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CNN Live Saturday
FEMA Taking Heat for Failing to Provide Trailers to People Hard Hit by Katrina; Sudan Crisis; A Hazardous Materials Team Inspects a University of Texas Dorm for Ricin
Aired February 25, 2006 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Lavandera in Austin, Texas.
Hazardous material teams are outside this dormitory on the University of Texas campus. They're trying to figure out if a student here has come in contact the with deadly poison ricin.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now, Bourbon Street is full of beads and booze. But does that add up to the recovery that New Orleans really needs?
I'm Chris Lawrence live on Bourbon Street with the answer.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And could terrorists threaten the oil supply? The refinery attack in Saudi Arabia raises big questions. It's one of the stories we're working on today.
Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center.
Here's more on what's happening also in the news.
Was it a bioterror attack or something else?
A preliminary test shows the poison ricin was found at the University of Texas. But now there are new test results. We are going to give you the latest on the investigation straight ahead in a live report from Austin.
In the meantime, Mardi Gras is rolling on. But bad weather pushes back one of the biggest celebrations. You're going to give live to The Big Easy and Biloxi straight ahead.
And bombs and bullets are flying despite a curfew in Iraq. Dozens died in attacks today, including 11 members of one family. One sign of progress, though -- top Iraqi leaders are working to diffuse tensions that are threatening to plunge the country into civil war.
Nabbed in Britain -- police arrest two men today in connection with Wednesday's big cash heist. The robbers may have taken as much as $87 million. Now, if true, it would make it the biggest cash robbery in British history.
To our top story now and a dose of the size of a head of a pin -- if you can imagine that -- a dose of this stuff can kill an adult. So when an initial test showed the presence of ricin at a University of Texas dorm, it raised all sorts of alarms.
But more tests are showing different results now.
So CNN's Ed Lavandera is standing by live in Austin -- Ed, so was it the dangerous stuff?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, officials here on the ground in Austin -- and you can see them working behind me. We're just outside of the dormitory here on the University of Texas campus where hazardous material teams have been going inside the dorm here throughout the day working. I'll get more to what they're doing inside here shortly.
But they just told us a short while ago that they have, at this point, reason to believe that they are not dealing with the deadly poison ricin. They say that three of the -- there have been three preliminary tests done here so far and that only one of those has come back as a positive test. The other two came back negatives, meaning that it was not ricin.
But, however, this did cause quite a stir here last night on the campus at the University of Texas. This dormitory, 390 students inside, was evacuated. They are being allowed back inside now, but these HAZMAT teams are working in the laundry room, where Thursday afternoon a student was doing her laundry and unwrapped a roll of quarters and found this white-brownish powder which officials here say amounted to about half of a Sweet 'N Low package,' if you will.
Those tests have been done over the last 24 hours or so. We understand that the final tests will be done at Fort Dietrich in Maryland. The samples are on their -- on its way there, as well.
But officials here on the ground in Austin say they have reason to believe that this will not turn out to be a serious problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COMMANDER MIKE ELLIOTT, AUSTIN-TRAVIS COUNTY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE: We had one, you know, presumptive test that came back positive out of three. And so the likelihood of it actually being ricin in this situation is extremely unlikely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: The other thing that is giving officials here on the ground in Austin reason to be hopeful is that the two students they believe would have been the most likely to be exposed to this have not shown any symptoms of being exposed to ricin. And they say that in the 48 hours since this has happened, that they definitely would have shown those symptoms by now.
So they have reason to believe that since those students are doing fine, that everything here will work itself out -- Carol.
LIN: That is reassuring.
Ed, thank you.
So what's really going on here?
Now, the University of Texas says it has taken every precaution to make sure students are safe and healthy.
Communications Director Rhonda Weldon joining me now from Austin.
Rhonda, thanks for being with us.
So what's happening right now with the students?
Ed mentioned that some of the students are now being moved back into the dorm.
RHONDA WELDON, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: That's correct.
It's my understanding that right now they're collecting some remaining evidence. They're basically getting coins out of the laundry machines in that laundry room.
LIN: And are those being tested, as well?
WELDON: It's -- I can't really answer that. I believe so. I don't think they would collect evidence without also testing it.
LIN: And what have you done to notify parents or reassure them?
WELDON: We have a Web site where we post information and participating in media interviews like this we hope to calm the fears or our parents...
LIN: Rhonda -- thank you very much.
I'm sorry to interrupt.
Go ahead.
WELDON: We have taken every precaution to assure our students' health and safety on campus.
LIN: Rhonda, what are the chances that this was a hoax?
