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Jeanne Downgraded to Tropical Depression; Multiple Insurgent Attacks in Iraq Killing Several

Aired September 27, 2004 - 13:58   ET

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

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


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Returning to what used to be paradise, as Florida begins cleaning up after Jeanne, the damage, the deluge, the deceptions to watch out for now.
Thinking of the presidential candidates as a pair of athletes facing off in a contest of Olympian proportions? We'll break down the crucial events.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a patient like no other. Their decisions impact millions of lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Dr. Sanjay Gupta gets the inside story of the doctors who watch over the first patient.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is on assignment. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Barometer isn't the only thing falling this hour. In the wake of the fading tropical storm, possibly now a tropical depression known as Jeanne. One to six inches of rain is in the norm in Georgia as the former Category 3 hurricane spins through the Peach State on a bee for the waterlogged Carolinas.

In Florida, Jeanne retraced the steps of Hurricane Frances three weeks earlier, leaving still more damage, still more blackouts, shortages, anxiety and still more deaths. Six at last count blamed on drownings, electrocutions and accidents. More than 2.5 million homes and businesses are powerless after the fourth hurricane to slam the Sunshine State in six weeks.

In Melbourne, the exodus of weary evacuees is now an influx of residents weary of what they're returning to. CNN's Ed Lavandera is watching -- Ed.

While we wait for Ed, let's go to Jacqui Jeras standing by in the weather center. She's also tracing -- actually, she's getting minute- by-minute details.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I just got it. I just literally walked in here.

PHILLIPS: There you go. Right off the fax. Go ahead, Jacqui. JERAS: Right off the fax, yes. Great helping me out with that.

Jeanne is officially a tropical depression. We knew it was coming. It's usually about 10 minutes before the hour, but a little bit late on this one.

Tropical depression right now. Let's see, about 35 miles south of Macon, Georgia. It's moving north-northeast, so it's finally started to take that little bit of a turn to the northeast as we were expecting.

Maximum sustained winds are at 35 miles per hour, still seeing some higher gusts with that. And they're still looking at rainfall amounts around four to eight inches.

So finally a tropical depression. That is some good news, and it is getting close to the Macon, Georgia, area at this time.

The main threats that we're still going to have to deal with are some gusty winds at times. It's going to make it difficult for travel, not to mention the rainfall that's coming down quite heavy at times, especially right here around the center.

And then there's also this squall that's been stuck here all day long between Charleston and Myrtle Beach. And we haven't seen some rotation on a few these cells as they've been making their way onshore. So that will be a concern as we had through the rest of the afternoon. There have been delays at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport all morning long, and that will likely linger into the afternoon hours as well.

The whole storm is going to continue to push up to the North and East now. It should be moving through the Carolinas for tomorrow and then finally making its way back offshore into the Atlantic on Wednesday. Not expecting it to intensify, once again, but we will be getting rain in the mid Atlantic states by tonight. And believe it or not, as far north as New England on your Tuesday -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Jacqui, thanks so much.

We're now connected with our Ed Lavandera. To Melbourne, Florida.

Ed, what do you have for us?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here, Kyra, we're in Melbourne, Florida, where you can see the traffic jam here is backed up. There's a lot of people that are kind of making their way out into the roadways for the first time and kind of venturing out to see the damage.

Traffic lights are out in most areas. So this is why these lines are long.

You know, the damage is extensive throughout most of Florida and in this part, as far as we've seen over the last couple of days. Some homes damaged. A lot of people saying that what they're seeing in this hurricane is a lot more structural home damage than instead of more trees and power lines down. So they're rather upset about that.

But believe it or not, the U.S. mail being delivered today. One of our photographers was -- was out and about here in Melbourne and found the U.S. mail being delivered. A mailman trying to find the post office, or the mailbox, wherever he can, and doing a good job of that.

We've also seen the National Guard roll in, starting to get help out in the cleanup process as well here. But this is a cleanup process that's going to take a long time, as you probably heard.

The cleanup process for Hurricane Frances, which came through here in the beginning of September, still wasn't done. There were still piles and mounds of debris left in people's yards that crews hadn't had a chance to get to. And what officials here say they need is several weeks of quiet time, where they can get through and make sure that this cleanup process is ending -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ed, I know you've been working the streets, talking to a lot of people. Anything in particular that sort of struck you at this point? Any specific need or a certain family that reached out to you?

LAVANDERA: You know, there's -- you meet so many people, and unfortunately, we meet them in times of high stress. But what I'm really struck by is just the variety and the extremes to how people handle these kinds of stressful situations.

You know, we were in a mobile home park yesterday, and I approached one woman and wanted to kind of talk to her about what her experience had been like. And before I could get the words out of my mouth she had told me to go away, that she didn't have anything to say.

I turned right around and there's a 70-year-old man who welcomed me right into his home just so he could show me how his living room had been blown to pieces in this hurricane. And he joked about it.

You know, he talked about how he felt like moving to Hawaii, even though he knew he really wasn't going to do that at age of 70. But it's fascinating to see just how people react to this -- to this incredibly stressful situation either with anger or with humor. But it's the reality of the situation.

PHILLIPS: Well, you talked about that one resident saying he wants to move to Hawaii, but unfortunately he probably has to stay where he is. As for everybody behind you, are these all people, all this traffic, these are all folks heading out or trying to get back in? Kind of give me -- because that's a lot of people behind you.

LAVANDERA: Yes, I'm sorry. Behind me, this is inland. They're going toward the ocean this way.

