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American Morning

Blizzard of '06 Breaks Records; Republican Report Slams Government Response to Katrina

Aired February 13, 2006 - 08:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: People making their way toward work, trudging through the snow there on the outskirts of Columbus Circle. It's a beautiful scene for now. I'm sure it will get a little old by -- toward the end of the day. But this is the day after the big Nor'easter.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: It's the good thing there was no work or school -- this happened over the weekend.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

VERJEE: For most people, at least.

O'BRIEN: Kids hate that. They hate it when a snow day comes on a day they already have off. It drives them nuts. And so -- my kids are kind of happy, they got a snow day. But most kids are going to school here in New York.

VERJEE: The theaters were open still. The Broadway shows were still on.

O'BRIEN: Oh, I see some of...

VERJEE: Yes, I saw "Hairspray."

O'BRIEN: Excellent. Excellent. You aren't missing a trick here on your trip to New York.

VERJEE: No. I'm having a good time. I can't complain.

O'BRIEN: Enjoying it. A little joie de vie here in New York.

Let's talk about the blizzard of '06. Geez. You know, in New England, they always talk about the big storm in '78. John King was -- let's see, he was about 16 years old. Living in Dorchester at the time when that happened, I think. And now he's out on the Cape at the very tip end of the elbow of the Cape; Chatham, Massachusetts. That's not Chatham. Chatham's not there in the water like that. Well, anyway, nice attempt at Google mapping. Ted Fine (ph), we need you.

And John King, how is it looking up there? Because, you know, I know there's a huge problem with beach erosion there. And I know every time there's a big storm that comes through, they're worried they lose a little more of the beach.

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: That is a big worry, Miles. And you mentioned Dorchester and the blizzard of '78. I remember making igloos about this high. We had walls this high and no school for a couple of weeks back in those days. So the kids back to school today or will be tomorrow -- most schools in Massachusetts are closed -- will be quite jealous of us, I guess, for those days way back then.

This South Beach in Chatham. As you mentioned, right on the elbow of Cape Cod. Kids from Dorchester didn't make it here all that much, not in my days anyway. This is the fishing pier just over here to my right.

You mentioned the erosion. One of the erosion issues is caused by surging tides. And they were worried quite a bit about coastal flooding. When we were here yesterday at the height of the storm. The water was, in fact, splashing over, coming onto the docks. A few inches of water right along the edge. On the other side of town, there was a bit more severe flooding. They were worried at one point they might have to close Route 28, the main road through town.

But nothing was as bad as they had anticipated. The plows were out all day here. Again, the schools are closed. There's accumulations, one of the biggest problems, with all the winds, with the drifts. You see some fairly high drifts around town. But it is simply a spectacular day on Cape Cod today. If you look out, you see the waters here and it is gorgeous.

There is an erosion problem when you have these high tides come in and out, and it's a constant problem, anyway, exacerbated by the storms. But if you don't like the snow and you didn't want to be here yesterday when the winds were howling sometimes near 60 miles an hour, the snows were swirling, you couldn't a thing, you couldn't see very far out the vehicle.

But they did a fabulous job all up and down the Cape. One of the big success stories here, you mentioned earlier power outages, other places. One of the interesting things here is they thought it would be much worse because the snow is usually so wet here. This is a very white, powdery snow, so it was blowing around a bit in the storm, but it didn't pull down all the power lines. So all the way up Cape Cod, they say no major outages, Miles. School is out today. Kids are enjoying what is just a spectacularly beautiful day here.

O'BRIEN: All right. Looks like you got a snow day after this. Right, John King? Or do you have to work all day?

KING: We're going to do some work today. We're going to go up to Provincetown, look around to see the morning after and the storm, and mostly see how beautiful Cape Cod can be.

O'BRIEN: Well, it's not a bad place to be if you have to be anywhere on the day after the storm. John King out there in Chatham. And we do know where Chatham is, folks, so please don't send the e- mails. And it's not in the water there. Anyway, elbow. It's on the elbow.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(NEWSBREAK)

VERJEE: Republicans on Capitol Hill coming out with a scathing report this week, slamming the Bush administration over Hurricane Katrina. Parts of the report were leaked over the weekend. In it, the slow response to the storms being blamed on the government's, quote, "organizational paralysis."

