Hud Hoax

North American Markets

[CC] 00:24:42 P p 8 p'pp 0 0 p ppp p 00ppp8 80p00p0' p@ 08p@0pp 0000000 0 08p'000@8 0 @! 00 Are scammed by an activist impersonating a government official. Andy "bikel baum" made a speech to about a thousand contractors pretending to be an official from the department of housing and urban development. He says he pulled the stunt to focus attention on the lack of affordable housing in New Orleans. During the presentation, "bikel baum" was joined by Louisiana governor kathleen blanco and New Orleans mayor ray'naygin'. In his speech, he laid out plans for hud to reverse course and *not* demolish five thousand units of affordable housing. The prank is the latest in a series pulled off by a group called "the yes men who have impersonated representatives from mcdonald's, halliburton and DOW chemical. Hud secretary alphonso jackson lls the stunt "sick" and "twisted." 00:26:24

[CC] 00:24:25 For over a hundred years, merck scientists have produced vaccines and medicines that have improved the quality of life for millions of patients. And that record of achievement continues today, as our 8,000 scientists conduct exciting new research to develop medicines that prevent and treat diseases like diabetes, alzheimer' s, and cancer. Here at merck, we have always believed that the process of discovering new medicines has to include rigorous scientific research conducted under high standards of ethical behavior. Meeting those high standards is at the heart of who we are, and how we do business. And those principles aren' t new. They are the same ones that have guided our scientists and people every day since george merck founded our company in 1891. D why all of us here continue to proudly say, merck is where patients come first, where you come first. They have impersonated representatives of mcdonald's, halliburton and DOW chemical --Now the "yes men" have struck again. The group showed up at a morning meeting about katrina rebuilding. One of the activists actually spoke after mayor ray nagin and governor kathleen blanco. In his speech, the activist said hud should not demolish 5-Thousand units of affordable housing. He says he pulled the stunt to focus attention on the lack of affordable housing in New Orleans. Some people get upset when the preach keeps you in church too long. But most of us wouldn't call the cops. Someone "did" call police when a pastor got too loud at a tent revival Sunday night in fort payne, Alabama. After the call, police arrested dwaine blue, a traveling evangelist. The reverend says he was praying, when one of the ministers told him the cops wanted to see him. 00:26:10

00:07:58 Bruce & Colin. > C; Louisianna 1927 performed by Randy Newman. Colin says in all the songs written about what did happen, nothing comes close to this and it was written 20 years before Hurricane Katrina - says he thinks there's a major concert today involving Stevie Wonder trying to raise money for the victims - Colin says it's been a year and it doesn't seem like much has been done for victims in LA, MS - Colin talks about a man posing as a HUD official substituting for HUD Secretary Alfonso Jackson speaking to 1,000 contractors about how HUD was reversing itself were not going to demolish 5,000 units of undamaged low income housing, they were going to let people come home and other things, work with Exxon to pay $8.6 billion from its $35 billion in profits to close down the Gulf outlet, repair damages - Colin says none of that is true, he wasn't a HUD official, he's part of the group called the Yes Men ? going around doing political pranks in order to call attention to certain things that are happening - Bruce asks if it's true a Trump Tower is going up in New Orleans - Colin says a lot of private development is going in to the city - Colin reads from piece Bill Quigley, Human Rights Professor at Loyola Univ, New Orleans School of Law, wrote last June about HUD plans for public housing in New Orleans - Colin says they tried to get this guy on the show today, said he thinks HUD is trying to get out of the public housing business in New Orleans - Colin says Wal-Mart has opened 2 stores there. Colin talks about the Fifth District, people might be thinking Chris Murphy could do better job than Nancy Johnson or Joe Courtney could do better job than Rob Simmons and maybe Diane Farrell could do better job - the Bush administration has proved the negatives about themselves but the Democrats have failed to prove the positives about themselves. 00:20:13

[CC] 00:26:50 A lot of nightmares stays with you. It never goes away. Reporter: what are the nightmares about? Could we have done more? Reporter: we are sometimes wacky thrillseekers, but when you sand in the dark and you hear people yelling for help and no one can get them, it's a totally different experience. Jeanne meserve, cnn, New Orleans. Moving to hear that all over again and we also have this story. Federal housing officials are looking into aye an apparent prank in a reconstruction complex in Louisiana. A man addressed the conference yesterday claiming to be the deputy assistant of the housing and urban development. He claimed hud was halting plans to demolish thousands of units. Only problem is he's an imposter. He's with a group called yes men who have full pulled off similar hoaxes. 00:27:41

[CC] 00:57:09 A man claiming to be a high ranking official from the US Department of housing and urban development turns out to be a phony! The man announced a complete reversal in the government's policy on public housing in New Orleans. He claimed hud was scrapping plans to demolish thousands of public housing units. Real hud officials say there's no change and are calling the hoax'cruel.' they say by the time they realized the man was a fake he was gone. In a cell phone call the fake hud official said he was part of the "yes men pranksters who try to humiliate public officials by impersonating them. 00:57:36

