Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Saturday

Hurricane Katrina: Road to Recovery; Iranian President Defends Nuclear Policy; Many Continue To Search For Missing Children

Aired September 17, 2005 - 18:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: A plan to reunite. Ahead, we are going to tell you how you can help hundreds of children displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Also, a warning, a word of warning, at least, for New Orleans residents looking to return home, details straight ahead.

And standing his ground, Iran's president sits down for an exclusive interview with our Christiane Amanpour, defending his country's nuclear program.

It is September 17, and you're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin.

The numbers are staggering. More than 2,000 children are reported missing or separated from their parents in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And CNN wants your help to help as many as possible. Throughout our program, you'll see their names and pictures on the left side of your TV screen, plus a telephone number to call if you have any information about these kids.

CNN is undertaking this effort in collaboration with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia. We are going to go live there in just a moment.

But first to New Orleans where the Coast Guard admiral in charge of federal relief efforts wants people to think twice before coming back to the city. Vice Admiral Thad Allen is urging people not to come back yet. He says electricity, clean water and other essentials are still in short supply.

Now just two days ago, however, Mayor Ray Nagin announced that people could start returning to parts of the city in stages.

So, for a look at the situation on the ground, let's join CNN's Sean Callebs in the uptown section of New Orleans.

So which is it, Sean, is the admiral right, no power, no water, don't come back? Or is the mayor right, start coming back, but in stages?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well let me tell you this, we're standing right in the middle of the street here in the uptown area, full of all kinds of little shops, the kind of thing that really gives the city its flavor. No traffic at all. All these buildings, if you pan over, you can see they're all boarded up. Very few business owners that we have seen in this area have actually made any attempt to come back. And they have the obvious concerns, that federal officials are pointing out right now, that electricity is extremely spotty, phone service almost nonexistent. Natural gas, a lot of people are worried if they go back into their homes or businesses, turn that on, what will they find?

But, chiefly, drinking water. Right now we know there's E. Coli bacteria in the water. The sewage pumps aren't working in the city. Basically, what I was told the other day, the water is coming right out of the Mississippi River. So if you want to bathe, that's the kind of stuff that you would be going into.

We did find one shop owner. He owns a couple of restaurants, one here in the uptown area, another one about 10 minutes away in the Garden District. One of his restaurants, the one down in the Garden District, was vandalized, looted after the storm.

He went in to find it simply in disarray. Poker machines had been pried open. People took money out of those, out of the ATM, as well. He's very disappointed by this and wonders how difficult it is going to be to rebuild.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASSAN KHALEGHI, RESTAURANT OWNER: I build my life in here. And I love it. And I'm planning to stay. And I've been all around the country, all around the world,...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now New Orleans.

KHALEGHI: ... and I decided to stay in New Orleans. And so I think about it, they kept me. 1989 I moved here. I said I'm never going to go anywhere. And these things, it's not going to stop me. I love New Orleans. This is my, as I said, it's my home. I will, hopefully, build it. I'm going to build it. Doesn't matter what it takes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Hassan Khaleghi immigrated to this nation almost 30 years ago from Iran. He said he built his business from scratch, and he's going to do it again. He says he has basically 35 employees in these two restaurants, and he can't wait to get up and running, but of course he needs those essential services.

The mayor has a grand plan to bring 182,000 people back into four areas, Algiers, uptown, the Garden District and of course New Orleans' famed French Quarter, within the next 10 days. But will they come? If today is any indication, Carol, bringing this city back, making it breathe again, it's going to take some time.

LIN: All right, thanks very much, Sean Callebs.

Let's get that water running. I think that's what people want to see.

All right, as I mentioned, hundreds of children are still missing after Hurricane Katrina. And our efforts to help locate these children have paid off.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is live at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia.

And amidst all the sadness, Kathleen, good news to report on your front.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Quite so, Carol.

As you mentioned, we have been putting these broadcasts on the air. We're broadcasting live here from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for days now. And the center, just a few minutes ago, gave us a count of eight reunions, at least eight reunions that they can attribute directly to the fact that we have been putting this phone number out there, putting these wonderful children's faces on the air and making these reunions happen.

They say that on a normal day they take 600 calls here. Today, alone, they have had 1,800. So a lot of people are calling in, and there are some very special volunteers taking these calls.