More now from Suzanne Malveaux, who joins us now from the White House.

Suzanne, what else is in this report?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Zain, we actually retrieved a copy, a draft copy of that report. This is 500,000 pages of documents, 600 pages, conclusions, of course. And also nine public hearings. They spare no one. Essentially, they say it was a failure of initiative, as well as leadership.

The highlights of this report, the key findings, is that the national response plan was executed late, ineffectively or not at all. They go on to say that the president received inadequate advice and counsel. Homeland Security secretary failed to designate a point person two days before Katrina, the landfall there. And White House failed to clear up varying damage assessments and discounted information that ultimately turned out to be accurate.

One of the conclusions, observations, the House Committee comes up with, it says: "It remains difficult to understand how the government could respond so ineffectively to a disaster that was anticipated for years and for which specific dire warnings had been issued for days. This crisis was not only predictable, it was predicted." And Zain, that is coming from the Republicans.

VERJEE: What about the Democrats, Suzanne? I mean, none of them participated in this committee saying, essentially, you know, it's just partisan. They have their own report, don't they?

MALVEAUX: Well, they absolutely do, and we've gotten a copy of their report as well. Many of the findings, the conclusions, very much the same as what the Republicans came up with. The only difference here is they are actually calling for the resignation of the Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff.

I have spoke with the White House this morning. They are pushing back, Zain. They are saying, first of all, that they have confidence in Chertoff. Secondly, we're going to hear from the Homeland Security adviser to the president, Fran Townsend. She's going to be making a speech later on in the afternoon, essentially pushing back a bit, saying that the notion, according to one official, ridiculous that the president was not aware of what was happening. And then secondly, they're also going to talk about some of the lessons learned in dealing with Wilma and Rita and say that that report will actually be coming out in a couple of weeks -- Zain.

VERJEE: Reporting from the White House this morning, Suzanne Malveaux. Coming up on CNN, Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff speaks for the first time since coming under fire in that congressional report. That's going to begin at 11:30 Eastern, and we'll bring it to you live here on CNN -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, over the weekend, the vice president's quarry was a covey (ph) of quail. Instead, when he squeezed the trigger, he got a contributor.

Peter Banko is an administrator at the Corpus Christi hospital in Corpus Christi where the victim is being treated. One of Vice President Cheney's fellow hunters there.

Tell us, first of all, if you could, Mr. Banko, what's the condition of the patient this morning?

PETER BANKO, CHRISTUS SOHN HOSPITAL ADMIN.: He rested well last evening AND is currently in stable condition in our trauma ICU.

O'BRIEN: There you see a picture of him. Harry Whittington. He's an attorney. And stable condition. Good condition, you said?

BANKO: Yes. Doing well and stable.

O'BRIEN: Well. I'm sorry, does that mean good or -- I've never heard well as an official medical term.

BANKO: Stable is the official medical term.

O'BRIEN: Right, but you can be stable and critical, you can be stable and good. He's stable and what?

BANKO: No, no. You can either be critical or serious, and he's neither of those. He's in stable condition.

O'BRIEN: OK. Tell us -- can you describe for us the extent of his injuries?

BANKO: He -- it was a fairly common hunting injury that we experienced here in South Texas at our trauma center. He was basically peppered by a shotgun, and so he's got some shotgun spray to the face, neck and upper torso.

O'BRIEN: OK. And, of course, in this case, the vice president would have been using bird shot, which are relatively small pellets. And there was about a 30-yard distance. So were the wounds kind of superficial?

BANKO: I can't really comment on the depth of the wounds, but he had a fair amount of spray in his face and neck and torso.

O'BRIEN: OK. And has the vice president been by to visit him?

BANKO: He came by yesterday afternoon and visited with him for about 15 or 20 minutes.

O'BRIEN: Yes. And do you have any idea how that conversation went?

BANKO: Yes. No, they don't like -- as you know, they don't let you real close to the vice president, so I didn't really get to see how the conversation went.

O'BRIEN: All right. And final thought is the prognosis for Mr. Whittington. How long will he be hospitalized? How long before a full recovery, do you think?

BANKO: You know, we'll know a little bit better. The trauma team is doing rounds this morning. So we'll know a little bit better later this morning or afternoon, but he should be released within the next day or two.

