Hurricane Rita Category 5; Where's the Money?; Road to Recovery
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: And to our top story on this Thursday, tracking Hurricane Rita. Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider at the Forecast Center this morning for Chad Myers. Bonnie, I think most of us can't even believe or comprehend how massive this storm really is.</s>BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Kelly, you're right. I mean, just looking at it, it's already taking much of the eastern Gulf of Mexico. It's 300 miles wide, 300 miles. That is a large distance. And we're expecting this storm to grow even larger as it moves over some of this very warm water in the Gulf of Mexico. And as we take a look at some of the latest advisories that we have posted, you will see there's a hurricane watch that has been extended. This watch has been extended all the way up to Intracoastal City, Louisiana. The tropical storm warning now for Morgan City, Louisiana to the mouth of the Mississippi River. Now if you've been watching since last night, you know that this is a change. We are seeing this hurricane watch extended further north because of the size of Rita. Now Rita is intense. It's a Category 5 with maximum winds at 175 miles per hour. One of the reasons this storm is so strong is it's passing over what's known as The Loop Current. The Loop Current pulls up very warm, deep water from the Caribbean Sea into the Gulf of Mexico and it creates pockets of areas where you have warm pools of very warm, deep water. So, really, depending on how long this storm will work its way over The Loop Current really will help to determine how long it will be a Category 5. We are expecting the storm to stay as a Category 5 through tonight and eventually tomorrow even. But luckily we are also expecting this storm to work its way further towards some cooler water, eventually, as it gets closer to the Texas coast, and it will probably come in as a Category 4. Just want to mention we had some severe weather overnight and into the early hours of yesterday into Minneapolis. There were some reports of tornadoes spotted, but luckily things have calmed down now. We're just getting some light rain. So just want to keep folks up to date on that. So, in the meantime for Hurricane Rita, the main thing to note is that we're expecting a landfall some time late on Friday, into early Saturday morning, somewhere along the Texas coast. And that watch area really had shifted. In fact, it's a little bit further to the north. We're looking at landfall somewhere in the Galveston area.</s>WALLACE: All right, Bonnie, folks definitely all along the Texas coast and parts of Louisiana watching your reports and others very, very closely. Bonnie, we'll check back in with you in about 15 minutes or so. Thanks so much. Well, while New Orleans is not in the direct path of this storm, many people there remain cautious after the pounding they took from Katrina. The concern centers around the levees, those levees damaged by Katrina. Carol Costello has left the DAYBREAK anchor desk for New Orleans where she's covering Rita's approach. Good morning, Carol, great to talk to you again. So how confident are folks there on the ground that these levees will hold up if there's any rain or any problems coming? Are there any problems coming from Rita?</s>CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Confident, that's a funny word, because they're as confident as they can be. They're doing all they can, but the levees are in such a weakened state that there's only so much you can do. I'm on my way to the 17th Street Canal where the biggest breach in the levee is. Apparently it's raining out that way. I'm still in the French Quarter right now and it's not rain, there's just a light breeze. But you know rain won't so much affect the levees as the wind will. So if you get a lot of rain, you will get flooding. As little of three inches of rain will flood parts of the city again and dump maybe four feet of water in. Now I talked to the pumping guy yesterday, Joe Sullivan, and he said you know we can get that out, it'll just take us a while. But the big thing is is if it rains and there's wind and those levees are breached, there's really not much they can do. That will cause a catastrophe.</s>WALLACE: You know, Carol, also, it's interesting, because federal officials talking to reporters in Baton Rouge yesterday were saying that they are confident or they believe that Hurricane Rita will not result in flooding in New Orleans. They believe that maybe you'll get two to four inches of rain but that you know the levees will be able to hold up and deal with that. Is that -- is there some difference of opinion there?</s>COSTELLO: Well, according to the Army Corps of Engineers and the man who runs all the pumping stations for the city of New Orleans, they're really worried about rain, and a lot of rain. In fact, the mayor said a few days ago that three to six inches of rain could flood parts of the city. You know I just don't think people really know for sure how it's going to affect the city of New Orleans, because the levees have never been in this weakened state with a major storm even coming near the coast of Louisiana. I mean, right now, the good news is is right now the National Guard has come up with redeployment plans. In fact, some troops are headed to Baton Rouge, some troops are scattering throughout different parts of the city so that they can be ready for whatever happens. Because you don't want all your resources in one place in case the city does flood again, because then you're sort of like trapped where you are and you can't get out to help people.