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The Legacy of SNCC; Five-Year Anniversary Of Katrina Gives Rise To Memories, Restoration Stories
Aired August 28, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And you can read more about SNCC's legacy in the book "Hands on the Freedom Plow." It hits stores in October, but you can pre-order it on-line at Amazon.com.
All right. Let's check the headlines now at the top of the hour. Tomorrow will be five years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast. President Obama will be in New Orleans to market anniversary.
And today conservative talk show host Glenn Beck welcomed a large crowd to his Restoring Honor rally in Washington this morning. Beck touted the event as a way to get back to values and at the same time civil rights activists held their own march in Washington marking the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
All right. First up, the first family is wrapping up a 10-day vacation in Martha's Vineyard. Tomorrow, it is back to business for President Obama. White House correspondent Dan Lothian is traveling with the president and he says President Obama continues to be focused on fixing the U.S. economy but plans a foreign policy push come September.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After recharging his batteries during his Martha Vineyard's vacation, President Obama's back to workweek may just leave him asking for more down time. On his schedule, a major prime time Oval Office address on Iraq, a visit to U.S. troops in Texas, then two days of mideast peace face to face talks in Washington. But as fears of a double dip recession linger and foreign policy dominates his public schedule, some Republicans see a tactical decision to deflect.
BRAD BLAKEMAN, DEPUTY ASST. TO PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH: What went through my mind is typically what president's do when they have trouble domestically is they switch to an area that they have much more control over and that's foreign policy.
LOTHIAN: In fact, the big foreign policy push started here on Martha's Vineyard when the president's counter terrorism adviser John Brennan briefed reporters on the mideast peace talks breakthrough.
JOHN BRENNAN, COUNTER-TERRORISM ADVISER: A strong sense that these talks can succeed.
LOTHIAN: Then days later, touted progress in Iraq, ahead of the draw down deadline.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are confident the Iraqis are going to be able to fulfill their responsibilities and obligations.
LOTHIAN: Other recent presidents like George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan were at times accused of focusing on stronger policy issues as a diversion tactic. And Brad Blakeman, deputy assistant to President George W. Bush says with the midterm elections around the corner, the economy is a hard sell.
BLAKEMAN: It's all about the economy. That's all it will ever be between now and election day. So the president is really doing a Hail Mary on foreign policy hoping against hope that the American people will give him credit for achievement.
LOTHIAN: But deputy White House spokesman Bill Burton says the president is focused on world events as they happen. And that fixing the economy remains a top priority.
BILL BURTON, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: He'll be meeting with his economic advisers when he gets back next week. So I assure that alongside all the other things that are on the president's plate, he's continued to focus on the economy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Dan Lothian with us now in Martha's Vineyard, traveling with the president. So your work and vacation ends, too, along with the president's.
LOTHIAN: That's right.
WHITFIELD: So Dan, let's look ahead to Tuesday. The president will be having a prime time address talking about Iraq. What do we understand him to be saying?
LOTHIAN: Well, first of all, he will point out that this is an important milepost in reaching that date where they're drawing down the troops and also ending the combat mission there in Iraq, but the president will also touch on the fact that there's a commitment from the U.S. to the people of Iraq and also the military in particular that they will not be abandoned and you got a little tease of that today in the president's weekend address. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In the months ahead, our troops will continue to support and train Iraqi forces, partner with Iraqis and counter terrorism missions and protect our civilians and military efforts. But the bottom line is this, the war is ending. Like any sovereign independent nation, Iraq is free to chart its own course and by the end of next year, all of our troops will be home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: Now deputy spokesman Bill Burton said that the president will also touch on Afghanistan, the need to continue going after Al Qaeda, and what that will mean, that commitment will mean to the American people. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Dan Lothian, thanks so much. You know I'm kidding. You are not vacationing. You are working. The president's vacation, however, his working vacation does end.
LOTHIAN: That's right.
WHITFIELD: All right. Dan Lothian, thanks so much.
LOTHIAN: That's right.
WHITFIELD: From Martha's Vineyard. Appreciate it.
All right. The U.S. officially ending combat operations in Iraq this week, September 1st. Well, that sparked fears of possible terror attacks to coincide with the move Iraq's government has put the country on high alert saying they have information that attacks are being planned by Al Qaeda and remaining members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'aht party.
Tuesday night, President Obama delivering that major address on Iraq from the Oval Office. He'll also discuss Afghanistan and the broader war on terror.
