Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Post-Katrina New Orleans; Katrina Recovery: A Story in Pictures; The Political Week Ahead; Iraq's New Look; Chilean Mine Rescue Shaft Could Take Four Months; Teens who Survived Katrina; Hurricanes Danielle and Earl May Cause Trouble in Atlantic and on US Coast; Stars Begin Arriving for Emmys; Dogs, State Fairs, and a New Idea for New Zealand Airlines in Viral Videos Rewind

Aired August 29, 2010 - 17:02   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Meantime, while the president was in New Orleans, no doubt he noticed many signs of progress and still many lingering symbols of devastation, especially in the Lower Ninth Ward section of the city. And that's where we find CNN's Don Lemon. This day was marked in so many different ways right there in the neighborhood, right?

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. In the neighborhood there was a second line celebration, if you want, to remember the - the fifth- year anniversary a little bit earlier here. But, you know, that's happening all over the city.

Fred, can I give you a tour, a little bit? Remember the Lower Ninth Ward? Everyone knows what happened. Remember the levee that broke? There it is. There's the repaired levee back there. That big cement block thing that you see? That is the levee that broke and - and had so much water fill this particular neighborhood.

We're going to walk here and give you a little bit of a tour. We're on the corner here of Tennessee and I think it's Prieur Street here in the Lower Ninth Ward. This is where the Brad Pitt homes are. The Make It Right Foundation has been doing so much work on these homes here.

And I think it's interesting, Fred, just to show our viewers what's happening here. Of course, it does not look like this all over New Orleans, as you know. You've been here. You've been reporting it. You've been on the ground. This is really a symbol of what New Orleans could look like, and probably should look like.

And, you know, before this, if you'd ever been to New Orleans, you know that these homes were stacked. They were just little sort of postage-stamp lots, homes right next to each other. And now, there are these new homes that are being built, these green homes, these energy-efficient homes, most of them by Brad Pitt's foundation, again.

Let's go over here, Jerry (ph).

But, for the most part, all of New Orleans does not look like this.

Hey, you see this? It says "Katrina Five Years Later." This is a photo exhibit that has been going around the country. I think they were in Houston before this. We're going to go inside and talk to them.

Stanley, Kadir. Both of you guys are photographers, right? And you started this. And you're Stanley.

STANLEY GREENE, NOOR IMAGES: Yes.

LEMON: You're Kadir. Tell what - you've been doing this, what? Since the storm? Since five years ago, 2005?

GREENE: Yes. We - we arrived here seven days after the hurricane and we just started to document. And, you know, we usually cover crises and we were quite shocked by what we saw.

KADIR VAN LOHUIZEN, NOOR IMAGES: Yes.

LEMON: And talk to us about these photographs that we're looking at. Go on, Jerry (ph) and - and get some of the shots of these photographs, because they're very dramatic. Fred, if you have any questions, jump in here and - and I'll ask them to the guys.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, number one, I'm fascinated that they would bring this exhibit right here to the Lower Ninth.

VAN LOHUIZEN: It was the three weeks that we were here just after the storm, and it was when we came back -

LEMON: I'm sorry. Hang on one second, Kadir. Say again, Fred?

WHITFIELD: I said I'm fascinated that they would bring this exhibit right to the Lower Ninth where people, you know, they've lived it, they know it. The significance of why they wanted to do this.

LEMON: She said she's fascinated that you would actually bring this to the Lower Ninth, the significance here. Why did you bring it right to the Lower Ninth?

VAN LOHUIZEN: Well, we've been following this for five years, and - and we are both photojournalists. We strongly believe that this - this is not just a remembrance. This is also to raise attention that this is still happening.

I have followed a number of families who are still displaced in Houston. I followed them for three years. They cannot come back. So that is - it's very important for us to bring it to the communities, but to also show it to - to the public, the general public, which might not be aware.

LEMON: So you were in Houston before this, and where else do you plan - have you been and do you plan to take this?

GREENE: Well the problem is we're able to bring it to New Orleans, but we weren't able to get enough funding to be able to bring it, like, for example, to Atlanta, New York, Washington. So - but by the generosity of OSI, which is Open Society, who gave us the money to actually do the project, we're able to bring it here and we really felt it was important to bring it here.

LEMON: And I think it's fascinating that you actually have this. I don't know if you can see this on camera, but they've got the exhibit here and it's on a projector, projecting some of the photographs that you see here on the walls. How's it - how's it been received?

GREENE: People are blown away. I mean it's a - it's a show on wheels, you know?

