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American Morning

Nature's Fury; Missing Americans; Prince and the Faux Pas

Aired January 13, 2005 - 9:02   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Wet winter weather crossing the country with a vengeance again today. Homes in the Midwest soaked up to their eaves. While in the West, floodwaters powerful enough to knock a freight train from its tracks.
And the weather blamed for havoc on the highways. Two hundred cars involved in one massive pileup. And about a dozen cars in a bizarre pileup at a big city mall. An underground explosion to blame there.

And then this from ung England: Prince Harry dressed up like a Nazi and now getting a royal dressing down on this AMERICAN MORNING.

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. Lots to talk about this morning, and much of it is weather-related.

Of course, one of the big stories out in California, where they are still digging through debris of that mudslide. We're going to get an update on just how they're coming along and whether rescuers think there could be any more survivors pulled out of there.

HEMMER: Also, back to this nagging question regarding the tsunami and how many Americans were killed. The State Department still having trouble resolving hundreds of inquires that involve Americans. We'll talk to the cousin of one of the missing and find out what she has been told lately and whether or not she's getting answers at this point.

O'BRIEN: And Jack Cafferty, good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Let me just go back here to this flood stot story. Did you actually use the phrase, "houses soaked up to their eaves?"

O'BRIEN: I thought that was cute.

HEMMER: As a matter of fact...

CAFFERTY: What's an eave?

HEMMER: That's like the attic area, like right underneath...

CAFFERTY: So they're up to their attics in water up there.

(LAUGHTER)

HEMMER: Up to their attics. That's exactly right.

CAFFERTY: The Indonesian government has said that they want the Americans out of the country by March 1. The nation's vice president saying the sooner the better for us to leave there. What should the American response be to that? AM@CNN.com.

A tremendous response to this question this morning. More e- mails than we've gotten in a couple of months.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack. Thank you.

CAFFERTY: Yes. I'm up to my eaves.

HEMMER: Yes you are. So are we. And my attic's getting crowded, pal.

O'BRIEN: Oh, you know what? I'm just going to keep plowing through because there are so many places to go with that.

CAFFERTY: I know. And none of them are good.

O'BRIEN: None of them. So I'm going to take the higher ground, as is Carol Costello.

Good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. Thank you, Soledad. Good morning to you.

"Now in the News," a little over two weeks before elections in Iraq and word of more violence this morning. Authorities say gunmen killed six people and kidnapped a Turkish businessman outside of a Baghdad hotel. Earlier, insurgents gunned down an aide to a prominent Shiite cleric, Ali al-Sistani. The representative's son and four bodyguards were also killed.

In Ft. Hood, Texas, a military jury could hear today from Specialist Charles Graner as his defense resumes testimony this hour. Graner is the first soldier to stand trial in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. If convicted he faces up to 17.5 years in prison.

Officials in Chicago say a shopping mall in the city's southwest side will remain closed this morning. Yesterday's natural gas explosion ripped a 150-foot long trench through the mall parking lot. Look at that.

At least nine people were injured by flying debris. None of them were hurt seriously. It's still not clear what caused the gas main to break. Officials say it may have been weather-related.

And Major League Baseball is reportedly trying to curb steroid use among players. According to The Associated Press, baseball owners and players have agreed to more testing and harsher punishment for steroid use. The details will be announced later today. Back to you.

HEMMER: A lot more testing based on what we understand from this agreement.

COSTELLO: A lot more testing, but an unanswered question is what happens to those already known to be taking steroids? What happens to them?

O'BRIEN: I'm going to predict courtroom, courtroom, courtroom, all the way.

HEMMER: You think so?

O'BRIEN: Yes. Any of the teams want to get rid of them at this point.

COSTELLO: Jason Giambi is supposed to be back.

O'BRIEN: Hello?

HEMMER: It's going to be a tough season for baseball. A lot of challenges coming up in several months we have here.

Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Sure.

HEMMER: Bye.

O'BRIEN: Let's get right to the California mudslide now. Rescue workers will continue sorting through debris for the rest of the day. The Ventura County fire chief says all of the confirmed missing are now accounted for. CNN's Peter Viles on the scene with the very latest.

Hey, Peter, what's the latest where you are?

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Soledad.

As you point out, rescue workers now believe -- and it's a belief -- but they now believe that they have recovered all of the bodies here. If that is right, if they're correct in that belief, that would leave the death toll here at 10.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This isn't a fun job for me. Hanna Wallet, Mechelle Wallet, Paloma Wallet and Raven Wallet...

