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CNN Sunday Morning
Bush Visits Florida; Ivan's Impact
Aired September 19, 2004 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning to you. It is Sunday, September 19. I'm Betty Nguyen.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Drew Griffin, 9:00 a.m. here on the East Coast. If you're just waking up, our friends on the West Coast, an early 6:00 a.m. in L.A. and Seattle.
NGUYEN: Early.
GRIFFIN: Thanks for starting your day with us. Here's the news.
It's President Bush's third trip to hurricane-ravaged Florida in little more than a month. Just two hours from now, the president will touch down in Pensacola, hard hit by Hurricane Ivan. Mr. Bush will also tour parts of Alabama hit by that storm.
Turning to Iraq, some reported raids by U.S. and Iraqi forces. A spokesman for the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr says troops have raided the Baghdad homes of two of his aides, he says detaining one of them. The U.S. military hasn't confirmed that report.
Back home, a battle brewing over gay marriage in Louisiana by a wide margin. Voters have approved a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriages and civil unions. Supporters say it's a victory for traditional marriage. Opponents promising a fight in court.
And finally, Miss Alabama has a bigger and better title now. Deidre Downs was crowned Miss America last night. Downs says she wants to be a doctor, but put off medical school to compete in this pageant.
NGUYEN: All right. Here's what we've got coming up this hour: wrecked boats tossed like toys on dry land. That's just a small part of the damage Hurricane Ivan did in the South. We'll have live reports from Florida and North Carolina on Ivan's impact.
In today's "Best of the Web" segment, the people behind a sexy Web site are turning their attention to politics in a move to get out the vote.
And we'll have a sneak peek at some red carpet fashions as the best and brightest of the TV world gather in Hollywood for tonight's Emmy Awards.
First up, a special team of rescue workers is searching the Gulf Coast of Florida for possible victims of Hurricane Ivan. Nearly two dozen people are still missing in two counties. The city of Pensacola was on the eastern side, the dangerous side, when Ivan came ashore Thursday morning as a Category 3 hurricane. Pensacola sustained heavy damage, and will be one of the first areas visited this morning when President Bush arrives for an inspection tour.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is live in Pensacola and he joins us now with the latest -- Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, it's amazing what we've become accustomed to and end up taking for granted, taking a shower, turning on the lights. A lot of folks here still can't do that.
In fact, if you take a look, a lot of these people here at this gas station have been waiting up to four hours just to buy gas, but really have no choice. Most of the stations are still closed. The city of about 56,000 people, this is one of only maybe two stations that we have seen open.
Now, as you mentioned, later this morning, President Bush is scheduled to tour some of the most heavily damaged areas of Florida. He's going to see entire buildings washed away along the beaches and a lot of homes gutted by Ivan's strong winds.
The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says the combined damage of hurricanes Ivan, Frances and Charley is pretty comparable to what happened in California during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The Florida attorney general toured some of the damaged areas on Saturday, and he told us there have already been about 100 complaints of price gouging. And the state is going to aggressively prosecute anyone involved. He also wants Florida to increase the punishment for anyone caught looting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLIE CRIST, FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: I mean, think about it. The government forces you to evacuate in some cases, which is important to listen to, but if you've done that, then somebody shouldn't take advantage of you when you're forced out of your house and home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Yes, so far -- so far there have been about 72 complaints of looting in this county alone. Police have arrested 15 people. But they are the exceptions, not the rule. Most of the folks here really reaching out to help their neighbor -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Like to hear that. Thank you. Chris Lawrence in Pensacola today -- Drew.
GRIFFIN: Ivan struck at a time Florida was still reeling from Charley and Frances. The one, two, and now three punch landed a devastating blow to Florida. Already, insurance experts but Ivan's damage -- Ivan, just one -- in the billions of dollars. Joining us from Tallahassee to talk about all this, the financial impact, Tom Gallagher. He is the chief financial officer for the state of Florida.
And Mr. Gallagher, we thank you for joining us. We know you're on your way to meet the president very soon.
So we thank you. But I wanted to ask you, what is it going to take? We know it's going to take lots and lots of money. The question is, is it out there?
TOM GALLAGHER, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, STATE OF FLORIDA: Well, of course, we're going to see billions of dollars come to Florida, first of all, from FEMA and the federal government. We will match that on a 25-75 match. That's what we're required to do. And with that, you know, match, that's billions of dollars that are going to be spent to help build back what has been so severely damaged.
GRIFFIN: You've taken a look at what's out there both in Charley and Frances, and now this hurricane, Ivan. How bad is it in terms of the finances?
GALLAGHER: Well, you know, Florida's economy is about $600 billion. And we're seeing a change in finances right now.
Obviously, the agriculture industry is down. Tourism is down, although this isn't an exciting time for tourism, it's sort of a lull. But we've seen the hotels get pretty full because people have evacuated and gone to those hotels. People that don't have electricity move to hotels and stay there and fill them up. So we've had the hotels full.
