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Paula Zahn Now
Helping Hurricane Victims Find New Jobs; Examining New Orleans Police Beating Video; Northeast Flooding Kills 10
Aired October 12, 2005 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. Glad you could join us tonight.
We know that you have seen the New Orleans police beating video, but can you really trust your eyes? Tonight, we are going to take yet another look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN (voice-over): It's the tape everyone is talking about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfathomable, what we actually saw. It was a brutal, brutal beating.
ZAHN: But does the camera tell the real story?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A hand of an officer that appears to be hitting someone in the head, but actually striking someone on the side of his shoulder.
ZAHN: Who is telling the truth about the beating on Bourbon Street?
A $7 million jet taken for a joyride. No one saw it leave. No one saw it land hundreds of miles away. In this age of terror, how is that even possible?
And "My New Life." Our experiment continues. With hundreds of thousands of people out of work, can you help a hurricane victim start a new life?
We start tonight with that chilling videotape from New Orleans, police seen beating a 64-year-old man on Bourbon Street. For the first time, we're actually hearing the officers' side of the story. And now it's a case of their word against his. They say he was a staggering drunk and resisted arrest. He says he's been sober for 25 years.
For the very latest, let's turn to Dan Simon in New Orleans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three New Orleans police officers on the defensive, fighting for their jobs, fighting for their reputations.
FRANK DESALVO, ATTORNEY FOR NEW ORLEANS POLICE OFFICERS: What we'd like to do is to lay out the facts.
SIMON: The officers appeared somber as their attorney, Frank DeSalvo, did the talking.
DESALVO: They did what they did based on what was placed before them and what reasonable police authority was at the time.
SIMON: Everything that happened on Bourbon Street Saturday night, he claimed, the struggle, the takedown, and the injuries to 64- year-old Robert Davis, were brought on by Davis himself.
DESALVO: His speech was slurred. He was belligerent. He told the officers to go F. themselves and pushes away -- pushed them away in an attempt to get away.
SIMON: And when trying to get away, the officers say, Davis put his hands in his waistband, which, to them, meant a possible gun.
DESALVO: That's a reasonable concern that the officers would have any time a man puts his hands toward his waistband. That's -- that's law enforcement 101. Don't let a guy put his hands in his waistband.
SIMON: But Davis had no weapon and has said repeatedly he hadn't been drinking and did nothing to deserve such a pummeling.
SIMON: The retired schoolteacher also made a public showing at the New Orleans Amtrak station, now a municipal courthouse. He pled not guilty to the charges, which include public drunkenness, resisting arrest and battery. His attorney says the videotape is all the evidence they need to prove that Davis is a harmless victim of overzealous police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The videotape is extraordinary evidence, because, you know, guys, let's be realistic. Without the videotape, he'd be just another drunk. That's how they -- that's how they -- that's how these things are handled.
SIMON: Davis is charged with a misdemeanor. So, too, are the officers. But the Orleans Parish district attorney is investigating, hinting he may file more serious charges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the tape is -- is very, very strong evidence of the use of excessive force. And it -- it would certainly, I think, meet all the requirements for a violation of state law, either simple battery or second-degree battery.
SIMON: Meanwhile, the officers, suspended without pay, are looking for new work, which they hope is only temporary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: Now, there was no Breathalyzer used against Mr. Davis. Legal experts have told me that, if you Breathalyzed people who are accused of being drunk on Bourbon Street, you would be busy 24/7, 365 days a year. Here, in Louisiana, they only use Breathalyzers against suspected DUI -- people who are suspected of driving drunk -- Paula, back to you.
ZAHN: Dan Simon, thanks so much for the update.
And now we're going to move into some numbers that are very difficult to digest. Louisiana officials say they now have recovered the bodies of 1,025 victims of Hurricane Katrina. And for the first time since the flooding, thousands of survivors went back into New Orleans' Ninth Ward, which got the worst of it. They weren't allowed to stay. They were just allowed to look at the wreckage of their homes and perhaps even save something small.
Here is Ed Lavandera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK WILLIAMS, RESIDENT OF NEW ORLEANS: They're looking for (INAUDIBLE) back here.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's only one memory worth saving from the walls of Patrick Williams' home.
WILLIAMS: Me and my wife's wedding picture.
LAVANDERA: The house in New Orleans' Ninth Ward has been wrecked by floodwaters, mud and mold.
WILLIAMS: That's the cabinet that fell off the wall.
LAVANDERA: Williams knows what he wants done to this house.
WILLIAMS: Come on through, man.
(LAUGHTER)
WILLIAMS: Come on through. Knock it down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That two meters, that's illegal duplex.
