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CNN Live Saturday

New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin to Hold Town Hall Meeting in Atlanta; Abu Hamza Rabia Possible Killed; Hostages in Iraq; Christian Peace Activists Kidnapped in Iraq; Salvation Army Kettle Thief; New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward Still Not Being Repaired; Recovery Channel May Be Propaganda; A Molesting Doctor Is Still Practicing; Virgin Mary May Be Crying In Sacramento

Aired December 03, 2005 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Unfolding this hour, a developing story from Pakistan. A so-called "big fish" in the Al Qaeda network is dead. We'll tell you what it means to the terrorist organization as a whole. Also this hour, a town meeting for New Orleans. Hurricane victims getting underway right here in Atlanta. We'll listen in to what Katrina survivors have to say to New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin.
And a prescription for outrage: We'll tell you about a California doctor still practicing medicine despite past suspensions for molesting his patients, allegedly.

Welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY, I'm Fredericka Whitfield. A busy hour straight ahead, but first a check of other headlines right now in the news. An Arab TV network airs a threat against four Western hostages being held in Iraq. Two Canadian, an American, and a Briton seen on the tape. The report says the kidnappers threaten to kill the hostages unless the Iraqi government frees all prisoners by Thursday.

In China rescuers are rescuing to reach 42 workers trapped in a flooded coal mine. China's state-run news agency says a total of 48 miners were working underground when the mine flooded yesterday, six miners escaped.

Pope Benedict XVI met today with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The two spent 20 minutes discussing the Middle East and the problems facing Christians in Palestinian territories. Abbas asked the pope's support for the Palestinian people and invited the pontiff to visit the holy land.

We begin this hour, right here in Atlanta, where right now New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin is in this city about to urge displaced Hurricane Katrina victims to come home. CNN's Renay San Miguel is on the campus of Morehouse College where today's town hall meeting is just now about to get underway -- Renay.

RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredericka we're about -- I'd say, about 15 minute away from the opening statement from Mayor Ray Nagin. There -- it's estimated there are about 40 to 50,000 displaced New Orleans residents living in the Atlanta area. So think of it as kind of a city within the city. Folks who have been -- who were chased out of their homes before Labor Day and here it is Christmas time and they're -- still have a lot of questions about when they're going to be able to go back home and if they actually want to go back home, considering some of the security and environmental and levee issues that still plague the city of New Orleans.

I want to talk with one of those displaced New Orleans residents be Alicia Woods.

Alicia, what part of city of New Orleans were you living in when Katrina hit?

ALICIA WOODS, NEW ORLEANS EVACUEE: Uptown area.

SAN MIGUEL: Have you had a chance to go back to assess the damage?

WOODS: Yes. And it's horrible. It's horrible.

SAN MIGUEL: How badly were things hit at your home?

WOODS: Well in my area it's not as bad as in others, but I'd say, it was out in the east and the east is like totally gone -- totally gone.

SAN MIGUEL: So tell me what questions you have for Mayor Ray Nagin. He's making these town hall meetings, he wants to hear from folks like you. What questions do you have for him?

WOODS: Well, I'd like ton about the citizens who have jobs there and their jobs are pressuring them to come back, but there's no place to stay and they're offering trailers, but if you're not a homeowner you don't have the property to put it on. So, you know, it's like you can't go back to your job because you don't have a place to stay and the living conditions are just horrible.

SAN MIGUEL: What -- I mean, depending on what you hear today is it going to make any impact on a decision whether or not you're going go back permanently to New Orleans?

WOODS: Well, I have small kids and right now they can't accommodate their needs. So I'm trying to make home here, but still in a hotel, and they haven't called me about housing or anything.

SAN MIGUEL: I was just going ask about the resources that you've had available to you here in Atlanta, here in Georgia, if you've been able to at least get on your feet here, but you're having trouble with that?

WOODS: No, if you're an average Joe, you weren't on Section 8, public housing, you worked and you paid your rent they are not giving you any assistance. They are assisting those people who were already having assistance with the government.

SAN MIGUEL: OK, well we hope to get your questions answered and we wish you good luck. Thanks for talking with us.

WOODS: Thank you.

