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CNN Sunday Morning
Nagin Wins Reelection; Interviews With Marc Morial, Jesse Jackson
Aired May 21, 2006 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: It's time for to us stop the bickering.
That's right.
It's time for us to stop measuring things in black and white and yellow and Asian. It's time for to us be one New Orleans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it is time, and the voters have spoken. Mayor Ray Nagin is the man they've chosen to help them recover from the ravages a of hurricane Katrina. Good morning, everybody, from the CNN Center here in Atlanta. I'm Betty Nguyen.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone, I'm Tony Harris. We have plenty of reaction to Mayor Nagin's runoff victory this morning. We will take you live to New Orleans.
Plus, former Mayor Marc Morial and the Reverend Jesse Jackson join us live. But, first, a quick look at some other stories making headlines right now in the news.
Just 30 minutes ago President Bush commented on the formation of a new Iraqi government. Speaking at the White House, Mr. Bush hailed a new unity government as a new day for millions of Iraqis. The president did not address how the new regime in Baghdad might affect U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq.
A rescue effort is trying to reach 44 coal miners trapped in a flooded mine in northern China. Officials do not know if the trapped miners are still alive. Another 100 miners managed to escape, but China's disaster-plagued mine industry, suffers thousands of deaths annually.
NGUYEN: Methane gas may have caused a deadly underground explosion at an eastern Kentucky coal mine. We told you about this yesterday morning in breaking news. Governor Ernie Fletcher says preliminary evidence suggests methane gas may have leaked from a sealed-off portion of the mine and ignited. Five miners died in that disaster.
Barbaro, broke out of the gate early in the Preakness. Look at that. And then long shot, Bernadini went on to win the $1 million race. And the glitter faded though 12 seconds into the race when the triple-crown contender, Barbaro, shattered, right there, a rear ankle. Barbara will undergo emergency surgery today.
HARRIS: Then we have a lot ahead for you this SUNDAY MORNING. Coming up a soldier's wish to help Iraqi children is being fulfilled even after his death. We will tell you what his family is doing to honor his memory.
Also ahead, the price of controversy. The ball that tied Barry Bonds with Babe Ruth could be worth thousands of dollars to the teen who has it. Or not.
And, no, it's not torch from the fantastic four, but this burning man had the crowd fired up last night in Ohio. Stick around, because you don't want to miss this spectacular, shall we call it, a leap of faith?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAGIN: This is a great day for the city of New Orleans. This election is over. And it's time for this community to start the healing process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: A unifying victory speech from Mayor Ray Nagin. New Orleans voters re-elected Nagin to a second four-year term yesterday, but it was close. Nagin defeated Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu, capturing 52 percent of the vote to Landrieu's 48 percent. So let's check in with CNN's Sean Callebs who is in New Orleans following all of this. Talk to us about the voter turnout yesterday.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Voter turnout was pretty good, all in all, about 110,000 people cast ballots yesterday. But there were close to somewhere between 5 and 600,000 people living in New Orleans before Katrina. You figure more than half of those left and many still haven't returned. So overall, the turnout was -- was pretty healthy. I think the newspaper kind of sums it up. There you see a little fist-pumping from Ray Nagin. It's Nagin time for to us be one New Orleans. Then it goes on to chronicle all the problems that he's going to face immediately.
But Nagin also talked about the fact that there was all this uncertainty over who would be mayor and he said that, too, has slowed the effort to try and rebuild this area that was simply hammered during the hurricane season last year. Now, during his acceptance speech, one of the first things that Nagin did was reach out to all his political opponents, including, you could argue those in Washington and those in Baton Rouge as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAGIN: To President Bush, I want to thank you, Mr. President. You and I have probably been the most vilified politicians in the country. But I want to thank you for moving that promise that you made in Jackson Square forward. We now have $3 billion for levees, we have $8 billion for incentives, we have $10 billion for housing. You are delivering on your promise and I want to thank you for all the citizens of the city of New Orleans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: A lot of billions, and people say it's been a long time, let's get going, let's get going. There's Mitch Landrieu, his opponent, the lieutenant governor, he's going to go back to Baton Rouge, he'll continue his work up there. His speech was very gracious, and at the same time he vowed that he would do everything he could to continue to help Mayor Nagin and the city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. GOV. MITCH LANDRIEU, (D) LOUISIANA: We will speak with one voice. We will get behind the mayor. We will do everything we can to bring this great city back again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: It wasn't a nasty campaign. Indeed, this area's been through enough and no one really expected there would be a lot of mudslinging. In fact though, these two democrats were alike on many issues. Where they differed -- who would be the better leader. Well, the voters here have made their decision. It will be Nagin until 2010, guiding this city, Betty, through what is going to be a long arduous task of rebuilding. And, really, it starts next week with the start of hurricane season.
