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American Morning

Labor of Love in New Orleans; Interview With Steve Fossett

Aired February 09, 2006 - 06:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Emotions still running high as a major Muslim holiday begins. Will it be met by more violence over those controversial cartoons?
Plus this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why risk it again?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a nutshell, this is home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: The drive to rebuild lifts one hurricane victim to great heights after crushing personal lows.

And one man, one plane, one engine, one big goal. Steve Fossett is well into his record attempt for distance on a nonstop flight. We'll talk to him live from his tiny little cockpit in the GlobalFlyer just ahead.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you. We're glad you're with us this morning.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Glad you're with us as well. And I'm happy to report to you, Miles, that I'm not quite dead yet. I went to see "Spamalot" yesterday.

M. O'BRIEN: Not dead yet, yes.

VERJEE: Not quite. And the night (ph) that (INAUDIBLE).

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, yes. Well, it's a fun show.

VERJEE: Right. So I had a good time.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm glad you're enjoying New York City.

VERJEE: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Carol Costello is going to check some headlines for us before we get to the rest of the news.

Carol, good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Miles. And good morning to all of you.

Security forces are on high alert throughout the Islamic world today for Ashura, the holiest day on the Shiite Muslim calendar. This is what it looks like in Baghdad today. Thousands of Muslims on parade in memory of the grandson of the prophet Mohammed killed in battle in Iraq 1,300 years ago. The observances here are mainly peaceful.

But a different story in northwest Pakistan. At least 15 people were killed in a suicide attack on an Ashura procession there.

First Lady Laura Bush is stopping in Rome today on her way to the Olympic Games in Torino. Mrs. Bush is meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Actually, these are pictures we just got in a short time ago. The first lady will have lunch with Italian Prime Minister Silvia Burlesconi. Mrs. Bush is heading up the U.S. delegation to the Olympics, which officially begin tomorrow.

Investigators are trying to figure out what triggered a false alarm on Capitol Hill. More than 200 people, including some senators, were evacuated Wednesday after an air-monitoring system mistakenly detected nerve gas. Tests turned out to be negative. There was no nerve gas. Three hours later, everyone got the all-clear. More tests are expected today just to be sure, though.

And in case you missed it, U2 came out on top at the Grammy Awards last night, walking away with the most trophies, five in total, including the big one for album of the year. I just like to listen to him talk. Anyway, Kenye West and Mariah Carey also walked away with three Grammys each.

VERJEE: Kelly Clarkson got a couple, too, I believe.

COSTELLO: I think she got it for best pop artist.

VERJEE: Yes.

COSTELLO: Or favorite artist or something like that.

VERJEE: And all of the experts are saying, you know, this is great for her, you know, sort of breaking out of that, you know, "American Idol" shroud and sort of really propelling her into a different category altogether.

Carol, thank you.

There are so many stories of heartbreak and of hope in the wake of Katrina. This morning, we bring you one story, which is both tragic and uplifting. You're about to meet a man who lost so much in the storm and then lost so much more just because of a cruel twist of fate. Now, he's turned his pain into a passion to rebuild.

AMERICAN MORNING's Dan Lothian has his story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As Hurricane Katrina threatened to pound New Orleans, contractor Darren Schmolke knew his life on Catina Street was about to change.

DARREN SCHMOLKE, CONTRACTOR: I had seen the storm in this position and everything, and I said, well, you know, we've got us a little problem here.

LOTHIAN: But he never imagined the disaster would inflict so much pain.

Schmolke's Lakeview neighborhood, less than a mile from the 17th Street Canal levee breach, was under water, the dream home he had built for his family heavily damaged. Then, as his wife Tara was returning a rental car in Florida, where they had evacuated, she was killed.

SCHMOLKE: Tara has crossed over the median, and a truck had struck her on the left side. That was a disaster for all of us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unmistakably the toughest time of my life. She was just an unbelievable person.

LOTHIAN: Tara loved to cheer people up. And she convinced her parents that they, too, could start and finish a marathon.

SCHMOLKE: A, B, C, D...

Now, Schmolke was forced into a much more difficult race, facing the future without his wife.

