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American Morning

New Orleans Residents Prepare for Election; Iraq's Prime Minister Says He'll Step Down; GPS System Delivers Sight to the Blind; 65 Year Old Retiree Joins Steps Across America

Aired April 21, 2006 - 08:30   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: The Hollywood heartthrob has some ideas on rebuilding New Orleans of all things. That story straight ahead.
Well, good morning, everybody. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING on this Friday. Happy Friday. I'm Betty Nguyen in New York, sitting in for Soledad today. Hi, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, how are you this morning Betty? I'm John Roberts in Washington in for Myles O'Brien this morning. Okay, now that I have my head on straight, let's go to Carol Costello who's up in the newsroom in New York and get you caught up on the latest headlines. Carol?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I think you could run things better than certain people there, who knows John. Good morning, everyone. The king of Nepal expected to address his country in the next hour, the speech could bring the country back from the edge of a revolution. Massive protests have brought Nepal's capital of Katmandu to a stand still. Pro-democracy protesters calling on the king to step down. At least 12 people have been killed in the past two weeks.

Happy birthday, your majesty. Queen Elizabeth II turns 80 today. Thousands of well wishers gathered outside Windsor Castle to see her. Some brought gifts including coffee mugs and flowers. Today is the Queen's actual birthday an official state ceremony will be held in June.

Open up your bibles. Public schools in Georgia are getting the green light to teach elective classes on the Old and New Testaments. State governor signed the bill on Thursday. The move makes Georgia the first state to take an official stance endorsing the teaching of the bible in schools.

The Food and Drug Administration rejecting the use of medical marijuana. The FDA says there is no sound scientific proof to support claims that marijuana helps treat extreme pain and nausea. But there is evidence that marijuana is harmful. Some critics say the FDA's decision is more political than medical.

And actor Brad Pitt has a brand new project. He's sponsoring a competition to help New Orleans rebuild. Pitt will lead a jury of architects of local leaders to pick the finalists. The winner will be selected in August, right around the first anniversary of Katrina. Pitt is apparently still in Africa, he and his partner Angelina Jolie of course as you know, they're expecting a baby next month. It's a return to fall here in New York. Hopefully the weather is better in other parts of the country. Let's check in with Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well the New Orleans mayoral race is in the home stretch now. Polls open for most people tomorrow with residents both inside and outside the city ready to make their choice. CNN's Sean Callebs is live in New Orleans this morning. He joins us with the latest on this. Good morning Sean?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty. The polls open 6 o'clock eastern time, many expecting a heavy turnout. A lot of candidates and a lot's at stake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS: From one of the worst natural disasters in American history. A colossal job that will dominate the mayor's life every day for the next four years.

CLANCY DUBOS, EDITOR, GAMBIT WEEKLY: The person who wins, I think, is going to be the candidate who really offers us hope.

CALLEBS: Clancy Dubos is closely following the election as editor of the weekly New Orleans newspaper. Despite the scope of a task awaiting the next mayor, there is no shortage of candidates willing to take it on. 23 in all, enough to field more than two football teams. Three seem to be leading the pack. Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu, businessman Ron Forman and the city's current mayor Ray Nagin.

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: I'm expecting a high voter turnout and people will make good decisions.

CALLEBS: Pollster Silas Lee says expect voters to send a message.

SILAS LEE, POLLSTER: There's a strong sense of immediacy, a strong urgency to get things done as quickly as possible and the next mayor must articulate a vision for recovery.

CALLEBS: Before the storm, the city was about 67 percent black, 33 percent white. Now estimates are the population is more evenly split.

MITCH LANDRIEU, MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Race is always a difficult issue.

CALLEBS: Pollsters say Landrieu's support is divided equally between white and black. His father was the city's last white mayor in the late '70s. Forman and Landrieu are expected to split the vote in the business community.

RON FORMAN, MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Government needs to provide our citizens with the answer. CALLEBS: This, pollsters say, marks a big change from the last election. Last time around Mayor Ray Nagin got about 85 percent of the white vote and about 40 percent of the black vote, but that was before Katrina. As Dubos points out, the landscape is different now.

DUBOS: Four years ago, he ran as Clarence Thomas. Now he's running as Al Sharpton. That's quite a change. And it is not as if he's fooling anybody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: So a lot of focus on this vote. What do early voting results show so far Sean?

