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CNN Live At Daybreak

Ohio River Overflowing; Wal-Mart Mounting Huge Media Blitz Intended to Repair Image

Aired January 14, 2005 - 06:00   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.


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMIE WALLET, FAMILY KILLED IN MUD SLIDE: I was digging with my fingernails and that's all. That hurt. My hands hurt. But nothing what the pain my family felt what happened to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, it's hard to imagine what this man is going through right now, and yet inspiring words from a grieving father.

A tornado spawns more trouble for a small town.

And has Wal-Mart changed the face of your community? America's biggest employer answers its critics.

It is Friday, January 14.

You are watching DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

Now in the news, the governor of Arkansas gets a firsthand look at tornado damage in the south central part of the state today. The bad weather killed three people and damaged or destroyed more than two dozen homes yesterday.

Closing arguments begin three hours from now in the court martial of Army Specialist Charles Graner. Graner is charged in the Iraqi prison scandal. He did not testify in his own defense. I'll talk to CNN's Susan Candiotti live in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.

Iraqi police on the lookout today for 28 escaped inmates from the Abu Ghraib Prison. Thirty-eight men overpowered their guards and escaped from a bus taking them to the Baghdad courthouse. Ten were captured shortly after the escape.

And a space probe is plunging through the murky atmosphere of Titan, preparing to land on the mysterious Saturn moon. Scientists think Titan resembles Earth when it was young and could yield clues to how life evolved here.

To the forecast center and Chad -- good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Nasty weather problems in Ohio, too. The Ohio River overflowing this morning. Many areas underwater.

Let's head live to CNN's Chris Huntington in the drenched city of Marietta -- good morning, Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, Marietta is enjoying a bit of a reprieve right now. The water is just at cresting stage. So say the Army Corps of Engineers and the local emergency operations center here.

We are right at the banks of the Ohio River in downtown, Marietta, in fact, right where the Muskegon River feeds into the Ohio River and water level here about 20 feet above normal, but still about a foot or two below what would be getting into dangerous flooding situations.

It did exceed that level this last weekend, on Sunday. The water, oh, about 27 feet above normal levels this past weekend flooding downtown areas here in Marietta. It has receded a bit and remains stable at about 20 feet above normal levels. The Army Corps does not anticipate flooding here in Marietta today -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, that is some good news. You know, this is a really charming and quaint town.

Tell us about damages to these historic buildings downtown in Marietta.

HUNTINGTON: Well, historic and quaint is absolutely right. This, Marietta is the oldest non-native settlement in Ohio, founded in 1788. It is a town that is absolutely tied to the river. They take great pride in their embracing of the river. They do not have big flood walls here in the downtown area. This is something of a matter of civic pride and sort of perseverance, if you will.

They do not want to shut themselves off from the river. Hence, the downtown area, the historic buildings, old, old buildings, are very much exposed to the river. As I say now, we are only about two feet away from a flooding situation. So the water is literally lapping right at the shores here, away from, just feet away from old, old buildings.

This, interestingly enough, even though we're way, way up the Ohio River, has been a ship building town. Because of the navigable waterways, they were able to build seagoing ships here and float them down the river and get them out into the Gulf of Mexico by New Orleans -- Carol.

COSTELLO: It is a beautiful town. I've been there many times. Chris Huntington live from Marietta, Ohio this morning.

Check out this incredible force of nature. The river washes away these homes like they are made of paper. This is home video we just got in. This is from Washington County, Utah. Officials say flood damage so far in that state is estimated at $86 million. An incredible importance this morning.

No amount of money can repair some of the losses in La Conchita, California. Ten lives were lost in a horrific mud slide on Monday. Searchers at the site paused for a moment of silence to honor the dead. The rescue work is now over and this morning authorities will meet with residents to discuss a plan for them to return to their homes.

One man, Jimmie Wallet, lost his wife and three of his four daughters in the mud slide. The kids were ages 10, 6 and 2. Wallet and his oldest daughter were not at home when the mud slide happened.

