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CNN LIVE SUNDAY
Dubai Ports World Deal; The Fight for Iraq; Life Under a Curfew; Mardi Gras in New Orleans; Justice for All?; Remembering Don Knotts
Aired February 26, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN HOST: Compromise or just a smoke screen. The Arab company that would manage six major ports in the United States requests a 45-day security review of the deal. And we have fresh reaction from the White House and Congress.
Also, deserted streets and more violence. Daily life in Baghdad under a curfew fearing attacks. Our report coming up.
And on a much lighter note, ciao Torino Olympics. The winter games of 2006 are over. We're going to take a closer look at the ups and downs of two weeks in the snow and the ice.
It's February 26th and you're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY. I'm Carol Lin. And these are the stories making news right now.
Seeking support: an Arab company requests a comprehensive review of its deal to manage key U.S. ports. How are opponents reacting? We have fresh news on this story and a live report from Washington.
And Sunday church services end in gunfire in Detroit. A man shot three people, one fatally, at the Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church today. The shooting apparently stemmed from a domestic dispute. The gunman is still on the loose.
Flames erupt at a natural gas pumping station near Denver, Colorado. Look at those pictures. One worker suffered burns to his hands and his face and his chest. The cause of that fire is not known yet. And people who live within a mile of the fire were evacuated.
All right, big news here. Not ricin. The FBI says final tests on a suspicious powder found at the University of Texas at Austin turned up negative for the powerful toxin. The powder was discovered Thursday in a roll of quarters.
All right, a mixed picture on gasoline prices. The Lundberg Survey finds gas prices have dipped about six cents over the past two weeks. But, you know what? That trend is probably not going to continue in the coming weeks.
To our top story right now. Yet, more developments in whether an Arab company should control port security in the U.S. A Dubai company, at the center of the controversy is now asking to be investigated to prove they are secure. And it is generating a lot of reaction from opponents to the deal. Our Allan Chernoff will have a live report in just a moment, but first, a look at what the possible compromise entails and how it came about.
CNN White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano has more on that.
Elaine, a lot has happened this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Republican Senator John Warner announced a compromise on the controversial Dubai Ports World deal, an agreement designed to head up a possible confrontation between the White House and Capitol Hill.
SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: This is a copy of the agreement which is now being delivered to the administration and to members of Congress. And it really spells out unequivocally the willingness of this country to this company to give every means of support to help work this thing out.
QUIJANO: As CNN first reported Saturday, the compromise means Dubai Ports World is taking the unusual step of asking the government's Committee on Foreign Investment to take another look, a 45-day review of its bid to acquire British owned P&O, which operates terminals at six U.S. ports.
"We are confident the further review by CFIUS will confirm that DP World's acquisition of P&O's U.S. operations does not pose any threat to America's safety and security. We hope that voluntarily agreeing to further scrutiny demonstrates our commitment to our long- standing relationship with the United States."
Spearheaded by Senators John Warner and Bill Frist, who negotiated through the weekend, the agreement aims to satisfy some lawmakers' demands for a 45-day investigation, while also saving face for a White House that had threatened to veto any legislation to block the deal.
As late as Friday, Bush aides were insisting the Dubai Ports transaction had been thoroughly vetted, and that more review was not needed. But just before the deal was announced, a different tone.
STEPHEN HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: What the Congress and the companies are able to work out, we will obviously support and cooperate with so long as it does not involve a summary decision by the Congress that blocks this transaction. We're confident by this process Congress will come to the same conclusion the president did.
QUIJANO: Both Democrats and Republicans had voiced concerns about the deal involving the United Arab Emirates company, noting among other things, the UAE was home to two of the 9/11 hijackers. The White House insists the UAE has since become a strong ally in the War on Terror.
For now, one of the deal's most vocal Republican critics is reserving judgment on the compromise.
REP. PETER KING (R), HOMELAND SECURITY CHAIRMAN: Obviously, I want to see the details of the deal. If it does provide for a full 45-day investigation as it appears to, then I don't see the need to introduce legislation now.
QUIJANO: But others, including Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, plan to press on with legislation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Our thanks to White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano.
Joining us now for more reaction is CNN's Allan Chernoff. He's in New York, where a lot of the opposition has been coming from - Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And indeed, Carol, it continues to come. Of course, the White House had been hoping that this latest proposal might diffuse this controversy, but it is absolutely not doing that. In fact, for the Democrats, this is political dynamite. And tonight they are continuing to be on the attack.