[CC] 00:27:13 It's a totally different experience. Reporter: jeanne messerve, cnn, New Orleans. Moving to hear that all over again and we also have this story. Federal housing officials are looking into aye an apparent prank in a reconstruction complex in Louisiana. He was claiming to be the deputy assistant deputy of the housing and urban development. He claimed hud was halting plans to demolish thousands of units. Only problem is he's an imposter. He's with a group called yes men who have full pulled off similar hoaxes. 00:27:44

[CC] 00:56:46 A man claiming to be a high ranking official from the US Department of housing and urban development turns out to be a phony! The man announced a complete reversal in the government's policy on public housing in New Orleans. He claimed hud was scrapping plans to demolish thousands of public housing units. Real hud officials say there's no change and are calling the hoax'cruel.' they say by the time they realized the man was a fake he was gone. In a cell phone call the fake hud official said he was part of the "yes men pranksters who try to humiliate public officials by impersonating them. Everyone will be on the same page later today when mayor daley announces the fall selection for Chicago's citywide book club. One book, one Chicago is the name of the program. It takes place during "national library week" in the spring, and "Chicago book week" in the fall. Its purpose is to encourage all Chicagoans to read and discuss the same book at the same time. That does it for this half hour. But don't go away, today is the one year anniversary of hurricane katrina. We'll tell you what's on president bush's agenda today in New Orleans. And we'll have the latest on tropical storm ernesto and it's threat on Florida. 00:57:49

[CC] 00:36:20 So how are New Orleans' levees doing one year after hurricane katrina? The society of civil engineers has just released its levee report. It says there are still major flaws and warned deficiencies must be fixed to make sure the levee systems can hold up against another major hurricane. "Flaws in the way the system conceived, budgeted, funded, designed, construction, managed and operated." the report card on the levee system, laid out a list of "call to action" items, including correcting the flaws in flood and hurricane protection systems. A man claiming to be a high ranking official from the US Department of housing and urban development turns out to be a phony! The man announced a complete reversal in the government's policy on public housing in New Orleans. He claimed hud was scrapping plans to demolish thousands of public housing units. Real hud officials say there's no change and are calling the hoax'cruel.' they say by the time they realized the man was a fake he was gone. In a cell phone call the fake hud official said he was part of the "yes men pranksters who try to humiliate public officials by impersonating them. Tropical storm ernesto is losing its punch and forecasters are now saying it may not regain hurricane strength. Ernesto was expected to reach Florida as early as tonight. But the national hurricane center says because of its time over land across high elevations in haiti and then cuba, the possibility is diminishing. As of midnight, ernesto was about 275 miles southeast of the keys. The national hurricane center is warning floridians not to be fooled, saying the storm could whip up again. The city of Chicago is planning a voluntary evacuation in a section of downtown to prepare for emergencies. The drill will be centered at monroe and wacker next Thursday at 4 P-M And will involve less than a dozen buildings. Employees who choose to participate will be asked to go outside, then follow instructions of "emergency teams" routing them to an assessment area a few blocks away. The exercise will be recorded and placed on DVD for future training. Verbatim: "we have seen time and time again, people have a much greater chance at escaping death or serious injury when they are prepared for a disaster. 00:38:35

[CC] 00:05:42 That's when the levee broke. A succession period marking when each levee broke around the city. Right along here there's a processional march here today. They have the barricades. They put those out as morning commuters get by and then marchers later on. Thank you, thomas. After a year, those painful memories are still very fresh in people's minds. What have we learned from hurricane katrina? It's been a big question this year since the storm hit. 51% Of those polled say we have learned lessons but 48% say we have not. 76% Say they have a three-day supply of food and water but 24% say they still do not. Federal housing officials are looking into a prank at a katrina preconstruction conference. Heman claimed he was the department assistant setting of the department of housing and urban development. He claimed hud was halting plans to demolish thousands of public housing units. Only problem he's an impostor. He reportedly is affiliated with a group called'yes men" which has pulled off similar hoaxes. 00:07:03

[CC] 00:48:31 adlibs tease melissa adlibs first weather hit melissa tosses to olympia in traffic center olympia adlibs about traffic on the anniversary of anniversary of hurricane katrina, some people in New Orleans are not happy with a prank pulled at a memorial event. Hurricane katrina, some people in New Orleans are not happy with a prank pulled at a memorial event. Event. Event. Yesterday, a prankster posing as a federal housing official took center stage at a New Orleans event with the city mayor and louisianna governor. Yesterday, a prankster posing as a federal housing official took center stage at a New Orleans event with the city mayor and louisianna governor. The stunt was the latest by an activist group known as "the yes men." the stunt was the latest by an activist group known as "the yes men." in front of hundreds of New Orleans in front of hundreds of New Orleans the prankster controversially promised to open closed public housing to thousands of poor former city residents. --The prankster controversially promised to open closed public housing to thousands of poor former city residents. The housing is currently targeted to be replaced by new developemnt. The housing is currtly targeted to be replaced by new developemnt. "The yes men" previously masqueraded as world trade organization officials announcing they were disbanding the group. The group has a movie documenting some of their other pranks called "the yes men." "the yes men" previously masqueraded as world trade organization officials announcing they were disbanding the group. The group has a movie --Documenting some of their other pranks called "the yes men." it's.coming up, it's.coming up, solid gold-actor johnny depp and disney's relationship is proving to be a very valuable combination. Combination. 00:50:06

