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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

New Stories, Images Out of Tsunami-Stricken Areas; Bush Vows to Press On after Nine Americans Die in Iraq; "Mississsippi Burning" Case Reopened

Aired January 07, 2005 - 17:00   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.


WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now. New images we're just receiving here at CNN showing an escape to the rooftops and the agony on the ground. A tsunami victim risked his life to grab his video camera and records some of the most dramatic and horrifying pictures we've seen so far.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): When the sea acted strangely they were waiting for a ferry. Stunning new video shows why it never came.

Newlywed nightmare. She got married on the beach in Thailand.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some of the guests, they spoke to us and wished us happiness and a long life and together.

BLITZER: Then, the tsunami struck.

Fight for Iraq. A day after nine Americans die, the president vows to press on.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know it's hard. But it's hard for a reason. The reason it's hard is because there are a handful of folks who fear freedom.

BLITZER: Mississippi burning. The Klan killings inspired a movie. Now, four decades later, there may be a new ending.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, January 7, 2005.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Thanks very much for joining us. In just a moment, a tourist captures the terrifying fury of one tsunami and extraordinary pictures you've never seen of another moments after impact. But we begin with new developments from the disaster area.

The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan toured Indonesia's devastated island of Sumatra, saying it makes you wonder, quote, "where are the people?" Some officials now put Indonesia's death toll at more than 100,000. Secretary of State Colin Powell got a firsthand look at the destruction in Sri Lanka, where more than 46,000 people died. Powell promised more U.S. help in the days ahead.

On top of their pledges of aid, seven of the world's wealthiest nations, including the United States, today agreed to suspend debts owed by countries ravaged by the tsunamis.

Almost two weeks after the tsunamis struck, the pictures keep coming. Despite what we have seen before each new image has its own impact, reminding us all over again of nature's terrible potential fury. One of the tsunamis struck a popular monument at the very tip of India. An Indian teenager kept his camcorder rolling as the events played out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): The monument honoring an 18th-century Indian philosopher is built on two large rocks off the coast of southern India. Hundreds of tourists were there, wondering why the ferry back to the main land was late. They hadn't heard about the tsunamis, but did notice something strange about the sea.

Initially, this woman says, the sea began to rise and recede. For some time, she says, it was almost empty, as though you could walk on the sea bed. Some of the tourists were thinking about walking to the main land. That would have been a very serious mistake. Waves up to 30 feet high began slamming into the rocks. The frightened tourists scrambled to take refuge, but a 16-year-old boy kept his camcorder going, taking these dramatic pictures.

Suddenly, people starting shouting, says the teenager. I also started running, he says. My father said climb up. The water is coming. But I kept shooting. For an instant, the 133-foot statue seemed to disappear behind a curtain of water. Still, the boy kept his camera going. Finally, helicopters overhead. Later, boats came out to bring the tourists back to the mainland. It was only then that they had realized they had seen and survived a tsunami. We have done something good, said the teenage photographer's brother, and we have come back from the jaws of death.

The secretary of state, Colin Powell, who has been touring the tsunami zone, asserted today that no television picture can convey the full measure of what has happened. He is no doubt right. Some pictures from Sri Lanka that came into CNN today give us at least an idea of the intensity of the suffering. CNN's Brian Todd joining us now live with a look at these pictures -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, some of the most compelling images of these tsunamis have come from amateur photographers, people who simply had cameras with them at the precise moment the water hit. We want to warn our viewers, some pictures we're about to show you are graphic. The striking piece of videotape taken by a man in Sri Lanka starts with high water still rushing through his town. Just two hours after the tsunami hit Sri Lanka, a local man picked up a camera and recorded scenes of the deepest despair.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (voice-over): Men, women and children trying to cope with almost unimaginable disaster. The man who recorded it later talked about his decision to take the pictures.

SHAJAH RAO, AMATEUR CAMERAMAN (through translator): My wife said please don't go. Take your child and come with me. What do you want, your camera or your baby? I said I want both. So, I took one of the children in one hand and the camera in the other and went back to film.

TODD: He walked among his friends and neighbors in an eastern coastal town that had 27,000 residents before the tsunami struck. Some of them managed to take refuge on rooftops, but hundreds, perhaps thousands died. Survivors waded deep in water, some of them carrying bodies. In a morgue, there were cries of anguish. Bodies were buried in mass graves in a trench in the center of town and covered by wooden planks. It's estimated tens of thousands of Sri Lankans died in the tsunamis and 900,000 are homeless. These are some of the faces behind those numbers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): The man who took those images, you might have seen his name on the screen, his name is Shajah Rao. According to the Associated Press, Mr. Rao lost eight members of his family -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian, thanks very much for that.

Along Sri Lanka's shore line there are many communities that have been virtually wiped out by these killer waves. Bill Neely has the story from the eastern coast Sri Lanka and once again, we must caution you, his report contains some graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL NEELY, ITV NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This coast will forever be haunted by the tens of thousands who died here. Even in death, they have no peace. Ghost towns pepper the coast. Their populations dead or gone. Cut off now by the broken roads and the sea that took their people. This is a ghost coast, haunted by water.

Along it today, the Royal Navy searched for bridges and roads to repair. A quick look was enough. There are hundreds to choose from, and even with 100 men, they can't do too much.

There will be no bright new dawns on this coast. The bereaved and broken are everywhere. This woman lost all her children four of them. The dying isn't done. The man they're burying swallowed so much sea water, he couldn't breathe properly and died overnight, after 12 days of suffering. They buried him in the sand, facing away from the sea that killed him.

The coastal hospitals are full and there may be more deaths. Hamid (ph) was 8 days old when he, too, filled up with sea water. Habiba (ph) lost three of her children. She has one boy left. But Abdul (ph) has been brain damaged by the disaster. The doctors say he will die and aren't treating him anymore. This 4-month-old boy was found bruised in the debris. No one knows who he is. But five couples say he is their child. So much loss, so much desperation on this coast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The answer to those problems is to scientifically prove that this is their baby by doing some genetic study of their genes.

NEELY: Many hospitals are destroyed. Medical aid is getting through, but like the food and the water, it's slow in coming, even as the world's donations multiply.

JONG WOOK LEE, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The attention of the world is focused on this issue and also the people will watch how this money will be used.

NEELY: But in some places on this coast, there is nowhere left to deliver aid to, and few alive to get it.

This was a world turned upside down in seconds that will stay like this for years, because it's like this for hundreds of miles. Boats in the main street, bodies in the rubble left to rot. An unnatural world that will never be rebuilt as it was. A world turned upside down, where boys do the work of their dead fathers or stare at the mass graves that hold their parents.

He has lost his family of five, but everyone here has his own private hell. They stare at the wreck of their lives. No one, no donation, can ever replace their loss on this haunted shore. Bill Neely, ITV News on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Just when you think they're perhaps beginning to turn the corner on this disaster, you see a report like that. Bill Neely reporting.

Here some numbers you can call if you would like to donate to this tsunami disaster relief effort. The number for CARE, 1-800-521- 2273. The American Red Cross, 1-800-435-7669. And UNICEF, 1-800-486- 4233.

Blame game. A new critical report says one man should be held accountable for 9/11.

"Mississippi Burning." Killings that inspired the civil rights movement and a movie, now decades after the crime, an arrest is made.

Saving the children. Americans seeking to adopt kids orphaned by the tsunami, why the government may be tightening an already strict adoption process.

And, later...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can never forgive myself for dropping my baby. I will always see his eyes when he disappears.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A mother's guilt, a newlywed's pain. Just one day after she wed on a Thai beach, this woman lost everything. Her story. That's ahead as well.

