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The Situation Room

Hurricane Katrina Aftermath; Roberts Hearing Continues

Aired September 13, 2005 - 16:20   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Not very surprising, high praise for John Roberts from Senator Jeff Sessions, a Republican of Alabama. He's going on and on, praising the Supreme Court nominee in very, very glowing terms. We fully anticipated that.
What was somewhat -- I think was somewhat surprising -- and Jeff Greenfield and Jeff Toobin, let me bring you into this. During the course of Dianne Feinstein's 30 minutes of questioning, I don't think we learned a whole lot more about where Judge Roberts stands on Roe versus Wade, abortion rights for women, but he did go a little bit further in explaining his own Catholic views and the lack of involvement, if you will. He says, my faith does not play a role in his judicial beliefs.

And earlier in response to questions from Arlen Specter he basically said, like John F. Kennedy, he was not going to allow his Catholic faith to dictate his politics, if you will.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: There's been some concern from folks on the conservative side of things that some of Roberts' critics or questioners might probe too deeply into this question of Catholic faith. And I think Roberts -- not only did Roberts answer that quickly and effectively, but he raised that where Dianne Feinstein didn't, because they're not asking that question because I think there's a politically -- there's a problem with that.

We should also compliment Senator Feinstein. She actually asked questions, probably asked more questions in 30 minutes than ...

BLITZER: Hey, hold onto that thought because we have to take a quick commercial break. But we'll have plenty of time to discuss what we've learned so far. Much more of our coverage coming up.

Also we're check into see what's happening in the state of emergency, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. There have been some important developments today. Our coverage continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: I'm Wolf Blitzer here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Much more of our coverage of John Roberts' confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. That's coming up.

But there have been other developments in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, "Mission Critical".

Here are some of those latest developments in the disaster zone. Surprising word today from the mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, now saying he'll reopen parts of the city for business next week if water quality tests come back with good results, and that's expected.

The city's airport is already open again, taking its first commercial flight since the hurricane. The Northwest Airlines plane flew in from Memphis with about 30 people on board, including FEMA workers and government health officials.

And the Port of New Orleans also poised to reopen. That's good news. It's expecting the arrival today of the first cargo ship since Katrina hit more than two weeks ago. Three more ships expected this week.

And more developments. The death toll right now -- the death toll 512 people in five states. That's the latest number we're getting. There's also word that 11 evacuees died before being moved out of southeast Louisiana. A coroner says most were elderly or seriously ill.

As the clean-up continues, there are a growing number of accidents -- 148 injuries -- in fact, 148 injuries, according to health officials in the New Orleans area, including chainsaw injuries and carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.

And the U.S. Postal Service, by the way, is reporting progress in finally getting the mail through to some of those evacuees. Is says 82 percent of residents and businesses affected by Hurricane Katrina now have full delivery service, and more than 98,000 households have filed change of address forms.

For the latest, let's go to the scene right now, with CNN's Jeff Koinange. He's in New Orleans. Jeff, first of all, tell our viewers where exactly you are right now.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. It looks like I'm in the middle of a war zone, doesn't it, Wolf? Well, I'm in the place called the Seventh Ward. I'll tell you exactly where I am because I found a street sign right here. We're on North Prieur Avenue and that's between Esplanade, in front of me and Kerlerec behind me.

Now Wolf, if you look at this scene right here, what is wrong with this picture? Well, for one, look at that speedboat behind me. Right in the middle of a dry street, a speed boat. What does this tell you? It tells that at some point during this disaster, the water was so high, that speed boat was maneuvering its way through these neighborhoods.

Right now it's dry and you can see it does resemble a disaster zone, garbage everywhere, and it's smelly, it's stinky. There's a danger of disease right here, cars over there that were submerged for many days. A lot of these houses are definitely going to be condemned because the water was so high.

A lot of optimism in the city right now. In fact, not too long ago you mentioned New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin held a press conference expressing a lot of optimism in the coming days. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYOR RAY NAGIN (D), NEW ORLEANS: If the report, the verbal report that I got from the EPA stands up, we will be set within the next couple of days to open up a couple of key areas of the city for full access -- Algiers, Central Business District, French Quarter, and Uptown.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOINANGE: Wolf, the mayor there being a little optimistic. He knows we need power, we need water, we need sanitation to be taken care of in places like the Seventh Ward where we are right now. It doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon.

BLITZER: Any indications of disease erupting? This has been, as you know, Jeff, and so many of our viewers know, a huge concern. And you point out the filth where you are, the toxic nature potentially of some of the areas that had been under water.

