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American Morning
Tsunami Disaster; 'The Last Word'; '90-Second Pop'
Aired December 27, 2004 - 07:29 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We do want to give you a sneak peek at "90-Second Pop."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS (voice over): Maybe Prince should change his name to king. The purple one has a brand-new reason to go crazy.
Plus, audiences "Meet the Fockers."
BARBRA STREISAND, ACTRESS: Let me work out the kinks.
COLLINS: But did the movie's new funny girl fail to live up to her nickname? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: It is just about half past the hour now on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Heidi Collins in for Soledad.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rick Sanchez. I'm sitting in here for Bill on this day.
We are continuing to gather information about the tidal waves that struck from the Indian Ocean. You can see these pictures now that we are getting in this morning.
The latest mind-numbing death toll from Sri Lanka. We're hearing about total 21,000 people dead. Again, we're trying to get accurate numbers. As you would imagine, those numbers are expected to change. So, we are watching it for you.
SANCHEZ: It's amazing that as the year ends, we're struck by what may be the most devastating story of the year.
COLLINS: I know it.
SANCHEZ: But we're certainly going to take a look back at some of the other stories that have affected us in this year of 2004. We're looking back at those. There is often a huge story in December like the tsunamis that makes you forgot some of the other events that have taken place during the year. But there have been some real turning points that are going to make people remember 2004 for a long, long time to come.
COLLINS: And one of those turning points was that Carol Costello was moving to New York. And here she is now.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That is one of the most thrilling stories of 2004, isn't it?
COLLINS: Yes, for you!
COSTELLO: Exactly.
SANCHEZ: At least in your life, right?
COSTELLO: Exactly. Good morning to you. Good morning, all of you.
"Now in the News."
We start with tragic news. At least six people are dead after a suicide car bombing in Iraq. The blast took place near the Baghdad headquarters of one of the main Shiite political parties. The head of the party was not in the building at the time of that attack, but more than 30 others were. They are wounded this morning.
Israel is releasing nearly 160 Palestinian prisoners as part of a deal with Egypt. Israel says the move is also a gesture to the new Palestinian leadership. There are an estimated 7,000 Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons.
An aspiring California actor is home again after a long ordeal in a Pakistani prison. Eric Anthony Aude (ph), greeted yesterday at Los Angeles Airport by family members, after serving two years on drug charges. Two months ago, a convicted drug dealer admitted to putting almost eight pounds of opium in Aude's (ph) luggage, but never telling him about it.
And a touchdown record breaker for Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning. We knew it would come sooner or later. Manning beat Dan Marino's single-season passing record, 48th TD with just under a minute left in yesterday's game. That set the Colts up for a 34-31 overtime win over San Diego. And, you know, his parents almost didn't make it, because they were stuck in Memphis at the airport because of all of those travel delays.
COLLINS: Yes, I was stuck there watching the game as it went on and on. So that was one good thing. I got to see the whole game.
COSTELLO: You got to see the end of that exciting game.
COLLINS: Yes. So they made it, though, right?
COSTELLO: They made it, though, because the Colts sent a private plane to pick them up.
COLLINS: Well, I didn't have that from CNN!
SANCHEZ: Even if they would have missed it, though, they could have seen it 500 times last night on ESPN.
COSTELLO: You got that right.
SANCHEZ: Or was it 501?
COLLINS: Carol, thank you.
SANCHEZ: Well, officials in Asia are focusing today on trying to contain the devastation left from deadly tsunamis across the southeastern part of Asia. We're going to take a look at some video we're going to showing you throughout the day. This is from Thailand in particular.
Hundreds of thousands were left homeless. Concerns now that any delay in recovery and relief efforts could cause further death and disease.
Now, CNN's Satinder Bindra witnessed the tsunami that actually hit Sri Lanka, where more than 10,000 people have died. He's joining us now via videophone from a relief shelter just outside of Colombo.
Satinder, there is no place that has been struck as tough or as hard as Sri Lanka has been because of the proximity to the earthquake. Describe for us the first moments of this thing. If you witnessed it yourself, tell us what you were doing and what you saw with your own eyes.
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Rick, when the tidal wave struck, they were like giant vacuum cleaners. They hit the shore, destroyed everything in their path and just then cleaned everything out to sea. There were homes. There were roofs. There were cattle. There were bits and pieces of furniture. And the sea was so powerful that everything disappeared in a matter of minutes.
Right at this point in time because of the force of those waves some one million people have been displaced. Some hundreds of thousands of people are homeless, and they have been brought to shelters like this one. There are 1,500 people in this shelter, which is being run by the Catholic Church. Here, people are being clothed, fed and sheltered. And local citizens are dropping in with food and donations.
In the meantime, a relief operation is continuing throughout this country. I've noticed just this morning several wounded Western tourists were brought into Colombo Airport. They describe themselves as the -- quote -- "lucky ones." They say the beaches of Sri Lanka are still littered with dozens and dozens of dead bodies. It has now been confirmed that many of the dead on these beaches are Western tourists.
Rick -- back to you.
