Wilma Aftermath; 9th Ward Tour
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Florida Governor Jeb Bush says there are plenty of supplies at the more than 75 distribution centers in the state. But people are still lining up for food, water, ice and gasoline. President Bush joined his brother in Florida. The president toured some of the damage left behind by the hurricane. He also met with volunteers who are helping to hand out relief supplies.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Things don't happen instantly, but things are happening. Right here on this side people are getting fed. Soon, more and more houses will have their electricity back in, and life will get back to normal. In the meantime, the federal government working with the state and local governments are responding as best as we possibly can.</s>COSTELLO: Millions of homes in south Florida still don't have electricity. Excuse me. Florida officials say people near Miami and Fort Lauderdale may not have power for another month. Well, here's a twist of irony for you. The stadium that's home to college football's Miami Hurricanes is now being used for hurricane relief. CNN's J.J. Ramberg in Miami. Good morning,</s>J.J. J.J. RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, I'm at the Orange Bowl here. And this stadium actually will be hosting a football game on Saturday. But today, the main function here is still distribution of ice and water. Now, trucks have already started coming in this morning, even though it doesn't open until 12:00 today. We saw a couple of people come by asking to see when it's going to be open. But there aren't long lines like there were yesterday. Yesterday, things finally got organized. There were long lines, but they did move very quickly. There were adequate supplies. And so, some of those tempers that had really flared up earlier in the week when there was so much confusion about, (a), where to go, and, (b), when stuff was going to get here, because in so many cases the supplies were either late or didn't come at all. Those tempers really cooled down by yesterday, even by Wednesday in some cases. So, today they expect a lot of people to come through here. But, again, they expect it to be very organized. They expect to have adequate supplies. Now, the real problem here, the place where people are still incredibly frustrated, is when they're going to get gas. The lines there are so long. I spoke to people yesterday who waited in line anywhere from an hour to four hours just to get gas. And the problem is not necessarily the supply. There's enough gas here. The problem is that there's not enough power to get that gas into the cars. They can't pump it. So right now, the electricity has been restored to more than 40 percent. There are still about 1.7 million customers who don't have power. And as power comes on, all of these issues will go away, because people won't need to come here to get ice, because their refrigerators and freezers will be working again. And gas won't be a problem, because they will be able to pump that out. So, the real issue here in Miami and throughout the southern part of Florida right now is still power -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: J.J. Ramberg reporting live from Miami this morning. The Red Cross is borrowing money for its disaster relief fund. Agency officials say they need $340 million to cover costs wiped out by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. They say of the $2 billion needed for the Gulf Coast relief effort, they received 1.3 billion. And all of that money has already been spent. This comes as Congress and some relief agencies have started questioning the Red Cross' response to Katrina. It's the first time in the charity's 124-year history that it has sought a loan for disaster relief. The State Department is helping to bring home Americans stranded in Mexico by Hurricane Wilma. Officials say they brought home more than 8,000 tourists this week. But several thousand more Americans are still stuck in Cancun. State Department officers are visiting shelters and hotels to make sure Americans have the food, supplies and medicine they need. And they are trying to arrange flights home for them. American aid may soon be sent to Cuba. Parts of that country were badly damaged by high winds and severe storm surges brought on by Wilma. It's a big change for the communist country since leader Fidel Castro has refused disaster aid in the past. A three-man disaster assessment team will be sent in to determine how to best help Cuba. Castro went on television to tell citizens that he had not asked for assistance, but believes that countries should help each other during disasters. Prison officials in Louisiana fortunately intercepted checks sent by FEMA to two inmates. That makes 52 people charged so far with Katrina-related federal crimes. More than half the charges involved fraud to obtain the $2,000 payments in disaster relief funds. The two inmates claimed they had homes in New Orleans, but asked FEMA to send the checks to the prison. And FEMA caught them. In this DAYBREAK follow-up story, nothing to go back to. A look- and-leave bus tour of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward provides flooded-out residents just a glimpse of what used to be. Daniel Sieberg rode along.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is for you. It's your opportunity to at least see your area.