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American Morning

Jean Schmidt Gets Booed; Many Still Missing In New Orleans; Xbox 360 Debuts; George Aquarium Opens

Aired November 23, 2005 - 08:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Firefighters are now checking the road surface to make sure it's not damaged before they open the southbound lanes of I-95 to traffic. So it could be another hour or so and traffic is very backed up in that area.
In the world of sports, it's T.O. day. We could find out if Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens will have to sit out the season. An arbitrator set to rule on the team's decision to suspend Owens for four games without pay for conduct detrimental to the team. The team apparently did not like that Owens called the Eagles' organization "classless."

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: They hate that, when you call them that.

COSTELLO: Yes, they don't like that. Your employer usually doesn't like that.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Is that what he said about McNabb?

O'BRIEN: Not so nice.

COSTELLO: Yes. Not so nice. Donovan McNabb -- he said Brett Favre might be a better quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles to win games, but we should get a decision later today. Of course, we will keep you posted.

We've known breastfeeding is good for babies for a number of reasons. Well, now researchers say the same is true for breastfeeding moms. A report in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" say breastfeeding for a year can reduce a woman's risk of developing diabetes by 15 percent. Here is the medical explanation. Researchers say it could be because breastfeeding might have a lasting, beneficial effect on insulin resistance and glucose tolerance.

And you be the judge of this next story. Tears of blood from the Virgin Mary, that's what some people are saying after seeing this statue outside of a Catholic church in Sacramento. Church officials are not commenting on the strange occurrence, but they've done tests on the tears to see if it's actual blood.

SANCHEZ: And?

COSTELLO: And the results of this test, not in yet, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Well, I'm curious, you know? COSTELLO: Yes, you never know.

SANCHEZ: I believe in miracles.

COSTELLO: Do you?

SANCHEZ: Sure, why not? Things can happen that we -- just because we can't explain everything doesn't mean it hasn't happened or can't.

COSTELLO: That's true.

SANCHEZ: I I'm not saying I'm legitimatizing this story. Somebody could of done there and done something.

COSTELLO: Yes, well, the tests are to come, and of course we will tell you the results are later.

O'BRIEN: It looks like mascara running.

SANCHEZ: Well, there is some significance it's mascara.

COSTELLO: Who knows. We will find out, all to come.

O'BRIEN: Carol, thanks very much.

Nearly three months after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the devastating impact can certainly be felt throughout the area. CNN's Ed Lavandera tells us a staggering number of people remain unaccounted for.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's slow and tedious work. A New Orleans Fire Department search-and-rescue team hunts for a missing person possibly still left behind in this home. The dogs pick up on a scent, but it's not clear what might be under the rubble.

STEVE GLYNN, NEW ORLEANS FIRE DEPARTMENT: There's just so much here that the dogs tend to get a little confused sometimes.

LAVANDERA: The rescue teams will return and continue their search, removing the debris one piece at a time. This is what it takes to find the missing in Katrina's wake, searching one street, one house, one room at a time.

GLYNN: We are going to try to account for every person that we have listed as missing. And we will do whatever we can. We are going to clear every one of those houses, if that's what it takes.

LAVANDERA (on camera): The number of people still mission is staggering. Just look at the Web sites for the National Centers for Missing Adults and missing children.

These groups report that there are 6,627 people still unaccounted for in the New Orleans and Gulf Coast region. Fourteen hundred of these cases are considered high-risk.

(voice-over): Those kinds of numbers are exactly why St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens and other officials were angered when the federal government called off active searches for bodies earlier this month.

Teams are now back on the streets looking for victims, but not before many people returned home to make gruesome discoveries.

SHERIFF JACK STEPHENS, ST. BERNARD PARISH, LA.: Unfortunately, my worst fears were proven true, in that people were coming home and discovering casualties. In some cases, they were family members. In some cases, they were people they didn't even know that just sought refuge in a house.

LAVANDERA: The hope is, the vast majority of people on the missing-persons list are alive and well, just scattered around the country.

KYM PASQUALINI, NATL. CTR. FOR MISSING ADULTS: If they made a report and they have since located their loved one, if they could just give us a call back and let us know that their loved ones has been located, I'm certain that we would close out many of these cases.

LAVANDERA: There is reason to be hopeful, as Mary Margaret Mouledous just discovered. For the last three months, she's been looking for her friend Janet Droerey (ph). She just found out she evacuated to Texas.

MARY MARGARET MOULEDOUS, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: When she left, she didn't think to even bring her phone book with her with all her phone numbers and everything on it. And she said but I have been thinking about you ever since it happened.

