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American Morning

Death Toll From Southeast Asian Tsunami Still Rising

Aired December 27, 2004 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: No, not well behaved.
Well, here are stories we're going to be following for you on this day. The president has a lot on his plate going into 2005. What should he tackle first? Kamber and May are going to battle it out.

Also, the devastation in Southeast Asia is unimaginable. But for those who survived, there are even more dangers still to come. We're going to be paging Dr. Gupta. It's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It is just about half past the hour right here on AMERICAN MORNING for you. I'm Rick Sanchez.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: I'm Heidi Collins. Thanks for being with us, everybody. As terrible as it is, the death toll from the tsunamis is likely to get worse. In addition to the latest reports of what's being found in the disaster area, a major health hazard is just beginning.

SANCHEZ: Also, we're going to hear a story of survival for one of the tourists who really, like so many others, ran for his life when the water unexpectedly rose right up out of the ocean. His story is going to be coming up in just a little bit.

First, though, let's get a check of the headlines and find out what's going on elsewhere from Carol Costello.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Good morning to all of you. Now in the news: a car bomb attack in Southern Baghdad. At least six people are dead this morning, 33 others injured, the explosion taking place outside Shiite political party headquarters in the Iraqi capital.

Fifteen people were killed in an explosion at an apartment building in France. Authorities believe most of the victims were killed in the collapse of three floors above the site of yesterday's blast. Officials say a gas leak likely caused the explosion.

The NFL is mourning the loss of one of its all-time greatest players. Football great Reggie White has died. A two-time NFL defensive player of the year and ordained minister died yesterday. The cause of the death is still unknown. An autopsy is planned. White was just 43 years old. And thousands of air travelers are still grounded by holiday weekend flight cancellations. A federal investigation is now underway into record number of employee sick calls that forced U.S. Airways to cancel many of its weekend flights. And Comair, grounded by a Christmas computer glitch, says it hopes to resume its full schedule by Wednesday - not tomorrow, Wednesday.

COLLINS: Yes. We always love to hear that, a bit more of a delay.

COSTELLO: Yes.

COLLINS: Carol, thanks so much.

SANCHEZ: Well, the death toll now stands at 21,000. It's increased since we went on the air this morning in this deadly tsunami disaster that we've been telling you about in parts of Asia. CNN spoke with Nate Burkus. He's an American. He's vacationing in Sri Lanka, or was - about how he survived these giant killer waves.

NATE BURKUS, AMERICAN TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: There was absolutely no warning. I was asleep in a beachfront cottage. I heard a loud noise. All of a sudden, the roof was ripped off the cottage, and my friend and I were taken out to sea, just taken in currents that were so strong with debris and cars and animals and people carrying by. We were able to hold onto a telephone pole with a mattress wedged between us for literally 30 seconds.

There was a calm in the storm, and then another wave hit. Both of us were torn away from the phone pole. I finally climbed up to a roof of a home, because the water pushed me behind the home, and sat out the rest of the waves on top of this structure, which luckily held. But many people have died. There are - a lot of us are injured here. I'm very scraped up, but luckily I'm OK, and I'm still missing my friend.

SANCHEZ: Sri Lanka, by far, the area hardest hit. Officials are saying that more than 10,000 people have died in that area alone, and the number could still rise.

Heidi, to you.

COLLINS: As the tsunami death toll rises, fears of disease and contaminated water are growing. What are the health dangers now facing that region? To talk about that, Dr. Sanjay Gupta live from the CNN center now.

Sanjay, it sounds like that is going to be certainly the next concern here.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL EXPERT: It is, Heidi. There are lots of different health concerns that are going to start to mount after people start to collect themselves from the tsunami.

On of the things, decomposing bodies, a gruesome thought, no question, Heidi, but something that healthcare workers, hospitals are already starting to think about. The epidemics that are often associated with decomposing bodies are something that they're warning about, putting out dire warnings, saying these bodies should be identified, and they should be either cremated or buried after that.

Also, lack of clean water is also a concern that health officials are warning about. Their people are urged to use bottled or to boil the water if they can. Assume that the water is contaminated in these areas. Lack of safe food, as well, food that has come in contact with the floodwaters could be contaminated. There's no electricity, so it's hard to refrigerate food.

You can see, Heidi, these problems starting to mount. Also, just the lack of sanitary conditions in general, those could cause health problems that could linger for weeks. People don't have homes to live in. They don't have sanitary conditions in which to live. They're sleeping out in fields. Healthcare workers are really starting to focus on this already, Heidi, but as you can see, the initial toll is likely to increase as a result of some of these more subtle healthcare problems, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. In fact, do we have any idea yet, Sanjay, what sort of relief efforts are taking place at this time? The only thing that we've heard about this morning on the program, from our correspondents, are in Thailand there, actually, doing OK with shelters. But I'm not sure about the rest of the areas.

