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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

'Time' Reports Mike Brown Padded Resume; Authorities in New Orleans Using Persuasion To Fulfill Mandatory Evacuation Order

Aired September 9, 2005 - 05:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is Friday September 9. The city and region reeling in turmoil and a nation in shock.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, I have declared Friday September the 16 as a national day of prayer and remembrance. I ask that we pray, as Americans have always prayed in times of trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The times of trail are far from over. Helping the victims of Katrina, what the government is doing, or not doing now. Plus, when the finger is pointed it is usually in this guy's direction. Well, "Time" magazine says FEMA Director Mike Brown's background may not be all that its cracked up to be.

And many of those left behind as New Orleans flooded were cats and dogs. We're going to talk live with the president of the American Humane Society. Yes, we answered your call.

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.

COSTELLO: And good morning to you and welcome to DAYBREAK. Also ahead this hour, some say forget about FEMA or the Department of Homeland Security, should there be a Katrina czar? That's our question of the day.

And we'll meet the owners of a Jefferson Parish dive shop that was all but destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Will they rebuild? Their story is ahead on DAYBREAK.

But first, "Now in the News": There are questions this morning about the background of embattled FEMA Director Michael Brown. A 2001 White House news release says he was an assistant city manager in Edmund, Oklahoma with oversight over emergency services. Well, a "Time" magazine report disputes that claim.

From the war in Iraq to the turmoil back home. Some 37,000 National Guard troops from Louisiana's 256 Brigade Combat Team are heading home over the next two weeks. Some left Kuwait yesterday not knowing what they'll find when they get back.

The head of NASA says there is damage to two NASA facilities on the Gulf Coast. Says the agency will have to determine if the shuttle's external fuel tanks are OK for the next scheduled launch in March.

To the forecast -- oh, I hope Ophelia had died down, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It has. Tropical storm now, not a hurricane anymore. About 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon they upgraded it and now 5 o'clock this morning, Carol, they downgraded it. So yes the storm is not what it was. About 65 miles per hour now, still though making lashing waves all the way from really, almost Melbourne, in the Atlantic Beach, right there. All the way back even into North Carolina. And that's going to be the real concern, is this huge area of beach erosion, all the way up through Charleston, all the way up even to the Cape Hatteras area.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

COSTELLO: First up this hour, the hot seat getting hotter for the FEMA Director Michael Brown. First he was under fire for his handling of the recovery effort, now a "Time" magazine report criticizes him for padding his resume. More on that from CNN's Catherine Callaway.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The controversy centers around entries in Michael Brown's biography on both the White House and FEMA web sites. It states that years ago, in Edmund, Oklahoma, Brown was an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight.

"Time" magazine reports that Brown was not an assistant city manager, but an assistant to the city manager.

CAROLINA MIRANDA, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Which is purely an administrative position and did not have oversight over anybody -- or anything, or certainly not any city agencies in Edmund.

CALLAWAY: "Time" also points to Brown's bio on the legal web site, findlaw.com. Under the heading of honors and awards, it list Brown as outstanding political science professor at Central State University. The college says that Brown, quote, "wasn't a professor here, he was only a student here."

A FEMA spokesperson begs to differ.

NATALIE RULE, FEMA SPOKESWOMAN: He served as an adjunct professor in law at Oklahoma City (ph) University. He was named an outstanding political science senior as a student at the University of Central Oklahoma.

CALLAWAY: Another entry lists Brown as director of the Oklahoma Christian Home. "Time" magazine contacted an administrator of that facility, who said that Brown was never a director there and is, quote, "not a person that anyone here is familiar with."

FEMA says the findlaw web site is wrong and the "Time" article misleading.

RULE: It is very disappointing that "Time" magazine has decided to use at their primary source a web site that does not even claim or make promises to carry accurate or complete information. And we certainly know that this is true, because information carried about Mr. Brown's background is incorrect on the web site.

CALLAWAY: President Bush nominated Brown to be deputy director of FEMA in 2001. He was named director of FEMA in 2003. Catherine Callaway, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: FEMA reportedly lacks veterans with experience throughout its management ranks. "The Washington Post" is reporting five of eight top FEMA agency officials stepped into their jobs with virtually no experience at handling disasters. "The Post" says Director Brown, along with his chief of staff and deputy chief of staff arrived with ties to President Bush's 2000 campaign to the White House advance operation.

