Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

New Orleans Police Beating; President Visits Hurricane Damaged Region Again; Beware of Flood Damaged Cars; New Your Checkup

Aired October 11, 2005 - 07:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I haven't had a drink for 25 years.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, he sort of laughed out loud at that one.

MILES O'BRIEN: You've got to wonder about this whole story.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: That's ahead this morning.

First, though, the headlines. Carol Costello has those.

Good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I do.

Good morning to you both.

Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News."

There has been a car bombing in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar, near the Syrian boarder. An interior ministry source is reporting at least 30 people were killed. The area was the site of a major U.S.-led military operation last month. There's also been a suicide attack in Baghdad. That bombing apparently targeting an Iraqi army convoy. At least four people were killed in that incident.

Some bad weather may temporarily halt relief efforts to parts of quake ravaged Asia. Authorities say the death toll has soared to 42,000. As many as five million people have been left homeless and there are reports of fights breaking out after relief workers tried to distribute some food and supplies.

President Bush is lending a hand to help the Gulf Coast build new homes after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The president's continuing his two-day trip to the region. He arrived in New Orleans on Monday. He and First Lady Laura Bush are said to take part in a Habitat for Humanity home building project in Louisiana.

Talk about an early blast of winter. A heavy snowstorm in Colorado has left up to 20 inches of snow in some areas. At least three deaths are being blamed on the weather. The Red Cross opened four shelters for drivers stranded along the highway. The storm also cut power to 50,000 homes and businesses. Some good news now. Fourth grader in California taking the plunge for a good cause. Nine-year-old Johnny Wilson has become the youngest person to swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco. The nearly one-and-a-half mile swim took him 90 minutes. Johnny's swim raised $30,000 in donations for Hurricane Katrina victims. So what was it like to be in those choppy, chilly waters? Well, we're going to meet Johnny Wilson later in the show. The waters were cold, 53 degrees was the water temperature.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Aren't there sharks in that water?

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I thought so. I mean, seriously.

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Carol's like, I don't know. It wasn't me swimming. We're going to ask Johnny. Relax.

COSTELLO: It's that a song? His dad, though, was right alongside him. Not swimming but in a boat.

MILES O'BRIEN: There to beat off the sharks or whatever is required to keep the kid safe.

COSTELLO: He had the harpoon.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: So, you know, another story you didn't report this morning. Somebody's birthday! Hello! Happy birthday to you.

MILES O'BRIEN: Happy birthday to you.

You're not divulging age, are you?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: She's 25. We all are. Each and every day.

COSTELLO: No, I'll divulge my age. I'm not ashamed of my age. I turned 44 years old today.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Congratulations.

COSTELLO: So, there, I've said it on national television.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Good for you. And many happy returns.

MILES O'BRIEN: Let the record show, I didn't ask!

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carol.

The man who is seen in that videotape beating is going to court in New Orleans today. His name is Robert Davis and he's charged with being drunk and resisting arrest. The officers seen hitting him have already pleaded not guilty to battery. And now a federal civil rights investigation is underway. Robert Davis says he wasn't doing anything wrong. He joined us, along with his attorney. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Robert Davis and his attorney, Joseph Bruno, are in New Orleans.

Gentlemen, good morning. Thank you for talking with us.

Mr. Davis, let's begin with you. Here's what I know about your story. You were having dinner at your hotel Saturday evening and you decide to go out for a cigarette. Pick up the story for me there. What happened?

ROBERT DAVIS, BEATEN BY OFFICERS: Well, I was walking down Bourbon Street and I wasn't sure about the time of the curfew. I was very concerned about that and I had been asking several law enforcement officers about the curfew. I had heard several different times 8:00, 10:00, and 12:00. So I finally decided to ask one of the New Orleans police officers who was on horseback at the corner of Konti (ph) and Bourbon and he proceeded to give me the time.

And during that, I was interrupted by another police officer who was walking by, really. And he interrupted our conversation and I told him that was very unprofessional and I proceeded to walk on across the street, at which time he punched me, I guess, and from there I don't really remember much, other than a lady in the crowd who was, I guess just a bystander, who kept hollering, "he didn't do anything. He didn't do anything."

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: We're looking at the videotape, Mr. Davis. And you can see the police officers wrestling . . .