LAVANDERA: Inspection teams are surveying which homes can be saved. City officials estimate between 30,000 and 70,000 homes will have to be bulldozed.
The city's Ninth Ward and Lakeview areas, near the French Quarter, will be the most affected. Some say they will be scraped to the ground.
Greg Meffert is in charge of the home inspection plan. He says the city will try to preserve historical and architectural charm, but he admits, in many places, a bulldozer will be the only option.
GREG MEFFERT, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS: Some of them may look OK. But you don't know that that first floor has been soaking for two weeks, all right? So, you go -- you go upstairs, you walk through your floor and it falls through. I mean, I can't -- I can't -- I'd be irresponsible to let you go ahead and move into that.
LAVANDERA: Bulldozing could begin in a month. That can't happen until the cleanup phase ends, miles and miles of debris cleared.
(on camera): This is one of the many dumping grounds where debris from the New Orleans area is being collected. To give you a sense of how daunting the cleanup process will be here, consider that, at the World Trade Center, crews moved 1.6 million tons of debris from ground zero. Here, in southeast Louisiana, officials estimate they have 22 million tons of debris to move, 14 times as much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Well, let's go that way with it.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Kent Cheramie works under a hovering cloud of dust. His job is to clear the streets of a 25-block area. But the job never ends.
KENT CHERAMIE, CONTRACTOR: Oh, you see tables; you see chair; you see furniture. You got sofas, beds. You got Sheetrock. You got insulation.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Like, this is a typical load right here?
CHERAMIE: Yes. This is a typical load right here of what's going on.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Thirty trucks work this little area, each making about 10 runs a day. Cheramie predicts it will take another two months to finish, prolonging the agony for Shellee Davis, who just wants to see a bulldozer drive down her street.
SHELLEE DAVIS, RESIDENT OF NEW ORLEANS: I will be happy, because, behind that bulldozer is going to be a truck full of lumber, a truck full of bricks, and some professionals to put it all together.
LAVANDERA: So, for now, many people wait for the writing on the wall that will clear the way to starting over.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And that was Ed Lavandera reporting for us tonight.
And some big problems in the Northeast tonight. A week of steady rain has dumped more than 10 inches of rain on the mid-Atlantic and New England, causing flooding that, so far, has killed 10 people. And, tonight, more rain is on the way to places like Hartford, Connecticut.
And that's exactly where meteorologist Rob Marciano is tonight. Rob, how bad is it there right now?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, actually, the Connecticut River is receding just a little bit. Even though it still rains tonight, Paula, today's rainfall pales in comparison to what we have seen here for the last several days. So, raining, yes, still, but it's a bit of a break, at least compared to what is still to come.
We start our cover with a story that has been ongoing the past several days up in New Hampshire, Alstead, New Hampshire, where there have been fatalities from heavy rain, river flooding and mudslides. Well, now all that water slides to the south -- Uxbridge, Massachusetts also seeing about six inches of rain in the last week.
They -- that is about five times what they would normally see for the month -- Hartford, Connecticut, a similar situation today, only about a half-inch of rain, but, still, month to date, about five times the rainfall what we would normally expect -- so, flooding issues all along the Connecticut River, especially south of here, around the New York City area, Morristown, New Jersey, seeing six days in a row of rainfall there, so, at the very lest, ponding of rain on the roadways making for slick driving conditions, in some cases, roadways completed -- completely flooded and impassable.
Here in Hartford, Connecticut, a city known to be the mecca of insurance companies, they have got the Connecticut river, which flows right through here. It starts at the Canadian border, slices through Massachusetts, goes through Massachusetts, Connecticut, eventually dumps into Long Island Sound.
They have had flooding problems in the past with the Connecticut River, back in the '30s, two big floods. But the Army Corps of Engineers took care of it. They built 7.4 miles of levees and dikes here and six pumping stations. It's kind of like language you would hear out of New Orleans. They say it would take a 500-year storm to flood the city.
So, we're not expecting big problems here. But, tomorrow and beyond, we slide west to the Housatonic, the Hudson Rivers of Eastern New York. As that, the rainfall, from what is anticipated in the next couple days, begins to struggle to move down those rivers, we could see some -- some big-time problems in some of the major metropolitan areas, like New York City. So, it's going to be an ongoing threat for the next couple of days and possibly through the weekend, Paula.
ZAHN: Well, at least people have been alerted to what might happen. So, we will hope they heed the warnings.
And I have a feeling that slicker of yours is keeping you very dry. Can you see if you can get me one of those, Rob?
MARCIANO: You want one of these rain jackets?
ZAHN: Yes. Yes. I haven't got one of those CNN freebies yet.
MARCIANO: Oh, yes.
(CROSSTALK)
LAVANDERA: Is it a CNN jacket? I didn't notice.