KOINANGE: I think the good thing is, Wolf, they moved a lot of medical personnel in the area, so anytime anyone complains of any kind of irritation or any kind of symptoms, they're attended to immediately. And that's fantastic to see. Otherwise, it would be a very big problem if that wasn't the case.

You can just imagine a place like this where I'm standing. There's so much filth. Let me take a little walk around, because you have to see this. There are scenes like this everywhere. There is so much stagnant water, like this in that bin right there. That's terrible stuff. And all over, garbage everywhere, mice running around, snakes, all kinds of vermin. So you can just imagine that if this is not taken care of in the coming days, it's going to be a major, major problem.

That's why the mayor and other city officials -- yes, they may sound optimistic, but if people are to return to these homes right here, first of all, will they be allowed to come back because of the threat of disease? And two, will they be able to go back to their homes, because a lot of these homes will be condemned?

Wolf.

BLITZER: Are there any people in that neighborhood where you are right now, Jeff?

KOINANGE: We actually found a couple, Wolf. For surprising enough, we found two down the block that we'll probably go and see if they're still around, but for the most part, Wolf, this is a ghost town. This could be a street in Monrovia, say, or Freetown, Sierra Leon, where a rebel invasion has just passed through. I felt like I've been in this scene before anywhere. The only difference is there's a boat right in the middle of the street there, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Jeff Koinange on the scene for us in parts of New Orleans. Jeff, thank you very much.

There's some new tension developing apparently between state officials in Louisiana and FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, over the recovery of bodies in the wake of the disaster.

CNN's Mary Snow is now on the scene for us in Baton Rouge. She has details. What's going on, Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, that tension was turned up today by the Louisiana governor, Kathleen Blanco. She was at a photo opportunity, so she did not field questions, but she lashed out at FEMA over recovery efforts, saying that they were not moving quickly enough. At issue is a contract with a private company hired by FEMA. Its contract expires at midnight tonight. She says that she pleaded for contract resolution -- that she spoke with the Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, about this last week. And she says at this point, nothing has happened. And in her words, she is angry and outraged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO, (D) LOUISIANA: In recent days I have spoken with FEMA officials and administration officials to convey my absolute frustration regarding the lack of urgency and the lack of respect involving the recovery of our people whose lives were lost as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Now, Blanco says that she has ordered the state to sign a contract with this company, Kenyan International. Some confusion, though, about exactly what was the problem. Also this afternoon, the Department of Homeland Security saying that this contract with the state will effectively cut out all coordination with the federal government by this private company, and it says that it is a less sophisticated plan, less detailed, also less expensive.

I called the company earlier today, and they declined comment on why they also did not want to renew a contract with the federal government. They said on Sunday they told FEMA that they were not interested in signing a contract that went any further than midnight tonight. So clearly some tension there between the state and federal government over this recovery process, Wolf.

BLITZER: So you just got to the region, you just got to Louisiana, Mary, you're in Baton Rouge, the state capital where so many of the activities, local, state, federal, are being coordinated. Give our viewers a little sense, a little flavor. Is this a well- coordinated operation right now, or does it seem sort of like a mess?

SNOW: Well, the governor met today with state officials, and giving them tasks. One of the things that happened today is that she waived an order for medical personnel coming into the state. What's been happening is that doctors and medical personnel have been coming in to try to help out with relief efforts, some of them expressed frustration that they had to wait around and get a license in Louisiana. Today the government in Louisiana waived that. So that is one thing that was announced today -- and also allowing veterinarians. These are things we've been talking about now for so long. And there was action on it today.

She met with these officials today, giving them tasks on what needs to be accomplished. And, clearly though, when you see the recovery efforts that she was talking about today, you get the sense that there is still some confusion about exactly what roles the government is playing on both the state and federal level, and the tension herein.

Another big topic here, Wolf, that you've been reporting this, so has CNN, is that yesterday the attorney general said that he was looking into the deaths that have been reported out at St. Rita's Nursing Home. There were 34 bodies recovered there. The attorney general had said yesterday that he was moving quickly on this, and expected to make an announcement within the next 24 to 48 hours on whether or not criminal charges may be filed against the owners of that nursing home -- this, to see if they violated state laws and regulations in terms of their evacuation plan.

BLITZER: All right. We're now in the third week of this recovery. Mary Snow reporting for us from Baton Rouge.