The devastation, the recovery, there is just so much to be done in New Orleans and all along the Gulf Coast. So much, in fact, that some members of Congress think the president should appoint someone to oversee the long-term recovery and rehabilitation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHINSON (R), TEXAS: I believe that we do need a person on the ground for a long period of time, six to nine months range. Who would be the person able to make decisions and cut through red tape. And I think the president agrees with that.

SEN. RICK SANTORUM (R) PENNSYLVANIA: Having someone come in as a leader, as a, you know, in charge of the overall mission, I think, most members of Congress are agreeing with Kay and others, the speaker brought it up also, that this is important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So it is sort of like a Katrina czar and if there is one appointed. And the White House is kicking that around. No decisions have been made as of yet, but it could be Rudy Giuliani, could be Bill Clinton. Could be any number of people. Would that --

MYERS: Both good choices.

COSTELLO: Pardon?

MYERS: Both good choices, yes. And maybe -- who do you have in mind? Right? That's our e-mail question of the day. Who do we need? And do we need a Katrina czar at all? Would it be someone that could just stay down there for the entire time, oversee all the operations that seem to be so intertwined, yet not talking to each other, all get rid of -- all that red tape, maybe just make it yellow tape instead. Daybreak@cnn.com. COSTELLO: And you know, Chad, you have to wonder if they do appoint a Katrina czar, what would that do to Michael Chertoff's sphere of influence and Michael Brown's? Would that totally marginalize them? Probably so.

MYERS: I read some of the resumes on the FEMA men and women in there, and it's like, it's not a pretty sight.

COSTELLO: No, it's not. We're going to have much more on that in the hours to come on CNN. Do we need a Katrina czar? Daybreak@cnn.com.

Congress makes another down payment on relief and recovery efforts for Hurricane Katrina. The House and the Senate have passed a nearly $52 billion emergency spending bill. And President Bush did sign it. So, $50 billion would be allocated to FEMA for payments directly to hurricane victims assistance, or assistance with housing or unemployment insurance.

And $1.4 billion goes to the Defense Department for military deployment. And $400 million is for the Army Corps of Engineers for levee, pump, and channel repair. The bill brings the total in disaster aid, so far, to more than $62 billion.

Now to the headlines in this morning's "Mission Critical" update. Vice President Dick Cheney made his first visit to the disaster area. The VP made stops in Gulfport, Mississippi, and New Orleans. Cheney says local police and firefighters did a phenomenal job as first responders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What's happened to New Orleans is a major tragedy and I've heard it described as the most serious or the most deadly natural disaster, certainly, in modern times from the standpoint of the United States.

The positive news, I think, is that we appear to be making progress. If there is a place on the face of the earth that has the resources that are needed to deal with this kind of problem, it's the United States of America. We're going to get it done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Getting it done will not include a tax increase. The vice president says increases won't be necessary to help pay for the recovery and the rebuilding efforts. There should be enough money to pay on all the insurance claims, too, in Louisiana. At least that's what the state's insurance commissioner says. Health insurers have agree to allow patients to seek treatment outside of their normal plans, since so many area hospitals were damaged.

The famous debit card program is being shut down after just one day. The agency says confusion about the program has led them to scrap the cards in favor of direct check and electronic fund transfers. The $2,000 debit cards will still be handed out to about 8,000 evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston.

If you're confused, well, so are we. We'll take you live to Houston later on DAYBREAK.

The water level is dropping by nearly six inches an hour in New Orleans. The 37 working pumps in the city are flushing out more than 82,000 gallons of water every single second.

At least two major hospitals in New Orleans will have to move. Louisiana State University officials and Charity and University Hospitals will reopen eventually, but in different buildings. The old buildings were badly damaged by the hurricane and high water.

And those hospitals probably aren't the only buildings in New Orleans that won't be used again. Thousands of homes throughout the city are damaged beyond repair. CNN Radio's Jim Roope is live in New Orleans this morning.

Good morning, Jim.

JIM ROOPE, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about these forced evacuations. I know they started yesterday afternoon. How did it go?

ROOPE: The rescue crews are getting resistance, not as much as they had first thought they would get. First of all, a lot of people are afraid to leave because -- and I'm sure you've heard this before -- they're afraid they won't be allowed to come back in. These are the homes they've lived in all of their lives; some, two, three generations in these homes. They're afraid they won't be able to get back to those homes, ever, if they leave.