VAN LOHUIZEN: Yes. And we were - we were afraid of Houston because, obviously, for Houstonians, this is quite far away, Katrina, five years ago. But we - people were - a lot of people came and - and said that they just didn't know.

GREENE: Yes.

LEMON: Well, good luck. It's a beautiful, beautiful exhibit, and it's a traveling exhibit. You know, how often do you see that? Especially when it comes to something like Hurricane Katrina.

Let's walk back out here. Careful on the steps here.

WHITFIELD: And so, Don, while you're walking -

LEMON: And Fred, jump in any time -

WHITFIELD: Yes. While you're walking, you know, you mentioned earlier the second line and how symbolic it was for people to feel like they were kind of burying Katrina, but at the same time celebrating life after the fact. We now have that video. So give me an idea -

LEMON: Yes. Let's play it.

WHITFIELD: -- just kind of paint a picture for me, based on the video that we can see what this really about and how you stumbled upon it.

LEMON: Well, this was a man who lived in the neighborhood and he lost his family. And so, you know, for - when you're in New Orleans, you know, you have - you have funerals and you have weddings and you - and all of this. And all of it involves a parade and second-lining and celebrating. So while you're sad that someone has died, you celebrate their life, and that's what the music and the second-line is - second- lining is all about.

So that's how that came about. A man here who lost his home and some of his family members decided, you know what? On this fifth anniversary, we're going to have a second-line celebration. So that's what you're seeing here.

This morning, Fred, I told you earlier, I was at the - in the French Quarter, at the Monteleone Hotel, a second line as well. They had a preacher who, you know, named himself, he said, no more excuses, and they said they were burying everything that has to do with Katrina.

And this is really a block party. I have to be very honest with you. Robert Greene is one of the residents here. He's having a block party today. But he's also letting the media come in and use his home as sort of a base camp because, I mean, to be very honest with you, sometimes, you know, people get upset with the media and they think, oh, you know, you're intruding. People here love what the media did to help New Orleans. So they are very inviting.

WHITFIELD: To help expose (INAUDIBLE) -

LEMON: But that's part of what it's like to be a Louisianian too. Yes. Everybody is very welcoming. And, as my family used to say, growing up here, people would come over to our house. The first thing you do is you ask them, what do you want to eat? What do you want to drink? And if you can't go home, if you had a little bit too much to drink, you sleep on the floor and you cover with the door.

So that's what it is to be a Louisianian, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. And - and you bring that to Atlanta, because I know you open your door all the time, and there's always lots of food, thanks to mom.

LEMON: Every Christmas, mom with the gumbo -

WHITFIELD: Right.

LEMON: -- and everything. Everybody is very happy and very well fed, right?

WHITFIELD: OK. Very good. Don Lemon, thanks so much, coming to us from the Lower Ninth Ward there.

LEMON: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Kind of a slice of how people are marking this fifth anniversary post-Katrina.

And now, a Katrina recovery story brought to us by CNN iReporters. These are people just like you, armed with cameras and cell phones who documented past and present images of Katrina's destruction and recovery. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything was gray, just like when you saw after 9/11 where, you know, the streets were all gray. It was - you couldn't find any greenery. Nobody, no one coming down the street. It was very eerie. Very eerie to be just in the silence. That's what I remember, just being so quiet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing - nothing really changed. I mean, like you have an overturned car in the middle of the street. Yes, we moved that, but that's - that's it.

I mean, like I said, the people are not - are not coming back. You don't see - the commerce is like some parts of the city are still like a ghost town. It's just a reality that you have to reach, like, hey, this is how we live. This is what we have to deal with.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the photo with the shrimp boat that is going a little ways into the house, where that boat came from, I don't know. But it's at the end of a street, close to a levee, which right on the other side is a body of water. So I don't know where this boat came from, but it certainly didn't belong on the street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I took a picture of the church. It was a church, basically right behind me, across the street. It was a two- story church with this huge set of stairs going up to it, and it collapsed sometime during the storm, so it was collapsed when I came back. And, basically, the whole site has been cleared since and now just the stairs are there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm hoping now that people will realize, you know, they have whatever number it is, how many died in Mississippi, how many died in the Lower Ninth Ward. But, you know, you'll get to see, you know, it wasn't just that weekend or those few months. You know, it continues. You know, people are still affected by what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Looking ahead now to the week in politics, we learn it's all about the numbers.

We get more from CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, Fred.

Vote counting resumes Tuesday in Alaska, where the Republican Senate primary's going into overtime. Incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowsky trails Joe Miller by just over 1,500 votes, with thousands of absentee ballots still to be counted. Miller was once a long shot but got a huge boost from an endorsement from former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, and lots of help from the Tea Party Express.