We've had a change. We've seen tremendous sales in places that provide home improvement things, where people can buy plywood and screws and nails and things like that. So it's almost a wash on a totally economic scale. But it's a really tough thing for the individuals that have lost their homes and lost a place to live and are right now just caring about where their family is and making sure everybody's safe.
GRIFFIN: Right. On those individual family impacts, you were the insurance commissioner for Hurricane Andrew, I believe. Did the insurance company step up to the plate?
GALLAGHER: I was.
GRIFFIN: And do you expect that at this time, too, that the insurance policies will carry the day?
GALLAGHER: Yes, they did. As a matter of fact, "The Miami Herald" did a poll down there after Hurricane Andrew, a year and a half after, and 98 percent of the people believed that they got treated very fairly in Hurricane Andrew.
It's my job to see to it that that same percentage, or higher if we can get it, approve of the way they're treated this time. That's why people buy insurance, to have them be there when they need them, and it's my job to see it that they are, and I will.
GRIFFIN: In the immediate aftermath of these three hurricanes, we've seen a lot of press reports of people questioning whether or not they want to retire in Florida, whether they should stay in Florida. In the long run, sir, you've been through a lot of hurricanes down there. What's your experience?
GALLAGHER: Well, you know, I think it's the price we have to pay for living in paradise. We all love Florida very much. We think it's a wonderful place to live. Many of us have moved from other places.
I think in the long run, people stay. They may move to a different part of Florida. But that's what happens.
Many people I ran into in different parts of the state said they were down in Homestead when Hurricane Andrew hit. I think you'll see people maybe move to different parts. But people that are in Florida like Florida.
We have, you know, 800, 900 people move to Florida every single day. We have a lot of things going on here in Florida. We're excited about it. And I think it's going to keep growing and I think people are going to still love it.
GRIFFIN: Mr. Gallagher, good luck with your visit with the president this morning. We wish you and the rest of Florida luck in the recovery as well. Thanks for joining us, sir.
GALLAGHER: Thank you very much.
GRIFFIN: Peak's Creek, it was a quiet mountain community in western North Carolina until Friday. That's when tropical depression Ivan arrived. The former hurricane dumped more than a foot of rain on the area.
This is near Franklin. Part of Fishhawk Mountain collapsed with disastrous consequences for Peak's Creek. CNN's Sean Callebs is live in the town of Franklin.
Sean, they are looking for people right now, is that right?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Drew. Yesterday, some 300 officers and rescue personnel, including National Guard up in that area of Peak's Creek. It's about a 20-minute drive from where we are in Franklin, really about an hour and a half to the southwest of the city of Asheville, to give people an idea of where this area is.
One particularly horrific note about all this, it was not or is not considered a flood plane. Peak's Creek is an area that's about five or six wide -- five or six feet wide. So people were not told to evacuate.
Using the pass as a yardstick, they really had no reason to be concerned about the area. But we know that soon more personnel will be back up in the mountain, continuing to look for the debris -- look through the debris for any possible survivors or any possible victims. And this is what the area looked like, just a horrific mess. Authorities say a wall of water perhaps 30 feet high. And they got that estimate by looking at the waterline on trees that are still left standing in that area.
Some 30 homes simply blown off their foundations, splintered, tossed about. Four people are known dead from this. And there are concerns that that death toll could go higher. Others were injured. At least one person injured critically.
Now, among the 300 people, the National Guard, there was an urban rescue team from Charlotte, as well as a swift water rescue team from the city of Raleigh. And this is what the county's emergency director had to say about it all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN CABE, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIRECTOR: This is probably the worst natural disaster in Macon County's history. I have no way of telling you any type of a dollar figure what this is going to inflict upon us at this time. But our agencies are working with all the other volunteer agencies involved throughout the county, state of North Carolina, and the federal agencies that are involved to make sure that we recover from this, respond to the incidents that we have, keep the people safe in Macon County, and bring an end to this incident and recover from it as quickly and as safely as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: And they say the search and rescue effort will continue until all hope is exhausted.
Now, this entire county was simply punished by the remnants of Hurricane Ivan on Thursday night, as Drew mentioned. About a foot of rain falling. A number of creeks, waterways simply flooded. A lot of homes suffered significant damage, a lot of roads washed out, power lines still down in some areas. However, authorities say until they've done all the search and rescue area in this area called Peak's Creek, they will not even begin looking at the other sections of the county.
There's been a certain degree of activity here at the county center in the past half-hour or so. More officers have been showing up. A couple of people who say their homes were devastated by the floodwaters the other night have showed up as well. They say there's going to be some kind of meeting in this area. And we'll continue to bring you the information from this area, Drew, and, of course, the search and rescue operation.
