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Tom DeLay in Trouble in Texas?; Interview With U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen

Aired December 06, 2005 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go straight to Betty Nguyen, working a developing story, a school shooting in Detroit -- Betty.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. That's what we are learning about.

We also have some video of that school that we are going to put up right now. This is coming from affiliate WXYZ.

What we have so learned so far, this school is at Central High School in Detroit. And we learned that students said shot were fired by some young men who were let inside the building. You're taking a look at the school right now.

School representatives say the shooting victim was a male, but was not a student of the school. Now, all of this information is coming to us from an affiliate WDIV. That victim, that male victim, was transported to a hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm.

Now, investigators at the scene are also saying that the shooting involved rival gangs and that no Central High School students were involved in the shooting.

Again, it happened in the entranceway of the school, according to investigators. This was before those young men involved got to metal detectors. And, as of this hour, we understand that the school was never put under lockdown -- so, again, a school shooting inside an entranceway there at Central High School in Detroit.

You're looking at a picture of that school right now. That school is not under lockdown at the moment. But we have learned that one person was shot, a young man. The identity has not been given to us just yet. But that person has a gunshot wound to the arm.

And investigators on the scene say that this involved rival gang members and not any of the students at the school, Kyra.

So, we're going to stay on top of this school shooting and bring you the latest, as those developments occur.

PHILLIPS: All right, Betty. Thanks so much.

The U.S. military is just out with an update report on 10 Marines who died in Iraq last Thursday. According to the Marine Corps, they were not killed by a roadside bomb while on foot patrol, as we had previously reported. Instead, the Marines were leaving a promotion ceremony when one of them apparently triggered a booby trap, causing the explosion.

The ceremony was held in an abandoned floor factory just outside Fallujah -- flour factory, rather, outside Fallujah. It was held for three Marines, two of them among -- were among those killed in that blast. Explosive experts believe that four artillery shells were buried in two separate locations.

The area around that factory had been swept for explosives prior to the event.

Enough about that. What about me? Enough about them. What about me?

Consider that a very rough translation of the closing tirade of Saddam Hussein after a long day of gut-wrenching testimony from five of his alleged victims.

CNN's Nic Robertson saw and heard it all.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All five witnesses today had their identities hidden. They gave testimony from beyond a screen in the courtroom. Their voices were electronically distorted, so their identity could not be given away -- but perhaps the most powerful testimony coming from the first witness, witness A, the first woman to give evidence in this case.

She talked about how she and her family were rounded up from their home in Dujail, taken to the Baath Party headquarters, then transported to the interrogation headquarters, the intelligence headquarters in Baghdad. And she described how she was taken into a room she called the operation room. There, she said she was told to take off her clothes. Her legs were held up, she said. Then her hands were handcuffed.

She went on to describe how she was beaten. She said there were five officers in there; they beat her with -- with electric cables. She described how there were electrocutions going on, how they then moved from that detention facility to Abu Ghraib, how the situation there was dire. She said that they were forced to make their own underwear and socks from blankets that they cut up, that they had to improvise for shoes using newspapers, because they didn't have shoes -- some very, very vivid testimony.

She was, quite clearly, even through the distortion disguise her voice, you could a hear she was getting very tearful at moments, giving her testimony. Another -- one other woman also testified, a more elderly woman, in her early 70s. And three men also gave testimony, evidence, in the court today.

One of the interesting features today was the fact that the judge, Rizgar Amin, gave Saddam Hussein and his half-brother, Barzan Hassan al-Tikriti, a little more time and a little more leeway to talk. And, at times, it seemed as if Saddam Hussein was perhaps losing the legal thread a little bit. We have seen him a lot of bluster from him. We have seen him become really abrasive and angry with the judge and angry with some of the defendants. And what we saw today was perhaps an indication that, perhaps, he is not as fully in control of this legal process as he would like to be. He seemed a little bit adrift.

And his half-brother, Barzan Hassan al-Tikriti, when cross- examining one of the witnesses, really put himself, perhaps, in deep water, if you will. He asked the witness, talking about the Baath Party headquarters in Dujail, where many people have been rounded up, he said, did you see me there? And the witness said, yes, I did, to which he then replied, well, you will remember that I was there. I was shaking hands and kissing about 60 men. I organized for their release.