SCHMOLKE: Almost ready?

LOTHIAN: Left to raise his nearly 2-year-old son Luke alone.

SCHMOLKE: He's too young to know what's going on, but one day he's going to want to know exactly what happened to him. And we'll have everything for him. And he'll understand that.

LOTHIAN: Through his tears and pain, the contractor determined to return to his devastated neighborhood to his dream home and start over.

SCHMOLKE: My mind was racing, so I just -- I needed to use my energy. And so it was, like, you know, this is the perfect place for me to do it. And, you know, I just think, you know, this is what my wife would have expected out of me.

LOTHIAN: So room by room, Schmolke and his crews turned this into this. The pool. The fireplace. The kitchen. He used money from his savings account to get the job done before insurance checks arrived. Amazingly, they finished in 60 days, the lone, landscaped lighthouse of sorts in a neighborhood far from recovery.

(on camera): Have you been an inspiration to other?

SCHMOLKE: We had a lady drive by, and she was kind of getting worn out on her house. And she drove by and said, "I've come to get my inspiration for the day. I was feeling a little down."

LOTHIAN (voice over): He became a symbol. It's OK to come home and rebuild.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he's definitely been an inspiration for this area.

LOTHIAN: Even if there are still questions about the nearby levee's ability to handle another big storm.

(on camera): Why risk it again?

SCHMOLKE: In a nutshell, this is home. So, you know, if this is home for you and this is, you know, where your heart's at, then this is -- you know, you come home, and you put your house together.

LOTHIAN (voice over): Schmolke stays busy to keep from getting down. He spends a lot of time with son Luke, and is now rebuilding or remodeling several other homes just down the street.

He says he draws strength from his faith, family and the memory of his wife Tara.

SCHMOLKE: You know, I know she's here with us. So I'm not going to let her down.

LOTHIAN: Dan Lothian, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: That's quite a story.

VERJEE: It is. You can turn something that's so horrific and then just channel all of that into doing something that's that positive is remarkable.

M. O'BRIEN: Amazing reservoir of courage there. A tip of the hat to him. We wish him well.

Let's get a check of the forecast now. Chad Myers is ailing, but he's in.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VERJEE: Coming up, we want to introduce you to Detective Fred. It's quite a piece of work Detective Fred. Yes, that's the cat. Here, kitty, kitty. Find out why the undercover kitty is being hailed as a hero by police. That's ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Welcome back. Let's check some headlines. Carol Costello with that.

Hello, Carol.

COSTELLO: Hello, Miles. Good morning to all of you.

Many in the Muslim world are observing the holiday of Ashura today. It commemorates the death of Hussein, prophet Mohammed's grandson, some 1,300 years ago. But the focus isn't on the holiday. At least 15 people have been killed in suicide bombings in northwest Pakistan. And in Lebanon, an event marking Ashura turned into something else. Tens of thousands of people began marching in a protest against those cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed.

President Bush is expected to thank the National Guard for its service in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It's part of today's address focusing on the global war on terror. The president is set to speak from the National Guard Memorial Building, starting around 9:55 Eastern. You can watch it live right here on CNN.

A manhunt is now under way in California after two men made off with more than $110,000 in goods from Tiffany's. Police say it was a well-planned operation. They walked in with a hammer and pepper spray, and walked out with the goods. No one was hurt. Police point out the timing is less than week before Valentine's Day.

And there's a new breed of police officers roaming the streets of New York City. Meet Detective Fred. Yes, it's a cat. He helped nab an unlicensed veterinarian who was taking advantage of unsuspecting pet owners. The 8-month-old stray tabby cat was used as a decoy in the sting. And when the vet made a house call to neuter Fred, he was given a set of handcuffs to wear. And Fred was pretty happy, too. Fred also got a shiny new police badge.

And talk about freefall when an international team of skydivers says it has set a new world record. Four hundred jumpers took part in the largest connected freefall formation. It was said to be larger than a football field. They dove at 24,000 feet, and then broke off around 7,000 feet and parachuted down. In other words, they didn't hold hands anymore. The record still has to be certified by Swiss judges.