We've also been closely following the fate of Katrina's youngest victims separated from their parents after the storm. This is a heartbreaking story.

Our Brian Todd is back at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. That's just outside of the nation's capital here in Washington. What's the latest there, Brian?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're in the middle of the ninth day of this operation behind me. This is called the Katrina Missing Persons Hotline. It started on Monday, the 5th. And the news from here is that, once again, the numbers of missing children reported from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has gone up. It has gone up every day since we have come here last Thursday. The number now stands at 1,878 children reported missing. That's about 125 more than the center reported yesterday.

There are some successes. I'll get to those in a moment.

One of the kids still reported missing, they were chasing a lead on this young man last night, 7-year-old Calvin Hayes. He's from New Orleans. He was last seen September 4 in the Astrodome with a teacher who had temporary custody of him. Officials here at the center say they had a lead last night that he was at the Austin Convention Center shelter in Austin, Texas. They were chasing that lead last night. Just checked back with them this afternoon. He's not there. They're still looking for 7-year-old Calvin Hayes.

There are successes, however. Five hundred and fifty two children have been recovered, largely due to the efforts of these folks back here. These are all former law enforcement officials donating their time. They're working around the clock, 16 hours a day. A couple of the success stories, we were just told about.

We were highlighting these two children who were missing, Alfred Frazier, no date of birth known, and his sister, Myiesha Frazier. They and their grandmother were last known to have been evacuated from the Gentilly area of New Orleans. We were told just moments ago these two young children have been recovered. They were found at the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Also just recovered -- and we were just told this just moments ago -- Patrick Sullivan. He is eight years old. He was last known to be with his grandparents in New Orleans. Officials here told me just moments age he has been found with relatives in West Virginia.

But the numbers still keeping going up. Why? Well officials here tell me that it's for a number of reasons. They have to cross- reference numbers of recovered in some areas with numbers reported missing in others. And a big problem in keeping track of these children is that people are moving around a great deal. They're moving from shelters to foster homes. Children are being taken to foster homes and private homes for care. They're under supervision, many of them, but some of them just turn up missing from some of the major shelters.

So there is confusion on the ground. They have teams on the ground trying to keep up with this situation. But they are playing catch-up in a lot of instances. And they do ask that you call this number, if you have any information on missing children, 1-888-544- 5475, or you can go to www.MissingKids.com.

Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Brian Todd reporting for us. Thank you very much. Brian Todd on the scene for us there.

We're just getting this in from Louisiana state officials. The official death toll now in the state of Louisiana, since Hurricane Katrina struck, 423 deaths, 423 people now confirmed dead. That number going up, but so far at least it's nowhere near the estimated 10,000 that had been feared only a week or so ago. Four-hundred-twenty-three confirmed dead now in Louisiana.

There's another storm brewing off the eastern coast of the United States. We'll have the latest on that.

Jack Cafferty will be back with his e-mail question, your response.

We're also standing by to go back to the John Roberts confirmation hearings. Much more of our special coverage.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're going to go back to the John Roberts confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee shortly. We'll watch that for you.

But we're continuing to take a look at other stories we're watching, including the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

It's like everyone -- it's like a visitor everyone's expecting but no one wants to see. I'm referring not to Hurricane Katrina right now, but to Tropical Storm Ophelia. It's an unsteady storm that's strengthened and weakened and spun in very different directions. Now many are wondering if Ophelia will make landfall, and if it does, when and where? Will it hit hard or not so hard?

(WEATHER REPORT)

BLITZER: We're getting some new video coming in. We'll show it to you, video over New Orleans, our helicopter that's been following all of these activities, seeing another helicopter in the area. This is New Orleans, at least some of the outskirts of New Orleans. You can see -- you can clearly see, if you're watching carefully, some of these areas starting to dry out. Originally about 80 percent of the city was underwater. Yesterday, the mayor suggested it was about 50 percent of the city. It's less than that now because a lot of those pumping stations are finally beginning to work.

We see a lot of downed power lines and then a lot of downed trees. And as Jeff Koinange reported a little while ago, some of these buildings -- some of these homes, some of these areas, these structures, were under water and might be condemned because they simply will be no longer safe.

This Life Net helicopter is hovering over an area. We're going to watch it a little bit and see where it goes, if it's going to make a landing, and if it's got some specific mission under way. It's about to touch down. We'll watch this Life Net helicopter. We'll see if it does touch down.

And as we continue to keep this video up, let's bring in CNN's Ali Velshi. He's watching all of this, together with us. What are you picking up, Ali?

