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CNN Live Sunday

Debate Continues on Arab Company Running U.S. Ports; Iraq On Edge; Lost Marshes In Louisiana; Voice Of The Past

Aired February 26, 2006 - 17:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LIVE SUNDAY: Ahead, the political uproar over U.S. port operations being managed by an Arab company. Now word of a deal and a 45-day review.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we are live in New Orleans for the start of the next big parade.

WHITFIELD: All right, Susan, we'll check in with you.

And an act of generosity from an Olympic champion. We'll tell you how he's inspiring others to follow his lead.

Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All that and more after this check of the headlines.

An explosion rocks a natural gas pumping station outside Denver. Authorities say an employee, who was bleeding off a pipeline, was airlifted out with burns over his hands, face and chest. At last check, an on-again, off-again fire at the plant had been extinguished.

Detroit police are searching for a gunman following a fatal shooting this morning at a church. One woman was killed and two other people were wounded, one of them seriously. Authorities believe it was the result of a domestic dispute.

A bomb blast in Iraq, but the big blow today, mortar strikes on a crowded Baghdad neighborhood, blamed for at least 15 deaths. Also in Iraq, three American soldiers were killed today in two separate incidents, according to the U.S. military.

Afghan security forces rushed to a prison compound outside Kabul. Officials say a riot erupted in a cell block housing hundreds of inmates including convicted terrorists. At least seven inmates were killed. The Afghan forces surrounded the prison to prevent escapes.

And within the past few minutes, the FBI confirmed that white powder found in a dorm room is not the powerful toxic ricin. The initial fears were fanned by a preliminary test that indicated the presence of the potentially deadly poison at the University of Texas in Austin.

And in Torino, Italy the Olympic games are over. The gold medal speed skater Joey Chief (ph) led the U.S. team into the closing ceremony. The Americans finished second in medals to Germany. Canada came in third. We get started this hour with CNN's security watch. Congressional opposition is fading over a controversial deal to transfer management of six U.S. ports to a company from the United Arab Emirates. A deal is in the works to delay the transaction for 45 days, so a thorough review can be made. The delay was requested today by the company Dubai Ports World, so that Congress could be reassured that national security would not be compromised. Earlier today, national security advisor Stephen Hadley explained why to CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: It is very important, Wolf, that countries that side with us and are cooperating with us are treated like the allies that they are. We need a lot of support from Arab countries if we are going to prevail in this war on terror and you don't get that kind of support if you don't treat your allies as the kinds of good stalwart allies and friends that they are trying to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's go now to Elaine Quijano at the White House where officials are hoping the firestorm over this issue may be close to being over. Elaine?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right Fredricka. In fact, that request was really made at the behest of lawmakers who are essentially trying to find a way around the impasse over this controversial Dubai Ports World deal. They were concerned about what implications, national security implications, the transaction might have and some lawmakers were even threatening legislation to block the deal.

Now President Bush at the same time was threatening to use his veto pen if indeed it did come to that, so as CNN first reported yesterday, there was a flurry of weekend activity, talks with the company and lawmakers, administration officials being made aware of those discussions as well, all in an effort to avert a confrontation between the White House and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. And today, Republican Senator John Warner announced the deal and the company, itself, DP World issuing a statement today saying, quote, we recognize that there are concerns regarding DP World acquisition of P&O's U.S. terminal operations. Despite having already obtained approval by the Federal government, we continue to take voluntary steps to assure people that the security of the U.S. will not be harmed as a result of this acquisition.

Now, the White House, the Bush administration, has not yet issued a formal response, but earlier today, before the announcement was made by Senator Warner, the president's national security advisor Stephen Hadley indicated that the White House would be open to the compromise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HADLEY: What the Congress and the companies are able to work out we will obviously support and cooperate with, so long as it does not involve a summary decision by the Congress that blocks this transaction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: So the bottom line here Fredricka is that this deal really allows the White House essentially to save face. President Bush will now be able to say that it is the companies he is complying with, he is going along with their requests for an additional 45-day review that he is not giving in to political pressure necessarily from lawmakers and, in turn, lawmakers get the 45-day investigation that they had been requesting. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Elaine Quijano at the White House. Thank you so much.