[CC] 00:04:15 Federal housing officials are looking into an apparent prank at a high-level katrina reconstruction conference in Louisiana. A man addressed the conference yesterday claiming to be the deputy assistant secretary of the department of housing and urban development. He claimed hud was halting plans to demolish thousands of public housing units. Only problem, he's an impostor. He reportedly is affiliated with a group called "yes men" which has pulled off similar hoaxes. Someone said basically they had booked him through a P.R. Firm, seemed pretty legit and meanwhile, you know, hud's like we have no man like that in our office. How embarrassing. If you know what you're doing you can pull anything off. I guess. Even meteorologist. No. But you are. Just joking. I know what's going on here. This fellow is watching tropical storm ernesto and the latest track goes to south Florida when? It's probably going to make landfall, center of circulation, sometime this evening or tonight. 10:00 Or so and feeling the affects later this afternoon with gusty winds and rain showers coming up. You can see the path right now. Off the coast of cuba and 45 miles per hour sustain winds moving to the northwest at 12 miles per hour to 14 miles per hour. It's going to continue on that track and gradually bend up towards the north. See the path right here by 2: 00:05:48

[CC] 00:08:45 During a press conference focusing on affordable housing Louisiana officials are scammed by an activist. Andy bitchelbaum made a speech posing as an official from the department of housing and urban development. He laid out plans for hud to reverse course and not demolish 5,000 units of affordable housing. Prank is late is in the series pulled off by a groupalled the yes men. > here at home what t are log belongings now line the streets of south jersey after torrential rains, flooded basements throughout the region. Now, camden caught the worst of Sunday night's rain. As much as 4 inches falling. Many residents woke up there to find their cars submerged. Meantime in south Philadelphia on this side of the river people spend yesterday ripping up carpets and pumping out basements. I saw water coming out and couldn't stop it because I was by myself, I didt know what to do. Whole basement flooded all the way to the top. It ruined probably about five or $6,000 worth of stuff. Probably should point out blocked storm drains may have played a role in the flooding of these homes in south Philadelphia. 00:09:45

00:36:40 Katrina Hoax: A man pretending to be a Federal Housing Official promised to re-open New Orleans Public Housing Projects during a press conference. PC; Rene Oswin, Fake HUD Official, discussing the housing situation. 00:37:23

[CC] 00:09:33 Th\e hovmeowners are nott w r? Required to xyraise their home. and insurance companies don't? (O l have to pay. The council is not expected to adopt the flood elevations any time soon. Andh, even if it happens there's xm no guarantee people who raised. J their homes will be reimbursed. Some p4ublic housing recipients 1#were4 taken for a<d ride Monday oq <t? A>wo r? After a man posed as a federalyo o yo employee, and made housingtgya ! @ Promises that weren't true. L this man, who says his'a name is. 1 rene oswin, at a hurricane summit in kenner. I}q he passed himself off as an employee of hud: the department7hmll* of housing and urban development. The man also made,fajrqt false staty[emenyts about the futuredg of housing developments in New Orleans. W-D-E? S-u ap newschannel six reporter taslin alfonzo confronted the man soon1l941$im yo I after the speech. P\ "taslin: mr. Oswin you're not evq n in the 2direfctory ofa' hud. You're not even listed. Yout. Don't even have a phone number. Oswin: it's come to that. It's come to that. Thanks for beingu,8q: x xkthe on8 to break the news." 00:10:26

[CC] 00:50:18 Helped make a engaged couple, a day to remember, loui they come from ipanema, they come from ibiza. They come from Indianapolis. What's the attraction? Microwave pizza. From south beach diet foods. The right carbs and the right fats. Plus a full line of entrees, wraps, cereal bars, cookies, and, yes, I said pizza. South beach diet foods. Life is better on the beach. Louisiana officials were scammed yesterday by an activi impersonating a government official. Andy bichlbaum made a speech to Louisiana officials, preten ding to be an official from the department of housing and urban development. Bichlbaum followed Louisiana governor kathleen blanco and New Orleans mayor ray nagin at the lectern. In his speech, he laid out plans for hud to reverse course and not demolish 5-Thousand units of affordable housing. Bichlbaum says despite his hoax, hud is still going to demolish the homes. The prank is the latest in a series pulled off by a group called "the yes men". Many of us have probably felt from time-To-time that a preacher may have spoken a little bit too long when giving a sermon. 00:53:16