And, of course, Chad, we will keep you posted.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I thought you needed oxygen at 24,000 feet.

COSTELLO: I don't know.

MYERS: They've got backpacks on anyway.

COSTELLO: Well, I'm not going up there to find out.

MYERS: No, don't make me laugh.

COSTELLO: I'm sorry. I forgot you're sick. MYERS: Darn it. All right.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VERJEE: Our goal is to make you laugh as much as possible, Chad, so we could just hear you choke at work.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Hey, we're nice guys here.

VERJEE: Yes, we're really lovely. Well, Andy is "Minding Your Business." That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

SERWER: I am, Zain.

VERJEE: You must be (INAUDIBLE).

SERWER: Well, that was an interesting appearance last night. We'll talk about more of it later.

VERJEE: (INAUDIBLE)?

SERWER: Yes. He just wants to be normal. Did Yahoo help China crack down on dissidents? Plus, smoking's last frontier is going, going, gone. Stay tuned to AMERICAN MORNING. Much more coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Good stuff.

SERWER: "Tapestry," right?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SERWER: "Tapestry" is one of the best selling albums of all time.

VERJEE: And it's too late, baby, for smokers in China, isn't it?

SERWER: That's it. It's too late, baby, for smokers in China. A couple of stories in China to tell you about, Zain, this morning.

First of all, a freedom of speech group, Reporters Without Borders, is charging that Yahoo aided the Chinese government trying to track down dissidents in that country. You can see how this might occur. The Chinese government asking Yahoo for information on people using their Internet company, and the company Yahoo having to comply. This concerns dissidents who are leading online discussion groups about corruption of local officials.

Now, Yahoo says, a spokesperson says, we are unaware of this case, and we cannot comment on the accuracy of the report. You can read this story at money.com. But obviously this is a story that is growing and concerns other businesses as well, such as Google.

M. O'BRIEN: Interesting the parallel here to Google, which, of course, you know, changed the way you get responses to things like Tiananmen Square in order to get into China.

SERWER: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: You have to be pragmatic to do business there.

SERWER: And I hear that there are the three T's in China, Tiananmen, Taiwan. And what would be the third one? I have to remember what would be the third subject that is taboo.

M. O'BRIEN: T? T?

SERWER: And now I've forgotten. I'll have to get back to that.

VERJEE: Fananbong (ph) is one, but that doesn't begin with T.

SERWER: Right, right. I'm sorry. I'll have to get back. I forgot what the third T is. There are two T's.

M. O'BRIEN: Shangashen (ph).

SERWER: Anyway, let's talk about another story in China this morning, and this concerns smoking. And, you know, for international tobacco companies, China has just been a fabulous market. I mean, this is just...

M. O'BRIEN: The T would be tobacco.

SERWER: Tobacco perhaps.

M. O'BRIEN: Maybe that's it, yes.

SERWER: No, it hasn't been. Listen to this: 1.95 trillion cigarettes, trillion, were sold in China last year, $20 billion in taxes. A quarter of the world's smokers, 350 million, in China. One million people die of tobacco-related diseases every year in that country.

And now, the government is finally cracking down. They're saying they're banning new factories. They're going to have new taxes. And they're going to end advertising.

And, you know, I think this probably connects, to a degree, to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. They say they want that to be an alcohol and tobacco-free event. But this is bad news for international tobacco companies, but probably very good news for the health of the people in that country and indeed people around the world.

VERJEE: How much money do those companies stand to lose?

SERWER: Well, if you've got $20 billion a year in taxes, you know, you could imagine the sales would be well in excess of that. So we're talking about tens of billions of dollars, you know, down the road.

VERJEE: Andy Serwer, thank you. SERWER: Thank you.

VERJEE: Did you watch Sly Stone last night?

SERWER: I didn't make it to Sly Stone last night. I watched some of it. It was fun. I enjoy that show. You get to actually see people perform, unlike the Oscars. You know, it's a little different, so I like that.

M. O'BRIEN: I think a blonde Mohawk is what you need.

SERWER: I would be happy to do that. Do we have permission from some of the producers here at the program for me to sport one? I'd be up for it.

