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Flood Warnings Across the Northeast; What Happened in Moments Before Violent Police Arrest in New Orleans?

Aired October 14, 2005 - 08:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Flood warnings across the Northeast, a relentless rainstorm now in its eighth day and the wet weather is on the move. We'll have a complete forecast and we'll tell you who's going to get soaked today.
Now, what happened in the moments before that violent police arrest in New Orleans? We have new portions of that video just coming out this morning. We'll look at how this may or may not change the story. A few more seconds of tape shedding a little more light.

And one of the president's most important advisers, Karl Rove, expected before a federal grand jury. This is visit number four. Could an indictment be hanging in the balance on this AMERICAN MORNING?

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, sometimes you call those beauty shots?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Ugly shots.

M. O'BRIEN: Not too bad.

S. O'BRIEN: That is an ugly shot.

M. O'BRIEN: It's great.

S. O'BRIEN: And an ugly day here in New York and elsewhere. New Jersey has been hammered. New Hampshire had big problems. Long Island now facing some big problems, as well. The weather is just bad. And it's not going to stop, really, for quite a while.

M. O'BRIEN: Serious business. Eight days of rain now.

CNN's Chris Huntington joining us now from Lincoln Park, New Jersey. Parts of New Jersey underwater this morning. As a matter of fact, right where Chris is standing is one of those spots -- Chris, good morning.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, good morning.

The good news? It's not raining right now. The bad news is that the waters here in the Midwood section of Lincoln Park are still rising. Here, just yesterday afternoon, rescue crews had their hands full. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): A search and rescue team from the Lincoln Park, New Jersey Fire Department brought 19-year-old Kelly Aldridge (ph) out of her home, which is surrounded by nearly six feet of water. Her mother, Suzanne Ritterbusch, anxiously waited as the rescue crew made their way through her neighborhood, flooded by the overflowing Compton River.

Kelly had been trying to gather her family's most valued possessions, particularly photographs of her deceased stepfather. She couldn't find them.

SUZANNE RITTERBUSCH, FLOOD EVACUEE: No pictures?

KELLY ALDRIDGE: No. The pictures are on top the shelf in the room. Mommy, I couldn't get it.

RITTERBUSCH: It's OK. It's OK.

HUNTINGTON: Suzanne and her three daughters have been through this before. This section of New Jersey floods often. This is the third time they've had to evacuate this year. Suzanne is angry that the warning from authorities this time did not come until 10:00 this morning and lacked urgency after several days of flooding.

RITTERBUSCH: They didn't say get out. They just said there was minor flood flooding in the area.

HUNTINGTON (on camera): How would you characterize this flooding that you've just been evacuated from?

RITTERBUSCH: It's major. This is major.

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): The Lincoln Park Fire Department said they evacuated at least 15 people from here today. After helping Suzanne and her daughters, they pulled out. Moments later, Suzanne's landlord showed up with a boat he just bought for one last ditch salvage effort.

Computers, one from a neighbor's house, as well as Suzanne's, containing files and a client list from a business that she only just started. Suzanne praised the rescue workers who helped them today, but not those who ran emergency operations during the flooding earlier in the week.

RITTERBUSCH: I pushed two cars up to higher ground the other day and watched all the officials stand there and watch me and my two children waist deep in water push cars up. If the rescue workers of Katrina treated those people that way, I could understand their sense of hopelessness, because this was no fun and there was no compassion.

HUNTINGTON: Suzanne knows all too well the perils of living in a flood zone and she has wanted to move for a year. But with the home prices in this area out of her reach, she and her daughters are just renting a house that they can't even call home. (END VIDEO TAPE)

HUNTINGTON: Now, Suzanne and her daughters are waiting out the situation in a local motel. But, Miles, as I told you, the waters here are still rising because the runoff from up north continues to flow this direction. There's not much more rain expected in this immediate area, but there is more rain expected north. So the waters here are likely to stay high for quite some time and it's unlikely that Suzanne and her family will get back into their house any time soon -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Chris Huntington, thanks.