Here's his heart wrenching account of what happened next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALLET: A lot of us just ran our hardest right for it. We didn't care. We wanted to just get our families out. I mean it was that feeling of just seeing that going straight toward where you know you have your whole family living is, there's no word for it. And when it hit, while you're running toward it and it just hit in your house where you know your kids are at with cars, trailers, campers, mud, as quick as turning a faucet on, but the mud's thick. And hitting the house, blowing through the wall and hitting every room and filling up and exploding.

People started coming out and I was just, I mean everyone was just looking, searching and trying to dig, get shovels, give me some chain saws, anything, let's go. Yes, the neighborhood was working hard.

I don't know where I'm going to end up, but I know where my daughter wants to be and my thing is I've just got to make her have paradise for the rest of her life, make her dreams come true. But there's other people, too, that feel the same pain. It could have gone faster. They need to readjust their system. Man, those rescue guys, great. I mean in -- but the ones that touched me most were the inmates. They didn't use protocol, they didn't use rules, they used their gut feeling and heart and dug until their hands were bleeding. The women, I hope they get some gift. I told them, you know, man, I would give you my life for what you guys are doing, but I have nothing. I came out with my jacket and that's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Jimmie Wallet says it was the inmates who found his family.

Also in California, rescuers had to airlift food and medical supplies to about 135 stranded people. All three bridges to their community in the San Gabriel Mountains have been washed out by a storm swollen river.

Now, turning the tide in the tsunami disaster. This is new home video CNN just received. It was shot in Phuket, Thailand. Thailand's prime minister tells CNN other tsunami ravaged nations need more help than his country does.

In the meantime, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz is in the region. He says the U.S. military will be out of Indonesia long before the end of March. That's when Indonesian officials say international troops should leave. And that touched off a controversy here in the States. But Secretary of State Colin Powell downplayed the Indonesian remark. He calls it "an expectation that the work would be finished by that time."

Powell described the tsunami damage to CNN's Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Flying over the city of Banda Aceh in northern Sumatra looked like flying over a place that had just been hit by a nuclear weapon -- completely flattened. But more than just flattened, scraped clean down to bare earth -- trees, grass, houses, cars, boats, schools and, above all, thousands of people who had simply drowned in their homes or picked up, taken out to sea, drowned and then tossed back onto the beach to be pulled up into the debris fields.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We warned you of tsunami relief scammers. Well, this scammer has been caught. A Pennsylvania man now charged in a tsunami relief scam. He will face a judge next week. Prosecutors say Matthew Schmeider solicited donations by sending out 800,000 phony e-mails perpetrated to be from Mercy Corps. And that is a nationally known organization. They just never heard of that guy.

Stars are putting their talent to work for tsunami relief. Singers Anne Murray and Bryan Adams performed at a big concert in Canada last night. Bare Naked Ladies also performed in the prime time special, which aired live on Canadian television. And jazz pianist Oscar Peterson did his thing. The three hour special was called "Canada For Asia."

And also this. Water rides with the word tsunami in the name may never be looked at the same way. "USA Today" reports that some theme parks are reportedly changing the name of their tsunami water rides. Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin and Wisconsin, Dells, and the Dover Lake Water Park outside of Cleveland are among them.

If you are interested in donating to the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami, just go to cnn.com/tsunami. We have links to all of the major relief organizations.

Even the commander-in-chief has regrets. Yes, he did admit it. Next, we'll hear what two statements the president sometimes wishes he had never made. We'll have that in four minutes. Also, Wal-Mart prepares for a media blitz. At 19 minutes after, our Susan Lisovicz talks with Wal-Mart's chief about dispelling some urban legends.

And at 33 minutes past, to Saturn and beyond -- actually, 750 million miles into space. Our Miles O'Brien is a bit closer to guide us through this story.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said "Wanted: Dead Or Alive."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And that was President Bush in 2001 pledging to hunt down Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks. In an interview with ABC's Barbara Walters, the president says his wife didn't like his choice of words. So the president says he will tone it down a bit in his second term. President Bush also says his comment to "bring it on" was too blunt. He used the phrase in 2003 to say U.S. troops will not be scared off by insurgents. But the president says it came off the wrong way.