Now, the same night, Tuesday night, President Barack Obama goes on primetime national television. He's delivering an address from the Oval Office on the Iraq war. The speech coincides with the official end of America's military combat mission in Iraq.

And Friday, arguably the most important economic number in politics right now, we'll find out the August unemployment rate as the Labor Department releases a monthly jobs report. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Paul.

In addition, this week marks the official end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq and the start of operation New Dawn in Iraq. It's the next phase for U.S. troops after seven years of fighting.

CNN's Arwa Damon is in Baghdad where things are markedly different right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Baghdad's Bab Shadji (ph) marketplace, and you can get just about anything here, although it is mostly electronics.

Under Saddam Hussein, what you would find was basic, fairly straightforward. But with the U.S.-led invasion, the marketplace was flooded with high-tech products that Iraqis had basically been deprived of due to decades of dictatorship and sanctions.

ALI HALLAB (PH), IRAQI SHOP OWNER (through translator): Everything was banned before. We didn't even have mobile phones or satellite TV.

DAMON (voice-over): Shop owner, Ali Hallab (ph) tells us. Almost immediately after the fall of the regime, restrictions were lifted. He says DVD players used to be best sellers, but now it's car accessories.

DAMON (on camera): Under the previous regime, a number of items were banned, including satellite phones, which are now being sold openly. But at the same time, you also have this - these search mirrors. Now Hammad (ph), who owns this shop, was telling us that he began selling them around two weeks ago because of an increase in demand. And they're basically used to search underneath vehicles for things like magnetic bombs.

Shops like this one exist throughout Baghdad, selling pirated DVDs, something of a novelty, but also now, a main source of entertainment for most Iraqis. The invasion did open up the marketplace, bringing in new technology for those who can afford it. But for many, the economic benefits have been overshadowed by the war.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And President Obama will be talking about the changes in Iraq during his address to the nation Tuesday night. You can see it right here live on CNN at 8:00 Eastern.

And there's a new plan to reach those trapped Chilean miners that could cut their expected rescue time in half. We'll tell you all about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now.

Thousands of people were forced to flee their homes when a long- dormant volcano rumbled to life in Indonesia. Mount Sinabung had been quiet for 400 years before spewing volcanic ash into the air today. People are evacuating from 14 villages near the base of the volcano. But experts say a major eruption is unlikely.

And the U.S. says extremists have threatened aid workers helping flood victims in Pakistan. Pakistani officials say they're not aware of any such threats, but are offering to provide security, if needed. There have also been complaints about the slow pace of aid in some areas. At least 17 million people have been displaced by the flooding.

And officials in Chile say 33 trapped miners may soon be able to talk directly to their family members for the first time. A communication line is being set up today. The miners have been sending written messages to rescuers for several days now. And in his weekly message today, Pope Benedict XVI said that he's praying for the miners and their families. And workers plan to start drilling a rescue shaft tomorrow to help free those Chilean miners. It could take four months to actually reach them.

But as CNN's Karl Penhaul reports rescuers are considering another option that could speed up the process.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN VIDEO CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the San Jose Copper and Gold Mine high in the Chilean desert. Deep below, this is Refuge 33. The name 33 miners have given the shelter where they've been trapped for more than three weeks after a cave-in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).

PENHAUL: Rescue workers drag equipment into place. They plan to begin drilling a hole Monday to a depth of about 700 meters or 2,300 feet.

PENHAUL (on camera): First of all, a guide drill will go down and then a wider hole will be dug about shoulder-width to pull the men up.

PENHAUL (voice-over): That initial plan, Plan A, is expected to take as long as four months.

But now, engineers say they may have another plan -- Plan B. That could get the miners out in half the time previously estimated. Using a faster drill normally used for boring water holes.

WALTER HERRERA, MINING ENGINEER (through translator): We don't want to pin down a timeframe, but we think this could be quicker than Plan A. In ideal conditions, we think it could take about two months, he said.

PENHAUL: But government Mining Minister, Laurence Golborne, said it was not certain that Plan B would work and urged caution.

LAURENCE GOLBORNE, CHILE'S MINING MINISTER (through translator): We don't want to create expectations beyond what is reasonable, he said.

Families have mounted a constant vigil for their loved ones at a tent village called Camp Hope. At the weekend, Chilean folk group, Inti- Illimani, known for supporting working-class causes played an impromptu solidarity gig.

