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American Morning

U.S. Prepares For Bird Flu; Levee Failures In New Orleans; Supreme Court Fight; 'Minding Your Business'

Aired November 01, 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: This is just on the other side of the 17th Street Canal.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's still wet.

MILES O'BRIEN: Obviously, this is a scary place on its own right. However, the quarter, we've been telling you a lot about the French Quarter and how it's kind of a different world. Take a look at what happened there last night. At least along Bourbon Street where there's some power and there's some beverages and all the things that you think of relating to New Orleans. A little bit of music. They had it. And I'll let you guess what the most popular costume seemed to be on Bourbon Street last night.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Carol?

MILES O'BRIEN: You want to guess? You want to guess?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A FEMA worker? I don't know.

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, FEMA worker. Carol wins the box (ph). Carol wins . . .

COSTELLO: Oh, gees. That was totally a guess.

MILES O'BRIEN: Very well done.

COSTELLO: And then did people pelt the FEMA worker?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, oh, oh, oh.

MILES O'BRIEN: Pretty much. (INAUDIBLE) looking FEMA workers win the costume thing.

By they way, I just want to say, my kids were first year in New York City and they were very blue about not doing the trick or treat thing. They went down to the parade (INAUDIBLE).

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: W trick or treat here.

MILES O'BRIEN: And they well . . .

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It's in an apartment.

MILES O'BRIEN: But for some reason the building trick or treating didn't do it for them. And they went down to the parade and they really enjoyed it and they saw young trumpeter and they thought it was a great way to spend trick or treat. Of course, daddy wasn't there. And, you know, what I always used to dress up as?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Daddy just steals the candy. Now I'm afraid. What did you used to dress up as?

MILES O'BRIEN: I used to dress up as the beer drinker and I'd be a, you know . . .

COSTELLO: What does the beer drinker look like? Did you put a big pillow in your stomach?

MILES O'BRIEN: Daddy beer drinker, yes. No, I have that myself. I don't need any help with that.

COSTELLO: What a fine example for your children.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Right. That's a wonderful example, Miles. We're so proud of you. You're a good American.

MILES O'BRIEN: All the days sitting there drinking the beers and watching the kids get the candy. I mean that's what it's all about, right?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: No, not really. Thanks, Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: Oh, it's not?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: No. We'll cover that later.

Let's talk about a serious story, actually, because, as you know, President Bush focused this morning on fighting a potential flu pandemic globally. Most of the focus is on the bird flu. One- hundred-twenty-one people have been affected around the world so far. All of them in Asia. It's deadly. Sixty-two people have died. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt is at the White House this morning to talk about the president's plan that will be announced a little bit later this morning.

Nice to see you, sir. Thank you for talking with us.

MICHAEL LEAVITT, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Thank you. Good morning.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Give me a sense what is in the president's plan we're going to hear later today.

LEAVITT: Well, it is a sweeping plan to prepare with vaccines, with antivirals and preparation plans in every state and local community. It is a comprehensive approach to what could be a difficult problem.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: State and local communities, you mention. Do you think that, in fact, they need to lead the way in taking care of their own people? LEAVITT: They will have to because a pandemic is unique among disasters. It can happen in 5,000 different communities around the world at the same time. No central place can manage all of those difficulties. And so local communities need to be ready and part of the president's plan is to assure that they are.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Really? And so does that mean that there's going to be money following that plan? Because as you know, local communities everywhere will say, we can't even implement some of the changes that we wanted after 9/11. How are we going to deal with this other very expensive issue?

LEAVITT: Yes, the president's going to propose a $7.1 billion supplemental emergency appropriation that can go for creating vaccine manufacturing capacity, for antiviral stockpiles, for the kinds of things that local governments will need to be prepared. But the local governments will have to prepare and we'll be going out into local communities to help them do that.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I know that you have said really that the focus is to increase surveillance so you can catch the disease early on, to contain the flu as fast as possible and then, as you mentioned, the stockpiling of the antivirals. How quickly can you bring all these important things online?