And this programming note to our viewers. A special report, "Turning the Tide," our journalists on the front lines will bring you all the latest developments, that's tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A day after nine U.S. troops were killed in Iraq, President Bush says the American military will carry on with its mission, but Iraqis are taking the brunt of the insurgent attacks and the Pentagon is now sending a top retired general to assess the overall security situation in Iraq. Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, you may remember that Gary Luck is the former commander of U.S. forces in Korea. His also is a mentor to the commander of the war, Tommy Franks and his successor, General Abizaid. His new challenge is seeing if he can figure out how to get the Iraqis to fight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): Insurgents have killed more than 100 people this week, mostly Iraqis, and the military says attacks are growing more spectacular. A powerful roadside bomb like this one destroyed a heavily armored Bradley Fighting Vehicle, killing seven American soldiers.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID RODRIGUEZ, U.S. ARMY: We've noticed in the recent couple of weeks that the IEDs are all being built more powerfully, to -- with more explosive effort in a smaller number of IEDs.

MCINTYRE: Concerned the Iraqi military isn't up to the fight, the Pentagon is sending retired four-star General Gary Luck to Iraq in hopes the former commander of U.S. forces in Korea and his team can figure out how to whip Iraqi forces into shape faster.

LARRY DI RITA, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: His mission is to go over there and take a look at Iraqi security force development, where are we? How is it going? Provide an assessment to the commanders over there.

MCINTYRE: Getting Iraqi forces to take over the fight against insurgents is the lynchpin of the U.S. strategy to eventually withdraw American troops from Iraq. But given the spotty performance of Iraqi forces so far, it's also the Achilles heel.

BUSH: And that's precisely why the assessment team is going to Iraq to make sure that at this historic moment in the history of Iraq, there is a focused, determined strategy to help the new government.

MCINTYRE: While some elite Iraqi units have distinguished themselves, Pentagon officials describe the overall performance of Iraq's military as uneven, and privately they say many Iraqi troops are intimidated by the terror campaign aimed against them and lack the will to fight.

U.S. Central Commander General John Abizaid has already decided the best way to improve the effectiveness of Iraqi troops is to assign special 10-member teams of U.S. military advisers to stiffen their resolve.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: And if the Iraqi forces perform better, the Pentagon is hoping to begin reducing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq sometime this year. One senior Army official was quoted this week as saying, he doesn't believe that's realistic -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, at the Pentagon, Jamie, thanks very much.

In our CNN "Security Watch," an internal CIA report sharply criticizes the agency's leadership for pre-9/11 failures. That leadership is now the former leadership and some of those ex-spy chiefs are answering right back. Let's turn to our national security correspondent, David Ensor -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this classified draft report blames George Tenet and other top CIA officials for not doing enough against terrorism before the 9/11 attacks, according to knowledgeable sources.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): The CIA inspector general's draft says Tenet and also former deputy director for operations James Pavitt should be held accountable. It recommends, according to The New York Times, that Pavitt's conduct before 9/11 should be reviewed by a CIA board for possible reprimand or punishment.

The former staff director of the joint congressional 9/11 inquiry says those findings are in-line with what the Hill determined.

ELEANOR HILL, 9/11 COMMISSION: That the director of Central Intelligence at the time, which would have been George Tenet, was either unwilling or unable to marshal the full gamut of resources intelligence community resources against al Qaeda.

ENSOR: But a spokesman for Tenet insisted no one was more aggressive before 9/11 than the former intelligence chief in calling attention to the threat of terrorism and in marshalling resources against it.

GEORGE TENET, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: There is not the slightest doubt that Osama bin Laden, his worldwide allies and his sympathizers are planning further attacks against us.

ENSOR: Despite an austere budgetary environment, spokesman Bill Harlow (ph) said, Tenet increased funding for the agency's counterterrorism center by more than 50 percent between 1997 and 2001. And the number of people assigned to the unit increased more than 60 percent during that period.

As for former spymaster Pavitt, he called the inspector general's reported findings flawed. Though he declined an on-camera interview Friday, when we met last year, Pavitt strongly defended himself and the CIA.

JAMES PAVITT, FORMER CIA OFFICIAL: It would be wrong to assume that we didn't know it was coming. We did. It would be wrong to assume that we were not doing everything humanly possible to stop it, I believe we did.

ENSOR: George Tenet was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush only last month. And it's not clear what the CIA could do to punish him or Pavitt, both now out of government.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: Still, reputations matter plenty to former officials. And there could be political implications, too. The final report when it comes out could stir up quite a hornet's northwest -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Indeed. David Ensor, thanks very much for that.

And this to our viewers, please stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

A civil rights murder arrest 40 years later.

And, just minutes ago, an outburst in front of the courthouse. We'll take you there live. That's coming up next.

Agony in the aftermath of the tsunami. From wedded bliss to complete suffering. A newlywed shares her pain.

Later, a true hometown hero. How one man's phone call -- yes, a phone call -- saved his entire village.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: It was a murder case that stunned the nation and galvanized widespread support for the civil rights movement. Three young voter registration volunteers shot dead near Philadelphia, Mississippi. More than 40 years later, the case has taken a dramatic turn with the arrest of a suspect. CNN's Eric Philips is outside the courthouse in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Eric, update our viewers.

ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, good evening. For many here in Philadelphia, Mississippi, today's arraignment of Ray Edgar Killen represents the beginning of justice in this case. Indeed it was a very eventful day both inside and outside the courtroom. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): A frail-looking 79-year-old Edgar Ray Killen made his way into the Neshoba County court Friday morning. His family members arrived just before him, with emotions running high. Once inside, the arraignment was procedural. Killen was quiet and seemingly attentive when the three murder charges against him were read, he responded not guilty. The proceeding was short.

But then, back outside -- tempers flared as a man who said he is Killen's brother resisted media questions. Tempers have been flaring for decades over what happened to 21-year James Chaney, 20-year-old Andrew Goodman and 24-year-old Michael Schwerner. On June 21, 1964 the three civil rights workers were driving on a dark highway in Neshoba County when Ku Klux Klan members forced them to stop, beat them, shot them and buried their bodies in a nearby earthen dam. While seven men were convicted on federal conspiracy charges in 1967 Killen's federal trial ended in a hung jury. This is the first time anyone has faced state charges of murder in this case. Some say Killen's indictment is a victory, but just the beginning.

LEROY CLEMONE, NAACP: Anyone that was involved in this, if they're still alive, we would like to see them indicted and have their day in court.

PHILIPS: But the district attorney says additional indictments in this case are unlikely unless new evidence surfaces. Still this action may lift what some call a 40-year-old dark cloud over this community.

MARK DUNCAN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: If it has the effect of doing some healing, I'm all for it. I hope it does.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILIPS: Moments before today's arraignment, there was a bomb threat here at the courthouse and the building had to be evacuated. That was the first time that has happened in recent history, according to the judge. Killen remains in the Neshoba County Jail tonight without bond. His next court date is Wednesday -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Eric Philips reporting for us from Philadelphia, Mississippi. Thanks very much.

One of the best days of her life followed by the worst.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then I started to scream to myself I'm not going to die. I'm not dying. I'm not dying. I'm not dying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A tsunami survivor shares her story of unbelievable loss.

Also, adoptions on hold. Meet one family left in limbo by the disaster.

Hundreds of tourists caught by the massive wave. We have new images. We'll show them to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Unimaginable heartbreak. Married for just one day. A newlywed speaks to us about losing her husband, son and mother to the tsunami. We'll get to that.

First, a quick check of some other stories now in the news.

Officials in a small South Carolina town are searching for a mill worker who has been missing since a train wreck and chemical spill yesterday that killed eight people. More than 5,000 people within a mile of the scene were evacuated. One of the three tanker cars carrying chlorine gas is still leaking.

In central Missouri, one person was injured in an explosion and fire at a fuel storage facility. It happened as crews were unloading fuel from a tanker truck into one of the storage tanks.

The health troubles of the chief justice, William Rehnquist, will prevent him from presiding when the U.S. Supreme Court returns Monday from holiday recess. A court spokeswoman says the 80-year-old Rehnquist is recovering from radiation therapy and other problems related to his thyroid cancer. However, Rehnquist is still hoping to administer the oath of office to President Bush at his inauguration here in Washington on January 20.

