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CNN Live Saturday

Long Wait For Wilma Leading To Frustration; FEMA Not Wanting To Repeat Mistakes With Wilma; New Diabetes Drug On The Edge Of Approval; Pluses And Minuses Of Public Transportation; Bush wants U.N. To Deal With Syria; Experts Still Trying To ID Frozen Man

Aired October 22, 2005 - 4:00   ET

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

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hurricane Wilma wallops Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. What kind of devastation is the region facing, following more than 24 hours of pounding rains and winds? We'll have a live report from the popular tourist destination.
Hello, and welcome to ...

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jeanne Meserve in Naples, Florida. Here, you can expect the long wait for Wilma is leading to a lot of frustration.

SYLVESTER: Hello, and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY and our special coverage of Hurricane Wilma. I'm Lisa Sylvester, in for Fredricka Whitfield.

Despite its cartoonish name, no one is making light of Hurricane Wilma, now, slowly crawling over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. As expected, the storm has weakened to a Category 2. It's blamed for two deaths there. Thousands of tourists and residents are huddled in hotels and shelters, amid shrieking winds and shattering glass.

Wilma's slow movement, while bad for Mexico, is good news for Florida, giving residents another day to prepare. Mandatory evacuations are under way in the Florida Keys in barrier islands.

Florida residents in Broward County, near Fort Lauderdale, are dealing with flooding from Hurricane Wilma.

CNN's correspondents are covering every angle of the storm along Wilma's path, from Mexico, to Florida, to Washington.

But let's begin with our Susan Candiotti, weathering Hurricane Wilma's onslaught in Cancun, Mexico. She joins us now by phone.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Hi, Lisa.

The winds are still blustery, it is still raining very hard as squall lines go through. Remember, this is still a Category 2 storm. No one is out on the streets, certainly not emergency vehicles that we have seen.

And in our trying to drive from where the luxury hotels are located, facing the Caribbean Sea, to get down to the center of the city, downtown Cancun, where those shelters are, well, you can't do it. The roads are impassable. There is debris in the road, there is also high water from the storm surge.

So there is both wind damage here to deal with, as well as water damage.

Now, those shelters are where a number of tourists, an estimated 20,000 of them, were evacuated by the government, and wisely so, everyone agrees, to get out of harm's way. We don't know their current situation, but we do know that a couple of days ago, they did have a lot of provisions, they were supplied with water, with towels, with some food. So the hope is that they are doing all right in the center of the city.

We did talk to a number of Mexicans who are workers, who are employed by the hotels and businesses that are on the other end of this island there on Cozumel, not only Cozumel but Cancun as well, to watch over the property. These people told us that even though they're apart from their families, that they are -- they hope that they are well. Some were able to get contact with them, but others were not able to use the telephone, and don't really know how their loved ones are doing.

But as you drive around the Cancun area, we are seeing some structural damage to restaurants, some to hotels, some to nightclubs, and for example, the Marriott Hotel. There are two of them here. One of the two told us they barely had any damage from Hurricane Emily back in July, and this pales in comparison, the damage that Wilma has dealt them. It's going take some time to get them up and going, but, of course, they have an eye to the busy season coming up, so needless to say, they would like to get things repaired just as soon as possible, Lisa.

SYLVESTER: Susan, what are you hearing in terms of injuries and deaths? We are getting reports of at least two deaths there.

CANDIOTTI: That's right, those two deaths, as I understand, reportedly happened in Cozumel, with a -- or, excuse me, in this area in Playa del Carmen. It involved a gas tank explosion. We have no official independent confirmation of that. But other than that, we are not hearing reports from authorities here of any injuries.

SYLVESTER: Susan Candiotti, thanks very much for that report, and please be safe out there in Cancun.

Our meteorologist, Bonnie Schneider, is tracking Wilma's movements from the CNN Weather Center. What can you tell us, Bonnie?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Lisa, inside here in the CNN Weather Center, we're monitoring Wilma very carefully. Come take a look, we'll show you.

You can see the center of circulation is still to the west of Cancun. The storm has been drifting ever so slowly to the north, almost erratically in movement. Eventually the storm will make a turn to the northeast. That's why there is a hurricane watch posted for the entire Florida Keys. And this means that hurricane-force conditions will be felt within the next 36 hours. We're also expecting this area here, all the way along the southern coast there of Florida, to be affected, with a hurricane watch posted later on as well.

