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American Morning

Insurance Woes for Katrina Victims in Misissippi; Interview with Harrison Ford

Aired February 10, 2006 - 09:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The opening bell just rung. You're seeing the first moments of trading on Wall Street today. The Dow coming in 10,833, 25 points up yesterday. Quick break. Back with more in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Live pictures now. This is a Senate hearing room, specifically the Senate Homeland Committee and Governmental Affairs Committee, occupying this room today.

And there you see seated, putting his glasses on as we speak, Michael Brown. The man who ran FEMA in the midst of Hurricane Katrina and ultimately lost his job in the wake of all of that is testifying today as a private citizen. And the question we all have on our minds this morning is how free and encumbered will his testimony be?

As we can see, the senators are still taking their seats. The photographers capturing their images. The stage being set for what we think will be a rather interesting session as Mr. Brown tells what he knows about what the White House knew in the wake of Katrina.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: New developments after the Winter Olympics getting underway in Torino, Italy, today. The International Olympic Committee announcing that no positive test results have come out for doping, but two U.S. skiers remain suspended for high red blood cell counts.

CNN's Mark McKay is live in Torino and he joins us for more on that.

Good morning, Mark.

MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Zain. Yes, we're supposed to be covering the opening ceremonies of the 20th Winter Olympiad. Instead, we're dealing with a bit of controversy, but one that has been quelled within the last past hour.

Zain, the International Olympic Committee has gone on record shooting down the notion put forth earlier today by an Italian Sports Ministry official that claimed several Olympic athletes had tested positive for the blood boosting agent EPO. The IOC says that was incorrect information. No tests have turned up positive. Meanwhile, eight cross country skiers have been suspended by their skiing federation after turning up with high levels of hemoglobin, the red blood cell that can increase endurance. The U.S. cross country skiers involved, Kikkan Randall and Leif Zimmerman, are expected to return to competition -- Zain. This according to the U.S. ski team officials.

VERJEE: In Torino, Mark McKay. Thanks, Mark.

(NEWSBREAK)

O'BRIEN: What is the difference between wind and water? If you're in Biloxi, Mississippi, the difference is about $20 million. Months after Hurricane Katrina left the city in ruins, officials there are still waiting for insurance help, all because of a technicality.

CNN's Sean Callebs with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You're looking at the punishing storm surge from Hurricane Katrina that rolled through the heart of Biloxi, Mississippi.

Mayor A.J. Holloway watched the devastation from this vantage point at city hall.

MAYOR A.J. HOLLOWAY, BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI: Never forget it, I guarantee you. I never want to see it again, either. I never in the world thought anything would come like this.

CALLEBS: Biloxi's chamber of commerce was here. Nothing is left now. It's one of more than 100 city-owned buildings damaged or destroyed. But so far, Holloway says, the city hasn't been paid any insurance money for the devastation, so rebuilding hasn't started.

HOLLOWAY: It's frustrating. You know, we want to get back as quickly as we can. We want our residents to get back here.

CALLEBS: The insurance hold up is a frustration felt throughout the Gulf Coast region. Biloxi's various insurance companies have to decide what was damaged by hurricane winds and what was destroyed by flooding before they'll pay out.

Wayne Tisdale is the insurance industry's broker for Biloxi.

WAYNE TISDALE, INSURANCE BROKER: It's the frustration. And the timing is five months. It should have been settled, in my opinion, by now. But I mean, that's just beyond my control. And it's beyond everyone's control.

CALLEBS: Beyond everyone's control because of the sheer scope of the devastation. Biloxi city leaders have been told their $10 million flood insurance policy will be paid in full, but say that no decision has been made on how much of the $20 million wind damage coverage will be paid. And Mayor Holloway says a lot of insurance adjusters and engineers are taking measurements and poring over the damage.

(on camera): What does it tell you that a lot of suits are bringing in engineers to take a look at all this?

HOLLOWAY: It tells me they're looking for a way out.

CALLEBS: Tisdale says it's easy to demonize the insurance industry in times of a catastrophe.

TISDALE: In defense of the industry, I will -- nobody wants to talk about insurance until there's claim.

CALLEBS: Tisdale believes Lloyd's of London and others, insuring Biloxi, will begin writing checks for wind damage in a month to six weeks. The mayor says the city is counting on it. Without the money, the city can't move forward.

Sean Callebs, CNN, Biloxi, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Now bear in mind we're only talking about city-owned buildings here. This doesn't take into account all the privately owned homes and businesses destroyed by Katrina. Some of those people are still waits for insurance money as well -- Zain.