Now some dramatic video of the incredible force of the tsunami. This footage shot by a 16-year-old captures a giant wave as it crashes against a monument built on rocks off the southern coast of India. Hundreds of tourists were there. Fortunately, all of them escaped unhurt.

And in neighboring Sri Lanka, more stunning pictures of devastation. The photographer says he took them just two hours after a succession of powerful waves struck his town. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people were killed.

We want to share with you now a story of a Swedish woman, Sara Adamsson. Within just 24 hours, she celebrated one of the best days of her life, only to see everything she loved washed away.

She told her wrenching story to CNN's Robyn Curnow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA ADAMSSON, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: I just hear the noise and I am so afraid to turn around, because, if I turn around, I know I will die. And then everything comes over us. And I just hold my baby like this to protect him from the wave and protect him from the house falling apart. The roof is falling apart. The walls are falling apart. And I just think, I have to save his head. And then I only remember that I am beginning to drown. There is so much water. And my clothes just rips apart. And I lose my baby in the wave. I can't hold him. It's like oil, you know? And then I think, in one second, I'll go in the wave with him. But something inside me stops me.

And then I just scream for Johannes (ph). Johannes. Where are you, Johannes? And I can't do anything. And then I started to scream to myself, I'm not going to die. I will not die. I'm not dying. I'm not dying. I'm not dying.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The deadly waves descending on Sara the day after she married Christa (ph), the father of her son, Johannes.

ADAMSSON: Some of the guests spoke to us and wished us happiness and a long life together.

CURNOW: Christa, Johannes and Sara's mother all taken by the sea.

ADAMSSON: I can never forgive myself for dropping my baby. I will always see his eyes when he disappears.

CURNOW: No bodies yet for her to bury.

ADAMSSON: I want to find my family, dead or alive, to get peace in my soul. And I'm so afraid that I will never get any answers, that I will search for my baby or for my husband or for my mother for the rest of my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That was Robin Curnow reporting from Sweden. What a heartbreaking story.

There is, of course, another tragic side to the tsunami disaster, the thousands of children who survived, but whose parents did not. For some, adoption may be what brings them a new life. But already was an arduous process is now even more difficult.

CNN's Kimberly Osias reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four-year-old Sophie Shoemaker (ph) knows who she is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: S-O-P-H-I-E.

OSIAS: And where she belongs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To her, we're just mom and dad.

OSIAS: Adopted, brought home from Bangkok at a year and a half. Now she's waiting to move up to the top bunk, hoping her new little sister will soon move into the bottom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's very excited about being a big sister.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love babies.

OSIAS: The only problem, Sadie (ph) is still in Thailand. She turned 1 just two days after the tsunami hit.

(on camera): When you saw the tsunami's devastation, what went through your mind?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a horrific thing on so many levels. I knew it was in the south of Thailand. So we knew pretty quickly that it wasn't going to directly affect Sadie. We just didn't know. We still don't know if it is going to affect the timeline for us.

OSIAS (voice-over): They were supposed to bring Sadie home this spring, but now the government seems to be tightening up on the already strict adoption process.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good afternoon, Holt International. How may I direct your call?

OSIAS: This adoption agency is fielding about 100 calls a day. That's about triple its usual volume.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our social workers that we're working with in Thailand, they don't feel that any of those children at this point are going to be adopted, because most of the children will be able to be reunited with extended family members or cared for in their community.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When a disaster strikes, you have to be very careful, because the immediate impulse is to put these kids in families.

OSIAS: U.S. and U.N. officials are offering words of caution about adopting children orphaned from the disaster.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, that's what they're saying, that there are international protocol.

OSIAS: Out-of-country Thai adoptions are already rare. Only about 100 children come to the United States annually. The process averages about two years. But what about adoptions already in play? Sophie Shoemaker may have to dream about her new sister a little while longer.

Kimberly Osias, CNN, Corvallis, Oregon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A life-saving warning. Residents of one village wiped away by the tsunami share their story of survival and the hometown hero they credit. Also, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: After I hear stories like that and we hear them again and again every single day, you know, I cry about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: For many journalists, it's the hardest story they have ever covered. I will talk about it with CNN's Soledad O'Brien in Phuket, Thailand.

Stay with us.

And CNN tonight, Paula hosts -- Paula Zahn, that is -- hosts a special prime-time edition of "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," personal stories of grief, courage and survival in the wake of this devastating natural disaster. "Voices from the Tsunami" airs tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Pacific.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Every day, we're learning of new and amazing stories of survival. Among the latest, an entire village -- yes, an entire village -- whose residents say their lives were saved from the tsunamis by a phone call.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): This is all that's left of the village of Nallavadu, once a fishing post on India's southeast Coast. Now it's nothing but rubble, like so many towns and villages ringing the Indian Ocean, a victim of the tsunami.

But unlike so many other devastated locations, Nallavadu didn't lose a single resident to the killer waves. The reasons, villagers say, a phone call from one of their own, a man named Vijay Kumar, who left Nallavadu for a job in Singapore. Residents say Kumar called friends back home as soon as he learned of the first wave striking Indonesia.

After a similar warning from another resident working abroad, the village siren was sounded and residents fled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When it was announced that sea waves are rising and rushing to land, we ran away. In the waves, all our homes, belongings and everything got washed away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We were scared about sea water chasing us. We thought of saving our children. And so, we did not bother to save our belongings, which were washed away in the tsunami waves.

BLITZER: In all, the village lost 150 homes and some 200 boats used for fishing, but, unlike so many others, these people still have their lives, thanks to a phone call from a new hometown hero.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A rare bright spot in an otherwise tragic story.

Virtually every journalist covering this disaster has been affected by it, deeply affected by it. And for those of us who are parents, it's the suffering of the children that's one of the most difficult angles to cover.

I talked about that earlier today with CNN's Soledad O'Brien. She's on the hard-hit resort island of Phuket in southern Thailand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Soledad, talk to me a little bit as a mother. You've been there this past week. How difficult has this been, not as a journalist, but as a mother?

O'BRIEN: I think as a mother and as a journalist, these stories have been heartbreaking.

I can completely identify with all the parents who are searching for their children. I mean, the sense of guilt of a father who recounts a story of how he was holding his son until the moment when he couldn't anymore, I think all of us who love our children so much and would gladly trade places with them in any sort of horrific situation like the tsunami, how can your heart not break for someone like that?

It has been tough to hear those stories, lots of fathers that we're working with out here as well. And, honestly, I'll tell you, after I hear stories like that -- and we hear them again and again every single day -- you know, I cry about it. It is very tough to hear. And we pray for these people.

BLITZER: When you get back to New York, Soledad, how will this experience that you have just had, this unique experience, affect you?

O'BRIEN: I think that we all understand, all of us understand that we love in a big global world. We all are -- it's important to us to know and help out people who have had a tragedy on the other side of the world.

I mean, to lose a child is a universal experience. I know what they're going through. And, hopefully, it won't be anything that I ever experience. But we all understand. Even when we hear reports from Sri Lanka, you don't understand the language of someone, but you hear their story. They have lost a sister. They couldn't hold on to their mother. Their father was wiped away.

I think we all understand the depth of loss that they're experiencing, even if only this much of it. So, I think all of us here are changed by this. You know, I think we understand the value of a human life. And, hopefully, we'll see them rebuild and we'll see some recovery and we'll see the children bounce back from the trauma and it won't be in too long. It's been a tough, tough week to cover this story, but, of course, for the people who have experienced it, a really horrible, horrible, unimaginable time for them.

BLITZER: And as difficult as it has been for journalists, it's so much worse for the people who actually lived through that tsunami.

Soledad, was there a moment that will always remain in your mind that sort of encompasses the experience you had?