CALLEBS: Well, we don't know who they're voting for but we can tell you there have been more than 20,000 early votes cast, most of those by mail-in. And it's breaking down like this, about 65 percent of those votes coming in from African-Americans, the rest coming in from whites. And that is significant because that is pretty much in line with the racial makeup before Katrina, what this city was like before so many people left. And that is significant because Jesse Jackson and others have challenged this election saying that it's just disenfranchised so many people that evacuated this area.

NGUYEN: Sean Callebs in New Orleans. Thank you for that update. John?

ROBERTS: Thanks, Betty. Some hopeful signs this morning that Iraq could be closer to forming a new government, the national assembly meets tomorrow. Prime Minister Ibrahim Al Jaafari now says he may be willing to step aside. He has been the main obstacle to forming the government. Connecticut Congressman Christopher Shays is in Jerusalem now, he is just back from his 12th trip in Iraq and joins us. Good morning congressman, thanks very much for being with us. Appreciate it.

REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, (R) CONNECTICUT: Good morning. Good morning.

ROBERTS: First of all, what do you make of Al Jaafari's offer to step down? Did you see this as being the removal of a huge stumbling block?

SHAYS: Well, it is huge. I mean, he's a good man, he wasn't viewed as a strong leader. They hadn't formed a government since the election in December which was ratified in February. What I think is key is, this has demonstrated the Shias get to choose the leader, but the minority, the Sunnis and the Kurds have a right to veto it. And that's a tremendous test of democracy, so democracy is working.

ROBERTS: So what's your prediction? Will they be able to stand up a national government?

SHAYS: I think they'll be able to stand up a national government. And then what I believe is that you'll see the trump card played by the Sunni insurgents not working. And that was, you know, gets (INAUDIBLE) which they didn't get the dome, cause there to be a civil war and you are not seeing it yet.

ROBERTS: So you're on the camp of we're not seeing a civil war there yet? It's just serious sectarian violence?

SHAYS: Well, I would say it's very serious in Baghdad. It's very serious in Basra. You have civil strife in Ramadi, but that is between Sunnis and Sunnis in that city. Elsewhere, they've managed to contain it. The leaders are working overtime to not have a civil war.

ROBERTS: Congressman Shays, we keep hearing over and over again from this administration that the news media just keeps on showing the bad news, we're not showing the good things that are going on in Iraq. What's your assessment of where things on the ground stand? Are they better than they were, are they worse?

SHAYS: Well, they were terrific in April 2003. They took a huge nosedive when we disbanded their army, their police and their border patrol. Left them totally defenseless and then said to 150,000 American and primarily British troops, you will provide security in a nation the size of California. So that was the low point but when we transferred power in June of 2004, you started to see their police, their border patrol, their army become competent. You saw three elections that were huge.

I mean the last election, 76 percent voted. 30 percent of the elected parliamentarians are women. So yes, lots of progress since a real downfall in December of 2003 and January 2004.

ROBERTS: Right. But is progress still moving ahead now? Has it leveled off? Is there potential for a decline?

SHAYS: No, no. It's totally leveled off. A huge potential for decline if they don't form a government and people don't start to see some progress. That's the key right now. Get that government going and then you need a very strong leadership. You know in this Middle East, they like strong leadership. They don't want someone just being, you know, kind of casual kind of let everything work itself out. They want the decisive leadership. They expect it.

ROBERTS: Right. The president has also said that American troops will come home when Iraq can provide for its own security and a national government has been stood up. What are the chances that those two things are going to happen any time soon?

SHAYS: Well, I hope he doesn't bring them home soon enough to protect people like me that are considered vulnerable. They need to stay there until they've done their job and that means the Iraqis need to tell us when they can take each province. The Iraqis need to tell us when they're ready. Not -- we can't have it be decided by politics in the United States.

And empower the Iraqis more. I mean when we found Saddam, why didn't we say they found him, too? Let's recognize our soldiers are brave, our men and women are courageous but so are these Iraqis, they're doing an amazing job. ROBERTS: Right. You mentioned the upcoming election there Congressman Shays, without really mentioning it, obviously Iraq is going to be a huge issue in that election. But also another issue that's popped up in the last couple of weeks in a pretty intense level is Donald Rumsfeld and what to do about the secretary of defense. Should he stay or should he go?