LEAVITT: Well, not overnight. But the good news is, the likelihood of a pandemic happening tomorrow or the next day or next month is very low. But there will be a pandemic at some point in time. We've had three in the last century. We've had 10 in the last 300 years that have been well documented. And when they happen, they're world-changing events. We're not as well prepared today as we want to be. We're better prepared than we were yesterday and we'll continue to get better prepared every day as time goes forward.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: How do you fix things like the number of antiviral doses? I read something like four million doses will be available by the end of the year. The World Health Organization says that is so to few it's not even funny.

LEAVITT: We have the same problem that every other country in the world has and we are moving to have antiviral stockpiles. But alone they are not a plan. Having Tamiflu or any of the antiviral does not prepare a nation. We need to have a comprehensive plan.

The fundamental is vaccines. We need everyone in America to be able to have a vaccine that will protect them and their children and their loved ones from having a pandemic flu. And we need to have the capacity to manufacture enough in six months that everyone could have one.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: But if the flu is known, as viruses can, to mutate and mutate rapidly, which is really what makes it so deadly, to a large degree couldn't a vaccine that you put a lot of money and effort and time into be irrelevant?

LEAVITT: Well, that's why we're not investing in the specific vaccine. We're investigating in the capacity to make the vaccine. Over the last 25 years, the vaccine manufacturing industry in our country has diminished to the point that we don't have the capacity now.

And that's one of the reasons the president will be proposing the legal framework necessary to keep what I've heard referred to as junk lawsuits out. The manufacturers simply refuse to make it if they haven't got some protection. So that's part of the president's plan is to provide that kind of liability protection.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And, you know, I hate to put you on the spot to have you guess about when we will see Avian flu. You seem to think that we will one day see it. When? Soon?

LEAVITT: I wish I could tell you that. I don't know. But I do know we need to be ready and that, at some point, if history is our guide, it will happen and the president has laid forth laying forward today a sweeping comprehensive plan to prepare our nation for that possibility.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Michael Leavitt is the secretary of Health and Human Services. It's nice to see you, sir. Thanks for talking with us.

LEAVITT: Thank you.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And as we mentioned, President Bush is going to introduce the national flu plan this morning. CNN is going to carry the president's remarks. That happens live at 10:10 a.m. Eastern Time.

That's not the only story makes news this morning. Neither is it . . .

COSTELLO: No, I've got more.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Or Miles dressing up as the beer drinker. Whatever that means.

COSTELLO: It was shocking, wasn't it, when he said that.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Just weird.

COSTELLO: Well, that's Miles.

Good morning, everyone. Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito meets with key Republicans on Capitol Hill this morning. In the meantime, President Bush is calling for a quick vote on his nominee. Alito is expected to face a drilling by Democrats during confirmation hearings with some even dropping the "f" word. You know, filibuster. We'll hear from the chairman of the Republican National Committee just ahead.

Preparations are underway for Rosa Parks' funeral tomorrow in Detroit. Her body was returned to her adopted hometown on Monday. Right now her casket is on display at an African-American history museum in Detroit. Parks, as you know, became the first woman to lie in honor at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington. A special memorial was also held Monday in her honor. Rosa Parks died last week at the age of 92.

Britain's Prince Charles and his new bride, Camilla, kick off their U.S. tour today. The royal visit will start at Ground Zero in New York. They're expected to inaugurate a new memorial gardens for British victims of the 9/11 attacks. The eight-day trip also includes stops in Washington, San Francisco and in New Orleans.

In Ohio, did you see this at Paul Brown Stadium? A fan runs onto the field during the Bengals/Packers game. Gregory Gall was the fan's name. He's 31 years old. There he is in court. He actually ran onto the field and took the ball from Brett Favre.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, my God!

COSTELLO: Can you believe he actually got on to the now he's running and security they're going to make a great on-field tackle. Mid field tackle. He almost makes a touchdown, which would of helped the Green Bay Packers win.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: This is in the middle of the game?

COSTELLO: Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You could get killed doing that. Those guys were I'm surprised no football players came after him.

COSTELLO: I think they should have had the front defensive line of the Cincinnati Bengals tackle him.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Reference that to Miles and beer drinking. If I may.

COSTELLO: Well, he is charged with public intoxication.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Shocker.