WELDON: I don't believe this is a hoax. I don't know exactly what it is. But we haven't had any threat associated with it. There's really no information. It's really perplexing.
LIN: Can you tell us more about the student who actually found the powdery stuff in these coins?
WELDON: What I was told was that the student was given these coins by her parents. They were rolled. She had been taking rolls of coins out to do her laundry throughout this spring semester and it just happened when she broke this roll open, this chunky white powdery substance fell out.
LIN: And did agents say what else it could be, what else would mimic that kind of white powdery stuff and why would it be in the coins?
WELDON: No, I do not have any information like that.
LIN: All right, Rhonda Weldon, thank you very much.
WELDON: You're welcome.
LIN: Now ricin can be incredibly harmful if it enters the human body. The powder is extracted from castor beans. It's poisonous if inhaled, ingested or injected, and there is no known antidote.
And here are some of the symptoms of exposure. If inhaled, ricin would cause chest tightness and difficulty in breathing, and fever, cough and nausea. Heavy sweating might follow, also, and fluid could build up in the lungs, leading to low blood pressure and respiratory failure.
Now, if swallowed, ricin could cause vomiting, bloody diarrhea, dehydration and low blood pressure.
But the toxicologist says that there is a way to be exposed and not get sick.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GELLER, EMORY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Ricin doesn't cross the skin. So if it just got on skin, didn't become airborne and wasn't injected into a person, there's no risk. It's zero.
The problem is does it become airborne or did they somehow get some into their body other ways?
The worse scenario, obviously, is having it injected into you somehow. But in a story like this, where it's only on the skin, that's generally thought to be a good news story.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Good news. Good news, indeed, that none of the students are showing any kind of ricin exposure symptoms right now.
CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security, so stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night.
Now to the slimmed down Mardi Gras, you might say, those festivities in New Orleans today.
Not everyone is happy with the celebrations, saying the money could be better spent on recovery efforts. For now, at least, though, part of the battered city is bedecked in bright cleared beads. But weather is adding a hitch to parade plans today. Chris Lawrence is there right now -- Chris, at last, we heard it was raining.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's been off and on all day, Carol.
You know, we get a downpour, literally, for about 15, 20 minutes, a half an hour, then it clears up again. We're, luckily, we're in a clear part right now.
Two parades, at least, today have already been canceled. They've been postponed until tomorrow. So the rain is definitely changing plans a little bit.
But, you know, a lot of energy still on Mardi -- on Bourbon Street right now. But we wanted to find out if that really translated to an overall economic boom for the city as a whole.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice-over): There's still good times on Bourbon Street, but walk one block over. Stores are empty.
MARIA NELSON: It's real bad. Every business is suffering.
LAWRENCE: Maria Nelson (ph) says sales have dropped 70 percent. Her gallery depends on older tourists who appreciate artwork.
NELSON: And we're not getting that at all. We're getting the younger generation.
LAWRENCE: Visitors could be confused by the different signals this city is sending -- open and closed; hopeful; still hurting.
HAROLD PINKLEY, VISITOR: Downtown where I was, you know, it's -- superficially, it looks OK, but you can tell there's just not a lot of people down there.
STEVE PERRY, CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU: Well, New Orleans right now is a tale of two cities.
LAWRENCE: Steve Perry runs the Convention and Visitors Bureau. He says the tourist industry is New Orleans' largest employer and generates one third of the city's operating budget. Perry says New Orleans has reopened 28,000 hotel rooms.
PERRY: We're almost sold out for Mardi Gras, which is great. We've got over 1,000 restaurants open and almost 30,000 people back to work.
LAWRENCE: But take a closer look. That number of rooms is still 10,000 fewer than normal. It's sold out because some big hotels are still shut down, the Ritz Carlton and Fairmont, just to name two. A lot of restaurants are still boarded up. And for every person back to work, there are two jobs that haven't been filled.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After Katrina, everything changed. It won't be the same ever again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: Yes, maybe not. But, you know, it's not all bad news. You know, this scene right now here on Bourbon Street was almost unimaginable just six months ago in the days after Katrina hit. It would have been hard to imagine them having any kind of celebration, even a smaller one.
And some of those businesses that are still closed do hope to reopen by the end of the year -- Carol.
LIN: Chris, where is everybody staying out there?
Are hotels open and enough space?
LAWRENCE: Well, you've got -- you know, not all the hotels are open. You've got people, you know, coming in from out of town. This scene right here on Bourbon Street is mostly tourists. Most of the folks who live here -- we were at the airport the other day -- a lot of them get out of town for Mardi Gras. The ones that stay more patronize the parades, are, coming out to see friends that they perhaps haven't seen in a long time. That's more the draw for the residents who live here, more so than Bourbon Street, which tends to bring in more of the tourists.
