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Facing Eviction Again in New Orleans; Interview With Harry Connick Sr.; Iraq on the Brink?

Aired February 28, 2006 - 14:01   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The crowds are thinner, the beads are fewer, but the spirit is alive and well. Six months after Katrina, New Orleans savors every minute of Mardi Gras.
Our Sean Callebs is doing that too. He's right in the heart of it on Bourbon Street.

We're hooking him up. Well, my guess is that Sean could possibly be down there in the middle of the street and we're trying to find him, or he possibly could be on that balcony just gathering up a few extra beads to toss off the edge.

But what I'm actually being told is we're having some technical difficulties. I am desperately trying to stretch. So what we're going to do is we're going to move on to a package, or a story, instead, as we continue to get Sean hooked up.

Anchors away in St. Bernard Parish. A FEMA-chartered cruise ship that's been housing hurricane victims is supposed to set sail today. The trouble is many of those passengers still have nowhere to go.

CNN's Susan Roesgen reports they won't give up that ship without a fight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN CAMPO, ST. BERNARD PARISH RESIDENT: Yes, I had a car port and a deck built out there where we parked, for raining and stuff like that, you know, when it would rain, things like that. And it's blown away.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kevin Campo can't seem to keep a roof over his head these days. First, the hurricane sent six feet of water into his mobile home. Then, he got a room on this FEMA-paid cruise ship. Now the ship is about to sail away and St. Bernard Parish officials can't convince FEMA to let it stay.

MIKE HUNNICUTT, ST. BERNARD PARISH OFFICIAL: I wish there could be something we could do. If we had, you know, a fairy godmother that could pay the bill, you know, that would be wonderful. But I just see no alternative other than to beg to FEMA to keep it here, you know, for the need of the people.

ROESGEN: Parish officials told me they heard FEMA is paying the private owner of this ship extra money to get it out of St. Bernard Parish this week, even though the ship doesn't have any scheduled cruises for three months. The ship's owner didn't return my call, but FEMA denies that charge.

Now, less than 24 hours before they must be off the ship, some of the passengers aren't waiting for a fairy godmother, they filed a federal lawsuit.

MIKE GINART, PLAINTIFFS' ATTORNEY: FEMA needs to just go ahead and leave this boat here. It's not a cost problem. It's providing meals, it's providing housing, it's providing computer services, phones. You know, it's a good thing FEMA has done and it seems like all the bad press they get, well this is something good. Let's keep this up. I don't understand what the problem is.

ROESGEN: The lawsuit will get a hearing on Wednesday, but until then, FEMA workers on the ship are trying to find the passengers someplace else to live.

Julius Gibbons helped Wynette Miller (ph) and her two children get into a trailer park.

JULIUS GIBBONS, FEMA REPRESENTATIVE: The most important thing is making sure that everyone has a mobile home or travel trailer. That's the most important thing, And making sure that they're comfortable in that setting.

ROESGEN: Gibbons says that of the 653 people on this ship initially, fewer than 60 still have no place else to go. That includes Kevin Campo, who's been waiting months for a FEMA trailer. He says when the ship leaves, he might have to spend the night in his truck.

KEVIN CAMPO, ST. BERNARD PARISH RESIDENT: I wish it would stay for some more time so we could get straight again, you know, try to get going. But if it doesn't stay, I guess we're on our own and we have to do what we got to do, you know, to survive this.

ROESGEN: Susan Roesgen, CNN, Violet, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's strange to think that the biggest party of the year in New Orleans, if not the nation, a testament to excess and debauchery, has its roots in religious tradition. Here's the facts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Fat Tuesday marks the last day before the Christian season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. It's a day of celebration, giving partygoers the opportunity to enjoy their favorite foods before the 40 days of fasting and sacrifice leading up to Easter.

Some even refer to the day as Pancake Tuesday. That's because pancakes are made to use up all the fat, eggs and dairy before fasting begins.

Fat Tuesday is also known as Shrove Tuesday, from to shrive or hear confessions.

Mardi Gras ends the Carnival season, which begins the 12th night of Christmas. Worth noting, Carnival comes from Latin words meaning farewell to the flesh.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: So, would this headline grab you? One day in May he's lecturing on plea bargaining at an Ohio law school. In June, he's appearing with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra in Michigan. He also does weddings and fund-raising events. Oh, and by the way, he used to be the new Orleans D.A. And his son sings almost as well as he does.