Let's go to Chad right away -- Chad, what is the prospect?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, that's part of the problems. I'm just listening to his report. One of the problems is that maybe you didn't even get that much rain, but somebody up above you, up the creek or up the river did, and that water is still going to rise in your area if you are down river from those heavy, heavy rains.

And, Miles, the biggest story today is that the rain has shifted to the east. Yes, they'll be some push back into New York City. And there are already a couple of showers now. But the heaviest area of rainfall is actually going to be from Long Island right up into Connecticut, and also into Providence.

Here is the heaviest area of rain. This is what we're going to call a training area of rain. This rain is going to come right up into Hartford, Springfield and into Boston. And there is a huge concern here, a high flood risk today, away from the areas that flooded yesterday, but still, we could see six inches of rain by the end of tonight in a lot of the areas here across Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts -- back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: Chad, thanks a lot.

MYERS: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's go overseas now and go specifically to Iraq, where we're really on the verge of a critical vote

Carol has got a look at that and many more stories this morning -- hey, Carol, good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I do.

Thanks, Soledad.

More violence on the eve of that historic vote in Iraq. Additional troops are fanning out across the country now. But despite the extra security, at least five people have been killed in drive-by shootings. Some political offices were also attacked. Iraqis are set to vote on a new draft constitution tomorrow. We'll go live to Baghdad in just a minute. Pakistan is reportedly switching to relief efforts in the wake of a massive earthquake. According to the Associated Press, officials say the chances of finding people alive are now very slim. Right now, government officials say the death toll stands at 23,000. In the meantime, helicopters are transporting survivors into temporary housing. The U.S. ambassador to Pakistan tells CNN dozens of American choppers are on their way to the region.

The Associated Press is releasing the full version of a tape showing a New Orleans man being beaten by police. The new version contains more footage of the struggle and once on the ground Davis is heard yelling: "If you allow me to turn over, I will."

Davis has pleaded not guilty to charges, including intoxication and resisting arrest. The three patrolmen face battery charges.

A historical figure in the civil rights movement has died. Vivian Malone Jones was one of the two students who tried to enter the University of Alabama back in 1963, leading to then Governor George Wallace's infamous stand at the schoolhouse door. Jones would go on to become the school's first black graduate. Vivian Malone Jones suffered a stroke on Thursday. She was just 63 years old -- back to you, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: A big loss there.

Thanks, Carol.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove expected to go before a federal grand jury just hours from now, the fourth time.

Kelly Wallace has a look at that this morning -- good morning.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

You know, we keep saying there's so much about this story we don't know. We don't know where the special prosecutor's investigation is going. We don't know if anyone, ultimately, will be indicted.

But what we do know, Karl Rove considered the president's closest political adviser. And so that means if he is possibly indicted, if that ever happens, it could be very damaging to the president and the Republican Party, already facing numerous challenges.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

WALLACE (voice-over): More than anyone else, Karl Rove is credited with helping the former Texas governor make it to the White House not once, but twice. That earned him many labels, including "boy genius," the title of a book, one of its authors, Texas reporter Lou Dubose.

LOU DUBOSE, AUTHOR, "BOY GENIUS": Karl Rove has been George Bush's lifetime political consultant. Since before George Bush was running for public office, Karl Rove was planning his run for public office.

WALLACE: Rove has been critical to every domestic and international battle the White House has faced, including the current ones trying to contain conservative outrage over Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers and boost the president's approval ratings, the lowest of his presidency.

An indictment of Rove now, Dubose says, would be disastrous for President Bush and his second term agenda.

DUBOSE: Karl Rove has been enormously important to Bush's political career and he's -- him being damaged means the White House is damaged.

WALLACE: There were signs this summer the pressure of a federal investigation might be getting to Rove, as he lashed out one day at the press camped outside his home.