LIN: Chris, thank you very much.
We'll see you later.
LAWRENCE: Yes.
LIN: Now, our Kathleen Koch is live in neighboring Biloxi, Mississippi, where there are more Mardi Gras celebrations today.
I didn't think of Biloxi as a Mardi Gras location -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There was Mardi Gras.
But, Carol, where we are now is in a part of town where there hasn't been much Mardi Gras lately. This is The Point. It's a working class neighborhood in Biloxi, Mississippi.
And I'm inside what's left of someone's home.
And here so many homes look just like this some six months after the hurricane.
There has been some improvement. There have been repairs made to some of the homes. But where those repairs have occurred, it's been because of volunteers. Those volunteers, though, need supplies. They need drywall, nails, hammer, paint to make those repairs and fix the homes.
And people like Lucy Williams, who lived in this home for some 12 years with her husband, have lost everything. And, Lucy, how frustrating is it to see your home this way now?
LUCY WILLIAMS, BILOXI RESIDENT: It's real hurtful because I'm in a lot of pain from my house. It's destroyed and we'll need some help.
KOCH: Lucy, you told me you've been appealing for help.
Who have you talked to and why isn't help coming?
WILLIAMS: I don't know. I went everywhere to find out for help, everywhere, you know? I even -- I went through the FEMA process and they -- they just only gave me $5,000 for the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of my house. And I've been signing up everywhere for help.
KOCH: Listen, when you look around, I know it's got to be difficult. You described to me a lovely home. This was a home where your neighbors would come, they would admire it. You would give them decorating advice.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
KOCH: You know, it was very special.
WILLIAMS: Yes. It was. I had it fixed up really nice and it was paid for. And my car was paid for. Everything was paid for and I was comfortable.
KOCH: Now, the casinos are going up. They're rebuilding. People are gambling blocks from here.
Is that frustrating, to see that going on while you're sitting here with a shell of a home?
WILLIAMS: It's very hurtful and painful because, you know, there ain't no concern and they're gambling and stuff, and it's just like they forgot all about us.
KOCH: Now, the mayor has said well, the casinos, they do bring in jobs. They bring in tax dollars the city needs.
WILLIAMS: Yes, they do but we still need help here, you know? Even though that they, you know, employ peoples and stuff, but how about the people that don't work for the casino? How about the people that really need help?
KOCH: Some of your neighbors told me they feel like they've been forgotten.
How do you feel?
WILLIAMS: The same. I feel like we've been forgotten here. They're not thinking about us at all.
KOCH: What are you going to do?
You told me some people have said this home should be destroyed, it should be torn down.
WILLIAMS: Yes. Yes. They said my house should be torn down, but I can't tear it down because this is all I have. If it be torn down, you know, who's going to help me to rebuild it? I'm not going to tear it down. I'm just -- I'm just going to leave it like this, I mean, until someone comes in to help me.
KOCH: Thank you, Lucy, for sharing your story with us.
And Lucy, though, had told me earlier she still feels very blessed because she came through the hurricane with her life. Her husband and her family is OK. And she is just hoping that someone will hear her plea and come help her rebuild -- Carol.
LIN: But, Kathleen, when the situation is so serious, why did Biloxi go ahead with a celebration, a Mardi Gras celebration?
KOCH: Well, the one Mardi Gras parade that Biloxi had today was the Children's Parade. And it was a very sweet, family oriented sort of celebration -- little elementary school children in costumes in wagons throwing beads. And everyone having a wonderful time and just -- they really say that this is so important to them that they have been digging out of the rubble, repairing their homes. And the children in particular don't understand what's happening to them...
LIN: Right.
KOCH: ... and why their lives have changed. And they really needed a reason to smile.
So that's why this went on.
LIN: Oh, sweet, sweet pictures, Kathleen. You're right. And, obviously, that's not a parade that costs a lot. A lot of those homemade floats and kids with beads.
KOCH: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
LIN: Yes.
All right, thank you very much, Kathleen.
A great interview, too.
KOCH: You bet.
LIN: We wish that woman well.
Now, as New Orleans marks this first Mardi Gras since Hurricane Katrina, CNN wants to have a front row seat for u.
So beginning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Monday, CNN's AMERICAN MORNING is going to be live in New Orleans.
And "ANDERSON COOPER 360" is going to be live there for prime time. Both shows will be live from New Orleans until the final float rolls through on Fat Tuesday.
