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CNN Sunday Morning
Swimmers Cautioned as Danielle Brings Rip Currents to U.S. Beaches; Gulf Coast Marks Five Years Since Katrina; Glenn Beck's 'Restoring Honor' Rally Draws Thousands, Counterprotest
Aired August 29, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, life after Katrina. It was five years ago today that that storm forever rocked the lives of the people living in New Orleans and Mississippi. Dozens of communities are planning today to mark the significant anniversary.
And who will be there? The president. President Obama will be traveling to New Orleans to speak specifically at Xavier University.
Also, in Rome, Pope Benedict will be praying for those 33 trapped Chilean miners this morning. Here are some live pictures from that weekly Mass. We will listen in and hear part of that message and get you a live report from Chile.
Speaking of, those crews are going with this Plan B. They're hoping to go with this Plan B to get these guys out. They were thinking it may take three or four months, possibly earlier. There is a Plan B. We'll get an update from Karl Penhaul, who has been working that story for us from the Atacama Desert region there in South America.
But from the CNN Center, good morning. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is 6 a.m. here in Atlanta; 5 a.m. in Chicago; 3 a.m. in Vegas. Good morning, good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin, in for T.J. Holmes this weekend. Thanks for starting your Sunday right here on CNN.
Also, coming up over the course of the next 90 minutes, swimming against the current. Raging coastal waters whipped up by a faraway hurricane. It's a dangerous weekend for a lot of people waking up along the U.S. East Coast. We'll have a live report, literally, in less than a minute here from - from Ocean City, Md. Some scary rescues there, hundreds of rescues, out in those ocean currents.
Also, imagine - look, we all hate traffic, right? But imagine your worst Monday morning commute, and then multiply that by 10. I'm talking 10 days of traffic. Gridlock in China. We will talk about making it through this crazy commute.
But it's still hundreds of miles of shore. Hurricane Danielle already proving to be a dangerous and possibly deadly storm. The Cat 2 - Category 2 hurricane is being blamed for creating rip currents up and down the East Coast. In fact, want to take you to Ocean City, Maryland. It's about 150-mile drive from D.C. Huge resort town. The U.S. Coast Guard there is searching for a swimmer who went missing right around 8:00 last night. Ocean City's Beach Patrol helped rescue nearly 250 people from the dangerous waters just yesterday. And those riptide conditions are expected to continue over the next couple of days, with Hurricane Danielle, and we're also we're also talking about Tropical Storm Earl churning out in the Atlantic Ocean.
So I want to get the latest here on that search effort that is still under way here.
Captain Butch Arbin of the Ocean Beach Patrol is good enough to get up and join me live on the phone this morning.
And perhaps, sir, you have not gone to bed. Bring me up to speed, if you will, on the situation with this particular swimmer. I read he's about - what? - early 20's, went missing about 8:00 last night.
Good morning. Bring up to speed on this recovery or - or rescue effort.
VOICE OF CAPT. BUTCH ARBIN, OCEAN CITY BEACH PATROL: Good morning, Brooke.
Yes, about 8:00 last night, we received a 911 call of swimmers in distress. Now, the Ocean City Beach Patrol goes off-duty at 5:30 every day. And that's the critical thing. We tell people not to swim when lifeguards aren't on duty, that 98 percent of all drownings occur when people are swimming without lifeguards. So we know it's important.
I kept the patrol on what we call "mobile stand-by." We were only about seven blocks away, our nearest person. We got the call of swimmers in distress. Our guards went down. There were three swimmers in distress. The guards entered the water to make the rescue. There was a nearby surfer who paddled over and helped one individual. That person came in; we brought two in.
It wasn't until we arrived on the beach and started talking with them, found out that there had been another swimmer out there with them. That swimmer was never seen by us. That swimmer was already underwater by the time we responded to the 911 call.
BALDWIN: So have you found him?
ARBIN: No.
BALDWIN: Have you found him? You have not.
ARBIN: No. No, we have not.
And now, it's the light of day. With the U.S. Coast Guard with its boats and then its aerial support, we'll be searching again.
BALDWIN: And Captain, as we're talking about rip currents, for people who perhaps are not familiar with what that is - and I want to bring in Reynolds Wolf, who I know has done reports on rip currents.
You know - look, it's summertime. This is a popular place.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely.
BALDWIN: You have a ton of people out at the beach. Is there some sort of - what have you seen when it comes to rip currents?
WOLF: Well - well, first of all, it's interesting what causes the rip currents. And plain and simple, what it is, is a great deal of water that's being forced right up against the shore. Usually when you have a tropical situation like, for example, some of the latest storms like Danielle...
BALDWIN: Right.
WOLF: ...you know, will bring a great mass of water up against the Eastern Seaboard, or any coast. And when you have that massive amount of water that comes out, it's got to go out.
And when it comes out quickly, it sometimes forms channels underwater, these sandy channels. And those channels, if you happen to be swimming along the shore and you get pulled up in the channels as the water...
BALDWIN: It'll get you.
WOLF: ...is being forced back, it'll pull you. It's like a - it's like a - imagine a conveyor belt, so to speak.
BALDWIN: Right.
WOLF: So the way to - to break away from that, is not to swim against the current; you swim parallel to the shore, you kind of break free from the current, and then you can go back towards shore.
And the biggest thing is, when you feel yourself being pulled away, the Number 1 compulsion is to fight against it; people panic. They run out of energy. They drown.
BALDWIN: So Captain, sort of spring boarding off of what Reynolds was saying, you mentioned - we know at least that - that this one particular swimmer you haven't found. I read that a couple of people that you were able to rescue are in the hospital.
But as far as those 250 other rescues - I mean, were - I imagine, were they full of panic? How did those rescues go down yesterday?
ARBIN: Well, that's the thing - and he's exactly right. A current - a rip current - this is the thing people to understand: Rip currents do not pull you underwater. They just are simply a current. They just move you from one place to the next.
What happens is, people panic. Most drownings occur because a person is certainly in water that they never intended to be in, over their head. So maybe standing away from deep water, and suddenly they're pulled out until the water is over their head. And at that point, you have a drowning situation.
These 250 rescues that we made, many of those people would have been able to get themselves out of trouble...
BALDWIN: Ah.
ARBIN ....if we let them go that far. But we're not going to let people panic.
So, you know, a few of them yesterday - yes, they were panicked people, and suddenly found themselves in trouble. But we're very, very proactive here in Ocean City. Our mission is three parts: education, prevention and then finally, intervention.
So we spend a lot of our time helping these people before they're in dire straits. And that's - that's why our numbers are a lot higher.
But - but the big news is, swim when lifeguards are on duty. What happened last night would have been a non-event - we wouldn't get a person's name. We would have simply just gone in, helped them back to safety, and they would have gone back to the beach, enjoyed another day on the beach, and, you know, life would have gone out.
But by choosing to swim when the Beach Patrol is not there, they made a - a deadly decision.