M. O'BRIEN: Probably, yes.

VERJEE: Just trying to be normal.

SERWER: Yes, that's what his brother said about him. He's just trying to be normal.

M. O'BRIEN: Just be normal.

SERWER: Loved it.

VERJEE: Thanks, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: Still ahead on the program, today's top stories, including more of that security scare on Capitol Hill last night. It turned out to be a false alarm, one that several of them like this happen every month, we're told. What happens if folks stop taking them all so seriously? We'll talk to the chief of the Capitol police.

And the third T, by the way, is Tibet.

SERWER: Tibet.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SERWER: Taiwan, Tiananmen and Tibet.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Naturally.

SERWER: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: And music's biggest night belonged to one of the world's biggest bands. A complete recap of U2's victory lap at last night's Grammy Awards. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Welcome back to our program. Columbus Circle there. It was a real nail-biter at the Kennedy Space Center yesterday morning. The GlobalFlyer making its way down the runway. Take a look at these pictures as it rolled down. No, I want to show the runway roll if we could, Michael. There we are.

Take a look at this shot. This is much later down the runway than they expected. It finally lifted off with a lot of -- not much (INAUDIBLE). Freeze it right now if you can, Michael. Did you see all of these birds? Check them all out right in here. It went through a flock of birds, hit two of them -- roll it again if you can, Michael. And boom. Did you see that one drop? It was just like the kind of hunting trip you don't want to be on with the big long wings of that Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer striking those birds.

Fortunately, it hit in a rather fortified portion of the aircraft. Not a real problem.

In addition to that, cockpit temperatures reached the triple digits, and some gear failed in of that or as a result of that. An inauspicious start.

Here's where Steve Fossett is right now. He's approaching India. It's a little more than 20 or about 24 hours into the flight right now. He's at about 47,500 feet, 320 knots. And he's on the line with us now.

Steve Fossett, that was some takeoff. You must have been a little nervous.

STEVE FOSSETT, GLOBALFLYER PILOT: Oh, I was certainly worried. It was such a long takeoff that it was -- I knew that it was going to take all of the runway. And then it was very difficult to lift the nose. You know, you need the energy to lift up also.

M. O'BRIEN: And we should point out to our viewers that even though you had a 15,000-foot runway there at the shuttle landing facility, you really did not have an abort option, did you?

FOSSETT: Correct (INAUDIBLE).

M. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, can you hear me, Steve? I'm going to repeat the question. You had a 15,000-foot runway. But you still didn't really have an abort option on that takeoff roll, did you?

All right, I think we've lost Steve Fossett. You can understand why that would be difficult to communicate with him. He is here traveling 320 knots, 47,500 feet. His goal is to set a distance record of some 27,000 miles, the record held by the Voyager crew back in 1986, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. And in this case, he's going to go around the globe and then across the Atlantic a second time, if all goes well, logging some 27,000 miles.

You can track it yourself. Go to virginatlanticglobalflyer.com, or the company that is providing the technology for this, Blue Sky, which has a Web site as well with the tracker. And you can follow the exploits of Steve Fossett as he tries to break yet another record in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.

We're approaching the top of the hour. Let's get a check of the forecast now. Chad Myers in with that.

MYERS: Miles, I'm quite curious on your kind of thoughts about all of this. Where is his last cutoff point before he gets to the Pacific? Obviously a long ocean and no where to land.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, I mean, those point of no returns.

MYERS: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: I don't know exactly, you know, those points. But literally every waypoint they reach, they make an independent decision on whether to go to the next one. So each way along the way. And there will be a point in the Pacific where you get to that so-called point of no return where if something happens, you press on.

MYERS: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: And those distances with the most amount of water, I don't know the exact distances, but there will be some hairy moments.

MYERS: There sure will be. And the reason why he does it now, an interesting note. Why do you do it in the winter? Because the jet stream is stronger in the winter, so he's getting a better tailwind. And so he doesn't have to fly as far. In fact, the jet stream will blow him downwind at hundreds of miles per hour.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: The 7:00 hour starts right now.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Chad.

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