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U.N. Security Council to Impose Sanction on Iran; Passengers Still Facing Some Delays In Denver; U.S. Military Kills Senior Taliban Leader; Defense Secretary Gates Briefing President Bush; Security Flaws in Paris Airports; Tab Benoit Discusses "Hurricane on the Bayou"; Dr. Lee Dellon Interview

Aired December 23, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: As tens of thousands crammed airplanes this holiday season, disturbing evidence of a major security lapse at one of the world's best known airports.
Also, hurricane on the Bayou, I'll talk to a musician featured in the new film about the impact of Katrina slamming into New Orleans.

A mom who is a 911 operator took a call she never wanted to hear from her own son. You'll hear how she responded to the crisis.

The news is unfolding live on this Saturday, the 23rd day of December, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, you're in the NEWSROOM.

It is unanimous, the U.N. Security Council has just voted to slap sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program. Let's go live to CNN's senior United Nations correspondent Richard Roth.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: The vote was 15-0, but of course there were a lot of disagreements behind the scenes over the last few days, but the U.S., Britain, France fought hard and achieved this unanimous measure against Iran for failing to stop its uranium enrichment work and come back to the negotiating table and work for peaceful purposes, which Iran claims of its nuclear energy program. The Japan ambassador continues discussions inside the Security Council. After two months of negotiations, the Security Council has spoken out and sent a message to the Iranian government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX WOLFF, U.S. DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: But adoption of this resolution is only a first step. In the coming weeks we will work with the Sanctions Committee to insure this resolution is as effective as possible.

We will also take steps under U.S. law to insure that we have put in place appropriate measures against individuals and entities involved in the Iranian nuclear program, and we will call on every other country to urgently follow suit. Finally, if necessary, we will not hesitate to return to this body for further action if Iran fails to take steps to comply.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROTH: As acting U.S. Ambassador Wolff hints there, this could be a start of a lengthy road of sanctions against Iran because the government there has given no indication it is going to reverse course and stop its uranium enrichment work. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Richard Roth at the U.N., thanks so much for that update.

By plane, train and automobile, millions of Americans are on the move this Christmas weekend, AAA says nearly 65 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles from home during the holidays and if you're one of them you'll want to stay with CNN all weekend. As you can see on your screen we've got up to the minute travel conditions across the country, whether it be travel-wise or even weather-wise.

A travel trouble spot, however, Denver's International Airport while things are a bit better there today, passengers are still facing some delays after a blizzard shut down the airport for almost two days. Pattie Logan is with us now from the Denver Airport.

All right, Pattie it looks good. Folks are moving behind you. But I see that is vehicular traffic. What about the planes?

PATTIE LOGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There actually are some planes a little bit further behind me, they're taxiing out onto the runway. I counted about 15 planes in line to take off and that is very welcome news out here at Denver International Airport.

They have four runways open now that allows the airlines to operate at full capacity at full schedule today. They expect to get 160,000 passengers in and out of this terminal today. Of course many of those are already people who had tickets, the booked them weeks or months in advance.

They have rebooked some of the stranded passengers on any open seat they can possibly get them into. There are very long stand-by lists and in fact they're not taking any more standby passengers on some airlines.

Holiday travel is already tough, as many of us know, but add a blizzard to it and it really becomes difficult. And some people have had a hard time just getting here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHI WILLKOMM, TRAVELER: Oh gosh. Well, I started in Loveland, which is north of here, and our bus got stuck, the shuttle airport bus got stuck and so that delayed us. And then I waited out in line like a skycap to check the bags and that just got so cold, so I came inside into this line when I realized I was going to miss my flight anyway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOGAN: Kathi missed her flight even though she planned to be here three hours ahead of time. The advice is probably get here at least four hours ahead of time. They are very, very long lines inside, security and check-in. She is hoping to get on the stand-by list and as I said, there are a long list of desperate people already in line ahead of her.

So it doesn't look very good for her. And for the stranded passengers, some out today, tomorrow, Christmas and even afterwards they're booking people on flights, so not always good news for people. Some getting out today, but some will still have to wait a couple of days.

WHITFIELD: Pattie, I wonder if the other passengers seem to be taking it in stride just like she is?

LOGAN: She has a very remarkable attitude. She does. She said she has chocolate, that always helps.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that helps.