BALDWIN: You see the - the signs, swim at your risks. But wow.
Captain - Captain Arbin, thank you. And thank you for, you know, your crews getting out and rescuing those 250-plus people. Thank you for calling in.
And I guess as far as, Reynolds, just briefly, conditions for today - similar conditions?
WOLF: Very much so.
BALDWIN: Yes.
WOLF: And - and we're going to see this play out for the next couple of weeks. We've got another storm we're going to be talking about in just a few moments.
BALDWIN: Right.
WOLF: We're talking about Earl. Earl may very come very close to the Eastern Seaboard, and a lot of people who are tuning in who happen to be surfers, they want to go to the coast.
BALDWIN: Right. They see the waves. Awesome.
WOLF: Exactly. It's a very...
BALDWIN: Not so far.
WOLF: Very tempting, but you want to hold off as much as you possibly can.
BALDWIN: OK. We'll talk in just a couple of minutes.
WOLF: Sounds good.
BALDWIN: Awesome.
Meantime, let's go to Florida. Cocoa Beach, specifically, also talking about rip currents, proved to be deadly there. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Swim close to shore. There's a lot of rip activity. Swim in front a lifeguard. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Lifeguards in Brevard County say they rescued nearly 70 people who got caught in the strong undertow of those rip currents that Reynolds was just talking about. One man drowned in the strong and choppy waves before lifeguards could get to him in time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These waters can really even take out the best swimmers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These waves would come in, and immediately, you'd get swept on the beach.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And so bringing Reynolds back in, this is all because of Danielle.
WOLF: Often happens during tropical systems.
And you know, the thing is, it doesn't even have to be a major hurricane. It could be just a tropical depression. Anything that's going to bring a...
BALDWIN: All the waves.
WOLF: ...a - a - absolutely.
You know, one of the worst instances - some of the worst spells that we have in terms of those come from not just, say, tropical systems, but sometimes Nor'easters.
BALDWIN: Huh.
WOLF: Where you can have them happen off the Jersey shore, places like Long Islands, New York.
The thing is, it's more of a mental issue in terms of, say, a physical thing. You know how you heard the guy say that you could be the best swimmer on the planet, you can be an Olympic swimmer, but if you panic, you're going to lose it.
The best thing to do is to tread water. Let the current pull you out. It weakens. And if you swim parallel to the shore, you can go right back in.
(WEATHER REPORT)
BALDWIN: After a working vacation on Martha's Vineyard, President Obama and members of the Cabinet are heading to New Orleans this afternoon to commemorate Hurricane Katrina's fifth anniversary. And he'll be giving a speech at Xavier University, which by the way, is the historically black college that's also a Catholic University. That's in the heart of New Orleans.
He'll be paying tribute to the shared sacrifice that the Gulf experienced in that disaster. And the president will also be recommitting the government to rebuilding that hurricane-ravaged region.
Now, the president's speech is scheduled to start a little after 3:00 Eastern Time this afternoon. And you know CNN will be there and we will carry that for you live.
A Mississippi bank gave new meaning to the term "community banking" after Hurricane Katrina just devastated the area, including the bank itself. It set up these mobile branches in RVs and began giving people the financial help they so desperately needed.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve joins us live from New Orleans with this inspiring story.
And - and Jeanne, I think it's just important to point out, as I know you are in New Orleans - you know, let's remember five years ago, it was Waveland, Mississippi, where Katrina as a Category 5 storm - or, 3 storm, excuse me.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. A lot of the attention does get put on - on New Orleans. But yes, there are other sections of the Gulf that were absolutely devastated.
Gulfport, Mississippi, was one of them. And this story shows you that it is indeed true that the good you do sometimes does come back to you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): Katrina chewed up and spit out much of Gulfport, Mississippi, including the headquarters of Hancock Bank.
GEORGE SCHLOEGEL, FORMER HANCOCK BANK CHAIRMAN: See this was - this floor was - was completely trashed. It was 100 percent loss.
GAY TODD, HANCOCK BANK EMPLOYEE: I'm just glad to be here.
MESERVE: Bank employee Gay Todd still tears up remembering not what was lost, but what her bank gave.
TODD: They looked after the community. I'm sorry.
MESERVE: Without electricity, records or even all its building, Hancock started opening the day after the storm, improvising with trailers, folding tables and safes.
SCHLOEGEL: We just made human judgments. And those people that needed help, we gave help.
MESERVE (on camera): What kind of help?
SCHLOEGEL: Cash.
MESERVE (voice-over): Waterlogged money, salvaged from ATMs and vaults, was literally laundered - washed, dried, ironed and loaned to customers and non-customers alike.
GEORGE HAIRSTON, CURRENT CO-CHAIR, HANCOCK BANK: And we would a little IOU on whatever little piece of paper that you had that you could put your hands on. Little yellow sticky pads, a piece of a napkin.
MESERVE: Marvin Koury got a few hundred dollars.
MARVIN KOURY, GULFPORT RESIDENT: And a lot of people's lives' depended on being able to go buy gas, ice.
MESERVE (on camera): And you needed cash to do it.
KOURY: You needed cash to do it.
MESERVE (voice-over): Hancock Bank says millions of dollars of salvaged money was used to make its unconventional Katrina loans. All but $300,000 was paid back.
And there were other, unexpected dividends. In the four months after the storm, Hancock's deposits grew 40 percent. And in 2009, George Schloegel, the bank chairman during Katrina, was elected mayor of Gulfport with almost 90 percent of the vote.
SCHLOEGEL: Basically, people are honest and want to do the right thing. And they'll stand by you if you do the right thing by them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: And Hancock Bank was not the only business to do things like this. We talked to a person who owns some pharmacies down in Gulfport. She said that after this storm, they were giving out medicines to whoever needed them, even if they didn't have insurance cards and didn't have money. They just took handwritten IOUs, as the bank had.
They, too, got about 90 percent of their money back and they won a lot of new customers. It's really - really heartwarming, Brooke.
BALDWIN: It is heartwarming to hear these stories five years later.
And Jeanne, I know you are sticking around in the rain. At the top of the hour, we're going to do a little debrief with you, a reporter notebook, if you will.
I learned something new yesterday, that you were the first correspondent to bring us those images from within the Ninth Ward after the hurricane hit. So we'll see you at the top of the hour.
MESERVE: You bet.
BALDWIN: Nearly the same location, but two very different images.
Hear the rally and the other rally a couple miles away that stirred up a whole lot of controversy in the nation's capital just yesterday morning.
Fourteen minutes past the hour.
(MUSIC, MICHAEL JACKSON, "WANNA BE STARTIN SOMETHIN")
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Seventeen minutes past the hour.
Some polls have very much - have long since closed. We have some election results to tell you about this early Sunday.
Let's take you to Louisiana. Republican Senator David Vitter easily overwhelmed his two challengers to win the Senate primary election in that state.
On the flip side, on the Democratic, Representative Charlie Melancon, defeated his two opponents to win that primary.
