Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Citadel Assaults; More Controversy for New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin

Aired August 25, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Lavandera in Boulder, Colorado.
John Mark Karr is finally here in the jail.

But what happens next?

I'll try to explain, coming up.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A missing child, a mystery solved after eight long years. But only after a daring escape by the now 18-year- old girl. We're live in Vienna, Austria with that story.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: New rules for air marshals on flights. You know you can often spot them on your plane. We're going to tell you about policy changes, though, that will help keep their identities secret.

HARRIS: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin in the middle of his own storm over some comments he made about ground zero. We'll tell you what he said.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And another storm developing.

I'm meteorologist Chad Myers in Atlanta.

Tropical depression number five. But today that will become Ernesto and possibly Hurricane Ernesto by the end of the weekend, into the Gulf of Mexico-by Tuesday and Wednesday of next week as a major storm.

We'll look at that coming up.

O'BRIEN: Good morning.

Welcome back, everybody.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris in for Miles O'Brien.

O'BRIEN: It's nice to have you hook us up.

HARRIS: Yes, good to be with you.

O'BRIEN: We have appreciated it. Thank you very much.

Let's begin with John Mark Karr.

HARRIS: The suspect in the murder of JonBenet Ramsey will wake up in a Boulder County jail this morning. Karr was flown to Colorado from California last night and he could find out today when his first court appearance will be.

CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us live now from Boulder, Colorado -- Ed, good morning.

LAVANDERA: Good morning, Tony.

Well, John Mark Karr will be waking up this morning at the county jail that you see behind me, but segregated and separated away from the rest of the inmate population here. We're told by the sheriff that he will be in a cell by himself, kept away for his own safety, away from all of the other inmates.

We know he arrived here last night after a three hour plane ride from California. We also learned last night, just after midnight, that John Mark Karr had met with a public defender, an attorney that spent three hours visiting with him last night, emerging from the county jail just after midnight last night.

He wouldn't answer many questions, in fact, only saying that John Mark Karr had asked him to be represented, to have the Colorado public defender's office represent him.

This might seem to confuse things even a little bit more considering that there are two attorneys in California who have been saying in the last few days that they would be repeating John Mark Karr. So perhaps we'll see throughout the day how this plays out and if it will be straightened out. Because it appears that John Mark Karr will be headed for his first court appearance not today, but perhaps on Monday.

And then at some point early next week, we expect charges would be filed by the district attorney's office. And still no word after the press conference last Thursday, more than a week, and they say that they have still no comment about how the investigation is proceeding. The only clue into how things have been moving along was a court document made public yesterday where the D.A.'s office says they only learned of John Karr's full identity five days before he was arrested in Thailand last week.

So a little bit of a clue of just how early on into the investigation into John Karr they are, but no clue as to how far along they are in building the case against him, as to whether or not he is the culprit in the murder of JonBenet Ramsey -- Tony.

HARRIS: CNN's Ed Lavandera for us in Boulder, Colorado.

Ed, thank you. O'BRIEN: Right now, French engineers are loading equipment in Southern Lebanon. They are part of an international force that's just now coming together to try to keep the peace there. More nations are expected to announce troop commitments today. The international force is going to be working with Lebanese troops and it's -- that's part of the cease-fire agreement that ended Israel's military offensive.

CNN's Jim Clancy is in Southern Lebanon for us this morning -- Jim, good morning.

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

Yes, well, 170 French troops arriving here. As you noted, they are engineers charged with the job of clearing roads, of building new housing for the thousands of peacekeepers that are expected to be coming here, as well as getting rid of some of that unexploded ordinance that poses such a threat across Southern Lebanon right now.

This is a critical mission, a mission that put an end to that 34 day long war that killed so many civilians here last month, in the last month. And right now the French have been moving into their positions. But, really, they are just the preparatory force in all of this.

What's at risk here and why are so many people having a hard time deciding to put in troops?

Think back some 23 years, 1983, in Beirut, Lebanon. The French and the U.S. forces there, more than 50 French killed, more than 240 U.S. Marines killed in a suicide bombing by Hezbollah. Now, that has this French force reassessing entirely their security situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADMIRAL XAVIER MAGNE, FRENCH NAVY: Whatever happens, the French force, Baliste, will remain here in support. So I have on board helicopters. I have combat capabilities so that in case of something, I can extract people from here. I also have medical facilities and that was one of the lessons learned from Lebanon in '83. We have a roll to (ph) hospital, so we are able to come and pick up someone on the ground and do heavy surgery on board.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: That was Rear Admiral Xavier Magne talking with us just a little bit earlier.