GUPTA: You know, it's really interesting. We've been doing our homework on this and doing our reporting and finding out that a lot of places just not prepared at all for this sort of disaster. You've probably heard that as well. We talked about Thailand, obviously, Sri Lanka as well. A lot of these places had no warning. They don't have the infrastructure to sort of deal with this, so some of them are counting on other countries and other organizations for support.

Sri Lanka, for example, is possibly getting some help from India. India is saying that they may be able to self-contain some of their relief efforts. But no question, the United Nations is probably going to be sending in folks, in terms of the actual personnel, as well as supplies. We've also heard Red Cross, Red Crescent.

Also, doctors without borders may be going into some of these areas to try and aid with some of these relief efforts, again, concerned about the epidemics, concerned about some of the injuries as a result of all the flooding that's going to continue on for some time, Heidi.

It's hard to say, though. It's really interesting following this from afar now. I may be actually going to the region myself to try to get a firsthand glimpse of what's going on there, but really a lack of infrastructure, a lack of communication, in terms of what's needed exactly where. That may take a few days, if not weeks to sort out, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Well, Sanjay, we certainly will be looking forward to your reports if you end up going there. Appreciate it. Thanks so much, Sanjay. GUPTA: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Let's talk politics now and the good or the bad that the new year will bring for the Bush administration, not to mention the Congress, and the Democratic Party. And to do that, we're going to talk to a Republican and a Democrat.

We're going to talk - from the left is Democratic strategist, Vic Kamber. He is in my home town. Miami, that is. And from the right, we're going to talk with former RNC communication director Cliff May, who's joining us from Washington.

Hey, guys. How are you?

CLIFFORD MAY, FORMER RNC COMMUNICATION DIR.: Fine. How are you?

VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning. Good morning to both of you.

SANCHEZ: Good. Hey, let's start with the Rumsfeld effect and the trip to Iraq. I guess some would say it's effective, some would say it's awfully transparent. You say what, Cliff?

MAY: Well, it was effect for me. I can't tell you what polls are going to show. I can't necessarily say how Victor feels about it. I guess he will. But Rumsfeld went. It was a surprise visit. He saw the troops. I think it was clear, watching the footage, that he was moved to be with among them, that they were very supportive of him. He understands how challenging their job is in Iraq fighting the kind of war we never really prepared for, didn't want to fight, now have to learn to prevail in.

I think it was a good thing by a secretary of defense who really understands how historic and how vital his mission is and is working very hard at it.

SANCHEZ: Vic, effect or transparent?

KAMBER: Both, I think, frankly. I think effective from the standpoint of the troops that have one of our highest people in government there to sing their praises, to make them feel good; transparent because, clearly, we know he's under assault and attack, and this is his way of sort of saying, hey, I'm with it, I understand it, I know what's going on.

SANCHEZ: Why is it that none of what the secretary of defense is criticized for rubs off on other parts of the administration, including the president? Vic, start us off.

KAMBER: Well, mostly because the criticism is coming from Republicans, and they're very unlikely to attack their own president, so they've needed a scapegoat, and the scapegoat has been George Bush.

Democrats have been very clear about the policy and many of them unhappy with the policy, and Rumsfeld is only a manifestation of that policy. But Republicans, who have disliked the policy, are uncomfortable going after the president so they go after Rumsfeld.

SANCHEZ: Why is that, Cliff?

MAY: In part, I think Victor is right, but I don't think - I think it is a bad idea to be scapegoating. What we need to do be doing is having a constructive debate about how to get it right. Understand that last week in Mosul, we were attacked by Ansar Al- Sunnah. This is a franchisee, as it were, of al Qaeda. We have to be able to defeat that enemy in Iraq. If we lose to that enemy in Iraq, we will fight that enemy somewhere else. This is not easy.

SANCHEZ: Y, what's interesting? What's interesting is that here are the three of us talking about Iraq. And, obviously, it's a huge story, but this administration would like to put a couple other things at the forefront, you know, Medicaid, Social Security, Tax reform, and it's hard to do that. It's like this giant elephant in the room. How will the administration, if at all, be able to shake off Iraq enough to be able to deal with some of these other things? Vic, back over to you.

KAMBER: Well, I think you said it correctly. It's very tough to take on major, major legislation while Iraq is so unsettled. Clearly, the president has an agenda. He's announced his agenda, and it's a very serious one. I think he has a bigger problem than Iraq, also, which is bipartisanship in the Congress.

