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CNN Live Saturday
Federal Official Urges People to Delay Return; Police Still Search for Survivors andHoldouts; Families Reconnect After Hurricane Katrina; Insurance Company Loophole; HurricaneOphelia Update; Warning Sounded 24 Hours Before Hurricane Hit
Aired September 17, 2005 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Is it to early for New Orleans business owners to come back? The odds will be anything but a big easy.
And in Mississippi, the state is suing insurance companies to help people get money to rebuild. I'll ask the state's insurance commissioner about what's fair and what is going to happen next.
And Hollywood is determined to go on with the Emmy Awards. Find out how the stars plan to mix glitz and good manners in the aftermath of a national disaster.
Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Carol Lin.
Before I begin with today's news, I want to explain a special effort here at CNN. You probably noticed the side panel to the left of your TV screen of missing children. Hundreds are still missing after Hurricane Katrina and CNN wants your help to find as many as possible. And it's working. More on that in just a moment.
Throughout our program, though, you're going to see the names and pictures on the left side of your television screen, plus a telephone number to call if you have any information about these kids. In a moment, Kathleen Koch will report live from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
But first, let's update you on the recovery and how it's going along the Gulf Coast. The Coast Guard admiral in charge of federal Katrina relief efforts is warning New Orleans residents, do not come back no matter what the mayor is telling you. Vice Admiral Thad Allen says there is still no water or power or other basics. None of it is working in most parts of the town.
Also, Mayor Ray Nagin announced two days ago that residents could begin to reenter the city in stages.
Now, new rescue numbers from the U.S. Coast Guard as well. In the first week after Katrina struck, the guard says it rescued almost 5,000 people in New Orleans by helicopter. Overall, the guard calculates that 6,500 people were saved during that first week alone.
And a report out today describes another example of a missed opportunity to prevent this catastrophe. Back in 1997, Congress gave FEMA half a million dollars to develop an evacuation plan for New Orleans. Instead, FEMA used the money to study the 24 mile bridge that crosses Lake Pontchartrain.
Now some business owners are returning to the city so they can re-open their stores and bars and restaurants. But will they have power and clean water? CNN's Sean Callebs is in New Orleans with the very latest on that.
Sean, we heard it from the admiral, it's not ready for people to come back. So why are businesses being allowed to rebuild right now?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, you're exactly right, the mayor earlier in the week said he wanted this city to breath again. But without question, this effort to breath is quite labored at this point. And Thad Allen, vice admiral of the Coast Guard, coming out and saying he wants all businesses, all residents to really think about it before coming here.
There's virtually no electricity, only in very small parts of this area, phone coverage spotty at best,no drinking water and no one knows exactly when they will have clean drinking water. Emergency services, like this fire truck, very spotty in the area as well. But still, some businesses did come back.
We're in an area called the uptown area. It runs right into the garden district, two of the four areas that the mayor would like to see reopened sometime in the next 10 days. We have been out in this area for several hours, been up and down the roads. We can tell you, we've only run into three shop owners who are interested in re-owning (ph) and one of those was victimized by looting right after the hurricane.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY GALLIANO, STORE OWNER: I just can't understand it. I just can't. You know, I was taught to respect other people's property. I guess I'm so naive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: It's a very emotional time for her and her husband. They own two antique shops in this area. One in uptown, one down in the garden area. And they say that one shop came through completely unscathed. It was great news for them because, obviously, the other shop they contend they lost $150,000 in vintage jewelry. So very agonizing for them as well.
Carol, a couple of other reasons that the federal officials are urging business owners, and especially residents, to really think twice about coming here. Not only will it be crowded with all the emergency officials still out doing the necessary repairs, but the flood waters are slowly going down as pumps continue to work. And once they go down, that toxic spew that they're getting rid of is leaving behind thick cake residue.
Now this muck and muck dries. And think about it, it's full of sewage, all kinds of debris, waste,garbage. And as this dries and flakes off, it begins to blow around and particulates get into the air. And that's a big concern. They don't know what the air quality's going to be like. So even though the mayor wants this city to breath again, urging residents to come back, the feds are saying, let's put the brakes on this for the time being -- Carol.
LIN: Yes, so, Sean, so other than that woman with any antique stores, I mean how much business activity are you actually seeing? How many business owners are, you know, daring these circumstances to come back?
CALLEBS: Well, we talked to a toy shop owner just down the street and a gentleman who owns two restaurants (INAUDIBLE) one down the road. Neither of them had any hopes of opening. They just wanted to come back and see how things were today.