And looking ahead to his second term, Mr. Bush tells ABC: "I'll be more disciplined in how I say things. I have to be cautious about conveying thoughts in a way that doesn't send wrong impressions about our country."

We've all heard President Bush talking about how he married up. No doubt the first lady has a big influence on her husband. The public likes her, too. A new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll shows a whopping 85 percent of Americans approve of the way Mrs. Bush is handling her job. But when asked if she should take a more prominent role in promoting issues, it's a split decision -- 48 percent say yes, 47 percent say no.

Time now for a little "Business Buzz."

That cold weather is going to have an impact on your energy bill and also on stock prices.

David Haffenreffer in for Carrie Lee joins us live from the Nasdaq market site -- good morning.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol.

You know, part of understanding these markets, we should all go to meteorologist school, which makes me wonder if Chad should be helping out with an update like this. But certainly the weather playing a very important role not only for our heating bills, as we keep a very close eye on the price of oil and natural gas, as well, but also on how the stock market is affected.

If we take a look at how yesterday's performance in the stock market fared, just as an example, it was forecast for a colder weather, a colder winter, even, that helped to lead the stock market to a decline, all because the price of oil increased. In fact, oil prices have risen about 14 percent this year alone, 2005 we're talking about, of course. But we're still well below the $55 per barrel peak that we hit back in October. Crude oil at this point just above the $48 per barrel line.

Natural gas prices also affected by this rise in oil prices, simply because it is seen as the more demand picks up for these items, the prices go higher, as well.

And this sent some jitters into the Street, into investors' minds. And in turn they want to sell their stocks as a result, feeling as though if we're spending more money on oil, we're going to have less money for other items out there, as well. And so the stock market took a turn for the worse yesterday, sending the Dow, in fact, down to a more than triple digit decline. Again, oil playing a major role in the decline that we saw yesterday in the market.

Of course, those jitters will continue. The markets have been watching oil and energy prices for quite some time. The Dow is still about 10 percent below its all time high, which was set five years ago today -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks for reminding us.

David Haffenreffer live from the NASDAQ market site.

Thank you.

You've heard the critics, now we hear from the people who run Wal-Mart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE SCOTT, WAL-MART PRESIDENT & CEO: If you don't want us in your community, let's be honest about why you don't want us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: America's retail giant fights back against the foes.

And how would you like for Uncle Sam to pay for your gym membership? Ali Velshi with some ideas about financing your fitness.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Wal-mart is mounting a huge media blitz intended to repair the image of the largest retailer in the world.

Business correspondent Susan Lisovicz has more on Wal-Mart's appeal, if you will.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wal-Mart's critics are vocal. But the world's biggest retailer has largely been silent, whether it concerns protests about plans for its sprawling super-sized centers, the huge percentage of its goods made overseas or the way it treats its more than 1.2 million workers. But now the retailer known for cutting costs is spending money on repairing its image. In full-page ads across the country and rare on-camera interviews, Wal-Mart's chief executive says Wal-Mart is good for the economy. The company expects to create more than 100,000 new jobs in the U.S. this year. And Lee Scott says Wal-Mart is good to the people it hires.

SCOTT: If you don't want us in your community, let's be honest about why you don't want us. Don't say it's because of our wages, because the facts are our wages are good. Don't say it's about our benefits, because the facts are we have benefits. And don't say it's because they're dead-end jobs, because the truth is we promoted 9,000 people out of hourly positions to management last year.

LISOVICZ: Wal-Mart's aggressive new push coincides with organized labor's own plans to launch a media campaign that tells a different story about America's largest private employer.

MARK LEVINSON, DIRECTOR, UNITE HERE: Wal-Mart says they offer health benefits. They do offer health benefits, but most of the employees can't afford them. They do pay more than minimum wage, but they still pay less than would keep a family of three or four out of poverty. So it's a public relations attempt to cover up a very disturbing reality.