CNN will carry the president's remarks live Tuesday night, beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
President Obama and the first lady will travel to New Orleans, by the way, tomorrow. The president will deliver a speech at Xavier University to mark the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. CNN will bring that to you live in our 3:00 hour Eastern time.
Now Katrina. The long road back. Five years ago this weekend, Hurricane Katrina slammed in to the gulf coast. Entire communities were literally wiped off the map. Others were crippled and are still struggling to recover.
Our Don Lemon takes a walking tour of New Orleans' hardest hit neighborhoods and he also stopped by a new museum, dedicated to Hurricane Katrina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): So New Orleans especially the French Quarter is always a sound track. David (INAUDIBLE) we want to go inside of the Louisiana State Museum and the director here, Sam Rykels.
SAM RYKELS, LOUISIANA STATE MUSEUM: One of the things that we discovered is that there were a lot of boats used in the streets of New Orleans and we looked for a boat that would be kind of the perfect symbol. And we found this boat on Napoleon Avenue. This rescued over 400 people.
LEMON (voice-over): Inside the first thing you'll see, the museum's centerpiece. The great Fats Domino's piano.
And so it's preserved exactly the way we found it in the house. It was up on one side like that. There's probably no greater cultural icon living than Fats Domino and the fact that his house was in the lower Ninth Ward, it was flooded, Fats had to be rescued. And we really believe this piano really speaks to that.
LEMON: So does an axe survivors used to escape through a roof, religious heirlooms, a water logged clarinet from the legendary Pete (INAUDIBLE), seats from a crippled Superdome.
RYKELS: This is where people actually sat during the evacuation.
LEMON (on camera): Actually sat and slept and whatever, lived.
(voice-over): Also on display, those haunting photographs. But you don't need a museum to see that. These pictures show what the hardest hit neighborhoods were like in New Orleans, one of them, the Lakeview neighborhood. This house used to be right here.
(on camera): This picture was taken by CNN I-reporter Eileen Romero. You lived two doors from here. You started documenting, why?
EILEEN ROMERO, CNN I-REPORTER: Because after Katrina, I had a hard time expressing what how I felt about what I saw. So I just got a camera and started trying to express it through my pictures.
LEMON: Yes.
ROMERO: What is saw and felt.
LEMON: This your neighbor's house.
ROMERO: Yes.
LEMON: And that house was right here, right next door to yours. Where is he now?
ROMERO: I never saw him again after the storm at all. This is where I lived prior to Katrina. I was so happy here, you know. For me, my whole way of life was wiped out (INAUDIBLE).
LEMON (voice-over): And over in the hard hit lower Ninth Ward.
(on camera): How long before you came back after the storm?
I came back in 2007.
LEMON (voice-over): 74-year-old Gertrude (INAUDIBLE) here 46 years, lost everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is like a miracle. This here.
LEMON (on camera): The Virgin Mary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That statue was still as is after Katrina. LEMON: You're sitting on your porch, you're swinging. There's no place like home?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, because that's my stair steps, there's all that was left of my house. I have it like a little memorial to let us know what we went through. I take one day at a time. I enjoy one day. Tomorrow, I look for another day and enjoy that day.
LEMON (voice-over): Days that bring challenges and surprises five years after the storm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's what I do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And that was Don Lemon reporting. He'll be joining us again in about 50 minutes from now anchoring his shows from New Orleans this evening on this weekend five years after Katrina. He'll have extended coverage of all that has changed and some that has remained the same throughout the evening.
Meantime, Brad Pitt returned to New Orleans to mark the Katrina anniversary, as well. The movie star and architecture buff has been spearheading an ambitious effort to rebuild New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward. 50 eco-friendly affordable houses have been built, thanks to his nonprofit, Make it Right foundation.
Here's CNN's Tom Foreman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAD PITT, MAKE IT RIGHT FOUNDATION: We had to start over. We thought we could do it better. We thought we could build a house with light and using high performance technology that we could bring bills down and give the families who live here a better life. And we wanted to prove it at the low income level. These people are pioneers here. And now they built the greenest neighborhood in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So to find out about the ongoing efforts still under way to rebuild and recover from Hurricane Katrina and how you can make a difference, visit our "Impact your World" page, that's at cnn.com/impact.
