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Senator Sex Scandal; Katrina: Two Years Later; U.S. Military Releases Iranian Group After Brief Detention in Iraq
Aired August 29, 2007 - 08:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live on Wednesday morning. It is August 29th.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Two years since Hurricane Katrina wrecked the Gulf Coast, and today, President Bush joins residents for somber remembrances.
HARRIS: Also, Idaho Senator Larry Craig to the media: "I'm not gay." Craig caught up in a men's room sex sting.
COLLINS: And a NASA report on intoxicated astronauts? Sources tell CNN there's no evidence shuttle crews fly drunk.
Sober in space, in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And our top story this hour, Senator Larry Craig and his men's room sex scandal. Republican leaders this morning calling for an ethics probe.
CNN Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash is in Boise, Idaho.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): He pleaded guilty, hoping no one, not even his wife, would find out. Senator Larry Craig insisted that was his mistake, not the conduct he admitted in a court of law.
SEN. LARRY CRAIG (R), IDAHO: That overreaction was a mistake, and I apologize for my judgment. Furthermore, I should not have kept this arrest to myself. And I should have told my family and my friends about it. I wasn't eager to share this failure, but I should have anyway, because I am not gay.
BASH: Standing in the hot Boise sun, Craig was trying to explain what happened June 11th in this public bathroom in the Minneapolis airport. An undercover police officer said Craig went into the men's room known for sexual activity and used several suggestive signals.
"... Craig tapped his right foot," the arresting officer reported. "I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moved his foot closer to my foot."
Craig was arrested, fingerprinted and photographed. At the time of arrest, according to the police report, Craig denied the officer's account, but nearly two months later, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and paid more than $500 in fines. Now he says both the police officer's report and his own sworn statement are false.
CRAIG: I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in hopes of making it go away.
BASH: Craig's explanation came nowhere close to satisfying disappointed conservatives in the state he's represented for a quarter century.
BRYAN FISCHER, IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE: I believe he should resign because I believe character is an extremely important qualification for public service. And I believe the senator, by his own admission, has acknowledged that he's fallen short of the standard that we should expect from public servants.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Dana Bash joins us this morning from Boise.
And Dana, good to see you.
What are you hearing from Idaho Republicans? We heard a little bit there. Will the senator's story fly with them?
BASH: So far, it certainly doesn't sound that way. Publicly, Tony, at least the chairman here is trying to sort of take a wait-and- see approach, but you talk to Republicans here privately and that is not what you hear.
Bottom line is, they don't think that the senator's explanation was credible yesterday. And I talked to one influential Republican, just for an example, Tony, somebody who has known the senator for decades, who simply said that they -- that they do not think that -- he and his colleagues do not think that the senator is really telling the truth when he tries to explain what happened, why he pled guilty but now is saying that he's innocent. In fact, this particular source said that he thinks that Larry Craig's political career is over and wouldn't be surprised if some Republicans here got together very soon and tried to make that clear to the senator.
HARRIS: Yes. The credibility challenge here.
Dana Bash for us in Boise, Idaho.
Dana, thank you. And Senator Larry Craig is the latest high-profile figure caught in the sting. Police targeting places people go for public sex. We take a look at the problem coming up a bit later in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Anger and frustration. Memorials and mourning. It is the second anniversary of the country's worst natural disaster. New Orleans and the Gulf Coast marking two years since the devastation from Hurricane Katrina.
The scene, beyond belief. Eight percent of New Orleans flooded. Homes demolished. Thousands of people stranded in the Superdome without food and water. More than 1,800 people died in Louisiana and Mississippi.
This hour, a somber remembrance. New Orleans' mayor, Ray Nagin, and other officials break ground on a victims' memorial and mausoleum. It will hold the remains of more than 100 storm victims. They have never been identified.
President Bush in New Orleans to mark the anniversary of Katrina today, as well. He'll be talking about rebuilding efforts next hour. We'll make sure to bring you his remarks live right here in the NEWSROOM.
We want to begin our coverage in New Orleans, where there are a few signs of progress. But as you might imagine, frustration over the slow recovery.
CNN's Sean Callebs is live now for us this morning.
And Sean, you live in New Orleans. Tell us a little bit about what your friends, your neighbors are saying today, two years later.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think, if anything, we, the people from CNN who moved here right after the storm, we have it clearly a lot better than anybody who lived here during the storm. What we are hearing from people, simply overall frustration. They believe the government at every level, city, state and federal, have simply let them down.
Two years later, want to show you the street we're on here in Gentilly, the eastern section of New Orleans. This is a good snapshot of what this entire city looks like.
Debris out here. Still FEMA trailers. A lot of homeowners are just in the initial phases now, two years after the storm, of rebuilding.
And remember that? Look at that simple up on top up on the side of the home -- 9/16 SCTR (ph), and then a 0 with a slash in it. That's still on so many businesses, homes in this area. That, of course, stands for 9/16, the date that checked that someone checked that house, zero bodies found in that house.
Now, right where we are, this is a FEMA trailer that holds Lionel and Linda McGee. They have lived for about two years in 400 square feet while they work to rebuild their homes and their lives. But they're among the lucky. They got some of what's called the "Road Home Money." That's the billions of dollars the federal government freed up to allow people to begin rebuilding.
They have $75,000.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA MCGEE, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: I was able to get as far as I'm going now. And it is -- as you can see, I still have to get flooring. I need furniture. I need appliances. And the money is just about gone already. You know?
It's amazing what the labor costs in this city right now. The labor and the material is killing me. You know? It's just not enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: Boy, they cost her so much.
But look at this. You remember these pictures? This is what the neighborhood we're in right now looked like after the floodwater from the London Street Canal began to go down. Just debris, mold, filth.
Well, this debris has been cleaned up. And now inside the McGee's home, take a look. This is what they've been able to do with the $75,000. But she talked about not having money for appliances.
This is it. They're out of money. They spent the insurance money, they spent the Road Home Money. So right now they're going to have to scrimp, save, do what they can.
They hope to be in here in the end of October. But, Heidi, these are among the lucky people. So far, of the 180,000-plus who have applied for the Road Home Money, less than 22 percent, one in five, have received any money two years after the storm hit this area.
COLLINS: Do they have any recourse, Sean? Who can they talk to about that? President Bush we know is going to be visiting New Orleans today. You have to wonder what kind of reception he might get.
CALLEBS: Yes, it's going to be interesting to hear what reception he gets, because people remember the State of the Union, when he did not even mention, not one word, rebuilding along the Gulf Coast.
Who recourse do people have for a road home? They can continue to appeal. They continue to call. They spend a lot of time on phones, they spend a lot of time trying to cut their way through red tape.
Basically, they just try to keep the frustration under control. But, you know, the signs are here. The death rate has gone up in the city. Depression rate has gone up in the city. Mental health care is down dramatically from post-Katrina, so life is tough two years after this storm.
COLLINS: CNN's Sean Callebs for us this morning from New Orleans.
Sean, thanks so much for that. We know you'll be watching all of the events today with us.
Thanks.
HARRIS: And we want to invite you to stay with CNN for events marking the second anniversary of Katrina. We will have live coverage of a moment of silence. That memorial service expected at 9:38 a.m. Eastern Time.
And President Bush talks about the recovery effort. His remarks live from New Orleans at 10:45 Eastern Time.
And there's still a long road ahead for New Orleans and the Mississippi coast. And if you would like to make a difference, you still can. It is part of our Impact Your World campaign.
Just go to CNN.com/impact. There you will find a number of resources for the Gulf Coast recovery.
COLLINS: New this morning, a deal with the Taliban. Eight South Korean hostages are now free in Afghanistan. The Taliban handed them over at two separate locations earlier this morning.
Eleven more remain in captivity. They are among the 23 South Korean Christian aid workers abducted by militants last month. The kidnappers executed two of the captives. Two others were freed earlier.
South Korea promised to halt all Christian mission tear work in Afghanistan. Seoul also moving forward with its previous decision to withdraw 200 non-combat troops from the country.
HARRIS: No evidence NASA astronauts were flying drunk. Sources tell CNN the new findings are outlined in an internal NASA review expected out today. A NASA committee had reported two alleged cases where astronauts were intoxicated and flight surgeons or other astronauts had raised concerns.
NASA sources tell CNN the report does not include any names.
COLLINS: Reynolds Wolf is the name that we're talking with this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: How about this? A California surfer in the hospital this morning, the victim of a shark attack.
Police say the shark struck the 24-year-old man from behind. Listen to this. He was dragged under water but fought off the shark and escaped. He is recovering from bite wounds to his torso and thigh. One witness said the shark was a Great White, at least a 20- footer.
COLLINS: Still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM this morning, the destruction of Katrina through the eyes of young survivors.
CNN's Soledad O'Brien and the "Children of the Storm".
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
Another dust-up with Iran. Details next in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Also, not feeling well? Maybe something you ate or possibly something more serious. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with some tips on how to tell the difference.
COLLINS: And she's a state teen beauty queen. I know you have seen this gal by now. Not the state geography bee champ though. Now her primetime fumble on national TV is a YouTube sensation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And new this morning, rounded up then released. U.S. troops take them into custody, Iranian delegates in Baghdad. Then later turned them over to the Iraqis.
What's this all about?
Live to CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr for the very latest on this story.
Barbara, what is this all about?
STARR: Well, the details are being sorted out, Tony.
The U.S. has now released eight Iranians that it detained in Iraq, released them now today. There is some video we want to show everyone from The Associated Press showing these men being escorted by U.S. troops blindfolded and handcuffed out of a hotel in Baghdad.
They have been released, but it all began when these officials apparently from Iran's power or electricity ministry were in Baghdad, they were traveling through a checkpoint. The U.S. military spokesman explained what happened next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. KEVIN BERGNER, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: Several occupants were observed to have weapons in the vehicle, though none had any documentation authorizing them to be armed. Later, some of those individuals were identified to be Iranian citizens, and all of them were detained until an investigation could be completed. Those individuals were released early this morning after the coalition had an opportunity to determine the circumstances that were taking place.
(END VIDEO CLIP) STARR: So, the U.S. detained them, determined that they were Iranians, said they had weapons that they were not authorized to be carrying when they went through this U.S. military checkpoint, escorted them, blindfolded and handcuffed out of that hotel, as you saw in the video. They are now released and everybody's waiting to see if there's any reaction from the government in Tehran -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right. I'm still a little confused here, Barbara.
Do you have to have documentation to have arms in Iraq? That's a pretty high standard. Or is it just because these were Iranians with weapons and there's always been this concern about Iranians transferring weapons into Iraq?
STARR: Well, I think that certainly remains to be seen. If you are traveling -- if you are traveling through Baghdad, in fact, I believe, as a foreign diplomat or under some sort of foreign non-Iraqi governmental business, I think it would be expected that you would have some permission to be traveling through a U.S. military checkpoint carrying arms. That's what the U.S. said these people didn't have -- Tony.
HARRIS: Got you.
Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr for us this morning.
Barbara, thank you.
STARR: Sure.
COLLINS: News about your health now. A burning sensation, maybe pain in your chest, is it heartburn or could it be something more serious?
CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is here now to talk a little bit more about GERD.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: GERD, yes, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. And heartburn, by the way, I think a lot of us suffer from that here in CNN, in the newsroom.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: Look, it can be something that a lot of people develop from time to time. Millions, as you mentioned, get that little bit of discomfort behind the chest, but it can be indicative of something more serious, which is this Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. The reason it can be more serious is that if it's untreated, that acid constantly bathing the lower part of your esophagus can lead to cancer, it can lead to ulcers, it can lead to these strictures so that your esophagus actually closes off a little bit, which can be a problem.
What exactly is happening here? Take a look at this animation.
You eat some food. Basically, it falls down into your stomach, and some of that acid that's in your stomach there actually regurgitates, if you will, back up into the esophagus, as you can see there. It's regurgitating back into the esophagus. Sometimes it will make it all the way back up into the back of the mouth itself, which is why people have sort of a bitter taste sometimes in the back of their mouth.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: People may be watching this, Heidi, and saying, well, how do I know if I have heartburn, or is it Gastroesophageal Reflux? Here's a few simple questions you can ask yourself to try and figure that out.
Number one, do you have this sort of feeling of pain or burning behind the chest? Does that sometimes cause a bitter taste in the back of your mouth? Do those things occur primarily after meals, and I'll say first thing in the morning, as well? Does it occur two or times more per week?
Also, does taking over-the-counter medications, anti-acids, seem to offer some relief? And does taking prescription medications not offer complete relief?
If you answer yes to two or more of those questions, you might, in fact, have this reflux problem, as opposed to simple heartburn.
COLLINS: Well, it seems so very common. I mean, my husband, I know, you know, carries around a handful of Zantac or Pepcid AC, or whatever. But there's got to be a way to treat it for good, or is it just something that you deal with kind of for the rest of your life?
