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American Morning

Aftermath of Wilma; Next Chapter for Iraq

Aired October 26, 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us. Jacqui Jeras will be along in a minute with your forecast.

Also coming up this half-hour, long lines for relief. We'll have a live report on how people in Florida are coping in the aftermath of Wilma.

And more on Michael Brown. Was the former FEMA chief ready to resign before Katrina hit and (INAUDIBLE)?

But first, "Now in the News."

There is word of a deal between the U.S. and Japan this morning. The two have agreed on where to relocate a U.S. military base on Okinawa. Debate over where it should go had held back a plan to realign U.S. troops in Japan.

Stepped-up violence in the Middle East this morning. A rocket was fired from Gaza into southern Israel. It hit a college, but caused no injuries. In response, Israeli aircraft fired on fields that Palestinian militants use a watch sites.

Thousands of people are still without power in the Northeast this morning after a storm brought high winds, rain and snow. The storm is feeding off the remnants of Hurricane Wilma.

Out to the forecast center and Jacqui Jeras.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Hurricane Wilma has blown through south Florida and is moving out to sea. But the storm's aftereffects are still being felt, especially among the region's senior citizens.

Allan Chernoff is in Sunny Isles, outside of Miami. He joins us live with the latest.

Good morning, Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

And right behind me you can see the remains of a giant construction crane that came tumbling down during the worst of the hurricane.

There, of course, are so many condominiums going up right here along the beach. And we are at the Oceana Condominium in Sunny Isles. And right next door is a condo only about six stories high thus far in the middle of construction, but the crane, as you can see, came tumbling down.

These cranes are supposed to be able to withstand winds of 150 miles an hour. Clearly, this one did not fare very well.

Fortunately, no one was injured by this crane tumbling down. It fell onto a parking lot over here and narrowly missed that high rise, the Oceana right behind us.

Nonetheless, the danger is not gone for residents around here, particularly for the older folks who live in all of these high rises, because without power and particularly elevator service, the situation here can be precarious for seniors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Without power, residents of the Aquarius condominium are barbecuing on their grill and then carrying food upstairs to frail neighbors, who are trapped in their apartments.

PHYLISS MEGARO, CONDOMINIUM RESIDENT: We're bringing them up their water, and we're bringing them up their food, cooked, because their maids, whatever help they get, they can't come. So they can't make it, so we have to do it.

CHERNOFF: Not only are the neighbors providing food, but medical necessities as well.

CHANNA ANTEBI, CONDOMINIUM RESIDENT: Yes, there is -- there is some woman. She run out of oxygen tank. So, they ran to Memorial Hospital. They bring one, for her a new one.

CHERNOFF: In a 19th floor penthouse lives a cancer patient on hospice care.

IVNNONE VILLAGRA, CONDOMINIUM RESIDENT: In fact, there is a gentleman that is dying of cancer right now. And he's in pretty bad shape, needing oxygen. We've been trying to get oxygen up there to him. We do need to get the power on, so that we can get the oxygen for him.

CHERNOFF: Utility crews are working 16-hour shifts making repairs to get power back.

(on camera): There are hazards throughout the Miami area. The storm pulled down many of the lower-lying distribution power lines. This line normally carries 7,600 volts of electricity. And, as you can see, it's just hanging in the middle of the street.

MAYOR JIM NAUGLE, FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA: The residents in condominiums, if you have an elderly resident in a condominium and the elevator isn't working, it can be life-threatening. So, the power restoration is our biggest concern, as we get water and other services up in the city.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: Florida Power and Light says it has restored power to hundreds of thousands of homes, but getting all of the power back on, the utility says, could take weeks, which may be too long of a wait for some of Florida's frailest seniors -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Allan Chernoff live in Florida this morning.

Another fallout from Wilma, people stranded in Mexico.

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

Good morning, Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol. We're going to check in with Michael Atardi (ph). Do you remember meeting him just the other day? He is among 7,000 to maybe 17,000 U.S. tourists, who got not quite the vacation they show in the brochures. He'd like a little help from the U.S. embassy. First and foremost he'd like to get some good information.

It's not exactly the luxury suite there, is it, Carol?

And we are going to hook him up with someone with the U.S. embassy in Mexico, Judith Bryan (ph). We'll ask her what's going on and what can be done to help the Americans who are stranded there in the wake of Wilma, which, of course, act one for Wilma was, in fact, Cancun.

And then D.C. this morning, the White House, the political world is all atwitter about what Patrick Fitzgerald will do. There is Karl Rove. That's not Patrick Fitzgerald. There is Scooter Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, who by all accounts is a focus of this grand jury. The question is: Will an indictment or indictments be handed up today? We'll check in with Jeff Toobin, who is an expert at reading grand jury tea leaves.

That and more on "AMERICAN MORNING," plus, of course, you as always on "AMERICAN MORNING."

COSTELLO: I will be there. Thank you, Miles.