So when Hurricane Katrina churned across the southern tip of Florida, it barely generated enough wind speed to qualify s a hurricane at all. But one abrupt shift in direction changed everything. A one hour CNN documentary follows Katrina's progression into a devastating category 5 hurricane and details the suffering of the people who were victimized by the storm's sudden fury. That's tonight, 9:00 p.m..
Restoring honor and remembering the dream. Two big events in Washington today. Coming up, we'll take a look at those events and their messages for the future.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Huge crowds converging on Washington today for two events advocating their visions for America. Conservatives gathered on the National Mall for a rally led by Fox News host Glenn Beck. There was a special guest appearance by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. And not far away civil rights activists gathering marking the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Here's a bit of what took place during the first rally of the day, what Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLENN BECK, FOX NEWS HOST & RALLY ORGANIZER: We have lost too many heroes in this nation. Heroes are just people who stand and do the right thing. Usually at their own peril, they'll stand and do the right thing.
What is it - what is it today that America truly believes in? We have very little trust in most of our institutions. But there is one thing that still is 15 points higher at the top of the list on things that America trusts, our military.
SARAH PALIN, FMR. ALASKA GOVERNOR: You who are motivated and engaged and concerned, knowing to never retreat, I must assume - I must assume that you, too, knowing that, no, we must not fundamentally transform America as some would want. We must restore America and restore her honor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So the other event in Washington taking place was led by civil rights leaders who were paying homage to the 47 year marker of the "I Have a Dream" speech. That being led by Reverend Al Sharpton. So let's turn to CNN's Sarah Lee who caught up with that march at the beginning stages and now it's still under way. She's actually joining us by phone to give us an idea of what's taking place. Sarah.
SARAH LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (ON THE PHONE): That's right, Fredricka. I'm on the phone because of the amount of activity and traffic here in the nation's capital because of the two rallies and other activities that were going on in and around this area by the National Mall.
Right now, I'm talking to you from the future site of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial which is really as you know, Fred, from your familiarity with the nation's capital, not very far at all from the Lincoln Memorial where Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin were speaking, as well, earlier today.
Now, the wrap up of the program here just a short time ago after marching about three miles from where they held their rally. The crowd there was about shoulder to shoulder, filling up a football field at a (Dunbar) Senior High School in northwest Washington. That location is notable because it is historically was established as a segregated high school for high achieving African-American students. Part of the rally that they had earlier focused on education standards, closing the education gap. In fact, secretary of education Arne Duncan was there and he spoke to address the crowd, calling education standards a civil rights issue for this generation. There were also speakers there that talked not just about civil rights race issues, criminal justice. There was Tom Joiner, radio personality who spoke as well as a D.C. delegate, Eleanor Holmes-Norton there, also Ben Jealous, the head of the NAACP.
So a whole host of speakers there and then finally, of course, the organizer of this all through the National Action Network, the Reverend Al Sharpton, he kind of got the crowd going when he finished off the rally by addressing the crowd there, telling them when they marched to this location because they would be passing by the other rally, to smile if they get tacked, he said "don't let anyone ruin today for you by provoking you on your way along this march." So here is what we heard a little bit earlier from the Revered Al Sharpton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: When D. King came here 47 years ago, we came on the back of buses. But today, we flew in, first class. What became of his dream? We couldn't sleep in a hotel. We couldn't use a restaurant coming up 95 north, but now we've got public accommodations. What became of his dream? In '63, they were asking Kennedy to hear them. In 2010, because he went to Selma, we've got an African-American president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: And from what I'm hearing and what I've seen with my own eyes, so far no interaction with anyone who was here for any of the other rallies. So far this has been a peaceful gathering as far as we can report. Once they got here, they were addressed by Martin Luther King III. He made some brief statements to the crowd. And then they sang together the chorus of "We Shall Overcome" and then they wrapped up the program here. Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Sarah Lee, thanks so much, joining us from the nation's capital there. Appreciate that.
Coming up, we're going talk about some movies. It is the weekend, a few releases in which to talk about. Horror flicks and action flicks. We got all of it for you. And we'll be joined by a movie critic to give you an idea whether it's worth your money.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. Three American service members were killed in fighting in Afghanistan today. Two were victims of a bombing in southern Afghanistan. The third was killed during an insurgent attack in an eastern province.
And California's Folsom Prison was locked down after a riot broke out in the exercise yard. Guards opened fire in an attempt to break it up. At least seven inmates had to be taken to the hospital. It's unknown how many were shot by guards. Prison officials are still trying to determine what sparked that riot.
And engineers in Chile think they may be able to reach 33 trapped miners in half the time, originally expect. They say a new drill could cut the time to two months instead of four. Meanwhile NASA is sending a team to provide the miners with nutritional and psychological support.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. A take on a popular old horror flick and a slick crew of bank robbers try to pull off the perfect heist. Sounds like movies, right? That's what's being released this weekend so we're going to kind of go over these and see if our movie critic, Tony Scott, he'll be joining us with this weeks' preview whether he likes these movies or not. So let's begin with the takers. Let's take a little peek at what this movie is all about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) doesn't play when it comes to money. He's too smart for that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We always wait at least a year between jobs. There's a reason for that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You go way back. Do you think he's being straight up?
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a long time, girl.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When did you get out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why, you miss me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ghost, you need to back up. Take it easy, Jake. It's the past. I'm here to discuss the future, if I may.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK. So professional bank robbers, or at least they have a plan for the big heist. We saw a couple of familiar faces in there. T.I., you got Chris Brown, Matt Dillon. So what do you think, do you like?
A.O. "TONY" SCOTT, FILM CRITIC, "NEW YORK TIMES": Well -
WHITFIELD: That would mean a no.
SCOTT: As you can see from - well, end of August is always kind of a time where, you know, it's sort of like a Hollywood garage sale where a lot of movies kind of get dumped out into the marketplace. This one as you can tell from that clip, it has a lot of style.
I mean, these are very successful bank robbers, they have very nice clothes. They drink good scotch. T.I. gets out of prison with a plan to help his old buddies out. Hayden Christiansen, Chris Brown, they're being tracked by these cops played by Matt Dillon. And for a while it works pretty well, but it's just like a little bit like too many other movies we've seen before and you don't have a real feeling for the characters. It's not very suspenseful.
There's good car chases, some things blow up. It kind of barely squeaks by. So I give it, if I had to grade it, I'd probably give it a C.
WHITFIELD: We're seeing a lot of Zoe Saldana, right. I mean, she is kind of the -
SCOTT: Not enough.
WHITFIELD: The new "it" girl and you kind of feel like if she's in a movie, you want to go see it.
SCOTT: Well, she's barely in it and she's in about three scenes. And it's one of those movies that it's all about the guys and she's sort of just, the girl. She's, you know, T.I.'s ex-girlfriend. And I thought she was a lot better when she was painted blue in "Avatar," which is back out in theaters this weekend, by the way.
WHITFIELD: OK, yes, we have noticed quite a few clips on the tube lately about "Avatar." OK. So let's talk about the "The Last Exorcism." I mean, this one's not going it appeal to me because I wouldn't see the first exorcism, or exorcist. So let's take a peak. I may have to close my eyes on this one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is she doing?
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you hear me? She hasn't responded on anything I've said so far.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I woke up, she was standing here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can tell us how you got here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not getting any answer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, it's going to be OK, honey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK.
SCOTT: Are you scared?
WHITFIELD: Yes, I'm scared. Didn't even want to watch it. So what do you think, should I be checking this one out? Well, no, don't even try to convince me because it's not going to happen, but everybody else out there, do you want them to see this flick?
SCOTT: Well, this was kind of - I thought this was pretty disappointing. This is like the exorcist meets paranormal activity. Because as you can tell from that clip, it's shot as if it's a documentary. The idea is kind of this preacher who doesn't believe in anything anymore and he brings this documentary film crew along with him to perform an exorcism on this young girl, to show that it's all bunk, that there's no such thing as demons and exorcism isn't real.
And, of course, anyone who hasn't seen a movie like this before kind of knows better, at least for the purposes of a movie. But it really - I thought it was more - it's not even 90 minutes long and most of the time I was bored and looking at my watch waiting for the stuff to happen that I kind of know it's going to happen and it just didn't feel scary.
It didn't grab you the way that paranormal activity, say, did and just, you know, give you that feeling of dread. Again, it's the kind of movie that you feel like you've seen too many times before and done better. So this is another - about another C on the -
WHITFIELD: OK. A "C." Did I ask you your grade on "The Takers"? Did you give me a grade on the "The Takers?"
SCOTT: C plus. I'll give it a little edge just for style and clothes and car chases.
WHITFIELD: And this one, just a plain old "C," just average.
SCOTT: Just a plain old "C." Better luck next weekend.
WHITFIELD: OK. Very good. We look forward to that. All right. Thanks so much, Tony Scott, appreciate it. Good to see you.