00:16:30 News/Steve Gadens. > 16.32 Report by RC Bower, WTAM. Monday, a man posing as a representative of The US Department of Housing and Urban Development. He says HUD was scrapping plans to demolish subsidized housing units. HUD says there is no change in the policy. He said he was part of the Yes Men, a group that tries to humiliate public leaders by impersonating them. 17.12. > 17.13 Report by Andy Rose, FOX News. Byron Rodin is suing the Georgia prison system because he fell off his sink while shaving. He says the lack of accomodations for people of limited stature violates The Americans With Disabilities Act. 00:17:45

00:32:24 HUD scam: A housing activist scammed Louisiana authorities by pretending to be a government official. V; Andy Bickelbaum. GR; Kenner, LA Fake HUD Speaker. Andy Bickelbaum made a speech yesterday to Louisiana leaders and contractors. They thought he worked for the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. 00:32:54

00:03:08 Katrina Hoax: A man pretending to be a Federal official reopened New Orleans, condemned public housing. PC; Rene Oswin, Fake Hud Official, says the plans laid out so far will establish just the ground work for the success of low income communities. The man fooled state and local politicians while speaking at a recovery summit in Louisiana. V; Footage of Katrina flooding. The man was actually an activist from the group The Yes Men, who have pulled off similar stunts before. 00:04:12

[CC] 00:23:48 This man, who says kakd? Qx his name is rene oswin, mai7de a speech at a hurr 7icanh7e su wmmitiis this morning in kenner. He passed himself off as an employee of hud, the departhement of housing and urbanl,l| development. The man also <lmade <l false statements about the future of housing developments in New Orleans. Hud wants the 8{ t/ FBI To find out if the man could be charged with any crimesi<.. I| i< on tqzhis, anniversary of katrina, more trouble with the state'a7s recovery plan the state agency that's doling out seven-point-five billion yo dollars in federal housing aid --Has shut down its on-liqbneq2 yd application system, ty]he roaa{d a{ home program shut down the siteq2|? Q 9o af ter \7workers discovered that personal information was inadvertenx ly being shared with others. I meanwhile the city, the state, and the entire couy,ntry arej 0$ pj ! Q rememberi=ing hurri}icane katrina today, a ost of prayer serva5ices, bell ry"ingings and ho l? Memohkrial to remember the storm and her victimx[s. Qk and the president will b e on hand for several of those9izdu t events, security is on high alert for mister bush as he j nd the first lady eat breakfast this morning w'ith p]mayor nagin, and then head to a hcommemorative prayer service, t t{t{r wdsu newschannel six reporter ken jones is live at city hall this morning with a look at the president's plans, and a few ofpo the 10other -9:380 A.M. 00:24:59

00:18:27 Housing Hoax: An activist group known as the Yes Men pulled a fast one at a Katrina conference on public housing. V; Public Housing conference. A man claiming to be an official from the Department of Housing and Urban Development says H.U.D. will not demolish thousands of homes. The man even convinced the Mayor of New Orleans and Governor of Louisiana. 00:19:03

[CC] 00:08:24 D \s their homes will be reimbursed. P]p]y] some pub@lic housin1|g recipients were taken fyyor a ride mod^nday, 9j after a man posed as a federal employee, and made houd|singq3y{lf xr xr promises that after a man pose{od as a federal employee, and made housing promises that weren't true. This man, who says his name qxis rene oswin, made a speechl ppo at a hurricane summit l n kenner. Yhakyw he passed himself off as an employee of hud: the department x8ofx* housing and urban development. \ The man also made }? False statements about the future of housing developmentsj in New Orleans. T? W-D-S-U Onewschannel six reporter taslin alfonzo confj onted the man soonq\y d3dcds after the speech. "Taslin: mr. Oswin you're not even in the directory of hud. You're not even listed. You fdon't even have a phone number. Oswin: it's come to that. It's come to that. Thanyfks for beingj the one to break the news." hud wants the FBI To find out if the man can be charged with" "zd%d ana crimes. 9W still on the way, he claimed he was with jon benet ramsey when she wasxx] murdered 10 years ago, so find out a%why all charges are dropped9x against john karr, plus, hurricane katrina made a mess of new orlenas, but we'lld have a live report from Mississippi about how that commun9gity 9gis copinyog one year later <ct z q9i 4 ijyj wi td|4j <4x? 00:09:55

[CC] 00:46:19 while many south Florida residents began heading for drier ground yesterday after Florida governor jeb bush words urged residents of the sunshine state to make preparations for tropical storm ernesto, some residents have started bracing for the worst, having already stayed put through other rough weather. Emergency management officials say the main threat from ernesto will be people who head out into the storm and drive around or go into the surf. Louisiana officials were scammed yesterday by an activist impersonating a government official. Andy bichlbaum made a speech to Louisiana officials, preten ding to be an official from the department of housing and urban development. Bichlbaum followed Louisiana governor kathleen blanco and New Orleans mayor ray nagin at the lectern. In his speech, he laid out plans for hud to reverse course and not demolish 5-Thousand units of affordable housing. Bichlbaum says despite his hoax, hud is still going to demolish the homes. The prank is the last in a series pulled off by a group called "the yes men". Long lines formed at New Orleans city hall as residents attempted to meet the one-Year deadline for building permits. Residents faced traffic, long lines, and several trips just to get a building permit approval to rebuild their homes in time for the deadline. In order to get a permit, residents had to prove that the hurricane did not damage more than 50 percent of their home. Residents brought pictures to prove areas of the structure were still in good shape many of us have probably felt frotime-To-time that a preacher may have spoken a little bit too long when giving a sermon. But not many of us would have done what someone in Alabama did, when they had a reverend arrested for praying too loudly. The traveling evangelist is dwaine blue, who was praying at a tent revival Sunday night when police showed up and put him in handcuffs. Reverend blue says he was just about to wrap uphe service and was shocked by what happened. A woman in Colorado says she is grateful to the employees of a city wastewater department after they found her engagement ring in a sewer pipe. 00:48:11