And this reminder. Stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Fat Tuesday is fast approaching and as you can see, the Mardi Gras crowds are back on Bourbon Street in New Orleans today. Two of the city's biggest parades are happening later on. Our Susan Roesgen is on duty along the parade route. Further east however it's a little different scene in D'Iberville, Mississippi and that's where we find our Kathleen Koch. But Susan, let's begin with you in New Orleans.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, forget about Bourbon Street. This is the place to be here now, along Napoleon Avenue, just around the corner from St. Charles where all the parades will go past and we're waiting for the next big one which is Bacchus and that will be followed by (INAUDIBLE) two super parades. So people here are lined up. They're not going anywhere. They're going to wait until these parades come past and they're looking Fredricka at all their loot.

You can kind of judge the success of the carnival season in New Orleans by how much you take home when it's over. This is one of the things that they threw from the floats today. This is a (INAUDIBLE) football. All right. Brett Favre in the Super Bowl! (INAUDIBLE) All right. Touchdown.

Also got today some of these little stuffed animals. These are really popular of course with children. This is an LSU tiger and then you've got these spears. Can you believe this Fredricka? They don't really throw them from the floats, they gently hand them to people who beg for them. Actually, after Mardi Gras, the New Orleans airport is so used to seeing these come through the check-on, through the screening, that they've made exceptions for these spears. I don't know if you could get through the Milwaukee airport with one of these, but you can take them home here in New Orleans.

Of course the big thing that everybody begs for are the beads. These are really just plastic beads. What can I say? But I have seen little old ladies elbow strong men out of the way to get them. I've seen people step on children to get them. The funny thing about all of it is is that the day after Mardi Gras on ash Wednesday we put them in boxes, we save a few that we like and we throw the rest away. So here is a secret for you Fredricka. The next time you come to New Orleans and it's in the middle of June, do not put on a pair of beads. Do not wear beads because then you're marked as a tourist. Only locals wear them only fat Tuesday.

WHITFIELD: All right. Good advice. Thanks so much Susan Roesgen. Well, as New Orleans puts on its best face for partiers, the mood is a little bit different in D'Iberville, Mississippi. The town's Mardi Gras parade wrapped up within the last hour. Our Kathleen Koch is there. Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, for months here in D'Iberville as up and down the Mississippi Gulf coast, they've been picking up debris but today they've been picking up beads out of the streets and people say they've been ready for this break, this break from all the clean-up and the gutting their homes and hanging the drywall. The parade today was really a fantastic lift for everyone's spirits. And a very small town, very family friendly kind of celebration, children riding on the floats, the local high school band marching, fire trucks blaring their horns were a big attraction. And the grand Marshall of this parade as a matter of fact was a local police officer so very, very different affair than what you find in New Orleans. Residents here and up and down the Gulf coast do really feel like Mardi Gras is something that everyone really needs right now to get their minds off the loss and frustration that many of them are still coping with.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it boosts the peoples' spirits. You can imagine living in a tent for six months, on vacation if you will, but having to live that way. And something like this, although it's been debatable as to whether they should have it or not, it's definitely a positive thing for the people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We haven't hardly gotten any help at all. My six-year-old child has been to six different elementary schools this year, FEMA bouncing us from place to place. Now they got us in a little bitty FEMA trailer.

KOCH: So again, there is as you can see quite a bit of frustration that people are still dealing with and occasionally expressing, though, I have to say, that these people in Mississippi are very upbeat, very optimistic and really very determined to stay and put their towns back together.

WHITFIELD: So while people have expressed a lot of frustration, you know, trying to deal with insurance adjustors or even getting a call back or a visit from one, today kind of was a reprieve at least for a couple of days or a few hours?

KOCH: Exactly, exactly and these affairs, too, the Mardi Gras parades, as I said, they're so simple. This is not costing the city of D'Iberville a great deal of money. Yes the police officers had to stop policing the town and block off the streets and keep everyone safe while the parade was rolling by, but it's not something that took really any large amount of dollars away from the clean-up effort. So it's just, again, exactly what the doctor ordered according to everyone here.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kathleen Koch in D'Iberville, Mississippi, thank you.

CNN will have complete coverage of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Tune in Monday beginning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern for "American Morning," then in primetime for Anderson Cooper at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Let's check in with Monica McNeal where we know serious water, big deluge out west. This is all part of that pineapple express, isn't it?

MONICA McNEAL, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It sounds like something you'd eat right?

WHITFIELD: It does. But you don't want to welcome this one.

