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American Morning
Celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans; Baton Rouge Bursting at Seams
Aired February 28, 2006 - 12:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to a special Fat Tuesday edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
I'm Soledad O'Brien, coming to you live from the Royal Sonesta Hotel, the balcony right on Bourbon Street, right here in the French Quarter.
Good morning to you, Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.
I'm Miles O'Brien, live along the Mardi Gras parade route. St. Charles Avenue is our location, Edorado (ph) for those of you who know the area. And we're here for another hour.
Going to take you through as we continue to see the Rex Parade. Excuse me, the Zulu Parade. The Rex Parade is coming behind it.
And we have seen a remarkable display of energy and joy here. As Henri Schindler put it just a few moments ago, it is a celebration of the joy of the moment. And New Orleanians, despite all they have been through, have remembered that, and remembered also their sense of humor.
And much of what has been said here and parodied here and made fun of is, in fact, Hurricane Katrina, which has brought so much grief to nearly every person along this parade route. So it is, perhaps, symbolic of a pivotal point in this city's history as the morning process moves on toward -- toward looking toward the future, and as they celebrate this day, which is so much a part of their culture.
We're going to continue our coverage for another hour, as we say.
Let's get back to Soledad in the French Quarter -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Miles. Thanks.
You know, a similar thing here. It's kind of nice considering all of the time that you and I have spent here and in the surrounding areas to see people smiling and laughing and, you know, throwing beads and having a good time, because there was a long time when things were very, very dim here. Of course, as we have been reporting all morning, there's a long way to go in lots of communities.
Down below on Bourbon Street -- we're on the balcony looking down -- it is just a little bit of a freak show. People in costumes, a lot of drinking. There are bars, obviously, and clubs along the streets.
Hi, guys. How are you?
Everybody dressed up. A little face-painting going on, too.
And the minute they discover they're on camera, as you can see, it's loud, it gets a little rowdy. But it's a good time being had.
You know, Miles was talking about how it's really family-oriented at the parades where he is. Much less so over here, although we've seen some kids come by. The police have told us, too, it's toned down.
It's been a nice time here on Bourbon Street. And we'll continue, of course, through the next hour or so to update you on what's happening.
Other stories making news, of course. Many overseas. Let's get right to Carol Costello in New York for an update.
Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.
Good morning to all of you.
It may be the smoking gun in the Saddam Hussein. Prosecutors presented a document today. They say it was signed by Saddam Hussein and gave the OK for the execution of more than 140 Shiites. Proceedings lasted for about three hours today. They will pick up again tomorrow.
In meantime, there is no end to the violence there. At least 30 people were killed in a series of attacks today across Baghdad.
Iran has started enriching uranium on a very limited scale and is slowly building up its uranium enrichment activities. CNN has obtained a confidential report from the International Atomic Energy Agency. That's the U.N. nuclear watchdog group.
The report will be formally presented next week. Iran says it's nuclear program is for energy use only.
"He obsesses about me." That's what New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is saying about Karl Rove. That's because Rove says in a new book that Clinton will be the 2009 Democratic nominee for president and she'll lose.
The Republican National Committee responded to Senator Clinton, suggesting she spend less time flattering herself and more time on focusing on her job.
And a couple from North Dakota hopes their conjoined twins will soon be leading separate lives. The little girls are joined from their chests to their belly buttons but they have separate hearts and other vital organs. Doctors had to perform a procedure to prepare them for the actual separation surgery. Of course we'll keep you posted.
Let's head to the forecast center, keeping in mind that it's only, what, 20 days until spring?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, we're only counting to hurricane season. Spring is not even an event for us here.
COSTELLO: I don't want to even think about hurricane season.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Chad Myers. We are appreciative of that.
Tomorrow, by the way, we're going to go take a visit to Pass Christian, Mississippi, because a lot of people in this part of the world have suffered beyond the border of New Orleans. And it's important that we remind people that we're focused on them as well. So we'll spend some time there and see how they are recovering in a place that has, in many respect, still looks like a bomb was dropped there.
Let's get back to the Zulu Parade, which is winding its way here. I think we're at about float number 15 or 16, I think. And somewhere out there -- I don't see him yet.
Hey, Chris, if you're out there, wave. No, I don't see you.
Chris Lawrence is in the midst of that. I see the Darth Vader float.
Are you anywhere near that one?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Miles. How are you -- yes.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm great. Can you hear me?
LAWRENCE: Yes. Hey, Miles, we're here on St. Charles. Sorry about that. It's just so hard to hear right here.
