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CNN Live At Daybreak

Condoleezza Rice in Pakistan; Fierce Floods in New Hampshire; Taikonauts' Tour; Interview With Jesse Jackson

Aired October 12, 2005 - 06:30   ET

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

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

Also coming up this half-hour, washed away. Homes, roads and people missing in the wake of floods in New Hampshire. We'll take you there live.

And Jesse Jackson is leading a special caravan into New Orleans. He'll join us a little later to explain his mission.

But first, "Now in the News."

A newly-released letter from al Qaeda's number two man to its leader in Iraq seems to indicate some displeasure with insurgent operations in Iraq. In the letter, Ayman al-Zawahiri expresses strong opposition to attacks on Shiites in Iraq. Those bombings are believed to be the work of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, which is al Qaeda's leader in Iraq.

Judith Miller will be back in front of a grand jury today. It will be the second appearance for Miller in the Valerie Plame CIA leak investigation. "The New York Times" reporter spent 85 days in jail after originally refusing to testify.

Chinese astronauts have entered orbit for just the second time. They'll spend up to five days circling the Earth. This is the first time China's manned space flight will last more than just a few orbits.

To the forecast center and Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: We're going to go live to New Hampshire in just a bit. But first, let's talk about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, because her Asian tour has now been expanded to include a stop in earthquake-damaged Pakistan. She'll meet with the country's president and its prime minister.

CNN's Andrea Koppel is traveling with the secretary of state, and she joins us now live with more.

Good morning -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

This is going to be very, very quick for Secretary Rice. In fact, it's going to be more symbolic than anything else. And she's probably going to be on the ground for just about two hours.

We landed about a half-an-hour ago, and she's, in fact, in a meeting right now with the Pakistani president. She's going to go on to a meeting with the Pakistani prime minister.

This is very much the message is U.S. solidarity with Pakistan in its time of need. We know for days now the U.S. has been getting helicopters in here. In fact, they've got a couple of ships that have been diverted to bring field hospitals and other equipment in here.

In addition, Secretary Rice is going to be talking with the Pakistani prime minister about some additional equipment the U.S. could offer, some satellite imagery and reconnaissance surveillance aircraft, some supplies, tents, water -- whatever it is really the U.S. and Secretary Rice is here to say, we want to be by your side. We're there for you in your time of need. You helped us not long ago with Hurricane Katrina.

The only thing that was kind of keeping Secretary Rice from coming here any sooner, Carol, is, you know, she was in the region. It was the fact she didn't want to get in the way. Even just getting her plane to land at the airport here in Islamabad was quite an ordeal. I could see they had set up field tents. They had doctors who were treating patients that had been flown in from other parts of the country. And the most important thing was that Secretary Rice didn't want to get in the middle of this. She just wanted to show the Pakistani people that the United States wants to help -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Andrea Koppel reporting live.

In the pictures you're seeing, by the way, Condoleezza Rice was in Afghanistan right before her stop in Pakistan. And as you can see, she held a short news conference with the president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai.

Andrea Koppel reporting for us live from Pakistan this morning.

FEMA assessment teams are expected to arrive in southwestern New Hampshire today. What they will see is entire areas literally washed away. Houses and roads alike fell prey to fierce flooding.

CNN's Chris Huntington is in Alstead, New Hampshire. He joins us live from there now.

Good morning -- Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning.

Not good news. It is raining again. And as our weather folks have pointed out, there's a lot more rain expected to come in the days ahead.

This is an area that, as you point out, is just barely beginning to recover from the vicious storms that hit last weekend.

You know, the situation here in New Hampshire, a very hilly, mountainous area, is that when it rains and rains hard, the rain falls down and gets concentrated into the rivers and streams.

I am standing on the banks of what is called Cold River here in Alstead, New Hampshire. You can probably see it's a pretty good-sized river across. That used to be a river that was 15 to 20 feet wide. It's now more than 100 feet wide. The water just rushed through here with devastating rapids that killed three people and also took out a couple of homes, including that of Leroy and Marlene Wade.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARLENE WADE, NEW HAMPSHIRE RESIDENT: This was the entrance to our front porch, which was all glassed in. And then our house ran to the right of it.

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): That ramp she's standing on is now a ramp to nowhere. The surging waters of Cold River swept away the house that she and her husband had lived in since 1957, as well as their garage, their barn and virtually all of their land.