Checking things out for our track, you'll see the storm eventually will work its way across Florida quite quickly, from Monday into Tuesday, already just off the Carolina coast. So it has to move away from the Yucatan, make that turn, and then come in somewhere along the southwestern is coast of Florida as a Category 2.

We are expecting the storm to maintain its strength, with maximum winds now at 110 miles per hour. Part of the reason with that has to do with the water temperature right now, which is at 81 degrees. So when you have all this warm water over the Gulf of Mexico, it really does help to intensify the storm and keep it at that level of strength.

But one thing in our favor, possibly, to weaken the storm a bit are the strong upper-level winds coming from the west that may help to, in addition to steer the storm, but also to break it down a bit, and that's what we're hoping for so we can get this storm a little bit less in intensity as it works its way across Florida.

Now, in the meantime, as we look ahead, the storm will actually work its way up further to the north as well, and we're also watching another area here. You could just see right in the screen there, just south of Puerto Rico, we have tropical depression number 25, unbelievable, this busy season. This storm, if it gets a name, which we're expecting, will be Alpha.

And just to note, Lisa, we have never -- I mean, never -- gone to the Alpha list before. We've tied where we are right now. But if we get 25 named storms, that's it, we did break a record.

SYLVESTER: OK, thank you very much, Bonnie, for that report.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

SYLVESTER: Well, Wilma's not expected to hit Florida until Monday. But some residents are already seeing flooded streets today.

Our Kareen Wynter is in Key West and joins us now live.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Lisa.

You may not believe this, but on the surface, it may not look like this is a city preparing for a hurricane, when, in fact, it is. We're on Duval Street, a very, very busy strip in downtown Key West. You can see some of the traffic flowing here.

And what we're feeling is a Mardi Gras-type atmosphere. Usually this time of year, there are many events and festivities leading up to Halloween. And so some people here say they're still going to blow off some steam, they're going to come out in full force, they're not going to let Wilma spoil their plans. So people have been walking around in ceremonial beads. They're also in costumes. There are many businesses on this strip alone boarded up, but there are also restaurants and bars that are open, people taking advantage of the day while they still can. And it is shining here, and so that gives you an idea of the mood.

But there is a more serious tone. That's right. We heard from various emergency officials earlier today, fire, police, U.S. Coast Guard, the mayor, all talking about the mandatory evacuation that took place earlier today. It began at noon, days after being delayed, one day after another. Officials couldn't pinpoint when they would issue those orders because of the wayward track of Wilma. They decided to do it today because of the projected landfall.

And so they emphasized level of preparedness. They say there are many resources in place. And they say they want this community to take these orders very seriously.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MORGAN MCPHERSON, KEY WEST, FLORIDA: It is essential that you heed the warnings, that don't become complacent, because the storm has taken its time to get here. It's going to make up for all the time that it's spent over the island, because it's going get here in a hurry. Pay attention, think carefully before you make any decision to stay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WYNTER: And there have been people evacuating all week. The word "mandatory" is a little bit ambiguous. There have been people evacuating, tourists, nonresidents, residents alike. And so there are shuttle buses set up at strategic locations all across the city, shuttling people away from the island and to a shelter in Miami. For those who wanted to make sure, they're not taking any chances here. They want to get out in time.

We also asked, Lisa, how long these buses will continue to run for those who want to take advantage of this service, and officials tell us that once the winds here exceed about 45 miles per hour, that's when they'll stop. So there's still time for those who want to leave the island to do so, Lisa.

SYLVESTER: Kareen, are there a number of locals who are basically just saying, We're going to stick this out? I mean, we saw in those pictures, some of the people do seem to be quite complacent.

WYNTER: Absolutely, and they say this waiting game for Wilma has only reinforced their belief that it's not here yet, and once it hits, hopefully it will pass through here.

We spoke to one gentleman who's lived here all his life, Lisa. He's in his 60s. He's endured many hurricanes. He's saying he's not going to let this one scare him away. He has all the necessary resources, the batteries, the food, and he's hunkering down in his home with his family. SYLVESTER: OK, thank you very much, Kareen, and be safe out there in the next few days.

