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CNN Saturday Morning News

Talabani Assured U.S. Troops Will Stay In Iraq As Long As Needed; Security Tight For President Bush In Pakistan During Protests; Iditarod Race Begins; Funeral Today For College Student Who Was Raped And Killed; Arabi, Louisiana Still Virtually Untouched After Hurricane Katrina; Hollywood Beauty Secrets;

Aired March 04, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, here's a look at what's happening now in the news.
U.S. officials saying they're satisfied with security precautions for President Bush's visit to Pakistan. Mr. Bush has just arrived in Islamabad from India. And that is clearly days old. And I apologize for that.

These are pictures of the president attending a state dinner in Pakistan this hour. It's the last event on his visit with President Pervez Musharraf. This trip may well put President Bush within several hundred miles of Osama bin Laden, when you think about it, who is believed to be hiding in that region.

The latest from Pakistan is just two minutes away.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani says he has been assured that U.S. forces will remain in his country for as long as needed. Mr. Talabani made the remarks after meeting in Baghdad today with U.S. Central Command chief General John Abizaid.

Increased sectarian violence across Iraq has prompted fears that the country is slipping into civil war.

Now, back here in the U.S., we want to give you some live pictures out of L.A. as the sun is coming up.

HARRIS: There you go.

NGUYEN: You know, it's not expected to rain on the Oscars. That's good news, because it has been raining there for the past few days. But northern and central parts of the state will get rain tomorrow, after a dry out period today.

And Idaho and Montana are bracing for major snow. Our meteorologist, Bonnie Schneider, will have much more on all of this weather coming up.

Former Congressman Randy Duke Cunningham is spending his first full day in prison. He was sentenced yesterday to more than eight years behind bars for accepting nearly $2.5 million in bribes. He also has to pay $3.6 million in back taxes and restitution.

It is Saturday, March 4.

Good morning, everybody.

From the CNN Center right here in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: Good morning, Betty.

NGUYEN: Good morning.

HARRIS: I'm Tony Harris.

Good morning, everyone.

Coming up this hour, on the hunt. The search for two fugitives heats up after a possible sighting in Mexico. Officials are now looking to the public to break the case wide open. The brutal reality in Louisiana. Six months after Hurricane Katrina, communities are still struggling, one basically frozen in time. Why is recovery taking so long?

And it's Oscar eve, which means stylists are working overtime to make the stars really shine on the red carpet. We'll hear some beauty secrets and find out if they can make the rest of us look like a million bucks.

It's another deadly, bloody weekend in Iraq. Seven people were killed and 15 others wounded this morning when a mortar landed at a busy market in a Baghdad suburb. Just minutes later, a roadside bomb went off near an Iraqi police command center in the capital, wounding three people. And within the next two hours, a couple of more bombs exploded, killing two more people and wounding five. At least 500 Iraqis have been killed in a surge of sectarian violence following an attack last week on a scared mosque.

Against that backdrop, the man in charge of U.S. forces in the Middle East, General John Abizaid, has been meeting with Iraqi leaders today. After the talks, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said he has been assured, "U.S. forces will remain in country as long as they're needed, no matter what the time period," and that's a quote.

General Abizaid, for his part, for his part, called for a government of national unity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, HEAD OF U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: It's very clear that we cannot let the terrorists, led by Zarqawi, get in the middle of the peace that Iraq must have to develop. And it is very clear that the multinational force here will work with all sides to achieve peace, but it's also very clear that we must move together against the terrorists before they break the general peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: British Prime Minister Tony Blair now says God will be his judge of whether he was right to go to war in Iraq. Mr. Blair tells a TV interviewer that he has struggled with his conscience over the decision. The British leader is a regular churchgoer, but he declined to elaborate when asked if he prayed to god before making the decision.

The interview airs later today. In it, he says, quoting now, "The only way you can take a decision like that is to try to do the right thing according to your conscience, and for the rest of it, you leave it to the judgment that history will make."

And now our glimpse -- sorry, Betty.

NGUYEN: That's all right.

A glimpse into the super secret world of Guantanamo Bay. A Freedom of Information lawsuit has forced the Pentagon to release the names and nationalities of hundreds of detainees at the U.S. military prison based in Cuba. Now, the documents reveal that most were captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and are accused of having links to al Qaeda and the Taliban.