WADE: My son said later on, "Ma, we don't have any land, and we can't rebuild here."

HUNTINGTON: Marlene is a diabetic. Her husband of 52 years, Leroy, has Parkinson's, and has been in a wheelchair since suffering a stroke two years ago. They were sound asleep on Sunday morning, unaware that the rising river was ripping out their foundation.

(on camera): Early Sunday morning, Marlene and Leroy Wade got the call from their neighbor that probably saved their lives, from the neighbor that lived in this house, on a house that now sits directly on the bank of a greatly expanded Cold River.

Marlene and Leroy's territory was cut back. You can see the line here extending onto the shed, which is the only bit of their property that really exists anymore. They have absolutely nothing left.

(voice-over): They did have flood insurance years ago, but canceled it once they paid off their house. Now, they're relying on family, their friends and a lot of faith.

WADE: My feet are on the ground, and I'm strong-willed anyway. But my faith keeps me going.

HUNTINGTON: And that faith is one thing the river could not take.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now folks here in Alstead have really come to the side of Marlene and Leroy. In fact, they've been offered a house to stay in. Not sure whether they're going to take that offer just yet. They're staying with family across the Connecticut River, across the state border into Vermont.

Now, the situation here right now, a lot of other folks here in this area and throughout southern New Hampshire are still in a lot of trouble. And with more rain coming, Carol, this could get to be a very tricky situation in the next few days.

Back to you.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes. And Chad says expect a lot of rain over the next several days. Chris Huntington live in Alstead, New Hampshire, this morning.

Unfortunately, it does look like there will be more flooding in the Northeast. It will look all too familiar for some Hurricane Katrina survivors.

Soledad joins us now for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."

Good morning -- Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning to you.

It looks as if, Carol, the Ninth Ward is going to be reopened -- the last area to reopen -- to people to come back and take a look, assess what's left of their homes. And, frankly, as you know and as I know, there's not a whole lot left of many of the homes there.

They're going to have an opportunity to do that and really get a chance to start moving in the right direction. People think that looking at the damage kind of brings a little bit of closure.

We're going to take a look at that this morning.

Also, we're going to be talking to the former FBI director, Louis Freeh. He's speaking out for the first time really about his relationship with his old boss, former President Bill Clinton. He's got a new book out, and he makes some allegations about how Mr. Clinton's personal scandals might have hurt the fight against terrorism. He's going to be live in our studio this morning, Carol.

Also, we're asking this question: Does New Orleans need a hurricane czar to lead the recovery there? President Bush says it needs to be handled locally. Some say it is too big of a job for the city to take that on. We're going to talk this morning to former Louisiana Senator John Breaux, also the former mayor of New Orleans, Marc Morial, and see what they have to say about that.

A busy morning ahead, Carol. We'll see you right at the top of the hour.

COSTELLO: We'll be there. Thank you, Soledad. Coming up next, people are heading back to New Orleans -- speaking of New Orleans. They're looking for jobs. One activist is looking out for them. Jesse Jackson on a bus tour. We're going to talk to him next.

And China launches into the history books. We'll tell you what's so unusual about this trip into space.

You're watching DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Two taikonauts are orbiting the Earth this morning. Don't be alarmed. Taikonaut is the Chinese term for astronaut. Two members of China's fledging space program are now up in space making their own history.

CNN's Veronica Pedrosa reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA PEDROSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): China's second manned space mission is thrust into orbit from the Gobi Desert.

"I'm feeling good," the first words after the launch from Fei Junlong, one of the two men on board. He and Nie Haisheng are due to be in orbit for nearly five days.

DEAN CHENG, CNA CORPORATION: I think that a manned program is so fraught with danger, and we should recognize the courage involved for both of these astronauts as they go up. That from a military perspective, manned programs really are not so much a threat as they are really a statement on human courage.

PEDROSA: The launch was broadcast live on national television. That's a big difference from the secrecy that used to surround the space program.

Beijing residents watched anxiously. Some even took the day off work so they could witness the historic moment, like Minston Hu (ph).

This construction worker says, "I am feeling really emotional. I feel like this is a proud moment, not only for China, but for Chinese people all over the world and for humankind."