ZAHN: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: I will try -- I will try to get you one.
ZAHN: Kind of -- kind of hard to see the -- the letters there.
(LAUGHTER)
ZAHN: Rob, take care. Good luck to all the folks there.
We have been doing an awful lot of reporting this week about bird flu. But if you think of it as a problem that's very far away, stay right where you are. A strain of it is a lot closer than you think.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to assure the American consumer that we are doing all that we can do to make food safe, especially poultry safe, in the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: That's right. The worries are already here in the United States.
And, later, she has worked in marketing for nearly 20 years, but, after Hurricane Katrina, no one was advertising and she lost her job. Can you give her a new life?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: There is some good news to report tonight in the worldwide fight against bird flu. Test results show that the virus has not yet spread to Europe. Alarms had gone off last week when some ducks in Rumania died mysteriously.
Still, health officials say, if the virus mutates, so it can jump easily from person to person, tens of millions of people will die. And it turns out that avian flu has already struck the U.S. You may not know this, but it has caught American farmers millions of dollars.
Here is Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Visitors heading to this part of Maryland's Eastern Shore might expect to see plenty of chickens. But they won't, because all of the chickens are kept far away from the public's eyes and germs. Poultry is a $500-million-a- year industry in Delmarva.
That's what this farming region of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia is called. What outsiders will see are signs like this: "Keep out. Keep our chickens disease-free."
JENNY RHODES, DEERFIELD FARM: A lot of security is just being careful of what we do.
CARROLL: Biosecurity? Jenny Rhodes isn't the only farmer talking about it. Mark Eck is, too.
MARK ECK, MAE-VUE FARM: We look at biosecurity every day, just like, now, with the U.S., with the threat of terrorism, we're out looking. We're keeping an eye out, and we are very protective.
CARROLL: The enemy they are looking out for is a bird virus called avian flu. Poultry farmers here have seen a less deadly strain than the one in Asia, one that did not involve humans.
In 2002, an outbreak in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley cost the industry $130 million. More than four million chickens and turkeys had to be killed. And, last year, a smaller outbreak in Queen Anne's County caused 30 countries to ban imports of Delmarva chicken. Most, if not all, the countries have since lifted the ban.
RHODES: So, these are the ones I wear to the barn every day.
CARROLL: Both Rhodes...
ECK: I have got masks for protective...
CARROLL: And Eck showed us some of the steps farmers take to protect the flocks, like disinfecting their protective booting.
ECK: At the steps at the chicken house, we will fill this up with a disinfectant. So, you have to step through this to go into the chicken house, poultry disinfectant.
CARROLL (on camera): So, there's actually a poultry disinfectant?
ECK: Right. That's correct.
CARROLL (voice-over): Rhodes would only allow one outsider inside her chicken house, our cameraman.
RHODES: So, this is the inside of the chicken house.
CARROLL: These chickens will spend their entire eight-and-a- half-week life inside this chicken house. They will never see the outside, because that would mean potential exposure to wild birds that could carry diseases.
The State Department of Agriculture says it's unlikely the Asian version of avian flu would strike here. The added measures are in place to protect poultry from any disease.
GUY HOHENHAUS, DVM, MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE: Yes. I'm very confident that the right things are being done. The risk is generally small. CARROLL: Even so, we still have to keep our distance from the ex-chicken houses.
(on camera): Even for us even to be talking to you was -- was a big deal, really, wasn't it?
ECK: Yes, it was.
CARROLL: Even just to get us here.
(LAUGHTER)
ECK: Yes, it was. And we are not in a -- what you would say a real restricted area.
RHODES: I think it's important that people know, the American consumer knows that we're doing all that we can to protect, you know, our -- our poultry.
CARROLL (voice-over): Their livelihood and the public's safety depend on it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: That was Jason Carroll.
In just a little while, a private jet, an alleged joyride, a very disturbing wakeup call about what you can get away with at our nation's airports.
But, first, let's move on to the hour's top stories from Christi Paul at Headline News -- Christi.
CHRISTI PAUL, HEADLINE NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Paula.
The Earth continues to tremble beneath Pakistan. A strong aftershock shook areas already devastated by Saturday's massive quake. The president of Pakistan says 23,000 are counted dead so far, 50,000 injured and 2.5 million are homeless.
And the Syrian government says its longtime chief of military intelligence, Ghazi Kenaan, commits suicide, after denying allegations that he helped assassinate the Lebanese prime minister earlier this year. The U.N. has been investigating a possible Syrian link to the assassination.
CNN has learned that CIA Director Porter Goss will be made national human intelligence manager. That means he would oversee all intelligence agents in all the nation's 15 spy agencies.