LISOVICZ: Wal-Mart has been bulletproof to the criticism for years because of its shoppers, who find the savings irresistible. Sales in 2003 were nearly $245 billion, nearly three times the amount of Target and Costco combined. But Wal-Mart stumbled briefly early in the holiday season when it was beaten at its own game by its competitors, which slashed prices more aggressively. Management says it won't make that mistake again.

SCOTT: It's time for us to be more aggressive when it comes to taking care of our customers, our merchandising, pricing and all of those things. I think we have an opportunity this year and this is one part of it.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: Susan, I have so many questions.

LISOVICZ: As did I.

COSTELLO: Yes, I'm sure you did.

He seemed very genuine and they're going to go across the country and they're going to tout Wal-Mart's good business practices and how they treat their employees.

I mean is it that serious of a problem? Wal-Mart's still making money hand over fist, right?

LISOVICZ: Yes, a quarter of a -- more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in annual sales a year. I would say yes, they're still making money hand over fist. But one of the ways a retailer grows is by starting new super centers. And if communities, say, like in California don't want the super centers, that curbs growth. It's still going overseas. But, yes, the criticism has clearly stung.

And this is -- getting a one-on-one with Lee Scott, the CEO of Wal-Mart, is rarer than a total eclipse of the sun. I'm not kidding you. They just have a very low profile, which is weird, because it's such a public company. It's the world's biggest retailer. You see it out there, but they really don't deal with the media very much and this purpose...

COSTELLO: Well, and they portray themselves as so homespun.

You have many interesting anecdotes about this. For example -- and I still can't believe this is true -- so just tell our viewers what you told me in the break.

LISOVICZ: Well, everything about Wal-Mart is saving money, right, saving money on, you know, it really squeezes costs out of its vendors. And that includes squeezing costs out of its trips. So when Lee Scott, the CEO of Wal-Mart, the biggest company, the biggest retailer in the world, comes to New York City, one of the most expensive cities in the world, he had to share a room with the CFO, the chief financial officer. Both of these men earn well over a million dollars a year.

He happened to mention that to me before the interview. He said, oh, the CFO was so nervous because he was doing interviews. He's not used to doing interviews on television. He couldn't sleep. He also told me that he had a $10 meal in New York City.

COSTELLO: So they have a $10...

LISOVICZ: A $10 meal. What is that, you ask?

COSTELLO: No way. Wal-Mart only...

LISOVICZ: It was a salad.

COSTELLO: Wait a minute. Wal-Mart only gives them $10 a day to eat?

LISOVICZ: No, he didn't say that. But what he was saying, that it's very clear that Wal-Mart saves costs across the line. And he was very proud of the fact that he had a $10 dinner, which, when we inquired, was a Cesar salad without the shrimp or chicken. Wal-Mart, by the way, does not cover any employee's liquor expenses. So you have to pay for that out of pocket.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

A fascinating story. Susan Lisovicz, thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

LISOVICZ: My pleasure.

COSTELLO: A verdict could happen as early as today in the Abu Ghraib Prison court martial of Army Specialist Charles Graner. A reporter monitoring the courtroom will join us next.

And exploring space -- Miles O'Brien updates an historic mission now under way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And good morning to you.

Welcome to the last half hour of DAYBREAK.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

Now in the news, a federal judge in Washington is expected to rule today on whether a prayer will be said at President Bush's inauguration. Atheist Michael Newdow of Sacramento, remember him? He's challenging the prayer. He's best known for trying to remove the words "under god" from the Pledge of Allegiance.

A car bomb exploded last night outside of a mosque north of Baghdad, killing four Iraqi police officers and three civilians. Two U.S. Marines were also killed in Anbar Province, west of the capital.

More families returning to their homes today in Graniteville, South Carolina. Fifty-five hundred fled last week when a train wreck released chlorine gas, killing nine people. About half those evacuees are back home now.

Tornadoes roamed the South last night. One of them targeted a plant in Lawrence County, South Carolina. The plant lost its roof, a fire broke out, but all the workers got out safely.