LAVANDERA: A phone call to her friend.

MOULEDOUS: Tell her this is Margaret.

LAVANDERA: And, with that discovery, one more missing person is crossed off the list. But there are still 6,620 other names to go.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Among those 6,600 plus, 900 children still reported missing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Ernie Allen is the president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He's in Washington this morning. Ernie, it's nice to see you. Good morning to you.

ERNIE ALLEN, NATL. CTR. MISSING/EXPLOITED CHILDREN: Thank you, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: At one point when we were talking, not long ago, there were some 2,000 children missing. How were those cases resolved? ALLEN: One at a time. We're using data bases. We still have our Team at them, retired law enforcement experts on the scene in many cases going door-to-door in New Orleans. And we're basically whittling this number down one at a time.

O'BRIEN: When you say one at a time, was it resolved because the children were found or was it resolved because, in fact, three different people made a claim for the same child which are, obviously, two very different things?

ALLEN: Well, primarily, at this point, what we're doing is finding that a child is with a parent or a grandparent but other family members don't know where they are. Evacuees are now in 48 states, many of them still in very temporary living situations.

They're hard to track down. But the good news is that every unaccompanied child has been reunited with their families and we've located and resolved more than 4,000 of these missing child cases.

O'BRIEN: That's a lot of good news. And we're showing, Ernie -- as you and I talk, we're going to continue to show pictures of some of the kids who are still missing. Nine-hundred is the number now. Do you -- what percentage of that number do you think are children who did not survive?

ALLEN: Well, we hope it's a very small number. The estimates at this point would seem to suggest that fewer than a hundred children did not survive the storm. But we really don't know. Our sense is that the vast majority of these cases involve children who are not missing in the traditional sense.

They're with a loved one, they're with a parent or a grandparent, but they are an example of fractured families, where other family members don't know where they are and we're going to continue to work them in the most serious way as if these children are at great risk until we get that number to zero.

O'BRIEN: So, what is the strategy then for finding a child that way, a child who could be anywhere in the company or custody of a family member or a friend? What are you doing now?

ALLEN: Well, we're searching databases. We're asking, as always, the help of media, and CNN has been remarkable in your support of this effort. We're asking people to go to our Web site, missingkids.com. Look at the list of the names and call us at 1-800- thelost.

Tell us if you have information about these children. Tell us if you're a family member who has been reunified with your family. We want to know that everybody is where they're supposed to be.

O'BRIEN: Maybe you can close out some of these questionable cases. You know, I remember when we were -- I'm sure you do, too, when we were showing pictures really around the clock of children who you were hoping to reunite. Was that successful? Did that have real payoff for you? ALLEN: Soledad, it was overwhelmingly successful, one of the most remarkable examples of media leadership we've ever seen. We were inundated with phone calls. People called us who had information and we were able to reunite children with their families. There's nothing more rewarding than that.

O'BRIEN: Well, good. We're glad to hear that and glad to be part of that. Let me ask you a quick question, before I let you go. We started by about talking about 6,600 plus people are still missing. At the end of the day how high do you think the death toll is going to go?

It's only at -- or not only, but at 1,306 people are now officially considered to have perished in the wake of the storm. What do you think that number is going to be? Is it going to be nearly 8,000?

ALLEN: Soledad, we don't think so. We don't think the number will be much higher than it is now. We think the vast majority of these cases are just a challenge of reconnecting people.

It will probably be some higher but our hope is that 1,300 is enough and we believe that most of these remaining people can, in fact, be found, be reunited with their loved ones.

O'BRIEN: All right. Well, everybody has to go to the Web site so they can take a look and see if they recognize any of these kids. And anybody who has been reunited also has to also let you know.

Ernie Allen from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Ernie, thanks. Always nice to check in with you. Appreciate it. We should also mention, any more information, go to this number, 1-800-thelost or logon to missingkids.com.

And we know a lot of you are traveling today. Whether it's around the corner or thousands of miles to get to grandma's house or wherever. That's why what we try to do here at AMERICAN MORNING is keep you updated. News you can use to let you know what you're going to be facing today. Jacqui Jeras is standing. She's at the CNN Center with the latest on the weather patterns in your neck of the woods as they say. Jacqui, what you got?

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Andy is minding your business. What's coming up?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: We're going to be talking about some holiday shopping news. Microsoft's Xbox a smash hit. You won't believe what some people are willing to pay to get their hands on one.

O'BRIEN: A thousand dollars?