We're sandwiched in between a couple of floats. You can see everybody out here having a really good time.
You can take a look behind me and you can see the Zulu floats starting to make their way down the last home stretch. And when was the last time you saw a scene like this here in New Orleans?
These are people who live in New Orleans, who live in Mississippi, who live in other parts of Louisiana, who are finally able to smile, to have a good time again. It's been a long time since that's happened. It's been a long time since we have seen people actually happy here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 2002 right here.
LAWRENCE: What does it mean to you to come back and be a part of this after Hurricane Katrina?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is an exciting moment. We needed Mardi Gras. This is the best experience anyone could have.
This is big party. We love it. We love it.
LAWRENCE: Yes, like I said, I mean, it's been a long time since people were this happy here in New Orleans. And you really get that spirit, you know, when you look at the crowds here.
We've talked to people who haven't been back here since Hurricane Katrina, but they're out here now. You know, they're out here seeing friends, they're out here catching the throws.
Zulu, of course, has one of the most prized throws, the golden nugget -- yes, there it is, the coconut. Plenty of people. She's got one right here -- yes.
I'm not going to take it. No. No. Yes, you got that one fair and square.
But again, just a great time out here on St. Charles Avenue. You know, you wish it could last, but everybody's been telling me they know that come, you know, tomorrow things get back to normal here -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. That is kind of a sobering note. But in the spirit of New Orleans, they enjoy the moment, savor the moment, and laugh a little.
Thank you very much, Chris Lawrence. And glad you gave her that coconut back. I'm sure she wasn't going to let that go far.
Soledad, I'm still working on it for you. I have -- my ace in the hole is the last float. I'm hoping that I will be down there and be able to get, well, one for you.
S. O'BRIEN: Look how hard I am working. You're working on it? You're working on it? Look how many beads I have here.
M. O'BRIEN: This is a tough crowd. This is...
S. O'BRIEN: I'm on a balcony. I'm on a balcony. So people are throwing them up to me and I've got to catch them.
Miles, you've got to work a little harder on that.
M. O'BRIEN: See this one?
S. O'BRIEN: We're going to continue...
M. O'BRIEN: Wait a second. See this one? Producer Dana Garrett (ph) said, "You can use this as a prop, but I'll kill you if you keep it."
So this is a tough -- this is a tough thing.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I bet.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm working on it.
S. O'BRIEN: You want to give that back to Dana, because she will. She wants it back.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Hey, we're going to have much more of our special Mardi Gras coverage coming up in just a moment.
We're going to take you to Baton Rouge and get a little bit serious now, because that city, as you well know, took in thousands of Katrina evacuees. Now, though, sometimes it seems like it is ready to burst at the seams. We're going to take a look at some of the problems they're facing there.
Also, I'll talk to Harry Anderson. He owns a nightclub and a magic shop in the French Quarter. We're going to ask him about the progress that he's seeing in New Orleans.
Plus, if you're off to work, you don't have to miss a minute of the action here. You can watch CNN Pipeline's live Web cam. All the Mardi Gras festivities right at your desk. It's live and it's free.
Stay with us, everybody. This special extended edition of AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, it looks good. It looks fun.
In some ways, as much as we're talking about the party here in New Orleans, Baton Rouge is a place that's been hit, to some degree, twice by Hurricane Katrina. First, it took at lot of the storm. And then it had to take in many of New Orleans evacuees. And that means that the city right now is bursting at the seams.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN (voice over): Hurricane Katrina made Baton Rouge the largest city in Louisiana. It's home to about 350,000 people, a third of whom poured in from New Orleans.
That sudden growth is causing the city's infrastructure to buckle. Health services, homelessness and gridlock are a fact of life. The city's mayor says the city cannot cope.
MAYOR MELVIN "KIP" HOLDEN, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA: There's a signal sent from New Orleans that they are setting up the criteria as to who they want back in. Well, that simply means Baton Rouge has to take care of the people New Orleans chooses not to take care of, and we're saying somebody has to begin to look at these problems.
S. O'BRIEN: Many of the newest residents are living in trailer parks, like Renaissance Village.
(on camera): There are 573 trailers here. Just under 1,700 people live here.
Now, some of the trailers are 18 feet long. Some are about 40 feet long. It's temporary housing, which means about 18 months after they move in, people should be moving back into their houses.
(voice over): Anita Richardson used to live in a large four- bedroom house but is learning to make the best of her new home.
ANITA RICHARDSON, RENAISSANCE VILLAGE RESIDENT: It's what I want to call a work in progress. We're working towards making things better.