VILES (voice-over): In La Conchita, bright sunshine and dark news. More bodies found in that landslide that now symbolizes a vicious storm. Rescue workers now in their fourth day refuse to give up hope.

CHIEF BOB ROPER, VENTURA COUNTY FIRE DEPT.: We are going to continue in a rescue mode until Thursday night, where we'll reassess the situation again.

VILES: California's popular governor came and offered encouragement.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: We have seen the power of nature cause damage and despair. But we will match that power with our own resolve.

VILES: Meantime, the torrential rains moved east, flooding the low-lying river towns where Utah, Nevada and Arizona meet. The Virgin and Santa Clara rivers 10 feet higher than usual, washing away houses, stranding some residents.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been isolated, totally isolated for two days. But it's -- we have been out of power, out of water, out of phones.

VILES: Overton, Nevada, 21 cars of a Union Pacific train washed off the tracks. Back in La Conchita, rescue workers hope against hope that somewhere in that mountain of mud someone is still alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're doing at this point is peeling off layers of material, exposing new voids, pockets of space that people could survive in, and bringing the dogs into those pockets to let them smell the area and see if they do pick up on some live human scent.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VILES: Still considered a rescue mission here at this hour, but a greater sense of urgency just in the hour since we've been here this morning. A lot more heavy equipment at that site behind me moving earth much more rapidly, trying to get to the bottom of the pile as quickly as they can -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Hey, Peter, is it dangerous for the folks who are out there trying to pull off these rescues and recovery even of just debris?

VILES: It is dangerous. We heard that from a number of the rescue workers this morning, that they're a little concerned that the pile they are working on may be shifting or may be at risk of shifting. That is one reason why when they do inevitably shift this to a recovery mission they may not take that entire pile right away. If it's just sitting there and not going to move, they may leave a lot of it there -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Peter Viles for us this morning. Peter, thanks for the update. We're going to, of course, continue to check in with you throughout the day and days on this story -- Bill.

HEMMER: Further east from California, more flooding now expected in the middle part of the country. A flood warning now in southwest Indiana through Sunday.

Dense fog yesterday causing a 20-car pileup there. One person was killed and 43 miles of the Indiana toll road closed for six hours. Visibility at the time less than a quarter of a mile.

Fog also causing serious problems in the north Michigan I-96, east of Lansing, finally open again today. That highway was closed after a massive pileup yesterday involving about 200 cars and trucks. And two people died in that chain reaction crash, dozens more injured. One person said it was like driving right into a white piece of paper.

And more rain expected in Ohio and in places where they do not need it, too. The Ohio River Valley, many rivers above flood stage and still rising. The Army Corps of Engineers releasing some water from major dams in the area, trying to prevent larger disaster if they should spill over.

Parts of Ohio and West Virginia and Kentucky have been under water since last week. Chad's watching all of it.

A busy day again today. Good morning. What do you have?

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thanks.

Some 375 tourists are among the confirmed dead in the tsunami disaster. Eighteen of those are Americans. Seventeen more Americans presumed dead. And the State Department is still checking out 458 inquiries.

Lindsay Weissberg has been searching for her cousin, 27-year-old Nicole Weissberg. She was supposed to meet her boyfriend in Phuket, Thailand, just after Christmas. She is now among one of those presumed dead.

Lindsay talks with us this morning. Nice to see you. Thanks for coming in to talk to us about your cousin.

She's on the list of presumed dead. Why are they presuming that she did not survive this?

LINDSAY WEISSBERG, COUSIN OF MISSING: I can't really tell you. It seems like it's just the length of time that's gone by and there's been no information about her whereabouts. So I think they just have to make some decisions.

O'BRIEN: When was the last time the family heard from Nicole?

WEISSBERG: Well, her boyfriend actually spoke to her the day before. He received a text message from her. They were planning to meet at the airport. And so she sent him a text message saying, you know, "I'll meet you at the airport when your flight gets in." And...

O'BRIEN: Where was she in Thailand?

WEISSBERG: She was actually in Khao Lak.

O'BRIEN: One of the hardest-hit areas, as you well know by now.

WEISSBERG: Yes.

O'BRIEN: The boyfriend has -- Morgan Browning (ph) -- has gone back into Phuket to search, I know, for Nicole.

WEISSBERG: That's right.

O'BRIEN: What exactly has he been doing?

WEISSBERG: Well, he landed in Bangkok on Monday and spent a couple of days in Bangkok meeting with officials there. He met at the American embassy with the head of the American Citizen Services Group who gave him some information. Some of it was correct, some of it was incorrect. So -- and basically got a lay of the land of what's going on there now.