And now let's head a little farther north up the Florida coast, and that's where we find our Jeanne Meserve, in Naples. Jeanne?

MESERVE: Lisa, Collier County has never done it before, but the county commissioners voted today for the very first time to impose a curfew in the hours before Wilma hits. Now, the sheriff says it will make things easier for his personnel. They won't have to burn out patrolling evacuated areas. And one of the county commissioners said it would give people more confidence that they could leave, and their property would be safe.

All of this, of course, set against the backdrop of looting in New Orleans.

Now, meanwhile, preparations for the storm here continue in Naples, some people expressing some exasperation at the stop-and-go nature of this storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's definitely a minus. I mean, yes, our lives are on hold. We don't know what's going to happen. We have to deal with things on a day-to-day basis. But at least it's giving us time to prepare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: You're looking here at a boat that just pulled next to me. Someone's evacuating a houseboat, even bringing their parrot with them, as long as the -- as well as their television, their clothing, and other important sorts of items. But really, that's the only sort of activity we're seeing at this marina here today. Usually it would be a hub of activity on a Saturday afternoon. But a lot of people have left, a lot of boats are gone, because people have taken them to safer ground.

Lisa, back to you.

SYLVESTER: Jeanne Meserve, thank you very much for that report.

And we are asking you, our CNN viewers, to become citizen journalists by sending us your photos and video of Hurricane Wilma. You can share them by logging onto cnn.com/hurricane. But please, please be careful when taking pictures or video. Don't put yourself or others in danger.

FEMA came under fire for its reaction to Hurricane Katrina. So how is it preparing for Wilma? We'll go live to FEMA's Washington headquarters to show you what's being done right now. That's at the bottom of the hour.

Plus, his district lies in Wilma's potential path. Congressman Mark Foley joins us live in the next hour of CNN LIVE SATURDAY to tell us how Port Charlotte is preparing.

But first...

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elaine Quijano, live at the White House. President Bush wants the United Nations to convene to deal with Syria. I'll have details on that just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SYLVESTER: Four more Americans have died in Iraq. In separate statements released today, the U.S. military announced the deaths of three Marines Friday during combat operations in the Anbar Province, and the death of a soldier in Baghdad Thursday from what is being described as a non-hostile gunshot wound.

American troop deaths in Iraq now total 1,993.

Also today, the military said 20 insurgents were killed during raids in a town in western Iraq near the Syrian border. A statement released in Baghdad said the two separate raids on the town of Husayba also turned up large stocks of weapons and a vehicle bomb.

And a week later after they voted on a draft constitution, Iraqis still are awaiting the final results. The electoral commission said today an announcement won't be made until Monday at the earliest. A commission spokesman tells CNN a mostly Sunni province north of Baghdad appears to have backed the constitution, despite presumed Sunni opposition. Sunni leaders say the vote was fraudulent.

The Syrian government is hotly denying allegations from the United Nations that Syria was involved in the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister. The February killing of Rafik Hariri triggered a wave of protests in Beirut that ultimately prompted Syria to withdraw from Lebanon.

A U.N. investigation found the bomb that killed Hariri used at least 2,200 pounds of military explosives. And the final report concluded there was, quote, "converging evidence of a Lebanese and Syrian involvement in the assassination." Syrian officials say the report is false and politically motivated.

President Bush calls on the U.N. report -- calls the U.N. report deeply disturbing.

And CNN's Elaine Quijano joins us now with more on the White House reaction, and what could come next.

QUIJANO: Good afternoon to you, Lisa.

And that's right, President Bush is making clear that he wants the United Nations to convene a session to take action as quickly as possible to deal with Syria. In fact, yesterday, the president made it a point, after delivering planned remarks at the Reagan Library, to comment on the U.N. report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have made it clear that the position of the United States is that there be no foreign involvement in Lebanon. The United Nations made that clear through resolution 1559. And today, a serious report came out that requires the world to look at it very carefully and respond accordingly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: And Resolution 1559 that the president mentioned resulted in the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon. But the U.S. wants to be able to verify that, in fact, Syria has pulled out all of its intelligence services from that country. Now, that could certainly be another point of contention down the road.