And in West Virginia's Senate race, Governor Joe Manchin defeated two opponents in the Democratic primary, while businessman John Raese easily scored enough votes to take the Republican primary win over nine opponents in that race.
And this is a big race. Keep in mind these - these two are facing each other in November to replace the late senator, the senior Senator Robert C. Byrd, a Democratic and the longest-serving of the U.S. Congress - Congress in U.S. history.
Those who champion civil rights point to the "I Have a Dream" speech as a pivotal moment. Talking about Dr. King's pivotal speech from 47 years ago and a day at the Lincoln Memorial. Now, the head of the Urban League has accused FOX News host Glenn Beck of - quote - "trying to bamboozle and confuse the vision of Dr. King's dream."
That is just some - some of the fallout from yesterday's "Restore Honor" rally organized by Beck.
And another rally that was staged by the National Action Committee and Reverend Al Sharpton.
Here is Barbara Hall (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA HALL, CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hands triumphantly in the air, FOX News host Glenn Beck took the stage Saturday in front of the Lincoln Memorial, for a rally he organized in Washington called "Restoring Honor"
The conservative media personality said the event was not political and was created to recognize America's military and their family.
However, it attracted criticism for being scheduled as the same day as the 47th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King's iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, also delivered in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
Beck said it was a coincidence, although the slain civil-rights leader was mentioned during the event.
GLENN BECK, CONSERVATIVE MEDIA PERSONALITY: I can relate to Martin Luther King probably the most because we haven't carved him in marble yet. He's still a man. And that's the message.
HALL: Nearby, at Washington's Dunbar High School, another rally was held, called "Reclaim the Dream," this one led by the Rev. Al Sharpton. The civil-rights leader was indignant about Beck's event.
THE REV. AL SHARPTON, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK: They want to disgrace this day. And we not giving them this day. This is our day and we ain't giving it away.
HALL: MLK's niece, Alveda King, raised some eyebrows by appearing at the Beck rally.
She said she believes her uncle would commend the gathering for - quote - "giving honor where honor is due."
I'm Barbara Hall, reporting from Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Well, you have definitely been sending us your - your e-mails, your tweets about these two rallies. It happened in Washington. And I tell you, reactions - they're still coming in 24 hours later. Josh Levs has been sifting through some of those tweets.
And Josh, you know, what - what are you hearing from people, on both sides?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, we are. We're hearing from both sides.
You know, and you know this. We've been getting messages throughout the night. It's interesting. I mean, you - you get in 2, 3 in the morning before this show, and then you take a look, and you see people who are tweeting you all through the night. A lot of people with a lot to say.
If you go to CNN.com right now, by the way, you can see some of the pictures from the rally. I'll show you more in a minute. But it - some of it - to some extent, pictures help tell the story as well.
I'm bringing you over now to just some of the quotes - some things that we - you've been telling us today, your thoughts on both these rallies yesterday.
Starting with Facebook. This is from Dan Power: "The effect of Beck's rally will be to spread fear and hatred of anything that is left-wing."
This is from James Piazza: "Those who are so negative are misinformed. If you want to turn your back on what our Founding Fathers meant in the creation of this fine country, then do so."
Another Facebook: "It has become an automatic response for a lot of left-minded Americans to blindly equate a conservative group or person with racism, and then feel good about themselves." That's from Joe Gaya Banaag.
Let's see. A couple more here.
Teri Childers writers, "If this is what we have to listen to for another nine weeks, I don't know if I can take it. People better wake up and remember why they went to vote for President Obama."
One more from Facebook here: "Beck is a shock jock and a far greater danger to American society than any of the made-up doomsday scenarios he draws on his little blackboard."
Let's jump over to Twitter here. I got a couple tweets for you.
club77: "At what point did America lose its faith, honor and courage? Before President Obama took office or after?"
Let's do one more here: "Beck's rally was not political. It was about faith, honor and courage."
Keep that conversation going. I'm going to show you how you can weigh in. We have the screen for you here; it shows you my Facebook and Twitter pages. Joshlevscnn. I'm going to say what I always say: Make sure to keep it conversational and make sure to listen to each other. We always encourage everyone to have a conversation, be respectful.
Another way you can get in touch is right here, on cnnireport.com. Let's zoom in over here. You can send us your photos, your videos, put your thoughts on tape for us.
Here's one of the pictures we've gotten by i-Report here. It's a pretty good shot and it's interesting. And this is a - a family. Bonnie Lou Ketty (ph) tells us, "We are honoring the heroes of our armed forces as well as our Founding Fathers." And that's why they wanted to be here.
Now, before I go, they have a whole new photo spread that's up that shows you some of the hot shots from yesterday, including some i- Report photos, some photos you all have been sending in. You can get a sense of the crowds there in front of the Lincoln Memorial, working their way back to the mall. Let's zoom in a little more; they're just seeing darkness right now.
And this is over near the Washington Monument.
Keep all these pictures coming. It definitely helps us tell the story as well.
And I think we can end on this one, which is going to give you a sense of just how controversial it gets. It's someone who has a - a picture here, saying - there you go -- "Our honor died in 1973. Are you finally responding?"
So Brooke, obviously, people not holding back. But as always, we do encourage the conversation to keep going, as long as it's going to be respectful, people listening to each other, hopefully, do a little tiny bit our part to bridge that divide.
BALDWIN: Absolutely. I love how engaged and - and just educated on the issues our viewers are. And we thank them for - for sending in the tweets, the e-mails overnight.
LEVS: We love it.
BALDWIN: We love it. Josh, thanks.
LEVS: You got it.
BALDWIN: They said it wouldn't happen, but it did. A so-called inactive volcano proved otherwise. These amazing pictures next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Checking our top stories.
It's morning for you. Imagine waking up and seeing this: A volcano declared inactive by experts erupted in Indonesia early today, forcing thousands upon thousands to just leave their homes. The Indonesian Disaster Management Board calls the situation now under control. No reports yet of in terms of casualties. Fortunately, these experts noticed some seismic activity yesterday and did order a mass evacuation.
The FBI has joined a vandalism investigation in Tennessee. Somebody damaged some equipment at the site of a planned mosque and Islamic Center outside of the town of Murfreesboro, and that, they say, could put a hold on construction.
And had he lived, Michael Jackson would turn 52 today. And Gary, Indiana - you know, his birthplace - will be holding this massive tribute tonight for the King of Pop. "The Guinness Book of World Records" lists Jackson as the most successful entertainer of all time.
Well, no more biking and golfing and family time for the president. His vacation at Martha's Vineyard coming to an end today. He'll hop on a plane, head down to New Orleans and speak at Xavier University.
CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser has more on the president's week ahead - Paul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good morning, Brooke.
Vote-counting resumes Tuesday in Alaska, where the Republican Senate primary is going into overtime. Incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski trails once-long-shot Joe Miller by just over 1,500 votes, with thousands of absentee ballots still to be counted.