Senator Schumer here and Senator Clinton, leading the offensive. And Senator Clinton this afternoon, saying that the proposal really should have come from the White House, not from the Dubai-based company.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: It raises serious concerns about who's minding the store in Washington and what kind of leadership we need and deserve when it comes to homeland security. Port security has been one of the most difficult of all of our challenges since 9/11.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: Senator Charles Schumer is arguing that if this report were to go directly to the White House, it would quote, "enter a black hole." So he wants the report, this 45-day review, to be public. In fact, tomorrow he says he is planning to introduce a bill in Congress, along with the Democratic Senators from New York and New Jersey, as well as some Republicans. So he's planning to introduce a bill in the Senate that first of all, would put a hold on this entire deal, would require a 45-day review, and then would have that review go to the Senate and to the House for review. And finally, would also give Congress the right to actually reject the deal. Senator Schumer says that it has bipartisan support, the bill does. And he says it in fact will pass by a veto-proof majority.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: We are seeking to fulfill our constitutional role. And because the committee did a very, very poor job, a cursory job, a casual job, we don't think that leaving it simply within the executive branch is good enough. And I think most Americans would agree with that. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: The Senators say they most certainly do care very much about good relations with moderate Middle Eastern nations, but nothing is more important, they say, than homeland security - Carol.
LIN: Allan, you've got elections coming up, you know, two Democrats standing there, criticizing the administration. For those who are cynical, what makes this not a power play by the Democrats?
CHERNOFF: Well, I certainly asked Senator Schumer about that, and he denied that it was in fact a power play. But, of course, as you know, the president himself, actually does have the right to approve or disapprove these sorts of deals. So certainly, the Congress here would be asking for additional power, would be trying to vote itself additional power here. But Senator Schumer arguing this is their constitutional duty, the duty of Congress to actually watch over this sort of deal. The Democrats implying that the White House simply has been asleep at the wheel here.
LIN: Allan, thank you.
We want everybody to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Also, we want to bring you up to date on the events in Iraq. The curfew there is going to end at 10:00 o'clock Eastern tonight. And there is a plea for peace from an influential religious leader. Today, Radical Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on all Muslims to unite. This comes after four straight days of sectarian violence, triggered by the bombing of a Shiite shrine.
A rocket landed in a Baghdad neighborhood, killing four people. A mortar attack in another Baghdad residential area left 15 people dead. In the town of Hilla, a bombing at a bus station wounded at least five people. And religious sites continue to be targeted. In Basra, for example, a Shiite shrine was bombed. And three Sunni mosques in Baghdad were attacked.
Now, in just a few hours, Baghdad's streets will be bustling once again. A curfew that was imposed three days ago to help stem the violence, is due to end. But obviously, that curfew did not work.
So, what is it like living in a city under lockdown? CNN's Arwa Damon put that question to some average Iraqis, and got some surprising answers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's day three of the curfew in Baghdad, but it's not always what you might expect.
Kids are running wild, happy that school has been canceled. The curfew doesn't bother Ishan Solahay (ph). She rarely goes out these days. ISHAN SOLAHAY (ph), UNDER CURFEW: Because the roads are so blocked all the time. I just stay at home and watch the TV. What shall I do? What can they do, the Iraqi government? They haven't done anything 'til now. We are going to the back woods.
DAMON: Asooni (ph), she shops at Ali Awan's (ph), a Shia neighborhood store. The 24-year-old who runs this family's store, says he's still single because...
ALI AWAN (ph), RUNS NEIGHBORHOOD STORE (trough translator): The situation is bad.
DAMON: Since the curfew, Ali (ph) has upped the prices of everything in the shop by 500 Iraqi dinars -- about 30 cents, almost doubling the cost of some produce. As for his future, he's leaving it up to God, a sentiment echoed by most of his customers.
(On camera): The country is experiencing some of the worst sectarian tension since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. But in this Baghdad neighborhood, spirits are high -- even if it's only on the outside.
(Voice-over): Ali Hassan's (ph) father has to get out of the house. Looking for diversion from the grim news on TV and in the papers. His 3-year-old son, Hassan, is too young to understand what's happening. And his father wants to keep it that way.
ALI HASSAN (PH), UNDER CURFEW (through translator): He says, Dad, aren't you going to work? So my response was, it's a vacation, what could I say?
DAMON: You have to lie to the child, but lies for a long time cause problems -- problems these kids aren't worried about today. They're too busy being kids.
Here in this neighborhood, life under curfew is bringing a welcome break from their daily worries.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: But a half a world away, take a look at this scene. A very different picture in New Orleans. Big parades and bright smiles and plenty of sweets. How the Mardi Gras celebrations are giving people a break from their tough daily lives. You are going to get to go their live.