SANCHEZ: One wonders at the very beginning of this thing, as you were describing it, most people think of a tidal wave as a giant wall that takes over part of the coastline. But the way you describe it, you made it sound like the coastline was sucked into the ocean, almost like a downdraft effect. Could you explain that us to a little more so we can get a better understanding of it?
BINDRA: Well, yes, that's the way I experienced it. And others will tell you different. Others tell me that they suddenly saw the waters rise. And before they knew it, they were, like, standing in waist-deep water. And to them, the effect was gradual...
SANCHEZ: Did we just lose him? Yes, we did. Unfortunately, we've lost the connection with Satinder Bindra, who is in Sri Lanka. And once again, we should note Sri Lanka is the area that's been by far hardest hid. Some estimates -- and this could still grow or change -- up to 10,000 people may have lost their lives. We'll stay on this story.
Heidi -- over to you.
COLLINS: We, of course, as you said, are going to stick with that story. But we do want to go to the weather right now. And Chad Myers has been watching the tsunami. You can check there on our Web site, CNN.com. We've got all of the very latest information for you on what's happened in the Indian Ocean affecting six countries there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Meanwhile, though, the Asia tsunamis are no doubt one of this year's biggest stories. And all this week we'll be looking back at the year's other big events in our series, "The Last Word."
This morning, the top news stories of 2004.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE KLEIN, "TIME" MAGAZINE COLUMNIST: This has been a disastrous year in Iraq almost from beginning to end. The insurgency has spread. Our ability to secure the place and to improve life for the Iraqis has been virtually non-existent. There isn't anybody I speak to in the foreign policy military or intelligence field who believes that this is going well.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No question about it, the bombers are having an effect. But we must meet the objective, which is to help the Iraqis defend themselves, and at the same time have a political process to go forward. It's in our long- term interest that we succeed.
CLIFF MAY, FMR. RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: When this war began that was different than other wars, a small war, we did not have preparation for it, or at least not enough preparation, not enough special forces, not enough Marines who know how to handle these kinds of things, fighting street to street. Satellite technology doesn't do you a lot of good when you're in urban combat. But in a war like this, there is no front line.
The war can be with anywhere at all. And we are learning painfully, but I think learning nonetheless, how to fight a different kind of war, a kind of war we hope not to fight and haven't had to fight too much in the past. KEN POLLACK, SABAN CENTER AT BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: The United States needed to reach out very quickly to key Iraqi leaders and not exclude them from the government process, helping bringing them in. And at the same time to start long-term processes, long-term processes, to build a new Iraqi security force, one that could take over for the United States at some point in the future.
BEN STEIN, AUTHOR, "CAN AMERICA SURVIVE?": Mr. Bush has just got to get a plan for getting a handle on Iraq.
BUSH: I'm now pleased and honored to sign into law the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
STEPHEN FLYNN, AUTHOR, "AMERICA THE VULNERABLE": Terrorism is probably going to be a bit like the flu. We're going to have different strains each season. But just like the flu, though, we manage the epidemic every year by figuring out ways to inoculate the population and treat those who are affected by it. This is how we're going to have to think about the war on terror.
KLEIN: There are still lots of different ways that we can be hit. And most of the intelligence people I talk to say that they wake up every day fearing that today is going to be the day it happens again.
MARY PETCHIT, MOTHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: We can't afford to look the other way and pretend we're safe.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: We've captured a great number of al Qaeda operatives. We've disrupted the communications network, some of which al Qaeda rely. We've beefed up our border security. We've tightened control of our airports. But there's still so much more to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The 2004 elections were transformative.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm John Kerry, and I'm reporting for duty!
MARY MATALIN, SR. BUSH CAMPAIGN ADVISOR: Look, something beats nothing every time. Senator Kerry did not provide an alternative, and the ideas he did put on the table were, frankly, retro
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: It was a failure to realize that the Swift Boat controversy was going to really hurt his campaign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He betrayed us in the past. How could we be loyal to him now?
GREENFIELD: It raised questions about him. He was not a well- known person even though he was the nominee of the party. And the failure to respond to that in a very tough, clear way, I think, was a very hurtful thing.
ANDY BOROWTIZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: I think President Bush got re-elected, because, first of all, a lot of people like him. Secondly, he appealed to the whole faith-based spirit in the country. And, third, I really don't think that the country was ready for a first lady who could swear in five languages.
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think the most memorable thing about the 2004 campaign was the extraordinary skill of George W. Bush as a campaigner, becoming the first Republican since Ronald Reagan to win two terms.
BUSH: With your help, we will carry this great state and win tomorrow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all win. We all lose. We had put up with Bill Clinton for eight years. We had ulcers and had to use a lot of Maalox. But we made it. Get over it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a new day for George Bush. And I wish him a happy New Year and a happy, successful four years, because this is it for George Bush. And let's hope we get it right this time.
MARNIE TAYLOR, HURRICANE VICTIM: Everything was stripped from us in a matter of a couple of hours. We were lost. We had, like, no clue of what to do. You know, being homeless in a matter of hours is, like, devastating.
MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: You don't have to have four to cause a lot of damage. It only takes that one hurricane, you know, of your community to make for a bad year. As far as Florida goes, we had four very strong hurricanes, three major hurricanes and one CAT-2 (ph), almost a major hurricane. That has never happened to the state of Florida since we've been keeping records. You'd have to go all the way back to 1886 to find four hurricanes hitting one state, and that was Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Thanks to Ethel Bass (ph) for that great story.
And tomorrow, we're going to have "The Last Word" on this year's big courtroom dramas, from Scott Peterson to Kobe Bryant, and Martha Stewart to Michael Jackson.
SANCHEZ: Well, there is only a week left. But how is Wall Street going to look back on 2004? Andy is going to be "Minding Your Business."
COLLINS: Plus, we got to "Meet the Fockers" this weekend. And careful how you say that. But were we not better off knowing them at all, or were we better off knowing them at all? I don't know. You've got to see the movie.
SANCHEZ: Good movie.
COLLINS: You've got to see the movie. "90-Second Pop" is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERT DE NIRO, ACTOR: Just try to understand, he's a little person. His communication skills aren't verbal but he understands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Well, the markets are on a roll as the end of the year draws closer. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" and has a check on his football picks, of course. And the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), right?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Football and the stock market go together. Yes, a lot of newspapers have business and sports in the same section.
Let's check out and see what happened last week, Heidi. Another good one for Wall Street and for investors. You can see here even without trading on Friday, we still managed some nice gains. And you can see here, the Dow was up over 1 percent last week, which is significant, because it's only up about 3 percent for the year, as we wind down towards January 1 here.
What's happening this morning? The futures are higher. The Asian markets are mixed. The economic fallout from the tsunamis and earthquakes obviously is going to be huge, but still to be determined. And there is an awful lot of sorting out to be done there.
Shifting gears, let's talk about football, a big weekend for all of those NFL team and for our anchors, particularly Soledad O'Brien. She cannot be stopped. She did so well she took the day off. Bill Hemmer also did so, his Bengals did, that he took the day off.
COLLINS: I know.
SANCHEZ: They won yesterday.
SERWER: Yes, we did all right. What happened to me? The fight before Christmas, I lost that game. The Packers beat the Vikings.
COLLINS: Yes, how sickening is that?
SERWER: That was a really good game, though. That was really an exciting game.
COLLINS: It was in the beginning until the end.
SERWER: Eli Manning let me down again. So what else is new? And Chad Pennington, Chad, it's not the media's fault. It's not about the media. Just play the game. OK? You got yourself whooped. Stop beating up on the reporters.
SANCHEZ: God, did he set himself up for something yesterday?
SERWER: He did. Well, it's -- you know, it's a difficult situation playing in New York for some people.
COLLINS: Yes, something like that.
SERWER: Yes.
COLLINS: All right, Andy, thank you.
SERWER: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Well, Prince is still pop royalty. But there is a new reason why you should start calling him "king." "90-Second Pop" is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Oh, you've got to love him. How about we lighten things up a little bit, huh? It's time now for a Monday edition of "90-Second Pop" with all of our pop players. Josh Elliott, staff writer for "Sports Illustrated." Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine. And B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly."
Good morning, guys.
SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Thanks.
COLLINS: Thank you for being here. All right, let's talk about that guy, Mr. Prince. They're calling him now the king of pop. I thought that name belonged to somebody else.
JOSH ELLIOTT, STAFF WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, as well they should. He, of course, grossed more millions of dollars than any other...
COLLINS: Gazillion.
ELLIOTT: ... pop act out there this past year.
BERNARD: It was gazillions actually.
ELLIOTT: It was actually gazillions and gazillions. Really because of people like yourself. You know, we over-teens, I guess, we can just say, you know, we still go to concerts. And we still have relationships with artists that drive us out, even, you know, when the prices to tickets start approaching gross national product, you know, category.
COLLINS: I'm sure he's right.
ELLIOTT: And, you know, they don't anymore. I think it's just really the whole idea that the notion of a pop star has changed. They have play lists that we want to hear. We remember them growing up. There is nostalgia. I mean, there are a lot of things.
COLLINS: Yes, there is nostalgia in Prince songs.
BERNARD: And I think what was amazing about musicology and his whole musicology tour is that this was propelled by word of mouth, really. I mean, everyone who saw it, it was sold out, people went multiple times, and they told people. And it just kind of grew and grew and grew. It wasn't so much that there was a huge marketing campaign for it. It was that...
ELLIOTT: Yes, and he played, too. He played the hits.
COLLINS: Yes, it was amazing.
ELLIOTT: He gave you the songs you wanted.
COLLINS: Yes.
B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": The other thing, though, was...
ELLIOTT: You had "Purple Rain" on dance. He really played...
COLLINS: It was almost like "Unplugged".
SIGESMUND: Right. Yes. And you could afford to go. The average person paid $60 to see Prince opposed to $140 to see Madonna.
ELLIOTT: Well, look...
BERNARD: Right.
SIGESMUND: And the flip side of that, of course, is that Prince did something like 95 shows this summer, and Madonna only did 40.
