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CNN Live At Daybreak
Turning the Tide; Hazardous Questions; 'Coffey Talk'
Aired January 07, 2005 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Of course you know the U.S. military is among forces from several nations working to get relief supplies to South Asia.
Mike Chinoy has been with Singapore's Navy. He joins us now live from what's left of Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Hello -- Mike.
MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
I just came back from a town called Malabo, which is the main town on the west coast of Aceh. It was the biggest town closest to the epicenter of the quake. It's a complete disaster. And the Singapore Army has taken the leading role in relief efforts there.
Singapore, of course, a very close neighbor of Indonesia. They have sent several hundred troops. They have sent large ships that are capable of bringing ashore heavy equipment, bulldozers, tractors. They are trying to carve out an area on the beach that will allow bigger ships to come in close to shore and offload relief supplies. Also, they can accommodate bigger helicopters.
The Singaporeans also have medical teams, both a surgical team and folks who are handling the more general medicine. They're still getting a lot of people injured during this tsunami, people with all kinds of serious fractures, broken bones, cuts that got infected, a lot of people with serious psychological trauma. We saw one 17-year- old girl who was so traumatized after the tsunami she couldn't recognize her father.
It was against this backdrop of total destruction but aid beginning to flow that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan flew along the west coast down to have a look at Malabo, passing over mile after mile of total devastation between here and Malabo about 120 miles away. Very, very few buildings left standing, many communities completely wiped off the face of the earth.
Malabo, however, still has some buildings in tact. And the thinking is that it is going to become the relief hub for the hard-hit western coastal area, which has been cut off because of the roads. Communications have been down between here and there. So the Singaporeans taking a lead in trying to build that up.
U.S. Marines likely to come ashore in that same area in the next couple of days to help in the relief effort -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Mike Chinoy reporting live from Banda Aceh, Indonesia this morning.
Much needed food and equipment is also flowing in to southern Asia at an almost incredible rate. That's leading U.S. soldiers and international aid workers to work overtime to get the tons of aid where it's needed most.
CNN's Satinder Bindra has more on the flow of aid from Colombo, Sri Lanka.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marines on the move as another U.S. transport lands at Colombo's international airport. Staff Sergeant Claude Pile and his men race to check the equipment and supplies onboard. A father of three, Sergeant Pile of New York City believes this is one of the most important missions ever, both for him and his men.
STAFF SGT. CLAUDE PILE, U.S. MARINE CORPS: What do they want to be doing right now? More. More. More -- sir.
BINDRA: Since arriving in Sri Lanka just a few days ago, Sergeant Pile and his Marines have been organizing logistics. More than 45 countries are airlifting 750 tons of supplies, everything from baby milk, rice and water to this airport every day. Relief workers describe the rush (ph) as competitive compassion and Marines are at the center of it all.
(on camera): These Marines are tasked with offloading every single plane from any corner of the world that lands here. They're also organizing the delivery of heavy machinery and other material to be used in rebuilding large parts of Sri Lanka.
(voice-over): Once supplies are taken off planes, they are brought to this giant football field sized warehouse. Here a team of international volunteers first stack and then organizes their onward journey.
Isla Salahe (ph) from Moscut (ph) has been working nonstop for the past week.
ISLA SALAHE, VOLUNTEER: We are still alive. If we don't help these people, who will help them? We have to do that.
BINDRA: Sergeant Pile agrees. He says this tragedy is bringing about a rare unity among nations, private companies and soldiers.
PILE: We all fight for the same cause, we all want to do the same thing, and that's just help the people here.
BINDRA: The Sri Lankans are grateful that with so much international aid they are now solely focusing on recovery.
Satinder Bindra, CNN, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: And be sure to catch CNN's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll hear many other voices from the tsunami disaster. That's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
Turning to a "CNN Security Watch" now, a report from the CIA's independent investigator is expected to find that officials at the highest level of the agency are to blame for pre-9/11 security lapses. "The New York Times" says the report concludes that senior CIA leaders failed to provide the resources needed to fight terrorism.
At least eight people died from toxins released after a train accident caused a hazardous chemical spill in South Carolina. Dozens more people near the crash site were treated for respiratory and other ailments. And more than 5,000 people were evacuated. But could it have been worse?
As CNN's David Mattingly reports, this accident could act as a very important security warning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CURTIS MITCHELL (ph), ACCIDENT VICTIM: My eyes were burning insatiably and my throat felt like something just pulling at it.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It only took a matter of minutes to send Curtis Mitchell and dozens of others to the hospital gasping for breath and fearing for their lives. But the deadly train wreck and chemical spill was a potentially big disaster ultimately limited by its location in rural South Carolina. A more densely populated area and an attack, not an accident, could have been devastating according to former Deputy Homeland Security Advisor Richard Falkenrath.