He's not going to accomplish anything this year unless he's able to bring some Democrats back and corral his own Republicans in. He's got a fight within his own party, conservatives, neoconservative, moderates. They don't agree on what the president necessarily wants, and the president doesn't listen. This is one of the most non-curious men in - that's ever assumed the White House. He knows what he wants, but he doesn't want to listen to what others want. So between Iraq and his own infrastructure problems of his own party, he's got a tough row to hoe this next year.

SANCHEZ: Your perspective. Let's go over to the other side now and hear what Cliff has to say.

MAY: What Victor sees as stubborn, I see as firm. Very often, second terms are laid back, if not lethargic. It's not going to be that way for this president. He has set himself an incredibly challenging agenda. As you say, there's Iraq, there the war on terrorism, but he also wants to take on such things as Social Security, the proverbial third rail in politics, Medicare, all sorts of very, very tough issues.

I think it's very hard. I think, in that sense, Victor is right. It's very hard to succeed when everything you're setting your sights on is so difficult to do. And I also think Victor is right, that if you want to solve a puzzle like Social Security, you need to bring Democrats into it at the beginning. If Daniel Patrick Moynihan was alive, he'd be the perfect person. Former Senator John Bro (ph) is somebody else to think about for that.

KAMBER: Yes. MAY: This is going to be a very active administration this next four years.

KAMBER: And one thing...

SANCHEZ: Mr. May, Mr. Kamber, you guys seem to agree an awful lot today. It must have been something I did wrong, but...

MAY: It's the holidays.

SANCHEZ: The holidays, Christmas spirit. We thank you both for being with us. We'll look forward to having you again. You're great guys. Appreciate.

MAY: Thank you.

KAMBER: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Heidi.

COLLINS: We want to go ahead and check on the weather now. Chad Myers at the CNN Center with the very latest forecast.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Meanwhile, the drug companies issue a warning now, and it's got nothing to do with medicine and everything to do with a certain movie director. Andy's "Minding Your Business" on that.

SANCHEZ: Also, the swans are swimming in Chesapeake Bay, but like some holiday guests, they've worn out their welcome. We'll tell you why, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: In our continuing series, "The 12 Days of Christmas," today, the swans are swimming, but these swans are at the center of a major controversy. Dan Lothian explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Along Maryland's Chesapeake Bay, mute swans have been swimming for years, but this non- native bird, brought over from Europe, has been at the center of an environmental battle, unwanted guests accused of throwing entire ecosystems out of balance and eating too much.

PATRICK HORNBURGER, ANIMAL ACTIVIST: An adult swan consume up to eight pounds a day of bay grasses.

LOTHIAN: Grasses considered crucial to the life of the bay. Maryland wildlife officials killed about 100 swans, but opponents filed suit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no doubt that they eat some grass, but I challenge them to tell us about all the other animals that are eating the grass.

LOTHIAN: A migratory bird treaty act that protected swans and other non-native species was enforced by a federal judge last year. The kill was halted.

(on camera): Now, language in a federal spending bill, which President Bush signed into law earlier this month, clarifies the law, paving the way for the state of Maryland to resume killing the mute swans. Some 1,500 will be targeted.

(voice-over): But Michael Markarian, with The Fund For Animals, is angry.

MICHAEL MARKARIAN, FUND FOR ANIMALS: It's not scientific. It's flawed. It's inhumane, and it's simply unacceptable.

LOTHIAN: Especially, he says, since almost 100 other non-native species will also no longer be protected.

MARKARIAN: Storks, cardinals, many others who bird watchers like to see.

LOTHIAN: He and others plan to keep fighting to protect these immigrants, which the government says it will no longer do - Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The swans are still flocking to the Chesapeake Bay, and animal activists insist they will continue fighting to protect them.

SANCHEZ: Now to a man with no swan song. Toure is joining us with our "Question of the Day."

TOURE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you so much, Rick. Listen, the days before Christmas are a time to think about others, as we race from store to store searching for that perfect gift. But now that the wrapping is in the trash, we don't have to think about others and fear the guilt that comes from giving bad gifts, now is the time to think about ourselves. Like pirates escaping from the scene of the crime, now we count our booty.

So how did you do this year? Did you get great stuff, gifts that make you - or did you get gifts that make you think they don't really know who you are anymore. I got this great shirt from my sister. She knows what's up.

Our "Quest of the Day": what's the best Christmas gift you received this year? Some good answers - Susan in Maryland says, on Christmas Eve, my mixer died. I told the hubby it wasn't working, and he said it's only 16 years old, it's got more years left. Ouch. He said he'll fix it after Christmas.

COLLINS: Yes?