NGUYEN: Yeah, that's right around the corner. So the people have spoken, Sean, and they're going to want to see results. What's first up on the agenda for the mayor?
CALLEBS: Well I think that he's -- right now he's talking about he may shuffle his staff. There have been some criticism about the fact that simply not much has been done over nine months if you go to these areas. They're going to have to look at housing because so many people left this area, and even if they wanted to come back, which many have voiced that they do, there's nowhere to live. So they have to find a way to immediately begin rebuilding in Lakeview and east New Orleans and the lower ninth ward, find a place for these people to live.
And the people who left are demanding better jobs. They don't want to come back to more service jobs, working at hotels or the casinos in the areas, and health care. There were 11 hospitals up and functioning before Katrina, now there are five up and running, and only a couple of ER's that are working. So there is so much to do, and it all needs attention yesterday.
NGUYEN: Yeah. That's an understatement. Sean Callebs in New Orleans for us. Thank you Sean.
Coming up later this hour, we're going to get some insight into the New Orleans election from Marc Morial, a former mayor of the crescent city, and from the Reverend Jesse Jackson. You may recall, Jackson said, he would challenge the election results in court, because voter rights were violated.
Hey and speaking of politics, you want to watch "LARRY KING LIVE" tomorrow, our own reporters and analysts join Larry with an inside look at everything, from the war in Iraq, to the immigration battle. It is the best political team on television, and it is all live from the nation's capital. Tune in tomorrow night, 9:00 eastern, only on CNN.
HARRIS: Getting down to work. Iraq's newly installed government met for the first time today. The prime minister hopes the government will improve Iraq's security, and eventually get insurgents to lay down their weapons. President Bush reacted to Iraq's new government just moments ago. Live now to White House correspondent Ed Henry. Ed, the message was short and to the point? Good morning.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, very short remarks from the president. He certainly was not going to pass up an opportunity to tout some good news out of Iraq, the parliament's approval of a new cabinet. As you know, the president's poll numbers have been plummeting, because of the violence, because of the missteps and trouble and challenges in Iraq. Just today, at least, 17 Iraqis were killed, in three separate attacks in Baghdad. So the president was eager to pounce on some positive news, some glimmer of hope. And, in fact, when he got back from the White House a little early from church, he decided to go right to the diplomatic reception room, speak a little early, and as you noted, Tony, it was short and sweet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States will continue to assist the Iraqis in the formation of a free country. Because I fully understand that a free Iraq will be an important ally in the war on terror. Will serve as a devastating defeat for the terrorists and Al Qaeda. And will serve as an example for others in the region, who desire to be free.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, the president made no mention of how quickly U.S. troops may be able to come home now, because of the formation of this new government. Some of the signs of hope there. Not a surprise, because the president has repeatedly said he will let commanders on the ground make that decision. The White House certainly doesn't want to get ahead of itself here, move too quickly.
And earlier this week, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was on Capitol Hill saying that while he would like to bring home a lot of U.S. troops, there are still over 130,000 U.S. troops still in Iraq, he cannot make that promise that it will happen this year. And, in fact, there's more pressure right now on U.S. troops potentially to finish the job on their own, because there are now some rumblings in both Italy and Japan that they may be soon bringing home their troops from Iraq. Tony HARRIS: And, Ed, I have to say, this statement today and the statement from the president yesterday, the written statement, pretty understated, wouldn't you say?
HENRY: Absolutely. I think, though, you know, the White House doesn't want to get too giddy. They've seen time and time again when Iraqi people went to the polls, for example, there have been other milestones, only to see that progress brought down by violence. They want to be happy. They want to be optimistic, they want to tout good news, but they don't want to go overboard, Tony.
HARRIS: White House correspondent Ed Henry for us. Ed appreciate it, thank you.
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq weighs in on what he thinks is ahead for Iraq's future, and he'll be a guest on "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER" and you can catch that this morning beginning at 11:00 a.m. eastern.
NGUYEN: Other stories across America now. FBI agents are back on Capitol Hill this morning, searching a congressman's office. That search started last night. Government officials say it is part of a bribery investigation involving Representative William Jefferson. The Louisiana democrat denies any wrongdoing, and his attorneys called the search an outrage.
A train derailment temporarily shuts down a highway bridge in Georgia. Authorities say 15 cars and two engines of the freight train derailed in Lawrenceville. Look at this. This is part of northeast Atlanta. A cleanup crew was called in because of leaking diesel fuel. No evacuations or injuries from the incident yesterday. The highway bridge reopened after about two hours.
