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American Morning

Perhaps Greatest Relief Effort Ever Mounted Under Way

Aired December 28, 2004 - 07:00   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: The next wave. Perhaps the greatest relief effort ever mounted is under way at this hour. The U.S. joins aid agencies mobilizing to head off an epidemic. Piles of bodies destined for mass graves with more washing ashore. The newest estimate, 26,000 people dead and just as many still missing. But for some, prayers are answered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thank god that my family is alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Among the missing, a single baby boy, a needle in a haystack, lost, and then found on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everybody. Bill and Soledad are off this morning. I'm Rick Sanchez.

COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. Good morning everybody.

SANCHEZ: We do have a lot to talk about today. What we know about the tsunami crisis is that officials in Sri Lanka and Indonesia are saying the number of dead could still double. They're still trying to make contact and trying to assess the situation over there.

There's worldwide concern about epidemics of things like cholera and typhoid and dysentery. Secretary of State Colin Powell is going to be joining us. He's going to fill us in on what he knows. And what the United States is trying to do. And how much Washington is planning to spend to try and help the relief effort over there.

COLLINS: Yes, that number at $15 million right now. He says it could change. And Secretary Powell is, of course, tracking the number of Americans affected, as well. Some new numbers there, too.

And 31-year-old Aaron Davis has not been heard from since the tsunami hit. His mother is trying now to do everything she can to find him. We're going to ask her if the State Department is helping her.

SANCHEZ: Let's do this now. Let's check on some of the stories that we're following in the news and for that, Carol Costello joining us from the Time Warner -- Center.

Carol, over to you. It's early in the show.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I know it is. And I'll be over there soon. Thank you, Rick.

Good morning to all of you.

"Now In The News": A possible new terror tape that describes Abu Musab Al Zarqawi as the prince of Al Qaeda in Iraq. The Arab language network, Al Jazeera broadcasting an audiotape said to be from Osama bin Laden. The voice on the tape endorses the terror campaign of Al Zarqawi and calls on Iraqis to boycott the January 30 elections. A U.S. official telling CNN the CIA has analyzed the tape and appears to be authentic.

A court date today for the woman accused of strangling a pregnant mother and stealing her baby. Lisa Montgomery scheduled to make an appearance before a federal judge in Missouri in just a few hours. Federal prosecutors have charged the 36-year-old Montgomery with kidnapping, resulting in death.

Federal regulators trying to stall a $1 million plus annual pension for the forced out chairman of Fannie Mae. Franklin Raines, quit the mortgage giant a week ago. His resignation comes days after the SEC ordered Fannie Mae to restate earnings due to accounting violations. The feds say they don't want Raines paid until they have had time to investigate his pension package.

And in sports, playoff hopes still alive for the St. Louis Rams. The star of last night's game, running back Steve Jackson. Jackson leading the Rams to a 27 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. As far as playoffs go we'll see what happens Sunday. If the Rams beat the New York Jets they have a chance still to win the NFC West.

Back to you, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Carol. Thank you.

Three days after tsunamis swept across the Indian Ocean, the devastating effects still being felt on two continents. At least 26,000 people are dead, mostly in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka. And the magnitude of this tragedy is just now beginning to emerge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS (voice over): As the death toll from the tsunami disaster climbs staggeringly higher, a worldwide relief effort is under way. The White House has joined any global chorus pledging money and resources to help the humanitarian crisis.

COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This is indeed an international tragedy and we're going to do everything we can to assist the nations that have been affected in dealing with this tragedy.

COLLINS: The State Department says at least eight Americans have died and several hundred remain unaccounted for. Across Southern Asia, the urgent need now is clean water, food and medicine. The death and destruction has raised concerns about widespread water-borne illness.

The U.N. expects the cost of the devastation to be in the billions, but the human cost is unfathomable.

JAN EGELAND, UNICEF: Hundreds of thousands of livelihoods have gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god, this is a tidal wave.

COLLINS: The tsunami's path of destruction included some of the world's poorest villages and richest tourist sites. The end result was the same -- chaos.

And in Thailand's Phuket Island, in the midst of the suffering, a young face has become the symbol of despair and hope, a young boy found alone, taken to the hospital with no sign of his parents. Within hours after his picture was posted online, family members in Finland saw the photograph.

Turns out the boy's father and grandfather are in a different hospital. The boy has been now been re-united with his grandmother. His mother is still missing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Authorities in Thailand say as much as 600 people in Phuket may have been washed out to sea by the tsunami. Many are believed to be foreign nationals who were on the beach when the giant waves hit.

The international community is scrambling to help countries hit by the growing disaster now. And the number of Americans in the region dead or unaccounted for continues to grow as well.

