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CNN Live Today

Relief Efforts Head to Pakistan; Is the Bird Flu Overhyped?; Picking Up the Pieces in New Orleans

Aired October 11, 2005 - 12:30   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. helicopters are ferrying blankets and plastic sheathing to South Asian quake zones. Millions of people have been left homeless and many are living outdoors in cold weather and rain. Authorities say the quake has killed at least 20,000 people in Pakistan. Officials say the death toll could be as high as 41,000.
The U.S. has become a major player in relief operations in Pakistan. When weather permits, helicopter crews are loading up and taking off today in quake-stricken cities.

CNN's Satinder Bindra gets a firsthand look at the operation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Almost every helicopter in this country is flying in supplies -- medicine, food and blankets -- to some of the worst affected areas of this country. Also helping out now is the United States. Just one day after the Pakistani president, General Pervez Musharraf, appealed for help, eight U.S. helicopters and arrived here. There's five Chinooks and three Black Hawks.

Every day they're now bringing in materials from Islamabad to Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. From here, this material will be distributed to an estimated two-and-a-half million homeless people. These people are still living out in the open. Sometimes the temperature in the day gets very hot, and at night it's getting very cold here.

So far, the United States has already pledged $50 million to help Pakistan rebuild. Several other countries are also helping out. And now international rescue teams have arrived in some of the worst affected areas. They say they're still confident of finding survivors in the rubble.

Satinder Bindra, CNN, Muzaffrabad, Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: The weekend earthquake in Pakistan not only rumbled across South Asia, it also reverberated deeply among about 700,000 Pakistani Americans. Our next guest is helping to mobilize the force and help coordinate relief efforts.

Faiz Rehman is the founding president of the National Council of Pakistani Americans and he joins me now from our Washington bureau. Good morning -- or good afternoon, I should say. Thank you for joining us.

FAIZ REHMAN, NATL. COUNCIL OF PAKISTANI AMERICANS: Thank you, Daryn.

KAGAN: Where are the larger Pakistani American communities in the U.S.?

REHMAN: Well, New York is definitely the largest concentration area for the Pakistani Americans, and the Pakistanis. But other towns are Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, as well.

KAGAN: And so pretty spread out. But a common goal in helping the folks back in Pakistan. What's your group doing?

REHMAN: Yes, whatever we can do. Of course, we are in Washington. So our main focus is to coordinate the efforts. There are hundreds of organizations -- Pakistani-American organizations -- doing wonderful work on their own. And our idea is just to make sure that we don't duplicate efforts and we don't waste our energies and our resources.

KAGAN: Right, now, you see what's happening here, how it's cold in a lot of parts, how people need food and water. The natural urge might be to collect blankets or food and water. But that might not be the most efficient way to help people in Pakistan?

REHMAN: Absolutely. What we are urging people to do, just to send cash and use their own charity of preference. For example, International Red Cross. Or Edy (ph) Foundation, or ICNA (ph) Relief. The organizations which are on the ground and doing some work, just tremendous work out there.

And also, I want to draw your attention to a very good group of doctors, Pakistani doctors in the Washington area. About 15 of them, and they're just leaving on their own. And they are basically trauma specialists. And they will also take some American nurses along. So they are in the process of, like, figuring out their logistics details. So they'll leave pretty soon. And there are examples like this, hundreds of examples throughout the country where people are just acting on their own.

KAGAN: What's this president's fund?

REHMAN: Well President Musharraf has set up this fund for basically just to channel all the money that's been collected around the world to the needy and to the poor and to the victims of this catastrophe. So we are also using that as an example for people to donate.

KAGAN: Faiz, I would imagine that because there are so many Pakistani-Americans -- as we were saying, 700,000 -- that a lot of people...

REHMAN: Actually...

KAGAN: Oh, you want to correct that number? REHMAN: Yes, there are a few more. I mean, there are close to a million.

KAGAN: OK, well, even more important here that there be a lot of people who still have family back in Pakistan and want to get in touch and might be frustrated in trying to do that.

REHMAN: Daryn, Pakistani-Americans are just in a very difficult situation here. I mean, just imagine, we've been hit by Katrina, Rita, and other disasters as Americans. And now, we see this disaster back home. So it's just amazingly painful and numbing for the community. But -- and also, I know people and families who have been hit directly by this disaster, people who have lost their loved ones, people who have -- injured people. So we're just, you know, trying to do as much as can be done.

KAGAN: Do you have a Web site?

REHMAN: Yes. It's www.ncpa.info. And we just urge people to go there and just try to see what -- I mean, we are not directly into transactional help, so to speak. But we'll guide them to different charities and different groups which can be of greater help.