Well, it has been months, six months, since Katrina hit.
So why are some Mississippi residents still living in this makeshift tent community? Are some evacuees creating their own roadblocks to better accommodations?
Also, could America's love affair with the road be this country's Achilles' heel in the war on terror?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER BEUTEL, OIL ANALYST: Terrorists have declared open season on oil facilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: How recent attacks in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia could affect your financial bottom line.
And, up next, the unrest in Iraq. What government officials are doing to try to stop the upswing in sectarian attacks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Indeed, these are violent times in Iraq. But there has been some political progress made in that country today after the surge of violence in the last couple of weeks.
What's happening right now is that Shiite and Sunni leaders are coming together and they are calling for an end to the violence. They are calling for an end to attacks on both sides' mosques. That is progress.
And yet the violence is continuing, even through an extraordinary curfew that's going to run through Monday.
There were sectarian clashes which escalated after the bombing of the Shiite shrine this week and dozens of people have been killed since just yesterday.
Our Aneesh Raman has the very latest from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An extraordinary 34-hour curfew set to begin late Saturday through Monday morning in the Iraqi capital. All vehicles banned from the streets. That announcement coming at the press conference earlier today from the Ministries of Defense and Interior.
At that press conference, as well, the minister of defense said that the Ministry of Defense is ready to deploy tanks if needed, given the situation at hand; also saying that if civil war broke out in Iraq, it would be impossible to stop.
Meantime, despite a present daytime curfew that was in place today, the violence throughout the country does persist. In Baghdad, a funeral procession for the slain journalist, Atwar Bahjat, killed in Samarra after the attack on the mosque Wednesday morning. The procession came under attack as they were leaving the burial site. Gunmen opened fire on Iraqi police, who were escorting the procession. At least two police officers were killed. Some five others were wounded.
In the city of Karbala today, the insurgency making its presence known. A car bomb detonating remotely, killing at least five, wounding some 31 others.
And in Ba'qubah, a snapshot of the sectarian strife that has engulfed this country. Eleven members of a Shia family gunned down after armed men stormed into their house.
Aneesh Rahman, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LIN: When we talk about the two groups who are attacking one another, the Shia and the Sunnis, it's best to explain who they are.
Who are these groups and what makes them so different and so at odds?
CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs, Octavia Nasr, has our Fact Check.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SENIOR EDITOR FOR ARAB AFFAIRS (voice over): About one in every five people on the planet consider themselves Muslim. That's about 1.2 billion. But there are many divisions in the Muslim community, the largest being between Shiites and Sunnis.
The majority of the world's Muslim population follows the Sunni branch. Only about 15 percent follow the Shiite branch. But in some countries, the concentration of Shiites is larger. These nations are Bahrain, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Iran and Iraq.
Shiites historically believe that religious authority has been handed down from Prophet Mohammed through bloodlines.
When you hear the terms imam and ayatollah, these refer to Shiite religious leaders. Sunnis attach much less importance to their leaders and much more importance on Muslim traditions.
There can be extremists in both branches of Islam. But Sunni extremists like Osama bin Laden have focused predominantly on the corruption of the religion and, specifically, the negative influence of Western culture.
In Iraq, both Shiite and Sunni insurgent groups have carried out attacks against coalition forces, but most Shiite groups have dropped violent opposition to pursue political activism.
As the majority, Shiites have been successful in dominating the leadership of Iraq's new government. Needless to say, many Sunni insurgent groups have not been satisfied by the results of these democratic elections.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: All right, take a look at these pictures. These are protesters who are demonstrating outside the funeral of a fallen American soldier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every dead soldier coming home is a punishment from government Lord, your God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: This is just crazy. We are going to explain what's behind their message and why this woman is fighting to stop them.
And is the world's oil supplies becoming the newest front line in the war on terror?
Up next, what recent attacks in the Middle East and Africa could mean to the prices at the pump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Oil under siege -- in Saudi Arabia militants attack a vital processing plant. In Nigeria, activists kidnap oil workers and sabotage facilities.
Is this evidence of a growing link between oil and terror?
CNN's Allessio Vinci reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A one-two punch for oil prices. Crude oil in New York posted its biggest jump in a month, more than $2, to nearly $63 a barrel. Grabbing headlines, a failed suicide attack on Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq processing center. It handles two thirds of all Saudi output, making it perhaps the most important oil facility in the world.
BEUTEL: What is alarming about this is that it seems to be part of a pattern that we're seeing worldwide where terrorists have declared open season on oil facilities.