President Bush says Harriet Miers' born-again religion is one of the positives she will bring to the Supreme Court. He's been working against opposition to Miers' nomination by some conservatives.
And Yahoo! says it will shut down online chat rooms with names like "Teen Girls For Older Men." Two states had threatened to sue Yahoo! because of the danger to minors -- Paula, back to you.
ZAHN: Thanks so much, Christi.
After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the people of this country have certainly opened up their hearts. And, in a minute, we're going to meet two more storm victims and see if someone out there in our audience has a job opening that's just right for them.
And, a little bit later on, the rush, the speed, and the danger. Have you got what it takes to be a NASCAR driver?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: The numbers are really depressing; 1.5 million people displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Twenty-two thousand evacuees, mostly from New Orleans, are still in shelters and have no place else to go. Well, today, FEMA launched a new initiative to find temporary housing for all of them. President Bush had originally wanted the shelters closed by this Saturday.
But the best way to give victims a new life is to find a new job for them. And that's what we have been trying to do all this week. And all of us have been really impressed by your generosity. Every job seeker we have profiled so far has gotten offers.
So, if you're an employer or if you hire people for a living, keep on watching. You'll soon be seeing some important contact information, so you can call or e-mail us. This is your chance to give a couple more storm victims a new life.
Here's what all of them are up against.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN (voice-over): They lost everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, God.
ZAHN: Their belongings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is gone.
ZAHN: Their homes, their cities and towns, and one of the most important keys to recovery. They lost their jobs.
In the wake of the hurricanes, an astounding 363,000 Americans lost their jobs. Some analysts think the final number could approach half-a-million. When all is said and done, the storms may have knocked 400,000 people out of their jobs. Where were those jobs? Everywhere and in almost every industry. When the skies cleared after Hurricane Katrina, 95 percent of the Gulf of Mexico's oil production was shut down.
At least 286 hotels along the Gulf Coast are in no shape to take in visitors. The casinos, don't bet on them for a while. Transportation jobs, look at the roads. Countless shops and restaurants have been damaged or destroyed. And these are the people affected.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's time to start over.
ZAHN: Business owners, welders, cooks and musicians.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I basically have nothing. I mean, everything I have on me is borrowed.
ZAHN: A law school graduate whose first job has been blown away.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My house is gone. My job is gone. So, there really is nothing to go back to down there.
ZAHN: When you've lost everything, you desperately need a way to get something back. You need a job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And, over the past two weeks, my staff has made contact with a lot of storm victims who are desperately looking for work. They are going to tell us their stories. We will put their resumes on the screen.
And, once again, if you're an employer or you hire people and you like what you're about to see, please give us a call 1-877-HIRE-ME5. You can also e-mail us, if that's easier for you, at mynewlife @CNN.com. Mynewlife is all one word. Or go to our Web site at CNN.com/Paula. And I will help put you in touch with our job seekers.
We are going to leave it up to the two of you to see if the match works. CNN has not been able to verify the information provided by potential employees. And we have no opinion about the qualifications of any particular employee or the merit of any employer. Employers should follow their own best hiring practices in determining whether to hire any of the featured individuals.
So, also, Ali Velshi will join us from Washington. He has some tips about Internet sites that may help you find work.
Glad to see you again.
And here with me in the studio, as he has been all week long, Brad Karsh. He is an expert in career counseling.
Welcome back.
Right now, though, we're ready to meet our first person who needs a brand new life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TANGA WINSTEAD, MARKETING DIRECTOR: My heart is here. I love it. I worked for a local ad agency here in New Orleans, the second largest in the city, actually. And I was the senior account service supervisor. My entire life, I have never been laid off or fired. No one has ever really wanted me to leave a job that I had. So, this has all been a new experience to me. But there are so many people that are worse off than me that have lost everything. So, I -- I have to be thankful that I just lost my job and have some damage to my home.
There we go.
When I first walked back into my house after the storm, I could just feel this feeling in the pit of my stomach that, you know, I can't believe this. I finally bought a house. I finally had my life on track. I was moving forward, and now this.
My housewarming was going to be this past Saturday. But what can you do? You just have to start over.
As an employee, I have been told I'm very unusual, in that I have great attention to detail, yet I'm creative, and that, usually, you don't find that in the same individual. I will work for you as if it were my own company.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: We could use about a hundred of you here, Tanga.
Tanga Winstead joins me now from New Orleans.
If you're in a position to hire people, the contact information is right at the bottom of our screen.
I know, Tanga, this has just been so devastating for you. As you have sort of confronted your own losses, you have also been out there networking, working through marketing organizations in the community to help you find a strong footing once again. Is it helping at all? Are you make anything headway?
WINSTEAD: Absolutely.