GUPTA: What Matt's doing is how most people treat it. There are some other things that you can do that aren't even medications.
For example, just keeping a food diary, figuring out what the trigger foods are. Also, just raising the head of your bed up so that at night you don't reflux into your...
COLLINS: So done that. It's really comfy.
GUPTA: And another thing is not eating at all within two hours of bedtime. Those things seem to help.
The medications that Matt's taking, those things do help, as well. But I think what you might -- what Matt might need or a lot of people might need is actually an endoscopy. They put a little tube down the stomach, take a look at the esophagus and find out exactly what the problem is.
Sometimes it might be a bacterial infection that's causing the problem. It might need to be treated with antibiotics.
COLLINS: Yes. We have done the esophagus -- esophageal -- anyway -- endoscopy.
Anyway, you mentioned the trigger foods, though. What are the most common ones? I mean, I think we hear a lot about, you know, chocolates or acidic foods. Am I right with that or...
GUPTA: You are absolutely right, although I will say that people seem to have all sorts of different triggers. What might be a trigger for one person may not be a trigger in somebody else. So, you've got to know your own triggers, which is why that food diary comes into play here.
But caffeinated foods, spicy foods, carbonated beverages, especially at night, those can all be triggers. So...
COLLINS: He is doing it to himself, the Big Gulps a-plenty. I mean, like, two or three a day, yes.
GUPTA: Right before he goes to bed?
COLLINS: Yes. Yes.
GUPTA: Tell him to cut that out.
COLLINS: OK. I'll tell him you said so.
Thanks so much.
GUPTA: All right.
HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM this morning, one well-paid pooch. Leona Helmsley leaves millions -- oh man -- millions to her dog. But that generosity doesn't carry over to some of her human heirs.
We'll explain.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ali Velshi in New York, "Minding Your Business".
For those of you who didn't get a lot of money from Leona Helmsley, you're going to have to make your money in the stock market. We've got 10 minutes to go before the New York Stock Exchange opens.
Stay with me and I'll tell you what to expect.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Some called her the "Queen of Mean," but she had a soft spot for her dog. Leona Helmsley's pooch is now getting paid for all that companionship $12 million. That's how much the late billionaire hotel baroness left her dog named Trouble.
Helmsley's brother also gets millions. He'll look after the dog. But two of her grandchildren get nothing.
HARRIS: Wow.
Stocks slumped Tuesday when minutes released -- this has happened a few times before -- released from the latest Fed minute irked investors, fueling their concerns about a credit crunch and falling home prices.
Ali Velshi is here "Minding Your Business".
I remember a couple of other times in the recent past where we have gotten the notes and...
VELSHI: Yes. It is a strange thing, yes.
HARRIS: ... everything's gone a little crazy, yes.
VELSHI: The Fed has its meeting on August 7th, and then they always release the minutes a few weeks later. So we were looking -- yesterday, we were reacting to the minutes from the meeting of August 7th. And here's what's interesting.
The Fed, at its meeting where it decided not to reduce interest rates, had said they're not all that concerned about this credit crunch and the subprime lending crisis and all that kind of stuff. And, of course, 10 days later, on August 17th, the Fed cut that discount rate, the rate at which it loans money to banks. So I guess some investors were a little irked that maybe the Fed's not taking the situation seriously enough.
HARRIS: Not dialed in. Not tuned in.
VELSHI: Wasn't dialed in. Right, exactly.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: And that's what happened. So as these minutes came out at 2:00 -- they're pretty hefty. You have to get through them. And between 2:00 and 4:00, particularly in the last hour of trading, the Dow really tumbled, giving up 280 points.
Now, what we always look for, Tony, is to see whether this moves into the Asian markets, which it did.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: And then into European markets, which, interestingly enough, it didn't. So, with four minutes left to go, we are actually looking at futures that indicate the Dow and other major indexes will open positively today.
HARRIS: So, what about the broader concerns that I'm reading about here, about certainly what's happened in the mortgage sector, sort of bringing down the economy overall?
Are there real concerns out there?
VELSHI: Well, two things. There are real concerns. Well, the two things that make you feel rich are how you're doing with your investments or your retirement money...
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: ... and how you're doing on your home.
Now, we got a report out that showed that for the second three months of this year, the second quarter, that's April to July, over the same period last year, compared to the same period last year, home prices were down 3.2 percent. That was the national average for single family homes.