PHILLIPS: OK. LAVANDERA: so about 100 yards behind us here, there's a traffic light that's out. So truly slowing the deal -- the process down here.

But there is traffic jams in a lot of places as people -- you know, yesterday the storm didn't really finish up until about a little bit after noon. So a lot of people were urged to stay indoors, let the crews do what they had to do.

This is really the first full day where people are able to get out and about and really survey the damage to their homes and their businesses. And we're starting to see a lot more things open up today. And people also need gas and food. And that's what they're out for.

PHILLIPS: What about the choppers overhead? Is that for search and rescue or surveillance, or probably news crews stalking you, yes?

LAVANDERA: I think -- yes -- no, not me. But I think that happened to be a news chopper.

You know, we had seen a convoy of National Guard troops coming through here as well just a little while ago. And we talked to one guy who's a FEMA worker, who is actually preparing to work an overnight shift at a hospital.

So it's kind of interesting to see that, you know, these people who kind of flood into these -- into these zones to help people out really do a lot of work that's behind the scenes. You don't really see a lot of hospitals were damaged. And so these guys drive up from Miami, for example, to kind of -- to help -- to help the employees of these hospitals get through the night. You know, and that's kind of the -- everything that's going on in this situation.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Yes, American Red Cross even saying almost 30,000 people from all over the country coming into Florida. Ed Lavandera out of Melbourne, Florida, thank you so much.

LAVANDERA: You got it.

PHILLIPS: Four hurricanes in six weeks spells absolute misery for Florida, and the largest relief effort in FEMA's history, believe it or not. In just the past two weeks, relief workers have served almost eight million meals. With the power going off constantly, water and ice are a necessity.

More than three million gallons of water, more than 19 million pounds of ice have already been distributed. They still need more. More than 3,600 National Guard troops have been deployed to help in this effort.

And the cost oil is climbing for crude. Oil is nearly the psychological $50 a barrel mark. And the price climbing in part because of Hurricane Ivan, which shut down or damaged oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Now, the Bush administration is said to be keeping a close eye on the price jump. No matter how high it goes, spokesperson Scott McClellan says that tapping into the nation's petroleum reserve is just not an option.

Insurgent violence spills into the streets of Iraq, killing several people across the nation. The U.S. counters with deadly attacks on reported militant positions. CNN's Brent Sadler is in Baghdad with more on this day of bloodshed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Insurgent attacks have hit Iraq's security forces in northern and central parts of Iraq, as well as the capital itself. The deadliest strike was aimed at Iraqi National Guardsmen in the northern city of Mosul when a roadside bomb hit a seven-vehicle convoy.

Seconds after the blast, gunmen sprayed the vehicles with machine gunfire, inflicting further casualties. A suicide bomber struck again at guardsmen in Fallujah but failed to inflict heavy casualties, while another bomb targeted Iraqi security forces south of Baquba. And in Baghdad, mortars landed harmlessly in a police training academy.

U.S. warplanes were also on the offensive, pounding suspected Shiite militant positions in the slum district of Sadr City, partly controlled by militant anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The U.S. military authorities say the strike targeted a hotbed of insurgents loyal to Sadr, destroying positively identified hideouts. But doctors in the local hospitals claim the strikes inflicted casualties among women and children.

Top U.S. officials are now speaking of major political and military efforts in coming weeks to take control of areas now under the influence of insurgents, especially Fallujah. In addition, top level talks are now under way in Damascus to coax Syrian authorities into stemming an alleged flow of money and foreign fighters crossing into Iraq from Syria over a porous border. Securing the cooperation of Iraq's neighbors is seen by the Iraqi authorities here as a pivotal step in establishing security in Iraq ahead of planned elections at the end of January.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Turning now to U.S. troops and their tour of duty in Iraq, the defense secretary is looking into reducing the stay of soldiers in the war zone. Soldiers currently have a 12-month tour in Iraq. A senior Pentagon official says that Donald Rumsfeld is checking with the Army to see if the time can be reduced. The official says that there is no indication of when or where -- or when, rather, the policy could happen.

Heads up on hurricane victims. Scam artists out there working the damaged areas. Find out what to watch out for and how to get help if you've been conned.

And are insurance companies adding to the agony? Personal stories of the new nightmare from the town that saw the worst of Jeanne and Frances.

And later, not feeling so good yourself? It could be where you live. The link between suburban sprawl and your health. LIVE FROM decides to stay downtown right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. We touched in with Ed Lavandera in Melbourne, Florida. Now, let's move over to Vero Beach, Florida, another area hard hit by these storms.

Chris Paladino with the American Red Cross now with an update on Jeanne and how it's affected that area.

Chris, first of all, if you could just sort of give us a general recap of what you're dealing with right now to this point.

CHRIS PALADINO, AMERICAN RED CROSS: Sure. Well, right now the American Red Cross is focused on people's basic needs: shelter, some place to stay, food, water, and of course mental health counseling and care.

PHILLIPS: So do you have enough volunteers right now? Because I know you said earlier in the day you had about 20,000 -- 26,000 people that had come from all over the country. Has that been enough? Do you need more?

PALADINO: We could always use more volunteers. If people would go to their local chapter and sign up and take some of the training, if they're able to travel for a couple of weeks, we could use more. It might not be immediately, but this is going to be a long-term recovery, and we need to be able to rotate people in and out because our volunteers get tired.

PHILLIPS: So what type of volunteers do you need? Do you need counselors? Do you need doctors? Do you need child care? What exactly do you need?