That's how I ended up here this evening was actually through the Advertising Club of New Orleans. I got a call from the president that said, I understand you lost your job and this might be a great opportunity for you. So, I'm -- I'm here. I'm ready to work and focus on the rebuilding of New Orleans.
ZAHN: So, you're making it sound like you never want to leave there. Is New Orleans home forever?
WINSTEAD: New Orleans is my home. It's really the people that make this place so great.
And, if the people don't come back, this place will never be the same. And I feel it's my duty to try to rebuild this city. Obviously, if an ideal offer comes in from somewhere else, I would certainly have to consider it. But my heart is here. ZAHN: Well, we -- we could feel that from hearing what you're saying.
Let's check in with Brad Karsh, who is in the studio with me again.
You know, obviously, Tanga can use some of the skills she has used in her previous job, perhaps, to go into the tourism industry.
What kind of advice do you have for her tonight?
BRAD KARSH, CAREER COUNSELING EXPERT: Absolutely.
Tanga, a couple pieces of advice for you. I would consider working for some of the hotels in the New Orleans area and consider those that have gotten their feet back up, helping them with tourism, helping them bring in some conventions.
I think, right now, the city of New Orleans is probably a little uncertain as to how they are going to frame their tourism and convention story right now. Something else you may want to consider -- and it means leaving New Orleans, perhaps -- is going to another city, working their department of tourism, their convention and visitor bureau, get some great experience and come back in a year or two and share that with the city of New Orleans.
ZAHN: It looks like you agree with him, Tanga.
And we want you to stand by, because, if anybody out there has a job for Tanga, we would love for you to contact us. The information will stay at the bottom of the screen.
Brad, thank you. You'll be back as well.
But, meanwhile, Ali Velshi has been checking the Internet, what sites are out there that can help all job seekers.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All job seekers.
Whether or not you have been affected by Hurricane Katrina, Paula, the issue is how you hone in on what you're looking for. There are literally thousands of job sites, some of them specific to Katrina survivors.
And, when we come back, I'm going to tell you about how best to use those to get a job if you're one of them -- Paula.
ZAHN: Look forward to it. Thanks, Ali.
In just a minute, we're going to meet a welder who found himself raising three grandchild -- children -- after his daughter lost her life to breast cancer. But now he's lost his job because of the hurricane.
But, before we go to the break, here are some of the voice mail messages for two of the people we met last night, Jerry Blake, who lost his motorcycle franchise, and musician Ricky Liggins.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. My name is Arnie Philco (ph), with the New Orleans Saints. And I was very impressed with Paula's show about Ricky Liggins.
And, Ricky, although I don't have a full-time job offer for you, if you are still in Louisiana, I would like you to be considered for singing the national anthem at one of our home games in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, during the course of the current season.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this is Stephen Brunell with (INAUDIBLE). I called in earlier.
I mean, even if I'm not used on the program, I am interested in talking to the gentleman. I have four different positions open, from sales manager, general manager to sales, service manager and bookkeeping.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Welcome back. We're going to be taking calls and checking messages for our job seekers throughout our program tonight. You can get in contact with us by calling 1-877-hire-me5. You can send an e- mail to mynewlife@CNN.com, mynewlife all one word, or go to our Web site, cnn.com/Paula.
Ali Velshi meanwhile, is in Washington with some very important information for anyone out of work because of the hurricanes. Help may be as close as the nearest computer, but then again you have to be as gifted as Ali is on the computer.
VELSHI: If you only saw what I've gone through to get this big, fancy computer to work. But listen, this is the thing. Not everybody has got immediate access to computers. If you can get to a library, one of the shelters, various places with computer access, the ability to use the Web to find a job is actually fantastic because you might be displaced.
You might need a job in another city. You might want to know where a job are available. One of the first places to start might be craigslist. It's not a company, it's an online community. A lot of people might be familiar with it. I've bought and sold furniture on it. People find apartments on it. You can even get dates on it.
But in this particular case, there are a listing of cities on the right-hand side. They are typically all in blue. But after Hurricane Katrina what happened is that craigslist started to put a few of these cities in red. These are cities that have been affected by Hurricane Katrina.
So, if you hit on those, you look at something like Austin. You hit on Austin, but what you can do is you find listings of things like employment offers on the left and you will find jobs and jobs that are specifically meant for hurricane survivors.
Now, there are companies as well that specialize in job listings and resume listings. One of them is Monster. If you look at Monster's site down on their page -- this is the main page. If you scroll down right to the middle there's a hurricane relief job board.
You can hit on need a job and it will give you an ability to search for jobs. This is for hurricane survivors. You enter a location, you enter a category, maybe a trade that you specialize in, and you search for jobs.