RICHARD FALKENRATH, FMR. HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: The regulations so far have not really focused on the possibility of a deliberate attack against a hazardous material shipment through a city.
MATTINGLY: Falkenrath advocates stronger containers, better tracking and where possible, more rerouting to avoid large populations. The industry, however, points to sweeping improvements since 9/11, restricting access, more inspections and more patrols, systems aimed at reducing risk. Association of American Railroads President Edward Hamberger calls the rail industry's 200,000 employees the eyes and ears of the security effort.
But even with so many people watching, accidents still can happen and no one in this small mill town saw it coming.
David Mattingly, CNN, Graniteville, South Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. She was convicted of killing her children, now Andrea Yates is getting a new trial. The legal implications with our legal analyst Kendall Coffey, he'll join us live straight ahead.
And later, the State Department says nearly 2,400 Americans are still unaccounted for after the tsunami disaster. The story of one American couple whose search for their daughter ended in sorrow.
And our e-mail "Question of the Morning," the tsunami crisis: what should happen to scam artists? We'll read some of your e-mails ahead.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Prosecutors say they'll ask the court to reconsider its ruling that strikes down the murder convictions of Andrea Yates. You remember her, she drowned her children, five children, in the bathtub. A Texas appeals court overturned the conviction because an expert witness for the prosecution gave false testimony.
In an exclusive interview with "CNN's LARRY KING LIVE," Yates' husband goes "Beyond the Soundbite" and talks about his feelings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST: Frankly, were you surprised?
RUSSELL YATES, ANDREA YATES' HUSBAND: Extremely surprised, yes. It's -- we -- this court has really come under fire lately, because they -- they've, you know, make it -- you know habitually, I guess, you know, ruled against the defendants and in favor of the state and...
KING: Called Texas justice, right? They're tough.
YATES: Exactly. They're very, very tough. And in our case, you know our former police chief is now on this court, Sam Nuchia, and, you know, he -- you know, he found in favor of Andrea, which I was really surprised and happy to see.
KING: Also surprised it was unanimous?
YATES: Yes. You know, yes, you know, it's -- but I'm just happy, you know. Happy for Andrea.
KING: How do you explain it to yourself that there never appeared, Russell, to have been anger?
YATES: Well just being able to separate, you know, the -- the horrific act that she committed from her intentions and her reasons and her mental state at the time. Basically, I know that, had she not been mentally ill, she would never have done what she did. And so it's really that simple. It's extremely devastating, and she's hurt me tremendously through her actions. But at the same time, she's a wonderful person, you know. In many respects, she's a victim in all this, because she became ill. We were unable to get adequate treatment for her. She did this horrible, you know, thing that just devastated all of us, but you know, I can't lose sight of the fact that this wasn't her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The appeals court ruling doesn't necessarily mean Yates will be released from prison right away or get a new trial.
Want to talk more about this with our legal analyst Kendall Coffey. He joins us from Miami this morning.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well let's talk about this false testimony first, because this is really strange. An expert witness for the state, his name was Dr. Park Dietz, said that Yates watched an episode of "Law & Order" and may have gotten the idea to drown her children from that episode. What was the problem with that?
COFFEY: Well this was a critical expert, because five experts for the defense said she did not know right from wrong. And everybody agreed that she was mentally ill. The question was whether she was mentally ill within the legal definition that the law recognizes not able to distinguish right from wrong.
The only prosecution expert that said she was mentally sane within the meaning of the law talked about this episode on a TV show, indicating that Andrea Yates got the idea for a mental illness defense by watching it on TV and seeing a mother, who had killed her own children, beating the wrap by coming up with a mental illness defense.
COSTELLO: Yes, but the biggest problem with that is that episode never aired.
COFFEY: Completely false. And obviously that was the kind of thing that would have really meant something to a jury because it really suggests that this woman's alleged mental illness is a fake and she got her road map for this defense in this crime by watching a TV episode, a TV episode that never took place.
COSTELLO: Well how does this happen? Don't prosecutors check those things out before they sit a witness on the stand?
COFFEY: Prosecutors bet their witnesses very carefully, especially where you've got an expert that is the whole key to their case. Apparently, though, in fairness to the prosecution, this came out during defense cross-examination. It may not have been anything the prosecution even expected. They certainly didn't put it forward in their case, but they did argue it in closing argument. And so no one could deny that that false testimony was important to the jury outcome.
COSTELLO: You know another concern, this prosecution witness testified in a lot of trials, including Jeffrey Dahmer's trial, the "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski's trial and also Susan Smith who was convicted of killing her two children in South Carolina. What might that do to those cases, you know, with the exception of Jeffrey Dahmer?
COFFEY: Well don't be surprised to see various motions filed by other convicted defendants saying hey, this guy is a liar. He lied in the Andrea Yates case, he must have lied in my case. But unless, Carol, they can have some evidence showing that he affirmatively falsely testified in those other cases, the fact that there was this controversy in the Texas case of Andrea Yates isn't going to set anybody else loose from prison.
