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Active Atlantic; Conservative Rally on National Mall; In the Shadow of the Levees; Two Rallies in DC; Interview With FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate; Lincoln Memorial's Long History as Civil Rights Destination; The Superdome Makeover

Aired August 28, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And a good Saturday morning to you. I'm Brooke Baldwin on busy, busy morning in Washington, D.C. our nation's capital. Two rallies I want to tell you about; major rallies taking place, both sides of your screen.

We're telling both stories. One on them, the one on the right is hosted by conservative commentator Glenn Beck and the other on the left side, just getting started. This is being hosted by civil rights activist Al Sharpton also NAACP.

We are keeping track of both of these rallies. We'll have coverage on both of them straight ahead.

But first, let's get you caught up on some of the top stories this hour. If you've been watching the weather with us, forecasters are watching two big storms brewing out there in the Atlantic.

First one, hurricane Danielle, expected to skirt Bermuda as it heads north. The U.S. East Coast should possibly be seeing some high waves and dangerous surf as a result. Earl could become a hurricane later today. Right now they say just too early to tell exactly where Earl is heading.

Also, of course, this weekend significant as we talk about hurricanes. It was this year five years ago when Hurricane Katrina slammed into the U.S.'s Gulf Coast totally devastated the region. More than 1,700 people died. Hundreds of thousands of homes -- you see a bunch of them there -- are just totally destroyed along with the levees all around the city of New Orleans.

And all weekend long, we're revisiting people and places we encountered in those terrifying and confusing days after that hurricane hit.

And have you heard about this out of California, unrest? You've heard of this prison, Folsom State Prison. Guards fired shots at inmates to stop what's being called a major riot. The riot, by the way which broke out yesterday in the prison's main yard involved about 200 inmates. Seven of them were injured. Not quite clear yet, though, what or who triggered that violence. But now, let's take you back to D.C., those two big rallies I was talking about in the nation's capital happening -- both of which are happening at this hour. You see people standing behind both podiums. Conservatives are gathered on the National Mall at this event hosted by radio and TV talk show host Glenn Beck. Civil rights activists holding a rally of their own just a couple miles away at a district high school.

We have live reports from both of those locations, and we want to begin with the location image on your right. That is Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally. That's what he's calling it. It's happening at the Lincoln Memorial. The historic Lincoln Memorial, which keep in mind, that was where MLK, gave that speech, that "I Have a Dream" speech 47 years ago today.

And Kate Bolduan has been there she's been in and out of the crowd and, Kate, I know we were listening a little bit in -- to what Sarah Palin was saying as she spoke just a couple minutes ago. And from what I've been told, no politics. All about the troops, is that right?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It seems to me that's been a point we're hearing in this -- from the beginning of this rally so far today. Glenn Beck as well as Sarah Palin saying leading up to today's event and during today's event, that this is non-political, they say.

This is not about politics. This is about honoring military families and honoring the troops. And I'll tell you, in the speeches we have heard so far, the focus has largely been and talking about honoring the troops. What they're doing for our country and making sure that people are honoring them for their service at this time, at this juncture.

But at the very same time, we've left our live satellite location; we went into the crowds earlier to talk to some people about what brought them to this rally. What does restoring honor mean to them? And every -- all the people that we spoke to, be it seven -- five or seven people that we had the chance to speak to so far Brooke, they say -- they spoke specifically about politics.

Saying that what brought them here is that their voices are not being heard here Washington, that they want to get together. They want to speak as a unified voice, to have Washington hear them. To speak out against the excessive spending, the expansion of government that they say and the encroachment on the states and individual -- states rights and individual rights that they see happening.

Many of the -- the -- the points that you hear from the Tea Party and we know that bus loads of people who are associated with the Tea Party Movement have been coming here and are here today.

But you talked about it. And I want to show you, have you listen to it a sound bite from the former Alaska governor, Republican Sarah Palin -- she walked out on the stage and almost immediately said "I'm not here as a politician. I'm here as a mother of a soldier." Also then spoke directly to what the bit of the controversy is about. The fact that this is being held on the anniversary, on the location of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, "I Have a Dream" speech and she spoke directly to that. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: -- where we are so honored to stand today. We feel the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He who on this very day two score and seven years ago gave voice to a dream that would challenge us to honor the sacred charters of our liberty that all men are created equal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The one thing we've heard, there are more speakers to come. One being the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Alveda King, we have -- she will be coming up shortly, we're told, to be speaking today.