00:48:42 TZ; Hurricane Katrina: Continuing coverage of the one year anniversary of hurricane Katrina. V; New Orleans candle light vigil. V; Building permit lines. SB; Andy Bichlbaum, scammer, talks about rebuilding efforts. Anchor says yesterday, Bichlbaum, made a speech before Louisiana officials including Governor Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin while pretending to be an official from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Anchor says Bichlbaum is actually an activist with a group called The Yes Men and said he pulled the stunt to focus attention on the lack of affordable housing in New Orleans. Anchor says HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson called the stunt sick and twisted. 00:50:17

00:33:46 Katrina news: Hurricane Katrina evacuees are headed back to New Orleans. V; Tour bus. I; June Davis, Evacuee, says there is hope for us. Activist, Andy Bickelbaum(sp), pulled pranks about New Orleans housing troubles. He pretended to be a federal housing official from HUD about public housing, but HUD is demolishing such units. V; Man at podium. 00:35:06

00:14:17 TZ; Housing Hoax: A ribbon cutting at a city public housing development in New Orleans turned out to be a fake. I; Rene Oswin, talks about his title. PC; Mayor Ray Nagin. V; Ribbon Cutting. I; Clive Anatole, AI Builders, talks about Oswin. I; Jon Egan, Business Owner, talks about Oswin. I; William Loiry, President of Equity International, talks about a PR firm. The FBI is investigating him. Taslin Alfonso reporting. 00:16:30

[CC] 00:16:51 A housing hoax just one day before the anniversary of hurricane katrina. A man claiming to be a hud worker was part of a ribbon cutting for a city public housing development in New Orleans. He fooled mayor ray nagin who acknowledged him in front of hundreds of people. He even tricked the delegation from the australian government. But eventually authorities caught on. You're not even on the directory of hud. You're not even listed. You don't even have a phone number. It's come to that, has it? It's come to that. Well thanks for being the one to break the news. Reporter: hud has asked the FBI to investigate the man claiming to be rene oswind for impersonating a federal employee. > it's been one year since hurricane katrina hit. But it seems like yesterday we were watching the images and videos of the destruction. On video sharing sites like u2 you'll find thousands of katrina video clips, storm footage, video dedication, interviews with victims -- and images set to music like this one that's gotten more than 20,000 views. The weatherchannel. Com looks back at katrina with a page dedicated to the storm. We'll have videos from their special reports, victim's voices and blogs from their reporters on the ground during and after the storm. You can find links to all of these sites on the "plugged in" link page. I'm ashley diparlo, channel 4 action news. 00:18:31

[CC] 00:31:19 (Myers adlibs) x}o c@a exm x? Sx3ygf (george does final wx) gotcha, a man scammed Louisiana officials this morning when he pretended to be an official from the department of housing and urban development, he gave a long speech about protecting katrina victims, hud officials say they had no clue who he is. The man is part of a group called the "yes men" --Who have pulled off several successful pranks. That' s our report for now. Thanks for watchin be sure to join mary and matt for good morning Augusta. Nightline is next. ???Mi a wyw wsq w}s}s~w? 00:33:48

[CC] 00:02:29 That is our beat tonight. President bush strongly hinted today that the gulf south has gotten all the money its going to wet for katrina recovery. He made that remark after arriving this afternoon in New Orleans. Notice he seems to be kidding mayor nagin about his weight with that up and down look. The president is here in advance of tomorrow's one year anniversary observance. Earlier today he was in Mississippi where he said Washington isn't likely to add any more than the 110-Billion dollars already approved. Sick twisted cruel. They're all words used to describe the prank on Louisiana officials and about a thousand contractors in New Orleans. Hud imposter: "it's not just that we keep pumping greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. That's bad, of course. But it's beyond hud's scope. If a large ice shelf does slip off greenland, " it's about this time ithe speech when people in the audience realize that the so-called official from hud, is actuly an environmental activist. He says he pulled the stunt to focus attention on the lack of affordable housing in New Orleans. Ay bichlbaum is a member of the yes-men, who not only highjacked the hud secretary's identity, but have created a duplicate website for the housing authority, only on hano, dot, US. the phony news release announces a change in philosophy for tearing down damaged public housing. The real hud secreetary alphonso jackson called the stunt "sick" and "twisted." a state representative today said Louisiana has waited too long to interview people who've applied for the "road home" program. That remark came just as there was another snafu in the continuing collection of problems for the "road home" folks. Their website crashed today just six days after people stted applying on-Line for rebuilding dollars. Road home apparently didn't anticipate the huge traffic load on the site. 00:04:13