Number two, they just don't know how bad things are. I talked to a lot of the evacuees at the airport, once they were airlifted out, that said, when you tell them that the water is so toxic and they're running water -- if they have running water -- could be contaminated with e. Coli., they just give me that "oh, my gosh" look, and say, I'm glad I left.

Now, they're still working on the 9/11 call sheet that are in some instances seven to 10 days old. So, they still getting the people out who want to go. And then they'll really get in there and start working on the more stubborn people in the next day or so.

COSTELLO: They've been taking people's guns, too. Apparently, a lot of people had armed themselves to protect themselves from looters.

ROOPE: Yes, they have and they are confiscating those weapons. But it is not a criminal confiscation, really. It's more just a safety factor. These people are scared. A lot of them are dehydrated. Some of them haven't had the medications they've needed for a long time. And they're a little disoriented. They're a little groggy in some instances.

We watched as some Army Rangers were negotiating a flooded street, trying to get this boat up, with an elderly man on it, that they just rescued from his home. And when the man did get to dry land, he was a little, he wasn't too sure of where he was exactly. So, if he did have a weapon that could be a dangerous situation.

COSTELLO: Another question for you. I noticed that some people being evacuated forcibly -- well, nicely forcibly, is a better way to put it perhaps,

ROOPE: They're being delicate, yes.

COSTELLO: Yes. Some of them were able to take their dogs, but then on the front page of "The New York Times" and I'm not going to be able to -- because I have the paper all turned inside out. On the front page there was a woman crying because she had to leave her dog behind. Why not just let people take their pets now to get them out of there?

ROOPE: I think a lot of it has to do with the size of the animal, the number of animals. There was one lady who wanted to bring, two dogs, three cats, and a parrot, yesterday, in New Orleans. And they wouldn't let her do that. If the boat's too full, it depends on the rescue guys. It depends on the size of the animals, how many there are. If it's just a little lap dog, many are able to grab those and get -- take them with them.

But there's a whole lot of factors involved. It is not as simple as saying, you can go, you can go, you have to stay, you have to stay. It really is a complicated exercise that they're trying to perform here. And it's very time consuming, it's very slow and tedious. It's incredibly frustrating. And the rescuers are just as anxious to get to these people as the people are for them to get to them.

So, for the rescuers to have to say to these people, you can't bring that dog. It's not easy for them to do. But again, it's a case-by-case situation.

COSTELLO: Yes, I found the picture in "The New York Times" now. And you can see this woman, she's with her dog. And she's literally sobbing, because she has to become separated from her beloved pet.

But she's going to go, many other people will stay. In fact, there is a picture of another man, right here, this man, on the bottom. He has a cat in his home. Can't find the cat because, you know, when strangers come around cats often hide. So he refused to leave. So they're still having a problem with that.

Jim, we're going to get back to you. Jim Roope from CNN Radio, reporting live from New Orleans this morning.

Coming up, the depth of denial in New Orleans. The dangerous swirl of toxic flood waters is stark evidence for one hometown couple of the Big One.

And setting aside the desperation of residents for a moment, we'll focus on the desperate search for beloved pets. And there are Humane Society workers, looking for pets. We're going to have somebody from the Humane Society on live, a little later. But first here's a look at what else is making news this Friday.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: International markets mixed this morning, Tokyo's Nikkei up 158 points, London FTSE up 12.5, the German DAX is down more than 13. And, of course, we're tracking the price of oil for you. And it's still up there. In futures trading, it's just under $65 a barrel this morning.

You're news money, weather and sports, it's 5:17 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Officials overseeing the evacuation of New Orleans say more and more people who had refused to leave are giving up and leaving. As of yet, police are not carrying out forced evacuations, but they say that step is coming soon.

California legislator has approved drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to veto the legislation.

In money new, if you think gas prices have been rising too fast, get ready for another shocker. The Energy Department estimates natural gas prices could rise as much as, get this, 71 percent in some areas. They say blame it on Katrina.

In culture, a note written by novelist Hunter S. Thompson just four days before he committed suicide is being published by "Rolling Stone" magazine. The note is titled, "Football Season is Over".

In sports, tomorrow's men's semifinal match in the U.S. Open is now set. Top seed Roger Federer will face Latten Hewitt after both men won their matches on Thursday. Andre Agassi will be in the other semifinal. He will face Robbie Gennapre (ph).