A few moments ago I spoke with Secretary of State Colin Powell at the State Department about relief efforts. And I asked for his reaction to comments by a U.N. undersecretary-general, calling U.S. relief efforts stingy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It is a terrible catastrophe that has hit all of these countries, unprecedented in scope and scale. And that death toll you mentioned is liable to rise even higher. We will have to make an assessment as we move ahead to see what the needs are, to see what the countries are able to do for themselves, and what the international community needs.

We responded to the initial request that came from the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent with a $4 million contribution against their $7 million international request. We have added another $10 million. We have something like nine patrol planes on the way, and 12 C-130s loaded with relief supplies on the way. And we'll make a continuing assessment to see what the need is. The United States is not stingy. We are the greatest contributor to international relief efforts in the world. We do more to help people who are suffering from lack of food or are in poverty or suffering from HIV-AIDS. This administration has a particularly good record in increasing the amount of assistance we give to the world.

Obviously, we have to see what the need is in this terrible tragedy and will respond to the need, along with the rest of the international community.

COLLINS: I know you said yesterday, in your press conference, that there are eight Americans who have lost their lives in this. Still many more unaccounted for. Do you have an update on any of those figures for us?

POWELL: The latest numbers we have are 11 Americans lost their lives, a number have been wounded, and hundreds are yet unaccounted for. It doesn't mean they have been lost or injured or we haven't found them in hospitals yet. We haven't been able to run them all down because of difficult communications and people still checking in with our consular officers.

COLLINS: I imagine those people very desperately want to get home, back to this country. Any idea how many are still just strand there?

POWELL: I can't give you an answer to that. But obviously, the airline schedules have been disrupted, transportation has been disrupted. There are still hundreds, if not thousands of tourists, not just American tourists, but other tourists who are trying to get home or trying to get in touch with their families.

COLLINS: Well, I appreciate your answers on that.

Let's go ahead and turn the corner, if we could now, Mr. Secretary, in talking about this new tape from Osama bin Laden that the CIA has said they're moderately confident of its authenticity.

He seems to be endorsing Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, if that is the case, what kind of increased power does that give Zarqawi?

POWELL: I don't know if it is Osama bin Laden, and the CIA has not made a final judgment on that. It certainly rhetorically puts them together. Whether it gives them added strength or not in terms of resources, I can't answer, but it would rhetorically put them together.

They are both of a like kind, terrorist, murderers. They are speaking out against the election at the end of January in Iraq, because they don't want democracy, they don't want the Iraqi people to decide how they will be led. They want to take the Iraqi people back to the past. And that's why we must push forward and keep fighting this insurgency and move forward toward elections on the 30 of January, so the Iraqi people get the opportunity to speak for themselves. COLLINS: Right, as you mentioned the elections coming up so quickly. Just yesterday, the leader of one of the largest Sunni organizations, the Iraqi Islamic Party, announced they are going to boycott these elections, citing some security concerns and so forth. How big of a setback is that, or could it be, for the planned elections?

POWELL: It's a concern. They may change their mind and re-join. We'll have to wait and see. We're doing everything we can to improve the security in the Sunni areas. I don't think there's a problem in most of the country in getting a good turnout.

The problem is really in the Sunni area. And that is a densely populated area. We want to get a good turnout there. All of our coalition military efforts and Iraqi and military police efforts will be focusing on that the Sunni area in the weeks ahead to get that turnout.

We're encouraging Sunni leaders, especially Sunni leaders in neighboring countries to encourage Sunni leaders in Iraq to get their people out to come out and participate in this election.

If they don't participate in this election, they're denying themselves the opportunity to speak for the future of their country and how they're going to be lead, and who their leaders are going to be.

COLLINS: And whether they participate or not, the elections will go on January 30?

POWELL: The elections will go on. We hope this they will participate. If the election goes well, then we will have a transitional national assembly, that will reflect the will of the Iraqi people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Secretary of State Colin Powell talking with me just a little bit earlier today.

For information on how to help relief efforts for the tsunami, you can go to the State Department's website. You can see it at www.state.gov. Families members concerned about loved ones can call a State Department hotline, that number, 1-888-407 4747. We'll continue to give it to you throughout this morning.

Rick.

SANCHEZ: As you know, CNN has bureaus all over the world and from time to time, in the next couple of hours, while we are bringing you this broadcast, we'll bring you tape that we get in from different parts of the world, like this one. We have just received some tapes, moments ago. We'll look at it, ourselves, together here.

This is tape from that we're getting in from Thailand. It is a video of the first signs of relief effort that Heidi and Secretary of State Colin Powell were just talking about. Keep in mind the situation in Thailand is as bad as anywhere else.

Hundreds of people washed out to sea, many of them, by the way were tourists from all over the world, enjoying those beautiful beaches in Thailand.

These are the pictures we're getting in, obviously a tough hoe for those living there. Families gathering together and trucks trying to deliver whatever goods they can get to them. And we will be sharing it with you from time to time.

We also have pictures from Indonesia that we're getting -- pardon me, I'm being told now that was Indonesia, the pictures we said were coming in form Thailand, were actually coming in from Indonesia.

Remember, the center of this thing was near Sumatra. Sumatra is one of the westward islands of the Indonesian country. This is very near. Thailand will be just to the northeast of it. As we get pictures of this, we will continue to bring them to you.

It's been three days since the devastating tsunami hit that area of Southeast Asia that we've been referring to. And some families in the United States are desperately waiting to hear from loved ones. Edna Rainy's (ph) son, Aaron Davis, moved to Thailand last fall. She is joining us now from Tampa, Florida.

Miss Rainy, thanks so much for being with us this morning.

EDNA (ph) RAINY (ph), SON STILL MISSING IN TSUNAMI: Thank you for having me.

SANCHEZ: Your son, I understand, was over there teaching English. When was the last time you talked to him?

RAINY (ph): About Christmas Eve.

SANCHEZ: What did he have to say at the time? How was your conversation with him?

RAINY (ph): Oh, he was very upbeat about it. He was going on holiday. He said that he wanted to supplement his teaching income with doing some -- teaching Tae Kwon Do in some of the resorts. I don't know which resort he was talking about.

SANCHEZ: Sounds like he carried on a pretty good phone conversation with you that was what a weekly, is that fair?

RAINY (ph): Yes, that's fair.

SANCHEZ: So he calls all the time?

RAINY (ph): Yes, he does.

SANCHEZ: You haven't heard from him since this happened?

RAINY (ph): No, I haven't.

SANCHEZ: I imagine that has to have you somewhat concerned?

RAINY (ph): Yes, I'm very concerned.

SANCHEZ: What have you done as far as trying to reach out? For example, to the State Department to see if he made contact with them?

RAINY (ph): I talked to a person in the State Department, gave them as much information on him as possible, where he lives now, the school he teaches at. His sister has been on the Internet. She has talked to the Thai embassy, the American embassy in Thailand, of course.

And we have a number of relatives all over the country that he e- mails from time-to-time. And they're constantly e-mailing him at the school plus, you know, anywhere they think he could have been they have e-mail addresses.

SANCHEZ: So, you've been in contact with him. I guess it's a waiting game for you?

RAINY (ph): It's a waiting game, yes, it is.

SANCHEZ: Is there any other resource over there? Friends of his you think you may be able to contact that perhaps may be in contact with him, that he may have called, for example?

RAINY (ph): At this point, I don't know. He hadn't been over there very long. He had met several people who taught with him at the school, they were mostly Canadians. I don't know their names or anything like that, or any way to reach them.

SANCHEZ: Like you said, he teaches and practices Tae Kwon Do. We imagine and I'm sure you believe he's a man who is going to be able to take care of himself, and he's going to be just fine.

RAINY (ph): Aaron is a good guy, he will. He'll take care of himself and will help if he can.

SANCHEZ: Well, we are right there with you. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Miss Rainy. We thank you for joining us and we will certainly be checking back with you from time-to-time.

RAINY (ph): Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate.

SANCHEZ: All right. God bless.

You a can log on to CNN.com for the latest information on the tsunami disaster, and what you can do to help. You also find firsthand accounts from survivors and information on about how tsunamis are formed.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

SANCHEZ: The best and the worst commercials of 2004. Ice T and Darth Vader teaming up. And it was marketing gold, we are told. But what ads were, for example, the worst? COLLINS: Plus, Kobe and Michael and Martha, oh, my. Star wattage gets cranked up in court. We'll look back at 2004 legal dramas as well.

SANCHEZ: Also more on the purported new tape from Osama bin Laden. Is there a connection between the tape and what happened today in Iraq. We'll tell you what he had to say, all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Rick Sanchez. There's another tape, the CIA is saying, an audiotape aired on network Arabic network Al Jazeera appears to contain the voice of Osama bin Laden. The speaker urges Iraqis to boycott next month's elections, because he says it is against Islamic law; and praises the terror campaign of wanted militant Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, as well. Jeff Koinange is joining us from Baghdad with more on this.

Good morning to you, Jeff.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN INT'L CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick.

Remember back in October when Al Zarqawi pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden? Also, changing the name of his organization from Unification and Jihad, to Al Qaeda? Well we didn't hear too much from Osama bin Laden and the hierarchy there, until this time. So, if this tape is authentic, it's the very first time that Osama bin Laden actually mentions Al Zarqawi. Not only that he mentions -- he basically, appoints him as his deputy here in Iraq, urging all Iraqis to boycott that January 30 election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OSAMA BIN LADEN (through translator): We ask god to accept this unity and bless it and for all to know dear Mujaheed brother Abu Musab Al Zarqawi is the prince of Al Qaeda and Iraq. So we ask all our organizations brethren to listen to him and obey him in his good deeds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOINANGE: Now, Rick, it looks like there's a stepped up campaign, not just in Baghdad but across the country. No way to know whether this is related to the latest release of this audiotape. But we can tell you already 19 policemen dead in the town of Tikrit.

As you well, know, Tikrit is the former president Saddam Hussein's stronghold. In one incident, insurgents overran a police station and fired an RPG and also explosives into the police station. Six policemen dead, and five wounded.

In another attack at several police checkpoints, there was a gun battle between insurgents and police, there six dead, and five wounded. The death toll keeps rising. In another town, to show the callousness of these insurgents, Iraqi national guardsmen overran an explosive device, three of them were injured, their colleagues came out to help them. Put them on the ambulances, called for back up. As they were doing that they noticed another device that hadn't exploded.

They called in the experts and they told them come in. As soon as they were coming and trying to defuse the bomb, a suicide bomber crashed his vehicle, killing six, wounding another 26. So, Rick, the attacks are coming in thick and fast.

SANCHEZ: Jeff Koinange, bringing us up to date on the very latest that is going on in Iraq. And also the very latest on what appears to be an Osama bin Laden audiotape.

Heidi, over to you.

COLLINS: Holiday travelers had it pretty tough this weekend. Is it the final nail in the coffin for one troubled airline, though? Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business" on that. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Remember yesterday at this time, we were talking about some of the problems in the airline industry, and specifically, we referred to US Airways. Well, the impact, I imagine, could linger.

Andy is here, "Minding Your Business" to tell us whether it possibly could, or will?

ANDY SERWER, COLUMNIST, "FORTUNE": Yes, absolutely, Rick.

Troubles continue for US Air. Now, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta is calling for investigation into the holiday troubles the airline experienced when it canceled more than 400 flights over the holiday weekend. Industry sources are now wondering, how long can the airline continue flying? A few bullet points here.

First of all, it is the second bankrupt for this company within three years. Southwest Airlines recently moved into its key Philadelphia hub, a very aggressive competitor. And now, this weekend, just past, really undermines the travelers' confidence in the carrier.

They fly over 1,100 flights a day. All they said, they had a lot of sickouts over the weekend, although the union leaders are saying it was not a sickout. They are saying the airline is understaffed. There were mountains of luggage all over the place.

What happens here, Rick, is you get in a spiral situation where less people fly because they're not confident in the airline. That causes revenues to go down and the situation gets worse and worse.

However, having said that, people have been predicting the demise of US Air for many months and it continues to operate. Let's not hold out too much fear quite yet.

SANCHEZ: Good stuff. Thanks, Andy.

SERWER: Yes.

COLLINS: Time now for the question of the day from Mr. Toure.

TOURE: How are you, Heidi?

COLLINS: Good.

TOURE: Listen, remember "Annie Hall", Woody Allen's Oscar- winning masterpiece?

Alvie Singer (ph), Woody's character, says, "Intellectuals prove that you can be absolutely brilliant and have no idea what it's going on."

Sometimes we can say the same about the media.

We try to know everything that is going on, yet sometimes the audience screams you guys aren't seeing the forest for the trees. Sometimes you're right.

From time-to-time the media will latch on to a story and not let go even when we should.

The Scott Peterson case was interesting, but over-hyped just a little bit. Also over-hyped just a touch this year were the daily foibles and misadventures of the moronic Paris Hilton, the surprise disrobing of Janet Jackson, the locker room liaison between Terrell Owens and Nicollette Sheridan -- and shocker, the revelation that some of baseball's strongest players are on steroids! Oh, my god, who knew?

Should those stores be headlines in a time of war? The Fourth Estate is supposed to be a check and balance, but sometimes we lose sight of that mission. And cover fun stories, lurid stories or any move by certain people like Peterson or Hilton. And in the same way, back in high school, people talked about with whatever the popular kids did, even if it was mundane. Even though it feels like it, we're not in high school anymore. And over-hyped story can change America and leave a more important story unnoticed.

Now's your time to fire back. In 2004, what did the media get in an unnecessary tizzy about? Our question is: What was the most over- hyped story of the year? Let us know at CNN.am.com.

SANCHEZ: That's good.

COLLINS: You got in a tizzy about getting in a tizzy.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: There are a lot of possibilities here, by the way. Right? TOURE: It was a bad year for that.

COLLINS: We will wait to hear from you everybody, on what you thought was over-hyped to say the least.

SANCHEZ: Well, so far, more than 26,000 people are reported dead -- this camera -- are reported dead in this tsunami disaster we've been covering for you. Nearly half of those are in Sri Lanka. In a moment, the effort to keep the situation from spiraling even further out of control.