Miller got a huge boost from an endorsement from Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and lots of help from the Tea Party Express.
That same night, on Tuesday, President Barack Obama goes primetime on national television, delivering an address from the Oval Office on the Iraq war. This speech coincides with the official end of America's military combat mission in Iraq.
And on Friday, probably the most important economic number in politics right now: We'll find out the August unemployment rate as the Labor Department releases a monthly jobs report - Brooke.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Paul, thank you.
You've been keeping up with the story out of Chile. It's unbelievable. These men, 33 of them, have been trapped underground, about a half-mile down, for about three weeks now. But today, a huge development. We're hearing that these - these miners may get a chance to talk to their families directly, not just a video.
This video released Friday. Also, words of comfort this morning coming from the Vatican with regard to these 33 miners. Pope Benedict with special prayers and a special message this morning for these trapped miners.
Twenty-nine minutes after the hour. You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Three weeks and counting. Imagine, these 33 miners trapped underground in Chile in this 600-square-foot cave, essentially. Just a couple of minutes ago, Pope Benedict, the XVI, said in his weekly message in Vatican City, that he was praying for the trapped Chilean miners, keeping them close to mind and of course, their relatives who have been at Camp Esperanza, Camp Hope, waiting for and praying for their well-being. The pope said, in his weekly message to the Catholic faithful that he was praying for them. Mass started just about 32 minutes ago.
And we want to take you to northern Chile, to the site of that disaster. Family members who have been essentially sitting vigil at this Camp Hope may be able to speak directly through some sort of communication line they'll be setting up today to some of their loved ones half a mile underground. Also, officials have been discussing the possibility of this plan B to rescue those miners. CNN's Karl Penhaul is at that mining rescue operation. He has more on those efforts to bring those men up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is the San Jose Copper and Gold Mine high in the Chilean desert. Deep below this is Refuge 33, the name 33 miners have given the shelter where they have trapped for more than three weeks after a cave-in.
Rescue workers drag equipment into place. They plan to begin drilling a hole Monday to a depth of about 700 meters or 2,300 feet.
(On camera): First of all, a guide drill will go down and then a wider hole will be dug about the width to pull the men up. That initial plan, plan A, is expected to take as long as four months. But now, engineers say they may have another plan, plan B, that could get the miners out in half the time previously estimated, using a faster drill normally used for boring water holes.
WALTER HERRERA, MINING ENGINEER (through translator): We don't want to pin down a time frame, but we think this could be quicker than plan A. In ideal conditions we think it could take about two months.
PENHAUL (voice over): But government mining minister Lawrence Goldbourne said it was not certain plan B would work and urged caution.
LAURENCE GOLDBOURNE, CHILE MINES MINISTER (through translator): We don't want to create expectations beyond what is reasonable. PENHAUL: Families have mounted a constant vigil for their loved ones at a tent village called Camp Hope. At the weekend, Chilean folk group, Intile Mani (ph), known for supporting working-class causes, played an impromptu solidarity gig.
(FOLK MUSIC PLAYS)
PENHAUL: Night falls but the rescue effort continues round the clock. And on the barren hillside overlooking the mine, relatives light a candle for the men fighting to stay alive far underground. Karl Penhaul, CNN, San Jose Mine, Northern Chile.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Imagine.
He was at the forefront during the Katrina disaster, we all know his name, right? Organizing help, rescue missions, so what is next for New Orleans? We'll hear from General Russel Honore, what he has to say, his thoughts, five years after the devastation. It's 36 minutes pas the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Get those weapons down!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: It has been five years since Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, the man who became the public face immediately after the hurricane says challenges most definitely remain for the City of New Orleans. I speak with Lieutenant General Russel Honore.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HONORE: The time has passed quickly for observers of those that were here to help and we come back every year. But to the people who continue to struggle here to build this great city back it's been a challenge, and from those challenges have come much improvements in the city with many challenges left to -- problems left to be solved, such as continue to work on the levees. Continue to rebuild the schools. And just this week the federal government put $1.8 billion, after five years, to rebuild all the schools.
All that's good news, it is going to mean progress and the city will come back very strong. Still got a lot of work to do on public housing and affordable housing for the poor.
BALDWIN: Now, General Honore, I want to talk about, though-I know you speak of New Orleans as though there is a tale of two cities, right? You've written about the haves and the have-nots. I was there last weekend. The Central Business District is hopping, right? But the Ninth Ward and also St. Bernard Parish, very much so struggling. Take me through your city, where is the good, where is the ugly?
HONORE: I'll tell you what, the good is Central Business District. Yesterday we had some sunshine here, this time yesterday morning, this place was hopping with tourists, with artists, vans, people were playing music. This city is open for business, tourists are here. We had a great football game last night. A lot of people in the city and it shows the capacity of the city to have a safe and secure visitors area in the French Quarter and around the football, as well as in the business district. So all that's very strong.
What's got to be worked on now, Brooke, is that development in the Ninth Ward, and in St. Bernard Parish and Lower Plaquemines Parish, that never really recovered from the storm and now been hit by the BP oil spill. So, a lot of work left to be done on infrastructure, getting schools back, helping small businesses, who did not get a fair shake right after Katrina, dealing with the SBA and with FEMA, over.
BALDWIN: Looking forward you mentioned that grant to the public education system in New Orleans, but looking forward, where do you see needs the biggest improvement, where do we go next for New Orleans?
HONORE: Yeah, I think the changes that have been made in the school system here, which is about the future and the children, most people I talked to, has a very promising forecast of what this might mean. The charter schools they put in, the way the schools have been structured, the way there have been resources, much of that with federal money. The public health and clinics that have been built all with federal money; the federal government put a sack of money in here to keep the health system up. And they continue to pour money into New Orleans. And I've got to give the federal government credit on that. That happened. And they sustained the health of the people in New Orleans.
They are also building a new VA hospital and a new big Charity Hospital, which is going to be a new teaching hospital. All of that will make this city stronger. But those hospitals don't come on line for three or four years. So those clinics that they've put inside the communities are going to make a big difference because it's community- based health care, a wave of the future on health care in the country. And New Orleans will have that as these centers continues to be built.
What we've got to work on now is public health. Because it's not just going to the hospital and going to the clinics, we have people that need mental health care. We need to be able to monitor people's health for the follow-on impact of what might have happened from Katrina and now the BP oil spill. So a lot of work needs to be done in public health in this region of the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: General Russell Honore.
Now to a situation you and I cannot even fathom. I'm talking gridlock, big time. This is China, days and days of congestion. How could this happen? Could this happen here? We're talking to Nadia Bilchik next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Oh, so you think you have a rough commute? No, no, no, not sympathy, you're not getting sympathy from these cars stuck for days and days and days. This is Beijing. People here, on this highway, had to deal with gridlock that lasted, imagine, 10 straight days. We did the math, we're talking 200 hours plus, bumper to bumper on this congested Chinese highway, day after day, night after night. CNN Editorial Producer Nadia Bilchik with me on this.