But, perhaps, because the judge has given him a little more leeway to keep talking, he has perhaps implicated himself. That's not clear. Certainly, there was no evidence given today that was really a legal smoking gun, if you will. But it was right at the very end of the trial, where Judge Rizgar Amin was just about to adjourn the court. He said, I'm going to adjourn it until Wednesday. He said there were just two more witnesses to go.

Saddam Hussein jumped up and complained. He said, I have been in the same underwear, the same shirt for the last three days. I don't want to go ahead with the trial tomorrow. I will refuse to do that.

The judge said, no, absolutely not. The trial will go ahead Wednesday.

And just as the court was closing, Saddam Hussein said -- he said, I will not appear in a court without justice. All you can go to -- all you can go to hell with your American agents.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, there will be no early end to Congressman Tom DeLay's legal problems. Even though a Texas court has thrown out conspiracy charges against DeLay, it will allow prosecutors to continue pressing more serious money-laundering charges.

Delay is accused of funneling illegal corporate contributions to Texas legislative candidates. And his trial isn't expected to begin until early next year.

Tom DeLay also may face some problems in his home district, where he's seeking reelection to the House.

Gallup Poll editor in chief, Frank Newport, joins us now from Princeton, New Jersey.

Frank, I understand you have some new poll results from Texas. What do they show?

FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR IN CHIEF, GALLUP POLL: Indeed. This is a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, Kyra, in Texas District 22.

That's a little to the west suburbs of Houston, down there in Sugar Bend and some other places like that -- Sugar Land. Let's show you what we're finding, 36-49. This is a generic ballot test. We asked the voters in District 22, would you vote for Tom DeLay, the Republican candidate, for reelection or the Democratic candidate? You can see the margin there. A lot can change, of course, between now and next fall, including the trial you just mentioned -- but, right now, not too good news for Tom DeLay.

And look at these numbers, Kyra. Favorable, unfavorable, that's our classic measure of political figures. And, at this point, 52 to 37 an unfavorable opinion. I put up there Ronnie Earle. Who is he? Well, Kyra, he's the Travis County -- that's Austin -- district attorney who has brought the charges against Tom DeLay. At this point, a lot of people don't know who he was in Texas District 22, but a mixed opinion among those who do.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's change gears just a little bit -- President Bush in North Carolina yesterday, talking about some recent upbeat economic numbers. Is the public giving him credit?

NEWPORT: No, they are not. I'm not sure how much this matters, though.

We do say, are Bush's policies -- that is, President Bush's policies -- helping or hurting the economy just a couple of weeks ago? Forty percent said hurting, just 21 percent helping. So, that's not good news. But a good economy, I think, cures all problems. And, if the economy perks up, to the point where Americans recognize it, the president, as is always the case -- it happened for Bill Clinton in his second term -- will benefit.

Here's the numbers, a slight uptick in consumer confidence. Thirty-six percent now say the U.S. economy is getting better. Now, Kyra, that's not great, in and of itself, but, certainly, 36 percent is better than the 24 percent we had who said it was getting better just a couple of months ago.

PHILLIPS: All right, let's talk about New Orleans.

Mayor Ray Nagin, he has been trying to persuade Hurricane Katrina evacuees to come home. Are they listening?

NEWPORT: Well, you know, this was our interesting CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll of evacuees we took a couple of months ago, you remember, Kyra.

We asked those just from New Orleans, are you going to go back? Is the glass half-empty or half-full? About half of New Orleans residents at that point said they will be going back, a little good news for Mayor Nagin there. However, if you look at the bottom, that's about 40 percent who said, no, they had no plans to come back. And that would really hurt the economy, if a full 40 percent of those who fled end up not returning to the Crescent City.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thank you so much, Frank Newport.

Well, coming up right after the break -- you mentioned New Orleans -- well, Vice Admiral Thad Allen, he is with us. You know he's the man there in charge in New Orleans and, of course, all across the Gulf Coast. We're going to take e-mails.

Lots of questions for you, Admiral. You ready for them?

VICE ADMIRAL THAD ALLEN, U.S. COAST GUARD: Our best shot.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: All right. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's go straight to Betty Nguyen, working a developing story, a school shooting in Detroit.

More information, Betty?

NGUYEN: Yes.