We will continue to focus on this story the next several hours right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired December 28, 2004 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The next wave. Perhaps the greatest relief effort ever mounted is under way at this hour. The U.S. joins aid agencies mobilizing to head off an epidemic. Piles of bodies destined for mass graves with more washing ashore. The newest estimate, 26,000 people dead and just as many still missing. But for some, prayers are answered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thank god that my family is alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Among the missing, a single baby boy, a needle in a haystack, lost, and then found on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everybody. Bill and Soledad are off this morning. I'm Rick Sanchez.

COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. Good morning everybody.

SANCHEZ: We do have a lot to talk about today. What we know about the tsunami crisis is that officials in Sri Lanka and Indonesia are saying the number of dead could still double. They're still trying to make contact and trying to assess the situation over there.

There's worldwide concern about epidemics of things like cholera and typhoid and dysentery. Secretary of State Colin Powell is going to be joining us. He's going to fill us in on what he knows. And what the United States is trying to do. And how much Washington is planning to spend to try and help the relief effort over there.

COLLINS: Yes, that number at $15 million right now. He says it could change. And Secretary Powell is, of course, tracking the number of Americans affected, as well. Some new numbers there, too.

And 31-year-old Aaron Davis has not been heard from since the tsunami hit. His mother is trying now to do everything she can to find him. We're going to ask her if the State Department is helping her.

SANCHEZ: Let's do this now. Let's check on some of the stories that we're following in the news and for that, Carol Costello joining us from the Time Warner -- Center.

Carol, over to you. It's early in the show.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I know it is. And I'll be over there soon. Thank you, Rick.

Good morning to all of you.

"Now In The News": A possible new terror tape that describes Abu Musab Al Zarqawi as the prince of Al Qaeda in Iraq. The Arab language network, Al Jazeera broadcasting an audiotape said to be from Osama bin Laden. The voice on the tape endorses the terror campaign of Al Zarqawi and calls on Iraqis to boycott the January 30 elections. A U.S. official telling CNN the CIA has analyzed the tape and appears to be authentic.

A court date today for the woman accused of strangling a pregnant mother and stealing her baby. Lisa Montgomery scheduled to make an appearance before a federal judge in Missouri in just a few hours. Federal prosecutors have charged the 36-year-old Montgomery with kidnapping, resulting in death.

Federal regulators trying to stall a $1 million plus annual pension for the forced out chairman of Fannie Mae. Franklin Raines, quit the mortgage giant a week ago. His resignation comes days after the SEC ordered Fannie Mae to restate earnings due to accounting violations. The feds say they don't want Raines paid until they have had time to investigate his pension package.

And in sports, playoff hopes still alive for the St. Louis Rams. The star of last night's game, running back Steve Jackson. Jackson leading the Rams to a 27 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. As far as playoffs go we'll see what happens Sunday. If the Rams beat the New York Jets they have a chance still to win the NFC West.

Back to you, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Carol. Thank you.

Three days after tsunamis swept across the Indian Ocean, the devastating effects still being felt on two continents. At least 26,000 people are dead, mostly in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka. And the magnitude of this tragedy is just now beginning to emerge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS (voice over): As the death toll from the tsunami disaster climbs staggeringly higher, a worldwide relief effort is under way. The White House has joined any global chorus pledging money and resources to help the humanitarian crisis.

COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This is indeed an international tragedy and we're going to do everything we can to assist the nations that have been affected in dealing with this tragedy.

COLLINS: The State Department says at least eight Americans have died and several hundred remain unaccounted for. Across Southern Asia, the urgent need now is clean water, food and medicine. The death and destruction has raised concerns about widespread water-borne illness.

The U.N. expects the cost of the devastation to be in the billions, but the human cost is unfathomable.

JAN EGELAND, UNICEF: Hundreds of thousands of livelihoods have gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god, this is a tidal wave.

COLLINS: The tsunami's path of destruction included some of the world's poorest villages and richest tourist sites. The end result was the same -- chaos.

And in Thailand's Phuket Island, in the midst of the suffering, a young face has become the symbol of despair and hope, a young boy found alone, taken to the hospital with no sign of his parents. Within hours after his picture was posted online, family members in Finland saw the photograph.

Turns out the boy's father and grandfather are in a different hospital. The boy has been now been re-united with his grandmother. His mother is still missing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Authorities in Thailand say as much as 600 people in Phuket may have been washed out to sea by the tsunami. Many are believed to be foreign nationals who were on the beach when the giant waves hit.

The international community is scrambling to help countries hit by the growing disaster now. And the number of Americans in the region dead or unaccounted for continues to grow as well.