O'BRIEN: You say that kind of with a laugh. But I think that laugh seems like it's, to me, at least, masking some frustration. How has the help been by the American government and the American organizations that are out there giving a hand? How has that been?

WEISSBERG: They've been trying very hard. It seems like now -- in the beginning, the Thai government, it was a little disorganized. And so the American government was doing what they can to work with the Thai government and to get the information out there.

But unfortunately, there was no centralized way of collecting that information. Now, as time has gone by, the Thai government has gotten much more organized. They have put into place a set of protocols of how they're going to handle the information, and the American government is responding to that, and is now, you know, trying to get the most accurate information out there. So...

O'BRIEN: As you well know, a lot of what lies ahead for Nicole's boyfriend is to do some pretty gruesome stuff.

WEISSBERG: Yes.

O'BRIEN: I mean, he's got to at this stage go to the morgue. Is he prepared for all that? Is that...

WEISSBERG: He's done it. He actually -- when he was down there, when it first happened, he went to the morgues and he saw bodies. And it was horrible.

And he spent all day yesterday looking at pictures. They've now collected a database of pictures of the bodies, and they have set up in a hotel I guess a makeshift central area where you can go and look at the pictures. And he said, you know, that was better than actually having to go and look at bodies. So the whole thing is -- is just horrible.

O'BRIEN: At this stage, most people think no one's going to be found alive. And I know your family has given out the email address, which we have on the screen, so people can get in contact.

What do you want to know? Is it just to know sort of anybody who saw her in the last day or day? I mean, what are you looking for?

WEISSBERG: Yes. I mean, I think before we were so concerned because we didn't know where she was staying. And, you know, we knew she was in Khao Lak, but we didn't know the actual bungalow where she was. And so information like that could have been really helpful.

At this point, I'm not so sure. It seems like all of the bodes that have come in, they have them -- you know, they've taken pictures of them, they're starting to think about DNA testing, they have that income there. Morgan is continuing to check the hospitals. So we're doing that. But beyond that it doesn't seem like there's a lot more information that would be helpful to us. So...

O'BRIEN: Do you think that just knowing, just finding a body would be sort of helpful?

WEISSBERG: Yes, I do.

O'BRIEN: Well, we certainly hope that you get some closure. It's terrible.

WEISSBERG: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: I mean, no one envies anyone who is doing the task that her boyfriend is now charged with.

WEISSBERG: He's been amazing. The family is very grateful for what he's doing. And, you know, he loves her. So...

O'BRIEN: It's heartbreaking, isn't it? Lindsay Weissberg, thanks for coming in to talk to us. We certainly appreciate it. I wish you the best of luck.

WEISSBERG: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: I hope you get some -- any nugget of news I'm sure would be -- would be great to have. Thank you -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad. Get a break here at 15 minutes now past the hour.

In a moment, this tiny village in north Alaska escaping a deep freeze. How are the people stuck there near the top of the world? We'll talk to one man stranded in the only building with heat for four days.

And a royal mistake for an heir to the throne. The trouble with Harry this morning in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Britain's Prince Harry apologizing for this royal wardrobe malfunction. I'll show you the picture, dressed as a Nazi on the front page of "The Sun Newspaper." In a statement, the prince called his getup for a -- a poor choice of costume for a party he attended. Richard Quest, our expert on all things British, in Atlanta today, New York yesterday.

What's go on here, Richard? What's the reaction been?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, this is absolutely -- it comes under the rubric of unbelievable. If you haven't seen the pictures for yourself, "The Sun Newspaper" really asks the question many British people will be asking today, what would his great grandmother, the queen mother, the late queen mother be saying? She must be turning in her grave.

She and her husband stayed in London to fight the Nazis during the Blitz. And her great grandson puts on a Nazi costume and goes to a fancy dress party.

Mixed views in London this morning. Some people say Prince Harry should be allowed to get on his life, he's a young man, it was bad taste, but he has apologized.

Other people, Bill, saying that this goes beyond the pale, that this really is a step too far. The apology, a written apology, isn't sufficient, that he needs to do more, say, for example, go to the Simon Wiesenthal Institute, suggesting he needs to go to the Auschwitz 60th liberation commemoration.

HEMMER: Which is about two weeks away.

QUEST: Yes.

HEMMER: Not just in Europe, but also recognized here in New York as well. What do we know about this party that he attended? Who was there? What kind of advice is he getting?