But one thing we've heard over and over for people taking the podium here is the idea of restoring America. Restoring honor and it's a big question, of what they mean. What people on the podium mean, what Glenn Beck, what Sarah Palin, what the people in the crowd mean by that today, Brooke?

And I'm interested in that and I know we're going to be talking to people to try to get a better read of what that means to them to try get to the real message on top of honoring troops, what they mean by that today? Restoring America, restoring honor. It's a big question of what that means to this group here today -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Kate, thank you.

And I want to just get some more -- bring in some more perspective here on this very rally. I want to bring in CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser who is also down in the thick of things in that crowd.

And Paul, we've been talking all morning. And if you can just sort of underscore at least Glenn Beck's point that at least according to Glenn Beck he's saying, look, this is, what is he saying? The Divine Providence, that -- that he chose the Lincoln Memorial on this day that MLK gave his famous speech? Right?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Exactly, you know, that's part of the controversy, the location and the time. And of course as you've been talking about and we've been talking about it all day, also the political end that you and Kate were just talking about as well.

Early today we spoke to some people, I talked to some people here in the crowd and asked them, was this event political or not? Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My feeling is this is about our lives and the thing it's -- it is not political. This gathering particularly, is not political. It's about our lives and what we're doing now and where the direction the country is headed in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it's a political event at all. You know. I -- I feel in my heart that we are Americans, so politics is more about people. This is about us. This is about all of us, every single one of us are Americans. We all own this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Now, Brooke a few minutes after we spoke to those people, a couple of gentlemen in a colonial patriot outfits marched by and they were talking about kicking butt in November. I would assume they were just -- talking about the midterm elections and there was a large applause.

But let me show you a little around here where we are. We're about a third of the way down from the Lincoln Memorial that's where Kate is and that's where the podium is. And you can see all the way down the reflecting pool, it is about a half a mile long -- a little less than half a mile and the crowd extends all the way down to the World War II memorial and a little bit beyond.

And the crowd was getting larger all morning as we were here. And you can see it's a pretty large-sized crowd right now. And again, we're going to be here all day whether this is a political event or not. Democrats are saying, yes, it is blatantly political. That word from Chris Van Hollen one the of the top House Democrat.

But we're here talking to people in the crowd -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Paul, thank you.

And it's also important to mention even though Glenn Beck is saying that this is purely coincidence, he has said that he is reclaiming the Civil Rights Movement by having this event there today at the Lincoln Memorial. As noted, the locale, the scheduling of this Glenn Beck event really irks many civil rights leaders.

Reverend Al Sharpton leading a rally of his own just a short distance away. We will have more on that in a moment.

But earlier this morning, I was able to speak one on one with long time civil rights stalwart, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and he told me by holding today's rally at that very location at the Lincoln Memorial, that Glenn Beck is mimicking Dr. Martin Luther King and humiliating the tradition.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. JESSE JACKSON, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: If he wants to be a part of Dr. King's agenda, he should be fighting for more people's campaign, ending unnecessary wars and reinvest in America, putting America back to work and building multiracial, multicultural coalitions -- that was Dr. King's agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, one of the late Dr. King's relatives is scheduled to speak at today's Glenn Beck event. Alveda King, she's the niece of the slain civil rights leader. She's come under some fire from some civil rights activists for allegedly hijacking the dream -- her words.

Last night on "AC 360," Alveda King addressed her critics head- on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALVEDA KING, NIECE OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: You know what? I don't have to reclaim the civil rights movement. I'm part of the civil rights movement. I marched in the '60s. I went to jail. My dad, Reverend A.V. King Comb (ph) our home was bombed, daddy's church was bombed.

And so I've been accused of hijacking the dream. Well, the dream is in my genes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And -- as we've said, the Reverend Al Sharpton is kicking off his own rally this hour just a couple miles away. CNN's Sarah Lee is there.

And Sarah, give me a sense of who's there and what this event is all about?

SARAH LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, the organizers here of the National Action Network which is headed up by the Reverend Al Sharpton, they insist that this is not a counter rally to what is going on over at the Lincoln Memorial this morning.

That in fact, this is an annual observance of the "I Have a Dream" speech that they have taken, that has taken place, as I said, annually every year.

So just behind me, they are getting under way now. We have speakers that include, of course, the Reverend Al Sharpton, civil rights leaders, the members of the clergy and also U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan here at Dunbar Senior High School in Northwest Washington which is the first segregated high school for high- achieving African-Americans that's founded in the late 1800s.