GRIFFIN: Sean, just thinking about where you've been the last couple of days shows you the breadth of this storm, Birmingham, Asheville and now Franklin. Thanks for that report.
NGUYEN: Well, it's already been more than a month since Charley hit the west coast of Florida. And in many cases, recovery is like taking one step forward and two steps back. Ned Roberts of our affiliate station WTSP has that from Punta Gorda.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NED ROBERTS, WTSP (voice-over): At the Ross home in Port Charlotte, progress is measured one shingle at a time.
LAURA ROSS, RECOVERING FROM CHARLEY: Slowly but surely it's coming back to normal.
ROBERTS: Key word, "slowly," because while roofers work, much more remains.
ROSS: You can pull it out, and it's just -- well, you can see.
ROBERTS: Water damage has left Laura Ross' house unlivable.
ROSS: It's not healthy.
ROBERTS: So for the next six to eight months, home will be here.
ROSS: This is it, our home away from home.
ROBERTS: There's a master bedroom, a dining table, even a television.
ROSS: And this is our kitchen.
ROBERTS: But for a family of four, it's tight.
ROSS: We have to be patient. We have to learn to respect each other's feelings a little bit more because it's a stressful time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We made great progress the first two weeks after Charley.
ROBERTS: Charlotte County emergency management director Wayne Saladay (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had power restored to those who could accept it. All water was restored. Many of the essential services were back.
ROBERTS: Then came Frances, now Ivan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that has really slowed our recovery.
ROBERTS: Especially in places like Riviera Lagoons, where Gary Anderson and Jamie Lambert continue living in a trailer outside their mangled mobile home without electricity.
GARY LAMBERT, RECOVERING FROM HURRICANE: It's very difficult.
JAMIE LAMBERT, RECOVERING FROM HURRICANE: It's just a lot of -- a lot of stress that you just have to learn to live with. It's just a different way of living.
ROBERTS: Indeed, as the sun sets on this one-month milestone, much work remains as people here look toward brighter days ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just -- the only thing you can control is the future and the present. You just have to forget about the past.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Staying optimistic. That was Ned Roberts of our affiliate station, WTSP.
GRIFFIN: President Bush reaching out to victims of Hurricane Ivan. We'll have a live report coming up from Washington.
NGUYEN: Plus, a new incentive vote or not. It's part of this week's "Best of the Web."
GRIFFIN: And good morning, Dallas. Orelon Sidney has your complete forecast 10 minutes way.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Our e-mail question this morning, CBS and memogate. We're asking you what that network should do next. Send in your replies.
Whew, some of them are hot. Wam@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Here's a check of some of the stories making headlines this Sunday morning.
Iraqi insurgents have taken more hostages. Turkish embassy officials in Baghdad say 10 employees of a U.S.-Turkish firm have been kidnapped. Insurgents are also holding two Americans and a British citizen.
Also in Iraq, some reported raids by U.S. and Iraqi forces. A spokesman for Muqtada al-Sadr say troops raided the Baghdad homes of two of the radical cleric's aides. One of them was reportedly detained.
And in Iran, the government is rejecting a demand from the U.N.'s nuclear agency. The agency wanted Iran to halt some of its nuclear activities.
Plus, is the U.S. trying to get help from a nation accused of sponsoring terrorism to help make Iraqi streets safer? That's coming up a little bit later right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
GRIFFIN: President Bush is heading south right now. He's going to get a first-hand look at the destruction left by Hurricane Ivan in Florida and Alabama. Our Elaine Quijano joins us from Washington.
And this is becoming a very familiar trip for the president -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Unfortunately, Drew, that is the case. President Bush is postponing a previously planned campaign stop in New Hampshire to tour hurricane-ravaged areas of the Gulf Coast today. His first stop will be Pensacola, in the Florida Panhandle, to go on a walking tour of neighborhoods that were affected there.
After that, he'll take to the skies to survey the destruction from the air over both Florida and Alabama. He is then scheduled to head to Orange Beach, Alabama, and nearby areas, where he'll take a look at damage by going on another walking tour.
Now, while he is there, Mr. Bush is set to meet some of the emergency personnel in that state and is expected to thank them for their efforts and assure them they'll get the resources they need. Last week, the president declared parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida disaster areas, freeing up federal funds to assist in the cleanup.
Now, this is becoming a grim routine for the president. Today's trip to Florida will be his third visit to that state in a little over a month for the purpose of touring hurricane damage.
He was in the Southwest part of that state last month to see the impact of Hurricane Charley. And less than two weeks ago, he was on the east coast of Florida to tour damage from Hurricane Frances.
Already, the president has requested several billion dollars in aid to help in the recovery efforts for both hurricanes Frances and Charley; $2 billion of that has already been approved. And it's likely we'll see him request even more help in the wake of Hurricane Ivan. The White House says the president has already alerted congressional leaders that he may recommend additional supplemental funding for emergency cleanup, infrastructure repairs and individual needs -- Drew.