QUEST: Well, these are the questions that we really don't know too much about. We know that his brother, Prince William, was there. And we know that Prince William went as a lion. But we have no idea how the royal security people allowed Prince -- Prince Harry to go in this costume.

What were his friends thinking? What was William thinking? What did any -- well, we can say one thing, Bill, nobody clearly did think.

I mean, where did they even get the costume from? You know, I shouldn't imagine there were swastikas hanging around (UNINTELLIGIBLE) house.

HEMMER: I would agree with you on that. In the past, has he shown indiscretion on a number of occasions or not?

QUEST: Oh, do we have not much time? I mean...

HEMMER: And as you answer that, tell me, is he just being a young man in these cases, or is there more to it?

QUEST: No, this is becoming the problem prince. History is repeating itself. He is rapidly turning into his great aunt, Princess Margaret, who you'll remember, the late Princess Margaret.

No, he's had problems when he's smoked dope. He's had scuffles with photographers last year when he got into a fight with the press. He's got a girlfriend in southern Africa, a girlfriend whose father has unsavory links to the regime of Robert Mugabe. He's supposed to go to a military academy, the British equivalent of West Point.

He's going to Sandhurst. And yet he can't go because his leg's not good enough at the moment. No, this is a party problem prince.

HEMMER: OK. You know Britain as well as anyone. Is this a story for today, or does this go on for some time back in your home country?

QUEST: It's a story for today, but every time Harry's name comes up, up will come that picture or of him wearing the swastika. So they're going to have to do more. And everybody -- some people are just a little bit offended by, you know, Harry makes a mistake, sorry. And this is coming back to haunt him.

HEMMER: Thank you, Richard. As always, good to have you down at the CNN Center. Richard Quest -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, Jamie Foxx will be a triple threat at the Golden Globes, but not in the way you might think. The star of "Ray" gets ready to make history ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Oh, Jack. "Question of the Day."

CAFFERTY: Yes, "Question of the Day."

The Indonesian government yesterday announced it wants U.S. troops who are helping tsunami victims out of the country by March. Indonesia's vice president saying, "Three months are enough. In fact, the sooner they leave the better."

The Indonesians also refuse to allow the Marines coming ashore to rebuild roads, establish a base camp or carry weapons. Indonesia's the most populated Muslim country in the world.

The question this morning is how should the U.S. respond to Indonesia's demands. We've gotten a ton of mail, all points of view, I think.

Linda in Martinsburg, West Virginia, writes this: "Our military personnel should be on the ships and leaving the region as we speak, taking with them the largess of the American people. Indonesia can then turn to the generosity of its fellow Muslim nations that the aid that its people require."

As for America, we need to announce to the world a new and lasting foreign policy. If you don't like our peaches, don't shake our tree." Deb in Deerfield Beach, Florida, "Countries can do stupid things sometimes. Ours certainly does. When people need help, you help them."

And the last one here comes from -- well, you've got two more. Tony in Montreal writes: "So it's your way or the highway in Aceh, Indonesia, right? Well, get over yourself. The U.S. would never accept a foreign military presence on its sovereign territory irrespective of the circumstances."

And Jacques in Midland, Michigan, writes: "Jack, we should leave immediately. Tell the Indonesians that we can come back when the rebels convince the needy that their present government doesn't care."

Interesting.

O'BRIEN: I would hate for people to not give the money that is desperately needed there and the other places just because of that.

CAFFERTY: OK.

O'BRIEN: I'm done. I'm done for the day, Jack. You have one more?

CAFFERTY: No you're not. You've got a half-hour to go.

HEMMER: Thirty-four minutes, in fact.

O'BRIEN: I didn't see that big clock there.

CAFFERTY: Yes, you can't leave yet.

O'BRIEN: Well, then one final thought from me coming up. All right, Jack.

HEMMER: AM@CNN.com/Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Oh, I crack myself up.

HEMMER: You do, don't you?

O'BRIEN: Well, yes, I do, each and every day.

While there's the word that the hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction is officially over, it earned a jab on late night television. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, TALK SHOW HOST: This is now official. We have officially stopped the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. And as you know, we didn't find any.

Well, thank god we found that out before we did anything crazy. Oh, man. Imagine if we had gone in there. What a mess that would have turned into! (APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Oh, that's funny.

HEMMER: Funny now.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

HEMMER: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: All right.

HEMMER: I'm waiting for your final thought.

O'BRIEN: I've got none. I'm done.

HEMMER: We're going to get back to California. Back to California in a moment.