LOGAN: Not everybody is taking it in stride. There were some people that had some tense moments inside we saw a little bit edgy as you can imagine with people that had possibly be here a couple of days and are in long lines again.

WHITFIELD: So maybe that's the secret just keep the chocolate coming. Pattie Logan thanks so much at the Denver International Airport.

Well, at other airports across the U.S., a ripple effect from the delays in Denver. We check in now with CNN's Thelma Gutierrez who is in Los Angeles.

Thelma, how's it looking there?

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, I can tell you we have much more pleasant news to report out of Los Angeles. This is a very rare and very welcome sight here at LAX. This is the fifth busiest airport in the world and you can see the traffic is moving smoothly.

In fact here at curb-side check-in the lines have been very, very, very short. In fact, in some areas, you don't even see people waiting, which is extremely rare. Now as we take a peek inside the terminal, this terminal four, this is American Airlines, the Qantas, you can see that everything is moving smoothly, very few people in line.

In anticipation of this holiday rush, 131 additional security teams were added to keep those lines going and to prevent the security screening areas from bogging down. Now LAX officials say they expect 1.75 million people to travel through this airport this holiday season. One of those travelers happens to be Jennifer Lunetta. Jennifer is heading to New York City.

Jennifer, was this is surprise to you.

JENNIFER LUNETTA, AIRLINE PASSENGER: I was thrill when had I showed up this morning. I made sure I gave myself a lot of time. My flight doesn't leave until 11:00, but I showed up and haven't stood in a line yet. So I'm excited.

GUTIERREZ: And you were saying when you carried your bags through to the ticket counter, you were surprised.

LUNETTA: I was surprised because I did my check-in electronically and then they just took my bags. Normally they make me take them somewhere else, but I was grateful that American airlines just helped me out. So, it's been a wonderful time so far.

GUTIERREZ: You travel to New York City out of this airport?

LUNETTA: I do.

GUTIERREZ: You say it's not normally like this.

LUNETTA: No, it's never like this. In fact, I've traveled all different airlines through LAX into JFK and other airports around the country and I've stood in security lines that go all the way down to the next terminal on just a normal travel day. So, I can't believe it's Christmas and there's no lines. So, it's wonderful.

GUTIERREZ: Some of the travelers were saying this is actually their Christmas gift.

LUNETTA: Yes, this a Christmas blessing for me.

GUTIERREZ: All right, thank you very much, Jennifer. Have a safe trip.

LUNETTA: Thank you.

GUTIERREZ: And Fredricka, many of the people who are traveling through here, we've noticed have not been carrying their Christmas gifts, at least wrapped Christmas gifts. The security people out here are saying if you do travel with gifts, make sure they are unwrapped, you'll get through the screening much easier and you'll save yourself a lot of hassle. Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, good advice. Thelma Gutierrez, thanks so much at LAX.

Let's check in now with Reynolds Wolf where at least he'll give the backdrop of L.A., as well as Denver, clear skies, it looks good. It's been horrible, weather-wise, for a lot of air travelers over the last couple of days.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, the new defense secretary, well, he's briefing the president on his trip to Iraq. We'll get a live update coming up next.

And a 911 operator answers a call about a shooting victim, but it turns out the victim is her son. Find out how she reacted.

And why is the pope following in the footsteps of pinup girls and swimsuit models? Well, not really, but sorta-kinda. That story later in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: "Going Global" now. The search for two missing American mountain climbers in southwest China focuses today on a remote area in the Szechwan province.

Christine Boskoff and Charlie Fowler last heard from on November 8. Both are world-class mountain climbers. There is hope they may have taken refuge with nomads.

Rocker, humanitarian and soon a knight? U2 font man, Bono, will receive an honorary knighthood in Dublin. It's for his tireless work for AIDS to Africa. You can't call him "sir" because he's not a British national, however.

And before you buy those popular Bratz dolls for your girls this Christmas, you should know they're made at a factory in China where employees, reportedly, have to work up to 94 hours a week.

A labor group says working conditions are especially harsh during peak delivery months and workers are paid 17 cents per doll. You pay $16 or more for one of the dolls. MGA Entertainment Incorporated, which launched Bratz in 2001, says it uses "first rate factories," the same ones that make products for the world's biggest toy manufacturers.