KAGAN: Probably even better. At least they can depend on you for a resource. Faiz Rehman, thank you.

REHMAN: Thank you, Daryn.

KAGAN: A big need there.

And then there is in worry out there. U.S. Health Secretary Michael Leavitt is so concerned about bird flu, he's gone overseas on a fact-finding mission. Today Leavitt is in Thailand. He's beginning a four-day tour of Asian nations that have been hard hit by bird flu. He wants to find out what can be done to curtail the virus.

From the White House to the corner coffee shop, talk of a potential outbreak of avian flu has stirred concerns. How much of it, though, is warranted?

Our homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve takes an alarming look at the first line of defense against a possible epidemic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An emergency room physician calls a public health department reporting a patient with symptoms of deadly botulism. He is told, I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. A caller to another health department describes bubonic plague. An employee there says, don't worry, go back to bed. The calls were part of a test. The results, sobering.

DR. NICOLE LURIE, RAND: We have a long way to go to train our public health work force to be a first line of defense. MESERVE: Experts predict millions could die in an Avian flu outbreak. But, as with other diseases, rapid detection could help curb its spread and lower the death toll. That is why local public health departments are supposed to be able to receive information about a wide range of serious illnesses 24/7. But Rand researchers discovered that some aren't even answering the phone.

In 2003, they made a series of calls to nineteen public health departments claiming to be doctors or nurses reporting urgent cases of illness. Three agencies were dropped from the test after failing to answer or return five consecutive calls. Many departments failed to respond in 30 minutes as mandated by the Centers for Disease Control. And some took more than 10 hours. Only two met all federal deadline guidelines.

DR GEORGES BENJAMIN, EXEC. DIR., AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH: That's not acceptable at all. Absolutely not. We now, in today's environment, we have to have 24-hour emergent contact in the public health system.

MESERVE: When the calls were answered, the quality of advice was sometimes poor. When researchers described small pox symptoms, none of the health departments suggested isolating the patient or using personal protective equipment, though the dangerous disease is highly contagious.

(on camera): Since September 11, an estimated $3 billion has been spent on public health. If the tests had been conducted before that spending, experts speculate the results might have been even worse. If they were conducted now, the results might be better.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Back to the Gulf Coast. Thousands of Americans still living in shelters after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Like Michael Addison, they're looking to start a new life. You're going to hear his story in just a moment.

And almost a year ago, she signed up for CNN's "New You" program and resolved to get in shape. We're going to have Dr. Gupta's check- up with the Reverend Leigh Ann Raynor, coming up. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Picking up the pieces from a shattered life has been tough for the thousands displaced by Hurricane Katrina, tough, but not impossible. Check out Paula Zahn's latest segment. It's called "My New Life." It will put a smile on your face, as it did for Louisiana's Michael Addison.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL ADDISON, JOB SEEKER: We're somewhere where we're not familiar with, but it's like we got to start all over. And, I mean, me being a father, that's just my responsibility.

We were expecting to stay two or three days in Baton Rouge. We got word that we don't have no home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jesus...

ADDISON: Jesus...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... help us...

ADDISON: ... help us...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... through this terrible time.

ADDISON: We got into the shelter at a church. They must have interviewed me and found out that I was a cook.

They asked me, would I be interested in cooking? I have been a cook about 20 years, various restaurants through the French Quarter. I just enjoy it. I love to eat and I love to see people smile and enjoy eating what I cook.

And I'm dependable. And I enjoy what I do. I think that makes a difference. If I can get a nice job cooking, you know, getting decent wages, I will be satisfied. And perhaps I can save some money from there and try to find a place to live.

Good night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good night.

ZAHN: And if you're in a position to hire anyone, the contact information, you'll see at the right-hand bottom of our screen.

Michael Addison joins me from Baton Rouge.

Good to see you, Michael.

I know you've been struggling to find work. How difficult has it been for you since the hurricane hit?

ADDISON: It's been kind of difficult. You apply and you just wait for an answer. So, you know, that's basically been the problem.

ZAHN: And, basically, door after door keeps on getting closed on you, doesn't it?

ADDISON: Oh, yes, definitely.

ZAHN: How discouraging is that?

ADDISON: Well, it's pretty discouraging, but you just have to take it as it come.

ZAHN: If you could talk to a potential employer tonight, what would you tell him? ADDISON: I would say, if he hired me, I'd be very dependable and would be very appreciative, because I have to live. I need a job to survive.

ZAHN: And what would you want them to understand about your family right now and what it's been like for them to live in this shelter? We saw how you were all kind of smashed into one corner of that room there.

