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CNN Live At Daybreak

State of Emergency; Filling the Court

Aired September 05, 2005 - 05:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is Monday, September 5. Relief, it is finally trickling in to Hurricane Katrina victims. They've been waiting for days for food, water, medicine, everything. They're starting to get what they need, but slowly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was horrible. But I'm still alive. And my kids, just like I said, as long as they're happy, then I'll pep up.

If I need to cry, I'll try to cry at night. So I better wipe my face before this evening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: They have their lives, but not much else. Will Katrina evacuees have anything to go back to?

And he held the highest seat on the highest court. We'll look back on the life of William Rehnquist.

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.

COSTELLO: And good morning. And thank you for joining us. We'll have more on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in just a moment.

But first, "Now in the News."

Dozens are feared dead after a fiery plane crash in the Indonesian island of Sumatra this morning. A passenger jet crashed into a residential area shortly after taking off. One hundred seventeen people were on board.

The body of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who died Saturday, will lie in repose at the Supreme Court tomorrow and Wednesday. He'll be buried later Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery.

Flags are at half-staff at the Supreme Court this morning and at government buildings across the nation. President Bush ordered the tribute for William Rehnquist and for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

In Louisiana, some Katrina evacuees can return to their home parish. Jefferson Parish will start letting people back this morning. They'll be under a strict dusk-to-dawn curfew. To the forecast center now and Jacqui Jeras. She is in for Chad Myers this morning.

Good morning, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol. Good morning, everybody.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Jacqui. We'll get back to you.

"Mission Critical." Here's the latest on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Security in New Orleans takes a big hit. Police there are strained to the limit. Two officers have committed suicide, and reports say as many as 200 others have not shown up for duty.

More food and water for hurricane survivors. Six hundred twenty thousand bottles of water, to be exact, and 320,000 meals, that's what's been delivered so far to distribution centers around Louisiana.

In this case, the rescuers need rescuing. A helicopter looking for hurricane victims crashed northwest of New Orleans last night. The pilot and crew are OK. No evacuees were on board at the time.

More states taking in Katrina evacuees from Louisiana. A plane full of them arrived in Arizona last night, and nearly 250,000 people from the New Orleans area are now in Texas.

And one week after Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, emergency teams this morning are turning their attention to the grim task of gathering and counting the dead. This as air and boat crews continue to search flooded neighborhoods, looking for survivors.

Let's head live to New Orleans now, and Ed McCarthy of CNN Radio.

Ed, can you hear me?

ED MCCARTHY, CNN RADIO: Yes, I can, Carol. Good morning.

COSTELLO: I know you -- they gave you a tour of New Orleans. Tell me what you saw.

MCCARTHY: Oh, just unbelievable. There really isn't a day that goes by down here in the Gulf region where it gets worse and you're more amazed from the previous day.

In New Orleans yesterday, we experienced traffic jams at the outskirts of the city. They had police checkpoints, they were turning people back. And once you got in -- we got in, of course, with our media IDs from CNN -- we took a tour, and then we were quickly derailed because there was flooding. We couldn't get the vehicles through.

We had to turn around to go another route. There was a guide and another vehicle in front of us, and knew the city.

So we ended up down on Canal Street. And that's a very famous area here in New Orleans. Trees down, debris everywhere. And then you go a couple of blocks, and there's the big flood problem again.

It's waist-high water. They were lining up with boats yesterday to go in. And these were the folks from wildlife crews.

They were Kentucky yesterday. They had Tennessee the day before. And one of the fellows told me that it's very, very grim in there. They're just expecting to go in and pull out more bodies.

So we don't really know how high this death toll is going to be. We've heard numbers in the thousands. But it's a situation where every day these people that do this job are becoming more and more depressed as they go into these areas.

COSTELLO: I can't even imagine, Ed. What about the security situation?