CNN "Security Watch," is he dead or alive? The military says it killed a senior Taliban leader in an air strike this week in southern Afghanistan, but the Taliban denies it, according to Wire Services. Mullah Osmani, he is described by the military as "the highest ranking Taliban leader that we've ever killed." He was close to Osama bin Laden and said to be heir to the rebel leadership.

And stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Well, just back from Baghdad, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is briefing President Bush and his top officials at Camp David. Live to the CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano right now -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Fredricka. Well, this really was the first opportunity for President Bush and his new defense secretary, Robert Gates, to sit down and talk since Gates had been to Iraq early earlier this week.

Now, as you recall, the secretary had spent three days in Iraq and he listened to a range of opinions from not only troops but of course more senior commanders, as well, about whether or not they think it's a good idea to send more U.S. forces into Iraq, whether that will help or possibly hurt the security situation there.

Now, one of the options that President Bush is, in fact, looking at quite closely is the idea of a temporary short-term surge of possibly tens of thousands of U.S. forces into Baghdad, particularly, to help stabilize the situation there. Now, the president who is spending this holiday weekend at Camp David, did meet with Secretary Gates today and also expect to be at that meeting were other top Bush, aides including his secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, as well as National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley.

Now, yesterday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, it was an emotional time for President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, as they carried out what's become a holiday tradition, visiting wounded troops. The first lady and president met with 38 service members and the president gave out 16 purple hearts.

Well, today in his weekly radio address, President Bush had a message for U.S. forces serving in Iraq.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want our troops to know that while the coming year will bring change, one thing will not change and that our nation's support for you and the vital work you do to achieve a victory in Iraq. The American people are keeping you in our thoughts and prayers and we'll make sure you have the resource you need to accomplish your mission.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Meantime, as the president continues with his Iraq deliberation, senior Bush aides continue to insist that no final decisions have been made yet. After Christmas when the president heads down to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, for the holiday, the president will actually meet with his National Security Council to talk about Iraq option, but we're told no major decisions will be made out of that meeting.

Instead, it'll be more part of the deliberations and the consultations that are ongoing. But of course, Fredricka, you know the president is expected to make a major policy address, talking about changes to his Iraq policy, some time early in the New Year -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Elaine Quijano at the White House, thanks so much.

Well, it's been a very big year on the war front in both Iraq and Afghanistan. To help look back and make sense of what happened and why, tune into CNN at 5:00 Eastern this evening, join John Roberts hosting "THIS YEAR AT WAR."

And ahead, in the NEWSROOM, as many celebrate the religious holiday, CNN examines some of the bloody events that have impacted Jews and Christians throughout history.

And "Give me Shelter." We'll show you how some have added protection around their homes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: The "Empire Strikes Back," the title may come from Hollywood, but the plot may have been written in the time of Jesus. Tonight, Liam Neeson narrates a special CNN PRESENTS "After Jesus: The First Christians." Here's a preview of a bloodbath that shaped the religion and the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIAM NEESON, ACTOR (voice-over): In the year 66 A.D., the Jews of Israel had seen enough of their Roman masters and a revolt that would end in disaster and permanently divide them from their Christian brothers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a serious uprising in which Jews decided to try and throw out the Roman oppressors and establish Israel as a sovereign state in the land.

NEESON: The Romans sent in their legions from Assyria and fought their way south to Galilee to Jerusalem, the holy city of Judaism and fortress of the rebels.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They make the tactical mistake of all assembling in Jerusalem around that temple. Then the worst thing happened, they started to fight among themselves about what to do and how to defend themselves.

NEESON: That's when, according to the Jewish historian, Josephus, the Roman General Titus surrounded Jerusalem. Titus, a brutal warrior, cut off the city's food and water in an attempt to starve the people out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meanwhile, he waited for Jewish faction A to defeat Jewish faction B. He let the internal revolutionaries fight the battle for him.

NEESON: Titus and his troops then breached the walls of Jerusalem. They attacked the temple, slaughtering more than half a million Jews with sword, fire, and crucifixion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And you can see the rest of this two hour special narrated by Liam Neeson, CNN PRESENTS "After Jesus: The First Christians," airs tonight at 8:00 Eastern.

Terrorism, hurricanes, and tornadoes all have people thinking about alternative shelters. Jim Huber explores the modern way to duck and cover in this week's "Modern Living."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM HUBER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bob and Kelly Freighter brought this 40-year-old house in Madison, Wisconsin in 2002.