Night falls, but the rescue effort continues round the clock. And on a barren hillside overlooking the mine, relatives light a candle for men fighting to stay alive far underground.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, San Jose Mine, Northern Chile.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we've seen communities rebuild from the ground up in years since Hurricane Katrina hit. And a lot of kids have grown up along the way. We'll catch up with some of them, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Now back to the five-year mark of Hurricane Katrina. When the Category Three storm slammed into the Gulf Coast, the Federal Emergency Management Agency says it was the single most catastrophic disaster in U.S. history, killing 1,700 people - nearly 1,800 people.

Well, President Obama spoke today in New Orleans, which suffered massive flooding after the levees broke. He praised the city's residents for their recovery efforts and promised continued federal help. He said a new fortified levee system will be completed by next year.

Experiencing one of the nation's worst natural disasters through the eyes of teenagers, that is what CNN's Soledad O'Brien and filmmaker Spike Lee set out to do when they gathered their "Children of the Storm". Well, today we revisit some of these young adults.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SPIKE LEE, FILMMAKER: Now, you see we have a very diverse group here, and you've each been given a camera.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three years ago, we gave kids in New Orleans a chance to document their lives in the aftermath of Katrina.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

DESHAWN DABNEY, CHILDREN OF THE STORM: Hello. My name is Deshawn.

AMANDA HILL, CHILDREN OF THE STORM: My name is Amanda.

O'BRIEN: Our children of the storm pointed their cameras at friends, family members and themselves to capture the long road to recovery. Amanda Hill lived in one of the worst-hit areas.

HILL: I live in St. Paul Parish. I live in a FEMA trailer with my grandma. I live with my grandma because my mom died when I was 11.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm opening a letter from FEMA, saying that we can, we have to try to move out of this trailer. They're trying to get us out of here to be put in that house and the house is not even livable. It's not even ready to live in.

O'BRIEN: The effects of the storm were taking a toll on her grandmother's health. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you.

HILL: I love you, too.

I'm scared that I'm going to lose her. And she's all I have. All I can say was, it's going to be OK, but no matter what (ph) I don't think it is.

If God's willing and the creek doesn't rise again, May 2012, I'll graduate from LSU HSC School of Nursing. I'm pretty excited about that. My grandma is still working and she'll - I'll let her retire when I graduate. I'll take care of her now.

DABNEY: You, sir, if you can hear me, we are marching because the violence has gone too far.

O'BRIEN: When we met Deshawn Dabney, he was a high school senior fighting against the crime and violence infecting his city.

DABNEY: Senseless acts of violence are murdering our teenagers.

I don't want to be dead at 15 when I have a whole life to live. I have dreams. I want to be this huge entertainer.

TEXT: Deshawn was able to rise above the danger in his neighborhood and pursue his dreams...

DABNEY: This is my high school diploma. My grandmother actually died a few months right before my graduation. So, when I walked across the stage and received this, it was pretty much in honor of her.

So Grandma, this is for you.

I've been trying to live out my dream with the whole theater thing. I'm actually a theater arts major here at Dillard University. And I've been pushing to get that big role. Still haven't gotten a big huge one yet. But the train is going to keep going up, up, and up, like some stairs. So hopefully, that will happen.

BRANDON FRANKLIN, TEEN KATRINA SURVIVOR: You wouldn't believe the man looks just like his daddy. I'm too proud.

O'BRIEN: And then there was Brandon Franklin, our 19-year-old father, trying to get his music career off the ground.

FRANKLIN: Now who we have here? This is my -- I'm going to say my second daddy. I can't even call him a band director. My second daddy, named Mr. Willbert Rawlins.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was training since the eighth grade, he wanted to be a band director, he told me that.

TEXT: Earlier this year, Brandon became the assistant band director at his old high school.

FRANKLIN: How you think life going to turn out now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: Good.

FRANKLIN: How good?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: Very good.

FRANKLIN: Yes.

TEXT: In May 2010, while visiting the mother of his 3-year-old child, Brandon was murdered by her ex-boyfriend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man, there's so many people that are missing Brandon Franklin right now, it's ridiculous.

Brandon came into our lives, he not only touched my life, he touched so many other people's lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Earth to earth, ashes to ashes.

DABNEY: This nice guy lost his life, due to same violence that I was fighting and still am fighting today. You know, it's just terrible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Wow, some incredible low points and high points, a lot of those young kids have experienced in the past five years. To find out more 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.

Meantime, while we talk about the five-year marker for Hurricane Katrina, there are still a couple other hurricanes and weather systems out in the Atlantic that always get people very nervous and concerned, Jacqui, especially this time of year as we head into peak hurricane season.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right, yes. September 10th is the climatological peak, and you usually kind of look at the two weeks before and after as being very active times. And that's exactly what's going on, and we do have cause for concern.