DAVIS: Well, I haven't seen the videotape. I have not seen it. I don't know what's on the tape, so I have no idea. I've been kept from viewing any television or anything of that nature.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: We see it looks like . . .

DAVIS: By my daughter.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Five people at least involved in trying to wrestle you to the ground. A couple of them are clearly, obviously, police officers and their shirts say so.

Were they saying anything to you at the time?

DAVIS: Basically I couldn't hear much. I was very incoherent at the time. Anything that they said the only thing that I do remember was this woman who kept screaming about, "he didn't do anything." That's about all. And I heard them tell her, "if you don't move, we can also arrest you." So I don't know. I'd like to meet her, but I haven't met her.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: The chief of the New Orleans Police Department has suspended the officers who were involved. Let's listen to a little bit of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ACTING SUPT. WARREN RILEY, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPT.: In this particular case there was video, which gave a clear depiction of our officers using force beyond what I describe force that was beyond what was necessary in this incident, based on the video. But we will take decisive action once we gather all of the facts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: The Acting Chief Riley there.

Joseph Bruno, as mentioned, you're the attorney. Do you think this was race related?

JOSEPH BRUNO, ATTY. FOR ROBERT DAVIS: You know, I know there's a big temptation to go there but my client firmly believes that that's not what's involved here. In fact, he has indicated to anybody who would listen that he doesn't hold the entire police department responsible for this. We've been through too much.

He says (ph) a lot of great, heroic guys on that police force. There's a couple of rotten apples that need to be dealt with. We applaud the police department for their quick and appropriate response to this event. The only thing we're waiting for now is for them to drop the charges against my client so we can proceed with a determining an appropriate amount of compensation to bring him back to where he was.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Those charges are public intoxication, battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. Were you intoxicated?

DAVIS: No, I haven't drank in 25 years. That's the amazing part. You know, I haven't drank. I don't drink because I had a bad about 25 years ago I had a bad incident where I drove my automobile home and I ended up with two flat tires. And since that time, I haven't had a drink. I had what in alcoholism they call a blackout, because I don't recall it. So I have since then, I've put alcohol down. I don't even entertain the thought of alcohol.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: How are you doing today? How are you feeling?

DAVIS: Well, I'll give you a I'm not well. I haven't slept all night. I've been up all night. My back is hurting. I have a problem with my shoulder. I may have to have an operation on my eye.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Your eye looks a little swollen.

DAVIS: On my eye. But I hold no animosity against anyone. I want to thank our new police chief for his quick action. I really do. I mean, that's the first time I've known it to happen, but I also want to have the officer who was on that horse, who was black, by the way, I'd like to have him suspended because I feel that he had some complicity in the situation.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Robert Davis and his attorney Joseph Bruno joining us. The pictures of this beating are frankly very difficult to watch. I appreciate you sharing your story with us. Thanks for talking with us.

BRUNO: Thank you.

DAVIS: Oh, we thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: The other two men who you saw on that videotape have been identified as FBI agents. They have not been charged. An outside FBI office will be chosen to lead the civil rights investigation.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: The daunting task of rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are underway. But already a lot of concern that many of the rebuilding contracts are going to out of state businesses rather than local ones. To that end, Louisiana Congressman Bobby Jindal has introduced some legislation to give priority to Louisiana businesses. He joins us now from FEMA headquarters in Baton Rouge.

Congressman Jindal, good to have you back on the program.

REP. BOBBY JINDAL, LOUISIANA: Good morning.

MILES O'BRIEN: The president is returning to the region today. Trip number eight. Let's take a look at where he's going. It's right in the heart of your district. We got a little map here of your district. We can show people where he's headed.

The green area here, by the way, is Congressman Jindal's district. The (INAUDIBLE), St. Tamboni Parish (ph) is one of the places the president is going to be. You remember Slidell. That's a place that we spent a lot of time immediately in the wake of Katrina. Of course down here is the heart of New Orleans.

Now, Congressman Jindal, eight trips. Some would say that's too many trips. Enough already with the photo ops.

JINDAL: You know, I think the important thing is that he actually does some work while he's down here. He was down here a couple of weeks ago. He heard first hand from us our concerns about local payrolls, local cities not being able to keep their first responders on the payroll. Quickly something was done about that. Today, when we meet with the president, I'm going to be traveling to meet with him today, this morning. We're going to talk to him about the importance of using Louisiana businesses to rebuild our economy.