SHAYS: Right. Well, I would have liked him to leave a while ago but that's the president's decision. The president is not going to get badgered in or bullied into removing anyone from his administration. You almost get the opposite result when you do that. But the key was when we transferred power in June of 2004, we took the responsibility from Rumsfeld and gave it to Powell and now to Condoleezza Rice. And I think they're for more competent to deal with the Iraqi government. And that's, frankly, when I started to see the progress. When we took it away from defense and gave it to state department.

ROBERTS: All right. Well, we're going to keep a close eye on tomorrow's proceedings and we'll see what comes of it. Congressman Christopher Shays in Jerusalem, thanks for being with us. Appreciate it.

SHAYS: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Betty?

NGUYEN: Andy is MINDING YOUR BUSINESS this morning just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Andy what's coming up?

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty just how raunchy can you be at work? A California judge rules on that. Plus, a final resting place for your old Styx CDs. We'll tell you about that coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SERWER: Quite a crew there.

NGUYEN: Isn't it? Very diverse.

SERWER: Iggy Pop is one of my all-time favorites.

NGUYEN: Hey, that may be one of the CDs we'll be talking about a little bit later. But here's the issue. You've got to hear this one. A California supreme court says it is okay to talk about sex at work sometimes. Andy Serwer is MINDING YOUR BUSINESS and your manners hopefully.

SERWER: We'll see you know.

NGUYEN: We're at work.

SERWER: Let's talk about sex, Betty. Okay?

NGUYEN: Go ahead, Andy. Why not? SERWER: I guess you could say maybe only in California here, Betty. A judge in California yesterday ruling that sexual harassment does not apply in certain cases. It only matters where you work. Let me explain.

NGUYEN: Yes. That doesn't make sense.

SERWER: Okay, this has to do with the writers on the TV show "Friends." There was an assistant who worked there, a female, and apparently during those sessions, the writing sessions of "Friends" the writers would talk about sex. They would talk raunchy, they would talk dirty, they would talk nasty. They would talk about what they did last night with their significant others. They would talk about wanting to have sex with Lisa Kudrow with Courtney Cox with Jennifer Aniston. They would do things like pantomime masturbation --

NGUYEN: Stop it, Andy. Are you serious?

SERWER: Yes, that's what they would do. So this woman sued them for sexual harassment. The judge threw the case out yesterday. Threw it out because he said that given that this is a situation, it was a racy TV show where they had to have a lot of talk and plots about sexual innuendo --

NGUYEN: This was part of their creativity then?

SERWER: -- Anything goes, the creative juices were flowing if you know what I'm talking about.

NGUYEN: So it doesn't matter what you say it matters where you work.

SERWER: Right. For instance we're working here on cable TV --

NGUYEN: Yeah, but we can't talk like that. Oh no Andy. Don't even go there. We would be in big trouble.

SERWER: I just thought, well we are, you know, part of our job, though.

NGUYEN: That is true. Okay. Here's another story that's really interesting to me. We all have these CDs that especially with the new iPods and MP-3 players, we don't use them anymore. So?

SERWER: So this new company, lala.com, which is a website, a music website, is going to be rolling out a service coming out in July whereby you can turn in your CDs, list your CDs and try to swap 'em for a CD you like. For instance --

NGUYEN: That's a good idea.

SERWER: I have a couple here. My old Dolly Parton.

NGUYEN: You do not have a Dolly Parton CD?

SERWER: Well I have a Clay Aiken, Dolly Parton, Chris Kristofferson, I have to get rid of these.

NGUYEN: How long have you had that?

SERWER: Well not to long. But anyway, so what you would do is you would list the CD on the website. And then, say you'd want to get a deep purple CD because that's some good stuff. And you just exchange it straight up. You can't just throw your Dolly Parton in there and then pick someone else's, you have to find a direct swap with someone.

NGUYEN: Oh.

SERWER: And it would cost you a dollar to do that. But, you know, pretty good deal.

NGUYEN: Sell it for a new CD. That's not bad. So what you're doing here with this Dolly Parton is hoping somebody out there, who's a Dolly lover will pick up the CD from you?

SERWER: Yeah. And then I hope that they like Deep Purple. Because I want to trade my DP for DP straight up.

NGUYEN: Because it's all about you Andy.

SERWER: I didn't even realize that. Dolly Parton Deep Purple, yeah.

NGUYEN: Very nice connection. You're so smart I tell you.

SERWER: Well no, no. That was coincidence.

NGUYEN: That's why you're paid the big bucks. All right, Andy.