SERWER: Plus, more. Stay tuned for that on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: People are willing to pay for the new Xbox 360. No surprise here even though we were mocking the people who waited in line yesterday, it turns out.

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: We were. And I guess we take it back. We take it back. The people waiting in line have now taken that thing that they bought waiting in line for and they're selling it.

O'BRIEN: Flip it.

SANCHEZ: They're flippers.

SERWER: We're calling them flippers. All right. They lined up Monday night. And by Tuesday noon, they were gone. We're talking about Microsoft's new Xbox 360 . It goes for $299 for one version, $399 for another. The company said they wanted to sell three million over the next 90 days. Looks like they might get there.

Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Amazon.com -- they're all gone. There is one place you can get one now. This is before Microsoft sends out a new shipment, which should be over the next week or so. There is a place you can still get it. You guessed it, eBay -- they are for sell.

Listen to this: 1,800 of these babies were sold between midnight and noon yesterday -- 1800! And guess what some of the bids were? Thousands of dollars, $1,200, $2,000. And the highest bid, $5,000, someone paid for an Xbox console with games -- loaded a little, a few games. A few extra games.

O'BRIEN: But you did the story where you could go to Google and find it. Why not go on Google and find it ...

SERWER: Frugal.

O'BRIEN: Frugal, sorry, and find it and then just have it shipped to your house?

SERWER: Well, it's sold out.

SANCHEZ: Because you would have to wait a week, right?

SERWER: You would have to wait. Well, I don't know if these retailers are even taking orders. Notice most retailers won't take orders unless they are in stock.

SANCHEZ: But suppose you have to wait a month to get this. Is it worth $5,000?

SERWER: I got to have it now!

SANCHEZ: You've got to have it.

SERWER: That's the mindset. That's the mentality. You know, people really get paranoid about not having these things. If your 15- year-old really wants one for Christmas, got to have one. You can't let 'em down.

O'BRIEN: My 15-year-old would just suffer! Sorry!

SERWER: Yes, sorry. You're just going to get candy canes this Christmas? That's what you're going to tell them?

O'BRIEN: Well, they'll get something else. Yes. You know?

SERWER: Well, the new Playstation doesn't come out until next year.

O'BRIEN: If the option is a $5,000 Xbox, yes.

SERWER: That's a good point.

SANCHEZ: And remember what Aristotle said?

SERWER: What did he -- what did Aristotle say?

SANCHEZ: Patience is a virtue.

SERWER: Oh, I knew he had something to say about the Xbox.

SANCHEZ: My one smart comment.

SERWER: That's not true. You've had a couple.

O'BRIEN: Aristotle on the Xbox.

SERWER: Yes, Aristotle on the Xbox. I think we'll leave it there.

O'BRIEN: Speaking of things people said, remember this from -- well, she said this on Friday but we ran it on Monday. This is Congresswoman Jean Schmidt of Ohio. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JEAN SCHMIDT (R), OHIO: He asked me to send Congress a message, stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message that cowards cut and run, Marines never do. Danny and the rest of America and the world want the assurance from this body that we will ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Well, well, well. You know, they dubbed her "Queen Mean." Mean Jean, Queen of Mean.

SANCHEZ: Queen of Mean, right?

O'BRIEN: And she actually, surprisingly enough, has -- was sort of amazed. She didn't really understand the controversy. She said I am amazed at what a national story it has become. I've been attacked very personally since Friday evening, which is when she made those remarks.

What happened? SNL apparently lampooned her. Never a good thing. The newspaper that endorsed her candidacy said she was way out of line. The guy she said she was quoting turns out to be a Colonel Danny Bubp, denied it.

SERWER: Denied saying it?

O'BRIEN: Denied saying it.

SANCHEZ: Well, the point is the man that she was alluding to or intimating in the letter that was a coward is a ...

O'BRIEN: Congressman Murtha.

SANCHEZ: ... Purple Heart winner twice.

O'BRIEN: Yes, that made it a kind of a tough sell on the coward thing.

SERWER: You have to be careful with that, and, you know, she should of expected that when she made those comments, I think.

O'BRIEN: Probably won't do it again, my guess.

SERWER: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Coming up, we're going to go live to the Georgia aquarium that we've been telling you so much about. See that? That's a whale shark, as big as they get, folks. So is this place. Finally opening its doors to the public today, but not without a little bit of controversy. The man behind the world's biggest aquarium joins us here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Under the sea -- well, not quite. But there are plenty of bubbles as there is plenty of water; about 8 million gallons of it we're told. This is amazing. It's one of the world's largest aquariums, if not the world's largest aquarium.