BERNARD: He did a lot more.
ELLIOTT: But also remember this: He can perform, and he can sing. That's another thing.
COLLINS: He can dance.
ELLIOTT: In the actual sense of the word. You don't have to perform anymore.
COLLINS: Right.
ELLIOTT: They just become pop stars.
BERNARD: Do you know who is really upset about this? Celine Dion. She's at Caesar's Palace every night.
COLLINS: Yes.
BERNARD: And she didn't even get the highest-ranking sales.
SIGESMUND: Yes, poor Celine. Poor her.
BERNARD: Poor Celine.
COLLINS: I really did, too. Anyway, how about "Meet the Fockers", B.J.? SIGESMUND: Yes.
COLLINS: And I have really been careful about how I've been saying that.
SIGESMUND: I know.
COLLINS: Well, what about that (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
SIGESMUND: Yes. Well, first of all, the movie made $45 million, which was a huge record for a Christmas movie. You don't realize it, but Christmas Day was on a Saturday this year, which meant a lot fewer people went to the movies. But this thing still, though, was the biggest Christmas Day movie of all time. It made $45 million, like I said.
COLLINS: Man!
SIGESMUND: And it was basically because the movie fit the holiday weekend theme. It's about two families coming together in a culture clash. You know, you've got Terry Polo's (ph) waspy parents meeting Ben Stiller's Jewish earthy parents. And you cannot discount the Barbra Streisand factor.
COLLINS: So, was she...
ELLIOTT: What says Christmas like than Barbra Streisand?
BERNARD: Yentil (ph)!
SIGESMUND: Right.
BERNARD: Perfect.
SIGESMUND: It was her first movie in eight years. And she's been so serious and political lately people forgot that she was funny. She is the funny girl, right? She's flirty in this movie. She plays a sex therapist for seniors.
COLLINS: So she pulled it off.
SIGESMUND: She pulled it off. She is great. She wears a wig, funny enough. It's just a...
BERNARD: Was that a wig?
SIGESMUND: Yes, that's a wig.
COLLINS: I didn't know that.
BERNARD: There is something for every single age group by decade in this movie. You know, there is the Ben Stiller for the young ones. There is De Niro, Dustin Hoffman. I mean, it's like they perfectly planned it to appeal to every single person.
SIGESMUND: Absolutely. ELLIOTT: But how -- Ben Stiller is like the Starbucks of movie actors now.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
ELLIOTT: There is a Ben Stiller movie on every corner. I mean, there is a Ben Stiller movie in Ben Stiller movies now.
COLLINS: Oh, I love him, though.
BERNARD: Me too.
COLLINS: Yes.
SIGESMUND: He does not like to not work.
COLLINS: No, this is true.
BERNARD: I've heard that.
COLLINS: Maybe something that wasn't quite so well-planned...
BERNARD: Yes.
COLLINS: ... Jennifer Lopez and those weddings and such. She is now...
ELLIOTT: She's in the news.
COLLINS: She is in the news again, Josh.
BERNARD: But this is actually not her doing. It's kind of amazing. She's in the news for something else.
COLLINS: Legal trouble.
BERNARD: Her first ex-husband -- you know, she's had many, so we have to go back all the way to her fist one, named Ojani Noa. He was actually a waiter back in the day when they met. And even after their 10 and a half month marriage -- OK, under a year -- she gave him a job at her restaurant in L.A. And...
COLLINS: Of course she did.
BERNARD: Of course she did, because she's a nice girl. And what happened is eventually a couple months later, he got the ax. And he is now suing her, because he said he was wrongly fired. She had promised him that he was going to stay on. Now I...
COLLINS: Was there any contract?
BERNARD: There was no contract, Ojani. What are you thinking?
SIGESMUND: Right.
BERNARD: And, you know, this is kind of like your worst nightmare. It's like the ultimate ex...
ELLIOTT: This is my worst nightmare.
BERNARD: No, it's like...
ELLIOTT: Let me tell your wife.
BERNARD: ... ex-boyfriends cannot do this. They cannot come back to haunt you like that!
SIGESMUND: Especially after you've given them a job.
ELLIOTT: Especially when you're J.Lo. Ojani Noa has actually gone and made J.Lo a sympathetic figure.
BERNARD: That's right.
COLLINS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) something to do.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
ELLIOTT: That is a staggering achievement.
SIGESMUND: For a laugh, now you've got to check out Ojani Noa's Web site. If you go there, you'll see that it says it's launching in 2004. And we have days left until 2005. You would think...
BERNARD: And if you go there, you'll see that it's basically naked pictures.
SIGESMUND: Right.
COLLINS: On that note, thanks so much, you guys, I think. Josh, Sarah and B.J., thanks again.
Rick -- back over to you.
SANCHEZ: Good stuff. Appreciate it.
Well, today's top stories are straight ahead, including the tsunami disaster that we've been telling you about in Southeast Asia. We're going to hear from another survivor about the devastation that he witnessed. This is such an expansive area that there are different people affected in different ways in different places. And we'll try and get to as many as we can.