The search there continues in that mudslide. Much heavier equipment now brought in. It has been very tough on rescue workers, as one can imagine. We'll hear from one of them in a moment. Their story after this on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired January 13, 2005 - 9:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Wet winter weather crossing the country with a vengeance again today. Homes in the Midwest soaked up to their eaves. While in the West, floodwaters powerful enough to knock a freight train from its tracks.
And the weather blamed for havoc on the highways. Two hundred cars involved in one massive pileup. And about a dozen cars in a bizarre pileup at a big city mall. An underground explosion to blame there.

And then this from ung England: Prince Harry dressed up like a Nazi and now getting a royal dressing down on this AMERICAN MORNING.

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. Lots to talk about this morning, and much of it is weather-related.

Of course, one of the big stories out in California, where they are still digging through debris of that mudslide. We're going to get an update on just how they're coming along and whether rescuers think there could be any more survivors pulled out of there.

HEMMER: Also, back to this nagging question regarding the tsunami and how many Americans were killed. The State Department still having trouble resolving hundreds of inquires that involve Americans. We'll talk to the cousin of one of the missing and find out what she has been told lately and whether or not she's getting answers at this point.

O'BRIEN: And Jack Cafferty, good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Let me just go back here to this flood stot story. Did you actually use the phrase, "houses soaked up to their eaves?"

O'BRIEN: I thought that was cute.

HEMMER: As a matter of fact...

CAFFERTY: What's an eave?

HEMMER: That's like the attic area, like right underneath...

CAFFERTY: So they're up to their attics in water up there.

(LAUGHTER)

HEMMER: Up to their attics. That's exactly right.

CAFFERTY: The Indonesian government has said that they want the Americans out of the country by March 1. The nation's vice president saying the sooner the better for us to leave there. What should the American response be to that? AM@CNN.com.

A tremendous response to this question this morning. More e- mails than we've gotten in a couple of months.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack. Thank you.

CAFFERTY: Yes. I'm up to my eaves.

HEMMER: Yes you are. So are we. And my attic's getting crowded, pal.

O'BRIEN: Oh, you know what? I'm just going to keep plowing through because there are so many places to go with that.

CAFFERTY: I know. And none of them are good.

O'BRIEN: None of them. So I'm going to take the higher ground, as is Carol Costello.

Good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. Thank you, Soledad. Good morning to you.

"Now in the News," a little over two weeks before elections in Iraq and word of more violence this morning. Authorities say gunmen killed six people and kidnapped a Turkish businessman outside of a Baghdad hotel. Earlier, insurgents gunned down an aide to a prominent Shiite cleric, Ali al-Sistani. The representative's son and four bodyguards were also killed.

In Ft. Hood, Texas, a military jury could hear today from Specialist Charles Graner as his defense resumes testimony this hour. Graner is the first soldier to stand trial in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. If convicted he faces up to 17.5 years in prison.

Officials in Chicago say a shopping mall in the city's southwest side will remain closed this morning. Yesterday's natural gas explosion ripped a 150-foot long trench through the mall parking lot. Look at that.

At least nine people were injured by flying debris. None of them were hurt seriously. It's still not clear what caused the gas main to break. Officials say it may have been weather-related.

And Major League Baseball is reportedly trying to curb steroid use among players. According to The Associated Press, baseball owners and players have agreed to more testing and harsher punishment for steroid use. The details will be announced later today. Back to you.

HEMMER: A lot more testing based on what we understand from this agreement.

COSTELLO: A lot more testing, but an unanswered question is what happens to those already known to be taking steroids? What happens to them?

O'BRIEN: I'm going to predict courtroom, courtroom, courtroom, all the way.

HEMMER: You think so?

O'BRIEN: Yes. Any of the teams want to get rid of them at this point.

COSTELLO: Jason Giambi is supposed to be back.

O'BRIEN: Hello?

HEMMER: It's going to be a tough season for baseball. A lot of challenges coming up in several months we have here.

Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Sure.

HEMMER: Bye.

O'BRIEN: Let's get right to the California mudslide now. Rescue workers will continue sorting through debris for the rest of the day. The Ventura County fire chief says all of the confirmed missing are now accounted for. CNN's Peter Viles on the scene with the very latest.

Hey, Peter, what's the latest where you are?

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Soledad.

As you point out, rescue workers now believe -- and it's a belief -- but they now believe that they have recovered all of the bodies here. If that is right, if they're correct in that belief, that would leave the death toll here at 10.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This isn't a fun job for me. Hanna Wallet, Mechelle Wallet, Paloma Wallet and Raven Wallet...