SAN MIGUEL: Fredricka, the capacity here at the International Martin Luther King Chapel at Morehouse College is 2,500. Folks are still coming in right now. I'd say it's about three-quarters full, so in about 15 minutes we should be hearing from Mayor Ray Nagin, He will have some opening statements and they're going to -- they have two microphones set up here to hear from questions like Alicia's and from a lot of other folks who are wondering about their futures back in New Orleans. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: And Renay, it's important to note there are something like 12,000 evacuees from the New Orleans area alone that are in Georgia staying in some sort of temporary housing. You mentioned the microphones being set up, but are many of these people getting time limits in which to ask their questions or give comments to the mayor because it is a packed house and we know that these town hall meetings, whether they've been in New Orleans or other places, have become rather heated.

SAN MIGUEL: They have. There's been a lot of frustration and in some cases anger being vented in places like Memphis and Houston which also have a large populations (SIC) of displaced New Orleans residents. The timeframe is 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. They have allotted two hours for this and most of it is going to be in the form of questions, but they do want folks to be able to keep their questions concise.

I did talk to a woman with the mayor's office who had said they were prepared to go maybe two and a half hours, no more than three because of other commitments that the mayor has who has other meetings with some other city -- with government officials to try to get help for his city.

But they want to give everybody a chance here to talk and maybe try to get some answers to those questions, maybe some solutions that maybe the city can use as it attempts to get answers for itself regarding cooperation with FEMA and that kind of -- and those kinds of issues. So, everybody here looking for questions -- looking for answers to all of the questions regarding the post-Katrina New Orleans. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Renay San Miguel, thanks so much for Morehouse here in Atlanta. Of course we'll be checking in to the town meeting from time to time to listen in on what's being said.

In other New Orleans-related news. With so many city voters living out of state, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco has postponed the February 4 city elections. Mayor Ray Nagin has not announced whether he'll run for reelection.

His current term could be extent eight months to no later than September 30. The Governor Blanco also sent 100,000 Katrina-related documents to Congress. Committees are investigating government failures following the storm. The documents include notes from the governors' office and police logs associated with rescue operations and looting.

And a controversial Christmas display is being returned to a mall in suburban New Orleans after all. The miniature town depicts the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina with tiny blue-tarped roofs and stranded people. The outcry over its removal was apparently louder than the critics who said the display was in bad taste. So it now stays.

Just after residences of New Orleans, troubled 9th ward were allowed back, FEMA reportedly has pulled its workers out of that New Orleans neighborhood because of violent threats. The "Washington Post" also reports that FEMA wants additional police or National Guard support. The post further cites a city spokeswoman as saying police knew of no incidents or complaints of threats, but federal agents have arrested at least six people in recent weeks for threatening FEMA workers.

And later this hour we'll talk more about what's happening in the lower 9th ward with Gwen Filosa of the "Times-Picayune" newspaper there in New Orleans. She'll be talking to us about what residents there are facing.

And turning now to the war on terror. There's word from Pakistan that an explosion has killed a senior Al Qaeda commander. Pakistani officials say Abu Hamza Rabia was one of five people who died in the blast Wednesday in a house in a tribal area near the boarder with Afghanistan. Pakistan's information minister calls Rabia a big fish who was in charge of international operations with Al Qaeda. However neither the United States nor Pakistan has confirmed reports that Rabia may have been killed by a missile attack launched by a predator drone.

For more on the story we turn now to CNN's national security correspondent David Ensor. And David why would aren't the Pakistan government or the U.S., for that matter, want to publicly confirm this or otherwise? What exactly is at stake?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very high stakes for President Musharraf of Pakistan because his close alliance with the war on terror with the United States is not popular with too many Pakistanis. There's probably a majority in the country who are not happy about it.

So for him to publicly confirm that the CIA is able to fly unmanned drones over Pakistan and fire hellfire missiles into a building there with this man apparently was, to confirm that would create huge political problems. That said, I've been talking to former senior officials that follow this kind of thing closely. While they can't confirm that it's true. They say it has a ring of truth to them. They believe that most likely that is what happened. U.S. officials -- serving officials are saying nothing.