[CC] 00:07:47 after a man posed as a federal employee, and made housing promises that4 w weren't true. This man, who says his name !bis! ^ Rene oswin, made a speechl+t at a hurq}ricane summit thisa0yq morning in kenner. He passed himself off as an em8 loyee ofqzi/hhud: the department of housing and urban development. The man also made false statements about the future of housing developments in nehww orleans. <R W-D-S-U Newschannel six reporter taslin alfonzo confronted himx tl this afternoon. "Taslin mr. Oswin you're not even in the directory of hud. You're not even listed. You0 don't even have a phone number. Oswin: it's come to that. It's come to that. Thanks for being the one to break the news." hud wants the FBI To find out p if the man can be charged withy 98" any crimes. Mean time there's a new housing proble<fm for peop le int? St. Bernard parish. Qomany people have eleqnvated their homes but their insurance company xq ix may not have to reimburse them. Qodp\p the st. Bernarpd parish council has not approved fema's new9*ij flood elevations therefore 00:08:42

00:09:36 TZ; Hurricane hoax: Speaking at a hurricane preparedness summit, an activist posing as an official from the Dept. of Housing and Development said HUD would reverse course and not demolish 5,000 units of affordable housing. A group called the Yes Men are responsble for the prank. 00:10:03

[CC] 00:07:40 --In front of media outlets from aroundx the world the many talked about global warming and how it could cause}? X flooding around the globe. There will be 300 million refugees whos9 peh. Rmanentlxy unayder )ywater. He !f bolted immediately after the speech,, but nyot before announcing that hud had decided to rebuild every h! Tousing development damaged by katrina. < Anot only ios that untorue, e. A o, t's heartbreaking to many people who are hoping to return to New Orleans, but can't because puiblic housing issues. Dwawd {ooaoinan the debate has sparked outcry, like this march on st chs l avenue. Curt sprang: fortoj organizers of the event, y the mission now --Letting everyoq[ne know about this hoax before theyl t tq get their hopes up. Eq9wuity! W 9w international thinks a groupi q called the yes mixen are behind the hoax. The group has aq& g a history )qof send impostors lwto high-level government andi business meetings all over the world. Ud is especially angry about the fake speaker. 4L9 the agency says it's working to rebuild many housing p develo pments. And adds --It is terribly sad that someone wouldv> Perpetua suc h a uel hoax and play on the fears and anxietiesrol%lf of families who are desperate toreturn to their homes. 00:08:48

[CC] 00:04:16 There are an additional one-thousand students since last year. The superintendent says it's due in part to katrina. Schools are making adjustments to make due until the district can expand, hiring new teachers, buying extra desks, and increasing the student-teacher ratio. President bush is in New Orleans tonight preparing for tomorrow's anniversary events. He had dinner in New Orleans with the mayor, the governor and other local leaders. Earlier today he was in biloxi touring katra's devastation. He says he sees a big difference from the last time he was there. All week long, we'll have spial coverage of the katrina anniversary. Tomorrow starting at five a-M, " 2une in" is live from New Orleans. And later this week, we'll bring you special reports from the lakeview neighborhood, the ninth ward, and slidell. Activists who want cheaper housing in New Orleans pulled a hoax involving the government. Two members of the oup called "yes men", posed as members of the US Department of housinand urban development at a press conference in kenner. 00:05:07

[CC] 00:08:29 but not before announcing that hud had decided to rebuild every housing development damaged by katrina. Not only is that untrue, , it's heartbreaking to many people who are hoping to return to New Orleans, but can't because public housing issues. The debate has sparked outcry, like this march on st charles avenue. Curt sprang: for organizers of the event, the mission now --Letting everyone know aut this hoax before they get their hopes up. Equity international thinks a group called the yes men are behind the hoax. The group has a history of send impostors to high-level govnerment and business meetings all over the world. Hud is especially angry about the fake speaker. The agency says it's working to rebuild many housing developments. And adds --It is terribly sad tt someone would perpetuate suca crl hoax and play on the fears and anxieties of families who are desperate to return to their homes. Equity international hopes people remember the recovery work at the summit,, and not the slip-up. Loiry: that's a very possitive impact for the people. And we will continue to be involved in helping the people of the gulf coast, despite what these idiots have done. So how did this happen? Equity international says --When it booked the summit,, 00:09:36

[CC] 00:25:59 Chief wiggum, I can't wait to hear sure, I left briefly to take that principal's job in springfield but in my heart a recap of tonight's top stories, starting with visits from federal leaders on katrina's first anniversary. President bush renewed his promise toee southeast Louisiana rebuilt. Secretary of homeland security michael chertoff encouraged folks to take advantage of the road home program. A man claiming to be a deputy secretary for hud makes false statements at a meeting today. The imposter announced in front of media outlets from around the world, that hud had decided to rebuild every housing development katrina damaged. Finally, let's check with our abc26 nola dot com poll of the day. We asked, do you plan to attend any of tomorrow's events commemorating the anniversary of hurricane katrina? 00:26:41