SCOTT: Good talking to you.
WHITFIELD: Happy movie going this weekend.
SCOTT: Thank you. Take care.
WHITFIELD: OK. On this fifth anniversary of Katrina, today's installment of building up America focuses on New Orleans, the icon of crescent city's comeback was the Louisiana Superdome. And CNN's Tom Foreman reports, it's back and better than ever.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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 over 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, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, SMG: We were very concerned about falling debris from the roof. We had no water pressure. We had no ability to remove trash and debris. And we're taking on more and more and more people and the superdome was literally a 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 2 million square feet of walled 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we would have had to replace 72,000 seats, we wouldn't have made it.
FOREMAN: But they did, opening for the Saint's first home game 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't think there would be anyway to come back, not to the city, not to the dome, not my home.
FOREMAN: But the Superdome has come back, the Saints have, too, in a very big way. And no home coming for any town has ever been sweeter. Tom Foreman, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Meantime, back to back storms are now whipping up in the Atlantic. More on where they're headed when we come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We're keeping a close watch on not one, but two storms with names, right now in the Atlantic. Jacqui Jeras in the Weather Center.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And perhaps, number three.
WHITFIELD: Another one on the way.
JERAS: Yes. WHITFIELD: It already has a name, kind of, if that becomes worthy of being named, right?
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: We have the list and we just keep going down the list and if it does get a name, that third one would be Fiona, as in Shrek's wife. That's how I'm remembering it. We'll see what it does.
But this is the tropical wave that we're talking about that has the potential to become our next tropical depression within the next 48 hours. Right here is our tropical storm, which is Earl. And then up here, we've got our hurricane which is Danielle. Danielle is the closest to the U.S. and closest to land so we'll start talking about that one first.
Here you can see a satellite picture of it. A pretty impressive hurricane yesterday, but you can see the northern eyewall starting to open up a little bit and it's interacting with this trough here. You can see the cloudiness from that. So this will start weakening eventually I think and it's curving to the north and east. So you can see this little dot there, that's Bermuda. So it is not going to get any closer to Bermuda than it is right now; so just some rough conditions with Danielle. Here's the official forecast track of it, by the way. And you can see that it will be weakening and taking that very sharp right hand turn. So that's a little bit of good news.
Now, Earl, we're a little bit more concerned about. It is a tropical storm right now, 55-mile per hour winds, maximum sustained. You got to get up to 74 for it to become a hurricane. The conditions right now aren't super favorable for a lot of intensification, at least not in the next 12 to 24 hour. But beyond that, we do expect to see some strengthening and look at how close it gets to the Leeward Islands. And we've got some tropical storm watches in effect here.
We do expect this to start turning northwesterly, but look at that cone of uncertainty and that's why we're a little bit more concerned about Earl. It is taking a much more southerly track so there is a risk here for the Atlantic Coast. And we'll be watching it very closely especially the middle and latter part of the next week.
There are a couple other things going on today. We're watching the Gulf of Mexico and this is the anniversary of Katrina and there are a lot of activities and things going on in New Orleans and we've got this little wave or little area of low pressure that is bringing in torrential down pours. So flooding can be expected. Could see a good two to five inches of rainfall overall and this is the really focus of some of some of the worst weather across the United States this weekend.
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. Thanks so much, Jacqui, appreciate that.
Hurricane Katrina barreled ashore five years ago this Sunday devastating New Orleans and other towns all along the U.S. Gulf Coast. And after the storm, it quickly became a cash economy. And that was a big problem with most of ATMs down. CNN's Jeanne Meserve reports now. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Katrina chewed up and spit out much of Gulfport, Mississippi, including the headquarters of Hancock Bank.
GEORGE HAIRSTON, CURRENT CHAIRMAN, HANCOCK BANK: This floor was completely trashed. It was a 100 percent loss.
GAY TODD, HANCOCK BANK EMPLOYEE: I'm just glad to be here.
MESERVE: Bank employee Gay Todd still tears up remembering, not what was lost, but what her bank gave.
TODD: They looked after the community. Sorry.
MESERVE: Without electricity, records or even all its buildings, Hancock started opening the day after the storm, improvising with trailers, folding table, and faith.
GEORGE SCHLOEGEL, FMR. CHAIRMAN, HANCOCK BANK: We just made human judgments. And those people that needed help, we gave help.
MESERVE (on camera): What kind of help?
SCHLOEGEL: Cash.