The restaurants, one was looted and without any water, what is this guy going to do? I mean, that's his big question. And they're talking weeks, perhaps even months before drinking water. The mayor says, he doesn't want to hear helicopters, he wants to hear the sounds of jazz again. Certainly everyone wants that but I think federal officials are making it clear they want to do it when it's completely safe for everyone. The last thing anybody wants, any more casualties that could be related to this.
LIN: Right. You bet. All right, Sean Callebs, thank you very much.
Now it's hard to believe two weeks after Hurricane Katrina some New Orleans residents are still in their homes. Every day rescue teams go out in search of the stragglers and every day they encounter more people. CNN's Alex Quade rode along in one mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX QUADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Their job is usually to hunt down bad guys. Today, these special operations forces are going in by Blackhawk helicopter on a mission of mercy, searching for people still trapped by chance or by choice.
This New Orleans neighborhood is near city park. It's relatively dry but cut off , and island formed by canals and flood water from Lake Pontchartrain.
SGT. BRIAN LAMPARD, NEW ORLEANS POLICE: People who are here cannot walk out. The only way we can get to them is to be airlifted in. We're going to try to find any people that we have in there, relocate them to the landing zone here and then air lift them out.
We're going to go in teams of four, two on each side of the street.
QUADE: These special agents mean business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys go left, Brian and I will go right.
QUADE: They are swat team members, immigration agents, and elite local law enforcement. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police. Anyone home?
QUADE: From Tampa, San Diego, New York.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police. Open up!
QUADE: Special Agent Frank Stacey (ph) is from Washington, D.C.
SPECIAL AGENT FRANK STACEY: Our mission is to clear these residences, make sure that there's no one there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police officers.
STACEY: And if there is someone there, help them evacuate.
QUADE: Do you think that when they see you with your M-4's, that this is a persuasive tactic?
STACEY: No. It's the guns are just to in case we run into looters. It's not trying to intimidate anyone. It's for our protection and for the protection of the residents here.
QUADE: But 60-year-old holdout Brian Livy (ph) got the message.
BRIAN LIVY: This guy came out of nowhere in camouflage clothing. He had the biggest gun. It made the New Orleans police guns looked like pop guns. You don't give that gentleman any lip whatsoever.
QUADE: Livy stayed because he worried about his house. He and his two dogs survived by raiding his neighbor's fridges.
LIVY: We got all of their bread, their fruits, their water, their batteries. So we had seven houses to draw upon for hurricane supplies. I've got so much bread and so much fruit I can't eat it all.
QUADE: Now, he says, he'll leave on an Army helicopter knowing his house is safe.
LIVY: I am just pleased as punch that they're walking these streets, watching our property. And when you have armed guards with very large rifles walking the streets, I feel comfortable that when I leave here my house is going to be protected by those people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police officers. Anybody home?
QUADE: Authorities say there may be as many as a few thousand or as few as a handful of people like Brian Livy, still in their homes two weeks after the storm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police officers. Is anybody home?
QUADE: Alex Quade, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Wow!
Well, as I mentioned earlier, hundreds of children are missing or still separated from their parents and CNN is devoting much of the weekend to help find these children and our efforts are paying off. CNN's Kathleen Koch is at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia.
Kathleen, give us the good news.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a story of a family, and you know there have been so many since Hurricane Katrina who, in the aftermath, as they were fleeing to get out of its path, just simply were torn away from their family. Mothers from their children. Grandmothers from their husbands or daughters or sons. But we have a wonderful reunion story about a mother. Her 14-year-old son and one- year-old baby sister. And Phyllis O'Brien handled the case.
Tell us what happened, Phyllis.
PHYLLIS O'BRIEN, CASE MANAGER: Well, they became separated from other family members during the hurricane and they didn't know where they were sent or even if they did evacuate. And the they apparently spent two weeks in a hospital in New Orleans, were then evacuated to Baton Rouge and finally sent to Los Angeles, California.
KOCH: But it was I guess it was an aunt who had called CNN and said, I don't know where my niece is, or two beautiful children, and gave you their pictures . . .
O'BRIEN: Right.
KOCH: And put them up here, right?
O'BRIEN: And another family member saw the children aired on TV and knew where they were and contacted the family members and unification took place.
KOCH: You're a part of that phone call. Describe that to us.
O'BRIEN: It was great. We did a conference call with the whole family. And everybody was crying. And, you know, it really it's really distressing for the family not to know where everybody is. And, you know, they can finally sleep tonight and they know that everybody's safe.