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Remarkable increase in activity, Wolf, with respect to the rebuilding, the things that are going on, in and around New Orleans and the Gulf region. We have seen, with the emptying of the water out of New Orleans, or at least that process starting, we've seen so many things happen so fast. So while on one side we're discovering more and more tragedy, what we are seeing is more improvements. Some businesses are starting to go in.

You know, markets today took a big dive, Wolf, mainly because some numbers had come in from August, in terms of inflation. And obviously, those increasing gas and oil prices have started to hit the economy.

But we talked to Interior Secretary Gale Norton the other day. Well, she was saying today that she thinks that Hurricane Katrina did less damage to under water pipelines than did Hurricane Ivan a year ago, although this hurricane did more damage to on-land buildings and facilities.

We do know that the Port of New Orleans is set to open up again tomorrow on a limited basis. We also know that 90 percent of offshore oil and gas production should be back online, according to the Department of Energy and the Department of Interior, by the end of September. So we are seeing some improvements. We are seeing infrastructure coming back online.

Norfolk Southern, the number four railroad, says it's opened its bridge over Lake Pontchartrain. That, of course, you're seeing in that shot, the water coming out, back into Lake Pontchartrain, and that is helping New Orleans get back on its feet. It's helping the Gulf Coast get back on its feet. And we're looking at seeing some of this infrastructure come back online faster than the most dire predictions had looked at.

Wolf.

BLITZER: And we've seen cargo planes start arriving at New Orleans International Airport, Louis Armstrong International Airport. And we're also expecting regular commercial flights to start landing and taking off in the next few days, as well.

VELSHI: But what should be good news for airlines isn't necessarily, Wolf. We are right now standing by for two reported -- two possible bankruptcy filings from commercial airlines.

Delta, it's been strongly believed that this week may file for bankruptcy after not being able to get things together in the face of labor disputes and the price of oil.

Northwest, we've been following that strike for a while. There is at least one report out that Northwest is preparing a bankruptcy filing that may come as early as tomorrow.

So, some people will start to see more planes flying, if you're in New Orleans. And in other parts of the country, you may see less.

Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. And we're going to watch this video, this Life Net helicopter flying over New Orleans. The good news, Ali, as you can see and as our viewers can see, a large part of New Orleans now dried out. And when we saw those earlier pictures, the water emerging from the city, those pumps clearly working right now.

And the mayor suggesting in a few more weeks, most of that city will be dried out completely, although it's unclear the toxic nature, how long it will take to become habitable for people to start coming back to their homes and trying to reconstruct their lives.

VELSHI: That's going to be a major concern. But the good news is, people are starting to get in on a limited basis to parts of New Orleans and around the city, to be able to go in, assess their own damage, if they have businesses, to start to look at what's been damaged, what needs to be fixed. We've been talking to some of the major companies like FedEx, Home Depot, UPS, to talk about what they are doing to be able to get businesses and residents back on their feet. So it will be an incremental process. It won't be one day that it opens up. It's started to open up slowly, and as every day that we see a little less water on the ground there, we see more progress.

BLITZER: All right. We'll continue to watch this Life Net helicopter, see if it's heading someplace specific. Ali, thank you very much.

Earlier today, President Bush spoke out, as well, at a news conference with the Iraqi president and said he takes full responsibility for any of the mistakes that were made. We're going to get an update on what the president said, what his plans are. He's also planning on addressing the nation Thursday night, 9:00 p.m. Eastern from New Orleans. We'll go to the White House, we'll update you on that.

We're also watching other developments, including the John Roberts confirmation hearings. Jack Cafferty standing by with your e- mail. And we'll take a quick break.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're watching a lot of stories here in THE SITUATION ROOM today. More now on the chief justice nominee John Roberts' confirmation hearings, continuing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Jack Cafferty among others watching what's going on. Jack, what do you got on your agenda right now?

JEFF CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a couple of hours ago we asked the viewers to put themselves on the Judiciary Committee and think about what questions they might ask Judge Roberts if they were participating in the hearings.

Carl in Florida says, "I think the question that's most pressing is one that won't be asked. What does he think the role of the judiciary is evolving into? And why do you want the job?"

Lawrence in Chicago. "The question I'd ask Judge Roberts is how do you reconcile the issue of discrimination against gays and lesbians regarding same-sex marriage rights and the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, equal protection under the law?"