I heard about this, and I thought, no way. No way!?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: These people are used to it, believe it or not. Because these aren't cars so much as trucks.
BALDWIN: It's the freight traffic.
BILCHIK: They're carrying coal. They go from Inner Mongolia, take the coal through to Beijing and the ports. And what's extraordinary about this, you have to understand, is that we have in China the largest consumer of energy in the world. And 70 percent of the electricity is fueled by the coal. So these coal drivers go on this road, now there was construction and maybe an accident or two, hence the gridlock.
BALDWIN: Um-hum.
BILCHIK: And they are pretty used to it. This is not the first time this has happened for them and it is certainly not going to be the last
BALDWIN: But is it a record in terms of 10 straight days?
BILCHIK: Yes. An absolute record in terms of 10 straight days, but certainly not probably the last that they're going to see this kind of gridlock.
I read something that they are so used to having this kind of traffic jam, so to speak, that they automatically go to sleep. They know, we're going to be stuck, go to sleep. So one of the greatest challenges is waking them up once the traffic starts to go again. But it's interesting. Who has benefited from this? Out of crisis always comes opportunity. You have the villagers, along the roads, selling water instead of at 15 cents the, U.S. equivalent, they sell it at $1.50.
BALDWIN: They come up to the cars, and they're the ones who are benefiting.
BILCHIK: They are benefiting. They sell hot water for noodles. They have created an whole industry from these truck drivers.
BALDWIN: Wait a second. You are telling me these people are used to, they know hey I'm going to just take a snooze overnight in my car. They just eat from local villagers? BILCHIK: Exactly.
BALDWIN: They have to go to the bathroom?
BILCHIK: Well, there's not too many-there's no port-a-potties out.
BALDWIN: Oh, my God.
BILCHIK: It is just, you know, again, symptomatic of this booming economy in China. I mean, second only to the United States. China surpassed Japan. It is the greatest market for cars in the entire world, BMWs, Audis, Mercedes. So, what you are seeing is a booming Chinese economy not having the infrastructure.
Now, you asked me earlier, could this ever happen in America? The closest thing we've seen to this kind of traffic jam is during Katrina or 1989 the California, the Oakland Bridge collapse.
BALDWIN: Some sort of disaster.
BILCHIK: Some sort of natural disaster.
BALDWIN: Roads closed.
BILCHIK: But we have the infrastructure.
BALDWIN: We also have, I was reading on this, we also have, you know, the flashing signs. And hopefully we're paying attention to them, right, when you are on the highway? And it says, 14 miles ahead accident, road closed, take another route. And in China they don't always have that option.
BILCHIK: They don't always have that option. In this case there is an option. It is a toll road, but it is so expensive to pay to go on it, that apparently the drivers would rather go on this route which doesn't cost. What's also amazing is not one incident of screaming or shouting or irate people.
BALDWIN: No road rage in Beijing?
BILCHIK: A kind of acceptance that this is what we're going through.
BALDWIN: With 10 days of gridlock, nobody is screaming and shouting?
BILCHIK: The only complaint was, could the villagers not gouge us so much.
BALDWIN: With the prices of the water bottles and food and noodles.
BILCHIK: But as you said, next time you're stuck in a traffic jam, so to speak, think about the days. BALDWIN: Think about this. Is this just China specifically, where we are talking days and days of gridlock or are there other nations as well?
BILCHIK: Any developing country where you have a huge amount of cars on the road and not having the infrastructure, it goes back to, I mean Johannesburg, South Africa you have increasing amounts of cars.
BALDWIN: Where you're from.
BILCHIK: And you don't have, necessarily, the infrastructure. An amount of cars and don't have necessarily the infrastructure that we do here. Although when you are driving in an L.A. traffic jam.
BALDWIN: Hello. Been there, done that. Not fun. It's amazing. But it puts it in perspective for us.
BILCHIK: Exactly.
BALDWIN: That is one of my take-aways. Nadia, amazing, thank you.
So many lives and businesses devastated by Hurricane Katrina, five years after the disaster, store shelves still sitting empty. We'll take a closer look at why fresh food is still apparently hard to come by.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't have no water no, phone, no refrigerator, no nothing. Everything in my house is destroyed. I'm hoping FEMA will come along quick because I need service quick, real bad. I ain't got no shoes. They're all destroyed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of your shoes is gone?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything is gone. This is the only thing I have left for me, what I have on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Five years after Hurricane Katrina, you might be surprised just how tough it is these days for some Gulf Coast people just to find groceries. The so-called storm of the century has left a food desert of sorts in its wake. CNN's David Mattingly shows us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): How high did the water get here?
JENGA MWENDO, LOWER NINTH WARD RESIDENT: The water got about three feet into the house. MATTINGLY (voice over): Years of rebuilding after the Katrina floods you'd never know Jenga Mwendo's house had been full of water, but just look across the street.
(On camera): In this entire time you've been looking at these vacant houses, the overgrown lots?
MWENDO: Yes.
MATTINGLY: And neighbors aren't the only thing missing. Five years later, Katrina still hits home in the Lower Ninth Ward at every meal.
MWENDO: There's corner stores. There's places that sell alcohol. There isn't any food.
MATTINGLY: The people are coming back, but the supermarkets aren't?
MWENDO: Exactly.
MATTINGLY: And what does that mean for the people that live here?
MWENDO: That means we have horrible food access.
MATTINGLY (voice over): Policymakers call it a food desert, as recovering flood victims find fresh food harder and more costly to get to. One national report already ranks New Orleans among the worst in the country with 22 percent of families lacking the money to buy the food they need. Diego Rose of Tulane University says it gets worse when you consider many in poorer neighborhoods don't have cars.
DIEGO ROSE, TULANE UNIVERSITY: Whatever you and I might pay for fresh produce in the supermarket that we have easy access to, a person out here is going to have to add on another percentage, 10, 20, 30 percent of the grocery bill just to get there.
MATTINGLY: And if you think going by foot from the Lower Ninth Ward is a good option, just watch.
(On camera): I'm going to start walking. As they say in New Orleans, it's time to make some groceries.
(Voice over): When distance is an issue it's easy to see why less nutritious choices at corner stores are attractive.
(On camera): OK. That was a hot and steamy walk, it only took about 30 minutes, but here is the surprise. This isn't my destination. It used to be a 30-minute walk to the supermarket that was closest to the Lower Ninth Ward. That was before Katrina. Well take a look at this. It's closed. The supermarket didn't reopen after the floods. There's a new one that's been built since then, it's a little further down the road, so that means just a little more walking. (Voice over): In all, a little over 40 minutes, and a pound of perspiration to cover two miles. Now this is the new supermarket. It was built after Katrina. And if this had been a shopping trip for me, I'd now go in, buy only the groceries I could carry. And then carry them all the way back home. The point here is, making groceries in the Lower Ninth Ward has never been tougher. Officials are offering tax incentives to lure green grocers back into the neighborhoods while Jenga Mwendo and others are trying to fill the void by expanding community gardens. It's an almost unbelievable irony. Food that's hard to get in a city known for its food.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Checking your top story this is Sunday.