GRIFFIN: Elaine Quijano in Washington this morning. Thanks, Elaine.
NGUYEN: And as for John Kerry, well, he's getting ready to rumble. He told hometown supporters in Boston that he is in a, "fighting mood" with six weeks to go in the presidential campaign. Kerry says he feels the October juices flowing, and he reminded the crowd that he's come from behind in the past to win elections.
Taking getting out the vote to a new level. How you can win cash prizes -- that's right -- for getting your friends to register. Find out how in our "Best of the Web." That's straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, good morning, Dallas, my old stomping ground. This is a look at downtown. You know, Dallas is home of Texas Stadium, where America's team, the Dallas Cowboys, will take on the Cleveland Browns at 4:00 p.m. today. Your Sunday football and fairway forecast, that's coming up just a little bit later.
America is now head deep in the election season, and the Internet has emerged as a powerful, versatile tool in the national discourse. Blaise Zerega is managing editor of "Wired" Magazine in San Francisco. He's been checking out some of these hottest and hippest political sites on the Web, and he joins us now to talk about all this.
Before we talk about those individual sites, can people really get some good information from these sites, or are they kind of slanted?
BLAISE ZEREGA, MANAGING EDITOR, "WIRED": Absolutely, Betty. There's a lot of good information out there. And with just six weeks until the election, you know, voters -- there's a large bloc of undecided voters, and the Internet is showing its colors as a form for vigorous debate.
NGUYEN: All right. Let's get right into those sites. Open Secrets, what's this one all about?
ZEREGA: OpenSecrets.org, fantastic site. A simple -- simple formula: follow the money, show me the money.
What the site does is it provides additional scrutiny to the data collected by the Federal Elections Commission. So you can find out who the biggest donors are, what their pet causes are, so forth. And for instance, at Princeton -- at Princeton University, the students there tracked the data and found that employees were donating about $40,000 to Kerry, but only $250 to Bush.
NGUYEN: Hmm. Very interesting.
ZEREGA: Interesting tidbit there.
NGUYEN: Yes, absolutely. Well, there's another one called Real Clear Politics. Is everything clear on this site? Are all the facts correct?
ZEREGA: The facts are largely correct. I'd characterize this as sort of a right of center site. What they do very well is aggregate news.
They pull data, news articles for mainstream media, present it in an unbiased manner. However, they also do have a commentary section. They covered the Republican National Convention.
As I said, they're kind of right of center. But it's a good starting point for people seeking more information.
NGUYEN: OK. Now, here's one that you're not a big fan of. It's called Government Guide. Why don't you like this one?
ZEREGA: Government Guide is -- it's government services made easy. It's from AOL. It's a decent enough site if you want to figure out how to get a driver's license or a marriage license or a business license, those kinds of things. NGUYEN: Kind of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) info, yes.
ZEREGA: But layered on top of it are some links to some pretty useful sites, actually. AOL's done a good job with its election guide. One of the few sites providing drill-down information on local and state elections.
NGUYEN: We've been talking all morning about a site where you can actually get paid to get people to register to vote. Is that true?
ZEREGA: It's called Vote or Not. You know, and if the issues don't move you, maybe cash will. That's what the wacky guys at Hot or Not, just a really fun site...
NGUYEN: Hot or Not. What's that?
ZEREGA: Hot or Not. It's a site where -- it's very popular with the MTV set, the iPod generation, so forth. People post their own pictures, and they rate each other. Am I hot or not? A one to 10.
NGUYEN: Oh, gosh.
ZEREGA: It's a sort of a dating service, a personals, you know, that kind of thing.
NGUYEN: But Vote or Not, you can actually win some money.
ZEREGA: Yes. What it is, if you register to vote through Vote or Not, you have a chance of winning $100,000. You can also recommend up to five friends. And if one of them registers, they win $100,000, but so do you.
It's causing a huge sensation. People are e-mailing back and forth. And I think it's one of the more creative get-out-the-vote efforts.
NGUYEN: Yes. Money always works. As least it seems to, right?
ZEREGA: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: All right. Blaise Zerega, managing editor of "Wired," thanks so much for that.
ZEREGA: Thanks a lot.
NGUYEN: And we wouldn't want to miss an opportunity now to promote our own political coverage on the Web. Of course we wouldn't. Just point your browser to cnn.com/allpolitics.
GRIFFIN: Is there a hot or not button on that one?
NGUYEN: I don't know. Weather or not? Are we going to have a lot of weather today in that department, Orelon?
GRIFFIN: Hot or not? (WEATHER REPORT)
GRIFFIN: Thanks, Orelon.
Red carpet drama going on right now. Oh, they are fretting in L.A. Who is wearing what, and where and with whom? Tonight's Emmy Awards, we're going to have a sneak peek at the fashions when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.