And New Orleans may have to release some prisoners soon. The reason? A shortage of public defenders. I'm going to talk about that issue with a judge.
Also, how Super Model Cindy Crawford fits in the picture at the Winter Olympics in Torino.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LIN: It's been a scarce commodity in New Orleans the past six months, but this weekend, well, we've been seeing a lot of it -- joy. Mardi Gras parades and tasty traditions are putting smiles on the number of faces out there. And it's certainly a welcome site. Our Susan Roesgen is live in New Orleans, taking it all in.
Susan, how's it going out there?
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Bacchus, one of the big parades, one of the giant parading carnival clubs in New Orleans that people wait for. They have lined the avenue here. About 10 people on both sides. The theme of this year's Bacchus Parade is the Wizard of Oz. So you've got the Emerald City behind us. You can see the witch up there. Now, this is really a giant carnival club, not just in terms of membership -- more than 1,200 members -- but also in terms of a lot of the floats. In fact, it was because of this super carnival parading club that the parades no longer go in the French Quarter. They had to only stay out on St. Charles Avenue because they are too wide for the narrow streets of the French Quarter.
So this is the big parade now. We're going to watch this parade and then a little bit later, we'll have Endymion, which s the biggest carnival crew in history, with more than 2,000 riders -- Carol.
LIN: Susan, some of the floats have been making fun of government officials and FEMA.
ROESGEN: Yes. They have. And also, just spoofing what we've been through. But this one is a more traditional theme, the Wizard of Oz, to appeal to all the children, all the families that are out here. So, Carol, I'm going to say throw me something, mister! Hey! Happy Mardi Gras -- Carol.
LIN: Happy Mardi Gras, Susan. Thanks for bringing us that great float.
All right, CNN's going to have complete coverage of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. So, tune in Monday, beginning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern for "AMERICAN MORNING," and then in prime time, for "ANDERSON COOPER" at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
All right, here's a laundry list -- lumber, houses, supplies. Everywhere you look, there are shortages in New Orleans. And perhaps among the most critical, a shortage of public defenders.
The city had 39 before the storm. Now? About half a dozen. Some prisoners jailed before Katrina hit have already been released. An estimated 4,000 others could soon follow them.
Judge Calvin Johnson is the chief judge of Orleans Parish Criminal Court.
Judge Johnson, when we talk about criminals being released, are you talking about murderers, rapists, child predators?
CALVIN JOHNSON, CHIEF JUDGE, ORLEANS PARISH CRIMINAL COURT: We are talking about those individuals who are in jail. And the individuals who are in jail run the gamete, from the individuals charged with the most minor of offense to individuals charged with first-degree murder.
LIN: Why is it -- OK, a felony, they can be held for 60 days, right? And for 45 days for a misdemeanor. Why in that amount of time, can they not get due process?
JOHNSON: Well, that period it dictates the length of time the D.A. has to accept or refuse a charge. Once the charges are accepted, then the process, the actual process start. From preliminary matters, motion hearings and the like, until in fact a trial occurs. We're right now in a holding pattern because in fact we don't have the lawyers necessary to go through that process.
LIN: Well, I was talking with the counsel president of St. Bernard Parish yesterday. They're talking about getting billions of dollars for the cleanup. Why is it they can money for the cleanup, but not get money to pay public defenders?
JOHNSON: It's a difficult piece. It's easy in terms of this disaster to focus on those aspects of it. The cleanup aspects of it, recovering our neighborhoods and our communities. But it's difficult to focus on the criminal justice system and how it too has been devastated.
LIN: So, what is your prediction? Thousands of criminals hit the streets without trial? What's going to happen?
JOHNSON: Well, if in fact we can't give individuals due process of law, if we can't give individuals their day in court next to a lawyer, competent and capable to represent them and who can afford them the effective assistance of counsel, then of course, we can't keep them in jail. We are a third world, but we're not Guantanamo.
LIN: So, a murderer could go on to kill again?
JOHNSON: Well, you assume, of course, that they're -- that the individual accused of murder killed the first time.
LIN: Well, they're in there for a reason. I mean, they're not there to just have lunch.
JOHNSON: Well, but under our system, we first determine guilt before we execute.
LIN: Yes.
JOHNSON: And so we assume, of course -- not only assume, but we operate from the premise that an individual accused is in fact innocent until proven guilty.
LIN: So what is the solution because you got to tell victims, families, something.