One of them is Sterling Epps. Sterling not only takes calls, but he also helps recruit and train volunteers.

But, Sterling, you took a very disturbing call recently. Tell us about that.

STERLING EPPS, PROJECT ALERT VOLUNTEER: I did. I was on the hotline and received a call from an unknown. And I answered the hotline, how may I help you? And there was a pause on the end of the line. And the other voice said, Sterling? Well, I got goosebumps immediately. And I said yes.

KOCH: So it was someone who knew you?

EPPS: Obviously. I said, yes. And who is this? And it was Marvel (ph), my first cousin. And I said what are you calling for? She says, I want to report my sister, Linda, her son, daughter-in-law and grandchild all missing.

KOCH: I think we have those pictures, so I hope we can put them up on CNN now. So they're looking still for 2-year-old Amber Cook, for 60-year-old Linda Cook, 24-year-old Jean Cook and 24-year-old Vanessa.

EPPS: Yes.

KOCH: How have you been able to keep working day after day knowing they're missing?

EPPS: I keep hoping Linda will call me here at the hotline number and that I can answer that call, too, fate. KOCH: You said she's disabled.

EPPS: She is.

KOCH: So this is particularly difficult, right?

EPPS: She's handicapped, hearing handicapped. And she works for Xavier University. And I'm just hoping that she sees that we're all reaching out for her. We can't understand why she hasn't reached out to family in Baton Rouge.

KOCH: And she is living in New Orleans?

EPPS: Yes.

KOCH: And you said she said -- you told me earlier she said she was leaving to go to a hotel in Shreveport with her family.

EPPS: Yes, ma'am.

KOCH: No one knows if they made it?

EPPS: No. No. We're reaching out to find out why she hasn't reached out for her brothers and sisters who are praying for her safe recovery.

KOCH: Sterling, thank you for coming on and sharing your story with us.

EPPS: Thank you for sharing this.

KOCH: We know it's hard. We know it's hard.

EPPS: It is.

KOCH: And we're going to get that name -- those names out there.

And, Carol, it's times like this that it is so important that if anyone recognizes any of those pictures we put up, any of those names, to please call the number on the screen, 1-800-THE-LOST. And I hope Sterling finds his cousin and her family.

EPPS: Thank you.

LIN: We're going to have all these pictures up all weekend long, Kathleen. Good effort out there, and we are getting some results. So keep our fingers crossed.

And there are more happy endings. Straight ahead, we are going to bring you the wonderful story of a mother and 3-year-old son who were reunited two weeks after Katrina. The little boy was featured earlier this week on CNN. So you won't want to miss it.

In the meantime, President Bush says he's going to cut government spending to pay for the massive rebuilding efforts along the Gulf Coast. And he's resisting any call to raise taxes to cover the cost. For more on that, CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

Suzanne, what's the plan?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, today President Bush vowed to rebuild New Orleans with what he said a quality and decency, but the administration still remains mum on just how it plans to afford it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Appealing to the faith of the nation, President Bush, in his weekly radio address, pledged a new beginning for New Orleans.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In the life of our nation, we have seen that wondrous things are possible when we act with God's grace. From the rubble of destroyed homes, we can see the beginnings of vibrant new neighborhoods.

MALVEAUX: In the Democrats' response, the Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, extended the president an olive branch.

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO (D), LOUISIANA: I want to take this opportunity to thank President George W. Bush. He has recognized that 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.

MALVEAUX: How long that partnership will last remains a question, as Democrats and fiscally conservative Republicans tussle with the Bush administration over how to pay for the estimated $200 billion recovery. Democrats argue the country can't afford the Bush administration's tax cuts and are calling for the president to repeal them. A view echoed by some economists.

ROBERT GREENSTEIN, CTR./BUDGET & POLICY PRIORITIES: Given the large costs we're facing, why do we have to have tax cuts that average over $100,000 a year for millionaires? We can't afford that. Shorten the -- there's room for some belt tightening in that area.

MALVEAUX: Fiscally conservative Republicans and some Democrats are calling for the Bush administration to limit spending.

REP. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: I had a bill, for example, since March that says let's postpone this new prescription drug benefit. That's about $40 billion next year. We don't know how we're going to pay for it. And I don't think it's good policy or good politics.