MCCARTHY: Well, for the people that are here, the ones that -- that stayed, I talked to one woman yesterday who said that she was just desperate. She lost her husband. Her husband was in the hospital for surgery; she couldn't find him.

She said -- she asked me, "How do I get out of here?" She asked it three times, "How do I get of here?" And she said, "This is like the end of the world. I can't believe this."

It's -- it's surreal when you're in New Orleans, Carol, to see a city that would remind you of a nation at war somewhere, because we have National Guardsmen patrolling in -- on tanks, with rifles showing visibly. Obviously, that's because of the looting and the violence we've had here.

At the airport, we have helicopters going all night long, looking for refugees, to pluck them from areas in New Orleans to bring them back. And they're doing it by air. They've got these, as we've mentioned, the boat searches.

The National Guard was getting out ice and food yesterday. And one woman said they were here last night and people started literally walking through the water like zombies to come and get what they could get from the National Guard. They're happy to see them, but still there's a lot of criticism.

One asked me -- he says, "Why is it so late?" He says, "How come we see more media crews here than we've seen people to come help us from the federal government?"

So it's -- it's a been a long time in coming. And the people are just desperate now at this particular time. And here we are, what, day eight now, I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong on that, but it's a long, long time for these people.

COSTELLO: I know National Guard troops are pouring in now, and members from FEMA are pouring in. Do you see a well-coordinated effort to help the people there, Ed?

MCCARTHY: I really do. This morning, just a short time ago, I took a walk up to the airport terminal. Now, this is completely closed.

It's such a bizarre scene to walk through an airport where it's closed and there's National Guard people. But I did catch a disaster team meeting. The federal disaster folks are here, and they were huddling this morning, comparing notes about yesterday and what they're going to do today to get into New Orleans, and what their game plan is.

They're working as hard as they can. I still think part of the problem was the communication. We had such a problem with communication all the way up and down this coastal area here, all the way up to Biloxi and up to Mobile at a certain point, where they could not coordinate the communication to get things going earlier than they wanted to.

COSTELLO: Ed McCarthy, thanks so much, live in New Orleans. Hopefully we'll get back to you. We appreciate it.

Katrina's aftermath is dominating President Bush's schedule. He's facing a flood of complaints that Washington moved too slowly before and after the hurricane struck. We heard Ed mention that.

The president is making a second trip to the Gulf Coast today, with stops in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Poplarville, Mississippi. Four of his cabinet members visited the region yesterday.

In the meantime, former presidents Bush and Clinton head to Houston today to meet with Katrina evacuees. They are leading a national fund-raising drive.

From despair to anger to hope, the mayor of New Orleans has showed it all in the aftermath of Katrina. And it's only the beginning of a long and difficult recovery for his city.

Here's CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Mayor Ray Nagin's optimism is coming back. A few days ago, he was slamming the federal government. Now...

RAY NAGIN, MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS: We can rebuild. And we can rebuild something. And this is where the president got me choked up. He said, "Mr. Mayor, I got it. And we're going to make sure you get the resources to rebuild New Orleans into a shining example for the entire world."

ROBERTSON: What's your priorities? You step out today to...

I caught up with the outspoken New Orleans mayor as he was heading out to marshal those resources. NAGIN: ...is we have to drain this city. We have to get these dead bodies out of the water and out of...

ROBERTSON: How many bodies are there?

NAGIN: I don't know, man. There's thousands.

ROBERTSON: Thousands?

NAGIN: I think so, thousands.

ROBERTSON: With the resources now arriving, his wishes are becoming action. Scores of boats search for dead and the living. Helicopters are also aiding the rescue and recovery and give the best vantage to see the scale of the problem.

Mayor Nagin takes a ride in one every day. He couldn't be more worried about what he sees.

NAGIN: I want to make sure these dead bodies get out of the water, because mosquitoes are going to start to take effect. The larvaes are hatching as we speak. They're going to bite these dead people. And they're going to spread diseases. Not only in Louisiana, but all over the South.