KARL ROVE, PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: Get off the lawn, please.

QUESTION: Good morning, Mr. Rove.

ROVE: Off the lawn.

WALLACE: Still, there is so much we don't know, such as whether the special prosecutor's focus remains the outing of an undercover CIA agent or has moved to conspiracy, perjury and obstruction of justice. Whether Rove, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, and any other administration officials will ultimately be indicted. Rove and Libby have both said they did not leak the agent's name.

The significance of "New York Times" reporter Judith Miller's return to the grand jury room Wednesday, after only recently discovering notes from another conversation she had with "Scooter" Libby, this one in June, 2003, and the significance of what will be Rove's agreement to make a fourth appearance before the grand jury.

RANDALL ALIASON, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Normally, if you think you're in imminent danger of being indicted, you would not go back in the grand jury and give the prosecutor another shot at u. You would take the fifth and avoid testifying.

So it really is hard to tell what exactly this fourth appearance means.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WALLACE: And hard to say with any certainty whether this investigation will be wrapped up any time soon. The grand jury is set to expire October 28th, so you could say that any possible charges that could come could come as early as next week. But it's also possible, Soledad, the special prosecutor could ask that that grand jury be extended beyond October 28th.

S. O'BRIEN: And Karl Rove can't take the fifth. So, if he is indicted, would he have to resign?

WALLACE: This is a big question. You know, the president apparently was asked at a news conference, would he ask an aide who happened to be indicted to resign. He refused to answer the question. I think our own Bob Franken was asking the White House spokesman this question yesterday. The spokesman also dodging that question.

So it's unclear what would happen.

If you look at what's happened in the past, White House officials who have been indicted in the past, often those indictments have come after the administration ends. But in many other cases, when an official is indicted, he or she does resign.

S. O'BRIEN: And we will see.

WALLACE: We will watch and see.

S. O'BRIEN: AMERICAN MORNING'S Kelly Wallace.

Thanks, Kelly.

WALLACE: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Soledad.

Still to come, more on Iraq's important referendum. The voting has actually already begun. We'll look at what U.S. forces are doing to try to make sure it is a safe vote Of course, all things are relative in Iraq.

Also, hurricane evacuees are supposed to be out of shelters by tomorrow. It's not going to happen. We'll tell you why.

And AMERICAN MORNING'S Alina Cho talks to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. We'll find out what he has to say to critics of his recovery plan.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Listen to some of the restrictions that the U.S. military has put in place in advance of the big vote in Iraq. The borders are already closed. They will be closed down through Sunday. There is a ban on private vehicles for two days, which begins right about now. And also there is a nationwide 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew. All this with a mind toward keeping this important vote, whether or not to ratify that new constitution, as safe as it can be.

Major General Rick Lynch, the U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, joining us from Baghdad to tell us whether there's a high degree of confidence it will go off relatively safely.

General, good to have you with us.

You know, when you take all the private vehicles off the streets, you've got a fighting chance of keeping it fairly safe, don't you?

MAJ. GEN. RICK LYNCH, U.S. MILITARY SPOKESMAN: Good morning, Miles.

Clearly we do. The Iraqi government has imposed those anti- terrorism measures to ensure a safe and secure environment for the upcoming referendum. And the ones you cited are just one -- are just a couple of, several of those.

M. O'BRIEN: Here's the concern, though. When you look back in January, the last time there was a big vote there, there was violence in the run-up, which we've been experiencing now. And then there was, you know, the violence sort of began again on the next Monday. The election itself was safe.

Tell me, what are you going to do about Monday? Win, lose or draw?

LYNCH: Yes, that's a good point. Allow me to walk a comparative analysis between last January and now.

Last January, there was 138,000 trained and equipped security forces members. Now, there are over 200,000. Last January, there was only 5,200 polling sites. Now there are 6,100 polling sites and they're all under the security of the Iraqi security forces.

