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CNN Live Today

Bush Plugs Economy; 9th Ward Demolition; The Future of Google

Aired January 06, 2006 - 11:32   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is due to arrive in Chicago in just a few minutes. His trip, part of a big push from the White House today to talk about the strength of the economy. Let's get more now from our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
Suzanne, hello.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Of course, President Bush, on his way to Chicago. This is really part of a two-fold strategy. First of all, to highlight the progress the war on terror, but secondly, also to talk about the state of economy, namely, the good numbers. We expect the president will say that unemployment is steady at five percent, that home ownership is up, gas prices down. He'll also, of course, pitch his economic reform program, talking about the need to make tax cuts permanent, to expand job training as well as expanding trade.

But the administration did not get the good news it was hoping for, the Labor Department releasing statistics for December. An increase in jobs of more than 100,000, but that really differs from November, when you had more than 300,000 jobs created. And that, of course, is what the Democrats will be talking about today, highlighting that specifically, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. He's actually travelling with President Bush in Chicago, and he later in the day will hold a news conference talking about setting the record straight. They believe, of course, that it's the middle-class that's really gotten the squeeze. They're not feeling these good economic numbers. They will talk about the increase in medical costs, as well as heating and other types of things.

So, Daryn, this is going to play out in Chicago. But as you have mentioned, it's playing out across the country as the president's economic team tries to make his pitch -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Interesting choice, Chicago. Not exactly the friendliest of Republican territories.

MALVEAUX: Well, that's absolutely true. Well, this is usually an annual thing that the president does, where he goes to the Chicago Board of Trade specifically to make the pitch in the economy. He's been there just about year, so and that is here he lays out his economic plan for the New Year.

KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux, at the White House, thank you.

(NEWSBREAK) KAGAN: First, a look at how you can get the news you want online. Let's check in with Melissa Long at CNN Pipeline.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA LONG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Even if you watched video content before on your desktop, you're going to be surprised by what you see on CNN Pipeline.

(voice-over): Imagine an online news service all commercial- free, with multiple live feeds. Well, that's what you get when you logon to CNN Pipeline. With four live news streams, pipeline allows to you choose from a variety of live events, but it can also provide multiple angles of the same developing story.

These are raw feeds coming into CNN, so you see events as they happen, with limited anchor interruption.

In addition, a quick search function allows you to browse an archive of CNN content available on demand, putting the vast resources of CNN at your fingertips. You make the decision of what you want to watch, when you want to watch it.

(on camera): CNN pipeline is providing you with an entirely new window on the world. So logon to CNN.com/pipeline for more information.

Melissa Long, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: New Orleans getting read to let the good times roll once again. The ravages of Hurricane Katrina won't stop the tradition of king cakes and parades. Today marks the start of the carnival season leading up to Mardi Gras on February 28th. There has been debate over whether to hold Mardi Gras this year. And the festivities have been scaled back because of the damage from Katrina.

In New Orleans, a fight to block demolition of some of the homes in the Lower Ninth Ward moves to federal court today. Residents are hoping to keep the bulldozers at bay until they can be heard.

Gulf coast correspondent Susan Roesgen joins us live from New Orleans with the latest on that.

Susan, hello.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn.

This is such a hot-button issue here in New Orleans. Initially the word went out that the city wanted to tear down more than 5,000 homes across the city. But then the city said, no, we only want to go after 120 homes in the Lower Ninth Ward that are either just about to collapse, or they've already collapsed, they're blocking the roadway or they pose a public safety hazard. But some people say no, the city shouldn't do anything, shouldn't touch any home, until the people who used to live in the home get a chance to decide what they want to do.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN (voice-over): Four months after New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward was completely walloped by Katrina, there are signs of life and protests.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, who's the supervisor? Who's the supervisor?

ROESGEN: On Thursday, community activists and homeowners were infuriated to learn that work crews were out clearing sidewalks. The protesters claimed houses were also being swept away in defiance of a court order in place until a lawsuit over which homes should be demolished is resolved. The protesters confronted the workers and one of the workers confronted our camera. Eventually, the workers gave in and a half dozen federal agents escorted the big equipment away.

But an underlying issue remains, where and how much to rebuild of the Lower Ninth Ward. Many homes here belong to poor African- Americans and some suggest the city is trying to keep them from coming back.