Analysts say the new openness signals a growing confidence in the progress of the space program.

China is only the third nation to put humans in space. Its leadership says the motives are scientific and peaceful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We wish to work together with the people of the world to advance the use of space for peaceful purposes.

PEDROSA: The Chinese space program has long-term ambitions. DAVE RENEKE, "SKY AND SPACE" MAGAZINE: If the Chinese are looking at putting a space station in orbit very soon, I think they will do that. They want a presence on the moon. And also, I believe, they are looking at putting a red flag on the Red Planet by the year '20, maybe 2025.

PEDROSA: The mission of the Shenzhou 6 is another small step toward that goal.

Veronica Pedrosa, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 6:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is now in Pakistan, where she's meeting with President Pervez Musharraf. Rice expanded her trip to central Asia to include the earthquake-damaged country. Earlier today, she visited Afghanistan.

In money news, the Internet company with the funny name is helping some serious causes. Google has committed nearly a billion dollars to create a charitable foundation. Google is fulfilling a promise it made when it went public last year.

In culture, Jon Stewart, J.K. Rolling and Bob Dylan are Quill winners. The Quill Awards are sort of the People's Choice Awards for books.

In sports, it's a heavenly win. The Los Angeles Angels traveled to Chicago to beat the White Sox 3-2. Game two is tonight. The first game of the National League championship series between St. Louis and Houston is also tonight.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Jesse Jackson took a busload of people to New Orleans to get jobs. Was he successful? We'll talk to him after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, has given his first interview ever for U.S. television. And our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour spoke with him.

His country faces pressure from Washington, which charges Syria is helping fuel the insurgency in Iraq. And there's another looming concern: A U.N. report that may implicate Syria in the murder of Lebanon's former prime minister.

Here is some of what Assad had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sir, relations are pretty much at an all-time low between Syria and the United States. Do you have a message for the people of the United States?

PRES. BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SYRIA: We look at the United States as a great power, because of the innovation that they have, because of the creation, and because of the (INAUDIBLE). So, we're looking for more constructive and objective role of the United States, not only politically, in supporting the (INAUDIBLE) offense in the world. We cannot let politicians put their interests ahead of their countries and just...

AMANPOUR: What do you mean?

AL-ASSAD: No, I mean, we should (INAUDIBLE) what's going on in the world. What did we achieve? What did they achieve on that war in Iraq? It's a very simple question. What did they achieve economically, politically, fighting terrorism? We didn't achieve anything. This is one example.

AMANPOUR: We achieved the end of a dictator.

AL-ASSAD: Yes, but what did you get as a return? The hope of the people, the stability, no better democracy, no better economy, no services, no stability in the region, more terrorism.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: That was some of Christiane Amanpour's exclusive interview with Syria's president. You will hear more of Christiane's interview throughout the day right here on CNN exclusively.

Hurricane Katrina revealed deep pockets of poverty in New Orleans. But the Big Easy is definitely not alone. A Brookings Institution study shows Fresno, California, has the highest concentration of people in poor neighborhoods. New Orleans comes in at number two, followed by Louisville, Kentucky, Miami and Atlanta.

In the poverty pockets, at least 40 percent of the people live below the poverty line. There's also high crime, poor housing and a lack of jobs.

Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson is in Louisiana. He's in New Orleans this morning. He's been traveling with a caravan of jobseekers, including displaced New Orleans residents. He wants to ensure they receive some of the jobs from the federal contracts that are flowing into the region to rebuild.

He joins us live now from New Orleans.

Good morning.

JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW PUSH COALITION: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: So, you took a bus from Chicago. How many people got on board your bus? JACKSON: Over 200. A caravan of buses really from Chicago to St. Louis, to Memphis, to Jackson, Mississippi, Mobile and to New Orleans. And it was incredibly difficult to get housing there.

There's a surplus of jobs here. Burger King, McDonald's, Kentucky Fried, hotel chains, construction companies are just searching for workers. And the housing issue must be addressed.

And the displaced citizens must have priority on their right to return home and their right to jobs.

COSTELLO: Well, you know, but the mayor did welcome these people, but he did question your efforts because of the housing issue. I mean, where are these people staying?

JACKSON: Well, they're staying in a hotel now. But, you know, FEMA has bought 114,000 trailers that must be deployed and immediately. The government should build some temporary housing.