So as long as he's taking action after these trips, I have no problem with him coming down here. It keeps the nation's attention on Louisiana, keeps the nation's attention on the Gulf Coast. I think the important thing is, after the pictures are done, after the media's gone, it is important that he goes back to Washington and his administration continues to support the rebuilding efforts.

MILES O'BRIEN: Well, let's talk about that. It's been about a month since the president stood in Jackson Square, in the heart of the French Quarter, and had a sweeping response, proposals. We talked about it the day after. You thought generally the president did a pretty good job.

I'm curious if any of what he has proposed, among the key things were these so called Gulf Opportunities Zones focusing on businesses and individuals there in the region in the wake of Katrina. I wonder if that's really happening. Because what I'm seeing is a lot of the contracts, a lot of the money as a matter of fact, 31 cents of every dollar is being spent on out of state businesses.

JINDAL: Well, you're exactly right. His rhetoric was exactly right. However, unfortunately, bureaucracy . . .

MILES O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, I had that wrong Congressman, I got it backwards. Thirty-one cents being spent on local businesses. I flip-flopped. I apologize. Go ahead.

JINDAL: No, I was going to correct you on that. But, you're right, his rhetoric was exactly right. Unfortunately, bureaucracy hasn't lived up to that rhetoric. That's why we filed a legislation. I've heard from my constituents. I heard from one man who sells mobile homes and trailers in Jefferson Parish, in the area that was hit by the hurricane. He was trying desperately to try to provide these two FEMA two people that needed temporary housing. For five weeks he's tried. He's bought hundreds of these trailers. He finally signed a partnership, a contract, with an out of state retailer because they had a FEMA contract. That story is multiplied thousands of times.

MILES O'BRIEN: Why did that happen?

JINDAL: Well, the frustrating thing is that Louisiana companies are saying they're not being invited to bid, they're not being allowed to compete. They don't want guaranteed contracts, they just want the opportunity to prove they can be cost-effective, they can hire local employees. And the challenge is, look, we're spending a lot of money providing housing, education and health care appropriately but the sooner we put people back to work, the less help they'll need, the sooner this region will get back on its feet.

MILES O'BRIEN: Well, I mean, that's just good, common sense, these people will not need to be helped if they have jobs.

JINDAL: Absolutely.

MILES O'BRIEN: Now playing devils advocate here. A lot of these businesses are on their knees after Katrina. You know, you can't just pick up the phone and call a lot of these businesses now. Is that the problem or is it more deep-seeded?

JINDAL: No, I think it's more deep-seeded. I mean, you're right, there are some companies that don't have housing, don't have employees. But we've talked to accounting firms, we've talked to pest control firms, we've talked to trailers, debris removal firms. So many times, so many of these firms feel like the government is simply contracting with the agencies they've always contracted with before. The president said, we're going to make it a priority to use local companies, local employees. We want the federal bureaucracy, the state bureaucracy to live up to that rhetoric.

We're beginning to see signs of movement. FEMA has now said they're going to rebid four of those no bid contracts. Yesterday they announced new rules to give a priority to small businesses. We're hoping that will be followed up with action. So hopefully, with the president's visit, we can focus his attention, the administrations, the state's attention on using Louisiana-based companies.

MILES O'BRIEN: Final thought here. Small Business Administration. Seven thousand businesses in the wake of Katrina and Rita have applied for Small Business Administration loans. Only 20 loans have been approved totally less than a million and only 8,000 of that has been paid out. What is going on there? Is that pure bureaucracy?

JINDAL: Absolutely. Extremely frustrating. I'll give you some examples.

They told some businesses it would take 90 days to process a loan. Well, if these businesses had 90 days, they might not need the help. They're asking questions about retirement income and then they admit that they don't use that information in their questionnaires. They're insisting on going block by block, house by house.

We've told them, do what FEMA has done, use the technology that you already have to know that certain blocks were flood out. Miles, you've seen the devastation. There are certain areas that everybody had water. We've told them that we want them to be accountable to taxpayer money but also to help businesses open their doors. If they wait too long, these businesses won't be there, it won't make any difference. In 90 days a lot of these guys will go bankrupt.