[CC] 00:13:11 And the latest on ernesto. Lfht ea <w\ l a)ai a ribbon cutting at a city pux lic housing developmentcp=p=at&al4nyyyy8u8ax)xix turns out to be fake. @D1d1q ag y p 11rohlet myc 9s 9# yga ribbon cutting at a city public housing developmentyzpcqbj turns out to be fake. It's a housing hoax just one day before the anniversary of hurricane katrina. An elaborate hoax by a m\xan $8 claiming to be an employee of hud has the FBI Investigating. News channel six reporer taslinr a ribbon cutting at a city public housing developmentq=-lyjt{zyyh l#qo'w w? I4 x X?Xtai1ey hihiw a ribbon cutting at a city publ ic h ouibsing development turns out to be fake. It's a housing hoax just one day before the anniversary of hurricane katrina. An elaborate hoax by a man claiming to be an employee of hud has the FBI Investigatwing. L news chlyannel six re porer taslin alphonso has the story. "I'm deputy assist4 nt4v 4f secretary --um to aq~n-|-of the y| assistant essentially of it's a housing hoax just one day before the anniversary of hurricane katrina. An elaborate hoax by a man claiming to be an employee of'q{4w4wx<pz|z|hp x qii e?@p)p)h)i)y q*ibq9g9wvdrw? !C T?Tl am@naafy |tdp1qi"yb 030s#qx it's a housing hoax just one day before the annivert*sary oaf hurricane katrina. ,R a ribbon cutting at a city public housing developmentiqqw y q{.x> A ribbon cutting at a city public housing developmea'nt f9'9noawa7a 8\8\ yo x ho a ribbon cutting at a cii=ty public housing developmentq 96 y1j 9m turns out to be fake. It's a housing hoax just one day before theth anniversary of hurricane katrina. Q n elaborate hoax by a man claiming to be an employee ofp hud has thx FBI Be an employee of hud has the F-Bik-iik l-investigating. News channel six reporer taslin alphonso has theimim y*99 story. "I'm deputy assistant secretary 00:16:16

[CC] 00:16:17 --Um to an --of the as4 istant essentia lly of the assistant essentially of secretary alphonso jackson." tl renee oswin can't get his title 9% right, or his relationship to|tl4g 6a5 4 hud secretary, alphonso jackson. " also stop and thank rene who's here from hud." the man, q4 q claiming to be rene oswin, fooled mayor ray nagin who0q! 3(3Azaz9u9 n&ams acknowledg ed 9v )zq!" f him in f ront of hundreds of people at the gulf coast reconstruction and hurricane preparedness summit. "Yeah clapping." after 4b taking the mayor for a ride, these contractors followed him to a make-shifdt ribbon-cutting@e! At the lafitte housing project. " the spokesperson for hud in 9wa hinygton confirmed to us that rene oswin is not an employee i> Of hud. And when we confronted him, here's what he had to say. A hn "tasli n: mr. Oswin you're not even in the directory of hud. You're not even listed. You don't even have a phone number. Oswin: it's come to that. It'sq4 come to that. Thanks for being the one to break the 3i^lv c news." contryactors were surprised to find out oswin is not legit. " you're kidding righx#t? So then why would they go t hrough this whole elaboratelod<l thing eif it's not legitimate?" <keven a delegation from the 4g hz austra lian government wasp! 00:17:27

[CC] 00:17:29 Hoodwinked. " that's a black eye for the city and the state. They ought to put him in jail I guess. So how did this9i d thappen? William loiry set up the conference. " they repr4=esented that they were from a major pr firm representing thed hud secretary. And which we thought@ would be a positive developmentj to come here and say that hud 8g wis going to do something to help refurbish public housing m and so we had no reason to<4x/r doubt that this was the case." w all in all, probably has a cause, but his! 9@ Hoax has ruined his message. Taslin alfonuzo, wdsu\ ttt1 newschannel 6. Hud ~has askeiqd the FBI To i? Investigkate [the man claiming to1qhxax' be rene oswin q6for impersonating a federal employee. The hoaxsters even had a veryh )49b real looking web site. Can you tell the difference, betweenxx<stc@q5q the real and fake one. The real hano site is hano. Org. Thew,t/9e9 fake one is hano. Gov. H. Dw tonight our coverage of the katrina anniversary begins at 7:00 with nbc'1ws brian williams special "katri9ena: the long roadha<h8xo o back." as we hear stories from the j torm on this anniversary,y ymq6 we wanted to tell you our's. Tonight at eight, the documentary c seven days that@ changed New Orleans". It's how wdsu survived the storm. And at nine, a replay of "song ofh a New Orleans". 00:18:43