Now, there's going to be one frigate and one destroyer and one of the landing ship docks still out there, as long as this mission continues. They're keeping a watchful eye here to help ensure that this mission is successful -- back to you.

O'BRIEN: Jim, a quick question for you.

What are the chances, do you think, of the UNIFIL troops being deployed to the Lebanon-Syria border to prevent that whole issue of arms that are being smuggled into the Hezbollah fighters?

CLANCY: This is the critical issue for Lebanon. And Lebanon is really being squeezed today, Soledad. The Israelis are keeping an air and sea blockade in effect on Lebanon until and unless UNIFIL peacekeepers are deployed.

Syria, meantime, has already turned out the lights to tens upon tens of thousands of people in the Bekaa Valley, in northern Lebanon. It says it's for technical reasons. But people are reading that here as a warning from Syria that if UNIFIL peacekeepers are put along that border to ensure arms can't come across, Syria is going to make good on its threat to completely shut down the border, to strangle the commercial and economic life of Lebanon.

The United Nations appealing to Israel to lift the air and sea blockade.

And Lebanon very much struggling right now, hope all parties would accept that the Lebanese Army will deploy there. And what we're seeing today, that the Lebanese Army is to take up those positions -- back to you.

O'BRIEN: Jim Clancy in Southern Lebanon for us.

Jim, thanks.

A daring escape in Austria ends one of the longest running mysteries there. A girl, who is now 18 years old, is finally back home after she spent eight years locked as a prisoner in a basement.

CNN's Matthew Chance is in Vienna with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): She's been hidden from the world for eight long years. Now, one of Austria's most disturbing mysteries appears to have been solved and the shattered family has their daughter back.

BRIGITTA SIRNY, MOTHER OF NATASCHA KAMPUSCH (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I always firmly believed she would return some day. I cannot say how happy I am.

LUDWIG KOCH, FATHER OF NATASCHA KAMPUSCH (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): It was hell these eight years. There was not a single hour when I did not think about her. It was hell.

CHANCE: These were the last images of Natascha, before she disappeared back in 1998. She was just 10. Her abduction ripped Austria. But as the years passed, police found no trace and she was given up for dead. But all the time, she was here, in a cramped dungeon built by a suspected pedophile under his garage, not 10 miles from her home.

Inside, she had a bed, a sink and a toilet, and books from children's stories to serious literature. (on camera): Well, this is the house in Strasshof where Natascha was held for more than eight years. You can see there are police outside now guarding the entrance. But most of the time she was held securely under lock and key.

But over the years, the man she came to call her master became increasingly careless and eventually she saw an opportunity to escape.

(voice-over): This is the man police say imprisoned Natascha, 44-year-old Wolfgang Priklopil. Neighbors say he was quiet and polite, if reclusive. After Natascha's escape, he threw himself to his death under a train. The damage he caused an innocent girl, though, remains uncertain.

SIRNY (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Natascha just threw her arms around my neck. I am so proud of that child, that she found the opportunity to escape.

KOCH (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I purposely didn't talk about the ordeal with her. We only discussed the future and about how things used to be.

CHANCE: For Natascha and her family, reunited after eight years, things will, thankfully, never be the same again.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CHANCE: First of all, Tony, it has been confirmed -- DNA analysis has now proved that the girl who emerged from her hiding place several days ago is, indeed, Natascha Kampusch. The little girl disappeared in 1998 aged just 10, and is now 18 years old. So now she's been reunited with her family. Obviously, very emotional scenes there.

Would have new details, though, Tony, about what the sort of situation was with the girl when she actually managed to escape and identified himself to a neighbor. Apparently the neighbor didn't recognize her as an 18-year-old. She said she looked much too small for that. She was diminished, looked pale in her complexion.

Also, according to family members who met her shortly afterward, she absolutely was filthy dirty, like she hadn't managed to wash for weeks on end. She absolutely stank, according to the family members that we spoke to.

Also, she seemed very needy of attention and protection. So clearly there has been a lot of damage done by this terrible experience.

Currently, Natascha is underground psychological evaluation so that experts can determine exactly what kind of damage has been done to her.

HARRIS: Wow!

CNN's Matthew Chance for us in Vienna, Austria. Let's get you to a man who's plate is becoming very full these days.

Chad Myers at the CNN Weather Center -- Chad, you're watching a system in the Dakotas.

MYERS: Right.

HARRIS: And then there's Ernesto.

MYERS: Right.