Also, could the same type of disaster happen here, affecting us? We'll try and answer that for you on AMERICAN MORNING.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired December 27, 2004 - 07:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We do want to give you a sneak peek at "90-Second Pop."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS (voice over): Maybe Prince should change his name to king. The purple one has a brand-new reason to go crazy.
Plus, audiences "Meet the Fockers."
BARBRA STREISAND, ACTRESS: Let me work out the kinks.
COLLINS: But did the movie's new funny girl fail to live up to her nickname? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: It is just about half past the hour now on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Heidi Collins in for Soledad.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rick Sanchez. I'm sitting in here for Bill on this day.
We are continuing to gather information about the tidal waves that struck from the Indian Ocean. You can see these pictures now that we are getting in this morning.
The latest mind-numbing death toll from Sri Lanka. We're hearing about total 21,000 people dead. Again, we're trying to get accurate numbers. As you would imagine, those numbers are expected to change. So, we are watching it for you.
SANCHEZ: It's amazing that as the year ends, we're struck by what may be the most devastating story of the year.
COLLINS: I know it.
SANCHEZ: But we're certainly going to take a look back at some of the other stories that have affected us in this year of 2004. We're looking back at those. There is often a huge story in December like the tsunamis that makes you forgot some of the other events that have taken place during the year. But there have been some real turning points that are going to make people remember 2004 for a long, long time to come.
COLLINS: And one of those turning points was that Carol Costello was moving to New York. And here she is now.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That is one of the most thrilling stories of 2004, isn't it?
COLLINS: Yes, for you!
COSTELLO: Exactly.
SANCHEZ: At least in your life, right?
COSTELLO: Exactly. Good morning to you. Good morning, all of you.
"Now in the News."
We start with tragic news. At least six people are dead after a suicide car bombing in Iraq. The blast took place near the Baghdad headquarters of one of the main Shiite political parties. The head of the party was not in the building at the time of that attack, but more than 30 others were. They are wounded this morning.
Israel is releasing nearly 160 Palestinian prisoners as part of a deal with Egypt. Israel says the move is also a gesture to the new Palestinian leadership. There are an estimated 7,000 Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons.
An aspiring California actor is home again after a long ordeal in a Pakistani prison. Eric Anthony Aude (ph), greeted yesterday at Los Angeles Airport by family members, after serving two years on drug charges. Two months ago, a convicted drug dealer admitted to putting almost eight pounds of opium in Aude's (ph) luggage, but never telling him about it.
And a touchdown record breaker for Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning. We knew it would come sooner or later. Manning beat Dan Marino's single-season passing record, 48th TD with just under a minute left in yesterday's game. That set the Colts up for a 34-31 overtime win over San Diego. And, you know, his parents almost didn't make it, because they were stuck in Memphis at the airport because of all of those travel delays.
COLLINS: Yes, I was stuck there watching the game as it went on and on. So that was one good thing. I got to see the whole game.
COSTELLO: You got to see the end of that exciting game.
COLLINS: Yes. So they made it, though, right?
COSTELLO: They made it, though, because the Colts sent a private plane to pick them up.
COLLINS: Well, I didn't have that from CNN!
SANCHEZ: Even if they would have missed it, though, they could have seen it 500 times last night on ESPN.
COSTELLO: You got that right.
SANCHEZ: Or was it 501?
COLLINS: Carol, thank you.
SANCHEZ: Well, officials in Asia are focusing today on trying to contain the devastation left from deadly tsunamis across the southeastern part of Asia. We're going to take a look at some video we're going to showing you throughout the day. This is from Thailand in particular.
Hundreds of thousands were left homeless. Concerns now that any delay in recovery and relief efforts could cause further death and disease.
Now, CNN's Satinder Bindra witnessed the tsunami that actually hit Sri Lanka, where more than 10,000 people have died. He's joining us now via videophone from a relief shelter just outside of Colombo.
Satinder, there is no place that has been struck as tough or as hard as Sri Lanka has been because of the proximity to the earthquake. Describe for us the first moments of this thing. If you witnessed it yourself, tell us what you were doing and what you saw with your own eyes.
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Rick, when the tidal wave struck, they were like giant vacuum cleaners. They hit the shore, destroyed everything in their path and just then cleaned everything out to sea. There were homes. There were roofs. There were cattle. There were bits and pieces of furniture. And the sea was so powerful that everything disappeared in a matter of minutes.
Right at this point in time because of the force of those waves some one million people have been displaced. Some hundreds of thousands of people are homeless, and they have been brought to shelters like this one. There are 1,500 people in this shelter, which is being run by the Catholic Church. Here, people are being clothed, fed and sheltered. And local citizens are dropping in with food and donations.
In the meantime, a relief operation is continuing throughout this country. I've noticed just this morning several wounded Western tourists were brought into Colombo Airport. They describe themselves as the -- quote -- "lucky ones." They say the beaches of Sri Lanka are still littered with dozens and dozens of dead bodies. It has now been confirmed that many of the dead on these beaches are Western tourists.
Rick -- back to you.