O'BRIEN: You know, I think when I saw the wall that was set up in the provincial center, because it reminded me so much of the wall that was set up after 9/11, a story that I covered as a New Yorker, because you see the pictures of people and they're smiling at you. And they're their wedding pictures or their honeymoon pictures or their vacation pictures, or, worse, the family photo, probably used in a Christmas card last year.

And the names are circled, missing, missing, missing, missing, four children, five children. It breaks your heart. It's hard to really comes to terms with the depth of the loss from this horrible, horrible tragedy. Our hearts truly go out to everyone who has been affected.

BLITZER: Well said. Soledad, we deeply appreciate your good work. Have a safe trip back here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And she will be back in the United States Monday morning for "AMERICAN MORNING" -- Soledad O'Brien, an outstanding job for us, along with all of our journalists on the scene.

Paid pundit. Coming up, the controversy surrounding one conservative radio talk show host getting money from the federal government to promote one of President Bush's programs on air.

Plus, American aid efforts for tsunami victims. Could the U.S. begin to gain some positive world respect? Our Carlos Watson is standing by with "The Inside Edge."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The Bush administration is facing questions about new revelations it paid a popular pundit to promote the White House education plan.

CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry is joining me now live with details of this controversy -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, last year, conservative commentator Armstrong Williams could not stop talking about the benefits of President Bush's education plan on his TV shows, his radio shows, his newspaper columns and even right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: And so President Bush has all along, through his appointments, through No Child Left Behind, through his fair housing policies at the Department of Housing and Urban Development with Secretary Jackson, has shown that he is willing to reach out and earn the black vote.

HENRY (voice-over): But left behind or left out was the fact the Bush Education Department was paying Williams $240,000 through a P.R. firm to promote the law through commentary and advertising on his programs. The top Democrat on the House Education Committee believes the contract broke the law and is part of a pattern of abuse by the administration.

REP. GEORGE MILLER (D), CALIFORNIA: I think it does rise to the level of illegality. The Congress doesn't let you provide information or publicity or advertisements with taxpayer dollars without telling the public that that's what you're doing.

HENRY: The Government Accountability Office found this week the administration violated federal law by producing television news segments about the effects of drug use without disclosing the Office of National Drug Control Policy was behind them. The administration was admonished last year for using a similar device to promote its Medicare law.

Williams denies he broke the law, but tells CNN he made a mistake.

(on camera): It looks like you've been bought by the Bush administration.

WILLIAMS: It does appear that way, but that's not true. The advertising campaign was a legitimate campaign. I was an advocate. I advocated something that I believed in. It's a thin line. There's a thin gray line. I can understand why somebody not knowing all the fact as to why I'm on this show now would say, well, he doesn't believe in this. He's bought and paid for. And that's a legitimate -- that's a legitimate thing to say.

HENRY (voice-over): The White House referred to questions to the Education Department, which said the Williams deal was a legitimate use of taxpayer money.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: But the Republican chairman of the House Education Committee, John Boehner, joined Democrats in calling on the Education Department's inspector general to investigate. Williams says he will no longer accept these government contracts, but he is not giving back the money, Wolf, that he has already earned.

BLITZER: All right, switching gears, there's a new development involving New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. What's going on?

HENRY: That's right. David Rosen was the former campaign finance director for Senator Clinton in her first campaign in 2000. He has just been indicted on charges of filing false campaign reports with the Federal Election Commission. What is being charged here is that, basically, they were underreporting how much expenses for a fund-raiser was, so that they would have more money to then spend in the campaign.

We have placed calls to Senator Clinton's office and to the attorney, David Kendall, in this case. He's representing Senator Clinton. Of course, you remember him over the years, but also representing David Rosen. I have not heard back yet. As soon as we get a comment, we'll get it right on the air.

BLITZER: All right, we will continue to watch that story as well. Ed Henry, thanks very much.

HENRY: Yes.

BLITZER: Time now for "The Inside Edge" with CNN political analyst Carlos Watson, who is joining us today from L.A.

Carlos, what do you make of this new Congress that has just been sworn in here in Washington?

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think what's interesting, Wolf, is that this could be the most impactful Congress in 40 years, since the 89th Congress back in 1965-'66 passed Medicaid, Medicare, the Voting Rights Act, created two new Cabinet-level posts. It could be a pretty impactful one.

The other thing to note is that how important in the policy- making arena will be three things that we saw last year during the campaign. The Internet will be very important, as different groups try to build up support for their positions. Various interest groups who have said that they are going to run millions of dollars worth of ads, whether it's on Social Security or tort reform or other issues, will be important.

And then you will also, interestingly enough, see a lot of campaign whistle-stops on the part of the president and others. In fact, you see the president out there today really putting a lot of energy into selling his plan. So, it could be a very important Congress in terms of new legislation.

BLITZER: Carlos, what about the tsunami? Any political ramifications, implications you're already seeing from this horrible disaster?

WATSON: I think two immediate ones and possibly a third.

One, I think, in the visits by a number of members of Congress to the area, I think you could end up seeing members of Congress come back to Washington with a different mind-set, frankly, not only as it relates to things like foreign aid, maybe ultimately sending more foreign aid that way, but, two, you could see a change of mind-set as they think about the United Nations. Remember, the U.N. has been under great challenge over the last year, but there may be a slightly different perspective.

And, three, some of the conversation that happened towards the end of the presidential campaign about needing to in effect woo much of the Muslim word and to offer a different perspective on the United States, you might see more interest in the Congress as a result of that.

A second big thing you might see, ramification of the tsunami, if, over time, the United States is seen having been very helpful here and if, in a different part of the world, in Iraq, if the elections are seen as going well there, we could begin to see a little new positive momentum in terms of how much of the world thinks about the United States, a regaining of some respect, if you will.

BLITZER: There's another political or, let's say, other issue that you've been following sort of under the radar screen that surfaced only in the past few days. Tell our viewers what you have in mind.

WATSON: The United Nations nuclear watchdog group has just suggested that Egypt may have been conducting some illegal experiments with nuclear weapons.

And what's so significant about that is that, while many people have worried about North Korea and Iran, the reality is that Egypt is just one example of what may be several states that are performing nuclear experiments that we need to be worried about. And if, in fact, that turns out to be true, that could ultimately have dramatic impact on our foreign and military policy.

BLITZER: As he does every Friday, Carlos Watson joins us with "The Inside Edge."

Carlos, have a great weekend. Thanks very much.

WATSON: You, too. Have a good one.

BLITZER: And help for tsunami victims from the animal kingdom, how one elephant is lending its artistic skill to the cause.

And beginning today and throughout 2005, CNN will be looking back at the major stories from the last 25 years as we mark 25 years of broadcasting. We'll revisit the stories that impacted our lives and find out what happened to yesterday's newsmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NARRATOR: She's known by some as the woman who broke up the Beatles. by others as a misunderstood artist with a passion for world peace.

An avant-garde superstar in her own right, Yoko Ono married John Lennon in 1969 and gave birth to a son, Sean, six years later. She was by her husband's side when he was gunned down outside of their New York City apartment building in 1980. Since his death, Ono has remained active in causes she views as keeping Lennon's spirit alive. In 2003, she started the Lennon Ono Grant For Peace, which is awarded to people who benefit the human race.

YOKO ONO, WIDOW OF JOHN LENNON: It's the type of thing that John would have approved and he would have loved to see happen. And I thought it was very important that this award is created.

NARRATOR: Yoko Ono is now 72 years old, a senior citizen with a hippie sensibility. Her song "Every Man, Every Woman" hit the charts in late 2004.

Yoko is also collaborating with former Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison's widow, Olivia, to create a new Cirque du Soleil show at the Mirage in Las Vegas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Fund-raising efforts for tsunami victims are taking unusual forms. The Fort Worth, Texas, Zoo is auctioning a painting by its elephant artist, Rasha, who was born in Thailand. The fund- raising painting is being sold on eBay. Last hour, it was up to $6,300.