PALADINO: Actually, anybody who is in generally good health who can work in these hardship conditions, because there is no air- conditioning, there is no electricity, there are water issues. Anybody who is in generally good health and can spare a couple of weeks are the people we need.

PHILLIPS: Now, we're reading that almost all the schools are closed down. So what are -- what are children doing? Let's say parents can go back to work, kids can't go back to school. Are you helping with that, or can you -- do you not have the facilities to care for the kids?

PALADINO: I have to tell you, we don't really even have the facilities right now to care for them. And this is a major challenge.

I mean, there are literally thousands of families whose homes haven't been affected but are still being affected financially by this storm, as you say, because the kids are out of school and somebody's got to stay home and watch them.

PHILLIPS: Wow. What about the elderly?

PALADINO: Well, you know, I think they're being cared for in terms of their medical needs. Are being cared for very well both by Red Cross and by government resources, county resources here.

I think the biggest issue is, is, again, the mental health issue, not only for the elderly, but for anybody who's suffered. I've been working at our shelter all morning again, and we've had a lot of people leave the shelter to go home. Quite a few of them have been coming back, because they're coming back and saying, "I went home and there's nothing left."

PHILLIPS: I know you've got to move on, Chris. You've got your hands full. But real quickly, what's that 800 number again if folks want to volunteer or donate?

PALADINO: 1-800-HELP-NOW. And anybody who could call, we greatly appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: There you go, 1-800-HELP-NOW. Chris Paladino, a busy man right now, American Red Cross in Vero Beach. Thanks for checking in with us real quickly.

PALADINO: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, it only took minutes for Hurricane Jeanne to tear apart the lives of some Florida homeowners. And it's going to take residents many months now to rebuild.

Some Floridians are complaining that their insurance companies are holding up that process by moving so slowly. CNN's John Zarrella reports from Stuart, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SUE DAVIS, STUART, FLORIDA RESIDENT: Some of my furniture.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a span of three weeks, Mary Sue Davis has been victimized twice.

DAVIS: Everything is totally gone. It was -- it had all fallen in here. You know...

ZARRELLA: The eyes of two hurricanes, Frances and Jeanne, passed directly over her Stuart, Florida, home. Frances did most of the damage. Her ceilings are nearly completely gone. Her furniture destroyed.

DAVIS: There's no way that you can replace these things ever.

ZARRELLA: It will be many months before this home is livable.

DAVIS: It would be anywhere from four to six months or longer before we would be back in our homes. That takes you through all the holidays. So you're going to have Thanksgiving dinner in an RV or a hotel room, Christmas.

ZARRELLA: Compounding Davis' problem, her insurance company has still not sent an adjuster to assess the losses from the first hurricane.

Barbara Motisi lives across the street. She's in the same boat.

BARBARA MOTISI, STUART, FLORIDA, RESIDENT: I feel like they've giving me the runaround because when I call one number they say, "OK, you're supposed to call this number." So I call that number where the adjusters are supposed to be and they tell me that I was even assigned to an adjuster yet.

ZARRELLA: Motisi's home is unlivable, too. Mold covers the walls.

MOTISI: This is from the first one. Yes. No, I haven't had an adjuster here from the first storm yet.

ZARRELLA: Now, water from Jeanne that streamed through holes in the roof covers the floor. This entire subdivision is a mess. Tarps that covered roofs were ripped off by Jeanne, exposing gaping holes left behind by Frances. Debris piles never picked up after the first hurricane will now only get bigger.

John Zarrella, CNN, Stuart, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: The storm-fatigued Floridians could be vulnerable to con artists who offer a quick fix to their problems. Hurricane victims can now report scams on the state's first ever fraud hotline.

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist is back with us. He launched that hotline. He joins us now live from St. Petersburg, Florida.

Good to see you again, Charlie. Now, I remember the last time we talked you said, "Kyra, everything is under control right now. We're on to people. We've got sting operations."

Now I want to ask you again, what has been the biggest scam thus far and are you prosecuting these people?

CHARLIE CRIST, FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are prosecuting them, Kyra. And I think we are on top of it.

You know, actually, we have some good news to share because, while some of those price gougers continue to operate in our state, it seems that the word is getting out that we're prosecuting these cases in a very aggressive way, trying to protect our fellow Floridians, and that's having a deterrent effect. I can tell you that during the course of the first three storms, we had about 7,000 complaints of suspected price gouging. In the past storm we've only had about 50 complaints.

So something is happening that's having a deterrent effect. And we hope that at least in some small way the rapid prosecution of some of these cases is contributing to that.

PHILLIPS: All right. From price gouging to speculators, I haven't had a chance to talk to you about this, but this is what friends here who have relatives and other folks living in Florida said: "Now we have people coming to our door with cash saying, 'If you want us to handle this, here you go. Here's $100,000 in cash, sign the paperwork, you can move on, we'll take care of business.'"

And, you know, meanwhile, their property could be worth half a million. But these people just don't know what to do, and they're so desperate to move on.

Are you dealing with any speculators? Is that the proper word that I'm using? And how are you going to deal with them?

CRIST: Well, I think it's a very good word to use for it because that's probably exactly what it is. You know, I visited St. Petersburg Beach, which still was feeling some of the wrath of the storm yesterday, late yesterday, and one of the issues that has come up is people may come in and try to take advantage of the fact that Florida now has been hit by four storms, and try to make a quick buck and flip a property, or something of that nature.