TOURE: I was shocked. Less than 12 hours later on Christmas morning, I found a new mixer under the tree. Very nice.

Randy from Kansas says, the best X-mas present ever was Daryn Kagan's smile, which lit up my living room and my day. Rick knows about that.

SANCHEZ: Yes, she's smile pretty.

TOURE: That smile is truly a national treasure and a gift to build a dream on.

COLLINS: Wow.

TOURE: Carol from Richmond, Virginia: my best gift was a boxful of supplies, such as a postal scale for starting to sell on eBay the massive amount of useless things I've acquired and never used, like Christmas presents from the past. Might as well make lemonade out of some lemons.

And the Davie family found the Langley Air Force Base said, our family found a piece of popcorn shaped like a Christmas angel.

COLLINS: No way.

TOURE: We have. We have it still.

SANCHEZ: Oh my gosh.

TOURE: We have it still. While we were stringing up the popcorn for our tree on Christmas Eve, I found a little piece with wings. She was perfect at the time we found her. And it could be a grandmother. It could be a preacher. It could be a little angel, though.

COLLINS: But it really reminds me of the grilled cheese sandwich with the apparent image of the Mother Mary.

TOURE: Yes, there are lots of those.

SANCHEZ: What did you get?

COLLINS: You know, it may sound a little cheesy, but it was just time with the family at home, our very last Christmas at our cabin in Wisconsin on Fish Lake. We're getting red rid of the place after 35 years.

TOURE: Ah!

SANCHEZ: I got satellite radio. But I have a neighbor named Tony. He gave - you know what he gave his wife? Cross my heart and hope to - whatever. He got her a toaster.

TOURE: Whoa.

SANCHEZ: A toaster.

TOURE: Whoa.

COLLINS: It's all good.

SANCHEZ: He's the talk of the neighborhood.

TOURE: Isn't that like the cliche like mock gift?

SANCHEZ: He pulled it off. It's a heck of a toaster, though.

A certain movie director may prove dangerous to the drug industry's health. Andy's going to tell us who in "Minding Your Business" ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. Michael Moore has a new target in his cross hairs now, and this time, the target is getting prepared. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" on this. They're saying look out before he comes, huh?

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look out for the guy in the baseball hat, Heidi. Let's talk about that in one second, though, get you up to date on the markets. As far as last week goes and as far as year-to-date, it's going to be a pretty good year for the stock market overall, especially the broader index, the S&P 500.

An interesting thing here, you can see the Dow is trailing the Nasdaq and the S&P. The reason why is because Pfizer and Merck are both Dow stocks. There are only 30 stocks in that index. When you have two of them that are down over 30 percent like those two are, it's going to hurt that particular index. Futures are up this morning. We have a full week of trading this week. Friday, the markets are open on New Year's Eve.

And speaking of those drug companies, you might have heard about this. Michael Moore's new target is going to be the healthcare industry in the United States. A film called "Sicko" - I like that, tentatively entitled "Sicko" is scheduled to come out about a year from now, and he is targeting the drug industry. He's going to be sneaking up on people with cameras.

You remember him, of course, did "Bowling For Columbine," "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Roger and Me." And the drug companies are fighting back, Heidi. They have sent out notices, memorandums, APBs to all their employees saying to beware of this guy coming up and asking you questions. One company said if you "see a scruffy guy in a baseball cap," head for the hills.

Part of the ability of Michael Moore to make these films, I think, was to sneak up on people and ask them questions and make them look like idiots, but I think these drug companies are going to be prepared for him this time around. I still think he'll be able to make some hay, though.

COLLINS: Yes, and what if he changes his - you know, he gets a shave and haircut or takes the hat off.

SERWER: He could lose 200 pounds. There's all kinds of stuff he could do.

SANCHEZ: Although we should mention those drug companies have a lot to answer for lately.

SERWER: Oh, they do. They absolutely do. It could be easy pickings.

SANCHEZ: Yes, exactly.

SERWER: And also, he's going to also be looking at the insurance companies and the HMOs, so there's a lot of fertile ground, I think, for him to go after.

COLLINS: Yes, could be a long movie.

SANCHEZ: He'd be tough to disguise though, wouldn't he?

COLLINS: Yes, I don't know. He could get one of those extreme makeovers.

SERWER: O like the Easter Bunny or something, maybe dress up in a bunny suit. Well, we'll see.

SANCHEZ: There's a show.

COLLINS: Andy, thank you.