ROBERT REICH, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY: Two hundred and sixty billion dollars of pork last summer. You know bridges to nowhere in Alaska. I mean you've got mobile skating systems set up around parks. I mean this is crazy.

MALVEAUX: While the president refuses to raise taxes or say where he's willing to make federal cuts, administration officials say the president will look to the 2006 budget to squeeze out nearly $20 billion in savings. That budget passed by Congress earlier this year already slashes spending for 12 of the 23 major government agencies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And, Carol, on Tuesday, President Bush will revisit those devastated hurricane areas where he'll try to sell his recovery plan. At the same time, of course, the White House, as well as lawmakers, will weigh those very difficult economic choices -- Carol.

LIN: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, live at the White House, thank you.

Now FEMA has set up a morgue at St. Gabriel, Louisiana, to receive the bodies found inside New Orleans. And about 150 people are on duty at that morgue. It was created to process and hopefully identify disaster victims.

So joining me on the telephone to talk about his city's role in the Katrina effort is Mayor of St. Gabriel, George Grace.

Mayor Grace, good to have you on the program.

MAYOR GEORGE GRACE, ST. GABRIEL, LOUISIANA: Hello, Carol, good to be with you.

LIN: So how is it going this process in your city?

GRACE: Well, reasonably well, considering the circumstances. We have nearly 200 to 300 people working at this site every day. And we're housing actually nearly 200 of those persons. And, you know, so it's a beehive of activity here.

LIN: How many bodies are you having to identify at this point?

GRACE: We really don't know. That aspect of the operation is not open to me or any other public person.

LIN: I think you know, first, when people hear that a little town has donated itself to be the morgue for this disaster, at first it sounds pretty grim and gruesome. Can you give me an idea of how you and St. Gabriel see yourselves in this role, this disaster role?

GRACE: Well, basically, we were spared the brunt of the hurricane. The hurricane went, you know, came ashore about maybe 60 miles from us. So we sustained some damage, basically, you know it was very minor when you compare it with New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast. So, therefore, we feel that this is our opportunity to play a role in this disaster. We were spared the brunt of it. But when we look at the role that we could play, I think it's a very important role.

LIN: Because there are a lot of families out there waiting for news, waiting for confirmation. I remember talking to the coroner up in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after 9/11 when Flight 94 crashed into an open field. And his task was to recover, you know, any bit from that recovery site, a wedding ring, a photograph. But in your case, really what you might be delivering is peace of mind.

GRACE: That's very true. You know I've been listening to your broadcast and others, and people are still searching for their loved ones, and hopefully they'll find them alive and well. But in the event that, you know, they did become a fatality, at least they should know and, you know, have some closure.

LIN: And have some closure indeed.

Mayor Grace, thank you very much for your time, and good luck in this mission.

GRACE: Thank you very much.

LIN: Important work.

GRACE: All right. Bye.

LIN: All right, in the meantime, tough talk straight ahead on several fronts, including an exclusive interview with Iran's president. Find out why he is defending his country's desire for nuclear power.

And we are going to go on a daring and dangerous mission. It is not on foreign soil, but right here in this country. Find out where and why.

And later, looking for answers and cutting through the red tape. Tough lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. Will they make us more prepared for the next disaster?

Also, we want to put up these pictures again. A volunteer at the Center for Missing Children has his own family at stake now. Do you recognize these people? He is looking for his family, an elderly woman who is disabled, a father and a mother and this little baby. Please help us. If you know these people, have seen them, call 1-800- THE-LOST.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: In our "World Wrap" tonight, there's been another deadly car bombing in Iraq. At least 30 people were killed and 38 others wounded in the explosion in the mainly Shiite area. The bomb was remotely detonated in a busy market in the town on the outskirts of Baghdad.

And tomorrow is Election Day in Germany, and the race is just too close to call. So close that German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his challenger, Angela Merkel, are defying tradition today. They are both campaigning. Polls show up to 25 percent of voters are still undecided.

And violence is marring the run up to tomorrow's parliamentary elections in Afghanistan. A police chief and two officers on patrol were killed in a Taliban ambush last night. Coalition forces are bracing for more attacks during the election. The U.N. is condemning the bloodshed but adds it will not derail the election.

And a hard line today from Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Speaking before the U.N., he defended his country's nuclear program, saying it was for peaceful purposes. And he accused the U.S. of violating international nuclear obligation.