The Pentagon continues to withhold the identities of other Guantanamo prisoners. It claims releasing the information could put them in danger.

Well, new clues in the search for two fugitives, Byron Perkins and his girlfriend, Lee Anne Howard, seen here. Perkins is the dad who managed to convince a judge to let him out of a Kentucky jail so he could donate his kidney to his son. But he vanished instead.

Authorities say a couple from Washington State reported seeing the fugitive pair near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

"LYNN," SAW FUGITIVES IN MEXICO: By the name of Eric and Lea. And the story when we met them last Friday evening was that they had just arrived in Puerto Vallarta by airplane and Mr. Perkins had either lost his wallet or he thought perhaps somebody had taken it. He said that it was the first time they had vacationed out of the country. He had $2,000 in his wallet, along with birth certificates and I.D.s for both of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, Perkins' son still needs a kidney. The fugitive left behind a note promising to "come through" for the boy.

Authorities are urging anyone who spots Perkins or his girlfriend to call police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY AGUILAR, ARABI, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: Six months and look. Look around you. Six months. This is what I have to offer my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: It has been six months since Katrina hit. How one family went from having it all to having nothing.

NGUYEN: Plus, what's happening with rebuilding efforts along the Gulf Coast?

We're going to talk to a member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority about that.

CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's take a look at top stories now.

A bit of high level cricket diplomacy in Pakistan.

Did you see this yet?

President Bush tries his hand at the game after a series of meetings with Pakistani leaders. Earlier, Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, assured Mr. Bush of Pakistan's support in the war on terror.

As for cricket, President Bush says baseball is where his heart is.

Market day turns into tragedy in Iraq. Seven people were killed, 15 wounded, in a mortar attack on a market near the Iraqi capital. The blast happened at the height of rush hour, setting three minibuses on fire and ripping up nearby storefronts.

Meantime, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is talking up the need for a national unity government. Talabani held talks with General John Abizaid, the chief of U.S. Central Command. The meeting comes in the wake of a recent spate of sectarian killings that left hundreds dead.

NGUYEN: President Bush is wrapping up his visit to Pakistan with a state dinner at this hour. He and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf had a lot to talk about, including the war on terror, nuclear concerns, the dispute over Kashmir and the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Security has been tight during Mr. Bush's visit, as tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in protest.

We want to go live now to White House correspondent Elaine Quijano, who's been traveling with the president in Islamabad.

What kind of progress was made in today's talks -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Betty.

Well, President Bush did, in fact, get the reassurance that he was looking for from Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf. Now, with Pakistan being both an ally and, in some respects, a central front in the war on terrorism, Mr. Bush was very careful to praise Musharraf's leadership after the two sat down for talks here earlier today in Islamabad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. President, I have reaffirmed our shared commitment to a broad and lasting strategic partnership. And that partnership begins with close cooperation in the war on terror. President Musharraf made a bold decision for his people and for peace after September the 11th when Pakistan chose to fight the terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, the two leaders discussed a variety of other issues, as well, including the democratic reforms in Pakistan; also, the India-U.S. nuclear agreement.

But not all of the diplomacy took place in meetings. In fact, President Bush made sure he scheduled in some time for some cricket practice. The president took part and that event earlier today, even taking a few swings, connecting a couple of times.

As you know, cricket is a favorite pastime here in Pakistan, somewhat similar to the American pastime of baseball. President Bush is a fairly big baseball fan. So the president reaching out with that -- with that sports diplomacy, if you will, today.

Now, after that, the president took part in the official state dinner. Of course, this was the final event for the president's very brief visit here. But really all of this, Betty, an attempt to reach out not only to the leadership here in Pakistan, but also to the Pakistani people themselves, perhaps show a different face of the United States than they may be accustomed to seeing -- Betty.

NGUYEN: CNN's Elaine Quijano in Islamabad.

Thank you, Elaine.

HARRIS: Well, finally a break in the weather for the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The torrential rain that triggered major flooding, mudslides there, at least for now, is easing up a bit. And a flash flood warning has been canceled. But for many residents -- look at this -- the damage is already done. Several homes are inundated with water. The governor has signed an emergency proclamation just to try to help out the flood victims.

NGUYEN: I kind of feel sorry for vacationers who were hoping for a lot of sunshine there in Hawaii.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: Hopefully they'll get it some time soon, so it won't be completely ruined. (WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: We'll take you north now.