HARRIS: Boy, take it away.

MYERS: Yes, tropical depression number five will quickly become Ernesto today. I called the Hurricane Center just a few minutes ago and they said they may issue something earlier, but they don't have a plane scheduled to be in the storm until about two o'clock this afternoon. So as that hurricane hunter aircraft goes in there and finds a closed circulation, finds a significant wind above maybe 40 miles per hour, that's when they'll put the tropical storm name on it. And it would be Ernesto.

The storm, though, forecast to be in the Caribbean in very warm water, between 82 and 84 degrees in that water. And that's a lot of heat for that storm to use to get stronger as the week goes on.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: More showers now from Chicago back down to Kansas City. This is the storm system that made 25 tornadoes yesterday and 125 reports of hail damage, some hail as long as four inches in diameter. And I just can't imagine what that would do to a car, but some reports from the police up there in North Dakota say the cars are absolutely destroyed by that hail -- back to you guys.

HARRIS: Grapefruit sized.

MYERS: Could you imagine it, falling at 90 miles an hour?

O'BRIEN: I'm dying to see that.

HARRIS: I want to see it.

Don't you want to see it?

O'BRIEN: Sure. Absolutely.

HARRIS: I want to see some pictures.

O'BRIEN: Come on, I was shocked by the golf ball sized hail...

HARRIS: Right. Right. Sure.

O'BRIEN: ... that Chad had for us not long ago.

MYERS: And that can go right through the roof of a house.

O'BRIEN: That can kill you, man.

HARRIS: Yes.

MYERS: I mean, that's a missile, right?

O'BRIEN: Yes, that's no question about that.

HARRIS: Man.

O'BRIEN: All right, Chad...

HARRIS: Boy, you are busy.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Chad.

HARRIS: Still to come, you might have been a bit frustrated by new security rules at the airport, but it looks like there's a silver lining if you hate waiting in line.

O'BRIEN: And some changes are on the way, as well, to help the air marshals blend in with other flyers. They kind of spot out, you know, stick out now.

HARRIS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Can you spot any on this tape, air marshals?

That's ahead.

HARRIS: And sexual assault at the Citadel.

How safe are female cadets?

An insider's view of life at the Citadel.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: More than two weeks after the alleged London terror plot, some good news and bad news for air travelers. Because of a big increase in checked bags, getting through security is a whole lot easier. But it can make for a longer wait at the end of your trip.

CNN's Kathleen Koch joins us live from Reagan National Airport -- Kathleen, good morning.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

You know, every cloud has a silver lining and passengers are certainly finding that that is the case with the new security rules.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) KOCH (voice-over): The initial results of the new rules were easy to see -- more people checking luggage, more lines at the counters, more work for the airlines.

JOHN MEENAN, AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION: It's put some additional stresses on the system. It's obviously meant some over time for baggage handlers.

KOCH: But travelers quickly started noticing something else -- faster security lines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This morning, I got not long at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Haven't gone through security.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't gone through security yet but...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... it looks like it shouldn't be too bad this time of day.

KOCH: Faster boarding and deplaning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely much more speedier. You don't have to fight for overhead space. People aren't as cranky. It's very nice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's not as many people standing in the aisles. It's easier to -- faster getting off of the plane.

KOCH: Airlines say it's all having a ripple effect.

MEENAN: They're moving through the lines very quickly, moving onto airplanes very quickly. And, as a result, the system is running on time or even a little bit ahead of schedule.

KOCH: On time arrivals at 24 of the nation's top 30 airports have improved the last two weeks over July. There has been some concern the government's screening system would be strained trying to handle the nearly 25 percent increase in checked bags. But the Transportation Security Administration insists the level of security has not been compromised.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, right now we are able to manage the load very well.

KOCH: So, despite initial frustration with the security changes, passengers and the system at large seem to be adjusting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, it hasn't been bad at all. We were -- I was anticipating the worst and long lines and so far I've been pleasantly surprised.

(END VIDEO TAPE) KOCH: There's one subset, though, that isn't happy, and those are the business travelers who are being forced to check their bags, who normally wouldn't. They just don't want to wait in line at the carousels.

Now, are there actually longer lines there? The airlines don't track that, delays at the baggage carousel. But with checked bags up nearly 25 percent, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet -- Tony.

HARRIS: Now, I'm not complaining, but yes, you have to wait longer, Kathleen.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

KOCH: You bet.

O'BRIEN: A makeover is ahead for federal air marshals. They're going to be dressing down as part of a new policy. It's a response to complaints from some of the marshals that a strict dress code made them stand out, especially on flights that were filled with vacationers.