MESERVE (voice over): Waterlogged money salvaged from ATMs and vaults was literally laundered, washed, dried, ironed and loaned to customers and noncustomers alike.
HAIRSTON: And we would write a little IOU on whatever little piece of paper that you could put your hands on, little yellow sticky pads, on a piece of a napkin.
MESERVE: Marvin Koury got a few hundred dollars.
MARVIN KOURY, GULFPORT RESIDENT: Lot of people's lives depended on being able to go buy gas, ice.
MESERVE (On camera): And you need cash to do it.
KOURY: You needed cash to do it.
MESERVE: Hancock Bank says millions of dollars of salvaged money was used to make its unconventional Katrina loans. All but $300,000 was paid back. And there were other unexpected dividends. In the four months after the storm, Hancock's deposits grew 40 percent. And in 2009, George Schloegel, the bank chairman during Katrina, was elected mayor of Gulfport with almost 90 percent of the vote.
SCHLOEGEL: Basically people are honest and want to do the right thing. And they'll stand by you if you do the right thing by them.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And there's more talk about what happened five years ago. One hour CNN documentary tonight on CNN following Katrina's progression into a devastating category 5 hurricane. And detailing the suffering of the people who were victimized by the storm's sudden fury. That's tonight 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
And then using lessons learned from last year's deadly swine flu outbreak, an early push now to get more people protected.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. It is hard to believe, but fall is fast approaching and so is flu season. If you're over the age of six months, the CDC wants to you get a flu shot. And this year's version isn't quite like last year's. Doctor Jane Aronson is a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist. She is joining us now from New York.
So, Doctor, is this year's flu shot very different from what we experienced last year?
DR. JANE ARONSON, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: Yes, it's really wonderful this year because what it will do is it will be trivalent. And it is going to include Influenza A California, H1N1, and the an A perth, H3N2, which is the routine flu, and B Brisbane. So instead of having to get a lot of different flu shots, you'll be able to get one shot all in one and you'll be able to get it either as a flu mist, in the nostril or injection.
WHITFIELD: And this is good? You like this idea. This means that everybody who would have gotten them separately should be eligible or should be encouraged to get this one, this, you know, trifecta kind of shot?
ARONSON: Yes, in fact, I think it is going to be a really-it will be a boon in disguise. Last year was really challenging. In my office people really were irritable and resentful that they had to come in for more than one shot. And, of course, children between six months and eight years of age, if you haven't had a flu vaccine before, you have to have two doses anyway or it's recommended for the full effect. So kids were getting a lot of vaccines last year in order to ensure appropriate coverage.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Now, who gets the mist versus who gets the shot?
ARONSON: The flu mist is a live vaccine that is only to be given to children between two years of age, all the way through adults to 49 years of age. Although it is probably going to be available to older people as well, eventually, at this point in time, it's two years to 49 years.
WHITFIELD: Fascinating stuff. Wow, some big changes. So this is as a result of lessons learned really from last year in terms of how this nation dealt with H1N1 and regular influenza, isn't it?
ARONSON: Well, I think that the problem here was that the H1N1 sort of came in like a lion in April, spring, and there was really no way to get it in one vaccine, as a trivalent at that point. So we had to really do the best we could.
WHITFIELD: So who is at risk in your view, the greatest at risk, and why they really should take advantage of this shot?
ARONSON: I think it is always the same. The greatest risk, Fredricka is in the group of individuals that are either infants or elderly people. They're at the skewed ends of the immunologically are quite identical in being immune suppressed. And then, of course, the other risk groups will be people with underlying chronic medical conditions. People who may be obese, pregnant, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular illnesses, and then finally the health care professionals are going to be needing, and people who are in colleges and schools because those are opportunities for transmission of the disease to large numbers of individuals.
WHITFIELD: All right, fantastic. Doctor Jane Aronson, thanks so much. Good to see you from New York this afternoon. Have a great weekend.
ARONSON: You're welcome. Happy to be here.
WHITFIELD: Millions of Pakistanis are still in desperate need of life-saving aid. They're still trapped by floods, catching water-born diseases and they are starving. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes us to the hardest hit area of Sindh Province.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A fighting chance here in Sindh, Pakistan. It is all they can hope for. Ramah Charchar (ph), a farmer, didn't get any warning when the floods came.
"We just ran," he says, grabbed his wife, his kids, and he ran. And they took all they could. You're looking at it here. They are staggeringly poor, but they wanted a fighting chance. Escaping the flood, they thought they made it.