The world's longest sled dog race set to begin, Betty, the Iditarod.

You're looking here at video from last year's winner, a new generation. Alaskan mushers hope to hold off the Norwegians this year. The Norwegians are coming! The Norwegians are coming!

Today, a ceremonial run through parts of Anchorage. Then tomorrow, 83 teams with over 1,300 dogs will take off on the race to Nome, Alaska. That's a long trek -- 1,100 miles.

NGUYEN: And you know what?

HARRIS: They'll go west.

NGUYEN: They had to move part of it just because there wasn't enough snow.

HARRIS: Oh, really?

NGUYEN: So, yes...

So what's involved in running the Iditarod and how did it get its start?

Well, here are the facts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN (voice-over): The Iditarod race begins during the first week of March. Between 55 and 75 teams compete in the race. Teams consist of 12 to 16 dogs and a musher. About 1,000 dogs set out from Anchorage. The race runs from there across the State of Alaska, 1,150 miles, to the town of Nome, on Alaska's west coast.

It typically follows an old mail route made famous in 1925 when dog teams saved the day by carrying medicine to Nome during a diphtheria epidemic. The final run was led by the sled dog "Balto," who was later honored by a statue in New York's Central Park, and more recently became the subject of children's movies.

Almost 50 years after Balto's historic run, a passionate dog sledder named Joe Redington organized the first Iditarod in 1973, reportedly paying the prize money by taking out a mortgage on his home.

Today, teams from several countries compete in the race. Any team that finishes gets $1,000. The winner gets $68,000 and a new pickup truck. The record winning time for the race is about eight days and 22 hours, set in 2002. The coldest temperature ever recorded during the race was minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit with the wind chill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: When Hurricane Katrina hit, they lost it all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If there's another hurricane, do you think you'd go far away from it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll go to Timbuktu.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: How one family is still trying to put the pieces back together.

We will tell their story and talk to a member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority about the progress that is being made six months later.

NGUYEN: Plus, Tony, it is that time again. Sure, you want to look like those beautiful stars on the red carpet. But can the products on shelves really get you there?

HARRIS: A good question.

NGUYEN: What works and what doesn't.

That's next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Designer Natalie Chanin is stitching her way to success. Chanin and her business partner started Project Alabama in 2000 and what began as a T-shirt company quickly evolved in to a full-fledged collection.

Sold in more than 50 stores worldwide, all the garments are hand stitched in a small brick ranch home by local women, using mostly natural fabric. The women, called stitchers, can spend up to 100 hours on just one piece, using techniques like embroidery and quilting.

NATALIE CHANIN, FASHION DESIGNER: I believe that really any kind of business is creative. It doesn't matter what you do, you can always bring a creative touch to what you're doing, whether you're working in a supermarket or in film and television. Creativity is something that you have to have to make things work.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: As Chanin's family continues to grow, so does Project Alabama. Future plans include an online store and custom-made jewelry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: Congressman turned convict Randy Duke Cunningham is beginning his first day of an eight year, four month prison term. The California Republican was sentenced yesterday for taking more than $2 million in bribes. He accepted homes, yachts, antiques and other items in exchange for steering defense contracts and other favors. The sentence is the highest ever for a former member of Congress.

HARRIS: Funeral services are being held today for a young graduate student whose body was found raped, strangled and suffocated in New York.

Our Allan Chernoff has details about the criminal investigation into this horrific murder.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): A week ago Thursday, Imette St. Guillen was in Florida with her family, celebrating her upcoming birthday and her new life in New York. It would be the last time they ever saw her alive.

The next night, the 24-year-old grad student in criminal justice was out with a close friend at a popular Manhattan bar. They stayed until about 3:30 in the morning, when St. Guillen went on her own to a second bar several blocks away. She had a drink, then left at 4:00 a.m.

Seventeen hours later, an anonymous caller to 911 said a body was laying in tall grass near an isolated Brooklyn street, 15 miles from the bar. Imette St. Guillen had been raped and beaten.

(on camera): The anonymous 911 call about the body came from one of these telephones right outside of the Lindenwood Diner here in East New York, about a mile from where the body was found. There are 16 security cameras outside and inside of the diner, but, unfortunately, not one of them is trained on this telephone bank.

(voice-over): Former Detective Thomas Ruskin spent more than two decades with the NYPD.