Now, the problem here, Tony, is it's OK if you're in one area, one neighborhood, and you're buying -- you're selling a house there and you're buying one there...
HARRIS: Sure.
VELSHI: ... because it's kind of a wash. But let's say you are in Detroit or something. That tops the list. That's the number one price decline market in the country, 11 percent.
San Diego, 7.3. Phoenix, 6.6. Vegas, 5.1. Los Angeles, 4.1.
Let's say you are in Detroit and you have to move because you're looking for a job because you might have been laid off in the auto sector...
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
VELSHI: ... and the job's in Seattle. Well, Seattle is on the other side of the spectrum. There are markets that are going up in this country.
Seattle is up almost 8 percent. Charlotte, North Carolina, 6.8 percent. Portland, Oregon, 4.5 percent. Even Atlanta and Dallas -- and I'll tell you, when I speak to people in Atlanta, they're not telling me the market's up.
HARRIS: No.
VELSHI: They're telling me they think it's still down -- 1.6 percent in Atlanta and Dallas means there are some places that are going up, or some sector of homes that are going up, and others that are still going down. So, 1.6 percent is almost not worth considering.
HARRIS: Absolutely.
VELSHI: But theoretically, you are on the right side of the equation right now in Atlanta.
HARRIS: There he is, "Minding Your Business" this morning, Ali Velshi.
Ali, great to see you. Thanks.
VELSHI: You're welcome.
COLLINS: The president on the pace of Katrina recovery. Next hour, live coverage of his remarks from New Orleans on the second anniversary of the disaster.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: Hi there, everybody.
I'm Heidi Collins.
Among our top stories this morning, remembering the horror -- New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, mark the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. This sunrise service taking place in Waveland, Mississippi. Other services are being held across the region this morning.
HARRIS: And on that dreadful day in 2005, Katrina made landfall early in the morning south of New Orleans. It flooded 80 percent of the city, then took aim at coastal Mississippi. Its high winds and incredible storm surge flattened much of the state's 70-mile shoreline.
After it was over, the body count was shocking -- more than 1,800 people killed and Louisiana and Mississippi. Katrina, the worst natural disaster in American history.
We just want to take you back to New Orleans now for a ground- breaking ceremony to be attended by clergy there, community members, elected officials -- all coming together to pray and remember the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
One of the number of events this morning, culminating with the president on the ground making remarks in about an hour's time. President Bush's visit to
the Gulf Coast today is his fifteenth since Hurricane Katrina. White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us live.
Suzanne, great to see you.
What does the president have planned today?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, really, this is about trying to create this picture perfect moment of progress here. This is really something that the administration, the president trying to show, at least, that he is going to come through on the promise that he had made some two years ago in Jackson Square to bring this city back.
But for, Tony, a lot of residents here in New Orleans, this is really nothing more than a big show for them. As you mentioned, this is the president's fifteenth visit here. He is going to be talking about, stressing the federal dollars that have gone into the recovery effort in the tune of some $114 billion, including recovery and rebuilding of these levees.
We saw just last night President Bush at the famous Creole restaurant, Dooky Chase. That is where he was with the restaurant owner, as well as giving kisses and hugs out to the governor -- Governor Blanco, as well as Mayor Ray Nagin, really to show a sense of what he said -- these were quiet heroes that are bringing the city back.
Later this morning, what we're going to see is that he and the first lady will go to a charter school, Martin Luther King Charter School, talk to about education, the improvements of education. They'll offer a moment of silence for those that died in the storm.
But, Tony, I have to say, there are a lot of people here who don't really take a lot of stock in what is happening here. They look at these pictures, they look at the backdrop and they are extremely frustrated and disappointed at where they are today, two days after, just how slow the recovery has been. A lot of people I talked to don't even look at the president to say here is someone who is going to help us ultimately. They just want to get their lives back together and they don't -- it's not so simple as putting it on Bush. They look at state, local, insurance companies, as well as the federal government -- all of them simply failing at this point -- Tony.
HARRIS: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux with us.
Suzanne, if we get a chance later, I want to ask you about your family and how everyone in your family is doing.
But hopefully we'll do that a little later.
Appreciate it, Suzanne.
Great to see you.
MALVEAUX: OK.
Thanks.
COLLINS: The horrors after Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of young survivors.