KELLY FREIGHTER, HOMEOWNER: Watch your head. HUBER: Only to later discover the secret compartment in the basement.

FREIGHTER: We didn't know it existed and we were looking at the house with the homeowner and at realtor and he walked us through the basement and said "Hey, there's a bomb shelter here."

HUBER: But in the year since, not just 9/11, but Hugo and Andrew and Katrina and 100 unnamed disasters, the trend toward personal protection seems to have returned. The O'Dells, for instance, are just one of several families in Bono Beach, South Carolina who installed an egg shaped underground shelter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This just seemed like a cheap, easy way to do it and I don't have to leave. I'll be right here when it's over, I'll come out of my hole.

HUBER: And other more elaborate shelters, both underground and in-house, designed to withstand almost anything thrown at them, ranging in price from $5,000 to elaborate six figure extravaganzas.

I'm Jim Huber, ant that's this week's "Modern Living."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A 911 operator comforts her own son.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DISPATCHER: Talk to Jesus.

VICTIM: I am.

DISPATCHER: Ask him to save you and do and just believe it, OK?

VICTIM: All right.

DISPATCHER: Do you hear me?

VICTIM: All right. I love you.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Find out how things turned out, straight ahead.

And coming up, scary pictures of what got through security at one of the world's best known airports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Half past the hour now. Here's what's happening "In the News." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are set to meet later today in Jerusalem. That's according to officials from both governments.

The U.S. military says it killed a senior Taliban leader in an air strike in southern Afghanistan. But wire reports say the Taliban is denying claims that Mullah Akhtar Mohammed Osmani is dead. He was close to Osama bin Laden and said to be heir to the rebel leadership.

And just a short time ago, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to impose sanction on Iran for its nuclear program. The new resolution does not permit any use of force. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and refuses to stop uranium enrichment.

And some very happy people in Spain. They're among the lucky winners of the world's richest lottery, up to 1,800 people will share the top prize in the annual el Gordo drawing, which means "fat." They won just over $395,000 apiece. The lottery's total price money is $2.8 billion.

911 dispatchers -- well, they are trained to stay calm no matter what the emergency, right? Well, a 911 dispatcher in South Carolina was really put to the test when the emergency call was about her own son.

Mandy Gaither of CNN affiliate WCSC reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE LAMB (ph), 911 OPERATOR: Charleston County Emergency Services, Operator 29.

The location of your emergency?

CAITLIN: Dianne?

D. LAMB: Yes.

CAITLIN: This is Caitlin.

D. LAMB: Yes?

CAITLIN: Bruce just got shot. Bruce is...

D. LAMB: Are you serious? Where?

CAITLIN: Yes, I'm serious. Bruce just got shot.

D. LAMB: Where?

CAITLIN: In the side.

MANDY GAITHER, WCSC REPORTER (voice-over): On any other day, a 911 call about a shooting is nothing unusual for dispatchers in Charleston County. But on December 6th, Dianne Lamb's job turned personal.

CAITLIN: Hey, your mom is the operator. Your mom is the operator.

D. LAMB: Don't hang up. GAITHER: Her son Bruce, seen here, had been shot.

D. LAMB: This is Charleston County EMS.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes?

D. LAMB: I need you to send an ambulance to my house at 130 (NAME DELETED) Street.

GAITHER: After getting medics on the way, she let himself be a mother for just a moment.

D. LAMB: If he dies, I want to talk to him before he dies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bruce, talk to momma.

D. LAMB: Put him on the phone.

BRUCE: Hello.

D. LAMB: Bruce?

BRUCE: Yes.

D. LAMB: Baby, I love you.

Now, listen. OK. Jesus is going to take care of you, OK? You'll be safe. You just need to calm down and just focus on that, OK?

GAITHER: Somehow, Dianne was able to stay calm and tell her son's friends how to control the bleeding.

D. LAMB: Press down on that wound, OK? OK, honey, take a breath. Take a breath, OK? You can do this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was all three of us.

D. LAMB: You can do this, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's puking, momma. He's puking.

D. LAMB: Roll him on his side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roll on your side.

D. LAMB: Roll him on his side and clean it out.

GAITHER: After a terrifying 12-minute call, Dianne talked to her son one more time before he was rushed to the hospital.