ROBERTSON: A new drainage plant may also help stop the spread of disease. Once levees are fixed in the next few days, he says, the city could be drained in weeks, not months as originally feared.

NAGIN: I would think within a week or two weeks, we should have the city drained.

ROBERTSON: Just two weeks maybe?

NAGIN: I'm hopeful. There's another technique we're looking at using, but we're going to have these dredging pipes, they're 48 inch pipes. We're going to drape a couple of those over the levee systems and pull the water out while we're pumping.

ROBERTSON: He has other priorities, too.

NAGIN: I've got some firefighters and police officers that have been pretty much traumatized. And we've already had a couple of suicides. So I am cycling them out as we speak, but we have a problem.

ROBERTSON: No place to send them and no money to do it with.

NAGIN: You know, running into a little bureaucracy about what FEMA can pay and what they - I told them to screw it. I don't care what they pay. I'll pay it and then we'll figure this out later, but I have to get these men out.

ROBERTSON: As we talk, he tells me he won't forget those he holds accountable for all the deaths after Katrina passed. Those he thinks didn't act fast enough, although he won't name names now. The fire hasn't gone out of them, he says. He just doesn't want to pick a fight right now.

NAGIN: ...this should never happen again. That's going to be my mission. Come hell or high water, this should never happen again.

ROBERTSON: Well, you've had hell and you've had high water?

NAGIN: We've had hell. We've had high water. We've had death. The spirit of death has been over this city for seven days. And it's got to go. OK?

ROBERTSON: Nic Robertson, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: The NAACP is calling for a compensation fund for Hurricane Katrina victims. NAACP president, Bruce Gordon, says the Katrina relief effort should be held up to the same standards of the 9/11 recovery.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson echoed similar sentiments. He argues the storm victims are not only a casualty of the hurricane, but an inadequate preparation by the government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. JESSE JACKSON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: We don't have any federal emergency plan to coordinate communications. And so we've separated mothers from fathers, from parents, the sick from the well, the old from the young. It still really is a rather chaotic situation.

There's been some movement the last two days, but use 9/11 as a benchmark. We have no victims' relief fund, which we should have for these victims like we did 9/11. We have no -- we've not asked UNICEF for help, and they can help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Now, just to put things in perspective, here's an idea of the compensation fund for 9/11 victims. Justice Department figures show death claims range from $250,000 to $7 million. Personal injury claims when from $500,000 to more than $8.5 million. And the average settlement was just over $1 million.

And that brings us to our DAYBREAK e-mail "Question of the Day." Should Katrina victims get the same compensation as 9/11 victims? And I want to bring Jacqui Jeras in, because she'll be monitoring our e- mail box this morning.

There's sure to be many more victims of this flooding, of Hurricane Katrina...

JERAS: Right. COSTELLO: ... than there were doing 9/11. And who's to say whether there will be more than 5,000 victims, or 6,000 or 7,000 victims?

JERAS: Very possible. And they're very different things, too, Carol. I mean, we're talking about a natural disaster, as opposed to manmade one.

COSTELLO: That's true. And then -- and then you have to wonder about whether any lawsuits will be filed, because many people are charging the government's response was too slow. We'll there be lawsuits filed? Because one of the reasons they set up this compensation fund after 9/11 was because they didn't want so many people suing the airline industry, or other entities for what happened on 9/11.

So this brings up all sorts of questions.

JERAS: A lot of them. A lot of people have a lot of questions. The evacuation, I know that New Orleans officials knew you needed to be evacuated 72 hours in advance to get everybody out. And the evacuation order wasn't issued 72 hours ahead of time. It was less than that.

COSTELLO: Well, and some people couldn't get out. I mean...

JERAS: Right. If they didn't have the means...

COSTELLO: ... people that went to the Superdome were told to go there to be safe.

JERAS: Right.