In Chile, they are setting up this direct communication line to allow those 33 trapped miners to talk directly with family members. They're hoping to do that today. Meantime, work on that rescue shaft to free them could get under way. We're hearing as early as tomorrow. Those miners have been told they could be stuck down there about a half mile underground in that cave until Christmas. Right now, under plan B, they may be able to get out within two months if all goes well with the special drill equipment.
During this morning's weekly mass in Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about those miners specifically trapped in Chile. And he told the Catholic faithful gathered there at St. Peters Basilica that he was praying for them and their relatives.
Don't rush to judgment. That is what Paris Hilton's attorney says about her arrest Friday night on suspicion of cocaine possession. Here's the mug shot we got, the socialite was released from a Vegas jail yesterday morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very concerned that all of this wind blows the water into Lake Borgne and also into Lake Pontchartrain and then the winds coming from this direction into New Orleans breach that levee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As we pass on the left you can see where this levee broke.
(UNINTELLIGIBLE KATRINA VICTIMS SHOUTING FOR HELP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm tired. I'm hurting. The children ain't ate a good meal all the week. Please y'all come help us.
(HAMMERS, SAWS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They know that it's been five long years, and people share stories with trying to get back in our houses after five years, so that's a long time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had to give the government the benefit of the doubt, that the wall's going to hold. I'll try. That don't mean it's going to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, life after Katrina. It was five years ago today that that storm forever changed the lives of the people living in Mississippi, New Orleans. Dozens of ceremonies are planned today to mark this special occasion. And this afternoon the president himself will be traveling to New Orleans to deliver a speech at Xavier University.
Also happening today, Pope Benedict is praying for those trapped Chilean miners this morning. That's happening at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, keeping them very close to mind. A lot of these family members -- look at all those names -- family members holding up hope there above ground in Camp Esperanza. Crews could have a plan B to get those guys out of there. We'll have details from you.
But, right now, from the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is -- checking the clock -- 7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 6:00 a.m. in Chicago, and 4:00 a.m., if you haven't gone to bed, in Vegas -- good morning, good evening.
I'm Brooke Baldwin, in for T.J. this weekend. Thanks for starting your Sunday with me right here.
His 10-day working vacation in Martha's Vineyard over -- talking about President Obama. Members of his cabinet, they're heading to New Orleans this morning to commemorate Hurricane Katrina's fifth anniversary and he'll be giving a speech at Xavier University -- a historically black college, Catholic University there in the thick of things, devastated by Katrina, of course. And the president will specifically be paying tribute to the shared sacrifice that the Gulf experienced during that disaster. The president will also recommit the government to rebuilding the region.
Now, the president's speech is scheduled to start at 3:10 eastern time this afternoon, 3:10 eastern, 12:10 Pacific. Stay with CNN, we'll bring you that speech live right here.
And many Gulf Coast communities, you know, they're coming back after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. But in those days following the storm, the prospects of recovery seemed dismal and very minute.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve was on the ground after Katrina and she's joining me live from New Orleans to do more or less a reporter debrief.
And, Jeanne, I first want to get to that moment. I know you have some video you want to share of the moment when you first touched down on the ground post-Katrina in the thick of things. Walk me through that moment.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, I was here during the storm, and as miserable as it is today, it's nothing as compared to what it was five years ago when we were in a parking garage downtown, protecting our gear from the storm, but able to step out into it ourselves, able to see the Superdome, the downtown buildings, whatever damage was there. And like everyone else, we thought New Orleans had done fairly well when the storm was over, but we ran into a politician from the city who said to us, "My city is drowning" and we didn't know what he was talking about. So, we followed him to a different part of the city, which as it turns out was the Ninth Ward.
And, you know, oftentimes when you go into a traumatic story, you know what's coming, you know you're going to a plane crash or automobile crash or a war, and you steel yourself emotionally to cope. And we didn't have that opportunity. We were totally unprepared for what we were going to see. We stepped out.
And as far as we could see, it was water. There were people on the rooftops. There were people stumbling to higher ground as best they could with the few possessions.
There were only two boats that were able to go out. They were privately owned. They were trying to scoop up what people they could and bring them back to what was ordinarily a highway off-ramp but it was so flooded they could use it as a boat ramp. They were bringing people off.
And as they came up this ramp towards us, they just had these totally blank expressions on their face. And at the time, I think I wasn't quite grasping despite what I was seeing these people must have been in shock, that they had just lost everything they owned. They may have lost loved ones. They had no idea what their futures were.
I mean, this had come up so suddenly, Brooke, they were clothed in flip-flops and house dresses. They were totally unprepared for what had happened to them. It was really quite something to see unfolding before your eyes.
Now, you've seen the images. Everybody now is familiar with it. But we were the first to come across it with the camera. And we were just totally unprepared and blown away by what we saw -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: And, Jeanne, when you're coming across these people who are in dire need of help, what was that like? Walk our viewers through, who aren't journalists, walk our viewers through what that's like just sort of inside your mind as you're trying to capture the story but at the same time, you see these people that need help. You want to reach out and help them. What was that like for you?
MESERVE: Well, I have to tell you, for me, it wasn't just seeing them. What really got to me was when it got so dark they had to suspend the few rescue operations that were going on. And everything got very quiet. And across the water, you could hear the noise of people screaming.
BALDWIN: Oh, gosh.
MESERVE: And dogs barking. And it was that, that really got to me, because I knew these people were desperate for help, and that there was no one there to help them.
And the next day, instead of going back to that location, my producer, Jim Spellman and I instead walked through the city over to the Superdome to get a sense of what that picture was, and yes, you really had a sense of wanting to help people. But in that particular circumstance, in those very early days, we didn't have anything to give them except occasionally scraps of information about what the larger picture was.
BALDWIN: And as you're standing there in the Quarter, you know, five years later -- I mean, I've been in New Orleans working with crews. And you drive around New Orleans and you're on a story completely unrelated, say, you know, I was down there for the oil spill, and you talked to those crews yourself, cameramen, you know, people running audio, and they say, hey, that was the corner where I saw this during Katrina or that was the street where I saw that body floating that still haunts them five years later.
I mean, what it's like walking through the city today? Is it still haunting for you?
MESERVE: Yes, I can say that going over into the Ninth Ward and walking around and seeing all those slabs where houses used to be, yes, it still hits you in the gut.
Another thing that I remember very strongly when I'm here in the French Quarter is coming back here, having been over in the Ninth Ward and how people here had no idea what was happening.
And I remember when people realized I was with CNN, some of them came up to me and said, when is the airport going to open? I've got to get home. I've got to get to work on, you know --
BALDWIN: Right.
MESERVE: -- tomorrow or I'm going to be in trouble. You know, when are they going to open it? And I'd say, get a grip. You have to understand what's happening over there. There are thousands of people waiting to be rescued.