SANCHEZ: One wonders at the very beginning of this thing, as you were describing it, most people think of a tidal wave as a giant wall that takes over part of the coastline. But the way you describe it, you made it sound like the coastline was sucked into the ocean, almost like a downdraft effect. Could you explain that us to a little more so we can get a better understanding of it?
BINDRA: Well, yes, that's the way I experienced it. And others will tell you different. Others tell me that they suddenly saw the waters rise. And before they knew it, they were, like, standing in waist-deep water. And to them, the effect was gradual...
SANCHEZ: Did we just lose him? Yes, we did. Unfortunately, we've lost the connection with Satinder Bindra, who is in Sri Lanka. And once again, we should note Sri Lanka is the area that's been by far hardest hid. Some estimates -- and this could still grow or change -- up to 10,000 people may have lost their lives. We'll stay on this story.
Heidi -- over to you.
COLLINS: We, of course, as you said, are going to stick with that story. But we do want to go to the weather right now. And Chad Myers has been watching the tsunami. You can check there on our Web site, CNN.com. We've got all of the very latest information for you on what's happened in the Indian Ocean affecting six countries there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Meanwhile, though, the Asia tsunamis are no doubt one of this year's biggest stories. And all this week we'll be looking back at the year's other big events in our series, "The Last Word."
This morning, the top news stories of 2004.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE KLEIN, "TIME" MAGAZINE COLUMNIST: This has been a disastrous year in Iraq almost from beginning to end. The insurgency has spread. Our ability to secure the place and to improve life for the Iraqis has been virtually non-existent. There isn't anybody I speak to in the foreign policy military or intelligence field who believes that this is going well.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No question about it, the bombers are having an effect. But we must meet the objective, which is to help the Iraqis defend themselves, and at the same time have a political process to go forward. It's in our long- term interest that we succeed.
CLIFF MAY, FMR. RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: When this war began that was different than other wars, a small war, we did not have preparation for it, or at least not enough preparation, not enough special forces, not enough Marines who know how to handle these kinds of things, fighting street to street. Satellite technology doesn't do you a lot of good when you're in urban combat. But in a war like this, there is no front line.
The war can be with anywhere at all. And we are learning painfully, but I think learning nonetheless, how to fight a different kind of war, a kind of war we hope not to fight and haven't had to fight too much in the past. KEN POLLACK, SABAN CENTER AT BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: The United States needed to reach out very quickly to key Iraqi leaders and not exclude them from the government process, helping bringing them in. And at the same time to start long-term processes, long-term processes, to build a new Iraqi security force, one that could take over for the United States at some point in the future.
BEN STEIN, AUTHOR, "CAN AMERICA SURVIVE?": Mr. Bush has just got to get a plan for getting a handle on Iraq.
BUSH: I'm now pleased and honored to sign into law the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
STEPHEN FLYNN, AUTHOR, "AMERICA THE VULNERABLE": Terrorism is probably going to be a bit like the flu. We're going to have different strains each season. But just like the flu, though, we manage the epidemic every year by figuring out ways to inoculate the population and treat those who are affected by it. This is how we're going to have to think about the war on terror.
KLEIN: There are still lots of different ways that we can be hit. And most of the intelligence people I talk to say that they wake up every day fearing that today is going to be the day it happens again.
MARY PETCHIT, MOTHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: We can't afford to look the other way and pretend we're safe.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: We've captured a great number of al Qaeda operatives. We've disrupted the communications network, some of which al Qaeda rely. We've beefed up our border security. We've tightened control of our airports. But there's still so much more to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The 2004 elections were transformative.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm John Kerry, and I'm reporting for duty!
MARY MATALIN, SR. BUSH CAMPAIGN ADVISOR: Look, something beats nothing every time. Senator Kerry did not provide an alternative, and the ideas he did put on the table were, frankly, retro
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: It was a failure to realize that the Swift Boat controversy was going to really hurt his campaign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He betrayed us in the past. How could we be loyal to him now?
GREENFIELD: It raised questions about him. He was not a well- known person even though he was the nominee of the party. And the failure to respond to that in a very tough, clear way, I think, was a very hurtful thing.
ANDY BOROWTIZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: I think President Bush got re-elected, because, first of all, a lot of people like him. Secondly, he appealed to the whole faith-based spirit in the country. And, third, I really don't think that the country was ready for a first lady who could swear in five languages.
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think the most memorable thing about the 2004 campaign was the extraordinary skill of George W. Bush as a campaigner, becoming the first Republican since Ronald Reagan to win two terms.
BUSH: With your help, we will carry this great state and win tomorrow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all win. We all lose. We had put up with Bill Clinton for eight years. We had ulcers and had to use a lot of Maalox. But we made it. Get over it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a new day for George Bush. And I wish him a happy New Year and a happy, successful four years, because this is it for George Bush. And let's hope we get it right this time.
MARNIE TAYLOR, HURRICANE VICTIM: Everything was stripped from us in a matter of a couple of hours. We were lost. We had, like, no clue of what to do. You know, being homeless in a matter of hours is, like, devastating.
MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: You don't have to have four to cause a lot of damage. It only takes that one hurricane, you know, of your community to make for a bad year. As far as Florida goes, we had four very strong hurricanes, three major hurricanes and one CAT-2 (ph), almost a major hurricane. That has never happened to the state of Florida since we've been keeping records. You'd have to go all the way back to 1886 to find four hurricanes hitting one state, and that was Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Thanks to Ethel Bass (ph) for that great story.
And tomorrow, we're going to have "The Last Word" on this year's big courtroom dramas, from Scott Peterson to Kobe Bryant, and Martha Stewart to Michael Jackson.
SANCHEZ: Well, there is only a week left. But how is Wall Street going to look back on 2004? Andy is going to be "Minding Your Business."
COLLINS: Plus, we got to "Meet the Fockers" this weekend. And careful how you say that. But were we not better off knowing them at all, or were we better off knowing them at all? I don't know. You've got to see the movie.
SANCHEZ: Good movie.
COLLINS: You've got to see the movie. "90-Second Pop" is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERT DE NIRO, ACTOR: Just try to understand, he's a little person. His communication skills aren't verbal but he understands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Well, the markets are on a roll as the end of the year draws closer. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" and has a check on his football picks, of course. And the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), right?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Football and the stock market go together. Yes, a lot of newspapers have business and sports in the same section.
Let's check out and see what happened last week, Heidi. Another good one for Wall Street and for investors. You can see here even without trading on Friday, we still managed some nice gains. And you can see here, the Dow was up over 1 percent last week, which is significant, because it's only up about 3 percent for the year, as we wind down towards January 1 here.
What's happening this morning? The futures are higher. The Asian markets are mixed. The economic fallout from the tsunamis and earthquakes obviously is going to be huge, but still to be determined. And there is an awful lot of sorting out to be done there.
Shifting gears, let's talk about football, a big weekend for all of those NFL team and for our anchors, particularly Soledad O'Brien. She cannot be stopped. She did so well she took the day off. Bill Hemmer also did so, his Bengals did, that he took the day off.
COLLINS: I know.
SANCHEZ: They won yesterday.
SERWER: Yes, we did all right. What happened to me? The fight before Christmas, I lost that game. The Packers beat the Vikings.
COLLINS: Yes, how sickening is that?
SERWER: That was a really good game, though. That was really an exciting game.
COLLINS: It was in the beginning until the end.
SERWER: Eli Manning let me down again. So what else is new? And Chad Pennington, Chad, it's not the media's fault. It's not about the media. Just play the game. OK? You got yourself whooped. Stop beating up on the reporters.
SANCHEZ: God, did he set himself up for something yesterday?
SERWER: He did. Well, it's -- you know, it's a difficult situation playing in New York for some people.
COLLINS: Yes, something like that.
SERWER: Yes.
COLLINS: All right, Andy, thank you.
SERWER: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Well, Prince is still pop royalty. But there is a new reason why you should start calling him "king." "90-Second Pop" is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Oh, you've got to love him. How about we lighten things up a little bit, huh? It's time now for a Monday edition of "90-Second Pop" with all of our pop players. Josh Elliott, staff writer for "Sports Illustrated." Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine. And B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly."
Good morning, guys.
SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Thanks.
COLLINS: Thank you for being here. All right, let's talk about that guy, Mr. Prince. They're calling him now the king of pop. I thought that name belonged to somebody else.
JOSH ELLIOTT, STAFF WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, as well they should. He, of course, grossed more millions of dollars than any other...
COLLINS: Gazillion.
ELLIOTT: ... pop act out there this past year.
BERNARD: It was gazillions actually.
ELLIOTT: It was actually gazillions and gazillions. Really because of people like yourself. You know, we over-teens, I guess, we can just say, you know, we still go to concerts. And we still have relationships with artists that drive us out, even, you know, when the prices to tickets start approaching gross national product, you know, category.
COLLINS: I'm sure he's right.
ELLIOTT: And, you know, they don't anymore. I think it's just really the whole idea that the notion of a pop star has changed. They have play lists that we want to hear. We remember them growing up. There is nostalgia. I mean, there are a lot of things.
COLLINS: Yes, there is nostalgia in Prince songs.
BERNARD: And I think what was amazing about musicology and his whole musicology tour is that this was propelled by word of mouth, really. I mean, everyone who saw it, it was sold out, people went multiple times, and they told people. And it just kind of grew and grew and grew. It wasn't so much that there was a huge marketing campaign for it. It was that...
ELLIOTT: Yes, and he played, too. He played the hits.
COLLINS: Yes, it was amazing.
ELLIOTT: He gave you the songs you wanted.
COLLINS: Yes.
B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": The other thing, though, was...
ELLIOTT: You had "Purple Rain" on dance. He really played...
COLLINS: It was almost like "Unplugged".
SIGESMUND: Right. Yes. And you could afford to go. The average person paid $60 to see Prince opposed to $140 to see Madonna.
ELLIOTT: Well, look...
BERNARD: Right.
SIGESMUND: And the flip side of that, of course, is that Prince did something like 95 shows this summer, and Madonna only did 40.
BERNARD: He did a lot more.