COSTELLO: All right, final question for you, what happens to Andrea Yates now?
COFFEY: She will be in an appellate process that's going to continue for a long time. This appeal itself took over two years. Meanwhile, her own attorney, everyone seems to agree, she needs to be in confinement in mental care somewhere. So right now it's a state prison. Even if she were to win a not guilty by virtue of insanity, she would be in a very similar kind of condition, incarcerated, but it would be in a state mental hospital rather than a state prison.
COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey live from Miami this morning, thank you for your insight.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
The death toll from the killer quake and tsunami now stands at nearly 156,000.
Actually, we're going to break away for a live event happening right now in Colombo, Sri Lanka. That's where Secretary of State Colin Powell is now. He just left Galle where he toured the damage.
Let's listen to what he has to say.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: And it's more than just walls that have been knocked down or buildings that have been crushed, but lives that were crushed and snuffed out. I conveyed to the president, and through her all Sri Lankans, that the United States is in solidarity with Sri Lanka. The president has already extended his condolences to the families of those who were lost.
But we're going to do more than that. We're going to provide support working with the international community. American U.S. Agency for International Development personnel are hard at work delivering food assistance, medical assistance, providing shelter.
But we're going to do more. Four million dollars of goods are being distributed now. Another $10 million is going to be spent on employment programs that will employ Sri Lankans in the clean up and reconstruction effort and start the economy going again in those parts of the country that were hit hardest.
In addition, I'll announce right now that another $10 million will be going to Sri Lanka for the purpose of constructing temporary housing in order to get people out from under plastic sheeting and into temporary housing until such time as permanent housing can be made available.
So the total U.S. contribution, at this point, is roughly $25 million or so. And I expect it will go up in the days ahead as we get a better understanding of the needs of the Sri Lankan people.
The president and I also talked about a program called the Millennium Challenge Account. A new initiative of President Bush where we help developing nations that are committed to democracy build their infrastructure. As a result of the tsunami, I suggested to the president she might review the original compact we had drafted with the Sri Lankan government to see if any adjustments need to be made into our planned program to take into account what has happened here.
I will leave the region this afternoon and report to President Bush on Monday morning on all that I have seen in Thailand, in Indonesia and here in Sri Lanka, as well as the reports I received about what happened in other nations in the region. Twelve countries spread over thousands of miles all struck by a single event, a single catastrophe.
And the international community has mobilized in a way that I have never seen before to help the affected people, to rebuild their homes, their schools, their businesses, but above all, to rebuild their lives and to show that the world can be compassionate and caring in the face of this kind of tragedy.
Thank you all for coming, and I'd be delighted to take a few questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we start down here with The Associate Press, please.
POWELL: I can't hear. Can't hear. It's not on.
QUESTION: From what you've seen this week, can you give us an estimate of how long you think the United States will need to be here in great force and great numbers in the region itself?
POWELL: Yes, we will be here for a long period of time. The simple fact that our embassies are here, our USAID missions are here, our military forces are in the region, I can't tell you how long they will stay, there are other missions that have to be performed in due course. Marines will be arriving in greater strength tomorrow. We expect engineer units and some medical personnel to be coming ashore over the next couple of days. But I cannot tell you how long those units will be here.
But in terms of the recovery effort, the principal agent responsible for the recovery effort is the Sri Lankan government. And as long as it takes them to restore infrastructure and reconstruct their society, the United States will be here with them. But the numbers will vary in accordance with the need.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, can we try a gentleman here, the tall gentleman with glasses.
QUESTION: Thank you. Have you received any guarantees from the Tamil Tigers or any contact with them regarding aid that might be going their way?
POWELL: I haven't had any contact with them. The reports I received from the government suggest that aid is going into the northern part of the country, those parts of the country that are under their control. The government believes that the Tamil regions are getting as much or more as their proportioned and we'll have to wait and measure that over time. But I know that aid is going up there, but I have had no conversation with any of the members of the LTTE.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, there's a woman in the middle in sunglasses.
QUESTION: Would the U.S. Marines be moving into the uncontrolled areas in order to help with the relief effort?
POWELL: The Marines, for the most part, I think will be, and I don't have the details of their plan, but will be working, for the most part, in the southern part of the country. There may be some detachments that go to other parts of the country for medical purposes and up to the north to restore capacity at one of the hospitals. And I will leave it up to the military commander to make judgments as to how best to deploy the forces that he will have available to him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's try the gentleman in the middle, the white haired gentleman.
QUESTION: Are you satisfied with the Sri Lankan government's relief effort?