WHITFIELD: But David, the U.S. isn't necessarily necessary denying that drones are being used in this overall war against terrorism because wasn't there the use of a drone in an Afghanistan attack not long ago? ENSOR: That's right and there's a fairly famous case where a senior -- one of Osama bin Laden's bodyguards was killed in Yemen using one of these unmanned missiles. So, yes, they are one of the tools in the war on terrorism. The CIA believes in them for certain kinds of cases. You can be sure that if that's what happened in this case that had presidential approval, that strike, because that's -- there are a lot of politics involved.

They would want to check out collateral damage, would any innocents die in the attack and so on. It's a very serious decision to make. But the officials I'm talking to are saying this is number three in Al Qaeda and they are confirming his death is a very big deal in the view of American officials.

WHITFIELD: And what are American officials saying it means to the overall structure of Al Qaeda with him dead.

ENSOR: Well, you see, under Osama bin Laden and Ayman al- Zawahiri there's always been operation's chief who's number three. It was Khalid Shaikh Mohammed at the time of the 9/11 attacks. They finally caught him. He's now a prisoner of the CIA.

Then they caught his successor Faraj al-Libbi and it was this man, Abu Hamza Rabia, who apparently took over as operations chief, so he was the guy in charge of organization terrorism around the world including the United States. So he was really, in some ways, the most important target for U.S. intelligence.

WHITFIELD: All right, David Ensor thanks so much for that report out of Washington.

And now to Iraq. Less than two weeks before parliamentary elections and another major strike today by insurgents. They ambushed Iraqi troops in the Diyala Province, north of Baghdad, killing 11 soldiers. The attackers used roadside bombs and small arms. Ten Iraqi soldiers died initially in the fighting. Troops later found the body of a kidnapped 11th soldier.

Meanwhile, there's tighter security in Fallujah where a roadside bomb killed 10 U.S. Marines Thursday night, 11 other Marines suffered wounds. And the Arabic language television network Al Jazeera has aired video of four peace activists kidnapped in Iraq. A statement read on the network said an organization called "Swords of Justice" is holding an American, two Canadians, and a Brit. The kidnappers are reporting that the Iraqi government free all prisoners from its jails.

The family and friends of the four Christian peace activists kidnapped in Iraq are praying for their release. The American being held has the solid backing of his colleagues back home in Virginia. They're working around the clock to win his release. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): According to his colleagues, Tom Fox and his fellow hostages had no illusions about safety in Iraq.

VIRGINIA COLIN, FOX'S COLLEAGUE: They can be kidnapped. They can be tortured. They can be killed. They know that.

TODD: Virginia Collins has known Fox for more than 15 years. They're both members of the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers and both go to this meeting center in McLean, Virginia. Colin and a member of the humanitarian group to which Fox belongs, the Christian Peacemaker Teams confirm to CNN that Fox sent a correspondence to colleagues last year telling them if he was taken hostage they shouldn't pay ransom for his return, should reject the use of valance to win his freedom, should not vilify his captors, and instead should try to understand the motives of their actions.

(on camera): Why in the world would he believe that -- why would you believe that if you're dealing with people who would No. 1, kidnap him in the first place and No. 2, potentially be very violent?

COLIN: That's a -- it's core principle for most Quakers. There's something of god in everyone.

TODD (voice-over): An official with the Christian Peacemaker Teams tell us CNN that group is pursuing all diplomatic and nonviolent channels to win fox's release. The CPT official would not say if the group is working in any way with the U.S. government. CPT and the Quaker group partially financed Tom Fox's trip to Iraq and Colin says she still holds his same beliefs about nonviolence and understanding his captors, but if he's harmed.

(on camera): Will you forgive those people?

COLIN: It would be hard. God, that's weird. I don't even feel any malice towards them right now.

TODD: Virginia Colin says several members of the Quaker group here in McLean, Virginia, are concerned that Tom Fox's captors might misunderstand the reasons why he's in Iraq. They say he never went there to convert anyone to Christianity and say he was there only for humanitarian reasons.

Brian Todd, CNN, in McLean, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: In central Florida, a big problem for the Salvation Army. Someone is robbing their volunteers. We'll tell you what's being done to protect them now.