SERWER: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Today's top stories are straight ahead, including nature's fury on full display. The Southeast Asia tsunamis were devastating. So how much worse could it have been. We'll talk to Michael Elliott of "Time" magazine, one of the lucky survivors who escaped a watery death. That's coming your way on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired December 27, 2004 - 08:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: No, not well behaved.
Well, here are stories we're going to be following for you on this day. The president has a lot on his plate going into 2005. What should he tackle first? Kamber and May are going to battle it out.

Also, the devastation in Southeast Asia is unimaginable. But for those who survived, there are even more dangers still to come. We're going to be paging Dr. Gupta. It's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It is just about half past the hour right here on AMERICAN MORNING for you. I'm Rick Sanchez.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: I'm Heidi Collins. Thanks for being with us, everybody. As terrible as it is, the death toll from the tsunamis is likely to get worse. In addition to the latest reports of what's being found in the disaster area, a major health hazard is just beginning.

SANCHEZ: Also, we're going to hear a story of survival for one of the tourists who really, like so many others, ran for his life when the water unexpectedly rose right up out of the ocean. His story is going to be coming up in just a little bit.

First, though, let's get a check of the headlines and find out what's going on elsewhere from Carol Costello.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Good morning to all of you. Now in the news: a car bomb attack in Southern Baghdad. At least six people are dead this morning, 33 others injured, the explosion taking place outside Shiite political party headquarters in the Iraqi capital.

Fifteen people were killed in an explosion at an apartment building in France. Authorities believe most of the victims were killed in the collapse of three floors above the site of yesterday's blast. Officials say a gas leak likely caused the explosion.

The NFL is mourning the loss of one of its all-time greatest players. Football great Reggie White has died. A two-time NFL defensive player of the year and ordained minister died yesterday. The cause of the death is still unknown. An autopsy is planned. White was just 43 years old. And thousands of air travelers are still grounded by holiday weekend flight cancellations. A federal investigation is now underway into record number of employee sick calls that forced U.S. Airways to cancel many of its weekend flights. And Comair, grounded by a Christmas computer glitch, says it hopes to resume its full schedule by Wednesday - not tomorrow, Wednesday.

COLLINS: Yes. We always love to hear that, a bit more of a delay.

COSTELLO: Yes.

COLLINS: Carol, thanks so much.

SANCHEZ: Well, the death toll now stands at 21,000. It's increased since we went on the air this morning in this deadly tsunami disaster that we've been telling you about in parts of Asia. CNN spoke with Nate Burkus. He's an American. He's vacationing in Sri Lanka, or was - about how he survived these giant killer waves.

NATE BURKUS, AMERICAN TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: There was absolutely no warning. I was asleep in a beachfront cottage. I heard a loud noise. All of a sudden, the roof was ripped off the cottage, and my friend and I were taken out to sea, just taken in currents that were so strong with debris and cars and animals and people carrying by. We were able to hold onto a telephone pole with a mattress wedged between us for literally 30 seconds.

There was a calm in the storm, and then another wave hit. Both of us were torn away from the phone pole. I finally climbed up to a roof of a home, because the water pushed me behind the home, and sat out the rest of the waves on top of this structure, which luckily held. But many people have died. There are - a lot of us are injured here. I'm very scraped up, but luckily I'm OK, and I'm still missing my friend.

SANCHEZ: Sri Lanka, by far, the area hardest hit. Officials are saying that more than 10,000 people have died in that area alone, and the number could still rise.

Heidi, to you.

COLLINS: As the tsunami death toll rises, fears of disease and contaminated water are growing. What are the health dangers now facing that region? To talk about that, Dr. Sanjay Gupta live from the CNN center now.

Sanjay, it sounds like that is going to be certainly the next concern here.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL EXPERT: It is, Heidi. There are lots of different health concerns that are going to start to mount after people start to collect themselves from the tsunami.

On of the things, decomposing bodies, a gruesome thought, no question, Heidi, but something that healthcare workers, hospitals are already starting to think about. The epidemics that are often associated with decomposing bodies are something that they're warning about, putting out dire warnings, saying these bodies should be identified, and they should be either cremated or buried after that.

Also, lack of clean water is also a concern that health officials are warning about. Their people are urged to use bottled or to boil the water if they can. Assume that the water is contaminated in these areas. Lack of safe food, as well, food that has come in contact with the floodwaters could be contaminated. There's no electricity, so it's hard to refrigerate food.

You can see, Heidi, these problems starting to mount. Also, just the lack of sanitary conditions in general, those could cause health problems that could linger for weeks. People don't have homes to live in. They don't have sanitary conditions in which to live. They're sleeping out in fields. Healthcare workers are really starting to focus on this already, Heidi, but as you can see, the initial toll is likely to increase as a result of some of these more subtle healthcare problems, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. In fact, do we have any idea yet, Sanjay, what sort of relief efforts are taking place at this time? The only thing that we've heard about this morning on the program, from our correspondents, are in Thailand there, actually, doing OK with shelters. But I'm not sure about the rest of the areas.