ADDISON: Well, I mean, the kids understand, we're in a situation, it's not by choice. But the important thing, we're together, and that's just the way it is.

ZAHN: And you are trained as a cook. But you're willing to do a lot of different things right now just to support your family, aren't you?

ADDISON: Oh, yes, definitely.

ZAHN: How good of a cook are you, Michael?

ADDISON: Oh, well, I think I'm good enough -- you know, I make you happy. You will be smiling. You will be fat.

(LAUGHTER)

ZAHN: And I know you're being very modest.

ADDISON: You know, definitely.

ZAHN: Because I have heard rave reviews coming out of the shelter where you've been cooking for the thousands of people who also have to live there with you.

ADDISON: Yes.

ZAHN: Michael, please stand by, because I want to bring Brad Karsh now into our conversation.

You have heard a little bit of what Michael has had to say tonight.

BRAD KARSH, CAREER COUNSELING EXPERT: Yes.

ZAHN: And it's got to be so hard to have such a specific skill and be told: I'm sorry. We just don't have that many restaurants open along the Gulf Coast right now.

KARSH: It's really tough. And interviewing is always difficult. It's even more difficult where you're in a situation where you absolutely need a job.

One of the things that I think Michael needs to watch out for, though -- and this is for any Katrina victim, anyone who doesn't have a job -- is walking that fine line between a motivated job seeker and a desperate job seeker. He's not a desperate job seeker. He's motivated. He's interested in getting a position. He wants to land work. But I think employers can be turned off if someone is absolutely desperate and says, I will do anything. Just get me a job. Give me something to do.

ZAHN: And, yet, he really is at that point with his family. Wouldn't an empathetic employer understand, this is a man who is just trying to bring his family into a brand new world here, a world that has been turned upside-down?

KARSH: Absolutely.

And I think people are so familiar with this story and the compassion that he should be and will be receiving from people will be a great outpouring of support. And he has to just relax, be confident and be himself in those interviews. It's tricky when you're doing all those interviews. But, if you can relax and be yourself, it will go a lot better.

ZAHN: Michael, you seem pretty relaxed, as my producers have described you. But isn't it hard to stay that calm, knowing that day after day goes by without a job offering?

ADDISON: Well, it is. You know, from time to time, I think about it.

But, overall, I feel like, hey, God knows what he's doing, you know. He's not going to let me take on no more than I can bear.

ZAHN: And Brad's got some pretty good advice, too. You going to follow it?

ADDISON: Oh, yes, without a doubt.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And on the phone with me right now is Mike McHale. He owns a combination convenience store and deli in Reston, Louisiana, and he's looking for someone to do some cooking. So good to hear from you, Mike. What did you like about Mr. Addison?

MIKE MCHALE, STORE/DELI OWNER: I saw your interview with Michael, and he kind of touched my heart. And I'll make room for somebody like that who's gone through tough times. And I'd love to have him. I just need to visit with him and see if we can get him on board.

ZAHN: Well, we're going to connect the two of you after a short break. But believe it or not, it looks like Michael Addison now has a second prospective employer interested as well. Also on the phone with me now is Radine Schaeffer Downey. She's the CEO of the Best Western Oak Ridge Lodge in Pogosa Springs, Colorado.

Radine, good to hear from you as well. So you have a job for Mike if he's interested and the match works?

RADINE SCHAEFFER DOWNEY, BEST WESTERN OAK RIDGE LODGE: Yes, we do. We have Scrill's (ph) Pub and Pantry, which is a steakhouse, and we need a great cook, want one that wants to be dependable. And Michael looks like a family guy, and said he's real dependable. That's what we're looking for.

ZAHN: And he also made it pretty clear, in a humble way that we all love about him, that he's a good cook.

DOWNEY: That's right.

ZAHN: Well, Radine, this is terrific. And Mike McHale, we appreciate your calling in as well.

We have Michael Addison now standing by. So Mike, you now heard that two people are very interested in hiring you. One would involve a much longer trip than the other; Reston, Louisiana is not too far from where you are right now. Colorado of course means moving out of the state. How do either one of these offers sound to you?

ADDISON: They sound good, you know, and we just need to talk a little bit more about it. But I'm very appreciative, you know.

ZAHN: Now, that must be one of the first broad smiles you've had on your face in a long time. Your family has been pretty miserable over the last six weeks.

ADDISON: Yes, ma'am, and you're right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Well, as you can see, after this interview aired last night and hundreds of calls and e-mails came in, including many job offers for Michael Addison. Tune in to 8:00 Eastern tonight to see the next edition of "My New Life."