Also we'll be talking about convicted murder "Tookie" Williams and the life or death sentence decisions facing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And later, a doctor accused of molesting patients and he's still practicing medicine. The victims and the prosecutors are outraged.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Here in Atlanta and on center stage and in perpetual hot seat the man second from the right, laughing right now, but maybe not later during a town hall meeting. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin about to lead this town hall meeting for the some 12,000 New Orleans evacuees who are now in Georgia, all turning out to voice their concerns and perhaps pose a few questions to the mayor of their city. And of course, when he takes the podium we'll be taking that live for you here on CNN.

Time for storing making news across America this weekend. Ohio authorities will use dental records and DNA tests to identify a pair of bodies. The remains were found in a shallow grave off Interstate 80. Police believe the victims are two New Hampshire children. Their father admitted he killed and buried them in Ohio. He hanged himself before trial.

The man who whacked skater Nancy Kerrigan gone on the knee wants his record cleared, but a judge refuses to expunge the conviction. Shane Stant wants to become a Navy Seal, but the unit won't take anyone with a felony on his record. Stant served 14 months, his co- conspirator, skater Tania Harding, got probation.

And in Florida, Carly Marr White had been ringing his Salvation Army bell for eight very long hours so he wasn't about to let the thief make off with his red kettle. The 69-year-old bell ringer, chased the robber to his car and got $200 back. This was the fourth Salvation Army thief to strike bell ringers in the St. Petersburg area this week.

The Salvation Army is new securing kettles with chains and locks. Steve Dick is the Salvation Army representative who is now joining outside phone out of Tampa and, Steve, given the fact that this seems to be the trend this holiday season, what are you doing overall to help secure your kettles besides the chains and your volunteers?

STEVE DICK, SALVATION ARMY SPOKESMAN: Well, hopefully it's not a trend. We hope this...

WHITFIELD: Well, you've four incidents so far.

DICK: Well, the authorities believe it's the same individual and it just happens to be in the same location. So, hopefully the thief will be caught and we won't have to deal with that issue, but it's an unfortunate occurrence and something that happens from time to time, but it's not something that is normal and we've taken some precautions and encouraged our Salvation Army unit across the state to try to secure the kettles a little bit more securely using locks or perhaps locks or other devices that are available at hardware stores that are chained to make it more difficult for someone just to grab the kettle and run.

WHITFIELD: And I'm sure you as an organization are thinking how much more rock bottom can you get? You know, you're talking about an organization that helps people in great need and now you've got someone who is robbing your volunteers and taking of the generosity of people who are willing to give this holiday season. Does this in any way kind of change your campaign this holiday or even change the locations in which you are trying to get donations from people?

DICK: Well, I think, obviously, it is unfortunate and you know, if this person is desperate and needs help they can always come to the Salvation Army for help and we'd be more than willing to assist them with whatever needs they might have. But we've alerted our bell ringers to just be a little bit more observant.

There's no question based on talking to the authorities that the individual who attempted these steps -- thefts basically were staking out the locations and struck at times when he knew he could probably get off with the kettle. So we've alerted our workers to be more aware of their surroundings, look for people who perhaps would be hanging around.

But it is unfortunate that people would take advantage of this opportunity and, you know, the Salvation Army kettle has been around for over 400 years and is a symbol of the Christmas season ask it's an opportunity for people to give and know that they're giving to help the less fortunate and this is money that's that unfortunately will not get to those who need it the most.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, Steve Dick thanks so much for the Salvation Army for joining us and hopefully this does not dampened the season of giving in your efforts there in central Florida. Thanks so much.

DICK: Well, thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, timing (sic) is running out for former gang leader and convicted killer "Tookie" Williams. As California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger considers his clemency petition, we'll take a look at the political stakes in this life or death debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Death penalty opponent it is plan a rally in Los Angeles today for death row inmate Stanley "Tookie" Williams. The Crips gang founder faces execution by lethal injection 10 days from now unless Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger grants him clemency. Williams says he should get a reprieve because of his anti-gang work while in prison.

New Orleans opened the lower 9th ward to residents this week, but three months after the storm, survivors can only stay in the area during daylight hours. The reality, about all residents are able to do is scour the muck for sentimental treasures. Gwen Filosa is a reporter for a New Orleans "Times-Picayune" newspaper. She has covered the city for five years now, since Katrina she's focused primarily on the lower 9th ward.