GUPTA: You know, it's really interesting. We've been doing our homework on this and doing our reporting and finding out that a lot of places just not prepared at all for this sort of disaster. You've probably heard that as well. We talked about Thailand, obviously, Sri Lanka as well. A lot of these places had no warning. They don't have the infrastructure to sort of deal with this, so some of them are counting on other countries and other organizations for support.

Sri Lanka, for example, is possibly getting some help from India. India is saying that they may be able to self-contain some of their relief efforts. But no question, the United Nations is probably going to be sending in folks, in terms of the actual personnel, as well as supplies. We've also heard Red Cross, Red Crescent.

Also, doctors without borders may be going into some of these areas to try and aid with some of these relief efforts, again, concerned about the epidemics, concerned about some of the injuries as a result of all the flooding that's going to continue on for some time, Heidi.

It's hard to say, though. It's really interesting following this from afar now. I may be actually going to the region myself to try to get a firsthand glimpse of what's going on there, but really a lack of infrastructure, a lack of communication, in terms of what's needed exactly where. That may take a few days, if not weeks to sort out, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Well, Sanjay, we certainly will be looking forward to your reports if you end up going there. Appreciate it. Thanks so much, Sanjay. GUPTA: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Let's talk politics now and the good or the bad that the new year will bring for the Bush administration, not to mention the Congress, and the Democratic Party. And to do that, we're going to talk to a Republican and a Democrat.

We're going to talk - from the left is Democratic strategist, Vic Kamber. He is in my home town. Miami, that is. And from the right, we're going to talk with former RNC communication director Cliff May, who's joining us from Washington.

Hey, guys. How are you?

CLIFFORD MAY, FORMER RNC COMMUNICATION DIR.: Fine. How are you?

VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning. Good morning to both of you.

SANCHEZ: Good. Hey, let's start with the Rumsfeld effect and the trip to Iraq. I guess some would say it's effective, some would say it's awfully transparent. You say what, Cliff?

MAY: Well, it was effect for me. I can't tell you what polls are going to show. I can't necessarily say how Victor feels about it. I guess he will. But Rumsfeld went. It was a surprise visit. He saw the troops. I think it was clear, watching the footage, that he was moved to be with among them, that they were very supportive of him. He understands how challenging their job is in Iraq fighting the kind of war we never really prepared for, didn't want to fight, now have to learn to prevail in.

I think it was a good thing by a secretary of defense who really understands how historic and how vital his mission is and is working very hard at it.

SANCHEZ: Vic, effect or transparent?

KAMBER: Both, I think, frankly. I think effective from the standpoint of the troops that have one of our highest people in government there to sing their praises, to make them feel good; transparent because, clearly, we know he's under assault and attack, and this is his way of sort of saying, hey, I'm with it, I understand it, I know what's going on.

SANCHEZ: Why is it that none of what the secretary of defense is criticized for rubs off on other parts of the administration, including the president? Vic, start us off.

KAMBER: Well, mostly because the criticism is coming from Republicans, and they're very unlikely to attack their own president, so they've needed a scapegoat, and the scapegoat has been George Bush.

Democrats have been very clear about the policy and many of them unhappy with the policy, and Rumsfeld is only a manifestation of that policy. But Republicans, who have disliked the policy, are uncomfortable going after the president so they go after Rumsfeld.

SANCHEZ: Why is that, Cliff?

MAY: In part, I think Victor is right, but I don't think - I think it is a bad idea to be scapegoating. What we need to do be doing is having a constructive debate about how to get it right. Understand that last week in Mosul, we were attacked by Ansar Al- Sunnah. This is a franchisee, as it were, of al Qaeda. We have to be able to defeat that enemy in Iraq. If we lose to that enemy in Iraq, we will fight that enemy somewhere else. This is not easy.

SANCHEZ: Y, what's interesting? What's interesting is that here are the three of us talking about Iraq. And, obviously, it's a huge story, but this administration would like to put a couple other things at the forefront, you know, Medicaid, Social Security, Tax reform, and it's hard to do that. It's like this giant elephant in the room. How will the administration, if at all, be able to shake off Iraq enough to be able to deal with some of these other things? Vic, back over to you.

KAMBER: Well, I think you said it correctly. It's very tough to take on major, major legislation while Iraq is so unsettled. Clearly, the president has an agenda. He's announced his agenda, and it's a very serious one. I think he has a bigger problem than Iraq, also, which is bipartisanship in the Congress.