VILES (voice-over): In La Conchita, bright sunshine and dark news. More bodies found in that landslide that now symbolizes a vicious storm. Rescue workers now in their fourth day refuse to give up hope.

CHIEF BOB ROPER, VENTURA COUNTY FIRE DEPT.: We are going to continue in a rescue mode until Thursday night, where we'll reassess the situation again.

VILES: California's popular governor came and offered encouragement.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: We have seen the power of nature cause damage and despair. But we will match that power with our own resolve.

VILES: Meantime, the torrential rains moved east, flooding the low-lying river towns where Utah, Nevada and Arizona meet. The Virgin and Santa Clara rivers 10 feet higher than usual, washing away houses, stranding some residents.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been isolated, totally isolated for two days. But it's -- we have been out of power, out of water, out of phones.

VILES: Overton, Nevada, 21 cars of a Union Pacific train washed off the tracks. Back in La Conchita, rescue workers hope against hope that somewhere in that mountain of mud someone is still alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're doing at this point is peeling off layers of material, exposing new voids, pockets of space that people could survive in, and bringing the dogs into those pockets to let them smell the area and see if they do pick up on some live human scent.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VILES: Still considered a rescue mission here at this hour, but a greater sense of urgency just in the hour since we've been here this morning. A lot more heavy equipment at that site behind me moving earth much more rapidly, trying to get to the bottom of the pile as quickly as they can -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Hey, Peter, is it dangerous for the folks who are out there trying to pull off these rescues and recovery even of just debris?

VILES: It is dangerous. We heard that from a number of the rescue workers this morning, that they're a little concerned that the pile they are working on may be shifting or may be at risk of shifting. That is one reason why when they do inevitably shift this to a recovery mission they may not take that entire pile right away. If it's just sitting there and not going to move, they may leave a lot of it there -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Peter Viles for us this morning. Peter, thanks for the update. We're going to, of course, continue to check in with you throughout the day and days on this story -- Bill.

HEMMER: Further east from California, more flooding now expected in the middle part of the country. A flood warning now in southwest Indiana through Sunday.

Dense fog yesterday causing a 20-car pileup there. One person was killed and 43 miles of the Indiana toll road closed for six hours. Visibility at the time less than a quarter of a mile.

Fog also causing serious problems in the north Michigan I-96, east of Lansing, finally open again today. That highway was closed after a massive pileup yesterday involving about 200 cars and trucks. And two people died in that chain reaction crash, dozens more injured. One person said it was like driving right into a white piece of paper.

And more rain expected in Ohio and in places where they do not need it, too. The Ohio River Valley, many rivers above flood stage and still rising. The Army Corps of Engineers releasing some water from major dams in the area, trying to prevent larger disaster if they should spill over.

Parts of Ohio and West Virginia and Kentucky have been under water since last week. Chad's watching all of it.

A busy day again today. Good morning. What do you have?

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thanks.

Some 375 tourists are among the confirmed dead in the tsunami disaster. Eighteen of those are Americans. Seventeen more Americans presumed dead. And the State Department is still checking out 458 inquiries.

Lindsay Weissberg has been searching for her cousin, 27-year-old Nicole Weissberg. She was supposed to meet her boyfriend in Phuket, Thailand, just after Christmas. She is now among one of those presumed dead.

Lindsay talks with us this morning. Nice to see you. Thanks for coming in to talk to us about your cousin.

She's on the list of presumed dead. Why are they presuming that she did not survive this?

LINDSAY WEISSBERG, COUSIN OF MISSING: I can't really tell you. It seems like it's just the length of time that's gone by and there's been no information about her whereabouts. So I think they just have to make some decisions.

O'BRIEN: When was the last time the family heard from Nicole?

WEISSBERG: Well, her boyfriend actually spoke to her the day before. He received a text message from her. They were planning to meet at the airport. And so she sent him a text message saying, you know, "I'll meet you at the airport when your flight gets in." And...

O'BRIEN: Where was she in Thailand?

WEISSBERG: She was actually in Khao Lak.

O'BRIEN: One of the hardest-hit areas, as you well know by now.

WEISSBERG: Yes.

O'BRIEN: The boyfriend has -- Morgan Browning (ph) -- has gone back into Phuket to search, I know, for Nicole.

WEISSBERG: That's right.

O'BRIEN: What exactly has he been doing?

WEISSBERG: Well, he landed in Bangkok on Monday and spent a couple of days in Bangkok meeting with officials there. He met at the American embassy with the head of the American Citizen Services Group who gave him some information. Some of it was correct, some of it was incorrect. So -- and basically got a lay of the land of what's going on there now.