And they couldn't grasp it. But you know what? They had no means of communication here. They were not seeing any of the pictures. They weren't listening to the broadcasts.
They were in a vacuum here. They thought the slight amount of flooding that they saw here in downtown New Orleans is what the rest of the city had. Obviously they were mistaken.
BALDWIN: Hurricane Katrina, yes, a story like no other. And, Jeanne, it's nice to hear your perspective and thank you for being so candid -- Jeanne Meserve for us in New Orleans.
Let's talk about another hurricane this morning, Hurricane Danielle. It is hundreds of miles from shore, but it has already proven to be dangerous and potentially deadly. The category 2 hurricane blamed for creating rip currents up and down the U.S. east coast. That happened in Ocean City, Maryland, last night. That's where the Coast Guard is searching again this morning for the swimmer who just went missing right around 8:00 eastern last night.
I spoke with Ocean City's beach patrol captain, Butch Arbin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. BUTCH ARBIN, OCEANCITY BEACH PATROL (via telephone): We were only about seven blocks away, our nearest person, we got the call of swimmers in distress, our guards went down, there were three swimmers in distress, the guards entered the water to make the rescue. There was a nearby surfer who paddled over and helped one individual. The person came in, we brought two in.
It wasn't until we arrived on the beach and started talking with them and found out that there had been another swimmer out there with them. That swimmer was never seen by us, that one was already underwater by the time we responded to the 911 call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: He told me they have yet to find that swimmer this morning. A spokesman for Ocean City's fire department says there are no plans, though, to close the beaches there today despite these forecasts for the rip tides to continue into next week.
Also, Florida, a similar situation. Let's go to Cocoa Beach, those rip currents proved to be deadly. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Swim close to shore. There's a lot of rip activity. Swim in front of a life guard. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The warnings were there, life guards in Brevard County say they rescued just about 70 people. Look at the waves. People look teeny tiny out there, don't they? Who got caught in the strong undertow of the rip current? One man apparently drowned in the strong and choppy waves before the life guards could get in to save him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These waters can really even take out the best swimmers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Waves will come in and immediately you get swept down the beach.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And tropical weather trains steaming through here the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricane Danielle looking less of a threat for landfall, but Tropical Storm Earl another story.
Reynolds Wolf has been watching all of this.
And it's tough to see the pictures -- I mean, the waves are huge, you said.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely.
BALDWIN: You know, surfers love it. They want to jump in, but not so fast. It's so dangerous.
WOLF: Absolutely. You know, it doesn't matter what a great swimmer, how great a swimmer one of us might be.
BALDWIN: Right.
WOLF: You know, we humans are land-loving mammals. And when we happen to be in water, although some of us may be better than others, we're still out of our element.
BALDWIN: Yes.
WOLF: And in a situation like that and you're being pulled deeper into the water, it's kind of disconcerting, a lot of people panic and that's where the problem was.
BALDWIN: They lose control.
WOLF: They lose control. They try to swim against the current. They weaken and then they succumb to the waves. So, it's certainly bad stuff. Best thing is have the -- if you ever get caught in the rip current, let the current take you out and then it will evidently die out. When it does, you just swim parallel to the shore and go back in.
BALDWIN: And this is all Danielle.
WOLF: It's going to be -- Danielle is the next storm. Earl comes in. We're going to be seeing more with that up and down in the eastern seaboard, from Maine all the way to Florida. So, it's going to be a big problem we're going to be dealing with through the good part of the year.
And as you mentioned, you know, you were talking, Brooke, about the -- what's happening in the Atlantic. Right now, it's basically an assembly line of storms. We see one after another beginning to form.
We got Danielle right here. We got Earl right behind it. And this wave may be a named storm, possibly Fiona before the day is out.
The one that's giving us the biggest concern, the biggest headache, right now -- this one -- Tropical Storm Earl. But it's only a tropical storm, right? Well, it is for now, but it will change. We're expecting it to actually move into an area with minimal shear, very warm ocean water. So, it should intensify.
At least the latest forecast of the National Hurricane Center reveals that as we get into Monday and into Tuesday and into Wednesday, going from a category 1 to a category 3 storm, with winds of 115 miles per hour, possibly moving along parts of the eastern seaboard.
It's too early to say if it's going to make landfall, where it might make landfall. But regardless, the eastern seaboard will be affected by some heavy waves and, of course, those rip currents certainly a possibility.
For the very latest in some of information, you can always go to CNN.com. We've got great weather links for you -- which are not going to open for me. Hopefully, be easier for you. There you go -- you're seeing the hurricane tracker.
All right. You guys are up to speed. We'll see you in just a little bit.
Brooke, lets toss it back to you.
BALDWIN: Thank you, Reynolds.
Dogs, cats, squirrels -- oh, my, I guess we love our animal videos, right, Josh Levs?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Of course. You know, this is what we all look forward to all weekend. We'll get to have a lot of fun coming up. And I'll tell you something -- you're going to see a dog do something you've never seen a dog do, let's just call it a whole new way of kicking back. It's up right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: So we've ban talking. I have a dog. I have a pug, you have cats.
LEVS: I have nothing.
WOLF: Three of them.
BALDWIN: So, who -- you know, we all love a good dog/cat video.
WOLF: Yes.
LEVS: You guys will especially appreciate these hot viral videos. I, as one who doesn't have either, will enjoy watching the video. Take a look at this, this is the bulldog kicking back. Look at this bulldog. Her name is Bullet (ph). She's hanging out, chilaxing on the sofa.
BALDWIN: She said where's my bud?
LEVS: Watching TV, apparently her favorite show is "Family Guy," and apparently, does not like to be disturbed.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: That is freakish. That is the sign the Apocalypse is close at hand. The weirdest thing I've seen.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: I got to tell you, my pug kind of sit on his butt sometimes, too.
LEVS: But like sitting up like that?
BALDWIN: You have to kind mush him up against the sofa, though, it's not like he's like, hey, what's up, let's watch TV.
LEVS: Yes, I know. It was so like -- I'm just looking for the beer. It could be right next to him.
BALDWIN: Yes, I know.
LEVS: But apparently, this makes her happy.
BALDWIN: That's hilarious.
LEVS: That's -- all right, that's the dog one.
BALDWIN: OK.
LEVS: The cat one, you know, you guys have probably seen this depressing cat video where this woman put the cat in the trash bin.
BALDWIN: Yes.
LEVS: Well, I'm going to show the spoof. We'll first show you the original, in case people haven't seen it. This is this woman in England, sees a cat and just randomly puts it in there for no reason. She has since apologized. She says, she was like, oh, it's just a cat.
BALDWIN: This is like the video seen around the world this week.
LEVS: It took the owners 15 hours to find her, to find the cat. And now, there are all sorts of spoofs about her. But this is the best one. Take a look at this spoof the next video, about this radio station in England, Sylvester the cat, happens to see a woman sitting there.