(on camera): What are the police doing to try to identify the caller?

THOMAS RUSKIN, RETIRED NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT DETECTIVE: What the police are going to do, from this standpoint, is they're going to print this whole thing. And, as we can see from right here, this is the forensic latent print powder that has been put on here. And it looks like they have pulled some of the prints, possibly off of here and dusted up here.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): Dozens of police officers today returned to the crime scene, searching for any evidence that may still remain.

RUSKIN: You don't want to take the chance that maybe he moved from this area to that area but just dumped the body over there. And, really, some of the evidence could be contained therein. We know that -- again, we know she's missing clothes. We know that she's missing a wallet. Maybe it was chucked over here, where the body was put down the street.

CHERNOFF: St. Guillen's corpse was found wrapped in a bedspread, her arms and legs bound with plastic ties, her face covered from forehead to chin with strips of tan packing tape, her hair cut and a sock stuffed in her mouth.

N.G. BERRILL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: It's clear that this crime was enacted in a fairly methodical manner. There was a bunch of supplies involved. There were step-by-step progressions, I'm sure, beginning with fear and then torture, sex abuse, then death.

CHERNOFF: Several of St. Guillen's fingernails were broken, indicating a struggle. New York's medical examiner has been analyzing skin from under the nails, hair and skin follicles found on the bedspread, as well as any bodily fluids found at the crime scene.

This is one of the most desolate parts of Brooklyn, in the shadow of an old garbage dump. No one lives anywhere near here. So there's no apparent reason that anyone would be driving along this street and suddenly uncover a body. All evidence that leads Tom Ruskin to believe the caller to 911 may have committed the crime.

RUSKIN: If it was him who made the telephone call, it was him who wanted the body to be found sooner rather than later, and he was going to get excited by the fact that his crime was now going to be all over the media.

CHERNOFF: Adding irony to a horrific tragedy, police are using the same forensic skills that St. Guillen was studying for her master's in criminal justice to solve her murder.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Now in the news, just over an hour from now, President Bush will wrap up his trip to Pakistan. The war on terrorism dominated today's talks. Mr. Bush says President Pervez Musharraf reassured him that Pakistan is fully committed to hunting down al Qaeda terrorists.

A busy market near Baghdad the target today of a deadly mortar attack. Police say seven people were killed and 15 others wounded in that explosion. Several other bombings outside the capital killed three people, including an Iraqi girl.

This is the former University of North Carolina student accused of trying to run over bystanders on campus with an SUV. Authorities say Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar was allegedly angry at America's treatment of Muslims. No one was seriously hurt and he later gave himself up to police. Well, it could be nearly three months before we learn if an Arab company will manage six U.S. ports. Dubai Ports World has agreed to an extensive 45-day investigation that will come after a 30-day Treasury Department review. The probes are meant to determine if the deal would pose a threat to national security.

HARRIS: Well, it's been six months since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. That's enough time, you might think, for hard hit towns to begin the rebuilding process. But one town in southeastern Louisiana remains virtually untouched and residents are wondering why.

Here's CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The tens of thousands of people celebrating Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street were only a few miles away from the city of Arabi, Louisiana. But Arabi looks like it's on a different planet. Six months after Hurricane Katrina, houses still sit in the middle of the street. Neighborhoods still look like aerial bombing targets. Very little has been cleaned up. And the few residents who are left, like Rudy Aguilar, feel betrayed.

RUDY AGUILAR, ARABI, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: I feel like the United States of America has left my family behind, has forgot about us and gone on their business.

TUCHMAN: Rudy, his wife, Rosalee and three children share a cramped FEMA trailer in the front of their decimated home. They had a five bedroom house. Rudy was an environmental engineer for St. Bernard Parish.

AGUILAR: They laid me off. They eliminated the environmental engineering position.

TUCHMAN: Finding another job has been very difficult and the family is running out of money. Rudy, Tulane University graduate now receives donated Red Cross food to feed his family. Do you believe what's happened to your life?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. It's like a nightmare. I still feel like, I just, if I wake up, it won't be reality, but it is, in fact, reality. That's what my daughter keeps saying.

TUCHMAN: Rudy Aguilar was born in this house. He doesn't want to move the trailer elsewhere because he wants to keep his eye on potential looters.

AGUILAR: The bat is for protection, for anyone who decides to loot.