A few moments ago I spoke with Secretary of State Colin Powell at the State Department about relief efforts. And I asked for his reaction to comments by a U.N. undersecretary-general, calling U.S. relief efforts stingy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It is a terrible catastrophe that has hit all of these countries, unprecedented in scope and scale. And that death toll you mentioned is liable to rise even higher. We will have to make an assessment as we move ahead to see what the needs are, to see what the countries are able to do for themselves, and what the international community needs.

We responded to the initial request that came from the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent with a $4 million contribution against their $7 million international request. We have added another $10 million. We have something like nine patrol planes on the way, and 12 C-130s loaded with relief supplies on the way. And we'll make a continuing assessment to see what the need is. The United States is not stingy. We are the greatest contributor to international relief efforts in the world. We do more to help people who are suffering from lack of food or are in poverty or suffering from HIV-AIDS. This administration has a particularly good record in increasing the amount of assistance we give to the world.

Obviously, we have to see what the need is in this terrible tragedy and will respond to the need, along with the rest of the international community.

COLLINS: I know you said yesterday, in your press conference, that there are eight Americans who have lost their lives in this. Still many more unaccounted for. Do you have an update on any of those figures for us?

POWELL: The latest numbers we have are 11 Americans lost their lives, a number have been wounded, and hundreds are yet unaccounted for. It doesn't mean they have been lost or injured or we haven't found them in hospitals yet. We haven't been able to run them all down because of difficult communications and people still checking in with our consular officers.

COLLINS: I imagine those people very desperately want to get home, back to this country. Any idea how many are still just strand there?

POWELL: I can't give you an answer to that. But obviously, the airline schedules have been disrupted, transportation has been disrupted. There are still hundreds, if not thousands of tourists, not just American tourists, but other tourists who are trying to get home or trying to get in touch with their families.

COLLINS: Well, I appreciate your answers on that.

Let's go ahead and turn the corner, if we could now, Mr. Secretary, in talking about this new tape from Osama bin Laden that the CIA has said they're moderately confident of its authenticity.

He seems to be endorsing Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, if that is the case, what kind of increased power does that give Zarqawi?

POWELL: I don't know if it is Osama bin Laden, and the CIA has not made a final judgment on that. It certainly rhetorically puts them together. Whether it gives them added strength or not in terms of resources, I can't answer, but it would rhetorically put them together.

They are both of a like kind, terrorist, murderers. They are speaking out against the election at the end of January in Iraq, because they don't want democracy, they don't want the Iraqi people to decide how they will be led. They want to take the Iraqi people back to the past. And that's why we must push forward and keep fighting this insurgency and move forward toward elections on the 30 of January, so the Iraqi people get the opportunity to speak for themselves. COLLINS: Right, as you mentioned the elections coming up so quickly. Just yesterday, the leader of one of the largest Sunni organizations, the Iraqi Islamic Party, announced they are going to boycott these elections, citing some security concerns and so forth. How big of a setback is that, or could it be, for the planned elections?

POWELL: It's a concern. They may change their mind and re-join. We'll have to wait and see. We're doing everything we can to improve the security in the Sunni areas. I don't think there's a problem in most of the country in getting a good turnout.

The problem is really in the Sunni area. And that is a densely populated area. We want to get a good turnout there. All of our coalition military efforts and Iraqi and military police efforts will be focusing on that the Sunni area in the weeks ahead to get that turnout.

We're encouraging Sunni leaders, especially Sunni leaders in neighboring countries to encourage Sunni leaders in Iraq to get their people out to come out and participate in this election.

If they don't participate in this election, they're denying themselves the opportunity to speak for the future of their country and how they're going to be lead, and who their leaders are going to be.

COLLINS: And whether they participate or not, the elections will go on January 30?

POWELL: The elections will go on. We hope this they will participate. If the election goes well, then we will have a transitional national assembly, that will reflect the will of the Iraqi people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Secretary of State Colin Powell talking with me just a little bit earlier today.

For information on how to help relief efforts for the tsunami, you can go to the State Department's website. You can see it at www.state.gov. Families members concerned about loved ones can call a State Department hotline, that number, 1-888-407 4747. We'll continue to give it to you throughout this morning.

Rick.

SANCHEZ: As you know, CNN has bureaus all over the world and from time to time, in the next couple of hours, while we are bringing you this broadcast, we'll bring you tape that we get in from different parts of the world, like this one. We have just received some tapes, moments ago. We'll look at it, ourselves, together here.

This is tape from that we're getting in from Thailand. It is a video of the first signs of relief effort that Heidi and Secretary of State Colin Powell were just talking about. Keep in mind the situation in Thailand is as bad as anywhere else.

Hundreds of people washed out to sea, many of them, by the way were tourists from all over the world, enjoying those beautiful beaches in Thailand.

These are the pictures we're getting in, obviously a tough hoe for those living there. Families gathering together and trucks trying to deliver whatever goods they can get to them. And we will be sharing it with you from time to time.