COSTELLO: Anyway, he is in court and he's pleaded not guilty.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, my God. Some giant football player could just whomp you and kill you.

COSTELLO: Well, it's amazing. He just took the ball from Brett Favre, who is the Green Bay quarterback, and he started running down the field and it must have been a shock because everyone just stood there and went, what's up with this?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You can't do that.

COSTELLO: No, that's why he's in court this morning. Anyway, we'll keep you posted on what happens to old Greg.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: That's crazy.

COSTELLO: Let's check on the weather now. Bonnie Schneider's at the CNN Center.

Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MILES O'BRIEN: It was raining here a little while ago. Seems to be letting up. But low, gray clouds here in New Orleans and that has been one good thing since Katrina and Rita, there hasn't been a lot of rain here and that's helped a lot of people as they've tried to dry out their homes.

Take a look at where we're standing right now. This is the infamous, I guess, breach in the 17th Street levee. And we are on the side where we couldn't have gone just a matter of weeks ago because there was so much water here. The water as come back.

The water you see right here that is coming through here, that's not rain water. That is actually from the levee and that is natural seepage from that sandbag patch that is there. The sandbag patch stemming the tide of water so that it doesn't cause a huge amount of flooding. But nevertheless, 2000 sandbags can only do so much and it is porous.

The Corps of Engineers is in the process of coming up with a more permanent and yet temporary solution. And they really have their hands full.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From a distance, you wouldn't even think this city has been dealt almost a lethal blow.

MILES O'BRIEN, (voice over): Of course, it depends on where you look. From here, downtown New Orleans appears much as it did before Katrina. But look beyond and you'll see neighborhoods where the homes are still empty, damaged or destroyed and the levees are still not fixed. The Army's chief engineer here, Colonel Richard Wagenaar, knows it all too well.

How many total breaches are there?

COL. RICHARD WAGENAAR, U.S. ARMY: There's one at 17th Street, there's two on London Avenue Canal, four on Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, of the major canals. In the entire metropolitan area, there's probably, oh, I want to say 50 or so individual, isolated breeches.

MILES O'BRIEN: It is a lot of gaps to fill and the Corps of Engineers is on an aggressive timetable spending $1.3 billion to restore the levees and flood walls to pre-Katrina heights by June 1st.

WAGENAAR: This is 17th Street Canal. The first place we met. By 1, December, we are he Corps said that they'd get the 10 feet of protection. For this location, we'll use the sheet pile, we'll close it, and we'll continue to maintain it for 10 foot of protection. Right now it's at about four feet.

MILES O'BRIEN: This was the first breach Wagenaar saw the day after Katrina hit.

Do you remember what you were thinking at that time?

WAGENAAR: I was thinking, we've got to get this hole closed really quick.

MILES O'BRIEN: It took days to drop enough sandbags into the gap to stop the water from flowing into the neighborhood.

WAGENAAR: This is the Bearabu (ph) breach right here. This one took about 7,000 sandbags. It was extremely deep. The pre-Katrina level here is about 14 feet.

MILES O'BRIEN: The London Avenue Canal. Here they also are aiming for 14 feet.

WAGENAAR: This is the biggest breach.

MILES O'BRIEN: This one failed when the flood water went over the top. Others collapsed because the flood walls were not lodged deep enough into the soil. The studies are still underway.

WAGENAAR: They're going to replace that whole levee up this back up to 17 feet by 1 June.

MILES O'BRIEN: At what level is it right now as we look at it, roughly?

WAGENAAR: I'd have to say probably one or two feet.

MILES O'BRIEN: To the east, some of the bigger breaches. This is the St. Bernard hurricane protection levee. Nine miles of it swept away like a sand castle wall in the surf.

WAGENAAR: It just eats away. It just ate away this wall. It just goes on forever.

MILES O'BRIEN: Are you overall pleased with your progress?

WAGENAAR: I think, yes, you know, for nine weeks we're into this nine weeks now, typically something like this would have taken us much, much longer to build under normal condition. So it's still a pretty, I guess, depressing situation in certain ways.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN: Colonel Richard Wagenaar with an aerial tour. Now you're back on the ground. Back at the 17th Street Canal where we began our tour. And you're looking right at the point where the flood wall gave way there. Those flood walls, as it turns out, they believe were not deep enough into the soil. And as the soil got much pressure and moisture in it, they gave way.