TUCHMAN: And he also wants to rebuild the house, but he says working on it makes no sense, because the politicians haven't decided if people will be allowed to rebuild in this low-lying area. The Aguilars believe Arabi is not at the top of any decision maker's priority list. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're in limbo.

TUCHMAN: The children play in the dirt and the germ infested refuse that remains from Katrina.

AGUILAR: My kids used to look up to me. Now they wonder why dad don't have a job, why dad's constantly looking at the newspaper. Then you slip into a depression and you kind of lay down and don't want to move, you know.

TUCHMAN: Because Rudy was working the day of the hurricane, the family did not evacuate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw the water bust through the door like a tidal wave.

AGUILAR: I actually had to go under water and come up here. When I came up, my children and wife was up there in their life preservers.

TUCHMAN: Understandably, it was traumatizing for the children. Their dog disappeared during the storm.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: He was a German shepherd. The police probably took him.

TUCHMAN: The police probably took him. I think so, you're right. Almost all the residents in Arabi are gone. Many say they will never come back. The humor there is often a bit dark. If there was another hurricane, do you think you would go far away from it?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I would go to Timbuktu.

TUCHMAN: But for now, they stay in a trailer on what was their front lawn.

AGUILAR: Six months and look. Look around you. Six months. This is what I have to offer my family.

TUCHMAN: Their lives totally up ended, their disillusionment continuing to grow. Gary Tucker, CNN, Arabi, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Why isn't more being done to get towns like Arabi back on their feet? Joining us now to answer that, a man who lives in Arabi and is part of a rebuilding effort, Walter Leger is a board member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. And Walter, good to talk to you. Thanks for the time this morning.

WALTER LEGER, LOUISIANA RECOVERY AUTHORITY: Hi. How are you?

HARRIS: I have to ask you, you look at those pictures of your hometown. Can you believe it?

LEGER: I don't have to see the pictures. I don't have to see the pictures. We see them every day. It's hard to believe six months afterwards. But the devastation has been so total, so extensive in St. Bernard Parish and Arabi, we've still got a long way to go.

HARRIS: Walter, Mardi Gras is over and I'm wondering what now? It seems that in the six months since Katrina hit, a lot of energy was focused on making sure Mardi Gras happened symbolically. But now that it's over, what now?

LEGER: Well, I don't think a lot of energy was focused on Mardi Gras. Some energy was. A lot of us had very mixed emotions about whether we should have Mardi Gras again. I have to admit, now that it's happened, I'm kind of glad that we did, because it gave us at least some little break from -- Mr. Aguilar over there, a neighbor of mine basically. The despair and the depression has been great.

It was a little respite. Now we're back to work trying to rebuild our homes and rebuild our communities. We've settled in on the reality of all the stages of grief. We've grieved for the loss of our communities and now we're trying to grab on to what we can do to rebuild the communities safer, smarter, stronger and look for a better future. And there is a better future. It's going to be better, but it's a long haul.

HARRIS: Talk about that for a moment. There are a lot of people who seem to be of the impression that this is something that can happen relatively quickly, maybe a year, maybe two years. But everything that I'm hearing suggests that this could be a long-term process, rebuilding New Orleans and rebuilding build it how?

LEGER: Well, it is. It's going to be a long-term process. There are things that we need to do and we've been doing in the short term. First, we have to clear the debris. Second, we have to get into our homes. People forget, we had two hurricanes in south Louisiana. It wasn't just New Orleans and Arabi that were affected. Rita hit us also. Mr. Aguilar is probably like me. We flooded again in Rita, a month after Katrina. We had to recover and double recover and begin clearing and rebuilding again.

So for those of you -- and thank God for you guys at CNN. You've spent a lot of time here with us in the New Orleans area and in particular, in St. Bernard. When you see it, you feel it, you touch it, you smell it. You understand the depth of the problem. You know what I noticed and I'm sure Mr. Aguilar may have noticed and if he hasn't, looked at the sky. We have beautiful trees in St. Bernard Parish, birds singing at this time of year. There are no birds in St. Bernard Parish.

Despite the human difficulty in rebuilding, nature itself is struggling to be reborn. We're beginning to see little sprigs of green, though, popping up. For your guys that have been here for six months, they know that it's been gray. Everything is gray. We had water for over a month in our homes, the Aguilars and I and everything was gray. The trees died not by drowning alone, but they were exposed to salt water. So, even nature itself is struggling to be reborn.