Special correspondent Soledad O'Brien teamed up with Spike Lee to chronicle "Children of the Storm".
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT:
(voice-over): Deshawn Dabney has big dreams.
DESHAWN DABNEY, HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORE: And I want to be this huge entertainer. I want to sell millions of records. I want win a Grammy. I want to win an Oscar. I want to perform on Broadway. I want to do it all. And there's no way I can do that if I'm dead.
O'BRIEN: The 15-year-old lives in the Mid City neighborhood of New Orleans, where gunshots are often heard.
DABNEY: Every time you wake up, every time you cut on the news, you hear such and such has been shot and killed and murdered. And a lot of times, I actually fear for the well-being of myself and my peers at school.
DELLICA SCOTT, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: New Orleans is a good city. It's just people need to stop, I mean, killing people and -- for nothing.
ANITA DENNIS, DESHAWN'S ENGLISH TEACHER: It's gotten to the point where I'm considering leaving the city.
DABNEY: Even after being born and raised here and living in New Orleans all your life?
DENNIS: I mean I love it here. I really do. But, unfortunately, you take a chance when you're traveling in certain areas of the city.
O'BRIEN: So Deshawn decides to do something about it, becoming part of a group that stages shows and hosts events. They're designed to keep the kids off the streets and out of trouble. They also hold protests and news conferences.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Saturday is the big thing. We're unveiling the campaign we've been working on at those different forums that we're having, the campaign to rebuild a teen-friendly New Orleans, like the banner says. They're gone that walk from the front of the neighborhood to La Couture.
DABNEY: I couldn't even walk through my own neighborhood because they have signs saying I have to go around because someone was murdered on my street. That could have been me.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COLLINS: Soledad is joining us now live from New Orleans this morning -- Soledad, Mid City, where Deshawn lives, it's terrible crime.
What are they doing to address it?
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, I think a lot of the problem is, really, what are they doing to confront the issue of crime in the city as a whole?
Because the truth is, it's a real underlying problem for the recovery of New Orleans. If people don't fix the levees, you can't fix the crime problem, then the working class, the middle class people are not going to come back. It's that basic.
And so, there was a time when the police department would tell you that it's basically thug on thug crime, drug dealer versus drug dealer. But that's not really the case anymore.
And so as you see in Deshawn's story, it's kind of affecting more and more of the innocent victims. And, again, that's going to scare away anybody who is thinking about rebuilding in this city.
The police department has tried many tacks and it's been very, very difficult. And it's not just a story here in the City of New Orleans, it's always the story -- also the story in the other parishes, as well.
Confronting crime when all of these law enforcement officers are being challenged in their own ways has been a big, big problem. But if they do not confront the issue, the city is going to really struggle to come back.
COLLINS: Absolutely. I know you talked to a bunch of other kids, though, for the special, too.
Tell us about them.
O'BRIEN: You know, we talked to 11 kids in total. We really focus on four of them. Our kids range in age from 12 to 20. We have Amanda, a young woman who lives in St. Bernard Parish whose, you know, family was in difficult financial straits anyway. Her mother had died when she was 11 years old. Now she's a senior in high school. And this is a young woman who is dealing with The Road Home Program. Her grandmother, who is raising her, is 67 now, years old, working at McDonald's 38 hours a week -- not enough to be full-time.
You know, and this is a young woman who just wants to get through high school -- and she's a terrific student -- and go to the college that she wants to go to. But the financial difficulties could keep her from that. And we follow her ups and downs and her fears for her grandmother's life because the stress here is killing people.
I mean what a lot of local people will tell you is if you open the local paper, you will see the obituary column. I mean it's not just here, but in other towns, as well.
It is incredible to see that. People are dying, they say, of a broken heart. It's one of the big issues that worries Amanda.
And we have 10 other young people in our documentary. They -- they really bare their souls. We're incredibly proud of what they were able to accomplish for us.
COLLINS: And you're working with Spike Lee.
How cool is that?
Very good.
All right...
O'BRIEN: Yes, he's terrific. He's terrific.
COLLINS: All right, Soledad.
Thanks so much.
Watch our special investigations unit report. You can catch "Children of the Storm" tonight, coming your way at 8:00 Eastern.
HARRIS: And once again, let's take you back to New Orleans right now for the Katrina Memorial ground-breaking ceremony, running maybe just a couple of minutes late right now, being held at the Charity Hospital cemetery.