And so that is significant, because they say they want to reclaim the dream of education standards here in the United States. That is a major issue that they plan to be talking about at this rally.

They are hoping to wrap up around 1:00 this afternoon and then they will march. The crowd here will then march from Dunbar High School to the site of the future Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, which this route will take them past the White House down Constitution Avenue. It will go along the reflecting pool. Along the eastern end of the reflecting pool and take them to Independence Avenue and then there will just be a matter of blocks from the site of the Lincoln Memorial, where the other rally is going on concurrently.

There is no scheduled interaction between the two groups but, of course, we will be marching with them and we will be covering that for you from when they do arrive at the future site of the Martin Luther King Memorial -- back to you.

BALDWIN: I hear that speaker behind you, Sarah. She is passionate and we will follow that march with you along the National Mall. Sarah, thank you.

And as we follow what's happening in Washington, we cannot forget what's happening in New Orleans. Remember five years ago, can you believe five years this weekend, Hurricane Katrina bearing down on the Gulf Coast, ripping apart homes, families, the levees. We are revisiting New Orleans' Ninth Ward.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Five years ago tomorrow, Hurricane Katrina unleashed its fury all along the U.S. Gulf Coast. One community after another from New Orleans to Bayou LeBatrie (ph) were totally obliterated.

What happened there in Biloxi, Mississippi happened all along the coast. 1,723 people were killed, more than a quarter million homes were demolished and then some of the levees which had protected New Orleans for three centuries failed under that immense pressure of the winds we just heard in all that rising water.

The city's Lower Ninth Ward was certainly inundated. CNN's Jean Meserve visits the people who still live in the shadow of those levees.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The long road back from Hurricane Katrina has brought Sonja Hill here to one of the handful of houses rebuilt right where the industrial canal flood wall gave way.

SONJA HILL, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Looking at the wall, I'm thinking, what if it breaks again? What if it breaks right here in front of the door and I'm inside with my kids? I don't feel safe right here if a hurricane comes through.

MESERVE: Sonja says she can't afford to live somewhere else.

But Roy Arrigo doesn't want to move. His house is just a few hundred feet from where the 17th Street canal flood wall failed.

(on camera): This is the same kind of wall that failed.

ROY ARRIGO, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Yes, it is, yes. MESERVE: Is that scary?

ARRIGO: Yes, it is. And this is -- this is a fragile wall.

MESERVE (voice-over): Arrigo was angry at the Army Corps of Engineers and blames it for the destruction of the city.

ARRIGO: We see the work and we're told about all of the progress. But can we trust it? And to be quite honest, I don't think that we can.

MESERVE: In the Gentilly neighborhood near the London Avenue canal breach, Willean Brown believes the engineering isn't what matters.

WILLEAN BROWN, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: It can be a little high as they want to. God has the power if he wants to tear down the wall whether it is low or high, 25 feet, 30 feet, he can knock it down with his power.

MESERVE: Her faith makes her feel safe here. Not her sister, Callie.

CALLIE BROWN, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: I have to give the government the benefit of the doubt that the wall is going to hold. I got to try. Doesn't mean it's going to work.

MESERVE: For Callie Brown and many others the shadow cast by the levees is long and dark.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And there is Jeanne Meserve joining me now from New Orleans. And Jeanne, you were there when those levees broke. In fact, you were the first reporter to get into the Ninth Ward afterward. Take me back to that day.

MESERVE: Well, you know, when you cover certain kinds of traumatic stories like accidents, you brace yourself to do that. You put up an emotional shield.

We didn't have that shield in place when we drove out and discovered what was going on in the Ninth Ward, and when we stepped out of our cars and surveyed this and saw water for as far as the eye could see, people on their roofs. People staggering through the water, it just really hit you in the gut. You could not believe what you seeing unfold in front of your eyes.

One of the things I remember really clearly, is the people who were rescued in the very few boats that were out that evening, coming in and they were using a highway off ramp as a boat ramp, and they'd unload them there and these people would come walking up on to the highway and they all had these dazed expressions on their faces, and only later did I realize that they all must have been in shock.

They had just lost everything they'd owned. And if I had a sense of disbelief, they had something much more complicated going on in their heads, and in their hearts -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: I am sure it was shock and disbelief of what they had seen.