McNEAL: Exactly. No, they certainly don't. We're going to explain the pineapple express in just a moment Fredricka, but first let's take a look at some of the heavy rains you're talking about. Right now the system is really starting to organize in California and we're looking at light to moderate rainfall right around Eureka down around San Francisco you're seeing the rain, San Jose. Los Angeles is not seeing anything yet. It's going to be the second storm that's going to organize and make its way into their forecast later on tonight. Some of the heaviest rainfall will eventually develop later on tonight as well.

Let's talk about the pineapple express. Now, this system runs from Hawaii to the shores of Washington, Oregon and California. As you can see, it brings huge amounts of tropical air that cruises all the way from the northeast from Hawaii. Now, this storm eventually will bring heavy rain and lots of mountain snow and just a lot of, lot of moisture is associated with this system and it dumps, brings buckets of rainfall. So much so, let's talk about, take a look at some of this rainfall that we're going to be dealing with as we take a look at our future cast, you can certainly see all the next 24 hours.

Right along the mountains the Sierra Nevada, we're looking at from five to 10 inches of rainfall, right along the coast we're looking at two to four inches of rainfall. Right around Los Angeles County you'll be under the gun, especially because you've been dealing with all of the fires over the past month or so, so the ground is very, very dry and very brittle and when you pound all of that heavy rainfall, that rain has to go somewhere and it just creates mudslides and it creates rockslides.

Also across the rest of the nation we have a very strong cold front to bring in some very cold air across the eastern part of the country. Temperature right now in Orlando is only 62 degrees Fredricka and in Denver, it's 63. It's warmer in Denver than it is in Orlando.

WHITFIELD: That makes no sense. McNEAL: None at all.

WHITFIELD: All right, Monica, thank you.

Well, the winter Olympic games in Torino, Italy, are officially over. We'll look back at the athletic achievements of the past two weeks and the carnival atmosphere of tonight, closing ceremonies.

And later this hour, we'll meet Ralph Stanley, a living legend of mountain music. You may not know his name, but he's definitely (INAUDIBLE)

And finally, this lawmaker is upset and angry for good reason, he says. In fact, Trent Lott is suing his insurance company. The issue, paying for damage after hurricane Katrina. His story straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So many people lost along the Gulf coast lost everything when hurricane Katrina hit and nearly six months later, many are still waiting for insurance payouts. And as Sean Callebs tells us in this best of CNN report, one of those home owners is a major political player and he is taking his case to court.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Of all the Katrina victims, he has the highest profile. This was early September, the first time Senator Trent Lott saw his property after the devastating storm.

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R) MISSISSIPPI: You can't help but shed a few tears. This is where our home was.

CALLEBS: His $750,000 beach front home in Pascagula, Mississippi simply wiped out.

LOTT: The first floor was probably about 12 or 14 feet above sea level. But when you get hit with a 20-foot wall of water, not many places can withstand that kind of an erosion.

CALLEBS: Like so many in this region, Lott lost everything here. Like so many, he is frustrated with his insurance company, in this case, State Farm. Unlike so many, Lott is a power broker and is suing. Lott hired his brother-in-law Dickey Scruggs. Scruggs made his name and a fortune winning legal battles against big tobacco and the asbestos industry. Pascagula city manager Kay Kell has known Lott 15 years and says, go get 'em.

KAY KELL, PASCAGULA CITY MANAGER: That's a fact. That's how he got where he is. He is very strong. If he thinks it's the right thing to do, he'll fight it all the way so we're proud of him. We're glad to have him.

CALLEBS: Lott is fed up because State Farm said the storm surge flood waters destroyed the 150-year-old home that stood here, not Katrina's punishing winds. Home owner's insurance doesn't cover damage from floods, only from wind. Lott had Federal flood insurance. It pays a maximum of $250,000, not enough to rebuild. Lott has said this is home and says he plans on rebuilding. He's powerful and he's influential and State Farm says it can empathize with the Mississippi senator. But State Farm wants the lawsuit dismissed, saying we handle each claim on its own merits and we pay what we owe based on our contract with the policyholder.

It's been the same story all over the hurricane ravaged Gulf coast, home owners unable to rebuild because their insurance doesn't cover flooding and the argument over whether wind caused any of the damage. Pete Floyd has lived a block from Lott for about 20 years. Floyd says he had flood insurance and got about $130,000 but got only $5,500 from his home owner's policy so he understands insurance rage.

