Katrina Cleanup: So Little Progress
COOPER: More than five months after Katrina, so many questions, so little progress by any number of measures. We're talking about the Gulf Coast recovery, of course. We promised back in September to keep those in charge honest. And today in Washington there was more testimony about what went wrong and who's to blame. CNN's Jeanne Meserve tonight, "Keeping them Honest."</s>JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their states still staggering from Katrina's blow. Two governors appeared before a Senate committee Thursday to answer questions and make a plea.</s>GOVERNOR KATHLEEN BLANCO (D), LOUISIANA: Please, be our lasting partner. That's what we need from you. Stand by us as we rebuild.</s>MESERVE: The White House made a bow in that direction, saying Thursday it will request another $18 billion from Congress. That would bring the total appropriated to $103 billion. Leaders of the Senate investigation into Katrina revisited the region two weeks ago.</s>SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: I think we were both stunned by the continuing devastation that exists.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very difficult to figure out where the money has gone.</s>MESERVE: $40 billion has already been spent on the recovery, including $3.8 billion on trailers and $6.2 billion on other housing assistance. $14 billion on flood insurance claims. $349 million to rehabilitate schools and $50 million to fix federal highways and bridges. But a new report from the Brookings Institution says there is little tangible evidence of recovery. A growing number of mortgages are not being paid back. In fact, in Louisiana, one out of every four loans is now at least a month past due. The state lost 100,000 members of its labor force between November and December, and essential services remain overwhelmed. Waits at emergency rooms can run six hours. Some are estimating that the recovery will ultimately cost $200 billion. But the impact of Katrina is not just measured in dollars and cents, it is measured in lives. And Thursday, two of more than 100 still unidentified victims of the storm were put in their graves. Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.</s>COOPER: Well, coming up, Waveland's woes. An update on how the Mississippi town is doing after Katrina. Another "Keeping them Honest," report. But first, Erica Hill, from "HEADLINE NEWS," joins us with some of the other stories we're following right now -- Erica.</s>ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Anderson. In West Virginia today, as part of a safety timeout called for by the governor after the death of two more miners yesterday, thousands or miners started their shifts with a safety lecture. And officials began a round of accelerated inspections at mines across the state. Sixteen West Virginia miners have been killed in just the past month, making this the deadliest year for the state's miners in a decade. In Florida, a grand jury has indicted three teenagers on charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder in the baseball beatings of three homeless men. One of the beatings was caught on tape by a surveillance camera. All three teens will be tried as adults. A close call in Alaska. A 600-foot tanker carrying 100,000 barrels of oil and fuel ran aground southwest of Anchorage. One of the ship's officers, though, said the hull does appear to be intact. The vessel broke free from the dock where it was loading. It's unclear right now why that happened. And America's truckers are super steamed over a Super Bowl ad, which is scheduled to run on Sunday. The ad shows a large truck carrying Coca Cola's full throttle energy drink forcing a small passenger car off the road. The American Trucking Association said that ad reinforces a negative image of truckers and it's urging Coca Cola to either pull it or change it. So watch closely on Sunday -- Anderson.</s>COOPER: I thought we were going to see the ad?</s>HILL: I thought we were too, but was that the lovely (unintelligible) of the headquarters? You know.</s>COOPER: All right. We now know what the Coca Cola headquarters looks like.</s>HILL: Right down the street from where I am.</s>COOPER: Erica, thanks very much. More than five months after Katrina and two days after the president's State of the Union Address, in Waveland, Mississippi, why is everything taking so long and why does it all still look the same? Tonight, "Keeping them Honest." Plus, a murder mystery that stretches across two continents. His wife and infant daughter are dead. Now he is a person of interest. A lot of people want to know why did he leave the country and why didn't he come home for this woman and this baby's funeral? Across America and around the world, you're watching 360.