GRETA GLADNEY, HOMEOWNER: The mayor and others have said they don't want entrenched poverty. And by keeping poor folks from coming back, that eliminates some of that problem. They don't have to deal with providing services to poor people and many of them, the majority of them, are African-Americans.

ROESGEN: Greta Gladney is fixing up her home even though she's afraid it might eventually be torn down. She is part of the lawsuit demanding a say in what happens to her neighborhood. Bill Quigley is representing the homeowners.

BILL QUIGLEY, ATTORNEY: Even if it looks like a pile of rubble to other people, it's people's most treasured possessions and they have a right to at least have notice that it's coming down so they can have a chance to get there and take their stuff out of it or be able to challenge it if, in fact, they think it's a mistake.

GREG MEFFERT, NEW ORLEANS CITY OFFICIAL: This is a perfect example of what we're talking about.

ROESGEN: Greg Meffert, who's office will overseen the demolition, says the city only plans to knock down what's left of homes that can't be saved, not destroy the neighborhood.

MEFFERT: I understand that fear. Believe me, I get calls every day about that fear. But it's not tied to what we're doing. The city just needs to get back to the point of stop playing victim and start the rebuilding. And if you can't start here, where do you start?

(END VIDEOTAPE) ROESGEN: And that is exactly what the city will argue in federal court. Now, today, there's a hearing in federal court under way, but it's just a private hearing between the lawyers for both sides, just a status hearing, Daryn. So we don't expect any kind of decision today.

KAGAN: Any indication on how long a decision would take, Susan?

ROESGEN: No, not really. You know, when these things get up -- involved in federal court, it could take weeks, it could longer than that. But we'll keep you posted and let you know what we hear.

KAGAN: All right. Susan Roesgen, live from New Orleans, thank you.

This news out of that town, as well. The blue roof program coming to an end tomorrow in New Orleans. The Army Corps of Engineers provides free plastic tarps to place on hurricane-damaged rooftops, but homeowners must apply today to qualify. People all across New Orleans had been using the protective tarps for months and they're falling apart because the covering is only designed to last a month or so. Home owners are still waiting to hear from insurance companies about repairs.

Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco is stepping into the dispute over where to place trailers for residents displaced by Katrina. The mayor and city council have been at odds over where the trailer should be located. Governor Blanco says she'll act as a mediator between the two sides. She could begin meetings as early as today. Blanco also says that state police can help provide security at trailer sites to ease concerns about safety.

When we come back, we're going to talk about Google, the latest service they're offering and how it can change when and how you watch your favorite programs. That's coming up in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Live pictures from Chicago. President Bush just arriving there today. In about an hour and 15 minutes, he's due to give a speech on the economy. An annual trip for the president. He'll also be stopping at the Chicago Board of Trade. More on that later, Suzanne Malveaux. And you'll see the comments live here on CNN when the president speaks.

Speaking of comments, how about those from Howard Stern? He was unleashed on Monday. The shock jock premieres on Sirius Satellite Radio, free from sensitive government ears. Stern gets a big $220 million stock bonus for helping Sirius meet subscriber goals ahead of his debut. Stern was also all business with our Larry King last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD STERN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I have the loyalist fans in the world. You know, I put out a movie, they showed up. A book. Whatever it is I've done. And I don't think I've ever betrayed my audience. I've always delivered to them the best product I could deliver, possibly, that I could deliver. And I think they appreciated that.

Well, lo and behold, so here we are a year later. I haven't done my first broadcast yet, and today they announce 3.3 million people have signed up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: That was Howard Stern on Larry King last night. Larry King and the latest newsmakers tonight on CNN, 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.

So let's talk Google now. The Google price on Nasdaq opened up at $491 today. Some people think it could go up to $600. Google trying to be on the cutting edge. So let's talk about the latest thing from Google here. An eye-popper from Google. It could be -- word is that Google plans to announce new video and software services. One would be another step in the marriage of your PC and your television. The other, a direct challenge to Microsoft.

"Wired" magazine editor Nicholas Thompson here to talk about the future according to Google. Nicholas, good morning.

NICHOLAS THOMPSON, "WIRED" MAGAZINE: Good morning. Thanks for having me on.

KAGAN: Tell me about this latest service. What is it and why would I want it, as a consumer?

THOMPSON: Well, there are two services. The first service is the Google video store. And right now you can go to Google and you can search videos. But it's all stuff that people have uploaded themselves. So it's kids falling through rooves, or it's...