HARRIS: Walter, maybe that cuts to my point. How long do you think it's going to take? I mean, this is not a year or a two-year process and with your work with the Louisiana housing authority, what's the top priority?

LEGER: Well, the top priority has been, number one, coastal protection. The second priority has been, number two, coastal protection and, number three, coastal protection.

HARRIS: What does that mean?

LEGER: We've got to rebuild our coast lines. The Corps of Engineers have assured by June 1st that they're going to rebuild our levees to pre-Katrina levels. Well we saw what pre-Katrina was all about so we have an insecurity about that. But in the supplemental appropriation bill going to Congress right now, there's about $1.5 billion for armoring levees, the levees that protect the eastern part of New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish on the Mississippi River Gulf outlet dissolved. They didn't breach.

You hear about breaching and overtopping. They dissolved. They weren't armored. Those levees need to be armored for people like Mr. Aguilar to feel secure in rebuilding his home, for other people who are scattered all over the country to come back and rebuild. Meanwhile, we're developing policies and we're developing programs to financially assist people who were uninsured or under insured and certainly weren't expecting this type of a flood.

HARRIS: But Walter, first things first. This authority hasn't been chartered. It hasn't been funded yet, has it?

LEGER: Well, actually, the governor, by executive order, created the Louisiana Recovery Authority back in October on the model of the Lower Manhattan Recovery Authority that was developed after 9/11. Now 9/11 was a horrible tragedy for all of us Americans, but it was only a 16-acre plot of ground. We've got 956 square miles.

And so, we've been moving forward. The legislature has enacted the recovery authority into law in a special session recently. We've done things in Louisiana very aggressively, passed and approved building code and a number -- we've consolidated our levee boards. We're moving forward as rapidly, I think, as government can. I'm not a government guy. I'm a private citizen working with this free high- paid government job to try to help rebuild because we have no choice.

We've got to rebuild our communities and our hometowns. Now we are expecting some funding. We have been allocated some funds specifically by Congress for the rebuilding effort. For housing, infrastructure, schools, hospitals, et cetera. We're short, though. We need more. And we're waiting on Congress in April to give us what we need. And then I think we're going to have a real jump start.

HARRIS: We'll keep our fingers crossed for that funding to come through from the Federal government. Walter, it's great to see you. Thanks for taking the time.

LEGER: Thank you for having us and thank you for the attention you're giving us down here. We really do appreciate it. HARRIS: There's nothing more important for us to do right now frankly, Walter. Thank you. We appreciate it.

NGUYEN: Without a doubt.

Well, tomorrow night we're going to shift gears because the stars will be shining. We all know we want to look like them, especially Tony over here.

HARRIS: I would like to. Well, not like her, but --

NGUYEN: Many products on the market say you can look like a celebrity, but do they really work and are they safe? That's the big question. Beauty secrets of the stars when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Oh, the anticipation. The Oscars are just one day away now. Millions will tune in tomorrow night for the show and perhaps just as many will watch the pre-show parade when all the stars show off their Oscar fashions on the red carpet.

Having great hair and skin is also key to looking good. So, joining us now to talk about all these secrets that the celebrities use is "New Beauty" editor, Marie Kuechel. She's here to shed some light on these products. Thanks for being with us.

MARIE CZENKO KUECHEL, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, NEW BEAUTY: Good morning, Betty. Thanks for having me.

NGUYEN: Well, wonderful. Let's get right to it. If someone really wants to get a face lift, but doesn't want to endure the pain or the cost of it, is there such a thing as a face lift in a bottle?

KUECHEL: There's many products out there that can really help the skin look and feel younger, but it's not going to turn back time the 10 years that a surgical face lift will by putting all the anatomical parts back where they were 10 years younger.

The buzz in Hollywood this week was this product right here. It is the Osmotics Blue Copper Face Lift in a Bottle. The premise behind this is that copper helps to enhance circulation, skin tone, the firmness, really gives a beautiful glow, $75 and you may not look 10 years younger, but you certainly won't keep getting older.

NGUYEN: So will you see some results?

KUECHEL: You will see results in that the skin can improve in terms of texture, in terms of that luminosity. As we age, we lose collagen. That's a building block in the cells and there's a lot of things can help to keep that collagen strong and young and healthy.

The active copper in the Osmotics is one of those things that can do that. Again, it's not going to turn you back 10 years. There is no thing as a face lift in a bottle, per se. But all of these things can make some incremental improvements in the texture and the look of your skin.

NGUYEN: We'll call it maintenance, shall we?

KUECHEL: You got it. And that's absolutely right, Betty. You could spend $20,000 on a face lift. If you don't take care of things thereafter, what's the point? You're just going to go back to square one.

NGUYEN: Exactly and that comes to sun screen, sunglasses, things like that because you get those little crow's feet that they call it. You get those fine lines in the forehead. Is Botox the only solution to that?

KUECHEL: Botox is not the only solution to that. All the rage in Hollywood is, obviously, the injectables. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reported six million treatments in 2005. We know there are not six million celebrities in the United States.

A lot of every day people are doing injectables. Botox is great for the expression lines that form. There are other fillers, hyaluronic acids like Restylane. I've got some Restylane with me here today, that can actually help to enhance that soft tissue, fill out those wrinkles and creases.

The interesting thing about these, though, is safety. I will tell you that in those six million procedures, we know those are the legally used pharmaceuticals that we have, like Botox and like Restylane you see here that comes in a sealed, labeled package.

Unfortunately a lot of bargain basement prices have been advertised on these injectables and what they often are is illegally imported unlabeled injectables. People are paying half the price, but what they're getting is not safe and it's not approved.

NGUYEN: So you need to get it from your doctor then?

KUECHEL: You need to get it from a doctor and you need to see that it's packaged and labeled and that you know exactly the pharmaceutical that you're getting. There are non-surgical alternatives out there and the buzz this week in Hollywood was this, inhibit Dermafil, inhibits the creases, like Botox does, but not to the same affect because this isn't injected into the muscle like Botox is. And Dermafil, plumping out those wrinkles and creases, $385 for this. A typical Botox treatment will run you $300 to $400.

NGUYEN: How long does it last?

KUECHEL: The effects of something that you put on topically lasts as long as it's in your skin. So when you wash your skin next time, the effects are gone. Something like Botox is injected into the muscle. It lasts four months.

NGUYEN: So you could be washing that $300 down the drain when you wash your face, OK. Go ahead.

KUECHEL: No, as you continue to use it, you see the improved results. But you're not really washing it. You're washing down the drain what you put on, but it still had some effect.

NGUYEN: OK. So many women want those full Angelina Jolie lips. How do you get that pucker without having to, say, get an injection?

KUECHEL: There's a lot of lip fillers on the market right now. Most of them create that pucker and that poof in the lips by irritating the lips. So for many women, you have to be very careful. Test them first. For as much as $20 over the counter you can get a great lip gloss or a great lip plumper. The best thing to do is to just treat your lips like you would the rest of your skin. Keep it moist, keep it exfoliated and they'll be lush no matter what you do.

NGUYEN: And just quickly, one of the best keys I guess for looking younger and better is treating yourself from the inside out, right?

KUECHEL: You got it. As much as we can do on the outside to treat our skin -- and you mentioned sunscreen. That's my absolute favorite, number one prevention of aging, but from the inside, too, we need to treat ourselves. With our lives so busy and on the go, nutrition is a tough thing to keep track of. In Hollywood this week, the stars were getting Dr Nicholas Perricone sockeye salmon oil, the omega-3 fatty acid oil.

NGUYEN: To keep the skin healthy.

NGUYEN: Salmon oil.

(CROSSTALK)

KUECHEL: I hear so much about the benefits of salmon.

NGUYEN: Berries is another good thing right?

KUECHEL: Berries is another good thing. There's the acai berry powder that's mixed into water. You can drink a bowl full of berries every day when you don't have the opportunity to get fresh berries, which we all know are out of season and a little expensive this time of year.

NGUYEN: Everything in a pill.

KUECHEL: The antioxidants in berries -- - yes, the antioxidants in berries and in a lot of different things are really helpful to eradicate the damage that happens cellularly from the sun and from all different...

(CROSSTALK)

NGUYEN: It's about that maintenance. Exactly. Marie Kuechel, editor at large of "New Beauty." Thanks for your tips today.

KUECHEL: Thank you, Betty.

HARRIS: We're the carnival barkers, snake oil salesman.

NGUYEN: Your not buying any of this?

HARRIS: Luminosity?

NGUYEN: It's suppose to work. She says it works.