PETE FLOYD, LOTT'S NEIGHBOR: Trent got on the news and said, I think there's going to be hell to pay if y'all don't do something.

CALLEBS: That is exactly what he said.

LOTT: The people of the area that have been damaged by hurricane Katrina cannot wait any longer. And I expect this to be done momentarily. And if it's not there is going to be hell to pay this day.

CALLEBS: Lott says the insurance company is trying to dodge its responsibilities and while it is unclear whether there will be hell to pay, State Farm says it doesn't have to pay Lott. Sean Callebs, CNN, Pascagula, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All weekend we've been talking about Mardi Gras in a post Katrina New Orleans. Fat Tuesday is just one day shy of the six month anniversary of Katrina's landfall. Here is a look now at New Orleans before and after the storm as seen by local photographers Harold McKay and David Gallent under music from the Blind Boys of Alabama.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The 2006 winter Olympics are history. The closing ceremonies just ended a short time ago. Germany was the top medal winner with 29. The U.S. won 25 and Canada won 24. CNN's Larry Smith covered the games from start to finish and he has more on Torino's final day in the sports spotlight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The 20th winter games have come to a close. (INAUDIBLE) tonight's closing ceremony in a spirit of Carnivale (ph). That was the theme in tribute to fat Tuesday which is just two days away. The final medals were also awarded, Sweden taking gold in men's hockey, a 3-2 winner over Finland which suffered its first loss of these games and settled for silver as the U.S. celebrates its second biggest medal total ever. A proud Italy extinguishes the Olympic torch and passes the flag onto Canada. Vancouver will hold the winter games in 2010. Larry Smith, Torino.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And U.S. speed skater Joey Cheek has come to embody the spirit of the Olympic games and it's not just for the gold and silver medals that he has won in Torino. Cheek inspired people worldwide when he donated his bonus winnings to a charity that helps children in impoverished areas. Here's CNN's Mark McKay.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK McKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joey Cheek had a premonition before competing here in Torino that he would be part of something big. Little did four-time speed skating gold medalist Johann Olav Koss know that his humanitarian cause would be the beneficiary. Cheek indeed skated big at these games, winning gold and silver but his biggest moment came when he donated his $40,000 in bonus money to Koss's Right to Play organization.

JOEY CHEEK, OLYMPIC GOLD & SILVER MEDALIST: Call it fate or call it faith or destiny or whatever, but there's been something that allowed me to skate like I did. I've never skated that well in my entire life and I think part of it has to do with the fact that I knew that I owed something to someone else. You know, I owed something to other people. So I look at it almost as a debt served.

JOHANN OLAV KOSS, 4-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Everybody should be inspired by what Joey has been doing. And I am both humbled and inspired and thankful because it is incredible. We've never seen such an attention given to our work, taking his platform and it's been giving at these Olympics and helping the children suffering the most in the world today and I cannot emphasize that enough. This has never been done before.

McKAY: When he skated he was known as Koss the boss. The Norwegian is still the boss, the president and CEO of an organization that he created six years ago to improve the lives of children in disadvantaged areas of the world. Cheek and Koss are Olympic champions from different eras and countries, but they're now on the same team and share the same passion to help children.

CHEEK: The standard that he sets for athletes and the standard that people like him set, that's the ideal I want to live up to and I hope to attain.

KOSS: It comes from seeing children in the world suffering, from war, from poverty and disease and conflict, wanting to make their life better so they're not recruited to suicide bombers and terrorists.

CHEEK: If I can use this to really promote something that will benefit more than just me, so I feel like it's a no brainer. I'm a little surprised it's so easy. I don't know why more athletes don't do it. It generates good things for other people and it makes you feel good about yourself.

McKAY (on-camera): With Cheek already putting his money where his mouth is, he'll next travel to Zambia in his new role as a right-to- play athlete ambassador. Mark McKay, CNN, Torino.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A look now at our top stories. Smoke and flames shooting through the air after an explosion at a natural gas pumping station south of Denver, Colorado today. One employee was injured. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

The Dubai company that would manage six U.S. ports is requesting a 45-day investigation into security concerns. That's under a GOP-led compromise on the controversial multi-billion dollar port deal.