We coalition force members have a backup security requirement for the conduct of these elections.

All indications are it's going to be a peaceful period for the referendum tomorrow.

Just another example. I mean yesterday we experienced about 119 attacks across Iraq. At the same time last year for the January elections, there was over 270. So significant reductions in the numbers of attacks.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, how many...

LYNCH: We still know the insurgents...

M. O'BRIEN: I'm real confused about all these numbers that get thrown around.

LYNCH: Sure.

M. O'BRIEN: I mean we had General David Patreas on here just the other day. He said only one battalion of Iraqi troops, 750 troops, are first tier ready. And then there's a couple of other tiers of readiness. And then you tell me you've got 200,000 Iraqi security forces.

Justify that one for me. LYNCH: Yes, there are 115 combat battalions, both police battalions and Iraqi Army battalions, currently in the fight. And 30 percent of those battalions have the lead in the fight.

If you had studied some recent operations, for example, up in Tal Afar, in Tal Afar, there were 11 Iraqi battalions and only three coalition battalions in that very important operation.

So when people focus on tier one and level one, those units that conduct really truly independent operations, I really believe they're missing the point.

M. O'BRIEN: OK, so in other words, you don't...

LYNCH: A third of the battalions fielded now...

M. O'BRIEN: So you don't need tier one in order to guard an election site is what you're trying to tell me.

One concern that I imagine U.S. military leaders have, yourself included, is that wherever you station U.S. troops, in a sense, that makes those places a potential target, does it not?

LYNCH: Yes, let's focus in on how those 6,100 polling sites are secured.

The inner ring is the Iraqi police. The middle ring is the Iraqi Army. And the coalition forces are on the outer ring. So they won't be evident at all at these polling sites during the conduct of the referendum tomorrow.

M. O'BRIEN: So you're going to hang back a little bit?

LYNCH: That's correct.

M. O'BRIEN: I've got to ask you about this teleconference with the president yesterday, if you don't mind.

As we know now, before the president ever had this discussion or whatever you want to call it, with the troops via teleconference, they were coached, at the very least, by members of the public affairs and the administration.

I'm curious, though, what is the concern, what concern do you have as a public affairs officer as to what those troops might say if they weren't coached?

LYNCH: OK, we have absolutely no concern. I've got to tell you, yesterday was blown out of proportion. There are technical details that we battle every day here in Iraq. And all we were trying to do yesterday is work through the technical issues of young service members talking to their commander-in-chief.

None of those service members were coached as to what to say.

M. O'BRIEN: No, no, no, there was -- but there was more than technical. There was more than technical. There was editorial content in all of that. It wasn't just, you know, can you hear me, I can hear you kind of stuff. It was actually here's what he's going to say, here's what you might want to say in response, right?

LYNCH: Again, that's blown out of proportion. Those young men and women were expressing their opinion. If you come over and talk to the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines we have on the ground here in Iraq today, they are very proud of what they're doing. They are protecting freedom and our way of life, and they're proud of that fact. And they will express their opinion when asked.

Every visitor that comes over that talks to our soldiers leaves with a positive assessment. And those soldiers yesterday were giving their opinion.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, I guess it's too bad, if that's true, that people would have another impression this morning, because of the way they were coached.

LYNCH: It is, indeed, disappointing. Those young service members were expressing their opinion. They're proud of what they're doing. They're proud of their association with the Iraqi Army and Iraq's security forces. And they're very excited about tomorrow's referendum.

M. O'BRIEN: Major General Rick Lynch, the U.S. military spokesman.

Thanks for your time.

Good luck.

LYNCH: My pleasure.

Thanks, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, you know, tomorrow is supposed to be moving day for thousands of Katrina evacuees. It's not going to happen. We're going to tell you the reasons why, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Well, you know, they were hoping to move the thousands of Katrina victims who are still in shelters out of those shelters and into some private housing. It doesn't look like it's going to happen.