HARRIS: Lip plumper?

NGUYEN: Just watch the red carpet, all right?

HARRIS: CNN "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" will be live on the red carpet before the big show with a special edition of "headline news" at 5:30 p.m. Eastern. We'll see all kinds of injectables. Then at 6:00, join A.J. Hammer, Brooke Anderson and Sibila Vargas for Hollywood's gold rush. The live, one hour special here on CNN includes interviews with the stars. We will be right back.

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NGUYEN: All right. Whether the stars on or off the red carpet, Tony ...

HARRIS: For many of us, there are only two questions, what are the stars wearing and how can I get that?

NGUYEN: You say that all the time, don't you?

HARRIS: Look at Pierce Brosnan.

NGUYEN: Looking good no doubt.

HARRIS: That's a great looking tux, right. So tomorrow on "CNN Sunday Morning" is it healthy trying to keep up with the rich and famous? To join us, the man known as the Trend Whisper joins us live 7:00 am Eastern on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING."

NGUYEN: What a trend whisperer after all? Find out tomorrow. You want to keep it locked right here on CNN because at the top of the hour, "CNN Saturday" is headed your way.

HARRIS: All right, Fred. What are you working on for us?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I got a question for you guys. How do you suppose most of your groceries, electronics or retail gets to your nearest mall or store?

HARRIS: It starts by coming through the terminals controlled by the Dubai-based -- oh, I'm sorry.

NGUYEN: The ports system.

HARRIS: I'm sorry.

WHITFIELD: But anyway, a lot of our merchandise comes through trucks big rigs and someone's got to drive them, right?

HARRIS: That's right. WHITFIELD: Apparently there is a shortage. And we're coming upon a critical stage here where we're going to explore in the next hour the efforts that are underway to try to recruit drivers for the trucking industry. Because, of course, without the drivers to lead this trucking industry, it means that in the end a lot of us will be paying for a lot more for some of those products, the goods and services that we rely on right now. So we're going to explore that topic. Scary, isn't it?

NGUYEN: It is frightening. A lot of jobs out there. People need jobs. There's another avenue.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, we'll be exploring all that.

NGUYEN: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Stay tuned. Noon eastern hour.

NGUYEN: We'll be truckin'.

WHITFIELD: And you all have a great day.

HARRIS: You too.

Time now to see what people are watching online. Veronica de la Cruz joins us now with the most popular videos from the CNN dot com desk.

NGUYEN: Hey Veronica.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, some shocking video for you guys. I don't really like violence, so it may shock you. I don't know. We're going to show you the underground world of cage fighting. It's a sport, if you actually want to call it that, that is legal in only about a dozen states, including this one.

We're looking at pictures of a match in South Dakota. Some would say it's like an organized form of street fighting where the name of the game is to punch, kick and put your opponent in a choke hold. Tony is over there taking notes. There aren't a whole lot of rules, but you aren't allowed to bite or twist fingers.

NGUYEN: That's good.

DE LA CRUZ: The grand prize for this event, about $100.

NGUYEN: That's it?

DE LA CRUZ: That's it.

NGUYEN: All of that.

HARRIS: That's not that much different than the extreme fighting and ultimate fighting that we see.

NGUYEN: You're going to go get beat up for 100 bucks, if you're lucky? I think I'll pass on that one.

DE LA CRUZ: Are you still putting your name in that hat, get in the ring?

HARRIS: No, no, no, no.

DE LA CRUZ: Also guys, people are also watching anything Oscar at cnn.com. We take you to the Kodak theater in Hollywood for this story. All right guys. Grab your acceptance speeches, because they have set up a new display ahead of the award show where you're actually allowed to hold an Oscar in your hands and thank as many people as you want just for fun. Betty, I saw you working on your acceptance speech earlier today.

NGUYEN: ... because that Oscar is attached to a cord to make sure people don't run off with it as they're giving their acceptance speech. Yes, I would like to thank the academy.

HARRIS: That's the story of my life. Can't take it with you.

NGUYEN: Can't take it with you, nope. But you can find all that online at cnn.com/video.

HARRIS: Veronica, thank you.

DE LA CRUZ: All right guys. Good to see you.

HARRIS: All right. Time for us to go.

NGUYEN: It's that time. "CNN Saturday" with Fredricka Whitfield is up next right after this short break. Have a good day, everybody.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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