The thing to apply there is not so much government but common sense, and to make sure that if somebody makes one of those type of offers to you, that you factor in more the long-term affect of things and not really the short term. Now, that may be easier said than done, but I think it's important for people who are along the coast to keep that in mind.

Florida property is going to be worth a lot always, especially that property that is waterfront. It's gone up a lot in the last 10 years all across our state. That is not going to change.

This is a short-term thing. We will rebound, we will recover, and those properties are going to be worth considerable moneys. It would be not a very good idea to have somebody offer that kind of money and accept it quickly when it's probably not in your family's best interest in the long term.

PHILLIPS: All right. So price gouging, speculators. What else has -- what's come over the hotline? What else are you dealing with? What else do people need to pay attention to?

CRIST: Well, I think they need to pay attention to, as I said earlier, using common sense. Looters are a problem sometimes, but fortunately, with the great assistance from the Florida National Guard, that is much less of a problem.

I mean, they dispatch very, very quickly, get in, in fact, before the skies are blue after one of these storms. That has a tremendous deterrent effect to have our National Guard out there with M-16s to make sure that people's homes aren't taken advantage of.

And one of the things we want to look toward in the next session of our legislature is the possibility of enhancing the penalties for people who would, in fact, loot. I mean, imagine if the government does force you to evacuate, then somebody goes in and tries to take advantage of that. There ought to be an enhanced penalty for it. We need to take care of our fellow Floridians, and I think that the legislature here would be very much accepting of that kind an idea.

PHILLIPS: Charlie, we've got to go. But real quickly, that fraud hotline, can you give it to me?

CRIST: You bet -- 1-800-646-0444. Anybody who thinks that somebody is gouging them, please give us a call. You've got enough to think about.

PHILLIPS: Florida attorney general, Charlie Crist, thanks so much.

CRIST: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Straight ahead right after the break, we're going to take you back to Haiti. Our Karl Penhaul is there.

Talk about taking advantage of aid. We're going to tell you how thousands have been left homeless and they're desperate for food and water. We'll take you there live right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Critical, that's what the situation in Haiti is being called. More than a week after Jeanne struck that island nation, hundreds of people are still missing, and there is chaos amid the relief efforts. Peter Bell with CARE International joins me now live via videophone. He's president of CARE International.

Can you hear me OK, peter?

PETER BELL, PRESIDENT, CARE INTERNATIONAL: I can, Kyra. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Go ahead and give me an update, Peter, on the challenges that you're facing right now.

BELL: Well, we do face major challenges here. First of all, this area has been absolutely devastated. It's -- and right here in this area, I just talked with a woman who is six months pregnant. She lost all -- she lost six children in the hurricane and 12 other relatives. And she's here to collect food today.

Our challenge is, in the midst of all of this rubble, and in the midst of a chaotic situation, to provide food and water at this moment for people who just don't -- haven't had enough to eat. And we are trying each day to increase the level of food.

PHILLIPS: Well, Peter, over the weekend and even Friday...

BELL: The next.

PHILLIPS: Yes, go ahead. I'm sorry. BELL: Yes. Well, I was going to say, of course, the next hurdle, as soon as we get food delivered in the quantity and in the order which we would like, we're going to have to also face a tremendous problems of sewage, sanitation, hygiene, to prevent the spread of infectious disease. These are the two immediate problems, but in the background are the problems of security, of disorder, and of gangs as well.

PHILLIPS: And we've seen those pictures. We saw the video Friday, Saturday, Sunday of just mobs of people trying to get their hands on this aid. We saw a lot of children just being pushed aside.

How are you trying to quell, I guess you could say, the madness that is take place as people are trying to get their hands on food and water?

BELL: Well, we had -- one thing that we have tried, and it worked quite well overall, is to deliver the food to women on the basis that that will be the most efficient and effective way and the most orderly way to get food into families. The problem that we have faced here just within the last half an hour or so is that some of the men are rebelling.

They have sent the women home and they've said, "We want the food ourselves," because they're desperate as well. So, you know -- and this is a new neighborhood, it's a neighborhood of life, if you will, and the eye of the storm here, this is -- this area was absolutely devastated -- decimated by the storm.

So it's understandable that people are desperate. And yet, we have to have some kind of orderly situation so that people themselves won't get injured as the food is being distributed. CARE has worked here in this city for 40 years and never seen anything like this.

PHILLIPS: Are you dealing with an orphan problem?

BELL: And I would just say one other thing, and that is -- go ahead, please.

PHILLIPS: Are you dealing with the problem of orphans?

BELL: Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Peter, have you found there are a lot of kids that are in the need of a parent or a relative?

BELL: Yes, there are problems of orphans as well. I saw just today in a CARE compound that we had taken in a little girl who lost her mother. And there are -- there's a massive problem of orphans.

I would like to make one -- one important point here, however. As terrible as this situation is as of this moment, it's just critically important that the United States and the international community develop with the Haitians a long-term strategy to get at the problems of extreme poverty. The basic underlying problem here is that this is by far the poorest country in the western hemisphere. It's as poor as any country in the world. And until we get to that problem, we're never going -- Haitians are always going to be vulnerable to natural disasters.

PHILLIPS: And that's why it's so critically important to have people like you, Peter Bell, with CARE International. We sure thank you for your time today, and our best wishes go to you.

And as you know, back here in the U.S., things struggling on the economic front, especially when it comes to the airline industry. A lot of -- a lot of stocks feeling the effect from the storms that we've all experienced.