To the forecast center and Chad.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

MYERS: Carol, stay tuned. In 15 minutes I'm going to give you a web site that will show you thousands and thousands of NOAA area photos. If you in an area, let's say you're evacuated to Atlanta, and you want to be able to see your home. I can actually show you thousands of aerial pictures, where to get them, how to click. And how to find if you're home is still standing and what it looks like. It's an amazing web site, NOAA has done a great job with it. So, stay tuned.

COSTELLO: That's excellent, because we get a lot of e-mails from people wondering about their house. And, of course, they're not allowed to get back into the city, or even into parts of Mississippi.

MYERS: Right, for a while we only had about 100 pictures, really around Bay St. Louis. Now, literally there are thousands from Mobile all the way over to, almost, Lafayette.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll look forward to that. Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: Our coverage on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina continues but as we go to break, from CNN's victim and relief desk, some of the missing and their contact information.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MYERS: We want to know what you think. Do we need a Katrina czar? That's easy for me to say. Do we need a Katrina czar, and if so, who should it be? Rudy Giuliani? Maybe be even, oh, President Clinton? Go to Daybreak@cnn.com.

Let us know who you think. We're getting some interesting answers. Some very qualified people here, Carol?

COSTELLO: A lot of people are saying Colin Powell.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Or even Lt. General Honore.

MYERS: Exactly. He may be the next president, if he keeps this up.

COSTELLO: Yes, he is something.

MYERS: He's the man.

COSTELLO: Many New Orleans natives are vowing to rebuild their lives, their homes and their businesses. But they know it won't be easy. CNN's Dan Lothian introduces us to one couple already starting to pick up the pieces.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): New Orleans is still mostly underwater, and the pain of this disaster is equally deep.

DAVE DELGER, DIVE SHOP OWNER: It's like living in a dream world.

LOTHIAN: Dave and Sunde (ph) Delger have owned this Jefferson Parish dive shop for 14 years, selling equipment, giving lessons and taking customers on exotic trips.

DELGER: My major damage is -- wind and water damage is back here.

LOTHIAN: They never thought Katrina would have hit them so hard, even though the couple had heard repeated warnings of "the big one" since grade school.

DELGER: You know, we grew up with that, but we've always avoided it. We missed it, so to speak. But this one here was the big one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were in denial. We really didn't believe it would happen.

LOTHIAN: Their business is heavily damaged. Their nearby home, nearly destroyed.

DELGER: It looks like a mini war zone in there.

LOTHIAN: They are now living with a relative in a town a few miles away.

DELGER: Let's stretch it out and see what we've got.

LOTHIAN: Even as they make temporary repairs to the roof of their dive shop, the Delgers worry it may be harder to get back their customers than their utilities.

DELGER: People won't have money to go diving. People won't have money to go diving, they're too busy building their homes and their businesses.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long can we hold out without people coming in and shopping with us?

DELGER: This is our income. If this shop doesn't run or doesn't operate, then we have no other income.

LOTHIAN (on camera): In addition to all the hurdles they face in rebuilding, there's another thing. Sunde (ph) was to undergone surgery on a damaged vocal cord in a hospital here in downtown New Orleans. Obviously, the procedure has been postponed indefinitely. And Sunde (ph) has absolutely no idea where her doctor is.

(Voice over): But this couple says it won't be defeated. After all, this town is where they were both born. This is home.

DELGER: We'll rebuild. We'll come back.

LOTHIAN: Dan Lothian, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Family members left behind and now many are desperate to find them, but these are the kind with four legs and fur. The quest to reunite families with their missing pets. That's coming up in our next half hour.

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.

COSTELLO: And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us. Welcome to the second half hour of DAYBREAK. Coming up in the next 30 minutes, he's in charge of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, but did he lie on his resume? We'll look at the questions surrounding Michael Brown's bio, just ahead. But first, "Now in the News": The check is in the mail. President Bush has signed a $51.8 billion emergency spending bill for Hurricane Katrina recovery. With money approved by Congress last week that means more than $62 billion is available for relief efforts.

The Baghdad airport has been shut down. The British company that provides security for the airport has stopped working. Global Strategies Group says it hasn't been paid by Iraq's transportation ministry in seven months.

Two of NASA's facilities on the Gulf Coast were damaged by Katrina. The head of NASA says the agency will have to determine if the shuttle's external fuel tanks at one of the facilities are OK for the next scheduled launch in March.

To the forecast center and Chad, good morning.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

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