stick around and try to ride out the storm, they've been taking this storm a lot more seriously. People began boarding up their homes yesterday prior to evacuating the Keys. A mandatory evacuation order has been issued here. We also saw people going to the stores and stocking up. In fact, we stopped at a Wal-Mart last night and there were people with cartloads of water and other non-perishable goods preparing for this storm.

A mandatory evacuation, as I mentioned, has been issued for all of the Keys. Voluntary evacuations in Miami-Dade, also Broward Counties, part of Palm Beach Counties as well. The biggest concern here is flooding. What is expected between five to 15 inches of rain falling in a short period of time. And then the surge anywhere from between six to nine feet. So that is the biggest concern here. Everyone waiting for this storm to hit.

Back to you. COSTELLO: Well, you stay safe. Dan Lothian live in Key Largo this morning.

And stay with CNN for complete coverage of Rita. CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Carol.

The threat of what Rita might do in New Orleans was the deciding factor for Mayor Ray Nagin. Monday he reversed himself and told people to stop coming back into the city. And said those who had already returned should leave again. Mayor Ray Nagin joining us now from New Orleans.

Mr. Mayor, good to have you with us.

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: Good to be with you.

MILES O'BRIEN: You had no 911 system, no power, no potable water, police force not in good shape. Was it responsible in the first place to bring people back in?

NAGIN: Well, it depends upon what facts you look at. The facts are that the 911 system will be up and operational this Wednesday. The facts are we have electricity in probably 60 to 75 percent of the city, some sections even as high as 95 percent. The facts are we were repopulating the areas that had little to no flooding. And these individuals are most mobile. So, yes, I would take that bet again.

MILES O'BRIEN: So but you still have a compromised levee system. Even you know, it doesn't have to be a hurricane to cause a lot of problems. And while these are high ground locations, do you think it's perhaps unsafe to repopulate until the end of hurricane season?

NAGIN: Well, I think that, you know, there's going to be lots of second guessing. But keep in mind, we're talking about the areas that had the least flooding after a category five storm. Algiers, which is on the west bank of the Mississippi River, didn't have any flooding. The levee system is secure there. So we're comfortable with our plans. Rita changed everything.

MILES O'BRIEN: All right. Well, let's talk about Rita because there were some other issues at play as well. There was a lot of pressure headed in your direction from federal authorities. The vice admiral, Thad Allen, offered some was questioning your decision. Even the president had this to say. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we want to work with the mayor. The mayor's working hard. The mayor, you know, he's got this dream about having a city up and running and we share that dream. But we also want to be realistic about some of the hurdles and obstacles that we all confront in repopulating New Orleans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MILES O'BRIEN: The president's implying there you were being unrealistic.

NAGIN: Well, you know, I'm not going to get into, you know, a debate about the president. I respect the president and what he's doing. But I will tell you this, I want the same amount of effort that got it oil flowing in New Orleans, they got the Port of New Orleans to get commerce for the country going as to allow our citizens to come in and take a look and see what they have left and how to rebuild their lives.

MILES O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this. You were yesterday when in reference to Vice Admiral Allen, you said, he's out of his lane. I'm the mayor of New Orleans. One mayor of New Orleans and I'm it. In a way, that sounds like you're protecting turf at a time when perhaps citizens would expect more from their leaders.

NAGIN: Well, you know, what I'm protecting is a clear, consistent message to the citizens. You know, federal support is one thing . . .

MILES O'BRIEN: Wait. Wait. Is this excuse me, sir. Is this a consistent message? This is a reversal, isn't?

NAGIN: Absolutely.

MILES O'BRIEN: How is this consistent?

NAGIN: This is another hurricane getting ready to approach us. Nobody can control that. What I'm talking about is someone has to be consistently talking to the people, the individuals of New Orleans, and I was elected to do that.

MILES O'BRIEN: Aren't people confused this morning, though, as a result of all of these reversals?

NAGIN: Well, I don't know about that, sir. I will tell you that when you have a category three storm headed in the Gulf of Mexico that no one can control, then there are some there is some confusion. Take happens. But we're dealing with the facts as they come and we're trying to make good decisions.

MILES O'BRIEN: Do you think that after Rita passes, whatever happens with Rita, will you call for that repopulation to begin again, even though the hurricane season is as active as ever?