Let's check in with Rhonda Schaffler once again at the New York Stock Exchange -- Rhonda.

(MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired September 27, 2004 - 13:58   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Returning to what used to be paradise, as Florida begins cleaning up after Jeanne, the damage, the deluge, the deceptions to watch out for now.
Thinking of the presidential candidates as a pair of athletes facing off in a contest of Olympian proportions? We'll break down the crucial events.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a patient like no other. Their decisions impact millions of lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Dr. Sanjay Gupta gets the inside story of the doctors who watch over the first patient.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is on assignment. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Barometer isn't the only thing falling this hour. In the wake of the fading tropical storm, possibly now a tropical depression known as Jeanne. One to six inches of rain is in the norm in Georgia as the former Category 3 hurricane spins through the Peach State on a bee for the waterlogged Carolinas.

In Florida, Jeanne retraced the steps of Hurricane Frances three weeks earlier, leaving still more damage, still more blackouts, shortages, anxiety and still more deaths. Six at last count blamed on drownings, electrocutions and accidents. More than 2.5 million homes and businesses are powerless after the fourth hurricane to slam the Sunshine State in six weeks.

In Melbourne, the exodus of weary evacuees is now an influx of residents weary of what they're returning to. CNN's Ed Lavandera is watching -- Ed.

While we wait for Ed, let's go to Jacqui Jeras standing by in the weather center. She's also tracing -- actually, she's getting minute- by-minute details.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I just got it. I just literally walked in here.

PHILLIPS: There you go. Right off the fax. Go ahead, Jacqui. JERAS: Right off the fax, yes. Great helping me out with that.

Jeanne is officially a tropical depression. We knew it was coming. It's usually about 10 minutes before the hour, but a little bit late on this one.

Tropical depression right now. Let's see, about 35 miles south of Macon, Georgia. It's moving north-northeast, so it's finally started to take that little bit of a turn to the northeast as we were expecting.

Maximum sustained winds are at 35 miles per hour, still seeing some higher gusts with that. And they're still looking at rainfall amounts around four to eight inches.

So finally a tropical depression. That is some good news, and it is getting close to the Macon, Georgia, area at this time.

The main threats that we're still going to have to deal with are some gusty winds at times. It's going to make it difficult for travel, not to mention the rainfall that's coming down quite heavy at times, especially right here around the center.

And then there's also this squall that's been stuck here all day long between Charleston and Myrtle Beach. And we haven't seen some rotation on a few these cells as they've been making their way onshore. So that will be a concern as we had through the rest of the afternoon. There have been delays at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport all morning long, and that will likely linger into the afternoon hours as well.

The whole storm is going to continue to push up to the North and East now. It should be moving through the Carolinas for tomorrow and then finally making its way back offshore into the Atlantic on Wednesday. Not expecting it to intensify, once again, but we will be getting rain in the mid Atlantic states by tonight. And believe it or not, as far north as New England on your Tuesday -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Jacqui, thanks so much.

We're now connected with our Ed Lavandera. To Melbourne, Florida.

Ed, what do you have for us?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here, Kyra, we're in Melbourne, Florida, where you can see the traffic jam here is backed up. There's a lot of people that are kind of making their way out into the roadways for the first time and kind of venturing out to see the damage.

Traffic lights are out in most areas. So this is why these lines are long.

You know, the damage is extensive throughout most of Florida and in this part, as far as we've seen over the last couple of days. Some homes damaged. A lot of people saying that what they're seeing in this hurricane is a lot more structural home damage than instead of more trees and power lines down. So they're rather upset about that.

But believe it or not, the U.S. mail being delivered today. One of our photographers was -- was out and about here in Melbourne and found the U.S. mail being delivered. A mailman trying to find the post office, or the mailbox, wherever he can, and doing a good job of that.

We've also seen the National Guard roll in, starting to get help out in the cleanup process as well here. But this is a cleanup process that's going to take a long time, as you probably heard.

The cleanup process for Hurricane Frances, which came through here in the beginning of September, still wasn't done. There were still piles and mounds of debris left in people's yards that crews hadn't had a chance to get to. And what officials here say they need is several weeks of quiet time, where they can get through and make sure that this cleanup process is ending -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ed, I know you've been working the streets, talking to a lot of people. Anything in particular that sort of struck you at this point? Any specific need or a certain family that reached out to you?

LAVANDERA: You know, there's -- you meet so many people, and unfortunately, we meet them in times of high stress. But what I'm really struck by is just the variety and the extremes to how people handle these kinds of stressful situations.

You know, we were in a mobile home park yesterday, and I approached one woman and wanted to kind of talk to her about what her experience had been like. And before I could get the words out of my mouth she had told me to go away, that she didn't have anything to say.

I turned right around and there's a 70-year-old man who welcomed me right into his home just so he could show me how his living room had been blown to pieces in this hurricane. And he joked about it.

You know, he talked about how he felt like moving to Hawaii, even though he knew he really wasn't going to do that at age of 70. But it's fascinating to see just how people react to this -- to this incredibly stressful situation either with anger or with humor. But it's the reality of the situation.

PHILLIPS: Well, you talked about that one resident saying he wants to move to Hawaii, but unfortunately he probably has to stay where he is. As for everybody behind you, are these all people, all this traffic, these are all folks heading out or trying to get back in? Kind of give me -- because that's a lot of people behind you.

LAVANDERA: Yes, I'm sorry. Behind me, this is inland. They're going toward the ocean this way.