Dana Brown is the director of the Federal Air Marshal Service.

It's nice to see you, sir.

Thank you so much for talking with us.

Why would you want to signal to everybody who flies, hey, folks, big changes for the air marshals? Now they're going to be wearing this? And now they, you know, this and this is changing? I mean aren't -- that doesn't seem to make safe from a -- sense, rather -- from a safety perspective.

DANA BROWN, DIRECTOR, FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL SERVICE: I can understand that. But in the way it was described in the message that went out, what we said is dress is discretionary. We didn't provide what type of dress with any kind of specificity and actually this has been in the news so much anyway, there's an opportunity for us to just get past this particular issue and make the point that we have complete faith and confidence in our workforce to act professionally, conduct themselves in a manner that will lend propriety to their job performance and allow them to blend in with their environment, as they deem appropriate, as long as they're able to perform their law enforcement functions.

O'BRIEN: It's not just appearance that's one of the changes or the dress code that's a major change. There are other changes, as well.

What else is going to change?

BROWN: The hotel policy now is that there was a number of hotels at various sites around the country where we anticipated that our federal air marshals would stay when those hotels were available. And that meant we were able to have accountability as to their location if we had to have a recall.

What we're saying now is that we've come up with a software program that would allow us to have them identify for us where they're staying and at least in the particular point in time that we are now, we will allow them to book their own reservations and stay where they like, within the parameters of GSA hotel rates, non-extraordinary cab fares, those type of things.

O'BRIEN: A lot of the changes seem to be common sense. I mean, air marshals should -- should blend. They shouldn't have to announce to the pre-boarding staff that they're there.

Why has it taken so long to make these changes that I think everybody would be on board with?

BROWN: I understand the situation and the question. The problem is that everything is not as easy as it appears. I've been told that if I had an hour, I could change the boarding process. That simply isn't the case.

Those things over which we have control, we can deal with. Those things that we don't, we have to engage others, particularly as it relates to the boarding procedures. There's TSA, who's been very cooperative. There's the airport and the airline industries and others.

It's a process. And in terms of the things that we can adjust, where it's appropriate, we will do so.

O'BRIEN: There have been so many reports that the morale is bad, that the travel schedule is hellacious for some of the marshals and that they don't get training. And there have been some, you know, very specific complaints.

What are you doing to address that and make it a job that people want to have and respect?

BROWN: Everything that we're about over the last six months is to address that particular point. Through a series of working groups and listening sessions and small group meetings, we're trying to create an open, inclusive and responsive organization to identify those things that are of particular and concern to the individuals in terms of quality of life, as well as operational concerns.

We're very attuned to that. We're working with the federal air marshals themselves to address those issues as best we can. And we're going to do that.

O'BRIEN: Dana Brown is the director of the Federal Air Marshal Service.

I thank you for your time this morning.

We appreciate it. BROWN: Thank you, ma'am.

HARRIS: And coming up, a war widow takes on the Pentagon so she can put her life together again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUZANNE STACK, WAR WIDOW: It's a sad day when the widows have to go and make the effort to get things changed so that we can live.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Find out why she says the government broke its promise to her late husband.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: More than 2,600 U.S. troops have died during the Iraq War. Some of the families left behind are now asking whether they're getting the financial support they deserve.

CNN's Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon with more on the story -- hey, Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

Well, many war widows now fighting for the benefits they say their husbands paid for.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

STARR (voice-over): The day before he left for Iraq in February 2004, Sergeant Major Michael Stack did one last thing -- took pictures with his children.

On Easter Sunday, he died in a firefight. Michael Stack was awarded the Silver Star for valor. He kept firing until he died so his fellow soldiers could escape.

STACK: I want him back and he was an amazing man.

STARR: Like thousands of other war widows, Suzanne Stack struggles to put her life back together. Now, she has a new fight. She is one of many widows urging Congress to give them all the benefits they believe their husbands paid for so dearly.

The current law requires survivor benefits from the Defense Department's annuity plan to be deducted from the benefits paid by a Veterans Administration plan. That means widows' monthly benefits are being slashed.

For example, a widow of a typical Army staff sergeant would be eligible for $13,332 a year from the DOD program and an additional $12,396 a year from the V.A. a total of about $25,000. But currently, the DOD payment is reduced dollar for dollar by the V.A. payment, leaving that widow with about half of what she expects.

STACK: The widows that are affected are very young and we're all working. We're just trying to raise our family and continue on the way that we had intended to do with our husbands, if they had lived.