KOCH: And it's just such great work you're doing here, Phyllis.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
KOCH: Phyllis is one of the regular workers here for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which has been in operation since 1984. But most of the other people in here right now are volunteers, former law enforcement officers, retired. And many of them have been working here since this call center opened on September 5th. Work every single day, not taking a break. They feel that their mission here is just too important.
Fredricka.
LIN: Kathleen, it's Carol Lin at the CNN Center.
KOCH: Oh, Carol, I'm sorry.
LIN: No problem. Hey, a quick question for you. Do the folks there believe that these kids simply were separated by circumstances, or do they think that there are predators out there looking for children in the aftermath of this disaster?
KOCH: Fredricka, they believe that most of the children that they're dealing with right now, who are on this list, and they've got some 2,060 who have been reported missing and some 836 found. They believe most were simply separated from their families in the panic, the chaos, the melee after Hurricane Katrina.
But you raise a really valid point, that there are thousands of sexual predators, registered sex offenders who have been ousted from their homes as well and maybe seeking shelter in many of the large shelters set up around the country or in many communities. And so there is a degree of concern that parents have to take special care or anyone who is with a child who was an evacuee who has had to flee Alabama, Mississippi or Louisiana, that they really do be on their guard because there are a lot of these people out there who are not getting the kind of supervision. They're not checking in as they might normally.
LIN: Right. All right. Kathleen Koch, thanks very much.
Here's how you can help. Log onto cnn.com/helpcenter. That page contains links to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other links to help people locating the missing. It also includes a link to a list of names of people wanting to let others know that they are safe.
Federal investigators will try to find out why a commuter train in Chicago derailed, killing at least one person. Early this morning on Chicago's south side, 76 people were injured. The Metra train was headed to Chicago from Joliet, Illinois, when it derailed.
A car bomb exploded in Baghdad's eastern outskirt killing 30 people. The car was parked in the middle of a mostly Shiite marketplace and was remotely detonated. Thirty-eight others were wounded in the blast.
And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is urging the U.N. Security Council to stand up against Iran's nuclear efforts. In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly today, Rice said once diplomacy with Iraq has run its course, the Security Council must become involved. But Iran's new president said his country has the means to defend and obtain its rights. Meaning he's just going to go ahead with the nuclear program. Coming up, residents of Mississippi are trying to put the pieces back together. Next, find out if their insurance companies are helping or hurting.
And later, meet the man who sent a warning predicting Katrina's devastation 24 hours before the storm hit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Along Mississippi's Gulf Coast there are signs of recovery. Insurance money will help many but it will not help all. One family- owned business in Gulfport had its policy canceled just before Katrina hit and now the family is taking stock of what they have left and counting their blessings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON PARKS, OWNER, PALACE RESTAURANT: I'm Don Parks and the restaurant is the Palace Restaurant in Gulfport. It's family-owned restaurant. We started working last week. We're cleaning and making preparation to get the roof on. The sooner we get that done, we're going to have the (INAUDIBLE) work done, the ceiling tile. We'll try to get it open as soon as we can. The two daughters that work here, they love it and I love it. And I just don't want to get out of it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've worked here on and off, you know, my whole life. When I first saw it like that, it was very heartbreaking. We all came down, as we do, as a family and started cleaning, picking up insulation, ceiling tiles. And it's looking a heck of a lot better.
The whole ceiling fell out but yet you have all these glasses that didn't get touched, didn't get moved. Business cards that were by the register, they were just in tact.
We're not fancy but we have these laminated. You can get a cheeseburger, $1.70. We have the same people come in every day. They don't have to look at the menu. They know what the special is for Tuesday. I'm worried about a lot of my friends now because they're not just customers.
These booths are right where they were. We kind of used the skid lines on the wall to put them back on there. The back booth is my dad's booth and his friends. They were big fishing people. You know, fishing buddies.
My whole life has been spent in this business, you know, with my family. And we're definitely coming back. We made out OK, I would say, because we've all got our lives, we're all healthy and here. And that's what matters the most.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Survivors.
Now insurance companies may be on the hook for an estimated $60 billion in Katrina damage claims but some are using a loophole. Insurers say the typical home owner policy does not cover flooding. Mississippi's attorney general has filed a lawsuit hoping to override such exclusions. George Dale is Mississippi's insurance commissioner. He's joining me now from Jackson.
Mr. Dale, good to have you.
GEORGE DALE, MISSISSIPPI INSURANCE COMMISSIONER: Glad to be here.