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Aired September 19, 2004 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning to you. It is Sunday, September 19. I'm Betty Nguyen.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Drew Griffin, 9:00 a.m. here on the East Coast. If you're just waking up, our friends on the West Coast, an early 6:00 a.m. in L.A. and Seattle.
NGUYEN: Early.
GRIFFIN: Thanks for starting your day with us. Here's the news.
It's President Bush's third trip to hurricane-ravaged Florida in little more than a month. Just two hours from now, the president will touch down in Pensacola, hard hit by Hurricane Ivan. Mr. Bush will also tour parts of Alabama hit by that storm.
Turning to Iraq, some reported raids by U.S. and Iraqi forces. A spokesman for the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr says troops have raided the Baghdad homes of two of his aides, he says detaining one of them. The U.S. military hasn't confirmed that report.
Back home, a battle brewing over gay marriage in Louisiana by a wide margin. Voters have approved a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriages and civil unions. Supporters say it's a victory for traditional marriage. Opponents promising a fight in court.
And finally, Miss Alabama has a bigger and better title now. Deidre Downs was crowned Miss America last night. Downs says she wants to be a doctor, but put off medical school to compete in this pageant.
NGUYEN: All right. Here's what we've got coming up this hour: wrecked boats tossed like toys on dry land. That's just a small part of the damage Hurricane Ivan did in the South. We'll have live reports from Florida and North Carolina on Ivan's impact.
In today's "Best of the Web" segment, the people behind a sexy Web site are turning their attention to politics in a move to get out the vote.
And we'll have a sneak peek at some red carpet fashions as the best and brightest of the TV world gather in Hollywood for tonight's Emmy Awards.
First up, a special team of rescue workers is searching the Gulf Coast of Florida for possible victims of Hurricane Ivan. Nearly two dozen people are still missing in two counties. The city of Pensacola was on the eastern side, the dangerous side, when Ivan came ashore Thursday morning as a Category 3 hurricane. Pensacola sustained heavy damage, and will be one of the first areas visited this morning when President Bush arrives for an inspection tour.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is live in Pensacola and he joins us now with the latest -- Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, it's amazing what we've become accustomed to and end up taking for granted, taking a shower, turning on the lights. A lot of folks here still can't do that.
In fact, if you take a look, a lot of these people here at this gas station have been waiting up to four hours just to buy gas, but really have no choice. Most of the stations are still closed. The city of about 56,000 people, this is one of only maybe two stations that we have seen open.
Now, as you mentioned, later this morning, President Bush is scheduled to tour some of the most heavily damaged areas of Florida. He's going to see entire buildings washed away along the beaches and a lot of homes gutted by Ivan's strong winds.
The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says the combined damage of hurricanes Ivan, Frances and Charley is pretty comparable to what happened in California during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The Florida attorney general toured some of the damaged areas on Saturday, and he told us there have already been about 100 complaints of price gouging. And the state is going to aggressively prosecute anyone involved. He also wants Florida to increase the punishment for anyone caught looting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLIE CRIST, FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: I mean, think about it. The government forces you to evacuate in some cases, which is important to listen to, but if you've done that, then somebody shouldn't take advantage of you when you're forced out of your house and home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Yes, so far -- so far there have been about 72 complaints of looting in this county alone. Police have arrested 15 people. But they are the exceptions, not the rule. Most of the folks here really reaching out to help their neighbor -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Like to hear that. Thank you. Chris Lawrence in Pensacola today -- Drew.
GRIFFIN: Ivan struck at a time Florida was still reeling from Charley and Frances. The one, two, and now three punch landed a devastating blow to Florida. Already, insurance experts but Ivan's damage -- Ivan, just one -- in the billions of dollars. Joining us from Tallahassee to talk about all this, the financial impact, Tom Gallagher. He is the chief financial officer for the state of Florida.
And Mr. Gallagher, we thank you for joining us. We know you're on your way to meet the president very soon.
So we thank you. But I wanted to ask you, what is it going to take? We know it's going to take lots and lots of money. The question is, is it out there?
TOM GALLAGHER, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, STATE OF FLORIDA: Well, of course, we're going to see billions of dollars come to Florida, first of all, from FEMA and the federal government. We will match that on a 25-75 match. That's what we're required to do. And with that, you know, match, that's billions of dollars that are going to be spent to help build back what has been so severely damaged.
GRIFFIN: You've taken a look at what's out there both in Charley and Frances, and now this hurricane, Ivan. How bad is it in terms of the finances?
GALLAGHER: Well, you know, Florida's economy is about $600 billion. And we're seeing a change in finances right now.
Obviously, the agriculture industry is down. Tourism is down, although this isn't an exciting time for tourism, it's sort of a lull. But we've seen the hotels get pretty full because people have evacuated and gone to those hotels. People that don't have electricity move to hotels and stay there and fill them up. So we've had the hotels full.