STARR: Congress is divided on changing the law. The Pentagon wants to leave it all alone. The Defense Department declined an interview request, but said in a statement: "There is no apparent need to provide both benefits."

Suzanne Stack says her husband would have wanted everyone to get all of their benefits.

STACK: He would be furious. This is not what he had been told would be for me and for the children. It's a sad day when the widows have to go and make the effort to get things changed so that we can live, and live on the benefits that were promised to our husbands when they left.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

STARR: Soledad, you know, these military benefit programs are always very complicated. But military advocates estimate there are about 61,000 military widows. Their husbands died in various conflicts or died from service-related causes -- 61,000 widows affected by this law at the moment. And, of course, as they say, perhaps more widows as the war in Iraq goes on -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Oh, how awful to have a loss, a horrible loss, you know, be leading your family alone and then -- now you have to go and take on this legal battle, as well.

Do people expect that they are -- they're going to have a chance to change the law, realistically?

STARR: Well, Congress is split on it. They actually are discussing changing the law right now as they deal with the Pentagon's annual budget authorization bill. Some are in favor of it. Some are against.

The Pentagon doesn't want to change the law, says it would cost something like $9 billion a year in extra funding. But, of course, they declined an interview. They do understand exactly how sensitive this issue is.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I'll bet.

All right, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Barbara, thanks.

STARR: Sure.

O'BRIEN: We've got a short break and We're back in just a moment with our top stories.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Are female cadets safe at the Citadel? We told you Thursday about a survey sanctioned by the military college saying 20 percent of the female cadets claim to be sexually assaulted since they've enrolled. The Citadel opened its doors to women 10 years ago. Nancy Mace was the first female graduate. She wrote a book about the experience, and called it "In the Company of Men." Nancy is in Atlanta this morning. Also from the Citadel this morning, the campus in Charleston, South Carolina, cadet Tara Woodside.

Nice to see both of you, ladies. Thanks for talking with us.

Nancy, let's begin with you. The number of reported sexual assaults in this survey was 19 percent -- 19 percent. That sounds like a huge number to me. Are you surprise by that number?

NANCY MACE, 1ST FEMALE CADET GRADUATE: No, Soledad, I'm not surprised at all. When you look at the figures that the Justice Department has released on sexual assaults on campuses across the country, that figure is up to 25 percent. So when you look at that sort of an issue across the United States, it's not only at the Citadel, but it's across the U.S.

O'BRIEN: As we mentioned, you are one of a very tiny number of women at the Citadel when you first were there. Only four women in your class. The situation, do you think, has improved since you've been there? Or is it getting worse?

MACE: No, I do think that the situation has improved. Certainly when you're the first in a situation like this, the circumstances tend to be more harsh, but every year that women have been at the Citadel, I feel like the situation has gotten better. The majority of experiences I had there were positive, but certainly being the first, you're going to have experiences that are peppered with things like sexual harassment. It's part of the -- part of being the first, I suppose.

O'BRIEN: Unfortunately, obviously, still part of being not the first. Let's get to the Tara Woodside, a cadet who's also on the campus. Tara, this percentage of the number of I think it's 188 female cadets at the college, did that surprise you?

TARA WOODSIDE, CITADEL CADET: No. I honestly was not surprised by the results of the survey, because we are just like any other college campus across the nation. This happens everywhere. And I think that's important to remember, that whether you go to a public university or you come here to the Citadel, incidents like this does happen.

O'BRIEN: Yes, but there are people who would say, people who apply to military schools apply -- there's sort of a morals clause, and they're supposed to be held to a higher moral standard. I mean, it's part of your education, frankly, so it's not supposed to be the same as at any university or any college anywhere. Isn't there a point to that argument?

WOODSIDE: Well, yes, of course. There is a higher standard that cadets adhere to. But unless you are aware of a problem, you can't work to fix it. So now that the administration has given us the results of this survey, cadets know that there is, in fact, a problem with harassment and assaults, and the administration is also giving us the tools and empowering us to fix it through education. We can adhere to that higher standard now.

O'BRIEN: Sixty-eight percent...

WOODSIDE: So you can't...

O'BRIEN: Oh, I'm sorry, forgive me, Tara.

Let me just throw out a number for you -- 68 percent of the women surveyed said that they had been sexually harassed. I don't want to get personal. But I mean, can you tell me. Sixty-eight percent is a huge percentage. Have you been sexually harassed? Have you been assaulted there?