JOHNSON: Well, you know something, we're just like the houses and everything else -- devastated. The levees broke and our criminal justice system was devastated. Our building is uninhabitable. Our public defenders are scattered. We have to have some way of solving our problem and that way must be monetary. We have to have money. The individuals who caused this problem -- that is, the individuals who were supposed to fix the levees, caused this problem too. So those individuals, that entity must solve the problem.
LIN: And you have kind of an oxymoron going on because public defenders are paid for with traffic tickets. And if you don't have any traffic, you don't have any tickets.
JOHNSON: Absolutely.
LIN: You don't have the money.
JOHNSON: Absolutely. And that was a -- not necessary the best way of going about financing a system pre-Katrina. Now it's impossible post-Katrina.
LIN: I got you. Judge, a big problem there. Judge Calvin Johnson, thank you.
JOHNSON: Thank you.
LIN: All right, better news out of the Olympics. Who won the most gold? And who's the biggest loser of the Torino winter games? Well, we've got it all for you. The Olympic spirits is coming our way. See it in a final report.
And struck by Katrina and then by another tragedy. He's still a source of strength for others, so you are going to hear the unbelievable story of a man who lost everything and is still able to give so much.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Anderson Cooper, coming to from Bourbon Street, where Mardi Gras celebrations are well under way. There is plenty of beer, plenty of beads. I just caught these beads. They were thrown to me by someone down on the street.
On Monday, on "360," we're going to be coming to you here from Bourbon Street, showing you not only all the Mardi Gras celebrations, but we're going to be taking a look back at the last six months to see how far New Orleans has come and how far this city still has to go.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: The 2006 Winter Olympics are history. The closing ceremonies ended a short time ago. And Germany was the top medal winner, with 29. But the U.S. won 25. Canada won 24. CNN's Larry Smith covered the games from start to finish, and he has more on Torino's final day in the sports spotlight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The 20th winter games have come to a close. The athletes who attended tonight's closing ceremony in a spirit of carnival. That was the theme in tribute to Fat Tuesday, which is just two days away.
The final medals were also awarded. Sweden, taking gold in men's hockey, a 3-2 winner over Finland, which suffered its first loss in these games and settles for silver.
As the U.S. celebrates it's second biggest medal total ever, a proud Italy extinguishes the Olympic torch and passes the flag on to Canada. Vancouver will host the winter games in 2010.
Larry Smith, Torino.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And Stefan Simons, our German producer of the show, would like to remind people that Germany won with 29 medals.
All right. Yesterday we covered this story of the death of Veteran Actor Don Knotts. Because he was such a -- we all grew up with him. You know, he was best known as the bumbling deputy Barney Fife on the "Andy Griffith Show." He died at a Los Angeles hospital Friday night at the age of 81. Andy Griffith was standing at his bedside. They were so close. Knotts and Griffith were longtime friends.
And they talked with CNN's Larry King back in November of 2003. It is a story you will only see on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Did you have a favorite, Don?
DON KNOTTS, ACTOR, "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW": I had a number of favorites, but I -- there was one show called "Aunt Bea's Pickle" that I especially liked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW")
KNOTTS: There's no mistake about it. That's a pickle.
ANDY GRIFFITH, ACTOR, "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW": Yes, boy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KNOTTS: We had to eat too many pickles over the week.
GRIFFITH: The pickle story, yes. And I came in like a fool that morning, and I said, well, we're in trouble with this one. And it was the pickle story, and we all laughed all the way through it. And I apologized. And after that, I kept my mouth shut before we read a script.
KING: Why, Don, did you leave the show?
KNOTTS: Oh!
KING: He cried. KNOTTS: Well, the reason was that we were in our fifth season. And Andy had said that he would not go beyond five seasons. So I started looking around for a job during the fifth season, and I landed a contract at Universal, a picture contract.
And then Andy turned around and decided to stay on the air. Earlier, I had asked Andy if we could team up for good, but he was too good an actor to want to do that. And he shouldn't have, and he didn't.
KING: Andy, why did it hit you so hard?
GRIFFITH: Well, this may sound strange from a man to another man, but I loved Don. And when he left, I missed him very, very much. And I knew there would be a hole in our show. But I knew there would be a hole in my life, too.
KING: Don, was it hard to leave that show?
KNOTTS: It was very hard. It had been the most fun I had ever had in the business, no question about it. We had fun doing it. We had -- all the cast had a ball...
KING: And by the way, you may have set some sort of record. Don Knotts worked on that show five years. He was nominated for five Emmys.
GRIFFITH: He won five of them.
KING: He won all five.
GRIFFITH: He won five.
KING: Did you get to think, Don, after awhile, that you owned the Emmy?
KNOTTS: Oh, I don't know...
GRIFFITH: I asked him to loan me one one time.
KNOTTS: That was very nice.
GRIFFITH: So I could show it to my mother.
KING: Don, did you ever turn down a part you regretted?
KNOTTS: I've never turned down a part in my life.
` (LAUGHTER)
KING: Is there a play or a film you would have liked to have done? A character you would have liked to have played?
KNOTTS: You know, I really don't think so. I think I've been quite fortunate to get to do the stuff I've gotten to do, and I have no regrets about any part. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: A life well lived.
You can see that entire interview with Don Knotts and Andy Griffith. It's a special edition of CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE," tonight, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
Straight ahead, on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, Kathleen Koch is standing by live in St. Martin, Mississippi -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and Carol, you know, they're celebrating Mardi Gras here in St. Martin. Even -- and even those who've lost everything, like a man we're about to talk to, believe this area really needs an emotional boost.
LIN: She's coming up.
And also coming up, you are going to meet a man who faced two tragic events. They shattered his hopes for the future, but he turned them around to give other people hope and inspiration.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Welcome back. More news coming into the CNN Center. So here's what's happening right now. An Arab company approved to manage six major U.S. ports is requesting a comprehensive 45-day investigation of the deal. The head of Dubai Ports World says he is confident the review will confirm there is no threat to U.S. security.
Despite appeals for peace violence continued across Iraq today. In Hilla, a bomb went off in a main bus station. Five people were wounded. Fifteen people were killed in mortar strikes in southern Baghdad.
A powdery substance found in a dorm at the University of Texas at Austin was not the powerful toxin ricin. The FBI says final tests on the substance were negative for ricin.
One of the workers were injured -- was injure when an explosion rocked a natural gas pumping station near Denver today. Officials say a line feeding the station had to be shut down and the fire is now burning itself out. The Winter Olympic Games wrapped up in Torino, Italy with a carnival like celebration. After 17 days of competition, the United States finished the games with 25 total medals. Nine of them gold. That was second only to Germany's 29 total medals.
Well, it's been six months of hard work, backed by sweat and determination to see some form of normalcy return to coastal Mississippi. But many neighborhoods are so badly damaged, it's like Katrina happened yesterday. Neighborhoods you have not seen before. Our Kathleen Koch is in St. Martin. Kathleen?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And what you can see around me, Carol, right now are the remains of a house. These huge eight by eight green beams used to support a beautiful two-story home here in St. Martin, Misissippi, but Katrina's high, high wind, 125, 130 miles an hour winds and 34-foot storm surge were obviously too much for the storm home. The owner of the home right now is here with me. This is Mr. Richard Burke. Mr. Burke, tell me what was it like to come back and find your home this way and to still have it this way after six months.
RICHARD BURKE, ST. MARTIN RESIDENT: Well, very demoralizing. I mean, you work all your life to have a house like this and then it's gone. I mean, it's very depressing.
KOCH: You've lived here for more than 30 years and you lived right on the water, but you told me earlier you don't have flood insurance. Have you gotten any money to start to rebuild from anyone?
BURKE: No. I haven't got no money at all to rebuild. I did get a little help from FEMA for being dislocated and what have you, but nothing for rebuilding.
KOCH: So is it difficult then to be sitting here in the situation you're in right now and see people celebrating Mardi Gras around here and in New Orleans? Does that trouble you?
BURKE: No, it doesn't because I feel that maybe that will help a lot of these people get that off -- get the storm off of their mind and, well, we all have to get out and do our thing.
KOCH: There's also controversy in this area, I know, about casinos. Some people, in particular those who live in the neighborhoods around casinos feel like no one's helping them yet here these casinos rising from the rubble and money being spent.
BURKE: Well, I have mixed emotions about that, like I said, my own personal view that my insurance company hasn't really helped me because I didn't have flood insurance, but I was 19 foot above sea level and I didn't think I needed it.
KOCH: How old are you and how do you then go about at your age starting over again?
BURKE: Well, I am 68 years old and I -- I'm looking for a condo. I want to get into a condo and let somebody else do the work.
KOCH: So, Mr. Burke, will this condo be well inland?
BURKE: I don't know. I'm not afraid of being on the water, this is the first time that this has ever happened here and, you know, maybe it won't happen again.