ELLIOTT: But also remember this: He can perform, and he can sing. That's another thing.
COLLINS: He can dance.
ELLIOTT: In the actual sense of the word. You don't have to perform anymore.
COLLINS: Right.
ELLIOTT: They just become pop stars.
BERNARD: Do you know who is really upset about this? Celine Dion. She's at Caesar's Palace every night.
COLLINS: Yes.
BERNARD: And she didn't even get the highest-ranking sales.
SIGESMUND: Yes, poor Celine. Poor her.
BERNARD: Poor Celine.
COLLINS: I really did, too. Anyway, how about "Meet the Fockers", B.J.? SIGESMUND: Yes.
COLLINS: And I have really been careful about how I've been saying that.
SIGESMUND: I know.
COLLINS: Well, what about that (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
SIGESMUND: Yes. Well, first of all, the movie made $45 million, which was a huge record for a Christmas movie. You don't realize it, but Christmas Day was on a Saturday this year, which meant a lot fewer people went to the movies. But this thing still, though, was the biggest Christmas Day movie of all time. It made $45 million, like I said.
COLLINS: Man!
SIGESMUND: And it was basically because the movie fit the holiday weekend theme. It's about two families coming together in a culture clash. You know, you've got Terry Polo's (ph) waspy parents meeting Ben Stiller's Jewish earthy parents. And you cannot discount the Barbra Streisand factor.
COLLINS: So, was she...
ELLIOTT: What says Christmas like than Barbra Streisand?
BERNARD: Yentil (ph)!
SIGESMUND: Right.
BERNARD: Perfect.
SIGESMUND: It was her first movie in eight years. And she's been so serious and political lately people forgot that she was funny. She is the funny girl, right? She's flirty in this movie. She plays a sex therapist for seniors.
COLLINS: So she pulled it off.
SIGESMUND: She pulled it off. She is great. She wears a wig, funny enough. It's just a...
BERNARD: Was that a wig?
SIGESMUND: Yes, that's a wig.
COLLINS: I didn't know that.
BERNARD: There is something for every single age group by decade in this movie. You know, there is the Ben Stiller for the young ones. There is De Niro, Dustin Hoffman. I mean, it's like they perfectly planned it to appeal to every single person.
SIGESMUND: Absolutely. ELLIOTT: But how -- Ben Stiller is like the Starbucks of movie actors now.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
ELLIOTT: There is a Ben Stiller movie on every corner. I mean, there is a Ben Stiller movie in Ben Stiller movies now.
COLLINS: Oh, I love him, though.
BERNARD: Me too.
COLLINS: Yes.
SIGESMUND: He does not like to not work.
COLLINS: No, this is true.
BERNARD: I've heard that.
COLLINS: Maybe something that wasn't quite so well-planned...
BERNARD: Yes.
COLLINS: ... Jennifer Lopez and those weddings and such. She is now...
ELLIOTT: She's in the news.
COLLINS: She is in the news again, Josh.
BERNARD: But this is actually not her doing. It's kind of amazing. She's in the news for something else.
COLLINS: Legal trouble.
BERNARD: Her first ex-husband -- you know, she's had many, so we have to go back all the way to her fist one, named Ojani Noa. He was actually a waiter back in the day when they met. And even after their 10 and a half month marriage -- OK, under a year -- she gave him a job at her restaurant in L.A. And...
COLLINS: Of course she did.
BERNARD: Of course she did, because she's a nice girl. And what happened is eventually a couple months later, he got the ax. And he is now suing her, because he said he was wrongly fired. She had promised him that he was going to stay on. Now I...
COLLINS: Was there any contract?
BERNARD: There was no contract, Ojani. What are you thinking?
SIGESMUND: Right.
BERNARD: And, you know, this is kind of like your worst nightmare. It's like the ultimate ex...
ELLIOTT: This is my worst nightmare.
BERNARD: No, it's like...
ELLIOTT: Let me tell your wife.
BERNARD: ... ex-boyfriends cannot do this. They cannot come back to haunt you like that!
SIGESMUND: Especially after you've given them a job.
ELLIOTT: Especially when you're J.Lo. Ojani Noa has actually gone and made J.Lo a sympathetic figure.
BERNARD: That's right.
COLLINS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) something to do.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
ELLIOTT: That is a staggering achievement.
SIGESMUND: For a laugh, now you've got to check out Ojani Noa's Web site. If you go there, you'll see that it says it's launching in 2004. And we have days left until 2005. You would think...
BERNARD: And if you go there, you'll see that it's basically naked pictures.
SIGESMUND: Right.
COLLINS: On that note, thanks so much, you guys, I think. Josh, Sarah and B.J., thanks again.
Rick -- back over to you.
SANCHEZ: Good stuff. Appreciate it.
Well, today's top stories are straight ahead, including the tsunami disaster that we've been telling you about in Southeast Asia. We're going to hear from another survivor about the devastation that he witnessed. This is such an expansive area that there are different people affected in different ways in different places. And we'll try and get to as many as we can.
Also, could the same type of disaster happen here, affecting us? We'll try and answer that for you on AMERICAN MORNING.
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