COSTELLO: And they were not. DAYBREAK@CNN.com. DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

And still to come, some are allies, some are enemies, some are coping with their own disasters. But they're all pledging to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

And President Bush has some big legal shoes to fill again. We'll take a look at what the future holds.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Labor Day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The international markets kicked off the week on an upbeat note. Japan's Nikkei closes up almost 35 points. Britain's FTSE is up 7. The German DAX is up 28 points.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:17 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

President Bush makes a second trip to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast today. He'll visit Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Poplarville, Mississippi. The president is facing angry complaints that his administration's relief effort has fallen short.

A final farewell. Chief Justice William Rehnquist's body will lie in repose at the Supreme Court tomorrow and Wednesday. He'll be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Rehnquist died Saturday. He was 80.

In money news, for the first time, hundreds of distributors in Pennsylvania can now sell beer on Sundays. But they can only sell it by the case, and only in the afternoon.

In culture, a major charity concert is in the works to raise money for Hurricane Katrina survivors. It will air September 9 on all six major TV networks. No word yet on the lineup.

In sports, Kyle Busch has become the second youngest winner of the Nextel -- of the NASCAR Nextel Cup race. The 21-year-old won the Sony HD 500 at the California Motor Speedway. He says he'll donate his winnings to Hurricane Katrina victims.

To the forecast center and Jacqui Jeras.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Jacqui.

That's a look at the latest headlines for you this morning.

The rest of the world has been responding to the devastation along the Gulf Coast, and they've been responding with offers of aid, from Britain to Iran, Canada to Afghanistan. Even Sri Lanka, which itself is still recovering from the tsunami, has offered to help.

Live now to Jim Boulden. He's in London.

Hello, Jim.

JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

Yes, we have seen a number of offers, as you say. A number of them are medical supplies. And we've seen places like Israel, France, Italy, the U.K., all saying that they will give medical supplies and give disaster relief experts.

In fact, a plane has left Britain this morning from the Brize Norton Air -- Royal Air Force Base. That plane took off just a few moments ago, and it was packed overnight with ration packs, lots of food. And that follows a plane that took off from Rome last night.

In Rome, a C-130 was loaded with camp beds and water pumps, food and medical supplies. And that plane is expected to land in Washington, D.C., this morning, in a few hours time.

And that follows on a number of offers of money, money from around the world. Some 60 countries have offered, many of it though the International Red Cross or the Red Crescent. Let's look at the list of some of these.

Kuwait has pledged $500 million of oil and supplies. Bahrian has said $5 million. India as well, $5 million. Nigeria has offered a million dollars.

Now, Japan has said it would give $200,000 to the Red Cross, and a further $300,000 in emergency supplies if needed. And even, as you said, Afghanistan, war-torn Afghanistan, $100,000. And tsunami-hit Sri Lanka, a further $25,000. That's on top of other countries. Like even Korea said $30 million and China said $5 million.

Now, so far, the U.S. has not necessarily accepted or said it wants specific things from these countries. But NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, came out this morning and said the U.S. has accepted NATO's offer of food supplies. NATO, of course, based in Belgium, in the -- in Europe. And the U.N.'s offer of food has also been accepted -- Carol.

COSTELLO: A question for you, because in listening to the BBC, and in reading stories from overseas, a lot of the attention seems to be focused not only on the suffering, but on the race issue in America. Tell us about that, and why they're centering on that.

BOULDEN: Absolutely, Carol. There's two issues that have been focused on. It's been the race and it's been the guns.

It is something that constantly is talked about here, and in the last week, "The Guardian," in fact, this morning, the newspaper "The Guardian" has said that the water has receded from New Orleans. It has washed away the veneer in the U.S., and that veneer has exposed something that is very ugly, indeed. And that's because the pictures that we see here overseas show that the vast majority of the people who were left behind were black.

And that is something that "The Guardian," in an editorial this morning, has focused on. And that's been focused on a lot over the weekend, the idea that many armed soldiers had to move in. You know, this is something that people here just have a hard time understanding, that it took, you know, three, four days for food supplies to even start to arrive. But along with that came armed -- armed soldiers.