Good to see you.

GWEN FILOSA, NEW ORLEANS "TIMES-PICAYUNE": Hello.

WHITFIELD: All right, well this week a lot of residents got a chance to move back if they wanted to or at least come back instead of just on a board and looking at the remnants of their community. It's understandable why so many are so angry, so sad, because in your article many are expressing not one thing has been done and it almost seems as though it is frozen in time. What's been your observation?

FILOSA: It's correct. In a word that area looks like a catastrophe. It's -- everything is gone and there's no plan of how, when, people can come back. Everything is going to depend on Congress when it comes to rebuilding New Orleans. Particularly lower 9th ward.

WHITFIELD: So why is it, in your view, after all this time, power lines have not been removed, debris, no one has touched it. What's happening? What's the psychology of what the residents feel the reasoning is as to why lower 9th ward is not being addressed?

FILOSA: People I've talked to -- residents are beginning to get frustrated. They feel like they've been forgotten. The city officials, though, say it's just such a mess. It's such a wreck that they only opened it Thursday after three months after the storms saying it was so dangerous and it is quite dangerous to walk around there. It's right where the levee broke.

WHITFIELD: And you're talking about dangerous because of the debris? And twisted metal and wood and all that? That kind of danger you're talking about?

FILOSA: Oh yes. It does -- one resident told me he felt like he was in a war zone and it's awful. Driving around is very precarious. I mean, you have to be careful.

WHITFIELD: So when we hear reportedly through the "Washington Post" that FEMA workers have been pulled out of the lower 9th ward because they speak of the dangers being violent threats coming from the residents there, does that seem inconceivable to you?

FILOSA: I heard a report yesterday about that. I don't know how much to make of it. I haven't -- I don't know what evidence that there's violence. I mean it's seems a little...

WHITFIELD: You haven't heard any residents talk about feeling angry to threaten FEMA workers?

FILOSA: I haven't -- not firsthand and I think that's -- I mean, people are frustrated and angry, but people are also levelheaded. They're not -- people have been living in New Orleans for a long time. They're used to not having their needs met by government. So, I don't know, I'd have to se more evidence to believe the threat of gun violence on a FEMA worker, but...

WHITFIELD: So, has it been your observation there that some neighborhoods are moving along a bit quicker than others, that other neighborhoods that were damaged perhaps not to the extent of the lower 9th ward are at least getting something sort of attention at the lower 9th ward is not?

FILOSA: You can't really compare it because the lower 9th ward, this part by the canal where the levees broke, the breach. It's just so terrible. It's hard to compare. I mean, right where we are right now we're close to uptown New Orleans where everything's, you know, insanely normal compared to the fallout zone of the lower 9th ward, but the damage is so extent, it's just a catastrophe that it's not hard to understand why nothing's been done, but...

WHITFIELD: And then all of that being compounded by the fact that so many people there did not have insurance? You write about a man by the name of Willmet Washington and he thought for a moment he was covered and he thought he made the payments to get flood insurance, home insurance, fire all of that and then come to find out nothing. His story is repeated many times over. So what is he and other residents in the same situation to do?

FILOSA: Sure, I think was actually Nathan Washington, his brother, but you're correct.

WHITFIELD: OK.

FILOSA: I mean, most of the red dents in the lower 9th ward didn't have flood insurance, they weren't legally required to. But a lot of people own those homes outright and they don't have insurance and the damage is beyond FEMA, again everything depends on Congress. The area flooded because the levees broke, the floodwall broke. They were supposed to hold. So people are really going have to see what Congress is going do to -- before they can even think about rebuilding. It's beyond insurance.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And it's really beyond understanding for so many people whether you are living in it or whether you're from the outside looking in. Gwen Filosa of the "New Orleans Times-Picayune," thanks so much.

FILOSA: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: And there's another way of looking at the hurricane relief effort, through the lenses of another network portraying relief efforts going splendidly well and folks singing praises of the federal response. Here's CNN's Tom Foreman on your tax dollars at work on the Recovery Channel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Far from the cleanup, the debris and the angry public meetings.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need some answers.