We'll start out with the big picture, and showing you the three different systems that we're watching. This is Hurricane Danielle. We have Hurricane Earl over here. And this is a tropical wave that has a high potential of becoming our next tropical depression. It has shown some signs of weakening today, but more favorable conditions out ahead of that storm. So that's something we'll watch in the days ahead.

The number one concern at this hour happens to be what's happening along the US Atlantic Coast beaches. We've got some very high surf as well as the threat of rip currents, and there were a number of rescues that took place this weekend, and that's due to the large swells from Danielle.

Danielle's moving northeast, and it's going to be weakening, pulling away from the US. So the only thing we'll be dealing with are the big waves tonight. And they should even be calming down by tomorrow.

Now next down the pike is Hurricane Earl. And this storm has been intensifying. Now a category one storm with winds of 85 miles per hour, that's up from 75 earlier in the day. It's moving through the Lesser Antilles right now, and there are hurricane watches as well as tropical storm warnings for both the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

While the storm is expected to move just to the north of there, it will have big impacts in terms of torrential downpours. We'll likely see some power outages and maybe some weaker buildings that aren't constructed very well could get some damage.

Now, here you can see the forecast path. And we're really concerned about the US coast. Whether or not we get a direct hit, it's still too early to tell. Let's start out here to the south. You can see it's going to be making a northwesterly turn. At the closest approach to the US coastline, we'll be looking at maybe Thursday, as a major hurricane. Look at this, Cape Hatteras, all the way up into parts of the Canadian Maritimes in that cone of uncertainty.

Even if we don't get a direct hit here on Thursday, I think some of the outer bands could be affecting North Carolina, and then, it'll make another brush near the Cape as we head into Friday. Holiday weekend, Fredricka. So, even if we don't get landfall, we're really concerned about people going into the waters, because we'll have that risk of rip currents and really big waves coming Thursday, Friday, and right into Sunday as well.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and people like to make this their last hurrah, kind of the official good-bye to the summer on Labor Day weekend. So we know a lot of people are putting themselves at risk.

JERAS: That's right.

WITFIELD: Just simply by being there and indulging in the big waves.

JERAS: Yes, so watch for updates throughout the week as the storm develops.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Jacqui.

JERAS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate that.

All right meantime let's talk -- hey, you know, I didn't ask you about what that weather's like on the west coast because it's Emmy time. But I guess they don't really care, they'll be inside, anyway. But they've got to walk the red carpet. That's where we're going to find our Brooke Anderson there, of "Showbiz Tonight," looking ever so lovely. Oh, but I see the sunshine, so no worries about any rain dampening the spirits there.

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN HOST, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: That's right, Fredricka. It is a beautiful day here for the Primetime Emmy Awards. And everybody's excited. I see Joel McHale right here. Can you pan over, Chris? Take a look? Hi, Joel.

JOEL MCHALE: Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow.

ANDERSON: I don't want to interrupt.

MCHALE: That's OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's too late.

(LAUGHTER)

ANDERSON: Everyone is arriving for the Primetime Emmy Awards tonight. Everybody's thrilled. And I want to note this, as much as everybody loves and adores perennial favorites like "Mad Men" and "30 Rock," there seems to be a push here to showcase new shows, fresh faces.

For instance, "30 Rock" has won the Best Comedy Emmy for the last three years running. But this year, it goes head to head with three new shows that have exploded in popularity with viewership in their very first seasons. I'm talking "Glee." I'm talking "Modern Family." I'm talking "Nurse Jackie." By the way, all the main stars from those shows have been nominated in the individual acting category, save for Ed O'Neil from "Modern Family."

On the drama side, I was talking about "Mad Men." It has won Best Drama for the past two years running, but critics are really high on "Lost" for its final season. Critics love CBS's new show, "The Good Wife." That show stars Juliana Margulies, and we know she used to star with George Clooney -- I'm kind of doing a six degrees of separation here thing --

WHITFIELD: Right.

ANDERSON: She used to star with George Clooney on "E.R." for years and years and years. She's presenting George with a humanitarian award tonight. Juliana also nominated in that Lead Actress in a Drama category.

And Fredricka, I've got to get to this.

WHITFIELD: OK.

ANDERSON: Because in a not so subtle dig at that debacle, really, the "Tonight Show" debacle between Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno. Conan O'Brien was nominated for his short stint on the "Tonight Show."

WHITFIELD: Ouch.