Just listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRY CONNICK, SR. FMR. NEW ORLEANS DISTRICT ATTORNEY (SINGING): I've got the world on a string sitting on a rainbow, got that string around my finger. What a world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Harry Connick, Sr. -- Senior, I might add, joins us live from New Orleans. The real Harry Connick.

It's great to see you, Harry.

CONNICK: Good morning. Good to be here.

PHILLIPS: Yes, it's great to see you. You still got that string tied around your finger?

CONNICK: Today, yes, I certainly do. This is a good day for us in the city.

PHILLIPS: Yes, it really is pretty amazing.

Listen, Harry, I want to give a little background to your career, because it's extremely fascinating. And it happened in 1973, when you replaced Jim Garrison as D.A.

Remind our viewers about Jim Garrison. I mean, this is the man who had the -- he's famous for his Lee Harvey Oswald JFK assassination conspiracy theory.

CONNICK: Mr. Garrison was convinced that Lee Harvey Oswald was involved in the assassination of the president and that one of our very prominent, very successful businessmen, Clay Shaw, was also involved in the conspiracy.

So Mr. Garrison indicted Clay Shaw and prosecuted him. And Mr. Shaw was acquitted because there was just actually no connection between Mr. Shaw and the assassination.

But I ran against him, a very tough opponent. He was a three- term incumbent. But we beat him by 2,221 votes.

PHILLIPS: Unbelievable.

CONNICK: Which was good enough.

PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly. It did the trick. Was it a tough time to come in as D.A., with all that publicity surrounding that, Harry?

CONNICK: Yes. Well, the office that we took over was almost totally dysfunctional. But we went in and we modernized it, we computerized it, we created a lot of new programs.

We were very aggressive about the policies of the office, about plea bargaining. We did very little of it. We did none of it just to move a case. And we instituted a lot of procedures that were novel and exciting, as a matter of fact, to the people in our business, in prosecution and law enforcement.

PHILLIPS: Now, Harry, you...

CONNICK: But he was...

PHILLIPS: Yes?

CONNICK: He was a tough candidate to beat. But a good guy to debate, because he -- we had -- I loved debating him because we were one up on him all of the time. He wasn't very familiar with the -- with his office or the cases. And so we would give him rights and lefts and keep after him, and then we finally won.

PHILLIPS: Well, you had quite a career as a D.A. There's a couple more questions I have about that. But I want to back up again, if you don't mind.

CONNICK: OK.

PHILLIPS: Not too long ago, when you were a young boy and you were buying those songbooks for 10 cents every week, memorizing big band lyrics...

CONNICK: Right.

PHILLIPS: You remember those days. Talk to us about your musical passion.

CONNICK: I remember them vividly. We were living in Atlanta at the time. My dad had been assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers. He was on active duty to Atlanta.

And when I went up there, I was in high school. And we listened, like all of the young people at that time did, to jukeboxes and a lot of -- a lot of radio programs that brought us the music of the day.

And I just loved it. I liked the sound. I listened to it, learned the lyrics, and sang a little bit in high school and in Atlanta. And went into the Navy after that and sort of got on another track, and accidentally came back to singing when Harry was performing in Atlantic City at Bally's there.

Oh, this was about 15 years ago. And he suggested that I come up on the stage and do something with him, which I did. And then shortly thereafter, I ended up with my band, a big band.

So it was something that was just accidental, but I love it so much. And I love being a prosecutor. I like that, too, and the thrill of campaigning and all of that.

But it was a great combination. I began to use weekends and holidays to spend time with my son and sing, and then perform in different places.

PHILLIPS: Well, Harry, you have such an incredible musical family. Your wife, Anita, played the flute. She was also the first female judge there in New Orleans.

The two of you had an incredible relationship. And while going to --while going to law school, you guys also owned a record store, right?

CONNICK: The Studio A Record Shop. We -- I had contracted tuberculosis in North Africa when we were working there, and I came home. And Anita, my wife -- this was before we had children -- couldn't get a job in town. She wasn't from here, and that didn't help.

So anyway, we -- she started the record shop. I, shortly after she opened, joined her. And we both ended up by going back to undergraduate school, getting our degrees and then going into law school.