Jeanne Meserve, the first one there talking to those people, bringing us those pictures. Jeanne, thank you.

Snapshots of a disaster and a recovery still in progress; Cnn.com teamed up with iReporters to put together past meets present look at New Orleans. Scenes right after the storm compared to the same scenes in 2010. You can see them for yourself.

Logon to cnn.com/Katrina to see the then and now project; that's what we're calling it.

And on this Katrina anniversary, again, trouble a-brewing in the Atlantic; Reynolds keeping a very close watch for us on Hurricane Danielle and Tropical Storm Earl.

Twenty minutes -- 21 minutes past the hour. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We're calling it the tale of two rallies in Washington. On the right of your screen, that's a Glenn Beck rally "Restoring Honor" rally happening at the Lincoln Memorial. On the left side is the NAACP, Reverend Al Sharpton rally in honor of MLK's "I have a dream" speech.

We want to focus, as I'm about to talk with John Avlon here, who is standing by along the mall, talking about the Glenn Beck rally and really its significance and perhaps digging deeper into the meaning behind it. There he is.

John Avlon, our senior political columnist for the dailybeast.com, CNN contributor. John, hello once again. You are calling -- I called this out before and I'll do it again. You're calling today's "Restoring Honor" rally the "2010 Wing Nut Super Bowl".

So, John, do tell. Who are your said wing nuts?

JOHN AVLON, SENIOR POLITICAL COLUMNIST, DAILYBEAST.COM: Well, you know, obviously with Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin headlining this rally. And when Beck first conceived of this and starting promoting it around nine months ago he was calling it -- he said he was going to issue his 100-year plan for America. He's been promoting it in all his different various media forms that have earned him $32 million just in the last year over the year.

What's has been taking place in the first hour of this today with the exception of Sarah Palin making one veiled dig at President Obama has been basically a salute to the troops. It's been very focused on that, an organization called the Special Ops Warrior Foundation. And it's been a lot of emotional speeches and tales of warriors coming to the forefront and honoring their service and sacrifice.

That's been the first hour. And it's been very devoted to those themes.

BALDWIN: John, when we talk about the significance of this day, Glenn Beck has said, and he's been heavily promoting this rally, this is the 47th anniversary of the "I have a dream" speech, calling it divine providence that he had no idea. Pure coincidence, right, that this rally happened on the same day.

In fact, may I read, "It was not my" -- this is Glenn Beck -- "It was not my intention to select 8/28 because of the Martin Luther King tie. It is the day he made that speech. I had no idea until I announced it. Whites don't own Abraham Lincoln. Blacks don't own Martin Luther King." What do you make of that?

AVLON: Well, in the larger sense, of course, that's true. These are national figures. The controversy obviously is. A lot of the fault lines in our current political debates do follow the lines of race. It's a big mistake and I've always slammed folks who try to dismiss the Tea Party, somehow racist. That's insulting and not true.

But Glenn Beck who has called the President a racist, said he has a deep-seated hatred of white people, that is a complicated figure to be taking on the mantle of Martin Luther King. Obviously civil rights leaders have been angry and upset about that.

A lot of the debates we've seen this year are along these fault lines. So it's an intensive -- it's a combustible combination, and I think it could use a lot more unity, a lot more thoughtfulness. And a lot less of the politics and incitement that we've seen specifically from Mr. Beck over the past year.

BALDWIN: And that rally, I think he's speaking in about 20 minutes from now. Should be wrapping up in the next hour, hour and a half according to the tick tock I've been handed.

John Avlon, thanks for your perspective in this controversial debate that some are saying. John, thank you.

And now as we turn our attention to severe weather, Mr. Wolf --

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

BALDWIN: A lot going on.

WOLF: There certainly is. I mean always seems like on the weekend, there seems to be all kinds of things happening.

BALDWIN: You're pretty busy all the time.

WOLF: The tropics are busy. Things are going crazy weather-wise in the tropics. Thankfully, the good news is that a lot of these things are away from land, away from people which is what we like -- we like to see. Let's go right to it. Show you what we've got out there. Kind of a busy time in the Atlantic first and foremost; we've got this area that is this box that happens to be shaded in red. That's a potential area of development. This might be a main storm in possibly a couple of days. This could be Fiona.

Now that one doesn't have an official name as yet but these two do. This one happens to be Danielle and the latest we have with that, according to the National Hurricane Center is that we still have winds of 110 miles per hour; still a strong hurricane, not a major one but a Category 2.