We also have pictures from Indonesia that we're getting -- pardon me, I'm being told now that was Indonesia, the pictures we said were coming in form Thailand, were actually coming in from Indonesia.

Remember, the center of this thing was near Sumatra. Sumatra is one of the westward islands of the Indonesian country. This is very near. Thailand will be just to the northeast of it. As we get pictures of this, we will continue to bring them to you.

It's been three days since the devastating tsunami hit that area of Southeast Asia that we've been referring to. And some families in the United States are desperately waiting to hear from loved ones. Edna Rainy's (ph) son, Aaron Davis, moved to Thailand last fall. She is joining us now from Tampa, Florida.

Miss Rainy, thanks so much for being with us this morning.

EDNA (ph) RAINY (ph), SON STILL MISSING IN TSUNAMI: Thank you for having me.

SANCHEZ: Your son, I understand, was over there teaching English. When was the last time you talked to him?

RAINY (ph): About Christmas Eve.

SANCHEZ: What did he have to say at the time? How was your conversation with him?

RAINY (ph): Oh, he was very upbeat about it. He was going on holiday. He said that he wanted to supplement his teaching income with doing some -- teaching Tae Kwon Do in some of the resorts. I don't know which resort he was talking about.

SANCHEZ: Sounds like he carried on a pretty good phone conversation with you that was what a weekly, is that fair?

RAINY (ph): Yes, that's fair.

SANCHEZ: So he calls all the time?

RAINY (ph): Yes, he does.

SANCHEZ: You haven't heard from him since this happened?

RAINY (ph): No, I haven't.

SANCHEZ: I imagine that has to have you somewhat concerned?

RAINY (ph): Yes, I'm very concerned.

SANCHEZ: What have you done as far as trying to reach out? For example, to the State Department to see if he made contact with them?

RAINY (ph): I talked to a person in the State Department, gave them as much information on him as possible, where he lives now, the school he teaches at. His sister has been on the Internet. She has talked to the Thai embassy, the American embassy in Thailand, of course.

And we have a number of relatives all over the country that he e- mails from time-to-time. And they're constantly e-mailing him at the school plus, you know, anywhere they think he could have been they have e-mail addresses.

SANCHEZ: So, you've been in contact with him. I guess it's a waiting game for you?

RAINY (ph): It's a waiting game, yes, it is.

SANCHEZ: Is there any other resource over there? Friends of his you think you may be able to contact that perhaps may be in contact with him, that he may have called, for example?

RAINY (ph): At this point, I don't know. He hadn't been over there very long. He had met several people who taught with him at the school, they were mostly Canadians. I don't know their names or anything like that, or any way to reach them.

SANCHEZ: Like you said, he teaches and practices Tae Kwon Do. We imagine and I'm sure you believe he's a man who is going to be able to take care of himself, and he's going to be just fine.

RAINY (ph): Aaron is a good guy, he will. He'll take care of himself and will help if he can.

SANCHEZ: Well, we are right there with you. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Miss Rainy. We thank you for joining us and we will certainly be checking back with you from time-to-time.

RAINY (ph): Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate.

SANCHEZ: All right. God bless.

You a can log on to CNN.com for the latest information on the tsunami disaster, and what you can do to help. You also find firsthand accounts from survivors and information on about how tsunamis are formed.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

SANCHEZ: The best and the worst commercials of 2004. Ice T and Darth Vader teaming up. And it was marketing gold, we are told. But what ads were, for example, the worst? COLLINS: Plus, Kobe and Michael and Martha, oh, my. Star wattage gets cranked up in court. We'll look back at 2004 legal dramas as well.

SANCHEZ: Also more on the purported new tape from Osama bin Laden. Is there a connection between the tape and what happened today in Iraq. We'll tell you what he had to say, all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Rick Sanchez. There's another tape, the CIA is saying, an audiotape aired on network Arabic network Al Jazeera appears to contain the voice of Osama bin Laden. The speaker urges Iraqis to boycott next month's elections, because he says it is against Islamic law; and praises the terror campaign of wanted militant Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, as well. Jeff Koinange is joining us from Baghdad with more on this.

Good morning to you, Jeff.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN INT'L CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick.

Remember back in October when Al Zarqawi pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden? Also, changing the name of his organization from Unification and Jihad, to Al Qaeda? Well we didn't hear too much from Osama bin Laden and the hierarchy there, until this time. So, if this tape is authentic, it's the very first time that Osama bin Laden actually mentions Al Zarqawi. Not only that he mentions -- he basically, appoints him as his deputy here in Iraq, urging all Iraqis to boycott that January 30 election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OSAMA BIN LADEN (through translator): We ask god to accept this unity and bless it and for all to know dear Mujaheed brother Abu Musab Al Zarqawi is the prince of Al Qaeda and Iraq. So we ask all our organizations brethren to listen to him and obey him in his good deeds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOINANGE: Now, Rick, it looks like there's a stepped up campaign, not just in Baghdad but across the country. No way to know whether this is related to the latest release of this audiotape. But we can tell you already 19 policemen dead in the town of Tikrit.