You're looking at live pictures now.

That diver is trying to get things ready because this is the day that they open this Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

And we're going to get a chance to talk now to Bernard Marcus, he's the co-founder of Home Depot, donated more than $200 million to build this thing.

And he's good enough to join us now from the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

Mr. Marcus, thanks so much, sir, for joining us.

And congratulations are in order, are they not? BERNARD MARCUS, GEORGIA AQUARIUM BENEFACTOR: Well, thank you very much. And thanks for being here today to see the excitement that this is generating in this city. And it's not only generating in the city, it's generating excitement all over the United States.

I've been getting calls from Los Angeles and San Diego and Chicago for people that want to come down now to Atlanta really to see this aquarium. It is unique and unusual, I promise you.

SANCHEZ: You know, people say you're a wealthy guy. You could have bought a big yacht, you could have bought a professional football team, you could have done a lot of things with your money -- why an aquarium?

MARCUS: Well, listen, you know, the success of Home Depot has been one of the great success stories of all time and they're about to open their 2,000th store in the next month or so.

And how best to pay back the people in the United States and also in the state of Georgia by building them something that they're going to enjoy.

You know, our associates who built the Home Depot are just great people and there's no way for me to thank everybody. And this is my thank you to the customers and the associates of Home Depot, and it's going to be a lasting thing.

This thing is just growing. You know, you see some of the fish here that are that big. They're going to be five feet in about three, four years. So everything is changing.

SANCHEZ: Is this thing going to be user-friendly? Are people of Atlanta, from all places, going to be able to use this?

Because, you know, there has been some talk that the prices are going to be real expensive. I mean, we've got some of the numbers here. Adult $21, $22 with tax; children are going to be about $17. And there was some talk that there is not an annual pass available.

Can you clear that up for us?

MARCUS: Well, yes.

There is an annual pass available and that's $59 for each person. This is a place you don't come to once.

You know, we've had a soft opening over the last two days. I think there have been 16,000 people come through here. Nobody stays an hour or two. People are staying here -- I mean, it's crazy. They're here six, seven hours. We can't get them out.

I was walking around yesterday saying, go home, cook dinner, go do something and they -- but they love it. They're transfixed. You stay in front of this big wide screen that you've got here in front of you, you're going to want to stay here forever just watching these fish one after the other in a sight that you can't believe. SANCHEZ: Well, here's what we're told: 100,000 animals, which is a huge number, about 8 million gallons of water. But the piece de resistance is an exhibit that actually has two whale sharks. Now, I'm sure you know this, but a whale shark will grow as big as a Greyhound bus.

MARCUS: That's exactly right.

SANCHEZ: That's a big exhibit, Mr. Marcus.

MARCUS: Well, you know, you think about how big these fish are going to grow and how big a tank you have to have. And they're lost -- by the way, they are lost in this tank. It's so big. It's 6.1 million gallons of water. This is the largest.

In fact, we built the entire aquarium around this tank.

SANCHEZ: And they're not full grown, we should add. So I guess if you continue to go, you'll be able to watch them grow as you go back.

MARCUS: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Bernard Marcus, thanks so much for joining us.

We're out of time, but we all look forward to going there.

And as an Atlantan myself, I'll bring the kids.

MARCUS: Appreciate it, sir.

Come on down. Come on down and bring the family.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: OK. Will do.

Thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: Bring your co-anchor.

(LAUGHTER)

That looks great, doesn't it?

SANCHEZ: Sounds amazing, doesn't it?

O'BRIEN: Those pictures are amazing.

I love aquariums. They're so relaxing.

SANCHEZ: Beluga whales and whale sharks, and all kinds of things -- 100,000 animals, wow.

O'BRIEN: Sure to be a huge success. Well, ahead this morning, a rush to get home for the holiday. What you can expect at the airport or on the roads if you're traveling today.

We've got a live report coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in a little bit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: This Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, a special look at soundbites that have transformed our world over the past 25 years.

In today's sneak peek of "They Said What?" with Larry King, we take a look at some famous words from the great communicator.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD REAGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: That soundbite defined Ronald Reagan as a man of firm conviction. He believed what he believed. When he said that, a lot of people around the world said, "What a foolish man. He believes such strange things. He thinks he can just say 'tear down this wall' and we know it can't possibly happen."

Amazingly, within a couple of years, the Cold War ended and the Berlin Wall came down. It seemed miraculous. No one alive at that time thought the Cold War would ever be over. So after that, people look back and relisten to what Ronald Reagan said and thought, you know, it really made a difference.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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