See you Sunday on "LATE EDITION."

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now. New images we're just receiving here at CNN showing an escape to the rooftops and the agony on the ground. A tsunami victim risked his life to grab his video camera and records some of the most dramatic and horrifying pictures we've seen so far.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): When the sea acted strangely they were waiting for a ferry. Stunning new video shows why it never came.

Newlywed nightmare. She got married on the beach in Thailand.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some of the guests, they spoke to us and wished us happiness and a long life and together.

BLITZER: Then, the tsunami struck.

Fight for Iraq. A day after nine Americans die, the president vows to press on.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know it's hard. But it's hard for a reason. The reason it's hard is because there are a handful of folks who fear freedom.

BLITZER: Mississippi burning. The Klan killings inspired a movie. Now, four decades later, there may be a new ending.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, January 7, 2005.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Thanks very much for joining us. In just a moment, a tourist captures the terrifying fury of one tsunami and extraordinary pictures you've never seen of another moments after impact. But we begin with new developments from the disaster area.

The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan toured Indonesia's devastated island of Sumatra, saying it makes you wonder, quote, "where are the people?" Some officials now put Indonesia's death toll at more than 100,000. Secretary of State Colin Powell got a firsthand look at the destruction in Sri Lanka, where more than 46,000 people died. Powell promised more U.S. help in the days ahead.

On top of their pledges of aid, seven of the world's wealthiest nations, including the United States, today agreed to suspend debts owed by countries ravaged by the tsunamis.

Almost two weeks after the tsunamis struck, the pictures keep coming. Despite what we have seen before each new image has its own impact, reminding us all over again of nature's terrible potential fury. One of the tsunamis struck a popular monument at the very tip of India. An Indian teenager kept his camcorder rolling as the events played out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): The monument honoring an 18th-century Indian philosopher is built on two large rocks off the coast of southern India. Hundreds of tourists were there, wondering why the ferry back to the main land was late. They hadn't heard about the tsunamis, but did notice something strange about the sea.

Initially, this woman says, the sea began to rise and recede. For some time, she says, it was almost empty, as though you could walk on the sea bed. Some of the tourists were thinking about walking to the main land. That would have been a very serious mistake. Waves up to 30 feet high began slamming into the rocks. The frightened tourists scrambled to take refuge, but a 16-year-old boy kept his camcorder going, taking these dramatic pictures.

Suddenly, people starting shouting, says the teenager. I also started running, he says. My father said climb up. The water is coming. But I kept shooting. For an instant, the 133-foot statue seemed to disappear behind a curtain of water. Still, the boy kept his camera going. Finally, helicopters overhead. Later, boats came out to bring the tourists back to the mainland. It was only then that they had realized they had seen and survived a tsunami. We have done something good, said the teenage photographer's brother, and we have come back from the jaws of death.

The secretary of state, Colin Powell, who has been touring the tsunami zone, asserted today that no television picture can convey the full measure of what has happened. He is no doubt right. Some pictures from Sri Lanka that came into CNN today give us at least an idea of the intensity of the suffering. CNN's Brian Todd joining us now live with a look at these pictures -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, some of the most compelling images of these tsunamis have come from amateur photographers, people who simply had cameras with them at the precise moment the water hit. We want to warn our viewers, some pictures we're about to show you are graphic. The striking piece of videotape taken by a man in Sri Lanka starts with high water still rushing through his town. Just two hours after the tsunami hit Sri Lanka, a local man picked up a camera and recorded scenes of the deepest despair.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (voice-over): Men, women and children trying to cope with almost unimaginable disaster. The man who recorded it later talked about his decision to take the pictures.

SHAJAH RAO, AMATEUR CAMERAMAN (through translator): My wife said please don't go. Take your child and come with me. What do you want, your camera or your baby? I said I want both. So, I took one of the children in one hand and the camera in the other and went back to film.

TODD: He walked among his friends and neighbors in an eastern coastal town that had 27,000 residents before the tsunami struck. Some of them managed to take refuge on rooftops, but hundreds, perhaps thousands died. Survivors waded deep in water, some of them carrying bodies. In a morgue, there were cries of anguish. Bodies were buried in mass graves in a trench in the center of town and covered by wooden planks. It's estimated tens of thousands of Sri Lankans died in the tsunamis and 900,000 are homeless. These are some of the faces behind those numbers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): The man who took those images, you might have seen his name on the screen, his name is Shajah Rao. According to the Associated Press, Mr. Rao lost eight members of his family -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian, thanks very much for that.

Along Sri Lanka's shore line there are many communities that have been virtually wiped out by these killer waves. Bill Neely has the story from the eastern coast Sri Lanka and once again, we must caution you, his report contains some graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL NEELY, ITV NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This coast will forever be haunted by the tens of thousands who died here. Even in death, they have no peace. Ghost towns pepper the coast. Their populations dead or gone. Cut off now by the broken roads and the sea that took their people. This is a ghost coast, haunted by water.

Along it today, the Royal Navy searched for bridges and roads to repair. A quick look was enough. There are hundreds to choose from, and even with 100 men, they can't do too much.

There will be no bright new dawns on this coast. The bereaved and broken are everywhere. This woman lost all her children four of them. The dying isn't done. The man they're burying swallowed so much sea water, he couldn't breathe properly and died overnight, after 12 days of suffering. They buried him in the sand, facing away from the sea that killed him.

The coastal hospitals are full and there may be more deaths. Hamid (ph) was 8 days old when he, too, filled up with sea water. Habiba (ph) lost three of her children. She has one boy left. But Abdul (ph) has been brain damaged by the disaster. The doctors say he will die and aren't treating him anymore. This 4-month-old boy was found bruised in the debris. No one knows who he is. But five couples say he is their child. So much loss, so much desperation on this coast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The answer to those problems is to scientifically prove that this is their baby by doing some genetic study of their genes.

NEELY: Many hospitals are destroyed. Medical aid is getting through, but like the food and the water, it's slow in coming, even as the world's donations multiply.

JONG WOOK LEE, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The attention of the world is focused on this issue and also the people will watch how this money will be used.

NEELY: But in some places on this coast, there is nowhere left to deliver aid to, and few alive to get it.

This was a world turned upside down in seconds that will stay like this for years, because it's like this for hundreds of miles. Boats in the main street, bodies in the rubble left to rot. An unnatural world that will never be rebuilt as it was. A world turned upside down, where boys do the work of their dead fathers or stare at the mass graves that hold their parents.

He has lost his family of five, but everyone here has his own private hell. They stare at the wreck of their lives. No one, no donation, can ever replace their loss on this haunted shore. Bill Neely, ITV News on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Just when you think they're perhaps beginning to turn the corner on this disaster, you see a report like that. Bill Neely reporting.

Here some numbers you can call if you would like to donate to this tsunami disaster relief effort. The number for CARE, 1-800-521- 2273. The American Red Cross, 1-800-435-7669. And UNICEF, 1-800-486- 4233.

Blame game. A new critical report says one man should be held accountable for 9/11.

"Mississippi Burning." Killings that inspired the civil rights movement and a movie, now decades after the crime, an arrest is made.

Saving the children. Americans seeking to adopt kids orphaned by the tsunami, why the government may be tightening an already strict adoption process.

And, later...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can never forgive myself for dropping my baby. I will always see his eyes when he disappears.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A mother's guilt, a newlywed's pain. Just one day after she wed on a Thai beach, this woman lost everything. Her story. That's ahead as well.