HARRIS: A former college student who was known as the naked guy, has died. Andrew Martinez gained notoriety in the early '90s for attending class at Berkeley in the buff. He was found unconscious in a California jail this past week. Officials are investigating the death as an apparent suicide. He'd been in custody since January 10th on charges of battery and assault with a deadly weapon.
NGUYEN: The close vote in New Orleans tells just part of the story. It was, indeed, a divisive campaign. What needs to be done to move the city forward is the question so many people are asking. And former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial is on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. You're going to be talking to him next. It's going to be good.
HARRIS: Just a couple of minutes.
And take a look at this, man on fire! We're not talking about the Denzel Washington movie with that (INAUDIBLE) Dakota fanning.
NGUYEN: This is a totally different situation.
HARRIS: So what in the world is going on here? We'll explain in a few moments. Maybe a cloudburst, heavy rain right now would be --
NGUYEN: Good for this guy!
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Here's a look at our top stories this morning. A rescue operation is under way this hour at a flooded coal mine in northern China. Crews are trying to reach 44 miners trapped since Friday. Officials are not sure if the miners are still alive.
No official word on what caused a deadly coal mine explosion in Kentucky. The state's governor says early indications point to methane gas. Now, one miner did survive. Relatives say he complained his emergency oxygen tank only lasted five minutes.
Talk of a triple crown, well, that's over. Long shot Bernadini won the Preakness and its million dollar prize. The win came after a shocking mis-start for the Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. That stallion shattered his right rear ankle, just 12 seconds, right there, into the race. A vet called the injury life threatening. Barbaro is undergoing surgery today and we're going to keep you posted.
HARRIS: Oh, here it is. By the numbers. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin wins re-election to another term, he beat Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu in the run-off election. Take a look right there, Nagin got 52 percent of the vote to Landrieu's 48 percent. Our guest knows first hand about the challenges Nagin faces. National Urban League President Marc Morial served two terms as mayor of New Orleans. And he joins us from New York. Marc, good to see you.
MARC MORIAL, FORMER NEW ORLEANS MAYOR: Good morning, Tony. Great to be with you.
HARRIS: Hey, I have to ask you, surprised at all by the results?
MORIAL: You know, I was -- I'm not really surprised, based on the trend that began yesterday about midday. And I think there ought to be great congratulations to Mayor Nagin. He threaded the needle politically. He did what he needed to do under very difficult circumstances against a tough, articulate, energetic challenger.
HARRIS: Yeah.
MORIAL: And I extend to him warmest congratulations. He's got a tough task ahead of him.
HARRIS: Yeah, let's talk about that. It's one thing to be elected in this case re-elected mayor, but how much power we're wondering and we've been wondering this for a while now, does this mayor really have in moving the city's agenda forward? We're wondering, is it more about money than the person in the mayor's office?
MORIAL: It is about the money, but it's also about the mayor. But the mayor is not a solo actor. The mayor has got to work closely with a wide variety of people, his city council, state legislature, governor, business community, labor community, president and the congress in order to be able to do this. This -- the leadership of the mayor is crucial, because it is to the mayor that people will look to provide the vision, the energy, and the sense of confidence in the rebuilding and the recovery.
So the money is critical, but the direction of the money, the proper spending of the money is also something that the mayor has a great role to play. And Mayor Nagin, I think, is going to enjoy an opportunity in the earliest of days, in the earliest of weeks and months, of his second term. To capitalize on the goodwill that a re- election typically produces.
HARRIS: Right.
MORIAL: To pull people together. But time is of the essence. Urgency, I think, is the order of the day.
HARRIS: Right, let's pick up on that point. Give him, the benefit of your experience, give him some early advice. You know, it's unsolicited, of course, but give him some advice. If you were in that chair, this were your victory we were talking about, what would be at the top of your agenda?
MORIAL: Because you basically won a close re-election, your first task is to unify the city. And it's done not with words but with actions, by reaching out, to the supporters of your opponent as well as to reassure your own supporters. And to create a common sense that the second term is going to be inclusionary in its approach. Number two I think it is absolutely essential, in order to protect the city, that there be an air-tight, well-put-together, hurricane preparedness plan. Hurricane season starts anew --
HARRIS: Yep.
MORIAL: -- just in a few weeks. It's got to not only be a good plan, the people have to understand it, the community has to prepared, FEMA and the state have to be on board. I think people are looking for signals on that, and connected to that is some validation that these levees are going to be in better shape.