NAGIN: Well, we're going to continue to evaluate the facts. The hurricane season, we're getting ready to get to the back end of the hurricane season. I would like as many people as possible to come back into the city and take a look at their belongings and have some closure and start their lives again.

MILES O'BRIEN: Well, looking at their belongings is one thing. Repopulating, coming in and living, is another, isn't it?

NAGIN: Well, look, we're repopulating all around New Orleans. Jefferson Parish, and some other parishes. We're making an assessment on which levee systems are secure enough we're going to repopulate there. Where the levee system are a little weak, we're going to making sure that we're not bringing children ask senior citizens back and that people are very mobile.

MILES O'BRIEN: You know they say that the levee system will not be even repaired to the point where it was pre-Katrina until June of 2006. What does that mean for the long-term livability of your city?

NAGIN: Well, I think it changes things a lot until we can get those levee systems back up and operational. People in this area are kind of accustomed to dealing with the hurricane threat, just like Florida, and they have to be mobile and we're going to make sure that they get enough advanced warning to react when a hurricane challenges us.

MILES O'BRIEN: How have you changed your evacuation plan, however many people might be in the city of New Orleans? What is the evacuation plan now for your city?

NAGIN: Well, most of the people that are in the city, like I've been saying over and over again, are very mobile. Most of the people that couldn't evacuate efficiently are in another part of the country. So we have a much more mobile population now and that's the way we're going to basically have this city in the future.

MILES O'BRIEN: So you won't be relying on buses or mass transportation of any kind? In other words, if people can't evacuate themselves, you don't want them there?

NAGIN: Well, I'm not saying that. We have buses available also. But the majority of the people that are here will be a much more mobile population.

MILES O'BRIEN: Do you have a have you updated specifically your evacuation plan, though?

NAGIN: Well, we have updates. We have buses that are available for this round of evacuation. Yes, sir.

MILES O'BRIEN: So you have a new plan for evacuation then?

NAGIN: We have a plan and we implement it, sir.

MILES O'BRIEN: All right. Mayor Ray Nagin, city of New Orleans, thank you very much.

NAGIN: Thank you.

MILES O'BRIEN: Let's get a check of the headlines now from Kelly Wallace right here with that.

Good morning, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles. Good to see you.

And good morning, everyone.

"Now in the News."

British authorities are releasing new images of the suspected London bombers. This footage just coming in to CNN. Scotland Yard says three suspects were caught by closed circuit television less than two weeks before the July 7th attack. Investigators believe they were apparently running a reconnaissance mission for potential targets in the city's subway system.

President Bush heading back to the devastated Gulf Coast region today. This will be his fifth trip there since Katrina hit last month. The president is expected to make a stop in Gulfport, Mississippi, where he'll meet with local officials and business leaders. He'll also take a closer look at cleanup efforts in New Orleans. Later this week, the president travels to Alabama, Texas, and Arkansas to thank people for helping hurricane evacuees.

And we are just getting word this morning of some American fatalities in Iraq. A U.S. official in Baghdad says that a State Department worker and three other Americans were killed in a suicide car bombing in Mosul. The attack took place on Monday. Two others were wound inside that incident.

Simon Wiesenthal, the holocaust survivor who helped track down hundreds of Nazi war criminals after World War II, has died. Wiesenthal has been called the conscience of the holocaust. He spend decades of his life fighting anti-Semitism and prejudice. Simon Wiesenthal died early this morning in Vienna, Austria. He was 96 years old.

And news about NASA. It is unveiling some pricey plans for future missions. The space agency outlined a 13-year, $104 billion plan on Monday to return humans to the moon by 2018. The blueprint calls for using a new spaceship design, which is very similar to the Apollo program from 1969 but bigger. The new crew exploration vehicle would be able to carry six people instead of three and stay in the lunar orbit for six months. NASA is calling it, " Apollo on steroids."

MILES O'BRIEN: Presumably, they won't be drug testing the astronauts in that case. But, yes, this is a big deal. You know what's kind of sad about it, they won't be back to the moon until 2018 under this projection. So it's going to take a while. Even though we've already been to the moon, it takes a while to get back to the moon.

WALLACE: Certainly a long way off. And I bet you would like to be on one of those missions.

MILES O'BRIEN: Absolutely. I think the CNN . . .

WALLACE: Put your name in there.

MILES O'BRIEN: The moon bureau is . . .

WALLACE: We're putting the bid in now.

MILES O'BRIEN: That's right. That would be the first time, let this be stated.

WALLACE: OK. MILES O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Kelly.

WALLACE: Sure, Miles.

Still to come on the program, New Orleans businesses have just started returning, but will Tropical Storm Rita force them to leave once again? We'll take a closer look at that. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Residents who just returned to New Orleans are now facing the daunting prospect of having to evacuate again because of the threat of Tropical Storm Rita. But those that faced the choice, will they stay or will they go, joining me now is Ed and Hillary Moise, residents of Algiers, who were planning to open a restaurants in Algiers. And you guys also own two restaurants in the French Quarter.

HILLARY MOISE, NEW ORLEANS RESTAURANT OWNER: Yes.

ED MOISE, NEW ORLEANS RESTAURANT OWNER: Yes, we do.

COSTELLO: You do.

So the mayor comes out and says, hey, maybe you're going to have to evacuate by Wednesday. What are you going to do?

ED MOISE: We're probably going to evacuate.

HILLARY MOISE: Yes.

ED MOISE: But we don't have any choice in that. We've been here for many years and we've been through many storms and we just don't take that kind of a chance.

COSTELLO: The conflicting messages you're getting from the mayor, like come on back, zip codes open, start cleaning up, start getting your life back to normal. And then he comes out yesterday and says, wait a minute, maybe you're going to have to leave.

HILLARY MOISE: Yes. It's very frustrating. It's very frustrating. Scary. We wanted to touch home and just grab hold and do some things and get our lives back together. Now it's, don't unpack anything. Just go!

ED MOISE: I don't really think we should have come back in the first place. I mean why bring people back when you don't have an infrastructure built to manage the business, manage all the people.

COSTELLO: Well I mentioned you had two restaurants in the French Quarter. So what's it like there?

ED MOISE: A lot of cleanup. We need to make we need to get all of the get the working as soon as we get power, we'd like to get started. We'd like to . . .

COSTELLO: Well, see, there's the thing. There's no electricity yet, so can you really come back and start opening up your business?

ED MOISE: Well, when we get power, we will.

HILLARY MOISE: And gas. Gas would be good! To cook with.

ED MOISE: Right.

COSTELLO: You had mentioned that the hazmat team had to go into your restaurant and take care of things.

HILLARY MOISE: Yes. Servicemaster (ph) went in and told us in the midst of it, we're charging you double because this is not just a cooler clean out. It was really, really bad.

ED MOISE: It was hazardous. It really was hazardous. A lot of mold and mildew and a lot of stuff that needs to be cleaned up. It's just a lot of work.

COSTELLO: You said before that you think it's too soon to come back and you thought that the advice given by the mayor was probably premature. What are most of your neighbors feeling about the message to come back, start you I mean that's kind of giving them false hope, isn't it?

ED MOISE: You know, when you're asking 180,000 people to come back, I think that's really, really difficult to manage in the city. I think our neighbors we have power in Algiers. We live over there. I think people that can still build their lives can come back, where people like in Mederi (ph) and people who live in St. Bernard Parish, they can't come back.

COSTELLO: But even in Algiers, can you really do that? Because people don't have jobs to go to. You can't bring your kids back because the schools aren't open yet. Can you really start rebuilding your life other than . . .

ED MOISE: Some people can. I think we can. And this is kind of self-serving but we can with our restaurant. We can start . . .

HILLARY MOISE: We can feed people.

ED MOISE: Yes, we can start feeding people right away in the French Quarter. And that works for us. But, you know, for other people, for a lot of people that come in town, you know, where are they going to live and where are they going to stay?

COSTELLO: If there's one definitive message you want from some leader, what would it be and who should it come from?

ED MOISE: That's a good question.

HILLARY MOISE: I think from the mayor. I think it should come from the mayor. I respect him. I think his choices for the city thus far have been very good. I don't think he planned this hurricane or this Rita. But I think he needs to step back and give us better information on electricity, gas, water, and not give people false hopes.

COSTELLO: So he's sort of telling people what they want to hear instead of . . .

HILLARY MOISE: Yes. I think, you know, people wanted to come home and he said come on home.

COSTELLO: When will you guys decide to leave? Like what day?

ED MOISE: Tuesday. Tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow.