We're learning more about that school shooting. It happened at Central High School this afternoon. Now, we were told it didn't involve any students, but some young men who approached the school. We have been listening to a school official describe exactly what happened. So, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened inside the school today, at approximately 1:25 or 1:3, a group of students burst through one of the doors, being let in by a student. In the vestibule, the pepper- sprayed several students and fired one shot, striking one of us -- one person in the building, who, by the way, was a non-student, also.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So they...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Now, again, that, one person did receive a gunshot wound to his arm. He has been taken to the hospital.

As we were listening to that school official talk about exactly what happened, he also mentioned that it had nothing to do with the school or the student there. These were non-students. And, basically, a man was being chased by some other folks. He was seeking refuge, ran into the school. And that's where the shooting occurred.

So, the school is not under lockdown at this moment. And it appears that the people involved, at least one of them, with a gunshot wound to the arm, has been taken to the hospital.

So, that's the latest on the school shooting in Detroit there, Kyra, at Central High School. PHILLIPS: All right, Betty Nguyen, working that story for us in the newsroom, thank you so much.

We are going to take a quick break -- more LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, he was a troubleshooter in the midst of more trouble than any major U.S. city has ever seen, a rebuilder in the midst of unthinkable destruction, a lifeline amid death and despair.

Thad Allen was a highly respected, yet little known Coast Guard vice admiral when he was tapped to represent the federal government to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and vice-versa. And all those jobs I mentioned before, well, he's still doing them, and incredibly well.

Today, Admiral Allen is passing through Atlanta. We couldn't let him leave without a sit-down sit-rep.

Good to see you, sir.

ALLEN: Hi, Kyra. How are you?

PHILLIPS: So, you -- is this a vacation? Is this business? Why are we so lucky to have you coming through here today?

ALLEN: Well, you know, I'm responsible for the entire region. And you need to do some circuit riding. We will be meeting with some FEMA region four people today. And I'm going to meet with my good friend Russ Honore later on this afternoon.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: The raging Cajun.

ALLEN: He certainly is.

PHILLIPS: He's still as crazy as ever. He stops by here every now and then.

Well, let's talk about -- boy, a lot to talk about. Maybe, just to kind of start things off, when we first saw the Coast Guard in action, it was those amazing helicopter rescues, just one after another. This was before you actually became...

ALLEN: That's right.

PHILLIPS: ... so well known in a part of the fight there.

Tell us about what it was like to just watch these men and women in these crews, one after the other, go down and rescue these people just minute by minute.

ALLEN: Well, I was at Coast Guard headquarters at the time. And, of course, we were extraordinarily proud of these folks. We know what they do day in and day out. It was a chance for the public to see what they do, but, moreover, what they do under extraordinary circumstances. We had air rescue men going to Home Depot, buying chain saws and axes to be lowered down to be able to break through the roofs. So, that is certainly...

PHILLIPS: They were doing that on their own?

ALLEN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

ALLEN: Yes. Yes.

PHILLIPS: And we are -- actually, we have got a bunch of the -- the video here. You can actually see. We got it from the Department of Defense, also from the Coast Guard, and other -- but just seeing them with these kids. And, I mean, this is what moved people. This is when they saw military in action really for the first time.

ALLEN: Well, we have a tradition in the Coast Guard of allowing our field commanders autonomy in how they move resources around. We pre-staged before the hurricane.

The helicopters were set to come in behind as soon as the weather allowed to have access to start doing rescue. We do that in every hurricane. This one was just monumental and beyond the scale of what we normally deal with. But they were able to cope with the scale. We brought other resources in from around the country, extraordinary work by our mechanics and the crews that kept them flying.

PHILLIPS: And did you have a chance to sit down with a lot these crews and these men and women afterward? I mean, what was the buzz? I mean, the adrenaline must have been pumping 24/7.

ALLEN: Well, the adrenaline was huge.

And these folks are used to working together, but they had never congregated together in such large numbers. We were operating out of New Orleans, Houston, and Mobile. We brought all the helicopters, weren't needed to anything else in the Coast Guard there. And keeping them flying was a major challenge, with the flight (INAUDIBLE) and everything else. But they came together as a great team, an impromptu kind of an organization, and made us very, very proud.

PHILLIPS: Thousands and thousands of rescues, pretty incredible.

OK. Then we saw, of course, your good buddy Russel Honore come through there, bringing in supplies and directing things on the ground there. But then you came in and took over, boy, probably an even bigger challenge. And that was overseeing everything from housing to health to toxic water to, my gosh -- I mean, I could go on and on and on.