(CROSSTALK)

THOMPSON: The second service that -- and what this new service is going to do, it's going to allow to you download television shows or NBA games and pay for it. So it's a direct challenge to Apple's iPod video. So you're going to be able to watch much more serious TV and the programs you want to watch more. And that's going to be announced later on this afternoon.

KAGAN: So you can do -- there's more offerings, but can I download it to my iPod or only the other type of computers?

THOMPSON: Well, we don't exactly how it's going to work. They haven't made the big announcement speech. But the way it's probably going to work is you can download it to your desktop, not to your iPod.

KAGAN: Oh, OK.

THOMPSON: You may be able to transfer it on to it. We're not sure what exact format they're going to use. KAGAN: What's going on with this battle between Microsoft and Google?

THOMPSON: Well, they're really going at each other right now. And the second announcement that Google is going to make this afternoon is a big one. What Google's doing is they're announcing a Google pack, which is a whole pile of software. Some of it Google's own, like Google's mapping system, Google's search system, and some of it made by other companies like the FireFox browser.

And what you're going to be able to do is instead of having to go to eight different places to download eight different programs, you're going to download them all at the same time from Google. OK, big deal, you might say.

KAGAN: Right.

THOMPSON: But it actually is a big deal, because people are going to start thinking about Google as the place where you get your software. And this might be the first step for Google -- maybe not the first step, but it might be a crucial intermediary step in Google becoming the place where you get everything on your computer.

There's a lot of talk that, you know, a year from now, Google -- or a month from now, Google will announce a new program where you have your own computer with a Google sticker, a Google operating system and Google programs. Right now, Google is saying, oh, here are a bunch of programs, you'll start associating them with Google. But it's possible they're going to be going after Microsoft in a very big way pretty soon.

KAGAN: Well, in the past, Microsoft has never just kind of sat by idly by competitors. Usually they go and either gobble them up or destroy them.

THOMPSON: Well, they're not -- they're going to try to destroy Google and they're fighting Google in a lot of places. They're fighting Google on search. And Bill Gates is very irritated at Google. He had an interesting comment yesterday, where somebody said is Google your biggest rival?

And it seems pretty clear that Google's becoming their biggest rival. They've just settled a big court fight over who can hire an employee. And Now Gates said, well, actually, it's IBM that's our biggest (INAUDIBLE). And it doesn't really sound believable. He sounds like he's a little bit spooked.

KAGAN: OK, now, I feel like we're in, like, this warp where everything is moving forward so quickly. Five years from now, what will a typical technical life look like, Nicholas?

THOMPSON: I suspect you're going to have TVs and computers completely integrated, you're going to all the information you want available pretty much all the time. You're going to have it on your cell phone, you're going to be -- you're going to have videos can you stream on to your cell phone. You'll be able to communicate with anyone through your computer, through your television. Everything will be integrated.

And the question is, which company is going to control all of that integration? And who's going to be able to serve you ads while you talk on your telephone with somebody who's talking to you through their computer while they're at the office and you're on the subway? Google wants that, Yahoo! wants that, Microsoft wants that. It's very interesting right now.

KAGAN: Am I going to have a job in five years or I will be outdated?

THOMPSON: You'll definitely have a job, but it will also definitely be different. People probably won't be watching you through their televisions. They'll probably be watching you through your computers, through their cell phones, through their palm pilots. Maybe they'll be just be watching you on the walls.

KAGAN: As long as they watch. That's all we ask right now. Nicholas Thompson from "Wired" magazine, thank you. Thanks for giving us a glimpse into the future...

THOMPSON: Thank you, thanks.

KAGAN: ... and understanding what Google is up to, and Microsoft, as well.

We're going to go ahead and check in on weather and business and that is coming up, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET REPORT)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Now for the most awaited story of the day, the hitchhiking cat. One life down, eight to go for a hitchhiking cat. He went on a fur-raising ride in the underbelly of an SUV. Now thin about this, somehow hanging on, whizzing down the New Jersey turnpike for 70 miles. Another motorist spotted and flagged down the driver. Animal Welfare has nicknamed him "Miracle." Miracle paws were burned, one claw is missing, and his fur is burnt. Otherwise he's doing OK. We love the cat stories here at CNN LIVE TODAY.

I'm Daryn Kagan. Stay tuned for YOUR WORLD TODAY. That's coming up next. I'll be back in a few minutes with headlines from the U.S. That's in about 20 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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