They chanted, they cheered and they danced in the streets. Iraqis are celebrating the passage of their draft constitution. They voted on it on October 15. The official results were announced yesterday.

Election officials held a ceremony to certify the vote. They say the constitution passed with more than 78 percent of voters supporting it. This paves the way for a mid-December election for a new parliament. Now let's get the other side of the story. Not everybody is happy with the new constitution. It was largely opposed by Sunni Arabs.

Joining me now live from Baghdad is Salih Mutlag of the National Dialogue Council, a Sunni group.

Good morning, sir.

SALIH MUTLAG, NATIONAL DIALOGUE COUNCIL: Good morning to you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Isn't it a good idea that some kind of constitution was passed so a permanent government can be put into place?

MUTLAG: It's an excellent idea that we will have a permanent constitution and a permanent government. But this constitution should have been done in the right way. It should have been written in the way that the Iraqis will accept it.

Don't tell me that the Iraqis have voted for it and they said yes for it. We believe and we are certain that all of the results have been (INAUDIBLE). And the (INAUDIBLE) of the Iraqis is north as it was shown on the press.

Mosul, for instance, it is the same population and the background as Ramadi and Falluja and Salahideen (ph).

Why should Mosul vote for the 5 percent no and Al-Anbar vote 97 percent no?

COSTELLO: Right. So you, sir...

MUTLAG: The...

COSTELLO: Sir, let me just interrupt for a second just to make our audience understand. You believe that the vote was fraudulent still, even though it's been certified.

MUTLAG: Yes. Well, I believe that yes. I believe that the votes were not counted in a fair way. I mean, our evidence for that is that the votes should have been done -- the voting should have been in the same place where the voting took place. And this is according to the law they have established.

What happened is that they did not allow people there and the governor to count the votes. They took the boxes, and they counted them somewhere else. And the boxes were taken.

Again, it's the wishes of the people, even from the Electoral Commission and the governor is by the government officials, by the soldiers of the government...

COSTELLO: Well, having...

MUTLAG: ... by the military Muslims. COSTELLO: Having said all of that, sir, the vote has been certified, and we have to go on from here, because the draft constitution has been passed. According to Reuters this morning, some Iraqi Sunni leaders have said they would focus on pressing U.S. forces to pull out after failing to block the vote on the constitution.

In fact, I'm going to quote someone. His name is Hussein Al- Falluji (ph). He said: "Our message to the American administration is clear: Get out of Iraq or set a timetable for withdrawal, or the resistance will keep slaughtering your soldiers until judgment day."

Do you agree with that sentiment?

MUTLAG: Well, not completely. I mean, I asked the American forces to withdraw actually. And they agreed to stay here until the next election and assured they will. I think we expect from them to be fair. I think (INAUDIBLE) on this subject they will not share at all.

They did not put a plan to ensure that the referendum will go in the right way. They did not bring international and fair supervision for the referendum.

And we know the referendum when it was supervised by the government, you do not expect different results from what we are seeing now. It's the government or the political parties in the government who wrote the constitution. And they are the ones who are supervising the referendum, which is completely unfair.

From now on, what we are going to see, we are going to be in the political process. We are going to (INAUDIBLE) ourselves for re- election.

But first, we do not expect that we can bring people with us as much as we did in this referendum, because people lost hope in their voices and lost hope. And therefore, they paid to go to the referendum. They lost hope that -- you know, the risks they have taken to go to the referendum, you know, it was not -- it did not give them the result they expect.

So, it's not because the results were like that. It's because they cheated. They (INAUDIBLE) the results. Therefore, this time we want international and fair supervision to go for the referendum or for any election in the region.

COSTELLO: All right, sir, thank you for joining us this morning. We'll see what happens in December when Iraqis go to the polls once again. Salih Mutlag joining us live from Baghdad this morning.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, the former head of FEMA may not have intended to stay with the agency even before the Katrina criticism.

And people are New Orleans are losing patience with the Army Corps of Engineers.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 6:45 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

New England states get an early blast of winter. A Nor'easter fueled by Hurricane Wilma brought strong winds, heavy rain and even some snow to a region still cleaning up from earlier flooding. Plus, it knocked out power to thousands of people.

In money news, Microsoft plans to let you search books and other published content online. The software giant is sidestepping hot- button copyright issues for now by focusing first on the 150,000 publications already in the public domain.

In pop culture, the Rolling Stones are working on a CD for Starbucks. The nationwide coffeehouses will start selling a compilation of rare Stones songs November 22. It's just the latest foray into music sales with Starbucks, which have included music download kiosks and other CD sales.

In sports, the Chicago White Sox are on the verge of their first World Series title in 88 years. In the longest game in series' history, the Sox beat the Astros 7-5 in 14 innings. The Sox take a 3- 0 lead to the series. Game four is tonight in Houston.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Still to come, today's mug giveaway.