When you found out that that was going to be your new job, did you just sort of sit back and -- OK, let's strap in; here we go... (LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: ... and tell your wife, I will see you in about 12 months?

ALLEN: Well, hopefully, it's not going to be that long.

(LAUGHTER)

ALLEN: But it kind of happened in two steps. The first call I got was on Monday, 5th of September, Labor Day. The secretary asked me to go down and handle the New Orleans piece of the problem, which was rather, you know, large at that time.

Then, later on, of course, I moved up and got the larger job for the entire response. But the first part in New Orleans, it was a matter of getting on ground, organizing the forces, and trying to establish priorities, what needed to be done first, not unlike we would attack a very large oil spill. So, it's something that we are trained to do and we have experience doing.

PHILLIPS: Yes. I mean, that's a good point. Coast Guard, you think of, OK, search and rescue. They're life-savers. They have got the big ships out in the water dealing with oil spills or cutting through Antarctica.

And then we hear someone from the Coast Guard has been appointed to help rebuild the city. I mean, it's an interesting new role. It's under Homeland Security. You had to work side by side with Chertoff. You also had to come in after Michael Brown. That was a bit of a disaster. Did you feel a lot of pressure?

ALLEN: It was a different type of a situation, but it wasn't a different doctrine.

We have operated for years under what is called the incident command system. And it's kind of a universal language in how you come together, apply resources, and execute response in an incident. And that's what we did in New Orleans. It allows you to bring in folks like the Forest Service there establishing base camps, EPA doing hazmat response, and the urban search-and-rescue teams.

So, the doctrine was set. It was just applied in a much more dramatic and -- setting of just broad scope, more than we had ever anticipated.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about housing.

And -- and I know we have got some video. I believe it's the Victoria (ph) trailer community. You went and visited a lot of these folks living in trailers. And I remember even being there one day when you had to brief FEMA and you were -- they -- everyone was talking about trailers. Should we do it Should we not do it?

Is this working? And will folks eventually be able to get out of these trailers and get back into their homes or someplace else? Because we saw what happened in Florida. A lot of these trailer homes have never even gone away from past hurricanes. What do you think?

ALLEN: Well, it's a solution, but it's only part of a solution. You have to look at the entire displaced population, which is extensive.

We are talking in excess of 600,000 households. Trailers are a solution. Mobil homes are a solution, apartments, housing elsewhere in the country. We need to put somebody where they need to be for an extended period of time, in some cases, because, if you're the Lower -- Ninth Ward Ninth Ward -- it's going to be a while before you're home.

And it's the matter of dealing with that displaced population. That's unprecedented. And it's never been had -- never been had to deal with in the country before.

PHILLIPS: Well, not only dealing with the housing issues and getting the resources there, but I have watched you interact with people, whether it's on tape or in person. And you sort of become kind of a -- a psychologist, in many ways, too, don't...

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Seriously. I mean, I watched you, even at the shelters, interact with the kids and interact with the families. And they not only said to you, Admiral, I need a home, but they really just wanted to talk to you and know that you felt their pain.

ALLEN: Well, right after I assumed the responsibilities, I called all the people in Baton Rouge together, about 4,000 people in the joint field office there, and I gave them one task to begin with. And that was treat all the victims like they were your family.

I said, if you do that, you probably won't make a mistake. You may have to go back and get absolution for something you may not have done some time, but, as far as the victims go, you won't make a mistake. And I can tell you, the people on ground are doing that exact same thing down there. And I'm very proud of them.

PHILLIPS: When you visited these kids, you always had your pockets full of Tootsie Rolls. What -- what were these kids saying to you? Were they -- was it more innocent? I mean, they -- they seemed so happy when you interacted with them. Were they just glad to see somebody to the rescue?

I mean, give me a feel for what it was like to interact with the kids.

ALLEN: Well, that particular shelter was in Zachary, Louisiana, north of Baton Rouge. And we went up.

And these families had been from all over the state. They were there. They were displaced. This local community showed them so much love. They got jobs for the parents. They got the kids to school. They had rules. You have to get up at a certain time, go to bed at a certain time. I guess, if I would make any comment, we got there about 8:00 or 9:00 at night and gave them candy. We got the kids wired and we left.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: And they were like, Admiral, the kids are never going to get to sleep.

ALLEN: Oh, they were extraordinary. They were precious kids, and we had a great time. Of the three or four high points in my entire trip down there, going to that church in Zachary was probably one of them.