Now before he addressed the world body, Mr. Ahmadinejad sat down with our very own Christiane Amanpour. Here is part of her exclusive interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): That the United States, Europe, they are deeply suspicious about your intentions. They just think that you want to build a bomb. Do you understand that? And why do you want to have this crisis?

PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): Yes, you see, we understand. We know that their intentions are bad intentions. Their intentions towards us are bad. When have they ever shown or have had clean, clear, pure intentions towards us?

We don't have expectations for anything else coming from them. What rights do they have when they want to talk about such issues to us, they need to proceed according to international laws. They cannot say that we don't like the intentions, what we think are the intentions of your country, therefore, we want to prevent you.

AMANPOUR: If you are referred to the Security Council, and if sanctions are imposed on Iran, will you take countermeasures? Already some of your officials have threatened to provoke a rise in oil prices, have potentially threatened to pull out of the NPT. What will you do if sanctions are imposed?

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): I think any intelligent, healthy, smart human being should use every resource in order to maintain his or her freedom and independence.

AMANPOUR: So you could see interfering with oil prices?

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): 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.

AMANPOUR: It sounds very aggressive what you're saying. It sounds like we're headed for a 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?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Now Christiane Amanpour is going to join me live tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern with more of her exclusive interview with Iran's president.

All right, they're out on night patrol in New Orleans. We are going to follow the S.W.A.T. team members taking to the dangerous streets as floodwaters recede.

And they are miles and miles away from Katrina's devastation. And now some survivors plan on staying away. We are going to look at the challenges of starting over, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Each week we like to bring you the more personal stories from the frontlines. And today, we take a look at a team on the frontlines of the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort.

Our Jeff Koinange followed a New Orleans S.W.A.T. team group, group of members and military and immigration personnel, as they went about their dangerous mission, reclaiming the city streets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 10:00 p.m., and members of the New Orleans Police Department S.W.A.T. team are going through a last-minute briefing before hitting the streets. Streets that more than two weeks after Katrina can still be very dangerous at night. They're joined by teams from the U.S. military, as well as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or I.C.E.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of us use pit bulls down here for protection. So, if you, you got to do what you got to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So watch yourself.

KOINANGE: He tells us his unit has received several dozen calls in recent nights, made numerous arrests, that as the water recedes from neighborhoods, armed thugs move in to steal. S.W.A.T., with the backup it's now getting, is determined to take back the streets, determined to restore law and order in what was fast becoming a lawless land.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get a line and give me eyes and ears.

KOINANGE: They are not taking any chances. The looters still out there are said to be heavily armed, having stolen guns and other weapons from several ammunition stores.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, go on Spec. 3 (ph). Everybody go on Spec. 3.

KOINANGE: Tonight they are patrolling the 6th District, a place they have aptly nicknamed Mogadishu Mile, seen on many a running gun battle between looters and law enforcement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Federal Express van riding around and documents. It's a stolen van. They're looters. So if you see a Federal Express van, we're going to challenge that.

Alpha squad, let's walk out.

KOINANGE: They move out in single file. Weapons at the ready, just in case. We agreed to walk the Mogadishu Mile with them. The only night sounds are the men walking and dogs barking. The only lights in the streets coming from their weapons. A helicopter hovers overhead, a bit of air support for the ground troops. In some neighborhoods, they literally go building to building.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One guy down on the corner.

KOINANGE: Back on the streets the patrol splits up. Some continue door-to-door, while others set up checkpoints.

(on camera): I've just been handed one of these and night vision goggles to take a look through and see what they see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger that. Stand by and let me check with I.C.E.

KOINANGE (voice-over): The team behind me will be out until dawn, when they'll be replaced by another S.W.A.T. team. It will be round the clock patrols with no end in sight.

Jeff Koinange, CNN, on patrol with S.W.A.T.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Look at this on the streets of New Orleans.

So when should the military get involved? A look at the lessons learned from Katrina that could save lives when the next disaster strikes.

Also ahead, amid the stories of sadness, a story you won't want to miss, a happy reunion for a mother and her son.

And later, the president has a message for his national security adviser, and the whole world gets to see it.

You're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Good evening, I'm Carol Lin. Here is a quick check of the stories now making news. One person was killed after a commuter train derailed in Chicago this morning, 83 others were injured. Federal authorities will lead an investigation into what happened. The five-car train was heading into Chicago from Joliet, Illinois.

