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CNN Live Today

In Ninth Ward, Dogs Assisting in Search for Bodies; Academy Award Preparations Underway

Aired March 02, 2006 - 10:30   ET

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

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In today's CNN Security Watch, former President Clinton surfaces in the uproar over port security. "The Financial Times" reports the former president privately advised the United Arab Emirates on how to address concerns about its deal to take over six U.S. ports.
Those reported talks about two weeks ago came just as his wife Senator Hillary Clinton publicly criticized the acquisition. A spokesman for the former president is quoted as saying that Mr. Clinton advised Dubai to propose a 45-day review of that deal. Now that move has eased some lawmakers concerns over security at those ports. Mrs. Clinton, however, is still seeking to kill the takeover. Ironic.

The security concerns at those ports are fueling more hearings today on Capitol Hill. Right now, Senate lawmakers are taking a closer look at the Bush administration's review of the state-run company. And in about three hours from now, the House Armed Services Committee is set to take up the issue. Officials from the Homeland Security Department, the Treasury and the Coast Guard are scheduled to testify.

Well, this deal is also facing scrutiny overseas. That's because Dubai's takeover involves the purchase of the British company that currently operates the ports. Great Britain's high court is expected to rule on the case today. Now, normally the acquisition would be virtually rubber stamped, despite the $6.8 billion price tag but the political firestorm in the U.S. prompted a more thorough review.

Meanwhile, "The Washington Post" is reporting that the Bush administration has opened a probe into a second Dubai-owned company. The newspaper says the business, Dubai International Capital, is trying to buy a London-based firm that makes precision parts for U.S. defense contractors. The London-based company also operates in nine U.S. locations. "The Post" is saying that the administration notified lawmakers of this probe to prevent the uproar that overshadowed the port deal.

Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Days after Mardi Gras ends New Orleans now turns its attention to the devastated Ninth Ward. Demolition begins today, and dogs are assisting in the search for bodies still buried in the debris.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim is live in New Orleans. Keith, I don't think many people knew they were still missing, bodies may still be in the rubble.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, as I walk around all this rubble here in the Lower Ninth Ward, what happened was in the fall there were search teams that were looking for dead bodies. and they had a sense of the job wasn't done. They ran out of money, and like many things got overwhelmed, but now the concern is demolition. As we look over at all the debris here, the demolition that is loosely scheduled for this neighborhood and the next few weeks is creating a great concern for the search teams, because if demolition happens, that means some human remains that have not yet been found could be lost. So now a team of 16 firefighters today will be out in this neighborhood, trying to find potentially dozens of dead bodies that could be in homes or under these piles of rubble.

The state medical examiner, Louis Cataldie, explained why this is a very tough task.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LOUIS CATALDIE, LOUISIANA MEDICAL EXAMINER: Our function is to go in, to recover the human remains, to put those human remains in a body bag, and bring them back for identification. We do have chaplains in the field, and they will be saying a universal prayer of thanks of each remain that are found, the same prayer utilized at the World Trade Center.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPENHEIM: Very somber tone. And this is very painstaking work, Carol, because they had some tips from previous searches where they think there could be dead bodies. And when they go through a home, one home, for example, it can take a day and a half to see if there are human remains in places where there's the possibility of a dead body -- Carol.

LIN: Keith, it's just shocking that they didn't bring cadaver dogs in sooner. I mean, It's been six months.

OPPENHEIM: There were cadaver dogs searches in the fall, but in places where they thought there might have been a dead body, they didn't complete it because they ran out of funds. And keep in mind, sometimes when they think there's a dead body, other things can throw off the search animals, such as refrigerators with rotting meat inside. It's not that easy to find the decay, particularly after the decay has completed after such a long period of time.

LIN: Well, the picture behind you tells the story, Keith, of how difficult that job is going to be. Such a mess.

Keith, thank you.

Well, there are two sides to every story. Take Hurricane Katrina six months later, and look at the Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans. Then you look at the nearby by town of Arabi. There are no parades in Arabi, just a few forgotten people.

CNN's Gary Tuchman takes us there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The tens of thousands of people celebrating Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street were only a few miles away from the city of Arabi, Louisiana. But Arabi looks like it's on a different planet. Six months after Hurricane Katrina, houses still sit in the middle of the street. Neighborhoods still look like aerial bombing targets. Very little has been cleaned up. And the few residents that are left, like Rudy Aguilar, feel betrayed.

RUDY AGUILAR, STORM VICTIM: I feel like the United States of America has left my family behind, has forgot about us and gone on their business.

TUCHMAN: Rudy, his wife, Rosalee, and three children share a cramped FEMA trailer in the front of their decimated home. They had a five-bedroom house. Rudy was an environmental engineer for St. Bernard Parish.

AGUILAR: They laid me off. They eliminated the environmental engineering position.

TUCHMAN: Finding another job has been very difficult, and the family is running out of money. Rudy, a Tulane University graduate now receives donated Red Cross food to feed the family.

(on camera): Do you believe what's happened to your life over the past six months?

ROSALEE AGUILAR, STORM VICTIM: No, it's like a nightmare. I still feel like I just -- if I wake up it won't be here. It won't be reality, but it is in fact reality. That's what the kids -- that's my daughter keeps saying.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Rudy Aguilar was born in this house. He doesn't want to move the trailer elsewhere, because he wants to keep his eye on potential looters.

RUDY AGUILAR: The bat is for protection, for anyone that decides to loot.

TUCHMAN: And he also wants to rebuild the house, but he says working on it makes no sense, because the politicians haven't decided if people will be allowed to rebuild in this low-lying area. The Aguilars believe Arabi is not at the top of any decisionmakers priority list.

ROSALEE AGUILAR: We're in limbo.

TUCHMAN: The children play in the dirt and the germ-infested refuse that remains from Katrina.

RUDY AGUILAR: My kids used to look up to me. Now they wonder why dad don't have a job, you know, why dad's constantly looking at the newspaper. You know, then you slip into a depression and you kind of lay down and don't want to move, you know.

TUCHMAN: Because Rudy was working the day of the hurricane, the family did not evacuate.

ROSALEE AGUILAR: I saw the water bust through the door like a tidal wave.

RUDY AGUILAR: I actually had to go under water and come up here. When I came up, my children and wife was up there in the life preservers.

TUCHMAN: Understandably it was traumatizing for the children. Their dog disappeared during the storm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a German shepherd. So police probably took him.

TUCHMAN (on camera): The police probably took him. I think so, you're right.

(voice-over): Almost all the residents in Arabi are gone. Many say they will never come back. The humor there is often a bit dark.

(on camera): If there was another hurricane, do you think you'd go far away from it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd go to Timbuktu.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): But for now they stay on a trailer what was their front lawn.

AGUILAR: Six months and look, look around you. Six months, this is what I have to offer my family.

TUCHMAN: Their lives totally upended, their disillusionment continuing to grow.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Arabi, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: A mistake could cost the government $7 billion. That and a check on the business news straight ahead.

Also the future of airport security. We now face long lines and annoying, often embarrassing moments at checkpoints. There's got to be a better way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: All this week we've been looking into the future of security, and today we are going to focus on airport screening. Now as you might know since 9/11 passengers have been forced to arrive early, stand in long screening lines, and maybe even remove a few articles of clothing. But is there a better way?

Well, CNN's Miles O'Brien take as closer look in "Welcome to the Future."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a tradeoff between being safe and being efficient. What's missing right now is a consistent security system in all airports. The ideal state for me would be an all-in-one system, whether it puffs you, X-rays you, puts you on a conveyor belt, but you're moving the whole time, because I have nothing to hide. I travel every week. I just want to be as efficient as possible.

As for the further of security, I'm not sure what direction we are heading. I would like to know, where are we heading for my safety?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Gary's wish is shared by many, to feel secure when flying, but not to waste time on inefficient screening systems. So how close are we to getting the best of both worlds?

(voice-over): The future of airport security is this man's mission, chief technology officer for the Transportation Security Administration Randy Nall.

RANDY NALL, TSA: Since 9/11 there is a lot more retch and development. The explosive-trace portals are the newest deployment that we've had.

O'BRIEN: As passengers walk through these so-called puffer machines, quick bursts of air dislodge and collect tiny particles from the person and test them for explosive materials, all within eight to 10 seconds.

Also in the works, a machine that captures images like these. It's an X-ray device with a power of Superman. The machines may make security types happy, but many passengers may feel violated.

NALL: We need things that will allow us to roe place equipment rather than add equipment. We'll actually be doing better things but doing them less intrusively and faster.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Randy Nall says the TSA is currently testing a back scatter X-ray in the United Kingdom. And he hopes to start testing it right here in the United States just in the next few months.

(MARKET REPORT)

LIN: For all your movie watchers we are counting down to the Oscars. The Academy Awards are not until Sunday night, but our Brooke Anderson has already staked out her spot on the red carpet.

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I have indeed, Carol. I'm at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, where the Oscars will be handed out Sunday night.

Coming up, a progress report on how the red carpet setup is moving along. Also why George Clooney is the man to beat. And we will talk with Oscar host Jon Stewart. All that when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: All right. Time is running out if you want to catch some of the top movies before the Academy Awards. That show airs Sunday night. Our entertainment correspondent, Brooke Anderson, is here with a preview. Does everything look ready yet? I don't see the red carpet.

ANDERSON: Well, a lot of progress has been made, Carol. But from what I can tell there's still a whole lot of work to be done. Let's take a look around very quickly.

The bleachers are up. Half the red carpet has been laid. There's a canopy up in case it rains. We have had a little bit of rain here in Southern California recently. A lot of drilling going on, a lot of hammering going on, but where I stand it's still pavement. It's still Hollywood Boulevard.

But this just all goes to show you how big a production this is. This street, a major street in Hollywood, has been closed off for about a week. People working around the clock to get it done, so it's a big deal. And they've only got a few days, but I'm sure it will all come together.

LIN: Yes, let's keep our fingers crossed. Hey, you mention George Clooney is the man to beat. This is his first Oscar nomination, isn't it?

ANDERSON: These are his first Oscar nominations. He has three of them, and he's actually made Hollywood history being the first man to be nominated for best director for one film, and then to be nominated in an acting category for a separate film. He's nominated for best supporting actor for "Syriana," best director and best writer for "Goodnight and Good Luck."

And George actually could have had a fourth nomination, Carol, but he gave sole producing credit to his writing partner and friend, Grant Heslov. A lot of people say it was modesty. He didn't want to take all the credit himself. But you can bet he will be a ubiquitous presence come Sunday night.

LIN: I wish he was present.

ANDERSON: I also quickly want to mention a couple of the ladies. Oh, absolutely. And I also want to mention a couple of the ladies getting a lot of attention, Carol. Felicity Huffman for her role in "Transamerica" -- she plays a transgender woman crossing the country.

Also Reese Witherspoon for her role in "Walk the Line," both nominated for best actress. Reese seems to have the edge here, gaining a lot of momentum recently for winning both the SAG and the BAFTA, but it probably will be a tight race.

LIN: Yes, it's going to be a pretty tough category there. Hey, what do you think about the host this year, Jon Stewart?

ANDERSON: Personally, I think he's funny, he's witty, he's irreverent. Jon Stewart, the host of "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central has been tapped to helm Hollywood's biggest night. And I actually caught up with him yesterday, amidst his very busy schedule.

And among all the laughs and all the jokes during the interview, we talked about what he thinks about those people who say he's not the right choice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: You're not going to please everybody. You never can.

JON STEWART, OSCAR HOST: What? No one told me that. When did that happen? I'm not? Do you have their names, who all ...

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: But what do you think about people who say, you may not the right fit for Oscar host?

STEWART: They could very well be right. I don't know. I mean, I don't know what the right fit is. Again, those are all things that are so far out of your control that it makes no sense to spend any time on other than do what you think is good and funny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And Jon Stewart told me he has gotten advice from previous hosts who, Carol, they told him just to relax. He's been in the business for years. Just relax and do what he does best.

LIN: Exactly. Because, you know, the world is watching but that's OK.

ANDERSON: That's OK. Just the world.

LIN: Yes, exactly. Hey, thanks, Brooke. Great preview. Appreciate it.

ANDERSON: Thanks.

LIN: All right. Much more news coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY. Jacqui, looks like it's going to get pretty cold up north.

(WEATHER REPORT) LIN: Well, a new wonder gadget is on the way from Microsoft. Straight ahead, you are going to get inside scoop on what the mighty mystery box is actually going to be able to do.

Also ahead, President Bush's visit is putting India in the spotlight. I'm going to talk about how an economy is on a fast track and quickly changing the culture there and what it means for the U.S.

The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

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