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American Morning

Cold Blast on the Way for East Coast; The Long Road Home for Victims of Hurricane Katrina

Aired February 17, 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: Going down. That's where the temperature is headed. A cold blast on the way for the East Coast. Just getting used to a little mild weather here.
Plus, the long road home for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Making hard decisions about whether to leave their old lives behind. A very personal journey is ahead.

And to Turin we go. An Olympic medal eludes one hopeful. He has an excuse. We're not sure if we're buying it, though. You be the judge.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Columbus Circle as day breaks over Manhattan. I was really enjoying the mild weather yesterday, walking around the city and had to pull out my heavy coats again.

O'BRIEN: Were you wearing your shoes?

VERJEE: I was wearing my shoes.

O'BRIEN: Oh, good. Just checking.

VERJEE: As one does.

O'BRIEN: Let's go to Carol -- some do, maybe not you. Let's go to Carol Costello in the newsroom.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. In the headlines this morning, Vice President Dick Cheney is in the clear, and he's moving on. Texas authorities closed the book Thursday on the shooting of a fellow hunter. No charges will be filed. The vice president back in his home state of Wyoming today touting the Bush agenda before state lawmakers.

President Bush is also on the road. He's heading to the U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa. He'll getting a briefing on U.S. security and the war on terror. The trip comes one day after the president asks Congress for another $65 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Global warming it taking a much more serious toll than originally though. A new report out show Greenland's glaciers are dumping twice as much ice into the Atlantic Ocean as they did ten years ago. So does this mean the east coast is going under? Not exactly, but scientists say it is a wakeup call. Miles will map it all out for us in the next hour of "American Morning". Some troubling news for women who use the birth control patch. A new study suggests women on the patch are twice as likely to develop blood clots as those that take the pill. The study was financed by Ortho Evra, the company that makes the patch

And still on the lam, but time might be running out for Vivi, the Westminster Show dog that got away at JFK Airport. Teams scoured the 5,000-acre airfield on Thursday, but then called off the search. Now the dog's owners are absolutely frantic. We're going to talk with one of the owners in the next hour.

And remember freedom fries? They were French fries until we got mad at the French. Well, Danish pastries are getting a new name in Iran. From now on, customers will have to ask for them under the name roses of the Prophet Mohammed. Part of the protest touched off by those Danish cartoons of Mohammed.

Those are the headlines this morning. Back to you, Zain.

VERJEE: Carol, thank you.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

O'BRIEN: My favorite skier hits the hills again today. Hopefully she'll really hit the hill. We're talking, of course, about the American, Lindsey Kildow. We'll get to her story in just a moment. But first, a medal count for you. Go Norway, go Norway. Lucky 13 on the metal count. Only one gold, though. I guess that still counts. I mean, you know.

In any case, the U.S. has six golds, leading the gold count. But overall, Russia and Germany still have a greater number of medals. For those of you keeping score at home, let's get right to "Larrino" Smith in Turin. We got rid of the trumpet fanfare today. They said I overplayed it yesterday. Kind of did an Olympic effort and it just fell flat, so to speak.

Let's talk about Lindsey Kildow. Gutsy performance after the fall. Eighth place, no medals. What are the chances that she's going to be in the chips, shall we say, this time?

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, this is the women's combined. Keep in mind, you need Costellicha (ph), who was the 2002 gold medal champion from Salt Lake City. She's dominated this sport for the past several years. She is racing, despite having a fever earlier in the week.

But Kildow still is a contender for a medal after that nasty spill in practice on Monday. And then coming back to tie for eighth place in the downhill on Wednesday. That goes off here in a couple of hours here in Torino.

O'BRIEN: All right. So you're feeling good about her, right? You think it's going to be good?

SMITH: Sure. Sure. I'm always optimistic. You know that. O'BRIEN: Yes, you are. That's truly an optimistic man. Let's talk about this figure skating thing, Johnny Weir and his excuse. It's kind of interesting. It wasn't quite "the dog ate my homework," but in the same category.

SMITH: You know, that's pretty good. Not quite as optimistic, right? First off, lets give credit to the great Russian, Evgeni Plushenko. Another gold medal performance. His first gold medal performance, I should say. But he was outstanding in Tuesday's short program and also last night's long skate.

As for Weir, he was standing in second place, and then here's the excuse that he gave later after a, well, a very disappointing fifth place finish. He blamed it on the bus schedule. He said, "I missed the bus. They changed the schedule. It was every ten minutes today. All of a sudden, it was every half hour. I was late getting here. I never felt comfortable in this building. I didn't feel my inner peace. I didn't feel my aura."

And of course, critics will say, "Why is it every other figure skater managed to catch the bus except for Johnny Weir?" We may never know.

O'BRIEN: Yes. You've got to have your aura, though. You know how that goes. I know you're that way, too. If you miss the bus and don't have your aura, your live shots just go right downhill, right?

SMITH: Yes.

O'BRIEN: I am now a huge snowboard cross fan. As a matter of fact, I was up this morning. Got up at 3:15, Sandy and I. Sandy was up. I woke her up, as usual. And we're watching this thing, and that's why I was late. I missed my bus this morning. I was watching that incredible finish there, Seth Wescott. Really, really exciting to watch. This sport has great potential, doesn't it?