KOCH: You're exhibiting what I see throughout Mississippi and that's the spirit of optimism and determination and people aren't turning tail and rung. They love this place. They're staying.
BURKE: Yeah. It's a very nice location. The neighborhood was outstanding and I had really a beautiful location.
KOCH: So you're going to stick it out? BURKE: Yes, ma'am.
KOCH: And tell us, you're living now in a FEMA trailer right here? So I guess FEMA is taking care of you in that respect?
BURKE: Yes, they have. Yes. It's not the best, but it's better than nothing.
KOCH: All right. Richard Burke, thanks so much for sharing your story with us and I wish you could all see the scene around here because not only is Mr. Burke's beautiful two-story home destroyed but the trees are laced with all source of clothing and possessions that Mr. Burke says he has no idea where they came from. Just found them here the day after the hurricane.
Back to you.
LIN: Kathleen, you've been traveling through these little towns and giving people a voice in this tragedy, but I wonder if it really strikes you as it strikes me. Their resiliency. I mean, these people are tough. That man that you just spoke to, he has such a great spirit.
KOCH: They are, Carol, and you try to imagine yourself in their shoes if you been the one who lost everything and your entire neighborhood was gone and everyone had nothing. Would you be able to carry on the way they do with such spirit and such determination? But everyone points out, well a disaster in this case has truly been the great equalizer. Everyone is on the same playing field now and they're drawing strength from that and pulling together and moving forward because they say they don't have any other choice.
LIN: That's right. You bet.
Thanks for telling their stories.
KOCH: Mm-hmm.
LIN: Well, the Katrina disaster is a human story and it runs the gamut. We want to take you to the community of Lakeview. It's just four miles from the French Quarter in New Orleans and it was devastated by floodwaters from a levee breach. Many residents have not returned but one is serving as an inspiration to others. He rebuilt his dream home despite a personal tragedy after escaping Katrina. Watch this because I'm about to talk to him. CNN's Dan Lothian has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Hurricane Katrina threatened to pound New Orleans, contractor Darren Schmolke knew his life on Katina Street (ph) was about to change.
DARREN SCHMOLKE, CONTRACTOR: I had seen the storm and its position and everything and I said well, we've got us a little problem here. LOTHIAN: But he never imagined the disaster would inflict so much pain. Schmolke's Lakeview neighborhood less than a mile from the 17th Street canal levee breach was underwater. The dream home he'd built for his family heavily damaged. Then as his wife Tara was returning a rental car in Florida where they had evacuated she was killed.
SCHMOLKE: Tara had crossed over the median and the car had struck her on the left side. That was a disaster for all of us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unmistakably the toughest time of my life. She was just an unbelievable person.
LOTHIAN: Tara loved to cheer people up and she convinced her parents that they, too, could start and finish a marathon.
SCHMOLKE: A, B, C, D ...
LOTHIAN: Now Schmolke was forced into a much more difficult race, facing the future without his wife.
SCHMOLKE: Almost ready?
LOTHIAN: Left to raise his nearly two-year-old son Luke alone.
SCHMOLKE: He's too young ton what's going on, but one day he's going to want to know exactly what happened to him. And we'll have everything for him. And he'll understand it then.
LOTHIAN: Through his tears and pain the contractor determined to return to his devastated neighborhood, to his dream home and start over.
SCHMOLKE: My mind was racing, so I needed to use my energy and so it was like, you know, this is the perfect place for me to do it and, I just think this is what my wife would have expected out of me.
LOTHIAN: So room by room, Schmolke and his crews turned this into this. The pool, the fireplace. The kitchen. He used money from his savings account to get the job done before insurance checks arrived. Amazingly, they finished in 60 days. The loan, landscape, lighthouse of sorts in a neighborhood far from recovery.
Have you been an inspiration to others?
SCHMOLKE: We had a lady drive by and she was getting worn out on the house and she drove by and she said I came to get my inspiration for the day. I was feeling a little down and ...
LOTHIAN: He became a symbol. It's OK to come home and rebuild.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he's definitely been an inspiration for this area.
LOTHIAN: Even if there are still questions about the nearby levee's ability to handle another big storm. Why risk it again?
SCHMOLKE: In a nutshell. This is home. So, you know, if this is home for you and this is, you know, where your heart's at then this is -- you come home and you put your house together.
LOTHIAN: Schmolke stays busy to keep from getting down. He spends a lot of time with son Luke and is now rebuilding or remodeling several other homes just down the street. He says he draws strength from his faith, family and the memory of his wife Tara.
SCHMOLKE: I know she's here with us. So I'm not going let her down.