Now take a look at the force of when this water came off. It just knocked these trees off, stripped the bark right off of them. And then the water came through and just, in a torrent, took out this family's home. Look at this house right here. You can see right here, this was their garage. And on the side there, you can get a sense of what is left, which is, to say, not very much.

What we're going to talk about later, Soledad, is the issue of rebuilding. In a neighborhood like this, obviously, a tremendous amount of concern. They want to feel like they can have a levee system which exceeds category three, which is what they had here pre- Katrina. Category five levees.

Now, imagine this levee. This is about going to be in the 15, 16, 17-foot range. It would have to be double that height to handle a category five surge. So that's a lot of concrete, a lot of expense, a lot of questions about what is practical and what is economical and whether houses in places like this really can be built safely.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: So many questions. I mean, really, you know, are they going to pay for it and who's going to pay for it? A zillion questions.

Miles, thanks.

Ahead this morning, just how much is riding on the president's new pick for the Supreme Court? We're going to check in with the chairman of the Republican National Committee. That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Within minutes of the announcement of Judge Samuel Alito as the president's pick to head to the Supreme Court, already it became very clear a fight was going to happen. Republicans have a big fight on their hands. Ken Mehlman is the chairman of the Republican National Committee. He in our Washington bureau this morning.

Ken, nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.

KEN MEHLMAN, RNC CHAIRMAN: Good morning. A beautiful morning today.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Is it? A beautiful morning here too.

MEHLMAN: It is. Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: A little good news for you guys in sort of a sea of a lot of bad news of late, which is conservatives have embraced Judge Alito to head to the Supreme Court. Do you feel like this is drawing some of the focus off some missteps from the White House?

MEHLMAN: Well, I think it's a great choice. I think if you look at this nominee, he's probably the most qualified person in 70 years. It's hard to think of someone who has not only been for 15 years a distinguished federal court of appeals judge, also has a long career as a prosecutor, somebody who is an appellate lawyer, someone who is regarded by Democrats and Republicans as highly distinguished, somebody who was twice unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate to be for to be a judge. And so we have tremendous confidence in him. I think he's a great choice.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Add to that list, somebody who the Democrats are already coming out very strongly against. Meaning, there's going to be a big fight. Do you expect a filibuster? Do you think it's going to go that far?

MEHLMAN: Well, here's the question. As I mentioned a minute ago, he was unanimously confirmed in 1990. His philosophy hasn't changed. I think what's changed is some of the Democrat leaders who have really started catering to the extreme left.

You may remember back during Hurricane Katrina that Senator Schumer was embarrassed when it was reviled that in order to try to raise money for the campaign committee that he heads, he used the Katrina disaster as a fund raising tool. We know he's still head of the campaign committee. He's now the lead Democrat on these judicial nominations. I hope he's not going to sell out his role as a leader on the Judiciary Committee in order to try to raise campaign contributions. That may raise money in the short term, but it's the wrong . . .

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Interesting strategy of focusing on Schumer, though, and really what you should be doing is focusing on Judge Alito and that . . .

MEHLMAN: I'm happy to focus on Judge Alito. I'm pointing out why you said about the Democrats and these attacks. I'm pointing out one of the reasons, maybe, campaign cash.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about the fallout in the wake of the CIA leak investigation. Look at some of these numbers. I mean these numbers have got to worry you. Fifty-six percent of people polled in a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup Poll say the president cannot manage the government effectively. Fifty-five percent say the remaining three years of the presidency is going to be a failure. What do those numbers saying to you?

MEHLMAN: Well, Soledad, as I look at it, I think you can always find one poll here or there that says one or two things. The numbers that matter much more are the fact that last week there was 3.8 percent growth in this country. We've had more than 3 percent growth for 10 months in a row. The 9 million Iraqis that voted in favor of a constitution, that's a number I care about. The fact that gas prices have come down so much since Labor Day. That's a number I care about.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Those numbers don't say to you, maybe President Bush needs to clean house and go through his staff and oust people?