VELSHI: Another example, right now not as big, but potentially even beginner -- Nigerian militants released photographs of hostages they're holding. A self-proclaimed anti-government movement has been targeting Western oil interests in that country, attacking production facilities and killing workers. Some workers have abandoned their stations and a fifth of all Nigerian oil production has already been knocked out.
Why does that matter?
Here's why.
Oil is in tight supply worldwide. Even small disruptions can trigger a shortage. Saudi Arabia has the largest supply of proven crude oil reserves in the world and it's America's third largest supplier, behind Canada and Mexico. Nigeria is the fifth largest supplier to the U.S.
BEUTEL: Today, more than anything tells us that petro-terrorism is now a new factor, both in the market and the world. They may -- I think the terrorists may have decided it's easier to attack our lifeblood than it is to attack our homes.
VELSHI: Ali Velshi, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LIN: Coming up, the U.N. calls it the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Will anyone save Darfur?
And when we come back, life in the village. CNN's Randi Kaye visits some of the homeless from Hurricane Katrina.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Cloudy skies today for Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Friendlier weather, though, is forecast as the celebration nears its climax. New Orleans is banking on Mardi Gras to jumpstart its spirits and its economy, both battered by Hurricane Katrina.
The FBI is investigating whether a potentially deadly toxin turned up at the University of Texas. One of three preliminary tests found the substance to be ricin. Two students are being treated, but neither has shown symptoms of poisoning.
Curfews in parts of Iraq again today amid fevered efforts to contain the surge of violence that exploded this week. Iraq's feuding political leaders held a dramatic unity meeting and President Bush worked the phones to demonstrate U.S. support. Still, reports from around the country say renewed killing has claimed dozens of lives.
Two more arrests of men possibly linked to the massive money heist in England. Police aren't releasing details, but three people were apprehended Thursday and all have been released on bond. The stolen money could total up to $87 billion, some of which has been recovered.
And Apolo Anton Ohno won a gold medal today in Torino. The American speed skater led the entire race in the 500-meter short track. It is the fourth Olympic medal of Ohno's very brief career.
Hurricane-ravaged New Orleans enjoying a break today from the grim task of rebuilding. At least some of the residents were. Several Mardi Gras parades were held in the city. Supporters say they are needed and a welcome break from what has been a heart-wrenching six months.
With thunderstorms threatening New Orleans, at least two of today's parades have been rescheduled for tomorrow. Some residents are not happy with Mardi Gras taking place at all this year. They say the money could be better spent rebuilding the city. But parade-goers disagree. One New Orleans' resident explains the city's resiliency this way...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, some people in the rest of the country don't quite understand this, why are we here today inspite of what's happened? Because we have to go on. We have to. It's human spirit. It's the human spirit to celebrate life. You know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When someone dies, you go out and you party. You know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: So what does the rest of the country feel? Well, a CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll asked Americans how New Orleans should handle the annual celebration. Thirty-three percent say that it should go on just like in the past; 39 percent say the city should scale back the festivities; and 22 percent say the city should have canceled the whole thing.
Now, can join CNN Monday for "AMERICAN MORNING'S" live Mardi Gras coverage starting at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.
Also, "ANDERSON COOPER 360" takes us inside Fat Tuesday preps at 10:00 p.m.
Now, FEMA has been take a lot of heat to failing to provide trailers to many people hard hit by Katrina. Some survivors are being forced to wait it out in tents. The conditions are less than comfortable. The wait almost unbearable, as we hear now from CNN's Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like the dozens of tents here, Tent F9 is a temporary, simple shelter. But what to do with the mother and daughter who live in it, is anything but simple.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.
KAYE (on camera): How are you? May I come in?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
KAYE: I'm Randi Kaye with CNN. (voice-over): For months, Doloris King who is 76, her daughter Deborah who is 50, their three Chihuahuas and a cockatiel named Tweety Bird, have lived in this tent city, called "The Village."
The Navy built it, the city runs it, and FEMA pays the bills -- at least for now.
(on camera): "The Village" is made up of 74 tents. At one point there were more than 200 people living here. These days, it's down to 83. Now, the tents are actually bigger than FEMA trailers. They measure 16 by 32 feet. Up to four people can live inside each one.
Compare your house, if you would before the storm to life in this tent.
DOLORIS KING, RESIDENT OF "THE VILLAGE": Oh, Lord, have mercy! I had a bedroom, I had a living room, I had a kitchen, I had a washroom.
KAYE: Pretty different?
KING: Yes. I had a ramp to go up and down to my mailbox, you know.
KAYE (voice-over): It was far better than life in the "The Village."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something.