Here's what the man who's leading the federal relief effort had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICE ADM. THAD W. ALLEN, HEAD OF FEDERAL RELIEF EFFORTS: The president mentioned the middle of October. The real goal here is to get the folks out of shelters and get them into a transition housing situation that will allow them to be able to plan their future and where they ultimately want to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Thad Allen, that was Vice Admiral Thad Allen.

October, the middle of October, October 15th was the hope.

Joining us this morning from Baton Rouge, Lisa Woodruff-White.

She's the deputy secretary for the Louisiana Department of Social Services.

Good morning.

Nice to see you.

You're not going to make this...

LISA WOODRUFF-WHITE, LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES: Good morning.

S. O'BRIEN: They're not going to make this deadline, right?

WOODRUFF-WHITE: No, we are not, unfortunately. We certainly want to get our citizens out of shelters as soon as possible, but unfortunately it won't happen by the deadline.

S. O'BRIEN: Give me the numbers. How many folks are still in shelters, both shelters in Louisiana and shelters outside of the state?

WOODRUFF-WHITE: Certainly.

We have about 9,200 people still in shelters in Louisiana. Those are our general population shelters. We have another 90 or so in the special needs shelters. And there's about 7,400 in shelters out of state.

S. O'BRIEN: So we're looking at somewhere under 17,000 or so evacuees who are still in the shelters.

What's been the biggest obstacle to getting those 17,000 people into some kind of, at least phase one temporary housing?

WOODRUFF-WHITE: Well, in the State of Louisiana, because there were so many evacuees because of hurricane Katrina and then, of course, hurricane Rita, there's just been not a lot of housing available in the state. And that includes housing in hotels or, you know, other temporary housing. And so we've really had challenges in trying to find housing.

But, you know, people are doing a good job really trying to find their own solutions. Our shelter numbers are going down about 1,000 a day now. S. O'BRIEN: You know, you say options within the state, but there are options outside of the state. And, of course, you always have that option of bringing a trailer in on some kind of private property and setting that, as well.

Hotels, I mean they're so expensive. There are reports that say there are 600,000 people in hotels at $11 million a day. When you read that number, do you think that money could be spent better elsewhere?

WOODRUFF-WHITE: Well, let me say, for a citizen in a shelter, a hotel is a good option. Any option that provides our citizens with, you know, some privacy, four walls, a private bath, is a good option for us.

Our governor has been very clear. She is committed to getting citizens out of shelters into some sort of temporary housing. You know, you mentioned out of state. We certainly want our citizens back home. But the reality is because there's not a lot of options in Louisiana, we do recognize that citizens will find temporary housing solutions out of state.

But the governor has been very clear about her commitment to develop reentry plans, to make sure we get the citizens back home.

S. O'BRIEN: When is your new deadline? Are you giving a new date when you think, actually, that everybody will be in some kind of housing, to speak of?

WOODRUFF-WHITE: We would certainly hope that by early November we can have all citizens out of shelters. I, you know, if that doesn't happen, then we will take care of our citizens. If long-term sheltering is something that, you know, we'll have to do for some, then we will. We hope that doesn't happen. I have to say that shelter managers here in Louisiana, parish officials have done an incredible job helping people to find solutions.

Also, people themselves, as they have received benefits, FEMA monies and other monies, they themselves have purchased transportation and found solutions. And I think that's the thing that's causing those numbers to decrease so significantly. And I think you'll see that continuing to happen.

I do think there will be a population that is more difficult to serve, perhaps some of our homeless population, who, you know, will need more long-term solutions.

S. O'BRIEN: Lisa Woodruff-White is the deputy secretary for the Louisiana Department of Social Services.

Thanks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, Karl Rove is going to go back before the grand jury today. Is it possible he said hey, hey, I want to come over and talk? Is that possible? Well, we'll ask an expert on why that might be the case, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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