WOLF: He's about to go tweety on her. Oh, my gosh. Look at this.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Role reversal. See you later, lady.
LEVS: Puts her away.
You know, people are just taking viral revenge this way. So, now, that one has gone viral.
BALDWIN: That's hilarious. LEVS: And, finally, we got one more for you. This one sent directly to us at iReport.com. Look at the Chihuahua that adopted baby squirrels.
BALDWIN: Wait, what?
LEVS: This Chihuahua is helping raise --
BALDWIN: That's a squirrel in there?
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Can I get closer to the monitor?
WOLF: Yes, it's a baby squirrel.
You're looking at this the wrong way. You guys are thinking that this Chihuahua is trying to raise the squirrels. In fact, it's raising it to let it get bigger so it can have a larger meal. That's basically what he's doing.
LEVS: That is so disturbing.
WOLF: That's exactly what's happening.
LEVS: You did not just say that.
BALDWIN: The squirrel is kind of curled up sleeping in the Chihuahua.
LEVS: Yes. In fact, let's fan this video, because you're going to be able to see -- yes, apparently, these two squirrels that apparently have been nursing on this Chihuahua and the Chihuahua is raising the squirrel.
WOLF: But do the squirrels speak Chihuahua? See? That's what I'm wondering. There could be a language barrier here.
BALDWIN: Yo quiero Taco Bell.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: We're getting silly on this Sunday morning.
LEVS: So there you go, folks, cats and dogs. As always, I post all the links directly for you at Facebook and Twitter. I'm at JoshLevsCNN, check it out.
BALDWIN: That's been so far the highlight of my morning. Gentlemen --
LEVS: It's a weekly dessert. You know --
BALDWIN: Little fight.
WOLF: It's good stuff. BALDWIN: All right, guys, awesome job. Thank you.
LEVS: See you.
BALDWIN: Squirrel, I can't get over it. OK, I know.
If reporters ever doubt the power they have to make a difference, those doubts disappeared during Hurricane Katrina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What the nurses was telling me and everything, I was just trying to figure out who in the world would take care of a two-pound, 11-ounce baby in this condition -- in these conditions
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: You might have seen part of the story five years ago, the story is unreal. You have to stick around and watch this. CNN SUNDAY MORNING will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do for my children, and it's wrong. And somebody needs to do something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: In all that turmoil surrounding Hurricane Katrina five years ago, one new mom faced quite a dilemma. I mean, imagine this: Her newborn baby just two months premature, like two pounds, it had to be flown out of New Orleans so the two were separated. She was, but then the mom lost contact.
Ed Lavandera was there with her five years ago, he reunited with her now. Amazing story. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, we are emphasizing leaving the city. That's what we think is the best thing.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Floodwaters trapped LaShawn Traylor inside Methodist Hospital in east New Orleans. She had just woken up from a medically induced coma after an emergency C-section. As she slept her husband was forced to take their other four children to safety leaving her and baby Lorenzo behind. The baby, born two months, early weighs only 2 pounds, 11 ounces.
LIONEL TRAYLOR, FATHER OF LORENZO TAYLOR: I went and saw her, saw the baby, took a picture of the baby, laid it on her chest, kissed her on the forehead, told him, "Daddy will be back by Tuesday." LAVANDERA: LaShawn woke up alone. As Hurricane Katrina roared across New Orleans, the levees broke and to LaShawn's horror, nurses told her baby Lorenzo was taken to another hospital. Life in New Orleans was falling apart and she was separated from her new baby boy.
Three days after the storm, she finally evacuated, and this is how I met LaShawn Traylor at New Orleans airport.
LASHAWN TRAYLOR, MOTHER OF LORENZO TRAYLOR: I'm looking for my baby. They transferred my baby to University Hospital. And I don't know where my baby is.
LAVANDERA (on camera): So, how are you holding up?
LASHAWN TRAYLOR: I'm trying to hold up because I have other kids in somewhere else with my husband. I'm just looking for my baby.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Five years later, I'm finally learning how much that brief interview helped the Traylor family.
(on camera): Good to finally see you. Wow.
(voice-over): LaShawn Traylor now lives in Jackson, Mississippi.
LASHAWN TRAYLOR: When I came to you, I was really desperate. We were all in a state of shock.
LAVANDERA (on camera): You were in a line of women. Everyone had a baby and all you had was Polaroid pictures. You told me you thought he was dead?
LASHAWN TRAYLOR: Just going off of what the nurses was telling me and everything. I was just trying to figure out who in the world would take care of a two-pound, 11-ounce baby in this condition -- in these conditions. So, I didn't know if someone was still going to care for him.
LAVANDERA: Are you Lorenzo? Are you kidding me? You're Lorenzo? My goodness. You know the first time I ever saw you, you were in a Polaroid picture.
(voice-over): Nobody gave up on Lorenzo. He ended up in a hospital in Baton Rouge. LaShawn was flown to Texas. It took more than a week to find each other again. LaShawn says a friend saw her on television and that helped reunite the family. Lorenzo just celebrated his fifth birthday.
(on camera): You still don't know who took care of Lorenzo through the worst of times there.
LASHAWN TRAYLOR: I don't know. God bless her or him.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Traylor family has said good-bye to New Orleans but LaShawn Traylor says Katrina was a blessing.
LASHAWN TRAYLOR: It really just taught me it's about family, relationships. You got to live your life with a purpose, and you got to wake up every morning trying to rise above something, trying to live it to the fullest, living your life with no regrets.
LAVANDERA: And little Lorenzo will always be a reminder of that.
(on camera): Good to meet you.
LORENZO TRAYLOR, 5-YEAR-OLD: Bye, mom.
LAVANDERA: Ed Lavandera, CNN, Jackson, Mississippi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Amazing, isn't it? We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Twenty-eight minutes past the hour, checking your top story this morning.
During this morning's weekly mass in Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI talked about those 33 trapped miners in Chile. He told the Catholic faithful gathered at St. Peter's Basilica he's praying for them and, of course, their families as well.
Also, have you seen these pictures? This volcano, declared inactive by some experts, erupted in Indonesia early today, forcing thousands upon thousands to leave their homes. The Indonesian disaster management board calls the situation under control. We haven't heard any numbers as far as casualties, injuries. Fortunately, these experts did notice some seismic activity yesterday, told everybody to get out of there.
And the FBI has joined a vandalism investigation in Tennessee. Someone damaged some equipment at the site of this planned mosque and Islamic center just outside of the town of Murfreesboro and that could put a hold on construction.
We're going to have more top stories coming up at the top of the hour, including another conversation with CNN's Jeanne Meserve. We spoke with her at the top of the hour about her own experiences being one of the first reporters to touch down within the ninth ward. We're going to talk to her about Katrina here on this significant day, this five-year anniversary, the then and the now.
We'll also check in with the first family, Martha's Vineyard, vacation is over. We'll see what the president has on tap this weekend and looking into next week.
I will see you in half an hour. But, for now, "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." starts right now.