S. O'BRIEN: The park has 24-hour-a-day security. And we're told that crime is minimal. But the mayor of Baton Rouge worries about the long-term effects of cramped quarters and packed living conditions.
HOLDEN: All of these things will build up to at some point whereby we can virtually an eruption of tempers at these trailer villages. And that won't bode well for anyone.
S. O'BRIEN: Another problem: jobs. There are too many. "Help Wanted" signs are literally everywhere. Restaurants are engaging in bidding wars.
Tara Aucoin owns a Roly Poly sandwich shop, and she says finding new employees is almost a full-time job.
TARA AUCOIN, MANAGER, OWNER, ROLY POLY: Everyone in town, if you go around the LSU campus, everyone -- every restaurant, retail, everyone's hiring. I've really -- I've never seen in seven years anything -- anything like this before.
S. O'BRIEN: The mayor says some of the people who fled Hurricane Katrina just can't do the jobs.
HOLDEN: Some of these individuals can't even fill out an application because we have, also, a high illiteracy rate in the state of Louisiana.
S. O'BRIEN: It's all too much for Anita Richardson. She says she's moving to Texas and can't even think about celebrating Mardi Gras this year.
RICHARDSON: I'm not a big fan of Mardi Gras. I used to be, but right now too many people's lives have been destroyed for them to be pouring in the streets. And I know things need to get back to normal, but let's get the people back to normal before we get the activities back to normal.
(END VIDEOTAPE) S. O'BRIEN: She's not alone. She is not alone. There are certainly many people who feel that they just don't feel like partying when they have all this work to do in just putting their lives back together.
Mardi Gras obviously is going to give a big boost to New Orleans' economy. I mean, that's a big reason that they're holding Mardi Gras, especially the hotels like this one, the Royal Sonesta. We're right on the balcony here.
We're going to talk to talk to the general manager of the Royal Sonesta Hotel. We've been doing a lot of our reporting from here today. We also were here early on when the hotel wasn't running at 100 percent. We'll talk about how difficult it was then.
And plus, they stayed here during the storm. Twenty-two of his employees were real heroes. We'll talk about that all ahead.
Stay with us. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Well, the crowds might be a little bit smaller, but the hotels in New Orleans are filled to their current capacity, 15,000 rooms occupied right now. And not quite the usual 25,000.
Hans Wandfluh is the president and general manager of the Royal Sonesta Hotel. And they have been kind enough to host us not just this time around, where we're up on the balcony, but a few months back when things weren't running at 100 percent. And the first time we were here we were speaking on Canal Street in RVs.
Things have truly changed for you, personally and professionally, over the last six months.
First of all, what do you make of the crowds that you have been seeing?
HANS WANDFLUH, ROYAL SONESTA HOTEL: I think the crowds are wonderful. There are not quite as many people out this morning as we normally have on Mardi Gras Day. But still, I think is going to be a very special Mardi Gras, because it's a Mardi Gras from the heart and from the soul, more than just for the party alone. Because people came from everywhere, and particularly around here.
If I could just take you around to the various suites that exist here in the hotel and introduce you to people that are here because they think that it's their duty to be here to celebrate with us and make it happen.
S. O'BRIEN: Bring some money into the businesses here as well.
WANDFLUH: Exactly. And the thousands of people that work here in the city, they're going to be able to buy furniture and clothing and rebuild their houses. I think it's -- it's just a wonderful event. S. O'BRIEN: We've got to go back six months.
WANDFLUH: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: Because when the storm came, you had 22 employees and 90 residents -- 90 guests in the hotel.
WANDFLUH: Right. Right.
S. O'BRIEN: And the storm came, and you lost electricity. You had one fax machine that had a light going.
WANDFLUH: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: And that became your lifeline.
WANDFLUH: Correct. Exactly. By accident we discovered that.
We walked by the fax machine and there was a light on. So we unplugged it and plugged in a phone, and it worked. And that was the only way that we could communicate with the outside world.
And what we did, obviously, through that phone, I was able to get a generator for the hotel, a big 18-wheeler that came in from Arizona. I was able to get buses in to bus my guests to Houston. Without that phone, we would have been completely lost.
S. O'BRIEN: And your employees stayed and were tremendous. I remember when we came back the last time, you had just a small percentage doing the work of so many...
WANDFLUH: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: ... who really wanted to stick it out and made sure -- make sure that this hotel survived.
WANDFLUH: Twenty -- the 20 people that stayed with me were all volunteers. I asked each and every one of them. I said, "If you want to go, please go. If you want to stay, you're a volunteer." They stayed.