</s>DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Pat Simon and her mother, this is not the homecoming they had in mind. They're among the dozens of lower 9th Ward residents who will soon see their devastated homes, some for the first time.</s>PAT SIMON, LOWER 9TH WARD RESIDENT: I don't like this. I didn't want to -- I am only here because of my mama. And I know her house is gone. It was over there where the breach was at and everything. So I'm only here because of her.</s>SIEBERG: As the bus drives up and down streets destroyed by flooding, we also meet Bishop George Albert and his wife, Vernette (ph).</s>GEORGE ALBERT, JR., LOWER 9TH WARD RESIDENT: Yes, man. Well, I'm over here now, and I'm telling you, man, it's like nothing we've never seen before, man.</s>SIEBERG: Home after home, unrecognizable. At times, no one says anything.</s>ALBERT: We've weathered many storms here in New Orleans, and as always, we packed a few clothes to go and come right back. There's nothing to come back to.</s>SIEBERG (on camera): For a few minutes, people were allowed to get off the bus, but just to see an example of what the houses look like here in the Lower 9th Ward. (voice-over): Under the ground rules for this trip, people aren't allowed to get out and inspect their homes. They aren't happy about that restriction, but officials say it's necessary, because the houses are not structurally sound, and because bodies are still being recovered.</s>SIMON: Wait, wait, wait. Just one minute. This is my house. This is my house.</s>SIEBERG: Pat strains to make out a few belongings, and reminders of what was once normal life.</s>SIMON: I got mail in the box.</s>SIEBERG: She's determined to get whatever remains in her home.</s>SIMON: And I think about it all the time. There is something. I think of what some of my things are made of, the material that it's made of. It survived. And I want to go in there to retrieve it. I wouldn't care if I come out with one item, I want it. It's mine.</s>SIEBERG: But George manages to persuade the driver to briefly pull over at his home.</s>ALBERT: It's hard, man. I mean, you know, we invested a lot in our home. Our memories are here. Raised our children here. My wife and I built this home, and to see it devastated like this is just heartbreaking.</s>SIEBERG: As the tour wind down, George still believes he'll come back.</s>ALBERT: And as you know the song says, only the strong survive. And we will survive. Daniel Sieberg, CNN, New Orleans.</s>COSTELLO: More on our top story this morning. The White House waits for possible indictments in the CIA leak investigation. Miles O'Brien joins us now for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING." Good morning.</s>MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol Costello. How are you? It's Friday. We're pleased to report that. And it's a very important day in Washington. Could it be indictment day in Washington? Could a top administration official receive an indictment? And is it possible -- there's Scooter Libby, the White House -- excuse me -- the vice president's chief of staff. Is it possible there will be an extension to all of this; that the grand jury will continue on, continue its focus, and this story will just go on and on and on? What do you think about that -- them apples? That would be something. And Ann Coulter. We'll ask her about that. Senator Orrin Hatch will also be here. Senator Pat Leahy will talk about Harriet Miers suddenly being withdrawn on her nomination. What's next for the White House? What does this mean when the right wing of the president's own party has toppled his nominee? And finally, Carol, the big question I have in my mind is: What's that smell in the air here in New York?</s>COSTELLO: I'm telling you...</s>M. O'BRIEN: Yes.</s>COSTELLO: ... is it the weirdest thing?</s>M. O'BRIEN: I don't know. I wonder if there is -- you know, Mrs. Butterworth has come to haunt us all.</s>COSTELLO: Well, let's explain to our viewers.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.</s>COSTELLO: Early this morning, outside it smelled like maple syrup in all of Manhattan, or hazel nut coffee.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Yes, yes. I mean, it's a good smell. It's a good smell. But in this post-9/11 world, of course, immediately we think what bad thing smells like maple syrup. But maybe it's just maple syrup.</s>COSTELLO: Yes, somebody spilled really a lot of maple syrup maybe in the Hudson River, and it's like...</s>M. O'BRIEN: It means we're all a pancake.</s>COSTELLO: Yes. Anyway, we're going to explore that issue. And they've investigated the smell, and it's safe. It's just weird.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes, we're going to get to the bottom of it one way or another.</s>COSTELLO: OK.</s>M. O'BRIEN: And one thing is certain. I'm hungry just talking about it.</s>COSTELLO: I know. I'm going to drink some hazel nut coffee now.</s>M. O'BRIEN: OK.</s>COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK...</s>M. O'BRIEN: All right, we'll see...</s>COSTELLO: Bye, Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: OK.</s>COSTELLO: The connection between the Chicago White Sox and Venezuela, why it is inspiring the country's love affair with the windy city. Venezuela is even offering some Chicagoans cheaper gas. But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday.