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Brown to Testify; President Bush on his way to Gulf Coast; Road to Recovery

Aired September 27, 2005 - 08:59   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.
We are in New Orleans this morning, and we are on Magazine Street. Magazine Street runs about six miles, starting down there, heading up that way. And it really is the center of commerce for the city of New Orleans. In other words, if they can bring business back here, that will go a long way in improving the economy for New Orleans overall.

This actually -- this street was responsible for bringing the port of New Orleans around in the first place way back in the 1700s. Now, homeowners here, though, very frustrated. They say they would like to be able to get past the ripping up the plywood and getting their businesses opened. But they have a long way to go, because it's not just physically fixing the structures. They actually didn't get a lot of water damage. They actually don't have a lot of damage to deal with, but they've got a lot of other issues.

For example, the fire department has to come in and reset and re- approve the electricity being turned on. They need certificates of occupancy. There's a lot that needs to happen, and they feel they're not getting any kind of information from the government to help them take steps in the right direction.

In fact, some homeowners say if they don't get electricity here on Wednesday, homeowners -- I meant business owners say if they don't get electricity here on Wednesday, that's it. That's tomorrow. They're just going to do it themselves and open their business with generators -- Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Interesting. Taking matters into their own hands.

All right, Soledad. Thank you. Back with you in just a bit.

Let's start with the damage assessment from Hurricane Rita. The death toll from the storm now standing at 10, nine in Texas, one in Mississippi. And, of course, we remind you there were 23 who died in that bus fire near Dallas during the evacuation. Not officially counted as statistics, however.

General Russel Honore, who surveyed the damage, describes the small towns of Cameron and Creole as destroyed. He says the only thing standing is the courthouse, which was built on high ground there. The Department of Energy reporting nearly 1.3 million customers without electricity in four states because of damage caused by hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

Former FEMA chief Mike Brown expected to tell Congress today that he made mistakes during Hurricane Katrina, but he is sure to face some questions about why FEMA still has him on the payroll.

Ed Henry is live in Washington.

Ed, what -- I don't get it. Do you?

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's something that's raising some eyebrows on the Hill. As you know, CNN first reported last week that despite having to resign under fire, Brown was still on the federal payroll for about another month. But CNN has now learned that Brown yesterday went behind closed doors and revealed to congressional investigators exactly what he's doing for that money. It's something we didn't know before.

He says he's helping FEMA assess what went wrong in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As you noted, that is making people on the Hill wonder how in the world will Brown, who's going to be the star witness today before this congressional committee probing what went wrong, how can he be the person who is helping FEMA assess what went wrong when his own role in this whole mess is now being scrutinized very heavily?

Here's Congressman Christopher Shays on the performance of Michael Brown himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS (R), CONNECTICUT: I want to know, for one thing, why he seems so clueless about the conditions in New Orleans, particularly the Superdome. There was a huge disconnect. I mean, that, for me, was -- as soon as I saw him respond and seem so clueless, I thought, this man needs to go. But there are obviously a lot of other questions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, we're told that privately Michael Brown yesterday told investigators he's very eager to answer those questions about his own conduct, as well as qualifications for the job. He was the former Arabian Horse Association chief, as you know. And he's also ready to testify that he wishes federal officials had pushed more forcefully and earlier to get federal troops brought in to restore order in New Orleans -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Ed, it sounds a little bit like the blame game continues there. And I think there's a lot of blame to go around, which extends beyond Mike Brown. A bit of scapegoating here, don't you think?

HENRY: Well, that is a question that certainly House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is raising this morning. She basically says putting Mike Brown in the hot seat, this is going to enable Republicans on the Hill to basically put all the blame on him, when maybe it should be spread around the administration, and maybe even the president himself.

But obviously Republicans on that committee are also going to raise questions about what did local and state officials do? It's not just about Michael Brown, it's not just about current and former federal officials. What about people on the ground -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Ed Henry in Washington. Thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Miles. Thanks.

President Bush is on his way to the Gulf Coast. He's going to asses the damage from the most recent hurricane, Hurricane Rita.

Dana Bash is at the White House for us this morning.

Good morning to you, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

And the president, Soledad, is going to come to some of the areas that Rita hit the hardest today. He's going to Beaumont, Texas, and lake Charles, Louisiana. He'll meet with the respective governors and Coast Guard admirals of each state leading the federal recovery efforts. And he'll also take a aerial tour of the areas in between.

These towns along the Texas-Louisiana border where Rita made landfall are home to oil refineries that produce about 10 percent of the country's gasoline. Many are still shut down. And ahead of this tour, the president made clear he's very concerned already about sky- high gas prices, that they are going to go up even further. And he has historically been focused on increasing production, not so much conservation.

And he took an unusual step. He said, for the first time, that Americans should consider not driving. He said that they should pitch in, that they should not take trips that perhaps are not essential. He also put out this memo, this directive to federal agencies, that they should do their part, carpool, use public transportation, also curb nonessential travel -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: We'll see if people do it. All right. Dana Bash at the White House for us this morning.

Dana, thanks a lot.

There are other stories making headlines today. And for a look at those, let's get right to Carol Costello. She's back in New York.

Hey, Carol. Good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News," the man believed to be al Qaeda's second in charge in Iraq has been killed. A U.S. defense official confirming that to CNN. The man know as Abu Azzam was killed in a gun battle during a raid in Baghdad. U.S. and Iraqi forces have launched a series of raids in recent weeks aimed at disrupting al Qaeda in Iraq.

Private First Class Lynndie England may testify today during sentencing for her role in the abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. A military jury at Fort Hood, Texas, convicted England of six of seven counts against her. England had tried to plead guilty to the same counts back in May but the judge threw out the plea deal. The sentencing hearing is expected to get under way later this morning.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heading to Haiti this morning ahead of the presidential election there. Politically motivated violence has been a problem in Haiti despite the presence of U.N. peacekeepers.

Secretary of State Rice wants assurances from leaders there that the November 20 elections will be free and fair. Haiti's former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was ousted early last year. Rice is set to arrive in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, in the next hour.

And Cindy Sheehan hauled away during an anti-war rally. Sheehan and several others were arrested outside of the White House on Monday after they refused to keep moving despite warnings from police. Sheehan is scheduled to appear in court in November.

Now to Atlanta to check in with Chad.

Good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A pretty pleasant day. Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: All right.

M. O'BRIEN: See you in a bit.

Still to come, more business owners coming back to New Orleans this morning, but conditions, well, they certainly aren't ideal. We'll take a closer look at the challenges they face.

And later, the emotional needs of hurricane victims. We'll talk to a psychologist about the problems she has been seeing.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

Here in New Orleans, businesses and business owners are trying to come back. In fact, businesses need to come back if the city is going to economically rebound. And a lot of that is actually the job of Renee Gill Pratt, the New Orleans congresswoman. And she represents District B, which includes this street here, Magazine Street, also the Superdome, the convention center, the central business district, the garden district, the Canal Street area.

RENEE GILL PRATT, NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: A pretty big district that you represent.

PRATT: A wonderful district.

S. O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of what neighborhoods are in the worst shape and what are in the best shape.

PRATT: Well, we have some parts of my district that did not get any water, just wind damage. So they're up and ready to be turned on with electricity and with water.

S. O'BRIEN: And which parts need more work?

PRATT: The area going toward the Carrollton area, Gertown (ph), some parts of central city.

S. O'BRIEN: So when you hear the mayor's re-population plan, do you support it? Do you think it's a good idea that people should be coming back now into the city?

PRATT: I'm for the reentry plan, where you just come in and look at your property to just see what you have. And you want to see what your home looks like. And then for safety reasons, to just do re- population by phases to get businesses back in place so that when constituents come back they will have resources. They're going to need grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants.

S. O'BRIEN: How soon can this area, for example, be brought back? As you know, the business owners hear say they don't have electricity, so they don't have any lights on, their stores are kind of a mess.

They didn't really get hit hard. I mean, they actually could rip off the plywood and get back to work. But the fire department still has to come and give permits, they still need the certificates of occupancy. There's a lot to be done.

PRATT: Yes, safety and permits. We want to make sure that everything is safe. Even though there was no water, there was some wind damage and trees did fall. We've had some fires in this area right on Camp Street.

S. O'BRIEN: So when can they get back? When will they get electricity here?

PRATT: Well, I can't give you a definite, but within the next two weeks they should be able to be up and running.

S. O'BRIEN: There are people that would say, OK, up and running for what? There are no shoppers here, and this is very much a touristy area. I mean, you draw people from all over the world.

PRATT: Yes. And this is a neighborhood. You have a lot of people who live in this area and in this community. So we do get the tourists, but it is neighborhood.

S. O'BRIEN: It's critical to bring up Magazine Street, really, and any commerce area in New Orleans, because that's what's going to bring the city back around, too, right?

PRATT: That's right. Well, not only Magazine Street, but also Chapatulus (ph). Also Louisiana Avenue. Your major streets where you had your major commerce.

S. O'BRIEN: How do you deal with the PR problem? I mean, you represent, as I said, the Superdome, you represent the convention center. For someone who maybe hasn't spent a lot of time in New Orleans, you hear that and you think, oh, I don't want to necessarily come back to that. I mean, how do you deal with that problem?

PRATT: We're going to have a better city. And people -- New Orleans is -- we're a strong people. And we're going to bring our city back. And just as people wanted to come before for Mardi Gras, wanted to come to the Super Bowl, and we've had major events here in our city, we'll continue to have those activities and events.

S. O'BRIEN: Do you think people will sort of be sympathetic to New Orleans' plight and say, you know, we've got to spend money there and help bring the city back around? Or do you think people will say it has some bad associations with a tragedy, frankly, and I don't want to go?

PRATT: No, I think things -- negative things happen all over the world. And you just take from the negative and make it a positive. You take it as a new door and opening up a new door so that people will come back.

And I think people will come back for both reasons. They'll come back to see what the new New Orleans is going to look like as compared to the old New Orleans. And I think people who really care about New Orleans will come back and spend their money.

S. O'BRIEN: The levee system, they're hoping in 2006 to have it brought back to pre-Katrina levels. And we saw what pre-Katrina levels do in a really catastrophic storm. Do you think people are going to want to move back, not just the businesses, but people as a whole when the levee system in a year, practically, is not going to be significantly stronger?

PRATT: We need to do better than pre-Katrina, because we realized that that was only for a level three storm. And we received a level four. So we need to be ready for a level five storm in the -- according to our -- the information that we have received. And the levee along Chapatulus (ph) is one of the strongest and the highest. So that's why we didn't get any of the breaches...

S. O'BRIEN: There.

PRATT: ... any seepage or anything. So it's one of the best levees.

S. O'BRIEN: Maybe repeat that around the city.

Renee Gill Pratt, I think I called you a congresswoman, but you're a New Orleans...

PRATT: I'm a council...

S. O'BRIEN: You're a councilwoman.

PRATT: Yes. I don't want our congressman to be upset, Congressman Jefferson.

S. O'BRIEN: I promoted her. I'm sorry.

Thank you so much for talking with us.

PRATT: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Good luck. I know you have a long road ahead.

PRATT: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: And you're busy. So we appreciate your time this morning.

PRATT: Thank you so very much.

S. O'BRIEN: My pleasure -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, Soledad, when you make a mistake like that it's always important that it's a promotion, don't you think? All right. Thanks.

S. O'BRIEN: Absolutely.

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come, Rita and Katrina are proving to be a tough one-two punch for the Red Cross. Can it still meet the needs of thousands of hurricane victims? That story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: And then came Rita. With Hurricane Rita coming so close on the heels of Katrina, the American Red Cross being tested like never before. Can it meet the needs of thousands of evacuees, some of whom are victims of both storms?

Marty Evans is president and CEO of the American Red Cross. She joins us right here.

Good to have you with us.

MARTY EVANS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AMERICAN RED CROSS: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: This is uncharted territory, isn't it?

EVANS: Well, it is. It is. But you know, disasters are something we do every day, 70,000 a year. And for us it's a question of how fast can we scale up.

And we just need two ingredients. We need volunteers -- and we've had many more people across the country come forward and volunteer -- and then we need the financial resources. And we have a good response from the public. We're only about halfway there to our fund-raising goal.

M. O'BRIEN: So people and money are the case. Talk about the money, first of all. What do you need, first of all, assuming we don't have another storm, god forbid.

EVANS: I know.

M. O'BRIEN: Just to handle Katrina and Rita, what do you need?

EVANS: It's going to be more than $2 billion.

M. O'BRIEN: Wow.

EVANS: And that covers the cost of the sheltering, the feeding, the emergency medical and mental health support. It also covers a small financial assistance package for people who need it.

And, you know, at this point we think more than 900,000 families need that emergency financial assistance. So that's how we get to $2 billion goal.

M. O'BRIEN: That is -- those are staggering numbers. You're halfway there. You're optimistic you're going to get the whole way.

EVANS: I am optimistic. And I say that because in the past history, if you go back to World War II, one of the of every four Americans was a Red Cross supporter. They provided volunteer time and they provided money.

We're nowhere near one out of four. So as long as we have a ways to go, I think the American public is going to step up, because they can see the devastation. They can see the people that have lost everything, that have even lost family members. The needs are just so great.

M. O'BRIEN: What about the volunteer front? People who are willing to go down there and do the hard work -- and it is hard work under very difficult circumstances?

EVANS: Right. M. O'BRIEN: Are they hard to come by?

EVANS: Actually that , I think, is one of the best parts of the disaster response. We have people going to their local Red Cross chapters saying, "Put me to work."

In some cases they can go, they can spare the couple of weeks to go down on the job in those four states. Or in other cases they'll lend a hand at their home chapter. And we have 850-plus chapters across the country. Every single one of them is doing something to support the Katrina and Rita responses.

M. O'BRIEN: That's always encouraging to see that. All right.

What happens if there is another storm? Have you even contemplated that, planned for it, or do you care not to?

EVANS: You know, we're always thinking about what's happening. And you know, in New York City, in Los Angeles, and in small towns last night, the Red Cross was on the job at that family house fire where they lost everything. We're ready for tornadoes. We're also contemplating what happens if we have an earthquake.

The most important thing that we're focusing on is how can we get people to be prepared? We know that people who are prepared have a much better opportunity to get through this. And that's really the important message.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, and I think we saw how unprepared people and governments can be. In particular, I'm thinking about that chaotic evacuation of Houston, Texas. People didn't have full tanks of gas, they didn't have water, they didn't have the kinds of food stuff they need in the case of a hurricane season. I hope that message is getting out.

EVANS: Well, I think we're all looking at it. And from the Red Cross perspective, we focus on individuals, families and businesses. How can we get that breakthrough in people's minds that, you know, this isn't nice to do, this is urgent to do?

Make a plan. Have a family disaster plan. Have a business disaster plan. Have your disaster supply kit. Have it ready all the time.

And then get training. What kind of training? What are you going to need? Basic first aid, CPR and disaster preparedness training.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, people always think it's not going to happen to me.

EVANS: It is going to happen. It's not a question of if it's going to happen, it's when it's going to happen. And the more prepared we are, the better that our families are going to get through this, the better our communities are going to get through this. And really, I think it's a civic responsibility. M. O'BRIEN: Good luck raise that money, Marty Evans.

EVANS: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Thanks for dropping by.

EVANS: Thanks very much.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Miles. Thanks.

Well, the storms receded, and now folks are going back to their homes to see what's left. And what's greeting them really is nothing like what they left behind.

There's this thick, gooey mud in come places that's covering absolutely everything. And there are also some signs that their faith is strong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Well, clearly, here at 505 Jeannie Street (ph) there is nothing to save. Look at the mud. I mean, look at this.

This is, well, what, at least six inches of just -- there's no way to describe it. It's just mush and it smells. It smells like sewage.

And then you can see where the mold -- well, the water line, of course, is up to the rafters. And then the mold, everywhere. And it smells like it, too.

And in places like this, people come back, they have no idea how bad it's really going to -- they know it's going to be bad. They have no idea how bad it's going to be.

One of the stranger things, though, that we have seen -- this mud is kind of hard to walk through -- are these.

Jay, let's get a shot of the icon here.

This is a large Catholic community in this neighborhood, and in the parish as a whole. And what we have seen time and time and time gone are these icons. Not even heavy. I mean, look at the -- this is very light, 20 pounds, maybe, 30 pounds. The Virgin Mary completely untouched.

Everything else is gone. The swing came down, doors blown in. I mean, the house is a total, complete loss. But the icon is fine.

Another Virgin Mary. We've seen so many of these.

SHERIFF JACK STEVENS, ST. BERNARD PARISH, LA.: Is that wild or what? I mean, look at everything around, the chaos around here. I don't know. You know, maybe in the chaos that we've been involved in, in the catastrophe we deal with every day, you look at some signs of a higher, you know, power here. And if you're looking here, there's a lot of evidence of it, to tell you the truth.

S. O'BRIEN (voice over): Then there's the mud.

(on camera): The mud here is easily a foot, probably at least two, maybe even two and a half down here.

This middle class neighborhood, end everything, everything -- it's a total loss. I mean, house after house after house after house after car on top of a fence, or a wall after house is just wrecked. There's nothing they can do here.

I mean, there's -- you know, people come with these big trucks and they come with a trailer, and they come with bags so they can grab their stuff. And the truth is there really isn't anything to grab.

There's really nothing to pack away. There's nothing here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: And that's probably the most psychologically devastating thing, to go in thinking that there's things to recover and put in the back of the big pickup you've rented, and actually you walk away with a box of all of your possessions that are left in the world.

It's a tough day, and will continue to be for many people in this area, of course.

Ahead this morning, though, a little bit of good news. There's a restaurant in New Orleans, the first one to open. We'll take you there just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Entergy -- Entergy is the biggest energy company working out of New Orleans. They are on the scene really trying to help the folks not only in this neighborhood, but also right on Magazine Street, which is this big commerce area, get it going, get it started again. And that's good news.

We heard earlier this morning calls for some of the local businesspeople that they need -- they need power, first and foremost, before they can bring everything else on line. And it looks like we're get that going this morning.

It is half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Much more to tell you about as a second day of official returns from homeowners who are coming back to see what's left of their homes and their businesses in many cases -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Soledad. Shedding light on the situation in New Orleans. Appreciate that.

Also ahead, we're just half an hour away from the testimony of the former FEMA chief, Mike Brown. Members of Congress will be grilling him, in some cases. We'll look at the questions he's likely to hear. Also talk to a congressman from New Orleans and find out what he would like to hear out of today's session.

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