Now we have about 250 employee and some contract employees. And everybody's doing, you know, double shifts and triple shifts. And they're making some extra money, and they love it.
S. O'BRIEN: And doing it with a smile, I have to say. You know, the service has just been wonderful.
The hotel didn't get the brunt of the storm.
WANDFLUH: No.
S. O'BRIEN: I mean, thank god for you. But your home sure did.
WANDFLUH: My home blew away. And Soledad, that's an incredible experience when your stand on a slab and your house is gone and your possessions are gone, your collections that you had over the years, all gone and no trace of it. It's an incredible experience.
S. O'BRIEN: About six months have gone by. And you're feeling hopeful?
WANDFLUH: Absolutely. Absolutely. And, you know, now this is Mardi Gras, but tomorrow, we go back to being the French Quarter, the way we normally are.
And the French Quarter, as you know, is a secret place in many ways. As you go up and down the French Quarter you find so many beautiful homes, beautiful patios that people who walk up and down the street haven't got a clue that they exist.
S. O'BRIEN: Hans Wandfluh, it's nice to have you. Again, we appreciate all of the hospitality that you've shown to us.
WANDFLUH: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Of course, he's the president and general manager of the Royal Sonesta Hotel right here in the French Quarter.
WANDFLUH: Thank you, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Coming up, we're going to talk to Harry Anderson live. He's an actor and comedian, musician -- but I mean magician.
He also owned a popular night club. He bought it just a little bit before Hurricane Katrina swept through. We're going to talk about why today's celebration is so important to him. Might even get him to do a magic trick for me, maybe, maybe not.
We'll take a look at that just ahead. Stay with us. We're back in just a moment
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching a special extended edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
We're going to get back to Miles on the parade route in just a few moments. First, though, let's get an update of some of the top stories with Carol back in New York.
Hey, Carol.
COSTELLO: Good morning, Soledad.
Actually, good afternoon to all of you.
Word of another explosion in Baghdad. This one near another mosque. We're hearing at least 10 people are dead and 50 others are wounded. At least 30 people were killed in a wave of attacks across Baghdad earlier this morning.
A tense atmosphere also fell at the Saddam Hussein trial. The former Iraqi leader unusually quiet during proceedings today. The trial resumes tomorrow.
Iraq, of course, the focus today as President Bush hosts Italy's prime minister. The president saying the choice is chaos or unity now for the Iraqis.
In the meantime, the president's set to head out on his overseas trip in the next hour. He'll visit India and Pakistan for the first time since -- since taking the presidency.
The country's top intelligence official says the U.S. ports deal poses very little threat. John Negroponte faced lawmakers earlier this morning. He says his agency approved the deal and stands by it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN NEGROPONTE, DIR. NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: We assess that the threat to U.S. national security posed by DP World to be low. In other words -- and we didn't see any red flags come up during the course of our inquiry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The Dubai Ports World has asked Congress to complete a second security review. Results are expected in April.
Who says the Supreme Court doesn't entertain different and fascinating people? Anna Nicole Smith, there this morning -- there she is. She's dressed in all black. A black coat. Underneath she had a black knee-length dress on and black sunglasses.
So many photographers around her. Some of them fell over trying to take her pictures.
Anyway, the justices are listening to a case involving her late husband's millions. Smith wants some of those millions -- $475 million, to be exact. The court won't decide directly bout the money. This case is really about state versus federal rights.
Of course, we'll be following this case -- Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: We're here under the Miller tent. In this part of the world on Mardi Gras, this is a famous spot. Cookie Miller and his Cookettes, right? They're the Cookettes there. That's a fine looking group of Millers.
Cookie, how's business, first of all?
COOKIE MILLER, LOST HOME IN KATRINA: Pretty good. Pretty good. Everybody is getting hungry.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, listen, I got somebody out who I know is hungry. Can you fix him up a little something, because he's been working real hard.
MILLER: Will he eat chicken?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
MILLER: Maybe even a pork chop.
M. O'BRIEN: I know he'd love a pork chop. That'd be good. Let me get that for him.
All right, we're going to take out and bring this to our friend, Chris.
Chris Lawrence, I have some cookie's finest here.
I will tell Soledad that.
Chris Lawrence, I have a tray to propose to you. I have some of Cookie's finest here for a coconut. What do you say?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is just shameless, Miles, simply shameless.
M. O'BRIEN: How hungry are you?
LAWRENCE: Since you've kept me up now since 4:00 this morning, I'm in a no-win position. I'll happily trade.
M. O'BRIEN: There you, my friend. There you go. I got the coconut.
Soledad, I don't know. It's tough to work on another one.