LOTHIAN: Dan Lothian, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: At the last second Darren couldn't be with us, but he did tell CNN that the family is doing well and in the midst of all this tragedy he is surrounded by 20 family members all filled with love.
Shanon's got more coming up.
SHANON COOK: Hi, Carol, I'm Shanon Cook here from b control. In world headlines, an uprising in an afghan prison catches guards by surprise. I'll have the details you coming up.
LIN: Thanks, Shanon. Plus, you may not even know it, but your computer could have been hijacked. A look inside so-called zombie computers.
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LIN: In case you just missed it, there's some highlights from the Sunday morning talk shows we want to share with you. On CNN's LATE EDITION, Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein expressed concern over a deal that would allow a United Arab Emirates company to manage terminals at six major U.S. ports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, (R) TX: I think there are national security issues here. I think we have to look at it as such. All of our transportation infrastructure should have national security requirements and standards and the ports have been, I think, among the least that have gotten attention and I think this brings it to the forefront and now I think we need to move forward in a positive way, not only to look at this particular deal, but to assure we have a system in place where we're in control of the security of cargo coming in into the United States.
SEN. DIANE FEINSTEIN, (D) CA: I'd like to know whether a full- scale intelligence evaluation was done. I'm told it was not. I would like to know if this was run by the secretary of defense, secretary of homeland security. I am told they did not know this. I think the process was a secondary process. I think they should have been brought to the president earlier.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: On Fox News sunday, homeland security adviser Frances Townsend and Democratic Senator Joe Biden disagreed on how the Dubai Port World sale is being handled.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCES TOWNSEND, HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: We believe that anything that permits there to be additional time so that more people can learn the facts as we learned them is to the better because once people understand that security is never going to be outsourced. It will continue to be handled by the men and women of the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Patrol and that this is really a commercial deal where the security concerns have been addressed, that's a good thing and people will be more comfortable with it.
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN, (D) DE: The bottom line here, Chris, it's shown a spotlight on something that everybody's worried about. Let's be honest about it. It reflects the fact that the 9/11 commission has give then administration failing grades on port security and failing grades on homeland security and that's what you're seeing underneath all of this. The president can no longer say trust me, my agencies have taken a look at it. I think it's OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: On ABC's "This Week," actor and AIDS activist Richard Gere talked about President Bush's trip to India this week. The president plans to address the AIDS crisis with India's prime minister. Gere says Mr. Bush deserves praise for bringing world attention to such a critical issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD GERE, ACTOR: Now, we're talking about a population in India that is close to a billion people. If this crisis hits them to the degree it's expected to we've lost Asia. We're all in this together. And as Americans with the almost unlimited funds we have to do good in the world for ourselves and others to not do this, it's a waste of the promise of who we are as Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Remember, every Sunday at 7:00 Eastern CNN is going to bring you the best headlines from the Sunday talk show circuit.
In Afghanistan, a tense standoff as inmates take over sections of a high security prison. Shanon Cook has that story and other international headlines. Shanon?
COOK: Hey, Carol. Thanks very much. On a prison at the outskirts of Kabul, prisoners have taken control of three cell blocks. They're armed with makeshift weapons like small knives and clubs and the uprising occurred last night. Authorities say inmates started rioting after refusing to put on new uniforms and officials say at least seven inmates were killed. More than a thousand police and troops have surrounded the prison. It houses hundreds of al Qaeda and Taliban militants.
To Thailand now where there were protests in Bangkok. Thousands demonstrated demand the Thai prime minister resign. Sunday's protests come two days after he dissolved parliament and called for new elections. The prime minister has come under fire for allegations of corruption.
And in Mexico, mine owners say all 65 men trapped underground in an explosion six days ago are dead. The owners say there's no way the men could have survived the lack of oxygen and toxic gasses for so long. Now, upon hearing this news relatives of the miners ended a very emotional vigil they held at the mines gates for the past week.
And to Brazil. On a brighter note where Carnival is in full swing. Huge crowds are gathered in Rio de Janeiro. The highlight of the five-day celebration is the Samba Parade. It takes place tonight and tomorrow night and it features 14 of Rio's top samba groups. There was a little bit of setbacks to this year's carnival though, in the Amazon state of Ruindonia (ph), I hope I got that right. There are reports that a soundstage collapsed killing two and wounding 40 and, Carol, a 75-year-old dancer in the parade earlier this morning died of a heart attack. Not a fun way to spend Carnival, obviously.
LIN: Yeah, and I heard there was a huge art heist during Carnival. How did that happen?