A number of clergy, community members on hand. We expect to hear from Mayor Ray Nagin. Congressman William Jefferson to be on hand, as well.
We invite you to stay with CNN for events marking this second anniversary of Katrina. We will have live coverage of the moment of silence and this memorial service, as well as the ground-breaking, to begin any moment now.
And of course, President Bush talks about the recovery effort. His remarks live from New Orleans at 10:45 a.m. Eastern time.
COLLINS: Obviously, there is still a long road ahead for New Orleans and the Mississippi Coast. If you would like to make a difference, you still can. It's part of our Impact Your World Campaign. Just go to CNN.com/impact.
There, you will find a number of resources for the Gulf Coast recovery.
HARRIS: Let's check in with Reynolds Wolf now in the Severe Weather Center.
And the burning question of the morning, were we able to get the bug off the lens or did our special effects team just fail us again?
COLLINS: We don't know that it was a bug.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Let's just hope...
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Oh. Oh.
COLLINS: I think it was bird doo.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: I don't know what it was, but let's just hope it's never to be seen again.
HARRIS: OK.
WOLF: We're not going to go back in that area again.
HARRIS: Right. You don't want to revisit that.
WOLF: Fair enough.
(LAUGHTER) WOLF: Fair enough. We're going to stay away from there.
HARRIS: You've got it.
WOLF: We're talking about the bug that we saw up on the screen up in Detroit.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: A senator caught in a men's room sex sting. He says he's innocent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LARRY CRAIG (R), IDAHO: Let me be clear. I am not gay. I never have been gay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Can Senator Larry Craig hold onto his job?
Washington's latest guessing game is on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Under arrest, now under investigation from his own party. Republican leaders are calling for an ethics probe of Senator Larry Craig.
The 62-year-old conservative was arrested in June during a police sting in a men's room. Minneapolis airport police say Craig sought sex with an undercover officer. Craig denies inappropriate behavior. He says it was a mistake to plead guilty to a lesser charge.
At least one conservative group in Idaho is calling on their long time lawmaker to resign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRYAN FISCHER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE: Rumors about Senator Craig's sexual proclivities have been circulating in Idaho for years. I've always discounted them because they came from anonymous sources. They could not be corroborated, could not be verified.
And what made this circumstance different, in my judgment, is that you did have the witness of the police officer and Senator Craig, essentially, by his guilty plea, accepting that the police officer's report of what happened was accurate.
And I did not feel that the senator did anything or said anything yesterday that would lead me to any other conclusion but that he acknowledged inappropriate behavior.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, Craig is up for reelection next year. He hasn't said whether he will seek a fourth term.
COLLINS: Craig's arrest part of the Minneapolis operation, one of many around the nation, targeting so-called public areas of opportunity.
CNN's Dan Lothian takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): It's not the primary function of public parks, restrooms and rest areas. But for men in search of anonymous same-sex partners, they are popular destinations.
PROF. RICHARD TEWKSBURY, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: There is also the idea that there is sort of a thrill to the hunt, to the excitement of sex in a public place, of doing something that potentially does have negative consequences for you.
LOTHIAN: Web sites like this one offer a kind of adult travel guide, including rules of the game and secret signals to make a connection in a public restroom, like waiting in a stall at the farthest end of the bathroom and, when someone approaches next door, "move your foot so that you know the other person can see it and slowly start tapping it." (on camera): Professor Richard Tewksbury at the University of Louisville has published several studies on this subculture. He has documented about 9,000 locations across the country where he says this public behavior, often referred to as cruising, takes place -- merely because of opportunity and convenience.
TEWKSBURY: There's all kinds of places, many times that most of us walk by or walk into in our daily lives and never realize are cruising locations.
LOTHIAN (voice-over): Anonymous gay sex in public areas certainly isn't new.
Remember pop singer George Michael almost 10 years ago?
He was busted for engaging in a lewd act in a park restroom in Beverly Hills.
GEORGE MICHAEL, POP SINGER: I can only apologize. I can I can try to fathom why I did it.
LOTHIAN: But law enforcement agencies across the country have been cracking down in recent months, sometimes using undercover stings to catch men in the act. Like at restrooms in Atlanta's Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport, where more than 40 men picked up recently for indecent exposure and public sex acts.
MAJ. DARRYL TOLLESON, ATLANTA POLICE: We have arrested college professors, bank presidents, other CEOs. So we -- it ranges.