In the meantime, as for the report into Rafik Hariri's assassination, officials at the State Department are saying that the U.S. is drafting possible resolutions to address those specific allegations. They say that the U.S. will likely not push for sanctions just yet, instead will try to craft a measure that imposes some kind of deadline for Syrian cooperation in the investigation, with sanctions to possibly follow.

Now, the goal here really is to isolate Syria, particularly to keep the pressure on Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, not just from the United States, but pressure from the larger international community. Assad's brother-in-law and even his own brother were implicated in the report. And Middle East analysts say Assad is now essentially backed into a corner.

Now, in the meantime, a Bush administration source says that early next week is when we are anticipating that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will ask the United Nations to convene that special session. The Security Council, we should tell you, is already set to meet on Tuesday with the German author of that U.N. report, Lisa.

SYLVESTER: Elaine, I want to ask you a quick question about the CIA leak investigation, and how much of this is a distraction. This upcoming week is expected to be a big one, possibly having indictments. What is your read there at White House this weekend?

QUIJANO: Well, there's certainly no question that, in fact, that CIA leak investigation that is still looming, continues to be a large source of anxiety for officials here at the White House. Bush aides publicly, of course, trying to put a good face on things. The president himself we heard earlier this week saying that he is focused, he is continuing to carry out the nation's business.

But, you know, privately, Lisa, behind closed doors, a former senior Bush official says that the top aides here certainly have become weary, not just the CIA leak investigation, but as you know, the president's approval ratings overall have plummeted. There has been waning public support for the Iraq war. There has been opposition from conservatives, people within the president's own party, to his Supreme Court pick, Harriet Miers. So this is certainly a White House that is dealing with a number of challenges on a number of fronts. And this upcoming week, the CIA leak investigation will certainly be front and center, Lisa.

SYLVESTER: A weary White House. Thank you very much, Elaine Quijano.

Well, his remains were found atop a California mountain decades after his death. Now the search for his identity begins. Up next, I'll speak with a forensic anthropologist who is helping lead that mission.

And Wilma weekends over Mexico, but the hurricane could spell trouble for Florida. Still to come, the latest on Wilma's potential path.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SYLVESTER: One week after it first was discovered, the frozen body of a World War II aeroserviceman still is being sought. The well-preserved remains of the unidentified airman were found by climbers in the Sierra Nevada mountains in northern California. Also found at the scene, a parachute, unopened.

Joining us now from Oahu, Hawaii, by telephone, Dr. Bob Mann of the U.S. military's Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command. And his forensic team will try to identify the frozen airman.

Let me begin by just asking you, how do you even begin to make a positive identification after all of this time, after all these decades?

DR. BOB MANN, JOINT POW-MIA ACCOUNTING COMMAND (on phone): Well, the first thing that we would do, of course, is, we would try to identify what the crash site is. And so our analysts and historians have compiled a short list of military crash sites and missing airmen in the area where the remains were found, going back into the 1940s. And we requested their records.

The uniform and the style of parachute, of course, kind of dates the site. And what we would do, then, is take that short list of missing airmen and try to make a comparison based on examination of the body.

SYLVESTER: And when do you expect the body will be turned over to you?

MANN: Well, we're looking for it to arrive here by military air Monday morning.

SYLVESTER: How long will it take to have a positive identification? Is this a pretty quick process, or do you expect it to take some time?

MANN: I think it'll take a little bit of time. The process could take weeks, months, or even years, and really depends on the availability of the dental records, the DNA, if we have to use that, and being able to locate family members.

SYLVESTER: Talk us through the process. I mean, do you use -- what are the techniques that you use? Do you use dental record that you just referenced? What do you do to be able to tell, like, who the specific individual is? Granted, you have to get the records and such, match them up, and so forth. But as far as identifying the body and so forth, dental records?

MANN: Yes, well, as soon as the case comes in to a laboratory, three scientists will be assigned to the case. We'll have a forensic anthropologist who will examine the remains, a forensic dentist will examine the teeth, and we'll have another anthropologist that will examine the clothing and the other items that were recovered with him.