This has been quite an experience, hasn't it? I mean, you and I have been here since day one. You were in New Orleans right after the first storm. This is the first time I have had this kind of fun in this city. It's nice to see this city making a turning point. Do you think it's for real?
LAWRENCE: I think right now it is. You know, whether it lasts, you know, it's hard to say; it's hard to say if people take this and carry the this attitude six months a year from now. But for today, people are saying to me, this is the first time I've actually laughed and had a good time in New Orleans since before Hurricane Katrina.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, you wonder what it's going to be like tomorrow, and the next day and the next day, because that reality is still here in so many of these people we've talked to. They're in trailers, and they're lucky if they're in a trailer. And they're living a very difficult life right now. You know, in a limbo, too, you know.
LAWRENCE: You know, I talked to one gentleman. He sat on the same place to watch the Zulu parade that he's been sitting on for 20 years. He got evacuated to Houston, then to Atlanta, came back, first time since Katrina today.
M. O'BRIEN: I think that's one of the most interesting things.
By the way, float number 21. We're getting towards the end of here of the Zulu parade here.
But the interesting thing is seeing a lot of people getting together literally for first time, because a lot of the diaspora has kind of come back in, and they're reconnecting with people they weren't even sure what have become of them in some cases. It's kind of heartening, isn't it?
LAWRENCE: Yes, and especially, you know, when you look at some of the children. You know, we got a chance to talk some of the kids who, you know, literally, haven't had a home here since March.
M. O'BRIEN: Like this one right. Look at this sweet thing.
How are you, young lady? Are you having fun?
Yes.
And that's the thing, I don't think a lot of people when they see Mardi Gras, they think of that "girls gone wild" version. Where we are here, it's really a family kind of thing. We just saw the Millers. The same people come here. They've come here for 30 years. They bring their kids. Their kids grow up on these corners experiencing this event.
LAWRENCE: There's almost two Mardi Gras. There's Bourbon Street Mardi Gras, you know, with a lot of tourists, and the drinking and the raucous crowd.
And then you look out here, and this is mostly family. A lot of people who live here and Louisiana. This is where they come out and see friends, you know, participate in the family traditions.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, man! I'm all butter fingers. But I think we got a football there.
Although, you know, this is a faux pas. You know what I learned when I was on the Bacchus parade -- you probably saw this, too -- if you throw some beads and they miss it, they don't pick them up.
LAWRENCE: I know.
M. O'BRIEN: That's not the proper protocol, right?
LAWRENCE: And that's why you look on Bourbon Street, and there are piles of beads, because they miss and nobody touches them.
M. O'BRIEN: Nobody bothers those. You got to catch them. It's really an interesting little -- the traditions are so deep and so rich, it really is -- it's hard to imagine what this day would be like today if they decided this would be canceled, you know. It would have been a very sad today indeed.
LAWRENCE: You know I talked to several people who said there's no way they can cancel Mardi Gras, because the city doesn't control Mardi Gras. If the city no, you can't do the floats or something like that, that they would have loaded up the pickup trucks, put on some costumes, (INAUDIBLE), and they would have had their own Mardi Gras (INAUDIBLE). That's how it started.
M. O'BRIEN: You know, you're right, it would have been the krewe of Katrina or something.
LAWRENCE: Exactly.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Chris. Great job. And I can get you another meal if you get me another coconut, because Soledad wants one.
No? You want a pork chop. You want another pork chop. Talk to me.
We got a hungry crew here. Look at these guys. Look at him, he's lost 20 pounds on this parade route here. He looks hungry, too. We'll see what we can do. We're going to negotiate something for you, Soledad. Hang in with me, all right. I'm working on it.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles, I love you, man, because you're trying. You're trying. Hey, I want to introduce to a new friend after -- let me introduce you to somebody, actor Harry Anderson. You know him as the former star of "Night Court" and "Dave's World." He calls New Orleans home. You may not know that he actually owns a nightclub and a magic shop on the French Quarter, and also has a very vested interest in bringing not just this region, but this whole area back.
Thanks for talking with us.
HARRY ANDERSON, ACTOR & MAGICIAN: Well, thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Big debate that we've been talking about. Many people feel inappropriate to have a Mardi Gras. And you said something earlier to me that I thought was interesting, that it's not just for the people.
ANDERSON: It's not just our Mardi Gras. It's not just Houston's Super Bowl or whoever has it, this is our country's Mardi Gras, and we owed it to not just to ourselves to make sure that we checked our pulse and saw that we were doing OK, but to everyone to give them this one, to give them this wonderful, wonderful time. It was a challenge, but, boy, what a day.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's turned out pretty well, and of course it warmed up little, too. It's really going to be gorgeous day.