And this programming note to our viewers. A special report, "Turning the Tide," our journalists on the front lines will bring you all the latest developments, that's tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A day after nine U.S. troops were killed in Iraq, President Bush says the American military will carry on with its mission, but Iraqis are taking the brunt of the insurgent attacks and the Pentagon is now sending a top retired general to assess the overall security situation in Iraq. Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, you may remember that Gary Luck is the former commander of U.S. forces in Korea. His also is a mentor to the commander of the war, Tommy Franks and his successor, General Abizaid. His new challenge is seeing if he can figure out how to get the Iraqis to fight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): Insurgents have killed more than 100 people this week, mostly Iraqis, and the military says attacks are growing more spectacular. A powerful roadside bomb like this one destroyed a heavily armored Bradley Fighting Vehicle, killing seven American soldiers.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID RODRIGUEZ, U.S. ARMY: We've noticed in the recent couple of weeks that the IEDs are all being built more powerfully, to -- with more explosive effort in a smaller number of IEDs.

MCINTYRE: Concerned the Iraqi military isn't up to the fight, the Pentagon is sending retired four-star General Gary Luck to Iraq in hopes the former commander of U.S. forces in Korea and his team can figure out how to whip Iraqi forces into shape faster.

LARRY DI RITA, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: His mission is to go over there and take a look at Iraqi security force development, where are we? How is it going? Provide an assessment to the commanders over there.

MCINTYRE: Getting Iraqi forces to take over the fight against insurgents is the lynchpin of the U.S. strategy to eventually withdraw American troops from Iraq. But given the spotty performance of Iraqi forces so far, it's also the Achilles heel.

BUSH: And that's precisely why the assessment team is going to Iraq to make sure that at this historic moment in the history of Iraq, there is a focused, determined strategy to help the new government.

MCINTYRE: While some elite Iraqi units have distinguished themselves, Pentagon officials describe the overall performance of Iraq's military as uneven, and privately they say many Iraqi troops are intimidated by the terror campaign aimed against them and lack the will to fight.

U.S. Central Commander General John Abizaid has already decided the best way to improve the effectiveness of Iraqi troops is to assign special 10-member teams of U.S. military advisers to stiffen their resolve.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: And if the Iraqi forces perform better, the Pentagon is hoping to begin reducing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq sometime this year. One senior Army official was quoted this week as saying, he doesn't believe that's realistic -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, at the Pentagon, Jamie, thanks very much.

In our CNN "Security Watch," an internal CIA report sharply criticizes the agency's leadership for pre-9/11 failures. That leadership is now the former leadership and some of those ex-spy chiefs are answering right back. Let's turn to our national security correspondent, David Ensor -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this classified draft report blames George Tenet and other top CIA officials for not doing enough against terrorism before the 9/11 attacks, according to knowledgeable sources.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): The CIA inspector general's draft says Tenet and also former deputy director for operations James Pavitt should be held accountable. It recommends, according to The New York Times, that Pavitt's conduct before 9/11 should be reviewed by a CIA board for possible reprimand or punishment.

The former staff director of the joint congressional 9/11 inquiry says those findings are in-line with what the Hill determined.

ELEANOR HILL, 9/11 COMMISSION: That the director of Central Intelligence at the time, which would have been George Tenet, was either unwilling or unable to marshal the full gamut of resources intelligence community resources against al Qaeda.

ENSOR: But a spokesman for Tenet insisted no one was more aggressive before 9/11 than the former intelligence chief in calling attention to the threat of terrorism and in marshalling resources against it.

GEORGE TENET, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: There is not the slightest doubt that Osama bin Laden, his worldwide allies and his sympathizers are planning further attacks against us.

ENSOR: Despite an austere budgetary environment, spokesman Bill Harlow (ph) said, Tenet increased funding for the agency's counterterrorism center by more than 50 percent between 1997 and 2001. And the number of people assigned to the unit increased more than 60 percent during that period.

As for former spymaster Pavitt, he called the inspector general's reported findings flawed. Though he declined an on-camera interview Friday, when we met last year, Pavitt strongly defended himself and the CIA.

JAMES PAVITT, FORMER CIA OFFICIAL: It would be wrong to assume that we didn't know it was coming. We did. It would be wrong to assume that we were not doing everything humanly possible to stop it, I believe we did.

ENSOR: George Tenet was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush only last month. And it's not clear what the CIA could do to punish him or Pavitt, both now out of government.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: Still, reputations matter plenty to former officials. And there could be political implications, too. The final report when it comes out could stir up quite a hornet's northwest -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Indeed. David Ensor, thanks very much for that.

And this to our viewers, please stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

A civil rights murder arrest 40 years later.

And, just minutes ago, an outburst in front of the courthouse. We'll take you there live. That's coming up next.

Agony in the aftermath of the tsunami. From wedded bliss to complete suffering. A newlywed shares her pain.

Later, a true hometown hero. How one man's phone call -- yes, a phone call -- saved his entire village.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: It was a murder case that stunned the nation and galvanized widespread support for the civil rights movement. Three young voter registration volunteers shot dead near Philadelphia, Mississippi. More than 40 years later, the case has taken a dramatic turn with the arrest of a suspect. CNN's Eric Philips is outside the courthouse in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Eric, update our viewers.

ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, good evening. For many here in Philadelphia, Mississippi, today's arraignment of Ray Edgar Killen represents the beginning of justice in this case. Indeed it was a very eventful day both inside and outside the courtroom. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): A frail-looking 79-year-old Edgar Ray Killen made his way into the Neshoba County court Friday morning. His family members arrived just before him, with emotions running high. Once inside, the arraignment was procedural. Killen was quiet and seemingly attentive when the three murder charges against him were read, he responded not guilty. The proceeding was short.

But then, back outside -- tempers flared as a man who said he is Killen's brother resisted media questions. Tempers have been flaring for decades over what happened to 21-year James Chaney, 20-year-old Andrew Goodman and 24-year-old Michael Schwerner. On June 21, 1964 the three civil rights workers were driving on a dark highway in Neshoba County when Ku Klux Klan members forced them to stop, beat them, shot them and buried their bodies in a nearby earthen dam. While seven men were convicted on federal conspiracy charges in 1967 Killen's federal trial ended in a hung jury. This is the first time anyone has faced state charges of murder in this case. Some say Killen's indictment is a victory, but just the beginning.

LEROY CLEMONE, NAACP: Anyone that was involved in this, if they're still alive, we would like to see them indicted and have their day in court.

PHILIPS: But the district attorney says additional indictments in this case are unlikely unless new evidence surfaces. Still this action may lift what some call a 40-year-old dark cloud over this community.

MARK DUNCAN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: If it has the effect of doing some healing, I'm all for it. I hope it does.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILIPS: Moments before today's arraignment, there was a bomb threat here at the courthouse and the building had to be evacuated. That was the first time that has happened in recent history, according to the judge. Killen remains in the Neshoba County Jail tonight without bond. His next court date is Wednesday -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Eric Philips reporting for us from Philadelphia, Mississippi. Thanks very much.

One of the best days of her life followed by the worst.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then I started to scream to myself I'm not going to die. I'm not dying. I'm not dying. I'm not dying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A tsunami survivor shares her story of unbelievable loss.

Also, adoptions on hold. Meet one family left in limbo by the disaster.

Hundreds of tourists caught by the massive wave. We have new images. We'll show them to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Unimaginable heartbreak. Married for just one day. A newlywed speaks to us about losing her husband, son and mother to the tsunami. We'll get to that.

First, a quick check of some other stories now in the news.

Officials in a small South Carolina town are searching for a mill worker who has been missing since a train wreck and chemical spill yesterday that killed eight people. More than 5,000 people within a mile of the scene were evacuated. One of the three tanker cars carrying chlorine gas is still leaking.

In central Missouri, one person was injured in an explosion and fire at a fuel storage facility. It happened as crews were unloading fuel from a tanker truck into one of the storage tanks.

The health troubles of the chief justice, William Rehnquist, will prevent him from presiding when the U.S. Supreme Court returns Monday from holiday recess. A court spokeswoman says the 80-year-old Rehnquist is recovering from radiation therapy and other problems related to his thyroid cancer. However, Rehnquist is still hoping to administer the oath of office to President Bush at his inauguration here in Washington on January 20.

Now some dramatic video of the incredible force of the tsunami. This footage shot by a 16-year-old captures a giant wave as it crashes against a monument built on rocks off the southern coast of India. Hundreds of tourists were there. Fortunately, all of them escaped unhurt.

And in neighboring Sri Lanka, more stunning pictures of devastation. The photographer says he took them just two hours after a succession of powerful waves struck his town. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people were killed.

We want to share with you now a story of a Swedish woman, Sara Adamsson. Within just 24 hours, she celebrated one of the best days of her life, only to see everything she loved washed away.

She told her wrenching story to CNN's Robyn Curnow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA ADAMSSON, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: I just hear the noise and I am so afraid to turn around, because, if I turn around, I know I will die. And then everything comes over us. And I just hold my baby like this to protect him from the wave and protect him from the house falling apart. The roof is falling apart. The walls are falling apart. And I just think, I have to save his head. And then I only remember that I am beginning to drown. There is so much water. And my clothes just rips apart. And I lose my baby in the wave. I can't hold him. It's like oil, you know? And then I think, in one second, I'll go in the wave with him. But something inside me stops me.

And then I just scream for Johannes (ph). Johannes. Where are you, Johannes? And I can't do anything. And then I started to scream to myself, I'm not going to die. I will not die. I'm not dying. I'm not dying. I'm not dying.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The deadly waves descending on Sara the day after she married Christa (ph), the father of her son, Johannes.

ADAMSSON: Some of the guests spoke to us and wished us happiness and a long life together.

CURNOW: Christa, Johannes and Sara's mother all taken by the sea.

ADAMSSON: I can never forgive myself for dropping my baby. I will always see his eyes when he disappears.

CURNOW: No bodies yet for her to bury.

ADAMSSON: I want to find my family, dead or alive, to get peace in my soul. And I'm so afraid that I will never get any answers, that I will search for my baby or for my husband or for my mother for the rest of my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That was Robin Curnow reporting from Sweden. What a heartbreaking story.

There is, of course, another tragic side to the tsunami disaster, the thousands of children who survived, but whose parents did not. For some, adoption may be what brings them a new life. But already was an arduous process is now even more difficult.

CNN's Kimberly Osias reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four-year-old Sophie Shoemaker (ph) knows who she is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: S-O-P-H-I-E.

OSIAS: And where she belongs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To her, we're just mom and dad.

OSIAS: Adopted, brought home from Bangkok at a year and a half. Now she's waiting to move up to the top bunk, hoping her new little sister will soon move into the bottom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's very excited about being a big sister.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love babies.

OSIAS: The only problem, Sadie (ph) is still in Thailand. She turned 1 just two days after the tsunami hit.

(on camera): When you saw the tsunami's devastation, what went through your mind?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a horrific thing on so many levels. I knew it was in the south of Thailand. So we knew pretty quickly that it wasn't going to directly affect Sadie. We just didn't know. We still don't know if it is going to affect the timeline for us.

OSIAS (voice-over): They were supposed to bring Sadie home this spring, but now the government seems to be tightening up on the already strict adoption process.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good afternoon, Holt International. How may I direct your call?

OSIAS: This adoption agency is fielding about 100 calls a day. That's about triple its usual volume.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our social workers that we're working with in Thailand, they don't feel that any of those children at this point are going to be adopted, because most of the children will be able to be reunited with extended family members or cared for in their community.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When a disaster strikes, you have to be very careful, because the immediate impulse is to put these kids in families.

OSIAS: U.S. and U.N. officials are offering words of caution about adopting children orphaned from the disaster.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, that's what they're saying, that there are international protocol.

OSIAS: Out-of-country Thai adoptions are already rare. Only about 100 children come to the United States annually. The process averages about two years. But what about adoptions already in play? Sophie Shoemaker may have to dream about her new sister a little while longer.

Kimberly Osias, CNN, Corvallis, Oregon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A life-saving warning. Residents of one village wiped away by the tsunami share their story of survival and the hometown hero they credit. Also, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: After I hear stories like that and we hear them again and again every single day, you know, I cry about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: For many journalists, it's the hardest story they have ever covered. I will talk about it with CNN's Soledad O'Brien in Phuket, Thailand.

Stay with us.

And CNN tonight, Paula hosts -- Paula Zahn, that is -- hosts a special prime-time edition of "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," personal stories of grief, courage and survival in the wake of this devastating natural disaster. "Voices from the Tsunami" airs tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Pacific.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Every day, we're learning of new and amazing stories of survival. Among the latest, an entire village -- yes, an entire village -- whose residents say their lives were saved from the tsunamis by a phone call.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): This is all that's left of the village of Nallavadu, once a fishing post on India's southeast Coast. Now it's nothing but rubble, like so many towns and villages ringing the Indian Ocean, a victim of the tsunami.

But unlike so many other devastated locations, Nallavadu didn't lose a single resident to the killer waves. The reasons, villagers say, a phone call from one of their own, a man named Vijay Kumar, who left Nallavadu for a job in Singapore. Residents say Kumar called friends back home as soon as he learned of the first wave striking Indonesia.

After a similar warning from another resident working abroad, the village siren was sounded and residents fled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When it was announced that sea waves are rising and rushing to land, we ran away. In the waves, all our homes, belongings and everything got washed away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We were scared about sea water chasing us. We thought of saving our children. And so, we did not bother to save our belongings, which were washed away in the tsunami waves.

BLITZER: In all, the village lost 150 homes and some 200 boats used for fishing, but, unlike so many others, these people still have their lives, thanks to a phone call from a new hometown hero.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A rare bright spot in an otherwise tragic story.

Virtually every journalist covering this disaster has been affected by it, deeply affected by it. And for those of us who are parents, it's the suffering of the children that's one of the most difficult angles to cover.

I talked about that earlier today with CNN's Soledad O'Brien. She's on the hard-hit resort island of Phuket in southern Thailand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Soledad, talk to me a little bit as a mother. You've been there this past week. How difficult has this been, not as a journalist, but as a mother?

O'BRIEN: I think as a mother and as a journalist, these stories have been heartbreaking.

I can completely identify with all the parents who are searching for their children. I mean, the sense of guilt of a father who recounts a story of how he was holding his son until the moment when he couldn't anymore, I think all of us who love our children so much and would gladly trade places with them in any sort of horrific situation like the tsunami, how can your heart not break for someone like that?

It has been tough to hear those stories, lots of fathers that we're working with out here as well. And, honestly, I'll tell you, after I hear stories like that -- and we hear them again and again every single day -- you know, I cry about it. It is very tough to hear. And we pray for these people.

BLITZER: When you get back to New York, Soledad, how will this experience that you have just had, this unique experience, affect you?

O'BRIEN: I think that we all understand, all of us understand that we love in a big global world. We all are -- it's important to us to know and help out people who have had a tragedy on the other side of the world.

I mean, to lose a child is a universal experience. I know what they're going through. And, hopefully, it won't be anything that I ever experience. But we all understand. Even when we hear reports from Sri Lanka, you don't understand the language of someone, but you hear their story. They have lost a sister. They couldn't hold on to their mother. Their father was wiped away.

I think we all understand the depth of loss that they're experiencing, even if only this much of it. So, I think all of us here are changed by this. You know, I think we understand the value of a human life. And, hopefully, we'll see them rebuild and we'll see some recovery and we'll see the children bounce back from the trauma and it won't be in too long. It's been a tough, tough week to cover this story, but, of course, for the people who have experienced it, a really horrible, horrible, unimaginable time for them.

BLITZER: And as difficult as it has been for journalists, it's so much worse for the people who actually lived through that tsunami.

Soledad, was there a moment that will always remain in your mind that sort of encompasses the experience you had?