We've had a change. We've seen tremendous sales in places that provide home improvement things, where people can buy plywood and screws and nails and things like that. So it's almost a wash on a totally economic scale. But it's a really tough thing for the individuals that have lost their homes and lost a place to live and are right now just caring about where their family is and making sure everybody's safe.
GRIFFIN: Right. On those individual family impacts, you were the insurance commissioner for Hurricane Andrew, I believe. Did the insurance company step up to the plate?
GALLAGHER: I was.
GRIFFIN: And do you expect that at this time, too, that the insurance policies will carry the day?
GALLAGHER: Yes, they did. As a matter of fact, "The Miami Herald" did a poll down there after Hurricane Andrew, a year and a half after, and 98 percent of the people believed that they got treated very fairly in Hurricane Andrew.
It's my job to see to it that that same percentage, or higher if we can get it, approve of the way they're treated this time. That's why people buy insurance, to have them be there when they need them, and it's my job to see it that they are, and I will.
GRIFFIN: In the immediate aftermath of these three hurricanes, we've seen a lot of press reports of people questioning whether or not they want to retire in Florida, whether they should stay in Florida. In the long run, sir, you've been through a lot of hurricanes down there. What's your experience?
GALLAGHER: Well, you know, I think it's the price we have to pay for living in paradise. We all love Florida very much. We think it's a wonderful place to live. Many of us have moved from other places.
I think in the long run, people stay. They may move to a different part of Florida. But that's what happens.
Many people I ran into in different parts of the state said they were down in Homestead when Hurricane Andrew hit. I think you'll see people maybe move to different parts. But people that are in Florida like Florida.
We have, you know, 800, 900 people move to Florida every single day. We have a lot of things going on here in Florida. We're excited about it. And I think it's going to keep growing and I think people are going to still love it.
GRIFFIN: Mr. Gallagher, good luck with your visit with the president this morning. We wish you and the rest of Florida luck in the recovery as well. Thanks for joining us, sir.
GALLAGHER: Thank you very much.
GRIFFIN: Peak's Creek, it was a quiet mountain community in western North Carolina until Friday. That's when tropical depression Ivan arrived. The former hurricane dumped more than a foot of rain on the area.
This is near Franklin. Part of Fishhawk Mountain collapsed with disastrous consequences for Peak's Creek. CNN's Sean Callebs is live in the town of Franklin.
Sean, they are looking for people right now, is that right?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Drew. Yesterday, some 300 officers and rescue personnel, including National Guard up in that area of Peak's Creek. It's about a 20-minute drive from where we are in Franklin, really about an hour and a half to the southwest of the city of Asheville, to give people an idea of where this area is.
One particularly horrific note about all this, it was not or is not considered a flood plane. Peak's Creek is an area that's about five or six wide -- five or six feet wide. So people were not told to evacuate.
Using the pass as a yardstick, they really had no reason to be concerned about the area. But we know that soon more personnel will be back up in the mountain, continuing to look for the debris -- look through the debris for any possible survivors or any possible victims. And this is what the area looked like, just a horrific mess. Authorities say a wall of water perhaps 30 feet high. And they got that estimate by looking at the waterline on trees that are still left standing in that area.
Some 30 homes simply blown off their foundations, splintered, tossed about. Four people are known dead from this. And there are concerns that that death toll could go higher. Others were injured. At least one person injured critically.
Now, among the 300 people, the National Guard, there was an urban rescue team from Charlotte, as well as a swift water rescue team from the city of Raleigh. And this is what the county's emergency director had to say about it all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN CABE, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIRECTOR: This is probably the worst natural disaster in Macon County's history. I have no way of telling you any type of a dollar figure what this is going to inflict upon us at this time. But our agencies are working with all the other volunteer agencies involved throughout the county, state of North Carolina, and the federal agencies that are involved to make sure that we recover from this, respond to the incidents that we have, keep the people safe in Macon County, and bring an end to this incident and recover from it as quickly and as safely as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: And they say the search and rescue effort will continue until all hope is exhausted.
Now, this entire county was simply punished by the remnants of Hurricane Ivan on Thursday night, as Drew mentioned. About a foot of rain falling. A number of creeks, waterways simply flooded. A lot of homes suffered significant damage, a lot of roads washed out, power lines still down in some areas. However, authorities say until they've done all the search and rescue area in this area called Peak's Creek, they will not even begin looking at the other sections of the county.
There's been a certain degree of activity here at the county center in the past half-hour or so. More officers have been showing up. A couple of people who say their homes were devastated by the floodwaters the other night have showed up as well. They say there's going to be some kind of meeting in this area. And we'll continue to bring you the information from this area, Drew, and, of course, the search and rescue operation.