LIN: So we called the characterization of, look, it may be, you know, if it's flooding, then we're not going to cover you. We called it a loophole in the lead-in to you. Is it really a loophole or is it a it's a standard policy nationwide?
DALE: That policy's been in effect in Mississippi since 1969. That was before I was commissioner of insurance, even though I've been commissioner of insurance 30 years. That's the same policy that's in effect in most all states because it is an ISO approved policy in most all states.
LIN: All right. So should Mississippi have . . .
DALE: That policy clearly says there's a part in it that does not cover for water. I wished it did.
LIN: Right. So if it doesn't, then why is the state attorney general suing these major insurance companies to recover damages. I mean, fair is fair. If people did not sign up for federal flood insurance and they understood that exclusion, then is it should the insurance companies pick up the slack here? Say, look, this is a heart wrenching national disaster and, yes, we're going to pay your bill?
DALE: I don't see how you can require someone to void a contract in the middle of that contract, even though I wish the insurance companies could pay every claim down there. I have two problems. One is, try to help people get every claim paid I can. And second is, when the coast begins to build back, hopeful there's a market there to ensure these businesses open up down there.
I don't like being the bearer of the bad news. And the news is, we have a contract that has specific language in it that's been there forever. Now, in the middle of that contract, some have said, let's void the contract and make it do something else.
LIN: Right. So you're basically saying . . .
DALE: I can't do that.
LIN: You're saying that the state attorney general is wrong and you're basically saying that these people are going to be screwed. They didn't have flood insurance, so they will have nothing to rebuild.
DALE: I'm not saying anything for the attorney general. Jim Hood is a very good attorney general and I'm sure he's attempting to do what's right. My job is to be sure that the insurance companies fulfill the contents of that contract and that's exactly what I'm doing.
LIN: All right. So how are these people going to rebuild? I mean it's pretty clear that most of the damage came from flooding.
DALE: We have advocated by letter to our congressional delegation that they consider some type of federal involvement in this, which will have to be. My concern are those people who did not have full insurance, for whatever reason, my concern for those people who did not it's not covered under their homeowner's policy. I talked with one of the major insurers today.
LIN: Which one?
DALE: And he said, Mr. Commissioner, because of your leadership, we are paying something on every claim, even though the flood part is not covered.
LIN: Is it going to be enough to rebuild?
DALE: It is not going to be enough to rebuild. It will have to have some federal involvement. But let me quickly say, we've heard all our lives that in middle America there's going to be an earthquake. Those people have been told to buy earthquake insurance. They haven't. When that earthquake hits, is somebody going to be saying, all right, let's change the contract and make earthquake's be covered even though nobody bought insurance for it.
LIN: So what are you saying to these people?
DALE: Flood insurance has been around since 1969.
LIN: Mr. Dale, what are you saying to these people?
DALE: I'm saying that we will do everything we can to get every dollar out of the insurance company that we can to help rebuild the Mississippi Gulf Coast. And we're doing that, short of just voiding a contract. Now if the courts rule otherwise, we will do exactly what the courts tell us to do. But until then, I'm going to follow the contract which has been in effect in Mississippi since 1969. I want the coast to rebuild. The coast will rebuild and I'm going to do my part to see it rebuild.
LIN: All right. So but in terms of getting compensation from the insurers, it sounds like that these people are up a creek. Are you having a problem, though, with insurers going up to people saying, look, we'll write you a $3,000 cash compensation right now but you've got to sign these papers and basically those papers these people give up their right to go after the company for some kind of flood compensation?
DALE: That is not the insurance companies doing that. We've checked that out. That's part of the attorney general's lawsuit and the courts will determine that. So far the only evidence I've seen of that is, that's the federal flood insurance people and some of the programs saying that. That is not the insurance companies. They can't say that.
LIN: All right. George Dale, Mississippi's insurance commissioner. Thank you very much.
Sounds like he's at odds right now with the lawsuit being filed by the state attorney general. Let's hope for the best for the Mississippi residents that they'll be having some kind of money to rebuild.
Coming up, is Ophelia still a threat. That's the next storm on our radar. We're going to get an update.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Tropical Storm Ophelia has pretty much fizzled out but a new disturbance is taking shape in the Atlantic. Let's go to Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider live in the CNN Weather Center.
Bonnie, can we write off Ophelia at this point?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, METEOROLOGIST: Almost, Carol, except for the folks in Nova Scotia. They're still worrying about Ophelia.
But Ophelia is a storm that's quickly on the move. It actually just picked up speed in our latest advisory that just came out. So right now the movement is to the northeast at 24 miles per hour. That's faster than it was moving before.