POWELL: Yes, I was very impressed at and how quickly they have completed their assessment of losses, of where the priorities need to be and of what they need to do. I think it's been an impressive piece of work. And it certainly gives me confidence they know how to spend the relief money and know how to distribute the supplies and equipment that will be coming in to the country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's try the gentleman in the middle, the white haired gentleman.
QUESTION: This is Hector Jourstate (ph). Would you briefly assess the magnitude of the earthquake and tidal wave disaster in this part of the world and its consequences? And I would say that the American aid to Sri Lanka and the other donators (ph) can be described as magnanimous. Your response. POWELL: Well the impact I think is well known, a 9.0 Richter Scale event that affected so many countries. Our estimates now are that 150,000 people were killed, many more injured and wounded, as well as a number made homeless and impact on economies. Some nations suffered more than others.
The international community is being magnanimous and I think the United States is being magnanimous. I contacted the foreign minister of Sri Lanka within the first 24 hours. The president spoke to the president of Sri Lanka within 48 hours. And aid began flowing immediately, in small quantities, initially, of course, until we could surge our capability and until we had a better understanding of what the need was.
Remember in those first 24 to 48 hours, the numbers were rather low, compared to what they turned out to be by the end of the week. And as the scale of the disaster became clear, the United States rapidly scaled up, not only its financial pledge, but it rapidly scaled up military presence, launched more ships to come into the region. And we will continue to assess the situation throughout the region and we will scale up our contribution as necessary.
Of the $350 million that we have pledged, we have allocated or distributed roughly in the neighborhood of $50 million. So there's quite a line of credit that's still out there for us to use. And if $350 million turns out not to be enough in the grand scheme of things, I'm quite confident the president will review that and see what else the United States should do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, we have time for one more question. Can we try the lady in the middle in the sunglasses?
QUESTION: Considering the significant U.S. presence in Sri Lanka present, what is the role of the U.S. going to be in the future in Sri Lanka's peace process?
POWELL: As you know, we have always tried to play a helpful role working with our Norwegian colleagues. I have followed the situation here very closely. My Deputy Secretary Mr. Armitage has been deeply involved in the process. I don't think a military presence in any way shapes or affects the political situation.
Ultimately the problem has to be solved between the parties concerned. The United State military presence is strictly for humanitarian purposes and not in any way to influence political outcome one way or the other.
We are hopeful, however, that if all Sri Lankans come together to deal with this common catastrophe, this common crisis, and work with each other and cooperate with each other, then perhaps that spirit of cooperation can be elevated and extended into the political dialogue and find a way forward to a political solution to this long-standing crisis between the government and LTTE.
OK, thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.
COSTELLO: And you've been listening to Secretary of State Colin Powell from Colombo, Sri Lanka, talking about the extra aid that America is going to give for the tsunami victims there.
You can see the waiting plane behind them. He will leave shortly for Kenya for a signing of a peace accord in southern Sudan.
We're going to take a break. We'll be back with much more on DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: All right, we want to get right to our e-mail "Question of the Morning." We were talking about scam artists. Yes, people are actually scamming those looking to donate to tsunami relief effort.
Ali Velshi is going to talk more about this in the next hour of DAYBREAK, so we thought we'd bring him in to read some of your comments. And boy, have we got comments.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tough love going on, Carol, a lot of responses. They all seem to be along the same lines about people who get money from people under false pretenses using the tsunami as a reason to do so.
Starting with Elizabeth (ph) in my hometown of Toronto, I think they should be sent to Indonesia with a pair of rubber gloves and a mask and forced to help carry bodies until the job is done. That should cure them. That's a little bit of tough love.
Chad and Carol, listen to this one from Kale (ph). A creative idea would be to make the scam artists write programs for real charities. That way they're forced to put their efforts toward good and not toward the evil they created before. They are good at what they do, they know how to manipulate people, so they should be great at the job as long as someone is looking over their shoulder. Creative.
COSTELLO: OK, hold on a second, I know Chad has some too, and he's chomping at the bit.
CHAD MYERS, METEOROLOGIST: No, no, I just have one from Jodi (ph) in Texas that says, you know what, the money that they were going to be sending that was scammed would have saved a life. So therefore this lifesaving aid being stolen is murder and they should be treated like any other murderers.
COSTELLO: Wow!
MYERS: So I mean...
VELSHI: I mean every -- I mean they are -- this is not just like a stock scam where...
MYERS: Yes.
VELSHI: ... which is bad enough, this is people taking money out of the saving of other people's lives.
Here's one that says tie them to a post offshore so at high tide the water comes up to their chins and leave them there for 24 hours.
COSTELLO: Unbelievable. Keep those e-mails coming because, frankly, we enjoy reading them this morning.
The next hour of DAYBREAK begins right now.
Just ahead on DAYBREAK, utter destruction, mile after mile, a vivid description from Kofi Annan after the U.N. chief tours what the killer waves left behind. We'll bring you a CNN exclusive look.