O'BRIEN: OK. Peter Banko, thank you for your time. He's with the hospital there in Corpus Christi, and we appreciate it -- Zain.

VERJEE: Miles, Andy is "Minding Your Business," as he always does.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: I am, Zain.

VERJEE: What do you have?

SERWER: I've got a couple things. First of all, why the book business is counting on Japanese comics and why a toothbrush maker is counting on Fabio. Stay tuned for that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: That's quite a crew!

SERWER: The party's right here, right?

VERJEE: It is. Right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

SERWER: We'll get Chuck Yeager to come in.

VERJEE: Why not? We should do that.

SERWER: I'd like to have Chuck Yeager here.

VERJEE: Well, graphic novels and Harlequin romances -- is this business segment?

SERWER: It is. It's about the book business and the toothbrush business.

VERJEE: We want to hear more about that. Here's Andy.

SERWER: Zain, thank you.

First of all, let's start off with a book publishing business. You know, lagging and flagging sales have made this, well, not quite a back water, but not the most happening of media businesses. And now book publishers are counting on a new venue to boost sales. And it may surprise you.

Do you know about Japanese anime? This is animated Japanese cartoons. And its counterpart, which is manga, which is the illustrated form of Japanese anime, the illustration. And book publishers like Harper Collins and Time Warner Books are counting on this form. Here we go.

You can see some of it here. This is anime. And the still versions of this would be sort of comic books. And these comic books, Zain, are not just for kids. They're for, you know, young adults as well. And it's a real fast-growing segment.

VERJEE: Have you seen these?

SERWER: I have, yes. Interesting stuff.

VERJEE; Let's talk about Oral B's campaign, new ad campaign.

SERWER: It's book-like and it's very amusing, I think. Oral B, the toothbrush maker, brushed with romance.com -- is the Web site. You want to check this out because it's very amusing. They're using a Harlequin style romance ad campaign online, where you put your name in and then have a story read with the narrator, as...

VERJEE: I picked Fabio.

SERWER: You picked Fabio. Well, listen to what happens. When Fabio is doing this, the narrator says her thoughts. "Zain's thoughts drifted back where she first saw Fabio in the western woods, standing astride the waterfall, its curtain of roiling mist playing around his naked torso." Yes. "Then Fabio's distinctive Italian voice comes on and says I will shower you with diamonds."

VERJEE: At which point?

SERWER: Buy my toothbrush. I don't know how it goes to the toothbrush sales from there, but it's very funny to mess around with if you don't want to do any work this morning, you know? Just bomb around on this Web site instead.

VERJEE: So good excuses to not work and just have a good time.

SERWER: Yes.

VERJEE: What was the address?

SERWER: Brushwithromance.com.

VERJEE: Have you sorted yourself out for Valentine's Day?

SERWER: Yes, me and Tia Carrera on this Web site.

VERJEE: All right.

SERWER: I've got to do that.

VERJEE: Andy Serwer, thanks a lot. We need to take a look at this video, Andy.

SERWER: OK.

VERJEE: It's coming out of Australia. If you look really closely, you'll see -- look at this. You've got dozens of dark shapes.

SERWER: Wow.

VERJEE: Now, those are sharks.

SERWER: Yes.

VERJEE: Yes, they're in a feeding frenzy just off of Australia's coast. You've got all of these schools of fish quite close to the shoreline, and so the sharks have come after them. There have been all of these warnings, but still, people don't listen to warnings. They got into the water. An 18-year-old, though, was the only casualty we're hearing about. He needed 11 stitches after being bitten while he was wading in a foot of water.

And I was just reading something about some shark experts saying that, you know, when sharks bite, they actually bite with their eyes closed. And so they can't really see if they're taking out a chunk of human.

SERWER: But why are those people out there?

VERJEE: Either just...

SERWER: I see sharks, I get out of the water. I tend to do that.

VERJEE: Either just daft or the thrill.

SERWER: Right. Well, it's different down in Aussie land, I guess.

VERJEE: Well, speaking of sharks, the writer whose sharks stories scared people from ever entering the water again has died. "Jaws" author Peter Benchley. You remember watching "Jaws"?

SERWER: Yes, sure.

VERJEE: Passed away. He passed away on Saturday at his home in Princeton, New Jersey. He penned his shark horror tale back in 1974, when he was 65 -- he was 65 years old, rather, when he died.