There are other sites that work like this. Careerbuilder is another one of those job sites. They've set up a special site. It's called katrina.jobs. This is the home page for katrina.jobs. Works the same way. You can set a location in, and a type of job.
And finally if you go to the Department of Labor, they've got a page called -- it's specifically for hurricane recovery jobs. I looked at that a little while ago. Just today, 1,545 new jobs available there. You have to be discriminating when you're using the Web to look for a job. Not everything on there is how it appears, but for a lot of people, Paula, it will be a great opportunity to find some work after the devastation of Katrina and Rita.
ZAHN: And you made that all look so easy. And that's a very good thing for someone who is as technophobic as I am. I'm sure the folks that will be logging on in the Gulf coast are probably a little swifter at it than I am. Ali Velshi, thanks so much.
Now it's time to meet another one of those job seekers. Hurricane Katrina is one of the tragedies he's endured this past year but he has a very positive attitude. And that is incredible in and of itself.
RAYMOND WASHINGTON, WELDER: I have been a welder for 25 years. I like the challenges. I like to build things of beauty. This is what I want to do. I love it and it feels great to build things and then when you stand back and see what you have built and I did this work and it going to last and it's going to help somebody get from here to there. That's one great thing.
I am raising my three grand babies because my daughter died of breast cancer and me and my wife took it on ourselves to raise them. I don't care, you know, what get tore down or what get blowed away, the family needs to keep that love value.
Without that love value ain't nothing in this world exists. I will take carpenter work, I will take work, just make sure I can get it there for my grandkids. I have to keep them going. I figure someone should hire me because I'm good at what I do, and I want to take care of my family. I love my family. ZAHN: We can see that. Raymond Washington joins me now from New Orleans. If you're in a position to hire him, the contact information is right at the bottom of your screen. Raymond, so good to see you. You have been thrown just about every bad curve ball you could have been thrown in a very short period of time. How is your whole family holding up?
WASHINGTON: I'm holding them together, holding them real strong.
ZAHN: Your attitude is just amazing. And as you try to keep your grandchildren strong and keep them hopeful, you've also had to try to look for work during all of this. How is your job search going?
WASHINGTON: I'm still looking, ma'am.
ZAHN: Any nibbles at all? Or is there just nothing out there at this time?
WASHINGTON: Well, the city looks like things are going slow for it, for welders and things right now.
ZAHN: And ...
WASHINGTON: But I'm willing to get ...
ZAHN: Yes, I'm sorry, there's a little delay here.
WASHINGTON: I'm willing.
ZAHN: You sound like you're flexible and willing to do just about anything. What do you think is the greatest thing you've got going for you as far as potential employer goes?
WASHINGTON: My energy. I want to go anywhere to work. Anywhere. Anywhere in this country.
ZAHN: We'd like to ...
WASHINGTON: I just want a job and to take care of my family.
ZAHN: And do the kids have any understanding of how hard this has been on you?
WASHINGTON: No, ma'am, I won't put that burden on them. I just like to see them smile.
ZAHN: And that's what they see you do all the time, so that's why they look so happy. Raymond, hang on for just a minute because I want to bring Brad Karsh back into our conversation. He's an expert in career counseling and the president of a company called JobBound.
He has an incredible attitude. He is willing to be flexible, he loves to build things. But unfortunately he's had a lot of distractions he's had to deal with, and important distractions. I don't want to minimize taking care of three grandchildren he has to raise as his own now, but he hasn't had a chance to really get into wholehearted job hunting. Any advice for him?
KARSH: Raymond, one of the first steps that you want to do when you jump into the job search is there are a bunch of resources available to you. There are one-stop career centers specifically set up to help you make the first steps in your job search. They will help you with career planning, they will help you with resumes, and they will hook you up with jobs.
Fortunately you work in an industry that's going to have a lot of demand in the Gulf coast. And once the rebuilding begins you are going to be in high demand. Ali just talked about hurricane recovery jobs and Katrina recovery jobs that are available through jobsearch.org.
That's a great place for you to go, and we actually went on there and found some welder jobs that are actually out there already, so that's something that you really want to consider and jump into right now.
WASHINGTON: Yes, ma'am. Definitely.
ZAHN: There's hope but I guess you're going to have to have some patience, too. I want to thank Brad Karsh so much of JobBound and give a very special thank to our two job seekers tonight. Raymond, thanks so much for joining us, sharing your story and before him, Tanga Winstead.
Now, if you're in a position to hire either one of them, please call us at 1-877-hire-me5. You an also e-mail at this address, mynewlife@CNN.com. Mynewlife is all one word. Or please go on to our Web site at CNN.com/paula.