KAYE: Here there is a daycare tent, a laundry tent, a medical clinic, a meal tent, even a school bus stop for "The Village."
But the tents have no windows or kitchens or bathrooms. There are only outdoor sinks and shared restrooms.
(on camera): What is it like for you to have to share restrooms and showers with people you've never even met?
DEBORAH LEWIS, RESIDENT OF "THE VILLAGE": Like I go to the restroom and somebody will try to get in. And like the showers over there, you know, you never know if somebody's coming in. You try to hurry up. And at home, it's a lot different. You feel more safe.
KAYE (voice-over): Doloris and her daughter both applied for FEMA trailers six months ago, right after Katrina struck. But now, only Doloris has been approved for one.
LEWIS: They said that I was on the delivery list, and that was a week ago Monday. And I'm still waiting.
KAYE: This is the part of the story where red tape and bureaucracy and most of all FEMA, usually get blamed. But remember, it's not that simple. Doloris and Deborah don't want just any trailers.
(on camera): What is the process in terms of deciding who should get one? Because I've talked to some people here who say, why does she have one and I don't have one? We put our names on the list at the same time.
ERIC GENTRY, FEMA SPOKESPERSON: Right. Well in some cases, it's need. I mean, obviously early on that was based upon, you know, medical needs. It may have been based upon needs as far as some people had no place to go.
KAYE: FEMA's Eric Gentry says with privacy laws, he's not allowed to talk specifics about this mother/daughter case. But Debbie says she and her mom need to have trailers placed next to each other.
The stress of the storm has only worsened her depression and her panic attacks. Her mom depends on her for help with chronic asthma. They say FEMA should accommodate them. That's why Doloris won't take a trailer someplace else.
KING: I can go on now, but I would deserting her. I can't do that.
KAYE: But what does it mean, you'll work with them? Does that mean you'll get her a trailer?
GENTRY: It means, again, if the situation -- in other words, if her property -- in some cases there's not room on individuals' pieces of property.
KAYE (voice-over): And that's exactly what Debbie and Doloris want. Two trailers, placed side by side on her brother's property -- not trailers in different counties, even though that may be what's available now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead and talk with them. They'll be contacting all the families that are in...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you want to -- you want to actually go over to the Hancock...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, no, no. I want to go to Harrison County beside my mom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
KAYE: So even though FEMA has delivered 36,000 trailers to Mississippi, and only last week moved 30 families out of "The Village" and into trailers, Doloris and Debbie won't budge from Tent F9.
KING: I live one day at a time, just hoping and praying.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: That was CNN's Randi Kaye reporting.
Now, it is not the Gulf Coast but a half a world away. There are people who live in fear of their own government.
Two years after the mass killings in Sudan captured the world's attention, President Bush is saying the killings in western Sudan are in fact genocide. Here's what he told an audience in Florida... (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The strategy there was to encourage African Union troops to try to bring some sense of security to these poor people that are being herded out of their villages and just terribly mistreated. We need more troops.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Now, according to the United Nations, the war in Sudan's Darfur region has killed 180,000 people. An untold number of civilians have been forced from their lands.
Joining us now from Chicago, Illinois Democrat Jan Schakowsky, who recently toured Sudan as part of a congressional delegation.
Congresswoman, good to have you. Thank you for being with us.
REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY (D), ILLINOIS: Thank you.
LIN: What, as you saw it, was the security situation on the ground? Because as you know, refugees are being attacked, women raped just trying to get food or water for their families.
SCHAKOWSKY: We got a briefing from the African Union forces that were there. Only 7,000 for an area. Darfur's the size of France.
And we know that -- you said the number, 170,000, but there are estimates that go even as high as 400,000 people that have been killed. Two million have been displaced from their homes in the Darfur region, driven out of their villages into camps. We saw one of those. And it's been since 2004 in the summer that the United States has actually called this a genocide.
Everyone agrees, the African Union, the United Nations, and certainly the government of the United States that there needs to be at least a doubling of the forces there to get a secure -- some security in that region.
LIN: But why after almost three years there is still no viable peace process in Darfur?
SCHAKOWSKY: Well, there is -- there are some negotiations that are going on in Abhuja in Nigeria. But without some security being established, there is no space right now for negotiations. And the conflict goes on. And I have to tell you that the Sudan government, both the mayor whose appointed by the president in north Darfur, where we were, and in Khartoum, where we met with the vice president, there's no sense of urgency, there's no sense of responsibility for the conflict or the humanitarian disaster that has accompanied that.