ANDERSON: But he's really going to be hard-pressed, Fredricka, to beat Jon Stewart, who has won for the past 50 years. I'm kidding. But he has won for the past seven years running. But Fredricka, if Conan wins, he's going to have to be really careful in his acceptance speech, what he says about his former bosses. If he's accurate, he can get away with it legally. But his severance deal and that agreement --

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's right.

ANDERSON: Are really keeping a tight leash on Conan today.

WHITFIELD: And particularly awkward if Jay Leno's in the house. And we don't know if he will be.

ANDERSON: Right.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, we'll see.

ANDERSON: I hope they'll hug it out, if he's here.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I know. Well, you know, LA, as big as it is, can become very, very small and especially when you've got an awards show like the one tonight. So Brooke Anderson, thanks so much. Appreciate that. We'll check back with you throughout the evening.

ANDERSON: That's right. Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Also coming up next, some of the hottest videos, the viral videos on the internet. Josh Levs, a little preview with us right now?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we've got something like that going. Fred, you've got to see this dog. I'll tell you, it's not just humans that enjoy watching Emmy-nominated TV programs. Look at this dog --

WHITFIELD: Oh, no.

LEVS: Chillaxing.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no. Chillaxing.

(LAUGHTER)

LEVS: What she is watching and what show she refuses to be interrupted during. I'm going to have that for you.

WHITFIELD: The remote is under the paw?

LEVS: She's just got to crack open a Bud. She's got it operating there.

WHITFIELD: I love it. Just chillaxing.

LEVS: I've also got sports stars in an airline safety video and a pop tune that is an ode to Facebook, Fred.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

LEVS: All of that, coming up, right here.

WHITFIELD: Facebook, just blowing up. Too huge.

LEVS: Too huge. It's all up next, Viral Video Rewind.

WHITFIELD: All right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at the top stories right now, 8500 pounds of ground beef have been recalled because it may be tainted with E. coli. Federal officials say the meat was produced by Cargill Meat Solutions. It was sold in eight northeast and mid-Atlantic states. Packages have an establishment code of 9400 and a Use or Freeze by date of July 1st. So far, there have been three confirmed cases of E. coli infections linked to the recalled meat.

And officials in Chile say 33 trapped miners may soon be able to talk directly to their family members for the first time. A communication line is being set up today, and tomorrow, officials plan to start drilling a rescue shaft. That could take three months. Officials are also considering another plan, widening the shaft that they are using right now to transport supplies to the miners. And that plan could cut the rescue time in half.

And for the US Gulf Coast, a tale of recovery and rebuilding. President Obama was in New Orleans earlier today, to help mark five years since Hurricane Katrina slammed ashore. The storm killed more than 1700 people and devastated countless communities. The president promises his administration will stand with those communities until they are back on fair feet.

Lots of weird and wild stuff on Viral Videos. But that's what makes it viral. On the internet.

LEVS: That's what these are.

WHITFIELD: People go crazy over the weird and funny stuff. Josh Levs here. I cannot wait to see the dog at the sofa. That kills me.

LEVS: Stuff like that, that's just normal to someone else. And the rest of us had no idea that this is -- It's so anthropomorphic. You'll see what we're talking about. Now take a look. I'm calling it "Chillaxing Bulldog." Look at the -- look at this girl.

WHITFIELD: Oh, there's the remote.

LEVS: There's the remote.

WHITFIELD: I like it. LEVS: Let me tell you about this dog. Her name is Bullet. And, apparently she likes to hang on the sofa, watch a little telly. Who doesn't, right? And her favorite show is "Family Guy," which as you know, has an animated dog.

WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh.

LEVS: And apparently, do not dare interrupt her during that show --

WHITFIELD: No!

LEVS: Or she'll give it back to you.

WHITFIELD: Gets tude?

LEVS: Apparently, she can't stay -- she just take it. She -- it's so a person sitting there.

WHITFIELD: I love it. It is.

LEVS: Look at that.

WHITFIELD: I love it. Oh --

LEVS: Reach over for the beer. She's got it made.

WHITFIELD: "Who you looking at?"

LEVS: "Who you looking at?"

WHITFIELD: "You looking at me?"

LEVS: "You looking at me?" The word on -- she's like, "What, what? What exactly" --

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: That's cute. I love all things dog, so I'm sold on that one.

LEVS: We're going to have a little more dog for you coming up. We've got a bunch of good doggie stuff today. But it's not what next. Take a look at these guys, dunking a basketball. You know, sometimes we do some impressive sports feats? These guys are jumping off that deck and the roof, it looks like.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no, this is crazy -- What?