We're going to put you directly in touch with our job seekers, and we'll go right back on the air with them if there is good news. Raymond and Tanga are standing by, as well. Again, Brad, thanks for making the trip to this part of the country to be with us.
In a moment, we're going to move on to a question we probably all asked ourselves since 9/11. Could a terrorist just walk into an airport, get in a pilot's seat and fly off without anyone noticing? The frightening implications of an alleged joyride coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: You might want to file this next story in your outrage file. Today police in Georgia arrested a 22-year-old man and charged him with taking a corporate jet on a 275 mile joyride. They believe he revved up the engines of a Cessna Citation in St. Augustine, Florida on Saturday night, then flew it to a small airport east of Atlanta.
And you know what? No one noticed him. No one noticed him taking the plane at all, flying it or landing it. And I think what we all want to know is how could that happen? Here's national correspondent Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: CNN has learned the pilot police say swiped this $7 million plane for a joyride was flying on fumes when he landed with five friends aboard. A source close to the investigation says Daniel Andrew Wolcott made at least one stop in Georgia before taking off again with five passengers.
Two days after the missing plane showed up in Georgia from Florida, Wolcott turned himself in. Police say the 23-year-old of Buford, Georgia, managed apparently without much difficulty to take the Cessna Citation overnight Sunday from St. Augustine, Florida, and fly it to Gwinnett Georgia, a little over an hour in a jet if flown directly, but how?
MATTHEW SMITH, GWINNETT COUNTY AIRPORT: When you fly it, it's essentially like a car. You can go where you want. A jet that size you typically are going to file a flight plan but you're not required to.
CANDIOTTI: That's right. No flight plan required if you're flying below 18,000 feet. The plane's transponder was disabled, police say, or radar would have recognized the Cessna. The FAA is checking radar recordings for evidence of the flight. The Cessna landed at night, possibly using its radio transmitter to turn on the unmanned runway lights.
(on camera): Security cameras often can catch a suspect in the act, and there was a camera pointing at the place where the jet was parked. Anyone can watch it on the Internet. But when you click on it, the page is empty. That's because the camera was discovered missing after the jet disappeared.
(voice-over): Police say the crew left the plane unlocked and no key was needed to start the engine. As for security, the airport has no overnight guard, not uncommon for small airstrips. So far there is no indication terrorism was involved.
OFFICER DARREN MOLONEY, GWINNETT CO. POLICE DEPT.: Wolcott never plainly stated what his motive was. However, our investigation indicates this was just his idea of a joyride.
CANDIOTTI: However, sources say, the incident raises questions about security at small airfields. Wolcott faces criminal charges in Georgia and theft charges in Florida are expected.
MOLONEY: It's kind of sad. From everything I have been told this young man had an extreme talent, a God given gift to fly planes and he blew it.
CANDIOTTI: So far neither Wolcott nor his lawyer has made any public statement.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: That was Susan Candiotti reporting. Now, everyone who drives could learn a few lessons as well from the NASCAR circuit tonight.
And surprise -- I'm trying to talk to you about some things you might want to try when you aren't behind the wheel. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: All right. So if we're all being honest, we'd probably admit that we dreamed about driving a car at 200 miles an hour. But the truth is, NASCAR drivers who drive that fast in heavy traffic for a living have to fight g-forces like astronauts taking off in a space shuttle. It is a physical sport, and as our senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is showing us all this week, it's an awful lot of work. Tonight, he'll show us what NASCAR driver Carl Edwards does off the track to keep on winning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even if he's not driving, Carl Edwards likes to keep his heart racing with a mix of cardio and weights seven days a week.
CARL EDWARDS, NASCAR DRIVER: In a place like Crystal (ph), I know we have gone like 250 laps without stopping. And that is intense. I mean, you're breathing heavy. Your heart is beating, and it's the same as going on a long run or a bicycle ride or something like that. It's hard core.
GUPTA: How hard core? Well, a study found race car drivers on an oval track like NASCAR's sustained heart rates of 120 to 150 beats per minute, about the same level as a serious marathon runner for about the same length of time.
Research in the car racing also shows that aerobic and resistance training helps drivers handle the g-forces. One of the pioneers of this fitness boom, Edwards' teammate and mentor Mark Martin. He began working out seriously in 1988. Martin, who wrote the book "NASCAR for Dummies," says there are three benefits. Drivers suffer fewer injuries because their muscles protect their bones and internal organs. The drivers are better able to handle the intense heat in the car -- 120 degrees or hotter, because they start with a lower pulse. A strong upper body helps a driver steer better when the car is not handling well.
Fitness routines and special diets now abound among NASCAR drivers.
JEFF GORDON, NASCAR DRIVER: As I get older, I find I need to do more things to stay in shape.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NASCAR DRIVER: Light weights and reps. A lot of reps, so that I can have some strength and some muscle mass for a crash or impact.