And the latest path from the National Hurricane Center brings it east of Bermuda and then deeper into the Atlantic where it's going to interact with cooler air and according to this forecast should begin to die out as we get into Tuesday and then into Wednesday.

Next storm up that we've got is a tropical storm. That would be Earl; winds of 60 gusting to 70 miles per hour. This is forecast to do two things. One, it's going to move a bit more to the west. Something else it's going to do, intensify; we're going into a category 2 then possibly category 3, as we go from Tuesday into Wednesday with winds up to about 115 miles an hour. But gusts will be stronger.

Now, with this forecast, it does, if you follow that line, go just between Bermuda and the East Coast. However, again, with that cone of uncertainty, it could go a bit more to the east. Perhaps push back a little bit more to the west. It all bears watching. These storms, of course, can be very fickle this time of year.

One other interesting area that we have a concern happens to be just south of New Orleans. You see this area of low pressure. This could bring in some very heavy rainfall throughout much of the day in the French Quarter. That has about a 10 percent chance of becoming something bigger developing into a depression, perhaps even a storm.

I don't think that's going to happen, but you can never rule out that possibility especially this time of year. Something else we're going to be seeing that heavy rain fall, possibly some flooding in the New Orleans area.

Meanwhile, back on the Eastern Seaboard as we wrap things up, high pressure is going to keep things very dry; plenty of sunshine there, scattered showers in the four corners and a mix of sun and clouds out toward the West Coast.

You're up to speed. Hey Brooke, let's pitch it back to you.

BALDWIN: Ok. Reynolds thank you.

WOLF: You bet.

BALDWIN: Can't have a hurricane season watch in November, did you know that. From volunteer firefighter to chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, I'm talking live with the FEMA administrator Craig Fugate. We'll be asking what he is doing -- there he is -- we'll be asking what he is doing to repair the agency's tattered image after Hurricane Katrina. That's after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The fifth anniversary of Katrina certainly on the minds of many this weekend, including former FEMA director Michael brown. He is in New Orleans doing his radio talk show from there this week, the fifth anniversary of his awful hurricane.

And Brown was ridiculed after President Bush nicknamed him "Brownie" and praised him for "doing a heck of a job." He came to symbolize FEMA's slow response to the disaster.

And Brown actually spoke recently to CNN. He tried, he says, to explain the urgency of the catastrophe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BROWN, FMR. FEMA DIRECTOR: If you look at that videotape closely, as I've tried to explain to people, you see me wince because I had literally come out of a specific meeting that I had requested with the president to describe to him how bad things were and that I really needed him to help push the cabinet to get things moving. And that meeting was cut short.

We go out. And I knew the minute he said that, that the media and everybody else would see a disconnect between what he was saying and what I was witnessing on the ground. But that's the president's style. His attitude and his demeanor is always one of being a cheerleader and trying to encourage people to keep moving. It was just the wrong time and the wrong place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, five years after Katrina, Michael Brown no longer running the federal agency. In fact, now it is Craig Fugate at the helm.

Fugate distinguished himself at the helm of Florida's Emergency Management Agency in times of crisis just like hurricanes, and he joins me in the rain there this morning from the French Quarter to talk about the lessons learned from Katrina.

But Craig, I just have to first hit you with, you know, we've been talking to Jeanne Meserve, who's been reporting down there, and talking to folks who live in the Lower Ninth Ward, and they're thoughts of FEMA still less than stellar.

What are you doing to combat that reputation?

CRAIG FUGATE, FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: Yes. I know that people still are going to have questions about FEMA until we prove ourselves, and hopefully we don't have another Katrina. But until we prove ourselves, they're going to have their doubts. So I've got to keep pressing forward and getting ready for the next disaster, whatever that may be.

The big lesson from Katrina is you can't wait to find out how bad it is. You've got to respond as a team as it is bad.

There's a lot of comparisons, a lot of questions about how this team will be differ. We've got a lot more state and local officials that have worked disasters as local and state officials now running FEMA. I think that's a big difference between the previous team and where we are at today, and working in an administration under the president that's going to go with all of our federal resources working as one in support.

So we're not going to wait to find out how bad it is. We're not going to come in all scattered all over the place. We're coming in as one team with support of the government and local officials when the next disaster strikes.

BALDWIN: And Mr. Fugate, as you mentioned pushing and pressing forward in New Orleans, I know there are certainly still some areas of needs since Katrina. We're talking still five years later.