LIN: Well, there are tribal politics in play here, and there have been accusations that the Sudanese government is in cahoots with these horsemen, the Janjaweed, who are attacking the refugees.
So what needs to happen? The Sudanese government still has declined, is refusing to accept NATO troops or U.N. troops.
SCHAKOWSKY: Well, there has to be -- there has to be more troops on the -- on the ground. We are hoping -- the United States is in charge of the Security Council until the end of the month. That's just a few more days. What we hope, that we can get a resolution that would delegate more of the U.N. troops there.
NATO would be fine. There is no question that, with the support of Khartoum or not, there have to be more troops on the ground, more helicopters, more equipment for them to create a security situation.
The government of Khartoum flatly denies that there is any genocide that is going on whatsoever, that it's been highly exaggerated. Well, we saw some of those camps, we know that there are so many people, millions of people now that are waiting and have been waiting for a long time for some help. The world has to come to their aid and has to do it soon.
LIN: And perhaps this congressional delegation can make a difference here.
Representative Schakowsky, appreciate the time.
We want to give our viewers some more information on the crisis. You can -- you can read more about it. Go to Darfur-info.org. That's Darfur-info -- that's one word.
And if you'd like to find ways to help the people on the ground, try to go to the worldvision.org Web site.
Now, what does opposition to gay rights have to do with the death of American troops? Up next, why one Kansas-based religious group is targeting the families of fallen service members.
And a South Carolina teacher stands accused of having sex with a student. You might be shocked to find out the age of her alleged victim.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Stories "Across America" now.
Sheryl Crow is putting her singing career on hold now that she's been diagnosed with breast cancer. Crow underwent minimally invasive surgery Wednesday. She postponed her upcoming tour.
Crow's former fiance, Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor himself, says, "I was devastated to hear this news. Once again, I'm reminded of just how pervasive this illness is as it has now touched someone I love deeply. Based on my contact in recent days with Sheryl, her doctor, and her family, I am confident that she will have a full and complete recovery and the world will be a better place for it."
Oh, also, "And, to all of her fans and friends out there, please keep Sheryl in your thoughts and prayers, yet know that I have never known a stronger woman in my life." Shark fears hit Hawaii. Officials believe a snorkeler reported missing off Maui may have been killed by a shark. Officials searching for the California man found human remains with injuries consistent with shark bites. The remains have yet to be identified.
A former fifth grade teacher is jailed on charges she had sex with an 11-year-old student. Wendy Shweikert (ph) of Lauren, South Carolina, is accused of having sex with the boy at least twice at school. Police say Shweikert (ph) admitted to the charges. She's being held on $100,000 bond.
Hundreds of American families are grieving for U.S. troops killed in Iraq. And some have also had to deal with the unthinkable, a protest at their loved one's funeral. And it's happening across the country, and now some families are fighting back.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Just a few days after Sergeant Nick Sacco (ph) was killed in Iraq, his 24-year-old wife received this e-mail...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Your husband is in hell. We can see what a man your husband was. He left his family in the lurch so he could go play war games to make him feel manly."
LAVANDERA: The e-mail was signed Margie Phelps and came in response to an e-mail Brandy Sacco (ph) sent when she heard the Phelps family might protest her husband's funeral.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's pure evil. I mean, there's just so much hatred.
LAVANDERA: Margie Phelps could not be reached for comment. She's the daughter of Fred Phelps, the pastor of a Kansas-based church that blames homosexuality for destroying American society. He and members of his family are now unleashing their hate-filled protests at military funerals across the country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every dead soldier coming home is a punishment from the lord of your god.
LAVANDERA: Brandy Sacco (ph) experienced this ordeal last December.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was overwhelming. It was so overwhelming. All I could do was cry.
It's awesome. Thank you.
With any death, anybody wants to just be alone, you know, and mourn with family members or mourn with friends. But they didn't allow that.
LAVANDERA: But in Brandy's (ph) defense, several hundred members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a motorcycle group opposed to the Phelps, showed up to make sure the protests could not be heard.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They saved me that day from doing something that I probably would be regretting right now.
LAVANDERA: Brandy Sacco (ph) is returning the favor. She's joined the Patriot Guard and now this widowed mother of two children is doing something she never imagined, lobbying her state legislators to pass a law that would restrict funeral protests.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... funerals, which are and should always be a private family matter, should not be protected by the law but by punishable by the law.
LAVANDERA: This victim of hate has turned advocate, and she won't stop fighting until military families can grieve in peace.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do it for my husband. I mean, it's all for my husband and my children. I don't want my children to think that I just stood back and didn't say anything and didn't stick up for my husband.