To the forecast center now and Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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Aired January 14, 2005 - 06:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMIE WALLET, FAMILY KILLED IN MUD SLIDE: I was digging with my fingernails and that's all. That hurt. My hands hurt. But nothing what the pain my family felt what happened to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, it's hard to imagine what this man is going through right now, and yet inspiring words from a grieving father.

A tornado spawns more trouble for a small town.

And has Wal-Mart changed the face of your community? America's biggest employer answers its critics.

It is Friday, January 14.

You are watching DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

Now in the news, the governor of Arkansas gets a firsthand look at tornado damage in the south central part of the state today. The bad weather killed three people and damaged or destroyed more than two dozen homes yesterday.

Closing arguments begin three hours from now in the court martial of Army Specialist Charles Graner. Graner is charged in the Iraqi prison scandal. He did not testify in his own defense. I'll talk to CNN's Susan Candiotti live in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.

Iraqi police on the lookout today for 28 escaped inmates from the Abu Ghraib Prison. Thirty-eight men overpowered their guards and escaped from a bus taking them to the Baghdad courthouse. Ten were captured shortly after the escape.

And a space probe is plunging through the murky atmosphere of Titan, preparing to land on the mysterious Saturn moon. Scientists think Titan resembles Earth when it was young and could yield clues to how life evolved here.

To the forecast center and Chad -- good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Nasty weather problems in Ohio, too. The Ohio River overflowing this morning. Many areas underwater.

Let's head live to CNN's Chris Huntington in the drenched city of Marietta -- good morning, Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, Marietta is enjoying a bit of a reprieve right now. The water is just at cresting stage. So say the Army Corps of Engineers and the local emergency operations center here.

We are right at the banks of the Ohio River in downtown, Marietta, in fact, right where the Muskegon River feeds into the Ohio River and water level here about 20 feet above normal, but still about a foot or two below what would be getting into dangerous flooding situations.

It did exceed that level this last weekend, on Sunday. The water, oh, about 27 feet above normal levels this past weekend flooding downtown areas here in Marietta. It has receded a bit and remains stable at about 20 feet above normal levels. The Army Corps does not anticipate flooding here in Marietta today -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, that is some good news. You know, this is a really charming and quaint town.

Tell us about damages to these historic buildings downtown in Marietta.

HUNTINGTON: Well, historic and quaint is absolutely right. This, Marietta is the oldest non-native settlement in Ohio, founded in 1788. It is a town that is absolutely tied to the river. They take great pride in their embracing of the river. They do not have big flood walls here in the downtown area. This is something of a matter of civic pride and sort of perseverance, if you will.

They do not want to shut themselves off from the river. Hence, the downtown area, the historic buildings, old, old buildings, are very much exposed to the river. As I say now, we are only about two feet away from a flooding situation. So the water is literally lapping right at the shores here, away from, just feet away from old, old buildings.

This, interestingly enough, even though we're way, way up the Ohio River, has been a ship building town. Because of the navigable waterways, they were able to build seagoing ships here and float them down the river and get them out into the Gulf of Mexico by New Orleans -- Carol.

COSTELLO: It is a beautiful town. I've been there many times. Chris Huntington live from Marietta, Ohio this morning.

Check out this incredible force of nature. The river washes away these homes like they are made of paper. This is home video we just got in. This is from Washington County, Utah. Officials say flood damage so far in that state is estimated at $86 million. An incredible importance this morning.

No amount of money can repair some of the losses in La Conchita, California. Ten lives were lost in a horrific mud slide on Monday. Searchers at the site paused for a moment of silence to honor the dead. The rescue work is now over and this morning authorities will meet with residents to discuss a plan for them to return to their homes.

One man, Jimmie Wallet, lost his wife and three of his four daughters in the mud slide. The kids were ages 10, 6 and 2. Wallet and his oldest daughter were not at home when the mud slide happened.