FOREMAN: Seventy miles from Washington in the Maryland countryside, it's show time for FEMA.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In times of crisis, the best help is often just a source of reliable information.

FOREMAN: This is the Recovery Channel, produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and airing around the clock via satellite and the Internet. DIANNA GEE, RECOVERY CHANNEL ANCHOR: It could be the best day and the worst day. The day you finally get to go back to your storm- damaged home.

FOREMAN: FEMA conceived the channel years ago to spread important information after disasters. Following Katrina, it was on in shelters, a plain display about rebuilding, financial aid, help and more. But now, with FEMA accusing the mainstream media of failing to provide enough of that info, the Recovery Channel has undergone a makeover.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay with us. Together, we can build a bright future.

FOREMAN: And at the Annenberg School of Communication, Professor Joe Turow says it's turned into propaganda.

JOE TUROW, ANNENBERG SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION: Most of the information was really not the specific kind of factual information one might think, but rather feature and fluff pieces that seemed designed to aggrandize FEMA, and actually the Bush administration, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to thank FEMA for all they've done for us.

FOREMAN: Certainly, the channel conveys no public frustration with FEMA. When the channel was airing this ...

JAMILAH FRASER, RECOVERY CHANNEL ANCHOR: The massive effort to clean up Louisiana is still topping our coverage. And to speed up this process, our commander in chief steps in with some additional assistance.

FOREMAN: CNN was airing this ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's wrong with you, Uncle Sam? You drunk? Huh? What you doing with our tax money? Come on, you need to go to rehab, brother.

FOREMAN: Consider this "Focus On Education" report.

FRASER: But one New Orleans school refused to let the doors of education close on them. They just rolled in the wheels of knowledge.

FOREMAN: This segment, this week was about FEMA bringing trailers to a school where a tree destroyed several classrooms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And all of us without FEMA would not be able to be standing here today.

FOREMAN: But this school is not in New Orleans. It's two hours north and there was no information about more than 100 devastated schools actually in the city, where by the way, almost 8,000 school employees have just been told they've officially lost their jobs.

FRASER: Good information for good decisions.

FOREMAN: Another concern. The FEMA logo appears often, but much of the language on the channel suggests it is independent of the very government agency that is running it.

FRASER: Today our lead story is FEMA's top priority: housing. A two-week extension for those evacuees in hotels, that's what FEMA is saying today.

FOREMAN: Critics on Capitol Hill have repeatedly suggested the administration is misusing public funds for domestic propaganda. Senator Frank Lautenberg is one of them and he watched the channel at our request.

SEN. FRANK LAUTENBERG (D), NEW JERSEY: The way this is being done, it's a fakery. And it shouldn't -- it should be identified as a government product.

FOREMAN: When we contacted FEMA, a spokesperson defended the channel, but after reviewing the questions CNN raised, sent this statement: "The agency," it says, "is taking immediate measures to ensure that all programming is unmistakably labeled as an official FEMA resource and it's eliminating any editorial content."

Even as FEMA continues trying to help, millions recover on and off TV.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And a live look now of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin far from home, but not from the heat. He's now addressing a number of evacuees who have found temporary housing in Georgia, addressing them and their concerns. Soon he'll also be taking some questions from folks there and, of course, when that happens we are continuing to monitor it all and we'll be bringing it to you as we can.

Up next, a California osteopathic doctor who more than once has faced allegations of molesting his patients, and he's still practicing medicine. CNN investigates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So, your doctor gives you a check-up, maybe you should examine your doctor's record as well. Last year the state medical boards disciplined 5,000 doctors across the United States. A California case shows why you should be curious. CNN's Ted Rowlands has the disturbing story. Parents, it's one you may not want your young children to see.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In February of 2000, Yvette Chambers (ph) went to see Dr. Laurence Reich for a gynecological exam at a clinic near Los Angeles. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Immediately, there was something wrong.

ROWLANDS: Chambers said she was in the exam room with her feet in the stirrups, Reich the only other person in the room.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are naked from your waist down, and your legs are spread. And you feel extremely vulnerable.