PHILLIPS: OK. LAVANDERA: so about 100 yards behind us here, there's a traffic light that's out. So truly slowing the deal -- the process down here.

But there is traffic jams in a lot of places as people -- you know, yesterday the storm didn't really finish up until about a little bit after noon. So a lot of people were urged to stay indoors, let the crews do what they had to do.

This is really the first full day where people are able to get out and about and really survey the damage to their homes and their businesses. And we're starting to see a lot more things open up today. And people also need gas and food. And that's what they're out for.

PHILLIPS: What about the choppers overhead? Is that for search and rescue or surveillance, or probably news crews stalking you, yes?

LAVANDERA: I think -- yes -- no, not me. But I think that happened to be a news chopper.

You know, we had seen a convoy of National Guard troops coming through here as well just a little while ago. And we talked to one guy who's a FEMA worker, who is actually preparing to work an overnight shift at a hospital.

So it's kind of interesting to see that, you know, these people who kind of flood into these -- into these zones to help people out really do a lot of work that's behind the scenes. You don't really see a lot of hospitals were damaged. And so these guys drive up from Miami, for example, to kind of -- to help -- to help the employees of these hospitals get through the night. You know, and that's kind of the -- everything that's going on in this situation.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Yes, American Red Cross even saying almost 30,000 people from all over the country coming into Florida. Ed Lavandera out of Melbourne, Florida, thank you so much.

LAVANDERA: You got it.

PHILLIPS: Four hurricanes in six weeks spells absolute misery for Florida, and the largest relief effort in FEMA's history, believe it or not. In just the past two weeks, relief workers have served almost eight million meals. With the power going off constantly, water and ice are a necessity.

More than three million gallons of water, more than 19 million pounds of ice have already been distributed. They still need more. More than 3,600 National Guard troops have been deployed to help in this effort.

And the cost oil is climbing for crude. Oil is nearly the psychological $50 a barrel mark. And the price climbing in part because of Hurricane Ivan, which shut down or damaged oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Now, the Bush administration is said to be keeping a close eye on the price jump. No matter how high it goes, spokesperson Scott McClellan says that tapping into the nation's petroleum reserve is just not an option.

Insurgent violence spills into the streets of Iraq, killing several people across the nation. The U.S. counters with deadly attacks on reported militant positions. CNN's Brent Sadler is in Baghdad with more on this day of bloodshed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Insurgent attacks have hit Iraq's security forces in northern and central parts of Iraq, as well as the capital itself. The deadliest strike was aimed at Iraqi National Guardsmen in the northern city of Mosul when a roadside bomb hit a seven-vehicle convoy.

Seconds after the blast, gunmen sprayed the vehicles with machine gunfire, inflicting further casualties. A suicide bomber struck again at guardsmen in Fallujah but failed to inflict heavy casualties, while another bomb targeted Iraqi security forces south of Baquba. And in Baghdad, mortars landed harmlessly in a police training academy.

U.S. warplanes were also on the offensive, pounding suspected Shiite militant positions in the slum district of Sadr City, partly controlled by militant anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The U.S. military authorities say the strike targeted a hotbed of insurgents loyal to Sadr, destroying positively identified hideouts. But doctors in the local hospitals claim the strikes inflicted casualties among women and children.

Top U.S. officials are now speaking of major political and military efforts in coming weeks to take control of areas now under the influence of insurgents, especially Fallujah. In addition, top level talks are now under way in Damascus to coax Syrian authorities into stemming an alleged flow of money and foreign fighters crossing into Iraq from Syria over a porous border. Securing the cooperation of Iraq's neighbors is seen by the Iraqi authorities here as a pivotal step in establishing security in Iraq ahead of planned elections at the end of January.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Turning now to U.S. troops and their tour of duty in Iraq, the defense secretary is looking into reducing the stay of soldiers in the war zone. Soldiers currently have a 12-month tour in Iraq. A senior Pentagon official says that Donald Rumsfeld is checking with the Army to see if the time can be reduced. The official says that there is no indication of when or where -- or when, rather, the policy could happen.

Heads up on hurricane victims. Scam artists out there working the damaged areas. Find out what to watch out for and how to get help if you've been conned.

And are insurance companies adding to the agony? Personal stories of the new nightmare from the town that saw the worst of Jeanne and Frances.

And later, not feeling so good yourself? It could be where you live. The link between suburban sprawl and your health. LIVE FROM decides to stay downtown right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. We touched in with Ed Lavandera in Melbourne, Florida. Now, let's move over to Vero Beach, Florida, another area hard hit by these storms.

Chris Paladino with the American Red Cross now with an update on Jeanne and how it's affected that area.

Chris, first of all, if you could just sort of give us a general recap of what you're dealing with right now to this point.

CHRIS PALADINO, AMERICAN RED CROSS: Sure. Well, right now the American Red Cross is focused on people's basic needs: shelter, some place to stay, food, water, and of course mental health counseling and care.

PHILLIPS: So do you have enough volunteers right now? Because I know you said earlier in the day you had about 20,000 -- 26,000 people that had come from all over the country. Has that been enough? Do you need more?

PALADINO: We could always use more volunteers. If people would go to their local chapter and sign up and take some of the training, if they're able to travel for a couple of weeks, we could use more. It might not be immediately, but this is going to be a long-term recovery, and we need to be able to rotate people in and out because our volunteers get tired.

PHILLIPS: So what type of volunteers do you need? Do you need counselors? Do you need doctors? Do you need child care? What exactly do you need?