Here's his heart wrenching account of what happened next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALLET: A lot of us just ran our hardest right for it. We didn't care. We wanted to just get our families out. I mean it was that feeling of just seeing that going straight toward where you know you have your whole family living is, there's no word for it. And when it hit, while you're running toward it and it just hit in your house where you know your kids are at with cars, trailers, campers, mud, as quick as turning a faucet on, but the mud's thick. And hitting the house, blowing through the wall and hitting every room and filling up and exploding.

People started coming out and I was just, I mean everyone was just looking, searching and trying to dig, get shovels, give me some chain saws, anything, let's go. Yes, the neighborhood was working hard.

I don't know where I'm going to end up, but I know where my daughter wants to be and my thing is I've just got to make her have paradise for the rest of her life, make her dreams come true. But there's other people, too, that feel the same pain. It could have gone faster. They need to readjust their system. Man, those rescue guys, great. I mean in -- but the ones that touched me most were the inmates. They didn't use protocol, they didn't use rules, they used their gut feeling and heart and dug until their hands were bleeding. The women, I hope they get some gift. I told them, you know, man, I would give you my life for what you guys are doing, but I have nothing. I came out with my jacket and that's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Jimmie Wallet says it was the inmates who found his family.

Also in California, rescuers had to airlift food and medical supplies to about 135 stranded people. All three bridges to their community in the San Gabriel Mountains have been washed out by a storm swollen river.

Now, turning the tide in the tsunami disaster. This is new home video CNN just received. It was shot in Phuket, Thailand. Thailand's prime minister tells CNN other tsunami ravaged nations need more help than his country does.

In the meantime, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz is in the region. He says the U.S. military will be out of Indonesia long before the end of March. That's when Indonesian officials say international troops should leave. And that touched off a controversy here in the States. But Secretary of State Colin Powell downplayed the Indonesian remark. He calls it "an expectation that the work would be finished by that time."

Powell described the tsunami damage to CNN's Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Flying over the city of Banda Aceh in northern Sumatra looked like flying over a place that had just been hit by a nuclear weapon -- completely flattened. But more than just flattened, scraped clean down to bare earth -- trees, grass, houses, cars, boats, schools and, above all, thousands of people who had simply drowned in their homes or picked up, taken out to sea, drowned and then tossed back onto the beach to be pulled up into the debris fields.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We warned you of tsunami relief scammers. Well, this scammer has been caught. A Pennsylvania man now charged in a tsunami relief scam. He will face a judge next week. Prosecutors say Matthew Schmeider solicited donations by sending out 800,000 phony e-mails perpetrated to be from Mercy Corps. And that is a nationally known organization. They just never heard of that guy.

Stars are putting their talent to work for tsunami relief. Singers Anne Murray and Bryan Adams performed at a big concert in Canada last night. Bare Naked Ladies also performed in the prime time special, which aired live on Canadian television. And jazz pianist Oscar Peterson did his thing. The three hour special was called "Canada For Asia."

And also this. Water rides with the word tsunami in the name may never be looked at the same way. "USA Today" reports that some theme parks are reportedly changing the name of their tsunami water rides. Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin and Wisconsin, Dells, and the Dover Lake Water Park outside of Cleveland are among them.

If you are interested in donating to the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami, just go to cnn.com/tsunami. We have links to all of the major relief organizations.

Even the commander-in-chief has regrets. Yes, he did admit it. Next, we'll hear what two statements the president sometimes wishes he had never made. We'll have that in four minutes. Also, Wal-Mart prepares for a media blitz. At 19 minutes after, our Susan Lisovicz talks with Wal-Mart's chief about dispelling some urban legends.

And at 33 minutes past, to Saturn and beyond -- actually, 750 million miles into space. Our Miles O'Brien is a bit closer to guide us through this story.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said "Wanted: Dead Or Alive."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And that was President Bush in 2001 pledging to hunt down Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks. In an interview with ABC's Barbara Walters, the president says his wife didn't like his choice of words. So the president says he will tone it down a bit in his second term. President Bush also says his comment to "bring it on" was too blunt. He used the phrase in 2003 to say U.S. troops will not be scared off by insurgents. But the president says it came off the wrong way.