We still have a tropical storm warning in effect for most of Nova Scotia right now. But Ophelia, once again, on the move, soon to become extra tropical.
Well, that was Ophelia but there's so much more going on. We have a tropical wave near Puerto Rico we're watching closely. This is actually going to be pushing to the west. The upper level winds will steer it in this direction. So we're concerned that it may bring some showers and thunderstorms to the Bahamas and possibly even to South Florida by early next week and it may even develop into a depression.
Then we have another wave that actually became a depression this morning. Tropical Depression Number 17. This one is moving into an area that's very favorable for development. Tropical Depression Number 17 is likely to become Tropical Storm Philippe in about less than 24 hours, maybe even as early as tonight, eventually becoming a hurricane.
Now some of the computer models gear this more toward the north. Hopefully, eventually, to the northeast, away from the U.S. mainland. But as you can see, with anything that's about to become a hurricane, we've really got to be watching this one. And that wave, I mentioned, near Puerto Rico.
So, Carol, it's still a very active time in the tropics.
LIN: Sure looks like it. Thanks, Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
LIN: All right. There's no shortage of finger-pointing for government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina. Officials were told of the dire consequences that could results. Well, CNN's Gary Tuchman talked to the meteorologist who sounded that alarm.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This is the computer mouse that launched (ph) millions of people. Robert Ricks from the National Weather Service office in Slidell, Louisiana, pushed it.
ROBERT RICKS, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: OK. Well, the headline now put in, Hurricane Katrina, the most powerful hurricane with unprecedented strength rivaling the intensity of Hurricane Camille of 1969.
TUCHMAN: Fewer than 24 hours before Katrina hit, the meteorologists at this office decided the most dire warning had to be sent out to the media and the general public.
RICKS: Most of the area will be uninhabitable for week, perhaps longer. At least one-half of the well-constructed homes will have roof and wall failure and all gabled roofs will fail leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed.
TUCHMAN: Ricks and his comrades were precisely and sadly correct.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those words are very chilling, there's no question about it. And we realized the dire consequences that our region faced.
TUCHMAN: By sending this most dramatic of hurricane messages to the region, the country and the world, the meteorologist had acknowledged it was inevitable lives were going to be changed forever, including among their own. Meteorologist Francinda Moore lost her home.
FRANCINDA MOORE, METEOROLOGIST: The first time I've been in a predicament where I don't know what to do. I mean it's just I don't know.
TUCHMAN: The people here say it's not their jobs to second-guess if politicians did enough with these warnings. They just know they certainly did enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So everyone's a team and we all were pulling together to try to get through this event.
TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Slidell, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LIN: Now coming up, President Bush vows the federal government will pick up a large part of the tab for rebuilding the Gulf Coast. We are going to get an update on what's being done.
And just ahead, meet the man overseeing the government's relief effort along the Gulf Coast. And exclusive look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon. I'm Carol Lin checking the latest developments. Federal authorities are investigating a commuter train derailment on Chicago's south side today. One person was killed and dozens were injured when a metro train inbound from Joliet, Illinois derailed. Some of the injured are in critical condition.
And a high-profile Republican is opposing President Bush's chief justice nominee John Roberts. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg doesn't support Roberts for the job on the Supreme Court. He says Roberts did not voice a clear position on abortion during his confirmation hearings.
Two stolen priceless art masterpieces have been recovered. The paintings by Renoir and Rembrandt were taken in a heist five years ago in Sweden. Authorities say they were recovered in California and Denmark in a sting operation. Together, they're worth more than $50 million.
Now CNN is working all weekend to try to reunite more than 2,000 children reported missing or displaced in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. We're showing their names and any photographs that we have now through Sunday night. And we are also teaming up with the National Center for Missing and Exploited children. So, if you have information, you want to locate a child, call 1-800-843-5678. Let us know what you learn.
Also the taxpayer cost of Katrina recovery efforts along the Gulf coast is expected to reach $200 billion or maybe even more. But President Bush says he will cut spending before he resorts to raising taxes to pay for rebuilding. For more, let's go to CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, President Bush is insisting that he will not raise Americans taxes. He believes that tax cuts, permanent tax cuts are the best way for the economy to be strengthened in the long run. Therefore, he is adamantly against those tax raises. Of course, all of this, this big price tag is reinvigorating the debate over that. But President Bush yesterday as well as today is laying out his case.