O'BRIEN: You say that kind of with a laugh. But I think that laugh seems like it's, to me, at least, masking some frustration. How has the help been by the American government and the American organizations that are out there giving a hand? How has that been?

WEISSBERG: They've been trying very hard. It seems like now -- in the beginning, the Thai government, it was a little disorganized. And so the American government was doing what they can to work with the Thai government and to get the information out there.

But unfortunately, there was no centralized way of collecting that information. Now, as time has gone by, the Thai government has gotten much more organized. They have put into place a set of protocols of how they're going to handle the information, and the American government is responding to that, and is now, you know, trying to get the most accurate information out there. So...

O'BRIEN: As you well know, a lot of what lies ahead for Nicole's boyfriend is to do some pretty gruesome stuff.

WEISSBERG: Yes.

O'BRIEN: I mean, he's got to at this stage go to the morgue. Is he prepared for all that? Is that...

WEISSBERG: He's done it. He actually -- when he was down there, when it first happened, he went to the morgues and he saw bodies. And it was horrible.

And he spent all day yesterday looking at pictures. They've now collected a database of pictures of the bodies, and they have set up in a hotel I guess a makeshift central area where you can go and look at the pictures. And he said, you know, that was better than actually having to go and look at bodies. So the whole thing is -- is just horrible.

O'BRIEN: At this stage, most people think no one's going to be found alive. And I know your family has given out the email address, which we have on the screen, so people can get in contact.

What do you want to know? Is it just to know sort of anybody who saw her in the last day or day? I mean, what are you looking for?

WEISSBERG: Yes. I mean, I think before we were so concerned because we didn't know where she was staying. And, you know, we knew she was in Khao Lak, but we didn't know the actual bungalow where she was. And so information like that could have been really helpful.

At this point, I'm not so sure. It seems like all of the bodes that have come in, they have them -- you know, they've taken pictures of them, they're starting to think about DNA testing, they have that income there. Morgan is continuing to check the hospitals. So we're doing that. But beyond that it doesn't seem like there's a lot more information that would be helpful to us. So...

O'BRIEN: Do you think that just knowing, just finding a body would be sort of helpful?

WEISSBERG: Yes, I do.

O'BRIEN: Well, we certainly hope that you get some closure. It's terrible.

WEISSBERG: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: I mean, no one envies anyone who is doing the task that her boyfriend is now charged with.

WEISSBERG: He's been amazing. The family is very grateful for what he's doing. And, you know, he loves her. So...

O'BRIEN: It's heartbreaking, isn't it? Lindsay Weissberg, thanks for coming in to talk to us. We certainly appreciate it. I wish you the best of luck.

WEISSBERG: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: I hope you get some -- any nugget of news I'm sure would be -- would be great to have. Thank you -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad. Get a break here at 15 minutes now past the hour.

In a moment, this tiny village in north Alaska escaping a deep freeze. How are the people stuck there near the top of the world? We'll talk to one man stranded in the only building with heat for four days.

And a royal mistake for an heir to the throne. The trouble with Harry this morning in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Britain's Prince Harry apologizing for this royal wardrobe malfunction. I'll show you the picture, dressed as a Nazi on the front page of "The Sun Newspaper." In a statement, the prince called his getup for a -- a poor choice of costume for a party he attended. Richard Quest, our expert on all things British, in Atlanta today, New York yesterday.

What's go on here, Richard? What's the reaction been?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, this is absolutely -- it comes under the rubric of unbelievable. If you haven't seen the pictures for yourself, "The Sun Newspaper" really asks the question many British people will be asking today, what would his great grandmother, the queen mother, the late queen mother be saying? She must be turning in her grave.

She and her husband stayed in London to fight the Nazis during the Blitz. And her great grandson puts on a Nazi costume and goes to a fancy dress party.

Mixed views in London this morning. Some people say Prince Harry should be allowed to get on his life, he's a young man, it was bad taste, but he has apologized.

Other people, Bill, saying that this goes beyond the pale, that this really is a step too far. The apology, a written apology, isn't sufficient, that he needs to do more, say, for example, go to the Simon Wiesenthal Institute, suggesting he needs to go to the Auschwitz 60th liberation commemoration.

HEMMER: Which is about two weeks away.

QUEST: Yes.

HEMMER: Not just in Europe, but also recognized here in New York as well. What do we know about this party that he attended? Who was there? What kind of advice is he getting?

QUEST: Well, these are the questions that we really don't know too much about. We know that his brother, Prince William, was there. And we know that Prince William went as a lion. But we have no idea how the royal security people allowed Prince -- Prince Harry to go in this costume.