KYLE PETTY, NASCAR DRIVER: I run a marathon in January. Planning to run another marathon this summer -- this winter sometime.
GUPTA: Of course not all drivers have joined in the fitness craze.
TONY STEWART, NASCAR DRIVER: Channel up, channel down; volume up, volume down. That's about the extent of my fitness routine.
GUPTA: In the long run, Edwards is convinced being fit will have him in victory lane more often, jumping for joy.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And to learn more about NASCAR behind the scenes, please join Sanjay for a special Sunday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern called "NASCAR: Driven to Extremes," right here on CNN.
And right now at 8:00 minutes before the hour, let's check in with Christi Paul for today's "HEADLINE NEWS" business break.
PAUL: Thanks, Paula.
The Dow fell 36 points today, and Nasdaq tech stocks took it on the chin, including Apple Computer. Today, Apple introduced a new iPod that can store and play videos. Two models list for around $300 to $400, but Apple shares lost 4.5 percent today.
And Disney says it will offer episodes of TV hits like "Desperate Housewives" for the iPod. They will cost about $2 to download from the Apple's iTunes site. Disney's CEO, Robert Iger, called it a giant step toward more content online.
The Supreme Court refused to reinstate a class action lawsuit against Merrill Lynch. The company and its former Internet analyst, Henry Blodgett, had been accused of misleading investors before the tech stock bubble burst.
And sources tell CNN that Google and Comcast, the nation's leading cable company, are negotiating to buy a stake in America Online. AOL is owned by Time Warner, which is also the parent company of CNN.
And those are the business break headlines. Paula, back to you.
ZAHN: Thanks so much, Christi.
We want to thank all of you for calling in and e-mailing us tonight. Because of your generosity, we have some good news to report about our job seekers potentially linking up with you right after this break. Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: And we're happy to report you are responding to the information we put out about our job seekers tonight. John Morey of the market research consulting firm Morey & Associates joins us on the phone from Charleston, South Carolina. It's a small world after all. He actually worked with marketing director Tanga Winstead before, and wants to talk to her now.
John, do you have a job to offer her tonight?
JOHN MOREY, MOREY & ASSOCIATES: I do.
ZAHN: What do you have in mind?
MOREY: Well, Tanga, if you can move to Charleston, at least temporarily, I think we can get you in some sort of sales and account executive position.
ZAHN: What was it about her story tonight that touched you, John? You could hire a bunch of other people around the country, but you heard Tanga's story, and it obviously impacted you.
MOREY: Well, it's not just Tanga, it's everybody. I mean, there's people there that need jobs. And if you have a job that you can offer -- and maybe it doesn't even pay for itself in the first year, but if you can invest in people, you know, it's a worthy investment.
ZAHN: Well, it's great to hear that, and I'm sure Tanga is pretty happy to hear that as well. How does that sound to you, Tanga?
WINSTEAD: Sounds great. And it's great to hear from John, as well, Paula.
ZAHN: So you do remember him?
WINSTEAD: I do.
ZAHN: And are you willing to move to...
WINSTEAD: He's a great guy.
ZAHN: Are you -- I know how much you love New Orleans and you'd like to stay there and work in tourism. Are you willing to move to South Carolina temporarily?
WINSTEAD: I can always keep my house and move from one seaport town to another.
ZAHN: All right, well, I'll let the two of you negotiate. I'll get out of your way, John Morey and Tanga Winstead. Again, good luck to both of you. Thanks for calling in, John.
And now we're getting some calls for welder Raymond Washington. On the phone now is a gentleman named Roy Hamilton. He happens to be the owner of a company in Heber City, Utah. Sir, do you have something for Raymond that he might want to consider?
ROY HAMILTON, ARCHES INTERMOUNTAIN FABRICATORS: I do. I have a position for a certified welder. We do structural welding for columns and beams and that sort of things for buildings, and if he would be willing to relocate to and put a winter coat on to come to Heber, Utah, I think we could put him to work. ZAHN: Well, let me ask Raymond if he's willing to go buy one of those winter coats and move to Utah. How does that sound to you, Raymond?
WASHINGTON: That sounds great to me, ma'am, because I worked in Wyoming before, I've been up there before.
ZAHN: And I know the most important thing in your life is to take care of those three grandchildren now that you're raising with your wife.
Raymond, best of luck to you. I hope this works out for you. And Roy Hamilton, we appreciate your responding to Raymond's wonderful story. It's extraordinary. He's never lost that positive attitude you have seen here tonight.
That's it for all of us here tonight. Again, thanks for calling in and e-mailing us. We appreciate your response. Have a great night. "LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now.
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