PHILLIPS: Now, that was the Covenant Church, right?

ALLEN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: And that was the shelter that they were running.

What do you think that they did, in the midst of all the craziness and trying to find refuge for these people, what was it that this particular shelter did that was just such a job well done?

ALLEN: Well, when you talk about displaced people, there's a term we used called wrap-around services. And that's what you do for them, other than providing them a bed.

And if government, whether it's state, local, or federal, are doing that, you're trying to bring somebody in to provide those services. The people at that church brought it with them. In other words, they brought the care and feeding. They found transportation. They helped the parents find jobs. They dealt with day care issues for the kids.

They made a total environment that made those people feel safe and loved. And it was a -- just an extraordinary opportunity for the people that were there, but an extension of -- into the community by a faith-based organization that was unbelievable. We really enjoyed the visit.

PHILLIPS: Well, we have got a number of e-mails from folks. Just, we wanted to see what their questions were. As you can imagine, it's everything from health to housing to, you know, am I going to be able to come back to the Lower Ninth Ward?

Keith Weatherspoon wrote in and wanted to say: "Will a through report of air and soil quality be given on a regular basis?"

Now, I remember, when you and I first talked, your concern, it was the toxic water and the air quality. I remember you talking about this a lot and talking with FEMA and other health folks. And you had to brief so many people.

Has that gotten better? Is that still a concern? A year from now, people that are going back, will they have to worry about the air that they breathe?

ALLEN: Well, the answer is yes. There's extensive air, water and sediment monitoring going on.

The first issue we had was the water and the water that was being pumped into Lake Pontchartrain. But I think we have pretty much determined, by testing with EPA and local authorities, that there's not a problem there now.

The issue we're dealing with now is sediment on the ground. And we -- there's extensive testing that has been done. We're working with the state of Louisiana and EPA right now to produce a report very shortly, will allow people to understand what is the nature of the sediment in the neighborhoods where they are returning to.

But, in general, there may be a few hot spots, but that may be even a result of conditions that existed before Katrina. But we intend to make all that public, so there can be decisions made by the population that is returning.

PHILLIPS: Can I ask you about the levees? Are you meeting with the Army Corps of Engineers? Are you meeting with the various scientists that are coming into New Orleans and talking about the levees, like the Dutch scientists, and giving recommendations? Can you report to me...

ALLEN: Well, I'm aware of those meetings.

My interaction with the Corps of Engineers and the levee system has more been tactical. First of all, it was the unwatering, then filling the levee breaches. How do we coordinate the resources that are out there? And, quite frankly, Russ Honore was involved with that, getting the helicopters out there with the sandbagging and everything.

PHILLIPS: Right.

ALLEN: As we move into recovery and reconstruction of the city, levees obviously become a very, very important issue.

Making all that information transparent and then driving those public policy decisions is a basic step in setting the conditions by which New Orleans is going to come back. And Don Powell, who is coming in as a reconstruction executive, kind of has that as part of his portfolio.

PHILLIPS: Another thing that you talked a lot about -- I remember this -- you were very concerned about the flow of money.

You saw a lot of money coming into New Orleans and other parts. And a lot of people wondering, will the money go into the right places? I mean, history of Louisiana politics is not necessarily 100 percent, you know, on the mark.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: So, how do you feel about that, the allocation of funds? And do you think it's going to the right places? Where do you think the money should be going to at this point? ALLEN: Well, the allocation of money to this disaster is extraordinary, unprecedented in the history of the United States.

So, I think we have a fiduciary responsibility, if nothing else, to make sure it is spent properly. And we have an inspector generals embedded in the office where I'm at in Baton Rouge that are actually watching...

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: So, no more reporters.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: You have someone embedded with you that's monitoring the money.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Is that what you're telling me?

ALLEN: Well, we are.

But, quite frankly, with the amount of procurements that are going on and the amount of transactions, it's possible to lose track of that. And we need to be mindful that we have to be stewards of the public trust while we are doing this response.

That said, it's not always the flow of money that causes problems. Sometimes, it's trying to link up contractual agreements that we have at the federal level to supply, say, trailers, then interacting with the permitting process at the parish level to actually get those trailers on to a pad, so somebody can occupy them. And that's what we are working hard on right now.

PHILLIPS: So, they are with you on a regular basis, basically looking at, OK, we're getting this amount of funds and there's this project, and this is going -- I mean, is it that specific?