What were his friends thinking? What was William thinking? What did any -- well, we can say one thing, Bill, nobody clearly did think.

I mean, where did they even get the costume from? You know, I shouldn't imagine there were swastikas hanging around (UNINTELLIGIBLE) house.

HEMMER: I would agree with you on that. In the past, has he shown indiscretion on a number of occasions or not?

QUEST: Oh, do we have not much time? I mean...

HEMMER: And as you answer that, tell me, is he just being a young man in these cases, or is there more to it?

QUEST: No, this is becoming the problem prince. History is repeating itself. He is rapidly turning into his great aunt, Princess Margaret, who you'll remember, the late Princess Margaret.

No, he's had problems when he's smoked dope. He's had scuffles with photographers last year when he got into a fight with the press. He's got a girlfriend in southern Africa, a girlfriend whose father has unsavory links to the regime of Robert Mugabe. He's supposed to go to a military academy, the British equivalent of West Point.

He's going to Sandhurst. And yet he can't go because his leg's not good enough at the moment. No, this is a party problem prince.

HEMMER: OK. You know Britain as well as anyone. Is this a story for today, or does this go on for some time back in your home country?

QUEST: It's a story for today, but every time Harry's name comes up, up will come that picture or of him wearing the swastika. So they're going to have to do more. And everybody -- some people are just a little bit offended by, you know, Harry makes a mistake, sorry. And this is coming back to haunt him.

HEMMER: Thank you, Richard. As always, good to have you down at the CNN Center. Richard Quest -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, Jamie Foxx will be a triple threat at the Golden Globes, but not in the way you might think. The star of "Ray" gets ready to make history ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Oh, Jack. "Question of the Day."

CAFFERTY: Yes, "Question of the Day."

The Indonesian government yesterday announced it wants U.S. troops who are helping tsunami victims out of the country by March. Indonesia's vice president saying, "Three months are enough. In fact, the sooner they leave the better."

The Indonesians also refuse to allow the Marines coming ashore to rebuild roads, establish a base camp or carry weapons. Indonesia's the most populated Muslim country in the world.

The question this morning is how should the U.S. respond to Indonesia's demands. We've gotten a ton of mail, all points of view, I think.

Linda in Martinsburg, West Virginia, writes this: "Our military personnel should be on the ships and leaving the region as we speak, taking with them the largess of the American people. Indonesia can then turn to the generosity of its fellow Muslim nations that the aid that its people require."

As for America, we need to announce to the world a new and lasting foreign policy. If you don't like our peaches, don't shake our tree." Deb in Deerfield Beach, Florida, "Countries can do stupid things sometimes. Ours certainly does. When people need help, you help them."

And the last one here comes from -- well, you've got two more. Tony in Montreal writes: "So it's your way or the highway in Aceh, Indonesia, right? Well, get over yourself. The U.S. would never accept a foreign military presence on its sovereign territory irrespective of the circumstances."

And Jacques in Midland, Michigan, writes: "Jack, we should leave immediately. Tell the Indonesians that we can come back when the rebels convince the needy that their present government doesn't care."

Interesting.

O'BRIEN: I would hate for people to not give the money that is desperately needed there and the other places just because of that.

CAFFERTY: OK.

O'BRIEN: I'm done. I'm done for the day, Jack. You have one more?

CAFFERTY: No you're not. You've got a half-hour to go.

HEMMER: Thirty-four minutes, in fact.

O'BRIEN: I didn't see that big clock there.

CAFFERTY: Yes, you can't leave yet.

O'BRIEN: Well, then one final thought from me coming up. All right, Jack.

HEMMER: AM@CNN.com/Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Oh, I crack myself up.

HEMMER: You do, don't you?

O'BRIEN: Well, yes, I do, each and every day.

While there's the word that the hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction is officially over, it earned a jab on late night television. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, TALK SHOW HOST: This is now official. We have officially stopped the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. And as you know, we didn't find any.

Well, thank god we found that out before we did anything crazy. Oh, man. Imagine if we had gone in there. What a mess that would have turned into! (APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Oh, that's funny.

HEMMER: Funny now.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

HEMMER: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: All right.

HEMMER: I'm waiting for your final thought.

O'BRIEN: I've got none. I'm done.

HEMMER: We're going to get back to California. Back to California in a moment.

The search there continues in that mudslide. Much heavier equipment now brought in. It has been very tough on rescue workers, as one can imagine. We'll hear from one of them in a moment. Their story after this on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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