So we rotated. Half of the day was for school and half was for study.

I had the morning school and she had the afternoon school. So we worked it, and we worked our way through law school. And then got out and went into practice, and then I became a politician and got elected.

But she was a good -- a good wife and a good mother and knew music and had two beautiful children. Our daughter Susanna was interested in languages, and she was as good at languages as Harry is in music. And -- but Anita saw to it that both children did the things that they liked to do and that made them happy and satisfied them educationally and artistically.

So she was a source of inspiration and confidence and a lot of love to all of us.

PHILLIPS: Well, it really shined through.

And Harry, I remember trying to chase you down as a reporter when you were D.A. And I also remember at the same time you were playing that club right off...

CONNICK: You would have caught me if I knew it was you.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Thank you, Harry. Are you still playing that club right off Royal Street?

CONNICK: Oh, no. That closed, unfortunately, some years ago.

PHILLIPS: OK.

CONNICK: But I do some out-of-town things and a few things locally still.

PHILLIPS: Well, we will be tracking you. It was great to see you again, great to talk to you. Enjoy your Mardi Gras.

CONNICK: Thanks for being with us. It's important to us. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: It means a lot to us, Harry.

Harry Connick, Sr. And that other son, you know, you hear him sing once in a while.

Stay with LIVE FROM for continuing coverage of Mardi Gras. We'll have more later in the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Civil war still in store for Iraq? Already reeling from last week's Shiite versus Sunni bloodletting, a new wave of deadly attacks rocked Baghdad and other parts of the country today. One target, the tomb of Saddam Hussein's father.

CNN's Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The cries in Baquba heard once again. Nine members of the same Shia family found dead. Their relatives forced to do what so many others have done in recent days: bury the latest casualties of Iraq's sectarian strife.

In the capital, a day after an extraordinary curfew was lifted, after days spent locked at home, Iraqis went to work, bought groceries, and found Baghdad normal had returned.

A string of explosions in the course of an hour left at least 30 people dead, over 100 more wounded. The victims, mainly Shia.

The worst attack in eastern Baghdad. A suicide bomber walked into a gas station and in the middle of a crowd waiting to fill their tanks detonated himself, killing at least 20, wounding upwards of 70.

As survivors searched for remains of their loved ones, anger turned into a familiar refrain, that patience is wearing thin.

"If the government cannot do anything, let it step back," says Hiras (ph). "We have suffered enough. An arm here and a leg there. Why does all this happen to us? Because we are Shiites? Our crime is being Shiites?"

Sunnis ask a similar question. A dawn attack on a Sunni mosque in northern Baghdad left it virtually destroyed.

Iraq's government says nearly 400 have died since Wednesday's attack on a Shia mosque. A toll underlining how serious the situation here remains and providing a tense backdrop on a day where the brutalities of Iraq's past and present were both on display.

In court again, Saddam Hussein, uncharacteristically quiet, subdued. The prosecution presented documents showing Saddam's signature, death sentences for at least 146 villagers of Dujail following a failed assassination attempt on the former dictator in July 1982.

Saddam was seemingly unaware that the events over the past week have now turned personal. The tomb of his father enshrined at a mosque that bears his name bombed and badly damaged in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit.

(on camera): The trial will resume on Wednesday, with more documents set to be presented. And in the capital, the fear is that the attacks will resume as well as the country tries to desperately keep itself from falling apart.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: They call him "Jihad Jack," though his fighting days could be over for a good many years. Joseph Terrence Jack Thomas, an Australian Muslim, has been convicted by an Australian court of receiving funds from al Qaeda. Thomas denies taking part in terrorism, but he admits joining the Taliban in Pakistan and attending an al Qaeda training camp.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK THOMAS, CONVICTED IN TERROR CASE: It involved light, you know, weapons that are -- like Kalashnikovs and light firearms and pistols, the topography, or the map and compass reading, and the signals and signs that you make when you're walking around on patrol to stop and go to the ground, and helicopter and different signs, and the demolition course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: An Australian TV interview. "Jihad Jack" says he met Osama bin Laden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) THOMAS: He was very polite and, you know, humble and shy. He didn't like too many kisses. You know, he didn't mind being hugged, but kisses he didn't like. And he was just -- seemed to float. Float, really, across -- across the floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Thomas was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 for having altered his passport to hide the length of his visit. A pre- sentencing hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

Full steam ahead with nuclear research. A confidential U.N. report says Tehran is pressing forward with uranium enrichment and blocking U.N. inspectors from seeing what's going on.