D. LAMB: Bruce?

BRUCE: Yes?

D. LAMB: I love you, baby. BRUCE: I love you.

D. LAMB: Listen to me. Talk to Jesus.

BRUCE: Mom...

D. LAMB: Talk to Jesus.

BRUCE: I am.

D. LAMB: Ask him to save you and do it...

BRUCE: I am.

D. LAMB: ... and just believe it, OK?

BRUCE: All right.

D. LAMB: Do you hear me?

BRUCE: Mom, I love you.

GAITHER: Eight inches of Bruce's small intestine were removed, along with his appendix. While the bullet is still lodged close to his vertebrae, Dianne believes it was a miracle she got the call that saved her son's life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well the Christmas crunch is taking place across the globe. Millions of people are on the go as they head out for the holidays. At London's Heathrow Airport, the busiest in Europe, some holiday cheer. Bogged in for days, Heathrow is now getting back to a more normal schedule.

Denver's international airport also trying to recover from this week's crippling snowstorm. That airport shut down for almost two days. But now, while there are still delays, the situation in Denver is improving.

Highways across America now also packed. AAA says about 65 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles from home during the holidays. And as you can see on the screen, we've got up to the minute travel information from across the country. So you'll want to say with CNN all weekend for help in your travel plans.

And you know things have been a bit hectic at the Denver airport after that recent blizzard. Well check this out. 9-year-old Cole Churchill was one of about 20 unaccompanied children stranded at the airport.

He was headed from Spokane, Washington, to Nebraska, but when his flight got canceled, he got off the plane and wandered around by himself for a couple of hours before airline workers found him. United Airlines has apologized. Cole, meanwhile did make it to Nebraska and is just happy to finally be reunited with his family. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLE CHURCHILL, WAS STUCK IN DENVER: Now I don't have to worry about being in the Denver airport because I have my daddy and my stepmom and my little sister.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And this just in now out of Berkeley, California. We're hearing that an earthquake measuring 3.5 has just struck. And, apparently, this is the third major earthquake since Wednesday to hit this area alone. We haven't heard anything about any kind of damages or any consequences as a result of this 3.5 earthquake taking place in Berkeley, California. We'll be watching it.

Of course, we'll bring it to you as soon as we get it -- Reynolds.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, a bit of an air travel concern across the seas in Europe, not because of weather but because of a security concern. In Paris, a major security concern for air travelers this holiday weekend. An undercover investigation by a TV reporter has exposed some major security flaws at the French capital's two major airports.

Details now from CNN's Jim Bittermann in Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In several different scenarios secretly taped by this French public TV program, "Pieces a Conviction," or "Incriminating Evidence," there are clear indications that security at Paris' main airports is far from perfect.

In the past month, one of the program's reporters, working with a private consultant, who tests airport security for the government, successfully sneaked box cutters and fake bomb making materials aboard flights leaving from Charles de Gaulle and Orly Airports.

In one scene, the consultant was shown passing through the security checks having hidden two box cutters knives in his luggage, the same kind of weapons used in a September 11th hijacking. As his bags go through an X-ray machine, the operator, whose identity has been obscured, is distracted in conversation with another security agent, never spotting the knives in his TV monitor.

Aboard the plane, a Delta Airlines flight to New York, the security consultant proves he's smuggled the weapons on board.

In a second scenario, the consultant boards an Air France flight with a simulated block of Semtex plastic explosives and a fake detonator, clearly marked as such. Once on board, he demonstrates exactly how easy it would be to assemble a bomb in the plane's bathroom. A bomb, the reporter says, that would have been more powerful than the one used to blow up a Pan Am 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

LAURENT RICHARD, REPORTER, "PIECES A CONVICTION": As a passenger, I was really surprised. It was really amazing for me, because I never imagined that it was so easy to come inside a plane with 340 grams of Semtex.

BITTERMANN: When confronted with the story, an official charged with airport security seemed dumbfounded, and was at a loss for words. The Paris Airport Authority and other government security agencies were withholding comment.

RICHARD: The French administration doesn't want to admit that it's -- the safety procedures in France have been working very bad.

BITTERMANN (on camera): Richard says three years ago, the same security consultant, working back then for the French parliament, put the airports to the same tests. And the reporter says that in the three years since, nothing has changed.