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 January 7, 2005 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Of course you know the U.S. military is among forces from several nations working to get relief supplies to South Asia.
Mike Chinoy has been with Singapore's Navy. He joins us now live from what's left of Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Hello -- Mike.
MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
I just came back from a town called Malabo, which is the main town on the west coast of Aceh. It was the biggest town closest to the epicenter of the quake. It's a complete disaster. And the Singapore Army has taken the leading role in relief efforts there.
Singapore, of course, a very close neighbor of Indonesia. They have sent several hundred troops. They have sent large ships that are capable of bringing ashore heavy equipment, bulldozers, tractors. They are trying to carve out an area on the beach that will allow bigger ships to come in close to shore and offload relief supplies. Also, they can accommodate bigger helicopters.
The Singaporeans also have medical teams, both a surgical team and folks who are handling the more general medicine. They're still getting a lot of people injured during this tsunami, people with all kinds of serious fractures, broken bones, cuts that got infected, a lot of people with serious psychological trauma. We saw one 17-year- old girl who was so traumatized after the tsunami she couldn't recognize her father.
It was against this backdrop of total destruction but aid beginning to flow that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan flew along the west coast down to have a look at Malabo, passing over mile after mile of total devastation between here and Malabo about 120 miles away. Very, very few buildings left standing, many communities completely wiped off the face of the earth.
Malabo, however, still has some buildings in tact. And the thinking is that it is going to become the relief hub for the hard-hit western coastal area, which has been cut off because of the roads. Communications have been down between here and there. So the Singaporeans taking a lead in trying to build that up.
U.S. Marines likely to come ashore in that same area in the next couple of days to help in the relief effort -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Mike Chinoy reporting live from Banda Aceh, Indonesia this morning.
Much needed food and equipment is also flowing in to southern Asia at an almost incredible rate. That's leading U.S. soldiers and international aid workers to work overtime to get the tons of aid where it's needed most.
CNN's Satinder Bindra has more on the flow of aid from Colombo, Sri Lanka.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marines on the move as another U.S. transport lands at Colombo's international airport. Staff Sergeant Claude Pile and his men race to check the equipment and supplies onboard. A father of three, Sergeant Pile of New York City believes this is one of the most important missions ever, both for him and his men.
STAFF SGT. CLAUDE PILE, U.S. MARINE CORPS: What do they want to be doing right now? More. More. More -- sir.
BINDRA: Since arriving in Sri Lanka just a few days ago, Sergeant Pile and his Marines have been organizing logistics. More than 45 countries are airlifting 750 tons of supplies, everything from baby milk, rice and water to this airport every day. Relief workers describe the rush (ph) as competitive compassion and Marines are at the center of it all.
(on camera): These Marines are tasked with offloading every single plane from any corner of the world that lands here. They're also organizing the delivery of heavy machinery and other material to be used in rebuilding large parts of Sri Lanka.
(voice-over): Once supplies are taken off planes, they are brought to this giant football field sized warehouse. Here a team of international volunteers first stack and then organizes their onward journey.
Isla Salahe (ph) from Moscut (ph) has been working nonstop for the past week.
ISLA SALAHE, VOLUNTEER: We are still alive. If we don't help these people, who will help them? We have to do that.
BINDRA: Sergeant Pile agrees. He says this tragedy is bringing about a rare unity among nations, private companies and soldiers.
PILE: We all fight for the same cause, we all want to do the same thing, and that's just help the people here.
BINDRA: The Sri Lankans are grateful that with so much international aid they are now solely focusing on recovery.
Satinder Bindra, CNN, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: And be sure to catch CNN's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll hear many other voices from the tsunami disaster. That's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
Turning to a "CNN Security Watch" now, a report from the CIA's independent investigator is expected to find that officials at the highest level of the agency are to blame for pre-9/11 security lapses. "The New York Times" says the report concludes that senior CIA leaders failed to provide the resources needed to fight terrorism.
At least eight people died from toxins released after a train accident caused a hazardous chemical spill in South Carolina. Dozens more people near the crash site were treated for respiratory and other ailments. And more than 5,000 people were evacuated. But could it have been worse?
As CNN's David Mattingly reports, this accident could act as a very important security warning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CURTIS MITCHELL (ph), ACCIDENT VICTIM: My eyes were burning insatiably and my throat felt like something just pulling at it.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It only took a matter of minutes to send Curtis Mitchell and dozens of others to the hospital gasping for breath and fearing for their lives. But the deadly train wreck and chemical spill was a potentially big disaster ultimately limited by its location in rural South Carolina. A more densely populated area and an attack, not an accident, could have been devastating according to former Deputy Homeland Security Advisor Richard Falkenrath.
RICHARD FALKENRATH, FMR. HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: The regulations so far have not really focused on the possibility of a deliberate attack against a hazardous material shipment through a city.