And what we'll do is, (INAUDIBLE), in looking at the teeth, the dentist will chart the teeth and compare those teeth that are recovered from the scene there to the dental records of the short list of missing airmen. And what it is, is that a dental filling is unique to everybody in the world. So even if you have three wisdom teeth that are filled by the same dentist, the fillings are going to look different. They're going to be unique to each of those individuals.

So the dentist is going to look for comparisons, for similarities and dissimilarities in the teeth recovered from the scene, and compare those to the dental records of the missing airmen. If...

SYLVESTER: Very quickly, let me just get in this question before we run out of time. But how well are the body tissues preserved when a human body is frozen in ice?

MANN: Oh, I think it's going to be very well preserved. This is a fascinating case for us, and the unusual part of this case, other than the fact that he was frozen in a glacier in California, is the body is so well preserved. And it's probably one of the closest things that we have to a snapshot in time. And this is a snapshot, of course, that was frozen in time for 60 years.

SYLVESTER: Dr. Bob Mann, thank you very much for joining us. Such a fascinating subject.

Well, we want to turn now back to our big story of the day. Wilma is crawling across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, and it appears southern Florida is its next target. When it will reach the U.S. mainland? The latest storm forecast is next.

Plus, how is FEMA preparing for Wilma's eventual arrival? We'll go live to the agency's Washington headquarters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SYLVESTER: Happening now in the news, Hurricane Wilma is pounding Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula at this hour. The storm struck Mexico as a Category 4 hurricane, but it's now weakened to a Category 2 after stalling over the region. The governor of Mexico's Potanaru (ph) state tells CNN two people were killed in Playa del Carmen near Cancun. That's after Wilma's winds caused a gas tank to explode. Hurricane Wilma's rain bands already are reaching parts of Florida. Some streets in Broward County flooded by midday. A hurricane watch is in effect in the Florida Keys, and officials have ordered mandatory evacuations for residents of the islands as the state prepares for Wilma.

The National Hurricane Center says hurricane-force winds from Wilma could begin affecting the Keys within 36 hours.

Now for the very latest on Hurricane Wilma, let's go to quickly to the Weather Center and CNN's Bonnie Schneider -- Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SYLVESTER: And with Wilma bearing down on Florida, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is working overtime today. After the slow response to Hurricane Katrina, FEMA is under new leadership, and under the microscope.

CNN's Gary Nurenberg joins us live now, outside FEMA's headquarters in Washington -- Gary.

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon.

The White House told reporters earlier today that the president has received a Wilma update earlier in the day, as the administration and FEMA try to project the image of being on top of this one, of being prepared for any contingency that Wilma may throw their way.

Workers here at FEMA are now on 12-hour shifts. But we just talked to one who said that's official, those shifts get longer and longer. One fellow told us he worked 16 hours yesterday. Back for more today. All, they say, committed to do be what it takes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The conference call with HHS...

NURENBERG (voice-over): At FEMA headquarters in Washington, staffers are tired from weeks of hurricane cleanup and hurricane planning, but are actively involved in coordinating preparations for Wilma, arranging for 30 truckloads of food, water and ice to be on standby at two Florida military bases.

R. DAVID PAULISON, ACTING FEMA DIRECTOR: We want to be ready with all the supplies -- food, water, ice, medical teams, urban search-and-rescue teams. If the state needs those, we want to have them on the ground and ready to go when they ask for them.

NURENBERG: These two St. Petersburg residents now use hurricanes as an excuse for a vacation.

ERIK RAICHLE, FLORIDA EVACUEE: Yes. It's about time we go. Where are we going to go? Well, we haven't been to Las Vegas yet have, we? No, we haven't been to Las -- have we been to California? We'll go California. NURENBERG: This weekend, Wilma spurred their first visit to Washington, but thoughts of home travel with them.

EILEEN RAICHLE, FLORIDA EVACUEE: You know what you think about? Getting information on the hurricane proof-house. And that's what we keep talking about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NURENBERG: Well, clearly, the Raichles heeded warnings and left, but the acting FEMA director told CNN just a few minutes his biggest worry is that Floridians won't be paying attention to what's going on around them and won't be prepared. FEMA, he insisted, Lisa, is prepared.

SYLVESTER: Gary Nurenberg at FEMA headquarters, thank you very much for that very compelling report, especially that couple -- very interesting couple.