MILES O'BRIEN: Congressman Jindal, give the president an earful today when you're with him. I'm sure he would love to hear exactly what you're just saying right now. Thanks for being with us this morning.

JINDAL: Thank you.

MILES O'BRIEN: Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: At 44 minutes past the hour, it's time to take a look at the weather. And Chad Myers is at the CNN Center with the latest.

Hey, Chad. Good morning. What are you looking at?

(WEATHER REPORT)

MILES O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, a new warning about flood damaged cars in Katrina's aftermath. Wait until you hear how many of them could be on the market. We're "Minding Your Business."

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Plus, Dr. Sanjay Gupta stops by. He's got a "New You" checkup. Remember back when we saw the Reverend Leigh Ann Raynor. She was working out, eating right. Well, just for a couple weeks. We're going to find out if she stuck to it though. See if she lost any more weight.

MILES O'BRIEN: Well, we don't know. She might have stuck to it.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I know. Well, we're going to find out. That's the tease.

MILES O'BRIEN: That's the idea. I get it.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: All right. Used car buyers beware. There are some cars out there that, shall we say, a little soggy? Gerri Willis is here.

you know, as I said to Andy Serwer, if you open up the door while you're kicking the tires and a mackerel comes out, bad sign, right? That's a bad sign?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that would be a bad sign. But it could be more subtle than that.

MILES O'BRIEN: Oh, it could. Yes.

WILLIS: I have to tell you, the National Automobile Dealers Association, they're saying that as many as 250,000 of these cars that were damaged in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita could show up on your local used car dealer's lot and you want to avoid them at all costs. You also want to identify them because it's not always real clear . . .

MILES O'BRIEN: How do you though?

WILLIS: Well, a couple of things to look for. You want to look for water droplets in that light that's over your head inside the car.

MILES O'BRIEN: Ah, that's a good tip.

WILLIS: Make sure you look for rusted seat belts. You know why this is sort of interesting. Because if water got up to the seat level, it would damage the electrical system in the car and you don't want that to happen. Reality is, is the car could drive really well for a while and then, all of a sudden, terribly.

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, the wiring, in particular, is a real problem. You can dry out the engine but the wiring harnesses and all that, forget it, right? WILLIS: Yes, not good. And, of course, if you smell mold, you got stay away from that car. That would be as many as 250,000 cars to watch out for. Check out CARFAX.com.

MILES O'BRIEN: Oh, there's got to be more than that, don't you think?

WILLIS: Could be.

MILES O'BRIEN: Could be. What do you do at CARFAX?

WILLIS: I'm an optimist.

MILES O'BRIEN: All right. And CARFAX, will they give you some information of what to look . . .

WILLIS: They'll give you free information on these cars. You can to look at the vin numbers and make sure this was not a car that was damaged in Hurricane Katrina and Rita.

MILES O'BRIEN: All right. You know, just a vin number which leads you to that region at that time.

WILLIS: That's right.

MILES O'BRIEN: Buyer beware, as they say.

WILLIS: Absolutely.

MILES O'BRIEN: Gerri Willis, we'll see you in just a little bit. Thank you.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, another "New You" checkup from Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Did the Reverend Leigh Ann Raynor keep off those 12 pounds that she lost eight months ago? We're going to find out up next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: The real question this morning is, is it still a "New You"?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, the.

MILES O'BRIEN: It's an older you.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: From the people who, in January, decided to relaunch, lose some weight, get healthy. Hopefully, they're still new.

MILES O'BRIEN: And the real question, the burning question is, are they still smoking? Are they biting their nails? Are they heavy? Sanjay's here.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes. Good morning, Sanjay.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Yes, and I agree with Soledad on this one. You know, you took the old person, you made them a new person, so they're a "New You." And the question is, are they still a "New You"? And at the end of our two-month "New You" revolution, Leigh Ann Raynor, remember her, she had lost 12 pounds and said she would lose more before we saw her again. So the question is this, did she keep the "New You" habits alive?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA, (voice over): Despite a few hurdles . . .

LEIGH ANN RAYNOR: It's like everyone's enjoying this but me.

GUPTA: And some challenges.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lift the (INAUDIBLE) up.

RAYNOR: That's as far as my hips go, sweetie.

GUPTA: Reverend Leigh Ann Raynor was well on her way to her new self when we last saw her eight months ago. She was able to start exercising with little or no pain after a heart condition was finally diagnosed and treated. She learned how to cook.