Still to come on the program, we will meet a blind man who has a new view of life thanks to special technology that's found in millions of cars.

And later musician Winton Marsalis joins us live, yes he is here live and we're going to ask him about his new musical project to help his native New Orleans recover. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: He has been blind since the age of 11 but now a Massachusetts man is finding new freedom with the help of new technology.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Dan Lothian has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For ten years, Keagan a German Shepard has been Brian Charleson's eyes.

BRIAN CHARLESON: Forward.

LOTHIAN: Now he has another assistant in the right ear.

NAT SOT: Turn left 200 yards.

LOTHIAN: A global positioning system is attached to a laptop that gives people who are blind precise directions and places of interest verbally... or in Braille.

CHARLESON: As I walk around I want to know where I am.

NAT SOT: You're at 563 Main Street.

CHARLESON: And it will tell me the street address of wherever I'm standing. I would normally just count the number of streets I was crossing.

LOTHIAN: But now you don't have to count because it's telling you what street you're at?

CHARLESON: Exactly.

NAT SOT: Turn left.

LOTHIAN: Did you think that it would be this accurate?

CHARLESON: Well I didn't think it had much of a prayer to be honest with you. So now that I have used it a little bit I'm more convinced than ever that this is the type of device that adds to what I'm already using, in this case a guide dog. There's one less thing I have to depend on sighted people for. So it creates a connection from this device.

LOTHIAN: Charleson who is a computer expert at the Carol Center for the Blind just outside Boston, says technology has changed his life. Especially while on frequent out of town business trips away from his wife.

CHARLESON: And I use this to navigate from walking from one hotel to the other and I ask it to give me walking directions from the hotel to the grill.

LOTHIAN: There is one potential hazard. Even as drivers can be distracted by a cell phone, or an on board GPS, or a radio, users of the system can get so caught up in the street by street information that they miss critical signals coming from their seeing eye dog.

CHARLESON: I might get a branch in the face or a sign on the shoulder that he's trying to take me around.

PAUL SCHROEDER, AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND: So it can be very distracting. It's not a substitute for learning how to travel effectively and independently.

LOTHIAN: Advocates for the blind hope to soon offer safety classes to GPS users like Charleson. Even as technology helps them find their way. Dan Lothian, CNN, Watertown, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Amazing technology and there are several systems on the market. But here's one drawback, they are very expensive. Charleson's system costs about $6,000.

Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, jazz great Winton Marsalis, he's about to perform new music in New Orleans. This is much more than a charity concert, it's going to be an educational experience. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, after a career in banking here is a man who hit the ground walking in a coast to coast effort to promote physical fitness. CNN's Jennifer Westhoven has more on this installment of "Life after Work."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NAT SOT: What a day, huh?

All right.

JENNIFER WESTHOVEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John Nolan looks like your typical retiree, spending his golden years outside, smelling the roses after 30 years in banking. But this is no ordinary walk. John Nolan is walking cross country.

JOHN NOLAN, STEPS ACROSS AMERICA: Last fall, in November, I was looking through a local website and there was an advertisement through a national running club for walkers to walk across America. And I read the application and it was extremely interesting. So I filled it out and sent it in.

WESTHOVEN: John is the oldest of 12 people walking across the country to promote physical fitness in a three month hike Steps across America.

NAT SOT: Walk!

WESTHOVEN: The walk is backed by corporate sponsors. John and his teammates set out on the first leg from New York. The finish line, Los Angeles. Each two-person team must walk a leg up to 20 miles and hand off to the next pair in the cross country relay.

NAT SOT: Yes, sir.

WESTHOVEN: So John won't walk the whole way himself but 20 miles every few days is no walk in the park. So at 65, and happily retired with his wife in South Carolina, the big question is, why?

NOLAN: I think this is a great opportunity for me to talk to people in my age group and say, folks, you can still do it. Put on your walking shoes and go out. Even if it's around the block, start somewhere. And I think at my age, there will be a lot of people out there looking up and saying, well, if he can do it, maybe I can try it.

WESTHOVEN: Jennifer Westhoven, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Top story is still ahead, Kansas authorities say they stopped a plot by five teenagers to shoot up their high school.

Nepal's king is set to speak to his country in about 15 minutes. Angry protesters have called for him to step down.

And Queen Elizabeth celebrates her 80th birthday. We will go live to Windsor, that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

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