And Condoleezza Rice wants the United Nation to launch "A lasting revolution of reform." The secretary of state spoke to the U.N. General Assembly today. She called terrorism the greatest threat facing the world.

And the man in charge of federal relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina is urging New Orleans residents to delay their return. Vice president -- Vice Admiral Thad Allen said today essential services are not yet in place. New Orleans mayor has said more than a third of the city's residents could return in the next week and a half.

As you know by now, CNN is devoting a lot of our coverage this weekend to the hundreds of children missing after Hurricane Katrina. And we are hoping with your help we can actually find some of these children. CNN's Kathleen Koch joins me again from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia.

Kathleen, any results to report?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good results, Carol. They have over the last several weeks gotten calls of 2,000 plus children missing. Today alone there have been 15 cases resolved and they say that eight of those alone are because of the live coverage that we've been carrying here on CNN. Viewers have told them," I saw this child on CNN and I'm calling you." And we want to share with you now one of those success stories. This was a 7-year-old Tyrielle Guillot separated from her mother some time after or during the hurricane. Her mother Crystal Thomas was -- they were separated. Neither one knew where the other one was. But the mother provided a photo here to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, we put it on CNN. And then one of the amazing volunteers here, a woman named Pitta -- Peggy Pitta, it was her very first day, she answered the phone call.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEGGY PITTA, CTR. MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN: The first phone call I answered was from a grandmother who was calling up to report the fact that she had seen her granddaughter's picture on TV with CNN. And she said, I am with the granddaughter. And the granddaughter is so delighted because she saw her picture on TV, which means somewhere her mother is safe. So from there, we went to connect mom and grandmother within the next hour.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: So a physical reunion is now in the works. The family, obviously, simply overjoyed. With me right now is Bob O'Brien. He's one of the directors here. Tell us about the volume of calls -- the sheer volume that's gone up. BOB O'BRIEN, CTR. MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN: It's amazing. Actually, since the beginning of the scrolling of the photos we've had 1,800 phone calls here to the hot line concerning information about the finding missing children, finding missing adults. And it really is amazing of all the citizens responding to helping us out, helping us in any way we can.

KOCH: Yeah, you were telling us there were normally only 600 calls a day. The calls have tripled?

O'BRIEN: The hot line typically has about 700 phone calls a day, but that line is now -- it's been 18,000 phone calls since we started, but 1800 phone calls since this morning.

KOCH: Tell me about these volunteers because these are trained law enforcement officers, many of them who are retired but some who are active duty and they're taking time off to be here.

O'BRIEN: They're taking time off. We have over 200 local, state, and federal officers that are part of two programs, Project Alert and Team Adam that are strongly background in looking for missing children and abducted children cases. Some work long-term missing Project Alert, Team Adam works the compelling new abduction cases, typically. But this is an unprecedented effort for them to be involved and they're really enjoying being part of the solution.

KOCH: Mr. O'Brien, thank you so much. And Carol, it's also important to point out that there are a lot of these Team Adam volunteers around the country at shelters. They're the ones taking these photos of these children who have been separated from their parents so that we can put them on the air on CNN.

LIN: All right, terrific, Kathleen. Thank you so much.

All right, with so many children missing or separated from their loved ones, we certainly hope to report many happy reunions like the one you're about to see. A mother and her young son have finally embraced after spending two weeks apart. And as Rusty Dornin reports, it was all thanks on the alert viewer, the boy's grandmother.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two days before Hurricane Katrina struck, Chantelle Antoine had to undergo kidney dialysis. Her husband had to take her. So they left their 3-year-old son, David, with a babysitter. Then Sunday morning, hours before the storm hit, Chantelle couldn't get to her son, the couple had no car and evacuated to the Superdome. What they didn't know was David had been taken to the Superdome as well. They knew only that their son was missing.

CHANTELLE ANTOINE, DAVID'S MOTHER: I was scared. I didn't know what to think -- it was just -- I can't even explain what I was feeling in words.