LAVANDERA (on camera): More than a dozen states are considering passing laws that would restrict protesting at funerals. Brandy Sacco (ph) is working on some of that legislation here at the Kansas State Capitol. But many legal experts worry that some of these laws will violate the First Amendment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You crossed the line. Now god is your enemy.
LAVANDERA (voice over): But several members of the Phelps family are attorneys, and they vow to fight any law that restricts ability to shout their messages to families and to a funeral.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are going to put the cup of the fury and wrath of god to your lips, and we are going to make you drink it.
LAVANDERA: Almost three months after her husband's death, Brandy Sacco (ph) is on a mission.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want them to just disappear. I want them to stop going to soldiers' funerals.
LAVANDERA: And she says she won't stop until the Phelps are silenced.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Topeka, Kansas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Still to come, inside LAX. It's one of the top terrorist targets in California. So, is the airport security what it should be? Is the airport security what it should be? A report card coming up a little bit later on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: People who suffer the pain of arthritis will go to great lengths for relief. But who would think a treatment might involve the infamous bloodsucking leech. Someone did, and now the idea being tested.
CNN's Allan Chernoff reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a great one.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Bloodsucking leeches chomping on Matt Aselton's knee.
MATT ASELTON, PATIENT: I can feel a little bit now, yes.
CHERNOFF: No, Matt is not a "Fear Factor" contestant. The former college football player is seeking relief for his arthritic knee at the Center of Health and Healing of Beth Israel Medical Center.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're hungry.
CHERNOFF: He's the first patient in the initial U.S. study of how leeching may help osteoarthritis victims.
ASELTON: It feels great. They don't hurt. They just kind of wiggle around and drink the blood.
CHERNOFF: It takes about an hour for the leeches to gorge themselves on what amounts to two teaspoons of blood, after which they simply drop off.
ASELTON: Totally cool.
CHERNOFF: Two years ago the FDA approved leeches to promote healing in patients who had fingers, ears or limbs reattached. By cleaning out coagulated blood, leeches promote regrowth of veins.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right there.
CHERNOFF: Osteoarthritis, though, is an entirely different application.
(on camera): Though leeches are bloodsuckers, they actually donate to their host in return for their meal, which is why scientists believe they have medical value. As they're sucking, their saliva gos into the bloodstream, and that saliva contains a blood thinner, a painkiller and an agent that expands the blood vessels.
(voice over): Combined, those ingredients in the leech's saliva somehow appear to deliver pain relief and improve mobility. A study in Germany found a single leech treatment helped some arthritic patients for up to six months.
DR. ARYA NEILSEN, CONTINUUM CENTER: In the process of eating, they actually are able to effect a change in the joint that we're unable to see by any other means.
CHERNOFF: But some surgeons are skeptical.
DR. THOMAS SCULCO, ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEON: To believe that the anticoagulants that the leech, in fact, releases from its saliva could impact what's happening inside a knee joint is hard for me to imagine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And this is oozing a bit. Yes, that's good.
CHERNOFF: Still, Matt Asselton is optimistic his treatment will pay off.
(on camera): Do you feel any different?
ASELTON: Not really. I'm sure there's going to be some residual thing. I don't feel any different right now, but imagine I will.
NEILSEN: Got it.
CHERNOFF: And Arya Neilsen believes leech treatment could be effective not only for pain in knees, but other joints, as well.
(on camera): Most people hear leeches and they think, this is just absolutely gross.
NEILSEN: That was my first impression, as well, until I started to work with leeches.
CHERNOFF: And now?
NEILSEN: And now I think they're fun.
ASELTON: Oh, nice.
CHERNOFF (voice over): Each treatment at the health and hearing center runs $600 and, no, insurance does not cover the cost.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Yes, there is still much more ahead on CNN, including a look at a potential plan for alerting you to a terror attack.
And then, he's a grandfather and a Vietnam vet. And now he's heading back to war. We'll take you to the front lines straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: This is CNN SATURDAY. I'm Carol Lin.
Straight ahead in this hour, a show of solidarity in Iraq. But can the leaders stop the violence that continues even under extreme curfew? Is the country on the brink of civil war?
Also...
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Roesgen, live on a wet and wild carnival night in The Big Easy.
LIN: Their music tells their story, homes and lives destroyed by Katrina. Some native sons tell me their story. Cowboy Mouth joins me live ahead.
But first, here are the headlines.
The daily insurgent violence in Iraq. At least five people died north of Baghdad today when a car bomb exploded in the Shiite holy city of Karbala. More than 30 people were hurt.
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