He says this recovery effort will allow for these Gulf opportunity zones or go zones, tax credits for businesses to get started, also these urban homesteading act essentially provides free land to help low income families to get back on their feet to rebuild. And then also $5,000 worth of what they call the worker recovery accounts for education, childcare and other kinds of expenses. The question is, where is all this money going to come from? Of course, President Bush talking about some serious cuts in the Federal spending, responsible cuts, President Bush in his radio address, laying out some of the specifics of his plan.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The recovery of the Gulf coast region will be one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen and I have made a pledge to the American people. Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will help our citizens rebuild their communities and their lives.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The White House economic adviser Al Hubbard said the recovery is going to be paid for by Federal tax dollars and specifically that the Federal --the deficit is actually going to increase. That deficit now at $314 billion for the 2006 budget could balloon by $200 billion more. Again, the White House not being specific about what they are willing to cut but their fiscal conservatives, both Democrats and Republicans who are giving him some ideas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT REICH, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY: $260 billion of pork last summer. You know, bridges to nowhere in Alaska. You've got mobile skating systems set up around parks. This is crazy. When we want to rebuild Louisiana, want to rebuild Mississippi, you got to get rid of that pork.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And Carol, just to give you a sense of what we're talking about here, in the 2006 budget earlier passed by Congress already calls for cuts in 12 of the 23 major government agencies. So there are already serious cuts, big decisions the administration and members of Congress have to make. Carol.
LIN: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you very much.
President Bush and Louisiana's Democratic governor haven't always seen eye-to-eye on the government's response to Katrina. Earlier today however, Governor Kathleen Blanco said there is no room for partisan politics in the recovery effort. Then she went out of her way to thank the president for his help.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO (D) LOUISIANA: I want to take this opportunity to thank President George W. Bush. He has recognized Katrina was no ordinary hurricane and that our Federal government will have to help us in extraordinary ways. We are prepared to work as partners.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) LIN: So, after the initial response to Katrina met with so much criticism, Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen was put in charge of the Federal relief effort. Earlier this week, CNN's Kyra Phillips received exclusive access to Admiral Allen to see how he worked. She has a first hand look at what it's like to be in charge of such a massive operation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He wakes up as early as 3:30 a.m., Vice Admiral Thad Allen wastes no time. He's leading the largest rebuilding effort in American history and his day is jam packed. First up, news conference with the mayor of New Orleans.
MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: We will open up the French quarter for residential and commercial activity.
PHILLIPS: Stunning news, but the admiral immediately takes charge.
VICE ADMIRAL THAD ALLEN, JOINT TASK FORCE KATRINA: The mayor and I want to be briefed on exactly who's going to be where, who's going to do what and make sure there is no ambiguity in roles and responsibility.
PHILLIPS: From press conference to videoconference. It is now 11:50. Inside his mobile command center, the admiral leads an executive conference call with DHS and FEMA. At issue, how to brief New Orleanians back home.
ALLEN: There's been some discussion in Washington about whether or not we should use vouchers to move (ph) temporary housing.
PHILLIPS: He's only a week into the job, but it's clear he's hit the ground running. And your mission is?
ALLEN: Community of effort, increased philosophy of what's happening, cut red tape. We need to treat the victims of this catastrophe as if they were our own family. What would you do if it was your child, your husband or your mother? How would you treat them? You need to have sensitivity when you're (INAUDIBLE) these people.
PHILLIPS: 1:00 p.m. Allen gets an urgent call to board the Iwo Jima. The bells mean the admiral's coming.
ALLEN: Folks, how are you doing?
PHILLIPS: Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff is about to land.
So right now Admiral Allen is going to meet with the secretary of Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. They'll have a private meeting for about 30 minutes and then it's off to the next.
Good news, water levels are going down fast.
ALLEN: One of the reasons that this has happened much quicker than we thought is we've had evaporation that you wouldn't consider for this time of year.
PHILLIPS: 1:30, huddled inside the command post, a who's who of joint task force Katrina. Zip code by zip code, block by block, the national response plan unfolds right before our eyes. So of course the question everybody is asking, how realistic, 180,000 people back in New Orleans within two weeks. Is it a reality?
ALLEN: Well, it's a pretty tough reality. We're taking a good hard look at what the mayor's proposed, health, environmental, security, safety concerns and we're going to give it the best assessment we can.
PHILLIPS: This is a hands-on leader.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Admiral, thank you, sir for coming onboard.
ALLEN: Thank you, skipper. I don't know what the Navy term is, but fall out and gather around. So what I've been trying to do is build a sense of camaraderie, unity and team work among the Federal community that are bringing all of the assets to this fight and the other thing I've tried to do is stay out of politics. I really appreciate it. Thank you, folks.