GRIFFIN: Sean, just thinking about where you've been the last couple of days shows you the breadth of this storm, Birmingham, Asheville and now Franklin. Thanks for that report.
NGUYEN: Well, it's already been more than a month since Charley hit the west coast of Florida. And in many cases, recovery is like taking one step forward and two steps back. Ned Roberts of our affiliate station WTSP has that from Punta Gorda.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NED ROBERTS, WTSP (voice-over): At the Ross home in Port Charlotte, progress is measured one shingle at a time.
LAURA ROSS, RECOVERING FROM CHARLEY: Slowly but surely it's coming back to normal.
ROBERTS: Key word, "slowly," because while roofers work, much more remains.
ROSS: You can pull it out, and it's just -- well, you can see.
ROBERTS: Water damage has left Laura Ross' house unlivable.
ROSS: It's not healthy.
ROBERTS: So for the next six to eight months, home will be here.
ROSS: This is it, our home away from home.
ROBERTS: There's a master bedroom, a dining table, even a television.
ROSS: And this is our kitchen.
ROBERTS: But for a family of four, it's tight.
ROSS: We have to be patient. We have to learn to respect each other's feelings a little bit more because it's a stressful time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We made great progress the first two weeks after Charley.
ROBERTS: Charlotte County emergency management director Wayne Saladay (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had power restored to those who could accept it. All water was restored. Many of the essential services were back.
ROBERTS: Then came Frances, now Ivan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that has really slowed our recovery.
ROBERTS: Especially in places like Riviera Lagoons, where Gary Anderson and Jamie Lambert continue living in a trailer outside their mangled mobile home without electricity.
GARY LAMBERT, RECOVERING FROM HURRICANE: It's very difficult.
JAMIE LAMBERT, RECOVERING FROM HURRICANE: It's just a lot of -- a lot of stress that you just have to learn to live with. It's just a different way of living.
ROBERTS: Indeed, as the sun sets on this one-month milestone, much work remains as people here look toward brighter days ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just -- the only thing you can control is the future and the present. You just have to forget about the past.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Staying optimistic. That was Ned Roberts of our affiliate station, WTSP.
GRIFFIN: President Bush reaching out to victims of Hurricane Ivan. We'll have a live report coming up from Washington.
NGUYEN: Plus, a new incentive vote or not. It's part of this week's "Best of the Web."
GRIFFIN: And good morning, Dallas. Orelon Sidney has your complete forecast 10 minutes way.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Our e-mail question this morning, CBS and memogate. We're asking you what that network should do next. Send in your replies.
Whew, some of them are hot. Wam@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Here's a check of some of the stories making headlines this Sunday morning.
Iraqi insurgents have taken more hostages. Turkish embassy officials in Baghdad say 10 employees of a U.S.-Turkish firm have been kidnapped. Insurgents are also holding two Americans and a British citizen.
Also in Iraq, some reported raids by U.S. and Iraqi forces. A spokesman for Muqtada al-Sadr say troops raided the Baghdad homes of two of the radical cleric's aides. One of them was reportedly detained.
And in Iran, the government is rejecting a demand from the U.N.'s nuclear agency. The agency wanted Iran to halt some of its nuclear activities.
Plus, is the U.S. trying to get help from a nation accused of sponsoring terrorism to help make Iraqi streets safer? That's coming up a little bit later right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
GRIFFIN: President Bush is heading south right now. He's going to get a first-hand look at the destruction left by Hurricane Ivan in Florida and Alabama. Our Elaine Quijano joins us from Washington.
And this is becoming a very familiar trip for the president -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Unfortunately, Drew, that is the case. President Bush is postponing a previously planned campaign stop in New Hampshire to tour hurricane-ravaged areas of the Gulf Coast today. His first stop will be Pensacola, in the Florida Panhandle, to go on a walking tour of neighborhoods that were affected there.
After that, he'll take to the skies to survey the destruction from the air over both Florida and Alabama. He is then scheduled to head to Orange Beach, Alabama, and nearby areas, where he'll take a look at damage by going on another walking tour.
Now, while he is there, Mr. Bush is set to meet some of the emergency personnel in that state and is expected to thank them for their efforts and assure them they'll get the resources they need. Last week, the president declared parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida disaster areas, freeing up federal funds to assist in the cleanup.
Now, this is becoming a grim routine for the president. Today's trip to Florida will be his third visit to that state in a little over a month for the purpose of touring hurricane damage.
He was in the Southwest part of that state last month to see the impact of Hurricane Charley. And less than two weeks ago, he was on the east coast of Florida to tour damage from Hurricane Frances.
Already, the president has requested several billion dollars in aid to help in the recovery efforts for both hurricanes Frances and Charley; $2 billion of that has already been approved. And it's likely we'll see him request even more help in the wake of Hurricane Ivan. The White House says the president has already alerted congressional leaders that he may recommend additional supplemental funding for emergency cleanup, infrastructure repairs and individual needs -- Drew.