SMITH: I think it does. And we were talking all week. It's really a fun sport. I think it's great they're adding this kind of sport. It's certainly more popular among the younger people, but us older folk, we can get into it, too. It's a lot of fun to watch. It's very exciting when you watch it. And it's so fast.

You've got the three guys next to you. You don't want to hit them. You don't want to intentionally hit them, Miles. We talked about it yesterday. You'll get disqualified if you intentionally hit them. Speaking of today, the women's snowboard cross is already under way.

Lindsey Jacobellis, she stands right now at six after the first run as those finals go off here about an hour and a half. And so we'll see if maybe the U.S. can get a pair of golds in the first ever time this has been a part of the Olympics.

O'BRIEN: All right, Larry. I'm going to have a chance to talk to our halfpipe gold medallist in a little while. That should be fun. I wish I could snowboard, but at the very least, I can watch it. That's pretty much where I am in life right now.

SMITH: You can always dream.

O'BRIEN: Always dream. Larry Smith, thank you as always.

Coming up in the program, Wal-Mart's the biggest retailer in America, the biggest company anywhere, for that matter. But its competitors are sweating bullets. We'll explain that. Andy tells us how they're trying to kind of leach Wal-Mart's success in minding your business. We'll explain that one.

VERJEE: And also, what does it take to be an employee of Al Qaeda? Yes, Al Qaeda. Have the details of an actual Al Qaeda worker contract. We have that ahead on "American Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Some good news for Katrina victims, about $20 billion worth of good news. That's what the White House is asking for from Congress. That includes 4.2 billion for what's called community development block grants. Now, it's not clear exactly what that means, but it essentially gives latitude on how that money will be disbursed. It could be just for housing, but that hasn't been determined.

Also, the new funding would be about 1.3 billion for strengthening levees and pumping stations, 100 million to try to rebuild the wetlands, which are a natural barrier to storms.

The Ernest Morial Convention Center reopens today in New Orleans. Of course, the convention center synonymous with the whole problems of Katrina, the ugly face of the aftermath of that storm. That storm we saw, of course, thousands of people stuck, waiting for food, water, medical care, and just looking for a way out of town.

A jewelry show opens there today. Also opening today, the Harrah's casino in New Orleans. The casino was an emergency command post in the days and weeks after Katrina. More signs the city is coming back.

For the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the wounds are still very fresh, though. Many still face a difficult decision of returning to a home that barely exists anymore, or starting over somewhere new. It's a big question. This weekend, a special "CNN Presents." We'll look at those forced to make that very choice. A preview of one family now from CNN's Kathleen Koch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DARLA GOODFELLOW, KATRINA VICTIM: As I pulled out of my driveway, it never ever crossed my mind that it would be completely gone. Never.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Instead of a beautiful waterfront home, the Goodfellow family now shares a cramped three- bedroom apartment in Birmingham, Alabama. GOODFELLOW: I mean, there are days -- I'll tell you right now -- when the alarm goes off at 6:10, we just kind of -- you know, I'm not getting out of bed. You want to pull the covers up over your head and say, "Forget it." And then you think, "Oh, no. I can't. I have four children."

KOCH: Months after Katrina, Darla and the children finally muster the nerve to return to Bay St. Louis. Keith has been back before. Devout Catholics, the first job for the Goodfellows is mass in the community center. Their church, Our Lady of the Gulf, where two of my sisters were married, was gutted by the hurricane.

UNIDENTIFIED PRIEST: This mass is all about connecting, really connecting with someone.

KOCH: But, for the Goodfellows, the connections are painful. For him, a reminder of how desperately he wants to return. For her, a remind I of trauma and how much she doesn't.

GOODFELLOW: When I turn this corner, my house will be at the end of the block, or where my house was. Oh God, that's all that's left of my house. We had a big beautiful willow tree right here. We had one tree, a willow tree.

KOCH: The corps of engineers is about to bulldoze what's left of the neighborhood. The Goodfellows want to try to salvage something.

GOODFELLOW: Do you want it, Hillary? No, Desra (ph), bring it back. Hillary said she does not want to take anything that's here, remember? She doesn't want anything from here. Oh, her little picture frame. Oh, and there's -- I think it's a picture.

The things I've found. Things I would never in a million years have brought with me, even if I knew an entire house would be gone, I took those because those are -- it's like the only proof that the last -- the past 11 years of my life were real and that it wasn't just some dream.

KOCH: The Goodfellows had flood insurance on their house, but it only covered a fraction of their loss, and their insurance company won't pay the rest.

GOODFELLOW: They are claiming flood, which means they're not paying it, the federal government and the taxpayers are paying it because they claim our house had no wind damage whatsoever. I mean, I had an adjuster who told me he understand what it was to live in a difficult situation because he was sharing a room with another adjuster. And he hadn't even -- right.

I said, "I really feel sorry that the complete loss of my entire life has ruined your day." He said, "Well, thank you for understanding. And stop calling me because I'm not even going to adjust (ph)," and hung up the phone.