Violence flares across Iraq for a fourth straight day, despite calls by Iraqi religious leaders for calm. At least two dozen people were killed today, including three U.S. troops. More than 200 people have died in the unrest since a revered Shiite mosque was bombed on Wednesday.

And police have seized a van and made a sixth arrest in what may be Britain's largest ever cash robbery. A 49-year-old man has been released on bail. Authorities say the van contains guns and several million dollars. Thieves stole at least $44 million from a Kent County security depot last week.

In Mexico, the search for 65 miners trapped for a week is now over. The owner of the mine says there is no chance the miners could have survived the explosion last Sunday. The mining company plans to retrieve the miners' bodies once toxic gas levels have gone down.

Russia and Iran reportedly have agreed in principle to establish a joint uranium enrichment program. That's according to Russian news agencies. Moscow is trying to ease international concerns that Tehran wants to build nuclear weapons. The UN's nuclear watchdog meets March 6 on a nuclear dispute.

A deadly riot at a notorious Afghan prison has police and soldiers on alert. More on that story straight ahead.

Also later, the sounds of a living legend. We'll tell you why Ralph Stanley is still making music at age 79.

CNN LIVE SUNDAY will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Iraq, three American soldiers have lost their lives today and more than a dozen Iraqis were killed in a multiple mortar strike on one of Baghdad's Shiite enclaves. CNN's Aneesh Raman reports on the latest effort to save Iraq from all out civil war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): In the capital, an extended curfew in place as leaders tried to force calm, tried to keep sectarian tensions off the street. Helping the effort in Basra Shia Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in his first public appearance, joined in the rhetoric of unity.

MUQTADA AL-SADR, SHIITE CLERIC, (through translator): I call for unified prayers among Sunni and Shiites to include mosques that have been targeted and the ones that haven't.

RAMAN: Despite such words, Sadr's Mehdi militia has reportedly been behind a number of reprisal attacks against Sunnis in recent days, sparked in part by mass demonstrations that he again called for to take place, emphasizing though that they should be peaceful. Sadr is now in step with other leaders who met late Saturday. Sunni, Shia and Kurdish politicians showing unity, even if it does not yet fully exist.

There has been a growing disconnect in recent months between the people and the politicians, which is why this current crisis will be a major test as to whether Iraq's government has enough clout to control the situation.

A crisis stemming from Wednesday's attack on a sacred Shia mosque that security officials continue to stress was sparked by foreign extremists.

MOWAFFAK AL RUBAIE, IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The blueprints of al Qaeda in Iraq is there. It's the same design, the same method, the same objective they want to achieve, which is a civil war.

RAMAN: But Rubaie, said (ph) of the 10 men Iraqi officials have detained, four were actually guards at the mosque, as officials confront a wider problem that remains unresolved with attacks continuing throughout the country. In Basra, just before Sadr spoke, an explosion rocked a Shia shrine nearby. At least two people were wounded. In Hillah, south of Baghdad, a car bomb detonated at a bus station wounding another five. And in the capital, a big test will come Monday when the curfew is set to expire.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Afghan security forces rushed today to a prison outside the capital of Kabul. Officials say a riot erupted in a cell block housing hundreds of inmates, including convicted terrorists. At least seven inmates were killed. Guards were driven from the complex and hundreds of Afghan soldiers surrounded the prison to prevent escapes. A predator drone of the type that is used by the CIA was seen flying overhead.

News in our "World Wrap." Tonight a state of emergency remains in effect in the Philippines. A five-hour standoff between marine officers and Philippine riot police ended peacefully earlier today. The president imposed a state of emergency Friday after security forces thwarted an alleged coup.

In Bangkok, tens of thousands of protestors are demanding Thailand's prime minister resign. He has been embroiled in a corruption scandal. Opposition leaders are still deciding whether to boycott national elections set for April.

And a very different event thrilled the crowds in Rio De Janeiro. Thousands gathered and danced as they watched the annual samba parade today. It's a highlight of Rio's annual tourist packs carnival.

And watch out for flying oranges. Italy's traditional battle of the oranges drew teams of colorfully clad, fruit flinging warriors. The event is all in good fun, although a few people did end up with a few bumps and bruises. So did the oranges, by the way.

Well, ahead, we'll tell you why the swamps and marshlands are so important to the Gulf Coast and why they are disappearing.

And later, we'll meet the man behind "Mountain Music." This weekend Ralph Stanley tuned 79 years old and he's not ready to stop making the music.

Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, a look at the news continues in the next 20 minutes with Carol Lin. What's going on?

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, coming up at 6:00, we're going to cover all the day's news. But I'm going to have an interview with African royalty out of Mardi Gras. The Zulu Krewe, which is going to be performing on fat Tuesday, you know, they have marched in Mardi Gras since 1901.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

LIN: But more importantly to the news, they have very, very deep roots in the ninth ward and with the African-American community. And with so much talk about whether these parades even should go on, I think it will be really interesting to get his perspective and about actual Zulu dancers that they brought in from South Africa for this year's Mardi Gras.

WHITFIELD: Wow, that's going to be exciting.

LIN: Yes. At 7:00 -- you know, Fred, we've heard all these heart rendering stories, but this is a man, a contractor, who fled the hurricane. He and his wife. His wife -- they evacuate to Florida and she dies in a car accident.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no.

LIN: He is now a widower with a two-year-old son and he went home to rebuild.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

LIN: So we're going to see his full story and I'm going to get a chance to talk to him and find out how his son is doing and how they're rebuilding in their neighborhood and why, you know, after such a tragic event.

WHITFIELD: Right, all perspectives from that whole Gulf Coast area this evening.

LIN: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot, Carol. We'll be watching.

LIN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Well, protecting New Orleans against the elements. It's never been easy. Marshlands have provided a natural barrier against hurricanes, but over the years many of those swampy areas have vanished. CNN's Rob Marciano has this "Best of CNN" report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The marshes around New Orleans are disappearing, slowly sinking into the Gulf of Mexico. The marshes are shallow waters that block a hurricane's surging waters as it comes ashore.

CHRIS PIEHLER, DEPT. OF ENVIRON. QUALITY: The marsh is really the first speed bump that the storms come through that slows down their energy and so they're not as strong by the time they get up to New Orleans.

MARCIANO: Chuck Velerubia (ph) has been monitoring the health of the marshes for Louisiana. Over the years, he's seen fewer and fewer of the big trees whose roots anchor other plants.

PIEHLER: We used to have cypress down here, which are no longer here in a lot of areas because of salt water intrusion.

MARCIANO: This is a diversion. A gated lock that helps move water from the Mississippi River into the marshes.

PIEHLER: They deposit sediment and nutrients out into these wetland areas.

MARCIANO: There are only two diversions in place along the lower Mississippi, but several more are planned. Velerubia says a bad situation got critical when Katrina bulldozed through the Louisiana marshes.

I'm standing in the marsh about 15 miles south of New Orleans. Before Katrina, we'd be waist high in healthy marsh grasses, but the storm ripped up those grasses leaving little more than mud flats and open water behind.

In other words, first the trees disappear and then, when the grasses are gone, there is little to keep the soil from washing out to sea. Imagine what the loss of the marshes means to the fishing industry here.

Pete Gerica is a Louisiana fisherman. He's worried about the fish and the crabs that make their homes in the marshes.

PETE GERICA, LOUISIANA FISHERMAN: And without that marsh being their protection to protect them from larger criters, you're not going to keep them.

MARCIANO: The marshes are a nursery. Shrimp, crabs and fish all rely on the wetlands to grow. Gerica knows that no marshes means no fishing.

GERICA: You look at this pass here and you can see where the birds are. They're standing. They're on land. This pass here, the shoreline, probably came out another hundred feet this way.

MARCIANO: Velerubia is also worried. He knows the next hurricane season is little more than four months away and worries if another big one comes there is little to stop its full force.

PIEHLER: Certainly this next season or two until the levees get put back together a little bit and some of the marsh comes back, this area will certainly be more vulnerable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And CNN will have complete coverage of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Tune in Monday beginning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern for "American Morning," then in prime time for "Anderson Cooper" at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Other headlines "Across America."

Gasoline has gotten a little bit cheaper, but will it last? A new survey says unleaded regular is down nine cents from five weeks ago to an average of $2.24 a gallon.

In Louisville, Kentucky, the man hunt continues for a fugitive kidney donor. Marvin Perkins was released from jail in January so he could give a kidney to his teenage son. Perkins took off instead. The boy already got a kidney from his mother but his body rejected it.

And in Winter Haven, Florida, the triple hurricane roller coaster has been shut down while safety officials try to figure out why a teenager fell out of it last night. The 13-year-old boy is being hospitalized and is in serious condition. The ride was inspected today but state officials say they haven't found anything wrong with it as of yet.

Here's proof that it pays to clean house. An old Powerball ticket turned out to be worth $850,000. For more story, folks, we'll be talking -- this is one of the stories, rather, that people will be talking about around "The Water Cooler."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you didn't make it to the Winter Olympics, the rural games in India are the next best thing. You could call this wild event the battle of bull run. There's also the bovine high hurdle. And, of course, the ever popular farm tractor pelvic crush. Ta-da!

Speaking of going for the gold, San Francisco is considering mining nuggets of another kind. There's a proposal to fetch tons of doggie do around the city and tune it into electricity.

That extra juice could be used to power this anti-loitering device. The black box is a high tech equivalent of fingernails on a blackboard.

HOWARD STAPLETON, INVENTOR: One it gets in your head, it's very difficult to shake off. And the only way of shaking it off is to move away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you don't hear much, that's normal. The annoying screech is at a frequency heard mostly by teenagers.

If that doesn't float your boat, how about an aircraft carrier? The vintage Soviet warship Mintz (ph), now an amusement park in China, is for sale. Bidding starts at $16 million.

And finally, proof that some people are born to boogie. Scientists have found two genes that appear to be unique to people who love to dance. But if you have two left feet, despite years of ballet and tap, at least now you know it's not your fault.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, take a listen to this. The unique sounds of Ralph Stanley. An authentic mountain music artist. You may have heard of him on the soundtrack of "O Brother Where Art Thou." We'll tell you why he's a living legend straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: Hard to believe, but long before iPods and CDs and music videos, music rang through the hills and hollers of Appalachia. It's a uniquely American sound personified by musicians like Ralph Stanley. CNN's Jim Clancy sat down with him.

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JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): With grace and heart, Ralph Stanley's haunting tenor echos from the high ground of an earlier era. It is a voice he doesn't even claim as his own.

RALPH STANLEY, MUSICIAN: It's just my own -- the way the good Lord gave it to me is the way I do it.

CLANCY: By decree of the U.S. Library of Congress, Ralph Stanley is a living legend of American music.

Some people could say, you know, this man really claimed fame at about age 65.

STANLEY: Well I guess maybe a little later than that. CLANCY: At age 73, Stanley's voice was featured on the soundtrack of "O Brother Where Art Thou" with the a cappella rendition of "O Death." He's won three Grammys in his 70s.

STANLEY: I've done well. I've made a good living, but that just sort of put the icing on the cake.

CLANCY: By his own reckoning, the number of Ralph Stanley fans doubled. What he describes as hillbilly music won recognition right alongside him.

There's now a Ralph Stanley Museum near his home in Clintwood, Virginia. It documents more than 200 recordings over 60 years. Brother Carter Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys. His success today, a reflection of a simple desire to play the music of his Appalachian home and somehow make a living out of it.

STANLEY: I remember we have went to places back during that time and played the show and then filled up our car with gas and eat supper. If we hadn't had no crowd, we might not have eat. I don't know.

CLANCY: That tough.

STANLEY: Now that's sticking with it, isn't it?

CLANCY: Sticking with it. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys still perform regularly, although Stanley concentrates most of his performances on vocals, he still thrills fans frailing (ph) his own Stanley-phone (ph) banjo.

Looking back as he turns 79, Ralph Stanley is not only convinced of who he is but why he's here.

STANLEY: I think, and I firmly believe, that I was sent to spread this old-time stuff through the world. And I believe that's why I'm kept here still doing it.

CLANCY: Like pilgrims, fans flock from around the world. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys are both tutors and disciples.

STANLEY: You can slide it in or out. That's how I do it. And nobody's perfect.

CLANCY: But make no mistake, the real proselytizing for old-time music happens the moment they take to the stage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Grand Ole Opry mega star Dr. Ralph Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys!

STANLEY: Well, I'm proud. I've done well. I done good for an old country boy that walked about three miles each way to school bare- footed every day, you know, going to school. And I feel like I've come a long ways.

CLANCY: You have, Ralph Stanley, and thanks for taking us with you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was Jim Clancy reporting.

Ralph Stanley is still touring. He'll be in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry on March 10th.

And there is still much more ahead on CNN. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Carol Lin is up next with more of CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

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