ROWLANDS: Chambers says she became concerned with the way he was touching her and the things he was talking about, including her sex life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was questioning myself as to why I felt so uncomfortable, because it's a doctor. He's a doctor.

ROWLANDS: After the exam, Chambers says Reich watched her get dressed and then asked her out.

(on camera): He offered to take you to lunch?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Offered to take me to lunch.

ROWLANDS (voice-over): Chambers saved a piece of paper with personal phone numbers, which she says Reich gave her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At that point, I realized, eww. Eww. I have just been molested. I have just been violated.

ROWLANDS: Five months before Chambers saw Reich, this woman, who doesn't want us to use her name, says she had a very similar experience when she went to get a prescription for birth control.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are in a precarious situation, with your feet in stirrups, and this doctor examining you. You are pretty vulnerable right there. And, so, when you are feeling like something is not right, and you are in that position, you -- there's really no option for you to escape at that point.

ROWLANDS: This woman, like Chambers, says Reich made her feel uncomfortable while touching her. Then, she says, he asked questions about her sex life and, eventually, for her home telephone number.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just knew, in my gut, that something was wrong. I was scared.

ROWLANDS: Both women filed complaints and found out they were not alone. In documents on file with the California Osteopathic Medical Board, Reich is accused of outrageous behavior by a number of women, dating back to the late 1970s.

One woman says that Reich was touching her genitals during an exam and asked her if it, quote, "felt good" and then kissed her. Another claims Reich was sexually excited during an exam and told her she needed to, quote, "lubricate herself" through self stimulation, so that he could properly diagnose an infection. Another woman says Reich asked her to, quote, "manipulate" herself in front of him. And, then, after the exam, she says Reich asked her to demonstrate an oral sex technique on his thumb.

In 1982, Laurence Reich had his license suspend for 180 days. When he resumed practice, part of Reich's punishment was that, for 10 years, another person had to be in the exam room while he worked. In August of 2002, because of the new allegations and his history, Reich was arrested for sexual misconduct.

MAUREEN GREEN, DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It had factual challenges. It had legal challenges, but I certainly would have tried the case.

ROWLANDS: Maureen Green was the prosecutor on the case. She says her goal was to get Reich to stop practicing. So, she agreed to a deal. The doctor would plead no contest and avoid a possible prison sentence. She thought that would speed up the process of pulling his license.

GREEN: Why should someone like that continue to practice?

ROWLANDS (on camera): But, three years later, the Osteopathic Medical Board has done nothing about Dr. Reich's license. He's still practicing medicine. He's also the medical director at a clinic in this Beverly Hills building.

(voice-over): We found Reich by calling one of those numbers given to Chambers. When we went to see him, he appeared to be at his office, but his staff claimed he wasn't there.

Dozens of phone calls to Reich and his lawyer have not been returned. So why, three years after he pleaded no contest, has nothing been done?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's bring the...

ROWLANDS: It's up to the state Osteopathic Medical Board to suspend or pull a license. The board was in public session yesterday in Sacramento. After the meeting, we asked them about the Reich case.

DR. TRACEY NORTON, MEMBER, OSTEOPATHIC MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA: I don't think I can comment on it, because it is still in process.

ROWLANDS (on camera): Any feelings about him still practicing three years after the criminal case?

DR. MICHAEL FEINSTEIN, PRESIDENT, OSTEOPATHIC MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA: I -- I have no opinion on that, because, if I did, I couldn't judge the case later on.

ROWLANDS (voice-over): For three years, Reich's lawyer has been trying to negotiate a settlement with the board. According to a source close to the case, two deals have been brought to the board, but were both rejected because, the board thought, they were too lenient.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the system is absolutely broken.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they would have acted immediately on my complaint in February, that -- what happened to Yvette and probably a number of other women in between there would not have happened.

ROWLANDS: The board, which regulates osteopathic doctors, not medical doctors, could pull Reich's license without negotiating. But it hasn't.

(on camera): Would you want your daughter to see this doctor during this process?

LINDA BERGMANN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OSTEOPATHIC MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA: I can't comment on that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The state board needs to be completely revamped. And this kind of thing should never happen again.

GREEN: I understand the victims' frustration. I'm concerned. He's treating patients. I'm concerned.