O'BRIEN: You know, I think when I saw the wall that was set up in the provincial center, because it reminded me so much of the wall that was set up after 9/11, a story that I covered as a New Yorker, because you see the pictures of people and they're smiling at you. And they're their wedding pictures or their honeymoon pictures or their vacation pictures, or, worse, the family photo, probably used in a Christmas card last year.

And the names are circled, missing, missing, missing, missing, four children, five children. It breaks your heart. It's hard to really comes to terms with the depth of the loss from this horrible, horrible tragedy. Our hearts truly go out to everyone who has been affected.

BLITZER: Well said. Soledad, we deeply appreciate your good work. Have a safe trip back here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And she will be back in the United States Monday morning for "AMERICAN MORNING" -- Soledad O'Brien, an outstanding job for us, along with all of our journalists on the scene.

Paid pundit. Coming up, the controversy surrounding one conservative radio talk show host getting money from the federal government to promote one of President Bush's programs on air.

Plus, American aid efforts for tsunami victims. Could the U.S. begin to gain some positive world respect? Our Carlos Watson is standing by with "The Inside Edge."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The Bush administration is facing questions about new revelations it paid a popular pundit to promote the White House education plan.

CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry is joining me now live with details of this controversy -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, last year, conservative commentator Armstrong Williams could not stop talking about the benefits of President Bush's education plan on his TV shows, his radio shows, his newspaper columns and even right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: And so President Bush has all along, through his appointments, through No Child Left Behind, through his fair housing policies at the Department of Housing and Urban Development with Secretary Jackson, has shown that he is willing to reach out and earn the black vote.

HENRY (voice-over): But left behind or left out was the fact the Bush Education Department was paying Williams $240,000 through a P.R. firm to promote the law through commentary and advertising on his programs. The top Democrat on the House Education Committee believes the contract broke the law and is part of a pattern of abuse by the administration.

REP. GEORGE MILLER (D), CALIFORNIA: I think it does rise to the level of illegality. The Congress doesn't let you provide information or publicity or advertisements with taxpayer dollars without telling the public that that's what you're doing.

HENRY: The Government Accountability Office found this week the administration violated federal law by producing television news segments about the effects of drug use without disclosing the Office of National Drug Control Policy was behind them. The administration was admonished last year for using a similar device to promote its Medicare law.

Williams denies he broke the law, but tells CNN he made a mistake.

(on camera): It looks like you've been bought by the Bush administration.

WILLIAMS: It does appear that way, but that's not true. The advertising campaign was a legitimate campaign. I was an advocate. I advocated something that I believed in. It's a thin line. There's a thin gray line. I can understand why somebody not knowing all the fact as to why I'm on this show now would say, well, he doesn't believe in this. He's bought and paid for. And that's a legitimate -- that's a legitimate thing to say.

HENRY (voice-over): The White House referred to questions to the Education Department, which said the Williams deal was a legitimate use of taxpayer money.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: But the Republican chairman of the House Education Committee, John Boehner, joined Democrats in calling on the Education Department's inspector general to investigate. Williams says he will no longer accept these government contracts, but he is not giving back the money, Wolf, that he has already earned.

BLITZER: All right, switching gears, there's a new development involving New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. What's going on?

HENRY: That's right. David Rosen was the former campaign finance director for Senator Clinton in her first campaign in 2000. He has just been indicted on charges of filing false campaign reports with the Federal Election Commission. What is being charged here is that, basically, they were underreporting how much expenses for a fund-raiser was, so that they would have more money to then spend in the campaign.

We have placed calls to Senator Clinton's office and to the attorney, David Kendall, in this case. He's representing Senator Clinton. Of course, you remember him over the years, but also representing David Rosen. I have not heard back yet. As soon as we get a comment, we'll get it right on the air.

BLITZER: All right, we will continue to watch that story as well. Ed Henry, thanks very much.

HENRY: Yes.

BLITZER: Time now for "The Inside Edge" with CNN political analyst Carlos Watson, who is joining us today from L.A.

Carlos, what do you make of this new Congress that has just been sworn in here in Washington?

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think what's interesting, Wolf, is that this could be the most impactful Congress in 40 years, since the 89th Congress back in 1965-'66 passed Medicaid, Medicare, the Voting Rights Act, created two new Cabinet-level posts. It could be a pretty impactful one.

The other thing to note is that how important in the policy- making arena will be three things that we saw last year during the campaign. The Internet will be very important, as different groups try to build up support for their positions. Various interest groups who have said that they are going to run millions of dollars worth of ads, whether it's on Social Security or tort reform or other issues, will be important.

And then you will also, interestingly enough, see a lot of campaign whistle-stops on the part of the president and others. In fact, you see the president out there today really putting a lot of energy into selling his plan. So, it could be a very important Congress in terms of new legislation.

BLITZER: Carlos, what about the tsunami? Any political ramifications, implications you're already seeing from this horrible disaster?

WATSON: I think two immediate ones and possibly a third.

One, I think, in the visits by a number of members of Congress to the area, I think you could end up seeing members of Congress come back to Washington with a different mind-set, frankly, not only as it relates to things like foreign aid, maybe ultimately sending more foreign aid that way, but, two, you could see a change of mind-set as they think about the United Nations. Remember, the U.N. has been under great challenge over the last year, but there may be a slightly different perspective.

And, three, some of the conversation that happened towards the end of the presidential campaign about needing to in effect woo much of the Muslim word and to offer a different perspective on the United States, you might see more interest in the Congress as a result of that.

A second big thing you might see, ramification of the tsunami, if, over time, the United States is seen having been very helpful here and if, in a different part of the world, in Iraq, if the elections are seen as going well there, we could begin to see a little new positive momentum in terms of how much of the world thinks about the United States, a regaining of some respect, if you will.

BLITZER: There's another political or, let's say, other issue that you've been following sort of under the radar screen that surfaced only in the past few days. Tell our viewers what you have in mind.

WATSON: The United Nations nuclear watchdog group has just suggested that Egypt may have been conducting some illegal experiments with nuclear weapons.

And what's so significant about that is that, while many people have worried about North Korea and Iran, the reality is that Egypt is just one example of what may be several states that are performing nuclear experiments that we need to be worried about. And if, in fact, that turns out to be true, that could ultimately have dramatic impact on our foreign and military policy.

BLITZER: As he does every Friday, Carlos Watson joins us with "The Inside Edge."

Carlos, have a great weekend. Thanks very much.

WATSON: You, too. Have a good one.

BLITZER: And help for tsunami victims from the animal kingdom, how one elephant is lending its artistic skill to the cause.

And beginning today and throughout 2005, CNN will be looking back at the major stories from the last 25 years as we mark 25 years of broadcasting. We'll revisit the stories that impacted our lives and find out what happened to yesterday's newsmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NARRATOR: She's known by some as the woman who broke up the Beatles. by others as a misunderstood artist with a passion for world peace.

An avant-garde superstar in her own right, Yoko Ono married John Lennon in 1969 and gave birth to a son, Sean, six years later. She was by her husband's side when he was gunned down outside of their New York City apartment building in 1980. Since his death, Ono has remained active in causes she views as keeping Lennon's spirit alive. In 2003, she started the Lennon Ono Grant For Peace, which is awarded to people who benefit the human race.

YOKO ONO, WIDOW OF JOHN LENNON: It's the type of thing that John would have approved and he would have loved to see happen. And I thought it was very important that this award is created.

NARRATOR: Yoko Ono is now 72 years old, a senior citizen with a hippie sensibility. Her song "Every Man, Every Woman" hit the charts in late 2004.

Yoko is also collaborating with former Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison's widow, Olivia, to create a new Cirque du Soleil show at the Mirage in Las Vegas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Fund-raising efforts for tsunami victims are taking unusual forms. The Fort Worth, Texas, Zoo is auctioning a painting by its elephant artist, Rasha, who was born in Thailand. The fund- raising painting is being sold on eBay. Last hour, it was up to $6,300.

See you Sunday on "LATE EDITION."

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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