00:04:02 The Yes Men Bring Ersatz HUD Spokesman To New Orleans A prankster posing as a federal housing official took center stage at a New Orleans event today with the city's mayor and the governor of Louisiana, controversially promising to throw open closed public housing to thousands of poor former city residents. The action, which the Department of Housing and Urban Development called a cruel hoax, was the latest by the activist group known as The Yes Men. They've previously masqueraded as World Trade Organization officials, saying they were disbanding that body. Activist Andy Bilchbaum pretended to be HUD official Rene Oswin. He told hundreds of businesspeople at a forum that HUD would reverse course and reopen housing units now targeted for replacement by mixed-income development. However, HUD actually says that replacing low-income housing developments with mixed-income housing, better lives are sure to follow. Mike Bonanno, the second Yes Man, said to Reuters that the hoax was a bittersweet achievement. 00:05:26

[CC] 00:18:48 Recovery concerns of a different kind surfaced today. It started a New Orleans event where a man identified him as rene oswin with the U.S. Department of house enand urban development, went on to announce a major reversal in federal policy and several purported changes in hud programs. Louisiana governor kathleen blanco and New Orleans mayor ray nagin both thanked him but the man turned out to be an imposter in part of an elaborate hoax. An investigation into the scam is under way. 00:19:15

[CC] 00:03:31 The story of the re-birth jazz band'? And the return of music to the city.) v)v@. Due !\to our two documentaeries, tonight's "dateline nbc" will9vy aa be s| followed by<y "my\edy\ium"y| at 2:30 am. Tv the news about tropical storm ernesto continues to get better w/ fo0ur so0uuth Louisiana. Tonight it appears the storm may miss the gulf coast altogeti weather plus chief meteorologist dan milham, isi tracking ernesto. L?ahan mie si{i{.qwyw}lc@ and dan will be back at 5:17qgq9jl tq f $ht j apy2 xiy+o yo ee d a i3\1 yc, 1bioiyuaa 5l y[8c9ama}a h4hthtr tv0 i pq#q^izp and l^dan will be back at 5:17 with your seven day foreylcasty,. Itonight the New Orleans division of the FBI, i~os investigating a man who posed as xq a federal employee. This man, who says his name! * 8U is rene oswin, made a speechkx |h at a hurricane sumpvmit thish morning in kenner. He passed himself off as an employee ofd# hud. , The department of housing 0eand urban development. The man also made false statemeny}ts about the future of ho using developments in neww orleans. Hud wants the FBI To find out if the man could be ch06arge0fd06ax|raww with any crimes. And tonight at six, we'll show you they7 hoax this man created, that tricked many people in newt5y orles. ) n up next, 00:05:45

[CC] 00:16:30 Federal investigators are finding out more about the final moments of a commuter airliner that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky. They're trying to determine why the comeair flight ended up on the wrong runway, one shorter than the runway used by commercial aircraft. An airport official tells the associated press a re-paving project last week changed the route those aircraft follow to the larger runway. Sean callebs is following this story. What's it all about? Reporter: let me set the scene in the city. The day before hurricane katrina, the anniversary, there was a hurricane summit, and there the governor, kathleen blang co-as well as mayor rag nagin and al fon phonso jackson was invited but he couldn't show up because he was meeting with president bush. A gentlemen who identified himself as a deputy assistant hud secretary got up and said there is a big change in the way the city is operating. All ten public housing entities in the city had closed after New Orleans, four have re-opened. Chuck, they have an amazing copy of the website, too, as well. The real housing authority for New Orleans website is hano. Org, but this apparently an individual associated with this guy has a site called hano. Us. It looks like the real housing authority and in it has quotes attributed to jackson saying it's with great joy I announce a new department of housing and they're calling it simply a cruel joke. There's been a hard core group of people fighting to get back in the projects and speculation is that this guy is associated with that organization, we asked the mayor why he shook this gentleman's hand without knowing who he is, and basically it's politics as usual. Renee oswind. Thank you. 00:19:27

[CC] 00:16:51 Everything was not as seemed it seemed to be at a news conference in New Orleans. Among the usual suspects, somebody nobody recognized and rightly so. It is a passionate issue here, and this guy got up, an I am poster and said in a big reversal of policy, hud is now going to open all of these public housing projects, they're going to spend billions to fix them up. Afterwards mayor nagin and governor blanco shook his hand and he walked away. Development. Everything is going to change about the way we work and start in New Orleans today. Hud is not laughing, the city is not laughing. As I mentioned, it is a very passionate issue here. After the hurricane destroyed housing, many low income people have nowhere to live and wanted to get back in the housing projects. The city basically plans to raze six of the ten, four have been re-opened. But nobody has any idea who this guy is. It's quite a story. 00:19:18

00:01:39 HUD Imposter: Imposters showed up at a news conference in New Orleans to represent the Department of Housing and Urban Development. GR; map. The head of HUD, Alfonso Jackson, could not attend because he was meeting with President Bush. V; HUD imposter. The Housing Authority of New Orleans says that the man claiming that public housing in New Orleans that was set to be torn down was not going to be was a cruel joke. V; HANO website. A fake website has been put up on HANO.us. Sean Callers reporting. 00:05:25