PALADINO: Actually, anybody who is in generally good health who can work in these hardship conditions, because there is no air- conditioning, there is no electricity, there are water issues. Anybody who is in generally good health and can spare a couple of weeks are the people we need.

PHILLIPS: Now, we're reading that almost all the schools are closed down. So what are -- what are children doing? Let's say parents can go back to work, kids can't go back to school. Are you helping with that, or can you -- do you not have the facilities to care for the kids?

PALADINO: I have to tell you, we don't really even have the facilities right now to care for them. And this is a major challenge.

I mean, there are literally thousands of families whose homes haven't been affected but are still being affected financially by this storm, as you say, because the kids are out of school and somebody's got to stay home and watch them.

PHILLIPS: Wow. What about the elderly?

PALADINO: Well, you know, I think they're being cared for in terms of their medical needs. Are being cared for very well both by Red Cross and by government resources, county resources here.

I think the biggest issue is, is, again, the mental health issue, not only for the elderly, but for anybody who's suffered. I've been working at our shelter all morning again, and we've had a lot of people leave the shelter to go home. Quite a few of them have been coming back, because they're coming back and saying, "I went home and there's nothing left."

PHILLIPS: I know you've got to move on, Chris. You've got your hands full. But real quickly, what's that 800 number again if folks want to volunteer or donate?

PALADINO: 1-800-HELP-NOW. And anybody who could call, we greatly appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: There you go, 1-800-HELP-NOW. Chris Paladino, a busy man right now, American Red Cross in Vero Beach. Thanks for checking in with us real quickly.

PALADINO: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, it only took minutes for Hurricane Jeanne to tear apart the lives of some Florida homeowners. And it's going to take residents many months now to rebuild.

Some Floridians are complaining that their insurance companies are holding up that process by moving so slowly. CNN's John Zarrella reports from Stuart, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SUE DAVIS, STUART, FLORIDA RESIDENT: Some of my furniture.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a span of three weeks, Mary Sue Davis has been victimized twice.

DAVIS: Everything is totally gone. It was -- it had all fallen in here. You know...

ZARRELLA: The eyes of two hurricanes, Frances and Jeanne, passed directly over her Stuart, Florida, home. Frances did most of the damage. Her ceilings are nearly completely gone. Her furniture destroyed.

DAVIS: There's no way that you can replace these things ever.

ZARRELLA: It will be many months before this home is livable.

DAVIS: It would be anywhere from four to six months or longer before we would be back in our homes. That takes you through all the holidays. So you're going to have Thanksgiving dinner in an RV or a hotel room, Christmas.

ZARRELLA: Compounding Davis' problem, her insurance company has still not sent an adjuster to assess the losses from the first hurricane.

Barbara Motisi lives across the street. She's in the same boat.

BARBARA MOTISI, STUART, FLORIDA, RESIDENT: I feel like they've giving me the runaround because when I call one number they say, "OK, you're supposed to call this number." So I call that number where the adjusters are supposed to be and they tell me that I was even assigned to an adjuster yet.

ZARRELLA: Motisi's home is unlivable, too. Mold covers the walls.

MOTISI: This is from the first one. Yes. No, I haven't had an adjuster here from the first storm yet.

ZARRELLA: Now, water from Jeanne that streamed through holes in the roof covers the floor. This entire subdivision is a mess. Tarps that covered roofs were ripped off by Jeanne, exposing gaping holes left behind by Frances. Debris piles never picked up after the first hurricane will now only get bigger.

John Zarrella, CNN, Stuart, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: The storm-fatigued Floridians could be vulnerable to con artists who offer a quick fix to their problems. Hurricane victims can now report scams on the state's first ever fraud hotline.

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist is back with us. He launched that hotline. He joins us now live from St. Petersburg, Florida.

Good to see you again, Charlie. Now, I remember the last time we talked you said, "Kyra, everything is under control right now. We're on to people. We've got sting operations."

Now I want to ask you again, what has been the biggest scam thus far and are you prosecuting these people?

CHARLIE CRIST, FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are prosecuting them, Kyra. And I think we are on top of it.

You know, actually, we have some good news to share because, while some of those price gougers continue to operate in our state, it seems that the word is getting out that we're prosecuting these cases in a very aggressive way, trying to protect our fellow Floridians, and that's having a deterrent effect. I can tell you that during the course of the first three storms, we had about 7,000 complaints of suspected price gouging. In the past storm we've only had about 50 complaints.

So something is happening that's having a deterrent effect. And we hope that at least in some small way the rapid prosecution of some of these cases is contributing to that.

PHILLIPS: All right. From price gouging to speculators, I haven't had a chance to talk to you about this, but this is what friends here who have relatives and other folks living in Florida said: "Now we have people coming to our door with cash saying, 'If you want us to handle this, here you go. Here's $100,000 in cash, sign the paperwork, you can move on, we'll take care of business.'"

And, you know, meanwhile, their property could be worth half a million. But these people just don't know what to do, and they're so desperate to move on.

Are you dealing with any speculators? Is that the proper word that I'm using? And how are you going to deal with them?

CRIST: Well, I think it's a very good word to use for it because that's probably exactly what it is. You know, I visited St. Petersburg Beach, which still was feeling some of the wrath of the storm yesterday, late yesterday, and one of the issues that has come up is people may come in and try to take advantage of the fact that Florida now has been hit by four storms, and try to make a quick buck and flip a property, or something of that nature.