COOK: Yeah, on Friday a Carnival parade provided a great distraction for a group of thieves who took over security in a museum and managed to make off with four very valuable paintings. We're talking paintings by Picasso and Monet and Matisse and Salvador Dali worth tens of millions of dollars and the thieves were able to disappear through the Carnival crowds and on their way they managed to mug some of the crowd members. So ...
LIN: Wow!
COOK: And paintings still at large. Don't know where they are.
LIN: That's pretty brazen.
COOK: I know.
LIN: All right. Keep us posted on that one. Shanon, thank you.
COOK: Thanks Carol.
LIN: Still ahead this, hour, another online crime wave is underway and your computer could be both a victim and an accomplice. What you need to know to keep your hard drive from getting hijacked. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, you're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
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LIN: Without your knowledge your P.C. could be drafted into an army of zombie computers and possibly used for criminal activity. Security experts say these networks of computers called botnets are a growing threat and in this week's "Leading Edge" report, technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg tells us how it works.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We've all seen the movies like this one, "Resident Evil Apocalypse." An army of scary zombies seeking victims. Well, a similar concept is playing out in the online world and your computer could be the next victim. Merrick Furst, a competing professor at Georgia Tech has been studying the massive explosion of something called botnets, short for robot networks. Zombie computers controlled by a remote master designed to make money via methods ranging from spam to extortion to fraud.
MERRICK FURST, GEORGIA TECH: We've watched bot armies to grow to be as large as 350,000 machines. Typical bot army sizes range between 10,000 machines and 100,000 machines.
SIEBERG: And Furst says an army of just 5,000 computers can earn a bot master as much as $15,000 a month.
FURST: A botmaster is a criminal who wants to use your computer as a resource in some way. So he or she buys software and has that software released onto the Internet in a way that is self-propagating either as a virus or worm. It then finds its way on to your computer without your knowing about it.
SIEBERG: Once your computer is unwillingly conscripted into this botnet army, the bot master can steal data or use your machine in a massive attack elsewhere. First hold us one example from Brazil where a bot master was able to see exactly what a person was typing on their banking Web site, including the passwords and account info and botnets are a global problem.
FURST: We are pretty sure it's at least seven percent of the Internet. Typical numbers rage from 75 million to 100 million machines that are currently con scripted.
SIEBERG: Law enforcement officials aren't sure how many generals are commanding all those bot armies, but around the world authorities are trying to crack down on the rapidly-growing crime.
FURST: We've actually had some success.
SIEBERG: Furst says he helped the FBI track down a bot master from Turkey who spread the mytob/zotob worm last year and in California in November, federal prosecutors nabbed another culprit, 20-year-old Gene St. James Ancheda (ph).
JAMES AQUILINA, FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Based on the indictment and the conduct to which Ancheda has pled guilty it is a fair inference that Mr. Ancheda had compromised over 700,000 computers. SIEBERG: Court documents show Ancheda had made more than $60,000 from Internet fraud and close $100,000 from selling his bot armies to others. The zombie computers can be used in all sorts of nefarious schemes, from spending out spam including emails that phish for user's private banking information to extortion, threatening to shut down a Web site by inundating it with computer traffic unless the webmasters pay up and there's something called click fraud.
FURST: What a bot master will do, a criminal will do is they'll build a Web site that looks like a normal Web site. They'll put up banner ads or other types of ads on that Web site and these are ads which are served up by Google. So he commands the machines to click on the ads on this site. Every time one of his machines clicks, the message goes back to Google. Google charges the advertiser. The advertiser pays Google. Google keeps 20 percent and gives 80 percent to the bot master.
SIEBERG: Bot masters can also use their zombie computers to raise the trust ratings on sites like eBay. All of this without the computer owner's knowledge.
(on camera): So, how do you keep your computer from being drafted into someone's bot army? Well, you've heard it all before. Keep your anti-virus software updated and don't click on suspicious email attachment ands and try to remove any adwear or spywear from your computer.
(voice-over): Experts say bot nets will be on the increase this year, but law enforcement officers say they'll be hot on the trail of the bot masters.
AQUILINA: The truth is these folks believe that the government is many, many steps behind them and that is not the case.
SIEBERG: Daniel Sieberg. CNN, Atlanta.
LIN: There is much more ahead on CNN. Up next, CNN PRESENTS "REASONABLE DOUBT." Can crime labs be trusted? CNN examines the lack of standards at many of the nation's forensic labs.
I'm going to be giving you much more news in a minute.
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