ANDERSON: Oh, it's incredible.
S. O'BRIEN: I read that you bought a bar in the summer.
ANDERSON: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Right before Hurricane Katrina.
ANDERSON: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Like literally right before. ANDERSON: Right before. We were open for a couple of months. And we're just waiting for that big Labor Day, and then we're going to kick off and something happened.
But I'll tell you, we had the building so re-enforced during the reconstruction of it that we stayed during the storm. We stayed in the bar and did just fine.
S. O'BRIEN: What kind of damage? Not too much damage?
ANDERSON: No, not much damage. We drank a lot of the liquor, so we have to replace that.
S. O'BRIEN: That was a good though, the emergency contingency plan.
ANDERSON: You are getting heavier and heavier every time I see you.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm like bent over with these.
ANDERSON: You got to catch them, otherwise they, like, hit you on the head.
S. O'BRIEN: You hold town hall meetings.
ANDERSON: Yes, we do, everybody Wednesday night.
S. O'BRIEN: And I guess we should get serious, because these are serious meetings about the future of this community.
ANDERSON: They are. They began when the lights were off, and nobody really knew what was going on. There were a couple of hundred people living in the Quarter, and we got together to find out -- to exchange information and kind of kill bad rumors and find out what was actually going on. And It developed eventually into a very serious town hall. We've had Corps of Engineers. We've had FEMA. We've had the chief of police. And now we're having all of the candidates come through and talk. And we're the only political action group with a cocktail waitress, too.
S. O'BRIEN: Which is important -- that is an important distinction.
ANDERSON: In this town.
S. O'BRIEN: It is important in this town.
You're a magician
ANDERSON: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: And I would love to impose upon you.
ANDERSON: I brought something.
S. O'BRIEN: Really? OK.
ANDERSON: Well, everybody's trying to work out what we need to get the town back on its feet, so I worked on this device, this little device. And you're going to go throw something in here.
S. O'BRIEN: Just like this?
ANDERSON: OK, a dollar bill. That doesn't sound over-rehearsed, does it? OK.
S. O'BRIEN: And I have one, shocking.
ANDERSON: OK, and then I said the words. What are the magic words? Let's say "la bonton roulette (ph)," and...
S. O'BRIEN: Whoo.
ANDERSON: That's what we need I think.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.
Oh, that's awesome. That's great magic trick.
ANDERSON: Thanks so much for coming and seeing with us.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you for having us. We sure appreciate it. I loved the magic trick. That's awesome.
ANDERSON: OK, now you can only carry about another 20 pounds, so pace yourself.
S. O'BRIEN: I know. I know. I'm kind of -- I'm starting to -- better to carry them than get whomped in the head with them is what I've discovered...
ANDERSON: Absolutely.
S. O'BRIEN: ... an out-of-towner.
Thanks, Harry Anderson.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead This morning, our very good friend Julia Reed is going to join us. As you well know, she's got plenty of stories about the decision to celebrate Mardi Gras this year. We're going to talk to her about that. She's on a couple of floats.
Plus, New Orleans getting a lot of attention, But it was another city that actually held the very first Mardi Gras in the U.S. We've got that story coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back right after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: OK, everyone. Live pictures now. Mobile, Alabama. Mobile, Alabama, believe it or not, is the home of the first Mardi Gras in the United States. Don't say that too loudly here in New Orleans. They might -- them's fighting words, because the real Mardi Gras, they say, is here. But talk to folks in Mobile, they'll tell you that's real Mardi Gras.
CNN's Dan Lothian gives us a little history lesson on Fat Tuesday. .
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New Orleans may get all of the attention, but this is where historians say Mardi Gras started, 144 miles away in Mobile, Alabama.
GORDON TATUM, JR., MOBILE CARNIVAL MUSEUM: The idea was taken from Mobile, by Mobilians to New Orleans, and shared with those wonderful people over there, because we were having a good time. And you see the king and the queen.
LOTHIAN: Gordon Tatum Jr., curator at Mobile's Carnival Museum, says French settlers looking for a good time began celebrating in 1703 and more than 120 years, took to the street.
TATUM: Anything that would make noise was gathered carried through the streets. And then each year after that, it increased and people enjoyed it.
LOTHIAN: Those parades proceeded anything in New Orleans by about two decades.
CAPT. B. LEE, MOBILE SHERIFF'S DEPT: Kind of been a nice kept secret.
LOTHIAN (on camera): Until now.
LEE: Until now.
LOTHIAN (voice-over): Ron Pierce wasn't there at the beginning, but he's been around for 60 years.
RON PIERCE, MOBILE RESIDENT: I was adopted and brought to Mobile in 1946. I was brought down to parades early. I had been a part of it for most of my life.
LOTHIAN: A tradition with lasting memories.
PIERCE: We used to walk down the streets. I can remember it, 12 years old, crying "Confetti, peanuts, popcorn, cracker jacks, 20, 10, 25 cents a bag!"
LOTHIAN: The city prides itself in not only being first, but in hosting a more family-friendly version.
JOHN MITCHUM JACKSON, "MARDI GRAS KING," 2006: Seeing all the families that come downtown, there's -- you know, there are parades, there are so many functions that everybody can be included.
LOTHIAN (on camera): Mardi Gras, in a way, keeps Mobile running. More than a million people are expected to attend. And in one year, the festivities can pump more than $200 million into the local economy. With something some so vital to is the city, how did New Orleans steal the glory? Here's one theory.
TATUM: New Orleans spends a great deal of money on publicity, and we don't.
LOTHIAN (voice-over): But that's just fine with Ron Pierce, who's now chaplain of the sheriff's department.
PIERCE: There goes some of our sheriff's posse right there.
LOTHIAN: A lower profile means fewer problems for deputies patrolling the nation's oldest Mardi Gras celebration.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Mobile, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Live pictures now. St. Charles Avenue. The Rex parade -is pretty much -- excuse me, the Zulu parade is pretty much done. I think we're getting the beginnings of the Rex parade. Look at these -- apparently if you're in New Orleans, you know what these pies are all about (INAUDIBLE). We've got sweet potato, lemon, cherry...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Strawberry!
M. O'BRIEN: A little strawberry there. Everybody enjoying themselves here. You having fun, young lady? She came from Oakland, California.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oakland, California. I made (INAUDIBLE)
M. O'BRIEN: You knew what to wear. You know the gold and green purple are -- symbolize?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't (INAUDIBLE).
M. O'BRIEN: Purple is justice. Gold is prosperity. And green is something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I learned something today.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, well, think about that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New Orleans, Ninth Ward. Lower Ninth Ward!
M. O'BRIEN: Let's get over here and talk to Nancy Easterland. She was telling me about this. Nancy was talking -- hey, how are you, young lady? You having fun? You having fun? Give me a Cheeto, will you? Thank you. Ooh, look at those things. Those are quite good. They don't feed me very well. Nancy -- this is Nancy Easterland. She was just talking about cultural turning point this is. But we could be accused of overstating how happy people are, because it's a sad time in city, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I mean, I think it's an important time. It's really important for people to see each other. There -- a lot of your friends, you still don't know where they are. You know, you opened your phone directory, and you're like where (INAUDIBLE). So, it's really great to be together, but it's also a little bit sad. Emotionally volatile.
M. O'BRIEN: You still don't have -- you're not connected the way you were, are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. And, you know, half the people -- over half the people are still not here. So, you know...
M. O'BRIEN: It's a bittersweet day. All right, Nancy Easterland. Have a wonderful Mardi Gras.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice to see you. Thank you all for coming.
M. O'BRIEN: It's my pleasure. We're having a blast.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We appreciate you coming.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. We'll be back with more in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, you got to love it ...
(CROSSTALK)
JULIA REED, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "VOGUE": You know, we got a mayor's race coming up.
S. O'BRIEN: And down below is Bourbon Street where the folks are milling and gathering, and drinking. Let's be perfectly realistic here. Mardi Gras obviously a celebration unlike no other.
You know, Julia Reed is kind of a new friend, because we sort of became friends in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. You came down here because this is your home, and you've stayed. This city's going to need a leader, and there's a mayoral race coming up on April 22nd.
REED: That's right.
S. O'BRIEN: Before we talk specific people -- and there's a bunch of people running ...
REED: Three front-runners, including our mayor, Ray Nagin, as you know. S. O'BRIEN: OK. What should the next mayor have? I mean, what do they have to have do you think?
REED: Well, it would be good if he could -- I mean, it'd be good if he could use the language perhaps a little bit more effectively than the mayor we have got right now. You know, and we need -- as I continue to say and everybody has said, we need some attention from Washington.
I mean, when the president said the other day, you know, you people in that part of country need to know that this is lot of money, the money he was letting loose for some housing for folks ...