DORNIN: Chantelle, because of her medical condition, was quickly evacuated again with her husband to a Baton Rouge hospital before the storm. They now know the little boy was taken to the Houston Astrodome. They don't know how or when. They still don't know what happened to the babysitter. But relief workers in Houston soon found David all by himself. Then last Saturday night on a continuing CNN segment created to help reunite missing loved ones, someone from Child Protective Services in Houston appealed on behalf of David.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a little boy maybe 2 or 3 years old and we're calling him David. But he's been with us since last Friday and we have no idea where their parents are.

DORNIN: A woman identifying herself as David's grandmother called the Center for Exploited and Missing Children. The center called the Antoines on Monday. Finally today, three days later at the Lafayette, Louisiana, airport, Chantelle anxiously awaiting her son's arrival from Houston. She waits on the tarmac.

(CRYING)

DORNIN: All smiles, David who has been separated from his mother for 2-1/2 weeks, wants to be held by the case worker Jeffrey Collins who has spent more than a week with the boy.

C. ANTOINE: Oh, you don't want to leave Mr. Jeffrey?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's up, man? You're home now, buddy. You home now. You're home now, big man.

C. ANTOINE: He confused right now.

DORNIN: His confusion lasts only a minute. Then mom is the only one David wants.

C. ANTOINE: Oh, you want mama now, huh?

DORNIN: Still Chantelle has no car, so we drive them to their new place in Lafayette. For the first time the little boy sees his new home, then the reunion with daddy, who has plenty of plans.

DAVID ANTOINE, DAVID'S FATHER: Go run in the park, everything. Go have fun, go play football, go play basketball. We're going to do everything. Everything. Everything that father and son got to do.

DORNIN: His parents don't think that David will member his adventure, but they will.

C. ANTOINE: It really to hard to think back all the way to age three, but I will tell him this story.

DORNIN: The Antoines' received help to get this apartment in Lafayette.

(on camera): They're in a new place, they have few belongings, no jobs, and no idea what the future will bring, but right now that really doesn't matter.

(voice-over): Because he who was lost has been found.

C. ANTOINE: It makes all right. All good.

DORNIN: Rusty Dornin, CNN, Lafayette, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: All right.

Well, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco thanked President Bush today saying she will work as his partner in rebuilding areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. But in the first days of the crisis, state and federal governments did not seem to be cooperating well. Barbara Starr reports from Camp Shelby, Mississippi, on how response to the next national disaster may take a lesson from Katrina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush says in the next national catastrophe he wants the military to play an increased role.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces.

STARR: The focus now is on how to send active duty troops into a devastated region without first waiting for a state governor to ask for help. In the wake of Katrina, officials say too much time went by. It was days after the levees broke before active duty military was finally ordered in. The senior military commander for Hurricane Katrina relief says changes are likely, especially when the job is saving lives.

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONERE, CMDR. JOINT TASK FORCE KATRINA: There's a opportunity here to make some adjustments and rather than wait for the state to request something, that we will have an option.

STARR: The Coast Guard admiral leading civilian relief agrees.

VICE ADM. THAD ALLEN, U.S. COAST GUARD: I don't think this was any precedent for this event, but the threshold on which an event might be so catastrophic and the consequences so great that might warrant more action ahead of time than we've been able to do before, I think is certainly an area of inquiry.

STARR: No one is sure if new laws are needed, but in the wake of the disaster, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division is acknowledging for first time that chaos on the ground when his forces arrived.

MAJ. GEN. BILL CALDWELL, U.S. ARMY: We had a difficult time finding where to goy to lash up all the other agencies.

STARR: Those problems could have spelled crisis. CNN has learned the 82nd came to New Orleans equipped to deal with riots. They had helmets, shields and tear gas, but had there been riots, it is not clear civilian and military authorities could have communicated. Quicker use of active duty military forces may not have averted the problems at the Superdome and convention center where thousands were stranded. The city was not prepared. The questions still linger.

QUESTION: Why weren't the busses there three days earlier. I think that's a big question, we reporters...

HONERE: Where were you going to find the buses at, mister?

STARR: The military is beginning to wrap up some of its work and could be out of the area within weeks. But for the commander leading the military effort, the ultimate lesson learned, make sure the plan can work.

HONERE: Thereby, you have to go from plan to execution. Because talking about it isn't equal to doing it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (on camera): And now General Honore and the military, they are making plans to turn this operation over to civilian authorities and the National Guard, but if there is a next time, it is becoming increasingly clear that Washington plans to send the active duty military in much more quickly if it can, and an acknowledgment that it is the active duty military that has some muscle and manpower to do this type of massive disaster relief in the first hours and days -- Carol.