COSTELLO: Tuesday. Tomorrow. OK. Well, we'll get to Chad Myers in just a second so we can give you the latest forecast.

ED MOISE: Thanks.

HILLARY MOISE: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Back to you, Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Carol. I hope the mayor was listening to them.

Still to come, the NFL's nomads, he New Orleans Saints. How they found a home in the big apple, if only for one night. That story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: Former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski learns his fate finally. Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business." Stamping out license plates somewhere, right?

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed. Yesterday was judgment day for Dennis Kozlowski and his lieutenant, Mark Swartz, the former chief financial officer of Tyco. In court yesterday in Manhattan, Judge Michael Obus giving them a sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years. Also significant financial penalties. Dennis Kozlowski, $167 million fine. Mark Swartz, $72 million fine.

And these guys, we've been telling you, will likely go to state prison. It will probably be a maximum security joint because if you get over six years in New York state, that's what they tend to do. So these guys could be doing time in Attica or a place like that. And they will be having jobs where they will be earning $1.05 a day doing things like working in the laundry room. A far cry from the life they led previously.

And, you know, we've seen these trials, Miles, with all these corporate robes. We have one more yet to go, early next year. And that, of course, is the biggie, Enron. Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay. And after that, we'll be done with this episode in American history perhaps.

MILES O'BRIEN: Well, let's hope we're done.

SERWER: Yes.

MILES O'BRIEN: Let's hope there's no sequel to this one.

SERWER: That's right.

MILES O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer, thank you very much.

SERWER: Thank you.

MILES O'BRIEN: Like so many residents in the Crescent City, the New Orleans Saints are homeless because of Hurricane Katrina. Without the Superdome, every game this season will have to be an away game. But at least for one night, the NFL tried to make New Jersey feel like home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, (voice over): The Saints came marching in to a season of sadness and uncertainty. The rhythms and rituals of the game laced with emotion. Even before Katrina, the Saints slogan this year was one word faith. It is much more than marketing now.

Their name was in the end zone at the Meadowlands. They wore their home jerseys. Their cheerleaders on the sidelines. And some of the faithful in the seats. The NFL flew in about a thousand displaced fans. But, of course, the Saints still were not at home and they may never be again.

JOE HORN, SAINTS WIDE RECEIVER: The fans were excellent. That's what America is all about. Lending a helping hand, helping someone in need. And we appreciate the New York Giants still (ph). We love them and we thank them for helping us out with this situation.

DEUCE MCALLISTER, SAINTS RUNNING BACK: It's great. It's great for our fans. It's great for Gulf Coast region. I mean, but when it comes time to play a football game, that's what you got to do, you know. So you can't get caught up in, you know, all of the emotions of that.

MILES O'BRIEN: During the game, ABC ran a telethon for Katrina victims. Past and present NFL stars manning the phones, raising money for the Clinton-Bush Katrina Victims Funds. In the end, the Saints had more faith than points. The giants won 27-10, but their first away from home home game was a reminder that not all is lost in New Orleans and the city can march back as well.

MCALLISTER: And any help that we can get from any organization, we thank you. You know, we thank the NFL for, you know, giving us a home game in New York, you know, and for raising our you know, the money that they did. But when it comes all down to it, you know, we got to play football.

AARON BROOKS, SAINTS QUARTERBACK: It can go on, on and on, on and on. But our approach, we have to take one week at a time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN: Now the Saints other seven home games will be played a little closer to their real home. Four of them in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Tiger Stadium there, four in Louisiana state, and three in San Antonio, Texas, which is where they train.

In a moment, an update on the path of Tropical Storm Rita. The storm is churning its way toward the Florida Keys. It should hit there mid-day. And we, of course, are watching it. Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: Mayor Ray Nagin put his repopulation plan on hold because of Tropical Storm Rita. But is he really the one calling the shots at this point? Political Analyst James Carville joins us ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: I'm Miles O'Brien in New York.

Tropical Storm Rita already being felt in South Florida and the Keys. And residents all along the Gulf Coast paying very close attention to this storm. It's expected to become a hurricane any time now.

COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello in New Orleans.

More confusion as residents just returning to their homes are being again told to get out. There is great concern Rita could turn toward Louisiana.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: And new video just released from Scotland Yard showing the London train bombers casing their targets days before the deadly attacks. Those stories just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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