Now, here's a question a child might ask and most of us adults couldn't answer. Where do hurricanes come from?

Here's Daniel Sieberg with a CNN "Fact Check."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: There are few conditions that are absolutely necessary for a hurricane to form.

First, the water must be at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Researchers say the ocean must be that temperature to about 150 feet deep. That's why they form only during certain times of the year.

The second condition is the atmosphere must be cool enough to turn evaporated moisture into condensation. That's true for pretty much any storm.

The third condition is that the formation must be at least 300 miles from the equator. It requires the presence of coriolis force, a force caused by the rotation of the Earth on its axis, but one that does not occur at the equator.

The fourth condition is that there can't be too much vertical wind shear that can disrupt the hurricane's formation.

Now, just because these conditions are met doesn't mean a hurricane will form. But without them, it's safe to say, it won't.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYLVESTER: It's estimated that Hurricane Katrina left as many as a million people homeless. Now, weeks after the storm, some of those people are getting much-coveted vouchers for free housing from the federal government. But when they do, another homeless family is knocked farther down the list.

CNN's David Mattingly reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sansare Williams (ph) fled New Orleans, a mother of three and eight months pregnant, losing everything she couldn't carry. Landing in Charlotte, North Carolina, with thousands of other Katrina evacuees, she's starting a new life in a new house, made possible by a highly sought after but hard to get type of federal housing assistance called a Section 8 voucher.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It allows me to stay in my home free, rent free.

MATTINGLY: The voucher pays her $700 a month rent for the recently refurbished four-bedroom, one-bath house. It is in a better neighborhood, she says, than she left behind, with better schools.

(on camera): The housing vouchers are so coveted in Charlotte that people wait on a line for years to get one. But for dozens of Katrina evacuees who landed here, there was no line and no waiting.

(voice-over): The preferential treatment suggested by federal authorities will cause local people already on the list held by the Charlotte Housing Authority to wait months longer.

JENNIFER GALLMAN, CHARLOTTE HOUSING AUTHORITY: It took the whole nation and housing authorities, local governments, supportive service agencies to pitch in a little bit of what they currently had that was also limited to assist them in this effort. It was an emergency. They had nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From here down are my belongings...

MATTINGLY: Glendora Rivera has six children of her own in Charlotte. Not an evacuee, she waits for her own chance at a voucher while sleeping on the floor of an overcrowded Salvation Army homeless shelter.

GLENDORA RIVERA, HOMELESS MOTHER: I know they was in a bad situation, but I'm in a shelter. There are other people in the shelter. This is a crisis, too.

MATTINGLY: Advocates for affordable housing say the preferential treatment exposes the funding limitations of a vital program.

CHRIS ESTES, NORTH CAROLINA HOUSING COALITION: Right now we have people in our communities who really can only get crisis assistance if they, in a sense, lose all the supports they've had.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They say she's one of the first Katrina victim babies in Charlotte.

MATTINGLY: Williams gave birth to her new daughter one week ago. Her crib was donated, along with the rest of the family's furniture.

Unlike her life before Katrina, Williams says she now has options, and plans to go back to school. A new life filled with generosity, and some timely federal assistance that thousands wished they had as well.

David Mattingly, CNN, Charlotte.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYLVESTER: Turning now back to Hurricane Wilma. Joining us now by telephone from the resort city of Cozumel on Mexico's Yucatan coast, Gabriela Verduzco of Hotel Cozumel and Resort.

What is the situation where you're at right now? What does it look like?

GABRIELA VERDUZCO, HOTEL COZUMEL AND RESORT: Hi, Lisa.

Well, right now, we haven't been able, actually, to go out into the strong winds. We're still getting winds about 100 kilometers per hour. It's expected to be over by 9:00 tonight. And at the hotel, it's around 150 guests, including employees. And we have food and water for at least 15 days. We have been in shelters and very, very well-taken care of.

SYLVESTER: Did your hotel sustain damage?

VERDUZCO: Yes, everything that is crystal. All the windows, of course, blew away. But the buildings are intact.

SYLVESTER: What was it like? Talk us through what it was like during the worst of Hurricane Wilma as it was passing over your area.