He's not going to accomplish anything this year unless he's able to bring some Democrats back and corral his own Republicans in. He's got a fight within his own party, conservatives, neoconservative, moderates. They don't agree on what the president necessarily wants, and the president doesn't listen. This is one of the most non-curious men in - that's ever assumed the White House. He knows what he wants, but he doesn't want to listen to what others want. So between Iraq and his own infrastructure problems of his own party, he's got a tough row to hoe this next year.

SANCHEZ: Your perspective. Let's go over to the other side now and hear what Cliff has to say.

MAY: What Victor sees as stubborn, I see as firm. Very often, second terms are laid back, if not lethargic. It's not going to be that way for this president. He has set himself an incredibly challenging agenda. As you say, there's Iraq, there the war on terrorism, but he also wants to take on such things as Social Security, the proverbial third rail in politics, Medicare, all sorts of very, very tough issues.

I think it's very hard. I think, in that sense, Victor is right. It's very hard to succeed when everything you're setting your sights on is so difficult to do. And I also think Victor is right, that if you want to solve a puzzle like Social Security, you need to bring Democrats into it at the beginning. If Daniel Patrick Moynihan was alive, he'd be the perfect person. Former Senator John Bro (ph) is somebody else to think about for that.

KAMBER: Yes. MAY: This is going to be a very active administration this next four years.

KAMBER: And one thing...

SANCHEZ: Mr. May, Mr. Kamber, you guys seem to agree an awful lot today. It must have been something I did wrong, but...

MAY: It's the holidays.

SANCHEZ: The holidays, Christmas spirit. We thank you both for being with us. We'll look forward to having you again. You're great guys. Appreciate.

MAY: Thank you.

KAMBER: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Heidi.

COLLINS: We want to go ahead and check on the weather now. Chad Myers at the CNN Center with the very latest forecast.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Meanwhile, the drug companies issue a warning now, and it's got nothing to do with medicine and everything to do with a certain movie director. Andy's "Minding Your Business" on that.

SANCHEZ: Also, the swans are swimming in Chesapeake Bay, but like some holiday guests, they've worn out their welcome. We'll tell you why, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: In our continuing series, "The 12 Days of Christmas," today, the swans are swimming, but these swans are at the center of a major controversy. Dan Lothian explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Along Maryland's Chesapeake Bay, mute swans have been swimming for years, but this non- native bird, brought over from Europe, has been at the center of an environmental battle, unwanted guests accused of throwing entire ecosystems out of balance and eating too much.

PATRICK HORNBURGER, ANIMAL ACTIVIST: An adult swan consume up to eight pounds a day of bay grasses.

LOTHIAN: Grasses considered crucial to the life of the bay. Maryland wildlife officials killed about 100 swans, but opponents filed suit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no doubt that they eat some grass, but I challenge them to tell us about all the other animals that are eating the grass.

LOTHIAN: A migratory bird treaty act that protected swans and other non-native species was enforced by a federal judge last year. The kill was halted.

(on camera): Now, language in a federal spending bill, which President Bush signed into law earlier this month, clarifies the law, paving the way for the state of Maryland to resume killing the mute swans. Some 1,500 will be targeted.

(voice-over): But Michael Markarian, with The Fund For Animals, is angry.

MICHAEL MARKARIAN, FUND FOR ANIMALS: It's not scientific. It's flawed. It's inhumane, and it's simply unacceptable.

LOTHIAN: Especially, he says, since almost 100 other non-native species will also no longer be protected.

MARKARIAN: Storks, cardinals, many others who bird watchers like to see.

LOTHIAN: He and others plan to keep fighting to protect these immigrants, which the government says it will no longer do - Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The swans are still flocking to the Chesapeake Bay, and animal activists insist they will continue fighting to protect them.

SANCHEZ: Now to a man with no swan song. Toure is joining us with our "Question of the Day."

TOURE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you so much, Rick. Listen, the days before Christmas are a time to think about others, as we race from store to store searching for that perfect gift. But now that the wrapping is in the trash, we don't have to think about others and fear the guilt that comes from giving bad gifts, now is the time to think about ourselves. Like pirates escaping from the scene of the crime, now we count our booty.

So how did you do this year? Did you get great stuff, gifts that make you - or did you get gifts that make you think they don't really know who you are anymore. I got this great shirt from my sister. She knows what's up.

Our "Quest of the Day": what's the best Christmas gift you received this year? Some good answers - Susan in Maryland says, on Christmas Eve, my mixer died. I told the hubby it wasn't working, and he said it's only 16 years old, it's got more years left. Ouch. He said he'll fix it after Christmas.

COLLINS: Yes?