"She started to get a fever, she couldn't keep anything down. She had lots of belly pain."
She's talking about her three-month-old daughter, Benazir. A few days later she described the same exact thing happening to her son, two- year-old Wazirah (ph).
(On camera): They brought both Benazir and Wazirah (ph) here to Civil Hospital. And doctors right away knew that these children were sick. But with such limited resources, there's only so much they can do. Let's take a look.
You have two to three patients per bed in this hospital? Do you have enough beds, do you have enough resources?
DR. G.R. BOUK, PAKISTAN CIVIL HOSPITAL: No, there is no resources. Because of the huge in the Sekara (ph) population. And there are some populations around Jagabuvar (ph) and other Kashmir and Toll (ph).
GUPTA (voice over): The problem, bad water, everywhere. With not enough good clean water to go around, well, many, too many, have started to drink this. Millions, diarrhea illness, cholera, dysentery, typhoid.
(On camera): Some of the children around here look very sick and you have at least two children per bed, some on the floor. Are you going to run out of space eventually? I mean, there are hundreds of thousands of people out there.
BOUK: Yes.
GUPTA: What happens to them?
BOUK: At the moment we can't do anything.
GUPTA: What are the chances this child will survive?
BOUK: I think 50/50.
GUPTA (voice over): Wazirah (ph) and Benazir wouldn't get that fighting chance. This is their obituary. They didn't even make it to the hospital. Both children died on the way there.
Two-year-old Wazirah (ph) weighed just eight pounds. And three-month- old Benazir just two pounds.
(On camera): You can tell her, oh, I don't want her to cry. It's OK. You can see her belly is very distended. That's the problem. And it's hard. It doesn't really push in. I've given some formula so they can keep some calories down. And they give a medicine, as well, mainly for nausea. But really no antibiotics, which is concerning because that's one of the biggest problems here, people getting infections.
(voice over): Mullah and Ramat are just two of the millions affected by these floods. This is their new normal, living among dozens of strangers on mats, incredible, unimaginable loss, two children dead in just one week. But now their mission to not lose another child. To save this child, Goody (ph), who is already sick. And she wants to give Goody a fighting chance. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Sindh, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Meantime, a half world away, dozens of miners are trapped below ground for the first time they learned it could be four months before they see daylight. But rescuers may have a plan to get them out even sooner. Details straight ahead.
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WHITFIELD: Thirty-three miners trapped in the bowels of the earth in Chile. They have been stuck there for weeks already and could be there until Christmas. Now rescuers hope to speed up the process to get them out. CNN's Karl Penhaul brings us the miners' video message.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Deep underground, in the dim light of a miner's helmet. Details of how 33 men are beating the odds to stay alive.
"With God, we have faith we're going to get out of here," he says. Miner Marioso Polvada (ph) takes the camera on a tour of the cramped shelter 700 meters or 2,300 feet deep. They've been trapped for three weeks, but seem to be holding strong.
"My name is Claudio Yanyes (ph) I want to send a message to my family, especially my wife and children. I love them very much," he says. They know their families kept up the pressure on rescue workers and the government even when all hope seemed lost.
"I want it say thank you to all our families who had the courage not to abandon us. We know what you've done," he says.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Wow, that is pretty extraordinary. Karl joining us live now from the San Jose Mine in Northern Chile.
So, Karl, rescue teams have a plan B apparently in the works to get the miners out faster.
PENHAUL: Absolutely. And we began to get wind of that a couple of days ago. But today I was talking to one of the mining engineers who has been charged with that planning and getting much firmer details now.
Essentially if this plan B is put into operation, and if it can work, it could half the time that it takes to rescue those miners. That would take the time frame instead of four months around Christmastime, to around two months. Still a long time, but much better. The plan, well, it's using a different kind of a drill, a drill that's normally used for drilling water holes. And this works a little bit faster. A bit different technology. It would also be drilled from a different spot at an 85 degree angle instead of straight down. And doing that, it would cut about 300, 400 feet off the distance that drill has to travel. A little bit speculative right now, but that's what a lot of people are putting their hopes on, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Wow, extraordinary plan. Of course, we're wishing them all the best on that. Thanks so much, Karl Penhaul, appreciate that.
Meantime, I'm Fredricka Whitefield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues next hour with Don Lemon live from New Orleans with extended coverage of the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
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