HARRIS: There you go. That's it. Let me end with this. Let me ask you very quickly -- do you trust the levees today?
MORIAL: Based on the information I have, I can't tell you that I do. I think there ought to be an independent certification by the National Science Foundation. The Society of American Civil Engineers, someone who's going to come in and say to the public, we've looked at, we've examined, we've reviewed the repairs and we think they're strong enough to withstand the type of hurricane that -- that could hit the city this season.
HARRIS: Wow. Marc Morial, good to see you. Thanks for your time. Thanks for getting up and joining us this Sunday morning. We appreciate it, Marc.
Well he threatened to sue over the New Orleans election, what does the Reverend Jesse Jackson have to say, now that it's all over? Find out for yourself, he joins us, and a lot of reaction this morning. He joins us in about 25 minutes.
NGUYEN: In the meantime, it starred as one of the last letters home from a soldier in Iraq. In it, he said he'd like to give shoes to all the barefoot Iraqi children he had seen on the streets of Baghdad. Well, this morning, meet the people who are doing their share to make that dying wish happen. That's live on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
HARRIS: Plus this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Bush spells out his immigration plan. Critics respond. And the northeast is pounded with rain. If there was a 24-hour news channel in heaven, the number one anchor would be an angel with my face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: There you go.
NGUYEN: Oh, gosh.
HARRIS: Anderson Cooper joins the staff of "Saturday Night Live"? Well, sort of. See it for yourself, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Our own Anderson Cooper is just everywhere these days. Known for his on the disaster scene reporting, Anderson showed up on "Saturday Night Live," well, kind of. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Earlier this week New England was hit hard with heavy rains that caused the worst flooding since the 1930s. Joining us now is Peabody Massachusetts resident Pat Danahy. Pat how bad is the situation?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Apparently not bad enough to get you up here, Cooper. If we were in New Orleans, you would have been here before the first drop hit the ground. What happened, did you lose your slicker?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I assure you, we're sending New England all of our thoughts and prayers, Pat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, thoughts and prayers. I better check the mailbox. Oh, that's right, it washed away on Tuesday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: That's good stuff.
NGUYEN: Loving it.
HARRIS: Hey you've made it. You've arrived. You got on "Saturday Night Live" on the regular the way Anderson is --
NGUYEN: There's nothing wrong with that.
HARRIS: You have arrived.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That is when you're big time.
NGUYEN: We're all still waiting Jacqui.
JERAS: And speaking of Anderson Cooper being out in the elements makes me think about hurricanes. Does it not make you think about hurricanes?
NGUYEN: Hurricane season.
JERAS: 11 days away, I believe, from today. And tomorrow by the way, a big day, guys, you might want to watch CNN tomorrow, because NOAA is going to be releasing their forecast for the hurricane season. We've already heard from Dr. Gray talking about how he thinks it's going to be way above average. We'll have to see what NOAA says tomorrow. That's 11 o'clock eastern time. Chad Meyers will be in the house.
NGUYEN: We're all going to be here.
HARRIS: That's a show.
JERAS: And I'll be here after that.
HARRIS: Beautiful, beautiful.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Well before he died a soldier writes home, expressing sympathy for barefoot Iraqi children. That was the impetus for a drive to collect thousands of shoes to send to Baghdad. A passionate soldier's story, next, live, on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And good morning, everyone. "Now in the News," Ray Nagin gets his wish. A chance to rebuild the city that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina on his watch. Nagin won the re-election as mayor of New Orleans. It was a close race against Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu. Landrieu is vowing to get behind the mayor's recovery plans for the city.
In northern China, 44 coal miners remain trapped far underground in a flooded mine. It's not known if they are even alive, but a rescue effort is underway. About 100 miners managed to escape when water began rushing into the mine on Friday.
And within the past hour, President Bush made a rare Sunday appearance at the White House to praise Iraq's newly installed government, with the first lady by his side, Mr. Bush said it represented a new chapter in U.S. relations. He also called Iraq an important ally against terror.
NGUYEN: This morning's "Soldier's Story," Army Special Eric Burri didn't like what he saw when he went to Iraq. Burri was killed last year when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle. His family in Michigan is determined, though, to do something about the one thing that really bothered him. Brad Edwards of our affiliate "24 Hours News 8" in Michigan reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRAD EDWARDS, "24 HOUR NEWS 8" REPORTER (voice-over): He was 21 with a golden smile and a heart much the same when a roadside bomb brought his life to an end.
MIKE BURRI, UNCLE OF DEAD SOLDIER: I'm Uncle Mike. I'm Eric's uncle.