LIN: All right, so very, very quickly, Barbara, does that mean in this particular case would the military have been there the day the hurricane hit, the day the levees broke, or the day after the levees broke and the waters were rising? And who will make that decision?

STARR: Well, let's be very clear. Any disaster relief assistance can only come in after a hurricane passes. What happens, of course, is that those first responders have to move out of the way because they will perish in the hurricane as well, their supplies, their trucks, all of that would be destroyed in a Category 5 storm. So they move out of the way and then they come back in just as soon as they can. But what officials here have consistently said was this was one -- an unprecedented storm and a levee break, whether it was anticipated or not, that proved to be an unmitigated disaster, so they are going to have to find ways to move in much more quickly if such a massive disaster were to occur again -- Carol.

LIN: Barbara Starr, thank you very much, reporting live from Camp Shelby.

Well, thanks but no thanks. Many people who have called New Orleans home for years say they won't go back, choosing to plant new roots elsewhere. We have that story straight ahead.

But first, we're going to go live to Chicago and get the very latest on today's deadly commuter train crash so stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LIN: Other news across America now, a team of federal investigators is heading to Chicago to the site of today's deadly commuter train derailment. So, let's go to the scene and to CLTV's Melanie Kopacz.

Melanie, what's happened there today?

MELANIE KOPACZ, CLTV Chicago: Well Carol, 189 onboard, one dead, 17 critically injured, many more were also injured. There is still no word though on what may have caused the derailment. A federal investigation is underway as we speak. The train has since been retailed, as you can see behind me, but the car that took the brunt of it all had its wheel set knocked off, needless to say, a very frightening day for all those onboard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You heard screeching and it was like bouncing all over the place and then you could feel it going sideways. We thought it was going to tip over.

KOPACZ (voice-over): A very traumatic experience for all 189 people onboard a Metra commuter train heading from Joliet northbound to Chicago. Just before 9:00 a.m., the Rock Island District line somehow derailed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People were on the floor, they were all and screaming and crying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We extricated two passengers from, I believe, the third car back from the locomotive.

KOPACZ: In all, one woman in her 20s died, 17 others in serious to critical condition, 31 in fair to serious, while 35 more considered in fair including the train's engineer. Five cars in all completely came off the tracks at 47th and Federal Streets on Chicago's south side. Those on the car hardest hit had to be removed through kicked out windows because doors just couldn't be opened. Witnesses say at the time of the accident the train was moving slowly.

MONIQUE BOND, OEMC SPOKESPERSON: It appeared that all the signals were clear at the time.

KOPACZ: Metra officials say despite some damage on the bridge the train had crossed, it's still safe.

BOND: There's also some concern about the bridge. The bridge is structurally sound. Because of the vibrations some of the concrete became just a little bit loose, but it's still -- it's safe and structurally sound and we'll still go around it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPACZ: As for the engineer we're told that he worked for CSX for five years. He recently joined Metra, he went through six months of training and has been on this route for 45 days. As for the tracks, we're told that they were just inspected in the last few days, as were the cars. So still a lot of unanswered questions here on the south side of Chicago. Reporting live for CNN I'm Melanie Kopacz.

Carol, back to you in the studio.

LIN: Thanks Melanie.

Well, New Orleans won't be a ghost town for very much longer. Over the next few weeks more than 180,000 residents will be allowed to return to their homes and businesses, but not everyone who has evacuated the city is planning to return right away. In fact, many are starting their lives over in other places.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIN (voice-over): Hundreds of miles away from the only city she's ever known, Terri Baquet is always getting lost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bless your heart.

TERRI BAQUET, TEACHER: I'm going to be all right. I'm going to be all right. I'm going to make it.

LIN: It took her two hours to get to work at Sandtown Middle School, south of Atlanta, where she's starting a new teaching job. She interviewed with the principal wearing the t-shirt and flip-flops she wore escaping the hurricane.

BAQUET: She never thought twice about the way I looked.

LIN (on camera): Because that's all you had.

BAQUET: Yeah. Well, she walked me through the school.

LIN (voice-over): At the same time students had started collecting supplies to donate to hurricane victims. They ended up dressing their new teacher from head to toe.