And looking ahead to his second term, Mr. Bush tells ABC: "I'll be more disciplined in how I say things. I have to be cautious about conveying thoughts in a way that doesn't send wrong impressions about our country."

We've all heard President Bush talking about how he married up. No doubt the first lady has a big influence on her husband. The public likes her, too. A new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll shows a whopping 85 percent of Americans approve of the way Mrs. Bush is handling her job. But when asked if she should take a more prominent role in promoting issues, it's a split decision -- 48 percent say yes, 47 percent say no.

Time now for a little "Business Buzz."

That cold weather is going to have an impact on your energy bill and also on stock prices.

David Haffenreffer in for Carrie Lee joins us live from the Nasdaq market site -- good morning.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol.

You know, part of understanding these markets, we should all go to meteorologist school, which makes me wonder if Chad should be helping out with an update like this. But certainly the weather playing a very important role not only for our heating bills, as we keep a very close eye on the price of oil and natural gas, as well, but also on how the stock market is affected.

If we take a look at how yesterday's performance in the stock market fared, just as an example, it was forecast for a colder weather, a colder winter, even, that helped to lead the stock market to a decline, all because the price of oil increased. In fact, oil prices have risen about 14 percent this year alone, 2005 we're talking about, of course. But we're still well below the $55 per barrel peak that we hit back in October. Crude oil at this point just above the $48 per barrel line.

Natural gas prices also affected by this rise in oil prices, simply because it is seen as the more demand picks up for these items, the prices go higher, as well.

And this sent some jitters into the Street, into investors' minds. And in turn they want to sell their stocks as a result, feeling as though if we're spending more money on oil, we're going to have less money for other items out there, as well. And so the stock market took a turn for the worse yesterday, sending the Dow, in fact, down to a more than triple digit decline. Again, oil playing a major role in the decline that we saw yesterday in the market.

Of course, those jitters will continue. The markets have been watching oil and energy prices for quite some time. The Dow is still about 10 percent below its all time high, which was set five years ago today -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks for reminding us.

David Haffenreffer live from the NASDAQ market site.

Thank you.

You've heard the critics, now we hear from the people who run Wal-Mart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE SCOTT, WAL-MART PRESIDENT & CEO: If you don't want us in your community, let's be honest about why you don't want us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: America's retail giant fights back against the foes.

And how would you like for Uncle Sam to pay for your gym membership? Ali Velshi with some ideas about financing your fitness.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Wal-mart is mounting a huge media blitz intended to repair the image of the largest retailer in the world.

Business correspondent Susan Lisovicz has more on Wal-Mart's appeal, if you will.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wal-Mart's critics are vocal. But the world's biggest retailer has largely been silent, whether it concerns protests about plans for its sprawling super-sized centers, the huge percentage of its goods made overseas or the way it treats its more than 1.2 million workers. But now the retailer known for cutting costs is spending money on repairing its image. In full-page ads across the country and rare on-camera interviews, Wal-Mart's chief executive says Wal-Mart is good for the economy. The company expects to create more than 100,000 new jobs in the U.S. this year. And Lee Scott says Wal-Mart is good to the people it hires.

SCOTT: If you don't want us in your community, let's be honest about why you don't want us. Don't say it's because of our wages, because the facts are our wages are good. Don't say it's about our benefits, because the facts are we have benefits. And don't say it's because they're dead-end jobs, because the truth is we promoted 9,000 people out of hourly positions to management last year.

LISOVICZ: Wal-Mart's aggressive new push coincides with organized labor's own plans to launch a media campaign that tells a different story about America's largest private employer.

MARK LEVINSON, DIRECTOR, UNITE HERE: Wal-Mart says they offer health benefits. They do offer health benefits, but most of the employees can't afford them. They do pay more than minimum wage, but they still pay less than would keep a family of three or four out of poverty. So it's a public relations attempt to cover up a very disturbing reality.