The thing to apply there is not so much government but common sense, and to make sure that if somebody makes one of those type of offers to you, that you factor in more the long-term affect of things and not really the short term. Now, that may be easier said than done, but I think it's important for people who are along the coast to keep that in mind.

Florida property is going to be worth a lot always, especially that property that is waterfront. It's gone up a lot in the last 10 years all across our state. That is not going to change.

This is a short-term thing. We will rebound, we will recover, and those properties are going to be worth considerable moneys. It would be not a very good idea to have somebody offer that kind of money and accept it quickly when it's probably not in your family's best interest in the long term.

PHILLIPS: All right. So price gouging, speculators. What else has -- what's come over the hotline? What else are you dealing with? What else do people need to pay attention to?

CRIST: Well, I think they need to pay attention to, as I said earlier, using common sense. Looters are a problem sometimes, but fortunately, with the great assistance from the Florida National Guard, that is much less of a problem.

I mean, they dispatch very, very quickly, get in, in fact, before the skies are blue after one of these storms. That has a tremendous deterrent effect to have our National Guard out there with M-16s to make sure that people's homes aren't taken advantage of.

And one of the things we want to look toward in the next session of our legislature is the possibility of enhancing the penalties for people who would, in fact, loot. I mean, imagine if the government does force you to evacuate, then somebody goes in and tries to take advantage of that. There ought to be an enhanced penalty for it. We need to take care of our fellow Floridians, and I think that the legislature here would be very much accepting of that kind an idea.

PHILLIPS: Charlie, we've got to go. But real quickly, that fraud hotline, can you give it to me?

CRIST: You bet -- 1-800-646-0444. Anybody who thinks that somebody is gouging them, please give us a call. You've got enough to think about.

PHILLIPS: Florida attorney general, Charlie Crist, thanks so much.

CRIST: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Straight ahead right after the break, we're going to take you back to Haiti. Our Karl Penhaul is there.

Talk about taking advantage of aid. We're going to tell you how thousands have been left homeless and they're desperate for food and water. We'll take you there live right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Critical, that's what the situation in Haiti is being called. More than a week after Jeanne struck that island nation, hundreds of people are still missing, and there is chaos amid the relief efforts. Peter Bell with CARE International joins me now live via videophone. He's president of CARE International.

Can you hear me OK, peter?

PETER BELL, PRESIDENT, CARE INTERNATIONAL: I can, Kyra. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Go ahead and give me an update, Peter, on the challenges that you're facing right now.

BELL: Well, we do face major challenges here. First of all, this area has been absolutely devastated. It's -- and right here in this area, I just talked with a woman who is six months pregnant. She lost all -- she lost six children in the hurricane and 12 other relatives. And she's here to collect food today.

Our challenge is, in the midst of all of this rubble, and in the midst of a chaotic situation, to provide food and water at this moment for people who just don't -- haven't had enough to eat. And we are trying each day to increase the level of food.

PHILLIPS: Well, Peter, over the weekend and even Friday...

BELL: The next.

PHILLIPS: Yes, go ahead. I'm sorry. BELL: Yes. Well, I was going to say, of course, the next hurdle, as soon as we get food delivered in the quantity and in the order which we would like, we're going to have to also face a tremendous problems of sewage, sanitation, hygiene, to prevent the spread of infectious disease. These are the two immediate problems, but in the background are the problems of security, of disorder, and of gangs as well.

PHILLIPS: And we've seen those pictures. We saw the video Friday, Saturday, Sunday of just mobs of people trying to get their hands on this aid. We saw a lot of children just being pushed aside.

How are you trying to quell, I guess you could say, the madness that is take place as people are trying to get their hands on food and water?

BELL: Well, we had -- one thing that we have tried, and it worked quite well overall, is to deliver the food to women on the basis that that will be the most efficient and effective way and the most orderly way to get food into families. The problem that we have faced here just within the last half an hour or so is that some of the men are rebelling.

They have sent the women home and they've said, "We want the food ourselves," because they're desperate as well. So, you know -- and this is a new neighborhood, it's a neighborhood of life, if you will, and the eye of the storm here, this is -- this area was absolutely devastated -- decimated by the storm.

So it's understandable that people are desperate. And yet, we have to have some kind of orderly situation so that people themselves won't get injured as the food is being distributed. CARE has worked here in this city for 40 years and never seen anything like this.

PHILLIPS: Are you dealing with an orphan problem?

BELL: And I would just say one other thing, and that is -- go ahead, please.

PHILLIPS: Are you dealing with the problem of orphans?

BELL: Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Peter, have you found there are a lot of kids that are in the need of a parent or a relative?

BELL: Yes, there are problems of orphans as well. I saw just today in a CARE compound that we had taken in a little girl who lost her mother. And there are -- there's a massive problem of orphans.

I would like to make one -- one important point here, however. As terrible as this situation is as of this moment, it's just critically important that the United States and the international community develop with the Haitians a long-term strategy to get at the problems of extreme poverty. The basic underlying problem here is that this is by far the poorest country in the western hemisphere. It's as poor as any country in the world. And until we get to that problem, we're never going -- Haitians are always going to be vulnerable to natural disasters.

PHILLIPS: And that's why it's so critically important to have people like you, Peter Bell, with CARE International. We sure thank you for your time today, and our best wishes go to you.

And as you know, back here in the U.S., things struggling on the economic front, especially when it comes to the airline industry. A lot of -- a lot of stocks feeling the effect from the storms that we've all experienced.

Let's check in with Rhonda Schaffler once again at the New York Stock Exchange -- Rhonda.

(MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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