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, perhaps you're all shopped out about now just a couple of days before Christmas. Well, still need some other ideas, some last-minute gift ideas? Well, you may be surprised what the pope is offering. Find out why he's doing it later in the NEWSROOM.

And coming to an IMAX theater near you, the story of Katrina and New Orleans. Straight ahead, I'll speak to a man featured in the new film "Hurricane on the Bayou."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: "Hurricane on the Bayou" is a new IMAX movie that was supposed to show what would happen if a big hurricane were to hit New Orleans. The plan used special effects to create a storm for the big screen.

The reality, Hurricane Katrina did come along, adding unwanted to realism and changing the direction of the documentary altogether, which ended up focusing on the losses that are really at the root of the Gulf Coast culture. The film has just opened nationwide.

Tab Benoit is a musician and a conservationist who is featured in it, one of four musicians who are featured in this documentary. He joins us now from New Orleans.

Good to see you.

TAB BENOIT, MUSICIAN AND CONSERVATIONIST: How you doing?

WHITFIELD: I'm doing pretty good. So what's really fascinating is, while this documentary was originally created to talk about the wetlands and how they are eroding and how they are the natural protective barrier for a city like New Orleans, here comes Hurricane Katrina just when filming is about to begin and, instead, the creators of this documentary decided let's talk about what Katrina has done to this area, how it has devastated it in a physical manner, but also internally, in terms of its culture, what makes New Orleans in particular or Louisiana as a whole really special.

And so they recruited you and three other musicians to help tell the story. How important was this in your view to really get to the cultural losses as a result of Katrina?

BENOIT: Well, the culture, you know, people say it's in the water, you know. And we've heard that growing up. Hey, how come everybody there plays so well and is such a great artist? And I would have to agree with them.

You know, I get my inspiration from the marshes and the swamps. I spent a lot of time out there, and when I want to go write a song, that's where I go. I get in a boat and take my guitar and go out in the swamp and get that inspiration. It's such a living, breathing thing, and it's dying.

I mean, we tried to show that in the movie. I think what the movie does best is actually show the root of the problem. I know a lot of people see the results, but they didn't -- they're not up to par on where we started. The first problem...

WHITFIELD: And when you say the root of the problem, you really are talking about the wetlands, the levees, that whole thing.

BENOIT: Right. The levees were actually the first mistake we made. We effectively took the Mississippi River out of the delta system. We live in an area that's -- our coastline is either building or its eroding. There's no such thing as keeping our coastlines still and solid like everybody else along the coast of the country.

So we either have to be building land or we're losing land. And right now, we're losing an acre an hour. And the movie is a great way to show that and tell that. We've lost the size of the state of Delaware since we leveed the river off, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

I don't know how anybody else would feel about that, but that's true and it's kind of hard to watch. I've watched it my whole life, spent a lot of time flying out there, flying pipelines over marshes, checking for leaks and watching land just wash away. And I really tried to figure out, you know, why and then figure out what I could do to help. And I was very lucky to be involved in this movie.

WHITFIELD: And it really is a powerful message, and you are helping to convey the message, you along with Allen Toussaint, Amanda Shaw, Chubby Carrier -- very familiar sounds, faces, images of New Orleans.

How important do you think it was to try and take this approach through musicians, so many of whom have been dispersed, who have left the whole New Orleans area, you know, separated like everybody else because of Katrina, many of whom are threatening never to come back? How important was it to have you all, the four of you, get together to try and tell this story of the losses?

BENOIT: Well, I think the artists of our culture do have the ways to communicate with -- it's a communication that's heart to heart. It's not necessarily speaking and telling each other what we have to say to each other. It's a way to go straight to somebody's heart with a message. And I think as an artist, that's what we do. That's what we do every day and that's what we're here for.

And that's why culture is so important. You know, art and artists come from culture. And, you know, sometimes it feels like the culture of this area has become disposable. And, you know, I really have a hard time dealing with that. You know, this should not be disposable. We should not have a city or a culture or a coastline that's disposable.

WHITFIELD: All right, yes, well, Tab, a lot of folks are really having a difficult time, you know, grasping the notion of losing this kind of culture to this really phenomenal place. Tab Benoit, "Hurricane on the Bayou" is the name of the documentary in IMAX theaters now, starting this weekend. And thank you so much for your time.