PHILLIPS: His predecessor, General Russel Honore is still part of the team. What do you think of Admiral Allen?
LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, CMDR, JOINT TASK FORCE KATRINA: He's a go-getter, very competent, mature, strategic leader. He's the right guy for the right job at the right time.
PHILLIPS: Just ask his aide, Lieutenant Katrina Harper, yes, her name is Katrina.
LT. KATRINA HARPER, COAST GUARD: It's like the Energizer bunny. He doesn't stop. He's just -- he does it all and he gets out there and touches the people he needs to touch especially with this recovery.
PHILLIPS: When Allen can't be at two places at one time, his chief of staff Captain Tom Atkin is there.
CAPT. TOM ATKIN, COAST GUARD: He's given us a vision from the very beginning, focus on helping the people. Treat them all like they're family and we'll make it happen.
PHILLIPS: I think he's calling you.
ATKIN: I'm sure he is. He likes me.
PHILLIPS: It's 4:30, Allen has raced ahead of us. The next stop a food tent where volunteers are feeding the hot, tired and weary troops under his command. ALLEN: Thank you for everything you're doing for the country. Appreciate it.
PHILLIPS: Allen takes time to pose for pictures and thank the cooks. He barely has time to grab a shrimp skewer to go.
ALLEN: Thank you. You guys are going to spoil me here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Courtesy of south Alabama.
ALLEN: Thank you. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: It's 6:00 in the evening now and the president of the United States just landed aboard the Iwo Jima via Marine One. Vice Admiral Allen is inside the carrier actually right now getting ready to greet the president, one more meeting in a head spinning day. Vice Admiral Thad Allen says, he's just getting started. Kyra Phillips, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And here's what someone else had to say, former president Bill Clinton says that during a disaster, the head of FEMA is the most important person in Federal government. Last night he admitted a bias. Clinton told CNN's Larry King he thinks FEMA functioned better during his own administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: I think the president did the right thing in taking the responsibility. Clearly, the FEMA response was slow and there are lots of reasons that I think that happened. I believe that there should be some reorganization there, but I think the important thing is - I had helped this bill to set up a commission had passed because I don't want it to obscure the present urgent need of everybody to be working together. We now have apparently a very able person in the Coast Guard admiral that's there overseeing the FEMA operations. If they want to leave it within homeland security, I still think it should be somehow made quasi independent and the disaster preparedness diversion capacity should be strengthened. A lot of that was taken away. So I think there are lots of options to do it. But the main thing I want to say is, that should not obscure what is now being done by everybody. We got everybody on the same page now it looks like, we have everybody working together and we've got a huge job to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: You bet. This evening, CNN is teaming up with former President Clinton for a global summit on poverty, climate change, religious conflict and corruption. Tune in tonight at 8:00 eastern.
And coming up, a defiant message from the president of Iran. You will hear what he says in an exclusive interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Tough talk and diplomacy at the United Nations today. The subject, Iran. Iran's new president is defending his country's right to pursue nuclear power while the U.S. and Europe contend Iran needs to come clean about its atomic intentions. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is in New York has more details. Christiane.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, even before he went before the U.N. this afternoon, the new president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sat down with us in an exclusive interview. And it's all about what is he going to do to diffuse the nuclear crisis that has emerged between Iran and the west since his presidency and since Iran rejected proposals by the EU and by the United States to continue a dialogue. Instead, Iran has stopped its voluntary suspension of nuclear fuel production and it is engaged again in the processing of uranium.
This something the Europeans want to stop. Also, the United States has said this should stop, mostly because, even though Iran has the right to a peaceful nuclear program, many in the west believe and have suspicions that Iran is in fact on the way to trying to produce nuclear weapons, which it denies. Nonetheless, it was not apparently enough for the president to say what he did in front of the U.N., He thought he was perhaps giving some way of diffusing the crisis but already the early reviews suggest that it wasn't enough. The French foreign minister has already said that what he heard from the Iranian president gives him concern. The fact that the Iranian president continues to insist that Iran has the right to a nuclear fuel cycle, in other words, to produce nuclear fuel, potentially enriched uranium. This is what he said us to when I asked him about being referred to the U.N. Security Council and possibly having sanctions imposed on Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. MAMHOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN: I doubt that the leaders of the United States and Europe are that far removed from reality. I think they're smarter than denying us this legal right. It is natural, of course, they will use whatever they have in their hand, which is the U.N. Security Council. And our nation has the means to defend and obtain its own rights. Do not doubt that our people will not lose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: It sounds very aggressive, what you're saying. It sounds like we're headed for real confrontation.