Sharon writes, "How would you have voted in Bush v. Gore and why would you have voted that way? It's a legitimate question because pursuant to the category of the opinion, it cannot be cited as precedent in any other case, thus no prejudice can arise from full response to the inquiry. It goes to the judge's philosophy of federalism, states' rights, comedy, and the role of the court in political matters." Gail in California, "Judge Roberts, how would react if your daughter were in need of the services protected under Roe v. Wade?"

Bob in Illinois, "How do you feel about the attempts of certain legislative leaders to circumvent the rulings of the various courts involved in the Terri Schiavo case? Do you agree with them? How as a judge would you have ruled in the Schiavo case?" And he writes, "Do you or have you ever smoked a Cuban cigar."

BLITZER: Those are all pretty good questions, most of them are at least. All right. Jack, stand by. We're going to get back to you.

The hearing is now in recess, by the way. They're taking a break. We're watching the room, though, in the Senate Hart Office Building. We'll go back there when the hearings resume.

We're going to take a quick break. Much more of our special coverage, including an update on what's happening in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Lots of developments happening in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We're standing by. The attorney general of Louisiana may be making a statement on whether to file criminal charges against individuals that may have been responsible for the deaths of a couple dozen people found in a nursing home. We'll go there, we'll bring that to you once it happens.

More now on our other important story, John Roberts. He's the first Supreme Court nominee of the Internet age. And our Internet reporters Abbi Tatton and Jacki Schechner are following the situation online. Abbi, pick up the story. What are you picking up?

ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: We have lots of online real-time coverage, Wolf, on the Internet from bloggers. And it seems like lots of people are trying to get into the idea of live blogging these hearings, letting people know what's going on.

Traditional news outlets -- the WashingtonPost.com has a live blog going on that's going question by question covering the hearings at their site, at the "Campaign for the Supreme Court." Also a senator, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, he has a "Heard at the Hearing" section of his Web site where his staff is analyzing and posting what -- all of the questions and answers that are coming out of these hearings.

But also well-established bloggers are offering their commentary and analysis. The National Review Online, the conservative site that has a whole host of different blogs there, at the corner that's one of them that's following it. Kate O'Beirne has been following Judge Roberts and how he's doing, saying he's quick-witted, he is unflappable -- a very high rating there, but she's looking ahead, setting the bar as her post saying he's setting an extremely high standard for the next nominee. Obviously, there's more than one vacancy right now on the Supreme Court. More from the established bloggers. This is SCOTUSblog.com run by a law firm, Goldstein & Howe, that looks at Supreme Court cases. They've been live blogging minute by minute all day. And they were -- interesting to see what they were talking about, Senator Joe Biden earlier on and his exchange with Judge Roberts. It was going on around noon before the lunch break.

Now he had a long question, it took him a few minutes there to get to his question for the nominee, and they were going minute by minute through this saying at 12:21 still no question. At 12:23 at some point the gang of 14 will decide this is improper filibuster.

JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: There is plenty online about Biden at this hour. He clearly stole the show, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing in terms of the way he was speaking. Plenty of commentary online from the left and the right.

We start over at the right at confirmthem.com, talking about Biden. So much for civility and so much for dignity. The state of the Senate is on display, and the poster child was Joe Biden.

Also at blogsforbush.com, who's been live-blogging, this is Matt Margolis -- live blogging we should tell you, by the way, is minute by minute. Following this, sometimes just posting the facts, sometimes posting commentary as well. At blogsforbush talking about Biden, "he's really coming across as a jerk," then an updating prediction that none of the Dems on the Judiciary Committee are going to vote for Roberts based specifically on the way that they are acting during these hearings.

Over on the left, I wanted to give you Michael in New York from AmericaBlog.com. Michael talking about fact that the Dems are doing exactly what they need to be doing, guys like Biden and Kennedy. But we don't know very much about Roberts and every time we talk about the Reagan Administration. And the fact that he had written opinions during that time, he says that they weren't his opinions, They were opinions of his bosses. Well we don't know anything about this guy. Michael saying we can draw zero assumptions about his personal views. That's why we have to push.

Over at MyDD.com, also on the left. This is Chris Bowers who is also live blogging, again, minute by minute. There are over 700 plus decisions for Ginsberg, she had a record. He's got to answer the questions, because he as almost no history. Wolf, they say how are we supposed to know anything?

There is plenty of comment online from the left and the right. But we will say, not as much as we expected today. They are still very much talking about the aftermath of Katrina. And they are still very much talking about President Bush.

BLITZER: Thanks very much guys. Very interesting.

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