MATTINGLY: Falkenrath advocates stronger containers, better tracking and where possible, more rerouting to avoid large populations. The industry, however, points to sweeping improvements since 9/11, restricting access, more inspections and more patrols, systems aimed at reducing risk. Association of American Railroads President Edward Hamberger calls the rail industry's 200,000 employees the eyes and ears of the security effort.
But even with so many people watching, accidents still can happen and no one in this small mill town saw it coming.
David Mattingly, CNN, Graniteville, South Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. She was convicted of killing her children, now Andrea Yates is getting a new trial. The legal implications with our legal analyst Kendall Coffey, he'll join us live straight ahead.
And later, the State Department says nearly 2,400 Americans are still unaccounted for after the tsunami disaster. The story of one American couple whose search for their daughter ended in sorrow.
And our e-mail "Question of the Morning," the tsunami crisis: what should happen to scam artists? We'll read some of your e-mails ahead.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Prosecutors say they'll ask the court to reconsider its ruling that strikes down the murder convictions of Andrea Yates. You remember her, she drowned her children, five children, in the bathtub. A Texas appeals court overturned the conviction because an expert witness for the prosecution gave false testimony.
In an exclusive interview with "CNN's LARRY KING LIVE," Yates' husband goes "Beyond the Soundbite" and talks about his feelings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST: Frankly, were you surprised?
RUSSELL YATES, ANDREA YATES' HUSBAND: Extremely surprised, yes. It's -- we -- this court has really come under fire lately, because they -- they've, you know, make it -- you know habitually, I guess, you know, ruled against the defendants and in favor of the state and...
KING: Called Texas justice, right? They're tough.
YATES: Exactly. They're very, very tough. And in our case, you know our former police chief is now on this court, Sam Nuchia, and, you know, he -- you know, he found in favor of Andrea, which I was really surprised and happy to see.
KING: Also surprised it was unanimous?
YATES: Yes. You know, yes, you know, it's -- but I'm just happy, you know. Happy for Andrea.
KING: How do you explain it to yourself that there never appeared, Russell, to have been anger?
YATES: Well just being able to separate, you know, the -- the horrific act that she committed from her intentions and her reasons and her mental state at the time. Basically, I know that, had she not been mentally ill, she would never have done what she did. And so it's really that simple. It's extremely devastating, and she's hurt me tremendously through her actions. But at the same time, she's a wonderful person, you know. In many respects, she's a victim in all this, because she became ill. We were unable to get adequate treatment for her. She did this horrible, you know, thing that just devastated all of us, but you know, I can't lose sight of the fact that this wasn't her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The appeals court ruling doesn't necessarily mean Yates will be released from prison right away or get a new trial.
Want to talk more about this with our legal analyst Kendall Coffey. He joins us from Miami this morning.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well let's talk about this false testimony first, because this is really strange. An expert witness for the state, his name was Dr. Park Dietz, said that Yates watched an episode of "Law & Order" and may have gotten the idea to drown her children from that episode. What was the problem with that?
COFFEY: Well this was a critical expert, because five experts for the defense said she did not know right from wrong. And everybody agreed that she was mentally ill. The question was whether she was mentally ill within the legal definition that the law recognizes not able to distinguish right from wrong.
The only prosecution expert that said she was mentally sane within the meaning of the law talked about this episode on a TV show, indicating that Andrea Yates got the idea for a mental illness defense by watching it on TV and seeing a mother, who had killed her own children, beating the wrap by coming up with a mental illness defense.
COSTELLO: Yes, but the biggest problem with that is that episode never aired.
COFFEY: Completely false. And obviously that was the kind of thing that would have really meant something to a jury because it really suggests that this woman's alleged mental illness is a fake and she got her road map for this defense in this crime by watching a TV episode, a TV episode that never took place.
COSTELLO: Well how does this happen? Don't prosecutors check those things out before they sit a witness on the stand?
COFFEY: Prosecutors bet their witnesses very carefully, especially where you've got an expert that is the whole key to their case. Apparently, though, in fairness to the prosecution, this came out during defense cross-examination. It may not have been anything the prosecution even expected. They certainly didn't put it forward in their case, but they did argue it in closing argument. And so no one could deny that that false testimony was important to the jury outcome.
COSTELLO: You know another concern, this prosecution witness testified in a lot of trials, including Jeffrey Dahmer's trial, the "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski's trial and also Susan Smith who was convicted of killing her two children in South Carolina. What might that do to those cases, you know, with the exception of Jeffrey Dahmer?
COFFEY: Well don't be surprised to see various motions filed by other convicted defendants saying hey, this guy is a liar. He lied in the Andrea Yates case, he must have lied in my case. But unless, Carol, they can have some evidence showing that he affirmatively falsely testified in those other cases, the fact that there was this controversy in the Texas case of Andrea Yates isn't going to set anybody else loose from prison.