GRIFFIN: Elaine Quijano in Washington this morning. Thanks, Elaine.
NGUYEN: And as for John Kerry, well, he's getting ready to rumble. He told hometown supporters in Boston that he is in a, "fighting mood" with six weeks to go in the presidential campaign. Kerry says he feels the October juices flowing, and he reminded the crowd that he's come from behind in the past to win elections.
Taking getting out the vote to a new level. How you can win cash prizes -- that's right -- for getting your friends to register. Find out how in our "Best of the Web." That's straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, good morning, Dallas, my old stomping ground. This is a look at downtown. You know, Dallas is home of Texas Stadium, where America's team, the Dallas Cowboys, will take on the Cleveland Browns at 4:00 p.m. today. Your Sunday football and fairway forecast, that's coming up just a little bit later.
America is now head deep in the election season, and the Internet has emerged as a powerful, versatile tool in the national discourse. Blaise Zerega is managing editor of "Wired" Magazine in San Francisco. He's been checking out some of these hottest and hippest political sites on the Web, and he joins us now to talk about all this.
Before we talk about those individual sites, can people really get some good information from these sites, or are they kind of slanted?
BLAISE ZEREGA, MANAGING EDITOR, "WIRED": Absolutely, Betty. There's a lot of good information out there. And with just six weeks until the election, you know, voters -- there's a large bloc of undecided voters, and the Internet is showing its colors as a form for vigorous debate.
NGUYEN: All right. Let's get right into those sites. Open Secrets, what's this one all about?
ZEREGA: OpenSecrets.org, fantastic site. A simple -- simple formula: follow the money, show me the money.
What the site does is it provides additional scrutiny to the data collected by the Federal Elections Commission. So you can find out who the biggest donors are, what their pet causes are, so forth. And for instance, at Princeton -- at Princeton University, the students there tracked the data and found that employees were donating about $40,000 to Kerry, but only $250 to Bush.
NGUYEN: Hmm. Very interesting.
ZEREGA: Interesting tidbit there.
NGUYEN: Yes, absolutely. Well, there's another one called Real Clear Politics. Is everything clear on this site? Are all the facts correct?
ZEREGA: The facts are largely correct. I'd characterize this as sort of a right of center site. What they do very well is aggregate news.
They pull data, news articles for mainstream media, present it in an unbiased manner. However, they also do have a commentary section. They covered the Republican National Convention.
As I said, they're kind of right of center. But it's a good starting point for people seeking more information.
NGUYEN: OK. Now, here's one that you're not a big fan of. It's called Government Guide. Why don't you like this one?
ZEREGA: Government Guide is -- it's government services made easy. It's from AOL. It's a decent enough site if you want to figure out how to get a driver's license or a marriage license or a business license, those kinds of things. NGUYEN: Kind of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) info, yes.
ZEREGA: But layered on top of it are some links to some pretty useful sites, actually. AOL's done a good job with its election guide. One of the few sites providing drill-down information on local and state elections.
NGUYEN: We've been talking all morning about a site where you can actually get paid to get people to register to vote. Is that true?
ZEREGA: It's called Vote or Not. You know, and if the issues don't move you, maybe cash will. That's what the wacky guys at Hot or Not, just a really fun site...
NGUYEN: Hot or Not. What's that?
ZEREGA: Hot or Not. It's a site where -- it's very popular with the MTV set, the iPod generation, so forth. People post their own pictures, and they rate each other. Am I hot or not? A one to 10.
NGUYEN: Oh, gosh.
ZEREGA: It's a sort of a dating service, a personals, you know, that kind of thing.
NGUYEN: But Vote or Not, you can actually win some money.
ZEREGA: Yes. What it is, if you register to vote through Vote or Not, you have a chance of winning $100,000. You can also recommend up to five friends. And if one of them registers, they win $100,000, but so do you.
It's causing a huge sensation. People are e-mailing back and forth. And I think it's one of the more creative get-out-the-vote efforts.
NGUYEN: Yes. Money always works. As least it seems to, right?
ZEREGA: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: All right. Blaise Zerega, managing editor of "Wired," thanks so much for that.
ZEREGA: Thanks a lot.
NGUYEN: And we wouldn't want to miss an opportunity now to promote our own political coverage on the Web. Of course we wouldn't. Just point your browser to cnn.com/allpolitics.
GRIFFIN: Is there a hot or not button on that one?
NGUYEN: I don't know. Weather or not? Are we going to have a lot of weather today in that department, Orelon?
GRIFFIN: Hot or not? (WEATHER REPORT)
GRIFFIN: Thanks, Orelon.
Red carpet drama going on right now. Oh, they are fretting in L.A. Who is wearing what, and where and with whom? Tonight's Emmy Awards, we're going to have a sneak peek at the fashions when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.
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