WOODSIDE: Well, yes, harassment goes on all the time. It's such a broad spectrum of what harassment and assault is. It could be anything from a sexual or off-color joke, innuendo, name calling to unwanted kissing, touching. It's not always rape. Assault does not equal rape.

So yes, things like to do happen, but I've also been harassed walking downtown Charleston, New York, in Germany. So like I said, it happens everywhere. It's not something that is specific to the Citadel.

MACE: Soledad I would add to that, when I was there at the Citadel, about I would estimate around 50 percent of those kinds of experiences of sexual harassment that I encountered weren't always on campus. It was also -- it's also the kind of thing done by people who are not affiliated with the Citadel, people that don't like women in uniform. It's not just on campus, or with Citadel alumni or folks associated with the college.

O'BRIEN: The president of the college, retire Air Force Lieutenant John -- General John Rosen (ph) -- excuse me; I almost demoted him for a moment -- he's responded with this Values and Respect program, and I know, Tara, you're very involved with it. We don't have a lot of time, but in a nutshell, tell me how you think this program will translate to lowering that percentage?

WOODSIDE: Well, the program is basically going to educate cadets on, No. 1, what harassment and assault are, and then it's going to make us more aware of how we can step in, and when we see it happening, stop it.

O'BRIEN: I want to thank... WOODSIDE: And I think by making the cadets more comfortable with this issue, by educating us, you'll have a lot more open of an air around campus will people will be more willing to talk about it and discuss it.

O'BRIEN: Well, let's certainly hope so. Nancy Mace and Tara Woodside, I'm glad that truck stopped beeping just as we're ending the interview.

Ladies, thank you. Appreciate your time.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And coming up, another controversy for New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. This time over a swipe at New York City's ground zero. We'll explain.

O'BRIEN: Why is the government wasting hundreds of millions of dollars in the Katrina cleanup? We'll take a look, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: This morning, more controversy to tell you about for New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. With the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina just days away, the mayor is at the center of yet another storm. In a "60 Minutes" interview Nagin defended the slow pace rebuilding his city by sort OF taking a shot at progress made at New York City's ground zero.

Here's Sean Callebs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once again, officials working with the New Orleans mayor are in damage control. During an interview with "60 Minutes," Ray Nagin was asked why flooded-out cars and other debris still litter areas like the Lower Ninth Ward nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina.

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: It's all right. You guys in New York City can't get a hole in the ground fixed, and it's five years later, so let's be fair.

CALLEBS: Nagin is talking about Ground Zero in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

The mayor's spokeswoman says it's disappointing that "60 minutes" would release a statement she says is taken out of context.

Nagin's off-the-cuff remarks have landed him in trouble before. He apologized and spent weeks trying to distance himself from this.

NAGIN: This city will be chocolate at the end of the day.

CALLEBS: Right now New Orleans is trying to lure tourists, industry and investment back to the city. Business leader Rob Couhig ran for mayor against Nagin. Now they're on the same team. Couhig is heading up a committee Nagin appointed to rejuvenate New Orleans during the mayor's second term. He labels this a media-created story.

ROB COUHIG, NAGIN APPOINTEE: You guys, wait, you're so desperate to say look at what Ray said now. Go with that story if you want. But if you ask me my opinion, I'm going to tell you that that story is inconsequential in the building of the city.

CALLEBS: Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: As the one-year anniversary approaches of Hurricane Katrina approaches, Louisiana authorities are saying reports that the storm turned the region into a toxic wasteland are false. They say they have the soil samples to prove it. But at least one environmental expert says state and federal agencies are just unwilling to deal with the damage.

A new government study says hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars were wasted in Hurricane Katrina's contracts. A House report says 70 percent of the contract was awarded without the full bidding process, and identified nearly $9 billion -- billion with a 'b' -- in contracts that involved overcharging, wasteful spending or mismanagement.

Thousands of Gulf Coast residents are still waiting for their insurance claims to be settled. The issue that's holding up many of the claims is whether the damage was caused by wind or by flooding. Remember, a lot of people didn't have flood insurance. Insurance companies have paid out more than $15 billion in Katrina claims, but the flood-versus-wind debate is holding up billions of more dollars.

Be sure to join us next week for much more from the Gulf Coast on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I'll be live in New Orleans on Tuesday for a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. We begin at 6:00 a.m. Eastern, taking a look at Katrina one year later.

HARRIS: And coming up, we are "Minding Your Business." We'll show you some of the coolest back-to-school items for your kids. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

(NEWSBREAK)

O'BRIEN: Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com