(END VIDEOTAPE) O'BRIEN: That was Kathleen Koch reporting. Just a little preview of what you can see if you tune in this weekend to "CNN Presents: Saving My Town." And it's referring to Lathleen Loch's town. That's where she's from. It's a very personal tale in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the damage that it caused to her Mississippi home. Saturday night and Sunday night, 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN. Don't miss it -- Zain?

VERJEE: Miles, Andy Serwer is minding your business, as he always does. What do you have for me, now?

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Zain. We're going to be talking about Wal-Mart. First of all, why Wal-Mart is good for other retailers. Plus, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott uncut and raw. Stay tuned for that, coming up next on "American Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER UPDATE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: All I want to do is have some fun until the sun comes up over Manhattan. Come on, help me.

SERWER: Were you out all night partying or something? Is that what that means.

VERJEE: Sheryl Crow.

O'BRIEN: You die alone with this program, Zain. And we'll let you twist on that one.

VERJEE: Many quizzical looks there.

SERWER: I knew were where you were going.

VERJEE: Yes, Andy knew. Carol Costello knew, too.

O'BRIEN: I was crushed to see they broke up, Sheryl and Lance.

SERWER: I thought that was a good pair.

O'BRIEN: Anyway, that's apropos of nothing. Let's get to Carol Costello -- Carol?

COSTELLO: Thanks, Miles. Good morning to all of you. Two weeks of steady rain causing massive mud slides in the Philippines. Entire villages swallowed up. These are new pictures just into us. They show lone survivors. Actually, you'll see them soon, those lone survivors standing next to piles of wood once their homes. The Red Cross estimates some 300 people were killed. At least 1,500 others missing. One person said it sounded like the mountain exploded. And then the whole thing crumbled. The backlash against those cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed taking a new turn. A Muslim cleric is offering $25,000 in cash for killing the cartoonist responsible. This, as thousands of protestors clash with police in southern Pakistan. These pictures just into us, too. Security forces use tear gas to try to disperse the crowd. Some 125 people have now been taken into custody.

The parents of missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway are suing. They filed a wrongful death lawsuit against one of the three teenagers questioned in her disappearance. Joran Van der Sloot is accused of malicious wanton and willful disregard. His father is accused of knowingly facilitating the predatory behavior. Van der Sloot was never charged in the case.

And listen up, travelers. Ever have the airlines loose your luggage? You're certainly not alone. U.S. Airlines lost an average of 10,000 bags -- you think I'm going to say "a year." Nope, a day. They lost 10,000 bags a day. That is the worst performance since 1990. The U.S. Department of Transportation says most of those bags did eventually find their way back to the owners. Very frustrated owners, I'm sure.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Wal-Mart.

SERWER: Let's do that.

O'BRIEN: Because, you know, if there's a Wal-Mart story, Andy's got it.

SERWER: We've got a bunch of Wal-Mart stories this morning. Conventional wisdom has it that Wal-Mart destroys other companies, other businesses, other retailers, and puts them out of business if they're nearby. No doubt that is true thousands of times over over the past couple decades.

But now, there's new evidence that shows that companies like to be near Wal-Mart because it helps their businesses. Of course, you see a lot of bix box stores near Wal-Mart like Home Depot and Best Buy. But also, smaller retailers like beauty shops, linen stores, even a store called Threads, which basically carries the same thing but it's smaller, so people like to go there because it's more convenient.

This is some news from a colleague of mine, Brent Schneider (ph) form McPherson, Kansas, who says, "Yes the Wal-Mart super center on the outskirts of town destroyed the five and dime and the drug store in McPherson, but it helped to revitalize the town by bringing in new innovative retailers." So that's something you don't see and hear all the time, I think.

Another story about Wal-Mart I want to tell you about, Zain, is CEO Lee Scott has an internal Web site called Lee's Garage, Lee's Garage, where he communicates with other Wal-Mart employees. This because he pumped gas at his father's gas station. In this Web site, apparently he is extremely candid. At one point, a manager asked him about why the company doesn't offer health benefits. And he says, "If you feel that way, then you as a manager should look for a company where you can do those kinds of things." In other words, be gone. So some interesting stuff there.

And finally, we want to talk about the continued power of Wal- Mart because it does continue to exercise this kind of clout. Introducing an alternative to Splenda (ph), the sweetener called Altern (ph). And this has Wall Street analyst very, very, very concerned about the prospects of Splenda. Becauseonce Wal-Mart comes in with sort of a store brand like this, it can really do some serious, serious damage to a product.

O'BRIEN: Big volume.

SERWER: Absolutely. The biggest retailer in the world.

O'BRIEN: Not such a sweet story in that respect.

SERWER: You know, I knew that was coming.

O'BRIEN: Oh, it had to.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: But let's move on. Coming up after months of rebuilding, New Orleans -- sorry folks. New Orleans gets ready to let the good times roll [ speaking French ] We'll look at how folks are getting ready for the city's first post-Katrina Mardi Gras.

And a little later on the program, formal search for Vivi is over. But the wayward Whippet is still not reunited with her owners. What are they going to do? One of them will join us in the studio in just a bit. We'll talk about how they're going to try to find Vivi. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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