TOURE: I was shocked. Less than 12 hours later on Christmas morning, I found a new mixer under the tree. Very nice.

Randy from Kansas says, the best X-mas present ever was Daryn Kagan's smile, which lit up my living room and my day. Rick knows about that.

SANCHEZ: Yes, she's smile pretty.

TOURE: That smile is truly a national treasure and a gift to build a dream on.

COLLINS: Wow.

TOURE: Carol from Richmond, Virginia: my best gift was a boxful of supplies, such as a postal scale for starting to sell on eBay the massive amount of useless things I've acquired and never used, like Christmas presents from the past. Might as well make lemonade out of some lemons.

And the Davie family found the Langley Air Force Base said, our family found a piece of popcorn shaped like a Christmas angel.

COLLINS: No way.

TOURE: We have. We have it still.

SANCHEZ: Oh my gosh.

TOURE: We have it still. While we were stringing up the popcorn for our tree on Christmas Eve, I found a little piece with wings. She was perfect at the time we found her. And it could be a grandmother. It could be a preacher. It could be a little angel, though.

COLLINS: But it really reminds me of the grilled cheese sandwich with the apparent image of the Mother Mary.

TOURE: Yes, there are lots of those.

SANCHEZ: What did you get?

COLLINS: You know, it may sound a little cheesy, but it was just time with the family at home, our very last Christmas at our cabin in Wisconsin on Fish Lake. We're getting red rid of the place after 35 years.

TOURE: Ah!

SANCHEZ: I got satellite radio. But I have a neighbor named Tony. He gave - you know what he gave his wife? Cross my heart and hope to - whatever. He got her a toaster.

TOURE: Whoa.

SANCHEZ: A toaster.

TOURE: Whoa.

COLLINS: It's all good.

SANCHEZ: He's the talk of the neighborhood.

TOURE: Isn't that like the cliche like mock gift?

SANCHEZ: He pulled it off. It's a heck of a toaster, though.

A certain movie director may prove dangerous to the drug industry's health. Andy's going to tell us who in "Minding Your Business" ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. Michael Moore has a new target in his cross hairs now, and this time, the target is getting prepared. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" on this. They're saying look out before he comes, huh?

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look out for the guy in the baseball hat, Heidi. Let's talk about that in one second, though, get you up to date on the markets. As far as last week goes and as far as year-to-date, it's going to be a pretty good year for the stock market overall, especially the broader index, the S&P 500.

An interesting thing here, you can see the Dow is trailing the Nasdaq and the S&P. The reason why is because Pfizer and Merck are both Dow stocks. There are only 30 stocks in that index. When you have two of them that are down over 30 percent like those two are, it's going to hurt that particular index. Futures are up this morning. We have a full week of trading this week. Friday, the markets are open on New Year's Eve.

And speaking of those drug companies, you might have heard about this. Michael Moore's new target is going to be the healthcare industry in the United States. A film called "Sicko" - I like that, tentatively entitled "Sicko" is scheduled to come out about a year from now, and he is targeting the drug industry. He's going to be sneaking up on people with cameras.

You remember him, of course, did "Bowling For Columbine," "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Roger and Me." And the drug companies are fighting back, Heidi. They have sent out notices, memorandums, APBs to all their employees saying to beware of this guy coming up and asking you questions. One company said if you "see a scruffy guy in a baseball cap," head for the hills.

Part of the ability of Michael Moore to make these films, I think, was to sneak up on people and ask them questions and make them look like idiots, but I think these drug companies are going to be prepared for him this time around. I still think he'll be able to make some hay, though.

COLLINS: Yes, and what if he changes his - you know, he gets a shave and haircut or takes the hat off.

SERWER: He could lose 200 pounds. There's all kinds of stuff he could do.

SANCHEZ: Although we should mention those drug companies have a lot to answer for lately.

SERWER: Oh, they do. They absolutely do. It could be easy pickings.

SANCHEZ: Yes, exactly.

SERWER: And also, he's going to also be looking at the insurance companies and the HMOs, so there's a lot of fertile ground, I think, for him to go after.

COLLINS: Yes, could be a long movie.

SANCHEZ: He'd be tough to disguise though, wouldn't he?

COLLINS: Yes, I don't know. He could get one of those extreme makeovers.

SERWER: O like the Easter Bunny or something, maybe dress up in a bunny suit. Well, we'll see.

SANCHEZ: There's a show.

COLLINS: Andy, thank you.

SERWER: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Today's top stories are straight ahead, including nature's fury on full display. The Southeast Asia tsunamis were devastating. So how much worse could it have been. We'll talk to Michael Elliott of "Time" magazine, one of the lucky survivors who escaped a watery death. That's coming your way on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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