VERJEE: Miles, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business," as he always does, on AMERICAN MORNING.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: A way to wager on whether or not you think the Enron guys, Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, will be found guilty.

Plus, the Russian government says nyet to vodka production. You don't want to miss that. Stay tuned to AMERICAN MORNING, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Live pictures now from Washington. That is Susan Collins, Republican of Maine. She is the chairman, or chairperson, if you prefer, of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. This is the hearing you want to see today. At the other end of her -- of the room there is Mike Brown, the former FEMA director. And he will be talking to this committee in an unencumbered way as a private citizen. It will be interesting to see about who knew what men post-Katrina.

Let's get to Andy Serwer. The bets are in on Enron.

SERWER: Yes, they are, and we'll get to those in one second. I want to start off with some market action. We'll go down to the Big Board, and we're down 11 on the Dow Jones Industrials. Higher trade gap may be to blame here this morning, folks. A record in December, third highest ever, 65.7 billion, and a record year, $725 billion, more imports than exports. Oil has everything to do with that. Oracle is trading down a bit. They are laying off 2,000 people. Speaking of layoffs, Volkswagen -- there's Oracle,the Emerald City. Volkswagen over in Germany laying off 20,000 employees. Those are not in the U.S., though.

Now, the Enron trial, of course, is going on down in Houston way, and many people are sort of betting, hoping, wagering perhaps even that Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling will be found guilty. They were the two people in charge of the company. That's a Web site called Entrade, where you actually can put your money where your mind is. How much chance do you think there is they will be found guilty? The latest numbers, Ken Lay, there's a 65 percent chance that he will be found guilty, according to people buying these future contracts, and a 57 percent chance. Interesting on two counts. Number one, the level of itself, and then also the difference between the two men. They face sort of different charges.

O'BRIEN: So this is for real, and you call it a futures contract.

SERWER: It is a future's contract. It's not a wager, because Entrade doesn't take a position like a house in a betting situation. It's like buying corn futures or grain futures, something like that. And it's legal.

VERJEE: People over in Russia a little bit worried, feel a little uneasy about vodka.

SERWER: I think they are a lot bit worried. There is a situation there, a great story in "The Wall Street Journal" this morning. Vodka production in Russia has come to a grinding halt. This because of a government snafu, new labeling procedures not working out. They needed stickers and stamps on all legitimate vodka bottles to help stamp out counterfeit vodka. This has shutdown the industry, which, of course, means that only counterfeit vodka is being distributed now.

O'BRIEN: A bit of irony there.

SERWER: And listen to this. There's just a tough couple of little factoids here. Vodka consumption in Russia is staggering, 9.1 -- I knew you would get that -- liters per person per year, as opposed to 4.9 liters per person of liquor in the United States. And what about Stoleteneya (ph), will you be able to get that here? Yes, because here's a little secret, it's not actually bottled in Russia; it's bottled in Latvia, Lithuania. So don't worry about that.

But now there's new stuff coming out...

O'BRIEN: I thought you were going to say it is bottled in Cleveland or something.

SERWER: Yes, well a lot like Haagen-Dazs in New Jersey.

O'BRIEN: But it looks like actually the latest stuff is that they fixed the snafu, so. VERJEE: Oh, nyet. Thank you, Andy Serwer.

O'BRIEN: That is one political issue. That's like, you know, an entitlement issue in Russia. You better make sure the vodka keeps flowing.

SERWER: It's there.

VERJEE: Thanks,

O'BRIEN: All right, thank you, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

VERJEE: CNN LIVE TODAY is coming up next with Daryn Kagan.

Hi, Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Another busy morning ahead for us. Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, as you were mentioning, on Capitol Hill this morning. There's Senator Joe Lieberman, one of the senators who will be asking questions about the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. We're going to show you parts of that live.

Also an ancient mystery from Egypt. It has been unearthed. We're going to give you a peek inside a mysterious new tomb that dates back to the time of King Tut.

O'BRIEN: Well.

KAGAN: Yes.

O'BRIEN: I guess he's got a condo made of stone out there.

KAGAN: Yes, born in Babylonia.

O'BRIEN: Yes, and on an on it goes.

KAGAN: King Tut.

O'BRIEN: We can certainly take it.

KAGAN: I love that Steve Martin song.

O'BRIEN: For a moment we were being classy, and sure enough I took it downtown. Very sorry.

KAGAN: That's OK.

Coming up in AM Pop, Harrison Ford in the studio, or was in the studio. We're going to be talking to him about his new movie "Firewall." He's 63 years old, but man, he's in good shape. And we'll ask him about playing yet another role of a Jack, a guy named Jack under siege.

Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: "A.M. Pop" time. His name is synonymous with star power. Harrison Ford. That's one of the few big marquee names still around. He's back on the big screen. He always has a good project going. It's a new thriller called "Firewall."

A couple of days ago, I talked to him about his movie and his career.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Thanks very much for being with us.

HARRISON FORD, ACTOR: Pleasure.

O'BRIEN: This script. What was it that attracted you?

FORD: Well, I thought it would make a movie that an audience would like to see. That's all I ever look for, is a movie that people will go to and a part to play that's different than what I've lately done and that has some interest for me.

O'BRIEN: It's interesting, it's a techno thriller. It appeals to my geek side quite a bit, and really hits on some themes which we really should be aware of in this world.

FORD: Right, computer security and identity theft are big issues and being reported on every day. So I thought that would be an interesting context in which to put this story.

O'BRIEN: All right. We have a clip which show a critical scene. Your family's been kidnapped. You've been essentially held hostage by the bad guys. They want access to the money.

FORD: I brought them into the bank because they're holding my family hostage, and they're going to use me to defeat my own protection systems.

O'BRIEN: Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORD: This is your final. You think your schoolboy techy friend can hack into these servers? This is what you kidnapped my family for?

PAUL BETTANY, ACTOR: I don't need to hack into anything. We were already inside. All we need to do is plug in.

FORD: That's a good plan.

BETTANY: Thanks. We like it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: All right, and Paul Bettany, I think, did a great job.

FORD: The gentleman villain, yes.

O'BRIEN: The gentleman villain, yes.

FORD: With an English accent.

O'BRIEN: Exactly. It's interesting how you play the rage here. You have to modulate the rage, because you're under such tight wraps.

FORD: And because I have another 40 minutes in the movie to go. It's an interesting problem. The character's family are taken hostage within about seven or eight minutes of the opening of the film. You have them to carry that weight for the rest of the film. It was an interesting issue, I thought.

O'BRIEN: What kinds of roles are you looking for these days? You said it a moment ago, you're looking for stuff that people want to see. Is it as simple as that?

FORD: It almost is. I can be accused of having played almost everything at this point, and often am playing -- doing the same role over again. But, you know, it's what apparently -- I mean, I do hope -- people are interested in seeing.

O'BRIEN: Now, a lot of actors would take great exception to that. You know, being -- the term is typecast.

FORD: Yes.

O'BRIEN: That's a pejorative, certainly. But you found a niche, you run with it.

FORD: I found a way to continue to work, and -- which is my ambition.

O'BRIEN: What's next for you?

FORD: I'm going to do a film called "Man Hunt," which is the story of the capture of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln.

O'BRIEN: And are we ever going to see another Indiana Jones? Would you rule that out?

FORD: No, not at all. And I'm looking forward to it. We're closer than we've ever been, and I think it will happen pretty soon.

O'BRIEN: All right. Look forward to that. Harrison Ford, great pleasure. Thanks for having -- thanks for being here.

FORD: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: "Firewall" opens today in theaters nationwide. VERJEE: Seems like a nice guy to interview. Was he nice? Was he cool? He's a pilot.

O'BRIEN: We did the pilot talk thing.

VERJEE: You did?

O'BRIEN: Yes, I know.

VERJEE: Something to connect with.

O'BRIEN: He has a jet, I've got a little -- it was -- but it was still fun.

VERJEE: Where is your plane?

O'BRIEN: It's in New Jersey.

VERJEE: To get to fly often?

O'BRIEN: No, I haven't lately. Busy. They keep me busy here, you know?

VERJEE: Well, he's in good shape for 63. Harrison Ford.

O'BRIEN: He's got that je ne sais quoi. He's got that thing. You know, you see a lot of stars and you think, oh, big deal. And this guy, he's got something else. You know, it's rare.

The hearing is under way. And that's Senator Joseph Lieberman, who you saw just a little while ago. Zain was talking to him, trying to get a preview. He is the ranking minority member of this particular committee. He's in the midst of this opening statement. This is the way it always goes. The politicians do a fair amount of talking before the witness ever gets to it. As soon as Mike Brown begins talking, you won't miss a moment of it. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: That's pretty much all the time we have for this edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

VERJEE: Thank goodness it's the weekend -- Daryn.

O'BRIEN: We are on the weekend.

VERJEE: Over to you.

KAGAN: I know, Zain, you'll be sleeping in tomorrow morning. At least 'til three in the morning.

VERJEE: Well, much, much later than that. Sleeping in the wee hours of the afternoon.

KAGAN: Oui oui. Have a great weekend, and both of you in New York City. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com