RAYNOR: I like that.

GUPTA: One bad habit Leigh Ann wasn't ready to tackle was her smoking.

RAYNOR: Quitting smoking was not one of the goals that I had when I wrote to CNN.

GUPTA: Although she did cut back from smoking a pack and a half to one pack a day.

Now, eight months later, the "New You" Leigh Ann is 23 pounds lighter. Not as much as she wanted to lose but her heart condition won't allow her to exercise more vigorously. Yet she's determined and continues to work out five to six days a week. Her doctor and exercise buddy makes sure she's not overdoing it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She wants to do more and she wants to do more and she has to remember her limitations.

GUPTA: One thing Leigh Ann has stopped is eating fast food.

RAYNOR: Haven't been through a drive-through since January.

GUPTA: Instead, she's still cooking at home with a little trial and error.

RAYNOR: Oh, I seriously should have sprayed this. GUPTA: Leigh Ann says she feels wonderful.

RAYNOR: I feel better than I've felt in 20 years at least. Twenty-five years. What I'm doing right now will determine the kind of older person that I will be.

GUPTA: With Leigh Ann's successful "New You" revolutions, hopefully she can now focus on breaking that other bad habit, smoking.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: She really does look quite good there. She's done great. She may not have lost as much weight as she hoped to lose, 23 pounds not bad, but she's exercising regularly, eating healthier, all the things she wasn't doing at the beginning of the year. So we wish her a lot of continued success.

MILES O'BRIEN: Sanjay, we've got to get her off those death sticks, don't you think? Of course that would be make it harder to lose the weight, right?

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, we certainly talked to her about that and said said you know she came to us and said, she wasn't interested in stopping smoking. So at least we got her cutting down now. We'll check in with her again sometime (ph).

MILES O'BRIEN: Let's have her back this year. Should we have her back?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: One thing at a time. Yes.

GUPTA: That's right, one thing at a time.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes. I'm sympathetic. It's hard to lose 23 pounds. Good for her.

MILES O'BRIEN: No, I'm being sympathetic. I think we should have her back for another year. Let's have a repeat "New You" person. Should be a new "New You."

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Well, I'm sure she'll appreciate that.

Who's coming up tomorrow, Sanjay?

GUPTA: Tomorrow we're going to visit with Harald Fricker. You may remember him. We last saw him back in March. He had lost 22 pounds and was training to run a marathon. Something he had done many times before when he was younger. He used to look great when he was younger. So we'll tell you if he's sticking to his "New You" good habits and, most importantly, if he made that marathon.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And what are you looking for next year? I mean, really January, which will be the . . .

MILES O'BRIEN: Let's bring her back!

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: No, stop with that!

GUPTA: We're not biting on this idea. We're changing themes here, Miles. Hear me out here. We're looking for couples this time. Couples, pairs, or duos, anybody who wants to get fit and get healthier together in the new year. So perhaps you and your roommate perhaps want to lose those dreaded . . .

MILES O'BRIEN: No, I told you, I wanted to do my dogs and you wouldn't take my dogs.

GUPTA: No.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: How about us? Seriously, Sanjay, me and Miles. The O'Brien team?

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, I could think of some makeovers for Miles right now, myself, personally!

MILES O'BRIEN: I have no issues.

GUPTA: But, look, you know, OK, listen, hear me out. You and your roommate, for example . . .

MILES O'BRIEN: It's the early morning drinking that he wants to stop!

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Hush. Let him finish.

Go ahead, Sanjay, finish.

GUPTA: Cut them off the Bloody Mary's, Soledad.

You and your spouse, perhaps, want to lose some combined weight as well? If you think you have what it takes to be one of our featured twosomes, simply go to cnn.com/am. Sign up with your partner. Join the "New You" resolution. You get to meet the O'Briens even.

MILES O'BRIEN: That will be fun.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You know what, better than that, the O'Briens are going to lose some weight together this year, Sanjay. Miles and I are entering the contest too.

GUPTA: All right.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thanks, Sanjay, we'll check in with you again.

I'm serious about that.

We're going to take a look at the top stories coming back in just it's not you.

MILES O'BRIEN: I'm insulted.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Stop. Yes, you're in. That's right at the top of the hour. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com