BENOIT: Thank you and everybody in this country needs to go see this movie. It's telling the real story. It's telling the truth and the music helps to drive the point home. So thank you all for having me.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.

And this information just coming in. We've got new images right now of a very important, perhaps even pivotal meeting taking place in the Middle East between the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

They are meeting there in Jerusalem, and many believe that this is a significant step forward because particularly after Mahmoud Abbas mentioned just over a week ago that he would try to urge early elections, there was a lot of infighting as well as physical fighting taking place between the Fatah and Hamas movements.

And so now, some are hoping that perhaps there is some hope in this kind of meeting taking place between the Israeli prime minister and the Palestinian prime minister that perhaps they will come to terms on moving forward and bringing some sort of peace to the Middle East region.

Meantime, millions of diabetics in this country at risk of nerve damage. Next I'll talk with the doctor who uses an alternative technique to save his patient's legs and other limbs from amputation.

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WHITFIELD: For most of us, a pinched nerve can be pretty annoying. For a diabetic, a pinched nerve in the foot can eventually lead to amputation or even death.

Dr. Lee Dellon is a plastic surgeon who developed a surgical technique to decompress nerves and prevent such problems. I talked to him about the procedure.

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DR. A. LEE DELLON, DIR., DELLON INSTITUTES: When a nerve is compressed for long period of time, the sensory nerve fibers stop working, you lose feeling in your foot, many people have pain. When you lose feeling in your foot, you're at risk or ulceration, infection and one out of six people with diabetes who develops neuropathy will have an ulcer and then go on, one out of six of those, to have an amputation.

WHITFIELD: And so your innovative approach will perhaps keep a lot of folks hopefully from having to think about amputation or even have it carried out. This nerve decompression works how?

DELLON: Well, I'm very excited about this. I think most viewers will know what carpal tunnel syndrome is, when a nerve that's this big is pinched in your wrist. And people know that if you operate and open the covering of the pinched nerve, the nerve wakes up, numbness goes away.

And we've taken that same approach to the feet. We identify in people with diabetics and symptoms who have numbness and tingling, areas where the nerve is compressed in their ankle, their knee and the top of their foot. When we open up these tight places, life comes back into the nerves and no one we've operated on since 1982 has had an ulcer or an amputation.

WHITFIELD: So you feel pretty confident about the results. What are the potential side effects?

DELLON: Well, not everybody gets a great result, but 80 percent of the people do. Eighty percent of the people, when we tap, if they feel tingling in their fingers, will have a chance to get a good result.

Because we operate on the foot and the stitches are near the ankle, we do allow people to walk right away. The surgery is an outpatient procedure and when people can walk right away, the stitches may pull through the skin.

So a potential complication is that the wound may not heal. About one out of 100 patients who will have this problem and wound will heal slowly over five to eight weeks.

WHITFIELD: And so, again, how can a patient kind of detect themselves whether there is a nerve problem whether it's by way of the wrist or even ankle as you were demonstrating?

DELLON: Well, it's a very exciting thing. If take the same idea about the hand and you apply it to the foot, we know that the nerve in the ankle crosses right here and if a patient at home crosses their leg, if they're a diabetic and they wonder if they have a problem, if they just will tap along their ankle.

And if they feel something go into their toes or into the arch of their foot or even their heel, they'll know there's life left in that nerve. We can release it and patient will have an 80 percent chance of relief of pain and recover of sensibility in their foot.

WHITFIELD: All right. Now you give a very rosy outlook on this treatment, but not everyone is on board with it, namely the American Diabetes Association. They're using words like unproven therapies. How do you dispute that?

DELLON: Well, I'm a plastic surgeon and the research that I have published and that the other doctors I've trained have published, appears in the surgery journals. The medical doctors are just coming to read what we've written.

The medical doctors actually agree that if there is a compressed nerve in the foot, the ankle or the knee, the nerve should be decompressed. The American Diabetes Association quite rightly is very conservative and I agree with them, that not every diabetic should have this operation.

But if you're a diabetic with a nerve compression, I believe the medical doctors would agree with my statement that that nerve should be decompressed.

WHITFIELD: Dr. A. Lee Dellon, thanks so much for your time.

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WHITFIELD: And a look at the top stories and "IN THE MONEY" when we come back.

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