ALEXANDRIA PAYNE, STUDENT: I brought her some clothes so that she could have something to wear to work.

LIN: Everything Terri has now, an empty donated house, her clothes, shoes, were given to her by total strangers. It was a far better situation than when she first arrived, applying for any job she could find.

BAQUET: It was literally begging these managers for what I thought was a wonderful salary, $9 an hour. You know, to work at Blockbuster.

LIN (on camera): Wow, and here you are a certified school teacher.

BAQUET: With a master's degree.

LIN (voice-over): While she looked for work, her children lived apart from her with extended family so they could enroll in a school. She drives an hour and a half after work to see them. Zachary, 14, is trying to be a good sport about the separation. It hit 16-year-old Kelly much harder. We showed them the latest news footage out of their old New Orleans neighborhood.

BAQUET: Look at the Taco Bell sign.

ZACHARY BAQUET, TERRI'S SON: That's Walgreen's.

BAQUET: Oh, my goodness.

LIN: Terri wonders about her home, the arts and crafts bungalow she left behind and how she's pay the mortgage on a ruined house. But there are things that money can't buy. Terri's family and friends are scattered over three states.

BAQUET: When somebody calls me from a 504 area code, I just can't wait to pick up the phone. That's what I miss. I miss my community. I miss my friends.

LIN (on camera): They miss you, too.

BAQUET: I miss my family.

LIN (voice-over): But Terri doesn't want people to feel sorry for her.

BAQUET: We want people to understand that we are strong people and we can do it, but right now we need so much help.

LIN: For Terri there's so much support from her new job, they will do what they can to help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to get her a map, so she won't get lost. We need a big map.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Terri. Today she went to go and apply for food stamps, this woman with a master's degree, and she's also trying to get a list of available housing in the Atlanta area. The federal government is not helping in that area.

All right. When does a political call for help take a back seat to the call of nature? Well, just ask President Bush, he knows the feeling all too well. Jeanne Moos flushes out the note read around the world and on the web, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: Bush on Wednesday spoke at the U.N. and during the speech, did you hear about this? He passes a note to Condoleezza Rice saying, "I need to go to the bathroom. Is there any way I can get a bathroom break?" And I was thinking there you go, he's drinking again.

LIN: Oh. Now, to be fair to President Bush, heads of state don't normally attend U.N. Security Council meetings, so it serves to reason that he needed a little advice on protocol. Too bad for him his appeal for help was caught by a photographer's lens and comedians and webheads everywhere took note. CNN's Jeanne Moos explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's lots of paper passing at the U.N. When the president of the United States passes a note while seated at the Security Council table, well, a voyeurs' photographer with a long lens couldn't pass it up. Not since John Kerry scribbled such copious notes during the first presidential debate has a note been so noted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the Iraqi people can choose their own destiny.

MOOS: Noted and lampooned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was he writing?

MOOS (on camera): But what was the president writing to his secretary of state? Was it about U.N. reform? Was it about the latest U.N. terrorism resolution?

BUSH: Each of us must act to share information...

MOOS (voice-over): But the president didn't mean to share this information. "I think I may need a bathroom break. Is this possible?" Next thing you know between speakers the president gets up and Condoleezza Rice temporarily takes his place, still getting nabbed passing a bathroom note isn't as bad as getting busted for doing a crossword puzzle at Judge Roberts' confirmation hearings, as the Oklahoma republican Senator Tom Coburn did.

The Bush note has been whizzing around the internet. Sort of reminds us of Saddam Hussein's first interrogation after he was pulled out of that spider hole. When offered a glass of water by his interrogators, Saddam replayed "If I drink water I'll have to go to the bathroom and how can I use the bathroom when my people are in bondage?"

But refraing from drinking isn't easy to do when you're in bondage at the U.N.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: OK, that's all the time we have for this hour, but coming up next "CNN Presents: Heroes Among Us." And then at 8:00 Eastern, a global summit with former President Clinton. And at 9:00, Larry King, "Music to heal the spirit," an encore presentation of the artists who pitched in to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

And I'll be back at 10:00 Eastern for "CNN Saturday Night" with the very latest from the Gulf Coast and our effort to reunite displaced children with their families.

A check of the hour's headlines and then "CNN Presents: Heroes Among Us."

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com