VERDUZCO: It was very scary. It was very scary. The winds -- fortunately, the guests couldn't hear that because they were in the shelters, but since we had to patrol the hotel, we were able to listen to the winds -- not to go out at all but listen to the winds.

The winds were very, very strong, and we could hear crystals broken and things sliding around. It was very scary, especially since the hurricane was moving so slow and actually stopped for seven hours when we expected it to be moving forward north.

SYLVESTER: Did you ride out the hurricane? Were you in a ballroom or were you in the basement? Where were you in the hotel?

VERDUZCO: We have three shelters. One was a restaurant, perfectly covered with wood. The other was the employees' restaurant and the last one that was just for women with children was like a bunker.

SYLVESTER: Gabriela Verduzco, thank you very much for joining us. It sounds like the worst is over for you.

VERDUZCO: Yes, it is. SYLVESTER: Best of luck, and thank you, again, for joining us.

Now his constituents live in the possible path of Hurricane Wilma. So how is Representative Mark Foley's district get ready? Hear from him live in the next hour of CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

And up next, it was one step away from approval but has a powerful new drug for some diabetes patients hit a roadblock? We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SYLVESTER: In medical news, a new diabetes drug is on the verge of being approved by the FDA. It would control a diabetic's blood sugar and cholesterol. But a new study suggests the medication also could double a patient's risk of death, heart attack or stroke.

For more on the drug's risks and benefits, we're joined by now Dr. Bill Lloyd, a surgeon and professor at University of California Davis Medical Center. Now, this drug is called muraglitazar, and it has been touted for reducing blood sugar levels for diabetics, but we're also learning about these new risks. Tell us more about what these risks are.

DR. BILL LLOYD, SURGEON: Lisa, diabetes is a very complicated disease. As you mentioned, it involves blood sugar but many diabetics also have problems with high blood pressure and heart changes, due to the elevated lipids that they have.

So this new drug was developed to treat all of these problems with one daily pill. The drug went through the normal approval process and then doctors from another center, specifically the Cleveland Clinic, got hold of the information from the Web site about the FDA application, and they did their own outside analysis.

These are the same doctors that exposed the problems with Vioxx just a few months ago. And according to their review of the data, they claim that the risks of heart attack, stroke and possible death are nearly double than what the drug companies reported to the FDA in early September.

SYLVESTER: Are we seeing a case where the benefits may still somehow outweigh the risks or how do you do that cost benefit analysis?

LLOYD: It's important to keep a balanced mind about this. Even the Cleveland Clinic said maybe 10 out of 1,000 patients over two years taking this medication may have these severe problems. But if you take a thousand overweight, diabetic people who have high blood pressure and heart problems and give them nothing, more than ten will die over the two-year period.

And it's important to know that the researchers themselves claim they only looked at very superficial cursory data that was in that FDA application. They themselves did not review the individual records of those patients involved in the study. And, Lisa, it's just like this. You prepare your taxes and you send it to the IRS.

Maybe there will be an audit, but what if a copy of those taxes were sent to your next-door neighbor, the one who's a CPA and he decided to look at your tax returns and notify the IRS if he found any discrepancies as well. But that next-door neighbor didn't see your checkbook, didn't see the family financial decisions. They saw a sheet with numbers. So we have to be careful about this kind of analysis where we have watchdog investigators reporting on other clinicians.

SYLVESTER: And let's be clear on this. Has this drug actually been approved? Is it on the market yet?

LLOYD: No, it's not on the market yet. The drug has already cleared what we call phase three studies that its show safety and efficacy, and that's where the arguments are. Have the drug companies disclosed all of the information about the possibility for an adverse reaction? The doctors from the Cleveland Clinic say, nope, you missed a couple of cases, and the drug companies are saying we're going to back and look at that data.

Maybe there will be a need for changing the dose or, more likely, additional information for the doctors and their patients. Because, as you know, in these clinical studies, they are often looking at lots of relatively normal, healthy people in a stable, steady population.

In the real world, doctors prescribe medications to whomever they want and patients who receive drug in the future may not be close to those patients in the study, just like Vioxx. The risk of complications may actually be higher in the real world compared to the patients in the study.

SYLVESTER: Dr. Bill Lloyd, thank you very much for joining us with that information.

LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.

SYLVESTER: As Wilma whips the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico is not the only nation dealing with way too much water.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now that this boat has been loaded with supplies, it's already started to rain, and we're going to cross the river to get to this flooded home. I can only begin to imagine what we're going to find.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SYLVESTER: Coming up in the next hour on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, we'll show you how our own Betty Nguyen is helping her homeland deal with this year's monsoon.

And up next, searching for solutions for dealing with the high cost of gas. Why public transportation may not be the answer your wallet is looking for. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SYLVESTER: And we have been tracking Hurricane Wilma all afternoon and will continue to do so in the evening. Right now, we are awaiting a news conference that is set to begin at the top of the hour with the National Hurricane Center, and we will be bringing that news conference to you live in just a few minutes.

Meanwhile, with gasoline prices hovering at $3 per gallon, more Americans are reevaluating the way they travel. Supporters of mass transit insist we could save money and the environment if more of us use trains and buses. In part two of his series on the American commute, CNN's Tom Foreman looks at public transportation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Day two of our great commuting odyssey starts with a short suburban drive to the nearest metro station, where I grab a newspaper, buy a ticket -- almost $5 round trip -- and hurry to watch the latest train to D.C. take off without me.

(on camera): Just missed it. Well, this is one of the things you learn about mass transit, compared to your private car. You're no longer completely in control. The trains and buses will run when they run and you try to hop aboard.

(voice-over): In a few minutes another train comes along and I'm swept into the swaying mass of a great American misunderstanding. Because if you think everyone believes mass transit is good, cost- effective, you're about to be derailed. But first, let's listen to the true believers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, what's good about it is that you can get where you want to go quickly, regardless of the weather.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More convenient. I live relatively close from the metro.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Driving, it can be difficult for me. I like riding, I love it.

FOREMAN: For decades mass transit has been heralded as a critical key to solving traffic problems everywhere. And most of the largest, oldest cities have systems that undeniably work for many people.

(On camera): You don't have a car?

STEVEN TAUBENKIBEL, METRO: I don't own a car. No, I don't.

FOREMAN (voice over): Steven Taubenkibel is with D.C. metro system. Just this week his office put a calculator on line to show people how much they might save by taking trains. And ridership is up 8 percent from a year ago. We're averaging about 650,000, 660,000 people on an average weekday several months ago. Last two months now we're averaging well over 700,000 commuters on an average weekday.

FOREMAN: But only a bus ride away, there are heretics near the temple.

(on camera): Is any transit system in the country right paying for itself.

RONALD UTT, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Not at the present. Not a single one.

FOREMAN: Even close?

UTT: Not even close.

FOREMAN (voice over): Ronald Utt with the conservative Heritage Foundation say mass transit nationwide -- get this -- is a testament to failure. He argues that trains and buses handle less than five percent of all commuters and the bulk of those riders are in one place, New York City. That's why transit relies so much on government financial support.

UTT: When you pay your federal fuel tax, and you pay your state fuel tax, when you fill up, about 20 percent of what you pay doesn't got to roads for you, but it goes to transit for somebody else.

FOREMAN (on camera): Seven letters, state flower of North Carolina?

(voice over): And even at that, many riders here will tell you they're not saving money either -- or least not much. If I relied entirely on metro buses and trains I could get to work for under $35 a week. But because the bus schedules don't work in a practical way for my job -- or life -- and I choose the convenience of driving to the train station. It costs about $125 a week. That's almost the same as driving all the way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no real great way to commute to D.C.

FOREMAN: Maybe not. But as I emerge from Union Station, right by my office, I'm not ready to surrender my quest for a cheaper commute. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYLVESTER: Coming up the next hour, Tom works up a sweat as he continues his series on commuting in America, he takes a look at the pluses and minuses of riding a bike to all the places you will go.

Another update on Hurricane Wilma is just minutes away. CNN is tracking the storm and will bring you live updates throughout evening. And be sure and tune in for "ON THE STORY" at 7:00 p.m. CNN's frontline correspondents take you inside the big stories of the week. And at 8:00 p.m. "CNN PRESENTS" brings you voices from the home front. I'm Lisa Sylvester. Carol Lin is up next with another hour of CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

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