COSTELLO: All right, final question for you, what happens to Andrea Yates now?
COFFEY: She will be in an appellate process that's going to continue for a long time. This appeal itself took over two years. Meanwhile, her own attorney, everyone seems to agree, she needs to be in confinement in mental care somewhere. So right now it's a state prison. Even if she were to win a not guilty by virtue of insanity, she would be in a very similar kind of condition, incarcerated, but it would be in a state mental hospital rather than a state prison.
COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey live from Miami this morning, thank you for your insight.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
The death toll from the killer quake and tsunami now stands at nearly 156,000.
Actually, we're going to break away for a live event happening right now in Colombo, Sri Lanka. That's where Secretary of State Colin Powell is now. He just left Galle where he toured the damage.
Let's listen to what he has to say.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: And it's more than just walls that have been knocked down or buildings that have been crushed, but lives that were crushed and snuffed out. I conveyed to the president, and through her all Sri Lankans, that the United States is in solidarity with Sri Lanka. The president has already extended his condolences to the families of those who were lost.
But we're going to do more than that. We're going to provide support working with the international community. American U.S. Agency for International Development personnel are hard at work delivering food assistance, medical assistance, providing shelter.
But we're going to do more. Four million dollars of goods are being distributed now. Another $10 million is going to be spent on employment programs that will employ Sri Lankans in the clean up and reconstruction effort and start the economy going again in those parts of the country that were hit hardest.
In addition, I'll announce right now that another $10 million will be going to Sri Lanka for the purpose of constructing temporary housing in order to get people out from under plastic sheeting and into temporary housing until such time as permanent housing can be made available.
So the total U.S. contribution, at this point, is roughly $25 million or so. And I expect it will go up in the days ahead as we get a better understanding of the needs of the Sri Lankan people.
The president and I also talked about a program called the Millennium Challenge Account. A new initiative of President Bush where we help developing nations that are committed to democracy build their infrastructure. As a result of the tsunami, I suggested to the president she might review the original compact we had drafted with the Sri Lankan government to see if any adjustments need to be made into our planned program to take into account what has happened here.
I will leave the region this afternoon and report to President Bush on Monday morning on all that I have seen in Thailand, in Indonesia and here in Sri Lanka, as well as the reports I received about what happened in other nations in the region. Twelve countries spread over thousands of miles all struck by a single event, a single catastrophe.
And the international community has mobilized in a way that I have never seen before to help the affected people, to rebuild their homes, their schools, their businesses, but above all, to rebuild their lives and to show that the world can be compassionate and caring in the face of this kind of tragedy.
Thank you all for coming, and I'd be delighted to take a few questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we start down here with The Associate Press, please.
POWELL: I can't hear. Can't hear. It's not on.
QUESTION: From what you've seen this week, can you give us an estimate of how long you think the United States will need to be here in great force and great numbers in the region itself?
POWELL: Yes, we will be here for a long period of time. The simple fact that our embassies are here, our USAID missions are here, our military forces are in the region, I can't tell you how long they will stay, there are other missions that have to be performed in due course. Marines will be arriving in greater strength tomorrow. We expect engineer units and some medical personnel to be coming ashore over the next couple of days. But I cannot tell you how long those units will be here.
But in terms of the recovery effort, the principal agent responsible for the recovery effort is the Sri Lankan government. And as long as it takes them to restore infrastructure and reconstruct their society, the United States will be here with them. But the numbers will vary in accordance with the need.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, can we try a gentleman here, the tall gentleman with glasses.
QUESTION: Thank you. Have you received any guarantees from the Tamil Tigers or any contact with them regarding aid that might be going their way?
POWELL: I haven't had any contact with them. The reports I received from the government suggest that aid is going into the northern part of the country, those parts of the country that are under their control. The government believes that the Tamil regions are getting as much or more as their proportioned and we'll have to wait and measure that over time. But I know that aid is going up there, but I have had no conversation with any of the members of the LTTE.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, there's a woman in the middle in sunglasses.
QUESTION: Would the U.S. Marines be moving into the uncontrolled areas in order to help with the relief effort?
POWELL: The Marines, for the most part, I think will be, and I don't have the details of their plan, but will be working, for the most part, in the southern part of the country. There may be some detachments that go to other parts of the country for medical purposes and up to the north to restore capacity at one of the hospitals. And I will leave it up to the military commander to make judgments as to how best to deploy the forces that he will have available to him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's try the gentleman in the middle, the white haired gentleman.
QUESTION: Are you satisfied with the Sri Lankan government's relief effort?