LEVS: Yes. These young guys, there at uc.com, they have this listed as "Clash Three." And I believe they're Mission Reajo. And they are taking the ball -- look at that.

WHITFIELD: No! Maybe they were a little envious of the little girl. Remember, you showed me the little girl --

LEVS: That's right.

WHITFIELD: And the dad like kind of threw the girl, and she dunked it.

LEVS: Fred is talking about that. You can see it on the web, I have my Facebook. Yes, there was a five-year-old girl who was lifted up in the air and dunked it incredibly. So, there are these dunking contests online, who can come up with the coolest videos of dunking. But these guys --

WHITFIELD: Look at that!

LEVS: Look at these clips.

WHITFIELD: They're just wild.

LEVS: They are wild.

WHITFIELD: They're having way too much fun.

LEVS: Wild and impressive.

WHITFIELD: Swoosh!

LEVS: All right. Now a little different impressive video. Take a look at this next one sent to us on iReport. This is a time-lapsed video, it's nice. It's at the Indiana State Fair.

WHITFIELD: OK.

LEVS: And this guy, Don Distel (ph), set up his camera and just kept it going. That's really cool to see night arrive.

WHITFIELD: The traffic in that joint.

LEVS: I was reading about the Indiana State Fair before we came on the air here. I read that they got Justin Bieber and Drake this year.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

LEVS: These things are big.

WHITFIELD: Hence the crowd.

LEVS: Our Jacqui Jeras has been ribbing me because I said I don't think I've been to an official state fair before.

WHITFIELD: Really?

LEVS: I've been to fairs, but I don't think it's been the one that's the State fair.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I think -- The only state fair that I remember going to, at least as a child in Maryland, Maryland State Fair. But it was more kind of farm animals. That's not -- It didn't look as jazzed as that.

LEVS: No, this is pretty amazing.

WHITFIELD: With the neon lights and all that.

LEVS: They went all out, this is awesome.

OK. Now you know how nobody actually watches the in-flight videos on planes with all the safety information?

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's true, you do kind of tune out.

LEVS: Yes, maybe, you kind of tune out, you're like, "I've heard it before. What am I really going to learn about how to buckle my belt?

Well, maybe they should take a page out of Air New Zealand Look what they've done here. They took rugby stars and put them, along with major rugby fans and well-known rugby figures, and actual pilots into their video in order -- It's all themed on the 2011 Rugby World Cup, which is in New Zealand. So air New Zealand is capitalizing on that, and at the same time getting people to actually watch this thing.

WHITFIELD: Wow. That'll work. I can see how people would be intrigued, and say, come on, they're the nonpredictable kind of players in these roles.

LEVS: Why didn't a US airline think of that? We should have thought of that.

WHITFIELD: Maybe they'll follow suit now.

LEVS: I think they will.

OK, I promised more doggies. This is your adorable video of the week. Although Chillaxing Bulldog was cute, this is the adorable. This a compilation of dogs eating ice cream.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

LEVS: People going wild for this thing.

WHITFIELD: Oh!

LEVS: This is YouTube address Urlesque that you're seeing on your screen right now.

WHITFIELD: I like that!

LEVS: All these different --

(LAUGHTER)

LEVS: I'm sorry. This dog is gobbling it up. WHITFIELD: It's so cute. I'm like, you know what? All this stuff that I'm seeing before the days of YouTube. Whose dog doesn't eat -- you've done this with your dog, probably. Or I've done it with my dog.

LEVS: I don't know about --

WHITFIELD: OK, you're not a dog person.

LEVS: Yes, you knew that.

WHITFIELD: And now I'm like, darn, all this cool stuff that makes YouTube.

LEVS: You're like, "I should have put mine out, right? I would've gotten the million viewers."

WHITFIELD: Yes! Oh, that's cute. I know, I love seeing a dog eat ice cream.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: It's just too hilarious. Well, you're not going to share the container with your dog.

LEVS: Our producer just said, "Nasty."

WHITFIELD: Yes, I know. It's -- No, it's the dog's own personal container of ice cream.

LEVS: You don't then take a spoonful? Oh, yuck.

WHITFIELD: It's what dog people do.

LEVS: OK, so finally --

(LAUGHTER)

LEVS: All right, moving on. A new pop tune that is an ode to Facebook Take a look.

It's a huge viral hit, even though it's Turkish. This is a Turkish pop star named Ismail YK, there are some articles online talking about how this is even more enjoyable than looking at the previews for the Facebook movie that's coming out.