Iran's foreign minister is once again refusing to put that program back under seal, even as talks continue with Russia on a compromise. Many people in the West and Israel suspect Iran hopes to build a nuclear bomb.

Apple Computer unveils a new product. Our Ali Velshi has the details on the big announcement. He joins us live.

The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The maker of the iPod, iMac, iTunes -- I could go on but I won't -- has been teasing us all day with the promise of fun new products. Well, the wait is over.

CNN's Ali Velshi, who's all about fun, joins us now from New York with the latest eye-popping innovation from Apple.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I've got to say, Kyra, on a bad day I'm probably more about fun than this announcement was. Apple sends out this announcement to reporters and analysts to say, and I quote, "Come and see some fun new products" at Apple's headquarters.

Now, about every second time Apple decides to do this they come up with something earth-shattering, and every other time they have people like us sitting around waiting for it.

Let's see what the first thing they showed us, which is the Mac Mini, which was released last year. It's a little computer, inexpensive little computer. It's actually been a big seller.

Well, one of the things is Mac is turning all of its computers from the processors they used to use into Intel processors, none of which matters to most of us. It's a neat development, but no big grand shakes there. That was expected to happen.

They also introduced some leather cases for their iPods. Whoopie. And the big thing that they -- I think the big thing, the thing that's interesting, is this thing that they call the iPod Hi-Fi. It's a speaker, looks like a speaker. In fact, it's hard to see that, but it really is just a speaker-looking thing.

Your iPod, any iPod other than the first generation one, and any iPod that has a dock connector can sit in that thing. So whether it's an iPod video or a nano or whatever -- no, nano -- yes, nano does. You can put it in there and basically it's a fantastic stereo.

The only thing is that these stereos to plug your iPod into and seamlessly integrate, as they like to say, have been around for a long time. I've got -- I've got one of them, at least. I know people who have a bunch of them.

So it sort of fell short of the innovation. And I'll remind you, Kyra, when we talk about innovation, we're talking about the iPod Shuffle, this neat little thing. We're talking about the Video iPod, the sleek thing.

And you'll remember you and I, last we were together, we were -- we were showing off this iPod Nano. It's like a stick of gum, like a big stick of gum.

PHILLIPS: I finally got one of those, too. I got the nano...

VELSHI: Did you really?

PHILLIPS: Yes. I got the nano for Christmas. My parents even gave me the cool little pink case.

VELSHI: Well, you see, this is the thing. And I know you hadn't been sort of doing this digital music. So this is the innovation, to get people like you to try these things out and adopt them.

I'm hoping the next time that I'm sitting here waiting for iPod to come up with an announcement it's a little more earth-shattering than this. And I wonder whether some people will start telling iPod, why don't you tell us a little bit more than, come and see some fun and exciting products? Nonetheless...

PHILLIPS: This wasn't as fun as you expected?

VELSHI: They will do well for Apple because Apple does well. You know, they kind of set it up to expect some big development.

PHILLIPS: Well, I want -- I want to be able to watch movies in my little nano. Wouldn't that be...

VELSHI: That's what people -- that's what...

PHILLIPS: OK.

VELSHI: ... a lot of the discussion was, because one of the biggest things that's happened is the iPod Video. And the only problem with the iPod Video is that small little screen. So there is some sense that they might come out with sort of a super-charged iPod Video, maybe a bigger screen, more dedicated to video. One of those iTunes things where you download your music dedicated just to video so you could watch feature movies on an iPod.

That was one of the bigger expectations about what would go on.

PHILLIPS: Now that would be fun. Yes.

VELSHI: That would be fun.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, maybe that's next.

VELSHI: I'll be here. You know what? If it is fun, I'll be here.

PHILLIPS: You'll let us know.

VELSHI: I will.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Ali Velshi. See you soon.

VELSHI: Talk to you in a bit -- yes.

PHILLIPS: OK.

Closing bell, good. Lots of red arrows on Wall Street today. Susan Lisovicz joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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