</s>WALLACE: And, Carol, we talked to you yesterday, of course. You were at the convention center, which is a staging area for people who might be in New Orleans and need to evacuate. Have people been coming to the convention center to get out of town?</s>COSTELLO: No. No, we only saw three people yesterday. You know most of the people are out of the city. And even the workers that have come in here to repair the electrical lines and such, they're staying until the very last minute, because they want to use this bit of good weather to repair what they can. And you know many don't realize that if the wind and the rain comes that it may knock things down, but most people are staying. Let's see, I talked to the National Guard yesterday, the 41st Brigade based out of Oregon, and they told me that 126 residents that they knew stayed through Katrina did leave, but not through the evacuation center in the city of New Orleans. They just took their car and left. There really in their area, which is east of the river, they're keeping an eye on 43 people. They have contacted each and every one. And after Rita passes, they will go check on those people. So people did get out of the city, but certainly not in droves, simply because there aren't many people here in the first place.</s>WALLACE: All right, Carol, we will check in with you in the next hour of DAYBREAK. Thanks so much. Carol Costello reporting for us live there from New Orleans. Pressure definitely growing on Congress to figure out how to pay for Hurricane Katrina's recovery, and then possibly to deal of course with Hurricane Rita. One way might be getting members of Congress to give up their pet spending projects, those projects inserted into the multibillion-dollar Highway Bill. Congressional correspondent Joe Johns has been trying to pry some answers out of lawmakers.</s>JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Republicans say the best way to pay for Katrina, not to mention Rita, is to squeeze the budget but not raise taxes or undue tax cuts.</s>REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), HOUSE SPEAKER: Everything is on the table. We'll take a look at it.</s>JOHNS: But what does that mean? We spent the day trying to figure it out. This morning, die-hard conservatives offered a stack of suggested cuts.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amtrak.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The foreign operations budget.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prescription drug benefits.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cutting</s>NASA. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The earned income tax credit.</s>JOHNS: The list isn't exactly new. (on camera): How are you all going to get this done? I mean, it would take tremendous political will and pressure, and a lot of people have recommended these things for years.</s>REP. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: Well, I think the only thing that moves us is the voters.</s>JOHNS (voice-over): But the next election is a year away. The Treasury is already borrowing money hand over fist to pay for Katrina, over $60 billion and counting. And the Pentagon alone is on track to spend over $50 billion this year for the Iraq War. One idea, revisit the just approved $286 billion Highway Bill stuffed with $24 billion in special projects. Those projects some critics call pork.</s>JOHNS (on camera): Mr. Chairman, back again. How are you doing? (voice-over): Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young of Alaska got the bill through Congress. Like most lawmaker, Young funneled money to his home state, including $223 million for a remote bridge. Critics call it a "Bridge to Nowhere." (on camera): And one of the members I spoke to said, Chairman Young needs to give up his bridge.</s>REP. DON YOUNG (R-AK), TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: You know, it's sad when people do things when they don't know what they're talking about. As far as my bridge goes, the state's not about to give that money up. I have no authority to do that, nor does any other member.</s>JOHNS: Isn't there a bunch of stuff in that Highway Bill, at least $24 billion, that could be taken out and used for the people in New Orleans, in Mississippi and the places that were effected?</s>YOUNG: No, that money is not there. That money is for transportation. That is not added pork. See, that's the why the whole media, "The Wall Street Journal," yourself, respectfully, you know, and Sam Donaldson don't know what the hell you're talking about. This is grandstanding by individuals that don't know what they're talking about. I'll go back to that, it's ignorance and stupidity.</s>JOHNS: Mr. Tancredo. Right here. (voice-over): Republican Tom Tancredo of Colorado insists that nothing is sacred. (on camera): You're calling on Don Young to give up his bridge in Alaska.</s>REP. TOM TANCREDO (R), COLORADO: Me? Hey, listen, I don't even know about this bridge in Alaska. So I've been hearing about it ever since this whole slap -- I mean, this whole flap began. But why not?</s>JOHNS: Give up Medicare, the president's sacred cow?</s>TANCREDO: No. I know. Stranger things have happened in politics. I can't think of any right now, but it's possible.</s>JOHNS (voice-over): Stranger things have indeed happened. But up here, they don't happen that often. Joe Johns, CNN, Capitol Hill.</s>WALLACE: Joe Johns roaming Capitol Hill, trying, trying to get some answers. Well coming up here on DAYBREAK, just a little rain in New Orleans could mean disaster. Up next, the tenuous situation in a city in danger of being brushed by Rita. Stay tuned for that. Also, more than a hundred years ago, Galveston was devastated by a huge storm that killed 8,000 people. Now there are fears of another monster on the way. All of that coming up. But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.