I want to read to you what they wrote on TechCrunch. This guy said, "I have basically no idea what is going on in this video, but it's awesome, nonetheless. It appears to take place in two Ikea showrooms that have been whitewashed. In these rooms a man and woman seem to stalk one another on Facebook and then start chatting. Are they using web TV? I'm not sure, but I'm not ruling it out."

Basically, no one has any idea what's going on. But I read the lyrics --

WHITFIELD: Oh, but they're pretty, and, you know --

LEVS: He's pretty, and he's apparently courting someone or in some -- looking for someone, and using Facebook in his nice living room.

WHITFIELD: This is hilarious.

LEVS: But this is the first hot Facebook song in existence. And people are loving it.

WHITFIELD: They're pretty and they're showing some new dance moves.

LEVS: Yes. And this is a perfect transition to where all of our links for Viral Video Rewind every day at my Facebook --

WHITFIELD: Of course.

LEVS: Facebook, Facebook page. Show everybody. Facebook.com/joshlevscnn. All the Virals I just showed you and more. You send your favorites, we'll have those next week.

WHITFIELD: How fun. All that good stuff. OK, Viral Video Rewind. We always love that. Thank you, Josh.

LEVS: Dog power.

WHITFIELD: That's right. We'll have much more, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Five years ago today, Hurricane Katrina came ashore on the US Gulf Coast, wiping out entire neighborhoods and tearing lives and families apart. CNN's Anderson Cooper finds out what happened to one of those families.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Katrina, in its wake, untold personal tragedies, lives lost, lives turned upside down. From the waters of Lake Pontchartrain, to the streets of Biloxi, Mississippi, residents are struggling to rebuild.

HARDY JACKSON, KATRINA SURVIVOR: Everything different down here. Used to feel like home. It don't.

COOPER: This is what Hardy Jackson has returned home to.

JACKSON: Don't make sense.

Too much.

I tried to save --

COOPER: It's here five years ago his own life was torn apart. His grief captured by our CNN affiliate WKRG, hours after the hurricane waters receded.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: Who was at your house with you?

JACKSON: My wife.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: Where is she now?

JACKSON: Can't find her body. She's gone. I'm lost. That's all I had. That's all I had.

COOOPER: Hardy and his wife rode out Katrina and were at first forced into their attic. He managed to climb onto this tree when their home imploded.

JACKSON: She came up from a big wave. I reached out and grabbed her hand. I looked at her and I told her, please, hold on, Tiney. Please hold on.

COOPER: But she couldn't hold on. Their last moments together, they prayed, and Hardy agreed to one final promise.

JACKSON: She said, "You take hold." She says, "Take care of the kids and grandkids." I begged God, "Please don't take my wife. Please don't."

COOPER: Five years have not eased Hardy Jackson's sorrow.

JACKSON: They say my wife's body gone to the bay. Nothing I can do. Makes me feel less than a man. It do, it makes me feel less than a man. Many times I woke up, I wish it was a dream.

COOPER: Since the storm, Hardy Jackson has had some good fortune. Frankie Beverly of the R & B group Mays, purchased this home for him. Hardy, along with two of his kids and three grandchildren, now live in Palmetto, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.

HARDY JACKSON, JR., SON: Lord, thank you for everything you did for my family and keeping us together. Lord, thank you, amen.

HARDY JACSKON, SR. Amen.

TONIE JACKSON, DAUGHTER: Amen.

COOPER: For Hardy's daughter Tonie, the pain is still overwhelming.

TONIE JACKSON: I'm just glad that we still have our dad with us, even though we don't have our mom. He makes sure that anything we need, no matter what it is, he tries his best and his hardest to make sure that we get it.

COOPER: Beyond the emotional toll, Tinette's Jackson's death has been a huge financial hardship. Hardy has been on disability for more than a decade, but without his wife's income, the family is struggling. He talked to CNN's Don Lemon.

HARDY JACKSON, SR.: I used my whole -- most of my whole social security check to get my water back on and stuff.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No lights and no water.

HARDY JACKSON, SR.: Lights like today. They did clothes, sometimes I need to get them shoes. Just hard without Tiney.

LEMON: You going to be OK?

HARDY JACSKON, SR.: Yes, I'm going to have to be OK. I'm going to have to. Look around at what I got.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And this program note, don't miss our one-hour CNN documentary, it follows Katrina's progression into a devastating category 5 hurricane, and then details the suffering of the people who were victimized by the storm's sudden fury. That's tonight on CNN at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. I'll see you back here next weekend. Don Lemon in. Coming up next, reporting from New Orleans, He'll bring us the personal story of how one man-made -- such a -- one man, rather, made such a difference to a community destroyed and isolated by Katrina. Plus the latest on the hand-over in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)