POWELL: Yes, I was very impressed at and how quickly they have completed their assessment of losses, of where the priorities need to be and of what they need to do. I think it's been an impressive piece of work. And it certainly gives me confidence they know how to spend the relief money and know how to distribute the supplies and equipment that will be coming in to the country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's try the gentleman in the middle, the white haired gentleman.
QUESTION: This is Hector Jourstate (ph). Would you briefly assess the magnitude of the earthquake and tidal wave disaster in this part of the world and its consequences? And I would say that the American aid to Sri Lanka and the other donators (ph) can be described as magnanimous. Your response. POWELL: Well the impact I think is well known, a 9.0 Richter Scale event that affected so many countries. Our estimates now are that 150,000 people were killed, many more injured and wounded, as well as a number made homeless and impact on economies. Some nations suffered more than others.
The international community is being magnanimous and I think the United States is being magnanimous. I contacted the foreign minister of Sri Lanka within the first 24 hours. The president spoke to the president of Sri Lanka within 48 hours. And aid began flowing immediately, in small quantities, initially, of course, until we could surge our capability and until we had a better understanding of what the need was.
Remember in those first 24 to 48 hours, the numbers were rather low, compared to what they turned out to be by the end of the week. And as the scale of the disaster became clear, the United States rapidly scaled up, not only its financial pledge, but it rapidly scaled up military presence, launched more ships to come into the region. And we will continue to assess the situation throughout the region and we will scale up our contribution as necessary.
Of the $350 million that we have pledged, we have allocated or distributed roughly in the neighborhood of $50 million. So there's quite a line of credit that's still out there for us to use. And if $350 million turns out not to be enough in the grand scheme of things, I'm quite confident the president will review that and see what else the United States should do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, we have time for one more question. Can we try the lady in the middle in the sunglasses?
QUESTION: Considering the significant U.S. presence in Sri Lanka present, what is the role of the U.S. going to be in the future in Sri Lanka's peace process?
POWELL: As you know, we have always tried to play a helpful role working with our Norwegian colleagues. I have followed the situation here very closely. My Deputy Secretary Mr. Armitage has been deeply involved in the process. I don't think a military presence in any way shapes or affects the political situation.
Ultimately the problem has to be solved between the parties concerned. The United State military presence is strictly for humanitarian purposes and not in any way to influence political outcome one way or the other.
We are hopeful, however, that if all Sri Lankans come together to deal with this common catastrophe, this common crisis, and work with each other and cooperate with each other, then perhaps that spirit of cooperation can be elevated and extended into the political dialogue and find a way forward to a political solution to this long-standing crisis between the government and LTTE.
OK, thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.
COSTELLO: And you've been listening to Secretary of State Colin Powell from Colombo, Sri Lanka, talking about the extra aid that America is going to give for the tsunami victims there.
You can see the waiting plane behind them. He will leave shortly for Kenya for a signing of a peace accord in southern Sudan.
We're going to take a break. We'll be back with much more on DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: All right, we want to get right to our e-mail "Question of the Morning." We were talking about scam artists. Yes, people are actually scamming those looking to donate to tsunami relief effort.
Ali Velshi is going to talk more about this in the next hour of DAYBREAK, so we thought we'd bring him in to read some of your comments. And boy, have we got comments.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tough love going on, Carol, a lot of responses. They all seem to be along the same lines about people who get money from people under false pretenses using the tsunami as a reason to do so.
Starting with Elizabeth (ph) in my hometown of Toronto, I think they should be sent to Indonesia with a pair of rubber gloves and a mask and forced to help carry bodies until the job is done. That should cure them. That's a little bit of tough love.
Chad and Carol, listen to this one from Kale (ph). A creative idea would be to make the scam artists write programs for real charities. That way they're forced to put their efforts toward good and not toward the evil they created before. They are good at what they do, they know how to manipulate people, so they should be great at the job as long as someone is looking over their shoulder. Creative.
COSTELLO: OK, hold on a second, I know Chad has some too, and he's chomping at the bit.
CHAD MYERS, METEOROLOGIST: No, no, I just have one from Jodi (ph) in Texas that says, you know what, the money that they were going to be sending that was scammed would have saved a life. So therefore this lifesaving aid being stolen is murder and they should be treated like any other murderers.
COSTELLO: Wow!
MYERS: So I mean...
VELSHI: I mean every -- I mean they are -- this is not just like a stock scam where...
MYERS: Yes.
VELSHI: ... which is bad enough, this is people taking money out of the saving of other people's lives.
Here's one that says tie them to a post offshore so at high tide the water comes up to their chins and leave them there for 24 hours.
COSTELLO: Unbelievable. Keep those e-mails coming because, frankly, we enjoy reading them this morning.
The next hour of DAYBREAK begins right now.
Just ahead on DAYBREAK, utter destruction, mile after mile, a vivid description from Kofi Annan after the U.N. chief tours what the killer waves left behind. We'll bring you a CNN exclusive look.
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