LISOVICZ: Wal-Mart has been bulletproof to the criticism for years because of its shoppers, who find the savings irresistible. Sales in 2003 were nearly $245 billion, nearly three times the amount of Target and Costco combined. But Wal-Mart stumbled briefly early in the holiday season when it was beaten at its own game by its competitors, which slashed prices more aggressively. Management says it won't make that mistake again.

SCOTT: It's time for us to be more aggressive when it comes to taking care of our customers, our merchandising, pricing and all of those things. I think we have an opportunity this year and this is one part of it.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: Susan, I have so many questions.

LISOVICZ: As did I.

COSTELLO: Yes, I'm sure you did.

He seemed very genuine and they're going to go across the country and they're going to tout Wal-Mart's good business practices and how they treat their employees.

I mean is it that serious of a problem? Wal-Mart's still making money hand over fist, right?

LISOVICZ: Yes, a quarter of a -- more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in annual sales a year. I would say yes, they're still making money hand over fist. But one of the ways a retailer grows is by starting new super centers. And if communities, say, like in California don't want the super centers, that curbs growth. It's still going overseas. But, yes, the criticism has clearly stung.

And this is -- getting a one-on-one with Lee Scott, the CEO of Wal-Mart, is rarer than a total eclipse of the sun. I'm not kidding you. They just have a very low profile, which is weird, because it's such a public company. It's the world's biggest retailer. You see it out there, but they really don't deal with the media very much and this purpose...

COSTELLO: Well, and they portray themselves as so homespun.

You have many interesting anecdotes about this. For example -- and I still can't believe this is true -- so just tell our viewers what you told me in the break.

LISOVICZ: Well, everything about Wal-Mart is saving money, right, saving money on, you know, it really squeezes costs out of its vendors. And that includes squeezing costs out of its trips. So when Lee Scott, the CEO of Wal-Mart, the biggest company, the biggest retailer in the world, comes to New York City, one of the most expensive cities in the world, he had to share a room with the CFO, the chief financial officer. Both of these men earn well over a million dollars a year.

He happened to mention that to me before the interview. He said, oh, the CFO was so nervous because he was doing interviews. He's not used to doing interviews on television. He couldn't sleep. He also told me that he had a $10 meal in New York City.

COSTELLO: So they have a $10...

LISOVICZ: A $10 meal. What is that, you ask?

COSTELLO: No way. Wal-Mart only...

LISOVICZ: It was a salad.

COSTELLO: Wait a minute. Wal-Mart only gives them $10 a day to eat?

LISOVICZ: No, he didn't say that. But what he was saying, that it's very clear that Wal-Mart saves costs across the line. And he was very proud of the fact that he had a $10 dinner, which, when we inquired, was a Cesar salad without the shrimp or chicken. Wal-Mart, by the way, does not cover any employee's liquor expenses. So you have to pay for that out of pocket.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

A fascinating story. Susan Lisovicz, thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

LISOVICZ: My pleasure.

COSTELLO: A verdict could happen as early as today in the Abu Ghraib Prison court martial of Army Specialist Charles Graner. A reporter monitoring the courtroom will join us next.

And exploring space -- Miles O'Brien updates an historic mission now under way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And good morning to you.

Welcome to the last half hour of DAYBREAK.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

Now in the news, a federal judge in Washington is expected to rule today on whether a prayer will be said at President Bush's inauguration. Atheist Michael Newdow of Sacramento, remember him? He's challenging the prayer. He's best known for trying to remove the words "under god" from the Pledge of Allegiance.

A car bomb exploded last night outside of a mosque north of Baghdad, killing four Iraqi police officers and three civilians. Two U.S. Marines were also killed in Anbar Province, west of the capital.

More families returning to their homes today in Graniteville, South Carolina. Fifty-five hundred fled last week when a train wreck released chlorine gas, killing nine people. About half those evacuees are back home now.

Tornadoes roamed the South last night. One of them targeted a plant in Lawrence County, South Carolina. The plant lost its roof, a fire broke out, but all the workers got out safely.

To the forecast center now and Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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