LOTHIAN: And here's another surprise. TEWKSBURY: The research tells us that, for the most part, we're talking about men who are involved in some kind of long-term heterosexual relationship, frequently married, frequently with children.
LOTHIAN: Investigators say critics who argue police should be focusing on more serious crimes are missing the point, that the public behavior is illegal.
TOLLESON: We're there to enforce all crime, enforce all laws.
LOTHIAN: And they're finding suspects in the bathroom.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: Still to come this morning, real life wedding crasher. Police say this thief made off with the happy couple's gifts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've got to get caught, you know?
And don't let any other kids go through this. I mean this -- this is uncalled for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The well-dressed thief and a case of wedding bell blues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, OK, OK. We are pod casting later. Let's look at the team getting ready for the big NEWSROOM pod cast. You know to catch us weekday mornings 9:00 until 12:00 right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
But you can also download the CNN NEWSROOM pod cast. It is available to you 24-7 right there on your iPod. All you do is you go to CNN.com and you download -- there's a little icon there on the Web site. You download the pod cast, available to you, once again -- thanks. I'm running out of steam here. Thanks for popping that up. The CNN NEWSROOM. To go cnn.com, download it today. No excuses.
COLLINS: A beauty queen blunder now an Internet sensation.
It usually goes like this, doesn't it?
More proof the age of anonymous mistakes is long gone.
CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There you are, a model and beauty queen. And all of a sudden, you are...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY MSNBC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The big loser of the day?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Labeled the ditzy chick just because you had a little troubling handling the question "Why can't a fifth of Americans find the U.S. on a world map?"
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, COURTESY NBC STUDIOS)
JAY LENO: Follow her answer.
LAUREN CAITLIN UPTON, MISS. TEEN SOUTH CAROLINA: I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: From there, it went downhill. Even worse than hearing Miss. South Carolina USA Teen's answer is seeing it in a subtitle someone added on YouTube.
CAITLIN: Everywhere like such as and...
MOOS: She was even mocked by a doll.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM MISS. UNIVERSE, L.P. LLLP, COURTESY YOUTUBE.COM)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I personally believe -- I personally believe.
MOOS (on camera): And I personally believe if you say something dumb these days, you end up getting over four million hits on YouTube.
(voice-over): Four million and counting. Someone calling herself Miss. West Carolina mapped out her own meandering monologue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY YOUTUBE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So nowhere else knows where everywhere else is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: And so Miss. Teen South Carolina joins a storied list of dumb moments spread globally on the internet, from the New Jersey guy lip syncing to a Romanian pop song to the "Star Wars" kid. He ended up suing and reaching an out of court settlement with school mates who first circulated the video. And then there was the worst interview ever. A novice filling in on "ABC News Now" interviewed actress Holly Hunter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "ABC NEWS NOW," COURTESY ABC)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holly, thanks so much for joining us.
HOLLY HUNTER: OK.
Thank you.
(AUDIO GAP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Holly.
Thanks so much for joining us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: It turns out the anchor's earpiece malfunctioned and she couldn't hear her interviewee. At least Miss. Teen South Carolina got a do-over on "The Today Show."
They asked, "Why is it that a fifth of Americans can't find the U.S. on a world map?" over again.
UPTON: Well, personally, my friends and I, we know exactly where the United States is on our map.
MOOS: By the way, we couldn't find any credible study that said a fifth of Americans can't find the U.S. on a map, though while once during a geography story, we did meet this guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This boot is the United States if I remember correctly, right?
MOOS (on camera): That is South America.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is America?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the United States right here.
MOOS (voice-over): The next thing you know, they'll be asking Miss. Teen South Carolina to find her own state.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: An Iranian delegation handcuffed and blindfolded by U.S. troops in Iraq. The latest front in escalating tensions.
COLLINS: Also, cities and towns along the Mississippi Gulf Coast practically wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. Two years later, they're still struggling. HARRIS: And the president on the pace of Katrina recovery next hour. Live coverage of his remarks from New Orleans on the second anniversary of the disaster. And, once again, live pictures now -- the Katrina Memorial ground-breaking ceremony, underway right now at the Charity Hospital cemetery, attended by the mayor, Ray Nagin; General Russel Honore -- love him -- "Over" -- and other elected officials there in New Orleans.
We will take you there for updates throughout the morning here in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody.
I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.
Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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