MEHLMAN: What it says to me is this president needs to continue to focus on the people's business. I think the American people care less about what's happening in Washington and more about what's happening in their communities. And so this president needs to continue to work to change and reform government in order to keep our economy going, to reduce gas prices, to make sure that we win this war on terror, it's central front in Iraq, and to name people like Sam Alito to the courts. Those are the kinds of things that the American people care about. Those are the kind of things that matter in the long term.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a question about Scott McClellan.

MEHLMAN: Good guy.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: He told reporters at least three times that the White House was not involved in any leak during the CIA leak investigation. He said he personally spoke to Libby and to Rove and that they and his quote was, so I could come back and say they were not involved. So either Scott McClellan is lying or Karl Rove lied to Scott McClellan. Which is it? And don't you want to know?

MEHLMAN: I don't know the answer to that question. I think that fundamentally, Scott made a statement yesterday that this is an investigation that's still going on. There's a trial that will come forward. Let's let that process work.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, no, no, and I totally agree with you on that. But the question is, he made statements not only to reporters but to the American public saying, I asked and they told me they were not involved. So either he's lying or Karl Rove lied to him when he asked. I mean, don't you want to know? Did Karl Rove lie to a man who's going to inform the American people of his role in a leak?

MEHLMAN: Well, I think I'm sure Scott would love to answer a lot of those questions. But I respect tremendously the approach he's taken, that the White House has taken, which is the most important thing is fully cooperating with a serious investigation. And I think that you saw on Friday Pat Fitzgerald laid his case out in one particular case. We're going to have a trial in that case. The investigation continues in other areas. Let's let him wrap up. He's in the final stages of wrapping this up. And then we'll have Scott answer those questions.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You don't think he's lost any credibility with reporters or the American people?

MEHLMAN: I think the most important thing is that an investigation is seriously dealt with and that this White House complies with it. They're fully cooperating. That's the way it ought to be handles.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, nice to see you.

MEHLMAN: Thanks a lot.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thanks.

MEHLMAN: Thank you. SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, well now's your chance to live just like Martha. We're "Minding Your Business" up next on AMERICAN MORNING. We'll tell you how.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Martha, Martha, Martha. She's making some big changes. With that story and a look at the markets, Gerri Willis is in for Andy Serwer. She is "Minding Your Business."

Good morning.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Good to see you.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I just love saying that. Martha, Martha, Martha.

WILLIS: I know.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: What's her story? What's going on?

WILLIS: She's got some interesting news. She's selling her Westport, Connecticut, house for $10 million. And for that, you get a three bedroom house on four acres. Wh-hoo!

Now here's the house right here. You can see it.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: $10 million for a three bedroom house?

WILLIS: You got it.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Were's it? Westport?

WILLIS: It's in Westport, Connecticut. She paid originally $50,000 for this property some 34 years ago with her husband. They did a ton of upgrades. It's and 1800s colonial house. But I've got to tell you, the local realtors are telling the newspaper in Westport that, you know, it really should be about seven. The extra three million is the Martha premium that you pay for getting the house where she originally did her catering business so many years ago. And, you know, you've got to pay the famous shmamous (ph) premium to get that house.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: $10 million. That's a $3 million famous shmamous premium. That's a pretty steep premium.

WILLIS: That's right.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: What's the markets look like?

WILLIS: Looks like they're going to open lower here. As we were talking about before, the Federal Reserve is meeting today. It looks like we're going to get an interest rate hike. You can see the markets did pretty well yesterday and that's because gas prices came down just a little bit. But Dell is also warning on its earnings. We'll have more details on that.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, that will surely affect the market.

All right, Gerri, thank you very much.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, a look at the days' top stories, including some details on the president's $7 billion plan to fight the bird flu. We've got that ahead.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: Soledad, you're looking at just some of the sandbags that were used to plug the breach here at the 17th Street levee, as well as several others here in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In just a little bit, we'll talk to one of the colonels in charge at the Corps of Engineers. We'll ask him what lies ahead as they come up with temporary, permanent fixes and then, ultimately, maybe a category five fix. Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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