AHMADINEJAD (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No. It is -- no. We have no such intentions. All we're saying is that we will go according to all of the provisions, there are cameras set up here. You are the ones who are saying, do not proceed. According to what law is this being imposed on us? You have come, and you are putting -- you are interfering in our internal affairs against international laws. Who is at fault? Who is being aggressive? Now, in this instance if the international atomic energy agency gives us the lawful framework, of course we will cooperate with them. The biggest degree of cooperation has been carried out by the international atomic agency by the Islamic republic of Iran. Like I said, in the last 34 years, there have not been inspections done we've conducted on any country like there have been with the Islamic republic of Iran. So this is unprecedented in the history of the agency. So we think that the dictation of rules in the international arena by some powers is unacceptable for us and this is what we refuse to surrender to.
AMANPOUR: In your campaign, when you ran for president, you talked about increasing economic opportunities for the poor, for the lower middle class in Iran. You talked about making their lives better. How can you do that if Iran is going to be isolated? Surely that depends on Iran being integrated with the world.
AMHADINEJAD (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): You see, what I said during the presidential elections is what I said generally. Everything that we talk about is in order to keep our national interests and our -- and what is at the heart of our national interests, we need to keep those at the forefront. One of the slogans during the presidential elections for my campaign, was that we will have access to the nuclear supply process.
AMANPOUR: So is nuclear supply more important than having your country improve its economic situation and having people have a better life? I mean, are you really ready to have a real confrontation with the world over this?
AMHADINEJAD (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No. We don't want to be at war with the world. I explained to you, you see, they're trying to impose their will on our country. I'm confident that we will reach both. I have no worries about it. We will have peace, prosperity and the nuclear supply cycle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: So the Iranian president stating his case and it appears to be at logger heads with what the Europeans and the United States want to see. Back to you Carol.
LIN: Christiane, fascinating interview. Going to get more of a chance to talk to you about this interview tonight in our primetime show at 10:00. Thank you very much. Christiane Amanpour.
Coming up, we're also going to show you how Hollywood is planning to celebrate the Emmys without forgetting the victims of Katrina.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Welcome back. Despite hurricane Katrina's devastation along the coast, the show will go on in Los Angeles. TV's finest will be honored as scheduled at tomorrow night's Emmy awards. And as our Sibila Vargas shows, the telecast's producers will have a tough task, walking the fine line between celebration and solemnity. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite the devastation left by hurricane Katrina, television's biggest celebration is going forward, pretty much as planned.
KEN EHRLICH, EXEC. PRODUCER, EMMY TELECAST: I don't think there was ever a moment where we basically said we're going to go away.
VARGAS: Inside the Shrine auditorium, the preparations are much like last year. The red carpet has been rolled out, the dress code remains unchanged.
TOM O'NEILL, GOLDDERBY.COM: It's important that it doesn't look like Hollywood's fiddling while New Orleans burns.
VARGAS: But there are some subtle changes designed to show support for the victims of hurricane Katrina.
MELISSA GREGO, TELEVISION WEEK: You have to walk that line of what's appropriate. Do we have a frivolous glamorous night when there are so many people who have lost their lives, their livelihoods? It is going to be business as usual, but I do expect there to be at least some acknowledgement of what's going on.
VARGAS: Part of that acknowledgement will come in floral form.
EHRLICH: The magnolia is the state flower of both Louisiana and Mississippi so we've got one and we've got 144 of them which we're going to give to presenters and performers on the show.
VARGAS: During the telecast, viewers will be invited to donate money for hurricane relief. Host Ellen Degeneres, a New Orleans native, is expected to refer to the disaster in her opening monologue. Degeneres won praise for the way she hosted the Emmys four years ago, a show that was twice delayed following the 9/11 attacks and the invasion of Afghanistan.
GREGO: She proved that she could do it back in 2001. It's a very lucky thing for both the industry and the audience that she is going to be hosting this year.
VARGAS: And some people think the country could use some good cheer right now including Degeneres herself.
EHRLICH: She says you know, Emmy night we need to make people laugh, not forgot about what's happening, but laugh. So I think viewers are in for a terrific evening.
VARGAS: Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And we need a little laughter. Ahead in the next hour of CNN LIVE SATURDAY, find out what lessons U.S. military officials say they've learned in the aftermath of Katrina. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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