Still to come, Dr. Gupta has another "New You" checkup. Today we get an update on the on Reverend Leigh Ann Raynor. She lost 12 pounds on the program. She wanted to lose more. Find out if she was successful.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Eight months ago, they set out on a quest to break bad habits and adopt healthier ones. This week, we are checking up on the five participants in our "New You Revolution" challenge.

Today, a minister whose goal was to give up junk food and get moving. Here now, senior medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Despite a few hurdles...

LEIGH ANN RAYNOR, "NEW YOU REVOLUTION" PARTICIPANT: Seems like everyone's enjoying this but me.

GUPTA: And some challenges... UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lift the hips up.

RAYNOR: That's as far as my hips go, sweetie.

GUPTA: Reverend Leigh Ann Raynor was well on her way to her new self when we last saw her eight months ago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good job. You're doing good.

GUPTA: She was able to start exercising with little or no pain, after a heart condition was finally diagnosed and treated. She learned how to cook. One bad habit Leigh Ann wasn't ready to tackle was her smoking.

RAYNOR: Quitting smoking was not one of the goals that I had when I wrote to CNN.

GUPTA: Although she did cut back from smoking a pack and a half to one pack a day.

Now, eight months later, the "New You" Leigh Ann is 23 pounds lighter. Not as much as she wanted to lose, but her heart condition won't allow her to exercise more vigorously. Yet, she's determined, and continues to work out five to six days a week. Her doctor and exercise buddy makes sure she's not overdoing it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She wants to do more and she wants to do more, and she has to remember her limitations.

GUPTA: One thing Leigh Ann has stopped is eating fast food.

RAYNOR: Haven't been through a drive-thru since January.

GUPTA: Instead, she's still cooking at home, with a little trial and error.

RAYNOR: Oh, I seriously should have sprayed this.

GUPTA: Leigh Ann says she feels wonderful.

RAYNOR: I feel better than I've felt in 20 years at least, 25 years. What I'm doing right now will determine the kind of older person that I will be.

GUPTA: With Leigh Ann's successful "New You Revolution," hopefully she can now focus on breaking that other bad habit, smoking.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, for the "New You Revolution."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Tomorrow, Sanjay visits with Harald Fricker. You might remember, at the end of eight weeks. He had lost 22 pounds and he was training to run a marathon. He had done that many times before in his fitter days, but this one was going to be a challenge. We'll tell you whether he was successful. And we're already looking for "New You" participants for next year. They're looking for couples this time, or pairs. If you're interested, just go to CNN.com/AM and sign up.

If higher prices haven't motivated you to conserve energy, maybe this guy will. Meet the Energy Hog. That'll happen right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: Smokey Bear, Woodsy the Owl, move over for the Energy Hog. He is the latest character created to pitch those public service announcements, and this one is aimed at saving energy. Here's CNN's Anderson Cooper with his take on the new government pork.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATERI CALLAHAN, PRESIDENT, ALLIANCE TO SAVE ENERGY: We've kicked up the powerful savings and Energy Hog campaigns into overdrive.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ladies and gentlemen, meet the federal government's newest mascot, the Energy Hog. That's right, half human, half hog, he's a snorting, snarling pig of a mascot whose Web site claims he can suck the energy out of your home faster than you can say why did the lights go out, mom?

Think this is just the latest example of government pork? Oh contraire mon frere, this mascot stuff really works. Remember "Smokey the Bear?"

SMOKEY THE BEAR: Only you can prevent forest fires.

COOPER: Clearly a success story. There's also Dewie the Turtle, fighting for E-security. And my personal favorite mascot, Woodsy the Owl asking you to give a hoot, don't pollute.

ENERGY HOG: Hey, kid, what's shaking?

COOPER: OK. So the Energy Hog may not be as cute as an owl, but he more than makes up with it with his porcine aggression.

ENERGY HOG: Ooh, a snack!

COOPER: The kids will love him. He's even got interactive online games. And hey, there's not just one genetic mutated hog, no, the government has created a full pen of them -- Celvin Bacon, Ivana Ham, even Boss Hog. Who says our government lacks creativity?

Skeptics may point out that the energy hog was actually trotted out last year with little noticeable effect. But why dwell on the negative?

Welcome, Energy Hog. Let's hope the other government mascots are willing to clear a space for you at the trough.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Thank you, Anderson.

That's my cue to put my pedal to the medal and get out of here. That's going to wrap up this hour of CNN LIVE TODAY. More ahead on CNN's "LIVE FROM." Betty Nguyen in today for Kyra Phillips. That starts right now -- Betty.

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