But first, it's time to say happy birthday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Was FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina crippled by a lame duck director? "The Washington Post" reports that former FEMA director Michael Brown was already planning to resign before Katrina made landfall. Brown eventually left under pressure two weeks after Katrina hit.

One senator involved in the investigations tells the newspaper that Brown's impending departure may explain why he seemed so detached in his handling of the crisis.

E-mails released in both the House and Senate inquiries also suggest the administration knew about Brown's intentions.

Brown, in the meantime, is still working as a consultant for FEMA. Still. His contract to help review emergency procedures has been extended for an extra month.

Oh, people will be talking about that later today.

Still talking about Katrina, we all know how New Orleans flooded when major levee failed. Engineers are trying to figure out how to make repairs so it never happens again. But for those who live in the path of the floods, the answers aren't coming soon enough.

Our technology correspondent, Daniel Sieberg, has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BOWLES, HOME OWNER: As the ground moved, it lifted.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Artist Joe Bowles is on the front lines of the fight over the levee breaks. Bordering the 17th Street Canal, where water rushed in, his entire back yard was pushed up like a rug.

BOWLES: I was very angry, right. You pay your tax money, and you figure the government knows what they're doing when they build levees, and obviously they don't, or they take the cheap route.

SIEBERG: Bowles is not alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since the government is not going to address the levee situation...

SIEBERG: At a recent meeting in Bowles' Lakeview neighborhood, outraged residents wanted some straight answers on how the Army Corps of Engineers will solve the levee problem.

At that gathering, the Corps only wanted to address debris removal. But Lakeview is one of many neighborhoods near the three locations in New Orleans where a major levee breached. Experts say before the levees can be upgraded, they must know why they failed. And the reasons differ.

At the Industrial Canal, the water flowed over the levee wall, then flooded down the other side, eroding the soil at the base. At the 17th Street and London Avenue locations, a different problem has emerged. The rising water apparently did not top the levee walls, but the type of soil at the base may have contributed to its collapse.

(on camera): Here at the 17th Street Canal, about 12 feet down is a 5-foot layer of peat. It's soaking wet from the groundwater, and it looks like this. Engineers say it would act as a poor anchor for a levee support wall.

GORDON BOUTWELL, ENGINEER: Water will flow through the peat a lot faster than it will through the clay. And so that would allow water to go through and help weaken the soil.

SIEBERG (voice-over): Boutwell is one of the lead investigators of a report being prepared by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

BOUTWELL: Water is pushing. But if the soil here is relatively weak...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BOUTWELL: ... it slides out like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

BOUTWELL: It slides, and then the whole wall kicks over.

SIEBERG: While engineers look at what happened and how to prepare for the future, residents like Joe Bowles have to figure out what to do now. He lived in this house for 58 years.

(on camera): What's it like to see all this stuff?

BOWLES: It hurts. It really does, especially because it was unnecessary. You know? There's no reason for this. I mean, you live in an area like this where you know things like this could happen? You should have the best -- the very best protection you can.

SIEBERG (voice over): The question is: Will it be in time for the next disaster?

Daniel Sieberg, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Louisiana's death toll from Hurricane Katrina stands at 1,053. Those are the latest numbers we have from the state coroner. There are 228 storm-related deaths in Mississippi. Officials say only about half of the bodies in Louisiana have been identified.

Also in New Orleans, two men have been arrested in the case of the Katrina Cadillacs. Remember this? The police department said some cars were taken from a Cadillac dealership after patrol cars were flooded. A department spokesman said it wasn't considered looting, because the officers patrolled in the Cadillacs. No details on any connection between the suspects and the New Orleans police, but more arrests are expected.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's time for the best part of our show, the cheesy segment that we like to call the DAYBREAK coffee mug segment.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right.

(APPLAUSE)

Oh, applause and everything. Got to love that.

Let's get to yesterday's questions. What year was the Federal Reserve created by Congress? The answer, 1913. And how much money would Americans have saved last year by switching to generic drugs? The answer, $20 billion.

And the winner, Chris Dugger from Lubbock, Texas. More applause, more applause. (APPLAUSE)

COSTELLO: Yea, Chris!

JERAS: Congratulations to Chris. And these were tough questions yesterday.

COSTELLO: They were.

JERAS: So, I'm guessing that's why tomorrow's questions -- or today's questions for tomorrow are a little bit easier.

COSTELLO: Good.

JERAS: Take a look at those. So, hopefully we'll have a lot of responses. Which major petroleum company reported an earnings increase of 34 percent? And which popular characters may be coming back to prime time television?

Submit us your answers online. The address, CNN.com./daybreak.

And make sure you tune in this time tomorrow to find out if you are our winner, just like Chris Dugger.

COSTELLO: What a lucky man he is this morning.

JERAS: He is.

COSTELLO: If you're traveling this morning, Jacqui has more good news for you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello along with Jacqui Jeras. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

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