What are those areas of greatest need and what is FEMA doing to help?

FUGATE: Well I think we've got a couple things.

You know, you talked about the housing. I think it's not FEMA, but our secretary of HUD, Secretary Donovan, doing a lot of work to help get housing and increased affordability of housing here. We at FEMA are still working to rebuild from Katrina, and most recently the completion of the Recovery School District Project that's actually going to give the Recovery School District here in New Orleans the flexibility to rebuild the classrooms not a building-by-building project, but a total system. And this was with the assistance of Senator Landrieu.

So we're seeing fire stations coming back on line. We're seeing public infrastructures rebuilt. Now with the Recovery School District being able to move forward and rebuild and replace the school's damaged and destroyed.

Again, a lot of this work that we were able to do as we came into office, continue that pace. But still, more work to be done.

And again, I'm in Louisiana. I'm standing here in New Orleans. And let's not forget the Mississippi coast was also devastated, communities such as Waveland, that were totally destroyed. I was there yesterday as they rebuild from this disaster as well.

BALDWIN: Absolutely. We had a whole story on Waveland, Mississippi, in addition to New Orleans and the surrounding area.

Let me ask you this, though. If you look at what happened with Katrina, and some of the faults and the errors on behalf of the federal government, and let's say, heaven forbid, we were to have a storm of that same magnitude, what would you do differently? You've touched on some of those changes, but what else?

FUGATE: Right. Well, I think here it's going to be responding quickly. Speed is going to be critical. We cannot wait for a full assessment. We have to respond as if it's bad, bring the things together, and focus on the most immediate of keeping it safe, getting to the injured trapped, and recovering the lost lives, getting supplies in here.

We know we have a very short window to assist to get stabilization. We cannot wait for process. We've got to get things done. And that is where we're putting our focus, but here's another point.

No matter what we do at the federal level, we still depend upon the public to do their part to get prepared, because we saw time and time again, oftentimes the first rescues were neighbor helping neighbor. So, we've got to change our mindset that the public's a liability and look at them as a resource, and make sure that we are addressing their needs and supporting them, because the most vulnerable citizen shouldn't have to get in line because those of us that can didn't get ready.

September is National Preparedness Month. As you heard earlier, we've got storms in the Atlantic. It's hurricane season.

Do you have your family disaster plan? Because we're working hard at FEMA, but without you we're not going to be successful.

BALDWIN: Right. And I'm glad you mentioned that, exactly the message of the preparedness.

But if we can drill down specifically on that point, I mean, for families sitting at home watching our weathercast as we're talking about Hurricane Danielle or any other possible tropical disturbances that could make their way, I mean, what specifically should people be doing now to prepare?

FUGATE: Well, again, if you live in the hurricane-prone areas along the coastal areas, the first question you need to know is, do you live in an evacuation zone? And if you do, where are you going to go if the evacuation order is given?

That's one thing you do not want to wait until storms are threatening to think about. So, if you're sitting there, start talking about, do we live in an evacuation zone? If we're not sure, go to your local emergency management agency and find out.

I mean, when it comes to hurricanes, that is the one thing we can do to reduce the loss of life, is to have people evacuate. And for those people that can't drive or don't have the ability to drive, find out about your local evacuation plans, about buses and other things that can help you evacuate. Don't wait until the storm is threatening. You may run out of time. BALDWIN: Excellent advice, timely advice as well.

Craig Fugate at the helm of FEMA.

Big jobs, sir. Good luck. We appreciate it.

FUGATE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And part of this controversy, taking you back to Washington, part of the controversy surrounding that rally going on right now at the Lincoln Memorial is just that, the location. Look at it. A beautiful picture. Perfect blue skies in Washington.

The Lincoln Memorial, why is that significant today, you may ask? Josh Levs is up next to explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

BALDWIN: And as we've told you, there are two major rallies going on right now in the nation's capital. Want to do a two-box so we can show you both of them.

One is organized on the right-hand side, and that's the Lincoln Memorial, organized by Fox News talk show host Glenn Beck. It's being touted as this non-political event to honor American troops.

The second rally, just miles away at a local high school, is planned to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was this day 47 years ago where he gave his famous speech, "I have a dream," at that very Lincoln Memorial that's being put on by the National Action Network. Also, Reverend Al Sharpton is there, Martin Luther king III, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

And we're seeing the speeches, the crowds, the excitement over the controversy, but I want to talk about the significance here at that location as I kind of alluded to there at the Beck rally. It's taking place on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It's a site packed with civil rights history.

Josh is going to tell us about it as we're looking at some live picture.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BALDWIN: I love that memorial. It's gorgeous.

LEVS: You know, Washington is so beautiful, and they've got a picture-perfect day for both these rallies that we've been seeing throughout the day. And it is interesting that part of the controversy is about that date in history.

You know, we have some pictures that we're going to go to on what was going on 47 years ago today in a speech that, to some extent, how some understand, it's changed a nation. And if you take a look at these pictures from that big event when all of those people crowded in, the National Park Service says that at that time, 47 years ago today, 200,000 people showed up and took part in the march, and also the rally that was going on then.

But what you might not know is that that location's role as a major civil rights site didn't start that day. In fact, there was a big one 24 years earlier.

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MARIAN ANDERSON, SINGER (singing): My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee we sing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: It's amazing and critical. Civil rights history right there.

That's Marion Anderson performing there. She had been denied the right to perform at Constitution Hall because of her skin color.

And it was on Easter Sunday, 1939, that she took to those steps and she performed. The National Park Service says at the time, 75,000 people turned out there.

And it's interesting to hear these numbers, because the National Park Service no longer says how many people are at these events. In fact, they're not going to be saying today. And the reason is this -- the Million Man March.

We're going to jump way fast forward into the future here, in 1995. There was a lot of controversy after that march about how these estimates are done. There were serious complaints about what the National Park Service was doing, and they actually stopped doing crowd estimates in 1995, with the rare exception last year, around the time of the inauguration.

You'd think technology would give us a pretty simple and fast way to be pretty secure with numbers, but right now, the National Park Service doesn't do estimates. So it really is tough to tell to some extent what the numbers are.

So, one thing law enforcement agencies will be watching out today for, Brooke, is the turnout for both of these events in Washington, how big they are.

We're going to be keeping an eye on those estimates that are out there and we'll see what comes in.

BALDWIN: All right. Josh Levs, thank you.

Also, we are all over the Katrina anniversary this weekend. And after that hurricane hit, New Orleans became a scene of really just desperation, despair, even death. We are revisiting the Superdome, both then and now.

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BALDWIN: Today's installment of "Building up America," quite appropriately, because it's quite literal, focuses on New Orleans. The icon of Crescent City's comeback, of course, the Superdome.

And as CNN's Tom Foreman reports, it is back, and he says it is better than ever.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No place was more emblematic of all that went wrong with the evacuation in Katrina than the Superdome. The 10-acre roof ripped open at the height of the storm, packed with people who had nowhere else to go.

The man in charge then and now, Doug Thornton.

DOUG THORNTON, SMG, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT: Debris -- we were very concerned about falling debris from the roof. We had no water pressure. We had no ability to move -- remove trash and debris. And we're taking on more and more and more people, and the Superdome was literally the poster child for misery and suffering.

FOREMAN: It took days for the rescue to be complete.

(on camera): As soon as the last person was out, the hard work began. Teams of laborers swarmed all over the dome trying to restore this crown jewel of the city.

(voice-over): Mountains of debris were cleared. Architects worked out a plan to save the dome, to repair the damage from an ocean of water dumped into two million square feet of walls, electronics and furniture. A new sound system, $7 million; new concessions, $3 million; $8 million more for phones. They did it all while fighting budgets and racing the calendar to reopen.

More than 70,000 seats were soaked and molding. By cleaning them, wrapping them in plastic and blowing hot air for two months, all but 20,000 were saved.

THORNTON: If we would have had to replace 72,000 seats, we wouldn't have made it.

FOREMAN: But they did, opening for the Saints' first home game a little more than a year later. They won.

(on camera): The work has continued nonstop for five years, and it is going on still. This is the largest stadium restoration project ever attempted in this country on what remains one of the biggest rooms in the world.

(voice-over): The final bill will be over $300 million.

For Thornton, it's worth every penny. THORNTON: I didn't think there would be any way to come back, not to the city, not to the dome, and not to my home.

FOREMAN: But the Superdome has come back. The Saints have, too, in a very big way. And no homecoming for any town has ever been sweeter.

Tom Foreman, CNN, New Orleans.

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BALDWIN: How about that? Tom Foreman, one of the best storytellers at CNN. Amazing.

CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Fredricka Whitfield.

Take it away.