ROWLANDS (voice-over): Reich is free to treat patients until a decision is made by the board. A hearing on his case is not scheduled until February.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you can review your doctor's professional records through your state's medical board or for $9.95, the Federation of State Medical Boards will run a check for you through their Web site and that location is do docinfo.org.

CNN Saturday continues right after this.

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WHITFIELD: You're looking at live pictures right now of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin who is in Atlanta addressing thousands of evacuees who are now living in temporary housing in Georgia.

Right now the focus of his conversation to the audience is what happened just prior to Katrina and post-Katrina, but likely when you hear some of the questions and comments that will be coming from the audience members, they're likely to want to hear about what is going happen from here and when that does take place we'll be bringing that to you live here on CNN.

Well, some news now from Hollywood. There's been a lot of tongue wagging over the apparent romance between actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Well, now there's more fuel being added to the fire. Reports from Los Angeles say Pitt has filed legal papers to adopt Jolie's two children. Pitt's divorce from Jennifer Aniston became final just in October. He and Jolie met last year on the set of their film "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." And that was stormy and now we'll talk about some other kinds of storms because that's a tough, tough story to follow, isn't it, Bonnie?

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WHITFIELD: Well, many Catholics in California say it's a miracle and they're flocking to the statue of the Virgin Mary. Perhaps you can see why. We'll find out more about the weeping statue when CNN LIVE SATURDAY returns.

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WHITFIELD: A mysterious phenomenon in Sacramento, California is drawing crowds of people to a small Catholic church. The faithful say a statue of the Virgin Mary is shedding tears. Skeptics, as you might expect, aren't so sure. Here's Rusty Dornin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): There are the curious ones, but mostly, they are the faithful. Answers are not necessarily what these pilgrims seek. Sometimes it's enough just to see for themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I kind of think it's a miracle. And I told my class about it a little bit, and I think it's just fascinating.

DORNIN: The statue of the Virgin Mary at the Vietnamese Catholic Martyrs Church in Sacramento, California. At first glance you see only her cool white face. But a closer look at the left side reveals what resembled tears and some believe it's tears of blood.

They first appeared in early November, but were wiped away by the parish priest. Then parishioners here say they reappeared before mass on Sunday, November 20th.

Since then, hundreds have made the pilgrimage, even in the pouring rain, adding certainty for some.

We had a big rain and the tears are still there. And I thought, oh, that's interesting. Once again, it just gives us hope and faith. Who knows if it's a miracle.

DORNIN: A miracle or just some odd event or prank. Miracles do happen, says Father James Murphy. But in this case, the church is not planning to check.

(on-camera): The church is not going to investigate this?

FATHER JAMES MURPHY, SACRAMENTO ARCHDIOCESE: No.

DORNIN: Why?

MURPHY: Because the vast majority of them end up having eventually a natural explanation emerges and then it just wanes.

DORNIN: But wouldn't it be better to quickly decide that rather than to let people go on believing?

MURPHY: No, the church thinks a century is not tomorrow's news and the position always has been wait and see what happens.

DORNIN (voice over): But some Catholics question that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It happens so often as far as I know that they don't even bother investigating it anymore. But I believe they should. It pays to see whether it's a hoax or not.

DORNIN: People watch and wait and for some, there is the hope the miracle they've been waiting for has arrived.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Sacramento, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Meantime in Atlanta here, New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin is addressing a town hall meeting crowd there of evacuees from New Orleans who are now living in temporary housing here in Georgia.

Right now he is addressing how the red tape issues of housing, of employment as well as rebuilding efforts are hampering his vision for rebuilding the city and, of course, as he continues to talk to the crowd there, and then when the members of the crowd get a chance to ask questions we continue to monitor them to bring them to you here on CNN.

"IN THE MONEY" is next, here's a preview.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, coming up on "IN THE MONEY," you can bus your own dishes, thank you. Just imagine what life in America must be like without all those illegal immigrants, 11 million of them.

Plus, jumpstarting Detroit. Find out what it would take to get America's car industry back on track, or if it's even possible.

And the crazy person in the corner office, we all know who that is. See what happens when certain CEO's take the competitive urge a little too far. All that and more coming right up after a quick check of the headlines.

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