EDWARDS: Eric's uncle Mike and Eric's family decided to mark the memory of their soldier by giving back to the kids he fought to free.
BURRI: Eric mentioned on several occasions that these kids have no shoes. It always bothered him. He said he would give him his own shoes if he could.
EDWARDS: So they are asking for shoes. Before he died the Army volunteer religiously mentioned the kids, the ones that brought a smile to his face, that they didn't have shoes. Not to play in, not walk through the broken glass of bombed-out buildings, not to run through the streets in. The family is now in the midst of a two-week drive, trying to fill boxes like this one at Wal-Mart.
BURRI: Because it's something he would relish in, he would want to do it, and something he would want to us do.
EDWARDS: And the shoes are-a-comin'. It was his mother's wish, a mother on Mother's Day, still too broken to talk. A mother who lost two boys, Eric in a war, and another at birth.
Brad Edwards, "24 Hours News 8."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Here's the silver lining, a local retailer pitched in 100 pair, and then just last week, an unexpected call from a private security firm moved the Burri family one step closer to fulfilling Eric's dream. So joining us now to talk about the young specialist's dying wish is Eric's uncle, Mike Burri in Michigan, and in Virginia, Chris Taylor the vice president for backwater Strategic Initiative for Black Water USA.
Gentlemen, we welcome you to the show. Thank you very much for talking about this. Good morning to you.
BURRI: Good morning.
CHRIS TAYLOR, STRATEGIC INITIATIVE FOR BLACK WATER USA: Good morning.
NGUYEN: Michael, let's start with you. Tell me about your air nephew, Eric, what kind of man was he?
BURRI: Well, he had a big heart, and he was very adventurous, you know he cared about people, especially about the kids. And this just bothered him so much, and I think it's amazing that we can do something about it, I think.
NGUYEN: It is really amazing. But you had to learn about this through a wish, a letter, that he sent home, but that wasn't the first time that Eric talked to you about wanting to help the children of Iraq, was it?
BURRI: No. He also mentioned it in several e-mails to his mother. When he was home on leave. In late May he mentioned it again. And it was just an ongoing thing that just he wanted to do something about it.
NGUYEN: So you weren't surprised when his mom got this letter that this is something that he wanted to make sure was done for the children of Iraq?
BURRI: No, not at all. Not at all.
NGUYEN: OK so, you take this on. You glorify him by carrying out his wish. How many shoes have you collected so far?
BURRI: Well, right now, we're well over 1,000.
NGUYEN: Wow.
BURRI: They'll be -- start gathering the rest of them up tonight and...
NGUYEN: Are you just amazed by the amount of people that've come out to help you?
BURRI: Oh absolutely. This has just grown so much. We've had so much response from the community in Grand Haven and Kalamazoo, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. And, you know, just to come from all over. We've got some shoes coming from Arizona, and, you know, with the help of the television stations here, it's just -- I'm just overwhelmed. By the response.
NGUYEN: It's taken on legs of its own. You know, it's one thing...
BURRI: Oh, yeah.
NGUYEN: You know, it's one thing to collect the shoes but it's a whole 'nother thing to get them to Iraq and into the hands of the children that need them most. And Chris, that's where you and your company come in. Tell us why you got involved.
TAYLOR: Well, it's quite a simple story, actually. The president of Backwater saw the Joanne Burri's story and simply sent me a one-line e-mail that said, let's help this family. CNN helped us get in touch with the Burri family and I've been speaking with mike all week, and we offered to help ship the shoes and distribute them throughout the country.
NGUYEN: And when are you going to do that?
TAYLOR: I'm sorry?
NGUYEN: When are you going to do that? Send them over to Iraq?
TAYLOR: Well, interestingly enough, we have expanded the Burri family's efforts here to northeast North Carolina and the Hampton Rhodes, Virginia, area, so with Mike's permission, we've actually extended it for 10 more days and Mike and I will work together to collect all the shoes and we will ship them over and begin the distribution process.
NGUYEN: That is wonderful. So, people still have time to get the shoes in. Michael, personally though, this has to this mean a lot for you, especially in the healing process of losing your nephew. Is this bringing closure? Is this helping you cope?
BURRI: Oh, it certainly is. You know, doing something positive, and having this sort of response, it's just helped our family. It's just been amazing, you know. It's just -- it truly does help. And, you know, he -- Eric was a great kid, he volunteered to be there and to be able to do something in honor of him and his memory, on this scale, it just makes us feel so good.
NGUYEN: And it's got to make you feel great knowing that this is something that he would want you to carry out. So, let's continue with this, if you would, and tell us how people can help.
BURRI: Well, we have gotten well over $1,000 in donations to buy shoes, so they can send, you know, a check, and we'll go out and buy the shoes. They can drop off the shoes at the various locations listed on the flier there.
NGUYEN: Do you have a Web site that people can go to or a phone number?
BURRI: No, we never really expected to it go, you know, this large.
NGUYEN: It was a grassroots effort that really grew.
BURRI: It really did and it grew fast once it got rolling. My cell phone number is on the flier, and there's another fellow, named Woody Watson, a friend of the family who's been helping out a lot, his number is on there.
NGUYEN: All right, well we don't have the flier up, so if you wanted to give us the number, you you're in deed, you don't have to, but if you'd like to, for us to put it out there, give us a number that people can call.
BURRI: Well, you can call me at 616-299-7321. And we can always arrange to pick up the shoes and if they're not too far away, of course.
NGUYEN: Right. And monetary donations are always accepted.
BURRI: Right.
NGUYEN: Michael Burri, Chris Taylor, you're doing great work. Thank you for your time this morning.
TAYLOR: Thank you.
BURRI: Thank you very much, Betty.
NGUYEN: Tony.
HARRIS: Yeah that's great. Earlier this year, there was the threat of a possible lawsuit concerning the New Orleans election. We'll find out if the outcome of the vote changes anything. The reverend Jesse Jackson live on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I seen it in the his hit, I'm like, wow, that's going to be pretty close.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Plus, meet a teenage where caught a ball that could be worth its weight in gold, and he's not even a Barry Bonds' fan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, he's not even old enough to buy beer or rent a car, but apparently age is nothing to do with becoming a millionaire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think some people are surprised when they come in for an interview and they see me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Surprised is right. Next weekend meet a savvy teenage millionaire who's folks twice his age calling him boss?
Plus a major push to abolish the "N" word. Huh. The co-founder of a Web site devoted to change the English language joins us on CNN Saturday and Sunday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Victory for Ray Nagin. He gets to keep his job. New Orleans voters re-elected Nagin to a second four-year term, but it was no shoo-in, he narrowly defeated Mitch Landrieu Mitch Landrieu, capturing 52 percent of the vote to Landrieu's 48 percent. You know you may remember earlier this year there were concerns about the New Orleans election, and the Reverend Jesse Jackson joined other civil activists to protest the vote, at issue whether the election would be fair with so many displaced voters. The Reverend Jesse Jackson joins us this morning from Chicago.
Jesse, good to see you. You're smiling and upbeat. We ought to share with everyone the discussion we had just a moment ago, but we won't do that, we'll talk about the election in New Orleans.
REV. JESSE JACKSON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Well, Nagin won and Barry Bonds hit the home run, it's a good day.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: You know, you're going to -- I'm not going there yet, yet anyway. Hey, I have to ask you, what are your thoughts? Give me some reaction to the election and the outcome of Ray Nagin re-elected?
JACKSON: Well, Ray Nagin really earned -- he served the most people in the city. He gained the most trust among the people, and they re-elected him under these conditions. And, so, to that extent, it was a fair election. On the other hand, what still troubles me is that two-thirds of the citizens are still exiled outside of the city and they did not go to the measures that they could go to enable them. For example, Iraqi Americans could vote from America to Baghdad and Fallujah in Iraq, but New Orleans could not vote, say, from Houston and Atlanta to their home. And so I think within the context of what happened, I think it was a good election, and the people in -- and I think he won because he gained the most trust among the people.
HARRIS: Well, let me ask you, would you be saying that same thing today -- you know I have to ask you -- if Mitch Landrieu had won the election?
JACKSON: Well, he would have won on the great advantages. And that's why our issue was always, first and foremost, people having the right to vote protected. And those living outside of New Orleans did not have that basic right protected. They had to go through the arduous (ph) burden of the absentee ballot which involved three exchanges of mail. So the people that never left, who are the most mobile, could get back, and those that were the least mobile could not get back.
HARRIS: Yeah.
JACKSON: And basically those were basically Nagin's voted. If, in fact, the people who are in exile were there, Mitch would have been running for governor as opposed to running for mayor in the first place. He ran for mayor on the basis that people could not get back, even against those odds, against those conditions, Nagin still pulled off a powerful black/white coalition and that was a good thing, I thought.
HARRIS: Let me ask you this. I had to dig up some quotes and things, but you sort of promised back, not too long ago, that would you challenge the results in court regardless of the outcome. So here's the question -- are you going to move forward and challenge?
JACKSON: We're not going to legally challenge it, but as they move through the court right now, with the legislature with the voting rights extension, we must put under real review what it means to not to dishonor the voting rights act of '65, Section two, whether it was dilution, Section V, where they moved precincts and not allow easy access. We cannot take that lightly, because this is not -- the voting rights actually is not a local referendum, it is, in fact, national, and so all of us must be concerned about what does it mean when citizens, in fact, are not protected by the law and their right to vote? We saw in it Florida, in Ohio, and now in New Orleans. It must be a matter of big concern for all Americans.
HARRIS: Ray Nagin, just -- let me just throw this at you -- Ray Nagin, goes to Washington now, wins re-election. He goes and he tries to secure more money. We know that billions are coming this summer, but he has baggage. He still has credibility problems. He is not the man to move the city forward. Let me get you to respond to that.
JACKSON: Well, you know, who does not have baggage in a situation? The president himself has baggage. His polls dip after New Orleans and never came back. He has baggage. He has somebody that carries bags, by the way. The governor, who would not allow people to stay at, say, Bell Base (ph) or Algiers Base or English Air Force Base where thousands could have been closer to home has baggage, but he also has the budget. The attorney general, who would not rule to the secretary of state to make the list available, has baggage. Everybody has baggage. But given that situation, now it's time to go forward. And I think the money's promise to allow people to come back home for reconstruction of houses and hospitals and schools and job training, that must be the agenda now.
HARRIS: The Reverend Jesse Jackson, you know, Jesse, Barry Bonds isn't supposed to be able to hit a home run as far as he hit that thing yesterday afternoon, you know that, right?
JACKSON: Well, the fact is, he is a great baseball -- I hope ultimately he'll be judged by his baseball abilities and his record will stand. I hope that in the process of his doing his work, that what we saw in Houston will not be doing again. He was thrown by a pitcher, a 95-mile-per-hour baseball is a lethal weapon, I might add. And then when he was ejected, the people cheered. That was something very sick about that and all players deserve a better treatment by fans than what happened in Houston last week.
HARRIS: Reverend Jackson, good to talk you, as always. Thanks for taking your time this morning.
JACKSON: Thank you.
HARRIS: And speaking of politics, well, we weren't, we were just talking about baseball. All week long "Larry King Live" will broadcast from the nation's capital. Tune in tomorrow for a political roundtable featuring the best -- the best political team on television. Our own reporters and analysts will join Larry for an inside look at everything from the immigration battle to the war in Iraq. That's tomorrow night, Monday evening, 9:00 Eastern, only on CNN.
NGUYEN: All right, well, let's get back to baseball. What you guys were talking about. So we know Barry Bonds hit No. 714, but who was the guy that caught the ball? We're going to meet that lucky person coming up. And, guess, what, she not a Barry fan.
HARRIS: Plus, what is this guy -- this guy -- thinking?
NGUYEN: He's thinking it's hot?
HARRIS: Not my idea of a good time. I don't know about you, Betty.
NGUYEN: No, you wouldn't catch me doing in this.
HARRIS: The burning man, up next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And time now to check in with Howard Kurtz in Washington to see what's ahead on CNN's "Reliable Sources." Howard, good morning.
HOWARD KURTZ, "RELIABLE SOURCES": Good morning you to, Tony. Coming up, an exclusive sit-down with Mike Wallace on ambush interviews, Dan Rather, Katie Couric, Shirley MacLaine and whether he's really packing it in "60 Minutes."
Plus, only on CNN, ABC's Brian Ross says the Bush administration is monitoring reporters' phone calls, including his own. We'll ask him about that.
Plus, Tony Snow makes his White House debut and President Bush suddenly very available to the media. It's all ahead on "Reliable Sources."
HARRIS: Funny how that happens. OK Howard, appreciate it. Thank you. That's "Reliable Sources," coming up at 10:00 Eastern, followed by Wolf Blitzer and "Late Edition" at 11:00, and "On the Story" at 1:00 Eastern. Stay tuned to CNN as we go in-depth into the stories of day.
NGUYEN: You may have had this dream, Tony, because it's every little leaguer's dream to what Barry Bonds did yesterday, and that's to hit as many home runs as Babe Ruth. They're not tied at 714 homers, only Hank Aaron has more at 755. Now Bonds may be a big hitter, but he's not a big hit with a lot of the fans, including the young man who caught his home-run ball yesterday. Holly Juscen from our affiliate KRON, reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER SNYDER, CAUGHT BONDS BALL: Shocked. Pretty, much shocked.
HOLLY JUSCEN, KRON REPORTER: Nine-teen-year-old Tyler Snyder of Pleasanton is overwhelmed as he's escorted out of McAfee Coliseum, just moments after catching Barry Bonds' historic homerun no. 714.
SNYDER: I knew I had a pretty good chance of it. Seen it hit, I'm, like, wow, that's going to be pretty close.
JUSCEN: Snyder has been an Oakland A's fan his whole life, he grew up loving the A's and hating the Giants and he's no fan of Barry Bonds.
SNYDER: I don't really want to make him sound like an ass like he already is, but, you know, everybody basically assumes it.
JUSCEN: Snyder says he has no desire to meet Barry Bonds. And if Barry wants the homerun ball back, well...
SNYDER: It depends on what he's offering.
JUSCEN: Despite his disdain for bonds, Snyder knows he does hold the lottery ticket. An historic homerun ball that could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
SNYDER: I guess I got to be grateful now, yes.
JUSCEN (on camera): Yeah, could you have a little more compassion, a little more softness in your heart now?
SNYDER: Yes, I guess.
JUSCEN: Snyder left the ballpark immediately after catching Barry Bonds' homerun No. 714. Said he's going home to put in it a safe-deposit box, and as far as selling it, he said, don't know, I just hope it's worth a lot.
Reporting at McAfee Coliseum, Holly Juscen, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Had some fun with in this morning. Crazy video, crazy stories, Barry Bonds hitting 714. And all morning long, we've been asking you for your thoughts to our e-mail question. One more time: Does this -- does the baseball steroid controversy tarnish the homerun record chase? And we get this from a viewer who decided that they want to remain anonymous.
"Barry Bonds never tested positive for any banned substances therefore this is just speculation. Steroids hardly pose the health risks of tobacco, alcohol, tummy tucks, cosmetic surgery, diet drugs, sleeping pills, etcetera. Steroids should be accepted as a training aid just like any other state of the art equipment of training method."
Wow.
NGUYEN: Well, don't tell that to D. Schultz out of South Carolina. This person writes: Barry Bonds should be booted out of baseball! What a slap in the face to the Babe to have someone like this tie his record And yes, "The Babe" did do it all on hot dogs!"
All rightly, then. Well, we appreciate your comments this morning. Got lots of really good ones from you today. And, of course, next weekend we'll have another question for you.
HARRIS: OK, ready this -- last night, in the village of...
NGUYEN: Oh yeah, you have to see this.
HARRIS: Have you seen this yet? Chagrin Falls, Ohio, which is East of Cleveland, a fiery spectacle that had everybody wondering, what the heck is this guy up to?
NGUYEN: What is he thinking?
HARRIS: What he is thinking. Maybe he's not.
NGUYEN: Apparently not.
HARRIS: It was 21 years ago that local daredevil Ted Bachelor (ph) last attempted this stunt. There it is.
NGUYEN: So, he's done it more than once, apparently.
HARRIS: Yeah, he used to do it every year. Until the town officials made him stop.
NGUYEN: I wonder why?
HARRIS: And here's the thing, after, you know, wowing the crowd for a spell, yeah, all of this, let's take in the applause. He dove 25 feet, off of the town's namesake falls.
NGUYEN: Yeah, he's got to cool off someway. Here he goes. Oh, he's just reveling. I'm he's eating up every minute.
HARRIS: Oh, come on.
NGUYEN: And the flames are gone.
HARRIS: And there we do. A couple of seconds later he popped up out of the river, and there it is. No problems. I think we have, what...
NGUYEN: Smiling, happy about what he has done.
HARRIS: One more e-mail? Do we have time for one more e-mail?
NGUYEN: Oh, we have one more e-mail to tell you about.
HARRIS: Put it there so I can read it. There it is. "Barry is a remarkable player and deserves to be in baseball's Hall of Fame. However, he is not a gracious individual." And, once again, thank you for your e-mails this morning.
NGUYEN: Oh no, no, it keeps going on, "and could never stand in the shoes of the immortal Babe Herman Ruth or the amazing Henry Aaron." and "P.S., Betty" -- oh, get out of here! You guys didn't need to put that up.
HARRIS: It's every week.
NGUYEN: Enough of the shenanigans. "Reliable Sources" is next. Followed by -- see I'm getting to it quickly -- "Late Edition" and "On the Story," so don't go away.
HARRIS: You want to end this is that what it is?
NGUYEN: Yeah.
HARRIS: Okay, Brianna Keilar is in for Fredricka Whitfield, and she will be with you all morning long with live news updates.
NGUYEN: I'm blushing, can you tell? All right. Have a great day, everybody.
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