SERWER: Right.

VERJEE: Coming up, a top U.S. medal contender is carried off on a stretcher at the Winter Olympics. We're going to bring you a live report from Torino.

Plus, 2005 was one of the worst hurricane seasons ever, but now the National Weather Service wants to cut loose some of most of its experienced forecasters. Is that a recipe for disaster?

SERWER: Good timing.

VERJEE: We'll take a look on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Tough times for the U.S. Olympic downhill team. First, men's favorite Bode Miller failed in his event. And now, just a little while ago, America's top woman took a terrible fall.

For more on this, we want to go live to Torino in Italy and to CNN's Larry Smith. Larry, what happened?

SMITH: Well, Zain, the woman's name is Lindsey Kildow, 21-year- old. And she's a gold medal favorite. In one of her practice runs today in the downhill, she crashed and went down, was writhing in pain and sobbing. . We don't want to speculate on the extent of her injuries, we don't want to go with any kind of reports going around until we can confirm it, but we do know she was taken off the course on stretcher.

Now, the women's downhill race takes place on Wednesday. Kildow ranked number two in the world. She is, again, the top gold medal contender in this event for the Americans. So certainly if she cannot go -- certainly, first off, disappointing for her. We hope that she is OK. But secondly, the U.S. medal hopes really could take a big hit if she can't go on Wednesday -- Zain.

VERJEE: Let's talk about Michelle Kwan for a minute. She bowed out, ending her dream for a Olympic gold. Emily Hughes is going to replace her. Is Emily Hughes there or when is she expected?

SMITH: You know what, that's the great question, thanks to the blizzard up in New York. It's where lives and we've been hearing now for the past 24 hours that she is on her way or about to be on her way. But we know she will get here at some point. Luckily, figure skating -- her event doesn't begin until a week from Wednesday. She does have some time trying to get in here.

It's very disappointing for Michelle Kwan. Nine-time U.S. champion, five-time world champion. The Olympic gold, the only thing she has not won. She's 25 years old. So Vancouver 2010, she'll be 29 and very likely will be out of competition, and so probably her chances of winning Olympic gold are probably now over.

VERJEE: You're lucky to be there. We're all jealous. Give us a sense what it's like to be there, the atmosphere, what the people in Turin are like? Do they call it Torino?

SMITH: Yes. They call it Torino, yes. And that's -- you know, the English translation is Turin. I've had so many questions leading up to this. So where are you going to? Torino or Turin? Which is it? The people are fantastic.

We spent about three hours yesterday walking around the city just behind me here. It was so enjoyable. Stopped into a pizza place and had some not only some Italian, also some Greek food. It was all outstanding. Everyone very, very friendly here. And the weather's been very warm. Highs in the upper 40s today. So it doesn't even feel like the Winter Olympics, really -- Zain.

VERJEE: Larry Smith in Torino, thank you.

Plastic surgery is big business, to the tune of around $12 billion. But for some people, it's more than just a quest for beauty. It's an obsession. Later tonight, Paula Zahn is going to bring you a fascinating story of one young woman who really is addicted to plastic surgery. Take a look at this. Here's a quick preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted to look in the mirror and say today, you look OK. Not great. Not fantastic. Not beautiful. Not gorgeous. Nothing like that. I just wanted to be OK. That's all I wanted.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It's hard to believe that this beautiful young woman ever could have felt that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: So what pushes a woman to such extremes? We're going to get more of Jenny's story tonight, on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." That's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Coming up, more on the hunting accident involving Vice President Dick Cheney. He shot and wounded one of his partners, who's also a campaign contributor. We're going to take a look at just how it happened and we'll also get some safety tips from an expert.

Plus, the blizzard of 2006, slamming into the East Coast, wreaking havoc and breaking records. What can people expect today? Miles braves the cold and heads out to beautiful Central Park, you see there, here on AMERICAN MORNING. We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. You can sign up for AMERICAN MORNING "Quick News" at CNN.com/am. Do it.

Still to come, reports from Iran today say uranium enrichment has begun. How far off is a nuclear bomb? What are Iran's intentions? And after Iraq, can we really be sure of the intelligence we're getting? The former CIA -- the former chief weapons inspector will be with us, so stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

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