But, of course, we also hear stories about ambulances and air ambulances being fired upon, and about armed gangs roaming in New Orleans Superdome -- in the Superdome.

There's stories in the papers here about the Britons who were then missing. The foreign office says between 120 and 130 Britons are missing. That doesn't meant they're dead. It just means family members can't find them.

But some of the stories of people returning back are talking about these armed gangs. They're talking about the bodies that they've seen.

Some of the Brits were told in the Superdome to actually gather together with the women inside and the men on the outside. And they were terrified to be told this by authorities. And they were told to do this because they thought that the foreigners might be attacked, because people saw the foreigners being helped a bit more and being taken out, and talked to some of the authorities. And so a lot of the British people said they were absolutely fearful for these days and days and days waiting to see what would happen.

COSTELLO: Jim Boulden, live in London this morning. Thank you.

Still to come, remembering Chief Justice William Rehnquist. A look back at his life and his legacy, and who could be named the next justice to the Supreme Court.

And don't forget our e-mail question of the morning: Should Katrina victims get the same compensation as 9/11 victims? Most 9/11 victims got on average more than a million-dollar settlement. Tell us what you think: DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

You're watching DAYBREAK for Monday, September 5.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In addition to the crisis over Katrina, President Bush also faces another vacancy to fill on the Supreme Court. As you probably know by now, Chief Justice William Rehnquist died on Saturday, and nominee John Roberts' Senate confirmation hearings begin tomorrow.

Elaine Quijano has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For President Bush, a decision only 14 other presidents ever got to make.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will choose in a timely manner a highly-qualified nominee to succeed Chief Justice Rehnquist.

QUIJANO: Timely manner is the key phrase. Tuesday, confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin for Judge John Roberts, Mr. Bush's choice to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

JUDGE JOHN ROBERTS, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: No doubt it's a sad day for us. Our country has lost a remarkable public servant, and my family and I have lost a very dear friend.

QUIJANO: But with memorials and a funeral now expected, will the Senate Judiciary Committee postpone the hearings?

SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R-UT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: You bet those hearings ought to go forward. I think Bill Rehnquist would be the first to say he wants them to go forward.

QUIJANO: Until now, President Bush has said he wants a swift confirmation process so Roberts can be in place before the high court reconvenes October 3. But now the president has two vacancies to fill and dozens of options available, one that some Democrats like, proceed with the Roberts nomination and ask Justice O'Connor to fill the chief position.

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Justice O'Connor is beloved, she is respected by just about everyone in the nation. And at a time when our country needs unity and stability, there would be nothing better the president can do than nominate a consensus nominee like Justice -- Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

QUIJANO: Another option, Mr. Bush could push for Roberts to fill Rehnquist's spot as chief justice, while Sandra Day O'Connor continues to serve. That could make Roberts' confirmation battle even more contentious. And while it's also speculation, the president could choose to elevate justices Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas to chief, a move that would require three confirmation hearings.

The president learned of Rehnquist's death late Saturday night. After attending Sunday church services, he praised the chief justice from the Roosevelt Room.

BUSH: And America will honor his memory.

QUIJANO: Then, in a sign of the many pressing matters before him, he visited the Red Cross in Washington and asked the public for donations for Hurricane Katrina victims.

BUSH: I've told some folks back there that, you know, the world saw this tidal wave of disaster ascend upon the Gulf Coast, and now they're going to see a tidal wave of compassion.

QUIJANO (on camera): President Bush is set to return to Mississippi and Louisiana on Monday. But the death of the chief justice means the president will have to divide his attention to address yet another even outside his control.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: You heard Elaine mention in that report several options the president has. Of course you know the president chooses a nominee to the court, the White House looks into the nominee's background. A sitting judge could be elevated to the chief justice position, and perhaps something you didn't know.

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