When people saw -- Americans and the world saw people dying in the streets here and on rooftops (INAUDIBLE), America pulled at its heart. It said, let's give money. Let's have rallies and concerts and government money.

But the displaced citizens have been displaced again, because the no-bid contracts are not going to them, and the first line of jobs are not going to them. We must close that gap between the jobs and the people in these evacuation centers around the country.

COSTELLO: I know that President Bush says he's going to open up bidding to minority contractors and minority businesses. That has to make you feel a little better about the situation.

JACKSON: Yes, it never did make sense to give no-bid contracts to Bechtel and Halliburton when, in fact, people on the ground could do trucking or could lease trucks or could lease trucks or could lease bulldozers and the like. When you have no-bid contracts you kind of corrupt the process.

And when you suspend prevailing wages and suspend environmental and affirmative action laws, it becomes (INAUDIBLE) without limits for the low bidders (INAUDIBLE) low bidders, and then the workers become exploited. You begin to import workers that you really can exploit.

So, the reconstruction should be bottom up. Carol, we must focus on rescuing people. And with the massive dislocation in 41 states, there is no plan for return. There should be jobseekers in these rescue camps around the country. And those who get contracts must have incentives for people to return home. People want to work, and they can work. But they must still plan for them to return.

Now, Karl Rove has a very different position. According to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, he says New Orleans will not be majority black again anytime soon. We should cut the population in half. That sounds more like political restructuring... COSTELLO: Well...

JACKSON: ... economic reconstruction.

COSTELLO: We're getting into...

JACKSON: That's (INAUDIBLE).

COSTELLO: We're getting into a completely different realm now. But...

JACKSON: Well, we're really not...

COSTELLO: What...

JACKSON: ... in the sense that you put the chief political operative over economic reconstruction, that is a very definite set of signals there.

COSTELLO: Well, there are a lot of people within the city of New Orleans working against that surely. And the Democrats have some say, don't they?

JACKSON: Yes, you do, but...

COSTELLO: And they can take some action, too.

JACKSON: But you have the city saying, you ought to come back to repopulate the city. But you have the federal government's spokesman saying the political character will change. That means (INAUDIBLE) upon the mayor, the congressional delegation, the senator will change dramatically.

So, you really have a kind of (INAUDIBLE). On the one hand, you have an overlay of no-bid contracts as opposed to low-bid contracts. Instead of saying come back, the federal government is saying permanent exile. So, you really have confusing signals for the people.

COSTELLO: Is that part of the reason for your bus tour?

JACKSON: Indeed. And to convince people in these evacuation camps. There are still 90,000, I might add, in these camps. Don't languish where you are. Don't allow the temporary refuge to become permanent exile. You have the right to return. You have the right to reconstruction. Come get these jobs and begin to rebuild your city and rebuild your lives.

COSTELLO: Well, I just hope that your busloads of people are able to find housing after they get those jobs.

JACKSON: All of them have -- all of those that we brought back have a job already, and they have housing. But thousands more must be able to come back, and that really means within a 90-mile radius you have Keesler (ph) Air Force Base, Maxwell (ph) Air Force Base, lots of land to put temporary housing on. There must be a plan to repopulate, a plan for people to return and get these jobs and contracts. They deserve them.

COSTELLO: Jesse Jackson joining us live from New Orleans this morning. Thank you, sir.

When we come back, more headlines and a look at your travel forecast. You're watching DAYBREAK for a Wednesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's time to give away a mug this morning. The questions and answers from yesterday about that big pumpkin out there in California. How heavy was that big pumpkin that won the West Coast championship weigh-off? Over 1,200 pounds -- 1,229 I think the number was. There you go. According to a new study at Brunel University, what are men better at than women? He said shopping. In fact, the answer was probably buying, because men don't shop. They just go in there and power shop and they buy.

And the winner, today the winner from Denton, Texas, Aaron Midgett. Congratulations, Aaron. DAYBREAK coffee mug on the way.

Questions for today now very quickly. What city has the highest rate of poverty? And if you're watching your weight, how many calories should you have in a snack?

Go to CNN.com/daybreak -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And the average price of an unleaded gallon of gas is now down to $2.85 a gallon. That's two cents less than it was yesterday. I just thought you should know.

From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

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