As you well, know, Tikrit is the former president Saddam Hussein's stronghold. In one incident, insurgents overran a police station and fired an RPG and also explosives into the police station. Six policemen dead, and five wounded.

In another attack at several police checkpoints, there was a gun battle between insurgents and police, there six dead, and five wounded. The death toll keeps rising. In another town, to show the callousness of these insurgents, Iraqi national guardsmen overran an explosive device, three of them were injured, their colleagues came out to help them. Put them on the ambulances, called for back up. As they were doing that they noticed another device that hadn't exploded.

They called in the experts and they told them come in. As soon as they were coming and trying to defuse the bomb, a suicide bomber crashed his vehicle, killing six, wounding another 26. So, Rick, the attacks are coming in thick and fast.

SANCHEZ: Jeff Koinange, bringing us up to date on the very latest that is going on in Iraq. And also the very latest on what appears to be an Osama bin Laden audiotape.

Heidi, over to you.

COLLINS: Holiday travelers had it pretty tough this weekend. Is it the final nail in the coffin for one troubled airline, though? Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business" on that. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Remember yesterday at this time, we were talking about some of the problems in the airline industry, and specifically, we referred to US Airways. Well, the impact, I imagine, could linger.

Andy is here, "Minding Your Business" to tell us whether it possibly could, or will?

ANDY SERWER, COLUMNIST, "FORTUNE": Yes, absolutely, Rick.

Troubles continue for US Air. Now, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta is calling for investigation into the holiday troubles the airline experienced when it canceled more than 400 flights over the holiday weekend. Industry sources are now wondering, how long can the airline continue flying? A few bullet points here.

First of all, it is the second bankrupt for this company within three years. Southwest Airlines recently moved into its key Philadelphia hub, a very aggressive competitor. And now, this weekend, just past, really undermines the travelers' confidence in the carrier.

They fly over 1,100 flights a day. All they said, they had a lot of sickouts over the weekend, although the union leaders are saying it was not a sickout. They are saying the airline is understaffed. There were mountains of luggage all over the place.

What happens here, Rick, is you get in a spiral situation where less people fly because they're not confident in the airline. That causes revenues to go down and the situation gets worse and worse.

However, having said that, people have been predicting the demise of US Air for many months and it continues to operate. Let's not hold out too much fear quite yet.

SANCHEZ: Good stuff. Thanks, Andy.

SERWER: Yes.

COLLINS: Time now for the question of the day from Mr. Toure.

TOURE: How are you, Heidi?

COLLINS: Good.

TOURE: Listen, remember "Annie Hall", Woody Allen's Oscar- winning masterpiece?

Alvie Singer (ph), Woody's character, says, "Intellectuals prove that you can be absolutely brilliant and have no idea what it's going on."

Sometimes we can say the same about the media.

We try to know everything that is going on, yet sometimes the audience screams you guys aren't seeing the forest for the trees. Sometimes you're right.

From time-to-time the media will latch on to a story and not let go even when we should.

The Scott Peterson case was interesting, but over-hyped just a little bit. Also over-hyped just a touch this year were the daily foibles and misadventures of the moronic Paris Hilton, the surprise disrobing of Janet Jackson, the locker room liaison between Terrell Owens and Nicollette Sheridan -- and shocker, the revelation that some of baseball's strongest players are on steroids! Oh, my god, who knew?

Should those stores be headlines in a time of war? The Fourth Estate is supposed to be a check and balance, but sometimes we lose sight of that mission. And cover fun stories, lurid stories or any move by certain people like Peterson or Hilton. And in the same way, back in high school, people talked about with whatever the popular kids did, even if it was mundane. Even though it feels like it, we're not in high school anymore. And over-hyped story can change America and leave a more important story unnoticed.

Now's your time to fire back. In 2004, what did the media get in an unnecessary tizzy about? Our question is: What was the most over- hyped story of the year? Let us know at CNN.am.com.

SANCHEZ: That's good.

COLLINS: You got in a tizzy about getting in a tizzy.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: There are a lot of possibilities here, by the way. Right? TOURE: It was a bad year for that.

COLLINS: We will wait to hear from you everybody, on what you thought was over-hyped to say the least.

SANCHEZ: Well, so far, more than 26,000 people are reported dead -- this camera -- are reported dead in this tsunami disaster we've been covering for you. Nearly half of those are in Sri Lanka. In a moment, the effort to keep the situation from spiraling even further out of control.

We will continue to focus on this story the next several hours right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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