S. O'BRIEN: How did that feel to hear that, as one of those people in that part of the country?
REED: You know, I sort of felt like President Clinton was calling Monica Lewinsky "that woman." I mean, we want some respect now, and we need some leadership to help us get it. You know, I think there's a new level of civic responsibility in New Orleans. That's a good thing right now.
S. O'BRIEN: Do you think that's the -- I mean ...
REED: Yes. And I continue to believe it.
S. O'BRIEN: ... we've talked about this before, where it seems like the citizens are really beginning to hold the leadership accountable in a way that honestly, hasn't happened.
REED: No, it's never happened before. I just saw a guy walking on the street, as a blind levee board member.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, I saw that.
REED: So we consolidate our levees boards. Then let's get us some help now. Let's make sure the Corps of Engineers builds some serious levees that hold, and then let's talk about getting Category 5 money.
I mean, for once in a our lives, as a long sort of, you know, history of having a laissez-faire attitude, hundreds of years of corrupt politicians. Citizens are making the politicians become accountable. So I think we deserve a little bit of praise for that.
I mean, it's only been six months since the hurricane. We can't undo a lifetime of bad habits, but we're trying. And this is not a bad habit. This is a good habit.
S. O'BRIEN: And it looks -- no, this is a good habit. I give you that, and this area looks great. But I got to tell you, when I walked through the Lower Ninth Ward yesterday, where it literally -- the hurricane could have struck yesterday because nothing's changed.
REED: Oh, and that's true. You don't even have to go that far downtown. I mean, that's true in lots of neighborhoods all over the city. I mean, you can go a half a dozen blocks from my house and see, you know, flood lines still, people that hadn't been able to reclaim their neighborhoods.
But as I said earlier, you know, we've got some federal money now so that people know what to do. They can make decisions about housing. I mean, we have been in limbo so long, I think that finally we're starting to move ahead. We'll have a mayor's race. We got federal dollars. We need a lot more. We need long-term commitments.
But, you know, before I start having to worry about all that kind of stuff, I'm going to go down and watch the great marching krewe, the Society of Saint Anne, which I suggest all of you do.
And I might, Soledad -- I thought long and hard about whether this was the image that I really wanted to present on international TV.
S. O'BRIEN: I like this.
REED: This is my Mardi bra.
S. O'BRIEN: It goes on the outside, not the inside.
REED: Yes, this is what happens when you stay up too late.
S. O'BRIEN: Have a couple of drinks.
REED: If you had some room ...
S. O'BRIEN: It's like fewer beads.
REED: I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I can't believe I just did that. I should have made you do it first.
S. O'BRIEN: I like it, I like it.
REED: I think we should give it to Miles. I think we should give it to Miles, don't you think?
S. O'BRIEN: This is my gift for Miles.
REED: That's right. If he gets you a coconut, you should give Miles a Mardi bra.
S. O'BRIEN: That's right. I get the golden coconut. He can have the Mardi bra. Always interesting...
(CROSSTALK)
REED: It's always great for you guys to come down. You guys have done a great job paying attention to us, which is what we need.
(CROSSTALK)
S. O'BRIEN: Well, thank you for being our tour guide through a lot of it, certainly. REED: Well, hopefully we'll have some less bleak tours coming up soon.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, yes, you know, we sure hope so. Julia has obviously been putting together (ph) the weekly code (ph) as well.
We're going to take a short break. We're back in just a moment with much more. Stay with us, everybody.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: All right, I'm right in the middle of it now. I'm with the Jefferson City Marching Club. This is the oldest marching club in the city of New Orleans.
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: Having a good time here.
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: They're the buzzards. There's a long story associated with that. We don't have time for it. Soledad O'Brien, have I got a treat for you. Jay Banks of Zulu has come through. I think the black coconut is even more valuable than the gold coconut, just for record. But I'll let it be your choice. I'm a man of my word -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: And Miles, I'm bringing you back the Mardi bra. Hey, if you want to keep ...
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: I really need a Mardi bra. I really do.
S. O'BRIEN: I said I would.
M. O'BRIEN: The older I get, the more I need the Mardi bra.
S. O'BRIEN: Spoken like -- I'm not going to say it. Anyway, we're out of time. I want to remind folks you can continue to watch on CNN.com/pipeline, if you want to follow any of the events that are going on today. Also, of course, "ANDERSON COOPER 360" live in New Orleans, those who have been catching him, on tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time.
We're out of time on AMERICAN MORNING, an extended edition today. Kyra Phillips though is going to take you from the CNN Center through the next couple of hours on CNN LIVE FROM. Kyra, good afternoon where it's just turning noon here local time, well, afternoon where you are.
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