ALLEN: Well, they are on staff there. They're -- we're actually using them as a resource. There have actually been three occasions -- I won't name them publicly...

PHILLIPS: That's OK.

ALLEN: ... where I walked over to the I.G. and said, I want you to look at this.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

ALLEN: And they have done it. And we tried to handle it real- time.

PHILLIPS: Another e-mail, this one coming from Jean Garza: "The children living here aren't able to go outside and play, like pre- Katrina. I am fearful that the debris will slide down on them if they were to go outside. I have to walk by four piles of debris every day to bring my 5-year-old son to the bus stop. When can I expect to feel safe in my neighborhood again and get the debris picked up?"

And, of course, I mean, we shot video. It was just last week. And it's just brutal, some of the neighborhoods all the debris, even the old refrigerators and everything else out there.

ALLEN: Yes. The debris problem is extraordinary.

To answer the question specifically, I would almost have to know the neighborhood. You have been down there.

PHILLIPS: Sure.

ALLEN: They are all slightly different.

PHILLIPS: The zip codes -- right.

ALLEN: Right.

But -- but, in general, the notion of debris, I think, is a huge challenge right now. Debris paces everything else. You have to remove debris from streets to provide access to houses. You have to have debris from yards to be able to get in and do construction work. And, quite frankly, getting that right and getting the Corps in and -- and pointing them in the right direction, and contractors and the subcontractors is a big issue right now.

We're up to somewhere around 70,000 cubic yards a day that are being removed from New Orleans as we speak.

PHILLIPS: Wow. So, that's good to hear.

Something else I wanted to ask you -- as we were listening to the testimony on the Hill today, a lot of evacuees coming forward, and community folks, saying that not enough individuals from New Orleans are being hired in the rebuilding. Can you talk to me at all about who is being hired?

Do you have any locals working for you, anyone from the Lower Ninth Ward to Lakeview to other areas? And how do you go about dealing with those contracts, about bringing the locals back to help rebuild their city?

ALLEN: Well, first, in regard to our offices and FEMA and the other federal agencies, to the extent that we can, we are hiring local employees. We have local employees working for us in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. And we put a premium on that. And we do attempt to do that.

It's a little difficult to track what private contractors are doing when they bring in employees to work on a private job. We do have some visibility, if it's a government contract. And we are encouraging local contracts to be awarded.

But, quite frankly, the dynamic there is having enough housing for workers to live in while they are doing the work in New Orleans and the other areas over in Mississippi, too. And, in some cases, they are commuting very, very large distances to come and work in New Orleans, from Baton Rouge, Lafayette and so forth.

And I think it's more of a question of housing for workers that need to work there and do the recovery and trying to measure that out, the work that needs to be done with the housing that is available.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

So, what is next for you?

ALLEN: Well, some time towards the end of the year, I will have to get back to my day job, which is back in Washington. And we're working on that now.

PHILLIPS: Figure...

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Trying to figure that all out.

ALLEN: We are.

PHILLIPS: But, in the meantime, meantime, you're staying mission-focused?

ALLEN: I am.

PHILLIPS: And then we will just have to see where you end up.

I have a feeling great things are in store for you. That's just a hunch.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Vice Admiral Thad Allen, thanks so much for your time. I really appreciate it.

ALLEN: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Real quickly, our next guest, coming up after the break -- have you ever been to this dance hall in -- is it Jefferson, Orleans Parish? Is that right, you guys?

Yes. It's a dance hall. It's been there for 40-something years. And they do swing dancing. And it's finally come back and reopened. Have you heard about it?

ALLEN: No. But, if you give me the address, I will check it out.

PHILLIPS: You...

ALLEN: I will make a report.

PHILLIPS: Outstanding.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, stick around, because you're going to hear about it and you're going to meet the guy that is running this dance hall.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: And who knows. Maybe we will throw a big party, once things are wrapped up.

Thanks again for your time, Admiral.

ALLEN: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Great to see you.

ALLEN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, just ahead, like I said, we're going to stick to talking about New Orleans, a very special story.

Here's just a little feel for what we're talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the men dress so nice. And they smell so nice. And, you know, they are gentlemen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It actually kicked in some endorphins.

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: It's a documentary capturing the spirit and the swing of one man determined to keep the people of New Orleans dancing.

You're going to meet him coming up.

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